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what-if-queen-camilla · 11 months

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A Little Secret - Chapter 2

25th December, 1986

“Okay, come on, Milla, let’s do it - 1, 2, 3…”, Annabel gasped and together, the sisters took all of their strength and kicked the huge Turkey they had bought for the big annual Christmas lunch right into the oven. “Finally!”, Camilla sighed and lent against the kitchen table, desperately fighting the feeling of dizziness that had hit her once again. She’d been feeling miserable since the very day she had found out about her pregnancy, not only because of the mental stress but also because she was suffering from almost every imaginable side effect: she felt dizzy, she felt sick and she couldn’t remember having ever felt more insecure about everything. Basically, it was a miracle to her that nobody had found out yet. Of course she hadn’t told anyone and for now, she was absolutely determined to keep it to herself.

She knew it was ridiculous to think that she would be able to go on like that for long but it was Christmas, the season of love and peace and it was all hard enough already, even without that bombshell. She hadn’t heard from Charles in more than a week now, she knew he was up in Sandringham with his wife and family and she just hoped with all her heart that he was going to be alright. She knew exactly how much he hated the holidays, not because of the occasion itself but because of all the celebrations and duties and the fact that he was more or less trapped in a house that he hated, constantly surrounded by people who made him feel unloved, unwanted and deeply uncomfortable, and it simply killed her to know how terrible he felt, how sad and lonely he was, and that she wasn’t able to be with him and give him the love that he needed.

On the other hand, she was very relieved that she wasn’t with him because she couldn’t have kept her little secret to herself, he would probably have noticed something anyway, and she couldn’t have lied to him, he knew her way too well and would have instantly known if he had only looked into her eyes. Charles… the mere thought if him had given her goosebumps again. She couldn’t even put into words how much she missed him and longed for him, for his strong arms tightly wrapped around her, his lips on hers, his hands feeling their way along all over her body… Camilla winced and Annabel watched her deeply worried.

“Are you alright, Milla?” Camilla took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. “Yes, absolutely!”, she ensured her sister and despite she wasn’t entirely convinced, Annabel didn’t ask twice. Apparently, Camilla didn’t want to talk about whatever might be bothering her, and as it was Christmas and they were all happy and jolly and enjoyed themselves she didn’t want to spoil everything by confronting her sister with something that obviously made her feel bad. She could imagine vividly what, or better who, it was that made her feel so uncomfortable. Of course, she knew what Andrew was like and she did absolutely not support or even tolerate his catastrophic behaviour towards his wife, her sister, but once again, it was Christmas and the last thing they all needed was a bad atmosphere.

The only thing she could probably do was to cheer Camilla up a little, so she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of their favourite Champagne. “Let’s get festive then.”, Annabel declared and poured a glass for each of them. “Merry Christmas, Milla!”, she toasted and Camilla replied: “Merry Christmas, Bells!” She took only just a little sip of the fancy drink but already felt her stomach rebelling. It was their favourite Champagne, normally, but it seemed as if there was zero normality left these days. She swallowed heavily and turned away from her sister so that she wouldn’t see the face Camilla was making. She really felt hot and cold at once and it took everything in her not to let show. “Really everything alright, sweetie?”, Annabel asked again and Camilla was quick to reassure her: “Yes, Bells, everything is fine!”, before she turned over to the cupboard and pulled out the dishes and glasses they’d need for lunch. She had never been a very religious person but in this very situation she prayed to God that nobody was going to notice anything…

“Mummy, Mummy, look!”, 8-year-old Laura cheered as she proudly presented her mother the Christmas cookies that she had just made together with her two cousins and their grandmother. “Yum, they look delicious, darling!”, Camilla smiled and her little daughter asked excitedly: “Wanna try?” Camilla hesitated for a second because she still felt incredibly sick but immediately grabbed a biscuit when she noticed the disappointment in Laura’s eyes. “Of course, darling, I’d love that!”, she said, forcing herself to look happy and took one of the ginger bread cookies. They looked delicious, they really did, and normally Camilla loved ginger bread, but this time, once she had taken the first bite, her stomach started rebelling again and she felt that she couldn’t fight the sickness this time.

Horrified and deeply embarrassed she ran up the stairs and right into the bathroom where she couldn’t help vomiting. At least she had managed to let nobody see. She felt so miserable that she wanted nothing more than to be on her own, she didn’t want to see anyone but of course her sister had followed her straight away. Silently, she rushed to her bedroom and back again to come back with a towel that she handed over to her sister, tenderly stroking her arm without saying a single word. Camilla took it more than gratefully and quickly washed her face. “Okay, sweetie, you tell me what’s wrong right now.”, Annabel said firmly and made it clear that she was not going to accept any kind of protest. Camilla sighed and dried her tears once again, before she cleared her throat and finally dropped the bombshell: “I’m having a baby.”

“Oh Milla, that's wonderful!!!”, Annabel cheered excitedly and hugged her sister warm and tight and added: “I’m so happy for you, finally!” She was well aware how much Camilla had been longing to have another child and she had to be over the moon… but why on earth did she look so miserable? Was it the sickness or the hormones in general? Somehow, her sister didn’t seem to be happy at all… “What’s the matter?”, Annabel looked worried. “Is something wrong?” “Kind of…”, Camilla whispered and Annabel frowned. “Doesn’t Andrew want it?”, she asked carefully but Camilla hissed: “He doesn’t even know!” “What?” Her sister was shocked. She didn’t understand anything anymore. “Why wouldn’t you tell him? I know, he’s screwed up but he’s still your husband and the fath-” “No, he is not!”, Camilla declared and Annabel looked thunderstruck.

She couldn’t believe what she just had heard. Camilla would never cheat on Andrew, she loved him like she had never loved anyone else - apart from… “Charles?!” Silence. Camilla did not say a single word but the mere fact that she did not contradict basically said it all. Annabel gasped for breath and tried not to let show how shocked she was. It had to be hell for Camilla anyway and the last thing she needed right now was a sermon. “Well…”, Annabel started after a few moments, tenderly stroking Camilla’s hand, trying to make her sister feel as comfortable as possible in what had to be one of the most embarrassing situations imaginable.

“Have you told him?” Camilla shook her head. “I only found out a few days ago… I haven’t even made it to the doctor’s yet, for.. it… to get confirmed. It’s Christmas and I want everyone to be happy and enjoy the holidays, you know? Please promise me that you won’t tell anyone.” “Of course not, Milla, you can trust me!”, Annabel assured her immediately, and she meant it. No matter what she herself might have thought about Camilla’s relationship stuff, that was not her business, but as her sister and best friend it was totally out of the question that she was going to support her, of course she was. However, at the same time, she had countless questions on her mind that she was dying to get answers to… “I… I didn’t know you and Charles… I mean… how long…?” “About two months.”, Camilla replied and looked down. “I know it’s wrong! We are both married, we have the children! But I really love him and he… he was so unhappy, you know?” “Wait - why on earth should he be unhappy? He’s married to this beautiful, lovely woman…”, Annabel stated, looking at her sister in disbelieve. “Very beautiful, yes, when it comes to outward appearance and manipulating the public…”, Camilla sobbed. “She’s got another side, Bells, a dark and dangerous, cruel side. She doesn’t care about him, she doesn’t want to be his partner. She wants to be the star, and she has painted this picture of the beautiful fairytale Princess who’s got the world at her feet but she has literally no idea how to be a supportive, loving consort to a future King! She always demands all the attention and she would do anything to remain in the spotlight. And you know, if I say ‘anything’, you can be sure that I really mean 'anything’.” Camilla had decided to keep the details to herself for the moment. It would probably be too much for her sister to hear about “the people’s Princess” threatening to kidnap Charles and her children or kill herself by cutting her wrists or jumping out of a window at Kensington Palace which of course would be Charles’ fault. Camilla had shivered and trembled and felt like the world had frozen when he had told her for the first time, a part of her refused to believe but another part simply knew it was true. She had seen it in his eyes, she had felt his pain, his insecurity and anxiety and it had broken her heart just as it broke Annabel’s in this very moment. “Goodness, Milla, I… I’m so sorry. I had no idea…” “Of course not.”, Camilla replied and squeezed her sister's hand. “Neither did I.” They were silent for a few moments until Annabel cleared her throat and carefully asked: “What are you going to do now?” Camilla shrugged her shoulders and felt tears in her eyes again. She had no idea what she was going to do and she couldn’t even think about anything at the moment, not until all the celebrations were over and Andrew would be in London and the children at their respective boarding schools again by the 7th of January which was still almost two weeks from today… she just had to pull herself together and not let anything show. Somehow.

#queen camilla #king charles #royal family #royal baby #fanfic #fanfiction

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hungrydolphin91 · 7 months

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[Insert some kind of Xillia 2 catchy tagline here about how my sister and I are playing this game]. I don't even remember what chapter we're on at this point, but we did all the fun Victor stuff

Victor only took as three tries: we got very close the first time, the second one doesn't count because he confused the whole party and we all murdered each other, but by the third we had grinded a little and bought some better weapons and armor

Since we had to rewatch the cutscenes she picked different dialogue choices just to see what changed, except for the one about Ludger's cooking vs. Victor's. Sis: "I won't concede, mine's still better."

Sorry I don't have much to report about the reactions, since my sister pretty much already knew what was about to happen. She wasn't thrilled about being Elle's father, but she did feel bad for Elle finding out her father was using her, and watching him get killed, too. It's a lot for a kid to go through 😭

There's a bonus scene with Jude helping Ludger make a new pot of soup after Elle spills the first, but he mostly just stands there. Me: "YOU SHOULD BE HELPING, NOT HURTING."

My sister slapped a pair of goofy glasses on Alvin right before his character chapter so we got to enjoy all the emotional close ups with his 😏 expression. I'm surprised Presa didn't return the ring just from that 😂

Leia: "Agria, watch over me." Me: "Agria is probably flipping you off from Hell."

Why is it that Alvin's chapters are much more interesting to me than the others. I mean I'm probably super biased cause I like him but still I like how they explore more of his struggles at improving himself and what could have been based on his past, compared to, I don't know, buying a bunny doll or reading Muzet's thoughts. Maybe I'm just an angst fan.

We started prime Milla's chapter in a new session, and the second the cutscene started my sister left to go get snacks. We have a fundamentally different way of playing these games 😅

Hilariously, the cutscene was halted so Ludger can make a dialogue choice, one of them being "Sounds like I missed something." 😂

I forgot this was a Milla chapter and not a Jude one, with the iconic gay bird spirit that's acting like a clingy ex 😂

While hunting elite monsters, Milla died right at the end of a battle and didn't get the exp, but characters who weren't in the party still did. Sis: "Alvin's probably waking up from a nap like 'Guess who just got stronger?'"

We made paid the bank 150,000 with Ludger's reward money, and all we got was kitty krisps and a skill for Alvin, who again, wasn't there. Cue both of us saying "Guess who just got stronger?" and laughing.

I forgot proceeding with the plot in Marksburg triggers a boss battle with Chronos. Oops, we weren't fully healed.

Julius shows up and defends Ludger, aww. Sis: "When do we tell him he's technically an uncle now?"

I couldn't remember how many times the Chronos fight looped but it wasn't too bad really, the game's going easy on you at this point since it's scripted.

Bisley shows up to interrupt the fight. Sis: "Who are you?" Me, with utter exasperation: "...Do you seriously not know who he is?" 😩 (She did, she just didn't know why he was helping)

My sister was a lot more worried about Julius taking Ludger's place to fight Chronos one on one over the appearance of Bisley or the disappearance of Elle. I can't blame her, Julius's love for his brother is so sweet and he's frankly more compelling than most of the other original characters

Elle runs away because she suddenly doesn't want to go to Canaan anymore (it IS pretty creepy I'll give her that), and the rest of the party is somehow fine with letting this child run around unsupervised except by Spirius agents?? Even my sister who hates Elle pointed out that Ludger is kinda her closest living relative in this dimension so he should probably not let her wander off??

The SECOND that cutscene ended, Nova called. "Ludger, I know you just fought the god of time, but he gave you money, didn't he? You can't pull a fast one over the bank!"

Next time is... whatever happens next. My memories are a little fuzzy but I think we're gonna do that stuff in Spirius's basement soon, and then... oof. Hoping for a bad end, ngl 😅

[Masterpost link here, eventually.]

#dolphin plays x2 #sorry if the jokes are repetitive we repeat the same ones constantly #but with how many times the dialogue in this game repeats it's hard not to parrot it back

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razputin-vodello-au-archive · 10 months

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Author, buddy, home skillet biscuit

Lets get to know you! What was one of the things that inspired you to make this au? Do you have any scrapped plans or outcomes that would have been you'd like to share?

Also, Pepsi or Coke? There can be only one.

I'm a Cola Zero man, so ...that.

As some background info, I'd like to mention that I got introduced in the Psychonauts fandom with the second game, which I bought in September of that year.

So, as I usually do when hyperfixating on a new fandom, I was reading a lot of fanfiction and looking at a lot of fanart. I really liked art where Milla was acting motherly to Raz, like one where she makes him a packed lunch, and he accidentally call her mom(? Something like that.)

But I also noticed some fics and art where it almost was where Raz was adopted by Milla and Sasha. Or art where Raz plainly runs away from the Aquatos, which I didn't find realistic - as realistic as you can get with this game - because Raz loves his family, and I don't see him getting away from them.

One day I came across this art piece from @pokemon22551, which kinda sparked the idea. Even though it had been years - barring some fics I wrote after really getting into Animaniacs with the reboot - since I've written fanfics, I decided to give it a try, thinking I could just leave it if it didn't catch on. I made this blog, started writing the first chapter ...and the rest is history.

As for scrapped ideas ...

The whole Frazie/Norma standalone story is pretty much shelved, with most of what happened revealed through asks.(I might write some one-shots containing some scenes, or a chronological list of events that would happen)

The chapters with going into the minds of Helmut Fullbear, Bob Zanotto Compton Boole and Cassie O'P weren't gonna be in the story. I didn't want to do a 'Psychonauts 2, but it's an AU' like I've read a few times before. So I had no plans of writing those things out. They were gonna be three sentence mentions. Raz pops in, Raz pops out. Done. Kinda glad I did, though.

The Razgado event was gonna happen a few chapters earlier, right after Raz had met with the Aquato parents, but I wanted to give the others some 'screentime' as well, plus planting the seeds for the whole Frazie and Norma budding romance.

There was an alternate plan for the Aquatos finding out Raz was still alive. I had plans for Frazie to bump into Raz, Milla, Sasha and the others during a shopping trip.

Norma and Raz didn't have the close sister-brother relationship at first, which you can kinda see in the first chapters. Normally he would only refer to Lizzie as his sister, because in the game it felt like Lizzie was acting kinda sisterly towards Raz after the Casino missions.

The whole Delugionist thing at the end came after I got the idea for the sequel while I was still writing "The Lives and Times".

I've let out an entire part where a Delugionist spy - a drowned, as they call themselves - would have taken pictures of the Razgado event, and gotten into contact with the criminal group I'm using in the sequel to contact the Delugionist leadership. decided to leave it out, because it messed up the flow of the epilogue.

One chapter got rewritten partially, at the request from readers, who felt I rushed a certain picnic scene.

Nona was going to appear in chapter 15, together with Ford in Raz's mind. I decided to leave it out, because the explanation was kinda farfetched, even for Psychonauts.

Norma and Frazie could have become a couple in the chapter where they fought, but I decided I'd write a story about that instead.

There are probably more, but I don't really recall them at the moment.

#psychonauts #psychonauts 2 #razputin vodello au #the author speaks

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cloudcalico · 1 year

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✧ 𝐄𝐗𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐓 𝟏: 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬… ۰ ۪۪۫۫ · 🩰

cw: none, it's pure fluff; more under cut!

*︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦ॱ ︶･ ˖ 🕯ॱ꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦︶꒷︶︶꒦︶꒷꒦ﾟ✧.*

Camilla was a warm person. She was kind, and bubbly, and a single smile from her could light up the entire room alone. «A friend of Jeffery is a friend of mine!» she had exclaimed when they first met, and since then he had grown so accustomed at her presence in his life that seeing her go away that morning kind of destabilized him.

«It’s only for a couple weeks, she’ll get back after her Christmas break is over.» Jeffery had reassured him, and even if he missed completely the point it made him feel a little better, knowing that the man was trying to comfort him.

Gazing carelessly out the window, William reminisced about their latest conversation, a little embarrassed to accept that they all revolved around the same man he was in company of. She was surprised he knew his real name already, and William himself was surprised that a man such as him had trusted him enough to reveal it. «Why didn’t you take any vacation days?» he asked, feeling his friend move behind him.

«Well, someone has to keep you company, it would be a shame to leave such a pretty man alone for Christmas.» the detective answered, delivering the little flirty comment with his usual tone, as if it were nothing special. William’s heart, however, did a flip at the comment. It was weirdly common for Jeffery to slip a compliment of some sort whenever he talked to him, and it was even weirder how he only recently found out it wasn’t something he did with everyone. «Besides, – the man continued – crime doesn’t stop for the holidays, and someone has to cover for Milla’s absence.»

There it was. That was the reason. Of course, William had never dared to think that his friend would have clocked out on a possible vacation out of the state just for him. Or maybe he did, and the little, egoistical part of him that wished for the man to like him back had taken a little blow by his answer. He nodded, with a low hum of acknowledgment, hesitating to turn towards his friend as to hide the slight blush on his cheeks.

But Jeffery’s eyes were cutting holes in the back of his head, prompting him to finally turn to ask him why he was staring daggers at him. He found the man completely lost in his thoughts, a frown on his face as he seemed too caught up in his thoughts to properly recognize his friend was staring back at him. He kind of found him cute, standing like that in the middle of the room, the absent gaze signalling how he was too busy catching up with what was going on in his head. But he always found him cute, especially when he had his hair tied up in the back of his head, or when he wore that ugly pullover Milla had bought him as a joke, matching the one William himself had received.

He shook his head, trying to shoo those inappropriate thoughts, before snapping his fingers in front of Jeffery’s face. «You okay there?» he asked, perplexed, tilting his head to the side.

Jeffery squinted his eyes a bit, scanning his figure for a couple of seconds before answering. «Yes, I’m just thinking about something…» he answered, vaguely. Then he sighed, raised his shoulders and turned to face the kitchen. «Let’s cook something. It’s Christmas, we should eat something special.» he said, but he lacked the usual determined stare that accompanied his every other proposal.

Well, maybe he really had something that was troubling him, that’s why he was so absent. It was fair, and although he was incredibly curious William decided not to ask. It was probably something about work, he couldn’t have known even if Jeffery wanted to tell him.

…right? No. He always talked too much about his work, as if he was forgetting that Milla wasn’t alone anymore in that house, and he was spewing reserved information in front of a civilian. So what was it that troubled him so much that he couldn’t talk about it? The other answer would have been his past, but since he revealed his real name he wasn’t so secretive about it as well. Therefore, the answer could only mean what was on his mind was, in fact, William himself. That would have been the reason why he couldn’t talk about it in front of him.

A wave of anxiety washed over him, but he still took the apron Jeffery had thrown at him without a sound. Maybe, if he followed his instructions to prepare dinner, he would have been rewarded with a piece of his mind. So he took the flour, the water and the eggs, and started mixing them silently, allowing himself to partake in his little paranoid thoughts.

He almost spilled everything when he felt a pair of hands grabbing his sides. He let go of a little yelp, turning to the owner of the hands, just to find Jeffery. He looked surprised, and at the same time perplexed, although nothing could beat the sheer confusion painted on William’s face.

«Sorry, the intrusive thoughts won.» the man said, raising his hands in a sign of compliance. He gave him a light smile, a blush forming on his cheeks. «Moreover, why is your waist so tiny? It’s like it was begging for me to grab it!» he joked around, stealing a disheartened sigh from his “victim”.

William gently shook his head, trying to ignore the deep blush that was surely covering his cheeks: he could feel it, his face was burning like the oven and… the oven, dammit! Quickly, William turned over, just to see it had been already turned on. He opened his mouth to speak, but his friend preceded him. «Do I look like I would forget to preheat the oven?» he said, in a slightly offended tone, reading his mind as only him ever did.

«You seemed more worried about my waist than the recipe…» William replied, trying to sound more annoyed than he succeeded to. He turned his face, trying to hide how much his blush deepened when Jeffery laughed, even though he knew how useless it would have been to try hiding something from his eyes.

Luckily, the man seemed to let go of the argument, going back to stirring his own pot. «Quick, Goldilocks. If we keep on wasting time we’ll never get to eat dinner.»

And though he really wanted to say something back, William just shot him an outraged look – “and who does this come from?” he thought, to himself – and went back to his half made dough.

A couple of hours later, the two were sitting on the sofa, snacking on the remaining of their dinner. Unsurprisingly, Jeffery had a good idea when proposing to cook something special. Much better than his next one – first of all, Milla would have killed them if she knew they were eating on the sofa, and second of all, he was so obnoxiously close that William found it completely impossible to focus on the silly romantic comedy on the TV.

Having his love interest almost laying on him, laughing and commenting the movie was making his heart burst, especially considering how he spewed a “to be honest, this could be us” at every other scene. It was exhausting, and while he was loving the way they felt so close in that moment part of him was screaming to run away.

«See? This could be us too!» Jeffery laughed, and that was it. As he watched the protagonists share a heartfelt kiss on the screen, William felt something break inside of him.

His sense of self-restraint, probably, because he immediately replied without even thinking about it. «Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice?» he said, his eyes wide as saucers once he found out how the words had actually left his mouth instead of staying restrained in the depths of his mind.

He was about to apologize, but as he turned to his friend he found him so flushed that he could tell he was blushing even in the dim light of the TV. «It can.» he said, a sly smile on his face showing that despite his embarrassment he was still the same little shit as always.

And for a moment, the detective thought he broke William. Frantically, the man started babbling nonsense, waving his hands before him. And if the blonde wasn’t panicking enough on his own, he felt a rush of pure fear when Jeffery started squinting at him again. His tone started getting lower and lower, but he didn’t have time to completely shut up that his… friend? – well, Jeffery, took the matter in his hands.

Quite literally. Without a second thought, he grabbed William’s face, closing off the distance between the two of them with a kiss. «Sorry, – he said, as he pulled back – the intrusive thoughts won.»

*︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦ॱ ︶･ ˖ 🕯ॱ꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦︶꒷︶︶꒦︶꒷꒦ﾟ✧.*

↳ ❝ 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 !! ❞

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#➷Jeffery✧.*#➷William✧.*#creative writing #writers on tumblr #little late #friends to lovers #my ocs my beloved

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endtiimes · 2 years

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@warraigoe SAID: ❝ oh -- always the gentleman, sasha. ❞ milla says as she's handed the first aid kit. it's been a while since they've faced such immediate dangers -- and the psychonaut would admit that the threat they faced was scary, but -- the agent with her always kept her calm. there was just something about him that was so relaxing. she takes the wrap before holding his arm, ❝ but -- you should never forget to treat yourself before helping others. ❞ calmly, she begins mending his wounds… taking the time in the world as if there wasn't a killer on the hunt for them.

❝ Milla -- ❞ Sasha opens his mouth to object, but doesn’t seem to get very far as she wraps the gauze around his arm. His main priority had been making sure that the other agent was safe, but it seems she had other ideas, and he won’t make a show of it now. He knows that he won’t change her mind. Besides, there should be enough in there for them both... it’s just time that he’s worried about. There’ll be less of that and it’s spent on him of all people. Not to be derogatory, but he considered himself rather resourceful -- should they scatter, he’ll find something else. Probably. ❝ ...thank you. ❞ He looks away, a slight, embarassed hue across his cheeks. This is... awkward. His gaze crosses the horizon. ❝ We’ve been bought time. ❞ Fortunate.

#♭ — burning through the sky‚ yeah. ﹝ .ic ﹞#♪ — all my style‚ all my grace. ﹝ .sasha ﹞#♪ — only way out is going in. ﹝ .sasha / dbd i ﹞#♭ — not back for a day‚ no. ﹝ .ask ﹞#warraigoe #injury tw #death mention tw #//hes just. surprised p ikachu face

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charles-and-camilla-fanfictions · 3 years

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Little Secret - Chapter 2

Thank you so much for another, beautiful chapter, dear Betty, we´re loving your story and can´t wait for the next part!!! Keep going! :-)

25th December, 1986 "Okay, come on, Milla, let's do it - 1, 2, 3...", Annabel gasped and together, the sisters took all of their strength and kicked the huge Turkey they had bought for the big annual Christmas lunch right into the oven. "Finally!", Camilla sighed and lent against the kitchen table, desperately fighting the feeling of dizziness that had hit her once again. She'd been feeling miserable since the very day she had found out about her pregnancy, not only because of the mental stress but also because she was suffering from almost every imaginable side effect: she felt dizzy, she felt sick and she couldn't remember having ever felt more insecure about everything. Basically, it was a miracle to her that nobody had found out yet. Of course she hadn't told anyone and for now, she was absolutely determined to keep it to herself. She knew it was ridiculous to think that she would be able to go on like that for long but it was Christmas, the season of love and peace and it was all hard enough already, even without that bombshell. She hadn't heard from Charles in more than a week now, she knew he was down in Sandringham with his wife and family and she just hoped with all her heart that he was going to be alright. She knew exactly how much he hated the holidays, not because of the occasion itself but because of all the celebrations and duties and the fact that he was more or less trapped in a house that he hated, constantly surrounded by people who made him feel unloved, unwanted and deeply uncomfortable, and it simply killed her to know how terrible he felt, how sad and lonely he was, and that she wasn't able to be with him and give him the love that he needed. On the other hand, she was very relieved that she wasn't with him because she couldn't have kept her little secret to herself, he would probably have noticed something anyway, and she couldn't have lied to him, he knew her way too good and would have instantly known if he had only looked into her eyes. Charles... the mere thought if him had given her goosebumps again. She couldn't even put into words how much she missed him and longed for him, for his strong arms tightly wrapped around her, his lips on hers, his hands feeling their way along all over her body... Camilla winced and Annabel watched her deeply worried. "Are you alright, Milla?" Camilla took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. "Yes, absolutely!", she ensured her sister and despite she wasn't entirely convinced, Annabel didn't ask twice. Apparently, Camilla didn't want to talk about whatever might be bothering her, and as it was Christmas and they were all happy and jolly and enjoyed themselves she didn't want to spoil everything by confronting her sister with something that obviously made her feel bad. She could imagine vividly what, or better who, it was that made her feel so uncomfortable. Of course, she knew what Andrew was like and she did absolutely not support or even tolerate his catastrophic behaviour towards his wife, her sister, but once again, it was Christmas and the last thing they all needed was a bad atmosphere. The only thing she could probably do was to cheer Camilla up a little, so she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of their favourite Champagne. "Let's get festive then.", Annabel declared and poured a glass for each of them. "Merry Christmas, Milla!", she toasted and Camilla replied: "Merry Christmas, Bells!" She took only just a little sip of the fancy drink but already felt her stomach rebelling. It was their favourite Champagne, normally, but it seemed as if there was zero normality left these days. She swallowed heavily and turned away from her sister so that she wouldn't see the face Camilla was making. She really felt hot and cold at once and it took everything in her not to let show. "Really everything alright, sweetie?", Annabel asked again and Camilla was quick to reassure her: "Yes, Bells, everything is fine!", before she turned over to the cupboard and pulled out the dishes and glasses they'd need for lunch. She had never been a very religious

person but in this very situation she prayed to God that nobody was going to notice anything... "Mummy, Mummy, look!", 8-year-old Laura cheered as she proudly presented her mother the Christmas cookies that she had just made together with her two cousins and their grandmother. "Yum, they look delicious, darling!", Camilla smiled and her little daughter asked excitedly: "Wanna try?" Camilla hesitated for a second because she still felt incredibly sick but immediately grabbed a biscuit when she noticed the disappointment in Laura's eyes. "Of course, darling, I'd love that!", she said, forcing herself to look happy and took one of the ginger bread cookies. They looked delicious, they really did, and normally Camilla loved ginger bread, but this time, once she had taken the first bite, her stomach started rebelling again and she felt that she couldn't fight the sickness this time. Horrified and deeply embarrassed she ran up the stairs and right into the bathroom where she couldn't help vomiting. At least she had managed to let nobody see. She felt so miserable that she wanted nothing more than to be on her own, she didn't want to see anyone but of course her sister had followed her straight away. Silently, she rushed to her bedroom and back again to come back with a towel that she handed over to her sister, tenderly stroking her arm without saying a single word. Camilla took it more than gratefully and quickly washed her face. "Okay, sweetie, you tell me what's wrong right now.", Annabel said firmly and made it clear that she was not going to accept any kind of protest. Camilla sighed and dried her tears once again, before she cleared her throat and finally dropped the bombshell: "I'm having a baby."

#submission #duchess of cornwall #prince of wales #prince charles #prince charles fiction #duchess of cornwall fiction #charles and camilla fiction #a little secret

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Trust - Chapter VIII.

‘Why are you out here? It’s freezing,’ Nick said, burying his hand into his pockets.

‘Couldn’t sleep,’ I shrugged.

‘Why?’ he asked, sounding concerned.

I turned my face towards him, hoping that he’d just do his thing and I didn’t have to explain myself with words. Nick was looking at me softly, yet he was waiting for a real answer.

‘I can’t… Think inside,’ I started, turning back towards the view to the harbor. It was easier than looking at him, though I could feel his gaze on me, just like his body almost touching mine. ‘You’re everywhere,’ I whispered. ‘I just feel like I can’t breathe because being here with you is making me crazy and… so guilty.’

I could feel Nick looking at me for a long moment before running a hand though the back of his hair and chuckling in agony.

‘It’s funny,’ he said after a while, which made me turn towards him. I didn’t find anything funny in our screwed-up situation. ‘Being here with you is actually the only thing that let me take a deep breath for months.’

Warnings: mature content, BDSM content Pairing: Nick Jonas / Other Female Character This fanfiction can also be found on Wattpad by fnntth

I don’t own Nick Jonas or any other recognizable characters. This fanfiction is completely fictional, its only purpose is entertainment.

Chapter VIII. - A promise that never was kept, one of those moments you'll never forget

Nick’s texts are bold

Milla’s texts are italic

When in the beginning of May they started to lift the restrictions, Nick acted instantly.

I’ll be in Stockholm next weekend

meet me

Are you serious?

I couldn’t believe him. I wasn’t even sure if it was possible to travel from my country or his country. Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve heard that they were taking the virus quite lightly there, so I guess Nick did his homework.

yes.

I don’t know…

I wasn’t exactly feeling comfortable already traveling. Not that I was scared of the virus anymore, but they just loosened the restrictions.

And, seriously. Nick wanted to meet me. Nick Jonas. Now that the quarantine seemed to be over for a while, he somehow regained his persona as the world-known popstar, actor, celebrity. Besides, he had a wife.

please

I need to see you

I hit the call button beside his name. We needed to talk about this.

‘This is just crazy, Nick,’ I said instantly as he accepted the call. I didn’t care if he was at a comfortable place to talk, or if he’s had people around him, but I didn’t give a shit. He couldn’t just ask me something like this with no further conversation.

‘No, it’s not,’ he said without thinking. ‘I’m officially going to see some songwriter friends for some collabs.’

‘And won’t it be suspicious if you have no new songs?’

‘No. These writing trips don’t necessarily equal new songs. They are just a good way to be creative, and sometimes great things come out of them,’ he explained.

‘And you want to spend the weekend with me?’ I asked, biting my lip.

‘Yes,’ Nick replied, sounding sure of himself, like he had absolutely no doubts about this idea. ‘Please say that you’ll come.’

I stayed quiet for a while, thinking about our options. I desperately wanted to see Nick. But…

‘If I come,’ I started slowly, trying to put my concerns into words. ‘It will officially make me a home-wrecker.’

Nick contemplated my words before answering.

‘I won’t let that happen,’ he said, sounding sure and committed. ‘I respect you way too much to put you into that situation.’ I can’t describe how much that statement warmed my heart.

‘C’mon, Nick, I’m pretty sure that I’m already the other woman in your marriage,’ I chuckled bitterly. ‘You, me and a weekend in Stockholm won’t exactly help.’

‘I’ve never touched you,’ Nick said, sounding a little bit less sure now. ‘You can’t be the other woman if nothing physical has ever happened between us.’ It was bullshit and we both knew it. Yet, I’ve stayed quiet, listening to his words. He paused, waiting to see if I was going to interrupt him, then continued: ‘I’ll make sure nothing happens in Stockholm either, if you come.’

‘You won’t touch me?’ I asked, half-chuckling. It was impossible to imagine the two of us being in the same room and not touching each other, especially after the night of FaceTime sex.

‘No,’ he said slowly. ‘I promise.’

Maybe it was only because I’ve missed him so much, or because I just wanted to see him. Or perhaps because I was a little crazy. Anyway, ten minutes later I had a plane ticket booked to Stockholm for next Friday.

The week went by sluggishly slowly. I was looking forward of the trip, yet scared shitless of what was going to happen. I was excited and anxious, didn’t know what to expect. I was doubting the decision to buy the plane ticket, not sure that it was the right thing to do in my situation.

It’s not like I could talk to anyone about it. None of my friends knew about what was going on, they had no idea that I was talking to Nick in the first place. I didn’t tell anyone that I was going to be out of the country either, I just told my boss that I need a day of holiday, turning my weekend into a long weekend.

I could feel that Nick was nervous too. He seemed worried that I was going to change my mind, he checked every day – sometimes twice – if we were really going to see each other on Friday. He also kept an eye on the corona situation, briefing me every time about the slight changes.

On Friday morning, I woke up at 5. My plane was leaving at 12 o’clock my time, so I only had to be at the airport by ten, yet I couldn’t sleep. I triple checked if I’ve packed everything, I took my dog to the neighbor for her to look after him, and by the time the clock hit 8:45, I was calling a cab. Normally I didn’t mind spending time at the airport, but I was a little worried about how the COVID situation might change things.

It was all fine, only barely any people were in the waiting terminal of the airport. I looked around in the duty free stores, bought a coffee and a sandwich and by the time boarding started, I was antsy and could barely sit in one place. I surprised even myself, but not once did I think about not boarding the plane and cancelling the whole trip. Nick was worth it, every risk and every worry.

We agreed to only meet up at the hotel Nick has booked for us. He wanted to pick me up at the airport, but I said it was way too risky. We should avoid any risk at being exposed – not that I believed that anyone would care about a nobody like me, but he was Nick Jonas. What he did, mattered to people, they were interested. I had no idea how crazy the fans in Sweden were, but we shouldn’t risk anything.

By the time I was waiting for my luggage at Stockholm Arlanda Airport – by the way, it was my first time in the country -, my stomach was in knots and I felt like I was going to throw up in a minute. I wanted to see Nick so much that it hurt – at the same time I was extremely anxious about this meeting. What if he didn’t like me in person anymore? What if it was all going to be awkward? What if he won’t show up, because he realized he wasn’t interested in me after all?

In the taxi it got even worse. I felt like the driver knew that I was on my way to completely break up a happy marriage. That I was a whore, that I was a homewrecker, the other woman, someone who didn’t give a shit about the sacred institution of marriage. I tried concentrating on the beautiful city around me, but I couldn’t. I was thorn between wanting to do the right thing and wanting to see Nick.

When I arrived at the hotel, the minute I gave the fake name Nick has booked the hotel room to the receptionist, I could feel the judgement coming from her. What kind of woman would be someone that was meeting up with a man in a hotel room? Especially in an exquisite five-star hotel room.

On the way up to the top floor, in the elevator I felt like I needed to scream. I bit my lip so hard, I’m sure the marks of my teeth were deep enough to see, I had my hand in fists and as much as I wanted to appreciate everything around me, as beautiful as they were, I couldn’t. The only things I could concentrate on were Nick and the guilt of being someone that destroys a marriage in a few minutes.

Because, you see, until we only went on a random late-night sightseeing trip and talked on the phone, we weren’t technically doing anything wrong, nothing that I’d even consider worthy of destroying a marriage. What we did was pure fantasizing and talking about our problems, our thoughts. But now, I was only a few steps away from physically entering a hotel room with a man that had a wife back in the US. This was the definition of cheating. Even if we didn’t touch each other during this weekend at all – which I couldn’t really imagine as much as I wanted -, we were a married man and a single woman in a hotel room, in a country where neither of us should’ve been, with no one knowing about our plans to see each other.

It was all wrong. Yet my guilt about being a home-wrecker was nowhere near as big as my desire – need – to see Nick, the boy whose company has gotten me through these past two months, the loneliest time of my life. The boy, whose voice could instantly calm my nerves, who could take my mind off anything, and whom I cared about much more than I ever thought I would care about any man.

Before I touched the keycard to the lock of the door 912, I needed to take some deep breaths. I could do this, couldn’t I? I was able to go in and spend time with Nick, my friend, without doing anything really stupid. I was a smart girt and he was always in control of his actions. We could do this, keep ourselves from committing adultery and just spend some quality time together.

The moment I set foot in the hotel room, I literally forgot how to breath. Nick was standing in front of the huge windows, so I could only see his back. He was wearing a white dress shirt and some black washed jeans, his hair looked a bit unruly, probably a result of running his hands through it so many times. As he heard the door open and close behind me, he immediately turned around, his handsome face full of worry and anticipation. When our gazes connected, it seemed like he was sharing my symptoms of acute respiratory failure.

It all dawned on me at once. All of the feelings, all of the fears and desires and dreams. It was too much, for a person to be feeling all of this at the same time. Sadness, happiness, need, fear, anxiety, longing, guilt, excitement… and many more things that I couldn’t even describe.

I could feel the tears well up in my eyes and I couldn’t decide if they were tears of sadness, happiness or simply just stress. It was like the world stopped for as long as we were staring at each other, not being able to say a word. I never thought something like this was possible, just forgetting how to function because of another person.

I wanted to run into his arms and hug him so close to me, probably never let him go. To kiss him deeply, to touch him, explore his skin in person, to be intimate with him, to show him how much I care. I wanted him to comfort me, to make me forget everything that was happening in the world, to calm me, to be the only thing on my mind. But it wasn’t possible, was it? I couldn’t touch him like I wanted to, I couldn’t be with him in the way I needed to.

And this broke my heart.

‘I… I can’t do this,’ I whispered as a teardrop rolled down on my face. I couldn’t torture myself with spending time with him, when he’d never be mine the way I really wanted him. I couldn’t hold myself back from touching him. I just couldn’t. Two days in this room, with distance between us seemed like a nightmare.

I shook my head and with one last glance at Nick, I turned around. I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake.

‘Milla,’ I heard his voice and the sound of his steps, and the moment I slightly opened the door, he pushed it back, closing it. I tensed, feeling him stand way too closely behind my back. I could feel heat radiating off his body. I was holding onto my suitcase with one hand, the other was still on the doorknob. I couldn’t move, Nick completely paralyzed me. ‘Stay,’ he whispered, his lips touching the back of my head.

I sighed, slightly tilting my head backwards. As much as my mind knew that I needed to leave, that I couldn’t do this, my body betrayed me. It wanted to be as close to Nick as possible, touch him in any single way.

Nick was perhaps feeling something similar, since this little movement was enough for him to let the door go and place both of his hands on my waist, turning me around carefully and pulling me to him, as close to his body as physically possible.

I gave up, my body won this fight.

My hand let go of my suitcase and found Nick’s neck as I buried myself into his arms, as close as I could. I let his muscular arms wrap around me, feeling small in his arms. I let his fingertips press into my sides, as he was pulling me even closer. I let him bury his face in my hair, pressing a tender kiss to my temple. I let his unique scent fill up my lungs.

I only realized I was sobbing into his chest when he started shushing me and carefully running his hand up and down on my back. I guess it was all of the stress and all of the emotions together to make me react like this. I wanted to pull away, a little bit embarrassed of myself but Nick wouldn’t let me.

‘Shhh,’ I heard his deep voice full of emotions. ‘It’s okay, dear.’

‘Nothing about this is okay,’ I mumbled into his chest, but didn’t try to pull away again.

I felt home. Suddenly all of the last two months’ loneliness was gone. I felt safe and content, like nothing in the outside word mattered, only the fact that I was in the arms of the man I probably trusted most in my life. And while it was a nice feeling, the guilt of it was also eating me up. He wasn’t mine, his job wasn’t to make me feel safe. He had a wife at home, a wife that had no idea what her husband was currently doing, that he was in a hotel room countries away with another woman.

‘I thought you promised you weren’t going to touch me at all,’ I noted long-long minutes later, after my tears stopped and I was able to normally breathe again. Nick let me pull away a bit, but still had his hands on my waist. He was close, probably way too close. His eyes were dark and glistering with countless emotions, yet his face stayed expressionless.

‘I’m not going to touch you in any way I wouldn’t touch a fan or a friend,’ he nodded, his voice a bit hoarse.

‘Like that is going to do the trick,’ I said sarcastically, chuckling bitterly. Just because he wasn’t going to kiss me or we weren’t going to have sex, it didn’t mean that we should’ve let the guilt go.

‘Don’t be like that,’ he asked softly, and I could see on this pretty face that he really was asking, not ordering this time. This version of him, this caring and cautious boy in front of me melted my heart a little bit. His fingers were slowly caressing my waist before he let go of me completely, and I immediately started missing the warmth. ‘The suite has two bedrooms, I’m going to put your suitcase into one,’ he announced, and before I could even nod, he was pulling my luggage from behind me, before I could change my mind and try to leave again.

After fixing my makeup and freshening my face up in the bathroom, I walked back out to the spacious living area of the suite, exploring a bit. It looked amazing, with a great view to the harbor. This must’ve cost a fortune to Nick and I felt a little bit guilty for letting him pay. I did offer him that we should stay in different hotels, but he shot the idea down instantly. He said, he wanted us to spend as much time together as possible, so he opted for the best solution, us staying in the same hotel room. Before I could put up a fight, he’s already paid for this suite.

I mindlessly ran my fingers on Nick’s black Dolce jacket, just thrown on the back of the couch, then shushed my guilt about the money thing away. He was Nick Jonas, this was spare change for him. Besides, he was the one inviting me out here, so I shouldn’t make this into a big deal, it was fine.

I walked out to the balcony, leaning onto the railing as I took in the view in front of me. Never once would I have thought that my first time in Stockholm would be a secret trip with Nick Jonas. It was kind of ridiculous, even crazy what can happen in life in a few weeks.

‘Do you want some wine?’ Nick asked, returning to the living area after having changed his dress shirt to a plain black tee.

‘Sure,’ I nodded, taking a seat on the comfy looking couch outside. I was in my leather jacket and jeans from the plane, but since it wasn’t too warm outside, I didn’t mind the extra layer of clothing on me.

‘Here.’ He handed me a glass of white wine, and after sat down on the other end of the couch. I thanked him, grateful for something that would relieve some of the tension about the situation.

I couldn’t turn my glance away from Nick. He looked so handsome, and at the same time so normal. It was strange, seeing him like this, like it was just an average day. I’ve only seen him in interviews before, or through the screen of my phone, and this was different. So mundane, so ordinary.

He never looked away from me either, his eyes remained mainly fixated on my face. I didn’t care that he knew I was staring at him, as I didn’t care that he was staring too. We’ve spent months of talking to each other, he knew me, my thoughts, my fears better than anyone else in my life, yet we’ve spent so little time actually being in the same place or just seeing each other.

Never did I believe that you can get close to someone who you’ve barely even met in person before. It was just another strange thing in life, the fact that we did get close to one another without physically being anywhere near.

‘What?’ I asked with a bashful smile on my face when he started chuckling softly.

‘I’m just so happy that you’re here,’ Nick said, and he really seemed that. He was so relaxed, much more than I’ve ever seen him before, and his aura relaxed me too. I was happy too. Guilty, but happy. It was a strange thing, to be feeling something so positive and so negative at the same time.

‘This is so surreal,’ I chuckled, taking a sip of my wine.

‘Yeah,’ he nodded. ‘It is also kind of amazing.’

‘Yes, it is.’

We’ve spent the afternoon mindlessly talking about anything and everything. It was such a change, actually seeing his face when he spoke, seeing his reaction to my words. I’ve known him for months now, yet it was like we’ve just met. Exploring each other’s mimic, hearing each other’s voice for hours… it was all new.

About half an hour into our conversation I’ve almost completely let go of any negative feelings in me about this trip. This was so worth it, I was probably happier than ever since Barcelona. Seeing Nick, being with Nick… Made me so happy that I couldn’t even begin to describe.

The stupid, beaming smile never left my face, and I couldn’t really concentrate on anything other than Nick, his moves, his body, his face. He wasn’t close to me, he remained on his spot on the outside couch and I stayed in mine. His face mirrored my expression, he also seemed unusually happy and calm. I loved seeing him like this. It wasn’t Nick Jonas in the suite with me, it was just Nick, the boy I’ve gotten so close to in the past months. He was just a normal guy, not a world phenomenon.

For dinner we’ve ordered some room service: mini hamburgers, fries, nachos and some fruits. Until it arrived, I went into the room Nick has put my bag into to change into something more comfortable, sweatpants and a white T-shirt. When I walked back out, Nick was checking his sugar at the dining room table.

‘Tell me about it,’ I asked.

‘The diabetes?’ he asked, glancing my way from the table as he was waiting for the result.

‘Yeah,’ I nodded. ‘I know you can manage it and it doesn’t hold you back from living your life to the fullest.’

‘Well, it was a process,’ Nick said. ‘At the beginning it was scary, but as I got into the routine, it became part of my everyday life. Now checking my blood sugar isn’t really a task, but just part of my days,’ he shrugged.

‘You have an insulin pump, right?’ I asked.

‘It’s called a Dexcom,’ he nodded and lightly raised the bottom of his T-shirt to show me the white device attached to his belly, close to his V-lines. ‘It does most of the work, but I still have to check if everything is all right.’

‘And what if it doesn’t?’ I asked, biting my lip. ‘I mean, I just want to know what I need to do if you aren’t feeling well. Teach me,’ I asked.

I’ve never dealt with type-1 diabetes in my life, so up until now I didn’t need to know the details. Talking to Nick through the phone didn’t make it necessary either to me to be educated on the dos and don’ts of his condition. But being here with him, especially with no one else around, I just didn’t feel quite comfortable not knowing what I need to do in an emergency. It was important and it wasn’t just something I wanted to ignore. It was part of Nick, an important and dangerous part.

He looked at me in awe for a long minute, and I had no idea what I’ve said. It was like he was surprised yet touched from my questions and request.

‘Thank you,’ he said quietly, sounding much more grateful than the situation would’ve requested him to be. ‘Come here.’ Nick reached out and I walked beside him. ‘See this little screen?’ he asked and I nodded, looking at the little device in his hand. ‘This shows how my glucose levels were changing through the day. The red dots mark the times I’ve measured my blood sugar with a finger prick. This little device usually keeps my blood sugar in check, but sometimes it can’t, that’s why I can’t neglect the finger pricking.’

‘And what if the device has a failure, or it just doesn’t work and there is a problem with your sugar?’ I asked.

‘If the traditional blood sugar measuring device says that I’m too low, I usually need to eat something. I always have snacks on me, like candy bars. If I’m high, I need insulin. You can find that in the inside pocket of my jacket, or my bag,’ he explained, motioning to the Dolce jacket on the couch.

‘And if you just suddenly start feeling sick and we don’t have time to measure your blood sugar?’ I asked. ‘How do I know if you’re high or low?’

‘Difference of symptoms.’ This was a side of Nick that the outside world barely seen anything of. Of course, everybody knew that he was diabetic, sometimes he even talked about it in interviews, but never this deep. He was a professional in this topic, he had to be. ‘High blood sugar comes with nausea and blurred vision most of the times, or extreme drowsiness. Low blood sugar is accompanied by shaking, fast heartbeat, sweating, dizziness and weakness.’

‘Okay,’ I nodded, making a mental note of these symptoms. They were essential for me to know.

Dinner was light and easy. Talking to Nick was like talking to my best friend. I didn’t have to think twice about what I was going to say, and after all the times I’ve been embarrassed in front of him, it seemed like now I was over it. I trusted him, and he must’ve trusted me too, since he was sharing very confidential information. Hell, the fact that we were in this hotel room was very confidential itself.

Seeing him so mundane, so normal, really just a guy changed it for me. I mean, the past months since we’ve known each other, I got to know him as just Nick, the amazing guy, but I never forgot that he was Nick Jonas, my teenage idol. Now, spending a whole day with him, being in the same place as him, most moments I managed to forget his last name and I only saw the most amazing person in him.

I felt happier than I’ve felt for a while, and it was all thanks to the curly haired boy with me. We joked around, flirted and talked, but he never once said anything inappropriate, and he also kept to his promise of not touching me. At all. Truth is, it was making me a little bit crazy, being in the same hotel room with him, yet not being able to touch. Nothing disturbed out peace, not even a phone call from his wife – which is probably due to Nick being on a ‘songwriting retreat’.

It was dangerous and exciting and painful and sweet. Sometimes during the evening when we walked by each other and our skin would accidentally touch, I could instantly feel shivers running down my spine. Nick usually just smirked, clearly noticing his effect on me, which was quite ridiculous. It was fun and crazy at the same time, his stupid effect on me.

The real problems started when bedtime came. Neither of us really wanted to sleep, we were keen on enjoying each other’s company as long as we could. It was one in the morning when we said our goodbyes, Nick breaking his promise a little and giving me a kiss on my forehead. A small gesture that made my heart go faster and made me long for him even more. It was extremely hard to turn around and walk into my room without glancing back, yet it was right. Sleep never came, though.

After an hour of trying to fall asleep unsuccessfully, I gave up. My mind was full of Nick – like always -, but now my nose was full of his scent, my fingers were trembling with the need to touch his skin, to explore it, get familiar with it. I was missing the warmth radiating off of his body, his pretty face, his pink lips smirking.

It was crazy, he was literally in the room next to me, yet I was still missing him. I wasn’t stupid, I knew what this was. My body and mind were both longing for him and it caused physical pain that they knew I couldn’t have him, not the way I wanted.

He was married.

He was Nick Jonas.

He was unavailable, at least for me.

At two in the morning I got out of my bed only in my satin PJs, and exited to the balcony, but not before grabbing the box of cigarettes from my bag, a little accessory that I’ve brought with me just in case. I was tense and pretty sure that I’d have trouble falling asleep anyway. Maybe nicotine could calm me, at least enough to fall asleep without jumping Nick first.

It was a bit chilly, just the beginning of May, plus in a northern country, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. It felt great, like I could finally breathe a little, like Nick’s intoxicating signature musk finally left my nostrils, at least for a few minutes. As I inhaled, the smoke filled up my lungs and as much as I usually hated it, now it felt like medicine to the dying.

‘That’s a quite nasty habit.’ His voice startled me a bit, his scent filling up my nose again straightaway. I sighed.

‘It’s not really a habit,’ I shrugged. I only smoked occasionally and he knew it. ‘Not like smoking cigars is any better.’

‘Yeah,’ he chuckled, standing next to me. He was wearing some loose sweatpants and a white T-shirt, his hair was messier than an hour earlier. ‘These nasty habits have brought us together though,’ he noted.

‘They did,’ I nodded, thinking back on how crazy these past months have been, how much I’ve gained with Nick in my life, and how much closer I’ve gotten to him.

‘Why are you out here? It’s freezing,’ Nick said, burying his hand into his pockets.

‘Couldn’t sleep,’ I shrugged.

‘Why?’ he asked, sounding concerned.

I turned my face towards him, hoping that he’d just do his thing and I didn’t have to explain myself with words. Nick was looking at me softly, yet he was waiting for a real answer.

I could feel Nick looking at me for a long moment before running a hand though the back of his hair and chuckling in agony.

We looked deeply into each other’s eyes for long minutes in the moonlight. Nick looked more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen him before, and also a bit helpless and brutally honest. This confession of his made my heart melt, but also hurt me, making me sharply inhale the cold Stockholm air.

All I wanted to do was close the distance between us and finally, after these long months just kiss him and forget anything else. Comfort him and myself at the same time. I didn’t want to care about the outside world.

But I did. I was just that person, who couldn’t let her concerns and fears go.

‘Don’t say that,’ I asked quietly, before breaking our connection and turning back towards the view, putting out my cigarette. ‘You’re the married one. You have a significant other. You can’t just say things like this to me.’

‘Do you think I want to?’ he chuckled dryly. I glanced at his face from the corner of my eye, only to see an incredulous and pained expression on it. I hated seeing him like this. ‘Don’t you think I know that this is wrong? That I want to want to be with my wife? Want to think about her all the time, daydream about kissing her, fucking her, loving her?’

I knew he wasn’t expecting and answer so I stayed quiet. Nick’s voice started rising, he seemed a bit angry now.

‘But I can’t!’ he exclaimed. ‘Any time I picture any of those things, my amazing, caring, loving, beautiful wife isn’t the one in my head, as soon as I close my eyes, it’s you, you, you! And I just can’t help it. Don’t you think it’s making me crazy too?’ he asked, not waiting for an answer again. His expression was tense, he gesticulated fervently. I couldn’t move, I was so shocked from this sudden emotional outburst. This talk was timely to happen, yet I didn’t expect it to be so… sudden and intense. ‘I thought I was happy with my marriage, my wife, perfectly content with my life. But the moment I met you… You were like fresh air that I didn’t know I needed. I’m so drawn to you and I can’t help it.’

‘Nick…’ I started, but I had no idea what to say, so I bit my bottom lip instead. Nick looked at me for a long minute, studying my face and weighing his options. Then, with a little hesitation he stepped closer and put a hand on my arm that was holding onto the railing.

‘I know this isn’t fair,’ he started, his voice heavy with emotions and much calmer than before. ‘It’s not fair to Priyanka, to me, to the world and especially to you.’

‘What do you expect me to say to that?’ I asked, after looking into his eyes for a minute. I couldn’t take it, all the emotions I was feeling and the expression on his face. This was torture.

He stayed quiet for a while, his hand laying on my arm, giving me goosebumps. The skin on skin contact made me suddenly aware of how close we were to each other, and how much I wanted to be even closer. But it was wrong, this whole thing was crazy.

‘Can we just… Pretend that everything is okay? Just for the weekend?’ he asked a bit sheepishly and it broke my heart that he felt the need of looking to the ground. As an instinct, I raised my hand to his face, gently making him look at me. I felt like my heart was exploding from the touch of his stubble, the heat radiating off of his skin.

I wanted to say that is was going to be okay. That Priyanka wasn’t waiting for him at home, that what we were doing wasn’t awfully wrong. That this was normal.

‘Can we sleep together?’ I asked quietly, answering his desperate question with a question. ‘I don’t mean sex, just… Sleep in the same bed?’ I needed to ask this question. I wanted it, a little bit of intimacy between us, something that didn’t count as cheating. But Nick was the one that needed to okay it, he was the one that needed to deem as acceptable for his conscience.

He didn’t answer for a few minutes and I started to feel like I was overstepping. Maybe it was okay for me, but it wouldn’t be okay for him. Before I could dive deeper into my doubts, he slipped his hand from my arm to my palm and enlaced our fingers, pulling me towards his bedroom without another word.

#Nick Jonas #nick jonas fanfiction #nick jonas fic #nick jonas imagine #nick x reader #jonas brothers fanfiction #jonas brothers imagine #fanfiction

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healtproblems · 4 years

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Abdel Fattah Lukashenko Al-Sisi

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, how the general tightened his grip on Egypt in January at the beginning of last year.

The Egyptian official warmly welcomed his guest President Alexander Lukashenko yesterday. Please, please. The audience applauded and the Sissi smiled with them, who seemed very happy, and he may finally find a low for his personal use in the coming presidential elections. There is no better person than Russia’s iron and fireman, Alexander Lukashenko, who won not only in his election but in Russia’s locked in Europe. The last remaining ruins of the old world of communism. Ten million people. A capital called Minsk. Elections every seven years and Azli’s president have been in power for 23 years. Represented on Sunday night, December 19th, 2010. We are safe for the opponents of one of the world’s most despotic presidents. On the night of the next president's election, nine presidential candidates tried to oust Lukashenko, who has been in power since 19494 for three consecutive rounds at the start of the count. Belarus Central elections Committee declared that all nine candidates will probably get less than half of the votes that Lukashenko will gain. Candidates gathered their supporters and landed in Minsk streets ten thousand opposers, who thought they would stop the election fraud, but Lukashenko shot the police forces, arresting seven of the nine presidential candidates and six hundred opposers. The election thus died in clinical trials. The same night, the red election Commission announced what everyone knew. Eighty percent of the votes for Azli President Lukashenko himself competed. He won himself as well. It is about two thousand five hundred kilometers, passing through five countries and four years only. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as Egypt’s defense minister, who did not have to run for real elections at the beginning of his rise. All roads to the federal palace were open. Successful coup, a turbulent political period, and popular direction toward the military. All this has made the defense minister’s presidential nomination a mere picnic by empty election committees on her shows. No real electoral program. The first election after a coup is the easiest. But he knew that 1818 would carry potential rivals from inside and outside the military. He was known to have had to tighten his grip over four years and to be well prepared to eliminate his rivals. How to win presidential elections in six steps without a teacher. First. Mansour's hunt. Al-Sisi started hunting the leaders of the armed forces. For a full five years. September 2002, 70 brigade members, a large number of the members of the military Council, and close to Tantawi. To retire. The file of the State Land Administration was extracted from major General Adel Emara and forced major General Ismail Othman, director of the Department of moral Affairs, to handle private moral affairs. Strong positions in the junta, such as Mohsen Al-Fangri, Samy Diab, Mukhtar al-Milla, and others, were redesigned as operational levels, which could be called a controlled brigade. Nine months to prepare for the coup, and eight months to unroll its opponents. Second. The opposition required representation by almost everyone. Ten documented massacres against more than 2,600 opponents, about 22,000 dead. More than 10,000 people are infected in just seven months. Third. International shields abroad No major country has moved dormant. Washington stood an arm for Sissi, which refused to call him a coup and kept pressure not to stop aids in any way. The US Congress was the emerging General’s firewall. When Senator Rand Paul asked to cut off military aid after the coup and even the presidential election, Senator John McCain led a counter-voting campaign and crushed it. A sea of funds is quite UAE and Saudi Arabia to support it. At least 31 billion dollars, no one knows where the setback of Europe has gone before the coup seeking future investments. The general bought Moscow support early with more than $4 billion that went to the Russian weapons companies. Israel supported Al-Sissi as no one did, like any other, security and intelligence coordination that was unprecedented in Egypt's history. A fruitful Israeli pressure on Washington to release Apache planes and deliver them to Cairo. Fourth. Back to the comrades of arms, the second fall of Sissi came on the army commands, starting with my law number 18. They have been the fortress of his position as Minister of Defense and the structure of the military Council. Then he sent another set of sayings to catch their capsule on a trip without return. Famous names such as major General Mohammad Arafat, commander of the southern region, and Ahmad Wsuri, commander of the second army. As his son Mahmoud Hijazi ascends the Chief of Staff and Sadiqi Sobhi is a defense. The general accumulated his papers as hell shields for any local opposition. An army led by his friends and family and then the moment has come. He gave himself the position of the Mir and then removed his military response to take over the presidency without any obstacles. The iron fist as usual is any dictator who loved the Sessi doubling his black numbers and burying himself. The weakness of the detainees reached in May 2005 more than 41.000. He rewarded the police for doubling their armament. Only two months after he took office. By the end of July 2004. Major General said Abbas, the northern region leader, and Dahr Abdullah, head of the military engineering organization, called the Council forever. Thus, the General had only two obstacles to be left to the beginning of his presidency. Fifth. The power centers flag Mubarak's flags did not greet the general, so a plan for his penetration and adaptation was launched by his men to fall in their grip by big stations and institutions. The networks of the CCBC, Al-Nahar, Al-Hayat, radio channels and waves, and former sovereign officers controlling the media scene, such as Yasser Salim and Sharif, are out. Or businessmen who have quickly made lightning strikes like Ahmed Abu Hiroshima and Tariq Ismail. One of the General's mysterious arms, which is not known for much. Najib Sawiris, who later withdrew from the scene, was with them. Sixth. Black holes. To solve his last problem, Sissi spent billions of pounds. Build the largest prison network. In Egypt's history. Twelve additional prisons between 2004 and 2005, and five prisons in 2006 and fourteen under construction since 2007 and now are major prisons that swallow anyone who thinks of him in the face of four presidential years of security repression. And regional and international deals. The second election of the admiring foreign general was historic, estimated at $81 billion, and at least historic internal debt of $190 billion and total. No. Astronomical. Debts exceeded LE4 and half trillion barrier; violent economic crises. More than 30 million Egyptians are below the poverty line. Armed organizations that come out of Sinai borders are deployed in Egypt in full despite dozens of weapons deals for the anti-terrorism regime. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi financed 20 billion dollars without using and crushing the public domain, which the general translated with more than one hundred thousand detainees, half of them on political charges. So Sissi knew the game was losing. He cannot stand up to popular anger and serious candidates, and his friend Lukashenko was right. If you want to win a single-vote, as much as you can with women, and you can win the fall of the candidates early. In just two months, you have all fallen the Sisi. Army colonel Ahmed Qansawa appeared. He is also a candidate and a renamer. Face the polite. Military suit. Arabic and healthy. Good English a coherent speech and expressions of self-confidence in which General Haggis saw his first home out of control. By December, the colonel was in his new home with military prison, so the hardliner registered for six years. Al-Sisi borrowed the map of Ibn Salman and detained Ahmad Shafiq in a hotel after his return to Egypt and declared his candidacy. At the beginning of January, the team followed safety and decided its favorite one in 2004 and withdrew. The slaying of the paper, Mohamed Anwar Sadat, head of the opposition reform and Development Party, started easily with a well-planned media attack on which a timetable for elections and an official period for collecting nomination formations are not enough to handle his breakfast. He withdrew. As for General Sami Annan, former Chief of Staff of the Armed forces and one of the highest army commands in the last 20 years, the general exceeded all historical traditions with him. He was arrested from his home for being forcibly hidden and charged with violating military traditions and laws. The last autumn paper was Khaled Ali, who withdrew from the Belarusian Egypt elections, and the Egyptian general would apply the complete guide of Lukashenko. On March 26, 2004, Sessi told everyone that no Egyptian could be forced to elect a president they did not want. The science of truth has made it. A president who came in a military coup that does not leave immediately after his first term. No one will do it. General Franco ruled Spain with iron and fire after his coup and until his death for about 40 years, and Gaddafi left judgment for forty-two years and delivered him with a coup except for a dead body, and crushed a Chilean sniffer for 17 years until Chileans recovered after articles and General Kanaan's arrest on Ankara, leaving only 150,000 detainees And for the vast years of hell, they all went away after long years. Lukashenko himself has not yet left, and though he did not come in a coup like his predecessors or his Sisi friend, the Egyptian general ate the shoulder and benefited from the experiences of all and crushed all. He does not seem to be going soon. It seems. Who came without an election does not leave with elections. Any elections.

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pluckyredhead · 4 years

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Daredevil 101: The Murdock Papers, Part 2

Bendis is going out with a bang, y’all! This is the back half of “The Murdock Papers” (DD v2 76-81), Bendis/Maleev. In Part 1, Matt and Elektra were on the hunt for the titular Murdock Papers, a file of proof the Kingpin had amassed that proved Daredevil’s identity. They’re in the middle of brawling in the street with Bullseye when Matt is shot by a sniper working for the FBI.

...And then he vanishes before the FBI can collect him.

Oh, and also? Fisk has a little surprise for everyone:

There are no Murdock Papers! But if they find Matt Murdock and he has a bullet wound exactly where Daredevil was just shot, well...that’s even better, isn’t it?

(Side note: I have absolutely no idea how a file proving that Matt Murdock is Daredevil would have kept Fisk’s underlings in line, especially since Fisk was under the impression that his underlings didn’t even know Matt’s secret until recently, as per Bendis’s own storyline. This strikes me as Bendis writing himself into a hole and climbing out somewhat inelegantly three issues later.)

Meanwhile, Milla is still naked:

All Milla really does from here on out is have hysterics. I’m sorry. Anyway Natasha is there to get Milla to safety, as she promised Matt she would, but Milla is understandably distracted and upset by the news story that Daredevil is dead.

Back to the FBI! The problem with using the bullet wound as proof that Matt is Daredevil is that they have no idea where Matt is. But Fisk has a guess - or rather, he’s pretty sure that Ben knows.

See, Elektra would undoubtedly have taken a wounded Matt to the Night Nurse. And Ben knows how to find the Night Nurse:

Yeah, Leland has gone completely off the rails here. Ben is furious (he actually physically attacks Fisk, which is why the FBI is holding him in the first panel up there), but he’s still faced with a choice: give up Matt, or face federal charges.

Meanwhile, Luke and Danny take Foggy somewhere safe to hole up:

I don’t know who this cheerful hausfrau is, but she’s not Jessica “Fuck You” Jones. I’m guessing her fuller figure is meant to imply that she’s currently pregnant, but that doesn’t explain the a) babushka and peasant scarf, b) completely different face, and c) pleasant demeanor. But then, Foggy looks like an unemployed garment worker from 1890 in that top right panel, so who even knows what’s happening here.

Anyway now both of Matt’s spouses know he’s “dead.” Anxiety abounds!

Well, actually, Milla has the advantage over Foggy, because Natasha has taken her to the Night Nurse’s clinic, so she knows that Matt is dying but not actually dead. Also, Elektra has shown up with the Hand, which she is currently in charge of, because we need another reason to have a bunch of women screaming at each other over Matt. Luckily the Hand has ~mystic healing powers~ which they are using on Matt:

God, how much would I love a scene with this many women without the arbitrary hostility and Orientalism? (I would totally buy organic hostility between Natasha and Elektra based on their jobs. But not based on Matt, who Natasha knows - and Elektra knows intellectually if not emotionally - is not worth it.)

WAIT LOOK AT THAT LAST PANEL, OH DANG BEN TOLD THE FBI WHERE MATT IS

Hey, you know who’s outside with the FBI? A whole bunch of Hand assassins, who are not just going to let the FBI round them up! Which means they start fighting the FBI. Which means Luke and Danny, who have just arrived with Foggy, stuff Foggy back in the car and start fighting the FBI, because even though technically the Hand is currently on Matt’s side, Luke and Danny can’t let FBI agents be killed by zombie assassins.

So to recap: FBI fighting the Hand fighting Luke and Danny outside, Milla having hysterics inside, Foggy having hysterics in a car, Natasha and Elektra are also there somewhere, and Matt, having regained consciousness, decides that enough is enough. There’s too much risk of someone getting seriously hurt here.

So he turns himself in:

Natasha keeps Luke and Danny out of jail, but there’s nothing she can do for Matt. And so:

AW BUDDY. :(

The last issue of this storyline begins at Matt’s arraignment. The judge asks Matt what he pleads and Matt absolutely spaces out, leaving Foggy, as always, carrying the ball:

DO NOT DO THIS TO FOGGY, MATTHEW, DO NOT...

Aw beans, you did it.

Matt makes his way to a rendezvous point and meets up with two of his girls and arguably the silliest accessory he has ever worn, Mike era included:

Please note that Matt has dyed his hair black to enter France, as is tradition. Also, he and Milla look so stereotypically Parisian right now that they are probably actively offensive to the French. Natasha why did you do this to them.

ANYWAY WHO CARES, LOOK AT THAT DIALOGUE. “Tell him I love him.” “He knows.” “He might now.” I’M CRYING.

Matt’s blissful life as a fugitive is cut short almost immediately, though, as he wakes in the middle of the night to find Milla lying dead beside him. (I decided to spare y’all the sight of yet another murdered woman in these recaps.) It’s Bullseye, of course, who has tracked Matt down. Matt pursues him, and in the ensuing fight does the unthinkable (but arguably necessary):

Unfortunately for Matt, there are witnesses, who run off shouting in what I’m pretty sure is grammatically incorrect French. Matt flees to the only person who will take him in:

Speaking of walking sartorial stereotypes, hoo boy Elektra’s outfit.

Anyway, Matt and Elektra have sex, but he quickly decides he can’t stay with her for long:

Wait, what’s this? Why is Elektra referring to Matt as “Mister Murdock” in the last panel?

BECAUSE NONE OF IT EVER HAPPENED!!! Matt is still standing in court deciding how to plead!

I find this whole sequence simultaneously utterly hilarious and utterly infuriating. This is what’s going through Matt’s mind? “What if I ran away? Milla and I could move to France. But then Bullseye would probably kill her. Then I’d have to kill him, and then I’d have to go to Elektra, and then we’d have a sex scene which I will now imagine in detail, and then...” Why are you fantasizing about unrelated murder and having sex with your ex-girlfriend right now, Matt??? This is so off the rails. It's like a dead serious Simpsons gag. It’s an R-rated If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Also, please bear in mind that that sequence above takes up almost the whole issue. If I’d waited a month for that issue and paid for it individually instead of binge reading on Marvel Unlimited, I’d be furious.

Moving on! Matt’s been to Japan 7 times in the past 7 years? We’ve only ever seen one trip, and that was way back in the O’Neil run. But sure.

Matt is denied bail. His friends are dismayed:

WHO BOUGHT STEVE THAT TERRIBLE TIE. WHO DID THAT TO HIM.

Matt is carted back to Rikers Island, but he’s not the only one:

Sure, they dropped the charges against Fisk, but there’s always new stuff to charge him with! And so Fisk is packed off to Rikers (the real world NYC jail, FYI), along with the Owl, and a couple other familiar friends we’ll see in the next storyline.

(When I first described the conclusion of this storyline to @puzzleboat, she sent me the following image, and I still find it highly accurate and hilarious:

Apologies to anyone not old enough to remember that extremely controversial series finale.)

Hmm, locked in a prison with tons of people with good reason to hate him, including several of his rogues? Doesn’t look good for Matt, does it?

Next up: The Devil in Cell Block D, and the death of Foggy Nelson.

#daredevil #daredevil 101

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0poole · 5 years

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Psychonauts is a funny thing

So, I got recommended the game on Steam after playing A Hat in Time because the games are uncannily similar (and Hat in Time definitely, 100% took some things from the game, I’m absolutely sure of it) and I just sort of passively cared about it for a while. I watched one of those compilations of the boss battles in the game, and it did look pretty cool to me. Then, the trailer for the sequel came out, and I watched it, had no idea what was going on, and reasoned I could probably play the original between then and the time it came out. The sequel looked pretty visually interesting, and if a sequel looks interesting surely the original has to be too. And, after a few months of sporadic playing, I finally finished it a few seconds ago. Basically, I’d recommend playing it.

But, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten this mad at a game before. It’s an odd feeling, being mad.

First of all, I bought the game on a Steam sale where it was literally only 99 cents. It was soon after the sequel trailer released, so surely it was there to draw people like me in. But, the issue was that the game wouldn’t even start when I first downloaded it. It played the intro, but it instantly minimized itself whenever I tried to pull it up. So, I put that off for a few weeks, and sure enough with no rhyme or reason it started working as intended again. Great. Surely this wouldn’t be representative of the future, right?

Well, sort of. There were a ton of glitches in the game. Most of them involving sketchy platforming, where I should’ve landed or grabbed onto a ledge but didn’t somehow, but only one legitimately stopped me from progressing. Not exactly spoilery, but I confused the first knife thrower you meat (no joke that was unintentional, but I’m keeping it) in the last (second to last?) level, and that made him completely stop doing anything, so I had to reset there. Not very fun.

But, before that, there was a glitch that actually was relatively cool. During the Den Mother boss fight, I used clairvoyance as intended, but after the first time it glitched (but I didn’t realize it) and the platform when completely invisible, but I could still see Raz’s body, so I just reasoned that it was just a progression of the difficulty of the fight. I could still piece together where I had to go to hit the boss, it was just going to be harder. Then, I died, and it started working as intended. It was a little lame, to be honest. Nothing changed from that point. I was obviously having trouble, though, so I wasn’t going to complain.

Then, an issue on my side of things was that I very often was stuck on what to do, and basically just ran around confused for 30+ minutes. I’m a pussy when it comes to video games, to be honest. I genuinely appreciate direction when I play, even if too much of it is obviously a bad thing. It’s usually because of how many Nintendo games I play. They usually give pretty clear hints where to go. I swear, if I couldn’t call on Cruller to help me, I would’ve never made it.

The funny thing is that, most of the time my confusion was a result of me just forgetting about the floating power. I would jump, fall, try again, and stare at the ledge until something magically appeared. Once I looked up the answer to my first problem online (where the old meat’s stench was the thing you had to float up on) I realized it, but still got stuck on later instances where you had to use it. I don’t know why that one mechanic constantly slipped my mind. I play video games. I should know updraft = you can float on it. That, and wood = burnable.

I do wish they forced you to get an item/power that you needed to get before you progressed BEFORE you actually got to the point where you needed it. Mainly when it came to the cobweb duster, at least. That thing was hella expensive, but I avoided it because I thought it was just one of those things for collectathon-ers who wanted to 100% the game. But, turns out, there’s only like one or two points where cobwebs are actually blocking your path, so I had to stop all progress and farm arrowheads to get that. Even worse, I bought other stuff with the arrowheads I got up until that point, so I had to farm a lot more.

But, apart from more specific stuff, that’s basically all the negative things I have to say about the game. Even though I did actually, legitimately get mad at multiple points, looking back on it all with a sound mind, it’s actually a really good, interesting game.

Honestly, the overall concept of the game is the best part. It has such insane potential, probably more so than any other concept I’ve heard of. The idea that you can go inside a person’s mind and interact with it in the form of a physical world/level is so cool. Really, there’s no better form of characterization. The serious contrast between the minds of someone like Milla, who’s clearly a partier, and Sasha, who’s clearly straight out of the Matrix, is such fun to experience. Obviously anyone would have a metaphorical, sprawling land as their mind, but how Sasha can control all of that and pull it out at will is really cool. On the other hand, Fred barely has a world to explore. He cares so much about the game that he only exists in a room, and the game is represented in the larger land, with all the different types of people. Then, Boyd the conspiracy theorist is trying to connect everything with winding pathways that flip over and cross with each other. Apart from the obvious ““normal”” neighborhood that’s constantly spying on him.

That level has to be my favorite in the entire game, even though it’s one of the ones that I got stuck on. A lot of that definitely came down to how the G-Men clearly inspired the C.A.W. Agents in A Hat in Time, who were really well done in both games. I noticed it instantly, and that made it so much more fun. Plus, that level introduced Clairvoyance, which might be the must useless yet the most interesting power in the game. They put so much effort into how you appear in the eyes of other characters (even the NPCs and enemies) that it’s kind of shocking. You really only use it for a part or two of that level and the boss fight (which made really good use of it), and then it just becomes a device for Easter eggs. Considering each of the other campers were mostly seemed like occasional throwaway jokes or funny images, they really thought about who they were and what they wanted.

Obviously, I’d be remiss to not talk about the character designs. This is essentially The Nightmare Before Christmas on steroids when it comes to character models. Some were obvious references to other things, like Sasha looking like Neo, or Cruller looking like Einstein, but even then they felt like their own characters. Overall, they’re a little too crazy to be at the top of my tastes, but they’re perfect for the atmosphere. I especially loved the Butcher’s design for some reason, even though it’s pretty standard for an over-exaggerated butcher character. He just looked really cool. The only design I was kinda iffy about was the Censors, who were awesome in concept, but looked a little too mortal-looking for something present in pretty much everyone’s mind. Maybe people just associate censoring with Cog-esque business people, and that’s why they always look like that. I do like the idea of them progressing into the giant Judges you see in the sequel trailer, though.

Then, the unsung hero of them all: The little bubble bug you always see in everyone’s psyches. I don’t think I ever actually used him, but he was adorable. Apparently his name is Oatmeal too? That’s adorable. I love him.

Back to the Butcher, though, with spoilers if you care: I liked the idea that both Oleander and Raz were embellishing their parents’ impressions of them and who they themselves actually were. It made sense, because children are so much more impressionable. They’d think that their dads are monsters, and carry that into adulthood (or, just later childhood in Raz’s case). Although, I do understand why Oly would be scarred by his father, but I don’t think we really got confirmation as to why Raz thought his father was so against his Psychic powers. Maybe that’ll be explained in the sequel? Maybe there’s some backstory I forgot about/didn’t know about? Probably. I doubt the writers just forgot about it.

Worth the 99 cents? Fuck yeah man. It sold me on the sequel, so they’re gonna get my money one way or another.

#psychonauts #opinions #review #rant #rambling #poole #2

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yume-x-hanabi · 5 years

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Fractured Lives, ch.2

four years overdue

Title: Fractured Lives Characters: Gaius, The Chimeriad, others Pairings: Gaius/Wingul Chapters: 2/? Summary: It won’t be like last time, Elle thought, looking at the king’s friends. They were already dead in the prime dimension, so why couldn’t she give them a second chance?

aka my “let’s save the Chimeriad” (well, at least one set of them) fix-fic, which until now I’d been unable to update because LIFE and MOTIVATION and, well, if you’ve followed me for long enough to even know this thing exists, you probably know why it took so long. Anyway, I haven’t forgotten about it, and am finally in a good place to start working on it again. idk if people are even interested anymore, i mean it’s been so long But anyway, here’s chapter two! I’d recommend viewing on external sites because Tumblr formatting is bad :p

→ AO3 (French here) → FFnet (French here)

Just like every afternoon at this time of the day, Triglav’s central station was crowded. Gaius was sitting on a bench, observing the comings-and-goings while eating a delicious chocolate croissant he had bought at one of the station’s food stalls. Now was the time school ended on the fifth day of the week—Elympions called it “sylphday,” he recalled—and the main hall was packed with students hurrying toward the platforms or taking the elevator down to the subway station. They were all impatient to go back home for a two-day break that Elympions called “week-end.” Students in Rieze Maxia also had a two-day break, which covered the first and last days of the week—in other words, the period of time when spirits’ influence changed. It was apparently Dr Howe who had proposed this tradition in his treatise on spirit artes education. According to Presa, the aim was to cut down on channeling at a time where spirits were weaker, to reduce the risk of accidents. Gaius had not immediately understood why, as he had never had any trouble channeling, whatever the day, but Wingul—who had listened to their conversation from a corner of the library—had explained that it was because he was always emitting too much mana, but that normal people, on the other hand, could feel the difference if they paid attention. At the time, he had thought that Wingul was simply making fun of him, but a recent remark from Musee seemed to indicate that he had been right after all. Unlike his two subordinates, Gaius had never really cared about the theory of spirit artes and had always trusted his instincts when he was casting spells. His artes may not have been as refined as Presa’s or precise as Wingul’s, but he had never had anything to complain about.

Gaius finished eating his snack with a smile. He often thought about his old companions. At first, remembering them had been painful. His castle seemed empty without them. His room, in particular, where he had enjoyed so many intimate moments with Wingul, now felt cold and lifeless. He had not slept well there ever since he came back from the Temporal Crossroads. But life was going on, and, with time, he was now able to think about them with a smile. He missed them all terribly, but these memories were now something he cherished.

He was pulled back from his thoughts by the ringing of his GHS. He took the device out of his pocket and opened it. The screen was showing a notification for a new message from Leia. Careful not to press on the wrong button, he opened the text message, and immediately frowned upon seeing its contents.

cya @ Luds apt asap !!!!!1!1 =O =O =O

At first, he thought that his GHS was broken, but then he recalled all the times Alvin had complained about Leia’s “text speak.” She must have sent him a coded message. If Wingul had been there, he would have most likely enjoyed trying to decipher it. Unfortunately, he was gone, and Gaius had no idea where to start. He considered calling her to ask her what she meant, but he realized that he had never called anyone by himself—Rowen was always dialing the number for him. His frustration must have been obvious, because the young Elympion who was sitting next to him while waiting for her train asked him if everything was all right.

“It’s just that thing…” he said, pointing to his GHS helplessly. “An acquaintance of mine sent me a message, but I cannot read it.”

“Let me guess… text speak, isn’t it?” she asked with a compassionate look. “Maybe I can help,” she proposed. Gaius felt she was kind of laughing at him, but he nevertheless showed her his GHS. After all, what mattered was understanding Leia’s message. Perhaps a girl her age was better suited to deciphering it.

“Oh, that’s not hard,” she told him, “It says ‘see you at Lud’s apartment as soon as possible.’ I guess Lud is someone’s name? It looks important, given the smileys…”

Lud… That was probably Ludger. And if it was important, it was probably about fractured dimensions. He hoped that nothing bad had happened. He got up and fished out a few candies from his pocket and offered them to the girl as a thanks, then walked out the station. Ludger’s apartment was fortunately not far from there, a mere 30-minute walk. On the way, he got a text from Rowen, repeating Leia’s message in correct spelling. He must have realized that letting Leia handle GHS communication was not the best idea if he wanted the message to be understood.

When he knocked on Ludger’s door, it was Leia who opened. But instead of letting him in, she went out and closed the door behind her.

“Hi Gaius. I mean, Erston. I mean…”

“Leia,” he nodded in greeting.

She looked worried and as though she did not know what to say. She was leaning on the door, her hands behind her back.

“You and Rowen texted me about an emergency. What happened?”

“Ah, well, actually… I think I should explain before you come in and…” She gestured toward the door and shrugged, an uncertain smile on her face. She took a deep breath and started talking. “So here’s what happened: Ludger and the others went to a fractured dimension. There, everything started like usual, looking for the catalyst and so on. But then, at the end, it was the same as with Milla. I mean, the other Milla, not our Milla. Do you follow me? Elle brought someone back again, except this time, it was… well…”

She did not finish her sentence and looked at him hesitantly, as if she was not sure whether she should go on. That was enough for him to understand. His heart racing, he pushed her aside and opened the apartment’s door. When he entered the room, all conversations died down.

He had gotten used to seeing them again in fractured dimensions. However, he knew that these moments were fleeting, and that they would not survive the destruction of their world. But now they were here, in Ludger’s apartment, in the prime dimension… He did not know what to think. The situation seemed so unlikely that he was expecting the world to shatter at any moment and to be pulled back to reality. But this was reality. He was not in a fractured dimension. They were there, alive, in his world. In a world that would not disappear.

Presa was lying on Ludger’s sofa, her leg bandaged. Agria was sitting on the armrest next to her, holding to her shoulder. Jiao was sitting on the carpet below them. And Wingul… Where was Wingul? Gaius looked around the room, but his right hand was nowhere to be seen. Had he not come with them?

Before he could ponder about it, Agria broke the silence.

“No way.” She started shaking Presa’s shoulder and continued in a small voice. “Presa, I think I’m dreaming. I’m seeing His Highness right there, in front of us.”

They were all looking at him with wide eyes, as though they could not believe it was him standing here before them. In truth, he probably had the same expression on his face. To his left, in the kitchen, Rowen, Ludger, Elise and Elle were looking at them awkwardly.

He wanted to speak. Say something. Call their names. Make sure they were real. Maybe laugh and cry too, but it would be unbecoming for a king to cry in public. But no word came out.

Eventually, it was Leia broke the weird mood. “I’m hungry!” she announced loudly. Everyone turned to look at her, and she reddened a bit under their gazes, but did not sway. “I’m hungry,” she repeated, giving her friends a meaningful look.

Rowen understood and sprang to action. “Oh my, it’s almost dinner time! But there are too many of us, and I doubt poor Ludger has enough ingredients in his fridge to feed us all. Come with us, Ludger, let’s go grocery shopping. I will help you cook us a little something, like one of those soups you excel at.”

“Ah, well…”

“Are you coming with us?” Leia asked the other girls.

“Oh course!” Elise answered a little too cheerfully. “Come, Elle. Let’s go shopping!”

Rowen turned to Gaius. “Please stay here and take care of our guests while we are gone. We probably won’t be back for a while,” he added with a wink.

Elle stopped before him for a moment and looked like she wanted to tell him something, but Ludger grabbed her hand and they went outside, the others following closely. When the door closed and the room was silent again, Gaius got a chair and sat down in front of them.

“So you’re from a fractured dimension…”

“Yes,” Jiao answered, “Well, at least, that’s what we were told. I must admit I don’t understand much about that dimension stuff.”

“They explained everything, but it’s a little hard to accept,” Presa told him. “We’ve lost all our marks.”

“Everything is different,” Jiao added.

“Which is proof that we are in another dimension. But I think we will need some time to adapt.”

“I understand. I imagine it must not be easy for you to be thrust into such a situation.”

Agria, who until then had stayed silent, suddenly spoke. “Is it true? Is it really you? You’re not a dream or an illusion from the bi—I mean, from Musee?”

Gaius smiled. She looked a bit shaken, but she was without a doubt the Agria he knew.

“It is really me. From the way you are addressing me, I suppose I was also your king in your dimension?” They nodded in response. “Good. This will make things easier.”

A tense silence fell over the room once more. He had so many questions for them, about the circumstances of their arrival, about their dimension, about the reason they were still alive… And they must have had many questions for him as well. After all, being taken from one’s world must not have been a fun experience. Should he tell them that they would not risk running into this world’s versions of themselves? How would they feel if they learned that they were dead in the prime dimension? Should he wait for them to ask? He did not dare speak, for fear of losing control of his own emotions. And they probably did not know what to say either. However, there was still one question he could not help to ask.

“Is it just you three, or…” He did not dare finish his sentence.

“Wingul is with us,” Presa replied at once. “He… There was a fight before we came, and he… He’s there, in the other room. That Ludger guy lent him his room. He’s just resting.”

Without a word, Gaius got up and crossed the room in a few strides. He hesitated one second before he opened the door, then entered Ludger’s room slowly, trying to calm down his pounding heart. He immediately recognized the blond strand in the mass of black hair, sticking out from under the covers. He felt joy fill his heart at this sight. The man laying on Ludger’s bed was definitely Wingul.

He silently walked to the bed and knelt down. Wingul’s face was gaunt. He was terribly skinny and so, so pale. With a shudder, Gaius recalled the year that had followed the implantation of his booster. “What happened to you?” he whispered, brushing a strand aside from his face.

Jiao, who had followed him, was the one to answer. “He had a rough year. Erm… You know, his booster. And then… Well, anyway, he’s seen better days.”

Gaius frowned. “Does he still use it?”

“Yes, sometimes. We try to limit it, but you know him, he never listens.”

That was bad news. The Wingul of the prime dimension had died because of his booster. If this Wingul kept pushing himself too far, he might end up meeting the same fate.

No, Gaius decided. Not twice. Not here.

The possibility broke his heart. It had been difficult for him to overcome the death of his partner, even if he had been expecting it in a way. And though tragic, destroying other Winguls in a fractured dimension was one thing. But watching one die here in his world was another, and he swore to do everything he could to prevent it. Even if this was not his Wingul, he was still precious to him, and he swore to protect him, whatever may lie in their future. Him, and the others too.

He would have to find a solution, but now was not the time. This Wingul needed rest. Besides, he admitted to himself, he did not really want to have to explain how fractured dimensions worked. It would be better to let the others do it. He went back to the living room, and Jiao followed him. Presa and Agria were looking at them with a questioning look.

“What happened to your leg?” he asked Presa to change the topic.

“Oh, that?” she said, pointing to her bandages. “It’s broken. I fell…”

“Yeah, right!” Agria exclaimed. Seeing Gaius’ curious look, she went on, “She flew through the air during the last battle.”

“You too, actually,” Presa retorted, irritated.

“Yeah. But I got back up no problem, unlike you.”

“I just hit the ground at a bad angle, that’s all. It’s not serious,” she told Gaius. “Leia’s a nurse—ex-nurse, apparently, Agria interjected—and she looked at it. She and Elise healed it with spirit artes. They said that Jude Mathis will come and have a look tomorrow to check if everything healed correctly, but it should be fine. I just need to rest a bit, that’s all.”

“I see.”

Gaius sat back down on his chair and decided to start addressing the main issue.

“I imagine that you would like to know how different this world is from yours, and I would like to learn more about it myself. Let us start with the bases: I am king in both worlds, and you are my Chimeriad. Is it correct?”

They nodded.

“Good. Let’s see how similar our circumstances are. Could you summarize what you know about how I rose to the throne of Ajur and how you came to work for me?”

One after the other, they recounted events from their pasts and told him what they knew of Wingul’s. As he thought, their stories were identical to his own experiences. They must have come from a dimension that had followed the prime closely for many years. He would have to ask Ludger more details about its coordinates and the catalyst they had fought. The divergence most likely lied in recent events, after their meeting with Milla and Jude, as they seemed to know them. History must have started changing during the battle of Fezebel, he thought while looking at Jiao. The big man had been the first of the Chimeriad to sacrifice himself, and his presence here today was proof of the difference between their dimensions.

“What happened during the battle of Fezebel?”

“Well, like we just said, a tsunami totally swept over the battlefield.”

“I think he means the most recent one, Agria,” Presa corrected, “the one against Nachtigal. Is that right, Your Highness?”

“Yes. In this world, we fought against Rashugal’s army and took control of the Lance of Kresnik, which Milla Maxwell wanted to destroy. Is it the same for you?”

“It is so far, but after the fight against Maxwell, strange things started happening.”

“Was the Lance activated?”

“It pierced a hole in the sky!”

“Then Elympion soldiers invaded and attacked our troops,” Gaius concluded. It was what had happened next that he was curious about.

“I can’t believe it. It really feels like we are talking to our Gaius. All our memories are the same,” Jiao said with emotion in his voice. Gaius did not comment on that, as he knew what he would eventually have to reveal to them.

“How did you overcome their assault?”

“You know Ivar, Maxwell’s handmaid or whatever? That moron created a diversion to allow her to flee, and we took the chance to get away too. Foolish bastard. But at least he was useful.”

“Agria, show a little more respect. He gave his life to save us.”

“Ivar sacrificed himself?”

That was unexpected. So it was Ivar who had saved them that day, instead of Jiao. That was a big difference, but it seemed that history had not really changed its course immediately afterward.

“We met with Maxwell in the Xailen Woods Temple… Ah, did Elympions take control of Khan Baliq here too?” Jiao asked.

“Yes. We cooperated with Maxwell’s group to take it back, then launched an attack against the enemy HQ.”

With Ivar, without you, he did not add.

“Then we fell into a trap.”

“And Maxwell sacrificed herself as well. Was it the same for you, Your Highness?”

“It was. We landed, and then had to face Musee’s attacks. She wanted to keep the schism’s existence a secret, even if that meant killing anyone who knew about it.”

“Wait a minute,” Presa interrupted. “Musee attacked you here too? I thought…”

They all looked surprised. And yet, both stories had seemed to match.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Rowen and Elise seemed to consider her an ally, so I thought she was on your side in this dimension.”

“She is on my side. She eventually joined us. Is it different in your dimension?”

“Yes, completely.”

They were looking at each other meaningfully, but none of them seemed ready to talk.

Musee… Her behavior was always hard to predict, which was probably why she was often a catalyst. If she had not joined him and shared her power with him in their world, what differences could this have caused? Had he not been able to go to Elympios? What about his conflict with Maxwell? Was the schism still intact? Had Milla reincarnated anyway? His head was filled with many questions, but he could not get any answer now, for the apartment door opened and interrupted their discussion.

“We’re back!”

The group entered the room carrying many grocery bags. The kitchen soon turned into a battlefield, with young troops that Rowen was directing brilliantly, delegating the various tasks needed to make tomato soup for eight people (plus a special eggplant one for Elle). Agria and Jiao joined the fight as well, but Leia forbade Presa from moving from the sofa. Elle entrusted her with the guard of Lulu to make her feel useful and prevent the cat from stealing any food. Gaius chose to peel potatoes with Ludger, jumping on the occasion to ask him about the fractured dimension. Ludger confirmed his suspicions and explained what had happened.

“Where is Musee now?” he asked when Ludger finished recounting the events that had led them here.

“She’s resting at Leia’s place,” Rowen answered him. “Since the Chimeriad are currently viewing her as an enemy, she’d better stay on the low for a while.”

The image of Musee lying low was rather amusing, but Rowen was right, she should avoid showing herself for now.

Agria cried in surprise when Ludger turned on the stove. This was obviously the first time they’d seen a household spyrix. There would be many things to explain… They had been ripped from their world and were now lost in a country they knew next to nothing about. At least, they were not alone, and Gaius was sure that Rowen and the others would do everything they could to help them get used to their new circumstances. They would also have to think about what to do once they were more familiar with the place. But those questions were a little premature. The priority right now was to help them feel at ease. Starting with a good meal.

“Enjoy your meal!”

“Mmh, that smells good.”

“Not as good as my daddy’s soup!”

“Really?”

“But it’s still good! You’re number two, Ludger!”

“Do you like it, Agria?” Leia asked, trying to include their guests in the conversation.

“Why are you talking to me? Last time I checked, we weren’t so chummy with each other.”

“You’re as charming as ever, I see.”

“Are you looking for a fight?” Agria cried, rising up on her seat.

“Agria!” Presa immediately reacted. “Table manners!”

Agria turned to her, a mean retort ready to leave her lips, but her eyes fell on Gaius and she froze. Blushing, she sat down and apologized in a small voice, which surprised Leia, who had never seen her act so meek before. Gaius felt his heart ache. How many times had he witnessed such a scene before, when his Chimeriad were still alive? He thought of the other Milla, who had been so different from Milla Maxwell. These Agria, Presa and Jiao, however, were identical to those he had known. It almost felt as if they were never gone.

“…us? Gaius!”

Hearing his name brought him back from his thoughts. Rowen was looking at him with a slightly worried look.

“I’m sorry, I was lost in thoughts. What did you say?”

“We were wondering where the Chimeriad could stay. Our dear Ludger doesn’t mind lending them his apartment tonight, but we should probably look for another long-term solution.”

“Indeed, we should not abuse his kindness.”

“Don’t worry about us,” Presa spoke, “we’ll find a place to stay on our own. We’ll leave as soon as Wingul wakes up.”

“With what gald?” Jiao asked her. “We lost all our belongings with our world. Besides, we don’t know anything about Elympios.”

“We should go back to Ajur as soon as possible…”

“No!” Gaius interrupted, startling them. He continued more calmly: “It would be better to stay in Elympios for now.”

What would the citizens of Khan Baliq say if they saw them stroll through the city as if nothing happened? He would have to think of a way to tell the news to the population. The list of things to do was getting longer and longer. This situation was sure to give him a lot of extra work.

“Don’t worry about that,” he added. “Taking care of you is my responsibility.”

“Your Highness…”

“We don’t want to impose…”

“It’s my job,” he insisted. “I will find us an apartment nearby.”

“Us?” Rowen pointed out, his eyes twinkling. The old man had tried to convince him to acquire a permanent home in Triglav for months. He personally did not see the need, as the city and surrounding areas were full of cheap motels—they were admittedly a bit seedy, but much cheaper than having to pay rent. However, he could not impose such a life to the Chimeriad, especially since they were so disoriented. Besides, this would enable him to stay with them.

“I will start looking first thing tomorrow,” he added.

“Don’t forget your business brunch,” Rowen reminded him. “You are to meet representatives from the Skylark Exchange tomorrow morning. I will handle the apartment hunt.”

“All right. I am counting on you.” To be perfectly honest, he would have preferred to let Rowen handle the meeting instead, but he could not go back on his word. These kinds of business talks could have an impact on the relationship between the two countries.

After dinner, he went to see Wingul one more time before leaving. The man was still in a deep sleep and looked like it would be a while before he woke up. “Convalescence doesn’t suit you,” he whispered, touching his face lightly with his fingertips. “Get well, Wingul. I want to talk to you.”

He bade the others goodbye and promised he would be back as soon as he was done with his engagements. When he went out of the building, he noticed that Elle was out as well. She was sitting on one of the little park’s swings, looking down.

“Is there anything wrong, Elle?”

She looked up at the sound of his voice, and her eyes teared up. She quickly wiped her eyes and looked down again, avoiding his gaze.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured faintly.

“Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong.”

“Ludger told me that what I did was ‘irresponsible’ and that I caused you lots of problems. He said I should have thought about what happened to Milla before I acted…” She let her tears fall freely this time. “But I thought it would be different than with Milla. I just wanted you to meet your friends again…”

So she had deliberately brought them back. It was not an accident like had been the case for the other Milla. That was something he had wondered. She must have gotten the idea when she witnessed his painful reunions with other Chimeriads from other fractured dimensions. He had always been careful not to show any emotion, but her childish eyes must have seen through the façade and noticed his distress. He crouched down before her and delicately wiped away her tears.

“Do not blame yourself, Elle,” he told her gently. “I know you only had good intentions.”

“You don’t hate me?” she sniffled.

“Of course not! On the contrary… I would like to thank you. It’s true that there will be some problems, but we can overcome them. It’s nothing compared to the chance to see them again.”

Elle’s face brightened immediately.

“Oh, good! I was afraid you’d be mad. You’re scary when you’re mad.”

He laughed softly. It was true that his strict look was intimidating to children—and even to most adults, in fact.

“I’ll never be mad at you. Not for this.”

“Pinky swear?” she asked, presenting her little finger.

“Pinky swear!” he agreed.

She giggled, happy with her new promise.

“I must go! Ludger is going to worry. Good night, mister king.”

“Good night, Elle.”

He went back to his hotel, his mind full of doubts and hope. Whatever happened, Elle’s choice would probably have unexpected consequences. But all that mattered to him now was to make sure that these Chimeriad could find a place in their new world, at his side.

As he expected, his business brunch was extremely boring. Skylarks’ salespeople were going on endlessly about their company’s successes, and all he had to do was nod and speak a few words of acknowledgement from time to time. He would have much rather gone apartment hunting with Rowen. He wondered what his councilor would find. Nothing too grand, he hoped. The old man sometimes had very fixed ideas on how a king should show his influence. He just wanted something neither too big nor too small, where he could help the Chimeriad get used to their new world. The businessmen were now congratulating themselves on their victory against a competitor. He felt his GHS vibrate in his pocket and had to resist the urge to take it out and check what it was about. Had Rowen found something? What district would they move to? He hoped it would not be too far from the station… though the port district might be good too. They would then have easy access to the ferries bound for Marksburg, from where they could quickly reach Rieze Maxia. Although, it would be best to avoid Rieze Maxia for the moment. He really needed to come up with a way to explain the Chimeriad’s return to the population.

To his relief, the meeting finally came to an end. The Skylark executives looked very satisfied and were already promising to organize another one. In his mind, he already made the decision to send Rowen to the next one in his place. When the last man left, he sat back down and took out his GHS, curious about the message he had received earlier. Surprisingly, it was not from Rowen, but from Elise. It only contained one single sentence, but that was enough to make his heart flutter.

Wingul woke up.

#yume fanfiction #tales of xillia #king gaius #gaiwin #the chimeriad #i liiiiiiive #tales of xillia 2

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