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peralta-guaranteed · 3 years

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What abkut mafia!jake au

Stop giving me awesome AU ideas that I cannot write the fic for! 😭

- due to some really, really bad choices after high school (did he ever make other ones? who knows), Jake Peralta has ended up as a grunt for the Ianucci family. He doesn’t really do much - he’s mostly someone who gathers information and new areas for them to work in, because he’s good at randomly befriending people and milking them for all it’s worth. He’s done a few ‘deliveries’, too, but has never had to really get physical.

- (he was at one family meeting that turned into the ‘farewell’ of a mistrusted member and he still has nightmares about it)

- he’s never been arrested for anything and thought the police didn’t even know his name, so imagine his surprise when he’s approached by one of their higher-ups (as if he knows the rankings, psh, pigs are all the same) and subtly but definitely asked if he would be willing to work with them

- his task seems simple: bring one of their cops into the family undercover, the same way he has ‘recruited’ several bodega owners and other ‘low-skill’ workers that turned out to be useful for the family. Maybe keep an eye on the cop as well and help her out if she’s struggling

- she? oh yeah, it’s a woman. A frankly gorgeous woman, he realises when they meet up with her and some FBI dude who obviously pretends he’s not FBI, to discuss it all further. Her name is ‘Dora’, and he knows that’s a lie from the second she’s introduced, but the less he knows, probably the better. The rules are set, he gets a special cellphone number of a ‘cousin’ to contact if something goes wrong, and two weeks later Dora Perez is steadily working her way up the ranks with the Ianuccis, who are very proud of Jake for bringing in this brilliant new talent.

- He might or might not be looking out for her a little bit too much. He might or might not get involved in far more shady dealings with the Iannuccis so he can work closer with her. He might or might not be in deep, deep shit.

- ‘Dora’ is grateful for it, though, he learns every time he drives her home after a more difficult job. She used to be withdrawn and quiet with him, which he tried to equalise by cracking more and more stupid jokes and doing random silly stuff during their drives, but then one time they drive in absolute silence while she cleans blood of her hands, and he says something, he doesn’t remember what, but it’s the right thing apparently, because she starts to talk. She talks to him during every ride after, telling him about the stress and the constant guard she has to keep up and how none of her research binders prepared her for this, and at some point she tells him about nightmares and seeing death around every corner and she can’t wait for this mission to be over.

- (for her sake, he can’t wait for that either. For his sake, he wishes it would go on forever.)

- They’re sent out for a big job together once, because Jake has already become ‘connected’ to Amy in the Ianuccis’ eyes, and they both end up with blood on their hands, and some of it is hers.

- he gets out of the car after that drive home, and gets up to her tiny, fake apartment, and helps her clean the wounds (nothing too big, just cuts, because thank god that guy only had a knife before he beat it out of his hands and then beat the living daylight out of him after he injured her) with the softest fingers she’s ever felt. Then the cleaning alcohol is swapped for drinkable stuff, and they talk, and they talk about everything and nothing, about how a dead-beat dad and an absent mother make a Mafia goon, and how family pressure and a sense of constant duty make a detective who so badly wanted to say no to this assignment but couldn’t.

- “For what it’s worth, Dora, I’m glad you said yes. I mean, not that- not that I want you to do this kind of work- and I want things to be over for you soon, because- but- I’m glad it’s you.” “Amy.” “Hm?” “My name is Amy. Amy Santiago.”

- He wakes up in her bed the next morning, with her in his arms, and he kind of doesn’t regret a single thing, even as his smart-brain is screaming at him. He’s pretty sure he would’ve willingly died for her even before this night, but now, he realises... that he probably will.

- Amy (Amy, not Dora) does freak out a little more than he does when she wakes up. She can’t get involved, she says, this is a job, a dangerous one, and she has to focus on that job and getting the mafia gang and not- okay, okay, let’s not overthink this then, Jake says only to calm her down, we don’t do anything ‘involved’, we’re just... having fun. Keeping things light and breezy. Helping deal with the stress.

- and so, despite how much it hurts and how much it makes him happy at the same time, Jakey the Jew becomes Jakey, Dora’s Loverboy. It helps, he supposes, because it means the Ianuccis won’t suspect them hanging out so much, and send him along to most of her jobs now so he can watch out for her, and he gets to be with her in a way, even as she constantly reiterates ‘light and breezy’ to keep him at a distance no matter how close they get.

- it doesn’t feel very ‘light and breezy’ when they spend time together in front of the TV, though, to get their minds to relax after doing whatever the Ianuccis needed them doing. It doesn’t feel ‘light and breezy’ when they joke around in the bodega getting ice cream on a particularly hot day out doing jobs, or when she shows him around the library after meeting her ‘cousin’ there for a chat. It doesn’t feel ‘light and breezy’ at all when she sighs into his arms when he’s holding her in bed, neither of them even wanting to take the night any further than soft hands under tshirts, because all they really need at some point is the comfort of each other.

- and then one day, after a few months of this ‘light and breezy’ and ‘Dora’s Loverboy’, Jake gets invited for a ‘Talk’ by the family. With a capital T. And he’s not been that high up in the ranks at any point, and he’s not really done much for the family, but he’s not an idiot. He knows what that means. So of course he doesn’t tell Amy, writes her a short but succinct note instead that maybe ends with the L-word somewhere in it, and goes to have a Talk.

- The Ianuccis know that there is a rat, but they don’t know who. And they know that if Jakey is good for one thing, it’s information. So The Talk doesn’t end as quickly as it usually does, and the way he’d expected. It hurts a lot more, for one thing. Jake thinks of offering up some other goon or lower family member as the rat, if only to make the torture stop, but his brain is too broken in the moment to figure out a convincing story. And when the name ‘Perez’ suddenly drops into the conversation, there’s really only one other name he can still think of clearly to blame. Peralta.

- he doesn’t remember much after that - he’s pretty sure he heard gunshots, but none of them hit him, so what’s the deal with that? Everything else is pretty much a blur of pain and cold, and lots of shouting, and then warm soft hands on his face and a quiet voice saying his name amidst it all, and when he wakes up the next time he’s in a hospital bed.

- He’s in that hospital bed for two weeks to recover, and no one visits him. Not that it should be surprising - Nana is dead, his mom doesn’t know about anything he’s done since the age of 18 for a reason, and there’s no one else who in their right mind should care to visit him. So imagine his surprise when a detective shows up, introduces herself as Rosa Diaz, and explains that she’s Amy’s partner at work, but she’s not here for official business.

- “She wanted to come see you. Hell, she fought tooth and nail for it. But she had to be debriefed, stupid FBI assholes, and then it turned out two of the Ianuccis got away, so we had to find them first to make sure they don’t go after her for revenge” (well that explains the constant patrols in the hospital for him, as well) “and we had to hide her for her safety, but, Jake, she wanted to come see you. I swear.” “It’s okay.” Jake says, and it’s really not, but he’s been a brilliant liar for years now. “You can tell her... it’s okay. The job is done, and I’m, I’m glad she’s finally got it over and past her. Really. Tell her it’s okay.”

- He’s debriefed by the FBI after he gets discharged, as well. They tell him ‘good job’ and ‘thanks’ and pay him a surprisingly large amount of money and cover his hospital bills, so that’s good. They also advise that he move, not far, but far enough that any possible leftover scragglers of the family don’t remember his old place for a ‘visit’. So he moves, a few blocks only, enough to get a new favourite bodega and deli and discover that the library is actually nearby and that there’s this community college that Amy kept talking about for some reason, and if he takes a few classes to finally get a degree, it’s not about getting a proper job at some point, it’s more about not thinking about anything else. About maybe forgetting, even if it was her that basically got him where he is now.

- (it does not work)

- she knocks on his door a month later. She looks strange in her professional outfit instead of washed out jeans and a tanktop with a stupid slogan on it, but also so perfectly her. That’s Amy, he thinks, not Dora anymore. That’s Amy, and he still loves her just as much as he did when she was ‘Dora’ in his sweatpants and tshirt. Maybe more.

- “You’re a hard man to find, Peralta.” She says, and he knows that’s a lie, but she smiles with a scared look through it and he takes it for what it is - an attempt at saying anything, really, after 1 1/2 months of silence, when she’s probably got a speech all prepared in her head but needs to get there first. “That’s such a bad, cheesy movie line.” He helps, and she laughs and yeah, that’s all he needs in life. “Well we never watched any good movies, did we.” “Hey, we watched Die Hard. That’s the best movie there is.” She rolls her eyes but nods, and opens her mouth, and Jake thinks that the speech is coming now, but he has no idea what it might entail. Thank you and good bye, maybe. Good job, great work, can you sign this official statement for me so I can add it to my paperwork? possibly. “Screw light and breezy.” She says instead, and then she’s in his new apartment, which is much nicer and cleaner than the old place was even after she worked her magic on it, and she’s kissing him, and he’s never, ever letting her out.

#B99 #Brooklyn 99 #Peraltiago #Jake Peralta #Amy Santiago #headcanon? writing? I dunno anymore #Mafia AU

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kojinnie · 3 years

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AOT Characters’ Modern Jobs Headcanon; The Vets Edition!

The jobs that The Vets would have in modern!au, their workplace antics and their back story. There might be some inaccuracies when describing the job as obviously I don’t work at these industries to know its intricacies. Most of the jobs are office jobs. Enjoyyyy!

My Masterlist .::. Pt. II: Zeke Yeager’s Modern Jobs Headcanon

Most recent work: Dream Me Home (Before Shiganshina) | reader x erwin smith

A/N: I really need to finish a presentation deck due tonight for an early morning meeting tomorrow but of course, this comes first hahaha

erwin!

A/N: Basically lawyer!erwin is the way to go, innit?

He's in his 40s, so he may have a settled career

He came from a white-collar, middle-class family. So he wasn’t silverspoon-fed, but his parents had enough money to put him through good school

Got a scholarship to go to one of the nation’s finest law schools

Kept it lowkey in college’s social circle, graduated with summa cum laude, developed a strong academic relation with his professor, and got recommended for an internship at top law firm at the capital city

Starting his career as a corporate lawyer, but then built his expertise as white-collar crime attorney

In his early 30s, he represented a union suing against conglomerate corporation in a big case that had national coverage, from then on he began to know his calling

Expanding his portfolio and became well-known for defending workers, consumers and civilians against corporate fraud scheme

Currently doing a lot of pro-bono cases for deprived victims of big corporate fraud. You would see him frequently gracing your local newspaper we love us some socialist king

On the side, he often writes for law journal and fills in as guest professor at local universities for summer courses

Established his own law firm with some of his partners, specializing in white collar crime and labor & employment law

He’s damn accomplished, but never really had any time for self-indulgence. Even after he becomes a household name in the country, with tens of attorneys working under him, his employees would still see him working on New Year’s Eve

He was always attentive to his employees, though. Although he has a very strict, borderline no-life work ethics, he never forces his employees to follow his habit, in fact he despises when his employees works on holidays and can be seen blaming himself for it a bit of a hypocrite but thats ok

He still takes metro to work. He prefers a very lowkey, ordinary lifestyle because he fears if he shows any knack for indulgence, he will be susceptible to gratification from potential enemies or crooked politicians

Definitely a sight to see at the workplace, for he's tall and always oozes a sense of authority in the way he speaks and carries himself generally

His emotional intelligence is top-notch, you would never meet someone who is able to be very objective and calculating, while being kind and compassionate at the same time

His fellow attorneys put a lot for respect for him, and hundreds of applicants come to his considerably small firm every week, because a lot of aspiring attorney find him inspiring to work with

He wasn’t oblivious to his shiny reputation, but he’s trying his hardest to not let the compliments get to his head. Sometimes he doesn’t give himself enough credit for it

Was approached by one of the political party’s committee to run for local senate, but turned it down

basically he’s perfect if you like a man who’s never home for christmas

Hange!

A/N: Ok ok, I really wanna see Paleontologist!Hange because it has always been my fave dream job, but I want Hange to be out and about with people so here it is

Hange is the type to be incredibly good at one thing, that she will dedicate her whole life for that pursuit, but will be awfully oblivious to a whole lot of things (not intentional of course, they just have a very limited attention span) (they wouldn’t know who kanye west is or what tiktok is)

Like Erwin, they came from a middle-class family. While Erwin’s parents might have been teachers, accountants or other common profession, Hange came from a family of academician and researchers

Hange studied Human Geography at uni, but later found passion specifically in its relation to industrialization and urban development

Hange aims to advocate for a better living condition for workforce, and nearby inhabitants of industrialized city detroit would be a beautiful city if only they let hange designed it

Hange is a professor at university, where they also led a non-profit research think-thank that also serves as pressure group for better government policy.

The university that Hange teaches in, is also the uni where Erwin teaches in summer. They’re close-knitted colleagues as they share similar passion. Erwin relies on Hange a lot for some intellectual insights to help his cases

Hange is relentless in their cause, you may find Hange everywhere! From street protest to a hearing in the government court. They are passionate and will do anything for the cause they believe in

Hange was once hired by the government as an independent consultant for a new housing project, but left because they grew to be frustrated by the government’s bureaucracy and their outward reluctance to follow Hange's recommendation

Hange spends a lot of time overseas, consulting and advocating development in newly industrialized countries

On Hange’s birthday, her fellow researchers surprised them with a ‘pampering day’ where they took them to an optometrist because Hange had been complaining about their eyesight for a YEAR that gave them a lot of migraines, but was always either too busy or too lazy to go

Hange never really considers themselves as working, because they enjoy their job very much. Hange likes to spend months observing a community, talking to people for hours, and trying their best in understanding their problem

Out of so many great qualities that Hange has as a researcher that meets different set of people everyday, prejudice or preconceived judgment is completely absent in Hange’s demeanor and perspective

Hange doesn’t get a lot of free-time, even if they do, they’d wander around the city to do a little observation. But when the weather’s bad and they’re stuck at home with their pet lizard, they would logged into Quora to answer random internet questions

They’re an avid writer for National Geographic, and one time Hange won a pitch to make a documentary about an industrial city project they were working on

After the docu-series got broadcasted, Hange gained a small but passionate and loyal fans on the internet. You could even find a subreddit dedicated for Hange’s works

for real I want to be Hange. I want to have that kind of passion in life

levi!

A/N: I spent a lot of times thinking about Levi’s job in modern!au. Because here’s the thing, either we adopt his unfortunate childhood into its modern!au equivalent, or let’s just recreate his whole upbringing. But I think his personality stems from a specific things he experienced during childhood, so let’s not dismiss that.

Levi came from a struggling working class family. I reckon his parents might have had worked multiple jobs to sustain their living expense. Unfortunately they both passed away when Levi was very little, and left little to no inheritance

Levi’s parents were not close to their extended family, so when they died, Levi was admitted to the system and had to brace several foster families who didn’t really pay attention to him

Little Levi had come to realize that life’s all about survival and so he had been able to fend on for himself since very young age, he never asked for things

His uncle, Kenny, finally won custody over Levi when he was in elementary. Kenny made money from small-scale racketeering here and there. Levi never asked what he did for living, as long as he got food to eat and tuition paid off

Kenny was emotionally absent, but he loved spending time with the oddly quiet little child, teaching him a lot of crafts, from carpentering to how to flay pig’s skin

Levi didn’t really care about getting into college, and thought that he’d probably end up working for his uncle, so he put his bare minimum throughout school, although he was really good with numbers, especially in math, accounting and finance

One time in high school, Levi’s teacher asked him to sign up for the olympiad team, Levi turned it down because he thought that was a rich kid thing

He didn’t even apply for college, and worked odd jobs after high school. Probably working as cashiers or assistant to retail shop’s owner for couple of years, enough for him to afford a cheap studio apartment on his own

One of his bosses came to acknowledge Levi’s talent, and trusted him to handle the company’s accounting

By sheer luck, the company hit it big, and Levi found himself running the day-to-day accounting of mid-sized business with over 300 employees

He made good money already without a college degree, but with a new-found confidence Levi applied for uni, where he chose to study accounting (of course)

Although he was confident with his skills, he understood he needed to widen his horizon and network -- thus uni

Levi was one of the oldest members of his cohort in uni, but graduated with highest distinction

After graduating, with his skills and experience, it wasn’t hard for Levi to score a job at top accounting firm

There, he discovered an interest for forensic accounting, where through audits, analysis and investigation, he basically finds out if a company is doing fraud and embezzlement or not

This is where he came to know and get acquainted with Erwin and Hange (yippie they’re together again)

The firm he works for was assigned to investigate the finances of a troublesome company that had been sued by its workers for a jeopardizing working condition. Erwin was on the case, and Levi helped him with evidences for legal proceeding.

By chance, Erwin introduced Levi to Hange. At first, Levi would find Hange annoying and overtly energized, but after learning the things they have done, Levi grew to appreciate Hange’s passion (and secretly wants to have more of his positive outlook)

Levi is fucking good his job. In short amount of time, he could get a really ideal position in the office. He was almost foolproof, finding even the tiniest bit of discrepancy in his audit. He’d get assigned to the big league case/project.

Although really good at his job, he’s not a social person, especially in his office. He couldn’t understand the lavish lifestyle that finance and banking people often lead. He will only show up to office party if it is really necessary for him to show up (usually to receive some kind of informal awards for, again, being so fucking good)

He leads a no-bullshit attitude at the office, largely because of his background. He is a self-made man, and is not easy to impress by some young executives from posh school that talk bigger than they can chew

His cold, seemingly dismissive attitude gained him a reputation of being scary, when actually he is very considerate

One of the things he enjoys doing is to actually teach, he really likes when a new kid at the office come to him with none of that pretentious, big talk, and really asks for his guidance. He would love to teach you a thing or two

He would frequently check on his mentee, just to keep up with their development

And he doesn’t take credit too. When his mentee makes a milestone, he believes it’s 100% your work

If you’re his mentee, he probably doesn’t give a crap about your personal life, so don’t expect him to make small talk about that (and don’t ask him about his personal life either). But he really cares about your skill and career development

Same with Erwin, he leads a very ordinary lifestyle. He doesn’t go out often and would rather reading detective novel with his cat on the couch

He likes to spend Sunday at Uncle Kenny’s house, because he finds himself worried about the old man very often. They became close as Levi grew

Overall, Levi is a really kind and caring person if you know how not to push his button

#aot #snk #aot headcanons #snk headcanons #aot modern au #levi ackerman #hange zoë #erwin smith #modern headcanon #lawyer erwin smith #professor hange zoe #accountant levi ackerman #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #kojin writes

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scrawnytreedemon · 3 years

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Shit I’ve Been Winding Up For A Long Time Now But Am Very Aware Will Probably Hold No Relevance Should I Actually Go Into This More--

This is about Bhunivelze.

You know, when I was chilling out, on my bed, that evening on that half term in early June, deciding to check up on ClementJ64′s FF retrospective because-- Hey! It’s been awhile, I wonder if he’s got around to doing the final bit of the FFXIII saga --You know, I was there, chilling, just for a laff. Just a laff.

The rest of that week was spent spiralling into a hyperfixation I absolutely did not anticipate in any way, shape, or form, because the way they introduced that character was “wwhdhfjjhHJDFJKHKJHW H A T??”

That retrospective and a good amount of wiki-scrounging is all I have as a basis for this. This is not a coherent character analysis-- Though I might tag it as that for ease of access. This is not, by any means, the thoughts of someone deeply familiar with FFXIII on the whole beyond plot synopses and overarching themes.

I don’t think I’m brave enough for that.

Reading the vast yet surface-deep lore on those wiki pages on my birthday while in a delirious state of mind was enough to make me somewhat nauseous.

Do you think I’m going to go through all of that in real time?

(Someday, someday.)

Ugh, I don’t know how to begin, but let us, I guess. I’d recommend you read this church-mime-demiurge’s FF Wiki page if you want the same level of base-knowledge I had, and maybe the aformentioned retrospective if you want the experience, because I don’t think I have the wherewithal to get into all of that from the bottom-up.

I am also, so, so fucking sorry for any remaining FFXIII fans in advance. There is like, a good chance I may be butchering the characterisation completely, so bear with me here.

With that... we begin?

Where do we even start with this guy?

How on earth to you begin to explain the absolute monolith you’ve constructed from crumbs of a Guy, some material no doubt spliced in from the Pale King, Sephiroth, y o u r o w n G o d O C and other characters, and the mountains of religious trauma you carry around at all times that is probably the only reason you’ve been able to latch on as hard as you did?

I’m going to try.

What gets me, in summary, about Bhunivelze is how he’s a prime example of how love and concern can become deadly forces if in the wrong hands. His first acquainting with human emotion was by deceiving and possessing Hope, reverting his body to a teenage state, and planning to live among humanity through him. He sees human sorrow and suffering, and decides that, to End This(because it must be ended, you see) he’s going to destroy all the souls of the deceased that make up the Chaos that’s been eating this world for the past five-hundred years so they all forget and Are Happy. :).

Capital G God here hasn’t been present for the vast part of human history because he’s hidden himself away from Everything due to paranoia from killing his own mother and throwing her body into the Cosmic Basement, THEN creating the beings that would come to create humanity and OTHER beings because he didn’t have the keys to the cosmic basement. And also he believes death is a thing because she’d’ve somehow cursed all things to pass(including him) out of Spite.

Which explains why he’s so fucking averse to it and anything to do with it.

Bhunivelze, to put it lightly, is Shit at stepping into others’ shoes and Getting their experiences-- All the FalCie in FFXIII are, but him especially. It’s clear(again, in the f u c k i n g JP--) that he makes attempts to sympathise with them and does what he can to help, but it’s with such a loftiness and a complete inability to Understand why anyone would want grief, The Worst Fucking Experience In Existence, and even less why they’d be willing to Go Up Against Him And HisThe New Perfect World just for it-- And what would it matter, anyway, forgetting their loved ones. It’s not like you can grieve lost memories, right?

Right.

It reminds me of when at the end of the story of Job in the Bible, where, after putting this man through hell on earth, God rewards Job by giving him ten new children to make up for the ones that he lost. I. And that’s fucked! Nothing can replace the sheer uniqueness of each individual person you loved so dearly! But if you were a nigh-omnipotent deity high and mighty, with a cursory, almost mechanical knowledge on the functionings of the human psyche, that would seem adequete; enough.

Bhunivelze is doing that on a cosmic level.

I now want to get onto the romance: that being, his affections for Lightning. I don’t know how much I’m going to say, but it’ll probably be alot. It’s something that hits very close to home.

There is this... thing, within certain branches of Christianity, perhaps even in those of various Abrahamic faiths, where God’s love is posited to be the love-- The ultimate, most-fulfilling, all-encompassing love you could ever imagine --Because, well, he is love, so the story goes, and so often the best way to convey that is through the imagery of...

Marriage.

Giving up yourself so completely, to serve, to be the Bride; to be bound by him for all eternity; and for there to be no higher bliss than this.

This angle is pushed on young girls and women the most; from the mere parallels to the woman’s role in marriage, all the way down to downright-horrifying ultra-Evangelical purity pacts. With men, God is your dad, your best bud and confidant, your boss, your king, your this, your that, and the ‘marriage‘ as it were is relegated to a sort of half-thought; a metaphor.

For me, God was an attempt at all that, and my arranged groom.

(It was almost incestuous; was incestuous, that my own Divine Father would reach for my hand in marriage.)

Bhunivelze experiences Emotions™ for the first time through Hope, experiences Hope’s sheer overwhelming admiration for Lighting(whether there were any baby-crush feelings mixed in, I can’t say), and promptly falls into a nigh-romantic obsession with Lightning, deciding that she will be Etro(his all-but daughter)’s replacement, will be his Goddess of Death to-be-- He even calls her as such, before the final boss-battle--

...In the JP.

What happened in localisation, probably due to a number of factors, all the way back in early 2014, was that everything emotionally challenging about Bhunivelze was scraped off, like it was extra fat, and tossed aside, leaving us with the bland, clichéd shell of a foe-god we’ve seen time and time again. And I mean everything. I mean his very love for humanity; the fact his ploy was, in his eyes, to save them. Because if they’d left that all on, then it would raise the question of even if there was such a seemingly pure, all-knowing, loving being hell-bent on setting things “straight,“ would they truly be unquestionable? Would we have the right to fight for our humanity in the face of the Creator of the Universe?

To reject a love so personal?

That’s what gets me about FFXIII’s tackling of God, no matter how hackneyed and poorly-executed. It’s personal.

It’s from a feminine experience.

I know that terming is... vague, and problematic, but the way Christianity and much of the video game industry handle femininity itself is weird and problematic, so as it stands, I’ll have to simplify it. Apologies.

What sets FFXIII’s Let’s Kill God™ plot aside from most JRPG Let’s Kill God™ plots is that with our protagonist being a woman, and one who is very in touch with her femininity alongside her sheer strength; often, in these stories, God is reduced to Yet Another Foe, expected or unexpected, and you are tasked with taking him down unquestioningly for the Good of Mankind-- You will fight God, because you are right to, and you will go man-to-man-to-however-many-men you decide to bring along for the bloodbath.

And that just, doesn’t speak to me.

Even as an Extian.

Especially as an Extian. And an AFAB one with a deeply complicated experience with my gender, at that.

Leaving Christianity was painful. Questioning God was painful. Coming to terms with the fact that I had been mentally, emotionally, and spiritually traumatised under the guise of All-Encompassing Love was so, so fucking painful. I had been taught since I was five years old to devote myself to him, spent my life desperate to feel something, anything, to stay connected because I just, I never could Feel It on a deeper level, never could Give Up Myself, all I was, couldn’t Die A Spiritual Death And Be Reborn As His Eager Vessel, thus deeming myself to be worthless and a broken vessel for years and years on end... And for all that to have been... Nothing.

Lightning is hollowed out, the shards of her dead sister ripped from her in-stasis, leaving her emotionally numb for the majority of the game, Bhunivelze sweeps it under the rug, pretends he’ll perform a miracle and return Serah to life in exchange for her compliance, then sends her on her way to do his work, all the while knowing he’s going to pull said-rug from under her and elevate her such dizzying heights in the aftermath--

That he’ll deny her humanity.

Sand down all the rough edges that make her her, and polish her up afterwards, gild her as he is gilded, make her a Goddess.

And he’ll do it all because he loves her.

You can’t fight God like you can everything else. To fight It is the fight Existence Itself; FFXIII even conveys that by making Bhunivelze’s model part of the arena; it’s baked into the fabric of the game, no matter how minute.

While Lightning Returns is far from perfect in its execution of this concept, and that in itself makes me wince, not even taking into account the horribly botched excuse for a localisation Bhunivelze endured, it speaks to me more than anything else I’ve seen so far.

And it’s helped uncover some things within me. Helped me untangle them, just a little more.

So, yeah. I have alot of Thoughts on Bhunivelze, I want to share them, and I’m kinda really sad I have no one but my currently-absent friend Vee to share them with. I could get into alot more, like his very Fucked relationship with familial bonds, and how Lightning’s role as saviour so deeply parallels the overwhelming panic and never-ending guilt of Evangelical proselytisation, but I think I’ll leave those for another time.

In short, Bhunivelze is the epitome of Divine Love gone deeply wrong; on all fronts.

And if all of that isn’t enough to intrigue you, then, in Vee’s words, Lightning and Velze are literally canon endgame Sefikura lmaOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--

#ffxiii #lightning returns #bhunivelze #analysis #scrawny speaks #scrawny rambles #this was written on and off over the course of a couple months #i know this will only get two notes #if even that #but fuck it i love this guy and i'm going to puke words for his sake #religion mention

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thepandapopo · 4 years

Text

His Star

This is my first FE fic in over ten years. The last time I wrote anything for FE was back in FE7 which, to this day, is my second favourite game of all time.

I have been on a Claudeth binge lately and since it is our favourite deer’s birthday tomorrow, I thought I would try my hand at a fic.

This is most likely going to be a multi chapter fic as I am spinning the plotline in my head as we speak, but whether or not that plot bunny makes it to paper is a different story.

Pairing: Claude x F!Byleth

In which Byleth falls sick for the first time in her entire life, but those who slither in the dark insist on making her life difficult.

The one where Claude fears he won’t make it in time.

Chapter List: 1 / 2 / 2.5

Masterlist

XxXxXxXxX

“Professor, you need to rest!”

For someone so demure and dainty looking, Marianne is deceptively strong. Though, Byleth thinks absently as she lets her former student push her back down onto her large 4 poster bed, she shouldn’t be so surprised since she’s seen even Raphael himself bend to the gentle bishop’s will in the odd instances that he sustains a critical enough injury to land himself in the healer’s tent.

“Don’t worry, Professor. I’m sure Seteth will be able to hold down the fort while you recover.” Leonie says from her place at the foot of the bed. Despite the fact that the war has been over for nearly 6 months, her lance is still clipped neatly to her belt, next to her sword scabbard - close enough within reach to attack on a moment’s notice.

Since the end of the war, Leonie had taken it upon herself to act as the new Queen’s Head of Royal Guard. When Byleth had questioned the orange haired girl about her decision, she was merely met with a grin and a simple “I would be a terrible apprentice to Captain Jeralt if I let anything happen to his only child.”

“I’m... sorry.” Though the words themselves are not strange on her tongue, the unfamiliar dryness of her mouth and stuffed nose make Byleth sound weaker and more hesitant than she would have liked.

Leonie snorts, “you don’t have to apologize for catching a cold, Professor. Especially one due to stress. Despite what I think of you when you’re on the battlefield, you really are just a person like anyone else - of course you’re bound to get sick every now and again.”

Still, Byleth broods silently as she watches the blue haired healer usher her other student out the bedroom door, she has never gotten sick in her entire life until now and it just seems a tad bit unfair.

Fusing with the progenitor goddess has several advantages, but unfortunately it seems like being immune to illnesses is not one of them.

As her eyelids begin to lose the fight against consciousness, Byleth cannot help but let her mind wander longingly until she falls asleep dreaming of beautiful emerald eyes and a crooked grin that shines brighter than the dawn.

----

It only takes one week of being bed ridden before everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

Byleth is finally starting to feel well enough to stand up without feeling like she has ingested a vial of Claude’s infamous dizziness poison, when the scouts return with a report that the remnants of the Imperial army have joined forces with Those who Slither in the Dark and are marching for Derdrui, the country’s new capital.

It does not take a tactical genius to figure out that they are coming for the newly appointed Queen and Archbishop of the United Land of Fodlan.

Urgent messengers are sent out to all the nearby houses, requesting any available troops they can spare without leaving themselves vulnerable. It’s almost laughable the pitiful number of men that show up to help fight, but the arrival of all her golden deer is enough to raise Byleth’s morale and hope that she can conquer this disadvantaged fight without her schemer by her side.

Despite the protests from her students - former students, she corrects herself - Byleth steels herself and leads the meager army at her disposal in a defensive formation. This is her duty, after all. Without her, troop morale would falter and that in itself can be the deciding factor in a battle. Additionally, though she has not used it in several months and truly, she does believe in all her students’ skills, Byleth cannot help the unease that creeps up her throat when she thinks about her precious deer on the battlefield without her Divine Pulse. She has fought so hard to make sure they lived to see the peaceful world Claude and her dreamed of, that it would seem like a cruel joke only for them to fall now.

Even sick, the Ashen Demon earns her reputation. Fells of enemies fall to the Sword of the Creator as it burns with power, whipping around its wielder like a snake striking with deadly precision at the enemy’s weakness. Byleth refuses to let any enemies get close to the city. Her people have already been ravaged by war. They deserve peace, not another battle at their front step.

Hilda is somewhere to her left swinging Freikugel and cleaving through enemies with all the difficulty of a hot knife slicing through butter. Byleth is tempted to relocate the pink haired girl to the back line to act as a final barrier, but she knows that those orders will fall on deaf ears.

“If you insist on going out there Professor, then I have to come and make sure you don’t die. Can you imagine what Claude would say if he came back to find you dead? He would mope for the next century!”

Ignatz and Lysithea are further back providing cover with their long ranged attacks. Arrows and black magic rain from the sky, piercing through unsuspecting enemies and carving a path for Byleth’s battalion to advance and cut through the ranks of the enemy.

Somewhere to her right, she can hear Raphael’s battle cries above the cacophony of sounds. Judging by his sheer volume, Byleth knows that he is doing well despite being far outnumbered. Besides, the brawler is accompanied by Lorenz and Bernadetta, and while Lorenz specializes in black magics, he knows enough healing spells to keep them afloat. Plus, no matter how timid she is off the battlefield, Bernadetta is a force to be reckoned with when protecting her loved ones. Especially her mountain of a husband.

Marianne, Leonie, Felix, Ingrid, Seteth and Flayn are scattered elsewhere to protect against the enemies from crushing them in from both sides, but as the battle wages on, it becomes more and more apparent that their ranks are thinning and those that still stand are beginning to feel the fatigue of being outnumbered three to one.

The battlefield has long since warped into a jigsaw of cracked earth and chasms, courtesy of some nasty earth spells from Those Who Slither In the Dark. Where there should be rolling plains leading out onto the salty water of the ocean, there are now steep cliffs of jagged rocks jutting out of the ground, and despite her best efforts, Byleth eventually finds herself cornered on the precipice of one such cliff.

It can’t end like this.

Another enemy falls to her sword and Byleth barely has time to parry an oncoming arrow before another wave of nausea assaults her body.

She knows she’s probably burning up right now. Mint green strands of hair are matted to her skin with dirt and sweat, and the pounding behind her eyes is growing increasingly difficult to ignore. Byleth is pretty sure that had it not been for her father hammering in years of battle instincts into her, she would have had her head lopped off ages ago.

Despite how much she tries to will herself to stay in that cool, collected mindset that has won her numerous battles, Byleth cannot stop the tightness in her chest that accompanies the tears of frustration accumulating at the corner of her eyes.

She wanted to see Claude again. To feel his arms around her. To fall asleep to the steady pounding of his heart that seemed to inexplicably speed up every time she let her body melt into his. To let herself drown in the scent of pine needles and spices.

She could try using the Divine Pulse, but where would she rewind to? A few minutes would not be enough to make a drastic enough decision to turn the tide in their favor.

It’s not fair.

Goddess. She is so tired. But she cannot give up. Not when she has a promise to keep.

“I love you. With everything I am. And the next time we see each other... it will be at the dawn of a whole new world. A peaceful, happy world.”

Claude...

The ground beneath her feet teeters and he sky is suddenly above her. It is a brilliant blue with fluffy white clouds and even though she knows she is falling, she cannot help but be reminded of the first time Claude invited her out on his wyvern and they spent the afternoon soaring and diving through the air on a beautiful day just like this.

Claude... I’m sorry I couldn’t keep our promise...

She thinks it is a trick of her mind, but right as Byleth feels her consciousness slipping away, she hears his voice one last time crying out her name with such fear and anguish.

Then, there was nothing.

----

“BYLETH!”

Claude feels his heart stop and clench painfully as the familiar black and green figure tumbles off the edge of a jagged cliff.

He is shooting across the battlefield on his wyvern’s back before he can even spare a thought to how absolutely reckless it is to fly so low in the range of archers.

Behind him, he vaguely registers his generals shouting at him in alarm and Nader barking out orders to support the retreating Fodlan forces.

All he can think about right now is getting to His Star in time.

Later, he will wonder to himself if perhaps he might have the power to pause time as well, because although it was probably less than 4 seconds, Claude swears that the world around him slowed as all of his senses honed in on his one goal.

Please, goddess, let me reach her in time.

---

To those who participated in the Final battle with Those Who Slither in the Dark, they would recall vividly the moment when a loud battle cry rang out from the east heralding the arrival of the Almyran army.

They would also recount the arrow of white and gold that shot across the battlefield towards the Queen whom had made her last stand on the edge of a cliff before fainting from exhaustion and tumbling down to the depths below.

Above the din of weapons clashing and cries of agony rose a single name, cried out with such fear and panic that even those who knew not whom the shout belonged to, felt their hearts clench painfully with the raw emotion.

Although not many could say for certain what happened next, all the surviving Fodlan soldiers would recall shortly thereafter seeing their former leader, Claude von Riegan, atop his white wyvern loosing arrow after arrow on the lingering enemies with such brutal efficiency that reminded everyone exactly how he had ended the war.

When the fighting ceases and casualties are tallied, fear for their Queen runs rampant through the soldiers. For those who have had the privilege of fighting under the combined leadership of Claude, the master tactician, and Byleth, the Ashen Demon, they know how strong the bond is between the two, and although they have their doubts, they allow themselves to let their worries melt away when they see Claude exit the medical tent with a look of such knee wobbling relief that he has to lean on a nearby wall to stop from collapsing.

XxXxXxXxX

Ugh. I hate how this ended. I’ll come back and fix it another day.

Anyhoo, hope you all enjoyed it!

Chapter 1

Next: Chapter 2

#FE3H #fire emblem #3 houses #Byleth #Claude #Claudeth #Byleth x Claude #Post War #S Rank Support #Continuation #fanfiction #fanfic #Claude is best husbando #Golden deer #Verdant Wind #claude von riegan #Happy Birthday Claude #claudeleth

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mousehole5000 · 3 years

Text

the rest... of... book 4..... through chapter 225

i sad.

“He was lying to himself and lying to others! All nothing but deceit! No matter what, it was impossible to pretend nothing had ever happened, and it was impossible to return to before!!!” - i know :(

“Before Feng Xin went, he was afraid. Now that Feng Xin had gone, he wasn’t scared any longer. But, even though he wasn’t afraid anymore, he was in deeper agony.” - ah yes. being afraid of your friends leaving so you do things to drive them away so you can have something to point to and say that you were the one who made the choice and you dont have to fear it anymore. except that has never once worked out ever and turns out losing people just means you lost them and it still hurts. not that i would know or anything.....

“He saw upon the table there were a few plates of horrid-looking dishes that were now cold. They were what he made the queen take away without eating a single bite the night before. Now, he pulled them over absent-mindedly, and ate everything, not daring to leave behind a single leaf, afraid to miss a single grain of rice. After he ate he started puking.” - this broke me and the bad cooking isnt funny anymore :(

all this happens after they have money again. no further commentary on this chapter

i know for a lot of book 3 i just wanted hua cheng to go away but now i would give anything for wuming to come and interrupt these interactions with white no-face

“Lang Ying, a brute commoner, led an army and destroyed Xianle. With the aura of the king enveloping his body, ordinary evil wouldn’t be able to come close to his person. However, at this moment, what Xie Lian brought with him were millions of souls of those who died on the battlefield!” - interesting to think about this story from lang ying’s point of view. the bit about his wife and child... oh my god... the things we carry with us...

“Will it really be alright to leave him like this? How about, I give him a cup of water?” - cup of water motif is back... ouch

“One person. Just one. Really. Just one person was enough!” - for like 20 minutes after reading this i really was just sitting here thinking about every time a stranger did me a small a kindness and the times i did the same it just made me cry harder i love people and they really can be awful and choose to be cold and cruel but it means that when they choose to be kind..... it doesnt negate the cruelty but its still indescribable.. and being able to see that and remember that even after all the pain.....

ugh still just thinking about the times ive gone through something that changed me and having the cold numb fear that i would never be the same as i was before that i would lose some precious part of me forever and wondering if this would be the thing that finally did it... i dont know if ive ever actually experienced a piece of media that really make me think about that tbh

“Stop thinking so highly of yourself! I don’t need you to teach me anything, I can learn on my own. If you represent heaven’s will, then something like heaven’s will should be destroyed!” - why is defying the heavens so sexy.... keep it up (edit after white no-face identity reveal: HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!)

the fact that xie lian went through what he did and got nothing out of it and in fact lost everything he had left due to the trauma,,,,, but just one person is enough for him to willingly offer to do it again, even if all he could save is one person,,,,,, crying again.... and who it is who takes it all on instead... ok...

“After all, everyone knew that Mu Qing ascended because he cleaned up all the remaining stubborn resentful spirits in the old capital of Xianle, so to understand it as “generous and kind” wasn’t unreasonable. In any case, everyone in the old capital of Xianle were all very grateful for him.” - its not unreasonable at all!!! this boy picks cherries for his mom and the neighborhood kids leave him alone

“Shaking his head, Xie Lian contemplated, then he ladled two large bowls of rice, one offered inside the Temple of Ju Yang, the other inside the Temple of Xuan Zhen. Finally, feeling that everything served its purpose, he clapped his hands close, completely satisfied.” - please i just want them to be friends again

ruoye........ xie lian bidding farewell to the tiny red flower.... ok i feel a totally normal amount about all these things

book 5 time!!!

xie lian king of taking a third option.. no one dies in the kiln at all we’re just leaving bitch

“Xie Lian didn’t know why he had to use his hands to cup Hua Cheng’s cheeks, but he did so subconsciously, probably so he could comfort him, but also because Xie Lian was afraid Hua Cheng’s face would be frostbitten by the snowstorm.” - gay people.....

“This giant stone divine statue must’ve been sculpted when Hua Cheng was trapped inside the Kiln, when he was severely beaten down and in intense suffering.” - ohhhh my god. okay. okay. look. i get it....

“The divine statue obeyed his command and took off with a gigantic, wide step, going along with the rolling current of snow. One slide was several miles, and the snow waves it created crashed around its body. Because both its arms were open, even though it was a body of a million tons, it still maintained good balance.” - HELL YEAH!! HELL YEAH LETS FUCKING GO LETS GOOOOO

the statue that requires transfers of spiritual energy... statue of make you kiss me i see how it is.....

“Hearing this, Hua Cheng raised his brows, his expression seeming to say, please have them beat each other to death, that’d be great.” - when you dont like your SO’s friends and they dont like you

“With a sharp sword in hand, Xie Lian was like a tiger with wings added, his might increasing exponentially, and he struck out!” - YES!!! GET EM!!!!

“No one could blame him for not knowing what was going on. Perhaps, he was confused the entire way: Why was he beaten? Why was he buried inside a wall? Why was he turned into a daruma doll? And why did he have to turn into a sword, too? There was not a single point where he’d figured out what was happening.” its okay qyz its okay i know honey me too

HELLO?? SQX IS BACK???? omg what a development omg omg okay okay interesting... okay so shi wudu would have rather died than lose everything but shi qingxuan is still trucking

“Hua Cheng responded lazily, “Oh? So you mean to say, beggars can’t save the world? Is it because they don’t have the ability to, or because they’re not worthy?” - KING okay i know this is a motivational tactic but also... who was it who took on all the souls for the human face disease and did in fact save the world back then hmmm?

absolutely enthralled by the fact that in chapter 207 we find out that the guoshi is in fact just. still here. and the name of the chapter is "Seeking Affection; Ghost King Fakes Displeasure” which i mean that happens too but fjasdlkfajsld

bruh okay. okay. okay. everything is happening okay. okay. chaos in the heavens okay. ling wen is still invited to kiss me on the mouth tho idc

“Indeed Yin Yu didn’t have enough confidence, and said weakly, “Chengzhu has shown me grace, he saved me…” “I know,” Jun Wu said. “He even helped you pacify and send off the resentful spirit of Jian Yu, who died during banishment, am I right?” - awww im glad they resolved that bit that whole situation was awful also give me the forbidden hua cheng ghost king lore...

“Yin Yu finally couldn’t take it anymore. He clenched his fists tight, his knuckles cracking, and he whipped around. “I DO RESENT HIM! I DO HATE HIM!!! BUT, SO WHAT??” - yin yu kiss me on the mouth right now

“Xie Lian hugged him. “It’s alright, it’s alright. These are all small matters, really. Your Highness Yin Yu, just live in this world for another few hundred years and you’ll know that none of that really matters. Either driven to madness or really wishing someone would die, whichever. Who in the world has never had such thoughts? I’ve even thought of massacring all in the world who had wronged me, it’s true, and no lie, I’d almost done it. But look at me, haven��t I shamelessly lived until now? You haven’t actually done anything in the end, and that’s the most important thing.” - he’s right im crying again

“But…in the end, I…still think…it’s so unfair,” Yin Yu sobbed. “If I was already destined to be no one remarkable, then at the very least, I…wanted to be a kind and perfect person. But…I couldn’t even do that. It’s really…so unfair. And truth to be told, even in this moment, just thinking that I’m dying for Yizhen, this little dummy, I still can’t get over it. I can’t even let go and die with a heart with no resentment and no regrets, what is that.” - YIN YU YOU CANT DIE NOOOOOOO youre the only man in this whole book i would kiss why does this always happen im actually really sad ;_;

“If the Rain Master was killed directly, and a better heavenly official couldn’t be found to replace her, the people put food above all else; if agriculture isn’t running smoothly, the world will be thrown into chaos. You don’t let people eat, people won’t give you a job. Besides being displeased with the Rain Master, the people of the world might also begin to be dissatisfied with the great god above Rain Master’s head. Which means, if he isn’t careful, the fire can burn all the way onto him. If things aren’t controlled adequately, it might incur riots to topple gods.” - rain master my friend rain master... also yes!!!!! food production!!!! critical!!!!!!! theres a lot you can get by without but food is not one of them!!!!!

“Feng Xin was Xie Lian’s servant, his good friend, but not his slave. He could’ve built his own home, had his own family. And he had actually already met those people, but the encounter just had to be during Xie Lian’s first banishment, the toughest days they suffered back then.” i am very sad about all of this

hua cheng in the palace of ling wen looking for the brocade immortal while the heavens are in complete chaos as the world turns on its head and STILL taking the time to beg for kisses is making me lose it fjalkdfjlsd

oh my god the guoshi and the cards thing..... hmmmm

delighted that mount tong’lu has such great significance beyond just being the kiln or whatever

hmmm crown prince of wuyong... its truly sad... but dude.....

the way that the heavenly capital is literally built out of previous gods... wow

the outright attempt to continue to cycle of trauma that failed simply bc 1. xie lian is his own person and 2. xie lian recieved kindness and gave it back to the world even to the people who refused to help him im ;_;

the absolute mess of xuan ji/rong guang/pei su/banyue/ke mo going down in the palace of ming guang... entertainment

okay i think im to a point where i dont have any possible spoiler knowledge in my brain about what happens next (only thing i have is theres a joke about he xuan eating that i dont understand yet and i think we might get like an emily corpse bride moment but if we do i dont know why) but oh my god things have escalated

#oh my god the next one might be the last??? we'll see #what a ride for real #tgcf liveblog #ty to everyone who comments or reads even a bit of these i appreciate you #mouse mumbles

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coeurvrai · 5 years

Text

So meanwhile, while Nadya is being an absolute idiot and got herself involved in a duel, we switch to Serefin’s POV.

“Serefin!” Żaneta greeted him by name as he stepped into the parlor, thus cementing her place as the one girl among the Rawalyk candidates comfortable enough with the High Prince to bypass formality.

I’m vaguely hoping Żaneta doesn’t die some kind of contrived, gruesome death merely because she’s more tolerable than most of the cast and she’s also a WOC. Although, is there any societal disadvantages or cultural differences considering she is a biracial lady participating in court - being half Tranavian, half Akolan?

Like do people say that she’s not really Tranavian? Does she speak both Tranavian and Akolan? Does she dress any differently due to her mother being an Akolan noble, are there any Akolan influences in her hairstyle, her clothing style? Does her taste for cuisine differ?

Also I wouldn’t be opposed to them ending up as a couple, conceptually. But I mean, probably literally anyone would be better than Nadya and Malachiasz as a couple, so the bar isn’t exactly high lmao

Serefin is already over the whole Rawalyk thing.

“You will never believe what has happened,” Żaneta started when Kacper returned.

“The arena is being prepared for a duel,” Kacper said before she could continue, sounding puzzled.

Żaneta pouted. “I was going to tell him.”

“I’m sorry,” Serefin said. “I thought you just said a duel has been called.”

Kacper nodded.

“The Rawalyk started this morning,” Serefin said flatly.

Kacper nodded more emphatically.

I smiled a little, I must admit. Also blame Nadya, Serefin; she’s the one who literally couldn’t even last an hour, let alone an entire day, without getting herself into shit because she’s idiotic.

“You’ll never guess who it’s between.”

“Point them out to me.”

Kacper handed Serefin a glass of wine before he flopped onto the chaise beside him. Neither of them should be acting this casual in present company, but Serefin couldn’t dredge up the effort to care. Kacper pointed to the Krywicka girl.

“No.” Serefin didn’t even have to pretend to be scandalized.

Kacper, no! You’re a bad friend. Stop trying to enable Serefin’s alcoholism, even if it is just “a glass of wine” because that’s a slippery slope and we all know that Serefin has no self-control when it comes to alcohol. He will end up getting severely drunk, or worse.

Also Felicíja is the one with large purple eyes - I still maintain that she sounds like the love child of Alien and Rowrat - and the one who challenged Nadya to the duel. She is also the one that Serefin, and by extension ED, infantilised with very uncomfortable, hyper-focused mentions of how young she looks. So that’s fun!

Żaneta laughed out loud. “The other is a latecomer,” she said. “Over there.”

Her name came to him immediately. Józefina. She had removed her mask, twirling it between idle fingers as she watched the parlor. There was a sharpness in her gaze Serefin found fascinating. Her other hand rested against the spell book at her hip. She glanced over just in time to catch Serefin watching her.

Her eyes widened but she didn’t avert her gaze like he expected.

I mean, I’m not surprised. You met, like what, earlier today? Or is it a new day? I’m so fucking confused about how time passes in this book.

Also I would prefer Serefin and Nadya as a ship, but I’m biased because the alternative is the equivalent of stabbing myself in the leg with a plastic spork repeatedly. But I must mention that Serefin is at least nineteen and Nadya is canonically seventeen, and considering what happened with Felicíja, I wouldn’t trust ED to do it properly and not make it fucking uncomfortable.

So, I guess we’re stuck with the ship we do have. *sigh*

Serefin approaches Nadya-as-Józefina, much to Żaneta’s chagrin, because he’s bored and he wants the gossip.

“Lady Zelenska,” he said once he was standing before her.

She was slow to stand, careful in her movements. She bowed her head as she dipped into a curtsy. “Your Highness.”

“Shouldn’t you be preparing for your duel?” he asked. “Lady Krywicka is nowhere to be found.”

Józefina’s fingers tightened over the spell book. It was a hefty thing, the sign of a skilled mage. But her knuckles were white, tension revealed in her iron grip.

“I’m prepared,” she replied.

She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

A lot of this book sounds like Nadya is trying to convince herself more than she’s trying to convince us, the readers. Get used to it, Serefin, cause it’s going to be happening a lot.

Also there! She curtsied! So court manners do dictate that she should curtsy! Then why does everyone and their mother bow, then?!

“Tell me,” he said, “What did you do to stir up such a fuss?” He slouched against the wall, forcing her to move as well. Now her back was to the room, the eyes watching them less immediately noticeable.

“You assume I am at fault?” Her tone was too flippant. She wasn’t used to functioning at court at all. Every interaction was a facet of the Rawalyk and she was completely inexperienced.

I mean, you are Nadya. Sure, snarky rude or mean comments about appearances suck, but you’re the one who couldn’t do your bloody job and just take it on the chin like you’re supposed to. She wouldn’t have challenged you to a duel that you are NOT prepared for if you hadn’t retaliated.

He grinned. And he was surprised when she smiled back.

Though I must admit, through Serefin’s lens, she’s far less insufferable. I might vaguely like her if I didn’t know exactly who she was and been inside her head for more than several chapters now. Serefin, you might’ve almost pulled off a miracle here mate.

“Would you explain something to me?” she asked.

Serefin lifted an eyebrow. “What do you wish to know?”

“This is probably ridiculous, but you must understand, my father died at the front and my mother is an invalid. I never had anyone to properly explain how this all works.”

And she’s brave enough to betray her ignorance to the High Prince? Serefin thought. He couldn’t decide whether she was incredibly smart or terrifically stupid. The fact of the matter was that the Rawalyk favored the nobles who lived near Grazyk, it stood to reason those from the outer reaches of Tranavia would struggle. The entire game was in subtleties.

And you have a little sister named Anya, don’t forget that little detail!

Also I’ll stop you right there and tell you right now that she is terrifically stupid. Also I’m not exactly surprised. Not only is it more convenient for the chosen person to be from a noble house near Grazyk, since it is the capital, but it stands to reason that they would have more experience at court that way and it’s likely that the more prominent and/or richer families live in or near Grazyk.

What this girl likely didn’t realize was this duel would be to the death, and if she survived, it would give her an edge in his father’s eyes. And an edge was all a person needed to be chosen.

It’s a futile hope to hope that Nadya dies from this duel, isn’t it? lmao Also why would the king care, to be perfectly honest? He seems entirely wrapped up in the whole Vulture experiment probable godhood thing, plus also murdering his son on the side.

Also, wouldn’t the king be threatened by a blood mage that is super powerful? From what the book tells us, that’s the main reason he wants Serefin dead - he’s a far more talented and powerful blood mage than he’ll ever be and that overshadows and inspires an inferiority complex over his own comparatively shitty blood magic skills; plus Serefin is a bit too independent and snarky to be his pawn.

Will this be the one who gets the throne after I’m done away with? he thought absently.

No, I’m almost certain that Malachiasz is gonna throw a coup d’etat after he, Nadya, Parijahan, and Rashid somehow assassinate the king, and take the throne for himself.

Because, y’know, I’m almost 100% sure he’s the Black Vulture.

#sarah reads ws

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hiddentruths50136820 · 5 years

Text

A Small Game

Cutting it close for posting on the right day, but here’s my piece for the winter mini exchange over on @dcmkkaishinexchange. my recipient is @hachikoshrine.

I stayed as close to one of the prompts you gave as I could. I hope you enjoy!

my source for flower language at the end can be found here. (you may actually need to read it to get the whole bouquet thing i made it really vague I’m sorry)

When Shinichi woke, he wasn't expecting it to be to a crash from downstairs. However, guessing that it was just Ran, he took his time getting ready. When he finally made his way downstairs, it was to no such sight. He walked into the kitchen to see it almost completely trashed. So, at least he knew where the crash had come from then. There was a small stack of pots and pans leading up to one of the higher windows and took a moment to comprehend it.

The last time that anything similar had happened Kaitou KID had broken in in the middle of the night to do--well actually he didn’t know. Shinichi, slowly started moving to see if he could find anything missing or even just a note.

When he went up to the library to investigate, there was a convenient note sitting on the desk

good moring, my Knight. it is time to start moving, for another is waiting for you in her Abode above the place of waking,

-KID

He stared at the note for a moment. The randomly capitalized words were a bit annoying, but obviously had some kind of significance, the thief had definitely never called him a knight before. The objective of what KID wanted him to do was pretty obvious too. It wasn’t hard to figure out that “the place of waking” was probably Poirot and the “Abode” was the detective agency. So, somehow, KID knew that he was supposed to head that way before it got too late in the day.

Shinichi did a quick scan of the room to make sure everything was still present. One things stood out to him immediately. One of the small presents that one of the Detective Boys had given him was missing from its proper place.

Shinichi took a moment to figure out where KID might have placed the darn thing as a way to mess with him, but he couldn’t find it at all.

Knowing that his only lead was the darn note that the thief had left, Shinichi decided to follow it, hoping that he’d be able to retrieve the trinket at the end of whatever game KID was playing.

When he arrived at the detective agency it wasn’t hard to find the new note as it was simply taped to the first door up the stairs. Obviously, KID either didn’t want to risk running into Ran, or was only a little ahead of Shinichi himself in the game.

In case you were wondering, The thing you are missing can be found in the place of your pondering.

-KID

This new note was not quite as obvious as the first. “The place of your pondering” could mean many things to Shinichi: his home library, the school, the detective agency he was currently outside of, the police station, etc.

For now though, he decided to let the note sit in the back of his mind while he spent the rest of the morning with Ran. No, they weren’t dating. They had decided that, after a week of trying, their dynamic just didn’t work for that kind of relationship and had defaulted back to business as usual. However, they still hung out together quite a bit, and that’s what the intention for the day had been until KID had initiated their little game.

Shinichi decided to head on up to the flat above the agency since Ran was more likely to be up there than down where she would have to deal with her father. Before he could even knock, the door opened

“Shinichi! I thought you wouldn’t be here until later!” Shinichi found himself being grabbed by the shoulders and dragged into the flat without being given the chance to respond. “I hope you don’t mind, but Aoko called this morning and said that she and Kaito were planning on being in Beika today and asked to meet up with us. I said that we had some plans but offered to let them tag along so they’re already here.”

Shinichi took a moment to comprehend what Ran was telling him before responding, “That’s fine.” Surprisingly, Ran and Aoko were friends because they had met through Kaito and Shinichi meeting up with each other as much as they could get away with when the boys were younger (and didn’t have cell phones).

The group of four proceed about their day, and Shinichi still couldn’t figure out where the note was trying to send him. He could feel Kaito kind of staring at the back of his head and it was starting to make him uncomfortable until the other boy finally spoke up.

“What are you so stressed about Shinichi?” Kaito was staring at him like he already knew more than he was letting on.

Shinichi turned to him and kind of sighed before giving the most basic explanation he could think of, “KID, the thief one, is playing a bit of a game with me. I’m trying to figure out the second clue he left me.”

Kaito kind of chuckled, “You need some help, Ichi? I could take a look at it.”

Shinichi sighed at the silly nickname Kaito had come up with when he started refusing to respond to Shin-chan, before turning away from him, “Not yet. I want to see how far I can get without any help first.”

Kaito shrugged, “Suit yourself.” It was silent for a moment before he spoke up, “Hey, I need to go to the library before we head back to Ekoda. So I’m going to break off and go do that. Let the girls know for me, yeah?”

Shinichi absently nodded before moving to catch up with said girls since they had lagged behind with their conversation. For some reason, Shinichi’s mind couldn’t let go of the fact that one could often study or look up weird facts in a library without getting questioned too badly. He eventually decided to head that way when the group of four split to go home.

---

Kaito and Aoko had broken off to head back to the train station and Ran had gotten a call from her dad asking her to head back, so Shinichi quickly made his way to the nearest public library to the detective station. One of the columns outside had another piece of paper taped to it, and when Shinichi walked up to it it was obvious that it was his next clue.

to Observe the truth, first you must find what has been left behind.

-KID

Though the odd capitalization continued, in this note it made some since in helping him identify the right phrase to focus on. It was pointing him right to the Sherlock Holmes books inside. When he reached them, he pulled the books off the shelves until he found the small bracelet from Ayumi and what was hopefully his last clue.

now, my Knight, that you Understand who i am, Retrace your steps Onto the street where you Began. there i will be waiting for you and you can Answer to reach the end.

-KID

The capitals in this note obviously spelled out something by itself, and it was a name that Shinichi very quickly recognized due to his friendship with the very family it mentioned. K-U-R-O-B-A. He pulled out the other notes, that had been slowly collecting in his pocket and picked out the capitals there as well: K-A-I-T-O. Shinichi shook his head when he realized what it meant--the dork hadn’t even tried to scramble them up a bit.

Nevertheless, Shinichi headed back to the street where he started this morning: home. When he arrived, he definitely wasn’t expecting the sight that greeted him. A white clad thief holding a small bouquet of red and lavender roses.

When Shinichi approached the person he now knew was his best friend, the only word he could hear was “So?”

Shinichi smiled before replying, “Kaito, you’re such an idiot,” and a puff of smoke later, the person that was standing front of him was no longer a confident white-clad thief, but a sheepish best friend.

“Sorry, Ichi. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn’t think it was safe enough.” Kaito cleared his throat, “uh, the-these are for you,” he said holding out the roses.

Shinichi took them and looked at them for a moment. Six total roses. Three of each of the two colors. “Kaito, you are aware of the bouquet that you just handed me means, yes?” At the other’s slight nod, he smiled. “Don’t think this ends the detective-thief dynamic we have at heists.”

“Hey! As if I could-”

“I love you too, dork.”

#kaishin #dcmk #winterexchange #childhood friends au #confession au #hachikoshrine #kudo shinichi #Kuroba Kaito

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imagine-that-one-thing · 7 years

Text

Styles Towers. || 4

Author’s Note: Hey hey!! Here is part 4!!! Rated M for Mature audiences.

Chapter One.

Chapter Two.

Chapter Three.

Don’t forget the other links:

The first book Can also be found on WattPad, HERE

The first book found HERE

You can find my blurb Master list HERE

|| While you were sleeping. ||

|| Harry || I smile to myself as I overhear the sound of Elise’s heels echoing against the flooring downstairs and leisurely making their way to the staircase. I look at the suit on the bed, somewhat eager to get it on.

I never thought the day would come that I would be impassioned to draw on a full suit that’ll be inconvenient by the end of the evening, but I am. It has been four weeks since the car accident and the last two weeks have been hell for a recovery, my body still isn’t the way it used to be, it aches, it’s still weak, and it still feels the aches it did when I was reclining upon the road.

Elise saunters through the bedroom door and I give her a grin as I greet her, but she barely gives me one in return. I frown for a moment but brush it off as she kisses my cheek.

“How was your day?” I challenge, running a towel through my damp hair as she sits on the edge of the bed and slips off her heels.

“Long and exhausting,” she responds with a heavy sigh, closing her eyes for a few moments. “What time do we have to leave?”

“In an hour,” I respond, clutching my button down and gliding it up my arms as Elise executes her fingers through her hair.

Elise and I grow withdrawn as we both get ready for the charity event, I give her some space, taking note of her sluggishness and her tiredness. I know what it’s like to wake up at four in the morning and having to get through a whole day plus night dealing with things, I know how much it must be hurting her. But, after tonight it should be mainly me getting up at four and she can sleep and relax. That’s of course if she continues to work under me and not Logan. If she stays in my—our— business, I do not expect her up and Adam before the sun even rises. Quite honestly, I want her to relax for a little while and let me take back the reins, she’s exhausted as it is, I’ve executed enough stress on her, the least I can do is take it all back.

I wait downstairs for Elise, my eyes watching the time religiously— I hate being late, but I can tolerate it this one time for Elise. I’ve come to learn that waiting on Elise is one of the small things life has to offer. “Elle, sweetheart—,” I begin to tenderly call from the staircase but stop when I see her reach the top. My eyes glisten as she flawlessly steps down the staircase in a white dress that compliments her in every damn way. To say the least, I can’t help but still drool over her.

She reaches the bottom of the stairs and I kiss her cheek, knowing well enough that kissing her lips will ruin her lipstick, and as much as I have done that purposely in the past, I can’t tonight. “You look lovely,” I compliment here, appreciating the fact she still makes my heart flutter in my chest. She could come down these stairs in sweatpants and my t-shirt and I’d still swoon over her. I take Elise’s hand and escort her out of the house.

Elise and I slide into the back of the car, our driver closing the door behind us. The moment I get settled, Elise rests her head against my shoulder and grows quiet, poor thing, I can tell she is exhausted and probably can’t wait to hand the reins of the business back to me.

I slide out of the car as my driver opens the door and I stand and offer my hand to Elise, she places her hand with mine before elegantly getting out of the car and adjusting her dress. I take a breath as I gander up at my building, something I have managed to neglect for the last few weeks due to certain circumstances.

Elise presses her hand to my arm as we step inside my building and we make our way towards the same area I hold all my capital events, Christmas parties, welcoming parties, charity events, you name it. It’s always the same room, just dissimilar decorations and setups. The doors slide open upon our arrival and we both take a step in, my eyes instantaneously glimmer as they meet the beautiful setup Elise managed to organise, from lights to flowers, to a black and gold colour scheme.

I really did get lucky with her, I swear.

“This looks lovely, truly.” I kiss her cheek, proud of the fact she put this together with such short notice and little experience with things, Anastasia presumably helped her, but there is no doubt in my mind that Elise did most of the work, she isn’t like me and passes things off to people of more experience, I tend to just swipe my card and have Anastasia do what needs to be done decoration wise.

“Ah, the man of the hour,” Niall welcomes me, shaking my hand before engulfing Elise into a warm embrace,

“Mate, that is you, this is all for you,” I shake my head, not wanting any sort of spotlight on me.

I may be leisurely stepping foot back into the world of business, but this event is focused on charity and formally announcing Niall as a partner in the business, he has earnt his position, especially with how highly Elise has spoken of him since I’ve been absent.

“And you, Elise, ain’t you just looking wonderful tonight, still glowing.” Niall chuckles and I roll my eyes impishly towards him.

“She is gorgeous, isn’t she?” I grin, more than delighted to show her off and throw her out into the spotlight, she deserves to be told she is beautiful, “But, you should go flirt with Anastasia, I hear she is still on the market,” I wink, purposely watching Niall clench his jaw to stop him from blushing at the sound of her name.

Oh, how I have missed being light-hearted with him and with everyone.

“Oh ha, ha, you are hilarious. So, I guess you’re not firing me?” Niall teases me and I wrinkle my brow for a moment, trying not to smirk and remember my little emotional outburst that was a little overly dramatic. Elise chuckles, her small laughter beside me bringing me more merriment than anyone could possibly imagine, “Niall, it was a really bad day. You’re too… re…re..” I trail off, struggling to think of the word I am looking for. Fuck.

“Reliable,” Elise whispers just for me to hear as she kisses my cheek,

I clear my throat, “You’re too reliable, can’t get rid of yeh,” I recover my small stutter and lapse of thought.

“How about you fly the coop? I know a few men waiting to speak to you about business.” Niall subtly eases his way into a small convincement of luring me into business conversations.

I look towards Elise and she gives me a tender smile, “I’m going to get a drink, I’ll catch up with you in a bit?” She proposes and I bite my lip, not really wanting to stray away from her, I feel more at ease when she is by my side, but I nod my head. She leans up and places a small kiss to my lips, “Niall, watch him,” Elise instructs protectively. I talk business with a few men, one particularly boasting about how well Elise was with him when he proposed a pitch to her. I’m more than proud of my wife, she deserves more credit than she has received.

I, for the life of me, have no idea how she managed to win over this man, a man that Niall had struggled with previously, but what I do know is that Elise is one hell of a woman.

I smile as the man continues to tell me about his encounter with my wife, honestly, I’m nothing but proud and honoured.

“She’s a quick learner,” I nod, his wife interrupting the conversation with a courteous smile,

“Where is your wife? I have yet to meet her. I’d love to meet the woman who is highly spoken of,” she courteously questions, causing me to realise that I haven’t seen Elise in quite a while, she has been MIA since she left me with Niall and that was at least an hour ago.

“She’s around here somewhere, by the end of the night I’ll be sure to introduce the two of you,” I assure the lady as my eyes subtly pry around for my wife. I don’t know where she has gotten herself off too, but she can’t be too far.

The lovely couple excuses themselves and I find myself ultimately free of business for a moment.

I finally have a whole moment to myself to breathe in and out. As much as I have been eager to get back out into this world, my body fucking hurts, maybe Elise was right, I should have taken more time to rest, but I’m going insane having to sit in the house and do absolutely nothing. My eyes scour the congregation of businessmen and women in their optimum attire as they mingle and network.

I hearken to the sound of glass breaking by striking violently to the floor and I flashback.

*** ***

My body stiffens as it is moved forward with a bounding motion from the unforeseen eruption of the car hitting something before glass smashes into smithereens and falls around me, everything rotating rapidly for a moment as it feels like the vehicle is tumbling. I take heavy breaths for my eyes attempt to focus on myself; I tilt my head down and distinguishes glass in my lap and all around me and sinking into the skin of my hand. I lend an ear to a few voices in the distance and they leisurely get closer before the vehicle door is hauled open, glass hacking to pieces further and falling to the ground out of the car as the door unlatches. I cock my head to the side, a shadow leaning in and unclipping my seatbelt as he careens over and drags me out. Pain lathers through me as I’m moved and I do my best not to moan in constant, agonising pain.

I’m rested on the terrain and the man hovers over me, my vision striving to focus. Bitter words are spat around and my wedding band is taken from me and heaved to the ground…. A voice resounds from a distance as I open my eyes to encounter someone hovering over me, the voice sounding familiar, “Harry, oh fuck… hey, hey, stay with me,” the voice instructs as my eyes struggle to stay open, “Harry, you have to keep your eyes open, help is on the way… Harry, c’mon for once listen to me. Fuck,” … “open your eyes, damnit Harry, if you don’t fucking open them I swear… I swear. Just open them.” The voice continues to whisk through my ears against the whistling of the wind around us. “Fuck, I have to go.” He murmurs as my vision has a stumble and grants permission to me to make out his features, distinctive features I’d never expect to witness while I’m close to dying on the ice-cold, stiff ground.

I use all my energy to raise my arm and grasp his attention, my fingers agilely managing to catch the material of his suit jacket. “Don’t leave,” I cough, the words hurting my throat like knives slicing me with every breath,

“I have to, I’m sorry,”

“Elle,” I dryly manage to get out, just wanting Elise to be watched over and looked out for.

“I’ll get her, she’ll be okay.” Logan gives me a nod before he’s transiting away from me, leaving me on the cold hard ground like the other men did.

*** End of Flash Back ***

I take a deep breath, the fracturing glass being enough for me to be suddenly assailed by the same pain I did that night, the painfulness of glass prodding into my skin, the feeling of my head delivering a blow to the window before the car flipped, and the impression of withering away leisurely to my death.

“Where’s Elise?” I grab Niall, not bothering to excuse my unsatisfactory manners as he turns to me, instantly stopping his conversation with three men.

Niall glances around and shrugs his shoulder, “I don’t know, mate.”

“I need Elise,” I horse-whisper, my hands beginning to shake. Niall flicks his head and gestures for me to follow him. We step out of the crowded area of men and women, I lean against the wall as Niall pulls out his phone.

“Ah, there she is,” Niall instantly points out, shoving his phone in his pocket as Elise walks towards me from the lobby.

“Where have you been?” I interrogate in a bit of an erosive tone, forgetting that the world doesn’t, in fact, revolve around me. Niall leisurely backs away and Elise takes a breath,

“Outside.” She informs me, “what’s wrong?” She delicately questions as I yank at the tie around my neck, feeling far too constricted and trapped as it’s around me.

Her hands effeminately push away my own and she helps me out, loosening my tie as I take a few deep breaths. ”I-I, I can feel the accident and the pain… it’s, it’s going up my arm and my back. A glass broke and suddenly it just started,” I get tongue-tied.

“Take a few deep breaths, take off your jacket,” she instructs and I do as she commands.

I slide it down my arms and permit it to drape over my arm. “Turn around,” she gives precise instructions and I turn my back to her.

Her hand graciously presses to my arm before I feel her hand caressing my back and massaging it soothingly, “breathe, you’re right here with me, you’re not anywhere else but with me.” She whispers in a sweet way, “you’re okay, forget about everything and just focus on us… it was just a memory.” … “here, talk to me about something,”

“What about?” I sigh, unsure of what to tell her, I don’t think she wants to hear more about how glass shattering managed to trigger pain to shoot through my body; I don’t think she wants to hear about any of it.

“Anything, tell me about the song you wrote,”

“Elle,” I breathe out, the thought of opening up about my veiled interest just never settles with me.

It’s a part of me that I attempted to forget, it comes with obscure shadows that I prefer to keep far away from me. Music used to be my escape— it used to be my saving grace— then it became a benighted, twisting rupture that suffocated me and made me weak at the knees. But, if I can’t tell my wife, who can I tell?

“I wrote it when we first started dating, I hadn’t played the piano for years until you came along, I just—I wrote a melody that made me think of you, and this sounds cheesy and cliche, but it’s true. I wanted a melody to keep me humming along so I didn’t entirely lose touch with that side of me. Over the years, I played it when I needed a sense of calmness, it always seemed to work.”

“Why have I never heard you play it? The most I’ve really managed to catch is a few chords from your guitar and that was rare.” Elise questions, her hand still rubbing soothing circles over my back. “I don’t play unless I’m alone.”

“You should play more,”

“Too many memories,” I shake my head, the reasons for stopping being far more ferocious than the reasons to start.

I gave up most the music and creativity when I went head first into business concerns. I made a decision to put my efforts into my establishment and to keep my mind off of the things I didn’t want to remember or know of.

“Bad memories?” Elise in a low voice cross-examines, her hand leaving my back and I turn to properly face her.

I don’t have to say a word or even nod, just one gaze into my eyes and she knows the answer, “I’m sorry, maybe we should make new memories with it. You’re pretty good at this music stuff,”

“And you, my dear, are dreadful at melodies,” I chuckle, giving her a wink in reference to when she sat beside me and pressed random keys to echo a terrible melody.

“I never once said I was good, you should teach me.” Elise smiles as I gingerly curl my arm around her to bring her closer to me.

“Mmm, if you flirt a little more, I just might,” I respond with a small grin, the idea of sitting down with her and showing her how to play the piano or guitar fills me with a sense of blithe, I don’t know why, but it does. Elise delicately envelopes her arms around my neck and presses her lips effortlessly against mine, “I’ve said this a lot, but I love you,” she whispers against my lips, pecking them one last time before moving to stare into my eyes.

“And I love you,” I smile, moving to allow my hand to push some of her hair away from her face. “I should probably get back in there… wanna stand with me in case I forget more words and make a fool of myself?” I challenge, wanting her to stay by me as I mingle. I’m not usually the indigent type, but at the moment, I want her around me, she’s my sense of security right now, essentially my left hand.

Elise coincides and we make a move back into the corporative civilization. men instantaneously surround me with their cocky grins and piercing eyes that want my attention and solutions to their business issues. I don’t have much to say to them, this night isn’t about me. Well, it is, it’s my first step back into work, but I don’t want to everything to be about me.

I take the time to look at Elise and I cock my head to the side, something about her seeming off, she doesn’t seem bubbly and delighted, she’s no longer glowing— something just seems off with her. She fakes a smile as the businessman informs her on some sort of story that I know she’s not interested in, I don’t blame her, she’s presumably displeased of all the business talk.

Niall comes along with his charming smile and lightens the mood into a conversation that isn’t entirely revolving around business. Elise strays away from me and is swallowed by the crowd and disappears.

|| Elise ||

“Hey, sweetheart, can I buy you a drink?” Harry smiles as he encounters me sitting by the side of the bar, doing my best to stay out of conversations and away from the business civilization.

“I don’t know, my husband might get a bit mad,” I wear a smile up at him as he with great care takes my hand and laces his fingers with my own,

“Ah, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, love. Any drink, it’s on me.” He grins, leaning down and settling a kiss to my cheek. “You look ravishing tonight, as always. Making my heart weak in this dress,” he whispers subtly,

“Is the CEO flirting with me?” I merrily giggle, and he cautiously tugs at my hand to signal for me to stand on my feet.

With great effort, I exert force against myself to my feet, his arm instantaneously wrapping around me graciously before kissing my lips affably, “who wouldn’t flirt with yeh? You’re gorgeous.” He beams blissfully and I rest my hands on his chest, leaning up and kissing him again lightly, well aware that we aren’t alone and there are probably business executives surveilling the two of us.

“You brush up quite lovely yourself in this suit, your wife must be one lucky lady,”

“I’m just one lucky man to have her,” he shakes his head, “would you like a drink?” He proposes and I shake my head, courteously declining a drink from the bar. “Mhm, okay… where have you been running off too? Can’t seem to keep you close to me for too long.” Harry interrogates,

“Just talking to people and taking care of things, hey, I was kind of wondering if we could leave soon, or if I could?” I sweetly propose, taking note of how most the charity has already been made and donated by everyone and how I’m not as a matter of fact required. I’d much prefer to be cuddled up in bed than standing here in heels and a dress.

“In about an hour,” he nods, “why? Is it that boring?” He examines,

“No, no, I uh- I hate to sing the blues, I’m just worn out, been up since four.”

“Okay, just another hour, okay?” Harry reasons and I agree, not wanting to force him to leave right at this instant, although, it would be quite a blessing.

“Works for me, but I kinda need a few more kisses to get me through the hour.” I grin, his own lips forming into a smile,

“Anything for you,” he whispers, leaning down and kissing my lips lightly.

I do my best to keep myself engaged and interested in the multiple conversations, but it’s hard when I have many things running through my mind. I’m not in much of a mood to be at this sort of event, I’m doing it just for Harry’s benefit.

These events sometimes get repetitive, I have been to so many and sometimes they’re boring and old.

After being up from four in the morning and barely sleeping, to begin with, all I want is to get to our bed, but here I am, standing in heels that are killing my feet, and a dress that is a little tight but classy enough to still wear. I pulled it out of the wardrobe this morning, I figured it would be a good chance to wear the white dress while it’s still semi-warm. I won’t get to wear it after a few more weeks, probably won’t get to wear half my clothes in a few more weeks.

Harry politely excuses the two of us and leads me away, our hands intertwined,

“Would you like to dance?” Harry proposes, gesturing towards the meagre dance floor of couples slow dancing, I shrug, unsure of whether Harry truly wants to dance, I know he isn’t a fan of it and usually fights me when I endeavour for him to slow dance with me.

I look up at him as we come to a standstill, “are you sure?”

“Yeah, c’mon. It’s the least I can do,” he nods, guiding me towards the dance floor and drawing me closer to him.

His hand presses to the small of my back and he looks down, watching his feet as he leads, doing his best not to step all over me. He sighs as he catches the edge of my dress and I give him a stifled laugh.

I let go of his hand and with great care ruffle the end of my dress into my hand to pull it to the side before I place my hand back with his and he takes the lead, swiftly swaying as I lean closer and lean my head on his shoulder, our bodies being as close as possible and intimate.

“I’ve told you a lot, but you’re breathtakingly radiant, I’m the luckiest man in this room, hands down.” … “I’ve heard a considerable number of good things about you, I’m beyond proud to have you as my wife, honestly,” Harry speaks in a low voice as he concentrates on his feet.

“I’m pretty lucky to have you here, still.”

“Not goin’ anywhere anytime soon, sweetheart,”

“Good, I’d miss these moments too much,”

“What, you’d miss the terrible slow dancing?” Harry snickers, “I’m sure your dresses would be pleased not to have me step all over them.”

“No, I mean just having you around and close to me,”

“I know what you meant. I’m not going anywhere,”

“Promise?” I breathe,

“Promise, love you too much… someone has to keep you on your toes.”

I chuckle delicately as he whispers sweet nothings while we slow dance together, deriving great pleasure from the closeness of our bodies, an intimacy we haven’t felt as much as we used to.

We’ve been disconnected physically. I take a heavy breath before taking a step back and disconnecting Harry and I from our slow dance. “Elle?"

"I just- I’ll be back,” I murmur, needing to draw myself away from everyone and everything.

Harry graciously grasps my hand and draws me back, “just give me a minute,” I speak in a low voice, the two of us getting interrupted in great timing. While Harry is forced to take his attention away from me for a brief moment, I slip away from him and transit out. I’m startled when Harry steps in front of me as I’m sat upon the stone wall of the small garden bed.

“Elise, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Harry murmurs ill-fatedly, something telling me that he’s no longer in the sweet mood he was in around an hour ago.

“I’ve been out here,”

“I see,” he nods, “it would have been nice to have had you in there, a lot of people have been asking for you, love.”

“Harry,” I sigh, “I’m not feeling too well,” I inform him, not wanting to hear about how people have been asking for me or how the business world has missed him. Quite frankly, I do not give a damn. That is not my priority right now.

He fixes his eyes upon me and sighs as he takes his jacket off and steps closer to me. He drapes his jacket around me and kisses my forehead, “Want me to take you home?” He proposes and I shrug, leaning forward and resting my head on him.

I feel his hand press to my back and rub small circles on it as I close my eyes and breathe in his scent.

We stay like this for a few minutes, the fresh air and his warm touch putting me at a bit of ease. “Elle, come on. I’ll take you home if you’re ill.” He murmurs, his hand no longer rubbing my back, forcing me to lift myself away from him.

I take a breath and slide off of the stone edge with Harry’s guidance, Harry’s jacket falling to the cool ground. I sigh and stare down at it, not wanting to bend down.

As if he reads my mind, Harry’s words assure me, “I’ve got it,” he leans down and grabs his jacket, grimacing dimly and doing his best to disguise his own pain from me.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, but he shakes his head before gliding his jacket up my arms so it can’t fall off.

“How about we stay up in the penthouse for the night? It’s more convenient.” Harry proposes as we walk side by side back towards the entrance of his tower.

I give him a nod, not caring too much about where we stay, I just want to get in a cosy bed and feel the warmth of fresh sheets between my body as I’m wrapped up in a comforter. Harry and I step into the Penthouse and the lights shine intermittently I incline my steps towards the extensive window that has a flawless semblance of the city below us— something I immemorially enjoy admiring. I step away and shuffle towards the bed and pick up my clutch I previously threw to the bed. I open it and look down into it, my hand reaching an item in it and carefully placing it in the draw while Harry’s back is turned. I sit on the edge of the bed and watch as Harry turns around, his hands wrestling with his tie as he cocks his head to the side.

“you alright?” He challenges and I give him a nod,

“Yeah, you?”

“Pretty damn sore,” … “probably shouldn’t have moved around so much,” he continues while he grabs hold of a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from the wardrobe. “here, I’ll help you out of the dress,” he steps closer to me As he throws his tie to the bed along with the clothes he intends to wear to bed.

I stand up and observes him unbutton his shirt, his eyes wincing as he slides it down his arms. “Turn sweetheart,” he instructs and I turn my back to him before his hands bear down on to his jacket I’m still wearing, gingerly gliding it down my arms and placing it on the bed.

I feel a small cold chill run through my body as my shoulders become exposed to the cool air of the room. Harry’s hands rub the sides of my arms for a moment before he kisses the slender column of my neck, leaving a small trail of kisses to my bare shoulder before unzipping my dress and allowing it to waddle up on the floor around me.

Harry sweetly glides his button up to slide up my arms and I turn back to face him, my hands moving to start buttoning them but Harry graciously pushes them away. He gives me a tender smile and buttons the shirt to my liking. I thank him with a small kiss on his lips before I sink myself into the bed and pull the covers around me.

Harry claims his side beside me, eventually, and wiggles around for a while, doing his best to get comfortable beside me, unaware that I’m still awake.

I let out a sigh and move closer to him, my hand resting on his chest, “sorry, darlin’ thought you were asleep.” He says in a low voice,

“It’s okay.”

“Do you want to cuddle, sweetheart? Come here,” he instructs and I move and become comfortable while nestled against him, his warmth radiating ideally onto my body. He kisses the top of my head, “how are you feeling?” He whispers as his hand outlines random shapes and patterns on my arm.

“The same,” … “so, you didn’t tell me how therapy went today.” I change the topic, remembering that Harry had a session this morning.

“Ehh, so-so. Didn’t go nuts this time and try fire, my trainer,” Harry chuckles, “I just find it… what’s that word I’m looking for? Fr- its when something’s annoying… damnit…”

“Frustrating,”

“Yeah, it’s frustrating because I feel like I’m a child having to relearn how to do things and having to regain my strength. Not to mention my vocabulary has gone to shit.”

“It’ll get better, it’s just temporary.”

“Thank god for that, Niall had to cover for me a few times. “Do you feel any better, Elle?” Harry wearily questions as my fingers trace one of his tattoos for the hundredth time,

“No,” I mumble with a heavy sigh and he draws the comforter to better cover me, “Harry?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“You know how you always say I can come to you with anything and tell you anything?” I bring into question as his fingers dance around on my arm, drawing patterns,

“Yeah, what is it, Elise? Should I be worried?” Harry challenges with a tint of apprehension to his voice.

I carefully sit up and force his arms away from me, “Elle, what’s wrong?” He instantaneously interrogates.

“I uh-, so I have something for you, something to tell you,” I mumble, my nerves pulsating through my body and my breath beginning to hitch in my throat, if I didn’t feel sick earlier, I definitely feel unwell now.

I lean over and open the bedside drawer, my fingers coming into contact with the highly polished paper and catching it between them. Harry cautiously sits up with a small moan and I settle the picture so all he can see is the backing of it. He flicks his eyes between me and the photograph and raises a brow before his hand reaches for it and he turns it over.

I observe as he looks with a fixed stare at the sonogram for a moment before he turns his head to gaze at me,

“Love,” his breath hitches in his throat and I feel my own heart hammering in my chest.

“I’m pregnant,” the words ultimately scamper away from my lips that have been harbouring in the news since I found out. I had endeavoured to tell him the day of his accident but he was too much in a rush to realise what I was attempting to allege. “I found out while you were sleeping,”

His eyes look back and stare at the sonogram resting in his hand as the silence of the room plays mind games with me.

I can’t handle the silence— I can’t handle his silence.

“I need you to say something,” I talk in a whisper, my nerves continuing to hum through my veins, anxiety beginning to tick me like a ticking time bomb. He focuses his attention on me with gleaming, glossy eyes, his bottom lip quivering as a tear collapse from his grey eyes.

He places the sonogram down to rest on the comforter before he’s staring at me again, the silence annihilating me. He doesn’t say a word, instead, he kisses me sweetly and delicately, just enough to put me at ease.

His hands cup my face as his lips part from mine, “I don’t think I could be any more in love with you, than what I am in this moment… we’re going to have a family,” he whispers with a smile and I nod, pressing the pad of my thumb to his cheek and wiping away a stray tear. “Can… can I?” He gestures towards my stomach that isn’t showing. I give him a nod and he presses his hand ever so delicately to it.

I press my hand over his and settle into him, a tender kiss pressing to the top of my head…

Stay tuned: A plot twist is coming next Chapter! :) xx

#Harry styles imagines #harry styles prompt #harry styles prompts #imagine harry styles #harry styles blurbs #harry styles blurb #harry styles fluff #harry styles preference #harry styles preferences #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfics #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfictions #harry styles writing

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odanurr87 · 5 years

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2018: My year in games

2018 was another good year for gaming as far as I’m concerned, provided you haven’t played Fallout 76 that is. Sony’s still releasing great exclusives, to the point I’m left wondering whether they can keep it up, and we’ve had some interesting releases on PC as well. I don’t have a clue as to how Microsoft is doing, but their one exclusive title I might’ve been interested in, Sea of Thieves, had a messy release and is only available on the Windows 10 store (no, thanks). Notably absent in the release schedule this year was EA’s BioWare, who have been working to release Anthem come February 2019, a title I have little hopes for considering how much it departs from the games the developer is known for as EA tries to embrace the Destiny “live services” crowd everyone is so keen on getting these days (*cough*Bethesda*cough*). CD Projekt RED is also on standby as they continue to work towards Cyberpunk 2077′s release... sometime. Well, at least we know we’re probably getting it sooner than Star Citizen or Half-Life 3. Thankfully, it was a year absent of controversies, like, say, a studio using a franchise to cash in on the battle-royale rage with minimal effort, or a company mocking consumers and telling them not to buy their game... Oh... Well, shit, guess no year is absent of controversy then, but it’s nice to see EA’s spreading the love.

But enough remembrance. You’re here for the list of my top games of 2018, or whatever category I come up with to sort them into, and that’s exactly what you’re going to get. 100% guaranteed, no microtransactions included. This year I’m going to try something different, listing the best games I played this year without ranking them, then selecting my favourite among these, my GOTY if you will. It may be rather unusual, and we all enjoy debating whether this game is the best or that other, but, on the plus side, it builds suspense for my GOTY, doesn’t it? After all, once you see a number other than 1 next to a title, you already know it won’t be my #1 choice. That and I’ve had a tough time trying to rank these games, especially the ones I’ve only just played. Perhaps I’ll change my mind later, but, for now, let’s what games were deserving of some praise this year, shall we?

PSA: This list won’t feature Red Dead Redemption 2 in any way, shape, or form, largely for two reasons: 1) I haven’t played it; and 2) it doesn’t particularly appeal to me, and its large runtime is one of the reasons why.

Let the epicness begin to this theme!

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Best Aesthetic

Let’s start with a classic. Last year, the award went to Abzû for its excellent blend of pastel colours, pleasant gameplay, and wonderful soundtrack. It’s only fitting then that this year the award go to the game I recently called “2018′s Abzû”...

Released only a few weeks ago, Gris is another great example on how a game can exquisitely combine gorgeous artwork with an infinitely beautiful soundtrack, and provide an engaging, and rather creative, gameplay experience. Indeed, I'd go so far as say that is one aspect where Gris actually stands out over Abzû, with puzzles that are quite simple, but may require some lateral thinking from the player at times. The level design is fairly intuitive and I was hardly ever stumped as to what to do or where to go to next. Or maybe I was too busy enjoying the watercolour landscapes to pay much attention to where I was going. While Gris won't take more than 4 to 6 hours of your life, depending on whether you've found all collectibles, it is a visual and auditory spectacle well worth your time.

Runners-up:

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Forgotton Anne

The PlayStation Exclusives

A Telltale-like game on steroids with spectacular visuals, thanks to an insane amount of mocap, and a great soundtrack, Detroit: Become Human really pushed the envelope in regards to choices and consequences within a narrative, so much so that every chapter has a story tree that shows the choices you made as well as the different branching-off points. Our story takes place sometime in the future of Detroit and explores the onset of an android revolution through three different characters, all of them androids: Kara, a housemaid android who runs away with a little girl called Alice; Markus, a domestic android turned rebel leader; and Connor, an advanced prototype specifically designed to help the police track down deviant androids.

Gameplay-wise, Connor’s story is definitely the best of the three, as it allows for more input from the player as Connor has to solve cases with his partner, Lt. Hank Anderson, played by Clancy Brown. These sections of the game are similar to the ones in the Arkham games, requiring you to analyze the scene and put together the clues to recreate past events. At times though, you’ll be placed in adrenaline-filled chases of suspects that make an impressive use of QTEs. As much as I loved this human-android crime-solving duo, the award for most dramatic and emotional story has to go to Kara and Alice’s odyssey to find a new home in the midst of all the chaos. I couldn’t help but feel immediately protective of Alice so I naturally roleplayed Kara as a mom, trying to set a good example for her through my actions. My one regret about this story concerns a decision the developers made, that takes place towards the game’s end and chips away a little at the significance of their relationship for no real value. As for Markus, he felt the more underdeveloped of the three, perhaps because he’s written more as a symbol than a person, becoming the Messiah for all androids (the game’s anything but subtle about this). He’s given a romance arc with the gorgeous Minka Kelly that, sadly, feels unearned, as her character, North, doesn’t have that many intimate moments with him.

Damn you for so obviously pulling at my heartstrings you two!

No story is without flaws and Detroit: Become Human is no exception. While it does feature humans interacting with androids here and there, I was surprised that the android revolution was 100% human-free, what seems rather disingenuous. The game also does little to explain android deviancy and actually muddles the issue by giving its Messiah a unique ability that ends up being not so unique after all. Furthermore, the story doesn’t explore at all the possibility that, even after going deviant, some androids would prefer to stay with their families rather than join Markus’ uncertain revolution. The game’s not particularly subtle in its depiction of android segregation in human society, to the point some of it struck me as more than a bit ridiculous (exclusive stairs for androids?), but I rolled with it thanks to the strength of some of its characters.

Clocking in at around 12 hours, give or take, this is one game that encourages multiple playthroughs as you read the decision trees to figure out where exactly you want to take the characters next and how to do that. A blind first playthrough is encouraged, especially if you want to end up an emotional wreck. For my part, Detroit: Become Human scratched my sci-fi and Telltale itch this year, and that’s why it makes it on my list.

A solid action-adventure title, and one that further disproves EA’s bold, but dumb, claim that single player games are dead. While perhaps not as visually striking as titles like Horizon Zero Dawn or Assassin’s Creed Odyssey -probably due to do the muted colour palette used to depict this world-, God of War remains engaging gameplay-wise, throwing in a healthy mix of satisfying combat and puzzles that will put Kratos’ skills to the test, as well as interesting side quests that never feel like a chore to play, thanks to how well integrated they are to the game’s theme and main story. The customization system is simple enough to understand and use, what is always welcome, and plays a key role in ensuring you will survive your journey, allowing you to upgrade your weapons, craft unique armours, and further tune the both with enchantments, through the tireless efforts of the best side characters in the game, the dwarves Brok and Sindri. The only fault I can find here is related to progression, and how the better armours in the game are available a little too close to the end. By that time, I had three great sets of armour to choose from when I could’ve used at least one of these earlier.

For those new to the franchise, as yours truly, you play Kratos, voiced by none other than Christopher Judge (Teal’c!), a Greek God (with a capital G) who has decided to exile himself to somewhere around Scandinavia after the events of the previous games. The game’s premise centers around trying to fulfill your deceased wife’s last wish to spread her ashes from the highest peak of the mountain. Along for the journey comes your BOY, Atreus, who does his best to connect with a father he rarely knew growing up, what strikes me as odd. Being a Spartan, and given his background, Kratos is more tight-lipped than I would’ve preferred, what makes communicating with his son rather difficult, at least in the beginning. While I understand and welcome what they tried to do with the characters here, I feel the father-son relationship could’ve used further development, especially in regards to a radical personality shift Atreus experiences out of the blue mid-way through the game and is gone just as quickly.

Infused as it is in Norse mythology, comparisons with 2017′s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice seem inevitable, but whereas that game retells the myths via a great narrator, in God of War you actually get to partake in this mythical world and explore some of them. Perhaps precisely because I had previously played Hellblade, most of the twists didn’t come as a surprise, but that doesn’t make them or the story any worse for it. I also have to give the game credit for its ending, which avoided some of the more cliché options available to it. Given the running theme, it would’ve been easy to turn it into something else entirely, and a few minutes leading up to it, I feared that’s exactly what the game would do, but was pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise. It even went the extra mile of hiding away the post-credits scene where one could expect to find it.

In the end, despite a few flaws in its storytelling, God of War is a solid entry in the single player action-adventure genre that I can easily recommend to anyone. If Hellblade didn’t scratch your Norse mythology itch, then God of War most assuredly will.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this game has done for Spider-Man what the Arkham series did for Batman. Marvel’s Spider-Man is a great Spider-Man story and a very entertaining superhero game, that truly makes you feel like the highly acrobatic, web-slinging, joke-cracking, crime fighter. Swinging your way through NYC was a great rush, reminding me of Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst’s best parkour moments. But Spider-Man is only half of what makes the character great, and the other half, Peter Parker, is perhaps the best adaptation of the character I’ve seen to date, foregoing the tale of his early days as a superhero and reporter for The Daily Bugle, instead focusing on his career as a research assistant under Doctor Otto Octavius. He’s still broke as fuck though.

The story throws you right into the action at the onset, as you ensure Wilson Fisk finally goes to jail for the many crimes he has committed. It doesn’t take long before a new criminal group moves into town however, one that is far less concerned about civilian casualties and is determined to bring down the mayor of NYC, Norman Osborn. So begins a rather complicated web of lies and secrets that both Peter and Spider-Man will have to untangle as the city is slowly engulfed in chaos. Joining you in this fight are NYPD captain Yuriko Watanabe, Mary Jane Watson, now a reporter at The Daily Bugle, and even Miles Morales. Of the three, I liked Yuri the best and felt we could’ve used more time bonding with her. I know very little of Miles’ run as Spider-Man and, while I welcomed his addition to the game, it felt a little lazy to make him such a carbon-copy of Peter. As for MJ, she thoroughly annoyed me with her shtick of getting mad at Spider-Man for constantly saving her, moreso considering how she recklessly puts herself in extremely dangerous situations to begin with.

Less MJ and more Yuri please.

The game features an open world that gets layered with side activities the more you progress through the main campaign. It’s a good idea so as not to overwhelm players with a ton of busy work right at the beginning, and I’ll admit some of them give the player more insight into Peter’s past and Harry Osborn’s character. However, busy work they remain, and you’re obliged to tackle at least some of them if you want to buy suits or upgrade your equipment. While often creative, especially Harry’s research stations, their abundance highlight the lack of more (and more interesting) side quests (the amount of loading screens doesn’t help either). Furthermore, teases like Felicia’s Black Cat returning to NYC or even Silver Sable’s introduction were begging for side quests of their own. Even so, the game’s worst sin by far is how it forces you to play scripted “stealth” sections with Miles and MJ that I kept wishing I could skip. I’m a huge fan of stealth games, but these sections felt extremely forced, perhaps done out of a need to give these characters some agency.

In the end though, Marvel’s Spider-Man is one of the best superhero games to date, and perhaps the best story we never got to see on the big screen, but it naturally benefits from a running time longer than 2 hours. Ironically, it’s similar to the recently released Aquaman, in the sense that it throws a lot of familiar faces and action-packed set pieces at you, particularly towards its emotional third act, unfortunately sacrificing some villains (in terms of storytelling) in the process. Furthermore, this final act feels a little rushed, as if it were missing a cutscene or two in the beginning, and likewise in the end to explain the state of the world. Yet for me, Marvel’s Spider-Man’s crowning achievement remains making me feel like one of my favourite Marvel superheroes as I parkour, fight, and web-sling my way through New York City.

Best Soundtrack

This was not an easy choice to make as there were several titles with solid scores this year, such as Detroit: Become Human, created by three different composers for each of the characters, Peter Due’s Forgotton Anne, or even Joe Haisashi’s Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom. Even John Paesano makes a comeback from his average work on Mass Effect: Andromeda with an excellent main theme for Spider-Man as well as a few other great tracks like “City of Hope” (which plays every time you traverse the city), “Responsibility” and “Behind the Mask.” But the difficulty in choosing one of these increased exponentially when Gris released to an absolutely mesmerizing score by Berlinist, putting me in a similar predicament as last year. In the end though, only one gets to take home this prestigious award, and that game is...

This one was almost a toss between Gris and Detroit, but, in the end, I have to give it to the latter for the sheer amount of work put by Philip Sheppard (Kara), Nima Fakhrara (Connor), and John Paesano (Markus) into crafting three separate and distinct scores that not only feel authentic to each of the characters but are also wonderful to listen to on their own, effectively elevating the source material, something not many titles can boast. If you were to force my hand right now to pick between one of the three, I’d naturally have to go with Philip Sheppard’s score, as his Kara leitmotif was the one that stuck with me the most throughout the game. It’s a simple string composition but the things he does with it, the way he builds upon it, it’s something truly wonderful. It doesn’t hurt that I loved Kara and Alice’s story the most, from an emotional standpoint, and Philip Sheppard’s score plays no small part in this. Having said that, I also have to congratulate Fakhrara’s Connor score, far and wide the one that feels more at home in this sci-fi world, and Paesano’s work in elevating Markus’ character through his music, with great tracks such as “Something You’ve Never Seen Before” or “Markus’ Speech,” to mention a couple. Like last year’s NieR:Automata, Detroit: Become Human’s score is definitely worth a purchase.

Runners-up:

Gris

Forgotton Anne

The Animated Adventures

Of all the games in this list, none fit the category of “family game” better than Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. Everything from its bright and colourful art design that could be lifted straight from a Studio Ghibli production at times, imaginative world and characters, and cheerful soundtrack, made this game a delight to play from beginning to end. It was truly refreshing to play such a straightforward and sincere story about a young prince who wishes to unite the world in peace, working together with his mentor and a motley cast of allies from all corners of the world. The story is framed as a series of chapters, with opening slides and even a narrator to close each one, and it follows Prince Evan as he's exiled from his kingdom after a coup, yet finds the strength in his newfound commitment to bring peace unto the entire world. As such, he founds a new kingdom that you get to micromanage throughout the game, building and creating different facilities, undertaking research or crafting new weapons and armour, finding new recipes for your cook, or scouring the world for people keen on becoming the first citizens of your new kingdom. Unless you’re planning on rushing through the main story, kingdom building will take a good deal of your time, as you’re sent on quest after quest to gather ingredients, find missing people, or engage in battle from time to time. To give an example, it took me 37 hours to beat this game and I still had a ton of things to do on my quest log!

As perhaps one would expect from such a kid-friendly game, Ni no Kuni II is surprisingly easy to play, so much so that people actually complained it lacked difficulty levels, which were eventually added in a patch. If I had to criticize it for something, it would have to be for its world map exploration, which looks similar to Worlds of Final Fantasy, a design decision that clashes with the vibrant Ghibli-like art that is prominent throughout. Perhaps it was outsourced to a different studio than Level-5? Also, the amount of side content in this game can get a bit overwhelming and more than a little repetitive, but if my runtime proves anything, it’s that you can engage it at your own leisure (indeed, it takes 90 hours for a completionist run), or not. The game also features a sort of in-world Facebook/Twitter where you can check posts with pictures of events that have transpired, people looking for new jobs or challenges (a nice way to search for citizens), or even examples of the world’s flora and fauna. It’s a nice little feature that makes the world feel a little more alive and reactive than it really is. As for its score, composed by Joe Hisaishi, while it does have great tracks such as “The Curious Boy” (my personal favourite), “Kingmaker’s Theme,” or “Happily Ever After,” not to mention its main theme, and is solid overall (more so than other titles in this list), it’s probably not one I’ll often find myself listening to, which is why I didn’t award it with my Best Soundtrack award.

All in all, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a title I’d heartily recommend to anyone who wants to experience a charming and colourful bedtime story in a little country a long, long way from here...

Developed by ThroughLine Studios and released by Square Enix earlier in May, this game wasn’t even on my radar, but, like Ni no Kuni II, Forgotton Anne is a game brimming with imagination, that pleasantly surprised me with its great voice acting and soundtrack. Unlike Ni no Kuni II however, the game maintains its beautiful, hand-crafted, aesthetic throughout, making you the protagonist of an animated adventure with high production values, as you take on the role of Anne, a human tasked with enforcing the law in a world of forgotten objects turned sentient, called Forgotlings. When a group of rebel Forgotlings strike a power plant, Anne will have to track down the mysterious rebel leader and uncover the truth about herself and this world. Forgotton Anne is a game that allows you to roleplay a ruthless Enforcer as well as one that prefers more peaceful means of resolving conflict and these decisions are acknowledged throughout the game. Equipped with the Arca, a glove that allows you to manipulate anima (or soul energy), Anne will often be presented the choice of 'distilling' Forgotlings or sparing them, opening or closing certain doors for you.

The game plays as a platformer with puzzles that revolve around your use of the Arca to open doors, power up consoles, etc. These are not terribly difficult but you may find one or two that leave you scratching your head for a bit. Exploration is encouraged by way of collectibles and, in fact, a feature is introduced at the end of the game that allows you to travel back in time and replay certain levels in order to track down memorabilia and unlock achievements. It's a neat way of allowing replayability while in the context of the story and it gets extra marks from me for the additional effort.

While the story is largely predictable, it's by no means any less good for it and was, to my mind, perfectly executed. One lingering issue I have, nonetheless, is how the game makes a reveal halfway through, believing it'll have more impact than it actually did as I'd already been playing under the basis this was true. Perhaps they should've made more of an effort to hide it in the beginning. Then again, maybe that would've drawn more attention to it. Another issue I had storywise has to do with how underdeveloped, and slightly contradictory, I felt one of the endings was. It's a feeling I also had when playing the original Life is Strange and realizing how much more effort was put into of the endings as opposed to the other.

When all is said and done, Forgotton Anne is a charming animated adventure that will undoubtedly pull at your heart strings, but also make you smile merely for being allowed to partake in this world of ill-tempered teddy bears, trigger-happy guns, and Shakespearean mannequins, and it’s a definite recommendation.

Lara’s Final Chapter

Shadow of the Tomb Raider delivered almost everything I wanted from a new entry in the Tomb Raider series, but not all I would’ve expected from Lara’s final chapter. Together with her friend Jonah, Lara must stop Trinity from finding an ancient artifact in South America that has the power to reshape the world. However, in her rush to beat Trinity to the finish line, Lara may have inadvertedly set in motion a series of events that threaten to trigger an apocalypse. As a result, Shadow of the Tomb Raider turns out to be a darker game than its predecessors, a fact highlighted at several points throughout the game, but never sufficiently explored, though I give it credit for acknowledging it. Sadly, while Shadow tries to tie together the Trinity storyline from Rise, we learn very little in terms of the composition and overall goals of this shadowy organization, that is now practically reduced to providing cannon fodder for our favourite Croft. The main villain is a little more nuanced and sympathetic than previous ones, and for once the series doesn’t tie your hands behind your back during the final boss fight. Unfortunately for the game, I was more invested in fighting his lieutenant, who gets killed in a cutscene.

In terms of gameplay, Shadow doubles down on tomb raiding, adding underground and underwater exploration, but one can’t help but feel its maps are more constrained than in Rise, favouring the Uncharted series’ more linear approach, particularly when it comes to the game’s combat sections, which feel more scripted than ever before. Perhaps by way of compensation, the game introduces a new stealth mechanic that allows Lara to camouflage herself, thus getting insanely close to her enemies, and the ability to hang enemies from tree tops a la Arkham series. The crafting system now allows you to harvest insects to craft poison grenades or special arrows that turn your enemies against each other, though, regrettably, these are introduced rather late in the game. Weapon customization also makes a comeback as does Lara's ever-increasing wardrobe. Shadow also tries something new by introducing side quests, but thankfully never so many as to feel burdensome.

This game looks pretty to boot too.

The music is mostly unremarkable, working to great effect immersing you in the setting and building on the game’s atmosphere, as I’m sure was Brian D’Oliveira’s intention, but there's nothing that'll stick with you after you're done tomb raiding your way to the end. The pieces that stood out to me the most are “Lara's Dream” and the end credits song, “Goodbye Paititi,” but that’s about it. This might partially explain why Lara’s final chapter lacks emotional resonance; a lot of the emphasis is placed on the action, few, if any, leitmotifs or themes are introduced, with (maybe) only the main theme carried over from previous games. It would be wrong to lay the blame entirely at Shadow’s feet when the first game didn’t establish a musical narrative beyond Lara’s theme though. I don't recall a Jonah theme or a Trinity theme, for instance. Perhaps if the series had maintained a coherent musical narrative with its score the story beats would've been more impactful.

Our story ends in an uneventful note that I feel doesn’t do the series justice. It’s not a bad ending, but it doesn’t pack the same punch as, say, Uncharted 4 did. In a way, this is a curse of its own making, as the Tomb Raider series is tonally different from Uncharted; and whereas the strength of the latter rests in Nate’s interactions with his friends and family, Lara has always been terribly isolated in these games, Jonah notwithstanding. Thus, while not exactly the swan song our tomb raider deserves, if you played the previous two games, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is definitely not one to miss.

Best Side Content

I don’t think any other game I’ve played this year has come close to making its world come alive nearly as much as this game did. With plenty of side quests and side activities, it would be easy to make them seem like busy work, but this game somehow manages to turn them into events the player can look forward to, building the world these characters live in, making it feel real. Some are so entertaining that I found myself delaying the main campaign so I could play more of them. No game released this year did this better than...

While the game shows some signs of its age (it was originally released in 2015 in Japan), what it lacks in visuals it more than makes up packing its world full of fun things to do. Do you want to go out for drinks and do some karaoke? You can do that. How about some batting practice? You can do that too. Dinner? Sure. Car racing? You bet. Can I rock the dance floor? Like freaking Travolta. You can even play games at your nearest SEGA arcade, bet big on an underground fight ring (there are two), get into real estate or manage your cabaret club, by far the mini-game I had most fun with. The amount of detail put into some of these mini-games is beyond ridiculous and would definitely justify having a game of their own. Beyond these activities, you also get to meet a lot of interesting NPCs that have their own unique stories to tell and that you always feel glad to have helped at the end of the day. You can help a mother rescue her daughter from a cult, have the Chinese mafia fake a ring for a guy’s girlfriend, teach a dominatrix how to be better at her job, or even share your stories with a radio programme to win a prize, to mention a bare few. You can also have a few laughs at how bad Majima is tailing people and trying to hide from them.

Yakuza 0 is an example of side content done right, that foregoes the modern-day open-world formula, opting for a more constrained setting a la Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but that feels big and rich thanks to its content and characters. And on that note, let’s give it up for Judgement Kazzy!

Runners-up:

God of War

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

youtube

Assassins No More

Last year, Origins made it into my list through sheer spectacle, the lure of exploring Ancient Egypt, and the promise of a return to the modern storyline of the Isu with the introduction of a new set protagonist, Layla Hassan. This year, Odyssey ups the ante by delivering a story that, while still revolving around a family drama, no longer makes revenge the driving force of the narrative. Indeed, for a good chunk of the game, our character’s motivation (Kassandra, in my case) is a blend of making a living as a mercenary and exploring the world beyond her small island of Kephallonia. Given how beautiful and colourful the world in Odyssey is, I’d say it was a smart choice. The game also introduces more interesting side quests than its predecessor did, and better tied to the main campaign, with one of my favourites being the Silver Islands arc; perhaps in no small part thanks to how cute the rebel leader, Kyra, is. In fact, Kassandra can romance a TON of people as she explores the world and runs errands, but, sadly, no relationship is as well crafted as, say, your relationship with Triss or Yennefer in The Witcher 3. Some might come close to being as impactful, such as your relationship with Daphnae, one of the Daughters of Artemis, but they’re all mostly just one-night stands, with one particular relationship coming out of the blue as the game ends that I wished the game had set up and built further.

I know I said cute, but hot works too.

Gameplay-wise, Odyssey plays very much like Origins, with a more streamlined crafing system, that requires less variety (but still tons) of resources to upgrade your gear, but with blocking gone after the shield was removed, an odd design choice. You still get to level up your character, though the leveling-up curve is rather steep at the beginning, forcing you to play much of the side content that would qualify under busy work. It doesn’t help that the in-game store sells a Permanent XP booster that gives you an additional 50% XP for $10, as well as materiales to upgrade your gear, and has the balls to outright call them “Time Savers.” Ubisoft further pushes the in-game store and Helix credits by introducing a new currency in-game, necessary to buy crates with random legendary gear drops from a special vendor, that you get at a much slower rate than your usual credits. I’m not too mad about this, given that the game does reward you with some great-looking armours through normal playthrough, but it’s something we should be on the lookout for future titles.

Naval battles make a return and, simple as they are, I welcomed the distraction and opportunity to sail the Aegean Sea and discover new locations and secrets. At times, Odyssey manages to replicate the sense of wonder and mystery I experienced when playing Skyrim. On the other hand, Conquest battles, its newest addition to the franchise, fail to live up to the expectation. Beyond their limited scope, the worst sin they commit is how inconsequential they are, having no impact in the world around you beyond what banner the closest fort will fly. Curiously, these battles are missing from the main story's end content, what seems odd considering they would've been a perfect fit for the story. In fact, there's a stark contrast between Chapters 1-7 and 8-10, with the latter chapters moving at a brisk pace that is not necessarily justified. On the plus side, Ubisoft has seemingly embraced the Isu civilization, what has allowed them to include mythical creatures like the Minotaur or Medusa, and even throw in Atlantis for good measure. I only hope they’ll go the extra mile and throw in some Greek Gods as well.

The game has some well-placed humour as well.

For all the things it does better than Origins however, I feel Odyssey takes a few steps back, especially insofar the modern-day storyline is concerned. While Layla Hassan makes a comeback, her story is so short and uneventful that it comes across as an afterthought, jumping ahead in time and introducing a whole host of new characters we have never met and referencing events we know nothing about. Layla herself experiences a radical transformation from being skeptical of the assassins’ intentions to becoming one of their strongest supporters. Nothing about the modern-day storyline makes a lot of sense, with many gaps that are probably filled in with other material such as comics and novels, but I’ve always believed that to be the hallmark of lazy and poor storytelling. Either commit to the modern-day storyline or don’t, Ubisoft, you can’t have it both ways.

Overall, I feel like Odyssey is an improvement over Origins, and that’s why it makes it on the list. I am however, skeptical that Ubisoft will pull it off a third time before the charm and novelty of an open-world Assassin’s Creed game wears off -it already is thanks in no small part to its side content-, or before they push the Helix Store so hard down our throats that they have their own Battlefront 2 controversy. Perhaps they still have a shot with a game set in Japan or China. Only time will tell.

My favourite game of 2018

This wasn’t a particularly easy choice to make considering the different strengths and weaknesses of the games in this list, not to mention their different approaches to storytelling. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is a strong contender, but its world is so filled with busy work, its modern-day story so underdeveloped, and the push of the Helix Store so blatant, that I cannot in good conscience say this was my favourite game of 2018, let alone GOTY. Likewise, Shadow of the Tomb Raider was initially well-positioned in my mind to take it home, but it just didn’t stick the landing for what it’s supposed to be (but hopefully isn’t) Lara’s final chapter. Another single-player action-adventure title, God of War, gets almost everything right, but I couldn’t connect with the story of Kratos and Atreus in the same way I did, say, Kara and Alice in Detroit: Become Human. I could go on knocking out competitors, but I’d rather talk about my favourite game released in 2018...

Yakuza 0 is not a perfect game, but it gets pretty close at times. Set in the 80s, Yakuza 0 follows the characters of Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima, two rookie Yakuza who, for different reasons, have fallen in disfavour with their respective families, and need to figure out whether they have what it takes to return to the fold. That’s about as much as I can reveal without talking spoilers. No story in any of the games I played this year gripped me nearly as much as this one did (some moments in Detroit: Become Human come close), not only because of how well-written the characters are across the board (including the villains who come across as fearsome opponents), but also because of its many twists and turns that will keep you guessing what the real goal of the different players you find yourself involved with is. Your character, be it Kiryu or Majima, and his understanding of events by the game’s end, is radically different from his starting point, as you unveil plots within plots within plots, a result of the many and varied agendas at play here. To say this game has as many layers as an onion would be high praise... for the onion. Both Kiryu and Majima are powerful characters in their own right when fighting thugs, as demonstrable by the gameplay, but Yakuza 0 is quite ruthless in showing you exactly how out of their depth they are when they decide to take on... bigger opponents. You would think this is because Kiryu and Majima get beat up, and they do, a lot, but I actually found it’s the conversations they have with other characters, the villains in particular, that’s the highlight of the game. Yes, characters in Yakuza 0 talk, a lot, so you’d better get used to it, but these conversations, excellently voice-acted, fill the atmosphere with so much tension, dread, or sometimes anticipation, that you can’t help but be absorbed by them, as you can never guess what the other party might say that will surprise you. And this game surprised me a lot.

Man, the conversations in this game...

Having said that, it is true many of the twists and turns that were a surprise in the beginning started to feel a bit trite when they’re re-used in the final chapters. One that annoyed me in particular was the game’s use of the “Your Princess is in Another Castle” trope (incidentally, God of War also does this to some extent), sometimes forcing events a little much to pull it off. I suppose this has to do with the fact that this “Princess” becomes the sole motivation for your two characters towards the end, getting shuffled around so both Kiryu and Majima can get a crack at the villains. It works thanks to the strength of the characters and their dialogue, but I would certainly take issue with a lesser game that kept me running around the place for 4 or 5 chapters straight. I also felt that, of the two leads, Kiryu’s ending is the one that feels more natural to his character, as opposed to Majima’s, who experiences an odd personality shift that doesn’t seem to jibe with what we know of him. It’s possible this has to do with the fact that, while Yakuza 0 is the starting point in the series for our two protagonists, it’s not the first game in the series. As a matter of fact, there were 5 Yakuza games, released over the space of 10 years, prior to Yakuza 0.

Having previously awarded it with my “Best Side Content” award and praising it for its world-building, despite not being an open-world game (yes, you can have invisible walls and still make a great game!), Yakuza 0 only needed to deliver on its story and characters, and it did that in spades.

And that’s it for my list of the best games I played in 2018! It’s a bit of a long read, for sure, but I could hardly have done these games justice had I written less, and in some cases I probably didn’t write enough. What about you? What are some of the best games you played in 2018?

#best games of 2018 #gaming #gris #detroit become human #god of war #spider-man #ni no kuni 2 #forgotton anne #lara croft #shadow of the tomb raider #assassin's creed #assassin's creed odyssey #yakuza #yakuza 0

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callmeblake · 7 years

Photo

Selections from Kerrang Issue #1642 (screencaps from pressreader)

Photo Credit: Paul Harries and Ashley Maile

Magazine Release Date: October 19th, 2016

Issue Label: October 22nd, 2016

I just LOVE Frank’s face in this

(you can read it, on presssreader, you just have to play around with the size of your screen to see it all)

OMG it has a an audio as WELL. It’s a computer voice! It calls Gerard “Jared”!

Transcript for selections below

REJOIN THE BLACK PARADE

It’s the mcr album that changed your life. 10 years on, we retell its amazing story…

Kerrang! (UK)

19 Oct 2016

In the autumn of 2006, My Chemical Romance’s third album, The Black Parade, landed in the lap of this magazine. In Kerrang!’s world, the quintet from New Jersey were already stars, the band having graced our covers since the release of 2004’s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. Two years on from the grief-stricken purge of their second album, MCR were ready for a leap into the great wide open of superstardom with a capital ‘S’. The Black Parade would serve as a down-payment on this new exalted status… The review that preceded the album’s release described MCR’S soon-to-be-blockbuster as having “flamboyance in abundance”, but also depth. “Beneath the surface is where to look on this album,” we wrote .“underneath the imagery and the concept is where you’ll find all sorts – hope, resignation, anger, defiance, self-loathing and a thousand more emotions aside. It’ll take a few listens, but when The Black Parade reveals its secrets to you, you’ll be dazzled by its brilliance.”

Turns outthe Black Parade revealed its secrets with such resonance that a decade on, we’re still talking about it.this week, the 13-song set (14 songs including hidden track, Blood) celebrates its 10th birthday.

“I remember reading an early interview with [frontman] Gerard Way where he said something that I think best sums up My Chemical Romance,” remembers former Kerrang! writer Catherineyates, who in August of 2006 spoke with the band in Camden Town for their first cover story in support ofthe Black Parade.“before he found success with the band, he was talking about how he was living in his parents’ basement, working a crappy retail job and was unhappy with his life. He thought,‘i’ve just got to get out of this basement.’ And he did. I think that serves as a powerful metaphor for anyone unhappy with their current situation. It’s a powerful metaphor for anyone.”

By the time of The Black Parade, Gerard Way had left behind not just his parents’ basement, but also the My Chemical Romance music that had preceded it.

For the latter part of the 20th century and the first years of the 21st century, the terms ‘concept album’ and – Shock! Horror! – ‘rock opera’ were about as appealing as being run over by a car.with the release of American Idiot, in 2004 Green Day changed all that. Suddenly, thematic ideas splayed upon vast canvases were as artistically acceptable as they had been in the 1970s.

It is testament to MCR’S moxie that while clearly influenced by Green Day’s magnum opus – as well as utilising the services of that album’s talented producer, Rob Cavallo – the only debt The Black Parade owes to the 2004 smash is the notion of an album as a thematic concern, and a sense of fearlessness in its blue-sky thinking. Recorded between April and August of 2006 at Eldorado Recording Studios Recording Studios in Burbank, California, the album encompassed themes of death, life, disease, childhood recollections and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity. The songs Welcome To The Black Parade, Famous Last Words, I Don’t Loveyou andteenagers were picked as singles. In the spirit of the ‘surrogate band’ in Pink Floyd’s The Wall and David Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust from the The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars set, on the tour in support of their third album the group appeared under the nom de plume The Black Parade.all the while they were dressed in black marching uniforms that resembled a monochromatic incarnation of the clothes sported by The Beatles on the front cover of their 1967 classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Released on October 23, 2006,The Black Parade debuted on the U.S. Billboard album chart at Number Two and in the same position in the UK. In their home country, the album would go on to sell some 1.6 million copies. worldwide, the collection would find its way into the homes of no fewer than three million people. Success, though, came at a cost.the recording of The Black Parade and the mammoth tour undertaken in its name – which included a sold-out date at London’s O2 Arena on November 15, 2007 – would take its toll on this sensitive band.at various times on the road, bassist Mikey Way and guitarist Frank Iero would absent themselves from the line-up, vacancies that were filled by stand-in musicians; it would also be the last time drummer Bob Bryar recorded with the group. The album would also prove to be MCR’S creative and commercial high-water mark.as of 2013, as you will know, the band are no more.

“The Black Parade is significant not just for its music, but for the fact that it was probably the last rock album to become really popular before the internet took over,” believes Catherine Yates. “These days it would be really hard for a band to establish themselves with such a strong visual ethic because there’s so much music competing for people’s attention.”

With The Black Parade, MCR defined their legacy in musical form. It is a testament to what was, and what will always be.

IT'S NOT A FASHION STATEMENT...

Andy BIERSACK TALKS us THROUGH The FASHION OF The BLACK PARADE…

Kerrang! (UK)

19 Oct 2016

■ “My Chemical Romance coming back with The Black Parade and the look that went with it was like someone planting a flag and saying that, in 2006,‘This is how we – the weirdos and the outcasts – look, and this is how we feel.’ It’s a fantastic aesthetic, and there’s an incredibly talented costume designer at Warner Brothers [Colleen Atwood] who designed it with Gerard, and that collaboration resulted in this incredible visual style that you can’t ignore. At the time, I didn’t know Gerard was such a comic book enthusiast, and there’s definitely a costumed hero vibe readily noticeable in those outfits now. One of the things that makes me smile is that if you asked the average person to draw the costumes, I’d bet they’d draw the same jacket for every member. But the reality is that each member’s outfit was nuanced enough that they retained their individuality. while I’ve never taken explicit influence from their actual aesthetic, when I designed the costumes for the Wretched And Divine I specifically drew each member’s outfit the way I thought it should be, and then worked with them individually to give each that personality, and that was hugely influenced by The Black Parade. For me, it’s never been just about the music.the whole package is what provides that escapism, the music is the soundtrack to the feeling, and that feeling is one of being disenfranchised. Sometimes you want to show your differences from others, and the aesthetic of The Black Parade empowered so many people to do so.”

THE FIRST GIG AND WE WERE THERE!

MCR ANNOUNCED THE BLACK PARADE IN TYPICALLY ENIGMATIC FASHION IN LONDON ON AUGUST 22, 2006. OUR EDITOR, JAMES MCMAHON,WAS THERE…

Kerrang! (UK)

19 Oct 2016

“I’ll be honest, for me, I didn’t quite realise the significance at the time. I went to the show because I liked MCR, but I didn’t understand the sheer gravity of what I’d just witnessed until much later.‘due to unforeseen circumstances, My Chemical Romance are unable to perform this evening…’ boomed the venue’s PA. I remember the boos.the detritus being thrown at the stage. I remember the pregnant pause. ‘However… My Chemical Romance’s good friends The Black Parade have kindly stepped in as a replacement…’ I remember the confusion.the realisation The Black Parade and MCR were one and the same.the euphoria.and then I remember one of the greatest gigs I’ve ever had the good fortune to be present at. I Don’t Love you, House Of wolves, Cancer… all songs being played live for the first time. I remember thinking,‘this could be to emo what American Idiot was to punk…’ and I think I nailed that one from the off. I have to say, that Hammersmith Palais was one of the greatest venues. So yeah, I didn’t realise the significance at the time, but now, I’m aware I was in the presence of a legend being forged.”

#gerard way #frank iero #ray toro #mikey way #kerrang #bob bryar #hae you found a scan of this?#please link me if you have #K!1642 #october 2016 #2016 #mcr #black parade era #i just love frank's face in this #2006 #platinum gerard #fingerchin photoshoot #paul harries #ashley maile

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

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Every week, we pick a new episode of the week. It could be good. It could be bad. It will always be interesting. You can read the archives here. The episode of the week for August 26 through September 1 is “Sunday,” the fourth episode of AMC’s Lodge 49.

In his classic 2000 sociology book Bowling Alone, Robert D. Putnam made an argument that at the time read like an epitaph, but now reads like a prophecy. Putnam was talking about the decline in civic engagement in America, which he first connected to voter turnout rates and the like. But then he broadened his argument to talk about something else entirely: a decline in community investment and involvement, based on the idea that people are no longer involved in communities larger than the ones behind their front doors.

To make his case, Putnam combed through countless numbers of membership records for bowling leagues and Masonic lodges, for church groups and social circles. What he found was that a whole way of American life was dying out, just like that. As the generation of Americans that lived through the Great Depression and World War II began to die, these organizations went with them. Now, if you have a bowling alley in your neighborhood, it’s almost certainly positioned itself as some extreme variation on the sport, or it’s an intentionally nostalgic throwback to an era increasingly few of us were actually alive for.

Putnam’s argument was more complicated than, say, “Television killed off social and civic organizations,” though that was one of its themes. His larger argument was that the death of these organizations presaged the death of Americans’ belief in their communities as communities.

If you wanted to trace the roots of the country’s shift from a kind of big-picture progressivism to more individualistic conservatism, well, you could do a lot worse than looking at the shift from neighborhood gathering place to individual home, from men play-acting at being members of a weird, mystical order in a local lodge to turning their houses into fortresses.

The little town I grew up in was just far enough out-of-step with the times to still have bowling leagues and Masons and Elks when I was growing up. But now, when I return, those buildings often sit empty, with no one to inhabit them. Change is inevitable, of course, and many of those organizations were rooted in racist and sexist attitudes, to be sure. But I still wonder what might have been lost in their passing.

And that might be why I like Lodge 49 so much.

The lodge members debate what to do with the “reliquum corpus.” Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

It’s not particularly easy to explain what Lodge 49 is about, because it’s not really like any other TV show I can think of. Its premise revolves around a Long Beach, California-based lodge maintained by a (fictional) fraternal order known as the Lynx. (Think the Masons or the Elks, but with a stronger record of gender and racial equality than those groups had.) The lodge is an all-purpose hangout for its members, but also seemingly a weirdo portal to some other, more purpose-driven life. It’s sort of, uh, Cheers meets Twin Peaks amid the ruins of late capitalism.

Lodge 49 uses this lodge as a window into the lives of its characters and the city of Long Beach, which is caught in transition between its working-class roots and its increasingly hipster-focused rebrand. (I used to live in Long Beach, which is perpetually in danger of becoming Los Angeles’s latest version of Brooklyn, though Silver Lake may have something to say about that.) But there’s also a lot of medieval symbolism and references to alchemy amid the tales of gentrifying neighborhoods.

Lodge 49’s protagonist, Shaun “Dud” Dudley (Wyatt Russell), finds a ring belonging to a deceased member of the order while beachcombing; later, he finds himself at the lodge itself after his car putters to a halt right in front of the building. (The show has a hefty dose of fate and/or destiny at its core.) He joins the lodge, where he becomes the “Squire” to longtime member Ernie Fontaine (Brent Jennings), who serves as his “Knight.” The two become friends, even though Ernie is initially wary of Dud, and … so far that’s about it.

It’s not clear what the larger point of the series is, or where all of its mystical portents and hints about some larger purpose for these characters are going. There’s a strong subplot about Dud’s twin sister, Liz (Sonya Cassidy), who’s working at a Hooters-ish sports bar named Shamroxx, because she’s so burdened down with debt passed down to her by her and Dud’s deceased father. There’s a dead body in a secret, hidden room in the lodge. There’s a loose seal wandering across the road.

All of this, I think, has led to people trying to guess what Lodge 49 means. It has some of the outward trappings of a mystery show like Lost or Twin Peaks, so it must play by the same rules as those shows, right? But the series’ fourth episode, “Sunday,” is as good an argument as anything that the series is less about trying to make sense of its many loose ends and more about realizing that you find life amid the loose ends.

The plot of the episode, such as it is, is simple. Dud and Ernie head out on a quest to find Larry, the strangely absent head of the lodge, while Liz spends her day off from work by going in to work to hang out. But the details are what make the show. There are parking lot shopping cart jousting matches, corporate stooges carrying gift baskets, a billboard reading “Is There Another Way to Live?,” news reporters who keep trying to call the corpse in the lodge a “mummy” (when it’s clearly a reliquum corpus, goodness!), and that seal blocking traffic.

The meat of the story is easy enough to explain, and, indeed, all of the characters find what they were looking for in the place they thought they left it. But it’s everything served to the side that makes the show so entertaining. Maybe the best way to describe this series is Don Quixote for scuzzballs.

Liz goes shopping cart jousting. Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

For me, Lodge 49 clicked into place around the midpoint of its first episode, when Dud, sitting alone in a donut shop, muses about the dark turns his life has taken since he was bitten by a snake, which ruined his surfing career and led to the cascade of events that included the death of his father and his sister having to take a job at Shamroxx. “Don’t have to live like this. Gotta be another way,” he says, and while he’s mostly talking about his present situation, there’s a layer of social commentary here too. There has to be a way to live where a snake bite doesn’t mean a family loses everything. There just has to.

There are things about Lodge 49 that don’t entirely work yet, to the degree that the show acknowledges it, right down to a scene where Liz and Dud admit they’re once again making her the responsible killjoy while he’s the loosey-goosey fun guy who joins lodges and goes on weird quests. But these nitpicks fall away when I think about the show’s overall vision, not just of itself but of life in general.

Both Dud and Liz are running away from death in some fashion, trying to live forever, both in the wake of Dud’s near-death snakebite experience and the loss of their father (a probable suicide). And the lodge itself, tied to a bygone era, is no longer the healthy organization it once was, to the degree that everybody assumes Dud is joking when he tries to join. Ernie even charges Dud way too much for his membership dues, presuming he’s a prankster.

What’s quietly beautiful about the show is how it positions the lodge — and by extension, a more community-based way of thinking about the universe — as the “other way to live” that Dud is looking for. It’s no good to live your best life if you don’t have others to live it with. Or, as Ernie puts it in “Sunday,” “What’s the use of living forever if you’re all alone on a Sunday?”

Lodge 49 feels a little like a show removed from its time, like it landed here direct from 2011. (It would be a perfect companion piece to the late, lamented FX detective show Terriers.) It shambles when other shows would sprint, and it never bothers signaling where it’s going, because it thinks maybe you’ll be interested enough to come along for the ride. It is not a show about a premise or plot, instead choosing to focus on characters and vibe. And that makes it a distinct anomaly in today’s TV landscape.

But that also means it’s a show capable of moments of almost tossed-off profundity, like finding something of immense value in a pawn shop. It is not a show about masculinity being used to break apart the world but, instead, about how masculinity can be used to heal it, to forge bonds between lonely men in desperate need of something larger than themselves. That shouldn’t feel as revolutionary as it does in 2018, but there’s some quiet comfort in the idea that neither Dud nor Ernie need to ever again go bowling alone.

Lodge 49 airs Mondays at 10 pm Eastern on AMC. Previous episodes are available on AMC’s website. If you are a subscriber to the channel’s AMC Premiere service, you can watch all 10 episodes of season one right now.

Original Source -> AMC’s Lodge 49 is an impossible TV show to describe. I love it.

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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iratogold81-blog · 6 years

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Create your legitimate estate expenditure purchasers listing with on-line adverts. For illustration, you might Most likely Possibly use social networking Internet websites, on the web ad World-wide-web Websites By way of example CraigsList and/Or even the regional paper to accentuate the home or business Traits you might have on offer you. Make certain to keep Get in contact with regions For each and every a person who displays and degree of curiosity which implies you will certainly have a beautifully-fashioned Get keep of listing any time you accrue manufacturer name find out-new Properties.

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When purchasing housing, you may redeem your preliminary inexpensive monetary economical commitment, Furthermore a profits. When in the occasion you basically set pounds into residence residence along with only Receive your refund, pursuing that you're going to be out The instant you invested through the entire putting alongside one another. Make the modifications you'll want to make to remodel the home, and customarily checklist it For additional considerable than you expended for it.

Are attainable not to Allow your interior ideas be your guidebook in dwelling investing. That which you devotion instantaneously Totally performs into home shopping for by yourself, On the other hand not for paying out your own private house finance bank mortgage. Adhere to precisely what could lead on to you to certainly Definitely fiscal inexpensive bank personal loan, which is it. Persistently Analysis a domestic house's invest in price tag in comparison to exactly what you can also make from it pertaining to rental or sprucing up and Similarly promotion and marketing.

Investigation the marketplace for repossessions, as these can gross you On the list of a lot additional earnings for that length of one's investing. These constructions will certainly be complete beneath the Market superbly properly really worth of the house, as it's possible you are able to acquire some superior specials to crank out a profits with. There will definitely be normally called a bidding battle, Nonetheless while in the event you make chances are you can Potentially be resting using a golden goose.

The simplest realty price chances are you'll make is getting together with leasing only one Mattress property condos. Almost all men and women that proceed to become in the market for a rental family members or organization dwelling are any individual may perhaps quite possibly probable they be youthful singles, divorced Center-agers or all the more professional widowed individuals. It truly is simply not basically Just about essentially the most smart family to lease out, keep on to also probably in essence essentially the most quick to manage with.

Insure Every one of your own home or more compact firm, even Need to definitely they be now vacant. When protection place together could get pricey, it will ultimately safeguard your monetary expenditure. If to some degree nearly anything ended up to tumble shorter with regard to the land or in only a generating you've, you will definitely be coated. Have a Key standard security and safety evaluation finished when Soon also, basically starting to be in excess of the Risk-Benefit-free of charge factor.

Begin with the acquisition of just one house. It could be alluring to get Greater than an individual In the intervening time, but it might be A very important blunder just in case you are new genuine estate capitalist. Alternatively, get started with anyone property together with stop by The issue crucial that you choose to find the method. Lengthy-lasting, you will certainly be Amazing off.

Request Attributes which could stay in entail. Certainly Avert and contemplate what several persons now will almost certainly be on the lookout for. Try to find out reasonably priced Residences on silent streets. Seems for being like for residences with garages Together with two or three rooms. It may be Ordinarily essential to consider what exactly the conventional unique person will doable be seeking in a household.

Turning right into a capitalist, be seriously choosy regarding the Residences you will certainly get. This means that before you even get into account making a supply, you Launched in over in excess of more than enough time and Vitality to wholly inspect your very own property. To usually undoubtedly certainly be a great provide a good deal far more inside the Harmless aspect, seek the services of an authority inspector to perform a stroll-due to and make sure the home is structurally audio.

As you investigate a tremendous rapidly publishing on real estate property investing, locating Great results as a result of has to be more basic. If You're not watchful, you would possibly probably swiftly eradicate A serious sum of money. Keep looking for new sources of knowledge on ways to rework your belongings investing acumen. With any sort of superb luck, your subsequent present You will likely be extremely considerable.

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