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genshin-impact-updates · 5 days ago

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"A Space and Time for You" Version 5.7 Update Details

Dear Traveler,

Below are the details of the Version 5.7 update "A Space and Time for You" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2025/06/18 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 5.7.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2025/06/18 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2025/06/21 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins

2025/06/18 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Xbox Series X|S: Open the system main menu, select "My games & apps," select the "Manage" tab, and on the "Updates" page, find "Genshin Impact" and confirm to update.

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Characters

5-Star Character "Void Star" Skirk (Cryo)

◇ The Seven-Shifting Serpent: Cryo

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ A visitor who once appeared in an Abyssal rift and the Primordial Sea, this solitary warrior mentored Tartaglia in the martial arts.

◆ Skirk is a flexible Cryo DPS who performs well both on-field and in quick-swap rotations.

She can obtain special energy by triggering certain Cryo reactions via party members and releasing Elemental Skills.

By tapping the skill button, she will continuously consume this special energy, causing her Normal Attacks to deal Cryo DMG for sustained combat.

When sufficient special energy is accumulated, she can consume it all to unleash her Elemental Burst, dealing massive AoE Cryo DMG instantly.

4-Star Character "Ode and Oblation" Dahlia (Hydro)

◇ Vision: Hydro

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ Deacon of the Church of Favonius and the Anemo Archon's representative in the church.

◆ Dahlia is a Hydro support character who provides shields and ATK SPD buffs for his teammates.

When releasing his Elemental Skill, Dahlia summons "Sacramental Shower" that can launch characters upward or deal AoE Hydro DMG to enemies.

His Elemental Burst summons a Shield of Sacred Favor and increases the ATK SPD of the active character.

II. New Equipment

New Weapon (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

Azurelight (5-Star Sword)

Within 12s after an Elemental Skill is used, ATK is increased by 24%. During this time, when the equipping character has 0 Elemental Energy, ATK will be further increased by 24%, and CRIT DMG will be increased by 40%.

◆ The event-exclusive 5-star weapon "Azurelight" (Sword) can be obtained from the Event Wish. Please refer to the relevant official Event Notices for specific acquisition details.

III. New Main Story

1. New Archon Quest

Archon Quest Chapter V: Act VI "A Space and Time for You"

Permanently available after the Version 5.7 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act V "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

• Use the "Quick Start" function to immediately begin the prerequisite quest: Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn."

2. New Story Quest

Skirk's Story Quest "Crystallina Chapter: Act I - Whispers Betwixt Stars and Night"

Permanently available after the Version 5.7 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act V "Masquerade of the Guilty"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

Additionally, after the Version 5.7 update until 2025/07/08 17:59, the "Quick Start" function will be available for Skirk's Story Quest - "Crystallina Chapter: Act I - Whispers Betwixt Stars and Night."

IV. Function Iterations

Quest Resource Management Update

After the Version 5.7 update, when first launching the game on mobile, Travelers need to select their preferred resource update option:

◇ Full Resources

Download all resources. Future version updates will automatically update related resources.

*Recommended to select "Full Resources."

◇ Basic Resources

Only downloads essential resources for gameplay, excluding optional content like some Archon Quests, Story Quests, and Hangout Events. Locally downloaded related resources will be automatically cleared. Optional content will not be automatically downloaded in future updates. To experience related quests, you'll need to manually download missing resources first.

After initial selection, you can change your option or manually download needed resources via Settings > Resources.

*This function is only available on mobile devices.

V. Genius Invokation TCG

Genius Invokation TCG Gameplay Update

New Character Cards: Chasca, Citlali, Mavuika, and their corresponding Talent cards. Corresponding invitation duel and guest challenges have been added to the Player List.

New Action Cards "The Dockhand's Assistant," "Crown of the Saints," "Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City," "Rawr! Rawr!," "Fight for Death," "Fire and War," "Flying Squad, Attack!," "Fruits of Training," and "Harvest's Boon" have been added which can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm":

(1) Defeat endless waves of enemies during the rounds in "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm" to accrue score.

(2) After you complete the stage battle, you will gain a score and the corresponding rewards based on the highest score you got in the stage.

(3) Different stages will contain different special rules that grant buffs. Use these rules well to fight more effectively.

VI. Imaginarium Theater

Imaginarium Theater Update

After the Version 5.7 update, the first season of "Imaginarium Theater" will be available on July 1, 2025.

Required Elemental Types: Pyro, Hydro, and Cryo

Opening Characters: Lyney, Xiangling, Tartaglia, Dahlia, Wriothesley, and Rosaria

When Imaginarium Theater is open, the corresponding Opening Characters will obtain Fantastical Blessings.

Special Guest Stars: Emilie, Kinich, Lan Yan, and Noelle

After the first season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the characters Mualani, Lyney, Yaoyao, and Charlotte will each gain a new "Thespian Trick" that can be exchanged from the NPC Wolfy.

Envisaged Echoes Update

After the Version 5.7 update, new challenge stages and Echo cosmetics for Raiden Shogun and Shenhe will be added.

VII. Spiral Abyss

Spiral Abyss Update

◇ After the Version 5.7 update, Phase 1 of the Spiral Abyss will be updated on July 16.

◆ Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

All party members receive a 60% Cryo DMG Bonus.

All party members gain a 60% Pyro DMG Bonus.

◆ Floor 12 Ley Line Disorders changed to:

First Half: Cryo DMG dealt by all party members increased by 75%.

Second Half: All party members' Nightsoul-aligned DMG increased by 75%.

◆ Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

◆ Blessing of the Abyssal Moon:

Bitterfreeze Moon

When a character triggers Cryo-related reactions, a shockwave will be released at the opponent's position, dealing True DMG to nearby opponents. This effect can be triggered once every 2.5s.

VIII. Other Update Details

New Character Specialty Dishes:

○ Skirk's specialty: "Abyssal Bounty"

○ Dahlia's specialty: "Chatter of Joyful Nights"

New Collaboration Recipes:

○ Obtainable via Mail: "Meat-Lover's Feast," "Nine-Fruit Nectar," and "Bubblemilk Pie"

Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 2 or above can log in after 2025/07/11 12:00 (UTC+8) – before Version 5.8 maintenance to claim these via mail. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the rewards in time.

Adds new Achievements to the "Wonders of the World" category.

Adds Set 41 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Skirk: Lone Shadow": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Skirk

"Dahlia: Sacred Duty": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Dahlia

"Travel Notes: Speculation": Reward obtained via the BP system

Adds a new consumable "Dust of Enlightenment" to the Artifacts system. Travelers can now consume Dust of Enlightenment to randomly reallocate the enhancements of Minor Affixes on a fully-leveled 5-star Artifact.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Enemies

Abyss enemies, such as Abyss Lectors and Abyss Heralds will now activate their Wards shortly after their HP falls below a certain percentage and are Frozen. (Previously, they remained frozen for an extended duration without activating their Wards, making them difficult to defeat. With this change, they will now activate Wards more quickly, allowing them to be defeated normally.)

● Chat

Optimizes the display and interaction experience of the chat interface.

Adds the "Manage Emoji Group" feature, allowing you to customize which emojis and emoji groups are shown and how they are sorted.

Adds interaction options for individual chat messages, such as tagging other Travelers in non-private chats.

Optimizes the block function. Blocking settings will no longer reset when switching devices. A "Mute List" has also been added under "Manage Blocklist."

● "Character" > "Artifact" Interface

Adjusts the "Fast Equip" interface and optimizes the algorithm for configuration recommendations.

The "Recommended Configurations" function now includes a "Check Alternatives" feature, allowing you to swap Artifacts with other suggested options.

You can now select two preset configurations in "Custom Configuration."

Adds a new "Recommended Order Scope of Effect" setting to the sorting function, which can be set to "Current Slot" or "All Slots."

● Crafting

The "Crafting" > "Convert" interface now includes a "Filter by Character" feature, and a "View Characters" button has been added to the top-right corner of the screen.

The "Crafting" > "Mystic Offering" screen will now remember the last selected Artifact Strongbox and automatically select it the next time the screen is opened.

The number of Condensed Resin in your inventory is now displayed on the "Map" and "Domain Entrance" screens.

● Domains

After completing a Domain, you can now select "Skip Reward Cutscene" from the top-left corner of the reward screen.

If you exit a Domain before starting the challenge, the "Challenge Failed" screen will no longer appear.

● Adventurer Handbook

Added a tracking option for Ley Line Outcrops in the Enemies tab.

You can now click the question mark icon when selecting certain enemies in the "Enemies" tab to view the relevant tutorial.

Adjusts enemy order in the "Enemies" tab based on update timing.

The "Domains" page of the Adventurer Handbook and the corresponding Trounce Domain entrance interfaces now show "First-Clear Rewards" for Trounce Domains. These rewards can be claimed upon clearing the Trounce Domain on highest difficulty, whether in Single Player Mode or in Co-Op Mode. Travelers who already cleared the relevant Trounce Domains on highest difficulty before the update can claim the rewards directly afterward.

● Spiral Abyss

Optimizes the UI and user experience for the Spiral Abyss interface.

When restarting a floor or entering the next floor after completion, the "Start Challenge" screen will retain the previous team configuration. A button that clears all current Party Setups has also been added to this screen.

If you complete a chamber but fail to earn all Abyssal Stars, the results screen will now include a "Retry Challenge" option.

After completing Floor 12 Chamber 3, the results screen will display your total Abyssal Stars for this season, and all unclaimed Star's Bounty will be automatically distributed by the system.

● Other Character Enhancement interfaces

In the source info for "Character Ascension Materials" and "Character Level-Up Materials," clicking "Obtained from the Crafting Bench Conversion Tab" will open the Crafting Bench on the Map.

The source info for 3-star and above "Character and Weapon Enhancement Materials" now includes a shortcut to Stardust Exchange.

For Local Specialties that can be farmed via gardening, their source info will now indicate "Grown in the Serenitea Pot."

In certain interfaces that recommend development stats (e.g., recommended Character - Artifacts, talent priorities, etc.), preset data will be used for recommendations when player data is insufficient.

Adjusts the display and interaction of the "Character" > "Talents" interface. If enough materials are available, talents can now be leveled up consecutively in the confirmation screen.

Starting from Version 5.7, the "Character" > "Talents" interface and the "Test Run" event will feature the "Talent Demo" button, which includes character role descriptions and some skill descriptions.

Optimizes the UI for claiming rewards after completing a Domain or Ley Line Outcrop. A new option to consume Fragile Resin or Transient Resin to receive triple rewards has been added. This option will only appear when you own these resin types.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Optimizes the matchmaking mechanism for Genius Invokation TCG co-op matches. The opponent's ready status will now be hidden once matched.

● Quests

Adjusts the unlock requirements for the Genius Invokation TCG tutorial quest: now requires Adventure Rank 30 and completion of the Archon Quest "Song of the Dragon and Freedom."

Optimizes the order and display of World Level Ascension Quests.

New dialogue options have been added to NPC Orban. These options become available after completing the Archon Quest "Paralogism" and the World Quest "The Festering Fang."

● Audio

Optimizes fade and transition sound effects when interacting with the "Sweet Dreams" furnishing.

Optimizes Ifa's "Hello" voice-over in Japanese.

Adds and replaces some of Kinich's English voice lines in content from previous versions. (Now, all of Kinich's voice lines have been replaced.)

Supplements some of Hu Tao and Venti's English voice lines in content from previous versions.

After Version 5.7 is updated, Keqing and Paimon's English VAs will be updated (this change only applies to new content in Version 5.7, historical content will be gradually updated in subsequent versions).

● Other

After consuming food with a duration-based effect, a notification will now appear on the game interface.

Adjusts the trigger conditions for the blue-highlighted guidance box in "Craft" > "Convert." (Travelers who have already triggered it will not see it again.)

Increases the daily forging limit for Weapon Enhancement Materials on the Forge page. For example, the daily cap for Mystic Enhancement Ore has been raised from 30 to 40.

Adds one "Dust of Enlightenment" to both Gnostic Hymn and Gnostic Chorus in the Battle Pass system.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue whereby under specific conditions during Escoffier's Story Quest "Treasured Above All," the cooking screen displayed abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby the quest objective "Try to activate the Astral Assemblage(s)" in the World Quest "The Forsaken Sea of Wisdom" could not be completed under certain conditions.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby the attack range of the enemy "Lava Dragon Statue"'s magma strike did not match the actual animation.

Fixes an issue whereby the enemy "Local Legend: The Peak" behaved abnormally in combat and remained immobile for a period of time after using its skill under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby during some attack animations, character attacks failed to deal damage to the "Secret Source Automaton: Overseer Device" even when the enemy was within the player's attack range.

Fixes an issue whereby the enemy "Ferocious Warrior: Human Ram"'s eyes displayed abnormally while casting a skill.

Fixes an issue whereby during the "The Game Before the Gate" challenge, the Ascended King had a small chance to fail to revive properly after being resurrected by the Sublimated Queen.

Fixes a discrepancy between the hit location and model position of the enemy "Chess Game: Queen Piece" after being defeated.

Fixes an issue whereby some enemies could not exit combat after leaving the battle zone.

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby Ifa had a small chance of not triggering the "Hypersense" effect of Ororon's Ascension Talent "Nightshade Synesthesia" when continuously attacking from a distance and approaching the enemy.

Fixes an issue whereby characters revived using food was brought back with 0 HP under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small chance that Escoffier's nose highlight could sometimes display abnormally under shadowed lighting conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby Iansan could move horizontally through the air under certain circumstances.

● System

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small possibility that co-op Travelers who are not in your Friends list might not appear in the "Friends / Recent Co-Op Players" interface.

Fixes an issue whereby the map of Natlan may display abnormally under specific conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby the quantity of certain rewards on the "Domains" tab of the Adventurer Handbook were displayed incorrectly on Sundays.

Fixes an issue in the Travel Log/Tribal Chronicles interface whereby certain content in the quest "Orchard Repose" was displayed incorrectly.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue whereby after reviving a friendly character, if Bond of Life was attached and then removed, Sigewinne's Character Card passive skill "Detailed Diagnosis, Thorough Treatment" would not trigger as expected.

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby the number of characters calculated that met the effect conditions of the "Chain Breaker" weapon did not match the actual number under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby when using the "Take Photo" function with Lynette while the character was active, her face would be displayed abnormally when switching to another character and then switching back to Lynette.

Fixes an issue whereby the Statue of The Seven could restore fallen characters' HP when the characters had not been revived under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby teleporting to the Trounce Domain "Unresolved Chess Game" on PS5 under certain conditions would result in a scene loading error.

Fixes an issue whereby after switching characters while collecting treasure, certain actions of Cloud Retainer's Damasked Device, Itty Bitty Octobaby, or Firstborn Firesprite would fail to trigger.

Fixes text errors in certain screens and descriptions.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

◆ Optimizes inconsistencies between certain voice-overs and the corresponding lines.

◆ Optimizes certain English translations.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for Kachina's Character Card Technique "Twirly Twirly Bam Bam" from 1 Die of any element to 1 Geo Die.

Adjusts the effect of Zhongli's Character Card "Dominance of Earth": adds a limit of "Max 3 times per Round" to the "Geo DMG +1" effect.

Increases the starting Max HP of Albedo's Character Card from 10 to 12.

Increases the starting Max HP of Neuvillette, Beidou, Candace, Baizhu, and Hydro Hilichurl Rogue Character Cards from 10 to 11.

Adjusts the Elemental Burst DMG of the Hydro Hilichurl Rogue Character Card: Hydro DMG dealt is adjusted from 3 to 4.

Reduces the Elemental Dice cost of Raiden Shogun's Elemental Burst and Talent Card "Wishes Unnumbered": the Electro Dice cost is adjusted from 4 to 3.

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact news #official #genshin impact 5.7

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inthedayswhenlandswerefew · 1 year ago

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1968 [Chapter 11: Hephaestus, God Of Fire]

A/N: Only 1 chapter left!!! 🥰💜

Series Summary: Aemond is embroiled in a fierce battle to secure the Democratic Party nomination and defeat his archnemesis, Richard Nixon, in the presidential election. You are his wife of two years and wholeheartedly indoctrinated into the Targaryen political dynasty. But you have an archnemesis of your own: Aemond’s chronically delinquent brother Aegon.

Series Warnings: Language, sexual content (18+ readers only), violence, bodily injury, character deaths, New Jersey, age-gap relationships, drinking, smoking, drugs, pregnancy and childbirth, kids with weird Greek names, historical topics including war and discrimination, math.

Word Count: 5.4k

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged! 🥰

💜 All of my writing can be found HERE! 💜

Here is our final interlude. Do you have the patience?

President Lyndon Baines Johnson has halted all U.S. attacks on North Vietnam: no bombs from the air, no infantry on the ground, no artillery shells launched by destroyers cruising in the South China Sea. The election will determine what happens next. If Nixon wins, military operations will resume until the South Vietnamese are in a sufficiently advantageous position to defend themselves from the communists. If Aemond is the victor, troop withdrawals will begin shortly after he is inaugurated on January 20th.

Regardless, it will not be until almost a full year from now, in October of 1969, that it becomes illegal for employers to reserve positions for men; the common practice of refusing to hire women with preschool-aged children will not be outlawed until 1971. Unmarried people will not be guaranteed access to contraception until 1972. Abortion will not be legalized across all fifty states until 1973. Women will not have a right to their own bank accounts or credit cards until 1974. It will not be illegal to exclude women from juries until 1975. The first female Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, will be appointed in 1981. There will be no female president of the United States, not for at least half a century after our story ends.

Each night on CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite recaps the latest poll numbers. Nixon appears to have a slight advantage, due in large part to pulling ahead in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and his home state of California. Aemond has comfortable leads in Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. George Wallace will likely sweep the Deep South: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. From their hovels, the racists rejoice. From her grave, Lurleen Wallace rests uneasily, scratching at the lid of her coffin with the bones of her fingers, entombed in dark oblivion like all the rest of the world’s discarded wives.

~~~~~~~~~~

You go for the door, but Aemond is faster; he catches you just as your hand is twisting the handle and the hinges creak. He throws you against the wall so hard the paintings rattle: replicas of Monets and Warhols, Almond Blossoms, The Birth of Venus. You fight, clawing at him, ripping off the eyepatch that Alys must have at last convinced him was no defeat to wear. The hollow, gore-colored abyss of his left eye socket beckons you to fall in and be burned: Hestia’s eternal hearth, the volcanic forge of Hephaestus. He’s fire all the way down, hunger and fury, bones charred black and brittle. You think of the uninhabitable furnace of Jupiter’s moon Io, lethal radiation, poisoned air, lava bubbling up like blood through a bullet wound.

“You can’t hit me,” you gasp. “You need me for photos—”

His knuckles are in your belly, crosshairs made of scar tissue. The air collapses out of your lungs; your vision dims like twilight, like an eclipse. You’re on the floor and trying to crawl away from him. Aemond’s fingers hook into the fabric of your robe; it matches the silk nightgown you wear beneath, a pale anemic pink, something soft and young and desireless, something eternally at others’ mercy, something to be guarded or gutted. He’s dragging you towards him.

He’s going to hit me again, he might even kill me.

“Stop, stop,” you plead, still struggling to breathe. “What if I’m pregnant?!”

You almost certainly can’t be, but Aemond doesn’t know that. Yet his lone eye glints like metal, like coins, no weak mortal compassion. “I would have no way of being sure it was mine.” And then he tries to cover your mouth as you scream for help. You bite at his fingers; your bare feet kick the wall. Your hair, long and loose and wild, flows around you like a bride’s veil.

Too late, Aemond realizes that the door is still open a crack from when you grabbed the handle. There are footsteps and a voice that crescendos as it approaches: “What on earth is going on in here…?” Fosco appears in the threshold, yellow tweed jacket, tight olive green trousers. He stares thunderstruck down at where you and Aemond are entangled on the floor.

You beg: “Fosco, help me.”

“No, no, no,” Fosco says, jolting from his paralysis and holding a hand out towards Aemond. “No, you cannot do this, whatever has happened, you cannot touch her like—”

“She’s not your wife,” Aemond says. She’s not your property. Fosco hesitates; his large dark eyes shifting between the two of you from behind his glasses.

“Aemond, brother, listen to—”

“Get out.” Aemond’s voice is low, searing, malignant.

“Fosco, please don’t leave me,” you whimper. You try to pry Aemond’s fingers off your robe; they dig in deeper, bruising the flesh underneath. “Don’t leave me, don’t let him hurt me.”

Abruptly, Fosco turns and sprints out of the room.

“No!” you shout after him before Aemond grabs your face, his hand like a claw, fingernails leaving half-moon indents in your cheeks, crushing pressure on your jaw.

“You’re trying to sabotage this campaign.”

“I didn’t see the reporters, I swear to God.”

He knocks the back of your skull against the wall so hard that you see momentary flashes like stars, that all the words vanish from your throat, that words cease to exist at all. “You’re a traitor. Do you know the penalty for treason? The U.S. Army would have you executed by firing squad. Zeus would chain you to a rock so your liver could be carved out.”

“You betrayed me first,” you hiss through clenched teeth, your head pounding hot and maroon.

“I have been working for this since before you were born. You can’t take it away from me. I won’t let you.”

“I did everything right and you still couldn’t love me.” You swing at Aemond and he catches your wounded hand, squeezes it, digs his thumb into the spot where the doctors stitched you closed. The pain is excruciating, incapacitating. You wail as scarlet flowers bloom through the white of your bandaged palm.

Now the door flies open again and Aegon collides with Aemond, sends him sprawling, crouches over you. He’s screaming something at Aemond, gripping your shoulder to keep you under him, his too-long hair hanging in his face, black turtleneck sweater, one of Daeron’s frayed army jackets thrown over it, ripped jeans, bare feet. Aemond grabs his brother by the lapel of his army jacket and draws back his fist. His golden wedding ring flashes in the grey November sunlight that streams in through the windows. Aegon doesn’t flinch. He’s taken knuckles to the face before; you remember cleaning blood off his skin under a streetlight in Biloxi, you remember not wanting to wash him away.

“Don’t you see what it will look like?!” Fosco is saying, trying to coax Aemond to relent. “If he is photographed with a busted face after that story comes out? If she has bruises or a black eye? By harming them you are confirming what your enemies have printed, and the voters will believe it is the truth.”

“They already know it’s true!” Aemond snatches the Wall Street Journal off the table and hurls it at Fosco. Then he paces back and forth through the room, glaring at where you are still crumpled on the floor, sobbing, cradling your bleeding hand to your chest. “It’s right there, three goddamn photographs, and that’s all it will take to bring down a lifetime of work!”

Fosco studies the pictures again, shaking his head, one hand covering his mouth. At last he offers weakly: “It could be worse, Aemond.”

“How could it be worse?!”

Aegon scrambles to Fosco to rip the newspaper out of his hands, then returns to you. He hasn’t seen the front-page story yet. He skims it frantically. “This? This is what you’re losing your mind over? It’s dark, it’s blurry, they can’t even see what’s going on!”

“I have one fucking eye and I can see it!”

“So come up with another explanation, this doesn’t prove anything.”

“If she costs me the election—”

“If you lose, it won’t be because of her!” Aegon roars back. “It will be because the Democrats have held the White House for eight years and the world has gone to hell on our watch, it will be because of Kennedy, and Johnson, and Vietnam and the riots and the hippies and the drugs and the assassinations, it will be because Nixon is promising law and order in a time when nobody is safe, it will be because you just weren’t good enough. But she has given more to your cause than anyone. You hit her and you’ll lose your other eye.”

“They were in conversation,” Fosco says, meaning the photos. The four of you know that’s not true; it is a lie for the rest of the world, it is hope for Aemond’s campaign. “On the beach. They were whispering, comforting each other. Because of Mimi. That is all.”

Aemond scoffs, his remaining eye fierce and wrathful as it lands on you again. Aegon grips your shoulder, still crouching over you, still shielding you. “You bitch. I should have left you at that party in Manhattan to be the dope-smoking whore you were when I found you.”

“I shouldn’t have helped save your life in Palm Beach.”

And Aemond blinks at you, not hurt but bewildered, like he doesn’t understand your words, like what you said is impossible. He doesn’t believe you saved him. He believes it was God’s will.

Otto storms into the hotel room and takes in the scene: you and Aegon on the floor, Aemond pacing furiously, Fosco attempting to mediate. “Nobody says anything,” Otto commands, deep booming voice, black suit like he’s going to a funeral. “The Wall Street Journal hates Aemond. Everyone knows that, they’re probably the only national publication that would run the story. Our newspapers are already pushing the counternarrative, that this was a shameful, deceitful, desperate attempt to discredit Aemond right before the election. Our supporters will insist upon an innocent explanation. Nixon’s will use the photos as evidence of our degeneracy, our amorality, us immigrants with our strange faith and our progressive politics. Everyone else in the country will be warring over this headline. We will say nothing. We will conduct business as usual. The best thing we can do now is go out there and keep our schedule as planned.” He looks meaningfully at Aemond. “And your wife must be at your side. Smiling, unscathed, devoted.”

“I lost my composure,” Aemond says to you, more collected now, businesslike. He is smoothing any wrinkles out of his suit jacket. “I was wrong to put my hands on you. I apologize for that. It was beneath me.”

You reply: “Very little is beneath you, I’ve learned.”

“You have been.” A trace of a grin, crooked and cruel. “Plenty of times. And you will be again.”

Aegon is watching is brother, seething but terrified, sheltering you with power that is only illusory, never real. It is a mirage that Aemond or Otto could punch through at any moment. It is glass that would shatter into crystalline dust.

“If I win, you will beg on your knees for forgiveness,” Aemond tells you. “You will beg in private, you will be perfection in public, and I will magnanimously overlook this indiscretion in which you were taken advantage of by my notoriously dissolute brother. There was no affair. There was a fleeting moment of weakness on your part and depravity on Aegon’s. We will put it in the past. I will be the president of the United States and you will be my first lady. You will spend every second of your existence in service of my career, my country, and my legacy. You will give me children. You will obey me entirely. And you and Aegon will never be in a room alone together for the rest of your lives.”

“You can’t keep me away from her,” Aegon says.

“I just did. I make the rules here, I am the heir to this empire. If you wanted that responsibility, you should have seized it. You squandered it, you cursed it. It’s mine now.”

A whisper: “Aemond, it’ll kill me.”

“Then have the dignity to die quietly. It will be the most useful thing you’ve ever done.”

“Aegon must be seen in public too,” Fosco says, trying to sound like he isn’t defending him. “If you appear to be punishing or excluding him, it will be used as evidence of his guilt.”

Aemond nods, then turns to his brother. “As soon as the election is called, whichever way it goes, I want you gone. I don’t care where you go. I don’t care what happens to you once you’re there. You will disappear. We will say it was your choice, and if you comply you can keep your children and receive a modest amount of severance pay to get you started. And as long as you abide by my terms, my wife will not be harmed.”

Aegon doesn’t reply. His large Atlantic-blue eyes glisten, his lips tremble, his hand is still on your shoulder. You think through the throbbing pain of your bleeding palm: Is this the last time he’ll ever touch me?

Otto grabs Aegon, wrenches him away from you, drags him yowling and clawing at the carpet through the doorway.

~~~~~~~~~~

Your hand is freshly bandaged, pristine white gauze that people in the crowd jostle to touch like the relic of a saint, to pray over, to kiss. Men tell you how brave you are to bear the pain without weeping. Women give you komboskini, stained not with their husband’s blood but with only the clean, colorless ether of hope, faith, reverence, love.

Fosco and Helaena have been dispatched to accompany the children on a tour of the Franklin Institute, one of the oldest centers of science education in the nation. Aemond is giving a speech in front of the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall. You and the others are arranged around him like a starving crescent moon. You are standing immediately on Aemond’s left side, Aegon placed at his right. He looks drunk, he looks drugged; you aren’t sure if anyone else can tell, but you can. His cheeks are flushed. His eyes are pools of murky, desolate indigo like the night sky between stars. A few attendees give the two of you curious glances, but no mention is made of the accusations in the Wall Street Journal. You get the sense that if someone took it upon themselves to ask a question on the subject, they would be jeered, reviled, banished like President Johnson, who is currently besieged in the White House by the ghosts of Vietnam.

When you look to Aemond, you see his scar, his prosthetic eye, fierce and stoic determination in the lines of his face. He is quoting the inscription on the bell: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof…” The bronze metal has a crack in it like one of Zeus’s lightning bolts. The smile on your face is frozen, demure, humble. Aegon’s eyes accidentally catch on yours—a childlike vulnerability, a deep raw woundedness—and then swiftly dart away.

“America is the Land of Opportunity, but some have forgotten that,” Aemond says into the microphone, and vengeance creeps into his voice like a spider up a wall. “Unfortunately, for as long as new communities have arrived at our shores, vile and prejudiced lies have been used to demonize them. Greek immigrants have been crossing the Atlantic for over a century. In 1909, rioters violently expelled them from Omaha, Nebraska. In 1922, an anti-Greek initiative was launched by the Ku Klux Klan. In 1924, Congress drastically restricted my people’s entry in favor of migrants from Northwestern European nations like Britain and Germany. Greeks have been condemned as unintelligent, immoral, and unworthy of the glorious opportunities of this country. We have been barred from jobs and universities, we have been used as cannon fodder in the World Wars. Discrimination against any group is antithetical to the American Dream. I have given an eye for this nation, my wife has bled for it, my brother has—even in the midst of personal tragedy—uprooted his life and the lives of his children to fight alongside me for a better America, and I will not stand by silently as the Targaryen name is tarnished by bigoted falsehoods…”

Now you can no longer hear him over the thunder of the applause, and you remember all the other faces in all those other cities, their eyes illuminated as if by fire, as if by the sun. You imagine devotees of the Greek gods bowing low in temples of white marble and flickering torches, bringing offerings of gold and livestock, grain and blood, murmuring prayers, bargaining for miracles. Did the gods hear them? Do the gods love anyone but themselves?

Alicent and Criston are watching you and Aegon with the same eyes: large, dark, shimmering, a curious combination of horror and profound sympathy. You can feel yourself becoming a ghost, a legend, a myth. One day people will read about you in textbooks and academic journals, in plaques erected at Aemond’s alma mater, Columbia University, and your own, Manhattanville College; and they will know only the fabled version of you. Who you really were will fade into nothingness like Echo, like Icarus into the waves, like Eurydice when her lover Orpheus dared to glimpse back at her.

That night in your penthouse suite at the Ritz-Carlton, you get out of the bathtub—dewy with steam, donning your pink robe—and then go to your side of the king-sized bed and slide open the top drawer of the nightstand. The card Aegon gave you at Mount Sinai isn’t there. Your heartbeat quickens; your stomach lurches.

“What…?”

You get down on your knees to reach into the back of the drawer, to see if the card has snagged somewhere. You hear footsteps and whirl to see Aemond standing in the doorway between the bedroom and the living room. He is holding the card. The cartoon cow beams jubilantly at you. You recall what Aegon wrote inside after crossing out the manufacturer’s message: I thought this was blank…congrats on the new calf! As your eyes widen, Aemond rips the card down the middle.

“Don’t!” you scream, rushing for him. “Please don’t, it’s all I have from—!”

Aemond shoves you back and then, with a grin more like a wolf baring its teeth, tears through the remnants again and again until the card is nothing but shreds. He opens the sliding glass door that leads out onto the balcony and throws them into the cold night wind, where they scatter in a flurry like snowflakes, like bones turned to splinters by cluster bombs in the swamps of Vietnam.

The paper fragments spiral down thirty stories towards the zooming headlights on South Broad Street, and you think about following them. Then Aemond pulls you into his arms as frigid air blows through you and whispers: “You don’t need Aegon anymore. You just need me.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s Monday, November 4th, and you are walking alongside Ludwika on Broadway in Astoria, Queens, the part of New York City known as Greektown. She chats about the modelling jobs she did here before meeting Otto, her Louis Vuitton stilettos clicking on the sidewalk, her Camel cigarettes smudged with red Yardley lipstick. It is an act of kindness; she is trying to distract you. A few yards away, Fosco is telling Aegon about how he just won $500 by betting on the NASCAR Peach State 200, held at Jefco Speedway in Georgia. Aegon nods along, preoccupied, miserable. He has dark shadows around his eyes and is smoking one of his Lucky Strikes. He is wearing a green knit cap, windblown curls of his blonde hair escaping from underneath. You’re not supposed to stare at Aegon, but sometimes you can’t help it. You miss him. You’re worried about him.

The Targaryens have suites reserved at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where the family will stay through Election Day to witness the results as they are tallied on the evening news. The children are there now, enjoying pizza from Little Italy with Helaena and the nannies. But you and the other adults are being photographed by flocks of journalists as you head for lunch at one of the oldest Greek diners in the United States, paying homage to Aemond’s ancestry. The candidate himself is locked in a fraught conversation with Otto and Criston: polls gaining here, polls slipping there, Nixon inching further ahead in Florida, the state you were supposed to help Aemond win.

“What should I order?” Ludwika asks you. “Not spinach pie, oh, horrible, worse than Hitler. Something else. Why can’t we go to a Polish restaurant for once? I will take you sometime. You will see. You will try a pierogi and never look back. We invented bagels, you know.”

“Beagles?” Fosco says. “What an accomplishment! They are so cute!”

“Bagels, stupido.”

“Do not bully me. I am suffering too. I should be back at the hotel eating a prosciutto pizza.”

As you pass an electronics shop with stacks of televisions in the windows, all turned to NBC news, the journalists begin to gasp and chatter excitedly amongst themselves. The flashbulbs strobe madly, shutters clicking and reporters shouting for Aemond to give them a comment. The youngest Targaryen brother has appeared on the screens, bruised and gaunt and missing teeth. He looks twenty years older than he is. His once-golden hair is turning white.

Otto sputters: “What…what the hell is that?!”

“Oh my God, Daeron!” Alicent howls, and then bursts into the shop so she can hear what her lost son is saying. The rest of you hurry after her, locking the front door behind you so the journalists can’t follow. Through the windows, they take photographs until Fosco and Ludwika lower the blinds.

Inside the maze of electronics, three adolescent employees gawk at the presidential candidate and his retinue. “Out,” Otto instructs them, and then, when they are too stunned to immediately vacate the premises: “I said, get out!” The teenagers scurry into the backroom and slam the door.

“Daeron,” Alicent moans in front of a Zenith color television. Tears flow torrentially from her huge, horrified eyes. Criston holds her, arms circling, his cheek pressed to hers, and you are reminded of how Aegon touched you in your hotel room in Houston, in his basement at Asteria, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Daeron is saying: “The United States has committed war crimes in Vietnam. I am ashamed of the actions my country has taken here. We have burned children with napalm, executed innocent civilians, and interfered in matters that we have no legitimate jurisdiction over…”

“He is reading from a script,” Fosco says. “You can see his eyes following the words.”

“Shh,” Otto snaps.

Daeron continues: “The only honorable course of action now is to immediately withdrawal all American soldiers from Vietnam…”

“I think this will help us, actually,” Otto says. “People will know he’s being forced to make propaganda for the communists, and they will have sympathy for him and the family. They’ll want to rescue him and all the other servicemen too. He’s obviously…under duress.”

Aegon drops to his knees and puts his palm against the screen over Daeron’s face, just like the shadows of your fingers once fell over Ari as he fought for his life in an incubator in Mount Sinai Hospital. “Do you see what they’re doing to him?” He turns to Aemond with tears in his eyes. “What you did to him? You left him there, you abandoned him, and now he’s being tortured.”

Alicent looks to Aemond, puzzled, petrified. “You tried to get him out, didn’t you?” Aemond doesn’t answer. Otto averts his gaze, counting the tiles on the floor.

“Dear lord,” Ludwika mutters, lighting a fresh Camel cigarette and puffing on it anxiously.

“Was it worth it?” Aegon demands. “Selling your soul?”

Aemond is steely, resolved. “It’s almost over.”

“You were all right.” Aegon stands, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his green-striped sweater. “I don’t have what it takes to win the presidency. I couldn’t do something like this. Me, the perennial fuckup. Me, the godless degenerate.”

“Aegon,” Alicent whispers. “Please…please don’t…”

He turns to his mother, insurmountably sad. “Mom, I tried to stop him.” Alicent sobs and covers her face with both hands as Criston embraces her. She can’t even look at Aemond. She can’t believe what he’s become. Her long coppery hair flows like blood.

You reach for Aegon, your fingertips brushing his ruddy cheek, and immediately he folds into you, burying his face in the curve of your neck, breathing in your warmth as you inhale his smoke and rum and pain and terror. “Daeron will be home soon,” you say, not knowing if it’s true. Your bandaged hand aches; your throat burns.

“I should have gone instead. It should have been me.”

“No, Aegon. Your children need you, I need you. I wouldn’t have made it without you.”

Then Aemond yanks you away, his grip on your wrist like an anchor, like chains.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Dad, play us something,” Orion says; and it is the first time you can remember him calling Aegon that. Aegon smiles. He’s sitting on one of the couches in the penthouse suite you share with Aemond, the Gibson guitar he bought back in July lying across his lap as he strums it absentmindedly. The television is on and turned to CBS News. It’s just before midnight on Tuesday, November 5th, Election Day. The children are thrilled. It’s the one night they’re allowed to stay up as late as they’re physically able to. This allowance is not purely altruistic; Aemond wants them awake and ready for photographs as soon as the winner is announced.

“What should I play?”

“Frank Sinatra,” Fosco says. He is beside Aegon on the couch, smoking a cigar and flipping through the Sports section of the New York Times, which he’s not really reading.

“Marvin Gaye,” Ludwika suggests. They are both on your side of the room. Aemond, Otto, Sargent Shriver, and a number of campaign staffers are huddled around the television, transfixed by the ever-updating vote totals. Alicent and Criston are between your factions, murmuring back and forth to each other, flutes of golden champagne in their hands. Helaena is on the floor entertaining Violeta, Daphne, and Neaera with Crayolas and coloring books full of scenes from gardens. You recall how eerily calm Helaena had been the night Aemond was shot in Palm Beach, like she somehow already knew he’d survive. Now she is nervous, looking fretfully around the room, wringing her hands, filling outlines of butterflies with ten different shades of blue.

“The Beatles,” Orion tells Aegon, casting Fosco and Ludwika a judgmental teenage glance.

“Any particular song?”

“You can pick.”

Aegon sips at his rum, ice cubes clinking in the glass. He looks over to the coffee table, where you are embroiled in a game of Battleship with Cosmo. He’s getting better; he’s genuinely sunk your destroyer and submarine so far. Then Aegon’s eyes drop to his guitar strings and he plucks the opening notes of In My Life. His voice is soft and low, almost secretive.

“There are places I’ll remember

All my life, though some have changed

Some forever, not for better

Some have gone and some remain…”

Cosmo turns to watch his father. Orion, Spiro, Thaddeus, and Evangelos are gathered around Aegon’s feet, gazing up at him with admiration, with love.

“All these places had their moments

With lovers and friends, I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life, I’ve loved them all...”

Cheers erupt over by the television; Aemond has just won Michigan. But then tense, indistinct deliberations follow. Florida is still too close to call, a bad omen. You wonder where Alys is as she watches the results come in. There must be some part of her—however small, however smothered—that fears Aemond will win. If he captures the presidency, she could be separated from the man she loves for the better part of a decade. You drink your Pink Squirrel, wishing it was stronger. You think of sea sponge divers down in the depths and imagine what that first gulp of air tastes like when they resurface, when they shed their rubber suits and brass helmets and step back into sunlight, warmth, freedom like Persephone returning from the Underworld each spring.

“But of all these friends and lovers

There is no one compares with you

And these memories lose their meaning

When I think of love as something new…”

You wear a sapphire-colored gown that Aemond chose for you, strings of silver around your wrist and throat, diamond teardrops hanging from your ears. Your hair is up, your fingernails painted a tasteful opalescent shade, the aching of your bandaged hand dulled by booze and Vicodin.

“Though I know I’ll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I’ll often stop and think about them

In my life, I love you more.”

More triumphant shouts and applause across the room by the television: Aemond has won Washington state. From his own suite at the St. Regis Hotel a few blocks south on 5th Avenue, Nixon’s people must be celebrating that he just secured Ohio’s 26 electoral votes. He needs 270 to be the next president of the United States.

Florida, you think. If Nixon can take Florida, I think he’ll win the whole thing.

As Aemond and Otto are distracted, as Fosco and Ludwika watch with pitying, knowing eyes, Aegon sets his guitar aside and walks by you with his rum in hand, taps your shoulder, disappears onto the balcony. You wait a few minutes—Cosmo wins Battleship and goes to color on the floor with Helaena—and then follow Aegon.

Outside the night sky is moonless, starless, thick with clouds. Rain is beginning to fall, soft hushed pattering. Far below taxis and limousines are still rushing and blowing their horns on West 59th Street. You can see the vast forested shadow of Central Park and streetlights like constellations. In apartments and office buildings, windows are illuminated as Americans sit numbing their fears with beer, wine, shots of liquor, smoldering hand-rolled joints.

Aegon is cross-legged at the ledge, one hand on the iron bars of the railing, staring out at the nightscape of Manhattan. His hair lashes in the cold November wind. His nose is pink, his eyes wet and faraway. He passes his Lucky Strike cigarette to you as you join him and says: “I don’t think Aemond can win without Florida.”

“No,” you agree, taking a drag.

Aegon snatches a rattling orange bottle from the pocket of his olive green army jacket, pops it open, and swallows three pills with a swig of straight rum, dark amber poison.

“Don’t do that,” you say, you plead.

“I need it, babe.”

“I want you to still be alive in ten years.”

Aegon smiles and reaches over to pat your cheek twice. “I think that ship might have sailed, little Io.” Can decades of self-destruction be undone, uninflicted, nullified like Heracles becoming immortal? Can the Underworld be escaped? “Come with me. No matter what happens tonight.”

“Aegon, I can’t.”

“I’m in love with you.”

“If I leave, he’ll hurt you. He’ll hurt me worse.”

“It’s not fair,” Aegon says, his voice breaking.

“Nothing is.”

There is an uproar inside the hotel room, screams that could be horror or triumph, realized dreams, breaking bones, bullets through flesh. You and Aegon are on your feet, hauling the balcony door open, stepping through the threshold into the rest of your lives.

Glasses are being toasted until champagne rains down onto the carpet. The telephone is ringing so Nixon can concede. On CBS News, Walter Cronkite is reporting that Aemond has won Florida and thereby accumulated 270 electoral votes. The blue text on the screen reads: Senator Targaryen will be the 37th president of the United States.

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a-ikus · 3 months ago

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THE bell fixed atop the door rings delicately, announcing your entry to the clerk stocking the shelf closest to the counter, just beneath a sign with a bright (haphazardly cut) paper sign reading STAFF PICKS! browsing the shelf, one of the features titles catches your attention. you bring the VHS case to the counter, the clerk smiling warmly at you before scanning the faded, aged barcode, "good choice."

NOTES: welcome to my blog/housewarming party!! this was going to be my 3rd year anniversary event on the 26th of april but since my last storefront was burnt to the ground by evil arsonists (read: previous blog was terminated lmao) i switched it to be a blogwarming event instead

luckily i was able to save a few vhs's and trinkets from the ashes of my old blog — this is mostly just a big writing exercise! i haven't written in a while with all of the drama and move and a fresh start is the perfect excuse to host a little drabble event, i hope you find something you like in my little store!!

io's VHS store is CURRENTLY [OPEN] NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO SERVICE !

18+ only — minors and ageless blogs will be ignored if you have a side blog pls make sure to @ it if you send anonymously! <3

the event is dark content friendly

must be following to play

send a movie + one character to my inbox and i'll write a drabble based on the prompts below! — if there are certain tropes you would like me to include or avoid please let me know in your ask! some movie choices will include nsfw and/or horror themes so please keep that in mind when choosing <3

all writing is x reader — similarly, all works are f!reader, i can write gn reader if requested but i don't write m!readers

please see the rules for who i do and don't write — this is serving as a writing exercise for me so i don't mind getting characters i don't have listed/in my unsure section, if i haven't included a trope/character you're curious about feel free to ask and i can let you know

movies/characters can be chosen any amount of times, someone else's request won't affect your own + multiple requests are okay! — i'll add requests onto the masterlist as soon as i receive them if you don't want to do the same as someone else but overall it won't affect it

your ask will not be posted so include as much information in your request as you'd like

event posts will be tagged with: MERCURY'S 50% OFF WELCOME SALE if you wish to filter

MASTERLIST + ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN [tba]

all prompts listed below the cut

*click for better quality

GENERAL DISCLAIMERS!: *the themes are general tropes to expect, something listed as sfw can be requested to be nsfw and vice versa but bear in mind the overall themes of the movie will be in the drabble eg: X as only the nsfw aspects not the horror ones or vice versa but this choice cannot be made into a sfw piece *prompts may not follow the plot to a T, i haven't seen some of these movies/shows but generally it will share themes with your choice but drabbles may not exactly follow the listed plot

X: a group of actors set out to make an adult film under the noses of their reclusive hosts, but when the elderly couple catches their guests in the act, the cast finds themselves in a desperate fight for their lives. — EXPECTED THEMES: nsfw and/or horror, amateur porn + voyeurism

THE SECRETARY: a timid young woman starts working for a demanding lawyer and finds a new way to deal with her urges. — EXPECTED THEMES: nsfw, d/s dynamics; orgasm control, bratting, omo, spanking, etc

THE BEAR: a talented young chef named carmen "carmy" inherits his family italian beef sandwich shop after the death of his older brother. — EXPECTED THEMES: nsfw, restaurant au, i'll be honest i haven't seen this i just want to fuck a chef, this is pure lust driving me

JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE: after discovering they are all dating the same guy, three popular students from different cliques band together for revenge, enlisting the help of the new girl in town and conspire to break the jerk's heart, while destroying his reputation. — EXPECTED THEMES: nsfw, fake dating, toxic relationship + humiliation

JENNIFER'S BODY: when a demon takes possession of her, high-school hottie jennifer turns a hungry eye on guys who never stood a chance with her before. while jennifer satisfies her appetite for human flesh with the school's male population, her nerdy friend, needy, learns what's happening and vows to put an end to it. — EXPECTED THEMES: nsfw and/or horror, succubi, sacrificial sex + fear play

THE THING: in remote antarctica, a group of research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. when they take in the dog, it brutally attacks human beings and canines in the camp and they discover the beast can assume the shape of its victims. a polite and doctor lead the crew in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off. one by one. — EXPECTED THEMES: horror and/or nsfw, doppelgängers + came back wrong

LOVE ROSIE: rosie and alex have been best friends since they were 5, so they couldn't possibly be right for each other — or could they? when it comes to love, life and making the right choices, these two are their own worst enemies. — EXPECTED THEMES: sfw, friends to lovers, missed chances + miscommunication

BUFFALO 66: convict billy brown dreads going home so much upon his release from prison that he tries to get back inside. in desperation, he kidnaps layla from a tap dancing class and pleads with her to impersonate his wife and to accompany him home to visit his parents. — EXPECTED THEMES: nsfw/dark content, fake dating, threatening, another choice i made with my pussy i will not lie

ABOUT TIME: when tim lake is 21, his father tells him a secret: the men in their family can travel through time. although he can't change history, tim resolves to improve his life by getting a girlfriend. he meets mary, falls in love and finally wins her heart via time-travel and a little cunning. — EXPECTED THEMES: sfw, time travel + pining

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU: kat stratford is beautiful, smart and abrasive to most of her fellow teens, meaning that she doesn't attract many boys. unfortunately for her younger sister, house rules say that she can't date until kat does, so strings are pulled to set the damsel up for a romance. soon kat crosses paths with handsome new arrival patrick verona. — EXPECTED THEMES: sfw/nsfw, fake dating, enemies to lovers + mean girl x bad boy

ROMEO + JULIET: the capulets and the montagues are two rival gangs. juliet is attending a costume ball thrown by her parents. her father has arranged her marriage to the boorish paris as part of a strategic investment plan. romeo attends the masked ball and he and juliet fall in love at first sight. — EXPECTED THEMES: sfw/nsfw, forbidden love, cheating + exhibitionism

SET IT UP: two overworked and underpaid assistants come up with a plan to get their bosses off their backs by setting them up with each other. — EXPECTED THEMES: sfw/nsfw, workplace love, friends to lovers + mutual pining

PONYO: during a forbidden excursion to see the surface world, a goldfish princess encounters a human boy named sosuke, who gives her the name ponyo. ponyo longs to be human, and as her friendship with sosuke grows, she becomes more and more humanlike. ponyo's father brings her back to their ocean kingdom, but so strong is ponyo's wish to live on the surface that she breaks free. — EXPECTED THEMES: sfw, childhood romance + friends to strangers to lovers

YOU: following joe goldberg, a bookstore manager in new york, who meets guinevere beck, an aspiring writer, with whom he becomes immediately infatuated. to feed his sociopathic obsession, he soon turns to social media and technology to track her presence and eliminate any possible obstacles that stand in the way of their romance. — EXPECTED THEMES: dark content and/or nsfw, stalking/yandere + voyeurism

CLUELESS: shallow, rich and socially successful, cher is at the top of her high school's pecking scale. emboldened by her matchmaking success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student, tai a makeover. when tai becomes more popular than she is, cher realises that her disapproving ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was — and falls for him. — EXPECTED THEMES: dark content and/or nsfw, stepcest, this is only here for stepbrother smut i'll be real lmao

#MERCURYS 50% OFF WELCOME SALE #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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allgoodnamesrgoneee · 3 months ago

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✨ New Patreon Upload! ✨

Hey everyone! I’ve just uploaded my first William Saliba fic on my Patreon, and you definitely don’t want to miss it!

Head over now to check it out and show some love! 🙌

📖 Link in bio! ✨ Let me know your thoughts after reading! 💬

Don't forget my fics now available for ONLY $3 ($4.50 on iOS) each on my Patreon shop if you're looking for something specific; don't miss your chance to catch up on all the exclusive content!

For the Record

Masterlist

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 — You’ve spent months keeping your relationship with William Saliba a secret. You’re a rising Black sports journalist, and he’s one of the biggest names in football—a pairing the world wouldn’t hesitate to tear apart. Now that everything’s out in the open, the question is: can you have both your career and the man who makes your heart feel like home?

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 — William Saliba x Black!Reader (sports journalist!reader)

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 — 17.7k

Warnings! FLUFF!! emotional tension, slow burn with payoff, secret relationship, mutual pining, comfort, NSFW! SMUT (18+), unprotected vaginal sex, oral sex (f receiving), fingering, cowgirl, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, soft dom!William, sub!reader, praise kink, emotionally charged intimacy

Preview

**********

You wake up tangled in a mess of sheets, warmth, and sin.

That’s the only way to describe it. Sin.

It's not even seven in the morning, and already your body is reminding you what went down last night. Your thighs are sore, your back carries a dull, pleasant ache, and there’s a love bite high on your inner thigh that stings just enough to make you wince a little.

That'll make yoga tomorrow interesting.

The room smells like bergamot and skin and something heavier—sweat, maybe. Or desire that still lingers in the air like an aftershock.

It's quiet except for the hum of the city in the distance, softened by thick curtains drawn half-shut. Morning light filters through in warm stripes, dancing across the hardwood floor and catching on your skin in soft gold. You blink against it, lashes fluttering against a pillow that doesn’t smell like yours. The sheets don’t either. They smell like him.

You shift slightly, just enough to feel the solid weight behind you. An arm is slung around your waist, loose but possessive. His chest is warm against your back, steady breaths brushing the nape of your neck. You can hear the faint rustle of the comforter as he stirs, but he doesn’t wake—not fully. He pulls you in tighter, like you’re his anchor to sleep, his grip reflexive and familiar.

You don’t move. Not yet.

There’s a part of you that doesn’t want to break this moment.

For once, you’ve forgotten about the twelve unread emails, the press conference at noon, the editor breathing down your neck, and the interview notes scattered on your kitchen table. For once, you don’t feel like a journalist, like a woman constantly trying to prove she deserves to be in every room she walks into. You feel… human. Soft. Safe.

You feel his fingers brush against your stomach in a lazy half-dreaming caress, and a smile tugs at your lips before you even realize it. One of those stupid, full, cheeks-aching smiles you try to hide but never manage to around him.

“You awake?” you whisper, voice still hoarse with sleep. Your throat feels dry, but you can’t bring yourself to care.

A low grunt rumbles against your back. “Non,” comes the groggy reply, muffled by the pillow. His lips press lazily to your shoulder. “Sleeping.”

“That wasn’t an answer.”

“It was a ‘come back to sleep with me,’” he murmurs, lips grazing your skin again. His accent is thicker in the mornings, wrapped in gravel and honey.

You roll your eyes, but there’s no heat behind it. "You know I’ve got work, right?”

He lets out a dramatic sigh like you just told him the world’s ending. Then, without warning, he flips you onto your back with zero effort, his arm slipping under your waist as he settles half on top of you. You yelp, more out of surprise than anything else, but your body immediately molds to his, the way it always does. His weight is solid, grounding. Familiar.

“William,” you warn, voice breathy now, mostly because his lips are trailing slow, sleepy kisses up the side of your neck. “Seriously.”

"You’re warm,” he mumbles, like it’s an argument he’s already won.

“I’m also late.”

“Je m'en fous.” His hand moves down your side, fingers splayed wide. “You can email them. Say there was traffic.”

You snort. “Traffic where, sir? In your apartment?”

He lifts his head to look at you, one brow raised. “Exactly. Bedroom traffic. You got caught in a collision.”

You blink at him. “You mean you ran me off the road last night?"

His grin is smug. “I don’t hear you complaining.”

You try to glare at him, but it’s hard when his palm is cupping your thigh, thumb lazily brushing over that now very sensitive love bite.

“This is harassment,” you mumble, squirming as you try to wriggle away. But he just chuckles, dips his head to kiss your collarbone, then your sternum. The kisses aren’t rushed. If anything, they’re slow on purpose. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

“You say that like you didn’t try to climb me like a tree last night.”

You shove at his shoulder, laughing despite yourself. “I did not.”

“Bébé,” he says, pulling back just enough to give you a look. “You told me, and I quote, ‘You’re six foot three for a reason; now put it to use.’”

Your hand flies to your face, heat flooding your cheeks. “Shut up.”

William grins, clearly pleased with himself. He kisses your forehead this time, surprisingly sweet. “You were cute. Bossy. A little mean.”

“You love it.”

“I do,” he says, no hesitation. “And you love me being clingy in the morning.”

You pause for a beat, heart stuttering a little. He doesn’t seem to notice the shift in the air—maybe because he’s too busy burying his face into the curve of your neck again, or maybe because he does it without thinking. Like saying he loves you isn’t even a question anymore.

You bite your lip. “I do, but I really do have to go.”

With a sigh that sounds like the end of the world, he finally rolls off of you, flopping onto his back like he just gave up his life’s mission. “Fine. Go be an adult.”

You wrap the sheet around your body like a toga as you slip out of bed, glancing over your shoulder with a soft smile. “I’ll come back later.”

“T'as intérêt.”

//// A little amuse-bouche of the smut ////

You clutch at the sheets, your legs falling open as he ducks his head. His lips close around your nipple and you cry out, arching your back off the bed. His tongue slides over your skin, sucking you into his mouth, his hand cupping and squeezing you in a way that sends bolts of pleasure through your whole body.

"Fuck," you whisper, feeling his stubble against your skin as he kisses lower. His hands are on your hips now, squeezing, kneading, urging you to lift your hips up toward him.

When you feel his breath against your panty-covered mound, you stop breathing.

He doesn't tease now. No. His hands part your thighs, and he yanks your panties off in one quick tug.

And then his mouth is on you, hot and slick and messy, his lips pressing soft, loving kisses on the soft skin of your inner thighs, close to where you're aching for him, wet, leaking but not enough—

"Will," you gasp, trying to buck up into his mouth to get him where you need him. "Please."

His hands grip your hips and pin you down, keeping you still as his tongue slides up between your folds. You're gasping, your hips fighting his grip, trying to get him closer, but he holds tight, his tongue dragging up your center, back down again, light and teasing. You're dripping now, your folds slick with your arousal.

"Will, baby," you whine. "Pleeease—"

And then he's there. Right there.

You arch off the bed the moment his lips wrap around your aching, swollen clit. His tongue flicks once, twice, and you lose it, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you cry out for more. No words coming out, just moans and cries, your fingers sliding through his hair to grip his head and pull him closer.

"Taste so fucking good, baby," he growls, pulling back to press open-mouthed kisses on your inner thighs. "Can't get enough—"

He spears his tongue inside you then, licking up through your folds, and you let out a scream, your hips jerking off the bed again. But he's not letting go, holding you in place with strong arms as he fucks into you with his tongue.

He pulls away for a second and your breath catches at the look on his face. He's staring at your wet, swollen pussy with a look of ravenous need, his breath coming hard, his fingers gripping your hips almost brutally, as if he’s losing control.

You feel his fingers on your pussy, and before you can register what he's doing, he’s pushing them inside you, so fucking easy with how soaking wet you are. His mouth finds your clit again, lips closing around it as he pulls it into his mouth, sucking, and his fingers are fucking into you, in and out, a slow curl in his knuckles. You can feel your climax approaching.

His hands grip your thighs tighter. "T'aime ça?" He murmurs against your clit, looking up at you. The sight of him there, his mouth against your wet pussy, his eyes heavy-lidded with lust—your vision starts to blur at the edges.

"Yes, yes, fuck," you whimper.

He groans deep in his throat and picks up the pace of his fingers, fucking into you faster and harder while his tongue dances around your clit in tight circles. You can't breathe. You're clutching at the sheets like they're going to keep you from flying off the bed, your legs tensing and relaxing against the mattress. Your stomach starts to clench, and your thighs start to shake.

"Will—" you gasp. "I—" You don't get to say anything more. You just shatter. Shatter apart on a scream of his name, your vision going dark at the edges, your body tightening and convulsing on his fingers. You're shaking so hard, your teeth chatter as you come and come and come.

His mouth slows, tongue sliding through your wetness as he keeps you riding your orgasm as long as possible.

When he pulls away, you're still shaking, legs still tensed, still twitching. His fingers slide out of you slowly with a wet squelch, and you feel him crawling up the bed beside you, turning your head to rest on his chest.

Your lips press a kiss to his skin as he slides an arm underneath you, holding you close.

"Okay?" He murmurs softly, rubbing circles on your back.

You nod. Your face feels hot, like you're burning up, and you can’t find the words to describe how you're feeling. It's like he's broken you apart and put you back together again. Everything feels different. Lighter.

Will just hums, kisses the top of your head, and keeps rubbing your back.

It takes a second before you realize he’s still hard. Rock-hard and straining against his pants.

"Baby," he laughs, reading your expression. "You're still shaking. Let's take a second to recover, yeah?" he teases. "I'm not going anywhere."

You flush, biting your lip. "Sorry—"

"Don’t apologize, it's okay," he says, stroking your hair back. "Take your time, chérie. You need it."

You nod and relax into his chest.

But a second later, you're squirming, feeling him against your thigh and the burn of lust reignites between your legs

"Will," your voice is husky.

"Yes?" His tone is indulgent.

You shift your hips again. "I want it."

**********

-Bianca🌻

#footballer x reader #william saliba #william saliba x reader #william saliba fan fic

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solangelo · 1 year ago

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I was wondering, do you have any recomendations on some long fics? Like, not just one chapter? Sorry if you had already posted something abou that. Anyway, thanks!!! (Really like your blog <<3333)

Absolutely!! I pretty much only read on Ao3 anymore so all of my recommendations are going to be there, but if others want to tack on their own recommendations in the comments they're always welcome to do so :)

A few things,

I tried to put content warnings on the bodies of work as I see fit, but some of these I read over a year ago and haven't looked at since so I apologize if I've missed something!

Additionally speaking, I've marked anything in which contains characters having sex with a red heart emoji ❤️ as it should be viewable on light and dark mode, across multiple forms of devices (ios vs android, etc) and should be readable to screen readers as well; As per previous notes on this blogs, any explicit depictions of characters having sex will also have them being explicitly over 18. Now without further ado-

I'm a huge fan of rabbit_soup's "Healing Takes Two" series, it's 13 pieces in total some of them are oneshots and others are multichapter but they all fit together making it a large body of text. The plot extends from Nico's three days in the infirmary to the early stages of their relationship and still seems to be ongoing with the author taking on rewriting some of their older pieces.

arum scarce by GalwayGirlo [16/20] AU ❤️:

Nico wakes up paralyzed following a motorcycle accident. Maybe Will Solace can help him get some feeling back?

(cw: suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, adult having a relationship with a minor, "mafia stuff")

When I Get Home to You by 2nd2ndalto [10/10] Canon Compliant, Time Travel ❤️:

Will’s brow furrows."N - Nico?"

It’s impossible, this boy can’t be Nico, but the name falls from his lips without real conscious thought. Nico is 38 years old and probably sitting at home in their living room, hopefully having figured out how to fix the clogged dishwasher line, which is what he’d been planning on doing when Will left early this morning.

(cw: conversations about suicidal ideation and related topics, and young nico is involved so canon compliant trauma of his comes up as well)

talk your talk and go viral (i just need this love spiral) by wrongcaitlyn [34/34] and a part 2 currently at [2/?] chapters, Celebrity AU ft. Trans Nico:

“Keep telling yourself that,” Will says quietly, because even though the door is closed, speaking any louder would seem wrong. “You’re too harsh on yourself. If you wrote songs or something, you’d easily get on the Billboard Hot 100. Dad would help you. I would, too.”

“Promote it to your seven followers?”

“Yes!”

Nico laughs, and then Will is joining him, and they’re closer than before, but it’s nothing unusual. It’s been this way since before stupid feelings and stupid crushes, and Nico would be damned if he let it change just because of that.

(cw: alcoholism, childhood abuse and neglect, character death, car accidents, transphobia/homophobia/generalized queerphobia, gender dysphoria, suicidal ideation and related topics)

peach tea by ghosttotheparty [5/5] AU ft. Latino Will:

Will brushes his thumb over the side of Nico’s hand gently. His skin is soft. Nico’s fingers tighten on Will’s. It kind of feels like neither of them wants to move. Will doesn’t mind.

He sits up after a moment, but Nico doesn’t let go of his fingers, so he lifts the arm that’s awkward between them and sets it behind Nico, leaning back to rest on it. Nico just looks at the tapestry.

or; Will falls in love with the new kid.

(cw: mental health struggles, ptsd, anxiety/panic attacks, depression, grief, and character death)

What Could've Been Lights by athaleablaire [18/18], AU - I can’t remember if they have sex in this, rating is teen and up and all characters are over 18 but enter at your own risk:

In Will's eyes, he really has it all. A job as a surgeon at an amazing hospital, great friends-- what more could he ask for? Everything is going great until a man walks into his emergency room half-dead. In the mission to save his life, Will gets a little more than he bargained for.

(cw: injury and recovery, accusations of substance use)

a shadow in the rising sun by demigodbeautiies [9/13], AU Royalty, Arranged Marriage:

This is a story about the Ghost King.

Will Solace (crown prince in the Seventh Kingdom, politically useless as it may be) does not particularly want to be married to a thing of nightmares. He doesn't really have a choice, though. When does he ever? He allows his father to push him led into this politically advantageous, beauracratically necessary arrangement without too many complaints, and resigns himself to the fact he will be marrying a tyrant out of the tall tales his mother used to tell him when he was a boy.

Except then he meets his husband - a boy, and one younger than he is at that! - and realises that he has absolutely no idea what to expect. All he can hope for is that no one tries to kill him.

(cw: character death, character injury?)

NICO Centric:

Lethe by Eridans [8/8] Canon Compliant with a part 2 at [16/16]:

He's ten and ninety simultaneously, his mother was murdered and his sister is a stranger. He's got a deck of cards that he holds onto like a lifeline and an Italian-English dictionary that's old as hell and crumbling, but it's not as old as he is, and that makes him laugh.

The River Lethe was supposed to take away their memories, but Nico remembers his past, his days at home, the times he spent with his sister and mother at parades Mussolini hosted, where Maria sang the national anthem. The river tried to take away everything Nico cherished, and it could have been pure desperation or grief that made him remember his past.

Nico didn't know.

(cw: I started reading this fic over 8 years ago and haven't read it since it's last update 3 years ago, expect canon compliant events and themes to occur but otherwise proceed at your own risk, exercising caution and compassion for yourself where necessary <3)

WILL Centric:

Solace by solisaureus [11/11], Canon Compliant:

solace (n.) comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness.

solis (n.) the Latin word for "sun."

(cw: author includes their own content warnings at the start of each chapter!)

sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes by whimsicalMedley [13/26] Canon Compliant ft. Trans Will Solace:

Contrary to his general disposition, William Andrew Solace was born in the middle of an October hurricane.

Or, Growing up is hard. It’s even harder when you’re the son of the sun god.

(cw: author includes their own content warnings at the start of each chapter!)

Hopefully this is a good place to get you started, nonnie!

#fic rec #anon #asks #mod: hya

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arctic-space-penguin · 2 months ago

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Ultimate Hope Sterling Thorne 'Character Card'

General Info:

Name: Hope Sterling Thorne Age: 14 (show) and 16 (movie) Best Friends: Leo, Ace, Mikey, Splinter, Cass, Draxum, Casey Jr Friends: Donnie, Raph Relationship(s): Leo Family: Mom (Irene), Dad (Bishop), older sister Dove Pets: Inari (fox) Loves: fighting, being outside, Leo, Draxum, Cass, Halloween, Inari, Mikey Likes: Irene, spars w/ Raph, Donnie, Raph Dislikes: Bishop, Dove, other people getting hurt, bikes Ethnicity: Japanese-American Songs to Represent her:

This or That Questions:

1. Playlists or podcasts? A: Podcasts 2. Shoes or slippers? A: Slippers 3. Pork or beef? A: Beef 4. Swimming pool or beach? A: Pool 5. Fruits or vegetables? A: Fruits 6. Cats or dogs? A: Cats 7. Summer or winter? A: Winter 8. Salt or pepper? A: Pepper 9. Cash or cards? A: Cash 10. Cookies or chips? A: Chips 11. Soda or juice? A: Soda 12. Farm or city? A: City 13. Text or call? A: Text 14. New phone or new clothes? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 15. Black or white? A: White 16. Driver or passenger? A: Passenger 17. Laptop or tablet? A: Tablet 18. Comedy or Horror? A: Horror 19. Beer or wine? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 20. Dine in or dine out? A: Dine in 21. Movies or TV shows? A: Movies 22. iOS or Android? A: iOS 23. Waffles or pancakes? A: Waffles 24. Rain or snow? A: Rain 25. Love or money? A: Love 26.Ice or fire? A: Fire 27. Curly or straight? A: Curly 28. Oranges or apples? A: Apples 29. Sweet or salty? A: Salty 30. Trucks or cars? A: Trucks 31. Lunch or dinner? A: Lunch 32. Weekends or weekdays? A: Weekends 33. Pizza or pasta? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 34. Friends or family? A: Family 35. Boys or girls? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 36. Fiction or non-fiction? A: Fiction 37. Skiing or snowboarding? A: Skiing 38. Red wine or white wine? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 39. Singing in the shower or singing in the car? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 40. Organized or messy? A: Organized chaos

Vine that represents her:

youtube

(she's the one with the knife btw)

Summary: (Up to end of movie)

Hope didn't have the best childhood growing up. She ended up running away from home because of it, joining the Foot after finding a (badly drawn) recruitment poster. She didn't like the girl who had also been recently recruited, Cassandra Jones, at first, but the fact that they matched each other's energy helped in becoming best friends. Despite being recruited at a younger age then most, Hope rose to a Captain role quickly. At thirteen, she, the Foot Brute, and Foot Lieutenant go in search of paper for more soldiers. There they meet the turtles, and, after having used her ninpo and lost the paper to them, goes home at the cost of Leo telling Splinter about her, therefore Leo learned about all the Hamato stuff early. Hope declined every time Leo pursued her to ask her to join her true family's side. Eventually though, she couldn't deny how she felt and started doing insider work. After the Shredder is beaten the first time and Big Mama sends him back into his dimension, Leo and Hope confess how they feel about the other and start dating. All of this leads to a heated confrontation in the Always Be Brownies episode. Then after the Shredder is defeated the second time for real, Hope moves into Draxum's apartment with bribery and begging. About four months after the end of the show and the start of the movie, Hope gets kidnapped by Big Mama, mutated into a cat, and forced to fight under the name 'Death Blow'. Five months after she gets rescued from that, she is ambushed by a group of four men that ended with a mutilation, necessary amputation of her left leg, and a Genius Built™ prosthetic. Three months after THAT, Hope and Leo take a camping trip that totally wasn't interrupted by Mikey. There, her prosthetic malfunctions, causing her to fall from a (low-ish) tree branch, which is how she met Inari for the first time. Three months after that (gosh so many months lol), she gets unhappily reunited with Dove and their ma. Five months after that (listen a lot can happen in 23 months and 4 weeks alright?), Hope and Leo drag Donnie into a new restaurant in the Hidden City where the softshell meets and soon enough starts a relationship with the only son of the owners, Ace Yarrow. During the movie, Hope remains with April and Splinter the majority of the time before needing to check on how her ma is doing. But also because seeing a future version of yourself is way too weird, man.

Good Future Summary:

Hope avoided Leo during his entire recovery as well to punish him for doing what he did and also because she didn't want to know how badly the Krang had beaten him. She eventually visited him after convincing from Sterling, but it took a while for her to get over what he had done (Good thing she had Ace as a friend to help). A year passes as NYC repairs itself. Draxum (kindly) tells her to leave his apartment and get her own when she turns nineteen. She ends up moving back into the lair in the spare room they have now while landing two part-time jobs as a sub at the high school where Draxum works and as a server in Ace's restaurant he had paid for a year earlier to pay for her own house (after about two years she's able to afford a mortgage). Leo asks her a year later if she would marry him (dated for about six years at this point; everyone couldn't be more proud of them, Sterling, Splinter, and Draxum especially). While they agreed to disagree on not having kids, they considered Inari their kid in a way. The day Splinter passed was hard on the whole family, some more than others. They all took three days off work if they had one to mourn. Couple weeks later, Inari disappears and returns with four kits, evenly split between girls and boys. Hope names the girls Finch and Flicker while Leo named the boys Falcon and Flint. It wasn't easy raising those four, but they managed.

Bad Future Summary:

While Hope was devastated at the destruction the Krang caused, she pushed through and fought with all she had. When Casey came into the family about five years into the apocalypse after his dad died, she couldn't have been happier. Especially when Cass adopted him. A year later Raph died and Hope put in upon herself to pick up the slack in leadership while Leo mourned through mourning too. It was worse when Donnie died eleven years after that, but Hope was nothing if not good at keeping her emotions in check in tough situations (she only broke down when no one else was watching). She took over caring for Casey with Leo when Cass died a year after Raph did. During the few years nearing year eighteen of the apocalypse, she and Leo came up with the plan to send Casey into the past to prevent everything that happened in their timeline, also deciding he couldn't go back alone and that Hope would go back as well to which she agreed. Leaving everyone behind wasn't going to be easy, she knew, but it would all be worth it in the end.

Voice Claim:

#Youtube #rottmnt #save rottmnt #rottmnt oc #HST #she's got so much lore 😭

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lacefuneral · 2 years ago

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ok i've seen some posts about the tumblr alternative cohost but none that were actually helpful so!

(disclaimer: i am very new to this website. users who have been there longer can and should chime in with additions and/or corrections)

Cohost Introduction Post

What is cohost?

Cohost is a fledgling website that is essentially a tumblr clone, but with its own culture and site-specific features. It is also very much a work in progress. You are encouraged to talk in the cohost forum to suggest changes for devs, report bugs, and upvote other people's suggestions. This website WILL grow and change over time. And as such, I do not know if/when the information I share here will be outdated. Edit: To answer an ask I received, anyone can join cohost without an invite. It used to be invite-only. It is not this way anymore.

Is "adult content" allowed there?

Yes. Cohost is not on the app store, meaning that it is not subject to Apple's specifications. You can post illustrations, writing, and photographs (cohost does not support any video formats at this time, just gifs). Cohost has an elaborate filtering and trigger warning system (moreso than tumblr), and you can disable adult content for your entire account or for individual tags. I actually don't engage with the adult content at all on there. Visual CSEM (both real and fictional) is specifically forbidden (although frankly I think the guidelines could be stricter wrt written content. Still, does seem to handle this better than AO3 does, going as far to say that written content about real minors is forbidden.)

How are minors protected?

The minimum age to join cohost is 16, and requires proof of parental permission to join. Users who are under 18 are automatically age-gated and cannot view adult content.

If cohost isn't on the app store, how is it used?

You can, of course, use cohost on a computer, but it is designed with mobile in mind. Opening the website on any IOS browser, clicking "share", and then "add to home screen" will install an app for you to use. The same can be done on an android. There is a guide here.

How does cohost work?

First, you create an account. Then you wait for approximately two days (read: weekdays) for the account to be activated. This is done to prevent spam bots. In the meantime, edit your profile. List some interests, your pronouns, your other social media links. Give yourself an icon. Note: icon and banner file sizes are small. You may need to shrink and compress images.

After the two days are up, make your first post! Write a basic introduction (with what you feel comfortable you feel sharing) and list some interests you like, maybe some hobbies, media, etc. And then tag this post with "#welcome to cohost". This will let existing members know that someone new has joined, and they may initiate conversation and/or follow you.

Next, go to the search and type in "The Cohost Global Feed" and click on the tag. Bookmark this tag. This is essentially one giant community space where you can find random users. (There is currently some discourse on the website as to whether this tag existing is a "bad thing" or not because "cohost isn't supposed to have a global tag". Just ignore that lol). Next, go back to search and type in things you like. TV shows, maybe. Video games. Music. Anything. See if people have posted in the tags. Follow them. Comment on their stuff. Click "like" to bookmark the post if you want to.

Most crucially, make sure that you bookmark the actual tag so you can look in that tag again later without having to manually type it each and every time. Also, you get a feed called "bookmarked tags" which allows you to scroll through all of them at once, which replaces the "for you" feature other websites have.

You can "share" a post (called "rebug" in user slang) which serves the same purpose as a reblog on tumblr. In a rebug, you can add your own tags or comment in the body of the post. Cohost users do not talk in tags as much as tumblr users - they tend to prefer to speak in the body of a rebug, or in the comment section (replies). At this time, you cannot view all reblogs. But you can view all comments in the comment section. Any post that is rebugged will preserve the tags of the OP, with any additional tags added being attributed to you. Rebugs are named after the website mascot Eggbug, a purple bee-like insect.

Posts are called "chosts" - and shitposting is called "shitchosting." Two examples of global shitposting tags are "#css crimes" - which is when a person does goofy things with the HTML/CSS editor to make colorful text, fake chat windows, and such - and "#shitchosting" which is a general shitposting tag. I've also seen people use tags like "#random".

If a post makes you laugh, check out the OP's profile. See if they post frequently, and if you have any common interests. If you realize you want to block or mute someone instead, you can.

You can send asks just like on tumblr, but your inbox must be manually opened first. So remember to do that.

How do I look at my own blog?

This is one of my gripes about the UI. You would think, intuitively, you would click here (at the top of the screen). But you would be wrong!

It is ACTUALLY under the sidebar menu, called "Profile." And I'm not the only one to to complain about this. (To get back to your dashboard, by the way, you click on the cohost logo.)

Are there sideblogs?

Yes! Each sidepage (sideblog) has its OWN set of likes AND followed pages (blogs). This allows you to easily switch between multiple sets of dashboards. A lot of users use this to have a SFW dashboard and an adult content dashboard. But it works like tumblr, too. You can have a side page/dashboard for whatever you'd like. Maybe one of your pages is for programming. Maybe another is for photography. You switch between your pages by clicking the arrow next to your icon/username at the top of the screen. ("Ohhhhh.... THAT'S what that's for.")

What's the userbase on there like?

Mostly programmers. Trans people. Furry artists. Plural systems. Furry trans plural programmers. Certainly a lot of shitposters. The website is trans-run and, as such, has zero tolerance for TERFs. Everyone seems pretty friendly from what I can tell. And there's very much a culture of "follow someone randomly based on their vibes" that doesn't happen as much on tumblr. Tumblr is more like "I really like this TV show, I'm going to follow 40 blogs about just this interest." Because the cohost community is so much smaller, there is a lot less content overall, especially fandom content. You can't follow 40 fandom pages because your fandom tag has a total of 3 posts, all made by one person approximately a year ago (well. for me anyway).

Cohost, then, actually has much more in common with real-life socialization. You seek out people with interests that may be very different from your own, and to find a common interest is very exciting! Unlike tumblr, you are encouraged to tag as much as possible. This allows your posts to be seen, to find common interests. And, of course, don't forget to look in "#Welcome To Cohost" too! You may find some new friends there.

What file formats can I post in?

Currently, I am aware of basic image formats working (like jpeg, png) animated gifs, and mp3s. You currently cannot upload videos to cohost. I believe the reason is not related to server costs, but rather as a way to curb the uploading of copyrighted content.

How does cohost make money?

There are no ads, and yet, as far as I am aware, cohost is operating comfortably. There is, however, an entirely optional "cohost plus" that is $5 USD a month. Currently, there are a few perks, but not enough to convince me.

What if I think something about cohost should change?

Cohost has a forum where users can submit ideas for features and other users can discuss/upvote those ideas.

Here is a list of posts made for newcomers to read:

#long post #cohost #tumblr migration #tumblr alternative

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back2bluesidex · 6 months ago

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Deal? Deal. - KTH [Masterlist] (18+)

✨ Patreon Membership Exclusive Drabble Series ✨

[New to Patreon? using an iOS? Read this to save extra money]

Part of Bangtan Chaebol Universe

Pairing: Chaebol!Taehyung X Fem!Reader

Theme: angst, pining, fake marriage au

Word count: 1.2k (Full chapter) (The full smut is added here in the preview)

Summary: When it comes to Kim Taehyung, you have two identities. One - you are his personal assistant. Two - you are his friends with benefits. But a third identity threatens to make its way in your life when his father forces him to get married and he proposes you with a deal - stay married for two years, get divorced with a huge chunk of alimony money and live a comfortable life.

Nice deal, right? Sure. But not when you start falling for him along the way.

Warnings: SMUT, explicit sex, unprotected sex (wrap it)

Minors Do NOT interact!!!!!

A/N: This is a part of the Patreon exclusive ot7 series of Bangtan Chaebol Universe - Updated every Thursday 1:30 am UTC

Chapter Index: -

Part 1: Marry Me

Part 2: Don't Fall for Me

Part 3: Fake Vows

Part 4: April Shower

Part 5: Throwback in Time

Part 6: One Step Away

Part 7: A Third Person's POV

Part 8: Making Amends

Part 9: Deal? Deal.

Preview

If anyone asks you what you like the most about Kim Taehyung, you would say his fingers.

His long, slender, veiny fingers are one of a kind - something to put in for a show in the museums.

The same fingers are now entering and exiting you, evenly coated with your arousal, as you sit on his desk.

Scandalous.

Extremely scandalous is what this setting is. Your boss is finger-fucking you at two in the afternoon in his office and you are enjoying it as if today is your last day in the earth.

You moan his name as he bites down on the skin of your throat, it instantly dresses in pink.

Oh how you love when he marks you!

“Taehyung! Don’t mark me.” you fake-warn in a whiny, breathy voice. You can feel him smiling against your skin.

He doesn’t say anything but adds another finger to your core.

Your jaw drops at the new added stretch.

Taehyung wraps his hand around your waist even tighter as he increases his pace. As a result, you find yourself getting closer and closer.

“I’m close.” you mutter, your fingers rake through Taehyung’s scalp.

And then, everything gets emptier. He pulls his fingers out of you as he looks up from your throat. A smirk plays on his handsome face.

“We don’t have much time, darling. You gotta take me too.” He reasons. The timber of his voice spreads goosebumps all around your body.

Pulling you down the desk, he turns your body around, pushes you down by your head and rolls your skirt higher.

You hear him removing his belt and then within a few more minutes, the tip of his cock probes at your entrance.

When he pushes in, you moan his name again.

Taehyung fucks you like he owns you. He has been fucking you like this for more than a year now.

He is your boss, your fuck-buddy and now your friend too.

And just as a good friend he has told you about his distaste towards relationships, commitment and marriages. You have heard him silently, with a small flicker of hope dying every now and then.

It’s nothing fatal. What you have for Taehyung is a tiny crush, so it doesn’t hurt all that bad.

But now when you hear those words coming out of his mind, you need to take a bit of time to process things - if it’s really happening or are you just dreaming?

“Marry me.” Taehyung says for a second time, his thrusts get sloppier and you know he is close.

You don’t know if it’s his dick or his words but you come hard without any warning.

“Shit” Taehyung groans as he chases his high. When he comes inside you, you feel euphoric.

“Marry me.” he says for a third time.

This time, while you are still lying against the wooden desk, with your body pressed against the cold wood - your heart skips a beat.

Did he? Did he fall in love with you?

Is this a dream?

Are you even ready to get married?

“Wh-what?” your shutter and blame the heaviness of your breath.

“Meet me at our place after work. I will explain.” Teahyung replies, panting a little.

He doesn’t look at you, rather gets busy in redressing himself.

Oh. so there’s something to explain.

You nod. Reaching for your discarded panties you murmur a little “sure.”

#bts smut #taehyung smut #bts x reader #taehyung x reader #taehyung fanfic #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts taehyung #bts scenario #bts imagines

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genshin-impact-updates · 9 months ago

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"The Rainbow Destined to Burn" Version 5.1 Update Details

Dear Traveler,

Below are the details of the Version 5.1 update "The Rainbow Destined to Burn" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/10/09 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 5.1.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/10/09 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2024/10/12 06:00 (UTC+8).

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2024/10/09 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Character

5-Star Character "Ardent Flames Forge the Soul" Xilonen (Geo)

◇ Vision: Geo

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ A Name Engraver of the Nanatzcayan, she is especially skilled at finding a good balance between the heavy responsibilities of her job and living well.

◆ Elemental Skill: Yohual's Scratch

◇ Source Samples: Xilonen has 3 Geo Samplers with her that can generate different Soundscapes based on her other party members' Elemental Types (Pyro/Hydro/Cryo/Electro). Different Soundscapes can result in Elemental Skills and Bursts to produce various effects, and decrease nearby opponents' corresponding Elemental RES while active.

◇ After unleashing her Elemental Skill, Xilonen will enter the Nightsoul's Blessing state and switch to the Blade Roller mode. While in this mode, Xilonen's Normal Attacks will allow her to perform consecutive kicks using her roller blades. She can also engage in swift movement and climbing, and activate her Geo Samplers. After unlocking the Talent "Netotiliztli's Echoes," different Soundscapes will enhance Xilonen's Normal and Plunging Attacks: either by gaining Nightsoul points upon hitting enemies or by increasing the DMG dealt by Normal and Plunging Attacks. When Nightsoul points reach the maximum, all Samplers will be activated.

◆ Elemental Burst: Ocelotlicue Point!

◇ Deals AoE Geo DMG to opponents and based on different Soundscapes: Restores HP for nearby active characters or deals additional AoE Geo DMG.

II. New Equipment

1. New Weapons (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

Peak Patrol Song (5-Star Sword)

Gain "Ode to Flowers" after Normal or Plunging Attacks hit an opponent: DEF increases by 8% and gain a 10% All Elemental DMG Bonus for 6s. Max 2 stacks. Can trigger once per 0.1s. When this effect reaches 2 stacks or the 2nd stack's duration is refreshed, increase all nearby party members' All Elemental DMG Bonus by 8% for every 1,000 DEF the equipping character has, up to a maximum of 25.6%, for 15s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Peak Patrol Song (Sword) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Sturdy Bone (4-Star Sword)

Sprint or Alternate Sprint Stamina Consumption decreased by 15%. Additionally, after using Sprint or Alternate Sprint, Normal Attack DMG is increased by 16% of ATK. This effect expires after triggering 18 times or 7s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Sturdy Bone (Sword) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Mountain-Bracing Bolt (4-Star Polearm)

Decreases Climbing Stamina Consumption by 15% and increases Elemental Skill DMG by 12%. Also, after other nearby party members use Elemental Skills, the equipping character's Elemental Skill DMG will also increase by 12% for 8s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Mountain-Bracing Bolt (Polearm) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Fruitful Hook (4-Star Claymore)

Increase Plunging Attack CRIT Rate by 16%; After a Plunging Attack hits an opponent, Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG increased by 16% for 10s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Fruitful Hook (Claymore) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

III. New Main Story

1. New Archon Quests

Archon Quest Chapter V: Act III "Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors"

Permanently available after the Version 5.1 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act II "Black Stone Under a White Stone"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

Archon Quest Chapter V: Act IV "The Rainbow Destined to Burn"

Permanently available after the Version 5.1 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act III "Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

2. New Tribal Chronicle Quest

A Prayer for Blessings, Told to Crested Peaks

Act III of "A Prayer for Blessings, Told to Crested Peaks" will be permanently available after the Version 5.1 update

◆ Act III Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete "A Fuel Named 'Fate'" in the Archon Quest "The Rainbow Destined to Burn"

• Complete Act I and Act II of the Tribal Chronicles Quest "A Prayer for Blessings, Told to Crested Peaks"

You can use the "Quick Start" function to accept and progress through Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" while maintaining your current progress in the existing Archon Quests. After using the "Quick Start" function to complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I, you can continue to accept and complete the subsequent Acts of Chapter V until you unlock the latest Archon Quest or Tribal Chronicles introduced in the current version update.

IV. New Enemies

Secret Source Automaton: Configuration Device

◇ A machine with terrifying destructive capabilities.

When characters enter and maintain the Nightsoul's Blessing state, the Secret Source Automaton: Configuration Device will start progressing through its Adaptive Countermeasures. Once those are complete, the Configuration Device will start preparing its Boltsphere Cannon. During this time, the Configuration Device will start up its Accretion Mechanism to dig into Solid Phlogiston and collect phlogiston. The Accretion Mechanism will generate an energy field. If you wish to destroy the Mechanism and interrupt the charging of the Boltsphere Cannon, you must first climb the Solid Phlogiston and enter the energy field.

Located at Toyac Springs.

Tenebrous Mimiflora

◇ An Abyssal monster that has descended to this world from the deep, dark depths of a twisted and alien world, the Tenebrous Mimiflora can mimic various phenomena.

The Tenebrous Mimiflora can deploy a Void Ward in combat. Some of its attacks can cause stackable Attrition that, after a time, will cause your active character to lose HP. Use a specific number of Elemental attacks to destroy this creature's Ward. Nightsoul-aligned Elemental attacks can break through its defenses more effectively.

V. Other Update Details

New Recipes:

○ Cipac (Natlan NPC): BBQ Beef Heart Skewers

○ Natlan's Zakan's Street Bites: Xocoatl

New Character Specialty Dish:

○ Xilonen's specialty: Fruit-Flavored Milk Candies

Adds new Achievements to the "Wonders of the World" category.

Adds Set 35 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

New Namecards:

"Xilonen: Cue Point": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Xilonen

"Travel Notes: Sabzeruz": Reward obtained via the BP system

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Card: Chiori and her corresponding Talent card. Corresponding invitation duel and guest challenges have been added to the Player List.

New Character Cards: Eremite Floral Ring-Dancer, Abyss Lector: Violet Lightning, and their corresponding Talent cards. Their Tavern Challenges have also been added.

New Action Cards: "Portable Power Saw," "Conductor's Top Hat," "Tepetlisaurus," "Stage Tepetl," "Eremite Teatime," and "Saurus Crackers" can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Clever Stratagems":

1. During The Forge Realm's Temper: Clever Stratagems, you can select the parameters for each stage. Parameters that may be set include: stage difficulty, enemy health, and the round limit for the match.

2. After completing the challenge, points will be obtained based on the difficulty completed for each parameter. The best score obtained for each stage will be recorded, and will allow you to claim rewards that correspond to certain scores.

Imaginarium Theater

After the Version 5.1 update, the new season of "Imaginarium Theater" will be available on November 1.

Required Elemental Types: Pyro, Electro, and Dendro

Opening Characters: Klee, Xinyan, Yae Miko, Dori, Tighnari, and Kirara

When Imaginarium Theater is open, the corresponding Opening Characters will obtain Fantastical Blessings.

Special Guest Stars: Xilonen, Chiori, Xingqiu, and Layla

After the first season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the characters Kaedehara Kazuha, Eula, Gorou, and Candace will each gain a new "Thespian Trick" that can be exchanged from the NPC Wolfy.

Envisaged Echoes Gameplay Update:

After the version update, new challenge stages and Echo cosmetics for Zhongli and Keqing will be added.

Spiral Abyss

○ The content for the first phase (updated on October 16) is as follows:

◆ Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All party members gain a 75% Geo DMG Bonus.

◆ Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

◆ Blessing of the Abyssal Moon:

Rugged Moon

After a character uses an Elemental Skill, said character's DEF increases by 60% for 9s.

○ The content for the second phase (updated on November 16) is as follows:

◆ Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All party members gain a 60% Geo DMG Bonus.

• All party members gain a 60% Pyro DMG Bonus.

◆ Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

◆ Blessing of the Abyssal Moon:

Vigorous Moon

After the current active character's Charged Attack hits an opponent, said character's ATK increases by 20% for 8s. Max 4 stacks, each stack has an independent duration.

Due to recording arrangements, some content in Version 5.1 does not have English voice-overs. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Enemies

Adjusts the damage judgment timing of the skill "Rock Swings" unleashed by the enemy "Eroding Avatar of Lava" to better match its animation.

Adjusts the position of the related special effects when the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" triggers a Burning reaction.

● Settings

Other than the "Settings/Others" interface, you can now also set whether to "Allow Auto Adding of 5-Star Artifacts as Enhancement Materials" in the "Input Settings" on the Artifact enhancement interface.

Other than the "Settings/Others" interface, you can now also set whether to "Auto-Lock 4-Star Weapons" in the "Inventory > Weapons" interface.

● Spiral Abyss

When opening the "Spiral Abyss" interface, if you have completed the "Abyss Corridor" (i.e., Floors 1–8 of the Spiral Abyss) with full stars, the "Abyssal Moon Spire" interface will open directly (i.e., Floors 9–12).

Adds the Spiral Abyss skip function. After the Spiral Abyss update on October 16:

a. If you have completed Floor 11 in the previous Cycle of the Spiral Abyss at full stars, then after the Spiral Abyss update, you can claim the full star rewards for Floor 9 of the current Spiral Abyss.

b. After completing Floor 12 of the Spiral Abyss with full stars, you can claim the full star rewards for Floor 9 and Floor 10 of the current Spiral Abyss.

*You can claim all Chamber Bounties for the skipped floors directly via the review pop-up. However, the Primogem rewards from Star's Bounty will still need to be claimed manually.

● Enhancement and Forging-related

The "Source" for character ascension materials, character and weapon enhancement materials, character talent materials, and weapon ascension materials will now display the quantity that can be crafted.

The "Crafting" interface now allows you to filter the required materials based on the character. After selecting a character, you can further filter by their skills, ascension level, and the weapons they are equipped with.

When clicking on Stardust Exchange for the "Source" of high-rarity character and weapon enhancement materials, if the currently available materials of the same rarity have been completely exchanged, it will automatically switch to similar materials of a lower rarity.

Optimizes the interactive experience in the Crafting, Forge, and Creation/Furnishings interfaces:

a. After performing the relevant crafting operation, the icon position of the selected crafted item will no longer change.

b. After performing the relevant crafting operation, the refresh effect for the item list will no longer play.

● Other Systems

Optimizes the layout and user experience of the pop-up interface for Character Talent Materials and Weapon Ascension Materials in the relevant bundles for "Battle Pass" and "Bundles."

Adjusts the design of the "Character > Level Up Talent" pop-up, and increases the animation speed to optimize the experience when upgrading talents.

Adjusts the order of "Adventurer Handbook > Domain > Trounce Domain": the "Trounce Domain" tab will now be arranged based on "new to old" and "unlocked and locked" status.

Adjusts the default page of the "Adventurer Handbook": if you have completed the content on the "Experience" tab, while the "Commissions" or "Guide" tab still has incomplete content, the first time you log in and open the "Adventurer Handbook," it will open the "Commissions" or "Guide" page.

"Character > Artifact" Interface Function Optimizations:

a. Records the Artifact set filters and affixes sorting that you set for a specific character, and when entering the interface again, the Artifacts will be displayed based on the previous filter and sorting settings.

b. Adds a new button at the bottom of the Artifacts list in this interface to switch between set filtering and non-set filtering states.

c. The selected Artifact affix sorting option will now be displayed directly at the bottom of the interface.

● Audio

Removes audio resources from earlier versions. After the Version 5.1 update, the audio files will occupy less space compared to Version 5.0.

Optimizes the interactive sound effects of certain system interfaces and fixes issues with missing sound effects for some open world objects.

Adjusts the volume of music in certain areas in Natlan.

Optimizes the sound attenuation effect when the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" is in flight.

● Other

Adds support for opening multiple "Domain Reliquaries" simultaneously in batches.

Updates the blocking strategy for certain spam and advertising behaviors.

Adjusts the appearance and position of special effects when triggering "Brilliant Blessings" in "Imaginarium Theater" battles.

Adjusts the effect descriptions of some "Brilliant Blessings" in "Imaginarium Theater" (the actual effect remains the same).

When selecting events in "Imaginarium Theater," you can now switch to other events by clicking on either side of the screen or using the controller buttons.

Updates the tutorial for "Saurian Indwelling" to include explanations regarding how to disengage from the "indwelling" state.

Adjusts certain dialogue text in the Commission Quest "Tending to a Tepetlisaurus."

Due to the unclear completion status of Monetoo-related graffiti in the Sulfurous Veins area of Natlan, the special effects of this graffiti will be optimized after the version update to: the related graffiti will be removed after completing the gameplay.

Improves the issue whereby Mualani's attacks would miss during the preparation for the Sharky's Surging Bite due to changes in enemy positioning. The developers will continue to monitor this character's performance in battle and we welcome feedback from Travelers.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue whereby there is a chance that the character would become stuck and unable to be controlled when leaving the quest area while completing the objective "Collect Contending Sparks" of the Archon Quest "Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame" under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby defeating the relevant enemies during the World Quest "Blackcliff Woes" for the objective "Patrol the Chasm's perimeter" would prevent subsequent objectives from being completed.

Fixes an issue in related World Quests whereby the scarf on the Saurian companion's tail was missing animation effects.

Fixes an issue in the the World Quest "Revelations from the Past" whereby scenes or special effects would be appear to be abnormal when switching to Little One's point of view (little Tepetlisaurus) or switching back to the character's point of view under certain circumstances.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode whereby the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" would appear in an abnormal position when entering combat under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode whereby the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" would abnormally disappear under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the character could be stuck in the Plunging Attack state for a long time if the character was pushed to the barrier at the edge of the battlefield by the enemy while challenging the opponent "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" (After the fix, the duration of the Plunging Attack state will be greatly reduced when the character is pushed against the barrier at the edge of the battlefield by the enemy).

Fixes an issue whereby the achievement "Love and Non-Communication" could not be completed when repeatedly challenging the enemy "Thunder Manifestation" under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby some characters' skill effects may not appear normally or disappear when the enemy "Ichcahuipilli's Aegis" exiles the character to the "Land of Decision."

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby the special effects would flicker and shake abnormally at the edge of the camera when Furina used her Elemental Burst in Natlan.

Fixes an issue whereby the low-altitude and high-altitude landing impact effects would both appear simultaneously when Navia performed a Plunging Attack and hits the ground.

Fixes an issue whereby the special movement duration of Mualani or Kachina in their Nightsoul's Blessing state would be abnormal under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that Mualani would abnormally take fall damage when performing Sharky's Bite in the Nightsoul's Blessing state under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby when Kinich had less than 1 second remaining in the Nightsoul's Blessing state and used the "Scalespiker Cannon," the cooldown time displayed for the Elemental Skill button would become abnormal after the Nightsoul's Blessing state ended.

Fixes an issue whereby the relevant weather animation effect will end earlier before the skill ends when holding Kinich's Elemental Skill, "Scalespiker Cannon".

Fixes an issue whereby when Kinich uses his Elemental Skill to swing in mid-air and simultaneously executes a Normal Attack, it can result in an abnormal vertical jump.

The developers will continue to monitor other actions that may cause this character to perform abnormal vertical jumps. If there are any subsequent plans for adjustments and corrections, we will notify Travelers via announcements.

● System

Fixes an issue whereby completing Act 8 in "Imaginarium Theater" in Visionary Mode and finishing the finalization did not allow the corresponding Battle Pass mission to be completed.

Fixes an issue whereby in the "Forge" interface, the daily crafting quantity would still be deducted even if forging weapon enhancement materials failed due to insufficient required materials under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue under certain circumstances whereby the challenge interface would not record the "Best Score" even if you had completed the "Rock Hopping" challenge in the Natlan region.

Fixes an issue whereby the game would not pause when tracking enemies from the "Adventurer Handbook > Enemies" tab or jumping to the "Map" from material sources in Single-Player Mode.

Fixes an issue resulting in the food "Strength Tonic" not being displayed in "Archive > Materials/Food and Potions."

Fixes an issue whereby the filter applied to the "Food" tab in the "Inventory" interface also took effect for the "Food" tab of the "Parametric Transformer."

● Audio

Fixes an issue whereby the volume of certain movement sound effects for characters was abnormal after the Version 5.0 update.

Fixes text and voice-over errors in Chinese and Korean regarding the "Long-Necked Rhino" in the Archon Quest "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" (the Japanese and English voice-over will be fixed in subsequent versions).

Fixes an issue whereby there were errors with the Chinese voice-overs during some quests.

Fixes an issue whereby the relevant voice lines would not trigger correctly when obtaining Gaming for the first time through a wish.

Fixes an issue whereby the English voice-over of Kinich and Ajaw's interaction does not synchronize with the idle animation.

● Other

Fixes an issue with the visual effects of the Wildlife "Pyro Crystalfly" and "Coral Butterfly" appearing abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby certain wildlife like the "Flying Squirrel" could not be captured.

Fixes an issue on PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®5 whereby the pre-discount price of some currency for "Gnostic Chorus" was displayed incorrectly (the post-discount actual price and the amount deducted were not affected).

Adjusts the names of some "shield" effects to "Ward" in the "Tutorial" menu and other interfaces in languages other than Simplified Chinese (this issue was fixed for Simplified Chinese in Version 5.0).

Fixes an issue whereby after indwelling a Koholasaur, it would not consume Phlogiston when performing a Aquadash under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby after collecting "Flamegranates" while indwelling and controlling a Yumkasaur, the Yumkasaur could continuously leap upward in the air under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the effect "Surprise: Explosive Excitement" from "Mystery Caches" in "Imaginarium Theater" did not activate correctly under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the game would experience an abnormal black screen and become unresponsive after the character teleported to the Obsidian Totem Pole: "Children of Echoes" when playing on certain PC devices.

Fixes an issue whereby the character's shadow effects would display abnormally in Natlan when playing on certain Android devices.

Fixes an issue on certain Android devices whereby when controlling and indwelling Saurians in Natlan, there is a chance that the Saurian's model would display abnormally when the camera zoomed in on it.

Fixes an issue whereby the treasure chest would not appear correctly after picking up the "Apple" and investigating the related location near a Teleport Waypoint in Natlan under certain circumstances.

◆ Optimizes inconsistencies between certain voice-overs and the corresponding lines.

◆ Optimizes certain English translations.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Redesigns the Character Card "Eremite Scorching Loremaster" (Travelers can visit the official notice "Version 5.1 Genius Invokation TCG Update Details" or log into the game after the version update to see the changes).

Adjusts the effects of the Character Card "Guardian of Apep's Oasis"'s Passive Skill: The number of Awaken, My Kindred generated at the start of the match has been reduced from 6 to 5; the shield generated after summoning 4 Proliferated Organisms has been reduced from 2 points to 1 point.

Adjusts the effect of the Character Card "Lisa"'s Normal Attacks: Normal Attacks now apply Conductive to the enemy's active character (no longer requires a Charged Attack).

Adjusts the effect of the Character Card "Lisa"'s "Conductive" status: Now, "when the character attached with Conductive takes DMG from Violet Arc or Lightning Rose," it will trigger "Remove this status and DMG +1 for each stack of Conductive" (previously, this effect could only be triggered by Violet Arc damage).

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact news #official #genshin impact 5.1 #note the line in there that says some content may not have an english voiceover due to the strike #if voices are important to you you may want to switch languages

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inthedayswhenlandswerefew · 1 year ago

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Where Will All The Martyrs Go [Chapter 4: Read Between The Lines]

Series summary: In the midst of the zombie apocalypse, both you and Aemond (and your respective travel companions) find yourselves headed for the West Coast. It’s the 2024 version of the Oregon Trail, but with less dysentery and more undead antagonists. Watch out for snakes! 😉🐍

Series warnings: Language, sexual content (18+ readers only), violence, bodily injury, med school Aemond, character deaths, nature, drinking, smoking, drugs, Adventures With Aegon, pregnancy and childbirth, the U.S. Navy, road trip vibes, Jace is here unfortunately.

Series title is a lyric from: “Letterbomb” by Green Day.

Chapter title is a lyric from: “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” by Green Day.

Word count: 5.6k

💜 All my writing can be found HERE! 💜

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It is your first week of basic training at Great Lakes on the north side of Chicago, and as you lie in the top bunk of your assigned bed you wonder what the hell you’ve done. You enlisted right out of high school, eighteen, no driver’s license, no work history, never been more than fifty miles outside of Soft Shell, Kentucky. The drill sergeants are always yelling and you’re bad at push-ups; you can’t understand the recruits from big cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Detroit, Houston, and they don’t seem to get you either, and aren’t interested enough to try. Sometimes you wish you hadn’t signed that five-year contract, but where would you be if you weren’t here? Home is not words but textures, colors, fumes that still burn in your sinuses: cigarette ash on rose pink carpets, red embers glowing in the wood stove, Hamburger Helper and Mountain Dew, coffee creamer in Hungry Jack potatoes, laughter and heavy footsteps and slamming doors, scratch-off games, dogs barking, collecting coins from couch cushions for gas money, scrubbing clothes in the bathtub when the washer quits, Mama taking gulps from her favorite cup—plastic, Virginia Beach, filled with equal parts Hawaiian Punch and vodka—when she thinks no one is looking, blue shows flickering on the television, Family Feud, Maury, Good Morning America, WWE SmackDown. For as long as you can remember you’ve known you couldn’t stay. Now you’re getting out, but nothing in life is free.

You are at Class A Technical School in Gulfport, Mississippi, and even though it’s hotter than some noxious, volcanic hellscape—Mercury, Venus, Io—you are beginning to like it. You taste the salt of sweat when you lick your lips, sugar in the sweet tea they serve in the chow hall. There’s a magic in building something where there was only empty space before, in patching roofs and painting walls. Here being quiet and watchful is exactly what they want from you: head down, hammer striking nails, measurements and angles and long hours under the sun with no complaints. You’re not just running away anymore. You are creating something new.

You are sitting beneath swaying palm trees and a full moon on Diego Garcia, draining cans of Guinness with Rio, and he’s telling you things he shouldn’t, too personal, too honest: Sophie wants to try for a baby next time he’s home on leave, and part of him wants that too but he’s terrified. As thunder rumbles in the distance and raindrops begin to patter on the waves of the Indian Ocean, you tell Rio you think he’d be a good father. He wonders how you figure that, and you say because he’s not like any of the men from home. He gives you one of his crooked smiles—a flash of teeth, knowing dark eyes—and doesn’t ask what you mean.

But of course, when you swim up from the inky currents of sleep you are in none of these places. You are curled up on the floor of a bowling alley in Shenandoah, Ohio, cheap worn black carpet peppered with stars and swirls in neon green, pink, blue. You stretch out with a yawn. Someone has left a Lemon Tea Snapple within reach; you twist it open and guzzle it, hoping to extinguish the pounding in your skull, a rhythmic thudding of warm maroon, half Captain Morgan and half misery. The music isn’t helping. From the green Toshiba CD player, a man is singing in Spanish. Aegon and Rio are sitting at the nearest table and playing Uno.

Aegon says as he ponders his cards: “You know Enrique Iglesias, right Rio?”

“You are so racist.” Rio puts down a wild. “And the new color is red. Racist.”

“So what’s he saying?”

“Aegon, buddy, I told you, I was born here. My grandparents came over in the 60s. I don’t speak Spanish.”

“You can’t understand any of it?” Aegon is skeptical. He plays a skip, a reverse, and a seven. “My dad never taught me a word of Greek but I can recognize plenty of phrases. Vlákas means idiot. Spatáli chórou is a waste of space.”

Rio sighs, relenting. He puts down a two. “The song is called Súbeme La Radio, Turn Up The Radio For Me. Bring me the alcohol that numbs the pain… I don’t care about anything anymore…You’ve left me in the shadows…”

“Damn, now I’m sad. Draw four, bitch.”

“When the night comes and you don’t answer, I swear to you I’ll stay waiting at your door…” Rio studies his cards. “What’s the new color?”

“Green.”

“Yes!” Rio slams down a skip. “Fleeing from the past in every dawn, I can’t find any way to erase our history…”

Everyone else is awake already. As muted late-morning daylight streams in through the small tinted windows, Aemond is weaving between tables, pointedly checking on each person. He glances at you, says nothing, turns around and walks the other way.

“That’s tough,” Rio says sympathetically, popping open the tab on a can of Chef Boyardee and shoveling ravioli into his mouth with a plastic fork.

Aegon gives you a smirk. “You want to fake date now?”

“I’ll think about it.” No you won’t.

Helaena appears, a prairie girl vision in a modest blue sundress and with her hair tied back with a matching scarf. She reaches into her burlap messenger bag and offers you a choice between a ranch-flavored tuna pouch or a silvery pack of Pop-Tarts. “Strawberry,” she tells you.

“I’ll take the Pop-Tarts.”

Helaena gives them to you and then shakes a bottle of Advil. You’re so groggy it takes you a few seconds to figure out what she wants, then you obediently hold out a hand. Helaena lays two tablets in the center of your palm and moves on, soundlessly like a rabbit or a spider.

You wash the pills down with Snapple. As you nibble half-heartedly on a Pop-Tart—trying not to look at Aemond, multicolored sprinkles falling down onto the carpet—your eyes drift to the tattoo on the underside of Aegon’s forearm. It’s not over ‘til you’re underground. You’ve spotted it before. Only now do you remember where you recognize the lyric from. “Is that Green Day?”

“Yeah,” Aegon says, enthused that you noticed. “Letterbomb.”

“I love that whole album.”

“Me too. I could sing it front to back if you asked me to.”

“I’m not asking.”

Aegon cackles and resumes his Uno game with Rio. Baela is wearing denim shorts and a crop top, slathering her belly with Palmer’s cocoa butter from Walmart as she chats with Rhaena and eats Teddy Grahams. Daeron is waxing the string of his compound bow. Jace is gnawing on a Twizzler as he scrutinizes Aegon’s map, annotated with Xs and circles and arrows in sparkling gel pen green.

“I’m going to be a thousand years old by the time we get there,” Jace mutters.

Aegon hits the table with his fist. The discard pile collapses and cascades, an avalanche of Uno cards. Rio, undisturbed, continues contemplating his next move. “You know what, Jace? The cities are full of zombies, the interstates are blocked by fifty-car pileups, if we bump into anyone else who’s still alive they’re just as likely to rob and murder us as want to be friends, and on top of all that I’m trying to do you the favor of preventing you from getting so irradiated you turn into Spider-Man. If you have a better route in mind, I’d love to hear it.”

“Spider-Man…? You’re such a dumbass, what are you talking about?!”

Luke says from where he stands by a window: “Aemond, someone’s outside.”

“What?” Aemond stares at him. “Zombies?”

“No. People.”

Aemond bolts to the doors, the rest of you close behind him. Rhaena turns off the CD player. You, Rio, and Aegon squeeze together to peer out of one of the windows. There are men—three of them, no, four, all appearing to be in their forties—passing by on the main road through town. They are armed with what are either AR-15s or M16s, you can’t tell which.

Rio whistles. “If you get shot by one of those, the exit wound will be the size of an orange.” Everyone looks at him. This was not an encouraging thing to say.

You elaborate: “Thirty-round magazines. Semiautomatic, assuming they’re AR-15s for civilian use. I guess they could have gotten ahold of M16s somehow. Those have a fully automatic setting.”

“So regardless, we’re out-gunned,” Jace says.

“If they know how to use them. Some men think guns are wall decorations, like deer heads or fish.”

Aegon recoils. “Fish?! What the fuck. I’m glad the colonies left.”

“Maybe they’ll keep walking,” Daeron says hopefully. One of the men stops and points at the bowling alley, saying something to his companions. They laugh and begin crossing the small parking lot. They are less than two minutes from the door. “Oh, great…”

“There’s an emergency exit in the back,” Baela says.

Aegon snorts. “Yeah, that we stacked about twenty boxes of bowling pins in front of to zombie-proof.”

“We won’t be able to get out before they hear us,” Aemond says. Then he abruptly orders: “Grab your guns, let’s go. Helaena, Baela, Rhaena, you’re staying here.” Aemond’s remaining eye—briefly, reluctantly—skates over you as Rio, Aegon, Jace, Luke, and Daeron scatter to obey him. “You too.”

“But I’m the best shot.”

“I don’t want them to know we have women with us.”

“I’m of more use to you outside.”

Aemond rips his Glock out of its holster, pointing it at the floor. His frustration is palpable, an electric shock, heat that refracts light rays until they become mirages on the horizon. “You’re going to stay here, and if a stranger comes through those doors you’re going to kill them. Okay?”

His urgency stuns you; his eye is blue-white summer storm lightning. “Okay.”

“Now get back.”

You soar to the nearest table, duck under it, reach for your Beretta M9 and double-check the clip, fully loaded. You click off the safety.

“Aemond, wait, let me go first,” Aegon is saying by the door. “I’m better at de-escalation, I’m less…uh…intimidating.”

“Less socially incompetent, you mean,” Jace quips.

“I’ll lead,” Aemond insists. “Aegon can talk. Rio, you’re up front with me.”

Rio pumps his Remington 12 gauge. “I’d be delighted.”

Jace is amused. “I’ve been demoted, huh?”

“He’s bigger,” Aemond replies simply, then opens the door and vanishes through a blinding curtain of daylight. The others follow closely; Daeron, the last one out—his compound bow in hand, the strap of his Marlin .22 slung over his shoulder—shuts the door behind him.

Very faintly, you can hear Aegon: “Hey, guys! What’s happening? How’s the apocalypse treating you…?”

Baela, Rhaena, and Helaena are under the table with you. They deserve to have options. You tell them: “If you want to go hide behind the lanes or try to get out the back door, now’s your chance.”

Helaena shakes her head, clutching your t-shirt: black, Star Wars, pawed off a shelf at the Walmart. “I want to stay with you.”

“Same,” Baela says determinedly, gripping her Ruger. She barely knows how to use it, but she’ll try. Rhaena is shaking, her eyes filling up her face, small fragile bones like a bird’s.

You can’t hear voices from outside anymore, but there are no gunshots either. You keep your M9 aimed at the doors, your breathing slow and deep, your heart rate low. Your hands are steady. Your eyes hunt for the slightest movement, for the momentary shadow of someone passing by a window. Against your will, your thoughts wander to Aemond. I hope Aegon is on his left side. Aemond can’t see there.

“Rhaena, get your gun out,” Baela says sharply. “Come on. Turn the safety off. What if you were alone right now? What if we weren’t here to protect you?”

Rhaena nods, fumbling to free her revolver from its holster. “I’m sorry…I’m trying…”

Now there is a stranger’s voice, gruff and deep. He must be just beyond the door, the farthest one to the right. There is a creak of hinges, a sliver of sunlight. “That’s just too damn bad, fellas. You got a nice little hideout here, and you’re gonna have to share it—”

The door opens. Two unfamiliar faces, too shellshocked to raise their rifles in time. You close an eye, line up your sights, fire twice, and that’s all it takes: one headshot, one in the throat, blood like a fountain, spurting scarlet ruin, thuds against the carpet strewn with neon stars, gurgling and spasms as their brains send out those final electrical impulses: danger, catastrophe, apocalypse. Rhaena is screaming. Helaena is covering her ears with both hands.

You run to the doorway; there are more booms of gunfire out in the parking lot. You cross into the late-morning light to see the other two men on the pavement: one with an arrow through the eye, the other with a gaping, hemorrhaging hole where his heart once was. Rio is admiring his work, holding his shotgun aloft. He scoops a handful of Cheddar Whales out of his shorts pocket and shovels them into his mouth.

“Goddamn, I love Remington Arms Company.”

“Oh, that was awesome,” Aegon says, wan and panting, hands on his waist. “Yeah, that was…that was…” He bends over and vomits Snapple and Cool Ranch Doritos onto the asphalt.

“Everyone okay in there?” Rio asks you.

“Yeah.” Behind you, Baela, Rhaena, and Helaena are stepping through the doorway. Your thoughts are whirling sickly: I killed someone. I killed someone. “They wouldn’t leave?”

“We told them the bowling alley was ours,” Aemond says, not looking at you. “We asked them very politely to keep moving. They chose to try to intimidate us into letting them stay. They weren’t good people, and these are the consequences.”

You click on the safety and re-holster your M9. You’re wearing Rio’s on your other hip. They seem to weigh so much more than they did ten minutes ago. I’m not supposed to be a killer. I’m a builder.

“Aegon, are you okay?” Daeron asks, a palm on his brother’s back.

Aegon retches again. “Shut up. You can’t even buy fireworks.”

“Zombies.” Luke is peering through his binoculars. “Not many, just two. Way up the road.”

“There will be more.” Baela’s cradling her belly; you don’t even think she’s aware of it. “They heard the gunshots, the sound carries for miles.”

“We’re leaving,” Aemond says. “Right now. Everyone get your things.”

As backpacks are hastily zipped and Daeron and Aegon stand guard in the parking lot, you kneel down beside the men you murdered and check their rifles. They are M16s, either stolen or illegally purchased: there’s a little switch by the trigger to choose between semi-automatic or the so-called machine gun mode.

“They barely had any bullets left,” you tell Rio. Just like us when we were trapped on that transmission tower.

“Yeah, same story for the other two guys. Four bullets in one magazine, a half dozen in the other. But it only takes once. We don’t have any ammo that will work with M16s, do we?”

“No, we definitely don’t.”

“Fantastic. Well, we’ll throw them in a Walmart cart and take them with us just in case.”

You’re staring down at the man you shot through the head. His eternal resting place is a puddle of blood and brains in a bowling alley in rural Ohio; surely no one deserves that. “He was a real person,” you say, dazed. “Not a zombie. Just a person.”

“Hey.” Rio grabs your shoulders and spins you towards him. From where he is helping Luke gather up the remaining food, Aemond’s head snaps up to watch. “You hurt him before he could hurt us. You did the right thing.”

“Sure.”

“I killed a dude too. I blew his heart right out of his chest. You think I’m going to hell for that?”

“No,” you admit, smiling. “And if you’d be there with me, I guess I wouldn’t mind so much.”

Rio grins, wide and toothy. “Well alright then. Let’s finish packing.”

The ten of you depart from Shenandoah, Ohio heading northwest on Route 603 just like Aegon marked on his map, Jace chauffeuring Baela in one shopping cart, Rio pushing another loaded high with food and M16s.

“It looks like rain,” Helaena says.

Everyone else peers up into a clear, cerulean sky, wondering what she means.

~~~~~~~~~~

You’re a few miles north of Shiloh when the storm rolls in, cold rain and furious wind, daylight that vanishes behind dark churning thunderheads, jagged scars of lightning in an opaque sky. The road is only two lanes, surrounded by fields of wildflowers and ravaged crops and untilled earth; it would look like the patchwork of a quilt if you were gazing down from an airplane, but of course the FAA grounded all flights over a month ago when the world went mad: Revelations, Ragnarök, the fabric of the universe unweaving as death burned through families, cities, nations like a fever, like plague.

“Maybe we should cut across one of these fields,” Jace says, pointing. He is soaked with rain; it drips from his curls, runs into his eyes. Baela is in her cart again; each time she tries to get out and walk, she’s gasping and can’t keep up within half an hour. You’ve all taken turns pushing her, much to Baela’s dismay. She’d be humiliated if she wasn’t too exhausted to keep her eyes open.

“Here, let me do it,” you offer, and Jace gratefully relinquishes the cart. Baela gives you a frail wave of appreciation.

“We stay on the road,” Aemond insists, flinching as rain pelts his scarred face. “Farmhouses have driveways and mailboxes, we’ll pass one eventually. If we lose the road, we might not be able to find it again. We’ll end up wandering around in circles in the woods.”

“Just like the Blair Witch Project,” Aegon says glumly, his Sperry Bahama sneakers audibly soggy.

“There!” Luke announces, spotting something with his binoculars. “Up ahead on the left. Past the bridge.”

You can’t see what Luke does until there is an especially brilliant flash of lightning: a farmhouse, old but seemingly not derelict, and with a number of accompanying buildings, guest houses and stables and barns and towering silos.

“Home sweet home!” Rio says. “And I don’t care if I have to kill a hundred of those undead bastards to get in, it’s mine.”

“Well, hopefully not a hundred,” you reply, in better spirits now that a sanctuary has been found. Aemond keeps glancing back at you as you push Baela’s cart. If he wants to say something, he’s doing a good job of resisting the temptation. “We don’t have that much ammo.”

There is a concrete bridge over a river, probably unremarkable and only five or ten feet deep normally but now torrential with rain. Water rushes by beneath, a muddy incline on each side as the earth rises back up to meet the road. A reflective green sign proclaims that you are only two miles from Plymouth, which Aegon plans to skirt along the edges of. It’s a decent-sized town; he thinks you might be able to find a car to steal there, something with gas in the tank and keys on a hook just inside the house.

“I call the master bedroom,” Jace says craftily, rubbing his palms together. You’re near the center of the bridge now, another ten yards to go. “Nice big bed, warm cozy blankets, and I was up for half of last night keeping watch so tonight I am off duty, I am a free man, it’s going to just be me and my girl and eight glorious uninterrupted hours of sleep—”

Rhaena shrieks, and then you hear it over the noise of the storm, pounding rain and rumbling thunder: moans, growls, hisses like snakes. Not one zombie. A lot more than one. They’re crawling up from under the bridge, from the filthy quagmire at both ends. There was a hoard of them waiting, aimless, dormant, almost hibernating. But now they are awake. They are grasping for you with bony, dirt-covered claws. They are snapping with jaws that leak blood and pus and bile as their organs curdle to a putrid soup.

“Get off the bridge!” Aemond is shouting. He has his Glock in his right hand, a baseball bat in his left. He’ll shoot until he’s out of bullets, and then, and then…

Rio helps you get Baela out of the cart, then opens fire. His Remington doesn’t just pierce skulls, it vaporizes them. When he’s out of shells—there are more in his backpack, but no time to reload—he yanks the M16s out of the other Walmart cart and empties each of them, mowing down zombies as the rest of you scramble across the bridge. All around you are explosions of gunshots, thunder, lightning, zombie skulls crushed by bullets and blunt force trauma. Baela is firing her Ruger as you half-drag her, one arm hooked beneath hers and around her back. When the last M16 is empty, Rio starts clubbing zombies with the butt of it. You’ve all reached the north side of the bridge, except…

“Fuck off, you freaks!” Jace is screaming. They’ve backed him up against the guardrail, a swarm of ten or more. His Remington shotgun is out of ammo; he’s swinging it wildly, but he doesn’t even have enough room to maneuver. There are still more zombies emerging from under the bridge. You can hear them snarling and groaning. You swipe an M9 off your belt and put a bullet in the brain of a zombie as its fingers close around your ankle, then you start picking off the ones mobbing Jace. You aren’t fast enough. As they lean in to bite him, teeth gnashing at the delicious throbbing heat of his jugular, Jace throws himself over the barrier and into the surging water below.

“No!” Baela cries. She careens off the road and into the field, running parallel to the river as swiftly as she can. You are helping her, steadying her, firing at any zombies you have a clear line of sight on. The others are here too: slipping in the muck of the flooding earth, shouting for Jace. He surfaces through the frothing current, flails pitifully, disappears beneath the water again. You glimpse a white hand, a shadow of his dark hair, a kicking shoe. There are more zombies on the opposite side of the river, trailing after Jace, lurching and slobbering viscous, gory saliva. They cannot swim, but they can follow him until he washes ashore.

Jace bursts up through the waves, gasping. “Help! Aemond…Aemond, for the love of God, help me…” He blubbers and then is dragged under. Aemond and Luke are continuing frantically after him. Baela is hysterical, sobbing, trembling with adrenaline. Aegon is yowling as he swings at zombies with his bloodied golf club. Helaena is darting around almost invisibly, always cowering behind Daeron or Aegon or Rio.

You glance north towards the farmhouse, growing not closer but farther away. We can’t leave shelter. We can’t leave the road. You lock eyes with Rio. He’s thinking the same thing.

“Aemond, we have to go,” Rio says, but in the midst of the rain and the turmoil it barely registers.

“Jace, we’re coming to get you!” Aemond swears. The ground is increasingly sodden, deep, difficult to trudge through. Jace resurfaces, coughing and sputtering.

“Jace!” Aegon wails. He caves in the skull of a zombie who was once a registered nurse as Helaena crouches behind him. “Jace, I’m sorry! I’m gonna miss you, man!”

Jace splashes in the rising river, his arms flailing helplessly. He is being swept away far faster than any of you can move on foot. “Aegon, you dumb bitch!” Jace manages, then slips beneath the water and doesn’t reappear.

“Where is he?!” Baela is saying. “Aemond, where…?”

You are trying to soothe her, to bring her back to reality. She was always so pragmatic before; you have to wake her up. “Baela, listen, we can’t stay here, he would want you and the baby to be safe—”

“Aemond! Aemond, we have to go!” Rio catches him, wrenches him around, roars into his face as driving rain pummels them both: “We have to go, or we’re going to die here too!”

It hits Aemond all at once; he understands, horror and agony in his sole blue eye. “We have to go,” he agrees. And then louder, to everyone: “Get to the farmhouse!”

Baela collapses into the mud, howling, tears flooding down her face. “No, he’s still alive, he’s still alive, we can’t leave him!”

You and Rhaena are trying to haul Baela to her feet. Now Aemond is here, pulling you away from her—his fingers tight and urgent around your wrist—as he and Luke take your place. “Go,” he commands. “You run. Don’t wait for us. Rio?”

“I got her,” Rio replies, grabbing your free hand with an iron grip. Gales of wind rip at you; every millimeter of your skin is soaked with rain. As you flee across the fields towards the farmhouse, dozens of zombies pursue you. More are still staggering along the banks of the river, swept up in the hoards chasing Jace and the promise of his waterlogged corpse when it reaches its final destination. Daeron has run out of arrows and is shooting with his .22, which is very much not his preference. Aegon trips, getting covered in mud as he rolls, and Rio stops to help him. While he is distracted, you look back at Aemond. He, Luke, and Baela are moving quickly, but not quickly enough. A drove of zombies is closing in on them. You have a spare few seconds at last. You yank your backpack off, grab a box of ammo inside, and reload your M9.

“Chips?!” Rio calls over his shoulder.

“I’m fine.”

He knows you well enough to listen. The world goes quiet as your finger settles on the trigger. There’s a rhythm one slips into, an impassionate lethal efficiency. It’s easier to keep going than to stop and have to find it again. You fire over and over, dropping eight zombies. You sheath your M9 and whip Rio’s out of your other holster, the sights finding grotesque decaying faces illuminated by lightning. You pull the trigger: blood, bones, brains, corpses jerking and convulsing as they fall harmlessly to the mud. Aemond is here; when did he get here?

“I told you to run!” he’s shouting through the storm, furious. He’s shoving you towards the farmhouse. You resist him.

“Let me kill as many as I can—”

“Go! Now!” Aemond orders over the clashing thunder, and then sprints with you all the way to the front porch to make sure you listen. Everyone else is already there. Helaena has fetched a spare key from under the doormat and is turning it in the lock.

Daeron observes her anxiously. “We don’t know if it’s safe in there, Helaena.”

“Not in,” she says, insistent. “Through.” Through this building, and maybe through the next one too. The average zombie is not terribly clever. If they lose sight of you, without the benefit of the momentum of a hoard they are lost. Helaena opens the door. The living rush inside, and she locks it behind you. As you are bursting out the back door, you can hear zombies pounding their rotting palms against the front one. You soar through a stable full of dead horses and donkeys, leaving the doors open; this should keep the zombies distracted if they make it this far. Then you race to the farthest guest house. Luke, swiveling with his binoculars, spies no zombies approaching as you steal inside. There is no spare key this time; Rio punches out a first-floor window for you to climb through. Once everyone is inside, he and Aegon move a bookshelf to cover the opening.

You all stand in the living room, gasping and shivering, dripping rain down onto the rug and the hardwood floor. The air is dusty but clean of any trace of vile, swampy decay. Outside, thunder booms and lightning flashes bright enough to illuminate the lightless house. The sky is so dark it might as well be nightfall. Baela sinks to her knees, clamping both hands over her mouth so she won’t sob loudly enough for a zombie to hear. Rhaena and Luke are beside her, both weeping quiet rivulets of tears, trying to comfort her in whispers. Helaena is rummaging around searching for candles; she has already taken a lighter out of her soaked burlap messenger bag.

“Daeron, bro, come over here,” Aegon chokes out. He embraces Daeron, clutches him tightly and desperately, doesn’t let go. Rio is reloading his Remington 12 gauge.

Jace is dead. Jace is dead.

Aemond says to you, his voice low but seething: “What the fuck was that?”

You blink the raindrops out of your eyes as you stare at him, bewildered. “You needed help.”

“I told you to run.”

“I’m an asset, I have skills that can keep you alive, why am I here if I’m not going to be useful—?”

“You’re not in the fucking Navy anymore!” he hisses. “When I tell you to run, you run, you don’t stop, you don’t look back, because I can’t worry about you and take care of everyone else.”

“Nobody asked you to worry about me.”

“But I do.”

“Aemond,” Aegon pleads, waving him over. Aegon’s plump sunburned cheeks are glistening with rain and tears. “Man, it doesn’t matter. Nothing else matters now. Please come here.”

“I’m going to clear the house,” Aemond says instead.

Rio raises an eyebrow at you—this is one fucked up guy, Chips—and then pumps his shotgun. “Me too.” He sweeps with Aemond through the main floor and then vanishes up the staircase.

Helaena is lightning candles she found in the kitchen and arranging them around the living room. Daeron starts gathering food from the pantry. Rhaena and Baela are murmuring to each other softly, mournfully. It doesn’t feel like something you should intrude on. Luke is peeking out of a window with his binoculars, vigilant for threats. Aegon sniffles, wanders over to you with large, sad, shimmering eyes, pats your shoulder awkwardly.

“Hey, Chocolate Chip. You doing okay?”

“No,” you answer honestly.

“Yeah. Me either.” Then he flops down on the hideous burnt orange couch and lies there motionless until Daeron brings him a can of Dr. Pepper. Aegon pops the tab, slurps up foam, and then begins singing to himself very quietly, a song so old you can remember your grandfather saying it was one of his favorites as a boy: A Tombstone Every Mile.

When Rio comes back downstairs—heavy footsteps, he can’t help that—you meet him at the bottom of the steps. “The house is good,” Rio says. “And Aemond’s in the big bedroom on the right if you’d like to go up there and talk to him.”

“I don’t think he wants to see me right now.”

“I could not disagree more,” Rio says with a miserable, exhausted smile. Then he goes to the couch to check on Aegon.

You pick up one of the flickering candles, white and scentless, and ascend the staircase. You find Aemond in the master bedroom, the same accommodations that Jace laid claim to when he was still alive. He is sitting at the edge of the bed and staring at the wall, at nothing. Tentatively, you sit down beside him, placing the candle on the nightstand.

“Aemond…what happened to Jace…it wasn’t your fault.”

“Criston said I was in charge, that’s the very last thing he told me. They might be the last words I ever hear from him, and I just…” His voice breaks; he wipes the rain and tears from his face with open palms. “I really wanted to get everyone home.”

“I’m so sorry about what I said at the bowling alley,” you confess, like it’s a dire secret. “I don’t want to fight with you, Aemond, I…I want to help you. I can see what you’ve done for everyone here, me and Rio included, and I believe in you. I want to be a part of this.”

He nods, an acceptance of peace, but he still doesn’t look at you.

“Can we start over? I’ll never bring it up again, okay? I wasn’t trying to guilt you or upset you or anything. I should have just dropped it. I overreacted. And I understand why being with someone like me maybe wouldn’t be…super appealing.”

“It’s not about that.”

“Then what’s it about?”

Aemond wrings his hands, shakes his head, at last turns to you, golden candlelight reflected in his eye, his scar cloaked in shadows. His words are hushed, clandestine, soft powerless surrender. “I’m already so afraid of losing you.”

He cares, he hopes, he wants me too? “I’m here right now, Aemond. I don’t know what else I can say. I’d promise you more if I could.”

He reaches out to touch you, to ghost his thumb across your cheekbone, wet with rain. Then he kisses you, so gently you cannot help but imagine the wispy borders of calm white summer clouds, the rustle of leaves as wind blows down the Appalachian Mountains. You don’t have to ask him what he’s thinking, what it feels like. You can read it in the startled, firelit wonder on his face.

You taste like the beginning of something, here at the end of the world.

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