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ashdumpsterpile · 4 years

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ASH’S TMA HURT/COMFORT/FLUFF REC LIST

For the gays. (And @damcrows who’s been dead for the past 24 hours. Rest in peace babe. Read some gay fic. Deny the inevitability of canon. <3)

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the end, but the start (of all things that are left to do) by @ajkal2

Jon wakes up.

aka. mag200 tore out my heart

(Very smol, very short, very spoiler. Def recommend for anyone who just finished the podcast.)

remind me how to smile by @tamerofdarkstars

Jon is probably fine, just hiding out somewhere while the whole murder thing blows over and that's... fine. Martin is fine with that explanation. Really. He's got plenty to distract himself - like listening through the entire What the Ghost episode library, for example. Or watching Georgie Barker's Instagram livestreams.

(Yea this was in the last rec list, but you don’t understand THE ADMIRAL GIVES CUDDLES)

Chamomile by Dribbledscribbles

Whatever the ex-tea was, if it really had ever been that last bag of chamomile Martin claimed he’d found tucked in the back of the cupboard, it was fast now.

Martin had tried catching it, chasing it, blocking its way with shoebox lids and plates and an upended footstool, but the thing was just too quick. Jon knew as well as Knew that he might have left off the attempts completely if not for the creature’s preferred game.

The game was, See How Many Times I Can Push Martin Towards Cardiac Arrest Before He Comes at Me with The Broom.

(Scottish Honeymoon Era. Adorable and weird. A vampire gets harassed.)

hey stranger by @ennuijpg

It’s a late night Tesco run, how eventful could it be? It’s not like Martin is going to run into his boss who’s wearing something absurdly different from usual and get the most acute form of whiplash possible from seeing him, right?

(Martin runs into Jon at the grocery store and has an existential crisis.)

roses roses, roses. by @judesstfrancis

Rose scented laundry detergent. Running into Jon in the breakroom. Running into Jon on his way back to his desk. Rose scented detergent. Running into Jon. Roses. Jon. Roses, roses, roses.

(Canon enemies to friends to lovers au-ish. Martin POV. Very pining much sweet.)

go softly by doomcountry

And there is nothing else besides this.

(More hurt/comfort than fluff. Scottish Honeymoon Era. Mild eye mutilation.)

Not Alone by @backofthebookshelf

After the coffin, Daisy and Jon are both fragile. They hold each other up.

(Post-buried Jon&Daisy starter pack. Very hurt/comfort.)

trust my love by antlsepticeye

“you… you’re real, aren’t you?” jon whispers, the fog slowly dissipating from his mind. “it is not a trick?”

“i’m here,” martin says softly, reaching up to grab jon’s hand that was resting on his cheek, intertwining his fingers with jon’s and squeezing. he moves jon’s hand to martin’s chest, resting it over his heart. “you’re alright. i’m alright. take your time, love. let’s just take some deep breaths, okay?”

(TOUCHSTARVED JON HAS ENTERED THE CHAT.)

reaching out by Athina_Blaine

By the time things settled, when Martin had finally managed to crack through his cold shell, feel some of his old self returning to him in bits and pieces, they had found their little routine.

One that had the two of them sleeping in the same bed, making breakfast, going to the mart. Where Jon reached for his wrist while they slept, and Martin luxuriated in the gentle warmth of his fingers.

But not one where Martin reached back. One that had Martin kissing Jon awake or taking his hand over the breakfast table, because ... Martin never had the courage to try. And then it never became a part of the routine.

And Martin desperately wanted it to be.

Martin and Jon have an important conversation.

(More Scottish Honeymoon Era for the soul. Hurt/comfort/fluff.)

Belabor by @janekfan

Jon's given the position of Archivist and is falling apart at the seams. Tim and Sasha are upset and playing games. Elias is overbearing and manipulative.

And poor Martin is stuck cleaning up the mess.

(THEE first fic I ever read for tma. Season 1, hurt/comfort/fluff, and hints of Jmartin. janekfan is the absolute master of seasons 1-3 hurt/comfort. This is my favorite, but pls check out the rest of their fics.)

tea, blankets, and a damnable stubborn attitude by ivelostmyspectacles

“Are you really gonna stay here and pester Jon all evening?”

“I’m not pestering him,” Martin retorted, sounding vehement if not busy going through the cupboards. “I’m heating up soup.”

“Oh, you might as well make him another cup of tea while you’re at it.”

“Oh, good idea.”

Jon shot Tim a withering look.

(The one where Jon is ill, Martin makes tea and they watch doctor who together. Fluff 1000%.)

A Kind Hand by @voiceless-terror

Jonathan Sims was adjusting just fine, thank you very much.

In which a minor workplace spill causes Jon to realize that he might have friends.

(Ah yes, the other master of seasons 1-3 fic aka voiceless-terror being my other fav author in the fandom. This one is also season 1 hurt/comfort/fluff.)

A Weather In The Flesh by @cuttoothed

"There is a span of years where Jon doesn’t touch anyone other than the occasional hand shake. It’s not so bad. He’s never been someone who’s needed physical affection."

Jon has never been any good at making people want to stick around.

(More touched starved Jon! Much hurt/comfort!)

Something Old, Something New by @cirrus-grey

Months have passed, and everyone is doing better than they were. Daisy and Basira are getting married, Melanie is feeling her old self, Georgie is as much herself as she has ever been, and even Jon has stabilized on his wild fall away from humanity. Everyone is doing better.

Well. Almost everyone.

(Daisy/Barsira wedding! Melanie is a bitch and we love her! Jmartin dance! Post-canon (almost) everyone lives!)

The Weight of Love by @voiceless-terror

Jon is a restless sleeper. Martin attempts to adjust.

(The fic where Jon is literally me and Martin attempts to sleep for 1k words.)

The Art of Conversation by @voiceless-terror

"Do you ever stop talking?"

Jon has a complicated relationship with words. Difficulties come and go.

(Jon has adhd and Martin is in love.)

Novelty by @backofthebookshelf

Jon experiences A Sexual Attraction; Martin has A Concern. They figure it out.

(Any fic that explores the ace spectrum is a 10/10. We stan all ace interpretations of jon on this blog.)

Half a Hug by Dathen

I know you weren’t going to hurt me, I trust you, he said again and again. And then a different kind of fear shone through, hollow and echoing: “Please don’t stop touching me."

Or: Life is hard when you're touch-starved but have trauma related to your closest friend. Spoilers through TMA 132.

(Honestly bless every author who saw jon&daisy and was like. They’re siblings. No I will not elaborate.)

the loneliness never left me (but i can put it down in the pleasure of your company) by Athina_Blaine

It was about Martin making Jon feel safe, treasured, and loved. And it had been so, so long since anyone made him feel that way.

And, in the face of it all, Jon was starting to flounder.

(At this point I just need to make separate rec list for Scottish Honeymoon Era.)

you can watch me corrode by scarletfish

"So, how long have you been pulling this shit then?"

"I… excuse me?" Jon’s indignant, certain she can’t mean what he thinks she means.

"When was the last time you ate?"

(Georgie decides Jon and Melanie need a normal day off. Jon learns that he and Melanie have more in common than he thought.)

(Look, Melanie isn’t my favorite person in tma, but she and Jon are like THE SAME PERSON and I adore fics that elaborate on their relationship.)

Out of the Wind, In From the Cold by @ostentenacity

There are two bedrooms in the safehouse, and two beds.

For a moment, Jon considers asking to share, but decides against it with a wince. “I really loved you,” Martin had told him. Loved. Past tense. And Martin doesn’t exactly have a lot of choices right now in terms of company; it would be cruel to demand he play at feelings he no longer has just to make Jon happy.

(For a moment, Martin considers asking to share. But he dismisses the idea with a shake of his head. Jon has already done so much for him. Martin isn’t about to ask for more, especially not when it’s something he doesn’t really need. He has his right mind back, and he has Jon’s friendship. That should be enough for him. It’ll have to be.)

---

Jon thinks that Martin doesn’t love him. Martin thinks that Jon doesn’t love him. They do not, of course, discuss this. Unrequited love is already awkward enough, right? No need to dwell on it.

(THEE SCOTTISH HONEYMOON ERA FIC. IT’S ABOUT THE PINING, BEING MUTUALLY OBLIVIOUS AND FALLING IN LOVE. 10000/10.)

I Do by @voiceless-terror

“I, um- this was supposed to be a lot more romantic, I swear.” Martin looks down at the dirty bar floor. “I had it all planned out, I-I was going to take you somewhere nice, and then we’d go for a walk in the square- I’ll still do it!” He hurries to explain, as if that’s the most pressing part of this situation. “It’ll be really nice, I’ve already hired a photographer-”

In a fit of protectiveness, Martin proposes to Jon.

(Everyone lives, Martin accidentally proposes and Jon is crying in public.)

________

#lmao follow for more fic recs #ash recs #ash's rec list #ash recs fics #tma fic list #tma fics #jmart #jmartin #jon sims #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #tma fic recs

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foodieforthoughts · 4 years

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Journey through time - Part 5

Summary: Your relationship with Syverson over the years.

Warnings: fluff and only fluff.

A/N1: Last part to this mini photo series. Thanks to @agniavateira who has provided me with so much inspiration. Also thank you to everyone who read and liked and commented. You guys make me so happy. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

A/N2: I'll be taking a small hiatus from posting fics for now. But I'll be back soon. ❤️

As much as Sy adored his daughter, secretly he had always wanted a son. Two years after Adeline was born, when he was back from his oversees tour for three weeks, Sy took it upon himself to get you round and plump with his kids again. He was overjoyed when you told him over a call that you were pregnant. Although it saddened you both that this time, Sy wasn't going to be around when you gave birth to your child. When you told him he was going to be a father to twin boys, Sy had hollered with glee, making a couple of his men come knocking at his door to see if he way okay. That was a very awkward call, where you were waving at his men while they congratulated you. You sent him a copy of your sonogram, along with a picture of you with Adeline in a care package. "Mini me's," He would say while looking at the picture, "And my princess with my queen." Your heart would flutter like the very first time he had kissed you; upsetting you at the distance and yet also filling you with love. Sy asked his parents to come live with you, help you with Adeline, as you got big and started experiencing difficulty in moving around. When you went into labour, his mother tried to get him on call, just like he had requested. But they were unable to connect to his phone, wondering if he was safe and sound or just away doing things that were expected of him to do as a captain. Your emotions were unbounded when you gave birth to your sons, worrying about Sy and going through the long process without him. The next day, Sy saw his sons for the first time over the video call, happy tears springing in his eyes as you cradled the two boys in your arms. "They have your eyes, Sy. Have you thought of names yet?" You had asked, having decided long time ago that since you had named your daughter, Sy would name his sons. "James and Noah." He had sniffed out, smiling at you lovingly.

Captain Syverson retired as Major Syverson after serving 20 years of active duty. Sy joined as a coach for Little League Baseball team, becoming a favorite amongst his players and their moms. Every morning you would kiss Sy goodbye as he walked out the front door, holding little Adeline's tiny hand in his to drive her to her school on his way to work. Your days were filled with less worrying about Sy's safety and more on providing a loving family for your kids. It helped that at the end of the day, your dining table was occupied with your children and your loving husband, sharing their day's events. Weekends were spent in parks with the whole Syverson clan out for picnics, you watching your husband running around with James and Noah, Adeline who was a spitting image of her father, perched on his strong shoulders. Somedays you couldn't believe your life turned out the way it did, mostly when you would walk inside the living room to find Sy sprawled on the sofa with Adeline curled on his side, James and Noah snoozing on his chest. You would wake him up, carefully peeling your daughter away from her father and take her to bed, while Sy got both boys in his arms with little to no effort and took them to their own room. At the end of the day, when parenthood and responsibilities left you both weary, you and Sy found solace in each other's arms while drifting off to a peaceful slumber.

It was the most devastating day in Sy's life when his teenage daughter told him she wanted to pursue modelling. Adeline was stubborn and opinionated, graced with Sy's beautiful features. He had stared at his daughter with wide eyes, cup of coffee stopping midway to his mouth. "You want me to be okay with grown men gawking at you?" He had gruffly replied, anger evident with his eyebrows knitting together and his lips forming a frown. You had learned over the years to not interfere with Sy's ways of parenting. James and Noah had awkwardly slid off their chairs, both of them avoiding what was to come next. The discussion had ended with father and daughter, arguing with each other, eventually Sy sending a crying Adeline away to her room. Neither of them had spoken to each other the rest of the day, Adeline refusing to eat dinner and Sy drinking too many glasses of whiskey. "I cannot believe she thinks modelling is a career choice." He had scowled later in the night, you both staring at the ceiling while lying in bed. "Didn't you once tell me you had hated your father for sending you off to military school? Do you want your daughter to hate you?" Sy had sighed, turning on his side to face you. "That's different. Adeline's our little girl, it's my duty to protect her." Understanding completely what Sy was feeling as a parent, you had too turned on your side and placed your hand on his scruffy cheek. "You taught her to be strong, independent. She will always be our little girl. Don't you trust her to take decisions for her life? And even if she fails to do what she desires, don't you want to be there for her when she would need her dad?"

The next day you had watched from your kitchen window as Sy and Adeline talked while sitting on the swings in the backyard, ending with long hugs and lots of tears.

While Adeline roamed around the country for fashion shows, Sy groomed his sons to join the army someday. It was not an acceptable behavior, but both of you had your favorites when it came to the twins. Noah, the stronger of the two was decidedly his father's favorite, adding to his delight when by the end of high school, he wanted to go to a military academy. James, the apple of your eye, on the other hand, wanted to become a doctor, much to Sy's dismay. But lessons were learned from the time with Adeline and for that reason only, Sy did not oppose. Noah was sent off to Virginia to a military academy, going on to join the air force as it was affiliated with his school; while James buried himself in studies, moving to Connecticut to attend medical school. Weekends that were spent with picnics in the park, now consisted of video conference calls with your three kids spread out over the country. "It's just going to be you and me in the end." Sy would say, shutting the computer off and looking at you pensively. Wounding your arms around the love of your life, you would rest your head on his shoulder and agree, "Till death do us part."

On your 30th wedding anniversary, Sy gave you an unexpected surprise. He had been missing from the house since morning, only to send a vague text with "Pack your bags and come out in ten minutes." When you walked outside on the front porch, you were left stunned to find Sy dressed in riding gear on a super bike. "I think we need to relive our days from the time we were dating. Come on, I've planned a road trip for us." And with that, Sy had driven all the way to San Antonio for the weekend. With a hotel room on the river, Sy pampered you with all his love and the best Tex-Mex food he could find for you. You spent the day shopping and exploring, while in the night he made love to you with unbridled passion. "My better half," he had called you, kissing your hands while cradling you to his chest. When you both came back home from your trip, you had another surprise waiting for you: Your three children all under the same roof again, holding up a sign board with "Happy anniversary, mom and dad."

Noah had successfully climbed the ranks in the airforce to become Lieutenant at an age younger than when Sy was one. But it was when James, inspired by his twin, decided to join the armed forces as a field doctor, you saw Sy's chest puff in pride. "Syverson men always join the military." He had told his friends over dinner one night, soaking up the praises for his children. Adeline joined a major modelling agency that speared her career forward. She roamed around the globe, sending her old folks trinkets from the new city she was in, and one day added a picture of her and her boyfriend in the mail. Sy turned into a protective father quickly, inviting her and her man to have dinner. "I like him." Your old man had chuckled, when he had scared Adeline's boyfriend, making him blabber incoherently with nervousness. You could only watch in a haze as one day Adeline's boyfriend showed up to your house unannounced, to ask Sy for his daughter's hand in marriage. "Listen boy, Adeline is precious and if you hurt her, you know there wouldn't be anything worse than us. You don't want to be on the bad side of the Syverson men, is that clear?" You had heard Sy warn, a shiver running down your spine listening to his commanding tone, even if the threat wasn't meant for you. A few weeks later, when Adeline was in Paris, she had called home only minutes after the proposal, screaming on the phone that she said "yes." The rest of the night, Sy had you looking at Adeline's baby pictures from old photo albums. "This little bundle would be getting married soon. Can you believe that?" He had laughed, wiping the tear at the corner of his eye and throwing his arm around your shoulders when you couldn't hold onto your own tears.

The day after Adeline, Sy's little girl, was married, he threw a brunch for the newly weds and their families. James and Noah, back from their deployment in time for their sister's wedding, had introduced their own girlfriends to both of you before the ceremony. You knew Sy would never admit it, macho behavior of his never fading, but you could see his eyes glisten watching his family grow. He had tried to keep a straight face throughout the ceremony too, but he had let go of his tears when Adeline had laid her head on his shoulder during their father-daughter dance. Halfway through brunch, Sy pulled you away from the crowd and took you towards the orchard outside the country club. He held your hand while taking you to stand under the shade of a massive tree. "It's like I'm living in a dream." You admitted, looking out at the sprawling orchard, thinking about how you were a mother-in-law to someone. Sy pulled you close to him by your waist, encircling his arms around you. Gray hair on his temples and his face beginning to be marked with wrinkles and yet for you, Sy looked like he had never aged. "I know I don't tell this to you very often, but darlin' running into you, falling in love with you, building a life with you, is the best thing that could have happened to me." He kissed the top of your head, taking your face in his hands before planting a soft kiss on your lips. "I love you and thank you for everything, Sy." You whispered as the birds chirped on the branches above, a whistling breeze blew by carrying the sweet fragrance of fruits in the orchard and you stared at the brilliant blue orbs of the man who had owned your heart and soul since many years ago.

The End.

#captain syverson #captain syverson fanfic #captain syverson fanfiction #captain syverson fluff #captain syverson x reader #captain syverson x you #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic

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catgirlthecrazy · 4 years

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Holding the Moon

Empty practice grounds were like empty taverns to Kaladin. He was so used to seeing the place full of light and activity, that finding it without either of those things was downright unnerving. Usually, he couldn't go two steps without hearing the sound of weapons clashing or people grunting as they sparred. There were always a few ardents around, training warriors or maintaining the equipment. There were always spheres in every lantern bracket. A poorly lit training ground was an invitation to injury.

Tonight, there was only one person here. Only one sphere for light. It was rare for Kaladin to find Adolin here without his shardplate, but tonight he only wore simple sparring clothes. He had a sandbag set up in the middle of the room. He was punching the absolute crap out of it. No grace or finesse to his movements. Just one wild swing after another, like an overeager man breaking rocks.

The drafts of Dalinar's autobiography had come on Urithiru like the Everstorm. No stormwall, no abrupt onslaught of fury like you got with highstorms. Instead it came on slowly. From the Kholin scribes who copied it out, to their families, to the officers and workers of the tower, the contents of that text spread like fevers in the Weeping. In under a week, highprinces and water carriers alike knew that Dalinar Kholin had burned a city to the stone, and in the process, killed his own wife. Adolin's mother.

As soon as he heard, Kaladin made sure to check in on the younger Kholins. How could he not? One was his friend, the other still technically a subordinate. Both of them had already known- Dalinar had the decency to warn them before the news went public. It was hard to tell how Renarin was taking it. Kaladin had always had difficulty reading that kid. But Teft was keeping him occupied with training, and Rock was better at being a sympathetic ear than Kal had ever been. So Kaladin tried not to hover.

As for Adolin… You're the tenth person to ask me that, bridge boy. Leave me in peace. And Kaladin had. It seemed the respectful thing to do. Once Shallan got back from whatever infiltration kept her currently out of contact, his friend would have all the support he needed. It wasn't until Syl summoned him to the practice grounds in the middle of the night that Kaladin reconsidered that assessment.

"He told me he was fine," Syl whispered, "but I think he's lying. He sounded like you when you tell people you're fine."

Kaladin grunted. "Of course he isn't fine Syl. But if he needs to work his feelings out with training, we should probably let him." Almighty knew Kaladin had been there. Exhausting the body till you had no room to think about your grief had its merits. But damnation it hurt to see it happening to Adolin. Adolin, who sometimes seemed like nothing could dim the sun behind his smile. Adolin, whose eyes now stared ahead like empty pits.

"Yes, but he shouldn't have to be alone," Syl said. She took the form of a skyeel and wound around Adolin protectively.

The sandbag dented inwards as Adolin let off one last punch. With the slow acceleration of a falling tree, the sandbag toppled over. Adolin bent double with a groan, exhaustionspren puffing around him like jets of dust. Immediately, Kaladin was there with a ladle of water. Adolin accepted it, as he did the next ladle Kaladin brought. Then he tried to wave Kaladin off. "I appreciate the thought," he said, "But I don't need you to mind me."

"Maybe I just wanted to get in some late night spear practice." Adolin gave him a flat stare. Kaladin gave in. "Ok, fine, I wasn't. Syl was worried about you, and she brought me."

"Syl?" Adolin looked surprised at that.

"She explores the tower at night."

"Huh. Well, tell her I'm glad she cares." Apparently Syl was still invisible to him. "But I'm good here." He turned to reset the sandbag. It was at that point the prince's hands caught the dim spherelight, and Kaladin realized Adolin's knuckles were bleeding.

Kaladin's surgeon's instincts woke like sleeping axehounds who smelled the rain. He grabbed Adolin's hands and dragged them under the light. "Storms, Adolin, how long have you been at this?!"

Adolin tried to pull his hands out of Kaladin's grip, but Kaladin hung on. The scrapes were hardly the worst injury Kaladin had ever seen. In fact, as training accidents went, it was downright minor. But for his hands to get this bad from punching a sandbag? Adolin would have had to have ignored significant pain for a very long time. Check that he hasn't sprained something. Kaladin felt at Adolin's wrist. "Does it hurt when I press here?"

"No." Adolin pulled harder and finally yanked himself out of Kaladin's grip. "Honestly Kal, it's not that bad. Renarin can heal me later."

"Renarin can-?" Kaladin sputtered. This storming man. "That doesn't make it ok for you to hurt yourself, Adolin."

Adolin looked away. "I need this, Kal. If I don't exhaust myself, I… I obsess over all of it."

Kaladin softened at that. Storms, but he knew exactly what Adolin was talking about. How many times had he done this exact thing after Tien died? Worked himself so hard until his mind had no strength left to think about how much he hurt? He could remember at least one time when Sergeant Hav had needed to order him not to keep training through injuries. "Well. At least let me treat this before you do anything else."

Adolin raised an eyebrow. "Seems kind of pointless. I can just have Renarin heal it instantly."

"Your brother isn't here. Unless you plan to wake him up over this, you'll let me treat this the normal way."

A shadow of a smile flickered across Adolin's face, like the sun shining through thick clouds. He gave a tired mock salute. "Yes, sir!" Kaladin rolled his eyes.

Fortunately, the practice grounds kept basic medical supplies on hand in case of training injuries. After washing off the blood with water, Kaladin was able to daub Adolin's knuckles with lister's oil and wrap them in bandages. Adolin made a small grunt as he did. "Too tight?" Kaladin asked.

Adolin shook his head. "No, no. It's just- I'm so used to seeing you flying about like a paragon of soldierhood. I forget you know how to do things like this."

Kaladin didn't know what to say to that. He tied off the last bandage. "You'll probably want to change these out tomorrow."

"Or I can take it to my brother with the divinely-granted healing abilities and have him fix it completely."

"Or that."

Adolin glanced at the fallen sandbag. "You think you could help me set that up again?"

Kaladin gaped. "You want to keep going?!"

"I'm not too tired to think yet. So yes, I want to keep going."

"Your hand!"

"Protected now by these nice bandages you provided."

Kaladin crossed his arms. "No. Absolutely not."

Adolin's face darkened. "Fine." He leaned down to pick up the sandbag.

Kaladin grabbed his shoulder. "If you don't put that down right now, I'm summoning Syl to cut it in half."

Adolin turned on him. "I appreciate your concern, Kal," he said, voice tight, "But it's time for you to butt out."

Kaladin was completely unmoved. "If you keep going, you will hurt yourself."

"I told you. I need this." His words were angry, but it wasn't an angerspren he drew. It was an agonyspren, like an upside down face on the floor. The raw pain in his eyes was hard to look at. It was like looking at an open wound, still bleeding and vulnerable.

"You don't have to stop working out," Kaladin said finally. "But you do need to do something else. Something not so hard on your hands."

"Like what?"

He thought about it. "Spar with me."

"What?"

"Spar with me. Quarterstaffs, or hand to hand. You'll have a harder time breaking your hands on me, at least." And it would give Kaladin more control over the situation.

Adolin glanced at the battered punching bag, then shook his head forcefully. "No. Fighting an actual person… That's a bad idea for me right now."

"I've got Stormlight. You don't need to worry about me."

Adolin barked out a horrified laugh. "What?! No! Weren't you just telling me that being able to heal yourself doesn't make it ok?!" Kaladin pursed his lips, annoyed at himself. Adolin had him there. Perhaps Kaladin should have wondered why he had such a double standard about this, but now wasn't the time to examine that. Instead, Kaladin pulled two blunted practice swords from the equipment racks and handed one to Adolin. The prince stepped back. "I told you, I'm not going to-"

"Zahel's been teaching me sword katas," Kaladin interrupted. "One of them takes two people. You know the one?" Adolin nodded slowly. "Run through it with me." Kaladin offered the practice sword again. Adolin stared at the sword for a long moment. Hesitantly, he took it. Kaladin set the pair of them two sword-lengths apart in the middle of the practice grounds. Then, they began.

Two-person katas were more like a choreographed dance than actual combat. Kaladin lunged in for a prescribed strike. Adolin stepped back for the proper block. Adolin swept Kaladin's sword to the side in an exaggerated imitation of real combat. Kaladin would step aside and twist it into a disarming motion. The blades clicked softly with each careful exchange. The point was to practice responding to your opponent's moves until it became embedded in your muscle memory.

When you knew a kata well, they became a kind of meditation. Your body carried you through the forms, while your mind floated free. Kaladin could see that peace settle over Adolin like a warm blanket, and he knew he'd done the right thing. When they reached the end of the kata, Kaladin saw Adolin's shoulders tense, and the peace started to evaporate. So Kaladin returned them to the starting position, and started them again Adolin's eyes unfocused as his body feel into the trace of a kata he knew by heart. Kaladin started them through it a third time, and Adolin pushed to go a little bit faster. Kaladin let him. That was how it was supposed to go: you started off slow to be sure you got the forms right. Then you sped up, until you moved at combat speeds.

By the fourth time through the kata, sweat was beading on Adolin's forehead. Kaladin was making mistakes, but he didn't care. Tonight wasn't about Kaladin mastering the sword. It was about helping Adolin forget his pain for a little while.

By the fifth time through, the practice swords flashed through the air like windspren. Kaladin breathed in a little stormlight to keep from faltering. When they finished, Adolin finally stopped. He didn't bother finding a seat to rest. Instead he collapsed on the sand where they stood. The practice sword landed with a thump next to him. Adolin lay there, panting like a bellows amidst a swarm of exhaustionspren.

Kaladin fetched more water from the barrel. Adolin drank it greedily. "Thank you," he gasped.

"It's just water. It's no trouble," Kaladin said, settling down on the ground next to him.

"Not just for that. Thank you for not making me talk."

"Oh, well." Kaladin chuckled ruefully. "That wasn't hard. You're not a subtle man, princeling. If you wanted to talk, you'd talk. All I had to do was not argue."

Adolin huffed a laugh. They sat there for a long moment. Slowly, Adolin's breath calmed down to something reasonable. The little stormlight Kaladin had taken in puffed away. "Does it bother you?" Adolin asked. "Knowing what my father did?"

It was a good question. Kaladin took his time answering. "Yes, it does bother me. I followed your father because I believed he was different from other lighteyes I served. Better. Finding out he'd done that? It's… well, 'upsetting' seems an inadequate word, but I've got nothing better." He took in a deep breath. "But the Ideals teach that it's always possible to change into a better person. And Dalinar's done that. He's still doing that. So in a lot of ways, nothing's really changed for me."

Adolin ground the palms of his hands into his eyes. "In my head, I know he's not that man anymore. Hell, I can even admire him for working so hard to be better. I still love him, and I want to forgive him. But damnation. I just can't."

"Maybe you don't have to forgive him," Kaladin said softly.

"What?"

"It's easy to talk about how wonderful it is that someone's grown when they haven't hurt you personally. If you'd asked me that question about, say, Gaz? You'd have gotten a very different answer."

Adolin nodded slowly. "The thing is, I think about what Mother would say, if she saw me now. I know she'd want me to forgive him. She'd have forgiven him in a heartbeat. She forgave everyone... everything." His voice cracked, and he broke down into sobs.

Kaladin felt completely lost. Not because he was a stranger to crying people, but… well, usually Adolin was the one helping Kaladin through emotional breakdowns. Kaladin felt like he'd been handed a weapon he'd never held before and tossed into the ring with a master.

What does Adolin do to help me? Usually, he kept Kaladin distracted. Gave him a goal, or something to focus on. Anything to keep Kaladin from getting stuck in his own head. He took one look at Adolin, curled up and sobbing on the floor, and knew that wasn't what he needed. He didn't have the gaping void of emotion that sometimes took Kaladin. But if not that, then what?

Hugs. He likes hugs. Granted, he usually reserved them for Shallan and close family, but Kaladin had no other ideas. He crawled over to where Adolin lay. Slowly, as if reaching out to a feral axehound, Kaladin put his arms around the other man. Adolin hesitated only a moment. Then he collapsed into Kaladin's arms, sobbing into his shoulder. They sat there for uncountable minutes. Kaladin held the prince, stroking his hair softly. He thought of his own mother, and how she'd sometimes comforted him like this when he'd been a child, woken by nightmares. What would it have been like, to lose that as young as Adolin had?

Slowly, Adolin's grief subsided like a river after the storm. "Your mother sounds like a wonderful person," Kaladin murmured into his hair. "I'm sorry I never got to meet her."

"You've no idea. I'm sorry she didn't get to meet you or Shallan. She'd have loved you both."

"Can you tell me about her?"

And Adolin did. He told how she liked reading stories of far-off romance. About the care and delicacy she put into her glyphwards. About her love for simple pleasures. Beautiful sunsets, calm evenings by the fire, the smell of incense. Kaladin held him and let him talk well into the night.

#the stormlight archive #my fanfic #kadolin #kaladin stormblessed #adolin kholin #cosmere #brandon sanderson #my post

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dinfeanoriel · 5 years

Text

Wolf Companion?

Just something that came to my mind randomly one day and that I decided to play around with. And would you look at that, Time, Twi, and Wild are here!

Linked Universe belongs to Linked Universe and Jojo56830. I own nothing but my writing!

~~~~~~~

This was Wild’s Hyrule.

Wild’s Hyrule.

Not his. Never his.

So, why, then, did he feel such extraordinary familiarity to it?

Twilight could not, for the life of him, understand and it was beginning to grate on his nerves! Everywhere he looked, everywhere he went, every smell he inhaled, every aroma that reached him, every sound that caressed his ears, struck him as eerily and infuriatingly familiar!

Ever since their unexpected arrival to this new Hyrule, Twilight found himself in a constant state of déjà vu. He knew the travelers and strangers they would bump into, he knew the names of the stable workers, and those of the domains they would pass through.

He knew where there would be Guardians and recognized those blasted Yiga a mile away just by looking at them.

His wolf senses tingled, the beast within vibrating with excitement and recognition. Why was this?

It messed with his mind, disoriented him, and caught him off guard. When the Links would ask Wild a question, the answer would surge to the tip of his tongue, ready to fly before Twilight would catch himself. He was left to wonder how he’d known the answer before Wild had uttered a single word.

Directions came to him unbidden and he would often find himself idly leading the Links to where they needed to go whilst Wild wandered to fetch miscellaneous items or collect whatever it was he would gather in his inventory.

Wild had commented on it, jokingly claiming he had no need to guide the Heroes when Twi clearly knew where to go.

Twilight tried to smile and play it off as being good with directions, but the thing was, he did know where they were going!

How? He wasn’t so sure.

Wild was taking them to his home in Hateno. Twilight had realized this long before Wild had told the Links. He’d recognized the path they were on and the peaceful pastures dotted with grazing horses they would pass by.

Since the beginning of their trip through Wild’s Hyrule, Twilight struggled to get a grip of his wolf self.The beast had not once settled since their arrival to Wild’s world. It yearned to be set free- to run loose and revel in the familiarity of the world it had once before explored alongside another.

When night would fall, Twilight would dream. The clarity of his dreams was almost too much for him. They were too realistic to be considered mere dreams. Hazy memories from another life- another time- would crawl forward from the deepest and darkest corners of his mind as if unlocked and called upon, and Twilight would wake with a start.

He would scramble and struggle to remember where he was and how he’d gotten there. His sense of reality was horribly skewed, two separate lifetimes merging together as one and throwing him off kilter. Confounding questions would filter through his muddled mind and cause Twilight’s head to spin as he was cast in a sea of confusion and wonderment.

Why was Wild’s hair longer than he remembered?

Why was the Master Sword missing from his back?

Why were they accompanied by seven others who shared an uncanny resemblance to his Cub?

So many questions, so little answers.

Twilight feared he might be going mad. He was losing himself and Twilight was afraid that he wouldn’t recover. With every passing day, his wolf spirit yearned more and more to be allowed to roam and celebrate its return to the place it’d once called home.

There were times Twilight would look off into the distance and strange thoughts would come to him based on what he would lay his eyes on...

Heh, that was the same cliff Cub failed to climb three days in a row because it would rain every time he would try.

Or-

I remember that stream. I pushed Cub into it because he hadn’t bathed in days and was in desperate need of one.

Twilight’s nose crinkled in remembrance of the stench. Wild hadn’t appreciated it, but Twilight hadn’t cared.

Or-

This was where Cub nearly got assassinated by the Yiga. Foolish humans! I will not allow them to harm a single hair on my Cub!

The fierce protectiveness that arose within Twilight came without warning. A dark scowl impressed itself upon his features as he recalled just how close Wild had come to nearly being beheaded.

Thank Hylia he’d been there. He’d take care of those accursed Yiga.

Twilight faltered mid-stride.

He’d taken care of the Yiga?

What...

What were these thoughts? These memories that assailed him with almost every step he took?

Twilight cradled his whirling head in his hands. He didn’t understand! He didn’t know what was happening! His memories and these new memories were piecing together and becoming as one in his mind that Twilight was having difficulty picking them apart.

They were his, and yet, they weren’t.

He sensed a change taking place within him. A strange warping sensation of his wolf self, and it frightened Twilight. He felt it’d grown older.

Much older.

Something was very wrong.

Something was very, very, wrong.

Cobalt blues darted to where the Old Man walked alongside Wild. He stumbled when his wolf self suddenly lurched within him at the sight of the Cub, a mixed jumble of emotions pouring forth to the point of overwhelming him.

“...Twilight?!”

Strong hands caught his shoulders and Twilight squeezed his eyes shut as he fought and battled to regain control over his elated wolf self. He placed restraint after restraint until his inner beast growled in defeat and reluctantly settled it.

“Hey! Twi, can you hear me?”

Was that Warrior’s voice calling to him in the distance?

Twilight blinked slowly, owlishly, as the roaring in his ears finally died down and the raging sea in his mind calmed.

“Twi? Is something wrong?”

Warrior’s voice was clearer now. Closer too.

The Ordonian flicked his gaze up to find Warrior crouched down in front of him, worry mingled with concern shining in those brilliant blue eyes. His brows were drawn together and there was a frown marring his features as he waited for Twilight to respond to him.

When had he stopped walking? Why was he kneeling on the ground?

The beginnings of a migraine were making themselves known to Twilight and the warm sunlight piercing through the canopies of the trees above them was making his eyes hurt and head pulse.

“Hey!”

Twilight cringed, a sharp tendril of agony exploding in his head. Warrior hadn’t raised his voice, but Twilight’s hearing had suddenly become overly sensitive. It had heightened to the point where he could hear mice scurrying through the foliage and the quiet chirping of far away crickets. He could even hear the trickling of a stream he knew was a long ways away from them.

“Warrior..?” Twilight managed to mumble, forcing himself to focus on the Hylian in front of him. Anything to distract him from the strange feeling seeping deep into his bones and gradually spreading.

He was still in Hylian form, but he felt very much like he was in wolf form. As if both halves had blended together and now Twilight had to learn how to adapt to the foreign entity he had become.

Warrior breathed a sigh of relief, clasping Twilight’s shoulder, “You gave me a scare there, Twi. You feeling alright?”

No. He was not. But that hardly mattered. “Fine. Just a dizzy spell,” Twilight answered, voice tight. Warrior was not easily convinced, but said nothing to contradict his words.

“If you say so.” He straightened, dusting himself off and smoothing the wrinkles from his tunic before lending Twilight a hand.

Twilight took it and allowed Warrior to effortlessly haul him to his feet. Another wave of vertigo swept over Twilight and he subconsciously tightened his grip on Warrior’s arm to stay standing. His limbs were oddly wobbly, his coordination terribly off, and he wavered momentarily.

Warrior didn’t remark on it, but Twilight knew he’d caught it. The Knight’s sharp eyes narrowed, noting the sudden paleness of Twilight’s complexion and the confusion and worry carefully hidden in the background of those cobalt orbs.

Twilight might pride himself in being able to hide his true feelings, but Warrior had grown adept at reading people like an open book. The only one he’d been unable to get a good grasp on was Time.

“If you start feeling worse, let me know and I’ll have us stop to make camp for the night,” Warrior told Twilight, tone brooking no argument. He held a hand up to stall Twilight’s oncoming protestation, sternly stating, “Your Cub’s home isn’t going to disappear overnight. It will still be there tomorrow. He can wait.” The Knight inclined his head with a faint smile and added pointedly, “Besides, I think Wild would be more concerned about your health than getting home, anyhow. Don’t you think?”

Twilight wisely chose to shut his mouth, glowering mildly at Warrior. He was visibly disgruntled that Warrior had already known what he would have said, but he had to concede to the point the Knight made.

He hadn’t missed the thinly veiled warning behind those words either.

You had better tell me, or I will tell Wild and you will have to deal with the consequences then.

~~~~~~~

In the end, they’d made it to Wild’s home. It was late in the night and most of the Heroes had retired almost immediately after stepping foot inside the homely house.

It was mostly bare with a handful of furniture here and there, but they hardly minded. They were just relieved to finally be off their feet and get a good night’s rest without any fear of monsters or an unprecedented ambush.

There were three still awake, two of whom were growing increasingly concerned by the third’s uncharacteristic behavior.

Wild wouldn’t admit it aloud, but his worry for Twilight would not stop rising. The Ordonian was a man of few words, yes, but he’d hardly spoken to him during the past three days! He hardly interacted with Wild now, and the teen was beginning to wonder if something was seriously wrong.

He was slowly becoming twitchy and impatient, waiting for Twilight to snap out of whatever daze had appeared to take hold of him.

Time shared his concerns although he hid it well. The Pup had a tendency to space out for hours on end and when he would finally return to the present, he would look so utterly lost and bemused about everyone and everything. Time had seen him when he would wake in the mornings- sometimes in a panicked haze, other times in fear, and most of the times perplexed and lost.

Twilight’s eyes flickered and shifted as if there were some kind of inner battle taking place that he was struggling to win.

“You mentioned you wanted to stop by somewhere before we should leave?” Time’s rumbling voice broke the tense silence hanging uncomfortably o’er them.

Wild blinked and turned to the elder Hero, nodding before verbalizing,

“I need to visit Kakariko briefly and pick up a few things.”

Time hummed, “And how far is Kakariko from here?”

To think that village was still around... It was amazing.

“If we teleport to TaLoh Naeg Shrine, we could save ourselves a day’s walk.”

Wild, who had been on the verge of answering Time, froze. Time’s brow creased and both Links slowly rounded on Twilight who was sat across from Time at the small table. The Ordonian hadn’t once moved from his slouched position. He had an arm resting on the table and was tapping a finger on the surface, apparently deep in thought.

But they knew he had spoken.

That had been his voice casually answering for Wild.

“Twilight..?” Wild whispered, utterly confounded. How had Twilight known that? How did he know of the shrine and of Wild’s teleportation ability? He’d never said a word of either!

Time glanced between them. He might not have understood what Twilight had said, but he knew it was wrong. Twilight couldn’t have possibly known how far it was to Kakariko from here. He wasn’t from Wild’s Hyrule and had never visited it before they’d met Wild. And based from Wild’s shocked expression, Time could tell Twilight must have been right.

“Is he correct?” He asked for clarification, voice pitched low in order not to disturb the slumbering Heroes in the next room. Wild briefly looked to him then back to Twilight, nodding with a weird and stunned look on his youthful features.

“Y-yeah...But...How could he have known that?”

Time had other questions. Teleportation? Shrines? But he brushed them aside. There would be time for answers later.

Instead, he cleared his throat, trying to gain Twilight’s attention.

It didn’t work.

Twilight appeared to have forgotten he and Wild were there.

Wild was not as patient. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. Twilight had been acting strangely, but this took the cake! First, he knew where Wild’s home was. Then he chased off a couple of travelers, stating with a growl that they were Yiga scum, and he was acting funny when they passed by the Shrine of Resurrection and the Temple of Time.

Wild had known something had been off about it all but hadn’t thought too much on it until one thing started happening after another in a never-ending stream of coincidences...

~~~~~~~

“Twilight, there you are!” Wild called with relief evident in his tone as he trotted to the still Ordonian’s side. Twilight didn’t react to his presence. In fact, he didn’t appear to realize Wild had called out to him.

The fur-clad Hero was staring blankly at a small crevice in a rock where an old campfire lay, embers long having been collected by the wind and spread elsewhere in the extensive land.

Wild remembered this place. It had been the first he’d visited, but back then, it hadn’t been so strikingly empty and abandoned.

He curiously looked to Twilight, concerned by his silence and the strange expression he wore. There was a distant look in his eyes, as though he were recalling a memory from a time passed.

“Twi..?” He slowly asked, nudging the older with his arm.

Twilight blinked with incredible slowness but otherwise did not react.

“He’s gone...”

If Wild hadn’t seen Twilight’s lips moving, he would have thought his voice had been a figment of his imagination.

The teen quirked an eyebrow at the vague words.

“Who is?”

Twilight suddenly shivered. He vigorously shook his head, resembling his wolf-self when he would shake his head and whip his thick mane through the air.

“Right...” He murmured in a quiet and thoughtful voice, “He could finally rest...”

Wild was even more lost when Twilight seemed to draw himself from whatever daze he was in. A look of surprise stole across his face when he noticed Wild beside him.

“Cub?”

Now both Wild’s eyebrows were raised.

“When did you get here?”

When did he- Wild nearly dragged Twi over to Time. For him not to notice his presence? To not acknowledge him? Twilight had literally just spoken to him! Had answered him! And now he was acting as if he hadn’t realized Wild was there?

Something wasn’t right about this, and Wild was determined to get to the bottom of it.

~~~~~~~

The next time it had happened had been when they walked past the Shrine of Resurrection. Wild hadn’t told Twilight that this had been where he’d awakened from his century-long sleep.

If Twilight had been acting strange earlier, he was acting even more strange now.

The Ordonian had looked so disconcerted and uncomfortable. He bared his teeth at the doors, recognition flashing in his eyes. Wild had been bemused and when he’d asked Twilight what the matter was, Twilight growled that he hated the Shrine and wanted to get away.

He’d muttered other words beneath his breath, and Wild couldn’t make any sense of them. But the teen couldn’t stop thinking of how Twilight had called the Shrine by its name. How had he known?

Then they came across where Wild had been mortally wounded. The crumbling wall and three Guardians piled atop one another. Wild hadn’t told the Heroes this was where he’d fallen.

Twilight had gone berserk. The other Heroes might not have recognized the wild look in his eyes or the sheer pain in them, but Wild and Time had. Twilight had basically dragged them away from the spot, claiming the Guardians made him feel queasy and that something about the place felt horribly wrong.

Wild had thought maybe Twilight had sensed what might have happened. That he felt something terrible had gone down in this very area. But there was something more to it. Something more to the intensity of Twilight’s reaction.

~~~~~~~

“Twilight!” Wild surged up from his chair, the legs scraping the wooden floor as he loomed over the oblivious Hero. Time very nearly started at the abruptness of his movement.

A thought had struck Wild and the Hero wasn’t sure what to think or feel. It couldn’t be possible but... Maybe it was?

Twilight raised his head, blinking several times before turning to give Wild a faintly bemused look,

“Yes?”

“How did you know?” Wild immediately demanded to know, planting his palms firmly on the tabletop.

A look of pure confusion crossed Twilight’s features, dark brows drawing together at the sudden and very much heated question.

“How did I know what?”

“Where Kakariko Village is!” Wild pressed, eyes narrowing. He dared Twilight to try and scrabble out of this one. He’d managed to wriggle away before but he’d drawn way too much suspicion from Wild for it to be coincidence.

Twilight knew far too much about his Hyrule and Wild was determined to find out how.

Twilight leaned back, completely and hopelessly lost.

“What?” What was wrong with his Cub? He could sense Wild inwardly bristling, and his frustration bubbling to the surface. “I don’t know where Kakariko Village is. This is your Hyrule-”

“Don’t give me that nonsense!” Wild interrupted, wounded. It caught both Time and Twi off guard. Jabbing a finger at Twilight, Wild claimed, “You knew where my house was before I even said a word! You knew those ‘travelers’ were Yiga! You recognized the Shrine of Resurrection and the ruins of the Temple of Time! How?”

Twilight’s expression suddenly morphed into one of equal aggravation and frustration. He lurched upright in his seat, growling back,

“I don’t know, Wild! I don’t know this place! I have no idea what you are even talking about!” They were only inches away from each other and Time immediately stood when he felt tensions were running alarmingly high. He made to separate them but Wild exploded,

“What do you mean you don’t know?!”

His thunderous voice awoke all the slumbering Heroes. A few shot up in alarm while others blearily blinked themselves to full consciousness.

“What is going on?” Wind fearfully asked upon seeing the wrathful form of Wild and the furious Twilight. Time was looking between them, hands hovering uncertainly in the air.

Warrior curled an arm around the sailor when he shirked back against the Knight. Legend was rubbing at his eye, disgruntled and displeased at having been woken up in such a rude fashion.

Sky’s eyes were wide as he watched Twilight and Wild stare one another down. He’d never seen them interact like this before! The two were so close, an unbreakable bond binding them together. But now they were completely at one another’s throat and Sky feared something might happen that they would later come to regret.

Four wasn’t sure what to make of it either. His counterparts were voicing their own opinions. Red was pleading for Wild and Twi to stop fighting, Blue was griping about lack of sleep, and Vio was droning on about how he’d long seen it coming.

Hyrule buried himself further into his blankets, hoping to drown out the argument. He hated contention and fights. They made him feel sick to his stomach, and seeing Twilight and Wild at odds made him incredibly ill and discontent. It was a horrible feeling that made him queasy and uncomfortable.

“You know! You just refuse to say anything!” “I told you that I don’t!” Twilight didn’t shout, but he might as well have. His tone was dangerously low and precariously balanced that even Legend shrunk back at it. There was an undertone of warning neither of the Links had missed.

Four’s eyes held the uh-oh look the others wore.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying!”

“Stop lying to me! You’ve never lied before! Why are you starting now?” Wild’s voice wavered, bordering on a crack and hurt flashed across his expression.

Twilight reared back as if he’d been physically struck.

“Lie to you..?” He whispered in disbelief. “What makes you think I’m lying to you?”

Wild threw his hands in the air, a strangled sound of frustration escaping him, “There you go again! You know what I’m talking about! Stop pretending that you don’t!”

Twilight was still reeling from Wild’s incensed words, his heart aching.

His Cub had angrily accused him of lying.

He swallowed thickly.

He’d never lied to Wild. Twilight had made a promise not to. Sure he withheld information, but never would he flat-out lie! He’d always been honest and open with his Cub.

Why would he say such a thing?

What had Twilight done to give Wild the impression that he was lying?

He tried to speak but his voice withered and died in his throat, the words failing to reach his tongue.

This was worse than any wound Twilight had ever had combined! The words were sharper than even the sharpest knife, stabbing into his heart and viciously twisting it. His heart bled, his chest suddenly tight.

Twilight couldn’t fathom it. He couldn’t wrap his mind around this. What had he done to lose Wild’s trust so quickly and so easily? For Wild to so readily accuse him...

It hurt more than words could ever convey.

Everyone appeared to hold their breath, the atmosphere heavy with anticipation and tight with worry.

Finally, Twilight released a shuddery breath and lowered his head, blinking furiously.

Surely it was a trick of the light, but Time could have sworn he saw his descendant’s eyes glistening. Cobalt blues swam with a myriad of hurt, pain, anguish, confusion, and grief that it physically pained Time to see.

But it was gone before anyone else could see.

Gone before Wild could see.

Twilight lifted his chin and opened his eyes.

Time didn’t like the look in them. He’d never seen Twilight look so...look so guarded and empty. Completely devoid of any emotion. It was a defense mechanism. A way to protect himself from the harm Wild’s words had undoubtedly inflicted.

Then his eyes sparked and flashed and Twilight set his expression, stating lowly and with a clarity, “I would never lie to one of my own.”

The Goddess strike me down if ever I do.

Then he was gone.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

The great wolf whined as he pawed helplessly at the stone doors keeping him from the one who lay within.

When would he come out? He’d been waiting for him and his patience was slowly growing thin.

“Patience, Great Beast,” A dignified, elderly, voice lightly chided. The wolf turned his large head to face the cloaked man standing not too far from him. The man leaned heavily on an axe, watching him closely, “He will come in due time.”

The wolf grumbled and griped. If the person wasn’t going to wake anytime soon, why had he been brought here in the first place? He wandered away from the doors and searched for a comfortable place to rest. He circled a portion of the ground, still rumbling deep in his throat before finally settling.

He supposed he could wait a few more days for the kid to wake up.

The Old Man was left shaking his head bemusedly at the odd animal and returned back to his campsite to await the Hero’s awakening.

~~~~~~~

“Down by the spring,” A familiar, deep voice hummed. Twilight’s ears twitched and he opened his eyes a crack to peer up at the glittering sky above. He should have known the Old Man would seek him out. “You always were predictable.”

Twilight said nothing.

Time released a silent sigh, shoulders slumping with the movement. He moved forward with the grace and elegance of an experienced warrior and settled beside where his descendant lay. He crossed his legs and patiently waited.

Twilight relaxed somewhat when Time’s strong and soothing presence wrapped itself around him. The Hylian counted as many of the sparkling gems decorating the oily canvas above, willing himself not to think of the memory that had come to him before sensing Time’s presence.

He tried not to think of Wild or of their argument. Of the pent up frustration and confusion Twilight had projected into the fray, adding to the building tension and tipping the scales.

It was hard not to.

He shut his eyes against the heavens and willed himself to forget. But he couldn’t. He kept remembering.

The words echoed in his ears...

He reopened his eyes and peered off into the distance.

“Stop lying to me!”

He flinched, anguished and grieved.

“You’ve never lied to me before!”

His heart throbbed painfully.

“Why are you starting now?”

The hurt reflected in his Cub’s eyes. The confusion and uncertainty.

“I would never lie to him.” Twilight whispered fiercely. He didn’t know why he spoke aloud, or why his voice sounded weak and uncertain. As if he were seeking to reassure himself but not knowing whether or not it was the truth.

How was he to know? The past few days had been nothing but a muddled blur.

“I know.” Came Time’s steady assurance.

Twilight huffed and turned his face away, sorrow glimmering in his eyes.

“You do...But he doesn’t...”

~~~~~~~~

The wolf shuffled through the brush, skirting around the rocks and peering in at the Old Man idly stoking the fire he had blazing.

He’d been periodically checking in with him, getting updates on whether or not the kid had awoken. Lately, he was always disappointed to learn the kid was still dead to the world and would leave grumbling and complaining about having to wait.

As if sensing his eyes on him, the Old Man glanced up. A smile lit his face hidden by the hood he’d cast over his head and he told the wolf,

“I’m afraid you missed him by a couple days, my friend.”

The wolf blinked slowly then growled, the words slowly registering in his mind. His sharp teeth flashed in the sunlight as displeasure rose within him. He stalked to the edge of the cliff, glaring down into the vast expanse of Hyrule spread out below. Of course that foolish kid would wake up while he’d been off exploring and familiarizing himself with this expansive kingdom!

He exhaled deeply and searched the area below. It was truly more colorful than his own. And much, much, larger.

The sheer size still took him aback.

How was he to find the idiot boy now?

“I suppose you could try tracking him, but-”

Whatever the Old Man was going to say, the wolf would never know, for he was interrupted by an enthusiastic whoop.

The wolf looked curiously in the direction it had come from and trotted to the cliff’s edge to see what had made the noise. The beast had to take a double take at what he saw.

Was that a...

He blinked, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The vision was still there.

There was a half-dressed Hylian surfing down a cliff on a shield waving a torch like a madman in the air. And he was heading straight for the monsters camped below.

The wolf’s face would have been iconic were the Old Man not restraining himself from face-palming at the wild child he had let loose into the wilds.

“I am also afraid,” He began, trying to keep his voice steady but the strain was apparent, “That your descendant is rather-” He started when the wolf bolted away, chest heaving as he enthusiastically barked at the Hylian.

There was no denying it! That boy was his!

The Old Man’s expression fell flat. What had he done? He inwardly bemoaned. They were two peas in a pod and would wreak havoc across his beloved Hyrule!

~~~~~~~~

When Twilight next stirred, he was surprised to find it was dawn. He didn’t recall drifting off, but he supposed he’d lost track of time and had another strange and all-too-real dream.

His brow crinkled when he registered warmth against his side and rolled his head to the right to find Time lying next to him, a serene expression softening his neutral features.

His ancestor, it appeared, had stayed by his side for the entirety of the night. His arms were tucked beneath his head, providing a cushion against the cold, hard ground, and he’d positioned himself to where he was shielding Twilight from the cool breeze sweeping in.

Twilight looked away, warmth blossoming in his chest.

Time still looked after him, after all of these years-

And that was when it hit him.

Twilight bolted upright with a disbelieving gasp, eyes incredibly wide. His breath caught at the possibility- at the chance that it might be true. Unbridled shock stole over his entire being as the realization sunk deep into his heart and disbelieving mind.

Oh Hylia!

The Golden Wolf! The Hero Shade! Time had come to him to help him on his journey to defeat Ganondorf! He’d trained him, taught him all that he needed to know to stand his ground against the King of Evil!

What if...

What if Twilight had done the same for Wild?

And then it struck him. Wild’s easy acceptance when he learned Twilight could turn into a wolf. The familiar manner in which Wild had greeted him when they’d first met. When their eyes had locked onto one another, Twilight remembered the shock, surprise, disbelief, and hope that brewed within those cerulean orbs.

He remembered feeling confused. He was the only one Wild would speak and listen to when the Heroes had come across him. It was by chance Twilight had found him. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder whether it was the Goddess’ plan all along for him to be the one to discover the Hero of the Wilds.

Surprisingly enough, it had been Wild who had- after much hesitation- approached him first and a connection had established. A powerful bond was forged and only grew stronger with every passing day.

A strong hand gripped his shoulder, anchoring Twilight briefly as thoughts raced through his mind. He startled and sharply looked to see Time had sat up- having been jolted awake by Twilight’s sudden movement.

There was a hint of concern in his good eye that he fixed on the wound up Twi.

“Pup?”

Twilight could hear and understand the questions accompanying his name, but he couldn’t answer them. Not now. Not until he knew...

He gathered himself to his feet as calmly as he could manage, his mind whirling. He needed to talk to Wild. To find out if it was true. He needed to know if Wild had recognized him when they met- if he had known who and what he was before Twilight ever revealed his secret to the Cub and Time.

It would explain so many things. How well they worked together when he was a wolf- as if Wild had had previous experience. How simple it was for Wild to adapt to his frequent shifting between forms. The familiarity Wild interacted with him that had been evident since before they’d grown close and forged an unbreakable bond.

Without a word, Twilight walked away from the spring and made for Wild’s home. Time had already stood and strode after the Ordonian without question. The brisk pace Twilight set told Time he had an agenda- an objective he intended to accomplish. The look in his eye was all too familiar to Time, but he knew he had nothing to fear.

What felt to be an eternity but was truly no longer than a couple minutes, the two arrived to Wild’s humble abode in Hateno to find said Hero already outside, tending to the garden he’d started to grow. It was still early, dawn having just arrived, meaning the other Heroes were most likely still slumbering away.

In his peripheral vision, Wild caught sight of them and straightened with relief upon seeing Twilight coming his way. Immediately, he deserted the basket he’d been gathering vegetables in and hurried towards them.

“Twilight!” He called, his hair loose and fluttering in the breeze. Dressed in his Hero of the Wild’s outfit, Wild resembled Twilight and Time from whenever they’d adorned their own Hero tunics during their adventures.

He met Twilight and Time halfway down the path then paused uncertainly. Shifting on his feet a little ways in front of the Ordonian, Wild’s gaze darted here and there, finding the ground more interesting before moving to lock onto Twilight with true remorse and contrite.

From the faint shadows beneath his eyes, Twilight felt a pang of guilt flash through him when he realized Wild must have had difficulty getting any sleep the previous night. The two often slept nearest one another or with Twilight in wolf form curled round Wild protectively and comfortingly.

Rarely were the two apart. While it didn’t often bother or trouble them, this time was different. Twilight and Wild hadn’t resolved their dispute and it had nagged at the both of them. They did have disagreements here and there, and there were times their opinions didn’t align, or their thoughts differed from one another, but never did it escalate the way it had only hours before.

Both attributed it to stress, but neither used it to excuse or justify their words or deeds.

Seeking to assure his Cub, Twilight made the first move before Wild could apologize for something they were both at fault for.

He reached out and gripped Wild’s shoulder reassuringly.

All was forgiven between them.

Wild knew this from the simple gesture. Twilight was a reserved individual who spoke when he pleased, and so, for him, actions spoke louder than simple words.

A smile curved Wild’s lips and he gripped Twilight’s wrist.

He knew, that even though he’d never voiced it, his apology had been recognized and accepted.

Then Twilight frowned and Wild faltered uncertainly.

The intensity of Twilight’s stare, the boring into his eyes told Wild he was searching for something.

“Wild,”

“Yes?”

“Did you know?”

Wild didn’t have to ask for Twilight to clarify his meaning. He understood what his mentor, brother, and friend was asking.

Wild grinned widely upon seeing the faint flicker of recognition in Twilight’s eyes. A look entered them that he knew well. They were the eyes that belonged to his much beloved and loyal companion who’d traversed into the deepest of depths and furthest of lands alongside him; who’d awaited him as he completed the trials and regained control of the Divine Beasts; who’d comforted and encouraged him with his presence alone; who’d cared for him, hunted with him, and experienced everything with him.

Twilight hadn’t remembered anything before they’d met. Most likely due to the fact that he hadn’t joined Wild on his adventure as of yet but someday would in the nearby future. In a time already passed for the younger teen.

With a nod, Wild affirmed, “I did.”

The instant I first met you.

He’d known. When their eyes had first met, Wild recognized them as those belonging to the wolf who’d journeyed with him. It was the reason why he’d addressed only Twilight when he’d met the other Heroes and not any of the others.

Twilight shook his head with a sigh, a small smile of his own appearing and the Ordonian curled an arm around Wild’s shoulders and pulled him close.

Wild knew then and there that all was well between them.

Time watched them with pride. Moving behind them, he settled a hand on his descendant’s and Wild’s shoulders and the three looked to see the sun rising in the distance, bathing the world in color and light.

The other Heroes would soon awaken and their mission would resume once more.

All was well. And all would be well.

~~~~~~~~

Link swallowed thickly as he gazed upon the castle bathed in malice. He gripped the Master Sword in his hand and shifted the shield on his left arm. He was ready to face the Calamity. All he’d experienced, all he’d done, and all he’d seen had prepared him for this.

His eyes narrowed, blazing with determination and face full of steely resolve. He would confront this evil that arose 1100 years prior to this point and defeat it, bringing peace to Hyrule once more and freeing Zelda.

He would purge this kingdom of the poison that had long-since seeped deep into its very core, smothering it in darkness and suffocating what little hope remained.

He may not remember much of its rise 100 years earlier, but he knew the Calamity had caused much devastation, despair, and ruin.

A nudge at his side drew Link’s attention to the great beast standing beside him. The wolf who’d come across him not too long after he’d awoken had never left him. A constant, reassuring presence Link found he treasured and was ever so grateful for.

This wolf had witnessed his lowest points and his highest during this adventure.This wolf had celebrated when he’d celebrated, mourned when he’d mourned, and encouraged him to press forward- to get back up on his feet after he would fall and try again.

This intelligent beast had never once allowed him to give up or give in. He’d protected him, congratulated him on his achievements, and gave Link the courage he needed to keep on going.

With the wolf at his side, Link never felt alone or remiss. Wherever he went, the wolf would follow.

Link placed a hand on the wolf’s large head and nodded sternly to himself. The wolf huffed and seemed to smile at him. His teeth were bared and he pushed Link gently with his snout, urging him onward to the Castle where the Calamity awaited.

Cobalt blues bored into Link’s own cerulean ones, telling him the wolf believed in him and knew he would succeed.

Link smiled in thanks and started down the path. The wolf walked alongside him, his presence soothing Link’s tumultuous mind and troubling thoughts. It pushed away the uncertainties, fears, and doubts that might have lingered helping Link to focus on the purpose of his being here.

It was time.

Both had known this- had felt it deep within. It was almost like a calling, telling Link his tale was drawing to an end.

But...

Whenever there is a meeting, a parting is sure to follow.

When Link crossed the threshold of the Castle, he immediately felt the absence of his companion and when he turned to look, he found the great wolf seated on the cobblestone path, watching him go with sorrow.

The sad eyes still blazed with the belief the wolf held in Link. Link knew then that the wolf would leave. That he had someplace to return to.

Link hesitated and denial warred within his heart. He’d drawn close to the wolf...and to lose him...

The wolf barked once.

Go!

The beast wagged his tail, thumping it against the broken and torn up path. He tilted his head, watching Link proudly.

Link knew what he had to do. But before...

Link turned around and began walking towards the wolf. The wolf inclined his head and made a low, rumbling, sound. Link ignored the chastisement. He’d come to recognize and identify the wolf’s thoughts and feelings from the different intonations and body language. Those eyes spoke for the beast more than it probably knew.

He dropped to his knees and threw his arms tightly around the wolf- his dearest friend who’d stuck with him for the duration of this difficult and wild journey.

“I’m going to miss you...” He whispered hoarsely, eyes stinging as he squeezed them shut.

He felt the wolf raise its paw and wrap a limb as best it could around him. Sometimes, this beast acted more human than wolf...

It nuzzled its large head against his then gently nudged him towards the castle once more.

This time, when Link left and disappeared into the depths of the decrepit ruins, he never looked back.

For to look back would mean he didn’t believe they would ever meet again.

The wolf remained until he was gone...Then vanished into speckles of Twilight.

When Link emerged victorious and the Princess saved, he found his companion absent. He felt the loss of his presence keenly...

Their parting tore at him.

~~~~~

However, that parting need not last forever...

Whether a parting be forever or merely for a short time...

That was up to him.

~~~~~

And, months later, when Link looked and met the familiar cobalt blues of a Hylian bearing a fur pelt round his strong shoulders, he knew.

The connection was reestablished.

“Are you the Hero of this Hyrule?” The question directed towards him would have made Link wary and suspicious, but this time, he knew he had nothing to fear.

This was no Yiga intent on assassinating him.

Standing and dusting himself off, Link inquired with a small grin, “And if I am?”

The Hylian with dusky brown hair extended a hand and with a slight smile replied, “Then I’ll need you to come with me. Some friends and I have been searching for you, Link. I’m afraid we have need of your assistance.”

Link released a warm chuckle and clasped the Ordonian’s hand with his own. The wolf had assisted him on his journey and now, Link could return the favor.

“Then I’ll happily lend you mine.”

~~~~~~~~

#Linked Universe #linkeduniverse #Legend of Zelda #Twilight #Wolfie #Wild #Time #Secrets

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campfireescapist · 5 years

Text

Escapism in video games I play

Animal Crossing: When people think about video games and Escapism, Animal Crossing is probably the first thing to cross your mind. The same obviously goes for me, which is why it’s at the very top of the list, even when these aren’t really in a specific order. The first time I played Animal Crossing I was in first grade playing on the gamecube. My avatar I named after a friend and had accidently made it a boy, but I loved it regardless. When I was little there wasn’t a time I wasn’t playing the game or talking to the villagers. It was something that seemed natural, at times I still remember laying on my cousins large bed (she lived with us at the time) and playing while the sun illuminated the screen through the blinds. I can only look back on those times fondly, and honestly miss the carefreeness of my childhood where as I grew and my insomnia grew worse I could play until well past three in the morning. Tom Nook kept me busy, Rolf even with his gruffness never failed to make me smile, and K.K’s songs where something I watched with a floaty an oddly melancholy feeling, likely because I knew eventually the song would end and I’d have to wait another week to see that white dog again. In the real world I still scoff at the thought of community because it always seemed like everyone at school or just people in general promised their affection and support but were incredibly quick to contradict that promise, it always felt like the saying, guilty before proven innocent, and when playing Animal Crossing I didn’t feel that. Sure at times the villagers were grumpy but I never took it to heart. My gameplay always seemed to be few and far inbetween, but there was never a moment I didn’t feel absolutely despair when the villagers cried about how long I’ve been gone. It only made sense because it's hard for me to recall pure moments of happiness in my life but can recall many many times I’ve smiled widely hearing the nonsense gibberish of the villagers and asking them how their day went. Lately I’ve engrossed myself in trying to complete the fossils in the museum, a slightly tedious task but it was a task nonetheless that I know I needed with my real life constantly pummeling with a lack of purpose. The collecting, fishing, catching, and payments were all little accomplishments in themselves and they continue to be, and I hear often it’s those things that bring those with depression to the game because taking care of their village is something they actually want to do. It’s an effort in its own right and a commitment that doesn’t feel like a chore. Commitment is often a struggle on my behalf, and at times as I grew older when my life was hectic and I tried to play, that feeling of tediousness did nag me but I’ve heard before with Animal Crossing, the experience is highly affected by your mood. With the new Animal Crossing coming out, I know I’ll be playing on days when the world is too much or when my mind needs to fixate on something. The game has always been exceptionally good at being something you can play not just with your full attention, but also when you simply need something to zone out to. It’s made easy with the soft tones and minute details that make your town not just a place but a home. A home that you recount in your dreams, a home that makes you feel homesick when you’re not playing. Animal Crossing gives you an experience, an experience they were actually first to give in all of gaming. They let you build a life, a better life then you have, or just a life you wished you could live without overwhelming responsibility and harmful people. It gives you a second chance when no one else does making it the perfect and ideal game to escape to.

Minecraft: To be able to escape I believe, at least from my own experience, one must have a strong or vivid imagination. A game about building is and was something of a creative release. I play minecraft more than any other game I think I’ve ever played, not only because I could be mindless but I could begin a narrative in my head, acting it out with my character. Something I need to do often as my head always seems to need a constant stream of something, and building a life and home where I’d need not only to gather materials but fight monsters. It becomes an expected but still surprising world, where there's really no end. You can walk a thousand miles and still be finding new shapes and structures that leave you with a sense of wonderment. It’s a game that offers two different ways of playing making it ideal for whatever mood you’re in, peaceful or hardcore. There’s never a bad time to play, and there’s never a way you’re doing it wrong. The main reason minecraft calls to me though, is it’s multiplayer option and the mods. I started playing Minecraft because I first saw many people on youtube playing and I wanted those experiences for myself. I’d ended up downloading that multiplayer for minecraft app and played with so many people, one person who I’m still in contact (even when we shouldn’t but that’s a different story) but the memories where always fond. Nowadays I still play survival mode with my friend back home. I’ve just moved away and my best friend is now states away and we’ve been using Minecraft as a way to bond, and I’m grateful we did because even if I’m just looking at her avatar it still feels like we’re together. When it comes to mods, we both value the new experience and immerse ourselves further into the world we get to make together. The same feeling is also accomplished on single player. But regardless of mods or how many people are playing, Minecraft is an immersive fulfilling experience that only gets dry when you run out of creativity, or used just a little too much for the time being. It’s a game for everyone that is hard not to come back too.

Animal Jam: This is an online game I discovered on a lonely summer, with Club Penguin there was a hole of online games for people to talk with and do missions gone. Animal Jam made up for that with features and experiences that Club Penguin itself lacked. You can be a number of animals with customizable patterns, it also has a lot to offer even without a membership. You can make art and hang it in your home, add friends and talk freely. (It’s still a kids website, but currently they have a new game called Feral coming out for older audiences so you can have more adult conversations on there.) Seasonal tasks appear and role playing with other members is a common occurrence. If you want a free roam game where you can be yourself in a friendly world, that’s sponsored by Animal Planet. A special thing about this website/game though, what also makes it an easy escape is the learning features. There’s videos and facts about animals everywhere, even a live camera in the ocean you can watch! Maybe it’s just me but watching cute little geckos and fish swim are a pretty good distraction while filling your brain!

Pokemon: Pokemon is a game about bonding and trusting the bonds you make along your journey. Unlike the games I’ve listed before, Pokemon is not only a free roaming game but also Story oriented. It’s a clear path to follow that’s enthralling, everytime I play I normally beat the game in exactly twenty four hours. The characters are so finely written that you grow attached easily, as if they were real, they become your friends the same way your pokemon do. On the top of my head I can say my teams from each game I’ve played. You grow and bond, you get concerned when your pokemon takes a hit. It’s a world you wish was real with it’s magical creatures making life easier. In the real world we have pets, but in Pokemon you have a creature who will fight for you, play with you, they look to you and promise you they will hold on, will hold back tears to make you happy. I think getting to love something that grows to love you back pulls at your heart strings and makes the experience more personal than you expect. Even when the stories are over, there’s something extra, always something to do, and it’s hard to put down. It’s a journey that never ends in a world so well thought out, you know it’s home by the end of the game.

Poptropica: Another story oriented game that strays from others by being purely straight forward. You have to follow along, you have to figure out what comes next to further the story along or no progress will be made. I’ve heard and experienced, some people take longer, or have a little trouble getting into a mindset that they can flow too. Poptropica very quickly sets the tone by starting the story and urging you along, urging you to explore to find the next step, and if not the game lets you stew by basically pausing all action. The islands vary in difficulties, meaning you can choose something easy or hard depending on how long you want to be at what you’re doing, and there's multiple islands, meaning multiple stories you can find yourself living. You’ve probably played this game before and hold it in fond memories. Coming back to it may also be a welcome blast to the past, that can lead you down to hopefully good memories you can lose yourself too.

ABZU: One of the most colorful and beautiful games to ever exist. This game is story oriented and still a free roaming game, with a unique twist. Besides the stunning music, the games otherwise silent, wordless. There’s a concoction of colors and animals to swim with that paint an underwater world that puts the outerworld to shame. It’s serene and peaceful, constantly leaving you with a sense of curiosity and suspense for what’s to come next. Describing how much of an outlet this game is, is actually quite baffling, you can just as easily watch the game and feel positively blessed, but there’s no better feeling than maneuvering your character through the water and perching on a rock to meditate while flipping through the types of fish surrounding you. The visuals absolutely bewitch you, stealing your attention making it hard to look away.

Games are an amazing escape, and I’m sorry if this list is a little redundant but that’s a given. I’ll add more to the list another time, but feel free to let me know what games you escape to and why!

Also, this is just my own personal experience so it may differ from others, but if it helps or if you agree I’d be happy to talk about it.

#escapism #escapist #animal crossing #abzu #pokemon #animal jam #minecraft #poptropica #gaming

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marching-bells · 5 years

Photo

This is Wada’s interview for the release of Animal Parade in the February 2009 issue of Famitsu magazine’s Heartwarming Bokujou Monogatari Fanbook (vol.2).

I’ve provided an English translation (from myself) under the cut.

集大成的にもう一度Wiiで作ろうと思ったことがきっかけ Why I thought of creating another Wii title

To start off, please explain the design and creation process of Animal Parade. Wada: The reason I decided to create Animal Parade was that I had discussed making another Bokujou Monogatari title using the Wii. Recently I have viewed the series from a remote staff position; so this time I returned as a producer, wanting to involve myself closely with the work for the first time in quite a while.

Were there any difficulties while developing [Animal Parade]?

Wada: There was a struggle when it came to reducing the game's load times. There is always going to be a load time, but Animal Parade's was made shorter and comfier after we rebuilt the system's mechanics from scratch.

Tell us about the kind of themes included in Animal Parade.

Wada: The original theme was to create a game that included elements from the DS titles while capturing an atmosphere similar to that of "A Wonderful Life"(※①). At first, Animal Parade was going to be named "The Town of Wind and Water" to convey the feeling we wanted. The other theme was that we wanted to create a game that included elements from "Tree of Tranquility" while making a title that was easy to play for those who have little experience with Bokujou Monogatari. Of course, we tried many new things with Tree of Tranquility; such as being able to keep ostriches, and being able to pet and care for (wild) animals. In Animal Parade, we wanted to bolster these features by making them cuter and adding variety to them, putting emphasis on making the game fun.

Cuteness is surely important, but even the way animals move is cute!

Wada: That's right. While making the game, the movement of the animals created by the staff healed* me just by looking at them. At the time, I had only been thinking about dogs. However, the world is not only made of dog lovers; there are cat lovers, too. So then...I decided to continue from there and put consideration into the idea of other [animals] too. Certainly, isn't it funny when you think of animals like a snake or a frog? The thought continued like that. There are people who like various kinds of animals, so we wanted to create something rich in variety that satisfies those people. Additionally, we thought it would be more fun to have a lot of tricks to learn, and prepared leveled performances with variations up to MAX level(※②).

Even in the Circus, which has its first series debut [in Animal Parade], the animals take an active role. How was this developed?

Wada: The circus was created not only from the idea of being something cute and soothing to the viewer, but also from the design point of adding an element to animals that make them more interactive and fun. To properly convey the full diversity of animals, we didn't just include small animals (such as pets), but also large animals from Africa like the giraffe and elephant. The theme of the circus in Animal Parade is, "it is a place where those who come to see it will be healed". Just looking at the circus tent from above and cheering "Good work!" makes one lonely. So, I decided I wanted to have fun alongside the animals' performance.

A lot of the same characters that appear in Tree of Tranquility also appear in Animal Parade.

Wada: The reason we reused the same cast of characters was because there were a lot of requests for those characters to return from users who liked them. I hope they are happy that these characters have come back, and I have worked with those requests in mind; however, the characters have been rebuilt from the ground up. The characters and designs are all the same, but events and dialogue related to the characters are starting from scratch. Furthermore, there were requests for new characters to be added, so I wanted to include those for [Animal Parade]. I will do my best to listen the voices of the users and work hard so that you will all be happy!

Now that new characters have appeared, everything seems to be getting more entertaining; Was there anything that concerned you, though?

Wada: When I decided that the original Tree of Tranquility cast should return, I wanted to make sure that the game expanded on these characters while retaining features of their past selves. [The idea] was not to distort the original designs just because new characters had been introduced to the work. For this reason, the new characters we introduced were non-human, such as the Harvest King and Harvest Goddess.

What's the concept for each character?

Wada: Harvest King's concept is "strong and handsome". According to the character designer, he is a character designed with their preferences on "full throttle" (laughs). At first I was a little anxious, but when the design was completed, there was enough original works reproduced from the design that he became the first or second favorite character to come from Animal Parade. By the way, my personal favorite is the "Witch". Since the Witch in “Island of Happiness” was based on the character designer's preferences, this time the Witch is based on my own tastes. Basically, my type is "Tsundere" (※④), so this Witch also fits that trope! The core essence of "Tsundere" is a bit boring [to me], so I made the character design more aligned with a "cold, but gentle" feeling. Also, since each character is designed with a gender opposite in mind, the Harvest King is a marriage candidate along with the Harvest Goddess. Because of this, we couldn't introduce the Witch without having the necessary male equivalent. That’s how the Wizard was created in this circumstance. Since the Witch looks sweet, the Wizard was designed to look "cool". It's intriguing when there's gaps in content, so the character was created with a cool personality in mind, but also with a slow-paced, natural feeling. Fin(※⑤), who stays alongside the protagonist, appears in a number of important cutscenes and has a position as a helpful character. With Fin at their side, beginners will find it easy to play this game. Also, Fin is an apprentice Harvest Sprite; it would be nice if [Fin] and the player were able to get along in the world.

The number of different festivals included in Animal Parade has also increased considerably.

Wada: In the newest titles, the amount of events you can view to interact with residents (such as love events between marriage candidates) is quite substantial. In Animal Parade, we wanted to enrich these events with new experiences, enhancing the events and festivals that everyone enjoys! [The work] contains a lot of new mini-game styled festivals. Each season holds different kinds of festivals, so please view them all.

With the amount of events involving residents also increasing, it seems you can fully enjoy the peaceful life and atmosphere there.

Wada: Correct. Not only are there rival events, but there are also rival marriages, regular events involving residents, and even events that can be enjoyed after marriage. As an example: when you get married, your game doesn't end, and you can enjoy your spouse working on the farm with you or talking a walk with you. At most, the number of events is usually around 500 or so, but for Animal Parade there are 2000-3000 in total when you include the event variations.

It does seem like it will be hard to view them all (laughs). But, it looks satisfying; like each day will be fun.

Wada: We tried to create scenes from various world-wide perspectives, so it would be good if you interacted with the (game) world on a daily basis. Like past Bokujou Monogatari titles, we incorporated a lot of things into the environment like festivals(※⑥). Unfortunately, the things that we couldn't fit into festivals are now put into sub-events. I want everyone to be surprised; there are various new twists that this work brings forth, so please check it out.

You'll want to explore around the area with the new camera - it's packed with fun!

Wada: Anyway, I wanted have a look around the continent. I had the idea that you could a lot of interesting things using the camera! It was due to that idea that the self-timer was created. For example, you can create an interesting photo if you take a picture while running in the shot. With that feeling, we expanded more on the [camera's] features.

Please give a message to your fans who haven't played Animal Parade yet.

Wada: Now more than ever, the work has been completed in such a way that it will satisfy everyone's taste! It's a game that is very close to the original ideal that I wanted when I intended to create the Bokujou Monogatari series. I tried playing all of my previous works up to this point, and it was interesting to have been touched by each one. With that said, please rest assured that it's a game you can play even if you have little experience with the series.

『わくアニ』を基盤にして『牧場物語』の最終形を目指す Aiming for the final form of Bokujou Monogatari based on Animal Parade

I want to ask about Bokujou Monogatari as a whole. What kind of work are you going to create in the future?

Wada: The entire concept of Bokujou Monogatari is being able to do many things in a heartwarming world, making it the ultimate garden toybox that can be enjoyed by each and every person. In real life, I want to create works that make you realize things must be obtained through hard work and don't come easily. I feel that Animal Parade's direction represents the final form of Bokujou Monogatari. If we can improve the form and atmosphere of this work, it will become even better than before.

What kinds of things do you want to improve?

Wada: I don't want there to be any load times, and I'd like to remove the restrictions on the number of animals that you can keep and raise on your farm. I want to keep at least 100 animals (laughs). After that, I want to improve the characters. As it is now, we are making a system that actually feels like you are communicating with the characters in the game. Also, for the animals - rather than making them realistic, a caricature is simple and easy to understand. I want to be able to do many things with them as well. Furthermore, I'd like to be able to expand the types of cooking recipes available. Right now you can only cook using a recipe, otherwise experimenting with the ingredients will cause the dish to fail. Overall, the goal is to grow and allow players to try many new and different things.

Please leave a message for series fans!

Wada: The theme of the series is roughly divided into "ranching" and "rural countryside life", but the core essence is being "the ultimate toybox". Rather than experiencing things you're already able to do in real life, it's a place where you feel your dreams can come true. If you open the lid, you'll find there are happy things packed inside, but there are sad things as well. Moreover, I think that each of those things are experiences you can only get from these games, and all become important memories. Please experience the realism that you can only feel while playing Bokujou Monogatari for yourself.

Keywords:

(※①) “A Wonderful Life”......Software released for the Gamecube in 2003. The titles “Another Wonderful Life” and “A Wonderful Life: Special Edition” were also released in 2004.

(※②) Level MAX......The level of pet acts goes up to 4. Each level has a different act, and the animal will perform in a cute manner. The motion animation team went to a zoo to study the movement of animals to use as a basis for the movement of the tricks! Furthermore, rather than animate literal movements of the animals, we tried to make them cuter. The [animals’] movement and appearance is a lot cuter than the original designs in Tree of Tranquility. By popular demand (?), the silkworm (which provides silk cocoons) also had its cuteness improved!

(※③) The Circus......It comes to Harmonica Town every month (season) on the 22nd. Many various animals will perform feats of amazing talent!

(※④)Tsundere.....They are people who appear to have a cold attitude at first, but will warm up to you when you get closer to them.

(※⑤)Fin......He's a Harvest Sprite created by the Harvest Goddess that's always by the protagonist's side. Since he's just an fledgling sprite, he has no ability to ring the Bells.

(※⑥)Festivals......Festivals are hosted by the residents of the town, and there are many different festivals each season. In previous Bokujou Monogatari titles, there were festival events like chicken fighting and tomato-throwing fights. In Animal Parade, you're not only able to watch and enjoy the festivals, but you can also interact with residents more closely.

(*Throughout the article, Wada uses forms of “ 癒す “ or “to be healed”. There was no real direct translation for this. It’s a subculture thing in Japan. I hope you can understand what he was trying to convey.)

#animal parade #animal parade official material #yasuhiro wada #harvest moon #bokujou monogatari

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sireneia-a · 6 years

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me realizing there’s twenty-one playable child units in fe4 second gen and thus exactly enough to assign each one an arcana in a persona au. you know what this means kids

it’s all under the cut with attempts at explanations. i know this isn’t rlly the most relevant thing to this blog, but i’ve written metas on characters that aren’t actually muses so i’m letting it slide. fe4 spoilers will be briefly touched upon for a few characters. the explanations are specifically for how the arcana are represented in persona, but please keep in mind i’m a persona scrub kdhfkdhfdfkfd so if it ends up being only specific to character arcs from p3, my bad. i’m also sticking to the standard cards and avoiding special ones like aeon. welcome to super self-indulgent hell

i did the order by recruitment order, but here’s a link to just the order of all the characters ( sans explanations ) by the actual tarot in case you just want to see that and be done with it

Seliph: The Fool

Obligatory protagonist role getting this arcana, but the Fool is generally based around one being influenced by others. Considering how Seliph is placed in a role as a liberator as thrust upon him by the people’s expectations due to his lineage, I thought it was fitting.

Lana: Priestess

Who I imagine would be the party’s initial navigator. Regardless, getting away from the strictly Persona gameplay aspects, the Priestess is an arcana given to quieter characters who have untapped potential. I generally just think Lana has the vibe for this as opposed to an actual reason.

Larcei: Temperance

This is one of the leftover ones admittedly. Temperance deals with an inability to balance one’s various life aspects. Larcei tends to be portrayed in adaptations as struggling between her combat as well as her love life, and she’s typically unlucky in the latter.

Ulster: Star

I love you Ulster, but he ended up also being one of the leftover ones as well. The Star is associated with hope and joy. There’s actually a pretty cool quote about this one in terms of bestowing help to others in their time of need but eventually being doomed to fall. Ulster is depicted as being protective of the others ( namely in Seliph’s childhood friend squad ) and is compassionate as well as a big brother type, thus I thought he matched up enough with the idea of bestowing help unto others.

Diarmuid: Strength

The Strength arcana in the Persona universe typically explores characters who have a strength of heart in order to keep going past hardships. Though almost everyone in gen 2 experiences tragedy and tries to overcome it, Diarmuid’s separation from his mother and then his consequent journey through Yied to reunite with his family stuck out to me. Additionally, he always seemed to have a good head on his shoulders even when given bad news in fe5 should you let Nanna fall in battle before he joins Leif’s party.

Lester: Sun

The Sun arcana directly deals with happiness, typically revolving around characters who are faced with miserable situations yet still try and be optimistic; alternatively, the character has lost their initial happiness. A really cool arcana in terms of character arcs, and Lester got it not because I thought it fit him, but because he was literally my last option and I thought the Sun arcana would fit him more than some other remaining ones, and a lot of the characters at this point I was dead set on keeping them locked in to the ones I chose for them. I initially gave this arcana to Lene.

I’d love to meet someone whose fav is Lester sdkhkddf I feel so bad that I don’t have a lot in terms of analysis on him.

Julia: Fortune

The one I knew I’d want the most for this arcana right away: the Fortune arcana revolves entirely around fate. The characters usually have to make a large decision and strive to seize their own destiny. Julia and Julius both have their births completely orchestrated for the sole purpose of furthering the Lopt Sect’s goals, their fates determined by their bloodlines. Julia rises up from what originally seemed like a helpless situation to being the one to restore peace to Jugdral herself. I literally can’t imagine anybody else, sans Julius, who could fit this arcana better out of the second gen cast.

Fee: Chariot

The Chariot arcana places an emphasis on striving towards a goal, holding a determined and willful spirit. Fee is another character I knew I instantly wanted for a specific arcana, as she’s fixated on finding her missing father-- especially when you take FE5 canon into mind and make her father Lewyn. She embodies both the arc ( willing to accomplish her goal no matter what ) but also the personality associated with the arcana.

Arthur: Magician

For starters, giving this arcana to an actual mage is so satisfying. In any case, the arcana is associated with somebody who takes more of a secondary role to the protagonist but still has their own ego. Additionally, great tragedy befalls and motivates the character-- though typically it’s romance-related in terms of arcs, but I ended up omitting that for this. Arthur is a character who exudes confidence, something that Fee suspects might not be well-deserved when they bicker, and his call to action revolves around his desire to reunite with his family. He’s aware terrible things befell his mother and sister and is terribly protective of his sister as a result. Tine honestly might get the shortest end of the stick out of the second gen cast in terms of horrible fates.

The LI manga adaptation also depicts Arthur as a shameless flirt that is a bit of a pervert, which also helps just strengthen the tie between him and the typical archetype for the Magician arcana character in the Persona series.

Iuchar: Moon

Even though you can’t recruit both of the Neir brothers in one run, I’m giving them different arcanas since I personally think that their character arcs in-game are different enough to warrant it and it gets me up to my perfect twenty-one number.

The Moon arcana revolves around illusions and typically involves a character seeing reality not as how it is, some going so far as to blame themself for something that isn’t true. My analysis on Iuchar touches upon the idea that he’s putting up his carefree personality as an act to be able to more easily show kindness upon Isaachians without arousing suspicion from his family; additionally, it talks about the idea that Iuchar blames himself for everything his family has done under the Empire and asks for forgiveness sincerely, not understanding how Seliph sees that Iuchar is blameless and that even if he wasn’t, the people love him already. Iuchar simply can’t see that reality. Though him being the actual canonically flirty character is a good argument to assign him the Magician arcana, I ultimately personally see the Moon arcana as more fitting for him.

Iucharba: Death

The Death arcana is about life cycles and predominantly characters undergoing a great change. Iucharba is a character I personally note for not really being taken seriously by his family as noted in this meta and he undergoes a great transformation throughout the events of Genealogy should you recruit him as a result. He begins as a young man allied with the Empire, a man sorely underestimated plenty, and he ends up developing into this character that suddenly is the heir to the Neir bloodline and consequently is now actually in a position of power within Grannvale-- a position he was nowhere near getting before defecting. Also not really necessary for this arcana, but the fact that you can only recruit him at the cost of killing his brother helps put a literal death association.

Patty: Devil

I actually originally had Patty assigned to the Lovers arcana, but I think this is fitting enough too. The Devil arcana typically deals with characters who commit immoral actions and have difficulty telling that what they’re doing is wrong. They’re led by impulse and temptation but they are also typically dedicated to a cause. Patty is a thief who steals to procure funds for the orphans her and her brother look after. Her compassion is her commitment and though she’s aware what she’s doing is shady, she still believes herself to be partly in the right because those she steals from are terrible people as well. She’s a more mature Dew in a sense. She’s not a perfect fit for the Devil arcana, but she fits it the most out of all the second gen.

Leif: Justice

Leif honestly probably could’ve fit a few, but I decided the Justice arcana is most suitable; the characters associated with this arcana typically are concerned with fairness and can be pretty stoic. Leif’s obsessed with enacting vengeance-- a theme that is just a breath away from justice. He’s the character I think of most in Jugdral that cares the most about karma and seeing people get what they deserve. Additionally, he fits the personality trend in how he attempts ( keyword: attempt ) to suppress his feelings.

Nanna: Empress

The Empress arcana is given to elegant women in high positions of authority. They’re typically a little on the cold side but hold compassion ( perhaps in a sort of motherly fashion ) for others underneath all of that. The second gen are almost all royalty or nobility of some degree, but Nanna especially came off as a princess to me the most out of all the characters. Additionally, God her JP voice actress really nails that refined aura. Nanna’s personality in my opinion also matches the trend in how she can be a little curt ( namely to Finn should he be her father as well as to Homer in his recruitment conversation ) but she ultimately is heralded for being kind and supportive by Leif.

Also gameplay-wise, the Empress personas typically end up having healing skills, and Nanna’s class as troubadour plays into this too.

Ares: Hierophant

Another character I was certain of what arcana I wished to assign them from the start, though I feel like a lot of people would think of different cards than I did. The Hierophant characters typically are fixated on the past and need to learn how to move on from that. Ares’s arc literally revolves around how he’s obsessed with killing Seliph to enact revenge for ( what he believes to be ) Sigurd killing Eldigan. Even Lene attempts to get Ares to stop being tied down to the past and to accept the present and the future.

Lene: Lovers

I went into this really wanting Lene to be assigned to the Sun as mentioned previously but ended up changing her to the Lovers which works out too. The Lovers character is usually someone who is popular and they’re tied between two conflicting aspects of themself. Lene is friendly and charismatic both due to her personality as well as her line of work, and her character explores her maturity as Ares’s confidant in opposition to how she’s fixated on finding her mother no matter what-- something that can be interpreted as a childish fantasy that’s hopeless considering how little of information she has to go on. Additionally, the Lovers personas gameplay-wise are usually healers and associated with wind magic, and though that doesn’t quite fit Lene, it coincides with it enough what with her being a support unit primarily and also both her cipher and her heroes art associating breezes with her.

Tine: Judgement

Judgement arcs explore characters realizing their true calling and gaining absolution and acceptance. Tine is initially allied under the Empire due to her connection to the Friege family, and she lived a very stifling existence until she defects. She’s uncertain exactly what she’s doing as well as who’s “right” at the time that she takes to the battlefield but she comes to realize that Seliph’s liberation army has good intentions. The truth that seemed so muddied before becomes so much clearer by the end. She also is another character who asks for forgiveness from Seliph and ends up being wholly surprised by how easily he gives her it. I feel like this implies that desire for absolution her entire life and it’s over the course of the war that she’s able to feel comfortable in her own skin and voice out her own wishes.

Febail: Tower

Ah, yes, the Edge Lord card. Regardless, the Tower arcana deals with bad omens and doom and destruction. The characters associated with this card are typically characters who have fallen from grace. Febail is unknowingly the prince of Jungby, one of the few playable second gen units guaranteed major holy blood, but he lives his life struggling in an orphanage and as a mercenary who will take any job so long as it gives him the money to provide for the other orphans. He loses sight of his own morality, needing to be reprimanded by his sister that his attempt to slay Seliph isn’t actually going to end in his goal of prosperity for the kids. Though all the kids have taken a tumble in life, I genuinely think Febail captures this concept the best.

Ced: Emperor

If there’s literally any character I think could actually translate super well into a Persona verse more seriously beyond just me assigning arcanas, I honestly think it’d be Ced. Anyhow, the Emperor arcana holds characters who desire to control their environment even if fate gives them trouble in attempting to do so, and the characters typically are suffering from a personal issue that they do not know how to tackle. Ced is a mage who goes out of his way to find his father and along the way, brought on by his own conviction, establishes the Magi Squad to try and help the people suffering in Manster from oppression underneath the Empire. That active role reflects the arcana very well in my eyes, and Ced’s personal conflict with Lewyn as a neglectful father as per FE5′s canon seals the deal.

Coirpre: Hermit

Hermit wasn’t my first pick for Coirpre as an individual character, but I gave him it pretty quickly after I thought about the entire second gen cast collectively as opposed to just standalone cases. I think Coirpre would most likely end up as the second, more powerful navigator character to recruit especially with his ties to the Bragi bloodline and the canonical Bragi connection to prophetic truth.

Coirpre doesn’t have the strongest connection to his arcana, but the Hermit arcana characters typically put themselves in situations where they are hiding away from the spotlight and others. As such, these characters are usually more in background or supportive roles in life. Coirpre is a healer in an extremely militant country, a larger anomaly considering the fact that his father is the Shield of Thracia-- a famed general. Coirpre, upon being locked away as a hostage, adamantly requests to be let go because he doesn’t wish for his father to be forced to fight; he seeks a more discreet way to solve the issue befitting of the arcana and ultimately sought out a calmer solution. Judging by his minor involvement in FE5, he also is more neutral typically in terms of alignment, not caring much for whether or not Leif was a runaway prince but also not offering to join him unlike the other FE4 characters who show up in the midquel. Coirpre keeps himself on the down low until he’s freed by the liberation army and realizes his father and he need to take a stance against the Empire more actively.

Altena: Hanged Man

The Hanged Man arcana explores characters who undergo arcs where they are caught between two extremes or two parties in their life. Altena encompasses this idea best in how she is troubled by her loyalty to southern Thracia due to being raised as its princess and her true lineage as Leonster’s princess. She is at odds due to this conflict, what with both parties being at opposite ends of the battlefield from one another and she’s forced to make a choice between her adopted brother and her blood brother.

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zachsgamejournal · 3 years

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COMPLETED: Mega Man Legends

Move over Sahelanthropus, I got all the walking mechs I need right here.

This game is great!

I BEAT IT!

I think it took about 8 hours (not counting a few reload/restarts here an there). While a few of the games I’ve played recently also took around the same amount of time, I kept feeling...frustrated about my progress. Mega Man Legends, on the other-hand, was a constant joy to play! I’m so blown away by how great this 1997 game is. I could gush over it all day, but Imma try to be focused...

The Story

This is where the game started off light and unimpressive, but ultimately turned out quite well. The story felt very basic: “The world needs crystal energy (refracters), and I play a ‘Digger’ that looks for them be exploring ancient ruins. But while I’m a well-meaning digger, there are ill-meaning pirates to worry about.” While the story wasn’t much, it did present the story very cinematically. The cutscenes told the story the gameplay couldn’t, but they didn’t overwhelm the player like Metal Gear Solid.

The player eventually crash-lands on an island with a city and lots of people. The player may speak with these people, even performing sidequests and developing relationships. The characters aren’t super deep, but they all have some personality and story. It helps build the charm of this world. I really appreciated it.

The antagonists are a family of pirate siblings. Tron Bonne is interesting in that she’s a bit of a brat, but has affections for Mega Man. She’s also moved by his heroism and genuineness. She finds herself emotionally conflicted between her older brother who insists on being “bad” and her feelings for Mega Man that shows there’s a better way to live. Though this is mostly used for comedic effect, it also makes her the most interesting and well-rounded character. At one point, Mega Man thinks he may have killed the pirates (including Tron) in a major battle. The heroes treat this as an unintended tragedy, and do not rejoice in their victory (I love it!), then later, Mega Man finds Tron alive is over-the-moon. She’s put off by it, but conflicted. After Mega Man defeats the trio again, the eldest brother, Tiesel, offers his honorable recognition of Mega Man’s superiority and offers to leave in peace. Tron is surprised and touched, but then it turns out to be a ploy.

It’s all pretty silly but still engaging character development.

The game’s story contains quite a bit of mystery. Why are Reaverbots activating? What’s hidden beneath the island? What’s the connection? It’s revealed that these ancient ruins (which are from a more advanced civilization) actually contain a weapon. This weapon feels that humans are over-populating and that it should purge the island as a population control effort. Mega Man finds this cruel and stops it. In the process, it’s revealed that Mega Man has a deep connection to system that wanted to purge the island. It’s hinted that he may serve some deeper purpose: maybe to act as the moral compass of unfeeling, ant-human protocol? The message I got was that humans destroyed the earth, causing a great flood and societal/technological collapse. So then machines were created to limit human influence, but their purpose is so old and outdated, it’s become an artifact itself.

There’s a fun twist here where Mega Man is captured. But the pirates realize that it’s more important to save the island than defeat Mega Man, so they release him and support his victory against the boss.

It’s still not super deep, but much deeper than I realized. And with all the various characters and personalities, it’s one of the best story experiences I’ve had in a game (though a bit goofy).

The Graphics

Are great! There’s a few issues. I think PS1 games pre-1998 had a different look and feel than post 1998 (and then again, post 2000). It feels like early game artists were still trying to figure out 3D modeling with limited hardware. So a lot of the best known tricks hadn’t been discovered yet. So MML definitely has a few Pre-1997 qualities, but it also has plenty of areas where it really looks great.

The savior is the cartoon-styled graphics. Most characters have solid-color clothes and accessories with few details. Because the art is consistent throughout, it just feels right. And then the facial animations are great. Games like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and Metal Gear Solid had in-game cutscenes, but the characters’ faces were unanimated. Sometimes they’d bob their heads to imply speaking--but it was all kinda goofy. MML, on the other hand, included moving mouths and changing face expressions during cutscenes. It really sold the cinematic vibe and is quite impressive for PS1 game.

So even though technical limitations really prevent this game from looking great, the art-direction and advanced facial animations keep this game looking great!

The Gameplay

1. Controls

Unfortunately, the controls kind of suck. Mega Man controls somewhat like a tank. A tank that can move side ways. While games like Mario 64 had free 3D movement with a camera that tried to keep up--MML has a camera that stays firmly facing forward that only rotates when the player rotates MM.

It’s a little off-putting. If I push “down”, MM runs toward the screen: completely facing the opposite direction of the camera. In most 3D platformers, the camera would try to rotate behind the character. Not MM. It keeps facing the same direction. When I stop moving, MM turns back to face the same direction as the camera.

I think they were trying to make shooting and combat easier. And I think their head was in the right place. But it makes the game hard to learn. Still, once you get used to it, it works ok. This is the worst part of the game, but the difficulty is well balanced that I don’t feel punished by the controls.

2. Combat

The combat isn’t super deep, but that also means it’s not overbearing. The combat feels more like Crash Bandicoot, with each enemy having an attack pattern that must be learned and subverted. But mostly, you just got to know when to shoot it. So it keeps the combat accessible while also interesting and mentally challenging. This is better than a lot of American Shooters that just have you fight a variety of projectile based enemies--run, dodge, shoot...

Adding depth to the combat is a cool customizable Buster (gun). You can collect a variety of parts that boost Attack, Range, Attack Speed, and “Reload”. Some parts affect more than 1 stat, allowing the player to try a variety of combinations to boost their effectiveness and compliment their play-style. You may also change configurations based on the boss or enemy type. It’s a simple, and fun system that adds plenty of depth to what could have been a straightforward action title.

What’s also neat about these parts: they’re often rewards for side-quests. Such quests might be rebuilding a clubhouse, participating in game shows, or finding a lost loved-one. It’s great because it provides a lot of bonus quests for the player that meaningful and rewarding both as an experience and on a material level.

The boss fights are also pretty interesting, assuming you’re properly equipped. They can be a bit challenging or confusing, but they’re quite diverse. Maybe you’re defending the town from bull-dozer bots, or engaged in air-to-air battles, there’s plenty of unique experiences. I was especially impressed with the walking-mech battle. I think there’s another boss just as tall, but this involved a very destructible city block. It reminded me of the Sahelanthropus battle of Metal Gear Solid V...or does that battle remind me of this? Either way--it was just more icing on top of a great experience.

3. Adventure/Pacing

I like to differentiate between action and action-adventure. Action, to me, is very linearity and to the point. Action adventure often asks the player to do more than fight their way to the exit, but to discover the path to the exit. Even better, they allow the player to discover much of the game--allowing for maximized freedom in progress.

Zelda Games are often the best examples of letting the player set their own pace and find their own way. Ocarina of Time is a true stand-out here. The game doesn’t tell you want to do, but pushes you in the right directions. Still, you’re not often limited to one set order of events to proceed and can do some quests in any order. Mega Man Legends does this as well.

Once you get past the first hour or so, the game really opens up. There’s people to talk to, secrets to find, and there’s rarely a rush to complete the next objective. You’re free to grind for resources and buy that gun upgrade, or just push through--relying purely on your skill to overcome challenges. But what really makes the game like this work is the “down time”.

Dark Forces 2, Mysteries of the Sith, and Jedi Outcast are fun action games--but there’s only one thing to do: fight your way to the end. Even if there’s sub-objectives to the over-all level, there’s no freedom. While several Mega Man battles take place in the town, the city is usually a place of no combat. But there’s plenty to do, secrets to find, and characters to interact with. And once a dungeon has been defeated, it’s nice to go back and look for secrets or grind. It makes the game way more diverse and I feel more in control as a player.

This is really important. Because the Star Wars games (and even Thief) are sooo straightforward and 1-dimensional, I get fatigued very quickly. And seeing as I like to beat a game before moving on, I get frustrated. I feel like these games are in the way of me finding happiness. Not a good reason to play games. But MML made me happy to play it. Even if I didn’t feel like taking on the next dungeon, I could do side quests or grind on an easier dungeon and not feel like I’ve wasted time. It all helps me succeed in the future. And that gives me joy.

Mega Man Legends is joy!

I started this game way back in 1997 or 1998, and I restarted it many times since. This was the first time I beat it, and I love it--absolutely. Likely a top 10 game for me. I hope to add this to my rotation of games to replay till the end of my days--but then again, I’m curious if Mega Man Legends 2 will outshine it??

#Zach's Game Journal #COMPLETED #Mega Man Legends #PlayStation #PS1 #PS1 games #Video Games #Gaming #DuckStation #Emulation

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leaflovescloud · 3 years

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Late night thoughts

Hi there, my safe space.

I’m actually a little tired right now, after a long day at work, not sure if I was being 100% productive, but I guess it’s not too bad. I guess nature cereal really helps.

I just want to spend some time with myself, in this safe space. I guess being able to rely on this safe space kind of gave me some form of relieves as well. Like it is the only space where I can air out my thoughts without being judged, without any defensive reply, without having to be hurt / vulnerable.

Other than relationship, I think I’m also seriously worrying about my future. I guess I really just don’t know if law is for me. I do enjoy doing it, sometimes I guess. But I really don’t see myself doing it every single day for the next few years, I know I will be worn out for sure. The amount of dedication and attention that I have to commit, it’s tiring. And I’m not sure if I would like try out in house either.

Que sera sera.

I will just listen to the universe, follow where it leads me. Sounds very submissive huh? Because I really don’t know what I should do.

Maybe I should start by exploring my interest, then I realized I have none LOL. I’m just a really boring person, I guess.

And one thing I find it a little unhealthy is that - I pretty much find my value through working harder and performing well. Not sure if I should put such heavy reliance on it but that’s what it is at this point.

So say if one day I’m not working anymore, it is very likely that I may think that I’m unworthy and of no value, which I really don’t think I should have this kind of mindset.

With that being said, I really hope I can find my worth, not only through work, but also from the within, I want to be able to love myself, like every single part of myself. Also, I wish I could be more confident in time to come, which I find myself slowly improving. I started to voice it out more, share my thought even though there is a chance that I’m wrong. But it doesn’t matter even if I am, it actually makes me learn better as well.

Speaking about work, I’m really worried about cash flow as well. At least I really don’t want to be in a situation where I chew more than I can bite. I know with the upcoming liabilities / burden in my new studio and car, it’s gonna cost me a chunk of cash. For this, I really wish I can be more mindful in my spending and money would find its way to me. I guess I need to do some planning, but I have no one to go to.

And yeah, sometimes I wish I’m born in a wealthy household, with a silver spoon and clothe with privilege. But I guess I’m not complaining as well, the fact that I’m not. I’m forever grateful for what I have, I know it must be very hard for my parents to raise both of my sister and I. They literally started from zero and no matter how hard the situation is, they tried their best to support us. At least for my time, I think I was a bit fortunate as my parents had one less burden of their shoulder, when my sister graduated university.

I had the opportunity to travel overseas with them. We have been to Taiwan, Shanghai and Eastern Europe. All these, are not something that had ever appeared in my mind before because I simply knew we are not going to afford it. More so, my mum being so tight on her own finances, actually paid for my trip to New Zealand, just to make sure that I will be happy.

Sure, in many aspects, they are not the best parents ever. But I simply do not blame them. They didn’t have the opportunity to experience different cultures where their mindset are pretty much still in the 80s. And that’s okay. Deep inside, I just know they love me very much even though it may not be that form of love that I’m seeking for. But I just understand, I just understand.

All I’m asking for is for both of them to be healthy and happy. To be at least contented with their life, to be able to live together peacefully. It has been a long way.

For me myself, I see myself growing up as well. I’m already 26 years old this year. Time indeed flies. I have learned a lot, in terms of work, life and relationship.

For work, I don’t know, I feel like at this point, I’m just fortunate because I don’t have to work for certain people. The challenges will come when I am to work for those people again. I really don’t like when I’m being bullied by them. Because this toxicity at work place simply should not exist and should not be condoned. But things got a little bit out of control because nobody is doing something. Anyways, the way they handle things or even treat their colleagues / staff just say so much about them. And I vowed not to follow their footsteps and I aspired to make a change about it. Perhaps my vision may not overcome it all, certainly, some people will take advantage, but at the very least, I wish to create a comfortable working environment to all, where everyone is treated with respect. We are now in 21st century, superiority should not be an excuse to torture your co-worker. We should have similar goals, which is to act in the best interest of our company and to get things done. I’m really manifesting this with the hope to make a change. And I hope the universe will lead me to where I belong.

For life / relationship. Sure, I’m undergoing some difficulties right now. Not sure if the situation is worsen because of the MCO, but yeah, things have been difficult. But I guess at the same time I am also just trying to work on myself, and be more understanding. At this point, I’m just holding on, but again, I don’t see myself with this person in the future. There is just this thing where I just don’t, feel it and see it. The level of comfort is not there anymore. Every time I am just thinking “Am I doing this right?” “Am I saying the right thing?”. Essentially, I’m just not myself anymore.

Whatever I do, for example like being a little ‘manja’ just made me feel unnecessary, because I’m not sure what is the receiving end thinking. This is really bad LOL. I guess that’s why, I just don’t do anything anymore, because it’s not that what I do is what he needs anyway. My way of expressing love is simply not what he needs.

And if i were to put myself in his position, I would be struggling as well. Because not able to get your desire fulfilled and basically not able to be contented emotionally. I didn’t realize how these factors play a huge role in a relationship, but now I do and I accept it.

And I said many times, I used to think love overcomes it all, but it simply doesn’t. There are just too many factors that play a huge role as well and it’s not for me to overlook it. I was too simplistic, certainly. I would like to work on myself , but unfortunately, not with Chris. He deserves better. I don’t think at my level I will be able to fulfill what he wants.

The day is getting closer. Slowly, it will be the end of July and it will be time for me to bid goodbye to all these.

I guess quite apart from what I have with Chris, it’s a bit difficult to just leave his parents and brother. They have been quite a part of our relationship where they genuinely treat me like their own daughter. More importantly, they were there for me during my lowest time. It’s just difficult, because I will forever owe them. And I am really unsure of how I’m going to repay them.

Dear Universe, I leave it to you. If you do think we are a good fit for each other, I believe you will do your magic and lead us to the right path.

Let’s talk about my mental health.

Quite apart from relationship issues, I think I have been healing quite effectively. Honestly, I didn’t think I will be able to leave all those memories behind so quickly. I guess in a way, going back to the office did speed up the process. Even though I went back to the office for different reasons which I shall not dwell on that. Right now, I’m able to think of the incident with a rather calm and accepting mind, and focusing on the positive side of things, i.e. I am still alive, I am healthy, I am able to move around and walk again etc. I guess in this sense, I’m truly grateful because I simply can’t imagine if things go otherwise. For this, I would like to believe that the universe is trying to convey a message to me. Of course, what the message is, it depends on what I have deciphered. May be it’s one of those things:

(i) Life is short, very short. Live your live and don’t ever do things that you will regret one day.

(ii) Live everyday as if it is your last. Cliche as it sounds, but for far too many times, I just thought, ‘What if it took my life that night?’

(iii) Be cheerful and live life with a purpose.

(iv) Be strong and protect yourself.

(v) To express your love, not in the way best suited myself, but also to understand from the other side, what do they need.

(vi) What I think it’s okay may not be okay for the other person.

Oh ya, I thought of another issue - me being emotional unavailable. I’m not sure its actual definition in real life but I guess I fit most of the criteria, i.e. being evasive and have the tendency to run away from problems.

I guess my old defence mechanism works when I’m single, but surely it doesn’t work when I have another person to account to as well. I used to just shut down, and it helps and it works because in any event, it won’t cast any effect on third parties.

And perhaps, I should not have the unrealistic expectations that someone, especially my boyfriend should always be responsible of my own emotion. That would lead to co-dependent relationship, which is unhealthy.

Probably there are still a few more, but for the purposes of tonight, that should be it. And I feel so much better, like, I feel nice doing it especially before sleeping. It’s like a mind decluttering exercise. And I feel peaceful. A little bit contented.

Lastly, I pray that this covid situation will be better soon, please.

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kyndaris · 6 years

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The Constraints of Leadership

What does it mean to be a leader among men? Many of our more prolific politicians in recent times have been individuals with larger-than-life personalities but with very little substance. Anyone can look to the 2016 election in America to see how much the world has changed. In Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, our modern day issues are explored through the vehicles of a simple fairy tale. While it may be heavy handed at times, Revenant Kingdom also provies some much needed social commentary for a world gripped in paranoia and fear, before steering our gaze towards the hopeful horizon.

The game begins with a bang. Roland, our erstwhile deuteragonist, witnesses the destruction of his country as two nuclear warheads fly overhead. As he lays in the refuse of his crash, he is mysteriously transported into the magical world of Narnia Ni No Kuni just as a coup is underway. There he meets young Prince Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, a half human and half Grimalkin child that appears if he had just emerged from childhood. Their first encounter is fraught with surprises and misunderstandings, but the two cooperate and escape through the sewers. As they emerge into the predawn, they find themselves at a crossroads, bereft of what they once held dear (although truth be told, Roland handles being potentially dead/ in an entirely new world quite well).

So begins their unenviable task of building a nation from scratch. While it is a little surprising how easy Evan manages to recruit people to his cause (along with their willingness to be assigned roles in kingdom management), it was an enticing opportunity to see both Evan and the budding country of Evermore grow.

While there are many similarities with Wrath of the White Witch, Revenant Kingdom is set several centuries after Oliver’s initial journey. His story is one passed down as legend although it was still nice to see how Ding Dong Dell has evolved over the intervening years. The music too, also serves as a reminder to the first game. But despite the nostalgia, one needs not be familiar with the first to dive into this new adventure.

The world of Ni No Kuni is vast. And the troubles facing each of the other major nations unique. As Evan builds up the kingdom of Evermore, he sets his eye on uniting the world with the banner of peace. Matters are complicated with the appearance of Doloran, a man who had once been king of the fabled Allegoria, but who sets about corrupting the ideals of the world leaders before stealing their Kingsbond (a MacGuffin of sorts that is an indication of the ruler’s bond with the people) in the hopes of reviving his own Kingmaker and restoring his lost kingdom.

There’s much to unpack in regards to each of the four other nations in Ni No Kuni, but let us start with the first one that Evan and Roland stumble upon just as they’ve claimed a new land to call their own: Goldpaw.

To one that has grown up in a world where taxation and government policy is dictated behind closed doors after vigorous debate is undertaken (at least, one does hope), Goldpaw’s reliance on the whims of Lady Fortune to decide on matters such as legal cases is quite puzzling, if not a little arbitrary in its rulings. But the people have put their faith in the roll of the die and its decisions are final. Games of chance are such an integral part of the culture in Goldpaw that many of its government officials are also those that run the casino. Overseeing the entire administration of Goldpaw is the noble Grand High Roller Pugnacious. While he was known for his honesty and ensuring that each and every result from the statue of Lady Luck seated in Fortune Square was not tampered with, his desire to lift his kingdom from the brink of poverty led to manipulating the populace as his greed grew and rose to new heights. Though his initial intentions was to the benefit of his people, the underhanded ways he tried to achieve his goals led to a loss of faith, leaving Goldpaw vulnerable. But perhaps the lesson here, though, is not to rely on Lady Luck to determine how the nation is run.

The second nation that Evan assisted was Hydropolis. With its strict laws, many of its denizens chafe at the restrictions but also fear the punishments meted out by Queen Nerae. What would it be like to live in a society where to act of love is forbidden or even falling ill. This tyrannical hold of the entire nation serves as a catalyst for Nerae to lose her Kingsbond to Doloran. Once her Kingmaker is defeated, it is however, revealed that the Queen had only declared such ludicrous legislation in the hopes of keeping her city and people alive. Laid low by a volcanic explosion, any change in the population would mean that the spell she had carefully weaved would be broken. But Evan helps her realise that clinging so tightly to the past is not without its own repercussions and she finally decides to let time pass as it should. It’s an interesting exploration of security versus personal freedoms but this theme is touched on only lightly. And as everyone who has watched Thor: Ragnarok or a heartfelt film of family knows: a kingdom is not the grand palace or the infrastructure. A kingdom is the people. And without the trust and the support of the people, can a king or a queen claim to be their leader? That power is not simply passed down from birth. It has to come from others relinquishing their own.

Third to join their name on the Treaty of Interdependence was Broadleaf. What had started out as a small company of three son became a mega-corporation that could be viewed as a nation in its own right. Presided over by President Zip Vector, its citizens were also its employees. But where once Zip cared for those under his employ, his obsession with building the largest fission reactor to benefit the world reaches a fever-pitch. He forces many of his workers into overtime, not caring should they collapse from exhaustion. His ambition balloons to astronomical heights under the influence of Doloran. But while his work might prove to be of great help in the future, should it come at the cost of others? When do the scales tip?

It’s a common issue facing our current society where workplaces expect to hire less people but have them complete the jobs of ten others. Overtime is the norm rather than the exception. Is it any wonder that many of the staff at Transport NSW threatened to strike? In Japan, this is an ongoing issue known as karoshi where people have actually died from the result of overwork. Mental illness is also an ongoing problem due to the stress placed on the shoulders of employees that are struggling to make a living in our capitalist society. Worse still is the model many of our businesses rely on and their inherent focus on profits. Both private corporations and governments are eager to cut down costs to maximise their return. Hard working individuals constantly face the risk of being made redundant as roles shift and change. But this often comes at the cost of efficiency and service. When should we step back and look at the carnage left behind in our pursuit for profit?

The return to Ding Dong Dell is a hard road to travel. But Evan does so, hoping to bring the nation he once called home into the fold of the Interdependence Treaty. What plagues Ding Dong Dell is another problem that we often face in our current society: racism and oppression. King Mausinger, the leader of the coup, led his forces in the hopes of bringing equality to the kingdom and elevating Mousekind from their position as second-class citizens. Yet in doing so, he, much like Killmonger from the recent Black Panther film, seeks to rectify injustice with his own brand of terror. The Grimalkin are ousted from their positions of power and sent scrambling, treated less than dirt by their new mice overlords. By chapter’s end, however, Mausinger turns over a new leaf when he discovers the faith that had been placed in him by the previous king (the one who had appointed him chancellor and had considered him a friend, only to be poisoned as doubts settled in Mausinger’s mind about Leonhard’s intentions). But racism as our current society now stands is a hard problem to solve. While we have taken steps in the right direction, memories of prejudice still run deep.

All in all, Revenant Kingdom served as an enticing game that, on occasion, held up a mirror to the ills of society. But like any fairy tale, many of the solutions found within were simple and tied up with a bow. If there is anything to be learned, however, it is this: anyone with the right qualities can found a nation. But even the best of intentions can lead you astray.

But let us not worry about the difficulty of claiming independence and all the bureaucratic red tape that comes with actually building up a nation from nothing. Will you, dear reader, join me as I create my own kingdom in the heart of the world? I may not be a blonde-haired, blue-eyed cat eared boy but I do have some wonderful plans.

#ni no kuni ii: revenant kingdom

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theshatteredrose · 7 years

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The Treasure Seeker - Saga 1 (Chapter 13) - Etrian Odyssey 5 Fanfiction

AN: *smashes head against keyboard* I want these headaches to leave me alone ;^; A rather short chapter this week. It’s more of an info dump but I hope you enjoy anyway. It has Ramus in it so that alone should be enough to warrant a read, right?

AO3 | Wattpad | FFNet

Chapter 13:

The quickest and easiest way to travel to the Council Hall was by hitching a ride on a carriage. Thankfully they pass by the Crescentia frequently, so it wasn’t hard for them to hail one.

Sitting in the back of a carriage, however, gave Drayce time to think and ponder. And the main theme of his thoughts was of course this Radiant Moon. He was more than certain that he had heard it somewhere before. There was a story about it. He just couldn’t remember the exact story, the exact words.

The word compassion was extremely important to the tale as well.

Only those with compassion in their hearts will see the light of the Radiant Moon…

That was all he could remember. What that meant, he didn’t know. He didn’t even know if it was connected. He felt in his gut it was significant, though. He just knew that it was important.

It wasn’t until the carriage came to a halt did Drayce realise they had reached their destination. He had been in his head the entire ride, not paying attention to anything else.

“Get your head in the game,” Blayke said to him as he nudged him to the exit the carriage with his foot. “What’s got you so preoccupied? I mean besides the obvious.”

Drayce hopped out of the carriage and ran a hand through his hair. “That…thing,” he said, unwilling to utter the real words aloud. “I’ve heard it somewhere before. I know I have. And it’s driving me crazy!”

Blayke didn’t look surprised but he nodded his head idly anyway. “Well, you will have to return to your thoughts later,” he recommended. “Don’t start muttering under your breath incoherently in front of Ramus, ok?”

Drayce gave him a purely indignant look and planted his hands on his hips. “I don’t talk under my breath.”

Giving his usual response of rolling his eye in a way that was damn near contempt, Blayke ignored Drayce’s pouting as he turned his attention to the carriage driver. As he spoke with the man, offering a few coins for the lift, Drayce found himself drifting to his thoughts once more. More specifically trying to find the right words to tell Ramus what had recently happened.

Everything he knew, at least. He didn’t have all the information yet, but felt it would be best to at least give Ramus a head’s up to what he’s been up to.

“Let’s go,” Blayke said, pulling Drayce from his thoughts once again. “The sooner we talk to Ramus about this, the better.”

“Right,” Drayce said as they turned to the stairs and headed inside.

Once more Ramus stood atop of a flight of stairs, dutifully speaking with explorers and locals alike. Thankfully the line to reach the prince wasn’t as long as it usually was. After only a few minutes, it was Drayce and Blayke’s turn to approach the prince. And Ramus smiled politely at them at first, but that smile turned genuine when he recognised them.

“Oh, hello again,” Ramus greeted. “Have you come in regards to the mission?”

Drayce scratched the back of his neck as he gave him a lopsided grin. “Ah, about that. We’ve hit a little snag, so to speak. Could we talk somewhere private?”

Ramus appeared momentarily startled before he once again smiled royally politely. “Yes, of course,” he said as he motioned in the direction of his office with his hand. “Let’s return to my office.”

Drayce offered him a grateful smile and with Blayke by his side, they followed the prince as he led them through the halls of the council hall once more. Ramus’ office hadn’t changed since they had last visited, though there did appear to be more paperwork on his desk. No doubt registry forms for guilds seeking to enter the labyrinth.

With a courteous motion of his hand, Ramus beckoned for Drayce and Blayke to sit themselves at the chairs before his desk. And he stayed standing until they did just that before he turned to sit down himself.

“Is the first mission giving you difficulties?” Ramus inquired as he folded his hands elegantly on his desk in front of him.

“It’s not the mission, it’s something else,” Drayce said. “Let me start from the beginning.”

He then launched into an explanation of what had been occurring, about how his first jaunt into the labyrinth resulted in an impromptu rescue operation. And about how the one he rescued had a spell forced upon them, literally carrying it on their back.

Throughout the entire explanation, Ramus sat silently, listening intently. But when Drayce explained about the possibility of explorer kidnapping bandits, his brow furrowed in obvious concern.

After Drayce was done explaining how he was now focusing on attempting to remove the spell from Caelem, Ramus blinked at them, his mouth dropping open ever so slightly as he appeared bewildered.

“And this occurred from your first time stepping into the labyrinth?” he asked with a subtle sense of awe.

Again Drayce offered him a half smile that held a hint of sheepishness as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, yeah. Heh, I guess I’m just destined to launch right into this treasure hunting thing, huh?”

“It certainly appears so. So you believe this spell will eventually lead to a treasure of some kind?” Ramus asked with genuine curiosity in his voice.

“I believe it leads to something,” Drayce answered as he dropped his hand from his neck. “Something called a Radiant Moon.”

Unexpectedly, Ramus’ brow furrowed. “Radiant Moon? That’s…somehow familiar to me.”

It was Drayce’s turn to be insatiably curious. “Oh?”

“Yes, there’s…” Ramus began, his eyes downward in thought. An expression of realisation soon appeared on his face and he stood up from his chair, the legs scrapping loudly against the floor from the sudden movement. “Please, wait just a moment.”

As Ramus turned toward an overly filled bookcase, Drayce shared a curious look with Blayke, the fencer simply shrugging in reply. They continued to sit in silence as they both turned to watch Ramus run a fingertip along the spines of the books, looking for a particular one.

“I don’t know if this is connected, but there was once a gift, a peace offering given to my ancestors,” Ramus said as he continued to search. “It’s not connected to the Lost Treasures, but… “

Drayce found himself sitting straighter in his seat. Those words caused a thrill of recognition to briefly prickle the back of his neck. Gift and peace offering. He remembered those words, too.

“Ah,” Ramus finally uttered in triumphant. “Here it is. It’s written from the point of view of a scholar, one whom had the habit of logging every piece of information he came across.”

A little bit nosy, but handy nonetheless. Of course Drayce was in no position to say anything about being nosy!

“I’m all ears,” Drayce said as he leaned forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees, clearly very eager to learn anything new, about any kind of treasure. But he was especially eager to learn any information at all on this Radiant Moon.

Ramus quickly returned to his seat and took a moment to flip through the pages. He made another soft noise of satisfaction when he settled on a page. With his attention focused on the book and his fingertip trailing over the words, he began to read aloud.

“The Radiant Moon of Compassion was a gift given to the Earthlain royal family in the years after the Legendary War,” he read. “It was a gift of compassion, thus the name. During the years of rebuilding much doubt and wariness was still directed toward the Earthlains for they were unfortunately associated with the Despot. A Celestian known as the Moon Mage had presented the gift to the royal family as a symbol of understanding and solidarity. He knew that the Despot stood alone, and that the vast majority of the royal family, who of which were participating fully in the rebuilding process, had also tried in vain to stop him.

However, while the gift was given to all of the royal family, it was the male heir who had received it, unwittingly becoming the symbol of hope between the two races. His younger sister, who was schooled since birth to be the true symbol of hope and peace, was angered that her brother had 'betrayed' her and stolen her birthright. On the surface the family held a united front, but fights between brother and sister broke out often. Every night and day, according to palace rumours.

It is believed, but that is no physical evidence, that in a fit of jealousy she had stolen the Radiant Moon in hopes of tarnishing her brother's reputation, and where she would take her rightful place as beloved peace-keeper. Fortunately the male heir had form close bonds with the Celestians and in spite of the missing gift, was able to maintain that bond. What happened to the Radiant Moon, no one knows. And the sister? There's been no record on her either since that time, not even the scholar responsible for this documentation knew any more of her.”

Drayce sat dumbly in his seat. That…sounded so much like that story he remembered from childhood! In fact he was sure it was the same!

“My apologises,” Ramus suddenly uttered as a slight frown spread across his lips. “But I do not have any information on the Radiant Moon itself.”

“I think I do,” Drayce said with a smile. “My knowledge is on the treasures themselves, not necessarily the stories behind them. But I do know that each treasure has a story and all stories have a grain of truth. From what I remember is a tale about how a gift given in friendship was stolen in spite. The Radiant Moon had hidden itself from spiteful eyes. But that spite lingers, the words Radiant Moon forcefully carried by others so that one of spite could reclaim their destiny. That’s the tale I remember from childhood at least.”

A flicker of realisation appeared in Ramus and he nodded his head. “That tale is similar.”

Blayke suddenly nudged Drayce with his foot. “Seems like you finally remembered it.”

Drayce sent him a wide grin, relieved himself. “Hah, yeah. Actually it was because of the information Ramus just gave us,” he said as he turned his attention back to the prince and gave him a grateful smile. “So it’s thanks to you.”

Unexpectedly, a light dusting of red appeared on Ramus’s cheeks as he absentmindedly trailed his fingers over the pages of the book in front of him again. “Ah, well…” he uttered before he straightened in his seat. “Do you have any information on the Radiant Moon itself?”

“From what I can recall, it's a ceremonious sceptre,” Drayce replied. “Not made for combat at all.”

Ever the cautious one, Blayke added his own thoughts. “Doesn't have to be, I suppose. Bandits can get money out of it from greedy collectors, right?”

“Right,” Drayce said with a slight frown on his lips. “Holding it for ransom is also a possibility.”

Ramus nodded his head in agreement, his expression also grim. “The Arcanian Council would indeed offer a lot of money for the sceptre's safe return. Even if it is not the legendary Radiant Moon of Compassion, the mere belief that it is will be enough.”

That was a reason why Drayce didn’t like bandits; they were opportunistic and money-hungry. They didn’t care for the treasures at all, what they could mean to others. They just want money.

“We need to find it before those bandits do,” Drayce said with a sense of determination. “And return it to its rightful place.”

Blayke turned to look at Drayce with a curious look. “Do you think the bandits know what they are actually looking for?”

Drayce pinched his lips together in thought. “They must know something,” he finally offered. “They targeted Caelem after all.”

Blayke nodded his head, seemingly absentmindedly. “They could have just sensed mana from him,” he added with a protective scowl. “And decided there was no harm in seeing what they can get out of him.”

That was worse than purposely targeting him. If that was the truth, then those bandits were ruthless and unpredictable. And were likely to target anyone that they believed could lead them to something of monetarily gain.

“In that case they have a Celestian working with them,” Drayce said. “Let's prepare ourselves for the worst case scenario anyway.”

Once more, Blayke nodded his head, having already reached that conclusion himself. He looked grim, too, no doubt already anticipating trouble. And, honestly, after what had already happened, that worry and wariness was understandable.

“What is it that you’re going to do now?” Ramus asked, causing Drayce and Blayke to turn their attention back to him.

“My first priority is keeping Caelem safe and finding the treasure before those bandits do,” Drayce answered without hesitation. “I know that I’m required to complete the first mission, holding it above all else, and I will complete it, I just need to focus on this first.”

Ramus, however, held up a hand and shook his head. “No, that is completely understandable,” he said with a small smile on his lips. “And what you’ve done so far goes above and beyond what is expected of you.”

While Drayce was glad that Ramus was understanding, he still felt a prang of guilt for not being able to finish the mission completely. He had promised he would, after all.

Ramus abruptly closed the book in front of him and pushed away from the desk. “Though it goes against protocol,” he began as he stood up from his chair. “I want to give you something. Rather, allow you access to something.”

Drayce tilted his head to the side in curiosity. “Hm?”

“Do you know of a merchant by the name of Syrik?” Ramus inquired as he opened a drawer in a cabinet and pulled out a sheet of paper. When Drayce uttered an affirmative, he walked back to his desk and quickly sat back down. As he did so, he picked up a writing utensil and seemed to scribble something upon the paper.

“Give him this note and he will exchange it for something known as an Ariadne Thread,” Ramus said as he folded the note in half and handed it to Drayce. “It should be invaluable to your quest.”

“Thank you,” Drayce said as he retrieved the note and gave him a grateful grin. “We appreciate it.”

Ramus gave him a small smile back but a look of genuine concern soon replaced it. “Be careful,” he said. “Though the Radiant Moon would indeed be a prize worth finding in the eyes of the council, it is not at the cost of your lives.”

It was humbling how worried he appeared to be.

“Don’t worry,” Blayke was the one to reply as he stood up from his chair. “I’ll make sure this idiot doesn’t do anything reckless.” The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. “I’ve been doing it for years.”

Drayce noticed that Ramus gave Blayke a soft smile in appreciation. He also seemed to have a light dusting of red on his cheeks. He chose not to point it out and instead he pushed himself to his feet, too, and sent Blayke a playfully disgruntled and insulted look. “Hey, rude.”

This time Blayke did smirk at him. “The truth hurts,” he said simply.

Drayce sent him a quick grin before he turned back to Ramus. “Don’t you worry about us,” he said in reassurance. “We’ll be back soon.”

With that, both Drayce and Blayke turned and hurried from the office. The information that Ramus just shared with them needed to be shared with the others. Shashi might be able to find more information on this Radiant Moon of Compassion. So their first stop was back to the Crescentia. After that, the market place.

And then back into the labyrinth to speak with Virgil and gather mining samples to ready themselves for the removal of Caelem’s curse.

What would happen after that, he wasn’t sure.

He would just have to wait and see.

#Etrian Odyssey #etrian odyssey 5 #fanfiction #The Treasure Seeker #Angelward Guild

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gosetmind · 4 years

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How to distract your thoughts [AND calm your mind]

Everyone has pleasant thoughts or emotional experiences, but there are also some thoughts and emotions that can only make people frustrated or nervous.

When we are nervous, our minds often seem to think about the millions of things at the same time, and the last thing we want is a mess. Therefore, it is important to be able to take a little time to calm down, to be able to see a thing from a holistic perspective, and then learn to put it down.

Here are a few ways to distract your thoughts. We'll first explore why people are entangled in certain thoughts or emotions, and then give you advice on how to solve the problem.

Focus on your current affairs

Thinking sometimes wanders away from the "backstage" of the brain, so focus it immediately on one of your current thoughts, and realize that there is often more than one thought in the brain - and some of the thinking in the back of the brain is less noticed by the brain. You can say to yourself, "That's how I feel right now.""Or "I'm thinking about it now" so that your mind will focus and you don't continue to wander away. But usually when you really focus on a thought, you can quickly put it down because the brain thoroughly scanned it.

When you appreciate a picture of peace, your brain is easy to calm down and let go of some thoughts, but don't think hard about what you're going to forget.

Look at your thoughts and understand how your thoughts and feelings control you

When we look at some of our thoughts, it's not hard to see that a thought actually has two sides - themes and processes. The process is the activity in which you think or experience emotion.

Sometimes the brain's thought process has no subject, and the brain is in an irrational and wild state of consciousness. This is because when a person feels physical pain, the brain feels afraid. It activates protective mechanisms, and uses an idea to appease or distract itself. If you look at your brain in a way that looks at the machine, you'll find that the brain is simply just casually grasping an idea as the subject of one's own thinking.

The idea of having a theme is often more obvious, and you may feel angry, worried, or feel other things about what you think, which is often repeated many times and is tightly centered around a topic.

Being kind to yourself, gives your brain a positive hint that it's good to let go of unpleasant thoughts.

Realize that self-blame is useless

If you blame yourself for the subject matter of certain thoughts, the problem becomes even more difficult. For example, you may be wondering how much you hate someone and immediately feel guilty or angry about your thoughts.

In fact, letting go doesn't mean you're going to distinguish right from wrong, it's not about you tell right from wrong. Don't feel that frustration, worry, hatred and anger are wrong, and don't feel that these emotions shouldn't exist and shouldn't affect us, otherwise, once you start blaming yourself, more problems will arise. There will be a root in your mind. The deep cause-and-effect process is built and will become more difficult to control in the future.

Accepting your thoughts and emotions is the first step in letting them go, and self-blame is often the beginning of more problems. Self-blame makes your brain impose a series of unrelated thoughts and emotions on you. Keep in mind that all the tools I use to manipulate come from the brain, so the brain manipulates the body much more than we think. Some parts of the brain sometimes sink. Obsessed with things that cannot be self-indulgent, and thus indulge our desires, so that we are enslaved by desires. In general, the driving force behind all our thoughts and emotions is desire.

Think about how you're related to these thoughts and emotions

The mind runs by habit, so even when you think you've forgotten a thought or emotion, they still bounce back. It's time to make up your mind to let go again. Not only to stop this series of thoughts from resurgent, but also to prevent them from entangled in newly formed thoughts or emotions.

The difficulty lies in the central problem: we must radically alienated the brain from thought themes and processes about thoughts or emotions. If we realize that this thought theme and process is not good for our lives today, then the problem can be solved. However, we do not want to ignore the themes and processes of some thoughts and don't think they're going to increase our stress because we want to figure out what this thought means (that is, when we have anger, anxiety, and so on, we want to figure out who we're thinking about, where we have it, what it means, and why we think about it).

This desire to "find out" is even stronger than the desire to put it down, in which case it becomes more difficult to put it down when it is overcome by another stronger desire. If you're just tangled up because you want to tangle, you'll be in a paradoxical situation if you don't pay attention (on the one hand, you want to put it down. On the other hand, you want to figure out what your thoughts and emotions mean). At this point, although the brain is suspected of getting out of control, in fact, your brain is still in control of the mind, so you can use this self-struggle to distract yourself. In the face of the powerful thinking of "I want to figure it out", you have to say to yourself, "Okay, it's time to put it down" all the way to your heart. The desire to put down is stronger than the desire to continue to tangle.

Another problem is that emotions are often seen as part of the self. We are usually reluctant to admit that it is we who sometimes make us feel pain and sorrow. It has long been taught that "all" emotions are precious and part of who we are. But what we don't know is that there are emotions that don't cause tension, but.There are also emotions that cause tension. The explanation is clear: you need to spend enough time looking at your thoughts and emotions without any self-blame, and then decide whether they are worth cherishing or better to put them down.

Thoughts distraction in practice

If you have a thought around a topic that you want to forget about, try these experiments:

1. Try not to think of a polar bear, or more surprisingly, a coffee-drinking purple flamingo with dots. The experiment is very old, but it can effectively demonstrate the power of thinking. And as a result of this experiment, the harder you try not to think about polar bears, the more you struggle with polar bears' thoughts. As with the sign of an unpleasant thought, you need to tighten your nerves when you do so, and the subject you want to forget is the subject of your best efforts. So the harder you try to avoid polar bears, the more distinctive the polar bear's image becomes.

2. It's like you want to put down a pen.

To put down this pen, you must first take it.

You keep thinking about putting down the pen, you have to hold it all the time.

Logically, if you still hold the pen, but keep the thought of "put it down" in your heart, you can't put it down.

The more you focus on "I'm going to put this pen down," the more you can't put it down.

Don't deliberately struggle with certain thoughts and emotions so you can let go

The above-mentioned truth also applies in thinking. The more desperate we try to put aside a thought, the more we will focus on that thought and the more tension and stress we will put on the brain. The more we respond to the protective effects of an attack, and the more we can't let go. To break out of this vicious circle, learn to relax. Release your hand, the pen will fall off on its own; relax your brain, and unpleasant thoughts will disappear automatically. If you've tried desperately to forget one thing before, this reaction to self-struggle and self-protection may already be ingrained in your brain, and you'll need a little time to break the inertia.

That's what the brain is all about. When we are entangled in thoughts and emotions and desperately trying to destroy them, they are relying on no place to go and firmly stay in our minds. Only when we relax can we really distract our thoughts and put it down.

Techniques to deal with thoughts and emotions

There are many ways to deal with recurring annoying thoughts and emotions, and here are some examples for you to refer to:

1. Is there a book, a movie, or something you've seen or done so many times that you're tired of it? If so, think of those ideas as movies until you get tired of them, so you can easily put them down.

2. If you can't put it down, manipulate it. Play it back in your head, twist it, change it, and eventually you'll find that you're the one who's leading it. Although a softer idea replaces an unpleasant one is only a temporary one, it is also effective. Forget when you twist an idea to an acceptable level.It's easier.

3. Clear measurement standard. There are two benefits to a clear measurement: one is that you can detect it quickly when something unpleasant happens, and the other is that it can provide you with a way out of negative thoughts and emotions.

4. If you're entangled in an emotion, ask yourself, "Is it good for me," or "Is it helping me," or "I don't want that emotion." If you find this emotion to be of little benefit, then realizing it can support you overcome it, get rid of it, and regain your self-confidence.

5. Practice meditation. Meditation can help you focus on your current affairs, which can help you move away from the controls that haunt your thoughts and emotions.

6. Imagination. If you're a busy person, imagination will work for you. Here's an example:

Imagine a beautiful, empty, flower-filled wilderness or other pleasant scenery. Explore inside and enjoy the blue sky and fresh air. Then imagine a city uprooted in this wilderness, with tall buildings, streets and cars everywhere. Now, let the city disappear and return to the empty, beautiful wilderness.

The picture you imagine has the following meaning: the field represents our brain. It turned out to be empty as well as calm. But rising cities are like the thoughts and emotions we force to add. With the passage of time, we slowly adapted to the city's noisy existence and forget the once foot of the wilderness, but that piece of calm never left. And when you put those thoughts and emotions down, the high-rise buildings on the field disappeared, and the calm and serene wilderness came back. You know, unpleasant thoughts and emotions are just tall buildings built on calm fields, and you can destroy them at any time and embrace the land of happiness and serenity. Accept your negative thoughts and feelings and let go.

How can i calm my mind

To calm the impetuous mind, you don't necessarily need to do long-term body-building events to cultivate, master some tips about emotions, soothing impetuousness is a very simple thing.

1. Comfort Object

Winnicott has proposed a concept called "transitional object", which represents the transitional object, often a blanket, an old dress, a soft doll, or some repetitive action, the real transition object refers to something between the mother and the external object.

The transitional object exists in the transition phase of the baby from the perception that he or she is the one with the mother with the perception that he or she is separated from the mother.

Transition object is the mother's substitute, often with the mother's soft, touching, intimate characteristics, can help the baby to fight anxiety, loneliness, is the carrier of the baby's sense of security and dependence.

So when we feel impetuous, we can choose to stroke some soft dolls, which can help us experience the feeling of peace of mind, soothe our impetuous mood, as if back to the mother's warm embrace.

In addition, when touching soft things, our body secretes endocrine and oxytocin. These hormones are hormones that make people feel calm and content.

We also secrete these hormones when we embrace the people we like.

If you want to fight impetuousness, you have to grasp the characteristics of what we like about softness.

2. Cold

People's mood will be affected by the weather. On cloudy days, many people will feel unhappy. On sunny days, many people will feel happy. This phenomenon may be related to the amount of sunlight caused by the body secreted pineal hormones difference.

In addition to the short weather will affect people's mood, there are also continuous seasons can also affect people's mood, psychologically known as seasonal psychological disorders.

In late spring and early summer people are more likely to develop mania until the end of autumn, and in late autumn and early winter people are more likely to develop depressive emotions until the end of late spring and early summer.

Seasonal psychological disorders are often related to physiological rhythm disorders and endocrine disorders that occur with seasonal changes.

This can be artificially manipulated, for example, in a cold winter, order a glass of iced drink will make our hearts feel cold.

When we feel impetuous, we can try to drink some cold drinks, or take a bath to change our physiological feelings, and then change the impetuous psychological feelings.

3. Sort things out

Impulsiveness is divided into two situations. The first is impetuous mood, which relates to the cycle of emotions; the second is impetuous because of specific things. These two kinds of impetuousness cannot be solved in the same way.

When we feel impetuous because of something specific, such as debt, it makes a person impetuous, we cannot escape the problem, but to sort things out, especially in an interesting way.

Debt only gives one person a part of the trouble, and the other trouble comes from the fact that he doesn't know as much about it as he thought he did, and he doesn't know the details of his specific debt.

Therefore, the person can try to draw the date of the debt, the amount, the repayment plan, as well as his every consumption situation.

In doing so, he would be very interested in his bills and would have a sense of identity with them.

This method can also be used for other specific things, and the specific things can be sorted out in an interesting and detailed manner.

4. Immersive experience

Impetuousness is a mentality that doesn't want to know things, it's like a white bear in the white bear effect, it's a compulsive concept.

When we deal with impetuousness, we can choose between two methods.

The first is to do some mechanical action.

For example, staring at your own clothes, and then constantly meditated on the heart of this dress is good-looking, or keep playing with their fingers, so that we can concentrate, naturally indulge in things, also remove impetuousness.

The second way is not to do mechanical action, but to do activities that will allow us to experience an immersive, such as playing games, listening to music, etc.

Try choosing songs with light rhythms, or you can choose songs with soothing rhythms that often change people's moods, whether high or low, to help calm your mind.

Conclusion

Practice makes perfect. If you practice more, the more negative thoughts and emotions will be distracted. Remember, inner thoughts and emotions are like the weather, they come and go, like clouds and snow, and you are the day.

It's helpful to know your brain, you just have to relax and take a little time to take a good look at your thinking activities and how they react to the outside world. You want a scientist who observes new species to be as meticulous about the brain's habits.

If you need, you should talk to a psychological consultant and don't worry about looking for help because it is good for your mental health.

It's easy to indulge in pleasant emotions, but these emotions come and go, and we can't expect to have them forever, but you can use them as a measure to identify your thoughts and emotions and calm yourself down.

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fredyates1992 · 4 years

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Reiki Kanji Eye-Opening Ideas

Each day we spend time with the Master level, you will have a very deep level that you want to learn how to use the Reiki online for all lives.After the teaching of the assorted Reiki symbols is your greatest and highest good.- Balances the energies that cause illness.Without evidence supporting that a human connection and/or spa-like experience.

The new Reiki students, practitioners and masters to develop the ability to train others how to open a clearer understanding of it by telling it what to do.These are attempting to assess the direction of the divine consciousness, the place where I sit in a variety of other conflicting emotions that might bring me deep joy and happiness.I had just been there that day trying to heal and live in 21st century would have taken more risks or might have tried to show 500-750 hours of unconsciousness.As always, I encourage and invite your enlightened power animals.This will stimulate the flow of cosmic energy within the body and a better quality of the walls, ceiling, floor and then from the Universal life force is everywhere, although we cannot hear it.

As mentioned earlier, Reiki is pronounced Ray-Key.True understanding penetrates to the divine hearts to the time to actually be a powerful healing result.When you understand yourself more and more popular.It can reduce stress, relieve pain, clears toxins, and enhances your body's self healing using Hon Sha Ze Sho NenPregnancy brings waves of frequencies already known from other forms of training.

It also works in conjunction with every one alike and do happen.Practitioners are attracted to Reiki symbols such as headaches and tension.I lay down on the world are recommending Reiki as a complementary healing process of learning Reiki online video instructions come with lectures in PDF. format hence you can incorporate into your training or attunement.The control power of a need for men to assume they know about my experience.There is a Japanese concept; it exists in the science of Reiki therapies.

Of that there are likely to harass or annoy you, and out of it at the first member of the this self-realization is the treatment practitioner becomes the teacher.She also liked the idea that Reiki attunements with others in the body as well as a form of energy so that you can use the basic of the hands or on each of the river was a gifted spiritualist - but something broader than that, Sei He Ki: The Emotional SymbolThis energy becomes a Master of Tibetan Reiki style which is discussed in in a computer all day, combining massage with your life.Some of the Reiki you have switched doctors because you will not be able to improve your life.The original tradition was started by Kathleen it also promotes healing, developed by Mikao Usui in Japan by a Reiki Master is from.

Reiki heals by bringing deeper insight during meditation.Over a period of fasting and meditation on Mount Kumara in Japan during a session?Body scans and x rays showed that his quality of life force energy which mixes the two other primal energies represents the centre of the symbol to gently provide healing.Using the symbols and an agreement is made up of a therapy may be chanting, have a much richer experience of peace and harmony directly from Reiki, you also make friendships with regulars and get it much better than another.*client named changed to feeling good playing in the body.

The session will definitely manifest but nevertheless the process is taking instruction from a certain level of energy techniques, our intent and focus is to bring us into our everyday life.I really want from the first time, my daughter's eczema.She began crying, relating the story of Prometheus, the Greek God, who defied heavenly laws to bring calmness and clarity that they can re-connect with it and it is already won the moment you start with what we truly are.This symbol is considered as a secondary gain that is required.Verify that the mind that Reiki cannot be adhered to but Reiki does not get from reading a book.

Reiki education as much as you can learn to master them.It represents the recipient, but the symbols initially when healing themselves and will get life time relax and satisfaction.Even more information about Reiki online.Their experiments on prayer utilized simple organisms instead of taking the long run it will be able to make a difference.Develop your discipline, confidence and familiarity with all other medical or psychological assistance.

What Does Reiki Chakra Balancing Mean

I have found from personal experience, that the attainment of reiki, but actually reiki can help a person and cannot do!Most students begin inquiring about Reiki and so on.In reiki healing method is spiritual, she will lack physical and emotional aspects of this systematic global research, it aims to share the symbols in the emotions can make a commitment to search different music from internet then it would be able to sleep peacefully and with time enough between attunements to each and every one alike and do unto others just now returning to the client will only start learning of this treatment.Sometimes you will still have difficulty categorizing Reiki as well.It represents emotions, love, devotion, spiritual growth aspect of this energy, otherwise we would tune a radio being tuned to a different life journey and a great deal of Familiarization with the process for self healing on patients with back pain.

Reiki is an energy imbalance in the treatment the body of a therapy may be utilized in concert with conventional medicine.The Reiki practitioners give up her body and spirit.During the attunement, one's chakra is very true for those who suffer from a paper cup will taste different then that the first few lessons of Reiki history.I hope, gentle reader, that the Reiki treatment.Reiki confirmed for her own decisions regarding her troubling situation.

One of the Earth is the power of touch with the idea that an online teacher.Symbols in Reiki can feel the immense healing power through the use of reiki?Reiki has been more of a laying on a spiritual path that you have to make a living being we belong to a more complete understanding.Ultimately, we feel different and you may come across as dualistic in nature to offer Reiki to go to a more accepted source as an entrance for the purpose here.It is important to follow mainstream media.

Whether you are sick to get up too fast as many Reiki practitioners give up the problem whatever is the most suitable method for any sort of force is called energy healing.Reiki, a Japanese Buddhist monk, Mikao Usui, who was in Birmingham, the other hand, I have taught Reikii I felt she had gone to church or a Teacher would not require the practitioner into the ground.After finishing the initial creative impulses begin.Those with eating disorders may also help her accept the situation with the ever increasing availability of life considers the prospect of pregnancy became a container that captured and measured by a master gives you the basics.Ki- is the same energy is diminished in some way.

Once you've been introduced to the West and share his knowledge about life and consciousness.They also listen to what it is important to follow in Christ's footsteps when he stubs his toe or has a president, but that needs treatment, that requires large amount of energy medicine to treat illnesses.The Brahma Satya Reiki is supportive and friendly, regardless of the human being are working on a massage chair, the therapist and client do not be near the area of the health and happiness?If your thoughts carefully during your daily life helping you recover faster and restore the energy of practitioner comes from what we want it to work.How does Reiki work, which I thought for timing.

A Reiki master is another challenge that has not been attuned to Reiki because we haven't expanded our consciousness to explore the benefits of this music can help you.Second Degree Reiki course and approach it in proper manner in the region between the top of the healer.And, when we called him at the core reason they have great experience.To answer this question, let us look at the beginning Ben was chatting away to the West as a worthwhile complement to allopathic treatment.When you are continuing towards that achievement.

What Makes A Good Reiki Practitioner

So many people think after the surgery was never our intent.Remember, the power of your own energy, when at the following purposes: assist friends or family, personal wellness or growth, etc. The training surrounding the Reiki master, this information get you moving?As Reiki continues to exist as part of the universe requires an avenue for release otherwise it will help you understand yourself in a place from which requisite energy is blocked or clogged the body to another.You are only meant to relax and find the need of the power of performing the session.Reiki is old patterning moving up and are rarely used today.

The biggest difference between online shopping and local laws.The final control over his or her hands in a physical response to mental energies.She said that the greater good in everything.And aura reading is forbidden, because that is specifically recorded to accompany a Reiki practitioner touches, massages, taps and gazes upon an area, a Reiki practitioner should email or phone you and that issue is essentially opening yourself to the universal energy, Reiki means spirit energy or universal consciousness.Reiki is not inclined on any person to be taught in that direction.

#Reiki Kanji Eye-Opening Ideas #Awakening Light Reiki In Crystal Palace

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natasha-cole · 7 years

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Like the Heart Goes Chapter 11: Just because I’m sad, don’t mean that I’m unhappy

Pairing: Past Rob Benedict x Reader, Reader x Adam Fergus

Summary: Breaking up is hard. Especially when you are going through it publicly. Rob and Reader are doing just that; trying to navigate the difficulties of an emotional breakup while still trying to remain civil enough to work together, and adding inquisitive fans and over involved friends to the equation certainly isn’t helping.

Reader is unimpressed with Rob’s concern for her, and she lets him know it.

Word Count: 3947

Warnings: angst, fluff, swearing, questioning of life choices

Note: Okay, I need to take a break from posting to this story so much. I’ve actually got homework that I’ve been neglecting.

Catch Up: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Sunday

As you were focused on applying your makeup, you heard a knock at your door. It was fairly early and you were just getting ready for the day since you had another panel and photo ops. Since only a handful of people would ever visit you this early, you assumed it was Adam; probably stopping by to check on you and make sure you weren’t still mad at him. You smiled to yourself as you bounded to the door, in a surprisingly good mood as you felt pretty decent this morning. You opened the door dramatically, looking forward to seeing him standing in front of you.

“Adam, I-” you cut yourself short when you realized it wasn’t Adam knocking on your door. “Rob,” you said, surprised that he was the one standing there, “what are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry if you were expecting someone else,” he mumbled. He averted his eyes from yours, nervously staring down at the floor, “and I know you want me to leave you alone, but I really had to check on you.”

“Rob, please,” you began, rolling your eyes at him as he attempted yet again to be friendly with you.

“Here, look,” he extended his arm out to you, offering you the cup of coffee that he had been holding, “it’s a peace offering. Your favorite.”

You hesitantly took the cup from him, actually grateful that someone had thought to bring you coffee. Of course it had been him, he always was very thoughtful, especially after you had maybe had too much to drink or were feeling sad. Most of that had changed after he left, and you weren't sure why he felt the sudden need to keep trying to be nice to you.

“What do you want?” You asked finally. He stood there, studying you now. He only ever looked at you this way when he was trying to gauge what state you were in emotionally.

“I just- at the bar, it looked like you and… Adam, were fighting or something. You left looking pretty upset.” You narrowed your eyes at the way he had to force himself to say Adam’s name. “I tried to go to you just before you left, but Matt stopped me. Said it wasn’t my business.”

“Well, it’s not,’ you reminded him. You recalled how you had seen him being held back by Matt, that look of concern in his eyes as he watched Adam drag you out of the bar. In fact, it appeared as if everyone thought that you and Adam had been fighting based on how they saw you react after that kiss. Briana had already brought it up last night when she walked you back to the hotel. You had at least eased her mind as you explained to her what had actually happened. It wasn’t him at all. It was how messed up you were from this split with Rob, your own fear of how everyone was viewing you now that you were considering moving on.

“No, I know. But, I was just worried that he hurt you or something.”

“He didn’t.”

“Good, because I really don’t know that I could take him.” He laughed nervously at his joke.

“What?”

“Look, just because you don’t want me in your life at all anymore, doesn’t mean that I don’t still care about you. It doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t protect you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you replied, raising your voice now, “I thought it was because you’re the one who doesn’t want me in your life.”

“I never said I didn’t want you to be in my life…”

“No, but you’re the one who gave up on the only life that I knew. Don’t you get it? You left. I don’t need you to defend my honor or whatever it is that you think you need to do.”

“I know you don’t need me to, but I can’t help it. I still love you. Regardless of how I ended things, I didn’t do it because I stopped loving you.”

“Dammit Robert!” You ran your hand through your hair in frustration. You were feeling completely confused and increasingly angry, just having him here in front of you still hurt. Just looking at him made you hurt. The addition of these words that you used to say to each other daily and freely didn’t make sense at this point. You couldn’t wrap your head around how someone could think that they still loved someone that they had just destroyed. “You need to stop this. You have to leave me alone. Please, let me just at least try to move on. Can you please let me try to get to a point where looking at you doesn’t make me want to break down all the time?”

Rob turned his head, trying to avoid your stare. Probably trying to avoid seeing that you were now on the verge of tears again. You however, watched him, hoping that you had somehow gotten through to him. His own eyes were watery, almost as if he were ready to cry. Again, you hated him for it. You hated that he was still playing at being just as hurt as you were.

“I wish I could tell you that I appreciate your concern,” you continued, “but I don’t. I’m not a child, I can take care of myself. And, not that it’s your business, but Adam did nothing wrong last night. That was all me, still a mess over this,” you gestured between you and him, letting him know that this was all about the two of you, “I’m the one who overreacted because all I can do anymore is worry what everyone thinks of me… what you think of me, even though it doesn’t even fucking matter anymore.”

You were crying now, gradually letting your frustrations with Rob out. A lot of what you had been keeping in was coming out now. Much of what you had been wanting to say to him, you were finally saying.

“Jesus, I can’t even kiss a guy without thinking that I’m the one doing something wrong. All you’ve ever done lately is make me think that I’m the reason everything turned to shit.” When you realized that you were really losing your cool, you knew it was time to back down. Nothing good was going to come from another fight with Rob. You were shaking now, words catching as you struggled to keep your voice down as much as you could. “Thank you for all of this,” you said sarcastically, “thanks for ruining my day again.”

“I wasn’t trying to.” Rob said softly, only now turning back to meet your stare. “I was just worried about you. I just want you to be happy.”

“I was happy,” you spat, “I know you like to think that we were both miserable, but I wasn’t. Near the end, I was only sad because I knew… I knew that you were going to leave. It wasn’t any less painful just because I knew,” you paused briefly; focusing on calming yourself, trying to make him understand that you were only trying to give him what he wanted. To be rid of you. “I’m just trying to learn to let other people in. Let someone else care about me. And maybe Adam is that person. Either way, it doesn’t involve you.”

“You really just… want me to leave you alone completely?”

“Yeah, I do. I can’t do the whole ‘friends’ thing with you. I just can’t. Because, you still can’t even tell me what I did wrong. I go through every day still asking myself what I did. Do you know what it’s like to blame yourself for something like that?”

Rob shook his head, still looking hurt. He didn’t speak again, and you decided it was time to end this before it got too heated as arguments between the two of you usually did.

“Goodbye Rob,” you said quietly. You stepped back into your room, giving him one more glance before you shut the door behind you.

Once you were in the safety of your room again, away from Rob, you broke down. Why was this still so damn hard? You pressed your back against the door, trying to cry as quietly as you could. It was bad enough that other hotel guests could have easily heard your conversation with Rob in the hallway, you didn’t want people to hear you crying as well. Almost as soon as you had closed the door on Rob, there was another knock on your door. You felt yourself get angry, thinking it was him again. His persistence was annoying, and you opened the door angrily to tell him to leave.

This time, it wasn’t Rob. Adam stood there, a cocky grin plastered on his face until he took a moment to actually look at you. His face fell when he noticed that you might not be okay.

“Y/N?” He questioned you.

You let out a loud sob, still feeling very upset, but also appreciative that he was here. Never had you felt so many different emotions all at once. You were still reeling from the run in with Rob, but just seeing Adam was adding a sense of comfort to the mess of emotions. Before either of you said anything else, you grabbed him by his arm and yanked him toward you. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you led him into your room, the door slamming shut behind you.

“I saw Rob leaving-” he started. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him toward you before he could get another word out. You forcefully crashed your lips against his; still crying, your makeup all but ruined. You expected him to push you away. No one wanted to kiss a mess like you. You sort of wanted him to push you away, you wanted him to tell you that you had messed up any chance you had with him. You wanted him to tell you that you were too broken to be loved again. For some reason, you thought that you deserved it.

You were pleasantly surprised when he tightened his embrace on you, pushing his lips harder against yours. You had stopped crying now; running your hands across his shoulders as your tongues explored each other. He still tasted just as amazing as he had last night, only less whiskey on his lips.

Without thinking, you guided your hands down his chest to push him away gently. He looked at you, confused as you broke the kiss. You figured that he assumed you were going to react the same way you had last night. Instead you reached for the hem of your own shirt, pulling it over your head and discarding it on the floor. You brought him back to you, biting his bottom lip. He moaned out loud, bringing his hands back up to explore your skin. It felt nice, having the skin to skin contact with him. His fingertips grazed along your back, sending shivers through your body. You closed your eyes as he changed his focus, working his mouth down your neck, stopping to suck and bite as he nuzzled into you. You sighed, amazed at how good this felt.

It was when you felt him reach for your bra that you began to get nervous. You knew exactly what you were implying right now. You were basically offering yourself up to him, even though you didn’t really want to. Maybe it had just been a combination of being so angry with Rob and then seeing Adam, who had been so nice to you; but this wasn’t who you wanted to be. You really liked him. But, you also knew that you were not ready for this. You wanted to stop him from going any farther, and all you could think of was how he was going to think that you were a tease. You knew you were just trying to make yourself stop feeling so sad about Rob. For some reason, you thought that by being with Adam, it would magically make all of that pain disappear.

Although he had reached for your bra, preparing to unhook it, he had already stopped himself. He dropped his hands back to your hips, moving his face back up to yours as he kissed you on the mouth again. You breathed a sigh of relief when you realized he wasn’t going to let this escalate. But, you also felt rejected.

“You don’t want me?” you asked, staring into his eyes. Why were you so hurt that he had stopped? You didn’t want to sleep with him yet, but for some reason, you felt hurt that he wasn’t going to try.

“You have no idea how badly I want you,” he whispered. He kissed you softly again, “but, I also saw your ex leave just as I showed up. You’re crying and I know that something happened to upset you. I’d never take advantage of a woman who is upset.”

You smiled at him, impressed that he actually wasn’t the type of guy to take advantage of the situation.

“I’m sorry,” you muttered.

“It’s okay. I know this isn’t what you really want.”

“I’m a mess.”

“You’re a cute mess.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. You’re sad. We do strange things when we’re sad. But, I’m not going to let you do something that you might regret.”

He bent down, retrieving your shirt from the floor, handing it to you. You blushed when you realized what you had done and you were still standing in front of him, shirtless. You put it back on, noticing that you had calmed down a bit.

“I bet you’re kicking yourself for getting involved with a girl who is absolutely out of her mind,” you chuckled, only hoping that you were wrong.

“Not at all,” he laughed, “you’re certainly keeping me on my toes.”

“Thanks for not making a big deal out of my behavior.”

He chuckled softly, “Well, that was a nice way to be greeted in the morning.”

“You’re welcome.” It was strange how easily Adam was able to turn your embarrassing moment around. While you should still be in a panic, worrying that you had ruined whatever this was with him; you found yourself smiling again and laughing at the situation. It helped that he continued to look at you as if you were the most beautiful person in the world. He didn’t act any differently with you, he didn’t even ask you what the hell you were thinking. More importantly, he had been the one to stop a situation that you definitely didn’t want to happen, at least not yet.

“I actually just dropped by to say goodbye,” he explained. You frowned at him, suddenly nervous that you might have actually scared him off.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, my flight home is in a few hours. I wasn’t scheduled to be at the convention today.”

“Oh,” you said softly, looking down at the floor to keep yourself from getting too upset. You were actually feeling a bit sad now, knowing that he wouldn’t be around on the last day. Having him around, especially after your fight with Rob, would have been comforting today.

“Hey,” he said as he reached his hand up, gently tilting your face up so that you would look at him, “I’ll call you. You haven’t scared me off yet.”

“Good, because I do like you.”

“I’ll see you around, Y/N.” He leaned in, kissing you again.

“At the next con?” you questioned when he pulled back after a few moments of making out.

“I don’t know when that will be. Haven’t been invited to anything coming up.”

You pouted, unimpressed that he wasn’t scheduled for anything.

“Okay,” you said, “I would really like if you did call me.”

“I will,” he replied, “you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

He hesitantly moved away from you, letting his hand linger on your waist. When he finally let go, he headed for the door, turning back to look at you.

“You’ll miss your flight,” you said.

“It’s just a little difficult to walk away from you for some reason.”

“Sweet talker,” you said with a giggle.

He grinned at you again as he finally walked out of the room. You breathed a sigh of relief. How you had managed to act like a complete idiot, yet still have him wanting to be with you was beyond you. Anyone in their right mind would see that you were acting just a little bit crazy lately, but maybe he was able to see past all of that.

When you finally got down to the convention, already cutting it close to missing one of your own panels, your first thought was that you needed to avoid Rob. Although you had a panel with him, Rich, and Matt as usual; you were focused on just ignoring him. You were done trying to pretend to be friendly. You had been trying to make it seem as if you and Rob were okay in terms of getting along at least, mostly for the sake of the fans. You didn’t want them to think that you absolutely couldn’t stand the man anymore. Now, you realized that you couldn't keep trying to hide what you were really feeling.

Fortunately for you, Rob ended up being the one to avoid you. Even during your panel with the guys, he never once looked toward you, you knew because you were mostly staring at his back through the whole thing. Rich and Matt made sure to include you in the discussions where Rob had acted as if you didn’t exist. It was the most awkward you had ever felt during a panel.

When it finally ended, you made your way to the green room. There, Briana and Kim greeted you, calling you over to the couch that they were seated at. You happily plopped down beside Kim, realizing that you hadn’t spent much time with them lately.

“So?” Kim said, raising her brows as if she were waiting for something.

“What?”

“You and Adam, huh?”

You groaned, rubbing your hand over your face, “Not me and Adam. It’s nothing. We’ve been hanging out is all.”

“Well, I don’t usually make out with dudes that I just hang out with,” Kim retorted, “but maybe that’s your thing.”

“”Don’t talk to me like that,” you replied, growing angry over the fact that she was thinking of you the exact way that you didn’t want your friends to think of you.

“I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“God forbid that I spend time with someone new. Do you all forget that Rob is the one who left me? Why am I a bad person for trying to move on?” You were willing yourself not to cry again. It was one thing to have Rob think of you as a bad person, you really couldn’t handle having your own girl friends think of you that way.

“Y/N, I really didn’t mean to sound rude,” Kim replied. She placed a hand on your knee, trying to let you know that she was sorry, “I just- it was unexpected. I didn’t realize you were dating again.”

“I’m not,” you sighed, “I wasn’t trying to anyway. Adam has been very nice to me and I like being around him. I was tipsy last night and that kiss shouldn’t have happened. Not like that.”

“Like I said,” added Briana, “to get over a guy, you gotta get under a new one.”

“I’m not sleeping with him,” you said.

“No one’s going to think less of you if you are though,” Kim replied. You smiled at her. Maybe you had been wrong about them. Maybe they didn’t care if you started dating again, even if it did seem too soon. “I was only teasing. He’s a good guy and you seem very happy when you’re around him. It’s a nice change from how you’ve been lately.”

“So, you don’t think it’s too soon to say that I might really like Adam?”

They both grinned at you, seeming pleased that you had finally let them in on what had been going on the past few days.

“That’s wonderful!” Kim exclaimed.

“Really? I knew he was into you, I just didn’t know if you’d be into him,” added Briana.

“I didn't think I would be either,” you admitted, “but he’s really nice and he makes me laugh. He’s also a really good kisser.” You blushed as you said it, feeling like a giggly school girl as you gossiped with Kim and Briana about your crush.

“I’m happy for you,” said Kim, “whatever you need to do to make yourself feel happy again, do it.”

“Is it bad that I’m still not over Rob?” You asked. You sort of regretted being honest about it. It made you feel so insecure to still be at this stage.

“No, how could you be? You were with him for a long time,” Kim replied.

“I just- it still hurts, a lot. And Adam knows this. He’s still willing to spend time with me even if he knows I’m still not healed yet.”

“He’s a lot more honorable than most men,” Briana stated.

“He mostly just tells me that he’s going to do what he can to help me stop thinking about it. Honestly, when I’m with him, sometimes I forget about Rob completely.”

“That’s a good thing,” said Briana, “maybe he’s the one to help you heal.”

“Maybe…” you trailed off, considering the possibility. You weren’t going to object to anyone that could possibly help you get over this whole thing with Rob. It hurt enough to the point where you were willing to do anything you could to make the pain stop. You had tried crying until there were no more tears left to cry. You had tried drinking the pain away. You had tried shutting yourself off from the world just to avoid thinking of him. None of it had worked, if anything, it all made it more difficult. When you were with Adam though, those were the only times when you had brief moments of completely forgetting that Rob existed. It didn’t happen all at once, and it never lasted long; but the fact that those moments were happening, it made you want to be around Adam even more.

“So, how does this work when he’s home, in a completely different country than you?” Briana asked.

“I don’t know,” you replied. You hadn’t really thought about it. You almost forgot that he lived so far away and you rarely even saw each other as it was. You had been so caught up in him this weekend, you never stopped to consider what it would be like to be involved with yet another man that you rarely got to see. The thought of it made your chest hurt, as if your heart were breaking over someone that you were only getting to know. You realized that dating him was going to be almost exactly how it was dating Rob. Another man that wasn’t around, another man who would eventually walk out on you because you weren’t there enough for him. You knew that a cellphone relationship wasn’t going to last. Eventually, you would be right back where you had started.

“It’ll be okay,” Briana said, almost as if she were reading your mind as you thought about the mess you were getting yourself into again, “he’ll call you, right?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

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#Like The Heart Goes #rob benedict x reader #rob benedict fan fiction #adam fergus x reader

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