#Leif tries to be a good bro

[randomnameless]

CHAPTER 10 - Perlucos to Chronos!

Seliph’s going to rescue those children while no one cares about Julia! A shame in this bout where siblings talk to each other while an aunt bonds with her niece!

First, someone useless promotes. Is he going to be more useful now? IDK.

Lana can finally fight! Look at that 11 def from Duchess Dozel. Wonderful?

Arthur had to get a pony for this chapter, because there’s going to be some serious Hilda slayin’ in it.

At a leisurely pace? Aw, he is procrastinating on his “hunt children” duty. Maybe he is a good guy deep inside.

Oh, so here it’s father-in-law, so yep, talking about the dear departed Reptor! they didn’t murder him you could have asked aida she’d have known who truly backstabbed the monocle man but she isn’t here anymore

Hilda wants to avenge her family, just like our heroes! If she didn’t order a bunch of children to be captured/killed 20 lines before i’d be more sympathetic to her but...

Holy crap, are you going to pull a Mjolnir ?

Ares has none of this nonsense. After all, he still has to avenge Eldie!

Wait, that was anticlimatic. Let’s use a Naga’s wheel.

In a new reality, Leif talks to his 3rd sister, the only bio sister though.

He has doubts. Look at him.

“Here to do what I can” - Alty was actually thinking about her first bro, the non-biological one.

“someone” how rude Leif! It was Julius, you know, the guy who rewarps around! Granted, even in FE5, Leif never saw Julius. he’d think it’s Salem cosplaying or Saias who’s shrunk

At least Leif knows what is Julius’ title. Maybe Finn taught him. Note how Julius tries to make friends, he saves them from a certain death! “that’s how you recruit people in Fire Emblem, isn’t it?”

Well, you were going to kill their leader, so yay, Arion might be a little sour and send his troops after us.

More EXP for Lester? “but he already promoted!”

Help him with a bow/lance/sword/magic through the guts? Remember Leif, in Seliph’s gang, we only kill, we don’t capture.

“surely” oh Leif that’s not how you cheer someone up!

Look, he is trying to play the good brother again!

I don’t know how you’ll manage that Leif. Postwar!Alty is in a world of grief!

As honest as Seliph can when his wife is cheering - naturally it ended with a crit.

Crawling? Well, she doesn’t have a pony, but that doesn’t mean she’s crawling!

Ingrate is, i’d say, an appropriate term. Not to say Hilda is right, of course, but maybe in her POV she “raised” Tine, gave allowed her, idk, food, a status and some lessons in magic, something that, say, Danan would never have done for Lex’s kids. But Tine has the nerve to turn against them, how dare she?

(not taken in Hilda’s POV : Tine watched her mama tortured to death, and i’m not sure she was given anything by Hilda or if Hilda allowed Blume to “give” her things and play with the Ish siblings)

See? You can’t brag about having tormented her mom while expecting her to be grateful! 

Granted, Tine needed a lot of help to fight here.

Is she really in hell? Some say she ended up in an ice coffin, waiting for the day when Claude will sacrifice himself to let her live anew

Tine’s achievement of the day : managing to make Hilda retreat.

But she stole her tome! Ha, take that!

I love those Loptyr battle quotes. Maybe there’s a special kind of module where you learn how to sound dramatic before fighting?

Sadly he didn’t take the “death quote” option.

Okay, said Lene. “I need money for my dolt husband, his HW costs a lot to repair!”

Why Loptyr needs children ? Is is something like Medeus in FE3 who needed to eat princesses or something else entirely?

Of course! Patty could never abandon children, she used to take care of an orphanage you know?

You’re welcome!

Meanwhile, Faval scores with the Ishtar shabby look-alike. With this, Freege and Jungby are united! Yay?

??? I thought Miletos was in deep shit since the beginning? Maybe it was some kind of other deep shit, like Hilda Hilda’ing people she didn’t like, but nothing like sacrificing children?

Loptyr isn’t a devil, he is a dragon!

Thank you, said Alty. It’s completely useless for me, but thanks still.

15 years? Even after they got their OP Holy Weapons? Dudes, were they all foot units or what?

Even Verdane!

Glory to him! I swear in this game it might be the 2nd or 3rd time I heard Heim’s name. I mean, he is the hero who rekt’d Loptyr/Galle!

If only we had a descendant of Heim around... I mean, we still have a Baldo Crusader, so he is going to save the world, right? Right?

DON’T YOU DARE THE ONLY PERSON HILDA’S COZY WITH IS HER DEAREST HUSBANDO BLUME

It reminds her of the few good times she had torturing Tailte!

At least, no gendered slurs here, and i’m thankful for that or any “how could a woman do that” nonsense. 

Strong and Deedee? It never worked together Shanan, say it, he is really Siggy’s son. Deedee’s just here to give him fluffy hair and some res, that’s all! Siggy’s where the boy got all of his stats!

I love this part, because yes, Seliph is Isaachian at heart. Fig Granvalle, their new Emperor is Isaachian, despite his pedigree saying the contrary.

Don’t put the cart before the horses Seliph. Shanan has a HW, you don’t, so there’s nothing to lend, save, maybe, for your horse.

Oh, maybe Shanan was thinking “look Siggy, i’ve done a great job, your son doesn’t suck anymore” and felt proud/nostalgic, because he’d have wanted Siggy to see how a good man is lil’Seliph became.

Don’t worry Shanan, ghost!Siggy is listening!

Of course he care, what kind of shit kid doesn’t care about his caretaker when he grows up and inherits some piece of land from people he never knew/cared about?

:’( RIP civilians.

Granted, knowing how that man/dragon is full of BS, his “I hear” doesn’t sound convincing. Maybe everyone ran away because someone with his army came to besiege the city?

... We have to fight this war to the end to kill more Morrigans, is that it?

Weren’t the Mairists part of the Loptyr Empire too a long time ago?

[abombihoney]

I think a fix it could would in the case of everyone jumping back to way before the events of the game, as in like before kabbu left for bugaria, vi was probably still in the hive, leif still stuck in snakemouth den. (jump back in this case meaning them being back in their younger selves' bodies, rather them being separate, ig.) either vi does some hefty legwork in reaching out to communicate w kabbu back in his home and frees leif by herself, then coordinate going into the wild grasslands at the same time kabbu's family is heading out to beat the Beast's ass, or kabbu just tries to be extra careful on the trek to bugaria (which might not actually work with a creature like the Beast... 😵). either way it'd also give vi a chance to leave the hive and go about the whole being talked down thing better (try.... she makes bets with EVERYONE in the hive that she'll be the top explorer within the year and makes BANK) and leif just gets to hang out. maybe reconnect with his family and parent vi until the time comes to form an exploration team with kabbu. and they just do everything IN game pretty much the same, but less surprised and maybe more prepared for the wasp king's fake outs

IVE BEEN THINKING SO MUCH ABOUT THIS SINCE YOU SENT IT HELLO????? HERE CONTENT!!!

bro i am such a slut for teen/grown character gets sent back to their childhood and tries to fix things but also they are like 6. like. that is my jam. all the memories and ptsd that a six year old who at this point has lived a reasonably nice life shouldnt have.

okay okay so vi is baby, just freshly pupated into having real legs and shit.

takes a look around and is like. why am i baby. and after a few days she realizes that she is in fact in the past and not in a weird dream.

So then she's like. Well, i refuse to relive my childhood i will die of boredom. but i cant just leave. except she totally does.

she steals a needle, which is way too big bc she just pupated like, last week. and a small bag to carry food. AND SHE JUST FUCKING TRUCKS IT TO SNAKEMOUTH

like, shes a lil roughed up, but the bandits haven't settled in defiant root. and she hasnt outgrown her wings yet, so she can actually fly for long periods of time, and flies over most of the enemies. really the greatest danger is an adult realizing shes all alone lol.

but she makes it! she sneaks through and gets to leif!

she quickly and well, mostly stealthily breaks leif out of the web.

Leif is understandably super fucking confused. But he catches on fairly quickly. He is very fucking surprised by how fucking minuscule vi is.

spuder also shows up but leif freezes him and they get the hell out of dodge.

Vi: Leif is like. where kabbu. and vi has to explain that she came here all by herself all the way from the hive and kabbu is likely still in the north. Vi is promptly grounded for reckless endangerment of herself.

Leif: how even old are you anyway ur so tiny.

Vi: five.

Leif: YOURE FIVE????? Oh god we're so old. ur five years old fuck.

Vi: Aren't you like, the same age as Kabbu?

Leif: Vi, We're 34 years old. We have an entire decade on Kabbu.

Vi: WHAT I THOUGHT U WERE BOTH OLD

Leif: YOU THOUGH KABBU WAS OLD?? HE'S BARELY OLDER THAN YOU??? Oh god kabbu is only like, thirteen oh god.

-

Anyway Leif gives Vi a bath in the fucking river bc shes super nasty from traveling on the road all by herself for weeks.

Leif: We are not going to be seen with a dirty bee that is way too young to be outside the hive. That just screams "kidnapping."

Vi: well they didnt send anyone to look for me when i ran away last time

Leif: One. thats super sad. Two. You are five years old. We think they'll be a little more concerned. We are going to be so mad if we get arrested for kidnapping.

-

Leif: So nice lisp you got there. How long is that going to last?

Vi: Two more molts. :(

Leif: OH good this is adorable. You are never going to live this down.

Vi: I'll stab you!

Leif: Do it. We won't carry you anymore.

Vi: You wouldn't! I'm too cute to walk!

Leif: Better behave or you'll be walking back on those teeny little legs.

Vi: I should have waited for Kabbu and then got you. Kabbu wouldn't treat me like this.

-

Anyway, they get back to the hive. And Leif explains that no he did not kidnap Vi but he brought her back. And Vi is like. This man is my dad/friend i'm keeping him so you either better let him into the hive or let me live with him.

And the hive is like. No? ur five u dont know what u want. But vi keeps escaping the hive. and going to find leif (who got a house in desert root.)

so they just fucking. let her spend her free time outside the hive. even though she shouldn be outside for another five years. shes supposed to sleep in the hive but she sleeps at Leif's a lot. She also becomes sisters with Jaune a lot earlier. (leif also lowkey adopts jaune lol.)

after about two or three years, guess who comes through desert root!!!

Vi does careen into Kabbu at the speed of light. they did that whole little thing where kabbu spins vi around in a circle while they hug

leif can't run as fast as vi can fly but dont worry he also got a hug.

and kabbu got to introduce his families to each other.

Kabbu: Master, Bit, this is Leif and Vi, the ones I've spoken with you about. Leif, Vi, this is, this is Master and Bit. We all made it. We all made it we're all here! :,)

[myheartissetinmotion]

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE MY BRAIN IS ON FIRE.

first things first, the tv I was watching on glitched and was out of sync until the let’s get loud key change (poetic) so I’ll be rewatching soon

ok so yep I’m crying

give a little bit was my parents’ wedding song and a huge part of my childhood; the car scene had me in tears simply because of how much I feel like I’m meant to be part of this show and how desperately I want to be part of that family

truly the most beautiful group of people in the world in every way

okay General Episode Thoughts

the songs were immaculate. Drift Away was the vibiest of vibes, Tainted Love absolutely blew me away, Watermelon Sugar had my friend and I jamming on the couch, Let’s Get Loud was a bop from the start (and let’s give it up for that key change)

I am LIVING for David as a pianist and a father and the way he stood up for himself

Mo’s outfits this ep were impeccable as always

sometimes I almost forget how much I love Simon Haynes and then I remember...a lot. it’s a lot. I love him so much

Zoey’s arc this ep was incredible and the most relatable thing on the show yet for me-the desperation to recreate memories and have everything just as it has to be to foster an emotion, to feel like you don’t want to be a burden on your friends, to long for those cherished moments of community (yknow like STARGAZING WITH THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE AS GIVE A LITTLE BIT PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND)

my heart broke for Leif this whole episode-at the beginning I thought his insecurity was the root of his story this ep and I was fully prepared to love Kaia but I’m about ready to fight her at this point, Leif’s genuinely such a wonderful person and deserves to be loved for who he is

his dynamic with Zoey this ep was fascinating as always

I’m living for Tobin’s apparent crush on Mackenzie

“I tried to drown myself once” and the following awkward silence...mood

this show is so incredibly human

I already love Rose so much oh my god-her vibes are off the charts

everyone in this show is so gosh darn pretty

BROS WHO THROW

Perry is already such an interesting character, I can’t wait to see more of his arc

the tiki torches joke is fantastic

Aiden with baby Miles!!!! I hope we get more content of him being The Cool Not-Actually-Related Uncle™️

“literally whenever” “great, I’ll put that on my schedule” how am I both of them, I love it

THE LIFE IS GOOD SCENE...poetic

the whole flashback and the callbacks to it at the end...oh my god

I just. Yeah. Emotions

also THAT PROMO?!? completely saw it coming given the interactions this ep (yay for more zimon) and I’m nervous as heck but really looking forward to it (also is that a Max/Rose duet I saw a snippet of?)

final thoughts: I just want to go stargazing with the cast of zep please and thank you

[gilmores-glorious-blog]

think of all the fun i´ve missed (think of all the fellas that i haven’t kissed)

-

merry (early) christmas @leifdonnellies! i was your secret santa and i had a lot of fun writing this fic for you :D i hope you enjoy it and have a great holiday season! (the title is from santa baby and really doesn’t fit with the fic all that well but i thought it was funny...)

-

Tobin Batra knew every word in the English dictionary, and yet he still didn’t know the right words to describe the chaos that was SPRQ Point holiday parties. 

After going to one for this first time, Tobin immediately knew why STEM kids and queer kids were never the people throwing parties in high school. When you combined those groups into the group that was the fourth floor of SPRQ Point, the result was a drunken mess of a gathering. 

The floor was cleared off as it would be for any business-related gala, but instead of tasteful lighting and tech speeches, there were tacky Christmas lights strung up and shitty music blasting from every speaker. 

And yet, Tobin loved them. He loved his oddball group of friends and colleagues, and it was fun to hang out with them without any pressure of deadlines and CEO visits, and instead just a week-long break to look forward to. At recent parties, Zoey’s DJ friend Mo provided the music, and he did have objectively better music taste than anyone else there. Tobin liked Mo, and liked getting to chat with him at parties, mostly about music and queer stuff. Another plus of parties was seeing who gave the most outrageous white elephant gifts- Tobin was currently winning that competition ever since he gifted Max a live chinchilla a year ago. (Max still had the chinchilla. He named it Joan after their former boss, and it was beloved by everyone.) Yet another great thing about it was that it was the one night that they finally could replace the bread bar or oatmeal bar or whatever bar with an open bar, because apparently it was legal if it was for a party. But Tobin’s favorite thing about the holiday parties was the fact that it was the one night a year that his boyfriend let Tobin kiss him in front of their colleagues. 

Leif was surprisingly shy about PDA, and had been as long as Tobin had known him. His parents weren’t exactly the most touchy-feely people, with each other or with their children, and it had clearly rubbed off on Leif. Tobin was fine with this, of course, he’d never want to make his boyfriend uncomfortable. Plus the two lived together, and Leif was incredibly touch starved at home, so it wasn’t really a big deal that they never did more than very occasionally hold hands at work. That being said, Tobin discovered recently that Leif found it “morally wrong”- Leif’s words, not Tobin’s- to disobey the laws of mistletoe, and he planned to fully exploit that fact at the party.

Mistletoe was a big thing at these parties- because obviously it was, what chaotic Christmas party was complete without a tiny, slightly-poisonous plant that required you to kiss whoever’s nearest to you if you found yourself under it? When they arrived at the party, Tobin snatched a cluster of mistletoe that was hanging right outside the elevators. He figured that was a fair place to steal it from, because as much as he loved the tradition, it was a bit of a cruel place to hang it, catching people off guard like that. Leif glanced over and saw him grab it, but just rolled his eyes as Tobin winked at him and smirked. 

“Hey guys!” Zoey greeted as they joined the group. “You can put your gifts over there…” She pointed to a small pile before glancing at the package in Tobin’s arms with concern. “I do not want to know what’s in there this year.” 

Tobin smiled wide. “Well, I tried hard to top Joan the chinchilla, but I think it was my peak.” 

Leif and Zoey rolled their eyes in unison as Leif gave Tobin a shove towards the stack of gifts. 

Tobin soon joined the rest of the party, dragging Leif with him and forcing him to dance to the loud music with him. As per usual, Mo had created a killer playlist, albeit a bit of a weird conglomeration of songs. Any playlist that went from a stunning, slow cover of Someday At Christmas (that seemed to have been sung by the DJ himself) immediately into the original version of Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer had to be made by someone at least a little bit high. 

About an hour into the party, Tobin could tell that Leif was getting overwhelmed by all the people and the sounds, so he silently took his hand and pulled him into the nest. 

“Thanks,” Leif said once they were out of earshot of others. He rubbed his neck awkwardly as he sat down on the conference table. “Sorry, I don’t know what was happening back there, I’ve been better with social stuff for a while, I guess it just… I dunno… it’s still hard sometimes.”

“Bro, it’s okay, I get it. You never need to apologize about anxiety stuff. And it’s not going to be all better, all the time, and that’s okay. You’ve been doing so good lately, Leif, and you deserve to celebrate that.” Tobin sat next to Leif and put his hand over Leif’s. 

Leif turned to him and smiled softly. “Thank you, babe.” 

Tobin lay his head on Leif’s shoulder and began rubbing gentle circles on Leif’s hand with his thumb. “You’re welcome.” 

Neither man spoke for a few minutes, and Tobin could hear Leif doing some deep breathing, something he often did as a way to calm his anxiety. 

Eventually, when Leif seemed to have fully relaxed, he turned towards Tobin and smiled at him again. “Have I mentioned that you look really nice tonight?” 

Tobin laughed. “A few times. But you can tell me again.”

“Well you do. Really nice.” 

Leif leaned forward and kissed Tobin, and Tobin counted it a win that his boyfriend kissed him at work with no mistletoe involved. 

Tobin pulled away much sooner than he wanted to, because they were still at a party after all. “Hey, you ready to go back?”

Leif squeezed his hand before standing up. “Yeah. I think so.”

  The two of them left the conference room, and only got a few strange looks from the other party-goers as they made their way back to the group. 

“There you are!” Zoey said as she and Simon made their way over. “We were waiting for you to start gifts.” 

The next half-hour was spent in a flurry of white elephant chaos, filled with plenty of cursing and sighing and coming close to tears begging someone to please steal their gift because they don’t even play an instrument, why do they need sheet music for the wii theme?! Although none of the gifts came close to the glory of Tobin’s chinchilla, it was unanimously decided that Leif won this year’s most outrageous gift with the collection of small cowboy hats that Simon ended up with (something Simon was weirdly pleased with receiving.) Tobin had pouted about this decision, seeing as the hats had originally been his idea, but his boyfriend looked so pleased about winning such a stupid contest that Tobin let him take the win without too much complaining. 

It was getting late, and the party would likely be wearing to a close soon. People were still dancing, however- Leif being one of them. He and Zoey and Simon were in the middle of the floor, moving in a way that they must have considered “dancing” (but was really just a weird movement of limbs all over the place). 

The red and green lights were reflecting in Leif’s hair, making the blond curls glow in a way that could only be described as magical. His suit jacket had been abandoned at some point in the evening, so he was wearing only a deep red short sleeve dress shirt with a green vest over it. Despite the cliche color scheme, the outfit looked great on Leif. Tobin watched as Leif threw his head back in laughter at something Simon said, and felt a weird flutter in his heart at the sight. Even after nearly two years of dating Leif, and nearly twelve years of being in love with him, the other man never failed to make Tobin feel like he was fifteen again, looking over at the boy playing video games on the couch next to him, and being hit with a rush of feelings so sudden and so strong that Tobin thought he was dying. 

Tobin moved suddenly from where he’d been standing next to George, asking his friend to hold his drink for a moment. He joined Leif on the dance floor right as Santa Baby faded out (the dance moves done for that song did not bear repeating, to say the least), and faintly processed Mo announcing that their final song of the night was White Christmas because it had just started snowing in San Francisco, so of course it was. 

“Hey.” Tobin announced his presence as he sidled up next to Leif, swaying slightly to the melody. 

“Hi!” Leif turned around so quickly that he needed to steady himself by grabbing on to Tobin’s waist (nothing Tobin was complaining about), his face flushed from dancing. 

“Care to dance?” Tobin put his arms up and around Leif’s shoulders, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Zoey and Simon had begun to slow dance away from them, seemingly lost in each other. 

Leif just smiled in response and began leading Tobin slowly around the floor. Neither one of them were particularly great at dancing, but it didn’t matter. As Tobin heard the song drawing to a close, he fumbled in his jacket pocket for the mistletoe he had grabbed earlier. Upon finding it, he raised his arm above both him and Leif’s heads so that the mistletoe hung above them.

“Hey L.” Tobin said to get his boyfriend’s attention, because he’d somehow not noticed the commotion.

“Yeah?”

“Look up.” Tobin smirked.

Leif did so and immediately rolled his eyes and blushed.

“Well?” Tobin knew he was being obnoxious but didn’t care. “I seem to recall someone here saying that it was wrong to not follow the rules of mistletoe. Are you really gonna go back on your word now-”

Leif shut Tobin up by kissing him. 

Tobin smiled into the kiss, moving his non-mistletoe hand to cradle Leif’s face. People were probably staring at them, but he didn’t care. It’s not like no one knew they were together. 

Leif pulled back after a minute, slapping the mistletoe with indignance until Tobin lowered his arm. Their faces were still close, foreheads resting together.

“Merry Christmas Tobes.” 

Tobin gave Leif another quick kiss and smiled at him. “Merry Christmas Leif.” 

[rsbry-beret]

More Than Words

Insouciant

Tobin’s eyes hurt. He’d been staring at the code flying by on his screen for hours now, eyes flicking away to look at the clock every few minutes despite himself. He fiddled with the cuff of his jacket again, scratching at the hole hidden in the lining fabric, before reaching for his water bottle, bringing it to his mouth before remembering it had been empty for coming up two hours. He sighed, typed a line of code before deleting it again.

“Hey, man.” Leif leaned over Tobin’s shoulder, resting his elbows on his shoulders. “How you feeling?”

“Insouciant.” He glanced out at his coworkers, mostly busy with whatever they were working on, but Zoey glanced up at the sound. “I-N-S-O-U-C-I-A-N-T. That means indifferent, for all you boneheads.” He tilted his head back to grin at Leif, before realizing their faces were way too close together.

“Tobes, dude, have you eaten anything today?” Leifs eyebrows furrowed. Tobin was struck with the sudden desire to poke the lines that showed up in the corners of his eyes until he smiled again, which he promptly ignored. He was probably just dehydrated or something, which reminded him.

“I had breakfast. Passed on lunch though- had to catch this bug, you know. Then I guess I just forgot. It’s whatever.” He smiled, trying not to look as awkward as he suddenly felt. “Have to keep this hot bod looking tight anyway, am I right?”

Tobin kept frowning. “Dude, it’s 4:00. Have you at least had water?”

“I ran out.”

“Dude. Seriously, give me your water bottle, I’ll refill it.”

Tobin smiled at his monitor, happy knowing that Leif wouldn’t be able to see him do it. He grabbed his water bottle and passed it up, felt Leif pull away and ruffle Tobin’s hair as he went. “Thanks, bro,” he called out as he heard Leif’s footsteps walk away.

Soubrette

“Dude, it’s your birthday! We have to do something fun. Go to a strip club, meet some soubrettes, drink until we black out, whatever! We’re only young once, bro.”

Max glanced shrewdly at Tobin. “Okay, ignoring the fact that you just quoted Bunny Paul, what on earth is a soup bet?”

Tobin smirked. “A very flirtatious woman. But I guess you aren’t really familiar with that, are you, Max?”

Leif sighed once, then again, louder, as though he was worried he hadn’t gotten his point across. “A woman pretending to be flirtatious, actually. And we’re not going to a strip club for my birthday.”

“Dude. Literally why not?” Tobin stuck his bottom lip out, fluttered his eyelashes dramatically. Leif stared at his mouth for a long second before looking away suddenly.

“Because it’s my birthday, so I get to choose what we’re doing. And we’re having pizza at our place while we watch movies.”

Zoey laughed while Max glared at Leif. “By ‘movies’ you mean ‘pretentious French art house films that are in black and white even though they were filmed last year’, right?”

“Shut up, Max, Leif can do what he wants. It’s his birthday,” Tobin said.

Zoey squinted at him from across the room. “Okay, what?”

Syllepsis

“Man, my date last night was awesome.” Tobin grinned, smug and too big to fit on his face.

“Man, I didn't ask,” Max replies from his desk, not even bothering to look up. Max was a loser. Tobin ignored him.

“She blew my mind and then she blew something else, if you catch my drift.” He waggled his eyebrows, just in case he hadn’t.

Max pinched the bridge of his nose for a few seconds.

“Yeah?” Tobin kept grinning. “A little syllepsis there. That means a word that has two meanings in one sentence.” He sat heavily at his desk, booted up his computer. “Wow, it’s exhausting to have to dumb myself down for you guys.”

Max lay his head down on his desk.

“Not the only reason I’m exhausted, though.”

Tobin heard a tortured groan from

Max’s direction. He didn’t bother making the joke- might as well give the poor guy a break.

Man, he was such a good guy.

Deification

Tobin stirred his fruit loops around and around his bowl, watching the milk slowly turn blue-gray. He was hungry, and the cereal was definitly going to get soggy soon, but if he finished before Leif made his stupid avocado toast then he’d have no reason to eat breakfast with him.

“Okay, but real talk, Fusajiro Yamauchi is a God,” he finally said, breaking the peaceful silence.

Leif stared at Tobin for a few long seconds before nodding slowly. “You’re definitely not wrong, but why are we talking about this now?”

Tobin shrugged and tried not to stare at Leif’s shoulders. “I just thought it should be said. The man founded Nintendo. Everyone should be talking about him all the time.” God, Leif’s eyes were so blue. “And it’s not deification if the man is actually a God.”

“Deification,” Leif repeated, smiling in that half-smile sort of way he had.

“Treating someone like a God. You have really white teeth, bro.” Did he say that out loud? God, he said that out loud, didn’t he?

Leif quirked his head to the left, raising an eyebrow. “Thanks?”

Tobin quickly turned around before Leif could see his blush. “Yeah, bro. Man. Buddy.” Jesus Christ.

Pulchritudinous

It was raining on the way to work, and Tobin had never been happier about it. He always took the bus from his and Leif’s apartment, but Leif insisted on riding his bicycle, something about cardio-based workouts and don’t you want to have a long and healthy life, and honestly Tobin had stopped listening about six seconds in because the way Leif’s hair flopped over his eyes was unfairly distracting.

But it was raining this morning, and Leif had still rode his bike to work, so now he was soaking wet, standing at his desk in his probably ruined cardigan and looking for all the world like an angry chihuahua.

Tobin didn’t think he’d ever loved him more.

“Pulchritudinous,” he said, in what he thought was a whisper, but then Leif turned around, confused.

“Okay, man, you’ve got me stumped. What’s that one mean?”

Beautiful, Tobin thought, and then he panicked. “Messy.”

Leif looked at him for a moment longer, then smiled at him, awkward and sweet and just for Tobin, no one else. “Cool.”

Then he turned back to his desk, clacking away at his keyboard like he was trying to do something fast before he forgot, and Tobin turned back to his computer, trying to catch his breath.

(Eudaemonic)

It was after work, and the rain had just cleared up, leaving the sky full but bright and the wind sharp but refreshing after a long day of filtered air. Tobin took a deep breath in, and then another. He felt a hand fall on his shoulder and turned around.

“Hey,” Leif said, shuffling his feet a little, looking a little nervous. “Hey, can we talk before we head home?”

Tobin smiled and nodded, letting Leif guide him by his shoulder. Home. Before we go home. Suddenly Tobin felt very fragile, like if Leif clutched his hand a little tighter he might fall apart, starting at his shoulder and stretching all the way through to his heart, his wobbly knees, his toes. It wasn’t an awful feeling, actually.

“So…” Tobin finally started, after a long time of walking in silence, Leif’s hand still touching him, warm and present.

“So,” Leif started, then cleared his throat, stopping on the sidewalk in front of yet another random Starbucks. He pulled his hand away and Tobin wanted to grab it back immediately. He stuffed his fists in his jacket to stop himself.

“So,” Leif began again, turning to face Tobin, “I think you’re...eudaemonic.”

Tobin looked at Leif and Leif looked right back, like this was an important moment, like there was something invisible and heavy passing between them.

“I… don’t know what that means,” Tobin finally admitted, still not looking away. Honestly, he didn’t think he could if he wanted to. His eyes felt stuck. He didn’t want to anyway, though.

Leif didn’t blink, just lifted his hand back up again, slow and purposeful. He set it down on Tobin’s shoulder, then slid it back, touching his neck, then cupping his jaw. Tobin felt like he couldn’t breath. Tobin felt like he was breathing for the first time. Tobin didn’t know what he felt, just that it was good.

“It means that you make me happy,” Leif said carefully, quietly.

Tobin kissed him.

It was a very good kiss. So good that Tobin didn’t think he really wanted to do anything else, ever. Awkward in that way that all first kisses were, because first Leif was just touching him by his jaw, and Tobin’s hands were still in his pockets, but then something changed and they were clutching at each other. No, not clutching. They were holding each other.

Eventually Tobin pulled back for air.

“I googled your word,” Leif admitted immediately, before he could even say anything. Leif brushed Tobin’s hair from his eyes, and Tobin just laughed, quiet and happy.

“Then I guess you know I think you’re perfect?”

“I’m not,” Leif said, suddenly serious. He started to pull his hands back, and Tobin caught them, held them in his own. “I’m not perfect. I’m actually really messed up, man.”

Tobin just smiled, smiled. It felt like he couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. “I love you.”

Leif froze. “Oh,” he breathed.

“Yeah.” Tobin kept smiling. “Oh.”

Leif smiled too, cartoonishly huge on his face, like he hadn’t ever smiled that big before and was still learning how. Then he let out a noise, almost like he was going to cry, and Tobin was scared for a second before he realized that Leif was giggling.

Tobin started giggling too. Sue him, it was infectious, and Leif was cute, and they had kissed, and he said he made him happy.

Leif rushed forward suddenly, yanking his hands from Tobin’s grip to wrap around his waist, pulling Tobin in for a hug.

And they stayed like that, intertwined on the sidewalk, giggling and smiling and happy, for a very long time.

And then they both went home.

Title is a song by The Extremes :) this is my first time writing for a fandom so go easy on me lol and thx to @opheli-bob ob for introducing me to ZEP

[ladylillianrose]

Take a Chance on Me, a Zoey Clarke/Max Richman fic

Zoey receives an evening visitor and an important conversation is finally had!

A/N: This is it gang! Thank you all for reading, commenting and enjoying this! As always the characters belong to the wonderful Austin Winsberg. I'm just borrowing them! You guys have been so wonderful and I love you all for it!<br />

The song used is "I'm A Believer" by The Monkees

Chapter 5

Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Zoey was relieved she had listened to Tobin and left work early.

She had taken a nice long soak in her tub with a glass of wine to help her relax. 

And now she was curled up on the couch with a pint of her favorite ice cream mindlessly watching whatever was on TV. Trying to focus on anything but the disaster of a kiss that had happened earlier.

She heard a knock on the door.  "Go away Mo. I don't want to talk about it tonight…"

"Umm it's not Mo…" She heard Max's voice through the door and froze.

What was Max doing here? Was she going to have to do this now?

"Zo please let me in, we need to talk," he pleaded.

She slowly shuffled to the door and let him in.

He stood there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hi," she replied, heading back to the sofa, refusing to look at him.

He followed, taking a seat right next to her.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Zoey asked, attempting to keep her voice light.

"Zoey will you look at me….please?" Max begged.

It took all her strength to lift her head and look him in the eye.

Max smiled sadly at her, "We're quite the pair aren't we?"

Zoey nodded, unable to say anything around the lump in her throat.

"Zoey, what was that about earlier? One minute you're kissing me and the next you take off running. You wouldn't answer my calls. The only way I knew you even made it back to work was because Tobin told me."

Zoey looked shocked. Tobin had seen Max and told him where she was…

"Yeah imagine my surprise when he comes up to the 6th floor and tells me we need to talk."

She laughed, "Sure he wasn't there for the food?"

"No, well okay yeah he came for the food. Dude filled a bucket with cheese fondue, but not before we talked.”

Max ran his hand through his hair nervously. “He told me how things have been since I left, how down you’ve been. He said if I knew what was good for me then I would come over here right now and fix things."

Zoey gaped at him. "He said that? See, I told you he has feelings!" She poked Max in the arm insistently, awkwardness momentarily forgotten.

Max laughed, " You did…Zoey what happened earlier…"

"Was a mistake…" she mumbled.

"Oh…" Max said sadly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just kissed you like that. You didn't kiss me back and I was so embarrassed that I just took off...and now I've messed things up even more between us…." She rambled, trying to keep the tears out of her voice.

"Woah wait a minute! You took off because I didn't kiss you back?" Max interrupted.

Zoey cringed, "Well yeah, obviously you've moved on…"

Max grabbed her and kissed her, stopping her train of thought immediately. 

Max was kissing her, really kissing her! She grinned against his mouth as she wrapped her arms around him, losing herself in the taste and feel of him.

She gasped as he pulled away and began trailing kisses down her neck.

"Wait Max," she heard herself say. "What…" she let out another moan as he bit her earlobe. "I can't concentrate when you do that," she whined.

Max chuckled continuing his exquisite torture, “That’s the idea my love.”

"L-l-love?" Zoey managed to stutter out, as he moved to the other side of her neck repeating his ministrations.

Max pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Of course love. Don’t you know how completely in love with you I am?"

Zoey’s eyes shone with tears as she shook her head. “Then why when I kissed you did you not kiss me back?"

Max laughed, "I didn't kiss you back because I was so surprised that my brain stopped functioning!"

"Wait, what?"

"It's not everyday that the woman you’re in love with does the one thing you’ve been dying to do forever."

Zoey blushed, he was so open with his feelings and affections. It was one of the things she loved about him.

"So you're saying my kiss melted your brain?" she grinned.

"Oh absolutely! By the time I realized what was happening you had taken off running."

She blushed, "Not my finest moment."

Max brushed a curl off her face, "It brought us here, and that's all that matters. Never doubt how much I love you Zoey.”

Zoey leaned her face against his hand.  "I love you too Max."

Max's eyes brightened and a huge grin broke across his face.

He stood up and Zoey heard the beginnings of a heart song.

I thought love was only true in fairy tales

Meant for someone else but not for me

Love was out to get me

That's the way it seemed

Disappointment haunted all of my dreams

Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer

Not a trace of doubt in my mind

I'm in love

I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried

Max had giddily pulled her off the couch and began dancing with her around the room.

Zoey laughed at how happy he was and how happy she felt.

Max finished his song and Zoey grinned and kissed him, "I'm a believer too." 

His eyes widened and he chuckled knowing he couldn't hide anything from her.

"Guess this means I owe Tobin." Max said, wrapping his arms around her..

Zoey laughed, "You and me both."

Next Day

Zoey had been in meetings all morning, somehow managing to evade Tobin's meaningful looks and attempts to talk to her.

She glanced at the clock, it was almost lunch time, Max should be here any minute.

Tobin finally had enough and stalked over to her desk. He placed himself in front of her computer, refusing to budge until he got answers.

"Well???" he asked impatiently

"Well what?" Zoey said, ignoring him as she searched through her purse for gum.

Tobin made a disgusted noise, "Did anyone show up at your place last night?"

Zoey looked at him puzzled, "I mean the pizza guy came by, but that's cause I ordered dinner."

"And nobody else came by?...."

"Nooo...you didn't try to send a singing telegram again did you?"

"What no! And that was totally Leif's idea that time, not mine."

"You sent a singing telegram to her house?" She heard a voice say behind her. 

Zoey turned beaming at Max.  "They had found a mistake I made on a project and felt the need to gloat through song and dance."

"You needed to know you were wrong, and there was no better way to show your wrongness than through song. " Tobin said defending himself.

Max shook his head and bent down to drop a small kiss on Zoey's lips.

Tobin leapt off the desk in excitement. "Yes! I knew it!! You owe me another $50 bro!" He shouted to Leif.

"How many things about me have you bet on?" Zoey said, shaking her head.

Tobin shrugged, "It gets boring around here sometimes."

Max rolled his eyes looking at Zoey, "You sure he deserves this?"

Zoey laughed and nudged his shoulder. "Go on give it to him."

Max held out a 6th floor security clearance card to Tobin.

Tobin's eyes widened.

"If you ever tell anyone you have this I will deny it 100%." Max handed him the card.

Tobin nodded, staring at them unable to say anything in response 

Zoey laughed, "Go on I know you're dying to go try it out!"

Tobin took off sprinting to the elevators, calling out his thanks as the doors closed.

"I give him 2 weeks until he eats himself sick," Max shook his head.

"Are you kidding? His stomach is like a black hole. You saw the size of that cereal bowl!"

Max winced. "It may have been a huge mistake giving him that card."

Zoey laughed, grabbing his hand. "Yeah but he really did help us."

"I guess you're right about that."

"You sir, will find I'm right about a good many things."

Max grinned pulling her into his embrace and kissing her properly.

Zoey sighed happily as they pulled apart and headed to the elevators. Her mom had been right, the right person was worth taking a chance on.

[comicteaparty]

June 22nd-June 28th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 22nd, 2020 to June 28th, 2020.  The chat focused on The Stoop-Gallants by MJ Alexander and WW Rose.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on The Stoop-Gallants by MJ Alexander and WW Rose~! (http://www.thestoopgallants.com/site/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until June 28th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I need to reread/catch up to answer the prompts, but I gotta say this comic absolutely excels at what it does.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I've been meaning to read this one too, I'll try and set aside some time to!

Delphina

Stoop-Gallants has so much adorable humor and sass, Predictably, Alta is my favorite character; seeing her extremely awkward yet sweet relationship with Mica is my favorite.

Flea is also a sweetheart and I love seeing them learning more about their unpredictable magic and coming to be comfortable with it after avoiding it so long. This page in particular where they finally internalize that they're not a mistake and they're not alone made me tear up a little bit. T_T http://www.thestoopgallants.com/site/tsg/page-547/

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning of the comic is that it basically opens with accidental necromancy. I think it really just kind of paints the entire tone of the comic, sets the right expectations, and is honestly, just hilariously convoluted. My favorite moment in the comic so far was actually probably the accidental necromancy as well. I love necromancy, and just the way this happens is so hilarious. Plus, I like a lot of the other scenes it ties into, like Maxwell getting mocked for not being able to do any sort of necromancy. In the theme of this trend, my favorite character is Ru. Ru is just adorable and tries his best. I like his overall kind of boyish charms sometimes mixed with his honesty and honestly, just a great friend to everyone. As for characters interacting the most, I probably enjoy seeing Marigold and Alta the most. I really like how their relationship is kind of equal trust and equal wanting to punch the other person in the face. And yet, despite all this, Marigold really sticks by Alta and helps out in the ways only Marigold can. So I just find it to be such an interesting but wholesome relationship. What I like about the art is probably the character designs. I love that there's so many different body shapes, and in particular the heights. I love that some of the characters just basically tower over the others, cause I think that's something people neglect when it comes to fantasy settings in that you can really play around a lot more with those sorts of proportions. So I appreciate seeing it here.

For themes, I like the comic explores what to do when you have a natural talent at something but you don't like that something. I feel this is something we see with Flea, Alta, and Ru. And yet, all three handle it so differently, with Alta accepting, Flea reluctantly dealing with it after fleeing, and Ru going "Nah bro I don't want this." And I really like we get to explore whether our natural talents and destiny can be run from, or if we should just accept it. For the comic's overall story, I like the balance of character conflict vs. world conflict. This is a very character driven comic, but I never feel like the world is being neglected. Like the situation with the king, now the elves. The world is built slowly, but still at a place where you get a feel for where the characters live and how the world they live in affects them. As for the comic's overall strengths, likeable characters. Even when the characters are jerks, there's still something about them where you're like, "Ok I get it." And in turn, you're invested in all their goals, even when those goals are not necessarily something that fit together.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. How do you think Mica and Alta’s relationship will progress throughout the story? Will the two continue to blunder through everything, or will things continue to go smoothly? Also, how might Alta’s personal feelings about her career affect them?

10. Do you think Flea will successfully learn to control their magic? If so, how will this change them as a person? All in all, what do you think Flea’s story has to teach us about identity, destiny, and self-acceptance?

11. Will Ru be able to solve his necromancy problem? If so, do you think he’ll be happy about it? How does this all compare to Flea’s tale? Lastly, how will the events of Ru’s story affect Cymonee solving her problem?

12. How will the Consortium’s plans surrounding the king affect the main characters? Will they do something to stop it to achieve their own ends? Additionally, what role do you think Maxwell will play, whether as a “good” guy or “bad” guy?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Delphina

For themes, I like the comic explores what to do when you have a natural talent at something but you don't like that something. I feel this is something we see with Flea, Alta, and Ru. And yet, all three handle it so differently, with Alta accepting, Flea reluctantly dealing with it after fleeing, and Ru going "Nah bro I don't want this." And I really like we get to explore whether our natural talents and destiny can be run from, or if we should just accept it.

@RebelVampire I think this is a really good way of putting it! I also like that Ru's been gradually having to come to terms with the fact that he did what he did and grow from someone who's trying desperately to shed the consequences of the drunken magical mistake he made, and into maybe accepting he's responsible for it and should stand up for the zombie he's affected. I'm so curious to see if the elf kingdom in the current arc is going to have a solution, and if so, if it's a solution he wants to go through with.(edited)

The cast is very big and while I would love to see more Alta and Mica, I think they've gotten some of their big stuff out of the way and can move on with a relatively normal relationship. If the story does revisit them in a more dedicated arc, I would love to see some exploration of Alta's extreme savior complex and how that clashes with her perception of Mica's disability.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Did a reread recently -- this comic is so good, funny and genre-savvy with smart writing and lovable characters. Can't wait for the Volume 2 Kickstarter.

From the early chapters, I really liked Mica's and Maxwell's weird bond. Seems like they're going to be in different settings following unrelated storylines for a while, but I'm looking forward to when their paths cross again...mostly for Mica's reaction once she gets caught up on the progress of Maxwell's secret-magical-figurehead-coup gambit.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Also, the whole sequence where Maxwell has to explain "ugh, this stuff depends on an otherwise-useless narrow and restricted concept of 'virginity'". (And Ru has to unpack why he still qualifies...) I think that's the first point where you really feel the contrast between "a fantasy setting with lots of these traditional tropes and formalities" and "characters who feel and react like real people." ...without spoiling anything too specific, Rekhet's whole aesthetic (their fashion sense, their interior design) is the pinnacle of this. It is hard to pick a favorite character, but boy did they shoot waaay up the list almost immediately after their introduction.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I feel like the first solution Ru gets is gonna be something like "don't worry, we can incinerate your problem into a pile of ash that'll blow away on the wind!" -- and he's going to balk, because he's gotten attached enough that he wants the denizen free, not destroyed. No idea what he's ultimately going to settle on -- I think it'll be something weird and offbeat, not this easy to predict. In the meantime, Denny's antics are great. Especially when there's something plot-relevant or serious going on and it's just bopping around doing its own thing in the background. (And that one scene where they all got into fancy dress, and somebody gave the denizen a bowtie -- priceless. If it started getting a new themed accessory for every scene, I would not complain.)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Mica seems like she has lots of plans and interests and desires, but hasn't had the time/money/resources to pursue anything more than "reading about them." Meanwhile, Alta is well-traveled, practiced and competent at lots of things, and has the resources to go around offering her services pro bono...but doesn't really like or care about her job, it's just something she fell into because she was good at it. Point being, I hope they'll get into a setup where Mica picks some dreams to follow, and Alta focuses on giving her the support/backing to do it, and then gets to share in Mica's actual enjoyment. And maybe Alta figures out she likes one of these things for its own sake, so they decide to settle down and pursue it together? Or maybe they just keep exploring indefinitely, and it turns out Alta's really into "being the devoted protector while someone else is in charge."

RebelVampire

@Delphina He named the Denizen. Once you name something, there is no going back.

RebelVampire

I feel like even though things are going good between Mica and Alta, that right now were in that happy passionate phase before real issues start to heat and they start to realize theyre kind of two different ppl. So I really think that they're going to increasingly face more and more challenges in that regards. I also think Alta is about to rethink careers, and that will probably make her defocus from building the relationship. I do think Flea will successfully learn magic, and I think in so doing Flea will gain newfound confidence but also just an entire new perspective on who they are and life in general. And I think Flea teaches us that if we continue to reject parts of ourselves, even if we dont like that, that we're just gonna wind up hurting ourselves until we explode and hurt everyone else around us. I also think Flea teaches us that identity is also fluid and that you can, will, and should change and that just cause you change, doesn't mean you aren't who you are. I think Ru will find a solution, but I don't think Ru will act on it. I reiterate in this chat again, once you name something, there is no going back. However, I don't think Ru's choice will help Cymonee. I do think Ru will find other ways to help as a sort of payback for Cymonee sticking with him. However, what I'm most interested here is the comparison so far with Flea. Flea is embracing powers, while Ru isn't. And I find this contrasting journey to be interesting. I mean Ru didn't get no Alta speech about self-acceptance, so I'm wondering how that alone paved the course of events. I feel like the Consortium's plans is what will bring the main cast together again, since they'll either stop the Consortium, or clean up their mess. Since places without a ruling head of government usually don't do so hot. I think Maxwell will serve as the person who tattles in the hopes he can come out on top.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

I am most looking forward to seeing more of Ru's story, cause I really want to know if he's gonna start self-accepting those necromancy powers of if he really will just react them for all time. As for final words, this a comic with some fantastic characters, has a really unique humor with how the characters conduct themselves,, and all around is definitely a comic that deserves some praise.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I hope that if Ru does choose to accept these necromancy powers, it's because he wants to, not because he has to. Like, I'm hoping he finds a solution to his problem, but he chooses not to go through with it. One thing I'm loving about the current two arcs is that it's given us a chance to go more in depth with these characters. I loved the parts where the whole gang was together as a group, but this just gives us a chance to see these relationships flourish. Though, I do hope we see more Marigold soon, plus some other side characters like Maxwell. All in all, I really love this comic, and I can't wait to see where it goes next!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about The Stoop-Gallants this week! Please also give a special thank you to MJ Alexander and WW Rose for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked The Stoop-Gallants, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.thestoopgallants.com/site/

The Stoop-Gallants’ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/snartha

The Stoop-Gallants’ Store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/snartha/shop

The Stoop-Gallants’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/snartha

[moczothe1st]

Let’s Play Fire Emblem IV: Genealogy of the Holy War, Part 19: He’s a Late Blume-er

Part 18

Welcome back to FEIV! You may recall last week we killed Ishtore, a man with amazing lightning magic and truly astounding (not GOOD, but astounding) hair. He will be missed. I mean, not by me, but someone will miss him.  I mean, not his girlfriend, she also died, but…. Look, it’s a whole thing. The key is that we took his castle, and nobody is gonna be happy about it.

(See? No happiness.)

Bramsel: Men, this is our chance! Jabarro, send in your brigade! Hit them hard while their backs are turned! Leave no survivors!      

Jabarro: At once, sir!

Lene: Don’t you get it? He’s just using your loyalty to treat you like a weapon! I… I hate him so much!  

Ares: Lene… no, that isn’t…

Lene: Okay, fine! Whatever! Go with him, if you love him so much! It’s your life to waste, after all! But you can just go forget we ever met!

Ares: Lene…

(In her defense, judging by last week we can safely assume she’s worked out Ares is the only thing keeping her from getting locked up in Bramsel’s rape dungeon.)

(Yeah, here it comes. And meanwhile, at the other evil castle…)

Blume: I want you to show these rebel pigs just what the empire can do!  

One of those Three Names he Just Said: Yes, Milord. Leave it to us.  

A Second One: We will never let you down, milord.

The Third: The rebels shall be destroyed quickly, cleanly, efficiently, and utterly. Excuse us, milord.

(All three of them are identical except for eye color and the game never says which is which until they’re on the field, so.  NO clue.)

Blume: Hmmm. Everything depends on you.

(You may recall Tinni as being mentioned by a village two weeks ago, wherein they said she was much nicer than her family and the best person ever and definitely recruitable. And if Blume is her uncle, that means Taillte is her mom.  Arthur will want to have a chat with this one!)

Blume: Hmph. One would think I could expect more gratitude from someone I raised out of the goodness of my heart after her mother died. Or have you forgotten my many kindnesses?

(Ass.)

Tinni: No, uncle…

Blume: Good. Now get moving! Remember, these rebels are responsible for murdering my dear son Ishtore, and his true love Liza! Avenging them is your mission, Tinni!

Banba: We will be the ones to claim Seliph’s head as a trophy this day. We mustn’t be beaten by Tinni’s unit.  

Tinni: I… don’t know what to do anymore. Oh, mother… what would you do…?

She would probably shout a lot, if I remember her right.  Now, our phase begins and…

(Dammit, everyone needs to shut up!)

Lene: I see right through you! The moment Ares is out of sight you think it’s okay to act all tough again, you vile louse! Don’t even think about coming any closer. I don’t need Ares around to stop you!

Bramsel: Of all the nerve! You little wench!  Throw her in the dungeon! You’ll have plenty of time to think about what you’ve done there!

Lene: No! Ah… Ares…

Jabarro: Oh well. I guess it’s all in the past. You’re gonna forget ‘er sooner or later.

Ares: I beg your pardon? What exactly are you trying to say, Jabarro?

Jabarro: Heh… oh, nothing. Well, ‘cept that I bet Bramsel’s right about to…

(Oooooh, that was the wrong answer.)

Ares: T-this can’t be… Jabarro! How could you know his foul intent, yet let your tongue lie still?!

Jabarro: You can’t worry ‘bout the fairer sex, Ares. Have your fun with ‘em, but never stick around for when their lives come crashing down…

Ares: How dare you?! And to think you held my trust for so long… I must return to Darna! Lene needs me!

Jabarro: Nah, that ain’t gonna happen, see. Nobody, and I mean nobody, blows off my orders and turns tail on my watch! Not even you, kid.

Ares: … I’ve come far in your company, Jabarro, but our association ends now. If anyone wishes to stop me, Mystletainn will eagerly welcome your necks!

Jabarro: Grr… I’ll show you your place, whelp!

And with that, Ares reveals what sets him apart from his dad: he puts his personal morals above his oaths to jerks! Or he just really digs dancers, one of the two. Either way, he is now on the team!

And here’s our new BFF.  Ares is an overall phenomenal unit; like Shanan he joins up with his Holy Weapon and can therefore wreck most of the enemies on the map, but unlike Shanan he actually has pretty solid growths and will likely be a much tougher unit by the end of the game than he is now. Better still, he has a horse and comes with three great combat skills, Pursuit, Adept, and Vantage. TL;DR, we need to get this man to an Arena. For now, though, I run him south toward the rest of the army to meet his new friends.  

Now then. We have three armies to deal with. One moving south at us, following Ares. One moving west at us, with Tinni and the Three Stooges.  And one moving north to try and make one more shot at conquering Leonster.  Time to split the army. First, Fee is going to head toward Leonster, she can fly so she’ll beat the enemy there. She has an armorslayer sword and the enemy is all armor knights, she can hold the castle.  

Second, to the east, there’s two swordsmen blocking us off from getting Leif, Finn, and Nanna to the rest of the army.  Let’s move them. 

 … Finn. For shame.  But at least you can promote now. I am going to send him off to our home castle ASAP. Going north to help Ares I send Oifey, Lana, Dermott, Shanan, Ulster, Johan, Patty, and Seliph since he needs to take the castle to save Lene.  Going east are Leif and Nanna, as they’re already there, and backing them up will be Julia, Larcei, Lester, and Arthur, who is needed to recruit Tinni.  I can’t see any reason this won’t work off the top of my head, but… I mean. Fire Emblem.  

End turn!

Only one person could reach us, so this was a boring enemy phase. Next one will be much more… active. For now, though, let’s try to purge some of the northern enemy. 

Well. This didn’t go badly, but not great either, barring Lana finally getting an Aideen-tier level. I just didn’t kill off as many as I’d been hoping to, and the enemy phase will be pretty dicey.  I think I’ll have Finn stick around to help this group, rather than letting Lana warp him back to promote right away.  

End turn.  This will be…. Fun.

… *sigh* Well, I knew something could go wrong, but I didn’t see it being everyone dogpiling Johan of all people. Well, nice to be surprised, I suppose.

Reset.  

This is becoming a pattern. I do something interesting, die, and have to go back to boring old ‘sit at the edge of their range and bait them out’.  I know it works, but really.

Not bad at all! They tried to dogpile Ares this time, and like I said: he’s pretty badass. Probably would have died if Jabarro had taken a shot at him, but since it was specifically Jabarro’s range we were staying away from, we pulled through just fine. Now, to the eastern front.  

… That was just sad, Leif.

Okay, our turn.  First thing to do is clear out Jabarro’s unit. The man himself is a giant pain, packing both a Silver Sword and a Skill Ring to leave him obnoxiously accurate. Let’s send in some heavy hitters to roll him down.  

And Shanan gets the skill ring, which he absolutely does not need. He does need money, however, so selling that later will be a nice source of income for him to keep Balmung nice and shiny.  And from here, it’s really just a nice, normal purge.  

And hey, Ares can chat with Seliph.  I wasn’t planning to do it right now, but they ended up next to each other, so why not.

Ares: They call me the black knight, Ares. Perhaps you would recognize me better, however, as the son of Eldigan.  

Seliph: What?! It cannot be… you don’t mean the legendary Lord Eldigan of Nordion, do you?!

Ares: The very same! I am the son of Eldigan the Lionheart, the man your father killed in cold blood! My noble mother, the Lady Grainne, died wracked with grief and rage at Sigurd! It is high time you knew my family’s pain!

(Weeeeeeren’t you an infant at the time, bro? How do you know?)

Seliph: That’s… I don’t understand. As I was told, your father and mine were the closest of friends. As tragic as their end was, I don’t believe our fathers would ever have begrudged each other.

Ares: That’s impossible… Sigurd was my father’s mortal foe! This… this is all I’ve known my entire life…

Seliph: Please listen, Ares. Would you consider traveling with my army? I know we can resolve this misunderstanding, if we just give it some time. I hold the late Lord Eldigan in the utmost respect, just as my own father did. Please, understand this.

(I don’t respect him very much, if that helps.)

Ares: Seliph… very well. I can stay my hand for now. However, be warned. Should I learn that even a single word of your claim is false, your life is forfeit in your father’s place. Do I make myself clear, Seliph?

Seliph: if that happens, then do as you must. Ares… I wish you could know just how ecstatic our fathers would be to know we’ve met at last. If only it had been under better circumstances…

Neat. Now, where were we? Oh right, IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR.

*snerk* I like how it took three people together to bring down the first Mage Sister, and Arthur alone completely wrecked the second.  Anyway, I have him and Julia blocking off the enemy; as long as Tinni doesn’t fuck this up and try to kill her invincible brother, I think we’re in a good place.

…

She’s gonna, huh.

*sigh* End turn.

Okay. So far so good. But there’s still one more…

Julia, I know you hunger for blood, but please don’t kill this one.

Tinni you magnificent bitch, dodging on a 93% hit chance. I love you.

Our turn, and I start it with Arthur:

Arthur: Really?! Then you’re Tinni! Oh, I’ve finally found you!

Tinni: Er… who are you?

Arthur: Here, maybe this will clear it up. This pendant is exactly the same as yours, and I’ve had it my whole life.

Tinni: Y-you’re right, but… what are you saying?

Arthur: See, years ago, my mother was a warrior in Sigurd’s army, and after the war she fled to Silesse with her children. When I was little, my mother and my newborn sister disappeared… I was left behind with nothing but this pendant. I only recently learned what happened. It was King Blume of Alster. He abducted them. He took my family from me. The rumors all said Mother had died awhile ago, but they also said my sister is still alive. That’s you, Tinni! I’ve finally found you after all these years! I came all this way just to see you again…

Tinni: I… I never even knew Blume did that to Mother… it makes sense, though. I can’t remember much of her, but I know I never saw her smile or laugh. You’re… my brother… ohhh… sniff…

Arthur: Would you play down your arms and join our army, Tinni? We’ve still got so much to talk about.

Tinni: Mm. Thank you, brother. I never did want to fight…

And that’s that. Let’s take a look at our new recruit:

And there’s Tinni! She gets a lot of flak because she’s hard to build super-well, but honestly I like her. She’s also hard to make bad; she doesn’t have Pursuit, but neither did Taillte and she did just fine. I suspect the people who don’t like Tinni are mainly the people who didn’t really like her mother either; I know she has a pretty wide selection of the fandom who view her as too poorly-built to use and she should be left childless. But unlike most of these chuckleheads, Tinni actually has a character arc, and for me that’s enough to bring her along. And you know, it’s not like she’s bad at combat. Wrath, Adept, and Critical are all fine skills, and while she won’t have growths as good as her crazy brother’s, she’s still got two different Holy Bloods.  In my experience, she’s gonna get on just fine.    

………………………

And then, I don’t know, either I forgot to save or my file got corrupted and I lost the last two turns. I… I was very sad. So I had to re-do them, and since that many shots would make the update unbearably long, I will summarize:  Ares got half the levels (people kept ignoring him to go after Ulster this time?) but he was able to kill his old boss and get the Skill Ring, Patty got a very good level thanks to Dermott leaving some half-dead dudes behind, and Julia almost murdered Tinni.   But, on the plus side, Finn finally got warped home to promote.  

*whistle* Take a look at that 25 Strength. That much power and a Brave weapon basically sets him up for the rest of the game, because he is gonna hit like a runaway freight train. Might have to be careful on defense, he’s only above-average in Speed and Defense and has no resistance worth mentioning, but as an offensive unit he’ll be a monster.  Let’s test him out in the arena while we’re here, he won’t be needed on the battlefield again for this map.

Finn: Seven wins, gained no levels. He might be a bit overpowered.  

Okay! End turn, this is going pretty well barring the occasional horrible glitch that I hate.  

…. Well, other than that. I underestimated how quickly they’d get to Leonster and… *cough* may have forgotten to move Fee once or twice, so I think the enemy will be taking the castle after all. It’s not a big deal, they’re really expected to, but I’m still a little annoyed this is happening because I didn’t think.  Ah, well, it will just be a quick detour to liberate it after Seliph finishes up at Darna. I have him head toward it, his army pausing at the edge of the defenders’ movement range (see, I can learn) and have the eastern group start moving up toward Leonster. Fee pauses in a position to challenge one or two of the armors, hopefully the whole group will turn to chase her and she can run up to the castle and hide inside.  End turn!

Jerks. You know, it’s kind of unfair that any of them can take a castle, but we can only have Seliph do it.  

God, you are just like your mother.

To the north, Darna’s defense line doesn’t take the bait. They must not move until attacked. Well.

Their loss. At our other army, I have Fee take out one armor unit:

And then run away, hiding out over the ocean to her west to avoid any other counter attacks.  She hasn’t got much health left, so she needs to avoid any damage until I can get Nanna or Julia up there to help her out. They’re on their way, so this will be turning around shortly.  End turn; no enemies are close enough to take a swing at us, so it goes immediately back to our player phase.  

Fantastic. Darna will fall on our next turn, and shortly after that the other team should be running into the unit who took Leonster. Fee probably won’t even die.  End turn! Once again, nothing on the enemy phase; they’re moving toward us, but they’re on the slow side.  On our turn, Julia patches up Fee to gain a level.

Hehehe. I’m legit impressed by how well her speed is doing, it tends to be a lower growth.  The rest of their unit parks on the local villages to await the incoming storm o’ units.  

Now then, Darna. First, clear the last defender:

 Bramsel is a general, despite appearances, and stat-wise he isn’t super impressive. His one and only real trick is that he’s packing a Horseslayer weapon, so cavalry had better be sure they’re gonna take him down if they take a swing at him.  He’s got no defense against distance attacks, but, like a doofus, I sent all the mages to the other army.  So, uh, Oifey… wanna try that javelin?

Bramsel: Darna is my city! Mine! Nobody will ever take it from me!

Well, it’s a start. Not sure this will work, but… Seliph, wanna give it a shot?

FUCKING PAVISE. Okay, so Darna will fall next turn.  End turn. Ya jackass game.

And that’s Bramsel. Our turn begins, and Seliph takes the castle.  

Lewyn: It was the last free land in Jugdral. In battle after battle, the overwhelming might of the Loptyr Empire had devastated the resistance. Ultimately, the last of the resistance soldiers barricaded themselves within Darna’s walls. Battered and wounded, they were nonetheless determined to fight to the bitter end. But then, suddenly, there was a miracle… from the heavens descended twelve gods, who bestowed upon twelve young warriors miraculous weapons and immense power. Thus were born the Twelve Crusaders, the heroes who led the resistance to victory.

Seliph: That was the legendary Miracle of Darna, yes?

Lewyn: The very same. And even as we speak, Seliph, another miracle is dawning. Just as the resurrection of Loptyr looms on the horizon, so too are the Crusaders themselves arising in our world once more…

Seliph: I beg your pardon?

Lewyn: Heh… don’t worry Seliph. You’ll understand soon enough.

(Well. Seliph may not have a ton in common with his father, but he clearly has Sigurd-tier obliviousness.)  

And of course he can’t rescue Lene because Seliph is standing in the way. Ironic, really; we could save Lene, our dancer, if we had a dancer to move Seliph. That’s Fire Emblem Philosophy 101, kids.  In any case, Lana starts warping people back to Melgen so they can have a shorter walk to rejoin the remaining action; Shanan goes first and Lana levels up.

Then, while he’s at a friendly castle, Best Prince takes the opportunity to run the Arena.

Shanan: Seven wins, gained one level: +1 HP, +1 Skill, +1 Speed, +1 Defense.

*sniff* I may cry. He’s doing much better than I’d expect from him, I tell you that much.

Now, to deal with the Leonster enemies, who are (finally) in range.

… Am I being trolled? Nanna? Are you trolling me? Because you’re doing the same fucking thing Ethlyn did.  You aren’t her child, Nanna. Leif is. If Leif didn’t get any magic ever I could understand it.  That’s genetics. But you’re just the same damn class!  I hate you.  

End turn.  Bitterly end turn.

…. Bitterness increasing.

*sigh* 25% chance to hit and she took it right on the jaw. Fire Emblem, ladies and gents!

Let’s… try this again. This time, let’s go mainly for the commander and try to take away their Leadership Stars, see if that works out better.

… Welcome to the team, Ethlyn 2. 

*sigh* Well, better. Nobody is dead, anyway.  Lana warps Seliph back to Melgen so he can start the long trek over to take some castles for us, and Ares goes into Darna to rescue his gal.

Lene: Ares…

Ares: Oh! Is everything okay, Lene?!

Lene: N-no… it’s not… but someone from the liberation army rescued me… and… I knew you’d come, Ares…

Ares: Lene… I beg your forgiveness… I was a fool! I should have heeded you…

Lene: It’s okay… after all, you’re here now…

Ares: I swear to you, I’ll never let this happen again.  

Lene: And I swear I’ll try to keep my big mouth to myself from now on! Don’t ever leave me again, Ares…

… Dark! Anyway, Lene has no signed up, and as you might have guessed she is Sylvia and Claude’s daughter. And like her mother before her, her stats and all that junk are irrelevant so I don’t need to waste time showing it! She’s a dancer so she’s amazing and will be very, very useful to the army in any situation. And unlike Sylvia, we can actually use her from day one because it doesn’t matter if she gets married.  Go team!

Oh, and speaking of the team, time to finish that actual ‘war’ thing.

Not bad at all, barring the fact Arthur has apparently decided he’s done with Perfect Levels. And with that, the map is basically over. The only enemy units remaining are Blume himself and the three generals in front of his castle. So it’s time, I think, to have assorted folks and units do stuff. I sell Seliph’s Brave Sword so I can pass it around, and have anyone who hasn’t finished the Arena take a shot at it.

Patty: Up to seven wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +2 Skill, +1 Strength, +2 Luck, +1 Defense

Julia: Up to seven wins, gained one level: +1 HP, +1 Magic, +1 Luck, +1 Defense, +1 Resistance

Ares: Seven wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +2 Luck, +2 Defense

Nanna: Seven wins, gained three levels: +3 HP, +2 Strength, +2 Speed, +1 Magic,, +1 Defense, +2 Luck, +1 Resistance

Leif: Seven wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +1 Skill, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Luck, +1 Defense

Tinni: Seven wins, gained three levels: +3 HP, +2 Skill, +3 Speed, +1 Magic, +3 Luck, +1 Resistance

Also, Lana gains some levels from zapping people around:

And some conversations happen.

(“Ugh. More of the commonfolk. Oifey, where is my peasant-beating stick?!”)

Lene: I’m Lene, the Dancer!

Seliph: Y… you’re Lene?

Lene: Ooooh? Mister Seliph, is this the first time you’ve ever seen a dancer?

Seliph: Y-yes, miss…

Lene: Hee hee… that’s adorable!

(And it ends there. Lene knows what she wants in life, and it is to laugh at dorks.)

(

... Picture here an image of Leif introducing himself to Seliph. No such image exists because I’m a doofus.)

Leif: My parents both died in the Battle of Belhalla’s prelude… they were felled by a Thracian ambush. My homeland, Leonster, soon founds itself in the clutches of an Imperial occupation, and fell under the reign of its Duke Blume. If not for my knight, Finn, I wouldn’t be here today. He raised me in hiding in nearby villages, and we awaited the day Leonster would rise again.  We thought that day had finally come, but…

Seliph: … We both took to the battlefield around the same time, did we not? By now practically all of Jugdral knows of King Blume’s brutality. I sorely wish my army had arrived soon enough to properly aid you. You have my deepest apologies, Prince Leif.

Leif: No, Lord Seliph. I’m the one who should be apologizing. Our failure was squarely my fault.  However, this isn’t over yet. I am the son of Quan, a man worthy of being dubbed a Knight of Nova. I refuse to shame his legacy, and so I’ll live on. I’ll fight on, no matter the cost. To that end, Lord Seliph, my comrades and I would like to join your army.  I may not have much of an army left, but what I do have is yours. May we serve you well in restoring honor to Grannvale.  

Seliph: Thank you, Prince Leif.  Often have I heard it said that our fathers were inseparable friends, bound together to the bitter end in both life and death.  Not to mention your mother, Queen Ethlyn, is also my aunt…

(“Oh yeah, we’re literally cousins, forgot for a bit!”)

Seliph: Both of your parents gave their lives to support my father’s cause. Prince Leif, you have my deepest, most heartfelt apologies for their sacrifice.

Leif: Thank you, but that isn’t necessary. I’m proud of my parents, and have the utmost respect for Lord Sigurd. The only hatred I bear is for the true villains, Emperor Arvis and King Travant!

(Holy crap, Leif is logically blaming the people actually at fault? Are we sure he’s an anime teenager?)

Seliph: As do I. Prince Leif, in the name of our late fathers’ last wishes, I seek to restore peace and light to all of Jugdral. Please, join me in my cause!

Leif: Yes, milord! You have my blade as your own!

Dermott: Perfect! I’m your brother, Dermott!

(“Excuse me? I was always told my brother’s name was Diarm-“ “YUP, DERMOTT, THAT’S ME.”)

Nanna: What?! What… are you talking about…?

Dermott: I didn’t know until recently, either. King Lewyn told me everything.   In the war seventeen years ago, I was with the kids who fled to Isaach. But you were born after our mother went to Leonster.

Nanna: You… you’re my brother? Then where’s Mother now?!

Dermott: Er… ‘Where’s Mother’?  What are you getting at here, Nanna?

Nanna: I haven’t seen her in so long… when I was around three years old, she left us and traveled alone to Isaach, to try and find you. She never came back. I’ve waited to see her again for years…

Dermott: She did? But… but I never saw her…!

Nanna: You… didn’t? Then where is she…

Dermott: The Yied Desert… it’s a treacherous place. Very few lone travelers survive it…

Nanna: … No! Oh, mother…

(And Nanna gains +1 Luck from that, because… tragedy… builds character…?)

Tinni: I am Tinni… Arthur’s sister…

Seliph: Ah, of course. I’ve been told your story, Tinni.

Tinni: Um… I’m sorry!

Seliph: You’ve nothing to apologize for, Tinni. With the likes of King Blume for an uncle, I completely understand. You had no choice.

Tinni: Are… are you forgiving me, sir?

Seliph: Certainly! There’s no question that you’re not our enemy, and it would be an honor to have you with us.

Tinni: Wow… you’re everything the stories say you are! I wish we could’ve met sooner…

Seliph: Heh… thank you. Listen, Tinni… I know fighting your own family is a painful prospect, so please, don’t force yourself if you’re at all uncomfortable.

Tinni: Sir…

He actually means that literally.  Tinni vs. Blume is very painful to her, in a very literal, physical way.  He’ll kick her ass.  

All right. Now that we’ve gotten that all done, and Seliph has gone up to retake Leonster, the rest of the army turns to Blume.  He’s guarded by three generals, all of whom have Silver Blades and Steel Bows, so there isn’t a safe range to hit them from. But that’s nothing new. The real problem is Blume himself.

Yeah. Yeah. You remember Mjolnir, I hope, from when Reptor made our lives hell with it.  Well, Blume takes after dear old dad.  He can’t double attack with it, his only ability is Pavise, but he’s still very fast and hits very hard. And to make matters worse he has a droppable Silver Blade, so ideally we want someone who can use swords to bring him down. Realistically that means ‘Shanan or Ares’ because another Holy Weapon is your best shot at doing it without dying.    

So first things first, let’s move the guards.

Geez, these guys are beefy. That was to kill one of them.  Ulster, can you do better?

… Sorrrrrrta? He didn’t get hit in return, at least. But I also can’t get anyone else in position to support him, so he’s probably gonna get pounded in the face next turn.  Speaking of next turn, end turn!

CALLED IT!

Okay. Our turn, and there’s only one general left. Let’s clear that fucker out before we do anything else.

Ugh. I should point out that this is not actually the land of the Omni-Generals; Blume has four leadership stars and he buffs his troops up considerably. I take a few turns here to rest up, heal up, and send Shanan to liberate the remaining villages because he’s desperately short on cash.  Julia levels from healing:

You might have noticed she didn’t gain a point of magic? She’s already hit the cap. Can’t go higher until she promotes. I love my princess. <3

Now. Blume. He has conversations with three different characters, two of whom should not be allowed anywhere near him.  Since I love you guys, and I’m willing to use save states to cheese for story content, here they are.

(Frankly, I’m just amazed she hit him.)

Blume: Hmph! A likely retort, but only one of us will die this day, and it shall not be me!

(Well, he wasn’t wrong.)

Blume: Gah… impudent whelp! Just try me!

*whistle* Well. It was a close thing, but he clearly tried real good. It was caught at a bad moment, but that last shot was a crit that left Blume with only 13HP. And Ares is in range!  

Yeah, we’re not done with this jackass just yet.  Still, for the moment, Ares has a backup sword to use so he doesn’t burn through his Mystletainn all the time, and that’s all I asked for. Shanan spends the next few turns getting paid:

(Well. Only one now.)

Info Master: Ishtar’s ruling over Manster right now, and Ishtore’s posted at Fort Melgen, both doing Blume’s dirty work. Unlike their folks, they’re fine youths. You’ll be sure to face ‘em sooner or later… be on your guard, stranger.

(“They’re great kids! But, you know, they definitely will try to kill you.”)

Why Is He Smiling: His rule’s been one tragedy after another… Just when we thought he couldn’t get any worse, now he’s just letting those child hunts happen! We can’t take this anymore…

And with that, nothing else to do on this map, so let’s call it a day. Seliph, do the honors!

Lewyn: Eh, these sorts of things can’t be helped. After all, the war’s only just beginning.  

Seliph: And yet, the citizens are already all so eager to support us! I’ve seldom seen such joy…

Lewyn: For the first time, they’ve got hope for a future free from the Empire’s abuse.  YOU are the people’s last hope, Seliph, but the worst of the war still lies ahead.  

Seliph: Mm. And yet, I’ve so much incredible talent fighting by my side! With such amazing men and women with me, I know no challenge will be too great!

(I kind of morbidly wonder what he says if you let everyone die except him at this point.)

Lewyn: Yeah… you’ll all do just fine, Seliph.

 *whew* Well. Thank you for being chill about this for once, Lewyn.  I enjoy you more when you aren’t bitching at me.  Now then, see you all next week when… *shudder*

When Blume calls in… … … …

Her.

Resets: 24. It’s all downhill from here, folks.

Part 20

[thehikingviking]

Mt Baldwin from McGee Peak via Scheelore Mine

It was Day 2 of the 2020 Sierra Challenge, and the challenge peak was the unofficially named Scheelore Peak. I had skipped the first day due to several factors, but I was rearing and ready to go on the second day. Mt Baldwin was less than a mile north of Scheelore Peak, making for a good combination possibility. My only concern centered around the fact that the standard route up Mt Baldwin starts from Convict Lake, while the challenge was starting from McGee Creek Trailhead. There was very little documentation regarding this approach, and the best I had to go off of was Secor reporting a class 3-4 route up a similar, but not exact, approach to what I was considering. I arrived at the trailhead the night before and no one had the slightest concern with making it to the saddle between Scheelore Peak and Mt Baldwin, so I went to bed with a sense of confidence.

The starting time was 6am, but I was up and ready to go earlier than expected. In an effort to enforce social distancing, the SCC19RT (Sierra Challenge Covid-19 Response Team) suspended all trailhead photos for the year. With no reason to dilly dally around the trailhead, I decided to start out 20 minutes before the official start time. This was my third time up the canyon, and I was making faster progress than I remembered. As I was beginning to take pride in my new speed, someone abruptly showed up on my heels. I didn’t recognize this older fellow, but he penguin walked by me and was soon out of sight. This ended up being Fred Zalokar, a trail runner and accomplished mountaineer who I used to interact with on Twitter. For the time being, this had me nervous that others would soon be on my heels, so I maintained my powerwalk at top speed. I had a tricky crossing of McGee Creek, which could have been avoided with an easy log crossing further upstream. Two years ago there had been a large beaver pond slightly further up the canyon, however the dam had since broke and what remained was a meadow.

Shortly after I passed what was once an avalanche zone. I remember high stepping fallen trees in the past, but this year the trail was nicely cut and the area was on its way to recovery.

I reached a junction after 4 miles where I took a right. The topo map is a little messed up here, so I wasn’t fully confident I was on the right trail. I caught up with a pair of hikers and maintained their pace about 20 yards behind them. I listened as they bickered back and forth. These ended up being the Shaper Brothers. I passed them as they took a break. The trail from here on didn’t seem to be maintained, but it was clear enough for me to follow confidently. Some sections had thick vegetation that I had to push though, but I was able to maintain my brisk pace. After six miles I arrived at an open meadow with breathtaking views of the multicolored rocks that make up this area. Only two hours had passed, which meant I was on a 3mph uphill pace; a personal best.

Nature called, so I ran to a patch of trees to take care of business. Now that I was lighter, I continued up the canyon finding the trail once again, which was once a wide road. I could have driven some sections with my Jeep.

I scouted descent routes from Scheelore Peak's south ridge. Some sections looked class 2. I watched as the moon set over the ridgeline above.

I looked ahead towards the mine and I started to get worried. The cliffs to gain the top of the ridgeline looked nearly vertical and most likely class 5. I started scanning the cliffs for a weakness but couldn’t see much of anything. I crossed paths again with the Shaper brothers, so at least I wasn’t the only one heading to this possible dead end.

We followed the road further up the canyon as it passed by a large lake. I had initially planned to refill my water here, but after thinking about it, I decided against this. This water was right below a mine, and it may have been contaminated, whether that be lead or something else. The mine hasn't been active in many years, but I had enough water such that I didn’t need to risk it.

As I approached the mine, I noticed a red strip cutting up the scheelite wall. Could this be the key to ascending the peak?

As I got closer, I noticed a lone figure almost sprinting up the red stripe. I guessed this was most likely the man who passed me in the early morning. If someone could run up this feature, then I hoped I, as a mere mortal, would be able to climb it.

I took my second rest at the mine with the Shaper bros, and we discussed the looming crux. Chris Henry soon caught up to us, and I was glad to have a very experienced climber right behind us, in case I were to fail in identifying a good route.

I climbed the loose scree above the mine. This was incredibly soft and difficult, so I moved to the right where I had better footing. From there I follow the top of the ridge as I approached the start of the red stripe.

The start of the red stripe was loose class 2. So far, so good.

I found no challenges until I reached the last portion of the stripe. The last 50 feet or so became very vertical. I looked down and quite a crowd was forming down below. The greater group had now arrived to Scheelore Mine, and I appeared to be the guinea pig on this unknown route. The pressure was on to not only surmount the obstacle, but look good while doing it.

I first tried to continue up the red stripe, but there were less features on the wall and the red rock was extremely slick. I backed off and looked for plan B.

I attempted to climb a section just to the left of the red stripe. There were more features, and while climbing here was easier than the red stripe, the rock quality was very questionable and after climbing up 10 feet, I decided not to risk weighting the thin flakes and I backed off once again. I carefully down climbed to the safe ledge below. I then made one more effort even further to the left. The rock quality here was sturdier, and there were enough features for me to climb up to some walkable ledges above. The pitch was class 4. I was stoked to make it to the ridgeline. I learned later that the others were able to find a class 2-3 work around, and no one followed my ascent route.

To the south was Scheelore Peak.

To the north was Mt Baldwin. After a quick rest, I made my way up the ridge.

From the saddle it was all class 2, with the hardest part being some loose sidehilling.

I spotted the main group of climbers congregating at the saddle below.

After grunting up some loose scree, I finally reached the top. I was surprised to find myself alone on the summit. To the southwest were Scheelore Peak, Red and White Mountain and Red Slate Mountain.

To the northwest were Lake Dorothy and Bloody Mountain.

To the north were Laurel Mountain, Bright Dot Lake, Mt Morrison and Great White Fang.

To the northeast were Glass Mountain Ridge and Lake Crowley. The trailhead parking lot was also visible below. I wondered how Asaka and Leif were doing.

To the southeast were Mt Morgan and Mt Crocker.

I received a Facetime call from an old college friend. What perfect timing; I had great service and the views were perfect to share. After a long rest, the larger group eventually joined me. I was again surprised that this was everyone’s first peak. Even more exciting was the fact that I beat Bob to the top. Granted, he did climb a bonus peak on the way and I did get a 20 minute head start, but this was still enough to put me in a great mood. My training had definitely paid off.

I introduced myself to all the new faces. Grant Miller popped over the ridge, coming from the loose ridge south of Great White Fang. Grant, Bob and I headed back down together to the saddle on our way towards the challenge peak.

At the saddle there was an interesting rock formation. Maybe this was some helicopter landing site. We paid little attention to this and continued up towards Scheelore Peak.

The remaining distance to Scheelore Peak was across easy terrain. We stopped to chat with Mason and Gong, who both signed the summit register which Bob had in his pack. We made it to the summit a few minutes later.

I was satisfied with my accomplishment, but Bob was set on climbing Peak 12388. Grant was also interested in this peak, as it was part of his great traverse to Red and White Mountain. I decided to join them, even though I had little interest in this bonus peak.

At first the ridge was incredibly easy. The ridge felt like fake rock.

This section was short lived, and a more complicated section of ridge laid ahead.

Bob disappeared off an exposed ledge, finding a work around to our first cliff.

There were a few more loose class 4 work arounds, but we handled it methodically. Grant just skimmed along the top of ridgeline and was soon ahead of us both.

As we approached the low point, the ridge became very thin.

Then the ridge became even thinner. It was the definition of a knife edge.

I was relieved to make it past that crux. The remaining distance to Peak 12388 was class 2.

We reunited with Grant on the summit. To the northwest were Constance Lake and Convict Canyon.

Due west was Red Slate Mountain.

To the south was Red and White Mountain.

To the north was Mt Baldwin.

Grant now planned to continue to McGee Pass Peak. The traverse seemed like a very miserable task, but he talked about it as if it was nothing. Bob spotted another sub peak further down the ridge, but he thankfully decided that it was not worthy enough to visit. We returned back to the northern edge of the peak, where we had spotted a class 2 route to the canyon below.

My downhill muscles were not as in shape as Bob’s so he beat me down to the meadow below. I didn’t bother trying to keep up with him, but rather I decided to sit by the creek, take off my shoes and drink the spring water unfiltered in the meadow below.

The remaining 7 miles was a simple walk down the trail, with the only highlight being an aqua challenge in McGee Creek. 3 peaks was more than I planned, and I was not as tired as I expected when I returned. The 20 mile effort took me 9 hours and 35 minutes, and I was very happy to see Leif and Asaka when I returned to the car.

[markoftheasphodel]

For the meme: Alvis and Travant

Arvis

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life (In the sense of being a good antagonist, that is)hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (Kinda went off on the fabulous bastards with long flowing hair some time ago)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (Yeah yeah, ambition, but also keep the surface presentation of Arvis, heir to the “emblem of justice,” in mind– imagine him going through life saying out loud “My whole family is Gryffindor” knowing the Hat had a lengthy dialogue with him about his ambition. And yes, Gryffs can go very wrong.)best quality: He had a vision of a better world and the competence and drive to almost get there. He saw a very corrupt world and said “I can do better than that” and tried.worst quality: Pride and a level of self-deception that goes with it. He thought he could handle Manfroy and couldn’t. He thought he could cover his tracks and couldn’t. He thought he could build a better world on a foundation of murder. And to the end, he never apologizes to Seliph. Can he admit, even to himself, the magnitude of his crimes and failures? I don’t know.ship them with: Uh… Aida.brotp them with: Poor Azelle and no one else, really. He’s an isolated man by design.needs to stay away from: Aside from random women who resemble his mother, the legit husbands of his love interests, and random dark mages?misc. thoughts: A++ antagonist but basically he was the party to a whole lotta murder and the architect of many injustices to the common people and the fact that he a) had the best of intentions and b) suffered deep personal losses doesn’t change that.

Travant

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life (Again, in the sense of being a great antagonist. Travant is a personal favorite.)hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (what I said above about fabulous bastards with fabulous hair, as impressive a figure as he cuts)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (That’s not even a contest.)best quality: I think it’s that sense of “justice” that Lewyn says doesn’t make sense outside of his own borders. He wants to keep his people safe and well-fed, and the deck’s been stacked against him. He wants brigands rounded up. He hates working for scum like Chagall. He balks at personally murdering a toddler in a world where offing the kids of your political enemies is standard procedure. He stands in sharp contrast to a really awful king like Dannan or a weak one like Bloom.worst quality: The justice doesn’t come with sufficient levels of mercy (Altena aside), so we get lovely things like hostage-taking and orders for reprisals against civilians. For all that he resents the powerful forces that keep him in check and his people down, he’s willing to take the low road if it works, and it usually works.ship them with: Nobody really. Don’t ask me where Arion came from. I can see the argument for the Quan hatesexship but it’s really not my thingbrotp them with: Nobody really. If he could’ve been bros with someone like Hannibal he’d have been better off. needs to stay away from: Ethlyn, Leif, and Finn, both in the literal “somebody gonna die” sense and the “I have seen these ships and lo, they were bad” sense.misc. thoughts: A really great antagonist who serves as a foil to two of the heroes (Quan and Finn) and another villain (Arvis) and shines in every role– ruler of an embattled nation, father waging proxy war through his children, long-game mastermind who wants to reshape the power balance. Travant willingly gets his hands bloody and then offers no excuses; he knows he’s probably going to hell for everything that he’s done and accepts that as the price of his master plan. Arvis quietly arranges for the Tyrfing to reach Seliph and waits at Chalphy for the rebel army to show, but Travant strips himself of his holy weapon and flies off to directly confront the people who most want him dead. Both Arvis and Travant sort of get what they want– an Empire more just than the regime it replaced, a unified Thracia where grain can flow freely from north to south– but Jugdral’s cosmic morality looks at Travant’s own sacrifice and says “good enough” and so his son is spared, his daughter gets the chance to shape his legacy, and the kid sitting on New Thracia’s throne don’t have major holy blood. For whose sake was it all, and who really won in the end?  

[randomnameless]

Reactions to the interview under the cut

TBH, I though i was reading a certain manga, but no. So, apparently, Arvis was afraid that making an ambush on a defenseless man wasn’t sufficient, and he Deedee-baited him out of guard to win.

Meh.

This part about the Dozels, Lex is supposedly a misfit in his family, but then all of his nephew sort of take after him, as in, aren’t raging douchebags.

Actually, Lex was the first modern Dozel? The others (Danan/Langbalt) were old Dozels?

The reason why she turned into the most badass parental figure in the next game

You hear the man, FE5 was going to be on SNES

and fig this N64 thing or 3D models

This is where we’re not going to be on the same train of thought - no one is completely evil for the sake of it, but women can’t because “women!”??

Real world history, the killing of women is something that doesn’t happen so much even in real life? Are we living in the same world? I guess Marie-A from wonder France didn’t really lose her head, or something...

And again, Hilda is the “very definition of villainous”, “an evil witch” and all...

We killed her son gfdi, for sure it doesn’t lessen the impact of her participation in the child hunts, but damn it, we’re in Genealogy of the HW, of course children want to avenge their dads, and dads/moms want to avenge their kids. Like, iirc, Hilda is the only parent to lose a child, as opposed to everyone else who lost a parent, right?

fig it, he’s the plainest prince of Persia a barbarian country we invaded for no good reason and we will never give it back to him

Jamke illustrates everything wrong with Granvalle in the first gen, but sure, he is plain.

Major Naga heroine who is the only one who can get rid of Loptyr? What am i talking about, Falchion is a sword, not a sentient, human being!

OTOH what does he mean by “heroine”? Someone who’s heroic but with tiddies, or someone who supports the hero?

hahaha, the epilogue said i played 66 hours, but i actually took nearly 3 years to finish the game!

TFW Kaga himself says Edain has no respect for Azelle :’(

OTOH, yay for man-woman romances!

... something something awakening something Tharja’s daughter

OTOH, I can’t see anyone else fitting this description.

:)

This is something I felt as I was playing, even if “many people” in the second gen was only “Seliph and Seliph post-F!Lewyn infodumping on what he should think”.

Maybe the reason why a certain manga ended after Arvis’ defeat?

And you’re not supposed to be able to fight the evil dragon without Falchion even for laughs.

:’(

I firmly believe that Seliph, put in Siggy’s shoes without a draconic advisor would have failed, maybe not the scene where he marries a woman he met once, but failed to see what Arvis and the other Granvallians were planning.

Sad thing, Sigurd was a knight during a time of peace/pre-war. Seliph is a man taught to be a King, during times of war.

We can’t compare them.

And this is this foreshadowing chapter that everyone loved, as opposed to Seliph’s which is just... there.

Big Meh here for Travant.

F!Lewyn be damned (seriously), Travant’s brand of justice is no different than F!Lewyn’s own brand if we talk about doing questionnable things for the greater good (Ishtore? Getting involved in Thracia only to put Leif on the Throne and getting rid of the Dain line?).

Travant is a “crass” person, alright, but he still wanted food for his people and honestly, I can’t really agree with the “no other way to be killed”.

I don’t know what happened for FE5 to see the day, and for Kaga to go back on those words, but in FE5, I could “see” Leif kind of working with Travant to get rid of the Loptyr goons or something, because FE5!Leif understands that the Thracians are in deep shit thanks to his dad and his grandpapa. Leif’d still hate his guts, but he managed to swallow his pride and ask Hannibal for his help in the game.

FE4!Leif only wants revenge, and will crush Thracia with an iron fist, before becoming the King of the united peninsula, with the people’s approval, of course!

So hm, yeah? I wonder if there is a Kaga interview about FE5.

Naesala is a modern Travant, but in the end, he doesn’t die, he can even get married to his heron!

:’(

Azelle also felt suffocated by Deedee’s Loptyr blood? Is it a side effect of the Loptyr blood, or Kaga forgot about Deedee, or Azelle had to find an excuse to be scared of his bro?

Falchion has some backstory?

Seriously, this is the reason why, despite the game making it possible for Seliph/Ares to kill Julius, Julia is the only one who can/should kill him.

Like, she’s a Falchion so of course she can do it, but also, she is the only sibling Julius had, blood relations be cursed. She is the only one to remember her bro, the only one to call out Loptyr on his possession.

Julia and Julius shared a bond (because they’re twins?) as siblings who grew up together, it’s normal that she’s the only one from the family to put him out of his misery.

and then depressive post!war!Julia happens

FE5 happened, so a chunk of this is not up-to-date, but seeing the different intentions of Kaga while making the game and what the fans managed to see while playing it is really telling.

Kaga managed to make his grandiose game, but Siggy’s story is the part everyone loves whereas it was supposed to be a glorified prologue - I am not okay with Hilda supposed to be Hans&Iago tier of being evil for the sake of it.

Arvis’ plan was shaky so he used Deedee to be sure to kill Siggy... I’m very disappointed here.

Edain doesn’t respect her husbands, it’s wonderful compared to her sister who has abandonment issues and wants recognition from her men - they’re twins but they’re complete opposites!

Lex being the only good Dozel...

The Prince of the land we trampled and called savage for no good reason, where people like to rape/pillage/burn whatever they can is a random, and we’re not supposed to care about Persia (which is a shame because anyone who played Civilization or who’s knowlegeable on the subject will tell you that Persia wasn’t a place ran by barbarians and everyone knew it, and i know it happened in the 90s, i’m still very sour about it )

F!Lewyn being one of Kaga’s favourite ideas - is F!Lewyn his own mouthpiece in the game? I surely hope not, or I will believe that FE5 was directed from afar by Kaga, but someone else “directed” the game.

Azelle being afraid of Arvis because of his Loptyr blood? Again something I’m not okay with.

Azelle comparing the perfect Lord Brother to Siggy and being disappointed in Siggy is definitively something I’m okay with (and then his POV changes through the game)

The Julia part where only she can defeat/save Julius is touching.

Julia being a Falchion with two legs is not.

But I think he adressed the reason why the 2nd gen feels so flat - Seliph’s story ends with Oldvis, but through the game, we can’t give a fig about this because we start to understand that those Loptyr goons are actually the big baddies running the show.

There is avenging Siggy and there is saving the World. Heck, F!Lewyn tries to sell the big adventure to Seliph by talking about Loptyr and the Dark Empire, but then we return to “we will kill those guys or the children of those guys who figged over Siggy and pals in the first gen”.

Or it’s only me, idk.

I’m actually a bit afraid at Jugdral Echoes, even moreso now. I guess that’s what happens when you spend too much time headcanoning things, taking headcanons for granted but when Kaga himself crashes it you can’t do a thing.

(we’re not on the levels of “Talisa was a Lannister spy --> no she was just that badass chick hanging out around the king and acting like no woman/person should act around a king” honeypoting)

Julia being a Falchion is definitively something I didn’t expect and something I didn’t want.

I hate it.

OTOH, having other than gameplay reasons as to why Julia should be the one to deafeat Julius, I always thought about it and I’m glad Kaga thought the same.

[classicfilmfreak]

New Post has been published on http://www.classicfilmfreak.com/2017/09/07/night-monster-1942-starring-bela-lugosi-lionel-atwill/

Night Monster (1942) starring Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill

When the frogs stop croaking . . . watch out!

The beginning of Night Monster is rather subdued but with enough hints of disquiet and mystery to stimulate the interest.  In keeping with the body-plentiful tradition of Universal horror films of the ’30s and ’40s, there will be eight deaths, including one which has occurred before the movie begins.  Distracting from this, however, is the talky script, which has a positive effect, extending the suspense between body-findings.

At the fog-enshrouded Ingston mansion, the gate keeper (Cyril Delevanti, Deborah Kerr’s grandfather in The Night of the Iguana, 1964) opens the gate for a man who apparently has walked down the dirt road from nowhere.  Inside the house, he sees the housekeeper, Sarah Judd (Doris Lloyd, the Baroness Ebberfeld in The Sound of Music, 1956), on her knees, scrubbing a spot on the carpeted steps of an elaborate staircase.

The man, who wears a turban, watches from behind a balustrade as Margaret Ingston (Fay Helm, Mrs. Fuddle in the Blondie series, 1938-50), daughter of the household head, approaches Judd and accuses her of cleaning blood from the carpet.  The two argue, Margaret insisting she isn’t insane and the housekeeper finally sending her to her room—a servant giving orders to her employer?

Later, the maid, Milly Carson (Janet Shaw, the waitress at the Till Two bar in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, 1943), descends the staircase and phones the local constable.  Her warnings about the strange goings-on in the Ingston household are cut short by the butler, Rolf (Bela Lugosi), who quietly emerges through the door behind her.  She gives her notice and prepares to leave.

With this atmosphere—the sense of unrest, the suspicious characters and the underlying creepy music—the mood is set. . . .

Despite the bodies that will accumulate, the two top-billed stars in Night Monster step outside their usual sinister roles, their names used here for their marquee value.  Lugosi, well into a physical and mental collapse, is relegated to the role of butler, either announcing dinner, summoning guests to the library or finding bodies.  The Human Monster, back in 1940, is the last film to qualify as a true Lugosi vehicle.

Lionel Atwill, though much more of a star than his two doctor companions, is the first of the three to be dispatched, after only a brief time on screen.  1942 was one of his busiest years, playing doctors in both The Mad Doctor of Market Street and The Ghost of Frankenstein, and important roles in To Be or Not to Be and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon as Moriarity opposite Basil Rathbone’s Holmes.  He appeared in nine films that year.

Directed by Ford Beebe, Night Monster comes at a time when the luster of Universal as the master of horror is clearly in decline.  The abundant fog around the Ingston mansion, and on the much-traveled road leading to it, is essential to hide a barren set.  The elaborate two-level staircase appears in many of the studio’s films.

Much of the spirit and many of the trademarks of Universal, however, still shine through.  Hans J. Salter’s music, one of the strongest ingredients in the film, provides an eerie atmosphere, starting with the main title, which would be reused in The Ghost of Frankenstein.  Behind the opening credits, as so often in the studio’s horror movies, the camera traverses those familiar, desolate, foggy woods, as in The Wolf Man (1941).

Charles Van Enger, rather undistinguished as cinematographers go, was nonetheless a stalwart of Universal and Warner Bros.  His greatest claim to fame is his uncredited work on the 1925 Lon Chaney, Sr. Phantom of the Opera.  He spent the last years of his career in television—Lassie, The Betty Hutton Show, Gilligan’s Island and many others.

Returning to the doings at the mansion, Laurie, the lecherous chauffeur (Leif Erickson, best known for TV’s The High Chaparral, 1967-71), has been sent by the head of the household, Kurt Ingston (Ralph Morgan, brother of Frank, Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz, 1939), to the train station to pick up three doctors.

Doctors King (Atwill), Timmons (Frank Reicher, the ship captain in King Kong, 1933) and Phipps (Francis Pierlot, player of small roles, such as Herkimer in Anne of the Indies, 1951) had earlier attended the wheelchair-bound Ingston, who, after his “major illness,” as King describes it, is now without arms and legs.

Ingston seems free of grudges, saying the doctors did all that medical science allowed.  “I don’t think you’ve ever been properly rewarded,” he tells them at dinner.  “But you will be.  You will be.”

Summoned by Margaret Ingston, a fourth doctor, psychiatrist Lynn Harper (Irene Hervey, her last movie role was in Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me, 1971), is en route when her car breaks down.  Walking down the road toward the mansion, she hears a scream, just after the frogs had stopped croaking, but fortunately meets a car driven by a frequent visitor to the Ingstons, Dick Baldwin (Don Porter, most adept in comic roles in both movies and TV).

With patches of blood near the body, a strangled Milly—the source of the scream—is found by Constable Cap Beggs (Robert Homans, grim-faced actor of countless judges and law officers).  Beggs was alerted by the buggy-driving Jed Harmon (Eddy Waller, character actor in many a Western) of the suspicious whereabouts of the maid.

The eavesdropping man with the turban turns out to be a live-in guest, an Eastern mystic, Agor Singh (Niles Asther, a Danish actor who once proposed, unsuccessfully, to Greta Garbo).  In an incomprehensible discourse to guests in the library, Singh explains how rearranging “cosmic substances” can materialize objects through deep concentration.

He demonstrates by evoking a kneeling skeleton—the undoubted work of Universal’s special effects master John P. Fulton, though no screen credit is given.  Singh says certain details in the process, such as the residual blood, even after the skeleton itself has disappeared, cannot be explained to the “uninitiated.”

During a later scene in the library, Rolf enters to summon everyone to the room of Dr. King—strangled by his bed, only a claw-like hand visible and blood blotches on the floor.  Then, between various stretches of dialogue, follows the similar death of Dr. Timmons, a hand clutching the bedspread.  After Dr. Phipps has also been strangled, Baldwin and Beggs follow the blood to a secret passage (a set from The Cat and the Canary, 1939).

Margaret argues with housekeeper Judd and sets fire to the house in a fit of insanity while, outside in the woods, Baldwin and Harper are being stalked by a shadowy, stiff-walking man.  It’s Kurt Ingston!  But he’s . . . walking!  (Was there ever any doubt that he was the murderer?  A man in a wheelchair should always be the first suspected—and, quite often, he’ll be the killer.)

Failing to kill Baldwin, Ingston tries to strangle Harper, but Singh appears and shoots him, his legs gradually dematerializing as he dies.  In the background, flames consume the Ingston mansion—the same model used in The Ghost of Frankenstein.

For what it is, Night Monster isn’t all that bad.  Of course it never escapes its class “B” horror status, not that it tries or wants to, but it has a certain measured, suspenseful pace.  The key murders, Milly’s aside, are sensitively spaced, beginning later in the plot than perhaps expected.  While Calvin Thomas Beck, for example, accords the movie only one line in passing, justified in the context of his Heroes of the Horrors, as it’s not a Lugosi vehicle, a number of other critics give Night Monster surprisingly high marks.  A competent cast moves about in sharp black-and-white photography, and the premise of materializing legs to commit murder is a little different.

And what better way to end a horror movie about a ridiculous, untenable premise than with an appropriately empty warning, presumably to those who might try rearranging those cosmic substances: “A little knowledge of the occult is dangerous,” Singh ruminates in the film’s last lines.  “Unless it’s used for good, disaster will follow its wake.  That is Cosmic Law.”

Let that be a lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoaL3ClDuX4

[gilmores-glorious-blog]

Everybody Hurts

Leif wasn’t sure what caused this. He wasn’t even sure there was one thing that caused it. It was probably more of a series of small things- throwaway comments and eye rolls and whispers behind his back. All Leif knew is that somehow he’s ended up in an isolation pod having what is probably the worst panic attack of his life.

He’s not good enough. Not good enough to work at SPRQ point, not good enough to be a part of the Donnelly family, not good enough for Tobin Batra (although Leif really doesn’t want to think about his crush right now), not good enough for anyone he works with, not good enough to even exist.

Leif didn’t know how to be better. He didn’t know how when the way he showed himself to others was so different than how he really was. He’s heard it over and over again, that he’s smug and overly ambitious and cocky and alienating, etcetera, etcetera. He doesn’t want to be those things, doesn’t try to be those things, he isn’t even sure that he is those things. But it’s too late for that now. Plus, he can guarantee that everyone he works with would much rather put up with the smug and obnoxious Leif Donnelly than the small, broken, anxious Leif Donnelly. 

So those are his two options, huh? To be a jerk of a person that everyone hates or be himself and have everyone pity him or think he’s unable to work properly. At least jerk Leif gets his work done, and gets it done good. If Leif takes even a second out of his work day to be alone with his thoughts, it’s impossible to get anything done. 

He isn’t sure how long he sits in that pod, tears streaming down his face, his whole body shaking, drowning in thoughts like those. All he knows is before he’s even remotely pulled himself together, there’s a knock on the outside of the pod.

He doesn’t respond, doesn’t trust himself to say anything without revealing the pain in his voice.

The person knocks again.

“Leif?” It’s Tobin. “Bro, I know you need time alone sometimes, and I wasn’t going to bother you, but you’ve been in here for an hour and I’m really concerned.”

Leif still says nothing, blinking back even more tears. He doesn’t want anyone pretending to care about him right now. He knows they’re all lying.

“Dude I really don’t want to overstep boundaries, but I need you to say something or I’m going to open the pod. Not even say something, just make any indication that you’re alive, please.” Tobin sounds desperate and very, very worried. 

Great. The one person who Leif thought he hadn’t hurt. 

He doesn’t mean to say anything, he just wants Tobin to go away. But he’s never been very good at crying silently, and he must have let a sob be heard, because he hears Tobin breathe a sigh of relief.

“Leif! Oh thank god. Now can you please open up? We can go somewhere else to talk, or if you want we can even go home, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

The last thing Leif wants is for people at work to think he’s slacking off, but he has to admit that home sounds very nice right now. So, tentatively, he opens the pod.

Tobin’s face falls when he sees Leif, which only makes Leif cry more.

“H-hey Tobes.” He manages weakly, trying to wipe away his tears. He shakes his head desperately, attempting to get the image of Tobin’s disappointed face out of his head. He doesn’t need another reminder of how much he’s failed. 

“Leif, I need you to stand up and walk to the elevator. Can you do that for me? I can get your stuff, and I’ll tell Zoey you had a family emergency come up.”

Leif shakes his head a bit, trying to say that he shouldn’t go home, he needs to work, needs to prove himself worth something-

“Are you saying that you can’t do that? Because I could carry you, or get someone else to help, or… or something.”

“I shouldn’t leave.” Leif says in a small voice.

“No. You’re leaving. Listen to me, you need to go home right now, ok? You don’t need to suddenly feel better, but you need to be at home, where you have access to things that help you.”

Leif opens his mouth to try to argue, but all he gets is more sobs. He nods at Tobin. Slowly, he stands, and shakily begins to move to the elevator.

“I’ll be right there, ok dude? Don’t go anywhere, just wait for me.” Tobin moves to clap Leif’s shoulder but hesitates and rushes off towards his desk instead.

He tries not to focus on everyone’s stares as he walks away. Just looks down at his feet and focuses instead on trying to stop his crying. But Leif can still feel the stares, burning into his back. Feel the whispers. He can only imagine what they’re saying. What did he do wrong this time? I bet he’s upset about some stupid thing, like maybe he wore the wrong cardigan with the wrong socks. He can’t be actually upset. We all know Leif Donnelly doesn’t have emotions. He’s just an asshole who thinks he’s better than anyone else. Is he leaving for good? Good riddance. No one liked having him around anyway-

“Leif.” Tobin’s voice snaps Leif out of his spiral of dread, and he realizes he made it to the elevator. “I got your stuff, and Zoey’s fine with both of us leaving. Are you good to go?” 

Leif nods again, finding it the only form of communication he can do at the moment. Tobin gently guides him to the open elevator door, and they ride in silence the way down. They still don’t talk as Tobin grabs Leif’s bike and waits for the next bus. Usually Leif would protest at someone else handling his bike, or insist to ride it, or something of the sort, but he can’t find it in him to talk at all.

The bus ride is silent as well. Leif knows he hasn’t calmed down by any means, but he’s become a strange sort of numb. The part of his brain that can still think knows that he really doesn’t want to make even more of a scene in public than he already has. If he can make it home, he can scream and cry and do whatever he wants, and only Tobin will see. 

He’s still crying, he thinks. Leif can’t really tell anymore. He must be, though, because why else would Tobin carefully take his hand and rub circles on it with his thumb?

It feels nice. 

Really nice.

So nice that Leif’s panic is mildly and briefly overcome by love.

Emphasis on the mildly and briefly.

---

They arrive at the apartment, and Leif’s shaking so much he’s not sure he can make it up the stairs. But Tobin wraps an arm around him and helps him up, all while carrying their work stuff. 

Eventually they make it, after what feels like forever. Leif stares at the door. It seems like so long since he’s been here last. When he left for work this morning- only a few hours ago- he felt fine. What happened?

(He knows what happened. He knows that Zoey told him he needed to work harder. He knows that Mike rolled his eyes and walked away from him, commenting to Colin on how annoying Leif was. He knows that he was getting bombarded from texts from his brothers, “checking in on him” while in reality bragging about all their accomplishments and asking him how things were at his ‘tiny little tech place’. He knows, but he doesn’t want to think about it.)

Tobin opens the door and drops all their stuff, leading Leif to the couch. He lowers Leif onto it and moves towards the kitchen.

“Just stay there, ok? I’m going to get you some water.” Tobin pauses after pouring Leif a glass. “Do you think you can eat something?”

Leif shakes his head, already curled into himself on the couch.

“Okay.” Tobin sits next to him, setting Leif’s water on the table in front of them. “So. You’re home, you’re settled, you’ve got something to drink. Now do you think you can tell me what happened?” Tobin sounds firm, yet somehow still gentle. Like he knows that Leif might be unable to respond, and he respects that. 

“I…” Leif tries to form words, and instead the tears start forming again. “It’s nothing really, I just needed some space.” 

“Dude. You know that I trust you, and I know you do need space sometimes, but this is more than that. Can you please tell me?”

“Nothing happened!” Leif snaps. “It was just this stupid buildup, and everyone hates me, and I can’t focus anymore, and my stupid brothers-” He stops, rubbing desperately at his eyes in an attempt to stop crying. 

Tobin freezes. “What did your brothers do?”

“Nothing really, they’re just better than me and they’re successful, a-and my parents love them, and they’re happy, and- and they’re straight…” Leif isn’t sure that his bisexuality is really even a part of this specific issue, but it’s definitely a contributing factor of why his parents loved their youngest sons so much. 

Leif glances over at Tobin, who’s looking at him expectantly. He realizes that his friend wants him to keep talking, to keep telling him what exactly was going on in this fucked-up brain of his.

“So yeah, I’m just stressed about them, and family stuff, and everyone at work hates me. I already said that. Shit. I dunno, Tobes, it just feels like everything… like everything is falling apart and I’ve held my emotions in for seven years and I just don’t want to anymore. I don’t want to pretend. I want to be myself, but people will hate me even more if I do that.”

“Anything else?” Tobin jokes weakly.

 Leif takes a deep, shuddering breath. “I think that’s everything.”

“Do you want to talk to you? Or do you want to be alone, or have me distract you, or something else? I’ll do whatever you need.”

“I don’t care.” Leif stares blankly at the TV in front of him.

“Ok… I’m gonna talk then, ok?”

Leif nods, wrapping his arms around his knees. 

“Well, to start, not everyone hates you. I’m not going to tell you no one hates you, because honestly I don’t know if that’s true or not. I’m pretty sure it is though. You are an incredibly talented programmer, and you know as well as I do that SPRQ point wouldn’t be able to function without you. 

Next, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: fuck your family. Bro, you need to realize that you’re an adult now, you don’t owe them anything. Your brothers are assholes and they shouldn’t be constantly rubbing their achievements in your face. You’re super successful too, you know. Not many 28 year olds are working at a hella successful tech place in San Francisco. 

As for your parents… man, I don’t know what to do about them. But if I had to suggest something, I would suggest cutting them off for a bit. It’s not like you see them much anymore anyways. Maybe if you ignore them they’ll learn to stop treating you like dirt and then immediately begging for your forgiveness- which they don’t deserve, by the way. And Leif? Don’t listen to any of their homophobic bullshit. Your brothers’ success has nothing to do with them being straight. Literally like ninety percent of the people we work with aren’t straight. Your parents need to grow up and realize it’s 2020. 

Now…” Tobin pauses his speech. “Is it alright if I touch you?”

Leif manages this time to speak. “Yeah.”

Tobin puts both hands on Leif’s shoulders and turns him around so they’re facing each other.

“Listen. You don’t have to be afraid to be yourself. It’s alright if you are, but that shouldn’t stop you. You don’t have to change how you act at work, but if you feel this insincere, it’s probably good if you do. And believe me, no one will mind. You’re already amazing at work, don’t get me wrong, but people deserve to see how perfect you really are. They deserve to see the Leif who isn’t quiet, but instead won’t stop rambling about the things that make him happy. They deserve to see the way your eyes light up when you’re excited, the way you bite your lip and run your hands through your hair when you’re nervous or stressed. They deserve to see the Leif who jokes around and runs through his apartment singing along to the radio. And they deserve to see that you aren’t cocky, you aren’t smug, but instead you’re broken. You’re insecure. You’re anxious and fidgety and depressed, and you’re beautiful. None of those things mean you aren’t. And most importantly, you deserve to see all those things. You deserve to not hide, to not pretend, but to be proud of who you are.”

Tobin stops speaking, but is still holding Leif and staring at him intensely. Leif isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do. 

“Thanks.” He says, cringing internally. Thanks? Thanks?! Thanks for the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me?! 

Tobin laughs a little. “Anytime, dude.”

Leif lets his head fall onto Tobin’s shoulder, and he feels Tobin move to rub his back. Leif doesn’t know how he’s feeling anymore. He mostly just feels tired. And full of love for his best friend. 

“Hey L?” Tobin asks quietly after a few moments of sitting in silence.

“Yeah?” Leif replies, muffled by Tobin’s hoodie.

“People don’t hate you.”

Leif smiles a little, because against all odds, he believes Tobin. 

“Tobes?” Leif says, still pressed up against Tobin’s shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Leif.”

[rsbry-beret]

Intent At Tuning In On You

Find it on Ao3 here!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191749

Tobin wasn’t trying to snoop. That should be cleared up right away- it was a real, actual accident that he found Leif’s personal laptop still open on his desk, signed into YouTube and everything.

Yeah, he hadn’t knocked before he came in like he was supposed to. Leif had a weird policy about ‘personal privacy’ and ‘I respect your space, please respect mine’. Probably because of that one time in college when Tobin had walked in on him- anyway, Tobin thought it was a stupid policy, but it was Leif’s stupid policy, so he didn’t argue.

And sure, when Leif hadn’t answered Tobin had come in, but that wasn’t unreasonable! Leif could have slipped on his immaculate and regularly mopped floors and he could be bleeding out from his head. Really, Tobin was being responsible by checking on him.

Maybe when Tobin saw that Leif wasn’t in the room, he hadn’t left immediately. Sue him, he was hardly ever in here- he and Leif usually chilled in the living room together, and between Leif’s ‘privacy, seriously Tobin, do I need to use it in a sentence?’ and the fact that they had the same work hours, Tobin didn’t usually have a reason to be in there.

Once Tobin was in the room, he happened to remember that Leif was out for groceries. Whoops? Well, if he was in there anyway he may as well look around, just to tidy up. It’d be a welcome surprise for Leif, coming back to a clean room.

Of course, the room was already spotless. Whatever.

Leif’s room was exactly what one might guess- white walls with one blue accent wall, dark wood furniture. Fucking- Tobin blinked. Three bookshelves somehow wedged in the tiny room, all bursting with a weird assortment of classic literature and graphic novels and no less than four dictionaries. The two of them had moved in at the same time, but they were both so busy trying to get all their stuff up the stairs before having to pay for an extra hour with the U-Haul that Tobin hadn’t really had the time to see what Leif’s room looked like.

There was one lone cactus sitting precariously on the window sill. Tobin looked at it and smiled.

More interestingly, Leif’s personal laptop was sitting, open, on the desk. Tobin felt himself glide over before he could even pretend to stop himself.

On the screen was a little loading bar, 98% complete, with little text that said uploading… please do not log out at this time…

The computer pinged, and set back to a YouTube homepage. Oh holy shit. This was Leif’s password-protected, ridiculously-private, undoubtedly-personal video diary.

And Tobin had access to the whole thing, right that second.

He backed away from the desk very quickly, not trusting himself not to click through and watch them all. His foot snagged on something, probably the dangerously clean hardwood floors, and Tobin fell, gracelessly, onto Leif’s perfectly-made bed with a whoomp.

<>

By the time Leif got back from the store, Tobin was sitting on the couch watching Star Trek and acting, if he said so himself, totally casual.

Leif dropped his reusable tote bag (his favorite one, with the whale decal that was made from 100% recycled materials, because he was just that kind of guy) on the kitchen counter and immediately turned around to look at Tobin, hands on his hips and ice cream left to melt rapidly outside of the freezer.

“Need any help, bro?” Tobin asked nervously.

Leif squinted. “What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“Dude.”

“Nothing! You know, Leif, in a friendship you need to trust the other person.”

Leif sighed and turned to open the freezer. “For the record, you’re so full of shit I can literally smell it, but rocky road is more valuable to me than this conversation.”

“Ouch. Leif that was… ice cold.” Tobin tried to pay attention to Spock, and failed, like the snoopy monster he was.

“Stop,” Leif said quietly, in that strangely-fond tone of voice he only ever used when Tobin made a joke that he was trying not to laugh at.

Netflix asked Tobin if he was still there. He wasn’t sure if he was, actually, but he clicked for the next episode to start anyway.

Leif always refused to ask for Tobin’s help putting the groceries away, another weird independence thing he had, and Tobin had learned by now that if he argued with Leif on adulting-things he’d just get pissy for a few hours. As it was, Tobin paid more attention to the sound of cupboards opening and closing a few yards away from him than he did the title sequence.

Tobin couldn’t really believe he was listening to Leif doing chores instead of Captain Kirk doing… something.

Leif sat down on the couch next to him. “What episode, dude?”

“Uh…” Tobin fumbled with the remote before dropping it on the floor, batteries scattering. Leif stared. “I don’t… know?”

Silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by an urgent “beam me up, Scotty!” spoken from the screen. Slowly, Leif slid from the couch to kneel on the floor, fixing the remote and turning off the tv.

Leif sat back down next to Tobin.

“Okay, for real, what’s up with you right now?”

Tobin panicked. “I went into your room!”

Leif froze. Then, slowly and purposefully, asked “is that all?”

“I know you don’t like it when I invade your privacy and shit. Seriously, I’m sorry man…” Tobin looked at his hands fidgeting with his ring before laying his hands flat on his knees, forcing himself to look up at Leif.

“Right,” he said, still sounding cautious. “Well, thank you for telling me-“

“Your laptop was open.”

Jesus Christ, Tobin needed to learn how to shut his mouth.

Leif sat up straight, stiff, like he wasn’t sure if he should run away or something, which was- which was not good, definitely.

“As in, my laptop was open and you saw what was on the screen?”

“As in, your laptop was open and I saw that it was still on and that a video was uploading and I was really curious but-“

Leif cut him off this time, voice high as he rushed out “I am so sorry, Tobin. I didn’t want you to find out this way.” He sounded out of breath, like he just got back from jogging or was about to hyperventilate, or… well, probably he was about to hyperventilate.

Shit, he was about to hyperventilate.

“Hey, woah, Leif.” Tobin quickly scooched over, lifting his arm and laying it around Leif’s shaking shoulders, letting gravity pull him down so he was slumping against Leif.

When Leif got like this, buzzing and anxious and flighty, he needed something to keep him feeling grounded. Tobin first found out about it in sixth grade, right before their Greek mythology debate, when Leif wouldn’t stop pacing until Tobin snapped and tugged him into a tight hug.

Just like when they were eleven, Leif immediately melted into Tobin, ducking his head under Tobin’s chin and exhaling warmly against his collarbone.

They sat there quietly for a while, Tobin breathing as slowly as possible in the hopes that Leif would match it. He rubbed Leif’s back absentmindedly.

Eventually Leif spoke again, still pressed against Tobin’s chest, but words clear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin everything, and I’ll get over you, I swear, I just need more time. I’m sorry, Tobin. I’m so sorry.”

Tobin blinked. His hand froze on Leif’s back. What.

“What?”

Leif pulled back haltingly, like he didn’t want to at all. “I know you don’t feel the same, and it’s okay, because you’re my best friend first. I just don’t want to lose you, man.” Leif scratched at his neck.

Tobin blue screened

“No, wait, what? Back up, please. I have no idea what’s going on.”

Leif’s eyebrows furrowed. “You saw what was on my laptop, right?”

Tobin leaned forward slightly. “Yeah. You had your YouTube thing up, and I really wanted to look at it but I knew you’d never forgive me, so I didn’t look, but I shouldn’t have been there in the first place and I invaded your privacy and so I wanted to apologize.”

Tobin watched as Leif’s face contorted rapidly. He tried to count out all the emotions he saw there- confusion, panic, realization- before giving up. Eventually he settled on something trying to be casual but looking more horrified than anything else.

“Oh. Right. Okay, then.” Leif’s ears were bright red. He tried to stand, but Tobins hand was still half on his shoulder, so Tobin pulled him back down again.

“No. No, not okay. What were you saying, Leif?” Tobin could feel his heart, not quite stuck in his throat but up in his shoulders, tense and beating fast and too hard.

“I think you know,” he said quietly.

Tobin dragged his hand down Leif’s arm, folding around his hand. “I think I need you to tell me.”

Leif stared at their intertwined hands before looking up and meeting Tobin’s eyes. “I’m in love with you, Tobin Batra.”

It wasn’t a surprise, in hindsight. But it was different to know something, intrinsically and unquestionably, in the back of his head, than it was to hear it out loud and in the open.

Leif Donnelly was in love with him. He tried the words out in his head, curled his mouth around it silently. It felt… nice.

Leif was still staring at him, hopeful, but Tobin wasn’t done thinking yet. He held his hand tighter. “Give me a minute?”

Leif’s face fell. “Yeah, of course, dude.” He half-stood again, but Tobin didn’t let go.

“No.” Leif looked confused, torn, a little hurt. “No, stay. I just- stay for a minute while I think?”

Tobin watched as something unfolded in Leifs eyes. He sat down again, calm and soft, and held Tobin’s hand back just as tight.

Leif Donnelly was in love with him. Was he in love with Leif Donnelly? He stared at Leif’s eyes, blue and bright and shining even in the light of their shitty IKEA lamp that they bought together for Leif’s college dorm. He stared at the curve of his nose, at his lips and his floppy hair and his ears that were still a little red.

Tobin felt the weight of Leif’s hand in his hand. Tobin didn’t really want that to go away, ever. He couldn’t think of a single time he wanted that to go away, honestly, which meant that whatever he was feeling wasn’t new.

So, he was in love with Leif, and had been since before he knew what it was. Good to know.

“I’m in love with you too,” Tobin finally said. Leif’s hand went slack and his head jolted slightly, as if this was any surprise at all. “I kind of only realized right this second, but yeah, I’ve definitely been in love with you for a while.”

Leif swayed slightly, backwards and then forwards again. And then forwards more, so their noses were almost touching but not quite, and it was a little weird to try to meet his eyes, so Tobin just closed his eyes and brought his other hand up to Leif’s jaw, holding him there.

It felt nice to hold him. To just be this close to him. He wondered how he hadn’t figured this out sooner.

Well, he was glad he figured it out now, at least. No point lingering over lost time when the two of them had so much ahead of them.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Tobin said quietly, “and then I’m going to explain to you that if I’d wanted to watch your vlogs I would’ve just hacked into the YouTube servers again, and that I didn’t because I care about you . Is that okay?”

Leif leaned forward the rest of the way, and that was answer enough.

Title from Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles

[rsbry-beret]

Situation After Situation

Yes, it IS more Tobin x Leif

Find it on Ao3 here :)

1.

Leif adjusted his glasses for the third time in as many minutes, and Tobin knew something was up.

“Bro.” Tobin scooted his chair backwards so he was sitting next to Leif. “What’s shakin’?”

Leif stared at him blankly for a second before gesturing pointlessly at the computer screen. “Emails.”

“Cool, cool. I see that, I respect that. I raise you, snack break?”

Leif’s shoulders looked tense. He lifted his glasses to rub his eyes, and Tobin noticed the heavy shadows beneath them. Man, he was an awful friend, not even noticing how tired Leif looked. They should revoke his bro card.

“I can’t, Tobin. I really have to get this done.” He smiled apologetically, the one he used on Joan and Zoey, not the one he usually used with Tobin.

Tobin frowned and stood up, moving behind Leif. “Okay bro, fine. You can do your emails or whatever, but I’m giving you a shoulder massage while you do them.”

Leif froze up even more. “Uh, what?” he said, voice suddenly high.

Tobin lay his hands firmly on Leif’s shoulders. “I’m gonna give you a massage. You need to chill, dude. You look exhausted, and you’re never going to actually get shit done if you can’t even keep your eyes open.” Tobin started rubbing Leif’s shoulders.

“Right. Right, okay.” Life’s voice was still high. “Thanks, man.” After a second, Leif continued typing on his keyboard.

After a few minutes Tobin started to feel his muscles relax. Good. He leaned over Leif’s shoulder to see what he was typing and saw that he had stopped doing stuff. “Dude, are you finished?”

Leif started. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I am. Sorry, guess I zoned out for a second there.”

Tobin dropped his hands and smiled at Leif when he turned around. “Cool man! Snack break?”

“Sure,” Leif replied, voice still weird and high. He rubbed his arm awkwardly and began walking towards the cereal bar. “Sounds good. Bro.”

2.

When Leif walked in the door of their apartment he looked completely drained.

It was past Tobin why Leif always insisted on biking to work. The bus was faster, and dry when it rained, and it wasn’t like Leif didn’t get any exercise- he worked at a standing desk all day, he jogged on the weekends, he was a healthy guy.

And anyway, on the days when Leif stayed up late gaming or worrying or working, he was always so tired the next day, and yet he still insisted that he couldn’t break the habit. It drove Tobin nuts.

So when Tobin saw Leif, droopy shoulders and glasses askew, he couldn’t not say something.

“Dude. Come lay down.”

Leif dropped his keys on the table and dropped onto the couch without comment. Wordlessly, he spread out, resting his head on Tobin’s lap and closing his eyes.

Tobin held still for a second before turning the tv on, absentmindedly flipping through the channels until he landed on a nature documentary. Tobin thought they were boring, but he knew Leif liked listening to them when he needed to get to sleep.

The British narrator said something about butterfly migration and Tobin felt Leif melt into his lap. He reached out and started gently carding his hand through his hair. The shaved part at the back felt weird and a little scratchy, and the top felt slightly stiff, like Leif had styled it with something, but then Leif let out a big sigh and seemed to drop off into sleep, so Tobin didn’t bother stopping.

The hours dragged on.

Eventually the tv ran out of documentaries, so Tobin turned it off before it cut to the evening news.

He probably should get up and start dinner, or at least call for takeout, but that would require standing to get his phone, and that seemed like the worst choice he could make, so he just sighed and finally let himself drift off too, leaning against the armrest and with his hand still resting in Leif’s hair.

When he woke up the next morning, Leif had already left for his Saturday jog.

3.

Tobin watched Leif’s leg shake up and down underneath the conference table. He had a presentation after Zoey, and clearly he was freaking out about it.

Personally, Tobin didn’t think he had anything to be worried about. Zoey was smart, sure, but she wasn’t a genius like Leif was, and she was way less charming.

But clearly Leif didn’t get the memo.

Quietly, without looking at him, Tobin reached out underneath the table and set his hand on Leif’s knee.

It immediately stopped shaking.

And then, very slowly, Tobin felt Leif’s hand move to lay on top of his.

When Leif stood to present, he smiled at Tobin, small and private and grateful, and Tobin smiled back.

4.

Leif’s presentation was totally fly, to nobody’s surprise except apparently Leif. Tobin had insisted on going out to celebrate, and Leif hadn’t objected, so they were at a bar and Tobin was smiling and so was Leif and it was actually kinda perfect.

Tobin watched the lights flash blue-pink-blue on Leif’s face. He looked dangerously kissable which, woah, drunk-Tobin thinks some pretty weird thoughts. He was gonna put that thought in a box, and then burn that box. Mentally. Not really burn things- at this point he was pretty sure his alcohol concentration was so high that he’d burst into flames just by standing near a fire, although considering the fact that part of his brain was still wondering what it’d be like to touch Leif’s cheek, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Tobin threw back another shot.

If he was being honest with himself, he’d been thinking about kissing Leif long before that night. He just had a very kissable face. And personality. Can a person’s personality be kissable? Tobin didn’t want to think about this. He couldn’t stop thinking about this.

God, he’d been staring too long, right? What was a totally heterosexual thing to do to diffuse this weird tension?

Oh god, wait, this meant he wasn’t heterosexual. Put it in the box, Tobin.

“Bro!” he said suddenly, slamming his empty glass on the countertop. Leif looked at him funnily. “Bro! We need like… a… handshake.”

“A handshake?”

“Yeah, man. Dude. A secret handshake.” Tobin stood up and immediately sat down again. Bad idea. Dizzy. “For best friends. A best friend secret handshake. We’re best friends, right Leif?”

Leif smiled softly, finally looking away from Tobin to trace patterns on the bar counter with his pinky finger. “Yeah, Tobes. We’re best friends.”

“Good. Good good good. You’re a- you’re a good best friend, Leif. We need a handshake.”

Leif looked up again, then turned on his stool to face Tobin, smiling indulgently. Some corner of Tobin’s head was aware that he was much more sober than Tobin was, but he was mostly too focused on holding back the kiss him kiss him kiss him on the lips and the forehead and the cheek and the top of his head part of his thoughts to worry about much else.

Tobin turned messily, facing Leif. Their knees bumped. “Okay. Okay okay. So it starts with a fist bump.”

Leif held out a fist agreeably. Tobin tried to hit it and missed it, twice. Leif laughed and stood, only staggering a little.

“Maybe we should go home, Tobin.”

“No, dude,” Tobin whined. “What about our handshake?”

Leif looked at the floor and then back up again. “We can make one tomorrow.”

“Promise dude?” Tobin stood up and almost fell over. Leif’s arm caught him and pulled him close to his side, keeping him upright.

“Yeah.” Leif looked down at him. They were so close. “Promise.” He pushed Tobin away, just a little. He was still close enough to lean on Leif for support but not so close as to… do anything else.

Tobin dug out his wallet and put two twenty dollar bills on the counter. They headed home.

5.

Leif was hiding in an isolation pod again.

Tobin wanted to respect his boundaries, he really did, and usually when Leif ran off somewhere alone it was because he wanted to be alone. He was smart like that, didn’t push people away when he really needed company or whatever like Tobin did sometimes.

It was just that Leif had looked really sad this morning. And his eyes were all puffy and red like he was about to start crying, and his nails were uneven in the way they only got when he started chewing them from stress.

It was just that Tobin had recently come to the terms that he was in love with his best friend. And his best friend was sad. And Tobin didn’t think he could just… watch him be sad.

So when everybody was out for lunch, Tobin rapped a little rhythm on the door of Leif’s isolation pod, then opened it without waiting for a response.

Leif was staring at something past his laptop screen, crying. He hadn’t even looked up.

Silently, Tobin awkwardly climbed inside with Leif, curled around him, and closed the door. Leif just buried his face in Tobin’s shoulder, and Tobin’s hand came up to rest on his lower back, tracing small circles there.

“Hey, Leif,” he eventually said.

“Hey, Tobin,” Leif responded, voice cracking.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

And so they didn’t. Tobin just stayed there, intertwined with Leif, until he was too tired to keep crying.

+1.

Tobin hadn’t ever been this angry before in his life. Yeah, he started a fist fight when someone insulted Brian David Gilbert and sure, he may have been the one to toilet paper James Tanner’s house when he had called Tobin names that didn’t bear repeating in High School, but he’d never felt like this.

He’d never felt like he could really, actually hurt someone. He’d never had his vision blur, never had his hands start shaking so bad that they automatically curled into fists.

If this guy said another word about Leif Donnelly, Tobin didn’t want to think about what he might do.

Leif reached out and touched Tobin’s shoulder. Leif turned Tobin away from the guy at the bar, and led him out of the building, and to the bus, and through their apartment doorway, and Tobin could still feel his brain buzzing but-

But it was better, now. Softer. Not gone, still angry, but Leif was looking at him like he was something precious and it was pretty hard to be mad at the moment.

And then Leif tugged Tobin close, to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his sides, and Tobin didn’t feel anything close to angry anymore.

Just warm.

Tobin brought his hands up, around Leif’s hips, and held on for dear life. He felt lips brush the crown of his head, so softly, and then he felt Leif try to pull away, and he just held on tighter.

The lights weren’t flashing, and there wasn’t any documentary playing in the background, and there weren’t any emails, just… just the two of them, hugging in their apartment.

And everything was going to be okay.

Title from the song Heaven I Need A Hug by R. Kelly :)

[ladylillianrose]

Extraordinarily Star-Crossed a Max Richman/Zoey Clarke Fanfiction

A/N:Thank you everyone for all your comments and support! We are entering the last era before we make it to modern-day! @clarkemanotp​ and I really do appreciate all your love for this story! This tale truly is a labor of love!

Atlantic Ocean, April 1912 Chapter 1

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 6

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 5

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 4

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 3

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 2

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 1

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 6 

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 5 

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 4 

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 3

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 2

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 1

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 6

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 5

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 4

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 3

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 2

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 1

The Underworld

"What I don't understand is how you found yourself in this situation in the first place," Mo said, threading a rather large needle.

"Someone didn't meet me at our previously arranged time," Leif muttered.

"Where is he, by the way? You all are normally back by now."

"I heard something about him falling in love with a mortal. He's probably spending her last few years by her side," Leif explained.

"Awww, our little Tobin, all grown up and falling in love. You think it will make him more mature?" Mo grinned, holding his measuring tape to Leif's torso.

Leif snorted, "Not a chance."

As though summoned by their discussion of him, Tobin waltzed into the room. "Bro, what happened to you?" he gestured at Leif's headless body.

Leif's head rolled his eyes from its position on Mo's worktable. "Oh, this? It's nothing just a minor run-in with THE GUILLOTINE!!"

Tobin winced as Leif yelled at him, "I looked for you when we arrived in Paris. You were supposed to meet me at the docks on August 2nd! We got there and you were nowhere to be found!"

Leif's head frowned, "No, you were supposed to meet me there August 1st! And when you didn't arrive, I was arrested and beheaded under suspicion of being an English spy!"

Tobin couldn't help the snicker that escaped his lips, "So, what you're saying is that you got there ahead of me?"

Leif sighed, "Here we go…"

"No, seriously man. I'm sorry we got the dates mixed up. But really, it's nothing to lose your head over."

Mo chuckled as he began sewing Lief's head back onto his body.

"Must you continue?" Leif rolled his eyes, trying his best to ignore Tobin's antics.

"I've got one more joke, though it may go over your head!" Tobin collapsed onto the sofa laughing at his own wit.

"And to think you're leaving me alone with him," Leif groused at Mo.

Mo made the final stitch to Leif before responding. "It's my turn to offer my expertise to our young couple. Besides, have you seen the hats they wore then? I was not going to pass up a chance to snag one of them!"

"On the off chance that things go wrong this time, we may need to consider a new plan to break Aphrodite's curse," Leif suggested, inspecting Mo's handiwork in the mirror.

Mo and Tobin nodded in agreement.

"I hate to say it, but it may be time to talk to them," all three of them shuddered at the prospect.

"If and only if, things do not go well this time, do we involve them," Mo stated as he grabbed his bag. "I've got a good feeling about things this time around," he grinned at the other two and walked out the door.

"Sorry about all those jokes, bro," Tobin apologized to Leif.

Leif waved him off, "It's to be expected."

"I hadn't even thought of them before, they were all just off the top of my head!"

Leif groaned, "It's going to be an unbearable era!"

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Queenstown, Ireland April 11, 1912

Cordelia Haughey nee Murphy stood staring in awe at the large ship, her eyes wide with wonder at how something that large could even stay afloat.

"Excited, Delia?" her husband Andrew asked, as he smiled at her. Setting down their bags he wrapped his arms around her waist lovingly.

Cordelia sighed, enjoying the feel of his strong arms around her. She tilted her head and brushed a kiss along his cheek.

"I can't believe we're actually going to New York on that ship!"

"It's our chance for a whole new start," Andrew said, a slight frown marring his handsome features.

Reaching up, Corelia caressed his cheek, "Come now my love, this is our honeymoon. Don't let thoughts of the past cloud our joy."

Andrew's face softened, he kissed the palm of her hand, and lovingly ran his fingers along with her simple gold wedding band. "I'm sorry, my heart. I just wish…."

Cordelia nodded, "I know, love. I know."

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Their families had been against the match from the start. The Murphy's were a proud Irish family, rarely did they stray far from the land they had farmed for generations. Cordelia had been expected to marry a good Irish lad and settle to raise their family nearby, ensuring the next generation of Murphy's grew up near their roots. This was the way things had always been with the Murphy's, so why should Cordelia expect her future to be any different? But as soon as she met Andrew, she knew that fate had other plans in store for her.

Andrew Haughey had been sent by his father to investigate a small parcel of land willed to their client. Letters had been sent informing the landowners of his pending visit, but there had been no response, which explained the lack of a welcoming committee at the train station. Never one to be deterred, Andrew grabbed his bag and began walking down the dirt road. He had dutifully studied the map of the property in question, so finding the farm proved to be a simple task. He arrived at the farm, just as a young woman with hair the color of flames, stormed out of the chicken coop.

"Fine! Keep your damned eggs, you spiteful old biddies!" she yelled, giving the door a kick for good measure.

Andrew unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh, as the young woman turned, her cheeks flushed at her outburst being overheard.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea anyone was nearby!" she apologized, refusing to meet his eyes.

Andrew smiled and waved off her apology, "I should be the one apologizing, I didn't mean to startle you."

She smiled and looked up at him for the first time, his breath caught at the piercing blue of her eyes. "I'm Cordelia Murphy," she said, introducing herself.

"It’s a pleasure, Miss Murphy, I'm Andrew Haughey."

"What brings you out to my family's farm, Mr. Haughey? Your accent places you a long way from home," Cordelia gestured for him to follow her towards the house.

"Well, I'm here to speak to your father about a small part of the farm that was left to a client of mine," Andrew explained awkwardly. "I had written to inform him of my arrival but…."

"I see," Cordelia frowned. "Do you have a place to stay, while you conduct your business?"

He blushed, "I must confess that I had not planned that far ahead. There was an inn not too far back that I'll see if I can rent a room at."

"Father has gone to the city for supplies and won't return for at least a week. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay in the farmhand's bunkhouse." 

Cordelia glanced at the attractive man next to her, hoping he would say yes. He was handsome to be sure, but there was something more that drew her toward him, as though their hearts already knew each other.

Andrew was taken aback by her offer, "I appreciate that, but I doubt that would endear me any further to your father if he learned that I was here with you alone."

Cordelia laughed, "Oh, I'm not here alone! It's almost impossible to be alone when you're a Murphy."

"Then where is everyone?"

"My mother just returned from checking on my brother's wife, she's nearing time for the baby to be born. They live just in that house over there," she pointed to a small house nearby. "Then there's my sister and her family who live in that one, just over the hill. And my younger brothers and sister still live with Mam, Da, and I in the larger house just here."

"You must all be very close with one another," Andrew observed, taking in how close all the properties were to the main house.

Cordelia smiled, "We are, though a moment or two alone wouldn't go amiss."

Andrew let out a chuckle and nodded in agreement.

Opening the door to the large house, Cordelia placed her empty egg basket on the bench and hung up her shawl.

"Mam?" she called.

"In the kitchen!" 

"You can set your bag right on that bench there. Take a seat, and I'll be right back," Cordelia headed in the direction of what he assumed was the kitchen.

Andrew wandered around the small living room, enjoying the warmth and coziness it exuded. He frowned as he imagined the look of disdain his father would have at such simple furnishings.

"Who are you?" he heard a small voice ask from behind him. Turning he saw a young girl, roughly 5 years old, staring at him in confusion.

He bent down to her eye level, "My name is Andrew Haughey, what's yours?"

"Norah Murphy," she stated proudly.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Norah," Andrew smiled as he shook her small hand.

"You sound funny," Norah said wrinkling her nose.

He chuckled, "Ahh, that would be because I'm from a place called Scotland."

Norah's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to ask another question.

"Norah Claire!" a voice interrupted. "Leave our guest alone, and come wash up for supper!"

"Yes, Mam!" Norah quickly ran to the kitchen to follow her mother's instructions, nearly running into Cordelia in the process. 

"Come, I'll show you where you can get cleaned up. Then I'll take you to the bunkhouse after supper," she smiled at him. Andrew smiled in return, Cordelia's heart skipped a beat.

________________________________________________________________

By the time Cordelia's father had returned from the city, Andrew and Cordelia were smitten with one another. Andrew had sent a telegram to his father to tell him of his attachment, saying that he hoped when he returned home that it would be with Cordelia as his wife.

Robert Haughey was less than pleased with the news he received from his son. He replied immediately, stating that under no circumstances was he to bring some Irish farm girl home as his bride. He was to return home at once and Robert would send someone else to deal with the Murphy property.

Andrew was furious, how dare his father orders him around as though he were a disobedient child. He was an adult, free to love and marry whomsoever he chose.

Cordelia was facing a similar disagreement with her parents.

"I will not have my daughter marrying some Scottish lawyer, and running off to Lord knows where!" her father thundered. "You are a Murphy, it's your duty to stay here on our land, marry and raise a family!"

"But that's not what I want!" Cordelia cried. "That's what you want for me! I love Andrew, and he loves me! I'd rather be anywhere in the world with him than trapped here on this awful farm!" She stormed out of the house, racing across the field to the bunkhouse.

Andrew opened the door and Cordelia threw herself into his arms sobbing.

"Delia, what's happened?" he asked, concerned.

"They don't care that I love you and you love me, it's not what Murphys do. Being a Murphy means being trapped here on this godforsaken farm, never to have a moment’s peace," she bit out between sobs.

Andrew frowned, "My father shares a similar sentiment."

"What are we going to do? I won't give you up, not when I've just found you," she declared firmly. 

"Nor I, you," he replied, dropping a kiss on her forehead. 

"We could leave, together…," Cordelia suggested, quietly.

"Start a new life somewhere else?" Andrew mused.

"Yes! We could get married, and find a ship that's traveling far away from here, where no one knows our families! Just you and me, a fresh start!" Cordelia's eyes sparkled as she looked at him eagerly.

"I've heard stories about a ship leaving next month for New York. It's departing from Queenstown, I'm sure we could still manage to book passage on it!" Andrew explained, quickly warming up to the idea.

"Then what are we waiting for!" Cordelia excitedly peppered his face with kisses.

Andrew laughed, "Go pack your bags, my darling. Once everyone is asleep we'll leave, and when we board the ship in Queenstown, it will be as man and wife!"

________________________________________________________________

*BWAAAHHPP!*

The ship's horn blasted, pulling Cordelia from her musings.

"I do believe that's our cue," Andrew smiled at her, moving to gather their bags. Weaving expertly through the crowd, Cordelia followed him closely, practically jumping with excitement. This ship would take them to begin their new lives in New York. A whole new adventure awaited them on the other side of the ocean, and they would face it together. As they boarded the ship, Cordelia felt a weight lift off her shoulders. They were finally free. 

________________________________________________________________

A/N:

Andrew Haughey, a Scottish Lawyer (traveling 2nd class)- Max Cordelia Murphy, an Irish farmer's daughter, newly married to Andrew (traveling 2nd class)- Zoey Alexis Howard, an English singer and entertainer (traveling 2nd class)- Mo