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garden-ghoul · 4 years

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Subway Stops in the Evil City

If you don’t want to read a full list of all 143 subway stops in the Evil City and how they got their names, this post is not for you. If you do, rejoice!! For reference, a copy of the official MPATH subway map here.

TARR - The Trestle & Ainsdale Rail Road, with its first line completed in 1894, was the very first subway in Evil City. It is one of only two non-union lines, rents out shared subway stations to the U at great price, and is fiercely territorial about union rail lines going through its territory.

Trestle - Downtown of Trestle, named for the Trestle Carryfar Bridge (in turn named after some guy named Trestle). Probably should have been incorporated into Evil City, but wasn’t. Originally a railroad town, officially founded in 1871. Famously terrible train station mentioned in ‘Sleeping on the TARR Tonight.’ I’d like to say it’s the worst one, but in the interest of journalistic integrity I cannot say that. It DOES have some fun fence murals, and fare machines, but it’s still Trestle so they’re always out of order.

Nilton - A neighborhood of Johnstown, just inside the Evil City border. Depressing station. Grimy and full of trash but mostly just sad. No fare machines.

Johnstown - A mill and manufactory town founded by someone named Johnathan who I’m sure has a surname but I can’t be bothered to find out. The Johnathan Swift Bridge at 9th Crossing is named for him. The station has some really cool paintings, but apparently the TARR didn’t authorize them so they keep getting painted over. I’d just let them make my station prettier, but I’m not the TARR big cheeses! No fare machines.

Reliable - Although the Reliable Cable Ferry was replaced by the Mauricio Reliable Bridge when the TARR was built, the neighborhood is still called 8th Crossing. It’s an okay station. It’s fine... for a TARR station, which means it actually sucks. No fare machines.

Ratlands - Today a jazz club, when the stop was named I think Ratlands was some kind of pub. A fun fact about the name: rats have always been associated with intellectualism and, today, jazz, and were actually trained to carry messages during the Munyenem War. There aren’t any far machines, but the turnstiles are permanently broken ‘cause of token suckers so it’s impossible to get on a train by paying a fare anyway.

Pearl Road - An important road that crosses both the Mauricio Reliable and Helia Adamant bridges and defines the boundary between Sospero and Jubilation. Pretty cool architecture and has fare machines. One of the more pleasant TARR stations.

5th Crossing - Since this stop was named, the Sinklow Cable Ferry at 5th Crossing has been replaced by the Helen Highwater Twin Bridge. I don’t know why they don’t name stops after cable ferries... maybe they’re hoping to get rid of all of them one day. Usually someone is busking here, which I love! And it has fare machines, which are broken half the time in a way where you can just whack it and tokens come out.

Rockrist - I don’t actually know why this one is called that! There’s not a Rockrist Street and I don’t know of any kind of encyclopedia of subway station names, so it will remain a mystery. This is a butt ugly station and also if you are on the wrong platform you have to leave, cross the street, and pay another fare. And no, of course it doesn’t have fare machines.

Clagg & Starling - Named after the Clagg & Starling Petrochemical Plant, which I believe famously set the Howlbank River on fire in 1952. I think maybe everyone who actually uses this stop works there. No fare machine.

E St. - The station is on E Street. All the north-south roads in the western half of Eimett have letter names. This station is very boring to look at in kind of a peaceful way. No fare machine and no-one ever uses this station even though it’s a mostly residential neighborhood.

Eimett - A residential neighborhood. Only good thing about this station is the reappearing graffiti that says EIMETT SOUP. No fare machine.

Steady - Named for the Rosalind Steady Bridge that replaced the Steady Cable Ferry at 4th Crossing in 1854. Gross but in an average kinda way. Surprisingly has working fare machines.

South Bank - I wouldn’t call this South Bank because it’s in the Narrows, but I guess South Bank technically includes the entire waterfront of South Ward? This station is unnecessarily snazzy because of all the expensive apartment buildings in the Narrows, and nobody even uses it because Archbow is two blocks away. Also, no fare machines. But at least you can jump the turnstiles because even cops don’t bother to go there.

Archbow - Named for the Eleanora Archbow Tunnel they dug for the Coastal Line. I assume this station was called Pull-together Station before Eleanora Briarcliff paid for it to be renamed. Either way, this was still the Pull-together Cable Ferry for about 20 years until they built Crosslightly over it. An actually nice and impressive station, which when it’s clean and empty reminds me of a museum. Not that it’s ever either of those things, but in old photographs it’s so pretty. It has fare machines for both TARR and U/NECR tokens, and also one of those weird horoscope scales. If you jump the turnstiles here you stand a pretty good chance of getting written up or arrested.

Municipal Intersection - This one’s named for a really ugly courthouse building everyone calls The Intersection, and apparently they have for like 200 years. I think this station is only well-maintained because it’s shared with the U. Kinda pretty. Only U/NECR fare machines. Like all shared stations they actually have guards here, so no jumping.

Benbassat - Named for the administrative building of the Evil City College of Architectural Design. Since this building was very famously built in 1929, the stop must have been called something else when it was named, but I don’t know what. Very artsy, they must have let the ECCAD students at it. Of course it has a U/NECR fare machine, I always feel like the TARR fare machine here was also built by students? It feels bootleg. Anyway this station also has guards.

Redding - Named for Redding University, which was founded in the 1800s some time. For downtown, this station is shockingly bad. I think the Redding students keep complaining and the TARR never does anything, so every so often they have a cleanup day and it immediately gets gross again. No fare machines.

Leekeeper’s Bridge - The bridge to Leekeepersland has a NAME but the TARR doesn’t care, huh? Kind of dilapidated but in a way that inexplicably feels oceany, so it’s nicer. No fare machines at all.

Wharf St. - On Wharf Street? Yeah it was on Wharf Street. Basically Leekeeper’s Bridge but they sweep once every two weeks instead of once a month. No fare machines.

Longshoreman’s Rd. - It has a REALLY good sandwich shop in it, but otherwise it’s almost exactly like Wharf and Leekeeper’s Bridge. No fare machines.

Ainsdale - And we’ve come to the other terminus of the original TARR line! Ainsdale isn’t so much a town as a neighborhood in the port district but maybe it was more of a town back then. A lot of the people who use this station are genuinely dock hands, I think. It’s very grimy. The fare machines actually work, though.

Nusquam St. Bridge - On to the TARR north line, which was completed in 1909. I think this might be the only bridge in the city that doesn’t have a name! When the TARR extended service north of the river, nobody could agree on who should sponsor it, so the money came out of the TARR’s budget and it was never named. It’s super weird to see a bridge with no charms on it, but who’s going to put charms on a dead bridge? Another fun fact about this one is that the subway stop is on both sides of the bridge, which is like a mile and a half long, and each of them only gets trains bound one direction. They’re really badly maintained and don’t have fare machines, so they’re a nightmare to use. Just avoid this stop(s) altogether. If they ever name the bridge it will probably be a better station, maybe check back in 40 years.

3rd Crossing - This station is named for the Faithful Cable Ferry it stops next to, not the neighborhood of 3rd Crossing, which is on Billygoats Bluff. Huge cable ferry transfer station, so the TARR actually puts in a little effort. Most of the effort is that the fare machines work and they often have guards there. Sad little mosaics.

Gale Rd. - Gale Road is North Bank North Bank. So nobody ever uses this stop, they all have chauffeurs or something. And there’s no fare machines anyway. Clean, though.

Cornet Shrive - After the neighborhood, which I guess is named after the Little Cornet River? They have the coolest Jhinyad grocery stores there where you can do a full tea and lunch ceremony. This station has great buskers, both musicians and storytellers. No fare machines, and pretty gross.

Kill Neck - I THINK Kill Neck means “the narrow part of the river” in another language but I forget which one. An absolutely nasty TARR station. For some reason there’s always at least one seagull in there. No fare machines.

MPABT - The Metropolitan Port Authority Bus Terminal. It always cracks me up that they have a bus to Iron Mountain, as if anyone would not just take the ferry. This is the actual worst station in Evil City. It’s full of trash at all times, smells indescribable, and I think if I ever went into the bathrooms I would probably die. They have fare machines, but I’ve never seen anyone dare touch them.

Doghouse - Apparently Doghouse, the neighborhood, is named after part of the glass manufacturing process (so is Cold End). The doghouse is where the molten glass comes through before you pour it. This station is almost as infectious as MPABT, but it doesn’t have fare machines. I kind of feel like something bad is going to happen to me there.

Fireproof - Yeah this is named after an asbestos processing plant. Clean, in a depressed sort of way, and without actually being clean. No fare machines. Sospero - Sospero is called that because it’s SOuth of PEarl ROad, get it? I think the southern boundary is Linden Road. I’m pretty sure this was the terminus of the northern TARR line until it connected up with the southern one in 1948. Nasty in an almost perfunctory way. Everyone in Oxbow is too tired for fare dodging. They just put tokens into the turnstile when they want to get through. It’s so sad. No fare machine.

Narrows - Back to South Bank for the 1948 line, Narrows is named after the neighborhood, which is at the place where the river narrows. There’s nothing wrong with this station, except no TARR fare machines, but what were you expecting?

Delmer - I assume this is named after someone? Like maybe the library is in Delmer Square or something? I literally only get off here when I need to go to the library. It’s a nice station and has plaques about the library’s history, which I have only read on the northbound side because I’m not a tourist, and has well-maintained (relatively) fare machines for both U/NECR and TARR tokens. This is the one station where the U and TARR trains share track, which means there are turnstiles that take both types of tokens. But why would you use TARR tokens when the U ones are 5 cents cheaper?

Queen St. - Severin has never had a queen so I don’t know what this is about. Maybe it’s because it goes to Queenstock? But why is Queenstock called that? This is another kind of fancy neighborhood, but people in Martinet Heights think riding the train is somehow morally superior. Very clean station but no fare machines.

Medicins - This means medicine or doctor or something in Arinese I think. There’s like 15 hospitals in Martinet Heights, including the teaching hospitals for ECU south campus. Kind of nice for a TARR station, but surely the doctors don’t take the train. Maybe the nurses’ union complained and that’s why it has fare machines.

Trapezoid - Named after the large bronze trapezoid set into the plaza. My friend’s grandma said it’s actually a conspiracy the city covered up when a bunch of people died and the trapezoid used to be a memorial plaque, and when I went asking around a lot more people confirmed that there used to be a garment manufacturing company called Trapezoid there until it burned down in the 19-teens and a bunch of people died. Now it’s all office buildings so everyone who gets off at this stop is very stressed. Okay station though, with trapezoid tiling. No fare machines.

Firesein Park - I guess the neighborhood is named for the park. It’s a pretty cool park even if the landscaping sucks, they have concerts there in the summer, which I don’t think they have a permit for. Sometimes the cops bust up the concerts, when they have nothing better to do. The station is always super gross. I think some people vandalize the fare machines on purpose.

Mosslow - Mosslow is kind of like a mini neighborhood between Firesein and Little Orele, which was probably named that because it’s in a dip. Quiet station, nothing architecturally interesting, but good graffiti outside. No fare machines.

Little Orele - Lots of immigrants from the Ohrland have been coming here since I think the 1870s and recently there have been even more because of the Ðlyan annexation and the immigration quotas in the Big One, so the neighborhood is spreading out into Tolly Bank. Best pickles in the city and some very cool murals, including in the station (again, illegally, but they never get painted over). No fare machines.

Strongox - The cable ferry at 6th crossing used to be called just The Ox, which owns, and was replaced by Ɱora Strongox Bridge when the TARR southern line was built. Pretty cheerful for Oxbow, which means you can have a nicer time at certain funerals. No fare machines.

7th Crossing - It’s named after the neighborhood, because they definitely replaced the Steel-Grip Cable Ferry when they built the line. I approve of this one because Munye Steeleye is a very cool name for a bridge. It’s weird for the TARR to go through an actually nice neighborhood, but it wasn’t one when this line was built. Everyone in Longwood uses the Millstone Junction Line anyway. No fare machines.

Longwood Heights - I think it’s funny that they didn’t name this stop Longwood, considering it was built before the Longwood stop on the Millstone Junction extension. It’s nice now because so many artists get in--they’re like raccoons. They put in fare machines just to paint clouds and stuff on them. If you pick a random person in this station there’s 50/50 odds they have a taco in their pocket.

Clearwater - I think it’s VERY funny that there’s a town named Clearwater like a mile downriver of the Muddy River confluence. People there like to take the TARR one stop and immediately transfer to the Millstone. No fare machines.

Confluence DoubleDown - Apparently DoubleDown was established in 1930, and apparently there’s nothing in that weird nebulous area that might or might not be West Montrose except the DoubleDown. This station is the most depressing place I’ve ever been. No fare machines, but you can buy TARR tokens at the checkout in the DoubleDown.

Scrippetts - I think this one is named for a historic pharmacy that got turned into an X-Drug a while ago?? This is a terrible station, only good if you want to walk three blocks and transfer to the B-M Line. It does have a fare machine, but no guards so nobody ever uses it.

Coastal Line - Completed in 1901, the Coastal Line has a reputation for being used mostly by rich fucks in the North and South Wards to go to the beach. But you can also use it to get from my house to a transfer station, so it’s not all bad.

Palisades - The train station is associated with a little shopping center that probably didn’t exist before it was built. I’m pretty sure everyone who lives in the Palisades has two cars and only takes the train for the novelty value. The neighborhood is named for the columnar basalt cliffs north of the harbor, which look like a stakewall. This station is insanely cute in a way that makes me kind of mad. And I lowkey feel like I’ll get arrested for loitering. Does have fare machines, but no guards, because can you imagine rich people jumping a turnstile? They might ruin their manicures.

Brandywine - Named for Brandywine Shoal, a bar district ‘where sailors went to get wrecked.’ Now all the bars are way too expensive for sailors to go to. The station has some pretty funky murals that I’m a fan of, but no fare machines. Maybe they’re afraid drunk rich people would try to vandalize the machines and then sue them for injuries.

Anchor St. - Anchor Street is actually named after the Steadfast Anchor that they keep in the tiniest little public park and it’s worn shiny on the tips from people touching it for luck. You’re not allowed to put charms on it so people leave them around the base of the plinth. The station itself is nothing special. No fare machines. It’s Coastal Line so it’s nice.

Bessemer Forge - There used to be a major forging operation in North Bank! There was one in Queenstock too, unless that was smelting. Bessemer Forge was owned by Charles Bessemer and operated up through the 50s, when it moved out to Oxbow. Also has history plaques, but I’ve never read them because I have no reason to be on Cross Street. I can’t remember if this one has fare machines. Probably, because it’s a ‘transfer station’? That’s just a little joke for all my Orbital Line non-acknowledgers.

Alliance Square - Dedicated on Alliance Day 1722 for the 50-year anniversary of Severin’s formation. Only tourists get off here, and only the stupid tourists who transferred because they didn’t realize you can get off at Millennium and walk. Does have fare machines, because tourists.

Millennium - The Millennium Center was built in 1900 in anticipation of the new millennium, showcasing the architectural specialties of Evil City. The Millennium Fair drew a huge amount of international attention for its flashy futuristic aesthetics and predictions for the year 2000. At this point most of them are probably not going to come true. The station is gorgeous, and was built alongside the Millennium Center with the same aesthetics. It’s also a tourist attraction, so has fare machines.

Union Station - The Coastal Rail Company, the Sea Gate Railroad, and Millstone Passenger Rail united in the early 1900s under the authority of MPATH and completely refurbished Oxbow Street Station into the daring architectural feat it is today. If it weren’t so busy it would be very clean, but it is. You can catch actual heavy rail trains up the coast from here, following the Pike. Not only do they have fare machines, you can also buy tokens from an actual person behind an actual desk. Decent sandwich shops, but overpriced.

Queenstock - Maybe the word queenstock is actually a reference to some kind of smelting jargon? I need to find a book on smelting. This area is where all the students go drinking, so this not a lovely station, especially on weekends. I’d avoid getting off here. Does have fare machines.

Ring 55 at Big Tern St. - Big Tern Street might be named after the island or after the Tern’s Nest or both, I don’t know. I always thought it was dumb to name this station after the ring road around the old city center. You could have just called it Big Tern Street. Cleaner and much less busy than Queenstock, pretty spare decoration and no fare machines.

Long Shore - Longshore is a term for currents or sediment deposition running along the shore rather than into it, which I don’t think is what’s going on here. Probably it’s back-derived from ‘longshoremen.’ But this is the station by my house! I love Long Shore Station, it’s really easy to get into downtown but it’s not super busy, and the ocean waves tiling is so pretty. And. It has. Fare machines. So there.

Flatlands - It’s in Flatlands. The lands, they are flat. Nobody uses this station except people who missed getting off at Long Shore because they were reading or something. Really boring decor. No fare machines.

Lookout Rd. - Lookout Road is named for the Lookout, the lighthouse on Lookout Point, which is where this road goes. Tourists get off here. The station is pretty for them, though, and has not only history plaques but some really lovely art of the Lookout. And yes, fare machines.

Brambling Hill Beach - For rich fucks who want to tan. There aren’t actually turnstiles here. I’m not sure you... have to pay to get on the train here? Fuck the rich.

Brambling Hill - For rich fucks who want to do some shopping. My theory is that all the sunburned and shopping-addled rich people couldn’t handle the concept of turnstiles, or paying for public services, so they took them out.

Millstone Jct. Line - When it was built in 1922 the Millstone Passenger Rail ran from VISTA to 9th Crossing Boulevard; in 1940 it merged with the Sea Gate Line to share track and improve coverage, and in 1943 it extended further south to give service to Birchbrake.

Valentine Institute - It always trips me up that this station isn’t officially called VISTA. It’s just more elegant, guys! The Valentine Institute for Science, Technology, and Arts is maybe the most famous liberal arts college we have. They wouldn’t let MPATH build a line through their campus, so when they wanted to build an extension they had to put the other half of VISTA Station a quarter mile away and make people walk through the tunnels under the college. Architecturally it’s pretty nice, and there are fare machines at both ends.

Monument - Named for an obelisk dedicated to the Birchbrake wreckers and Evil City soldiers who died in the Munyenem War in the 1620s-30s. I always thought it was weird that it’s in Millstone rather than in North or South Bank. It’s kinda cute because it has one of those little news shops where they sell candy. But no fare machines. You can’t even get tokens at the shop.

Millstone East - The eastern part of Millstone. They do have the park here that the original millstone is in, but it doesn’t have a name. The stone, I mean, the park is called Millstone Park. This station always freaks me out a little because it’s so clean. No fare machine.

Azalea Lynn Beacon Drive - Named for the longshoreman and labor rights activist who got us the 8-hour work day. She was shot in the 60s and everyone knows the police had her assassinated. Fun fact, I went to Azalea Lynn Beacon Primary School. This stop is the amount of grimy I expect. It has murals from local schoolkids with quotes and portraits and stuff about ALB. Fare machines usually work.

Linden - There is literally nothing interesting about Linden. Or the station. Or its lack of fare machines.

Marshland - You can walk straight from my house to the marshlands up the Ainsdale Estuary if you take Pier 14 Road. There are some really nice walking trails and sometimes we go birdwatching. This station nominally serves the neighborhood and the depressing little mall on the other side of the estuary, but it’s usually almost empty. No fare machines.

Tern’s Nest - Named for the neighborhood on the hill. Like all hills, it’s inhabited by rich people. I’m not sure if terns used to actually nest up there or if it’s just the sort of place people thought they would nest. I want to climb the rocks but it’s all private property. Nice station, no fare machines.

Legion - Named for the headquarters of Legion Inc. When the station was named in 1922 Legion probably just made paper but now they make plastic stuff as well. The headquarters, built in 1920, was one of the first buildings to showcase Evil City’s trademark structuralist-geometricalist style. You can tell they’re proud of it because the station is built to match. Plus they put the exit right across the street from the building so you come out looking at it. No fare machines.

ECU North - There’s an ECU campus in West Ward too, but it doesn’t have its own subway station. This station is always trashed because of college kids. Does have fare machines. On average one is working at any given time.

Elm Creek - Technically this station is named after the neighborhood/creek that comes down through North Ward, but literally everyone I know calls it Refrigerator Building Station. Because of the refrigerator building owned by United Severr Refrigeration, which has really cool turn-of-the-century architecture and plays little animations in neon on Kingkiller Day. The station has kind of a weirdly corporate vibe. I don’t like it. Does have fare machines though.

Pikes Crossing - Named for the intersection where the tollpike crosses the ring road. It’s possible that the pike was once an actual pike with defensive barriers, maybe back in the 1600s? This is a weird null zone where it’s not quite residential yet but it’s no longer nice or businessy, and it’s not part of any neighborhood. Nonetheless, it’s always completely packed at rush hour. No clue why. Does have fare machines.

Eichelborough - This is very obscure trivia but Eichelborough (pronounced Eckelberg, he was foreign) is named after Eichel Strash, who fled the breakup of the Empire in the early 1700s and somehow got a town named after him. This station has inexplicably bad vibes. No fare machines.

Nasser Rd. - A road. This is also in Eichelborough but a less worse part of it. The station is still a little depressing I guess, but in a normal subway station way. No fare machines.

Cadbury - Named after Cadbury Park, where there is a statue of someone named Cadbury. Apparently people in Cold End really don’t like her because someone keeps graffiti-ing the statue to say ‘Cadbury Sucks Eggs.’ The station is also a mess most of the time and I think the U has given up cleaning graffiti off most parts of it. Has permanently broken fare machines.

Cutty Heights - Another hill full of rich people. Station is hilariously gross, which means none of the rich people use it. I guess who uses it is people who work at rich people’s houses, and people from... Clermont? Is that a real place? No fare machines.

Rush - I do not know why it is called this but people joke it’s because the platform is standing room only at rush hour (which would mean the neighborhood is named after the station, which is very funny). It IS weirdly busy for a commuter suburb. I’m not sure what the station looks like, I’ve never seen the floor. Does have fare machines.

Tanna St. - A street. Nobody ever uses this station. Due to some kind of stupid districting thing it’s not even in Evil City. Awful architecture and no fare machines.

9th Crossing Blvd. - 9th Crossing Boulevard is also Highway 117, which they did a good job not naming the station after the highway. It’s named for 9th Crossing, now the Johnathan Swift Bridge. Very busy station, and actually pretty cool architecture characteristic of the early 20s. Has fare machines! They work!

Promenade - First station on the southern extension of the Millstone Junction Line, completed in ‘43, and from here on the stations are aboveground. The Promenade is a mall, but a fancy old mall from when Sunrise was a new suburb for upper-middle-class people. So the station is also kind of fancy and has patterned brickwork instead of just being cement. And it has fare machines.

Blount St. - If you get off here and you’re wearing a hoodie you get arrested on sight. A very nice looking station that somehow manages to have the vibe that it hates you, personally. The fare machines don’t actually charge you more, but you feel like they want to.

West Castle - I went to the library to look up a map and it turns out there IS a town called Castle east of West Castle (I realize there’s literally an O-Line stop called Castle but in my defense who cares about the O-Line?). They do have a castle but they built it in the late 1800s for tourism reasons and it’s not very good. There’s a casino in it now. Anyway this station is the terrible and inexplicable terminus of the Brinell-Montrose Line, which would mean it didn’t even GO to Montrose when it was built?? It has a sandwich shop which sucks SO bad. The fact that the fare machines work feels weirdly like an insult.

East Montrose - This is the boring part of Montrose. The station: painfully average. No fare machines.

Sliver St. - I understand that this street is named after the cotton thing, due to Badgett’s concentration of textile mills, and therefore is pronounced ‘slyver’. This station is absolutely in the middle of nowhere and it’s just aboveground so you have to pay your fare on the train itself. No fare machines, obviously.

Riverbend - There is no river, stream, or creek here. Maybe it was named as a joke. This is right by the highway and has the distinction of being less smelly inside than outside. It’s not totally enclosed though and it gets really cold in winter. Has fare machines that WE deserve.

Herringbone Rd. - The fact that for the stop in Smelt they picked Herringbone Road is excellent, because it really highlights the fish half of the fish/ironworks pun. Herringbone Road is also Route 40/82 there, so it’s obvious why they picked it, but I’m still pleased. It also has a herringbone mosaic pattern on the walls of the shelter, which is so cute. Didn’t expect to like a station in Birchbrake this much, but here we are. At least it doesn’t have fare machines.

Duliamen - Duliamen has got to be a foreign word but I have no idea where it comes from. Sound vaguely Munyenem. The edge of Birchbrake is kinda a cool area and has some good cafes with an offputting industrial vibe. The station has a minimalist raw concrete thing that kind of scares and comforts me at the same time. No fare machines.

Lamplighters - Named for the Birchbrake lighthouse keepers who lived in the neighborhood. Famously affiliated with the wreckers who foundered merchant ships by tricking them with lamps, and then used the same technique to take down an entire Munyenem fleet. And people say Birchbrake isn’t badass. This neighborhood is way cute so it’s kind of disappointing that the station isn’t. No fare machines.

Birchbrake Center - Honestly I’m not sure they needed three stops in downtown Birchbrake, it’s not like it’s a shopping destination. I will note that the Millstone Junction Line is almost completely useless for 70% of the residents of Birchbrake, but they have a pretty good bus system so it doesn’t matter that much that the subway coverage is so bad. This station has fun murals and fare machines.

Breakwater Rd. - There is no way they ever had to build a breakwater in Birchbrake Harbor, the water is already VERY broken by the time it makes it past the Gravediggers. I always forget this station exists. Fare machines? No fare machines? Who can say.

Iron & Steel - Named for the Iron and Steel Institute of Severin, a trade institute founded in 1788. They have the most amazing museum of steel jewelry. The station has an exposed beams aesthetic that kind of reminds me of the Millennium Center, but it’s probably modelled after the Institute, which did it first when they retrofitted and remodelled in 1897. Does have fare machines.

Blunt Leadenhall - First station on the western extension, completed in 1955. Blunt Leadenhall is a place that makes lead pipes and stuff. I guess it’s historic now but I don’t know why they would have wanted to name a station after it in 1955. It has plaques about the leadworks that I am confident not a single person has ever read. No fare machines.

Longwood - Yep! It’s in Longwood! Unlike the TARR station a block away, they let the artists in on purpose and commissioned a super cool mural about the history of the Evil City. No fare machines though.

Vinegar Hill - A neighborhood in Longwood Ward. I was hoping I would find something like they used to brew vinegar there or it smells sour for some reason, but nobody seems to have any idea why it’s called that. Nobody uses this station. No fare machines.

Southgate Center - A shopping center constructed in 1949. Charmingly old-timey and yet irritatingly upper-middle-class. Almost exactly like Promenade except worse in every way. No fare machines.

Crizzling - Yep! It’s in Crizzling! I guess it was very important for people from Crizzling to be able to commute into the city and that’s why they built this entire line. A totally pointless station that really tests my enduring love of all subway stations. It’s not even underground. And it has no fare machines.

Brinell-Montrose Line - Originally the Sea Gate Line, built in 1921 to serve the Montrose area, it later joined the union with the Coastal and Millstone Lines. Unusually, one of its termini (West Castle) is in the middle of the line, because the Millstone Junction Line extended past it in 1943. I have a theory that West Montrose actually used to be the terminus but they changed it so there wouldn’t be twice as many trains on part of the track.

Grove - It’s my understanding that there is a grove of elm trees. I have no idea who uses this station, and it has no identity to match. And no fare machines.

Brinell South - There is nothing in Brinell whatsoever. It’s only notable because it’s on a grid system unlike any other town I’ve ever been to.

Brinell North - Yanus Brinell thought that his stupid town would become a real city if it had some subway stops.

M54 - He was wrong. Oh, yeah, this stop is called M54 because that’s the intersection number. The grid system has letters going one way and numbers going the other way and it makes everything sound heinously stupid. And to add insult to injury, ALL the stations in Brinell have working fare machines.

Arcair - Renamed for the Arcair Building in south Linden when the Seagate Line became the Brinell-Montrose Line. Arcair is a refrigeration and air conditioning company based in Iron Mountain. This station is corporate in a way that’s trying to be cool and totally misses the mark. Bad! Does have fare machines.

Dearborn - A neighborhood in Brambling Hill. I think this is where everyone lives who works in the fancy shops and at the boardwalk. The station is kind of depressing-cute and has no fare machines.

Karona Rd. - A road, not in any particular neighborhood because neither Flatlands, Canal Road, or Brambling Hill wants to claim it. Kinda middle class, unremarkable station with no fare machines.

MPAFT - The Metropolitan Port Authority Ferry Terminal. I love taking the ferry to other cities, the boats are so nice. This station kind of rules, it’s very boat-themed and has all these white-painted catwalks in a way that makes it fun to run around. And, of course, it has fare machines and you can buy ferry tickets in the ferry terminal part.

Six Bells - Named after the Bellringer (officially known as the Six Bells Light). This is the only lighthouse I know of that also had bells to tell time and deliver storm warnings to the city and the people fishing in the harbor. It was built in 1605 and continuously improved until it was sturdy enough to stand for hundreds more years. The Longshoreman is my local lighthouse but I think the Bellringer is just cooler. Very cute station that seems like it was designed by the same people as MPAFT, and has fare machines because there’s honestly not much reason to go there unless you’re a tourist since MPAFT is so close.

Longfellow - Named for the Acacia Longfellow Bridge, which as the name suggests is the longest bridge in the world! It barely beat out the Miette Crosslightly Bridge at 2nd Crossing, which had been the longest bridge in the world for the previous 8 months in 1921. They used to be the Takes-a-village and Pull-together Cable Ferries, which were maybe even more impressive feats of engineering since it’s still almost 3 miles of river to cross and they did it in the 1700s. There’s not much at this stop, though, just a little neighborhood of old houses cut off from the rest of North Bank by the Brandywine Estuary. Badly maintained in kind of a cute way, no fare machines.

Sea Gate - This neighborhood is named for the fact that it’s the gateway to the sea, which I really feel should have been on Back Head or Cape Hook but nobody lives in either of those places, so. Mostly insanely expensive old greenbrick apartments with nice river mouth views, very nice architecture but pretty grimy and no fare machines.

Sentinel St. - Named for the fact that it goes toward the Sentinel. Sea Gate Station is also on Sentinel Street, and Sentinel Street Station is also in Sea Gate, so theoretically their names could be switched. Another pretty but dirty station but does have fare machines. I’ve been trying to figure out if this was the terminus of the Sea Gate Line way back when, because it couldn’t have used Union Station, right?

Tomisin Square - All the way back south since the rest of the stations between North Bank and Montrose have been covered above. Tomisin Square is named for a family who came down the Hallasford River in the 1700s with a bunch of good seeds and farming practices and made South Castle a thriving agricultural region. Very good shops, and the station has cute art. Yes fare machines!

West Montrose - IF this station was built to be the terminus of the Brinell-Montrose Line that would explain why it it looks a little like a fancy wine cellar. Despite the dumb fancy station, West Montrose is where it’s at. Cool independent stores, pretty good cheap restaurants, and surprisingly interesting architecture. More evidence for the original terminus theory: it has fare machines.

Hwy. 40 at Sarch Rd. - I hate the name of this subway station. It is named after both a highway and a street that is really horrible to say. Sarch. Eugh. The station is in the most depressingly pointless part of Montrose and also both grimy and depressing, and has no fare machines.

Salom Pier - Named for one of the piers in Badgett, mostly used for shipping raw cotton in and cloth out to the Howlbank. An okay station. A fine station. Whatever. I can’t remember if it has fare machines.

Nine-Mile Drive - Named for the road that runs from the Hallasford River north of the confluence to the southern edge of Badgett. My map of the Evil City greater metro area confirms it’s about 11 and a half miles long. Kind of a warehouse-y car dealership-y area that I wouldn’t go to if you paid me. No fare machines.

NECR - The North Evil City Railroad completed its first line in 1947. Although it is not a union line and isn’t administrated by MPATH, it’s still known as part of the U and has a far more cordial relationship with the union lines than does the TARR. If you say ‘en ee cee ar’ you’re a cop.

Locust St. - It seems strange to me that NECR decided to put its southern terminus in a place that already had such a high density of subway stations. There’s a Bido literally right outside Locust Street Station but because of the transfers involved it’s much easier to walk from Wharf Street.

Cross St. - Skipping all the way to North Bank, we have the unimaginatively named Cross Street Station.

North End - Yeah, it’s in North End.

Greenmarket Square - Site of a farmers’ market from the 1500s until now! The only place with prices better than your average Goods Barge is the part where they sell vegetables at a discount because they’re starting to go off.

Edgewater Rd. - This road seems to be named for the very short distance it follows the edge of the Barrow River rather than actually being near the coast.

Barrowmouth Ferry - If you want to get literally anywhere by ferry it’s easier to go to MPAFT and they have more destinations. But the Barrowmouth Ferry (if you’re not from around here: pronounce it Ber-mith) has been running for a couple hundred years and they don’t want to stop now.

Roselawn St. - A street.

Woollingfuoy - I love to say Woollingfuoy. Never been there, though.

Backbarrow - Ditto Backbarrow.

Garlsbrood - I LOVE to say Garlsbrood. It used to be a pretty important railroad town, but these days the trains don’t need to stop as often and GST is out of business.

High Hill - Cute town. Kind of kitschy. More train memorabilia than even *I* think is tasteful.

CNR Research Park - The first stop on the northern branch of the NECR, which was completed in 1954. Nobody I have asked has any clue what CNR stands for, or what they research. Maybe another government conspiracy??

Breitseid Place - An experimental suburb of Backbarrow that reportedly has prefabricated houses they have to decorate a LOT to make you forget they all come out of the same mold. Kind of creepy.

Newkirk - What on Earth is in Newkirk? Commuters, I guess.

Orbital Line - Widely agreed to be the most useless rail line, it was completed ten years ago during the economic boom from war manufacturing. Since large portions of it are aboveground or utilize existing tunnels it was relatively cheap to build despite its long track length.

Sharpe St. - Starting up in Sea Gate we have Sharpe Street, named for Mayor Ghiris Sharpe (1878-1886), who was one of the most corrupt mayors we’ve ever had, and that’s saying something. Outrageously sucky station for North Bank, as if the O-Line needed to prove how much it doesn’t deserve to exist. No fare machines.

Callen Yards - A railyard that has been in use since the mid-1700s. I believe this is technically the terminus of the O-Line because it’s where trains go at night (service stops at 1am). And yet it has no fare machines. The architecture is so boring, but given that it’s in Callen Yards that’s forgivable.

Graves Hill - Perhaps the one hill in Evil City not occupied by living rich people. Most of the people who die in Ends or Kill Neck Wards have been buried there, rich or poor. The difference is you’re not allowed to walk on rich people’s graves. They have little wrought-iron fences. I like this station, even though people do live around there it’s always a little somber. No fare machines, though.

South Ends - Ends sucks and I don’t like to be there. I don’t know why it has the vaguely ominous name it has and neither does anyone I’ve asked. This station would be nice if it didn’t have an aura of being in Ends. No fare machines.

Broodway - Named for the road that goes to Garlsbrood. Even stronger Ends aura, but near some okay shops and it does have a sad little mural and one (1) fare machine.

Fester Highlands - If I hadn’t decided to ride the entire circle of the Orbital Line that one time I never would have seen Fester Highlands. I wouldn’t be missing much. I can’t remember anything about this station.

Backstairs - I’ve heard that Backstairs is supposed to be kind of a pun on the fact that it’s at the back end of Hell’s Gate, but if so I don’t get it. It is, however, definitely the coolest neighborhood in the ward. The station has great decoration by local artists, and some art pieces that are made to look like fare machines but don’t give you tokens, so if you’re dumb enough to put your money in there the artists get it as “donations.”

Swift - Named for the Johnathan Swift Bridge that replaced the Swift Cable Ferry at 9th Crossing in 1837. Station that wants to eat you I guess and has no fare machines.

10th Crossing - Named for the site of the Take-it-easy Cable Ferry, the only cable ferry in Evil City still operational besides the one at 3rd Crossing. Take-it-easy has been in dire financial straits since the early 40s when a road bridge was built nearby, especially since the ferry operator (Mr. Milonnillo, he’s kind of famous) refused to raise prices. But since the Orbital Line station was built, a lot more people use the ferry to cross over to it because the parking is so bad! I think Mr. Milonnillo’s friends decorated this station because it’s unusually cute for being in an area no-one gives a gull’s ass about. No fare machines, but I’ve heard Mr. Milonnillo will sell you tokens because people sometimes give them to him instead of money.

West Trestle - Due to the terms of the rental contracts the TARR got MPATH to agree to for shared subway stations, nobody is allowed to build subway stations in their territory, which includes the entire town of Trestle. So MPATH built a station juuuust outside the town boundaries. It’s the only way to get from Trestle to Montrose without taking an incredibly stupid route, so it’s pretty busy and pretty disgusting. Does have fare machines.

Muddy River Park and Ride - A supremely redundant train station right across the river from Crizzling, but I can’t stay mad because the name sounds like a theme park. Muddy River Slip and Slide. Boring open-air station with fare machines.

Hwy. 19 at Hallasford River - This might be the only genuinely useful station on the Orbital line, because prior to 1974 if you lived in the far suburbs you would have to walk several miles and cross at least one river in order to get to the nearest train station, and parking was probably a nightmare there anyway. Depressing, disgusting station with no fare machines.

West Castle East - No, this is not a station in Castle. No, even though it’s 2 blocks from the Brinell-Montrose Line there’s no stop there and you can’t transfer. West Castle is a fake town anyway. Bad architecture and no fare machines.

Castle - Yes, this is a station in Castle. Castle is a very slightly less fake town but the fake tourist castle really hurts their case. The station is really gaudy and they have way too many ads for the casino. They have a slot machine and a bad little news shop but no fare machines.

Bondurant St. - I don’t really know that much about the history of Birchbrake, okay, everyone I could ask is from Evil City or Ramshead. All I know is there’s a Bondurant School of Metallurgy at the ISI. Anyway this station isn’t too bad. Hasn’t got the shine worn off it yet, but no fare machines.

Near North - Another neighborhood of Birchbrake with a lot of warehouses. It’s just north of downtown, which I imagine is how it got its name. The station disappointingly does not match the nearby MSJ stops and is very boring. Fare machines here for some reason.

Brigantine - Brigantine is a weird little not-quite-a-town between Brinell and Long Neck Bay. I can’t tell if it’s trying to be Brambling Hill 2 or if it just wants to be left alone. Don’t think anyone ever uses this stop, and it has no fare machines.

Long Head - Named for the headland north of Long Neck Bay, which is named for the long neck of land that makes it extremely difficult to get into Birchbrake Bay (waves Wreckers Day lantern). Absolutely no reason for there to be a stop here, I can’t remember anything about it.

GST - Garlsbrood Shipping and Transit was a short-lived rail company that only operated from 1897 to 1909. According to old maps it originally went from Garlsbrood, through Ends, to Linden, where I think they were planning to extend to Birchbrake, but they went out of business shortly after building a rail bridge right next to the Nusquam Street bridge. I can’t find anything on what the bridge’s name is, but nobody uses it now. This section is for rumors I’ve heard about ‘the Ghost Line,’ an unreliable rail line made entirely of abandoned stations with tragic pasts. I am not including non-tragic stations on the historic GST Line.

Garlsbrood Station - Okay, just one, but only because it’s spooky. This is the original terminus of the GST. No tragic past here as far as I can tell, unless you count the GST going out of business. It’s closed down but there’s a cool illegal skate park inside and the skate punks say sometimes a completely empty train comes in.

Station in Long Shore - Another original terminus. GST used to own a dock there, and the rails still exist, but I’ve personally never seen a train stop there. It’s where Azalea Lynn Beacon worked and organized, so my aunt calls it Beacon Station.

Secret station under 5th Crossing - I can’t believe the TARR would have ever let another rail company dig under their lines, and I can’t work out the geometry of this, if the GST crossed the river at Nusquam Street. But I’ve been down there and there is a station in the same style as the terminus in Garlsbrood. I didn’t explore too much because I think there were people living in there and I didn’t want to meet them. The only tragic past I can figure for this one is the time Clagg & Starling set the river on fire in the 50s.

Station near the White Star chemical plant in Backstairs - This station is on private property, so maybe it was intended to be used for deliveries to the plant. Again, it isn’t actually on the route that the old maps show for GST, and I wouldn’t even put it on this list if my friend didn’t insist that it’s haunted by the ghosts of people poisoned by improper cyanide storage at White Star 20 years ago.

Johnstown Flood Station - This one is pretty well documented, partially because it has a long informative plaque about the 1848 Johnstown Flood, and partially because someone I know has actually managed to get on a train there! She said it was black with a gray stripe and had more of a nose than the modern subway trains (I’ve never found a photo of the GST from when it was running so I can’t confirm). It was raining hard that day and the river was rising really fast, so she took shelter in what she thought was an abandoned subway station--so imagine her surprise when a train picked her up!

Trapezoid 2 - She got off at the next station, where it wasn’t raining, and it was straight up Trapezoid Station, nothing in between. Except that when she went aboveground there was a burning building in Trapezoid Plaza. She went looking for a pay phone to call the fire department but she couldn’t find any anywhere. Eventually she went home to use the phone there, but the fire department thought she was making a prank call, and when she went back there was no building, on fire or not.

Station in Eimett - The entrance is between two TARR stations, and it’s boarded up. I didn’t manage to get inside, and I can’t figure out what tragedy would have happened there, so this is more of a speculative one. But there aren’t a ton of abandoned subway stations downtown because GST is the only one that actually went out of business instead of merging and keeping its stations.

Station at the bottom of Cutty Hill - My friend’s uncle swears this station wasn’t here 15 years ago, before the phosgene riot, and he’s lived in Fresh Pond his whole life. He said when he was released from the hospital there was a new train station two blocks from his house and nobody else thought it was weird. He admits he could be having some kind of memory problem from being poisoned, but it’s also not on any maps and doesn’t belong to ANY railroad company we could find. My life’s mission is to get my hands on some bolt cutters and break in there.

#evil city #overground

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roswellroamer · 5 years

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Day 12. February 10, 2020. Te Anau day ride. 155km.

Woke to low 40's and gray which made me question the Carrot and Weather Channel apps which had shown 72° and sunny. But closer inspection revealed a marine type layer probably due to the massive lake's shores which was projected to burn off by 11. The kitchen came stocked with farm fresh eggs, bowl of assorted fruit, milk, butter, juice, yogurts, cereals. We set about making some eggs and toast and then of course after finishing off yesterday's blog we grabbed the two frisbees and the "golf course diagram" and headed out. A half life sized chess board on the sprawling manicured lawn provided the tee for the first hole. All the bikes were truck tires with the hole number painted on the rubber. Got to explore their grounds and have some fun tossing the 'bee. We then got into our GoreTex gear and headed towards Milford Sound after a CalTex has stop in town. Knowing we couldn't get to Milford due to road closures/flooding we were aiming for a swing bridge made of three cables. One for your feet and one for each of your hands that spanned the west branch of the Eglinton River. It was featured in one of the NZ touring books I had bought last summer. We saw that the trail sign to identify the turn off was the Earl Mountain turnoff and headed that way. We wound a bit away from the water and gained some elevation and then came to a construction zone. Not being sure if this was related to the recent flooding we got in mine behind a few cars and waited. Maybe less than ten minutes and the opposing truck, bus and camper passed us then we were allowed to proceed. Usually the 120km up to Milford takes over two hours due to the heavy traffic. Top tourist destination in NZ, one road in and out. Lots of buses and cars jockeying to get parking at the roadside attractions. One huge benefit of having the road closed about 75km ahead was that there was hardly any traffic! Great road and scenery as jagged Teton-esque peaks wound into view between the nearly sheer yet forested canyons as we gained elevation. After passing through a few more, wait, take a wild guess... sheep farms 🐑 we came to a diversion. Funneled into a lane off the road to what appeared to be a toll booth, explained to the gal we were in search of a cable bridge off the Earl Mtn. Trail before the closed section. She allowed us to pass. So far so good.

You can tell when you enter Fiordland NP. Sure, there's a sign off to the left (but placed behind a farmer's field/fence so inaccessible for a reasonable picture). But immediately farmland disappears and you are envelopes in the eery dense tunnel of what seems to be darned close to tropical forest. With the 21 feet of annual rainfall being lush shouldn't be a surprise but the immediate drop off in brightness is dramatic as well. Almost like going in a cave. There are some open "flats" but much of the area along the one road there is heavy forest. The other concern for vehicles but especially bikes involves the encroaching algae/moss on the roads. Two tire tracks are largely clear of it but the center of the lanes and the road as well are mostly a bit greenish with the slippery stuff. Lots of "slippery when wet" signage and it wasn't for the Bon Jovi album. I imagined it could be taxing to stay in the worn and clear tire tracks on one of the 250 rainy days. With clear blue sky and dry along with no traffic, the 55,65 and 75kph turns were superb sweepers and we had a ball carving up that road. One of the stops was at Mirror Lakes. Aptly names and even though a couple of fish had disturbed the surface, the pics are keepers. We rode up into Fiordland a ways and then there was the Earl Mtn. sign. We pulled in to the parking area and saw the line of yellow tape across the entrance to the trail. Also no other vehicles were there. The sign said it was closed and also had a few poison signs around the lot. They described the poison that was dangerous to animals and people to attempt (as is often done here) eradication of a non-native predator. In this case it seemed to be some sort of weasel that was endangering a bird that lived on the ground. We had discussed this cable swing bridge and yellow tape and warnings weren't gonna stop us! We worked around the tape and stepped into a dense forest trail. The first 10 minutes took us along an occasionally muddy trail. Tons of tree roots. Most of the deep mud had sticks or small logs tossed in to provide steps but a few ill advised steps resulted in 6" plunges and lovely boot pulling sucking noises to dislodge my Alpinestar SMX-6 from the muck. Then found my way down a thirty foot hill by treading solely on exposed tree roots from one tree! (Pic above) After that, following the well marked red triangular plastic blazes into the heart of Frodo land, the forest was a magic pliant spongy floor. It took a while to figure out that about 6-8" of moss has somehow grown over a network of interconnected tree roots. When I stepped, the entire ground in a five foot radius would give in and move a bit. It was weird and beautiful. After another 10' we heard the Eglinton River and were blocked by some fallen trees and yellow tape. A work around brought me to the river just above the cable swing bridge. A very large tree had fallen on the bridge from our side and collapsed it. Instead of a V shape, the 3 cables were mostly flat but still spanning the river. Ugh. No go. Managed to work our way with some difficulty through the dense brush to get close enough for a pic on the first rung of the bridge which was also the last possible one to reach due to the tree and damage. Pic above. There was a cute little bird on the ground by the bridge remnants. He seemed happy to see us. Wasn't afraid of people evidently as he strutted about watching us, walking under the branch I was balancing on without flying away. He seemed to enjoy company. Said goodbye to my new friend 🐦 and found the blazes trail which included a half dozen improvised detours to avoid deep muck. Scaled up the root ladder which must have been connected to Eywa as the whole forest seemed a bit magical. 🌳 One couple was following our lead to enter the forbidden enchanted forest as we exited. They were disappointed to hear the wire bridge was out. The entire trail from there is about a three hour hike.

I must comment that tons of serious hikers (trampers in local speak) come here and cover long distances. Temps are good. Views and scenery fantastic. None of those deadly spiders and snakes one may encounter across the Tasman Sea in Oz. I get it, just don't love hiking that much to spend days or weeks doing it. This area shows why Peter Jackson used it for LOTR. Nearly pristine and just overwhelmingly stunning. With boots and Klim pants properly mud coated, we were now sweating quite a bit. In fact while holding my Latitude jacket I believe I finally lost my first set of reading glasses on this ride. I have a couple spares but oh well. Think they fell out as I was scaling some of the hill or tree root sections. 👓 I opened up all the vents on my jacket and pants and started the bike to stand and let the 65° breeze do its job. Turned around a couple kilometers further at Lower Holyford Rd. as the heavy machinery was at work. Estimated repair on the sign said that the road would reopen on Friday, four days from now. We stopped a few times on the way back for scenic spots that were too good to pass by. One of the files above is the .gif of some chopper footage. Stopped to watch him load and fly away with a few tanks of what may have been fuel? Most likely bound for Milford Sound which was still isolated from the rest of the country's road system. On one of the last stops Ted must've not closed his bag since when we pulled into Te Anau town center his right saddlebag/pannier was open! Ba quick inventory revealed his polartec jacket and a plastic bag with a wipe were missing. The chain lube that Kiwi gave us as well as a helmet lock were still in the pannier. Those darned side opening clamshell designs! I said I'd get a table at the Ranch outside and wait for him to hopefully retrieve his stuff. I showed him how to flip up on the iPhone to reveal exactly where that last pic was taken. He was just putting on his helmet when a white car pulls up. A guy walks out and hands him his stuff! So lucky. They are bikers and saw his stuff and followed us into town. Nice. After some thank you a they drove away and the day got even brighter. The Ranch delivered me a couple Cokes and an interesting prawn twist dish. 8 shrimp individually wrapped in a long thin dough sheet and fried so the whole 8" long finger is edible and 3 sauces to dip accompanied the serving. Then a calamari salad. 😊 Back to the homestead for some blogging (so I won't fall asleep tonight trying to get this down) and rest before we scored a reservation at the top place in town. The Redcliff cafe. Ted was here last year and unable to get in! We rode to town and were walking down the street when Ted recognized the Aussies who returned his stuff at lunchtime. We turned around and flagged them down. They were perfectly willing to join us for a thank you beer and had a nice time talking with them. They were riders but here to scatter ashes of a friend up north and had received money and were encouraged to make a great trip out of it. They had been to Burt Munro as well. Our appointed hour arrived and we were seated on the back porch of the Redcliff cafe. A few tables of Americans nearby and some conversation with a California couple by us and an excellent meal. I had a salmon tartare dish followed by venison which was amazing and a date and ice cream dessert which were each remarkable. Redcliff did not disappoint. Probably the biggest culinary splurge of the trip. Even with a couple drinks my total ended up being just over $50 and it would've been 50% more for that same meal at home. Had a great evening and got back to the homestead in dusk around 10. Ready to roll northward tomorrow. 😴

#teanau #newzealand #motoadventure #advrider #fiordland

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uswntpoet · 5 years

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Love on the brain (Part 17)

Enjoy the chapter :)

The chapter is also up on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17576201/chapters/46098070

Three days later it’s finally game day and the whole team is hyped as can be, blasting loud music in the locker room. They know this is more than a friendly. The matches against Canada are always about bragging rights and there is no way this game is going to be friendly. When the referee blows the whistle the game starts at a fast and aggressive pace. The players don’t recoil for one second and the tackles are getting more and more brutal every passing minute. After about 20 minutes into the game, Kelley has already been fouled at least 7 times and took most of the rather harsh hits very patiently. However, Alex notices her attitude starting to shift when she attempts to make a run past Tobin just in front of the 18-yard box to overlap her and both of her legs are pulled away from behind.

“Hey!!” Alex yells.

“What the fuck?” Kelley exclaims, who immediately jumps to her feet hot-temperedly and starts a discussion with the ref. Alex’s breath hitches and she jogs towards the discussion with an irritated look on her face. When she arrives, she opens her mouth meaning to complain heavily, but is stopped by Kelley’s hand on her chest, pushing her backwards as she walks away herself. Alex frowns at Kelley uneasily.

“It’s okay.” Kelley reassures her calmly and Alex is quite surprised at how well Kelley is containing herself after seeing the look on her face when she jumped up. When Alex looks past Kelley, she sees the referee showing a yellow card to Fleming and motioning for a freekick. That’s when she nods at Kelley and turns around, positioning herself in the 6-yard box. Pinoe sends a perfect ball in for Alex to head and it ends up in the top left corner, putting them up 1-0 in the 22nd minute. At halftime they are leading 2-1, but the team is absolutely aggravated and frustrated by the dirty fouls the Canadians are committing. Especially, Chapman seems to be particularly frustrated with defending Alex and tries to foul her whenever she can. They also seem to take a liking in pushing Kelley and JJ over, whenever they try to build up from the back and Kelley’s tranquility is long gone. The mind-games continue in the second half, when Chapman pushes her elbow into Alex’s ribcage on a corner for the US and tries to slow down the game by fighting over a throw-in with Kelley. At this point Kelley is already shooting daggers at her, hearing Alex’s voice in her head over and over again.

“Don’t let them provoke you, that’s what they want.” she said to her in the locker room. Apparently, they really try hard to provoke Kelley and at one point it’s the final straw. Chapman comes absolutely too late into a challenge, kicking Alex’s legs away and shoving her down brutally and hostile. It’s clear to see that she’s not even trying to hit the ball one bit.

“HEY! REF!!” Kelley screams, making her way towards the scene quickly, the referee on the opposite side of the pitch.

“Referee that’s a red!!” the coaching staff yells, while the whole bench is jumping to their feet, yelling loudly as well.

“REF!! That was the hundredth time!” Crystal screams.

“What the hell?!” Tobin exclaims.

Alex miraculously hasn’t been injured in the process and instead stands up, walking in her direction furiously.

“Are you fucking insane?!” Alex yells at her.

“Fuck off, Morgan.” Chapman exclaims as she takes a step towards Alex, giving her a push.

Kelley immediately sprints towards Chapman, pushing herself in between Alex and the Canadian. Kelley puffs her chest out and the way she shields Alex it seems as if she’s a lot taller than she actually is.

“DON’T-” Kelley first yells and then remembers where she is so she tries to stay calm.

“-touch her.” Kelley spits intimidatingly, saying the words slowly and clearly, looking into Chapman’s eyes menacingly. Chapman takes a step towards Kelley, pushing her forehead against Kelley’s hot-headedly.

“Kel.” Alex tries nervously, tugging at Kelley’s arm, but Kelley just looks at the Canadian fearlessly, staring her down, not moving one inch.

“What are you gonna do about it, O’Hara?” Chapman provokes with an evil smile, her tone arrogant.

“I’m going to fucking kill you if you dare to shove her one more time.” Kelley threatens, walking forward and forcing Chapman to take a few steps backwards in the process, who suddenly looks intimidated. Kelley really uses every bit of willpower in her body to try to stay calm, however Chapman doesn’t seem as if she is trying at all. She puts her hands against Kelley’s chest, shoving her hard, thinking it’s the only way out. Kelley on the other hand doesn’t back down. She’s standing in front of Alex immovable as a mountain. She holds out her arms, challenging Chapman to shove her.

“Yeah, come on. Push me again.” Kelley provokes with a chuckle, hitting her hands against her own chest. Chapman gets absolutely furious, her face turning bright red, letting Kelley get to her. She starts shoving Kelley repeatedly, blind with rage. The whole rumble since the initial foul happens so fast and the crowd is so loud that Kelley doesn’t even hear the referee aggressively blowing her whistle repeatedly, making a full sprint over the field.

“Try pushing harder, Chapman.” Kelley laughs, making the Canadian’s blood boil. What happens next makes everyone in the stadium hold their breath for a millisecond.

“Look out!” Alex barley gets out and the referee is not fast enough when Chapman swings her fist towards Kelley’s head. However, what no one expected is Kelley dodging the swing and catching Chapman off-balance by pushing her to the ground. Chapman jumps up, charging for Kelley, but the referee puts her hands between both players who try to go at it again.

“Back down, immediately!” the ref instructs.

“Come at me O’Hara, try defending your pathetic girlfriend.”

Meanwhile, both teams have gathered around the fight. Everybody is arguing, yelling, negotiating and pulling each other in opposing directions. JJ, Becky and Alex all try to hold Kelley back at this point, who is trying to make her way around them, while Megan, Tobin, Lindsey and Crystal walk towards the referee, starting to complain loudly. At the sidelines both coaches are arguing and yelling at the 3rd official, while the coaching staff is trying to hold the subs back from storming the field. The Canadians try holding Chapman back as well, who’s still provoking Kelley. There is total chaos on the pitch and in the whole stadium.

“Enough, Kel. Come on, be smart, walk away from it.” Becky warns strictly and Kelley starts turning around to do so when Chapman raises her voice again.

“Next time I’m going for your girlfriend’s left foot, O’Hara.” Chapman provokes, her teammates shoving her away, while the referee immediately shows Chapman the red card, making the crowd erupt in loud cheers. Kelley spins on her heel and goes absolutely berserk. She tries escaping her teammates grips, who are holding her back with all their power.

“You fucking bi-“ Kelley yells, but Alex covers her mouth with her hand. Luckily, the referee is in a full-on argument with Megan, Crystal and Tobin who demanded the red card furiously.

“Kelley, calm down! Hey guys, help us here.” JJ yells.

Lindsey, as well as Rose and Abby jog towards them, helping to keep Kelley away, who is full of adrenaline.

“Kel, stop!”

Becky and JJ shove Kelley away at the same time, creating a bit of space between them and Kelley. When Kelley takes a step forward again, Alex steps in her way.

“Kel, calm down.”

But Kelley just looks past Alex, now also blind with rage. Alex takes Kelley’s face in her hands, forcing her to look at her.

“Hey!!! Look me in the eyes and calm down!” Alex yells. Kelley’s eyes lock with Alex’s and she immediately breaks out of her tunnel vision, nodding at Alex.

“Turn around and walk away. Right. Now.” Alex commands and so Kelley does, followed by Crystal, Megan and Tobin, who Alex and Becky pulled away from the referee, who was just moments away from carding them as well. Kelley walks towards the sideline, grabbing a water bottle while Alex, Becky and Sinclair talk to the referee. Alex is absolutely livid while vehemently discussing the whole incident with the referee. Meanwhile, the team and the staff gather around Kelley to check if she’s hurt. Kelley doesn’t speak a word, knowing she is too angry right now. After a lot of complaining Chapman is forced off the field by the 3rd official and the referee gestures for Kelley to come to her. Kelley avoids eye-contact with anyone, already expecting the worst.

“Miss O’Hara, I have to be clear here, I don’t condone this kind of behavior, neither from Miss Chapman nor from you.” the referee says strictly.

“I absolutely understand, but I saw my teammate being threatened and I was simply defending her.” Kelley answers respectfully, but still a little bit defensive due to not being able to calm down. The referee eyes her closely, searching for any sign of a lie. Kelley looks back at her stoically. The referee takes a deep breath and makes her decision.

“Look, you’re fortunate I count the shoving as self-defense. I don’t want to see or hear anything from you for the rest of the game. If I spot the slightest act of aggression you are out. Understood?” the ref says strictly. Kelley nods and starts running to her position while the referee shows her a yellow card, causing loud bows from the crowd.

"This is a very dark yellow, O'Hara." the ref underlines.

“It’s okay, Kel! Full concentration and clever defending.” Jill calls from the sideline, trying to build up Kelley’s confidence again.

“Don’t worry, you got this.” Becky encourages her, patting her back as she jogs past her. She gets a back pat from Abby and Rose on her way back to her position as well.

“Go, Kel!” Crystal yells from the other side of the field, clapping her hands. The rest of the game is still a hard-fought battle, but Kelley defends clever enough to avoid a red card. They’re up 3-1 thanks to a goal by Megan in the 80th minute and when the referee blows the final whistle Kelley is relieved, but nevertheless still angry. She walks across the field to shake everybody’s hand, earning encouragements by her teammates as well as a few apologies or evil eyes from the Canadians. However, when Kelley sees Jill coming her way at a steady pace, she lowers her head, looking to the ground in fear and a bit of embarrassment. Jill puts one arm on Kelley’s back, grabbing her by the neck and patting her shoulder with the other while changing their course. She pulls her away from the other players to walk in the direction of the player’s tunnel.

“Kel, why do you let your head hang like that?”

“That was so stupid.” Kelley growls, shaking her head.

“It was. You shouldn’t have shoved her and most of all you should have walked away without hesitation when the ref arrived. You’re very lucky the referee saw your intentions and as your coach I need to tell you that.”

Kelley nods at what Jill is telling her.

“But I also know that you were defending yourself at that point. And to be quite frank I was rather impressed by your amount of self-control throughout the game. I bet younger Kelley would have gotten the red card for sure and I think most of your teammates were on the brink of it as well while yelling at the referee. As for Chapman, that was a clear red from the moment she tackled Alex.”

“That’s the point, she tackled Alex, not me.”

“It’s okay to protect your teammates if they get pushed around, as long as you don’t do what Chapman did or repeat your mistakes.”

“She isn’t just my teammate though.” Kelley grumbles.

“Oh Kelley come on, now you’re just searching for a reason to be mad at yourself. I think I know you pretty well by now. You would have helped any teammate in that situation. We are a team, we care about each other, we help each other. We need somebody who brings that fire to the team, it makes the team passionate and brings us together.”

“Maybe, but still. I should have been smarter.”

“Do you regret what you did?” Jill asks knowingly.

Kelley looks at Jill, considering her answer, but stays with the truth.

“No.”

“That’s what I thought.” Jill laughs, causing Kelley to chuckle as well.

“Of course, be smarter, learn from it, but what’s done cannot be undone. I don’t want you to think you’re undeserving of playing for us because of this.” Jill insists, eyeing Kelley closely. Kelley looks up at her surprised, feeling caught red-handed.

“Thanks Jill.” Kelley smiles tightly, feeling massively relieved.

“I told you, it’s okay. Now go cool off in the shower, I know you’re still fuming.” Jill says, letting go of Kelley’s neck and shoving her lightly past the line of media, who are yelling her name loudly, trying to get a statement. Kelley starts walking to the locker room, throwing her shin guards against her locker. Since she isn’t really in the mood to talk, she quickly heads for the shower, knowing her teammates will fill up the pleasant silence with loud chatting soon. When she reenters the locker room, her body feels a whole lot better, but her mind doesn’t seem to catch a break. Her gaze wanders to Alex’s locker, however she’s not there, her belongings still untouched. Kelley stops in the doorway, scanning the room. Everybody is there, except for her fiancée. She is pulled out of her thoughts when she hears her name.

“Kel? Are you okay?” Mal asks carefully.

“Huh?”

“You’re blocking the way.” Mal smiles unsure, gesturing to the door. Only now does Kelley really look at Mal, who is standing in front of her in a towel, her bottle of shampoo in hand, a line already forming behind her.

“O’Hara are you sure Chapman didn’t hit your head?” Sonnett jokes.

Kelley steps aside quickly, looking at the ground.

“It’s about damn time, some people are trying to shower here.” Crystal chuckles, as they all walk past Kelley. Julie is the last to walk past her and Kelley stops her by her arm.

“JJ, have you seen Alex?”

“Press conference.” Julie smiles empathically.

“God.” Kelley exhales.

“She’ll be okay, she’s a pro.” Julie squeezes Kelley’s shoulder, before disappearing behind the door.

On her way to her locker, Dawn holds out a bottle with her post match drink. Kelley grabs the bottle and forcefully throws it against her locker.

“Fuck!” she exclaims, causing the few people who are still in the locker room to go dead silent and look at her worriedly. Kelley bangs her fists against the locker and lets herself flop down, crossing her arms irately. She then jumps up, quickly putting on her clothes and charges for the door.

“Hey, Kelley, where are you going?” Dawn calls after her, but gets no response. Kelley jogs down the hallway, following the signage until she stands behind Jill, who is leaning against a doorframe, watching the press conference closely.

“Get her out of there.”

Jill turns around, looking at Kelley perplexed.

“Kelley, what are you doing here?”

“Jill, I want you to get her out of there, right now.” Kelley says impatiently.

“Alex, what can you tell us about the general mood of the game?” a reporter asks.

“Well…it was an intense game. Canada is always a tough opponent and they did a good job at defending our attack, but ultimately we managed to put the ball in the back of the net.”

“What can you say regarding the attitude of the players on both teams? There clearly was some tension.”

“Uhm, just like I said, Canada is one of our oldest rivalries. The games are always about glory and that naturally shapes the game.”

Kelley looks at Jill intensely.

“Kel, somebody has to do this.”

“Yeah and that’s me, not her.”

“But Miss Morgan, you clearly were involved in an incident with Canada’s number 2 Allysha Chapman, which ended in a fight between Kelley O’Hara and Chapman. How did it come to that and had your personal relationship with Miss O’Hara something to do with the fight?”

Kelley looks at Alex concerned, making a mental note to demolish that reporter. She then gazes at Jill demandingly. Alex feels her heart starting to beat faster, the color draining from her face. She pauses, taking her time to think about an appropriate answer. That’s when Jill nods at Kelley.

“Pull her out.” Jill instructs Aaron, their spokesman, who acts immediately.

“I-“ Alex starts.

“Okay, thank you ladies and gentlemen. Alex won’t be available for further questions.”

A roar goes through the press room and Alex looks at Aaron confused.

“Instead you’ll be able to talk to Kelley O’Hara about the incident.” he proceeds and Alex’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. When she is urged to leave the room, Kelley walks past her and Alex throws her a look saying: “Are you out of your mind?”, but Kelley looks away quickly.

“What the hell is she doing?” Alex whisper yells, when she stops next to Jill.

“She is setting things straight and to be quite frank, she’s also saving your ass.” Jill chuckles.

“Kelley, why did you interfere when Allysha Chapman tackled Alex?”

“The atmosphere of the game was boiling over at that moment and I was in close proximity to the situation.”

“Is it true that Chapman threatened you or Alex?”

“Both Chapman and I may not have behaved appropriately, however there was no malicious intention on my side, it was self-defense. Regarding Miss Chapman, you’ll have to ask her, I can only speak on my behalf.”

“Why didn’t you just wait until the referee arrived?”

“To my knowledge the referee was on the other side of the field at the time of the incident and I saw a necessity in stepping in before somebody got hurt.”

“Is the fight between you and Miss Chapman based on personal matters?”

“Absolutely not. As Alex said before, the Canada games are always very competitive and situations like those happen in the heat of the moment.”

“Kelley you probably could have gotten a red card, would that have influenced the dynamics of the game?”

“Yeah, probably.” Kelley shrugs.

“What are the consequences for the team regarding a send off?”

“That we play with 10 from then on.” Kelley answers with an irritated chuckle, causing the other journalist to laugh loudly. Alex senses Kelley starting to get impatient about the senseless questions and closes her eyes, afraid Kelley will make things worse. However, Kelley seems to realize that she probably should elaborate and give a proper answer.

“Look, we are talking about what-if’s here. Those are all speculations. What I know is that I didn’t get a red. But if you really insist, I think this team is very experienced and they would have dealt with it professionally. We have each other’s backs and I know I would give my all if one of my teammates was sent off. That’s the game. If the referee makes her decision that’s what it is and you take it and you move on. However, in this case the referee decided against it and saw that I was simply protecting a teammate of mine. As for the shove, that was pretty unnecessary and I’m aware of that, that’s what I got my yellow card for.”

“But Miss O’Hara, isn’t it true that you and Miss Morgan are involved with each other off the field?” the same journalist asks, who had already asked Alex the same obtrusive question.

“What the hell is this, a cross-examination?! Aaron, we have to stop that!” Alex exclaims appalled and Aaron turns on his microphone to help Kelley. However, Alex sees something flicker in Kelley’s eyes and she watches as Kelley’s demeanor changes completely. She stares at the man steely-eyed, radiating a fierce and ruthless attitude, outstaring the man, who looks away insecurely, before starting to answer the question.

“Yes, I think it’s common knowledge that we are in a relationship.” Kelley answers indifferently, with an edge to her voice.

“So, does your relationship with Miss Morgan affect your game and specifically did that affect the incident on the field toni-”

“What’s your name?” Kelley interrupts the reporter.

“Oh, shit.” Alex whispers to herself.

“Eh…I-I’m M-Mason Newman.” the reporter replies with a stutter.

“Are you in a relationship?”

“Ehh...”

“Does your relationship affect your ability to ask me questions tonight?”

“Ehm, why does that matter? That’s quite personal.” he answers shakily.

“Yeah, exactly. Yet, you’re asking me the same question.” Kelley reasons calmly, totally in control of the situation. The reporter looks at Kelley speechlessly, white as a sheet, not able to even bring out one word.

“Well, Mr. Newman, I know what you want me to say, but let me break it down for you one more time, so there’s no miscommunication.”

She pulls up the sleeves of her shirt and Alex watches her fascinated.

“Again, I stepped in because a teammate of mine was in a precarious situation. That’s what we do on this team. That’s what makes us a team. Our bond on and off the field fosters our success and our performance on the field. We all care about each other deeply and that is what makes us strong. So no, I can’t see why MY particular relationship with Alex would play a role in that and yes, at the same time it is the only reason I stepped in. With that being said, I would have stepped in for any of those 22 women and I would do it again.” Kelley says eloquently. She then leans back in her chair and looks at Aaron.

“Any further questions?” Aaron asks through the microphone, however there is silence in the room, Kelley’s answer having muzzled the reporters.

“Alright, if that isn’t the case, we’ll end the conference with Kelley here.”

“Thank you for your time.” Kelley smiles charmingly, before standing up to leave the room. A typical smile Kelley wears when she absolutely smashed something. It seems charming, but Alex knows it’s triumphant, defiant and a whole lot of cocky.

“Alex, you still have to give an interview since you’re named player of the match. Follow me.” Aaron urges, rushing Alex to another room.

“Smashed it out of the park, Kelley.” Jill high fives Kelley.

Kelley nods absentmindedly, watching Alex disappear down the hallway.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the press conference with Jill Ellis is starting in 3 minutes.” another member of the press team announces through a microphone.

“Talk to you later, Kel.”

Kelley doesn’t bother to answer and trots down the hallway, making her way back to the locker room, where she immediately is called by the physiotherapists for some post game treatment. She lays down on the treatment table, closes her eyes and puts her headphones on, tuning out her surroundings. Meanwhile, Alex makes her way through the hallways, doing interview after interview. She’s pretty glad that no one seems to dare to talk about the fight again, since Kelley shut them all up at the press conference. Her mood is continuing to switch between being really mad at Kelley and being very proud of her for taking responsibility as well as defending her. It’s a struggle she seems to face more often than she would like these days, but who is she kidding, that’s just Kelley and how is she supposed to be mad at that. Alex’s thoughts are interrupted by a familiar voice, she can’t really match to a person.

“Hey, Morgan! Wait up.”

Alex turns around only to be met with none other than Allysha Chapman. Alex considers for a split second to just walk away, but she ultimately decides against it. Instead she stops and looks at her judgingly, crossing her arms. Chapman who first looked determined, now seems to be a little intimidated and lets out a breath to calm herself.

“Look Morgan, I’m sorry. That was totally over the top and just dumb. I never would mean to seriously harm you. I was just so frustrated by the game and it really brought out the worst in me. I hope you can forgive me.”

Alex looks at her closely, seeing only pure intentions and pulls herself together.

“I understand that. It was an intense game and I know Kelley provoked you, which wasn’t okay at all. You know, I’m not one for holding grudges, that was never my thing. I don’t know about Kelley, but as for me, we are good.”

Chapman smiles at Alex, meaning to say something but Alex is talking again before she has the chance.

“Still, there is one thing I want you to know and I hope you understand me loud and clear when I say that if I see you come at my fiancée like that again, you’re dead. And Chapman, I ensure you, if you didn’t like Kelley getting mad at you, then you don’t want to see me.” Alex clarifies, her icy blue eyes boring right into her soul.

Chapman looks at Alex a little bit surprised and wide eyed. If Alex wouldn’t have watched her so closely, she would have missed Chapmans small gasp for air without question, but Alex takes note of it and therefore is sure her message came across. Chapman nods quickly.

“Yeah, won’t happen again.” she mumbles intimidated.

“Good. Truce?” Alex replies with a smile on her face, holding out her hand.

“Truce.” Chapman smiles.

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When the team announces that it’s time to leave the stadium, Kelley is the first to quietly jump up to make her way to the bus. However, she is stopped by Allie holding onto her arm. Kelley turns around short-tempered, looking at Allie’s hand on her arm warningly.

“Kel, are you okay?”

Instead of answering Kelley just looks at Allie numbly and frees herself from her grip, walking out of the room. When she arrives at the bus, she sits down in her designated spot and once again closes her eyes, leaning against the window. When the other players enter the bus, they know better than to talk to her, her body posture clearly showing she is not in the mood for a conversation. Alex, Pinoe, Carli, Jill and the press team are the last to arrive. Alex enters the bus and stops at her typical spot next to Allie, remaining standing, looking at Allie questioningly, who is also still standing and looking at Alex worriedly.

“She hasn’t talked to anyone since the incident on the field, except for when she asked JJ where you were and the staff told me she had an outburst in the locker room.” Allie informs Alex quietly so no one can hear.

Alex cranes her head, trying to find Kelley in her typical spot. She sighs deeply when she’s able to see a very miserable looking Kelley. Her body tense, forehead creased, jaw clenched and her eyes straining to stay closed.

“I tried talking to her, but she didn’t respond.”

“Thanks, Al.” Alex says softly, giving her a tight-lipped smile and squeezes her shoulder.

Alex places her bag on the seat next to Allie and makes her way to Kelley’s row. She sits down in the spot next to Kelley and watches her face closely. Alex then lays her head on Kelley’s shoulder and reaches for her hand. She intertwines them and starts stroking the back of her hand. Alex looks up at Kelley, waiting for any kind of reaction and she doesn’t have to wait long. Kelley lays her head on top of Alex’s gently without opening her eyes. Alex lets out a breath of relief and kisses Kelley’s shoulder softly, before laying her head on her shoulder again, closing her eyes as well. A few seconds later, Alex feels a tender kiss being pressed to her head, followed by the weight of Kelley’s head on her head again, mimicking Alex’s action. That’s how they remain for the rest of the drive.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The team exits the bus and immediately is scurried to the dining room. Amidst the chaos that is caused due to the players and staff all rushing into the hotel, Alex’s step falters when she realizes that Kelley, who was right behind her has disappeared. Thinking that she may have passed her, she walks into the dining room where she puts her bag down in her usual spot. She turns around and searches her, but she’s nowhere to be found.

“Has somebody seen Kel?” Alex asks into the round.

“Hmm, no maybe she went to the bathroom.” Adrianna shrugs.

“Come on you clinger, she’ll be back, let’s get some food.” Allie says trying to cheer Alex up.

Alex gives Allie a meaningful look, silently telling her not to play it down.

“I know Al, but maybe she really only went to the bathroom.” Allie comforts her.

With a sigh Alex follows Allie to the buffet. When Alex returns to the table with her plate and Kelley still isn’t there her impatience rises, but she starts to eat nevertheless, thinking she may just overreact. After a while her leg bounces up and down and she stares at the door every two seconds. Eventually, someone elbows her in the ribs. Alex turns to look at Allie.

“Jesus, would you calm down? Go search her then.” Allie says meaningfully.

Alex is up on her feet immediately and exits the room. Alex considers looking in their room, but decides against it and heads directly to the gym. She hears loud noises when she comes closer and it doesn’t surprise her to see Kelley angrily doing weight training at a fast pace while her music is blasting loudly. Alex presses the mute button on the control which is laying by the door, leaving the room silent apart from Kelley’s heavy pants and the noise of the weights clinking together slightly. Alex approaches Kelley, who is doing bench presses and halts in front of the bench. However, she still doesn’t stop.

“Kel, stop.” Alex says laying her hand on her stomach gently. Kelley sets the weights down and sits up, looking at the ground and brushing her hands through her face.

“Are you mad?” she asks with a small voice and then looks up at Alex like a kicked puppy.

“No. I’m not.” Alex shakes her head.

“Maybe you should be.”

“Would that make you feel better?”

Kelley looks down again, “At least then I wouldn’t have to be so angry at myself.”

“Babe.” Alex says softly, pushing her hand through Kelley’s hair, who remains silent.

“You can’t always punish yourself with silence or a workout. Talk to me instead.” Alex tries gently. There is a long pause before Kelley speaks again.

“I couldn’t.” Kelley exhales, pushing the top of her head against Alex’s stomach.

Alex senses that Kelley isn’t talking about punishing herself, but about what happened on the field before.

“It’s okay.” Alex says softly, her hand stroking Kelley’s neck.

“I can’t just stand and watch, Alex.” Kelley says, her right hand turning into a fist, lightly hitting the bench.

“I know you can’t.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you are and I know you just wanted to protect me, but you wanted her to lose control and that’s not okay. That was dangerous, Kel.”

Kelley’s head whips up and she looks at Alex seriously.

“Alex, she had no intention of even coming anywhere near the ball. She wanted to hurt you.” she makes her case.

“Yeah and that was nasty, as well as her going for you. Still, you shouldn’t have provoked her.”

“Of course I shouldn’t have, but she was being a bitch and I won’t let her touch you or talk to you like that.”

“And I love how you care for me, but Kel just put yourself in her shoes. You intimidated her and she didn’t know what to do next. I think it was poor judgement.”

“Well, she should be intimidated and if intimidating her gets my point across then that’s what it’s going to be. At least she is not going to touch you as long as I am on this planet. I’ll talk to some people tomorrow.”

“Don’t…she won’t be a problem anymore.”

Kelley eyes Alex suspiciously, “Why are you so sure of that?”

“Do you seriously think I’m letting her off the hook after she swung at you?? Mhm-mhm, you’re not the only one who doesn’t like when somebody is trying to offend their fiancée, O’Hara.” Alex says disapprovingly.

“What did you do??” Kelley asks astonished.

“Not much. I just had a little chat with her and I think she understood me loud and clear.”

Kelley whistles at Alex, “Damn, baby. Poor Chapman is crying herself to sleep tonight.”

“She has no reason to. We called a truce.”

“Wow, a truce?” Kelley asks unconvinced.

“Yes, and you’ll abide by that too, right?” Alex rather demands than asks.

“If it brings you joy.” Kelley grumbles.

“Thanks, tiger.” Alex winks, with a kissy face.

“Alex, I really tried to stay calm though.” Kelley says quietly, who feels that it is important to get this off her chest.

“I know you did babe and I think everyone struggled to stay calm in that game. So, don’t think I didn’t appreciate you helping me, I was just worried about you.” Alex says gently, stroking Kelley’s cheek, who gives her a soft smile.

“However, don’t even get me started on the press conference.” Alex sighs, letting her hand fall.

Kelley looks at Alex with a pained expression.

“You shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”

“Kel, that’s not the point. YOU shouldn’t have been there in the first place. What the hell were you thinking?!”

“If it wouldn’t have been for me, they wouldn’t have asked those questions. That was my fault and I’m not letting you pay for that. Especially if some douche is asking those stupid questions.”

“Just one more reason to be mad at you.” Alex rolls her eyes and Kelley looks at her defeatedly.

“Every damn time I want to be mad at you, you do those crazy attractive, intelligent, cute things and that just makes everything worse.” Alex grumbles annoyed and a light smile is born on Kelley’s face.

“Aw babe, I’m sorry.” Kelley grins, standing up and starting to kiss Alex’s jaw.

“No, I’m not accepting that.” Alex responds, while Kelley peppers light kisses along her jawline.

“You’re literally the worst person to be mad at.” she rambles on. Kelley goes for her ear, kissing her earlobe.

“Don’t think I’m giving in to those awesome kisses.” Alex breathes heavily, clearly distracted by Kelley pressing kisses to the corner of her mouth.

Alex pulls away, looking at Kelley warningly, “If you think I’m falling for that, you’re wro-“

“-ng” Alex mutters against Kelley’s lips, who just goes straight for a kiss.

“Oh, sorry I interrupted you, did you want me to stop?” Kelley smirks, pulling away.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Alex says, pulling Kelley in by her shirt, continuing the kiss.

“I swear you couldn’t live a day without kissing me.” Kelley smirks in between kisses.

“Of course, I could!” Alex protests, pulling away completely.

“No way, hun.”

“Challenge accepted!” Alex frowns.

“What? Babe, that wasn’t a challenge.” Kelley says confused.

“Oh, now you backpedal?” Alex grins triumphantly.

“Not everything is a competition, Miss Morgan.” Kelley shakes her head with a chuckle.

“You’re one to talk.”

“Okay, try it then, but let’s make it a real challenge for you.”

“How?”

“I’m allowed to initiate a kiss whenever I want, but if it is initiated by you, you lose.”

“Try me.”

“You’re so gonna lose, babe.” Kelley chuckles.

“No I’m not, want to know why?”

“Tell me.”

“Because I’m Alex Morgan.” Alex says cockily and Kelley locks at her skeptically.

“What?” Alex snaps.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing is never nothing!”

“I just think you’re going to lose.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re Alex Morgan.”

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?”

“A very reliable source told me that Alex Morgan has one weakness.”

“And that would be what?”

“Her irresistible fiancée, duuuh.”

“You’re so dumb.”

“You’re out of your mind.”

They stare at each other intensely, silence lingering.

“Doesn’t start till tomorrow, right?”

“Definitely.”

“Perfect.” Alex breathes before kissing Kelley flamingly. She pushes Kelley backwards, her back hitting the wall hard, causing a loud thud.

“Ow.” Kelley chuckles.

“Shit, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” Alex asks worried.

“I’m okay. So much anger today.” Kelley teases with a grin.

“Sorry.” Alex mumbles quietly. Kelley takes hold of Alex’s chin, making her look at her, their gazes connecting.

“I like it.” Kelley winks, pressing a swift kiss to her lips, causing Alex to smile at her.

“How did you even find me in the first place?” Kelley asks astonished.

“Babe, I know you better than I know myself and torturing yourself with a workout after something bad happened, even after you played a 90-minute game, is the most Kelley thing ever.”

Kelley lays her arm around Alex, starting to walk out of the gym, “Yeah, that might be true. Wanna know what’s the most Alex thing?”

“What?”

“Losing the bet.”

#kellex #kelley o'hara #alex morgan #kellexfic #USWNT #kellexfanfic #part17 #love on the brain

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thorsenmark · 11 months

Video

flickr

The Bow River Flows Through a Valley in Banff National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: This was an overlook point on Tunnel Mountain Rd to the east of Banff. Tunnel Mountain is towards the image right. Sulphur Mountain is far off in the distance, and one can see a little bit of the beginning ridgeline of Mount Rundle on the left.

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godzillakyru · 5 years

Text

The Timeline

Here is the MASSIVE TIMELINE that is in Godzilla: Kaiju World. Enjoy.

@hrodvitnon @little-godzilla @elisa-jeane-esposito

· September 1st, 1940- Meganulon

o In Kyushu, A small village called Kitamatsu were at piece before it began to be terrorized by several bug-like creatures That became known as Meganulon. The feasted upon the villagers there.

· November 3rd, 1954- Gojira

o The first confirmed Kaiju sighting in Japan. A large ancient amphibious creature, dubbed Gojira from legends of the village on Odo Island, came ashore of Japan twice and destroyed much of Tokyo, leaving much of the city and surrounding areas uninhabitable because of Nuclear Radiation. A few days later, Gojira was killed by an Oxygen Destroyer, a device made by Dr. Daisuke Serizawa. It’s estimated that the injured and casualties was well into the high 500s.

· April 24th, 1955- Anguirius

o Anguirus is a large ankylosaur-like creature. It was seen on Iwato Island. After a few days of observing this creature, it was deemed mostly docile, although it would attack anyone who were flying over the island as it was territorial.

· December 26th, 1956- 2 Rodans

o Deep within Mountain Aso, two eggs hatched into a pair of Rodans. They ate all the Meganulon before moving onto the humans that lived around the Mountain. They had feed off countless of people and attacked Fukuoka. It was then that that the JSDF carried out operation ‘Eruption’ where they erupted Aso, burning the two Rodans alive.

· October 14th, 1958- Varan

o In the Kitakami River, a large creature crawled out of the lake, called Varan the mountain god-monster, and took flight towards Tokyo, where it landed. No conventional weapons did anything to the large creature. Tokyo, still in the midst of rebuilding from Gojira’s attack four years prior, was laid waste. The JSDF carried out operation powder ingestion. They dropped bombs that were filled by special powder and once Varan ingested it, it dentonated, causing Varan to collapse and die.

· March 21st, 1962- Maguma

o In the north pole, a large walrus like creature appeared. It went into the Artic Ocean and began its attack on Alaska, first landing in Barrow. Then, it headed and attached Walnwright before heading back into the Artic Ocean where it stayed for a few years, terrorizing all those who sail in at Ocean.

· December 22nd, 1963- Manda

o In the Indian Ocean, a dragon-like creature named Manda suddenly appeared into existence and became the Dragon of the Indian Ocean where it reigned several years.

· August 8th, 1965- Baragon

o After an earthquake in the Akita Prefecture that destroyed an oil refinery, a subterranean kaiju, Baragon, makes its presence known. It attacked several villages throughout the prefecture before going back to underground where it wouldn’t been seen again for some time.

· December 16th, 1989- Biollante

o A scientist experimented with left over, viable G-Cells(from Gojira) and crossed it those with a rose cells. The immediate affect was seen and soon, it mutated into a essential plant close of Gojira. The first form was rooted in Lake Ashino. The JSDF managed to engulf the monster rose inflames, although it turned into golden particals and flew up into the air. Biollante has not been seen since.

· December 11th, 1993- A third Rodan

o On the nuclear dumping ground of Adona Island, a third Rodan have been sited. It is not seen as a threat at the time as the only time it left the island was when he had to go feed- usually on whales or dolphins that move through the waters close to the island.

· May 20th, 1998- Zilla+Baby Zillas

o A dinosaur like creature came to New York to Nest. Maybe believed that this was a new Godzilla but it was debunked. It was found to be asexual and had laid eggs in the Madison square garden. Although, the American military decided to only focus on the adult and take care of the eggs after, although that was not the best thing to do. The eggs hatched and was going to get out and overrun the city until the air force blasted the building, killing all the hatchlings(supposedly).

· January 18th, 2008- Clover

o New York was attacked once more, this time from a larger monster. It rampaged through the city through the night and to early morning, just as the sun was coming up and at that time, the military proceeded with a hammer down operation. It killed the creature.

· November 3rd, 2014- the IKDF was formed

o On the 60th anniversary of the first major kaiju attack, all the nations had decided to form the International Kaiju Defence Force. Each nation has their own IKDF base on their own soil.

· June 30th, 2018- A second Varan

o In the Fuxian lake in China, a second Varan appeared and moved to the west, getting onto land and began to cause havoc in Jiangchengzhen before moving into Longjiezhen. The Chinese branch of the IKDF tried their best to deter Varan 2 from going further south but it was ultimately futile, so they simply ordered the evacuation of the cities that were in Varan 2’s path and they were trying to come up with a suitable plan to stop it. It made its way through Qianweizhen before it was bombed with Massive Penetrator (MOP) Bombs by the US branch. Varan was struck several times in the back, tearing open Varan’s back before another set of bombs fell inside the wound and dentonated inside, thus killing Varan.

· October 15th, 2018- Death of Maguma

o Since the MOP bombs were able to kill Varan, it was decided to send some Stealth bombers to Artic Ocean. The MOP bombs were dropped and Maguma was confirmed dead.

· February 10th, 2020- Kamacuras; March 29th, 2020- IKDF Summit

o Kamacuras was seen leaving Madagascar and to Africa and began to destroy the villages and cities in Mozambique. Once more, the MOP bombs were used and Kamacuras was killed.

o All branches of the IKDF met in Tokyo, Japan. It was costly for the American branch to continue to try and continue to mass produce the MOP Bombs. They all decided to bring in all of their scientists and engineers to try to make a new, effective weapon.

· June 1st, 2021- Ebirah

o Ebirah surfaced in the Sulu Sea, in the Philippines. It terrorized all who sailed there. It was killed and washed up on shore 5 days later by an unknown kaiju as seen by the marks on its body.

· September 2nd, 2024- Prototype Mazer

o The Scientists and Engineers comes up with a prototype of a new weapon, the lazer. Trials began immediately.

· May 4th, 2028- The earthquake and Red Baragon

o An earthquake struck the west coast, which had collapsed parts of the Yosemite tunnel. Japan sent over some of their new digging missiles, the DO3s to help with the digging and trying to rescue all those who were trapped inside. A second Baragon, this one much smaller and redder in color than the first, burst through the mountain just left of where the tunnel was after the DO3 exploded. Instead of rampaging away like the first, it went straight back into the Earth without harming anyone.

· December 12th, 2030- Type 1 Mazer

o Type 1 Mazer was the first mazer to be mounted on ships and subs of all the branches. There is one drawback to the mazer, it took quite some time for it to warm up to use.

· October 15th, 2031- Manda’s death

o The US branch of IKDF decided to test their mazer out on Manda who was still terrorizing the Atlantic. Their submarine, the Gotengo, was sent into Manda’s territory. Manda was already going on the offensive and after some heavy damage, the captain, Douglas Gordon, gave the order to fire the Mazer once it was warmed up. The mazer killed Manda with a signal use at 90% Power.

· July 5th, 2035- March 5th, 2100; 65 years of Peace

o These years were known as the calm years. A time where there was no kaiju attacks and a time where the human race could focus on perfecting the Mazer weapon. Mazer types 2-65, all tested and improved upon until Mazer type-66, which was the ideal one. Now, there were mazer tanks and each nation had several of them.

· March 29th, 2100- Baragon Returns

o The first Baragon surfaced once more outside of Hiroshima. It did not take long for it to begin attacking the city, destroying the outskirts of the city with ease before starting to move more towards the city center, towards the Naka Ward. The IKDF deployed the Mazer Tanks and began attack Baragon . It was quick to dig to get away from the attacks.

· January 5th, 2101- Dagahra and Barem

o Off the coast of Guam, an infestation of Barem washed up in Tumon Bay and it was the only warning that the people who lived there had before the surfacing of Dagahra a few hours later. Dagahra landed in Tumaning and began to rampage through the town/city before ending up at the international airport. Guam deployed it’s mazer tanks abit late thanks to this attack being such a surprised one. The do drive the kaiju off into the see and killed it using the Yamato. though more Barem washed up in the bay. All marine life around Guam are subsequently killed thanks to the infestation. The other nations try to do their best to help but ultimately, Guam had to be abandoned and would stay abandoned until the Barem could slowly disappear and the ecosystem could be restored. It is estimated that Guam could be populated once again 1,500 years.

· December 15th, 2104- Kamoebas

o Kamoebas surfaced off of the coast of Hawaii, near Honolulu, although it never tried to come ashore. Its shell was simply seen, and its neck outstretched to have its head above water being going on its way.

· August 15th, 2110- Gorosaurus

o Gorosaurus was found in the forests of Papa New Guinea by an expedition. Gorosaurus had kicked and ate all of them except for one who got away and had told the IKDF. The IKDF got into action as, like all man-eating members of some animals, Gorosaurus could go into a populated areas and feed as much as it wanted. They decided to go to a controlled Napalm bombing that burned Gorosaurus alive. IKDF made sure to clean up everything and helped with the recovering area that was affected.

· December 5th, 2115- Titanosaurus

o Deep within the Mariana Trench, a exploration vehicle found a Sea Dwelling dinosaur. The scientist who discovered the dinosaur, Shinzo Mafune, gave it the name Titanosaurus and noted that it was a docile creature who seemed curious about the underwater vehicle and it’s bright lights. Since it seems friendly and after hearing Mafune’s words, they leave the sea dwelling dinosaur in piece.

· September 4th, 2122- Return to Iwato Island

o When a group went to Iwato Island, the found the bones of Anguirius. It had died some time ago, how it died was unknown. Some suspect it was of old age.

· July 2nd, 2124- Kumonga

o Kumonga emerged from the jungles of Vietnam near Thai Nguyen. It converged on that town and begin to wreak havoc. The IKDF immediately wasted no time to counter it, torching it with flame throwers.

· August 11th, 2130- Gezora

o Gezora first surfaced in the Red Sea, hindering the fishing there.

· September 20th, 2131-March 3rd, 2140- The great Swarm of the 2130’s

o A Swarm of Meganula, a stage of Meganulon some scientist clamed, almost blanket the skies over Austraila, preying on all those that were brave enough to go outside of their shelters. They were mostly centered around the most populated areas like Sydney. It took the IKDF years to take down all of the Meganulon.

· April 5th, 2145- Super X Project begins

o The Super X project was started in the Tokyo IKDF base.

· May 28th, 2150- Gezora’s death

o Like Ebirah, Gezora washed up on shore in Yemen, dead. The killer is unknown.

· June 23rd, 2154- Super X Project is completed

o The Super X is the state of the art essentially flying battleship that was compact.

· October 14th, 2160- Baragon and Red Baragon

o The two appeared in South Korea, near Seoul. Red Baragon was the first, seemingly just exploring when the other Baragon appeared. It was speculated that they were of the same species and it seemed like they were right. Red Baragon was more docile and while the other was more hostile. The two fought, going into Seoul, destroying the city with their fight. Red Baragon seemingly got wounded and fled while Baragon continued its rampage. Baragon began to destroy the rest of Seoul until the Super X was launched. It launched some more powerful MOP Missiles. It fatally wounded Baragon, causing it to go stumbling for a few miles before collapsing and dying.

· November 20th, 2165- Ebirah 2; November 24th, 2165- Titanosaurus

o A second Ebirah surfaced near the Mariana Trench, terrorizing all the ships who came past. Its terrorizing would only last 4 days, a day shorter than the first Ebirah.

o Titanosaurus appeared and began to battle Ebirah 2 and killed it before dragging it down into the trench, obviously for food, and the corpse had never been seen again.

· December 25st, 2170- The Christmas earthquake

o In the early morning of Christmas day, earthquake rocked Los Angles and it was the same magnitude as the 1997 earthquake. Despite how ‘earthquke proof’ the city and surrounding areas were, there were still damages to the buildings, highways ect. Some buildings even partially collapsed. 50 were dead, 120 were injured in this event.

· July 4th, 2175- Komoebas washes ashore

o The corpse of Komoebas washes ashore in the San Fransisco area with deep claw marks on its neck. No one knows what could have done it.

· January 30th, 2184- Unknown kaiju sighting

o There have been reports of something swimming offshore of India. It was too far for anyone to describe the shape of it. So, the reports went unconfirmed.

· April 18th, 2190- Japan earthquake and Tsunami

o A massive Earthquake hit the off the coast of Japan, which caused an equally massive Tsunami. It struck Kushiro, Shiranuka and Hiroo. Shiranuka and Hiroo were wiped off of Japan and Kushiro was heavily damaged. It is estimated 100,000 Were dead or wounded and some were missing. The other nations were quick in sending all the help Japan could get.

· November 10th, 2200- Godzilla Appears

o Appearing off of the East Coast of the US, He swam into the Delaware Bay before going into the Delaware River and to the Salem Nuclear Power Plant where he got the Nuclear Reactor inside and began to feed off of it. Once he left, Nuclear Radiation lingered int he area. The world is in a panic. It is believed that he was the one that killed the first Ebirah, Gezora and Komoebas.

· January 4th, 2204- January 8th, 2204- Baragon’s rampage, Death and Godzilla vs Super X

o Baragorn surfaced in Pakistan, near the village of Khairpur which it had begun to destroy, devouring whoever isn’t lucky enough to run off. Baragon continued his rampage through Babarloi, Sukkur and was destroying Sangi. He ended up having a tactic to deal the Mazers which was burrowing and then coming up from underneath them, flipping and damaging them. The super X was sent out from Japan and was en-route towards Baragon when Godzilla got to the kaiju first. He killed Baragon by stomping down on the much smaller kaiju before moving on towards the Kushab Nuclear Power Plant. The Super X intercepted Godzilla just out of Jhang. The Super X seemed to be getting the upper hand, but Godzilla ended up blasting it to pieces. It Moved onto the Power plant, fed, and went back in the ocean.

· March 1st, 2210- Super X2 Project Begins

o The Super X2 Project begins creation at the Tokyo IKDF Base.

· May 5th, 2210- Orga

o A large extra-terrestrial creature landed in Durango, Mexico where it unleashed hell. Mazers had no effect whatsoever with this creature and everyone was at a loss of what to do. Godzilla appeared just an hour after Orga landed and made a B-line straight towards Orga and a battle ensued. Godzilla killed Orga before going on his own rampage in Mexico, destroying everything between Durango and Mazatlan before heading off into back into the ocean. The area was a wasteland, filled with nuclear radiation, resulting in more deaths later.

· December 3rd, 2212- Godzilla attacks Malaysia

o Godzilla landed at Singapore and laid waste to much of the city before moving on to Johor before moving off back into the sea, leaving much of the two cities radioactive. It’s unsure why he attacked these two cities when there’s no nuclear plants in that area.

· June 11th, 2222- Super X2 is completed

o The Super X2 was completed and it was around the time where there were talk about nuclear weapons.

· January 20th, 2224- Operation Caso Charlie

o With the approval of Nuclear Weapons from the nations, The Super X2 lured Godzilla to the Bikini Atoll where the Americans dropped a atom bomb, much bigger yield than the ones that had poisoned Lucky dragon fishing vessel and it was believed that they had killed Godzilla.

· June 6th, 2226- Titanosaurus and Godzilla

o Godzilla revealed that he was still alive as he surfaced and began to attack the city of Miyazaki. Titanosaurus surfaced a few moments later and the two began to fight with Godzilla getting the upperhand. Sadly, Titanosaurus was killed and Godzilla continue to lay waste to Miyazaki before going back to sea.

· September 5th, 2230- Red Baragon Found

o Red Baragon is found in a mining pit in Goa, asleep. IKDF puts up a base camp near the pit to keep an eye on the kaiju.

· 2254

o Where the story starts off, 300 years after the first Kaiju attack.

#Godzilla: Kaiju World #Official Timeline #Let me know what you guys think!

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dreamsanddreams88 · 5 years

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Was friends with the girl who played luna lovegood, she had just met this guy who, as children, was at same surfing camp or smthn as babies in the caribbean? Both were named after it i guess, all her fans telling her to give him a chance and date him. Then i was in weird, rendered world that had portals. Like ocilus rift game. Portals went to elemental worlds kinda like spyro, water n forest n stuff. Each one had sprites or faerie girls, i tried to seduce one. Also smthn with brian n jose n my parents, we were in some decrepit house and there were creepy tunnels in the ceiling?

Smthn in the Empire of sand universe, very upsetting. Then was in sandman universe and he was tryna kill amun and the mystics. Then smthn bout sarah and being in a big cafeteria of people, and then an auditorium. Like high school

Was eating dinner with whole entire family, errbody went out to smoke n invited matthew out too even tho he doesnt smoke, but didnt invite me. Started crying. Then i was packing to move, mom tryna help me. Then i was Void from incredibles 2, running away from someone. Run into hugh jackman, we go have sex in his dingy apartment, he ties me up, its gr8. Nosy neighbors open door, i tell em im busy go away. Then after, i have a crisis because im myself again and dating alex, freak out that i cheated on him with hugh jackman. Then in a mystery where dad and his old friend group caused an old shopkeeper to be electrocuted long ago when they were teens. Then i was a suspect, blonde college girl in house with other suspects

Was harnessing up to pull ivy on these huge redwoods, then we were in thailand or somewhere? Dude driving us around, i was embarassed i didnt remember what country or town we were even in. We stopped at a store, i wanted to buy cutesy things to fit in. Found nail polish that turns rainbow colors

Sleeping on wildwood rd, hiker girl also behind dumpster. Dude tryna steal car, alarm goes off, call cops. He chases us, then its me and kat running from alex. We hide in rando apt of guy we knew. Then in owens house w lots of ppl and a bunch of cows broke into yard and one came in the house. Also dogs there, had to make them like me, really scared. Then i was balding, had gross peely itchy scalp, tryna moisturize it and peel the dead skin off

Snuck onto tims computer and saw a bunch of dirty emails to somebody. Then i was in It Follows. Lived with 2 abusive roommates, escaped and handcuffed myself to hotel bed. Then escaped that and drove 2 waterloo house, but knew It would come for me. Came looking like kenzie but walking in the field, ran out to car and drove away n woke up

Was roommates with tathariel, she was watchin a movie and i wanted to watch with her but she was really standoffish. Sooooo unbelievably pretty tho

Went to movie at house party where ppl were smoking crack, claudia IP was there. Wanted to go back to flirt with her or sleep at her place, it was in sequim/cf. Try to drive there with my family in the car behind me, on wildwood, but i get pulled over by flirty annoying young cop who only pulled me over to talk. He starts mansplaining traffic rules and shit.

Snuck into owens backyard, it was super steep hill with 2 streams. They came back from church and caught me, hung out w his kids like a babysitter but i felt ashamed of trespassing

Was reading an alice in wonderland book then it became real, on top of mountain, needed a tame lion to light a fire otherwise this curse would cause the mountain to catch fire and a bunch of young kid characters had already been killed off from that? So i got this lion and was trying to untame it by acting crazy, it was very scary

In big house with lauren and family, going to work pulling scotch broom in sequim but left lunch stuff at alex's, tryna text him but phones at 1% and wont charge. Then had to time travel to get morgan freeman n convince him to trust me, he was at some family reconciliation where everyone was crying

Cool oufits i was taking 4 free? Crop tops that look like sailor scout uniforms, with cool red high waist shorts and suspenders

Xander, lucas, luis, n folks were sposed to go with jenna to france to get her ears pierced for the wedding, everyone bailed last minute so i go to airport to tell them off, me and ashlyn couldnt go. Accidentally walked across canada border w/o passport and they wouldn't let me back, crying a lot

In alien spaceship with thanos and orc-lookin fuckers, could get to light speed real quick, super fun

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noblecrumpet-dorkvision · 6 years

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Jungle Environment Generator

I just started running Tomb of Annihilation, but I wanted to make exploration more exciting. A lot of forums online said they wished there was more to discover in the jungle while wandering, and I myself wanted a way to randomly create useful environments to affect combat. Therefore I created this big ole set of tables. The content specifically refers to the adventure module in many places, but you could always use this as a jumping-off point for any adventure if you wish to use the tables. There are no story or NPC spoilers.

How to Use the Tables

These tables are designed to be used in tandem with the random encounter tables and exploration rules already detailed in the Tomb of Annihilation.

Whenever a random encounter is found, roll for Terrain Features based on the type of hex the party is in (either mountainous or non-mountainous). Then, whether or not an encounter was found in that hex, roll for Structural Features. Apply all relevant features to the battlefield for the random encounter. If there was no random encounter, there might still be a structure for players to explore. That structure may or may not be inhabited, which could interact with the encounter, if there was one.

For instance, the players are in the jungle and have encountered a pack of Velociraptors using the encounter table found in the Tomb of Annihilation module. You then roll here and ended up with two terrain features, a stream and a hazard (Razorvine). You also rolled and found a major structural feature, a small village inhabited by native Chultans. You place the village around the stream and place the razorvine on one side of the village. The predators will likely be attacking the settlement, leading to a new, narrative encounter and creating several terrain details the players can exploit.

image credit: Nele Diel

Random Terrain (Jungle/Coast/Swamp)

There is always at least one random terrain feature. Roll 1d6. On a 5-6, there is an additional terrain feature, then reroll to see if there is another. Randomly determine which side of the battlefield players approach from. The jungle is assumed to have a medium amount of foliage and trees for hiding and cover.

Roll d100:

(01-10) Boulders: Offers cover based on size. Roll 1d6:

(1-2) Rubble: Partial Cover, +2 AC

(3-4) Boulders: Half Cover, +5 AC

(5-6) Towering Boulders: Total Cover

(11-15) Crawlspace: natural stone, manmade tunnels, or a hollowed out log.

(16-25) Tight Brush: all terrain is difficult terrain except for Huge, Colossal, or Small creatures. Lightly obscured.

(26-35) Sparse Brush: plenty of room to maneuver but less terrain to work with.

(36-40) Slippery: wet slope or ground, sand slope, scree slope

(41-50) Lightly Obscured: Either the dense canopy cuts off light, or a thick fog rolls in.

(51-55) Cliff: one edge of battlefield is a cliff face. 1d10 x 10 ft. high, climb DC 16. May be a waterfall (1 in 6 chance)

(56-60) Slope: One end of the battlefield is higher than the other. Those at the upper end have +1 on attacks against those on the lower end.

(61-70) Ravine: A ravine 1d10 x 10 ft. deep and 2d6 x 5 ft. wide spans the battlefield. Introduce the ravine and ask if players are taking the high road or low road.

(71-81) Swamp or Mud: Treat as difficult terrain. Swamp may harbor disease. Creatures can hide underwater. Mud has 1 in 6 chance to restrain when moved through for the first time each turn (DC 10 STR to escape)

(82-86) Pool: a pond or vernal pool takes up a quarter or half the battlefield. First 5 ft. of the pool is difficult terrain, rest requires swimming.

(87-95) Stream: there is a small stream, 1d6 ft. deep. Either difficult terrain (1-3 ft) or requires swimming (4-6 ft).

(96-00) Hazard: Secretly place a hazard in a random quadrant of the map, spotted with a DC 16 Perception check. Roll 1d4 to determine the type of hazard.

(1) Razorvine: As found in DMG. The plants have AC 11, 25 HP and are Immune to bludgeon/slashing. Victims must make a DC 10 DEX save or take 1d10 piercing.

(2) Quicksand: As found in DMG. Victim sinks in 1d4+1 ft. and is restrained, then sinks 1d4 ft/rd. Self STR DC 10+(#ft). Ally can pull them free with a STR check DC 5+(#ft).

(3) Sinkhole: 2d4 x 10 ft. deep. 1 in 6 chance reveals a catacomb or mine (see Major Structures)

(4) Man-made Trap (snare trap, hunting trap, pit trap): DEX save DC 15 to avoid. A snare restrains (escape DC 12), a Hunting Trap restrains (escape DC 14) and deals 1d10 piercing, and a pit trap deals 4d6 piercing as they fall 15 ft. onto wooden stakes.

Random Terrain (Mountain)

There is always at least one random feature. Roll 1d6. On a 5-6, there is an additional terrain feature, then reroll to see if there is another. Mountainous terrain is always considered to have a slope, and PCs always approach either perpendicular to the slope or from up or down the slope, depending on whether they are climbing or descending the mountain. Those at the upper end of the slope have +1 on attacks against those on the lower end.

Roll d100:

(01-10) Boulders: Offers cover based on size. Roll 1d6:

(1-2) Rubble: Partial Cover, +2 AC

(3-4) Boulders: Half Cover, +5 AC

(5-6) Towering Boulders: Total Cover

(11-16) Crawlspace: natural stone, manmade tunnels, or a hollowed out log.

(17-25) Narrow Pass: difficult terrain that requires squeezing.

(26-35) Plateau or Peak: The area is flat here despite being on a mountain.

(36-40) Slippery: wet slope or ground, sand slope, scree slope

(41-45) Clouds/Smoke: Fast-moving clouds or smoke cause the area to be lightly or heavily obscured on any given round (50:50 chance)

(46-55) Cliff: one edge of battlefield is a cliff face. 1d10 x 10 ft. high, climb DC 16. May be a waterfall (1 in 8 chance)

(56-60) Bridge: A rope, wood, or stone bridge spans a drop of 3d10 x 10 ft.

(61-70) Cliffside Path: A narrow path with a dangerous drop or similar hazard on one side.

(71-80) Ravine: A ravine 1d10 x 10 ft. deep and 2d6 x 5 ft. wide spans the battlefield. Introduce the ravine and ask if players are taking the high road or low road.

(81-94) Debris: Treat the debris as difficult terrain.

(95-00) Lava Feature: a fissure, vent, flow, or pool of lava.

Structural Features

Whenever the party travels through a hex, whether or not there was an encounter, roll 1d6. On a 6, the PCs stumble across a structural feature. If a structure is encountered, roll 1d6. On a 1-5, the feature is a minor structure. On a 6, the feature is a major structure.

For the purposes of these rolls, “Faction Agents” refers to exploring members of the Flaming Fist, Order of the Gauntlet, Emerald Enclave, or Zhentarim. Other factions are too rare to be found in the jungle. “Native Chultans” refers to either humans, dwarves, goblins, tabaxi, yuan-ti, or grung native to unsettled regions of Chult. They may have never even heard of Port Nyanzaru.

Banteay Srei Temple in Cambodia, photo by Matthew Laird Acred

Minor Structural Features

These terrain features aren’t usually worth putting on a map, but provide unique environments for loot to be found in or to act as 1-room dungeons or NPC encounters.

Roll d100:

(01-10) Border Stone: A tall boulder or slab painted or carved with a symbol apparently designating a border. It could point to a new minor or major feature.

(11-15) Ruined Staircase: A tall stone staircase that goes nowhere. It’s 3d4 x 5 ft. long. Every 10 ft. of length rises 5 ft. high.

(16-20) Graveyard: An overgrown grave site with individually marked graves, either by mounds, stones, slabs, or metal stakes. If there were no undead encountered, there is a 50% chance of encountering 3d4 zombies or skeletons.

(21-25) Cairn: A pile of stones used as either a trail marker or as a simple marker of a grave site. An INT check DC 15 determines its nature. A trail marker could point to a new minor or major feature. A grave site could have buried valuables.

(26-30) Tomb: A small sealed tomb, 15 x 15 ft. Can be built above ground or below it, but often built into a hill or cliff.

(31-40) Camp Site: An abandoned campfire and supplies left behind from recent adventurers.

(41-45) Monument: A statue, pillar, slab, or victory gate carved or painted to be a monument. Requires a DC 13 INT check to determine its nature. It might be dedicated to a deity, hero, monarch, or one of the barae. Or it can be erected after an event like a volcanic eruption, a battle, the founding of a city, the Sundering, or the disappearance of Mezro.

(46-50) Shrine: A small 10 x 15 ft covered shrine on a tiered platform dedicated to either Ubtao or one of the nine Omuan deities.

(51-55) Broken Wagon: An abandoned wagon left by previous adventurers or even Chultans from before Port Nyanzaru was established.

(56-60) Abandoned Siege Weapon: An abandoned mangonel or ballista left by either the Flaming Fist or Order of the Gauntlet in a failed expedition. There is a 50:50 chance that it still functions, but it needs repairs if it is to be moved.

(61-65) Ruined Aqueduct: A stone structure that gently slopes in one direction, held up by stone pillars and arches. Once used for catching and transporting water. Think Roman Aqueducts.

(66-75) Mudbrick Hut: This hut has wooden beams jutting out of the sides of it called toron. Climbing them requires a DC 10 DEX check. Has a 1 in 10 chance of being inhabited when discovered. If uninhabited, it is likely to be ruined by either rain or dinosaurs using it as a scratching post.

(76-80) Tower: A 100 ft tall stone tower with either mirrors or a brazier at the top for signaling. Has a 1 in 10 chance of being inhabited when discovered, usually by 2d6 faction agents, but sometimes by squatters or monsters.

(81-90) Wooden Hut: A hut primarily made of wood and covered in grass, palms, or reeds. If in a swampy region, it stands on stilts. In a mountainous region, it could be built into a stone feature. 1 in 3 chance of being inhabited by a ranger, rogue, monk, barbarian, warlock, wizard, or sorcerer NPC.

(91-00) Road or Trail: Leads to another feature if followed. 50:50 chance of a minor or major feature.

Ennde Mosque, Dogon Country, Mali. Image source: link

Major Structural Features

These terrain features are worthy enough to add to a map. Think of them as 1-3 room dungeons. Structures with multiple rooms might lead you to roll up additional encounters to populate it. Simply improvise these structures but make them simple and sparsely inhabited so they are more of a distraction for the players than an entire adventure. You can use the tables on page 290 of the DMG to help stock these structures.

Roll d100:

(01-07) Pyramid: Either a stone ziggurat or a mudbrick pyramid. This either houses a tomb of an important figure or a shrine to a deity. The space inside is not particularly large despite the monumental structure, and it’s not very defensible, so it’s usually uninhabited.

(08-15) Small Castle: This castle is made from a combination of painted mudbrick, stucco, and carved stone. It has wooden beams jutting out of the sides of it called toron. Climbing them requires a DC 10 DEX check, but they begin high above the ground, at least 30 ft. up. Has a 1 in 4 chance of being inhabited by 3d6 + 2 faction agents, pirates, or native Chultans.

(16-25) Quarry: An abandoned stone quarry. This might be a place of importance to factions seeking resources like the Flaming Fist, Zhentarim, Order of the Gauntlet, or Lord’s Alliance. An accurate map to its location could fetch up to 50 gp.

(26-45) Simple Village: 3d6 simple mudbrick or wooden huts in close proximity. 2 in 3 chance of being inhabited by 4d6+4 native Chultans.

(46-50) Stacked Village: A series of stacked mudbrick homes nestled beneath a cliff. Has a 1 in 3 chance of being inhabited by 2d6+2 native Chultans, 1d4+1 lost adventurers, or 1d4+1 faction agents.

(51-60) Ruined Town: 6d4 stone residences now ruined. The buildings flank a large flagstone courtyard now overgrown with jungle. There is a 1 in 4 chance of being inhabited by 2d6+2 native Chultans, 1d4+1 lost adventurers, or 1d4+1 faction agents.

(61-66) Temple Ruin: An ancient temple to Ubtao or one of the nine Omuan deities. It has only one floor and rests on a raised stone platform. Thick clapperless bells take up some of the windows, letting out a deep chime when struck. There is a 1 in 4 chance that the temple is inhabited by a cleric making pilgrimage here.

(67-70) Emerald Enclave Blind: A tall, thin tower structure deliberately hidden by trees and foliage for spying on the surrounding landscape. A DC 20 Perception check is required to spot the hidden structure, otherwise it simply looks like a thicket of trees. There is a 2 in 3 chance it is inhabited by 1d4+1 Emerald Enclave agents. If uninhabited, it is likely they were wiped out by monsters or another faction that discovered them.

(71-75) Mine: An abandoned ancient mine. This might be a place of importance to factions seeking resources like the Flaming Fist, Zhentarim, Order of the Gauntlet, or Lord’s Alliance. An accurate map to its location could fetch up to 50 gp.

(76-79) Lumberyard: A lumberyard secretly set up by either the Zhentarim or the Flaming Fist. There is a 2 in 3 chance it is inhabited by 2d6+3 agents of one of those factions. If uninhabited, it is likely they were wiped out by monsters or another faction that discovered them.

(80-97) Catacomb: A large gravesite with a sealed entryway into an underground tomb complex, with many winding halls of dead laid to rest and one or two open rooms. There is a chance that 3d6 zombies can be found here.

(98-00) Mage Tower: This tower belongs to a spellcaster that for some reason decided Chult was a peaceful place to continue their research. Perhaps they use the jungle’s dangers as natural defenses, or perhaps they enjoy the complete isolation. The tower is not undefended, whether or not it is inhabited, and may hold several traps and sealed or locked entryways. Roll on the Magic Items tables in the DMG to determine what can be found within. There is a 1 in 4 chance the tower is inhabited by a wizard, sorcerer, or warlock. Roll 1d6 to determine their reason for building the tower out in the jungle.

(1) Study Chult's environment and cultures.

(2) Use Chult’s rare resources to create fantastic magic items.

(3) Seclude themselves while they achieve their nefarious goals.

(4) Research necromancy using Chult’s abundant undead.

(5) Escape a powerful pursuer by teleporting their tower to Chult.

(6) Search for a jungle spring said to grant immortality.

#tomb of annihilation #D&D 5e #dungeons and dragons #random encounters #terrain #temples #exploration #DnD #Noblecrumpet #Dorkvision #Chult #Forgotten Realms #Faerun #D&D #DnD 5e

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elianaevergreenstormcloak · 6 years

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Seven thousand steps farther - 23 rd of Last Seed – 4 E 201 – Ivarstead

She reached Ivarstead in the late hours of afternoon and stayed at the inn for the night. Perched over the borders of Eastmarch, and nestled in the foothills of Tamriel’s tallest summit, Ivarstead was a sight to behold. Farms and crops outstretched in stair terraces all the way down the hill, to the first line of pine trees marking the boundaries of the hold. Cascades and torrents of silvery water, born from the eternal snows at the apex of the peak, ran down the slopes of the mountain to fuel rivers and lakes around. Life revolved around sowings and harvests, and in those late summer days, the inn was quiet from dusk, and the village busy from dawn.

:readmore:

“What can you tell me about High Hrothgar?”, Eliana asked, as she tightened the buckles of her satchel and backpack, making sure the additional weight would not impede her climb too heavily.

“The Greybeards are a solitary lot.”, the innkeeper replied. “I don’t think they’ve ever ventured outside their monastery. We get the occasional pilgrim passing through here on their way to the summit, but almost all of them have returned disappointed.”

The young woman pensively nodded.

“I won’t.”, she smiled assertively. “Anything I should be cautious of, on my way up?”

“Klimmek makes the climb every one or two months. Knows the pathway like the back of his hand. He might be able to give you some advice. You should find him at his fishery, on your way out of the hamlet. Best of luck on your way. Make sure to make a stop on your way down.”, he added as the young woman headed to the door. “Our bard, Lynly is quite fond of the pilgrims’ tales. Makes up for the boredom of our provincial life, I imagine…”

“I will.”, she answered. “Thanks a lot.”

Mist and morning dew twirled above the river in rubans of smog, in which floated like fireflies the dying ambers of the bridge lantern.

Down a wooden pontoon, a man was setting his canes and nets, for the day, and straightened wiping his brow, when the shade of a newcomer came obscurcing his work.

“Damn bears got another of our nets.”, he mumbled, not even looking up from his handiwork. “Beyond repair, this time. Got to have it replaced next time you head to Rift-”

The fisherman froze, upon realising his mistake.

“Sorry, milady.”, he offered, dropping back the torn net on the floor. “Mistook you for my associate – not that you look anything like him”, he mumbled attively, “ ‘tis just that I didn’t expect…”

“There’s no offence taken, don’t worry.”, Eliana reassured him with a smile as the man drowned himself in apologies. “You’re Klimmek? The innkeeper told me to come to you for advice on the pilgrim’s path to High Hrothgar.”

“You’re heading to High-Hrothgar now? This time of the year?”

“Believe me, it wasn’t my first choice.”, she snorted, remembering how many times she had delayed her project of a pilgrimage to the Gildergreen, and did not even take time to make a stop by the temple when she was in Whiterun. “Anything I should be particularly cautious of, on my way up?”

The man considered her for a moment. “I usually avoid making the climb in the hottest and coldest months. Extreme conditions make the path treacherous, stones come lose either from frost or meltdown, and a good tumble is not the worst you risk, if you trip up there. Storms can be sudden, and quite strong. The summit blocks clouds from both north and south and the wind can blow quite hard, so I advise you find shelter in one of the station, if you see the weather is changing. Apart from that, there’s the occasional pack wolf, or stray bear, and some pilgrims talked of trolls - I never saw one - but this time of the year, whatever you’ll encounter will have food aplenty, so they shouldn’t attack you, unless provoked. Do not stray from the path, and everything will be fine.”

Eliana crossed the bridge, and began the ascension just as the sun started its course from the horizon, and the sky turned a brighter shade of blue as mist and smog lifted, leaving in their stead only the fresh sting of spray and the faint crisp air descending from the mountain. Her mind heavier from Klimmek’s warnings, but her heart set as ever on the task at hand, she reached the first station, and knelt before the carven stone. Cuneiform writing in the tongue of the Nords of old spread on the dark granite arch, as on the tablet were traced in several times erased and rewriten words, a tale older than time.

'Before the birth of Men, the Dragons ruled all Mundus.

Their word was the Voice, and they spoke only for True Need.

For the Voice could blot the Sky and flood the Land.’

'Men were born, and spread over the face of Mundus.

The Dragons presided over the crawling masses

Men were weak then, and had no Voice.’

'The fledging spirits of Men were strong in Old Times

Unafraid to war with Dragons and their Voices

But the Dragons only shouted them down and broke their hearts.’

'Kyne called on Paarthurnax, who pitied Man

Together, they taught Men to use the Voice

Then the Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue.

'Man prevailed, shouting Alduin out of the world,

Proving for all that their Voice too was strong,

Although their sacrifices were many-fold.’

She came to a halt, resting her back against the stone, taking cover from the freezing wind as the tale weighted heavily on her soul. The story of the world, of the first Dragon Break, was unfolded before her, a legend carved in stone that felt like a life-time repressed memory and echoed to her soul with deafening truth.

Overwhelmed, she closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths, fumbling with the cords of her bag to set her gourd free, and took a few long gulps of ice cold water before she forced her mind back on Nirn.

Just over the edge of the rock outcroping hovering the emptiness, the whole of Skyrim stretched to the horizon, from the foothills of the mountain. Far below, she could see the plains of Whiterun fade into the green lands and vast pine forests of Falkreath, the black arches of Bleak Falls Barrow detaching themselves from the sparkling waters of Lake Illinalta, and, at the far edge of White River valley, drowned in the mist, and behind a crest, the ruins that used to be Helgen.

Hugging her knees to her chest, she averted her gaze and grabbed some food from her satchel before she risked a glance up the snowy slopes of the Throat of the World. The path was wide enough for now, but she feared the higher she’d climb, the narrower the stairs…

Already, the eroded stone steps were often swallowed by the earth and provided little guidance regarding the way to follow, and Eliana more than once had to dig out the carven stones to ensure she was indeed heading the right way. Moreover, if the morning winds carried in their wake naught but the crisp cold of fresh fallen snow and the twinkle of stalactites melting against the sunbathed rocks, the early hours of the afternoon had seen the skies darken, and the heavy clouds gathering at the summit, breaking on the mountain like spume on a cliff, augured nothing good for the rest of her journey.

She had reached about the fifth etched tabled when at a turn of the path marked by two tall standing stones, a light snow strated falling. Quickly, the sparse grass and mountain flowers disappeared, leaving in their stead only rocks and wide snowdrifts.

Eliana shivered, the wind biting harshly at her exposed flesh. She tightened her cloak around her shoulders, and nestled her face in the woolen inside of her hood. Even the birds seemed to have deserted these heighs, and no sound from the valley longer reached her ears, other than the howling of the wind. Strong gusts of freezing wind, charged with powder snow drifted over the edges of the mountain, stinging her skin and burning her lungs. Running her hand against the slope, farther from the precipice, and digging her heels deep in the snow to anchor her to the ground as the gale grew in strength, Eliana muttered a word of thanks to the gods as, at the end of the flight of stairs, a tall rock outcropping came covering the road, in a long natural tunnel.

She made a stop just past the entrance, relieved to see snow recede, and cobblestones emmerge from the ground, a seemingly long portion of the road carrying on under the protection of the stone.

But as the wind quietened, and the air grew heavy and moist, a scent of rot came to her nostrils, sparkling in her a well-trained instinct. Squinting to pierce through the darkness, she could glimpse the outlines of remains, stacked against the walls of the gorge. The smell and sound betrayed the presence of the predator before her eyes could fathom the mass of muscles and fur detaching itself from the dark recesses of the cavern to charge upon her.

Fire engufed the defile, casting a most unwanted light upon the beast’s lair. Teeth and claws sharp as scythes slashed through the air. Eliana dodged, fire at her fingertips keeping the troll at bay, but fear could only fend sheer blind rage for that long.

The troll charged through the wall of flames, propelling her to the ground. Breath knocked out of her lungs, Eliana rolled to the side as the beast plunged on her. Massive fists hit the ground, where she lied seconds before, shattering the eternal ice like glass.

“FUS!”

The word swole past her lips at its own volition, and reverberated long through the valley.

Shoved away, the troll let out a furious roar, long limbs taut as bows and empty black eyes fixed on its prey. A wall of flames engulfed it.

Eliana straightened, white hot fire crackling in her palms, and relief washing over her as a second fireball hit the troll’s writhing form and drowned its cries of agony in the blaze.

She heard too late the roars of the second monster, awoken from its light slumber by the fracas of battle. A howling - unlike anything she had ever heard - and the crack of trunks shattered in splinters in its wake filled the air. The ground trembled. A sound like bones fracturing broke from the mountain’s side. Blocks of ice and stone detached themselves from the roof of the tunnel as snow engulfed the entrance and unfurled through the passage way in a deadly cold wave.

Eliana bolted through the cave, dodging spikes and shards of rock falling from the ceiling as a long crack tore through. Snow and hail fell in a curtain from the chasm, enlarging the breach to the breaking point. The bones of the earth broke, and the tunnel ripped in half, leaving in its stead a gapping wound, bleeding snow and rock in an endless cascade that came to die quietly into the plain.

Battered against the rock, Eliana struggled to breathe. The weight of the mountain crushing her ribs, she curled and struggled against snow and debris – not to dig herself out, but to alleviate the pain. Her air rare and lungs oppressed by the cold, she still managed to percieve the faint light of day through the hard layer of snow. Closing her eyes, and willing her breathing long and calm, she focussed the last of her magicka in a weak, but steady fire, hoping she would hold long enough to melt through the ice and dig herself a way out.

Warm water prickled like embers on her cheeks. The heat of the flames burned her fingers, as blood rushed back to her extremities. But when a gust of freezing cold wind whipped through the roof of her ice coffin, and allowed her for a deep constricting breath, she realised with dread that escaping the deathgrip of snow might be the least of the hardnesses she’d face on her way to safety.

Sun was slowly but surely setting west, bathing the mountain in a gold and rose light, as above her, the skies turned dark and stars like fireflies danced on the firmament.

'Fear not this night.’, she recited, digging her way through the snow, and struggling to keep enough focus to maintain the shadow of a flame in the palm of her hand. 'You will not go astray.’

Snow impeded her movements. Debris carried from the mountain’s slopes littered all that remained from the path, a white cold edge overlooking a dark emptiness, threatening to collapse at the slightest chance.

'Though shadows fall, still the stars find their way…’

Darkness and blizzard had engulfed the Throat of the World when, a distance ahead, the flickering light of lanterns filtering through stained glass came piercing through the night.

A brazier burned, atop of a flight of stairs, on the right of which, in an alcove sheltered from the whims of weather, a tall statue of a man slaying a serpent overlooked the path.

Clenching the broken amulet of Talos around her neck, shivering and stumbling, she climbed the stairs and pushed the black-iron doors. A wave of warm, encense and resin charged air whipped her face. The contact of stone under her body was her last with reality.

She came by to the sound of a fire crackling nearby, and the scent of dust and herbal tea, covering that of smoke and resin. A heavy thurible was hanging above the bed, warm light and ghostly ribbons of smog twirling over its edge. Banners of teal and pale yellow ornated the dark massonry of the temple she barely remembered reaching.

She straightened, the pain in her ribs gone, with only a bruise and a few frost burns to remind her of her misadventure. Her robes were drying on the back of a chair, water still dripping from the sleeves and bevelled hem, and a warm dark wool cover wrapped around her, keeping at bay the cold her breast-band and breeches could not. A steaming hot bowl of amber liquid rested on a stone stand, on her right, the warmth and fruity taste of snowberies and dragontongue bitterweet on her tongue. She coughed, and put the empty bowl back on the stand, before she dared try her footing. Her muscles protested, a cold gust of air prickling her skin, but she was otherwise fine. She searched for her bag, finding it at the foot of the bed, and pulled Gerdur’s green dress from the pack, relieved to find it slightly damp but still dry enough to be worn.

Keeping the blanket wrapped around her shoulders - the linen dress too thin for the crisp air of the monastery – she descended the corridor to a flight of stairs, and reached into a wide open hall, littered with potteries and candles.

Kneeling before a bas-relief depicting Kyne enlightened by a brasier, a hooded monk slowly rose to his feet to greet her. The young woman bowed respectfully.

“I am Master Arngeir.”, the elder introduced himself. “I speak for the Greybeards. Few are those who find their way to our sanctuary, in those troubled times. Fewer who dare to brave the wrath of Kynareth on the pilgrim’s path. Tell me, now, traveler, what have you come looking for, in High Hrothgar?”

“Guidance.”, the young woman breathed. “I… am answering your summons.”

A spark of recognition ignited in the elder’s eyes.

“So… A Dragonborn appears, at this moment, in the turning of the age.”, he breathed in reverence. “The Breath of Kyne herself murmurs through your Voice. We are honored to welcome you to High Hrothgar.”, he greeted as three other monks joined the hall and bowed in turn to their visitor. “You must have many questions…”

The young woman nodded.

“Why me?”

“That is for you to discover.”, the elder smiled comfortingly. “Many have come, before you - many of the Dragon Blood - since the One first bestowed that gift upon mortalkind, in search for answers to the same question. But Akatosh’s will lies beyond the sight of mortals, and even the very wise cannot see all His ends. As for your destiny, it is not ours to question.”, he mused, considering the young woman before him. “If it is guidance and wisdom you seek, we will help you in that pursuit, just as the we have sought to guide those of the Dragon Blood that came before you.”

Eliana nodded silently.

Ever since her encounter with the dragon, since his soul scorched through hers and in his dying breath he named her dovahkiin, a sense of impending doom weighted heavily on her shoulders. Her steps were hard and painful, like fighting against a current there was no escaping from. But when she reached the foot of the mountain, as she traveled the slopes of the Throat of the World, and now she stood at the very heart of Kynareth’s sacred domain, for the first time she felt at peace. Breathing came easier, the aching of her limbs subsided, and even the weight of memories seemed lighter on her heart.

“Teach me, then.”

The monks exchanged a glance, as Arngeir led her to the centre of the hall, where cracks and carvings overlapsed, covering the stone pavement in an intricate patern.

“Without training you have taken your first steps on the way of the Voice. Now let us see if you are able, and willing to learn. When you Shout”, he started explaining, “you speak in the language of dragons. Dragons have the inborn ability to learn and project their Voice. Language is intrinsic to their very being. There is no difference in the dragon tongue between debating and fighting. Shouting comes as naturally to a dragon as breathing, or speaking. Dragons also are able to absorb the power of their slain brethren. A few mortals are born with similar abilities - whether a gift or a curse has been a matter of debate down through the centuries. Some believe that Dragonborn are sent into the world by the gods, at times of great need. But we will speak more of that later, when you are ready.”, he added before she could ask further. “In the mean time, we will do our best to teach you how to use your gift in fulfilment of your destiny.”

She remained at the monastery for two days, practicing her Thu'um, honing her skills, meditating on the Way of the Voice, her place in Akatosh’s schemes, and whatever the Greybeards accepted to teach her.

“There is indeed much that we know that you do not.”, Arngeir admitted, when she questionned him, “That does not mean that you are ready to understand it. What you have already learned in a few days took even the most gifted of us years to achieve… You have shown that you are Dragonborn. You have the inborn gift. But do you have the discipline and temperament to follow the path laid out for you? You have been given this gift by the Gods for a reason, but d o not let your easy mastery of the Voice tempt you into arrogance of power. That has been the downfall of many before you.”

25 th of Last Seed – 4 E 201 – Windhelm – The Palace of the Kings

The courrier collapsed on one of the benches, out of breath, as Galmar Stone-Fist unsealed and read the message from their advanced post in the Rift. The general cocked a brow, and read again before he sent the messenger to the Bloodworks to rest, and headed to the war-room.

Frowning upon the map displaying their locations, Ulfric was planning on sending reinforcements to the three holds circling Windhelm.

Ten days had passed since that ambush at Darkwaters Crossing. A week since Helgen. Only days since he returned home, exhausted, wounded, escorted by half as many soldiers as expected… The end of what was meant to be a quiet travel to Riften and had become an awaken nightmare, filled with Imperial soldiers, Thalmor justiciars, and dragons.

“For Talos’ sake, Ulfric! You look like you’ve been dragged through Oblivion and back!”, the housecarl exclaimed upon the jarl’s arrival.

“I’m glad to see you too, my friend.”, Ulfric responded and collapsed on his throne.

His head in his hands, Ulfric told Galmar the whole story, from the ambush, Tullius’ plans to take him to Cyrodiil for a formal execution and how a broken axle forced them to change course to Helgen, the prensence of the Thalmor, both in the Rift and in Falkreath, the nameless mass grave dug in midst of Falkreath forest where the Imperials meant to bury them, and the dragon’s attack, dark wings unfurled and hellfire razing Helgen to the ground.

“However they got word of your journey to the Rift, if there are traitors amongst our ranks, we’ll find out.”, he assured Ulfric, his mind set on bringing the traitors to justice, but beyond that he knew what the jarl was really concerned about. “A dragon…”, he whispered.

“The harbingers of the End of Times…”, the jarl muttered. “Is that it, my friend… Have we gone too far? Is it time?”

Galmar walked to his friend, concerned.

"Are you alright, Ulfric?”

“No.”, the jarl answered truthfully. “But I will be… I must.”

That was five days ago.

Ulfric had fully recovered from his misadventure in Helgen. And here he was: the jarl of Windhelm, the very heart of the rebellion, ready to rule again, to fight again.

Galmar cleared his throat in order to draw his friend’s attention.

“What is it, Galmar?”, the jarl asked still starring at the camps on the map.

“A message from Gonnar Oath-Giver.”

“Has something happened in the Rift?”

“It appears the Dragonborn has been seen. A patrol has made contact on the twenty third, and the guards of Ivarstead confirm her arrival at the village, to climb the Seven Thousand steps.”

“Her?”, the jarl repeated.

“Gonnar couldn’t send much of a description but according to his men, the Dragonborn is a young woman. Not the warrior type – the men describe her as wearing novice robes.”

Ulfric let out a snort and smiled. A young mage called to arms to defend Skyrim against her foes, and stand as a ward against evil. The Gods had a weird sense of humor when it came to choosing their Champions.

“She left the temple the day after.”, Galmar kept reporting. “Heading to Whiterun.”

Ulfric said nothing for a second then took the note and read it through.

“Send the word to every camp, and to our allies in Whiterun - if she has taken residence in Balgruuf’s city, the Greymanes must know. I want weekly reports on her moves and her whereabouts. Treat her as a potential ally, but avoid direct contact as long as her allegiance remains unsure.”

The bear nodded and left the room.

Ulfric read the whole letter again and left the paper on the corner of the table before he headed back to work. The jarl found himself humming a tune that brought him both hope and uncertainty.

'Our hero, our hero claims a warrior’s heart,

I tell you, I tell you the Dragonborn comes.’

#the dragon and the bear #skyrim #skyrim fanfiction #eliana evergreen #ulfric stormcloak #stormcloak rebellion #fanfiction #the elder scrolls V #the elder scrolls #dragonborn #high hrothgar #greybeards #arngeir

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