#how it’s like a prison and ven will fit right in

[daylighteclipsed]

Started replaying BBS and. Wow there’s a lot I don’t remember

[blackjack-15]

(Pachin)Koping Mechanisms, KuroSAWa, and Putting The Ring On It — Thoughts on: Shadow at the Water’s Edge (SAW)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE, CRY, VEN, HAU, RAN, WAC, TOT

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it. For this meta and the next (CAP), I’ll have a section entitled “The Faerietale” where I break down the issue of genre within the game and how it adds to the experience.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: SHA, SAW, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SPY, GTH, Rashomon.

The Intro:

Full Disclosure: draft titles of this meta include “Yurei-sing the Tension” and “Using Your Girlfriend’s Mom’s Horrific Death For Fun and Profit”. They ultimately don’t fit the tone of the game (or the meta), but I thought they were fun…so you’re being subjected to them anyway.

Freshly out of the games of growing pains, Shadow at the Water’s Edge is the first of our two Faerietale Games, where we delve fully into Theme and Allegory and other such literary devices — which happen to support some pretty fine mysteries as well. As such, in case you didn’t see it above, both SAW and CAP will have a section diving into the Faerietale-ness of it all (partially because it’s That Interesting and partially to keep the intro section from being like 2k on its own).

SAW is interesting for a number of reasons (which I’ll go into throughout the meta) but one of the things that stuck out to me on a replay was how much it leans on Rashomon for its story about the past. For those unfamiliar, Rashomon is a Japanese film by Kurosawa Akira from the 50s that deals with the rape of a woman and the killing of her husband, a samurai, as told through four different points of view.

Nowadays called “a Rashomon episode” or “false flashback”, the idea of different, opposite points of view being shot and filmed to present to the audience is almost a cliché, but Kurosawa was the first to really bring it to film and to popular consciousness internationally.

Like in Rashomon, we’re presented with different views of the situation at the ryokan (including but not limited to Kasumi’s death) from our characters’ perspectives — and, like in Rashomon, no point of view nor opinion on what happened is ever confirmed to be the Honest Truth.

Was Kasumi’s death accidental, and on whose part was it accidental? Does the world stay the same inside the ryokan, or is it just as prone to change as the rest of the world? Is the ryokan a resort or a prison? Should you respect what your loved one wants for themselves, or is it your job to want something better for them? Takae, Rentaro, Miwako, Yumi, and even Kasumi all have different opinions on these questions, and we’re never told who’s correct, nor to what extent.

Finally, like Rashomon, the game is content with leaving a few answers undiscovered. While shooting the movie, Kurosawa was approached many times by the actors, who wanted to know what “really” happened in the movie — and each time he refused to say, wanting the story to be truly Alive in a way that it wouldn’t be if he answered their questions.

Nancy’s job is to expose the malevolent force in the game for what it is, not to heal the family, nor to make decisions for them.

And speaking of their decisions, let’s talk about what motivates our characters in this game. I know, this intro is already kind of long, and I normally keep this kind of talk for the Characters section, but given how much they intersect in this game, we’re gonna go into it here. All of our suspects here in the game are driven and informed by one thing: their coping mechanisms.

C’mon, no surprise here. It’s in the title of the meta for more than just the pun.

Because our suspects are living in the “Once Upon a Time” section of the faerietale — aka the past — it’s their coping mechanisms that drive them. Takae is driven by guilt over her daughter’s death and fear of a changing world; Miwako is driven by anger towards her family and personally-assumed responsibility over Everything That Happens; Rentaro is driven by selfish pride and concern over his loved one; Yumi is driven by avoidance and individualistic willpower.

These are all common when dealing with loss, and each of these tell us exactly how our characters are going to act throughout the tale. In a very real way, SAW is a game about how we, as humans, deal with the stories that we tell ourselves (another thing that it has in common with CAP), and how that changes the way that we perceive the world.

It’s the breakdown of Rentaro’s coping mechanism — his pride in always being correct — that causes him to Do Evil while claiming that it’s The Right Thing. Everyone else’s mechanisms are what allows for him to be as influential as he is; Kasumi is already haunting Takae, and Miwako is already feeling the world crash down around her. Even though the yurei is just wires and metal and Upsettingly Damp-Looking Hair, its presence in the ryokan isn’t physical – it’s psychological.

Remember, “a ghost doesn’t need to be real to haunt you”.

The Title:

Let’s be real here, we’re getting into the segment of Nancy Drew games where the (most of) titles just kick butt and aren’t afraid to do so. Like, Shadow at the Water’s Edge? Gives you creepy vibes right off the bat even without the yurei on the front giving you The Ring flashbacks. Properly atmospheric without being too specific, and “shadow” gives us the idea that we’re dealing with a monster that’s more ghostly, rather than flesh and blood.

I don’t even have anything negative to say about this title, that’s how good it is — plus, I mean, the acronym is literally “saw”. Awesome.

Let’s move on then to the faerietale behind the title.

The Faerietale

SAW and CAP both function, genre-wise, as a faerietale — a story with few characters, big pasts, legends and magic, and a moral at the end to tie things off. In both cases, interestingly enough, it’s our villain who gives us our “moral” — the Truth that ties the plot, history, and characters together, able to be said in a single sentence. In SAW, it’s this (rather chilling) statement from Rentaro that does it:

“A ghost doesn’t need to be real to haunt you.”

But let’s start at the beginning.

Like in a lot of faerietales, we have two sisters who are as different as can be, an inheritance (a ryokan rather than a crown or a prince), absent/dead parental figures, a wizened mentor related to our main characters (Takae), and a Monstrous Force opposing them and their ‘kingdom’. In this story, Nancy is the Dashing Outsider (not unlike the Prince from The Twelve Dancing Princesses) who vows to learn the secrets, defeat the monster, and save the kingdom, restoring balance to the ‘royal’ family and allowing them to prosper.

(And no, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in this game Nancy’s the Knight in Shining Armor when CAP and Renate’s talk about them is right around the corner, but we’ll save that for next time.)

Having established that the game is a faerietale, let’s talk about why that actually matters (beyond the fact that it’s kinda cool in itself) when we’re looking at the game.

It basically matters for a handful of reasons: it allows us to figure out the suspect Fairly easily, it allows the writers to Allude to subject matters that are a little Dark for the E/E10 rating that Nancy Drew games normally get, and provides a bridge between the (overall) concrete games of the past and the more thematic, character-development-focused games that we’re coming up on. So let’s break that down.

Assigning our characters faerietale roles lets us see immediately that Rentaro is Missing an easy assignation. He doesn’t fit the prince, doesn’t fit a sibling — he doesn’t fit anywhere, in short, which is our first clue that he’s the villain.

Even ignoring the fact that the yurei is obviously mechanical, that Rentaro has free access to the entire ryokan in a way that no other character does, and that he’s responsible for upkeeping the ryokan (which is why it’s suspicious that he’s not the one Dedicated to figuring out the mystery) — which are all excellent things that point towards Rentaro, his absence in the faerietale points to a hidden role.

Since the only role worth hiding is either an 11th hour ally or a villain, and Rentaro is present from the beginning of the game, it’s pretty clear which one he is.

Situating the game as a faerietale also lets HER play with a few more themes than they normally can, given their target audience. Starting with a rather blatant implication of suicide, the game spins on to abusive relationships, overpowering guilt, and Nancy being, well, downright mean with her questions about a family member’s death.

While Nancy’s always been a bit insensitive, the mystery surrounding Kasumi’s death sends her into the realm of bullheadedly rude (to the point where you can get a game over for it). We see why this writing choice was made in SPY (which we’ll cover in that meta), but it’s one of my favorite things about this game; it takes a slight character trait of Nancy’s and gives it a character-driven purpose.

The last function of SAW (and CAP) as a faerietale is to provide a bridge between the older and the newer games. The older games tended to be self-involved entities: they began with Nancy’s room and ended with the letter to Carson/Hannah/Ned. As the game technology improved and the player base got older, however, that started to not be good enough; Nancy and her mysteries needed to become A World rather than simply a string of cases held together with a handful of familiar names and archetypes.

The first step towards this was the inclusion of the Hardy Boys back in our Expanded games, but it’s really SAW and CAP that show an Active Transition. Faerietales are often thought of, literarily speaking, as the bridge between children’s fiction and adult fiction; they involve simplistic plots and archetypes that children can easily grasp, but teach hard lessons about the world that adults will understand and resonate with.

The earlier Nancy Drew games, on the whole (there are of course a few exceptions), are largely concrete, like the children’s fiction they’re based on. The good and bad guys are simply and easily divided,  Nancy and co. are always the heroes and always do right, and the bad guys always go to jail.

The past few games leading up to SAW start to shift slightly; while generally our heroes and villains are still sharply divided, nothing is quite as simple as it seems (look at TOT, where at least a few bad guys get away and actually profit from their bad actions).

It’s here in SAW, however, where we see that take a sharp shift. Those who should be good guys (Rentaro is a Love Interest, he enjoys puzzles, he’s a ‘fixer’ by trade) aren’t good at all; those who should be the bad guys (Takae and Miwako behave a lot like early Nancy Drew villains with their cageyness, dislike of Nancy, and ability to get Nancy to Second Chance) really aren’t.

In case this point is a bit obtuse, Logan is the perfect example of what I mean.

In SHA, Charleena Purcell has a receptionist (well-voiced by JVS) that at first prevents you from talking to her, but isn’t much of an obstacle. It’s a cut and dried ‘solve this one puzzle’ and then Nancy can talk to the author as much as she chooses — it’s barely an impediment, honestly.

In SAW, we’re dealing with another famous author, who also has a receptionist — Logan Mitchell. Unlike the receptionist in SHA, who’s just Doing His Job and exists long enough for a puzzle, Logan is a rather spiteful character who enjoys hanging up on people, and does it to Nancy with Great Joy.

As a character, Logan matters; he has his own viewpoints, loyalties (that are explored in SPY as well), and his own idiosyncrasies that make dealing with him — repeatedly — a bit like dealing with people in real life. The receptionist in SHA isn’t a character, no matter how much I personally like JVS’ voice work with him. Logan is. And that’s a huge difference in the approach of the games and the shift from the concrete, insert-puzzle-and-go nature of the older games and the more abstract, thematic nature of the newer games.

Whether or not that’s a good thing is up to you, the player, and your personal preferences. But it can’t be denied that there is a shift, and it’s the genius of SAW (and CAP)’s genre-shift to a faerietale that does it.

The Mystery:

Our mystery picks up where TOT left off, with Krolmeister sending Nancy to one of his favorite ryokans in Japan as a thank you for her help in the previous case.

This is how we find out that Krolmeister is apparently Spooky AF, as the ryokan is haunted.

Nancy decides to pick up a job while she’s there (the ‘how’ of her obtaining employment and an E-2 visa so promptly is ignored) as an English teacher to some of the cutest (and one of the most disturbing) children in Japan, which is how she spends her days — and how the game gets away with it taking place Solely at night.

The more time Nancy spends at the ryokan, however — and the more people connected to it that she meets — the more that she suspects that the ryokan might actually be harboring a malevolent entity bent on wreaking havoc and shutting down the place once and for all…

As a mystery, the game is solid; you spent most of your time “on-site” at the ryokan, soaking in the very well-done atmosphere, with only a few moments in-game spent at other locations (such as the pachinko parlor, Yumi’s apartment, etc.), and the amount of work that went into every detail of the ryokan is staggering (especially the garden).

Normally, I wouldn’t hang so much on the atmosphere when talking about the plot, but it’s actually relevant here, since the atmosphere is part of the plot — i.e., is it the ‘atmosphere’ of the ryokan that makes the hauntings happen, and did the ryokan kill Kasumi.

Speaking of Kasumi, she’s one of the biggest open-ended mysteries in this game. Did Shimizu Kasumi kill herself, or was her death an accident, or was it caused by a Paranormal Entity, leading to her becoming a ghost herself?

The game tells us how Kasumi died — cleaning a bath that she had never cleaned before, leading to her drowning — but the circumstances outside of her death like her will and her premonitions about her death speak less to an accident alone and more towards Something causing her death.

In my own point of view, Kasumi — remember, this is the Nancy Drew Universe, where ghosts are actually real — had a bit of Prescient Awareness to her, and knew that her death was coming, though not by what. While there’s evidence towards her knowing about her death that could, if looked at in that light, lead one to suspect Kasumi of suicide, it’s unexpectedly hard to kill yourself via drowning in a shallow body of water. Add to that her future plans, and I think it’s pretty safe to assume that Kasumi knew she would die, but she didn’t plan and execute a suicide.

Of course, there’s good arguments to be made on the other side. Whichever way you look at it, I’m just happy with the presence of loose ends, as that’s not the mystery that Nancy’s there to solve — and, indeed, without the presence of an actual suicide note from that period, is a mystery that simply cannot be solved.

The Suspects:

We’ll start with (and yes, the names will all be in Japanese rather than Western order) Shimizu Miwako, the Younger Daughter in our faerietale and the current force behind the ryokan.

As the one (via a faerietale’s rules) destined to succeed, Miwako sure does get the short end of the stick when it comes to her relationships. Her causing/contributing/worsening the rift between herself and Yumi aside, her boyfriend is actively sabotaging her and her grandmother doesn’t think she should be the one running the ryokan, no matter how good a job she does.

As a culprit, however, Miwako would have been a bit confused, given how much she likes the ryokan and the good job she does with it. For a Miwako ending to make sense, she would have had to been influenced by an actual ghost, sabotaging the ryokan without wanting to and having your usual blackouts that come with Psychic Interference. It would have been interesting, but out of the faerietale genre (and out of the Nancy Drew game genre as a whole) and thus not a very good story.

Next up is the Elder Daughter, Shimizu Yumi, who left the ryokan as soon as she could and instead sells bento boxes in Kyoto. Framed as a sort of free spirit, Yumi doesn’t see any need for her to run the ryokan and instead does something that she likes and is obviously very successful at.

As a culprit, Yumi would have, to be frank, been a major disappointment. Already taking fire from her little sister and her grandmother for the Abject Sin of not taking on the family business, Yumi would have been way to easy, both character-wise and tonally for the game as a whole. The Elder Daughter in a faerietale is usually the one who fails (the Youngest Daughter almost always succeeds), and so it’s refreshing to have everyone but herself consider Yumi a failure.

Their grandmother and quasi-mentor, Nagai Takae, is the other person who helps run the ryokan — much to her displeasure, as tradition dictates that Yumi, not Miwako, help run the family business.

Because someone who resents being there will definitely be a much better worker in the hospitality market than someone who loves the ryokan.

Takae has absolutely no head for anything but her own ideas and clings onto tradition not for its sake, but because change is scary, hard, and (in the case of her daughter’s death) heartbreaking.

As a culprit, Takae would have been interesting, but absolutely impossible — unless she was working with someone else. And as interesting as a Takae/Rentaro team-up would have been, Takae simply has no motive for scaring everyone else out. She needs the ryokan to survive, to do well, if she’s going to be able to cling on to the things that she wants.

Rounding out our main faerietale cast is our Malevolent Force, Aihara Rentaro, the ryokan’s handyman and tech expert, who secretly builds robots resembling his girlfriend’s dead mother and uses them to scare people out of the ryokan.

He’s a peach.

Not only is Rentaro our only option for a faerietale ending, but he’s also just the best option for the culprit in general. Handy enough to build a “ghost”, expected in any place in the ryokan without suspicion, and with a strong (if dickish) motive). Like all Evil Wizards/Malevolent Forces in faerietales, he wants to ruin the kingdom and steal away the Daughter — though, unlike a lot of faerietales, he’s convinced himself it’s For Her Own Good.

Which yeah is super gross, but hey, he’s our Villain. Villains should be a bit gross.

Lastly, we’re going to look at two characters who are inseparable from one another for the purposes of discussion: Savannah Woodham and her assistant Logan Mitchell.

Savannah (as we meet her in SAW) is a former ghost hunter who now writes about technology (hence her presence in Kyoto) who mentioned the ryokan in a book about the paranormal. Not being fond of interruptions, she pays Logan to be her assistant so that he can deal with the calls that she gets.

She also brings in a nice little easter egg talking about CAP, where Castle Finster is implied to be the castle she mentions in SAW.

As a character in the Nancy Drew world (as it becomes a world), Savannah is an odd presence, in that she’s a sage without being an academic. Most of the ‘authorities’ that Nancy calls for information are professors, researchers, etc., but Savannah doesn’t quite fall into that designation.

Sure, she’s written a book, but ghost hunting isn’t exactly a…respected profession or topic — and yet, Savannah is clearly the smartest person in the game (and one of the smartest people that Nancy encounters as phone friends). This is great — Nancy herself is no academic, and I do get tired of the prioritizing of Academia over actual knowledge.

Savannah also gets the best lines, and her VA absolutely smashes it out of the park. I’ll talk more about her as the Nancy Games (beginning in ASH), as a lot of her dialogue is foreshadowing for our next games, but suffice it to say that, other than the Hardy Boys and the Drews, Savannah probably fights only Alexei for the most significant NPC in the ND universe.

Her assistant is no slouch in the Significance department, though.

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR SPY AHEAD, IF YOU DON’T WANT THEM SKIP UNTIL THE NEXT ALL-CAPS PARAGRAPH.

Logan (according to him) started working for Savannah to make some money during spring break and found the job too weird to quit once break was done (according to him). He loves hanging up on people, resulting in Savannah referring to him as her “lil’ Georgia bulldog”, and would like to go out on a date with Bess (according to him).

Yeah, pretty much everything about Logan should be taken with a grain of salt, as he’s the one who tells it to us, and…well, Logan is a spy. A spy who’s assigned to Nancy at least as far back as SAW, who gets close to her friend(s) and reports back to Cathedral that Nancy’s obsessed with her mother’s death and thus will probably be used by those who want to know Kate Drew’s secrets.

He ‘fires’ Savannah from being his boss prior to GTH because his work is done; he’s completed the mission he’s been assigned and is now working on other things. Logan isn’t a ghost hunter, nor a receptionist, nor a guy who wants to take Bess out on a date — until he needs to be. Like any good spy, Logan is all things to all people, and it’s his tiny bit of backstory in SPY (easily missed if you’re not paying attention — remember, in Nik games especially there’s no such thing as “optional reading” — that makes him so significant in SAW.

SPOILERS END HERE, YOU’RE ALL GOOD TO CONTINUE.

The Favorite:

There’s a lot to love about SAW, so let’s dive right in.

The first thing I’ll mention, because I just mentioned it, is Logan, who is one of my favorite parts of the Nancy Drew universe, let alone this specific game. His VA is great, his dialogue is great, his character is great — he ticks all the boxes, and I love it.

Savannah is, of course, also a favorite; any game with Savannah in it automatically moves it up a few clicks in my estimation. Savannah (and sage-type characters like her) is where Nik’s writing really shines, and her dialogue is always a joy to read and hear.

My favorite moment is actually a tiny moment, despite it being the titular incident: the shadow at the water’s edge. It’s easy to miss, but when Nancy looks in the bath and sees Kasumi’s shadow for that split second…it’s the haunting that games like HAU and CUR really wanted to have — subtle, upsetting, and fully within the bounds of the Laws of Haunting that the ND universe has set up.

My favorite puzzle is hands-down the bento boxes. Longtime readers of this meta series (which will be two years old this summer!) will know that there’s nothing that I like better than a good logic puzzle, and the bento boxes are a great logic puzzle. It’s fun, cute, and I love that you can do it as much as you want.

I do love, lastly, that this game is a faerietale. Having read and analyzed faerietales for a good portion of my life, it’s nice to see that niche interest represented within another niche interest.

The Un-Favorite:

There are a few things in SAW that I really don’t like, as much as I think this game is great.

The most important is my least favorite puzzle: the frame puzzle. This puzzle is one of the few puzzles that actually make me white-out in Rage and refuse to play further, which is a problem given that SAW is actually a great game and I enjoy playing it. It honestly stops me from replaying the game as often as I really should, given its significance to the ND universe, and for how just good it is. I usually make my sister or my best friend play it for me, but I do actually have to leave the room while they do it because it infuriates me that much.

My least favorite moment in the game is a little different, given how good the game actually is; it’s the very end where, depending on the choice that Nancy makes, Rentaro’s apology is accepted by Miwako. Sure, Nancy says it’s unlikely that they’ll date again, but this is a case where the choice to tell on him or have him tell himself should result in the same result: him having to leave. Handymen aren’t thin on the ground, and the ryokan needs help, rather than the same toxic influence that helped bring it down in the first place.

While I appreciate the choice for Nancy impacting the end — I really do — it should say more about Nancy as a character than it should about Miwako and Rentaro. That it doesn’t is a failure in storytelling at the 11th hour, which is a shame in a game this good.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Shadow at the Water’s Edge?

First things first, I would obviously change the frame puzzle a bit. I don’t think it needs removed per se, but I would definitely shift it. Give an option to skip it, perhaps, or make it easier the more time you spend on that screen, or make it easier if you go in and out of it a few times. Heck, even having it reset when you back out (or having a reset button) would be better, since getting stuck in the puzzle results in Hours of Frustration.

Other than that, I would only change the ending choice. Like I said above, the choice is great, but it should be changed to show us exactly who Nancy is (not unlike the choice in GTH). Is Nancy the kind of person who would not trust Rentaro to tell himself and thus does it, or is Nancy the kind to give him just enough rope to hang himself?

Either way, we’re given a view of Nancy that we’ll see more and more — that she is not always kind, nor infallible, nor impartial. She lets her feelings interfere with her cases, and while sometimes that’s good (again, GTH is a prime example), sometimes the only impact her choices need to have on her is to show us her character.

All in all, Shadow at the Water’s Edge is a good, mature look at the Nancy Drew universe, and continues the thread of connecting case-to-case. While it’s ultimately imperfect, I believe it’s not only one of the most fun games to play through, but also to consider in the larger realm of Nancy Drew games and in adaptation of genre altogether.

[luminescentlyricist]

⚡ Overdrive 🏹

( WARNING: MEDICAL PROCEDURES AND GORE ) (Apologies if there are inaccuracies in the medical procedure! I'm not exactly a qualified surgeon, and I'm doing as best I can without going too batsh*t fictional. I'm also trying to keep it vague enough to be comfortable to read, but do be wary if you are sensitive to this sort of content.)

~

Dietas' lungs burned. They knew that they were vastly weaker than all of the other trolls in the room, physically speaking, but they took pride in their strong psionic abilities, and nothing would deter them from their goal. After five sweeps of hard work, there they were. They were in with the other 'recruits', or so they were called colloquially, and their legs were trembling from a strange, alarming mixture of fear, excitement and pure adrenaline. Looking around, their heterochromic gaze flickered from one troll to another. They needed to know who they'd be competing with for the position of helmstroll, or working alongside.

Ever since they were a grub, practising camouflage with their chameleon lusus in the scrub, they had known where their loyalty lay. They were made to serve the Empress, the Beforan Empire, and their fellow trolls as a whole. Dietas had always considered the position they vied for on that day to be the most direct, efficient way of showcasing their loyalty. They yearned for nothing else, no freedom, only an existence punctuated by service and what they had been born for. Some would call it a bad one, but there was nothing anyone could do to deter the goldblood from their dream.

Times had changed in Beforus. The grip on the hemospectrum was slipping due to Feferi's reign, but Dietas had long realised that they needed the structure in their life, and they intended to keep to the code that had been decreed by their caste even if it were to be abolished in its entirety. They were already eight sweeps old, and knew they had until twenty four at best. There was simply no reason to deviate from what had been written in their veins unless they were going to die. They had little to no intention to do so, in any case.

Their lusus had taught them to hide, and they intended to. Beyond making themselves known enough to become a helmstroll - the position that was already fading as Beforus became less and less dependent on exports - they considered themselves a conformist. Made only to fit the mould. There was nothing else that they could do that felt properly fulfilling. They didn't want to become an engineer, coder or anything else. The thought of becoming a battery - someone for other psions to leech psionic energy from, to steal from - made their skin crawl. They had been friendly; they had had other goldbloods that they might have considered friends, and too many had been resigned to that soulless fate.

It was a mystery why they had not realised that they were resigning themselves to one, too. Their thirst for imperial service would suck them dry in time. There was no mistaking that. either. Dietas thought themself mature, but their own naivety seemed to grow by the day. This had resulted in them leaving their lusus behind, and they had no way of contact. They could be half way across Beforus searching blindly, for all they knew. This didn't make Dietas sad. They thought their lusus hadn't cared about them, so there was no sense in getting attached. This was regardless of the fact that Beforan lusii stayed with their grubs for longer than Alternian ones ever could, and many stayed until their charge died.

The young goldblood looked around again, glanced at the indigobloods that were assessing every single troll. They were strong, tall and menacing, most capable of culling a gold with a single punch. A shudder worked its way down their spine, but they refused to react any more. They had too many eyes on them now to react badly, and knew they'd be chosen soon enough to go into testing. Not that they had any idea what the tests consisted of, nor wanted to. They had to be prepared for anything and everything they were put through, no matter how tired they were afterwards. If it pushed them near death, so be it.

Dietas inhaled sharply when an indigoblood tapped them on the shoulder, turning to face their assessor with bated breath. This was it. This was their only chance. They stayed behind the stocky figure, shrinking in the shadows due to sweeps of habitual hiding and hunting they had done with their lusus. Although they were small enough in stature, they were psychically strong enough to immobilise their target for a full two minutes, or multiple targets for approximately forty seconds, even at such a young age. Their feet didn't drag on the ground, and their back was straight as a rod. They could risk nothing this far in the assessment.

They were taken to a large alcove. The training grounds had been situated in a forest so dense that the only trolls that would get through the foliage were the unnaturally strong indigos or particularly powerful psions. To get there was a challenge in itself, weeding out many a competitor before the training even begun. There was a good reason why they had left their lusus, but they were regretting it now. The air buzzed with tension, causing Dietas' gaze to fall to their feet.

"You w!ll be g!ven all necessary !nstructions !nside the tra!n!ng vessel."

The indigo's voice rang out in a way that it logically shouldn't have, given the dense vegetation that muffled the noise around the two trolls. There must have been some sort of amplification technology nearby, hidden in the trees or other areas, although their sharp gaze couldn't see it. Dietas nodded silently, forcing themselves to look up at the 'training vessel'. The cargo ship loomed large over their head. It made them decidedly uneasy, but this was no time to be expressing that.

With one more glance to their broad-shouldered, emotionless instructor, they entered.

Immediately, as the small goldblood surveyed their surroundings, they felt like the walls were caving in around them. The dark interior of the ship was sleek, more modern technologically than they'd ever witnessed before. It made them want to touch everything, to feel it all and tear it apart, knowing how and why it was made. All the same, the beauty was imposing. They kept their head down after that initial look-around, knowing that they couldn't get distracted by everything.

Dietas was trembling slightly, hands curled into tight fists at their sides, however much they knew that they had to relax. They weren't sure if it was adrenaline or anxiety. Another glance told them where they were going to go. A gleaming pod, studded with circular panels. They'd likely be pressed up against the ones on the interior. Their eyes swept upwards in the pod as they neared it, taking in all of the wires and such that they'd be hooked into. It was a strange thought, being so entwined in the ship itself, but it was comforting. They'd be safe.

The one thing that irked them was how tight the curling, vine-like binds appeared, and that thought was accentuated as soon as they slipped their hands above their head and into the clamps. It became less of a fascinating cockpit than a metallic prison, and that was exactly the opposite of the training videos that they'd watched as a younger troll. As soon as they'd assumed their more humanoid form, they'd expressed their fascination with the job that now seemed more likely to cull them than anything else.

Shivers of anticipation ran along their spine as they psionically took goggles from a stand in the pod, fitting them over their eyes. Immediately, graphics and images burst forth into their vision, and an electronic voice accompanied the flood of information. The deep tones of their instructor, but mechanical and somewhat distorted, enough to make Dietas feel tense and wary of themselves.

"Prepare yourself for the ascent. You w!ll be g!ven complete control of the vessel, and your every move w!ll be mon!tored. You are to carry the prec!ous cargo !n your hold along the marked course, and other tra!nees w!ll take over when you reach the end of sa!d course. Should !t become damaged !n any way, you dev!ate from your course or d!sobey the !nstructions, you w!ll be promptly expelled from the program."

The goldblood's body was tingling again, but it felt hot and intrusive. Jittery, tense in the wrong way. They were going to lose their grip on the task as soon as they reached the air, surely. As opposed to beginning ascent, Dietas was slowly attempting to move and ease the sudden tension clamping them. It would be disastrous for them if the sensation continued. It was difficult to relax, even more knowing there were so many trolls watching them, however remotely.

"Tra!nee, beg!n your ascent or r!sk expuls!on."

There it was again; the electrically distorted voice of their instructor was nothing but a distraction, and an unwelcome cause to worry even more about what they were doing. They forced themself to relax into their position, eyes beginning to spark even more. Their left eye was fuchsia, whereas the right retained a violet akin to the blood of Aquariuses. Both slightly brightened in tone when they were using psionics. Their lusus had seemed to praise them, mentioning that they would fit right in with the royal fleet, but they weren't so sure about that now.

Slowly, Dietas felt their body shiver with energy, and the training ship rose shakily into the sky. Their mind was focused only on their task, and gaze trained forwards through the path glowing in their goggles. They couldn't afford to think of much else, due to how taxing the task was designed to become. It tested their agility, physical and psychic strength, logic, every aspect of their brain and body to a worrying extent. There was simply so much for them to concentrate on, as well as making sure they didn't get too overwhelmed by that notion.

Their psionic grip tightened around the ship as they steered it around the bends and weaves in the path. Beads of golden perspiration slid down their pallid skin, and their breathing was stuttering as if they weren't paying enough attention to stabilising it. At one point, they were exerting themselves so much that the sweat slipped under their goggles, causing their vision of the path and the infographics in front of them alike to blur. But they kept steady, for the most part, even when they became so breathless that their whole face flushed with gold.

Their body was too tense, too rigid. Even in stressful situations, helmstrolls were supposed to be able to keep themselves calm. But Dietas was slowly weakening, and that wasn't how it was supposed to be. More than anything, they couldn't black out and risk destroying the vessel, so they decided to push themselves harder than ever while they had the power to. The cargo needed to get to the end of the course, and if they were to falter then everything would crumble. However, they couldn't help but move in irritation. Prickles of electricity sparked from the back panels - those dubious-looking round ones that Dietas had always been sceptical of in the first place - and hit their back, sending shivers up instead of down their spine.

Gritting their teeth, they forged ahead, trying their very best to ignore the prickling annoyances. What they didn't realise was that the shudders of power weren't dissipating as they steered the ship; the excess energy that was being naturally converted into psionics was building in their head, but they couldn't control it. The goggles they wore were slowly melting onto their face - the right side only, for the energy had travelled there and not evenly dispersed - and inhibiting their vision. This meant a disaster: the energy being developed and added when they attempted to steer was building, and unable to escape the goggles or disperse along the vents in the lenses.

A distorted voice rang in Dietas' ears, and dual tones of colour flared in front of their face before everything went black.

~

Dietas awoke.

Not in smoking rubble, although the acrid smell laid thick in the air. In a small workshop, of which they couldn't see a thing. Everything hurt, from their fingers to their toes. Rapid tingling accompanied the pain, causing an agonising itchiness that they couldn't do anything to stop. They didn't risk moving; they had not the slightest idea where they were, and their eyes refused to open. All they wanted to do was to get back into the training ship and finish their mission, and that was their intention. There was nothing else they could do, because they couldn't pass up their chance to be a helmstroll. It was the only thing left that they had: the drive to continue was what sustained them.

They felt so weak it was terrifying. Their head was fuzzy, filling with swarms of noise and sensations they had no idea how to interpret without using their eyes. Their eyes, those that they'd depended on more than anything else. Slowly, shaking more than they thought possible, Dietas raised a hand to their face. It felt... wrong. Rough, as if something had melted and fused onto the skin over their right eye somehow. Their fingers were met with this roughness, and nausea began to push and pull inside their stomach like unruly currents.  What the hell was happening to them? They had though everything was alright, despite the crash that they couldn't even remember.

All they knew was that their face felt weird, they could barely move and they were probably half-blind. A noise jerked them back into the world, as they lay there in a foggy haze of pain. Footsteps, heavy and methodical, heading straight towards them. Opening their mouth to try and speak their protests, Dietas found that this was futile. Their interloper spoke first, in a gentler tone than they ever would have anticipated.

"Oh, gOOd. YOu △re △w△ke. I w△s beginning tO wOrry th△t yOu wOuld nOt cOme △rOund, △nd th△t I h△d in△dvertently invited △ cOrpse intO my hOme."

Home? So Dietas themself was the interloper... They found the strength to move again, struggling to something of a sitting position before the strange figure made a noise of disapproval at the action, presumably looking at whatever injuries they had sustained and advising they not move. Having no sight was perhaps the most frightening thing about their incapacitation, given the fact they had been moved into a completely new environment lying gog knows how far from the training facilities. As soon as they felt large hands on their shoulders, the comparatively small goldblood flinched. The voice was... familiar, somehow. It echoed the tones of the indigos in the training facility, and that made them freeze up noticeably. Had they been found? Were they going to be culled?

The indigoblood in question wasn't hostile, luckily enough. She didn't seem it, in any case. After walking a bit closer to Dietas in order to inspect their injuries, she spoke again, but was quieter still due to the close proximity that they were in. She didn't want to scare Dietas, and that was clear by how carefully she had stepped upon seeing the goldblood flinching at every footfall that her boots had made on the rough flooring. She cleared her throat and adjusted something hanging from her belt.

"△pOlOgies fOr the r△ther △wkw△rd intrOductiOn, my gOldblOOded friend. But yOu shOuld △bsOlutely nOt mOve, due tO the d△m△ge yOu h△ve sust△ined △lre△dy. My n△me is ItOri△ △prein, △nd yOu h△ve been in my c△re fOr △ signific△nt △mOunt Of time. My... ex-cOlle△gues," She wrinkled her nose, sneering in distaste, "H△ve cOme tO my WorkshOp m△ny times, se△rching fOr rOgue gOlds whO f△il their ex△m tO cull, △s if lOwblOOds △re l△me hOOfbe△sts tO be hunted fOr spOrt."

Dietas had no idea how long they had been blacked out for, but it didn't matter. They had a lot of healing to do, some of which would likely involve surgery. They didn't really want it, but as soon as Itoria had stated that she was there to help, they believed her and agreed to it. Despite her implications of being highblooded, they knew that she wasn't going to cull them because of how helpless they were now. Even if they hadn't been there for a long time, the rest of the indigobloods that they knew of would cull on sight, and the last time they checked they were alive. This was a relief, though the smoking smell that invaded their nasal passages told them that they had damaged the ship as well.

The goldblood gave into the throes of unconsciousness once again, and it was just as well they did. They were going to be surgically operated on, because the plastic and molten materials from the goggles had indeed melted onto their face around their right eye. Of course, Itoria had gained consent to perform it when Dietas had been more lucid before, and she was skilled in precision.

Although Itoria was a female indigoblood, the males of her caste were often prioritised when given jobs. It made no sense to her, due to the matriarchal society and Empress Feferi's emphasis on the dissolving of the hemospectrum and inequality. While many her acquaintances had moved on to become caretakers - a role that they were clearly not suited for - or instructors at such training facilities as the one Dietas had left, she had been forced to work in the background on electronics. Her skill lay in creating the hidden cameras that lay all over the premises, but she regretted them. After she had learned the truth, she felt disgusted that she was contributing to an unjust cause.

The truth was that the mysterious overseers, lying above the indigos that tested the golds, were ceruleanblooded. They were responsible for keeping the indigos themselves docile, in sort of a twisted interpretation of a moiraillegiance. That was the best explanation Itoria had in her head of it, though it would have been a 'hollow' pale relation, where the pacifism was achieved but nothing else. These ceruleans controlled indigos en-masse, from the moment they entered to the moment they left. Not all members of the cerulean caste were malicious and immoral, though there were just enough to cause mischief beyond the eyes of the Empress.

The exploitation and mental corruption occurring in the facilities was largely why Feferi had worked to outlaw or lessen the practice of helmstrolls in Beforus, after all.

After a few more moments of awkward but thoughtful silence, there came a clicking of mandibles as Itoria's oversized ant lusus emerged from deeper in the workshop, large blue eyes - similar in colour to the woman's own - gazing towards her charge. The lusus seemed to have dropped something to click at Itoria, as there was a glasslike tinkling noise upon contact with the rough flooring. She smiled at her lusus, standing and picking up the syringe full of a general anaesthetic. Regardless of the fact that Dietas was already unconscious, she wanted to make sure they absolutely didn't wake up.

Antmom left, presumably to dig and help expand the workshop. Itoria carefully injected the liquid into Dietas' arm and got to work, taking a glance around to make sure the windows were properly blocked out. Nobody wanted to see the surgery she was performing, and she didn't want anyone to interrupt. Steadying her shaking hands, she pulled disposable gloves onto them and tied up her hair. She wasn't going to deny that her own nervousness was getting to her. She had done many procedures, but none as intense as this.

Grabbing a marker, the indigoblood drew small lines around the area she was going to cut on Dietas' skin, outlining the upper-right portion of their face and frowning. She had anatomical knowledge, sure, but was uncertain if she should remove the horns. Deciding to do it only if she damaged the bones, she begun the laborious and gruesome process of removing the melted goggle-pieces around the eye, and clearing the skin, sinews and tissues away. She used a few more vials of anaesthetic through the many-hour process, the likes of which Antmom burrowed and stole from a local expedition of over-funded violet tourists. After a while, the tremors in her hands began to worsen, as her forearms were slick with gold.

Dietas was comfortably unconscious, and didn't seem to want to wake any time soon, which was really just as well. Unbearable phantom pains would likely greet them when they did, so the longer they stayed under the better.

Itoria Aprein, on the other hand, was all too vividly aware of what she was doing. Removing as much of the eye as she possibly could but leaving the nerves intact with the bones, she decided to leave the surgical part of her exploits there, as the goldblood's horns were also still miraculously fine. She had thought about the surgery in terms of mechanical extraction, where a slip-up could mean death by electrocution, and it had helped her concentrate. It wasn't really that different in terms of fatalities, albeit to the wrong entity. If she damaged the wires of a piece, she could jeopardise a whole machine. If she damaged Dietas' eye, she could damage them to the extent that they were forever half-blind, or worse.

However, she'd need to maintain their sedation or at least dull their lucidity for a few more days at best. If she were to properly fit and construct their mechanical headpiece, she didn't want them to be in agony until they reclaimed their sight. Looking at the vividly coloured vials of anaesthetic she had yet to decant into her syringes, a frown marred her usually stoic features for a moment. She rubbed her face after taking the gloves off, groaning loudly in exasperation. Her supplies were running low, and there was no way the tourists would let Antmom steal again. She'd have to resort to something else, and she had one more option at her fingertips. It was the worst thing possible, but there was no other way.

"Oh de△r me. I will nOt enjOy △dministering this, but it m△y be necess△ry in the ne△r future if things dO nOt Work Out smOOthly. I dO △pOlOgise."

Itoria spoke to the unconscious Dietas with a nervous tremor in her voice. She then left the room, wringing her hands in a gesture of nervousness. There were supplies that she needed, and although they were completely legal on Beforus, their use were frowned upon as if they weren't. The anaesthetic she had used earlier had contained a diluted version of the substance, as many painkillers and medical applications did, but the bottles in a heavily-guarded safe at the very back of her workshop were potent as ever. Moving out of the way of Antmom, she continued her journey until reaching the vault.

Since she had been able to break through her cerulean's control, due to her concentration training and higher caste, she lay low for a time in order to gather otherwise forbidden supplies for herself, and the Faygo bottles were one of them. Known in Beforus for its heavily numbing and mellowing properties, she had particularly stocked up on it in case of a break-in or invasion of Overseers. Running through the processes of unlocking - padlock code, retina scan, facial recognition, vocal recognition and blood sample - in her head, she performed the process rapidly and tucked a couple of Grape Faygo bottles into a bag she carried. It was said to be the most potent of the colours, even though the purplebloods who used small, controlled doses for calming didn't seem to note a difference.

Returning to Dietas, she asked for Antmom to put the bottles far in the back of the 'hunger trunk' and reapplied her thick leather gloves. Hoisting the troll into her arms, she carried them back into the private room she had set up for them earlier and mixed up some plaster. Carefully taking a mould of Dietas' left eye, horn and the surrounding facial features, she retreated into her workshop. She had a great big job to do, and it was a terrifying but welcome challenge. Clearing her throat, she curled and flexed her hands in and out of fists a few times to calm herself before setting down the mould. It had set remarkably quickly, and that was what she needed.

Heating her base metals, she was incredibly grateful for the toughness of her hands, underneath the gloves that did little to help her. Although she was young in terms of an indigo, she had worked with enough burning materials that her hands were calloused and rough. She had soon created the base of the headpiece, a shell of silvery metals that were fused together with heat and pressure as opposed to visible bolts so it would be less bulky and embarrassing for her little goldblooded friend. She had no idea why she felt so drawn to their recklessness in particular; she had seen many come and go, but they struck her as... different.

Not in a bad way, though. She had been able to find their Trainee File on Goregle, and discern who they were because of their horns. Dietas Lambda. Interestingly, they were labelled as 'culled', despite being with Itoria. She was glad to see that she'd been able to remotely modify the cameras and the facilities' entire database so the training ships flying overhead wouldn't pick her up in their radars as a instructor off-course. She knew that the ceruleans were able to track the trolls under their guide with remarkable precision, but they sent out drone-like scouting ships to round up drifting trolls or direct them, with no ill intent as far as she was concerned. All missing goldbloods were changed in the databases to 'culled' after a period of a human week.

Humming quietly to herself, Itoria busied herself with finding a lens that was the right violet colour to substitute for the troll's lost eye. Upon finding it and placing it on the worktable, she returned to the room in which Dietas lay, feeling their forehead to see if they were out cold. Unluckily enough, they were warmer to the touch and seemed on the verge of waking. The indigoblood walked to the 'hunger trunk' and retrieved her Faygo, filling the syringe with it and injecting that into Dietas' arm. Acknowledging that it was awful and immoral to effectively drug the other to sleep, she grimaced and fled back to the workshop. It would weigh heavily on her mind, but it was necessary. The only way she could get them through the process of re-fitting without pain was to keep them sedated however possible.

She muttered to herself as she worked on the interior mechanisms of the headpiece, her unusually small hands - considering the build of many Sagittarians - assisting her in fitting the wires to it. She planned for an infrared lens, so that Dietas would be able to see normally through their left eye and detect heat signatures with the other. It was gruelling work, though, as she also had to build the necessary chips, circuits and electronic additives to allow for her vision to come to fruition. Feeling a sudden boost in her confidence, Itoria smiled to herself. Everything was going to be okay. If she kept her head down and worked steadily for another few days, the goldblood would be indebted to her. That wasn't what she wanted, though. All she desired was a companion, and she'd hopefully get one.

After five days of tireless work, during which she only rested in a temporary recuperacoon she had in her workshop, the headpiece was finally finished. If all went according to plan, Dietas would be able to subconsciously meld the wires into their ocular nerve endings via psionics, at which point their vision would be restored in that eye. She slotted the headpiece back into the mould that had completely dried to make sure it was the right size once more before nodding to herself. For the first time in what felt like an entire sweep, she exited the workshop, headpiece in her claws. She hoped sincerely that Dietas would like it, though only its functionality truly mattered in the grand scheme of things.

On the other side of things, Dietas had awoken from their haze, and found that the pain in their body had lessened dramatically. They were still in agony, horribly nauseous, but it was a marked improvement to when they would blur in and out of consciousness due to the pain. They learnt not to move, lest Itoria catch them at it and scold them for it. They felt terribly woozy, feeling simultaneously hungover and drunk still from the two bottles' worth of Faygo and additional anaesthetics coursing through them. With a groan of irritation, they turned their head towards the footsteps that they no longer feared. Somehow, they had managed to avoid opening their one functioning eye, and the darkness didn't scare them so much any more.

Miss Aprein - Itoria, that was - had told them that they would be getting a gift, but not why or what it was. Her voice rang out, and hearing their own name from the Sagiun's mouth was a shock, but not bad. She hadn't raised her voice when speaking to them like many of their friends had developed a habit of doing, and it was soothing. More than anything, and any before her, she made them feel safer. They could almost see themselves as her moirail, strangely enough.

"△h, Dietas! I w△s wOndering when yOu'd △w△ken. HOw dO yOu feel? Can I give yOu yOur gift?"

Dietas simply shrugged and then nodded, not having the energy to speak. They were debilitatingly tired, despite the sedation. There was nothing they wanted to do but sleep until their troubles were gone, but their own recuperacoon was far away. Nothing felt quite real any more, because they were so lost. Their only hope was Itoria, and she didn't seem to realise how exactly they felt about the whole situation. It wasn't like they had the words to describe it, anyway, nor the breath in their lungs to speak them.

Itoria came up to Dietas, nimble fingers gently placing the headpiece down into its position. She retreated afterwards, but watched carefully to see the other's reaction and make sure they weren't being hurt by it.

"HOw dOes it feel nOw? It shOuld be prOperly △djusted to your head, but do tell me if △nything is wrong △nd I will fix it immedi△tely."

After a few moments, the goldblood opened their eyes - one old and one new - to gaze at their surroundings in awe. With a fizzling noise and a grinding of teeth, it was clear that Dietas had allowed their psionics to flow through the headpiece, the metal directing it to their nerves and allowing the connections to be established. They stood and looked directly at their carer, who turned out to be the same age as them - roughly 9 sweeps or 19 human years - old. A grin split their features for the first time in an aeon, and they spoke in a tone that conveyed 9 sweeps of suppressed joy, let out all at once in an explosion of colour.

"It's like I'm seeing the wx0xrld in a whx0xle new light."

[mimiplaysgames]

A Powerful Enough Dream (Ch.4)

Pairing: Terra/Aqua (eventually) Rating: T Word Count: 3,490

Summary: Aqua and Lea may want to be friends, but they don’t really step out with the right foot.

Read on AO3

A/N: I honestly felt so bad about posting the last chapter for new readers!! This one is to make up for it, because there's a lot of Kingdom Hearts interaction in my work even though the last one had such a heavy Final Fantasy influence. I couldn't finish it last night for New Year's Eve, but here's to hoping I start 2020 right.

****

Tea

Aqua hates being sick. Hates the ache that threatens her limbs, the rips in her core when she coughs, how her lips burn when she licks them, how stuffy her eyes are, how hard it is to breathe, the headache that keeps coming back, the nausea in the pit of her esophagus, the feverish suspicion that she’s going to be stuck in bed for some time

She’s aware that she’s not really sick - she’s been poisoned by a Heartless’ darkness, but it sucks all the same. 

A giant teddy bear sits by her side on the queen-sized bed, and Aqua likes the feeling of snuggling with it. Duchess purrs, taking her spot on the bed right by Aqua’s hip. Her kittens still chase each other around despite the hour, and it sounds more chaotic than it probably is. 

Terra’s music box slows to a crawl before it stops its song. Aqua rolls over, a throbbing ache in her abdomen making her sluggish. Her arms protest her reaching out to wind it up again, and then she lovingly places it back down, right by his glossy orange Wayfinder. The ghostly song begins its trek down memory lane again - Aqua has played it so many times tonight that she’s starting to memorize all the notes. 

That’s the worst part about being under - she’s bored.

Aqua reaches behind the music box to grab the vial of elixir, and sits up to take another gulp. There is laughter deep in the streets down below, and drunken hollers. It’s been more than two hours since the fight with Kefka has ended but there’s plenty of energy left in the night to celebrate. One of the kittens (the orange one, Tolouse is his name, Aqua thinks) paws at her fingers. 

“Terra,” she says out loud as she glances at his Wayfinder, “I can’t sleep. I’m scared I forgot how.”

Speaking dries out her throat and she deteriorates into another coughing fit. She glances at her clock: two in the morning.

She stops herself from sighing out of fear she’ll cough again and drags her legs out of bed. Taking a blanket to wrap her shoulders, she peeks outside her hotel room - the hallway is warmly lit, dimmer than she expected but that’s probably to make visitors comfortable. 

Aqua doesn’t know what she’s looking for, but she probably won’t sleep without exhaustion and it’s taking too long to overcome her. Screw this. 

She steps out and the cats follow her. In one simple hallway, there’s only two directions to go. At first she turns left, but it’s dark - really dark, as though the burgundy carpet has disappeared into the black. The lights at the end have gone out. Knowing the layout of this floor, this way should lead to the stairs. The cats don’t seem to be alarmed by anything that might lurk, but…

Aqua will not take it. 

There’s a flutter of sound in the opposite direction, where the lights will lead her to the elevator. It’s soft and unassuming, and it’s coming from Sora’s room. Aqua plants her ear to his door and smiles. He’s snoring. 

Good on him to do the right thing and sleep to build his defenses against the poison.

She follows the lights to the elevator. The doors are like a birdcage, twisting into a beautiful pattern, and they break apart seamlessly when she calls for it. Stepping inside and the cats skitter along, the cage is loud when it closes, and down they go. Slowly, lights flicker through the bars with every floor she passes by. It makes it hard for her to see the walls beyond, and in a sick moment she feels trapped.

The doors creak when they open, and Aqua realizes she’s been fighting with her breath ever since she refused the dark upper hallway. 

Halls down here are vacant, peaceful in comparison to just a few hours ago, and tired, with only a random person walking by. Sparks of rainbow burst outside the windows - some teenagers are lighting firecrackers and laughing. A bar across the street is packed with drunken cheer, and someone has a loud stereo playing music, groups dancing joyously to it.

A shiver runs up Aqua’s spine - it’s a terrible idea to walk around out this ill. Her knees feel weak and her head bobs to dizziness, but on she goes, not tired enough to go back. As long as she doesn’t push herself, she won’t get worse. At least that’s what she reasons.

The dining room. It’s empty, save for a few lights behind an abandoned bar - as if staying in the hotel is a prison right now, a reminder of darker days.

Oh, she only thought it was empty.

Lea sits on his own holding a mug, steam floating from it. He catches sight of her, and whistles out of shock.

“You gotta be a cyborg,” he smirks. “Walking around like you're not dying. You look terrible.”

“I don’t feel too bad.” That has to be the biggest lie she’s ever told.

He tsks, scratching his nose and rubbing his chin. “Now I’m convinced. Cyborg.”

She stands still, fidgeting with her blanket. Finding something to say is awkward, given how bluntly she brushed him off earlier. “What are you drinking?”

“Tea.” He smiles. “Made by a certain lovestruck Keyblade wielder and filled to the brim with all his ooey-gooey feels. Famous around here. But for some reason…” He taps the mug with a finger. 

“It doesn’t taste as special as they say it does,” he continues.

That’s because Terra isn’t the one brewing it.

Aqua chooses to ignore the word  lovestruck . “Is there any left?”

“Sure, a whole closet.”

This confuses Aqua, but Lea stands up, gesturing her to follow him to the kitchen.

It’s dark though, and Aqua refuses to take a closer step until he turns on the lights.

Unlike the warm colors of burgundy carpeting and the tint of dark wood from the dining room, the kitchen is cold in the whiteness of its tile and the silver of its steel appliances.

At the other end is a door to a walk-in storage room. Also too dark.

She only gets closer to take a peek when Lea switches its only light on, just a spare lightbulb with a long pullstring

“Come in,” he says. “I only bite when I want to.

Inside is what’s to be expected: sacks of rice, cans of food... then there are the shelves.

A whole wall of them, all carefully labeled in drawers of different teas.

All in Terra’s scratchy handwriting.

Many Aqua recognizes, brews that he’s made for her and the Master (Ven hates tea). Some with dried fruits, others with flower petals, most of them herbal. Some designed for a good drink, others medicinal. There are drawers with separated ingredients to let people custom-make their own, and drawers with pre-made mixes.

Pinned to the wall next to them are instructions and suggestions, again in Terra’s scrawls:

  Eucalyptus - for colds and coughs Peppermint - to feel peppy Ginger - best for headaches Chamomile - to relax Lavender - also to relax, tastes much better than chamomile Fennel seeds - for easier breathing Raspberries and blueberries - makes anything taste good Mugwort - to get rid of toxins, smells bad Rosemary - to protect memory and the heart Sleeping weed - tasteless, causes lucid dreaming Dragon’s root - for psychosis, very pungent

 Aqua traces her fingers over his writing, feeling how deeply he grooved the pen into the page. The pages are pristine. He must have written this maybe yesterday, at most two days ago, all for the people in Traverse Town, right before he left to find her.

Funny how the strongest barrier between them is time.

Lea clears his throat, filling a small bag with sleeping weed. “What’ll it be?”

Aqua reads through the drawers again - Terra’s ginger brew, which is his go-to whenever any of them fell sick. She chooses that one, taking a small bag and a scoop for herself. 

“Fine choice,” Lea says and snatches the bag out of her hand once it’s filled.

“I can take care of myself.” She reaches for the bag but he keeps it at a good distance. He’s ridiculously tall.

“Sure,” he says, one foot out the door already. “And cats dance.”

Like she’s replying, Duchess meows.

Lea takes the brew to the kitchen, pulling out a teapot, and he begins boiling. Aqua only has a hazy memory of Terra’s magic when making tea, but she’s pretty sure Lea isn’t an expert. It’s not just the mix: there’s precise timing to it, how long to boil what ingredient and to specific temperatures in order to bring out the best.

Either way, Lea prepares a hot mug for her, and opens the door for her back to the dining room, leaving a plate of meat for Duchess and her kittens by the bar area. He still has the bag of sleeping weed in his hand. If he’s up this late, he’s probably sleeping terribly too.

Aqua sits not in front of Lea, but across the table from him. 

The tea tastes good. Maybe not as good as she remembers it, but Aqua’s not sure since the last time Terra brewed for her was twelve years ago. The ginger bites but it soothes, cooling down her throat. It’s all psychological, but tasting such a strong kick in her mouth immediately makes her feel better.

Lea… slurps his tea. Loudly, too

She shoots him a look, her mug barely to her lips before she silently takes a sip - like she’s setting an example.

Lea eyes her. He understands. He slurps loudly again.

She sets her mug down. “Do you mind?”

“Yes.” He’s enjoying himself too much.

She rolls her eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” he asks.

She takes another sip.

“You really should,” he continues.

“I know.”

“You should have this.” Ah, so the sleeping weed is for her.

“… No, thank you.”

“Doesn’t matter how much of a dosage, it’s not harmful.”

“… How do you know that?

Lea eyes his fingers, a smug smile on his face. “From a previous profession, you could say.”

Aqua doesn’t know if that should intimidate her. She says nothing.

He continues, “But poison is fatal.”

Like he’s a mother reminding a child. “I’ll go to sleep,” Aqua says, letting the annoyance in her voice to seep out. “Eventually. I just needed something to drink.

Lea spins circles on his mug with his finger, nodding. His eyes scan the table, drifting off into the carpet, and he silently sips. This conversation is just as awkward for him, and for a while, they drink in silence.

“You know,” Lea says shakily, like he’s suddenly scared. “I’m sorry.”

Aqua stops mid-sip. “For what?”

He scoffs, a nervous smile betraying him and he rubs the back of his neck before digging his finger into that giant red mane of his to scratch his scalp. “Terra… You know, I’m the only one he told.”

She doesn’t get it, but she lets him continue.

“He asked me not to say anything to anybody, and didn’t let me join him. He wanted to find you on his own... Duty and whatever other stupid, stupid reasons he told himself to justify going into the Realm of Darkness alone. And I’m stupid for letting him.”

Aqua sighs, a small smile on her lips. Tears burn more than usual because her eyes aren’t well enough for them, and she blinks them back. “That’s Terra,” she says.

“Pfft.”

“Determined.”

“Rock-headed.”

“Dedicated.”

“Delusional.”

Aqua grins more, remembering how awfully late into the hours Terra would train when he felt inadequate, even though he knew his body wouldn’t catch up overnight.

This encourages Lea. “So you can smile after all.”

Sheepish, Aqua grabs the mug with both hands. “Maybe I’m not a cyborg after all.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Lea turns his shoulders to face her, getting more comfortable in his seat. “What’s your plan? Are you going back to get him?”

She nods slowly. That is indeed the plan, and this time she doesn’t plan on staying in the Realm of Darkness for long (a nag in the back of her mind expects that she will, and they’ll both be trapped together).

“You’re brave,” Lea says, and Aqua has the suspicion that he’s normally not this direct with people. “Do you have an idea of what it takes to get there?”

Her smile falls. A Door to Darkness. A large gaping hole made with the blackest magic. A world may have to fall to make it happen. But if Terra can prevent it, so can she. “Yeah.” Yet she doesn’t even have an idea where to find one. “I’ll wake up Ven first, then we’ll get him back together. Once that happens, there’s someone else I need to find.”

“Oh really?” Lea takes another slurp. This one he makes sure is obnoxious. “Who?”

“A friend I made in the darkness.” Aqua finds herself turning shoulders as well, hesitant to say more. If she’s going to search, she’ll need any clue she could find. “He suddenly disappeared and I’m worried. His name is Xemnas.”

Lea spits tea back into his mug, splashing it on his fingers. “Excuse me?”

Aqua blinks. “Xemnas. That’s his name.”

A finger in his mouth to lick the tea off, he slips it out with a pop, his eyebrows almost to his hairline. “Really."

“You know him.” What luck. She leans forward, a hand on the table. “Any idea what might have happened to him?”

Lea glances at her, twice. He shrugs too slowly like he has molasses on his shoulders, taking a mug to his lips as an excuse not to talk.

Aqua leans back, feeling like they’re talking about something taboo. “You don’t get along with him?”

He scoffs, hiding a grimace behind a smile - he’s really good at acting but it’s like he’s tired of it. “The day I get along with Xemnas is the day I grow a third leg and use it to kick myself in the nuts.”

She supposes not everyone can get along - Xemnas is definitely of the peculiar kind of people, and she can't imagine that Lea would belong. Even Aqua never expected to befriend Xemnas this closely if it weren't for the fact that she needed him. Xemnas always gave her the impression that he demanded the finer things in life, and she imagined him wearing expensive suits and capes, in some palace far away hosting extravagant balls and holding intense political courts. 

Still, he was there for her. It’s a relief alone to learn that he was a real person and not a figment of her imagination. “He’s my friend, and I..."

Lea pinches his eyes and lets them go in guilt. “Don’t bat an eyelash, he’s somewhere out there.” 

Ignoring his tea to the point that it could get cold, Lea keeps finding something to say and then stopping himself from saying it. No word is good enough. 

“Come on,” he implores, grabbing the bag of sleeping weed and leaving the table. 

“To where?”

“You’re going on an adventure to save three people.” He lifts his fingers to illustrate. “There’s going to be a lot of terrible things you’ll learn along the way. You’re of no use to any them the way you are, and I’m not falling for any excuse you give me. You need rest, and you’re smart enough to know this and I’m sure you hate knowing it but… whatever, boo-hoo for you. You’re going to sleep.”

Aqua stammers, and he doesn’t let her talk: “The sooner you get better, the sooner you can find them. Now for the last time,  come on . They’re waiting for you.”

She grabs her mug and grips her blanket around her shoulders tighter. “I hate being sick,” she mutters as she passes him by.

“Don’t I know it.”

He takes her to a backroom in the first floor after they pass a huge hodgepodge of computer screens that must have served as security monitoring at some point. They are all off now that the danger is over. 

The room behind is actually larger than she expects, a scent lingering in its entrance. There is a chipped coffee table under a mess of papers, and an overused black couch, surrounded by a mismatch of chairs as if they were grabbed from wherever in the hotel they were available. The walls here are dark, not crisp enough to be of any particular gray, with small paintings of beautiful sights littering them.

“I bet Noct’s finally sleeping in his own room now,” Lea says.

Aqua is sure Noctis carried the responsibility too much to belong to a fancy hotel room, and probably felt less guilty to sleep in a place where he rushed through meetings. 

“Get comfortable,” Lea says, pointing at the couch.

“Do you usually order people around?”

“Nope!” he proudly says with a pop to his word. “It would be so much easier if you just listen the  first  time.” He points again to the couch, taking a seat on the other side of the coffee table.

She does, gently setting her mug. Lea opens the bag of sleeping weed, and takes a pinch of it to stir with her tea. Every movement he makes is under her watchful gaze, like they are in silent agreement of what he’s doing and he’s transparent over how much he’s giving her.

“Shouldn’t taste any different,” he says.

He’s right, there’s barely an aftertaste. She takes two gulps of it, and a third for good measure. Exhaustion still isn’t knocking on her shoulders, and she waits for too long of a moment for anything to happen. Lea has kicked his feet onto the coffee table, watching her.

It doesn’t look like he’s planning on leaving anytime soon, as though he’s thinking of guarding her just to give her better reason to relax. Aqua has to admit she’s grateful for it. 

“I’m not sure where to start first,” she says with a thick tongue.

“Hm?”

Then it comes, a most relaxing calm possessing her arms until it reaches her eyes. She lies down, the scent of cologne and skin right at her face from the cushion on the couch. It dips at her shoulders and her hips, like Noctis has really abused it from too much sleep. 

“I’m so worried about Terra.”

Lea is silent at first. “You’ve experienced the Realm of Darkness first-hand so you know what he’s going through... But you can’t.”

“Can’t what?” she whispers. Tears sting her eyes.

“He did the same thing you’re doing right now,” Lea shrugs with a smirk. “Giving himself a headache over you as if you weren’t strong enough to handle it. Yet here you are, alive and well. You gonna do the same? Think he’s not capable?”

“No..” she sighs. “He’s… yeah.”

“See? Worrying wouldn’t help him anyway.”

“Mhm.”

It’s hard to keep her eyes open, and she tries harder when she hears Lea speak again:

“I’ll help you find him. Xemnas, I mean. There’s at least four words I’d like to slap him with.”

Aqua hums in response, and doesn’t remember how she left Noctis’ room and how she is now standing in pristine white hallway.

She recognizes this hallway. It’s her old home transformed, Ventus lying somewhere in this confusing layout of a castle. She knows that it brings oblivion to visitors, and what would happen to her if she aimlessly wanders the halls without a purpose? Would her Master curse her as well? 

Her steps echo afar, and the tile continues to nowhere. There are no windows, no turns, no furniture. Just a stretch of white. Behind her, it keeps going. Ahead of her, there is a door. 

When she gets close to the door, snowflakes slowly fall onto her hand. 

Through the door is another white room, this time with a window allowing a gentle breeze to brush through the curtains, a warm sunset far away. 

On the walls are pieces of paper - like they are supposed to showcase pictures or drawings, but they are all blank. Every single one of them.

In the center is a long table, and…

“Terra,” she calls softly. 

On one end, he sits, speaking to someone on the other side: a girl with long blonde hair, in a white dress using a white crayon to draw on white paper. She draws nothing. 

But they’re cheerful, it seems. Aqua can’t hear either of them speak as though they’ve been muted. The girl says something, and Terra chuckles. He’s relaxed, arms open on the table and he’s waving one of them around like he’s trying to argue a  specific  point he wants to make and the girl sheepishly sticks her tongue out at him like she’s never done it before.

He laughs harder and Aqua wishes she could hear it. Terra is only this way with really good friends. Wherever he is, he’s safe.

The girl notices Aqua. Gives her a smile. Puts a finger to her lips as if to shush.

[floosies]

Series: Munenca del Barrio

A/N: This chapter will start very hotly.

Warnings: NSFW, Blood, violence, smut, strong language, and drug use

Rocio Cruz lives in a Brooklyn block best known for its vibrant and ignored community. What she always ignored though was the underground scene in the borough, the evils that lay in it and its people. That all comes to an end when she’s introduced to those things she ignored.

Chpt. 5: Ven Aca (Bolero)

Masterlist

His body against hers was hot. The two were focused on the whole physical side of what was going. She felt herself falling onto a soft bedding, in what she was considering was his room. It didn’t matter then though because his hands were roaming into an area that no one had ever gotten to. Rocio had boyfriends in the past but things never got this intimate.

She knew this probably wasn’t right, but he’d already taken her swimsuit off leaving her bare, and all he was wearing were swim trunks that were nearly ready to come off. She could also begin to feel the heat of his breath near her entrance. 

In his mind, he was both glad and surprised he’d gotten this far with her. That she was actually letting him have his way with her. He figured she was a virgin by the way she was acting, all shy but interested. He wasted no time tasting her, in return she tugged on his hair, something he was enjoying. To him she tasted sweet like a fruit, one found deep in some exotic place. She couldn’t believe how much pleasure she was feeling, soon she felt his fingers pressing into her as his tongue did swirls around the swollen bud of nerves. 

It was too good but she was fighting off the moaning trying not to let anyone else know what was going on in that room. He on the other hand was having fun watching her squirm but he wanted more from her, pulling away from her but keeping his fingers in her he spoke gruffly, “come on munenca, tell me what you want. Who’s got you this wet?” He teasing her by curving his fingers making her whimper.

She knew she couldn’t hold out any longer or he’d just keep teasing her, “you do papi, now fuck me, just fuck me please.” He smirked gliding his fingers out of her slick entrance rubbing her cl*t one last time before going to the night stand besides the bed and grabbing a condom. 

Seeing him fully nude had her a bit nervous, especially because she didn’t really that he was gonna fit in in her. Once he had the condom on, he climbed on top of her starting to kiss her all over. In a soft voice he asked, “eres virgen?” She nodded, he sighed looking at her as he began to enter her slowly. “I’ll be gentle, I promise,” he cooed as he began to kiss her again. 

Her hands wrapped around his neck, his right hand held her waist while the other guided his member into her, then gently using his fingers he began rubbing her swollen bundle. It hurt like a bitch when he first entered her but the pleasure of his fingers rubbing her was numbing that pain. It didn’t take long for her to start enjoying the feeling of him. Grinding into him, she gave him the hint to go faster.

He was in ecstasy, “you’re so fucking tight munenca.” He groaned into her ear, as he took her right leg and placed it on her shoulder. Her moans filled up the room, she’d never thought her first time would be this good. Changing positions she found herself bouncing on top of him.

The view was something else for him, seeing her enjoying herself, her breath ragged and short as she tossed her head back in pleasure. His hands roamed to her breasts and back down to hips where he held her and took control, he could feel she was close from the way she was tightening around him, this lead to them reaching their highs together.

It was humid in that room, the two were laid underneath linen sheets. His hands were tracing shapes on her back as she laid on top of his chest. They hadn’t said much after what happened. It surprised him when she spoke, “this wasn’t right. It was too soon.” Her eyes looked up to see him, he shrugged. “Maybe, but this isn’t just going to be a one time thing. I care about you Rocio, you’re not like everyone else in this lifestyle we live. You’re honest and that’s hard to come by. I promise, i’m not gonna hurt you.” 

She didn’t want to believe him mainly because he’s a criminal but if he had just wanted something quick she would have been kicked to the curb already. “Te voy a dar mi confianza, but if you break that trust, I have the right to hurt you.” She said seriously, he laughed lightly but nodded in agreement. “Okay well, until the day you break my bones comes, if it ever does, lets not waste time. I made us dinner reservations so go get ready and i’ll have someone bring you some dresses and shoes to choose from.” And he did, he actually had gotten her a stylist for the dinner. She assumed it was going to be something high class but she wasn’t expecting it to come with help.

As they got into the sports car he was driving to the restaurant, he admired her. She looked golden almost like she’d just come from a dream he’d had on a better night. Steve was for the most part very old school in terms of women and business, he found that those two different aspects of life for him worked best that way. So he didn’t expect that the day would play out the way it did but at the same time he figured Rocio wasn’t going to be like any other girls who’d tried to flock their way to him.

The restaraunt was this little Italian thing by the water, very humble looking and all. Of course Rogers knew the owner, she was like family to old Blue Eyes who’d known the little old lady’s father before he passed. That wasn’t the point, the point was that he’d rented the place for the night. When they walked in, the place was lit by warm lights and there were flowers everywhere. Old bolero music played in the background, it was all very romantic. Hell it was also very empty the food had already been set up with wine and all. Steve didn’t wanna waste any time, he knew she had to be home soon.

Rocio listened as he explained what the plan was if her father didn’t get out legally. Rubio explained that the prison he was in was a weak thing, at least there was that. Security was shit and could basically be bought for the right price, but they hadn’t done this type of “release” in a long time so it might be a rusty thing. There was more hope for the trial to work out but it would be a while. Neither of them knew there was a million dollar question though, until it was asked. “Would he come home though? Like with me and my mama?” 

It broke his heart to hear the hope in her voice. What kinda fucked up person would he be if he told her the truth. He’d be honest but he’d fear she wouldn’t understand. She saw him struggling to answer and the hope she had began to fall. Taking a drink of his wine, he caught another glimpse of her and before she could get anymore upset he answered her, “munenca no es facil, I would love for him to be with you and your family but there are still people like Federico who would also love a chance to get their hands on him.” 

Shit, she hated when this mob boss was right. There was anger building up in her not with him but with her dad. Why did he have to go get involved with these people? What drove him to it? He could see her contemplating something, “you wanna talk about what’s going on in your head?” Her eyes looked at him, her thoughts now disrupted. He could tell she wasn’t sure about what she wanted to say, “you can be honest. I’m not the kind to hide things,” that was all she needed to hear, “why did he work with Blue Eyes? Where is he going to be at? Will I or anyone even get to see him if this works? And what about you aren’t you scared?” All her questions came out as a outburst of mixed feelings, mainly anger and fear.

Fuck, he cared so much and seeing how afraid she was for her his and her father’s lives reminded him that people could still show some empathy in this world. He took her hand in his, gently pressing a kiss on her knuckles, “I don’t get scared munenca, trust me I’m a different person with those kinds of people. As for the reason as to why Rafael chose to work with Blue Eyes, well I don’t that but you can ask him. When he gets out, because he will one way or another. He’s gonna be living in a nice safe house I got and you and your family can visit him whenever you want. Although I don’t think Maritza is gonna be happy when she finds out you and I know each other,” he said with a small chuckle and a wink.

This calmed her nerves a bit. The conversation began to float to other things now, and he was glad it did. Mainly because he hated talking business with her, when he could be getting to know her instead. She did end up talking about herself though, and he got to know just how kind of a person she is, among other things. It was a shame it had to end though, they went back to his place where she changed again and then it was off home. 

In her room now, far away from all the shiny fancy things, she wondered what it would be like when her pops got home. More importantly how her mama would react when she found out that she was seeing the guy who was supposed to be watching over them.

[szyf]

So I never got a chance to see a Bonnie and Clyde musical, but how would it fit with rosebird?

oh. oh god. ok i wasnt expecting to get asks but

i call it the musical version because the musical has a condensed and easier to understand timeline. also the music is just really good and is REALLY fun to imagine as rosebird.

for some background before i shove everything under the cut:

raven = clyde

summer = bonnie

qrow = buck (clyde’s brother)

tai = blanche (buck’s lover)

ozpin = ted (a sheriff that has it Out for clyde. in the musical, ted and bonnie have some weird romantic thing going on in the beginning. we’re ignoring that in this au)

anyways, this is not fleshed out AT ALL bc i wrote this all out at around 2 am last night and i’m just really used to having all my rosebird aus (there are. so many in my head) to myself, so trying to write this one out was oddly difficult. if you want to know more, listen to the musical! or ask me more about specific events if you want. the complete plot isn’t down here because God there’s so much and i only wrote out about 3/5ths of it. ENJOy my incomprehensible rambles!

raven and qrow are two delinquents in the texas town of mistral during the great depression who are known for robbing small stores and stealing cars. one faithful day, the twins get arrested for automobile theft– but break out soon after.

they each go their separate ways, qrow heading home to see his husband tai, and raven decides on going to vale, a larger city in texas. as she roams the streets, she soon meets summer rose, a waitress with a broken down car! 

the two have an instant connection, and raven agrees to fix summer’s car in exchange for a lift to vale. soon becoming star-crossed lovers, the two decide to stay in mistral for a few days before leaving for vale. raven’s aloof exterior did nothing to stop summer from being drawn in, though. she tells raven everything– her dreams of becoming an actress, her fondness of poem writing, and her wish to leave mistral and start anew. raven takes interest in this, and falls hard and fast. raven promises summer a life of fame and prosperity, and just like that, summer agreed to leave her life in mistral behind and decided to join raven in her journey to vale.

let’s check in on tai and qrow!!! qrow made it safely back to tai’s house, yet tai wasn’t very accepting of the fact he broke out. tai convinces qrow to turn himself in, and qrow agrees as long as he gets to stay for a few days. in the meanwhile, raven wants to recruit qrow and tai to join her and summer in vale. raven makes her way to qrow, and is ecstatic to see her brother again. they talk about going to vale, until qrow reveals he’s turning himself in.

raven is NOT happy.

she calls him a coward, she calls him weak, and storms off angrily with summer by her side. though, her anger is short lived, seeing as ozpin (a well renowned sheriff) manages to catch raven, and sends her back to jail.

raven is sent to a higher maximum security prison while qrow is given a reduced sentence for turning himself in.

summer is utterly heartbroken, and just wants her raven back. summer was always a good girl– kind, talented, and a bit of a dreamer. not to mention she was beautiful. so when summer resolves to breaking raven out…… yeah, shit hits the fan.

smuggling raven out was a fucking MESS, considering how stubborn raven is. she keeps insisting she can do it herself, but she’s honestly in no condition to do so. she isn’t exactly the Top Dog in mistral’s maximum security prison. so, summer takes things into her own hands and is like “fuck it ill break my dumbass gf out myself”.

it goes a little like this: summer smuggles one of raven’s guns into the prison, shoots the warden that guards raven’s cell, and the entire time raven is just kinda. In Big Love. though shooting the warden was a bit of a panic move, and summer is so apologetic and guilty afterwards. imma b real, it causes an entire crisis within summer.

the point is: raven is out of prison! buuuuut, now they have to leave mistral WAY sooner than planned. soon enough, they’re speeding to vale in summer’s car, stopping at any convenience store along the way and robbing it. promptly, they become the infamous duo who… oddly haven’t killed anyone in these heists yet!

SIKE

during a grocery store robbery gone wrong, raven accidentally murders a cop trying to “play hero” and summer is FRENZIED. filled with shame and guilt over what she did while trying to break raven out, she snaps. summer is Not happy with raven, and finally makes the choice to leave. raven begs her to stay, telling her it’s too late to turn back now, and summer realizes raven is right. she loves raven too much to leave her.

im honestly too tired to continue this, plus the rest of it isn’t as fleshed out as i’d like it to be, but look up the bonnie and clyde musical! it’s really good.

[chikoriita]

Fate

Not for the first time did Sora wonder about his place in this game. Every time he thought he found where he needed to be, someone came by and shook up his world. Maybe he was not supposed to be in this situation in the first place. After all, most everything that happened since the islands fell to darkness was meant for another.

He wished he could return to the islands. Unlike Riku, he never found Destiny Islands to be a prison, but instead, he thought of them like a homing beacon. Sora just wanted to return home some days. Leave the balance of light and dark to someone else; perhaps someone else would be more suitable to wield the key.

He watched the clouds roll around them in the eternal twilight sky. The Tower was home base for the Guardians of Light right now. The only home he had for the last year.

“Are you okay?” The soft voice interrupted his thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flash of blue. Aqua. The Keyblade Master still recuperated from her time in the dark realm. It was a harrowing rescue for them all. Donald and Goofy were somewhere in the Tower resting, but Sora’s insomnia did not let sleep come. Hence his thinking right now.

“I am… getting there,” He answered honestly. “Just thinking.”

“About?” She sat down next to him along the island’s edge. Their feet dangled among the clouds.

He continued staring off into the sunset. Maybe if he stayed out here long enough, he would get to see the night sky again, like in Traverse Town.

Sora felt the nudge against his leg and sighed. “What’s the point? I’m probably being too emotional again.”

“I could use some emotional after what I experienced,” Aqua said quietly.

“Where do I fit into this story? Why am I the one still running around, messing everything up? Riku is the master; he has the power we need to fix everything.” He held his face in his hands, ducking low.

Aqua did not respond immediately. “Let me tell you a story, Sora. Twelve years ago, Xehanort ruined many lives with his ambition. He orchestrated every conflict, squabble, and argument to meet his ends. He would have succeeded all those years ago if stronger hearts had not prevailed.”

“Like yours?” He asked, lifting his head from his hands. She shook her head.

“How much do you know about my friend Ventus?”

Ventus. That name was familiar now but still a mystery all the same. Only the King had any memories of the boy. Yen Sid had only housed his sleeping body for the night Aqua stayed here.

“He’s the one whose heart is asleep, right? The missing one?”

“You’re right. Ventus was my friend; probably the closest thing to a brother I have. Xehanort ripped his darkness away to use as a weapon. The x-blade,” She spat

Sora put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “We will find him and his heart. You can count on it.”

“That’s just the thing Sora. You… You have this energy. Not fully familiar, but not a total stranger. Almost Ven-like.” She paused. “We met before.”

Sora tried to think of when he would have met Aqua. She was stuck in the realm of darkness all this time. The only time he was in the dark realm, he was with Riku. “When?”

Aqua laid back against the grass and looked up at the sky. “It was not that long ago for me, but you were a small child. You and Riku played on that island of yours without a care in the world.” She laughed softly. “I almost made you my successor then.”

“Why would you do something like that? Baby Sora impressed you that much?”

“It sounds crazy, but you did. I still would make you my successor.”

“So why didn’t you?” He asked quietly. He was not sure he wanted the answer, but deep down, he knew he needed it. Maybe her answer would help solve all the other questions he had.

“My own bias. At the time, Terra, Ven, and I were having our own issues, and I saw that someone had bequeathed their power to Riku before I got there. I believed, wrongly might I add, that if I gave you the power too, then maybe you two would have the same problems. You would fight and ruin the wonderful friendship you had.”

“You aren’t wrong. The Keyblade did drive us apart for a little bit, but we worked through it.”

“Your heart was strong enough; mine wasn’t.” She admitted. “You were asking what is your part in all this?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah…” He answered hesitantly.

“Do you want the real answer, or do you want to feel better?”

He laughed loudly. “Give me the truth Aqua.”

She turned toward him, looking him straight in the eye. “You are not meant to be in this game,” Aqua said bluntly.

His stomach dropped despite knowing this truth. Even though Riku and Kairi argued otherwise, he knew deep down that he was replaceable to the grand scheme. Someone else could help stop Xehanort. Unshed tears began to sting his eyes. He moved to get up when Aqua grabbed his hand.

Pulling him down, she gently said, “That’s why you are so important Sora.”

“What?” His voice broke.

“Xehanort did not plan for such a strong heart to enter his game. One so full of love for his friends that he traveled the worlds to save them over and over again. Master Yen Sid told me everything you have done these last couple of years. He told me about your Mastery exam.” Seeing his flinch, she quickly said, “He even mentioned how well you did despite Xehanort’s interference. I did not joke when I said I would make you my successor today, but you did not need the bequeathal. You earned the Keyblade as Sora, not anyone’s apprentice.”

She wiped the tears off his cheek and gave him a pat. “If anything, you are the reason we will win. You made your own destiny when you set off on this journey, and if you want it, fate will bring you back home. Your heart won’t accept any other answer.”

[storm-driver]

i need to know what your fantastic theorist mind thought of that new trailer, please,, i cant make it to january 29th, not with an ending like that

okay first of all, i keep convincing myself “there’s no way sora’s scream was as bad as i thought it was” so i go back to rewatch it and im stuck in a perpetual cycle of emotional pain, recovery, doubting my recovery, and then back to the pain. how the fuck can it have been 15+ years of this child going through so much bullshit and THIS IS WHAT’S GETTING ME.

anyways, theories? oh boy. 

I got lots of mini theories, nothing super plot-related anyways. First of all, I wanna bet Vanitas found Aqua in the Realm of Darkness before Riku and Mickey did. He used her to get to the Land of Departure and retrieve Ven’s body, but that wasn’t what Vanitas was looking for. He wanted Ventus. Who was with Sora, unknowingly. Aqua no longer served a purpose for him, so he threw her back into the Darkness. Aqua felt hopeless watching him run off with Ventus, and that’s how she slipped into darkness as we’ve seen in previous trailers. When Riku and Mickey found her, she was tainted and angry and feeling despair. Ventus was her last ditch, the last person she had left to protect. And she’d failed him. When that darkness tempered her, her only logic was that it was Mickey’s fault for not saving her earlier. And if she hadn’t saved Riku in 0.2, she might’ve escaped. Hence why she lashed out against them. 

As for Vanitas, he must’ve only joined up with Xehanort cause he wanted to be whole again. He might’ve hated Ventus, but he was their only salvation. And Sora was the only person standing in the way. They had a common enemy. Vanitas ended up hunting Sora down to Monster’s, Inc., and finally confronts him about being a prison for Ventus along with others. Ventus awakens just enough within Sora to give him a name for who he was fighting, which all but reassures Vanitas that Ventus is within Sora. When he’s walking up to Sora, his hand reached out, he is shaking, because his salvation is so close. It’s right there. And of course, Sora doesn’t know WHAT’S going on, so his natural instinct is to defend himself. Queue boss fight, I bet it’ll be one of those fights like in KH1 vs Leon where you’d lose to progress the story. So Sora would lose the fight and be practically fending for himself before maybe Donald and Goofy/ someone else rushes in and saves him. (I say that ‘cause you see Sora’s keyblade get knocked out of his hands in the newest trailer, impyling his strength is dwindling.)

And as for whatever the heck was happening in the end with Sora screaming? That’s gotta be some sorta near end-game cutscene, ‘cause the area looks just too much like the Keyblade Graveyard. Looks as thought the fight is going stellar until the Heartless run rampant and just sweep everyone away. Kairi was probably brutally injured and wasn’t waking up. Or maybe it was just the sheer sight of everyone of his allies falling in combat. But Sora felt void of hope and just collapsed to his knees. Riku had to fend for him, probably for a short time before he fell too. And that’s when Sora starts screaming and breaking down. I pray that’s when Roxas drops in like we saw in the previous trailer, ‘cause who better to save his ass?

As for Cable Town, here’s some quick trivia on it since a lot of people seem super confused by how we know that name.

Cable Town was an announced world WAY back in 2014. It was shown at a close-screening, no recording or photos taken of it. But attendees were allowed to talk about it in full afterwards. They had described a town that reminded them a bit of the Land of Departure, but was distinctly different. There were cables tipping the skies and the town looked over-all modern. And some attendees of that event did come forward and say this town looked practically the same, some obvious graphical changes to fit the times. 

I wanna bet Cable Town is some sort of renewed ver. of the Keyblade Graveyard. The architecture on the walls matches that we saw of the Graveyard, especially where Roxas drops in. Maybe a past ver. before the Keyblade War happened and desolated the place? Or a restored ver. using the power of Kingdom Hearts? Who knows? Nomura does and I will get my answers once the game releases.

[alwaysaprille]

am I an asshole if I genuinely want you to answer all the salty asks so I can read your responses?

Not an asshole, but it might take a bit!

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

Ice Mechanic, Dr. Mechanic, Murphamy (as romantic). 

      2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?*

Br/ven is the only one I can think of right now. 

      3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

LOL, yes, but only if it gets to the point of racism/phobia. 

       4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*

Its Cl/xa. So yes. 

        5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*

Cl/xa. 

        6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?*

Not as yet, no. But there’s always a chance. 

        7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?*

Meta. People who meta tend to be very full of themselves now. And I know I am also a “meta” writer, but I try to avoid making myself seem more important than I am. 

         8. Have you received anon hate? What about?*

LMAO, YES. Basically about everything. I think I’ve received so much now that I couldn’t even tell you.

         9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

Octavia: the epitome of a racist white savior who has an additional bonus of being an abuser. 

       10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Octavia’s character arc since S2 has not made any sense whatsoever. I don’t think they have any idea what they plan on doing with her or, if they do, they don’t have a good idea of how to execute it.

       11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I like Echo. I think she’s misunderstood. She’s not perfect and she definitely has issues, but I think she has potential.

       12. Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I actually enjoyed Bellamy’s S3 arc, lots of people said it was out of character, but I really thought it fit him, and more importantly, it was a manifestation of his trauma, which he had not excised up until that point.

       13.  Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

I....still think John Murphy is a trash human being. Like full offense but he peed on a kid, killed 2 more, shot and permanently disabled Raven and didn’t really begin to actually earn his redemption until the very end of S3 and then again in the very end of S4 and I’m still unsure how much of that was motivated by his survival instinct. 

         14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

I have publicly disassociated myself with the Blarke family, but I assume that’s the fandom people most associate me with so I’ll give my opinion about that. I think that too many Blarkes ignore the racial stereotypes that sometimes show up in the ship and they still haven’t really let go of the princess and kinght trope. 

         15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

I don’t know if this is necessarily unpopular, but I do think the show has strayed too far from it’s original premise and that has continued to hurt it as the Seasons pass 

       16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

The lack of promotion. The focus on the Grounders. The casting of Alphabet Soup as the Commander as opposed to an actual WOC. 

       17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen...

Instead if Cl/xa happening the way it did, I would have pursued one of the following options:

I would have had L/xa not abandon Clarke and the Arkadians at Mt. Weather in 2x16 if the plan was for them to eventually become romantic. I would have had them be separated at the end of 2x16 by something/someone else, so that when they did manage to reunite, Clarke wouldn’t have spent 3 months (I also would have abbreviated this time apart) hating/being rightfully angry with her. And the romance that developed (in 7 days-because the first 7 days in Polis Clarke was a prisoner) wouldn’t have felt rushed. I also would not have killed L/xa when(right after consummation)/how(accidental bullet) they did. She should have died like the warrior she was. 

OR

If L/xa betraying Clarke at the Mountain had to be the option, I would not have fulfilled the romance between Cl/xa. I would have preferred to see them become friends/friendly. Work together for the mutual good of their people, so that way we could have avoided the feeling that the relationship was rushed (and therefore unfinished). 

       18. Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

No. Some people don’t ship the obvious ships and that’s fine! However, I think if you do choose to ship something that’s not popular or canon (especially if it’s obvious that it’s not going to happen), you probably shouldn’t be angry/rude about it.

       19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Just one thing? How quickly people panic, every time we get any news there are a ton of people who are terrified about what it means for the show.

        20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

Marper

        21. What are your thoughts on crack ships?

I think the definition of crack ships has been wildly distorted in this fandom. A crack ship by definition is a ship that is highly ridiculous, bizarre, disturbing, and/or unlikely to ever become canon. The characters don't have any chemistry, never interact, are in different canons or timelines, are different species, one is an inanimate object, etc. But for whatever reason this fandom thinks that a “crack ship” is any ship that they personally don’t like. A huge example of this is people calling Bellarke a crack ship, when it doesn’t fit the main criteria (Bob and Eliza’s chemistry is often talked about-they were even nominated for an award, Bell and Clarke’s relationship is the basis of the show and they interact in some capacity in almost every episode, they exist in the same timeline show, are both humans, etc.). So basically, I think it’s fine and often fun to ship them, but....people are...taking it too far. 

         22. Popular character you hate?

Octavia. 

         23. Unpopular character you love?

Gaia (who isn’t unpopular as in people don’t like her, it’s just that people don’t pay her enough attention).

         24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, despite everything it’s a really good show, thought provoking and interesting. However, I wouldn’t recommend it until after it’s finished airing in it’s entirety and I would tell them to avoid the fandom at all costs.

         25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

I don’t want to expose my romanticness with this answer so...I’m gonna be mum. 

         26. Most shippable character?

Raven Reyes. 

         27. Least shippable character?

John Murphy (I literally can’t see him with anyone outside of Emori, although i do think there might be another relationship in the works)

[meapistrash]

Blackout - Teen Titans Fanfic

Original post date (on FFN): 21/1/2017 Prompts are the ines in bold!

A/N: Based on the CN’s Teen Titans (2003) with elements of the pre/post-crisis Teen Titans comics. Totally unrelated to Teen Titans N52 and Rebirth comics.

“Titans, where are you? This is ’s a city wide blackout caused by a gang of prison escapees. Rendezvous at the power station, ASAP!

”Titans, respond!“ Robin screamed into the comm, desperately awaiting an answer that never came. He was willing to try once more, but thought against it as he pocketed the device and shoved his head into his biker helmet. Without wasting another second for his team, he pulled on the gas and made his way from downtown Jump City to the outskirts.

14 minutes earlier.

Beast Boy - or rather Garfield - was having a rather wonderful time beating his online friends on his PlayStation as he listened to them screaming at each other. And it also made him forget that he had been playing since noon and it was well pass seven pm and has not seen the light of day since he had gone down for breakfast. One would imagine that Raven would probably not mind, because the lack of his presence made her meditation so much easier. She didn’t, until she found that it was impossible to move him from his spot if he had been there video gaming for over two hours straight.

Blame her for not being able to cook and hide in the kitchen instead of being tasked with calling him for dinner.

“Garfield.”

He continued to stare at the screen, completely oblivious to the humming of the metal doors that slid close behind Raven.

“It’s dinner time,” she stated simply, yet still getting no response slightly annoyed her. She opted to try again, “Garfield, are you even listening?”

He tilted his head slightly to the empath, eyes still glued to the game, “What? Oh yeah, okay Rae. I’ll get to it.”

Raven huffed, she could believe that Garfield can live off video games alone, “Don’t complain if you’ll be eating cold leftovers.”

“Uh huh! Okay Raven!”

She turned around, ready to leave room when suddenly the lights around the room flickered and all went dark. The lights, the doors, and including the television and Playstation also shutted down, causing a boy who was previously very engrossed in the game scream out, “What!? What is this? I was in the middle of a game! Are you serious? Ra-”

“I didn’t cause this.”

“-ven did you… Oh, oops, natural assumption, you know, because you have creepy black magic,” Garfield scratched his neck guiltily. “Sorry.”

He suddenly felt like a big douche, despite the assumption being something that Raven rather deemed water under the bridge almost immediately. But someone as loud and boisterous as Beast Boy would know well words could hurt, especially for Raven who had tried so hard to fit into the team. He also knew well because he hid behind the happy words he speaks sometimes - it was facade that he can see a lot of people don.

The empath moved to the door, pressing the buttons to no avail, “Doesn’t the tower have an emergency power supply?”

“Uh, I guess? But I think Vic kinda needed to fix something so maybe now it’s not connected?” he finally got up from his chair, and with his arms raised in front of him, he tried to navigate his way to the door. People would assume that Beast Boy could see in the dark because of course there are numerous nocturnal animals he can turn into, but he can’t. For the same reason why Raven can’t go through the door. And so Garfield tripped with a loud yelp.

“What are you trying to do?” Raven asked, unimpressed and perhaps even a bit of amusement in her voice, but of course no one would be able to detect it.

“Rae, how are you able to see in the dark?”

“I’m half-demon, Garfield. I lived in my father’s realm - where it could be pitch black for an entire week at a time - for almost half my life.”

After the fiascos in which Garfield managed to jump through the floor transformed as an elephant, Victor accidentally blasting a hole in the wall whilst tinkering with his blasters and Koriand'r almost burning her room, it was safe to say that the entire team decided to just put power dampeners or protections in the walls - or others’ sake. Even the windows won’t break - not that Garfield’s room had any to break.

“Oh, right. More things I don’t know about you,” he laughed, but she can’t help but feel like it was a jab at her closed off nature - so different to his that she sometimes wonders if the reason why it still feels like they’re acquaintances is because he possibly resents her.

The boy smirked and raised an eyebrow suggestively - almost seductively for the fun of it - knowing that she can see him, “But that can be fixed easily, right Rae?”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Too late!” he laughed and plopped back on the couch. He was entirely talking to the dark, and it was kind of eerily creepy, he supposed, because he can’t imagine seeing Raven and her hood out of nowhere - it would scare him to death. But a sense of reassurance was also there, because at least he knows she would save him, were the circumstances calling for it.

He sighed, “Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…”

An awkward silence fell between them, well, at least, awkward for Garfield. Raven was very used to silence and hence thought to sit and meditate away the time. But the poor girl surely would not be able to with the loudest person on the team fidgeting in the same room. He could practically fill the room with his head scratching noise alone.

“Garfield,” she said, but her warning tone was lost to his ears.

“Yeah?”

“Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop making so much noise.”

“Oh, sorry,” he laughed a bit.

A few more moments of silence, and he spoke up a again, “It could be worse.”

“Really? Humour me,” he heard a monotonic response.

“The tower could be under attack and we’re totally being useless.”

It was then that Raven realised he could not detect any of her sarcasm. She opened her eyes to glare, which was oblivious to the changeling because he was completely blind.

“Dinner could be burning and it’s not me that did it, could be another horrible thing.”

“No dinner. How terrible.”

“Yeah! Or we could be arch enemies trying to kill each other,” he chuckled. “I mean it’s not like you don’t already hate me with your gut.”

Raven’s eyes widened to observe the changeling’s posture. He was relaxed, head resting on the couch’s pillow, arms draped lazily over his stomach and over the edge of the couch. He was closing his eyes, as if contemplating, and he held a smile, but it was sad - like the ones she would make when faking her own emotions. She asked, “You think I hate you?”

“Well, it’s kinda obvious, Rae. I mean, I know I can’t please everyone, but you kinda made it to the top of the list of people that hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

Garfield thought he was delusional for once, “What?”

“I don’t hate you,” she simply repeated.

“Look if you’re trying to lie to make me feel better-”

“Garfield. I really don’t hate you. Why would I? You’ve never really given me a good reason to.”

“Really, Rae. I would hope for you to be at least honest to me about-”

“You annoy me, yes. You’re too loud a lot of the tim-”

“And you hate me.”

“ - but hate is too strong of a word to use, Gar.”

Garfield was speechless, and he was hardly ever speechless if one knew him well enough to know. And those that knew him well enough also knew he had tried very hard to befriend the empath. Everyday was difficult because he would wake up everyday thinking about how he could just make Raven stop hating him - despite telling himself so many times that he really shouldn’t care about what others think of him. And so it was a mix between his attempts annoying her and humouring her, though the former seemed to be more doable.

It seemed too fake to hear her say what he had believed for so long. Yet, his mind screamed at the same time that she was telling the truth. Even the nickname - “Gar” - sounded strange yet right from her mouth.

“Gar,” she almost whispered. “I’m sorry if I ever made you think I hate you.”

He sat up, head facing towards the direction of her voice, and he smiled - the first genuine one for her, “Clearly we didn’t communicate our feelings at all.”

“I’m an empath. I try not to express things.”

“Point being, Rae… We’re both to blame.”

“You? Garfield, you didn’t do anything wrong. I was just a stubborn ass and-”

“Let’s just not argue about who’s worse than the other. Cool?” he held out a fistbump in the dark, and to his surprise, felt a nudge against his knuckles.

“Okay,” Raven replied with the edge of her lips lifting into a slight smile.

It was almost as if their resolve had magically turned the lights back on, but it was actually just the rest of the other three titans member finally managing to apprehend the villain and allowing the workers from the power station to finally fix things.

“Argh!” Garfield screamed as the light bursted on, and he blinked to adjust his eyes slowly. When he can finally see, he realised he was alone in the room, his door closed and it was as if Raven was never there. He left the room, then, and went into the kitchen to eat the long forgotten dinner.

He washed his hands, then sat down by the stool. He picked up his tofu hamburger and gave a cheeky grin, “So, does that mean we’re friends?”

The cloaked black haired girl give him a side glance and rolled her eyes, “Don’t push your luck.”

And for once, silence was comforting to them both.

“What happened to Beast Boy and Raven?” Robin asked as he walked towards his bike.

“I asked her to call him down for dinner, and then the power shut off,” Kori replied.

Cyborg seemed to go slightly cold and the response, “Oh man, you guys realise what this means?”

“What?” the other two Titans looked curiously at him.

“They were probably stuck together… in. One. Room, for the entire time we were fighting.”

Robin raised his eyebrow confusingly, then only to realise the implications and raised his crossed fingers, “Let’s hope the tower is still intact when we get back.”

They did not expect for the last members of their team to be having a quiet conversation. What’s even more confusing was that Raven was smiling every once in awhile and Garfield was truly laughing. And Robin’s face was suddenly plastered with its own smile at the sight.

(until Cyborg barged in and ruined it of course.)

[pamphletstoinspire]

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE, FROM THE LATIN VULGATE BIBLE

Chapter 23

PREFACE.

St. Luke was a physician, a native of Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, and well skilled in the Greek language. In some ancient manuscripts, he is called Lucius, and Lucanus. Some conjecture that he was at first a Gentile and a pagan, and was converted by the preaching of St. Paul, at Antioch; others, that he was originally a Jew, and one of the seventy-two disciples. Sts. Hippolitus and Epiphanius say, that hearing from our Lord these words, he that eateth not my flesh, and drinketh not my blood, is not worthy of me, he withdrew, and quitted our Saviour, but returned to the faith at the preaching of St. Paul. But, to leave what is uncertain, St. Luke was the disciple, travelling companion, and fellow-labourer of St. Paul. Of him St. Paul is supposed to speak: (2 Corinthians viii. 18.) We have sent also with him (Titus) the brother, whose praise is in the gospel, through all churches: and again, Luke, the most dear physician, saluteth you: (Colossians iv.) and, only Luke is with me. (2 Timothy iv.) Some are of opinion that as often as St. Paul, in his Epistles, says according to my gospel, he speaks of the Gospel of St. Luke. This evangelist did not learn his gospel from St. Paul only, (who had never been with our Lord in the flesh) but from the other apostles also, as himself informs us in the beginning of his gospel, when he says, according as they have delivered them unto us; who, from the beginning, were eye-witnesses, (Greek: autoptai) and ministers of the word. His gospel, therefore, he wrote as he heard it; but the Acts of the Apostles, from his own observations; and both, as some believe, about the same time in which his history of the Acts finishes, towards the year of Christ 63. But the received opinion now is, that St. Luke wrote his gospel in Achaia, in the year 53, ten years previously to his writing of the Acts, purposely to counteract the fabulous relations concerning Jesus Christ, which several persons had endeavoured to palm upon the world.

There is a plenary indulgence attached to those who study scripture for at least a half-hour per day under the usual conditions.

Chapter 23

The continuation of the history of the Passion.

1 And the whole multitude of them rising up, led him away to Pilate.

Notes & Commentary:

Ver. 1. No explanation given.

2 And they began to accuse him, saying: We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that he is Christ, the king.

Ver. 2. No explanation given.

3 And Pilate asked him, saying: Art thou the king of the Jews? But he answering, said: Thou sayest it.

Ver.3. No explanation given.

4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests, and to the multitude: I find no cause in this man.

Ver. 4. No explanation given.

5 But they were more earnest, saying: He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.

Ver. 5. No explanation given.

6 But Pilate hearing of Galilee, asked if the man were a Galilean?

Ver. 6. No explanation given.

7 And when he understood that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him away to Herod, who himself was also at Jerusalem in those days.

Ver. 7. He sent him away to Herod. Pilate, in this instance, not only extricated himself from the importunities of the Jewish priests, (ver. 5) but moreover obeyed the Roman law in that particular, which forbade any one to be condemned by a governor to whom he was not the subject. (Theophylactus)

8 And Herod seeing Jesus, was very glad, for he was desirous of a long time to see him, because he had heard many things of him: and he hoped to see some miracle wrought by him.

Ver. 8. No explanation given.

9 And he questioned him with many words. But he answered him nothing.

Ver. 9. No explanation given.

10 And the chief priests, and the Scribes, stood by, earnestly accusing him.

Ver. 10. No explanation given.

11 And Herod, with his soldiers, despised him: and mocked him, putting on him a white garment, and sent him back to Pilate.

Ver. 11. And mocked him. It is evident from the behaviour of Herod on this occasion, that he was far from believing him to be that seditious person he was represented; otherwise he would have undoubtedly treated his prisoner with less ridicule, and paid more serious attention to the accusations of his enemies. (Theophylactus) --- Putting on him a white garment. The Greek signifies not only a white, but a shining splendid robe: perhaps with some resemblance to royal garments, but at the same time through scorn and derision. (Witham)

12 And Herod and Pilate were made friends together that same day: for before they were enemies one to another.

Ver. 12. No explanation given.

13 Then Pilate calling together the chief priests, and the magistrates, and the people,

Ver. 13. No explanation given.

14 Said to them: You have brought this man to me, as one that perverteth the people, and behold I, having examined him before you, *find no cause in this man touching those things wherein you accuse him.

Ver. 14. No explanation given.

15 Nor Herod either: For I sent you to him, and behold nothing worthy of death is done to him.

Ver. 15. Nothing worthy of death is done to him. Herod has not treated him as a criminal, or one worthy of death. He only derided him as a fool: had there been any cause to punish him, he would not have failed to have done it himself, or commanded me to put him to death. (Calmet)

16 I will chastise him, therefore, and release him.

Ver. 16. It was a very common punishment among the Jews to scourge those who had committed crimes for which death would have been too severe. According to the laws of the Hebrews, (Deuteronomy xxv. 3.) the number of blows could not exceed thirty-nine. Pilate dares not condemn Jesus to death, because he believes him innocent; yet not to disoblige the people and magistrates, who demanded his death, he takes a middle way, which, as is usual in such cases, satisfies neither party. He neither saves the innocent Victim, nor satisfies justice. In lieu of one punishment, Jesus suffers two. He is at length both scourged and crucified. (Calmet)

17 Now of necessary, he was to release to them one upon the feast-day.

Ver. 17. No explanation given.

18 But the whole multitude cried out together, saying: Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas;

Ver. 18. No explanation given.

19 Who, for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.

Ver. 19. No explanation given.

20 And Pilate spoke to them again, desiring to release Jesus.

Ver. 20. No explanation given.

21 But they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him.

Ver. 21. No explanation given.

22 And he said to them the third time: *Why, what evil hath this man done? I find no cause of death in him: I will chastise him, therefore, and let him go.

Ver. 22. No explanation given.

23 But they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified: and their voices prevailed.

Ver. 23. No explanation given.

24 And Pilate gave sentence that their petition should be granted.

Ver. 24. No explanation given.

25 And he released unto them him, who for murder and sedition, had been cast into prison, whom they had desired: but Jesus he delivered up to their will.

Ver. 25. No explanation given.

26 And as they led him away, they laid hold on one Simon, of Cyrene, coming from the country: and they laid the cross on him to carry after Jesus.

Ver. 26. No explanation given.

27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women: who bewailed and lamented him.

Ver. 27. No explanation given.

28 But Jesus turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Ver. 28. Weep not over me. If you knew the evils that threaten and must soon fall upon your city, upon yourselves, and upon your children, you would preserve your tears to deplore your own misfortunes. My death is for the good of mankind; but it will be fatal to your nation because you have been pleased to make it so. In the ruin of Jerusalem, which is at hand, happy shall they be who have no children. They shall save themselves the grief of seeing their sons and daughters perish miserably, and in some sort of suffering as many deaths as they have children to die. (Calmet)

29 For behold the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck.

Ver. 29. No explanation given.

30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: *Fall upon us; and to the hills: Cover us.

Ver. 30. No explanation given.

31 For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry?

Ver. 31. In the green wood: by which are signified persons of virtue and sanctity; as by the dry wood, the wicked, who bring forth no fruit, and who, like dry wood, are fit to be cast into the fire. (Witham) --- If they be thus cruel with me, how will they treat you!

32 And there were also two others malefactors led with him, to be put to death.

Ver. 32. No explanation given.

33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, they crucified him there: and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

Ver. 33. Called Calvary. A place at a small distance from Jerusalem, where condemned malefactors were beheaded. So Christ, as a malefactor, dies on Calvary for the redemption of all: that where sin abounded, grace might more abound. (Ven. Bede) --- In this mountain, according to the Hebrew doctors, were interred the remains of our protoparent, Adam. (St. Athanasius)

34 And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But dividing his garments, they cast lots.

Ver. 34. No explanation given.

35 And the people stood beholding, and the rulers with them derided him, saying: He saved others, let him save himself, if he be Christ, the elect of God.

Ver. 35. No explanation given.

36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,

Ver. 36. No explanation given.

37 And saying: If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

Ver. 37. No explanation given.

38 And there was also a superscription written over him in Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew letters: This is the King of the Jews.

Ver. 38. No explanation given.

39 And one of these robbers who were hanging, blasphemed him, saying: If thou be Christ, save thyself, and us.

Ver. 39. No explanation given.

40 But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation?

Ver. 40. No explanation given.

41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done no evil.

Ver. 41. No explanation given.

42 And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me, when thou shalt come into thy kingdom.

Ver. 42. No explanation given.

43 And Jesus said to him: Amen, I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.

Ver. 43. I say to thee: This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise; i.e. in a place of rest with the souls of the just. The construction is not, I say to thee this day, &c., but, thou shalt be with me this day in the paradise. (Witham) --- In paradise. That is, in the happy state of rest, joy and peace everlasting. Christ was pleased by a special privilege, to reward the faith and confession of the penitent thief with a full discharge of all his sins, both as to the guilt and punishment, and to introduce him, immediately after death, into the happy society of the saints, whose limbo (that is, the place of their confinement) was now made a paradise by our Lord's going thither. (Challoner) --- The soul of the good thief was that same day with Jesus Christ, in the felicity of the saints, in Abraham's bosom, or in heaven, where Jesus was always present by his divinity. (St. Augustine) --- St. Cyril, of Jerusalem, says he entered heaven before all the patriarchs and prophets. St. Chrysostom thinks that paradise was immediately open to him, and that he entered heaven the first mankind. (Tom. v. homil. 32.)

44 And it was almost the sixth hour: and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

Ver. 44. No explanation given.

45 And the sun was darkened; and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

Ver. 45. No explanation given.

46 And Jesus crying with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up the ghost.

Ver. 46. No explanation given.

47 Now the centurion seeing what was done, glorified God, saying: Indeed this was a just man.

Ver. 47. No explanation given.

48 And all the multitude of them that were come together to that sight, and saw the things that were done, returned striking their breasts.

Ver. 48. No explanation given.

49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that had followed him from Galilee, stood afar off beholding these things.

Ver. 49. No explanation given.

50 And behold there was a man, by name Joseph, who was a counsellor, a good and just man:

Ver. 50. No explanation given.

51 He had not consented to their counsel and doings; of Arimathea, a city of Judea, who also himself expected the kingdom of God.

Ver. 51. Arimathea. In other parts of Scripture it is called Ramatha, a city of Judea, where Samuel, the prophet, was born. (Ven. Bede)

52 This man went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.

Ver. 52. This man went to Pilate. We may suppose that from his rank and condition in life, he had always access to Pilate.

53 And taking him down, he wrapped him in fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid.

Ver. 53. No explanation given.

54 And it was the day of the parasceve, and the sabbath drew near.

Ver. 54. Parasceve. That is, the eve or day of preparation for the sabbath. (Challoner) --- And the sabbath drew near. Literally, shined. The sabbath began in the evening, at sunset. It may, perhaps, be said to shine by the moonlight, at full-moon, or because of a great many lights that used to be set up at that time, on account of the great sabbath. (Witham) --- We learn from Maimon, that all the Jews were so strictly bound to keep a light in their dwellings on the sabbath-day, that although a man had not bread to eat, he was expected to be from door to door, to purchase oil for his lamp. (Pastorini)

55 And the women that were with him from Galilee, following after, saw the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

Ver. 55. No explanation given.

56 And returning, they prepared spices, and ointments: and on the sabbath-day they rested, according to the commandment.

Ver. 56. No explanation given.