#they make a tunnel that must function as a tower

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

NEED thoschei to make another catastrophically ill-fated attempt at fixing what went wrong this round because i NEED to hear one of them say this

[ganondoodle]

since i cant stop thinking about things i care about and also i cant shut up ever im gonna say my bit about the "well of COURSE they destroyed everything shiekah after botw bc it nearly killed the entire country DUH do you not understand basic worldbuilding??" type of comment i had directed at me (mostly on twitter to no ones surprise and almost exactly worded like this)

--how would you even destroy it, the only thing you can actually damage with anything are guardians and nano-guardians, anything else cant even get scratched, hell you cant even climb the darn things, are you seriously trying to tell me they somehow completely pulverized not just the shrines but titans (divine beasts), the shrine of life and the pillars holding the guardians in storage around hyrule castle and the dome beneath it (whereever that went lol) when it was built to and DID last over 10 000 years ... and if you did somehow find a way to dismantle literally all of it why would you not ... use its parts for something else and also research it (lets be real here, purahs new towers are just the sheikah towers but more impractical and would by all means not need all of the material from all the missing stuff and the purahpad is just ... literally the shiekah stone but looking more like the switch and also worse bc its got almost none of the functions the shiekah stone had) they were so integrated into botws landscape removing them and their chambers would have been so much effort better spent in other places and just so unnecessary (think of the shrines at the twin mountains, removing all of that would be so dangerous and difficult to do), removing the pillars and the dome under the castle would endanger it collapsing no? there also would have needed to be a giant mechanism down there to make the pillars rise up, why would you go and try to destroy that instead of focusing on rebuilding the most important infrastrucutre

(on a sidenote, yes there are holes to the underground in the place of some shrines but its by far not all of them .. .even so there at the very least should be some rubble of them lying about at the bottom plus in most of their places its just plain earth, or sometimes even a cave locked by some puzzle which is.... so weird)

really the only explanation would be that it all just ... disappeared after zelda sealed ganon, which wouldnt only be hella unsatisfying as an answer but also again pose the problem that i would have caused the castle to collapse considering how shiekah tech was so integrated into it... unless it turned to earth somehow ... which would explain that but still be as satisfying of an explanation as 'it was all just a dream uwu' additionally, the zonau stuff under the castle wasnt even that far down so it must have intersected with the shiekah stuff, like the pillars or the dome?? but no its all just zonau ruins now wahoo

if literally all traces were gone and totk was a paralel to botw but with zonau instead of shiekah OK, they still called it a sequel tho, they still talk about the events of botw but in a way that sounds like it was just another lost legend, the tapestry exists as well, and there are a few old guardian parts on top of the hateno institute (still feels like an oversight considering how cleanly everything else was wiped off the map), plus purahs towers and the purahpad are clearly based off of it, so it cant really be some time fuckery either, some things still remain; it just doesnt add up and its frustrating as hell .. ... especially if you were like me completely thrilled and intrigued to learn more about the ancient shiekah, what WAS that dome under the castle for?? what WAS ancient energy really and why was it found in these specific places only?? did they know about ganondorf?? if they built stuff down there shouldnt they have inevitably come across the old tunnels?? the monks literally talk to link in botw why would they withhold that info, what reason could they have?

--by far my biggest annoyance with that excuse is that ... if you are so afraid of tech you dont fully understand being taken over by the bad guy again to the point you destroy not just the titans you basically worshipped as divine protectors but also immovable shrines that literally couldnt do shit to harm you even if they were pumped up to the brim with malice/miasma after they have already become non threatening/non functional anyway... HOW could you just go and fully trust and personally play around with new tech that LITERALLY rained from the sky out of nowhere, from a group of people no one knows shit about (like at least the shiekah were still existing and had a small part of recorded history) and never cared either until now that they are suddendly everywhere, even if it cant get corrupted somehow (kinda disproven by the spirit temple) how the hell would anyone know that?? if anything this would be a reason to be MORE afraid of it

even the ancient king that persecuted the shiekah bc he was afraid of their tech when they invented it didnt order them to destroy it, just bury it, despite them of all people knowing the best of how to completely destroy it??? and zelda doesnt seem like the type that would order old history and relics to be destroyed liek that??

it would have been such a golden opportunity to show that hey, the ancient shiekah based their tech on that of the zonau, they found the mines and tech and reasearched it to built their own from it, strucutres that show they were down here building the shrines from underground, titan prototypes, you cant do anything with it, its old and broken, but its there, environmental storytelling and all that

the shrine of life especially pisses me off bc thats like .. ok it was kinda not the best maybe but it still saved links goddamn life, even if it all became useless for some reason at least leave it there as a sign of respect, if there needs to be a cave have it be half collapsed after the cataclysm or something wheres the problem

(also idk if im the only one with that but in botws true ending when zelda says that vah ruta, i think, has stopped working it seemed like a good setup for more? and that she wanted to investigate that in the sense of ah shoot i want it to keep working tho and not in the sense of hell yeah lets smash it to pieces i know this is theory territory now but it seemed like it somewhat confirmed that the titans need a pilots strong spirit to work since they are not connected to the ancient energy network and the spirits of the champions passed on at the end ... the idea that ancient energy was spirit energy either gained from luminous stones or directly spirits is so neat, and i loved that idea of hey the reason why all of the energy went out all of the sudden is bc ganondorf is breaking free after having been kept in a stasis to use either his malice or his strong spirit to fuel it all has never left my mind since i first read about it bc its such a good setup for intrigue, like oh heck the ancient shiekah werent so coolio and 100% perfectly good either, maybe they knew about gans 'future' or history and hey why not trick him or sth into being sealed against his will so that problem is out the way and whoop hes pretty much an infinite source of energy nice lets use that for our research and not tell anyone oh no we created a monster (calamity gan) l guess we are gonna use the tech we fuel with his own life against him lol, OR you could have connceted it to the zonau maybe doing the sealing first and the shiekah discovering him later and being like oh neat an endlessly rich powersource we arent gonan tell anyone about weehoo

it would have tied into the ancient shiekah stuff, explained why it doesnt work well anymore, give a reason to explore the underground and discover it all, give a reason to why it was kept a secret bc no one wanted to admit yeah we made this monster ourselves whoops, give ganondorf a reason to be this angry and make it all more nuanced bc yeah ok maybe the zonau knew about gan and in their effort to prevent it caused it instead by sealing him before he became a problem and it all started a domino effect of disasters leading into all this mess that now poor zelda and link gotta solve

im not saiyng this is the better version or that i am better but again you can literally do so much with the setup for it all and what totk ended up doing with it feels so ... not even underused but straight up backwards treading you had it right on front of you INFINITE POTENTIAL AAARGH)

theres only so much fun gameplay and fantastic music can save and man can you imagine what could have been if the story got the same polish as the gameplay and music ;__;

[ars-matron]

The Last Sun Reread: Chapters 11

Chapter 11: Addam Saint Nicholas

Rune and Addam have to slip out of the cell before the Opendoor spell fizzles out. Their dash to freedom is derailed for a moment, though, by the appearance of a small skeleton army.

Addam throws his stick at the door, Rune thinks it's a panic response, but the stick activates the door's trap, and destroys the closest skeletons. There are still several standing, so Rune uses his shatter spell to take them out. This is when Addam starts calling Rune 'hero' instead of asking for his name or anything. But he's obviously flirting so, it's cool

"He gave me a smile. "I am unaccustomed to being upstaged by a proper hero. That was very good spellwork." He winked, turned and retreated. "This way, Hero."

Addam leads him to 'secret exit', they have to pass through a torture chamber to get there. But the exit is just a dark, creepy tunnel that leads underground. So Rune uses his teleportation to get them out. They are instantly. But Ciaran is already out by the car waiting for them.

Rune calls Brand to let him know that he's fine, he has Addam and he'll be home in a few hours after he's seen Addam to someplace safe. Brand doesn't think it's safe, "dead man" is still out there, still functional if he's sending skeletons. Rune thinks he'll be fine. A very angry Brand says he made cookies, when Rune asks what flavor he hangs up.

In the car, Addam sits in the back and Rune put front. Ciaran wants Rune to call the Tower right then. Addam thinks there isn't much they can tell him. He certainly doesn't know what happened. While they drive Rune's phone buzzes and it's Brand. He starts drilling Rune about safe routes to there destination and Rune realizes that he must be right behind them.

He is. On he motorcycle. He's upset that Addam isn't taking point and looking out the windows. Addam, who can hear the whole conversation starts doing so. Rune looks out from and to the right Addam out the back and to the left. This also means that Addam heard it when Brand called Rune by his name.

Addam has a condo in Edgemere. When they arrive Ciaran leaves to go tell the Tower everything that's going on, and Brand and Rune follow Addam up to his condo. Addam asks if Brand would be more comfortable waiting outside and Brand delicately rips him a new one. Addam learns that Rune and Brand have a slightly different relationship than most bonded companions.

Brand and Rune walk through the apartment to look for anything amiss, and ask Addam about who has access to the condo. He management, in case of emergencies. Lilly, and his family. Not his co-workers though. Addam is under the impression that Rune is working for his mother, Rune tells him that it's actually the Tower who hired him. and Brand takes the opportunity to try to get a hold of the Tower's companion, Mayan.

Rune tells Addam about Quinn and he gets very emotional. Calling the hospital and getting information about Quinn, where he is, how he's doing. Afterwards he rushes to his computer. Because sometimes Quinn will leave him an email if something bad is going to happen. There are two emails.

"It says, 'Most of the time I'm okay. don't worry about me. It's after you.'" and "He sent it right after the first. It said, 'No, it's after him now.'"

Addam goes off to shower before they do anything else. Rune goes after Addam who is just kinda standing around dazed. Rune tries to make him feel better by pointing out that Quinn is coming to people in their sleep, which has to count for something. He's still having trouble believing that something was targeting him and not his mother. He offers to repay Rune by showering together and Rune leaves. Very fast.

Back in the main room Rune finds a bunch of searches on Addams computer on tourist info on Brazil. The portal stations don't check the IDs of people leaving New Atlantis. whoever set this up wanted it to look like Addam had left for Brazil and just didn't tell anyone. And since his co-workers didn't have access to his condo, it was either Lilly or a family member.

Addam realizes this means they were probably going to kill him. They weren't going to ransom him, they weren't just going to wait around until they got what they wanted and let him. They were planning his complete disappearance. He tells Rune to follow him to the bedroom and takes out a belt full of sigils. Rune asks him whats on there and it's mostly telekinetic spells. Addam says that Rune is no longer working for the Tower, but for him. Addam wants to find out who is doing all this.

Rune agrees that they'll go to the hospital before heading to the Tower's..ugh, tower. It isn't far to the hospital so they walk. And Rune and Brand spend the whole time trying to get Addam to accept that someone close to him has done this. To think of reasons why someone would. While Addam shows that he doesn't must like Ella and her choices, he still thinks that she likes him. He absolutely refuses to entertain the idea that Quinn was involved.

Addam tells Rune that he raised Quinn. That his mother didn't have time to take care of baby, and Addam was old enough to do it by then. Addam talks about living in Russia during the unsettlement. Which was in the 60s. SO he''s....60ish? Which means he was about 45ish when Quinn was born. I certainly hope that was old enough to take care of a baby.

At the hospital Rune leaves Addam in Quinn's room. Brand pretends to examine a vending machine and Rune paces before a large window. Then Micheal Saint Talbot, looking disheveled, steps out of the stairwell. He's very unhappy to see Rune. He threatens him a bit, saying he and his business partners can take care of Addam's disappearance. He nearly threatens to dual Rune, which Brand thinks is hilarious.

It is

Then in a tiff, Micheal says this.

"Who do you think you are? You're nothing. You're hired help. Neither of you are anything. You think playing detective makes you important again?"

I get technically they are all princes and the Lords are all Kings, but this is...interesting. Important again. Was the Sun Throne exceptionally important? We don't really see much before it fell.

A rumpled Ella Saint Nicholas steps out of the elevator and Rune connects the dots. Micheal nearly attacks then, but sees Brand holding a knife and decides to just leave. They go to confront Ella.

She claims that she was there to check on Christian. That her aunt is nearby. She denies even knowing who Micheal is. Exceptionally unlikely. She gets a bit mad when they point out that she has another brother in the hospital she could be checking in on. And then Addam is there.

She instantly starts fake crying, acting beside herself until Addam learns that she not only wasn't going to visit Quinn, she had been there with Micheal. She cries for real and rushes out of the hospital. Getting the security to hold Rune and Addam up so they can't follow her.

Chapter 12: South Street Bridge

Brand herds Rune and Addam into the hospital's public Sanctum. Which isn't great, but at least they can refill some of their sigils. Rune sits and meditates while Addam dances. Once he's finished Rune watches Addam dance. Brand watches Rune watching Addam.

Rune likes men who dance.

Brand ties to get Addam to understand while Ella and Micheal being in a relationship is a big deal. He's still reluctant to see it as anything but some budding rebellion from her. Something she does on her own without their aunt knowing. Like going on shopping trips alone, or visiting the Westlands. Which is definitely a red flag for Rune and Brand, but Addam is so so trusting.

I looks like Brand might be ready to spell it out for him, but then the Tower pulls Rune into a memory.

They are on a very old Spanish ship, the Tower is dressed like Navel Officer and looks a lot younger than Rune has ever seen him. The Tower then tells him about this particular expedition of his...youth? That it was just some exploration or the Amazon, until they came across a village being tormented by a lich. The Tower was able to kill the lich in the end, but not without days of magical prep and the decimation of the village and probably a lot of forest around it. He tells Rune to come to him, and then pushes him from the dream.

The three of them start walking towards the Pac Bell, Rune doesn't tell Brand or Addam what the Tower said about the lich, not wanting to worry them before they are somewhere safe. Brand, however, knows something is up and asks, though Rune doesn't say at first.

They walk along under tunnels of South Bridge, Rune drools over a coffee stand and Addam offers to buy him a coffee. Brand goes to the side to contact Queenie. And Rune confronts Addam about calling him Hero instead of his name.

"Addam, you know who I am. you used my name with Ella." Addam shrugged. "Lord Tower is my godfather. You are his protege. It's not so unlikely I'd know who you are."

There's a snow fea ahead of them, from Russia, and that gets them talking about Irkutsk, which is where Addam is technically from.

"Quinn has only briefly lived outside the city. I was born in Irkutsk, and lived there for many years while New Atlantis was built. My older brother Christian sounds like me."

Again, we don't get actual dates or anything, but he's got to be nearly twice as old as Rune and Brand.

Talking about Christian leads back to Ella and how she might have made him sick and helped in Addam's kidnapping. Brand startles them, and is mad that Rune is so tired he didn't even notice. Rune orders while Addam and Brand give each other looks, and Addam asks about Brand saying that Ella and Micheal being together makes sense. Though he's still insisting that she is easily misguided and wouldn't be able to do anything sinister on her own.

Rune points out that the whole catch to this situation was why would anyone from inside of Moral Confidence, Addam's company, want to take him out if it meant they would lose his connections and court influence. Well, with his sister dating one of the owners of the company they wouldn't.

Everything really points to it being Micheal and Ella all the way. Micheal wanted to take the company into more riskier directions, Ella wanted to rebel. Rune says.

"For what it's worth, I really wanted it to be Ashton. He's such a douche." "Ashton isn't nearly as indolent as he pretends," Addam said. His eyes lit as if this a better alternative. "Lord Strength is a stern man. He made Aston train at a Wasteland camp. Ashton knows how to hurt perople-he knows strategy."

OOOOOH!! Oh man! I just had a thought!!! I just a THOUGHT!! Okay, at the end, when Rune and Ashton have their little chit chat, he says that Rune ruined his life before. And Rune has no idea what he means. It isn't like a school yard conflict, Rune seems to have no prior knowledge of Ashton. Not like Geoffrey. So what could he have done that ruined Ashton's life? Well, what if it wasn't something he did directly. What if he had to go to the Wastelands to train because of the whole plot against the Sun Throne?!?! Lord Strength has always given me pauses. He does not seem like a good guy. He doesn't do anything about his son and the accusations. Is it because he accepts that his son did awful things, or is it because he can't risk them bringing Ashton's soul back to tell all?

Okay, we'll stew on that and come back to it.

Rune is still very much under that assumption that Ashton sucks at fighting. Brand leads Rune off a bit and asks what the Tower said in his dream/summons and all Rune says is that the Tower thinks Rurik is a mythological monster and tries to blow it off. Addam joins them with Rune's coffee and Instantly the guy in motley Rune thinks is part of the Fool's court drops dead next to them.

I think this is one of the only times we see someone in motley for the Fool's court. In Hourglass Throne and Eidolon they just wear bands of color to show they belong there.

People all around them start dropping dead, the gaurda are running around because people are dying for no reason. Rune has a bad feeling they start for an exit. Eventually Addam and Rune feel a very powerful spell release and spectre pops up.

Spectres are very hard to fight and it takes almost all of Rune's spells to take just one out. But there are four under the bridge so they run for it. Once they are out they see that there is a giant black cloud that is actually a hoard of spectres flying towards them. They run to the Pac Bell. Addam uses his telekinetic powers to push people to safety and obstacles out of their way.

Rune tells Addam to run inside the tower and get help, while he and Brand stand their ground out front. Addam runs inside but the people milling around the Pac Bell come to attention. Everyone forms a circle around Rune and releases a huge, jointly controlled, Bless-fire spell. Brand, however, is outside the protection.

When the woman in front of Rune won't let him pass to get Brand, Rune's aspect emerges. Stronger than it's ever been. His eyes are on fire. He's able to push her away and grab Brand, pulling him back inside the protective barrier just as the spectres are on them.

During the battle the flesh on one of Rune's arms was mangled, he's now fighting massive blood loss and exhaustion. When Rune admits he needs a nap Brand pulls out an oatmeal raisin cookie for him. The Pac Bell unlocks and they are able to go inside.

And that's the end of that chapter. I'm going to go think about some things. Until next time!

[eurovision-revisited]

Copenhagen 2001 - The stage and set design

Woah. Welcome to the home of Danish football, Parken Stadium - now with a fully retractable roof! For its first use at Eurovision tasteful lighting towers/chandeliers have been installed for added crowd illumination. Astonishingly even though the capacity is more than double the previous largest Eurovision crowd last year, it's a full house. Eurovision is truly a huge draw - although holding it in one of the Nordic nations almost certainly helps.

The amount of money that was invested must have been huge. Also huge is the stage. Covering one of the stands at the end of the pitch entirely, it's filled with a serpentine lighting gantry that resembles the logo for the event, winding in and around itself.

Although it's dark overall, it's not as dark as last year, but there are no screens for performance, just that big, slightly intimidating stage. What is new is the possibility of pyrotechnics. They're not used for the actual performances, but the interval act makes major use of them. These may not be quite the first time fireworks and other pyro effects have appeared at Eurovision, but it's the first time they've been used in such a dramatic and expansive manner.

As you can see, the theme this year is 'big' and perhaps that stage is just a little too big, as is the arena. There are screens either side of the stage to relay the event to the crowd, but those screens aren't in keeping with the scale of venue, and those towards the back really couldn't see much at all.

The cameras are numerous and there are cameras on stage, but they aren't Steadicams. There are close-up shots, and some swooping crane shots, but the camerawork as a whole feels too far away. This feels like a stadium gig rather than a Eurovision stage. Reportedly some of the performers felt overawed at the scale of the stage and venue. There is the sensation that some acts, especially those with only a single performer on stage, are swallowed up by the scale. No one went with staging geared for the venue size.

The on-screen graphics are simple and clean, like the scoreboard. The typography is fine if not very dynamic or exciting. It's functional without any ostentation or animation. It's surprisingly easy to read. The scoreboard was put on those screens on the stage and when the scoring was being read out, the football stadium-sized crowd reacted as you would expect.

The green room is backstage, somewhere under the stand that forms the stage, draped with curtains to disguise it's more utilitarian day-to-day function. Again, it's almost an afterthought and there aren't too many reaction shots from there. There are no hosts backstage doing interviews. The one big improvement over last year is there is at least a tunnel to guide the acts between stage and green room without getting lost along the way!

The scale of the event was both its biggest selling point and its biggest problem in the end, but at least it gave us huge crowd reactions, pyro and a big name band in the interval who knew how to fill a stage the size of this one.

The executive producer who put all this together was Jørgen Ramskov on behalf of DR, the Danish public broadcaster. The executive supervisor was Christine Marchal-Ortiz while the director in control of the cameras and the event as a whole was Jan Frifelt

[tflegendarium]

ORIGINS

The first part of the pre-war/early war section that introduces key characters.

Volume 1: Wastes & Towers

-> "The Lost City": C-01 stumbles upon a ghost city while lost and faces three temptations from heroes and villains of legends.

-> "the shine from the eyes of ghosts": Blaster is heading north following an offer from his sister Karmen to sponsor him for a work Visa. On the way he falls into the hands of a group of "roaming bandits" and is saved by a ghost story.

-> "Why You Don't Answer Greetings At Night": Scavenger attempts to keep the new build Dagger alive when the idiot stumbles into a haunted old ruin and they get caught in a ghost story.

-> "The Locked Tower": Thunderclash's diary outlining his days in the Tower and desire to improve for his mentor. More importantly they outline his discovery of Zarak.

-> "Dancing Doctor": Lockdown is hired by the Prime's very own medic to hunt down proof of a young up and coming doctor breaking corporate copyright and repairing those contracted to them. Ratchet leads him on and embarassing chase through the party center of Iacon.

-> "The Seventh Bride": Tailgate is trapped in a building with a monster and the latest victim. He tries desperately to save them, only to discover he was wrong about who was being hunted.

Volume 2: Pits & Palaces

-> "Iacon Tales": A distant view of interlocking tales within Iacon.

-> "Things Done For Love": Sideswipe reflects on what he does as the older sibling and longs for a better life for him and his twin. Sunstreaker takes their fate in hand.

-> "Like Something Out of a (Tragic) Love Song": Devastator Maximus believes he is living out a love story. He is a tragedy.

-> "What Makes A Person": Prowl discovers how to be a person by learning to love someone (something).

-> "Ballad of Ariel": Ariel must make the final decision on her function training and realizes that her choice may not line up with the expectations heaped upon her from creation.

-> "With Patience, Good Cheer, and Unending Love": Ironhide prepares for the Primal Procession across Cybertron and for the brief glimpse of Chromia that it promises.

Volume 3: Gutters & Stars

-> "Bartering For Names": Ulchtar's latest plan for escape may involve biting off more than she can chew when the mech whose identity she purchased is being pursued by the mafia. Thankfully, her favorite client is there to help out

-> "Keep Your Deals, Mind Your Words": Doubledealer is hired for a job by a mysterious client and overplays his hand a fatal degree.

-> "Rust Narrows Monologue": Hot Rod reflects on life in the Narrows. At least he has good company.

-> "Swindling the Swindler": A worker on Monacus notices and interesting behavior in their Cybertronian guests.

-> "What Has Been, Cannot Be Stopped, And May Yet Pass": Arcee's latest exploration takes a strange and almost mystical turn when her team discovers a crypt.

-> "Miner's Elegy": D-16 gets to know D-13 during a mine collapse that leads them through ancient tunnels and long buried secrets.

[maytheoddshq]

Nano Byte (he/him). District Three Tribute. Nineteen. Aidan Laprete.

What was their childhood like? Nano had a last name, or, he must have at some point. He was born to someone, of course, which meant he had a lineage in the literal sense. But he’s been on his own for as long as he can remember, like a document with a missing source file – there, and yet, not quite whole.  It didn’t matter, though. Nano grew up one of many misfits, all ashen-faced and sunken-eyed. Unwanted and undeterred by it – orphans who knew what awaited them in Three: a lifetime on the conveyor belts or the switchboards, or knee-deep in code for the Capitol’s benefit. The orphanage provided some support, but never enough. They scraped by as kids, sneaking toward the border to hunt small game and rodents, stealing where they could, foraging in the rare spaces they were able. They mostly just took their chances by taking tesserae. When he was old enough, which wasn’t very old at all, he began working at the factories. At first, it was piecing together electronics, connecting circuits and melding pieces that would be shipped off for someone else’s entertainment. He didn’t mind that work, but with most of the district living in abject poverty – and without much of their own product in local circulation – he found the more lucrative business was smuggling – and selling – spare parts. Eventually, with some innovation and resourcefulness, he started fashioning functional tools and equipment with the pieces, which sold for marginally more and kept him – and the others – from having to take more tesserae.  Nano never gave much of a shit about anything except making it to tomorrow, but when he was approached by a buyer interested in tech that could be used to expose those in power – for their exploitation, their brutality, their hypocrisy – Nano felt like he’d found the error in his own code. He wasn’t sure who exactly he was sourcing for, but it didn’t matter as long as it wasn’t for the glory of Panem. For over a year, he slowly accumulated scraps from the factory during the day, converting them into equipment that could be used to discreetly record and transmit audiovisual materials long distances. It wasn’t going to reach all the way across Panem, yet, but with some better parts and a little more time, it could.  But there was no more time. His name was plucked from the reaping bowl, a childhood of hunger catching up to him, and he was plucked from the factory, from Three entirely. One minute he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the next, he was exiting an actual tunnel, hurtling toward the Capitol, preparing to die.  How do they feel about the Games? “How do I feel? I mean, not great, obviously, but I’m pretty sure no one gives a fuck. Like what am I supposed to say? I just hope both sides have fun?” While he recognizes he probably won’t make it out of the arena, he does see value in being in the heart of the Capitol, at least for the short time they have. He’s interested in seeing what – and who – he can find that might lend to the cause, and to trace down any branch of the rebellion within the Tower. Nano does not agree with the campaign for Three to become a Career district, which he’s vocal about (and colorfully so). He’s a realist, or maybe a pessimist, and he largely views the Games for what they are: a bullshit scare tactic.  What is their personality like? Nano’s never been one to vie for attention. It’s easier if no one’s watching, if no one knows you’re there. When you operate under the radar, you’d be surprised what you can get away with. He’s sarcastic, languid, and mistrusting, but also loyal, discerning, and resourceful. Nano plays to his strengths, rather than trying to lessen his weaknesses, and he’s a neutral good alignment. In the Enneagram, he’s a 5w6, and for MBTI, he’s an INTP.  What is their district token? A circuit board ring with binary code on the inside Strengths: intelligent, scrappy, innovative   Weaknesses: reserved, sardonic, self-righteous

PENNED BY: Lena

[dougrobyngoold]

Sunshine & Showers, Fortresses & Flowers, Churches & Bell Towers - Salzburg, Austria

DAY 1 -  JUNE 22

Our first day in Salzburg was sunny and hot! We started early, making our way toward Fortress Hohensalzburg from our Airbnb. On our way there, we stopped for a few minutes to check out St. Peter’s Abbey and Cemetery. 

St. Peter’s.

Just a small portion of the cemetery that surrounds the chapel.

The water wheel that provides the power for the bakery at the abbey.

On the Residenzplatz on our way up to the fortress.

Sphaera - on Kapitelplatz.

We reached the fortress entry via a VERY steep set of stairs and ramps - whew! Glad we did this climb before it got too hot!

Visiting the interactive armory building in the fortress - we learned all about cannons, gunpowder, etc.

This was an impressive suit of armor!

This suit had a Monty-Python vibe to it!

I cannot imagine how cumbersome and hot this suit of armor must have been.

St. George’s Chapel inside the fortress.

Views of Salzburg from the Fortress Hohensalzburg.

Always wonder why the cannons are aimed at the towns from these fortresses?

As close as I got to anything to do with The Sound of Music during our visit to Salzburg, Doug is not a big fan. This was in the Puppet Museum at the fortress.

We finished our visit and walked back down the hill to the city center for a lunch. After a leisurely lunch, which is one of our favorite things about Europe, we roamed over to Kollegienkirche. Quite beautiful and very different from the churches we have visited up to this point:

We headed back to our Airbnb to do a bit of laundry and to cool off. We actually had dinner at our Airbnb, we needed a little down time!

DAY 2 - JUNE 23

Our plan for the day was to visit Mirabellgarten in the morning, however, the weather didn’t cooperate. We made the 30 minute walk over to the gardens, but it started raining and didn’t stop. So we walked back and just waited for the weather to clear a bit. After lunch, we took a walk up to Kapinzer Hill, having decided to save Mirabellgarten for a sunnier day. Another steep set of stairs to get to the park. From there it was a steady climb up to the observation deck. Still a great view of Salzburg and a nice chance to get away from the crowded plazas!

In order to get to the city center from our Airbnb, we had to take a tunnel through the rock cliff behind the murals in this picture.

This is the courtyard at the Toy Museum, I took the picture to try to figure out what that concrete chute is on the cliffside. I never did figure out what it was or what its function was.

Kapinzer Hill in the behind the white buildings as we walked along the Salzach River, before crossing the bridge and starting our climb up the hill.

The view from Kapinzer Hill, about one-quarter of the way to the top.

The view from one-third of the way up.

We completed the steep climb up the stairs from the river, now we were enjoying a steady climb to the top through a wonderful canopy of trees.

This building was closed, but we still had a nice view from the observation wall.

Our view of the Alps in the distance, happy to at least be able to see them on this hazy and cloudy day.

Awesome view of the fortress from Kapinzer Hill.

We stopped at the monastery chapel on our way down.

Doug always wants a picture of the organs in the churches we go into - so, here you go!

We ended our day with a dinner stop at a local beer garden - no pictures, guess I was too busy drinking beer!

DAY 3 - JUNE 24

Our last day in Salzburg, it was cloudy and dry - so we headed toward Mirabellgarten. Our first stop was at the farmer’s market on the plaza for a bite to eat. I had an apfel brezen (apple pretzel) and Doug had some kind of deli sandwich.

Yummy assortment of goodies at this deli on the plaza!

The gardens were beautiful, but a bit crowded - it was Saturday and people were out enjoying the cooler temperatures.

Looking out at the gardens, the fortress in the distance.

The fountain located at the entrance to the gardens.

There is a small garden just off from the fountain, it is full of these whimsical statues (sorry, I just couldn’t pick which one I liked the best):

After visiting the statues, we wandered down to the other end of the garden. As we approached this end, we could hear a woman’s voice coming from one of the buildings next to the garden. She was one of the performers from the Sound of Music production - which was performed in a theater close by. It was a treat to listen to her as we wandered through this portion of the garden.

We wrapped up our visit to the garden, stopped in a cafe along the way for a little lunch. Then we went and sat on Mozartplatz and just enjoyed a little people-watching. On to Vienna tomorrow!

[lastfrontierheli74]

B C 's Heli-ski Business Beneath Strain From Omicron Regardless Of Covid-19 Testing, Precautions

Musk is chief government of each companies and also runs rocket firm SpaceX, brain-chip startup Neuralink and tunneling agency the Boring Company. An upper base area will contain a Village Core and ski to/ski from “heli- lots”. A decrease base space british columbia heli skiing will embody a Base Lodge, 18 gap golf course and ski to/ski from, fairway view, single household estates. I usually choose blue runs myself as I wish to go straight and fast, and don’t get pleasure from hazards like timber and rocks.

Must have the ability to communicate confidently with each guests and coworkers. Skeena Heliskiing is a member of the Greater Hazelton Chamber of Commerce, HeliCat Canada, the Canada West Ski Association and CAA. Well identified for offering secure & efficient companies to our clients. I don’t ski anymore but this makes me wish I might give it a try.

PAR999 Holdings Inc. will build a luxurious resort in Hinton, Alta. which may even function a hospitality schooling centre, and is planning to interrupt floor in 2023. These are this yr's best hotels and resorts in Canada—as voted by readers by CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER. Great Canadian Heli-Skiing in Canada is exploring potential growth opportunities. The Porter household has exclusively retained CBRE Limited to explore strategic financing and partnership options british columbia heli skiing for the longer term enlargement and progress opportunities of its enterprise. Skin care consultants explore significance of going greater than pores and skin deep The idea of targeting facial muscular tissues as a software for growing older concerns is not new.

In Revelstoke, development is underway at Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s new slopeside heli lodge. When it opens in summer 2024, the luxury property will encompass 154 rooms, over 6,seven-hundred sq. toes of convention house, 7,300 square ft of eating, and integrated fitness and spa amenities. It will also function the brand new house base of Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing, with three helipads immediately adjoining to the property.

CMH has industry-leading snow security and helicopter practices, in addition to luxury lodging and gourmand meals for its friends. We supply an industry-leading range of programs to go properly with every sort of skier & rider. Whether you’re an skilled wanting steeper terrain, or it’s your first time heli-skiing and you’re on the lookout for one thing slightly more tame, we’ve got the proper experience for you. Located within the heart of the Powder Highway, Panorama Mountain Resort lives up to its name. Surrounded by the towering peaks of the Canadian Rockies, endless vistas of snow covered summits stretch so far as your eyes can see. Purcell – then owned by the Gertsch household, now hosted by the identical crew however managed by heli-adventure big Canadian Mountain Holidays – is entry-level luxury.

Guides are specifically skilled to know the dangers of heli-skiing and keep you secure from avalanches, dangerous terrains, and other hazards. They know their mountains, and they’ll be able to show you where to seek out the most effective fall traces, the proper powder bowls, and far more. Treat your self to some wilderness skiing with our world-class Cat-assisted and Heli-assisted ski operators. With access to VIRTUALLY ENDLESS TERRAIN, native operators will deliver you to some incredible tree skiing, natural glades, open bowls and the steep... Whether you’re planning a SOLO SKI TRIP, a FAMILY HOLIDAY, or a GROUP EXCURSION, you'll be welcomed whole-heartedly and catered to by our Cat-ski and Heli-ski operators. Check out their websites for more info and check out our Ski & Stay specials if you book your Smithers lodging.

The biggest and better of the operator is Whistler Heli-skiing. Get a roundup of crucial and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday. Mary Clayton, spokeswoman for the Canadian Avalanche Centre, stated a steady snowpack this yr could also be one of many elements within the fewer number of avalanche deaths this 12 months. The Canadian Avalanche Association’s forecast for the Purcell Mountains on Monday mentioned british columbia heli skiing the risk was considerable in the alpine and the treeline, and moderate beneath the treeline. The slide was described to police as 150 meters extensive, and roughly 300 metres down the mountainside. The victim was recovered from beneath the snow however was unresponsive, he said.

[agoracactus]

The Lover Card

a super short one. so i dont have so start anything that i cant finish lol

also i feel things after the last episode (meaning the one that just finished streaming) and i need to let it out. and yes, molly is my fav.

ps evil molly (or Lucien, if u must) is kinda hot??

Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf x reader

Word Count: 668

Warnings: angst, slight spoilers for c2e117

The tension that was clenching somewhere in your chest has never left ever since you were at that grave. You almost fainted when you discovered the grave was empty, and that the person who was supposed to be in there was treading through snow, very much alive.

You and him were love at first sight. He always joked about how you two were definitely bonded by the soul. And it did feel like a part of you were carved out when he was gone. You held him in the snow, speechless, broken, hollowed. You sat there for god knows how long, gently rocking back and forth like you were shushing a baby. Till someone removed him from your arms and set him in a hole. You remembered thinking, how uncomfortable it must be, having to sleep under that cold hard ground.

It took you forever to be able to function like a normal human being again. Yet the purple ghost came back to haunt you.

When Jester asked about how you were feeling, you said, “I don’t care what name he’s using, who is in that body. I just need to see him, with my own eyes. I need to know that he’s alive and well.”

You didn’t care he was there murdering your employer under your nose, you didn’t care how horrific the crime scene was. He was there, so close to you.

As the door opened to another room, a horrifying killing scene was on-going, all you could do was fixing your gaze on that purple figure. You can feel the tightness in your throat, like your body was trying to choke yourself to death. You were pretty oblivious to the others, vision getting tunneled, pulling every strength in your body to make yourself not to faint--- you can’t black out now, if this is a dream you better not to wake up.

But then he said it. He was just a fragment, and he’s gone now. He’s not who you hoped he would be. His gaze brushed over yours, didn’t linger a second more.

He led his group out, passing by your side. You felt his coat brushing past yours. You didn’t turn to look, you couldn’t move your body. You didn’t want to see it, the look in his eyes. There would be nothing. No passion, no tenderness, no recognition. Nothing. And you couldn’t accept nothing. ‘Cause you lied. You care. You wanted it to be him, you wanted him back--- or the very least, him to remember you.

That night, in the tower, in your own room, you sat on the bed. Scattering in front of you were the tarot cards you borrowed from Jester. You were going to ask for some guidance, but you didn’t know how. He never got the chance to teach you.

Just as what Jester said, he did paint a card for all of you. With shaky fingers, you picked up the card he did for you. It was supposed to be the Lovers card, instead it said Lover on the bottom, and it was just your face, with a gentle smile.

You remembered the night he was painting it and refused to let you see, not before he finished. You failed to snatch it from him several times so you glared at him with a pout, and he being his bratty self smirked and told you to be patient. You remembered he sat down next to you one evening, offering a read for you. And magically, you pulled out that card. It made you so happy. How he painted a card just for you, how he named the card, how he set up the surprise.

You held the card close to your chest, tears ran down silently. Then it grew into sobbing, then broken wail.

You fell asleep in the pile of cards that night, mumbling the name you never dared to say after the day you lost him, tear slowly smearing the smile on your card.

[big1ron]

The Venator “Resolute” had jumped right into a separatist trap. Somehow a virus infecting the main computer has scrambled the hyperspace jump coordinates, and now the companies on board were outnumbered and without reinforcements, deep in separatist space. A few last, desperate SOSs to nobody, and the ship was quickly overwhelmed with fire. The Resolute was going down. But not before each of the escape pods could be jettisoned.

————- Chapter One: Podrace. -————

The planet was thick in foliage and deep with caves. The contrast of the yellow pods on the blue stalks of many of the plants would have been beautiful, if they had time to admire it. The planet was currently in its night cycle. And the two Jedi’s escape pod had landed atop a rather high peninsula. Anakin climbed out of the smoking pod and coughed as he waved the smoke out of his face. He surveyed the ground far below him.

“I don’t see any enemy encampments, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. It’s impossible to see anything with all these crazy cliffs and caves. They’ll no doubt be sending hunter squads down shortly. How are the comms snips?”

“Fried master. The beacon too. Must have been destroyed in the landing.” Ahsoka climbs out after him, and steps up beside him, looking over the landscape below.

“Alright then let’s try to find another pod. Maybe a separatist base or some kind of settlement. We need to get off this rock.”

The escape pod crashed into the planet. Hard. All three passengers were thrown around pretty badly and Rex knew that would leave a mark. The impact had destroyed most of their equipment, and he had hit his shoulder against the wall of the pod. He knew it would bruise but it didn’t feel broken. He opened his eyes which he had squeezed shut on impact. He stirred to get up, and assess the other two men. One of the two, Echo, was doing the same. But the other, Kix, wasn’t moving. Rex gestured for echo to open the hatch while he climbed over to Kix and took his pulse, relieved he was alive before gently trying to shake him awake.

“Hey Kix, can you hear me? I need you in the here and now trooper.”

Kix groaned in response, pulling himself upright and rubbing his temples “wha’ ya need cap’n?”

He must have hit his head pretty badly, but he was awake, and that was a good sign. Rex hands Kix his bucket and turns for the hatch. Echo had already gotten it open and had been surveying their landing site. But before he could get outside the pod he hears Kix falling down behind him. He turns quickly to see Kix pulling himself to his feet again. That hit he took combined with the uneven floor of the pod made it hard for the medic to keep his balance. Rex took pity on him, and let Kix lean on him for support as Rex put an arm around his waist and practically dragged him out of the pod.

“This is u’necessary sir, ’m fine.”

“Define ‘fine.’ How badly did you hit your head?”

“Good.”

So, pretty bad rex guessed. The situation outside wasn’t looking too much better, as the pod had crashed though the ceiling of some kind of cave system upon landing. And it was rather dark in the caves with only the (admittedly pretty bright) moonlight from their entry hole, so rex switched is visor to night vision. Echo had already done the same.

“Two tunnels to the east, left one angled up, right angled down, and one tunnel to the north. Headed down. No sign of any hostiles.” Echo reported. “How’s Kix?”

“I’m fine.” With that Kix tried to stand up a little straighter, and away from rex to prove his point. But rex only pulled him closer, as if he was afraid he was going to fall again.

“He’s not fine. It looks pretty bad. But I’m no medic, and I don’t trust ours to give a proper diagnosis. Looks like we’re pretty close to the surface. So let’s try southeast.”

Echo took the lead, pistols in hand. But it soon became clear they were alone for now

“Hey Rex, do you think maybe you’re being a little overprotective again?” Echo asks as Kix trips, almost falling but held up by the captain.

“I think that’s proof enough that I’m not.” But as the ground levelled put slightly Rex hesitantly removed his supporting arm from kix. Which proved a mistake as echo, immediately overcome with the urge to pester, gave kix a light shove which sent him diving directly to the ground.

Fives stepped out of the escape pod, followed by Hardcase and Tup. Their pod had landed deep in the forest valley. Layers of escarpments and cliffs towered around them.

“The comms were sabotaged. Can’t get a message out.” Says tup, the last one out of the pod.

“We’ll just go find Rex. He has to be around here somewhere right? He’ll know what to do.” Says fives, who really has no idea what to do but has immediately assumed charge anyways.

“We don’t even know if Rex is out there. What we need to do is find some sort of communication, get a signal out. This is a separatist controlled planet right? So we find and take a base. We’ve still got guns, and they probably have communications devices”

“With just the three of us? Forget it. This is hopeless. I bet the others have already been shot down... I wouldn’t count on getting off this rock.” Hardcase falls silent at tups remark. He’s right, they are deep in separatist space with no ship, few rations and no communications. They’re probably going to be permanent residents. If they don’t run into and hunter droids of course.

But fives immediately contradicts. That’s no way for a republic soldier to think. “We have to at least try something. We can’t just give up. Let’s see if we can climb up to.... that ridge, and see what we can from that vantage point.” Fives points to one of the higher cliffs facing them, as they have no heading and he’s got to start somewhere.

“I don’t know, might be a better idea to stay put and wait for the hunter droids to find us. They might have salvageable communications devices”

“Really hardcase? I thought you were all about doing and hyperactivity” fives waves his blaster towards the cliff “you really just want to stay put? Wait for us to just die like tup does?”

“Hey! that’s not what I-“ Tup starts

“No, I don’t! But what I do want is for us to get off this rock and I think that’s our best option!”

“You know you wouldn’t be able to sit still that long so let’s start making time before we waste it. Move it troopers, let’s go.”

Ahsoka poked at the ground with a stick. They had traveled a fair ways away from the pod by now, and had stopped along a ridge. Her master was sitting cross legged and mediating. Actually meditating! That’s how you knew he had no clue. Anakin skywalker never meditated.

“You know it would probably help if you tried too” anakin opened one eye to look at the padawan. He had never been good at reading the living force, but even mediocre skill combined with his absolutely massive force signature had to account for something, right?

“What are you even trying to do anyways?”

“I don’t know, sense If there are any clones or droids around maybe? It’s not working anyways.” He sighs and gets up, turning in a seemingly random direction and stars walking. They need to find some sort of communications if they want to-

“Wait, master” ahsoka ignites both her lightsabers and anakin does the same

“I sense it too.”

Suddenly the engines of two speeder bikes are heard, and headlights wash over them in the dark, as two mounted commando droids rush towards them. The droids open fire and-“Ahsoka wait!”

Too late. She had already deflected the bolts into the engine of one of the bikes, causing it to explode. Her master skillfully decapitated the other droid and used the force to slow the bike to a stop.

“You could have used that bike. Now you’re riding pillion.” He mounts the bike and pats the space behind him. “But at least you won’t crash this way”

“Hey I never crash!” Complains ahsoka as she climbs on behind him. “Besides, you don’t get to complain about my driving when you’ve crashed every ship you’ve ever flown”

The last pod had landed in a slightly more flat area, nearby a crude and thin path, that the group was now following deeper into the thick forest. The group was occupied by Jesse, who had elected himself leader and nobody had objected, Coric, and Dogma. They had been walking a while and everyone had been pretty quiet. Especially since tensions between Jesse and Dogma was still... weird.

“So are you two just going to give each other the silent treatment for however long we’re stuck here?” Asks coric, fed up with the silence

“No.” “Yes.” They answer at the same time, in the same tone.

“Alright Jesse, why do you refuse to talk to Dogma?”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you. And you already know anyways. Nows not the time for this. Keep your focus on the road.”

“You know you can’t stay mad at him forever. We could be more effective if we work together”

“Actually, I can. Look I’ll talk to him when I need to, ok?”

‘I’m standing right here you know’ Dogma almost says. Instead he just goes with “I have no objections.” To remind them he is, in fact there.

“Of course you don’t.” Jesse grumbles “cause I have orders for you and you can’t function without those, can you.” Dogma looks to his feet and coric looks defeated. It’s true, having clear orders from Jesse is the only thing keeping him from low key panicking.

Suddenly four pairs of glowing eyes flick on in front of them, where four hunter commando droids had been lying in wait.

[vs-redemption]

Crime is Common. Logic is Rare. (Ch. 19)

Chapter Eighteen: High-Ends (HawksxGN!Reader)

Plot summary: You thought your hands were full as a regular quirk geneticist, but then you meet Hawks and things get even more exciting!

Warnings:  

⚠️This story contains spoilers from the manga.

⚠️Some events and plot points have been altered from the original manga

Tag List: @gayforkeigo @marshmallow-witch @redflannel @toyo-shiro @elsasshole @astronomyturtle @iambashfulperson

Next Chapter : Chapter Guide

The rain was coming down in buckets, so you were relieved when you finally made it to Jaku Hospital and could escape the weather. Even though you’d had the sense to use an umbrella, it hadn’t stopped the bottoms of your pants from getting soaked from the puddles. The situation reminded you of the first day you had gone to work at Hawks’ hero agency in Kyushu. You’d arrived late, soaking wet, and extremely embarrassed. It had seemed like a nightmare at the time, but compared to how things were now, those had been much simpler times.

Thinking about your boyfriend only reminded you of how much you missed him though, so you tried to steer your focus onto your mission as you made your way to the secret elevator that took you down to Dr. Garaki’s lab. You had spent the past few days buried in textbooks and research journals. Most of the information wasn’t new to you, but you needed to have it all ready at the forefront of your mind whenever you used your quirk. The easier it was to call on that information, the easier it was for your brain to pick up on clues and make deductions. Hopefully, this would help you better understand the way All For One’s blood was able to bind two different DNA samples together.

“We need to find a way to isolate the genes specifically related to quirks,” you tell the doctor in frustration while backing away from one of the expensive microscopes. “I have no idea how the nomus can function at all with these beefed up chromosomes, but a normal person would never survive this procedure.”

“Except All For One,” The doctor rubs at his thick mustache. He was usually more cheerful when you worked with him, but there’d been a shift in his attitude lately. He seemed more serious and impatient about making a breakthrough with the research you both were doing. Everything would be so much easier if you didn’t have to pretend you didn’t know he was working with the League of Villains. You look closely at Dr. Garaki for a moment as he worried over his slides and samples. He’d responded well to the risks you’d taken in the past, but one wrong move and he could turn on you in a moment. He must realize by now that you suspected him of creating nomus though. He knew you were smart enough to figure it out, so why did he continue to allow you into his lab?

“I need to see a high-end nomu,” you tell him bluntly. He raises his bushy eyebrows and tilts his head towards you curiously.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” he asks. “Neither one of us have that level of security clearance with the Hero Commission’s research lab.” You continue to observe him for a moment, wondering how far you should push.

“The nomus I studied from Hosu and Kamino were strong but mindless,” you tell him. “They were just monsters created to destroy anything in their paths. The high-end nomu that fought Endeavor was different. It could think and speak. I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say it had full consciousness, but it was certainly closer to being human that the previous nomus. Having All For One’s DNA helped confirm that it could be used to make the original Nomus, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m working with outdated information.”

“I don’t disagree,” The doctor sighs. “But what can we do about it?” You were starting to lose patience with him now.

“When I showed you my proposal I said the next step of your research would be to try to create a nomu,” You remind him. “We clearly have the means to attempt that, but all we’ve been doing is studying my quirk. You said before that you wanted to use it for something, and I still don’t know what that is.”

“You want to try to make a nomu now?” The doctor looks surprised.

“No,” you admit, “But I don’t think you do either. I’m thinking you’ve got your sights aimed higher, and I can’t help you unless I get my hands on a high-end nomu.” Dr. Garaki takes a deep breath and puts his hands together.

“You’re assuming I have a high-end nomu to show you,” he says flatly.

“I also assumed you had All For One’s DNA,” you shrug, “and I ended up being right.”

“You ought to be careful,” Dr. Garaki tells you, sounding sincere. “It might be better to drop this conversation.”

“Better for me? Or better for you?” You can’t help but ask and Dr. Garaki lets out one of his weird chuckles.

“Better for both of us,” He states plainly. “Don’t you have a pro hero as a boyfriend?”

“Don’t you run a hospital for orphans and old people?” You retort with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to learn more about quirk genetics so that people in the future can use that information to benefit humanity. If doing so helps you with whatever your goals are in the process, then that just makes this whole arrangement mutually advantageous for both of us.” The doctor hums in thought before looking over his slides and samples again. After a moment he nods his head, apparently having made his decision.

“Follow me,” He says before leading you to the back of the lab to a metal panel on the wall that you’d always assumed led to a furnace room or some other kind of maintenance closet. There was a slight electric sort of hum from behind the panel that only got louder once Dr. Garaki unlocked it and opened it up. You couldn’t help but be surprised as a long narrow tunnel came into view. The doctor wasted no time in climbing up into the secret passage.

“So you really are a mad scientist, huh?” You try to keep the lighthearted teasing in your voice. “You have not only one, but two secret labs.”

“What can I say,” he almost sounded excited about showing you whatever was on the other side of the passage, “I’m an enthusiast.”

The tunnel was longer than you anticipated, and you had to watch your step because there were thick wires and mysterious tubes running along the floors and walls. It took about fifteen minutes to make it to the other side where Garaki had to unlock another door. The sight that greeted you on the other end was even more shocking than the tunnel.

“Oh my god,” You couldn’t hold back the comment. You’d just stepped into a large space that was crammed with at least twenty giant glass tanks containing black creatures of various shapes and sizes. You knew they all had to be Nomus, but if they were all as strong as that high-end from Kyushu, that was going to be a big problem for the heroes.

“These high-ends are nowhere near completed,” The doctor sighs as he beckons you to follow him through the tight spaces between the tanks. You carefully stepped over the wires and tubes that continued out from the tunnel and branched off in all directions on the floor. “The one that fought Endeavor was the first prototype. Dabi was supposed to bring the body back to me for analysis, but the police got to it before he could.”

“Dabi?” You ask curiously, “Is he that blue fire guy?”

“Yes,” The doctor confirms as you make it to a huge super computer at the back of the room. There were multiple screens showing information about each of the deadly test subjects currently growing around you. You never would’ve expected there to be so many, and it was nerve wracking to be so close to them. The monsters towered over you as they slept suspended in the liquid filled tanks. The top two heroes in the country had barely been able to take down one of these things.

“You want to know how All For One can transfer quirks from other people to himself,” The doctor smiles a bit while waving his arms around the room. “I want to do the opposite. I want to transfer All For One’s quirk to another person.”

“What?” You put a hand to your head to try and comprehend the magnitude of what he’d just said. He didn’t just want to use the super villain’s blood to bind quirks together. He wanted to transfer the quirk itself. All Might had nearly died trying to defeat All For One and all the quirks he’d collected during his lifetime, and now this insane doctor wanted to give that same power to someone else? Weren’t the villains strong enough as it was, especially once all these high-end nomus were finished?

“Do you still want to study the high-ends?” The doctor asks seriously, “I’m sure this is all a little overwhelming.”

“Too late to back out now,” You tell him with false excitement. “My curiosity is officially peaked.”

[tea-toast]

Echoylir Ch.2 - The Sinkhole

Summary: A trip to Jantoo. Some soup and stories.

Words: 5.6k

Warnings: references to canon-typical violence and to environment not suitable for living in, mention of food/food consumption.

▪ Previous ▪ Masterlist ▪ AO3 ▪ Next ▪

……………

There was no hot gold sand on Telseraal, nor the soft pillowy curve of dunes like on Tatooine. The land was dry and cracked, deep furrows opening grime filled gashes, sooty flakes of soil raising and swirling with every occasional gust of hot wind.

Din wondered if it had been burnt, ulcerated and reeking ash since the dawn of its existence. A whole planet that sought to keep potential settlers several klicks away, openly demonstrating its pitiless brutal proclivity. And yet a stream of life had mockingly found its way on it. A stream as polluted and vicious as Telseraal itself, blood-thirsty existences fighting tooth and nail to survive such an unforgiving land.

The warmth of the suns at their zenith caressed his beskar and snuck under the fabric of his neck seal, warming his back and shoulders. He had pulled up his cape across his cuirass and under his pauldron to not have it flapping around while he was driving, glad to feel even the faintest hint of air grazing his midriff and his sides as he skated through the desolate scorched landscape.

No life signs around other than himself, the plain stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. At first he had believed he would have expected sporadic mining encampments, a medium-sized conurbation or at least some sign of life. Instead the landscape carried out inexorably bare, dry and dusty under the bike, followed by a noisy silence that managed to make his own breath sound like bombs exploding into his ear pieces with every exhalation in the confines of his helmet.

He mused that only hyperspace was quieter that this, and while he was well used to it, Telseraal's eerie calm and stillness could have taken its place on the leaderboard. If only the old speeder’s muffler had or did not been grating on dust and drought, leaving a trail that lazily faded in the red-saturated air. The scrap metal clatter had been going on for a while and it was making him wonder if that piece of junk was going to fall apart before getting to his destination.

Jantoo, a name that did not ring any of his bells, like Telseraal had not when he got the job. Although his profession as a bounty hunter had led him to travel the length and breadth of the galaxy, it was itself so large that he could not remember all the planets, cities or megacities he had walked on and through.

Others were the lands to remind himself of, dens of bandits and crimes so extensive that they stank from several clicks away, infecting the air with a stench so fetid that even the most intrepid of the Republic pilots would have thought twice before investigating.

For what he knew, Jantoo was just a speck on the map of this flayed planet, a lonely town in the dust.

He had to give it to the mechanic, the city was indeed not that far from the hangar. Soon enough he could make out the sharp silvery profile in the distance, a blanket of ash and cinder rising immediately behind it.

Mines breath twirling itself skyward, long, mesmerising coils wafting above the tallest towers.

A sudden commotion beneath the speeder's fuselage caused it to skid. He flexed his torso and wrapped his thighs around the seat to avoid being thrown off as his arms made a sharp turn with the handlebars. A grunt teetering between surprise and annoyance huffed from under his helmet once he was sure he had regained control of the bike, his visor turning to where the disruption had occurred to find no sign that the speeder had hit anything. Or that something had hit it. The bike itself was still in one piece, despite the euphemism of the term.

And that was when he realized, felt the vibrations rising from the depths beneath him, making the ground rattle. Digging and drilling, occasional explosions to free tunnels or clusters, the ramification of greed stretching that far and Maker knew how deep.

Despite the constant heat still on his back, he rolled his broad shoulders to dissipate the swift shudder running through his nerves before his visor focused back on the white glimmer waiting for him.

His hand flexed and ignited the bike with a splutter, scurrying away with a ruckus of red.

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

One of the microvalves she had been working on was leaking again, right as she was busying herself with a rather nasty bundle of wires connected to the electromotive stabilisers. The persistent drumming of wet drops on the ship’s metal floor was testing her patience.

She has had several battered vessels in her hangar during the two years and a half she has been settled on Telseraal, but nothing compared to the excellent junkyard material the ship now in her hands provided. The misbehaving ramp had been a clear sign, but boy oh boy how wrong she was when she thought the main issue would have been the ramp alone. How such a vessel has been able to fly with all the hitches it presented was a mystery.

A flash of pity had skittered through her chest once she had completed her survey and noted down everything in desperate need of fixing. The handful of credits he had given her was weighing down her pocket like robbed wealth. Mind, she was no usual to fix a ship for a discount or even for free, she too had to somehow eat and survive like everyone else. But at the same time, she could not wrap her head around how anyone could have given him a ship in such need of repair. Or passed it off as a properly functioning model. Had he been conned, somehow? By some hustler posing as a mechanic or a ship vendor perhaps.

Were Mandalorians not the best fighters in the galaxy, smart, competent, able to take care of themselves amidst the thousand dangers and unforeseen challenges roaming the parsec? Maker, this one Mandalorian was hopping around the galaxy with a sputtering metallic trap!

Maybe he wasn’t the brighter bulb of the Mando bunch, Trisso carried on musing, pulling herself up with a grunt from the clump of wires she was dissecting and shuffling to take care of the damn microvalve, a wrench menacingly clutched in one hand as if the valve would stop leaking at that sight.

Her probing over her current guest had been going on for a while now. Namely, from the moment the Mandalorian had revved out with the speeder, leaving her facing a hell of a mechanical intervention and the buzzing excitement to have such a mysterious costumer under her roof.

Not the strangest or most cryptic one she had had, still her curiosity had been sent into hyperdrive by his arrival.

She had always been naturally inquisitive. Noticing and collecting details, reading people out of pure interest or to be ready to face uncomfortable situations. Her job put her in the risky position of not always knowing what kind of client she was going to stand in front of. Sometimes the whole deal would go smoothly, sometimes not. She got used to recognising preventive signs of a possible struggle, both physical and metaphorical in regards to paying for her services or concerning defaulting customers or smugglers. Her current client did not look like either.

Yes, he was tall and broad and his black T visor made him look perpetually stern and menacing, but he had been honouring his payment from the start and there had not been tensions, aside from his initial reaction to her droids. She had not found any latent signs that he could be real trouble, at least as far as the vessel-patching-up deal was concerned.

Trisso spun the microvalve with a final curt jerk, finally putting an end to its insistent leaking. She pushed her trusty wrench in one of the overalls pockets, picking up one of the many rags she had been littering around to clean herself with. As she started scrubbing grease away from her fingers, her mind was still wriggling over the Mandalorian and his business on a planet like Telseraal.

It must have been something shady, of course. No one in their right mind would select Telseraal to have legal trafficking and polite bargains. Maybe he had been hired by the Collective to take care of some dispute with the rest of the mining community, even though the Collective was feared enough by its own to not be messed with. Or, she pondered, he might be looking to refurbish his arsenal.

Despite her patchy knowledge of Mandalorians, she was aware they considered weapons a religion and were quite keen in the artillery department. Her Mandalorian did indeed looked like he was lacking assets. He would have made such a promising patron for Telseraal underground gunrunning.

She was about to finally leave the matter simmering and fading in the back of her mind, happy to have found a plausible meaning for a Mandalorian’s presence on Telseraal and in her hangar when a fleeting thought flickered around the shell of her conscience and whispered in her ear.

After the Purge, Mandos had been seen only when one had to collect a bounty.

As soon as that reasoning crossed her mind, she could feel the unmistakable pull of her gut settling in, muscles stretching under her skin in pinpricks. The rag in her hand stopped circling her knuckles.

That feeling. It had proved itself right throughout her whole life and she had grown to trust it when manifesting. Her eyes gave a cursory look around as if she thought she was going to find something wrong within this ship all of a sudden. And not something of the mechanical variety.

So this is what he was doing on Telseraal, she mused, tucking away the rag and turning on her heels to go back to those karking wires. She had to stop ruminating over this whole thing altogether since the repair job currently in her hands was going to be long and tedious. She didn't need petty distractions and conjectures to distract her. Crouching down, she picked up a couple of coils and started working on the copper strands.

He was after something. Or someone.

As small spark glinted from a faulty contact and burned Trisso’s fingertips.

Well. Shit.

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

Jantoo was vertigo-inducing. The silver bulwarks he had seen from afar turned out to be just an outer shell, the city jutting out from the cliff walls over a massive sinkhole chewing its way down in the bowels of the planet.

The rickety narrow paths leading to the abyss were only external irregular teeth decorating this gargantuan artificial maw, the only parts able to cope with the almost constant smoky castings of the mines. The real Jantoo was embedded within the walls of its sinkhole in a swirl of packed alleys, the rumble of drills and jackhammers at work constantly in the background far below, paired up with all the voices, yells and clatters reverberating through the stone vaults.

Shuffling of feet on the dusty ground, the most disparate languages ​​overlapping and cancelling each other in the cacophony of an attempted bargain that had been inching closer and closer to a brawl or even a murder by the shimmer of a hidden vibroblade. Miners coming up and down from their shifts, uniforms smeared with soot almost as much as their faces as lungs contracted in violent coughs and red-tinted spits. Wide-eyed children skulking around, waiting for someone’s attention to fail and allow their little long-fingered hands snatch pockets and purses. Others were eyeing the food stalls, ribs painfully shifting under flaky skin with every laboured breathe, drool thick as molasses in dried up mouths as the overflowing of food mocked them from sizzling cookpots.

Sour bile rose from his stomach and irritated his throat to the point he had to cough at that sight. However, he weaved through with practised steps, because he had witnessed other landscapes, other atmospheres tormented by famine and ferocity over the years, he had seen wraiths walking the ground in battered shrouds, mangled offsprings of such an environment.

Most avoided getting in his path by the look of his beskar alone, but their eyes were already filmy and unfocused, thoughts more pressing than a Mandalorian on Telseeral worrying their dust-clogged minds.

The only ones who would have been worried about his presence in their territory would have been the representatives of the Mining Collective. Oddly, he had not found any checkpoints at Jantoo’s entrance, no one had asked for identification or his business. Maker, he could not see uniforms wandering through the ravines, as if the city was left to its own violent and criminal fate by its own lords.

Lords he did not care about. He did not dwell on them further, despite the fact he had wondered if they already knew about his arrival.

He knew very well that all city walls had well-functioning eyes and ears when a beskar armor was around hunting.

His T visor began assessing his surroundings, took in as many details as possible, hiding spots and escape routes. He absentmindedly whipped out his tracking fob from his bandolier and clicked it, waiting to see if it would start beeping straight away.

It did not, the light stayed off and the fob did not make a sound. Not that he thought to pick up a signal but it was worth a try. He resolved to just look around, acclimatising himself to this bloody city.

He was trying to find the logic behind the whole system of curves and alleys and nooks, trying to come up with a strategy to avoid wasting time and thus ensure that his bounty could regroup to escape him. If she was still on the planet.

Soon enough, as he cruised through crowded curtain-draped alleys, he noticed a group of Sullustans chilling outside of a cantina. The sight made him realise there might have been at least an active Sullustan clan or colony on the planet and his bounty might have requested protection from them. Asking them for information might not be the best idea. He would not allow someone to go alerting her about a hunter’s presence in Jantoo. That would have made her even more elusive to find.

Despite a primal eagerness purring in the back of his mind suggesting to be bold and probe the Sullustans anyway, he perished the thought, at least for now, and silently slithered away in the crowd to explore more.

After hours wandering around, ducking a couple of blaster volleys, and sporadically asking general information as if he was a tourist of the sort, he had to admit to himself Jantoo did not seem to have trade-specialised districts like other cities, but rather an indistinct jumble of shops and establishments that had nothing in common but still somehow found themselves attached at the hip.

This gave his bounty yet another advantage.

Even though he knew from her data she was a chemist, he would have had to map and sift through all the chemistry businesses on the city’s different levels, at the same time maintaining a low profile that was nearly impossible to achieve with beskar shining on his body.

A sigh hissed from his mouth as the sunset curfew siren started blaring within the maw, earning itself some head turnings and feet scurrying away in a rumble of sand. He hurried to leave the alleys as well. No way he was staying the night in that nightmarish sinkhole.

He had to change the route back a few times due to crowds clogging the majority of the exit points, very careful not to head too close to the jagged external paths. Eventually, he managed to extricate himself from the ramble and headed back to the speeder with a nimble stride.

As he hurtled through the silver gates and quickly left Jantoo behind, he realized that maybe he would have to venture to the bottom of the mines to find his quarry.

He fervently hoped both for him and her that was not going to be the case.

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

Night had fallen over Telseraal, its suns and their heat had given place to a moonless black sky, the temperature had dropped into a cold that would grind within one's bones and marrow.

Despite her quarters being a little dated, they were still insulated enough to keep the chill out. Especially after someone had been cooking and steaming for a few hours.

She had just scooped up a bite with her chopsticks, flat bottom spoon right underneath to catch the broth when she heard the grating and sputtering of the speeder right outside. Hastily finishing chewing her morsel, she got up from her stool and looked at the hangar plain area through the still slightly misted transperisteel.

Trisso could see the Mandalorian dismounting from the bike. He left it in the same corner he found it. He even went looking for the tarp and carefully covered it for the nighttime. A smile tugged at her lip watching such a looming looking warrior performing a trivial action like covering an old dusty speeder. She followed his beskar as he turned around and marched toward her door.

When he noticed her, he gave a curt nod to which she replied with a similar head movement, then moved away from the transperisteel and angled her body towards the threshold. It opened with a low hiss, the Mandalorian taking up most of its frame before he thudded inside. A shudder ran under the beskar, a very faint sigh of relief tugged at the rim of his helmet as the quarters' warmth enveloped him.

“Well,” Trisso peeped, her legs bringing her back to her stool and sitting down, “welcome back.” Her chopsticks and flat bottom spoon glimmered under the light when she picked them up.

The Mandalorian stared her down as if her dining was such an outstanding display, his T visor trained on the bowl in front of her and the piping hot cookpot on the small stove right behind the table.

Before she could invite him to sit down, his voice grated through the static of the vocoder, “I’m here to give your key back.” and he pointedly produced said key from his pocket, his arm outstretched toward her.

She looked back and forth from the key to his helmet, before she shrugged and replied, “You can keep it as long as you need. I’m not planning to venture to the city soon.”

His arm and shoulder twitched lightly, but eventually, his fingers closed on the key and got it back in his pocket while he gave yet another nod as a thank you.

Trisso smiled, hoping that matter had been settled for good. “Now,” she prompted, “please take a seat and have some.”

Another twitch, before his whole body got tense. “‘M fine.” was his clipped answer, feet planted on the ground.

She let a beat pass, blinked once then replied, “I wasn't suggesting, Mandalorian.” she could see his orange-gloved fingers getting into fists, but she did not relent. “Have some.”

He tried to rebuke, to push her and her invite away. He was not there to make friends or to bask into a stranger’s kindness, even if he was hungry and feeling alone. A hint of annoyance tinged his voice as he gruffed again he was fine and in no need of food, shifting his weight from one leg to the other in a nervous wave and his shoulders stiff like a board.

A good-natured huff heaved from Trisso’s chest at that display. This Mando was such a piece of work, and awkward and possibly not that great with social cues.

“You've been outside under the suns all day,” she calmly reasoned with no intention of giving up, “I bet you didn't have the chance to eat or drink anything in Jantoo because there are not enough secluded areas where you'd have removed your bucket in peace.”

The tilting of his head at those words did not go unnoticed, cuing her to carry on, “Now you're back at night, with frigid temperatures, on an empty stomach.”

Her dark eyes were trained on him, they were holding his staring, not in a challenging manner, rather a genuine offer. “At least have some soup,” her thumb pointing behind her over the cookpot she was saving the rest of the meal in. “You need fluids.”

He ground his teeth in a sigh at her persistence, silently complaining at whatever kismet had appointed him with such an encounter on a planet like this. However, she was pointedly eyeing him and he eventually choose to yield, his shoulders sagging both due to fatigue and exasperation, and forfeiting whatever bounty hunter aura he was still trying to sport.

She knew then she had won him over and a small grin creeped onto the corners of her mouth. Stool scraping against the floor tiles, she pushed herself up and went getting a cup from one of the cupboards. A mitten was retrieved and the cookpot lid was lifted to be able to dunk a ladle in.

The cup filled to the brim with steaming fragrant soup, she turned around and inched closer to the Mandalorian. “Here,” she offered, not missing his hiss when his fingers closed around the rather hot cup, “you can eat in one of the bunk compartments if you wish.” And she pointed toward the chipped automatic door leading to the dormitory area, “Can seal the door for the time being.”

He followed her finger, head turning back on her after few seconds to breath out a “thanks” while his hands got around the cup without a real thought over it.

Trisso tilted her head in a nod, allowing him to go eat in peace. As the door clicked shut behind him, she exhaled a puff of air and sit back down to carry on her dinner.

She had had to partake in several trips to some of the overpriced stalls in Jantoo, even illegally purchasing from the underground food smuggling circle, but eventually she had managed to find part of the ingredients to cook herself a decent enough meal for once. It was no way near the dish she used to eat in her childhood, but she still appreciated being able to dine on something other than the food rations she had gotten used to.

That recipe never failed to distract her from the harsh reality she was living in, whenever she could cook it and then enjoy it, it gave her a sense of calm that would stay with her long after she had finished it. The heat of the soup warmed her, unlocking memories she was always happy to think back to from time to time.

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

She did not know how long it had been since the Mandalorian had holed up in one of the bunks, but at some point she could hear the heavy sound of his boots. The door opened with a beep and the light made his chest plate shimmer faintly. He was still holding onto the cup with both hands, possibly to feed on the remaining heat of it as he was waiting for the soup in his stomach to warm him up properly.

As she was busy finishing her dinner, he earned himself just a cursory look and he took it as permission to move around in her living space freely. Not that there was much to inspect. So, he made a beeline toward the cooking area where he placed the cup with a light click.

Trisso was ready to hear him curtly thanking her once again and then retreat for the night, but against her expectations and after some awkward shuffling of feet, he grabbed one of the vacant stools and sat down with her.

She hid the curl of her lips with a spoonful of soup, finishing what remained in her bowl before giving out a content sigh.

It was then that the Mandalorian decided to grace her with more than a monosyllabic reaction. “It was good,” he rasped in a mumble, “the soup. Was nice.” He cleared his throat and crossed his beskar-covered arms across his chest as if to protect himself from the glance Trisso was giving him.

“Not as nice as my papa’s, but it's something,” she replied while she gathered her cutlery and whatnot and carried it all over to the sink. Her fingers got his cup as well and she let some water run from her stash to soak everything in for washing later.

No way she was going to forfeit the Mandalorian’s chatty moment.

He waited for her to sit back down before inquiring, “Was he a cook?” and he sounded genuinely curious underneath the grouchy hedge of his voice.

Trisso’s eyebrows rose at his unexpected interest. “Not really,” she tittered, “but he was good at it. Cooking and shooting.”

The muscles of his forearms on his chest flexed lightly when she mentioned shooting.

Yep, Mandos were big on weapons and shooting.

“A soldier?” he tried again and the interest in his tone did not falter. His visor watched her shake her head, before she specified, “More like a monk with firearms and a lightbow.” a pearl of laughter behind her smile as she watched the Mandalorian tilting his head in disbelief, “Him and dad used to be part of a religious order. Here, let me show you.”

She left the sink with a sprint and walked toward the lonely shelf right beside the main door to retrieve a pad. She tapped in something and soon enough a holo switched on.

“People always said I look and sound more like dad,” and she pointed at the shorter of the two men. Dressed simple and neat, a seraphic smile contrasting the fatigue infecting the age lines on his face. He was leaning against a staff and his gaze was milky and unfocused.

Then Trisso’s finger moved over the second man, carried on talking, “Though, I can tell you I swear like my papa for sure.” A hulk of a man, with wild hair, a worn civilian flight suit and battered red plastoid armour. He stood near his partner with a stoic scowl on his bearded face. “Wish I could cook like him too.”

Something tugged in his chest. That unrequited glimpse of knowledge she had just shared with him enough to make him wish he could ask more, despite the fact that he had promised himself not to get too friendly with whoever he met during this job.

But when he turned the visor towards Trisso, he realized that there was a searing sadness flickering in her eyes while observing that holo. He felt a sting of guilt for inadvertently bringing back painful memories and he awkwardly shifted in his seat. His shoulder moved and the singlet on his right pauldron shone, diverting her attention.

“What’s that?” her chin jutted out to point at it, gaze morphing into her characteristic glimmer of curiosity.

He pondered if it was wise to narrate about his singlet to a stranger, but at the same time he reasoned she had been nothing but hospitable and kind to him and she had just shared personal information with him. He no longer felt the urgent need to withdraw from casual conversation. His shoulders rolled and his pauldron sparked yet again, “It’s my singlet.”

“Oh, so you’re part of a clan.”

He decided not to specify that ‘the clan’ was more like ‘his clan’ as in ‘him being the clan leader’.

Trisso’s eyebrows knitted together and she squinted, trying to get the shape of the singlet. “What kind of animal is that?” she inquired.

“A Mudhorn.”

Her face scrunched up and he took it as her not having a clue about what that was. So, he proceeded to explain it to her, to tell the story of how he got the right to use a Mudhorn as his singlet, minus a small green child-sized detail.

Trisso did not believe him straight away. At first, she looked at him like he was taking the piss of her, light-heartedly mocking him and just not believing it. It took him some good convincing to have her hanging over his words, eyes wide and a half-incredulous expression on her face.

“And you took down that big furry beast solo?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, but I hardly believe it,” she frowned, trying to recall the whole story and reasoning on how he would have been able to do that, “Big bad beskar armoured Mandalorian, yes. But no way you killed that thing all alone.”

“Had too. Jawas stole some ship parts and bargained them for the Mudhorn’s egg.”

Her head lulled into a shake, “Who bargains parts for an egg?”

“Jawas do,” he shrugged matter of factly, “cracked that egg at light speed and got sticky with it right under my eyes.” His fingers flexed and mimicked claws scratching inside an hypothetical egg.

“Yuck. I’m sticking to my unsavoury ratios, thank you very much.”

“I second that,” and he lowered his forearms on his legs rather than wrapping them up against his chest again.

“Still, I think you’re a liar,” but there was no real harm in her voicing.

“Your loss not believing a Mandalorian’s word,” she could feel his grin behind the black plain of his visor.

After a while spent telling each other stories, a yawn rounded out Trisso’s lips and she excused herself to retreat for the night.

He stood up from his stool with a grunt, the extension of the day settling down on him and his joints like a boulder. He was about to leave as well when she stopped him yet again and suggested him sleeping in one of the bunk compartments rather than on that ‘nightmare of a ship’.

A huff close to an actual chuckle rose from his chest as he listened to her swearing over his vessel.

“We need to have a conversation over it first thing tomorrow morning,” she was blabbering about as she made him follow her to the bunks, “that thing goes against every fibre of my body and it’s testing my patience.”

“How so?” he indulged her, a not so well disguised teasing in the rattle of his voice.

She caught that and angled her torso around towards him, eyes narrowing in a ‘I dare you’ while she stopped in her tacks and raised a hand to his visor.

“Landing gear’s missing rivets, wires are either fried to a crisp or so tangled up they look like space rat nests,” she unfold two fingers, “fusion hose’s seen better days and that would be fine if them spacers would not tinkled constantly, making me wonder if the whole thing is gonna unhinge all of a sudden,” another finger up, “microvalves are leaking worst than a snotty brat, issued springs and plugs are rusty or nearly corroded and the navigation deflector system’s cable entry frame is missing pointer lights,” both her hands shook in a fit of frustration, fingers opening and closing in fists.

“Maker, I wonder how that thing hasn't exploded under your metal ass yet.”

“I’m piloting it,” he replied with a shrug.

She looked at him like he had grown a second or third head, the gears in her head whirling to catch up to his joke or actually believing his words. In the end she lowered her outstretched hands and regard him with an unimpressed glare before turning around and pointing at the several doors lining up head of them.

“Choose whichever suits you the best, there’s nobody else around using them.”

He settled for the one he had occupied to eat his soup, the cot mattress still crumpled from his sitting on it. Despite the space being quite small and cramped, he had to admit it was going to be better than sleeping in his pilot seat. He sighed, his aching muscles mollified at the prospect of resting in a bed for once.

Absentmindedly, his fingers travelled to his pocket and fished out the small durasteel ball, turned it around in his hands, a gesture that had become a ritual at the end and beginning of each day, a way to wish good rest and good morning to the one who no longer was by his side with his blabbering.

The ball had so much of his focus that he did not notice Trisso strolling back with some blankets until she was at the entrance of the bunk. As soon as he realised her presence, he shielded the ball by closing his fist over it in a hurry and focused on the woman.

She tossed him the blankets, as well as a bundle which turned out to be a warm poncho when he stiffly unfolded it. “Keep that on,” she advised him, “for good measure. Cold still creeps in from drafts and you don’t want to wake up with wet joints.”

He eyed the poncho, hoping she would not read the sceptical expression despite his helmet. Either way, he promised he would consider putting it on and make good use of the blankets, before thanking her again.

She bade him goodnight from the hallway, a hand leaning on one of her hips after she instructed him on the fresher location. As a reply, he nodded again and then sealed the door for good.

She decided to suppress her rampaging curiosity over the small durasteel ball she saw him carrying in his gloved hand. She did not need to see his face to know what grief looked like.

[greatneedtotakeanap]

i binge read

the finale, episode 15 - the tower of nero

!!!SPOILER ALERT FOR THE TOWER OF NERO!!! this post under the cut will be completely riddled with spoilers, as it is a personal account of my views on the book as a whole. 

it will be spoiled!!

(obviously.)

I’m almost too heartsick to write this omg. It’s been such a long, heartwarming journey, and it came to such an electrifying ending.

I’m quite proud of Apollo. I knew I was going to be, but the way he realized it, the way he realized everything... how Nero’s abuse mirrored Zeus’ and affected him just the same, how much of an asshole he’d been because of it. He made the conscious choice to change, and he decided he could love. He was capable of true love, he was capable of moving forward and being better. And he was. I was just,,, I was so proud of him. Seeing him mature was a really eye-opening experience, especially in this book, when he talked so much about the small complexities of Nero’s abuse, how every move was calculated and how it affected Meg. We’d seen wisps of discussions of abuse before, mostly in the lightning thief (smelly gabe) but we’ve never before gone into the complexities of emotional abuse. The way it was described was fantastically clear, in a way that undoubtedly painted Nero as the true villain, but also gave us the chance to see him try and convince his children that he was good. Apollo breaking down his every move was good for the audience to distinguish the meaning behind his words. Fantastically portrayed. The way it helped him realize his own abuse, too, was good.

And Meg. My sweet darling Meg. What an absolute baddie, I swear. She made the same decision - she went back to Nero to fight him, to test her own strength and power of will. Her decision to drop her rings and refuse to dual wield anymore was strange to me at the very beginning, but I understood it later. It was her refusing to use the weapons he forced her to use, to even defend herself against him. It was her turning her back on the methods he’d armed her with and deciding to take her own path. “The Beast is dead” is the rawest f-ing line in this entire novel, the Beast representing Nero’s psychological abuse. “I killed him” - she liberated herself by believing she was better. I’m so insanely proud of that girl, too. She’s come a long way as well.

Okay. After that analysis, let me just say:

THE GAYS WON.

I spent this entire book terrified that Will Solace was doomed. There was a line in the prophecy about the terrible ending of ‘Apollo’s flesh and blood’, and I figured that meant his offspring - his son, rather than his human form. I kept muttering to myself ‘Will’s gonna die Will’s gonna die and it’s gonna BREAK Nico’. I was just so worried. I didn’t think anyone, even William Andrew Solace, could survive Rick Riordan’s patented Blond Boy Curse.

But he was fine in the end! As fine as you can be. Solangelo boyfriends lived to fight another day. And their development as a couple was also quite nice. I loved their dynamic. We only saw a little of it in the hidden oracle. Though it was great there too, we were able to go more in depth and explore how they truly function. Nico’s dry sense of humor combined with his whole lord-of-the-darkness aesthetic x Will’s genuine compassion and joking nature combined with his glow-in-the-dark-ness was fantastic to see.

Speaking of Solangelo - they not only got stronger as a couple, but as individual people as well. To be completely honest, we really haven’t seen much in the way of Will Solace. He healed, he was nice, yeah, sure, but what about him? What was his personality like outside from other people? In this book we find out. He’s kind, compassionate, easily flustered, overly protective. He craves parental approval, hence him repeatedly referring to Apollo as ‘dad’ and being so watchful over him. He gets embarrassed when asked to glow on command and upset when people mistake him for a lamp. He’s impulsive and a little hypocritical - he follows his instincts (being led off into the tunnels by a random voice) but gets very worried when Nico pulls the same thing. He’s a fantastic character, and his contrasts to Nico and the rest of the ton crew were great.

Nico - he seriously was the hero of this book. Or at least the secondary hero. He saved them all so many times over - he took everyone through shadow travel away from the bulls, he met the troglodytes, saw an opportunity, prepared an offering to said troglodytes because he saw an opportunity, became an underground ambassador, later saved Apollo’s life again by turning a germanus into a skeleton. He led this quest, and you can pry that from my cold dead hands. And that one paragraph about him enduring all this shit?? MASTERFUL. He’s had such a boatload of trauma and still he stands. One of my very favorite consistent Nico traits is this: no matter where he is or what he’s doing or how he feels, he ALWAYS takes the chance to talk with those who feel alone, because he knows what it’s like to be truly fighting one’s battles alone and he’d never wish that on anyone. It’s consistent, too: him being the only one to talk to Hestia at the hearth in Camp Half Blood, him talking to and befriending Bob the Titan, him talking to the troglodytes. And I have really gotten to see his progression firsthand, sped up - I read the Titan’s Curse in my binge read series maybe two weeks ago, back when he was this hyperactive ten-year-old with a Mythomagic obsession and now he’s this prince of darkness saving people with an adorable glowstick boyfriend and man. I love this kid. If he wasn’t my favorite character in this universe, he is now.

Also, even though with this book Rick has closed the gateway to this world (sad), the end alluded to a possible journey through Tartarus again to look for what’s been calling him, but this time he’ll have Will. Rachel Dare even whispered a prophecy at the end, probably pointing to it (but we’ll never know for sure). Will and Nico through the depths of Tartarus - now that’s a series I’d want to read for sure. It’s really too bad we’ll never get to see it in canon. Sigh.

SPEAKING OF CANON.

Another way the gays have won: Piper Mclean.

She has a canon girlfriend!! We really struck gold. I figured she was aro//ace when reading the Burning Maze - her whole monologue about being forced into love - but it turns out she’s just wlw!! I love this, I love this. We seriously won with this book.

Other noteworthy thoughts I had while reading below:

- The scene with Apollo defeating Python and hanging on the edge of Chaos was great. Especially when the goddess Styx came out. I was wondering how all of his broken oaths would serve him and come back to haunt him. It was quite well portrayed. A serious rip to the Arrow of Dodona though. I always loved it,,, a lot. It made me laugh and sometimes grind my teeth in frustration, but it was always a nice presence.

- Apollo’s return to Olympus was better than anything I ever could have hoped for. I was really hoping that returning would give him a new insight, not just of being mortal, but of Zeus as well. And it did. It did! I’ve said it before but I am quite proud of him. His new perspective on the Olympians was refreshing. You can really see the change in narrative if you go back to the Hidden Oracle.

- It is always always always nice to see Sally Jackson. Woman of many talents, including novel writing, blue chocolate chip cookies, and excellent seven-layer dip. She was my favorite character at the beginning of this binge-reading frenzy (as stated in the first post). Now she is still very up there. Definitely top 5.

- Why does Estelle have Percy’s green eyes?? I thought Percy had his father’s eyes????

- Grover knew about Jason dying. If Grover was on the cross-country field trip with Percy and Annabeth, and they didn’t realize Jason was dead until they got to New Rome, then was he just sitting on Jason’s death this whole time??? Rip to Grover, he must have been seriously traumatized for THAT to have happened.

- The last two chapters were basically just Apollo making his rounds and wrapping everything up, so Percabeth isn’t just in a perpetual cross-country ride and Piper doesn’t live out her life forever in a grief-stricken taxi. I’m glad those chapters were there, though. Nice to see everybody again in their element.

Okay but you don’t understand the fear in my heart. I seriously thought Will Solace was a goner. I cried out of relief because he DIDN’T die. It just makes me love the two of them all the more.

This post has been way too long already, but I gotta add an obligatory outro - I read these books once as a little kid, and the past two weeks has been amazing getting back into them. It’s been magical and wonderful, falling in love with these characters, and I’m so sad to leave it.

[thebestintoronto]

25 Best Things to Do in Toronto, Canada — Top Activities & Places to Go!

Toronto-- the biggest city in Canada-- is a metropolitan area with countless possibilities.

Energised, multicultural and multicultural, Toronto will certainly intrigue you with a bunch of tasks and striking views. From gleaming skyscrapers to private parks, this city makes sure to offer you an impressive city adventure through its numerous tourist attractions.

Do not recognize where to start? We're right here to help make your preparation experience a breeze by rounding up the best things to do in Toronto, Canada.

1. CN Tower

Towering over downtown Toronto, this 1,813.5-foot symbol was as soon as the globe's tallest free-standing framework.

Why You Must Go

With its skyrocketing apex controling the metropolitan landscape, CN Tower is a standout in the city's stunning sky line. In fact, the American Culture of Civil Designers declared this tower as one of the contemporary 7 wonders of the globe in 1995.

What To Do

Take the high-speed 58-second flight to the top of the tower. Afterward, head to the LookOut Level and also absorb the sensational views of Toronto at 1,136 feet in the air. You may additionally take a heart-pumping stroll on the thrilling EdgeWalk experience.

2. Toronto Zoo

With a monstrous land area of 710 acres, this zoological park is the largest as well as most considerable zoo in Canada.

Why You Need to Go

A visit to this zoo is, no question, one of the top points to do in Toronto with kids. With greater than 4,500 creatures calling it home, this zoo will certainly mesmerize the little ones. Also much better, this zoo features a myriad of world-class exhibitions.

What To Do

Come by the prize-winning Gorilla Rainforest, which is The United States and Canada's biggest indoor gorilla display. Likewise, you might partake in any one of the zoo's seasonable activities, like the Zoomobile flight, carousel and also ropes program.

3. Royal Ontario Museum

Because its opening in 1912, this museum in the University of Toronto has accumulated over 5 million artefacts.

Why You Must Go

Wondering what to do in Toronto when it's raining or cold? Why not head inside your home, and also discover the Royal Ontario Museum? With 40 galleries real estate numerous things, you'll have a blast admiring the diverse display collections of natural history and also world culture right here.

What To Do

Catch a broad array of antiques, consisting of Chinese temple art, Roman sculptures and dinosaur bones. If you have youngsters taking a trip with you, you can keep them quelled at the CIBC Discovery Gallery and also hands-on gallery.

4. Distillery Area

In the very early 19th century, this waterside area was residence to Canada's largest distiller, the Godderham and also Worts. Today, it's a pedestrian-only area including dining establishments, cafes, performance spaces as well as art galleries.

Why You Must Go

If you're looking for remarkable free points to do in Toronto, look no further than the historical Distillery Area. With its cobblestone roads, Victorian structures as well as year-round outdoor exhibits, it's a great location to go on an affordable taking in the sights adventure.

What To Do

Walk around the area, and soak up its beautiful setting. Then, treat on your own to a genuine Canadian mixture, or sign up with any one of the area's art classes.

5. St. Lawrence Market

Correct in the heart of downtown, this historical market has been generating succulent eats since 1803.

Why You Should Go

St. Lawrence Market is a heaven for foodies. House to more than 120 suppliers, this precious market offers whatever from exquisite breads and tasty meals to fresh veggies. And also, the marketplace has rather cost effective items.

What To Do

Satisfy your palate with the market signature meals, such as the peameal bacon sandwich. Likewise, try to rack up substantial bargains on ornaments and also antiques at this market on the weekends.

6. Toronto Islands

Located in Lake Ontario, these little and easy-going islands are residence to a bundle of family-friendly tourist attractions.

Why You Should Go

Need a break from the continuous enjoyable and taking in the sights in Toronto? Do on your own a support as well as include this chain of islands to your checklist of areas to check out in Toronto this weekend break. With extensive beaches and barbecue locations, these islands provide a rejuvenating break from Toronto's big city vibe.

What To Do

Head to Centre Island, as well as delight in a bunch of activities as well as destinations, like showing off rentals as well as beaches. Afterward, drop by the Centreville Theme park where you'll discover a boating shallows, a stroking zoo and a ton of trips.

7. Harbourfront Centre

Established in 1972, this 10-acre upscale beachfront community bursts with tasks to thrill travelers of all red stripes.

Why You Must Go

Yearly, this complex location attracts about 16 million site visitors. Exciting year-round, this waterside website boasts a myriad of notable places, consisting of dining establishments, yards, parkes, art galleries and also cinemas.

What To Do

In summer, site visitors can relax on Sugar Coastline too go kayaking and paddleboarding. If you're going to in wintertime, you may skate by the lake or see the Toronto Songs Garden. As well as, did we state that the venue hosts around 4,000 occasions each year?

8. Casa Loma

Embed in downtown Toronto, this 98-room Gothic Revival home was built in between 1911 and 1914.

Why You Ought to Go

With its eye-catching towers as well as Instagrammable exterior, this lush mansion is just one of the fascinating things to see in Toronto. What's even more, the castle shows off a marvelous 5-acre garden decorated with sculptures, fountains and wildflowers.

What To Do

Tour the mansion and also uncover several of its distinct functions, such as its secret passages, huge wine rack and also horse stables. You'll likewise like that 700-foot-long tunnel that links the stables to your house.

9. Toronto Botanical Gardens

Open up given that 2003, this 4-acre oasis attributes 17 lovely, award-winning and great smelling themed yards.

Why You Must Go

Searching for romantic things to do in Toronto for pairs? After that, visit the TBG, and take a romantic and also picturesque walk with your companion in its stunning gardens. With a myriad of attractive flowers and also a laid-back charm, this oasis makes an excellent area to unwind and loosen up.

What To Do

If you want an even more thorough understanding right into the 17 gardens, take a 1-hour led scenic tour below. Conversely, you might take an app-guided sightseeing tour that will take you around the tourist attraction's grounds.

10. Ontario Scientific Research Center

Wowing visitors for 50 years, this museum on Don Mills Roadway is filled with educational and thought-provoking exhibitions.

Why You Must Go

The Ontario Scientific research Center makes learning exceptionally fun with its 500 interactive exhibits. From its planetarium to its aging maker, this scientific research museum will entertain and surprise you in a selection of ways.

What To Do

Have a look at the museum's IMAX cinema and also watch an academic film about scientific research and modern technology. You can also join the gallery's presentations that array from papermaking to power. As well as, do not fail to remember to strike the Living Earth experience as well as rocket chair.

11. Kensington Market

A former Jewish district, this bohemian market sprang to life in the 1902 with households setting up stands to sell goods.

Why You Should Go

Kensington Market is the city's cultural capital. With its diverse vintages shops, lively feeling and also tantalizing restaurants, this market is an outright banquet for the detects. While a little disorderly, this market ensures to maintain you occupied for hrs.

What To Do

Even if you're not into shopping, you'll still appreciate strolling casually via the art-clad and wacky market. Naturally, you'll find plenty of yummy goodies as well as cool finds below, with a few of them coming from Asia and also Europe.

12. Hockey Hall of Popularity

Established initially in 1943, this museum is a stellar display of ice hockey's intriguing history.

Why You Should Go

While hockey isn't exactly the nation's main sporting activity, it's somewhat the unofficial faith of Canada. As well as, there's no better place for more information about the nation's enthusiasm for this sporting activity than the Hockey Hall Of Fame.

With 65,000 square feet of event, this museum will offer you a thorough take a look at this preferred sporting activity. In addition, it bids die-hard hockey followers with loads of epic sport artefacts.

What To Do

See many remarkable hockey-related displays, such as the goalie gear of Terry Sawchuk and also the original Stanley Mug. Also, capture the Puck Wall, which includes a thousand pucks or even more that were gathered from different globe tournaments.

13. Ft York

Constructed in 1793, this historic fort was utilized by the Canadian militia and also British Military to defend the Toronto Harbour's entrance.

Why You Ought to Go

Ft York is one of the must-see historic destinations in Toronto. Through smart guides as well as a series of battle remnants, this historic marvel will provide you a peek of the city's seductive past. Plus, it has some pleasant sights as well as views as well.

What To Do

Enjoy the armed forces drills and also cannon firings as you see this website. Furthermore, you might participate in its flag raisings in addition to trip the police officers' as well as soldiers' quarters.

14. Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

Managed by Ripley Home entertainment, this fish tank has 1.25 million gallons of freshwater and also aquatic habitats from all over the world.

Why You Must Go

Ripley's Aquarium Of Canada is among the can't- miss enjoyable points to do in Toronto, Canada for households. With 135,000 square feet of undersea and interactive displays, it's the largest indoor aquarium in Canada today.

What To Do

The undersea passage, known as the Dangerous Shallows, is, for many people, the highlight of their check out right here. As you venture right into this tunnel, you'll find a lot of gorgeous animals, including environment-friendly sea turtles as well as relentless sand tiger sharks.

15. Bata Shoe Gallery

Inaugurated in 1979, this special museum mainly shows the individual footwear collections of benefactor Sonja Bata.

Why You Must Go

The Bata Footwear Gallery supplies an one-of-a-kind indoor experience in Toronto. Unlike your normal gallery, this tourist attraction concentrates on presenting shoes as well as various other related products. Presently, the museum has around 12,000 shoes and also shoes artifacts that date back 4,500 years.

What To Do

Make certain to take a look at the museum's showstoppers, consisting of the Chelsea boots of John Lennon as well as the silk slippers of Queen Victoria. You'll additionally love the red leather heels of Marilyn Monroe as well as the Dolce as well as Gabbanas of Madonna.

16. Toronto Eaton Facility

With a yearly participation of 50 million visitors, this buying sanctuary is the busiest shopping mall in North America.

Why You Should Go

Toronto Eaton Center sees a lot more yearly site visitors than either of the busiest shopping malls in the United States: Ala Moana facility and Shopping mall of America. Remarkably, it likewise draws more visitors than New York's Central Park.

And also, with over 250 elegant sellers, this complex makes sure to give shopaholics their repair and window shopping.

What To Do

Invest a day searching for bargains as well as fads at leading merchants, like Forever 21, Train and Steven Madden. After your electrifying buying spree, order a fast eat from any one of the many food selections in Urban Restaurant.

17. Scarborough Bluffs

Situated in Toronto's eastern end, these bluffs stretch throughout 15 kilometers along the photogenic Lake Ontario.

Why You Ought to Go

Don't let the pictures trick you! With its sandy beaches, cascading high cliffs as well as blue-green waters, the bluffs might look a little tropical and also unique. However, guess what? This imposing geological marvel is located in Toronto.

What To Do

Enjoy the spectacular sights from the top of the bluffs neglecting the lake. You might likewise increase to the 300-foot towering cliffs or trek it. Additionally, you'll discover outing areas and also a sandy beach at Bluffer's Park.

18. Allan Gardens Sunroom

Open year-round, this no-cost attraction in the Yard District was originally opened up in 1860.

Why You Ought to Go

The Allan Gardens Conservatory has 6 greenhouses including plants and also blossoms from around the world. As well as, while it's a bit little, the sunroom also offers various other destinations, consisting of a canine park and a children's playground.

What To Do

Visit the tropical houses, which are loaded with begonia, bromeliads and orchids. As soon as done, visit the Palm House, and find a multitude of exotic creeping plants, bananas as well as palms.

19. Toronto Food Tours

Led by Cook Scott Savoi, this scrumptious excursion lets you eat your way around the city's neighborhoods, such as Old Chinatown.

Why You Must Go

There's no better method to example Toronto's varied cuisine than to take this chef-led food tour. From Little Italy to Koreatown, this excursion looks into the ethic groups as well as electrical communities in Toronto.

What To Do

Satiate your Eastern food cravings by taking their Chinatown food scenic tour. For 3 hours, this scenic tour lets you relish 12 food tastings at 6 various restaurants and stores. Also much better, you'll appreciate an authentic Dim Sum experience and make a rest stop to a Chinese Grocery store.

20. Nathan Phillips Square

With a total area of 12 acres, this urban plaza is the biggest city square in Canada.

Why You Must Go

Nathan Phillips Square overruns with fun as well as activity. From annual occasions to shows, the plaza always buzzes with task. And, the best component is, you can appreciate the majority of them, for everyone's preferred cost of no dollars.

What To Do

Relax at Peace Garden, walk the elevated walkway and do some ice skating at this plaza in winter months. Additionally, you may appreciate the square's performances, shows, rallies, regular farmers' market as well as yearly events like the wintertime lights festival.

21. Trinity Bellwoods Park

Sandwiched in between Dundas Road West and also West Queen West, this 36-acre park is a neighborhood favorite in Toronto.

Why You Ought to Go

There's no lack of age-friendly entertainment in this rich park. Whether you're visiting it in wintertime or summer, you'll find a number of great as well as worthwhile tasks in this park. To make things also much better, a lot of the park's tasks are easy on the pocketbook.

What To Do

When the weather is warm, visitors will have access to a vast array of centers, including a kiddie wading swimming pool as well as sporting activities areas. You can additionally join the BYO outings and come to be a part of their social scene. In winter season, you can go ice skating on its magnificent rink.

22. Art Gallery of Ontario

Situated comfortably in midtown Toronto, this 45,000-square-meter bonanza is one of North America's largest art galleries.

Why You Should Go

Residence to over 90,000 screens, this gallery is a piece of paradise on earth for art connoisseurs. Besides its Native as well as Canadian art displays, this gallery also has notable work of arts by European legends, like Picasso.

What To Do

Be mesmerized by the gallery's European collection featuring jobs by artists, such as Claude Monet as well as Edgar Degas. You might also admire the contemporary jobs by Canadian greats, consisting of Jeff Wall and also Michael Snow.

23. TIFF Bell Lightbox

TIFF Bell Lightbox, developed in 2010, is a social attraction in Toronto understood for its cinemas and also learning studios.

Why You Need to Go

TIFF Bell Lightbox isn't just the official headquarters of the well-known Toronto International Film Event. With 5 impressive state-of-the-art cinemas, it's likewise one of the much more fascinating points to do in Toronto tonight. And also, it houses a restaurant, a gallery area and a movie library.

What To Do

If you can't make it to the 10-day movie carnival in September, you can still appreciate this center by seeing a flick below. From international indie movies to timeless blockbusters, their movie theater runs film shows throughout the year.

24. Aga Khan Museum

Set down on a beautiful 17-acre park, this opulent gallery was opened in 2014 to highlight Islamic Art.

Why You Should Go

Aga Khan is The United States and Canada's very first museum that's devoted to featuring Islamic art. Funded by Shia Ismaili Muslims, this gallery was opened to share the scientific and also artistic creations of the worldwide Islamic areas.

What To Do

Capture the museum's long-term collection of 1,000 pieces of Islamic art. Furthermore, you might experience the gallery's unique events and events.

25. High Park

Covering 400 hectares, this all-natural as well as entertainment paradise is Toronto's solution to New York's Central Park.

Why You Should Go

No listing of the best points to do in Toronto, Canada is complete without this sprawling urban park. From untouched nature sites to themed yards, High Park will certainly move you right into happiness with its irresistible greenery. Moreover, it provides a load of amazing and interactive activities.

What To Do

There's a lot of things to do in this park. Not only does it have a zoo, however it also has ice skating rinks, tennis courts as well as an exterior pool. There are additionally playgrounds for the sprightly children.

The article “ 25 Best Things to Do in Toronto, Canada — Top Activities & Places to Go! “ was appeared first on Family Destination Guide

The IV Lounge - IV Therapy Toronto Drip Clinic

[thgfanficinspo]

Fear of the Water - ch 2

The story of the 70th Hunger Games

(ANNIE)

Bosun is the first one in. He barrels at me and hugs me so hard I nearly have the wind knocked out of me. He squeezes me so hard I think he’s trying to crush us together into one pile of bones.

He starts talking right away, saying everything in one breath the way Ondine does. “You find water. Keep to yourself; you don’t need to go getting mixed up in alliances. Especially with those people from One and Two. Okay? Don’t get tangled up with Piers, either; it’ll just make things worse. You know how to use a knife and you’re okay with a spear. The odds aren’t bad,” Bosun says. “You’re seventeen, too. The tributes over sixteen automatically have better odds.”

It’s true. Finnick Odair is the only tribute younger than sixteen to ever become a victor.

“You can outlast them,” Bosun insists.

He seems to have run out of words and air for the moment; I take my chance to speak.

“Be good,” I say. “Don’t take any shit from Chelsea. You’re old enough to be on your own now. Coraline and Adrie suck anyway; let them fend for themselves. Just get your own place –”

“We’ll get our own place,” he corrects. “All right? You and me. Just as soon as you get back.”

“If I don’t –”

“Annie –”

“If I don’t, I want you and Ondine to get married and have a dozen babies and name all the girls after me.”

He smiles the slightest bit. “Alright. But you have to name all your sons after me, then.”

A Peacekeeper appears in the doorway. “Time’s up.”

“A dozen babies, okay?” I say. “I love you!”

Coraline and Adrie are next. They just hug me and tell me to be brave. Their mother, my aunt Chelsea, stands near the doorway for the first few minutes and then flees. The two are talking over each other, saying how much they love me and how sorry they are. But I can see, at least in Adrie’s eyes, a strange sort of relief. This was her last year of being eligible for the reaping. For her, this nightmare is over. And what’s the loss of one cousin? She has another.

Ondine comes in crying uncontrollably, but she still manages to look beautiful – long golden waves, piercing blue eyes, and a sylph-like silhouette. Every time she tries to speak, she ends up making this horrible choking sound.  It’s like reliving saying goodbye to Liffey last year before they took her away.

Liffey. I said goodbye to her in here, too.

I’m so scared that I’ll start crying. I want to cry. But nothing comes out. It’s like my mind has lost the ability to communicate with my body. All I end up telling her is that she and Bosun should look after each other.

When her five minutes are up, Ondine is near hysterics. One of the peacekeepers has to take her by the arm and lead her away.

She’s barely gotten a word out this whole time. I wish she hadn’t come to say goodbye. It only made things worse for both of us.

Dodge rushes in, wrapping me up in a hug. “I know the mentors. They’ll watch out for you.”

Of course. He’s more familiar with this than anybody. His grandmother, Eefa, is a victor.

“You do whatever the mentors tell you to, okay?” he says again. “Especially Finnick. No matter what they say, you do it. All right?”

I nod vehemently because the lump in my throat blocks the words from coming out.

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after Bosun while you’re gone.”

My old schoolteacher comes in with her husband next, followed by two of Dodge’s cousins.

Nobody else comes to see me, but Piers still has visitors, so I sit alone in this awful room for nearly twenty minutes while he finishes up.

He and I don’t speak until we’re on the train.

Brae, our Capitol escort , leads us to a grand room with a band of windows all around. Nobody’s sure how old she is, since she’s had so many surgeries to counteract the aging process. “Sit, sit!”

Cakes and fruit are set out on tiered stands. A fuzzy yellow-orange fruit catches my attention but it doesn’t seem appropriate to eat right now.

“How old are you?” Piers asks when we sit down.

“Seventeen. How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” he says. Then he gets all silent and thoughtful.

There’s an awkward silence for a moment before I force myself to speak. “Have you ever met them before? The victors?”

District 4 has five victors: Mags, Eefa, Proteus, Broadsea, and Finnick. They won the 11th, 31st, 51st, 56th, and 65th Hunger Games, respectively. Mags is the oldest living victor, except for a man from District 8 whose memory is starting to fade. She and Finnick adore each other. He actually lived with her for a couple years after his victory.

Piers pulls his mouth to one side. “I’ve seen Mags and Proteus around town, and I’ve met Finnick a handful of times at the training center. But never Broadsea or Eefa. I’d remember seeing Broadsea.”

Broadsea is impossible to miss, and not just because of his massive size. Most of the left half of his face is mangled so badly it hardly looks human.

“I’ve met Eefa a couple times,” I say. “My brother is best friends with her grandson. But I don’t know if she knows who I am.”

When I do see her on television, Eefa always looks very sour. She looks sour on the rare occasion I see her in person, too.

I doubt they’d show Broadsea even if weren’t so aggressive and drunk all the time. He’s not pretty or talented, so there’s nothing to take the focus off that huge ugly scar on his big angry face. Mags is pleasant but sad; Proteus is whatever the situation calls for. Finnick is stunning. The cameras are always on him.

We pass the Harrington, a massive Peacekeeper ship named for the man who first patrolled the waters around District 4 after the rebellion. It’s at least three times as big as the Justice Building and functions as both the prison and the peacekeeper base.

It marks the farthest edge of the district. My district. That I’ll never see again.

We pass by the lake and its guard towers before plunging into a dark tunnel dug out of the cliffs.

Piers and I both jump to our feet when a sweet old woman with a warm smile comes to greet us, followed closely by a plain-faced man wearing a manufactured smile.

“My name is Mags,” she says to us. “Eefa is having a lie-down in her room but the others should be out in a moment.” She smiles widely at us. “You must be Annie and Piers.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Piers says.

“Please, just Mags.” Her smile is reassuring. She doesn’t show any sign of fear for us. I’m sure it comes from years of practice. She turns to me. “I’m so sorry about Coastia dropping out. I don’t know what I would do if I were in your position. You’re handling it with such grace.”

Proteus is next. He is lean with sharp, sunken-in features. Not attractive, really, but not unattractive, either. Everybody likes him well enough, but no one loves him. They say he’s good to talk to, and the most talented chef in the whole country. He even cooked a meal for the president once.

“This is Proteus; Proteus, this is Annie and Piers,” Mags says. She introduces us as though she’s known us for years.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he says, but doesn’t move to shake our hands. An Avox comes over and hands him a glass of cloudy grey liquid. He sips it slowly. The Avox offers some to Mags, too, but she refuses. I concentrate on my feet.

“I don’t drink much these days,” Mags explains as we take our seats around the dining table in the middle of the train car. “When I was your age I could out-drink nearly anybody in town. These days I’m too afraid of the hangovers.”

The door slides open, and in walks the most attractive man I’ve ever seen.

Finnick Odair is breathtaking. Smooth, tanned skin. Sculpted face – and body, for that matter. I can’t find the words to say how he looks. What he’s like. But I can feel each aching beat of my heart in my chest.

Everybody in the whole country knows him. He was the youngest victor ever and by far the most charming and beautiful. Sponsors showered gifts on him in the arena, including a trident. Everybody knew he was going to win. And now everyone falls all over each other to get his attention.

I force myself to look at something else – anything else – to keep from blushing. It’s no use. I study the water glass on the table as my cheeks and ears burn.

“Hello,” he says simply. “I’m Finnick.”

“I’m Piers. And this is Annie,” Piers adds, like he knows I won’t be able to speak in front of him. This is the effect Finnick has on all women.

Finnick in person is different from the Finnick I’ve seen on television. You can get an idea of what size he is by measuring him against the other victors on the screen, but he seems like a giant in person. He’s well over six feet, and he’s got big shoulders and a broad chest. When he smiles, he looks like a mischievous child.

I practically have him memorized. All the plains and contours of his face. The way his ears stick out. Liffey used to tease me for being so in love with him, but she couldn’t blame me. No one can. Half the country is in love with him. Maybe more.

He can’t even escape the attention at home in District 4, but he doesn’t seem to want to.

“This will be all of us for dinner, I think,” says Mags. “I doubt the others will make an appearance.”

A pair of Avoxes with shaved heads serve us lamb chops with mint jelly and roasted potatoes for dinner. I’ve never had lamb before. I want to go slow and savor every bite but I scarf the whole thing down in a matter of minutes.

Piers makes a face when he takes a bite of the meal and offers me his lamb in exchange for my potatoes.

The victors keep up a shallow conversation about their favorite foods in the Capitol, about the first time they tried lamb or ate peaches or watermelons.

(FINNICK)

Piers doesn’t really make an impression on me, even though he’s the one I should focus my energy on. It’s the girl that catches my attention.

She has long, lovely hair that falls all around her like ripples in water. She has pink cheeks and green eyes. She’s too absorbed with her food to notice I’m staring at her. She’s beautiful, but not in the raw, sexual way that earns sponsors.

I have to remind myself that admiring a pretty tribute is a waste of time. What does it matter if she's beautiful? She'll be dead soon. And there's nothing I can do about it.

Broadsea makes a brief appearance at the end of dinner when he comes in looking for liquor. He keeps his back to us as he picks through the bar cart. An Avox tries to help him but is waved away. She ends up cleaning the broken glass on the floor when Broadsea drunkenly knocks two glasses and a decanter of wine to the floor.

He stumbles back out, three bottles of varying size and color in his arms, without a word or even a backwards glance at the tributes.

Annie looks ready to pass out on the table by the time she’s finished her dessert of exotic fruits. She’s eaten just about everything she can reach, certainly out of wonder rather than starvation. She keeps two peaches clutched in her hands.

Piers has only picked at his string beans and potatoes. Nerves, probably. Mags asks him shallow questions meant to distract him from his problems but he only gives one-word answers. He doesn’t need to be distracted. What he needs is to cry.

*

I have trouble falling asleep. I always do the first night.

Mags remembers the name of every tribute she’s ever mentored. One hundred and thirty-eight children in the last sixty-nine years. Only four of us made it back home.

I stare up at the ceiling of my room and count my own tributes the way other people count sheep. I can’t keep their years straight in my head but I know all their names.

Reeve and Aeterna, Windlass and Strake, Quay and Zora, Liffey and Asper.

Annie and Piers.

[peppymint1986]

Acquainted With the Night: Chapter Three

Madara did not bother to disguise the spring in his step as he approached his Clan’s Ancestral Seat, nodding to the guards as he passed.  He had traveled all over the Elemental Nations, had seen wonders some could never dream of.  Still, nothing could quite match the comfort and security of hearth and home.  

A human would have found the dark twisting corridors difficult, if not impossible to navigate Madara was certain.  But then, the keep had not been designed with human’s in mind.  Built into the side of a mountain his ancient ancestors had not traded beauty for functionality when they had planned their home.  Behind the strong walls and soaring towers tunnels extended deep into the solid granite on which the keep was built.  

Snowmelt feeding the roaring waterfall which supplied water to the many ponds and springs around the estate, keeping their gardens lush and green.  Madara was almost tempted to linger outside.  To sit under the blooming cherry trees and watch the koi swim by under the moon.  Alas, duty called.  

Izuna looked up from the table as his brother entered, flashing a smile.  “Welcome home niisan.  How was the trip?”

Grinning in return Madara kicked out an unfashionable, but very comfortable chair before flopping into it and kicking up his feet.  “While I would have preferred it not been necessary,” the vampire’s smile sharpened showing his fangs.  “You know I love to dance.”

“The Hagoromo reconsidered then.”  

“Oh I am sure they have.  The survivors at any rate.”  One would have thought by now that the clans under his purview would have learned by now that certain behavior was not tolerated.  Somehow though, that did not appear to be the case.  

Tch.  The younger clicked his tongue in disgust.  Don’t get Izuna wrong.  He was proud to be an Uchiha.  He in fact pitied those born to the lesser races.  Still, there was no reason for them to be savages.  An illusion to calm and make the human forget, a bit of saliva to close the wound and most never even realized they had been bitten.  “Some people just can’t accept that times have changed.”  The days of corpses being left in the streets were gone.  

And truthfully Izuna was glad of it.  While most humans were helpless fragile creatures, there were notable exceptions.  Like that white-haired demon of a hunter.  Rampaging through villages.  Killing for pleasure.  It was behavior such as that which turned the other forces of the lands against them.  

Tajima had never understood that, which was why the other was dead now.  Though truthfully, Izuna did not mourn overmuch.  Yes, Tajima had been his Father.  But he was also the reason he had just one brother instead of four.  No matter which way you looked at it, the elder vampire had brought his death upon himself.  

“Anything interesting happen while I was out?”

“Well,” Izuna drawled.  “Waterfall sent another tribute.”

Groaning Madara slumped deeper into the chair.  That was the fourth one this year.  He would have thought by now they would have realized he wasn’t going to eat them.  He had been polite when he had visited the small country's capital.  He had even smiled.  “Was it at least anything good?”  

“Hikaku claimed a very nice set of brushes.”  Frowning Izuna flipped through a few piles of paper muttering under his breath.  “Now where did I . . .   Aha!” He exclaimed in triumph pulling out a stack of notes.

Madara’s nose twitched as he caught the much dreaded scent of perfume.  “Don’t tell me,” he moaned.

“But aniki,” Izuna teased.  “Haven’t you heard.   It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.  Though you’ll never catch one with an expression like that on your face.”

If anything Madara’s scowl deepened.  “Good,” he snapped.  “Now do me a favor and burn them.”  If he chose to marry he was perfectly capable of handling the matter himself.  

“Even the invitation to . . .”

“All of them.”  

Izuna laughed.  “Alright already,” he said, reducing the pile to ash with a snap of his fingers.  No need to tell his brother he had already sent off a round of polite refusals.  “Although,” he pulled a final, unopened envelope out of his haori.  “You probably want this one.”  

Reaching out, Madara turned over the letter, frowning as he saw the seal.  It was an image he had seen before, but not often.  It was only used when the daimyo of the five great nations acted in concert as a single council.  

To receive such a missive was almost unheard of.  In general the daimyo went from pretending the Uchiha did not exist to pretending that they had any real control over the clan of higher vampires.  The last communication of any sort he had received was from the Fire Daimyo acknowledging his ascension from heir to lord of the Uchiha Clan, and that had been ten years ago.

Why now?  What could be so important?  Well, there was only one way to find out.  Straightening in his chair, Madara flashed his sharingan at the seal, just in case, though he was sure his brother had already tested it thoroughly.  Then, he cracked the letter open and began to read.  

At long last.  The actual story can begin.  Still debating some worldbuilding stuff, like whether or not my vampires can fly, but from this point on the plot should start moving forward.  Feel free to share any of your fantasy world thoughts.  I can’t guarantee I will agree, but I will think about it.