#to have started on this journey and already see the ways in which lucy improved her life and then have it taken away

[booasaur]

NCIS: Hawai’i - 2x03 - “I just want to sit behind a desk and just file paperwork.”

[breathinglifeintomyoc]

Locklyle pt. 3

Fanfic of the Lockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud. I really like this section since it touches on one of my favorite parts of L&C (second only to the Locklyle ship obviously), which is the technicalities of The Problem. This chapter's from Lockwood and a bit longer than I would have preferred to post in one go, but there wasn't a great place to split it. Enjoy and thank you all for the support! (Word Count: 1,824)

There was something distinctly wrong with the Key manor. Firstly, for all its isolation, it had an underwhelming view. Secondly, it was screaming. There wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary in their walk-through, only the sheer number of protective chains they had to set-up throughout the problematic and vast western wing. There was no obvious source, but the reports from the two DEPRAC teams recorded an increase of aggressive activity in the third floor sitting room — coincidently where Loretta Key had died. Tonight, however, his concern was, for the first time, not neutralizing the source, but Lucy. Her date may have brought attention to his previously unacknowledged feelings for her, but tonight’s anxieties were completely separate from that. Though they didn’t talk about it, their trips to the Other Side had left residual effects — beyond the white that shot through their hair, Lockwood’s talents only improved as the months passed and, from Lucy’s alarming progress in communicating with visitors, he knew she was experiencing the same. Holly, George, and Kipps certainly experienced a degree of change from their journey, but there was something profound in his and Lucy’s crossing over for a second time. They hadn’t had a strikingly dangerous case like this since La Belle Dame and the nagging suspicion that Lucy’s abilities were far beyond what any of them thought wouldn’t leave him. He made his way across the dark wooden stairs and into their base for the night where Holly was nearly finished making a pot of tea.

As the five of them sat in the chains, sipping tea and discussing the nuances of the visitation, a yelp from Lucy disrupted the otherwise peaceful environment. She jumped violently in her seat, sloshing tea onto the ground. “Luce!” Lucy placed a steadying hand on her chest and let out a light laugh before replying, “Sorry, Loretta just opened up and I wasn’t quite ready for it. It’s not too bad, just surprised me.” Lockwood tuned his ears to the noises of the house, and sure enough there was a faint droning that hadn’t been there before. “I’m picking up something, too.” he said with a nod. A thrill of excitement sparked as he clearly heard a visitor for perhaps the very first time. “Fascinating,” George started, “the sun’s not even set yet.” He seemed to ponder a moment before turning to Lucy, “With the chains I haven’t got her yet. How loud is she if you go outside the barrier?” Lockwood made a noise in protest as Lucy shrugged and stepped across the edge of the chains. Experiencing something they were not, she staggered slightly as her eyes shot open in surprise, then screwed up in pain. Immediately, Lockwood reached for her, pulling her back in. “I’m glad you made me these, George,” Lucy muttered as she sat back down and slipped in the bizarre ear-plugs. George hummed in agreement, but his eyes were distant, “Me in the chains hears practically nothing; you outside the chains experience pain. Fascinating, and all before sunset.”

“Yeah, fascinating.” Lucy grumbled.

“It’s a bit earlier than usual, but seeing as Loretta is active already and we’ve got less time to work with from the summer nighttime schedule, I say we finish our snacks and get started,” Lockwood declared, taking the last bite of his choco leibniz. “Given the nature of the case and the size of the house, we go in teams. Me and Kipps on one and George, Holly, and Lucy on the other, that way you can step out if you need to,” He said turning to Lucy. She nodded, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Fat chance of that, he thought. He would have much preferred keeping her at his side, but the teams needed to have balanced talents and he trusted George and Holly to get Lucy out if need be. “Kipps and I will start in the third floor sitting room where she died, you guys can start wherever you think best.”

Though Lockwood would never say it, this was his least favorite part of investigations. No thrill of the chase yet to distract from the reality that he was sending his friends into a life or death situation. “Come on, Tony. Stop staring after your girlfriend, we’ve got a job to do.” Lockwood scowled, “I can fire you, you know. I hear DEPRAC loves washed-up bastards.”

“Oh come on, that was just mean.”

Lockwood shot him side-eye, but turned back to the hallway, wallpaper lined with dancing shadows from his candle. “For all the noise,” Lockwood noted, gesturing vaguely, “there’s very little psychic pressure.” He saw Kipps nod and adjust his goggles. A nervous habit, does he have the same bad feelings about this case? “Maybe this is normal? It might not take as much presence for sounds to manifest as it does for apparitions, we just never hear them.” Lockwood hummed in acquiescence and entered the sitting room where the death-glow burned lightly in the far corner. “I doubt the other teams didn’t try this, but let’s put a silver net under the death-glow just in case.” Lockwood said, slipping one out from the bag of gear by the doorway and handing it to Kipps. He glanced back over at Kipps when the man hadn’t moved. “I know I’m old, but even with the goggles I’ve got nothing,” he said, squinting like a mole in sunlight as he scanned the room, “Although, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Victorian death-glow. That’s quite a bit aged.” Though it wasn’t bright, the glow was clearly there hovering at the edge of the room, and Lockwood was again left pondering the effects of the Other Side. “Then she must have something to stick around for.” Lockwood replied simply, taking the net from Kipps and draping it across the floor. It successfully extinguished the death glow, but did nothing for the high pitched droning. “Oh well. Keep an ear on the noise as I peak around, let me know if it gets louder.” Lockwood said. He pulled at loose floorboards and fireplace bricks to no avail before giving up and moving onto other rooms. “This isn’t making sense. We’ve cased the whole third floor and not so much as a cold-spot,” Lockwood scoffed turning back to Kipps who was frantically combing a spider-web out from his red hair, “The other teams reported aggressive activity in the sitting room, but the most we found were spider-webs. What are we missing?” He questioned as they made their way to the chains on the second floor landing to get some biscuits and hot chocolate. From the wrapper carnage, it seemed that George and his team had taken a break earlier.

“Well how long were they in the house for? Perhaps they went up to the sitting room first because that’s where she died, triggered it, and had to get their listeners out. So they only got to scope that room,” Kipps took a sip from his thermos, “Besides, the psychic pressure has been building as the night has gotten darker, so it’s not like we’ve come up with nothing.” Lockwood frowned, “But how did they trigger her on room one when we’ve gone through four and the others must have had more, having started at the bedrooms. What’s the difference between them and us? And if the sitting room makes her aggressive, why couldn’t the other teams find the source in there? It’s barren and I feel like we pulled at every beam and board without her getting angry.” As they pondered, Lucy and Holly’s laugh could be heard distantly. “Could it be the teams?” Kipps said suddenly. “What?” But the gears in Lockwood’s head were already turning. They were rare for being a team of five, it allowed them to cover more ground, but it also meant that not everyone went to all the rooms. The DEPRAC teams worked in threes so they all would have been present in the sitting room. “La Belle Dame was a visual case that had targeted victims. This is an auditory phenomena…”

“We need to regroup.” Do visitors go after people with certain talents? Would agent fatalities and injuries on cases be tracked based on talent? This was one of the more injury ridden cases in a long time with two victims, and while he didn’t have George’s mind for statistics, that didn’t seem like enough data to draw conclusions. They might and we would never know.

“The noise stopped.”

Lockwood’s eyes met Kipps' wide ones and they scrambled to their feet. “Where are—” Lockwood was cut off by an ear-popping swell in psychic pressure and a raucous crash from the hallway on their right. As they ran in the direction of the sound, rapiers in hand, a flash of magnesium flare directed them into the last room on the left. They skidded into a bizarre scene of George and Holly lying haphazardly against the wall under a mess of books, a particularly gruesome visitor looking over them. Across from them, a shelved wall hung open, revealing what must have been a secret room. Naturally. “The source must be in there. Go!” He ordered Kipps. As the red-head took off, Lockwood flung a salt-bomb at the foot of the spirit, forcing its attention on him. Where’s Lucy? The instant he thought it, he heard tumbling from the corner nearest to the door and saw Lucy standing up, letting books fall off of her to the ground. She raised her rapier at the spirit, “Glad you could make it,” she said, casting a wary glance at Holly and George who were still lying on the other side of the room, “the source is definitely in there.” She threw another salt-bomb to keep Loretta’s interest away from where Kipps was searching for the source. “Go help him, I’ll keep her—” The banshee’s horrible black gaze locked onto Lucy, undeterred by either salt-bomb, and it cracked open its cavern of a mouth. The noise emitted was piercing and sharp, far worse than it had been all night, and Lockwood flinched at the assault of it. At his side, Lucy’s rapier clattered to the ground. Her hands flew to her ears and seemed to tear at her hair, her face awash with pain. Lockwood placed himself between Lucy and the encroaching Banshee. “Faster, Kipps!” He lanced the apparition through with knots of his rapier, forcing it to withdraw back, but it didn’t dissipate completely. Persistent. I’d prefer if it was trying to protect the source, honestly. He spared a glance behind him to see Lucy doubled over against the wall. His efforts only seemed to anger the spirit, her mouth split wider, like some nightmarish snake, and released a wail so loud that he felt the vibrations through the floor. He could no longer hear her though, he was fully consumed with the shredding of Lucy’s screams as she tumbled to the floor.

[aerialflight]

Fic Recs (mostly Naruto cause I read too many good fics in the fandom and now I'm in hell)

[Naruto]

Spirit-Touched by phooykazooi

Once upon a time, the Haruno clan were priests. It was said that they were spirit-touched, and that they walked among the downtrodden and the poor, and did not bow to royalty.

Or, an AU in which Sakura can see spirits.

Part 1 of The Realms Between

(Really, and I mean REALLY fantastic Shikamaru & Sakura friendship! Fantastic, beautiful writing, and such good worldbuilding, god, and the Haruno family is so badass!! Sakura and everything she does makes me want to scream!! Please read!)

Final Evaluation by Do_the_Cool_Whip

Progress evaluations are one-on-one consultation meetings between academy students and their teacher. Their purpose is to inform academy students of their strengths and weaknesses and guide them down their ideal path to becoming a strong shinobi. Upon graduating the academy and passing their jounin-sensei test, new genin return to the academy for one final consultation. (Or: The story of what happens when Umino Iruka uses his final meetings with his students as way to send them off to become the best shinobi they can possibly be.)

(Iruka! Is! The! Best! Teacher! Ever! End of story!!! Great interpretation of all the characters and their capabilities and I am so so excited for the sequel that will undoubtedly come! XD)

Celestial Bodies by Oceanbreeze7

Sasuke looked at the fire, eyes glowing red as the mutated corrupted seal on his throat. "Amaterasu blessed me. I see things. Like you with two normal eyes and the Hokage. And Sakura with a seal on her forehead. And I run Chidori through Naruto's heart. I keep trying to kill him. Over and over. And that knuckleheaded idiot never gives up.”

(Don't you get it? I saw it. The moon will bleed, the nations will die. The world is going to end.)

Part 1 of Celestial Bodies and Anomalies

(I swear, this fic freaking elevated my expectations on Sasuke-centric fics in general holy hell. Also, read the fucking sequel after this cause EVERYTHING GOES NUTS AND THE PLOT GOES OFF AND I'M HERE FOR THIS SHIT. Fucking Uchihas man. Also, you wouldn't think this series is funny, but it is, and it's amazing.)

A step to the left (and right off the cliff) by weavingBlue

Team Seven starts off on a different foot and Sasuke's canonical journey to get stronger goes off the rails a bit. It all works out though. Probably.

(This fic went in a direction I didn't expect and it's GLORIOUS. SO FUNNY, I honestly was dying while I was reading this. Please give this a chance!!)

promises by BombsAreForBabies

It's her first kiss and Naruto's last. She promises him that she will bring Sasuke home. It's his dying wish, after all.

(Naruto bleeds out faster than the kyuubi can heal him.

Sakura learns that being a ninja is more than fancy jutsu and fun.

Sasuke does not know that he just killed his best friend and turned his most loyal comrade into his worst enemy.)

(Listen LISTEN I know this sounds depressing but the relationship developments and slow healing is EVERYTHING and I think it's absolutely worth it to read this. Sakura's characterization is so good and Kakashi makes me want to hug him. A lot.)

Fang Under Fang by Vroomian

"Are we sure he's really an Inuzuka?"

(The answer is no.)

-

Someone reborn as Inuzuka Kiba not only has to deal with bullshit ninja magic, but soulmates being A Thing.

(Really good self-insert fic and its platonic soulmates, not romantic! I am always here for a good Kiba-centric fic and I won't say who the soulmate is. It's unexpected but so, so good! Trust me!)

Haunt The Lonely by Tht0neGal666

(Series where Sakura can see ghosts and the Things she gets up to due to this ability. The fics are short but man, you can already see the shifting differences in Team 7's dynamics, it's great!)

Perception by Ellie_Enchanted

Naruto can sense auras, which throws everything off it's balance. Because really, with someone as open as Naruto running around and peering into the depths of people's souls, something is bound to change. In other words, sometimes all that's needed is a push. Also, Sasuke apparently glows.

(Naruto the empath changing the plot and making it Better and I am loving it!)

Crossfire by DejaVu22

Following the events of Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke never makes it to Orochimaru's hideout. Instead, he is waylaid by a one-eyed man named Tobi, a man possessing a Sharingan, a terrifying dual personality, a penchant for always being late, and a single-minded mission to stop the Akatsuki in their tracks. When Sasuke runs into Naruto again years later, he must ally with his old teammate in order to protect him from the Akatsuki, while keeping him out of the two man war Tobi and Sasuke have started against the dangerous organization.

(I honest to god can't stop cackling when I read this, the Sasuke & Obito dynamic is so freaking chaotic and Sasuke's characterization is the best thing I've ever read. This boi is a mEsS and I'm fucking rooting for him. He cares so much! There's secret identity shenanigans happening on sasuke's end and it's HILARIOUS! This is the duo I never thought I needed but here it is! *cackles insanely*)

-

[Diamond no Ace]

Echo in His Hands by SportRayne (rayningnight)

Ship: Miyuki/Sawamura

What does it mean, when you remember snapshots of your own future?

Is it your future at all, if you change it?

Would you even want to change it?

(Look I am WEAK for BAMF Eijun and time travel fics and Miyuki being a tanuki bastard, okay? Time travel fic where Eijun gets feelings of people he knew before in the future. Really good so far and am so excited over this fic!)

The path we walk by WindsOfTime

Ship: Miyuki/Sawamura

Eijun goggles at the magazine she just shoved into his hands. "W-Wakana!" "I know!" she says, beaming. "That's my soulmate!!" "I know!!" "My soulmate plays baseball!!"

(Became such an instant fave so fast it's unbelievable. I LOVE THESE IDIOTS SO MUCH! Best soulmate fic in this fandom, hands down!)

-

[One Piece]

switching places by fireflywitch

Zoro is 21 and wakes up in a desert they already saved, on a ship that they burned two years ago, and standing next to a man who is supposed to be dead. Except, that can’t be right, can it?

Zoro is 19 and wakes up on a ship that’s too big, next to a robot wearing a swimsuit, and he’s supposed to fight something called a Kaido. Also, he’s missing an eye, and no one’s even a little worried about it?

(or)

Time travel is a shitshow, and Zoro didn't sign up for this.

(FUCKING HILARIOUS ZORO IS THE BEST PERSON TO SEND BACK IN TIME CAUSE HE'D BE TERRIBLE YET FANTASTIC AT IT I CAN'T MAN FIEWNOPFEW)

No Time To Crank The Sun by VIKAN

He’s surrounded by strangers, but they’re all trying to convince him otherwise. Or, Zoro faces a mysterious and relentless challenge that he just can’t wrap his head around.

(This ripped my heart open, I cried reading this my god. Please read this, the pain is so worth it and Zoro and his relationship with his crew is so good here. This reminded me why I love the Straw Hats so much!)

-

[Fairy Tail]

to learn about a lucy (with a look into the future.) by るる凪 - nagi (arurun)

A watching the future fanfic.

It's currently X781, three years before canon. A group of Fairy Tail mages find themselves in a large building, with no known way out.

They sit down, and they watch the future.

(This is so much more fun than I thought it would be and I'm so happy I found this fic. This fic reignited my old love for this fandom and I hope it does for you too!)

-

[Harry Potter]

sunflowers by Marnie27

One day, a young girl sits on the edge of a well. On this day, she falls in. Then the next, she’s not even a ‘she’ anymore. He’s Peter Pettigrew — doomed to die at the hands of his (betrayed) friend’s son.

Peter is selfish, bitter and brash. He’s not some fairy tale hero, he doesn’t care if everyone around him dies, as long as he lives. The marauders are annoying and childish. Survival is his priority, and he can’t afford to face distractions.

This just makes the fact that soulmates are now apparently a thing all the more godawful.

(And then another day years later he falls into an entirely new impossibility, Remus Lupin in tow, right into the third book of Harry Potter. Smack bang on the other Peter Pettigrew’s grave).

It’s confusing and graceless, and entirely something that would happen to him of all people.

(Self-insert fic where a girl reincarnates into Peter Pettigrew! And there are soulmates! And it's angsty and hilarious and Peter is an Asshole (somewhat unintentionally lol). Always a fan of biased pov fics and characters slowly improving themselves and their mental health! Cause dying! Is! Traumatic! *smiley face* Please read!)

-

[Crossovers]

he's a killer queen, sunflower, guillotine by hoye

Fandoms: Fullmetal Alchemist, Harry Potter

He has to be the weirdest Hufflepuff Harry’s ever seen. Scratch that, he’s the weirdest Hufflepuff Hogwarts has ever seen.

(One thing everyone could agree on: NEVER call Edward Elric short.)

(This is peak Edward Elric and all the best things about him and I'm just having a Good Time. Friendships! Logical solutions! Marauder screentime! And so much More! *bright grin* It's a fun place here!)

[kitkatopinions]

Jaune for the character ask?

I honestly love this kid, but he is a problematic boy, so I’m looking forward to this!

My top three ships for the character

Jaune/Ren is my new favorite Jaune and Ren ship. This is really recent, but the more I think about this ship, the more that I like it. They’re tender, they compliment each other, but they still can challenge each other... I just think they’d be really healthy and cute. Jaune/Neptune is my next favorite ship for him. I headcanon that Neptune had a crush on him in V2 (I also headcanon that all his flirting with girls was a front, though, that he put on to ‘be cool.’) But yeah, Jaune is dorky and cringe, but he learns and grows and turns into this strong leader and kinda a heroic figure, and Neptune puts on a ‘super cool’ act, but has his dorky moments and is an academic, who’s clearly a follower and I think he’d start to admire Jaune. And then, Jaune/Pyrrha as a ship has a lot of problems, and I don’t think it’s an ‘end game’ ship (I mean, she’s dead in canon, but if I was writing a fanfiction where they were in a relationship and she didn’t die, I’d have them break up.) But I do think they could be cute for a stretch with some great interactions and they looked good together. They’re a ‘start-dating-love-each-other-break-up-still-love-each-other’ ship and I’d have loved to see it.

My three least favorite ships for the character

Jaune/Penny is pretty bad because he’s killed her and whether or not she wanted him to, it still soured the ship for me. Jaune/Emerald and Jaune/Mercury are tied here for the next spot because contributing to the death of someone’s ‘might’ve been something’ best friend is gonna be a permanent mark against the ship imo. But the very worst Jaune ship I’ve seen is Jaune/Cardin. Cardin’s a bully and an abusive jerk and Jaune deserves way way better. I can’t see Cardin ever shaping up, and I feel like if they met now that Jaune’s older and has changed and grown so much, Jaune would just view him with an amused sort of contempt.

My biggest criticism for the character

The RWBY writers spent too much time framing him like the main character and giving him way more character growth and strong, emotional scenes than the actual main character. Jaune is a great support character, he thrives as the team-medic, Ruby’s best friend, support and back up where it’s needed. I’m not saying none of Jaune’s character beats should’ve existed - his storyline is one of the stronger storylines in the show - but this is supposed to be Team RWBY and specifically Ruby Rose’s story. They’re supposed to be the four main characters and yet all of them are constantly taking a backseat. Jaune isn’t the only offender in stealing tons of time and the emotional character beats that should go to Team RWBY, but he is the most frequent offender. I love love love Jaune, but I’d love him more if I wasn’t sitting here shaking my head at how the writers apparently can’t write a compelling story about four main woman heroes and instead have to give the most emotional moments of the finale to Jaune while dumping all of the mains out of it (one of them isn’t even in the finale at all!)

My favorite thing about the character

Jaune’s growth is just... Good. One of the best character journeys in RWBY imo. He starts out a gangly teen leagues behind everyone else who doesn’t understand his team, can’t stand up for himself, is throwing himself at girls in a desperate attempt at making himself feel better about his massive insecurities, refusing help from the people who care about him because he has this idea in his head that he has to do it all himself. But you can tell there’s a lot of potential and he cares so much. ”I’m tired of being the loveable idiot stuck in the tree, while his friends fight for their lives,” he says. Then he opens himself up, starts to learn, starts to improve, starts to stand up for himself, starts to get to know his team more. And I wish we’d seen more of that sprinkled here and there throughout the first three seasons (although of course I don’t want the extra focus if Ruby doesn’t grow too!)  But he’s still not keeping up in fights, still struggling at times and needing reassurance, and now going through the pain and grief of losing his best friend and almost-girlfriend. He lashes out, he’s aggressive, but he’s also much closer and softer to his remaining best friends, becoming the much needed family they’re both lacking, while being a great friend to Ruby. Then he becomes a huntsman, and while there are cringe moments and frustrating writing during V7 and V8 just like there are for almost every character, he still has some great moments. I actually love that everyone else didn’t want to take a mission of helping a bunch of kids get from point A to point B and Jaune did, because Jaune was just happy to take a mission as a hunter. I love that when Jaune was reasoning with Winter in V8 and accepting ‘if you go into that whale to get your friend, I can’t wait for you all, you might die’ and he understood that and didn’t try to argue it! He definitely lost some braincells in season 8, don’t get me wrong, but dang, I do love that consistent growth. It’s a shame Ruby didn’t get the same treatment.

A headcanon I have about them

I headcanon that Jaune was raised mostly by his sisters and that his parents were always working, and he had a lot of successful, high-achieving, talented siblings who were all a lot older than him and took care of him, so he wasn’t neglected at all. But he did grow up with an element of isolation and loneliness, not because he was ever really alone, but because he was always alone in his experiences. He was always the baby, always the only one struggling, his sisters always only able to come at his problems from the perspective of ‘I went through that ten years ago’ if at all, and Jaune always felt not even second best, but eigth best and I’m just realizing that that last one probably came from Ron Weasley omg. But I also think his parents loved him and tried to communicate that to him. But they really struggled with Jaune because things never came easy to him the way they did for the others and he was a sensitive kid a lot different than his dad (who I just decided did the whole toxic ‘I want a son to play baseball with because I can’t do that with a daughter and now my only son isn’t good at sports and idk how to talk to him because he’s sensitive and not manly’ thing.) So yeah, that’s part of the reason why Jaune struggled so much when he first got to school.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

Honestly, just reducing his role a bit and increasing Ruby’s role makes him so much better. No more being the only person who’s allowed to express grief, no more ‘Ruby is unconscious while Jaune gets to weep over Weiss’s wounded form and unlock his power while she’s out for the count.’ No more ‘Jaune’s the leader with the map and the special emphasis in the V4 opening, Ruby acts like his support character.’ No more ‘he’s the only one who can ever resolve issues and mediate and comes up with most of the plans.’ No more ‘Jaune is the one who gets the finale big moments with Penny despite not even really talking to Penny and he gets the climatic end and he goes on the special spirt Island void place with the mains to get extra attention. Jaune gets to thrive as a central support character.

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

Okay, right off the bat, I’ve got a big problem with Jaune’s allusion. A. I already think there’s a bit of a weird lack of line in what they’ll make a character allusion, but I think ‘a meme’ and ‘an actual historical figure’ should’ve been where they drew that line. And B. Jaune  he started the series in a place of toxic masculinity, which feels weird when it’s a real life person regarded as a feminist icon. So I would definitely for sure just change his whole allusion. I’ve been thinking about maybe Lucy Pevensie from Narnia? Older siblings, no one believes (in) Jaune, but he proves himself soon enough, Jaune winds up following what’s basically a god (Oz,) Jaune is the healer (juice of the fire flower,) and he comes into his own as a brave and valiant leader, but recognizes the authority of others, struggles with jealousy and feeling unprepared, but his pure heart drives him... Increase his devotion to Ozpin and add one or two of the classic Ruby gimmicks would make this pretty easily done.

So there are my answers to the Jaune asks!

[courtneystriker]

My Thoughts on the HG Prequel

I just finished reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and I got to say, my feelings are mixed. Below I have an entire review  for the story which included how I felt, the expectations, the biases I had going into the new book, and how I felt after reading. Please note there will be spoilers. Also this review isn’t meant to hurt anyone and if you absolutely love the book so far...good! Enjoy it fully! As an aspiring writer myself and someone who studied in college/loves creative writing I’m well aware that people just have different takes on writing. Glad you are enjoying it :)

Anyways, here it goes…

The Expectations

As the Hunger Games series is one of my favorites of all time, I had a strong bias to like this book. Since it was first announced, without knowing any details, I was extremely excited and optimistic. I re-read the entire Hunger Games series twice beforehand in preparation; once with my fiancé and once on my own. The only thing I really wanted, knowing that it took place during the tenth hunger games, was that the arena reflected how new the hunger games were. Then, when we learned what the series was about, people started voicing some concerns or were disappointed by the plot, instead wanting it to be something like Finnick’s arena, Haymitch’s, Mags’, etc. etc. I was not among this group. However, I understand where they were coming from, because I always thought the idea of the first Quarter Quell (the one where the districts voted for the tributes) was an extremely interesting concept. 

Yet I think these things are best left explored in fanfiction as they add nothing to the series and Suzanne Collins did an excellent job just giving us enough information to get the idea. At that point it’d just be a book on details, which could fall short or be a gimmicky, cheap way to keep people reading the series and keep her name relevant. And wasn’t that part of the message in her series, the thing Katniss so heavily criticized that gave a great irony to the books? Who would watch children killing each other for entertainment? Meanwhile, we as the reader are reading these books as a form of entertainment. Plus, Suzanne Collins so skillfully painted the illusion of knowing but not fully knowing their stories that it’s haunting, and I think that is one of the many reasons (along with the battle royale trope being naturally compelling, liking the characters, etc.) that a lot of us are more drawn towards these stories rather than (at least for me)  a book on Snow. 

That being said, I was not against the idea of a book on Snow because I find villain characters, especially grey ones, to be very interesting to read about, and I was pretty certain Suzanne was going to handle this beautifully, especially since you could already feel this atmosphere coming off of Snow in the Hunger Games series. I know some were really concerned about a Snow redemption arc, but to me it felt very obvious that it couldn’t be and it would be more of him sliding into evil.

I did have other concerns when I read the description for the first time. I could not believe they went with the whole tribute from District Twelve thing again. I loved Katniss and District Twelve, but I did not want Katniss 2.0. I said right from the beginning to my fiancé that she’d have to make the tribute from District Twelve extremely different for me to get on board (though I was holding on faith that Collins would). It just felt cheap and gimmicky to rehash the District Twelve thing, it sort of made me feel the same way I would have if she had written about one of the games I mentioned above. Sure, it’d sell, but it wouldn’t add anything to the series. I was thinking she better not hunt, sing, or have any qualities resembling Katniss really.  

Another thing I worried about was the love story they hinted at in the description. It just didn’t make sense to me. Because how was Snow going to ever support the games if from an earlier age he fell in love with a tribute and vowed to protect her? Then later he’s all like pro-hunger games? Just this itself could weaken the entire series if done poorly, because it would weaken the main antagonist’s motives for not only the prequel but also the Hunger Games series as well. I kept thinking either the girl has to die in the arena betraying Snow somehow (which is what I was hoping for), Snow will have to betray her, or perhaps he would have been faking love for her for some sort of personal gain I couldn’t imagine. Either way, I thought it weakened the story's appeal to me. Yet overall I was still excited, desperately waiting for the book’s release. 

And now that I have read it, I have to say it felt forced at a lot of parts and lackluster overall…

*Spoilers start here*

My Review:

Suszanne Collins’ writing style is one I’ve always loved and has consistently appealed to me. Even though this book is written in 3rd person (which some may like less if you don’t particularly like third person) it holds up well against the original series. So I really had no complaints in this regard besides the excessive use of songs (felt like fanfiction a bit). I think if you liked the original series and don’t mind third person you’ll feel right at home with her style.

The concerns others had about Snow’s redemption are completely dismissed in this book. Like I had predicted, she writes about his fall into evil, and although it’s not black and white evil (as I don’t like anyways) you can very much tell he’s a bad guy and that the hardships he faced in life only further pushed him towards obtaining status and power. Overall, he feels true to the character when we end up seeing him in the Hunger Games series, and his journey to power fits the images Finnick painted in Mockingjay. He is very well characterized in the book and perfectly unlikable while maintaining an intriguing internal dialogue (although it does occasionally feel tedious, but not enough to bother me; others may feel differently).

 The way he is written is very much in line with Collin’s great characterization, one of the reasons I always loved The Hunger Games. All the characters felt like real people. They all had an extreme depth to them and I felt they all resembled people I had actually met in real life. There were little to no characters that relied solely on gimmicky personalities to get by. Even very minor characters that seemed depthless and swallow at first--like Katniss’s prep team--had more to them. So I thought going into this book I had nothing to worry about in that regard. I didn’t even really spare it a thought, but boy was I wrong. 

I think Snow and Lucy Grey were the only characters that had (at least partly) the depth that the original Hunger Games cast had. I’ll discuss Lucy Grey later but first let me talk about some side characters. Where to even begin really? There’s a LOT of characters in this book. Frankly, way too many, which I think contributes heavily to the lack of depth in the characters. Honestly there’s so many that the names of characters were hard to keep track of while listening to the audiobook (my hard copy of the book was still in the mail and I didn’t want to wait). Things got a bit clustered in my mind quickly. There were twenty-four tributes, twenty-four mentors,  Snow’s family, The Dean and Drs at the university, Snow’s Peacekeeper crew, and the Covey, and those are just the groups that I can cluster together. At least, the ones I remember having names and getting introduced, but I think that’s everyone really important. There was no real time to develop or get to know them really, which made the tributes’ deaths more meaningless as I could barely recall their names. It caused impactful scenes to weaken significantly overall and it made characters serve only to characterize and amplify Snow’s fall into evil. 

Here’s what I mean by that. The head Gamemaker, Dr. Gaul, really was the character I hated the most while reading this. She was just evil without reason (one of the weakest villain types with little to no personality besides being evil). She even made creepy rhymes as if she was in some sort of horror movie, and the entire point of her character was to contribute a lot to some of the forced plot points driving Snow’s moral decline. For example, there were all her tests, which seemed contrived and all directly connected to getting Snow to think the Hunger Games was a good idea. She was seemingly supposed to be a Dr. Mengele type character, as this book has a lot of Holocaust-esqe imagery. I’m fine with irredeemably evil villains, but instead of getting the depth that a Dr. Mengele character could offer (as some may know, many children that were part of his experiments actually said he was kind and gave them candy, and I find that deeply haunting to this day.) She is a flat, one-dimensional character whose entire personality could be described with one word: sociopath. Evil people are master manipulators, which is how they get away with evil things. I think at one of the funerals she puts on a good public face, and she seems to have power, money and influence. Yet the book doesn’t show this seemingly present quality nearly enough to make her a haunting character. Instead we get nursery rhythms and clearly driven lessons towards evil at are contrived. Like “Write about what you most liked about the war” or the assignment to improve the hunger games? Like what class is this? Why are they taking it? And why are the young kids of the influential deciding this instead of the influential people themselves?

Another character I feel was just there for Snow’s development and to represent an opposite viewpoint but lacked Collin’s usual depth is Sejanus Plinth. As a District 2 citizen whose family got rich off the war and moved to the Capitol, he is the main opposing viewpoint of the book, presenting Snow with a chance to do the right thing. I’ve seen people say he’s a Peeta-like character, but I completely reject that idea. He lacks in the charm Peeta has, relishes in self-pity (although he’s completely justified in his sadness and has a right to be upset), and while he has a heart like Peeta, he ultimately doesn’t know how to use it. Instead of working within his position to get influence like Peeta so masterfully does, he’s hot-headed and continuously makes poor decisions that ultimately don’t help anyone. It’s like he wants to help but doesn’t know how as he’s driven completely by emotion without reason. He too contributes to some forced scenes, particularly my least favorite in the book; when they sneak into the arena. Overall, he just falls flat for me. Again, I feel I don’t know anything about him beyond what he contributes to Snow’s story line and he doesn’t come across as realistic. It’s like Collins just wrote how someone would normally react to the hunger games, slapped a district number on him and went on her merry way. 

I just wasn’t prepared for these sort of characters when the Hunger Games series made even the smallest of characters stand out dramatically. I feel neutral to annoyed by most characters in this novel. I could expand this portion, and maybe if people inquire I’ll elaborate on some of the other characters as I have strong opinions on them, but this post is already getting long, so I’ll move on to Lucy Grey.

Lucy Grey is by far my favorite character even though she is bordering towards being a character from a fanfiction. Not quite a Mary Sue in my opinion but there is a certain connection to fanfiction I made with her. You may have guessed some issues I had with her by reading my expectations earlier in the post, but that has not displaced my love for her. Her personality is very different from Katniss’s, or even Peeta’s or Haymitch’s. She had a different type of charm than all of them, is a natural performer, and seemed more extroverted. Also, the whole idea of the Covey and her “not really” being district was intriguing. It really highlighted the displacement that war can cause and how people can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Although I was confused on how much mobility between the districts there were….and did District Twelve have a fence or no?) It really emphasizes one of the main themes of the book, extreme prejudice against both Capitol and District. Her spot sort of in between really drives home the point that there's literally no difference except extreme poverty, and even then there was poverty in the Capitol, only better hidden. Her bright mood (and clothes), her poised attitude, and her optimism made her endearing. She was confident in her skin yet still held the fear of a sixteen year old going into the hunger games.

There were only two main things that bothered me about her, which was of course the direct connections made to Katniss (which I’ll elaborate on) and the forced “love” story between her and Snow. I suppose that has less to do with her and rather more to do with my dislike of that subplot. And I'm a sucker for some good romantic subplots, but yikes!

I think having one strong connection to Katniss was all that was really needed in this book. I really liked the idea of that connection being the Hanging Tree Song, as I can only imagine how it made Snow feel watching “The Mockingjay” sing it in the propo. Despite me not liking that fact that Lucy Grey is also an enchanting singer as that felt like directly stepping in Katniss’s territory, I did enjoy the little twist of Lucy Grey writing the song. Yet the connections between the two when the plot took us to District Twelve went too far. It felt like it took away all of Katniss’s special places and things. The lake, her katniss roots, her gift towards music, her fondness for the meadow, sneaking into the woods, etc. I think one solid connection would have solidified their bond beautifully. Having so many seemed like it was really trying to force the reader to make the connection when it was already painfully clear I guess? Plus, having Lucy stand out at her reaping ( the whole song part read like a bad, contrived fanfiction bit to me) and having people care about her in the Capitol while moral questions of the hunger games were still surfacing made me start to think...isn’t this how the rebellion for Katniss got started? At least partly. I get it’s a different time. Too close to the war. It just felt way too similar. I guess Collins was going for the idea of a lost rebellion that in a way Lucy Grey started that Katniss later revives. Yet it feels like that invalidates the specialness of what Katniss does in the original series as it’s already happened; it just got erased. I guess history repeats itself, but I really just didn’t like it. I could see the appeal to some extent, and it could be a beautiful connection, but it just wasn’t for me.

Now on to the plot, which is the last thing I’ll talk about as this post is getting ridiculously long. A lot of the plot felt very forced or contrived, which was another shocker coming from Collins because her pacing and plot was done really well in the original series. Of course, a lot of this was driven by Dr. Gaul and Sejanus Plinth as the entire plot hinged on the moral debate of the hunger games these two represent. Other plot points just hinged on what happened to establish the games. I mean the rebel bomb explosion seemingly only happened to change the terrain so Dr. Gaul can then bring up the idea of the different arena and how that made the tributes act differently, thus creating the crazy arenas we see later in the series. I do have some praise for how Collins established the disparities between the earlier hunger games and the ones we see in Katniss day. From the way they lock the tributes up, don’t feed them, the spotty coverage of the arena, etc. All of that was exceptionally well done. The only complaint I have was that so many tributes died before they even got to the arena (though not because I wanted to see them fight). I had been expecting one to escape or something to further establish that this was new territory and was waiting to see how they handled it in earlier times, but I wasn’t expecting that many to die before the arena got started. It just seemed like a huge Capitol failure that they advertised loudly. I really wasn’t expecting that level of incompetence, just an escaped tribute that threatened to embarrass or harm the fragile beginnings of post-war Panem. Instead, most of the pre-arena stuff felt disastrous. A lot of the mentors' deaths felt forced, and it was weird that the academy never really came under fire at all from all the rich and powerful parents whose children were getting killed because of the mentor experiment. Like it seemed there should have been some interaction there, but there wasn’t. Maybe some was passively mentioned but still, it could have been a whole subplot that further established the debate of the hunger games.

While the pre-arena up to the break-in to the arena felt like the most forced part of the book and certainly I felt it needed more workshopping plot wise, it also harbored some great and powerful scenes, like Arachne pulling the sandwich away from the tribute while she was starving and laughing about it. Basically, all those interactions of poverty and captivity meeting the citizens of the Capitol were done well, but nothing spectacular (unlike the scene of Katniss screaming at Buttercup at the end of Mockingjay which is heart wrenching.)

The last plot point I’ll talk about is the “love” story. I wasn’t a fan, but it was sort of what a lot of the plot hinged on and led to the great scene at the lake between Snow and Lucy Grey. How easy it was for him to betray his “love” for status. This led to some of the most interesting and evil internal monologue Snow had in the entire book. I honestly feel the ending scene, the interaction Snow had with the jabberjays and Mockingjays in District Twelve, and the lynching scenes were among the strongest and most memorable.

The love story again felt forced (sorry I’m using that word so much it’s just so accurate) into the story. This hindered the book from having a strong plot in the same way the weaker characters caused forced interactions and plot points to move things along. Yet at the same time the kind of abusive and lackluster nature of their relationship throughout the book fit perfectly with the ending. Unfortunately, it didn’t really make it very compelling for the reader. Luckily Lucy’s  personality kept my interested during these parts. I wouldn’t say their relationship was poorly written at all; in fact the way it was written makes perfect sense. I just think the plot relied too heavily on their “love”, which was gross because of the way Snow is, and the reader knew it had to inevitably end in some kind of betrayal or reveal that there was no love at all. This creates tension for the reader, but I kept wondering: if the love plot had been ditched could we have gotten a stronger plot altogether?

So overall, like I’ve said I’m really conflicted. I know I focused heavily on things I didn’t like, but honestly the book was well written in some regards, plot bouncing between really compelling and a little contrived, the two main characters being written well enough but other characters not so much. Some connections between Lucy Grey and Katniss made at the end were powerful, I loved the Covey, Collins still excelled at writing a lot of the social issues/scenes in the book, and honestly the idea of Lucy Grey being completely forgotten in the Districts that hurts my soul a little. Nothing compared to the feelings I got in any of the Hunger Games books but there’s still something there.

I really hope someone made it through this long ass post. The book was entertaining. I mean I listened to all 16 hours of the audiobook in like a day. I can’t wait until my hardcover comes so I can look through it. Maybe once I know what I’m getting into I can enjoy the book a little more than I did, because right now it’s sitting at very average for me. Maybe I went in with my expectations too high? I certainly like the Hunger Games a lot more and probably always will. Honestly, I love new content, but I’m also the type that likes firm, planned endings to stories (even though it hurts to let things end and the fandoms can suffer from lack of content). I think fans can oftentimes get caught up in what they want and pressure the writer into writing more, which ends up a disappointment since it wasn’t originally planned in the series from the beginning. While I don’t think this is by any means the case with Suzanna Collins or that Lionsgate even pressured her to write this book (I don’t like conspiracies of that sort of thing as a writer myself that plans to have a series in which a book comes out many years after the original part of the series is released), I do wonder if this is the end of the Hunger Games for good. I sure hope so, especially if she would be writing about the other victors. I love them too much and really don’t want to feel similarly about their books, and like I said at the beginning, it wouldn’t add to the series just to my guilty pleasure lol.

Hope you all have enjoyed your reading of the book more than I did :) Again sorry if I wrote anything to upset you! Please if you loved this book ENJOY IT! I’m actually kind of jealous if you did. Feels like missing out on something special.

[bgn846]

The Niflheim Experiment FFXV Fanfic

Summary:            

Gladio has been captured by the empire! However, his rescuers are not who he expected.  Will Gladio survive his rescue and the new threat that is looming over them with the advancing empire. Unfortunately, things are not as they seem when you look closely enough.

Notes:    

It was one scene flitting around in my head that set this weird fic in motion.  Plus I love my whump n fluff.  And Gladio needs more whump in the fanfic world. He's so much fun to take care of. XD

Chapter 1: In Which Life Turns Sideways                 

The sensation of hands on his neck caused Gladio to flinch. Attempting to pull away only resulted in making things worse.  The heavy metal collar fastened around his neck bit into his flesh when he moved, causing him to cry out in pain.  

“Stop squirming,” Came a gruff but whispered command, “I can’t help you if you keep pulling away.”  

“Leave me alone.” Gladio managed.  

“I know you’re hurting, but I’m trying to get this collar off to get you out of here.”

It had to be a lie, another trick they were playing on him.  His time in this torturous facility had been a blur of unpleasant memories.   Maybe it was a good thing he couldn’t remember much.  Anytime he’d awoken it was due to something painful happening to him.   Struggling to focus his tired eyes on the person hovering over him, Gladio winced when the collar came free.

Rolling over to his side hurt like hell but it was first amount of movement he’d been allowed since being chained to the floor.  The man continued to work on the rest of his restraints.  His wrists and ankles were secured as well.

The sound of footsteps drew his attention once more.  Staring in terror at the door he sucked in a harsh breath when the high commander himself strode in.

“Get his feet free!” The younger man commanded of Ravus when he stepped into the room.

Ravus didn’t utter a word as he knelt down to remove the metal cuffs.  Gladio didn’t know how long it’d been since the attack.  He could have been lying there for weeks or hours he wasn’t sure.  The only thing that had kept him somewhat sane was knowing Noct had made it to safety.  Gladio had ensured that much.   He could die knowing he’d done his duty as shield.

“Did you find his clothes?” The man asked quickly.

“Highwind has them.”

Right he was half naked, he’d been stripped of all his belongings when he’d been captured.  They’d unceremoniously dumped him in this room in nothing but his boxers.  Gladio could actually say for once in his life he was cold.  Six, he hated being so helpless.

The effort it took to not cry when the last shackle was removed was monumental.  He’d been restrained the whole time and the idea that his condition might be improving was nearly too emotional to handle.   Attempting to sit up didn’t go very well.  Gladio barely lifted his head off the floor when a terrible pain blossomed in his stomach.  He nearly passed out from the intensity.  Instead Gladio curled in on himself and gasped for breath.  He just wanted to go home.

The stupid assholes who’d been torturing him kept him weak enough that he couldn’t summon the armiger.   First it was drug induced, but then something had changed.  Gladio could feel his body behaving more and more sluggish.  It was worrisome as he’d never felt like this before.  It didn’t match being sick, his body felt like it was dissolving from the inside out.   That couldn’t be possible though, things like that didn’t happen, did they?

A hand grabbed his shoulder and then he felt another grab his ankle. Astrals no, they meant to lock him back up again!  “Please don’t,” he begged, “leave me alone.”

This time Ravus spoke up.  “Calm yourself Amicitia, we’re moving you to a stretcher.  I believe I’m correct in assuming you can’t walk.” He finished.

All Gladio could do in response was nod and watch as the other man and Ravus arranged his limbs.  Where were they taking him?  Maybe the scientists that had been poking and prodding at him were done and now he was being left to rot in a cell somewhere.

The ceiling lights blurred as they transported him somewhere else.   The sound of a dropship engine caused Gladio to panic slightly.  Turning his head he started looking for MT’s.  He didn’t spot any but they were definitely headed towards one of the ships.  “Are you – are you gonna drop me out from up high?” he worried.

Ravus actually looked offended at the suggestion. “No of course not.” He huffed in response.

Taking a breath to try and calm his nerves Gladio looked to the other man to see what his reaction had been.  The kid seemed unfazed but when he caught him looking he tripped slightly, shifting the stretcher.

“Watch your step Loqi, the cargo is already fairly damaged.  I don’t need you breaking him further.”

The young man, Loqi, scowled at Ravus but continued into the ship.

The sharp tap of hard shoes drew Gladio’s attention once they’d made it to the bridge.  Suddenly an angry looking woman was standing over him and peering down.  “Why does he look like he’s dying?” She asked with a frown.

“Highwind, must you be so tactless.”  Ravus groaned as they set the stretcher down on the floor.

“Just saying, your plan won’t work if he kicks the bucket before we make it to Lucis.”

Hearing the mention of going home caused Gladio’s heart to ache, he wanted so desperately to be done with this ordeal.  Choosing to ignore the harsh words spoken by this woman Gladio tried not to panic.  Another wave of pain hit him and he closed his eyes trying to breathe through the worst of it.  A hand touched his forehead a second later and he leaned into the touch without thinking.

“Shhh, here lift your head I have something soft for underneath.”

It was the woman, Highwind.  Despite her gruff demeanor she carefully held his head while arranging the cushion.  It was a small thing but it helped.  The younger man Loqi came back into his line of vision, he was holding a blanket.  Highwind took it and unfurled it over his aching body.

“Rest if you can, we have a difficult journey ahead of us.” She offered before standing and walking away.

With nothing else to do besides fret, Gladio slowly succumbed to his exhaustion and let his mind go numb.  The sound of the engines droning loudly was the last thing he remembered before passing out.        

Waking up in pain had become common place for Gladio over the past few days.  This time was no different.  It took several minutes to remember where he was and that no one had tried to kill him yet.

Gasping at the terrible sensation in his body he rolled over to see if it helped.  However, the spike of pain that shot through his right side was nearly unbearable and he cried out. His right arm felt so weird as he attempted to lift it out from under the blanket.    The sight that greeted him was terrifying.  His arm up to the elbow was black and the veins traveling up to his shoulder were tinged dark.

His distress had garnered the attention of Loqi who’d apparently been sitting nearby.  “Shit!  Guys we may need to change our plans. He’s turning.”

“What!?” Ravus exclaimed as he came to investigate.  “Dammit!  I thought you said we’d have more time!”

“Those fuckers must have injected him again before we got him out.” Loqi cried out.  “How much time do we have?”

Gladio was confused as to what Loqi was shouting about.  His arm had changed color and they were clamoring on about how much time they had?  Wasn’t he the one that needed more time? Finally finding his voice he tried to find out what was going on.  “What’s happening to me?” He gasped.

“You’re still lucid, thank the six.” Ravus spit out as he knelt down next to him.  “We need to slow the process down until we figure out what to do.”

“Slow what process?” Gladio nervously asked.  “Don’t take me back! Please!” He was starting to get frantic, it sounded like they needed somebody in a lab coat to examine him.  

“Calm yourself Amicitia, you’re going to make it spread faster!”

Gladio whimpered as another wave of pain ripped through his body.  “It’s – it’s get’n worse, help me!”

“Loqi grab my bag!” Ravus ordered as he pushed Gladio flat on his back once more.

Gladio barely had time to register what exactly Ravus was doing before he appeared in his line of sight holding a syringe.   “NO! I don’t want that!” Gladio shouted as Ravus took the cap off.

“Gladiolus I need to slow your heart rate down or you’ll die!”

Continuing to shake his head no Gladio couldn’t even fight back when Ravus injected the contents into his neck.  The needle stung going in but it was nothing compared to the pain still coursing through the right side of his body.  The last thing Gladio heard before he blacked out was Ravus ordering the dropship to a new location.    

The feeling of delicate hands grasping his face brought Gladio’s mind back to the present.  A rush of cool tingling magic flowed through his body as he struggled to work out what was happening.  Attempting to pry open his eyelids didn’t work, they felt like lead.  No, his entire body felt that way.  He couldn’t move at all and the now familiar feeling of a panic attack was starting to form.

Trying to speak didn’t go as planned either, his voice came out more like a guttural choking noise. This at least elicited a response from someone nearby.

“You’re alright, please try to relax.”

The voice was female but it didn’t sound like the woman he’d met earlier, Highwind.  Forever stubborn, Gladio swallowed and tried to talk again.  “Help me.” Was all he could muster.

The unknown voice came back with a response. “I am, you’re alright.”

Something that sounded like an explosion caused him to suck in a harsh breath.  What was going on?  The sound of pounding footsteps came next and he heard Ravus shouting instructions to someone.  Something about leaving now or they’d all be dead.  He wanted to ask so many questions, but the moment he tried to open his mouth a second time a rush of magic overwhelmed his mind.

Things were very fuzzy after that, the noise of the engines filled his ears as he tried to stay conscious.  Needless to say it didn’t work.  His brief waking moments after that were incredibly hard to understand. Gladio had to go through the same mental gymnastics each time he surfaced.  Where was he, what was happening, was he still alive or had he died? Thankfully the pain that had seemed omnipresent in his body was gone.   He could count that as a small blessing.

Struggling to gather information from bits of conversation wasn’t easy, since Gladio never stayed conscious long enough to hear the full context.  The first time it occurred he’d heard Ravus arguing with someone.

“We can’t very well use it to travel to Lucis now can we?!” The response was muffled but Ravus continued on. “If we survive this mess I’ll buy you a new one!”

Were they talking about a car?  Suddenly his body jostled to the side making him panic slightly.  Still unable to open his eyes or move he was working to stay calm.  It took far too long to realize the stretcher he’d been laid out on had been lifted.

“Loqi don’t pout, it doesn’t become you.” Ravus sighed after a moment.

“I can carry her.” The younger boy huffed from somewhere near his feet.

“True, I just don’t want you too,” came the clipped response.

He slipped into a daze listening to Ravus and Loqi argue about carrying people.  Gladio knew he was heavy but that was because he was a tall guy.  The next time he came to it was because a woman was talking.  It sounded like Highwind.

“I’m going out whether you like it or not!”

“It’s not wise to do that yet.” Ravus all but yelled.

“Well in case you hadn’t noticed we’ve got no supplies, and people to care for.” Highwind spit back.  “Look it, I got us good accommodations for a few days, let’s take advantage of the break and get a plan put together.”  

Gladio heard Ravus sigh heavily.  Trying to pry his eyelids open finally worked, though it was only a fraction.  The bright light that came streaming back made him immediately stop.  Exhaustion drug him under once more as Ravus and Highwind bickered.    

“Are you sure it worked?” Was the excited whisper that roused him this time.  However, he’d not heard enough to determine who’d spoken.   Taking a steadying breath he worked to open his eyes.  Thank the six Gladio was able to complete this task, he was beginning to worry he’d never figure out where he was.

“Finally!” A blurry figure hovering over him huffed.  “We thought you’d never come around.”

“Wha--,” he ground out before stopping and trying to swallow.  Shit, his mouth was dry.

“Here you need to drink.” Ravus’ disembodied voice sounded from somewhere.

“Can’t,” he croaked.

“We’ll help,” Ravus replied, “Loqi go grab his arm and make sure he stays upright.”

Having the world tilt into perspective was dizzying.  This also brought the sudden realization that Gladio had absolutely no strength left.  Unable to voice his fear of collapsing onto the floor he whined instead.

“We won’t let you fall, don’t worry.” Ravus calmly stated as he took a seat next to him.

Several things happened after Ravus sat down.  Gladio finally noticed that they were in a hotel room as he scanned the space.  Gripping something soft with his fingers caused him to look down, a real fucking bed.  Thank the astrals, no wonder he was having such a hard time waking up. The last thing he picked up on nearly made his eyes bulge out of his head.

Resting on the other bed in the room was Lady Lunafreya Nox Flueret.        

“Your sister?” Gladio questioned in a rasp.

Ravus hummed in response as he reached to grab a glass of water. “Here drink.”

Gladio didn’t complain when Ravus wouldn’t let him hold the glass on his own.  He knew what the result would be.  Water all over the six damned floor.  It also kept him from gulping the entire contents down in one go.

“When did your sister show up?” Gladio inquired still in shock after he took a breath.  

Loqi butted in before Ravus had the chance. “You were turning into a daemon so we needed to kidnap the princess to heal you.”

“I was wha – wait kidnap!” Gladio was having a hard time processing everything he’d been told.

“Loqi, you tactless heathen!” Ravus hissed, “She came willingly.”

Loqi sneered at Ravus and shook his head.  “Anyway that’s what happened.  It worked though which is good.” He finished with a crooked grin.

Gladio could feel his heart rate escalating.  “I was a daemon?”

“You were in the process of turning so we had no choice.” Ravus admitted solemnly.  “Though considering the circumstances I would say we liberated versus kidnapped her.”

“Why do I feel so weak?”

“The healing process took a lot out of you, and I suspect you’ll be bed ridden for a few days more,” mused Ravus.   Luna has been resting since she finished saving you.”

“Oh – but she’s okay right?” he checked looking over to the other bed.  Luna’s fair hair was the only thing showing from under the blanket.

“Yes, she will recover.”

Smiling with relief Gladio took a deep breath to test how he felt.   He was pleasantly surprised to find there was no pain.  Listing to the side he came to rest on Ravus’ shoulder.  His own scent wafted up to his nostrils once he’d stopped moving making Gladio wince.  “Titan’s ass I stink.” He sighed and suddenly overcome with embarrassment he tried to pull away.

“I don’t hold that against you Gladiolus, you’ve had a rough week.”   Ravus answered as he kept him from falling over further. “How about you take a bath?”

“Don’t laugh at me as I crawl to the bathroom.” He huffed dejectedly.

“Nonsense we’ll help you.  Loqi go turn the water on to get it hot.

The younger man got up and ran off.  When Ravus went to lift him, Gladio promptly tumbled to the floor in a heap. “Shit! Sorry!” Gladio lamented with a heavy sigh.

“Are you hurt?”

“Just my pride.”

“Gladiolus I dare say your pride can shove off, you’ve been through quite an ordeal.  Fretting over how fast your body can heal won’t do you any good.”

Nodding slowly Gladio wondered why Ravus was being so nice.  Did they have plans to do something to him once he’d healed?  That was stupid, because the stronger he got the easier it would be to fight back.  He’d eventually be able to summon his sword from the armiger again.

Focusing on getting back on his feet wasn’t working very well.   Ravus’ first attempt to right him resulted in Gladio falling back down with a thump.  Maybe the dated carpet would swallow him whole to spare him this misery.

Apparently Gladio was too upset to notice Loqi returning and kneeling next to him.  “Ravus isn’t as strong as you think, he clearly needs my help.” Loqi announced in a condescending tone.  “Come on big guy let’s get you off the floor.”

The use of the term ‘big guy’ triggered something in his psyche.   Images of his family and friends began coursing through his mind.  His dad and Iris, Noct and Prompto, Cor, Ignis, it was all too much to bear.  He’d never wanted to be home so bad in his life.  Things were improving, that was a fact, but he couldn’t really be sure he was safe until he’d arrived at the gates of the citadel.    

It wasn’t until he sucked in a labored breath did Gladio realize he’d started crying.   The tears kept coming no matter how hard he tried to calm down. Folding in on himself Gladio sobbed into his hands unable to stop the torrent of emotions welling up.

“Shit! What do we do?” Loqi asked frantically.

Gladio wasn’t sure either of them would understand how he felt.  No, that wasn’t true; Ravus had suffered horribly in his life.  His mother, the queen, had been murdered in front of him leaving his sister and him to the mercy of the empire.  Ravus would probably think his current display was unbecoming.  Unfortunately, this idea caused him to cry harder.    

A warm hand pressed into his back as he sat crumpled on the floor.  “Are you in pain?”

Of course Ravus would ask something logical like that!  Managing a rough shake of his head Gladio sucked in air as he worked to breathe properly.  The hand went away and he could tell Ravus had moved.  Guess they were going to leave him to it.  Maybe they’d cover him with a blanket when he’d finished losing his six damned mind.

A groggy voice filtered down to his ears a moment later.  “What’s going on?  Ravus stop pulling me; I can sit up on my own.”

“Luna, your assistance is needed, if you don’t mind.” Ravus responded.

“What on Eos do you ne --,” She gasped, most likely after she’d noticed the scene he was making.  “What did you two do?!” Luna demanded stern as ever.

“Nothing! We were helping Gladio to the bath when he broke down.  Perhaps you could lend a hand.” Ravus defended.

“Okay! I’m coming, stop pulling me!” Luna huffed followed by a thud, “Oomphff! I told you not to pull.” She chastised amid the sound of a slap.

“Luna!” Ravus growled in a tone Gladio was all too familiar with, Iris would irritate him to no end at times so he could relate.

The thought of his little sister not knowing his fate made him break down further.  He had to get home.  It took a while before Gladio registered that someone was rubbing his back.  Luna was next to him it appeared.

“Shhh, Gladio it’s alright, we’re taking you home.  Please don’t fret.” She cooed in his ear.

“Pro –promise?” He spit out brokenly.    

This time it was Ravus that answered.  “Yes, Gladiolus we promise.   It’s imperative that you rest and build your stamina back up.  We have much to discuss.”

“Astrals -- I’m a mess.” He ground out in between his sobs.

Ravus sighed next to him, “You are a mess Gladiolus --,”

“Ravus!” Luna hissed.

“But – you have every right to be!” he finished quickly.  “You have been through quite an ordeal; it’s understandable that you need to collect your thoughts.”

Gladio groaned in response.  He had no strength left to deal with this breakdown he was experiencing.

“Let’s get you into the bathroom, I’m sure the tub is nearly filled by now.”

Luna’s hand withdrew from his back and moved to grab his wrist.  “It’s alright Gladio, please focus on healing.”

“I thought you did that already.” He whispered.

“I did but you still need to rest and recover.”

Giving a small nod he tried to push himself upright.  All three of them had to hold him steady.  The tears had finally stopped, but Gladio felt raw and exposed.  This time with Loqi on his other side he was able to stand.  Though his legs felt like jelly.  Making an effort to walk didn’t really help and Loqi and Ravus ended up practically dragging him to the bathroom.

“Where’s Luna?” Gladio asked once he’d noticed her absence.

“Waiting for me to help her, she’s tired just like you.” Ravus offered as they approached the now full tub.  “Can you lift your leg?”

That innocent question started the biggest shit show Gladio had been party to in a long time.  Ravus ordered Loqi to shut off the water. This caused Gladio to nearly topple Ravus and him to the floor.   Loqi yelped and took his position again to save them.

Next came the problem of getting his six foot six frame into a bathtub the size of a shoebox.  Focusing on lifting his leg for the first step was a complete disaster.  His toe caught the edge and he nearly went sprawling backwards on the tile. Thank the six it was agreed that leaving his boxers on was the best option.  Gladio didn't think he could handle the implications of that move.

After a solid five minutes and some terse words between Ravus and Loqi he was situated in the bath.  Loqi was soaked from his knees down and Ravus had nearly clocked the blond at one point. However, he was too exhausted to care.  The warm water felt so good.  The one and only advantage to the undersized tub was Gladio had no chance of drowning.   He was just too damn tall.  The hot water eased his tension as he relaxed.  Time moved slowly after that and Gladio drifted in and out of sleep as he sat in the tub.  

A strong floral scent invaded Gladio’s senses as he jerked awake.   “Wha’s going on?” he rasped looking around. The woman HIghwind was crouched on the floor next to him.

“Just washing your hair,” she answered.  It’ll be easier now that you’re awake.  Tilt your head forward for me.”  

Gladio was going to question this action but her fingers felt so good massaging his scalp.  It didn’t take long and he was following her every instruction. “What do I call you?”

“Names Aranea.” She responded curtly. “What do I call you?”

“Gladio.”

“I’ll have to tell Ravus, he’s all formal with the full name bullshit.”

Gladio closed his eyes once again and hummed in response as Aranea rinsed out his hair with the sprayer.  Who knew a good hot bath and shampoo could feel so damn good.  A light tap to his arm brought him back to the present. “Yeah?” he mumbled.

“Who’s Ignis?”

He had no control over his emotions it seemed as heat spread across his face.  “Who?” he asked trying to play off her question as completely random.

“Uh huh – not gonna work Gladio.  You called out for him earlier.”

Letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding Gladio debating about telling Aranea his life’s story.  These people were still the enemy to him.  “He’s the Prince of Lucis’ royal advisor.” He answered instead.  That information was public and it also wasn’t a lie.    

Aranea leaned in closer and shook her head.  “I won’t tell the others if that’s what you’re worried about, but that’s not the answer I was looking for.”    

“What if I don’t want to say?” Gladio tried.

“You’re gonna seriously make me guess?” She huffed.  “Fine.” Aranea then looked up as if in thought.  “So I’m gonna guess forbidden lover.”

Again the flush in his face stayed strong and even started to spread to his neck.  Opting to stare straight ahead he pursed his lips together tightly.  He wasn’t going to say anything more.

“Hmmm I’m close – ok maybe not forbidden then.  Secret?”

Gladio could feel his composure starting to crack.  Thinking of Ignis wasn’t helping either.  He missed him terribly and wanted nothing more than to spend a week in the man’s embrace away from all this chaos. Tears were pricking at the corner of his eyes again.  Aranea instantly picked up on his distress and backed off.

“Whoa, sorry hun, I didn’t mean to get you all emotional again,” she apologized. “Loqi said you had a breakdown earlier.  I didn’t mean anything bad by it.  I won’t say anything though ok.”

Nodding minutely Gladio managed to lift his arm out of the water to wipe his eyes. “I miss him so much.” He choked out.  “I miss everybody.”

“Our goal is to get you back to Lucis in one piece.  Trust us.” Aranea finished as she reached for the drain to release the water.   “Let’s get you back in the bed and resting.”  

“I want – I want to go home.” Gladio sputtered.

“I know sweety, we are working on it, I gotta get us a car first okay.”

“Why?”

Aranea raised an eyebrow quizzically.  “So we can drive there silly.” was the sarcastic response.  Before Gladio could clarify she smirked. “We’re defecting, the whole lot of us.  The emperor is crazy and we don’t want to deal with his bullshit anymore.”   

Next Chapter →

[addictedforbooksquad]

P I C K (S)  O F  T H E  M O N T H: M A Y

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne

Mistborn: The Alloy Era Series by Brandon Sanderson

Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson

Marriage for One by Ella Maise

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Genres: Historical Romance, LGBT, F/F romance

Synopsis:

As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lover’s sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text, that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess’ London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away. Catherine St Day looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project—instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested. While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers?

Why we love it:

a beautiful love story between two women

female friendships and women supporting women

characters who find out about Lucy and Catherine are not homophobic but rather supportive

focus on both romance AND personal journeys of the characters

sexism and misogyny are challenged, by both female and male characters (some of them at least)

beautiful, poetic passages

Trigger warnings: mentions of emotional abuse, sexism, misogyny

≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡ ≡≡≡≡≡

Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:

For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite—the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strongminded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants—but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider. The worst offender is her new neighbor, Oliver Cunningham—the grown son of the very family Naomi’s mother used to work for. Oliver used to torment Naomi when they were children, and as a ridiculously attractive adult, he’s tormenting her in entirely different ways. Now they find themselves engaged in a battle-of-wills that will either consume or destroy them… Filled with charm and heart and plenty of sex and snark, this entertaining series will hook you from the very first page.

Why we love it:

ambitious millionaire female character whose story is basically about rags to riches

soft male character

female friendships and dynamics are amazing

cute love story

Lauren Layne’s style has improved so much and it’s time to start reading her books

Trigger warnings: n/a

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Mistborn: The Alloy Era series by Brandon Sanderson

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Adult

Synopsis:

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs. 

Why we love it:

amazing writing

plots and twists all around

we see familiar faces from the first trilogy *wink wink*

SO. MUCH. FUN.

western-sherlock-fantasy

most adorable character ever, that's on the spectrum

Trigger warnings: violence

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Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Adult

Synopsis:

Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning. Mistborn: Secret History builds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn’t the place to start your journey into Mistborn. (Though if you have read the trilogy—but it has been a while—you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books.) Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story’s existence is, in a way, a spoiler. There’s always another secret.  

Why we love it:

view on Mistborn Era 1 events from different perspective

reunions that will make you cry

we get SOME answers as well from Mistborn Era 1 and 2

Trigger warnings: violence

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Marriage for One by Ella Maise

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:

Jack and I, we did everything backward. The day he lured me into his office-which was also the first day we met-he proposed. You'd think a guy who looked like him-a bit cold maybe, but still striking and very unattainable-would only ask the love of his life to marry him, right? You'd think he must be madly in love. Nope. It was me he asked. A complete stranger who had never even heard of him. A stranger who had been dumped by her fiancé only weeks before. You'd think I'd laugh in his face, call him insane-and a few other names-then walk away as quickly as possible. Well…I did all those things except the walking away part. It took him only minutes to talk me into a business deal…erm, I mean marriage, and only days for us to officially tie the knot. Happiest day of my life. Magical. Pop the champagne… Not. It was the worst day. Jack Hawthorne was nothing like what I'd imagined for myself. I blamed him for my lapse in judgment. I blamed his eyes, the ocean blue eyes that looked straight into mine unapologetically, and that frown on his face I had no idea I would become so fascinated with in time. It wasn't long after he said I was the biggest mistake of his life that things started to change. No, he still didn't talk much, but anyone can string a few words together. His actions spoke the loudest to me. And day after day my heart started to get a mind of its own. One second he was no one. The next he became everything. One second he was unattainable. The next he seemed to be completely mine. One second I thought we were in love. The next it was still nothing but a lie. After all, I was Rose and he was Jack. We were doomed from the very beginning with those names. Did you expect anything else?

Why we love it:

soft and bubbly female character

broody male character

fake marriage trope

slowburn + cutest romance with a lil’ bit of angst

development is A+++

Trigger warnings: n/a

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A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Adult

Synopsis:

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Why we love it:

high fantasy political drama 

well-written dialogue

if you’re already a fan of the TV show, the book gives you an even more detailed account of events with characters POVs while these key moments play out

amazing world building and backstory with so much thought and detail

GRRM has successfully achieved a whole new universe

full of backstabbing, bloody battles and political intrigue

multiple POVs

Trigger warnings: rape, sexual abuse of a minor, graphic violence, sexual violence, incest, misogyny

[maty-yami]

Translation of the Interviews Famitsu / Dengeki By the user: xXShuyaXx by Mognet Central

It has been about one year since release. How about we look back on everything up until now?

Tabata - We sure came a long way. The Royal Edition was originally planned to be the conclusion and finale to FFXV, so for now it feels like we have accomplished what we had set out to do at first.

Even among the DLC that were released after FFXV, Episode Ignis that was released last year on December 13th introduced a divergence in the ending, which became quite a topic.

Terada - In E.Ignis, we didn't just want to add to the story of the game, we wanted to illustrate Ignis where he refuses and fights against destiny (fate).

Tabata - It's not simply looking into alternate possibilities, it was to make it ''Ignis' game''. In order for Ignis to define his own destiny. FFXV was created with the intention to run towards a single conclusion, but with E.Ignis we wanted to make a game for players to become Ignis and fight against fate.

So as a result, the alternate ending was born.

Terada - Yes that's correct. The ''opposing thy fate'' theme was decided early in the development and with that we thought about what kind of ending would make the users most happy. Along with many revisions to the script, it became ''that'' ending.

So that means the conclusion wasn't decided from the start?

Terada - ''Where do we draw the line'' was the difficult part. Do we leave it to the imagination of the fans? Do we do everything? Such considerations became a hurdle and we made adjustments and changes until the very end.

As a result, there were much praise from the fans. There are even some who say, ''This is the true ending'', but in the official perspective, where and how does that conclusion stand?

Tabata - Simply, the main game is canon and 'that' ending is a 'if' scenario.

Terada - This is shown in the split of the scenario. In the main game, Ignis chooses to support Noctis who put his own life on the line to save the world. But what if the player chose to change that fate... and so we made E.Ignis with emphasis on that.

In the 'if' scenario, the final confrontation with Ardyn isn't depicted. How does Noct save the world without paying the price?

Tabata - Ahh... that (laughs) That, is for the development to come.  

Terada - We intentionally left that part ambiguous........ (bitter laugh) Even in the 'if' route, the fact that in order to save the world Noct's power is needed, hasn't changed. In order to focus on the theme of the episode, we purposely decided not to focus too much in regards to Ardyn. In that regards, we are thinking about furthering the development in that part around Episode Ardyn that will be released soon.

So that means the story updates from now will expand?

Tabata - Yes. If I were to say that the fans wanted more and beyond to fill the gaps of the main story, I don't think that would be the case. Even in the development point of view, I think if we did that, FFXV will never be able to come to a conclusion. So we are thinking about new developments that are different from the DLC's up until now. The spearhead of this goal is Episode Ardyn which was highly sought out for in the survey. And as so, as mentioned in the ATR, there might also be a Episode Luna. Continuing up to 2019, we have decided to make 4 episodes.

That is great news!

Terada - In the story updates from now, we want players to love the characters more. It seems like there were many who cried in Episode Ignis, so we want to make the next epsisode where people will smile.

What is the intention behind the release of the Royal and Windows Editions?

We have rebuilt the game to be enjoyed on PC for the Windows Edition and as for the Royal Edition, it is the compiliation of all the updates up until now. By compiling all of the additional contents, we think it will be a product that is easy for first-time players to head into.

For the current FFXV users, there is an additional DLC ''Royal Pack'', which includes content only included in the Royal Edition correct?

Tabata - That's correct. In the Royal Edition, we have expanded the final map of Insomnia, not only that, we have also prepared numerous additional content. For everyone who continued to enjoy the game, it has become something that has a lot of worth.

In the expansion of Insomnia, does it also include additional events?

Tabata - We have included story events that are connected with the Comrades DLC.

Kuroda - After the 10 year skip as depicted in Comrades, it is connected from when Noct and his friends return. There is also the perspective of the Glaives from Comrades. There are additional quests and furthermore the story has also been expanded.

That is great news for the users of Comrades. Also, will the contents of the main story change with that?

Kuroda - Without changing the eventual confrontation with Ardyn, we are adding more content for during the journey. Like the Past Kings blocking the path for example. Originally the Past King of Lucis were suppose to aid Noctis, but why they are hindering ones path, will all be explained in the story.

Regarding the Past Kings of Lucis, will Noct's late King also appear?

Terada - Although Regis won't appear, there will be differing 3 types respectively of Past Kings.

Kuroda - Differing from the main story, new boss monsters Cerberus and Omega will make an appearance. These kinds of monsters will be appearing in the last chapter, the difficulty has also been increased and as such we have also added the ''True Phantom Sword'' ability to aid players in battle.

''True Phantom Sword'' (Can't remember what it was called in English sorry) seems powerful just from the name (laughs).

Kuroda - Yes (laughs) You will be able to use the ''True Phantom Sword'' ability after collecting all the Phantom Swords and you will be able to constantly(?) fight in Phantom mode. If you just hold the attack button, then the current Phantom mode is stronger, but if you time your actions and attacks correctly, it will be very powerful. With the current ally the commands, combined with special abilities, you will be able to enjoy fights only found in the Royal Edition.

This seems great for those who want to enjoy technical combat with Noctis.

Kuroda - That's right. The concept for Royal Edition is ''expanding the freedom of play'', so we are expanding the maps and adding various other components.

Tabata - Among the additional components is boat fishing. While on the cruiser en route to Altissia, you can freely travel around the ocean and fish while looking at fish in the ocean. We also have prepared a quest that includes a fishing line.

Kuroda - Noctis is also very cheerful when he is boat fishing (laughs) You can also get new recipehs by catching fish.

With the upgrade for the Type-D, does this mean that freedom in travel has improved?

Kuroda - Yes. With this, travelling on the ground, air and sea has been implemented, so traveling has become very pleasant.

Also, first-person mode will be implemented, but is this feature only for Noctis?

Tabata - It's for Noctis only. You can change between first and third person at any time. In regards to the implementation of the first-person mode, we had many requests since development (of the game), we originally to implement the feature only in the Windows Edition. However, if we also implemented it into the Royal Edition, we thought that this could bring a fresh new experience for existing FFXV players, so we decided to implement it into both editions. If you play in first-person mode, you can experience the vastness of the world and experience the relationship with the bro's first-hand. We thought it could improve the immersion.

Kuroda - It especially has an impact when fighting against large monsters.

Tabata - I am sure that you will be able to experience the beauty of the FFXV's world like if it was seeing through your own naked eyes.

First-person mode and open world has a good affinity.

Terada - So as for the vast playability, there are supplemental additions in regards to the world of the game, such as newspapers and book that has been added in the games various locations. So even for those players who simply enjoy the world and the lore, they can enjoy the game.

The release of the Windows Edition demo is coming very close.

Tabata - Yes. Fundamentally it's kind of like the FFXV demo ''Judgement Disc'' +α, you will be able to play from Chapter 0 Chapter 1.

The Windows Edition will have 8K support, but please tell us the reason behind it.

Tabata - Since we are already doing this, we thought that we wanted to deliver something that could be enjoyed with the highest of specs at their fullest extent.

Aramaki - The Windows Edition supports native 4K, so basically the textures become sharper and diagonal polygons become very clean as well. Also, same at the PS4 version, HDR10 will also be supported.

So that means you can enjoy the beauty of the game at the ultimate quality. Will 60FPS and beyond gameplay also be supported?

Aramaki - It will be different depending on the GPU so I cannot say, but with a Nvidia GPU loaded PC you can achieve 90FPS at 2K and 40FPS at 4K. If you reduce the setting, 20-30FPS at 8K is also supported. Furthermore, in the games configuration settings, there are about 10 settings added recently besides the resolution setting, so you will be able to fine-tune depending on your specs.

In regards to the usage of the Nvidia tech, what does that mean for AMD hardware?

Aramaki - We are making it so that all AMD hardware including lower ends will work. However, AMD performance compared to Nvidia hardware will be inferior (when using Nvidia tech).

Then Nvidia hardware is recommended. Mods will also be supported in the Windows Edition, so you will be able to experience a unique experience not found in home consoles.

Aramaki - We plan to release mod support shortly after release of the game. You will be able to have a surreal experience like changing the character model of everyone to Kenny Crow for example (laughs) You will also eventually be able to freely change things around with user-created model data. Also, eventually we will release an official platform where you can customize the map and add quests.

Are you also considering content exclusive to the Windows Edition?

Tabata - At the moment, we are at the stage where we just want to finish what we set out to complete, so I cannot say with certainty. But mods and multiplayer quests may be improved. But story related content will not differ from the console version.

Lastly, please tell us about the future of FFXV.

Tabata - Windows Edition for the PC and also the Royal Edition for the home consoles, we were able to announce them as a short pit-stop. Furthermore, FFXV Pocket Edition for mobile is also in distribution. With this, we have released FFXV, optimized for each of it's 3 different consoles as planned. From now on, so that each can be enjoyed for a long time, we plan to propose the conclusion of FFXV one more time. Along with the 4 additional Episodes, please look forward to the development of FFXV!

Font: http://www.mognetcentral.com/threads/completed-famitsu-interview-translation-february-23rd-2018.9056/

[meggannn]

cut for negativity about AC Odyssey cause I just need to bitch

the short version: I’m mad. and I can’t tell if it’s just my fault for having unrealistic expectations of Ubisoft.

the long version:

I fully expected a sequel to Bayek’s and Aya’s story and am massively, massively disappointed they aren’t treating them with more content like Ezio. this was my fault, I guess, because they never promised me anything and I did get my hopes up for another trilogy or at least one sequel with Bayek. crafting good protagonists then doing FUCKING NOTHING with them for the rest of the series is Ubisoft’s MO, but the fact that they have these two great characters that establish the entire Assassin Brotherhood and you just leave them right when their lives really become interesting… like, be honest with me. Aya/Amunet, an Egyptian woman, is the person who founded the Roman Brotherhood. Bayek, a medjay, founded the Egyptian brotherhood which eventually led (we assume) to an eventual migration to Masyaf Castle where the brotherhood became so recognized that it became a symbol around the world. given Aya’s statue in Monteriggioni, we can assume she’s remembered throughout their history as one of the founding members of the entire brotherhood. this is a non-white woman who you have established is integral to the founding of the faction around which the entire series is based, and then you drop her and her partner like hot potatoes right when things get interesting in their history. would it not, say, make sense? to follow up Origins up with a game set in perhaps Ancient Rome or Syria? featuring the brown woman or brown man who established the Assassins that spread across the world? maybe???? not to be overdramatic but for me this is like, emotionally on par with Bioware announcing Dragon Age 4 only to say we’re not going to Tevinter or Nevarra, and that none of the old DA2 or DAI characters are coming back, but instead DA4 is bringing us back to Ferelden and we’ll be running around the Hinterlands for another fifty hours. If you set up a game with the logical conclusion to follow your old protagonists’ journey, then like yeah… I will feel… mad… when you don’t… follow through with them… in the next game… and just go back… to more… fucking… European… locations… I just cannot get over the disappoint I’m feeling and it’s overwhelming any excitement I might have initially felt for a character like Kassandra.

I still loathe Ubisoft’s take on the RPG genre, particularly their combat system. it’s mostly my ongoing rivalry with the hitscan system. I don’t find it fun, but also in general it’s just not what I associate with AC games -- with AC, I know exactly what I’m getting. or lmao like, I used to. I don’t know what this combat is anymore. I liked knowing exactly what I’m getting. I liked not having to waste time on combat and inventory bullshit and my choices mattering -- I’d play a better RPG if I wanted that. I play AC to sneak around places and focus on the story and assassins I’m hunting. I mean the quest system in Origins was… not great, but definitely a step in an interesting direction, I’m not inherently opposed to all RPG elements here. I feel like they could improve it with more tweaking, but what I did not want was them to “tweak” it in the style of The Witcher or Dragon Age where choice determined how the actual story pans out. I’m not convinced Ubi can do it. I sound like a snobby exclusionist, I know. I just am finding it really hard to see Assassin’s Creed in the game we were shown. when I plan AC game, I want (and expect) an emphasis on stealth. everything I’ve seen is…… not that. I know, assassins didn't come until later, but you can’t tell me sneaking around was invented when Altair first did it. Origins tried to allow you choice in how could approach a mission, but everything from the wide, environment to the millions of fucking weapons they make you pick up  expected you to fight a fair amount of the time. it’s not, to be fair, unrealistic, considering Bayek’s background as a medjay. I suspect the same reasoning will be made for Kassandra and Alexios. so much effort was put into revamping their combat system with an expectation people would use it more, and now in Odyssey… no… hidden blades…? call it a new IP set in Ancient Greece, I’d be way more receptive, but I don’t like that the game mechanics and simplicity that I grew attached to, the ones that made up the AC brand, is now -- apparently -- gone for good. I liked that shit. It was easy! I knew what I was getting into! I’m not thrilled how instead of dialing back from Origins, they’re just charging ahead deeper in the same direction re: combat complexity. I find it overwhelming and I’m not gonna use half the shit you give me. it took me like fifty hours to learn what signs were in The Witcher 3, even later for potions, and another twenty to actually start using them, cause it was just too much.

now i’m ready to complain about the main characters. sorry. yeah, it does bother me that there’s no set character. one staple of AC for me is that even if it’s fantasy, it’s historical fantasy; you’re given a predetermined character and watch them grow into an assassin and make their mark on history. it’s beyond strange to now see that that role is… flexible. Someone on reddit phrased my unease a very good way: there’s one scene in, I believe it’s AC Brotherhood, where Desmond is jerked out of the Animus after he witnesses the attack on Monteriggioni. Desmond immediately wants to go back, he’s yelling for them to let him back in the Animus so he can go back and save those people caught in the attack. Lucy takes him and gently says, “Desmond, those people are dead. They’ve been dead for centuries.” part of the series is how you can’t change the past with the Animus: you’re only viewing it. it already happened centuries, millennia ago, all of it is set in stone. all you can do, all you should do, is learn from what they did and work to make what went wrong, right. this new choice system with the ability to ‘change’ the past, via Layla’s new Animus system is… just bizarre. I don’t know. what’s the plot excuse for it? is there really going to be narrative payoff or explanation, or is it just so Ubisoft can rebrand the franchise an RPG?

it’s another thing that the dialogue choices themselves I’m seeing aren’t particularly… I’m searching for a word here, but “natural”? the conversations read like all they did was write a scene conversation between two characters, then spit up the dialogue and make half of it optional instead. but the thing is it’s all stuff you need to know anyway, so making it ‘optional’ doesn’t even matter like it would in a BW game where the optional dialogue really is optional. in the Odyssey clips I’ve seen it just feels stilted and weird.

anyway call me a whiner, I fully own it, but another big thing is that I’m thoroughly sick of this strange trend of making it choosable between a man/woman protag as a side-step around commitment to diversity. most of the time it strikes me as… lazy is not the right word, because technically they’re doing more work. but it's becoming more apparent to me that devs are seeing it as a noncommitment to having a female lead. play as Sara or Scott Ryder, play as Emily or Corvo, play as Alexios or Kassandra. (Sara/Scott less so, cause BW is an RPG company where you’re MEANT to build on a character, and choosing a gender is a part of that, but you’ll see what I mean in a sec.) but anyway, yay, diversity. except you can play all three of those games without once playing a woman like you’re forced to play a man in other games -- my irritation is because it still allows people to avoid female protagonists entirely. like. my hope is to make a woman protagonist unavoidable? don’t make her optional. make her mandatory. give me more undeniable canon female leads. give me Aloys and Ellies and Laras and Chells and Faiths. if you want to know why I feel so strongly about this, it’s because: a. so long as there is a choice, it is inevitable that the male lead -- in this case Alexios -- will be promoted more and featured in marketing. how do i know, it’s because we’re already seeing it. they did the same thing with Scott Ryder. looking at the trailer or box cover for Odyssey and you’d have no idea you could play as a woman. (it’s a little too early to say the same for Cyberpunk 2077 marketing, but I’m getting the same vibe there.) it lets devs, say, feature male leads in the trailer, but female options only in the gameplay. guess which one gets promoted on the big screen in E3 presentations and which one is only viewed by people who actually seek out the game? b. I am already seeing people claim that Alexios is canon and Kassandra is “just the female option.” Ubisoft is not going to comment -- and therefore commit -- either way. usually there’s a half-hearted “it’s more realistic” explanation for why people see the guy as canon, but more often than not it’s just because he exists, and therefore, is assumed the “real lead.” I'd like to see games with a canon woman leading instead of an option where she might not exist at all. and honestly if there were more female leads I probably wouldn’t feel so bothered by this, but seeing men saying “I plan on playing Alexios and ignoring Kassandra the whole time” makes me want devs to give us more games where they’re forced to play a woman. sue me c. the thing is I know Ubisoft can get this ‘balance’ of man and women leads right, because they have already, once. sort of. Evie and Jacob was a great idea, because that story was one they shared, and one in which you had to play as both and had to understand both. refusing to play as one or the other was not an option, because they were a package deal. people who bitched and complained about Evie were forced to play as her anyway. their relationship and mutual involvement was crucial to the story because she, a woman, was crucial to the story.

I’m not even one to complain about this, I mean I even took all of the Andromeda animations in stride, but the Odyssey animation doesn’t look… great. poses, faces, mouth movements, are tellingly awkward. this time last year when they promoted Origins, I feel like it was in a better position, and Origins and Odyssey are both releasing/released in the fall? I dunno. I wouldn’t even be bothered by it because I’m not bothered by it with BW really, except it’s noticeable when it’s a step down from what I’m used to in the crisp, cleaner AC cutscenes I’m used to that aren’t just talking heads. I can’t help but feel it’s another downside of making dialogue optional instead of making scenes crafted every time: some things, like faces and idle dialogue animations, will be entirely automated,

BIG MAP! OUR BIGGEST MAP EVER!!!!!!!! EVEN BIGGER THAN ORIGINS, THE ONE WHERE HALF THE REGIONS HAD NOTHING BUT SAND!!! please stop. I’m so tired.

[randomfandomimagine]

Sunshine in the Moonlight. Chapter 20: One Last Battle

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Pairing: Prompto x Alexandria (OC)

Previous Chapter - Chapter Index - Next Chapter

Wattpad - AO3

A/N: One chapter more to go, you guys!! I’m so excited to post the last one and know your opinion! :3

I was in shock as a figure got down from the pick-up truck that Talcott drove.

The man turned to us and walked our direction. For a brief moment I wondered who it could be, or if Talcott made a mistake. That could not be Noctis! It was impossible!

What had happened to his childlike expression, his mischievous smirk and his playful pale blue eyes? He was wearing Noctis’ clothes, but was it really him? With that long hair that reached his shoulders, completely disheveled and out of control? With that thick beard and scruffy look?

“Noct…?” I dared to whisper, almost afraid that I would wake up from that beautiful dream.

His eyes settled on me, eyeing me curiously. I recognized a familiar glow in them, a glow that reminded me of my old friend. I wanted to start crying out of sheer joy when I realized it was really him.

“You’ve changed, Alex” Noct said after a pause, staring at me in surprise himself.

I didn’t think twice, I just did something I had wanted to do for literally years. I didn’t care that it would be awkward after so long or that it would be slightly forced. I threw myself to him and hugged him so tight that I made him totter and let out a startled grunt because of the sudden force.

With the embrace, I let out a trembling sigh in which I seemed to release all the anguish that had been piling up inside of me over the course of all those years. Ten years no less!

Possessed with a sudden rage, I harshly broke the hug and slapped him in the arm.

“You royal brat!” I told him off, feeling out of myself.

Noctis chuckled, endeared with the interaction. However, his eyes were then directed to our friends.

“Hey” He said, looking at Gladio as he was the closest one to him at the moment.

“’Hey’?” Gladio huffed in outrage. “That’s all you have to say for yourself after all this time?”

He playfully pushed him by the shoulder, making him laugh again. I was filled with warmth at the sound of his laughter, of his voice! Sounds that were nearly erased from my mind with time.

“Noct…” Prom uttered in awe, tapping him in the arm. “It’s you! It’s really you!”

How many times had we dreamt about this moment? Only finding completion by the return of Noctis in our sleep? Yet this time we were awake!

“Yeah? I hadn’t realized” Noctis answered jokingly. It was great seeing he hadn’t lost that sense of humor, sass and smugness. Oh, how I had missed him! Who would have known?

“Well, well” Ignis spoke up at last. “You kept us waiting”

“Not like I wanted to” The pri… king replied, placing a hand over Iggy’s shoulder.

I hung my head low, overwhelmed by the tears that were welling up in my eyes. For the first time ever since we left on that insane journey, they came from a positive impulse. They weren’t tears of sadness, frustration or anger. They were emotional tears, sentimental and happy ones.

I sniffled through my nose as I observed my four boys. My friends. My family.

“Alex, are you crying?” Gladio gently slapped me in the shoulder to garner my attention.

“I’m alright, I’m not crying” I quickly wiped my cheeks from the failing tears, despite the smile on my face. “I’m just happy”

“You do know there is something such as happy tears” Ignis smiled sweetly as well.

I chuckled in embarrassment, shaking my head and trying to get over myself. It was quite silly actually, to get so emotional. Even if it could be logical after reaching a moment I had been lasting for.

Prompto was fast to stand by my side and drop an arm on my shoulders, cheerfully shaking me to tease me about my state.

“We’ve got catching up to do” Noctis tore his gaze away from me and projected it to the rest of them.

“Let’s head inside” Ignis agreed, leading the way as we got into the Hammerhead diner. They all followed, but I took Noctis’ arm to claim a moment alone with him. Surprised by this, he looked at me in expectation.

“Noct” I smiled fondly, rubbing his arm. “Now that you’re back, I just wanna say some things I never said to you that I want you to know. I… I’ve missed you, and I appreciate you a lot. So thank you for everything, because if it weren’t for you-”

To my surprise, he engulfed me in a friendly hug that cut me off and I could hear his chuckle over my shoulder.

“Shut up, Alex” Noct mumbled as he squeezed me against him. “Cut the cheesy crap”

I chuckled, shamefully wiping a few sneaky tears that fell from my eyes. Again, tears of joy.

“You’re right” Noticing I should have done so before, I wrapped my arms around him as well. “You already know anyhow”

Noctis then broke the hug and patted my arms, pausing for a few seconds.

It was so strange seeing him again after so many years… Noctis had changed so much! Which made me think that we had changed as well. Both Gladio and Ignis changed their hairstyles when their hair grew longer, as did I. Unlike them, however, I decided to drastically cut mine until it barely reached my shoulders due to the fact that it grew so long that it became annoying. Prompto grew an actual goatee in the end too, slightly changing his appearance. Other than that, I assumed we hadn’t changed too much. Albeit perhaps we had aged a tad in those ten years.

Prompto stuck his head at the door, impatiently waving his head to urge us to come in already. We smiled and obliged.

I couldn’t believe we were finally together. All five of us again.

  Noctis explained what happened inside the Crystal, the fact that he had taken so long due to slowly building up the power he needed to restore the light in Eos. We, on turn, briefly narrated our mishaps moving from Lestallum to Hammerhead and vice versa. We didn’t want to dwell on the situation and so we left behind the tales of our demon hunting days once we were caught up. It felt purifying to end the conversation with very much needed mindless, friendly and lively banter. Just like the old times.

After that, we spoke to Talcott, who enlightened us about Ardyn’s story and whereabouts. We needed to face him in order to end the reign of darkness, and even if we didn’t, he had been the one to always get in our way every chance he had.

Hence, the five of us headed to the Citadel for the frightening encounter with Ardyn Izunia once and for all. Or, as he was actually called… Ardyn Lucis Caelum.

  I felt out of place wearing those Kingsglaive garments. Not only because they weren’t mine, but because… I wasn’t an official member of the Kingsglaive, it felt wrong. I barely considered myself a Crownsguard member, yet alone a Kingsglaive!

I solely put the uniform on because Noctis insisted, perhaps not to make me feel left out as they were all wearing them.

The boys looked great in their new gear –I wondered how I looked in the uniform myself -, but it was so surreal watching them with other clothes. Overall, Noctis. It was such a drastic change from his usual black clothes with those many skulls all over it. His kingly robes brought Regis’ memory back as he looked so much like his father.

“I don’t think I earned the right to wear this” I told my friend, pulling at my clothes.

“You earned every right” Noct placed a supportive hand on my shoulder. “You became a Crownsguard during our journey, and now you will be a Kingsglaive”

I was amazed by how much we had grown, how close we had gotten. We used to see each other as mere nuisances, and Noctis had never trusted me. Yet now he had entrusted me with his protection, just like he had with Ignis, Gladio and Prompto. I felt honored and humbled by such a vote of faith in me, so I nodded with determination. He grinned in response, patting me before he turned his back to me.

“Let’s go” He held his head up as he led the way.

Noctis was so different. We all were after those ten years, we had mature and improved, but it was especially notable with him. A new aura engulfed him, a new authoritarian and imposing halo that enveloped him. Almost like a leader. Definitely as a king, as a ruler.

It was strange seeing Noctis as a leader. Not because he didn’t fit the part, but because I knew the boy –now man, I suppose –instead of the king. Because I had been beside him when he laughed over a silly picture or when he teased me like a child. When he blushed after a compliment and when he was annoyed at his friends. He was a king, but he was also my close friend and I would never stop seeing him as such.

We followed Noctis as we reached Insomnia. It was quite heartbreaking to witness our home in such a deteriorated state, but we pushed on. We fought our way to the Citadel, and with every step, my fear grew bigger. It was the moment we had been waiting on for ten years. With Noct’s return, such confrontation was due as well. We were ready.

  Those stairs. The stairs that led to the royal home, the long stairs that I had walked up and down so many times. It was a familiar sight that made me quite emotional after so long. When Noctis stopped before them, I knew the time had come. I was frightened, jittery and nervous. We were to fight for the light, to fight for Lucis, for Eos. For all our fallen friends, for ourselves.

Our royal friend turned around and glanced at us, an emotional glint shining in his eyes.

“Stand by me?” He said, his voice still surprisingly adult and gruff, as he looked at each one of us.

“Always, Noct” I spoke up for all my friends and took his hand to reinforce my words.

“That’s right” Prompto nodded, proceeding to take my hand on turn.

“No doubt about it” Ignis agreed, determined to follow Noctis until the end.

“You know it” Gladio showed a lopsided grin, courageous as ever.

We would stand by him and by each other. Like we always had. Like we always would.  

Prepared to face whatever, we marched onwards. Until we saw none other than Ardyn standing at the end of the staircase.

“Ifrit, the Infernian” He began saying in that odious and irritating arrogant voice of his that I despised so much. “He doesn’t share the Glacian’s fondness for mankind, but you can expect a warm welcome. I shall await you above”

My friends and I exchanged confused glances as we awaited Ifrit. Ardyn was cowardly enough to get a deity to fight his battles for him.

The entire round square of the Citadel then suddenly erupted into flames as a ring of fire surrounded a mighty deity sitting in a throne. Ifrit no less.

As we tried to approach him, the god threw a violent wave of flames our direction. Noctis was at the center of said wave and the fire enveloped him as he threw himself to the ground.

“Noct!” Prompto yelled, immediately running to his aid.

Knowing he would be safe in his hands, I ran to reunite with Ignis. What was there to do other than hide? Our weapons were no match to his powerful fire, and Ardyn knew that when he summoned him against us.

My friend blindly reached out for me, soon finding my sleeve and pulling at it until I crouched down in the ground with him. The horizontal support of a pillar sheltered us from the heat.

“Noct, over here!” Ignis called out for him. “Quickly, before he strikes again!”

I hesitated to go to his aid, although Iggy tugged at my sleeve with iron hands to keep me in place. Much to my relief, Gladio got ahold of Noctis and brought him to us. But where was Prompto?!

Just as the other two were joining us, the blond jumped over the horizontal part of the pillar and huddled closer to us. The five of us tightly held to each other in an attempt to be protected from the incoming fire.

Grunts and heavy pants came from all of us as the flames surrounded us and brought and insufferable heat around us, like that coming from a dragon’s breath. We waited, and once the fire around us vanished, we were free to attack.

It was time to pull out my gun once again, as it would be more effective in a long distance fight like such. Using what I had learned during all that time, I dodged and ran around as I shot him. It seemed to be doing some damage added to the attacks of my friends.

“Prompto!” Noctis called him, and the blond obliged.

Prom summoned two guns instead of just one and rolled around on the ground to avoid Ifrit’s attacks as he shot him repeatedly.

“I don’t think we’re doing too much damage!” Gladio shouted, still thrusting his sword upon the titanic entity.

“I agree with Gladio” Ignis nodded, aware that his usual fire techniques were quite futile against a fire god. “At this rate, it will take us ages to defeat him!”

“Then I got an idea” Noct assured with a self-satisfied smirk.

It hadn’t been too often that I saw him summon a god on his side that would ensure our success in battle. Yet I knew that was precisely what he intended to do.

As I presumed, Noctis’ eyes glistened with a reddish glow as the deity came to his aid. Only with the assistance of Bahamut and then Shiva did we overthrow Ifrit.

We didn’t even ask each other if the battle had any negative effect on us, we exchanged stoic glances and proceeded to immerse ourselves in the palace to face Ardyn.

  The inside of the palace was lit up, which implied that Ardyn was impatiently waiting for us. We took the elevator and made a small comment here and there to belittle the tension and anxiety that settled over the group.

The weight in my chest and stomach intensified. We were at the doors of the throne room. The point of no return.

I couldn’t help but to evoke the moment when Regis called me to tell me he wanted me to accompany his son. The day my life changed.

We postponed the moment of truth as much as we could, indulging in our last moment of innocent bliss before we faced Ardyn. Before we perhaps faced death itself.

We merely reminisced old times. That day of our departure, when I was late and I first met Prompto. When Gladio, Ignis and the blond himself nervously met with the king so he could bid them farewell. Like Noctis said, it felt like forever ago.

“Not much further” Prompto observed as we made our way to the big doors, painfully slow.

“Well, shall we?” Ignis encouraged the king. “Noct?”

I, myself, dared not to speak. My throat was too dry and I feared it would confirm my fear to them. I preferred to linger on my silence and seethe internally instead.

“Yeah, but, uh…” Noctis nervously stuttered. “Hold on a sec”

I stirred in my spot, filled with an anguish like any other. Then he turned to us, as he was facing the door in dreaded anticipation.

“Prompto” He called the blond, startling him a tad. “Can I see your photos?”

“Um… yeah!” Prom still found the strength to smile, even in the darkest of times.

“I just need one, to… take with me” There was so much resigned sorrow on the former prince’s voice.

“O-Oh, yeah… I get it…” Perhaps he had forsaken his beloved camera, but he still held on to the photographs taken along the journey and hence, the memories they represented. “Um… you can take whichever you like”

We gathered to watch the printed photographs as Noct looked at them. I wondered when Prompto printed them, but I could understand that he did it in secret, keeping it to himself in order to cherish it on his own.

Noct moved from photo to photo, reminding us of all the places we’d been. The Regalia, Hammerhead, Altissia, Lestallum, Galdin Quay, Wiz Chocobo Post… all the things we’d seen, including all the monsters we fought and the adventures we lived. So much we went through together.

The most important scenes played in my mind, those that specially shaped me. When Ignis got hurt and I broke down, just to have Prompto comfort me. When Noctis and I very slowly began to become friends. When we fought Titan and Gladio’s words opened my eyes to my own weakness. When I realized I was in love with Prompto and when much later we kissed on the lighthouse… there were just so many moments that lead to the present.

I laughed to myself when I realized I used to be quite the crybaby, yet I was proud of the change and development that was visible along those years.

Noct stopped at the photo of us in Hammerhead, posing around the car. Because when he went on to the next one, we realized it was duplicated.

“Oh” Prompto chuckled, slightly bashful. “That one’s for Alex”

He took the duplicate and handed it to me. I saved it in my pocket in a daze.

He remembered. After all that time, Prompto actually remembered how much I adored that picture and ordered another copy for me like he promised.

Oddly enough, that very picture of the five of us gathered around the Regalia was Noct’s choice. It quite definitely was a perfect summary of our journey.

When he noticed Noct held the photo up, Prompto piped up.

“Then it’s settled. That’s the one, no backsies?”

“Yeah” There was a certain amount of sentimentalism in our friend’s pale eyes.

That was it, the moment had arrived.

Once we passed through the doors, there was no going back. We either defeated Ardyn or died trying. As long as we gave safe passage to Noct, hence restoring the light, it would be worth it.

I wasn’t ready, even if I tried to pretend like I was. But I had left behind that façade, that version of myself far behind. I needed some sort of friendly contact that would provide me with some needed solace.

I reached out and found Ignis’ hand, hoping he wouldn’t be too flamboyant about it. Without giving any other signs of having noticed, my best friend gently closed his fingers around my hand and furnished me with the comfort I requested.

“Come here, Alex” Noctis must have noticed too, because he opened his arms.

I believed it was the first time he ever openly offered me a hug, and I was sure as hell going to take his invitation. It’s not every day the king himself presents you with this offer.

I didn’t waste a second to shelter myself in his embrace, pressing my face against his shoulder. I was shaking slightly.

Before we could pull away, Prompto joined. He hugged me from behind and rested his face down on my shoulder blade.

Gladio enveloped the three of us from the side with his big arms, wanting to part take in the group hug. Even Ignis joined, figuring what was happening.

The communal hug gave me strength to face my destiny. Our destiny. Come what may.

  When Noctis pushed the doors open, the disturbing scene before us was revealed. Ardyn sitting at the end of the room, in Noctis’ throne. Something horrible up above was hanging from the ceiling. I couldn’t tell what because I averted my eyes in disgust.

“What… is that?” Prompto uttered, making me look at it again.

Figures hung from the ceiling, dead people that Ardyn surely used as a reminder of his power. Some of those figures were Lady Lunafreya and former king Regis. It was a repulsive tactic, tasteless and cruel. Merely to evoke fear in our hearts. I could tell by the smirk he sent us while we made our way to the throne, spitefully. Valiantly, to show we were not intimidated by his tricks, we marched onward.

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck. The throne brings you here?” He let out a disgusting self-satisfied chuckle, almost an evil cackle, as he recalled our first encounter in Galdin Quay. “It seats only one”

It does, and that one is not you. It seats only Noctis.

“Off my chair, jester” Noct said with a ruthless voice. “The king sits there”

I smirked to myself, greatly satisfied by the smart reply, wanting to applaud him. My grin, however, transformed into a scowl as Ardyn stood up and stomped on the throne with one foot, leaning on his knee as he looked at us.

“Oh, Noct… How long I have waited for this…” I tightened my fists, disgusted by that nickname coming from him. He had no right to call my friend that. “Longer than you could ever know… Tonight, the dreams of the blood royal come to an end”

I observed Noctis, watching how he also scowled and grinded his teeth together with the hatred shown in his features.

“Spite’s all that kept him going” Gladio observed, repulsed.

“Huh, talk about a grudge” Prom glared daggers at Ardyn.

“Ardyn sits the throne?” Ignis asked Noctis.

“He wishes” I sarcastically said, glaring daggers at him as well.

“Ha, not for long” Noctis assured in a low yet stern voice. “This is my ascension”

Ardyn then extended his hand, which created a black and purplish mist that floated over to us. I heard my friends struggling like me as soon as I felt like I was choking.

Last thing I knew, despite fighting with every single fiber of my body, was that a darkness had engulfed me. A darkness I thought would never overcome me again.

  I regained consciousness when a hand vigorously shook my shoulder. Gladio.

“Noct!” I sat up, startled, and looked around me.

I didn’t even ask my friend what happened as he stood up, I knew Ardyn was behind our blackout. Honestly, I did not care about the details. I was merely concerned with Noctis’ state.

Gladio nodded to me once he assured I was alright and ran outside. I could hear a pair of footsteps following him in a rush.

“Quick!” A gloved hand was presented to me, and I did not hesitate to take it and let it pull me up. “I think Noct’s outside!”

I clung onto Prompto’s hand as we rushed there to reunite with him. I prayed that he was alive and well.

The long corridors felt never ending, and solely the comfort of Prompto’s hand against mine evened my tachycardia. It felt like hours until we finally made it outside, frantically looking around until we soon spotted three figures standing there.

Prompto and I slowed our walking, carefully walking down the steps. It was raining, and the raindrops were soaking us to the bone. I didn’t care about that either.

For a moment, the pitter-patter of the water against the ground was the only sound audible as we positioned ourselves next to Gladio and Ignis. In front of Noctis.

Until I dared to say something.

“Noct” I began, gathering the courage to break the silence. “Ardyn…?”

With a tender expression, he nodded in my direction. He wouldn’t bother us any longer.

The rain seemed to intensify as the silence settled once more. No one had anything to say at first. Or rather, we had too much we wanted to say but preferred not to.

“So this is farewell” Ignis spoke up in the end.

“Yeah, here we are” Noctis agreed in spite of himself.

“It’s all you” Gladio’s words were almost encouraging as they reminded him of his newfound power. Our friend nodded with determination and turned around, prepared to walk up the stairs and fulfill his fate.

“No turning back now” Prompto’s voice was broken as he spoke, probably to himself.

“It… must be done” I was also trying to convince myself.

It may have been the sound of our voices, or some particular thoughts that passed him by. Whatever the case, Noctis stopped mid-step and faced us again.

“Prompto. Gladio. Ignis. Alexandria. I leave it to you” His words seemed to carry as much emotional weight as his eyes were. “Walk tall… my friends”

For a moment that felt like ages, we stared at each other. Perhaps the last time we would see one another. It was a far too painful thought to dwell on it.

“Godspeed, and take care” Ignis spoke slowly, with raw emotion. “Majesty”

Ignis bowed, and we all mimicked the gesture without thinking it twice, showcasing our loyalty and faith in our king. In our friend Noctis. The moment seemed to freeze in time as we held our fists to our chests. To our hearts.

The rain engulfed us again with its sound and its apparent aura of doom and farewell.

Just then, daemons materialized from the ground, emitting darkish glows behind us. We had work to do.

Only after another brief yet torturous, unsettling and loud pause, did our friend move.

“The time has come” Noctis lifted a fist to his heart, just like we had.

Then he faced his back to us and proceeded to walk up the stairs. That sight of him walking away left me with an unpleasant feeling that spread all over me, also creating a familiar bitter taste in my throat. However, the four of us faced our daemons. Willing to defend our king until the very end.

  It stopped raining. The daemons had stopped appearing. We were alive and mostly unharmed.

Why was my stomach turning then? Why did I have the feeling that, although I could tell the light had returned, everything was wrong?

We always knew death was more than a possibility for all of us at that point. I thought I was ready to accept it, but I wasn’t. When the thought that Noctis might be dead inside there arrived to my mind, I refused. I just… denied it. It wasn’t possible, I would not lose him.

“Noct…” I uttered, dismissing my sword and heading for the staircase.

“Alex!” Prompto called me, yet I deliberately ignored him.

“Where you going?!” Gladio shouted behind me.

Soon enough, I could hear them running after me. But I was already inside, even if I ran so fast that I couldn’t breathe.

“Noct!” I ran to him, despite the fact that I feared my instinct wasn’t deceiving me. For once, I wanted to ignore it, to believe it was wrong. If only.

With urgency and rage, I pushed the doors open to reveal the throne room. My eyes frantically looked around until they met with a nasty imagine.

I observed the figure of my friend, limply sitting on the throne. Completely motionless. Lifeless. It felt wrong. It just wasn’t right. That shouldn’t be happening.

I approached him in a daze, so many confusing and racing thoughts passing through my mind. All denying what I was witnessing. I dared to reach out to touch him, earning no reactions from him. He was still warm.

“Wake up!” I shook him vehemently, not paying any attention to the hurried footsteps behind me.

“Alex…” Prompto said with a broken voice.

“Noctis” I called him again, desperate to see his pale blue eyes. “Prince Noctis!”

“Alex, we want him back as much as you do but…”

“No!” I turned to them, and their exhausted appearances just brought me more pain. “I’m not giving up!!”

After everything we had gone through. After we had suffered and endeared the greatest of pains. After we had waited patiently, not losing hope, struggling. It couldn’t end like this.

I had already failed one king. I wouldn’t fail another one.

“I’m afraid that not even a Phoenix Down would bring him back” Ignis knew what was happening as well.

Perhaps he couldn’t see Noctis, but he certainly was smart enough. Not only judging by the desolation in my voice, but because he just knew. Ignis must have been feeling that emptiness inside him just like I was.

“A Phoenix Down…” I repeated, hopeful, clinging on to our last resort.

“Kid, his wound is too deep” Gladio’s voice was as broken and hoarse as ever. “Even if you managed to bring him back-“

“Shut up!” I refused to give up without a fight. “I have to try…”

Ignis sighed, crestfallen. I felt Prompto’s gentle hand in my shoulder, silently telling me to stop, but I shrugged him off.

“Al-“ I knew they wanted to put an end to my futile attempts, but I… refused.

“He can’t be gone!” I sobbed, even if I meant to let out an angry yell. “Not him too…”

When Prompto’s glance met with mine, I read the empathy in them. I wasn’t the only one that had suffered, and they understood my grief, my endeavor. We had lost so many things along the way… So many people had died. It started with King Regis, but then followed Lunafreya, Jared, Ravus…

After all that happened in Altissia, it started to feel like my friends were the only good thing I had left. And even then, Ignis became blind. I just couldn’t take anymore, I wouldn’t accept that Noct was gone. Not him as well.

I frantically searched my pockets, looking for a Phoenix Down. I smiled, gasping for air, when I found it. I was trembling as I put the container in Noctis’ cold and still hands and closed his fingers around it.

“Please…” I whispered, too choked up to project my voice. “We need him back”

The elixir dissolved into his hand when I squeezed it, and a fiery orange flame filled it and extended across his whole body. We all held our breath as we waited, hoping, praying that it worked. An eternal one second pause occurred until one of us spoke up again.

“It didn’t work” Ignis stated sadly.

“It’s no use…” Prompto uttered as well.

I looked Noctis up and down, still not believing we had lost him. I still remembered how he looked like when we left Crown City. That smug smirk on his lips, that light in his pale eyes, his disheveled dark hair that fell on his face, his younger and softer features, his laid-back, slightly vain and lazy demeanor.

Seeing him with that thick bear and his longer hair, his adult features and stern eyes… it reminded me of everything that was wrong with the world. Until my eyes fell on something that made the breath hitch in my throat. The ring of the Lucii.

“We still have one last resort, this is not over”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Alexandria, there is nothing we can do for him now!”

“That we’ll see” I took the ring from Noct’s finger and put it on my own.

I knew they would do the same, any of them. Just like Gladio would willingly give his life to save Noctis’, just like Ignis had given up his eyesight, just like Prompto wouldn’t think twice to do whatever it took to protect his friend. They would give their lives in exchange for Noctis’ in an instant, not giving it a second thought. And so would I.

I was aware of the fact that there would be a price to pay because of putting the ring on, but I was willing to accept it. As long as I saved Noctis.

Perhaps my friends weren’t as stubborn as I was in believing there had to be a way. But I didn’t give them the chance to offer themselves, I would beat them to it.

“Alex, no!” But they were too late.

Suddenly I was surrounded by darkness, but for once I was not afraid of it. I embraced it, letting my fears make me even stronger. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes from the past.

Blueish shadows stood over me, enormous and mighty. The former kings of Lucis.

A strange tension floated in the air, like a constant pressure stood over me and slowly fed from my vital strength.

“How dare you wear the ring, mortal?” A distorted voice spoke from the nothingness, but I sensed it coming from in front of me.

“What is your purpose?”

“To stop the suffering” I replied adamantly, closing my hands into fists. “To put an end to all this pain”

“It is over” Another voice replied, sounding at my right. “The prophecy has been fulfilled, the Chosen King-”

“The Chosen King is dead! How will Lucis carry on without him? How will we continue without our king? The royal lineage can’t end like this!”

There was an eloquent silence that hinted at the fact that I gave them a fair argument.

“Is it your intention to bring him back?” 

“He did give his life to restore the peace, to save us all and give us a future, he’s already fulfilled the prophecy and saved us all with his light” My voice was strangled, as I tried to keep tears back. I was tired of having to do that. I was so tired. “Now I want to save him. I hoped the Lucii had the power to do it”

“Would you be willing to give your life for it?”

“Yes” I replied without hesitation.

“No!” A softer voice spoke urgently, causing my heart to skip a beat. “She is right”

I gawked at the blurry shadow when I recognized the voice. Even though I hadn’t heard it in a really long time, but I knew who it belonged to after so many years working for him.

“King… King Regis?” My eyes filled with tears, alien to the feeling that engulfed me.

I hadn’t expected to ever hear that voice again. I had mourned his death and allegedly recovered from the grief that his absence brought me after enduring that much pain. Hearing that voice again caused varied feelings to stir within me.

“Enough people have died already” Regis opined gravely. “Spare her life, I know this young woman can be deemed worthy of our mercy”

“But what about Noct?” I exclaimed, looking up at them, practically begging. “My purpose is to save him! I won’t leave without knowing he’s-”

“You cannot defy us and demand our power!”

“I don’t want your damn power!! I just want my friend back!”

“Noctis has shown his devotion and his worthiness” That familiar voice commented. “Lucis cannot resurge without a king”

Regis obviously wanted his son to live, he wanted to give him a future. To give us all a future, to reclaim Lucis and bring it back to life. It was what he had wanted all over again, why he gave his life on the first place. Why he sent Noctis away from Lucis during the war, to keep him safe. And so he was trying to convince the royal lineage of the Lucii as well.

I was tired of sacrifices. I was tired of death and destruction. I was tired of being afraid and weak, of crying. I was determined and brave for the first time in my life.

“I won’t leave without your promise” I assured, not fearing anymore. “I promised to stand by him, and I have. And I will, so either I die with him or I die in his place”

I didn’t expect to leave them all speechless for a moment, but the silence settled in the air.

Perhaps it was my tenacious determination. Perhaps the fact that Lucis needed a worthy king. Perhaps the Lucii were as tired as I was. Whatever the case, they spoke again.

“Very well” They said. “The suffering will now end”

“But you must pay a price”

“Are you willing to do it?”

“Anything” I nodded, holding my breath in anticipation.

“You shall return now, mortal”

“Remember something will be taken in return”

Everything disappeared before my eyes, and I felt myself leaving with it too. My mind made me feel like I was floating, and a dizzy spell took over me as I closed my eyes tight. I knew I had left that realm when that pressure in the air softened until it faded away completely.

  When I came to, I felt faint.

Something was burning my finger, so I immediately took it off before I could realize that it was the ring of Lucii. They had spared me, but didn’t allow me to wear it anymore.

As soon as I angrily ripped it from my finger and let it drop to the ground, making a metallic sound, I felt myself falling. The ring had completely drained me from my strength, as well as my shocking encounter with the Lucii. And with Regis Lucis Caelum.

Two lean arms were there to pick me up before my weak form hit the ground. Those arms had wrapped around me enough times to recognize the warmth that engulfed me.

“Alex!”

“Prom…” I gasped, heaving my chest up to get some air. “I made it”

“What happened?” Ignis demanded to know. “Are you alright, dear?”

“I’m here, Iggy” I weakly uttered, reaching out to hold his hand. “It’s over”

“What do you mean-“ Before Gladio could finish his sentence, a loud gasp startled us all. Almost as though someone had come back to life.  

Noctis. Awakening.

Feeling stupidly happy and out of myself, I let out a nervous laugh. I covered my mouth with my hands as tears ran down my face like waterfalls.

“Noct!” Prompto hurriedly and nervously supported my weight with one arm, leaning me over his torso, as he rushed us both closer to the seated king.

“Noct?” Ignis repeated, completely dumbfounded and incredulous.

Noctis grimaced in pain and held his chest there where his mortal wound was. Even if it was there no more.

“How…” He asked us, giving us a puzzled look.

“You royal brat” I laughed, softly pushing Prompto away and throwing myself to hug Noctis.

His arms moved in a daze until they hugged me back. It reminded me of the first time we hugged, back when we first embarked in our journey and I was trying to comfort him under the rain. We had come a long way.

“Alex, what the hell is going on?” The king asked me, gently pushing me away to lock eyes with me. “How am I alive?”

“Your sacrifice was made, but we weren’t as keen of giving you up”

“The thing is you are, Noct!” Prompto excitedly replied.

“What did you do?” Ignis asked me too, gravely.

“A small sacrifice in the greater battle” I replied, although part of me was scared of the price I was to pay. “It doesn’t matter now, it is done”

Noctis glanced at us with fondness, obviously grateful for us all. I, on the other hand, punched him in the shoulder as hard as I could. 

“You scared me to death, you idiot!” I explained myself when I saw his glance of bewilderment.

I needed to let out some anxiety, because I was shaking. I still felt faint and weak, yet the scare produced some adrenaline that sped my heart up.

“Hey, show your king some respect” There was some of the old Noct back, I recognized it by that unmistakable smirk of his.

Prompto placed an arm over my shoulders as I sighed happily. Everything was okay, we were all together once more. The danger was gone, the light was restored. We had come to a happy ending after all our suffering. Finally.

I noticed that Gladio was staring at me, though, and I realized his face was starting to blur. I had to lean on my boyfriend as a breathless gasp arrived to my lips, being drained from the few energies I had left.

“Whoa” Prompto held me up by the waist, fixing his eyes on me with concern. “You okay?”

I couldn’t answer, I was too preoccupied with a certain thought that occupied my mind. A gut-wrenching certainty that saddened me. Yet I was willing to oblige.

There was a price to pay, and it felt like it was my time to do so. At least they had allowed me to see him one last time. To see them all.

As my body was rid from all vitality, I limply rested over Prompto’s torso.

“Alexandria?”

“Alex, what’s wrong!”

My eyes closed on their own as I was slowly drifting to unconsciousness. I could still hear them calling me, feel them touching and shaking me. But it was too late.

Nonetheless, I smiled in relief. Noctis was back. I was at peace with my destiny, whatever it may be. I would have wanted to take a good last look at them, to maybe say goodbye. Say some things I needed them to know. But I was already surrounded by darkness yet again.

Tagging list: @toranyx, @prince-of-wind, @ghadah1421 

[gosunsolarenergy]

GoSun gives Solar Oven and Solar Powered Cooler Grants to Non Profits

GoSun is proud to announce the recipients of our Gifts of Gratitude product giveaway. 2020 was a tough year and we wanted to support individuals and organizations who are contributing to a brighter future and leading the fuel-free frontier by donating $10,000 worth of GoSun products. We had over 500 applications, which made for some very tough decisions for our team to make, but we were so inspired by the amount of people and organizations doing a lot of good in our world. Below, you will find the winners of these products, a brief description of their organization and a link to their project.

Flatware: Travel Cutlery Set: Kathryn Reinhardt,Makers Guild Inc.

Kathryn Reinhardt represents Makers Guild Inc. MGI increases impact by creating local jobs opportunities, empowering their workers and being involved in a downtown revitalization of an empty main street store into a makerspace. MGI hopes to launch a local makerspace for innovation, creative reuse/upscaling of items and job growth in a small rural, upstate New York town. MGI is an example of creative design and concern for the environment.

Flatware: Travel Cutlery Set: AI FENG CHEE, Individual as well asF&B cafe

Ai Feng Chee is an individual who has enjoyed using our Flatware often and takes pride in eliminating single use plastic. They also own a F&B cafe, where they plan to introduce and bring more awareness to eco-friendly products and influence others to make a change.

Flatware: Travel Cutlery Set: Melanie Kobran, Solidarity and Snacks (checkout @solidarityandsnacks on Instagram)

Melanie Kobran represents Solidarity and Snacks. S&S works with residents of Skid Row in Los Angeles to provide food and supplies for their living situations. These people have very limited access to power/water/sanitation in this area where just under 5,000 people are living on the streets in a very condensed area of the city. S&S works with community leaders who have established community kitchens.

Go: Portable Solar Oven: Pamela Sweeny,The Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Provincial Command

Pamela Sweeny represents The Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Provincial Command, this organization assists homeless veterans by providing them with backpacks filled with clothing, toiletries and other necessities. They’ve assisted over 900 veterans in 174 different countries including those who prefer to live off-grid and will benefit from a solar cooker.

Go: Portable Solar Oven: Solar Cookers International

Solar Cookers International is an organization that improves human and environmental health by supporting the expansion of effective carbon-free solar cooking in the regions of the world in greatest need. SCI leads through advocacy, research and strengthening the capacity of the global solar cooking movement. SCI has contributed to over 7.7 billion solar-cooked meals so far with various solar cookers and solar ovens.

Go: Portable Solar Oven: Stephen Gitonga,United Nations Development Programme, Regional Hub for Arab States, Amman, Jordan

Stephen Gitonga represents the United Nations Development Programme, Regional Hub for Arab States in Amman, Jordan, this organization aids countries in crisis contexts such as Yemen or those bordering crisis countries and impacted by hosting refugees. They plan to use their GoSun solar oven to improve social impact and contribute to clean energy transition and contribute to address climate change in these counties.

Go: Portable Solar Oven: Angel M. Sewell via Becky Townsend

Becky Townsend, had nominated her friend, Angel Sewall to receive a GoSun Go solar cooker. Angel is a traveling artist who lives in an RV and helps aid homeless people she comes across on her journeys. She is always willing to help everyone and will often give her last dollar to someone so they can go eat.

Sport: Fastest Solar Oven:Jennifer Gasser,Global Development Solutions, Solar Education Project

Jennifer Gasser represents Global Development Solutions, Solar Education Project, a local library that they work with has started a solar oven lending program in their community, which is the first program of its kind for solar ovens. The Solar Education Program provides educational materials, training and support. Gasser and her team are passionate about providing solar cooking educational resources to reduce deforestation and fossil fuel usage as well as educating to help eradicate poverty.

Sport: Fastest Solar Oven: Michael Chacon,Solar Smart Living

Michael Chacon represents Solar Smart Living, which is a renewable energy company focused on bringing sustainability to families. Chacon will use this solar oven to bring awareness of solar cooking to these families.

Sport: Fastest Solar Oven: Anders Hasselroth,GREAT WORLD CENTER

Anders Hasselroth represents his local resilience center, Great World Center, he has dedicated his life to creating resilient centers in order to help save our world. He raises awareness about solar products and educates people on how to use them. Anders products and distributes solar cooking videos and plans to put on events again soon after lockdowns have been lifted.

Sport: Fastest Solar Oven: Bob Lucy,Maasai Conservation Fund (MCF)

Bob Lucy represents the Maasai Conservation Fund (MCF). The Maasai village of Makuyuni is developing a permaculture demonstration farm to feed themselves and teach their neighbours about sustainable agriculture. Part of that plan is to reduce dependence on forests for fuel and are seeking the ability to cook with the sun with the aid of a solar cooker. The MCF works with the people of the village by implementing sustainable developed projects to improve education, food security and economic development all while protecting their environment and unique culture.

Sport: Fastest Solar Oven: Kim Ricket,Highlands Elementary School (Garden Program via PTA)

Kim Ricket represents the Highlands Elementary School Garden Program. The mission of the program of over 500 children is to build a love of nature in young children and to help them to understand the need to work toward a sustainable future. Ricket says that as the children take these lessons home, they see change in the community. They build an appreciation for nature in the children of today so that the adults of tomorrow will take better care of our environment. Ricket plans to use the GoSun solar oven to teach children about the science behind solar powered cooking and how it ties into their sustainability curriculum.

Flow Pro: Filter + Sink + Shower: Denise Luttrell,Colorado Navajo Resiliency Project

Denise Luttrell represents the Colorado Navajo Resiliency Project, this organization supports Navajo people who have no access to running water, this gift will go to a family living in a remote area with no access to water or power. The Colorado Navajo Resiliency Project raises money to purchase goods and accepts donations and then delivers them to individuals throughout the Navajo Nation. They supply both short and long term sustainability needs and in relation to GoSun, have already distributed over 25 Sun King Pro solar light kits!

Flow Pro: Filter + Sink + Shower: Steven Ralf,Eudaimonia

Steven Ralf represents Eudaimonia, a primary school in Kenya that is in need of a washing and drinking facility for the children and their families. Ralf’s business in Eudaimonia is committed to using permaculture pericesses and only using natural resources, they increase impact by encouraging entrepreneurial responses to social problems and developing free thinking.

Flow Pro: Filter + Sink + Shower: Brenna Holzhauer,Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Brenna Holzhauer represents the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, a nonprofit organization that offers a range of environmental education programming. ALNC leads the way to ensure visitors of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to connect with nature by offering positive and constructive learning opportunities that capture their interest, engage their senses and teach them to appreciate the interconnectedness of all living things. Some of their programs have adapted to take place mostly outdoors and they plan to use the solar powered GoSun Flow for an outdoor hand washing station.

Fusion: Hybrid Solar Oven: Greg Saxe,Freedom Trail Supply

Greg Saxe represents Freedom Trail Supply and offers free solar cooking demonstrations with GoSun solar ovens at school and events such as Earth Day and local potlucks to feed the hungry. Saxe educates attendees on the environmental, health and economic benefits of solar cooking and shows the effectiveness of everyday living to promote acceptance and use by creating familiarity and a user community.

Fusion: Hybrid Solar Oven: Pamela M. Smith,Change for Hope

Pamela M. Smith represents Change For Hope and has been working in a rural village of Kalitar in Nepal for 15 years. Smith has  a plan that the GoSun Fusion solar oven will change the way that the women cook, but preventing smoke filling homes and preventing them having to haul wood for long hours everyday and ultimately will bring clean air to these families.

Fusion: Hybrid Solar Oven: Ian Dodkins,SunnyMoney (SolarAid)

Ian Dodkins represents SunnyMoney, which is a national distribution network  specifically designed to ensure low cost distribution of renewable energy products to last mile communities such as Malawi. The GoSun Fusion solar oven will help Dodkins and his team test the quality, durability and feasibility of solar cooking as an alternative to wood cooking in these low income rural areas.

Fusion: Hybrid Solar Oven: Monique Pool,Green Heritage Fund Suriname

Monique Pool represents the Green Heritage Fund in Suriname. Green Heritage works to save endangered species such as sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, mangroves, sloths and anteaters. Pool and her team will use their new solar oven during their fieldwork to cook in the field without having to carry around and use a gas stove or harm the sensitive ecosystems that they work in.

Sport: Fastest Solar Oven andFusion: Hybrid Solar Oven: Solar Household Energy

Solar Household Energy (SHE) is an organization that strives to unleash the potential of solar cooking to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in sun-rich areas around the world. They employ the technology of solar cooking to combat hunger, the global threats of biomass cooking and address seven of the eight United National Millennium Development Goals; eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving mental health, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.

SolarTable 60: 60W Solar Charger + Battery: Dawn Deydey,Wildsight Elk Valley

Dawn Deydey represents Wildsight Elk Valley, a non profit based in Fernie, BC that aims to protect plant and animal biodiversity and create sustainable communities in the Southern Rockies region of British Columbia. Their aim is to cultivate a thriving, knowledgeable and resilient local food culture in the Elk Valley through education, advocacy and community engagement. They’ve just  launched a new local food store, run a local farmers market as well as a community garden and facilitate environmental education programs in schools. Deydey plans to use the solar table at the Community EcoGarden and Farmers Market events and access power at these events where they do not normally have electricity!

SolarEnergy Bundle: Charge & Power: Dean Seibert, MD.ACTS Honduras

Dean Seibert, MD represents ACTS Honduras, ACTS has been working in Honduras since 1986 to foster cross-cultural understanding and to promote sustainable programs for health, education, agriculture and economic development. ACTS works to address immediate needs of the community, support programs that encourage learning and leadership among adults and youth communities. Solar panels and a solar powered lithium ion battery (which also acts as a cell phone charger) will help bring clean power to the Honduras community.

Chill: Portable Fridge + Battery: Kerry Hughes,Ecosystem Restoration Camps - CA

Kerry Hughes represents the Ecosystem Restoration Camps in California and is building an off grid mobile kitchen to travel to disaster sites in California and feed volunteers who work to restore the land and communities. This organization started after the Camp Fire which destroyed the entire town of Paradise, they restore ecosystems through camping experiences that teach people how to care for the land, empower people to take this knowledge back to their communities and teach others to heal the land through restoration best practices.

Chill: Portable Fridge + Battery: Joseph Appell, Solar by Jos

Joseph Appell represents Solar by Jos, a non-profit clean energy consultant and presenter. He displays fossil-free/grid-free yard and garden solutions and works with energy fairs, Earth Day events and environmental groups such as;. Kiswaukee350, Forest City350, Audubon events, Galena Green events, and DeKalb EV show.

Solar Kitchen: Cook + Cool + Charge: Ron Swenson,Homeless Garden Project

Ron Swenson represents the Homeless Garden Project. Swenson, the landlord and a commercial solar developer, has donated the use of his land to this project for over twenty years. The project provides an incredible service to the community, bringing job training, food to the homeless and providing mid-day meals to their workers despite their kitchen facilities being very limited.

Solar Kitchen: Cook + Cool + Charge: Dave Law,Homes on Wheels Alliance, Inc. (HOWA)

Dave Law represents Homes on Wheels Alliance, Inc., a non profit organization that strives to help a significant portion of the American population who are being squeezed between the rapidly rising cost of shelter, stagnant wages or not enough retirement income through no fault of their own and at serious risk of losing their homes. Law and his team plan to use the Solar Kitchen in a recipient in need’s home vehicle.

Solar Kitchen: Cook + Cool + Charge: Cheryl Martin, donating toMedicine Horse Project

Cheryl Martin represents the Medicine Horse Project, an off-grid organization located in the high desert of Nevada that rescues abandoned, neglected or abused horses. These sentient beings provide healing to veterans coping with trauma, TBI, PTSD and re-entry to civilian life, as well as battered women and children. MHP will use the Solar Kitchen to bring warm water to clean horses eyes before medicine is applied, convert refrigeration from gas generators to solar, using solar to pump water to the horses, from the well and holding tanks, cook healthy dishes, make coffee in the morning and keep it hot all day and keep foods refrigerated.

[thedeaditeslayer]

The Aussie Streaming Stars Taking On The World, Deadites & Unscrupulous Executive Producers 

 With local actors taking the world by storm, Guy Davis talks to two of the latest Australian talents to bring the thunder: Ash Vs Evil Dead's Arielle Carver-ONeill and UnReal's Kassandra Clementi.

Acting is a very competitive gig, so landing any role is cause for celebration. But for Australian actors, there's a certain extra something about getting a part in an international production - I dunno, maybe it's the sheer thrill of snatching it away from one of those damn foreigners (insert smirky 'just kidding' emoticon here), but I would say it's the validation that comes with competing and succeeding on a larger stage. Taking on the world and winning, so to speak.

Australian actors have been doing this for decades, of course, but lately it appears more and more homegrown performers are making names for themselves on a global platform. And for every heavily muscled superhero like Thor: Ragnarok's Chris Hemsworth and highly touted awards-season contender like I, Tonya's Margot Robbie, there are a few other Aussie actors hot on their heels, landing eye-catching supporting roles on pay-TV productions and streaming-service series.

Take former Home And Away star Samara Weaving, for example, and her wickedly charismatic performance in Netflix's horror movie The Babysitter. Or Lucy Fry, who went from tangling with outback madman John Jarratt on the first season of the Wolf Creek TV series to tangling with orcs and elves alongside Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in the hit Netflix fantasy Bright, which already has a sequel in the works.

And this month, two young Australian actors will be seen in prominent roles on popular shows returning for their third seasons - Arielle Carver-O'Neill on the gruesome horror-comedy Ash Vs Evil Dead and Kassandra Clementi on the caustic reality-TV satire UnReal.

Let's begin with Carver-O'Neill, whose name alone makes her a natural for the Ash Vs Evil Dead cast, who frequently find themselves carving up hostile hordes of 'Deadite' monsters. However, the Melbourne actor, whose credits include Neighbours and Worst Year Of My Life, Again!, initially had some misgivings about auditioning for the show.

"This is very embarrassing but I was traumatised by Scary Movie when I was 13 - and I know it's a comedy!" she laughs. "But I actually had nightmares for a week and a half, so that turned me off horror for a bit. But when I found out I was auditioning for Ash Vs Evil Dead, I thought I'd better check out the show and I really braced myself, thinking it would be this huge ordeal. And from episode one, I was laughing my head off! The comedy of it all makes the most violent and horrific parts really entertaining. I mean, it's disgusting but it's not nasty or anything."

Carver-O'Neill's character Brandy Barr has one goal: get accepted to a good college and get the hell out of her small town of Elk Grove, Michigan. But she's destined for something far more important (and far bloodier): it turns out that she's the daughter of demon slayer Ash Williams, played by Bruce Campbell.

"So throughout the season she goes on this amazing and very messy journey once she discovers this father she never knew she had," says Carver-O'Neill. "There are definitely similarities between Brandy and Ash, although she's in denial about them to begin with! To put it mildly, she's stuck with this creepy, borderline-alcoholic guy with one hand who keeps saying things like, 'It wasn't me who did it, it was the demons!' That's gonna take some time for her to warm up to. But they discover some similarities - they're both incredibly stubborn and they have the same sense of humour, which was so much fun for me and Bruce to play."

Campbell's a big personality, on and offscreen, but the Ash Vs Evil Dead newcomer quickly found herself in sync with his style.

"It was amazing," says Carver-O'Neill. "He's a master at what he does - I've never seen it before, where someone can walk onto a set and just nail it the first time. And then you can either move on from there or have fun and play around with it. And we had so much fun with it, especially once the relationship between Brandy and Ash improves and you come to see that they're alike in some ways. I would finish filming for the day and call home because working with Bruce made me miss my own dad so much. I have a lot of love for Bruce."

What's more, Carver-O'Neill also quickly got into the swing of how one conducts themselves in the world of Ash Vs Evil Dead.

"The first thing I did was start brainstorming what my weapon would be," she smiles. "I had so many different ideas, and I won't tell you what I came up with - because it's special - but it's very cool and I do get to use it a lot. I will tell you, though, that at first I really wanted a baseball bat with embellishments, and by embellishments, I don't mean glitter and shit. I mean nails."

[hauteseeker]

Part two of my southwest road trip consisted of my long drive through New Mexico to reach my first city Sedona, AZ. It also touches on the rest of my time spent in Phoenix. On this leg of my journey, I experienced a little less landscape and a bit more modern living. Some excellent food and reconnection with both friends and family.

Day 4: Santa Fe to Sedona

I got an early start and made my way West to Sedona. The six-hour drive was effortless and slightly distracting because there’s so much to see and so many times where I wanted to get out and take pictures. There are these moments of a real “western” scene with mountain backdrops and large freight trains passing through. It’s very surreal. I was waiting for a cowboy to ride past me at some point and time.

It was highly recommended by my friend to stop at the Acoma Pueblo, a community that has been in existence since 1100 a.b. The “Sky City” is a great stop to make before crossing the New Mexico border into Arizona. The Pueblo is known as,”a place prepared and ready to live.” The oldest remaining habitat is 15 miles from the interstate and sits on top of a mesmerizing hill. Tourist can visit the town, alongside a tour guide who most likely has direct family ties to the community. Our guide’s grandparents still have a home at Acoma. During the tour, many silly and somewhat ignorant questions asked of the people who lived in town, oh and to me, as I was the only black person there. Those curious Caucasians got a double dose of a minority culture that day!  It amazes me how so many people forget that this 2017 and the modern amenities that happen in the biggest of cities, most likely occur in the smallest of towns, especially when it comes to technology. Besides the unavoidable ignorance, the overall experience of this historical foundation not only insightful but compelling. I would love to go back to celebrate a holiday with the people of that community one day.

    I continued my drive making stops only to refuel. I drove by reservations, shops, and signature Navajo restaurants as I continued my passage to Sedona. I did make one pit stop in the city of Holbrook to see one of three remaining Wigwam Motel in the country on Old Route 66. The histroic site is nostaligc and fun. I can only imagine the types of families who were fortunate enough to travel and stay here. It makes me think of all the gimmicks hotels do now to attract guests. I can easily see this property getting a few improvements and turning into the “Wigwam Luxe” or something like that. What was once fashionable always comes back around.

  A few short hours later I arrived in Sedona. A beautiful city built on hills and red soil about two hours away from the Grand Canyon and Phoenix, respectively. After arriving in Sedona, I desperately needed a recharge, mostly a phone recharge and overall stretch after driving for several hours straight. I found a great deal using the site Homeaway to score a reasonably priced hotel in Sedona, prices in this region can easily range between $175-$500 during peak season. I got a nice stay at a resort hotel and timeshare not including tax for about $100.

Later that night, I grabbed dinner at The Hudson, a place I was planning on dining at once I made it to Sedona. Lucky I was a party of one, so I was seated pretty quickly on the outside patio during the busy Saturday night. Unfortunately, the sun had already set, so I was unable to take in the scenery in the area. The Hudson sits on a hill, giving patrons great views of the landscape. For dinner, I got the special for the evening, a Cornish Hen. The dish featured mixed vegetables such as peppers and asparagus as well as cornbread dressing with raisins. My taste buds were treated to an early Thanksgiving feast. The dinner and ambiance were overall excellent. After a huge meal, I was more than ready to make my way back to the hotel and chill out. It was only  9 p.m., when I passed out for the evening.

Day 5: Sedona to Phoenix

The next morning I got up around 6 a.m. to hike and watch the sunrise at Red Rock State Park.  I did not expect the challenge that lied ahead of me. The climb up Bell Rock was pretty moderate to hard in terms of hiking. Bell Rock is about 4,000 ft above elevation. I don’t I went quite that high, but I was certainly up there. The hike was amazing, I had an incredible amount energy and was up for another round of hiking, but I had to keep it moving for the next part of my trip to Phoenix.

Let the Hike to Red Rock begin!

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After my morning hike, I repacked my things to make my way to Phoenix. About a two-hour drive South of Sedona. The winding roads through the cactus-filled mountains were steep, deep, vast, and acutely elevated the whole way through.

I made great timing arriving in Phoenix and met up with my lovely host for the next three days Olivia. She was previously my a coworker at Bloomingdale’s. Just like me, she is all about exploring. We immediately hit the road, after dropping off my rental car, and made our way to the downtown Phoenix area check our their art district. It was Sunday, so it was pretty deserted while we were there, which is good when you don’t want anyone blocking your photo opportunities! The wall art there is impressive. My favorite was this abandoned house that was painted with all different types of graffiti and sketches. In the same neighborhood was a modern coffee shop that we stopped by to grab some drinks to cool us off in the sweltering Arizona heat. It’s the epitome of minimalism, something that would be perfect in Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago.

After we walked around for a bit, we both decided that the next move had to be for food. Earlier in my planning, I found out the area was hosting a Taco Fest, so we made our way to Scottsdale to check it out. It was a fantastic food festival. Super organized, fair prices, and fabulous tacos! Compared to ones that I have been to in Chicago, it was supremely better. They had several different tents to grab drinks, VIP access for optimal margarita tasting(if you were trying to spend some big bucks) and a lot of food vendors. I think what sold me were the prices. Tacos were only $2 each! I spent $20 on seven tacos and a drink. Not bad at all!

After a long hot day, we made our way back to her place. It was still pretty nice outside, so we went to the pool to soak in the hot tub and spill the tea. We had a lot to catch up on from the past two years that we hadn’t seen each other. It was great to talk about where we were and where we so desired to be. A fabulous way to end my first night there.

  Day 6: Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Mesa

The sixth day I was able to catch up on some long ignored e-mails as well as some news and gossip. Crazy how much you don’t pay attention to those things when you are busy soaking up a new place. It’s almost like the rest of the world stands still.

After we got dressed, we went out to explore some of Olivia’s favorite spots, which are fabulous and Instagram-worthy. We made our way to Luci’s for brunch. The grocer/restaurant was charming. The food, eh. The best thing about the meal was the drink. An “Arnold Palmer” like a concoction of green tea and watermelon flavored lemonade.

After that, we made our way to AZ Pops to grab some popsicles. Super nostalgic. I can’t think of the last time I had a homemade popsicle like the one at AZ Pops. I chose the peach and prickly pear combo. It was very different; prickly pears are flowers found only on a particular type of cactus. As I later learned at the Desert Botanical Garden, they can be made into candies or eaten raw.  The popsicle was great, and I even had a chance to chat with the store owner. Another person on my trip who had some pretty strong ties to the Chicago area( her husband was born and raised in Oak Park). We also stopped into some nice stores in the area. One, in particular, had a friendly Cali vibe, which is to be expected in this area of the country. Clothes were cute, but sizing was limited.

  We were both parched after a light afternoon of walking so we made our way to the Royal Palms Resort for a refreshing beverage and a little exploration. The hotel has amazing architecture, a Spanish Colonial Revival villa that was once used as a winter home back in the 1920’s. The resort is at the base of Camelback Moutain and is absolutely fabulous.

    After our daytime romp of the lavish resort life, we made our way to dinner at Cornish Pasty. A pleasant looking restaurant with the feel of an Olive Garden on the outside and an underground dive bar on the inside. That was my first impression, at least at this location. I had never heard of a pasty and was excited to try the British born dish. A pasty is associated with Cornwall, England, a once well-known mining community. The original pasties would be filled with both meat and vegetables as well as sweets, each on their respective ends of the pasties.

The pastys at Cornish are so varied that anyone from carnivore to vegan can find something that they like. I decided to try to Roast Beef Sarnie. The pasty was a combination of house roasted beef, red and green bell peppers, portabello, onions, swiss and cheddar blend served with a horseradish sour cream sauce. Oh my gosh, so good! Everything blended well and was perfectly seasoned. The beef wasn’t too tender, and the sauce was the perfect addition. A chef recommended another sauce which was excellent as well, not sure what it was called though. Something to note about Cornish Pasty is the dishes come as they are described, you cannot pick and choose the ingredients you want inside the pasty. It is literally all or nothing. Go with the all; it’s totally worth it.

Olivia was dead set on making it to the Fountain Hills neighborhood to watch the sunset. So we quickly got dressed and dolled and made our way to the high-priced neighborhood. We found our way up to Copper Wynd Resort, looking absolutely fabulous. I swear, I had a Waiting to Exhale moment here. It reminds me so much of the area that the film was shot. I know the movie is old, but buildings last a long time so I could be right! We arrived just in time to see the sunset and get some glamour shots in as well.

After Copper Wydn we made our way back into the downtown Phoenix area to see what bars were popping on a Monday night. Not too many. We found our way into the Valley Bar, where we grabbed another drink(excellent drink prices), talked life, and finished up another fabulous night.

Day 7: Phoenix to Chicago

Day seven was an early start to a very, very long day. We kicked things off with a trip to the Desert Botanic Garden. I would be surprised if there is anything else like it in the world! The garden was amazing. Cactus from all different parts of Central and North America, other desert found foliage, as well as a majestic butterfly garden that was locked down tighter than the White House. Seriously, they were doing the most to keep those butterflies in that garden! We continued exploring the gardens and came across beautiful sculptures as well as some very quirky volunteers who taught us a few things about our surroundings.

one man + one leaf =

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  After the garden, we had just enough energy before lunch to make it to the landscape wonder, Hole in the Rock at the Papago Park. The hike to the hole in the natural formation is a quick 7-minutes up the rock. This is an ideal place to catch at sunrise or sunset if your timing is right.

  After our morning of walking and hiking, we proceeded to have a mini sweet and savory tour of the city. We made our way to República Empanada, a super cute restaurant located in the South Side Heights neighborhood of downtown Mesa.The empanadas were incredibly delicious. We were there for the lunch special of two empanadas plus rice and beans. We both added classic Coke De Mexico’s and enjoyed a less than $10 lunch on the cute patio in the back of the restaurant.

We also stopped by one of Olivia’s favorite spots to grab dessert, The Coronado.  They made one of the best brownies I ever had, and it didn’t contain one bit of dairy or eggs. Amazing!  We then proceeded to search for some and came across one that featured a mesh of vintage goods, artifacts and other apothecary furnishings called, The French Bee. After perusing that we made our way to a hipster-ish bar to chill and kill some more time before my flight and dinner.

It’s an unspoken rule, that if you find yourself in a city where you know someone and have a pretty good relationship with them, that you let them know you are there. At least, that’s what I try to do. Even if you never have a chance to see the person, at least you let them know you were in town. This day in age, it’s always good to let a few people know you are around. Seriously. If anything for safety reasons. Anyways, I had told my cousin who lives in Arizona that I was visiting. Shame on me that I waited until the morning that I was leaving to see if we could meet up. I know, tsk, tsk.

I asked my cousin Eric to meet us at this restaurant called Fire and Brimstone located at Barnone in Gilbert. Barnone is an innovative retail/workspace for handcrafted goods. It features everything from handmade stationary to experimental winemakers. Great place to craft a small business. At Fire and Brimstone, I opted for The Fire and Brimstone pizza. The 12-inch pizza came dressed in spicy tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, jalapeños, house-made merguez sausage, and cilantro. It was by far one of the freshest pizza’s I have ever tasted! I had a couple of slices that I devoured on my flight back to Chicago. After my week-long adventure, this was a beautiful night, over pizza with friends and family.

I would arrive back in Chicago at 4 a.m. that Wednesday morning.

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  Reflections Part Two

During the second half of my trip, I was able to reconnect with friends and family. During that time, a lot was discussed that challenged me to consider my relationships in general. Does this person care about our friendship? If so, what type of effort are they putting in? Am I doing my part as well? The trip also resurfaced ideas of changing my own personal landscape. Many people move to an area to be fully submerged so that they can break into a certain industry or career. Others, move far from it and reach a market untapped allowing for success in that arena too. It’s a reminder that growth can happen anywhere, you just have to be the one to make it happen!

Travel Trips

If you are wondering how I managed to have such a successful trip solo, here are my ‘haute’ Do’s and Don’ts:

Do Plan ahead. I looked into accommodations, flights, rental cars, and connections before my trip. This allowed me to use my time in the most optimal manner. I would be surprised at the end of the day how much I was able to get done. Something I need to implement more in my everyday life as well.

Do get Advice. There is nothing wrong with asking people for things to do, especially if they live there. I asked my friend who grew up in Arizona if he could recommend some things to do in Santa Fe. He gave me my whole ‘cultural’ itinerary. I made sure to connect with my previous co-worker and cousin as soon as booked my ticket to the area.

Do stay hydrated. There is a lot, and I mean a lot of exposure to the sun in that area. Be sure, especially if you are driving to buy a couple of liters or packs of water, so you never run out. Oh, and snacks too if you are in a time crunch.

Do look for discounts. You can ask anybody who knows me well. I know a lot of things to do, but I don’t spend a lot of money to enjoy them. If you are traveling, make sure you look into resident discounts, reciprocal memberships, library affiliations, free entry days, Groupon, etc. It will save you money.

Do try new things. Going to Ojo and experiencing the hot spring was one of the highlights of my trip! I am hooked and want to try every natural spring out there!

Do carry two phones. I chose to bring my work phone with me as well as my phone. Best decision ever. It’s great for navigation and music if you are forgoing a tradition map. Plus, you never know what will happen, better to have an extra device, just in case.

Do savor the moment. It is such a blessing to travel. It’s beautiful to see the sunset into various shades of purple, yellow, and orange hues. To look at the starts, uninterrupted by city lights, to see the landscape barely touched by humanity. Breathe it all in. You never know when you will be back.

Final Thoughts

I am so overjoyed that I had the opportunity to visit these two great states and tackle all the unique cities in between. I was exposed to not only massive amounts of sun, people, culture, art, food, and community. I am hooked on the beauty of the southwest and look forward to seeking more of it in the future. Don’t be surprised if you see a future post of my travels through Utah and Denver or something within that range!I am so blessed to have had this soul seeking experience and can’t wait to revisit both places!

    Albuquerque to Phoenix: Seven Days Seeking the Southwest Pt.2 Part two of my southwest road trip consisted of my long drive through New Mexico to reach my first city Sedona, AZ.

[arts-su]

Last Words: Annie

I cannot believe a year has gone past already! It has been a privilege and honour to be your Activities Officer of the 2018/2019 Academic year.

My manifesto in 2018 focused on four main areas:

1. Improving the accessibility of sports and societies for students

2. Ensuring parity across sites and lobbying the university to extend opening hours at Wimbledon

3. Helping students understand how to create opportunities for themselves whilst at UAL and once they leave

4. Supporting students who run sports and societies

It has been an incredible yet challenging experience to see all of this and more come into fruition. Here are some of the projects I embarked on:

CURATING THE BIGGEST BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAMME and BEYOND BLACK HISTORY MONTH

During what felt like a few minutes in my sabbatical role, one of the first projects I took on together with my incredible team was curating a series of events during Black History Month. This programme included a major exhibition at the Copeland gallery, several talks relating to fine art and fashion practice, Afrobeat dance classes, film screenings and self-care workshops.

This was very much possible with the support of the Dean of Students Mark Crawley!

After the Black History Month was over, we continued to curate other talks and events. Such included ‘’Elevating Our POC Voices’’ organised by Shannon Bono, the Women’s’ officer.

At LCF, we hosted Tolu Coker (Alumni) and Mariam Tijani (student at the time) to have a conversation about their fashion practices. It was well attended by current students and external foundation students who wanted to know about what it was like to study fashion at LCF and CSM.

The exhibition at Copeland Gallery was well attended and saw over 300 guests throughout its duration. Students were able to sell work through the show and establish new networks.

WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART OPENING HOURS MADE EQUAL TO CHELSEA AND CAMBERWELL: LOBBYING FOR PARITY

As a Wimbledon Alumni, I was very aware of the frustrations students feel about the luck of consistency in areas such as opening hours and CLS in CCW. It was my mission to change the opening hours at Wimbledon. With your help, through statements and focus groups we were able to have conversations with the head of college at CCW to address this inconsistency.

The parity in opening hours across CCW does not end there! We seek for parity across all 6 colleges now! I have written a report which expresses the demand for equal opening hours across all 6 colleges. This will be used to lobby the university and implement the change we want to see.

BEHIND THE SCENES STUDIO VISITS: PARTNERSHIP WITH CREATIVE SHIFT AT CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY

Our courses do very well to invite external speakers and practicing artists throughout the year, which is beneficial to the student experience. However, we understand that these opportunities can create a space for artists to talk about the polished side of things and to delve into the difficulties and strategical ways to get around any obstacles, especially after graduation.

We partnered up with the Creative Shift team at Careers and Employability to organise a programme of visits to artists’ studios and companies. These small intimate groups created a space for an alternative way of learning and observing what goes on in the real art world.

We visited PR Agencies, sculptors, film makers, painters etc.

These visits have now been compiled with podcasts and other interviews to create a publication which will serve as a tool/guidance for recent graduates.

YOGA AND FOOD: A SERIES OF YOGA AND CREATIVE EVENTS AIMED AT BUILDING COMMUNITIES AND IMPROVING ENGAGEMENT AT CCW

Earlier during the first term we received a call to apply for funding to run a series of events relating to health and wellbeing. After a couple of brainstorming activities led by Claire Flannery, the Creative Activities team were able to secure the grant for the programme titled “Yoga and Food’’. This programme focused on community building in Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon. Brilliantly delivered by the Arts Active Coordinator, Camille Koosyial, the Yoga and Food event engaged over 70 students and saw several collaborations happen between Arts Active, societies and MiAL artists. The Latino X society delivered a brilliant clay workshop, Lizzie Reid and Ella Banard delivered a watercolour pattern workshop and ArtsFems society delivered a homemade face masks workshop. These are only a few of the collaborations that happened.

The Yoga and Food events evidently made more students aware of not only Arts Active but other opportunities that Arts SU provided. Some students went on to attend the Behind the Scenes visits in June!

SUCCESS’ & BYE LAWS AND CONSTITUTION REVIEW FOR SPORTS AND SOCIETIES

Throughout the year, I have seen and approved several applications from students wanting to create new spaces and communities. There is literally something for everyone! If there isn’t, I challenge you to start a new society or sport next academic year. Some of the new societies we have had this year include Fail Better Society, Lingerie Society, UAL for All and Fashion Psychology.

This year, I introduced a Creative Activities newsletter which goes out to all students. It contains match results, events and other happenings within sports, societies and Arts Active. This was to help committees spot opportunities for collaboration with other societies but also celebrate achievements on a regular basis. We also introduced an equality, diversity and inclusion training for committee training attended by presidents, treasurers and other members of sports and societies.

I reviewed our Bye Laws and Constitution for Sports and Societies and approved them through Student Council. The changes are not weighty but were important for us to ensure a continuous and successful running of sports and societies at Arts SU.

Last but not the least, I had the opportunity to wear the UAL Women’s Basketball jersey one last time in a victorious varsity win. Go Arts!

PREPARATION FOR THE SECOND EDITION OF THE DECOLONISING THE CURRICULUM ZINE

The impact and distance the decolonising the curriculum zine has travelled so far is incredible and I believe it is only the beginning. My predecessor on this project, Hansika Jethnani, did an impeccable job to begin this work and it has been an important decision for me to play a part in not just helping people understand its purpose and message, but also using it as a tool to educate and lobby change. The Zine has toured all the colleges with the great work of Rahul Patel, Lucy Panesar, Gustavo Grandal Montero and many others. We are in the process of creating the next Zine!

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE CREATIVE ACTIVITIES TEAM

With all that said, I will like to make it clear that this work could not have been done without the support of students, Sophie Greaves, Vinesh Kurup, Camille Koosyial, Claire Flannery, Lotte Dawson, Katie Hughes, Sophie Risner, Sarah Choudhary Grant and the entire team at the Student Union. These people have supported me in ways you cannot imagine.

It has been an incredible and eye-opening journey and I am thankful for all of you!

[historyrepeatsitself-phff]

Chapter Sixty-Three

A/N: Here we are, another chapter. It’s quite big, with quite a few different things happening. Very engagement-centred, but I hope you enjoy it. If any of you don’t know who Ant and Dec are when you reach that part, please do Google them. They are the funniest and nicest guys, literally the whole of the UK loves them.

That said, I hope you enjoy. Please do let me know what you think, your feedback means a lot more to me than you probably realise 😊💖

Emmy didn’t speak to Taylor or Chris for the next week. She didn’t hear from them at all, and their silence was getting her down. She didn’t mean to upset them, but the truth was that she didn’t know who to trust anymore. And so it was best not to provoke them, not to anger or offend them even further.

However she was worried, for she hadn’t heard from any of Harry’s friends either, and she prayed that Taylor hadn’t told them what she’d done. She had a feeling they would take it a lot worse than Taylor had. Although she suspected that Skippy already knew he’d been lied to, even though Emmy had specifically asked them all not to tell anyone the names until she’d told them herself. She didn’t realise Taylor and Skippy spoke so much.

A day in Newcastle was on the cards for Emmy, where the mental health charity Mind had worked with Heads Together to set up a day full of activities in the city centre to raise awareness for mental health. She was going with William and Kate, and she was dreading seeing them both. She didn’t know whether William knew about Taylor finding out, but she expected he did. With Edward and Harry in Brazil, Claire needed someone else to discuss everything with, and ever since she’d found out that William knew all about their plan she’d taken to talking to Miguel, William’s secretary. And, in turn, Miguel told William everything.

So she wasn’t surprised when, as soon as she met William and Kate outside Kensington Palace ready to leave for the day, William pulled her into a big hug.

“How you holding up?” he asked gently, and once he’d released her Kate gave her a cuddle too.

“Um, okay,” Emmy said. “I guess you heard about Taylor?”

“Yeah,” William said, smiling sadly. “But she’ll come round. Hopefully someone will leak something and then she’ll see why you had to lie to her.”

“Let’s hope,” she said, almost dryly. She thought it was awful that she was hoping someone would betray her trust, just so that it would make the whole thing worthwhile.

“Anyway,” Kate said, smiling her dazzling smile at the two of them. “Let’s put all these problems to the back of our mind and focus on today. Heads Together! Come on, it’ll be a good day.”

Emmy managed a smile, and William gave her a reassuring wink. He’d told Kate to do whatever it took to cheer Emmy up today, and he and his wife were determined to give her a fun day, even if it was an engagement.

William and Kate actually kept the conversation going for the entire journey up to Newcastle. They showed Emmy funny pictures of George and Charlotte, they asked her what she’d done so far to prepare for her little baby and they discussed everything that they did in preparation for their little own ones. Emmy had a smile on her face by the time they arrived at the Mental Health event in Newcastle, and her smile only widened as she emerged from the car to see hundreds of people gathered around the venue, just to see them. The entry was five pounds to the general public, but so many people had been invited there specifically for the event that the actual park where all the activities were taking place was heaving. Emmy straightened up from the car, her dress fluttering lightly in the breeze, and she smiled at them all. William and Kate walked ahead, greeting the head of Heads Together and the head of Mind, and Emmy followed them, more interested in what there was to do today than in meeting officials.

She was given her designated tour guide, a girl called Ashley, and Ashley showed Emmy to one of the nearest games. Emmy had to try and create a coherent poem using the words on the screen.

“Oh no,” Emmy said. “I never was very good at poetry at school.” She made a nervous face, looking around, trying to find someone else to focus on. She saw a teenage girl stood nearby, watching. “Hey, do you think you could help me?”

The girl’s face lit up in surprise and delight, and she hurried over. “I’m not very good at poetry either, though,” she said nervously.

“Oh don’t worry, we can muddle through together then,” Emmy laughed. “What’s your name?”

“Lucy.”

“Hi Lucy, I’m Emmy,” Emmy said. “Okay, now where do we start? Does it have to rhyme?”

The lady in charge of the activity shook her head. “No, it’s a poem, it can be whatever you want it to be. The idea is to just let your mind speak. Don’t overthink it.”

Emmy had fun making a poem with Lucy – Lucy was actually very good at it, and Emmy reminded her of that at the end, before Ashley led her on to another stall. William was already stood there, hands on hips, frowning.

“I’m not very good at this,” he said to Emmy, as she joined him. The photographers and press that had been allowed into the venue were frantically snapping pictures of the two of them, eager to see the brother and sister-in-law interact together.

“What do you have to do?”

“You have to draw the first thing that comes to mind when you hear a certain word,” he said. “I overthink it. And I can’t draw.”

Emmy laughed lightly. “I feel like I’m going to have the same problems here. Can I have a go?”

“Of course,” the man running the game, Charlie, said. He picked up a pile of cards, and handed Emmy a whiteboard and pen. “Okay, I’m going to say a word and you have to draw the first thing that comes to mind. The first. Don’t think about it, like William.” He threw William a grin, and William chuckled. “Okay, you ready?”

“I’m more nervous than I should be,” she said, making William laugh. “Yep.”

“Football.”

Emmy drew a football.

“Bumblebees.”

Emmy drew a picture of Winnie the Pooh, then grinned. “That might be a strenuous link,” she said. “But I thought of honey, and then Winnie the Pooh, and I didn’t know how to draw honey.”

“Strawberries.”

Emmy hesitated, and Charlie laughed. “You’re overthinking it,” he said.

“Actually, I’m thinking about how much I want some strawberries right now,” she said, giggling. William laughed with her. “I see what you mean though, it’s so easy to think about it too much.”

“It’s a good way to let people just let out what’s in their head,” Charlie said. “And it can be quite a fun game too.”

Emmy moved on, her and William parting, and eventually Emmy found herself at the same activity as Kate. It was a sports one, and the group was just throwing a ball to each other.

“I don’t think I should join in,” Emmy said. “I’m not at my fittest right now.” She gestured to her baby bump, and everyone laughed lightly. “You can just tell me what this is about.”

She watched Kate effortlessly catching and tossing the ball back and forth, as Ashley spoke to her about how this activity helps people work as a team, while the exercise, although little, releases endorphins which improve someone’s mood.

About an hour into the day, Emmy was led over to another stall where two very familiar faces were stood. The presenters Ant and Dec were stood there, and they broke into smiles at the sight of Emmy. She felt her face getting hot – she was a huge fan of them both, she found them hilarious, but she had never met them, despite them having interviewed so many of her royal in-laws.

“Your royal highness!” Ant said, hurrying forward and bowing slightly as he shook her hand. Dec bowed also.

“This is a nice surprise,” she said shyly, as she shook Dec’s hand. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. Although, I suppose I should’ve known – Newcastle.”

They laughed. “Yep, we were invited to show our faces here today,” Dec said. “Raise awareness for it, that sort of thing. We’ve been looking around, it’s pretty good.”

“It is, I’ve been having a lot of fun,” Emmy said. “Although it’s such a shame I can’t take part in any of the sports.” Her voice got slightly dry as she patted her bump.

Dec chuckled. “Now why does it sound like you’re making excuses?”

The three of them laughed together. “I’m sorry to never have met you,” she said. “Harry’s mentioned you before, of course.”

“Yeah, we’ve interviewed him a few times,” Ant said. “We work mainly with his father, with the Prince’s Trust, you know.”

“I know, Charles loves you,” she said.

“Aw, I feel like you’re being paid to say that,” Dec teased.

“No, I think he was able to put up with us by the end of us making the documentary about the trust,” Ant said. “Although it did take a while.”

Emmy laughed lightly. “Don’t worry, that’s just Charles. It took him a while to put up with me, too.”

“Meant to say, congratulations on the pregnancy,” Ant said, smiling as Dec nodded. “To you and Harry. We were delighted when we heard the news. Harry’s made it no secret that he’s excited to have children.”

“No, he made it no secret to me either,” she said. “But thank you.”

“He’s still in Brazil, isn’t he?” Dec asked. “I think I saw on the news he’s trekking through the Amazon, or something?”

“Yes, that’s right. Yeah, he’s still there,” she said, then sighed. “It’s very difficult without him here.”

“I’m sure it is,” Ant said gently. “Well, if you’re ever bored and you want to have a laugh, please don’t hesitate in calling us up. We’d love to get to know you. I feel like you and Ka- The Duchess of Cambridge are the only royals that we don’t know yet.”

“We’d like to expand our CVs,” Dec joked.

Emmy giggled lightly. “Well, as long as you don’t make a documentary out of it, I’d love to meet up with you. Maybe we should make it for when Harry’s back, though. He might get jealous that I got to spend time with you and he didn’t.”

They all laughed again.

“Oh god, it’s you two,” said a voice, and Emmy turned to see William and Kate coming towards them. William shook their hands. “They’re not boring you, are they?” he said to Emmy.

“Oh, because they’re such boring people,” she replied sarcastically.

“Don’t make a documentary out of this,” William teased lightly. Ant held up his hands innocently.

“Hey, this isn’t an interview,” he replied. “Unless you want to make it one…?” He added playfully, raising an eyebrow, and they all laughed.

“Guys, this is my wife, Kate,” William said, gently urging Kate forward.

“We were just saying to Emmy that we’ve never really met you both,” Dec said.

“I think we should meet up some time,” Emmy said, looking at Kate.

Kate’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she smiled. “Yes,” she said. “Perhaps.”

Later that day, when the three of them were in the car on their way home, Emmy was babbling about how good a day she’d had.

“And you got to meet Ant and Dec,” William said, grinning. “They’re a right laugh, they are.”

“They’re so nice,” Emmy agreed.

“I can’t believe you said you’d meet up with them though,” Kate said. “You need to be careful, Emmy. They’re members of the press after all.”

“So? They’re nice?”

“You can’t be friends with people who will try and make money out of you,” Kate said.

“They’re TV presenters, not journalists,” Emmy argued.

“All the same,” Kate replied with a shrug.

Emmy opened her mouth to retort, but she bit back her reply. Why was Kate being like this? Maybe this was why the press didn’t like her and William much, because they just didn’t trust anyone. Emmy frowned, and turned her attention out the window.

William was silent through the exchange, but now he spoke. “Kate’s right, Emmy. You just need to be careful and make sure they want to be friends with you, in case they just want to interview you.”

Emmy huffed slightly, now glaring out the window. She was famous, who else was she meant to make friends with if it wasn’t other famous people? She didn’t speak much for the rest of the journey home.

Maybe that was why Emmy was in this situation, forced to marry a man and have his child just because the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were too self-involved to allow anyone else into their lives.

Nonetheless, Emmy smiled at them both once they arrived back at Kensington, before slowly making her way round to Nottingham Cottage, both hands placed lazily on her bump.

Harry laid back in the tent and sighed, puffing air up onto his face. He couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t feel sweaty, and he pulled his t-shirt off before looking over at Luke, whom he was sharing the tent with.

“You alright?”

“Just exhausted.”

“Only…what, another twelve days to go?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Harry said, then grinned. “No one said it would be this hard.”

Luke smirked. “I thought you were meant to be a soldier.”

“Piss off,” Harry chuckled. “Actually, I’m a veteran now.”

“Same. Not by choice.” Luke looked down at his left arm, at the stump that had replaced his wrist. “Anyway, just think about how happy everyone is going to be when we get back.”

“Everyone’s going to be so proud of you,” Harry said gently, then grinned. “Especially Julie.” Julie was Luke’s wife.

“Hell, maybe I’ll get lucky for once,” Luke said dryly, then laughed. “What about Emmy? She’ll be proud of you, surely.”

“Unless she’s too hormonal to care,” Harry said, closing his eyes. “Actually, she’s probably got her charity gala any day now, so she may already have replaced me with Tom Hiddleston.”

“Loki? Shit, how you going to compete?” Luke teased.

“By being the father of her child,” Harry replied, laughing.

“You excited?”

“So excited,” he answered, smiling. “I’ve wanted children for so long, I’m so excited.”

“You know what it’s going to be yet?”

“No,” Harry said, then hesitated and added, “Okay, we do, but you can’t tell anyone, alright?”

“Of course. Although I can’t promise not to bet on the sex when the time comes,” Luke said.

“It’s a little girl.”

“Oh, sweet. Congratulations, man.”

“Thanks, Luke,” Harry said. “My little princess. I was so happy, you know.”

“I bet.”

“Time to sleep, guys!” came from outside the tent. “Got a long day ahead tomorrow!”

Harry groaned, rolling onto his side and covering his eyes with his arm. “Hopefully we’ll be able to actually get some sleep tonight.”

“Yeah, if the rain lets up,” Luke said. “Alright, night.”

“Night,” Harry said, yawning.

There was silence for a little bit, then Luke added, “Don’t worry, H. Tom Hiddleston’s got nothing on you.”

Harry chuckled in response.

There was a knock on the door. Emmy looked round instinctively, causing Hannah – who was finishing pulling her hair into an intricate updo – to tut, irritated. Claire was frowning.

“Who the hell is that?” she asked, then looked at Emmy. “You expecting someone?”

“Nope,” Emmy said, looking towards the doorway in the mirror.

“I’ll go find out,” Claire said. “Hannah, you nearly done?”

“Yeah, then you just need to get into your dress,” she said to Emmy, smiling, as Claire left them.

Emmy sighed. “I’m going to look like a balloon.”

“Oh, don’t say that-”

“I will though, look at me.”

Hannah smiled. “You look glowing.”

“Everyone always says that about pregnant women, yet I have no idea what that means,” Emmy said, pushing herself to her feet as Hannah moved away. “I wonder who’s here.”

“Better get you dressed before they come up,” Hannah said.

Emmy was stood, glaring at her enormous reflection, when Claire returned to them. “It’s Skippy,” she said. “Okay, Hannah, time for you to straighten my hair, lovely.”

Emmy frowned. “Skippy?”

“Yep.”

Her stomach dropped. Shit. She hadn’t seen Skippy since she’d told him their chosen baby names, and she hadn’t heard from him at all after her argument with Taylor. She didn’t know how he or Harry’s other friends had taken being lied to, because it was obvious that the names were just that – lies. Ploys.

“Did he say what he wants?” Emmy asked nervously.

“Just to talk to you,” Claire said. “He’s waiting down in the lounge.”

Emmy’s heart was hammering as she carefully made her way downstairs, worried about tripping in her long dress or her high heels. The carpet muffled her footsteps as she entered the lounge. Skippy was on his phone.

She took a deep breath. “Hey.”

“Shit!” he said, startled, then laughed lightly. “You crept up on me, sorry.”

“Sorry,” she said too, perching on the arm of the armchair. “Everything…okay?”

“Yeah, I didn’t realise you were going out, I would’ve come over another time,” he said apologetically.

“It’s okay, what do you need?”

He sighed. “I know you lied about the names,” he said.

Emmy gulped.

“Don’t worry, I’m not angry. We all know. To be honest, we wondered why you’d decided on baby names so early anyway. Jake gave me a bollocking when I said I’d accidentally told Taylor that we’d been told different names. He said that he and Zoe suspected from the start that they were fake names to try and figure out who the rat is.” He rolled his eyes. “They’re so smart, eh?”

She managed a nervous laugh. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, you know,” he said. “For telling Taylor.”

“Well you said it was an accident-”

“It was,” he said immediately. “You know what I’m like, I say stuff without thinking, I’m really sorry!”

She smiled. “It’s okay. But you’re…you’re not mad? For being lied to?”

“Eh.” He shrugged. “Harry’s lied to me many times to make sure I’m trustworthy, I wasn’t really surprised that I needed a retest. Especially with the leak and all that.”

“I’m glad you’re not mad,” she said. “I felt really bad.”

“Nah, don’t worry yourself,” he said, grinning.

“Taylor’s mad though,” Emmy said, in a small voice, and she avoided his gaze.

Skippy sighed. “Yeah, I know. I heard.”

“Have you spoken to her?”

“Only once since your argument,” he said. “She’s really upset, but we’re going out to dinner tonight and I’m going to try and explain to her why you did it.”

“Thanks,” Emmy said, surprised that he was basically doing her job for her. “I appreciate it. I want to talk to her but…I just don’t know where to start.”

“I know, it’s okay,” he said, then grinned. “You missing Harry at all?”

“At all? Just, you know, every second of every day,” she said, laughing. “I can’t wait for him to come home.”

“Me neither. I need someone to come and watch football with me. Jake and Guy are too busy with all their children.”

“Children? Guy?” Emmy raised an eyebrow.

“They’re busy painting the nursery and going to those pre-baby classes and all that.” Skippy rolled his eyes. “Guess you’ll have to start that soon.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me, the thought of the birth stresses me out,” she said. “I just try not to think about it.”

He chuckled lightly. “Just wait for Harry to get home, I guess.”

“Exactly,” she said.

“I better be going,” he said, straightening up. “You probably need to leave soon.”

“Yeah,” she said, sighing and brushing her hair out of her eyes. “HeForShe gala.”

“Very nice,” he said. “And here I thought that dress was for spending the evening in.”

She rolled her eyes at him, getting to her feet as he did the same. “Thanks for coming to talk to me about this,” she said. “And thanks for talking to Taylor. I…really appreciate it.”

He threw her a smile. “I just don’t want you to worry about it all. Harry told me to take care of you, and I haven’t really been doing that this last week.”

“You don’t need to take care of me,” she said, laughing. “That’s just Harry being overprotective.”

“That’s also true,” Skippy agreed, as they both laughed. “I’ll let myself out. You have a good night tonight.”

“Thanks, you too,” she said, then added more loudly as he approached the front door, “Good luck with Taylor.”

“I’m gonna need it,” he called back, then she heard the door close and she sighed. So Taylor was still mad, but at least Harry’s friends weren’t. That was one less thing to worry about.

As soon as Emmy stepped from the car she was blinded by the flashes from the watching paparazzi and deafened by the shouting and cheering of the crowds who had gathered outside The Goring Hotel to see the arrival of all the celebrities attending. Of course, not everyone there was going to be famous. Emmy knew several people were going who run charities that do everything from supporting vulnerable women to campaigning for equal rights all over the world. HeForShe was an organization that promoted everything in-between, while focusing on convincing men that the word ‘feminist’ was not equal to man-hating.

Emmy smiled at the cameras and waved to the public, receiving some cries and whoops in return. Then she turned to Claire, who was attending with her, before spotting Margaret, the head of the UK branch of HeForShe. She was stood by the entrance, waiting, and she broke into a smile at the sight of Emmy.

“Your royal highness,” she said, dipping into a curtsey.

“Oh, Margaret, nice to see you again,” Emmy said, pulling the lady into a hug. “You must be very excited about tonight.”

“More stressed than excited right now,” Margaret admitted, and they shared a laugh.

“I know exactly how you feel,” Emmy said, cupping her baby bump. “You remember Claire, right?”

Claire and Margaret shook hands, and then Margaret said, “Shall we go inside?”

Emmy followed her into the beautiful hotel lobby, which was full of people mingling. “It’s so pretty here,” she breathed, looking around. “Kate was telling me about it the other day. She said it’s exquisite.”

“It truly is, we were very lucky that they wanted us to hold the gala here,” Margaret said. “Now, Emmy, there are photographers here tonight. I did ask Claire to tell you in case it was a problem-”

“Oh no, that’s fine,” Emmy said, waving a hand dismissively. “I’ll just have to put up with them. Besides, there’s people here who are far more interesting than I am. I don’t think they’ll pay much attention to me.”

“Of course,” Margaret said, not agreeing with Emmy in the slightest. She was married to Prince Harry, her wedding had been watched by billions of people all over the globe. She was by far the most famous person there tonight.

“Emmy!” said a delighted voice, just as they entered the dining hall where the gala was taking place. Emmy turned to see her friend Emma Watson approaching. Emma made an awkward face. “Sorry, I mean, your royal highness,” she said, dipping into a curtsey.

“Oh don’t be silly,” Emmy said, pulling her into a hug. “How are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good,” Emma said. “I’ve actually just started filming Beauty and The Beast.”

“Oh my goodness, how is it?” Emmy asked excitedly. “Do you love it? Do you get to wear pretty princess dresses?”

She laughed. “I do, actually. It is so much fun. And I get to sing all the songs as well. Anyway, we’ll catch up later, I think Margaret wants to show you around.”

Margaret, who was stood to the side watching the two young women greet each other, stepped forward and smiled. “I just need to show you round the charities that are here tonight, so that you can meet them. Introduce you to a few people.”

“Of course,” Emmy said, smiling, as they started to make their way round the room. “I’m excited to meet them.”

“Well, they’re all very excited to meet you too,” Margaret said, laughing.

People were mingling throughout the room. Some had already taken their seats at their tables, while others were greeting old friends or getting to know some of the people there. Emmy spotted the actress Carey Mulligan, the TV presenters Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton and – her heart stopped excitedly – the actor Tom Hiddleston. But Emmy kept her cool, and she forced herself to focus on the people she was meeting as Margaret introduced her to the creator of a charity which encourages girls to go into science fields.

Sarah was the lady in charge of GirlGeeks, and Emmy spoke to her animatedly. She had never thought about the science and mathematics areas as places of inequality for women, and she was intrigued by everything that Sarah had to say.

“We work closely with Stemettes,” Sarah was saying. “They’re another organisation that promotes girls getting involved with STEM. They organise a lot of events for young girls, trying to encourage them. And for some of the bigger events we partner with them and try and get even more girls to attend.”

“Wow,” Emmy said. “I’d love to come to one of these events.”

Sarah’s face lit up. “Really?! Oh, we’d love for you to come, Ma’am.”

“I’m sure we can arrange something,” Emmy said, turning to Claire and smiling. Claire rolled her eyes as her mouth tugged up at the corners.

“Good job I brought my phone, huh?’ Claire teased lightly, getting up Emmy’s schedule, and Emmy giggled sheepishly. “Let me take your details, Sarah, and I’ll be in touch to arrange a date.”

By the end of the first half hour, Emmy had been introduced to six people who run six different charities, and Claire had had to take down six different people’s contact details with the promise of organising a royal visit. By the time Margaret led Emmy over to her seat beside her, Emmy was desperate for a drink after talking so much. She’d had some truly fascinating conversations, and they’d all succeeded in taking her mind off the rest of the evening – and her first speech.

“You okay?” Claire asked, as Emmy gulped down some water.

“Yeah,” Emmy said, smiling. “Just thirsty.”

There was a starter, and then some presentations by a few charities that Emmy had already met, and after the main course even more charities spoke about what they do. By dessert, however, Emmy had lost her appetite. Her speech was approaching, and the thought was starting to make her feel sick. Oh god, she fainted when she last tried to give a speech, she hoped she wouldn’t vomit while trying to give this one.

Eventually Margaret went up on the stage to give a speech about the evening, HeForShe and thanking the amazing charities for attending that night. Then she smiled down at Emmy, and Emmy felt her heart stop.

“And now, I would like to welcome to the stage, HeForShe’s first ever royal patron, The Duchess of Clarence.”

Applause echoed throughout the room, and Emmy took a deep breath before heading up onto the stage. She felt huge up there, with her bump pushing out the lace of her dress, and she stroked it nervously, before flattening out her speech on the podium in front of her and leaning towards the microphone.

“Thank you, Margaret,” she said nervously, as she threw her a smile. “Thank you for both that welcoming introduction and for inviting me to this event. This evening has been an eye opener in so many ways for me. To most people, gender equality was obtained when women were given the vote. To others, they think the problems with sexism can be solved by simply giving women equal pay. But there is truly so much more to feminism than that. Feminism is women being allowed to say what they want and do what they want the same way a man can. Feminism is women being able to be what they want to be, whether it be a doctor, or a teacher, or a model, or a politician, without anyone telling them they can’t. Feminism is not equivalent to saying that women are better than men, because that is just as sexist as everything that feminism campaigns against. Feminism is supporting women, encouraging women, loving women and caring for them, not because they are women but because they are people. And I am honoured to patron an organisation that does this selflessly every day.

“Now, as a mother-to-be, the word feminism has a whole new meaning to me. I want my son or daughter to grow up in a world where the word isn’t needed, where gender inequality is a thing of the past and where strong, powerful women are shown in the media every day, not because they are women but because they have achieved great things. I want my daughter to be able to become whatever she puts her mind to, I want my son to expect to see women in power, not to be surprised by it. As women it is our duty not to be suppressed by people who do not believe in gender equality, and as men it is your duty to fight against those who insist on living in the past. Over half of the people on this planet are women, we are your mothers, your sisters, your doctors, your teachers. We love you and raise you and care for you and protect you. So why should we be the inferior sex? Why should we be paid less, why should we receive raised eyebrows whenever we try to do something good, something unusual, something that is usually done by a man? We shouldn’t.”

Emmy stared out over the room for a moment, then smiled and blushed, shuffling her papers and stepping away from the podium. Applause rung through the room, and she felt her heart pounding somewhere behind her uvula. She swallowed, ducking her head as the clapping went on, and she could see camera flashes capturing this moment. It was her first full public speech, and she had done it. She had finally got the first one out of the way, and she was so relieved that she had delivered it well, without a hesitation or a stutter. She twiddled her engagement ring shyly as Margaret came back onto the stage to announce that the meal was over and it was time to go around and meet people once more.

“You were amazing,” Margaret said, beaming at her once they were off the stage. Emmy held her cold hands to her burning cheeks, her eyes wide and fixed on Margaret’s face.

“You think?”

“Oh, definitely!” she said. “You spoke so well, too. I can’t believe that was your first speech!”

“I’m just glad I finished it that time,” Emmy said lightly.

“Emmy!” someone called, and she turned to see Claire hurrying over. “I’m so proud of you, you did it!”

Emmy laughed with relief, letting herself be pulled into Claire’s open arms and hugging her tightly. “I got through it.”

“You did, and you got through it well!” Claire said, ecstatic. “Oh, you were so so so good!”

Emmy was so touched by Claire’s excitement, and she wanted to just go home now, to go home and celebrate that her first speech was over. But she had people to meet.

“Emmy,” Margaret said twenty minutes later, after they’d already greeted a few other charities. “This is Tom Hiddleston, he’s an avid supporter of HeForShe, especially in Hollywood.”

Emmy’s heart, which had only just recovered from the terrifying ordeal of giving a speech, sped up again. She felt star struck, as she looked up into the actor’s face that she knew so well.

“Your royal highness,” Tom said, bowing his head slightly as she shook his hand. “It’s an honour to meet you.”

“You too,” Emmy said breathlessly. “I’m a huge fan, do call me Emmy.”

“Emmy,” Tom said, grinning. “Your speech was amazing. And can I say, congratulations on the pregnancy. I know I’m a few months late.”

“It’s okay, I’m still pregnant,” she said, shrugging and they shared a laugh. “So, Tom, how do you find the gender inequality problem in America? Is it worse than here?”

“It certainly is,” Tom said. “Especially within the film industry. Whether it comes to the pay for actresses, or the amount of women who work in the crew of films, there is a huge difference in the numbers for males and females. Often I work with this charity…”

Eventually Emmy had to move on, and she bid goodbye to Tom, who was sure he would see her at another HeForShe event at some point in the future. By the end of the evening, Emmy found herself taking a break, sipping her glass of water at her table with Claire beside her. The guests were starting to leave, and Emmy wanted to rehydrate herself before copying.

“Emmy,” Emma said, coming over and taking the seat opposite her. “Your speech was so good!”

“Aw, thanks,” Emmy said, smiling gratefully. “By the way, I love your dress! Where did you get it?!”

“It’s by Stella McCartney,” Emma said, then made a face. “Imagine if you wore it somewhere! Imagine the comparisons, oh my goodness!”

They laughed together. “We really must meet up again,” Emmy said shyly. She loved spending time with Emma, but their busy schedules rarely permitted it.

“Definitely,” Emma said. “Even if it’s just for lunch, we must.”

“I need to see you again before I have this little one,” Emmy said, rubbing her bump affectionately.

“Of course, I need to try and convince you to name it Emma,” Emma said, winking.

Emmy barked a laugh. “Emmy and Emma? Somehow I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“Give me a chance and I’ll convince you otherwise,” Emma said. “Anyway, I’m leaving now so I will see you soon.”

The girls hugged in farewell, and Claire smiled as her and Emmy watched her depart.

“It’s so good that you surround yourself with girls like her,” Claire said. “You’ve come a long way since I joined your office last year.”

Emmy smiled, tired now, and she leant her head on Claire’s shoulder. “Can we go now? I’m sleepy.”

Claire laughed lightly. “Let’s go, you just need to say goodbye to Margaret and the other HeForShe guys.”

Emmy groaned as she got to her feet. “This being a royal is really quite tedious,” she mumbled.

Claire chuckled. “Well you’re doing it very well.”

[siren-dragon]

Anniversary (Ardyn Izunia x Reader) -  oneshot

Okay everyone, a little while ago I asked if anyone had any requests for me to write, and someone has come forward! @valkyrieofardyn, this is dedicated to you for your lovely request on Ardyn being the owner of the katana royal weapon.

Now, this is my first angst Ardyn fanfic, so I am stepping out of my comfort zone and I do apologize if it’s a little bad. Also, kudo’s to whoever recognizes one of the lines within the story, as it is quoted from a movie.

Anyway, let’s get started!

He couldn’t help but smirk at the sight before him, the humor of the situation nearly causing him to laugh aloud. Long standing foes forced to mingle alongside each other as they drank to a false peace. Ardyn raised his champagne flute at the two rulers, toasting his lovely pawns before placing the flute upon the balcony railing. With all his careful planning finally coming together, there was just one thing left to do….

Ardyn strolled lazily across the ballroom, the other guests giving the eccentric Chancellor a wide berth. He bowed politely and wished both King and Emperor a fair evening before retreating to his provided quarters. Once Ardyn arrived at the hotel suite, he retrieved a small wooden box before sliding into a time-stitch. Returning to the corridor, he couldn’t help but laugh as he walked past the patrolling guards and drunken guests, all frozen in time. It wasn’t until he was a few blocks away from the Caelum Via that Ardyn returned to the present, the crowded streets of Insomnia coming to life once more.

“Come get your produce here! Our stock is fresh, straight from Duscae!” a street vendor shouted merrily.

“Pardon me, my good sir, but would you happen to have any Ulwatt berries?”

“Sure do! Managed to get the last shipment from Tenebrae, they’re selling like hot-cakes with Lady Lunafreya being here.”

“Excellent, I would like to purchase a box.” Ardyn replied, fishing for his wallet. He handed the man a 2000 gil bank note, muttering a simple; “keep the change,” before leaving with his purchase.

He walked toward South Insomnia, the busy streets of the metropolis thinning out to simple suburban roads. Ardyn hummed merrily as he journeyed down the familiar streets before passing by another store, this one a florist. The scent of multiple flowers wafted through the air, giving him pause, one gaining all his attention. A bouquet of white roses laid unattended amongst the bundles of sylleblossoms, a memory from an age long past returning to his mind…

“Come now brother, surely one maiden has managed to ensnare the elusive Ardyn Lucis Caelum.” Izunia crowed jovially.

Ardyn smirked up at his older brother. “I believe it is I who is ensnaring them, brother.”

Izunia laughed, clapping a hand on his brother’s back. “That charm will be the death of you Ardyn, mark my words.”

“Considered them marked.” Ardyn grinned, “though I believe it is now your turn to entertain our guests.”

Izunia shook his head at his brother’s antics before returning to banquet, multiple women flocking to him like lost chickatrice’s. Ardyn took another sip from his glass of wine before moving to follow his brother, only to collide with another, the wine glass slipping from his hand and falling to the floor.

“Oh, damn it. I’m so sorry, wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you alright? Oh shit, I’ve spilt your wine…” a feminine voice spoke.

Ardyn blinked in surprise at the casual manner this woman was speaking to him. No one spoke to him in such a way except for Izunia, and even his brother did not curse so frequently. The prince of Lucis looked to see who is assailant was, the young maid trying to pick up fallen glass shards of his wine glass. Her (h/c) was tied into a simple braid, the end thrown over her right shoulder, with a single white rose tucked behind left ear. She glanced up at him, (e/c) widening in shock before standing up right immediately, and bowing to him.

“I am sorry my Prince, I was not aware it was you. Please, forgive my rude behavior.” The girl spoke, refusing to meet his gaze.

Ardyn chuckled, “Fret not, my dear, it is no trouble. I myself was distracted as well.”

“I suppose we both should watch where we are going.” She laughed, standing upright and allowing Ardyn to see her (e/c) eyes once more. “Farewell, my Prince, and please enjoy the rest of the festivities.”

Before Ardyn could say more, the girl disappeared into the shadows of the palace and away from the banquet hall. The scent of roses still lingering in the evening air….

“Hello sir,” the young florist smiled. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“That bouquet of roses…might I enquire its price. I would like to purchase it.”

“250 gil, they haven’t really been selling what with everyone wanting sylleblossoms.” The florist said, collecting the requested flowers. “This for someone special?”

“Oh yes, very special,” Ardyn smiled. “Let us hope she forgives me for being late.”

“With a gift like this, I’m sure she will.”

Ardyn took hold of the bouquet, tipped hat in farewell, before continuing to his destination. He hummed under his breath as he walked; his mind lost in memories.

“Where are we going Ardyn?” (f/n) asked, curiously gazing around the scenery you blazed past on Chocobo-back. “We aren’t even within Insomnia anymore.

“It’s a surprise, my dear.” He replied with a smile.

You raised a skeptic eyebrow, your lips twitching slightly in amusement, “cheeky man.”

Ardyn grinned at you before snapping the reins of his beloved Ebony, the black-chocobo sprinting off, causing your arms to cling tightly around his waist. When the two of you finally arrived at your destination, Ardyn dismounted first before grabbing hold of your waist and slowly helping you off. “It is not far now, come.”

“Lead the way, my love.”

He took hold of your (s/c) hand, guiding you through a small thicket of trees before emerging within a large clearing. Atop the hill you gasped at the sight of all of Insomnia, the setting sun shining beautifully across the Crown-City. The flickering torches shinned like fallen stars around the capital city, the sight taking your very breathe away. “It’s beautiful…” you spoke, at a loss for words.

“This is where I come to think…do you like it?”

“Ardyn, this is amazing. I don’t know how you could improve on such a sight.”

He smirked, “Well, I will most certainly try.”

You frowned in confusion as Ardyn stepped away from you, your expression turning to one of surprise and joy as he fell to one knee. He retrieved the small box from his pocket, revealing a simple diamond ring. Ardyn smiled up at you as tears began to fall from your eyes, a bright smile spread across your lips. “I kneel before you, not as a prince…but as a man in love. And I would feel like a king, if you, my sweet (f/n …would become my wife.”

You nodded your head before launching yourself toward him, the two of you laughing merrily as you kissed him.

The sun had officially set by the time Ardyn arrived at the outskirts of Insomnia, the moonlight illuminating the barren park. The items in his hands felt like lead as he gazed upon the familiar hilltop before beginning on his trek once more. He was almost there…. How long has it been since they had seen one another?

“About a lifetime ago.” Ardyn murmured as he continued the climb.

Ardyn paced feverishly around his chambers, still in shock at the occurrence of that morning. Him? The Crystal’s Chosen? The thought was too unrealistic for him to even comprehend. It was true he desired to help his people, this foul plague claiming too many lives already. Yet to do so as King was a mantle he was not prepared for. And Izunia…his brother remained inside his quarters, refusing to speak to anyone after Bahamut’s decision.

“My love?” came your soft voice, walking slowly into your shared quarters. “Are you alright?”

He turned to face you, a sorrow filling his heart. The Astral had declared that he was to leave all behind for this pilgrimage…including you. “I don’t understand. Why would the gods choose me for such a task? He sighed, falling heavily unto the bed, his head falling into his hands. “What if they are mistaken?”

“I think I know why.” You spoke, kneeling before him, raising his head so his golden eyes met your own (e/c) eyes. “They see not a prince of a nation, but an honorable and kind man who loves his people. The one who will stand tall against the darkness….and so do I.”

Ardyn gave you a sad smile, kissing your forehead. “I will have to leave you (f/n) ….”

“I will be safe here. But there are many dangers where you go.” You stood up and retreated to the wardrobe, retrieving the item within. An expression of shock fell across Ardyn’s face as you removed a beautiful katana, holding out the weapon to him with a smile on your face. “I cannot be there to protect you…but I can give you a means in which to keep yourself safe. After all, what kind of King travels without his sword.”

He took the weapon from your hands, unsheathing the blade to admire its craftsmanship. It was truly a beautiful sword, perfectly balanced and freshly sharpened. Ardyn looked back at your beaming face and sheathed the blade once more before enveloping you into an embrace. “I will return, I promise.”

“I will be waiting.”

Ardyn stood within the clearing, watching the now towering city of Insomnia as it enjoyed its final evening. He gazed upon the sprawling metropolis one last time before turning to face the small stone marker, half buried beneath the roots of a tree and dead fallen leaves. He swept away the dead leaves and ran a hand across the worn lettering that was written into the chipped and weathered rock face. The words still felt as fresh as the day he had carved them.

                   Here lies a young maiden, taken too soon from life.                     Now her King waits, to be reunited with his wife.

“Hello my dear….it’s been a long time.” Ardyn spoke, gazing down at the forgotten tombstone.

“Your Majesty! A message from the Crown-City!”

“Give it here soldier.” The ever-faithful Gilgamesh spoke, accepting the sealed letter.

Ardyn looked toward his Shield with weary eyes. He had been traveling for months on end, healing all that came before him, and there was still more. They had only just reached the Cleigne Region and more awaited beyond the seas where Solheim and Tenebrae resided. Though Ardyn refused to turn away anyone, deeming none too late and often being bedridden for days due to the fatigue. But still he returned to his duty, knowing that his people needed him. And though a letter from the Crown-City was not uncommon, as Ardyn often wrote to his beloved wife at every spared moment, her letters often took a week at the most to arrive to him. Gilgamesh scanned the letter quickly, his eyes hardening at the sight of the words printed on it. He glanced at Ardyn, who snatched the letter from his friend’s hand.

Dear Brother,

Your wife has fallen ill to the Starscourge. Return post haste.

Izunia

“Ready the chocobo’s at once.” Ardyn commanded, exiting the small rest stop.

“Yes, your Majesty!”

“Where is she?!” Ardyn shouted, panting heavily as he ran through the Royal Wing within the upper levels of the Citadel.

Izunia was leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he gave his younger brother a look of mock pity. He jerked his head toward the bedroom door, “in there.”

Ardyn burst through the door without a second thought, the room filled with physicians as they spoke in hushed whispers, silencing themselves immediately at the sight of their King. He looked to the bed where you laid, pale as a ghost with the veins of your arms colored black and visible through your skin. You slowly blinked up at him, smiling at the sight of your husband as he knelt beside you. “Ardyn…you’ve returned…”

“Of course, I did, my dear. I promised, did I not? Don’t worry, you will be alright.”

You shook your head. “No, my love, I’m afraid my time is up.”

“Don’t be absurd! You will be fine, (f/n), I will see to it!” He shouted, tears starting to spill from his eyes as his hands began to glow with the familiar healing magic.

“Oh, my beloved King, I wish it was not so.” You lifted a weak hand to his face, Ardyn leaning into your touch. He placed his own hands against your own as you rubbed your thumb across his stubble. “I am sorry I must leave you now…. I will always love you…my sweet Ardyn…” you whispered before your vision went black.

Ardyn watched in horror as your (e/c) closed for the final time, your hand becoming still within his own. The physicians all left the room, heads bowed in reverence at the passing of their King’s wife. Izunia watched as his dear younger brother sobbed across your still body, trying in vain to heal what was no longer there. A slight smirk appeared on his lips before he left the room, walking toward the throne room. “Savior King? If a king cannot protect that which he holds most dear, how is he to protect others?”

Outside, even the heavens cried alongside the Crystal’s Chosen.

“I apologize my dear, it has been some time has it not. I would say 30 years have passed since my last visit…my how time flies….” Ardyn spoke, placing the roses and box of Ulwatt berries before the grave. “I brought your favorites: white roses, though I will admit the Ulwatt berries are for myself. But fret not my dear, these roses pale in comparison to you.”

Ardyn stared at the grave before him, the silence causing him to sigh. “I…I am sorry. I know I couldn’t be there for you…yet still you waited.” A sob tore through his throat, “I miss you so much, my dear (f/n). It was so hard, without you beside me. But soon....I will hold you within my arms once more.”

He pulled out the small box from within the confines of his coat, opening it to reveal a beautiful, yet simple diamond ring. The very same one he had gifted you all those years ago. “The end is near my dear, and I will return to you my Queen…I swear it.”

Ardyn then returned the ring to his coat before spinning on his heel, returning to the Caelum Via instantly, the warp stirring the dead leaves laying upon the ground. Beside the tree stood a silent, silver shadow; silver tears falling from her transparent face.

“I will be waiting…my King.”

There we go, the end of the story. I hope you all enjoyed it and if you all have any requests, feel free to message me. See ya! ^_^