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gb-patch · 3 years

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Ask Answers: January 28th, 2021 (Part 2)

Here we’ve got asks that aren’t to ask a question but are just really nice messages. Thank you all for sending us such kind comments ;v;. It’s seriously heartwarming to see so many people having good experiences with the game. I don’t even know what to say to such sweet responses.

We’ll keep doing our best and thank you again to each and every one of you for giving Our Life a chance ❤!

Hello! I've been following this account and have been following the development of 'Our Life' for a few months now, and I just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work and dedication you have put into the game. It astonishes me how much choice you have during the sequence of Our Life and am excited to play the full version now, I am downloading it as I write this message. I've had a great time seeing the demo transition into to the full game and just wanted to write two words. Thank you.

Anhhhhffbgdfbhujk!!! Congratulations on the release, I’m playing the game right now! Thank you all for your hard work and I can’t wait for the Step 3 DLC to come out, I’ll probably wait for the Step 3 DLC to come out to experience everything, but until then, I still have a lot to play. Thank you once again!

finished my first playthrough just now. it just felt so wholesome ??? 100/10 would do it again. i laughed. i cried. i got angry. i felt second-hand embrassment— i got so into it i was left in literal tears after getting my first ending. the art, the storyline, the music, and COVE HOLDEN– UGH IT WAS LITERAL PERFECTION ❤ THE WAIT WAS WORTH IT. THANK YOU FOR MAKING SUCH AN AMAZING GAME 🥺😭 this made my 2020 better, i can't wait for step 4 in 2021 ❤❤

So I was following you guys on itchio for years and uhh did I stay up til 6 am on a school night to finish the game? Yes. Did I sob my eyes out during step 3 as a 20 year old having doubts about life and adulthood? Absolutely. I can't form proper sentences right now due to lack of sleep but just wanted to say thank you for making it. I honestly feel lighter and I feel like it changed my views on future to be more optimistic... I can't wait to replay it! Thanks again!

I love how Our Life turned out!! I keep replaying it and can't stop squeaking and giggling!! Thank You for creating it ♥

okay i have actually fallen in love with cove and cannot WAIT to marry him 😭

Hi! I played through 'Our Life' yesterday and I just wanna say how refreshing it was to be able to have Cove be 'high initiative' and also have so many opportunities to initiate affection from the player character! As a pretty flirtatious/affectionate person myself, I notice that a lot of VNs don't give players that agency, and affection can be kinda 'carrot on a stick' if that makes sense. You guys did an awesome job! I look forward to seeing if there are more of those moments in Step 3 & 4 :)

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the option to choose Cove's level of initiative in step 3! As much I love the option to choose I personally enjoy have the romanced character take the lead without my input so when I got to step 3 and had to option to make it so that Cove initiated affection without as much input from me I was really happy! You guys seriously added so much freedom in terms of choices, it's almost baffling that the only thing you have to pay for is optional DLC!

I absolutely loved everything about the game and I really want congratulate the team for making the game such a satisfying experience.

I look forward to step 4

❤️❤️❤️❤️

* and sorry for my bad English

Just finished my first play through and I loved it! I've been looking forward to the game and it definitely was worth the wait. Thank you all for your hard work and can't wait for the extra dlc!

Till then, hope you guys gets some well deserved rest🤗

Love you guys, thank you so much for your hard work. :)

Ok, so I just finished Our Life and, wow. I have never cried at a video game before, ever. Thank you so, so much! Its one of my favorites.

this isn't a question, but i just wanted to say how much i enjoyed our life 🥺 i've been patiently looking forward to the full game for a few months now, and i couldn't be happier with it! i've only played through it once so far but the outcomes of the choices i made were all so soft and wholesome 💗 i can tell that everyone who was involved really worked hard and you all did an incredible job! i can't wait to see what else is in store 👍

i’d just like to say how addictive our life is!!! i constantly played it during quarantine and now playing the full release is so amazing to me!! i love that i’m still discovering dialogue bits with different personalities and actions!!! i have to admit that i’ve been wishing the day to pass faster all day during school so i could go home and play again. mentally i’m not the healthiest and our life being released has boosted it up so much, thank you for creating such an amazing game!!!!!

Hey, I just wanna say I played our life two times and it still give me the same feelings. I was really looking forward to this game before it came out and I kept on replaying the demo. This game is such an amazing experience and I feel so happy playing it. I am not really a person good with words unfortunately but I do honestly love this more than anything in the world. Thank you for making it and I hope that you will continue to make more games like our life. This game really makes me happy and I can't thank you enough

Just wanted to say that Our Life really made me feel seen as an 18 year old trans man who's been struggling with change as of late and I can't thank you guys enough for it. I just finished the main story and currently released DLC's and gosh, I can really only say... woah. Just, woah. The messages are somehow exactly what I needed to hear right now, and they brought me a lot of comfort in this really weird and confusing time in my life. Can't wait to see what comes next in this lovely story <3

I am honestly in love with Our Life. The graphics, the soundtrack its just *chef's kiss* It was so worth the wait for it. I can't wait for step 4. Keep up the good work GB Patch!

good people i have just finished Our Life and let me say, it was beautiful. rarely have such non-fantastical moments (and even some fantastical moments) brought me to tears like this game has, and i don't even have the dlc (yet). i don't know how you did it but it felt like i was playing a slice of life anime. i had waited with baited breath to play this since i played the demo and my expectations were not just met but surpassed. from the bottom of my heart thank you for this game

I found the game by chance and I am so so glad I did. It’s so inclusive and made me feel so incredibly seen. Seeing that my gender identity and sexuality were possible just meant the absolute world to me. I’ve never seen something like this and it just made me so incredibly happy. Thank you for the absolutely amazing game and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Hello! I downloaded Our life earlier this week and I'm only now getting the chance to play it (Very busy and stressful week) I'm so excited to play and I wanna say thank you for making this adorable game!

I just finished my first playthrough of Our Life and I can't even express how much I love it. Cove is absolutely precious and has killed me several times, and the art and soundtrack is beautiful. I love all the small different choices. I'm very interested in the Derek and Baxter DLCs and the rest, can't wait!!!!!!

thank you for "Our Life Beginnings & Always" it has to be one of the best visual novels i ever have played and i just dont want it to end (i know it will, but damn it! i want to have a wedding night, have children and die of old age with cole! XD) when i play it it always makes me tear up (in a good way) and i am most definetly going to buy all the dlc that you make! thank you for this lovely game and all the work that went into it! (ps: i also loved "lake of voices" )

You guys are incredibly talented and im very proud of you all! You've really outdone yourselves w/ OL and i cant wait to see whats next to come for you all :)

i really love that you can be trans in Our Life! not a lot of games do that so i just wanted to say thank you!

Guuyyss!! I just wanna say! Thank you sm for the headscarf option in the MC creator! I especially loved that little detail where MC quickly slips the headscarf on before greeting Cove, I've never felt so immersed :'D Not that the rest of the game wasn't immersive btw, but since I wear my hijab most of the time that little addition really felt like something I would do! So thank you for that <3

I've been watching "Our Life: Beginnings & Always" development for quite some time, and I gotta say its wild to see it finally release. Its so unique in the way relationships work- even character creation. I've cried multiple times over this game while playing. I can't thank y'all enough for a game with these kind of mechanics, and representation. its rare I get to feel im really playing as myself in games like these. Everyones outdone themselves. this'll certainly be one I keep coming back to.

I've been following the development of Our Life from way back when the first demo dropped and it still blows my mind how many choices and customizations there are (love that update for the MC's bedroom btw!) and the fact that the game remembers them - it really feels like your very own coming of age story! I was so immersed I cried at the end :') Can't believe I experienced this game for free lol. I can't wait for future DLCs and Step 4! Good luck with all your upcoming projects dev team!!

Just wanted to say I love Our Life and I'm thankful it exists. Thank you so much! I love the little world you created and all the people in it. Especially Cove! This game makes me so happy!

Just poping in to say hi and that ilu guys ^^, remember to take care of yourselves!

Hi!! I just wanna thank you for creating such an amazing game. Our Life is one of the few dating sims I’ve found that let’s me be a male mc, it’s really hard to find dating sims that let me be gay. Our Life is my new favorite dating sim to just sit down and playthrough whenever I’m having a bad day so I just wanted to let y’all know how much I appreciate all you’ve done. 🤍

Fan from australia here

Just wanted to reach out and let you know how important this game has been to me. I came across it at a really rough time ( that I’m still going through ) and it’s been one of the things that’s driven me to get up and out of bed sometimes.

This game and cove both hold a very special place in my heart and I can’t wait to see more of him in the DLC and Step 4

Much love ♥️

I know this isnt exactly the main focus of the game, but i really love how we can customise the mc personality wise! This is the first time i've played a game like this where the mc actually does and says exactly what I would do and say in certain situations and its such a breath of fresh air!! It's also so cool how the other characters can pick up on it!!

Cove Holden saved 2020 (my 2020 anyways) I would die for him

Sorry for this being out of the blue, but after playing through Our Life I wanted to thank you for the experience. I don’t know if I’ve ever played a game that has made me cry happy tears TWICE lol. It’s beautiful, scenic, inclusive, and absolutely amazing..have a great rest of 2020 and I honestly cannot wait for the rest of it :,) (ps. The ending song is stuck in my head)

I think you guys might've ruined visual novels for me forever. I'm not sure I'll be able to play another without comparing it to Our Life and I know if I do that I'll be disappointed every time because of how amazing it is. I bought the DLCs before playing the base game it's one of the best impulsive purchases I've ever made

Thank you so much for making our life! It's my favorite visual novel ever and I just can't articulate how much being able to just be honest with my responses instead of going for whatever would make the love interest happy means to me? I reccomended it to evry friend I have that plays visual novels because this is the best one I've ever played!

Just wanted to say that I absolutely adore this game! The childhood friends tropes is my favorite thing and this game delivers! Cove is the sweetest thing, infact all the boys are good boys. Super excited for all upcoming dlcs!

Hi, I just want to thank you for making such an amazing game like Our Life. Tbh, I was following the game’s development for a while, but me and my family moved away from my childhood town just a few days before release, so I really connected to this game. You all did amazing!

hey just wanted to know that i completely loved ol: b&a and it was so good and love cove more than i’ve liked any fictional character, it’s now my comfort media. thank you so much

hi i just wanna say i really enjoyed all of the representation in our life b&a! there were characters with a lot of different body shapes, pic characters, lgbtq+ characters, and you get to choose your own pronouns and sexuality!!! so tysm!!

This isn't a question, I just wanted to say that Our Life is incredible. Ever since I finished it, I've been looking for other visual novels to play so I don't play OL so often that I start memorizing the lines before all the DLC comes out, but I keep coming back to it. It's really one of a kind, I think you all ruined other visual novels for me because I haven't enjoyed another VN like I have this one since I read it ❤.

i think our life b&a is the first game where i felt like cove loved me, not the character i play as which is really nice for someone with kinda low self esteem so THANK YOU

I’ve been playing Our Life practically nonstop since yesterday. I just want everyone who worked on it to know how much the LGBTQ inclusivity means to me. As a closeted trans ace guy in an unsupportive household, I can’t emphasize how much of a comfort this game has been to me. Everything about it is so wholesome and heartfelt. I’m excited to see what other games you make in the future 💙

- A demibiromantic ace transgender man who may or may not have cried over the option to be myself in a game for the first time ever

Csn i just say i really appreciate how you handled MC deciding to use they/them at different stages. Mainly because alot of games don't pay much attention to the body the mc was assigned at birth if they player chooses nonbinary like it does with male/female. And it was just nice to be able to play an mc who just thought gender was kinda 'meh' for them but still felt good about the body they were born with (like myself). I guesd it boils down I'm really appreciative of the hard work it must've taken for you to make all those options possible & still have them matter.

I just wanted to thank you all for Our Life. My mental health hasn't been in a good place recently and it has become my favorite form of escapism/way to cheer up. It's idyllic setting and fantastic characters are such a good way to wind down, I love it. Also, I've been dreading 2021 due to classes starting and general stress, but the DLC and your next project have given me something to actually look forward to :). I'm so excited for them and now I actually have a reason to be happy that it's 2021. Sorry if this message is a bit weird, I just wanted to thank the team for their hard work and for creating something so incredible <3

I've gotta say this is one of the most repayable games I've ever played, if not the most. Usually after i do a playthrough or two of a game i have to wait awhile before playing again otherwise it feels stale. But i haven't had that problem with our life because of the sheer ammount of player agency. Everyone who works on tbe game should feel incredibly proud of themselves because you've created something amazing.

I just wanted to say thank you for Our Life. I'm sure you get this a lot, but it really pulled me out of a mentally tough spot in my life. So thank you.

who needs therapy when you have our life: beginnings and always? haha no but seriously this game is my comfort game, and even though i can’t join your patreon at the moment please know i am always supporting you and i am so excited to see everything you have in store! everyone who works on the games is so so talented

All DLCs have nice content. 😡😡

And I love them all!!💗💗💗💖💖💖💕💕💕

#our life #Our Life Beginnings & Always #ourlifeba #ask #gb patch #gb patch games

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lorirwritesfanfic · 3 years

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Minefields And Battle Scars - Part 2

Author's note: Leading characters are owned by Pixelberry Studios and original characters are creations of the author. Book: Desire & Decorum (modern day AU) Pairing: Prince Hamid x MC (Daphne) Rating: T Word count: 4833 Reading time: ~19min Summary: Daphne’s visit to the queen will bring changes she can’t foresee.

Istanbul, January 7th 2019

Daphne finished arranging tempura, sashimis, tofu and donburi on the tray when Hamid's laughter echoed through the walls. After a moment of frustration during the visit to his orthopedist, to hear him laughing was a relief. It was rare to see him so upset and she didn't realise until then how much his sadness could affect her. But hopefully, good food and wholesome entertainment would help cheer him up.

Taking the plates to the lounge, she grinned at the sight of him still laughing at a scene of a series recommended by Malak. "You watched the scene with Ceycey hiding behind the plant, didn't you?"

"It was the dumbest scene I've ever watched, but it's so good," he replied, taking his time to catch his breath.

"Malak was so right. This series is addictive."

"Don't tell her that or she'll flood your phone with gifs and gossip about the actors and the series."

"Noted." The lady beamed and placed down the tray on the coffee table as she sat on the sofa.

Hamid glanced at the dishes with a curious look. "I thought you wanted to try islak burgers¹."

"Yes, but I saw the look in your eyes when we passed by your favorite Japanese restaurant here after we left Dr. Delin's office and I ordered our lunch from there. Now I understand why you wanted it."

"That's the best Japanese restaurant here. Their dishes remind me of my trip to Kyoto after I graduated at Bahcesehir²." His lips curled upwards softly. "I had already been accepted in Cambridge, but I wanted to spend summer away from everyone and go somewhere unknown. I wanted to have time to see the city and enjoy every new thing I learned there." A wistful look crossed his features.

"Seems like I made the right choice for lunch then," she added, placing her hand atop his.

"You did." A wider grin spread on his lips. "I would've been perfectly content with a kiss and a hug from my girlfriend, but I'm not complaining..."

"Is that so?" Daphne smirked, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Cupping her face, he kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose and her lips. "Thank you for this. I promise one day we'll have lunch in Kyoto and stroll around the city."

"I'll hold you to that. Now then, let's dig in."

"Great idea."

The couple sat on the carpet and arranged the coffee table to have their lunch. Between bites and a conversation that flowed easily, the sound of something falling called their attention. Looking from the corner of an eye, Daphne grimaced as she spotted her mobile on the floor, screen facing down the floor while Hamid's cat jumped from the sideboard to play with it.

"Allah, allah..." He narrowed his eyes at the cat then looked at his girlfriend. "I'm sorry, aşkım."

"It's fine..." she gave her shoulders, trying not to look annoyed. "I wanted a new phone anyway..."

"Didn't you buy that one two months ago?"

"I did?" She forced a smile.

"Daphne, I'm not going to be mad if you're upset about it. I know Maya can be a handful sometimes."

"I'm not going to make a fuss about it. Maya is just a tiny kitten with a lot of energy. Many baby animals go through this phase."

"Are you sure it's fine?"

"It's just a phone. It's easily replaceable. Drake was way worse when his teeth were growing. Do you have any idea of how many shoes and bags he ruined until I found a good dog trainer?"

The two of them chuckled.

Hamid reached for her hand and lifted to his lips to kiss it. "Let's finish eating. We'll check on the damage later and purchase a new phone if you want."

As soon as they continued to eat, Daphne's phone buzzed again.

"Seems like it survived the fall," Hamid commented.

"That's a good sign," she added and continued to eat.

The phone buzzed again. Maya jumped back, puffing up her fur and hissing at the phone.

"Aren't you going to pick it up?"

"And bleed until next week when her sharp claws and teeth sink into my skin? No, thank you."

"She's not that aggressive..." He scoffed.

"Easy for you to say, babağim³," she retorted.

He chortled. "Fine... I got it." With one arm, Hamid reached for a food container and grabbed a cat treat. Before he called Maya, she was already sitting beside him with her big pleading yellow eyes waiting for the snack she was going to get.

Whilst her boyfriend distracted the car with a treat, Daphne picked up her phone from the floor and smiled at the sight of the barely scratched screen. She then proceeded to open the messages she received and made a face.

"How bad does it look?"

"Well, my phone is fine. But my grandmother sent me her suggestions of outfits for me and I don't know what to make of them."

"Didn't you say you two have similar preferences in fashion?"

"We usually do. But not today..." she said, handing him her phone and grinned as he twisted his nose at the outfit.

"Is she suggesting you wear an outfit I can only imagine Queen Elizabeth wearing because of last week's gossip about you?" He arched an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid so..."

"But It wasn't that bad. You didn't hit anyone with a tennis ball or ended up in jail this time," he teased.

"What happened to Theresa was an accident! And that guy who tried to grope me had it coming." Her lips twisted in a scowl.

"I know..." He chuckled. "All I'm saying is we can barely call what happened last week a scandal."

"There's no reason why she should bother with this. It's not like I'm going to be countess." Daphne gave her shoulders and began to poke the food on her plate.

"I suppose you're right." Hamid studied her face. "You mentioned you only agreed to attend this meeting with the queen to please your grandmother. But I was wondering if this truly the only way you can make amends with Lady Dominique."

"It's the most effective one."

"I'm still failing to understand how it'd help. I hardly believe you would wish to settle your differences with your grandmother in front of the queen."

The lady glanced at him and looked down at her food again.

"Daphne, why did you agree to this meeting?"

"Because grandmother is right. The queen is an example of a powerful woman with many years of experience. She faced wars, unsuccessful alliances, and unscrupulous people. Maybe I could learn something with her."

"Hm..." He placed his elbow on the table and supported his chin with one hand. "A diplomatic and vague answer that would work so well with other people. Smart..."

The lady frowned and moved closer to him. "How do you do that?"

"It takes a charmer to know other," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Daphne snorted, but soon her brows knitted together in a frown. "I don't think I was born to be a politician. But my grandmother and he had faith in me that I started to believe it."

"Do you regret sending the letter to the queen?"

"A little..." She sighed. "But it was for the best."

"To whom?"

The lady pulled away from her boyfriend and narrowed her eyes. "Hamid, you've worked with my father. You know the members of the Parliament. Do you honestly think any of them wouldn't belittle me?"

"No. But I also think you're not the kind of person who walks in and out of any place without leaving your mark. Do you have any idea of the impact you could cause there? How much hope you could bring not just for your family, but to the Asian community, immigrants in general, women, artists?"

Staring wide eyed at Hamid, she slowly tried to process what he said.

"You don't have to become a politician if you don't want to. But you have a power, a voice that shouldn't be silenced by anyone. Don't forget it."

Still unsure of what to say, Daphne simply stared blankly at him.

Certain she would take his words under careful consideration, Hamid smiled proudly. "I see the idea still demands some time to be absorbed, but in the meantime, how about we finish our lunch?"

Daphne nodded, but remained quiet, still lost in deep thought when a large hand holding chopsticks captured the last of her salmon nigiri. "Hey!" She scowled.

"You snooze, you lose," he winked.

"Oh, you're going to regret that, Osmanoğlu," She threatened, using her chopsticks to steal all the tuna sashimis. And just like that, the couple began a playful chopsticks fight that ended up into feeding each other until all the food was over.

County of Edgewater, three days later

Daphne placed one last pin between her dark strands of hair, finishing her low braided bun. Checking her hair to see everything else in place, she applied a dry hair spray when she heard a knock.

"Daphne?" The earl called.

"Come in, dad!" She answered, smiling as he walked holding a small box in his hand.

"You look as stunning as ever, my dear."

"Here you go, sweetheart."

She grabbed the box and opened it. Her eyes landed on her family heirloom, a sapphire and gold brooch with Edgewater crest engraved in the blue gemstone. "It's so regal..." She said, admiring the details of the accessory.

"Did I tell you it belonged to one of your namesakes?"

"Which one? But don't tell me this belonged to Stormholt or Cordonian queens because I won't believe it. I'm not twelve anymore, dad."

"I may have stretched the truth a little, my stories were good, weren't they?"

"Yes." She pursed her lips, but still smiled.

"Thank you." Vincent chuckled. "This one is from my father's side of the family."

"So no queens flying on blue dragons or crown shields with magical powers."

"No. Even though Cornodians are extra careful with their most prized possessions, I highly doubt they still have crown jewels from the late Middle Ages when the kingdom was still divided in five distinct lands. This brooch belonged to Countess Daphne Foredale of Edgewater."

"There was a Countess Daphne Foredale before?"

"Yes, during the Regency period."

Curiosity sparkled within her eyes. "How was she?"

"She was smart, beautiful, polite, just and very popular among gentry folk."

"She sounds fascinating." Daphne said, eyes glancing at her accessories and choosing the necklace her boyfriend gave her.

"She was." He smiled to himself watching his daughter's fingers open the locket for a moment before closing it and putting on the necklace.

"I don't remember seeing her portrait on the wall of our ancestors."

"She didn't rule Edgewater for long."

"Oh?"

"I can tell you her story later. Now then, how are you feeling, my dear?" He asked, taking a seat on the chair nearby.

"Like I can't wait for this brunch to be over." She grimaced.

"You've met the queen before. There's nothing to worry about."

"But it's been over a year since the last time I met her. A lot has happened since then. What if she looks down on me?" Daphne frowned.

"Well, Her Majesty can be a judgemental woman just like everyone else. The royal family has never been a model of decorum within closed doors. But in my humble opinion, everyone deserves respect. And you, my dear." The earl reached for his daughter's hand and squeezed it gently. "You're the most honourable young lady in UK and she’d be a fool to misjudge you."

"Honourable enough to still become a countess?"

"Is it what you want, Daphne?"

"I'm not sure. But I've been thinking about it..." She looked down, fiddling with the hem of her dress.

"I don't know about the queen's opinion, but if it's only up to me and if it's what you want, you'll be the second Countess Daphne Foredale. And I'll make sure your portrait will stay on the wall of our ancestors for many years."

"But what about Eddie and Harry?"

"What about them?" He joked.

"Daaad..." She whined.

"Nothing is set in stone, my dear. I'm still alive and well and I hope to have many years ahead of me. Which gives me plenty of time to decide between them if my first choice maintains her decision."

A thin line took shape between her eyebrows as Daphne looked down at her hands.

"I'm not pressuring you, sweetheart. All I want is for you to be happy whether you wish to follow my footsteps or not," he said, placing the brooch on her vanity dresser.

Her eyes landed on the brooch and mixed feelings rose inside her. Was she ready to be back in another minefield again? "I know..."

"Take your time. Whenever you have a definite answer, I'll be here."

"Thank you."

"You're most welcome, my dear." The earl kissed the top of her head and left the room.

Daphne picked up the brooch and pressed it against her chest to figure out where it would go. For a moment she wondered what it would mean to her grandmother and the queen if she wore a family heirloom.

The arrival of the Foredale ladies to Buckingham palace didn't go unnoticed by the paparazzi. To respect the distance stipulated by the court to avoid lawsuits, they only took pictures of her whenever she was close to the Queen. Much to their delight, she was constantly close to Queen Elizabeth walking through the gardens with her pug. They even managed to snap two or three pictures of her Royal Majesty smiling at the viscountess's dog. The moment they walked inside the palace, things were bound to change.

"Thank you." Daphne smiled at a servant who gave Drake a bowl with treats.

"You have a very well behaved dog for a pug. His breed isn't known for its obedience." The queen pointed out.

"Oh, I know. His trainer did wonders. Hopefully, he will continue to behave now that I'm taking him with me to the States."

The queen nodded as her eyes eventually darted to the brooch with Edgewater crest. "I assume your grandmother didn't leave us here to get a recipe with my personal chef for nothing."

"You're correct, ma'am. Lady grandmother always has a strategy."

"What is it that you want to talk about, Lady Foredale?"

Daphne shifted on her seat in discomfort and cleared her throat. "Ma'am, you became sovereign in your late twenties, you were many times the only female politician in a room full of men who think they know it all. How do you handle criticism?"

The queen placed her teacup back on the coffee table and began to speak. "Criticism is part of existing in human society. One cannot expect to please everybody and it was never my job to do so. I do hear what others have to say, but I can't allow it to cloud my judgement. My duty to this country, to the Commonwealth comes before everything else."

"I see." Daphne replied with a grim smile.

"Do you regret your decision of stepping down from public activities as a noblewoman?"

The young lady averted her gaze as she searched for the right words.

"It's a simple answer, Lady Foredale." The queen affirmed, taking the opportunity to scrutinize the viscountess.

"It seems easy to say yes or no. But each answer comes with consequences that will affect not just me or my family. I can't forget the people whose lives might be affected by this choice."

As she glanced at the queen, she noticed something different about how the sovereign looked at her.

"I wasn't raised among nobility, as you must know. When I came to the UK to live with my father, I didn't know he wanted to pass his title to me. I thought he'd give it to Harry. He was the obvious choice. But he told me he saw something in me that made him believe I look after the County of Edgewater. After a while, I started to believe it too."

"Did you stop believing it after the succession of scandals you were involved in?"

"No."

The queen's forehead creased in surprise.

"I never stopped believing it, ma'am. I was just..." Daphne took a moment to choose her words. "I was mentally or emotionally exhausted at the time I wrote you that letter. I thought it was the right decision for me, for my family's legacy, for Edgewater."

"May I ask what caused that change of heart?"

"I was discussing the purpose of this meeting with someone very dear to me and he reminded me of all the reasons I started to believe I could do it. Even if my voice feels little at times because of my humble origins, my gender, my race or what I did in the past, I still can make an impact if I'm there."

"Yet the life you have now in another country, away from the scrutiny of paparazzi and gossip feels safe, does it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Lady Foredale, you've always had my approval. I wouldn't have wasted my time attending a ceremony to bestow you a courtesy title if I didn't."

Daphne stared at the queen in shock. "You wouldn't?! I thought you attended the ceremony because of your friendship with Lady grandmother. Or because King Liam was there."

"Please... I could've simply sent somebody in place to give you the title of viscountess." The queen waved her hand dismissively. "I have to admit your family connections do give an advantage. But as you reminded me, you were born with noble blood, but weren't raised to be one. What you accomplished in so little time was remarkable. And my opinion didn't change. If you do wish to take your place as the rightful heir, I won't oppose."

Daphne nodded, doing her best to wrap her mind about it. "I can't say I was expecting that."

"I can see that," The queen said as a ghost of a smile played on her lips. "But take your time to think about it. After all, you were right. This is a decision that comes with consequences that will affect more than just you or your family."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Just then, the door flew open and Lady Dominique walked in folding a piece of paper.

"Forgive me for my absence, Your Majesty. I saw the chef preparing biscuits and I had to stay and watch his marvelous work." Dominique said, taking a seat next to her granddaughter. "I hope the conversation you two were having was pleasant."

"Yes, Lady Dominique. It was." The queen answered as she poured herself more tea.

Glancing at her granddaughter, Lady Dominique gave Daphne a discreet nod and a smile in approval.

Daphne, however, wasn't sure what to make of it. All she knew was that regardless of her choice, that informal meeting would change everything.

"Thank you, Carmindy." Daphne smiled as she gave her coat to her maid and took a seat by her vanity dresser.

"Should I take Drake for a walk by the lake, ma'am?" The maid asked.

"No, it's fine. He had a walk at the palace. I don't want to tire him out."

"Of course." Carmindy then proceeded to organise Daphne's belongings. "Ms. Daly, Ms. Parsons and Mr. Osmanoğlu called while you were in London. They seemed excited about the pictures."

"Pictures?" Daphne held her makeup remover cloth midair and glanced at her maid.

"Yes. The ones posted on the tabloids with the Queen."

Things did start changing."Um... Okay. I guess..." Daphne said and continued to remove her makeup. "Did they say anything else?"

"They're all waiting for you to return the calls. Ms. Daly said you should make a conference call to her and Ms. Parsons first."

"Please tell me she didn't justify it with 'chicks before dicks'." She made a face.

"You asked me not to hide things from you, ma'am." Carmindy fought back a smile.

"Oh, Briar..." Daphne sighed, shaking her head.

"Mr. Osmanoğlu said he knew Ms. Daly would use that excuse and he insisted you should call him first because he has boyfriend privileges and, unlike your friends, he isn't a twenty minutes drive away from you. Also, he said he misses you the most."

Daphne couldn't help but giggle as she stood up. "Thank you, Carmindy. I'll send them a message and call later. Right now, we have to finish packing."

The maid gave her a polite nod. "As you wish, ma'am."

On the opposite side of Edgewater estate, Henrietta glanced out the window, frantically bouncing her left foot as she waited for more details about the visit to the Queen. It was obvious that Daphne didn't simply accompany Lady Dominique on a informal brunch. The Dowager countess and the Queen were old friends and Daphne has always been her favourite grandchild. But above all else, Dominique was a great strategist who wouldn't simply accept defeat.

"Finally!" She exclaimed as Theresa walked into the room.

"Sorry, ma'am. It wasn't easy to hear Lady Dominique's conversation with Lord Vincent. The staff is constantly watching us."

Henrietta's lips twisted in a scowl. The staff in Edgewater hasn't been cooperative with her ever since Daphne's former maid was fired because of her involvement with the scandal. Although no one outside the family knew for sure, most people believed it was the countess's doing, the only member of the Foredales who never had a good relationship with the young viscountess. "What did you find out?"

"As far I know, Daphne hasn’t decided yet," Theresa explained as she sat down. "Lady Dominique said Daphne has the Queen's approval to return to her activities as a noblewoman, but she said Daphne should think about it."

"Did they say why?"

"The earl thinks she is conflicted. It can be about her not wanting to jeopardize her relationship with Harry and Edmund, but he's also not sure she wants to be in the spotlight again."

"Hmm... I guess I underestimated the potential of her bond with my sons..." Henrietta seemed lost in thought for a moment, then spoke again. "What did you hear from Daphne's bedroom?"

"Nothing special. Just that her friends saw the pictures in the tabloids and they wanted to know what happened. She didn't give any details to Carmindy though."

"Of course she didn't. She's not stupid. She no longer fully trusts any of the servants." Henrietta stood up and paced around. "Anything else?"

"No. She's just packing her stuff with Carmindy to travel back to the States."

"I still have to keep an eye on her then. I can't have her changing her mind about it after all I did to give back to my sons what had always been theirs." Henrietta turned to Theresa. "Are your bags packed?"

"No, ma'am. I thought—"

"You thought?!" Henrietta pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled sharply before she glared at the young woman. "I did not use my connections and made you look vaguely smart to the Dean for you to stay here and do nothing! You'll go back tomorrow in the same flight Daphne will leave."

"But ma'am, Eddie and I—"

"Why are you still questioning me? Go!" Henrietta hissed, pointing to the door.

"Yes, ma'am." Theresa then stood up and quietly left the room.

"Argh!!!" Felicity threw a glass against the wall, making the hair stylist blow drying her long sandy blond hair flinch in response.

"Miss Holloway, please, be calm," begged a servant taking the tablet away from her view.

"Calm?! How can you expect me to be calm when my fiancé dismissed me as if I was nothing?!" She yelled.

"Mr. Sinclaire warned you this would be a busy week for him, miss. And you did tell him that the dinner meeting you went to last night was one of the most boring dinners of your life. Maybe he just doesn't want you to be bored," the servant tried to reason.

"I don't care! He's my fiancé!" Felicity spat. "If I'm not there, people will talk!"

"And given what the tabloids said about Daphne and him..." Donna implied, looking at her friend from the corner of an eye as her finger tapped the phone screen idly.

"Call him again!" Felicity ordered.

The servant pressed a number, put the call on speaker and waited only for them to hear his voice message.

"Miss, Mr. Sinclaire doesn—'"

"I know! I'm not deaf! Keep calling him!" She yelled and closed her eyes, trying to control her anger. "Distract me, Donna. Tell me the hottest gossip on the tabloids today."

Donna looked down at her phone then glanced at her friend as if scared of her reaction.

"What?" Felicity glared at her minion.

"I don't think you want to know about it..."

"Why? What's trending?"

"Um..." Donna scratched the back of her head.

"Oh, for the love of god, just give me that!" She hissed, snatching the mobile away from Donna's hand.

As she read the news on the most popular tabloid of the UK, she scowled. On the main page, a large picture of Daphne with her grandmother and Queen Elizabeth was displayed with the headline 'Back In The Queen's Good Graces'. Inside the post, more pictures showed the viscountess walking beside the queen while they strolled in the lawn with their dogs and even a picture of the queen smiling. On social media, there were several pictures of Daphne's hairstyle, outfit and even makeup tutorials to copy her look.

"Why the hell are there pictures of that loser all over the internet?!" She growled.

"Well, Stella McCartney did post a picture on pictogram where she was adjusting the coat made exclusively for Daphne and Queen Elizabeth was smiling..." Donna tried to explain only to earn a glare from her friend.

"She can't become relevant again. She can't," she mumbled, throwing the phone back to Donna. "Where is Theresa? Did she find anything at the Foredales'?"

"Nothing important. The countess thinks Daphne is trying to become the heir again but right now it's mere speculation."

"After the queen had clearly regretted giving that bastard a title?!"

"Actually, that's a rumor. Daphne is the one who sent a letter to the queen in October asking to step down," Donna corrected.

"It was a rhetorical question, you git⁴." Felicity hissed, shooting daggers at her minion. "What about that gossip blog in Turkey?'

"Nobody knows a thing about Daphne and Hamid."

"Excuse me?! What about the tips we sent?"

"The owner of the blog said there's no real proof they're together and he wasted his time sending that post about Ernest and Daphne to Hamid."

"Excuse me?!"

"Felicity, we can't say he's wrong. If you think about it, Hamid and Daphne are very discreet. They're rarely seen without their friends, they don't go out much, their interactions on social media are friendly and they have never been caught on PDA. They only kissed in public once, but no one has any evidence that ever happened. As far as everybody knows, they're just friends." Donna shrugged.

"What?!" Felicity's head snapped to the side to look at her friend. "But she was in Istanbul with him. Twice!"

"But there's no real evidence. No pictures, no one has seen them together since they flew back to Europe during winter break. Because of her restraining order against the paparazzi, that picture of her at the train station was taken down the next day and no one in Turkey knows who she is. And that means there's no reason why anyone in Turkey would take a picture of her there."

Felicity's brows furrowed in confusion.

"I know, right?" Donna gave her friend a knowing look.

"There's something really strange about all of this. And I won’t rest until I figure it out," she said glaring at the pictures on her phone screen.

____

¹ "Wet burger": burger made with ground beef, garlic and buttery tomato sauce.

² University in Istanbul

³ Dear daddy

⁴ British slur for moron

#choices fanfic #desire and decorum fanfic #prince hamid #hamid x mc #dominique foredale #vincent foredale #lorirwritesfanfic #lorircreates #desire & decorum modern day au #meant to be au

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greygullhaven · 3 years

Text

Fan-Fic FAQ

Thank you for the tag @greyhavenisback

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

121309

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Only been on Ao3 for less than a year…

So right now It is 90% Haven with a few things for Resident Evil, Final Fantasy VII, and Lord of the Rings/Silmarillion thrown in.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kissing Scars- (2485 words) HAVEN. First story that I ever posted up on Ao3!

Love Lost and Love Found- (13775 words) HAVEN. Most read fic on Ao3 so far!

Harmless Flirting?- (4185 words) HAVEN. Sweet, sappy, angsty, all rolled into one!

Giving Thanks For You- (4637 words) HAVEN. Yes, another Nuke story- I have an addiction!

All I Want for Christmas Is….You?- (3159 words) HAVEN. First Three Gulls Story I ever wrote!

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I have a collection of oneshots. One of them is an angsty piece that actually has the warning of “no happy ending found here.” It’s a small thing of only a few hundred words but yeah… angsty Duke feels all around!

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Almost all my stories have a happy ending or at least are well in line for there to be a happy ending in the readers’ mind when the story ends. As far as the happiest? I’d have to say Love Lost and Love Found- runs the full gamut of emotions and Duke saves Nathan. A close second would be Making a House Into a Home- small little thing but its part of my Three Stars of Haven works (Duke/Nathan/Dwight) and is a sweet sappy thing!

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

I usually despise crossovers but I have read some that are winning me over. I have not gotten to the point of writing a crossover yet, but I am considering the possibility, which is a big thing for me!

8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Hehehehe Ummm yeah. Nothing toooooo hard yet, I read it but am still getting to the point of being able to write it well. But yeah, there’s some smut and plans for many more. And who know, I get one year under my belt finally maybe I will be able to write it more easily!

9. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yup- every comment gets at least a thank you reply of some kind. If a comment is nothing but a negative troll then I delete it and move on.

10. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thankfully no, but less than a year into posting my stuff online so I am sure they are to come eventually.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No though that would be awesome!!!!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not fully- the amazing GreyHaven has helped me plot out sections and scenes before. I would LOVE to do rps and write fics that way again!!!

14. What's your all time favourite ship?

Since I mostly write Haven stuff tight now I will rank my three faves for the fandom:

1 Nuke- Nathan and Duke

2 Three Gulls – Nathan, Audrey, and Duke

3 Three Stars – Nathan, Duke, and Dwight

15. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Any of them? I have… *glances at WIP list* eeep! 6 different stories I am working on for various characters and pairings in Haven…. So yeah I will get them done eventually…. Life is just being a bugger right now and my brain is only letting me get out drabbles and 1k word oneshots. But I will take what I can get. At least I am still writing right?

16. What are your writing strengths?

I’ve been told its characterization, blending angst and fluff, story/setting creation, and conveying emotions/toying with reader and character emotions.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Aside from getting past brain blocks to actually write I struggle with dialogue at times and overthinking certain scene sand details that get me stuck when they honestly probably don’t even matter to the reader or to the grand scheme of the story.

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Nope, I don’t do it. I don’t speak any other languages so I don’t trust myself to do it correctly. I might imply another language is being used. “Duke showed off his mastery of the Japanese language again by….” But beyond that, naw. I write in English.

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

First ever was Lord of the Rings when I was like 8 or 9. Wrote for dozes on fandoms (mostly animes) when I was in college. A year ago I got back into it after a 12 year break and its been mostly Haven ever since!

20. What's your favourite fic you've written?

Hmm. Hard one. I don’t have a lot to choose from yet… so I kinda feel like Im lacking anything worth being overly proud of yet. I really like Love Lost and Love Found because of the premise and emotions and all… and I am proud of any of my Three Stars fics – This is My Christmas Wish, and Making a House Into A home- because I had to create a name for that pairing as nothing existed for Duke, Nathan, Dwight. It’s kinda nice to help bring a great rare pair to the fandom.

Tagging, with no pressure- @lawlessferalgay @divingintohope @lovingmoose @mythoughtsaretroubled

@ anyone else who wants to do this and hasn’t been tagged.

#Ao3 #Fnafic #Fanfiction writiers

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thesurielships · 4 years

Note

feysand + “you promised me a cookie!”

kiss me like your ex is in the room

note: this is super late, I’m sorry. I hope you’re doing well, and I look forward to read your next creations when you feel better. Enjoy :))

note 2: uncle Colm is a character from Derry Girls and his lines are quoted from the show. It's a really good show, BTW.

Word count: 1.6k | Masterlist | ao3

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Rita’s bakery is the best in Velaris. They specialize in finger foods and exquisite little pastries, each more exotic and original than the next; but the town’s favorite – or at least, Feyre’s favorite – will always be their double chocolate chip cookies.

These are no simple cookies. Even though they have been critiqued by many a reputed culinary writer, the secret to the complexity of their taste has yet to be uncovered. With a chewy center and crispy edges, chocolate chips that explode in your mouth and a bittersweet aftertaste that is nothing short of addictive, plus the extreme exclusivity of Rita’s services, they are nothing short of an urban legend. In fact, hiring Rita for an event earns you a spot on the local gossip column for weeks, no questions asked.

Feyre supposes she shouldn’t be surprised that her cunning devil of a sister managed to get them to cater for her wedding. Or that she only made her maid of honor in order to work her to the bone. Nevertheless, as she gazes at Nesta’s dazzling smile and the absolutely enamored look in Cassian’s eyes, Feyre finds she is glad to be here. Even though she didn’t get to the cookies in time.

Her friend Alis catches her eye from a few tables away and as she walks towards her, a familiar voice makes her pause.

“Now, I don't mind a bit of a breeze, if any, I prefer it. But that one was aggressive. So I says to myself. I say 'Colm, this is no day for a do'. ”

The steadiness of his monotone never fails to amaze her.

“When the bride arrives, and I say by this stage, the wind was fierce. I've never heard wind like it -”

Feyre dares a peek at the new victim of her uncle Colm’s boring and endless ramblings, and the sight that greets her almost makes up for the missing cookies. Rhysand - the best man and general pain in her ass ever since she met him a couple of months ago – is the portrait of boredom. He is slouching in his chair, his chin in his hand and his eyelids drooping as he struggles to focus on uncle Colm’s story. It’s the first time she sees him without his usual smirk, and she hates that she misses it.

“Howling like a banshee it was,” her uncle drones on. “So the poor girl –”

Feyre clears her throat and Rhysand starts. She bites back a laugh at the hope that kindles in his face when he sees her.

“Feyre dear, I was just telling this handsome young fellow about –”

“The windy wedding story?”

Uncle Colm smiles at her fondly. “You remember?”

She nods solemnly. “It’s a very funny story. You should hear the rest of it, Rhysand,” she adds with a smirk.

Rhysand’s eyes are wide with horror. She can almost hear him shout ‘save me!’

“So the poor girl,” her uncle resumes his retelling, “the bride now this is –”

Feyre raises a brow defiantly. Why should I?

“She arrives and –”

He glances to his side and she follows his gaze. The prick has not one, not two, but three of Rita’s cookies on a plate.

“Isn't she no –”

“Uncle Colm,” she exclaims in a high pitched tone, “I’m sorry to interrupt such a good story, but I actually need Rhysand for a very urgent matter.”

The usually unflappable best man practically jumps out of his seat. “Duty calls, uncle Colm.”

“That’s a shame,” her uncle sighs. “I was so close to the end. Are you sure –”

“Yes,” Rhysand squeaks, and Feyre coughs to hide her laugh. “Maybe next time,” he throws over his shoulder as he drags her away.

No sooner are they out of earshot that she collapses into a fit of giggles. Rhysand frowns and she laughs harder. He tries to keep his face stern but the corners of his lips are twitching. When she finally sobers up, Feyre offers him her hand, palm up.

One groomed eyebrow lifts. “What?”

“What do you mean, what? You promised me a cookie!”

Rhysand slides his hands into his pockets and Feyre’s heart sinks. “I did no such thing.”

“But, but,” she sputters, “I saw you! You looked at those cookies!”

He chuckles, low and soft. “Those cookies aren’t mine, Feyre darling.”

“You tricked me.”

She glares up at him but freezes when her eyes fall on the doors behind him. Tamlin is here. The blood drains from her face. She can feel herself quaking in her heels and she hates how he makes her feel small just by walking in the room.

“What’s wrong?”

She doesn’t answer.

What in the Cauldron is he doing here? Is he here for me?

Her chest is too tight. She can’t breathe.

He’s here for me, he’s here for me, he’s here for-

“Feyre.”

She startles at Rhysand’s voice. He turns to look behind him and she grabs him by the lapel. “Don’t,” she whispers.

He patiently waits for her to explain.

“Tamlin, my ex –”

Understanding dawns in his eyes. His smile is grim.

Feyre dares another glance over his shoulder. “He’s –” she croaks, swallows, clears her throat, “comin –”

Rhysand’s lips on hers stop her short.

Feyre just stands there, too stunned to react. He draws away slightly. His hands cup her face and his thumbs stroke her cheeks lovingly. His gaze is steady on hers as he waits for her to make the next move.

Her hands are still clutching his lapels so she pulls him close and kisses him.

She means to repel Tamlin, but as soon as their lips meet she forgets everything but the man that has been haunting her dreams for months. The kiss is slow and languorous, and Feyre wonders at the softness of his lips, the gentleness of his caress. Her fingers bury in his hair and his hands trail down to her waist, setting her skin burning on their wake. She moans and he smiles. She bites his lower lip so he allows her entry, and Feyre is so busy committing the taste of him, the feel of him to memory that it takes her a couple of minutes to realize that someone is watching.

A throat clears next to them, and Feyre pulls away. Rhysand’s eyes are a mirror of what she’s feeling: a mixture of surprise, delight and longing. His smile is slow as he reads the naked emotions on her face, his hold tightening around her waist. Her fingers are still caressing the soft hair at the base of his neck.

Tamlin clears his throat once again and Feyre reluctantly untangles herself from Rhysand, though he nestles his hand in the small of her back to keep her close.

“Tamlin,” she begins and is surprised to find her voice strong and her knees steady. She remembers something an old friend of hers told her in the dark days following their break up. ‘Only you can decide what breaks you.’ And here, in Nesta’s wedding and in Rhysand’s arms, Feyre decides she is done being afraid of her controlling asshole of an ex.

She levels a condescending glare at Tamlin and says nothing, but he’s too busy scowling at Rhys to notice. “Who. Are. You?”

Feyre’s nostrils flare. How typical of him to dismiss her, to address any one but her as though what she has to say doesn’t matter.

Rhysand’s only answer is his arrogant smirk, and she kind of wants to laugh.

“Tamlin.”

Now he looks at her, frowning at the smirk dancing on her lips, a mirror of her companion’s.

“This is my boyfriend, Rhys. But you can call him Rhysand.”

Her accomplice’s fingers poke her side in amusement. “And who might you be?” he asks, looking down his nose at the man who has been haunting her nightmares for months.

“I’m Feyre’s fiancé,” Tamlin bites back.

Rhysand’s face is disinterested, almost bored. “Darling, you didn’t tell me you were engaged.”

She shoots him a sheepish smile. “I guess it slipped my mind.” And because she just can’t help herself, she puts a hand back on his muscled chest and says in a sultry voice, “I can’t think of much when you’re around.”

The moment she says it, the truth of it resonates in her heart. She doesn’t know what gives her away, but something sparks in Rhysand’s eyes and he pulls her impossibly closer. “Yeah?”

She bites her lip. “Yeah.”

His smile takes her breath away. She doesn’t bother looking back at Tamlin as she declares, “For the record, asshole, we are not engaged. I refused your proposal three months ago.”

“You were confused. You don’t know what –” Tamlin starts but Rhysand interrupts him, “You heard the lady.”

Rhysand’s gaze doesn’t stray from hers for a second. Feyre is drowning, no, floating in this moment. She feels free, unmoored. She wants to throw her head back and laugh until she cries. She wants to dance until her feet ache. She wants to hold this man and never let go.

“Thank you,” her voice is earnest. “You saved me.”

He leans so close their noses touch. “You know, Tamlin left a few seconds ago.”

Feyre loops her arms around his neck. “Is that so?”

His eyes are brighter than stars. “About those cookies,” he begins, almost hesitantly. “I could bake you some.”

She raises a disbelieving brow.

“I know, I know. I’m no Rita, but I happen to have a mighty good recipe. Except instead of flour, I use oatmeal –”

Feyre grimaces.

“Instead of butter, coconut oil.”

She scrunches her nose in disgust.

“And instead of chocolate –”

“You’re replacing chocolate?”

“It could be a date.”

Feyre’s heart stumbles. She glances left and right then stands on the tips of her toes to whisper conspiratorially in his ear. “I would be burned at the stake if the people around here found out I chose this awful creation instead of a good ol’ Ritacookie –”

Rhysand rolls his eyes.

“But it’s a date.”

Tag list: @joyceortiz13 @bailey-4244 @quakeriders @standbislytherin @mariamuses @ignite14 @1800-fight-me @velarian-trash @rhysands-highlady @queenblueoffire @rowaelinforeverworld @feeoly @buckybvrnes @dayanna-hatter @shadowstar2313 @goldfishh20 @sleeping-and-books @crackedship @your-high-lady @thesirenwashere @whiskeybusiness1776 @amren-courtofdreams @tswaney17 @julemmaes @booksbooksbooksworld @queenofbumblebees @meowsekai @awkward-avocado-s

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schleierkauz · 4 years

Text

The Color of Revenge: Chapter 10

Surprise! :3

For some reason (I have to assume as a birthday gift, for me, specifically,-) two chapters were uploaded last friday! Sooo here’s the second one! Enjoy!!

Shoutouts go to @bluejayfiredancer and their art textbook and @firejugglinghobo who both make my life much easier by Speaking English

Chapter 10: Death has the Color of Ash

The last book the Great Balbulus worked on had been commissioned by Violante of Ombra for her 32nd birthday. It was meant to celebrate the natural wonders of Ombra in words and vision. The nymphs in the river, the fire-elves in the nearby woods, the giants in the mountains that could be seen from the highest tower of the castle when the weather was clear, and the unicorns in the holly oak groves east of Ombra.

The writers had delivered the pages with the finished text to Balbulus the evening prior. He was, as always, less than thrilled with the ink quality and the arrangement of words, but he had given up on trying to convince Violante to hire new writers. She would just give him the same answer over and over again:

“Balbulus, these men have families to feed.“

So what? Did that excuse that they might be tainting his posthumous fame with carelessly placed letters and ink that was too pale? Art didn’t care about a few hungry brats. Great art demanded sacrifices to be made!

He used a few color pigments that were left over from the other book.

The other book…

He was glad that the filthy troubadour with the sly smile would take it away soon. Ombra was filled with dark rumors and lamentations. The Bluejay had disappeared, alongside his family. And it wasn’t just him. Where was the Inkweaver? Where was the bookworm woman Loredan? Where was the beautiful Roxane?

It was said that the Fire-Dancer had gone all the way to the White Women to ask about her.

He would not find her.

Balbulus hurried to take his brush off the parchment. His fingers were shaking. He thought he could hear them all from between the pages since the book had come back from the new bookbinder, who really couldn’t compare to the Bluejay.

Finished books were always sent to Balbulus first, in case he needed to make any last corrections. But this one? To hell with it! He had wrapped it in a brocade bag and put it in the chest where he kept used parchment and his linseed oil.

When the screaming in the streets had started, he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of opening it and looking at the faces of those who had disappeared. How they had looked at him… Thanks to his mastery it seemed as if they were breathing on the pages, and maybe they were. Anything was possible when it came to magic.

With shaking hands he had pushed the book back into the bag and wrapped it tightly before putting it in the chest again. It was made of oak wood and the lid was so heavy that he could barely open it. But still, he thought he could hear them screaming between the cover, between the pages of parchment he had trapped them on.

What had he done?

Stop it! You practiced your art, Balbulus! That’s it!

He clenched his fist to stop his fingers from shaking. Dusk was beginning to fall outside and the troubadour, if that unsavory character deserved to be called that, would take the book and everyone trapped within it away. Yes.

Forget it and focus on the work, Balbulus.

How could he have known that he would be made into a tool for such demonic magic? He dipped the brush into the silver which he used to make the nymph’s scales glow. They lived in the river which flowed through Ombra and Violante loved to watch them from the castle’s crenellations. There were rumors that she regularly left them cakes and grapes at the river bank because she believed that the nymphs brought good luck to the city.

Superstition!

Balbulus cleaned the brush and dipped it into the dark green he had mixed for the nymph’s hair. He painted a wisp of hair, floating on the water. Exquisite! Yes. No one could match his brushstroke.

Balbulus looked up and out of the window. Outside, the day was dying.

… Maybe he should throw the bewitched paints away. He stood and stepped to the shelf where he had put the glasses in which he had filled them. They really were one of a kind. He had never seen such brilliancy before. No.

No, he would keep them and use them for Violante’s birthday book. It would spread the word of Balbulus’ mastery all the way to Venetia. No, he had to think bigger – people would talk about him in Lutici, in Nuremberg, Metachirta, yes, even in Constantinople, where the great Bihzad was illuminating the sultan’s manuscripts so wonderfully that they allegedly spawned golden camels and birds of paradise.

So what? The pictures painted by the Great Balbulus would make the world with all its wonders pale in comparison and everyone who looked upon them would yearn to get lost in his landscapes. The blue of the sky would seem washed out compared to his own. His red would put the most beautiful rose in Violante’s garden to shame and his yellow would outshine the sun.

With a smile, Balbulus stepped back to his desk.

Magnificent Balbulus. Glorious Balbulus. Immortal Balbulus.

He reached for his finest brush and painted another strand of nymph hair onto the water when a noise made him flinch. Cursing, he dropped the brush and looked at the ruined page. How many times did he have to tell those idiot servants that no one was allowed to step into his workshop unannounced? He had even put up a sign which threatened to throw any unauthorized visitors into the dungeon.

“I will ask Violante to withhold your p-“

The words died on Balbulus‘ lips. The troubadour stood in the door. He pulled it closed behind him and gave the illuminator an oily smile. Balbulus always saw the color black when he was face to face with Baldassare. A worrying association. Black, and a poison-green yellow. Yes, those were the colors he would choose to portray Baldassare Renaldesci.

“I was visiting one of Violante’s maids. She would do anything for my verses, the stupid little thing, so I thought, Baldassare, do Balbulus a favor and go fetch the book now. He’s probably in his workshop.”

His dull eyes looked at Balbulus‘ possessions as if he were estimating which would be easiest to sell to Ombra’s fences. Baldassare Rendaldesci’s eyes were always dull, whether it was due to wine or elf dust, Balbulus couldn’t have said. He didn’t know much about the intoxicants that were popular in Ombra. His art was the only drug he was addicted to.

When he turned his back to his visitor, Baldassare locked the door to the workshop. The latch was slightly rusty but Balbulus was struggling to open the lid of the chest and didn’t hear anything.

“Here it is,“ he said, reaching for the bag with the book. Once again Balbulus thought he could hear the prisoners whisper inside. If only he had listened. Maybe they were whispering “Watch out!” or “Don’t turn your back to him, Balbulus!“

“This Walter von Vogelweide,“ he said with his glum voice for which he was just as known as for his art, “does he have a famous library?”

“I have no clue,“ Baldassare answered. “He’s not really the one who commissioned this book.”

Balbulus thought that was a very mysterious answer, but Baldassare didn’t give him time to solve the mystery. He plunged the dagger into Balbulus’ chest as soon as the other man turned around. Right into his heart, just deep enough that it stopped beating without spilling too much blood. Orpheus surely wouldn’t have liked splatters on the book.

Oh yes, Baldassare was a master as well, though not of the art of rhyming like he would have wished to be. He had a lot more talent for murder. Destruction is so much easier to learn than the creation of beauty.

Balbulus slumped down with a surprised expression on his face. Surprise, pain and a hint of indignation that his talent was being snuffed out so soon. Baldassare pulled the bag with the book from his weakening fingers and admired the shimmering brocade. The bag alone was probably worth more than everything he owned.

Oh, the treasures he could earn if he sold the book in Venetia or Mantova instead of leaving it in Violante’s library like Orpheus had ordered… He leaned down and pulled Balbulus’ rings off his lifeless fingers.

No, it probably wasn’t a good idea to steal from Orpheus. After all, he was allied with a witch, a devourer of children if the rumors were true, but maybe he would get rid of his glass man. Even just the thought of carrying him on his shoulder for days and listening to his chatter all over again… Not to mention that he would probably tell Orpheus all sorts of unflattering things about him.

Oh, what a disaster, a raven picked him off my shoulder…

Of course, the Shard Head had wanted to come with him to the castle, but Baldassare had told him in great detail what the maid’s cat liked to do to glass men. Baldassare smiled as he imagined feeding Ironstone to a few hungry rats. The glassy flesh wasn’t very tasty, but apparently those pipsqueaks had a delicious core that even human gourmets valued greatly. In Ombra it was unfortunately illegal to sell glass men for that purpose, so… that treat had to wait.

Baldassare stepped closer to Balbulus‘ desk and looked around, wondering where the sticks were that had served the illuminator as references. He eventually found them in a big casket, alongside a bag of gold coins, silver cutlery and a necklace that Balbulus liked to wear during official events and distinctions. Baldassare took all of it, even though the payment for this murder had been much better than he was used to. He looked at the parchment which his victim had worked on.

Not bad, no. Not at all.

For a moment he regretted that he hadn’t given Balbulus time to finish the page. After all, his death would make his work even more valuable. Well… Nothing could be done about it now. Even a master couldn’t think of everything. Baldassare stepped over Balbulus’ cooling body, a bloody red flower blooming on its chest, and unlocked the door.

Violante’s library was empty when he snuck inside. The maid has assured him that her mistress spent only her mornings in there. Then he left the castle the same way he had gotten in: Through the courts and corridors used by servants and maids. The guards who saw him simply nodded and let him pass. He had spent many evenings entertaining them with his songs and some of them had bought elf dust of excellent quality from him.

Balbulus‘ corpse wasn’t discovered until the next morning.

(Next chapter)

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dilfdoctordoom · 4 years

Note

your head canons are just perfect. What are some random ones you have for Dinah Lance and Bette

Uhhhh gonna be going off the top of my head here (& under the cut because guess who wrote a load whooo) but

Dinah

Dinah is trans!!! I liked it Bombshells, I’ve decided its canon across all universes because you know what? It’s amazing

Dinah’s metagene got activated because Alan the JSA accidentally irradiated her throughout her childhood. Barry got lightning, Dinah got a weird family. It’s equality

She adopts Mia!!! Her & Ollie do, since I don’t think that officially happened in comics even though we all know it should have

Hal/Dinah/Ollie is absolutely a thing that I need. They’re in love, there’s nothing you can do to disprove it

Though, like, personal headcanon for Dinah’s relationship is that her & Ollie are in an open relationship, Hal’s their third & Dinah is dating Babs but Ollie is not because. Could you imagine. Oliver Queen. Dating a bat. The thing nightmares are made of, I tell you

When Hal dies, his ring goes to Dinah. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules, this is just how it is

Ollie & Dinah have a third wedding since their other two were, uh, messy & technically not legal in the new timeline. No supervillains attack & it doesn’t take place in a hospital, so she considers it a win

By the time she dies, she’s in the top five fighters on the planet

Dinah (with the help of Ollie) once attempted to assinate the Guardians of the Universe

She & Zatanna dated

Babs brings up the Ra’s Al Ghul incident whenever she wants to win a dumb fight. Tragically, Zinda & Helena have picked it up too. Will Dinah ever escape her shameful past? Probably not, the Birds refuse to let her live it down

Thanks to her dip in the Lazarus Pit, Dinah’s eyes like... glow in the dark. It’s not very noticeable, but when it’s pitch black, her eyes are a really faint green

She can’t cook. At all. In the Arrowfamily, your options for food are Ollie’s chili (a safety hazard, 50/50 chance you burn to death) or Dinah’s unspeakable, ungodly creations that are probably an insult to the Presence himself. Or you can beg Connor to make you some delicious vegan thing

She’s got a little coffee addiction. It was really bad when she was on tour, a lot better now, but yeah, if you approach this woman before she’s had her first cup, she’ll scream in your face

This woman is bi & there’s nothing you can do about it

Dinah runs Sherwood Florists in Star City & all of the fam help out

Look, not technically a headcanon, but I want to make one thing abundantly clear: while Dinah Laurel Lance will always be a metahuman to me, I like Dinah Drake-Lance to be cursed by a wizard. I just think it’s fun

Bette

Okay, again, she’s bi. Like, we all know it, it’s not a secret, no cishet is working her original Flamebird costume

Bette loves glitter but even she knows that’s a little unsafe & never incorperates it into her costume. One day, though, one day...

She goes back to Flamebird around the same time Steph becomes Nightwing which is definitely inspired by @dykegreenlantern‘s death, but, yeah, she works as Flamebird again for a little while

When Kate retires, she suits up as Batwoman. It’s an awkward transition, but she makes it work

Oh, you think Tim has a caffeine addiction? He has nothing on Bette. Bette’s been in beauty paegents, winning tennis tourements, maintaining a 4.0 GPA & running around in a costume. Do you honestly believe she achieved that without caffeine? No. This girl is wired 24/7, there’s nothing that can be done about it

She came out to Bruce first. It would’ve been Kate, but Kate was in the army at the time & they hadn’t talked in years, so. Bruce

Bette’s one of the most forgiving members of the Batfam. Just look at how many of her friends turned into supervillains. She’s, like, yeah, okay, you’re evil now, are we still on for movie night? No? You have an evil scheme planned? Well, cancel it, we’re watching Mean Girls

I know Bette didn’t show up at Zero Hour, but she should have. Exclusively to judge Hank. He’s trying to destroy time but it’s very hard, she’s pulling the ultimate ‘I am disappointed in you and you have brought shame upon this team’ face & they haven’t even been a team in years. It’s not fair how does she even do this the Bats are weird. And then Parallax just. teleports her away. She’s too distracting to Extant, goddamn

I maintain that her & Terra II would’ve eventually become friends. Maybe even enemies to friends to lovers, since Terra II is a lesbian

She isn’t as huge on the whole no-kill thing as Bruce. Like, she’s never killed anyone herself, nor does she plan to (people like the Joker excluded), but she also doesn’t mind if her teammates cross that line

Her fights with Slade are always petty. She took Addie’s side in the divorce, okay, she’s gonna go in for the (emotional) kill when they’re fighting

She makes a lot of quips & is one of the best people at getting Batman to smile. Like, specifically Batman, and not Bruce. She’s seen him crack a grin at one of her puns, she swears

Artemis Crock is her ex girlfriend

Jesse Chambers is still, like, iffy on Bette after she... accused Jesse’s mother of murder. What a fun team up that was

I don’t know how or why it would happen, but Bat-Girl absolutely worked with the original Green Lantern at least once. Got no reasoning behind this, they’re just two of my favourite characters. I don’t think they’d get along (see: anything with Alan in it ever) but... it’d be an interesting team up, that’s for sure

She also knows Jason Blood but instead of being a fun adventure, that was more ‘okay yes I understand that Hank’s gone a little insane, he’s gonna be a future dictator, he’s committed mass murder, etc, but maybe you have some magic to undo all that? Pretty please?’

Her endgame relationship... I honestly change this all the time, but right now I’m on Bettenelli. Strong arguments have been made for Holly Robinson & we cannot ignore the possibility for a Bat/Cat next gen relationship, we simply can’t

Bette Kane deserves to be a doctor, screw what the N52/Rebirth said. Military Bette is gross & we do not support that in this house

#q & a #dinah lance #bette kane #idk i just. i vibe with the wizard curse. i think it's wonderful

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boog-shitposting-edition · 4 years

Text

So I been playing a ton of Kenshi and watched all of the Mandalorian in a single day shortly before and it’s got me thinking about what makes what I consider a good action hero, because there was definitely a time where I thought the phrase “good action hero” was an oxymoron.

I grew up around some angry, unstable dudes who had that bad habit of watching horror movies and opining that in the same situation they would simply shoot the monster with the gun the character was holding. I got some views on the model of masculinity that sees the male ideal as functionally a tool for performing violence, condescension and occasional reddit-approved banter with all other emotional responses pared away or suppressed. This seems like a good way to manufacture a product for performing labor rather than developing a whole functional human being. So I generally veer away from that sort of thing pretty hard.

So I’m resistant to the Mandalorian at first, right? All the ads are basically star wars apocryphica and a power armored fighty gun boy. The last star wars thing I’d seen was The Rise Of Skywalker and my faith in the franchise is low. But it’s been a hot minute, the hype dies down, and my girlfriend is a better and more patient fan than I’ll ever be so we give it a go. And the first thing that really nails it for me is what a DORK the mando is. I’m delighted, his life is violence interdispersed with being an absolute buttfumble disaster. He slips and falls over things he could never have predicted, he burns his life down for a baby he finds in the desert. Pedro Pascal references Boba Fetts stiff menace and plays it off as someone who has no social skills other than stiff menace and it’s FASCINATING. Him explaining to the village woman who is obviously into him that he hasn’t taken the armor off since he was thirteen isn’t a badass declaration of martial devotion, it is the single saddest and most awkward interaction I have ever seen filmed and it hits all the harder for the fact that this is a character I’ve mostly ever seen as an action figure with a spring loaded missile backpack. Instead of being a faceless emotionless action-cudgel, Pedro amps up the body language in his acting to really sell you this heavily psychologically damaged, desperate, viking-space-catholic mess with no life skills other than violence and a devotion to his people’s creed that borders on obsession. Rather than paring himself down making him a psychological fortress, the Mando is an incredibly obvious walking raw nerve (”I’m not sad-” “Yes you are.”) So, Kenshi.

I’ve heard about this game on and off a few years and finally got it a few days ago. It’s been in early access since 2012, appears to be mostly getting finished by its modding community, and glitches like absolute woah. There’s no core storyline, just a post-apocalyptic setting with some surprisingly detailed autogenerated NPC interactions with some options for starting conditions and the sole goal of surviving. It’s essentially a rapid sequence of story prompts hidden underneath a closely interlocked system of XP grinding, survival mechanics and dismemberment algorithms, and is appallingly my shit.

My first run at the game got pretty far, went from a lone confused desert wanderer to a 13 man village running a tidy copper-mining operation to trade with the ant people. In the early game, fight mechanics are basically a death sentence; my first character immediately got her leg torn off by a goat and I had to restart. All skills grow only by excersizing them; you have to fight to get better at fighting, you have to LOSE fights to gain toughness, and when you lose a fight the consequences can range from “these bandits are stealing all your food” to “this monster is eating your leg/heart/head” to “these slavers are taking your character away and your game experience is Different now.” And while I was proud of myself for finding a way to survive, grow and thrive with a low-combat squad, once I tried the basebuilding mechanics that basically just meant my town was a source of free food and money for local bandits while my squad starved to death, unable to abandon our locale. So I got fed up and restarted.

As mentioned the game gives you different start positions; wanderer gives you 1 character, some money and pants. Guy and his dog gives you a dog, which is fun. Exiled officer starts you with good skills and the hatred of your former commander, which complicates things. Cannibal Hunters starts you already in a fistfight with 30 cannibals. It’s exciting times. But I figure this time I’d like to start my squad a LITTLE more capable of defending themselves, so I look at the Holy Sword start; you’re a bandit who starts with a stolen holy weapon, minuses in most skills, no money and a 20,000 bounty on your head from both major factions.

So I proceed to character creation and notice I can pick whatever I want for player species/subspecies with this start. There’s robot people and warriors made of stone and baseline humans and all sorts of fun options, but you remember those ant people I mentioned before? In game they’re called the Hivers, you find ‘em in 3 recruitable varieties (prince, worker drone and soldier) and they have an interesting in-universe quirk; ones that grow up in the hive are pheramone-addicted, chemically wired into the needs and wants of all of their fellows, but if you’re away from your kin for over a fortnight this addiction dries out incredibly fast and cannot be reinstated. Hivers who ever spend any time away from the hive are declared “lost ones,” and are often taken advantage of in the outside world as they long for a new community.

In survival sims I dont often play dedicated fighters, I always feel like being a brutal fight-beast isn’t really in the spirit of finding a niche to exploit and growing from a fumbling plebian to a major power. But I was already starting this game with my ONLY advantage being a nice sword. And the soldier hivers gain a buff to experience gained for melee attack and toughness, and a debuff to literally all else.

Manual labor. Science. Engineering. Farming. Cooking. First aide. In a setting that heavily prioritized your ability to survive using multiple vital skill sets, my character would start with negatives in his skills for putting on band-aids and FEEDING himself. So I gave it a go.

Getting more wild here, it turns out the Holy Sword opening also takes place in a time in the setting with more recent warfare, so a bunch of the starting villages are destroyed and it appears that more of the nearby cities are controlled by the factions that have a bounty on me. So my character CAN’T rely on other people or meet anyone to recruit at first. He can run, he can scrounge and scavenge, and as mentioned above starting characters can take lethal damage from GOATS so he can’t even hunt for food; the only way I was getting a meal was if I robbed someone or ran into merchants on the road I could hawk my salvage to for a scrap of bread.

He eventually finds someone willing to join him on his travels in spite of being flat broke, a shek named Ruka running from a dishonerable loss on the battlefield, and comparing their skills he’s so useless for everything besides combat that I assign him to bodyguard her. And again, this game’s appeal is that the survival mechanics make good story prompts, so imagine that in character.

“Fine, I need a change. I’ll join you.” “Thank god. Lead the way boss.” “What?”

Things regarding my characters bounty are starting to heat up in town, so we head north into hiver territory. We get attacked by bandits and heavily injured, my soldier gets knocked out, so Ruka picks him up and carries him until we find a hive town. I saw these guys all the time in my last playthrough, I survived by selling to them, they’re super friendly, should be fine. Ruka walks into the local shop and before I can have her ask for directions and a medikit the shopkeeper is already shouting- “SKREEE! LOST ONE! GET OUT! LOST ONES BRING MADNESS”

Apparently, my protagonist being a hiveless hiver means there’s a THIRD faction that’s hostile to him; his own goddamn people. Ruka has to leave him under a tree not just outside but like 50 feet from the edge of town, and just has to hope none of the local wild megafauna eats him while she rushes back in to buy things from the now abruptly friendlier shopkeep.

I’m finally sitting there, having Ruka watch my soldier hiver sleep while she cooks scavanged meat and waits for him to finish healing, that I realize what the story being generated here is and it’s a good one; a Hive soldier whose only skills are violence, frantically scavenging and stealing to survive until he can find the one circumstance where he’s comfortable, sacrificing himself to protect others. He steals a sword that’s obviously important to two major governments, just because he knows it’s powerful and thinks that power will justify his continued existence as a hiveless soldier drone, essentially buying his way back into his people’s good graces by performing his function. Literally wandering the world until he found a single person who was willing to boss him around again and devoting himself to their defense to a state of pathological damage just to feel like he has a hive again. It’s sad. It’s badass. It’s deeply, unsettlingly pathetic.

But I also think it’s what makes a really really good gruff action hero!

Hypercompetence in violence is really interesting when you acknowledge the damage it can do to your humanity in the storytelling! The Mandalorian is unsuccessful in repressing his empathy response so he just tries to tough through the pain it causes him as best he can, until he meets The Child and it snaps. The Hiver is essentially playing pretend at being still valued as a product for committing violence, even in the face of being openly rejected for his previously esteemed role. This stuff is INTERESTING.

TL;DR version, a lot of these “supersoldier raised by the military/fight wizards/karate” characters are super boring and obnoxious when they’re put forward as power fantasies, and really interesting when you realize that being raised by Fight Wizards is why they’ve never had a girlfriend and called their handgun “mom” once.

#kenshi #star wars #mandalorian

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 4 years

Text

Psycho Analysis: Rose the Hat

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Stephen King really seems to have some sort of vendetta against kids, huh? It seems like some of his most vicious and terrifying creations exist solely to abuse, consume, and eviscerate kids, and almost all of those creatures have serious pedophilia undertones to them. Obviously the most well-known example would be Pennywise, and for good reason; a killer shapeshifting alien clown demon that devours kids and lives in the sewer is going to stick in the mind, in no small part thanks to being brought to life onscreen by talented men like Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgard. But there is another child predator straight from the pages of King’s work who made her mark on cinema: Rose the Hat.

Rose is a sort of psychic vampire, who consumes the shine from children to preserve her immortality alongside a gang of fellow monsters known as the True Knot. Think Dracula, Pennywise, and Elizabeth Bathory all rolled into one. And if that isn’t a terrifying combo, I’m not sure what is.

Motivation/Goals: Rose’s goal is simple: consume the shine from innocent kids, when their power is strongest and the taste is far better. Unfortunately for the kids, eating the shine out of them is horrendously unpleasant and fatal. And unfortunately for one of our protagonists, the young Abra, she is one of the most powerful children Rose has ever seen. After becoming aware of her existence, Rose sends the True Knot after her and pursues her herself to an absurd degree, even after hitting numerous setbacks, from her hand being mutilated to her followers being massacred. Part of this seems to be the implication that those with the shine are rarer nowadays and they desperately need to eat something like this to stabilize themselves, but at some point it does seem like Rose is going out of her way for the thrill of the hunt, though it is also evident she wants revenge for the death of her followers, because there is every indication her affection for them is genuine.

Performance: I’m really happen I got to see the 2010s Mission Impossible films before I saw this, because it gave me a deep adoration for Rebecca Ferguson. She is an excellent actor, and she manages to give Rose a sort of sub-Pennywise sort of creepiness. She definitely has a child predator vibe to her, especially as seen in the opening when she tricks a little girl to her death; seing a female character written as a child predator is not quite as common as the alternative, so it’s interesting to see it. But that being said, she’s honestly the opposite of Pennywise in a lot of ways – where Pennywise is ugly she is beautiful, where Pennywise is uncanny and creepy she is sweet and inviting, where Pennywise’s affection is faked Rose genuinely seems affable at first. It definitely helps set her apart and make her a great, unique villain in her own right. Plus, gotta love that dapper hat she rocks for most of the film.

Final Fate: Rose shows that she has no idea what she’s actually dealing with as she follows Dan and Abra into the Overlook. Now, the Overlook has been established so far in the film and The Shining as a horrendously evil place, with Doctor Sleep in particular noting how the hotel hungers for the shine as much as Rose does. Now, Rose not only has the shine in her, but has also inhaled the stored-up steam from previous victims before entering in an attempt to give herself the upper hand. Can you guess what happens when Danny finally decides to unleash the imprisoned ghosts of the hotel?

Her death is actually a beautiful little bit of karma. After centuries of picking on defenseless children, Rose is made as helpless as a child at the hands of the ghosts of the Overlook. For bonus karma, the way her death is presented is very similar to how her and the True Knot devoured a terrified little boy earlier in the film. She dies screaming and in agony, a truly fitting death for a monster such as her.

Best Scene: I mentioned briefly in the Psycho Analysis for Jack Torrance that there is a scene near the end where she reenacts the scene where Jack menacingly walks up the stairs towards his wife. This here is probably my favorite scene of hers, as it leads into the disturbing sexual assault-esque attack she unleashes on Dan before he reveals that he has her right where he wants her and unleashes the imprisoned ghosts of the Overlook. It’s a great finale for a villain like her, and Ferguson really does a good job at coming off as menacing as Jack Nicholson in her own way.

Best Quote: Rose has a very simple and sweet quote that I think sums up just what’s so great about her: “Well, hi there.”

It’s not flashy, super impressive, or the most memorable line of all time. It is, however, very affable, friendly, and delivered in an inviting tone of voice all the time, masking her true personality under a persona that has led countless children to a grisly end. Yeah, she’s a Stephen King villain alright.

Final Thoughts & Score: Rose is one hell of a villain for sure. A lot of it comes down to Rebecca Ferguson’s stunning performance, which really helps you endear yourself to Rose; she just exudes a natural charm and charisma throughout the film, really selling you to the idea that Rose is a charming, cunning individual who could convince someone to her cause. You wouldn’t think someone like Snakebite Andi, whose entire deal is acting as a honey trap to punish pedophiles, would then join up with a child murdering psychopath, but Rose is just that outwardly charming that yeah, you know what? I fully buy that this kid fell for it.

Of course, even with all that said, I think Rose only ends up as a 9/10. This is mainly because she really Isn’t a household name or a true icon among Stephen King villains like, say, Pennywise, Annie Wilkes, or Jack Torrance. She’s so close, and maybe her score will change if she ever becomes a well-known icon like those others, which I think could happen considering how good the film was. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

And aside from that, the fact remains Rose is ultimately not the ultimate, final evil of the film that must be confronted. In fact, she pales in comparison to the true villain, a villain whose presence is felt throughout the movie and is alluded to many, many times before it finally appears. I am of course referring to…

Psycho Analysis: The Overlook Hotel

Yes, I am doing a Psycho Analysis on a building.

The Overlook is not a typical villain, of course. It’s not something that can truly be dissected in the same way as other villains, because there is not one single performance here – rather, there are multiple performances here that are all apart of the nefarious machinations of the hotel. But all of them work together to prey on the weak and frightened, and help build up the Overlook as a terrifying force the likes of which cinema rarely sees in more obvious villains, let alone evil, sentient buildings.

Motivation/Goals: Despite the numerous ghosts all doing different things and despite all the supernatural goings-on, the hotel has one very clear goal, even in the much vaguer Kubrick film: the Overlook wants to drive people to madness and take their power for its own. This is explicitly spelled out in Doctor Sleep, where it is made clear that the hotel was preying on Jack’s weakness as well as on Danny himself, wanting to consume him as much as Rose does. To this end, the ghosts all play a part in pushing people over the edge.

Final Fate: Danny decides to finally allow the fate of the book version of the hotel to catch up to it, and cranks up the boiler and burns the hotel down, opting to stay in and sacrifice himself to ensure he doesn’t become overtaken by the hotel again and allow its evil to spread out into the world.

Best Scene: It’s really weird to think of the hotel having a “Scene,” but if we’re referring to the ghosts… The Shining features the iconic scene of the creepy twins in the hallway as well as the lady in Room 237, both scenes that have stamped themselves into the cultural consciousness.

Doctor Sleep has one that may actually be even better, though; in a scene reminiscent of a scene in the first film, Danny sits at the bar and is offered a drink by the bartender. However, here the bartender has taken on the form (or perhaps even is the spirit of) his father, Jack Torrance. This scene really cements Danny’s character arc and shows that, for all of his flaws, he was still able to overcome his addiction and prove once and for all he is a better man than his father.

Oh, and if you just want something big and fanservicey, every ghost appears all at once to kill Rose. It’s pretty awesome, if I’m being honest.

Best Quote: There are a lot of ghosts in the film, and a lot of them have interesting things to say, but only one quote has wormed its way into the cultural consciousness to any great degree, and that’s the twin’s invite to Danny: “Hello, Danny. Come and play with us. Come and play with us, Danny. Forever... and ever... and ever.”

Final Thoughts & Score: The Overlook is one of the most famous locations in cinema, and as a villain – no, as a force of malevolence – it is utterly perfect. Of course, things are kept rather vague and mysterious in The Shining to fit with the oppressive, terrifying tone, but even then there are so many little touches such as the bizarre, shifting, and even nonsensical architecture (there are rooms there that could not reasonably exist at all) that add to the unnerving atmosphere that when the sequel outright states plainly that yes, the hotel is a malevolent entity with a will of its own, it’s not even the least bit surprising.

The ghosts go the extra mile to making the hotel feel as evil as it is. The woman in 237, Lloyd, the twins… all of them add their own creepy flair to the proceedings. What’s even better is that even in Doctor Sleep it is never entirely clear if the hotel is just empowering the evil spirits or if it is outright creating them based off of the horrendous tragedies that occur there. It’s also interesting how it only ever seems to target people when there’s only a few there, functioning as normal hotel when it’s fully operational. The thing is almost an SCP, with the mysterious and sinister ways that it operates.

Obviously, there’s no way I could give this place anything less than full marks. 10/10 is the easy score for a villainous building the likes of which cinema has never really been able to top. Can you name a single evil building as memorable as this one? I suppose there’s the titular building from Monster House, but as good as that film as, can you say with a straight face that that house comes close to the sheer unchecked malevolence exuded by the Overlook? Rose really didn’t comprehend at all that this hotel is not something to be trifled with.

#Psycho Analysis #The Shining #Doctor Sleep #Rose the Hat #Rebecca Ferguson #The Overlook Hotel #Stephen King

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swtorpadawan · 1 year

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Introducing Darth Betton

Technically, she's an NPC from the game story, not an OC of my own creation. But she's mentioned only once off-handedly, by Moff Tyrak on Balmorra in the Smuggler story.

I decided to use her for Erez Noori's backstory, my Jedi Padawan turned slave turned Sith Inquisitor in the Rhi'khi Legacy.

I finally decided to make her in the game. This is partially for the benefit of @plotbunny-bundle and @jjjwhovian since they expressed interest in Erez's backstory when i introduced him an age ago.

Those of you who’ve read my backstory for Erez probably know that Betton has done some truly terrible things. Likely i’ll only be writing fic about her if i do some kind of “Whump” challenge.

I'm still addicted to SWTOR character creation.

#swtorpadawan ocs #oc: darth betton #darth betton #oc: erez noori #swtorpadawan talks #the rhi'khi legacy #swtor character creation #my character creation addiction is still a thing yes thank you #moff tyrak #tyrak

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yddraigwyllt · 4 years

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8, 19, 48 for the Creators Ask game? :)

Thanks for asking! These are such good questions so I definitely made a bunch of mistakes while answering it))

8: List the 5 things you love the most about your creations

*disclaimer: it’s just my opinion about my own works, and it isn’t necessarily true, but...”

Ambiguity. I write about many different things, and I always try to make my texts complicate in a way; it’s a complicate world and it’s not just about black and white (ironically I like b&w in visual art, yup). I’m trying to write about people, and people are complicated too, they have their own motives, hurts, loves, etc. - and if we look on them closer we’ll realize there is no clear answer. World, just like people, is a spectrum of everything.

Psychology. I have a strange addiction to characters of any kind. For me, any character is like a real person, live and breathe - on pages or screens, doesn’t matter. And every person has its own nature, personality traits, experience, hopes, fears - well, everything. It’s not just a muppet I can put into a random situation just for fun (even if I want fun, there should be a reason why the character does what (s)he does - a set of coincidence, occasions, events, that sort of things). That’s why I’m trying to make my text psychological.

Disturbing themes. Like I said, the world is complicated, and it contains many things. I don’t write only about disturbing themes, but I often refer to them, because I think it needs to be discussed. I can’t just close my eyes and pretend it never existed. Every single person faced ugly things at least one time (at best), so the least I can do - to write about it.

Realism. Relates to the previous thing. In the real world (how many times I write the word “world” here? xD) there are no magicians, miracles, fairy godmothers, artifacts, and magic wands; no deux ex machina. There are some laws, spinning the wheel of everything, and we can’t ignore them. And I like it. It feels real, I can almost touch this feeling by my fingers. Even if I write, er, about non-real things (werewolves, witches, magic, so on) I rely on these laws. They are different from case to case, but they still exist. And for me, it’s challenging and therefore more interesting.

Connection of people. It is my kink, I admit it. I adore situations, where one person meets another, and some kind of connection magic arises; one deeply understand another in a subconscious level, truly sees her/him, and accept her/him in her/his imperfect. Strong attraction (not just sexual - personal, I think) in every possible way, I can say.

19: Do you like mixing up your style and trying new stuff, or do you prefer to have a more consistent style?

I like to try new things, yes. It is challenging, and I like a good challenge)) In my native language, I have a kinda experimental compilation of works, short ones, where I write whatever I want to. I write stories with a limited number of words, I experiment with grammar, tenses, POVs, visual solution of text (like, I use brackets though it’s considered as a “bad” way to write) and so one; several times I even wrote poetry, even if I know I am bad in it xD Some of this things work quite good and I bring them into a “serious” texts))

48: What inspired you to start creating at first?

Hard question, it stunned me xD I’ve started to write in a middle school, and my very first story was about a vampire girl)) I know it because I found it on my hard drive recently xD

I think I was charmed by the possibility to create something that doesn’t exist yet; to tell the story that no one can tell but me. After that, when I found myself on a border with “real writing”, I realize that I want to write about things that, err, worried me, bothering me, I suppose. Dark things, debatable things, hard things; I think, this is my way of looking for answers - and finding people who wonder about the same things.

#creators ask #bad english

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kittymama01 · 4 years

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Bioshock Infinite (SPOILERS)

So, I want to talk about the Bioshock series. It’s honestly one of my favorite game series yet, with the settings, the music, the plots, and characters. And the plasmids!

Though, the third and last game of the series, is not one of my favorites due to the story they tried to pull off. There are so many theories on how the story works or how it doesn’t work. Here’s my take on it. Throw it out. Just throw it out. Because they didn’t pull this story off, they just succeeded in creating a mindfuck.

So, for the first Bioshock game, the story is pretty simple. There’s a city underwater that was created by a guy named Andrew Ryan. The fact that this city was a success, lead him and others into madness due to power. But, the biggest reason the city, Rapture, fell to ruin is because of the discovery of slugs filled with a powerful substance that gave healing abilities. Leading to plasmids, Little Sisters and Big Daddies. They called this stuff Adam and it's addicting stuff, which made all the citizens addicted and go insane. The whole setting is so creepy and the first time I played it, I was pretty scared. It's also just unsettling knowing you're underwater the whole time and that parts of the city are collapsing and being filled up with water. How did this game not get the horror genre stamp...?

So, pretty simple idea: you arrive in Rapture, a man named Atlas helps you out, and your goal is to kill Andrew Ryan. But, wait- what's this? You're actually from this city and you were created to be a slave and do what ever you're told to do with just the saying: "Would You Kindly"??? Well shit. Honestly, thinking about it- it doesn't 100 percent work...? Yet it does. Especially since Atlas is not Atlas, but a ruthless rival of Andrew Ryan, Frank Fontaine. He needed some way to get Ryan so, he had a slave created. Andrew was well aware of your true purpose, which gave us that infamous quote:

"A Man Chooses. A Slave Obeys."

Pretty deep stuff.

So, there are three endings to this game. Which are mostly caused by: Killing or Saving the Little Sisters. Or just not doing shit to them at all. I'm someone who always saves the Little Sisters, no matter what. I don't care what anyone says, they're only children- I can't kill children!! I always feel bad killing the Big Daddies though. They're fucking awesome and they honestly don't care about anything around them unless: it involves harm to Little Sisters or themselves. So, I rescue the girls which gives me the ending of getting the fuck out of the city with not all the girls, only a few (I'm guessing the girls that went with him are the only ones who really trusted him). He adopted them and they all got to grow up. Which almost makes me cry everytime I watch it because... It pulls my heart strings 😭♥️

So, for the second game (YES, I am talking about all the games so that I can make a point about Infinite, please just bare with me and thank you for reading), the plot is pretty simple. Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine are dead, the character you played as in the first game (Jack) is seen as a God (okay, no surprise there), and Rapture remains in ruins. You now play as a FUCKING BIG DADDY HELL YES!!! Who has a strong connection with one Little Sister. Your goal: save her from her insane mother. Once again, you can either Kill or Spare the Little Sisters. I always save them, which leads to the heart string pulling pure ending 😭

Now... Bioshock Infinite.

So, fun fact, I didn't know about the Bioshock series until this game came out. So, this is actually the first game I played. I didn't get far though because when I got the game, it came with a DLC of the first game. I was like: "Well, shit, I should check this out first". And here we are. So, the first and second games' stories are pretty straight forward, right? Well, not this one. The setting is now a city in the sky. The sky. As if being underwater wasn't bad enough, sure let's do the sky next. I felt a little sick whenever I walked around this city 🤢. You follow a character named Booker DeWitt and, honestly, this character is pretty dope but, of course, this game ruins him for me (a little). He's sent to Columbia, the sky city, to find a girl. He found out that this city is the home of a bizarre, scary, white people cult. Run by a madman called Comstock. And apparently, you were expected to show up due to a tattoo on your hand. A prophecy, ooooo~. So, you end up finding the girl, I guess she has powers, she's your partner, everyone is after you and I guess you go into different... Worlds. Different versions of your world... Ha ha... Cool- no. No, it's not cool for me. It's so far off from the first two games, just- WUT. Oh, and guess what, it gets fucking better! Booker and Comstock are the same person. Because of the war, Booker either does a baptism or he doesn't do a baptism, either way it fucks up the universes and how the Hell did Booker end up in the game's universe in the first place? Also, his super power sidekick who he was sent to save is his daughter that he sold to himself as Comstock because why not... Why not pull that move...

Infinite's storyline is so over the top and confusing that it just doesn't work... You can try to tell me ways of how the story works, but I'm sorry. The whole thing just doesn't work for me. If it works for you, good for you. It doesn't for me, especially after the first two games. Here's a version I came up with that maybe could have worked better? Maybe...?

---

A man named Zachary Comstock was a rival of Andrew Ryan and was jealous of his success with Rapture. He finds a way to get people to build a city in the sky to beat the success of Rapture, this city being Columbia. Zachary is seen like a God, simply because of what he and his scientists have pulled off. His daughter, Elizabeth, is basically the black sheep of the family and sent a message to: who she hoped was Jack, the man who killed Andrew Ryan. Instead, the message reached Booker DeWitt, a private detective. Comstock found out about Elizabeth's secret message and did his research on Booker DeWitt. He had the city be aware of his arrival and thus, causing everyone to go against him. He and Elizabeth find each other, fighting against the madness of Columbia. There will be options leading up to either a good or bad ending. The bad ending being involved with Booker and Elizabeth's death. The good ending being Elizabeth and Booker escaping, Booker adopts Elizabeth and happy ever after.

---

That is how much I love the series that I would go as far as to think of a storyline that's simple and not involve all this other universe bullshit.

I will probably still play this game just for gameplay reasons, which is not terrible honestly. The controls work well, the plasmids are badass and having the ability to move around in the city with that claw weapon is a lot of fun. Also, the twin scientists are very interesting characters but, of course, they're also involved in this multi universe horseshit. They could have just been two weirdos that helped out with the creation of plasmids and tried to help out Booker and Elizabeth against Comstock. But, they weren't even real from the looks of it, adding to the mindfuck of the storyline. Yikes...

And that is my post about Bioshock Infinite. If you reached this point, thank you for reading. I highly recommend this game series. Bye bye!

#bioshock #bioshok infinite #bad story #booker dewitt #elizabeth comstock

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wisdomsfromeast · 4 years

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Namaste 🙏

Welcome back guys! I was literally out for 2 months searching Fanfics which can compete my or replace my Azuko ship for the reasons I will tell you. Firstly some part of my morality and culture etiquette where I live in and traditions which are dear to me were heavily conflicting in my mind that should I support this Incest shipping or not. Some said should and other said shouldn't. The other one overwhelmed plus having a sibling elder sister made me more conflicted that how could I? it's so taboo? If I write one what my public image would be? So I stopped supporting Zucest uninstalled the app and started searching good Fanfics of Other shipping which can counter Azuko. I literally read 5 to 7 fanfics a day just to have Zuko or Azula have peace in their life with their partners and you know what I got unnatural hatred or bashing of either Sibs which made either of their life miserable which I hated the most. Zuko centric ones got Azula either dead or made her total maniac. Azula centric ones made Zuko's future miserable or nearly made him small as if he was weak and Idiot from birth and Ozai was right. So let's start with shippings with their fanfics which could have countered Azuko

Zutara

The most celebrated pairing will ever find in ATLA fandom. Every day you will find thousands of writers write for this pair in FF.NET . Even though I hated this pair so much because of three main reasons. First Mutual distrust from the beginning. Second Opposite mindset. Third Impatient Katara.

I gave in through I read one of the best ones My Heart Burns for you

Sometimes it's just only beginning

Around the Sun

Fall of the White Lotus

AU ones like The Undying Fire Series

The Palace etc.

All of these are literally lack the most important thing attraction through sight even though writers force it its still not appealing. The dangerous thing which writers miss is suspicion my lord even though they are friends and Zuko sacrifice everything for stubborn Katara she always suspects and can't even read him. Zutara whatever you call it. It's failed creation just to feel love life for Zuko.

Sokkla

Reverse Zutara really. Sokka has brains and can control strong girls like Toph and Mai but Azula is too much for him to bear I series he outright fear her. Only in The Day of The Black Sun episode had some courage because she didn't had her bending when she got back he screams literally screams. I read

Gladiator 107 chapters

Airship Down with its sequel

Retroactive

Smoke Demon Series of MadameAtomic Bomb

Opposite Elements AU

Gentlemen of Weapons AU

Dishonoured

These are the best ones but what found the worst is they are not at all commited to each other especially Sokka is shown so reluctant and Azula is as casual as Ty Lee which both of them aren't. Sokka either cheats or leads himself in love triangle which I hate the most because one of the life either gets destroyed or damage.

Maiko

The worst one for me I really feel sorry for Mai but she should have encourage herself to be with Zuko in his childhood days if Zuko could have spoke in War room out of turn she could have been with him in banishment. She could have shown the courage which she have show in Boiling Rock I liked that. Zuko could have known more If Mai led herself open up more. Zuko even left her this show only one side love or to say infatuation Zuko is so cold in Maiko which he isn't. Even though few writers really focus them like.

Miscalculation and Equivalent Exchange by Ablaster86 (I read them)

They are literally used as side couple for Tyzula or Kataang which doesn't show how their relationship can develop and become one. Either their Marriage fails or they breakup which hurts me the most.

Tyzula

Yes most popular even though why I don't know. No Offence to LGBT community neither in the show both of them are shown homosexuals Ty Lee is flirty with cute boys as she claims and Azula is bitchy and frustrated that how boys hover around Ty Lee not me even though she so beautiful as jewel but boys fear her. No signs of romantic feelings for each other rather Ty Lee is bullied by Azula every time as a servant to keep her under her feet. Dominant love relationships exists I like those but Azula and Ty Lee's relationship is like Lion and Cheetah. Once got a chance strike back and free yourself. Just because Korrasami was promoted by creators bring Tyzula in counter. Just because Zuko has Mai and boys fear Azula bring Ty Lee with her who is most terrified from her. Somehow I read some

Restraint and Aphelion it's sequel

Broken Dragon and Fireflight by Nikipinz

Both in them Ty Lee acts like a friend in need but again Ty Lee is OOC a girl who freed herself from a Psychotic girl may help her in future but not sacrifice herself for friend she hated inwardly.

Zukka

Really they are Bros and thanks to Zuko he got his trust from a guy called him in names Angry Jerkbender before.

Jetko

Seriously I don't get just pair Zuko with everyone. I read

Foxfire and The Viper lizard tales

I couldn't get it what those writers wrote. How could Jet tolerate Firebenders or Fire Nation citizens. It will require whole character arc for Jet to understand Fire Nation like Zhao to believe in balance and harmony amongst nations in Rufftoon's Water Tribe.

Jetzula

The Palace

Again you know it will so hard for Azula even redeem one to have a peasant as a partner for life same goes to Jet to accept a Firebender.

Zukkaang

To much 😧😧 Zuko and Aang are friends please for God's sake bring characters those are ingrained with same sex attraction. I can't stand this ship didn't even bother to read any of its fanfics.

Azutara

Enemies till last breath and one killed one's last hope. One lost by one in her day of coronation anytime each see one another either of one will die. This pairing can't be supported because each caused huge pain which can't be relieved they can be distant friends but can't lovers. Even though I read one

Measure Each Step to Infinity

This one made me sad of Aang and Katara is too much selfish which she isn't. She likes to be concubine of her former enemy but hates to like live with a man whom she had all hopes of world peace and gave her life to save him. This is impossible! Writer didn't gave good reasons sudden changes.

Toko

This is a very interesting pairing Toph knows Zuko very well and in future they can understand each other as couple but one flaw which only limits them just to be friends is that Toph is a freedom loving girl and Zuko is honour bound to traditions and destined to be a good Fire Lord.

Embers

Lava and it's sequel

Just a Girl I recommend this one

Toph made Zuko to come out of his turmoil and become a master I just didn't like Azula being killed that was extreme.

Jinko

I read Ashes to Ashes but Zuko and Jin again I must say infatuation from Jin side. Zuko is really dork.

Zuki

Lost cause what can I say just to counter Zucest these ships are being made

Lost and Found by Tubendo

Addicted to Love

First one writer didn't knew when to start where both start to like each other. Second is just nonsense a Lord of a Nation started having crush on a Guard who has a love in her life more stronger than other's attraction come on Zuko isn't that kind of guy.

Ty luko

"I know you" "You don't know me" Those are heavy words Ty Lee used for Zuko she knows his depression and messed up life give by his parents. Even though show doesn't show any direct interaction between them except "I know you" Zuko acts as a moral support for Ty Lee. Boiling Rock is another big example Zuko's freedom gave Ty Lee hope to be free.

I know you

Good Fanfic I recommend.

One remained (Azulaang) I will give my detail analysis of mine in a next post because I read 10 of them and it's huge and I am not satisfied.

After whole lot of reading, self introspection and guidance from which I believe Scriptures. I literally fought a battle inside me and tried to find out which will win and Honestly Zucest won seriously just because it was incest I dropped it by societal norms. I was writing a Fic but stopped because what people will say? Crazy, deranged? But I can't resist it's too hot for them to be siblings and not to be intimate other wise I find that if they really wished to repair their relationship stop their all hatred of all those years they need love which will break those barriers and too much love always brings eros. So what's the big deal.

The Fire Royals allow Females to be Fire Lords so how come line continues if Female becomes Firelord and marries a noble even a sage which are below the rank. Household norms in every medieval culture is patriarchal. Which means child first belongs to man and to his family which results child to be a noble and not royal from his mother's line and that child will become the Fire Lord from that line of Family and the Royal line will end. Could it be possible for Princesses of Fire Nation got married with nobles or aristocrats and not to loose their claims to the throne are the Fire Royals that stupid that this will end their line if their females get the throne. Inbreeding is persistent among royals only just keep their divine status

As Azula says "Power is something you are born with" will her child get that power if she marry noble which are below the rank. Big No

Wisdomsfromeast

Timeout !!!

#Welcome Back

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samheughanfansite · 4 years

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New Post has been published on Sam Heughan Fan

New Update has been published on https://sam-heughan.com/2020/05/01/press-photos-sam-for-gio-journal/

Press/Photos: Sam for Gio Journal

Over the last year, I had so many friends tell me about this great show Outlander that I needed to see. I finally started watching it and instantly became addicted. I can see why the show has such a cult following. It drew me into this ancient world and I became fascinated with the characters. I was so excited when I heard I was going to be photographing Sam. I was a huge fan of his work on the show. I had a feeling he was going to be an amazing guy, and I was 100% correct. Then, when the mag asked me if I also wanted to interview him, I was like hell yeah!

Q: I must say I’m crazy about Outlander. I love the storyline, the cast is brilliant and the production value is of the highest quality. When you were first presented with this project, did you know in your heart that this part was so well suited for you?

A: I was unaware of the book series but something in the writing really stuck a chord. Diana Gabaldon had captured a character in her dialogue that I felt I knew. I had just returned from the US for an extended pilot season and really struggled after getting close on a number of roles, but not landed a job. I was out of funds and confidence and starting to question if I could continue to pursue a career as an actor. Timing is everything and I feel very lucky it came along when it did. It’s changed my life.

Q: What are some of the things you like about your character Jamie Fraser? A: The character for me has changed. Each episode and season he grows and develops. I’ve been playing hi for 6 years now. He’s aged 20 plus years. He’s gone from young Highland warrior to husband, father, General, and now is almost a clan Chief. With age comes experience and each season Jamie has really been through the wringer. He’s a character that I live with every day.

Q: If there was one thing you could change about your character what would it be? A:Sometimes I wish he’d take a day off. Shooting is very intense, and he’s always involved in some way. Haha, maybe he could take a vacation once in a while. But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Q: The sex scenes are pretty intense. Early on was this uncomfortable? A: I’d been nude in some theatre productions before but wasn’t really looking forward to these scenes. They were challenging, but me and my costar have a good understanding. We try to use every intimate scene to show a little more of their relationship or how they relate to each other. Over time this has deepened and their love for each other just gets better and better.

Q: Knowing what you know about life in that time period, if you had the ability thru some time machine, to travel back to that period and experience life, if even for a short time, would you go? A: Maybe to take a quick look. But really wasn’t much fun at that time I’m sure!

Q: Are you surprised by the overwhelming acceptance, support and cult following of Outlander across the Globe? You not only provide a source of entertainment, but an escape from the trials of everyday, sometimes mundane life for viewers across the globe. Your work has such a positive impact on millions of people. I think that’s absolutely beautiful. How does it make you feel? A: Sometimes you forget how much people embrace the characters. At times some take it too far however as a performer, especially in these unsettled and dark times, it’s good that we can bring some levity and light to a situation. We do what we can. We are not saving lives but hopefully we can provide some escapism and make people smile occasionally.

Q: It is obvious you take great pride in your Scottish heritage. Was that pride a driving force behind the creation of your whiskey brand, “Sassenach?” A: Yes, I was approached by several whisky companies but always wanted to make something myself. It represents my love and passion for Scotland, my heritage. Also, I wanted to update the way whisky is sold and the approach to it. This whisky is a double gold medal winning spirit but should be accessible and to everyone’s taste. We can’t wait to release more!

Q: Do you plan on expanding the brand to include a variety of different spirits? A: You’re the first to know this but yes, we are working on a few ideas. All our projects celebrate Scotland and its connection or heritage, but we have some fun ideas brewing (or should I say distilling!?)

Q: Tell me what you love about your life? A: I have been given a lot of opportunity and freedom to explore projects that I love. Current movie projects (Bloodshot, An Unquiet Life etc.) plus producing my own projects (Clanlands etc). However, there also comes a great responsibility and at times a heavy expectation from fans. It’s a balancing act.

Q: How are you coping with the current pandemic? A: I’m doing the best I can, trying to stay safe whilst lending my voice and support to charities etc. Also want to entertain people and give them something else to think about. Bloodshot was released during the pandemic. I guess no one knew the level and extent of how this would affect us. Hopefully everyone can stay safe and positive at this time. It affects us all.

Q: What have you been doing to occupy your time at home? A: I’ve been working on the post-production of a TV show I produced/financed and directed last year. We hope to have it air this year and it’s been a lot of fun. Also, a book deal, so I’m writing A LOT!

Q: Has this time allowed you to focus on things that you have just been too busy to do? A: Yes, it gives us time to reflect. It can be stressful at times, trapped with your own thoughts, maybe I’m always too busy to sit with them. But there is still a lot going on and I like to remain busy.

Q: What lessons do you think this virus will teach us about humanity? A: Life will continue but will probably never be like it was. We have a lot of lessons to learn. The thing I find comfort in is seeing nature reclaim and heal. The greenhouse emissions reduction, wildlife taking back it land, it shown us there is another way to operate. Working from home is possible. I’d just like to thank everyone who is working to protect us, those who don’t have time to reflect and have to go fight this every day. I hope we can support them and appreciate the sacrifice they make for us. I feel very fortunate, every day. – Source

2020: Gio Journal

#SamHeughan #Outlander

#Magazine Scans #Photo Sessions #Photos #Press

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