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fruitcoops · 1 year

Note

hi!! been loving all your fics lately 😍

I’m wondering if you’d have fun writing something where logan and sirius (and talker? someone else?) are playing video games with the headsets on and talking to each other and then somebody steps away and accidentally leaves the headset on and the other two overhear stuff with the boyfriend(s) 👀

could be coops or o’knutzy or both, could be before everyone knows about whichever relationship or after, or both!!

Silly fluff on a Thursday! Utterly non-spicy, too :) Character credit goes to @lumosinlove!

“Fucker.”

“From the bottom of my heart—and know that I mean this with every bit of my soul—I hope you die.”

“Oh, sh—fuck, sorry guys.”

For just a moment, their dismay harmonized. The sounds of battle ceased and the screen went dark.

Sorry, You Died.

“I mean, maybe if you two didn’t discuss half your plans in French…”

“Woah, woah, hey, come on,” Logan protested over Sirius’ indignance. In the small icon to the far right, Thomas raised his hands with a look that distinctly lacked apology.

“This is aggression against Canada,” Sirius scoffed. “Classic Americans.”

“Aggression against Canada?” Thomas spluttered.

“Yeah,” Logan chimed in, adjusting his headset over one ear as he reached for a handful of chips. “That. Totally.”

“Tremzy, if you eat those into your headset, I will crawl through the screen and suffocate you.”

Logan narrowed his eyes at Sirius’ video square and made sure his microphone was in prime position to capture the deafening CRUNCH that followed.

Twin groans answered; Thomas removed his headset with a fake gag. “That just echoed across my living room, you little weirdo,” Sirius grumbled.

“Get a headset like the rest of us, lame-ass.”

“It’s worse that way,” Thomas chimed in.

“I told you,” Sirius continued with a whine Logan wished the press could hear before lauding him as some solemn superhero. “It was supposed to be here today.”

“Oh, yeah?” Logan said mockingly, just because he could. “Where is it, then?”

Sirius groused a little more under his breath; the sound of aggressive clicking followed as he moved his character over to whale on Logan’s for a few seconds. It didn’t damage his XP too much, but Logan filed that away for later. Somebody wasn’t getting his extra tincture of healing at the next checkpoint.

The Field of Regeneration was further from their goal than he would prefer—it had taken them an hour and a half to get to the mountains the first time, but he had faith that the fourth time would be the charm. There was a saying about that, he thought. Something like it. He rolled his ankles under the coffee table as their characters moved over the hills in a pack, bracing his arches against the table leg for a better stretch. His toes popped and he grimaced; they really hadn’t moved much today. Then again, early summer was made for lazy days in front of the television with his friends.

Sirius swung by the boulder pile and collected the healing kits the same as before. Logan didn’t bother waiting for him—they had been though this section enough that he could catch up on his own. He had promised Leo they’d reach a stopping point by 6:30, anyway, and there was no chance he would pick video games over acting as a sous chef, paid in kisses.

The chirps faded as they made their way past challenges that had once been world-ending. Logan was glad they weren’t dragging this out longer, too focused on reaching the checkpoint to fuck around. It was one of many reasons he would choose Sirius and Thomas for weekend games over anyone else; they had fun, but they knew how to settle down and win.

Logan grimaced. Hockey brain was supposed to be banished until at least July.

“Let us know when your setup gets here, Cap.” Thomas’ voice startled him; he barely avoided stumbling into a ravine.

“Ouais, we’ll give it a test run.”

They were coming up on the edge of the forest, now. Logan swapped his inventory around and carefully sidestepped the spike trap he had (unfortunately and with great embarrassment) fallen for the second time around.

Sirius’ mouth twitched. “Hey, Tremz, watch your—”

“Shut up, god, I hate you so much.” Their digitized snickering filled his ears and he made sure to be on solid ground before freeing a hand to flip them the bird. “I’ll go call Sunny and Kuns to play instead. See if I care.”

“Don’t you have two boyfriends within arm’s reach at all times?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “They are on a date, if you must know. And Leo hates character games.”

“Ew, you know what kind of video games they like?” Sirius teased.

“Aren’t you literally married?”

Thomas skipped past a cursed runestone and reclined back in his seat. “I think we can all agree that I’m winning here.”

“If you were here in person, I would throw something at you for that,” Logan informed him. Did it matter that he was greatly looking forward to having Thomas around for Christmas in a few months? No. Not here, not now, not while he was within chirping range. The very lenient penalty for dating his sister had been clear from the start. Logan couldn’t let him get too comfortable.

The greatest threat to achieving their goal appeared just as they reached the base of the mountains. Logan was feeling so proud of their quick time before that.

“Which game?” Remus asked from the corner of Sirius’ frame, unloading his pockets on the side table.

Sirius tilted his chin up for a kiss to the cheek, like he had no respect for Logan’s poor, innocent eyes. “Legendborn, with T and Tremzy.”

Remus hummed. He tugged at the collar of Sirius’ shirt with one finger, biting at his lower lip. Logan’s stomach dropped through the fucking floor. “Want to come upstairs for a bit?”

“NO!”

Remus flinched hard at the resounding shout from three different voices, then burst out laughing; Sirius reddened faster and more vibrantly than Logan had ever seen. “Dear god, Loops!” Thomas sounded downright scandalized. “The man doesn’t have a headset! Give us some grace! Some warning!”

Logan wrenched his microphone closer to his mouth with a clumsy hand. “You’re paying for my therapy, Lupin.”

Remus managed to pull his face from Sirius’ shoulder long enough to stumble through part of an apology before breaking down into laughter again. “Fuck—my bad, my bad, I didn’t realize.”

“Clearly!”

“Keep your husband under control, Captain!”

Sirius turned a lecherous smile on them, then caught Remus by the front of his shirt and pulled him down to lick a long, wet, horrendous stripe up his cheek. Logan threw his controller aside and flopped backward on the couch, hands over his eyes, as hysterical laughter and Thomas’ spluttered protests filled his ears.

“I thought you two would finally be normal and boring after you got married,” he groaned, sinking deeper into the cushions. Sirius, the menace, was damn near cackling. “Can you stop being freaks about each other for two fucking seconds?”

“Nope!” Remus said cheerfully. “It’s state-sanctioned now, actually.”

“Marital bliss,” Sirius agreed. “You’re just jealous.”

Logan peeked through his fingers and found Thomas shaking his head. “T, if I ever lick one of my boyfriends, I want you to take me out behind the rink like Old Yeller.”

“Jealous,” came Sirius’ singsong answer. Remus made himself comfortable with his chin on Sirius’ head, grinning madly.

Losers, the both of them. Lame and sweet and married to a nauseating degree. God, Logan couldn’t wait for his turn. Preferably, though, it would wait until after he had logged off.

#logan tremblay #sirius black #thomas walker #remus lupin #sweater weather #vaincre #coast to coast #lumosinlove #my fic #fanfic #fluff #video games #coops #oknutzy #thomas walker/ noelle tremblay

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lucciolaraven · 6 months

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Don’t let me drown

(Reiner Braun x Reader x Bertholdt Hoover)

Prologue (Masterlist)

Word count: 1,635

AN: ok so most of this chapter is kinda supposed to be a flash back in a sense sorry if it’s kinda confusing this is my first story lol

Slight AU (Bertholdt lives)

Tw: blood, vomit, character death, panic attack, cursing, Vomit

Year 844

“What is it?” You asked looking closely at the small shiny metal. Armin smiled slightly face bright red “it’s a necklace..” he answered shyly pausing a little before continuing “I got it for you , I’m sorry if you don’t like it..” Armin said looking away as he noticed you were just staring at the necklace with an unreadable look on your face.

“Oh Armin i love it!” Your threw your arms around his neck, frowning slightly though as you pulled away “but why did you get me it?” You asked you were very great full but honestly slightly confused today was nothing special that you knew of so why? Armins face now looked more nervous “well I know you want to marry the commander of the scouts when we’re older but I was hoping maybe if that didn’t work out you’d maybe choose me.. so the necklace would be a promise that one day me might get married..?”

You thought it over while marrying Armin didn’t sound like a terrible idea your small 9 year old brain believed commander Ewrin Smith was the love of your life even if you’ve only had one conversation and you were far to young for him. “hm sure Armin” you’d said smiling before Armin could thank you a voice cut through the warm summer air “hey guys!” Your smile doubled now “hey Eren!” Eren came running up the grassy hill Mikasa not far behind.

Year 845

Ringing that’s only thing you could hear there was so much of it your eyes were blurring with tears the ringing was so loud you stomach turned you felt sick head throbbing.The ringing died down slightly and a new noise joined it a loud desperate scream cut through the air. You can’t rember where you were honestly you couldn’t rember anything your brain felt fuzzy till it all came back the wall had been breached. Armin where was Armin or Mikasa and Eren your feet moved on there own you had to find them you had to find him “Armin!” You screamed at the top of your lungs no response you rounded a corner but you feet stopped in there tracks.

It was so tall how could something be that big it was one of them you never thought you’d actually ever see one it was a Titan. You’d never seen one only heard of them it’s eyes were empty as if it had no coherent thoughts, and the dumb look on its face that was terrifying. it just started at you as it peeped of over the house you couldn’t move frozen in your place. You finally found at where that scream was coming from a girl maybe a year or two older then you it was between the titans teeth it didn’t bite down fully just nibbled ever so slightly on her as if it was savoring the moment you wanted to throw up yet there was nothing left in your stomach.

“Y/n!” A voice you made at through the girls cry’s and screams it was Armin he was so close yet to far to reach your head now turned to Armin completely forgot about Titan and the girl “run.” It was simple he said it so clear a simple thing yet why couldn’t you move?

You turned away from Armin eyes now back to the Titan it still just stared. Armin didn’t waste any more time and took off toward you as he finally reached you he grabbed your wrist “y/n we have to go! well die if we stay!” As if a trance broke as your eyes met armins you nodded and you both ran hand in hand. You turned back a final to stare as the monster instead eyes meeting with girls as she begged for help but the Titan finally bit down her head fell to the ground as blood flew through the sky’s like a rain storm droplet splashed onto your face it was a sick warm feeling.

After that moment everything else felt unreal like you were just merely spectating not truly there. Once you both you found Armins grandpa and bordered the boat Armin seemed fairly unbothered he must’ve not seen to much. The ringing never went away just stayed humming in the back of your mind along with the feeling of the dried blood on your face it was all you could focus on even as people cried desperately and yelled you felt numb almost. “Armin you must have a seat.” Armins grandfather said you looked up from the floor now focusing on Armin after finding his grandfather he hasent said a word to you your slightly relieved you don’t know what you’d say forming words felt to hard right now.

“I will just keeping an eye out for my friends- there they are!” Armin paused as he was about to call out to them but he saw something you couldn’t “Eren..” Armin murmured Armins grandfather spoke up again but you returned you gaze back to floor. The image of that girl never left you don’t remember ever seeing her before she had sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes- her eyes they looked so scared you felt that churning in your stomach again you left her there to die she died as you ran away.. to safety

“-god only know what they just saw..” Armin looked away from his grandpa as he stared at you now your face mirrored Eren you looked far away. A loud crash broke through the chaos you looked up heart stopping for a second. What the hell was that thing it mad so much bigger then the titans you’d seen before. The boat was now moving but that thing looked like it was charging up? As it began to run the houses and ground shook you couldn’t take your eyes off it even as it trampled people even as it broke the wall your eyes never left it.. they never left that.. that Devil.

Year 850

Eyes slowly opening it was hard to fully open them it felt as if weights kept them down. The first thing you noticed was the pounding you felt in your head it was unbearable. Next you felt as though every thing had been ripped out of your body and replaced with moultin hot lava groaning you leans over across the.. bed?

Tears forming in your eyes where are you? Where is everyone? Why did it feel like the room was swaying? What happened the last thing you remember was- memories crashed through your brain at an alarming and overwhelming rate please no- where’s Armin? Eren? Or Mikasa? Did the blast take them out did they escape in time or where they.. no no they couldn’t be.

The air began to feel warm and hard to breathe in why was it so hard to breathe now? you were breathing to fast everything felt like it was swaying, why did everything feel like you where swaying. pushing yourself from the bed you attempt to stand but the world spins as you land hard on the ground your vison blurry as thick tears slide down your face.

“Armin..” you weakly call out coughing as your try to take in more air “anyone!” Your throating to begin to feel tight heart racing where was everyone.. coughing some more as your stomach clenches and your throating begins to tighten so hard you feel your self gag and the bile rising in your throat no longer able to breathe. A hand raising to your lips to stop what ever was going to happen a closing you eyes as attempt to wake from whatever night mare this was as you cloaked on the warm fluid that filled your mouth then it spilled out with a cough splatting against the cold floor. Attempting crawl away from the mess your arms gave out and you face pressed against the all to cold floor.

Gasping for air you clawed weakly at your throat at the feeling of bile rising for a second time. Turning to your side it spilled passed your lips not able to move you felt the warm liquid press against your face. Your breathing steadied slightly as you began to cry again you felt disgusting and tired so very tired. The ground was still swaying as you attempt you push your self up you felt the warm liquid from stick to your hand you gagged disgusted.

You felt weak like you couldn’t move at all muscles stiff breathing still felt hard. you tried the best you could to call down the tears but it felt as the more you tried to stop it the worse it got. Sobs rack your body as you give up any control you had left and sunk to the floor once again pathetically.

What ever room or place you where I was dead silent you where alone all you could hear was the pounding of your heart trying to break free from you chest. Everything felt like to much you barely could get air in now. The deafening silence was cut by a voice that made everything stop all again his voice concluded what you thought earlier they were all dead.

“Y/n..?”

It was Bertholdt

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pursuitseternal · 5 months

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“Recalling:” update to ETL Astarion x Tav(OC) in “Our Blood is Thicker”

Astarion x F!OC | E | 3.5K Dark Tragic Backstory

Summary: dawn before battle, Cordehlia ponders her past, recalling the monster she was… reassured by her companions that even monsters need someone to lead them, accept them, and in Astarion’s case, lust for her…

Dawn, Goblin Camp raid, Rescuing Halsin, Unaliving the Goblin leaders

CW: Violence, bloodshed, blood kink(umm vampire), trauma bonding with Karach and Astarion, Dark

Backstory for our F!OC, massive amounts of flirtation with the Vampire, effective use of the Tadpole as a way of communicating said Dark Backstory with everyone, NPC character death…

Previous chapter | ao3 link | Astarion Masterlist

Chapter 5: Recalling

💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞

Dawn kissed the woods, the soft light breaking, making the Emerald Glade really, truly verdant. Aptly named, Cordehlia thought to herself, sitting atop the knoll. She looked down into the sun. It had been decades since she had last stared into the sun, the dawn before battle.

But old habits die hard, as she knew. And a hundred years of shedding blood became more than muscle memory for her. A hundred years of the same pleading before her blade tasted flesh, begging for forgiveness, begging for mercy from the lives that would be taken today.

Pleading that when she falls to the slow embrace of death, that her judgment would be swift and just.

She could hear the rustling of her band awakening with the light. Strange, she pondered, musing how they all trusted her unendingly. Recalling all that she had done. Recalling all she had been. Foul and dark.

If they knew who walked among them… even the mortals, so young compared to her and the longevity of her sins… surely even they had heard tales…

Cordehlia took a deep breath, her mind turning quickly from those memories of battle. She tried to bury herself in that feeling of him…

That kiss, Gods had it felt good. Unchanged by the erosion of time, his fervor, his devotion. The pure flame that was Astarion’s soul, bright as the stars he was named for.

She could taste him, not as the vampire he became, but as… the one whose soul she had loved. It was magical, as if time itself stood still, being consumed by him, feeling his remembrance, the way his body transported her two-hundred years. It was… eerily the same. His hands… his taste… the little tangles of his tongue between her lips.

She closed her eyes. Gods, if she could give anything to reclaim that feeling, of being thrown back before… before all this darkness and blood. For both of them. Recalling what was once good about her…

Footsteps drawing up the hill made her almost leap from her skin, her fingers patting her cheeks, as if she could hide the blush that thinking of him called to her face. She didn’t want him to see her lusting after him so badly. Not yet, even though she suspected he would be more than pleased… perhaps pleasured even.

Gods, she swallowed at the thought.

Clearing her throat, she turned to smile at the uninvited company, but it wasn’t a handsome pale face leering down at her.

Karlach grinned, sparking brighter than the dawn. Her unabashedly joyful smile made her stomach sicken. “Seems I’m not the only soldier that needs a moment before battle, eh?”

“Seems that way,” she forced a smile, her hand patting the ground beside her a split second before Karlach helped herself to the company.

“You know, Cordehlia,” she spoke, drawing her knees into her chest. “I can see the way you love and hate the battle. Something you’re good at, maybe too good. But not something you chose for yourself, isn’t that it?”

“How…” the She-elf turned, every nerve in her body on fire to defend.

But Karlach just laughed quietly. “Because it’s a mirror to myself. I didn’t choose to become… what I am… Advocatus Diaboli, as Wyll was so quick to label me.”

She swallowed, voice still steady, even as Cordehlia could feel the pain flowing from her Tiefling companion. “I was also taken, not unlike your vampire boyfriend.”

Cordehlia groaned, but let the insinuation pass.

With a breath, she continued. “I was robbed of a future, imprisoned, experimented on… made into the person I am through no choice of my own.” Then, she turned those glowing eyes on the elf beside her. “But that doesn’t make me anything less than what I am. It doesn’t change my freedom now, you know, same as Astarion,” she nodded her head somberly, “same as you.”

Cordehlia scoffed. “I’m not free, however.”

The pain in her voice even pierced her own heart.

“I was never forced into being the dark thing I was… and I didn’t choose to stop being the creature I had become. I was forced to stop. I… I loved it. I lived for it, when I was in the deepest throes of that life. It was… thrilling. Addicting.” She breathed, bunching her own knees into her chest, same as her friend. “But I was brought before the High Council, deemed too dark for my own kind. I was forced to retire, to live peaceably alone. To atone for my sins and darkness…” She looked into Karach’s worried face. “You wonder why I’m not quick to condemn anyone as a monster? It’s because I would be their queen. I can’t condemn those who are less monstrous than I.”

Karlach said nothing, watching as Cordehlia turned her face into the light again. Watching those silver eyes flutter shut, her chest shaking with breaths as she struggled to continue. “They even told stories about me, to scare the young ones into submission, all along the Sword Coast, they still tell the fables about… what I was…”

A hot hand rested on the top of her knee. “If it helps, it is what you once was…” she grimaced, “once were.” She laughed at the correction. “And we monsters are glad for your company, your leadership, Cordehlia.”

The elf met her gaze then, as the tiefling’s hand slipped away. Her chin shook, eyes wet with unshed tears. Karlach just gave her a gentle, reassuring smile, “Hey, soldier, if anyone knows what it’s like to put yourself back together after being made a war machine, it’s me, okay?”

“Thank you,” she managed to reply.

“Now,” Karlach stood and smiled. “I’ve got your back, and you still got your soul, you hear me?” She waited for a teary breath and a nod. “Let’s go get a Druid who can get these things out of our brains and take out some Goblins, eh?”

Cordehlia managed a laugh, rising to her feet as well, hiding the sniffle she made as they walked back down to camp.

But her heart rapt harshly in her ribs to see the first face that sought her out as she made it back.

Astarion grinned his greeting, flashing those beautiful, terrifying fangs at her. “Morning, my sweet,” he bid, so happily. “I don’t know about you, but I had some of the most… delicious dreams…” That genteel grin twisted, desirous and bright. “Let’s just say there was a lot of pale skin, soft breasts and bright red hair everywhere I wanted it to be…”

Her stomach lurched. The rush of emotions from grief to lust, from self-loathing to desire… She placed a hand on her belly, her insides heaving at the all-too-rapid shift of her heart.

His eyes narrowed, scanning her blanching face before following the wake of the Tiefling. “What’s the matter?” he queried, harsh in tone. “Did Karlach do something to you?”

“No,” she took a breath, waiting for her body to return to her. “I’m fine.”

“You look it, darling.” He chuckled sarcastically, “Fine, I mean.”

“What? Not delicious?” she threw the taunt back. Her head clearing, her muscles easing.

“Always,” he growled, that sultry smirk instantly replacing any trace of concern. “For a moment I was worried that the idea of us fucking made your stomach sour,” he continued.

She gave a disbelieving laugh. “Once, it would have, you know,” she chimed, letting the barb catch him off guard.

He gasped in feigned injury, “Darling, I would be wounded,” he drew himself closer to her body, that slow, stealthy creep that made her shiver, “if it weren’t for the resounding past-tense of what you say…”

The implication hung in the air between them, in whatever minimal distance did remain between their bodies. And Codehlia let it, grinning, mouth twitching to think that it wasn’t inaccurate, his reading.

But she drew back a step. “You do know it’s morning, dawn before battle? We have much to accomplish before anyone can even dream of such delightful pursuits.”

“Yes yes,” Astarion flicked his wrist before tapping both hands on the sheathed daggers at his waist. “Infiltrate the nasty little Goblins, get the Druid, get these worms out of our heads…”

“Precisely,” she began to turn, but his cold, iron grip caught her hand from her side, pulling her after him, commandingly leading her back into his tent.

“I need to tell you,” he spoke quickly, quietly, once the flap fell behind her. “I’m not too fond of the idea of a Druid joining our ranks,” he grimaced. “They are loud and hot-blooded, and so… earthy.” His eyes skimmed over her body. “And they will be eager to mate with anything and everything they set eyes upon…”

“Jealous?” she grinned, folding her arms across her chest, an amused smile teasing her lips.

“Of course,” he replied coolly, eyes narrowing to that half-lidded stare that seemed to pierce right through the clothing she wore. “After all, I am just beginning to remember who I was… what we were… I would hate for some lusty wildform to waltz in here and ruin things.”

“Funny,” she continued to taunt. “You didn’t seem too worried about a human warlock the other night.”

“Please,” he shook his head, all wry-humored and sultry. “As if…” he gagged, “Wyll,” he spat the name in disgust, “could compare to my levels of charm and good looks.” He took a breath, his face softening in a seconds, crimson eyes wide as he looked down on her. “Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to tell you. I wanted to, to thank you for all our little understanding…”

Her brows furrowed. “Of letting you feed?”

“Yes, naturally,” he nodded. Sincere in every outward way. “You were my first you know…”

Her lips pressed firmly at his words, almost imperceptible, but he took note of the reaction. A little further hint to their past, perhaps, that he stashed away.

“You are my first living blood, first thinking blood. Drinking from one such as you was forbidden me. I was made to live on rats, mice, foul vermin, or starved until I was nearly too weak to be good for anything. That was my… reward… for the victims I would lure back for Cazador.” He spat the name. “A moldering rat as a treat for my obedience.” He huffed a disparaging laugh, scanning her questioning gaze. “I can see your thoughts, darling, why not just try to feed on my own? Well, as if I could disobey his command not to even try to sample something else.”

He looked so forlorn. As if even the words he shared couldn’t possibly describe what it was he endured. Suffered.

Unphased, he continued, “That’s the thing about vampire spawn, you know, they are compelled to obey, forced in their bodies to do… whatever is ordered of them.”

A moment passed between them before he looked up. Her eyes were soft, her face rife with concern. He was glad of it.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “For telling me.”

“I only wanted you to know my plight before we add another rutting male to our midst,” he crooned with a sneer. “I depend on you, you know, darling….”

Cordehlia gave a little hum, patting the chilled cheek of her rogue. “If you wanted to make certain I value you, Astarion, you don’t need to go to such lengths to convince me, you know.” She smiled, “A simple, please allow me to keep feeding on you, would suffice. Though your way with words is so skilled and eloquent.” Her brows raised as he began to smile too, “Even more than I recall.”

“Two hundred years of living on nothing but your wits and good looks makes you learn all things new,” he taunted in reply. Even as his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Is that why you pulled me in here alone, Astarion?” she pressed.

“Well…” he flashed that look again, the one rife with danger that made her belly flutter. “I wanted you to be my first thinking blood, you know… I wanted to know how you tasted.”

That last word sent her stomach fluttering again, her nerves burning.

“I wanted to thank you for such a favor, darling. And after the way you kissed me yesterday…”

“You kissed me, you mean?” she taunted, her face unmoving as she watched him take the barb in perfect stride. Making him smirk all the wider. All the hungrier.

“Regardless, you seemed to… enjoy it too. It just gave me ideas… of ways to thank you properly, you know.”

“Oh,” she grinned, innocent and bouncing on her toes. “You mean like fighting in battle today? Being a critical part of our party? Keeping me from losing all control on the battlefield?”

“And why would I do that?” he purred, letting his fingers stroke up the sheathed blade that hung at her side. “You are most attractive in battle from what I have seen. Magnificent, intelligent. Do not deny yourself that chance to shine, darling.” He leaned closer until his breath passed between her panting lips. “And besides, I’m certainly hoping that bloodlust from today becomes plain, old, carnal lust by nightfall.”

Her face is hardened, a distant fire behind her eyes. Her breathing is so faint, he had to lean in close to even hear it. “Take care, Ancunín,” she hissed. “You have yet to see the real monster that lurks beneath me in battle.”

“I hope she’s fearsome to behold,” he grinned, letting his hand wander up from her weapon, grazing her hip to tug her just that bit closer, to pull her against his body. “I’m sure she is nothing to be ashamed of, as one monster to another.”

She shivered under his touch. “You are not one, not compared to me.”

“Well, as you have said to me, darling, when you’re ready, I’ll listen. I’m all pointy ears, love.”

That made her huff a laugh, a slight smile peeking at the corner of her lips.

Nothing could come from her mouth. No words. No amount of gratitude, of awe for the way he didn’t push or recoil. His hand just pressed into her lower back, his lips waiting to see what she would do.

Hells take it if she didn’t give him a little sign of her thanks. She raised on her toes, pressing her lips to his.

Almost surprised, he accepted it, her quick little peck, letting her step away, out of the shadows of his tent.

—————

The goblin camp stank, just as they all had, Cordehlia wrinkled her nose.

At least, the Druid was freed. But victory was far from near. Halsin brimmed with gratitude, even as Astarion failed to hide his eyes rolls. “Funny way of showing thankfulness, giving us another mission,” he grumbled as they left the Druid behind. Three Goblin leaders to dispatch would be no meager task.

Cordehlia shushed him, but he only continued to hiss his complaints as they crept deeper into the camp. “I’ll try not to think of it as helping, mind you, just gaining some other opportunities to dispatch more of these Goblin trash…”

“How altruistic of you,” Gale let the sarcasm fly in reply.

Astarion turned that insincere smirk at the Wizard. “You all keep using that word to describe my choices. I’m beginning to think you’re the ones who don’t know its meaning….”

“Hush,” Cordehlia rounded on the pair of them, only making Kalrach snigger as well. “We must be cautious, these are no dumb Goblins. They think us True Souls. It will take cunning, especially against Drow warrior Minthara…”

As if on command, the entryway opened to a greet chamber, the dark skinned, ruthless Drow bellowing orders at the other end.

Her sharp gaze glanced quickly. Her smile sickeningly twisted. “Speak, are you here to join the battle?”

Cordehlia stepped with all the confidence centuries of bloodshed could give her. “Hail, True Soul,” the She-elf nodded her head. “We are sent to aid in the ravaging of the Grove.”

“Prove it,” Minthara snipped, her hand drawing her blade. “You are not Goblin nor Drow, and as such, I have no qualms with spilling your guts on the ground for fodder.”

“Very well,” Cordehlia replied, more exacting in her voice than even her foe.

She raised her hand, calling upon the worm…

The ground ran red. Blood. Elven and wizard and alien, it smelled delicious. Her feet squelched in it, the lives of her enemies drained by her hand. She resheathed her dagger, bright metal, etched with a signet near the tang.

A Raven, a black bird in a dive.

She began to brush the blood from her coal-black armor. The pattern of feathers collecting the crimson running down her body.

Cordehlia took a deep breath, looking at her field of glory one more time. For her people. For herself.

Everyone gasped as they returned to the caves, their consciousness all stunned as her band looked at Cordehlia, up and down. Their minds all linked by the worm, her vision in their heads too. The recalling of her past, dark and bloodied, as it broke upon them all.

“My my,” Minthara crooned, impressed as she resheathed her blade. “I know of that blade, that chilling reputation. The Absolute surely knows how to choose souls for her service. It has been ages since you have been seen, isn’t that right?”

“Half a century, by the reckoning of my people,” she replied, her tone distant. Harsh. “They would like to think I’m dead. Forgotten.”

“That will not be your fate with the Absolute, and not with me, my Lady Corvus,” Minthara bowed. Low, bending at the waist.

She could hear the way her band’s breath froze. But she couldn’t reply. Not yet. “My company of True Souls needs a moment of respite, if you will give it to us. Those damned Druids depleted our resources, but we know where they are. My scout will give you the location once we tend to our needs, Lady Minthara.”

“Of course,” smiled the Drow, dismissing them with a wave.

She held her head high, marching them down to the corner of the cavern. Of course, it was Gale who stared Cordehlia square in the eyes once they were alone. “The Lady Corvus, Bone Picker, most intelligent elven warrior of her kind, so ruthless in battle, every bone of her enemies was left bare.”

She shook her head. “You see now,” she sighed. Mouth twitching. Eyes cold. “You all pale in comparison to me, no one can match my monstrosity.”

“Ahem,” Astarion cleared his voice right beside her. “First of all, you say pale and monstrosity like they’re bad things….”

“Astarion!” Gale snipped to interrupt, but the Pale Elf just held up his hand to silence him.

“You don’t know half the things I’ve done… that perhaps any of us have done. And yet you don’t turn us away,” he continued. His voice was smooth, gentle, not dripping in seduction, but wrapped in comfort. “We won’t turn from you either, you know, whether you are Lady Corvus, or just Cordehlia.”

“That’s right, soldier,” Karlach was the first to pat her on the shoulder. Rough and steady. “Why, I’ve severed more heads than I’ve kissed faces.”

“I’ve damned a thousand souls for Cazador’s meals,” Astarion added, a smile on his face. “Bet I’ve done worse than you, Lady Corvus…”

“You wish to compare body count?” she gave a single, dark laugh.

“Well, we know whose hands are bloodier now at any rate,” he quipped.

“You mean face, I believe,” Karlach pointed as she guffawed.

“Shhh,” Cordehlia suddenly held up her hands. “We are supposed to be evil. Not some silly band of youths here to loot and pilfer.”

“Tch,” Astarion smirked. “You’re no fun if we can’t do that…”

Minthara did stride over, frowning at the sound laughter and merriment. “Well, it is curious to see such mirth in the warriors of Lady Corvus,” she hissed. “I’m surprised, given the tales of your deeds, your bloodshed.” Her thin lips quirked. “Have the decades of seclusion softened you? Does the Absolute know of your…”

Her breath left her body. The quick work of Cordehlia’s dagger shoved between her ribs. “The Absolute can rot, and so can these brainworms,” she hissed into Minthara’s dark, pointed ear.

Cordehlia’s eyes looked into the Drow’s, watching the light fade from them, a dark smile on her lips. Then, those silver eyes flashed at the rest of her party. “Get them,” she ordered, a nod of her head at the rest of the Goblin hoard.

Gale and Karlach snuck off, the wizard’s hands glowing already, the Tiefling’s ax ringing in her hand as she swung if off her back. But it was Astarion who lingered and grinned at her, watching as she dropped the body of their enemy at her feet. “With pleasure,” he purred, snatching her bloodied dagger in his hand. The Drow’s blood dripping down the bright blade, the etching of the Raven near the hilt darkened red.

He licked her blade clean, his eyes locked into hers, watching her chest heaving, her eyes hazy as she watched every little flick his pink tongue made along her weapon before he handed it back.

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talesfromthebacklog · 5 months

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Tales From The Backlog: Super Mario Bros Wonder

9/10

ALRIGHT. I LIED. The fomo got me after I saw the singing piranha plants OKAY?

And to be honest, I picked it up on (employee) discount after a bit thinking I wouldn’t get to it as soon as I did. But I’ve been knock out drag out sick since Sunday before Thanksgiving and platformers are traditionally my feel good sick games. I was sick two weeks in a ROW WITH TWO DIFFERENT ILLNESSES. (Neither of which were COVID shockingly.)

BACK TO BACK.

I couldn’t even taste vinegar that well. VINEGAR. I debated on just writing fanfiction and skipping this week too but weirdly I found inspiration in Wonder and Rayman Legends. Both types of platformers I am not historically drawn to.

BUT TODAY IS ABOUT MARIO.

I mean this in no uncertain terms, Mario Wonder is THE BEST 2D Mario experience to date. Hands down. No questions asked. I will die on that hill. I feel like Nintendo has really made it a priority to try and knock their mainline Switch titles out of the ballpark and they keep landing the hits.

Now I think Nintendo always has decent quality titles. At their core they’re almost always built well, functional, and decently fun. But the opinion that their 2D “New” Super Mario franchise was getting old, repeated, and stale is not a new one. I think Mario Wonder really encompasses how I feel about the Switch in general. As always Nintendo has stuff they can improve on, but it is clear they really are pushing to make the games truly special this generation.

WiiU (which the short lifespan is partially to blame for this) is so… empty of personality in comparison to the Switch library even at launch. Like the indie and niche selections? Don’t even get me STARTED.

The WiiU sank so the Switch could fly.

But this isn’t a review of the Switch. It’s a review of Mario Wonder. If you can’t tell I really love it. And this is a legit opinion. I’m not in the paid corporate pockets of IGN or Nintendo. No. The game really is just that solid.

Firstly Mario Wonder has so much personality. I dare say it has old Paper Mario levels of personality. It has a small selection of power ups, but it makes up for this in satisfying level design and… general amusement.

Those singing piranha plants are a really great example. As that is what made me crawl over and go “fine”. I don’t buy 2D Mario’s on launch. I just don’t like them enough. But I think it’s such a good example as to what the game is like as a whole. Mario Wonder is constantly finding new ways to be entertaining and enjoys doing so.

It even starts off with a “bit”. You choose your character and for the intro you walk to the kingdom through a stage as your selected character. The other unselected characters? They’re all here too walking to the kingdom! We were all walking together! Everyone was accounted for! It was so cute and a great introduction to the experience.

On top of standard levels there are all sorts of hidden areas, secret exits, alternate routes, challenges, and collectibles that pay off.

And listen. I know the series is called the MARIO series, but seeing multiple female characters to play as that weren’t locked behind easy mode or late game is amazing. I still distinctly remember being a child myself and us girls fighting over who got to be the ONE GIRL in any of the older Marios.

And then we’d fight about who got Yoshi. Because if we couldn’t be pretty we wanted to be cute.

Anyway most of the time I played Luigi. Now that I’m older and have refined taste Luigi is my favorite.

…But I still pick Peach or Rosalina preferentially! Sorry buddy I like being the pink one and I’m healing my childhood hurt! I DESERVED A TURN TO BE THE PRINCESS BETHANY!

Whatever. I was annoying anyway. They had to eliminate pink carpet squares from a preschool because I was so territorial about having them to myself. So don’t feel bad for me.

Anyway.

Mario Wonder is also a departure from the “New” Super Marios Bros style. Which is… thank god. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that style looks bad. It doesn’t.

But it does look like nothing, especially in comparison to the more stylish pieces they’ve been putting out as of late. Mario Wonder exudes style from start to finish. We are finally in an era where it’s okay for cartoons to look like cartoons again. Sorry if you like the older style, but its blankness was always a turn off for me. That doesn’t make the games inherently bad though. They’re… solid Marios. Just not solid… interesting Marios.

Stylistically I do like it when companies like SEGA dip their toes into “realism” like with Sonic. (Sonic gets to have both. They’re clearly not as consistent as Mario but they have both styles to satisfy all tastes. Though Sonic could use some stronger stylization too. We’re getting there.).

But Mario… is so unique in concept and aesthetic that when they stray from the more intense stylization, I think it’s a disservice. Sonic is unique too! But Mario almost reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. That is another franchise that demands strong aesthetics for its weird choices and suffers without them. Mario is weird in every sense and I think it IS very much like Alice in Wonderland in terms of style and story. I see very strong parallels. Mario is a weird fantasy story. Wonder especially seems to really take note of this stylistically.

And I’m not suggesting “New” Super Mario Bros is realistic per se… but I wouldn’t call it stylized in the same way Wonder or even Odyssey is. It’s cookie cutter and easy to produce. Which I do get, I don’t necessarily dink companies for that. But it’s still obvious that effort on this level produced results.

The color choices of Mario Wonder are also… wow. This game is just an amazing glow up. Can you tell I think the game is pretty? The backgrounds, the colors, the models. I love how we’re exploring a different kingdom which allows for even more environmental diversity.

Then there’s the levels themselves.

Again. I like 2D Marios, but normally I solidly enjoy his 3D endeavors more. (This is not unique to Mario. I feel this way about Sonic as well. So I’m not blaming Mario for player preference).

Mario Wonder is a big exception. Mario Wonder hits all the sweet spots in my brain and takes a lot of the stuff I liked about 3D World and enhanced it. The collectibles to unlock standees is cute. I like that the seeds lock progression because most areas don’t require a lot. (Well. I’m 100%ing each level so I’ve not actually run into an area that told me I didn’t have enough)

Most of the levels have two faces to them which has so many benefits! For example when I mess up the flag pole, if I simply skip the wonder flower for certain levels it physically shortens the level so I can try again. This can also provide alternate exits which net you additional seeds.

The effects the wonder flower have on each level can also be wildly unpredictable. I don’t always know what challenge or activity I am walking in to and I think this was an awesome tactic to keep players on their toes.

For those who like challenge there are more challenging levels available. I don’t often ‘struggle’ in Mario games as an adult but there were a few stages that required real skill to get through and 100%.

Right off the bat there are lots of little explorable avenues clearly off the intended path on the map. I like the player autonomy in that and I like finding weird little nooks. You also get rewarded for this by getting extra seeds, special areas, and badges.

Oh yeah. Badges. This was a weird idea to see pop up outside of Paper Mario, but honestly about time? This was another choice I liked a LOT. Special abilities used to be adhered to certain characters (Hence Peach being treated as easy mode). Now you can apply a badge with special abilities onto any character! And there are lots of badges and abilities. Levels will even have side areas and challenges that require the use of certain badges. Of course some levels are clearly geared to support certain badges as well. And you can change them out darn near at any time. Badges are great. I love swapping them out and problem solving. While most are just functional; some badges are just small rewards throughout a level. I like those too.

The only thing I really can’t commentate on is multi-player. It supports local multiplayer which I’m sure is solid.

I know some people are split on how they feel about the talking flower. I like it. That’s it. Also the caterpillar prince sitting on your shoulder as you run around is dumb cute. He wears the little badge you’re using and you can see it in the levels.

The weird online multiplayer shadow thing I haven’t tried (which is what those standees are even for). I may try that this week and amend the post to include my thoughts on that.

I think the inclusion of an almost brand new set of power-ups was a strong choice. It’s a new kingdom with new activities. It’s okay to be different! (As long as it’s good). The costumes for the power-ups are killer on all of the characters. I like pink Bubble Mario. He makes me happy! I’m rocking that as my Nintendo Avatar right now! 🤣

Overall Wonder is so solid! We can’t keep it in stock at the small game store I work at! When I go to look physically at other big stores I’m not seeing them in stock there often either. Along with Mario RPG, we can’t keep that in stock either.

It’s crazy how on point the new Mario voice actor is. Makes me wonder if they searched for new voice actors during auditions for the movie as a cover. (Initially, not after they announced Chris Pratt as Mario) They managed to keep it under wraps somehow. Cause how else would you hide Mario voice auditions? That’s speculation though. I do need to rewatch the movie to see if they out any Wonder easter eggs in. Probably not.

If you’re looking for a strong AAA title this is it. I think I’m out of nice things to say and I have to prep for my birthday tomorrow! (I’ll be 30.)

So! Take it easy! And don’t get sick this season like I did.

#Super Mario Bros #Super Mario #Mario #Luigi #Peach #Princess Peach #Daisy #Princess Daisy #yoshi #toad #nabbit #toadette #princess toadstool #super mario bros wonder #Mario Wonder #mario bros #nintendo #nintendo switch

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twistedtummies2 · 7 months

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Fifteen Days of Disney Magic - Number 10

Welcome to Fifteen Days of Disney Magic! In honor of the company’s 100th Anniversary, I am counting down my Top 15 Favorite Movies from Walt Disney Animation Studios! We’ve reached the Top 10! Today’s entry truly never gets old. Number 10 is…Peter Pan.

Okay, let’s get the elephant out of the room immediately…no, some parts of this film (I think a lot of you will know which ones) have NOT aged well. It was made primarily for children in the 1950s, with development reaching as far back as the late 1930s, and certain elements are clearly a product of their time. I acknowledge this, and how it was as wrong then as it is wrong now. I concede it’s an issue for at least some (if not, indeed, many) modern audiences. If those elements or any others bother you for any reason – and I imagine they probably bother a LOT of people – I won’t pretend like you don’t have justifiable grounds for disliking the film as a result. With that said…I freaking love this movie, despite those issues, and that is the hill I choose to die on.

While I don’t know if Disney’s Peter Pan is the BEST interpretation of J.M. Barrie’s classic fantasy adventure, it’s certainly one of my top three favorites. (The other two are the 2003 film, and the musical that originally starred Mary Martin…also, no, I’m NOT counting “Hook" there, because “Hook” is a sequel, not a direct adaptation or reimagining.) When I think of the character of Peter Pan himself, it’s Disney’s version that most immediately comes to mind. The same can be said for many of the other characters, such as Smee, the Darling Children, and Tinker Bell…in fact, I think the only exceptions to this rule are Captain Hook himself (and he’s certainly not a version I dislike; easily in my top three takes on the character, as well as one of my Top 5 Disney Villains of all time), the Mermaids (who have so little to do with anything it hardly matters), and the Native American characters, who...I'm not going to touch here with a ten foot pole. 'XD I think it’s my passion for the story itself, and the fact the film introduced me to it, that helps make this such a major favorite for me. It also has the advantage that, like “Fun and Fancy Free” and “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad,” it was one of the first Disney movies I ever owned, and I watched it over and over again. In fact, I think I saw it perhaps more than any of the others I had on VHS. Something about Peter Pan just spoke to me as a kid, and still speaks to me as an adult. I loved its sense of cartoonish comedy, I loved its spirit of swashbuckling action and adventure, and I loved how it had this sort of strange edge of something unsettling under its colorful exterior. Hook is a funny villain in a lot of ways, but he’s also a murderous psychopath who’ll kill and betray you at the drop of a hat. Peter is, in some ways, who we all wish we could be, but he’s also brash, cocky, and not exactly the most likeable protagonist…and then he’ll turn right around and do or say something that makes you like him all over again. While one could say the film really only covers the superficial elements of Barrie’s darker and more psychological story, it does brush on those deeper layers in some interesting ways, and still makes the ride enjoyable all the way through. This is possibly one of the single most merchandised and frequently referred to films in the entire Disney canon. There’s a preschoolers-aimed TV show, a whole spin-off franchise about the fairies, books, plays, a sequel film that was actually brought to theaters (and, in my opinion, while flawed it is actually not really bad; rare for Disney sequels), and numerous appearances by the characters in various other properties and attractions. It’s one of those stories and worlds that seems impossible to mine dry, and I think that also may be part of why it appeals to me. I was actually fully primed and ready to place this one in 8th place, at the top of the heap of the four films in the stretch between 11th and 8th...but after revisiting it, I found it lacked some of the punch the two films above it had. But hey, Top 10 isn't too bad, right? The countdown continues tomorrow with my 9th Favorite Disney Movie! HINT: If You Were Hoping It Would Be Here, Wish Granted!

#disney #disney 100 #disney 100 special #list #countdown #top 15 disney animated movies #fifteen days of disney magic #number 8 #peter pan #disney peter pan #peter pan 1953

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messrsbyler · 1 year

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you know what i don’t think mike believed the painting was commissioned by el and this is the hill i’m choosing to die on today

#byler tumblr #byler

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discordantwritings · 21 days

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List 5 topics you can talk on for an hour without preparing any material.

Ty for the tag here @hey-august

Now I have. So many topics I could talk about for an hour like I am always just a small push away from infodumping so I’m going fairly specific with this list just to be fun and quirky I guess.

Motherhood is actually the main theme of Neon Genesis Evangelion- no but really but seriously I’ll die on this hill. Yes depression yes anxiety yes mental illness but the main central theme of NGE is motherhood and no one talks about it. It’s not subtle! The second it clicks it’s clear. I can’t get started too much on this because I’ll actually go on for too long but I think motherhood is a theme that is not superficial and central to the concepts and emotions of the show AND NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT. There are hundreds of video essays on YouTube about depression and NGE. But god forbid anime fans talk about women beyond which waifu is best.

I have a PowerPoint presentation ready and everything.

Magic the Gathering Elf Decks- I play a lot of Magic the Gathering because I am a big old loser. And I play variations on one deck. Elves. It’s not particularly good, certainly not meta, but I love them with all my heart. I can talk about which elves are best, I can talk about lines of play, I can probably just talk about what opening hands to keep or mulligan for an hour. I’ve spent like 7 years of my life playing variations on the same deck. I have issues.

Pokémon Nuzlocking- I love Pokémon in general but a sub community I adore is the nuzlocke community. For those unaware a nuzlocke is a set of self imposed rules on a run of a Pokémon game meant to make the game harder. The base rules are always: You can only catch the first Pokémon you encounter on each route, if a Pokémon faints it is considered dead and you must permanently box or release it, and you must nickname all your Pokémon. The last rule is just so you get attached to your Pokémon more. There are so many good comics and YouTube videos/ series on nuzlockes and I love the ways people make Pokémon new and fun.

Dungeons and Dragons- Ok I can’t choose something specific with this one because I just love all of D&D. I play arguably too much, like 2-3 campaigns at once too much, but like. It’s my entire social life so it’s fine. I think about my characters so much, I love every aspect of it. I also make dice for D&D and other TTRPGs. Talk to me about your D&D characters. Let me talk to you about mine. I’m not normal about this.

Bioshock and the Popularization of Choice in Video Games- aka Bioshock walked so Undertale could run. While Bioshock’s narrative choices are far less detailed and impactful than what we have today Bioshock was the first AAA game to do it and do it well. Choice was not a superficial thing, choice was a huge theme of the game and having something that you did matter was huge in the story. Bioshock proving it could be done, that people love it, and showing how it should be done let us have games like Undertale.

#discordant rambles #tag game

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rebelwriter99 · 1 year

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Force help us all.

And here goes nothing. This one will need a TLDR.

Well Crosshair appeared. And I did cry. A lot. So that stayed true the whole season. Yaaaay. *Sobs quietly* My poor assistance dog has been so confused about why I keep crying today, he’s been very worried bless him and keeps climbing on me and licking my face. I love him very much and felt he deserved a sentence for his kindly helping paw.

I will be treating the finale as a single episode because anyone who didn’t go immediately from episode 15 into 16 you are lying.

So. Deep Breaths. Tech.

I will be assuming he is gone. I have read a lot of convincing arguments that he is not-but I will leave those to others. I will be writing as though he has died in the permanent sense.

I knew someone was going to die. It’s season 2 and Filoni is writing it. Hunter played Kanan and got captured and then they all escaped in S1. Big goal in mind in S2 (defeat Inquisitors vs Reunite Batch), someone is going to end up in dire straits to save the others. I thought it might be Cross, more likely Cody. And then it was Tech. I did not see any of that plot line coming. Saw Garrera and a plot inconvenient explosion were the smallest surprise. I was expecting them to make it to Mount Tantiss. Apparently not yet.

But the way Tech died is important to me. It sounds silly when I write it, but I’m autistic (and so is Tech I will die on that particular hill) and most autistic characters in stories of this genre (fantasy or sci-fi) get infantilised. They then tend to get killed in front of the proper heroes by the villain to show that the villain is evil. They’ll look rather sweet and innocent and meek and say something haunting and that’ll be that. If they do something brave it’s always played off that they don’t fully understand how dangerous what they’re doing is, or how heroic they really are. Not Tech. Tech fully understands what he’s risking. He knew the second he climbed out of that cable car he might not make it back. He nearly fell at least twice before he chose to fall. Not one moment in the whole show do we ever doubt that Tech is an adult, who is fully capable of understanding risk (and often advises caution) even if he computes it a bit differently, and mature enough to know completely what that sacrifice means. He, as an autistic character, demonstrated what it was to him to adjust to not having someone around, to having to cope with change. His knows this will hurt his family-but he has to do everything he can to save them. He, as an autistic character, got something akin to a romantic subplot-which you never really see. The way Tech is-it’s never painted as being ‘in the way’ of anything. He’s different-and that just is. Everyone completely accepts that about him. And until I looked back I didn’t realise quite how rare and refreshing it was to see that-because it’s written so well. And wether we get any more of Tech or not-I will always be grateful for what we did get to see of him. His character will always be special to me for what he represents-that people like me can exist in Star Wars, and in the galaxy far far away-we are simply ourselves and nobody really bats an eye.

And most importantly-it was his choice. You could write that scene nearly identically and have it just be an accident-but it was his choice. Clones don’t get many of those in life. And Tech, over the course of two seasons, has increasingly been learning to make his own. He’s stopped quite noticeably looking to Hunter for a nod before he does things. For a Clone, death is an occupational hazard. They view sacrifice through the lens of the war dominated life they lead and to them laying down your life to save your squad-I think that’s what many of them would choose if they had to. And the rest of the batch would definitely have died without Tech’s choice. Perhaps even, indirectly, Crosshair, who may have been tortured until he lost his life before the Empire found Omega. Tech’s last words I also thought were a lovely parallel to ‘good soldiers follow orders’. Tech chose defiance to save his family-he’s undeniably one of the best soldiers of the republic and yet ‘since when do we follow orders?’. Again-the emphasis on choice. It makes it feel like the end of the ‘Order 66 Era’ to me. We’ve gone from Clones forced en mass to kill those they loved and protected, to one Clone freely deciding to die to save the family they love and would do anything to protect. From the first moments the Republic became the Empire, right the way through to Stormtroopers almost completely replacing clones, and the first sign of major projects of the Empire starting to take shape. What happens next feels less like it’s going to be dictated by the galaxy-though the Empire will certainly be more oppressive than ever, what happens next is up to them now.

And Speaking of the Empire-the villain I now hate more than I ever hated Umbridge and Mrs Coulter as a child combined (which is saying something). Dr Hemlock.

He needs to die. In a way that Thrawn really didn’t-uncharted space was fine, he just needed a comeuppance. However, this particular foul being needs to cease to exist.

He is also the perfect villain. An incredibly creepy, secretive genetics researcher who doesn’t see his ‘test subjects’ as fully human is the villain in a story about Clones who are thinly veiled disability representation, currently exploring their own individual humanity, and were introduced to show the power of difference? Hell yes someone thought that through. And then said-hmmm yes Dr deadly poison. Then everyone will definitely know he’s an evil scientist! (It’s not like it wasn’t obvious as soon as he’d talked for longer than 5mins!). I await being immensely satisfied when everything he’s ever worked for burns to a crisp. Along with him.

For forces sake when he threw Tech’s goggles at Hunter’s feet. I was screaming. Hunter’s face. And when he puts down his blaster to pick them up. Hunter has chosen his squad. He’s not a soldier anymore, not really, he’s going to do whatever he has to do to get his family safe and keep them that way. I expect he’s going to go from being a bit more ‘go with the flow’ this season, to rather more ‘completely feral’ next season. And he will have Wrecker with him-who looks like he’s got some complex emotional development of his own to do. Gods it’s heartbreaking watching anyone grieve but poor Wrecker-I think he’ll blame himself. While oddly Hunter will be doing the same thing. Echo is going to have to be sensible I think-nobody else is going to be.

I am so excited for season 3. Really hoping we don’t have to wait a similar what felt like an age as last time. I love these characters. I’m yet to watch anything Filoni has written that didn’t have an immensely satisfying (if bittersweet) ending that made all the heartbreak worth it so I hope that’s where we’re going. Until then.

Vode An. Always. 🌟

TLDR: Force that hurt. Tech will always be an immensely important part of why I love Star Wars and The Bad Batch so much for so many reasons. Next season is going to be crazy. And if the Star Wars of equivalent of a creepy ableist medical researcher working for an authoritarian government imprisoning everyone doesn’t die horribly and have all his work destroyed I may riot.

#star wars #the bad batch #clone force 99 #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #well that was a long ramble but I think the grief is processed now at least #if anyone wants me to write any more please do just ask #otherwise I’ll assume that’s far too long as it is!

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ventricide · 6 months

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♡: diminish sentence starters .01

quotes from the "soup of the day” segments of the unfiction platforming game, diminish! reposted to feature more quotes. feel free to adjust context, pronouns, and wording as needed.

˚₊· GAZPACHO.

❝ The current Soup Of The Day is… Gazpacho! ❞

❝ I tried gazpacho exactly once. Wasn’t my thing. I’m sure it’s lovely for those who are into it. ❞

❝ But I just… among other things, the whole ‘cold soup’ deal just wasn’t for me. ❞

❝ I eat soup to be warmed. Honestly, it’s the only reason I've ever craved soup. ❞

❝ When I think of cold soup, my mind only sees warmth that should have been there. ❞

❝ It might sound cheesy and awful, but I’m feeling a lot like cold soup today. Soup that definitely wasn’t meant to be cold. ❞

❝ I’m dripping away. I can feel it. My container is broken, and I'm leaking out. ❞

❝ I try so hard not to look at it, the seepage. The wax deforming, melting away, where a candle used to be. ❞

❝ I can’t even tell the difference. I don’t know if I'm the feeble candle or the leaky, useless soup cup. ❞

❝ Either way, I am cold. Some part of me is wet as it leaves. Leaving me vulnerable to the wind. ❞

❝ It’s not supposed to chill quite like this. ❞

❝ So today, I am best served cold. ❞

˚₊· LOBSTER BISQUE.

❝ The current Soup Of The Day is… Lobster Bisque! ❞

❝ I was never into seafood at all. But LOBSTER…❞

❝ I won’t forget a single one of those evenings, when lobster was being cooked for dinner. ❞

❝ Some of those nights, all it took was one look at the steam, and I couldn’t bear to stay in the house. ❞

❝ Other nights, I was taken by some masochistic compulsion to enter the kitchen and watch them all roast alive. ❞

❝ Or maybe it was something different. A wavelength I was picking up on. The pure, primal energy emitted by the beings on the stove; their spiritual death screams. ❞

❝ There’s something about seeing creatures spending their final moments on earth burning in hell. Something that paralyzes you. Demands that you not look away. Demands that you be a witness. ❞

❝ I don’t know what I learned from those nights. I don’t know if there was anything to learn. ❞

❝ Not like that’d matter for much longer, anyway. Because I'm the one on the stove now. ❞

❝ Right now, I’m screaming with every fiber of my fucking being. And I really do hope someone is there to hear it. ❞

˚₊· TOMATO SOUP.

❝ The current Soup Of The Day is… Tomato Soup! ❞

❝ I don’t know why I’m choosing only soups that aren’t my cup of (soup) tea. ❞

❝ Tomato soup is totally fine, but totally not for me. I never found much appeal in a soup that is basically just varying qualities of ‘liquid tomato.’ ❞

❝ Personally, I don’t wake up in the morning and think ‘Man, I sure wanna drink a tomato.’ ❞

❝ I can hear you right now, [ name ]. I KNOW. I get it. That’s not all it is. Good for you, bud. ❞

❝ But you know me. I prefer my food to be really dynamic; to have a lot of different things going on. ❞

❝ I’ve been thinking about people who base their entire personalities, their entire lives, around one thing. ❞

❝ It’s the reason I completely left social media. People on the internet are great at raising each other to die over and over on one hill. Dragging other strangers, unsolicited, onto their peaks and executing them there. ❞

❝ It seems like every single day, the average person has to meet their quota of execution and suicide. ❞

❝ Doesn’t matter the political side. The venue. The fandom. The issue. The importance. ❞

❝ Everything is some sort of holy war, and not one person can truly agree what the holy cause it. ❞

❝ They’re often utterly oblivious that they’re even doing it. They have no fucking clue what is happening because of them. ❞

❝ But it might be even worse when it’s calculated; when it’s part of some self-assigned mission. ❞

❝ People on each side of the battle only believe it’s harmful when the other side is doing it. Not a single one of them realizes that they’re a fucking idiot. That THEY are capable of great harm. ❞

❝ Great harm is WAY easier to cause then true good. Not a single person is immune to that. Not one. But they all believe they are, like some god on earth. ❞

❝ As the walls get nearer and nearer each day, I think very often about my hill. ❞

❝ I have no idea what the repercussions of my life are. What they will be. ❞

❝ I was only ever the sweet one; the encouraging one. The enabler. I based my whole personality around being The Nice Girl. ❞

❝ What is the runoff of that, when I perish on this hill? ❞

˚₊· HOT AND SOUR SOUP.

❝ The current Soup Of The Day is… Hot And Sour Soup! ❞

❝ Finally, we come upon a soup that I don’t mind at all. ❞

❝ Hot And Sour Soup is one of those things that delights me through its unabashed robustness. At least, that’s the case when it’s made properly. Plenty of times, a cook will hold back, unwilling to commit to a food that is supposed to make you cringe a little. ❞

❝ That happened way too often; the fear of allowing something to be what it is. It made me sad every time. ❞

❝ Because, again, it’s all too reminiscent of the way people tend to tick in general. ❞

❝ It’s amazing how our culture treats the idea of ‘cringe’ like it’s a fate worse than death. ❞

❝ I cannot begin to imagine what it’s like inside the mind of that sort of person. The person who sees anything that slightly deviates from their exact perception of what is natural, and their ‘kind’ solution is to call it ‘cringe.’ ❞

❝ And the terrifying thing is, somehow, this manages to influence the wider cultural perception of things at an alarming rate. ❞

❝ On this night in particular, I spend my disintegration thinking of these people and their victims. The people that anger at the sight of a person having a passion that isn’t theirs. The people who retaliate at the sight of a person showing ‘too much passion.’ ❞

❝ I’m reliving what they did to you in eighth grade. I’m 13 again, watching your colorful, unique imagination murdered in broad daylight every single day. I’m watching them rip apart the sonic dolls you took to school to help with your anxiety. ❞

❝ I’m listening to all of the cliques whisper about how you should never be treated seriously ever again, because you dipped carrots in peanut butter at lunch. ❞

❝ I’m coming home every night, watching your interest in everything you enjoyed wither away. ❞

❝ I’m feeling all of the exact things I felt then. But things are different now. Back then, I had a better outlet. ❞

❝ I’m pretty sure the reason I was so dominant at states is because if I hadn’t put all those hours in the pool, I would’ve been in juvie, or worse. ❞

❝ But in doing so, I abandoned you at your weakest point. I left you to bleed out alone. ❞

❝ In the average person’s ideal world, the person you wanted to be does not exist. And they were so insistent, so single-mindedly determined, you had no choice but to believe them. ❞

❝ I watched my brother get turned into a zombie, just like the rest of them. ❞

❝ Suddenly, I am guaranteed to die without having the time to leave an influence of my own. ❞

❝ I will leave behind a world that is no less inclined to witch-hunt sources of ‘cringe’... and heroically mangle any truly challenging, inspired passion that stands in their way. ❞

❝ I will die knowing that every day, some kid out there will continue to be led to the same fate as you. ❞

❝ The weirdos will be muscled into a form that everyone else desires, and their song will die out. ❞

❝ I wonder just how many of them will end up like [ name ], when they realize society will always make it a constant, miserable war to exist as themselves. ❞

❝ I miss [ name ] each and every day. I recall that night I convinced you not to follow in their lead. ❞

❝ And I try to remember simply how important it is that you are alive. ❞

❝ I think about how your death would’ve made absolutely no impact at all on how the cringers treat life. ❞

❝ But hey, at least you stopped eating carrots with peanut butter. Society at its finest. Justice truly prevailed. ❞

❝ … I want you to do something for your stupid dead sister, alright? ❞

❝ Get a carrot and dip it into some peanut butter. And take a bite. ❞

❝ You don’t have to enjoy it as much as you used to. You don’t have to finish it. ❞

❝ I just want to fall asleep tonight pretending you won that battle. ❞

❝ I want to imagine, for just a moment, that people tried desperately to destroy you over something you ate at lunch… and they failed. ❞

˚₊· POTATO SOUP.

❝ Today’s Soup Of The Day is… Potato Soup! ❞

❝ I’m so sorry, [ name ]. You don’t have to read this one. ❞

❝ I welcome it. It’s okay. At least I wrote it out. ❞

❝ As we know, thick, creamy soups in general were never a pastime of mine. ❞

❝ Few things ruin a healthy diet faster than a ferociously creamy sauce or broth. ❞

❝ Of course the taste is decadent; the result of a lavish blend of many deeply flavorful things. ❞

❝ But after my body was meticulously programmed into being a Sports Machine, foods like Potato Soup were rejected, like incompatible fuel. ❞

❝ The day I realized I could no longer eat creamy burritos without quickly being overcome by nausea was a dimly depressing day. ❞

❝ Yet it never bothered me TOO much, because it was just proof that the training was paying off, and I was truly getting fit. ❞

❝ In the moment, I didn’t actually notice all the sacrifices I was making. ❞

❝ I was so obsessed, none of that entered my mind. ❞

❝ I was able to dismiss things like potato soup as overstuffed; even irresponsible. The food choices of lesser people. ❞

❝ I sat upon my throne at the dining tables, with my carefully constructed meals, judging the contents of everyone else’s plates. Now and then, I remember a time when my plates were like theirs. ❞

❝ I thought to myself that maybe someday, once my Gold Medal Days were done, I’d go for some of those dishes again. ❞

❝ Those days didn’t end the way I’d imagined. ❞

❝ And now I am starkly, perpetually aware that there is no reason left for me to avoid unhealthy foods. ❞

❝ And yet, the mere thought of gorging myself on delicacies on the pretense of ‘it doesn’t matter now’... just might be the most depressing thought that has entered my mind during this entire experience of dying. ❞

❝ The moment I dig into an ice cream sundae, or a double-decker burger… that would be the moment the dream actually dies in my heart. ❞

❝ So I cling dissonantly to that throne at the dining table, like the most self-absorbed of royalty. ❞

❝ God knows how much I would kill to bathe in the taste of a great pizza again, before the end. ❞

❝ God knows that my stupid motherfucking brain will not allow me to enjoy that, even if I tried. ❞

❝ This exact experience is SO perfectly engineered to be my hell before death, it’s almost hilarious. ❞

❝ You know what’s even more stupid and hilarious, though? My response, my big answer. ❞

❝ Which is… making this piece of shit game. Making this piece of shit torture device, that I just forced my best friend to suffer first-hand in some perverse, sadistic pact. ❞

❝ Making the worse, most unhealthy Potato Soup of all time out of my fucking corpse, and maniacally shoving the toxic, never-ending goop down your throat. ❞

❝ All the while, your body is rejecting the poison, but out of devotion, you refuse to regurgitate it. ❞

❝ And that is the legacy I have chosen for myself. I guess it’s no different from the way I lived. ❞

❝ I’m sorry. I’m really hungry. I’m craving pizza really bad. ❞

❝ I’m going to die soon. ❞

❝ I don’t think the pizza would help anything. ❞

❝ This didn’t really help either. ❞

❝ And as usual, I get the feeling I can’t maintain a cohesive logic between ANY parts of this game. ❞

❝ If all I’m doing is getting MORE confused, what was the point to any of this? ❞

❝ Time is running out, and i’m seeing less and less of a point to anything at all. ❞

❝ But you don’t have to listen to any of this. You still have time. You can still enjoy things simply for what they are. ❞

❝ I’ll try to focus on that. Even if it’s not true. ❞

❝ It’s all I really have left. ❞

˚₊· BEAN AND BACON SOUP.

❝ Today’s Soup Of The Day is… Bean And Bacon Soup! ❞

❝ This is actually a soup I’ve never tried. It’s the favorite of [ name ]’s, though. [ name ]’s a foodie. ❞

❝ A pastime he enjoys, when things are slow and dreary, is asking people to guess his favorite soup. It always takes people about an hour to guess, and in the meantime, everybody has a nice moment talking about good soup. ❞

❝ It happens pretty often, with tons of different patients and families and supporters cycling through. ❞

❝ For a little while, everyone forgets how anxious they are. Somehow it hasn’t gotten old yet. ❞

❝ Some people just have a natural way of making others comfortable. I find that this sort of person is so much rarer than is often romanticized. ❞

❝ I think a ton of people fancy themselves as being that sort of person. I don’t think that’s expressly their fault. ❞

❝ We’re taught as members of society that a lack of engagement equals death. But it leads to every public space being inevitably occupied by people who think they’re the lifebringers.❞

❝ It doesn’t have to boil down to that. I think a lot of people just have to talk all the time to survive. ❞

❝ But it really strikes me these days, how rarely someone’s voice isn’t poisonous. ❞

❝ Most times, all you need is one look at someone, and you immediately can tell that they would interpret a preference for privacy and quietude as degeneracy and inferior upbringing. ❞

❝ There’s a fine line between sociableness and narcissism. ❞

❝ It’s unfortunate how rarely sociableness coexists with introspection. ❞

❝ When someone’s so busy talking, they don’t have the time to listen to what they’re saying, let alone contemplate why they’re saying it. That second part’s the real kicker. ❞

❝ I don’t think a lot of people have ever faced hard questions about themselves, and made the decision to not try talking their way around it. ❞

❝ The human brain is a marvel of science, but it’s also actually magical. It can conjure any facts it wants; any reality. On any whim. It will break any rule of the universe more effortlessly than moving a finger. ❞

❝ That’s the roulette gun we’re all given, being born with our brains that have this power. The ability to perceive reality in its raw state, and turn it into whatever we want. ❞

❝ It’s so funny that we were seemingly designed to be social beings when we cannot decide on the same reality. ❞

❝ In that way, I think the people who seek discussion the loudest are the ones who are the most alone. ❞

❝ They will never exist in a reality with anyone else but themselves. ❞

❝ But that makes people like [ name ] some of the most incredible marvels of our species. He talks because he listens. He can enter any room, with people both quietly reflecting and loudly ignoring, and for just a little while, he gets everyone on the same page. ❞

˚₊· CHICKEN BROTH.

❝ Today’s Soup Of The Day is… Chicken Broth! ❞

❝ They say that if broth is served, it is then official promoted. To treat broth as a meal is to automatically graduate it into souphood. ❞

❝ Lately, my appetite has changed a bit. ❞

❝ Suddenly, foods as light as broth often sound like they’ll hit the spot. And today, it seems as though even my thought trains run on the lightest of fuel. ❞

❝ Funnily, to me, chicken broth has never tasted ‘like chicken’. Chicken broth, or chicken stock, have always tasted like themselves. ❞

❝ It’s as if, when the essence of the chicken is absorbed into the surrounding water, something slightly different is created instead. And yeah. That’s literally the definition of broth. It’s something created from something else. ❞

❝ But somehow, that feels special when you actually think about it. ❞

❝ Because broth is about as fundamental, about as boring, as a food can get. And it’s generally associated, at least in societies like ours, with illness. Something to eat when you can’t really eat. ❞

❝ And it’s funny, though maybe not surprising, that my fading body wants it more often. ❞

❝ You know, Soup Of The Day was just a random thought. I didn’t actually have some grand plan behind it. ❞

❝ But maybe, subconsciously, some part of me knew exactly what my endgame looked like. ❞

❝ Imagining ourselves dying is like trying to imagine a brand new color. Like trying to correctly visualize the fifth dimension. But death is also one of the most basic things about us. ❞

❝ It’s very weird, [ name ]. I feel like I’m on a merry-go-round in a fever dream. ❞

❝ My brain is in chaos, but it’s looking for order more than ever. ❞

❝ … Remember [ name ]? That was the first time I really, truly recognized the five stages of grief. ❞

❝ As he deteriorated, we both had to learn how to survive death. ❞

❝ There was one thing I clung to, in that instinctive survival mechanism. ❞

❝ They say that animals, and cats especially, are better at knowing how to die. And cats need to be able to do it on their own, usually. Given space, they’ll go when they’re ready. ❞

❝ It was weird to be freed by that. And I don’t think It’s because I BELIEVED it. ❞

❝ In a way, it helped me realize how much I really loved him. Because after knowing him my whole life, I trusted him completely. ❞

❝ When he finally passed away on the living room table, I was so proud of him. ❞

❝ I wish I could feel as free, now that it’s me. ❞

❝ I wish I had a simpler brain, which didn’t notice every single bit of strength I’m losing. ❞

❝ I wish I weren’t thinking endlessly of all the things I suddenly will never do, ever again. ❞

❝ And most of all, I wish I weren’t suddenly reliving [ name ]’s last couple of weeks. ❞

❝ Because I will never know if he actually WAS okay with it happening to him. ❞

❝ Death makes it so, so hard to appreciate life. It makes it so, so easy to lose sight of the good memories. ❞

❝ Death is so powerful. It transcends. It is a black hole. And our instincts, as living beings, are programmed to fight death in every possible way… Except when our bodies are really freakin’ stupid and, like, make cancer cells or something. ❞

❝ But in some way, despite it seemingly like we’re not actually designed to die, when necessity strikes, our bodies scramble to whip up their own blueprints for it. ❞

❝ So when I notice the fact that my body doesn’t feel like thinking about food stronger than broth, somehow, my body just takes the little tinge of comfort and allows a small smile. ❞

❝ Maybe, by the time I die, I won’t have managed to make a huge difference in the world. But maybe my essence will seep out into the water. ❞

❝ My dreams die with me. I will never fulfill my bucket list. But the amount of time that exists after I die is, hopefully, a lot longer than my lifespan. ❞

❝ Maybe I’ll be served to others. And that’ll complete me. ❞

❝ Maybe I’ll graduate into souphood yet. ❞

#sentence starters #rp meme #rp prompt #ask meme #ask prompt #dialogue meme #roleplay meme #inbox meme #♡: mine.

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wafflesetc · 2 years

Note

I follow you on Twitter but your ao3 listed this account. I’m asking bc you don’t have the tellonym like fromiftowhen which you should start but what I want to know is what are your thoughts on all this jay stuff

I’m glad you found me, even when all my accounts are not the same handle!

I made a post a few days ago about what my initial thoughts were like, and frankly, my thoughts are more or less the same. I will say they have evolved a little bit more.

Overall, I am all over the map. It varies by day and by thought and by my mood.

I’m trying to hold out a small amount of hope (there was some BTS of Hailey wearing her ring today!) but just because she is wearing her ring doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t kill him.

There has been so much character growth for both Hailey & Jay as individuals on the show, and their relationship and it’s progression has only added to their development as individuals. Now they are so integral to one another, if they do kill him…It would ruin Hailey.

I know Hailey loved Garrett. I don’t doubt that, but that was a long undercover case. It was also when she was young(er), new on the job, and figuring life out for herself. She needed Garrett for survival in a lot of ways… Then she went to robbery homicide, then she went to intelligence, then she met Jay.

The difference for me is she needed Garrett for survival but she doesn’t need Jay. She wants him. Jay was the one person who broke down all the walls she built up, the one person who pushed her to become a better cop, the one person who was always in her corner. He seeped into the furthest corners of her heart, the ones she was so dead set on not letting anyone into. Yet, there he was. Time and time again. Showing up for her. Protecting her. Challenging her when she was doing something wrong. He never once let her down. (I will die on this hill, by the way)

But moving along, it will be a slap in the face to both of their characters and their relationship if they do kill him. A world in which Hailey & Jay aren’t together just doesn’t make sense. I’m saying that almost as fact because that’s how the writers have laid the foundation of them/their relationship. I can only hope, that showrunners like Gwen (who are one of their biggest shippers), does them justice. I’m hoping for some kind of promotion/transfer that leaves the off screen romance and the option for him to come back if he chooses.

As far as JLS on his actual exit. There’s a lot that has come out from the networks that show some issues with budget and budget cuts. Could he have fallen victim to that, like Kelli Giddish did on SVU? Yes, absolutely. Could he have decided to leave himself? Yes, absolutely. Sadly, in a world of NDA’s, we are probably never going to be at liberty to know what actually happened and what the circumstances around his exit are.

I said this in a Tweet today, but I’ll say it here: I’ll also point out, contracts include two parties. If a mutual decision wasn’t made between the two parties & someone does decide to walk, it still doesn’t mean they *wanted* to leave. I have no insight to what happened, but just know this is how contracts work. If they were going back and forth and back and forth, he could have ultimately decided to wash his hands because this is his life and his career. If he didn’t like the terms of employment, he has every right to try and fight for better terms to keep him there.

Does that mean he doesn’t love the character? No.

Does that mean he doesn’t love the show? No.

Does that mean he doesn’t love the crew? No.

Does that mean he hated with Tracy & the other cast? No.

It just means, he valued his quality of life & we, as fans, shouldn’t hold that against him.

Now, all of that being said, I truly don’t know if it was his choice to leave, whether he was forced out, or they did “fire” him. JLS has been liking some tweets that indicate I don’t think he necessarily wanted to leave BUT here we are.

My sentiments are the end of the day are mostly this, I hope they do Upstead some justice. I hope they honor ten years of Jay Halstead. I hope they don’t ruin Hailey’s character development in the void of not having him around her. But most of all, I hope that JLS is at peace with his decision and happy.

(And if fan campaigns to get him back work, then so be it.)

This is lengthy, but I hope it answers your questions!

Xx,

Waffs

#upstead #chicago pd #upstead forever #Jay halstead #jay halstead #hailey upton #jay x hailey

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takenbyheartstrings · 2 years

Text

FANGS, SECRETS AND WHISPERS - CHAPTER TWO: FAMOUSLY BRAVE.

summary: Y/N moves to Greyhound Hill because of her mom’s new job as lead detective to murders around the small town. When y/n walks home one night, she sees one of these murders happen for herself and her eyes are opened to a brand new world. One that will threaten her life. But that all changes when she meets two guys who seem perfectly normal.

pairing: vampire!tom holland x fem!reader x vampire!timothee chalamet (CHOOSE UR OWN ENDING)

chapter two warnings: fluff, mentions of blood, slight gore, mentions of sex.

word count: 2.4k

authors note: bit of a short chapter today bc of how busy i've been! the next one will most likely be longer <3

The last moments you think you’re going to be alive are scary. You don’t know where you are. You don’t know what’s happened to you – that’s exactly what happened to me. I had no idea what was in store for me... No idea what I’d have to do to survive.

I woke up and my breath was quick – I didn’t dream, which was strange. But I also didn’t feel like I had any sleep at all. But as I looked around me, I noticed why I hadn’t slept and everything came crashing back down and my head began to pound, like I was getting this crazy headache.

There was a woman, who was familiar to me and as my eyes began to adjust to the dark room, I realised why. Principal Hughs was sitting in front of me. Her dark skin gleaming in the moon light, and her eyes a silver that pierce my skin... she was a vampire. I looked next to her and saw a few more vampires. Ones that looked like they were out for blood... my blood.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked around the room for any sign of Tom. But I couldn’t see him anywhere. I knew he was there. I knew he was the one chasing me. But more importantly, I knew that vampires actually existed. I also knew that they weren’t happy about it. I could feel it in my gut. That tonight my life would come close to ending.

The room was dark and made of stone, but I looked directly into Principal Hughs eyes, “Where am I?” My voice is stern, as though it’s made of stone.

She only scoffs, “Silence, human, we’re here to talk about your punishment.”

My eyebrows furrow once more as I begin to get angry, “What did I do?!” I question, “I did nothing.”

The man next to her sighs, “Yes, we’re aware, but you also know vampires exist... which puts us at risk. We don’t want to harm-”

“William-” Principal Hughs says stern.

“My Clan do not want to harm you, but we must do what has to be done to keep our secret... a secret.” William says soft. His eyes silver, yet his features relaxed. He seems like the only one in this room who actually doesn’t want to harm me. Everything he’s saying is true – except I can’t believe it, “We cannot risk you saying anything to anyone, you getting involved with both Tom and Timmy is just a recipe for disaster.”

I shake my head, “Harm me?” I scoff, I’m challenging them, if I’m going to die, I figure I might as well go out fighting for my life, but something dawns on me, “Did you say Timmy?”

William nods, his blonde hair falling over his pale skin as he brushes it away, “Yes, it seems you’ve become quite close to him, and he’s a part of it... had you no clue?”

I shake my head softly, in disbelief, but I power through, I can’t let them know I’m scared... I can’t let them know I’m afraid, “Okay... but do you really think I’m that stupid to repeat anything here should it risk my life?” I question the vampires, “We both share a common interest... staying alive.”

Principal Hughs nods, slightly impressed, “We’ll put you to the test then.”

“Victoria.” William curses, “We can’t risk it.”

For someone that doesn’t want to hurt me, he’s sure pressing on the issue. I think to myself as Victoria appears in front of me.

“Your mother, she’s lead detective on the recent string of murders. Get her to stay away from it, we’re handling that on our own. Don’t tell anyone our secret... or you and your mother will both die a slow... painful... death. Do you understand me, Miss L/n?”

“Loud and clear.” I nod.

“Right then, I will see you at school in a few hours... try not to be late.” Her smile is cunning as she flashes her fangs. It’s another threat to my life.

A lackey leads me toward the door where I find Tom and Timmy arguing outside. They don’t notice me but they’re in heat. Timmy’s eyes are silver and everything Victoria had said suddenly comes true. He’s a vampire... him and Tom are both vampires.

It’s weird to think a world like this lives and breathes so heavily in this community of people. I had recognised some of the vampires inside as teachers or store clerks. Never had I imagined they’d drink blood and ultimately kill people.

I clear my throat, “So you’re both vampires?” I question, shooting a sharp glare at them both, “One of which tried to kill me last night.”

Tom crosses his arms over his chest, “I did not try to kill you. I was trying to explain. I didn’t kill the girl either! I turned her to save her, I’m actually quite heroic.”

I’m taken aback for a moment, “So the blood bleeding down your lip last night wasn’t because you were pulling organs out of her neck and leaving her for dead.” I give a sarcastic frown.

He rolls his eyes, “I got punched and okay my reaction wasn’t the best, but the vampire who tried to kill her ran after hitting me in the face.”

“Did you see who did it?” I ask him.

“Do you really think we’d be in this situation if I didn’t?”

I tilt my head with a nod, but another voice cuts us short, “Can you guys stop arguing for just a second!”

“Right because why are you even here, Timmy? This had nothing to do with you.” I ask him, “You weren’t there last night. If you tried to come and save me from these vampires, you clearly failed because now I’ve got this crazy ultimatum where if I don’t pull my mother away from these murders, I’ll die and so will she... and that’s kind of hard because she’s the lead detective on the case!” At this point I’m freaking out, taking deep breaths, “I don’t care that you guys are vampires... I don’t. What I care about is the fact that I could die.”

Timmy’s eyes furrow softly in concern, “Don’t worry, we won’t let that happen,” He throws a glare at Tom, “Right, Tom?”

He rolls his eyes knowing he’s part of the reason I’m even involved in this mess at all, “Right.” He sighs, “As if you’ll be any help though.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tom.” Timmy huffs.

The sun has finally risen, and the two boys argue. Great, this is what I’ll have to be dealing with, “Look, can you guys please stop fighting? I can’t do this on my own and both of you are the only chance I have of helping steer my mom away from these vampire murders.”

They both nod, “Whatever,” Tom sighs, “Just know that he’s ashamed of being a vampire, so I doubt he’ll be of any assistance to you.”

I look over at Timmy, but I know not to push this – not yet anyway, “I gotta go.”

“Can I drive you home?” Timmy asks, but I shake my head.

“No... I... I need to clear my head; I’ll see you both at school.”

As I walk away, I feel both their eyes on me. It’s true. I’m not scared. Not at all. In fact? I’m intrigued. But now that I know that every vampire has their eyes on me, and I don’t know how to feel about that. If I make the wrong the wrong move – if I say the wrong thing, then it’s off with my head.

I walk the same path as before, moving slowly, coming near the area where I saw the whole scene unpack last night. My arms crossed over my chest and as I approached, I saw police tapes and cars surrounding the area and I felt it in my gut.

The girl from last night is dead, Tom’s plan to turn her hadn’t worked.

A shiver goes down my spine.

“Y/n!” A familiar voice calls from behind me, “What are you doing out so early?” My mom looks at me with curious eyes.

“Oh! That party last night, I ended up staying at Zendaya’s.” You lied with a smile; it was sad how much she trusted me. How her smile ended on her face with so much ease, “So what’s going on?” I question her.

“Another murder.” She says solemn, “I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

I nod slowly, “But what if this case goes cold?”

“I won’t let it.” She shakes her head, “These are innocent people. Unsuspecting victims. I’m not going to let this out of my grip, y/n. This is important to me.”

I feel my stomach churn as a I forced myself to smile. How was I supposed to keep her away from this? She’s a determined, strong, trusting woman and I have to go against that. I have to go behind her back and ruin this for her... but it’ll keep her alive.

I didn’t think going to school could be this anxiety baring. My stomach was churning all day and it made me want to curl into a ball and cry... maybe I could or should just go home. It’s not like my mom would be there... would she?

That’s all I could seem to be debating. Whether or not I could be safe. I saw Timmy and Tom today. But I wanted to avoid them. They were a part of this world that had threatened my mom and I, yet I couldn’t stay away... I forced myself to, but it was a lost cause when I saw Timmy drive slow his car down as I walked home. I kept my head down and my jaw clenched. I didn’t want to speak to him.

I could hear the window lower, “Y/n...” He trails off softly, “Please... talk to me.”

I match Timmy’s pace, shaking my head, “Timmy. I just... I just need a moment. To wrap my head around my thoughts. It’s not like I’m mad or anything. I don’t care – I’m curious... but I feel like I’ve been on edge all day... All I can feel are eyes on me.”

He nods in understanding, “Then let me drive you home.” He sighs softly, as I shake my head once more.

“Not today... besides, they wouldn’t do anything during the day.” My wides widen as I look over at Timmy, “Would they?”

He shakes his head, “Not if it’s not a conversation... you sure you don’t wanna ride.”

“Yeah. I’m sure... sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” He smiles softly before increasing his speed and driving away.

I continue to walk before another vehicle pulls up beside me and I look at who’s sitting on their motorbike and I roll my eyes, “Christ, what is it with vampires and following me?”

He smirks and rolls his eyes, matching my tone, “What is it with you assuming things?” He questions me, “How do you know I’m not here for the ice cream?” He points behind me and I look over seeing the ice cream store that sits behind me.

“...Are you?” I question, my whole body still.

He smiles, flashing his perfectly white teeth... they seem empty without his fangs, “Yeah...” His features soften, “You can join me if you want, and before you say no... I’m up to answering your questions about vampires.”

He was right, I was going to say no... but his offer had piqued my interest, he could tell too. The way Tom looks at me with that stupid smirk and those stupid, big brown eyes, I huff, “Fine. But you’re buying me ice-cream.”

He opens the door for me, “Ladies first.”

I chuckle as I step inside to the slightly empty store, only a few patrons were inside of the shop, “What’s your favourite?”

I look at the flavours that sit in front of me, pursing my lips, “Vanilla.” I shrug looking to meet his eyes, his mouth agape.

“That’s BOR-ING.” He groans, throwing his head back, “Geez, think a girl like you would have a little more flavour.” He grumbles, my mouth jokingly agape.

“Hey!” I curse, “Yes, vanilla might be boring, but it’s the simplicity, you can pair it with anything you want, any topping and it’ll still taste just as sweet.” I shrug.

He looksat me with a playful glare, “When did you get so wise?”

“I’ve always been wise.”

He scoffs, “Get your vanilla shit and sit down.”

I roll my eyes and ask the clerk for a scoop, sitting down next to Tom... who got chocolate mint? “Out of all the things you could choose... chocolate mint is what you go with?”

“Well, they don’t have blood, do they?”

I widen my eyes, “Do they make that kind of stuff?”

His laugh comes from the depths of his belly, shaking his head in a flurry, “No! No! They don’t... blood’s good, but as ice-cream, I think it would taste like absolute shit.” His voice is smooth as he laughs – he’s happy, he’s sweet. He’s got that tough exterior.

I roll my eyes, “Whatever... so like, how are you not dying, it’s sunny.”

He huffs, “Well, vampires aren’t really allergic to sun itself. It’s more like artificial beams of light. In each town, there’s a book of vampires, it’s kept in a safe space. It doesn’t prevent vampires from dying, but it prevents us from being hurt during the day... during the night, it’s free reign, high amounts of UV lights can probably take us out... It’s not instant, but it’s not slow either.”

I nod slowly, licking ice-cream off of my spoon, humming, “Interesting... what about garlic?”

“Are you really going to go with all of those stupid myths?”

“As many as I have to...” I pause for a minute, “...How do you turn people?”

Tom looks down into his cup of mint-chip, taking a deep breath, “We inject this venom... it doesn’t hurt or anything... it actually feels really good. Emphasis on the really.”

I feel myself flush, my body going kinda small, “What do you mean, really good?”

He leans in, “I mean, you get the same sensation from feeding, which is not the same as turning... but it feels sexual... it feels hot.”

I avoid his eyes, “O-oh...”

He slides over in the booth, tilting my chin up to meet his eyes, “Does that make you nervous?”

I shake my head, but my heart was beating fast... way too fast.

“Your heart gives you away.” He states with a smirk.

#tom holland x reader #timothee chalamet x reader #tom holland #timothee chalamet #vampire!au

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