#BO does NOT deserve the level of hate it's getting and a lot of that hate is like. alt right pipeline

[limerental]

actually it is kinda funny that BO's plot is essentially "gang of misfits come together on a quest and save the day" given that that's also the plot of the saga except they a) don't save the day and b) well

[hyper-cryptic]

Oh yes, an ask ! What's the opinion/relation of Kate on the others companions ? Do they have a bestie ? Does she hate/dislike one of them ?

Hell yeah!! I am glad you ask about her, I absolutely adore talking about Kate! By the way, really funny fact, I have actually romanced most of the companions (Danse, I am coming for that ass), but canonicaly, their partners are Hancock and Nick! :D

Cait:

She admires her! Like, a lot! They think she is a super strong person, in both meanings! She loves how brave, how sassy she is! She’s just really fun to be with overall in Kate’s opinion!

About her drug addiction, Kate never really minded, but they were really concerned about her health. When Cait told her that she wanted to be cured, they didn’t hesitate to help her. 

Kate knows Cait can be a better person, especially under her influence! She constantly makes subtle comments that might make Cait change her opinion on things. Every once in a while they sit down to talk about her insecurities if she’s ok with it!

Funny extra: Since their names sound literally the same, Kate asks to be called Kat! Or to call Cait, “Irish Kate” tho expect a very angry irish person coming down your way.

Curie:

Absolutely LOVES her!! They love her curiosity and optimistic personality! Thinks she’s adorable.

They were very supportive of her wanting to be a synth, she thought it was very interesting! Though, was also very worried about how they would get to it...She was relieved that she didn’t have to take anybody's life!

Kate loves to make Curie flustered. It’s honestly adorable to her how she gets mad about getting compliments because she gets distracted, or confused. She lets her know why, tho! Hahah.

Codsworth:

He is family. He had been since before the war. It was the only person she could actually be herself.

When the bombs dropped she couldn’t stop thinking about him, if he was fine, if he had survived. When they got out of the vault, she was so happy to see Codsworth alive and well.

Kate wasn’t able to leave Codsworth’s side during 1 whole months, if it wasn’t for him and Preston, she would’ve given up on everything, on the ‘whealth, on shaun, on herself.

She adores his dumb sense of humor and his ridiculous british accent.

Danse:

She...likes him? She certainly enjoys his company and thinks he is kind and great but his bigotry and loyalty to the BOS makes her really uncomfortable.

Kate could connect to him on an emotional level, but never actually be interested in him, no matter how much they tried. BOS was just a major shit that made her uneasy. She only joined because they could be helpful to get rid of the Institute, and she was going to until…

They straight up refused and told off Maxson, but he didn’t give her the choice. When Haylen begged them to hear out Danse, they told her that she didn’t need to worry at all and would do everything in her power to keep Danse safe. They tried to change Maxson’s mind about Danse, about synths, but as she expected, he didn’t. After this whole incident, she quit the BOS and decided to destroy the Institute with the Minutemen.

She offered him to stay with her, on the lighthouse, but after a BOS attack to a settlement she left him in, Danse insisted to let him live alone, that it wasn’t safe to have him living there so close to Shaun. Kate sadly had to agree, she couldn’t risk to lose Shaun or any of her companions. She still goes and visits him every once in a while! Even got him to meet Shaun! They got along and share a love for cowboys.

Deacon:

LITERALLY BESTIES. Imagine those girls in highschool that are always together, wear matching clothes and call each other “slut”, “whore” and “bitch” affectionately? That’s them.

They literally wear matching clothes when they travel together. (I make ‘em wear matching clothes…)

Kate always introduces them as “ The Death Bunnies”.

She catched up immediately with his compulsive lying. She doesn’t mind it, in fact she might even go along with it, depending on the context and what type of lie it is. She tries to help him with it, along with his impostor syndrome (...which comes...literally sometimes?) and he tries to help her too. Hoes got each other’s back.

If they aren’t with their partners, they are with Deacon. Hell, even when they are with Nick and Hancock she brings him, of course if it’s not private. Deacon gets along with Nick so it isn’t much of a trouble...but they literally have no idea why Hancock dislikes him, tried to ask him but he said “some things are best left unknown”, which left Kate even more curious but respected his...privacy...I suppose? She asked Deacon, he said that it was no biggie, but to get Hancock to hold a long grudge like that is really weird so she can’t believe him. What did he do? She might never know...

They adore him overall, and loves his dumb comments, which she tries to always reply without bursting in laughter.

Dogmeat:

Light. Of. Her. Days. Well! Of course after her partners!! *gulps* 

They can’t go on with her days if she doesn’t pet Dogmeat at least...twice. She gives him kisses, pats and plays with him at the end of the day. 

When they first met Dogmeat, they almost couldn’t believe it. It was like a light in the dark, he definitely made her days easier as she was trying to stay stable during those 2 dark months.

She almost never goes out with Dogmeat because she is really worried the radiation might affect him, or even die out there. She usually has this fear with most of her companions, but specially him, as he is a literal animal and will probably not know if something is really dangerous or not just looking at it.

She usually falls asleep with him on the couch.

Hancock: 

Do I really even have to say anything? He is her everything along with Nick.

Kate’s first impression of him was: “Oh. FUCK. HOT?!”

Okay but really, she found him attractive and interesting after that first interaction. They had their doubts about him..you know him being a politician and all, but they quickly disappeared the more they interacted with him. Damn, the more she knew about him, the more she was interested in him. 

About Bobbi, she was totally into robbing McDonough, she did question Bobbi a lot though, as she instantly noticed how shady she was. She actually realized they were going for Hancock instead mid-way but waited to get there to confront her, make sure she was right. She didn’t do it for Hancock, instead because she wasn’t going to rob somebody who didn’t deserve being robbed. Tried to tell her to get out, nobody needed to be hurt but Bobbi refused to, so she had to pull the trigger. She knows it was the right thing to do, but can’t help but think if it could’ve ended differently.

She loves Hancock so much, they can’t stop thinking about him. “What would Hancock think about this?”, “Hancock would love this”, “I wish Hancock could see this”, “I miss Hancock”, literally being so clingy.

Overall, she thinks he’s such an amazing person: he’s kind, he’s brave, he’s funny, he’s understanding, he’s adorable, he’s caring, he’s determined, he’s (very) handsome...I really could go on.

She tries so hard to get him to understand that he is an amazing person. He appreciates the efforts.

“watch you sleep” by girl in red is totally their song.

MacCready:

LITERALLY A LITTLE BROTHER. They adore him! They love how funny and sassy he is.

Kate had to constantly tell him that she doesn’t care about caps and that he can keep ‘em if he wanted, that it looked like he needed it more than her, and she’d be right!

When Mac told her about Duncan she was upset at first, how could he just leave his child like that? Never acted on it, since she knew it would make it worse, but she could quickly understand where he came from and why he did what he did. Didn’t hesitate to help him find the cure for Duncan. 

They share a love for snipers and long ranged weapons so...that’s a topic they talk about a lot!

They both geek out about Silver Shroud every once in a while! Listen to the plays together and stuff like that!

Nick:

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They didn’t like him when they first met. They liked Nick’s humor, but couldn’t stop thinking about how much he acted like a cop, and let’s say Kate had their share of bad situations with cops because of race, and shit like that. Kate didn’t know a lot about synths at the time, so she just guessed somebody programmed a fucking cop persona into him. And she wasn’t going to deal with a cop bot that probably had a stick up his ass.

Eventually, when she got so oversaturated with work, and stressed out with the whole Institute shit, she decided to go and do some of the cases with Nick, she couldn’t wait to show this “cop” that even a “civilian” could do his work. As she worked through the cases, she began to notice that Nick was...actually ok? She had more knowledge about synths at this point, but still didn’t understand how Nick worked exactly. He did tell her that he was a prototype, between Gen 1 and Gen 3, so she quickly realized that he was no ordinary bot. She eventually warmed up to him, and could see the appeal.

It was like a bomb dropped inside her head when Nick asked if she was doing fine. Kate had never actually opened up with anybody, not even with Hancock. She mostly worked over her depression and anxiety by keeping herself busy and unhealthy thoughts like “they need me to be strong, I am a role model right now.” with the whole being a General thing, and the fact that so many people relied on her. Kate tried to be dismissive of it, but Nick could see right through her, and insisted that it was ok to open up. She had to get really drunk to do any of that shit! So they told him that they should both go to a “more private place”, as an excuse to get her hands on some alcohol. Didn’t end up drinking any alcohol, and just spilled most of it. Found comfort on his “origin story” with Diamond City. 

He was a huge part in her full recovery, along with Hancock and Deacon. But honestly? If it wasn’t for him, it would’ve taken her snapping at anybody and being confronted about it to actually open up to anybody. 

She didn’t realize she had any feelings for him until a month after that event. That they were storming into Eddie’s shelter that she realized that they loved him. All of this they were doing for him, the cute comments, the praising and trust they had in him...it became so clear why while he was talking to her after killing Winter, she couldn’t help herself but to dump on him why he was not just “a shell” how he was so much more than that. She didn’t actually confess her feelings to him there, but they were pretty close to doing it. If it wasn’t for her thoughts stopping her from doing it, what would happen with Hancock now? She still loved him deeply...

Eventually, two weeks after, they took a break at the end of the day from missions with Nick, at the empty bar that she had built inside the Castle. It was midnight and mostly everyone had gone to sleep, so they could talk about whatever they wanted and get as drunk as she wanted. They were having so much fun until Nick brought up something she had said that day they ended Winter’s life. Fuck. God, they wished they hadn’t been so busy to actually sit down with Hancock and ask him what he thinks of polyamorous relationships because she was way too drunk this time to stop herself from doing anything stupid. And she didn’t, Nick did, he corresponded but said that he couldn’t let her do this to John. Hah! Little did they know Hancock was super into the both of them. (I actually want to make a lil’ fic about this!!)

They just love him so much and connect with him on a whole new level. He and John make them so happy, she literally couldn’t ask for anyone or anything better than what they have going on.

I know it isn’t exactly a love song, but “Agnes” by Glass Animals reminds me of them.

Piper:

WHAT A LADY, AM I RIGHT? They adore her!! 

She is literally her kind of lousy! Always speaking her mind, always speaking the truth. She admires what she does.

I really don’t have much to say about her, just that they really like her and that she thinks she’s a good friend and overall good person!

Was totally in to beat up McDonough’s ass.

Preston:

They think he is amazing!! He is so kind and caring, they like him a lot!

Let’s say that he liked him so much at some point they got together during those two months. It wasn’t a stable relationship and they both acknowledged that they just didn’t work. Besides, he was there when she met Hancock, and had this look in her eyes that he had never seen. Not to worry tho! He has been testing the waters with Sturges lately! ;)

They function better as friends! Besides, it was quite awkward for Kate their General/Soldier dynamic they had going on, so that was another thing!

She thinks he is so cool and amazing, and they let him know this!

Kate teases him about when they were a couple and they laugh it off.

Honestly, he was a big help for Kate during those months and she is really grateful for all his help. They were both really important for each other.

X6-88:

They didn’t get to know him as much as they wanted.

It all was happening so fast, they couldn’t do anything to convince him to get out of the Institute before it was too late. 

And it was. They had to kill him along with the other coursers. 

In their time as companions, they thought he was enjoyable to be with. He looked like he could be saved, but...yeah.

They made him a grave in the Institute’s remains.

Aaaaaaaaand, that’s all!! Gosh, that was loooong!! Can you see I was really eager to talk about Nick and Kate’s relationship? Yeah, that shit is long.

(I literally finished this yesterday...at 2 am or something)

[ryanmeft]

Movie Review: Promising Young Woman

Your reaction to the opening scene of Promising Young Woman might say a lot about you. A trio of finance ‘bros at a strip club talk about a female colleague in unflattering terms. One of them notices a woman who is drunk, by herself and who might be suggestive if she were sober. Two of the men don’t much care whether she’s sober or not, but the third seems concerned, and tries to help.

Have you seen the film? If not, I’d suggest you stop reading. You want to go in blind, not because the story has any fantastically inventive or original twists, but because of the fresh way it presents otherwise tired revenge-fantasy tropes.

If you have seen it, I’d like to quiz you on your reaction to the opening scene. Did you think:

A: “It’s good one of these guys is decent and wants to help.”

Or

B: “Something about this whole thing seems off to me.”

The very-much-not-drunk woman’s name is Cassie, played by the perennially underrated Carey Mulligan, and she makes a habit of this. The “nice guy” of course attempts to take advantage of her, and she leaves his apartment the next morning with blood on her, not hers. She does this not for herself, but for a friend who was sexually assaulted in college.

If you knew anything about the film going in, you expected that. What’s refreshing is where the story goes from there. Cassie returns home to her parent’s house. Her “lair” is her room, an ordinary, if upper-class, quarters. She works at a coffee house, drives an ordinary car, and eventually acquires an ordinary boyfriend (Bo Burnham) who is cute enough but not Hollywood Hot.

Most revenge-fantasy films strictly avoid questions of where a character lives, how they earn money, who their family and friends are, and what they do when they aren’t revenging. That’s even more true of movies starring women. We seem unable to imagine them as both hardened action stars and having a regular life. In movies like Atomic Blonde or Ocean’s 8, the heroes operate out of temporary digs, and if we do catch a glimpse of an apartment, it’s not the kind of place humans actually live---there are never any messes, and nobody spends even a single night on a Netflix binge. One recent film simply titled Revenge gave our heroine absolutely no background or story at all.

This often works, on a sleek, superficial level. What elevates PYW is that it eschews that sleekness for messy reality, so that when Cassie takes revenge on one of the many people she blames for what happened, she still has to walk out onto an ordinary street, drive to a real house in a real car, and so forth. Most avenging angels are simply transported from one setpiece location to another by editing. You cannot picture one of Liam Neeson’s retribution-obsessed action heroes actually driving somewhere---he simply teleports.

The movie later suggests she does not kill her targets, but instead terrorizes them and sometimes tortures them. You may well wonder how she gets away with this---how she fools assholes into taking her home despite leaving them alive to spread the story. The movie never says, but if you’ve been around this particular type of guy, you already know. Men such as Cassie’s victims never see a woman as being their equal, and thus cannot perceive one as a threat to them. And if a woman does get the best of them, they’d never tell the authorities. Both things would threaten their sense of dominance. When they tell their friends the story, you better believe they re-write it to make themselves look good.

All of which naturally begs the question: what is Cassie achieving? A lesser film in this vein might be content to say that revenge is enough. Emerald Fennell clearly found that approach lacking. Cassie is not a mindless, emotion-free robot of automatic vengeance, but a broken person driven to break people who deserve it. One of my favorite comics, 100 Bullets, is built around the ability to get away with justified murder, and ranges widely in terms of the fates of those who take that chance.

Cassie would fit right in as a character there. The men she targets deserve their fate. Yet her crusade is destroying whatever was left of her as her ends justify more and more extreme means. She eventually confronts the Dean of her former med school (Connie Britton), a woman who has a history of allowing abusers to walk free because she places her social class above both her gender and justice. The Dean deserves to squirm, but however correct Cassie is in what she says, what she does to torture the women would make any parent hate our protagonist.

There is no way this is not deliberate on Fennell’s part; you cannot write a hero such as this one and expect us to agree with everything she does. She is not out to ruin the lives of merely abusers, but of those who looked the other way. The moral dilemma is that Cassie does not care who else she hurts to make those people hurt. Anyone is fair game for her schemes if it accomplishes her ends. There’s no way for a person with a soul to be that focused on getting the job done without internalizing some of it, taking that darkness on themselves.

The pivotal moment showing the damage Cassie is personally incurring is not very dramatic. She visits a woman who was a friend when they were kids, and talks about the friend who is gone. This is simply an ordinary woman---we have not seen her before this scene, and we do not see her after, because Cassie has isolated herself from her life. She lives on an ordinary street, and the two talk like you or I might talk, not like a screenwriter would. You could quite easily walk down this street and past them talking, and not know anything important was being discussed.

Could this be a comment by Fennell: “Sexual assault doesn’t appear dramatic, and is all around you”? It works on that level. I chose to see it as a means to ground Cassie in a life like ours, to elevate her above the killing machines we see in many movies. Real survivors don’t become superheroes; they have to go on with life. Cassie is a great hero because she has to do that, too. Our satisfaction at seeing assholes punished is muted somewhat by how much of her soul it costs her. Verdict: Must-See

Note: I don’t use stars, but here are my possible verdicts. 

Must-See

Highly Recommended

Recommended

Average

Not Recommended

Avoid like the Plague

You can follow me on Twitter here, if you want more posts about film and video games and sometimes about manscaping:

https://twitter.com/RyanmEft

All images are property of the people what own the movie.

[wreathedinscales]

shoutout to @grogusdads for their 100% accurate headcanon about Din Djarin being Ultimate Dad as Mand’alor. we’ve never talked, but you share many headcanons with me :D

anyway here’s din realizing, oh wait, he’s actually a??? ruler???? :O

()

1. Guards?

Without Grogu, Din makes it his purpose to help reclaim Mandalore. And attempt to provoke Bo-Katan into challenging him.

This time, he thinks, he's got her.

"Do you know anything about ruling?" Bo-Katan snaps.

Din once again holds out the Darksaber. "You're welcome to do it yourself."

But no. She just rolls her eyes and tries once again to fix his posture. Because apparently just standing straight does not a ruler make.

Mandalorians answer the call. Not all of them, but enough to start rebuilding. Din doesn't know about ruling, but he can organize a few supply runs and a roster. He takes mental notes of names, strengths and weaknesses. Nothing he hasn't done before.

About two weeks into this, Din notices two Mandalorians following him. Both have predominantly red armor with identical wing-shaped markings on their helmets. Kai and Kol, Din's inner records supply, sisters who grew up in a covert not quite as traditional as Din's, but their background is similar enough that Din's found common ground with them. They're some of the best at stealth, great for off-planet supply runs.

Din looks around at the small crowd. It's still somewhat staggering, seeing so many Mandalorians in broad daylight. He still catches himself scanning for Imps.

"Inventory's still scattered, and you're light on your feet," he says, "See what you can find in the palace."

For once, the sisters don't nod and walk off. Instead, they glance at each other, then look back at din with helmets tilted.

"We already have a task," Kai says slowly.

"Then why are you following me?"

They share another glance.

"We are your guard," Kol says, matching her sister's voice.

Din's so surprised he says, "What?" Then he shakes his head and adds, "Did Bo-Katan put you up to this?"

"She approached candidates," Kai says, "We volunteered first."

Din puts his hands on his hips. He's genuinely at a loss. "Why?"

They're attracting a small audience. The sisters' stunned silence doesn't help.

"You are Mand'alor," Kol replies blankly, "Our planet is not without dangers. We must protect you."

...oh.

Hm.

"Your efforts are best suited helping rebuild," Din tries, "I don't see any danger getting past all of us." He gestures to the rubble that was once the capital. "Help our people first."

More silence. For the first time in years, Din actively stops himself from fidgeting.

It becomes quickly apparent that they are not moving. But guards not listening to him is something he's used to.

"Okay, how about one of you stays with me?"

Kol and Kai stare a bit more. Then they bow, and Kai heads to the city.

"Okay," Din says again, "I guess if you're staying close, you might as well help me look over our supplies. We're still short on materials."

He turns on his heel and hopes everyone will stop staring. Fortunately, inventory takes focus. After some hesitation, Kol shoulders her staff and joins him.

Two hours later, Din is satisfied he's done all he can. He passes the datapad to Hrush, who's unofficially record-keeper with how quick they are at it. Their brain's the size of Mandalore, and their fingers fly over the screen.

Next batch.

Din looks over his shoulder. With any luck, Kol will have caught the hint and gone back to work.

He finds another Mandalorian walking beside her. Jaz, fought in the Purge, follows Bo-Katan's version of the Way, Fennec-level shot with her two blasters. Her muscles make her tower over Kol.

Din stops. They stop with him.

He sighs. "Fine. Jaz, you can lift two crates at a time, yes?"

Jaz balks a bit. After a moment, she says, "Yes, Mand'alor."

"Good. Kol, get those open while Jaz and I get the rest. You can. Multitask."

Din would really, really like everyone to stop staring.

2. Palace?

"What?"

Bo-Katan raises an eyebrow. "The Mand'alor needs his throne."

They're standing outside the palace ruin, Bo-Katan's helmet under her arm and Din glad his own hides his no doubt stupid expression. Kai and Kol are, unfortunately, still following him.

"Why the hell would I want a palace?" Din asks. "We're almost done the compound. There's plenty of room."

"Yours isn't ready yet."

"I don't need a suite, Kryze. As long as I can fit, a bunk and a door will be fine."

"You are Mand'alor."

"I am Mandalorian." It's taken a bit for him to come to terms with that, after the light cruiser. But everyone else sure sees him as one, which has helped. "A door and a bunk. No. Palace."

Hrush is quiet when Din approaches them with dimensions for his bunk. He's been sleeping with various clans and families so far, and it's worked out alright. Those who don't follow the Watch's Way respect his helmet. But a bit a privacy would be nice, and if Bo-Katan insists on him having his own room, well.

"I know materials are low," Din says, "Prioritize others first. This can wait."

Hrush is a small spitfire. They are still quiet.

Din waits a beat before nodding. The training yards still need a lot of attention. He heads there next.

That night, he checks the compound's roster. There are still two groups he hasn't imposed on yet. Their community is growing. It makes him smile.

"Mand'alor?" Kai says.

Din turns and waves his hand. "You can, uh, bunk down. I'll see if Clan Gon has floor space."

Even though, for some reason, people keep insisting Din take a cot, he's won through stubbornness so far. His back hates him, but it's not the first time they've been at odds.

A familiar huff joins them. "Mand'alor," Hrush says, "your room is ready. All the way down, to the left."

"...oh."

Well, at least they've finally given up on the suite.

"Thank you," Din says.

Hrush's helmet tilts, like they're about to say something. Din waits, but whatever they had wanted to say turns into, "Good night, Mand'alor."

Din inclines his head. "Same to you."

"What the hell."

This is not a bunk. This is. This is a full on apartment.

"I said no suite."

"It isn't a suite, Mand'alor," Kai says. She actually sounds amused. "It meets your specifications."

Din turns to her and crosses his arms. The room is huge, with a damn kitchenette, table, and private fresher. The cot isn't a cot, but a full on double bed. Din doesn't even know where all this stuff came from.

"You asked for a door," Kol says.

"I asked. For. A. Bunk. This is a waste of supplies we haven't got."

"Mand'alor, we provided the bare necessities." Kai seems seconds away from laughing.

"A double bed is not a necessity. Switch it with," Din thinks a second, "Clan To. The alors need support for those limps, and their Foundlings can use the extra cot."

The sisters look at each other. Din wishes they'd stop doing that.

"As you wish," they say.

"But it's too late now," Kai adds, "Clan To retired before you."

"Tomorrow, then."

"When would you like us to do it?"

Din shakes his head. "I'll do it myself. I can lift this."

"...certainly, Mand'alor."

3. Personal Space?

Since the fresher isn't going anywhere, Din figures, fuck it, he might as well use it. It's been a pain getting up extra early for the communal space anyway. Even if the space is working just fine, Bo-Katan.

When he's freshly dressed, he reenters the main room to find Jaz setting down one of Clan To's cots.

"Your time is better spent elsewhere," Din says firmly.

"Of course, Mand'alor," Jaz replies.

Well, Din's used to a bit of mocking. What's done is done. "Then help me move the rest of this to the communal space. I just need the caf."

"Mand'alor, with respect, I will not remove necessities from your room." Jaz shifts her weight. "This will make it easier for you to follow your Way. We wish to respect your helmet."

It's reasonable. Din would be lying if he said he didn't miss his privacy. But he'd rather sacrifice some personal bubble for a Foundling's future than have this.

"Would you not do the same for another?" Jaz asks quietly.

Din sighs. "Fine. If any who follow my Creed want to use this room, let them know it's open. I'll put a lock on the door."

"A lock will be installed in an hour," Jaz says.

"Okay. We'll spread the word."

"...as you wish, Mand'alor. I'll leave you to your first meal."

Quiet follows Jaz. Complete, utter quiet.

Wow. Din...has really missed this.

He looks around. There are no windows. People won't barge in. He can trust fellow Mandalorians.

Cautiously, Din removes his helmet. The quiet is still there.

He did sleep better last night. Maybe he can let himself have this.

4. Respect?

Din whirls around, spear out, just in time for Kol and Kai to take the attacker down.

Having guards is weird, but convenient.

Din studies the Mandalorian. Armor similar to Fett's, not enough for the resemblance to be startling, as it is painted blue and yellow. Goboz, young, cocky but well-meaning, best at hand-to-hand, needs more gun training.

Caju and Vadde of Clan To are in front of Din in a second, blasters raised. It makes Din warm.

"What business have you, attacking our Mand'alor?" Kai demands coldly.

"The Darksaber," Goboz says.

Din gently pushes Caju and Vadde aside. "You're barely 23, kid. Why do you want to rule?"

Goboz starts. "How do you know how old I am?"

Din cocks his head. "You told me when we met. If you can't remember that, what makes you think you're fit to lead?"

He's not angry. But Goboz did not issue an honorable challenge. He clearly has not studied the Way enough. Din will have to have a word with his buir. No matter how old they get, a child deserves guidance.

(Child. No, not the time. Not the place.)

Din puts his hands on his hips and says calmly, "If you wish to challenge me to the Darksaber, do so honorably. This is the Way."

Voices echo, "This is the Way."

Goboz averts his helmet. "...this is the Way."

Din nods. "Let him up."

Kai and Kol step back. They keep their spears level in warning.

"Now," Din says, "do you want to challenge me?"

Goboz nods.

"As challenger, choose your weapon."

As expected, Goboz replies, "Hand-to-hand."

"Fine. I accept." Din scans the crowd. "Kryze. Since you won't challenge me, you can oversee this."

Bo-Katan's lip quirks. "Certainly, Mand'alor."

"Meet me in the training yard in ten," Din says, "I need to finalize the Foundlings' training rosters."

Goboz looks cowed. Din waits for him to walk off before turning back to Hrush.

They meet without weapons in the center. Goboz bounces lightly on his feet. Din finds himself looking forward to this. It's been too long since he's had a good fight.

Bo-Katan widens her stance. "Begin."

Goboz swings first. Din parries and goes for his blind spot. He's blocked and pushed, but he stands his ground. It soon becomes apparent that Goboz doesn't mind his legs nearly as much as he should. He's good, very good. Just not good enough.

Din trips him, shoving a knee on his chest and pinning his arms. Goboz nearly throws him off. Nearly.

"Do you yield?" Din hisses.

Goboz struggles valiantly. But he sees he's beaten. He goes limp. "I yield."

"The Mand'alor is the winner," Bo-Katan announces. The crowd cheers.

Din helps Goboz up. Goboz says, "I thought you'd be more aggressive. I did you a dishonor."

"You did yourself and your clan a dishonor," Din retorts, "You clearly know better, Goboz."

Goboz's shoulders hunch slightly. "Yes, Mand'alor." He puts a fist to his chest and bows. "I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit."

Din tilts his head. "You learned from your mistake. I hold no grudge against you. Go to your buir for punishment."

Goboz makes himself even smaller, showing his age. The next "Yes, Mand'alor" is more of a grumble.

Din revels in the buzzing of his muscles and gets back to work.

Goboz's buir, Imni, approaches him later that afternoon.

"I apologize for Goboz's behavior," she says, "I thought I taught him better."

Din shrugs. "He's young. Kids don't always listen."

Imni huffs. "You are wise, Mand'alor."

"Just experienced. My." Din swallows. "My own Foundling liked to get his paws into trouble."

Imni inclines her head. "I heard you returned him to his kind."

"I did. Now I have other Foundlings to look after."

"You honor us, Mand'alor."

Din shakes his head. "This is the Way."

"This is the Way." Imni sounds like she's smiling.

5. Children?

"They're a bounty hunter," Din explains for the umpteenth time.

"They tried to assassinate you," Bo-Katan replies for the umpteenth time.

"I've done worse in their shoes."

"But you're not in their shoes anymore. You are Mand'alor."

"I'm still a hunter."

"You are Mand'alor."

Din looks to Senator Organa, who's trying not to laugh. She resembles the Jedi strongly; it had been a shock to know the Huttslayer is Grogu's teacher's twin sister. He now knows the Jedi is called Luke Skywalker. He'd been about to find out more when a sniper got him right between the beskar.

He'll be fine, especially with the fancy tech on Coruscant. It's practically a five star treatment compared to Din's usual experience. Only now Bo-Katan is insisting the hunter be put on trial or something.

Din tries again. "Let's just talk. Find out who hired them."

"They won't leave without their reward," Bo-Katan says.

"They might be Guild. I can get in touch with Karga, get them another job."

Bo-Katan looks at him with the slightly narrowed eyes of a person who's looking at an absolute moron. Din doesn't feel like he deserves that, thank you.

"You want," she says, "to get your would-be assassin another job."

"Might not be as high, but they seem like they can take on more than one. They're capable."

Bo-Katan mouths capable. She looks to Organa as if pleading for patience.

Organa clears her throat. "Mand'alor. Would you feel the same if one of your people was shot?"

The anger is sharp and sudden. Din breathes through it. "I'm supposed to protect them. It's not the same."

Bo-Katan gestures to him. "You see what I have to deal with?"

Din balks. Organa stops fighting her grin.

"I think we should take this to the conference room," Organa says, "If the Mand'alor feels able."

Din stands without wobbling and motions for her to lead the way. He waves to a stiff Kai and Kol, and they settle behind him.

The conference room is full of seething Mandalorians.

"You guaranteed our Mand'alor's safety!" Jaz bellows, hands flat on the table. "You go back on your word so easily?"

Caju is coiled to strike. "It was a mistake to come here. We should have known better."

These are but two voices among the throng. The other senators are various shades of pale and flushed, some trying to calm the situation while others are yelling back.

"Don't suppose you can help?" Organa asks sardonically.

Din sighs. He draws his spear and hits it against his vambrace. The room cuts off mid-shout.

"Have we found out who hired them?" Din asks.

One of the senators, a human male whose hair is mussed from running his fingers through it, says, "Yes."

"And where is the hunter?"

"Captured," Vadde replies tightly, "Alive."

Din nods and heads for the nearest seat. He pauses when the Mandalorians part for him, showing the head of the table. He awkwardly changes course.

"Tell me about the employer."

"You're what."

Din punches the code for the cell. "I got you some new pucks. Together, it should be close to what this job would've paid." The door opens. "I'll go with you to your ship, make sure they let you pass."

The hunter's frog eyes stare widely. Din wonders if their species ever blink.

"You are a world leader," the hunter says, "I tried to kill you."

"So I've been told."

"You realize you should be executing me, right? Or at least sending me to max prison?"

Din huffs. "I've been told that too. I've also been a bounty hunter. You don't seem like you have close ties with your employer, which means you're only in it for the money. You're not a threat to my people."

"I could be."

"Then I'll kill you." Simple, matter-of-fact. "Do you want me to? I can think of at least a dozen ways right now."

The bounty hunter finally blinks. "...no."

"Then let's go. Sooner we get you going, the sooner I can get back to getting coordinates for my kid."

The hunter takes a few hesitant steps. Kai and Kol are pillars of ice, but they don't attack. Din starts walking.

"So, uh. The rumors about your Foundling are true?" the hunter says.

"Yep."

"Huh. You're, uh. I mean, you seem like a good dad, then."

Din's throat goes tight. "He's with his kind now. I am no longer as his father."

"...oh," the hunter croaks.

A beat.

"He is father to his people," Kol snaps.

Din whips around so fast his neck nearly cracks. Kol raises her chin, as if daring him to argue.

"We..." Din slowly starts walking again, "we take care of each other."

"You take care of us, Mand'alor," Kai says firmly.

After a few more paces, the hunter says, "I actually feel a little bad for trying to kill you."

Din huffs a laugh, still reeling. "Thanks."

As he watches the hunter take off, Din murmurs, "You honor me."

Softly, Kai says, "It is what you deserve, Mand'alor."

"And," Kol adds, "it's fun to watch when people realize you're not angry, just disappointed."

Kai shoulders her spear to put her hands on her hips, bending slightly at the waist and cocking her head. Din realizes as Kol laughs that she's imitating him. His cheeks burn when he also realizes he's halfway to putting his hands on his hips too.

When she's calmed down, Kol puts a hand on Din's shoulder. "You are as our father, Mand'alor. Let us care for you in turn."

Din has to take at least half a minute to steady himself. He's still hoarse when he says, "You can't shoot the ship."

The sisters sigh.

[imaginingsoftly]

Baseball Trivia Pt.4  - Josh Anderson

Type: Y/N insert shorts, strangers to enemies-ish to lovers, series

Requested: No

Warnings: standard swearing

A/N: This is the final part! Thank you all so much for reading along, and I hope you enjoyed! Just a note on something from the beginning of the piece, an SID is a Sports Information Director. It’s what Y/N does, I just hadn’t mentioned the title previously.

It was uncharacteristically hot in Vancouver, and it fit Y/N’s angry mood. The anger from Josh’s accusations still hadn’t worn off, and it wasn’t making her job any easier as she dealt with yet another SID who couldn’t follow directions. University of Alberta’s SID clearly hadn’t read any of her emails, and she knew he’d been screening her calls once she started making them since he couldn’t be bothered to read the emails. She had access to Alberta’s stats, but only through their website, so she didn’t know if they were updated, and he had yet to get her a starting lineup. Apparently she would have to go above his head for that. 

Tom, one of the grounds guys who had been with the university for as long as she’d been alive, waved as she stomped down the stairs of the press box. “Going to teach some people a lesson?” Tom laughed as she threw her hands up in the air in a ‘you guessed it’ gesture, and she smiled slightly as she slipped outside. It was impossible to stay mad when Tom was around. 

Both of the teams were warming up already, though thankfully Alberta’s coach was standing on the sideline and not running the drills from the field. Their SID was nowhere to be seen, and Y/N was beginning to wonder if he even existed. If he wasn’t in the press box with her he should have been on the field with the coaches. She caught a couple of the players ogling her as they completed their drills, and she groaned inwardly. She was wearing khakis and a university polo, for fucks sake! 

The coach looked in her direction when she was about ten feet away, and he headed in her direction. “Coach Anderson! It’s nice to meet you.” Y/N stuck out her hand to shake as she reached him, and he gripped her right hand with a smile. “I’m Y/N Y/L/N, the SID for UBC. I was hoping to get your lineup for today?” Anderson nodded tightly. 

“Yes, of course,” he said briskly, “Jerry didn’t send it to you?” Y/N shook her head, and he pursed his lips. “That’s the third time this season. I apologize, Y/N.” She smiled at the coach and assured him it was no trouble, even though inwardly she was swearing. As long as she had her lineup, she’d get over it. Several members of the team stared at her as she walked away, she could feel it, but a whistle blew and Anderson yelled at them to get back to work. Y/N smiled inwardly. At least one of the men out here wasn’t an ass.

The game went off without a hitch, and media went faster than usual, and Jerry finally appeared when it was time for media. Who the hell knows where he was during the game. It was early in conference play, and UBC was a hell of a lot better than Alberta. There wasn’t much of a story to be written. Tom was still working on the field when she finished writing her overview, riding slowly on a mower through the field. It would be the women’s turn to play tomorrow, and Y/N knew Tom liked the field to be perfect on game days. He looked happy on his mower, his straw hat still sitting on his head from earlier, when it was sunny. These were the moments she lived for, outside of the chaos of game time. The athletics side of campus was so peaceful at night. Y/N smiled over at the baseball field as she slid past, her favorite place to work. She would have to get Sam, the facilities director, to unlock the gate for her tomorrow. It was her favorite place to work outside of the office. 

She finally left campus a little after nine, and debated stopping to get food. On one hand it would be nice to have it ready after she showered, but on the other it wasn’t in her budget for the week. It was a bone-deep exhaustion that had takeout calling her name as she drove through the city, but Y/N convinced herself it wouldn’t take long to make something small when she got home. Maybe oatmeal. The climb up ten floors in the elevator felt like it took longer than usual, and Y/N let herself into her apartment with a groan. This was her sanctuary. All of the wandering eyes and the unnecessary stress of fighting sexism to prove her worth to the department melted away when she got her first glimpse of the city view every night. The apartment sat in the middle of the city, high enough that she had a fantastic view. Outside of the baseball field, this was her favorite place in Vancouver.

Y/N was just about to open up a beer to shower with when a knock sounded at her door. It was late for visitors, even for Thatcher to show up, so she approached the peep-hole cautiously. Josh stood on the other side, food in one hand and coffee in the other. “What the hell,” Y/N whispered to herself. She looked up to the sky, cursing whoever had given him her address, and opened the door. 

He looked scared when she opened it, and she tried not to laugh at the sight, despite also wanting to slam the door in his face. “What.” Josh bit his lip at the harshness of her tone.

“I came to apologize.” Josh lifted his hands to show the food, as if to prove his words. “I shouldn’t have said what I did. It was in anger, but that’s not an excuse. I’d like to talk, at least try to be civil.” Y/N sighed, but she opened the door further. Josh hesitated, but he stepped inside. 

He looked good, and Y/N cursed her body for how it reacted to him. He looked cozy like always, in joggers and a t-shirt, and Y/N had to mentally hold herself back so she didn’t run her fingers through the dark hair falling in his eyes. Josh gestured silently at the coffee table with the food and drinks, and she nodded. They moved together to the living area, and Y/N hesitated slightly when Josh put the stuff on the table and then settled onto the couch. “Will you sit, please?” Josh’s voice was soft, and she sat before thinking about it. “Bo told me your address,” he said with a small smile, “I’m sure you were probably wondering how I knew it.” She was going to kill him. And Holly. Damn meddling assholes. 

“Did they tell you to apologize too?” The words came out sharper than Y/N meant for them too, and she almost felt bad when Josh leaned back slightly. 

“I was already planning on it when they told me to. If it makes you feel any better, Holly slapped me when I told her what I said.” Y/N put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. Of course she did. “I shouldn’t have acted that way. I was upset, yeah, and probably more than a little jealous, but that’s not an excuse. It wouldn’t have mattered if you did sleep with half the team, I didn’t have any right to call you a puck bunny.” He paused, like he was trying to decide if he should continue.

“Holly also told me a little bit about you, and about your ex. I hate that I talked about you the way that I did, especially since everyone tells me you do so much for the guys. You flinched slightly when I accused you of messing with the team, and I don’t ever want to be the reason you get that look on your face again. If I could take it all back, maybe start over again, I wouldn’t have said any of it.” 

He smiled a little. “Actually, I probably would have mentioned I thought you and Thatcher were dating and that I was jealous, because that part is true. I really like you, Y/N. I’ve been an asshole, and it’s been really easy to ignore it. You’re going to think I’m a total dick when I say this, but you stuck with me after we hooked up. It was hard to believe that you’d left that night, and that you didn’t leave me with anything. No note, no last name, nothing. That’s usually my job.” Y/N broke up Josh’s words as she threw a wadded-up napkin she didn’t realize she was holding at his head. Josh looked at her in shock for a second, and she mouthed a silent ‘sorry’. He began to laugh, and shook his head. “No, I deserved that. It was an asshole thing to say. Anyway, Y/N, I’m really fucking sorry, and I’d like to start over if you’d let me.”

It was hard to stay pissed when he was looking at her with puppy eyes. She was still mad, sure, but damn it he spoke well. And he’d brought food from Luigi’s, her favorite Italian place in the city. Y/N met Josh’s eyes again and made her choice. 

“I don’t want to start over.” Josh deflated a little bit, and she registered a surprising level of disappointment in his eyes. He began to stand, nodding, but Y/N reached out a hand to stop him. “I’m not going to pretend last night didn’t happen, and I sure as hell don’t want to forget our night in Ohio.” Josh looked down, eyes wide, and she smiled slightly. “I like you. A lot. But if you ever talk about me like that again I will make you wish you’d never stepped foot in Vancouver.” She squeezed Josh’s arm slightly to go with her warning, and he nodded. Josh sat down slowly.

Y/N released his arm, only to grip his hand lightly. “You want a beer? I’d offer you wine, since you guys usually drink that stuff during the season, but I hate the shit. I don’t keep any here.” Josh laughed and okay-ed the beer. She stopped to take a deep breath into the open fridge door, letting the cool air wash over her face. It should have felt weird to have Josh in her apartment, just like she knew she should have been more mad than she was, but right now it seemed like up was down and down was up. Nothing made much sense. He sat on her couch, in those damned soft clothes, looking like he was meant to be there. That jolt in her skin when she grabbed his arm was the same jolt she felt in Ohio. There was something there, and she had to explore it. Josh looked back at her, likely wondering why she was just standing in front of the fridge, and she smiled at him. His answering smile took her breath away.

The food was set out across the coffee table when Y/N reached the couch again, and it was her normal order, down to the lack of cheese on the pasta. Josh smiled when Y/N handed him the beer, and she slid past him to sit on the couch in front of the setting he’d made for her. “How did you know what my order is?” Josh’s smile was sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Wait,” she interjected, “let me guess. Bo and Holly.” His answering smile and nod had her shaking her head. They ate silently, though Josh relaxed the longer he sat there without being thrown out. He finally leaned back against the cushions when he finished eating, his beer cradled in his right hand.

“Holly said you don’t hook up very often.” Josh spoke hesitantly, like he was afraid Y/N would change her mind about forgiving him. “Actually, she said never.”

Y/N took her time chewing her spaghetti, organizing her words. “I don’t do emotional detachment very well.” She met Josh’s questioning eyes with a half smile. “I get emotionally attached to people a little too quickly, especially ones I have sex with. I don’t do hookups because hookups lend themselves to emotional detachment and I just end up feeling like shit.” Josh reached over and gripped her thigh lightly, and when he squeezed Y/N was thrown back to Columbus and his hands all over her body. “That’s probably why Holly pushed so hard for you to come over here,” Y/N continued quickly, shaking off the memories. “She knew I was likely already attached to you and not taking the argument well.” 

She leaned back over her spaghetti, fighting the urge to look at Josh. It was pretty weird to admit to being attached to a one-time hookup, she knew that. It didn’t make her any less attached, though. Josh squeezed her thigh again, an attention-getter, and Y/N looked over at him questioningly. His eyes were soft, and an understanding had settled over his face. He was starting to get her, and that made Y/N feel damn good.

“I got pretty attached too.” He was? Josh ran his hand through his hair roughly, and Y/N lamented the loss of the weight on her leg. “I’m not used to being attached to a woman romantically like this, but I just can’t get you out of my head. It was easy for a while, until last night actually, but now that I see you again I need to keep you around.” His hand left Y/N’s thigh, and she lamented the loss momentarily. His hand quickly found a home where her neck met her shoulder, and Y/N stared into Josh’s eyes intently. “I want the whole damn thing with you, Y/N Y/L/N. The awkward dates, the good dates, the family meetings, the sex,” Y/N groaned at the last one, and Josh shot her a smile. “I fucked up royally, but I promise I will do everything in my power to make it up to you.” 

If he didn’t do anything else well, Josh was made for pretty speeches. Y/N found herself nodding quickly before she could change her mind, and Josh perked up. “Yeah?” She nodded again. “Yeah,” she whispered back.

______________________________________________________________

It took almost 2 months before they told the team they were dating. The Horvats suspected, because they were the only ones who knew about the argument, but everyone else just thought Y/N was accepting Josh into the fold much like she had every other member of the team. Y/N smiled to herself from her spot next to Holly, waiting in the hallway after the game. Gunnar was settled into Y/N’s arms, sleeping finally. He’d become colicky, and sometimes Y/N’s arms were the only ones he would relax in. Holly said she was a baby whisperer, but Y/N insisted it was because he could tell she was the cool aunt. 

Josh’s arms came around her from behind, settling on her hips as he rested his head on her shoulder to stare down at Gunnar. “You look good with a baby.” Josh’s words were whispered, but Holly clearly got the gist. She smirked, and raised a hand to high five her husband as he reached their group. 

Bo obliged, though he looked confused by both her enthusiasm and the way Y/N and Josh were standing.“They finally got together!” Bo’s confusion turned to one of mischief, and he turned around to holler at Thatcher. Y/N groaned, because she knew what was coming.

“Yo! Dems!” Thatcher turned away from his spot chatting up Jordie and Jessie to raise an eyebrow at Bo. “You owe me fifty bucks!” He pointed at Y/N and Josh, the latter of which raised a hand to wave at Thatcher. Thatcher’s face split as he barked out a laugh, and the team began to cheer. Bo turned back to the pair with a smile. “We’ve been taking bets on how long it would take for you two to get together. I had bet you already were, but hadn’t told anyone. Guess I was right.” 

Y/N rolled her eyes, though she settled deeper into Josh’s chest. Of course they’d bet on it. Boys would be boys. Thatcher broke free from his conversation to make his way over, stopping in front of them with a glare Y/N could tell wasn’t that serious. “Hurt her, I kill you. I don’t care if you’re my teammate, that’s my family.” Josh nodded seriously, and Y/N rolled her eyes again. Boys. 

She handed Gunnar back to his parents with a smile and a goodbye. Josh gripped her hand as they walked to the parking lot, and Y/N squeezed back gently. “I’m really thankful I broke my no-athlete rule for you.” 

Josh didn’t speak for a minute, though he opened the car door for Y/N and waited as she settled into the seat. He leaned forward and kissed her gently. “I’m really thankful you know so much random sports shit.”

[ninjakitty15]

Chapter 11: Tell Tale Hearts (Loki X OFC Pairing)

"You've been holding out on me," Loki noted later.

"We've not known each other long and there's just some things you don't need to know, besides, I'm sure there's lots I don't know about the trickster god." We were currently taking a stroll through the nearest park to get some fresh air and out of Tony's hair.

"Not if Thor has anything to say about it," Loki muttered. "If I won't tell you, he probably will, especially after you introduced him to moosetracks, he probably believes he's in debt to you for allowing him the last bit."

"Yeah but like he's never around so I'll still get nothing on you."

"What I don't get is why you don't seem to use those skills you used on me in the battlefield?"

I snorted. "What? Bo staff fighting? It's a pacifist weapon unless you're really motivated and skilled and aint nobody got time for that."

"I mean close range combat."

"Why do something yourself when you can get an army to do that for less?"

He scowled at me but couldn't come up with anything to rebuke that. "I hate your logic."

"But you love me so it all works out in the end." I stopped walking and kicked off my shoes to expose bare feet despite it behind in the 50's, feeling for the dead beneath the earth as well as just enjoying the feeling of nature against my flesh.

"Is that so?" he challenged, studying my actions as I stood still, eyes slightly closed to block out distractions aside from him.

"Typically people, gods or not, don't go through measures to protect their live-in booty call, not to mention you pretty much swearing yourself to me a few days ago. Just because I was on a warpath, doesn't mean I'm gonna forget what you said once I calmed down."

"And you have experience in this area, do you?"

I opened my eyes to meet his, turning to him out of curiosity and while his tone was light and teasing I could tell from his expression he genuinely wanted to know my history there. "Does it matter?"

"I just want to know if there's another man out there that death comes for?"

"What if I told you it was a woman?" I teased, cackling when his eyes widened at my response. "Many women actually at one point, since you asked. I told you, I'm all about ultimate pleasures, they're all that's keeping me from going numb and truly dead. Much like Tony before he decided to stick to the one under his nose the entire time."

"What changed?"

"Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Sorry, couldn't resist. Many things changed but long story short, things got complicated and I couldn't keep burying myself in boobs to stay alive when I wasn't really alive at all and that much closer to the grave. At the moment though, there is only you. Nothing compares to you. Is that why green is such a good color on you, because you're always jealous of something...or someone?"

He scoffed at my attempt to throw shade at him. "No other color does me justice aside from gold and while I am royalty, I'm not nearly that pretentious like my adoptive father wearing just gold."

I tried to imagine him in just gold attire and wrinkled my nose at the mental image. "Valid point there, I wouldn't fall for you in just that either, not that much of a golddigger."

"Though something tells me you have a soft spot for immortals of sorts."

I smirked and shrugged. "Something like that."

"You don't have what you midgardians call 'a crush' on Thor, do you?"

"I'm not overly fond of the facial fuzz among other things."

"What other immortals besides me then?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

Loki scowled at me. "Stop teasing me, woman."

"Nah, where's the fun in that?" I walked to the pond in the park and stepped into the water, not bothered by the coldness of it as my feet sunk into the earth more. So much death and decay underneath the life on the surface, the dead would always outnumber the living, it was such a waste without necromancers recycling the bodies. And we were fast becoming an endangered species which meant even more bodies left to rot away. And there were still so many souls with unfinished business that deserved to rest but couldn't till they got their last fight in. I shut my eyes, listening to them, watching them, offering them a chance when I could, they needed peace but to do that, they had to join another war. Strange how you needed the opposite of something to achieve something sometimes. "There's so many of you, take care who you choose to follow, I'd hate to have to send you back without getting what you need from them."

"Nell," Loki spoke softly with uncertainty.

"The dead," I responded. "This planet is full of them and I don't want them in the wrong hands."

"You worry about the dead like normal midgardians worry about the living, regardless of their current status you can't protect them all."

"And that's the side effects of being what I am, there's always a catch isnt there? Sure they no longer feel pain in their rotting meat suits but they're souls, beautiful burning souls that need peace at the end of the day."

"What happens to the soul in the wrong hands?"

"They're collected, contained and used as a weapon against others. I told you, souls are nuclear reactors, a dangerous power source that can be super destructive to others and itself."

"Is it difficult for others like yourself to get a hold on them?"

"Depends on how strong they are and how powerful their powers have become." I opened my eyes and turned around to face him, walking out of the water and placing a hand on his chest, for some reason I always got a bit excited feeling his heartbeat. I didn't take my eyes off his. "You have to be quick and careful, reaching in to grab something that could potentially kill you just by touching it. You're also a bit exposed yourself being in such close range to your prey and while simply holding it is the worst form of pain imaginable to the person you're grabbing, they usually survive simply being held so if you want the job done, you gotta rip it right out of them but that exposes its raw power as a soul. Not many necromancers can hold onto an exposed soul without side effects that may include their own death."

"Have you ever done it yourself?"

"Once or twice ages back, I won't be making a habit of it though."

"What were the side effects then?"

"Took too long disposing the damned thing and sorta kinda leveled the building we were in as well as nearly blowing myself up in the process. Worth it though, that was one bad egg I won't lose sleep over destroying without peace. May have lost a bit of myself in the process too."

"In what way?"

"You'll find out if I can get to the other bad eggs of necromancy before the Avengers do, easier to show you than tell you. I'll give you a hint though." I stepped back, dropping my hand from his chest to take his and put it on mine. "What do you feel?"

He was quiet for a second, his eyes not leaving mine. "There's no heartbeat, I knew that already. But there's something there, isn't there? You told me the magic keeps you moving, is it that?"

"It's more than magic. What is it you told me at one point? Someone that can survive something likely to kill most virtually unscathed is the definition of immortal. Very few necromancers can survive handling an exposed soul that's bursting but no one should be able to survive that plus a crumbling building and no escape routes and I did both."

He was quiet, almost mesmerized by what he was feeling beneath the undead flesh. "It's ancient. But it can't be-"

"Not an infinity stone," I assured him. "We have no need for those, we have our own stones of power to use how we please."

He stared deep into my eyes once he realized what I hinted at. "It's in there, isn't it?"

"It's part of me, yes. Fused to my soul so no one can rip it out of me, wasn't my idea initially, I opted for having it broken into shards and then have them implanted throughout my body but apparently I had no say in the matter."

"What about that necromancer you got to before? Where was his jewel?"

"The dagger, pretty common tactic for the lesser ones like him, keep the tools together like that. I absorbed it when I first picked it up, it's why it would've eaten away at you if you got to it first, only necromancers can handle their own tools."

"But they can't get yours?"

"Two highly destructive almost unlimited power sources fused together, no one on this planet could even touch it without instantly blowing themselves up, let alone ripping it out."

"If it wasn't your idea to do that, then whose was it?"

"Uh uh, spoilers."

He frowned and his hand moved from my chest to cup the side of my face. "Troublesome woman."

"You love it."

A smirk tugged at his lips as his tilted my head up and dipped his head to snag a kiss from me. "So what if I do?"

"Then someone went to Oz and got themselves a heart," I teased.

He pulled me against him and shut me up with a hotter, longer kiss. Away from the Avengers, away from Hydra and everything that was causing me a massive headache, and as close to nature and what I love as I was allowed while still under house arrest more or less. This was my tiny slice of paradise and peace before it would most likely all go to shit.

[chipthekeeper]

chip grades the star wars

by representation of women

Time for more unasked for and only mildly thought through opinions by me. Usually I rate with numbers but for whatever reason this one was easier to do by letter grades (American-style, sorry). I’ve been known to forget important shit so I reserve the right to totally change my mind once I remember or am reminded. Okay, worst to best with the women I can name/remember and not-so-brief explanations:

Resistance:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I wish I’d kept watching this both times I’ve started. Seems like there’s some good women in it. But unfortunately still a male lead. Bleh.

Revenge of the Sith: D-

Crying Padme…………….Beru cameo….dead Jedi… -- This one is ROUGH. If I didn’t love the movie it would be an F. There’s literally one woman who appears for more than like 10 seconds and she gets murdered by her husband. Not a great look.

Attack of the Clones: D

Padme, dying Shmi, uhhh...Jocosta Nu…? -- Maybe could have been C level if they hadn’t made poor Padme look so insane in falling for Anakin AFTER he rants about slaughtering a bunch of innocent people for no reason.

Empire Strikes Back: C-

Leia…..randos in background -- If it was made today, Lando’d be a chick. Lando’d be Sana Starros. I wanna see that movie. Holy shit I wanna see that movie.

The Phantom Menace: C

Shmi, Padme, not-Padme, Yaddle? -- Really running the gamut in this one. We’ve got “everything” from Slave Virgin Mary to badass queen but also is-that-even-the-queen-or-is-it-just-her-decoy. If it was made today there’d be at least 2 lady pod racers so ahem, Lucasfilm get on it.

A New Hope: C

Leia, Aunt Beru -- I was very tempted to rate all the OT ones higher just because of how fucking wonderful Leia is and to be fair she is of course the best female character of the time in this type of movie. But…..come the fuck on. TWO women in a whole movie and one of them wasn’t allowed to wear underwear and the other gets literally roasted to a crisp??? Do better, George.

Return of the Jedi: C

Leia, Mon Mothma…..Jabba’s dancing girls? -- Same shit, different flick.

The Rise of Skywalker: B-

Rey, Leia, Jannah, Maz a little, Rose I guess, Jodie Comer, etc. -- Kinda don’t know what to say about all this. I had B+ at first but I feel like there was a lot of wasted potential. Outside of Rey (and Leia stuff I can’t talk about without losing it) there’s not much to look at here.

Rogue One: B-

Jyn, Lyra, Mon Mothma, Leia cameo, lady pilots!! -- Gonna get up on my soapbox and say that Mon Mothma is one of the most underrated Star Wars characters. I’d talk about Jyn and Lyra but then I might start cr--nope, I’m already crying.

Solo: B

Qi’ra, Val, L3-37 (absolutely counts), Enfys -- I absolutely LOVE every woman in this movie. Would be an A if half the big ones didn’t die :/

The Clone Wars: B

Ahsoka, Padme, Satine, Bo-Katan, various Jedi -- Had this at a C+ before I remembered there were more centrally recurring people than Ahsoka and Padme, BUT. One dies, one’s a part-time terrorist, and the others are just plug and play. Kinda still want to go B- but Ahsoka’s really carrying this shit across the finish line.

Rebels: B+

Hera, Sabine, Governor Pryce, Ketsu, Leia cameo -- I would die and kill for both Hera and Sabine. If and when they come to live action I will cease to exist.

The Force Awakens: A-

Rey, Leia, Maz, Phasma, various rebels -- It’s never not going to give me a chill to watch Rey pilot the Falcon or call the lightsaber to her past [redacted]. Never. I feel bad for every fanboy who hated it. They’re really missing out.

The Last Jedi: A

Rey, Leia, Maz, Phasma, Rose, Holdo, various rebels -- Physically pains me to give this such a strong grade when one of the things I loathe about this movie is the Rey + [redacted] stuff but I’m big enough to say it does a great job with basically everyone else. Except Phasma. Fuck you for that one, Rian. (also someone ask me about Holdo, I need to talk about her more than this)

The Mandalorian: A

Cara, Omera, Pelli, Fennec, Xi’an, Frog Lady, Bo-Katan, Koska, Ahsoka -- I mean holy shit. So many (hot) women. So many different kinds of women! This is the bar. Oh, if only one of them could be a real full-time character and not written off the show because she’s played by a trash person :((((((  (also, like,,,fucking name Frog Lady pls. Misty Rosas deserves that)

Bonus grade for canon SW books/comics: A+ --  Doctor Aphra, Sana Starros, Rae Sloane, Norra Wexley, Alphabet Squadron gals, Avar Kriss & other High Republic ladies, so many more -- On the whole, this is actually the standard. So many of these things have female leads and there’s absolutely no reason not to do that more on the big screen. I have no idea what some of my favorite Star Wars women are supposed to look like because they’re just stuck in books. Which is a great medium, don’t get me wrong. But they deserve more!!

[thebibliomancer]

Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics liveblog pt 15

As loath as I am to admit it, I probably need to do some encounter leveling. Looking ahead, the Stonewood unite the clan missions are for level 37. I don't even have anyone level 30 yet!

I'm slightly agitated because up until this point the game has been decent at keeping the level progression tied to the difficulty curve. I hadn't needed to grind a lot. But there's a sudden spike in difficulty at this part of the game. Which I suppose is fair in one sense since this is endgame but on the other hand, boo.

Gobbles: Hup and Boggi leveled. Kylan learned Blinding Light. Naia learned Cleave 2.

Swamp: Rian learned Aughra's Ire, Kylan UNLOCKED SONG TELLER! Gurjin and Boggi leveled. And Hup learned Bad Broth which lets you detonate a cauldron.

Back to the tavern, oh god: Actually I executed this one flawlessly and killed all the enemies before they ever had a chance to attack. I don't love having to grind but I do love feeling how far I've come.  Anyway, Naia, Rian, Brea, and Boggi all leveled but didn't learn anything. But I did find Shimmering Scale and a Sharpened Dirk.

Place where Chamberlain abandoned his car: Gurjin leveled, Deet leveled and learned Overthink 2, Rek'yr leveled and learned Opening Act, Hup leveled and unlocked Musician. TIME FOR A CAREER CHANGE.

I'm giving Hup a Custom Bass. He deserves it.

Place where Chamberlain abandoned his car, again: Rian leveled and learned Thorns. Naia leveled. Found a Heavy Cleaver, by the side of the road. Weird what people leave laying around.

Cave: I love when my entire party is beserked so I get to watch the game play itself. Its the best. But Wukki leveled. Rek'yr leveled and learned Spot Weakness. Brea leveled and learned Firemoss Bundle 2. And Kylan leveled and learned Scathe.

Swamp: Hup died. Boggi leveled. Naia leveled and learned Smite 2. Gurjin leveled and learned Tangle Up 2. And I found a spoon. Naia and Gurjin also hit max lvl in Paladin and Stone Warden respectively so I'm switching them to Soldier and Paladin respectively so they can learn more stuff.

Desert: Hup leveled and learned Perform, which I should hope so since he's a musician. But its a self cast ability that makes adjacent allies take their turns faster. Deet and Kylan leveled. Found a Student Thesis, just abandoned in the desert. Isn't it sad?

Bar again: Rian leveled and learned Cascade AND CAN BECOME A STRATEGIST NOW! Ivo leveled and learned Fleet Shot 2. Wukki leveled.

Bar again again: Rek'yr leveled and learned Poisoned Blades. And got Arathim Shell Plating! This is going right on Rian!

Swamp again: Geeze, I hate Threaders. Anyway. Boggi, Brea, and Hup leveled. Deet leveled and learned Earthen Roots 2.

Desert: Kylan leveled and learned Thrum of Power, which is an awesome name for a move. It heals and grants haste for one turn.

Road to Ha'rar area: Oh fun another encounter where my whole party gets beserked so I get to watch the game play itself. Why not, not being interactive sure saves me some time. Wow, look at it go. Hooray, I won. Naia, Gurjin, and Breg leveled. And I found a Warforged Battleaxe.

A different swamp: Alyadon leveled and learned Convalesce 2. Nobody else leveled. I think I'm getting to the point where this level of encounter is becoming less cost effective. This is leaving poor Rian the only member of the party who isn't level 30. Isn't it embarrassing, Rian? Also I found a Custom Bass just sunk into the swamp.

That road to Ha'rar place again: Ivo and Wukki leveled. Rian leveled and learned Flow of Battle. Also I found an Exquisite Poignard.

And that gets everyone at least level 30. Hopefully that'll do for now the next stretch of the game.

---

Mission: Podling Rush - Spriton Village

"A Spriton village is in trouble. Something has driven the neighboring Podlings mad! Help hold off their attacks."

Finally back to this! Where hopefully the podlings aren't revolting for their right to be dirty!

Oh, looks like I have some friendly Spriton villagers on this map.

... Oh. Oh, shit! Darkened Podlings! This possible global warming allegory has gotten serious!

Party: Hup because he is a Podling, Brea and Boggi because heals, Rek'yr because he was there, and Deet because this is her subplot. The Darkening, I mean.

Rek'yr: "This village is in terrible shape. What happened here?"

Spriton Villagers: "The Podlings are back! Run!"

... THE NPCS JUST RAN AWAY! Were they on the map just to ditch me? Rude!

Rek'yr: "Why are the villagers so afraid of a few Podlings?"

You've been in a party with Hup for so long and you can still ask that?

Rek'yr: "Wait... Somethign isn't right with them. We have to defend this village!"

Only three podlings on the map. I FEEL as if that will change.

Geez, these Podlings pack a wallop. One of them walloped half of Brea's health off with one wallop.

Deet has avenged her with a good book. That shoots death.

Rek'yr and Hup team up to knock down another one of the Darkened Podlings and whoops, that was the event trigger for more spawn-ins. And they brought darkened armaligs! Hate those guys! They're way too beefy!

Theres three new podlings and two armaligs. Grumble grumble.

-peer up at the top right- Why does that mission objective box say "Defeat the Podling Raids 1/3"? Are there going to be three waves of this?

Two of the podlings that spawned in for the second wave don't have ranged attacks so whenever they get close I just have Deet use Gust 2 to blow them further away. And Rek'yr is situated on a raised area potshotting them with bolas. I almost feel bad.

Hup lays out another podling with his instrument because that podling kept hitting Hup's good pal Brea.

ARMALIG ATTACKED MY DOGGO and the other armalig attacked my Brea. RUDE.

Brea avenges herself on the armalig with FIRE

Annnnd oops, triggered the third wave. Four more podlings, two more armaligs from the left and bottom of the map.

Note to podling potion master: Just because you silence Deet doesn't mean she can't use her rad spellbook to explode you. Sincerely, me.

Alas Hup. You were my first casualty. RIP you brave Podling.

The result of the three waves of enemies around about roughly my level is that I'm running out of MP on my peeps. But I did win with only poor, brave Hup falling (unconscious) for the cause.

Rian: "What would cause Podlings to go berserk like that?"

Brea: "We need to investigate the Podling village."

We'll probably find a lot of pissed off podlings. Although, hey, they made a bunch of podling assets for Hup so might as well find a way to use them, right? Good thinking, game!

So Boggi and Deet leveled. Brea leveled and learned Soothe 2. Rek'yr leveled and learned Death's Instinct, which is just an amazing name for an ability. And Hup learned Ad-Lib.

Also, I haven't talked about pearl rewards for a while but they have been increasing as the game went on. I got 4000 thousand some for this mission. Nice.

---

Mission: Interrupted Journey - The Long Road

"Your party journeys to the Podling village and meets an unexpected ally."

Ooo! Another new character for the game? I'm quite interested.

Iiiiiits.... POMBO! He's a Podling Musician. I'm filled with sudden dread that he's going to fill the last slot in my party instead of Tavra or Seladon. Which. I guess I'd be okay with. I don't know what I could do with Tavra or Seladon at this point. It'd be cool to have them but I've got a lot of Gelflings doing various things. Naia is a bombass paladin, Tavra would just have to play catch-up. And I got two fizzgigs so why not two Podlings?

Anyway, there's more Darkened Podlings to contend with.

Party: Gurjin, Naia, Breg, Kylan. Team Naia's Posse and Breg.

Pombo: "Gelflin tonpee apida. Bo nai! BAD WATER!"

Gurjin: "That Podling is asking for our help. What do you mean by, 'bad water?'"

Pombo: "Tonpo Gelfli-da, pyata Gelflin dzuchocho apyama-da!"

Gurjin: "Pombo says he will help us if we promise to save his village."

Don't have to ask me twice.

Rian: "Pombo is a Podling Musician. If we support him with Positive Status Effects, his music can change the tide of battle!"

I don't... remember if I have any positive status effect abilities equipped to my guys?

Oh cool, he's not controlled by me. He's just doing his thing. And he did

ULTIMATE SOLO! -thrashes on lute-

Which hurts every enemy and heals every ally. Nice.

Luckily, Kylan is a Song-Teller and is very motivating.

Having watched ULTIMATE SOLO a couple times. The animation for it is delightful.

Alas, Breg and Naia killed by Darkened Podlings.

I just noticed, right after a Podling hit him with an attack that took off half his health, that a win condition is that Pombo can't die. Whoops.

But good ol' Kylan Scathe'd the last Darkened Podling.

Rian: "Pombo, what is happening? Why are the Podlings attacking?"

Pombo: "Skeksisa lolemilod nai-da. Yotsa uchapapodche ada shopo-pida dze ulendzi Gelflin-da ya!"

Hmm, I'm not sure if Pombo is going to join the party if he doesn't speak... Gelflish? Its going to be hard for him to get random lines to remind us that he's still in the party.

Rian: "The Skeksis poisoned your water? This sounds like one of the Scientist's schemes!"

He rarely has schemes really. He mostly has other people yelling at him until he does stuff.

Don't know how I feel about the Scientist actively darkening podlings instead of the Skeksis just not giving a shit.

HOLY SHIT I DID JUST UNLOCK POMBO

MY LAST PARTY MEMBER IS POMBO I CANNOT BELIEVE

Anyway, everyone level up! Everyone learn a thing!

Kylan learned Enchanting Tune (stuns enemy at two paces)! Naia learned Sharpen Blade 2 (attack up and crit chance up), nice! Gurjin learned Edged Slice (high damage and recoil) and Vindicate (defense down on enemy on crit) because he leveled twice! So did Kylan, actually. Breg learned Daring Strike 2! Which I probably won't use! Its so much setup!

Oops Breg has hit the end of the thief tree. Guess I'm switching him over to Tracker!

Hm, now that I have Pombo who has just so many levels in Musician and Potion Master already, I think I'm going to switch Hup back away from Musician. Don't need two musicians but I am missing out on some high level abilities in other jobs.

WHY HECK HUP I GUESS YOU CAN BE A PALADIN AFTER ALL! Its a feel good character arc for him. He gets to live his dream after all.

AND I'M BUYING HIM A GRAND LADLE!

---

Mission: Dark Poison - Podling Hollow

"The heroes reach the Podling village. They must stop The Scientist's wicked experiment and save the Podlings."

Holy crap, do I get to beat up the Scientist? Heck ye!

... I don't see him on the map. Alas.

Party: Alyadon, Rian the smart hero guy, Ivo the guy, Brea, and Wukki!

Lets finish off the Spriton missions!

I'VE BEEN TRICKED! THE SCIENTIST SPAWNS IN AS SOON AS THE LEVEL STARTS! I GET TO BEAT UP THE SCIENTIST!

The Scientist: "Cursed Podlings! The latest formula increases aggression, but the effects are too temporary. I'll never create a new army at this rate!"

I can imagine the movie Scientist's voice saying this.

But ah ha! I understand how it fits in now! The spiders betrayed the Skeksis, probably, so this is Scientist's first attempt. An army of angry Podlings. Good try, SkekTek.

Ok so the Scientist is the weeniest of Skeksis according to letting the Ornamentalist fight in battle but not Scientist. So he only has 1500 HP compared to the General who had 2000.

He's also got a cool electricity glowy steampunk esque spear. Pretty neat.

He's got Scalpel Slice which is what his attack is called. He's got Explosive Cask, where he throws an explosive cask. He's got Salt the Earth where he poisons an area. WITH A RANGE OF 8?? GOD! And he's got Chain Lightning which chains lightning to two additional targets.

This is going to hurt.

All we have to do is defeat the Scientist. This is going to hurt.

This is hurting. I'm getting my asses kicked. But I hit Scientist twice and he ran off to the other side of the stage to unleash his latest invention.

Lightning Aura - increases his magic, magic defense and defense by 100%. Rude.

aww he shot lightning at the doggo...

Welp. Everyone dead except Brea and Alyadon...

On the plus side, I've almost killed all of the minions. On the negative side, everyone dead except Alyadon.

On the other negative side, Scientist just killed Alyadon.

On the other other negative side, Salt the Earth really does Salt the Earth. The poison lingers forever.

---

TIME FOR SOME LEVELING HA HA dangit.

That place with the car: Another one of those where everyone gets taunted so the game plays itself =\

Alyadon and Wukki didn't level because they died. Ivo leveled and learned nothing. Rian leveled and learned Unfailing Blow (100% hit chance attack, its going right on Rian).

The Gobbles: Brea, Boggi, Hup, Alyadon, and Wukki leveled and didn't learn a darn thing!

That tavern again!: Naia, Breg, and Deet leveled! Alyadon leveled and learned Thorns! I found some random Fang-Studded Armor!

That road to Ha'rar place: Rian, Brea, Wukki levelled and learned nothing! Found a random Sharpened Longsword!

Sinking Isle: It occurs to me that although the tides mechanic is interesting and anxiety inducing, it can also lead to a boring level if, for instance, the enemies are localized to one side of the map so most of the level is spent moving around the map not fighting anyone because the level has some chokepoints.

Boggi leveled. Hup leveled and learned Thwack! 2! Ivo leveled and learned Eye Shot 2!

Desert: Something else I've noticed is that encounter levels have the same level elements that they did in the story mode. Including the glowy exit square. They don't do anything. They just obviously didn't make a version of the level without it.

Deet leveled and learned Life Exchange 2 (can use Life Exchange on enemies)! And has learned all the things in Adept!  Rek'yr leveled and learned Finish the Job (100% crit chance against non-boss enemy with less than 30% health)!

Citadel balcony: another one where everyone was beserked so the level played itself. Ho hum.

Naia leveled. Breg leveled and learned Aimed Shot. Gurjin leveled and learned Flurry of Steel. Kylan leveled and learned Stick and Stones (deal damage and inflict wounded may break your bones).

Hidden Grotto: Only Ivo leveled. BUT I found a Master's Opus. Its a magic book.

Drifting Dunes: Rek'yr, Pombo and Wukki level! Rian levels and learns Inspiring Presence (adjacent allies get critical chance up)! Alyadon levels and learns Cascade!

Sinking Isle again: Deet drowned =(

Boggi leveled. Gurjin leveled and learned Retribution.

Swamp: Deet leveled and learned nothing. Brea leveled and learned Awaken 2. Naia leveled and learned Bash 2.

And now that I've got a few levels under my belt, back to the mission.

Mission: Dark Poison - Podling Hollow

"The heroes reach the Podling village. They must stop The Scientist's wicked experiment and save the Podlings."

Bought a bunch of Nebrie Milk to make me immune to poison. That's just strategery that is.

No but seriously. Most of what Scientist does is lob poison. All of my party is either equipped with Nebrie Milk or Drenchen. Hopefully, I've hit this challenge in the knee.

And dang with Smite 2, Naia did six hundred damage! That's a third of his hpees!

But blah blah blah lightning aura and chain lightning time. It hurts. A lot. BUT: he can't target you from a distance if you're in the tall grass, with the velociraptors.

And boom, Scientist ass kicked. Mostly by Rek'yr who goes so often.

The Scientist: "This experiment is a complete failure! I must return to the Castle."

Rian: "The Scientist is dealt with, but what about the poor Podlings?"

Pombo: "A hup milasazabo pyata uchaahipu apyama-da!"

Deet: "A song? To put them all to sleep?"

... So. Are we just going to put the problem to sleep and hope it sorts itself out?

Gurjin leveled and learned Smite. Naia, Brea, and Boggi leveled. Rek'yr leveled and learned Silent Lunge (jump to an empty tile, Get Attack Up, rooted, and silence to self, does not end turn. So I guess you can jump somewhere and then attack? Worth a look)!

I also pick up the Leaf-Bladed Chopper, the Spriton Clan Axe! And the Scientist's Manual!

Oh, there's a cutscene of the zombie/darkened podlings surrounding our party on a hill and then Pombo does his music and puts them all to sleep.

Deet: "Tomorrow this will all seem a distant dream"

BUT HOW

Wait wait wait, shit. Scientist as much as said it. The formula is temporary so if we put them all to sleep they’ll wake up restored. You win this round, game writing.

The Leaf-Bladed Chopper has a higher attack bonus than the General's Hand Axe but the General's Axe has more assorted stat gains to defense, magic defense, and HP. So I'm sticking with that.

Scientist's Manual is a spellbook. It does even more damage than the Master's Opus so this is going right on Deet.

[penofdamocles]

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100 Random Character Development Questions

Detail one secret shame your character feels. 

Dozens of times, in varying situations, Madison’s upset his friends in the normal way, that friends do, when just by being themselves they rub the wrong way with someone who isn’t exactly like them. The problem is that he takes these mistakes extremely seriously, blames himself for not knowing exactly what they wanted and acting accordingly, and feels a need to fix himself in order to never upset the given person again in the future. Whether his friends are actually upset and about what is a grey area that he’s constantly drawing assumptions from, and said friends might disagree with his assessment, but in every instance, willing to do anything to keep them all from giving up on him or hurting him to make him go away, as he believes he deserves, Madison promises to do and be better in the future.In his own eyes, he’s broken this promise dozens of times over. All the things he promises to change or stop are neutral elements of his personality and mental illness twisted into unforgivable flaws inside his own head, or inherent urges written into his angel programming that he blames himself for not being good enough to bypass. The fact that he repeatedly makes these “horrible mistakes” and then is incapable of successfully changing or erasing the part of himself that “caused the problem” is seen as a huge flaw in its own right, inherently selfish that he “refuses” to alter his thought processes to make someone he cares about happier. His friends like him the way he is, of course, and rarely seem to take that promise seriously, but Madison knows that he lied to everyone at some point, and the self-hatred and shame from being built of flaws that he seemingly doesn’t care enough to get rid of, even when they hurt those he loves, has eaten him for a long time. The unkeepable promises just add to that; though he’d never remind anyone he made them.

What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen?

Mads hasn’t seen a lot of things, and would call a few different unrelated events equally “the most beautiful thing”, including his first sunset, his wife, his ward’s birth, the storm he flew into, most of his friends and their neat abilities, he thinks lots of things are beautiful, stuff like that. But one thing always stuck with him, and though he wouldn’t admit it since it seems self-absorbed and arrogant, witnessing his soul’s healing ability activate for the first time, in the context it did, would rank at the top. He didn’t know it existed at all before the power was urgently needed to save Seculus, but the clouds of colorful buzzing light that surrounded them, combined with Sec’s visible improvement and the knowledge that Madison was the one doing this, that he was finally capable of helping his friend (and finally good for something); that stuck with him. Though, he would say that Sec’s look of joy and relief was the most beautiful thing in this situation.

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person?

Oof! Oof!! In Madison’s professional opinion, robbing a person of their free will and ability to choose is bad enough, but the worst thing is going further, taking their memories, and identity, planting desired patterns of thought and mental blocks and traps to keep them from so much as thinking about specific inconvenient things without pain, conditioning them to have certain feelings toward certain things or maybe none at all, punishing them with temporary nonexistence and reinforcement of this programming for every hint of rebellion, pressing and shaping them into the preferred shape until they’re incapable of functioning whatsoever without being controlled and directed. Until they’re something completely different, empty but conscious, molded into a subhuman tool by whoever thought they had the right. Essentially, the worst thing he believes can be done to a person is to make them not a person anymore, without killing them. He gets very strong feelings whenever he sees a situation resembling this, and if it sounds familiar, it should; it’s a thorough description of brainwashing, and word for word what happened, and is still happening, to Madison himself. Of course, he doesn’t see this as ‘the worst thing’ in his own case; he’s not a person, after all! (The depressing irony is lost on him.)

How does your character feel about their own mortality?

Now this is an interesting one, because technically, Madison can’t die again; voices don’t age or get sick, and Madison’s healing ability prevents him from being killed violently unless every spark of his soul were destroyed at once. Even when voices do die, their soul lingers without form as a highly functional but extremely lonely ghost, for the eternity they would’ve had otherwise. However, a recent discovery revealed that if a voice goes for a little longer than a month without visiting the astral plane, they begin to disappear entirely, without the energy of their home plane to sustain them. Without intervention they’ll simply vanish like they were never there. Madison’s been thinking about this latter scenario a lot. The concept of forever, potentially spent alone, scares him, especially with the knowledge that his family is in an afterlife he’ll never have access to, and with each wave of overwhelming hopelessness, the idea of doing absolutely nothing until he completely disappears has tempted him more and more. The hateful growth taking up residence in his head until recently has made matters much worse. He used to have an intense fear of anyone choosing to kill him at any time, and though that was irrational in the first place for several reasons, that anxiety’s gone now. If Madison were mortal, he’d have probably left a long time ago; he’s died before, what does he have to fear from doing it again?

Has your character ever killed anyone?

No he hasn’t! Not even on accident. Madison’s had a pacifistic mindset since he was with his ward, it’s one of his core principles to never resort to violence when angered or upset, even in small amounts. That said, he’s not exactly capable of murder even if he wanted to, with his poor fighting abilities and anxiety around blood, not that he’s had a chance or desire in the past. Even now that he’s learning to use a proper weapon, he’s intent on only using it in defense of himself and others, and though he’s wished death on several people’s abusers at this point, there’s been no need for it yet. Mads believes that it’s his fault directly that the people in his place of work when he died were killed along with him, however, though there isn’t solid proof of that, and if there were, it would have been unintentional and impossible to predict the outcome when it happened.

How strong is your character’s sense of responsibility? What kinds of things trigger it?

Stronger than any other sense he has, that’s for sure; too strong, in fact. Between what he was built to do as an angel in supporting and helping a person with his whole being, his own intense instincts as a parent and friend, and the extremely high standards he holds himself to, Madison takes responsibility for everyone else’s problems and then some. It’s a consistent, unshakable mindset that when he sees someone struggling, he has to help in whatever way he can, or sometimes ways he can’t, which he then puts responsibility on himself for not being capable of. 

Madison when first introduced to the world was wildly inconsiderate of anyone’s wants, feelings, or concerns outside of his ward; he learned how to care about people from Seculus, another angel with a really bad self-sacrifice problem, and he saw her as such a kind person that aer unhealthy tendencies were taken as law. It took so much effort to get to the level of decency Mads has reached now that any sort of dismissal of others’ pain is interpreted as a huge step backwards into the cruel person he was before, that he needs to immediately make up for. His feelings may differ, but whether it’s familial, romantic, ward-esque or empathetic, he offers up everything when someone has a problem of any sort, especially emotional, and if there’s no fixing it, takes responsibility for its very existence, taking on their pain like this makes anything better. This in itself is ironically self-absorbed, though at the same time the only responsibility he takes for his own issues is to claim that he doesn’t matter enough for them to be a concern to himself or others. It’s irresponsible to worry others with his own problems, when they can’t easily be solved and don’t directly impact those besides himself. Obviously this gets frustrating sometimes.

There is also a gripping need to protect others, especially those he cares about. Witnessing someone in danger sets off his angel dad instincts, the first of which is to throw himself between them and the threat, either figuratively or literally. When they won’t let him, he gets panicked, as it feels like he’s forced to stand there and just watch; there are only a couple of people he trusts enough to let them protect him in return. Putting others in harm’s way for his own sake seems irresponsible. (Also ironic!) This is most of the reason he’s learning swordplay, so that he’s more effective in defending others, as opposed to just being a fragile obstacle.

On a lighter note, he feels the same intense responsibility for most living things, and having a pet in his life has helped his own self-care routines somewhat. His dog is relying on him for food, care, and shelter, and if he allows himself to stop functioning entirely or disappear, Madison will be causing him to suffer; thus, he continues to exist, on his worst days, just so Bo won’t have to be in pain. Being told by people, as well, the pain this would cause them, also forces Madison to stick around, but it’s out of guilt, not reassurance at being cared for.

[lovemesomesurveys]

1—are you moody in the morning? Yep. I’m moody throughout the day, but it’s a given before I’ve had my coffee.  2—have you ever behaved like a stalker? Uh, no. 3—do you appreciate other people’s opinions? In the general sense, I accept we all have different opinions and we’re not all going to agree on everything. As for on a more personal level, if I ask for someone’s opinion on something then sure. And even if I don’t on certain things. There’s also certain things I don’t care to hear other people’s opinion on. 4—does baby corn freak you out? No?  5—can you lie and keep a straight face? I’m a bad liar. I used to be good at lying about things like my feelings and saying I’m fine when I’m not, but not so much anymore. My emotions get the best of me now and it shows on my face.

6—have you ever feared for somebody else’s life? Yes. 7—do you prefer honesty, even when it hurts? “Well, if you wanted honesty that’s all you had to say.” Generally, yes. If it’s something sensitive, give it to me gently. If it doesn’t benefit me in any way to know, maybe just not even tell me.  8—have you ever consulted a psychic? Nope. I don’t believe in that. 9—if yes, do you consider yourself a moron? 10—does the opposite sex’s bo turn you on? Ew, no. 11—have you ever stayed in a relationship out of habit? I kind of felt that way with a friendship. I don’t know if habit is the right word, but we had been friends for so long and it was just comfortable and familiar. I also felt bad about ending a friendship just cause I outgrew it or whatever the reason. I ended up doing it, though. I didn’t plan to, but that’s what happened with all my friendships a few years ago. 12—have you ever deliberately not told someone that they had something in their teeth? Ahhh, yes. :X I’m so awkward about that. 13—what was the best decision you ever made? I don’t know. 14—do you have a father- or mother- complex? No. 15—if you could pick your own pet name, what would it be? Something my boyfriend and I come up with. I don’t care for like babe or baby.  16—have you ever masturbated while driving? Um, no. You shouldn’t text or masturbate and drive. 17—how do you feel when someone takes the last of something? It sucks if it’s something I wanted. I’ll be like, “oh no, it’s okay”, but I’m actually kinda bummed haha. 18—how do you feel when people tell you “bless you” or “gesundheit” when you sneeze? I appreciate it. 19—what are you supposed to say when somebody coughs? I don’t say anything unless they’re having a coughing fit. I’ll ask if they’re okay or need something to drink. 20—do you care what’s going on in the world? I do, but I admit that I don’t follow up on that as much as I should. I see stuff in the news, but I’m not very on top of it like I should and used to be.  21—do you pronounce a second “r” in “sherbet” or an “r” in wash? Yeah, I say “sherbert.” I don’t add an “r” to wash. My grandparents pronounce it like “warsh.” 22—do you throw temper tantrums? I get in moody, irritable moods where I feel like a big sensitive, moody baby. 23—have you ever committed a violent crime because of a video game or rap song? No. 24—have you ever actually overheard one of your friends talking shit about you? Yes. 25—how many partners is too many? I don’t care what others do. 26—do you know what the “myspace angles” are? Yeppp.  27—is tom still your friend? if yes, why? I don’t go on Myspace anymore (it’s been over 10 years now), but back when I did I think I ended up deleting him. 28—do you have a sponge frog next to your sink? What’s a sponge frog? 29—do you believe that wearing an aluminum foil hat will stop the government from reading your thoughts? I don’t think they’re reading my thoughts. It does seem that way online, though. Like seriously there have been things I don’t recall ever talking about and there will be an ad for it on Facebook or Instagram. 30—would you rather have a hook for a hand or a peg leg? Peg leg I guess. A hook hand would greatly impact me as a paraplegic who relies on my arms and upper body strength.  31—do you tip the carhops at sonic? I think I did, but I haven’t been to Sonic in like 10 years so I’m not sure. 32—have you gotten drunk specifically to lower your inhibitions? Yes. 33—how close does someone have to be for you to feel obligated to wait and hold the door for them? If they’re behind me or close enough. 34—do you give “breaks” to people who don’t deserve them? (i.e. are you a sucker?) I did that a lot. 35—have you ever been walked in on? Not while having sex if that’s what you’re getting at, but while getting dressed or using the restroom or something. 36—honestly, do you think you’re better than everyone? Absolutely not. I don’t think I’m better than anyone. 37—what do you take to a pot luck? Probably an appetizer platter or dessert. 38—do you examine the tissue after you blow your nose? Ew, no. 39—how do you know when you are an adult? I’m 30 and I’m still not sure, ha. 40—what is your cure for the hiccups? Ugh, I hate the hiccups. Nothing ever helps to get rid of them for me.

[fallout-4-freak]

I noticed you didn't write anything sad yet. Let me change that. >:) Reactions when the companions realize that Sarcastic Jerk Sole (taking the sarcastic option whenever it is available) is actually the result of A) watching their spouse murdered while helpless, B) losing their only child, C) Watching their world literally burn down around them, and D) Everything else the wasteland does to someone, especially someone like sole.

Yikes, sorry this took awhile to get to! It’s been awhile since I wrote something remotely angsty, so it was difficult.

Ada:

”I don’t really know how to say this, but… I think we need to talk about something.”

She feels awkward bringing this issue up to Sole. Yes, they lost their spouse… and woke up centuries later… and had their home torn apart… and had their son stolen… Ada understands to some extent, having experienced the loss of her own family. She’d hoped her first assessments of Sole’s obnoxiously rude personality were incorrect, but it seems like this is indeed the real Sole. If anything, it got worse the more they saw out in the Wasteland.Ada will miss their company, but there’s absolutely no way she’ll stay with someone so genuinely horrible. Grief flows through her circuits once more: she’d hoped she found a hidden gem of a person to travel with, one who was just a bit shaken up or something.

Cait:

”Good God Sole, even I’m not so rude! Get your shite together!”

Even her levels of assholery had a limit. In the beginning, Sole’s sarcasm and cruel tongue were hypnotic, inspiring even. Cait loved teaming up with Sole on just because of that! But it was getting old, Sole was just so violent and rude to everyone. Cait eventually realizes that what had happened to Sole— their spouse dying, child getting kidnapped, and waking up 210 years later— was a bit too much for them. They were fundamentally broken. She understands where Sole is coming from, of course. Her parents and home life made her into something similar. But Sole… Sole was just a bit too far gone in this regard… Cait is torn between leaving for her own health, and slapping some sense into Sole. She’ll probably slap Sole and then leave.

Codsworth:

”Ah, sir/mum/xir? We need to have a talk….”

He’s heartbroken that the Commonwealth had ruined Sole. From the moment they reunited, Codsworth knew something was wrong. The murder, the kidnapping, the time lost. All of it was enough to make them snap. He dared to hope that Sole would bounce back to their normal self, and he tried to make things right with whoever Sole harasses. But given time and travel, Codsworth begins to worry that Sole has been absolutely trashed by the appalling Wasteland. He’ll continue to hope for their recovery, but he might not be able to serve Sole much longer...At least until the day they recover... if it ever comes.

Curie:

”Excuse me, but I think we must discuss something rather… important.”

She’s trembling head to toe when she confronts Sole about their absolutely dreadful behavior. She knows that Sole has had a rough life, so she gave them time to recover. But Sole only ever got worse, got more rude and unpleasant. Curie had grown to tolerate them, but she hated how badly they treated people who really didn’t deserve it. She wanted to help people, not senselessly hurt them!

There’s no way she will ever travel with someone who just wants to hurt, who does no good in the world… even if she does care for Sole, in spite of their flaws. It’s painful to leave their company, but it’s for the best.

Danse:

”Soldier, allow me to phrase this delicately: either shape up, or ship out.”

He wasn’t keen on giving Sole a chance from the get-go. He did think that joining the BoS would help temper their appallingly sarcastic self, but oh boy, he was wrong. Sole seemed to get more angry by the day— Danse understands that they’ve suffered a lot, but goodness. If Sole doesn’t change their attitude and actions real soon, he’s going to have more than a few harsh words for them. And he’d probably let Elder Maxson know that their new, promising recruit is a scumbag. Sure, their firepower was welcome, but at what cost?

Deacon:

”Woah boss, maybe you could bring the hate-o-meter down a couple notches?”

He hardly believes that THIS is the true Sole. They’re so full of anger and hate, always overly sarcastic. Yeah, Deacon did like sarcasm. Guilty as charged. But boy, Sole was way too horrible to nice folks who don’t need that bullshit. He tries to talk to them repeatedly, even telling Sole about his own losses in life. If they don’t feel alone in their struggles, maybe that’d help?

Wrong. Sole just retorts that Barbara deserved what she got, hanging around with such a lying brat. With that, Deacon leaves in a huff. Yeah, he’s never working with Sole again. Fuck that.

Dogmeat:

Isn’t too bothered, as he doesn’t know what Sole is saying. He can tell other people aren’t too happy with them, though! Dogmeat tries to comfort Sole, giving them plenty of attention. As long as Sole treats him well, he’ll gladly stay with them…

Hancock:

”Listen up, ‘sunshine’. I’m only gonna tell you once…”

Being quite a sarcastic guy, he understands Sole well. At first, he even admired their wit and sharp tongue! But once he realized that Sole offends and hurts everyone who crosses their path, and that’s all Sole has to offer…. He’s out. After a failed talk to correct their behavior, of course, he did try. 

Not everyone on the receiving end of their strong words deserved it. Hell, most didn’t! And there was no way Hancock was gonna be around someone so toxic and mean— even if they had a tragic past. 

No excuses for such shitty behavior, especially when it just gets worse each and every damn day.

Longfellow:

”Can you please, for the love of all sweet and good things, shut your yapper!?”

Longfellow doesn’t mind Sole’s behavior initially. He’s a bit gruff himself, after all. He just thought he’d found a kindred spirit. Regardless, it eventually hits him just how rude Sole actually is. Yeah, they had a sucky past. So does everyone else in the damn world! Himself included, and Longfellow makes sure that Sole is aware of that. First, he tries to be kind and patient with Sole. When that yields no results, he starts snapping back at Sole, telling them off whenever they get too mean. Which is often, of course... 

Longfellow eventually just leaves when Sole is sleeping, making sure to cover his tracks so they can’t come crawling back. It breaks his heart to lose his only true friend, but this was not a good person to be around. 

MacCready:

”Hm. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re a real class-act jerk deep down inside!”

He wants to believe that Sole is actually so much better than this. They remind MacCready of himself, when he was a little tot down in DC. Still, at least he grew out of that! Mostly. And losing Lucy did a number on him, but he bounced back. Somewhat.

At least he’s not a total ass like Sole. 

MacCready really hopes that Sole will begin changing their ways… he’s not sure how much longer he can associate with such a toxic person. He also begins trying to make restitution to whoever is on the receiving end of Sole’s brutish acts— a very rare, very out of character thing for MacCready to do. 

He does understand where Sole is coming from, mostly, but there’s no excuse to be this mean to undeserving folks! 

Nick Valentine:

”Hm, y’know Sole? I’ve never met someone quite like you. And I hope I never meet another person like you.”

He didn’t really like how sarcastic Sole was to everyone in the first place. He tries to give them time, once he learns what horrors lay in Sole’s past. Hell, he can relate to some extent! But, as weeks and months go by, he grows less tolerant. Yeah, they had a real rough wake up call. No way to get around how traumatic their past is. But being so ridiculously rude? Couldn’t Sole even try to be a bit less of a sarcastic, cruel jerk?

He eventually stops traveling with Sole. Perhaps if they can work through their demons, he’ll be willing to give Sole a second chance. For now, though, it looks like he’s once again in the market for a new partner.

Piper:

”God, Blue, could you try and NOT be such an jerk?”

She’s got a sassy side, but she saves it for the people who deserve her wrath. Sole, on the other hand, is just a selfish little prick who can’t keep their mouth shut! Sole did have a horrific past that Piper could barely understand… but that really wasn’t an excuse! Piper gives Sole a couple chances, berating them for their hateful words. She’ll then apologize to whatever undeserving citizen received the business end of their ‘wit’. Eventually, though, Piper loses her temper and ends up in an ugly yelling match with Sole. The two part ways quickly after that horrid scene. Piper doubts she’ll ever travel with Sole again, even if they do become a better person.

She does wish them good luck before she storms off, though. After all, even becoming a mediocre person is difficult for someone like Sole.

Porter Gage:

”Hell yeah, you tell ‘em!”

No matter how sassy and arrogant Sole gets, Gage loves them anyways. Their wit and sharp words are quite fun, and seeing folks’ reactions is the icing on the cake! He gets it, Sole needs an outlet for their pent-up rage about their life. About how unfair the Commonwealth is, about how unfair it is that their family was ruined. And damn, they really have a way with words!

He sometimes has to fight down a very unfamiliar feeling, though: guilt.

That’s usually when Sole is particularly mean to a little kid, or someone equally innocent…Gage may be a raider, but he’s not heartless.

Preston:

”Damn, Sole, try to be a bit nicer to these people. Or, better yet, just shut up.”

He’s got very little patience with Sole’s obscenely rude demeanor. Yes, they did have a very tragic past. But descending to this scummy level? So far so fast?

That was inexcusable. Preston asks Sole many times to lighten up, or to just let him talk to folks instead. Sole keeps running their mouth and shoving people around, though. Preston then kicks them out of the Minutemen, and leaves them for good. He doesn’t feel bad about doing so, as they definitely weren’t doing the Minutemen any favors... He’s got a Commonwealth to try and save. 

Even if Sole does shape up, Preston will find it very difficult to trust them again... If ever.

Strong:

”Sole, you talk less! Bash opponents more!”

He’s fine with the threats and rude comments, but he sure wishes that Sole would just shut the fuck up. Strong is sure that Sole has changed for the better, after what ended up happening to them. You had to be the toughest to survive the Commonwealth! And they certainly were tough. Their trauma made them strong, like Strong. Powerful and callous.

He may occasionally tell Sole to shut up and fight, if they talk too much. Sole will respond with some biting comment that flies way over Strong’s head.

X6-88:

”Permission to speak freely? You, without a doubt, are the worst person I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet.”

X6-88 is used to throwing his weight around, to complete missions for the Institute. Regardless, he still had a very grudging respect for the people surviving— nay— thriving, on the surface. He was never too rude to children or innocents either, just forceful in his speaking. He did what he had to do.

But Sole was obnoxiously offensive and rude to everyone.Behind Sole’s back, X6-88 requests reassignment to another person. It’s granted, and the courser can breathe an easy sigh of relief. No more absurdly uncomfortable talks with people, no more snide comments from Sole.He did try talking to them once, before asking to be reassigned. 

That only ended with a harsh brawl, after Sole said some unforgivable things about X6-88 and the Institute.

[burntstarliight-blog]

I was going to make this prettier because I was super excited but it’s late and I am sleepy! Tomorrow I’ll do proper introductions and stuff.

But, basically:

Hey there demons, its me ya girl. ‘Ello, my name is Lívia, and I was going to apply for 3 characters but I ended up applying for fourteen different ones because I apparently have no idea what self control is. I am 22. I’m from Brasil and law school is a tiring business man. 

I created a very basic (VERY BASIC) muses page here. Tomorrow I’ll make it pretty and add details. But, here are some short descriptions of them and honestly... I basically just drag my characters because that’s what they deserve (not you Amy. You deserve the world)

Characters who are basically a dumpster on fire

Amy Rothfuss (Lily James)

Tragic backstory. Young child she will kill to protect. Has way too many secrets. Could use a nap. One time she saw her own shadow and she screamed.

Liam Hopper (Matthew Goode)

WHITE MAN HAS POLITICAL OPINIONS (mostly good tho). But yeah, he is a union leader who should really take a chill pill and treat his immediate family better (tho... they are a mess as well). Anyways, he is my trash son.

Gabriella Smith (Daisy Ridley)

HA. HA. Look, i’m not saying this girl should have watched frozen... but the line ‘You can’t marry a man you just met’ might have been good for her. Because?? Getting married to a guy you met three months ago, while he was on the worst rebound of his life... Not exactly the best decision ever.

anyways she deserves the world. She didn’t finish high school because her family sucked but she is crazy smart.

Kitty Johnson (Eleanor Tomlinson)

the fact she hasn’t accused someone of being the zodiac killer yet is truly a miracle. because??? this girl?? a mess. reads way too many conspiracy theories, reads gothic and detective novels and seriously believe one day she is going to change the world (which you know what?? keep believing in that girl. it’s good for you)

Messy characters

Amanda Buarque (Camila Mendes)

Amanda?? is an actual queen? Not really but she is very rich and pretty much controls everyone in her life since she was twelve because they are all a bunch of dumb dumbs (but she does that lovingly. You know??? She wants what’s best for people... but she should really learn to listen to them.

Jane Blanche (Lily Collins)

Jane isn’t that messy actually but i can’t say she has her life together. On a surface level you might think all she cares about are her dogs, wearing pretty dresses and winning races (she rides horses like a boss). But, she has hidden depths that are very hidden so if you think she is a frivolous idiot... I wouldn’t blame you. That’s how she usually behaves.

Henry Adams (Alfred Enoch)

look?? i am not saying that if you switched his brain with a golden retriver’s one no one would notice the difference, i am just saying Henry is a nice boy that is always trying his best and it should be acknowledged. Why is he messy? Because he has no control over his life.

Lucy Kim (Park Bo Young)

OH LUCY. THIS ONE IS A TRUE MESS. She is feisty, makes very hasty judgements and hates changing her opinions. Would literally fight her shadow if she felt insulted by it. One time she dragged a plant so hard it died and the soil where it stood became infertile.

ok. i am mostly joking. But Lucy is just a lot of fun and is the nicest and most loyal girl ever if you become her friend.

Kinda have their lives together

George Wallace (richard armitage)

george actually has his life together. He is the only one I am truly proud of and he deserves his success. He is a dork with way too much money who decided to become the supporting character of every romantic comedy (he owns a cafe that is also a bookstore). Also writes novels in his spare time and they are very famous. He is proud of them.

Mariana Sayeg (Bruna Marquezine)

Mariana is my child and honestly i love her best. She is a medical resident in the hospital, she is an immigrant form brasil (because why not. i like my country). Honestly, she is the mom friend all of your characters deserve but she has a tendency to complain about literally everything (we love her tho)

Gabriel Montenegro (Oscar Isaac)

he has terrible social skills but he has learned to live with it. Runs a successful business that I still have to determine (its family owned). Dotes on his little sister, takes care of his friends and still has time to have an existential crises every few weeks (okay, he is a little bit of a mess but he is also very good)

Gregory Jackson (John Boyega)

Gregory only cares about a few things: his sister, being a good firefighter and when the next YA sequel of his favorite series is coming out. Honestly, I would say Gregory has his life figured out.... he could be a little less sassy and sometimes he has a tendency to say the opposite of what he means just to mess with people but he is a good boy.

[gotgifsandmusings]

GoT 7x06 Musings

My initial reaction to “Beyond the Wall”

Apparently this is the episode that is pulling the wool off of everyone’s eyes. Not the one where Sansa married Ramsay for revenge and got raped. Not the one where Shireen was burned alive because of flurries preventing Stannis from marching 20 feet. Not the one where Marg was arrested for perjury and threatened to be paraded naked except that was a fake-out and the king (unbeknownst to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard) had formed an alliance with the Faith that didn’t already totally exist and therefore the largest army in the land was rendered useless or unwilling to free the heir of Highgarden…

You know I can keep going. I’ll take it, and yes, the teleportation was its most egregious because we KNOW how much time passed in-verse while the raven and dragons were traveling. But still, this isn’t a new level of bad, no more than Barbaro and Jessica Henwick teleporting onto a ship to murder their cousin—for justice!

Though on the other hand, there was almost nothing I could see as even being objectively enjoyable about this episode, other than one moment of some decent CGI. The battle itself was surprisingly short, and so obviously contrived that we couldn’t pretend it was a “stunning war theater” like we could last year, even if last year the context also made no goddamn sense.

Alright, time to stop delaying and actually talk about this, though of course I’ll point you to Jess’s fabulous review first if you haven’t already read it.

Winterhell

Jess breaks down the horror of Arya’s stupid Ned-slow-clapping-at-her-landing-a-bullseye story better than I can. Arya didn’t do what was required of girls growing up, and that was a source of frustration

But no, here she’s some third-wave feminist who realizes how bad the system is.

Speaking of that bad system, way to sew you dumb asshole, Sansa. What, do you think people need CLOTHES or something?

No seriously, I can’t take the toxically masculine assumptions about empowerment anymore. This entire thing is such a sexist premise, Arya shaming Sansa for navigating in a socially acceptable way

WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT OF SANSA’S ARC. SHE FIGURES OUT HOW TO WEAPONIZE THE SYSTEM TO HER BENEFIT AND DOES IT WITHOUT AROUSING THE SLIGHTEST SUSPICION

The letter thing is ridiculous too. Not even mentioning how Winterhell burned down so that’d probably be destroyed, this should not be that much of a conflict, nor should it have the potential to undo Sansa.

As Jess pointed out, Ned played along with the Lannisters too, because THAT’S WHAT YOU DO. Is he a traitor?

Then Sansa runs to Littlefinger even though we know she doesn’t trust him.

This is where the “they’re playing LF” honeypot stems from I think, but there’s no indication that Arya and Sansa aren’t reacting to each other alone, earnestly. Do they think Littlefinger planted some kind of audio bug on Sansa or something?

LF then brings up Brienne, which is followed by the scene of Sansa ordering Brienne to Cheryl’s Landing on her behalf for the already-scheduled meeting (even though Operation Bag-A-Wight is still going on), and being an asshole about it

The only sense I can make of this is that LF wants Brienne dead, or Arya dead, and is trying to urge a fight between them since we know they enjoy that? Which I guess would just help narrow down the field of non-LF allies to Sansa

Then *maybe* Sansa is sending Brienne away for her own protection, a la through rocks in Nymeria’s face??

Except there’s NO INDICATION OF THIS. Sansa’s rationale for why she’s sending a proxy to Cheryl’s Landing checks out, especially given Jon being MIA for the North (lol)

To cap off the game of “let’s hate each other to fuck with LF in private” Sansa then finds Arya’s messenger bag of Halloween masks

and no, sorry, Sansa’s terror is played as genuine, and thank the gods she gets yet another abuser, this time a member of her family! Yay!!

SPOILER (if anyone cares) I’m starting to wonder if Sansa orders Arya to execute LF next week just to buy herself a little trust from her horrible sister, and not because they actually figure anything out

Just all around bad bad bad. Fuck sisterly affection. They were different and hated each other growing up, so therefore they’ll be antagonistic towards each other after reuniting, trauma and shared grief be damned

That said, I feel like Sansa listens to UBS. Yes! She is the reason they have the North! She shouldn’t march her face into Cheryl’s Landing! She should have her interests represented! Correct!

Bo had the above take. This killed me. I want the Bunny Hood next week.

Dragonstone

They’re playing a weird game of having to deal with all of Tyrion’s plans turning to shit, and yet also having to keep him the golden boy. It’s not really working

Is Deadpan supposed to be getting paranoid like Aerys now? But then she’s later portrayed as a straight-up Good Guy Hero later, so I have confusion

This conversation goes literally nowhere, and frankly…yeah, why bother dealing with the line of succession now? She holds Dragonstone and no one even wanted it. And Daario’s probably doing fine in Meereen

This could have been a good exploration into her sorrow over being the last Targ…sorta? Like, her just not wanting to deal with it. But the show has never dealt with it before, so it doesn’t really come across as anything rooted in characterization

Me too, Deadpan.

Beyond the Wall

My brain was unable to focus on half these conversations, so I’m going to go back and rewatch before podcasting. Like. It was all walking and talking.

Not even in the good way. In the fic-ask-prompt kind of way. “Jon and Beric in a coffee shop, go!”

To highlight I guess

Jon & Jorah: Jon offers Jorah Longclaw because being an exiled slaver was hard on him. Glad this never came up with Lyanna, the actual heir of the house

Tormond makes a bawdy joke about raping Gendry because sex is a good way to keep warm. Male victimization is a hoot

Gendry gets mad at the Brotherhood without Banners for literally selling him and almost killing him, but Sandor tells him to stop “winging” because his complaints about being sexually assaulted by Mel “could be worse”

The Hound & Tormond chat about nicknames for penises before Tormond #nohomos and talks about how hot Brienne is

Jon & Beric have both been dead, what’s up with that? Also Jon quotes his Night’s Watch vows that he broke to gain inspiration from then, and Beric says he doesn’t look like Ned. Uh…

Jorah thinks Thoros was AWESOME for the Pyke battle

Then a bear attacks and I’m put out of my misery. A wight bear. Whatever

Who the fuck are these red shirts?

Thoros almost dies, but doesn’t die, but then he dies overnight, so…okay.

The wights walk in an orderly single file.

We learn a new contrivance: wights all fall if the white walker that personally res’d them is killed. There’s so many ways this doesn’t work with what we’ve seen, not the least of which that there was ONE WIGHT who was still squirming around

A whole lot of effort for convincing Cheryl, btw, who has essentially no army at this point

Then the other wights hear this wight’s struggle? And Jon tells Gendry who has never seen snow before that he’s the fastest runner (how does he know this) and has to go send a bird to Deadpan to help them out

this is baldly ridiculous. Their only shot is if they all try to book it

Then they run across cracking ice to a little rock, and then are shielded from wights because of…cracked ice

DEAD THINGS IN THE WATER

Also, dead things go through the water later in the episode

In-verse time: Gendry runs towards Eastwatch as the sun is setting and gets there around dusk. Jon & Co. wait out one night and the attack begins when the sun is still shining. I’m putting this at about 22 hours passing. A low-ball could be 14.

Raven gets to Dragonstone, Dany flies beyond the Wall and bails them out

The battle itself was underwhelming, I thought. Just smashing random skeletons who now die with any weapon (what about FIRE like we learned in Season 1?)

Viserion’s death looked cool, and the sinking into the puddle reminded me of King Dodongo. Dunno if that’s a good thing or not, but there you have it.

However, why did Shogun aim for the far away flying dragon and not Drogon who was RIGHT THERE and full of the people trying to get away?

He literally had his buddy ready his javelin for him

Jon falling into a puddle was…what? Why did this happen? Was this for closure for Uncle Benjen? Was this so we could have a dramatic moment of Deadpan thinking he died? Was this just to have a reason for a shirtless Jon on the boat so she could see his stab wounds? What did this add??

Then the res’d Viserion was kind of cooler in concept than seeing it happen. Oh wow, let’s focus on his eye I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN

Lol at the metal working wights with their big ass chains. Can they make mini-Needle necklaces for everyone too?

Also very not reading into any of this being from the books. I could see this happening in a way, I guess? But this context, especially with a javelin-throwing Night’s King can’t be the case.

I don’t even… At least the critical reviews are pouring in. This deserved it. So did the past three years’ worth of episodes, but still.

Top 3 Nitpicks (not glaring, gaping errors)

The invitation to a meeting in KL that couldn’t have been arranged yet

The clothing! No one was wearing a hood? Deadpan was traveling faster than a jet without ear warmers?

Jon not being dead of hypothermia (or his managing to climb out at all with his sodden furs and heavy boots)

[datingadviceonreddit]

So it is me M 27 and her F 28. We met on OKcupid, we seemed to get along the first time. Talked, watched some stuff and slept together. Cuddled and I really enjoyed her company. I felt something I had not felt with other women around her, some attraction I cannot put my finger on. I find her so interesting, not like a specimen but just as a person would like to get to know more. A few days pass and she invites me to her place at of nowhere and I am excited that someone actually wanted to see me again without me prompting another date. We lay together and talk, watch a movie, attempt to have sex after cuddling for some time but my condoms fell out of my pocket when I was locking the door to my home. So we just don't have sex, which I was totally fine with. I did not come there for sex, I never expect it. If it happens organically great. So a few more days pass, I try to send her a cute message or two. She ends up having one of her friend's boyfriends try to force themselves on her. She said that killed her desire to date even further which I understood. She asked to just come and hang out, I wanted to be there for her since I can imagine that is such a terrible experience. I wanted to be a good friend even if she was not into me romantically. We just watched another movie, cuddling and I slept over but we did not have sex. I got a really weird vibe from her that day and felt like all she wanted me for was just like a flesh pillow, did not feel she wanted to be my friend or boyfriend. Like not interest. I did not want to try to change her mind considering what happened to her. I guessed she wanted to be alone and was just turned off to guys for a while. So I am not a disparate person and don't want to go after someone I believe does not have even friendship level of interest. So I end up going on a more traditional date with someone I was talking to before her assuming things are over. On that date, I realized that I really liked my SO and not the girl I was seeing...I just felt...nothing for her, but I felt so strongly for my SO. There was just "something," there. I don't know why but I just fell for her, hard, like I want to say in love if nothing something really close to it. I though it was a crush but it seems to go beyond that. So a week or so later. She my SO texts me and realized I deleted her phone number. I figured things where over since it had then been about two weeks since we lost talked so no point sticking to the past. So she ends up upset about it, I found out she actually liked me too and it was just that I had BO that day. I was super embarrassed and explained to her my feelings after a while. We agree that we just need to warm up to each other so we can be more open with our feelings. So we do, I come over again and just have one of the best days I have had in a long time. Just walking on cloud 9 the next day. Just felt so good to love someone, for someone to be into me romantically not just using me for sex. Then a few days later we have diner downtown, I really enjoyed it, my first real dinner date. I decided I wanted to share my first alcoholic drink with her, since I feel that would make a cute moment to look back on. I just wanted to prove to her that not all guys are pieces of shit, yet now I feel I just did the opposite and became the worst she has dealt with, that is how I feel right now. Anyway we get back, take a shower together. Cuddle, have sex the go to sleep. Well I try to sleep but I got none that day since I stupidly did now want to bother her getting up to take my sleep medicine. I just preoccupy myself with trying to do things right. Well the next day after being awake until 5pm trying to sleep, she sends me a text that she wanted to be friends to take things slow to get to know me and that just broke my heart. I though that is what we where doing. My mind was racing, I though maybe she was not interested in me, that she already made the conclusion and that she did not actually have an intention to have a relationship with me because to me. You are dating to get to know the other person, but being friends seems like a step back and just did not make sense to me. So I end up removing her from my friend list on Facebook and posting a nasty comment on my feed about the experience and another experience with another woman that went bad. I did it to vent, I did it to "hurt her back," I did it because I needed emotional support. I never meant what I said and it really was supposed to be more of a joking comment on how I am just having bad luck dating. I don't hate her. Anyway we talk it out, she explains her rationale and I understand, I apologize and explain what I felt. She was very upset. Invites me to go swimming, it is awkward since I want to apologize and I feel bad for what I did but I don't really know how to say I am sorry to someone, how to make amends. We go out to have dinner and talk a bit, I still feel awkward since I feel so guilty for what I did, so shitty. She did not deserve that. So we get back, she is tired and I get my stuff to leave since I am still not sure what we are and what is okay and what is not okay. I take a moment to apologize to her, tell her I was sorry and that I was wrong. She hugs me and I leave. I still don't think she forgave me. Later on around midnight. I wanted to get on messenger to give her my user name on reddit so she can get to know me at her leisure and maybe send her something cute or funny to show I am still thinking about her and I don't plan on shutting her out or pushing her away again. To being to try to make amends. However to my horror I find she had blocked me on Facebook. There is a chance that she is just getting me back, or that some mistake was made but I don't know at the moment. So I send her a lot of texts just pouring my heart out. Trying to get her to not ghost me, to just talk to me. To try to tell her that it is because I am in love with her that I am so unstable. That I just am so into her I am super sensitive to how she feels about me, that any loss of her attention or desire is devastating to me. That even an once of rejection is mighty upsetting. I just let myself get too attached. I know it is not a justifiable excuse but I thought maybe that would put things in perspective. That I did not do those things, behave that way because I hate her, that I don't respect her, that I don't want to be with her, but because I just love her so much and I don't want to get hurt or to let her know how far I had fallen with her, I didn't want to scare her away, seem too clingy.So now I sit here waiting to see if she texts me, to understand why she blocked me, what did I do? Was it because she decided we are toxic for each other, was it a mistake? Was she being petty too? Is it getting me back? Is she testing my reaction? I don't know and that upsets me more than anything. I want to be better for her. I want to show her my romantic side, to laugh and play with her. I just get too emotional. What do you guys think? Ah I just a terrible person? What should I do? I plan on waiting for her, for her to think things true. I will not rush to a conclusion here. I will be calm, I will be honest. How can I be better next time if I lost her...tl:dr Fell in love with OKC match, keep pushing her away because I am afraid of getting my feelings hurt. Just in general being super emotional. How can I be level headed and rein in my emotion and reactive tendencies? via /r/dating_advice

[sassybinchesinc]

Nobody ever sends me asks when I do this shit but I feel like revealing everything about my life so I’m just going to answer everything like those annoying Facebook posts lol MAKE ME ADMIT STUFFFF 1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? Considering I’m currently in a fwb type thing with him, absolutely 2. You talked to an ex today, correct? No but I did yesterday 3. Have you taken someones virginity? Not that I know of 4. Is trust a big issue for you? Yes! I’m a very trusting person so I expect at least close to the same level as trust 5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently? I’m not really sure if I actually “like someone” right now 6. What are you excited for? Tomorrow night because I’m seeing my fwb 7. What happened tonight? Just going to bed lol 8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted? No! However I think it’s absolutely revolting when anyone gets so drunk that they puke in something that’s not a toilet 9. Is confidence cute? It can be. Personally I like it when guys have confidence bc I find it sexy but it really depends on the kind of confidence for girls 10. What is the last beverage you had? Water 11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? That’s a good question. I think I trust most of them unless they’ve given me a reason not to 12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? The only jeans I own are skinny jeans lol 13. What are you gonna do Saturday night? Probably nothing 14. What are you going to spend money on next? Probably food 15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed? No.. 16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? Hopefully. There’s a lot I need to change right now 17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? Bizzy! 18. The last time you felt broken? Pretty recently. 19. Have you had sex today? No. 20. Are you starting to realize anything? Maybe. I hope I’m wrong tho 21. Are you in a good mood? I’m currently kind of frustrated 22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks? Would I want to? Yes would I ever? No 23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s? Yes 24. What do you want right this second? To be cuddling with austin 25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? I’m completely over him so I’d be fine 26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? No. Honestly I’m not sure what my natural hair color is anymore 27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? No I wouldn’t. Mostly because literally anything can make me laugh 28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? Probably some dumb fucking picture 29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now? Yes I think I do... 30. Does everyone deserve a second chance? Sure. 31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to? no not at all! 32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? they might idk if I even know if I like them 33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? no. But I do try to mostly drink water 34. Listening to? POPPY! 35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore? unless I'm at work or I need to use pen for a test I always use pencil 36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is? yes. He's at his home 37. Do you believe in love at first sight? idk maybe. I've never experienced it tho 38. Who did you last call? my mom 39. Who was the last person you danced with? My friend Amanda at her sorority formal 40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? He's a great kisser and I like doing it 41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake? Like Sunday? 42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? No 😞 I live like 3 hours away from both of them 43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush? All I ever do is embarrass myself in front of anyone so yes 44. Do you tan in the nude? No 45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss? not at all 46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? no. Unfortunately he ALWAYS falls asleep first 47. Who was the last person to call you? my brother Matthew 48. Do you sing in the shower? of my roommates not home 49. Do you dance in the car? yes. And sing LOUD 50. Ever used a bow and arrow? Yes in middle school PE 51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? senior year pictures 52. Do you think musicals are cheesy? some of them are but I LOVE them 53. Is Christmas stressful? it can be but I always try to just enjoy myself 54. Ever eat a pierogi? yes 55. Favorite type of fruit pie? Apple 56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? astronaut! Or inventor 57. Do you believe in ghosts? no 58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? yes 59. Take a vitamin daily? no 60. Wear slippers? very rarely 61. Wear a bath robe? again, very rarely 62. What do you wear to bed? usually a tshirt and shorts or a pair of panties 63. First concert? umm some weird old band that played at my county fair 64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? target. 65. Nike or Adidas? Nike 66. Cheetos Or Fritos? cheetos 67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? sunflower seeds 68. Favorite Taylor Swift song? I really like 22 and wildest dreams and dear john 69. Ever take dance lessons? no 70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? something business-y 71. Can you curl your tongue? I think so. 72. Ever won a spelling bee? no. I think the only one I've ever been in is The 25th annual Putnam county spelling bee lol 73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? I've cried from laughing too hard if that counts 74. What is your favorite book? that's tricky... I honesty can't say. 75. Do you study better with or without music? without. I wish I could study with music but I get to mo distracted singing 76. Regularly burn incense? no 77. Ever been in love? I thought I was when I was 17 but looking back I probably wasn't 78. Who would you like to see in concert? poppy lol. Bo burnham 79. What was the last concert you saw? I don't really go to concerts lol 80. Hot tea or cold tea? hot tea. Iced tea has to be sweet tea 81. Tea or coffee? tea 82. Favorite type of cookie? Oreo thins or thin mints 83. Can you swim well? yes! 84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? yes 85. Are you patient? Im a server so I kind of have to be 86. DJ or band, at a wedding? Dj 87. Ever won a contest? I got 2nd place at s tennis tourney a couple of times. 88. Ever have plastic surgery?