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reiderwriter · 2 years ago

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🌞 Just Hanging Out 🌞

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female Reader

Genre: Fluff, suggestive MINORS DNI 18+

WC: 3k

Summary: To kick off your vacation, you find yourself at Rossi's mansion with your team for a big summer barbeque. A hammock in the garden catches your eye, and you enlist Reid to help you have some fun in the sun.

Warnings: reader is a tease, shy Spencer, sexual arousal (M and F) no physical smut (god I wish we still used the citrus system).

A/N: Here's my second entry to @imagining-in-the-margins CM Summer Sunshine Fic Challenge! Thanks to everyone who helped my pick the plot for this one :) I was also intending for this to be a reply to one of my requests for more BAU reader, but unfortunately tumblr deleted that request so 🤡 I'm tagging the account below anyways, and I have three more BAU reader fics coming in the next two weeks-ish, including my new series That's What You Get, so I hope you like this fic and be sure to look out for the others! Enjoy~

Here's my masterlist and my requests are open!

It was mid-August, and thankfully, the serial killers of America had given up crime for one week of the year to allow you to enjoy some much needed vacation time. The entire team had been put on annual leave, and you were determined to enjoy it to the absolute capacity of your ability.

Despite being together year-round, you actually enjoyed the company of your coworkers, so when Rossi announced he was planning a summer barbeque at his place to kick off your vacation time, you were ecstatic. If Rossi’s barbecuing skills were anything like his pasta making skills, you were expecting to eat yourself into a food coma and not wake up for the next seven days.

“Not a single one of you will touch this grill, stand within a 1 foot radius of this grill or even dare to look at this grill, so help me God, are we understood?” Rossi announced as soon as you arrived, the last of the BAU team to gather in his self-proclaimed mansion. The gardens were beautiful, and the kids were already running riot on the slip and slide that he had set up for them, screaming and giggling in delight.

“Trust me, you’re not getting me near that thing today, Rossi,” you laugh as you pour yourself a glass of wine from the refreshments table. “Last time I was anywhere near a grill I almost died.”

“I don’t remember encountering any unsubs who used grills as their weapon of choice,” JJ laughed at you as she held out her own glass and you gladly filled it for her.

“That’s because it wasn’t on a case, it was a family barbeque when I was 17 and my grandfather thought I should learn some ‘practical skills,’” you shot a grin at her as she rolled her eyes at you and walked away.

You grabbed your glass and looked for somewhere to perch yourself while you took in the sun. Morgan and Prentiss had already grabbed the two sun-loungers on the patio and were both sitting shirtless (with a bikini top on in Prentiss’s case) taking in as much sun as they could. Garcia was similarly sprawled on the deck sofa, and JJ joined her their after grabbing her refreshment, Will stood by the edge of the deck watching over the kids. Hotch had the amazing foresight to bring his own camping chair, and was set up similarly with one eye on Jack and the other on a book in his hand.

And just where you were expecting him, Spencer Reid was stood awkwardly at the edge of the house, in the only spot of shade he could find, leaning slightly against the door, and squinting into the sun.

“Rossi, you got any other chairs I can grab for me and Reid?” you called out to your host.

“There should be some over by the shed, they might need a bit of a dusting down though.”

“Come on pretty boy, you can’t just be standing all day, you’re going to make me feel tired just watching you,” you laughed up at him and caught the flush of his cheeks as he finally caught that you meant him to follow you.

“I’m really fine here over in the shade, I don’t do too great in the sun, anyways. More of an autumnal person, really…”

“I’d feel bad seeing you stand all day, and besides, what if I need a big, strong man to help me carry my chair over?” As he gaped his mouth open and closed looking for a retort, you felt the small flash of victory spread warm your chest. It wasn’t that you liked messing with Reid, it’s that he was an easy target and actually you loved it.

Having joined the team only the year prior, you’d quickly found the genius incredibly endearing, loving to listen to his little monologues about whatever topic had popped into his head that day, often earning groans from your other colleagues as you encouraged him to keep going.

You’d discovered your love of making him squirm a few months into the job, when you had to interrogate a submissive partner of an unsub together. After theorising that the submissive personality had a thing for women who looked like you, especially ones that were pretty dominant and controlling, you’d decided to give him what he wanted. You’d popped the top button, walked into the room and given him your best shot before having to re-strategize.

“What if we send Reid in there with her?” Morgan was the one to suggest, “Have him act a bit touchy, show him something he’s missing out on. We already tried giving him what he wanted, let’s see how he reacts to someone he doesn’t view as a threat getting everything he thinks he’s entitled to.”

It was a good guess, and it worked. You’d walked into the room, and let Reid start asking the questions. He’d gently laid a hand on your thigh, just high enough for the suspect to notice, and you’d done nothing but quietly whisper directly into his ear, watching the entire time to see how the man in front of you would react. He’d cracked in ten minutes and started spewing misogynistic drivel, so angry that he accidentally confessed to the crime and gave away his partner’s location.

It seemed Reid had cracked just a bit too. He’d avoided eye-contact with you for an entire week after that, and whenever he talked to you in that time, it was like his brain short-circuited. You’d bought a genius with an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory to his knees with a few whispers in his ear, and you loved the rush of power you felt remembering it. The memory of his strong hand on your thigh did nothing to quell your growing attraction towards the man.

“If you wanted someone big and strong, you should’ve asked Morgan,” Reid snapped you out of your thoughts as he diligently followed you in the direction Rossi had pointed. It was a pretty secluded spot in the garden, a little bit away from the action and you were glad to be out of earshot so you could begin your teasing of the Good Doctor.

“I’m sure you’re big and strong in certain places, Spencer,” you smiled at him, and began looking at the chairs.

You spotted it in the corner, then, the perfect tool for your torment. It seemed relatively new, barely used but still pretty sturdy, and you knew this was it.

“Hey, Rossi, what about this hammock in the corner, can I set this up, too?” you shouted back over to the group and grinned up at Reid.

“Do you have a death wish? Because if so, go ahead and tangle with that devil.” Rossi shouted back, not even looking up from the miriad of sausages and burgers he was working on.

“That sounds like a challenge to me, Doc.” You say and you start pulling it out into the sunlight, Reid steps behind you sighing in defeat. He knew that once you had your mind set on something, you were pretty stubborn about completing it.

“Okay, can you give me a boost?” The bed of the hammock fell to about your chest height, and whilst you knew you were probably able to climb in by yourself, you were wearing a particularly short sundress, and as much as you teased Reid, you didn’t exactly want to give the rest of your team and their families an eyeful.

“You want me to try to lift you into this thing?” Reid squeaked out, a look of confusion passing over his features.

“Yeah, just grab my hips and give me a boost and I’ll swing my legs over and straddle it. Then we can see what’s it's like.” He moved cautiously up behind you, letting his hands graze your waist.

“Reid, you’re going to have to hold me a bit tighter than that if we’re actually going to get anywhere.” You placed your hands over his and pushed his grip down stronger; you could practically hear him gulp from behind you. He pushed you up, and you almost had it, but you couldn’t quite pull yourself up and into it.

After a few attempts, you realised it wasn’t going to work. Reluctantly pulling yourself out of Reid’s grip, you turned to face him.

“New plan, you get in first and pull me up.”

“What? I don’t want to go anywhere near that thing, didn’t you hear what Rossi said?”

“Come on Reid, just this once, for me? We have to try at least!” you pouted up at him now with pleading eyes, hoping that you wouldn’t have to resort to batting your eyelashes at him to get him to agree.

“One attempt, and then I’m grabbing a normal chair and leaving, okay?” He negotiated, but you didn’t care and excitedly wrapped your arms around his neck pulling him in for a hug.

“Yay, thank you! I love you, Reid, you know that?” you pulled back slightly to deliver that last line, your arms still around his neck, watching the redness spread upto his cheeks.

He mumbled a quick whatever and pulled away to begin his attempts.

Perhaps it was his few extra inches of height or spindly frame, but Reid managed to climb up quite easily, not even rocking the hammock that much in his ascent.

He sat up pretty steadily, and you lifted your arms to him, and that’s when it all started going wrong. You’re combined weight wasn’t enough to break the hammock, but it was enough to set it off into an unsteady rocking that made your stomach lurch slightly. You swung your leg as best you could over Reid’s, already in the hammock, and as soon as you found some purchase there, he lowered one hand to pull your lower body up as well.

It was just unfortunate that the place his hand landed was directly over your ass, and you let out a sharp gasp as he grabbed it tightly and hauled you up to sit directly over him, chest to chest, practically straddling his entire body in the cramped space of the hammock bed.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I meant to grab your hip.” He tried to let go of you and push his hands up where you could see them, but the sudden movement made the hammock lurch dangerously so you snapped your hand over his and forced them back to their previous position.

“No sudden movements, Spencer, I don’t particularly want to be the butt of all jokes for the next year if we fall out of this thing.” You panicked slightly and squirmed a little in your position, trying to explore your range of movement.

“How are we going to get out of this if we can’t move?” he shot back at you, a look of mild discomfort on his face, and an I-told-you-so begging to escape his lips.

“If you just give me a minute to explore our options, maybe I would be able to figure that out.”

“If you keep squirming like that we’re going to have more problems than just how to get down,” he huffed under his breath, but he was so close that it was impossible for you to miss it.

It was your turn to blush now, as you caught his insinuation. With his hand firmly on your ass, and your legs either side of his, you could feel the entire length of his body below you. Each squirm you made the dampness between your legs pool a little bit more and then you in-turn squirmed even more in a vicious cycle.

After a few minutes, there was no denying that the thing prodding your core was Spencer’s sizable… appendage.

“Shit, Y/N, I’m sorry, it’s just a natural reaction,” he groaned out from below you when he realised you could feel it too, and you’d never heard anything so beautiful as the moans he was accidentally vocalising.

“It’s my fault, I’m sorry for being so stubborn about this. Let me see if I can figure something else out,” you cautiously slid your hands up his chest, and he screwed his eyes shut. Pushing against his shoulders, you slowly pulled yourself up to a seated position, doing your best to not rock the hammock too much. The new position did nothing to dampen the friction the two of you were feeling, and you knew that you were a few seconds away from a point of no return. Your hips bucked slightly against him against your will, and you really hoped he hadn’t noticed that was totally not to the benefit of you getting out of the hammock.

You looked down to the ground so you could see how far the descent would be, and if you’d have to call for backup anytime soon. Luckily you thought you’d be able to make it if you just swung your legs over the side and got out as quickly as possible, but fate had other plans.

“Spencer, Y/N what are you two doing over here?” came Emily’s voice from behind you. Spencer’s eyes shot open and he pulled his head up slightly to look at her. However, his movement had rocked the hammock a little bit harder than before, so he had to grab your hip to steady the two of you, pushing you further down into him. You did your best to stifle the moan, biting down hard on your tongue as you did so.

“Oh you know, just hanging out,” he managed to get out in reply, his voice notably higher than it usually was.

“You sure you guys don’t need any help? That doesn’t look like the safest of chairs.” Emily’s questioning stare never lifted and you knew that if she caught wind of what was actually going on, you wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye for an entire year. You couldn’t accept the help.

“Yeah, we were just going to climb down in a second, we’re just checking to see how… sturdy it is right now.”

“Sturdy. Right. Well, Rossi said the food would be ready to start serving in a few minutes and asked me to call you guys over.”

“We’ll be right there, thanks Emily.” You smiled at her and she made to walk away, a suspicious look still on her face.

“What do you mean we’ll be right there, I can’t go over there like this!” Spencer whisper yelled into your ears.

“What else was I supposed to say to get her to go away,” you whisper yelled back. You ran a free hand through your hair, and shifted again, your legs beginning to cramp up a little in the awkward position.

“Okay you get down, I’ll make a break for the bathroom, say all this moving around made me need to pee or something, and then we meet up again on the patio and pretend this never happened?” he said and you nodded quickly.

You began to lift your body weight up and remove your legs from the tangle you were stuck in, and that’s when the hammock reared it’s ugly head for the final time. As you lifted your leg slowly, you accidedntally got your foot stuck in the side of the fabric, and pinned there but still moving, the hammock toppled and spat both of you out unceremoniously.

Reid landed ontop of you with a hard thud. You let out a sweet curse, just as Reid pushed his body weight onto his hands, taking some of the pressure off of you after the fall. You stared up into his eyes as you realised you’d found yourself in yet another compromising situation and you deepeded to a scarlet red as you realised your sundress had blown up completely in your descent, and he was now neatly nestled in between your legs, with your damp underwear on display for him.

Looking down at you, he took a beat too long to react, and you squirmed under his gaze, feeling appropriately trapped, before he sprung up and offered you a hand up.

You took his hand and rearranged your dress, thankful that the smell of the food had distracted everyone from your embarrassing fall.

“Okay, we’re out.” You were flustered and you didn’t know what else to say.

“Yep, that was certainly one way to do it,” Reid replied, as you avoided his gaze. You wrapped your arms around yourself, and he made to do so similarly, trying his best to rearrange himself so the bulge in his pants wasn’t so noticeable.

“You should get to the bathroom.”

“You should get to the food.” He retorted and you finally made to move, but stopped yourself turning around quickly to face the man again.

“Before I go,” you said and you pushed yourself up on your tiptoes and pressed a kiss into his mouth, feeling as giddy as a teenager braving her first kiss. You turned away just as fast and made your way back to the party, leaving a flustered and spluttering Reid behind as you made a beeline for the food.

“So, what’d you think of the hammock?” Rossi asked you as you began loading your plate up. You put on your best poker face and begged noone had noticed anything out of the ordinary.

“You were right. That thing is dangerous,” was your only response, and you retreated into the corner to finish your food. You sat there waiting eagerly for Reid to return, not just so you could be in his presence again and see how he was reacting to your kiss, but also so you could get the image of him dealing with his situation out of your mind.

It seemed that being a tease and working him up hadn’t quite ended so well for you that day.

You blamed the hammock.

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🏷️ @marylovesevanpeters @bethanyhaas01 @reidscaffeine @average-sunflower @multifandom-on-the-side @anniewhalelover @prentissesredtanktop @abbyshmaby @hugyourlungs @w-windy @babybluecakes @reidandhotchsgirl @lover-of-books-and-tea @bluecandycake @star0055 @Zaapsite @daddy-dotcom @reidmym1nd @oureternalbond @fandomscombine @isabel-ffl-xoxo @sujan39 @frxcless @bluestuesday @busy-buzzing @breadbrobin @maxinehufflepuffprincess @l0v3cam @booksandwonderlands @myescapefromthislife @kat453 @ferrjulie @scoobydoopoo @aelinismyqueen @littlesingingbean @xohoneybun @anchovy89freya @simp4f1 @fandomscombine @ssa-spencerhotch @spidermonkey2423

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quasi-normalcy · 11 months ago

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Every "Nu Trek" (2017- ) Series Ranked from Worst to Best:

Very Short Treks (2023): There's really no words for just how terrible this series is. I mean, I know that it only barely counts because it's explicitly not canon and has a total combined run time of about 15 minutes, but *my god* is it bad! Only one of its episodes is remotely funny, and even that manages to feel like it's driven its main joke into the ground by the end of its 2-minute runtime. The only thing that I can say for it is that is that it gives me an easy, uncontroversial choice for worst Star Trek series, not only of the last 7 years, but of all time.

Picard (2020-2023): Listen; I know that this series is unpopular with the Tumblr Trek fandom, but it actually breaks my heart to have to put it so low on the list. It has, in my own opinion, the best dramatic acting of any Trek series and among the best directing, and almost every individual scene, in isolation, is compellingly watchable. More than that, it has fascinating worldbuilding choices, you can really *see* the passion of the writers for what they're creating (at least in the first and third seasons), and Agnes in particular is among my favourite characters in anything ever. It's got a lot of great moments, too! Picard and Seven bonding over shared Borg trauma; Soji uncovering the truth of her identity; Jurati hacking the Borg Queen's brain; Picard's final farewell to Q; Shaw's Wolf 359 monologue; Geordi's reunion with Data...I could go on. And yet, it just feels like so much *less* than the sum of its parts! Incredible ideas are introduced and then just shrugged off to pursue much more boring ones. Story arcs feel pointless if not actively offensive. Absolutely baffling writing choices are made throughout, with no indication as to why. And the nostalgia baiting , particularly in the final season, becomes so intense that it just chokes the plot to death. One comes away haunted by the feeling that this series should be so much better than it is.

Discovery (2017-2024): Really, this is two separate series: a twisty, grimdark, sci-fi war drama and a gentle queer coffeeshop AU about scientists who talk about their feelings. Both of them have their moments, but they each fall down in the same way: a focus on epic, high-stakes mystery box storytelling that undermines one's ability to really get invested in the characters, or even know who they are when they aren't off saving the universe. Without that, while I liked many of the characters and loved seeing them science the shit out of things using teamwork and the power of math, it's kind of difficult to get invested in this series one way or another. In spite of its absolutely gorgeous visuals, it comes off feeling weirdly...flat.

Short Treks (2018-2020): Not a lot to talk about here; just kind of an anthology series of short films adjacent to Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. Mostly they're varying shades of mediocre, but a few of them are as brilliant as any episode of Star Trek ever made, so the series gets to be relatively high on the list.

Strange New Worlds (2022- ): This is the first entry on this list that, in my opinion, belongs on the top shelf with some of the best of the older series. And it achieves it basically by adopting the same formula as the original series or the next generation--socially conscious planet-of-the-week adventures with enough wit, cleverness and joie-de-vivre to keep it interesting. I remember in 2017, there was plenty of discussion of how it's possible to update Star Trek's formula for prestige television; how funny that the solution turned out to be "don't change it at all, just give it modern special effects and actual character arcs." That said, the series is a bit *too* beholden to the original, with focus primarily on a bunch of characters who aren't allowed to grow or change too much because we already know how they'll turn out. It would be even better if it were about a new ship and a new crew full of nobodies who we can come to love. Which brings us to...

Lower Decks (2020-2024): Above, I said that Picard felt like it should have been so much better than it was. Lower Decks, frankly, should have been so much worse. How is an adult animated sitcom with Rick and Morty style animation and constant memberberries this freaking good!?! Every episode is a master class in efficient storytelling, with 22 minute runtimes often feeling like they contain as much story and character work as episodes twice as long. And the characters are incredible--like TOS and TNG, they feel almost archetypal, and even though you've never seen them before, they slide so seamlessly into the Star Trek universe that it's hard to believe that they weren't just *always* there; that there was ever a time when you could imagine the Star Trek universe without just intrinsically knowing that Tendi and Shaxs and Mariner were off somewhere in the background. It's greatest success though, the reason why it's comedy works when it really shouldn't, is that it's only *slightly* sillier than the serious series. What we end up with a fantastic series with an ethos that is pure Star Trek, and in fact, if I had written this list a month ago, it would certainly be in the #1 spot. However...

Prodigy (2021-2024?): The first season of Prodigy is...charming. It's got some fun characters, some spectacular visuals, some interesting premises. And if the plots tend to be a little too simplistic to be engaging to an adult, hey, it's a kids' show. It's good. Solid. Above average. And if I had only the first season to go on, it would probably be in third position on this list. But then, a few weeks ago, it went ahead and dropped the best season of Star Trek in a quarter-century, and I really...I just cannot recommend this series highly enough. The sheer, ambitious scope of the narrative; the arcs it puts its character through; the cleverness of the writing; the fricking GORGEOUSNESS of it! And it does all this while redeeming deeply unpopular characters and plot points from other series, in a way that never feels forced or pandering. Not only is it the best Star Trek series of the 21st century, it's one of the best children's animated series since AtLA. Go. Go! Watch it! Watch it now!

#long post #star trek discovery #star trek picard #star trek lower decks #star trek prodigy #star trek strange new worlds #short treks #very short treks

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mi-co-uk · 4 months ago

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coming clean

blue!reader x saviour!matt

─── blue readers past has caught up with her just in time to rescue her when she needs it the most - childhood best friend and saviour matt wants to help every step of the way.

WARNINGS: descriptions of intense anxiety, implied abuse. the series itself will contain heavy angst , fluff and smut 𖦹

I've never written a fic before so any feedback and support is appreciated !

p.s the grammar is wrong but I like it that way coz it feels like a diary entry but if it's distracting I can change it :3

pls enjoy <3

MASTERLIST

prev parts: intro

CHAPTER 1 - "speak"

"you okay?"

the practically rhetorical nature of the question snaps me out of it.

the eyes that look much older than I remember pierce into mine. it doesn't feel real. I've made up a thousand stories in my head of having this perfect hero, rescuing me from the depths of his ghost house.

I tense when I remember this is real. my head turns towards the window, shifting myself as far away as I can. I let out a sniff and squeeze my eyes shut.

oh god I'm still crying.

"matt, just drive." a voice from the back of the car disturbs the heavy silence I created.

"I dont think she can speak."

the whispers continue much more than I can even bother to try and make out.

I can't speak.

my chest tries to cry more but every breath feels like it's wripping up my insides even more. I'm humiliated. I want to yell and scream and tire out my voice because of it. but I can't. he already took it from me.

it was an accident. I didn't mean to break the rule.

I heard something in there. there was a noise. there has to have been because the alternative is much worse. something fell or at least something changed in that room. the one he explicitly told me not to go in, to never even consider it. "pretend it's not even there. that's easy enough, isn't it?"

it's a twisted kind of torture.

the smallest room in the house. it also happened to be the only one with a mirror in. he didn't even lock the door, he just simply told me- he even calmly told me, it was out of bounds.

I got one step into that room before my gut contorted, tight together feeling like I had swallowed a thousand pound weight. I knew it was gonna go wrong. I felt my ears ring - my pulse physically echoed throughout my frame. warning signs relentlessly warned me over and over.

but I didn't hear him coming in.

early.

what did I do that was so purely wicked to deserve the fucked up luck of him getting home early.

two whole years. I broke that rule once in the two years of living there - two years of burying the human instinct of curiosity, just for the universe to spit in my face.

I can still feel his grip on my neck.

next part ->

𐙚🧸ྀི

a/n this is unfortunately based on real events that are quite personal to me so yeah but I'm obviously gonna change a lot of plot details hence saviour!matt lol it's essentially just the backstory stuff

let me know what you think !

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ - mi

tags: @pair-of-pantaloons

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iveseenthatlovebefore · 2 months ago

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Okay so hear me out—Templar!Desmond AU

I mentioned it before but you don't understand. Not an on-purpose Templar!Desmond AU. Accidental Templar!Desmond AU.

Like what if he got fired from the Bad Weather for whatever reason? The Templars wouldn't have found him at the start of AC1 but because of PLOT, Desmond found THEM because he needed to pay the damn rent and oh hey, that's an awfully convenient job opening.

Now what kind of job, you may ask? Well, Des ain't no scientist and he has zero credentials to his name, but—you know who also has no credentials to their names, zero experience, and the perfect amount of fake it till you make it attitude?

Interns.

He gets an internship at Abstergo, somehow, and it just SPIRALS FROM THERE.

Imagine—Desmond doesn't even realize he's joined the Templars. This would be before he even found out about his Assassin bloodline. He only applied for the experience—for the paycheck but somehow he finishes the internship, gets the job, gets PROMOTED??

Maybe somehow Abstergo finds out about his Assassin bloodline, but he's super clueless and is already employee and so they're like, ok, hey you wanna maybe join this special project? Comes with extra benefits!

Cue maybe some mind control/hypnotism/other BS hyjinks or something idk and he somehow goes from desk job Templar to junior fieldwork Templar agent but with a pension plan.

Also maybe a sprinkle of Tsundere!Daniel Cross who is attached at the hip because Desmond is some sort of Templar Advil that makes Daniel's bleeding effect waaaay more manageable.

Can you imagine this?!

Because I sort of did.

Desmond didn’t mean to get fired.

It kind of happened in a blur.

He’d been halfway through his shift at Bad Weather—a moody, brick walled bar downtown where the cocktails were overpriced and the lights were too low—when he spotted the guy. Mid-thirties. Designer jacket. Confident smile. The type that watched people a little too closely and tipped just a little too much to be normal. Not too unusual—not unexpected—but what was was the move he did when his hand hovered over a girl’s drink as she looked away.

Quick. Practiced. Something small and clear dropped into the glass of a drink—his signature drink—and the moment it registered, instincts kicked in before his brain caught up. The punch landed clean across the guy’s jaw. The sound was satisfying. The guy hit the floor. The bar went dead quiet.

The girl cried. The cops came.

The guy claimed Desmond misunderstood. The girl couldn’t stop crying. Management said it was a ‘PR issue.’

The next morning, Desmond was out of a job.

That was six months ago.

Now, he was twenty-four, unemployed, broke, and lying on a sun warmed mattress in his studio apartment, watching dust float through a shaft of light.

He spent the first week of unemployment scrolling job boards like they owed him something. The second week, he gave up and scrolled online forums instead. The third, he shaved and updated his resume.

He applied for everything. Any bar that had openings. Bookstore clerk. Front desk at a gym. Data entry for a moving company. An assistant mailroom position at a tax office that ghosted him after a second interview. Unfortunately, it seemed like the economy must have gone to shit because out of the thirty one jobs he applied for, he got three interviews. One was a pyramid scheme. One wanted him to relocate to Oregon. The last said he was ‘overqualified’ and ‘seemed too independent minded for the team culture.’

Desmond had stared at that email for a full minute before replying, “Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to be dumber next time.”

What saved him—if you could call it that—was that he’d started taking online business courses a year before he got fired. His previous manager at Bad Weather had pulled him aside and pretty much kickstarted him into it.

“You’ve got decent instincts, Francisco.” She’d said and even after eight years of using the fake alias, he still couldn’t get used to it. “But instincts won’t carry a business. If you want to run your own place one day, you need to know the numbers. Think ahead.”

So he did.

Two weeks later, he signed up for online classes—Intro to Business, Financial Accounting I, and a random management course he promptly ignored and unenrolled out of midway through the semester. He didn’t plan to get a degree—he wasn’t trying to become a CPA or anything like that, but he figured he’d take just enough to not get screwed if the opportunity ever came along. Besides, if he ever ran his own bar, he should know how to balance a ledger without crying. Or at least learn how to use QuickBooks.

He’d liked it more than he expected.

Accounting wasn’t exciting. He didn’t fully grasp the theory and couldn't explain what compound interest was or how to calculate materiality without cheating to save his life, but the numbers made sense in that weird intuitive way, like catching someone in a lie. If the totals didn’t add up, it meant someone made a mistake—or lied. That part he understood.

And Desmond was good at spotting lies.

He was halfway through the Accounting for Beginners (5th Edition) textbook again, legs sprawled across his mattress, when a job listing popped up in his inbox.

Abstergo Entertainment – Accounting Internship (Spring Term)Entry-level, flexible hours, possible long-term offer. Must sign NDA.

Compensation: Competitive.

Requirements: Coursework in accounting or finance. Self-motivated. Discreet.

Discreet was a weird requirement.

So was the sender name—just ‘J_.’ No full name. And the email had no footer. No unsubscribe button. No contact information.

Honestly, it looked like a phishing attempt, but the link checked out, and the listing was real.

Still, it beat unemployment.

Desmond clicked Apply.

Thus was how he ended up standing in front of Abstergo Entertainment a month later, holding a laminated visitor badge and wondering if he was accidentally participating in a social experiment.

Technically, Abstergo Entertainment’s HQ was in Quebec. This was just a New York satellite office—probably for accounting, PR, or whatever vague nonsense they didn’t want cluttering the actual work. Desmond figured if you had enough money, you could slap your logo on a downtown skyscraper and call it a branch. Seemed legit enough.

The building was sleek—glass and steel and way too many security guards for an accounting internship. The lobby was quiet, temperature controlled, and smelled faintly like printer toner and lies. There was a small cafe to the side of the lobby, past the security checkpoint.

There were over twenty floors, but the building directory only listed one name: Abstergo. No shared offices, no law firms, no dentists or startups—just Abstergo Entertainment, in crisp sans serif font, like they’d eaten the entire building and were still hungry.

Desmond frowned at that. Most companies, even the big ones, rented. Shared. Leased space like normal people. But Abstergo apparently just bought skyscrapers like they were Starbucks gift cards. Rich people were weird.

He checked in at the front desk, got his picture taken, and was directed to the 16th floor. “Intern Orientation.” The woman said with a practiced smile. “Don’t stray from the green line.”

There was, in fact, a literal green line on the floor.

He followed it to a bland conference room already half filled with nervous looking twenty-somethings. Some were dressed like it was a casual startup. Others wore full suits. Desmond had settled on jeans, a button-down, and the lingering aura of someone who hadn’t had a real job in seven months.

He grabbed a seat near the wall, dropped his notebook onto the table, and was so glad he had decided to grab a cheap coffee from the cafe. Having a 12 oz latte made him feel like he belonged.

When the room finally filled, that was when the presentation began. Orientation was standard corporate fare. Rules, nondisclosure agreements, company history. Some guy in a polo said something about ‘organizational synergy’ and ‘data transparency’ with a straight face.

Desmond was already regretting this and zoned out somewhere between the sixth and seventh slide about ‘industry alignment’ and ‘core competencies.’

When the presentation finally wrapped and Desmond had the chance to stretch his legs, everyone was herded toward the second conference room for icebreakers.

Desmond stared at the sign taped to the glass door. "Get to Know Your Intern Team!" Under it, in smaller font: Mandatory Attendance.

He considered walking into traffic.

The room had been rearranged—circle of chairs, catering trays in the corner with sad muffins and fruit that looked suspiciously dehydrated. There was an intern packet waiting on each seat, complete with a name badge, department assignment, and a branded stress ball in the shape of a pyramid.

Desmond found his badge on a chair near the back and when he settled down, turned the stress toy over in his hands. It was soft, cheap foam. The company logo was printed across the base as Abstergo Industries—which was weird. What was that, the parent company? Of all the logos they chose, why did it have to be a pyramid? Was this some subliminal messaging? Was this all a pyramid scheme? Illuminati?

Desmond grimaced. God, he was sounding like his parents.

The triangle shape was probably just branding.

Probably.

Around him, conversation buzzed.

“So I’m a junior at Columbia, but I just transferred out of pre-law.” One girl was saying. “Accounting resonated with me more, you know?”

“I’m double majoring in finance and international business.” Said another guy. “I want to work in public. Maybe regulatory compliance if I’m feeling crazy.”

Desmond pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly.

He was twenty-four. Not old by any real measure, but sitting among a sea of nineteen and twenty-some-year-olds, all chirping about master’s programs and networking opportunities, made him feel like a cryptid someone accidentally let into the building.

Someone to his right leaned over and offered a wide smile. “Hey! What school are you from?”

“Uh…” Desmond tried not to sink into his seat. “Not in school right now.”

“Oh! Like… gap year?”

“More like a gap lifestyle.” He deadpanned.

The guy laughed politely, unsure if it was a joke.

Desmond was saved from filling in the silence when the coordinator clapped her hands for a group activity. They were instructed to go around the circle and introduce themselves. Name, school, something fun.

Fuck.

When it was his turn, Desmond winged it. “Francisco Randez. No school. Took some online classes. I—” He hesitated, and thought fuck it. “—once got detained for climbing a museum exhibit because it looked like a staircase.”

A few people laughed nervously.

He gave them a pleasant smile and passed the metaphorical mic to the next intern.

The orientation dragged. The HR coordinator was all buzzwords and strained optimism. Synergy. Collaboration. Brand alignment. Desmond spaced out halfway through, watching the second hand tick on the wall clock and mentally calculated how long he could stretch his meager finances if this didn’t work out just to stay awake.

By the time lunch rolled around, he was starving, underslept, and ready to question every life decision that had brought him to this glass paneled hellhole. The Company had a lunchroom, outfitted with kitchens from various vendors that you could order at kiosks. Desmond took one look at the prices and walked out.

He stepped outside, walking past the lobby security and immediately regretted it. The spring air was too fresh—like the world was mocking him with sunlight and competence.

He ducked around the corner of the building, pulled out his phone, and opened his banking app. The number on the screen made his soul leave his body for a full three seconds.

He had enough for groceries or rent.

Not both.

He pulled out the granola bar he’d stolen from orientation snacks from his bag and chewed it bitterly, watching pigeons fight over a discarded panini with more dignity than he currently had.

Then, his phone buzzed.

Shaun:

how's the first day?

Desmond sent a gif of a dumpster fire.

Shaun:

oh good, you're settling in.

Desmond:

watching two pigeons fight over a sandwich

one of them won

it was not me

i’m eating a granola bar i stole from orientation snacks.

lunch prices are criminal.

Shaun:

i warned you

that building is a temple to late stage capitalism and soft cult vibes.

Desmond:

it smells like printer toner and regret.

the receptionist has dead eyes.

Shaun:

told you

something’s off about that place

Desmond:

yeah well

off is paying better than broke

Shaun:

hm.

i have an idea.

Desmond stared at the screen, then typed slowly.

Desmond:

i don’t like it when you say that.

Shaun:

you’ll love this one

i applied to the cafe in the lobby

Desmond:

wait what

Shaun:

barista job. i start next week.

figured i’d keep an eye on you

make sure the capitalist death cult doesn’t eat you whole

Desmond:

i’m fine

you don’t need to go undercover

Shaun:

too late

call it espionage adjacent moral support

Desmond stared at the screen, watching the message linger like a slow loading virus, and shook his head.

Shaun was crazy.

Not dangerous crazy, but definitely ‘might build a hidden server farm in a storage unit just to expose corporate tax fraud’ crazy.

Desmond hadn’t looked that deep into Abstergo before applying. Technically, Abstergo Entertainment didn’t exist. Not officially. Not publicly. The website was half-built, the branding was inconsistent, and even the job listing had felt like a phishing attempt. He’d Googled it once—got a corporate landing page and a PDF press release that might’ve been made in Microsoft Publisher.

Supposedly, it was a “pilot division.” Something to do with interactive media. A new branch of Abstergo’s tech empire focused on storytelling and “memory-based experiences.” Whatever that meant.

Desmond figured it was probably just some exec’s passion project with too much funding and no oversight. Which would explain the stress muffins, the biometric elevators, and the eerie sense that the walls were watching.

Abstergo Entertainment was just another subsidiary of Abstergo Industries, which supposedly did medical tech, biotech, and some research stuff too. Something about ‘memory science.’ He’d skimmed the corporate site long enough to copy buzzwords into his cover letter, then stopped caring. As long as he got experience and a paycheck, he could ignore the sterile lobby and pyramid logos.

Shaun, on the other hand, cared.

Too much.

Desmond didn’t know how the guy found half the things he did—old court filings, shuttered LLCs, redacted patents—but he had a talent for digging. If there were skeletons in the closet, Shaun would find them. Probably label them. Possibly send them a polite email.

Still, Desmond had to wonder. Was this whole barista thing really about some undercover scheme?

Or was Shaun just being… Shaun?

The guy did have a weird habit of showing up when Desmond looked like he might spiral. Maybe this was less about Abstergo and more about moral support disguised as espionage.

He didn’t ask. He just shook his head again, stuffed his phone into his pocket, and went back inside.

——

By the time Desmond returned, the room had been rearranged again. Chairs in rows now, not circles. Everyone had settled in like they were preparing for a final exam.

The HR coordinator was already standing at the front of the room with a new slide on the screen.

“Welcome to your official rotation schedule!” She chirped, like this was exciting news.

Desmond slid into an empty seat near the back, sipping the last of his coffee like it was all that tethered him to this dimension.

“You’ve all been accepted into a ten week internship program.” She continued. “Every week, you’ll rotate through a different department in our Finance Division. That means new mentors, new challenges, and lots of opportunities to learn!”

There were some murmurs of excitement. Desmond resisted the urge to die.

“You’ll be in groups of three for each rotation. These groups will stay the same across all ten weeks, so please lean on each other. Support your team. Build those connections!”

She winked, too exaggerated to be normal.

Oh god, it was a group project. For a corporate summer camp.

“Each rotation will introduce you to a key department in Abstergo’s financial operations.” She said, clicking to the next slide. “These include, but are not limited to—” The slide flashed, bullet pointing the departments against corporate approved background:

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

Payroll

Financial Reporting

Internal Audit

Cost Accounting

Capital Expenditure Management

Budgeting & Forecasting

Inventory Management

Compliance & Risk Management

“Don’t worry if some of these sound intimidating. Your mentors are here to help. Just show up, ask questions, and take notes!”

Desmond nodded along, mostly to pretend he was listening. Ten weeks. Ten departments. Two interns glued to his side the whole time.

‘Guess I’d better hope they’re not insufferable.’ He thought. Or worse—motivated.

As the coordinator read off group assignments, Desmond barely registered his name until—

“Group 4: Francisco Randez, Caleb Larson, and Andrea Lin.”

He blinked. That was him.

A guy two rows ahead shot up like someone had just called him up to the Price is Right stage.

“That’s me!” He said brightly, like a labrador in a business casual button-down. He had blond hair, bright blue eyes, and the energy of someone who unironically said things like—‘Let’s crush it today!’

Desmond raised a hand halfway in acknowledgment. The guy immediately made his way over.

“Hey! Francisco, right? I’m Caleb.” He beamed. “Stoked to be on your team, man.”

“Yeah.” Desmond said and tried to sound more excited than he felt. “Can’t wait.”

From the side, a girl slid into the third chair with all the grace of a housecat hopping onto a sunlit windowsill. Sleek black hair, winged eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man, and an expression that said she’d already decided how much effort this internship was worth—which was not much.

“Andrea.” She said, voice smooth but flat. “Don’t expect morning conversation.”

“Got it.” Desmond replied, respecting the vibe.

Caleb didn’t get it.

“That’s cool! We all bring something to the table.” He said, completely unbothered. “I’m just excited to get started, you know? Learn everything. Meet people. Network.”

“Gross.” Andrea muttered, already scrolling on her phone.

Desmond leaned back slightly and looked at the two of them. One radiated sunshine. The other looked like she’d bite him if he breathed wrong.

‘I’m going to die.’ He thought. ‘I’m going to die in a corporate sandbox with a human golden retriever and a feral alley cat.’

The coordinator clapped again.

“Group lists are final!” She named the groups and their assigned department before turning to Desmond’s group. “Group 4, you’ll be heading to your first rotation in Accounts Payable after the break. Your mentor will meet you there. Don’t be late!”

Caleb gave a thumbs up like this was a motivational retreat. “Awesome! That’s where the magic starts, right? Payments, invoices—money in motion?”

Desmond looked at him, personally offended by the phrase ‘money in motion.’

Andrea didn’t look up from her phone.

The coordinator continued. “You’ll report to Janet from 9am to 1pm each day. She’ll walk you through the basics—vendor tracking, payment logs, invoice reconciliation, and so on. At 1pm, all interns will head back to the 16th floor for the daily group session. After that, you may return to your departments at 2pm before being released at 5pm. Pretty straightforward.”

Desmond just sighed.

Only ten weeks, he reminded himself. How bad could it be?

(Spoiler: it would be very bad.)

------

IDK if I'm even capable of continuing this cause I have my main wip, but like imagine William’s reaction. Imagine Desmond's reaction when he finds out about the mind control and human experimentation and is like, oh no I've accidentally joined another cult and he's like SHIT.

Cue:

Office spy!Desmond

Feral Tsundere!Daniel defecting to be with bae

Desmond stealing a POE

?????

Corporate espionage that ends with Desmond nuking Abstergo servers using Clippy as the virus--("Hi! It looks like you’re trying to commit genocide. Would you like help with that?")

SOLAR FLARE? IDFK. Why touch it in the first place? It needs Desmond's touch? FINE. Desmond sneezes, hits the Eye/ORB THING. BOOM. SOLAR FLARE CANCELED. THE WORLD IS SAVED.

#desmond miles #fic ideas #writing #i am becoming more and more unhinged since my reintroduction to Tumblr

29 notes · View notes

duxbelisarius · 10 months ago

Text

The Velaryon Blockade or, How Not to Fight a War at Sea

Greetings and Salutations! After many months since completing the Military Analysis series, and having watched Season 2 of House of the Dragon (surely one of the shows of all time), I've returned to do some further analysis of the war of the Dance. I may end up including this entry in a subsequent re-write of the original analysis series, but I'm currently in the middle of working on a Daeron fanfic and wanted to write this to get my juices flowing. Without further ado, onto the main event: The Blockade of the Gullet (WARNING: Spoilers for HOTD and F&B; this is gonna be a long one!)

Analyzing the blockade of the Gullet or the Velaryon Blockade, as portrayed in Fire and Blood and House of the Dragon, requires tackling the subjects of how King's Landing is fed and whether such a blockade is feasible given the technology available to the setting. I'll start with the provisioning of King's Landing since the show made a big deal out of it, and it has implications for Fire and Blood's portrayal of the Dance.

The idea of a blockade of the Gullet leading to food shortages and near-starvation in King's Landing is a non-starter, since it is supported neither by the ASOIAF books or the show Game of Thrones. In the former case, we know that House Tyrells support for Renly leads to the Roseroad being closed and near famine conditions in KL, as noted by Tyrion in A Storm of Swords:

The mob loved Margaery so much they were even willing to love Joffrey again. She had belonged to Renly, the handsome young prince who had loved them so well he had come back from beyond the grave to save them. And the bounty of Highgarden had come with her, flowing up the roseroad from the south. The fools didn't seem to remember that it had been Mace Tyrell who closed the roseroad to begin with, and made the bloody famine. (ASOS, Tyrion VIII)

GoT retained this thread in Season 2 and returned to the subject of the Reach supplying KL with the 'Loot Train Battle' in Season 7.

Looked at more broadly, there are three sources of food that KL can access which render the Gullet completely redundant: Firstly, there is the Crownlands themselves, which should be accessible to KL by road or by boat via Blackwater Bay; there's the Reach, which is the most agriculturally abundant of all the Seven Kingdoms, although the main artery of this supply really should be the Mander river and not the Roseroad; and finally we have the Riverlands, which ought to be more important of a source for food since goods could reach KL from there entirely by boat or barge thanks to the Blackwater Rush and the God's Eye lake. Regardless, access to these areas means that little if any food provisions should be required to pass through the Gullet to support the capital, and this creates problems for the show and the books.

Leaving aside how the Blockade in the show is rendered useless, there is a massive plot hole for the Dance created by acknowledging this information. Prior to Criston Cole's Crownlands Campaign, most of that region, most of the Reach and all of the Riverlands have sworn fealty to Rhaenyra. Even if rationing was introduced and every source of food in the city were exploited, KL is still cut off from it's main food providers and this fact should have been addressed by the councils of either faction. Rhaenyra's allies were capable of cutting off the city's food supply and their armies could have come together to lay siege to the city. The only real obstacles they would face are Vhagar and Sunfyre, since Borros Baratheon and the Stormlands vanish from the narrative following Luke's death.

On the other hand, Aegon should have seized upon this threat to push for immediate action given his impatience with Otto's letter writing, the only payoff for which is the Triarchy's attack on the Gullet at the start of the next year. Aemond already secured the Baratheons, Tyland guarantees the Westerlands' support, and Ormund is effectively alone in supporting Aegon's cause in the Reach. As it turns out, neither faction is cognizant of this specific vulnerability of the capital at this time or later on in the Dance. When living conditions deteriorate under Rhaenyra, her tax policy is blamed rather than the fact that Cole's campaign should have negatively affected Crownlands agriculture; the Reach is rapidly switching sides thanks to Daeron; Daemon left the Riverlands in the hands of his army and those of the Lannisters, Aemond and Cole, with devastating consequences for the land and people; and finally, that the onset of winter should be having a negative effect on the food supply of the the Kingdoms.

It also needs to be stressed that for KL to rely on overseas shipments for the majority if not entirety of it's food supply, it would require the Targaryen monarchy to possess far greater governmental and military resources than they are given by George. Looking at Rome from the Middle Republic onwards and the Eastern Roman Empire prior to the Arab invasions, we can see that grain shipments helped to sustain far greater cities than King's Landing in Rome and Constantinople. In both cases though, they could rely on a hinterland for local food markets (Italy for Rome, Thrace/modern day Bulgaria for Constantinople) and possessed almost overwhelming naval supremacy which ensured the security of the seas. Rome could reliably access Sicily, North Africa, and Egypt for its grain needs, and Constantinople could do likewise with Anatolia, Egypt, the Black Sea basin and later Sicily and North Africa as well.

Ships bound for KL from the Reach would have to sail the treacherous waters and barren coast of southern Dorne, brave storms and pirates in the Stepstones, and risk further storms off the coast of the Stormlands, and this is without considering how dangerous the transit would be during years long autumns and winters. Essosi shipments have the same problem but with the added wrinkle that the crown would have to pay for them, whereas Roman grain shipments were often provided by collecting taxes in kind rather than cash from farmers in Egypt and North Africa. This alone would automatically elevate House Lannister above the Targaryens as the foremost house in the Seven Kingdoms, given their access to nigh-infinite gold deposits. This is all to say that the premise of the Gullet Blockade starving out KL is utterly preposterous, which makes it completely unsurprising that Ryan Condal and Sara Hess chose to run with it!

By contrast, the blockade attempted in F&B was meant to put pressure on the Greens by cutting off all trade to the capital, preventing merchants from reaching the city or leaving it. The foreign and domestic merchants trapped in Blackwater Bay are among the loudest voices criticizing Aegon and his leadership, which was seemingly the aim of Corlys Velaryon. Unfortunately for George's plot, close examination of the development of naval warfare in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods (c.500-1500 and c.1500-1800 respectively), the very periods George has derived his naval technology and ship designs from, indicate that the blockade of the Gullet makes no sense militarily. I arrived at my conclusion about the Blockade after consulting John H. Pryor and Elizabeth M. Jeffries excellent book The Age of the Dromon: The Byzantine Navy c.500-1204, with further insight provided by X users SzablaObr2023 and the "Orc Logistics Guy" himself, Professor Bret Devereaux.

The most fundamental problem with the Gullet Blockade is that it's the wrong kind of blockade to attempt within the setting; historically, there have been two types of blockade attempted in war: Close and Distant. Close blockades were the most common in pre-modern times, and involved cutting off naval traffic from a region or area (typically a port) with ships posted within sight of the coastline. Distant blockades aim to cut off traffic to a much larger area by posting ships at sea far from the coastline of the intended target. The Velaryons are attempting the latter kind by controlling the waters between Dragonstone and Massey's Hook, to prevent any ships from entering or leaving Blackwater Bay and thereby isolating King's Landing.

The forces available to Corlys Velaryon are not insignificant: we know that Alyn Velaryon sailed against the Stepstones in 133 AC with 60 war galleys, 30 longships, and over 100 cogs and great cogs, to which we can add the 7 warships that escorted the Gay Abandon in 129-130 AC. Increasing this fleet by a third and rounding up to account for the losses suffered in the Battle of the Gullet gives the Velaryon Fleet at least 270 ships at the outset of the Dance, potentially as high as 300. By comparison, the Redwyne Fleet in 300 AC possesses 200 warships, about equal to the Carthaginian fleet at the outset of the First Punic War and larger than any fleet used by Athens against Sparta during the Peloponnesian War (see this video from 15:27 onward).

Based on Alyn's order of battle, it appears that the Velaryon Fleet was evenly split between oared warships and pure sailing vessels, which presents a problem for the Gullet Blockade. While oared and sailing vessels could maintain a close blockade, the former are completely unsuited for a distant blockade due to their logistical requirements and seaworthiness. Close blockades were often used to cut off a port or narrow stretch of water in support of a siege by land forces; an excellent historical example is the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, when the army and fleet of Gaius Octavian trapped Mark Antony's forces in the Ambracian Gulf. Closeness to the coast and the friendly armies stationed there ensured that oared ships had access to food supplies and more importantly, fresh water. Pryor and Jeffries estimate that each member of a Byzantine rowing crew required a minimum of 8 liters of fresh water per day; a Dromon with 108 rowers would thus need 864 liters per day and 1000 liters or one tonne if the marines and officers are included (adding a second crew of rowers would almost double that amount). Mediterranean war galleys of the Medieval and Early Modern Periods had storage for only 4-8 tonnes of fresh water on board, making accessible fresh water sources a sine qua non for operations of any length.

The other factor rendering oared warships unsuitable for distant blockade duties is their seaworthiness, which Pryor and Jeffries discuss at length:

if the wind rose to Beaufort Scale Four-Five (16-17 knots) ... That would raise waves of around 4.75 feet, 1.45 metres. All galleys at all times were designed to cut through the water rather than to ride the waves and such a wind, which is just a “moderate” to “fresh” breeze on the Beaufort Scale, nothing out of the ordinary, would send waves washing over the deck of any dromon. Even if the wind were astern, she would still be forced to run for the coast. If the wind were ahead, it would be worse because that would mean that the ship was attempting to beat to windward and therefore would be heeling over with one gunwale continuously under water." ... Scale Seven winds would raise seas up to 13.5 feet (4.115 metres) and no dromon would stand a chance of continuing its voyage in such conditions. The authors of the Olympias project have concluded that a trieres [Trireme] would be swamped in waves above 0.85 metres, and we believe that in all probability a dromon would have been also. ... However, galleys were simply not designed to be sailed and throughout history they were always notoriously poor sailers. Because their lack of deep keels meant that they made excessive leeway when beating into the wind, because their shallow draft and low freeboard meant that they could not heel under sail very much, because their narrow beam and low depth in hold meant that their hulls did not have the structural strength to carry a large press of sail, and because their extreme length:beam ratio and lateen sails meant that they carried pronounced weather helm, constantly griping, the bows coming up into the wind, galleys were always notorious for poor upwind performance under sail. That is nothing to be wondered at for they were not designed to do that ... Moreover, a heel under sail of a mere ten degrees or so would put the lower rims of the lower oar ports at the flat water line and at that point it is highly questionable whether the oar sleeves would have prevented water from entering the hull, even if they were tied off. (Age of the Dromon, pg. 336-338)

Velaryon war galleys and longships would need to stay close to Cracklaw Point, Massey's Hook, Driftmark and Dragonstone to be of any assistance to the Blockade, although with the rough seas and weather of autumn and winter even this would be a doubtful prospect. Corlys would have to rely upon the cogs and great cogs of the Velaryon Fleet to conduct the blockade; Devereaux and Szabla noted that sailing vessels are capable of conducting distant blockades, as demonstrated by Britain's Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. They also note that conducting such a blockade entailed problems all its own:

A distant blockade with sailing vessels still required significant logistical support, a well developed naval command structure and bureaucracy, and only began to be attempted centuries after the High and Late Middle Ages when the Cog was widely used.

Even if we leave these issues aside, the Gullet Blockade still has another serious problem: Communications. Based on a distance map of Westeros, the distance between Crackclaw Point and Sharp Point appears to be c.125 miles while the length of the Gullet proper from Dragonstone to Sharp Point may be 100 miles or less. Meleys is the only dragon known to have supported the Blockade and seems not to have been replaced after her death at Rook's Rest. Over 100 cogs and 1 dragon at best would be the only forces capable of patrolling the Gullet to any effect, while the need for ships to resupply the blockade and to act as reserves to relieve ships from the Blockade line drastically reduces the amount of ships that could patrol the Gullet. Pryor and Jeffries' assessment of Byzantine visual signaling suggests that communications within the Blockade would be almost impossible:

The masthead height of the foremast of a standard dromon as we have reconstructed it was only around 10.65 metres above sea level. There were, admittedly, larger dromons; however, for what follows a couple of metres more of masthead height would make no difference to the conclusions reached. With a foremast height of 10.65 metres above sea level, the theoretical horizon of a lookout at the masthead would have been only around 11.8 kilometres. Theoretically, the peak of a lateen sail 21 metres above sea level could be seen a further 51.7 kilometres away but, of course, no man could see 63.5 kilometres with unaided sight. In all probability, around 15-20 kilometres would have been the limit of visibility from the masthead of a dromon. Scout ships could not, therefore, patrol a space more than 30-40 kilometres in advance of a fleet and probably no more than 30, since they were always said to have been smaller than standard dromons and would have had lower mastheads. In fact, in order to be able to actually read signals with unaided eyesight and communicate them back to the fleet, distances must have been even less than this. Syrianos Magistros advised that a fleet should always proceed with scout ships out ahead, up to six milia or so. Two scout ships should be 6 milia ahead and another two should be between them and the fleet to relay any messages. Six milia was only around 8 kilometres. If the forward scout ships then had a range of visibility of another 8-16 kilometres, then the real maritime space that could be observed was only around 25 kilometres at best. (Age of the Dromon, pg. 388-389).

Compared to the Gullet, the Strait of Otranto is 100 km wide (c.69 miles) while the distance between Crete and Rhodes is 180 km (c.112 miles) with the island of Karpathos in the middle; neither the Byzantines nor contemporary Mediterranean powers could control entry and exit through such space.

It might be argued that spyglasses, known in ASOIAF as Myrish Lenses or a Myrish Eye, could offer a solution to such long distances; unfortunately these devices are only produced in Myr, and of the three mentioned in the main books only one is used onboard a ship. The lenses used by Maesters Luwin and Aemon are large enough to require a tripod; the only one mentioned aboard a ship is a collapsible Eye carried by a Myrish captain whose ship is taken by Victarion en route to Slavers Bay. Even if Myrish lenses were available to some degree, it's unlikely they could overcome the problems of distance and the conditions at sea.

Writing about the War of 1812, Frederick Leiner states that a lookout "perched on the masthead, 80 or 100 feet above the main deck, and equipped with a spyglass, with the horizon perhaps 20 miles off ... might be able to discern a larger warship-like frigate perhaps as far as 15 miles distant, if the weather were clear and sea conditions allowed." 15 miles or 24 km is impressive compared to the 8-16 km of the Byzantine scout ships mentioned by Pryor and Jeffries, but the heights of Leiner's masts are more than double that of a Dromon and taller still than a cogs. Even a spyglass from two centuries after they were first introduced would not greatly enhance the vision of a Velaryon lookout, and the notoriously poor weather and seas of the Westerosi autumn and winter would certainly counteract it. With ships being kept off station to ferry supplies and act as reserves, the area needing to be patrolled would make visual signaling highly impractical.

To quote Pryor and Jeffries once more, "Expeditionary objectives could frequently be achieved best by preserving one’s forces intact and actually avoiding battle since naval warfare was essentially amphibious warfare whose purpose was to secure control of terrestrial objectives rather than to attempt to control maritime space (Age of the Dromon, 388)." Using the Velaryon Fleet to support the Black armies rather than attempting an exercise in futility by blockading the Gullet, would have applied pressure to Aegon and the Greens more effectively while being consistent with the setting that George created and its inspirations.

The most obvious way for the Velaryon Fleet to support the Blacks would be through transporting Northern and Vale troops south of the Neck and the Mountains of the Moon, to take the fight to Aegon rather than sitting back passively once Daemon rallied the Riverlords and the Blacks in the Reach marched on Oldtown. Considering how swiftly both of those armies were raised, it makes no sense why the Vale could not at least send troops to assist Rhaenyra in the Crownlands. Another option and one which I proposed in part 12 and the conclusion of my military analysis series, would be to send the Velaryon Fleet south against the Stormlords.

Otto Hightower believed that Tarth would support Rhaenyra's cause, and Lord Buckler and Lady Fel were both executed by Aegon for refusing to swear fealty to him instead of Rhaenyra. The bulk of the Crownlands supports Rhaenyra prior to Criston Cole's campaign, and Felwood and Bronzegate are located south of the Crownlands astride the Kingsroad to Storm's End. The Wendwater flows through the Stormlands and Crownlands before emptying into Blackwater Bay; assuming the river is even partially navigable, this could allow shallow drafted boats to move troops and supplies into the lower Kingswood and prevent Aegon and Borros from aiding one another. Naval operations along the coast would be risky given the arrival of autumn, but the weather rarely affects the plot of the Dance if the author doesn't want it to. Tarth would serve as a base for the Velaryon ships to resupply and further raid the coast or land troops and the Blacks in the Reach could threaten the border, with the Cockleswhent and Blueburn rivers potentially serving as supply arteries for an invasion from the west.

There are also compelling political reasons for the Blacks and particularly the Velaryons to attack the Stormlands: It would punish Borros Baratheon for breaking his father's oath to Rhaenyra, esp. since his father supported Rhaenys and Laenor in 101 and Rhaenys is currently part of the Black council; it could be portrayed as vengeance for the death of Lucerys Velaryon over Shipbreaker Bay; and it could potentially force the Greens out of King's Landing. Aemond's betrothal to Floris Baratheon would give him some obligation to support his ally and future good-father against their common foe, and failure to give aid would endanger the Baratheon alliance. Aegon's only other allies are in the Westerlands and the Honeywine valley of the southern Reach, and without the Baratheons he is completely surrounded by his enemies. Whether Aegon, Aemond or both set out with an army to aid Borros, King's Landing's garrison and perhaps one dragonrider are all that would be left to defend against an attack by Daemon and the Riverlords and/or the Black houses of the Reach.

These scenarios offer a more effective employment for the Velaryon Fleet, but there is a way to retain the blockade while ensuring that the ending of the Dance remains relatively the same (Rhaenyra and Aegon are dead, Aegon III and Jaehaera marry, most of the dragons are dead, etc.) by acknowledging that the blockade is a poor strategy. It could start by allowing Mysaria's spies to discover the fate of the Royal Treasury, with ships carrying 75% of the treasury out of Blackwater Bay without the awareness of the Velaryon Fleet. It can even be implied that Larys Strong leaked this information to play both sides and drive a wedge between Rhaenyra and her Hand; this pays off as Rhaenyra blames Corlys and the Velaryons for this embarassment and imposes the Blockade against Corlys' judgement. The blockade serves as a way for her to get back at Aegon while asserting her royal authority after her claim was usurped.

The Velaryon Fleet is thus forced to commit the entirety of its forces to a task that Corlys, his vassals, and his captains and crews know is beyond their means to carry out successfully. Many galleys could be lost to the stormy seas and their crews drowned, while the cogs must endure the same weather and miserable conditions in pursuit of a pointless task. Morale declines steadily as many ships desert completely, turning to piracy or becoming merchantmen and sellsails in Essos, which further undermines the blockade. Tensions between Rhaenyra and Corlys would already be high before Rhaenys' death and could reach a crisis point after the Battle of the Gullet. The way the battle plays out in F&B could likewise be retained if the mistakes made by the Blacks are acknowledged, being the failure of naval or dragon patrols to detect the approach of the Triarchy Fleet. Gyldan could point out that both Prince Jacaerys and Lord Corlys are at fault for the disaster, but that Rhaenyra solely blames the Velaryons. I would even go a step further: Medieval and Early Modern naval combat relied heavily on boarding actions, excluding cannons since they're not present in George's setting. With many galleys and ships being entangled in these close-quarters bouts, it would not be surprising if the dragonriders set fire to Velaryon ships by mistake and further contributed to the deterioration of Velaryon support.

With many officers and crews having lost their families and homes in the Triarchy attack, this would present a perfect opportunity for Vaemond Velaryon's sons, Daeron and Daemion, and his nephews the 'Silent Five' to take action if they were not already involved in the events of the Dance. With Larys possibly assisting them, they could begin organizing a fleet-wide mutiny against Rhaenyra and the Black Council, which would take place after Corlys is arrested. Addam and Alyn would flee to Dragonstone and Driftmark, the former to seek Baela and Moondancer's help and the latter to rally ships and crews to help his father. The mutineers capture Alyn while Addam finds Moondancer dead, Baela imprisoned, and Dragonstone in the hands of Aegon II, with a battle ensuing between Sunfyre and Seasmoke which leads to Aegon's injuries and Addam fleeing the bay worse for wear. Heading to Maidenpool and finding that Nettles has fled and Daemon and Aemond are fallen in battle, Addam could then rally what forces he can for a suicide mission against Tumbleton with the aim of killing Daeron and the Betrayers and mauling their army before it can join Aegon at King's Landing.

This sets up how I would fix Second Tumbleton, by Addam showing up to find Daeron already battling with the Betrayers and the army divided. Knowing that neither Aegon and Alicent nor Alyn, Baela and Corlys will survive if the Betrayers take the capital, Addam and Daeron join forces and rout the Betrayers army, with all four dragonriders being killed in the battle. This change is important if Jaehaera's death is retained, since there needs to be strong foundations for reconciling the Greens and Blacks. Addam and Daeron the Daring's sacrifice gives both factions heroes that they can memorialize and honour together; Daenaera's marriage to Aegon III is also helped by her father and uncle having been actively involved in Rhaenyra's downfall in support of Aegon II. A final touch I would add would be for Alyn to lead a counter-mutiny following Aegon II's death which leads to deaths of Daeron Velaryon and three of the 'Silent Five'; Alyn could swear an oath to the dying Daeron to look after his daughter Daenaera now that both her parents will be dead. This magnanimous act by Alyn and the respect the Velaryon Fleet has for him could inform Daemion's decision to break with the remaining 'Silent Five' and support Alyn's claim as Corlys' heir.

If you've made it to the end of this wall of text, I commend you! For those that want a TL;DR: The Show's blockade is nonsense; the Book blockade is unworkable as a strategy; nonetheless, the blockade and the Velaryon Fleet can still play an important role in the story if the aforementioned flaws are acknowledged. Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

#asoiaf #house of the dragon #hotd #fire and blood #asoiaf critical #hotd critical #grrm critical #house velaryon #team green #team black #corlys velaryon #alyn velaryon #addam velaryon #military history

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hestzhyen · 8 months ago

Text

Chapter 57 Cope Posting

Not like this, dear void... not like this. The blessing/curse of Kagurabachi chapters ending in 7 being absolute banger cliffhangers continues and there is not enough copium in the world to get me through to next week. This entry is an absolute mess...

Let's start with practicing on the editor's comments again. Sorry if the colours are hard to read on brighter backgrounds, I live in Dark Mode as much as possible.

First page: ハクリが飛宗の転送に成功! そして- [Hakuri ga Tobimune no tensou ni seikou! Soshite-, Hakuri successfully transfers Tobimune! And then-] Last page: 座村, 漆羽… 事態は混沌へ… [Samura, Uruha... jitai ha konton he..., Samura, Uruha... the situation turns chaotic...] noting that the word used for "situation", jitai (事態), specifically has negative connotations (as opposed to 状況 [joukyou], which is neutral).

These comments are rarely more than fluff just to give the editors some presence in the work itself, so I don't take them as definite indicators of anything going on in the plot. But man. Man. "Bad situation" seems to be putting it lightly. I was ready to take you off the list of possible traitors, Samura! I was seriously going to do it! Whyyyyyyyyyyy

Chihiro and the Pink Menace

Fine, first up... school?

How does our cast stack up to the average student after getting home schooled in murder and cool action poses?

It was obvious to everyone that this arc would involve Chihiro learning about the unpleasant sides of his dad's legacy. So this is just a "hey don't forget" moment for us that also highlights how far removed Hiruhiko and Chihiro are from regular society. Those two (and Hakuri) should be in their last year of high school, complaining about homework or stressing about their future college/job plans right now instead of fighting to the death. Poor guys.

I don't want to presume too much about Hokazono-sensei's views, but I really like directly acknowledging that winners write history and so their wartime cruelty is often downplayed or re-framed as heroism. These kids and even Chihiro only know the revised version of what happened, not the truth of the matter.

Home schooled Chihiro confirmed! Kinda!

Anyway, some more John Plan Reveal. He wants Chihiro to learn the truth about his father's legacy and the impact it's had- that's why he hasn't been "harvested" yet. This implies that there's some terrible thing that could upend Chihiro's entire worldview to be learned. But we kind of already knew that based on everything I just said.

I hope this isn't a flag for John trying to convince Chihiro to join him. There are awful secrets that are going to be unearthed about Kunishige and the Kamunabi this arc for sure, but it's kind of a waste of our time to do the "oooh it was worse than you thought why don't you join us to set things right" rigamarole.

Obviously the Hishaku have some compelling reasons to do all this if they can get someone as loath to kill as Samura on their side to murk his war buddies. It's just never gonna convince Chihiro so I hope we don't get a moralizing yapfest to accompany John's outstretched hand. I trust the writing though! So far it's been almost nothing but excellence so... chill, me. Just wait and see.

I think that no matter what happens Chihiro will continue to forge his own path with allies who care for him at his side. He won't choose the government's path, or the Hishaku's, or even his dad's- he'll create something new. Standard stuff for a shounen series but I never get tired of seeing it!

Before moving on to the coping session, there's something neat in this scene that I want to ramble about:

Local yapper yaps while the guy listening to him literally overthinks

I'll use the JP version if I have to, but I like how Chihiro's inner monologue deliberately overruns Hiruhiko's speech bubble to show that he's not paying full attention while his thoughts are in overdrive. He's still partially listening but he's not quite as composed as he appears to be on the outside, which is confirmed by the close-up zoom into his stressed look with the sweat drops. Yet when we zoom out, he seems a bit more put-together like usual. He's still exhausted from yesterday, man! Really should have rested up... at least the author acknowledges it. (Forced bed rest soon? Hopefully?)

This is how Hiruhiko was able to get the drop on Chihiro. Chihiro's got a lot on his mind and he has trouble focusing, just like Uruha chided him for on the train. His resolve is unshaken but he's still prone to wavering in the moment as he tries to process things. He even misses the fist time Samura's name was mentioned! Clearly Chihiro needs Hakuri or Uruha or someone there to yell encouragement at the right time to stop him from getting lost in his own head. But he's got a lot to think about and work through right now, so it's understandable why he's so stressed out.

Poor Chihiro. He's coming to the conclusions that we, the readers privileged with having weeks IRL to ponder new information, came to long ago. The Master is not treated like a hero but a prisoner, and probably for very, very good reasons. Ones good enough to convince Samura to make a deal with the devil.

What Actually Happened?!

Not all the blades have themes from nature, it seems. Geisha offered many different types of entertainment to guests, from performing music to conversation to serving sake. So now we have the idea behind the name [Swaying Sake]!

First up to delay just a little longer: Kumeyuri power reveal! Seems to be based in some kind of performing arts aesthetic with the geisha that were conjured. Fitting for the guy who wears kabuki eye make-up right? ...And for the next bearer, who interrupted a kabuki performance to pick it up in a theater... I see you and your foreshadowing, Hokazono-sensei.

Fine. I'll admit it. The ending of the chapter makes it crystal clear that Hiruhiko is the new bearer contracted to Kumeyuri by having his origami butterflies come undone as he grasps the hilt in his teeth. Can't even hope it's another case of someone "borrowing" power like Kyora did with the Shinuchi of the bunch.

Magatsumi's the only blade that can be used by someone not contracted to it, hence the extra protections it needed.

So that means... yeah. Uruha's gone. Just like that.

There will be thousands of theories about what exactly happened to Uruha, why Samura made a deal with John, what the details of that deal were- we'll get the truth soon. I'm most interested in the reasoning that ties into Samura's sincere beliefs of killing being an evil act.

The burden of death weighs so heavily on him that he blinded himself in penance. But he's willing to let his own apprentice die -probably even kill him himself!- because of... what? What was so horrible about fighting with the Master and Kunishige's weapons for the good of the nation? What compelled him to help the Hishaku kill the remaining bearers and upend the peace they earned?!

Hey, Samura. Is it really so bad to be called a war hero while being treated like a prisoner in a comfortable government-provided jail facility? Is it so horrible that "alternative facts" pass for real history to bury whatever horrors you witnessed and possibly perpetrated? Is it truly awful to have people willing to die for you despite all the grave sins you've committed? That they're likely completely unaware of thanks to government propaganda and being too young to have witnessed the truth?

...I need those Seitei War flashbacks pronto.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Wait a minute. Jail? Even the friggin' onsen?

Yup! The Master's the only one being treated like a dangerous criminal outright, but the 慚箱 [sanso] are just dressed up prisons for the Bearers. The Kamunabi ain't even subtle about it.

慚 [san] - to feel shame 箱 [sou] - box

The government put these guys in specially-constructed (or repurposed) buildings officially referred to as "shame boxes" and told them they couldn't leave. Even the name given to one of them is a bit much! 国獄温泉 [Kokugoku Onsen] translates to:

国 [koku]- country/state/national government 獄 [goku]- jail/prison 温泉 [onsen] - hot spring

Gee, I wonder if Uruha was having a good time at State Prison Hot Springs?

That said, while there may well be some bitterness between the Bearers and the Kamunabi, it's not the main motivating factor for Samura. His is definitely rooted in how they all acted during the war and how guilty he feels now that they're promoted as heroes.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*

It looks like Chihiro's being summoned by Hakuri in the very last panel so we might get some perspective on Samura's reasoning next week. Probably no clear answers right away, but at least enough to see if he really was the one who killed Uruha and a bit of insight into why. And to see if Uruha's dead at all... I mean, if we don't see a body... let me be delusional, okay?!

I'm just not able to go all-in on believing Uruha's dead. But it's not because I don't think he actually is... it just doesn't feel real after spending weeks preparing to let go of Samura. Not to mention the tried-and-true tactic of baiting out strong emotions with implied character deaths.

Normally I don't take death foreshadowing like this too seriously in shounen series. I just wait to see if the author is faking me out or not before getting stressed (unless it's Hakuri, in which case I stress responsibly). But Kagurabachi is a series that lured the MC with a child's severed leg and showed two suicide attempts on-screen, one of which was horrifically successful- right in front of someone who was already traumatized too. Hell we lost most of the anti-Kuregumo squad without much fanfare back in the Sojo arc! Only actually showing a child being tortured on-screen is too much, apparently. This series is dark as hell when the author wants it to be and Uruha's death is probably another one of those times.

There's hope in me that Uruha can still come out of this alive just because I like him so much, but I want the author to follow through on his death when it's presented as such an ominously real scenario. All signs point to Uruha being a goner, so don't make it look iron-clad then say "nah" the next chapter with some technicality that we couldn't have known about until the reveal. I would rather lose Uruha in an unexpectedly painful way than be faked out just to get the reaction out of me, y'know? Don't toy with me. Commit to crushing my heart, dammit.

But, God... oh man. I fell for the bait and got stupidly attached to a Bearer in the arc named after killing them. I even knew bad times were coming because of all the levity at the start of the arc but still went on hoping nothing would happen so soon. Laugh at me, I deserve it. I probably helped this manifest by mentioning how awful it would be if Chihiro found out a Bearer died because Hiruhiko was able to contract with one of the blades. Saying "I crave the angst that will come from this situation with every fiber of my being" in a post tag was overkill. It's just:

Author: names the arc after assassinating the bearers

Reader: gets attached anyway

Author: assassinates a bearer

Reader: ╚(•⌂•)╝

Coping Theory

May as well put my two cents in on how it could have gone down while I'm here...

I wonder if he planned to die in the raid instead so it looked like an unavoidable accident, sparing everyone else from the carnage.

This exact sequence- the Makizumi talking about honor in death for saving Samura, and Uruha's words that the Bearer's lives need to be valued above others'- is what solidifies Samura's resolve. This man is filled to the brim with guilt and self-loathing (much like another swordsman we know). He cannot save himself, but... perhaps he can take some equally bad sinners down with him for the greater good. He's not only a mirror for Hakuri, but Chihiro as well- one's resolve to save no matter the cost to one's self, and one's resolve to go to hell for what they believe is right. That's how I'm reading this until we get his own insight on the matter, at least.

It's not a stretch to infer that Samura thinks the Bearers are better off dead in large part due to the powers they command and things that were done during the war. That's still a huge mystery to be unraveled but I mean:

Seeing the bare minimum of Magatsumi in action really drives home how horrific these "heroes" could seem out on the battle field doesn't it? No wonder the clone sorcerer described the Seitei war as "hell on earth". But the public has no knowledge of this. They only got the sanitized version fit for PR purposes and feel-good stories.

The Hishaku seem to be intent on dismantling this image. Perhaps that's how they got Samura on their side? Not sure how the current Bearers dying and giving the Hishaku access to that dreadful power is better than the status quo, but that's something that will become clear with more reveals about the ideology driving the group. Maybe Samura doesn't care so much about the rest of the world and just wants to do what's best for the truth that's been buried under nearly two decade's worth of secrecy.

As to what happened with Uruha... two things come to mind. One I think is more likely, and one I want to cling to until it's ripped away as I sob and beg for just one little bit of comfort.

Most likely, I think Samura and Uruha had an exchange about ideals and the value of their lives. Samura overpowered Uruha per the plan as the "trump card" and that was that.

In delulu land, I want Samura to have been double-crossed. As in he made a deal on the condition that the lives of the people he cared about would be spared, but of course Uruha couldn't be allowed to live. So the Hishaku ensured that he'd die there no matter what. It's a bunk theory since Mr. Hatshaku left once the situation turned against him... maybe incorporate some of the datenseki mind control stuff in there somehow? I don't know. Just let me have this until canon proves otherwise.

Hakuri and Chihiro, Though?! And Miscellaneous Questions

(Ch. 46) I'm not going to be okay for a while and neither are they.

Best boys are really gonna go through it no matter what Chihiro is summoned back to. They'll be in a rough way... not only did they lose Uruha and hand Kumeyuri to Hiruhiko, but Samura betrayed them all... oof. So much for proving themselves to the Kamunabi. They're going to get an earful and be set back in the "negotiations" big time.

No doubt Chihiro will put this burden on his shoulders too, even if no one could have predicted Samura's defection to the enemy. It's his dad's legacy that's causing all this strife right now. He'll be more motivated than ever to unravel the war's true history and I'll be right there with him hoping he doesn't push himself too hard or harshly. The son shouldn't be responsible for the sins his father committed before he was even born. But that's just like, my opinion, man.

Meanwhile...

"I'm still good for it," wheezes the guy with blood gushing out of his nose at an alarming rate.

Hakuri will probably blame himself too. Depending on how things shake out, it could be for anything from accidentally arming a traitor to seeing someone die in front of him again. There's a good chance he'll (temporarily) lose the thing that makes him useful too, so that'll be an extra layer of angst for him to deal with. What value does a broken tool that couldn't fulfill it's one purpose have?

I also wonder what prompted Hakuri to summon Chihiro away from Hiruhiko. He's kind of in rough shape to do it just 'cause he misses his (boy)friend. They have cell phones to communicate with so it seems a bit abrupt to summon him back without checking first. Hakuri's also not the type to impose on someone to protect him. Nor is he the type to drop Chihiro into the middle of a life-or-death situation without a sense of mutual understanding first. So there had to be some kind of pressing need. The timeline of events means he's summoning Chihiro right after Uruha was killed, so... more soulmate stuff maybe? Their souls call out to each other and resonate when they're in distress, after all (it's canon baybeeeeee). They're in perfect harmony and all that. Sorry for the shipping nonsense I just need any bit of fluff I can get right now.

So many questions that might not get answered...

What about the Makizumi? Will they defect to serve Samura? Or will they try to help get Hakuri to safety with the Kamunabi? Samura doesn't want to kill them at all so no matter what happens they'll live at least. Hooray an elite squad that didn't bite the dust... (I think they will choose Samura because of everything he did for them).

How did Hiruhiko know when Kumeyuri was usable anyway?! Was it some signal from his mystery supporter that was lurking outside the window? And who was that- did Worst Jeanist show up?

Samura's loath to kill innocents, but does Hakuri count as one? Would losing his sorcery be enough to count him as neutralized for the Hishaku's purposes? Was exhausting Hakuri the main reason why Hiruhiko sent all the forces to the temple in the first place?

Hiruhiko wasn't surprised to see Tobimune disappear, so the Hishaku probably know about Hakuri's power. Their mole within the Kamunabi should get a bonus for the turnaround time on learning that bit of info and sending it on. Unless John's playing 5D chess and knew about Hakuri's awakening and team-up with Chihiro before they even met the Kamunabi anyway... perhaps even orchestrated it too... that would definitely need a very good explanation.

Alright. Okay. Let's wait on tenterhooks together, dear void. No waterworks until they show the body, got it?

[sob]

#kagurabachi #long post #More convinced than ever that the Seitei War was a civil war #Saving the Hakuri Development Arc prospects yap for another chapter or two to see exactly how all this plays out #But I think he'll be finding his own path between Samura Uruha and his family's just like Chihiro #Uruha... not like this...

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cyberpxnk · 1 year ago

Note

'You always look so divine when you cum for Mommy'

Oh, I loved that bit so much!

Can I please request Pt. 3 when they actually have sex?

I just love mommy!hwa so much

thank you mommy | park seonghwa (3/3)

part one part two

♡ pairing: mommy!seonghwa x f!sub reader ♡ chapters: 3 out of 3 ♡ word count: 1.3k ♡ rating: mature/18+ (minors dni) ♡ plot: pwp, smut

♡ synopsis: mommy seonghwa is ready to reward you for all your good doings tonight.

♡ warnings/tags: mommy!seonghwa, dom!seonghwa, sub!reader, pet names, praise, dirty talk, fingering (f! receiving), creampie, unprotected sex

♡ author's note: hello! happy new year! ₍ᐢ. ̫.ᐢ₎ long overdue request. here is the finale of the mommy hwa requests.

You're unsure how much time has passed since your last orgasm. Since then, you've been teetering between smalls bouts of slumber and restlessness. The room is bathed in moonlight as you're shifting about the tangle of bed sheets.

From beside you Seonghwa admires your bare form as he idly traces shapes along your navel toward the peaks of your breasts until they trail along your face delicately.

His gentle touches lull you back to sleep, the familiarity of your lover's nimble fingers brushing aside your bangs as you let out a soft exhale.

A low chuckle falls from his lips as he allows you another moment of reprise. He knows you will need it for later as his sexual appetite is yet to be sated.

When you awake next, your eyes shoot open and a surprised gasp is torn from your lips. Your mouth is dry from sleep and you struggle to moan out in surprise, the noise of an unpleasant croak forming instead.

The sound would have embarrassed you if not for the abrupt entry of his lengthy fingers delving past your velvety walls. His thumb is already circling around your clit as he works his digits within you, pumping fast and hurriedly. He has no room for playing around anymore.

"Wake up, doll. Mommy needs you," he croons into your ear as your hips arch off the bed.

"Mmm…" You groan groggily in response, your mind reeling as you're trying to keep up with the pace of his actions.

Though you're barely comprehending his demands, your body responds with an eagerness as you grow wet from his ministrations. With every dip of his fingers, your arousal coats them until they're slick with your juices.

"Mommy?" He shushes you quietly, pressing his mouth to yours as his fingers work faster, scissoring within you as you begin to squirm against his lithe frame.

His hand holds you in place, thumb falling from your clit as his palm replaces the appendage, the skin of his hand meeting your bundle of nerves over and over.

It's obvious you can't keep up as you whine pathetically into his kiss, panting through your drool laden lips while you rut against his hand.

You feel your own heartbeat echoing in your ears, blood thrumming through your veins as his fingers are delving inside you. The world seems to narrow down to just these sensations, two bodies passionate and intertwining.

As Seonghwa pulls away from the kiss, leaving you panting and clinging, he whispers in your ear, "You sound so pretty, doll. I love how needy you are for me. "

With each word, your body tightens, your pussy clenching around his hand in anticipation. The building pressure grows unbearable, and you can feel the climax pooling in your core.

"Mommy," you cry out, "I'm close!"

"Not yet, darling." He feels the change in your body, your muscles tightening and the wetness of your arousal seeping onto his palm. Just as you're about to peak, he removes his digits from you, a desperate and wanton whine ripping from your throat.

Your fingers dig into his skin as your thighs shake, your climax looming closely, the pleasure rising and falling to the rhythm of your heavy breathing.

"It's Mommy's turn," he murmurs lovingly to you, tucking a stray hair behind the shell of your ear.

Your eyes flutter at his words, body tensing with anticipation as realization floods your senses. The tip of his head is pressed against your core, shaft thick against the wetness of your folds. He brushes himself against you, rutting along your clit as he elicits a gasp from you.

His actions urge you, causing your hips to buck with need as you grind against his hard cock. Teasingly the hot skin of his length continues to rub along your pussy, smearing the entirety of his erection with your juices.

"My good girl is so eager for Mommy's cock." Seonghwa's palm rests against your cheek, thumb stroking your lower lip as your mouth falls open in a soft moan.

You plead once more, his name falling from your lips as he presses cock against your slit.

"Mmm." He hums in appreciation at your lewd noises. "Shall I reward you for being so good"

"Y-Yes!" You squirm.

"Yes, what?" His tip delve past your walls, just barely spreading you around him.

"Yes, mommy!"

"So lovely and obedient." He coos as his cock sinks into you, filling your cunt with one fluid motion.

Seonghwa's eyes lock with yours, your eyes barely staying open as he slides deeper into your tight warmth. Your pussy clenches around him, clearly wanting more of his cock, but he holds himself back, teasing both of you with his sweet torment.

As he thrusts languidly within you, you cry out loudly and your back arches off the mattress, trying to meet his thrust with your own movements. He seems both pleased and unapproving of your reaction, his hands gripping both sides of your hips to pin you down as he begins to drill into you.

"My needy darling."

With his cock is buried inside you, he reaches down to tease your clit some more, his fingers gliding over the sensitive nub, driving you closer to the edge each time.

Every flick of his thumb tracing your little button has you keening, your hips bucking against him, seeking the sensation of his hard length. You can't help but moan, your voice hoarse and pleading for more.

"You're so wet, doll," he says, his voice low and full of teasing. "I don't think you can handle it all."

But you know differently. You need him. Your body craves the fullness of his cock as it stretches you.

"No, no… I can handle it! I need your cock, Mommy!"

"Are you sure?" He chuckled lowly, sweeping his hand over your side as your writhe.

You nod your head eagerly, hair bouncing in your face as you plead to him pathetically. He smiles and his hand settles on your side, squeezing reassuringly before he begins to fuck into you.

His pace is swift, deliberate and precise. Each thrust of his hips has you crying out, pounding against your gspot and driving you closer and closer to your orgasm. Long and velvety fingers find your abused clit, pinching and flicking until you're a moaning mess beneath him. His ministrations has your orgasm approaching too quickly, the sensation wracking your body immediately.

"Mommy!" You shout in ecstasy, cunt tightening and spasming around his cock as he fucks you through your orgasm.

"That's it, my divine. Come for me." He says between pants, his own peak looming closely as your pussy throbs around his cock.

Seonghwa's eyes roll back with pleasure as he watches your body convulse beneath him, feeling the contractions that ripple through your walls. He thrusts harder and faster, driving himself deeper into you, desperate to reach his own gratification. His balls tighten and his cock swells, ready to spill himself into your womb.

"My darling. Cum for Mommy, let it all go." He grunts, his voice barely audible over the sound of your skin slapping against each other.

Your orgasm peaks, and you gasp for breath as he continues his relentless assault. You reach up, clutching his shoulders, your fingers digging into his skin as you whimper into his ear.

"I want to feel you come, Mommy," you breath out, your voice punctuated by gasps. You beg him over and over, chanting his name as your core trembles from the shocks of your orgasm.

He doesn't respond, only grunting in response as he gives several more thrust before his hot seed is flooding within your walls, filling you with his release.

Then he holds you still, the two of you moaning against each other as his arms encircle your body. You're slouched against him, breathing heavily as your nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck. The sensation of his cock pumping heavy loads of his essence inside you subsides, leaving you feeling full of him.

It seems like an eternity before he slides of you, his cum slowly seeping out from between your legs as he withdraws just slightly to give you a moment. Seonghwa then cups both your cheeks, looking into your eyes as he presses a soft peck to your forehead.

"What do you say, darling?"

"Thank you, mommy."

#cyberpxnkrequest #cyberpxnkwrites #park seonghwa x reader #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa smut #seonghwa scenarios #ateez x you #ateez oneshot #ateez x reader #ateez smut #mommy! seonghwa #mommy!seonghwa

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43501 · 2 months ago

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Any Near/Reader and or OC fic recommendations? from either FF.NET or AO3?? its so HARD coming across any good ones, oh and, have you read the fanfiction called Noel? I think the concept is so fun and the Near characterization is 👌

Hi! It's kind of dire out there for us looking for Near stuff that isn't just meronia, isn't it? I'd be willing to bet you've already read all the ones I'll recommend.

At time of writing there's only 43 entries in the Near/Reader tag on AO3. Half of them aren't even Near/Reader fics, but massive "one shot compilations" that might feature like, a 100-word drabble if you go digging for it among all the other chapters containing pairings you don't give a damn about (can you tell this is a practice I hate).

There's 137 on FF.net but the actual number may be higher due to changes with FF.net's search function over the years. A good portion of these are genuinely unreadable - some due to zero formatting and being a literal solid block of text with no line breaks, some so out-of-character it'd give you hives. Full disclosure that while I have read all the ones available on AO3, I haven't read all of these (and likely never will, I have a line-up of fics I actually know are good and that I'd like to read next lol).

Risk & Risk and Reward - Two very explicit, wonderfully pornographic fics that nevertheless feature flawless Near characterization and an interesting angle on the relationship between (you) and him. These are my personal favorites and closest to my own interests and writing style.

Chicken - Same author as above but fic is completely unrelated. This one is straight up sex, it doesn't have the emotional and interpersonal aspects of the duology above. A warning that (you) and Near are teenagers at Wammy's House for this fic. I don't personally see an issue with this, but I know it's a thing some people avoid.

I'll hold onto this feeling until the grass stains on those old shoes are completely gone - It's by @aizawashuichi. A very unique entry in this list. Plot-heavy and light on the romance aspect, depiction of the relationship between (you) and Near is bookended at the start and at the end. It features a very thoughtful, honest exploration of Near's character in a relationship. A warning that this fic uses an extremely omniscient form of second-person perspective*, but this choice serves an end and I think you should read it because what the author manages to pull off here is very interesting.

(* That is to say there are entire scenes, sometimes chapters, where the scene depicted uses "you" as the narrative pronoun but the character representing "you" is not actually there perceiving the events.)

Yours Truly, Near - It's by @masodemic. Technically Near x OC, but author tagged "Near/Reader" and invites that interpretation although it's not written in second person and Corrin is a named person with defining characteristics. A slow-burn romance told through a series of letters exchanged between Near and Corrin, with occasional interludes where they meet in-person. At time of writing it's still ongoing and receiving new chapters.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Near x OC. After a few years of serving Near as his "Watari", Roger passes away and a woman from the fourth generation of Wammy's kids is called in to succeed him. A short one-shot with no actual romance in it, but it's well-written, has good characterization and I think the author's idea was interesting.

That's all I got in the x Reader and x OC categories. I hear there's promising Near x Sayu ones floating around out there, but for some reason I've been skittish about them and haven't read any yet. Got some Near x Halle and Near x Gevanni bangers from the LiveJournal days (so impeccably written they've influenced my taste and style to this very day) but they're a bit spicy. As far as Mello x Near goes, confidently say God's Dice by forbiddensoul562 (a wild ride of a fic told entirely from Near's perspective and a long read) and basically anything by @neallo (AO3 link).

I haven't read Noel yet (it's on my list) but that fic is one of those ones that achieved a kind of semi-legendary status in the fandom and I anticipate it'll become influential for me. It's just that the total works in the Noelverse are 150,000+ words and I need to commit to the read. It will happen for sure.

#death note #near #nate river #near x reader #near x oc #fanfiction

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acealistair · 1 year ago

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard GameInformer Article Transcribed SPOILER-FREE

I've gone ahead and transcribed the GameInformer article about DA:TV for those who can't read it from screenshots/on GameInformer for whatever reason. This version specifically is the PLOT-SPOILER-FREE version! I've removed all references to the main storyline of the game (even those revealed in the gameplay footage already released, just to be sure) to mostly focus on mechanics and the author's general impressions of the game. It does still include some references to companions and their personalities/mechanic abilities, as well as a couple locations that we're already confirmed to be visiting. However, further details on specific locations are hidden.

As mentioned in my full version of the article, I've transcribed it as accurately as I could, which means including typos, grammar mistakes, improper capitalization, etc.

Throughout my research and preparation for a trip to BioWare’s Edmonton, Canada, office for this cover story, I kept returning to the idea that its next game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly subtitled Dreadwolf) is releasing at a critical moment for the storied developer. The previous installment, Dragon Age: Inquisition, hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC a decade ago. It was the win BioWare needed, following the 2012 release of Mass Effect 3 with its highly controversial and (for many) disappointing ending. Inquisition launched two years later, in 2014, to rave reviews and, eventually, various Game of the Year awards, almost as if a reminder of what the studio was capable of.

Now, in 2024, coincidentally, the next Dragon Age finds itself in a similar position. BioWare attempted a soft reboot of Mass Effect with Andromeda in 2017, largely seen as a letdown among the community, and saw its first live-service multiplayer attempt in 2019’s Anthem flounder in the tricky waters of the genre; it aimed for a No Man’s Sky-like turnaround with Anthem Next, but that rework was canceled in 2021. Like its predecessor, BioWare’s next Dragon Age installment is not only a new release in a beloved franchise, but is another launch with the pressure of BioWare’s prior misses; a game fans hope will remind them the old BioWare is still alive today.

“Having been in this industry for 25 years, you see hits and misses, and it’s all about building off of those hits and learning from those misses,” BioWare general manager Gary McKay, who’s been with the studio since January 2020, tells me.

As McKay gives me a tour of the office, I can’t help but notice how much Anthem is scattered around it. More than Mass Effect, more than Dragon Age, there’s a lot of Anthem - posters, real-life replicas of its various Javelins, wallpaper, and more. Recent BioWare news stories tell of leads and longtime studio veterans laid off and others departing voluntarily. Veilguard’s development practically began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When I ask McKay about the tumultuousness of BioWare and how he, as the studio manager, makes the team feel safe in the product it’s developing, he says it’s about centering on the creative vision. “[When] we have that relentless pursuit for quality, and we have passion and people in the right roles, a lot of the other stuff you’re talking about just fades into the background.”

That’s a sentiment echoed throughout the team I speak to: Focus on what makes a BioWare game great and let Veilguard speak for itself. Though I had no expectations going in - it’s been 10 years since the last Drag Age, after all, and BioWare has been cagey about showing this game publicly - my expectations have been surpassed. This return to Thedas, the singular continent of the franchise, feels like both a warm welcome for returning fans and an impressive entry point for first-time players.

New Age, New Name

At the start of each interview, I address a dragon-sized elephant in the room with the game’s leads. What was Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Why?

“These games are reflections of the teams that make them, and as part of that, it means we learn a lot about what the heart and soul of the game really is as we’re developing it,” Veilguard game director Corinne Busche tells me. “We quickly learned and realized that the absolute beating heart of this game is these authentic, diverse companions. And when we took a step back, as we always do, we always check our decisions and make sure they still represent the game we’re trying to build.”

Dreadwolf no longer did that, but each member of BioWare I speak to tells me The Veilguard does. And while I was initially abrasive to the change - lore aside, Dreadwolf is simply a cool name - I warmed up to The Veilguard.

Solas, a Loki-esque trickster member of the Elven pantheon of gods known as the Dread Wolf, created the Veil long ago while attempting to free the elves from their slave-like status in Thedas. This Veil is a barrier between the magical Fade and Thedas, banishing Elven gods and removing Elven immortality from the world. But players didn’t know that in Inquisition, where he is introduced as a mage ally and companion. However, at the end of Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC, which sets the stage for Veilguard, we learn in a shocking twist that Solas wants to destroy the Veil and restore Elves to their former glory. However, doing so would bring chaos to Thedas, and those who call it home, the people who eventually become The Veilguard, want to stop him.

“There’s an analogy I like to use, which is, ‘If you want to carve an elephant out of marble, you just take a piece of marble and remove everything that doesn’t look like an elephant,’” Veilguard creative director John Epler says. “As we were building this game, it became really clear that it was less that we were trying to make The Veilguard and more like The Veilguard was taking shape as we built the game. Solas is still a central figure in it. He’s still a significant character. But really, the focus shifts to the team.

“[We] realized Dreadwolf suggests a title focused on a specific individual, whereas The Veilguard, much like Inquisition, focuses more on the team.”

Creating Your Rook

Veilguard’s character creator is staggeringly rich, with a dizzying number of customizable options. Busche tells me that inclusivity is at the heart of it, noting that she believes everyone can create someone who represents them on-screen.

There are four races to choose from when customizing Rook, the new playable lead - Elves, Qunari, Humans, and Dwarves - and hundreds of options to customize your character beyond that. You can select pronouns separately from gender and adjust physical characteristics like height, shoulder width, chest size, glute and bulge size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, how crooked your nose is, and so much more. There must be hundreds of sliders to customize these body proportions and features like skin hue, tone, melanin, and just about anything else you might adjust on a character. Oh, and there’s nudity in Veilguard, too, which I learn firsthand while customizing my Rook.

“The technology has finally caught up to our ambition,” Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes tells me as we decide on my warrior-class Qunari’s backstory, which affects faction allegiance, in-game dialogue, and reputation standing - we choose the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune.

Notably, instead of a warrior class, we could have chosen mage or rogue. All three classes have unique specializations, bespoke skill trees, and special armors, too. And though our Rook is aligned with the Lords of Fortune faction, there are others to choose from including the Grey Wardens, Shadow Dragons, The Mourn Watch, and more. There is some flexibility in playstyle thanks to specializations, but your class largely determines the kind of actions you can perform in combat.

[SPOILER]

Beyond the on-paper greatness of this character creator, its customizability speaks to something repeated throughout my BioWare visit: Veilguard is a single-player, story-driven RPG. Or in other words, the type of game that made BioWare as storied as it is. McKay tells me the team explored a multiplayer concept early in development before scratching it to get back to BioWare basics. The final game will feature zero multiplayer and no microtransactions.

Happy to hear that, I pick our first and last name, then one of four voices, with a pitch shifter for each, too, and we’re off to Minrathous.

Exploring Tevinter For The First Time

Throughout the Dragon Age series, parts of Thedas are discussed by characters and referenced by lore material but left to the imagination of players as they can’t visit them. Veilguard immediately eschews this, setting its opening prologue mission in Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Empire. Frankly, I’m blown away by how good it looks. It’s my first time seeing Veilguard in action and my first look at a Dragon Age game in nearly a decade. Time has treated this series well, and so has technology.

Epler, who’s coming up on 17 years at BioWare, acknowledges that the franchise has always been at the will of its engine. Dragon Age: Origins and II’s Eclipse Engine worked well for the time, but today, they show their age. Inquisition was BioWare’s first go at EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine - mind you, an engine designed for first-person shooters and decidedly not multi-character RPGs - and the team struggled there, too. Epler and Busche agree Veilguard is the first RPG where BioWare feels fully in command of Frostbite and, more generally, its vision for this world.

[SPOILER] The first thing players will do once Veilguard begins is select a dialogue option, something the team says speaks to their vision of a story-forward, choice-driven adventure. After [SPOILER], there’s another dialogue choice, and different symbols here indicate the type of tone you can roll with. There’s a friendly, snarky, and rough-and-tough direct choice, and I later learn of a more romantically inclined “emotional” response. These are the replies that will build relationships with characters, romantic and platonic alike, but you’re welcome to ignore this option. However, your companions can romance each other, so giving someone the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm embrace of another. [SPOILER]

Rhodes explains BioWare’s philosophy for designing this city harkens back to a quick dialogue from Inquisition’s Dorian Pavus. Upon entering Halamshiral’s Winter Palace, the largest venue in Dragon Age history at that point, Dorian notes that it’s cute, adorable even, alluding to his Tevinter heritage. If Dorian thinks the largest venue in Dragon Age history is cute and adorable, what must the place he’s from be like? “It’s like this,” Rhodes says as we enter Minrathous proper in-game.

Minrathous is huge, painted in magical insignia that looks like cyberpunk-inspired neon city signs and brimming with detail. Knowing it’s a city run by mages and built entirely upon magic, Rhodes says the team let its imagination run wild. The result is the most stunning and unique city in the series. [SPOILER] Busche says BioWare used Veilguard’s character creator to make each in-world NPC except for specific characters like recruitable companions. [The level utilizes] a smart use of verticality, scaling, and wayfinding to push us toward the main attraction: [SPOILER].

[SPOILER] Something I appreciate throughout our short journey through Minrathous is the cinematography at play. As a Qunari, my character stands tall, and Rhodes says the camera adjusts to ensure larger characters loom over those below. On the flip side, the camera adjusts for dwarves to demonstrate their smaller stature compared to those around them.

This, coupled with movie-liked movement through the city [SPOILER] creates a cinematic start that excited me, and I’m not even hands-on with the game.

[SPOILER]

Here, we encounter a dozen or so demons, which BioWare has fully redesigned on the original premise of these monstrous creatures. Rhodes says they’re creatures of feeling and live and die off the emotions around them. As such, they are just a floating nervous system, pushed into this world from the Fade, rapidly assembled into bodies out of whatever scraps they find.

[SPOILER]

The Veilguard Who’s Who

While we learned a lot about returning character but first-time companion Lace Harding, ice mage private detective Neve Gallus, and veil jumper Bellara Lutara, BioWare shared some additional details about other companions Rook will meet later in the game. Davrin is a charming Grey Warden who is also an excellent monster hunter; Emmrich is a member of Nevarra’s Mourn Watch and a necromancer with a skeleton assistant named Manfred; Lucanis is a pragmatic assassin whose bloodline descends from the criminal House of Crows organization; And Taash is a dragon hunter allied with the piratic Lords of Fortune. All seven of these characters adorn this Game Informer issue, with Bellara up front and center in the spotlight.

The Lighthouse

[SPOILER] Epler says, much like Skyhold in Inquisition, the Lighthouse is where your team bonds, grows, and prepares for its adventures throughout the campaign. It also becomes more functional and homier as you do. Already, though, it’s a beautifully distraught headquarters for the Veilguard.

[SPOILER] I see a clock symbol over a dialogue icon in the distance, which signals an optional dialogue option. We head there, talk to Neve, select a response to try our hand at flirting, and then head to the dining hall.

[SPOILER] From the dining hall, we gather the not-quite-Veilguard in the library, which Busche says in the central area of the Lighthouse and where your party will often regroup and prepare for what’s next. [SPOILERS] Busche says I’m missing unique dialogue options here because I’m Qunari; an Elf would have more to say about [SPOILER]. The same goes for my backstory earlier in Minrathous. [SPOILER]

[SPOILER] The ensuing cutscene, where we learn [SPOILER], is long, with multiple dialogue options. That’s something I’m noticing with Veilguard, too - there’s a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. BioWare doesn’t shy away from minutes-long cutscenes.

Busche says that’s intentional, too. [SPOILER] “You’re defining [Rook's] leadership style with your choices.” Knowing that Rook is the leader of the Veilguard, I’m excited to see how far this goes. From the sound of it, my team will react to my chosen leadership style in how my relationships play out. That’s demonstrated within the game’s dialogue and a special relationship meter on each companion’s character screen.

Redefining Combat Once More

[SPOILER] After loading up a new save, we’re in control of a human mage.

Following the trend of prior Dragon Age games, Veilguard has completed the series’ shift from tactical strategy to real-time action, but fret not: a tactical pause-and-play mechanic returns to satiate fans who remember the series’ origins (pun intended). Though I got a taste of combat in the prologue, Veilguard’s drastic departure from all that came before it is even more apparent here.

Busche says player complete every swing in real-time, with special care taken to animation swing-through and canceling. There's a dash, a parry, the ability to charge moves, and a completely revamped healing system that allows you to use potions at your discretion by hitting right on the d-pad. You can combo attacks and even “bookmark” combos with a quick dash, which means you can pause a combo’s status with a dash to safety and continue the rest of the combo afterward. It looks even cooler than it sounds.

Like any good action game, there is a handful of abilities to customize your kit. And, if you want to maintain that real-time action feel, you can use them on the fly, so long as you take cooldowns into effect. But Veilguard’s pause-and-play gameplay mechanic, similar to Inquisition’s without the floating camera view, lets you bring things to halt for a healthy but optional dose of strategy.

In this screen, which essentially pauses the camera and pulls up a flashy combat wheel that highlights you and your companions’ skills, you can choose abilities, queue them up, and strategize with synergies and combos, all while targeting specific enemies. Do what you need to here, let go of the combat wheel, and watch your selections play out. Busche says she uses the combat wheel to dole out her companions’ attacks and abilities while sticking to the real-time action for her player-controlled Rook. On the other hand, Epler says he almost exclusively uses the combat wheel to dish out every ability and combo.

Busche says each character will play the same, in that you execute light and heavy attacks with hte same buttons, use abilities with the same buttons, and interact with the combo wheel in the same way, regardless of which class you select. But a sword-and-shield warrior, like we used in the prolgoue, can hip-fire or aim their shield to throw it like Captain America, whereas our human mage uses that same button to throw out magical ranged attacks. The warrior can parry incoming attacks, which can stagger enemies. The rogue gets a larger parry window. Our mage, however, can’t parry at all. Instead, they throw up a shield that blocks incoming attacks automatically so long as you have the mana to sustain it.

“What I see from Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare in 2021 before joining the Veilguard team last year as a consultant, tells me. “Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got to the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat’s actually fun, but it does keep that thread that’s always been there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and character coming into the combat experience from the other people in the party.”

“This is really the best Dragon Age game that I’ve ever played,” he adds, noting his bias. “This is the one where we get back to our roots of character-driven storytelling, have really fun combat, and aren’t making compromises.”

Watching Busche take down [SPOILER], I can already sense Veilguard’s combat will likely end up my favorite in the series, although admittedly, as a fan of action games, I’m an easy sell here. It’s flashy, quick, and thanks to different types of health bars, like a greenish-blue one that represents barrier and is taken down most effectively with ranged attacks, a decent amount of strategy, even if you don’t use the pause-and-play combo wheel. Like the rest of the game, too, it’s gorgeous, with sprinkles, droplets, and splashes of magic in each attack our mage unleashes. Though I’m seeing the game run on a powerful PC, which is sure to be the best showcase of Veilguard, Epler tells me the game looks amazing on consoles - he’s been playing it on PlayStation 5 and enjoying it in both its fidelity and performance modes, but I’ll have to take his word for it.

Pressing Start

The start or pause screen is as important to a good RPG as the game outside the menus. Veilguard’s contains your map, journal, character sheets, skill tree, and a library for lore information. You can cross-compare equipment and equip new gear here for Rook and your companions, build weapon loadouts for quick change-ups mid-combat, and customize you and your party’s abilities and builds via an easy-to-understand skill tree. You won’t find minutiae here, “just real numbers,” Busche says. That means a new unlocked trait might increase damage by 25 percent against armor, but that’s as in-depth as the numbers get. Passive abilities unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical hit opportunities, while abilities add moves like a Wall of Fire to your arsenal (if you’re a mage). As you spec out this skill tree, which is 100 percent bespoke to each class, you’ll work closer to unlocking a specialization, of which there are three for each class, complete with a unique ultimate ability. Busche says BioWare’s philosophy here is “about changing the way you play, not statistical minutiae.”

Companion Customization

You can advance your bonds by helping companions on their own personal quests and by including them in your party for main quests. Every Relationship Level you rank up, shown on their character sheet, nets you a skill point to spend on them. Busche says the choices you make, what you say to companions, how you help them, and more all matter to their development as characters and party members. And with seven companions, there’s plenty to customize, from bespoke gear to abilities and more. Though each companion has access to five abilities, you can only take three into combat, so it’s important to strategize different combos and synergies within your party. Rhodes says beyond this kind of customizable characterization, each companion has issues, problems, and personal quests to complete. “Bellara has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you’re on,” Rhodes says.

In Entropy’s Grasp

[SPOILER]

“When designing companions, they’re the load-bearing pillars for everything,” Rhodes says. “They’re the face of their faction, and in this case [with Bellara], their entire area of the world. [SPOILER]” Rhodes describes her as a sweetheart and nerd for ancient elven artifacts. As such, she’s dressed more like an academic than a combat expert, although her special arm gauntlet is useful both for tinkering with her environment and taking down enemies.

Unlike Neve, who uses ice magic like our Rook and can slow down time with a special ability, Bellara specializes in electricity, and she can also use magic to heal you, something Busche says Dragon Age fans have been desperate to have in a game. Busche says if you don’t direct Neve and Bellara, they’re fully independent and will attack on their own. But synergizing your team will add to the fun and strategy of combat. Bellara’s electric magic is effective against [enemy], which is great because we currently only have access to ice. However, without Bellara, we could also equip a rune that converts my ice magic, for a brief duration, into electricity to counter the Sentinels.

[SPOILER]

I continue to soak in the visuals of Veilguard [SPOILER]; it’s perhaps the most impressive aspect of my time seeing the game, although everything else is making a strong impression, too. I am frustrated about having to watch the game rather than play it, to be honest. I’m in love with the art style, which is more high fantasy than anything in the series thus far and almost reminiscent of the whimsy of Fable, a welcome reprieve from the recent gritty Game of Thrones trend in fantasy games. Rhodes says that’s the result of the game’s newfound dose of magic.

“The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on,” he says. “It’s something we’ve been planning for a while because Solas has been planning all this for a while. In the past, you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn’t actually go there, but now we actually can, and it’s fun to showcase that.”

Busche, Epler, and Rhodes warn me that [location] will starkly contrast to other areas. They promise some grim locations and even grimmer story moments because, without that contrast, everything falls flat. Busche likens it to a “thread of optimism” pulled through otherworldly chaos ravaging Thedas. [SPOILER]

[SPOILER]

Busche [performs combat] with ease, showcasing high-level gameplay by adding three stacks of arcane build-up to create an Arcane Bomb on an enemy, which does devastating damage after being hit by a heavy attack. Now, she begins charging a heavy attack on her magical staff, then switches to magical daggers in a second loadout accessed with a quick tap of down on the d-pad to unleash some quick attacks, then back to the staff to charge it some more and unleash a heavy attack.

After a few more combat encounters, including one against a [enemy] that’s “Frenzied,” which means it hits harder, moves faster, and has more health, we finally [SPOILER]. [Boss enemy] hits hard, has plenty of unblockable, red-coded attacks, and a massive shield we must take down first. However, it’s weak to fire, and our new fire staff is perfect for the situation.

[SPOILER] It’s clear that even after a few hours with the game’s opening, I’ve seen a nigh negligible amount of game; frustrating but equally as exciting.

Don’t Call It An Open World

Veilguard is not an open world, even if some of its explorable areas might fee like one. Gamble describes Veilguard’s Thedas as a hub-and-spoke design where “the needs of the story are served by the level design.” [SPOILER] Some of these areas are larger and full of secrets and treasures. Others are smaller and more focused on linear storytelling. [Location] is an example of this, but there are still optional paths and offshoots to explore for loot, healing potion refreshes, and other things. There’s a minimap in each location, though linear levels like [SPOILER] won’t have the fog of war that disappears as you explore like some of Veilguard’s bigger locations. Regardless, BioWare says Veilguard has the largest number of diverse biomes in series history.

Dragon’s Delight

With a 10-hour day at BioWare behind me after hours of demo gameplay and interviews with the leads, I’m acutely aware of my favorite part of video games: the surprises. I dabbled with Origins and II and put nearly 50 hours into Inquisition, but any familiarity with the series the latter gave me had long since subsided over the past decade. I wanted to be excited about the next Dragon Age as I viewed each teaser and trailer, but other than seeing the words “Dragon Age,” I felt little. Without gameplay, without a proper look at the actual game we’ll all be playing this fall, I struggled to remember why Inquisition sucked me in 10 years ago.

This trip reminded me.

Dragon Age, much like the Thedas of Veilguard, lives in the uncertainty: The turbulence of BioWare’s recent release history and the lessons learned from it, the drastic changes to each Dragon Age’s combat, the mystery of its narrative, and the implications of its lore. It’s all a part of the wider Dragon Age story and why this studio keeps returning to this world. It’s been a fertile franchise for experimentation. While Veilguard is attempting to branch out in unique ways, it feels less like new soil and more like the harvest BioWare has been trying to cultivate since 2009, and I’m surprised by that.

I’m additionally surprised, in retrospect, how numb I’ve been to the game before this. I’m surprised by BioWare’s command over EA’s notoriously difficult Frostbite engine to create its prettiest game yet. I’m surprised by this series’ 15-year transition from tactical strategy to action-forward combat. I’m surprised by how much narrative thought the team has poured into these characters, even for BioWare. Perhaps having no expectations will do that to you. But most of all, with proper acknowledgement that I reserve additional judgment until I actually play the game, I’m surprised that Veilguard might just be the RPG I’m looking forward to most this year.

#dragon age #da4 #dragon age 4 #dragon age veilguard #da:tv #da:v #datv

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slowd1ving · 2 days ago

Note

Hi, I was just looking through and my attention got caught on the theology student/roommate sunday lil synapses from a poll and I'm just, intrigued (I absolutely adore how you write all these different lil guys, very in character for them tbh ✨️)

Anyway, I hope your studies are going well/have gone well and that youre taking some time to take care of yourself too! -🦡 (I'm feelin badger lately so imma tag as that I guess)

ok so first of all dearest badger anon I am unbelievably ecstatic you brought this up like I would have absolutely went ham into the slowburn had it been voted number one but alas (I'm not complaining though ouroboros was so fun to write), and thank you for the well wishes about my studies (finals went stupendously amazing but I'm now stuck slowly preparing for next year </3)

secondly I'd just read nerd project at the time and was struck with divine inspiration... kind of since I would've written both sunday and reader as nerds.

anyways to give you more expansion on the plot (figuratively and literally lmao):

this is set in the same university AU as the blade roommate/dan heng bandmate universe (blade roommate), but an AU of that AU if that makes sense. It's the same tense situation with your previous roommate, but you're mostly staying over at your gf's apartment

to give a rough timeline, the Blade roommate AU occurs in second year when you've already established yourself into the Trailblazers, while the Dan Heng prequel happens in first year - so this sunday student au also happens in your first year as a physics student, but it involves the music society more than any collaboration with departments (no academic rivalry 💔💔)

Music society throws quite a few events - including house parties like the one shown in the dan heng fic, but also some more formal concerts that are difficult to get into even for members, hence there's a sort of raffle system for entry if you aren't a paying member of the public. You win several times, much to your surprise, and just go for the fun of it, with formal wear that's seen better days, though nobody's paying enough attention to you to actually see the fine wrinkles, the loosened tie around your neck, the wildly inappropriate socks that just about peek from the bottom of your trousers. No one cares - not with the entrancing medley of classical pieces conducted by a grey-haired man filling the space, nor with the beguiling opera that coils through the air from your friend Robin (actually, she may have been the very reason you had such luck in the raffle)

You are a chronic backstage loiterer, with a small strawberry cake in your hand for the star of the show. On the third instance of loitering, it's where you pass by the conductor, and he takes you in. Eyes critically assessing the way you've folded your tie, the scuff marks on your shoes, even the way your glaring socks are sliding down. He's made his judgement. His mouth presses into a thin line, and though his expression is perfectly neutral, you can sense someone's abject disappointment burrowing into your back.

You forget about it as soon as you spot your friend, a wide smile on your face as you bring forth the cake. Sunday doesn't - that annoyance is enough to seep into his long-term memory, buried deep until something reminds him of it.

"Something" being the particularly poor soundproofing between two of the practice rooms. The piano accompaniment he's improvising is being infiltrated by the wild, spiraling chords from next door: harsh twang of electric guitar bleeding into the fluting notes from the piano, poisoning the calm smile on his face into something far darker, far more annoyed. There are no other rooms left. His only option is knocking on his neighbour's door and hoping that they're reasonable enough to "keep it down, please."

His eye twitches as the door swings open and he comes face to face with you, of all people. You're much more polite than he anticipated, and just as messy with your appearance as he expected: band shirt so worn there's thin holes starting to appear, belt covering one of the loops of your pants, same scuffed shoes you wore to the concert (on further inspection, they appear to be trainers).

"Sorry, man," you say cheerfully, and he privately wonders how you can appear so blithely incognizant of others. You turn the amp down, but his day is nonetheless headed towards ruin.

Actually, I lied. Joint philosophy class you took as one of your additional credit classes, alongside some ancient language and programming. For some reason, you've been feeling on edge lately - your girlfriend has been laying out some pressed shirts for you to wear, and you've caught her staring at the worn clothes you can't bring yourself to wear. A fifth disdain, the rest an emotion you can't quite place. She gets you some high-end perfume. You've smelled it somewhere before.

You're late to that philosophy class, searching for some old cargos stashed deep inside the drawer you keep your clothes when you stay over - and the only seat left is next to the conductor, too intimidating for anyone else to squeeze behind. You let out a groan mentally - he seems like he fucking hates you, after all - but as you're setting your stuff down, you freeze.

It's the same perfume. Must be a coincidence, you think, all while Sunday's observing you in turn, wondering how someone can be so guileless about philosophy. Is this a filler class for you? Must be. He'd feel more pity for you, if you weren't scribbling crude comics in the back of your notebook. Is this what you do in whatever you major in, too? He could almost sneer.

You glance at him, and he looks away. Pressed shirt, chinos in the same shade that your girlfriend bought you - coincidentally. There's a growing pit in your stomach - borne from the orchestral ticket that went missing at her house after you told her about it, claiming she hadn't seen it.

It's a messy breakup, filled with an even messier follow-up as you return to your dorm, only to find your roommate problem worse than ever before, tears threatening to well as you explain yourself to the rooms officer who allocates you to the only person without a roommate on the other side of campus.

Of course it's the fucking guy your girlfriend had a crush on. You stand like an idiot in the doorway as he eyes you disdainfully (just like she did), the smile freezing in horror on your face as you meet his eyes. His pressed shirt seems to judge you as well, while the wings on either side of his head move backwards, as if in distaste.

"Let's get along?" Some form of those tentative words stretch into the awkward silence, but you already know it's a lost cause. Avoiding him would be the best solution to your problem; putting your head right down and working to maintain your stellar grades in physics.

Except, he seems to be everywhere you are. In the library while you put your headphones on max and bang out waves and optics, knocking on the practice room door when your slot is up and instantly developing a frown when you open it, pouring himself tea while you caramelise onions for your food, getting paired up with you for a stupid philosophy project in a class that you would've dropped if you could.

It's only when you fall asleep on the couch, partial differential equation sheets slipping from your grasp, laptop open on your chest, one tab on a surprisingly well-done powerpoint on analysing Plato's Forms, the other on an email from a supervisor with a link that he accidentally clicks while moving the laptop to the low coffee table next to you. It's an article, with your name emblazoned across the top. Scholarship student wins prestigious physics award - and he thinks, surely it must be a mistake. He shuts the laptop and searches the article up, scrolling through details of pristine grades and a short interview pasted under a photo of you with the award. His brow furrows, as he belatedly realises that, despite the stupid drawings coating your philosophy notebook, you never walked away from an exam with a frown or a downcast expression like many other classmates did.

It's a mistake. It's a mistake that he looked up your name, a mistake that he wakes up at night in a cold sweat to find your bed rumpled and the door ajar, a mistake that despite all reason, he stumbles awake and follows the lingering scent of your detergent down the accommodation stairs, a mistake that he leaves the keys in the dorm as it closes silently behind him, a mistake that he witnesses an argument in the foyer he has no business witnessing. A woman is pleading with a man with his back to the grey-haired Halovian, holding a box filled with clothes and textbooks that he recognises as the same ones you grimly ordered new a few weeks ago when you first moved in, staring blankly at the package when it came.

"What's going on here?" he asks coldly, only for her to immediately go silent as she notices him, face turning an ugly shade of puce, lips opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. The man turns, and he realises it's you, realises that your normally cheerful expression has turned bitterly emotionless.

"Nothing," you say, and that's what your frigid tone also indicates. "She's leaving."

"Mr Sunday! I apologise for the commotion," she starts, syrupy sweet. It's cloying. "But I had to talk to my boyfriend-"

Sunday feels a strange bout of annoyance - a fresh wave following the one that came with waking up at such an ungodly hour.

"Don't call me that anymore," you interrupt. It's the first time he's ever heard your voice sound so resolute, so disgusted. "Don't call me, don't text me, don't waste my breath by arguing-"

For the first time since like ever, his hand finds your shoulder, and he can feel the feverish heat of adrenaline pulsing through you. You startle, surprised, but you only give him a cursory glance back before you turn to her.

"Let's go," he tells you quietly.

"How do you know him?" she asks you suddenly, as though she has any right to. He vaguely remembers her sitting next to him in a divinity lecture, asking about the brands of what he wore, and he begins piecing things together. The emotions radiating from her rankle him.

"Get out before I call security," Sunday replies in your stead, and it seems this is what finally pushes her to the edge - tossing the box with your stuff at your feet while you stare blankly at the floor. It's not until the door slams shut that he finally notices the tears rolling down your cheeks, the hollow look you sport as you crouch to pick up the clothes spilling out past the cardboard. He doesn't know what to say to you. In fact, he doesn't know why he's still here, but despite his better judgement, he crouches down and picks up a worn copy of Sears and Zemansky's University Physics, carefully placing it amongst the pile of shirts that smell just like you. You don't thank him, you don't say anything, and neither does he - two people crouched on the foyer floor at the absolute arse crack of dawn, two idiots-

"Shit," he swears, patting himself down. He never swears, but tonight he can feel everything going wrong. It's then that you look at him, bewildered. "I forgot to bring keys."

Bizarrely, you laugh - half in shock, half in mania, and he gazes at you as though you lost your damn mind. The rooms officer is out, it's pitch black outside, and the two of you are still dressed in pyjamas - you in a particularly heinous ensemble.

"Library," you finally say after composing yourself, and it's not like he's got any other choice but to follow you, but he faintly remembers that it's... well... also closed at this time of night. You take a route to a small door at the back of the building that miraculously, swing open, and he glances at you in surprise: a strange feeling settling in his stomach as you rummage through your belongings to find an old wallet, grabbing two protein bars from the small vending machine and tossing it to him.

There's a question burning on his tongue as he follows you in between the rows of books, sitting down opposite you as you place your head in the crook of your elbow. It's silent, with only the sound of your breathing as he finally asks. "Isn't this against regulations?"

Your voice is muffled when you reply. "I fell asleep in here once after getting locked in, and the librarian's left a side door open since. We'll just leave close to dawn."

When he glances at the digital clock glowing bright green in the darkness, he inwardly curses - 3 AM. The two of you are due to present at 9 AM, and he can't afford to simply get a few meagre hours of sleep from dawn onwards.

He copies you, wearily placing his head on his forearm, but he finds he can't sleep - not with a looming deadline, not when he's rushed out full of adrenaline and annoyance. He glances up when he hears rustling, only to see you with a thick book cracked open, protein bar peeled open and half-eaten. "Can't sleep?"

The question startles him, as if he couldn't be anymore surprised. "I don't think I've ever had my sleep disturbed like this."

You turn the page. "I understand."

"Are you used to this?"

You glance at him, appearing to be contemplating your words. "Yes. I can handle the speaking tomorrow."

"Today," he corrects, but it feels less hostile than it might've had it been a different night. "What are you reading?"

It's... small talk - something that should've occurred when you first moved in, but now represents the most miniscule of thaws.

"Sci-fi." Another page turns.

"To poke fun?"

"Yeah," you look up, surprised - and it's clear that it comes from assuming he didn't know anything about you. "How'd you know?"

"Your assignments," he mumbles sheepishly into his sleeve, as if he hadn't read a whole article about you.

"Ah, yes, the joys of differentials. You know, the mode of transport they're using is labelled superluminal, but that..."

He's never realised it, but in the hazy green light filtering through the cold air, your voice is pretty relaxing - and before he knows it, he's drifted to sleep, your name resting faintly on his lips.

anyways was meant to be a lot shorter but I just went ham tbh, hope you like the expanded plot anon

also anon if you saw the notification and wondered where the post went I do apologise since I posted this when it was still half-finished and had to private it until I completed it </3

#slowd1ving #res ･ﾟ writing #x reader #ask slowd1ving #🦡 anon #philosophy students don't grill me I beg #hsr sunday x reader #sunday x male reader #male reader #x male reader #sunday hsr headcanons #sunday #hsr sunday #honestly it's kind of hilarious how I just evolved from random ramblings to a full on drabble

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queef-of-fortune · 3 months ago

Text

Marionette (Doflamingo X Reader)

Chapter: Eleven

Plot: When the Straw Hat crew got separated, Kuma sent her to the kingdom of Dressrosa. Unfortunately for her, she caught the eye of none other than the king himself. Donquixote Doflamingo.

She ran her fingers against the pages of the book. Her heart thudded in her chest as she held her breath, trying to listen. She didn’t hear any footsteps approaching. Only the sounds of the sea lapping against the ship and the faint sounds of the crew preparing on deck.

She flipped the book over, staring at the blank, leather cover. Taking a deep breath, she opened it. The date at the top of the page indicated that the entry was from at least eight years ago. Far before they ever met, before she joined the Strawhats, or even appeared in this world.

The streets are still soaked in blood, but the people cheer. Fools. They would have welcomed anyone who could end their suffering—whether it was me or another tyrant. But they don’t understand. They don’t see what I see. I didn’t just take this kingdom. I was always meant to have it.

She squinted her eyes as she read. (Y/N) flipped to the next page, reading the following entry.

I dreamt of him again.

He always crawls.

His coat is drenched in blood, the white snow turning red like it always does. I step closer. He mutters something. I never hear it. I don’t care what it is. I already know how this ends.

I pull the trigger.

I watch him fall.

And for a moment—just a second—I see something I hate.

He isn’t afraid.

Not of me.

Not of death.

He’s relieved.

I hate that. I hate him. I hate that I still dream about this like some fucking child crying over spilled milk. I hate that no matter how many times I wake up, he’s still there, still watching me.

I killed him. He’s gone.

So why won’t he stay dead?

Why won’t he fucking stay dead?

She wasn’t sure who he meant. Regardless these two entries alone were haunting. She of course continued. Desperate to uncover the secrets of the man who held her captive. This time, she flipped towards the back of the book, looking for more recent entries.

It started as a curiosity. A passing amusement. A joke.

What has she done to me?

I’ve never even met the little beast, and yet she’s entranced me.

God, the things I’ll do once I get my hands on her.

Her mouth was slightly agape as she read the diary entry. It was clearly about her. It was absolutely chilling. It made her uneasy thinking about what he could possibly have planned for her. Her hands shook slightly as she flipped to the next page.

I need to get my hands on her.

It’s past midnight, and I can’t fucking sleep. Again. The city below is quiet, the kingdom at peace, but my body is not. I should be reveling in my power, basking in my success, indulging in whatever pleasure I choose. But no. She has infested my mind like a sickness, and I can't get rid of it.

I've seen the way she moves—too carefree, too wild, too untamed. A woman like that has no place in this world. A woman like that needs boundaries, a cage, a collar. She needs a man who can handle her, bend her, own her.

I wonder if she even knows what she does—the way she talks, the way she sneers, the way her lips purse when she’s angry. That fucking mouth. It runs too much, too fast, but I can think of a hundred ways to make it shut.

I want her beneath me. I want her on her knees. I want her learning my name the right way—muffled, gasping, choking it down like it’s the only thing keeping her alive.

No one has ever held my attention like this. And she doesn’t even know she’s doing it. Doesn't even know I exist. That’s the worst part. She doesn’t know that everything she is—her body, her fire, her resistance—is mine. It was always meant for me.

I could have taken her before now. I could have had her snatched off the deck of that ship, broken her down piece by piece until she forgot she was ever anything but mine. But that wouldn’t be satisfying. No, no—she needs to know. She needs to realize it herself.

I’m patient. I’ll wait.

She won’t be a Straw Hat forever.

And when the time comes, when fate finally delivers her to me, she will understand.

She will see that she was never free.

She was always meant to be mine.

And I?

I will devour her.

She felt like she could have been sick as she continued to read. It was like something was forcing her to keep flipping through the journal.

I never used to care about this. I never used to need.

Women came and went, disposable, forgettable. I took them when I wanted them, threw them out when I was done. It was easy. It was routine. A warm body in my bed for a night, a handful of moans, a name I’d never bother to remember. It was enough.

Until it wasn’t.

I don’t know when I started seeing her in them. When I started reaching for hips shaped like hers, lips too full, hair that might have been close enough in the dark. I would find one that almost fit, almost felt right, and for a moment, I’d pretend.

But the illusion never lasted.

Because they weren’t her. They never would be.

So, I stopped bothering. Weeks have passed since I’ve touched anyone, since I’ve even cared to try. I tell myself I don’t need it. That power is enough. That ruling is enough.

But it’s not.

There’s a space beside me that grows colder each night. A hunger in my gut, sharp and gnawing, something I refuse to call loneliness.

I am not lonely. I am not weak.

And yet, when I sit here in the dark, when the city sleeps beneath me, I crave.

Not just a body. Not just heat and friction.

I crave her. Her presence. Her defiance. Her resistance.

I crave a woman who won’t just lay down and take it.

I want a fight. I want her voice spitting venom at me, her body tense beneath my hands, her eyes burning with something fierce and wild.

I want to break her down, piece by piece, until she gives in. Until she realizes what I already know.

She was always meant for me.

And once I have her, this hunger will finally be satisfied.

The sounds of conversation and booming footsteps caused her to slam the journal shut. In a panic she shoved the journal back where she found it. The sounds of men approaching halted in front of the door. Their voices lowered to whispers as the door began to unlock.

Quickly, she pulled herself onto his bed, kicking off her shoes and getting comfortable like she’d been there since he left. The door creaked open slowly. Revealing Doflamingo’s smug face peeking in.

“Hey little bird.” He cooed to her softly as he opened the door but not fully walking in. His tone reminded her of someone trying to tame a feral animal.

She watched him suspiciously as he ushered someone in behind him. It was some big, disgusting, snotty man. She sneered at the man that followed. Doflamingo shut the door behind the disgusting looking man.

"This here is Trebol, he’s a good friend of mine.” He explained. Doflamingo noticed the disgust on her face and stepped closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. It was almost like he was trying to comfort her.

“So, this is her huh? Trebol’s nasally voice broke through.

Doflamingo rubbed his thumb against her bare shoulder as he looked down at her smugly.

Trebol spoke again, sounding appalled. “You’re acting strange, Doffy. This isn’t like you. You never keep them. You never keep anything.”

Doflamingo snapped his head in the other man's direction, looking rather accusing, but he didn’t say anything yet. He let him continue.

“She’s just some stupid girl!” Trebol said in surprise. “This isn’t like you Doffy, I don’t like this.” He crossed his arms as he eyed the girl suspiciously.

Doflamingo released her shoulder as he moved swiftly towards Trebol, causing the man to cower slightly.

“How dare you question me?” Doflamingo’s voice was menacing.

“I-I’m sorry Young Master…” Trebol whimpered, cowering still.

Doflamingo stopped hovering over him, but his offended expression remained.

“I knew I should’ve just kept her all to myself. You don’t understand. None of you do.” Doflamingo grumbled under his breath as he turned his back on Trebol, facing (Y/N) again.

He stepped towards her again, as soon as he was close enough, he placed one of his large hands on her cheek, making her flinch as if she thought he’d hit her.

“See, look.” He said, peering down at her. “You’ve made her nervous.” Doflamingo blamed Trebol. “Leave, and don’t tell anyone about her. Are we clear?” He commanded, never looking back at Trebol as he stroked her cheek.

‘Y-yes Young Master.” Trebol stuttered, bowing before taking his leave. The door shut and locked behind him. Leaving them alone again.

#doflamingo one piece #doflamingo x reader #donquixote doflamingo #one piece #doflamingo smut #doflamingo x y/n #doflamingo x you #op doflamingo #ao3fic #doffy

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basket-of-cats-and-witches · 6 months ago

Text

Codex Entry: A letter stained with tears, carefully preserved

Alternate title: To Emmrich, in Case of Death

-------

Vhenan-

This is a horribly depressing letter to have to think about.

Right now you're in your room, we've just fought, and the only thing I can think of is how broken it would feel if I died after this.

If we never get the chance to reconcile.

So right here, right now-

I love you. Ar lath ma, ma vhenan.

I'd write it down in all the languages I know, all those words I learned to speak to every kind of dead that graces the Necropolis’s halls, but it would take far too much room.

Fourteen years ago, I was a newly minted Watcher, crying in the memorial gardens over the anniversary of the Fifth Blight, when so many of my people died in the alienage.

And you were the kind person who sat down beside me, held my hand, and didn't tell me everything would be alright.

Instead, you confessed your fear of death. A well-respected professor who I'd never met, admitting weakness.

Reminding me that I wasn't alone in my grief, in my terror. That anyone could be afraid and still live despite it.

Of course, the crush I formed on you then was entirely inappropriate - you're my senior by a wealth of years. Don't scoff, my love, you'll add more wrinkles to your face, and I won't be there to kiss them.

Entirely cruel of you.

However, years went by, my attachment remained, and after everything, it was Bellara who brought you back to my side. She is the brightest and best of us, as I'm sure you know.

Make sure to remind her every day.

Our journey together has made that silly little crush bloom into a roaring love, burning so brightly and intensely that I cannot help but feel it consume my breath every time you look my way.

I know you were terrified, you know. “Reviewing your assets” dearest Vhenan of mine, I know you've already triple-checked to make sure everything is in place when you go, and that Myrna and Vorgoth already have a copy.

I may be a meathead, but I'm not quite that oblivious.

It's heartbreaking, this knowledge that you might outlive me. I am always in the front lines. I am a warrior, and at the end of the day, I'm who must go down first before you.

But I would do it gladly, and please do not hate me for it. It is an honor.

In my absence, please have Davrin lead. I know he'll be good at it. He's a phenomenal Warden, and his head is more firmly attached to his shoulders than mine ever was. Guide him, please. I trust your wisdom.

Tell Manfred I love him every day, long past when he learns to say the words himself. I'm so proud of him.

I'm so proud of you.

And - should my remains be recovered, or whatever is left of me, bury me next to my sister. I spent years picking that plot as per her request, might as well enjoy it with her.

I love you, Emmrich Volkarin. With every breath, with every beat of my heart, with every contraction of my lungs. You've rooted yourself firmly into my flesh, and I would be loath to continue breathing without you.

Cast our argument aside. I do not hate you for it.

Eternally yours, our spirits walking hand in hand,

Ghil'danan Ingellvar.

P.S. -

Hezenkoss hates Scotch Broom. It made her break out in hives. Please place some near her skull when she's being a shit, just for me.

#my writing #ghil'danan for oc tagging #dragon age rook #dragon age veilguard spoilers #dragon age veilguard #veilguard spoilers #dragon age the veilguard #da: the veilguard #datv spoilers #datv #datv rook #emmrich x ingellvar #rook x emmrich #emmrook #emmrich volkarin #rook ingellvar #fake codex entries #hezenkoss was Ghil's mentor and he would've tormented her beyond the grave #love the angst of Emmrich finding this while Ghil is stuck in the Fade

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i-only-ever-asked-questions · 11 months ago

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Good Omens Through the Decades

UPDATED!

This is a timeline of all the events that have happened related to Good Omens, from its inception to its publication to its future plans; editions, adaptations, failed adaptations and the like.

I originally wanted to have this post ready for the anniversary in May, that didn't work, it just kept getting larger. Then I wanted to do it for the anniversary of Season 2 in July, that didn't work either, for the same reason. So I am just going to post it now, a random date and hope for the best LOL. And guess what? After a fun and fruitful chat with another fan who prefers to remain anonymous, I added a couple of events a few trivia here and there (thank you!). So, a little bit of warning: it is loooong, lots of things have happened in 34 years. At the beginning I was going to put all the references at the end of the post, but they are a lot, so I put them in a document instead.

*Yes, of course I am aware of the allegations. But this is about the history and the world of Good Omens which is so much bigger than one person, even if that person started the whole thing. It is ours now. It is Terry's and Rob's. It is David and Michael's, Douglas McKinnon's, David Arnold's and the rest of the cast and crew. It is Colleen Doran's, Dirk Maggs's, Terry Gilliam's, Vicki Larnach, Jim Hare and Jay James Moody's. It is Stephen Brigg's and Martin Jarvis's. And so many other people who have brought or will bring its many iterations to life. It is the fans'.

1985-1990 - The Book

1985, Jan - Terry and Neil met for the first time when Neil interviewed Terry for Space Voyager magazine after "The Colour of Magic" was published [1,2] *For years they both wholeheartedly believed it had been at a Chinese Restaurant during February. Some time after Terry passed away Neil found his diary for 1985 where the entry said it had been in January at an Italian Restaurant [3]

1987, summer - Neil wrote the first 5000 words of a story and sent it to a few friends, including Terry; "An exchange in Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, combined with a late night viewing of The Omen and a love of Richmal Compton’s immortal Just William stories, had put a story into my head, about a demonic baby-swap that goes wrong, in which the Antichrist grows up to be a nice kid, with a dog and a gang" [1,4]

1987, Oct - Sandman began and William the Antichrist went into the back back back burner [1]

1988, spring? summer? - Terry called Neil and offered to either buy the idea or write it together; "About a year later I took it out of the drawer and did see what happened next, even if I couldn’t see how it all ended yet" [5]

1988, summer - They wrote it together (do you really need a reference? 😉)

1988-1989 - First draft took about nine weeks. After Richmal Compton's estate did not reply to the request of using William Brown and his world, William became Adam, Pepper and War became female and the book got a new title (Good Omens by Neil) and subtitle (The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry). The second draft took about four months. There were still about five more months of polishing and editing and auctioning and more editing [4,6] *Good Omens was the first Terry book that ever went to auction. It ended up going for £150,000 [7]

1989, Halloween - During the World Fantasy Convention in Seattle, Terry and Neil started plotting what could become the sequel to Good Omens and called it "668 The Neighbor of the Beast" [6,8] *The real-life experience of trying to piece together the plot of a soft porn movie using little free increments from hotels' pay-per-view over time probably made it into the sequel around here [7]

1990, May 10. Book published in the UK - Hardback published in the UK by Victor Gollancz (with whom Terry had already been working) to be followed by paperback by Corgi on May 23, 1991 [8,9] *After the first UK edition was published (Gollancz), several changes were made to the text to make it easier on US readers and to polish it a bit. The new text was used by both the US publishers (Workman) and the UK publishers of the paperback (Corgi). Gollancz was unaware of this alternate text until about 2009. They started using the Workman/Corgi text starting with their next edition in 2014 [9]

1990, Sep. Book published in the US - Hardback published in the US by Workman to be followed by paperback by Berkley on March 1992 [9,10] *UK editions list Terry's name first and US editions list Neil's name first. This was done because Terry was more known in the UK and Neil was more known in the US [7]

1991-2004 - The Movies

1991, Feb - Hollywood Studio Sovereign Pictures hired Terry and Neil to write an adaptation of the book for a movie. The studio had some specific requirements such as Crowley owning a night club, Aziraphale working as a curator for the British Museum, Tadfield with an abandoned pier and a miniature town in it and Satan. They ended up rejecting the script anyway [11] *It was at this point that Terry suggested Buddy Holly's "Every Day" as the theme for Good Omens. In this script some of the angels used for the series got started like Gabriel and Sandalphon and a big sequence had them use their haloes like frisbees inside the British Museum [11,12,13]

1992, Jan. Movie Script - Terry declined to write a second script, but Neil stayed and wrote one. In October the company got taken over and all dreams of a movie died [11,14] *In this script Crowley tries to run away to Alpha Centauri

2001-2002. Terry Gilliam Movie deal - Since about 1999, when he obtained the rights, and throughout the 00's Terry Gilliam tried hard to make a movie. The closest he came to it was in 2001-2002 when he got as far as casting the parts (Johnny Depp as Crowley, Robin Williams as Aziraphale, Mme. Tracey and Hastur, and Kirsten Dunst). But he couldn't get a US studio to invest the last $15M and the movie project collapsed [13,15,16] *Terry had received, back in 1989, a copy of the book asking for a blurb. The letter got lost and he thought the book had been sent as a pitch for a movie [16,17]

2004, Jun 20th - Hill House Publishers created the "Neil Gaiman's Preferred Edition Series" with limited editions of American Gods, Anansi Boys and Neverwhere. As a bonus for the subcribers, Hill House printed the 1992 movie script under the name "A Screenplay." Only 500 numbered and 52 lettered copies were ever made [11,18]

2005-2010 - The Sequel (and the Audiobooks)

2005, Jun - Terry and Neil met at the Audie Awards in New York and plotted a little more of the sequel. This was when the South Downs bit was thought up [19,20]

2005, Dec. Crowley and Aziraphale's New Year's resolutions - The list of resolutions came out sometime between Christmas and New Year's at Harper Collins' website [7] *The well-known idea of Crowley gluing coins to the sidewalk is not in the book at all, it came from this list

2006, Feb 28. New edition - The book was reissued in the US as a hardcover in two different versions. The text is the same but one version has a white cover with Crowley and Neil's name listed first, and a second version has a black cover with Aziraphale and Terry's name listed first [7,21] *This time the explanation for the authors' name order was to make sure the book could be found both under "G" and also under "P"

2006, Jul. Briggs Audiobook - ISIS released in the UK an unabridged audiobook read by Stephen Briggs in CD, MP3CD and cassette (it won the 2008 Audiobook Download of the Year by audible.co.uk) [22,23]

2009, Nov 10. Jarvis Audiobook - HarperAudio released in the US an unabridged audiobook read by Martin Jarvis in CD [24] *Martin Jarvis is the same narrator who recorded the Just William audiobooks, a nice Easter egg related to the origins of the book

2010, Sep 23 - Terry and Neil had dinner at a sushi restaurant in Cardiff and decided that the book should be adapted as a TV series and not a movie anymore (as per Terry Gilliam's advice). And if it goes well, the rest of the story, the unwritten sequel, should be adapted too [8,13,15] *It was around here that the idea of the sushi restaurant cameo with both of them being patrons started

2011-2013 - The Stage (and a failed TV series)

2011, Feb. Terry Jones TV series - Terry and Neil agreed to a deal to adapt the book into a four-part TV series made by Terry Jones and Gavin Scott. At the end they didn't quite like the script though [13,25,26]

2012, Jun - Amy Hoff's The Cult Classic Theatre was granted permission to adapt the book to a stage play [27] *One of the conditions was that no footage would be taken/made available and the script would not be shared/sold

2012, Aug- Narrativia was established as the production company that would handle all of Terry's work adaptations. The production of the TV series and of The Watch were then transferred from Prime Focus [28,29] *Narrativia was first revealed at "The Watch Team Interview" panel during the Discworld 2012 convention on Aug, 26th [28]

2013, Mar. Stage Play - Amy Hoff's play was presented on March 20-23 and 27-30 at the Cottiers Theatre in Glasgow [30]

2013, Apr - BBC drama producer Heather Larmour pitched a radio drama adaptation to the BBC [31]

2013, sometime. The Musical - Vicki Larnarch and Jim Hare, "two hippies from Sydney", had met with Terry and Rob about six months prior. Terry's interest had gotten piqued when they showed him The Chattering Order Nuns song and he asked them to come back with a showstopper and a few more songs. They came back with "All Living Things" and they got the green light to go forward with the adaptation [32]

2013, Dec 11 - In a meeting at The Groucho Club, Terry and Neil enter into talks with the BBC to adapt GO to TV [33]

2014-2015 - The Radio Drama

2014, summer - Dirk Maggs adapted the book into a Radio Drama and gave Terry and Neil a cameo as police officers pursuing Crowley [31,34] *In July, Neil advised Dirk to get Terry's recording asap, before he couldn't do it anymore. They did it in the summer and that day ended up being the last day Neil and Terry saw each other [35]. The rest of the recording happened during autumn [13]

2014, Aug - Terry asked Neil to make the TV adaptation of Good Omens, "I know, Neil, that you are very, very busy, but no one else could ever do it with the passion that we share for the old girl. I wish I could be more involved, and I will help in any way I can" [12] Neil, of course, said yes

2014, Dec. BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation - The six episodes aired between December 22nd and December 27th, 2014 on BBC Radio 4 [36]

2015, Jan 15 - Random House UK released the BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation in CD [37]

2015-2019 - The TV series (and some luxury limited editions)

2015, Mar 12 - Terry passed away 😢

2015, Mar 25 - Terry's funeral. As soon as Neil got back home, he started writing the script for the TV series [12] *Sometimes signed copies of the third draft of the pilot (dated 25 July 2015) appear in eBay

2015 - Jay James-Moody joined the team to produce the musical [32]

2016, Aug 1 - First read-through of the series script [38] *The scripts were finalized right before SDCC 2016 which was held July 21st-24th [39]. Both Maggie Service and Tim Downie were present in this read-through [40]

2017, Sep 18 - 2018, Mar 10. Season 1 shooting - Season 1 started shooting at St. James' park (with the 11 years ago scene) and ended in Cape Town, South Africa [13,41,42] *The read-through before shooting occurred on Sept 13, 2017 [43]

2017, Nov 13 - Full development reading of the musical at the York Theatre in Chippendale, Sydney, Australia [32,44]

2019, Feb 8 - The social media campaign to promote Season 1 started with a tour of the Chattering Order of St. Beryl, an acapella choir that traveled to different cities for events and TV shows [45,46]

2019, Apr 25. The Chattering Order of St. Beryl's video - The video "That Brand New Baby Smell" was released in YouTube [47]

2019, May 3 and 4 - Workshop production of the musical at IPAC in Wollongong, Australia. About ten days before the series premiere Vicki, Jim and Jay showed Neil and Rob a recording of this show [32,44,48] *Although a full recording of the workshop exists, they are not allowed to share it until it is finished

2019, May 21. Companion Book - A companion book to the TV series with interviews and behind the scenes photographs written by Matt Whyman was published by William Morrow [49]

2019, May 21. The Script Book - Headline Publishing Group released a script book in both hardback and paperback (The US edition by William Morrow followed on Jun 11th). All editions of the script book include an "Other Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" deleted scene. An exclusive edition for Waterstones included an additional deleted scene (Aziraphale in the 1800). A hardback edition limited to 1000 copies with white cover included four different deleted scenes (thugs visiting the bookshop, Leonardo DaVinci, the televangelist and Crowley clothes shopping) and a series of sketches made on set by Lorna May Wadsworth. On Jan 15th of 2020, a paperback edition with the white cover was released; it contained all five deleted scenes from the other editions and a sixth one (Aziraphale trying to sell a book); this edition does not include the sketches however. [9,50] *The script book was created so the production could pay for the death of Agnes Nutter, a scene (and a character) originally written by Terry which was too expensive to film [3]

2019, May 23. The Illustrated Edition - The Pratchett Estate and Neil agreed on a revised definitive text. It was published in five versions collectively called the Definitive Edition. Two versions were published by Gollancz which they called the Illustrated Edition; a standard hardback with black cover and a limited edition in a slipcase with white cover signed by Paul Kidby, the illustrator [51,52]

2019, May 30. "Unholy Night" - The Chattering Order of St. Beryl's released their album "Unholy Night" on Amazon Music and other digital platforms [53]

2019, May 31. TV Series - Season 1 premiered in Prime Video 😊

2019, May 31. Soundtrack - Silva Screen Records released the soundtrack in CD, vinyl and mp3/wav download [54]

2019, Jul. The Definitive Edition - The other three versions of the revised text were published by Dunmanifestin, the company established by the Pratchett Estate to handle Terry's intellectual property. All editions were limited: The Occult Edition (July 1st) with only 1655 copies in a black clamshell box, the Ineffable Edition (July 4th) with 666 copies in a deluxe box including ephemera, and the Celestial Edition, made to order with only 24 copies [52,55]

2019, Aug 2. The BBC Radio Drama Collectors Edition - A vinyl box set by Demon Records included four LPs printed in black and white in illustrated wallets, commentaries by Neil and Dirk and a set of tarot cards. An Amazon exclusive limited edition of 500 sets also included a print signed by Neil [56]

2019, Aug - Neil pitched Season 2 to Amazon [57]

2019, Oct 28. Blu-ray and DVD - Amazon released the series in DVD, Blu-ray and steelbook limited edition Blu-ray (PAL) for the UK. The US version (NSTC) followed on November 5th in both DVD and Blu-ray, there was no steelbook edition for the US market [58]

2019, Dec - John Finnemore joined as co-writer of Season 2 [57] *In this meeting, John stated that he needed to know the ending before he could write so Neil came up with the ending of Season 2 in about 5 minutes right there and then

2020-2025 - TV Series Season 2, a new Audiobook and some other adjacent projects

2020, May 1st. Lockdown Video - A short video about a phonecall between Crowley and Aziraphale was created by Narrativia and The Blank Corporation for the 30th anniversary of the book. It was released in the the official YouTube account of the Terry Pratchett Estate (@terrypratchett6025) [59]

2020, summer - Neil started writing the script for Season 2 beginning with the opening scene for episode 1 [57] *The last scene written was Gabriel organizing the books by first letter of first line. It was planned as the last scene for Episode 2 but at the end got moved to another place [60]

2020, Sep 16 - Season 2 was officially greenlit (along with Anansi Boys) [61]

2021, Mar 26 - The Hillywood Show announced the Good Omens parody project [62]

2021, Jun 29 - Amazon announced Season 2 in a press release [63]

2021, Oct 18 - 2022, Mar 1. Season 2 shooting - Season 2 started shooting in the Bathgate studio. Some scenes were shot on location in different parts of Edinburgh and other areas [64,65] *The read-through happened over October 14th and 15th, three episodes per day [66], David had to attend via zoom since he was still in isolation from Georgia's covid [67]. On the other hand, Michel McKean (Shadwell in Season 1) was present for that zoom read-through but had to be drop out also for covid reasons [68]. Peter Davison (David's-father-in law) was asked to play Job's part after shooting had started (possibly replacing Michael McKean?) and Ty Tennant (David's son) was cast too after shooting had started but through audition [69]. Maggie Service was in the very first shot of the season and also in the last day, first one in last one out as she said [70]

2021, Nov 2. Full Cast Audiobook - HarperAudio released in the US a full cast audiobook with Michael Sheen as Aziraphale and David Tennant as Crowley. The audiobook was later released in the UK on January 14th, 2022 [71,72] *The original cover for the audiobook was designed by Henry Sene Yee; a lavender background with drawings of Crowley and Aziraphale facing away from each other. After Season 2 was released, the cover changed to one of the promotional posters [73]

2023, Mar 15. Good Omens HQ - The Terry Pratchett Estate and Neil Gaiman created Good Omens Headquarters. The headquarters launched official accounts in several social media platforms and a website that keeps track of collector's items as they are being revealed [74]

2023, May 10. Good Omens Parody - The Hillywood Show's parody premiered in their YouTube channel (thehillywoodshow) [75] *Amazon Video partnered with Hillywood to announce the premiere date for Season 2 within their parody video. Neil, Maggie Service and Daniel Mays appeared as guests

2023, Jul 28. TV Series Season 2 - Season 2 premiered in Prime Video 😊 *As part of the promo campaign two days before the premiere, Amazon screened the first two episodes in cinemas in several cities free for Amazon Prime members

2023-2024 - The Graphic Novel

2023, Aug 1. Graphic Novel - The Kickstarter campaign to fund the graphic novel adaptation with Colleen Doran as illustrator launched [76] *At its closure, 36,867 backers had pledged £2,419,973 (notice it is pounds, not dollars)

2023, Aug 25. Season 2 Soundtrack - Silva Screen Records released the soundtrack for season 2 in CD, vinyl and mp3/wav download [54]

2023, Dec 14 - Season 3 was officially greenlit [77]

2024, Apr 18 - The Graphic Novel Pledgemanager site launches for people who missed the Kickstarter campaign or to add extras to an already existing pledge [78]

2024, Jul 13 - Vicki Larnach, Jim Hare and Jay James Moody appeared as virtual guests at Nullus Anxietas 9, the Australian Discworld Convention 2024 held in Adelaide, to talk about recent push for the musical [79]

2025 - The Future

2025, January - Season 3 is scheduled to begin filming [80]

2025, Spring - Graphic novel is scheduled to be released [76] *The original release date was in July of 2024, however in April of 2024 it was announced that it would need to be pushed to the Spring of 2025 (Update #20)

There should be a special mention of a fan created musical parody for YouTube that was in development in Russia by 62Media. This was completely fan made and not connected to the Pratchett Estate, Neil, the BBC or Amazon (which is why it is not in the list). Unfortunately it had to shut down due to COVID [81]

Fun fact: During the tour to promote the book, back in 1989-1990 the song "Shoehorn With Teeth" by They Might Be Giants became the unofficial anthem of the tour since that is what they always ended up singing when things went too crazy [82]

#good omens #good omens book #good omens movie script #good omens musical #good omens stage play #good omens graphic novel #good omens 2 #good omens 3 #good omens radio drama #good omens through the ages (I mean decades)

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