#given my huge affection for how Liam talks politics

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Im white and have trying to be measured in how I feel to white celebs blm posts. grimmys one today is as really clear and useful (he refed / signposted). The description of optical allyship was particularly useful. a noticeable shift for him. You’ve made me reflect and notice the difference between white celebs posting slogans or saying how things should be better and describing clear actions to take. I think seeing Liams post and then nicks after really made me consider and reflect

It’s really interesting to hear your response - thanks for letting me know.  I can totally see why you ended up focusing on action.  And your anon has made me think a little bit more about how I think about these things.

And reading your anon has really helped clarify for me that my priority in talking about white celebrity’s reactions I have quite a specific goal and quite a speicifc argument that I hadn’t fully realised before.  I don’t think white celebrities reactions in this moment matter.

That is an explicit political argument and also a reaction to political arguments I see on social media. I genuinely see people argue that it matters what celebrities say, because they have a bigger audience than an ordinary person.  And it’s terrible theory of change, because it relies on already existing power structures, which amplify certain voices, and suggests that people who have a lot of followers have more to offer a struggle for justice than other people.  That’s not what I beleive at all, I think the strength of liberation movements is that lots of people come together to demand a better world.  That thousands of voices is much more powerful and important than one voice with a lot of followers.

(This is particularly when a movement is educating and organising.  I do think it is different when a single collective action is called for.  So if, for example, if a general strike was called for next week an important part of making that work would make sure that everyone in the US had heard of if.  Under those circumstances using every channel people could access is important.  But I think that is a very limited role - and that suggesting that celebrities play any particular role in the organisig cycle of  ‘educate, agitate, organise’ is to give up power to existing power structures).

And I realise that that’s why I didn’t want to comment on what 1D member’s were doing, because I feared that it would be making an implicit argument that it matters.  And I don’t think it matters to the world, I think it only matters if you’re interested in those celebrities, which of course I am.  So now that I’ve figured out why I was so reluctant, I might actually start responding to what they say.

You say that you’re trying to be measured in your response to white celebrities - I don’t think you need to treat your reaction as a problem.  I think boundaries work here.  For me there are three questions, the first is what does what this white celebrity mean for the world (probably nothing), what can it tell us about them (this is obviously a question I write a lot about, and how do I feel about it as a fan (and in this case I haven’t had an emotional reaction to any 1D members statements, but I want to emphasise that your reaction would be legitimate).

[stephadoodles]

DOAFP Episode 1x10 Review - “Two Party System”

Well, I finally made it to the end! The final episode of the first season and it wrapped up a lot of plot lines, set up the potential future of the show, and was a pretty solid ending.

This show has relied on a lot of metaphors and puns, and I noticed that it did so again in this episode. All the episodes have some kind of political-based title, and this one was no exception. Obviously the two-party system is in reference to American politics, but it ultimately played a role in the meaning of the three main story lines as well.

Elena and Sasha made up in the last episode, and for a moment, it seems as though Jessi is fine with this. As they start planning their party though, Jessi is once again influenced by the popular kids and starts excluding people from their party. Elena protests this and starts planning a party for everyone instead. She has a line about how hers is going to be a “party for all,” and it’s a great metaphor for adult Elena and likely her belonging to a political party that emphasizes inclusivity – a party for all.

She’s also very excited about the part of her field trip where she gets to learn about how the government works, and it’s all great foreshadowing of her future career. There’s the interaction with the senator, and it’s a great nod to the idea of representation, and how it’s important for Elena to see someone like her in a role of importance that she will ultimately aspire to get to. Adult Elena makes a comment at the end of the episode about how someone like her (a woman of color) would have never even dreamed of becoming president, but the world has changed and now it is possible.

Elena’s main arc for season one really concludes when she realizes that Jessi now feels left out, and they have a heart to heart about why Jessi acted the way she did. It’s a good way of wrapping up that story line, and Jessi ultimately apologizes for the way she acted. The season ends with the three girls being friends again.

Meanwhile, Bobby is still dealing with his feelings for Liam. The pure panic of stuffing his phone in the couch and finger guns in the mirror were pretty funny, and it was great to see Bobby being a little more open with his emotions. When Sam comes in to get his stuff, it’s a nice parallel to the first episode, where Bobby comes home in the middle of the day and catches Sam and Gabi. This also ends up being the second time Sam has given Bobby advice about what to do with Liam, although he still has no idea what’s going on.

There was a lot of debate in the fandom about how Bobby’s story line ended, and I think my feeling on it really depend on if there is a season 2 or not. Obviously the creators want there to be one, which is why Bobby’s story line isn’t completely wrapped up. He doesn’t come out to Liam, which I’m fine with either way. Bobby’s still struggling to work through what exactly his feelings are, and it would have been a huge step. Ultimately, I want to see him come out, but it makes sense that it wouldn’t have happened so soon.

We also get to see Bobby really come to terms with his sexuality. He makes vague references to feelings but doesn’t really articulate them. The “maybe I’m…hmm” moment was the closest we got to it. I know some people weren’t happy with it; if we get a season 2, I’m totally fine with the way they ended it. If we don’t, and that’s the last we ever see of Bobby, I will be somewhat disappointed. (And if we don’t get a season 2, it’s all Disney’s fault and I don’t blame the creators for holding off on the story line if they have plans for how to continue it in the future).

I do wish Bobby would’ve opened up to his mom, but again, I’m fine with waiting for that in the future. It did feel a little strange that they revert back to subtext when the episode prior had so much in the actual text, but it does make sense with Bobby’s character – he’s definitely not quite ready to talk about it as openly as Camila does, and she was the one doing most of the talking in the last episode.

Finally, we have Gabi’s story line, and she finally comes to an understanding about her feelings for Sam. I really liked the scene between her and Bobby; not only was it a really nice conversation, but it’s cool that he was able to explain to her how he views the Sam situation, and how someone can like two different people at the same time, and how that can work together. Again, it ties back to the two-party idea. He also refers to Sam as a dad, which is a nice callback to the first episode, where Gabi was worried about it.

The episode ends by setting up Elena’s interest in pursuing student council the next year, which ties in nicely with her building towards her interest in politics. It also shows a ton of blank pages in her diary, hinting at future story. The back and forth between young Elena and adult Elena was nicely done as well, and it was a neat way to tie up the season as a whole.

A few notes:

We finally got to meet Esteban and it was pretty amazing

Elena choosing her friend over the boy she’s been hopelessly crushing on? We love to see it

The legal advisor visor bit was really funny

My hopes for season 2 (aside from simply getting one):

More focus on Gabi being a lawyer, and how that has an impact on Elena. We got glimpses of it in this season, but most of Gabi’s story lines tended to focus on her relationship with Sam. She got the big case, and then it was dropped a few episodes later. I’d like to see more of her doing her job, and inspiring her daughter at the same time.

Obviously, I want them to keep going with Bobby’s story line, and I really want some coming out scenes. I don’t have a preference who he comes out to first, or what order or any of that. I just want to see him becoming comfortable with who he is, accepting of that, and finding love and acceptance from his family and friends.

They set up where Elena’s focus is going to be, and I hope they focus on her protesting and dealing with important topics that would affect them at the middle school level. They started doing some of that, and that would be great to continue.

Overall, this show has done a really great job of covering more mature or difficult topics in a way that is appropriate and understandable for younger kids. I really hope it’s renewed because there really aren’t a lot of shows out there right now like this one, and I want to see where they can go with it in the future.

If you’ve been reading these reviews, thanks for taking the time to do so! It’s been fun for me, and definitely a learning experience since I’ve never reviewed anything before! Here’s hoping for a season 2!

[novelconcepts]

Okay, but all silliness aside: I owe a ridiculous amount to Critical Role. Or, more specifically, to having found CR when I did. I came in around the beginning of the second campaign, and I had no idea what this thing was. I didn’t know a damn thing about D&D. I didn’t watch gamers stream. I think I’d been on Twitch a handful of times to watch Jim Lee draw, and that was...it. 

I came into Critical Role having seen a handful of gifs on my dash from people whose opinions I trust, and I realized Ashley Johnson was involved. That was my full base of knowledge: Ashley “hey, I know her from Recess/Growing Pains, I like her” Johnson was the whole deal. And that could have been a breaking point early on, because the first thirty episodes of Campaign 1 are a little rough if you don’t know what you’re getting into. The audio is questionable in places, it can be hard to track what’s going on, there’s the whole...obvious cast issue. And if you came in knowing only Ashley, you didn’t even get that lifeline the whole way through. 

But here’s the thing: this was 2017? I had just gotten married, and while I married the love of my life, who I had been engaged to--we originally had a slapdash courthouse wedding the day after the election, because it was the only safety net we could grab hold of. At least it would be a legal marriage, in case something really cataclysmic happened before our actual wedding date. I was obsessively refreshing six different news sites every hour while at work, and falling down the darkest political rabbit holes on Twitter every night. I was have terror dreams of nuclear fallout and panic attacks over climate change...and, on top of all the fear and the anger broiling in me, my dysphoria was getting worse by the day. My anxiety. My depression. I was sinking. Fast.  So I did the only thing I know how to do when things get truly bad inside my head. 

I hid inside stories. 

Namely, I hid inside Critical Role. The new campaign wasn’t quite on its feet yet, so I went back and started with Vox Machina. I went into these 3-5 hour episodes, letting them play in the background at work, letting these people I did not know or even really get yet into my head. And, at first, it was just the fascination of the concept. A long-form narrative built by upwards of 8 people, all sitting around a table, just...improvising. Not an inch of that is the way I tell stories, so it was brilliant and baffling, and curiosity had me straight out the gate. 

And, if it had just been the concept, that still might not have been enough to hold my attention. If it had just been the idea of it, it might not have been loud enough to drown out the voices in my head telling me the whole ship was going down, that there was no hope, that there was no point in even getting up in the morning to face more bullshit. 

But...it was Matt Mercer. Matt, with such an incredible array of characters and maps living inside his head, who could so easily have been That Guy--the English Major Asshole who knew he was smarter than everyone in the room and played it up--and instead chooses to be so kind. So utterly engrossed in the desire to give everyone a seat at the table, to let everybody into the narrative he’s weaving. It takes a certain kind of person to not only write the sort of stories he invents for CR, but to be open enough to lean back and let other people take the wheel every night, and to roll with whatever comes his way. 

And it was Travis Willingham. This huge dude who had to sit at the edge of the table because he was all muscle and thumping energy, who I kept expecting to be tight-lipped and brewing with that toxic masculinity judgment straight dudes are taught to value--and, instead of even a modicum of that, he was so excited. So invested in these characters and this game, in these friends, in playing the wisest dumbass ever to cross a screen. Travis, who hugs his male friends, and doesn’t pull the no-homo card, and stans his wife with such delight, there is no way you can watch even half an episode without falling in love with their love. 

And it was Liam O’Brien, who could have played the arrogant Cool Dude, and instead leaned so hard into having fun with his place at the table. Into deep-cut jokes, and his love for his friends, and such an affinity for Laura that I genuinely believed they were siblings. Liam, who wears his soft heart on his sleeve, and understands that sometimes the best way through tragedy is to weave it into a story, to let that be a kind of therapy among friends. 

And it was Taliesin Jaffe. Tal, who is just gonna be him, and not even fuck you if you don’t like it--he doesn’t even seem to notice. Tal, who is physical with his friends, and who laughs with his whole body, and who has the quickest one-liners in the world one minute and “life needs things to live” the next, and who just is such a joy to watch as he immerses himself at the table. He’s gonna have his hair, and he’s gonna wear mismatched socks, and he’s gonna paint those nails, and love his people, and inspire everyone around him to do the same. 

And it was Sam Riegel, who--I’ll be honest--I didn’t get for a while. He was hilarious, and he was a quick-draw, and I loved his songs, but I didn’t understand how much he cared, how truly in it he was. Sam has said he’d do anything to make these people laugh, and I don’t think everyone realizes just how valuable it is to have someone who understands the need of a good laugh in a bad situation. Sam lights up the table in the strangest, silliest ways--but he also brings some of the most vital human moments to the story. 

And it was Laura Bailey, who was just so...warm, it bleeds straight through the screen and envelopes me every time I watch her play. Vex is cool as shit on the surface, but Laura is so full of affection, so quick-witted, so hugely into this game that she transforms herself utterly when she plays. Laura comes to the table to play with everything she’s got, and she’s so honest when she does it. Impeccable voice work one minute, flirtatious wink the next, and then she’s dying laughing at a dick joke. It’s so open, it’s impossible not to love. 

And it was Marisha Ray. Marisha, who took so much shit, and came out the other side standing taller than ever. Marisha, who commits wholeheartedly in voice, in affectation, in climbing up on her chair or lunging backward out of it. From day one, I was rooting for Marisha--I was inspired by Keyleth getting to grow up onscreen, as I’ve been invested in Beau slowly cracking open and letting herself shine out from the spaces she’s spent so much time shoring up. She loves these characters like true friends, and she loves her people, and she loves her husband, and she loves this craft to such a degree, I want to quit my job and come work for her instead. There’s such a strength and a dignity to her that I find myself needing to be stronger, too. 

And, of course, it was Ashley Johnson--deceptively sweet, intensely funny, so much tougher than she looks, and when she turns up in a game, the affection could fill a stadium. Ashley being in town or on Skype for a game is like coming into a party and finding a friend you hadn’t gotten to hang out with in six months waiting for you. Everything just feels brighter with her in the game.

And it is a game, and it is a story, but the family these people have built--people I’ll likely never meet, people who live on the opposite side of the country--is somehow big enough to let complete strangers bask in its reflected glow. I built a habit of listening to CR at work...and then talking about it to my wife, with all the hyper-fixation glee I can’t help when I fall in love with something...and then I was putting it on at home so she could fall in love, too. I was putting on Talks or Between the Sheets while I ran on the treadmill, or when I needed to focus on a project. I put on episodes I’d already seen when I was sad, or when I was lonely, or when I just needed something to fill the silence and keep the darkness in my head behind a wall. For two years, I’ve gone back to these people again and again. To the silly videos. To the serious conversations. To the Twitter feeds and the fanart people can’t resist making to commemorate these characters who feel so tangible. 

Matt always ends the stream with a claim of love, and with most shows, with most streamers, with most people, that just feels like words. With these guys, with the way they open up and share this lightning in a bottle family and story they have created with the rest of us, it feels honest. It feels like these are long-lost friends who may never be in the same room, but are always there when I am drowning because the world is a nightmare, because work is kicking my ass, because this gushing essay is the most I’ve written in months. They are so good. They are human, and fallible, and invested in telling stories that get dark and ugly one minute, and devolve into hysteria the next, because that’s what life looks like. Even life with gods and magic and talking swords and goldfish deaths. 

Critical Role keeps me throwing my shoulders back, keeps me laughing, keeps me insisting on showing the people in my life how much they mean to me. Critical Role keeps me on the board when the demons in my head have me thinking it’d be easier to throw the game. It’s a show, and it’s silly, but it’s given me such a safe, warm place to curl up in some of the bleakest times of my life, and I love them so much for being willing to share some of that light with the rest of the world. They’ve given me a place on the internet that truly does feel like home. 

[jonsameta]

Hi, me again!

jesuiscommejesuis: Haha, I’m on that GoT grind and probably won’t stop until the premiere 😂. I trust your opinion so unfortunately you have to endure another ask from me. Anyway…I think that most of us have considered the possibility of Jonsa not being canon. (RIP me if that happens). But my question isn’t about whether Jonsa will be or won’t be (I’ve come to terms with the fact that GoT will end how GRRM always intended it to end) it’s about what that possibility means for all of the evidence, clues, foreshadowing, etc that we’ve gathered. In your opinion will Jonsa not happening render those clues and meta meaningless and we were all crazy after all? Or do they take on a new meaning and point us in a new direction? Idk if that even makes sense. Maybe I’m just afraid that Jonsa wont happen and I’m afraid for no other reason other than that I will have looked and sounded insane to all of my GoT friends and had nothing to show for it. Also do you know of any interviews or blog posts from GRRM possibly supporting Jonsa? Same for D&D? Or any other people on or working with the show? Thank you so much!! 💙

—-

Hi there, 

The thing about theories is they’re like Shrodinger’s cat. If you try to be objective, you have to entertain the possibility that it won’t happen, but it can’t completely be false until proven otherwise. That said, some theories are more probable than others because there’s material within the text that thematically undoes something. This is because a story’s themes (which differs depending on the adaptation but it can’t be completely divorced from the original source either) define its boundaries because they essentially make up “the heart of the story”, not the plot. They give the main characters a moral dilemma that drives their journeys. Considering the themes of the story - both bookwise and showwise - Jonsa is very probable because it answers a lot of long standing character arcs that go beyond these characters and provides a bookend that Jon/Dany cannot considering R+L=J. 

I think anything in this story has to be considered according to the politics - even the fantasy part because the personal is political. With such a spread out story only the themes and the morality dilemmas of politics that the smallest moment can have is what holds it all together. And I think the strongest argument for the probability of Jonsa comes from a structural level of gauging the politics. 

Jon’s parentage is a political game changer and the way it’s been built up it cannot just be for personal angst - especially when the element of his parentage revealing him to have a higher claim than Dany is brought up. It doesn’t just affect him or his relationship with Dany. It affects Westeros and Dany’s own longstanding goal.

Jon may not want to be king, but Dany is walking in as a very unpopular figure into the North and the way she has gone about her campaign hasn’t improved her reputation and only worsened it. And Jon himself will lose popularity after having 1) bent the knee to a Targaryen, 2) consorting with a Targaryen and 3) being a secret Targaryen. 

Dany doesn’t realise that although Jon claims to have pledged his allegiance to her, it doesn’t mean the North has fallen into her hands. He’s only lost their faith from this move so no Targaryen by themselves could claim the North. Not to mention the Vale and Riverlands are more allied to Sansa than they are to Jon. To regain faith, he’d have to separate himself from Dany and the Targaryen identity a bit and yet he would need a political statement that only a marriage alliance to Stark could give if he were to remain in power. There’s also the pesky issue of how unknowingly Sansa and the Starks have more allies than Dany (or Jon without the Starks) does as everyone comes into Winterfell. So Sansa’s constant label as “key to the North” and the importance of marriage alliances becomes very important here. He can’t become king or even gain the faith of the people (back) without Sansa. So in that case, the whole notion of the Pact of Ice and Fire being fulfilled through Dany and Jon falls apart because Jon will be seen as an outsider. @thelawyerthatwaspromised has even written a post with infographics to make it easier to understand. It’s like R+L=J resets the chessboard. Ironically, what the audience thought Jon/Dany’s union would do politically is far more possible through Jon/Sansa. 

As it makes sense as a political match, the possibility of it happening and impacting the narrative increases a lot more. The original outline also matters here because clearly the pseudo-incest tag didn’t stop the author. However, as the characters haven’t interacted in real time in the books and aren’t close, there’s not much people have asked him about it nor has GRRM has said about it unless you count his vague reply once (”I won’t say more than I’ve already said in the books”). I’d say there’s more to be gauged from what he has to say about other ships that fandom roots for, that isn’t as positive as they make it out to be - whether Jon/rya, San/San, San/rion or Jon/Dany. It’s not obvious because he hardly shuts down possibilities but there’s reading between the lines. It becomes more obvious through a process of elimination. It’s also because Jon/Sansa as a ship tramples over so many ships that fandoms have banked on that people are inclined to dismiss it rather than re-evaluate the pre-existing ships. 

On the show, people have been coy too but there’s more content to gauge as the characters have already reunited and their dynamic has become pretty pivotal to the story. Where D&D shut down Dany and Yara ever happening, in the same panel they evaded a question about Jon and Sansa being developed as a romantic relationship. Aiden Gil/lian commented on how Jon’s parentage opens up possibilities for Jon and Sansa’s relationship romantically at the end of season 6. Sophie was asked about it post season 6 and she said it was possible because it’s GOT and they’re cousins. Also, there’s Liam Cunnin/gham who once liked a Jonsa fanvideo lol and he barely has any likes. Sophie has said it’s possible, even as she joked about how it would be embarrassing to film an intimate scene. Kit has somehow avoided all questioning, but he has some pretty interesting reactions regarding Jon and Sansa’s relationship - either in the words he chooses (”She twists him like no one else”) or how over the top his reaction to Sansa is when he talks about how annoying she is to the point where he’s flushed and red and laughing while saying “I’ve gotten really animated now that Sansa has come into the story”. Bryan Cogman has a lot to say regarding this dynamic too, that he even wrote Jon leaving Ghost behind to watch over Sansa when he left for Dragonstone. 

What helps regarding the show is that it’s not just the actors or the political sense, but the camerawork and visual framing that makes their scenes very confusing because they’re shot as a romantic couple about to happen, as @trinuviel has explored in her series “All is Subtext”.  This notion that it was “framed” or “shot” that way was echoed by multiple reviewers and podcasts through season 6 and even into the beginning of season 7. 

A huge part of this was because it very subtly visually paralleled more positive romantic ships on the show like Ned/Cat, Jaime/Brienne, Robb/Talisa, Sam/Gilly, Missandei/Greyworm and even Jon/Ygritte to some extent. This is over a course of 7 episodes under 5 different directors. One of the most telling scenes for me was when they did two back to back parallels to Ned/Cat and Jaime/Brienne after Jon chokeholds Littlefinger over Sansa and they go on to give a Jaime/Brienne-esque goodbye. The same director Mark Mylod directed both the season 6 Jaime/Brienne and season 7 Jon/Sansa goodbye. Bryan Cogman even confirmed that the Littlefinger chokehold was meant to parallel Ned doing the same over Cat. 

But in my opinion, what weirdly cemented it was how Jon/Dany contrasted Jon/Sansa’s dynamic and framing. There were a lot of structural decisions made that undercut the Jon/Dany “romance” and made Jon/Sansa look more compatible and romantic, which is something I explored in my “Undoing Romance” series. Again, this is looking beyond the actors. The biggest tell for me was that they never got a first kiss so romantic tension was never released but just dissipated over plot exposition. Moreover, how is it that Jon and Sansa have more parallels with romantic ships than Jon/Dany do? Why do Jon/Sansa have more Robb/Talisa framing through season 6 than Jon/Dany through season 7 if that’s what’s happening? Why was there no passionate first kiss like theirs? We just skipped to the sex in between a montage that told us how related they are. 

Why didn’t Jon look back at Dany when Jorah did, while he looked back at Sansa? Why does Jon react more violently to Sansa’s suitors than to Jorah? Why are these characters caught in triangle with interlopers, who pose a political threat but are also interested in one romantically? Why is this dynamic given so much importance where there’s tension but also there’s emotional vulnerability that pours out contrasting Jon/Sansa’s and Sansa and Arya’s season 6 and season 7 battlements scenes respectively. Why did they reveal R+L=J at the end of season 6 - the season in which people questioned what the hell was happening in the Jon/Sansa dynamic and a whole season before Jon met Dany. Both season finales also teased conflict because of political claims that change because of R+L=J. Where his parentage reveal, relieves Jon/Sansa of the direct incest factor because it biologically distances them, it makes Jon and Dany biologically more related - especially because she’s heavily inbred herself. 

So it is a situation of “will they/won’t they?” but even more subtly because the cast and crew always skips past discussing it and with Jon/Dany happening people take it as accidental chemistry. There’s no heavy dismissal from the TPTB though when there could’ve been or laughing at it like Tormund and Brienne, which is totally for laughs and a show ship. What they do keep saying is that this relationship is key to watch and you have to wonder: why is it so important? To me it’s not about the actors chemistry or singular scenes. It’s about the story’s intrinsic narrative structure and the camera framing that makes the visual subtext convey more than the text does. 

The show frames Jon and Sansa’s relationship is odd because we know they weren’t close and Arya was his favorite and yet they take up quite an important part in each other’s arc at this point, where they both want to trust each other completely but don’t and yet their vulnerability comes out most around each other in these last two seasons. They’re being built up more slowly than Jon/Dany and more subtly so while people expect a full blown romance, I expect something more subtle, more quiet and thus emotionally rewarding for these characters individual and collective arcs. If it happens, D&D are building it up as a plot twist/game changer because it’s related to politics. But it’s not to say there can’t be emotional catharsis too because these characters have a lot of issues that they answer pretty well. 

Hope that answers your questions. 

- lostlittlesatellites

[dcbbw]

Wine and Whiskey

This is a one-off request for Drake x MC/Riley. It my version of the conversation that takes place in Olivia’s wine cellar during the social season, where Drake and MC share a drink. This post is NSFW. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please excuse any typos and/or grammatical errors.

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Song Inspiration: You Can Keep Your Hat On, Joe Crocker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfgwrdYUQ2A

Word Count: 2340

Tags: @gennesaret @cora-nova @carabeth @hopefulmoonobject @katedrakeohd @aworldoffandoms @lauradowning29

Drake X MC, Drake X Riley, Drake Walker

 Drake Walker waits in the Nervakis wine cellar. He had come across it during his wanderings through the stately mansion as he avoided the pomp and preparation of the formal dinner. Some dinner. Seated at the very back of the room, at a table that was invisible to all servers. If Brooks hadn’t of “fainted”, there would not have even been a bowl of lobster bisque to split three ways: Drake, Brooks, Hana.  Drake felt so bad for Hana…she did not deserve that treatment. Well, none of them did, but he was used to the commoner treatment. Brooks was used to being snubbed and short-changed by the noble ladies. Ladies. Hah. More like pure-bred bitches. The lot of them can go jump off a cliff, if I don’t push them over first. But Hana, she had done nothing except befriend Brooks, and for that, she was being banished to Social Season Siberia.

When he first came across the wine cellar, he ambled around, checking out the vintages of the wines, and was very impressed that Olivia had such exquisite taste in wine. He really had not given it another thought, until he saw Brooks was sitting in exile at the table with him. Hana who? The three of them were sitting at the table waiting for a meal that would never come, and he was telling Brooks and Hana about coming across it. Brooks cracked a joke about drinking at least a bottle of the wine as revenge, and next thing Drake knew, he was blurting out an invitation for Brooks to meet him later that evening in the wine cellar.

Now, he was sitting in the basement, drinking a shot of whiskey, waiting for a woman he could never have to come keep him company. Drake was not sure when or how it happened, but he was completely smitten with Brooks. Sure, she was pretty and smart, and tenacious to hold her own or die trying. She saw through the bullshit. Yet, there was so much more to her than that. Brooks had layers, and he wanted to expose and learn each one.  But she isn’t here for you. Your best friend can offer her an entire kingdom, and she is upstairs right now competing for his attention, his affections. Meanwhile, you are sitting here, with your dick in hand, and pie in the sky dreams.

He turned his head as he heard light footsteps on the stairs, then smiled a little as Brooks came into view. She had a scowl on her face, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. “There you are, Brooks. I was beginning to think you didn’t have the guts to show up. You know, out after and curfew and all that.”

“Oh, please Drake….I have more than enough guts to keep up with you.” She flashed him a smile to take the sting out of her words.  “This has been one pissy evening. No food, Maxwell forgets to teach me the Cordonian Waltz, and then Liam kisses Olivia. In front of everybody.”

“Heh. Liv can be pretty insistent.”

”Doesn’t mean he had to respond. And then takes her outside.”

“Outside? Really?” Liam, what the hell are you doing?

“Yeah, really. Says he talked to her privately so as not to embarrass her. Whatever. He is waiting for me right now, you know.  In the east wing. Says he wants to show me the view from the hot tub.”

“Sounds like you have options. And maybe a decision to make.”

“I’m drinking. What’s on the menu, barkeep?” Drake grinned and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. For all of Olivia’s shitty ways, Lythikos may be the best stop yet on this social season tour. He had gotten to spend a lot of alone time with Brooks skiing and star gazing, and now….drinks and conversation. Enjoy it while you can.

“So what’ll you have? Pretentious, expensive wine or a real drink?” He held his flask of whiskey up.

“Pretentious and expensive, please.”

“That’s savage, Brooks.” Riley shrugged. Drake poured the drinks, and they clinked glasses. “Cheers.”

Riley took a deep swallow of the wine, and closed her eyes in bliss. “Ahhhhh. So velvety, so smooth. I see why nobles love their wines.” She looked over at Drake. “How are you holding up? I know how you feel about nobles and pageantry.”

Drake shook his head as his eyes held hers. “Okay, I guess. It just seems so pointless and wasteful.” Drake paused as he searched for words. “I know it seems as if I complain all the time when I really don’t have to do anything except show up to support Liam, but it isn’t a free ride by any means. My father gave his life protecting Constantine, and not two weeks later, the Court was ready to put me and my family on the street. Liam was the one who advocated for us, and promised us a home at the Palace for as long as we needed it. He’s the only noble worth a damn, the only reason I stay around.”  

“Oh, Drake.” Riley said softly, putting her hand on his arm.

Drake briefly looked at her hand, and continued. “So yeah, I see past the fake smiles, the false concern, and the glitter and glamour. These nobles don’t care about anyone but themselves, and your usefulness to them. They know nothing about the moments in between.”

“The moments in between?” There was confusion in Riley’s voice.

“They live in these huge ass mansions, but don’t bother to look at the architecture. They sit in fancy chairs, but don’t take the time to appreciate the craftsmanship. The time people took to create these things they collect like stamps. They don’t appreciate the flavors and vintages of the drinks they hold, just the cost. Not a one of them appreciates the art of an honest conversation, they just want to sway you to their ideas, their politics, and one-up each other. They are so busy acquiring, they don’t have time to appreciate the acquisitions.”

Riley nodded in understanding. “The moments in between. There haven’t been many so far. “

Drake looked at Brooks with relief and appreciation. She gets it. He had been a little afraid to bare his soul to her, but if anyone could slip through the cracks in the walls he had built over the years, it was her. She had been slipping in since the plane ride to Cordonia.

“Drake, what do you think of me?” Whoa. Where did that come from?

He poured them each another drink before answering. “I think my best friend is falling in love with you, so what I think of you is irrelevant. You’re here for him. He can offer you the literal world, and me…..I can’t come close to that.”

“Not an answer, Drake. And right now, you are offering me a moment in between. You are giving freely what Liam can only parcel out.”

Drake’s eyes darkened as he let out a deep breath. “I think you are amazing, and beautiful, and you make me want to let down all the walls and guards I have. I feel like I want to kiss you and either kill the dream or fuel the fantasies I have about you.” His eyes met hers over his glass. “Better?”

“It would be better if you kiss me.” Drake whipped his head to look at her. That’s the wine talking.

As if she could read his mind, Riley sat the wine glass on the table. “I’m not drunk Drake, but I am curious.”

Riley came over to Drake, her face mere inches from his. Don’t do it! DO NO DO THIS! Liam really, really, really likes this woman. This could hurt everybody. This will change things! DO NOT KISS HER!

“What the hell”, Drake growled. His mouth crashed onto hers, his hands holding her cheeks. His hands are rougher than Liam’s, Riley thought.  His tongue was demanding and insistent. Riley felt as if she were both floating and drowning from his kiss. She threw her arms around his neck, leaning further into the kiss.

Drake broke the kiss, breathing heavily as he stared into her eyes. “We’d better stop.”

“I don’t want to.” Her tone was both pleading and defiant.

“Liam…” Drake’s voice trailed off.

“I have never been with Liam, and he has nothing to do with this. This is between me and you, Walker.” She kissed him again. Urgently. Passionately. Well, hell.

Drake pulled her tightly to him, wrapping his strong arms around Brooks as his hands explored her back. Kissing her with the desperation of a drowning man trying to come up for air. His fingers fumbled with the zipper of her dress, but soon enough the dress fell to the floor with a soft whoosh. “Take me Drake.” With pleasure.

He undressed hurriedly, never breaking eye contact with Brooks. Riley’s eyes looked him over appreciatively, her eyes widening when she saw his manhood extending from his curly pubic hair. Long, thick, veiny.  Once he was naked, he scooped her up and carried her to the end of the table and sat her down. He leaned in to capture her in another kiss. His tongue was insistent, exploring her mouth. Riley’s hands ran through his hair as his hands unclasped her bra. Riley shrugged out of it. Drake’s calloused hands rubbed and played with her breasts as his kisses trailed down the side of her neck.

He went lower, grabbing an erect nipple in his mouth, gently biting it. Riley gasped. Drake pulled the nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. He took his hands to push her breasts together, and he pulled both nipples in his mouth, nibbling, licking, sucking. Riley pulled his head closer into her as her breathing became faster.

Drake felt the excitement in his cock, and with a groan, pulled himself away from her perfect breasts. He lifted his head, and let Riley pull him into another kiss as his hand roughly pushed her panties to one side. He inserted a finger inside of her, and almost lost it right then and there. She was so wet, so tight. He began to pump his finger in and out, while Riley thrust her hips against the table. He could feel her getting close, but he wanted to prolong the sensations. He wanted more of her before this all came to an end. He slowly removed his finger, and licked her juices off before putting it in his mouth to suck it clean.

“More, Drake…..I want more.”

He pushed her back on the table, helping her pull her panties off, while pushing her legs apart. His tongue darted out, licking her clit. She sucked in her breath at his touch. His tongue explored her slick folds as his finger began pumping in and out of her again. He ate her like he was starving man, and this was his first meal in days, and his last meal for months. He licked, lapped, sucked as Riley moaned and pulled him by his hair deeper into her center. I can’t hold out much longer.

Without a word, he pulled her from the table, and bent her over the bar stool. Placing his hands on her hips, he plunged his thick cock into her, and groaned. Oh Jesus. He could feel her walls pulsating around him. He pumped in and out of her furiously. He had always imagined being with Brooks being more soft and gentle, but he wanted her so badly. To know that she wanted him too had him wanting to take her quickly, in an almost primal way. It helped knowing Liam had not been with her. That he was the first, after a lifetime of being last.

Their bodies slapped together, Riley’s grunts a sexual duet with his growls. Until he felt her walls convulsing around his cock as she let out controlled yells. She’s a screamer.  He felt himself falling into an abyss of pure pleasure as he let out a yell of his own. He quickly removed his cock from her and released himself all over her asscheeks.

He collapsed on top of her back, wrapping his hands around her waist as they lay there in silence, panting and sweating. Once their breathing became normal again, he grabbed his white tee shirt to clean her up. He avoided her eyes as they dressed.

“Drake, where does this leave us?” I want to be with you forever and ever.

“Seems that is more your call, Brooks. You know I am here for you, but we both know who you are here for.” Riley’s face was unreadable as she considered his answer.

“Hey, we better get out of here. Early day tomorrow and all that.” Riley nodded. She helped him tidy up and leave the wine cellar as they found it, minus one bottle of wine.  He held her hand as he led her upstairs.

They stood in the hall after carefully closing the wine cellar door behind them, both unsure what to do. As they stood at the bottom of the staircase, they both saw the flickering light at the end of the east wing hall.

Liam’s waiting for her.

Drake looked down at Brooks."I can walk you to the east wing if you’d like.” Riley looked at the light for a moment too long, and back at Drake.

Extending her hand to him, she spoke. “Actually, I would like it if you escorted me to my room, please.”

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: "Mass Effect: Andromeda" Review

Before we begin, fair warning: I am a massive, unapologetically biased Mass Effect fanboy. It's easily my favorite new game franchise in a long while, and I've spent more time playing and replaying the original trilogy than I care to admit. I have very strong opinions on its world, its story (I legit liked ME3's ending, but I'll discuss that in the comments), and had very high expectations for Mass Effect: Andromeda, the newest chapter in BioWare's space opera RPG. Were those expectations met? Well... yes and no. Let's start from the top:

    Sometime during the events of Mass Effect 2, four massive ark ships, each carrying 50,000 individuals from representative races of our galaxy, departs for the distant Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light years away. 600 years pass, and the crew of the human ark Hyperion reaches Andromeda, and things go immediately wrong. The promised "garden world" humanity was supposed to colonize is an uninhabitable hellscape, the first aliens they meet say hello with gunfire, and nobody has any clue where the turian, salarian, or asari arks are. From here, it's up to you, the human Pathfinder, to make things right.

    Instead of the entire Milky Way Galaxy from the previous games, Andromeda focuses on one section, the Heleus Cluster, and two new races: the vicious, militaristic kett and the family-oriented angara, who've been stuck fighting the kett for longer than they can remember. Like past games, there are plenty of political entanglements to navigate, like rogue angara who (thanks to the kett) distrust all aliens, humans who want to say "screw the rules" go all Mad Max in this new galaxy, and of course, all the racial tensions from the Milky Way rearing their ugly heads all over again. It's smaller, but feels more intimate--I did miss how special humanity wasn't in the original Mass Effect and getting to learn about all these new, different races, but appreciated how Andromeda very specifically focused on handling the conflict between the angara and the kett.

    Putting things bluntly, much of your time in Andromeda is going to be spent doing the same things you did in the previous trilogy: negotiate tense situations, survive double and triple crosses, take sides in a gang war, and help your nakama crew with their personal quests. Between all the big choices and the main quest of finding new homes for 200,000 displaced Milky Way immigrants, there are plenty of smaller, personal errands to take on: get a movie night together for your ship, find the perfect ingredients to create booze, help a particularly doofy colonist find a career path (and not get killed in the process), and of course, try to hook up with everyone that gives you the dialogue option. It's a Mass Effect game, and it's all familiar to a point. It's not all dead-serious survival stress, though, and I really appreciate Andromeda's lighter, more adventurous tone.

    As opposed to the huge, sprawling cast we'd grown fond of (to varying degrees) over the initial trilogy, Andromeda starts small, with six squad members and a handful of crewmembers on your new ship, the Tempest. You've got your standard pair of human starting partners, like "I'm really not mad at you, I promise" Cora Harper and "I keep forgetting where I left my shirt" Liam Costa, a grizzled old krogan, a very business-first turian, and an asari Zooey Deschanel. The most interesting new face is Jaal, a member of the new angara race, and getting to know this new alien species on a personal level and earning his trust really adds to the feeling of being a total stranger in this galaxy. Rather than being tied down by "Paragon" or "Renegade" options and limiting responses based on your level, you can choose between Professional, Casual, Emotional, or Logical responses (with the occasional "Impulsive" interrupt) to determine your character's reputation, and a very clear Romantic option during dialogue whenever you feel the need to hit on Space Antonio Banderas Reyes.

    The biggest changes come on the other side of the action-RPG coin: the combat. As mentioned in my preview a few weeks back, combat is faster, more streamlined, and expects you to be faster on the draw and smarter with your ability use. Enemy AI isn't the smartest, but the fact that they hit harder and always, always have the numbers advantage make you want to end fights as quickly as possible. Instead of being locked into one class like Soldier or Vanguard for the entire game, you're encouraged to have a mixture of combat, biotic, and tech abilities, and switch classes ("Profiles") as needed for your playstyle or different situations. I ended up favoring the Explorer Profile, which is a perfect balance between the three, and provides strong bonuses across the board, but dedicated individual skillsets like Engineer and Adept gave huge bonuses to specific biotic or tech loadouts. You're given full freedom to build your character's abilities the way you want, and with no level cap (and the usual medbay respec option), you don't have to stress over being stuck with upgrades that aren't working out.

    That freedom extends to item creation as well--the sheer amount of junk you collect can seem daunting, but the game's crafting system will cause you to burn through it pretty quickly to create new, better weapons. If you spent a lot of time playing Mass Effect 3's multiplayer, you'll be right at home putting together your kit, weapons, armor, vehicle and all--I'm a big fan of the new melee weapons, like the asari and kett swords. Building planets' livability also allows you to customize what bonuses you get, like regular credit and resource packages, as well as upgrading your APEX strike team.

    Feeling a lot like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker's Extra Ops, your APEX teams can be called in to take care of side missions while you're playing the main story. Teams have different perks affecting their chances of mission success, and completing these missions earns you more credits, resources, and occasional weapon and armor drops. Some missions can also be played by you, and that's where Andromeda's addicting multiplayer mode comes in. Just like Mass Effect 3, you'll work together with other players and hold off waves of enemies, but this time you won't need to touch multiplayer to finish the main story (but you'll be missing out-it's fun). While there are a few missing classes (sadly, no more volus adepts), I was able to unlock a few more good ones after only playing a few matches--I'll be coming back pretty regularly to Andromeda's multiplayer just for how damn fun it is to run people over with a krogan.

    But even with all the cool new stuff, there's a lot of problems with Andromeda, and not all of them can be fixed with a day-one patch. Character animations are unsteady and jittery, with characters popping into movements or just twitching for no reason during cutscenes. At one point, my Ryder was flirting with Cora, and his head started slowly turning 180 degrees before immediately snapping back to normal, just like I do when talking to women in real life. In a few instances, enemies got stuck in level architecture, completely catching me by surprise when a door started shooting at me. Other enemies wouldn't even respond, just standing in an idle animation while I ran up and punched them repeatedly. In one particularly infuriating issue, a quest update wouldn't trigger, but showed the next step available. When I finished that step, the last one still showed, and blocked me from further progress in the quest.

    Andromeda's issues run deeper than just technical screwups. While the overall story is cool, moment-to-moment writing can run from bland to trying-too-hard-to-be-Joss-Whedon dumb. Some characters will constantly speak like they're trying to be the coolest person in the room (hi Liam), and when dealing with more minor technical flaws like characters not even looking at the people they're talking to (just in their general direction), it can really break that feeling of immersion. Back on the characters, there are a few truly tone-deaf attempts to be inclusive and show a better future--the intent is there, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The new, villainous kett--and their dickhead leader the Archon--are more annoying than threatening until the game's halfway point, but I can't stop thinking of the Archon as Sarris from Galaxy Quest.

  "YOOOOOU AAAAARE OOOOOUR LAST HOPE"

  Even with all that, though, I can't say I had a bad time with Andromeda--at all, really. It's funny how the game's launch kind of parallels the game's story: after a long wait, we're finally here, and nothing's the way it should be. Everything's going wrong, it's not quite matching up to how we expected, and there are a lot of good reasons to be pissed off. Thankfully, sticking with it doesn't just open the door to a rich, fantastic adventure. Mass Effect: Andromeda brings us new friends, new memories, and--most importantly--a new home.

  REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Brings you right back to that familiar Mass Effect sweet spot between in-depth roleplay and satisfying action

+ Lots to do across a half-dozen hub worlds and your ship, that never feels like busywork or filler

+ Aims for a lighter tone and mostly succeeds, making its emotional moments stand out more clearly

+ Faster, more intense combat is a step up from previous games

+ "Tone Wheel" adds more flexibility and better roleplay options compared to binary "Paragon/Renegade" responses

+ Fun, addicting multiplayer is also 100% separate from the story mode

+/- Lighter tone does come with some less-than-hilarious attempts at humor and quirkiness, but your mileage may vary

- Constant technical glitches and errors, likely due to me playing a pre-release build, but I'm surprised it's this broken

- Inconsistent UX decisions: why can I equip something from a chest, but not from my inventory?

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com