#i got into legitimate wars with some people i didn't even know

[bad-and-drawn-that-way]

ooh! what about vox hypnotising the reader to sign a soul contract with him? 👀

love your work :D

This is gonna be angsty, but not in the way you'd normally expect >:3

More Than Anything [Vox x Reader]

"Ẇ̸̛̞̑h̸͈̰͕͊͝y̴̪͍̠̽ won't you let me do this for you?!"

Vox glitched out as you turned away from him. The two of you had been arguing for at least an hour and his nerves had frayed thin a good while ago.

The two of you had only been dating for a couple of months when some sneaky jackass paparazzi demon snagged a picture of you two h*lding hands while on a date. The image had spread like wildfire and everyone was curious to dig up as much information on you as possible. Rumors about the legitimacy of the photo, Valentino and Vox's neverending situationship, arguments about your character, you name it. It was all anyone could talk about.

At first, you both legitimately believed things would smooth over and the public would move on to the next celebrity scandal within a short amount of time. Reality only partially heeded your predictions.

The occasional talk show would hang on to the topic and some people had ship wars about it on sinblr, but for the most part, hell had moved on. Vox's enemies, however, had not.

It was a day just like any other when it happened. You had been on your way back to your apartment after visiting Vox at his office. He'd been having a rough day and you brought him food for an impromptu lunch date to lift his spirits. You had just turned the corner to the street you lived on, the looming tower of the Vee's still watching over you from afar. Hands grabbed you from an alleyway and you didn't even have a chance to gasp, let alone scream as you struggled against the sickly-sweet-smelling cloth pressed against your face.

You kicked and screamed, but felt your body growing heavy fast. You knew how to protect yourself to an extent, but you weren't a powerful sinner, nor trained for something like this. Your vision blurred and the last thing you saw were bright cyan flashes and blood splattered across the brick walls as you slipped into darkness.

When you woke up wearing your favorite oversized hoodie in the large bed of your boyfriend. You were confused as fuck until the memory slammed back into you. You call out for Vox and hear something crash nearby and the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps before he yanks open the doors to his room with a frazzled look.

At first, he'd been all over you. He'd been the one to clean the blood off of your unconscious body after he slaughtered the group of thugs in a white-hot rage. You hadn't known it, but Vox had been secretly watching you on his monitors to make sure you got home safely. He'd started doing it long before the two of you had started dating and the potential of what could have happened if he hadn't been stalking you out of the goodness of his heart chilled him to his core.

"I could've lost you," he grits out as his shaking claws dig into the sheets beneath him. You cupped his face and tried to reassure him, but he only dug his claws in deeper, shredding the fabric with fear and stress. He lets out a shaky sigh before his hand lifts to cup your own. His expression shifts as he looks up at you. "But never again."

"What do you mean?" you ask him softly as you search his eyes for the meaning behind the look he gave you.

He takes both your hands in his own, placing them on your lap. "Make a deal with me. Sign a contract. If I have control over your soul, then I'll always know where you are," he said seriously. "I'll be able to keep you safe."

You shake your head, leaning up to kiss his screen. "No, baby we've talked about this before. I know I'm not the strongest sinner, but I don't want anyone to own my soul but me. I'll get stronger and one day you won't need to worry anymore. Just give me time."

"We don't have time," Vox snapped. The vision of you passed out in the alleyway, covered in the thug's blood was ingrained in the back of his mind. It was at this moment he cursed his active imagination. All he could think of was the horrible scenarios you could be in if he didn't take action.

At first, the two of you were able to talk sweetly enough while you tried to change the other's mind. But as you kept going in circles, you both got more frustrated and it eventually blew up into the fight you were having now.

"Just ļ̷̲͊ę̸̇ț̷̭̅ ̸̖̝̠̔̋͆m̵̧̈́͋é̷̈́͜͠ͅ do this for you!" Vox screamed as he yanked you to turn and face him. His expression was distraught, his face short-circuiting from the anger and fear.

His expression crumbled as he let his head drop. "Please..."

Vox's claws twitch against your shoulders, "I'm sorry..." He mutters softly under his breath.

You look down at him and open your mouth to say something, only to gasp as red and blue fill your vision. Vox shakes as he watches your face relax, your mouth hanging open, and the reflection of his pained expression and black hypnotic spirals in your half-lidded eyes.

"But I can't lose you," he said as he trembled. "You're the only good thing I've had in hell and I can't replace you."

The room sparked with electricity and the entire tower powered down as he made you sign the deal. Your soul for his endless devotion and protection. Even if one day you discovered what he did. Even if you hated him for it. He'd be yours until the end of time.

You blink slowly, shaking your head and feeling a little fuzzy as you look down at Vox. His head was still lowered and you remembered he had just apologized to you and said he'd believe in you to get stronger. You smile softly at him and lift under the edge of his screen to make him look at you.

"Thank you for understanding," you say as you gently kiss him. "I promise, you'll have nothing to worry about. I'll get stronger and we'll be okay."

Vox sighed, looking at you with a tired, loving smile as he kissed you back. "Yeah... Everything will be just fine."

[crienselt]

So a few days ago I saw someone (elsewhere) questioning Zutara fans’ excitement about the scarf scene. It wasn't a mean comment, more general curiosity. And well, I didn't have time to get my thoughts out then. But they haven't gone away, so I'm getting them out here:

Here’s what everyone need to understand about Zutara shippers. We were baited baaaad during the initial run of the show–from the magazines to the shorts to the trailers and how they were cut. And Zuko and Katara’s relationship on the show certainly underwent a lot of development and featured objectively emotional–if not overtly romantic–moments between the two. We were well fed, and we had reason to hope. Right up to the end, we had reason to hope.

The shipping wars were the shipping wars, of course, with all the usual tensions; there are always going to be overzealous fans of each (and any) pairing willing to get toxic. Generally, I think Kataang fans were always jealous of Zutara’s popularity and Zutara fans, post finale, were jealous of Kataang’s, well, canon status. But really it operated much the same as any other large fandom’s shipping wars.

And then came Bryke and the panel where they showed and mocked Zutara fan art, some of which had been created by teens if not straight up children. Then came their, “Come on, kids! It was never going to work. Zutara is just dark and intriguing.”* And the pièce de résistance, their telling Zutara shippers (specifically girls/women) that they were doomed to have failed romantic relationships. Like, what? The thing with the art was arguably cruel, and the rest of it was oh, so condescending. Just all around not well done. 

The after effect was that Zutara went from being simply a fanon pairing to a wrong pairing. The ATLA fandom at large became a far more hostile place for Zutara fans, who were now more commonly deemed delusional and viewed as lesser fans. The vitriol only got worse when the show came to Netfilx and the next wave of antis rolled up with their co-opting of legitimate socio-political terms to paint Zutara not just as wrong but morally corrupt if not evil. It’s all very puritanical.**

So Zutara fans need to be reminded that we weren’t delusional, and we aren’t alone. It’s why it means so much to know that Dante Basco and Mae Whitman shipped their characters. And that so many other VAs came out as Zutara supporters too: Jack De Sena, Michaela Jill Murphy, Grey DeLisle, Janet Varney--even the cabbage man. For it to be revealed that it was discussed in the writers room; that the writers fought over it; that it WAS a canon possibility. (And that writers Joshua Hamilton and John O’Bryan are perfectly comfortable admitting their preference for Zutara.) To know that the Elizabeth Welch Ehasz described Zuko and Katara as an “Avatar-style Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” in the script for The Southern Raiders, and used the phrase “Zutara-feuling synchronicity and cooperation” to describe their action sequences. To see Giancarlo Volpe, a Kataanger, admit Zutara might been the better pairing in retrospect and choose a quiet scene between them (to see their “chemistry”) as what he’d most look forward to in the live action adaptation. It’s why we cling to the artwork done by Korean animation director. We aren’t delusional. We aren’t alone.

But try telling that to the general fandom, right? Most are ignorant of a lot of this, particularly Hamilton and O’Bryan’s revelations re: the writers room. A lot of Zutara fans don't even seem to know. But being baited by Netflix on their official accounts? Oh, people see that. And we are reminded in a big way that we aren't delusional and we aren't alone. And everyone else has to remember it too.

So, of course, we're having fun clowning over the scarf scene. And I think most Zutara fans know we are clowning. I don't think most expect to get canon Zutara in live action because of one little scene or the fact that their Netflix icons are facing each other. (I headcanon that that was totally the doing of Zutara shipper on staff, though, lol. Because there are a lot of us, and we are everywhere.)

And this is okay. Zutara has been doing just fine as a fanon ship. Meanwhile, NATLA might actually do Kataang justice. It always worked better as a future ship. (Really all the pairings do. But I especially don't ever need to see another 12 year old kissing let alone making out, in animation or live action, ever again.) There's a reason Padme and Anakin don't get together in Phantom Menace, after all. Also, there's always the chance they could give us Dante's or Mae's headcanon of them basically suppressing their feelings and choosing duty over love/right person-wrong time. And the odds of getting some more moments to clown over are high enough. 

Anyway, TLDR: Zutara has been made to feel like an out-of-nowhere crack ship and the live action crumbs remind us that it is not. And this is at least partially why we are enjoying it. (Because, also, it's just fun!)

*Side tangent: I’ve never gotten this dark and intriguing comment. Even during Season 1, the height of the capture fic era, Zutara was always a ship fundamentally about hope, predicated on Zuko's redemption. (Back in the day, there were also plenty of antis arguing that there was no way Zuko would ever be one of the gaang.) And they say “intriguing” like it’s a bad thing? Are we not supposed to be interested in the relationships of their characters???

**There have been some very good think pieces written lately on late stage capitalism and consumption as morality. Worth googling.

[tanadrin]

RE "revolutionary leftists are revolutionary because they know they can't win electorally."

It astounds me a little that there are leftists who think that a communist revolution is more likely to work than, like, fifty years of community-building and electoral politics. Sewer socialism, union activism, and other boring activities have brought much more success in the U.S. than agitation for a revolution.

What I mean is, setting aside the moral concerns (violence is bad, even when it's necessary, and if there are practical alternatives then we should pursue them), I am not a revolutionary leftist because I think we would lose a revolution. For one thing, there is a considerable right-wing element in the country that is much better prepared for this kind of thing, and I think that the majority of the institutions in the U.S. would pick fascism over communism if they had to choose, but also, prolonged violent action is ripe for breeding authoritarianism.

Goatse is concerned that "the party" might "abandon or neglect its primary ends," but what is leftism if it is not, at bottom, an attempt to improve the living conditions of all people, et cetera et cetera? To the extent that social democratic parties successfully pursue this end to some degree, they're better than than an ostensible communist party that talks the talk but commits human rights abuses. And, more than the fact that U.S. leftism has some pretty fierce opposition that would probably fare better if The Revolution happened tomorrow, I think that, even in winning, we would lose, because what came out the other end would look a lot more like Stalinism.

I think one thing the hardcore revolutionaries in OECD countries don't realize is that the reason they can't marshal support for their revolutions is that the socialists won most of the issues that were salient in the early 20th century--workers got more rights, better pay, unions were legalized, etc., etc. But it didn't take restructuring the whole political economy to do it, which is immensely frustrating if you believe that any society without your ideal political economy is inherently immoral and impure, so in order to justify an explicitly communist platform you have to rhetorically isolate it from the filthy libs and feckless demsocs who it turns out have been pretty effective within the arena of electoral politics in which supposedly nothing can ever get done, and treat them as of a piece with the out-and-out fascists and royalist autocrats of the 1920s and 30s.

Which, you know. Is not persuasive to most people! Most people understand intuitively the vast gulf between the SPD and the Nazis; they see that, milquetoast and compromising though they may be, the center-left can deliver substantive policy improvements without the upheaval of a civil war or political purges, and this is attractive to people who are not of a millenarian or left-authoritarian personality.

Which isn't to say that communists don't often make important points! It sucks having to fight a constant rearguard action against the interests of capital rolling back the social improvements of the 20th century, and it sucks that liberal governments in Europe and North America have historically been quite happy to bankroll and logistically support fascists and tyrants in the third world against communist movements (which invariably only exist as communist movements because these same fascists and tyrants have crushed more compromising movements and only the most militant organizations have managed to survive).

But I agree with you: communists also talk a big game about how liberalism is the real fascism (what's that line from Disco Elysium I see quoted everywhere about how everybody is secretly a fascist except the other communists, who are liberals?), while also being awful at democracy. Suppressing dissent because your small clique of political elites is the only legitimate expression of the people's will (which you know, because you have declared it to be so) really is some rank bullshit. A system with competitive elections is still, well, a system with competitive elections, even if those elections are structurally biased in certain ways; all the bloviating that attempts to justify communist authoritarianism cannot really obscure the fact that authoritarian systems are cruel and brittle, regardless of the ideology being served.

[slayerchick303]

*SECRET INVASION FINALE SPOILERS*

I just finished Home, and I have some thoughts:

Rhodey was in a hospital gown when he got out of the pod! I swear to all that is holy, if they have him been replaced by a skrull after his injury in Civil War, I will march on Disney headquarters! That would cheapen Tony's death, funeral, and Rhodey's amazing conversation with Sam in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I said I'd freak out if they made the swap previous to FATWS, and I meant it!

Gravik's human face was a man he killed, so I'm assuming the same is true for G'iah. If she is indeed going to be Abigail Brand as leaks have suggested (meaning Abigail Brand is dead), I'm going to be mad! Like legitimately disappointed. Brand is one of my favorite parts of the Astonishing X-Men comics run. I ship her and Beast so hard.

When was Everett Ross swapped? It has to have been after Black Panther because he would've reverted to his skrull form after being shot and/or Shuri would've noticed while healing him. Has a skrull infiltrated Wakandan leadership?! How many? For how long? Because that's BAD. Imagine the havoc skrulls could wreak with Wakanda's resources.

The CGI in this was pretty good. Especially compared to other recent Disney+ titles. That being said, I hate a lot of how they used it. Giving G'iah a huge Drax arm?! Bad choices in multiple ways: A.) the big Drax arm looked so weird as did other things. B.) do they think Marvel fans are too stupid to get what they were doing if they didn't make her arm huge? They should've kept Emilia's arm the same size, only given her Drax's tattoos and skin color at most. We would've understood. C.) the clothing changed too! How does that make sense?

Is Gravik really dead, though? Is Raava? We don't know if Raava has super skrull powers, but Gravik had like EVERYTHING. That seems like it should make him pretty invincible.

How did people not clock how off Rhodey was? There was like an enormous change in his personality. Raava was a jerk!

So, Fury and Sonya only tranqed those secret service members at the hospital. That wouldn't automatically make them revert, right, or every skrull would be outed when they fell asleep. If all those guards were humans, they were legitimately the worst security detail ever. That one guy literally listened to SkrullRhodey pretty much out herself and did nothing. He didn't even warn the president Rhodey was acting uncharacteristically. Every member of White House personale will have to be tested somehow. Maybe check for purple blood?

I really thought Ritson would die at the end. I guess he's just awful (which is unsurprising). I'm glad he won't be president much longer, as Harrison Ford is taking over the role of President Thaddeus Ross in Captain America: Brave New World. That being said, part of me worries that President Ross might be even worse than Ritson.

I kind of loved Varra and Fury's ending. It redeemed the awful, "I guess we'll never know moment."

****EDIT:**** I didn't think about this at the time, but I saw someone else bring it up. G'iah has Captain Marvel powers now! Doesn't that mean she should be caught up in the entanglement mess Captain Marvel, Photon, and Miss Marvel are dealing with in The Marvels?! That's an ENORMOUS plot hole. Not to mention, G'iah is ridiculously overpowered now. People complain about how powerful Superman is, and G'iah is so much worse.

I enjoyed Secret Invasion, even if it wasn't the best Disney+ show. The comics are still WAY better. Regardless, I'm looking forward to The Marvels even more now.

[nrilliree]

"i cant watch season 2, alicent and her kids dont deserve this, and this war never needed to happen, the author should have let cole and alicent fall in love and leave court, with herself and her kids alive, and leave the throne to ex best friend, and groomer uncle husband"

This kind of comment kills me.

Already, in the book, Alicent does not have the type of ambiguous relationship she has with Cole in the series and she is even less Rhaenyra's best friend / ex best friend. We're not even going to address the case of Daemon being a groomer, this person obviously doesn't even know the definition. Because Daemon is not a groomer, book or series. On the other hand Criston Cole in the book can easily deserve this title ironically.

But whatever it is, this person speaks as if it wasn't Alicent who got herself and her children into trouble all by herself !

Show or book for that matter !

Certainly, in the show, Otto is implicated as a big influence that he wasn't for Alicent in the book, but that doesn't take away from the fact that as an adult, Alicent began to make her own own choices, always determined to usurp the legitimate heir, during the 10 years when her father was not with her at court, thus ending up plunging the kingdom into war.

Like... this person forgot that Alicent is partly responsible for the war ?! Book and show ?! Or is she ignoring him on purpose ?!Did Alicent and her children not deserve this war? Are we talking about the woman who actively participated in triggering it ?!

I'm hallucinating... The TGs are really really crazy.

Alicent is partly responsible for the war? Alicent is (along with her father) the main person responsible for the outbreak of the civil war. Initially, Aegon didn't even want the throne, either in the book or the show. The kingdom did not demand Aegon on the throne. No one except the Greens planned a coup.Daemon and Rhaenyra were not planning a war. If her brothers were to die, they would already be dead. So why should Alicent, who was primarily responsible for the war and the deaths of her own children, have a happy ending away from her own mess o.O? Some people really are weird.

[vodika-vibes]

Heyoo!

I have a request, it’s a bit of a long gif so if ya don’t get to it or don’t wanna do it, it’s fine lol.

Anyways, my idea / request / prompt / Echo x Fem!Reader goes like this, kinda, feel free to take liberties

Echo, now I feel like he would be a nervous kinda guy when it comes to having a crush. Like, he just doesn’t know what to say and overthinks absolutely everything, and can’t rly take a hint. Before he got blown up, there was a girl, who he has a liiiitle crush on n such, (idk you can make her a mechanic, doctor, bartender, whatever idm)

And they were rly good “friends” n such r something, aaaand some time after he joins TBB he visits the old place where he used to reside with the other guys in the domino squad (I forget where *sob*) And she’s is surprisingly still there. Heartfelt angsty ?kinda? Maybe reunion yadayadaydada and a bit after that and after catching up, probably a day or two later they pick up hints that they like each other and eventually confess n StUfF, aaand ya, then he has to go back with TBB and they be sad, he invites her to join but she is hesitant, and bc the other squad members don’t even know her she ends up saying no- aaaaand ya-

( 💀 omg i don’t even know anymore )

Idk it’s a very weird prompt, I’m making this up as I go, so feel free to pick and choose, take or add, whatever u wanna do

Again if u don’t wanna do it that is perfectly fine, just a thought. Love your work! <33

I Dream Of Forever

Summary: Summary: You’ve been a bartender on Rishi since you were old enough to take orders correctly. Echo was a Clone Trooper turned ARC Trooper stationed on Rishi who was a little more than friends with you. You legitimately believe he’s dead. But when a group of clones land on Rishi, you come face to face with the man you hoped would be your forever.

Pairing: TBB Echo x F!Reader

Word Count: 2201

Warnings: Some suggestive moments, but nothing detailed

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I thing I got the general vibe you want, but if I didn't please let me know and I'll do something else.

You’ve been a bartender at the same bar on Rishi since you were ten years old. Your parents had debts to the bar owner, and they sold you to make up for it. Well, you and your siblings.

You’re the lucky one.

Your…owner? Guardian? Whatever he is, he treats you like a beloved granddaughter. He buys you clothes and food and allows you to go to school…and until you reached the age of majority at 18, you only had to work four hours a night four days a week. 

He even paid for you to go to college, and he pays you well enough that you have your own home here on Rishi.

You’re lucky.

Your older brother, you know, ended up becoming a gladiator in the Outer Rim, and last you heard he’s an enforcer for the Hutt Cartel. Your older sister, however, became a drug runner for a Spice Cartel and last you heard she’s moving from rehab center to rehab center.

You’re lucky.

Maybe if you repeat it often enough, you’ll believe it.

All things considered, Rishi isn’t the worst place to spend your life. The area you live in is warm and bright and right on the water. Not to mention you’ve got several friends here that you would miss if you left…or if the Empire decides to actually deal with the pirate problem.

You’re not worried though.

The Republic’s war with the Separatists barely touched Rishi afterall, aside from having a single watch station that has been abandoned for years now.

And you don’t expect that the Empire will push too much.

Your gaze drifts from the food stall that you’re visiting, lingering on the small, almost overgrown, old Republic comm station. Once upon there had been five men stationed there. Hevy, Droidbait, Cutup, Fives, and Echo.

While you had some concerns as to how the pirates of Rishi would react to obvious soldiers spending time in their bars…people were surprisingly okay with them. More than one of them getting an offer to join different crews.

A small smile lifts your lips at the memory of your boys laughingly turning down offers of pirate crew memberships.

The Dominos had been Rishi’s, more so than the Republics, and people raged when they heard that they died.

First when Droidbait and Cutup died, and then later when they heard that Hevy was killed on Kamino. And then even later when Echo was blown up, and then Fives was killed-

Fives’ death was kind of the final straw for Rishi. 

Even now, the Pirates of Rishi are more than happy to raid imperial vessels, in honor of their Dominos.

You step around a group of Mercs, all of whom have dominoes tattooed on their hands, and start to meander your way back to your home. You miss them. All of them.

But, if you’re going to be honest, you probably miss Echo the most.

He was a lot like his brothers, loud and boisterous, and always ready with a joke or a quip, or to finish a joke that his twin set up. He was always the first to greet you with a grin, and the last to say goodbye at the end of the night.

But, unlike his brothers, he flirted with you a little shyly, as though he wasn’t sure what he was doing.

It was charming and sweet, and you found yourself smitten with him. 

He didn’t, quite, get over his shyness with you even after the first time you invited him into your home with tempting kisses. He was still a little shy even after the tenth time you invited him into your home, and your bed, with teasing touches and adoring kisses.

You wanted forever with him, and you thought, hoped, that he wanted the same.

And then he left, and you never heard from him again.

You suppose, in a way, it makes sense. Why would a soldier want to slum it with a bartender who’s technically a slave.

Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

After all, you still dream of forever with Echo. Only now, your dreams are definitely castles in the air.

After all, dead men don’t get happily ever afters.

“We need to land somewhere,” Tech says to his brothers, a frown on his face, “The damage to the ship is…far too severe for me to repair without landing.”

“Where can we land, though?” Wrecker asks, “It’s not like there are a large number of places that will accept us.”

Echo eyes the star map speculatively, “I…may have an idea.” He offers, as his gaze lands on a specific planet. A bright smile dances across your memory, and a loving laugh echoes in his ears.

He’s a kriffing fool.

Hopefully she won’t turn him away.

���Well?” Hunter prompts when Echo doesn’t continue right away.

“I think we should go to Rishi.” Echo says slowly.

“Rishi!” Tech sputters.

“That’s a pirate planet, Echo.” Hunter says, “They won’t react well-”

“Do you have a better idea?” Echo asks.

The room falls silent for a moment, and then Tech sighs, “It is up to you, Hunter. Rishi is the closest planet we can land on.”

Hunter pushes his hand through his hair, “Fine. Do it.”

An hour later, the Marauder lands on an open pad, and no one comes to the ship to speak to them. “Is this…normal?” Tech asks.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Echo replies with a shrug, “We should probably not wear our armor here,” He adds. He’s already changed into civilian attire, and he’s somewhat anxiously rubbing his arm just over where his scomp is attached. 

“Why?”

“Because our armor screams ‘clones’ and I’m not sure how the pirates will react to seeing clones now.” Echo replies dryly, “I’ve heard rumors of Rishi based Pirates raiding Republic and Imperial transports lately.”

Hunter agrees that it’s a reasonable precaution, and they all hurriedly change into civilian attire, before they get off the ship, with Omega clinging to Wrecker’s hand. And then, almost as one, they turn to Echo.

Echo sighs and rubs the back of his head, and then he turns and heads deeper into the city.

Some things have changed, new people, new stalls, but most everything else is the same. He pauses in front of a specific bar, and peers in, his dark eyes scanning the faces of the bartenders for a moment, before he motions for his brothers to follow him some more.

“Are you lookin’ for someone?” Wrecker asks.

“Yeah. Someone who, hopefully, won’t be too angry at me and will be willing to help.” Echo says.

“A friend?” Omega asks.

“Yeah, something like that.”

Echo leads them away from the shops and docks, and over to a row of apartments. He scans the buildings for a moment, before he turns and heads to one of the smaller buildings, and he stops in front of a plain door, with flower boxes in the windows.

His lips curl up in a small smile, Fives made those flower boxes early one morning when he was hyped up on Caf. They were crooked and lopsided, but it looks like she kept them. Though it looks like she painted them. “Wait here.” Echo says to his siblings, before he walks over to the door, and he knocks twice.

“Just a moment!” Her voice comes from the other side of the door, and Echo doesn’t fight his smile.

She sounds exactly the same. 

Stars, please don’t let her be too mad.

The door slides open, “Yes? Can I help yo-” She stops mid-sentence when she sees who’s standing there, “...Echo?”

“You grew your hair out,” Echo replies, a small smile lifting his lips, “It looks good. You look amazing. I’m sure you have a question or twenty, cyar’ika-”

Echo’s not able to finish his sentence as she flings her arms around him and crashes her lips against his. His arms fold tightly around her and he immediately kisses her back, and it’s almost as if no time has passed at all. 

If he focuses, he can almost hear Fives wolf-whistling and hear Cutup making lewd comments.

And then reality snaps back into place when he hears Tech’s dry voice, “Ah. That kind of friend.”

Echo carefully pulls back, and reaches up to gently cup her cheek, using his thumb to brush a tear away, “I’m sorry for not comming you, cyar’ika.”

She shakes her head, “We were told that you died.” She whispers, “Fives said…” She trailed off, “And then Fives died, and, kriff, the death of the last Domino started a war between the pirates of Rishi and the Republic/Empire, why would you bring them here?”

“Our ship is damaged-” Echo started.

“Get in. In. All of you!” She drags Echo into her home, and she doesn’t shut the door until Hunter is in the apartment as well. “Honestly Echo,” She rounds on him, “If you commed I would have told you to go literally anywhere else.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d answer.” Echo replies.

There are pictures of her with Echo, and with the rest of the dominoes on the walls. There are also pictures of her with a large, scarred man. And of her with a too slender woman.

“What do you need? I can probably get most of the materials sent to your ship.” She says.

“I have a list.” Tech offers as he hands her his datapad.

She copies it and sends the list to several of her friends, “Alright, you should have most, if not all, of what you need by the morning.”

“Are we in danger here?”

“On Rishi specifically? No. Not so long as you don’t draw attention to yourself.” She replies, “I’d offer to let you spend the night, but I don’t have much room.”

“We can stay on the ship,” Tech replies.

“Echo, are you going to stay here?” Omega asks.

Echo doesn’t take his gaze off of his cyar’ika, “If I’m allowed?”

“I’ve never turned you away before.” She counters.

Echo smiles at her, “Do you remember the way back to the docks?”

“I remember.” Tech says, “Come on.”

The door opens, and then closes again, leaving Echo alone with his cyar’ika.

She smiles at him, soft and warm and slow, “You used to be shyer about public displays of affection.”

“I used to have legs and two hands too,” Echo replies, it's a weak joke, but a joke all the same. “I’m so sorry I never commed you.” He says after a moment, “I thought…it felt cruel, reaching out to you when I couldn’t actually touch you.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.”

“Echo. I forgive you.” She walks over to him and she kisses him as if no time has passed at all, all loving and soft and sweet.

She’s always been unfairly tempting. Her lips and her touch encourage him to stay and enjoy what she’s offering. And Echo has always been helpless to deny her. 

He’s not surprised when he falls into her bed, her lips needy against his.

Later, much later, they’re lounging in her bed, and Echo is trailing his lips across her bare shoulder.

“Cyar’ika,” He murmurs against her shoulder, “Come with me.”

“Come with you where?” She asks, her voice light and dreamy.

“On the Marauder. Away from Rishi. I’ll protect you-”

She turns and looks at him, her smile so sad, “You know I can’t.”

“You deserve so much better than being a slave for your parents' debts,” Echo whispers.

She rolls so that she’s facing him properly, “Echo, your brothers don’t know me. And if I had to guess, your ship is pretty small. Me going with you isn’t fair to them.”

“You deserve more.” Echo repeats.

“I don’t like life is about what we deserve,” She replies, as she reaches up to cup his face, “So, in the morning, you’re going to return to your ship, to your brothers…and you’re going to leave Rishi. And you’re going to go back to not comming me, and it’s just how it’s going to be.”

“No.”

“Echo.” She sighs his name, and he shifts so he’s looking right in her eyes.

“No.” He repeats, “I’ve given up so much. My body, my batchmates, my twin. I’m not giving you up. Let me be greedy. Just about this one thing.”

She sighs again, but she looks touched. “How about…a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“My contract with my…owner is coming to an end. At the end of the year, I’ll have made enough to pay off my parents' tab with him.” She says softly, “On that day, I will comm you and come to where you are. No matter where you might be.”

“Do you promise?”

She laughs softly, “Echo, I’ve been dreaming of forever with you since the first day we met. Now that I have the chance to have it, it would take an act of god to stop me.”

Echo crashes his lips against hers, “I want forever too,” He breathes against her lips, “So we have a deal.”

She smiles at him, “I love you, Echo.”

He blinks at her, momentarily surprised, and then he laughs and kisses her deeply, “I love you too.”

[inquisitor-apologist]

Force, I am SO frustrated with the Filonification of popular Star Wars. People keep on trying to make arguments about Star Wars, yet they refuse to actually watch Star Wars and make sensible criticisms about it because they’re literally just parroting whatever weird non-canonical shit Felony spit out in an article last week.

I was looking at this article:

And I was legitimately trying to look at the criticisms and see if I can agree with any of them, but they don’t make any sense and I can just feel Filoni oozing off them.

So imma rant, got it?

Mistake Number 1 that led to the fall of the order: They were too much into politics.

More specifically, the article claims that “they very much had a hand in the flipping the Senate” with reference to the Vote of No Confidence for Valorum in tpm, but it’s been a minute and a half since I saw the prequels, so I read the Wookie summary, and I might’ve missed something but I don’t think there’s any mention of them, like, voting or doing anything significant in the Senate in ep1? I feel like it would’ve been mentioned if it was even vaguely implied that the Jedi mind tricked the senate or lobbied for the vote to go one way or another, but it isn’t mentioned anywhere and it don’t square with what I remember, so I’m guessing they just made this up and convinced themselves it was canon? Tell me if you can figure out what they’re talking about or if there is a canon basis I missed.

Other than that, I do not remember a single scene where we saw the Jedi do anything more political than take orders from politicians or exist in the senate building in the prequels.

Mistake Number 2 that led to the fall of the order: Suppressing Baby Murderer’s emotions.

…A Take, certainly. So this one’s talking about Anakin’s grief over his mother’s death, which I agree would be a fucked-up thing to suppress. That’d suck. If it actually happened because… the Jedi do not know that Anakin’s mom is dead. They do not know that Anakin and Padmé went to Tatooine, since they were ordered to stay on Naboo. They are utterly unaware of everything that happens on Tatooine aside from Yoda feeling the Tusken Massacre in the Force. Yeah, Anakin told Obi-Wan that he’d had dreams about his mom dying, and he didn’t do anything about it, but that wasn’t Obi Wan suppressing Anakin’s emotions—that was just him saying that it sucked that he had a bad dream, since I don’t think Anakin said it could’ve been a vision or anything, so this one doesn’t land at all. Where did they get this idea???

Mistake Number 3 that led to the fall of the order: ‘Allowing’ Maul to take over Mandalore (somehow?)

I can feel my brain cells dying. Maul joined up with a terrorist group and some crime gangs to forcefully take over a neutral system. None of that was ‘allowed’ by the Jedi. They also say that the Jedi ‘sent’ Obi Wan to get rid of Maul when I remember Yoda telling Obi Wan some shit like “Send anyone to Mandalore the Jedi cannot” and then Obi Wan went to Mandalore anyway and it didn’t do shit. Anyway I feel like the author of this article might own a ridiculously annoying cowboy hat. Just a hunch.

Mistake Number 4 that led to the fall of the order: Baselessly Exiling Ahsoka (Baselessly?? There very much was base)

So. Wrong Jedi Arc my beloathed. Here we are again. The article claims that the Jedi “exiled Ahsoka Tano on mere suspicion alone and didn't even confirm whether she was involved in the bombing of the Jedi Temple or not”. Which. Hmm. So, there was a big investigation into the bombing that pretty definitely said that Ahsoka was almost certainly the bomber. It wasn’t ‘mere suspicion’, it was all the fucking evidence very clearly pointing to her. She ran away, she worked with a damn separatist assassin, she was found in a warehouse filled with the bombs. The audience know she was framed, but the characters don’t because the whole point of framing someone is to convince the other people they did it. If the Jedi had exiled her for this, they would’ve been being very reasonable and justified. Will also point out that the Jedi were forced by the Senate to exile her and did not want to. They apologized and let her back in as soon as they possibly could.

Also there’s this weird (actually!) baseless claim that Ahsoka was one of the most powerful Jedi in the Clone Wars. Which has no proof because it’s untrue—she’s a padawan with max 2 years of training. There’s no way she’s more powerful than a fully trained knight, of which there were still quite a few. But of course she is, because she’s Felony’s beloved OC who can do no wrong.

Mistake Number 5 that led to the fall of the order: Not giving Baby Murderer power

I am convinced that no one involved in writing or editing this article has actually watched RotS, and has only ever listened to Felony talk about RotS. They claim that ‘they invited Anakin over to the Council as a pseudo-member and his only task was to spy on the Chancellor. Not only was this political meddling once again, but it was also an insult to Anakin’ oh no, they insulted Anakin, clearly this means he’s justified in murdering them! Also, the Jedi Council apparently wanted to appoint Anakin, they weren’t literally forced into it by Palpatine. You know, that scene where Palpatine is like “yeah, I’ve forced the council to put you on the council even though they don’t want you there. You’re my spy on the council now” that didn’t happen actually. The Jedi were completely evil in not allowing the unstable baby murderer a full seat on their governing body when they were forced to put him there through nepotism. Them asking the only guy who’s close enough with the chancellor to investigate him because he’s overstayed his term and is overreaching with his powers is also completely evil and awful and unjustified. Uh huh.

Mistake Number 6 that led to the fall of the order: Mace Windu Wants To Kill Palpatine Right Away (direct quote from the article)

Yeah, you read that right. I can’t make this shit up, but filoni sure as fuck can. So, Mace Windu learns that the shady Chancellor that’s been overreaching with his authority and has overstated his term is also an evil Sith that has manipulated both sides of the war to gain power, causing the deaths of millions, including a shit ton of Mace’s people and friends, because said chancellor drafted them to fight in the war that he created. This would make Mace pretty damn justified in killing Palpy imo, but Mace specifically goes to arrest him for his crimes. Palpatine then kills three other Jedi Masters in cold blood and attempts to kill Mace, and when Mace beats him he still tries to arrest him—y’know that whole “You are under arrest, my lord” bit?—until the guy tries to fucking electrocute him with his fucking hands and it becomes clear that there is no way to take him in peacefully. Only after palpatine murders 3 people in front of him, attempts to murder Mace in combat, and makes it clear that he cannot be taken in alive does Mace attempt to kill him. No matter how you slice it, that’s not him wanting to kill the bitch right away.

Also the article tries to say that Anakin wanted to bring Palpatine in because he recognized that he should stand trial, which is technically what he says, but he also screams “I need him!” in that same scene so I think we know why he really doesn’t want Palpy to die.

Mistake Number 7 that led to the fall of the order: They didn’t train Luke and Leia

Now this might seem baffling because the article is supposedly talking about things that caused the fall of the order and Luke and Leia weren’t even born until after the fall of the order, but I can assure you that the article does not explain this in any way.

Still, let’s pretend this makes sense with the subject of the article and press on. The article asks what was stopping Obi Wan from training Luke as a Jedi on Tatooine. I feel like the answer might have something to do with the fact that the twins were so powerful that the Jedi were afraid that the emperor could sense them if they were next to each other. Formal training would make them stronger and more likely to be sensed, so they didn’t do it until they had to. This probably would be the most reasonable thing in here if the article wasn’t about what caused the fall of the order.

Mistake Number 8 that led to the fall of the order: Not telling Luke about Vader

Yet another Thing That Lead to the Fall of the Jedi Order that somehow happened after the fall of the order, but if I focus on that I might start screaming, so we move on.

This article leads you to believe that all the problems in ESB could’ve been solved if only Obi Wan had told Luke about Vader. Hmm. Yoda says in RoJ that Luke wasn’t ready for the information when he was told at the end of ESB, which seems very true based on the fact that Luke was unable to accept the information when told, was described by George Lucas as suicidal afterwards, and is suddenly unable to consider killing Mr. Evil Baby Murderer Space Fascist afterwards because of their family connection, and you want Obi-Wan to tell him earlier?

You know that OT Luke would, upon hearing that information before Cloud City, have immediately jumped in his X-Wing and raced to confront Vader. If he found Vader in that state, Luke would’ve been even more unbalanced and unfocused, which would’ve lead to him losing the duel worse and being either killed or captured by Vader, since Leia wouldn’t have been close enough to save him.

Mistake Number 9 that led to the fall of the order: Not believing people who had been dead for 1,000 years were back without proof

I want you to imagine a hypothetical with me: a guy that is somehow vaguely influential in politics walks up to the UN and tells them that Leif Eriksson and the Vikings are back and coming to kill everybody. This man has no proof beyond what he and a couple of people with him say , and there has been no indication of this at all before he shows up. I know in that scenario I’d want the UN to throw him out until he had proof.

That’s the modern day equivalent of Qui Gon telling the Jedi the Sith are back. He’s making a huge claim with no evidence. You can’t expect the Jedi to immediately believe him no questions asked. The instant there’s actual proof of this, we see the two most influential and powerful Jedi, Mace and Yoda, talking about how they need to look out for other Sith. They are taking the threat seriously, they just aren’t omniscient like the audience.

Mistake Number 10 that led to the fall of the order: When they were enemies of the state who would be killed if they didn’t hide, they hid

Truly, a horrible mistake. Now they’re mad at Obi Wan and Yoda for going into hiding, unlike other survivors of Order 66. Other survivors such as Kanan, Ahsoka, Cal, and Quinlan, perhaps. All of these characters went into hiding. Cal and Kanan were forced out of hiding, and Ahsoka helped with the early rebellion while remaining in hiding, but pretty much every order 66 survivor tried to go into hiding.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go cry.

[antianakin]

I have such mixed feelings about the Clone Wars "Heroes on Both Sides" episode because I appreciate what it's TRYING to do with the idea of showing that the Separatist side has legitimate grievances and the Senators in it are/were good people who've just been duped into being on the side of a war that's literally enslaving people, but I also think it handles it incredibly badly.

Take Mina Bonteri, for example. We're SUPPOSED to like her and think she's this honorable woman who mentored Padme and is still Padme's friend, but she also thinks Dooku's somehow a good honorable person and will literally not hear a single word against him even though this person she's mentored could tell her that Dooku is the one who nearly executed her on Geonosis. Padme can literally speak to how those events in the Geonosis arena ACTUALLY WENT, but she can't because Mina refuses to hear anything bad about Dooku because she's apparently got a political boner for him or something I dunno.

And then her whole story of woe that's meant to show us how the Republic also sometimes commits atrocities boils down to "my husband worked at a lab and clones attacked and now he's dead" and I feel like my reaction is supposed to be "wow that's horrific that the clones attacked an innocent person" but knowing what I know about the Separatists and how they worked my reaction is actually "well what the fuck were they doing at that lab huh Mina? Did you even know your husband or was he a bitch who was coming up with some sort-of bio weapon to use against Republic civilians?" Because I don't believe for a SECOND that the clones would've just attacked a random lab for no obvious reason. That lab was up to some shit and they never tell us what it is because they want us to feel bad for Mina's loss, but I... don't. Because I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility for Mr. Bonteri to have been caught up in shady shit that Mina had no idea about.

And of course then there's her son and the whole interaction he has with Ahsoka. Again, I understand the point of them saying that Ahsoka has only ever met "military commanders" on the Separatist side and not any of the actual Separatist civilians/senators, but the comparison being made is with Lux's experience with the JEDI, who are ALSO military commanders in this war. Ahsoka is judging the Separatists by the people they've PUT IN CHARGE of their side of the war and who are the ones actively causing atrocities. Ahsoka is judging the people who are her PEERS on the Separatist side. And while there is obviously merit to getting to know Separatists civilians, I don't think it counts the same as Lux saying he's never met a Jedi before and is now choosing to judge an entire culture when he's never met a single person from that culture until now.

The Onderon arc and the Gerreras do a WAY better job of getting this concept across, that there are literal REBELS on some of the Separatist planets who didn't choose to be Separatist and don't necessarily care for the Separatist government. Ahsoka (via Anakin) seeing every Separatist as an evil person simply due to being Separatist would have been incredibly paired with having to help out some Separatist rebels fight for their world because they KNOW what's going on, they're LIVING it, they just can't really do much about it due to lack of resources.

I love the idea of making sure the Separatist side is given a little nuance, that there IS an explanation as to why the Separatists seceded and became what they did and all, I just think it got handled SO SO BADLY and it makes me so sad/mad every time I think about that episode.

[fireemblems24]

Scarlet Blaze Ch 11

Sorry this is taking forever, but here's ch 11.

MAIN STORY

Oh, shit, do we have to fight Gilbert next? AND ANNETTE? This suuukkkkks. It especially sucks since you know they didn't have a choice but to risk their lives just defending themselves.

Annette is so precious. Fuck. I don't want to fight her.

Gilbert being a good daddy though 😭😭😭😭

At least CF was entertaining. SB is a giant snoozefest where I have to kill all my favorites.

Man, they all sound like psychopaths. They're all super excited to go kill people who are just defending themselves. Even Dorothea's only worried about marriage.

MAP/SIDE STUFF

Shez just said that everyone who gets killed in the war "is standing in our way." Imagine comparing self-defense to "getting in our way." Yikes for that characterization compared to how concerned GW!Shez is about Claude's aggressive decisions.

Lamo, Mercedes is like wtf am I doing here fighting the Kingdom and Annie? 

Aww, Marianne (and Dorothea) are like the only two who realize they're fighting other people and not just being all murder happy like the rest. 

Dimitri just got put on par with Holst and Caspars dad by Balthis, kind of, unofficially best Kingdom warrior? 

We're addressing the Ferdinand and Hubert subplot again. Which is good. It's by far the most interesting part of SB. Though, it's just a repeat of what we've seen from it before.

Ok, they're adding some different stuff which is interesting. Bringing up that even if Fredie's dad tried to retire and stay out of Edelgard's way, that he would still have to die because of what he symbolizes. Hubert and Ferdinand disagree on whether people like Mr. Aegir can get a second chance (as in, can you when you've become a symbol).

This is especially interesting to me in regards to what happens to Rhea, Dimitri, and Claude if they surrender to Edelgard and become her puppets. Basically, Hubert is saying that, no matter what, they'd have to die because anyone who would rebel would use (fill in here) as a symbol of their resistance. Claude may be the sole exception here because he can scoot off to Almyra, but it's very obvious that Rhea and Dimitri (and their staunch allies) are fighting for their lives, because even if we're generous and say Edelgard would spare them and give them life worth living (i.e. not locked up), Hubert would most certainly have them assassinated.

Which also brings up another point. People always talk about how it's wrong/bad for Dimitri to try and spare Edelgard at the end of AM because what kind of life would she live? But always praise Edelgard for trying to spare Rhea towards the end of CF but no one - not a single soul - asks what kind of life would Rhea live? I gotta make my own post about that.

SB is really gonna be - kill yo dad, the route. Ironic since I played this the day after Father's Day.

I have to fight Sylvain 😭

SHEZ & MANUELA A SUPPORT

Manuela is flirting with Shez lol. He said he liked her voice and she pushed him with like "is that all" until he talked about her looks lamo

Aww, Shez actually likes her hungover side. Saying he likes warrior her, singer her, healer her, and drunk her. That's kinda cute, actually

Shez said that he can't keep his eyes off her. Laying it on a bit thick. And said she's more attractive now than she was younger haha.

Yeah, Shez, I have no idea how she was supposed to see that in any other way lol.

HUBERT & LYSITHEA B SUPPORT

Hubert finds Lysithea studying at night and teases her about ghosts. She runs away.

The Imperial Army is a bunch of children who don't want to eat their veggies. This is 100% cannon. Hubert orders guards to sneak them into soups for the soldiers actually get their veggies. I cannot. (though, imagine the privilege, Faerghus could never)

Lysithea freaks out because she ate veggies.

Veggies are legitimately delicious though. I don't know what the Imperial Army's problem is.

EDELGARD & MONICA A SUPPORT

Guys, I'm so excited. A Monica support. I wonder what she'll talk about.

Monica counts how many times Edelgard worried about her and invited her to tea. I just . . . no.

This support was pure cringe.

I love how "Kingdom bad" because they're willing to die to defend their homes, family, friends, and everything and anything else they've loved from invaders, but Monica is to be admired because she's oh so loyal to Edelgard that even in when Edelgard leaves her for dead, it's a happy moment for Monica because it helps Edelgard's cause. Like . . . double standard much?

PETRA & CONSTANCE C SUPPORT

Constance is something else. She confronts Petra because Petra's dad invaded and it led to the demise of Constance's everything.

I enjoy supports that address conflict, but girl, that was not Petra's fault. Don't take it out on her.

Oh, good, she's not. She recognizes that Petra's people suffered, and that neither of them were involved, so there's no bad blood.

Then she hahahas and leaves. Lamo, this made me love Constance.

Petra doesn't get a chance to say she agrees and seeks out Constance, but finds her in the sunlight, and needlessly to say, is very confused.

MAIN BATTLE

Hubert and Edelgard just said submit or die.

Wow, Linhardt is like I wish the nobles would think about all the people who they're forcing to fight. The lack of self-awareness is astounding.

Ferdinand can join the "lack of self-awareness club" for acting like it's the Kingdom causing the violence.

Baron Dominic opened the gate, risking his defenses to rescue soldiers. Hubert judged him. But we're supposedly the good guys. I swear the writing goes out of it's way to make the Kingdom look good.

Fuck. I have to fight Gustave :( He dead :( Poor Annette.

FUCK. Now I have to fight Annette.

Fuck this route. Ingrid, Rodrigue, Gustave, and now Annette - all dead.

Even Baron Dominic's death is making me sad. None of the Empire generals get this kind of humanization when they die lol.

Edelgard and Hubert sound insane. Edelgard's acting like their deaths were inevitable because of their lineage (when they would've been just fine if not for her actions), and Hubert's like he's happy to die so it doesn't matter. What a bunch of looney tunes.

Edelgard just said whoever wins gets to decide what's right. I mean, victors do write the history but yikes at the implications.

So deep - "we're up against the world itself." Sounds like a teenage edge-lord wrote this lamo.

We got crusher. Joy. Did they pry it out of Annette's dead hands?

Oh, joy, more backtracking. Revolts in the Empire. I thought we were out of the backtracking era and into kill every Blue Lion era.

xxxx

[pommunist]

I know you're getting swarmed with Anons right now, and this is just adding to the pile but... even if I said this on my main blog or anything it would likely just get ignored or ridiculed I'm sure.

I... as a crow... feel as though I cannot mourn.

I feel like I gave no right to be sad about losing the eggs I cared about because we just happened to have ours come back briefly for a goodbye. I feel like I can't even be happy we got that closure at all because everyone else had it worse. That we don't deserve it. That everyone hates us and that we aren't welcome anywhere. After all.. we got to say goodbye to our eggs. We got our closure.

We got "special treatment"

...so I don't deserve to be sad. We're the favorites right? Clearly.

I dont think I can feel anything about any of this. We just wanted to be hopeful that ours coming back was a good sign. A step in the right direction but it wasn't and we were wrong. Now we're being scoffed at for being disappointed as well. "We knew already." "Its been dead" "oh. NO you care."

Its all a slap in the face. Nobody wanted this. Nobody wanted to lose any eggs. I just... feel like I should apologize for existing in this Fandom at all. That I'm stupid and SHOULD feel ashamed for being relieved to see our eggs. Thinking foolishly that things could improve. But they didn't. Everyone was right. I'm sorry... im sorry not everyone got to see their kids. I'm sorry we got to see ours one last time. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

I wish it wasn't like this.

I understand if you all hate us. you've all lost so much more than us. Suffered longer. Fought harder.

I just wanted things to get better.

oops sorry anon went to sleep yesterday before seeing this !

I’m glad that you guys to have a proper sending off to your characters ! I’m glad that, if it is the case, at least some admins got to leave on their own terms ! I’ve personally never felt like the people in this fandom who kept trying to be hopeful and positive were being stupid for it, hell I wanted you guys to be right !

Don’t apologise for staying, I think both the « I’m happy my faves stayed for a little bit longer and I kept hoping » and « I’m salty not many people cared at first because it wasn’t their faves that were gone » sentiments can coexist and both « teams » have legitimate reasons to feel like they do ! I also feel like people, such as the anons I got previously, who are more on that second « team » never wanted those who stayed positive to join in and be miserable too, it’s more within the line of « wish people cared when we were sad » ? Never wanted to be right about this, wanted to be proven wrong so badly 😭

It’s not a war of opinions bc they’re two sides of the same coin, we’re all taking the L, we’re all seeing a project we loved go downhill fast and steady, we’re all seeing the end of characters of we cared about. It’s just that our breaking points came at different times, but they came nonetheless.

You’re still allowed to feel sad and you’re still welcomed in this fandom, I need to know who hurt qsmpblr so bad that made people constantly being apologetic of their feelings and afraid to express their opinion

[ask-the-becile-boys]

What can you tell us about the bots before they died? I’m interested in their lives before being robots

Not a lot of information was initially set in stone by the AU's original creator Surge, and I was always a little hesitant to expand on their previous lives. But I have some ideas, and hey, no time like the present?

-

We'll start with Frank, because he had the least info on him of the original three as far as I can recollect. Frank Saddler was an African American man who grew up in southern Appalachia. His father was a preacher for a small church. Frank was a good student as a child and his father tried to get him as much access to an education as possible. Unfortunately, their church was the target of arson when Frank was about twelve. Frank got out by smashing through a window, though he was left with some scarring from the glass. He lost his faith after that, and his relationship with his father became strained. The rest of his childhood, he lived with a few different branches of his extended family, mostly going where extra hands were needed. He was older than Tony by maybe 7-8 years; he was about twenty-four when the flyers for the Dandy Candy mines caught his attention and he took the jobs overseas and twenty-six when he met Tony and Jack. He worked in the processing factories more than the mines, though he did both. He was killed when a Copper Elephant collapsed a smokestack.

Tony Sapienti was the first born States-side to an Italian immigrant family in Chicago, who grew up to be a trans man. His deadname was something very American/English sounding, a pattern that would be later repeated with Jack; even though his family didn't cut their children (Tony, Jack, and a middle sister named Patience) off from learning Italian (which would've been hard in their community) they were pretty adamant about their children being 'successful Americans.' Tony chose his name to sort of snub that. He went to school until he was thirteen, but as he dealt with the one-two punch of puberty and realizing he was transgender, he dropped out to try and recreate himself. His parents were not accepting of his new identity, and he drifted in and out of his family's life. He wanted more than anything to be a singer, but never found an opportunity. He took the Dandy Candy mining job when he was eighteen, hoping for both a legitimate job and a clean slate among people who didn't know him. He suffocated after a cave-in during the Weekend War.

Jack Sapienti was Tony's younger brother by three years. His parents held him to high expectations as their "first son," so much so that they doomed him from the start. He was frail and nervous from a young age, and the ADHD that plagued his schooling hadn't even started to be defined by Western medicine. However, he did stay in school until he was fifteen. Tensions then came to a head with Jack and his father, and Jack fled from home. He went looking for Tony, who he'd always admired and considered safe, only to learn he'd just missed him-- Tony was headed to the shipyard to go overseas to the Dandy Candy mines. Terrified to return home, Jack rashly lied about his age and got on the ship after Tony, only revealing himself to the dismayed Tony after the ship had left port. When they got to the mines, it was obvious Jack was not cut out for the general work, so the foreman assigned him to be Tony's assistant. This is how they came to be in the same area when they died; Jack was crushed by the cave-in.

"Locke Smith," or Balthazar Ash, was a born and bred English businessman-- not aristocracy, but pretty damn close. Born in the 1860s, he had full schooling, including higher education, and had a successful early career organizing mundane goods trading. By chance, he discovered the true magical nature of one of his client's dealings, and being both discrete and shrewd, he began to ingratiate himself in the hushed world of magic trade, creating the alias "Locke Smith." He was no magician himself, but he soon became a popular figure in European magic circles for his ability to connect resources to patrons. Demand grew, and he unscrupulously dipped into darker and darker artifacts. This got him into enough trouble that he fled to the United States, eventually settling in San Diego specifically to supply the more "discerning" members of the Cavalcadium-- which eventually included Thadeus Becile. Locke provided the materials for Dee's construction, and then later volunteered himself to Thadeus to become a Rock Candy powered robot when he became terminally ill.

Dee was once Della Stanek. Della lived in the Everglades, south of Lake Okeechobee, the daughter of farmers who grew up on the cultural cusp between early agricultural developers and the Gladesmen, with some Seminole heritage. She grew up wild, an only child with little schooling and little care for ambition. As she grew older she became a talented wood-crafter, handy-woman, and hunter, her skills refined through the necessary self-reliance of living in a remote area. She tended to go barefoot whenever possible, though this was mostly at home due to the dangers of snakes and sawgrass. She had a daughter, Hannah, with her Gladesman beau Cliff out-of-wedlock when she was twenty-two. She never traveled far beyond her home region during her life. Both Della and Hannah perished in the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, when Della was twenty-eight and Hannah was six. Della had no connection to Thadeus before becoming Dee; it was simply bad luck that his spell, when it couldn't find Delilah Morreo's soul, plucked Della's from the beyond.

*Fun Fact: Hare's New York accent and The Jack's English accent are the result of cross-contamination with other Rock Candy!

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

I remember you mentioning somewhere that at least once the Crystal/Eos skipped all legitimate heirs and picked some bastard kid that was hidden by the previous king and the rest of LCs didn't even know existed.

Any chance you will elaborate on that? Or at least confirm how long did it take Lucis to find their new king and inform them of their new "job"?

Yes, I did!

*rummages through notes of Lucian Kings*

So

Common believe among the people of Lucis and the Lucis Caelums is that the Crystal names the new Kings. Which is only partly true. Most of the time it's actually Bahamut who names the Kings using the Crystal's voice.

(It's implied in game that Bahamut hasn't been seen for quite some time, and I like that idea. Bahamut is acting like he's preparing an ambush, and so has hidden himself.)

But. Sometimes the Crystal Eos really does name a King. It's just that it she has rarely the power to cast off Bahamut's shackles long enough to do so.

That is exactly what happened when the bastard child got named King.

Said child's name was Lucius, son of Lucius, later known as one of the Light Kings. (A period in time spanning six generations where the Kings were either named Lucius, Lucianus or Lucia.)

The second of the Light Kings was Lucius The Preserver. He was heaviliy involved in the religious and cultural reformations that caused several rifts among the people at the time. He was also known as the Intolerant among his critics, and prone to prosecute anyone who didn't agree with his reforms.

The third Light King was Lucius The Late. Titled as such because for a few years after his nomination no one could find him. He's the basatard child in question.

The Crystal Eos nominated him because it she could not tolerate yet another King like The Preserver, who was slowly destroying everything in the name of Bahamut.

It took the Amicitias nearly three years to find Lucius The Late. And even then it was a chance encounter. (Or maybe devine intervention, but sshhhhh)

Those three years are known as the Years of the Empty Throne. Or as the Blood Wars. Because The Preserver's other two children were Not Happy about any of this.

Did The Preserver know he had an illegitimate child? Probably not. Because he would have most likely killed him. He was that kind of a 'nice' person.

Lucius The Late was also very much Not Happy about any of this once he found out he was the missing King of Lucis. The Amicitia who found him carried him into the throne room like a sack of potatoes and dumped him on the throne with the words "Do your fucking job."

[rachelbethhines]

60 Years of Doctor Who Anniversary Marathon - McCoy 1st Review

Dalek Attack - Video Game

Dalek Attack is the fourth Doctor Who video game ever published. It's a 'run n gun' platformer where the Doctor (and a companion in co-op mode) must traverse cities around the globe to locate and free hostages while blowing up bad guys.

The story, such that it is, is that Davros and the Daleks have invaded Earth in 2254, and the Timelords have called upon the Seventh Doctor to stop them.

Like with the previous early video games, I decided to watch a let's play rather then subject myself to the torture of battling wonky controls and outdated mechanics like the lives system.

There's also the problem of figuring out which version to play as this game got several, and I do mean several, releases and ports.

At a bare minimum there are three different version of this game, with various ports for each.

First is the ZX Spectrum version. It's 8 bit and all the levels are solid colors with black outlines. Each level gets it's own color and you can only play as the Seventh Doctor in this version.

The Commodore 64 version is also 8-bit, but utilizes more colors at a time to try and gain more definition. Also every version of this game has it's own soundtrack.

Then there's the 16-bit version that was released on multiple consoles, including Atari, Amiga, IBM and DOS. This version seems to be the most popular, not only because it has the more detail, but also because it's the version that allows you to play different doctors.

You have the choice between the Second, Forth, and Seventh Doctors. And for co-op, the second player can now pick between Ace and the Brigadier. Though I hear tell that co-op is a pain to play, and that this is the most buggy version out there.

'But why so many versions?' you ask.

Probably because for decades this was the only Doctor Who game that was actually passable. I mean it's a generic 90s shoot-'em-up but it actually functions. The layout is decent, the controls and jumping mechanics work, and the general conceit of fighting off Daleks in various famous cities around the globe (plus Skaro), with interesting new foes as bosses, all while saving people, is a sound idea for a game.

I know some fans have complained about turning the sonic screwdriver into a weapon for the game, but given that it's Daleks we're dealing with here, I don't see the problem. The Doctor has killed less threatening foes before, and since the Timelords are said to be involved you can easily work this into the Time War.

So if you enjoy both Doctor Who and 90s platformers then this might be something worth checking out.

I however hate platformers with a passion and so I didn't even bother. As previously stated I watched some lets plays, one for each version. Here they are if you would like to watch for yourself.

Enjoy.

[jason-is-a-real-mood]

Just your daily reminder that HOTD is based on european medievals laws which means that yes rhaenyra's children are bastards who can't inherit anything ( not should but can't).

The "leanor legitimaze them" argument doesn't work because like some people point it out only the king can legitimized and GOT gave us enough material to know jow bastards, even legitimized one are treated.

Yet, at best leanor recognized rhaenyra's children and there is a difference :

-Louis XV recognized his bastards but never legitimized them. Everybody knew their were his children but they would not be treated like a royal family member. They couldn't expect any lands or wealth from the king.

- Louis the XIV on the other hand not only recognized but legitimized all his bastards. They had lands and incomes from the crown. Married into influencial families. Yet when he died, leaving a 4 years old as heir, his nephew was considered as heir. Never the legitimized children who were older and married to influent noble family. A war of succession including his legetimized children was never an option.Why ?

Because at the start and end of it all: They are bastard and bastards do not become king by law. They did not share the queen's blood. Only the king. ( Fun fact : one of them did fight with the king's lawful nephew but was beaten because guess what ? The noble didn't want a legitimized bastard as regent)

You want jace to be a lawful king ? Ask grrm to write an AU dance of the dragon based on the ottoman empire and then rhaenyra's blood will take precedent other everything.

I mean look at Dorne As far as we know in the show, bastards are still bastards. They are recognized by their parents, they grow up with their legitimate siblings, get the same education but do they inherit anything because of their blood ? No. They only get what the parent is willing to give in accordance with the westerosi law. Ned wanted to give jon (when we though he was still his son) a castle but even legitimized he never could have take over winterfell even if he's the oldest.

In the canon circontances, no matter how much of a cunt is aegon, the facts are that he has more claim than jace, luc and joeffrey ( but indeed not more than other aegon and viserys ).

[alovelyburn]

Not gunna lie I'd absolutely //love// to hear even unfinished thoughts about that sequel idea you mentioned? ☕👀

And soon I'll be rereading everything again, cause time has passed enough for me to forget the wording and storylines for Maximum Effect lol

So, sorry if you get comments that sound exactly like ones I might've left before 😅

I hadn't thought that deeply into it since I didn't really mean to do it. But it kind of starts from the central question of how does Griffith go about seeking his kingdom in a world where he doesn't have Charlotte's claim to legitimize his rule. And...

Okay full honesty here, one of the main reasons I would be reluctant to do a sequel (aside from generally not doing them) is because I write NeoGriffith (Neo specifically) a certain way and I don't necessarily know that anyone wants to read that, lmao. Because he's not a black hat sadist the way Griffith haters would want to see him, but he can be Machiavellian, cold, ruthless and cruel in ways human Griffith wouldn't be. This doesn't come out as much in my normal stuff with NeoGriffith because they're usually from Guts' POV or they're all about the romance - I don't need to get into the chess game he's playing with the world because I'm just writing about him pining for Guts so it's not relevant.

So basically, the main thing he would need to do if he doesn't have Charlotte to legitimize his claim is find a way to remove her from the field. This doesn't necessarily mean having her killed - I don't really see Griffith (any Griffith) as someone who kills people just because it's easier than doing something else, so if there's another path then I'm sure he'd take it. But given that she's the rightful ruler of Midland anything he does is sure to be a major downgrade in her life's prospects even if she's alive.

And of course the other side would be him arranging to place himself in the position of "most desirable start for a new dynasty." Charlotte is the last of her line, and Midland doesn't necessarily exist anymore, so it makes sense to choose a new leader. That's the easier part - saving them from Ganishka would do it on its own, nevermind all the savior shenanigans and summoning souls and such.

The other thing is, the original Hawks are still out there - the ones who aren't dead anyway. They don't have any reason not to rally around Griffith - just like Rickert on the Hill of Swords was ready to do. And of course I'd need to explain what happened with Casca (whether or not she's dead).

So that's the main thoughts on the general PLOT, politics, war and the awkward mix of the old Hawks and new Hawks.

As for the other thing, you know, that thing -- When Night Comes Down was a straight up romance (at least as close as I ever get, being me), and I suppose the will they/won't they is covered at this point. But there's always interesting things to look at - immediately there's the question of how Guts, who even as an Apostle has a kind of insecure core - handles being next to the man who outshines the sun. Not to mention, Griffith is the destined master of all Apostles which is worth addressing if only before it makes for a seriously weird power dynamic.

Etc etc... just some rather raw unformed thoughts.

You know, it's interesting to me - I feel like a lot of the people who normally read my extremely rare writing were not enthused by When Night Comes Down, but at the same time I got some of the most effusive praise I have ever received from other people and that's kinda fascinating. CURIOUS.

[monty-glasses-roxy]

I. Can't prove the theory now. I was under the impression from the wiki summary that the Storyteller built its own body and that body was Tiger Rock, which meant if the two dipshits were killed by the Storyteller then it would have been Tiger Rock that did it...

Except they die of stupid and that's fucking it. The tiger isn't even a fucking tiger. Why they got a bust and four arms in their neck specifically if they're a fucking oversized nightlight from Aldi are you kidding me what is this

And who let this author have a thesaurus and a book of Scrabble words to piss people off so much they'd never play again?? What's a concourse?? A fucking FRISSON!!! HOI POLLOI????? SNAFU I CHOOSE YOU!!! For gods sake don't let this guy know about crosswords they'll forget what the sun looks like. I bet this is the guy that decided "Utili-dor" was a reasonable thing to name a corridor to Sewerhell.

And the big fucking tree????? In the main atrium???? Presumably????? In front of the stage????? Giant ass 75 foot tree????? Why.

I do love the honesty though. Like. For some reason Mr Burrows refers to himself as Mr Burrows, but oh wow he's so relatable I mean he says "How could I be so stupid?" like YEAH MAN I'VE BEEN WONDERING THE SAME THING ABOUT YOU THIS WHOLE TIME WOW IT'S LIKE HE'S JUST LIKE ME FOR REAL

Lmao actually though this is so fucking funny. Guy sees Freddy get in a tug of war with a little girl that has a plush of an old version of Freddy, lose that tug of war and then go cry in the corner about it and is like "oh okay I'll just go kill that guy I don't like I'm sure that'll fix it!" Then dies to his own Stupid. I should read the whole thing I'd love to see more about the completely unnecessary nature of literally all of this and also to see where the 'tiger' thing came from like bro what

Speaking of unnecessary!!!

Can someone that knows more about tech explain this one to me?

(ID in alt)

Like. Legitimately, this just feels like he's asking to die to his own Stupid. I don't know enough about tech stuff to know if an oxygenated room is going to affect processors and shit compared to an unoxygenated room so... I'm asking if this is an actual Thing or if it's just this one guy being extra Stupid so he can die of bigger Stupid.

And I fucking LOVE that he asked some guy called Sebastian to stop every single function a human can make in the tree from working and put all control in a remote control that this one guy has... That he goes in without so he can die of Stupid. Bro really had one goal in life and that goal was to die of Stupid after being very funny and Stupid. I didn't even read the whole story and now I want to specifically to see the extent of this guy's Stupid.

I wanna make a post tomorrow that's just. Mr Burrows' Stupid Compilation. I think he deserves it. For being so fucking Stupid I've started capitalising the word Stupid in reference to him.

Anyway, every cool thing I thought was going on in the Storyteller was wrong, but I got Some Fucking Guy out of it so I guess I'm still winning lmao