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12pt-times-new-roman · 2 years

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"the lycanthrope form within chetney" is certainly a Choice Of Words

y'all what if Lilliana is in the same place as Evandrin?

Sending to Lilliana: "Are you alright? Where are you? Are you— is there— where have you been?" "I'm fine, Imogen. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how long I've been gone. I'm okay. Are you okay?" (she has a southern accent that's noticeably thicker than Imogen's.) "If I'm being honest, things are hard. You might know that already, though. Where are you? I wanna see you. Can I see you?" "I'm sorry it's hard. I'm sorry for cursing you with this burden. I left because I was a danger. I couldn't stay without knowing what I am. (She casts sending on Imogen.) You can't see me, because you need to stay safe. And the further from me you are, the safer you'll be. Far from me, in this destiny." "This destiny has caught up with me, regardless of where you are physically. It's all happening. I could use your help, and your knowledge." "I love you, Imogen. More than you'll ever know. And that's why you have to run away from me, Imogen. As far as you can. Run." "I'm tired of running, mother."

yo. the way Matt let that just linger for so long before Lilliana cast sending on Imogen? how Laura did that right back to him on that last reply? peak drama.

Imogen always thought Lilliana was telling her to run away from the storm. but her voice was always coming from the farmhouse. so what if she was telling Imogen to run into the storm and away from the farmhouse?

"it's not normally a problem for me, but I guess it... is now." as he gestures to Imogen. what the fuck does that mean? does Chetney think whatever Imogen did caused Ruidus to have more of an influence on him? is he right?

Laudna is so right. Lilliana hasn't seen Imogen in almost two decades. so how would she know that she's exhibiting abilities from being Ruidus-born? sending doesn't tell you who the person is, so how would she know it was Imogen at all, if she hadn't heard her voice in that long?

Orym's gonna snap. walks straight outta that discussion about people turning on each other to go sit on the front of the ship and look at the moon.

"I guess I just expected more... meaning." "Meaning isn't inflicted or pressed upon you, you have to carve it into yourself."

Orym uses the sending stone: "Hey. Yios-bound. Found 'em, their killers. Bigger than we thought. We're all rough, Dorian. Eshteross is dead. Glad you're not here. Wish you were anyway."

Ashton comes up to the deck and sits by him. and holy shit. their entire demeanor just..... changes. they're pacing their sentences and their voice is so low and quiet. "we keep calling you the good one — it feels a little unfair. I know you're not okay, but... I dunno. is this feeling like too much, all of this? // if we survive this, I definitely have some things in my life I'd like to ask your help with... and I hope we're at the point where you'd ask for help if you needed it." Orym is cautious when he takes Ashton's hand. Ash can't make eye contact and keeps looking down but they never face away.

Day 4: No issues. We're deep into the Hellcatch now.

Day 5: No issues.

Day 6: A freak wind storm adds another day of travel. Because the number on the d6 was 1-2, no one was outside when it happened.

Day 7: FCG asks the Changebringer for a sign, and immediately afterwards, a flock of 12 cockatrices attacks the ship.

that's bad. cockatrices petrify people for 24 hours (if they fail two con saves in a row), and they're on an airship thousands of feet in the air

.....is that the first time Ashton said "I would like to rage" instead of "I'm gonna rage"? given that they once said something like "no, I don't want to rage, I'm going to fucking rage," that seems like something

"That's when you realize they weren't attacking the ship, they were fleeing to it." and a fucking CHIMERA climbs up onto the ship.

awww Matt was teaching Ronan about d&d monsters and had him pick his favorite to put into the encounter :)

a rundown on chimeras — they're CE monstrosities with a 3-hit multiattack, and they can substitute one of those attacks with a fire breath weapon if it's available (recharge 5-6).

Laudna's form of dread is a gnarled, not-quite-dead tree. her skin turns to rotting bark, twisting branches grow from her shoulders.

Ashton's possibility rage build specifies that Ashton rolls the 1d4 that allies within range add to an attack or save. also, when a creature makes an attack against an ally within range, they roll 1d4 and subtract it from the roll.

Laudna has gift of the ever-living ones, an eldritch invocation that causes her to regain maximum hit points from any healing source as long as Pate is within 100 feet of her.

Imogen summons a red immaterial spirit that appears through a portal. this is most likely a reskin of summon aberration, which she got as a sorcerous origin spell at 7th level. Matt calls it a "shade," but its abilities are consistent with the Star Spawn aberrant spirit conjured by that spell (namely the aura of whispers). which is certainly a Thing. because star spawn are very connected to elder evils, of which Tharizdun is one, and to cults formed around them.

Day 8: Thunderstorm! The ship needs to ride low to the ground, but they soon arrive at the Gloomed Jungles.

Chetney found another collection of lycanthropes in the northern part of the Savalirwood when he was traveling through. He was out in the woods surviving, having fled Uthodurn, when he came upon another lycanthrope and was infected; he was bitten, then killed the one who bit him, and the folks from that group found Chetney because they were hunting the one he killed. They took him in, but he got cast out for some reason.

He mentioned that one of the leaders of that community was Rudina. I feel like I remember reading that name in the Nine Eyes of Lucien, but I can't remember.

The Gorgynei arrive.

listen. we all know Matt's voices are fucking incredible. but this feels like another level. he's got accents going underneath this guttural growl thing, and he's doing higher and lower voices so they're all distinct, but what gets me is the way he's doing the growl. the were-panther has a high and reedy voice — panthers can't growl, they're one of the only big cats that can't, so they hiss or scream instead. the were-tiger keeps doing this thing where her voice drops into a straight-up chest growl — tigers actually have more threatening roars than lions because of their social structure, and their roars have that characteristic bass rumble.

The Bells Hells were led to Baronak, a "collection of elaborate jungle tree houses and huts, connected by rope bridges and ladders, with two or three dozen people gathering around a small fire pit."

"Ruidus does bring with it a particular itch. It always has. Stronger as its power grows in recent times, but no more than that... it's nothing to worry about, at least not for us. What is different about you?"

....oh. Chetney was a blood hunter before he became a lycanthrope. blood hunters enter into an order at level 3, but they take the Hunter's Bane at level 1.

The Gorgynei have an accord with the Court of the Lambent Path in Yios, who have allowed them to continue living in secrecy in the jungles in exchange for them maintaining the safety of the roads through the jungle.

The Court of the Lambent Path is the governing body of Ashanedoor, and were on the other side of the Apex War, opposed to the Stratos Throne. It is an erudite, primarily orcish society.

There's a statue in the middle of the village of Sahyaadon, Keeper of the Savage Heart. "Semi-humanoid, semi-bestial. An arched back, arms out, with multiple heads — three various bestial heads howling. In one hand, there is a heart resting in its claws. In the other, a growing sapling. It looks fairly old — looking at the weathering, the damage it's sustained, it's probably over 100 years at least." The three heads aren't actually separate heads more than separate jaws and snouts protruding from a singular face.

They are a powerful, ancient spirit of the jungles. They are the protecter of both hunter and prey to maintain the balance of the living jungle. They shun magic that harms the natural order, and has watched over this entire land, this entire region. Some say they have always existed, others that they are a vigilant spirit under Seratani (the Marquesian name for the Wildmother).

"When a person completely loses control of the gift, there's likely no other way to stop them from spreading it. There have been a few cases of outbreaks across Exandria, and the Gorgynei are dedicated to keep it under control... it's when people begin to embrace the beast without proper training that they become dangerous."

The guy with the vegetables has an accent very similar to Yeza's (though a bit thicker), and the orcish leader has an accent very similar to Vandran's.

(I'm just sayin', Matt has the opportunity to do something really fucking funny here by making Fjord's father a lycanthrope)

In the morning, they'll take Chet to a temple of Sahyaadon, where "the spirit might meet with you, and it could excise this itch, or excise you... you will be tempted, you will be challenged, you will be tested. All of you."

There are a handful of true blood hunters in this commune, and all the rest are civilians who carry lycanthropy. They all control it as best they can, and are (presumably willingly, and/or as a condition of living here) chained to the tree in the middle of the village during a full moon.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #critical role campaign 3 #critical role c3 #note watches c3 #critical role liveblog #can you tell I am absolutely not normal about Ashrym?#I love them so so much #something something closed wound and bleeding heart #but you don't know which one's which

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revvethasmythh · 2 years

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For the critical role ask meme: 15 and 30.

Or, if you want to be spicy: 5 and 11. 👀

Or any combination of the above :)

15: Favorite one-on-one conversation (can be between two PCs, or a PC and NPC).

Caleb and Fjord in episode 62, Domestic Respite. That has been my favorite conversation since I first heard it and it still is. Caleb's "We can remake ourselves into something better" is, to me, the thesis of what the Mighty Nein campaign is about. That is The Ultimate conversation for me.

I do want to shout out Beau and Caleb's one-on-one in episode 57 though, too, because I do genuinely love that conversation and how it so viscerally feels like a turning point in their relationship and the campaign as a whole. Also Beau saying "You don't have to thank me for my time like you're a social worker" and then giving Caleb just a really long awkward hug lives in my head rent free

30: What is your favorite theory or headcanon that has absolutely no bearing on the plot and isn't important at all, but which is completely compliant with canon?

Okay as far as I am aware, this is canon compliant and if it's not don't tell me let me live in it, but it's "Eshteross is Fjord's dad." I have tethered myself to that theory. I am it's cheerleader. The only one who can take this from me is Matt

5: Meta you would write if you did not fear people would be SUPER weird about it. This is also an invitation to write that meta and block the haters.

Oh boy. there's quite a few honestly. But first that comes to mind is an expansion of that very brief (not maintagged) post I made exploring why Imogen has frustrated me as a character and despite wanting to like her, I really just find myself unable to connect with her. In conjunction with this, I think there is something to be said about Imogen and Laudna's relationship holding each other back from developing more. Something about the way they always reach for each feels like a stagnation of their developments that just leaves me wishing we could see them interact with more members of the group more often or to, honestly, see their codependency come up as a topic/be addressed in canon or sever more than it has to date.

It's like you know that conversation Nott and Caleb had in c2e46: Caleb said, "lately, I've gotten a little wrapped up in the group. I've forgotten about us. I've forgotten." And that's an interesting character beat! It'd be something different from the same homogeneity that their relationship has been dawdling in. The rock fight is the most interesting thing that's happened between them and that didn't even get all that heated or really change anything! Like not to abandon all attempts at maintaining a formal discussion on the topic, but I am emotionally poking their relationship with a stick saying "do something already"

okay. that felt good to get out. now ANOTHER THING

Honestly, I feel like a very long meta could be written about the way that fandom had pigeonholed Veth a "Mother" that doesn't actually leave room for her to be a person. I have seen so many people boil down her character to nothing more than a "mom," as if that's a character trait and not just something that she is. Like, yeah, she IS a mom. But "mom" isn't a personality and I don't know why the fandom treats it like one, and then goes so far as to continually behave like Veth is not just Luc's mom but Caleb's too, which she has not only repeatedly said she is NOT, but has openly and canonically admitted to having romantic/sexual attraction to him to the point where I'm like.......what do you think mothers are like? And that's not even about shipping. Shipping goggles are off, friends. That's about ignoring canon and vital character details that contribute to Veth's overall character arc that are willfully forgotten. And man, does that grind my gears.

Okay that's probably enough salt (this got long, sorry) and I can't think of anything off the top of my head for 11, but if something comes up I might add it.

Thanks for the questions!!

Weirdly specific ask meme!

#in honor of question 5 I WILL be maintagging and blocking the haters #critical role #ask games #weirdly specific ask meme #you have no idea how many different versions of that veth meta I've had written in my drafts for literal YEARS

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jangyeevns · 1 year

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in reference to this post, i’m gonna have a lax little group set in huntington beach, california and surrounding muses ages 21-45 ( maybe 50.. i’ll tweak soon when i decide ) because older muses deserve a place too !! i’m capping it at ten muns for now and it’ll be moots/friends/vibe check clearance exclusive for maximum comfort for everyone. basic rules and info are as follows:

obviously, no god-modding, ship/face-chasing, bubble roleplaying, ooc drama, generally abusive, insensitive or intolerant behaviour, etc or you’re out ! we’re all adults here, so while i��ll intervene when something is brought to my attention, i should assume we all know how to act for these tough and uncomfortable conversations to be avoided or handled privately and considerately.

age ( outside of established rule in next point ) and race-bending are also BIG no’s so let’s not do that, yeah?

muses, fcs and muns must be 21+ to be considerate of ages of majority in some parts, and the rule for aging a muse will be +/- 4 years per the fc’s current age.

recent community fuckery has me adding this, smh. if shipping/having romantic connections comes about, do consider the ages of both muse and fc and not indulge in massive age gaps or power imbalances; chemistry is so valid, but we also have to bear in mind the implications of a 30+ year old fc being with a 22 year old fc, especially as 21 is the youngest age accepted.

you can apply with 2 muses with one being gender, body or racially diverse since i’m not about to facilitate a white and cis as fuck environment because there’s no reason in 2023 ?? this goes for every second muse you pick up when additional muses are allowed once things kick off.

banned fcs shouldn’t have to be rattled off like crazy since lots of lists exist for people who don’t wish to be used and we know most of the problematic people to be wary of, but for those who are either still used in abundance or conflict with personal comfort ( which muns can add onto once accepted ), they include: the hadids, the jenners, kj apa, cole sprouse, nicola peltz, justin bieber, timothée chalamet, ester exposito, dove cameron, danna paola, legacies cast, angus cloud, any zionist, pro-trump or anti-blm tools, sabrina carpenter, george sear, gavin leatherwood, matt daddario, josefine frida pettersen.

interest checks will be on a weekly basis since we all have work, school and other commitments to prioritize at times and rp is a hobby ! since this won’t be an open group, activity checks and hiatuses won’t be mandatory at the moment.

THE APP !

[ faceclaim, age, gender, pronouns ] — i think i just saw FIRST LAST leaving the pier with AESTHETIC ITEM + AESTHETIC ITEM in hand. you haven’t heard of them? they’re a/n OCCUPATION from HOMETOWN, living in NEIGHBOURHOOD and you can always find them at THEIR FAVOURITE SPOT. i don’t know, they seem pretty - NEGATIVE to most, but i thought they were + POSITIVE when i spoke to them; we’ll just have to wait and see what else they have in store for us. [ mun name/alias, age, pronouns, tz ]

feel free to add extras to get a feel for your muse ! it doesn’t impact acceptance if i’m being honest, but i always love a little insight if someone’s even willing to provide it LMAO

SAMPLE APP !

[ tingting_lai, 22, cis woman, she/her ] — i think i just saw PHOEBE ZHU leaving the pier with A SCRUNCHIE COORDINATED TO HER OUTFIT + RASPBERRY PEACH ITALIAN SODA in hand. you haven’t heard of them? they’re a STUDENT/RETAIL CLERK from SOUTHPORT, CONNECTICUT, living in GOLDENWEST and you can always find them at THE BEACH. i don’t know, they seem pretty - PERFECTIONISTIC to most, but i thought they were + EBULLIENT when i spoke to them; we’ll just have to wait and see what else they have in store for us. [ jules, 25, she/her, nt ]

TAKEN FCS !

tingting_lai, bianca lawson

MUN COUNT + FCS !

tbd !

#* huntingtonfm !#did i straight up copy paste this whole thing from last time? you fucking bet JKFSDG #well . muse change and a couple of additions aside anyways #but yeah she's getting a long-awaited second chance after i.. flopped the first time JGDFSK

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monstergoblin · 1 year

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The Owl Pirates Chapter Four

First Chapter Tumblr Link HERE Previous Chapter Tumblr HERE Posted First On A03 Here It’ll be updated on A03 first and might take me a bit to get to updating it here as I always seem to forget about my tumblr. <3

Trigger Warnings Always read safe: Depression, Suicidal thoughts, Pushing down feelings, Overworking self to ignore feelings, Child Abuse (Belos is a bitch okay), Gaslighting, Self Gaslighting, Manipulation, Injuries

Chapter 4: The Chapter of Gambling Talk and Dinner

This wasn’t fair. He had completed his chores today, even did extra work today, but did anyone care? No, he was getting put with more work. No one cared if he had planned to relax this evening. No one asked if he wanted to help. He didn’t even want to talk to the new guy. He already saw him and didn’t care for his existence.

Matt crossed his arms as he stopped near the stairs where Luz sat.

“Alright, where is he?” Matt scowled.

“Hunter?” Luz perked up.

“Yeah, I’m supposed to take over now.” Matt did not add the fact he had to put off plans to beat Gus in cards today. Or the fact Gus was absolutely going to tease him about the fact he ‘chickened out’. Even though he was put on duty.

“Oh Edas mean.” Luz chuckled, and somehow it didn’t sound like she meant mean to Matt. “Hey Hunter.” She jumped up looking over the railing of the stairs inwardly of the ship. “You get out of loud girl time!” She giggled.

The blonde hair boy was sitting underneath the stairs Luz was sitting on. Like he was hiding. He hardly looked comfortable crammed between a barrel and the stairs.

“Why is he under the stairs?” Matt scoffed.

“He said it was cozy?” Luz shrugged. “He didn’t ask for anything else so I figured what’s the harm.”

Hunter was just sitting watching the two talk. Like he did not wish to be part of this conversation. What, was he too good for them? Navy jerk.

“Did you make him do any chores today?” Matt couldn’t hide the jealousy in his voice. His first day on board was awful, trying to keep up with the chaos that were the owl pirates. He eventually found a flow but why did this guy get it easy?

“Nah, He’s had it rough.” Luz waved off. “Besides we already had a good pace without him. Why force him to do work that's not needed?”

Because Matt picked up the slack.

“Whatever.” Matt huffed. “What am I supposed to do? Just hang out with him?”

“Pretty much. Don’t let him hurt anyone.” Luz leaned her face on her hands and her elbows and the railing. “Maybe talk to him. Could be fun.”

“Fun would be gambling with Gus.” Matt remarked, regretting his words imeditally when Luzs eyes shot wide.

“I knew you guys didn’t stop that!” She pointed accusingly. “I want back in you bitch!”

“No you always win!”

“At least I don’t cheat!”

“I don’t cheat!” Matt’s voice broke and he cleared it. “At least not anymore. Besides they let me still play and want you out. That says something.”

“Wait, everyone still plays!” Luz gripped the railing. “Is that why Amity keeps bugging me in the evenings!” Her face had a hint of red to it.

Matt smirked. “Amity still plays on occasion too. Her talking to you is her own choice.”

“Everyone’s just against me then!” Luz threw her hands pointedly ignoring Matts added on tease. “I’ll just go play cards with Eda then.” She stomped down the stairs, the opposite way of Edas quarters.

“Where are you going?” Matt couldn’t help the curiosity.

“To confront Gus!”

Matt would’ve been quick to go watch that drama, but he had a new responsibility. The older ex-navy boy was wedged under the stairs like a cat. If he abandoned him here it would probably be harmless, but Steve was always going on about responsibilities being important and building character.

Stupid Steve

“Are you going to come out?” Matt asked, raising a brow at the taller boy still sitting under the stairs. Somehow making the awkward position look somewhat comfortable- even though Matt could tell it was not.

“No.” The boy responded by hugging himself. “This is my life now.”

“You’re going to live under the stairs.” Matt scoffed. “Forever?”

“Yes.”

“Oh geeze you’re going to be a pain in the ass aren’t you?” Matt grabbed the boys arm and pulled trying to will him out of the spot. Hunter moved, but Matt could tell it wasn’t by his own strength. However, if anyone were to ask, Matt was going to claim it was his strength.

“There we go.” Matt dusted himself off like that had been hard work. “Now, lets go watch the drama unfold.” He marched forward expecting the boy to follow.

He did not.

Matt got across the deck before turning to see the boy still standing.

“Fuck.” He stormed back and put his hand on his hips. “I watched you follow Luz all day. Now you have to follow me.” He demanded.

Hunter towered over him, but Matt held his ground glaring up at the boy.

“Why?” Hunter challenged.

“Because- Because I’m in charge of you now!” Matt stomped his foot trying to be intimidating. Why was he being so annoying now? Matt had seen the boy being sulky all day. Why did he have to grow a backbone now when Matt had to watch him.

------------------------------------

Small

Scrawny

Rude

Bossy

This boy was reminding Hunter of someone. Someone who left a bitter taste in his mouth.

She acted similarly, but she got away with it. She always got away with it. Ordered him around but she wasn’t in charge as much as she pretended she was. She was a captain sure but not over Hunter.

This boy was power hungry too.

If he didn’t obey would Eda kill him?

“Why do we have to go watch?” Hunter suddenly regretted his rash decision to mess with the boy. It was a familiar feeling he had been chasing anyway. He didn’t want the boy reporting to Eda.

Then he would die.

Besides, he should probably try to earn their trust.

That would probably be best in capturing them.

If he captured all of them, Belos would have to forgive whatever terrible thing Hunter must have done.

Hunter still needed to come up with a plan, but trust seemed to be the first step.

“Because I want to see.” The scrawny boy’s voice whined. “It’ll be fun, come on.” He grabbed Hunter's arm and led him towards the medbay again. Instead of going into the medbay they went into the door across the way. Which revealed stairs leading down.

“I can’t help it if luck is on my side!” The annoying loud girls voice echoed as the boys made their way down the stairs.

“It was a vote, Luz. We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. We just always get stuck with either no money, or all the chores.” A boys voice- Hunter could vaguely put the face of the darker boy who wore blue to the voice. Luz had introduced him earlier, but Hunter truthfully can’t recall his name.

“I don’t see the harm in her joining again.” Another girls voice.

“I mean we still play with Matt and we voted him out weeks ago.” Another girls voice.

“You voted me out!” The scrawny boy released Hunters arm and ran the rest of the way.

The voice continued arguing as Hunter stood on the stairway. He couldn’t see anyone from here but they were all very loud. He didn’t know why he continued down the stairs. He didn’t really have much choice when he thought about it.

The stairs opened up to a bigger room, with several desks and crates scattered around. The walls were blocked only leaving room to get through the main area, and to the doors. Hunter stood at the bottom of the stairs watching.

The purple haired girl was sitting on a crate with her one leg crossed over the other. She shrugged. “I’m with Willow. It’s not that big of a deal, we can bring it up with the others later but I don’t think anyone actually cares.”

“I care.” The scrawny boy had joined the others pulling himself up to sit on a crate as well. “I have done Luz’s chores for months before we stopped inviting her.”

“Don’t pick back up cheating when we let her back in.” The boy wearing blue was standing, and pointed an accusing finger at the scrawny one.

The scrawny boy scowled and mumbled something under his breath.

“Luz just join, no one will actually stop you anyway.” A chubby girl with her hair done in braids was sitting on a crate. She smiled sweetly towards Luz, who was giggling at the antics.

How can they all argue so openly and loudly like this. Wouldn’t they get in trouble with the captain for all? They were planning to gamble-

No of course not this was a pirate ship.

What were rules to pirates?

“Oh?” It was the purple haired girl who spotted Hunter standing at the steps still. “Who's supposed to be watching him?” She looked to Luz but Luz looked to the scrawny kid.

“I brought him with me!” Matt defended, “See watching.” He gestured to himself and then to Hunter multiple times.

“You’re ridiculous sometimes Matty.” The boy in blue chuckled.

Matt in turn shot him a glare. “What am I suppose to do? Luz had him sitting under the stairs!”

“Stairs?” The blue shirt boy looked to Luz.

She shrugged. “I didn’t put him there. I suggested he lead and he decided stairs was best.”

Then the boy in blue turned to Hunter. “Why the stairs?” he chuckled a bit like he was making fun.

What was wrong with the stairs?

It was comfortable and out of the way. No one spotted or cared he was there unless someone needed something. The ones on Terras ship had little drapes to add cover as well. Under stairs was nice.

Why did the blue boy act like he was the weird one?

He wasn’t the pirate here.

Hunter shrugged. “Comfy.”

“See, he wanted to be there.” Luz gestured. “He likes stairs.”

“Did you show him the crows nest?” The purple haired girl asked.

“That was the first thing I showed him!” Luz put her hand to her chest dramatically. “It’s the best place and he didn’t seem to care for it.”

“Is he afraid of heights?” The blue boy chimed in.

“Guys he’s right here, lets ask him.” The chubby girl smiled looking at Hunter.

Then everyone's eyes were on him. Holding question.

He never had everyone's eyes on him for such a stupid thing.

It was unnerving.

“It was cold.” He crossed his arms looking away avoiding the eyes.

They seemed to take his response and turn back to their own conversation. Loudly bickering about Luz’s decision on not forcing Hunter to do chores today- Which truthfully Hunter did appreciate, but he wasn’t about to give her the credit for that.

It was odd how Hunter felt excluded as the group talked. Even if he was in this room they all knew each other so well they could talk openly like this. Hunter never friends- and even those he wanted to call friends would probably not consider him one. Hunter couldn’t help but wonder if this is what it would be like.

Probably not- non-pirate friends wouldn’t argue so loudly.

Hunter took to sitting at the bottom of the stairs as the children seemed to have settled on Luz joining their game tonight and how they were going to tell someone named Emira and Edric. Why Hunter was bothering to listen to all this nonsense, was beyond him.

The door furthest away from the stairs swung open catching Hunters attention. An older man with messy brown hair and very pale skin came out of it. He had a hunch to the way he held himself and seemed to be thinking, as he walked pass the girl with purple hair he patted her head seemingly out of habit. Before making his way up the stairs and out the room.

No one seemed to care he walked past and continued with their conversation.

Hunter cared.

He’d only seen a handful of adults on this crew. Consisting of Lillith, Eda, the doctor and Luz’s mom- Camila.

Hunter watched as the man disappeared out the door leading to the deck.

“That’s Amity’s dad.” The dark skinned boy took a seat next to Hunter on the stairs. “Alador, he does repairs and upkeep on the ship.”

“Oh” Hunter responded unsure how to handle this boy- what was his name- taking interest in him. He had preferred it when they all were ignoring him.

“Yeah, he used to build ships and weapons with Amitys mom- who is a bitch- long story. Emira and Edric are also his kids.” The boy continued.

“How many adults are on this ship?” Hunter asked, taking a quick glance at the others to see they were still in their own conversation. Something about what they should and shouldn’t allow as bets.

The boy held up his fingers counting in his head. “Eight.” he answered. “Nine kids if we’re counting you- and two owls.”

“You’re counting the owls?” Hunter scoffed.

“You don’t hear the end of it if you don’t include Hooty.” The boy grinned. “Owlbert would rather you forget so he can get into things, but yeah we don’t have a very impressive crew to a navy person like you huh.”

“I never met other kids fit to do jobs at sea.” Hunter responded truthfully. “Only cabin boys.”

“It takes a lot for anyone to be at sea.” The boy shrugged. “Sometimes people are forced to do things they don’t expect themselves to do. Life has this way of leading people down paths they didn’t think options.”

Sounds like an excuse to break the law. “huh.” Hunter says instead of what he thinks. He needed these people to like him, at least until he came up with a proper plan.

“You know you’re getting adjusted awfully fast.” The boy continued. “Everyone expected you to fight. So why didn’t you?”

Dark eyes met Hunters and he couldn’t help but feel they saw through him.

It was creepy.

“I-I just” Hunter started but wasn’t sure where he was even going with that sentence.

“Hmm” The boy shrugged a little and picked himself back up. “Okay it’s not a big deal.” He took a seat next to the chubby girl to tune back into whatever they were discussing now.

Which seemed to be if Luz could take on a kraken.

What a stupid idea.

The conversation went through several topics. Starting with the justification of past gambling bets and somehow ending up on who has the best horror story of the sea. It wasn’t until a voice echoed from above the stairs for dinner that the conversation stopped. It seemed food was still deemed an important thing amongst pirates.

Hunter followed the kids that resumed their conversation with a “I bet I can take a great squid.” from Luz. With the others calling her crazy and her going off and a grande tale on the event would happen.

The doors underneath the captain's quarters is where dinner was held. In a room crammed with far too many people for its size.. As the kids entered Eda called to leave the door open.The food was served in bowls and everyone seemed to help themselves. Hunter didn’t have a slightest idea what the brown chunky soup was but he knew he was hungry.

“Did he earn his supper?” A girl with green hair was looking at him through a side eye but was asking the question to Luz.

“Course he did.” Luz waved it off.

“He didn’t do anything!” Matt chimned in behind her.

Luz promptly ignored him and shoved a bowl into Hunters hands. “He absolutely did earn it. “ She patted him on the back before filling her own bowl.

Hunter stood like an idiot unsure if he would be bombarded if he did take a share.

His stomach grumbled in protest.

“Just eat.” A boy with green hair- who looked similar to the girl- took the liberty of filling Hunters bowl for him. “Emiras just grumpy because we cooked tonight.”

Hunter did not protest, but still wasn’t quite certain he was supposed to be eating. Luz and this boy didn’t really seem the type to have authority on this ship- but this was a pirate ship- He could be wrong.

There was a small table that many were crammed sitting at eating their food and talking amongst themselves. Then there were others who were sitting on the ground holding their bowls partaking in the conversation at the table or in their own.

It seemed there wasn’t any room to sit at the table.

It also seemed Hunter would have to eat in here. As he wasn’t certain he’d get away taking his bowl to eat under the stairs.

“Tables first come first serve.” Matt remarked behind him. “Find someplace to sit and enjoy.” He shrugged as he left to find his own place to sit near the doctor.

Alador, Lilith and a few other adults were at the table, along with the child that had been staring at him in the captain's quarters during the meeting- if that could be called a meeting. The kids were on the floor enjoying their earlier discussion.

So Hunter found himself a corner that wasn’t occupied.

Several conversations were buzzing around the room that Hunter caught bits of. Captain Eda laughed very loudly at a remark one the adult males made. Lilith was talking with the brown owl who was sitting on the table eating from his own bowl. Another owl was sitting in Eda’s hair, this one much smaller. The kids were listening to Luz weave a story- or tell a story- Hunter wasn’t sure if this one was true or another ‘ Imagine it’ scenario.

It was the tiny child that wasn’t talking to anyone that caught Hunters attention.

Mostly because Hunter seemed to have caught his.

As his eyes met the gaze of the child, Hunter realized more about this creatures appearance. In the dimly lit captains quarters his hood did a good job hiding the strange black scales that now shone in the lantern light of the room. The childs hair was white and messy but the hood did a good job concealing that. His teeth were sharp as he opened his mouth to ask Eda a question.

Then the little child made his way to Hunter. He took a seat and looked up to Hunter.

“Hello!” He loudly said, baring his sharp teeth in a smile. “I’m King! “

“Hunter.”

“Oh I know who you are.” King took a big bite of his soup and proceeded to talk with his mouth full. “Whole crew is talking about you. Is why Eda wants me to stay in her quarters.”

“But you’re allowed to talk to me now?”

“She’s less scared of you after you cried all day.” King remarked with a happy hum.

Hunter forgot about the fact everyone had witnessed that. He could feel his cheeks heat up and he wasn’t sure it was right to feel ashamed around them. It wasn’t like their opinions should matter anyway, they thought thievery was justified.

“Camila says you seem traumatized.” King wiggled a bit in his spot trying to adjust his level of comfort. "Were you really thrown overboard?”

Hunter froze that familiar hard to breath emotion building inside him again.

The same one he felt when he was being held by Terra.

When she was threatening him, giving him a choice on how to die.

Water seemed like the easier way to go.

“Eda! I Broke him!” King screamed, jumping up and running back to the table.

The waves had been so harsh.

He thought he was dead.

Belos wanted him dead.

He didn’t want to think about it.

He was okay.

He just needed to bring in a whole crew without being suspected.

That was easy

He’s done far more difficult things.

He just didn’t have room for error anymore

He’d screwed up too much already.

A hand on his shoulder nearly made Hunter jump out of his skin.

“Breath with me.” It was Camila giving him a warm smile. “In” She demonstrated. “And out”

Breathing exercises? What was that supposed to help?

But those kind eyes were hard to refuse. So he followed along until his breathing normalized and found himself a lot less distressed.

Okay that was actually a nice trick he’d have to use later.

“You okay?” Camillas voice was similar to honey. Nice and sweet. Hunter didn’t like how comforting it was.

“I’m fine.” He answered, “Not hungry anymore.” He needed to get away from this woman. She had some strange magical ability that made him uncomfortable. “I’ll wait outside.” He added as he was leaving now remembering that he was supposed to have someone assigned to watching him.

“Do I have to follow him? I didn’t finish my food.” Matts voice whined.

“Nah, I think he needs some space.” Camila responded.

“He’s had space all day but okay.” Luz was the last voice he heard before Hunter found a spot he didn’t have to listen to all the noise.

A place to think.

How does one capture and secure sixteen pirates without any help.

5TH Chapter Tumblr Link

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justoneofthoseghosts · 1 year

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How do you think Chicago Fire is going to go forward with no ships onscreen for the foreseeable future? I'm not sure how they are going to write off Severide's character but I assume he's either going to have a big OFI case, transfer to another house (as kind of mentioned in the last episode about married couples working together), or visiting Matt in Oregon?

I'd hope other characters such as Boden and Ritter get some interesting storylines and that Sylvie and Violet have storylines that don't involve their romantic life. If anything I hope the second half really focuses on the family aspect of 51 and to add more calls to each episode!

It's going to be an interesting second half, that is for sure.

The thing about these network shows is that it draws a lot of casual viewers in. Fandom is such a small subset of people so I don’t think the writers and producers are too worried about where the show is going, ratings, etc. The OC shows are still rating machines despite some really shoddy writing this season.

That being said, I think the writers will need to get creative again given how much they’ve leaned on ships since season 9 with Brettsey, Stellaride and Hawkami. To be honest, I haven’t seen a full episode since 11x05. I’ve been watching clips here and there but haven’t managed to catch up. I hope they lean into the family aspect of the show too. It’s been missing a lot and so has the action. The paramedics used to get a lot more interesting calls in the earlier seasons. I hope Ritter and Boden get more screen time too. It would be nice to see them bonding. That’s a duo I did not know I needed. I also hope that the house will be there for the Herrmanns. I think Derek said in an interview that the season would be dark but hopeful. I like that they’re giving Herrmann a storyline but I really wish it turns out well for them! I want to know more about Violet. I want to see Sylvie thriving. I do not want Stellaride drama because it would be repetitive and exhausting. Also, it’s likely they will write off Taylor in the meantime by having Severide move to OFI for a large arson case. I don’t think he’d visit Casey since he’s married and it wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

#answered #anon tag #chicago fire

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nickgerlich · 2 years

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Come, All Ye Faithful

Many celebrities have done flame-outs and seen their careers go down the drain. Bill Cosby, Bill O’Reilly, Matt Lauer, and O.J. Simpson come to mind, as do Chris Brown, The Dixie Chicks, Lil Wayne, and Mary J. Blige. Each of these did, said, or otherwise stepped in something that caused them and their careers to go into a tailspin.

But none faster than Kanye West. I mean the artist formerly known as Kanye West. Or as he prefers it these days, Ye. Tagging along for the ride is Ye’s fashion shoe brand, Yeezy. It looks like he just wandered around blindfolded in the doggie park.

I’m not sure a speeding train could fly off the rails faster than Ye has done, who earlier this month showed up at Paris Fashion Week wearing a White Lives Matter shirt, and proceeded to mumble antisemitic remarks and conspiracy theories. While many people spout the latter, you just can’t go slamming ethnicities or races. It doesn’t matter who you are or what color you are, you keep those thoughts to yourself.

As a result, Ye has found himself being completely cut off from Adidas and Gap, two companies with which he had major licensing and distribution agreements. Balenciaga then axed him. Heck, Peloton, the wobbly stationary bike company, even announced they will no longer play any of Ye’s tunes on their workout sessions.

But wait, there’s more. Instagram and Twitter have suspended him (although you never know what Elon Musk might do now that he has moved into the C-suite). JP Morgan doesn’t want him to do his banking there. He has been banished by a talent agency and a film and television production company. Foot Locker no will no longer carry Yeezys, and even TJ Maxx, the retail chain known for selling last season’s overruns, has told him to get lost.

To add insult to injury, if that’s even possible now, Ye had the temerity to drop in at Skechers HQ this week, and they promptly escorted him out. Can you say persona non grata?

That’s it in a nutshell, and if you wish to read more, there are hundreds of articles online. I’m going to cut to the chase and hit the major takeaways. And they are simple:  

1. As a celebrity, it may feel nice to know that people swoon at the very thought of you, that they fall into your wake when ever you walk by. Don’t let that go to your head. Here’s the big part: You are your brand, first and foremost. It’s always risky business changing your name. You may think it’s cute. You may even cite Prince as someone who kind of got away with it, but to be honest, it served no purpose. Honor your name, reinforce your name, and don’t mess with it unless it is broken. Kanye was not broken.

Worse yet, he opened his mouth, from which stupid things vomited out. His comments were worse than any drunk tweeting I have ever seen. He just blew it. While he has a mixed bag of hits on the pop charts in the last eight years, he was by no means being completely written off. Yet.

2. This one is critical, as it applies to companies: Don’t place too many of your own hopes and aspirations on a celebrity, especially given how their reputations can tarnish quickly. You become guilty by association. These companies were perfectly right for running as far away as possible from Ye, even if they had to absorb losses in their quest to dissociate from him. Never tether your boat to a sinking ship. And never allow another opportunity for crisis communication to be required. Get out as soon as you can.

I know. There are some who say there is no such thing as bad publicity. I disagree. Ye has been pummeled this week, a gang beating that he deserved roundly. We’ll be talking about him in marketing classes for a long time to come. The question is how many other companies will blacklist him. At least Spotify, which condemned Ye’s remarks, won’t be pulling his songs.

There was one other big fallout from this week’s corporate shed: While there were 720 billionaires in the US at the start of the week, there are now 719. Mr. Ye just exited that elite list. He’s by no means headed to the poor house—not yet, at least—but he’s going to have to line up some new Ye faithful if he wants back in the clubhouse.

And that’s nothing worth rapping home about right now.

Dr “All Falls Down“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #rap #Kanye West #Ye #advertising

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mainsengineer · 2 years

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V for vendetta monologue

#V for vendetta monologue upgrade

#V for vendetta monologue free

When in doubt, send me a message **BEFORE** ordering to ask if your order will arrive on time.

#V for vendetta monologue upgrade

PLEASE NOTE: A shipping upgrade speeds up shipping, it does not speed up production. SHIPPING UPGRADES: For most items, shipping upgrades are available at checkout. **I ship from the UK & USA for faster delivery and cheaper postage!** This listing is for the print only, your item will be unframed.

#V for vendetta monologue free

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions regarding your order. It arrives carefully wrapped, unmatted and unframed. Printed professionally on high quality photographic paper (NOT cheap card stock!) with a beautiful lustre finish (closely related to matte) with a slight sheen, using archival inks that will last for years. SIZE: Please choose from drop down menu or send a message (Before purchase) if you need a custom size that is not listed. I did this out of boredom and curiousity and felt the need to share it with the world.Īnd I want an apron just like the one he has.PLEASE CLICK "Learn more about this item" TO READ THE REST OF THE DESCRIPTION.Ī high quality art poster print featuring "The Gettysburg Address" the historical speech by Abraham Lincoln on a vintage papery style background in a rustic typewriter font. I hope you enjoy, and if this is against the rules for some reason feel free to remove this. I first translated all of the V words into words that other people may know, and then I took it even further by changing the sentence structure into something a couple steps simpler. So I came up with the idea to translate it on my own, and for others so if they are curious as to what V is saying they can now know. I could catch a little bit of the vocab, but some of the words were totally new (plus he says them way fast, and all in a row, so it's hard to translate it all that fast). So, one faitful day (actually about an hour ago) I was watching V for Vendetta and thought, 'damn, V has such an amazing way of speaking, but I still kinda wish I knew all that he was saying'. whoever wrote the script for V for Vendetta. It seems that my long soup of words has gotten a bit too complicated, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V. The only way to make this happen is through revenge, an extreme feud that I promise will not be for nothing, and shall one day free those good enough to understand what is going on. However, I'm taking on this sore subject again and I'm completely ready! I promise to defeat all of those poisonous and bribed political leaders and allow people to take on their appetite for rule breaking once more of their own free will. I'm wearing this mask, not because it makes me look good, but because it represents the freedom people once fought for, which is now gone. It seems this soup of words has turned way too wordy, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.Įven simpler translation: (He talks about himself in 3rd person in the other two translations, but I changed it to 1st person in this translation to make it easier to understand)Īnd here it is! The story of my life can make me seem like a victim or villain, considering my change of Fate. The only answer is revenge a bitter feud, a vow, not for nothing, for the value and truthfulness of such shall one day free the moral and alert. However, this brave visit from a former irritation, is enlivened, and has promised to defeat these bribed and poisonous, disgusting animals that are leaders of a political armies evil habits and therefore allowing the extremely malicious appetite for rule breaking to their own free will. This disguise, which is not meant to make myself look more pleasing, is the evidence the public opinion, which is now non-existent. Look! In view, a simple retired entertainer, cast in the place of both victim and villain when there was a change in Fate. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V. The only verdict is vengeance a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate.

#V for vendetta monologue

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anothergolddustwoman · 3 years

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After a complete lyrical breakdown here is my list no one asked for.

Songs from Red (Taylor’s Version) and which One Chicago couple I think they apply to. I added which lyrics reminded me of their relationship as either a whole or parts of it. The whole song might not actual apply just the specific line. Now my main ship is Brettsey therefore I can more easily apply lyrics to them.

Putting under the cut cause she long.

Feel free to add to it.

Some are very angsty so pre apologies.

State of Grace

Brettsey: "I never saw you comin'" "We learn to live with the pain"

Upstead: "I never saw you comin" "But this love is brave and wild"

Red

Burzek: The whole chorus The whole song

Treacherous

Stellaride: "I'll follow you, follow you home" See Stella following Kelly into the fire in 9x15.

I Almost Do

Brettsey: "And I wish I could run to you" Why do they have to be long distance?

Burzek: "In my dreams, you're touching my face And asking me if I wanna try again with you" Just let them get back together. They are angsty so I related them to angsty lyrics sorry.

Stay Stay Stay

Brettsey: The whole song except for like the first couple lines.

Stellaride: "I just like hanging out with you all the time"

Upstead: "Who took all of their problems out on me, But you carry my groceries and now I'm always laughing." Ope got all angsty again.

The Last Time

Burzek: "Find myself at your door just like all those times before" Adam always showing up at Kim's door for any reason.

Holy Ground

Brettsey: "But I don't wanna dance if I'm not dancing with you" I truly believe that Matt only dances with Sylvie.

Sad Beautiful Tragic

Brettsey: "And we both wake in loney beds, different cities." Had to throw in some angst for them too sorry.

Everything Has Changed

Brettsey: The whole song

Upstead: “All I knew this morning when I woke is I know something now I didn’t before” SCREAMS morning after their first kiss 8x4 and the whole song.

Burzek: Giving me early days vibes, but I can't really pin down any specific lyrics.

Starlight

Brettsey: “Ooh-ooh, we could get married Have ten kids and teach ‘em how to dream” this is very self indulgent of me as I want this to happen SO BAD.

I feel like everyone else could too cause its just a good happy song and when they are at the height of happiness they would be vibing with it. If that makes sense.

The Moment I Knew

OK PLEASE DONT HATE ME FOR THIS BUT I CANT GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD.

Burzek: “You should’ve been there Should’ve burst through the door With that “Baby, I’m right here” smile” I read this and only could think of last seasons finale and this seasons premiere with them IM SORRY.

Come Back...Be Here

BRETTSEY: I only think of them when I hear this song. You can’t convince me that Sylvie doesn’t scream this song when she is wine drunk missing Matt.

Message In A Bottle

Brettsey: All of this song.

Burzek: “‘Cause you could be the one that I love I could be the one that you dream of” “You could be the one that I keep, and I I could be the reason you can’t sleep at night”

Stellaride: “‘Cause now you’re so far away and I’m down” Only cause Stella is gone and Kelly might not really show it but he is very sad about it.

Run

I feel like this could apply to any one of them. I just can pin down anything.

The Very First Night

The very happy lovey lyrics I feel could also go with any of them when they are happy and in love.

Brettsey: “Im the one on the phone as you whisper “Do you know how much i miss you?”” HELLO they have said this at least once on the phone.

Stellaride: Same line. Kelly def has said this while Stella is away.

Upstead: Same line. Give me vibes from that phone call when Hailey was in New York with the FBI.

Taking nice criticisms.

#please don't be super mad this is what came to my head when reading the lyrics #I don't like how angsty some of them are either #Taylor Swift songs as One Chicago Ships #brettsey #stellaride #burzek #upstead #matt casey #sylvie brett #stella kidd #kelly severide #kim burgess #adam ruzek #hailey upton #jay halstead #chicago fire #chicago pd

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multimetaverse · 3 years

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HSMTMTS 2x08 Review

Most Likely To was the best ep of S2 so far and ended one ship while launching another. Let’s dig in!

Gaston was super fun, a very nice showcase for both Larry and Matt. This is the kind of energy that early S2 was lacking. Also feels like the first ep where East High might actually have a shot at beating North High. Covid restrictions played a role but we really needed to see more rehearsal scenes and scenes of the wildcats just being theatre kids. This also may be one of the last times we see EJ perform as a student in the musical so I’m glad we got this.

EJ has been criminally underused for most of S2, he’s marketed as part of the big 4 along with Nini, Ricky, and Gina and Matt Cornett’s name is listed 3rd in the credits but in the early eps of S2 you’d think he was guest star. Lately he’s started to become more important and tonight was an excellent showcase of why he’s such an interesting character. I’m not gonna check but this feels like it’s the most EJ screen time in a single ep that we’ve gotten all season long.

Of course, the main reason for EJ’s increased screen time is because of Portwell. I’ve been neutral on them but tonight they really won me over’ their scenes were so sweet that they warmed even my cold black heart. Matt and Sofia are good friends irl and that shines through in their easy rapport and great chemistry. Gina snorting at EJ’s joke was cute and I loved the shot of Gina accidentally walking into the shot for EJ’s confessional. As an aside, they’ve been doing some fun stuff with the confessionals lately which helps add a bit of the metaness that helped make S1 so great.

The real big Portwell scene tonight was EJ and Gina talking on the couch at Ashlyn’s. Lot’s to love there. Gina’s speech to EJ about what she sees when she thinks of him was sweet and her saying that EJ tried to do the right thing and often failed but kept trying echoes what she said of herself during her confession to Ricky. Also when EJ asked Gina if she understood the feeling of having her life mapped out she replied, ‘’not really’’ which is almost certainly the inspiration for Gina asking a question to EJ and him responding ‘’not really’’ in their pre S2 face time call on the hsmtmts instagram.

EJ is still wracked with guilt for the guy he used to be but Gina reminds him that he’s grown and is a good guy which leads to her slip up about her seeing him that way vs the rest of the gang hinting that she’s beginning to catch feelings for EJ. Which leads to EJ complimenting her and them having a moment that could well have led to a kiss if Ashlyn hadn’t come home. And they cap it off with Gina falling asleep and EJ covering her with his Duke sweater.

It’s been nice not seeing Gina upset over Ricky these past two eps and it’s a damning indictment of the poor writing and pacing of S2 that her story in the first 6 eps can be summed up as Gina being upset over something Ricky said or did. Not only has Portwell allowed EJ to rise in prominence but also it’s allowed Gina to escape the rut her character was stuck in pining for Ricky.

I hope after S2 is over that we get an interview where Tim explains how the Portwell plot came to be. The S1 finale set up some possible interest between them as did the pre S2 face time call but nothing came of it during the first 4 eps, they stood next to each other a lot but barely interacted otherwise. Notably in 2x01, which Tim himself wrote, EJ tries to grow a beard and tells Ashlyn that he says her as so young which is extremely jarring now that we know that EJ is crushing on Gina who is Ashlyn’s age.

Was Tim not set on doing Portwell until he realized he needed to give Gina something else to do other than hopelessly pine for Ricky? Narratively, it made sense after Rini got together in S1 to put the other two Big 4 characters together in S2 but did Tim not want it to seem so obvious to the audience so he deliberately kept Portwell apart until 2x05 where EJ’s feelings make for a nice plot twist? Was he just reluctant to plug EJ back into the love square due to how much more complicated it would make things but later felt he had no other options? Or was it just plain old bad pacing and writing?

Of course, I wish that there wasn’t such a large age gap between Sofia and Matt but there are no Gina ships that avoid that problem, there’s also an age gap between Sofia and Joshua, just as there was between Olivia and Joshua and Matt in S1. Depending on when they film S3 there’s a good chance that most of it will be finished before Sofia even turns 18 which is deeply unfortunate. There’s a broader issue of teen girls being cast in mostly age appropriate roles while their male love interests are older adults and in particular it often affects female characters of colour. Netflix has a really bad track record with those kind of age gaps but Disney has problems too as we’ve seen on HSMTMTS and on GMW where by the end of S3 they had 18 year old Peyton Meyer as the boyfriend of 14 year old Rowan Blanchard’s character (not to mention canon Joshaya which didn’t have such a bad age gap between the actors but was problematic regarding the ages of the characters themselves).

A knock I’ve seen on Portwell is that EJ is just gonna leave for university next year but that was never gonna happen, Matt’s under the same 4 season contract as all the other mains and he’ll be sticking around in some capacity much like Sharpay ended up doing in the movies. It is true that EJ will probably have to move on at the end of S4 while Gina still has her senior year left but that will also happen with her and Ricky since he’ll be graduating at the end of S4. It was a big mistake to make EJ a senior but it also may end up being a big mistake to make Gina a sophomore. It would have been too messy to retcon EJ to be a junior but Tim probably should have taken the chance to retcon Gina into being a junior in S2.

That Rini breakup was so sad (missed opportunity for gotta go my own way). They managed to get in a Troyella reference with the treehouse. This was inevitable they just have not been communicating well though now that we know that Ricky thought Nini left YAC for him some of his desperation to spend as much time together as possible makes more sense. I think Rini is endgame if the series has 4 seasons but it wouldn't shock me if we never seem them dating again and they only get back together in the series finale. It also wouldn’t surprise me if Nini never dates anyone else for the remainder of the series or at least not seriously.

We’re not even halfway through the series so it’s way too early to permanently slam the door on Rini though this time apart will probably help Joshua and Olivia move on from their own bitter break up before it bleeds too much into their performances. I do wonder if Tim really has a clue what he's gonna do with them for the remaining 24-28 eps of the series, assuming S3 and S4 have 10-12 eps each.

Roman Banks killed If I Can’t Love Her and the montage of all the couples or ex couples was great.

It was nice to finally meets some parents other than the Bowen’s and Salazar-Roberts’. Kourtney’s mom was played by Dara’s actual mother and their dynamic was great as expected. It seems from their conversation that Kourtney's father is dead which I don’t believe has been mentioned before. Cash Caswell.... well it gets what the character is about across. He really looks and sounds like a rich Utah republican, I bet he knows Mitt Romney personally. I liked EJ going to tell his father that he’s not going to Duke and recognizing that he wants to build his own life on his own merits.

We saw a bit of that S1 Miss Jenn energy tonight which was fun though I didn't like how curt she was with Seb nor did I like how rude Carlos was to Seb although we know that blows up in 2x10.

Jazzara rising! I really liked how Jazzara and Portwell are sort of mirroring each other and since Mazzara knows about EJ’s feelings for Gina it wouldn’t shock me if helping EJ out is part of him showing a softer side in 2x12.

Of course Ashlyn is VP of the Nostradamus society. It's clear her family has some kooky new age beliefs (her parents are probably members of some naturopathic medicine group on Facebook that doubles as a gateway into Qanon)

It was nice to see Big Red being such a good friend to Ricky and the return of Ricky’s infamous pillow hugs. Lmao at Ashlyn just chilling while Big Red is comforting Ricky

Also Miss Jenn saying sexy and Big Red referring to pillow talk, the writers are adding a bit of spice when cooking up these scripts.

Looking Ahead:

Looks like Gina may be wearing EJ's duke sweater next ep according to some posts I saw. Jack presumably is there to somehow help Gina decide what she wants with Ricky and EJ though him having wanderlust might also feed into Gina’s thoughts on settling down in SLC or moving with her mom around the country.

Let's see what mom of the year, Lynne Bowen, has up her sleeves. Ricky’s bedroom at her place in Chicago looks much nicer than the apartment Mike Bowen has so perhaps she makes a lot more money than he does.

Not looking forward to the Zoom portions of the ep but I guess it was inevitable.

There’s only two paths for Gina’s story to go in the remainder of this season; either she decides to move on from Ricky and give EJ a chance or she decides that Ricky is worth trying again and squelches her budding feelings for EJ. The former looks much more likely after tonight’s ep but either way it needs to be handled with care. Inevitably Gina and Ricky need to talk about what happened between them but if Tim really wants Ricky to continue being a viable love interest or even a good friend to Gina then he needs to really have Ricky apologize and show a thoughtful, kinder side of him that’s largely been missing this season.

What I think Tim is doing is setting up Portwell getting together in 2x12 but Ricky pining over Gina until Portwell break up late S3 and Rina get together in the S3 finale before they break up later in S4 and Ricky gets back with Nini near the end of the series. If I had Tim’s ear I would tell him that he should pick which ship he wants to do, Rina or Portwell, but don’t do both. He wants canon Rina? Great then end Portwell before it starts and have Rina happen in S3 and introduce other obstacles to them getting together rather than having to damage EJ’s character and make him lose another girl he likes to Ricky. He wants canon Portwell? Great then have Gina and Ricky’s conversation be closure for the both of them and have Gina and EJ get together and break them up without Ricky being a cause of it or waiting in the wings to get with Gina soon afterwards. Doing both will be a disaster and I truly hope that Tim Federle carefully thinks over his mistakes in S2 and really plans out the remaining 2 seasons of the series while there’s still time to prevent things from going really off the rails like GMW and AM did thanks to the bad decisions of Michael Jacobs and Terri Minsky.

Until next week wildcats.

#HSMTMTS #Portwell #Rini #Gina Porter #EJ Caswell #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Kourtney Greene #HSMTMTS Reviews

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ageless-aislynn · 3 years

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😕Fic Writer Asks

Tagged by the awesometastic @vampcoffeegyrl23 Thanks so much! 🤗

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

102

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

173,510

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

5 (not counting a meme that I posted there with drabbles for a bunch of different fandoms): The Flash, Doctor Who, Arrow, Stargirl and Teen Wolf

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

“Five Times Oliver Held Felicity (And The One Time She Held Him)” (Olicity, Arrow) “Second Date” (Peter/Melissa, Teen Wolf) “Bad Habits” (Caitlin/Eobard, The Flash) “Good Morning” (Caitlin/Eobard, The Flash) “The Thousandth and the First” (Caitlin/Eobard, The Flash)

Honorable mention to “Penazzled” (Ten/Donna, Doctor Who) for being the next highest that’s not a Flash fic, lol!

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t write angst very often so there’s actually only 2 that have angsty endings at all:

“Dark/Light” (Caitlin/Harry, The Flash) chapter 1 (Trigger warning: death. It’s an experimental fic where both chapters have the same dialogue and setting but vastly different outcomes) “Cold” (Frost/Eobard, The Flash) (Trigger warning: death)

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Honestly, all of the rest of them have happy endings to some degree, I’d think, lol! But I’ve got to go with this one because it contains a BUNCH of happy endings:

“Epilogue” (Pariah/Elseworlds Frost, all Snowells variations from my Snowells Kisses prompts series, The Flash)

7. Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I only have one at the moment:

“Cold Hands” (Caitlin Snow/Jordan Mahkent, The Flash/Stargirl) (There’s even a vid! “Gasoline” 😉

8. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do indeed. 😳😉 And I write the smutty kind, lol! (M/F, at the moment)

The most unabashed, explicit are: (NSFW warnings for the following links, naturally 😉)

“(In)vulnerable” (Eobard/reader, The Flash) “Elevated” (Matt Letscher Eobard/Killer Frost, The Flash) (second chapter is the graphic one 😉) “Cupid’s Kiss” (Caitlin/Eobard, The Flash) WIP “The Proposition” (Frost/Eobard, The Flash) WIP (the first chapter is basically the set-up and isn’t graphic yet but believe me, the following chapters will earn it this place on this list 😜😉) “The Thousandth and the First” (Caitlin/Eobard, The Flash) (not as graphic as some of the others but I think it belongs here, too 😉)

9. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Always. If somebody comments even one word, then I feel like the least I can do is say thanks. I know others don’t look at it that way and that’s totally cool, you’ve got to do what’s right for you. But for me, if I don’t respond, then that means I didn’t get notified or something interrupted me before I could respond because I always do. I know a lot of people have anxiety over commenting so if you’ve made the effort to say something, then I want to thank you for that. 😎

10. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Weirdly enough, no. (Though I probably will now that I’ve jinxed myself, lol!) On vids, though? Ohhhh yeah. 😲😉

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of. (Vids again, though? Yep, several. 😕)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not that I’m aware of. That would be really cool, though! I hope if somebody does, they’ll let me know! 😎

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I came thisclose to it a couple of times. I was almost an alternating p.o.v. on the awesomely fun “As You Wish” by @nalufever / DancesWithSeatbelts but ultimately I felt like I was going to take away from the fic instead of add to it and I didn’t want to do that. It’s a fun, naughty romp with Frost and Eobard, so if you like ReverseFrost, be sure to check it out! 😎

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I adore all of my Wells boys and their Caitlins/Frosts but you’ve got to know the OG Snowells will always hold a special place in my heart. They’re my comfort pairing to write, hands down. ReverseSnow and ReverseFrost, FTW! 🥳😉

Honorable mention to Ten/Donna (Doctor Who) because they were my total jam for a long time and they pulled me out of a 6-year-long writer’s block. 😲😉

15. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

“Try” aka The Big Beast of ReverseSnowThawne. I’m still hoping that I will finish it but it’s just a huge, multi-chaptered sprawling thing with world-building and a complicated OT3 relationship and I love what I’ve written of it so far but it’s just so massive (heh, that’s what she said *ba-dum-tss* 😜) that I don’t know if I’ll ever actually take the time it needs devoted to it to finish it. I hope so, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I love taking prompts and turning them on their head, flipping them around, trying to find different ways to answer them so that it IS still an answer but isn’t maybe the one that anybody expected but still (hopefully) making it a fun read. *fingers crossed*

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Besides, you know, comma abuse and the like, 😄 I’m prone to crippling self-doubt to the point that I can find it hard to continue to write. 😕 Comments and reblogs and all of that certainly help but ultimately, nobody can fill that giant, gaping maw of I Suck At This, This Is So Embarrassing, I Should Be Ashamed I Showed People This Awful Thing I Wrote.

If you ever suffer from that, too, just know that it’s a lie. I might not be the bestest writer EVAH but I know people have enjoyed the things I’ve written before and I know that I’ve enjoyed writing them. That’s all that matters. Just keep going. Don’t let that self-doubt steal your writing from you. *hugs*

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I suck at it but I have done it before, thanks to the help of @capitanogiorgio and @missbenbarnes. Sherloque Wells needs to have French peppered throughout his dialogue, that’s just his voice, but I put off writing for him for a long while because I was afraid that Google Translate would be lying to me. 😒😉 And, often times, it is, lol! I couldn’t have written “Unrequited” (Caitlin/Sherloque) without their help! Thanks again! *hugs* 💗💗💗

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Lord of the Rings. 😳😉 The first “real” fic I wrote that was posted and still exists out there, though, was for Doctor Who (Ten/Donna and Nine/Rose).

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh man, I love all of them for their own reasons but I think I’ve got to give a shout-out to:

“Star-Marked” (FrostNash, The Flash) (rated M but is non-graphic, just on the comedic naughty side)

That was my first FrostNash fic and I totally fell in love with both of them in it! It was a blast to write and it still makes me smile when I think about it. 🤗

Tagging any of my writer friends who would like to do this!

No, seriously! I don’t know who might want to do this but I LOVE reading the answers and seeing the processes my fellow writers go through. So if you’re reading this and would like to answer it, please consider this a tag from me *boops your nose politely* and tag me back in it so I can see your answers! ⚡💗⚡

#fic writer asks #ask game #vampcoffeegyrl23 #thanks!#*hugs*#ageless aislynn

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c-is-for-circinate · 4 years

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Y’all this episode had everything I could possibly have wanted and things I never even knew to wish for.

How did one episode start with Henry Crabgrass, the most glorious and beloved NPC of my heart, and end with mother fucking Avantika, with so much awesome shit in between!!! How!!!

Okay I am making a list of shit I absolutely loved tonight, in approximate chronological order:

Y’all I just love Henry Crabgrass so much. I don’t even have smart things to say about that fact, just a warm glow in my heart. May all the light of Melora’s grace smile down upon them and leave Henry as the toughest, most unkillable patch of crabgrass in all Exandria.

Vess and the Tombtakers, so many questions and so few certain answers, so many things to wonder, so many dots to connect! I really do feel like the crew are connecting them at this point, and while I’m sure in some places they’re far from the map, the general outline really is starting to emerge. What, exactly, was in the book the Tombtakers tried to claim without showing it to Vess deRogna first? What did it do to Lucien? And, if Vess has the book--what are they trying to find now?

So okay, let’s talk about Yasha and Beau. As someone who has had a lot of feelings about the intense relatability of Beau’s crush on Jester, I have now fully committed to also having a whole lot of mostly new feelings about these terrible awkward disaster lesbians with no fucking idea what they’re doing. I saw a post the other day mention how this whole relationship is about the feeling of discovering you can have this, that you can actually be happy, that you get to have this kind of relationship with someone. I’ve written about that. And I feel it so, so hard, every time I see them interact, when every bit of bravado leaves both of them. It’s so easy to be off-putting! It’s so easy to have crushes on wonderful people you kind of wish would look at you but you’re absolutely sure never will. It’s so hard to actually know what the fuck to do in the face of wait shit this might actually be a thing I could get for real? how? wait, how???

Also let’s talk about Jester in that scene, who ships Beauyasha harder than anything in the world??? Because yes, right, some of it is just that Jester loves romance, and some of it’s that Jester gets very invested in the happiness of her friends, but that is a lot of investment there. And I can’t help wondering if there’s a little dimension of...she wants to see True Love and Happily-Ever-After work. And she’s delighted to see it work for her friends who she loves, and when it comes true they’ll be happy and she loves that, but also I don’t know that Jester’s ever actually seen two people fall in love with each other and enter into a healthy, happy relationship before. But hey, all of her books say this wonderful magical thing exists, and now it seems to actually be showing up for her friends? Of course she wants to see it. Of course she wants it to be just as magical and wonderful as in all her stories, even if it’s not for her. (And maybe especially if it’s not for her, but I think that’s a whole separate post about Jester and her very high passive insight and all the people who are in love with her and the very specific ways she treats each of them.)

I love Yeza. Don’t we all love Yeza? He’s trying so hard. It’s always great to see Yeza for that kind of wide-eyed outsider POV on the M9 shenanigans, and I love it. He made a comment this episode about meeting goblins while living in Rosohna, and everything that’s happened to him really hit me in a while new way. Usually I think about how he’s had his life turned upside down by all of this, but man, just think how much he’s seen that he never in a million years would have begun to expect to experience! This smalltown alchemist from a pastoral little farming city in the middle of the Dwendalian midwest has lived for a significant amount of time as a housekeeper in the capitol city of the Krynn Dynasty. He must have gone to the markets and met the neighbors and learned the streets and the food, and who had he ever known in his whole life who could say such a thing? He lived with the Ruby of the Sea in Nicodranas by the ocean. He’s been to Zadash, now, and it’s only a matter of time before he sees Rexxentrum. How much farther will he go? (Man, I would love some good Yeza fic once this campaign is over. I think it’s going to take that long for me to really know how his story arc ends.)

Someone was posting earlier this episode about witnessing Vess scare Yeza so badly, and insight into how the Nein are starting to run in circles that really outstrip the people they used to know. Watching Pumat in the wake of being Informed By Lady de Rogna That He Would Put A Rush On That has really hammered it home. They remarked, in their very M9 somewhat idle vaguely ridiculous way that they wanted the icebreaker, and one tiny snowman later Vess had pulled rank and money and rerouted the ship’s entire passage for them. She’s scary--and with her, the M9 have the kind of power that’s scary, too. And that’s always such an interesting moment. The M9 are used to thinking of themselves as people with very little, who have to fight and scrap and get lucky for their own survival all the time. And yes, they’re utterly careless with money--why not be, when it comes and goes and almost none of them have ever really seen it help or last? And yes, they’re prone to violence and sometimes pretty rude. But before now, it’s always been a situation where the M9 acting loud, rude, and demanding could be chaotic underdogs scrapping to get what they needed or wanted from people who had the option of saying no. Suddenly they’re in a position where the balance of social situations is biased in their favor instead of against them. There’s such a difference between ‘please accede to my unreasonable request because I have a high charisma and will pay you lots of gold’, and, ‘you’re going to accede to my unreasonable request because otherwise my Cerberus Assembly boss may or may not have you assassinated’. The M9 have never been on this side of that before. I’m very curious to see how much they notice that they are now.

PALADIN OATH PALADIN OATH PALADIN OATH! I was not paying nearly enough attention when that scene started, so I am going to need to watch it again and also make extra sure to read any available source material on this specific homebrew oath, because it’s probably not exactly the same as the Oath of the Sea homebrew you can find on google. There’s some overlap between the abilities there and the ones Fjord already have, and the vows don’t quite match up, though some of them are close. Ugh, mostly I’m just so glad it has happened and Fjord has promised and he means it, he means it so much. He rest-of-his-life means it, and my heart belongs to Fjord who couldn’t even imagine the rest of his life as a thing separate from the monotony of his first thirty years, so very recently.

I actually always really love when CR has episodes at sea? Obviously the M9 have done it the most, but Vox Machina went sailing a time or two as well, and it’s just always so great. It’s often days of down time in a way that overland travel isn’t, and the party fills it with so many good little moments. Matt always gives them such cool encounters. On boats, spending a week at a time getting from one place to another, so much of the chaos of rewriting a plan seventeen times in an hour gets stripped away: they’re headed towards a destination, sometimes something comes up to deter them, and they have to find a way to deal with it. There are always crew members and the structure of a boat itself to take into consideration in any combat that pops up. It’s just such a nice tone, and I also love that the ocean itself kind of hates them now because it adds really delightful additional risks, and anyway heck yeah ocean voyage.

WHICH ENDS IN UNDEAD AVANTIKA ATTACKING THE SHIP WITH A TRIO OF CRAB-MEN AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE HOLY FUCK. Look, I think M9 becoming pirates by accident and then trying to figure out wtf might actually be my favorite arc of this campaign so far, and every time it comes back I get so so happy. I’ve got some feelings about this showing up in the same episode as Fjord finally taking his full oath to the Wildmother. They are going to have to kill U’kotoa before this campaign is through. They are going to have to, because Fjord will never be safe on the ocean again if they don’t, and Fjord has bound himself by vow and will in service as the Wildmother’s paladin of the open sea. She hasn’t asked it of him, not specifically, but it’s his job. It’s going to be his job. In part it’ll be because it’s poetic justice, Fjord taking down the cruel demigod who (in some ways) made him. Mostly it’s just that killing U’kotoa is a job that needs to be done. To protect the oceans, the life they hold, the people who sail upon them, it’s going to need to be done. It’s Melora’s domain to do this, which means it’s her paladin’s job, and Fjord is her paladin of the sea. It’ll be him sooner or later.

I am so fucking delighted at the massive pile of fireworks on the deck of this ship, and I hope to god these Chekhovian bottle rockets go off before the end of this combat encounter, because this is, in fact, all I ever wanted the minute Beau put them in there.

#CR spoilers #episode 112

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o-wise-corvid · 3 years

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Okay so there’s some mentions of children in pain and going through some severe physical stuff. Dark Side torture to build their hatred type stuff. DONT read if that’s too much.

People who were wanting more: @captainrexisboo @clonetrooperrights @koskareevesismyqueen @gospelofme @jgvfhl @ct-27-fives

WARNINGS: mild mentions of torture/ broken bones/ character in pain

Chapter 1: Two, Three, Four, Five

“Get your elbow up! Block with your shins and forearms... Use your points! There you go!”

To be possessed of such a small frame, Gaia never failed to impress Cody with the way she could change direction. She could run full tilt at a training droid, her whole body leaning into the sprint, then check herself, pivoting on a dime to swing up behind it. One firm kick and there was a clanker head lying at his feet.

She ran with what he could only define as commitment, pushing her entire being into a single goal. That wasn’t something he’d taught her to do, but something she’d brought herself; Cody encouraged her natural talents as often as he encouraged the practiced techniques he’d been showing her for over a year.

Gaia rode the toppling chassis to the floor, crouching on its back with a triumphant smile on her face. “How was that?”

Cody grinned at her. “Very nice. Those reinforced gauntlets really help with the punches, don’t they?”

Gaia inspected the new armor that sheathed her arms from knuckles to elbow, matte black instead of shiny. Which was a good choice given the wear the things had already gotten after one day. “Yes. No more broken knuckles.”

“No more broken knuckles,” he agreed, scooping her up. Gaia laughed and rested her small hands on his chest plate. Cody could swear she’d grown since the day before, her weight already not so easy to manage as it had once been. “But what did Papa tell you about broken bones?”

“They grow back stronger,” Gaia recited dutifully, dark eyes serious. Too serious for one so young. “Did you ever break your knuckles, Papa?”

Cody opened his mouth to answer, smiling at a memory of another brother, Kix, belligerently scolding him about his frequent visits due to how he fought droids. But another voice interjected.

“Captain.” Sixthree wobbled over anxiously, arms lifting in manufactured excitement. “You are being summoned by Lord Vader. He wishes you to bring the young lady along.”

Icy tendrils of fear shuffled their way through his body and he tightened his grip on Gaia reflexively. “Bring her with me? You’re certain about that?” he tried, despite knowing the droid would have relayed the message accurately.

“Yes sir.”

“Papa.” Gaia pulled his face around to look right at him. She touched her forehead to his. “I know what to do. Let’s go.”

He couldn’t help but smile. Her accent had changed, picking up the thicker vowels and light r’s that Jango Fett had passed down to all his Clones. In such a clear, delicate voice, it sounded especially sweet.

“I know you do,” Cody told her, lowering her to her feet. “What do you call me?”

“ ‘Sir’ if I speak at all, sir,” Gaia snapped, spine straightening like a flagpole.

“Do you look at me if you’re asked a question?”

“No sir.”

“Do you fear me?” He put a little edge in his voice, looming to his full height as he paced a tight circle around her.

“Yes sir.” Gaia didn’t track him with her eyes, didn’t blink, didn’t flinch. She was good, he had to admit. She’d picked up on what survival meant so quickly and she’d practiced everything to the point that she performed without thinking.

“Do you fear Vader?”

“Even more.”

“How do you address him?”

“My Lord.”

“Alright,” Cody finally murmured, as satisfied as he was bound to get. He touched Gaia on the top of her head, feeling the tight pattern of her braided hair under his glove, then sheathed his face in his helmet.

They stalked through the ship as one. Gaia had assumed a posture and cadence to her steps that mirrored his own, which carried a menace that even ranking officers knew to give room. She had figured out an expression of intensity that looked positively chilling on a little girl and wore it whenever she was in public. Cody admired the girl’s drive and grasp of her circumstances, even though their routine was beyond familiar.

Vader was awaiting Cody in the hangar bay, just as imposing as he’d ever been. Gaia didn’t react to his presence as they entered the long, mostly empty expanse. He wondered how she perceived him in the Force, what he felt like to the other senses that she was gifted with. From the outside, she looked inscrutable, her boots clicking in time with Cody’s as they approached the hulking figure. When Cody stopped, so did she and they both snapped a salute.

“Captain,” Vader rumbled. His sloping helmet shifted so that his attention was obviously fixed on Gaia. “Cadet.”

“My Lord,” Cody and Gaia said together and they both gave a short bow.

Vader stepped over to Gaia, sinking down on one knee until he was more level with the girl. She stared stoically ahead. “I see your training is progressing well, young one. Tell me, what do you sense in this room?”

Gaia frowned a little, but her expression was one of concentration rather than concern. “You, my Lord. The Dark Side is strong with you. The Captain. And... two others.”

Vader actually chuckled and the sound made the buzzed hair on the back of Cody’s neck stand on end. “Well done, little one. Your training has indeed progressed.” Rising, he affixed Cody with his soulless stare. “You are being tasked with the training of two others, Captain. Your success with this one is evident. I am leaving these in your command.”

Two Stormtroopers came hurrying up, each gripping a squirming person in their arms the way someone holding a feral animal would. Cody could see that they were children due to their size but because they were thrashing so wildly, there wasn’t much he could tell about them apart from the fact that they were both Zabraks.

Vader nodded to the Stormtroopers to set their burdens down, which they did, and then hurriedly backed away. Which Cody almost snorted at because it wasn’t like the kids could bite them through their armor. But then he noticed the scrapes and gouges in the white helmets; one of the eyes was shattered.

“Mind the horns, sir,” one of them offered nervously.

One of the Zabrak children twisted around, flailing a little with bound hands and legs, and actually growled at Cody. His blue eyes burned against his dusky skin, bits of plastoid shavings and visor glass stuck in the crown of amber horns along the boy’s scalp.

“I’ll have them tamed in a month, my Lord,” Cody said confidently though he had to admit that both boys looked fierce enough to take on Wookies.

“We shall see, Captain.”

Cody and Gaia glanced at each other, as Vader turned, the Stormtroopers sweeping into his wake. “Can you help me get them to our quarters?” he asked quietly. “I can get one; two might be a lot.”

Gaia grinned and stretched out a hand toward the boys. The other, green-eyed one shot up, dangling by his ankles. Cody almost laughed. Gaia wasn’t one to overdo it if she didn’t have to. Lifting the boy by his binders was easier than trying to just lift his entire body.

Cody snatched up the blue-eyed one in much the same way, keeping him at arm’s length as much as he could. The Zabrak swayed and snarled nonetheless, trying to reach Cody with his horns. Once, Cody was sure he felt the Force flutter weakly at his armored side.

Gaia had a worse time of it. Her size was the biggest problem. Green eyes squinted furiously at her and her legs flew sideways as if she’d walked over an oil slick. Gaia caught herself without dropping the Zabrak on his head and glared hotly at the boy. “Do it again and I’ll break your ankles.”

Cody looked at her worriedly, glad for the concealment of his helmet. He’d never heard such a deadly note in the girl’s voice and it chilled him. He knew she was under the charge of a slightly Forceful woman who visited the ship once a month, but what exactly happened during the hours Gaia would be away from him there, he could never say. He knew how she returned, though; it was usually hours before she finally responded to him verbally. She always crawled into his bunk on those nights, clinging to him like her sanity depended on it.

When they were finally inside his quarters, Cody flipped the blue-eyed boy as gently as he could onto the bunk, carefully righting him so he was sitting up. Gaia did the same with the other and then threw her arms around his neck. The boy’s eyes flew open wide.

“I wouldn’t have done it,” she hurried. “I promise. You have to make everyone out there feel like you would though. If they don’t think you’re bad, they won’t trust you. Do you understand?”

A wave of fierce pride seemed to bubble up from somewhere near Cody’s feet, thawing the frost of Vader’s presence out of his veins. That was his ad’ika, his Gaia. If she could keep that moral core, that goodness, and survive what could be a very horrible existence with it in tact... What a warrior she could be.

Both boys were listening now, glancing between Gaia, who knelt between them on the skinny mattress, and Cody. He took off his helmet and set it on the Gaia’s bunk. Guess he’d be needing to add two more. His quarters were starting to get really cramped now that he thought about it. He felt his lips tug to the side; Fives would’ve loved it, though, wouldn’t he? Fives always did prefer to keep everyone close, within arms reach if need be.

“You’re... wait...” The one Cody had hauled in was frowning, trying to make this new information make sense. He stared at Gaia as if he’d never seen anything so perplexing in his entire life and then his gaze shifted over to Cody. “You’re a Clone.”

“Yeah.” He knelt down and Gaia scrambled off the bed, looping her arms around his neck from behind. He patted her clasped hands and locked eyes with both boys. “I won’t lie to you. This place is dangerous. For all of us. Clones aren’t supposed to be like me. They’re all under the control of the Empire, in here,” Cody tapped his temple for emphasis. “Gaia, here? If she was what they wanted, she really would have broken your ankles. It’s not easy, being us and being here. But together, we can make it. Think you can find it in yourselves to trust us?”

“How long have you been here?” It was the blue-eyed Zabrak who spoke. His accent was as sharp as his canines.

“Over a year,” Gaia replied with a tightening of her arms around Cody’s neck. He wasn’t sure, but it felt like she was somehow guarding him, like she was prepared to launch herself over his shoulder if one of the boys tried anything. “Papa Cody helped me. He’ll help you, too. And when they start teaching you how to... do things, it won’t be easy. But he makes it better.”

The boys looked at each other and then both sighed. “Okay... what should we do?”

“Pick your names.” Gaia beamed at them both. “You can pick anything.”

Cody chuckled, Gaia’s excitement tangible as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “My brothers, the other Clones, all chose their own names before the Empire happened. It was something we all looked forward to.”

“Soren,” bubble the green-eyed boy. He beamed at his brother. “Like that pilot.”

The other boy rolled his eyes indulgently. “I know.” He looked down in his lap as Cody gently unfastened the binders around his wrists. “Who was your favorite?”

Cody frowned. “Favorite...?”

“Brother.”

Gaia was looking at him now, too. She knew, Cody suspected. He’d told her so many stories about his little brother, the one who’d earned Jaig eyes his first tour. The brother who’d walked out of the barracks fresher one morning with bleached, barely-there hair and a strut like some sort of Coruscanti model. The brother who’d stood up to a rogue Jedi, defying orders despite the knowledge that doing so might’ve meant his own life.

“Rex,” he said in a tight voice.

“Can I have it, too?”

Cody swallowed, which was difficult, but nodded. “Sure. I think... I think the other Rex would be happy to share his name with you.”

The next six months skipped by very quickly. Gaia went through a growth spurt, shooting up to only an inch or so less than Cody. Soren and Rex took to their combat training like they were born for it. Their physiology leant itself to acrobatics and the boys both favored using their own heads as weapons whenever they could.

Cody finally took the leap and shaved his head, actually feeling pleased at the result. The kids all took turns helping him, giggling and getting into a shaving gel fight before everything was said and done. Then they took turns “buffing” his smooth scalp to make him “shiny like Sixthree”.

Gaia took to guarding her new brothers like they were her own flesh and blood. She talked gently but firmly to them prior to their first session with the woman Gaia called The Teacher, and while both boys looked markedly frightened, she promised them vehemently that she would be there the entire time.

Cody tried not to think about the way all three had looked upon returning for their sleep cycle. Acid burns had peppered the left arm of each child, and Gaia sported an angry red and purple slap mark on her left cheek. He’d arrived back at their jammed quarters after a day spent forcing himself not to think about what was happening with... with his children, only to find them huddled together on his bed while Sixthree tried to soothe them while he applied bacta to their blistered skin. Gaia had thrown herself into front of the door when Cody had turned on his heel with murder in his heart, barring his way and begging him to just stay.

“Papa, what happens if you do kill her?” Gaia had demanded quietly. “They’d kill you. And then what about us?”

His awe of the girl never seemed to lessen, but only expanded more and more every day. She was so strong and so smart, protective to a fault, even of him. He adored her in a way that was no more or less than the boys, but was something different. The boys were like shadows of his childhood, ghosts of little brother cadets possessing different bodies. They felt familiar and like parts of himself that he’d lost. Gaia was more like a miniature, not quite realized version of something that Cody had never actually experienced: a mother. But this would have to be how mothers were. Right?

Two more kids were brought to the ship a week after the head shaving event. Both were just as feral and unwieldy as Soren and Rex had been, especially the youngest one to date, who was only nine. He was the most difficult of them all. And Kali was the one who had tried to Force choke him the second she’d laid eyes on him.

Shriek, the boy, had done exactly that the second that Vader and the kid’s handlers had departed. To say that the boy had a pair of lungs on him was an understatement, but it wasn’t the volume that sent Cody to his knees. Images of his brothers screaming in agony seared his brain like hot knives. Rex, falling and tumbling, the fear in his voice split Cody’s skull. Kix taking blaster bolt after blaster bolt, toppling to his knees with lifeless eyes before anther brother took his place. Wolffe stretched with his limbs pulled taught, Grievous placing a lightsaber at the junction of his shoulder and arm as he unsheathed it. The screams layered, the same but different faces bleeding over and around each other in an unending torrent of pure misery until... the varactyl scream.

Soren surged into action, clapping a dark hand over Shriek’s mouth so hard that it made tears spring into the boy’s dark hazel eyes. Rex tackled Kali, who had flown to her feet and was running away like a frightened animal. Gaia planted herself between the boy who would be called Shriek, arms raised defensively, face taught with concentration.

“Get... out... of his head,” she struggled to say, sinking down on one knee as if some huge weight was pressing her into the plastisteel floor. She whooped in a breath and then growled through gritted teeth, arms trembling furiously. Cody had relied on later recounts of the event to fill in the gaps in his memory but that moment, the relief as... it withdrew from him, was one that remained crystal clear.

No one had moved for a long while after that, all five just breathing loudly. Shriek lay stiff and shivering in Soren’s arms. Kali had allowed Rex to turn her loose, her purple lekku draped over each shoulder as she slumped to her knees. Gaia had collapsed to her hands and knees, but not before knocking her foot against his arm. Are you okay?

He started to tell her he was okay, but he knew he wasn’t, so he didn’t say anything. Such tenderness also wouldn’t have looked good to outside eyes. Instead, Cody straightened out of the curled ball he’d been reduced to by a child and tried to get to one knee. A lancing stab of white hot fire shot through his head, cracking over his right temple and behind his eye. The noise that tore out of him was startling even to him.

“I’ve got to get him to medical,” Gaia said quietly, glancing at Soren and Rex. “Take them to our quarters. Gag that one.”

Kali didn’t resist and instead benignly followed Rex and Soren as they hefted Shriek between them, careful not to glance worriedly back at Gaia as she struggled to get Cody standing again.

“Come on, Papa,” she whispered, fitting her shoulders under his arm. “Help me.”

Energized a little by the girl’s plea, Cody got his feet under him, live blaster round loose in his skull and all, and kept himself righted long enough for Gaia to half drag him to medical. How she did it other than through the Force, he was never able to really comprehend afterward. It was only the next morning, after he came to with five small faces watching him intently did he realize that he’d been unconscious.

“Captain, sir,” Gaia roused the group with a sharp salute and they all lined up beside his bed. Each was dressed in matching simple black body glove, kama, and black vambraces, their faces ghostly in the too bright lights of the medbay.

“At... at ease,” he said, groaning quietly at the sensation of light in his eyes as he slowly pushed himself up on the bed. The five children obeyed in flawless, unnerving synchronization.

“Cadets Kali and Shriek have made a change of opinion since last you spoke, sir.” Gaia intoned in what he could only describe as a menacing voice. But the names... that was promising, he hoped.

She broke rank and placed behind the line, her recent gains in height very evident amongst the others. “Haven’t you?” she snapped pointedly, glaring into the faces of the vibrantly purple Twi’Lek and pale young human as she gave each of them a healthy smack on the shoulder that was anything but friendly.

Again, Cody felt the gnaw of worry mixed with shock at how good Gaia was at this.

“Yes sir,” they both answered, addressing Gaia. That was a nice touch.

She turned to Cody, betraying not announce of emotion other than agitation. “We will leave you to your rest, sir. I would like to put the newbies through their paces, sir, with your permission.”

“Permission granted,” Cody said in as flat and hard a voice as he could muster.

Waiting until the kids had trooped out in single file, he reached over to the pile of discarded armor that someone had removed from his body and grabbed his communicator. “Sixthree?”

There was a pause and then the too chipper voice of the protocol droid responded. “Captain. Oh, I do hope you are sufficiently recovered?”

“I... yeah, I’m okay. Listen. We’re gonna need a bigger room. Six beds. A master suite for myself, a group room for the... squad.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Maybe room for a proper kitchen and place to eat. See what you can do about that, yeah?”

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #sunshine squad #commander cody #my oc’s #oc’s #original character #darth vader #the clone wars #fives #kix #clones #captian rex

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