#i've never been more torn apart between characters

[booksunet]

i-.... i watched the movie... i thought it was going to be a silly fun barbie movie... i'm in shambles...

the emotional rollercoaster that a barbie movie brought me is wild,,

[erenaeoth]

Hiii! I'm here to read your ramble about TK8's story. Personally I've tried to keep my expectations as low as possible. But I still ended up disappointed. So what's your take? Gimme the good, the bad, and the missed opportunities.

Tekken 8 Story Thoughts

hello hello hello. Tekken 8 spoilers ahead, I'll put them under the cut.

First off, I have to say I'm having a really good time. I enjoyed playing through story mode, I enjoyed the character episodes. I'm loving customising characters, I'm looking forward to my fight stick arriving and learning some cool new combos and playing with mates.

Everything feels really nice, looks very cool (aside from some giant shoulders and oddly proportioned necks), and I adore little touches like Jin and Hwoarang getting to wear each other's clothes.

Story mode.

Well, what can I say.

It's as I feared, really. Honestly, all I can say is that there's a deep lack of appreciation for the skill of writing in the video game world. One day, perhaps Tekken will hire people who care about stories, about plot, about character development and character presentation. There is no conflict in the Tekken 8 story. I know this sounds weird given that 90% of it is Jin and Kazuya punching each other, but here's an example of what I mean:

Leo meets their father for the first time in nearly 15 years. It happens off screen.

Lars goes from wanting to kill Jin, to forgiving him. It happens off screen.

Kazuya goes from having life ambition 'kill Heihachi' to developing a philosophy that advocates the enslavement of the world to his will. It happens off screen.

Hwoarang travels back from the Middle East with one eye; Claudio decides to stop being conniving and instead genuinely help Xiao; Lee builds airships and perfects battlesuits; the UN decides to work with Yggdrasil despite Lars gunning down their troops in TK7. All of this happens off screen.

And still Kazuya and Jin do not manage to have a single conversation. The closest we get is in chapter one, where Kazuya accuses Jin of being just like him. Jin fears, rightly, later, that Kazuya is right, but he's essentially told that if he chooses to be nicer, then no they're not the same. There's no consequences for his actions as head of the Zaibatsu, no real conflict between Jin and any of the people he's hurt, not even Alisa, who sits down for a heart to heart with him and never brings up the way he forced her to hurt Lars and spoke of her as merely a tool and not a person. There is conflict in this story but no Conflict. No drama. No points of difficulty that require meaningful resolution.

And instead we have trite versions of a story that boil down Jin's conundrum to one of acceptance of a force that has destroyed his life, literally torn apart his friends, eaten people, and been a source of torture to him. He's told 'just accept it's a part of you!' as if this is about a surface level appearance, rather than a violence that has destroyed everything he loves, and that he can see the consequences of in Kazuya. I think Devil Jin was treated poorly and tritely in this story, and that if one wants a 'redemption' acceptance for this devil power, it has to come with interrogation and recognition of the way it has hurt Jin and those around him. It canonically hospitalised Hwoarang, and there's no awareness of this in the story.

That said, I really, truly loved this line from Jin to his mother's apparition.

It moved me emotionally in a way that no other video game cutscene has, and for all its misdoings, I'm so pleased this was included in Tekken 8. This is a deeply Jin line to me, written by someone who understands him. Jin's suicidal tendencies have been a recurring theme ever since Devil first awoke, and post-TK6 this is exacerbated further. There's no one on earth who hates Jin more than Jin, and him needing the desire to live as an important part of his strength against Kazuya, is really well done. I wish we could have seen more from Jin conencting with his uncles, Xiao, and Hwoarang to achieve this state of mind, but I commend the sentiment anyway.

When he asked his mother and she granted him the ability to help him, I thought for sure this was going to be about purification. In a way I suppose it was, but I was very tired and unimpressed by Angel Jin. From the overdesign to yet another emphasis on pure violence to defeat Kazuya, I was just completely uninterested. This uninterest was momentarily suspended when they lost their Devil powers, something I thought was brave and interesting of them to do. Somehow this changed absolutely nothing though, and Jin and Kaz don't even pause for a conversation really before they go on.

I do think it's in character for Kazuya to consider his Devil a tool to use for an end, but I think that's much more something he'd say than actually feel. He's had Devil's power with him since he was five years old, and he's relied on it time and again to save him, I think internally he'd be terrified of losing it. Devil is all that's stood between Kazuya and Heihachi for all his life. There's some trite remark about Devil Jin trying to 'protect Jin'. This is only true in so far as DJ awoke when Heihachi gunned Jin down. Devil Kazuya, however, has kept Kazuya alive all his life, and given him the strength to survive in a world where he's constantly been at Heihachi's mercy. Kazuya's desire to live is absolutely what fuelled him all his life, and his need for power comes out of that survival. His infatuation with power grows beyond this, and after Heihachi's death, we see how warped and out of control this grows, but I feel there are deep inconsistencies in the Tekken 8 story because no one ever sat down to really think about Kazuya's relationship with his Devil, and what that might mean for what they were spinning for Jin.

That said, someone was drinking the good stuff when they wrote this:

This is Kazuya's only good line in Tekken 8, in my humble opinion. It's the one moment where they let him have a tiny bit of actual characterisation. They hint at tying his motivations back into experiences linked to fear and lack of control. It's such a shame, because they acheived this much better in Tekken 7, where they drew clear parallels between the childhood trauma Kazuya faced and his final fight against Heihachi. And yet they leave his motivations again in obscurity in this game, leaving the majority of people, including Jin, none the wiser for why he is doing this other than to be evil for evil's sake.

Why does Jin never ask him about Jun? Or mention that he's been seeing his mother? Why does he not talk about purification linked to being a Kazama? Why has he got so much time for thinking about his own difficulties, but never seeks to ask about Kazuya's? One of the reasons I love Kazuya as a character is because he revels in his own villainhood, and will never volunteer a justification for his actions in the way Heihachi or Jin would. He would rather be seen as cruel than as weak. And it's weakness to him to admit or even evaluate within himself why it is that he needs to be all powerful. But that means that, narratively, he needs a foil to play across from him, and ask the questions that will otherwise never be raised. He needs someone like Jin, or Jun, or Lee, who knows him or has the interest in understanding him, to force him to speak about his past.

There's so much missing from this game, I don't really know where to start. I was discussing this with friends, and we feel like someone on the team had some vision, and was trying to do something interesting, but they were largely shot down at every turn by whoever watched Blood Rebellion and wanted that but 2 hours longer and no cute refridgerator scene.

I can't believe I played all of Tekken 8 and I still don't know if Jun is alive, or why Jin isn't being held accountable for his actions, or why Jin and Kazuya even have any beef. Tekken 7 left us with so many questions and Tekken 8 answers basically none of them. At least they managed to tie more of the cast into this game? But then why did everyone just forget about Zafina and Claudio when they collapsed? Don't they care? Where did Hwoarang go? He got on a bike in that fight then never had a battlefield fight or appeared in front of the Sanctum at Yakushima. Why don't Victor or Raven care about Lars defying them last game? Is Raven salty that Jin blew up a helicopter with him (maybe) and all his men in it? Does Jin hear Azazel return to life? Is he affected by it? That MF was talking in his head for months. If Kazuya could have defeated Azazel so easily, why did he just waltz off in TK6?

I do like the idea that the 'two evil stars colliding' as the end of Azazel being Jin and Kazuya destroying each others devils, forshadowed in TK6 and brought to conclusion here, but all the meaning and interest in this is destroyed by whatever they're trying to do with Reina. I cannot expressed how frustrated I am with her as a character. I suppose perhaps she's from the Devil-Human Integration period of research Heihachi undertook, though my understanding was that he never retrieved Devil cells that were needed for the research, or he would have injected himself with Devil. Perhaps Reina was part of a programme that continued on where Steve and the supersoldier programme were left off. I don't know. I just know that it takes a way a lot of impact that could have meant exploring a devil-free Tekken game in future.

One thing I do Not want to see, is Tekken 9 waltzing in with Kazuya suddenly being a good guy, teaming up with Jin and fighting Reina. Not without serious weight and reflection on his actions, or discussing the corrupting influence of Devil over him. And I've lost a lot of faith in Tekken really understanding their characters or story-writing enough to do this.

I didn't even get on to character episodes, but I think I've rambled enough for one day! Thank you for the asks.

[onsunnyside]

the cold is finally getting to me methinks bc im longing for king in the north!curtis 😌 big n burly in his bearskin cloak, your scary betrothed!! you're just a princess from far far away and he doesnt have to be nice to you or care about you but you're too sweetly scared to ignore

methinks he tells you that it gets too cold to sleep alone despite u having your own bedroom and clothes would get in the way of heat sharing so you'll have to be naked while you cuddle to sleep 🫣

i've always wanted to write a time period au and this has so much potential and more !!

resources were already scarce in your region and with the harshest winter approaching, your beloved homeland will be the first on the hitlist of bandits or other kingdoms, that is if you even survive the snowfall. and marriage will bring that security and power to your kingdom that your parents have always dreamt of. everyone thought Curtis did it as a favour to your kingdom bc it's so out of character for the king of war and bloodshed to tie himself to someone eternally (much less, someone so sweet and gentle). the King of the North was only ever known as the end, the indefinite death that lurked in every corner.

did you like him? well, how could you like him if he's never spoken to you, apart from the few sentences the day before your wedding and said stone-cold and uncomfortable wedding. oh, and you can't forget his gruff utterances as he passes you in the halls. he was intimidating, to say the least, draped in his bearskin cloak and his blue eyes always set in a steely glare as if he were prepping for war. you wouldn't be surprised if he was, he was known as the ruthless king after all.

You feel his hard gaze searing into your face, yet he's still silent and only quirks a brow. "You're upset." He states blankly, food is forgotten in front of him.

Across the large table, you wipe your nose, the same action that caught his attention in the first place. "N-No."

He clenches his jaw, "You know I hate liars." His deep voice rings through the dining room, the servants had left momentarily as per the king's request. "Come here." You almost say no again, but he raps his knuckles on the wooden table, "Now, princess." You stand from your seat and after a few tentative steps, you find yourself standing between his spread thighs. "I-I miss home." Your voice cracks, "I miss the flowers and the wisteria trees, I miss the pond with the ducks and fish. I-I miss the sky! It was blue—so blue, and there are only clouds over here." You hate to sound so torn, but you're so lonely! You're forced to navigate unknown territory alone, going days without even a conversation with your husband!

now, don't hate curtis. he's a very busy busy man, his kingdom isn't the most feared (respected ??) for nothing and his loyal subjects aren't prospering just because. he's been working nonstop to communicate with your hovering parents, and ofc, spreading the word that the most sought-after princess has been wedded.

you get even more upset when you don't see curtis the next day and the day after that. although your marriage was more of a pitiful agreement, you still expected him to comfort you, or at least to listen to your mindless weeping about the damn sky!

oh... as surprising as it may be for the rest of the world, it turns out Curtis has a heart bc the next time you see him, he's standing by a large door. with an outstretched hand, he brings you close, holding your shocked face between his warm palms and pressing a soft kiss to your forehead (the closest act of intimacy he's shown since your wedding).

"Your homeland plants can't survive here during the time of year, but these can." He gestures to the small garden, peeking out from the neverending snowfall was itty bitty flowers, colourful and vibrant amongst the white. "There would be more, but only so few were found in the forest."

me thinks... when curtis turns total protective husband mode and gives into his desires, he never lets you leave his side. you become his wife in every sense of the word, his other half. if he could, he'd have you on his lap during meetings or as he sits on his throne. don't get me started on the filthy stuff: you're a virgin, and he didn't touch you on your wedding night, apart from a stiff kiss at the altar. he's equally sweet and mean, lots of kissing and touching, but also crude remarks that he whispers in your ear to watch you get all flustered.

also: he persuades you to sleep in his bed naked, it's easy to convince a clueless girl like you. he starts off with some light caressing, then reclines and asks if you want to explore his body instead. one thing leads to another and well... pussyjob with big beefy curtis while he talks about how he can't fit inside you 🫣🫣

[biasbuck]

BiAsBuck’s ficrec Fridays

Happy Friday everyone! This is my first 911 ficrec post (I'm usually over here if ill-fated hunters and their angel husbands are your jam) but I've been DEEP in the Evan Buckley hyperfixation throughout April so come with me for what I've been reading!

This is a combination of Buddie and Bucktommy and buckeddietommy (aka buckeddie and meatballs, heh!)

26 April 2024

tell me about despair by @hattalove was the first fic I read, specifically because I wanted to get inside Eddie's head more as on first viewing I found him a little trickier to grasp...but yeah...that might just be because I am he and he am I. This fic was an wonderful way in to understanding his inner workings. His queer awakening and the associated traumas he has to work through were handled with such care, and the character voices were just gorgeous. "Eddie's not entirely sure he believes in getting help, at least not for himself. There's only so much healing to be had for a body torn apart by bullets, for a mind that's only half there, for a man who's been leaving pieces of himself behind all his life with nothing to take their place. Except, as it turns out, falling apart happens in increments, and healing does, too"

evan, elated and euphoric by @gayhoediaz 16500 words of bucktommy first time smut anyone?? "Buck likes it - not just being with Tommy, being with a man - that part is obvious, but he… likes that he likes it. He loves that he likes it. Truthfully, he doesn’t think that he has ever felt more at home in his own body than he does in this very moment." This is such a delightful exploration (through copious amounts of sizzling sex) in Buck feeling fully present and fully himself in his sexuality, and it's gloriously decadent as well as sweet and sexy as hell. I loved this characterisation of Tommy.

Both Bermuda and Golden (Lost but Doing Just Fine) by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels all hail the threesome fics! In which the correct answer is always - Both? Both is good! This one is gloriously kinky and sexy and I love the 'guiding hand' aspect and how both Buck and Eddie allow themselves to be led. "It's not that Buck's not happy with Eddie. It's just that being with Tommy taught him things about himself, things he wants, and he doesn't quite know how to ask Eddie for those things. He shouldn't have underestimated how well Eddie knows him, or how willing Tommy is to lend a helping, instructional hand."

Heart of Flowers / Heart of Gold by @elvensorceress is a gorgeously written allegorical tale with PEAK Buddie and Christopher family vibes set between S4&5. "In the aftermath of the sniper attack, Buck has to keep going without his partner while sorting through the layers of everything they are to each other, while Eddie fights for his life and through all his internalized trauma and regret for everything they never managed to say. aka After nearly losing each other, Buck and Eddie find their way to each other and their family’s happily ever after." My absolute favourite thing about this fic is the thread with the bedtime story that Christopher and Buck have created together. Just beautiful.

five ways to fall in love with the man in the mirror by @buckttommy is a bucktommy fic but crucially a Buck absolutely revelling in the poetry of getting to know your own identity. It also crucially gives me Jay Hulme vibes (iykyk) "Buck meets God at a gay club. He finds him in an oil-slick puddle on a damp night, neon lights reflecting off the kaleidoscopic liquid in the parking lot. or; Evan Buckley falls in love with himself."

and i know how i feel by @middyblue is a very sweet Buck coming out to Bobby fic, written I believe between 7x04 and 7x05. ALL the Dad!Bobby feels. "Buck stares off over the hills of Los Angeles, hugging his knees. He half wants to take out his phone and start playing Nine Simone (it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling - ) and half can’t bear to drown out the thin peace of bird calls in the quiet blue of the morning. Footsteps scrape on gravel behind him and he turns, half-expecting another hiker, but it’s Bobby, carrying a coffee tray with two to-go cups and a paper bag."

Short and sweet fic:

For All Occasions by @storybelle FIREFAM FEELS! In which of course, as per tradition, Hen makes the 118 a cake. I neeeeeed Hen and Buck queer camaraderie show, I need it, and just like this!

Wedding Bell Blues by @klutzygirl - much needed supportive parents actually fic! "Margaret and Phillip meet their son's new boyfriend when they arrive in town for Maddie's wedding." it doesn't go how Buck would expect, in the best way.

PS - if you have any henren authors/fic recs I should check out PLEASE let me know! I'm new and I love them!

[monsters-villains-and-bastards]

(I am once again thinking about fallen hero (i never stopped))

Ya know, I feel like one of the reasons that fallen hero resonates so hard, at least for me, is how queer it is. Obviously, you can play as a cishet sidestep, but when you do play a queer sidestep? It *feels* queer.

Its rare that I come across a story that feels unapologetically queer. To me, there's a big difference between a story that features gay characters, a story that "is gay," and a Queer story. And even further, a story that is unapologetically queer.

With Fallen Hero, there's so many moments that are queer in a way I just, don't see often.

(I currently only have 1 sidestep who is a queer transman, so im comin at this from this perspective, but if anyone has played it other ways and would like to add, I would love to hear about your experiences with it)

When I play it, like I said, I currently have 1 sidestep who is a queer transman. So far, I've played it where he romances Ricardo, Wei, and Daniel (plus Ricardo and Wei, and Richard and Daniel). Each of them add something different to the story when they are romancing a transman that I can't help but adore.

The scene with Ricardo in his apartment, and sidestep is about to have the conversation about being trans, sidestep can panic because they don't know what exactly to say, how to do it, and what Ricardo's reaction is going to be. And you know what, yeah, that can be a very scary moment for someone who's trans. How do you tell someone you're trans when you don't know exactly what to say and how they'll react to it? And then, if Sidestep does tell him, Ricardo *cries.* He was so worried about Sidestep, and didn't know if he done something wrong, and he cries. There's also a point where he tries to make a joke or comment to lighten the mood and says something about being more familiar with those parts. And ya know what, ngl, that was a bit in poor taste but really funny. But I'm happy that it was included! Because sometimes people say things trying to lighten the mood and ya know what, sometimes it's a little bit like "why would you say it like that" and sometimes it's also funny. He's not perfect, he doesn't understand everything, but he's *trying.*

Either before or after that ( I can't quite remember, but ik it's within the same set of scenes), Sidestep can talk to him about being bisexual. Depending on the choice you pick, Ricardo can talk about growing up in Texas and that being gay or bisexual wasn't really okay. When he talks about his and Sidestep's past, there's a point where it's like, yeah, he would've been torn to shreds by the media if he was openly bisexual. And yeah, it isn't easy for everyone to come to terms with their sexuality, and it's easier to ignore it that try to deal with it, especially if you're going to experience public backlash on top of being raised in an area that was Not okay with queerness. It's scary!

One of the aspects I specifically love about Ricardo's romance, is that it's messy. You're playing a character that he knew in the past, thought was dead, and comes back into his life after so much has changed. Two people who have been broken down over the years of trauma they had to experience. There's so many ways you can play it that its hard to talk about all the ways in which the variations add their own mess to the situation too. So yeah, the romance can be so queer and so messy at the same time.

With Steel, if you're playing a trans sidestep, he already knows they're trans because of the pictures he got, but it doesn't change anything for him. He's a gay man who tells sidestep that who he sees is a man. It's that simple. He even tells sidestep that he was attracted to Sentinel, who was also trans.

With his romance, there is an age gap, but he didn't have attraction towards sidestep until after they came back, and they tried to become friends with each other. There's also some messiness with his romance if Ortega is a man because he had/has feelings for him.

With Herald, he's open about his attraction, isn't afraid to be who he is, and while at his apartment, he seems a bit nervous, he's also happy. When sidestep talks about being trans, there is a moment where he admits that he isn't sure what to say because he's gotten in trouble for it in the past, but he doesn't care, he happy either way.

For every romance in Fallen Hero, there's something messy about it. Every character has their own past with some kind of shadow looming over it. Everyone makes mistakes, eveyone has something that gives them sharp edges. None of them are perfect people. All of them are struggling with something.

Sidestep is also just an absolute dumpster fire of a person pretty much however you decide to play them. Sidestep, kinda sucks! Even if they're pretty good, by god, do they make dumb decisions!

And I do think its so important to note how much of a mess sidestep is, along with whoever they are with, if they are either a) with someone romantically, b) with someone sexually, or c) not with someone at all, because, imo, it differentiates itself from a story that has gay characters, a "gay" story, and a queer story.

When I think of a queer story, I think of the messy parts. The aspects that aren't "love at first sight" or two people who got it all figured out or "unproblematic" (sidenote: i do think we should remove the term problematic from people for a while), or two conventionally beautiful and young characters falling in love and having the most like. Heterosexual relationship you can have with 2 gay people.

Fallen hero doesn't really have conventional relationships. Even when discussing friendships, it's not conventional.

The story is Queer because of the unapologetically messy characters that exist within its setting. No one is perfect. No one has it all figured out. Sometimes a character doesn't know what to say or they stumble a little during those hard conversations about sexuality and gender. They're allowed to cry, or be confused, or understand. Not to mention that sidestep's morality can fluctuate between a good person who doesn't know what to do, to someone so unapologetically evil and proud. Allowing a character to be queer and their morals to be anywhere on that morality spectrum allows it to be a more queer story imo.

There's so much more that can be said, and could 100% be said by someone who's better at writing down those thoughts. But god, fallen hero is such a beautiful story. The conversations that can be had about it's themes of sexuality, gender, trauma, morality, neurodivergency, among other things is amazing. OUGHA, love this story.

[sparkling-nov]

I love that Asha has a big friend group, both because they’re fun characters, and I think they're really important to highlight the difference between her and Magnifico. Because honestly, I don’t think Magnifico tends to like people. He likes the idea of a thriving kingdom under his rule, and he obviously enjoys being up onstage with an adoring crowd down below him, but he starts losing his temper almost immediately whenever someone tries to actually discuss anything with him. And considering Dahlia has to introduce herself when she’s trying to stall him, it doesn’t seem like he’s even bothered to say hello to his staff once in a while. Not to mention, Asha’s clearly not the first time things have gone south with an apprentice, considering Amaya has a whole ‘how to not anger the king’ speech prepared, and she’s pretty unphased when the previous interview ends with the guy fleeing the palace sobbing.

Asha, however, just seems to love being around other people. She’s full of life and energy while giving newcomers tours around the kingdom, and she’s happy to patiently answer their questions and reassure them when they’re worried. And as her friends demonstrate, she can take a large group of vastly different people who don’t always agree with her on everything, and still get them to trust her deeply enough that they’ll stand by her side while facing nearly impossible odds. I think it’s very telling that when we see Magnifico getting stressed, he’s not cheered up until Amaya starts praising him as the “Handsomest, most beloved king,” (and he only chooses to focus on the handsome part), but when Asha is stressed, Dahlia knows to comfort her by reminding her “You’re surrounded by friends.”

Basically, Magnifico loves the kingdom, and Asha loves the people in kingdom.

Oh my god yes! Finally someone who understands the differences between asha and king magnifico!

These are some differences between asha and king magnifico that i really like!

Their Colors. King magnifico wears colors that are usually associated with goodness (White/Gold) as an way to make you think he is benevolent when he really is malevolent, as with Asha she wears colors that are usually associated with evilness (Purple/Red) Which makes sense because king magnifico will later on paint asha as a criminal when she is not.

King magnifico has the forbidden book, Asha has star. We all know the forbidden book represents pure evil, like nothing good came for it at all, even magnifico kept it lock up but able to easily access it when ever he wants and went straight to it when people started to ask him questions about his rules, However Asha on the other hand has Star who represents pure positive energy when star came down to earth and spread their light all over rosas, everyone felt happy and hopeful, both the forbidden book and star have been with magnifico and asha for a long time, asha has believe in the power of stars since she was very young thanks to her father, and magnifico who im assuming has had the forbidden book ever since he was building rosas.

'This Wish' and 'This The Thanks I Get?!' The difference between how asha and magnifico react to people doubting them is shows in their songs, when sabino yelled at asha she wasn't mad that she got yelled at, no asha was upset and sad cause she thought she actually hurt sabino rather then trying to halp him by telling the truth, asha storms out the house and starts singing about how she wishes the people had more then just this, "isn't truth supposed to set you free? Well why do i feel so weighed down by it?" Ever since asha has got back from the interview with magnifico she has been torn apart by the truth, The truth that many people in rosas will never get to live out their dreams Which is something the people don't know making it more harder on asha, "if i could show them everything i've seen Open their eyes to all the lies then would their change minds like i did?, but when i speak they tell me 'set down'" Asha has tried convincing magnifico and sabino that this is wrong, that its not right magnifico strips people of their wishes never to be granted or given back but she is told to "set down" by both magnifico and sabino, even though sabino is a victim, "So i make this wish to have something more us then this" 'This Wish' is about asha making a selfless wish to a old belief that her father has taught her, However magnifico on the other hand just sings about Himself and only himself and how people don't respect or show gratitude to him when in Reality the people DID love magnifico they made Statues, Chalk Art, Flags and Banners, THE MAGNIFICO COOKIES!, but even with all of that we still got 'this is the thanks i get?!' the only reason magnifico want to use the forbidden book is because people asked simple questions that he provoked, he told people that their wishes were in danger and got mad when people started worry about said wishes! And thats the difference between magnifico and asha, When magnifico is ask a simple question he gets Angry and Paranoid and wants to hurt someone, but when asha is bombarded with questions she doesn't seek to hurt someone no she wants to help not Control and Dictate.

[hughjidiot]

Complete Thoughts on the TDI Reboot Season 2

Well, the remaining episodes of season two are out in the wild, and since I'm snowed in today I've been able to watch them all multiple times. Now that the season is over, here are my overall thoughts on all of the characters, their plotlines, eliminations, etc. Spoilers below the cut, obviously.

First, a quick recap on everyone I talked about in my analyses of episodes one through eight.

As a Scary Girl fan it was disappointing seeing her get booted first, but understandable since at the end of the day she is mostly a gimmick character.

Chase I was glad to see go early, since his subplot with Emma had run its course and was pretty much the only thing Chase had going for him.

I wasn't too broken up about Millie going home third, since she'd already been a major character in season one. I just wish Priya had had more of a reaction to her best friend getting voted off, but more on her later.

Emma being eliminated early on was a surprise, since I thought she could get an arc of finally moving on from Chase now that she'd broken up with him for good. I guess there's always season three, if gen 4 gets one.

I have mixed feelings on Nichelle. On the one hand it was cool seeing how she'd been training in between seasons and become a much better player. On the other hand her elimination was really, really stupid. Like my least favorite of the entire season. A fake movie contract that she never even questions the validity of or even how it got there in the first place? Seriously??

Bowie was great for the few episodes he lasted. His whole subplot of being torn between MK and Julia's cheating to help them win while also not wanting to disappoint Raj made for some excellent drama in the first third of the season.

I'm also mixed on Axel and Ripper. On the one hand Axel got some depth showing that she's a bit of a romantic under her rough exterior, and Ripper was much more tolerable here than he was in season one. Unfortunately they got a major downgrade after they hooked up, being more concerned about making out than actually, you know, focusing on the competition to win a million dollars. Also Chris calling them both eliminated when Ripper grabbed Axel as the Drone of Despair was carrying her off? Yeah that was kinda cheap.

Lastly, Zee. I really enjoyed Zee, he constantly got laughs out of me. But once again, his elimination had me scratching my head because how the hell did he learn everyone's secrets in the first place? Did he walk in on everyone doing something embarrassing like with Priya kissing her pillow? Or did everyone decide that the soda stoner seemed like a trustworthy guy to share their secrets with?

And now for the final seven. And boy what a mixed bag they were.

Damien was pretty good this season. I really liked how he made an effort to compete this time around despite still being scared of pretty much everything on the island. I actually had him pegged as a potential finalist and was sad to see him go when he got outplayed by Julia stealing the Invincibility Idol out from under him.

Priya and Caleb... hooo boy, Priya and Caleb. I'll be honest, this whole season-long romantic subplot was kind of a mess. So first they had Caleb only wanting an alliance partner in Priya while she was crushing on him, only for Caleb to actually catch feelings for her, which then imploded after Zee revealed Caleb's original intentions. Then they had a whole deal with Julia manipulating both of them to try to keep them apart, and THEN they had Caleb make an alliance with Julia to save himself, which caused friction between him and Priya because Caleb doesn't wanna go back on his word?? It honestly felt like the writers were just throwing anything at the wall to see what stuck, and as a result the whole plotline felt like a tangled mess. Also this resulted in Priya getting a ton of screen time after she was already one of the main characters in season one. I can't call this the worst romantic subplot in TDI history because there have been way worse, but it also wasn't great either.

Wayne and Raj I'm also mixed on. I liked them in the first third where they opposed MK and Julia's cheating, but after that they were just kind of there. Honestly I wish they'd kept some of that animosity going into the merge and set the Hockey Bros up as season-long rivals for MK and Julia. In fact they could have used that for motivation for Wayne in the final challenge against Julia and Caleb, which would have given his ultimate victory more emotional weight. While I don't hate Wayne winning, I feel like it could've been done in a more interesting way.

Lastly, MK and Julia. These girls were easily the best part of the season for me. I loved their friendship born of mutual respect for each other's skills, to the point where MK wasn't even mad and honestly impressed when Julia pulled one over on her to get voted off. While I'm a little disappointed it didn't evolve into a full romance, I still enjoyed their friendship. Plus I feel like the seeds have been planted for a future romance if we get a third season, and overall the fandom has been given a lot to work with.

As for Julia herself, she really came into her own as an antagonist this season after sharing that role with Bowie in season one. Granted some of her methods did feel a little forced (see Nichelle and Caleb above), and it felt like there was untapped potential for a rivalry between her and the Hockey Bros, but overall I really enjoyed Julia.

And there you have it. Overall, I think I'd give this season a 6.5/10. There were a lot of elements I liked, but an equal amount of stuff I didn't enjoy. It's not as good as the best of Total Drama, but also nowhere near as bad as the worst. Personally I would love to get a new season with this cast, I feel like there's still a lot of untapped potential here.

[fairygeek777]

A part of me is torn between wishing the Shitennou were brought back and stayed consistently relevant characters while being love interests for the inner senshi, and not wanting anything to come between Rei and Minako.

Because honestly? I genuinely think they did end up together at the end. Like- I don't know why but I would swear that Minako and Rei are already a couple in Stars.

So what if, hypothetically, the shitennou did come back. And they were there to support Mamo just as they're meant to. They chill and Mamo has his brothers with him through the rest of high school. And then they get to pursue their own aspirations whatever they may be. But also, not all of them dates one of the inner senshi, ie. Rei x Mina sails.

Also its probably just me, but Mercury x Zoisite doesn't seem... how to put it, believable? Compatible? Idk they are the one couple that I don't think clicks as much in that group of 8 characters. I still like them, but they need more. So maaaayyybe Zoisite x Kunzite sails too??

I do really like Nephrite x Jupiter

Also as for Jadeite x Mars, they look very appealing together. Plus they are the first SenshixShitennou pair that was implied in both manga and crystal. Y'know in act 3 where he's stroking her face before Rei uh killed him LOL

And as for Kunzite x Venus. I mean yes they definitely fit and they had the most implication between them of the four pairs.

That said, I do prefer ReixMina.

I think SenshixShitennou should stay in the past, I think too much happened while they were apart that would effect their dynamics with each other in a way it never effected Mamo and Usa.

Plus, if I were to combine both 90s and manga/crystal cannon, the pairings I'm most supportive of for the inner senshi are:

Ami x Ryo

Rei x Minako

Makoto x Asanuma

And as for the Shitennou, I think Kunzite x Zoisite was a good move on 90s part. And I've already made a post joking about how they might have been cannon in the manga lol.

Also yes I am implying that Kunzite x Venus is bi4bi

[positivelybeastly]

Is the krakoan era X-Men the most unlikable interation of X-Men?

"I - don't think that's fair to say about them. From what I understand, they put all of their hopes on the establishment of a new country, joined everyone together under one roof, and then . . ."

He'd never seen anything like it. The sheer amount of carnage. He didn't even know most of the people he'd seen being torn apart in the footage, but that hadn't stopped him wanting to throw up when he'd seen them being . . . God, and then, when Bobby . . . he'd dragged his hands down his face and wanted to wail.

Who could do that to Bobby of all people?

The short, glib answer is that Chuck Austen's run of X-Men continues to exist, so by default, no-one can be as unlikable as them.

But the long answer is that the Krakoan X-Men aren't really the X-Men for a lot of that era, and, in their hurry to enjoy the fanfic-esque tropical island paradise setting that Krakoa presents, the fandom forgets just how . . . weird, and culty, the island actually is.

Hey, do you wanna know something semi-embarrassing about me? I only read House of X yesterday. I've only ever read the finer details on other Wiki pages and the occasional plot synopses, never actually read the issues themselves, and . . .

It's fucking creepy, man.

I had an instant negative reaction to the weird shit to do with resurrection, and I just, was not comfortable. The way Cyclops was all creepy about Franklin Richards, acting like they have more claim on him than his actual birth family? I'm sorry, dude, that's fucking whacked out.

Like, I'm sorry, I think that mutant sovereignty is an absolute must and a mutant nation is a narrative necessity, but Krakoa's been fucking creepy and weird and cult-y since moment one.

The weird rituals about resurrection, the whole dying in combat to earn your powers back bullshit, the vilification of Scarlet Witch, everything that went down in LaVelle's Sabretooth books, the Quiet Council and X-Force (full stop, just - in general), the casual sex leading to popping out babies you just LEAVE ON THE FUCKING GROUND?

It's a fucked up society. It's dystopian. You conquered death, and guess what? That never ends well. Suddenly you have to redefine life's meaning, and they chose to make it just fucking around and being weirdos, and, like, sure, that's a mood, but it's also not particularly heroic, and it's very significant that it takes a while for the X-Men to reform as an actual hero team because, well, they decided to give up on protecting a world that hated and fear them for a bit there.

But that's in-universe. Out of universe?

They just aren't putting in the time to service the relationships between the characters properly, and a lot of the time, when those moments do happen, it's become extremely clear that almost everyone on Krakoa is a self-obsessed narcissist with increasingly toxic levels of coping with it.

Think about Kate Pryde just completely fucking flubbing her chance to spot that Piotr Rasputin was under mind control, think about Storm just fucking off to Mars and abandoning everything on Earth, think about what happens to Orphan-Maker at the end of Hellions, think about LITERALLY EVERYTHING to do with X-Force - this is not a healthy society.

And that's a good story.

But it feels like at some point, they just kinda forgot about the fucked up shit and decided nah, this is just paradise, this is great, let's sand off the edges. Like, when Jean tells Firestar to just throw X-Force Beast under the bus to make her cover better during the Hellfire Gala, it's read by so many people as this girlboss OMG SLAAAAAAY moment, but . . . you . . . guys do realise that, like . . . that's fucked up, right? You do realise what that moment means?

"You should invoke Beast's reputation as a butcher of humans and a genocidal maniac and a massive lying piece of shit, WHICH I KNOW ABOUT AND HAVE DONE NOTHING ABOUT, and in fact, I'm going to validate his work because it's useful to me now!"

Like, X-Force Beast would tell Jean that she did EXACTLY the right thing in that moment, would welcome it, compliment her on her cunning, and if that's not a sign that you fucked up, that your moral priorities are completely and utterly fucked, then I don't know what to tell you, man.

[veneritia]

when comes the dawn monthly update { 9.30.23 }

And here's to the revival of WCTD and the first ever WCTD monthly post! But first things first, let's get some basics out of the way

↳ WHAT IS WCTD?

FENICE VI AETIER, a portent of ill omens and the estranged daughter of the Vasilier, ignites a dangerous succession game between her and her half-siblings, where losing means death and winning means an empire. But to compete in this game requires the acknowledgement of the Vasilier himself, one that he isn't willing to give Fenice unless she gives him something in return: the head of the deposed king of Hesperia.

When Comes the Dawn is a new adult fantasy court intrigue novel featuring succession battles, an aro/ace lead, shifting alliances, cut-throat relatives, and a family that's torn themselves apart in the name of ambition for eons. You can find the wip intro here or follow the wip's main tag (#series.wctd)

↳ WHAT IS WCTD MONTHLY?

I've had this wip for a long time but have never made much significant progress before shoving it to the side because of work, school, life, or just being burnt out. WCTD Monthly is my way to try and motivate myself by giving myself a space to talk about all of the different work I've done on this wip. (And to pressure me into actually working on it so I have something to talk about.) You can follow along with my updates with the #wctd-monthy tag

↳ NOW, ONTO THE SHOW

outline → the first 9 chapters have been outlined. outline document is currently at 4k+ words. The main plot beats for Act 1 and Act 2 have been outlined

notion → I rebuild and organized my wip notion, as well as all of the character pages

series → because of the different character arcs and plot beats that I wanted to explore, I decided to officially make WCTD a duology as opposed to a standalone like originally planned. No official title for book two as of yet, though Crowning of the Sun is a tentative one.

worldbuiling → realized that the majority of book 1 takes place in the now subjugated kingdom of Hesperia as opposed to Aetier, where I focused the majority of my worldbuilding. This means that I'm starting to worldbuilding from...almost the ground up. It helps that I'm mostly focused on the province of Isidore.

characters → the vi Aetier family has been expanded! Fenice and Charles now have 3 other half-siblings (Euphemia, Konstantine, and Basil) as well as their siblings' respective mothers. I've added 9 noble houses to form the unofficial oligarchy of influence in Isidore, and I've given Leda a rival-turned-girlfriend-turned-ex to help flesh out her character.

extraneous content → attempted to make the vi Aetier family tree starting from the beginning of the vi Drochona dynasty (I'll probably clean it up and post it separately at a later date). I also added another god to the pantheon (Heleia, goddess of the wild nature, the hunt, liberation, and childhood), and finally re-introduced wctd (linked above)

events → I participated in WTW's character event week! You can find all posts here: protagonist / tropes / representation / antagonists / relationships / traits / wildcard

↳ WHAT'S NEXT?

I'll be using preptober to outline as much as I can for nano! My goal is to finish outlining act 1 and my stretch goal is to reach half-way to act 2

posting 1 or 2 character intros or worldbuilding posts

Find more WCTD content with the series tag #series.wctd and keep an eye out for monthly progress updates with #wctd-monthly

↳ Taglist under the cut (ask to be +/-):

GENERAL → @charlesjosephwrites | @bearunicorn154 I @seasteading| @writting-in-blood | @trapped-inadystopianovel | @inky-duchess | @thats-my-type-writer | @serpentarii | @myhusbandsasemni | @aphaimaniis | @writinglyra | @belialwrites | @amoranza | @pseudepigraphic | @mel-writes-with-her-dragons | @uppoffringar | @fantasydisease | @sourrcandy

WCTD → @zmlorenz | @andiwriteunderthemoon | @ryns-ramblings | @marchdove | @cielnocturnes | @wren-is-writing | @lord-fallen | @tragicbackstoryenjoyer | @bloomingwrites | @kaatiba | @writerjodie | @worldbuildng

[kazeharuhime]

Thanks to @authoroflight for the original template! (Though I might have customized it beyond recognizability ksdjgnsd)

2023... I got a lot of art done this year compared to past years! Though the year started out slow, between trades and commissions, the first quarter of the year somehow managed to have at least one good drawing a month, even if March's old-sketch-paintover looks a little strange next to all the creatures. XD; May and June continued the theme of painting over old, though June's original was considerably newer than May's. It also took me forever to find it!! Several of the ones I'd been going to put for June turned out to be from different months (no date on them so was going by modified date at first, oops!). And in July of course there was the Clysmia comic, August with the Choco 'comic'. September was another low but I managed to churn out another paintover. October of course had my annual flower-drawing saga with the last one featured here, and in November I got bored and drew Comet, and December held a delightful surprise in the form of a book-illustrating commission. :3 Gonna keep that one to just a preview since it's part of something that'll be published.

But! Let's go through all the rest. Keep reading for more on the rest of the pieces.

January - This was a secret santa for my good friend @toothpaste-dragon of her OC Baz! Love this grumpy crust of an alien. :D You can view the full pic here.

February - This was a commission from @dreagonarchives of her guy Guido! Full pic: x

March - Paintover I did of my character Sleepi from Torn Apart! Since it was done over an older pic the style looks a little incongruent from my current style 😅 But this was also almost a year a go now, so, y'know.

April - My half of a design trade with @chrystallink! Doggos are a bit of a challenge for me, but it was a fun one! Full pic: x

May - A fittingly sunny pic of my character Nola. This was another one that I think had started from a paintover and just went places from there. Still a little strange-looking, but oh well. Plus a photo of some sunflowers in the background. XD

June: Progress pic of an absolute freak. An attempt was made to sketch out a hand to keep it from hiding, but I never did get back to this pic... 😂

July: As mentioned above, a comic for my good friend Dia featuring her gal Clysmia!

August: The tail end of a final ArtFight attack against Chocobir! I had so much fun putting in on the Easter eggs, and Choco is so cute!

September: The suave business lizard himself, it's Nell! Another one that's painted over an older sketch. Overall I think I improved the face shape a bit since the sketch? Maybe?

October: The final flower from Floratober 2023! I had a lot of fun and it was so great getting so much feedback this year. The wonders of posting on places other than Tumblr! lol.

November: Comet from Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san! Whenever I need to get away and draw, Comet is there as my comfort anime. :) It's been a while since I've drawn the girl and watched the last bundle of episodes!

December: And of course, December's art! From a very fittingly snowy-themed project. :) I don't know yet how much I'll be able to talk about it, but it's certainly going to keep me busy for a while!

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Perfectly Okay

----

Roman knows it's bad when his only escape is a cat cafe a town away and a barista he barely feels like he knows, but when his soulmate kicks him out of their shared apartment, Roman finds he has no one else to turn to but that same barista.

But maybe everything will be ok, right?

----

| Ao3 |

Warnings: Abusive relationship, emotional maniupulation, panic attacks (please lmk if I've missed any

Pairings: platonic prinxiety, roman/orange

Word count: 5522

Notes:

Hi! I will warn this one, while not as heavy as other things I've read, is definitely heavier than my own usual writing, so proceed with caution if you prefer my normal level of angst!

----

----

Roman knew his soulmate. 

He’d known his soulmate since he was seventeen. They’d met in what felt like a fairytale, at a Ren Faire, he had been dressed like a faerie prince and his soulmate had been dressed in Tolkien-esque elven armour. Roman had thought it had been perfect, a dream come true. The mark on his hand had bloomed bright orange when the stranger had taken his hand and kissed his knuckles all whilst smiling up at him. It had been perfect.

‘Had’ was the key word. It had been perfect for almost a year, but after that…

Roman didn’t realise at first, still too caught up in joy at meeting his soulmate, still too overjoyed at their shared love for LARPing and fantasy cosplay to realise that things were slipping. He didn’t notice when calm talks turned into arguing which turned into screaming matches, he couldn’t pinpoint when he started being worried about telling him that he was going out with friends or meeting up with his brother. He could remember clearly when he had set fire to one of Roman’s oldest costumes during a spat about dressing up as a feminine character of all things, he cried for weeks over the torn and charred fabric. He remembered the day he’d come home from work to find his soulmate had thrown out more than half of his YA fantasy books, claiming that he shouldn’t be reading ‘that bullshit’ anymore. Roman has spent hours afterwards looking like a lunatic digging through their apartment’s dumpster trying to find them all. He’d moved all of his costumes and books into his brother’s storage unit after that, worried that they weren’t safe in his apartment. 

He’d considered calling the police a few times, all of them recently, all of them after a fight that had left Roman in tears. Each time he’d decided he couldn’t possibly handle any more of this, because by now - four years after he’d met his soulmate - he knew it was bad. He knew he was unhappy and he knew his soulmate didn’t love him like a soulmate should. He wanted out of all of this. But in the end he never called, because he knew the police wouldn’t help him, he was his soulmate, after all, and this kind of thing never happened between soulmates. Soulmates were wonderful and amazing, nothing ever went wrong between soulmates in the public's eye.

Instead Roman lied, pretended to have shifts at work when he didn’t, and went to the only place he felt safe these days.

There was a small coffee shop, tucked away and hidden behind all the corporate and placelessness, he’d found it nearly five years ago whilst he was still in highschool. It was a cute, quiet little place that served cheap coffee and also housed fifteen cats, which was amazing when Roman really needed a way to relax. 

He’d met one of the baristas working there the first time he’d come to escape, four or five months ago now. And Roman thought he might owe them his life by now.

“Hey Princey,” Virgil said, sliding into the bench across from him and placing a latte glass in front of him - the top filled with cream just like Roman always ordered, “What’re you working on today?”

“Oh!” Roman jumped, startled at their sudden appearance, “Virgil, I can’t-”

“It’s on me,” Virgil interrupted, shaking his head, “I noticed you finished your last one a while ago and my shift is almost over, so…”

“Oh really? Why thank you!” Roman said, flashing Virgil a blinding smile that didn’t feel completely fake, at least, “What time is it?”

“Almost three.” Virgil said, Roman sighed in relief, he’d told him he’d be at work until seven, he still had time, “Why, you gotta head out?”

“No,” Roman shook his head, “I just… lose track sometimes.”

“Mood,” Virgil said, leaning on the table, “So what’s in that notebook of yours?”

Roman felt his face heat up as he looked down at the notebook he had been doodling in, it was silly, he had been drawing dresses and hats and weaponry he’d love to make. He couldn’t, not anymore and especially not in his own home, he was terrified they’d be destroyed if his soulmate found them at all, nowadays. But… he could still dream. Could he show Virgil? Would they like the drawings and designs? Roman shook his head with a sigh.

“Just some doodles, nothing important,” Roman said, closing the notebook. Virgil frowned as they intercepted one of the cats attempting to jump up onto their table and placed her into their lap instead. 

“But you’ve been working on it the whole time you’ve been here?” Virgil said, tilting their head and raising an eyebrow. 

“I uh- it’s really nothing important, just some designs, I guess,” Roman said, he could feel his face getting more red, “I used to uh- I used to make fantasy costumes?”

“Oh really?” Virgil asked, “That’s neat, I’ve been to a few cons, but I’ve never been able to sew for the life of me, can I see?”

“You won’t laugh at me?” Roman asked, narrowing his eyes a little at them.

“'Course not, why would I?” Virgil said.

Roman shrugged, a little helpless, as he offered the notebook over to Virgil, “Most people I know would.”

“Oh,” Virgil said, before flipping the notebook to a random page and taking a second to look through the drawings before smiling up at Roman, “Dude these are epic! Could you really make this? And wear it?”

Roman ducked his head, cheeks flaming in embarrassment when Virgil turned the page around to show one of his drawings of ceremonial high elf armour. It was very detailed and would probably take him months to make - if he still even had the skills - and it was pretty feminine too, so he definitely couldn’t wear it. 

“Uh - yeah probably, it would take a while though,” Roman said with a small smile as Virgil turned the book back around to keep looking, leaving Roman antsy in his chair. 

“These dresses look nice,” Virgil said with a small smile as he ran a finger over the page, “They look… Mexican?”

“Yeah,” Roman said, “I’m hispanic, so… I sorta based them off that…”

“Neat,” Virgil said with a smile, “They’re pretty.”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded, they were, he really liked them. He wished he could show them off without fear. 

“Dude are you ok?” Virgil asked, putting down the book with a startled expression on his face and Roman realised only then that he was crying, of all things, over some drawings of dresses, “If you really didn’t want me to see these I wouldn’t have-”

“No- no it’s not- not that!” Roman interrupted, trying to wipe the tears away, “I’m sorry I didn’t- mean-”

“Hey, hey it’s ok, you don’t gotta apologise,” Virgil said, putting the notebook gently down on the table, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t even know it’s just- I haven’t been able to show anyone these in- in forever and- you’re being so nice.”

Virgil stared at him for a moment before picking up the cat in their lap and placing it in Romans. She barely made a fuss before curling back up in her new seat, “Here, have a cat.”

“Thanks,” Roman choked out a laugh, as he ran his fingers through her soft fur. 

“But really, I’m doing like- the bare minimum here - you really don’t have anyone you show this stuff to?” Virgil asked, before gesturing to Roman’s bright orange hand, “Not even your soulmate?”

Roman tried to hide the way he flinched, by the way Virgil’s expression changed he assumed he didn’t do that well, before he could say anything about it, though, ploughed forward to answer his first question.

“I used to share this stuff with my brother, but I haven’t seen him in months,” Roman said sadly, “The rest of my family don’t like my hobbies, and my soulmate… well.”

“That bad, huh?” Virgil asked.

“He used to be really into all this same stuff, when we met,” Roman explained sadly, “We actually met at a ren faire, but, I dunno, I guess things change, he tried to throw out a bunch of my stuff a few months ago so uh, I asked my brother to take it and uh, yeah…”

“How long have you known him?” Virgil asked quietly.

“Four years,” Roman said glumly, “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Okay,” Virgil said, sympathetic, “Um… okay, different topic: what kind of music do you like?”

From there it continued for almost two hours, back and forth, trading questions and answers. Roman had met Virgil a good few times before now, but all of them he had been working and even though the cafe was usually quiet there were still enough customers to make a long and invested conversation between the two difficult. Roman left the cafe that day feeling lighter than he had in weeks. 

—-

He kept going back to the cafe, the same as before, though now he tried to time it for when Virgil was just getting off of shifts (or at least when the cafe was quietest). Talking to Virgil was nice, even with their dyed hair, emo makeup and spooky piercings that made him a little nervous at first, he felt safe when he was in the cafe. Virgil liked looking at his drawings, they listened to Roman ramble about the most recent book he’d wanted to read (he borrowed them from the library sometimes and read them at the cafe before bringing them back the same day, he couldn’t trust his soulmate not to damage them like he had Roman’s own books). 

Virgil encouraged his ideas for stories he probably wouldn’t ever write, they got a cat to come and comfort him when he was upset over something trivial like Virgil asking how his day had been. Roman knew he was taking risks by coming so often, but the cafe was almost addictive, having somewhere safe and someone who was really interested in hearing about his passions felt a little like a drug in itself. 

He knew it couldn’t last, though. 

—-

“Where have you been?” His soulmate asked one night, almost a month later, when Roman came home a little later than he intended. He had been at the coffee shop again talking to Virgil after his shift and he’d lost track of time. He’d only stayed fifteen minutes longer than he had intended, but that made all the difference when it came to the train times. 

“At work, I told you,” Roman answered, lies rolling off his tongue as easy as truths used to, “I got held up by a coworker, I’m sorry.”

“Really?” he said, raising his eyebrow, “Can you explain why your paycheck doesn’t match up with the amount of hours you’ve apparently been doing too?”

Roman panicked internally, trying very hard to mimic a confused expression, “No idea, they must’ve messed it up somehow, I’ll uh- I’ll bring it up with my manager tomorrow.”

“And the train tickets you’ve been buying every other day?” he said, folding his arms, Roman tried not to flinch, “Have you been seeing someone else?”

“Of course not!” Roman cried, “I’ve just been going to work!”

“In another city?" The said harshly, "I'm not that fucking stupid, Roman, I know where you work." 

"They moved me to a different venue, ok?" Roman said, trying to take a deep breath to keep from either yelling or crying, "There's nothing going on - I swear."

"Then what’s in here?” He asked, not wasting a second before snatching Roman’s bag from his shoulder and rifling through it. He paled, most of the things in there were ordinary or work related - his uniform, some stationary, a water bottle - but his design notebook was also in there. He’d stuffed it hap-hazardly into the bag when he’d left in a hurry when usually he’d take better care to hide it in case of this very scenario. 

“The fucks’ this?” He asked, pulling out that very notebook. Roman tried to hold back tears as he flicked through the pages, expression growing more angry by the second, “Roman! I thought I told you to stop with this shit!”

Roman flinched when he grabbed a handful of the pages and tore them, “This is childish bullshit, Ro, no-one wants it, I thought you’d have grown up by now! I have.”

“But-” Roman started, “I thought- you loved this stuff?”

“Yeah, when I was sixteen, Roman, we’re fucking adults now!” He yelled, throwing Roman’s ruined book onto the floor, “Adults don’t play stupid dress-up games, for fucks sake get ahold of yourself! Look at you, you’re pathetic.”

Roman winced, trying to blink back tears as he glanced at the scattered, torn pages of his notebook. Adults don't throw temper tantrums over their partner's interests, Roman thought bitterly. He didn't dare say it aloud, though.

“Nothing to say?” he said, Roman couldn’t help the way he flinched back at the approach, he shook his head, “Pathetic! You’re just- I can’t believe the fucking universe would lump me with such a pathetic, childish, piece of shit soulmate like you.”

“Well-” Roman said in a burst of confidence that surprised even himself, “I can’t believe I got stuck with such a jerkish asshole who can’t even respect other people’s hobbies!”

He was silent for a long moment and in that moment Roman grew even more worried that he might actually attack him, instead he only pointed to the door, face scarily calm, and said, “Out.”

“What?” Roman yelped.

“Get out of my house,” He yelled, “Now.”

“Can I get-”

“Get. the fuck. out,” He told him through gritted teeth, “Don’t make me tell you again, Roman Prince.”

And in a pathetic show of defiance, Roman stopped to grab the torn up notebook and pages, shoving them into his bag before grabbing that too and storming out the door. He slammed it behind him and promptly burst into tears so ferocious he had to lean against the corridor wall to stop himself from sinking straight to the ground. 

—-

It was raining outside when he finally got himself out of the apartment building and onto the street. Distantly he regretted not grabbing his coat from the back of the door,  but at least he still had a jacket on from earlier. It was late, well past dark by now, he’d left the cafe just after seven and had gotten the train at seven thirty, making it just gone eight now. He wished it was summer right now, but as the weather clearly showed it was rapidly descending from autumn into winter. Roman shook his head to get his already rain soaked hair out of his eyes before crossing the busy road to the other side and hurrying along the pavement. He wished he had an umbrella.

Ducking into the first store he came across - a random little 24/7 general goods store - Roman darted around the aisles to the back before pulling his phone from his jacket pocket and opened it up. He’d call Remus, surely he’d let Roman crash on his couch until he worked out something more permanent. This would be fine. 

Remus didn’t pick up, the call going to voicemail three times over before Roman gave up and left a message saying that he needed to talk and it was urgent. Before running both hands through his hair, just slightly more panicked now. Roman knew without even checking that he didn’t have nearly enough money on him for a hotel. His soulmate had always controlled their bank accounts, so Roman didn’t have access to that now either as much as he would have loved to spend all of his money in petty revenge. Most of it was Roman’s money anyway. 

He tried to take deep breaths as he leant against the freezers at the back of the store. He didn’t have anywhere to live right now, which was fine, he’d figure it out. He still had a job at a restaurant nearby, it wasn’t the best paying but it was better than minimum wage and besides, they always complained about not having enough staff, Roman could definitely pick up more hours. He had time to get himself a new bank account and change his details before his next payday, presuming he found somewhere to live. This would be ok. He took a deep breath, looking at his phone contacts, so long as he could find somewhere to live temporarily. 

The biggest flaw in this plan, though, was the fact that the only contacts he had were his soulmate, Remus and his parents. Alongside one or two friends he hadn’t talked to in at least a year. Remus already hadn’t picked up and his parents would ask pressing questions he really didn’t want to answer, especially with such a low chance they’d even take him back in and his friends…

It wouldn’t be fair on them for Roman to ghost them for two years and then call out of nowhere asking for a place to stay. He couldn’t do that, not to them or himself. 

Maybe he could ask strangers if they would take him, or if they knew anyone. But that was a surefire way to get himself killed, so… 

Roman rummaged through his bag, well, if he couldn’t call anyone for help he could at least take inventory of what he had with him. His work uniform, which was at least better than nothing in terms of a change of clothes. His water bottle, a pencil case, he had a pack of painkillers in there, not helpful right now but could come in useful if he got a headache from the stress. A packet of tissues… one of those plastic forks that came with lunch pasta pots, some origami thing he must’ve done at some point when he was bored made from a napkin, a broken pen, a couple of hairbands… and a few quarters he collected up.

And most importantly his design notebook and all the crumpled ripped out pages. Roman sighed, taking one out and attempting to smooth it over against the glass of the freezer. This really wasn’t the place to be doing this, but… oh well. He’d have to sort through which ones were salvageable later anyway. 

Something caught his eye on the one he had tried to smooth out, though. It was one he had been working on only a few hours ago. Virgil had been helping him, they had asked if Roman could design them as a fantasy character, a prompt Roman had taken to immediately. Virgil had occasionally pulled the notebook towards them and added little notes around the drawing. In the corner of the page a number was scrawled in messy handwriting. 

He almost burst into tears of joy at the sight, Virgil had written his name above it and drawn a little smiley face with the number written underneath. Roman took a deep breath, fanning his face to get rid of the tears that had welled up in his eyes with one hand as he pulled up his contacts and shakily typed in the numbers written on the page. 

Taking a deep breath Roman pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear, crossing his fingers as it rang. It got to the fifth ring and Roman was starting to lose hope when Virgil finally picked up. 

“Hello?” Virgil said on the other end of the phone, sounding tired, Roman let out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh thank god, Virgil! It’s uh- it’s Roman? From the coffee shop?” Roman said, trying not to cry again in the back of a stupid grocery store.

“Roman?” Virgil said, “You’re uh, calling me?”

“Yeah is that uh- okay? I’m sorry I didn’t-”

“It’s okay yeah, just, unexpected, you’re all good,” Virgil said, taking a deep breath, “Uh, whats up?”

“Okay so I know this is the first time calling you and I know we’re like- barely friends but um, I have a really really massive favour I need to ask you,” Roman said before shoving his fist in his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from audibly sobbing.

“I’d say we’re more than barely friends, Princey,” Virgil said, “What do you need?”

“Would it be possible for me to maybe crash on your couch for a night or two?” Roman said quickly, before Virgil could say anything he continued in a ramble, "It's just that my soulmate’s kicked me out and my brother's not picking up and my parents will question me to hell and back and I don't really have any other friends and- and I don't have enough money on me for a hotel and I don't know what to do-" 

"Woah woah," Virgil said through the phone, "Okay, first of all, deep breaths Princey, okay?"

Roman nodded even though Virgil couldn't see him and tried to take a deep breath, barely able to get through it with the tears. He was really glad no-one else was in the shop right now.

"Okay and uh, once you're ready I'm gonna need you to tell me what's going on," Virgil said, "Because I only caught like every third word of that ramble." 

"R-right," Roman said, trying to even out his breathing as he brushed the tears away from his eyes, "Um, so my soulmate kicked me out of our house because - because he found my drawing book, and, uhm, found out I wasn't working when I said I was-" 

Roman swallowed thickly, looking up at the ceiling in hopes to get rid of the tears, "And- and I have nowhere else to go, my brother isn't answering my calls and my parents are barely an alternative to my soulmate, so I was- was really hoping you'd be able to help me." 

Virgil was silent for a long second before he let out a sigh loud enough to be heard over the phone, "Okay, where are you right now?" 

"Um," Roman said, "Crying at the back of a general store?" 

Despite everything, Virgil snorted, "Okay, good to know, but I meant like, the address? I'm gonna come get you." 

Roman almost dropped the phone in relief. Instead he just started crying again and let out a stream of barely coherent thank yous and sorries until Virgil interrupted him again.

"Sorry, um, I'll- I’ll text it to you," Roman said, rocking back and forth a little as he opened the messaging screen and shakily typed in the street he was on and the town and sent it, "I don't- don't know what this shop's called but it's just- a- a little 24/7 general store." 

"Okay, I got it," Virgil said, "You want me to stay on the phone?" 

"Is that okay?” Roman asked, weakly.

“‘Course it is,” Virgil told him, before Roman heard some bustling on the other end of the phone, he tried to keep taking deep breaths until Virgil came back to the phone, “Okay, Roman, is it good with you if my roommate drives? I’ll be able to keep talking to you better.”

“Are- um-” Roman said, trying to figure out what to say, his hands were shaking, “Are they good?”

“Yeah, Patton’s the softest little puffball I know,” Virgil answered, “I’ll still be there the whole time and you don’t even have to talk to him if you don’t want to.”

Roman took a deep breath, before carefully placing his things back into his bag, “Yeah - uh - okay, that’s okay.”

“Okay great, just hang tight for me a second, Princey,” Virgil said, a little quietly as though he was holding the phone away from his ear. Roman heard the sound of a door closing from the other end of the line. 

After about five minutes of not talking from Virgil, Roman had managed to get his stuff back up together. He’d tried to wipe away the worst of his tears with the origami napkin and taken a few more deep breaths as he waited by the freezer. Virgil was coming to get him, he would be ok. 

“You still there, Roman?” Virgil said after a little while, he could hear the sounds of a car engine in the background of the call now.

“Yeah I’m still here,” Roman answered.

“Right, we’re gonna be about half an hour, ‘kay?” Virgil said, “Um, whilst you wait, do you have any money at all?”

Roman looked at the cents and quarters he had collected from the bottom of his bag, he had five dollars tucked into the back of his phone too, “Uh- yeah, about six or seven dollars, I think?”

“Jeez man,” Roman heard Virgil murmur a little distantly, and then much closer, “Okay, I want you to have a look around the store and find something sweet you like - I guess you haven’t eaten?”

“No,” Roman mumbled, great, a reminder that he was hungry, too, “I haven’t.”

“Okay,” Virgil said, “We haven’t eaten yet either so we can grab something on the way home, for now uh, can you do what I said? Find a pack of sweets or chocolate or something,”

“What for?” Roman asked, frowning even as he made his way to the confectionary aisle and looked through the admittedly small selection there. He was tired and honestly? Didn’t see the point in spending his last five dollars on a packet of skittles. 

“Panicking sucks for your blood sugar,” Virgil said, “You’ve been crying and panicking for however long now, so you’re probably gonna get real tired pretty soon because of the adrenaline wearing off, so you want a boost to keep you going.”

“Right,” Roman said, taking a deep breath in and blowing it slowly out of his mouth. Virgil was definitely right, he was tired now, exhausted even, his eyes ached from crying and he was actually starting to get a headache. Maybe those painkillers would come in handy after all. He ended up picking a packet of mini red velvet brownie bites. They were a little more expensive than some of the other stuff that was there, but Roman was pretty sure he deserved it at this point. 

He also took a detour and found the cheapest bottle of water in the store and grabbed that too. The water in his own water bottle, Roman was pretty sure, was at least a day old. 

“Okay,” Roman said into the phone when he was done, “I’ve got brownies and water, I’m gonna go buy them now.”

Once Virgil had hummed an affirmative, Roman headed to the counter and placed down his items. Virgil would be here soon, he had chocolate now, everything would be ok.

—-

The rain was even heavier now as Roman stepped out of the store, attempting to stay under the awning outside to avoid the worst of it. Virgil tried to keep up a steady stream of chatter as he waited and Roman couldn’t help appreciate it even more coming from Virgil - who he knew didn’t like to talk so much. Roman would gladly admit how much it helped, just the simple little reassurance that he was still there as he slowly made his way through the pot of brownies. Virgil was right, they really were helping too.

“Hey Ro,” Virgil said through the phone, “We’re almost here now, like, we’re literally turning onto the street right now, I’m gonna - oh I see you - I’m gonna hang up and yell at you out the window, ‘kay?”

Roman nodded, before realising Virgil probably couldn’t see that and agreed verbally just before the call clicked off. Roman took a deep breath in the few seconds of silence only broken by the pouring rain until he heard a shout of his name from nearby - just a little further down the road, just as Virigl had promised. 

He’d rushed over to the car that had pulled into the layby, Virgil’s face met him in the window and Roman damn near burst into tears again. 

“Get in then, doofus,” Virgil said playfully, reaching over and opening the door. Roman climbed into the back seat and closed the door behind him, the hot air from the car’s heating making him shiver as he realised how soggy he was from the rain. Virgil seemed to notice too.

“Jeez Princey, you’re soaked….” Virgil said, shrugging off their own thick black hoodie jacket, “Here, take off your jacket and put this on.”

The jacket dwarfed him, the sleeves covering his hands and the rest of it wrapping around him like a blanket. He pulled the hood up and sank into it, thankful for the warmth. It was such a lovely material too, so soft under his cold fingers. Virgil flung his waterlogged jacket into the front passenger seat. 

“Hey kiddo,” The person in the driver’s seat turned to look at him, he had a smile on his face and bouncy golden curls for hair, this must be Patton, Roman thought, he looked friendly, “I’m Patton, nice to meet ya.”

“Hello,” Roman said, twisting the hoodie between his fingers, he didn’t really feel like talking to someone he didn’t know right now, but also, Patton felt safe and bubbly and warm and he really didn't want to upset the guy who was driving them and potentially letting Roman stay in his house, “Um, I’m Roman.”

“Awesome! I’ll leave you two alone to talk in a second, but first, how d’you feel about pizza for dinner?” Patton asked, resting a hand on the steering wheel.

“Pizza sounds nice,” Roman said, before cringing, “But uh- I can’t- I can’t pay…”

“It’s on me,” Patton said with a blinding smile, “for both of you, I’ll pull into a Domino’s on the way back.”

“Thanks, Pat,” Virgil said, before turning back to Roman and talking in a quieter voice, “How’re you feeling?”

“Awful,” Roman admitted with a pathetic little laugh, “But it’s… okay, um, I’m really grateful to you, for this.”

“You’re welcome,” Virgil huffed, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I’m really glad you left your number,” Roman mumbled, trying to wipe away the tears that were forming again before they fell. 

“I’m really glad I worked up the courage to leave it,” Virgil countered with a small smile. 

Roman was silent for a second, before taking a deep breath, “I’m really sorry I’m dumping my problems on you, I know we- it’s not like we’re close friends or anything.”

“Roman-” Virgil said, turning in their seat to face him properly, a frown on his face, “I’m glad you called me, okay?”

“You- really?” Roman asked, voice smaller than he meant it to be.

“Yeah Ro,” Virgil said, shaking their head, “You- y’know what, would you like a hug?”

Roman couldn’t help but stare, a hug? Yeah, he’d really like a hug. He said as much with a wobbly voice and teary eyes and Virgil smiled, pulling him into a tight hug. Roman buried his face in their shoulder and tried to stop crying for what felt like the millionth time tonight.

“I’m s-sorry,” Roman stammered, “I’m getting your shirt soggy,”

“It’s fine,” Virgil said, squeezing him a little tighter, “I don’t mind, you’re safe here.”

—-

“Do you guys have any uh… bandages? Or something like that?” Roman asked as Virgil unlocked their door. Patton was behind him carrying the two pizza boxes they’d gotten on the way. Virgil kicked the door open before turning to him, worried frown on their face.

“Why? Are you injured?” Virgil asked, “And why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“No- no I’m not injured,” Roman quickly reassured, lifting his hand and pulling back the sleeve of Virgil’s hoodie to reveal the bright orange mark on his hand. Usually he could deal with the sight of it, mostly ignoring the way it made his chest hurt, but right now it just made him want to throw up, “I want to cover it.”

“Of course,” Virgil said, nodding, “Gotcha, there should be some in the bathroom- the cupboard to the right of the one under the sink.”

“Bathroom is the first door to the left when you go up the stairs,” Patton directed with a smile as he walked past them into the open plan kitchen diner that Roman could see down the hall. 

“Okay, thank you,” Roman said, bowing his head, “I’ll be right back.”

Virgil shot him a thumbs up and followed Patton down the hall whilst Roman made his way up the stairs. He splashed water in his face in hopes that it would make the puffy redness of his eyes a little less visible before wrapping his hand in bandages to hide the mark. He took a few deep breaths as he looked at himself in the mirror and gave himself a silent pep-talk. Virgil had rescued him, he was - for now at least - away from his soulmate, he had somewhere to sleep and he had pizza to go downstairs to. Somehow, he thought that maybe this would actually be okay.

----

Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash@reptilianrapscallion420@your-local-random-dino@cutebisexualmess@glacierruler @roseianxiety (if anyone wants to be added generally or for this specific fic, let me know!)

[ilovedthestars]

Sickbay Saturday: Murderbot Fic Rec List

Hey it's the first @sickbaysaturdays!! I might try writing my own fic for this in the future but I didn't have time for that today, so I thought I would make a list of some other people's very good fics that go with the Sickbay theme!

If you haven't read The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells, go do that. (At least read the first paragraph and then tell me it doesn't sound incredible.) TMBD has some really excellent sci-fi concepts that lend themselves very well to whump, hurt/comfort and fascinating sci-fi medical problems, like "what if your brain was infected with malware that caused unbearable hypersensitivity?" or "how do you save a sentient bundle of code that's almost torn itself apart?"

This list will run more on the hurt/comfort side of things, because that's where my tastes lie. If you like a little more pain and despair, @specialagentartemis made a rec list of some excellently horrifying fics focused on cubicle technology! (I'm also stealing her formatting, since I've never made a rec list before.)

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite fics that explore the possibilities of sci-fi medical issues/treatment in the Murderbot universe!! (These are all fairly short oneshots, gen, and rated for either general audiences or teen and up.)

MedSystem by fireworksinthenight

2,273 words, General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Murderbot POV.

Relevant tags: Friendship (don't tell Murderbot), Swearing, Physical Pain, Emotions

ART’s MedSystem is top-notch. None of its crew ever complained, right? Nor did the SecUnit it calls its friend. It’s not like SecUnit wouldn’t bother to tell it if something was wrong.

The fic I was thinking of when I decided to make this list! Our beloved part-robotic, part-organic, all-sarcasm protagonist Murderbot has the ability to adjust its own pain sensors, but we've seen times in canon when that isn't effective, including when it's receiving MedSystem treatment from ART. This fic touches on the differences between how SecUnits and humans receive medical treatment--both in terms how SecUnits are objectified and mistreated and their actual needs. It also has some wonderful "your friends care about you, idiot" energy.

it has turned into a scar, just the same by ampquot

1,171 words, General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, ART POV.

Relevant tags: Medical Trauma, Angst, Blood and Injury, Hurt/Comfort

Even when repaired by a good MedSystem (and Perihelion’s MedSystem was very good), a human body that has been damaged is not completely restored to its previous integrity. Was SecUnit any different? Perihelion’s scans had surprisingly revealed no evidence of past physical traumas.

Or: ART confronts the way its friend's body gets broken and made new again.

Yes, futuristic medical technology that can replace missing body parts and repair major injuries in a matter of hours has countless benefits, but this fic also explores the fridge-horror implications. If any amount of physical trauma or injury can be erased, then it's easy to gloss over the fact that SecUnits were built to be thrown into harm's way again and again. In this excellent fic, ART has some emotions about that.

Hypersensitive by tocautiouslygo

2,147 words, No Archive Warnings Apply, Teen And Up Audiences, Murderbot POV.

Relevant tags: Hurt/Comfort, mostly hurt tbh, Whump, Rated T for swearing, Sensory Overload

Murderbot deals with a malware attack that causes unbearable sensory hypersensitivity.

Malware has SUCH angst potential with characters who are part organic, part machine. (I am a certified Malware Fic Aficionado. Malware is so fun.) One of the most angsty applications of this that I’ve seen in fic is the potential for malware to cause physical pain (or in this case, painful hypersensitivity). This fic is very vividly written whump, but as it's not physical injury-related it's great for those of us like me who don't have much stomach for gore, and it ends with some relief. Deliciously painful :')

Stumble by ProfessorAerii

1,953 words, No Archive Warnings Apply, Teen And Up Audiences, Ratthi POV.

Relevant tags: Missing Scene, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Missing scene from Chapter 8 of Exit Strategy; Murderbot may have glossed over forgetting how to walk but uncontrolled falls to the ground tend to be loud.

This fic elaborates on a throwaway line from that one time Murderbot almost deleted its brain. That whole section of the fourth novella, Exit Strategy, has perfect vibes for Sickbay Saturday, but this fic fills in more detail around Murderbot's slow recovery and shows how its humans friends took care of it during that time. This one is more on the comfort side, and I love Ratthi's concern and gentleness and Murderbot's uninhibited blurting of the feelings it usually won't admit to.

pick up the pieces and try again by CompletelyDifferent

4,875 words, Major Character Death, Teen And Up Audiences, ART POV.

Relevant tags: Character Study, Hurt/Comfort, POV Second Person

The Perihelion attempts to reassemble some corrupted code.

I will be vague about this fic because the character death warning is for a canon character death that's a pretty major spoiler for a later book in the series (Network Effect), but this is a fix-it fic where that death is undone. It's a soft and painful and tender story about nursing a character back to health who doesn't remember who it is and lashes out dangerously, but it looks a little different because the character is a fully digital being. This might not tecnically be a sickbay fic but I think it fits the spirit of "sci-fi medical treatment," and it's too wonderful not to include.

In conclusion: The Murderbot Diaries are great and we have lots of excellent fic. We also have a discord server that's full of fun analysis and discussions where lots of these amazing ideas were born!! If you'd like to join us there, you can message me or another server member and we'll get you on the queue for an invite! Join usssssss

Other Murderbot fanfic enjoyers, please feel free to reblog with your own favorites! I'm sure I missed some good ones. :)

[sephyathredon-writing]

For the writing snippets ask game, could I ask about 9, 12, and 23?

Thank you for the ask!

9. An excerpt of my writing with characters i love

(I've already listed enough excerpts from Nimona, so I'm going to pick something else this time, though my love of the movie Nimona knows no bounds. Here's one with two lesser known characters I love.)

From Torn Apart

The battle to get out was vicious and bloody. Jak got hit more times than he cared to admit. Some of them might have been to keep Torn from getting more injured. When they were almost out, Torn dropped the gun and passed out. The adrenaline wasn’t enough to keep him awake, it seemed. Even once he was clear of the barracks, he wasn’t finished. The KG chased him out into the streets. His best chance was to hijack a car. He chose a smaller two person hovercar and shoved Torn in the backseat, buckling him up before tossing himself in the driver’s seat and flooring it. He’d done this hundreds of times before, but never with this many KG following him, and never with someone injured in the backseat. Still, he’d done this before, and so he was able to duck and weave his way through the city with precision. Eventually, he made it out to the harbor, out over the water. KG vehicles surrounded him on all sides. There was no escaping. They were backing him against the wall. There was nowhere left to go, but down. Jak gathered Torn, now fully awake, in his arms and stood on the driver’s seat of the vehicle, looking down into the water. A shot whizzed past his ear, others tore holes in his stolen hovercar. If there was ever a time to jump, it would be now. But Jak hesitated. The polluted water of the Haven City harbor surely wouldn’t be good for Torn’s wounds. “What are you waiting for, Jump!” Torn shouted, voice laced with fear and pain.

12. An excerpt of my writing that has a particularly good bit of characterization

From The Reason We Rise, We Rise Ch1

Zack glanced at Sephiroth, wondering how he felt about everything. If it felt surreal to him, then to Sephiroth it must feel even more so. The man’s been a part of ShinRa for far longer than him. Still, it was his decision to cut ties with them, just as it had been Zack’s. “You look like you have something on your mind. Speak,” Sephiroth stated, his eyes not leaving the road. “Well, It’s just… how do you feel… now that you’ve officially severed ties with ShinRa?” “It’s…” Sephiroth paused for a moment, searching for the right word, “Liberating.” That was the word he settled on. “Liberating…?” Sephiroth nodded, “For so long I have been under the command of others. I have been told who to kill, where to go, what to do with my time. But this… this is freedom.” “You do realize that ShinRa is going to be hunting us down like dogs, right?” “Let them come. We’re two first class SOLDIERs. I think we can handle whatever they can throw at us.” Maybe his hubris was showing a little, but he didn’t care, he was enjoying the moment while it lasted. Zack let out a small laugh, “Guess that’s the price of freedom.” Sephiroth smirked, “It is a steep price, but I’m sure that we can pay it.” A calm silence emerged between them, but the banter with Sephiroth had officially calmed Zack’s nerves. He was right, after all. Even one First Class can take on a whole army by themselves, and he was lucky to have the deadliest of all the Firsts with him. After a while, the silence was interrupted by Sephiroth once more. “You should get some sleep. I need you awake for when it’s your time to drive,” Zack nodded, getting himself comfortable and drifting off.

23. An excerpt of my writing that was inspired by a work from another medium (music, visual art, dance, etc.)

(All of Calming the Beast was made with Wolf Among Us music in the background. I'm not sure if that counts, considering I usually listen to music when I'm writing, but I don't have anything else that fits.

There's also "Can you Hear me Now?" Where the song encompasses most of the fic, but I don't want to add another excerpt from the same fic.

There is a scene from Calming the Beast that was particularly written to go with a certain song from Wolf Among Us. Important context, Leon is a werewolf in this scene.)

From Calming the Beast (Song: The Big Bad Wolf)

He’d be lying if he said this wasn’t one of his favorite parts of Leon’s transformation days. He left the shed on the back of his trusty motorcycle, Fenrir. Once he pulled up next to the wolf, it was almost like Leon knew what to do. Instantly, he bolted out into the open field, running at full speed, and Cloud followed, revving Fenrir. It was like a dance. The first few times, Leon had just made a beeline straight for the trees, but recently he’s been lingering, running in figure eights and other patterns as Cloud followed. He wondered if the wolf enjoyed this as much as he did. For him, it felt freeing. It was an adrenaline rush that he enjoyed immensely. It was also a way to wear out Leon before he was actually allowed to be on his own. And then Leon hit the treeline and Cloud was forced to pull over, unable to follow him into the trees for very long without risking damage to Fenrir. He watched the figure vanish into the woods for a while before starting up Fenrir again and heading back to the house.

[pentacass]

For a less intensive ask than my last barrage lol - do you create playlists for your characters? Are there any songs that you particularly associate with any of them?

ohhboi this finally got me to sort my playlists out 😂 thank u <3 i have one for ael and ves, u can poke around my profile for others too (i have a sie/renn one, but it's hella outdated)

It's all on Spotify: Aelirra, Vestra

Recommend looking up lyric translations for non-English songs! (if u wanna lmao) Now it is time for me to not shut the fuck up!!

I arranged the playlists to reflect their personal story beats first, then their romance beats.

Ael only has 4 personal songs :(( (i'm sorry bb u can go beat up ves in revenge) The best song that describes her is this:

Soft to be Strong - Marina Somebody hurt me long ago And though to heal a heart is slow It's just a consequence of pain There is no use in laying blame And I guess I've known it all along The truth is you have to be soft to be strong Finally, I feel the fear is gone I found out love has to be soft to be strong I choose to love you without fear No shame in being sincere

For her romance tracks, I'm going for a yearning, bygone days vibe to start, then searching (within herself and Kira) for a name to what they share, ends with 'I love you. Nothing will break us apart again.'

go to hell. - luhx I give more than I take pour love into all I do But there’s one thing I won’t quit If loving her’s a sin I’d go to hell for it Gladly go to hell for it I don’t need to be forgiven for being me I’ve been scared of who I’ll lose but in the end it all comes down to me

End of the Earth - Marina We're all living in the same universe Where the stars collide as the planets turn But I'll give my love, I don't care if it hurts 'Cause I'll love you 'till the end If we're torn apart then I won't let go 'Cause wherever we are, it feels like home And I'll love you 'till the end I'll love you 'till the end (of the earth)

And now...the Sith clown (derogatory)

Her personal songs end with 'Nox'. Romance stuff starts with 'Confident'. Each section reflects Ves as a character - strong, upbeat layers to peel through before getting to her softer core. If you hear a ballad, you're hearing a bit of her soul.

Personal stuff first! Starts off power-drunk (nigh narcissistic), then shows the steel beneath seductive velvet, finishes with soul-heavy sorrow.

Monster - PVRIS How could you let them do this to you? How could you let them turn you into a monster? Your bridge started to burn when you ran all across it I guess you never learn 'til you live and you lost it Live and you lost it Breathe No More - Evanescence I've been looking in the mirror for so long That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side All the little pieces falling, shatter Shards of me Too sharp to put back together Too small to matter But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces If I try to touch her

Her romance with Lana revolves around sex a lot in the beginning, then she realises she wants more, then she realises she's in love, and love involves the mortifying ordeal of being known??? Fuck!!!!

The romance tracks go: I want to fuck you - I want you - I...think I love you? - I love you with my soul.

Roses - Adam Lambert You're like a knife 'cause your looks could kill Hold my breath every time we kiss Are you feeling it? Like I, like I feel it When I touch you baby My name will you say it Between the sheets we ain't pillow talking Is it love or are we just fucking Tell me babe, you can't keep me waiting Black Pearl - Sunmi Now I can withstand most anything Even if it hurts, I can take it (I can take it) I held it in to protect myself But in your eyes I must have seemed so nice and shining I’m dirty and in pain, I’m wrapping around myself So this ugly, black light, won’t come seeping out I may seem like a brand new, white gem But you don’t even know what’s inside Why do you try to look inside me? Why do you poke at me forcefully? You think you can open my heart like that? When it’s closed so tight? You think I’m going to break apart? Don't Judge Me - Janelle Monáe Even though you tell me you love me I'm afraid that you just love my disguise Taste my fears and light your candle to my raging fire Of broken desire But don't judge me I know I got issues But they drown when I kiss you Don't judge me Baptize me with ocean Recognize my devotion Dancing in the Dark - SVRCINA Completely intoxicated by your love I tremble at your touch, you're all I want So completely intoxicated by your love Like sweet perfume, I know it's you with my eyes closed And nothing will change that Wherever you are, I wanna be right there Holding me close to your heart Here in your arms, oh how could I be scared? Safe with you dancing in the dark

[artwithoutblood]

TW suicide

I had another idea, stolen shamelessly from Neil Gaiman's 'Sandman'. Silas is offending against mortals, which might not have been stopped or punished because mortals aren't seen as important in the scheme of things. Individual humans are temporary trifles.

But if Silas transgressed against the rules that bind gods or demons? Surely if he went rogue in a way that mattered according to the established code someone stronger would have the power or right to put him down.

Like suicide by cop.

(It seems like someone potentially stronger already is taking notice because Silas pissed them off... 👁️ 👁️

Stealing (?) another demon's powers, committing atrocities, and unleashing pandemics that could wipe out the human race that they document and potentially want to preserve? And potentially making Aeron/Delusion complicit in this against their will? I don't think Aeron likes that. Was this the intention, even subconsciously?)

Sorry if that's morbid or triggering. I just thought that is one loophole to the entire dilemma.

Context:

SPOILERS

In Sandman the character Morpheus/Dream was passively suicidal, tired of existence but couldn't bear choosing to abandon his duty as ruler of his realm.

So he engaged in a string of self sabotaging behaviours in between trying to right past wrongs. When he couldn't change or resolve his issues to his satisfaction, Dream finally went to the still living head of his son Orpheus (who had been torn apart by the maenads) and granted him the final death he had been begging for for a long time.

Righting this wrong, healing the rift with his son and giving him this mercy technically made Dream a kinslayer, and gave the Kindly Ones (aka the Three Fates, spurred on by a mortal seeking revenge for something else he had done) the right to kill him.

There was one last chance for that not to happen but in granting a favour he had left a loose end that triggered at the wrong/right time, allowing the death of this Dream and the destruction of his realm.

Then his successor/another aspect took on the mantle and built his destroyed realm anew.

this is so fucking funny because i've wanted to read sandman for YEARS but never picked it up. i got spoiled by my dad. smiles. i will continue on.

i'll start by saying that we're all equal. more or less. i just seem above others because i am not afraid to take action and disrupt.

something governs them, but nothing governs them, but they also govern themselves. it's weird, it's annoying, it's confusing. it's absurd. it's okay.

i've conjured up a potential way for one demon to kill another, involving catching a demon between changing bodies/"recharging" and forcing their essence inside of yours, basically snuffing them out, but i don't know nor care to really use that plot line. i really like this idea of just locking away the forbidden, deep in the in-between, never to be awoken.

however, while aeron is a good candidate because it's funny, it would make much more sense, and be more in character, for samir to be the one to lock silas away, trapping him in the sleep he desired, living an eternal nightmare.