#people didn't care about spoilers as much like 10 years ago

[im-no-jedi]

alright ok serious question

will people get mad at me if I change my icon to a big spoiler from the Ahsoka show?

cause idk how much longer I can wait to change it alskdjfglfdkjs

[lostdrarryfics]

lostdrarryfics monthly roundup! March 2024

Below you will find the requests we could not locate in the month of March. Please let us know if you recognize any!

You can also browse our lengthy lost fic masterlist, where we have compiled every request we have been unable to find over the past few years. We're always hoping someone will recognize a fic so we can let the asker know what it was!

1. I read this at least 5 years ago. I think it was on ao3, eighth year, where Harry gets turned into a kid (around 7years maybe? Definitely under 10) and McG makes Draco take care of him. Harry has big scars on his back from the Dursleys and they cause him to have seizures (? Or something like spasms maybe that are painful) fic is not The Dragon and The Golden Baby by jolly_love, or Baby Mama Drama by Stars-and-Stones

2. multi chapter post war fic I read a while ago on Ao3. I remember that Draco had to get married? but definitely live with Harry in Grimmauld Place in order to avoid Azkaban. I remember one scene where Harry takes Draco to the burrow for Sunday brunch with the Weasleys plus Teddy and Andromeda. I think Harry was talking to someone else and Ron pulls Draco aside and starts threatening him about doing anything suspicious he’ll beat him up and send him straight back to Azkaban. (Something along those lines) This triggers Draco because he was also being abused during the war and caused him to have a panic attack bc it reminded him of the past. Harry meanwhile finally notices Draco is missing and finds him hyperventilating with Ron. He tries to calm him down but Draco faints. He takes him upstairs to rest in a bed and tells everyone that he appreciates their worries but if they do that again they’ll have to face his wrath (something along those lines) and that when Draco wakes up they should be kinder towards him. Another scene is (80% sure/20% I’m mixing this detail up with another fic) teddy seems to really like Draco and is always happy with him or crawling towards him. There’s a scene where teddy is crying and Draco is looking for someone to help Teddy, but no one is near them, so he does it himself and Teddy immediately calms down with him. After that scene, there’s short snippets of Draco playing or putting his attention towards Teddy, while Harry watches them from afar and it makes him happy they get along.

3. not sure if it's on ffnet or ao3, but basically harry is heir of ravenclaw, hedwig starts teaching The Ways Of the Dark and he joins voldy because he's in love with Draco. i believe it was set in 6th year, because the bathroom scene still happens, but harry does it on purpose to not give away his disloyalty to voldy. (spoilers: harry goes full to the dark side but only because of draco. he has no loyalty to voldy beyond what he can learn and what he has to do because, again, draco. he is very much dark tho, people try to bring him down). it's fast paced from what i recall.

4. dark fanfic, not explicit or anything such as sex (that I remember) I believe it was drarry, so I remember it was a dark fanfic one of the darkest ones I had read, it included some death eaters cutting out a little muggle girls heart (I remember this because I cried about it.)because her blood wasn't pure and they tortured others, I read it on fanfiction.net I believe, basically they decided to kidnap muggles and torture them for fun because they didn't view them as clean blooded individuals. Harry or Draco I can't remember watched this happen.

5. dark one on AO3: I believe Voldemort had won the war and the golden trio and others had decided to hide children in camps,They hid muggle born and halfblood children in a camp where it was discovered after a death eater raid that all the children in that camp were found and killed, Draco was not trusted at first but over time harry and everyone else trusted Draco and Drarry happened during the story and was the main shi, I also want to say tried to save a child screaming for help during another raid but the child was killed before he could but that could be a different fanfic and I don't know if it was part of the fanfic or not (I just remember it right now thinking about that scene it sounds like hell on and I think Ginny was dead in this sadly, and Draco was a spy for Harry and the others for some reason reason because I remember him being morally grey, however I have no idea if these are two different fanfics

6. dark drarry fanfic, anyway I don't remember much only that they were at the yule ball in fourth year and Harry was on good terms with the Malfoys I believe, Anyway I remember them talking about Draco's grandfather being apart the original death eaters (The Knights of Walpurgis I believe) and this was either in front of the other Slytherin's and I believe Lucius was there (maybe Narcissa also) or maybe Draco was the one who mentioned it but for some reason I remember Lucius being there, I'm really sure it wasn't Lucius x Harry (Lucius was more of a parental figure I believe).

7. dark fanfic on AO3: I believe Voldemort had won the war and the golden trio and others had decided to hide children in camps, the death eaters Drarry happened during the story and was the main ship. Voldemort won the war. The golden trio + others where hiding children that weren't pure bloods (such as muggleborn and halfblood children). All children in one in one of the camps were found and killed by death eaters during a death eater raid this was later found out during a protest against Voldemort. Later on in the story a child was exploded/killed in front of Harry and he couldn't do anything. A medical place was bombed where they had taken survivors of the raid and Harry didn't know if Hermione had survived. Draco was a spy for the order or whatever organization headed by Harry for some reason. I think children were enslaved by death eaters if they weren't pure bloods and were treated badly. Draco was morally grey in this or he had made bad moral choices

FOUND! 8. For Draco to be inciated into the death eaters he has to kill a little boy. The boy asks Draco to kill him for some reason I think so Draco will live. The golden trio or Harry don't like Draco. Harry gets mad at Draco later on for killing the boy. The boys body was burned. Draco is taunted by the boy's death and feels guilty for killing him. The boy's name is mentioned but I don't remember it

9. I’m pretty sure I read it on ao3 and Charlie brings a girl to the burrow for either Christmas or some other celebration and they observe Harry and Draco and how the Wesley’s ignore draco? And she thinks they don’t accept the gay relationship. I think Charlie is also gay if I remember correctly and asked her to come to help him come out? Pretty sure at some point draco and Harry tell their love story and all the weasleys have never heard it cause they never wanted to ask.

10. it was set during the war and I think Draco was either hunting for horcuxes with the trio, or staying with the order/spying. The 4 of them end up staying at the Dursley’s while the family are away and Hermione sews fish into the curtains (and possibly the furniture too?) as a way to get revenge on the Dursley’s for the way they treated Harry. Harry and Draco were definitely together, but this is the only scene I can remember

11. Draco and Harry are elemental mages. Draco is an ice mage and Harry a fire mage, and they are linked or something like that. They are childhood friends, I believe, and Remus and Sirius are involved. It is set at hogwarts, for sure, so not the fantasy au that comes up in searches. It was a wip on ao3 when I read it and the last chapter I remember involved Draco venting his powers in the shrieking shack and Remus being concerned about him, as they have been negatively affecting his mood/temperament as they develop.

12. top Draco/ bottom Harry. Harry wears panties and Draco finds out. No established relationship other than Auror and healer. I read it on A03 2 months ago. It’s one chapter long. I’m pretty sure Harry gets hurt and they have to take his pants off to address it and that’s when Draco, his healer, sees them. It’s a short fic and that’s basically all that happens I think

13. 8th year centered. post war. it's from draco's pov. harry and draco always meet at the astronomy tower. harry keeps inviting draco to do things together but draco always refuses. harry thinks that he and draco are dating but they aren't. there's this scene that harry and draco are at the astronomy tower and harry invites draco to hogsmade. Draco refuses because the thinks it won't be a good idea to people see them both together. Harry says it's no problem but that he really wants to be able to tell Hermione and Ron about them. Draco asks what he's taking about and Harry tells him it's about their relationship. Draco goes like: WHAT??!! and asks Harry since when they are dating.Harry says since when he thinks they are dating and i think Draco comments about how they never even kissed. Harry says something about how he thought Draco wasn't ready yet and realizes that only he thought that both of them were in a relationship. He goes to apologize but then I think Draco kisses him or something. There might be a part where Harry teaches Draco how to cast the patronus but maybe i'm mixing two fics up. i read it on Ao3 and that is chaptered and longer than 20,000 words

14. Harry has a twin, and they were separated at birth. I don't remember if it was a no magic au, sorry. Anyway, Harry's twin was raised by Sirius (lily and James are still dead) and Harry by Bellatrix. They meet for the first time in summer camp for troubled youth, and shenanigans ensue because they're identical. I know one of the twins ends up with Draco, and the other one with Fred. It was incomplete, I think.

15. it was a professors fanfic where draco and harry worked together at hogwarts and i remember they didnt like each other, and i also very much remember that draco lived under some sort of aquarium under the great lake inside the common room. this seems really odd, because im sure my memory is wrong but i remember reading specifically that it was underwater and that it was located somewhere in the common room of slytherin.

16. I don't remember much of it but what really does stand out to me it's that I'm pretty sure it was already complete 'cause I remember it having a proposal in the end of it and pretty sure it was on Yule and I remember that there was I think at least Molly bashing? Anyways, it had something to do with Molly stealing from Harry and Arthur only finding out about it much later and actually being invited to the Yule celebration! And pretty sure one of the background pairings was Sirius/Charlie. It wasn't Lily's Boy, I'm sure of it! And I'm pretty sure it was Sirius/Charlie 'cause I remember it having a scene in a forest, where Dumbledore took Sirius and Charlie and that's where their relationship began. I think they were hunting Horcruxes? Or doing something like that.

[nerdyvocals]

Hello again! To be honest, @look-at-those-niceass-rocks and I weren't originally sure if we were going to watch Rise of Red or not, but I saw some. Interesting things on tiktok, and we decided this would be a fun excuse to get tipsy on a Saturday night (we even made themed cocktails!), and that we would have a lot of unhinged things to say. Previously, we've also watched and kept a running commentary of the first three films and the Royal Wedding short film.

That said, I know opinions on this film have been very divided, and if you're looking for high praise, you will not find it here. The movie was cute, and we had fun, but we did not have a lot of compliments, and we're still messaging each other with criticisms a week later. If you're looking for two dumbasses who give tipsy critiques (please drink responsibly) about children's movies, please, proceed under the cut!

First, an honorable mention from a few days before the watch party: Bee (after we mentioned that we both, despite not originally planning on watching Rise of Red, had avoided spoilers just in case we changed our minds): Why do I care about spoilers for an unasked-for fourth movie in a franchise I only just became interested in?

Me (reading the description): Okay, so it looks like it's Back to the Future but Disney Bee: Great! Me: Was this needed? I feel like the trilogy wrapped things up nicely

Uma: This is Auradon, the kingdom where all your favorite fairytales are true. It was formed 30 years ago when- Me: PAUSE, okay so of the few things I've seen on tiktok,

Uma: Guess who they left in charge while they're gone? Me: That seems like a bad plan Bee: I was about to say

Me: So the biggest complaint I've seen so far has been about this, where Uma says that Auradon was founded 30 years ago Bee: Right Me: I've seen people call it a plot hole because in the first movie, Mal says the kingdom was founded 20 years ago, and I don't think they ever say exactly how much time passes between any of the movies, but the reality is, and I'm gonna touch your hand when I say this, Bee: *cackling* Me: The first movie came out in 2015. It is now 2024. The first movie came out almost 10 years ago, and in fact, when you add 10 to 20, ya get 30. Bee: *still wheezing* Me: Now, I don't know if the complaints are coming from new, younger fans who just recently binged the original trilogy in preparation for this and didn't realize when the first one came out, or if they're from older fans who have lost track of time and don't want to face the math- Bee: Fuck math, man!

(Continuing from the previous conversation, after discussing character ages and determining that Uma is likely between 26-28 at this point) Bee: That's too young to be headmaster, she's a baby Me: Bee, that's fairly close to 30, that's not unreasonable. I feel ya though, I'm not an adult, I'm a baby with a drinking permit. Bee: I think I've finally surpassed baby with a drinking permit, I'm more like. Adult, reluctantly

Fairy Godmother: The queen of Hearts refused to join Auradon when we united Me: Yeah, because you would've imprisoned her???

Blonde Wonderland Guard: *appears* Me: Lucius Malfoy??? Bee: Wig Me: Starkid's A Very Potter Sequel Lucius Malfoy???

Me: Does she (Red) have a nose ring??? Bee: Oh shit, she does! Me: We finally get some edginess to character design and it's when nose rings are no longer edgy

Honorable mention: Us spending Multiple Minutes trying to figure out if Maddox was supposed to be The Mad Hatter or the son of the Mad Hatter. We ended with no answers

(About Paolo!Charming) Bee: Oh, he has only gotten hotter Me: Correct! Why does he have blue in his hair Bee: Because he's hot

Me: Imagine being this in love still after raising Chad

Cindy: We wouldn't have been able to make this great family Bee: And Chad

Cindy: *presents Chloe with the Most Hideous Shoes I have Ever Seen* Me: *chugs what's left of my drink*

Cindy: We can visit Chad at college another time Me: Chad got into college??? Bee: Nepo baby

Bee: Does anyone in this movie understand "show don't tell?" Movie: *Insert Love Ain't It, aka Exposition: the Song* Me: Nope!

Cindy and the Queen of Hearts: *share a look* Me: Ex-lovers Red and Chloe: *share a look* Me: Future lovers?

Me: JABBERWOCKY MENTION! Bee: Drink!

Me: Is that supposed to be Jasmine and Aladdin? Bee: I think so? Me: Why does Jasmine have a fuck-ass bob? What is it with Descendants and fuck-ass bobs???

Me: I'm going to get so drunk over this Bee: I think that's safet Me: ...Safet???

Me: Where are Harry and Gil? Bee: On their honeymoon

(During the What's My Name? reprise) Bee: ...I need to take another drink Me: Same Bee: My drink is almost gone, I'm so sad Me: Do what I did, make another Bee: I will after this dork-ass song

Uma: Do you mind? Queen: I think I do Me: *pausing* Do you want to make a second drink real quick before things get cringier? Bee: ...I think that's a good idea

Me: I think I don't hate the silhouette of the Queen of Hearts' look, but it's way too monochromatic Bee: Drink! You're right though, there's no dimension

*Wand Breaks* Me: OH SHIT Bee: You could do that this whole time???

Cindy: Stop it, Bridget, you're better than this! Me: Is she? Bee: I don't think she is

Aladdin: Look at her, she's enjoying this! Me: Yeah, she's a teenager experiencing parental affection for the first time. Y'all really learned nothing, huh? Bee: You'd think after ten years they'd get their shit together

(As Cinderella is being led away) Bee: I love her poofs Me: God, me too, I love puff sleeves Bee: We are both just Anne Shirley

Fairy Godmother: *is young* Me. She looks so much like Jane Bee: For a second there, I thought that just straight up was Jane Me: Brilliant casting

Me: Why are their clothes so modern if this is supposed to be over thirty years ago

Me: This princess insult doesn't work if you're both princesses

Red and Chloe: *forehead touch* Me: Gay Bee: Kiss

(After Fight of Our Lives) Bee: I feel like this didn't need to be a song Me: We could've just had a homoerotic sword fight à la The Princess Bride

Me: Ahhh, that's why everyone is dressed so modern, so they can blend in without a costume change! That's so lazy!

Bee: He (Merlin) pulls a lit Molotov cocktail from his bag

(Alchemy Class) Bee: ...The hap is fuckening

Red: *eats a cupcake* Bee: These falsies are really gonna help me do alchemy!!!

Bridget: It's Jasmine and Aladdin! J&A: Call us Jaladdin! Me: I will not be doing that Bee: *choking* WHAT THE FUCK

Morgie: Son of Morgana! Me: See, Morgana has a kid already, but gee, why wouldn't Disney want children Googling Mordred? Bee: Hehehe

Uliana: TELL BRIDGET I WILL DESTROY HER Me: See, girl, she did warn you Bee: Why are Jaladdin going with?

Ella: Will you go to castlecoming with me? Me: OH Bee: GAY Me: So it wasn't a prank that turned her evil, it was that her girlfriend ditched her for a boy, Us, simultaneously: IT'S GIVING GOOD LUCK BABE

(In the Tremaine Manor) Me: Oooh, this kid is about to learn what parental abuse is

Bee: I need them to try and fix it and then have to go back again because they accidentally turn Cinderella evil Me: That's what the fifth movie is about, actually

Uliana's Hideout: *emerging from the water* Me: WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT Bee: "Can-I-Have-A-Cigarette" lookin' ass Me: *WHEEZE*

(During Perfect Revenge) Bee: Kenny Ortega, I'm sorry I didn't appreciate you when I had you

(It was at this point, when Uliana was hanging by her tentacles, that Bee's husband entered to check on us) [Husband]: ...What in the Doc Ock

Me: Ooooh, that last sip hit, I think I've made it to drunk Bee: Oh boy! Me: I'm so glad I don;t have to be anywhere tomorrow Bee: Drink some water Me: Water is for weaklings! Bee: I don't get hangovers anymore because I hydrate while I drink Me: I don't get hangovers because I'm 22 Bee: Suck my dick, Levi Me: I don't think [Husband] would appreciate that Bee: [HUSBAND], CAN LEVI SUCK MY DICK?! [Husband], distantly: I don't know how to respond to that??? Me: *falling off the couch crying laughing*

Bridget: *talking about her Shuffle of Love dance* Me: If not going on date, why worried about love, I am drunk Bee: No, you're correct

Bridget: If I was your mom, I'd love to have a daughter that thinks for herself Me: BOY WOW I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO GET HIT IN THE MOMMY ISSUES

Bee: Oh, pretty boy (Paolo!Charming) is back! Also I stood up and I too am now drunk

(After some line about valiant knights being always good) Me: Have you heard of Lancelot? Bee: I was about to say

(During the Hands Dirty sequence) Me: This is a song from a better movie Bee: Not again

Bee: I simply do not believe that Cinderella would let her daughter grow up that dumb as hell. I do, however, believe that Prince Charming would let his daughter grow up that dumb as hell Me: have you met Chad? Bee: That's fair, actually. Chad's adopted Me: Who's goddamn white baby is that? Bee: Who's goddamn white baby is that!

Me: Pause! So here, funnily enough, is a perfect example of what my mentor calls "Disney Patches:"

Bee: Drink! Me: So what they're trying to do here is show that Ella has to wear her clothes to the bone and patches them herself. When you add patches to garments to make them look like they've been repaired, you need to make sure the placement makes sense, as in think about where clothes would likely wear to holes: for pants, that's gonna be mainly knees and inner thigh. Disney has a habit of just putting patches wherever in places they just wouldn't be, like here. Why does she have patches in random places on her leg? Bee: Ohhh Me: In some cases in can be a stylistic choice, but I would argue that Ella wouldn't be the type to waste that much fabric for no reason. I can forgive the pockets though, I've had pants that got holes in the pockets, and sometimes it's easier to replace them than to patch

(A shot of Headmaster Merlin's Door) Bee: Hmmm, Merlin Me: ...Headmaster Merlin Bee: hmmmmmmmm, Merlin

Bee, completely deadpan: Hoot hoot, motherfuckers

Me: The Night Falls scene fell flat on its face so this scene could feebly crawl

Me: It has only just occurred to me that Chloe's shoes were supposed to be glass this whole time, I thought they were just fucky Doc Martens Bee: Yeah! Put the uh. The ug. Put the ugly in uggs Me: I think you need to drink more water Bee: I think you're right

Me: They're red and blue gays Bee: They're red and blue gays!

Me: Fuck whatever this movie is supposed to be about, I need them to kiss

Bee: Obsessed with his (Merlin's) coat, costume department popped the fuck off with that Me: That's my line Bee: Drink bitch!

Me: Wait, is that the end? Bee: It can't be, there's no way that worked Me: There's only ten minutes left???

Uma: You didn't think that was the end of the story, did you? Me: FUCK OFF

Bee: I am deadass on Reddit Me: *dying* Bee: Trying to figure out what the fuck

Bee: Where was the climax??? Was it supposed to be that thing in Merlin's office? Me: It can't have been Bee: If it was it fell so flat. I feel like I've sobered up watching that

[mynameisnotthepoint]

Ossan no pantsu EP 3

Disclaimer: I had already watched this drama with subs that were mostly machine translated, so this is less of a first time reaction and more of an "i finally have the whole picture now". This will contain spoilers, so be warned!

As always: thank you to @isaksbestpillow for continuing to provide us with excellent subs to this drama!!

Quote (translation by isaksbestpillow) I believe that Kakeru is thinking of a way to connect with the rest of the world right now. Maybe you could start with supporting him on that journey. (Daichi to Makoto)

My jumbled thoughts/recap I love this building up frustration Kakeru and Makoto have with getting ready/rehearsing to get ready. I think this is also where I really noticed that Kakeru has grown out his hair, it has that choppy look of going from a few milimetres to like 10 cm (same length everywhere, which is what I have been doing for the past year, Kakeru's hair grows fast!). Kakeru seems to really be shedding his old life of baseball and typical boy stuff, but his room has this contrast between his bed, little table and coat rack with a few things that are really to his taste, while the rest of the room still holds the old "boyish" stuff from his childhood.

Makoto's style is truly that one from the "just own the same pants and shirt and jacket in several colors, that way you can mix and match!" videos. Him keeping the leather jacket from his youth, such a thing my stepdad did! (his jacket is still in good shape, though).

Kakeru's story of slowly inching back to the outside world and being percieved by people (especially people his age) is told with such care. Never is he made fun by the narrative, nor are his choice of clothing style or his interests ridiculed. (BTW, a few days ago i watched a fansub of 0.5 no Otoko about a reclusive gamer uncle who is forced to live with his sibling's family after living with his parents for a long time, it was really good!!).

I also love his outfits so much!!! (and look!! he made it outside!!)

From looking at Daichi and his interests, he doesn't seem the one to be most hellbent on following trends. Yet, because he is young, Makoto thinks he will know everything about the popular things with the youth. Later, he also has to call his wife to find a present that Daichi could give to his boyfriend's family. Makoto doesn't really trust his own judgement, is quick to try and help but never thinks if he actually knows how to. It also shows that he doesn't consider his wife's job that important, because he calls Mika several times during her shift for something he could have asked beforehand i.e. help w the present. He didn't even seem to know that she had returned to work after taking time off to look after their son. Mika is always holding back, stowing more sorrow and hurt away so she can serve people (at work, and at home...) with a smile on her face.

Daichi also never says his boyfriend's name, I've noticed. And the fact that he wants to make a good impression on parents that he might never get to meet is something that a lot of queer people have to deal with. Daichi knows what it is like to grow up different, knows what being queer means but also how it keeps you from doing certain things society expect you to do. I am so so glad that Kakeru has someone like Daichi in his life, and honestly also that Makoto can discuss things with Daichi, who has already faced the hurt but also experienced the joy of being queer (he has other queer friends! his mom accepts him!).

Makoto and Daichi talk about being transgender and the difference between men who like to wear women's clothes and who are attracted to women. Which, interestingly enough, Makoto knows someone! Harinishi also gives him a perspective on truly embracing who you are and wearing what you want, even buying it yourself because you want to know what the fabric feels like. Which makes me wonder - where did Kakeru get the clothes from? Did Mika or Moe buy them for him?

In the shop with Daichi, Makoto finds something that would fit Kakeru's current interests, but refrains from buying it after the shop assistant asks him if it's for his daughter. He is shown later in the episode buying it with pride for his son. Just like with the cakes in the first episode, if it is something Makoto can make someone else happy with and is made aware of, he can do it with pride. I think that is his strength, to realize that something is truly not working, find the better option, and change so he uses that option. He of course has huge foot in mouth syndrome, like when he tells Daichi's mom her son is wonderful and then adds it's almost a shame that he's gay...

But here lies the crux of Makoto's problems: He wants to help now, make decisions now. But that is just not possible when you don't know who you are and what you want! So the most important thing he has to learn is patience to let other figure it out and patience to listen when they eventually tell them their findings.

I love this loaf. (Also, i love that the TV program that is on is about Mika's favourite idol group).

[josnhoes]

Hey, could I possibly get a how Dick Grayson and Bruce wayne would deal with having an adult 30 year old s/o who has autism, but the men don’t know about the autism until the men either figure it out themselves or date number 5 is when s/o tells them cuz they don’t just going around telling people about their autism. S/o at first masks themselves very well, but as you get to know them they have these quirks. Like s/o takes an intense interest in their men���s day or hobby or intensely helps out when they’re in trouble. Theyre excitedly talk to their men about their own interests. Gets stressed easily and can’t sleep until they’re not stressed. Finds it hard to understand new topics no matter how many times it is explained to them until it is explained in a way that isn’t normal, but once they understand it, they’re really good at it, except for the concept of being rich with all that money, still can’t wrap their head around how Bruce deals with all that money and all the meetings that go along with it. Finds it hard to express emotions unless it’s intensely happy or intensely hurt. Very blunt, like Batman says he works alone and date waits until other people are gone before saying “but you just worked with the police 10 minutes ago”

Batman and his family are all Autistic to varying degrees except Alfred who is the token nuerotypical, and I will die on this hill. Look at them and their behaviors and *tell me* they aren't autistic. I *dare* you.

GN reader

Content warning: none

Bruce, despite his himbo persona, he put on struggled with people and connecting to them. His family was an exception. He at times struggled with sarcasm and had some blunders but that was publicly chalked up to silly Brucie Wayne the himbo. His diagnosis was kept secret, being famous made that hard to accomplish, but he'd managed to keep it hidden; for him and his family.

Still he was surprised when he clicked so well with you. He found your blunt honesty charming, he appreciated the way you honestly cared about his day. It was nice to have someone outside the family who cared for him and not his fame or money. Though you didn't seem to comprehend how much money he had when you insisted on paying your part of the dates. If he snuck the money back on you somehow, well you'd never know. Spoiler alert you did but you appreciated the gesture.

Then on one of your dates you came clean; and how you clicked made sense! You guys both had autism. Sadly he couldn't tell you his own diagnosis yet. Forgive him for being so cautious, but he worried about the public opinion. Maybe he was a coward, but it was rooted in paranoia.

He knew there was nothing wrong with being autistic, he just also knew the bigots were a major issue and with his nightlife and CEO work he didn't really have time to deal with the bigots and media storm. But if you both lasted longer then a few months he'd tell you.

He supports you completely. Every hobby, Fandom, and hyperfixation he tries out with you. And even if he isn't a fan he happily listens to you talk about it finding the way you light up attractive.

You quickly become *his* person just as he became your's; a fact obvious to everyone.

Dick was the most functioning of the family. Everyone was functional but Dick was able to push through some things. Like the various sensory issues. He also was pretty good at reading social situations. Though he attributed that to his time with his Bio parents. It wasn't always easy for him, when he was younger he was much more prone to outbursts.

He maybe seen as the golden child now, but as far as Robins went *he* had been the one to give Bruce the most gray hairs. Though no one believes it when they hear it. That being said he is one of the few members of the family that is pretty open with his diagnoses. He wants to be a pillar for the autistic and adhd community in Gotham.

So when he met you, he pretty much pegged you as autistic. You had been in the area of hit and run, and as a witness, you had to give a statement. Being the friendliest of the force, he'd been chosen to talk to you. You were point blank and despite the situation you were calm and almost unbothered. Which he asked about and when you said you had trouble emoting he knew right away. He sends you off with his personal number incase you need help or remember something more.

From there, a friendship grew. That being said, this man was a mother hen. Always trying to help you with every little thing, including your sleep issues. He backs off some if you tell him it's too much, but he does explain it's how he shows he cares; and it's not because he doesn't think you can do things for yourself. He remembers the bitterness he felt when his cop coworkers found out about his autism when he first started, and they had both babied him and tried to get him off the force.

From friendship come a romance eventually. He was the one to make the first move. He made a meal for you both to share in his apartment. He picked a couple of movies, each a comfort film for both of you, and made the night special even if it was simple.

[tuckersdeslauriers]

Hey!! There's been a lack of Chenford promo/sneak peaks for this ep?! Thoughts/expectations...

listen...tv being this accessible is so wild. it makes me feel soooo old. like, tv has never been this accessible prior to an episode airing in the history of the format. the idea that we see press photos and releases and 10000 sneak peeks and spoilers is just so...bleh. i'm not into that. it can be fun to follow but idc about anyone's speculation but my own, other people's thoughts/expectations stress me out and i honestly very rarely share my own bc they just get me hate mail ✉️

i miss when the only thing i knew about an episode of upcoming tv was what i read in like, tv guide. i realize this is such an old lady take but as a person who loves the art of tv writing, i just feel like all this shit does the story such a disservice. think about the fact that until like, 10 years ago, honestly a little less, we didn't really see hoards of press photos for every single episode. we didn't see a bunch of sneak peeks so we knew what was to come. sure, there were spoilers, but idk - i yearn for tv to be able to operate in that oblivious space again, i hate knowing what's coming for an episode and forming expectations bc i'd rather just...enjoy television. it's honestly sad to me bc all this shit has changed the way tv works, the way it's written, etc.

anyway all of this is to say: there's been a lack of promo/sneak peeks in general for this ep. that's not abnormal, it just feels weird coming off 2 weeks in a row of a season premiere/100th episode level of hype. the chenford element of it is also not weird to me. they're 2/8 main cast members. other people are going to get the sneak peeks sometimes, just gotta roll with it. if you like the show, it shouldn't matter. ngl, i hate seeing chenford in sneak peeks bc then not all of the content is new for me. i'd so much rather be surprised.

i'm sure there will be some chenford content since there are press photos of them together and we know lucy will wind up riding with celina/tim from spoilers when they were shooting this ep. i'm personally hype not to have to go into this ep assuming i know anything. having all these preconceived notions, imo, is not a healthy relationship with tv so i just try to avoid doing it at all.

tl;dr: i have no expectations of this ep, i'm sure i'll like it bc i like most episodes of this show. i don't think it's weird there's been a smaller amount of promo bc we're coming off two major episodes and i enjoy the rookie without solely caring about chenford.

[carica-ficus]

"Harrow the Ninth"

13/02/2024

Reading progress: 100/507 (20%) Read through since last update: 100

*in the singing voice of Mariah Carey* It's tiiiimeeeee~!!!! I've got my hands on Harrow a few weeks ago and now I finally have the time to start reading it! I've been looking forward to this book ever since I read through Gideon and all my friends are already anxious for me to continue with the series! :D For those of you who stumble upon this little reading journal and have not seen me do it before, I just want to highlight that this is a public expression of my own thoughts while I read through the book. I like to speculate over the text. Since Muir loves to hide bits and pieces of information throughout her books, I like to try piecing them together on my own. It's fun and I feel like I'm conversing with her work in a way, like I'm a participant in the story. I know some people might find that annoying, but just let me do my thing. ^u^' (Just skip this post if you don't like it.)

----------------------------Spoiler warning!!!----------------------------

And now, without further ado, my thoughts and notes:

Who else needed an embarrassing amount of time to realize Ianthe was referring to Harrow when she said Harry? (Hate hate hate that nickname)

Yer a bone wizard, Harry.

The Noniad? Really? Really?

Well Harrow just took body dismorphia to another level. Painting a skull on her face with her own blood to feel some comfort? To regain just a little bit of control? Love her. Love love love her! She's such a mess. 🖤

Hold on. The Emperor says he hasn't resurrected anyone in 10 000 years. Didn't he... Become Emperor 10 000 years ago? Hm hm hm.

I'm managing to follow up on the time changes and the POV changes. As best as I can, of course. Obviously, I'm still a little confused at some times, but I'm glad some questions are slowly getting answered. Well... There's even more questions being asked, but I'm glad we get further insight to the lore.

I really missed Muir's writing. There's such a profound poetry in her style. I love it so much. 🖤

UGHHH!!! THE WRITING IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

The way Muir writes about Harrow and her life, especially about her childhood, feels so gritty, so powerful, and so incredibly raw. There's no possible way to connect to Harrow's experience. She went through so much. But the grief, the responsibility, the connection she has to her culture, to her planet, to her family and to her duty is just so masterfully written, I can't help but feel so drawn to her character. And her story. Man, I missed this series and it's only been 3 months since I've read Gideon.

It's way to early on to know who's the person narrating behind Harrow in "the future", but after the scene with Ianthe and the letters, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Harrow herself. Just from the past. I can't remember whether or not Harrow wrote letters to herself and I just forgot about them... Maybe she did. I don't know. In any case, I'm just speculating, but the way the narrator talks and offers up part of their own personality and parts of their own knowledge, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out it's Harrow. (Well, she did write letters to herself as is revealed in some later chapter, but I think she did the same in Gt9.)

There's so much that is not said yet, but my go to reaction is to just accept it, not fight it. I am wondering where Gideon is, but at the same time I don't currently care about her whereabouts because it's obviously none of my concern. I am also a bit confused over why Ortus is being mentioned so much when he wasn't even involved at the whole Lyctor thing. Again, just speculating and throwing my 2 cents out there. I have full trust in Muir. Everything she writes is with a good reason. I'm presented with all of this information and tangled up timelines and conversations because I need to be. They'll add up to something more. I know it.

Speaking of weird timelines, I wonder where we're at this point in time. I feel like we're actually somewhere unspecified, that these chapters I went through were just a collection of memories, from the past and the future. So I'm wondering what is actually happening right now, but then again, as I already said, this doesn't matter yet and will be revealed later.

Excuse my philosophy. I might be entirely wrong. Don't take it personally, I just like to ramble in these little reading journals of mine, mostly because I like to look back at them and see how much I was wrong/right about my speculations. 😊 What I'll say is that I find Muir very clever as a writer. I like how she plays around with the narrative and makes the reader keep guessing. And I love to guess. I love to participate in her writing. It's very fun! It makes me feel like I'm a part of the story, not just an observer. If that makes any sense. 😅

OKAY! SCRAP EVERYTHING I SAID!!! The part about traveling through the River, the part where Mercy says that something can get inside the Lyctors body when their soul is separated from their physical form, that's the one!! I'm not saying anything more about my speculation, but I hope I have the right hunch about this.

(It will be SO fucking funny if I'm wrong about this, but I don't care.)

(Oh, on another note. That's such a super cool concept!!!! Love the idea. Love how much there's at stake!!!!!)

They're already in the River??? Nah, I'd die instantly. From stress alone.

Also, a little detail I liked is how The Emperor's eyes are described in detail. They're mostly black, but then there's a line where Harrow notices a little silver circle around them. I'm wouldn't outright say he's probably a Lyctor, but I'd say he might have also sacrificed/killed someone he cares about or his cavalier. I don't know, I just found it really interesting that his eyes are often mentioned as something strange.

BTW I love the heterochromia part. Such a beautiful way to portray the cavaliers have become a part of the Lyctors.

[hiramaris]

Dusk til Dawn

Part 10

Summary: Following Episode 9. And spoilers for Episode 10. 

Author’s note: As Episode 10 is just released I just want to say heads up for those who are not yet finished. Completing the game without spoilers really made a difference, and as much as possible I want everyone to experience that. And for those finished, I’ll gladly welcome you to my domain where MC took a different route.

Disclaimer:  I do not own Duskwood or any of the related characters. Duskwood is created by and owned by Everbyte Studio. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Duskwood story belong to Everbyte Studio.

Warning: Mentions of blood, suicide, violence, pedophiles, drugs, gun, murder, sex offenders, kidnapping

Gif not mine (please kindly inform me if anyone of you knew)

Y/n's really leaving.

It's the mantra that kept playing over Jessy's head like a broken record player.

As Jake dropped the call, you hadn't had the chance to spare them any more glances as you prepared your things. You had inspect the gun you have with you along with its ammunition multiple times already. You even took out a hunting knife and place it in a holster wrapped around the side of your leg.

She shivered at the thought you even had to use them.

When you confessed about your true self, what she said was true. Nothing had changed about what she thought of you. You're still Y/n, the one she had grown to care and love.

Yes, love. She knew love is such a deep word to use when she had only met you not too long ago. She believed before that finding love online is futile, and it was difficult to establish trust with some strangers she met online. Her boyfriend was able to cheat on her after years of being physically together, what more can someone from miles away where they'll be away from her sight and touch?

But when you came, all these doubts seemed to wash away. The fact you made her feel safer more than anyone else just by merely being on a phone with her, making her feel special just by asking her on a virtual date, making sure she's okay and the occasional sleep calls with you, none of the people she had dated made her feel the same way you do and you weren't even here physically.

There's no room for doubt anyway. Not when you had risked your life for this group many times already.

Now as she watch your back, ready to risk your life for the last time, she realized that you really are determined to go.

And she didn't have the heart to stop you.

She wanted Hannah and Richy back. She really does. But at the expense of you? That's something she finds hard to accept. She knew you were fully capable, but that doesn't do anything to ease her worries.

What if you get hurt?

What if you don't come back?

The mere thought clenches her heart so painfully that breathing felt like a chore now.

"Guys, please don't give me that look."

The cabin was so silent that the request that left your lips seemed louder than ever.

****

The next few minutes of preparation were a lot of crying on the girls and Thomas' end. Dan, well, his tipsy ass kept passing you drinks (that Lilly always takes away from you). You assumed that's his way to say 'Be careful.'

You appreciate what he's doing though. You didn't want to leave them feeling like this. Like they just sent you to your death and they can't do anything about it.

After leaving everyone's safety to Dan, you decided it's time to go.

You were surprised when Jessy volunteered to walk you to the porch. You assumed she wanted to say goodbye properly.

The porch was bathed in moonlight when you stepped outside, casting long shadows on the wooden planks. You turned to her, her red hair illuminated by the soft glow.

"Jess," you began. "I'm sor—"

"Don't," she sniffed, stopping you from your statement. "I'm sorry I'm making it hard for you to leave. F-for... for being selfish." Her voice cracked. "I just... it's dangerous and I— God. I just didn't want you to get hurt. I'm sorry..."

You couldn't help but wrap her in your arms. You held her close, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "You've got nothing to apologize for, baby."

"There's a lot. And a lot to thank for, too," she breathed, leaning into your embrace for dear life. "And I'd like to tell all of them to you once you come back."

"You mean..." Your eyes widened at her implications.

"Yeah... I'm letting you go." The way she lets out those words seemed like it's physically hurting her. She lets out a watery laugh, "and It's not like my opinion matters this time."

You couldn't believe what you are hearing. You leaned back to her embrace, hands carefully gripping her by the shoulder. Puffy, tear-filled eyes met your own.

But they are not begging you to not go this time, but begging you to come back.

"It matters." You reached out and gently cupped her cheek, your thumb brushing against her skin, eager to make your point across. "It sounds so screwed up and yet," you paused, your eyes boring into her own with great intensity. "you can tell me to stay, and I will."

Whatever may happen tonight is a huge gamble to play.

Lose and you will lose everything.

Win.

That's all there is to it.

Fight and win.

You can't afford to lose. Not now.

"No... No, Y/n." She shook her head gently, her touch on your hands warm and comforting. "We both know that's not who you are."

"Jessy..." Your eyes softened drastically.

"Save Hannah and Richy, okay?" She took hold of your hands on her cheeks, her voice quivering but determined. Despite the tears running down her cheeks, there was a fierce resolve in her expression. "If there's anyone who could do it, it would be you, Y/n/n."

Her words hit you deep, like a surge of energy coursing through your veins. She had an unwavering belief in you, and it only made you more determined to succeed. The lump in your throat grew, and you didn’t trust your own voice enough to speak without breaking. And so, you did the only thing you thought would convey your emotions best at that moment.

Leaning in, you brushed your lips against hers in a tender kiss. It was a mixture of longing and reassurance, a promise that you'd come back to her. There was a softness in the way your lips met, a silent exchange of emotions that words could never fully capture. When you finally pulled away, her eyes were teary but determined.

She tasted like salt from her tears, the faint sweetness of strawberries, and the familiar comfort of home.

"I love you," she whispered as you both separated, her breath warm against your lips. Your eyes widened at her confession, a mix of surprise and joy filling your chest. "Don't," she breathed, eyes still closed. "I'll wait for you to say it back once you come back. I just want to say it."

"You're no fair, Miss Hawkins." A watery laugh escapes you, and you couldn’t resist the pull any longer. You leaned in, capturing her lips in another tender kiss.

"Just want to make sure, Agent," she replied, her voice holding a hint of teasing. "Now go, save our friends, and come back to me."

It looks like you have to speed up the process because waiting for days to say it back is going to kill you, you’re sure.

Despite everything, despite the danger that lay ahead, you found yourself smiling.

You were still under the same sky, and somehow, that thought gave you comfort.

Everything’s going to be okay.

****

"Any updates on Michael's whereabouts?"

These were Jake's first words to you as he entered the car. You didn't have to look to know it was him. The same monotonous voice can be recognized from miles away. The heavy door of the car clicked shut, sealing the two of you in the confined space.

Oh, and of course. How could you forget? The guy loves his comfy hoodie so much, his mask, and his favorite beanie that his mom personally crocheted for his birthday. Even in these circumstances, he still clung to his attire like a security blanket.

"None so far," you settled on as a reply.

You started the engine once again and sped past the mini stop you and Jake agreed upon on. It was a little far from the cabin but it was relatively closer to Jake's hotel.

Tonight was cold and you wouldn't really blame Jake for his chosen clothing. However, this type of cold is something a warm coffee couldn't handle. It was the type where it send chills down your spine, you felt a sense of impending doom, not for you but for Hannah and Richy. Time is against you two and you know from experience that time is an opponent you cannot win against.

"You know you really don't have to do this."

"I have to. It is the best option we have. You have put yourself in danger for long enough. Listening to Michael's demand would be suicide. That is why I cannot allow you to go alone, but at the same time, I cannot allow Hannah and Richy to be in danger. They are both in the Ironsplinter Mine. I can almost pinpoint their exact location. I cannot say how long this will be the case." Jake's voice remained steady, his tone unemotional, though his words conveyed a sense of urgency and conviction.

"I didn't know you'd be this talkative personally," you chuckled. "But in all seriousness, I am glad to be doing this 'kamikaze' mission as Dan would like to say, with you."

"Indeed, we've come a long way, haven't we?"

"Yes, we have, Jake. Yes, we have."

The car ride continued in a comfortable silence. There was an understanding between you and Jake that didn't require many words. It felt weird but right in some way, like two puzzle pieces that somehow fit together despite being from entirely different sets.

Both of you are polar opposites. An investigator and a criminal. Who would have thought both would remain seated in a confined space and talk about the most random things.

If someone would tell you you'd be partnering up with a hacker and probably one of the most wanted criminals in this part of Europe, you'd probably give that person a glare of a lifetime, yet here you are with Jake.

Indeed, you'd come a long way.

****

"Y/n," Jake began after minutes of comfortable silence.

"Yeah?" You turn to look at him briefly, careful to not let your eyes stray for too long away from the road. You wouldn't want to have a repeat of Hannah and Amy's mistakes. The forest was dense, and the road was illuminated only sporadically by dim streetlights. With its numerous twists and turns, you couldn't afford any distractions.

"I wish to ask one last favor of you." He continued as he typed away on his laptop. The hum of the car's engine and the occasional tapping of his keyboard filled the space between his words.

"Sure, what do you want me to do?"

"I would like to ask you to tell Michael that you are on your way to the Grimrock." He looked up at you, his gaze steady and serious.

"Makes sense," you mused. Slowing down a touch, you pulled out your phone and started composing a message to Michael, ensuring to keep your driving steady at the same time.

You grinned at your own antics. You showed your phone to Jake, knowing he shares the same humor as you.

"Seriously?" He lets out a soft laugh, the subtle crinkles around his eyes giving away his amusement. "This should not be a laughing matter, however, I find it really funny."

You snorted, unable to suppress your chuckle. "I just can't miss the opportunity."

****

"I don't get it, you know?" You mumbled aloud, the words escaping your thoughts unintentionally. It felt like you needed to voice your confusion, even if just to the air in the car.

"Hmm?" Jake turned to you with a quizzical look, his attention fully on you now.

"Thomas is right." You muttered after a beat or two, your gaze fixed on the road ahead as the car continued its journey. The cave on the outskirts of Moonvale was getting closer with each passing mile. "I am literally the highest-ranking criminal investigator in the region. I don't get why you're all so protective of me. I am fully capable of subduing someone like Michael. I've been trained for it for years." You voiced your thoughts with a hint of frustration in your tone. "I'm just not used to it," you exhaled sharply, your breath carrying a mixture of resignation and confusion.

"Jessica cares for you," Jake responded slowly, each word carrying weight as if he was carefully considering the impact. "You can be Superman, and be all invincible and she'll still be worrying about you. You cannot take that away from her. The same goes for everyone. They have grown to care for you."

"But what about Hannah and Richy?" you countered.

He didn't respond immediately, his fingers still dancing across the keyboard.

"Just because they don't want you to go doesn't mean they don't care about them. It just means they don't want you to go, however, it wasn't really their choice to make as the situation still demands you to go. It's not really a matter of choice of who is more important than who, and who is more capable than who." Jake's gaze met yours, his expression serious. "Remember your question back then, when Jessy was attacked and you were ready to fly here?"

"How far is too far when it comes to saving a life?"

"Precisely. Life is life, Y/n. No one will be greater than the other. We do not want you to put yourself in danger just because you have the capacity to do so."

"And you're allowed to do the same thing?" You scoffed. You know Jake's response was logical, but it didn't quite quell your frustration. "Why can't the same rules apply to both of us? I have seen that they are mostly relieved to be knowing it will be you who will go rather than me. And I saw their distress when I decided to come along, too, Jake."

You wanted to say it's unfair because it is.

"Y/n, you cannot blame them."

"I am not. It's just not fair." There you said it.

"You have formed a bond with them. A genuine one, it will only be natural for them to be more worried about you." He tried to explain. "I have threatened them and invaded their privacy on multiple occasions. That's why I do not expect them to warm up to me the way they have to you."

You wanted to laugh at the hypocrisy. If they have known you have access to their private data as well, would they have thought of you the same?

You don't even want to know.

You sighed. You're also being unfair to them, thinking about them like this. They have accepted you for who you are, and you having access to their private account seemed to be shallow compared to what you have done, and yet they turned a blind eye to them.

This is some fucked up shit, really.

"But what about me?" You spoke softly, almost to yourself. "You have formed a genuine bond with me. So, my opinion for you not to go doesn't matter?"

"It meant the world to me, Y/n. That you cared for me. But I have already made the decision to protect you at any cost." He said softly. "I have been on the run for four years. One event changed my whole life completely. I lost everything in a single night. My home, my identity. Every single person in my life, Y/n. There was nobody I could trust even though I did not want to."

"I am sorry to hear that." You let out a sigh. "I just didn't want you to think that no one cares about you."

"There is no need to be sorry," he replied, ruffling your hair, which earned a playful groan from you. "I knew what I was getting into. I made that decision."

"But that doesn't mean it's not hard."

"You do not have to sacrifice your life and career for me. I am already used to running away. I also knew you wanted a life here, with Jessica, and the others. I will not take that away from you."

You smiled sadly. Yes, you do want that.

But will the situation permit you? You're not entirely sure.

"Don't you ever have the desire to stay here with Lilly and Hannah?" You questioned back. "And live a normal life?"

"Of course, I do." He answered, eyes growing a bit distant. "However, I know it will be impossible."

"Can you maybe stop predicting things, Jake?"

"You and I both know how this will all end."

"Do we?" You challenged, a small smirk creeping into your features. "Maybe we should start trying for a few alternatives."

"What do you mean?"

****

"Well, here we are," you announced as you parked the car. The headlights illuminated the end of the road, revealing the entrance to the cave. It wasn't exactly a picturesque spot, with a glaring red "No Trespassing!" sign catching your attention. "Looks like it's pretty isolated."

Jake stepped out of the car, closing the door behind him, and took in the surroundings. The air was heavy with anticipation, and the looming darkness of the cave entrance only added to the eerie atmosphere. "Seems like no one's really allowed around here," he observed.

"Hmm, so I guess we don't have any choice. We're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way," you said, stretching your fingers and rolling your shoulders to relieve some of the tension from the long drive.

"By old-fashioned, you mean breaking and entering?" Jake quirked an eyebrow, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

"Yeah," you grinned. "Cleo would be so proud of us."

A soft chuckle escaped Jake. "She does have a reputation for breaking in."

"Shall we contact the others?"

"Yes, that would be ideal," Jake agreed, his expression serious as he retrieved his phone.

****

"Hello?" you greeted everyone, your voice carrying through the phone's speaker.

From the other end of the call, a collective sigh of relief seemed to escape.

"Oh my goodness, there you are!" Lilly exclaimed.

"You've been gone for ages," Jessy added, her voice tinged with concern.

"They were only gone for a little over an hour, Jessy," Dan interjected. "Hey there, Sherlock and Hackerman. How's it going?"

"Oh shush it, Dan. One hour is long enough." Jessy shot back with a playful roll of her eyes. "How are things going, you two?"

"We have reached the Ironsplinter mine," Jake told them.

"Yeah, see this big opening with these do not cross tapes all over it?" You explained, turning your phone's camera to capture the scene. The cave's opening was imposing, shrouded in darkness and warning signs. "That's the entrance. We're going to have to cut through the tapes and climb our way through to enter."

"Yeah," Cleo's voice came through the phone. "So, technically no one should be allowed inside?"

"Exactly," you replied, a playful grin in your voice. "I can now see why you like breaking in."

A burst of laughter echoed on the other end of the call, most notably from Dan. "Good one."

"Seriously, Y/n?" Cleo can only facepalm in exasperation. "I was afraid Dan has already corrupted you, and it was only a few hours since you arrived here."

"Hey! I'm not that bad."

"Anyway, there will be instances where we will be suddenly offline, but don't worry. The reception here is just really unreliable as you can imagine." You informed them.

"I thought as much," Thomas chimed in.

"Thanks for the heads up," Lilly added.

"We're lucky to even have any reception at all," Cleo remarked.

"Be careful, both of you," Jessy's voice held genuine concern.

"We'll keep you updated as soon as we can, okay?" You assured them before ending the call. Turning to Jake, you said, "Now, shall we head inside?"

****

In the dim light of your flashlights, you and Jake ventured into the cave's mouth. The air grew cold and heavy, laden with dampness that clung to their skin like a shroud. The walls seemed to close in, the jagged rock formations looming like the teeth of some ancient, evil creature.

"Comfy," you whistled as the interior of the cave unfolded before you. If the outside was already pitch black, then the inside is pretty much the epitome of darkness. Outside, at least there was the moonlight to help you make out your surroundings, but inside? If you hadn't brought flashlights, you'd likely be navigating blind. "Creepier than I imagined."

"Well, considering its history, it has all the right to be called creepy," Jake mentioned while examining his map. "During my research, I found out quite a bit about this mine."

"Sounds like you," you playfully nudged him.

"I wanted to be prepared, just like you," he scoffed. "I'll handle the tech stuff, while you do your agent thing."

"Jake, I'm everything but prepared." You sighed as you navigated the uneven terrain, moving with cautious grace. Your steps echoing softly. The cave's floor was uneven, a mosaic of rocks and pebbles. Occasionally, you would need to clamber over a protruding rock or duck beneath a low-hanging stalactite. "I just want to get them both back," You added after a while.

"Since when did Dolos come unprepared?" he remarked, his flashlight tracing patterns on the cave's wall.

"Guess there's a first time for everything," you conceded with a shrug. The cave's darkness seemed to breathe, and an unnerving ambiance hung in the air.

"Dolos... the spirit of trickery, a master at cunning deception, craftiness, and treachery," he mused. The glow of the flashlights danced along the tunnel's walls as you both continued deeper into the cave. "I can see why you chose that alias. It has quite fit you apparently."

"I'm not sure if I'll take that as a compliment." You raised an eyebrow. Did he just call you a liar? Just in a metaphoric way?

"It is a compliment," he affirmed as he led you to a tunnel on the right. The narrow passage led you deeper into the heart of the cave, each step echoing softly against the rocky walls. "I was fascinated by you from the start. It's no secret that I have access to all private and public information of this group. But I do not have access to yours." He paused, his tone contemplative. "And I know you only let me access your phone because it's a dummy phone that only has your private messages with them, nothing else." He continued, his footsteps echoing faintly. "You know the basic tricks in hacking, and there are also instances where you've demonstrated advanced techniques. Things that a normal citizen wouldn't have knowledge of."

"I am a covert agent for a reason," you replied, your voice steady in the echoing tunnel. "As a master in psychology, it is easy for me to deceive my targets, which is a vital tool in becoming an undercover agent."

"What I am saying, Y/n is that you're the only one capable to subdue Michael." He paused for emphasis before continuing. "Play with his brain the way Dolos would."

"Roger that." You smirked. "Though it surprises me you'd known about Dolos a lot already."

"Maybe Dan is not the only biggest fan of yours."

****

"I must say, it's quite smart of him to use this mine to hide Hannah and Richy," Jake commented as you both treaded cautiously through the depths of the cave.

"Because it's so extensive," you nodded, the beam of your flashlight cutting through the darkness.

"Correct," Jake affirmed. "The Ironsplinter Mine has a total length of more than 60 miles. The main entrance in Terrendale has turned into a museum, with a part of the tunnels accessible to visitors." He gestured at different parts of the map. "However, most of the tunnels beyond that point are blocked off and in danger of collapsing. I'd estimate that Michael has about 30 miles of tunnels at his disposal."

"A perfect place to hide," you agreed, a thoughtful expression on your face. Then, a realization struck you. "Jake, what if he's been hiding here from the beginning?"

"Then we must assume that he knows his way around quite well," Jake said through gritted teeth. The tension in the air grew as you both continued your journey, maintaining a brisk pace while staying alert.

Your eyes scanned the surroundings, your hand never straying far from your weapon. Being ambushed by Michael Hanson was not a situation you wanted to find yourself in.

Suddenly, Jake came to a halt, his flashlight revealing a hole in the ground with a ladder leading down. "Looks like a shaft," you commented.

"Indeed," Jake replied.

"Let me just update the group."

With your phone safely secured in your pocket, you turned your full attention to Jake. "Anything else I should know before we head down? It felt like you deliberately left something out when talking to the others."

"It's kind of unsettling how you can pick up on that," Jake sighed. "According to my research, the ladders in this shaft go down for about 200 feet. In case any of the ladders are damaged or missing—"

"Hmm we're fucked, right?"

"I was going to say our plan will fail but I guess it's the same thing."

****

Upon midway in descending the ladder, your phone began to vibrate incessantly in your back pocket. The unexpected vibration caused you to falter for a moment, your grip on the ladder tightening instinctively to prevent any accidents.

Once your feet were firmly on the ground, you retrieved your phone and checked the screen. It was flooded with notifications, indicating that you and Jake had been exploring the mine for a longer period than you had realized.

"We have to be thankful that the ladder was relatively stable," Jake mentioned, his gaze fixed on the map in his hands once again. "However, they have been exposed to constant moisture for years and are quite rusty."

"I think we should seriously reconsider using them on the way back," you remarked, a shiver running down your spine at the thought of relying on rusty ladders above a 200-foot drop. "The last thing I want is plummeting straight into the abyss."

"Right, especially if there are four of us."

"Is there any other way out?" you inquired, your eyes scanning the intricate network of tunnels that surrounded you. Without a map on hand, getting lost in these winding passages seemed like a very real possibility.

"Yes, there is. However, they come with some extensive detours."

You sighed, a sense of fatigue settling in. "Oh, boy... this is going to be one hell of a night."

~~~~~

Previous

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A/N: Hello! First of all, I want to apologize for making this fanfiction under WIP for months. I have read your comments and everything and I want to thank you for spurring the author in me once again. School has been a pain in my ass and it has been a hassle juggling life and boosting my GPA along with some personal issues. To make it short, it had emotionally and mentally burned me out to the point I can't even write anything. Not to mention I was bombarded with paper works so I really have to force myself to vomit words just to survive the semester so yeah, I think that sums it up. My apologies again because I have to cut this part out upon reaching 4.5k because I feel like the whole part will be far too long and I wouldn't be able to put a breather between scenes. The next part will be uploaded soon after this, don't worry.

Question tho: what are your thoughts on my writing style? Because I feel like I'm stretching out the storyline more than it probably needs, adding details that might not be entirely essential. I want to hear what's on your mind.

[by-kilian]

Heyy!!!

I don’t know if you read the aot manga ending or seen the anime’s finale ending- but if you have. what’s your thoughts?🙌🏻

Hey lovey dovey! I have read the AOT ending (forever ago when it released?) but I haven't seen the finale because I no longer watch the show (which I'll explain lol). I'll try to put my thoughts below a cut to avoid spoilers.

I truthfully wasn't a fan of the ending. 🥶 When it originally came out and I read it, I absolutely hated it and I still honestly hate it to this day, so much so that I flat-out stopped watching the show because I knew that it was heading towards that end and I didn't want to be invested in something that ended so poorly. A lot of people stopped being fans of the AOT once that ending came out. I vividly remember texting a friend who loved AOT as much as I did like, "bro...wtf?????" We were so upset. We had just come off the tail-end of the horrendous ending that was GOT and felt like we got smacked in the face with yet another horrendous ending for AOT. I just think the ending did not do the story justice. It didn't do the themes of the story justice either, if anything, it went backwards on them. We went on this incredible journey with these characters for 10+ years only for them to kind of end up right back where they started. The ending made the entire story and the character's hardships and journeys feel like it was for nothing, which is never a great feeling for a story. I don't think that was always the original intention. I truthfully think Isayama forgot the story, and his characters, and as a result of that, he changed a lot in order to satisfy some people, foregoing whatever his original end may have been for an ending that he thought audiences would be more receptive of (he's also admitted to changing things because of stuff he's read online).

Isayama himself also admitted that he "lost" his characterization of Eren and imo, you see it in the text. He said Eren didn't make sense to him anymore. WE SEE THAT. Eren's motives made no sense. EREN made no sense. Nothing he did made any sense, and nothing in that entire finale made a lick of goddamn sense 😭. I think he lost his story and what we got in the end is a result of that.

I, and a ton of other people, were so disappointed. And I remain as such. It is a shame to me. Isayama built such a cool world with so many memorable, iconic characters, and the story fell off with a flat horn sound that wound up confusing and upsetting more people than it made them happy.

The only thing that made me happy in the end was that Levi survived. That was about it. My man lived, that's all I cared about 🤣.

I am so sorry for the rant. I hope that my analysis or thoughts won't change your feelings either if you enjoyed it! On the flip side of many of us who didn't like it, there are those who did. I'm happy for the people who liked it because I certainly wish I felt the same since AOT will always have a place in my heart.

[thesaltyace]

omfg y'all am I insane or is this healthcare professional a fucking nutjob

(Spoiler: I know she's a fucking nutjob but would deeply appreciate others chiming in because I still feel crazy 😭)

Okay, so I am still reeling from this provider interaction and feel like I'm going crazy. To sum up, she downplayed covid in general, suggested that antivirals were more dangerous than covid itself, and I believe she tried to scare me and my partner into not asking for Paxlovid at all.

Background info:

My partner and I are both mid-30s. We both have health conditions that place us in the high risk category for serious covid complications (asthma, CKD, overweight/obese, etc.).

Because we have several high risk factors, we have been super careful for the past 3+ years, and fortunately haven't caught covid at all before now (to our knowledge).

We are primarily concerned about long term damage and possible long covid. We are aware that even though omicron has lower risk of long covid, it's still around 10-14% risk. Especially considering our high risk health conditions, we want to do everything we can to prevent long covid.

We are aware that Paxlovid is an oral antiviral that received full approval a couple of months ago for high risk groups.

What happened:

My partner and I both tested positive for covid today using an at-home test, so we decided to go to the local clinic. They offered to see us together and we agreed, so we're in the same exam room.

The tech who was taking our info asked, "You tested positive with an at-home test? When?" "Yes. We took the tests about an hour ago." She seemed confused. "So why are you here?" "To…. confirm with a PCR I guess? Or to get antivirals?" She seemed annoyed and quickly left.

[Edited to add - the LVN and tech discussed between themselves, before they left the room, that the provider said a PCR wasn't necessary since we had a positive home test and symptoms.]

When the provider (CNP) came in, she started off with the same question. "Okay, so I understand that you tested positive with at-home tests. So... why are you here?" We gave her the same answer: "To get Paxlovid? ...I guess?"

She scoffed and said, "I'll prescribe you Paxlovid if that's what you want, but I don't recommend it." Well, that wasn't what we expected to hear. She explained that she doesn't recommend it because it's only authorized for emergency use and "doesn't really do as much for you as you'd like to think." She went on to explain that it interacts with "a ton of really common medications" so it can be very risky to use anyway, possibly even more risky than covid itself. My partner spoke up to say, "Yes, we saw that the only medication of mine that appears to have an interaction is amlodipine but that it isn't a contraindication." and she quickly said, "Right, but Paxlovid is just very risky if you have anything cardiovascular going on."

O…kay….

She then explained that Paxlovid isn't really for mild cases anyway, it's really just for people who are at high, high risk for severe covid symptoms and would, like, die in 24 hours without treatment. We found this odd (and in fact blatantly wrong) based on our own knowledge of Paxlovid and covid, so we didn't quite know what to say. I felt very put off and like I couldn't trust what she was telling us. It's at this point that I suspected this woman was trying to dissuade us from taking Paxlovid for… I have no idea what reason. But we live in West Texas and it's extremely red here, so… draw your own conclusion. (I did.)

She then started talking down to us (IMO) by explaining that we would still have to deal with the coughs and sniffles even if we took the antivirals. As though we were only there for a quick fix, because our little stuffy noses were so annoying. I finally spoke up and explained that we're less concerned about acute symptoms and more concerned about long-term effects and possible long covid.

This really made my blood boil. She proceeded to tell me that 1) Paxlovid won't help with preventing long covid, 2) omicron doesn't really cause long covid, that's just the original covid strain that does that, so no one is really seeing new cases of long covid, and 3) no one's getting severely sick from covid anymore anyway, and we appear to have a mild case, so I shouldn't really be concerned. You know, folks, based on my own knowledge, those are some pretty sweeping unsupported statements. So the more she talks, the more concerned I get.

She then starts telling us about how there's all sorts of adverse reactions that can happen with Paxlovid. Horrible reactions that could totally ruin your life! Worse than long covid! But no specific reactions mentioned at this point - just general "Oh, it's so bad" pearl-clutching statements. We sat silently through this -- I think wondering if this was actually happening.

Our continued silence finally caught her attention. "Oh, I know, most people don't expect to hear all this!" "Uh huh." At this point, I'm trying to not to pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "So what are the risk factors for these reactions?" "Well, they're far-reaching effects that can ruin your health and your life! It can happen to anyone. Things like hemorrhagic stroke--" I am extremely annoyed and cut her off. "Okay, fine, but that doesn't answer my question. What are the RISK FACTORS for these reactions?" "There are none." "None? No risk factors. No correlations. For any of these reactions." "No. It affects everyone equally. Age, sex, race, doesn't matter. You aren't safe because you're young." "No specific health conditions that would put one at higher risk of these bad reactions?" "No, it affects EVERYONE the same."

^^ If y'all don't see why that kind of claim is absolute bullshit I don't know what to tell you. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think I've ever heard of any condition/reaction that that has zero identifiable risk factors or correlations, that just somehow affects everyone equally. She pulled that out of her ass, full stop.

Anyway, we just stared at her again because what else do you say to that kind of fearmongering bullshit? She followed up with, "And this drug is only approved for emergency use, so you know, you're taking a big risk if you choose to take Paxlovid. Like, I have to confirm in our system when I send the prescription that you understand the risks. And it is a risk."

Here's the thing. I remembered seeing a couple of months ago that Paxlovid was now fully approved for high risk groups. You know, like me and my partner. She's trying to tell us that Paxlovid is somehow more dangerous than covid/the risk of developing long covid. As best I can tell based on current data, risk of developing long covid from omicron is around 10-14%. Is this woman seriously trying to tell me that Paxlovid has greater than a 10-14% chance of causing severe issues with no known correlations/risk factors, and was somehow still fully approved for high risk patients a couple of months ago? Something is seriously off here.

If I had to listen to any more of this bullshit I think I was going to lose my absolute mind and verbally rip into her. She already said she'd prescribe it if we wanted it, and I didn't want to risk that changing by pissing her off, so finally I was like, "Okay, I guess can we have a moment to discuss this together, then?" I figured we'd be able to exchange a quick, "This woman is crazy. Yes, let's ask for the Paxlovid", but she goes, "Oh, no, I'll just go ahead and submit the prescription. None of the pharmacies are open until tomorrow morning anyway, so that'll give you plenty of time to consider it. And if you decide you don't want it, just don't fill it. But if you decide you do, the prescription is already submitted."

O....kay... then...

So she leaves and soon the LVN comes in with the appointment summary printoffs. The LVN asks us if the provider discussed with us the cardiovascular risks associated with Paxlovid.

"No...? I mean, she said it can interact with blood pressure medication but that's it."

"Well, it can have some pretty nasty cardiovascular side effects. I used to work in cardio at the peak of covid and we got calls all the time about whether or not this cardio patient could take Paxlovid."

No mention about what the answer actually was for all those phone calls -- just the vague implication that it's terrifying to take Paxlovid because it might hurt your heart. Again, this just didn't match what we knew about Paxlovid, but we also aren't confident enough to call them on it ourselves.

We got out of there as quickly as we could and agreed in the car that we would look up more info online when we got home; however, our inclination was already to fill the prescription and take the Paxlovid. We tried looking up these adverse effects she warned us about. All we can find is info about medication interactions, which we already knew. We found studies stating that cardiac patients benefited more than most groups from taking Paxlovid. We found ample information suggesting, as we already knew, that with our health conditions we are absolutely recommended to take Paxlovid and that we personally have no contraindications.

It occurred to us after we got home that the provider never told my partner what to do in terms of adjusting the amlodipine while taking Paxlovid. They'll have to ask the pharmacist tomorrow and may skip the amlodepine tomorrow until they can ask their regular doctor about it on Monday. Sucks that this is happening over a weekend and the only medical professionals available will be the same folks we just saw, because they sound absolutely INSANE.

In case anyone is wondering, uh, yeah, as best I can tell, current data suggests Paxlovid helps reduce the acute illness period AND may reduce the risk of long covid. And I couldn't find a single goddamn thing about severe reactions like hemorrhagic stroke. So I don't know what the actual fuck these people were doing trying to blow smoke up our asses, but it PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF. They have done this to other people. And even if we complain, I'm sure they will be allowed to continue doing this to other people because covid deniers and downplayers are the norm here, not the outliers.

[a1t-alt]

LONG PERSONAL POST - BG3 AND HOW I PLAY IT (SPOILERS /gen)

Hi okay so I'm fucking insane and I NEED to tell SOMEONE because I'm being bullied to hell (deserved) by my close friends over this- I am an incredibly slow gamer and I’m very particular about how I play. Save scumming? I don’t know what you mean. Romancing literally anyone that isn't Astarion? I'm pretty sure that isn't real but a lie made up by Larian Studios to convince more people to play the game (/j). It's literally the only thing I play ever anymore.. besides Minecraft, but I digress.

I got BG3 in the middle of September (2023) through game share, and started by playing with my brother and his boyfriend with mods! I didn't get to play much of that character, but that's not the point okay. Okay the point is- a few things actually. Let me start with- 

My first time playing BG3 was modded. I played MAYBE 3 hours on that character. They were gorgeous and unfortunately they no longer exist. I spent more than half of that time making them. They were a dragonborn and I don't remember for certain? But I Think they were just a Tav, not Durge. Unfortunately their name is also lost to the cosmos :( Here are a couple of the very few pictures I have of them!

I made a few characters at first, let's say like.. 5? Two were Durge, the others Tavs. 3 of those 5 got maybe a maximum of 6 hours each, never made it into the Emerald Grove. I think.. I'm pretty sure all but 1 went through the ruins and got Withers. The 4th one, my main and New Very Cool And Awesome Black Dragonborn Barbarian Durge™ got up to!! I believe it was up to 38 hours? I had done only a few things though! I had taken care of Kagha (no kill, I convinced her to not side with the shadow druids, she didn't hurt Arabella), I had gone through and done pretty much everything in the Emerald Grove? I saved Mirkon, I saved Arabella, I played it up with Volo, I killed the squirrel, I saved the tiefling from being assassinated and got a coin out of it (sick, was completely unintentional, I didn't like her much), bought stuff from the kids and all kinds of other things- you get it. I had gone through the blighted village, went through Waukeen’s Rest (but idk if I saw the Zhentarim with this character), killed the big spider, looted so many things, killed Ethal, revived Mayrina’s husband, found infernal iron, saved Karlach after save scumming her death and getting the fire armour for Wyll but it's okay because she was Fine After- *gasp* I got her engine upgraded once, and the very very last things I did was defeat the gobbo camp then kill Minthara and Dror Ragzlin (and Gut ofc, but I killed her first). I was in the middle of the party with the tieflings! I saved before anything happened, so I didn't see the fun stuff, but uh.. yeah, I ended up resetting my game, deleting all my mods and such to play with my partner. So went the days with my darling Melaqyn :’))) I miss them all of the everyday actually. Unfortunately I can't find any pictures of them :(( so here's some pictures of another of my early dragonborns, Sesaphael (name graciously yoinked from my partner's OC).

After I lost Melaqyn (which if I'm honest, I didn't actually lose them. I just didn't have the mods anymore and really didn't want to corrupt the file) I ended up making a few random characters- by a few I mean.. like 10, but only 2 or 3 survived. I made a couple also for playing with people, which were based on my own characters, so they were a little bit special? I started a game with a DND character I had made a year or two ago, who has the Haunted One background lmao- their name is Skulk- I'd show pictures but I'm really not that proud of how they look anymore >< I kinda floated for a bit in between games- I was playing all the time, but never settling- I was genuinely mourning Melaqyn.

Determined to get back on my feet with a character for real, I made a tiefling, named them “Ammarir”. They were supposed to look a bit like me, sort of like playing myself? Just a Tav though, which I regret to be honest but! There's always more time- I've been playing Ammarir since October 4th! They’re vanilla, so it was nice to not have to worry about corrupting their file. I started playing them slow at first, in between other campaigns, but I did keep coming back to them. Here are some early game pictures!

I was very quickly falling in love with them, and as soon as the mirror got added holy SHIT- I'VE CHANGED THEIR APPEARANCE SO MUCH OVER TIME NOW- Here are a couple early pictures from right after the mirror was introduced!

As I've made progress in the storyline with them, I've been having vitiligo spread slowly over their body- they don't have it here but will in upcoming pictures. I played and played and played and I'd done a ton of completionist type shit with their campaign (futile I know) until I finally got to the same amount of hours. It was insane, I wasn't as far into the game as I was with Melaqyn- I hadn't even made it to the gobbo camp yet. It took me 47 hours to make it there, and I knew this time around that Minthara was a companion. However, I did kill her, and I did keep her body in my camp, and It Is Still in my traveller's chest. 

I started getting anxious about playing, about the idea of making progress, of missing anything, of saying something wrong or fighting when I shouldn't have. I didn't want to look anything up because I wanted it to be fun and a surprise.. but I also made myself look things up because I couldn't handle the thought of getting things wrong. I had heard Astarion was hard to romance, so I used a guide for So Many interactions, with him and with him around. He's been a permanent party member (save for when I'm working on the others and have to trade people out for a moment, but even then I usually keep him in the party). Pictures from before the party! (They're taken a small time apart, and I only know because you can't see vitiligo on the first one.)

The prospect of playing the game became so daunting, I ended up spending a lot of time just mucking about and sorting my inventory and collecting items and finding nothingness so I didn't have to move on. I finally got a push from my partner to talk with Zevlor about the party, and we did it! And it was awesome! And Astarion was very pleased with me! Alfira was there! I really liked the party. Even after that though, I didn't really.. move on. I ended up going through the underdark and at ~70 hours, I finished everything down there, everything else in the main Act 1 space, and finally ventured to the crèche. I didn't spend a lot of time there to be honest, jumping back and forth between it and the Emerald Grove to sell things, buy things, the likes. I managed to sneak out the back of the crèche and not fight anyone (except the guys waiting in the room where Vlakith was) so I moved on and got out of there because those guys are tough, and I'm not good at combat lmao. I made a lot of changes between the tiefling party and just after the crèche, so here's a little run down! (Gotta love the zaith'isk)

I've only recently made it into Act 2, early December I think. I've hardly done anything as far as I know. I saved Isobel (reloaded a couple times bc I am NOT hurting Dammon <3), talked to He-Who-Was (I've not done his quest yet but I agreed to), I've taken care of the tollhouse (literally like not even a week ago), spoke with Raphael in the Inn, as well as now just past the House of Healing, I did some dark justiciar stuff with Shart, killed Kar'niss (sadge u-u), saved Arabella again, a couple other things I'm sure and I'm currently going through the House of Healing-

Real quick I want to add- I had a few weeks where I couldn't bring myself to play Ammarir. I didn't (and still don't) know what lies ahead in the story and I just. Couldn't. I decided one night, a week or two ago now, that I want mods again. Mostly just visual stuff, I love the customization in this game, and I wanted a little more freedom. I also discovered the beautiful basket full of equipment mod and I've been very much enjoying the sick as fuck armour B) I didn't want to load up their game at first, since I made them to be! A vanilla campaign! But I thought.. “I'm not having fun and this feels like a chore. We can play with the mods and see how it goes!” And holy SHIT I've been having so much more fun :’)

As of writing this, I'm at 114+ hours on Ammarir's playthrough. I've had the scenes with Gale and Wyll, didn't uhh.. I wasn't interested in Gale (but I'd be lying if I said I didn't go through with it and reload-) but I went through with the kiss with Wyll! Which finally sparked the single neuron that's still alive in Astarion's soiled pants (/a) of a brain to bring up the nature of our relationship. Here's some pictures from some of my most recent gameplay (in order of oldest to newest, over the span of like 9 days).

This all got away from me- I really did just mean to say that I am a very slow player. My brother’s boyfriend has beaten the game, got farther than I am in less than 24 hours which is insane to me. I suppose now at the bottom of this all, I should tell you how many hours I have in the game in total. Mind you, where Ammarir is now, is as far as I've seen the game.

(Everything prior to this text was written on January 21st, 2024. The latter has written on February 12th, 2024)

Having mistakenly left this to simmer a little too long, I now have 431.2 hours in the game. Ammarir is now in early Act 3, with 158+ hours, and boy do I have some things to add since I wrote all of that.

Picking up where I left off, I did most everything in Act 2! I’ve realised that in doing the Last Light Inn quest things early in Act 2, I missed some interactions :( One, I didn’t get to play chess with Mol and Raphael (I actually don’t know what happens in that interaction at all- I haven’t seen it anywhere and I don’t really want to seek it out. I’ll see it eventually). Two, I think I spoke to Rolan at Last Light about his siblings, but I never saw him again after that. I didn’t know I should’ve looked for him until after I did the Nightsong quest. He wasn’t where he was supposed to be, and I had a broken quest which sucks, but it’s okay.

I saved all the tiefs and dwarves from Moonlight Towers- but let me go back a little. I did pretty much every single thing possible in the Shadow Cursed Lands, and! I went back to the Creche and destroyed everyone (bc I’m a loot goblin and I couldn’t leave all those goodies behind ToT). With the Creche cleared out, I sort of just went between the Emerald Grove, Last Light Inn and the Thorm family businesses™ for a handful of reasons. 

There were two things in particular that I really wanted to do with Ammarir’s playthrough, which were collecting every single skull and head I could get my hands on, and unlocking every edge of the map, everywhere I went. I’m sure I’ve missed many a head, and some spots on the maps were impossible to get to, but I’ve done my best.

It’s been a minute since I’ve added pictures, and my babe changed a lot through the Shadow Cursed Lands, so here’s a few pics!

By this point I’d finished everything in Moonrise and got myself prepared for Act 3- well sort of. I knew that I was reaching the end of Act 2, but I didn’t know anything about the transition in between? So I was wrapping all of my quests up, trying to find Rolan, looking for anything I could- realising too late that I didn’t and couldn’t bring my brain jars from the Nautiloid into Moonrise with me- after killing Ketherik. But it’s okay, I have them both neatly set aside on another campaign. Anyhow, I saved Dame Aylin, and she and Isobel are in my camp now, happily by one another’s side again. Shart has her snowy hair, and a very pretty white and gold makeup look to match, and I went to the road to Baldur’s Gate.

In camp, I was going through some of the clothes I had picked up- found a pair of pants, that are just.. pants? No shirt? I thought it would be funny if I had Ammarir wear those as camp clothes and uh.. Immediately went into the cutscene to start Act 3 ToT. So I have some pictures of them just.. topless, looking out over the city. I reloaded, changed them into something more comfortable and appropriate, and went through the cutscene again. These are pictures from leaving the Shadow Cursed Lands, entering the Act 3 intro, and the beginning of the scene in the Astral Prism.

I had no idea what to expect!! I didn’t know that Gith came after us at camp, I didn’t know that I had to go into the prism and fight, I didn’t know that I was going to meet The Emperor yet! It had been kind of a long fucking time since the last time I saw my gaurdian, so I genuinely wasn’t sure when it was going to happen. I did figure out that my guardian was The Emperor early on in playing the game- not entirely spoiled for me by stuff online or by friends, but genuinely just.. Finding out that The Emperor exists in the Astral Plane kind of tickled my brain an odd way lmao.

Now, I had been waiting a long, long time for this event- I knew nothing about how it happened, but talking with The Emperor and getting the astral-touched parasite was something I was Very Excited to have happen. I didn’t know it happened at the beginning of Act 3- though I didn’t know when it was going to happen at all, so it’s not saying much to be honest. Like I said, I was waiting for this, and I very graciously accepted this gift. Quite hastily perhaps even- when I started Ammarir’s game, I had no intention of using the Mindflayer abilities At All! But how could I turn down the offer? I’d begun using the abilities rather frequently by the time I entered Act 2, and by the end I was pretty juiced up on worms frankly. Here’s Ammarir after using the parasite!

I wasn’t alone in my venture either, I wanted to share this with my companions- of course- but I wasn’t going to Make Anyone do something they didn’t want to do. I spoke with Astarion first, considering he and Ammarir are together, what he thought. He was heavily against it for himself, and y’know what? Fair! I don’t plan on having him “evolve” at all, not past normal parasites. Gale I spoke to and he wasn’t opposed, but wasn’t for it. I convinced him pretty easy peasy and now he’s joined in on the fun! Skipping to Lae’zel, I did convince her to use the astral-touched parasite as well, and I’m not even a little sorry. She looks fucking awesome, and she’s so powerful TwT Gonna put just a couple pics of them in here, as a treat~ (before And after)

Considering I didn't evolve Astarion and don't plan to, I wasn't planning on posting pictures of him here- and I've reached my image limit, or I would 10000% show him here. Unfortunately though, I can't, but if anyone wants to see him, I'll post some pictures of him and Ammarir separately <3

As of writing this, I’ve not gotten very far into Act 3. In Rivington now- donated to the Flaming Fist for the refugees, spoken to a handful of folks around, was granted access to the circus (but I’ve not gone in yet) and I traded with the shady fucker who trades “antiques”. I’ve also run into Orin! The blacksmith’s shop is really cute, I’m absolutely in love with Exxvikyap 🥺 Seeing all the Baldurians who absentmindedly look up to Gortash is giving me whiplash (I’ve hated the guy since BEFORE I started playing ToT Fuck him).

Anyway, I could go on and on and on forever, but I think.. I think I will finish this off here, for now. If I end up updating this in the future, I’ll be more timely about it- After all, I did just pick up a Durge OC campaign that I’ve been wanting to do for months.

[nagichi-boop]

My thoughts on the Knuckles series

I want to preface this by saying that if you haven't watched the series yourself and have the means to do so, I suggest watching it yourself and forming your own opinions on the series. The episodes are about 25-30 mins long, so it should take about 3 hours. But if you'd rather give the show a pass, I understand, especially given that so many people have given rather mixed reviews on the series. I don't think I have much to say that hasn't already been said, but I thought I'd share my personal thoughts on the series.

I will be discussing spoilers in this post, though I won't be breaking apart the plot per se. I just want to discuss some thoughts on the series, good and bad, since I know some people have been very harsh on this series. And as a disclaimer, these are personal opinions rather than outright critiques.

For a tldr rating though, I'd give the series like...6.5/10?

Things I Liked

I really enjoyed the plot of the first episode or so. The scenes with the Wachoski family was probably some of my favourites for the series, even if only brief. I wasn't sure that they would include the other characters, so it was nice to see most of them. I wasn't super keen on the GUN agents necessarily, but I thought their story parts were the most enjoyable. I enjoyed watching Wade scheme to save him and immediately fumble the bag, but ultimately sort of recreate his plan? I also appreciated him using the siracha to free himself from the GUN agent since it was starting to wear a little that he seemed utterly incompetent - more on that later.

I once again appreciate the references to the Sonic universe. I only really noticed the Knuckles hat (which if I'm not mistaken is a reference to the OVA cartoon?), but I also saw someone mention Sonic 06 before watching it, which helped me recognise the reference to the game (both Knuckles' power and the creature that I assumed to be Iblis). I also saw a Reddit post pointing out that the alien attack mentioned by the bowling tournament announcers took place 50 years ago, which could be a reference towards Shadow, but it's not outright stated to be that.

The animation was surprisingly good. Part of me thought the animation quality would be off, but it was more or less on par with the movies from what I could see. Some scenes were a little off, but I can't really fault it since they're trying to incorporate an entirely CGI creature interacting with everything, but for the most part it was awesome.

Things I Didn't Like

I think one of my bigger issues with this series was the humour. That's not to say I didn't find it funny, but the constant surreal/cringe humour eventually wears on you. It worked at the beginning because Knuckles and Wade alternated being the 'straight-man', but for the most part, the characters fell into the same 'I'm dumb' type of humour. I don't quite know how to explain what I mean by this, so I guess I'll give a few examples to illustrate what I mean.

There's Knuckles himself, whose 'stupidity' mostly comes from him not fully grasping human culture. There's also Wade Whipple, who is portrayed as an idiot or loser, something he's called by the other characters. There's Jack Sinclair who acts intimidating while still being dumb behind his seriousness, and was the kind of character that seems threatening until they're dethroned, by which time they start wailing like a baby. We see this mostly when Wade is captured and 'duels' with him, only for him to lose and plead with Wade not to take his clothes this sounds really sus out of context. I didn't particularly care for him, which made some scenes drag as Wade's story with him was being addressed, but he's more of a stepping stone character for Wade's development.

I thought Knuckles and Wade themselves were funny for the most part, but it does begin to grate a little when their goofy humour is pretty much all you get. I get that Wade is the underdog guy, but it didn't feel much like he actually grew as a person. I thought perhaps he would learn to be more self-reliant and competent, but even at the end of the series, he mostly just stalled for Knuckles. This sort of ties into the complaint a lot of people have that the series focused less on Knuckles and more on Wade, which I agree with. It was set up at the start that Knuckles was looking to find his home and purpose, but it didn't feel like that was fully explored. It was sort of implied at the end that the Whipple's were his home, but it felt like a lose end more than a solid conclusion. I also wouldn't have minded if Knuckles actually spent time training Wade, but that didn't really happen either. Most of Wade's 'development' happened away from Knuckles, which made Knuckles feel more like a bit character a lot of the time.

And then there's Wanda Whipple. I'll be honest, I really disliked her character. For the first few minutes it was fine, but the entire scene with the Whipple family dinner just felt awkward and annoying to me. It felt like I was watching two children argue, which I suppose was the point, but watching a grown woman act like a child was just uncomfortable and felt like it was dragged out for ages. I think the only scene I found her funny in was towards the end when she dislocated her thumb, but that was about it. Every other scene she was in felt unenjoyable for me, and frankly I hope she's not in the third movie at all (or if she is, please make it short).

I suppose I could sum this complain up as there being too many comedic relief characters without there being straight-man characters to balance out the chaos. The beginning worked well because Sonic, Tails and Maddie worked as straight-men for Knuckles, so it was funny to watch him be a menace since we could see everyone else's reactions. But for the rest of the series, it was mostly just silly humour. Even the 'adult' jokes weren't particularly funny to me (thinking specifically about the metal detector scene), but maybe I'm just not the right demographic for this kind of series? Who knows.

I watched the series with my dad, and I agree with his thoughts on the series. He felt it could have been done in a movie instead of having a tv series that seemed to drag on a lot. I do agree that some scenes felt like they were going on for too long, which at times felt like I wasn't even watching a Sonic series at all. I guess they want to flesh out the characters unique to the movie universe, but it felt a bit weird to have Knuckles barely involved in the plot given the series was named after him.

It's unfortunate because I think that they initially set up something interesting. I thought they'd focus on the GUN agents pursuing Knuckles, with Knuckles training Wade along the way. But the GUN story got shelved almost immediately to focus more on the bowling stuff - Wade and Jack had an awkward sword dual, and Wade had a bowling match with his dad? I honestly thought The Buyer (that ex GUN weapons guy) would be Wade's dad, but instead we randomly got introduced to Pistol Pete...I dunno, it felt weird to me. It felt like they mashed three unfinished stories together into one weird amalgamation.

I feel like they could have focused more on the GUN agents plot. Perhaps they could have clashed a few times with Knuckles and Wade, but ultimately fail over and over. Wade would have learned indirectly from his warrior training to be strong enough to defeat Jack at bowling and show his progression. The GUN agents would be replaced by The Buyer after he grows tired of waiting for them to fulfil their deal, and who would be more of a threat. While that's happening in the background, we could watch the bowling tournament with Jack losing instead, then have The Buyer crash the party like he did in the actual series. But this is all just me brainstorming what I would have done.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. It's a shame since I love the Sonic movies a lot, but I'm not too worried about Sonic 3 based on this series. Jeff Fowler (the writer for the movies) only wrote the first episode of the series, which was arguably the best episode, so I am confident that Sonic 3 will be good. Admittedly it has me a little worried, but I'm trusting them to do Shadow justice with his debut.

Sorry this is such a long rambly post, but hopefully it's cohesive enough to follow for anyone actually reading it.

[oh-goodness-loki]

Shipper Tag Game!

I was tagged by: @theflagscene, thank you!

What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care about anymore?

I don't remember much about when I was a teenager, least of all shipping characters (this concept didn't occur to me until I started reading fanfiction and getting onto Tumblr). I just remember getting into fanfiction because of Supernatural/Marvel. So I guess ummm Loki/Darcy or Destiel.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

It would probably have been a y/n x supernatural character. Starting out, I was really into those for a while but besides that, I think...Destiel or Loki/Sigyn.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

The only fanfiction (that I've finished and published) are for Hannigram (hannibal x will). It's a Phantom of the Opera AU and idk I think for a first fic, it was pretty good.

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw fanart of?

I honestly can't remember. My memory is pretty shit about some things.

5. Did you ever get into ship discord?

Nope. I think it's a waste of time. I'm very much someone who lets people ship what they want. If I see a ship I don't like, I just block the tag.

6. Did you used to have a NOTP or have any currently?

I am not a fan of the R*ylo ship. The pairing is whatever, but what I hate the most about it is the fact that the movies were completely changed to have those characters together. It was honestly shit.

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

Babe/Charlie. It would've been Phaya/Tharn but I am trying to stay away from spoilers and I don't want to accidentally come across one on ao3.

8. Currently have any OTPs?

*cracks knuckles* Hannigram, Phaya/Tharn, Hannigram, Babe/Charlie, Alan/Jeff, Jaeyoung/Sangwoo, Symbrock, White/Sean, Mickey/Ian, and Vegas/Pete. I'm sure there's more, but those are what I remember.

9. Is there any couple that to this day you are extremely mad about them not getting together?

I don't know...

10. Is there any ship that you used to dislike but now you think are kind of interesting?

I used to hate Eddie Gluskin (from Outlast Whistleblower) and he gets shipped with Waylon Park. A few years ago I saw fanart of them in a Cabin in the Woods AU and then I read the fic that was based off of that fanart and I was hooked.

11. Do you have a ship that in the past was considered 'normal' but now you would be canceled over?

I don't think the fandom has ever considered it 'normal' but Hannigram is hated by a huge portion of the Stranger Things fandom.

12. What's your favorite crack ship?

Idk if it's considered a crack ship, but SpaceDogs (Nigel from Charlie Countryman and Adam Raki from Adam). I just find them adorable.

13. Who is the couple you've read the most fanfics of?

Hannigram (this includes the Hannibal Extended Universe IYKYK) They are my OTP of OTPs.

14. What do most of your ships usually have in common?

Probably obsessiveness. The type that IRL would be very unhealthy, but is so delicious to read.

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Miscommunication. It's so annoying. Especially when one character refuses to hear the other's explanation or where one character hears the other talking to someone and they mishear/assume something and then leave before hearing the rest of it. And it leads to a misunderstanding and ugh. It gets annoying lol.

Tagging: @negrowhat @obvious-fandom-reference @therealblessedaffliction @kijilinn @thedeviljudges

[lynnedwardswrites]

AITA WIP Intro

It's a tag game! Write an intro for your current wip by writing an AITA style post from the perspective of one of your characters. I'm going to use Creed from The Hare and the Jackal with one of the major tension drivers of the whole book? So strap in for thematic spoilers I guess?

Tagging @lola-theshowgrl and @frostedlemonwriter and anybody else who wants to! :)

CW: sexual betrayal

Am I The Asshole for being interested in another woman?

I (40m) and my partner (35f) have worked together as con men for the last 10+ years, which, maybe 8 years ago or so, started to include cons where I would seduce or divert various women (usually nobles) to earn trust, secrets, or sometimes just access to their homes in the middle of the night. This was my partner's idea when we started and I've always made a point to make sure she's ok with it before using those kinds of tactics on any given job. And she's always been super fine with it. More than fine, even. Like sometimes I get this weird feeling that she pushes me towards those kinds of jobs on purpose? Like she wants me to... get my "needs" met or whatever somewhere else. She's never said those words exactly, but... idk it's like she doesn't actually like having sex with me. Like that aspect of our relationship is a burden to her. And... I mean I get it, cuz she's had a pretty turgid relationship with sexuality because of stuff from before she met me. And I love lots of the other aspects of our relationship. But sometimes I can spend hours touching her in all her favorite ways and her eyes will just kinda glaze over and I'll lose her.

That didn't used to bother me so much until I met this other woman (noble, so I have no idea how old; met her cuz she's the mark for a current job). And she's, like... idk. She just seems... healthy in a way my partner is not. Like she's... got something to give. But I also feel like a complete asshole even saying that because of course my partner has stuff to give and I feel like an entitled little prick even thinking that maybe she should be giving more to me despite, y'know, how hard sex can already be for her. Gods, this is so raising stupid of course I'm the asshole, what am I even saying??? This other woman is probably just using me to get something, just like I've used dozens of people before I met her. Why am I even on this forum.

EDIT: THE OTHER WOMAN TREATS ME DIFFERENTLY, OK??? She treats me like I deserve to be, idk, to be looked after and cared for too??? It's like she looked into my soul and saw how damn hard I try all the time, being as sensitive and patient as I can, and said "now it's your turn for tenderness" and I want what she's offering and I don't know what to do or how to talk to my partner about these feelings or if I even should??? I can't ask my partner to give me more than she's able to!! Do I just have to hide this from her forever? Forget anyone ever made me feel this way??? Because other woman is not somebody I'm ready to upend my life over but I just don't know if I could tell my partner about these feelings without getting ridiculed or yelled at or just hurting her feelings in a really big way that she doesn't deserve. But I also don't know how I'm ever going to be happy again knowing there's this void in my life that isn't being filled.

TLDR I might be unhappy in my relationship and getting some needs met for the first time that I wasn't even aware I had and it's making me consider breaking off my relationship with my long-term partner. AITA?

[pockymun]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I stole this from @little-box-of-wonders.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

10 as of today. (1 more planned)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

436,818 currently. There's a bit more I haven't published, and a lot of things that were cut.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, just Final Fantasy XV. Still.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I Want to Get to Know You, Son - 26 kudos (honestly I forgot this existed)

Etro's Blessing: Andromeda - 23 kudos

The Paradox in the Prophecy - 12 kudos

Final Fantasy XV Maps - 9 kudos (more of a resource fic than actual story, but it counts)

Etro's Blessed Ones - 8 kudos

I think it's worth mentioning that the kudos were given before I started to revamp the story. I Want to Get to Know You is the only fic that doesn't have worldbuilding or a whole cast of OCs in it.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Most of the time, yes! I really appreciate it when people take the time to say something about what they just read. I feel like leaving a comment unanswered is a little cold. It's difficult to answer comments without giving away spoilers, or maybe infodumping stuff that the reader didn't want to begin with. There are few comments that I left alone.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That's a tough one. I write a lot of angst, but the endings usually have that small glimmer of hope that drive into the next fic. I plan on Reluctant Crownsguard to have the angstiest ending because that hope isn't there. But that's not written yet.

I think so far, Etro's Blessed Ones has the most angstiest ending because it ends with death, mourning, desperation, and a cliffhanger. It's intentionally left vague as to what happens at the cliffhanger, but clearly it's not good for anyone.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably I Want to Get to Know You, Son. That was about five years ago. I can't remember the ending, but it was slice of life, so it's probably happy enough.

I don't write happily ever after. It's unrealistic and gaudy. Characters get what they deserve, not what they want.

The Paradox in the Prophecy will most likely have a happy enough ending, but I don't think I'll manage to finish that one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! I don't get a lot of hits to begin with. People on AO3 are decent enough to follow the "Don't Like, Don't Read" rule.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not really. I don't care for smut, which makes me an outlier as a fanfic writer. It doesn't appeal to me and it doesn't have a place in my stories. There's only been one time where I considered a short scene of it, but decided to keep it innocent.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

No. Too complicated. I prefer to add in additional worldbuilding and lore that wasn't in the canon.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't believe so! I have my fics locked on AO3 to protect them from bots.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I don't plan to. I might do a simple Google Translate lookup for some words here and there, but I don't trust it for full sentences. Full sentences of another language would disrupt the flow of reading, when the reader (and the writer) doesn't know the language.

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

No, although @groovytimetravelflower has helped me think through a lot of plot details (apparently I am unable to write anything truly on my own anymore!). I wouldn't be able to get along with anyone well enough to co-write something!

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

That lady who trained Ed and Al in Fullmetal Alchemist, and her husband who's a butcher. It's been years since I watched the show.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The new Rekindled Rebellion. That's another fic with no canon characters, only OCs. It was grueling to write Heretical Oath, which is much the same. I have a lot of writing to work on, so I really don't think I'm going to go much further with Rekindled Rebellion.

16. What are your writing strengths?

It was dialogue, but I think I've made a lot of improvements in regards to perspective. I am very good at sticking with one character's perspective, and not giving information that the character couldn't possibly know.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Scenery and descriptions. I love how some authors can really paint a scene and give such ambience to their stories. I am not one of those people. It's something I try to work on a lot. Also I forget to describe the character who's giving the perspective, because they never focus on themselves.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I sort of answered this already.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

In middle school, I was writing X-men fic, before I really understood what fanfic was and the difference between the movies and the Evolution series, and the comic books. I switched to Kingdom Hearts in high school, because somehow that was easier to follow.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

I am still proud of how much Etro's Blessing: Andromeda has improved. It has a slightly stronger plot and leads in to the other fics nicely now. It's the start of the series, where there's a lot more potential of where it's all going.

Tagging @groovytimetravelflower @andywinter16 @pandansca(No pressure! Only if you want to).

[the-cat-chat]

March 23, 2024

Mamma Mia! (2008)

A young woman invites three of her free-spirited mom's former flings to her Greek island wedding, hoping to discover which one of them is her father.

Warning: Review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

JayBell: I'm gonna get straight to the point. I did not like this movie. I actually don't mind musicals. But in this movie, the songs did not make the story better. In fact, several times it felt like the plot moved weirdly in order to justify the addition of some of the songs. And the songs and their lyrics didn't always match the plot.

The decision making of the characters bothered me so much. The mom? She just never makes the effort to find out the father in the 20+ years? It feels selfish to do that, especially when the daughter really wants to know.

And the daughter seems incredibly immature. It's as if she's thirteen and not a grown adult. I'm so glad she doesn't get married at the end because her relationship with her fiance isn't stable. She doesn't communicate with him at all and they are supposed to be getting married?

Speaking of marriage, why on earth does the mom get married in the end to this virtual stranger? This stranger who left her in the past to go marry someone else (is he a cheater or something?? please explain).

The only character who I think is interesting is Colin Farrell. But overall, I don't think the movie is very funny, the plot isn't logical, the music doesn't match, the characters aren't sympathetic.

I found the entire experience frustrating. And I'm perplexed that sooooo many people think this is the best movie ever made. It has to be about nostalgia.

Rating: 3/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: I can’t believe I picked this. Ok I knew there was singing, but it’s ABBA that’s a totally different ball game. And sure there were times the music made me want to shove myself off a Greek cliffside- but more so it was the plot. I mean just wow. I don’t know. I want to know how all these really great actors read the script and said “this is awesome I’ll do it,” and just maybeeee bc it’s 2008 I’ll forgive them, but I’m scarred a little more each time I think about it.

The whole problem I have is with the plot. And that’s a big problem. There’s just too much. First really bad idea inviting not one, not two, but three of your mom’s ex lovers at random (shocked they showed) to your wedding that’s in like 24 hours. I need more time to get motivated to shave my legs- let alone play Jerry Springer in Greece. Next, let’s just glaze over Dominic Cooper’s very lizard boy performance- I have no clue why that’s the vibe I’m getting but dare I say dump the lizard boy. Next, the dads. I don’t know how to feel- really hate Sam’s story, could really care less about Bill? I don’t even remember if that’s his name. And Harry- I just love Colin Firth and my deep rooted love for What a Girl Wants will never die. He gets a pass. Now this mother. That could care less about figuring out which man fathered your child. Bc it undermines what she did alone. Out of choice?? Like I would love to know the backstory too on the fact that she named Sophie after Bill’s aunt there on the island and got her money???? But we pretty much know she’s Sam’s right? Since they were together longer?? And Sophie draws in the same exact style as him???? Right. Riiiggght. Ok I’m done - can’t believe they never say who it is or get a dna test. But whatever.

And what takes the cake? The wedding. Just really. I’m mad now thinking about this movie. All of it. And I have to say- this is awful and the true winner of ABBA movies is very clearly Muriel’s Wedding and I don’t really remember all of it bc I saw over 10 years ago but guess what - you even get Toni Collette, so pls, don’t even try to outmatch her.

Rating: 2/10 Cats 🐈 (1 for the Mamma Mia song, .5 for Colin Firth and .5 for that insane fever dream closing dance number)