#remember that time she tried to kill cal

[highbrasshighkass]

merrin post jedi: survivor endgame

[jedi-enthusiast]

Ok, I know that I already reblogged @antianakin's post about why Anakin didn't need to murder an entire Tusken village because 2-3 of them killed his mom (original post here), but I just feel the need to talk about one of the most damning examples of why Anakin has no excuse for that response.

Post Order 66 Jedi/Clone interactions.

Let's just say, for the sake of the argument, that the entirety of the Tusken village--including the literal babies and children--all took part in the torture/murder of Shimi Skywalker. No exceptions.

Anakin's response to his mother's death is to murder everyone with no remorse or a second thought. Even when he confesses what he did to Padme, the RotS novel clearly shows that he doesn't actually feel bad about what he did. Most of his worry is about what others will think of him and, ironically, about how he's a "good Jedi" that should be better than this.

Now let's move on...

Every clone took part in Order 66 in some way.*

The clones murdered every single Jedi they could in cold blood (albeit without a choice), including the children, with only a miniscule few survivors. How many do we canonically have right now that didn't get captured and become Inquisitors? Obi-Wan, Quinlan, Cal, Caleb/Kanan, and Gungi are all I can think of at the moment.** That's 5 Jedi, out of thousands, that survived--and that's not even mentioning the destruction of their places of worship/cultural artifacts and the shitty propaganda spread about their culture.

* I'm not including the Bad Batch because, my own opinions about the show/characters/writing/etc. aside, we can all agree that the only reason their chips didn't activate was because they're Filoni's beloved OCs and he has a habit of trying to make his OCs "special" in some way.

** I'm not including Ahsoka in this because, like she says repeatedly as of Season 7 of TCW onward, she isn't a Jedi and doesn't see herself as such--and for the same reason I'm not including Grogu, since he's like...a Mandalorian apprentice now and not technically a Jedi. I'm also not including Luminara because she eventually gets captured and killed pretty early on and I'm trying to only include Jedi that are alive for a significant amount of time in the Imperial Era.

So, how do the Jedi treat the clones after they murder their entire family and destroy their culture? Let's look!

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Example One:

Obi-Wan Kenobi never learns about the inhibitor chips, as of current canon. He is 100% under the impression that Cody and the 212th (as well as all of the other clones) just up and betrayed him and the Order for no reason. He also watched the security tapes that, yes, showed Anakin killing children, but also would have shown the clones killing Jedi as well.

In the Kenobi show he runs into a clone veteran of the 501st--a veteran who, in all likelihood, probably stormed the Temple and was a part of its destruction.

Does he spit in the clone's face? Call him a murderer? Kill or harm him in any way?

Nope!

He gives the veteran some of his credits, even though it's made a point in the show that Obi-Wan is now working with limited funds and is very poor at this point in time. He doesn't have credits to spare and he is supposed to be looking for Leia, but he takes a moment to give some to someone who took part in the genocide of his people.

He also routinely thinks about Cody and the 212th in the comics! He remembers them fondly and still connects Cody to the feeling of hope, even though they tried to kill him! Even though he has no idea that they never wanted to!

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Example Two:

Kanan Jarrus/Caleb Dume knows about the inhibitor chips, but in Rebels it's made very clear that he thinks that it's just something the clones made up so that they didn't have to take responsibility for their actions.

In Rebels, Ahsoka makes the (objectively bad) decision to send Kanan out to find her "old friends" to help the rebellion.*** Kanan then finds out that her "old friends" are three clones, only after he gets there and sees them. He reacts in a panic and ignites his saber, clearly freaking out a bit.

*** I'll probably expand on this later, because I have a lot of opinions on this particular decision of hers, but anyway-

Does he try to hurt and/or kill them? Do they have to fight him off? Does he even lunge in their direction or deflect Wolffe's blaster bolt at him?

Again, nope!

He steps in front of Ezra in a defensive position and, when shot at by Wolffe, deflects the bolt into their ship. Then, when Ezra steps in and says that Ahsoka said to trust them, Kanan de-ignites his saber and they all have a conversation about them helping in the rebellion--even though Kanan clearly doesn't trust them at all and is dealing with his PTSD while being there. Eventually he even comes to get along with/trust Rex, albeit in later episodes.

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Example Three:

Gungi, in the Bad Batch, meets up with the Batch and immediately recognizes them as clones. Now, we don't know his opinion on them and their betrayal because it's never really expressed, but it's safe to assume that he has no idea about the chips (at least, until Tech tells him) and it's clear that he's very scared at that point in time.

What does he do?

He hides in the corner of the ship and is wary about the food they offer to him.

That's literally it.

And then later in the episode he works together with TBB and trusts them enough to let them help defend his village.

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So, even with most of the Jedi either having no idea about the chips or likely doubting that story, we're shown over and over again that the Jedi never seek revenge against the clones or try to kill them after Order 66. Even though their lives were ruined by what the clones did/took part in, they're never shown to be actively trying to cause them harm.

So there is literally no way you could possibly justify Anakin killing an entire village of Tuskens because of his mother's death, when--in arguably the same/a worse situation--the Jedi are actively shown not doing that.

[run-lamb-run]

Session synopsis

Provided by the DM

The session starts, we see a house, which has been broken into by Mary and Azazel the previous night. Mary is up early and finds a rope before seeing the time and starting to walk again with Azazel. They are in a wooded area when they hear a crash and rustling somewhat nearby. Mary hides the kid in a bush and prepares the rope to strangle if need be.

Lambert hasn’t slept in like 3 days and hasn't been eating well either, while walking through a forest with Anoana, asleep in their arms, proceeds to trip on nothing and eat shit. Anoana wasn’t awoken in the fall. Lambert, being a paranoid fucker (reasonably so), immediate grabs a rock and prepares to have their “rocks out and ready to kill”. With a mad perception check they notice a cloak behind a tree and proceed to whack the tree next to the person instead. They immediately take off in another direction somehow balancing with a toddler in hand. Figure takes after them, they catch up after some bad rolls.

Silk is also walking in this forest with a child (whaddya know), and proceeds to find a shaking bush, only to find out it is a shaking, crying, throwing up Azazel, who is promptly won over by a good-ass animal handling check. Silk is rapidly becoming a humanoid daycare.

IN THE MEANTIME, Rafeal is chilling in a berry clearing during early morning, he is just eating berries. I cannot clarify more. Raf is literally eating berries and that's it. Callum, on the other hand, is having an existential crisis and dissociating while remembering his traumatizing past. He comes across a clearing and sits down to admire the flowers. Cal realizes he’s hungry and also starts eating berries. They are eating berries from opposite sides of a bush.

They accidentally bump into each other. Callum proceeds to stumble backwards and start choking on a berry. Raf proceeds to stand and not do anything until Cal has already failed 2 constitution checks. He then proceeds to try and punch Cal in the gut, only to miss the first time. Rafeal eventually punches Cal hard enough to dislodge the berry. They sit down, and Callum offers Raf bread as thanks, which Raf refuses until it's split between the two of them.

While eating their sandwiches, a bounty hunter wolf grabs the back of Cal’s scarf, choking him AGAIN, until he scrambles out of it. The wolf lets out a howl, which everyone in the party hears. Mary tries to shove Lambert and Anoana in the other direction, and Silk puts the kiddos in a tree while he goes to check it out.

The berry boys attempt to fight for one turn until the wolf knocks Cal down to like 3 hp in one attack. Cal grabs Raf and they start running down the mountain. Cal is quickly losing blood though, and Raf (with a help action) turns Callum into a backpack and proceeds to ONLY ROLL OVER 20 FOR EVERY ATHLETICS CHECK I GIVE HIM. They reach the bottom of the slope, where Silk is waiting confused, and proceed to continue trucking through the trees.

The wolf turn attention towards Silk, who gets knocked down to 13hp, before taking off again with a couple arrows littered in his body. Silk chases after him. At this point Lambert wants to know wtf is happening and leaves Anoana with Mary (who took until now to reveal she was a sheep btw). They jump out of the trees with a sickle and a 21 intimidation check, making the wolf piss himself. The three continue running through the trees, Silk managing to shoot a crossbow bolt into his ass.

They eventually end up in a clearing (where the kiddos are hiding btw, they start sport commentating), and they wrap up the battle there, with Mary catching up and finishing off the wolf.

There is some brief infighting before everyone gets too tired to fight. Anoana wanders off to find the berry boys, Callum has been patched up by Rafeal. They all end up in the area where the boys settled down, Lambert sets up a fire, and they take a long rest. And that’s where the session ends!

[antianakin]

I just got the chance to watch a full playthrough of Jedi: Survivor (I haven’t the funds to be able to play it myself 😭), and IDK if it’s just me but there were two things that bugged me. The first one being just how casual Cal seemed to be about killing his enemies— obviously he killed mooks in the first game, but in this game heads were rolling left and right, seemingly without a care in the world.

And that brings me to the second thing; I’m not certain it was just this guy’s playthrough or not, but it bugged me that the Dark Side was not only used as a significant power up, but seemed necessary to complete the final boss fight of the game without insta-dying. Obviously the Dark Side can feel like it’s more powerful in the moment, but the way the game seemed to passively encourage you to use it without consequence. Again, I haven’t played it, so I don’t know that for certain, but it certainly looks that way.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

I think the important thing to remember about Cal's story is that it's a video game and video games, by necessity, are going to be told a different way than the usual narrative. Cal is always going to have to kill a lot of enemies without it being that big of a deal because that's how these kinds of video games WORK. He's going to murder basically every stormtrooper and Imperial officer he comes across because that's the mechanics of the game. But we see that he offers the Ninth Sister mercy initially, he doesn't WANT to kill her, he only does so because she begs him to and it's more merciful to kill her than leave her alive. It's not cold-blooded murder. Same with Bode, he doesn't WANT to kill Bode and he TRIES to get Bode to stop so that he doesn't have to, but Bode refuses and Cal has to defend himself.

If you want to try to look at a more in-narrative reason for why Cal kills a little more often, Cal is a Jedi in a time when it's a death sentence to be a Jedi and the support he has is incredibly minimal. NORMALLY, Jedi wouldn't kill this much, but Cal is openly a Jedi and openly fighting the Empire to the point that his face is displayed really prominently on wanted posters in the middle of Coruscant. He's a huge target and he's trying to take down a galactic Empire. That's not something you can do peacefully and it takes everything he has just to survive. He's not living in a time of peace nor does he have the support of a major organization like the Republic to back him up the way he was supposed to, so he can't necessarily get away with being more merciful here. So yeah, he's more willing to kill stormtroopers and Imperial officers when necessary on a mission (and it's OFTEN necessary). While I don't think that necessarily indicates bad writing or anything, I DO think that it makes sense that Cal, as someone who's been doing this for five years now, isn't holding back very much.

Also, the storyline in this game is all about Cal having to struggle with his own darkness. In Fallen Order it was more about Cal figuring out what it means to be a Jedi, he's going around helping people a lot and seeing how other people are fighting against the Empire. In Survivor, he's been Knighted already and he's been out there fighting for five years. Everyone he cared about has wandered off to do their own thing and he has to build up a new crew that are almost all immediately killed off, starting Cal's struggle with darkness and feeling abandoned and losing his hope. He's confident now, and he is slowly losing more and more of the things he started to rely on, and that comfort with killing evolves into his more literal struggle with the dark side and having to let go of his own anger and fear and pain. He CAN'T use darkness to kill, he can't kill out of anger. And that's exactly what he does. It's hard, he nearly loses it, but he's able to hold himself back just enough to keep himself from completely falling. So while I think it's UNDERSTANDABLE that Cal, as a Jedi openly fighting against the Empire during this time period, would be more willing to kill people than show mercy in order to complete a mission, it's also part of the overall story being told about Cal in this game.

For the final battle, you DO have to use the dark side power-up thing in the fight, but the fight itself is just game mechanics, the CUT SCENES are the important story bits. Cal wins that fight WITHOUT killing Bode, he makes a whole speech about letting go, and then he turns away and when he DOES kill Bode, it's not with the power-up, it's not out of anger, it's just basic self defense. It's not entirely unlike Obi-Wan vs Maul in TPM where Obi-Wan IS sort-of reacting out of anger and a desire for vengeance earlier on but has to let that go BEFORE he kills Maul. Luke COULD kill Vader out of anger, we see how close he gets, but he ultimately chooses not to because he recognizes he shouldn't. Cal's fight with Bode is following in those same footsteps narratively. He DOES pull on darkness during the fight, but he's ultimately able to let go and doesn't KILL Bode with that darkness at all. It's a pretty basic Jedi storyline we've seen a few times before.

When dealing with video games that are telling the story, it's very important to separate the video game mechanics from the actual story. Quite often, the story itself isn't told through the regular gameplay and the gameplay can even contradict the story we're being told. For example, if you keep playing Survivor after the final battle with Bode, you can STILL USE THE DARK SIDE POWER UP even though Cal has NARRATIVELY moved away from that darkness already and would theoretically not actually be using it anymore at all and certainly not in like... regular little battles against the local wildlife. You can also obviously utilize it that way between the moment you DO get the power-up and the final battle, even though Merrin has already talked about how dangerous it is and asked Cal not to use it. The power-up in game mechanics is JUST a power-up, it has no character impact at all to use it. It's just another tool in your arsenal until you get to the cut scenes. What the dialogue is telling us is almost directly contradicted by how the gameplay works.

Hopefully this helps you a little. I like the characters and the story enough that I'm willing to sort-of work with what they give me to create a narrative that fits the way I want it to. I think there's a good story in Survivor about the impact of being a survivor of a genocide and having to fight against the people who want you dead for YEARS. I generally like the way that's handled and the messages being sent in this story. I think there's areas that are a little awkward and moments I like slightly less, but overall I really enjoyed it.

[davekat-sucks]

Bro vs Eridan in terms of being an awful person is tricky considering Bro was being possessed by Cal and Eridan was a 13 year who had to do Feferi dirty work his entire life so her Lusus wouldn't destroy everything. I genuinely think Bro had no choice in anything he did considering his note to Dave was something Caliborn came up with. Eridans case is a bit more complex given the circumstances of his planet, none of those things he did were ok to do but either feed the monster or have everything destroyed. He's the whole reason the trolls were alive in the first place. Considering he had to risk his life everyday for everyone else, him attempting to join Jack isn't out of the ordinary for dangerous stuff he encounters. Yea he's douchey and destroying the matriorb was dick move, but everyone on the meteor lost their minds and had or attempted to kill someone. Tavros tried and Kanaya sawed 2 people in half.

I am also on the side that Bro was possessed or mind controlled to some degree. But the fandom sees things like his strife battle with Dave as more serious because the other ones are played for laughs. Forgetting John would strike is father with a hammer and Rose threatened to commit suicide in front of her Mom. Jade's case is sadder when you remember that when Jade played with the double pistols, Tavros had used Bec to redirect the bullet to kill Grandpa English. She indirectly killed her guardian and wouldn't realize it until later on in the game. Bro's last act would be attempting to fight Jack Noir before dying. So does that mean people think Jack Noir is a HERO for killing the abuser? They forget that DAVESPRITE was present too when they both went after Jack. Bro had no reason to do anything to someone that's a brother from a different timeline. And yet, he was able to let Davesprite run away to safety and fought Jack on his own before dying.

But nobody in this nu-fandom remembers this or thinks hard about that last moment. They only care about his past actions and think it is played for straight abuse. It only applies to him and cannot be applied to other characters unless it's part of a gender arc for a character to transition. It's true Eridan would hunt lusus to help feed Feferi's. Even he admits it can be tiring to figure out when it is the proper time to hunt or not. Hinting that they can't overfeed or underfeed Gl'bgolyb. But you also can't deny he was also doing it to get closer to Feferi and be in a closer relationship with her. Which is why people label him as an incel and people flanderize that to the extreme which gave us Cronus. Then there's the line about him saying he killed marine life accidental.

If it's not sarcasm or poor flirting, it could also mean Eridan had unintentionally killed a lusus and gave it to Feferi to help feed another lusus to try and justify what he is doing is good. And overtime, he gradually accepted it and continued. Getting close to his crush Feferi would also tie in too. You know what they say about psychopaths, first sign is them killing animals. Sure the animals were parents for a troll, but they are still ANIMALS. Kanaya, Karkat, and Terezi accepted that Eridan was a piece of shit and want him to stay dead. Even if he was the reason said trolls are still around, they would never want to bring him back because of his horrid actions on the meteor. As we see when Karkat ended their friendship and Terezi talking with Vriska on who to revive back, Eridan doesn't deserve to be revived. And no mention of Equius, as being the Void player..

Nepeta may have felt Eridan had died, but it's unknown if she knew about Eridan wanting to join Jack. She wasn't even present with Aradia and others in the Vriskagram after becoming a ghost to meet up with him. Though we have yet to see Terezi and Vriska act on that promise on reviving said trolls. The reason they haven't because Terezi found out that Gamzee was trapped in the same fridge as her corpsed friends and didn't want to see him. Maybe the dead trolls will come back for Homestuck Beyond Canon, but that's just wishful thinking with how dead Nepeta jokes are still around and they only brought ghost Eridan in Epilogues for a 'redemption arc.

Eridan got what he deserved and died for his actions. But does he deserve to get brought back? How long should the punishment of his death last? To the cast and narrative, he can never be brought back to relevancy. The other reason the fandom likes Eridan recently is because of Pesterquest putting through the gender arc. Saying his seahorse dad was abusive that didn't acknowledge his gender, despite it's never shown in the webcomic he was this. And because of that, people instantly love him and ignore his past actions and stance on hemospectrum. All for the sake of making the March Eridan meme less transphobic. Nu-fans don't give a shit that he was racist, killed animals and Feferi, destroyed the Matriorb, and had killed Kanaya. All it matters is his label. Yes he is a racist asshole, but he's a NON-BINARY racist asshole. Both Bro and Eridan had done horrible things in the past. But one got more heat over the other. As one got love and attention because of a non-canon moment in a side game, despite people had hated him for those past actions. It's sort of insane about the priorities we have going on in this fandom.

[calamitaswrath]

Cal Lucia plays Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Chapter 8

Just two stray thoughts before I get to the actual chapter - one, for as much as I enjoy the game overall thus far, I have to say that music isn't really all that remarkable. The track that plays on certain maps when they are almost cleared is nice, but it's the only song I really enjoy (which is probably not surprising given that it also made it into Smash). The track that plays when Daein generals like Petrine are on screen meanwhile is just. . . silly.

Not to constantly compare the game to the modern FEs, but with Greil in particular, I feel there's def a comparison to be made with Jeralt in Three Houses. To be more precise, I just feel that Greil's death has more weight to it since the first seven chapters (plus prologue) of the game really took their time to not only set him up, but also his connection to the mercenaries, and how they play off of him. Jeralt, by contrast. . . he doesn't really interact that much with anybody, and since Byleth is functionally mute in 3H, the impact of his death solely hinges on the connection the player forms with him. It really works just better in PoR, and not just because Ike isn't mute.

Ouh, case in point! A flashback (that seems to take place in the exact spote where Greil got killed), a CG illustration of Ike and Mist at the tombstone. . . that's the good stuff.

Ahhhhh and Titania putting her own grief aside the moment she notices Ike showing up! Ike apologizing to her and Soren, thanking them for sticking with him!

And exit Shinon and Gatrie. Shinon was just about expected, but I am lowkey surprised that Gatrie left with him. From a gameplay perspective I can understand it, since he also was a pre-promote, but from his writing, he always seemed more onboard with Ike than Shinon did. But then again, given the 🏳️‍🌈 vibes between them. . .

Oh, the way Ike assumes responsibility. . . it definitely reminds me of Chrom taking over as exalt in Awakening. And, given that Ike doesn't have to share the protag status with two other characters, I hope that unlike Awakening, this gets properly resolved and developed

Soren is pretty humble here, huh? That's some of the basis for their chemistry then, I take it

Ahh, finally stuff like the convoy, buying items and supports get introduced. . . really rather late for my liking, but at least it neatly ties into the story here

Only got one support unlocked so far, which is the C support between Ike and Oscar. Good found family content in that one, though! And lol @ Mist's cooking.

"Info". . .? Not quite sure what to make of that menu point. But Aimee and Muston! I've definitely seen Aimee before, in one of those "Ike doesn't care about affection from women" posts. I'll gladly take her affection though

Jorge and Daniel. I have no comment. ...No, literally. They don't stand out enough in any way

Huh. . . the more I look at it. . . is this "Info" point just little bonus scenes? Just saw Titania's. . . woof. That's good content.

Ahh, bonus experience! I've heard a bit about that gameplay mechanic. . . and also already learned that I missed out on a lot on that escape map when I had Ike escape first. I hope that future chapters actually tell you what these bonus objectives are. . .

I levelled up Mia once with this and she got stats on everything except for resistence???

Well, doesn't that just look like another defend map!

Mist's medallion is glowing again. How unimportant.

Why, an enemy unit who's a cute girl and not the boss? She's definitely not important.

Three clear chokepoints, and enemies that just approach you one after another. Pretty doable. The cleric with the fire jewel tried to escape, but I managed to track him down with Titania and get the thing.

Mist talking about wanting to die alongside Ike?? Holy shit, that's dark

Oh my. Big buff cat man Mordecai. . . I remember a post about somebody wanting to fuck him, and then needing to clarify that they didn't mean a cartoon bird by the same name

Lethe! Honestly surprised that it took this long for them to introduce a catgirl. And she doesn't immediately trust Ike and the others. . . that's neat.

Ah. Soren does a racism. I did wonder why he's more divisive among some people, so I guess that'd do it

You know, for how antagonist Lethe was just a moment ago, she did calm down very quickly here, mission or not

[foxykatie425]

Alright, time for me to give my thoughts on the results of this poll I put up last week. Long, drawn out, over-explained post ahead!

86.9% of voters think that Merrin would win if she and Cal had faced off in a 1v1 on Dathomir in JFO.

I am gonna go ahead and… disagree. HEAR ME OUT!

Y’all know I love my girl Merrin. She is wonderful and amazing and very very powerful.

But Cal is a JEDI!

I think because we see so much of them in Star Wars, we tend to forget just how powerful Jedi are. We’ve seen Jedi that are more powerful than Cal, but he’s still slicing through stormtroopers like butter!

Neither Merrin nor Cal is any kind of pushover, and it would for sure be very very close.

One thing to remember about Merrin is that while she is a very powerful Nightsister and implied to be above average for her age, she’s still very young, and was very young when her sisters died. Anything she’s learned since then she’s had to teach herself. (One could say the same about Cal, I suppose, but he at least now has Cere to help guide him.) When Malicos says to Merrin, “This power is beyond your control,” he says it with the intention of making her angry, which he does succeed at, but he also may not have been entirely wrong. Note that when Cal leaves Dathomir after making an alliance with Merrin, the undead Nightsisters are still attacking him on the way out.

(Side note: she doesn’t get to raise the dead in this hypothetical boss fight, that is no longer a 1v1! Plus, she already tried that and it didn’t work!)

Merrin, at least when we first meet her in JFO, has always struck me as someone who’s trying to present herself as something she’s not. She’s got something to prove: that she is capable of avenging her lost sisters. But she’s haunted by the fact that there was nothing she could do to save them, because she was, and is, so young. Malicos uses her insecurity about her lack of experience to gaslight her for his own selfish desires, and in her desperation to prove him wrong, her magick is unfocused and uncontrolled. And at the end of the day, despite her desire for revenge, she’s not a cold-blooded killer.

My point is that in terms of power and skill, Call and Merrin are probably pretty evenly matched.

Another thing to consider is timing. Admittedly now we’re getting into my own vision and maybe things would play out different if you put this fight earlier in the story, but if we’re to assume this boss fight with Merrin takes place in the same time frame as the Malicos boss fight, either in addition to or in place of it, we’ve got Cal at his strongest emotional point in the game. He has just made peace with everything that happened to him. Merrin, on the other hand, has just had everything she thought she believed in come crashing down around her. And if we’re at the point where she’s still attacking Cal, she’s not thinking straight. There is no legitimate reason left for her to be angry at Cal specifically, she’s just angry. She hasn’t cooled down from “You both shall learn!” And to be fair, from her perspective, if Malicos used her and lied to her, why should Cal be any different?

In this scenario, Merrin has got to be at a point of hopelessness. She may no longer be certain that the Jedi killed her people, but she feels like her anger and desire for revenge is all she has left, and she will get her revenge or die trying. And (possible trigger warning) now that she’s uncertain that her anger at the Jedi is justified, there probably is a part of her that almost hopes she dies trying. Because even if she did kill Cal, then what? Then she really has nothing left!

Why go after Cal instead of Malicos? Well for starters, that fight she definitely wouldn’t win, because the only way she and Cal were ever going to be able to defeat him was together. And I think rather than being afraid that Malicos would kill her, she’s more afraid that he wouldn’t kill her and that he would force her to continue serving his selfish desires. (Side note, there’s a possible headcanon in the subtext there that I really, really don’t wanna entertain… my poor girl has been through enough!)

I think in the end, a lack of focus and lack of confidence in her own motivation would be Merrin’s downfall. In a way, it’s somewhat reminiscent of Obi Wan vs Anakin. Anakin was more powerful than Obi Wan, but Obi Wan was more focused and more precise. Anakin’s lack of focus caused him to make a bad judgement call (ignoring the high ground) and Obi Wan quickly took advantage of it.

So let’s write some fanfiction real quick!

The way I see a fight between Cal and Merrin playing out at this point in JFO, they would be somewhat evenly matched, and at a moment when Merrin has the upper hand she would hesitate, because she’s unsure if she really does want this, unsure if she really should want this, and as stated before, she’s not a heartless murderer. Perhaps, even, seeing Cal at her mercy might remind her of herself as a child at the mercy of the monster who killed her family. (A Reva moment, if you will.)

Now one could argue whether or not Cal could’ve held her off at this moment had she not had this crisis of conscience, but regardless, she would hesitate just long enough for Cal to take the upper hand and checkmate her. But he wouldn’t kill her. He doesn’t want to kill her. He knows how misguided her anger is, and even if he can’t get through to her, he doesn’t believe she deserves to die. The victory condition for Cal is simply to get the Astrium and escape with his life. Perhaps he might have killed her to reach that goal if he had to, but it would’ve been a hollow victory.

In this moment, pinned beneath Cal’s saber, Merrin reverts back to the little girl she was on the day of the massacre. She is scared, and not ready to die, but she no longer has the strength or will to fight back.

Everything freezes for a moment, and then Cal slowly lowers his lightsaber. She opens her eyes and looks into his as he turns the blade off and steps back. He walks past her into the tomb, leaving her alone, in shock as she thinks about everything that just happened.

So I think there are a few reasons this didn’t actually happen in the game. First of all, a Merrin boss fight followed almost immediately by a Malicos boss fight would’ve been too much. But more importantly, for it to have an emotional impact would’ve required more character development for Merrin earlier in the game that there just wasn’t time for because at the end of the day, JFO is Cal’s story, not Merrin’s. Cool as Merrin was in the first game, what really made her character interesting is the dynamic she forms with Cal, and to try to develop that dynamic earlier would’ve required more cutscenes at a point when the player is not yet invested enough in Cal as a character to really care that much, and all those cutscenes would do is interrupt the gameplay that people came for. I think if the story of JFO were being told in a different medium that didn’t rely so much on action, such a book or *cough cough* a stage production perhaps, this subplot would fit in a little better.

Okay fine, maybe this is all just my vision for what I’d want a Fallen Order musical to look like! I’m telling you, IT COULD WORK!! 😂

So to recap, I think Cal would win in a 1v1 with Merrin (at least in the first game), I think Merrin in the first game is more bark than bite, and I think underneath the hard exterior she’s a sweet broken baby bird and I wanna give her a hug! 🥺🫶

Besides, if we did actually have this boss fight, video game rules dictate that Cal would have to win eventually! 😉

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Angry women my beloved -Danny Words: 2,083 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Angry Woman' -by Ashe

XLI: Don't Worry, It's All Downhill From Here

"So good to see you again, ma chère. It's time we had a very cold reunion." 

Ara hasn't thought about these three idiots since last December, but it's clear they haven't forgotten about them. Younger Ara would consider it flattering, but now she's annoyed and on the verge of another crisis if they don't bring Leo back.

"Muffins," Cal points to Piper's cornucopia after it spits food abruptly, Ara only remembers his name because he couldn't say more than a few words at a time. "Muffins are good."

"Ah, merci," Zethes winks at the girls, making Ara want to be killed faster. "I knew the pretty girl would miss me." 

"This is great, exactly what I needed," Ara grumbles, trying to release her feet.

"You've grown, Jackson," Zethes continues in French. "I'm willing to ignore my orders if you promise me a good time."

"How about you come closer and I show you where my sword fits?" She replies in a bad mood.

Piper tries to use charmspeak. "Let my friends go."

Zethes stiffens in place. "We should let your friends go."

"Yes," Cal drops his muffin.

"No, you idiots! She is charmspeaking. Use your wits."

"Wits..." Cal picks up his food and eats it. "Muffins are better."

"Ah, my beautiful Piper..." Zethes sighs. "So long I have waited to see you again. Sadly, my sister is right. We cannot let your friends go. In fact we must take them to Quebec, where they shall be laughed at eternally. I am so sorry, but these are our orders."

"Orders...? Guys, listen, your sister disobeyed Boreas. She's working with the giants, trying to raise Gaea. She's planning to take over your father's throne."

"Dear Piper McLean," the goddess chuckles. "You would manipulate my weak-willed brothers with your charms, like a true daughter of the love goddess. Such a skillful liar."

"Liar? You tried to kill us! Zethes, she's working for Gaea!" 

Zethes squints. "Alas, beautiful girl. We all are working for Gaea now. I fear these orders are from our father, Boreas himself."

"What?" 

Ara closes her eyes and tunes them out, then summons Hephaestus's blessing and hopes it works like she wants it to. Her body heats up, and she tries to guide all the warmth to her feet, which is not easy.

"What about Leo?" Piper questions, and the name makes Ara lose a bit of focus. "Where did you send him?"

"Leo Valdez deserved a special punishment," Khione shrugs. "I have sent him to a place from which he can never return. But it is for the best. Leo could not be tolerated, even as an ice statue... not after he insulted me. The fool refused to rule at my side! And his power over fire... He could not be allowed to reach the House of Hades. I'm afraid Lord Clytius likes fire even less than I do."

"You know, the first time I met you I thought you were annoying, but the more you talk, the more I think gods should have some kind of Asylum for headcases like you," Ara twirls one finger next to her head. "Blood's too frozen to circulate your noggin, huh?"

Khione's cold eyes sharpen. "What nonsense are you speaking?"

"You see, dear royal pain in the podex," Ara moves her foot inside its enclosure as the ice melts and hollows around it. "If you'd done your homework properly, you'd know that the daughter of Olympus is in love with Leo Valdez, and if what you're saying it's true, then I've got no choice but to kill you."

Ara turns Almighty into a spear, then slams the flat end on the ice over her feet and shatters it. Khione chucks shards of ice her way and Ara drops to the ground, pulling her flintlock out from the Octopi bag and shooting at Cal with it, but she doesn't get to kill him.

Khione screams in frustration and projects more ice, but Piper shoots warm hams out of her cornucopia to protect Ara.

"Piper, get Festus running!" The girl expands her shield. "I'll hold them!"

"Are you crazy? I'm not the tech-savvy!"

"Wake Festus up!" Ara uses her charmspeak. Piper tenses and quickly makes her way to the bronze dragon. Zethes tries to go after her and Ara shoots him in the wing. "You northern chicken go where I say you can go!"

"You are the mentally unwell if you think you can fight the three of us at once," Khione sneers. "You daughters of love are no threat."

"And yet you have no choice but to fight me."

Ara draws out from her Octopi one of the bombs Leo made weeks ago, Greek fire would be ideal, but it could also damage the ship and she can't afford that while Leo isn't here, so warm popcorn it is. The bomb goes off and it confuses the others enough to give Ara an advantage.

She turns Almighty into a sword and cuts off Cal's wings, the poor guy is an idiot and now he's a flyless one. In the meantime Piper's trying to wake Festus up, as in, shouting his name and demanding at him to open his eyes. Ara can't judge her, Piper undoubtedly has zero knowledge of machines and Ara ordered her to get Festus running. If Piper believes that will work, then so does she.

"C'mon pretty, don't do this!" Zethes tries to reach her. "I'd hate having to bruise that face!"

"Okay, so you're definitely dying first," Ara reloads her flintlock. "I can't stand another second of your god-awful courting, Chad."

"Ugh, enough! I'm freezing you," Khione raises her hand almost in a bored manner.

Ara's anger flares up and glows red, aiming her gun at Khione and shooting at the center of the goddess's palm, she screeches and holds onto her wounded fist. "You stupid girl! What have you done?!"

Ara has been considered inconsequential for too long, she's gonna show Khione how terrible she can be. She reloads the gun again. "Daughter of love or not, I'm the General of Olympus, and you will respect me."

The easiest thing would be to get rid of Zethes first, but Ara is done with fast and easy, so she attacks Cal, he's slow on his feet and has no wings to escape her, but he's Khione's strongest guard. Ara glows teal and summons a small tide to wash over in front of the goddess and Khione freezes it just like the girl wanted.

Ara pulls out a bomb of Greek Fire and chucks it down the back of Cal's hockey uniform, then runs to take cover behind Khione's devised ice wall and she hears the goddess screams in anger when her brother explodes in golden dust.

"Two to go," Ara mutters, drawing out a second bomb.

"Enough!" Khione cracks Ara's barrier and sends thousands of sharp pellets at the girl's face. 

Ara covers the softest parts of her body with the shield Leo made for her and doesn't think much of the cuts that she gets on her legs and face.

"Zethes! The bomb!" The goddess demands. The boread tosses something at Ara's feet and she stumbles back. It looks like a weird chunk of ice, yet Ara can sense its power. Khione laughs shortly. "You know what that is, don't you? One wrong move, and your dear ship will be tossed out to the ends of the world."

"Wait, sorry for interrupting your bad-guy speech," Ara replies, deciding to distract Khione until Festus comes back to life. "But why are you here again?"

The girl looks more insulted about her lack of interest than the fact that Ara just killed her brother. "Were you not listening to what I told your sister?"

"I have ADHD and you immortals love your Shakespearian back-and-forths a bit too much, it's impossible for me not to space out."

"It doesn't matter!" Khione snaps. "I will send you and your sister to the ends of the world, I'll take the rest of your friends back to our palace, and you will regret your insolence towards me!"

"Got it," Ara points at the bomb. "This thing has a timer, or does it go off if I move?"

"What?" Khione blinks, confused by her indifference. "I—No. It will go off once the ice melts."

Ara sighs and shakes her head. "Man, that's a lousy design! You depend on the weather a bit too much, don't you think? What if I had ice powers, huh? That is the problem with you gods, you show off and think we can't beat you because you have lots of one thing. Well, I have a bit of everything, so I'm gonna wipe the floor with your frosted ass."

Festus lets out a huge amount of hot steam and Piper recoils with a big smile on her face. "He's awake!"

"My turn to show off." Ara summons another small wave that hits Khione's face and makes her lose balance. 

Zethes attacks and Ara shoots him point-blank in the chest, killing him instantly and leaving nothing but golden dust and his sword behind. Ara can't move and risk kicking the bomb on accident, so she searches inside her Octopi and pulls out another popcorn bomb, tosses it a Khione, and the goddess gets covered in the warm, buttery snack.

"She's all yours, Pipes!" Ara shouts, pointing at the sword Zethes left behind so the Aphrodite can pick it up.

Festus roars with energy, shooting large columns of fire into the air and melting the ice over ship's deck while Ara whirls around as carefully and quickly as possible toward the control panels to put them back together. 

Piper takes her place in the fight and faces Khione. "You miserable girls!" She screams. "You think you can defeat me—a goddess?"

Ara works as fast as possible and ignores Khione, deeming her unimportant in comparison to the condition of her ship. Her skin starts to glow orange when she speeds up. "Buddy, I need some guidance here! I don't have the sphere, how do I make it work?" 

Festus creaks and uses a mix of Morse code and clicks similar to words to guide her. Slowly, the monitors start to come back to life. She won't be able to access some of the cool stuff like the jet propulsion or the automatized ballista, but at least she's got Festus, and Festus controls most of the ship.

"Children of Aphrodite," Khione growls. "You are nothing."

"Don't listen to her! She's scared!" Ara encourages Piper without looking up. "There is nothing scarier than an angry Aphrodite! Jason and Leo are counting on you!"

Piper slashes Khione across the chest, the goddess explodes in a small blizzard and vanishes. Ara reboots the system and turns around to announce it, but then she spots the ice bomb melting on her deck and her stomach drops, she forgot it was there.

"Piper take cover!" Ara glows teal.

The girl hides behind the foremast while Ara turns Almighty into a shovel and picks up the bomb, tossing it across deck and out of the ship. The object explodes as soon as it touches the sea and the Argo II gets thrown onward so fast she can't see where it's heading.

By the time they stop, Jason has melted back to life. He's disoriented and hypothermic, but Piper checks his vitals and feeds him back to health while Ara grabs a welding kit to finish melting the block of ice that's keeping the others downstairs.

"What happened?" Jason asks groggily. 

"Khione and her stupid brothers," Ara mumbles, tears rolling down her face while she keeps jabbing at the ice with a hammer.

"We took care of it," Piper eases him, placing the bottle of nectar closer to the boy's lips.

"You... you what?"

"Don't sound so surprised," Piper gives him a knowing smile. "Ara distracted them long enough for me to wake Festus, then—"

"She got rid of Khione," Ara takes a moment to catch her breath. "With her special power."

"What power?" Jason looks at them curiously.

"Female rage."

Piper snorts. "I did my best."

"You gave life to a bronze dragon!" Ara exclaims, pointing at the figurehead. "You pulled a Pinocchio on the baby! What kind of blue fairy magic was that?"

"I did what you asked," Piper replies a little dejected. "Charmspeak is all I have, I'm not a mechanic like you, Strategus."

"I'm not complaining," the girl dries her tears and stands up. "I sound angry, but I'm not angry at you."

"Where is Leo?" Jason looks around suddenly noticing his absence. His eyes suddenly focus on the shore ahead and he frowns. "And where are we?"

"According to Almighty," Ara checks her compass, eyes puffy and tired. "That'd be Notus's palace."

"Who's Notus?" Piper asks.

"God of the South Wind," Ara makes a face. "We'll be here a while."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[up-in-space-reading]

Average Weekly Screentime - Chap 10: So Who Won?

pairing: Jake Peralta x Amy Santiago

word count: 3141

warnings/tags: college au, texting, drunk texting, text fic (mostly, there's prose a few chaps in), bets, bisexual!jake peralta, jake peralta has adhd, parties, drinking and alcohol, sexual references, implied sexual content (nothing explicit, just suggested its going to happen/has happened), friends to lovers, swearing, mentions of cannibalism, lighthearted threats of violence (typical rosa stuff yk), fluff

read on ao3

Average Weekly Screentime masterlist

Story Summary: texting fic college AU with the squad! It's the beginning of the school year and while everyone else thinks it'll be the same as the previous year, Gina has a feeling things are going to be different and wagers a bet with Rosa and Charles. Told through all the various group chats everyone is in.

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5 | Chap 6 | Chap 7 | Chap 8 | Chap 9 | Chap 10

authors note: The last chapter to this monster of a fic! Hope you enjoy <3

Jimmy Jabbers

[09:24am, Friday]

Four Eyes: Jake has once again fallen asleep in class Four Eyes: Bets anyone?

RoRo: he’s gonna wake up in 12 minutes

Mr Grapes: 10 minutes

Queen G: 20 minutes

Four Eyes: Will keep you updated

-

[09:36am, Friday]

Four Eyes: Rosa I don’t know how you do it

RoRo: idk RoRo: you guys just gotta get good i guess

Queen G: this sucks

-

Dance Squad

[11:36am, Friday]

G-Hive: rosa ur bet date was two days ago G-Hive: i just remembered

Scary: gina you just might win this

G-Hive: omg omg this is so exciting

Charlese: Remember when you tried to get them together on new years?

G-Hive: i had a momentary lapse of judgement G-Hive: BUT now im back in betting mode G-Hive: need to keep them apart for another few weeks

Scary: that’s meddling once again

Charlese: Technically Rosa has some buffer time before her bet is completely void

Scary: neck and neck gina Scary: watch your back

G-Hive: anyone else getting super scary vibes rn???

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[10:05am, Saturday]

Ferris: good morning beautiful

Cameron: Good morning!

Ferris: whats the plan for today??

Cameron: I actually have to do some work, you’ve been distracting me the last few days

Ferris: sorry i cant help that i wanna spend time with my giirllfrieennddd

Cameron: I wasn’t complaining at all Cameron: I’m just warning that if you come over I will be doing work

Ferris: im literally on my way

-

Unnamed Chat

[10:45am, Saturday]

Jake: hey ter!

Terry: Hey Jake, how’s it going?

Jake: absolutely wonderful amazing excellent

Terry: Haha let me guess – things went well with Amy

Jake: ur the first person im telling bc u helped me so much omg im so excited

Terry: Well congrats to both of you Terry: I hear Taylor has a lot of love songs

Jake: im never living it down Jake: and IM TOO HAPPY TO CARE

Terry: Hahaha

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[02:04pm, Saturday]

Four Eyes: do u think that guys named cal their name is short for calendar

Pineapples: yes ames i think thats true

Queen G: how do i tell amy u have her phone

Pineapples: she is aware Pineapples: but i dont think she realised what i was gonna do with it mwahaha

RoRo: you should probably give it back

Four Eyes: He has returned it now Four Eyes: He’s cowering in the corner because he knows I’m going to take his

Pineapples: someone help me

Mr Grapes: Just go fetal position Jake, that’s what I do

Pineapples: Too late

Queen G: RIP soldier

RoRo: i think it’ll be funny if amy killed him

-

Dance Squad

[02:10pm, Saturday]

G-Hive: so that was weird right??

Scary: super weird

Charlese: Definitely weird

G-Hive: okay cool

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[04:28pm, Saturday]

Mr Grapes: Anyone wanna do dinner tonight?

RoRo: can’t, busy

Mr Grapes: What are you up to?

RoRo: wouldn’t you like to know, soup boy

Queen G: fine ill do dinner

-

[04:53pm, Saturday]

Mr Grapes: @Four Eyes @Pineapples are either of you interested in getting dinner? Mr Grapes: Haven’t heard from you yet

Pineapples: sorry charles, im busy

Four Eyes: I’ve already got plans, sorry

Mr Grapes: That’s alright!

-

Dance Squad

[04:57pm, Saturday]

Charlese: That’s weird right?

G-Hive: definitely

Scary: you two have fun

G-Hive: @Charlese ill meet u at sals in 30?

Charlese: Yep!

-

“We have got to find a new dinner spot” Amy whispers to Jake across the table who’s giggling.

“Aw but I like Sal’s” He whispers back, their chins nearly touching the table as they duck from view.

“Probably on us that we assumed Gina and Charles wouldn’t come here” Jake continued with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Yeah, that’s definitely on us. What do we do?” Amy asked anxiously.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re here, we’re here, they don’t know about us. What do we do?”

“Sneak out the side door and pretend we were never here?” Jake suggested with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Sure, let’s do it” Amy agreed, a small smile returning to her face.

The two of them got up quickly, Jake grabbing Amy’s hand and dragging her out of the diner quickly behind him. She had her bag slung over her shoulder and was carrying her scarf, not having had a moment to put it on yet.

Once they were out the door and walking down the street the two of them laughed as Amy finally wrapped her scarf around her neck. Jake took Amy’s arm and linked it with his, holding her close as they walked down the snow lined streets.

“We’ve gotta find somewhere else to get dinner now” Jake brought up after they’d been walking for a few minutes with no real destination in mind.

“How would you feel about pizza?” Amy asked with a smile, knowing exactly how Jake would feel about pizza.

“Dumb question Ames, I know just the place”

He redirected them, crossing the street and turning a corner while Amy simply followed his lead. Once there they ordered and got their pizza, they laughed about their escape from Sal’s again and Jake filled Amy in on the ongoing Sasha drama after she overheard Gina mention it.

They finished their pizza and hung around in the shop for a little while longer, ignoring their phones and everything outside the door. As far as Jake was concerned, right now the world existed in the pizza shop, sitting across the table from him.

It was only when the owner of the shop politely told them he was going to be closing soon did they leave – leaving behind a nice tip for having stayed so long – walking arm in arm slowly back towards campus under the light of the street lamps. Amy could tell Jake was trying to delay saying goodbye to her, and if Amy was honest with herself she didn’t want to say goodbye either.

They stopped at the usual split in their path, this section of the sidewalk held so many memories and emotions that Amy couldn’t believe it had all happened in less than a year. The two of them hugged for probably too long, they were clingy for a few day-old relationship but Amy never wanted it to stop.

“Come back to my dorm with me?” Jake asked her quietly, breath brushing against Amy’s ear in a way that made her skin tingle, “If you want” he added, giving her an out.

“I want to”

It was an easy decision, and one she didn’t regret at all.

-

DDC

[10:28am, Sunday]

G: messaging to check on u bc i havent heard from u in nearly 24 hours

Jacob: im fine g

G: alright G: how r u feeling?

Jacob: great!

G: cool

-

Dance Squad

[10:32am, Sunday]

G-Hive: something happened

Scary: context?

G-Hive: somethings happened with jake

Charlese: Proof?

G-Hive: 1 image attachment G-Hive: says hes great before noon on a sunday G-Hive: i think tf not

Scary: weak

Charlese: Yeah it’s not a super strong argument

G-Hive: ugh honestly you two

Charlese: I’m starting to give up on them honestly Charlese: If it hasn’t happened by now it won’t ever happen

G-Hive: r u serious charles!!! G-Hive: ur not serious

Charlese: Okay I’m not 100% giving up

Scary: i have

Charlese: What??

Scary: my betting day has passed and i either get it exact or i lose Scary: i’m not winning on a technicality

G-Hive: what about the prize money???

Scary: we just don’t pay out?

Charlese: Damn, this is a sad way to end it

G-Hive: HEY! my bet is still ongoing

Scary: you’re seriously gonna hold out hope??

G-Hive: unlike SOME people i dont back down from a bet

Scary: ugh fine i’m still in

G-Hive: YES

Charlese: Okay I’m still in!! you just caught me in a moment of weakness

G-Hive: lovely lovely G-Hive: time to go get proof

-

DDC

[10:51am, Sunday]

G: where r u???

Jacob: my dorm why???

G: i feel like ur lying

Jacob: im not lying gina Jacob: why would i lie about that

G: idk but ill find out

Jacob: u do that

G: ill ask amy where u r

Jacob: amy will just tell u to ask me

G: we will see

-

Girls Girls Girls

[10:55am, Sunday]

Gina: @Amy do u know where jake is??

Amy: I don’t know, probably in his dorm? Amy: He’s probably still sleeping

Gina: hmm okay

-

DDC

[10:57am, Sunday]

G: i still dont believe you

Jacob: 1 image attachment Jacob: what about now??

G: u couldve taken that pic anytime

Jacob: i just took it now

G: ugh fine

-

Girls Girls Girls

[11:03am, Sunday]

Gina: @Amy can u send me a pic of the cover of that book u recommended the other day

Amy: You have never asked for a book recommendation and I don’t believe you that you’re starting now

Gina: u and jake talking about me???

Amy: WHY would Jake and I be talking about you??

Gina: u tell me????

Amy: You are in a mood this morning

Rosa: tell me about it

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[11:07am, Sunday]

Queen G: i have had ENOUGH Queen G: @Four Eyes @Pineapples explain urselves

Four Eyes: What do I have to explain???

Pineapples: i am also confused as to what i need to explain

Queen G: one or both of u are lying to me Queen G: dodging questions and such

Four Eyes: Good god you need to go outside or something

Queen G: i will NOT be made out to be crazy

Pineapples: then stop acting like it girl

Queen G: where r u both right NOW???

Pineapples: in my dorm Pineapples: in bed if u want specifics

Four Eyes: I’m in my dorm, at my desk to be specific

Queen G: take a pic of ur desk rn

Four Eyes: I’m not entertaining this

Queen G: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH Queen G: im gonna figure it out

RoRo: maybe let it go gina

Mr Grapes: Gotta agree with Rosa

Queen G: ugh fine

-

Dance Squad

[02:35pm, Monday]

G-Hive: im following jake and amy this afternoon G-Hive: who wants to join

Charlese: I’ve got nothing better to do

Scary: this is the last time i’ll entertain you

G-Hive: it wont even be long G-Hive: ill be able to tell if theyre together or not immediately G-Hive: meet me in the courtyard

Charlese: On my way!

Scary: coming

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[02:48pm, Monday]

Ferris: heads up rosa gina and charles are following me to the library Ferris: theyre doing a bad job

Cameron: Hahaha okay

Ferris: should we have some fun with them?

Cameron: We absolutely should

-

Jake made his way to the library happily, lighter than air and excited to see Amy again. When he walked into the library she hadn’t noticed him yet but as soon as Jake saw her he couldn’t stop the smile spreading from ear to ear.

Amy finally noticed him as he approached the table, a matching smile gracing her face, and it took everything in Jake to hold back kissing her as soon as he was sat down next to her. They kept their conversation casual and work focused, it felt like before they were together when the two of them were dancing around whatever was happening between them.

After some subtle searching of the library by taking looks around at random intervals he was able to spot Gina, Rosa, and Charles at a table nearby. They were pretending to be engrossed in one book between the three of them and doing a bad job, Rosa was clearly uninterested but there anyway.

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[03:21pm, Monday]

Ferris: three musketeers sitting at a table near the computers Ferris: doing a terrible job at hiding

Cameron: I’m not even surprised Cameron: What did Gina expect to discover?

Ferris: probs us together

Cameron: Nosiest friends ever

Ferris: haha tell me about it

-

“This is boring, they’re clearly not together” Rosa was annoyed.

“But what if they are and they’re just playing it down?” Gina argued back.

“If they were together we’d know by now” Charles now joined in.

“God this is ridiculous” Gina threw her arms up in frustration, “I just need them to kiss or something”

“Go ask them” Rosa suggested slightly sarcastically.

Gina fixed Rosa with a look that made Charles want to shrink in on himself, feeling grateful he hadn’t crossed either of them.

“We could just wait for them to tell us?” He suggested in hopes of stopping Gina and Rosa’s staring match.

“Fine” Gina agreed begrudgingly.

Gina was the one to get up first, followed by Rosa and then once they started walking away Charles quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.

-

Jake saw movement out of the corner of his eye, catching his attention he looked up to see Rosa, Gina and Charles all making a hasty exit from the library and he smiled knowing he and Amy had been able to bore them into leaving.

Once their friends had left the library he leaned over and gave Amy a quick peck on the cheek, startling her out of her concentration where she looked at Jake with surprised.

“What abo-“ She began before Jake cut her off.

“They just left”

Amy let out a laugh before placing a hand on the side of Jake’s face, he leaned into it with a content sigh. Jake then reached up to lightly grab Amy’s wrist, keeping her hand in place as he twisted his head to plant another kiss on her palm.

“You can’t distract me like that” Amy said quietly, trying to be teasing but sounding more breathless.

“Sorry” Jake had apologized but didn’t sound one bit sorry, returning to his work with a satisfied smirk.

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[06:25pm, Wednesday]

Queen G: sasha is having a party on sat so im absolutely going Queen G: anyone else in??

Mr Grapes: Oh definitely! Mr Grapes: Do you know if she invited Sam or Matt?

Queen G: she invited both of them and its most of the reason i wanna go

Mr Grapes: It’s self sabotage at this point

RoRo: ill go if it means watching sashas life implode lol

Pineapples: ill be there

Four Eyes: Yeah I’ll go too

Queen G: im so proud of all of u Queen G: so like are you guys team sam, team matt, or team sasha

Charles: I’m team Anne! She’s been messed around

Queen G: so true charles

-

It was the first time they’d hung out as a whole group since Jake and Amy had gotten together and hiding their relationship was more difficult than Jake had anticipated. He wanted to hold her hand in the back of the uber and put his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the party but couldn’t do any of it.

That was until they split up after playing some small drinking games together, Jake immediately asked Amy if she wanted to dance and she couldn’t have said yes quick enough. He assumed his friends were off finding the drama, Gina and Rosa probably on the hunt for people to flirt with while Charles waited for Genevieve to arrive soon.

Once he and Amy had reached the dance floor her pulled her close, bodies pressed up against one another – he wasn’t wasting a single moment keeping her at a distance. They danced together in the way Jake wished they could’ve on New Years, and it was the most fun he’d had at a party in a while.

So much fun that he leaned down to kiss Amy hard, brain slightly foggy after the alcohol they’d had so far, but pleased when Amy leaned into it. The kiss became intense as they abandoned any illusion that they were dancing.

Finally Jake pulled away with heavy breaths, leaning down to whisper into Amy’s ear.

“Bathroom”

She nodded furiously and followed closely behind when Jake grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the dance floor.

-

Queen Gina Linetti @g-hive01

i love being right #calledit #sashasparty

[11:08pm, Saturday]

-

Jimmy Jabbers

[10:47am, Sunday]

Queen G: i think its time we talk about the elephant in the room

Pineapples: what?

Queen G: this has gone on long enough

RoRo: gina what are you doing

Mr Grapes: Don’t do something you’ll regret

Queen G: i have no regrets in life Queen G: including this Queen G: @Four Eyes @Pineapples you two like each other and you need to work it out before I start prematurely aging

RoRo: gina!!

Mr Grapes: We agreed we weren’t gonna meddle and this is beyond that!

Queen G: deafening silence from the culprits themselves

Pineapples: way to make things awkward g…

Four Eyes: Wait, you guys ‘agreed to not meddle’? What does that mean?

Queen G: dw about that Queen G: do u have anything to say for urselves??

Pineapples: gina what did u see???

Queen G: u know exactly what i saw at exactly 11 last night

Four Eyes: Shit

Pineapples: my b ames

Four Eyes: Takes two

Pineapples: if its any comfort gina that bathroom wasnt as romantic as u would imagine

Queen G: i didnt think it would be

Four Eyes: Aw don’t say that babe, I thought it was perfectly respectable

Pineapples: dont lie to me

Four Eyes: Sorry haha

Mr Grapes: Wait wait wait wait Mr Grapes: You just called him babe

Four Eyes: Oops

Pineapples: gina caught us so theres no point keeping secret

Four Eyes: Yes Jake and I are together

Mr Grapes: Greatest day of my life not joking

RoRo: good for u

Queen G: u guys will NEVER make me seem crazy ever again so help me god Queen G: i was fucking RIGHT

RoRo: for reasons you don’t need to know RoRo: when did this start?

Pineapples: last wednesday Pineapples: why?

RoRo: i’m $100 richer

Mr Grapes: Damn

Queen G: ah shit…

Four Eyes: Can’t believe you guys bet on us!

Pineapples: i can

-

Skipping School Is(n’t) Cool

[11:40am, Sunday]

Ferris changed Cameron’s nickname to Ames Ferris changed their name to Dread Pirate Jake Dread Pirate Jake changed the group chat name to As You Wish

Ames: Aw I’ll miss the Ferris Bueller theme

Dread Pirate Jake: that was for when we were friends Dread Pirate Jake: needed to change now that youre my giirrllfriend

Ames: Haha fair enough Ames: Meet outside to go get lunch together?

Dread Pirate Jake: as u wish my lady <3

-

Dance Squad

[11:40am, Sunday]

Scary: I’ll take my $100 in cash

Charlese: I don’t even care about losing money I’m so happy for them

G-Hive: you will never make a fool out of me again

Scary: sure sure Scary: now pay up

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5 | Chap 6 | Chap 7 | Chap 8 | Chap 9 | Chap 10

authors note: Oh my god, I can't believe its all done and over.

This is the longest piece of writing I've done so far, what started out as a silly little text fic idea that I wanted to do just to 'not waste a concept' turned into something that I've loved writing and am beyond proud of. I'm sorry there was a bit of a wait between chapters in the middle there but I hope the speedy release of the ending made up for it! Thank you so so much to everyone who commented and left kudos, you guys kept me motivated and excited to write this fic. Shout out to my friends both irl and online (none of whom will see this lol), you guys consistently provide me wonderful content to use in my writing lol (for this chapter it was: "wouldn't you like to know, soup boy")

Thanks again for reading my lil fanfic, I hope you enjoyed it <3

[writingfandomsandthings]

Cal dreams of a world with dirt and a sun before he's allowed to touch the hydroponic harvests.

He dreams of creatures his mom can't find the story story of. A young boy has an active imagination, and his friends join his games about the odd creatures.

"Maybe we'll find some on Vertumna," Cal says wistfully.

When he is 11, the Stratos is finally approaching Vertumna, their new home away from their exiled world, Cal's dreams begin to feel...real.

And frightening, but wonderful, even as the details slip away when he wakes.

Then the day of landfall arrives. Cal is so excited to finally see a world outside of Stratos. He's gathered with his friends, and the ship violently rocks. Sol and Tammy are thrown, and Cal throws himself forward.

(Here lies the first main choice, does he cover Tammy, or does he cover Sol?)

If Cal reaches for Tammy, he is a knight in shining armor, whirling briefly as he takes the majority of the blow.

She is horrified and smitten all at once.

If Cal reaches for Sol, Sol wriggles to try and save him, and both slam headfirst into the Stratos wall.

Tammy is caught by an adult and cries over both of them when they are rushed to the medical wing.

Cal awakens a week later on Vertumna, regardless of who he saved. He is besotted by the world and the dirt under his feet. As time goes on, he spends his time in Geoponics, on the farm, thriving.

His dreams are more vivid, and more frightening than they ever were before though. He sees people, alien and different, who are friends and enemies; he sees the bug life, the dirt, rising and falling and being monstrous and beautiful.

Life goes on.

(In one, Sol becomes his shadow in Geoponics, remembering and regretting how they were both hurt)

(In other, Tammy acts as she did before but...with more interests than just the children. She listens even with confusion to lectures about the farm. She seeks out the Medbay even when it gets jumbled in her head)

Then the first Glow happens.

(Depending on stats and who is and who is not in the Geoponics greenhouse determines what happens but...Cal comes out scarred)

(Sometimes literally)

Cal throws himself into more work, deeper into the ground. He's worrying people. He's scaring people.

Then one day, when he is not shadowed, he ventures out.

Vertumna doesn't deserve to die to save them. But Cal doesn't want the colony to die.

He catches a glimpse of a person who's not human, and the dreams come into sharp focus.

They are not alone, but few believe him. Dys might. Sol always does. Tammy humors him (maybe...sometimes she believes more sometimes not). The adults certainly don't.

Cal dreams of famine and death. Of more and more frightening Glows.

Of choices taken and lost.

Cal tries to be the best damn farmer he can, while searching for the people hiding from the Stratos. He tries so, so hard.

Cal eventually befriends some Gardeners without human guises.

(Here is his second major choice...does he stay the farm boy Stratos is crafting him into, or does he venture into Vertumnan wilderness to discover life beyond the walls?)

If he chooses Stratos, he must be a solid foundation for those trying to mend and break and heal the various parts of the colony, especially when the Helios take over.

Everyone needs food, even if they kill and kill and kill.

If he chooses the Gardeners, he disappears for a week. He learns a lot about the biology and the history and the past. He is like a child and a pet to the Gardeners who never leave the guises of trees and vrikis and once a unisaur.

When Cal comes home, he looks at everything so critically. He isn't sure he can bring humanity in line...make them stop trying to control what isn't theirs to control.

(But there is still time until the final decision. There is still time before the final solution)

Cal's endings are, ultimately, how human or Vertumnan he decides to be, who he decides to listen and follow.

Tammy, if saved at the beginning, will follow him even if she quietly gives questions to Cal's decisions.

Sol, if saved, will unerringly follow Cal to the end of it all.

-

Cross-posted on pillowfort

[fanfoolishness]

bad trip (Jedi: Fallen Order)

Cal's badly wounded after the Haxion Brood fight, but his trust in Cere and Greez has been shaken. They take care of him anyway. ~3800 words, whump, angst, family feels even when times are tough. CW for vomit mention. Takes place immediately after the rescue from the Haxion Brood arena, when Cal has just learned the truth about Trilla.

---

Cal shivered, the adrenaline finally leaching out of his system.  Felt like he’d been running on it for hours, and now that he was safe, the exhaustion had caught up to him.  He wasn't sure how long he'd been out in a prison cell on a Haxion Brood outpost, but jumping from waking up groggy to fighting for his life in an arena battle royale hadn't been easy.

There was something worse than that, too, lurking in the back of his head where he was trying not to think about it. Trilla, the Second Sister.  What Cere had done to her.

It made him dizzy.

There wasn’t time to think about it, though.  Cal shut off the holotable with its new message from Kashyyyk.  “We’ve got our lead,” he said, and limped off to the engine room.  

He knew he should stop in the kitchen, get something to eat and drink, but he needed to be alone.  Greez and Cere's apologies still echoed in his head, Greez for his gambling debts entangling Cal and nearly getting him killed, Cere for not telling the truth -- for outright lying to him -- about her Padawan.  Cere was the one who’d let the Empire get its claws into Trilla, and she didn’t deny it.

No wonder he didn't want to look at either of his shipmates right now.

The door closed behind him, and he relaxed for a moment, grateful to be alone again with just himself and BD.  The relief was short-lived when he sank onto his narrow bed and gasped with a stabbing pain in his leg. He reached down and clumsily rolled up his pant leg to find a nasty bite the size of his palm. 

The swollen skin around the wound was mottled purple and green, and as he watched, thin rivulets of blood slid out of the bite marks, flowing down the side of his leg. He tried to touch the wound to staunch the bleeding but whipped his hand back as if he'd been burned. Kriff, that hurt!

"BD?" he called quietly, his heartrate rising.  It’s okay.  BD will sort it out for me.  It’s going to be fine.  BD bounced down from his shoulder to the floor, whistling anxiously when he saw the wound on Cal’s leg.  He scanned it immediately, his beeps growing steadily louder and more alarmed.

Cal tried looking closer at the wound himself, and his stomach turned.  Flesh should not be that color.  It must have happened sometime during the arena fight, but everything had happened so quickly he’d barely felt it.

He remembered BD telling him on Kashyyyk that wyyyschokk venom had a myriad of side effects. He wished he could recall any of them right now, but his head pounded, distracting him.  He closed his eyes and groaned, breathing with short, sharp breaths.

"Boop!" BD-1 trilled loudly.

"I need a stim, Beedee," he whispered, holding out a trembling hand.

“Brrrreep!”  We need more stims!

Cal opened his eyes with an effort.  “Oh.  Yeah.”  He knew that.  He’d needed all of them to get past that fight, between the creatures and the bounty hunter.  

There were backups in the galley, but trying to get there right now suddenly seemed impossible.  “Just -- just give me a minute,” he muttered.  “I’ll get up.”

He slumped against the bulkhead, shivering, sliding down until he rested against the wall at an odd angle.  He didn’t mind.  It felt blessedly cool.  

I’ll get up in a minute.  I’m just resting my eyes --

“Beep! … Berreep?”

---

Hands pawing at him, cold, unfeeling.  Every touch hurt, and Cal hissed, trying to roll himself away.  He couldn’t move, his hands and feet weakly flopping when he tried to control them.  

Alien tongues chattered above him, harsh voices that made his head pound.  He had to get up, had to escape, but how?

“Leave me alone,” he tried, but the words caught painfully in his throat, sending it spasming.  He retched, bringing up the last dregs of his lunch.  Dinner.  What had he eaten?  Poison?

He curled in on himself as the hands kept scrabbling, touching his face, shoulders, sides, legs, hands.  Cal tried to cover his face, but they pulled his boneless hands away.  Scrappers in dark blue and yellow-orange stared dispassionately at him, towering over him.  They were all so tall -- or he was so small --  The wrecked ships above him wheeled and circled, whirling under the rainy skies, the streaks of hyperspace, a desert sun.  The white lights of the Albedo Brave hurt his eyes.

“Stop it,” he gasped.  Pain radiated up his leg and arced a direct line to his head, which felt like it was going to explode.  He could hardly think, could hardly form any words at all.  “Hide.  Trust no one.  Trust only in the…”

One of the aliens peered in at him, its vast face swimming in a sickening blur.  It chattered something, a string of blistering curse words.  Cal flinched.  They’d found him somehow after the escape pod crash-landed, found Master Tapal and put the pieces together.  Of course this scrawny robed child was a threat, of course he was a Jedi, and they knew what to do with those --  

“No, ‘m not a Jedi,” he said frantically.  The faces above him blurred and wavered.  “I’ll work for you -- I’ll pull my weight, promise --”

The vast-faced alien leaned in, pressing a hand to Cal’s forehead.  Cal retched again at the blinding pain, panting.  What was happening?  He didn’t understand -- he’d left Bracca, hadn’t he?  He tried to balance on a Bogano mesa, but started falling.  He flailed, grabbing onto his bed for support within the wreckage.  

The Guild representative slid their hand down to his arm.  The tattoo gun sparked and seared, his arm burning with every touch.  There were no other options.  He had nowhere else to go.  He was so small, and everything ached or burned, and maybe they really had found him after the crash.  He couldn’t have gone to Zeffo, or Kashyyyk.  What would he be doing off-planet anyway?  He was scrapper trash, he always had been -- it was all he would ever be --

He thrashed under the cold hand, struggling to breathe, and something sharp bit him in the arm.

---

Cold eyes stared into his, a soulless, empty gaze.  Cal blinked.  He knew this face.  He knew this fear --

“Trilla!” he gasped.  The woman recoiled, lips curling into an angular sneer.  She tossed her sleek hair back, and her piercing eyes bored into his mind.  

“Weak as always, Cal Kestis,” she leered.  “Look what you’ve gotten yourself into.  You’ve failed again, haven’t you?”  She prowled around him, red lightsaber humming at her side, emitting the tortured whine of a turned kyber crystal.  He tried to step back, reaching for the lightsaber at his belt, ready to stand and fight.

But there was nothing there.  His hand brushed his hip and felt only fabric.  He froze.

Trilla flung out her hand and the Force crushed him downward, staggering him until he crumpled onto his bad leg.  He tried to touch it, tried to remember when he was wounded.  A lightsaber burn?  But that didn’t explain why it felt so swollen, so moist --

His hand came away sticky with blood and ichor, and he scrabbled backward, hand curling around a lightsaber hilt that wasn’t there.  “Beedee, help,” he begged. 

From a great distance he could hear BD’s beeps and warbles, and something different, familiar, beyond it.  Greez?  Cere?

“What’s happening?” he asked, even as the room bucked and swayed around him.  Zeffo was Kashyyyk was the Albedo Brave was Coruscant.  Master Tapal gave Cere a worried look.  BD-1 perched on a clone trooper’s shoulder, his eyes flashing red.  Trilla’s saber pierced Prauf’s chest, and Cal sank to his knees, stifling sobs.

“You have to rest, kid,” Greez said urgently, and four hands pushed him down.

---

“This is bad.”

“Beedee says that it should pass, now that we’ve treated--”

“You only think that’s what he’s saying.  I know your binary’s rusty.  He could be saying Cal’s gonna die and we wouldn’t even know!”

“Calm down, Greez.  He’s already looking better --”

“Don’t shoot,” Cal muttered to the clones.  They lifted their bone-white helmets, tilting them to the side at identical angles.  The black visors showed nothing of their eyes.  “I’m not the -- not the enemy.”

“We’re not fighting,” said one of the clones.

“What do you think he sees?” asked the other one anxiously.

Cal rubbed his face, breathing hard.  Sweat slicked his hands.  Another wave of cold nausea passed over him.  “Medbay,” he said, his heart pounding, the room whirling around him.  “Please, help me.  My master --”

“We’re working on it, kid,” said one of the clones. “His master?  Oh, geez.”

“You were bitten by one of the giant spiders,” the other tried to explain.  “You’re sick, but you’re going to be all right.  You need to rest.”

“No,” Cal said, getting to his feet.  Bright lights flashed in his head, half-fractured fragments of psychometry -- or was it just his own memory?  A spider bite, a roaring stadium, an asteroid --  His breath came quick and shallow.  None of this was real.  He looked wildly for a blaster, his lightsaber, anything.  He was going to have to fight his way out.  He reached for the Force --

The Force slid away from him, wrapped in an oily sheen that made it hard for him to reach through to it.  His connection felt muffled and slippery, a thousand parsecs beyond him  It was worse than living on Bracca, worse than when he’d tried stuffing the Force down, down, down where he couldn’t feel it anymore.  Worse than when he had pretended he had never been a Jedi.

No.  No.  I started fixing it, I can feel the Force again, I was getting better.  Why can’t I reach it?  I have to reach it!

His next attempt left him reeling, and the shakes hit him as badly as the fear, roiling, wracking spasms.  “I’m going crazy,” Cal whispered, his leg throbbing with each beat of his heart.  He thought it might burst open.  Maybe that would be better than the agony he was in now.  “Or I’m dying.  It’s one or the other, right?”

Cere’s face was dispassionate and hollow, a perfect reflection of her former Padawan’s arrogance and cruelty.  “Then you’re of no use to me, Kestis.  We will leave you for the Empire.”

Anger flared within him, nauseating, smothering, stabbing.  “I knew I couldn’t trust you,” he hissed, and flung outward with the Force --

Cere rolled with the push, staying upright, though he could see it took a toll on her.  She braced herself against the wall.  “We’re helping you, Cal.  Close your eyes.  Trust me.”

“Better listen to her, kid,” said the shorter clone.  Shorter?  “Please rest.  Just because you look better doesn’t mean you don’t still look terrible.”

“You look terrible,” said Cal sullenly.  Cere took off her clone trooper helmet and set it aside.  Her armored hands reached out, and he reached up to protect his face, the old scar on his cheek burning --

She tucked a blanket around him, and his hand fell back to his side.  He stared up at the ceiling.  The Albedo Brave had never been so small and close before.

Tears collected at the corners of his eyes, mingling with sweat.  He could taste both at the edges of his lips.  What’s happening, what’s happening, what’s happening --

---

Cal blinked.  The emergency lights greeted him in gentle organized lines on the wall across from his cot.  He tried to swallow and tasted stale breath, a hint of sick, the driest tongue he’d ever felt.

He tried to figure out his surroundings.  He was on the Mantis.  When was it?  The last thing he remembered was the disastrous Haxion Brood fight, the tense air between him and Cere and Greez, and then--

He reached out a shaky hand to his leg, under the blankets.  He realized someone had stripped him down to his underclothes.  He could feel a warm, pulsing welt on his leg, safe beneath a bandage.  While it hurt, he could touch it with only a little wincing.

He fell back against his pillow.  He remembered BD-1 warning him about wyyyschokk venom, that it was used to immobilize prey for later digestion.  Something about neuroparalytics.  In sentients, the venom could also cause blinding hallucinations --

Oh.

“Boop?” BD-1 asked suddenly, his lights flashing.  Cal squinted against the onslaught of brightness, shading his eyes with a clammy hand.

“I’m here, Beedee,” he croaked.  

“Beep!” BD trilled excitedly, and took off down the hall, his little legs whirring.  Cal groaned.  

“It’s okay,” he tried to call, but the words were barely audible even to his own ears.  “You don’t have to get them --”

“Cal?” Greez asked, clattering into the room, Cere coming along a few steps beside him.  “Oh, man, kid, are you a sight for sore eyes.”

“You look better, Cal,” said Cere.  She smiled at him, but it was restrained.  He looked away, unable to look her in the eye.  Not yet.  

“What happened?” Cal asked.  “The last thing I remember is realizing one of those spiders got me.”  He struggled to sit up, his head spinning.  He took a deep breath and reached out with the Force, and the spinning slowly stopped.  The Force felt better, cleaner, more like itself now.  Or maybe it was that he felt more like himself.

“Thank goodness for your little droid there,” said Greez, jabbing a thumb in BD’s direction.  “You’d passed out and we might not have realized how bad it was if it wasn’t for this little guy.  You’ve been a mess, you know.  That thing really did a number on you.”

“How long have I been sleeping?” Cal asked, dreading the answer.

“Sleep is a relative term,” said Cere.  Greez nodded.  “As far as we could tell, the venom gave you terrible hallucinations.  We treated you with stims and bacta, but enough of the venom had gotten into your bloodstream that we couldn’t keep you from experiencing some of its effects.”  She took a deep breath, her shoulders sagging.  “I only wish we’d realized you were injured earlier.  It might have gone much differently if we’d been able to treat it right away.”

Cal foggily remembered stalking off to his room after boarding the ship.  I could have said something then.  Maybe it would have kept him from getting here, maybe not.  He wasn’t sure he could have done anything different, given how he’d been feeling about Cere and Greez at the time.  He wasn’t sure he could do anything differently now.

Yet he was grateful, too.  “Sorry for worrying you,” he offered.  He reached up, gingerly brushing his sweat-soaked hair back and out of his eyes.  His head barely ached when he touched it, a marked improvement.

“What’d you see, anyway?” Greez asked.  Cere gave him a stern look.  “What?  He was saying some pretty wild stuff, I was just curious.”  A guilty expression crossed his face.  “I mean, you don’t have to tell me.  If it was something you’d rather not think about.”

Cal stared down at his hands, resting atop the blanket.  Blankets.  He realized there were multiple layers of them, including Greez’ favorite throw from his great-grandmother and the thick warm blankets Cere always wore over her shoulders on hyperspace jumps.  They were sweaty and funky-smelling and rumpled now, all of them piled high over him.

He glanced over to Cere and Greez and BD, who wore him the same worried look in their own ways; Greez with it plain as anything on his expressive face, Cere with a concern that was both reserved and genuine, and BD with the tilt and turn of his antennae.  

He thought of Trilla’s feral eyes, the way she’d spat Cere’s name, Cere’s lies that Trilla had been killed by the Empire.  He thought of the Haxion Brood knocking him out for Greez’s debts and throwing him into a ring to be killed for sport.  He thought of muzzy, half-remembered nightmares.  There were a lot of things he could say right now.  There were some that he knew he shouldn’t.

Cal gave Cere and Greez a tired smile.  “You know, I don’t really remember what I saw.  Just weird stuff that didn’t make any sense.”  He shrugged.  “I thought I was dying.  Guess it’s a good thing you guys were here to bring me back.”

Greez grinned in obvious relief.  “That’s right.  We look out for each other on this ship, and don’t you forget it.  Now, promise me, kid, you get into any more scrapes with something with a venom gland, you tell us about it so we can watch out for you.  Deal?”

“Deal,” said Cal.  He reached out and shook one of Greez’s hands, and though his handshake wasn’t anything near as strong as it ought to be, it still put a smile on Greez’s face.

“You still need your rest,” said Cere gently.  “You were out for three days.  It’s going to take you a few more rotations to fully get back to yourself.”

“Days?” said Cal, his heart rate jumping.  “But the mission -- we need to keep looking, we have to get back to Kashyyyk and find Chieftain Tarrful --”

Cere stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder.  “We’ll complete the mission, Cal.  But we’ll only do so with you healthy and rested.  If you’re still injured, you’ll be an easy target.  We owe it to Tarrful, and the children named on the holocron, to do everything we can to achieve a successful mission.  We can only do that if you’re well.”

Cal swallowed, blinking back sudden stinging in his eyes.  Master Tapal’s voice rang out suddenly in his mind, after a ground battle where Cal had been injured and was desperate to get back out to help their troops.  Master Tapal had had to order him to stay put, but it had been the right call in the end; their troops were only able to free the Republic outpost with all men on deck.  Men they would have had to spare to protect Cal if he’d hurt himself further.  

He let out a long, frustrated breath, and hung his head.  “I know.   I’ll be more careful next time.  It was a stupid mistake.”

“Don’t beat yourself up like that, kid,” said Greez, frowning.  “The spider already did a good job, you don’t have to give it a hand.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cal said automatically.  

“Rest up, Cal.  We’ll get you some food and water,” said Cere.  She opened her mouth as if to say something more, but closed it again.  “Greez will fix up something nice and light for you.”  

“Right,” said Cal.  His stomach growled, hungry for the first time in days.  He laid a hand over it to silence it.  

For a moment the three of them looked at each other.  He wasn’t sure what to say.  He was glad they’d looked out for him -- dank farrik, he could have died -- but there was still a lot to set right, and he didn’t even know where to begin.  The ship hummed around them, and the silence stretched.

“Boop?”

The reverie broke.  Cal smiled at BD-1.  “Hey, buddy.  Yeah.  I’ll be back out there in no time.”  He gazed up at Cere and Greez.  Things were complicated… but not everything had to be.  He spoke, and he meant it.  “Thank you, both of you, for helping me.”

The air felt calmer again.  Cere nodded and gave him a small, faint smile. Greez took a little bow.

“You’re welcome, kid.  Now what do you think -- mudhorn egg omelettes, or loaded ronto wraps?”

“A light meal, Greez.”

Cal watched them head back to the galley.  Something complicated unfurled itself in his chest, a ball of tangled feelings.  Hope was there, and anger; disappointment, gratitude, doubt, determination.  He didn’t know what all it meant.  

But he knew whatever it was, it was real; it was something bigger than the nightmares of clone troopers and Inquisitors, old fears and new failures.  It filled him more than anything had in a long time.

He held onto it, and he drew his blankets closer.

[radicheart-a]

Headcanon Dump

Alastor sometimes goes by the nickname of “Cal” to differentiate himself from his alternates. “Cal” is short for “Calloway”.

Alastor’s father’s name is Travis Reed. Alastor killed him when he himself was only ten years old. Travis is indeed in Hell, and occasionally their paths will cross. It always ends with Travis getting killed. He also refuses to call him ‘father’, always preferring to call him by his name, and he’s publicly broadcast Travis’ personal information to try and cause problems on purpose.

Alastor’s mother’s name was Desdemona, maiden name of Guillory - which is the name he’s taken to using for himself. She died as well, but she’s up in Heaven, so Alastor doesn’t have any sort of contact with her.

Alastor had a little sister named Josephine. She was born when he was four, but died in a drowning accident when she was six.

Alastor enjoyed playing with a homemade slingshot as a child, and he was actually quite a good aim with it.

Alastor hosts one scheduled broadcast every week on Sunday nights from eight to ten in the evening. Each one is closed out with a single song request sent in by his listeners. He also visits the Cannibal Colony to hang out with Rosie and her friends every Thursday afternoon from 2-6 PM.

Alastor has a journal, and he writes his entries as if they are letters addressed to his mother.

Alastor has planted a rose bush near his radio tower in memory of his mother, with a plaque bearing her name. It’s tucked away from the public eye, in a little clearing in the nearby woods. He takes very good care of it and would fly into a rage if he ever caught someone trying to pick its flowers.

Alastor has a nervous habit of tugging at his cuffs. If he’s not wearing something easily tuggable, he’ll wrap a hand around his opposite wrist and scratch. Sometimes he leaves marks due to pressing down too hard with his nails.

Alastor is not covered in scars; they’re only on his forearms and back. His arms have scratches and dog bites from when he was trying to defend himself the day he died, and as a child his father would beat him so often and so hard that there are now permanent marks slicing across his back.

Alastor is not afraid of dogs. He just really dislikes them because of their involvement in his death. It brings back terrible memories for him. This dislike only applies to beagles, since that was the breed used to hunt him down.

Mirroring his disliking of beagles, Alastor absolutely adores cats - literal or sinner. They are by far his favorite animal.

Alastor’s minions are actually rag dolls he made by hand. Making these rag dolls takes up a decent chunk of his time when he’s not doing broadcasts or working for the hotel. If he makes a rag doll of your muse, he likes you. If he gives that rag doll to your muse instead of keeping it on his shelf, he really likes you.

Alastor’s shadow’s name is Cotton.

Alastor dislikes sweets because he is allergic to sugar - sucrose, to be specific (aka the white granulated stuff you spoon into your coffee or put in your cookies). Fructose and lactose are perfectly fine. Symptoms vary based on how much he eats, but even a tiny amount will get his tongue tingling, which is enough of a deterrent for him. More serious symptoms include breaking out in hives, having stomach cramps, wheezing, shortness of breath, and eventually vomiting.

Alastor tends to get uncharacteristically gloomy on his death day (November 6th).

Alastor can play the piano, organ, harpsichord, and violin! He would like to learn the guitar, but he never remembers to get around to it.

Alastor’s microphone voices used to belong to and be the demons he's hunted down over the years.

Alastor doesn’t use washing machines or dryers. He still uses tin tubs, a rub board, and a clothesline. He tried to use a washer all of once and simply could not figure it out.

Alastor occasionally enjoys smoking both cigars and cigarettes. For cigars, he prefers the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaraguan. For cigarettes, his go-to brand is Lucky Strike, and he specifically tends to buy the Lucky Strike Reds.

Alastor carries the following items with him, on his person, at all times: his favorite knife, a Colt Model 1908, a cigarette case, and a vintage pocket watch.

Alastor wears cologne on a daily basis! The scent is a mixture of vanilla, burning wood, mandarin, pine needles and rosemary. Also, the bottle looks damn good on his bathroom countertop.

Alastor likes to collect and keep the whiskers Husk sheds. He doesn’t do anything with them; they’re just stored in a little box on his home office’s desk. (This headcanon only applies to his NPC Husk unless a Husk’s mun agrees with it.)

Alastor’s clothing and hair maintenance are both tended to by Niffty. (This headcanon only applies to his NPC Niffty unless a Niffty’s mun agrees with it.)

The gold coins Alastor likes to flick at people are worth $50 apiece.

Alastor does, in fact, have hooves; he just covers them up with specially-made shoes most of the time so he can still appear somewhat normal…and also tap-dance more efficiently.

Alastor’s top three favorite holidays (in order) are: Christmas, Mardi Gras, and Halloween.

Alastor served in World War 1—specifically in the Navy. It’s where he was first introduced to the world of radio.

Alastor shakes off his fluff-covered hooves like a soaked cat after he showers/bathes/otherwise gets wet.

Alastor’s portals (and magic in general) are bright green.

Alastor can manipulate his microphone to move on its own. He can also make its staff and the discs at the top and bottom sharpen, effectively turning it into a weapon capable of stabbing and/or slicing—and when it’s idling it always hovers against his back. 

Alastor’s antlers grow magnolias for two weeks in March. While normal magnolias are harmless, Alastor’s are not. Do not eat those. They will kill you. Bonus headcanon that Husk likes to crush up their petals and poison someone’s drink if they’ve ticked him off in some way. (This headcanon only applies to his NPC Husk unless a Husk’s mun agrees with it.)

Alastor’s favorite season is autumn.

[lee-hakhyun]

604, 605

oh my.

i'm realizing now that by doing this, i'm reading every chapter of the side story at least 3 times (mtl, edited mtl, and then proofreading + writing a summary) no wonder lhh is stuck in my head hahah

604. author (5)

right after he thinks it might be yoo joonghyuk, he gets attacked by a weapon flying out from the forest jhw deflects it, and the false author comes out with his ohdokhyup team. with their luck, how did they get there faster than lhh's team?

so the author's name is yeom ilwoo, and his sponsor is the king of gambling. the two with him are outside species characters, the ratman from the plague-calling rat and lizardman from the snake

lhh tries to talk this out, and he's half sincere

there's a difference between killing a reader and a character, no matter what they've done. his next words annoy lhh though lmfao

however, ilwoo still signals to attack, and the ohdokhyup throw more daggers out, lhh remembering killer king's warning: the ohdokhyup are the ones who deserve to die jung heewon strikes down the daggers again, but the daggers were poisoned, melting her sword.

there's another hanja double meaning here which is pretty clever

lhh throws jhw an extra sword, and ilwoo starts to fight too. lhh changes the thought into a shield to deflect his broken faith, and the thought gets the appearance of the item

his broken faith is mass produced, and lhh had thought that the durability had run out until ilwoo reveals he has the dragon jar that kim dokja had used before (see chapter 72) to reuse the broken faith.

the restored blade of faith destroys the thought's old iron shield appearance, and with ilwoo confident of winning they talk while fighting. the king of gambling was the one who had sponsored ilwoo the dragon jar, and that's probably how he got the mass produced broken faith, too

it's a little hard to describe fights...

now that lhh had a weapon to fight with, he comments that the author's fighting sense wasn't very good, even with all the skills he uses. the constellations comment that this is why you shouldn't support incarnations at the beginning, they'll rely on the support and won't learn how to survive

with the author retreating, he yells at the ohdokhyup, who were fighting jung heewon

if [cursed dagger] misses 20 times, the next hit is guaranteed. one of the daggers turns towards jhw, and she is forced to block it with her sword, which melts it. jhw grabs jung jaewoo, who had been hiding, and moves back to lhh. lhh asks jjw if he has any hidden skills, but he doesn't. they're at a disadvantage, and lhh is forced to use a method he didn't want to use

he gives jhw the bamboo stick and incites jung heewon, telling her that her enemies are 'monsters', which is the prerequisite for the judge of demon's judgment time. that is. wow. even the constellations are shocked she absolutely crushes her opponents, and the constellations who increased synchronization with their incarnations were hit with a probability backlash. the rat is forced to leave, while the snake severs its tail to avoid the aftermath jhw throws one of the daggers at the author, and it grazes past and he escapes into the forest

with the battle over, both incite and judgment time ends, and jhw collapses. she's physically fine, but the aftermath has left her unconscious as the price for circumventing judgment time's restrictions

and after that

jung jaewoo has [little luck], and he's survived survived so far with that, but when lhh approaches him

...

lhh goes through medicines that could save him, but he couldn't find a way to save him.

when lhh grabs jaewoo's hand, he can see a transparent soul coming out from his body, and he realizes that if he can get the soul, he can save him-

605. author (6)

oh dear god. the 「I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared.」 hurt.

rep kdj seems sympathetic?

jjw's memories are hazy, and as he sorts through his memories he sees himself on the theater screen, with cheon inho calling out his name. he realizes then that he's dead, and

hm.

after this, a small keypad appears in front of him, and when he sends a message, he chats with the name 'rlaehrwk41'. 37 chats with him before telling him to shut up and watch until he figures out what's going on does him getting the number '41' just a coincidence or does it have something to do with the regression turn?

lhh buries jung jaewoo's body in the rain.

jhw didn't wake up, so lhh continues carrying her on his back while he follows the author's footsteps. he finds the dragon jar on the ground, and if the author has dropped that he assumes that he's probably dying or dead by now. he continues walking, with one thought: 「No one should be lost anymore.」 he aims to escape the movie, but the theater owner says he doesn't want the normal ending. the snake that sever its tail proposes a suggestion, which the theater master accepts, and a 'black moon' appears on the stage, causing the monsters to evolve. lhh quickens his steps, but raptors catch up to him

there's 8 raptors, which are only 8th-grade but with so many, it'll be hard for him to take care of them while protecting jung heewon. he incites himself as yjh to fight them, but he can't think of a plan and gets bit. he uses incite again, inciting himself as a tyrannosaurus rex rex and roars, scaring the raptors away.

but the ground starts to rumble. was it really his roar that made the raptors run? an actual t-rex appears. he's still bleeding, and he can't fight it one on one. this is when he has a thought.

he. he tries to incite himself as the apocalypse dragon. what the fuck, hakhyun incite is pushed to the limit, and in the end, he's not able to do it.

there's a flash of light, and when he opens his eyes,

it seems the first runners were killer king and his sister

the pov shifts to yeom ilwoo, who ran away, and he's pissed. he's severely injured due to the fight and the blow jaewoo left on him, and he dropped his dragon jar. however, due to his sponsor he has really good luck, and is able to get to the research laboratory while avoiding all the monsters, and finds a hidden tunnel that lets him skip to the 5th floor, the rewards room

entering the tunnel, he meets a woman

han sooyoung turns to talk to kim namwoon and lee hyunsung, and then knocks kim namwoon out after he says one sentence

han sooyoung looks at the movie posters torn by yoo joonghyuk, and thinks.

[chainelunaire]

you know he’ll always come back to you. even if he despises you so much he’s rarely able to hide it, there’s no really any choice to him. he needs to see you, those are the rules tsaritsa put on every single harbinger. he’s no exception, even if he sometimes thinks of himself like he’s the one.

sometimes you wonder if it’s because you work with arlecchino - to say that they always had a rough relationship would be an understatement. you know they have a lot of disagreement, yet arlecchino is still your boss.

childe though - you were nothing more than just collegues. he knew you from back then when you both were trained as young soldiers. you were trained to heal. him - to kill. you were good back then. sometimes you wonder if he remembers.

“i don’t need anything from you today” is the first thing he says after stepping in your cabinet. “just sign it” he hands you a paper tsaritsa demands from every harbinger. a health examination. 

you sigh.

“really?” you see his nose is obviously broken and you bet he has some broken ribs as well. you don’t even know how many of the bones hadn’t mend properly. you hate to break them again, even with childe not minding it so much. 

he just hates staying here after, in a house of mercy. he hates those grey walls and little garden which never blooms because of the cold. he hates big stained windows, and he hates you, particularly.

“i need to check”

“fuck off”

you frown.

“then i’ll have to report this to pulcinella” you see his usually dead eyes literally start to burn holes in you. the old man was one of the few people childe respected enough to actually hear. it’s intentional, you mentioning his old mentor, that’s why he’s fuming with rage. you on other hand stay calm.

you know the names he cals you when he thinks you don’t hear. cold lifeless bitch with no heart. you never cry, you’ve seen so much death you’d be dead yourself if you did even once. you see kids die on a daily basis. but calling you heartless is pretty hypocritical of him, considering he’s murdering people for a job.

“as if it’s so difficult to just sign” he tries another strategy.

you don’t even blink.

“it is” you don’t want to be punished by your boss. you learnt hard way, it’s better to avoid that at all costs. that includes tartaglia being mad.

after long-long seconds he sighs and sits on a chair.

“be quick with it” is all he says.

you’re not that quick for his liking.

your abilities need time to heal him completely. he knows that far too well. he just need to say something to take his anger on someone else.

“how’s your family?”

you think he won’t answer, but he surprises you.

“good” you remember his mother’s nervious smile when he brought you home few months ago, his siblings hiding in other room. ajax had to show them to you anyway. it wasn’t up to him anymore. the first time you visited them was because you were classmates, you were friends. now - because those are the rules. you need to check on a harbinger’s families. not because tartaglia could tolerate you near his family these days. “you don’t need to visit them this month.”

you quirk your eyebrow.

“i’m telling the truth”

“okay” you decide it’s better to drop the subject for now. but you have other important thing to tell him. “you know, tsaritsa is interested in tonya.” he tenses under your hands. “she’s about the right age. and she’s good with heal-”

“no”

“no?”

“no” he repeats, face blank. you actually scoff.

“who’re you to question the archon?”

“i am fatui eleventh harbinger” he answers calmly, which you don’t expect from him. “met some archons in my life. there’s nothing wrong with asking them some favors. this is their job.”

“this is not up for you to debate-”

“you” his gaze finally is on you again, disgust burning holes in your soul “you don’t get to be any near my sister.”

“i-”

“how many kids you have to kill before you finally feel how wrong this is?” he hisses at you.

the saddest part? you don’t even feel any remorse..

there’s nothing you can do, really. your cryo vision already broke your heart in two. if you’d let you other part win, the one who was sensitive and kind and warm, you’d be killed by that day. probably, by tartaglia himself.

and you want to live.

so you’re fine sucking the life out of those who live in this house, to heal the harbingers. this is your role, tsaritsa herself told you this is your mission. it’s not your fault that kids have the most in them. they have so much life, you don’t even kill them by the first heal. they usually last longer.

but you kind of get his point. you wouldn’t want to see yourself near any of your own siblings too. you can suck the life of those near you, yeah, but you can’t necessarily choose.

“i only need to teach her the basics of healing” you explain calmly, checking on his neck now. “nothing more.”

“fuck off”

“stop telling me to fuck off, you ungrateful brat” your tone is as even as ever, "it’s better if it’s me than arlcecchino”

“as if i won’t kill her the second she’s near my family”

you know he’s telling the truth he believes in. you sigh again.

“i won’t harm her. this is not the interest of tsaritsa. you know she’ll be a better healer than me.”

that’s the truth you both know. you don’t have feelings for anyone anymore, yet your brain works in a very calculated way. his sister would be better than you because she could save lives almost as good as you, without killing others. maybe she won’t be able to give them some shield, but that’s fine. 

he falls silent for a long time, you finally have a chance to check on him properly. when he speaks again, you hear obvious sadness in his voice.

“is it really that necessary? i thought i was enough”

you only shrug. you don’t feel sorry for him.

“your family has abandoned you once” he shrieks, shivering visibly. you saw the fear his parents showed after seeing him with your own eyes. they were afraid of him, even after the training. yet they have learned to hide it almost perfectly. you’ve seen through that - if they wouldn’t be so terrified of him, they wouldn’t bring a literal child in an army. he was good at killing. no child should be good at killing. 

sometimes you still feel that anger on his behalf. he loves his family so much, it clouds his vision. he can’t allow himself to think that his family doesn’t love him as he deserves. he’s still the boy that craves that shelter after all he’s been through in the abyss. he went through the fucking abyss just to get back to his family.

and his family, his parents, they didn’t really want him anymore. so they just threw him away.

however bloodlust he was back then, he was still a kid, wondering, what he did so wrong for his father to send him here. you understood him perfectly, orphaneges full with kids their parents don’t want until they’re a certain way. you’ve seen him crying his eyes out enough times to know it hurts him still. maybe, that’s why he hates you so much? while he lies to himself, you always there to remind him about the reality. 

“what made you think your sister could avoid that?” you continue, now a little bit more feeling in your voice.

“she’s a good girl” he whispers. “unlike me”

you know she is. that doesn’t really matter. you were good too, once.

“i’ll make sure she’s okay” you say carefully, slightly clenching his shoulder. he inhales.

“you know, i hate returning here”

“in snezhaya?”

“no. here, in this fucking house. to you”

you swear you don’t feel your heart sting.

“then make sure to bring tonya here, so don’t have to see me anymore”

he stares at you flatly.

“i need to go. sign it.”

“you’ll go tomorrow” you won’t even argue. “room 102 is free now. you know when the dinner is, be sure to go, i won’t save anything for you.

you leave your cabinet together, the long light hall is almost empty now. it’s snowing outside, you see it in the big window.

the kid hiding after the column inhales sharply, grasping his chest, when he meets tartaglia’s gaze. he falls on his knees immediately. a broken rib, you assume.

“stop” you say, seeing childe moving towards a kid. “i’ll check on him later”

“he’s hurt!”

“they’re all hurt” you remind him.

snow falling slowly behind him. he looks almost like a god, when light shines behind him, making his figure almost frightening. like this god, he was designed specifically for you. for you, to punish.

“how are you living like that?” he asks, staring at you like he’d never seen you before. “how can you even wake up in the morning?”

“i sleep peacefully, if you’re asking about that” you say, averting your gaze, hiding keys in a pocket. “next month we both need to visit your family. finish your missions by that time.” 

he does. he’s back again in your dark grey house of mercy, young girl near him. you don’t even try to smile. he’s not smiling either. 

deep in your heart, you hope, tonya fails. you hope she won’t be able to become as great of a healer as you are. you need to remind yourself you literally can bring people back from the dead, to suck them of their life again, and again, and again. you know you’re irreplaceble to your tsaritsa. you won’t ever admit you convince yourself every day you’re irreplaceble to him too.

you know he’ll always come back to you.

until one day he doesn’t.

[lmelodie]

The Santa Clauses Season 2

It's here! And I have access to it, and all of my drably splintery thoughts on the first two episodes.

As an FYI, all my reviews are gonna be hella spoilery so I'll be doing all the reviewing under read mores and under the tags #TSCS spoilers and #Review2

Oh boy unsolicited thoughts HERE WE GO!

Episode 1:

I gotta say, Fluffy is not a bad character in this so far. Christmas Churros are a gold mine and I'm surprised no one has tried to capitalize on that yet.

Scott immediately assuming that Carol was going to kill Gary says a lot about the both of them and their dynamic that I wish was consistent. I love the idea that Carol is down for murder, keep that in cowards!

I have zero idea why Scott is so uptight about Riley keeping this secret when you literally gave EVERYONE IN THE WORLD MAGIC SNOW GLOBES. Nobody here is doing a good job of keeping any of this secret! No one!

And not the North Pole having a Gaslighting Department. Thats, just actually so funny to me. And you bet your sweet ass that Jack frequents that department, he might be employed there!

And once again to reiterate, these songs breaks are just NOT it. As someone who usually love musicals! The songs are mid at most and are just shoehorned into the most random places. Idk, still not vibing.

But Betty and Noel? STILL TOP TIER. I'll talk about them more in a bit, but they are literally perfect. The Blueprint. Betty and Noel get no notes from me. They made cardboard cutouts of each other's faces, like come on! They're cute as SHIT.

Mad Santa lore? Its aight. I appreciate the franchise trying to carve out its own lore after more than 15 years of inactivity. Its decent lore! For the world that it exists in at least. It's just not my personal cup of tea, and I don't see myself utilizing it in my own stories. But I appreciate that it is there.

And you cannot tell me that Jack hasn't tried to team up with Mad Santa before. It just seems like something he would do to, noticing that there was a Santa getting a bad rep and he could feasibly swoop in and break down the institution.

I wanna imagine he went up to him like, so I've heard you've been trying to subjugate a people. Here's my resume, I am all for murder, I do work well with gnomes, consider me. And then he got promptly ghosted.

Episode 2:

Bro the training vest is made out of St. Nicks robe?? What ISNT made out of that robe??? Isn't that like...an important artifact? I would assume it would be if it has that much Christmas magic in it. Why do we keep cutting it up and using it to make things? Is there any of it left?? Does it regenerate its own fabric??? None of these questions will ever be provided answers, I'm sure.

YO ITS MY BOY CUPID!!! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!

Fucking LOVE Cupid! He's just as great as I remember! And because he had so little screen time, he didn't get too butchered!

And I like how he lists only specific Legends that are concerned with the succession. Implying in universe that Father Time and Tooth either think Cal is a good choice, or simply don't give a shit. And i love that for them.

But Cupid does list Sandy, EB and Mother Nature as people who do care. And we already know that were gonna get confirmed Sandy and EB cameos later, so I'm gonna CROSS MY FINGERS SO HARD for a possible Mother Nature cameo at some point. I just want her to lay down the LAW that's all I ask!

Let's how about, leave the puberty topic, out of this series entirely? Wish that whole miscommunication. DIDNT happen.

But we do have WITCH SANDRA!! This was the only possible choice for her, go off queen! Lucy and Sandra with the clasping hands meme: Teenage Girl with Magic Witch Powers. This was the best possible turn for her character, love that for you babe!

As I suspected, Befana in these episodes is a peach yet again. Fucking love Befana, no notes for her either, she's always great.

BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT NOEL AND BETTY!? and how they gave them the most romantic, whirlwind love story of the century? How they met was so FUCKING CUTE! Romeo and Juliet can pack it up! Because THEY are just better!

Betty really took one look at Noel and went, Tee hee, giggle, twirls hair, kicks feet. And I love that for her!

[vollzz]

1.What is your character's biggest fear, and how does it affect their actions and relationships? 4. What are your character's quirks or eccentricities that make them stand out from others? 9. What is your character's moral compass? What principles or values do they hold dear? For Eves

hey thank you for asking!! I will take every excuse to talk about eves :)

1- I’m going to say two fears because they’re pretty intertwined: they’re terrified of abandonment and no longer feeling loved. It’s not completely the reason Eves is the way they are, but those fears have warped them significantly over time. It’s absolutely why they are the only deity that has physical/emotional relationships with their followers. Eves also “relieves” Lovers of their service after a while partially as a defense mechanism - they can’t be abandoned if they do the abandoning first. A big part of Calliope’s struggles in their relationship is Eves’ extreme jealousy, to the point that they’ve killed someone she tried to befriend in the past out of fear that she might leave them for someone else.

They seem to be drawn to people with similar issues (although for wholly different reasons), though I can’t say they’ve done enough introspection to realize that! Calliope is no different, which is why she latches on to them so quickly/easily.

These deep-seated issues are very much related to why they despise Greylin, the lord of deities, so much, and is also why they have an estranged relationship with [???] 👀

4- First with the obvious: Eves ALWAYS stands out in any setting because they’re effectively the hottest being on the planet, and they generally let some degree of their alluring powers transcend the area around them. We see this really early on when Calliope and Eves are walking through a town and despite Eves having their hood up, practically everyone is craning their necks to look at them (they know Cal is annoyed by this, but see answer above - they NEED to know that people are interested in them at all times).

I think the other thing though is that Eves likes to express themselves through their makeup and clothing, I’d say both consciously and unconsciously. Their most precious belonging is a raven-feathered cloak of mysterious origin, and they are almost always seen wearing it EXCEPT when they plan to do/expect something gruesome. As if they don’t want to taint the cloak, almost. Makeup-wise they always wear some amount of eyeshadow/eyeliner and it often correlates with their mood. There’s a couple scenes later on in Blackflame that really show this: in one, they appear very disheveled and have smears of black makeup under their eyes as if they’d rubbed them while forgetting they wore mascara, and in another they line their eyes with a bright red shadow that mimics their fiery temper in the way that it clashes with the gold of their irises.

9- This one’s interesting, because I feel like a traditional moral compass doesn’t necessarily apply to immortal beings. My thoughts are that morality can often come from a place of wanting to make a difference, wanting to be remembered for good and help people etc, but in writing these deities I wondered what kind of morals someone would have if they knew they would ALWAYS exist. Like, if you do something horrifically awful, does it really matter when everyone who will remember you for it will be dead in 100 years? At what point do you become existentially bored and start doing random chaotic bullshit just to feel alive, you know?

So with that said, at this point in time Eves, and all of the deities, err on the side of generally neutral and self-serving, though some of them are more benevolent that others. Eves really only does things that make them feel loved and wanted, and will also do anything to get under Greylin’s skin (whether that thing is morally “good” or not). They don’t really find anything wrong with using their Lovers to satiate their needs for love and companionship, and even thinks of it as doing them a great service - in their eyes, spending time with them is a privilege that people would die for!

There is one thing, however, that they are very, very touchy about. Eves is very outspoken that their powers don’t create desire where it doesn’t exist, so if someone genuinely weren’t attracted to Eves they wouldn’t feel the pull of their alluring power. We see this when they interact with followers of other deities - their hearts/souls are taken by their vows and so they can’t feel Eves’ power anymore. So Eves has never, and will never, sleep with someone who doesn’t want to, and will absolutely murder anyone who suggests otherwise.

—

This was really fun to answer! Thanks anon :)