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nothisis-ridiculous · 3 years

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Take Me Home

Chapter One: Almost Heaven

Set after the events of ME3.

A rewrite. Ao3.

FemShepxKaidan

"When this is over, I'm going to be waiting for you. You'd better show up."

Those confident words felt hollow, moot. A disguised plea to the universe that she could accomplish the impossible. A prayer to return to the arms that were home.

That was before the searing burns, the blood, and the pain that struck with each beat of her heart. Oh god, the blood was everywhere. Each blink was a calculated risk as the blood threatened to cloud her vision; it meant having to stop find a clean - clean enough- patch of skin to push the liquid from her eyes. Each moment of pause tempted her body with respite, a siren's call for her failing body to expire.

Shepard had to keep moving.

To keep fighting.

They were waiting for her.

He was waiting for her.

"You'd better show up, Alenko. I'm dying here, don't make me die here." They would have been words if she could manage the strength to speak them. Instead, it became a silent anthem. A memento of strength, hope, anything to make her scraped, bruised, and battered body move against the tide of her fading consciousness.

It kicked back.

Eeeee, high-pitched electric screaming flooded her headspace, eeeee, her head swam and pulsed. The jerking motions of her head frivolously searching for the illusory flashbang was only damaging to her weakened state and sending her swirling vision into a nauseating torrent of colors and light.

Mary knew she was a corpse walking. There was no way she could keep moving, yet she did. Tripping, stumbling, and blundering her way through the unrecognizable streets and buildings of what she assumed was London. The warmth of the smashed bits of Crucible fueling her away from what was a ticking time bomb.

But she wasn't moving fast enough, and she was too weak, too fragile to continue. A clumsy boot caught the upturned slab of road, and down she went. Crying out as her knees absorbed the blow, her elbows proving to be poor breaks as her form collapsed against the warm concrete. This wasn't right. She wasn't meant to die pathetically watching the blood pool and congeal around from her mouth like a drooling child. She wasn't supposed to be alone. Left without her squad, her friends, Kaidan...her home. She, if anywhere, was meant to die atop the burning Crucible... Dying like a hero, not out like a person forgotten...left behind.

What she would give not to be alone, to have someone's hand to grasp as she slipped away into the beyond.

Where the fuck was Alenko?

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

The glow of the blue light was comforting, illuminating but not to the point of brightness. She had succeeded in swallowing the first wave of panic that hit her nervous system, using the time to instead survey the room. It was empty, but there were visible signs of another living in the room- a cot lazily angled at the corner nearest her, the space sectioned off by a small table. Enough room to work with, but intended to give her a little bit of distance without cornering her.

Her armour rested in the opposite corner of the room, cleaned to whatever degree it was worthwhile. The set was junk- most of it bubbled and charred in whatever miracle brought her back to Earth. It was good enough to last another fight or two if it had to. Nothing remained of the color or scores from battles that had marred the pieces into something she recognized. Now, the weapon left on the table was blessedly pristine. Well, besides the old wear and tear left from months of battle. But her faithful Paladin had yet to let her down. The dog tags left at the bedside spiked shame, an emotion Mary was not ready to process.

Her head was tender, but that was the only physical complaint on her list. Outstretching her arm to inspect that area for more injuries and to test her field of vision. It seemed in order, even clearer than she was expecting. To test her theory, her hands explored the planes of her exposed scalp. Not even the most delicate fuzz had resurfaced. Mary bit back a scream willing her apathy to wash over her in a numbing blanket. It was only hair- it would grow back.

"I do apologize for shaving you," The voice interrupted her from the soliloquies that must have lasted much longer than the Commander had realized, "it was terribly singed."

"I had meant to change it for years anyway," the Commander dismissed.

The older woman ignored her remark, taking a seat near her feet, "you're THE Commander Shepard, aren't you?"

"That is a safe assumption," pulling herself to sit upright with her words.

"It's hard to tell without your red hair and that eye can-." the woman stopped, her demeanor turning from happiness to grief quickly, "honestly, it was the dog tags."

Years of well-intended crap through the military had spurred the change in hair color. Rather than being the dumb blonde, she could be the feisty redhead, which she had liked much better. People took her more seriously with red hair, and once she had reached Spectre status, the look had become her signature. None of her crew, even Kaidan, knew the original color of her hair. It was never a huge secret, just something that was now a part of her. Saving the world didn't allow all those little things to come to light. Or time to consider a change in appearance. Even Cereberus had found reason to keep up the ruse.

"I have to ask a favor," the woman's voice wavered, "I used most of my medigel. You're a hero-"

"When you put it like that, how could I say no?" Shepard gently teased.

Saddened beyond belief when the soft clearing of Kaidan's throat did not accompany her uncouth answer. But Mary had caught the slip of a tear from the woman; her eyes took in a deeper study of the room. A teddy bear lying in the middle of the room seemed less and less out of place. The woman's motivations became obvious.

"Well, let me start from the beginning." Or course she would. "After the Reapers attacked Earth, things have not been easy. I was the supply manager for a local hospital, so I knew where all of the medical equipment was. It kept me safe, but at a cost. When I found you, I was meant to deliver medigel to a gang of-" The woman searched for a suitable word.

"Raiders? Thugs? Ruffians?" It wasn't hard to guess.

"Yes, but I saw you. And, and I had to help you. Especially when I saw your tags, you," her voice stuttered into a soft coo, "saved everyone. I couldn't let you..."

"I don't see why you need my help," she stated, peppered with a cross tone the anger an unfamiliar bitter taste in her mouth; it didn't belong here.

"They took my son because I couldn't deliver, and now...now," the woman finished with a flurry of tears.

"How long ago?"

"Two days," the woman sobbed.

"Fuck," Shepard hissed, ambling from her cot, "we have to leave now."

Eyeing her armour then the woman and another pistol shoved haphazardly under the covers of the larger cot. Civilians did not belong in a firefight, but against forces she was unsure of, she had to take any help. Testing the fabric bunched around her arm with a sigh, she looked at the woman.

"Get in my armour, and grab that gun."

The woman balked, looking up to her in the empty and hopeless way. Without another word, Shepard placed the bear within the Mother's arms.

"I'll get you both out."

The march to the Raider hideout was a short one. Easy. Shepard was glad to find that her breathing and movements were unhindered without any unusual stings of pain. The woman following her had also proved adept at following instructions; luckily for them both, the months of lean allowed her to fit into her armour comfortably. A few inquiries later, she found the woman to be the same age as her, and the child was barely eight years old. She lost her husband in the chaos of the Reaper attacks, for all that mattered to the mission presented, but it stopped the woman from dramatics. Shaky emotions did not lead to straight shots.

But even talk of the lady's child soon fell to the side as the hideout loomed closer. Shepard could not shake the feeling of dread that hounded her. This was risky, and her health questions pushed at her, doubts consuming her usually clear battle state. But retreating was not an option, and it was not in her nature to abandon the person who had saved her, even if it was a suicide mission.

Four lookouts taken down silently later had not managed to ease her nerves. The options were down to one of two doors; testing either for locks was pointless; they would be caught at that point. So it would have to be hard and fast. Unfortunately, that was difficult when she was utterly blind to the layout of the room. Where was her son in the room? How many? What kind of fortifications? All crucial questions without answers. With no reliable source to watch her back.

"Look, we have to storm the door. Stay behind me at all times; I can use barriers to shield myself," but now came an essential part; Shepard made sure to look her square in the eyes, "I'm already going in blind; I cannot watch you. So stay on my six. No. Matter. What."

The woman nodded. Mary pat her shoulder, putting on the brightest smile she could manage, "you have my armour, a trusty sidearm- you can do this. Just stay calm."

She slipped the dog tags around the woman's neck.

Shepard moved toward the closest door, carefully placing each step so that a stray piece of rubble or siding would not alert the enemy to their presence. Sidestep, sidestep, sidestep, and the familiar tingling of the energy field pooling around her. The droplet of red absorbing into the fabric covering her chest went unnoticed. Three fingers in the air for five seconds, each finger went down with the space of one second between them.

Luckily, the door was unlocked.

One bullet took down the man watching the door. As that man fell, Shepard blasted into the building, taking a quick tactical appraisal of the building. It was almost pathetic; they were stationed in one large and open room. The child was in the far corner of the chamber, silent and looking glassy-eyed. The other men clustered around the table at the opposite end of the room; well were huddled, they all scattered for their weapon. Shepard's next move would make it difficult for the woman beside her to keep up, but she had no choice in the matter. She had to strike while they were still grouped.

Tendrils of energy snaked at lightning speed through her body, pulling the combined biotic energy into the mass of her chest. Their table was close enough not to merit a full charge at the men who were now her targets. Running would get her there quickly enough. Additionally, her barriers were still full. If she could manage to decimate the men all at once, this would be over without the loss of more thermal clips. She wouldn't need to worry about keeping up a barrier either. It was simple.

Release coiled from her core outwards. It was sweet as any orgasm. Tingling and electrifying in one move, though the heat was quite different. It burned through the Raiders, engulfing each before they could manage to scream. The table was gone, submerged in the same Nova of energy. Shepard slipped to the floor, sated, drained, and head pounding as blood dribbled from her nose.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"Who's that, mum?"

"Don't be rude," she admonished with another kiss to his forehead, "it's Commander Shepard."

"She's staring at me."

The Commander was the rude figure in the room, and her eyes stopped on the child. Her body seized in fear. The blue eyes and sandy brown hair the visage that had haunted her sleep. Mary's vision turned red, the beacon's first assaulting visions filling her mental space. Her foot retreated, backing herself into the wall, her head suddenly slurring back into a splash of colors.

The silent room then crashed into oblivion. Neither of the entrances barricaded, and the front door remained unlocked. Shepard had enough time to roll out from being on her side -had she laid down?- before the ten more men filed into the room. Each carrying an assault rifle that was primed and loaded. Groggily she moved to her feet, needing the wall as support.

"It's the bitch with the supplies!" shouted the first man to survey the room, "and some friend she dragged along."

He didn't seem to mind the smoldering piles left behind from the corpses of his men. But the next man, taller and burlier than the rest, frowned deeply. His steps were more confident, more decisive.

"'The fuck happened?" The question directed toward the woman who placed herself in front of her son. The struggling Shepard dressed in civilian clothes wasn't on his radar.

The female quaked, unable to speak.

The large man grew tired of her silence. The smoldering bullet hole through her skull glowed as her body fell limp, the body of her son fell in line behind it. Now, Shepard was on his radar.

The female scrapped at the wall, blue energy congealing beneath her fingertips as they dug into the wall. Tears forming in her sky blue eyes. No words, just horror. Mouth clamped shut to suppress any reaction, anything to give her away.

Clip, clip, clip. The man stood before her, studying the shrinking female before him with disdain.

"What do you boys think?" his hand tightened around her neck as he lifted the Commander with ease "think this bleeding freak was responsible?" The still-hot barrel seared into the side of her skull

He would never get an answer; the person he held aloft glowed the last blue he would ever behold. Carrying his folded body with her as she trucked for the gaggle of men that stood across the room. Barriers refilled, and the devastating Nova swallowed each of the bastards into the azure wave of energy. If only it could swallow her too, but it didn't...Fate left her kneeling on the floor, alone again.

But now, she could scream. Alone, she could cry without shame. Blue tendrils wavered from her body. Illuminating the darkening room around her. Each shout fanning the blue flames with renewed vigor. Scorching the remaining biological and flammable material left in the room the scent of burning flesh drowning the room.

Where was the Normandy? Why was she still here? Shepard didn't belong here; Shepard was nothing without her crew. Nothing, pointless, useless. She couldn't even protect these civilians against these simple thugs. That wasn't who Shepard was; she didn't lose. Shepard didn't feel weak or have her ears explode on even the slightest provocation of her biotic powers. She sure as hell did not shudder as the thumping of gunfire surrounded her location.

What was the point of fighting? What could she defend? She couldn't save two civilians, couldn't save an entire galaxy. Shepard had failed. Was a failure.

In yet another cloud of judgment, the door whirred open. Engulfing the entire room in bright daylight blinding Mary from counting the targets coming through the door. It was a rookie mistake, and on top of expending all her energy on a naive temper tantrum, left her with limited options to defend herself.

But why should she?

She was exhausted.

Spent.

Empty.

Alone.

With gumption foreign or encouraged by lack of coherence from bloodloss, Shepard bull-rushed headfirst at the door and the person blocking her exit. The first shot fired over the leader's shoulder, the second absorbed by shielding, and the third went wide as the weapon flew from her grip. The Paladin clattered to a location somewhere behind her. The Commander fell to her knees quickly after it.

"If you had any balls, you'd shoot me now," it was a plea, not a challenge.

The second gentlest set of brown eyes caught her before she wrenched her attention away.

"Get up, Soldier," the graveled voice ordered gently.

Shepard struggled to her feet, completing the order. But the strain of following such a command came at a price. Staggering drunkenly, she collapsed into the hard encasing of his blue and white striped armour.

#mass effect fanfiction #femshep x kaidan #kaidan alenko #commander shepard #mass effect #mass effect spoilers #mary shepard #take me home

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southeastasianists · 3 years

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A lot has been written about Myanmar since the military takeover in the hours before dawn on Feb. 1. Much of it has been about the violence on the streets, which after a weekend when at least 114 people were shot dead is understandable. But more needs to be said about the reasons for the coup, the historical context for what we see today, and how both affect what is happening in full public view before an increasingly critical global audience.

It is time to tick a few boxes.

The past

The first time an elected government was removed in Myanmar was in 1962 when the Tatmadaw (armed forces) commander, General Ne Win, overthrew Prime Minister U Nu and abolished the 1947 independence constitution. It was an almost bloodless event that at the time many people saw as a logical and not unreasonable reaction to fears of the imminent disintegration of the then Union of Burma.

It was only later that Ne Win’s Revolutionary Council made up entirely of Tatmadaw officers launched what was known as the “Burmese Way to Socialism” and ultimately the end of Burma as a prosperous nation. Socialism was, however, used by Ne Win as the ideological glue binding the Tatmadaw and the civilian bureaucracies.

The evolution of Tatmadaw rule into the “Socialist Republic” in 1974 saw the institution of a one-party state with all significant offices held by the men of the Tatmadaw, who retired from their military command posts to take up parliamentary or other civilian positions.

The second, in 1988, was in part a takeover from itself. The collapse of the Ne Win system that year was accompanied by the promise of constitutional amendments allowing free-and-fair, multi-party elections. This promise was maintained by the new Tatmadaw regime, which styled itself with Orwellian flair as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Headed at first by General Saw Maung, and after 1992 by his deputy General Than Shwe, SLORC abolished the 1974 constitution.

SLORC decided it had restored law and order in 1997 and changed its title and defined purpose to become—with an inspiration that rivals Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth”—the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). It is tempting to believe that Orwell, who wrote “Burmese Days” in 1934, saw this coming.

The SPDC remained a body formed by, and largely constituted of, Tatmadaw officers. It remained in office until March 2011, when it handed over power to the parliament elected under the 2008 Constitution, a document put to a national referendum by the SPDC and approved through a process widely described as rigged. The SPDC announced 94 percent of voters were in favor.

The 2008 Constitution included provisions that guaranteed Tatmadaw control of all essential state security functions, a quarter of the membership of all elected bodies, and a requirement that any proposal for constitutional amendment obtain three-quarters support in the national parliament—an effective veto over change.

The present

The National League for Democracy (NLD) was founded by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in September 1988, 10 days after the SLORC seized power but pursuant to the promise of multi-party elections first mooted by Ne Win. Many tribulations befell her in the years that followed, but the NLD remained a registered political party despite persistent harassment of its leadership. The party was ordered to cease political activities in 2004. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was seen by the Tatmadaw, and the population alike, as the only person with the stature and personality to deprive the military of its control, generating both fear and hope in both camps.

There was, however, a general appreciation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as the person most likely to make a difference, and also of her as a person who could achieve change with the support of large sections of the Tatmadaw because of her place in the country’s history—the daughter of independence hero General Aung San. It was because of this strength that she was kept under various forms of house arrest between 1989 and 2010 (with some breaks during which she was able to build the image of the NLD and herself throughout the country).

When she attained power after elections held in 2015, it was clear one of her priorities would be to remove the Tatmadaw’s control of parliaments by virtue of its 25 percent guarantee of the share of seats. Whenever this issue was raised, it was immediately clear the Tatmadaw leaders, especially commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, would not entertain such a change. However, many others in Myanmar had believed that Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s Constitution was part of a planned transition from military to civilian rule.

The Myanmar general elections in 2015 were the first contested countrywide by the NLD. The result gave the NLD 86 percent of the seats in the national Parliament. This was more than enough for the election, by the Parliament, of the president. As Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been rendered ineligible to be president by qualifications placed in the Than Shwe Constitution, the Parliament elected the nominee of the NLD at the time, U Htin Kyaw. He retired on health grounds in 2018 and was replaced by NLD nominee U Win Myint.

Approaching tomorrow

Tatmadaw commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has been in this office since March 2011 and so was present during the three presidencies since the retirement from public life of Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Many Myanmar people, including Tatmadaw officers, were surprised when he was elevated to this position by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, for he had not had a particularly distinguished army career and was promoted above many more senior colleagues.

In that sense, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing was seen as a parallel to an earlier president, U Thein Sein, who was elevated by Snr-Gen Than Shwe and served between 2011 and 2016, despite there being others seen as more senior and deserving.

U Thein Sein quickly became a president who seemed to have the public’s interests at heart and was known for his instruction in 2011 to parliamentarians to go to their constituencies, meet the people, understand their problems, and bring them to the capital for solution. Nobody had ever done that before.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, on the other hand, was widely rumored to have engaged in corrupt activities through ownership of shares in companies run by the military. Despite some efforts to meet a wider range of people than is normal for Tatmadaw commanders, he never won public admiration or trust.

The NLD won a stunning victory in the elections on Nov. 8 last year, when it improved on its 2015 numbers. There was a widespread expectation the NLD would lose some seats in ethnic regions, but would hold its numbers in the Bamar (ethnic Burmese) heartland. The elections were observed by respected international observers (such as the Asian Network for Free Elections and the Carter Center) as well as 13 accredited domestic groups. All found the procedures on election day stood the test of fairness.

When results started coming in, the first murmurings of dissatisfaction emerged from the Tatmadaw, matching protests lodged with the Election Commission by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Nobody took the complaints seriously, and the country began to prepare for a peaceful transfer of power.

It was striking at the time to see how similar some of the protests were to those lodged in the US by people alleging voter fraud and other irregularities, and perhaps that dulled the impression that the protests should have generated. When challenged about the Tatmadaw’s intentions, and whether it would allow a peaceful transfer of power, the Tatmadaw spokesman played down the questions. It was not until a couple of days before the newly elected parliament was to meet for its swearing-in ceremony that anyone started to think that the ceremony might not take place.

Why Feb. 1?

At this point it’s necessary to note that the elections took place under Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s 2008 Constitution, held up by the Tatmadaw as the way forward. Had the new Parliament been sworn in as scheduled at 10 a.m. on Feb. 1, it would have had a five-year term ahead of it, under the Constitution.

It would have had the authority to choose the president and it would have been responsible for choosing the next Tatmadaw commander-in-chief when Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing compulsorily retired on July 3—his 65th birthday.

As banal as this sounds, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing’s personal expectations stand out as the core element in the takeover and its date. It is widely believed he aspired to the national presidency himself, but the size of the NLD victory dashed that hope, and also introduced the real possibility that antipathy to the Tatmadaw everywhere in the country would permit Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to mobilize the people for constitutional change aimed at reducing Tatmadaw influence.

There are plenty of signs that most of the people were looking forward to the swearing-in of the new Parliament, and few signs that the Tatmadaw or the police were preparing for anything else. When the army and police struck, there were no signs of much preparation. People detained were at home or asleep, and they were not taken off to detention sites for some time, sometimes for days or longer. There were no measures in place to lock down communications or take any action for public control. There was no immediate release of legal language to justify what was being done.

In other words, although some close observers did say they had picked up noises that the Tatmadaw might move before the Parliament was sworn in, very few of those in power, including in the NLD, saw it coming. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing would have anticipated no serious resistance.

Afterwards

The situation which confronted Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and his self-appointed State Administrative Council was the appearance on the streets, day and night, of millions—yes, millions—of Myanmar citizens demanding respect for the Nov. 8 elections and the resumption of democratic government.

Now, almost two months later, the demonstrations continue, undeterred by extreme violence. They are everywhere in the country, from the big cities to the villages and involve people of all ethnicities, religions, cultures, genders and age groups. Age is a special consideration, for the demonstrators include the bulk of the country’s youth, most born and raised after Gen. Saw Maung’s takeover in 1988 and virtually all, thanks to President U Thein Sein, fully internet-literate.

Internet literacy enables the population, led by the youth, to communicate with each other, and with their colleagues and friends outside Myanmar. This has produced a great deal of public pressure from outside the country, and while most of the Tatmadaw have not traveled widely, nearly all of them have relatives who have. There is much more knowledge of the outside world now than in 1988, and the lessons which Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing would have learned as a young man would no longer fit to the world he inhabits now.

Tomorrow

The indications from yesterday and today say that this is where astrologers (very popular in Myanmar) would be looking:

#Southeast Asia #Burma #Myanmar #Military Junta #Military Coup

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sirloozelite · 3 years

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A Review of SWTOR

So, not too long ago, a pair of friends (frenemies more like) of mine were playing SWTOR... and suffice to say they would not shut up about it. I’d always been aware of the game in the back of my mind, but it had never really appealed to me. MMO’s don’t really, as I would always be worried about random players sticking their nose in whilst I was trying to keep to myself.

Still, my friends would not shut up about it, and they kept recommending it to me, despite my internal aversion to it. Now, considering that they had both foolishly taken my advice on games to play in the past, I decided to return the favour and give SWTOR a chance.

And boy was I glad I did. Is SWTOR a good game? Yes... and no... and yes. It’s not perfect, it’s got problems, but it’s still a lot of fun, and I’m glad I’ve done at least one playthrough of the game.

Upon loading up I of course had to choose what storyline I wanted to follow. Since both of my buddies had gone Jedi Knight, (though I’d argue that a certain someone made their Jedi about as deplorable as Anakin) I decided to be the awkward one and went Sith Inquisitor instead, and honestly... I think I chose perfectly!

Oh and... for those interested... here is my Inquisitor:

His name is the Sixteenth Brother! What’s his backstory? Well... that depends on who you ask! Some say he’s the 16th sibling of a Zabrak family... others say he chose the name to hide his true one. Some even say he’s a time traveller from a distant future sent back in time after accidentally finding a Sith relic in his time. Whatever the truth is matters little. All that matters is that he was great fun to play as.

Oh and for the record, this review is based on a Free To Play experience and completion of the class storyline only. I’ve not touched the expansions yet, but intend to at some point. Any criticisms I have that are solved by subscribing are a moot point. Furthermore, it goes without saying but all of the below is my own opinions of the game. Doesn’t make them right or wrong.

The Good

There are many good things about SWTOR, almost too many to name. That said, there are some things I’d like to highlight.

The Story

The first and foremost best thing about the game is of course, the story. Being a Bioware written game created at the same time as the Mass Effect trilogy, I expected a good story... and I was not disappointed by the tale of the Sith Inquisitor. It was the standard tale of a protagonist coming from lowly origins, in this case a slave, and advancing up the ladder of society. Nothing too revolutionary, but add in the Sith and the Empire and it was made all the more better. Frequently, poor 16th Bro would get hounded for being an alien, and each and every time he’d beat the odds, and then usually show mercy to those who had insulted him. (I played him mostly light side... though there were a few times I surrendered to the dark and zapped people)

The world building within the story was also top notch. Plenty of detail is hidden away in the codex, much like Mass Effect, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t stuff in the actual gameplay and story as well. I’d never really been a legends fan, and whilst I’m still not, I do see why a lot of people love these sorts of stories. I was invested, and that’s what mattered.

Outside of the Sith Inquisitor, the very fact that there are seven other unique storylines and classes to play, as well as heavy character customization and role play more than make the game worthy of revisiting. There is a little bit of something for everyone it seems.

The Characters

Another great strength of Bioware games is usually it’s characters, especially the protagonists companions. I can happily report that, at least for the Sith Inquisitor, the vast majority of the characters in the story were great.

The three standout characters outside of the Inquisitor to me were Khem Val, Ashara Zavros and Talos Drellik.

That’s not to say that Andronikos, Xalek, Zash and Thanaton weren’t good characters either, I just didn’t enjoy them as much as Khem, Ashara and Talos.

Each character felt like they had their own arc. Khem Val growing to accept you as a Master and true successor to Tulak Hord was great, even if he and 16th Bro were constantly disagreeing about 16th’s methods. Despite his dislike of the decisions, I still sided with him when the time came to choose who got to control his body for good.

Ashara going from “I’m a Jedi and I won’t go against my teachings!” to “Peace is a lie!” was good development as well. I understand that some people don’t like this character much, but she was my go to companion most of the time. She’s not quite a Sith, but not quite a Jedi either, and that made for a perfect companion for the 16th Brother, as he was hardly a model Sith either.

As for Talos... well... he’s an archaeologist and a historian... and I’ve got a degree in history... so of course I was going to love him! Plus he was eccentric as all hell and added a nice voice of humour to the crew. His personal story about him trying to find his old mentor and carry on his legacy was heartfelt too.

As for everyone else, I was invested in their characters, don’t get me wrong, just not as much as the others. Both Zash and Thanaton were good villains that I took pleasure in ending, and Andronikos and Xalek got their fair amount of use on the field and in the ship. Everyone was friends at the end after all.

The Voice Acting

The other good point I’d like to highlight is the voice acting, particularly that of the male Sith Inquisitor. I’ve heard people say the female voice is better, but for my experience the male Inquisitor was the perfect match of sass and sarcasm. It made every scene with him in enjoyable to watch. RPG games were a single protagonist can get a bit boring sometimes. Commander Shepard suffers from this in Mass Effect at times. I never got that feeling with the Inquisitor though. He was hilarious from the second he stepped off the shuttle on Korriban and sassed Overseer Harkun (who I totally zapped to death) to the moment he took his seat on the dark council with a surprised Pikachu look on his face.

So yeah... super credit to Euan Morton for making the Inquisitor the dark master of sass and sarcasm!

Outside of the Inquisitor, I can say that all the other VA’s did a great job too. I can’t think of any character that had particularly bad voice acting off the top of my head.

Other Good Stuff

Outside of the three things I mentioned, SWTOR also has plenty of content to offer for everyone. If you want to do main missions, sure! Side quests? Sure! Space combat missions? Yep! Whatever you fancy, it’s there. There is no shortage of content to enjoy for hours on end, even as a Free To Play player like I was.

The Bad

And now to most likely upset some people... sorry about that, but no game is perfect, and SWTOR has some flaws that could put people off playing it. This stuff is by no means a game breaking deal for me, but it did annoy me and I felt like it needed addressing.

The Game is Tedious

My biggest complaint is that at times, usually after an hour of playing, the game can become tedious and boring to play! There were times it felt like a chore honestly, and I hate saying that because SWTOR is a good game.

The main reason for it feeling so tedious though comes down to how you move around the maps. When you can, fast travel is your best friend and can save a lot of time, however, not everywhere has a fast travel point near it.

This is where speeders come into play. You can buy one for a reasonable amount of credits, and they are faster than walking for sure, but not by much.

The problem with the speeders is that it is so easy to get shot off of one by one of the random enemies you are trying to drive past (and believe me there are hundreds of them!) that is becomes aggravating to move around the map from objective to objective. Avoiding enemies isn’t hard for sure, but sometimes you have to go right past them, and after hours of fighting enemies it can get a bit tedious being shot off your speeder in one shot just because you didn’t want to waste time fighting an enemy. Once you hit your level cap, fighting random enemies is pointless after all.

Maybe that’s just me though. I’d personally make the speeders a bit more durable. One tiny shot shouldn’t disable your speeder. Heavy fire... sure! Doesn’t help that sometimes you can tank a bunch of shots on your speeder and escape without being knocked off, but then on another occasion you’ll be knocked off by a sneeze.

Either way, movement around the maps can get annoying as all hell, but at least the scenery is pretty.

The Planets

Now don’t get me wrong, I like all the planets I went to... mostly... and my issue isn’t with the planets in general.

It’s with how bloody long it takes to complete them all.

The Story Arc quest lines for each planet can take forever sometimes and they end up going on a bit too long if you ask me. Alderaan and Hoth are the two that come to my mind the most. It felt like I spent weeks on those planets driving back and forth between areas to do simple tasks for little reward. Plus the sheer number of side quests didn’t help. I stopped doing everything that wasn’t a story or Arc quest once I hit Hoth!

Don’t get me wrong, I like side quests for sure... I just don’t like them to drag on forever! In a lot of ways, SWTOR reminds me of Mass Effect Andromeda. That game too also had side quests that went on forever.

My one piece of advice to nay new players for SWTOR would be to ignore the side quests and focus solely on your class story quests and planet Arc quests instead. If you try and do everything, you’ll burn yourself out quickly. Unless you are a completionist of course. In that case go nuts! XD

Other Bad Stuff

Aside from my two big gripes above, which are honestly minor in reality, the only other issues I really have with the game are the boring side objectives in some missions. Nine times out of ten they equate to ‘kill a bunch of dudes’. They are easy enough to complete, as you’ll be killing things anyways, so you don’t really need to put any real thought into completing most of them. They just feel tacked on and rather pointless honestly.

The Ugly

And now the ugly stuff. This is stuff that is between good and bad. Bad as in they annoyed me, but good as in I understand why others like them or they improved over time.

The User Interface

Oh god the UI! When I first started the game it was so overwhelming! Pop-ups everywhere! Hundreds of tabs and side bars and tutorial boxes being spammed my way. It was not friendly to a new player who had literally just jumped in. If I hadn’t played games like Civ or XCOM in the past I might not have been able to cope with how much stuff was going on at once.

Luckily, after a few hours of play, I began to understand the UI a bit more and became comfortable with it. I knew what was where and what did what, as well as what I didn’t need. (any PvP stuff for example) Plus the ability to edit the interface to your own liking helped a lot as well, so it wasn’t a complete lost cause, just overwhelming at first.

Flashpoints and Heroic Missions

So, these missions are designed to be played with other players online, clearly. They can be done solo, but they take forever to do so. Endless hordes of high HP enemies, including even higher HP boss fights is not that entertaining to me, and thus very quickly became boring to me. Artificial difficulty in a way. Plus if you do die, it ain’t half a pain in the ass to get back to where you were, only to find that boss that had 5% health left when it killed you is now back to 100%.

I gave up doing these sorts of missions and have no intention of returning to them unfortunately, which is a shame as some of the flashpoints have actual important story content in them.

Still, if unlike me you actually have friends to help you with these, then I get why you like them, and more power to you. I just don’t enjoy them much.

The Soundtrack

And now to really upset some people. Look... I like John Williams music scores as much as the rest of the fandom does. That said, there were places in SWTOR where it showed up and really really did not work! It almost felt like the game was just spamming random iconic tracks that sort of fit the scene, but really didn’t.

The biggest one for me that didn’t work was the final duel against Darth Thanaton in the Dark Council Chambers. During the cutscene between the two fighting, the music started on ‘The Final Duel’ from ROTJ when they were fighting, and they suddenly it shifted to the theme from Padmés funeral when Thanaton was overpowered! I mean, I get what they were going for with the music, but the sudden shift between tracks was unceremonious and didn’t work. If they were going to use licensed movie music then they should have just chosen one track and stuck with it rather than jumping between two!

Furthermore, to me those themes were written for specific scenes in their respective movies, and thus were created to fit those scenes, not random SWTOR scenes. If anything, the entire scene should have had it’s own score written for it rather than just reuse movie tracks instead!

That said, whenever the game does use original music that isn’t from the movies, it’s fine! The ambient background for the planets is great, Alderaan’s especially, and I hated that planet! They clearly had the talent of music directors to write Star Wars sounding music, so I don’t fully get why they didn’t just go with original music all the way rather than just reuse John Williams music instead. I don’t know if they didn’t have enough money or something. If that was the case then I’d understand.

So yeah, the music is a 50/50 for me. The original music is great. The movie music is still great, it’s just not used right.

Other Ugly Stuff

WASD controls. They aren’t game breaking, but I’m not a great fan of them. They make my wrist hurt. I adapted, like I did with the UI, so it’s not really a big issue, but I know it could put one or two people off playing it.

Another minor gripe is a consequence of the game being an RPG within an MMO. Other players are running around, often doing the same objectives as you. They can steal your objectives before you, forcing you to wait around for them to respawn so you can do them yourselves. Luckily there is usually other stuff to do in the meantime, and the re-spawn timer is smallish, so it’s not a huge problem. Just an unfortunate consequence.

Conclusion

So... would I recommend playing SWTOR to people? Yes! I would. It’s a good game, even with it’s flaws. I had a lot of fun running through the Sith Inquisitor’s storyline, and I learnt a lot about the game for any future playthroughs I do. I know what to expect now and what to stay away from, so hopefully whatever class I choose to do next will be full of less annoying little things.

That said, considering how long it took me to do the Inquisitor’s story, I feel like I’m gonna need a serious break before I can play another class. I was almost burnt out when I finished the Inquisitor, and I’ve still got the two free expansions to go!

So yeah... all in all, SWTOR is a good game,. I’d recommend it, and I’m glad I gave it a fair chance. It’s not in my top 10, but it’s one to return to. :)

So, if you’ve ever thought about trying out SWTOR before but were apprehensive about it, then I’d encourage you to give it a shot. It is free after all! Unless you subscribe. But you can at least try it for free! Bonus I say! XD

#swtor

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imagine-loki · 4 years

Text

Overwhelmed

TITLE: Overwhelmed

CHAPTER NO./ONE-SHOT: One-shot

AUTHOR: fanfictrashdump

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: After the Chitauri attack on New York, imagine Loki being sentenced to public service on Earth, specifically in aiding people who got hurt during the attack. His magic has been limited to only be enough to aid keeping Odin’s spell in place so he wouldn’t turn blue. His task is to help people with special needs, to do house chores, help them get around, do their grocery and keep them company while they recover. He is assigned to a girl who ended up blind after one of the Chitauri shot at her.

Character is having an uncharacteristically moody week which makes Loki wonder whether or not they’re interested in him, anymore.

RATING: T

NOTES/WARNINGS: Um… so I did a thing… because these two would not let my brain live in peace until this was written. Language, mentions of psychological manipulation (I will kill that bastard in the future, I swear), one very confused boy with self-esteem issues, one very angsty girl with self-esteem issues, some intense making out, implied sexy times.

Related to I signed up for this, I signed up for this, too & it was his idea.

The brief, annoyed mumbles weren’t what concerned Loki on that tepid, tense Saturday afternoon. It was the fact that the person he adored the most in the world was mumbling angrily to herself as she twisted in a well-rehearsed circle (if the slight worn out patch in the carpet was any indication) in front of the mirror. Actually, that wasn’t it, either. His chief concern was that she appeared to be frowning at her reflection with a judgmental look when he knew very well that she was blind.

So, to say that Loki was concerned was actually an understatement.

“What?” Charlie snapped, making him start. He shouldn’t have been surprised–Charlie was getting eerily good at predicting when he was nearby. That, and this had not been the first time she had snapped at him this week.

“Nothing, sweetheart. Just watching you,” he replied easily, leaning against the doorframe to watch her resume her “inspection”.

“Ugh. Lord only knows why you would,” she sneered, smoothing a hand down the front of the black and gold floral dress she had on.

Loki sighed.

While Charlie had her occasional bad day now and again, brought on by frustration at not accomplishing a new skill or task, her moods were usually resolved by a tight hug and a pep talk. He might even bribe her with mint chocolate chip ice cream, as a last resort. Her moods, however, had never lasted this long. Nor had she ever actively tried to avoid him as much as she had this week. Some tired demon in the back of his head taunted that she was bored of him and he had to fight to keep it quiet.

Surely, that wasn’t the case, right? He had to believe that Charlie cared for him enough to inform him when she decided that they were through and not just snap at him until he left. Some days it was easier to convince himself. Others, he had to remind himself that her anger or frustration was not about him.

“Why would you say that?” His tone was gentle, and he allowed himself a few steps into the bedroom towards her. He pushed the sleeves up on his white button-up before he crossed his arms.

“I look awful.” She did a quarter-turn and turned her head as if she was glancing over her shoulder, her hazel eyes straying over the entirety of the mirror at her level. Loki swallowed the automatic ‘how can you even tell?’ that was poised and ready on his tongue. He, thankfully, did not have the opportunity to put his foot in his mouth, for she doubled down on her statement. “I’m fat.”

Loki rolled his eyes, chuckling. “You have a plentiful food source, how truly tragic,” he agreed sarcastically.

Charlie scoffed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Of course you wouldn’t understand. Thanks, Loki. You’re a real help.” She stomped away towards the en suite. She caught her leg on the very edge of the bed and stumbled, but quickly righted herself back to her path. If the collision hurt, she did not show it.

“Oh, come on!” Loki started after her. “Charlotte, dear–” She slammed the door when he was just shy of the threshold. He thanked his lucky stars that his reflexes were still relatively fast for a mortal, or else his face would be in a world of pain. He bit back a growl of frustration, knowing she would misunderstand his vexation with feeling powerless with vexation with her. That certainly wasn’t the case, he just tired of feeling so utterly useless.

Useless was the correct sentiment. He was truly unsure as to why she was upset or why she had taken arms against her figure, of all things. Charlie was more active than half of New York City, and she ate nothing but carefully prepared meals, as he was hyper-worried about her falling behind in her nutrition. So, maybe he occasionally overcorrected for those three weeks nearly a year ago that she had sought to starve herself. And maybe there was an extra few pounds on her waist that weren’t entirely necessary–but how he adored them. Her body was no less distracting when she settled into his side on the sofa or allowed him to rest his head on her lap while she toyed with his short, shaggy locks. The only thing that kept him in check was his very suspect grip on his self-control.

“Love,” he said in a plea, pressed against the wood of the door, on hand on the knob. “I don’t understand what I’ve done wrong. Truly.” There was sniffling at the other side of the door and Loki’s heart ached. “Please. What have I done? I swear to you, I’ll do anything–”

“Just hurry up and break up with me so we can both get on with our lives!”

Whatever calmness remained within him had evaporated. The doorknob jiggled in vain a few times before he managed to force the door with a well-placed shove. Charlie was sitting in the large sunken tub in the corner of the room, face obscured by her curls, head bowed. She hadn’t even flinched at the loudness that accompanied his entrance.

“I am well and truly baffled as to what you’re talking about, sweetheart,” he whispered, clambering over the edge of the bathtub and sinking in across from her. His fingers, skimmed her jawline on both sides, thumbs making lazy circles on her cheeks. He gently lifted her head, brushing away stray tears marring her face. Loki understood that she could not see the sincerity in his face, but there was something about forcing her eyes upwards that always seemed to convey his sentiments and push them through her restless mind. “Why would I ever want to be apart from you?”

“Because you don’t like me. Because I’m fat. And boring. And–”

“How could you be so–” He stopped himself just short of saying blind, but her eyes shot up, fiery and hard, regardless, “–wrong?” He pulled a face to himself, knowing he had just landed himself in hot water, but there were more pressing matters. “You know that for a fact, do you? That I don’t like you?” She nodded in his hands and he had to resist making a cooing noise at her adorableness. “Why do you think that, Charlie? Help me understand.”

Loki wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but Charlie turning a rather deep (and fetching, he might add) shade of red was definitely not it. She caught her lower lip between her teeth and held it tightly clenched, avoiding speech.

“I’m sorry to ask you this question, but… does this have to do with Ben?”

“No!” She snapped, defensively and Loki had to take a calming breath at the very apparent lie. “A little. He didn’t like it when I got chubbier, either, so–”

“I’m going to kill him,” he said matter-of-factly, already half-way out of the bath before Charlie reached out for his hand and held it in a vice. The frustration was beginning to get to him, eating him alive and corroding him like acid. “Why would you think I had a single thing in common with that cur?” He asked, perhaps a little sharper than he ought to, as she flinched back. His whole demeanor untensed, but he remained anxious. “Sorry, sorry,” he added in a whisper, kneeling down in front of her. “I shouldn’t’ve have raised my voice. I’m sorry. Sorry,” he purred, brushing her hair back with gentle fingers until she relaxed into his chest. “I’m just very confused and, frankly, a little hurt. How could you ever think that I don’t want to be with you?”

“You never…” Charlie trailed off, a heavy sigh sagging her shoulders.

A million permutations of the phrase shuffled through his mind, each one worse than the last. He never was human enough? He never was good enough? He never did enough to fix everything in her life he had wronged? He never told her how much he loved her? He pushed the thoughts aside, going nowhere far too fast for his own good.

“I never…?”

“You know… that…”

“Norns, I wish you came with a dictionary.” His complaint came out like a prayer before he sunk his lips into her plentiful curls to press a kiss there. “Darling, if I knew, I daresay this conversation would be moot.” Loki tilted her head back up to him to stroke her cheek. “Darling?”

A second later, he had lost purchase on the slippery bottom of the tub and barely caught himself before he tumbled backwards. Charlie’s mouth was firmly attached to his own with such fervor that he could barely contain the groan that left his throat at the contact. His fingers itched at the hem of her dress before he managed to convince his arms of moving upwards to rest on her waist. Her hands, however, had fallen to the waistband of his trousers and were toying with the button of his fly. His brain was very quickly going fuzzy at the promise of…

Oh. That.

It took more effort than he was willing to admit to wrench himself away from her sweet-tasting lips. “Charlie, please tell me all of this is not based on the fact that we haven’t slept together.” The way she froze on top of him was answer enough, but, Gods, if she had even a glimpse inside his mind… “I have never wanted anyone more desperately than you,” he murmured against her neck and kissed her there. “But, Charlotte, I hugged you while petting your hair for a little too long the other day, and you cried for over an hour. I do not wish to overwhelm you.” He smiled to himself and he was sure she could feel it against her caramel flesh. “Because, trust me, I want to do so much more than hug you and pet your hair.”

“Are you sure? I still think it’s because I’m all tubby,” she mumbled, her pout very pronounced.

Loki chuckled. This particular rumor he could put to rest at once. One hand glided onto her hips barely resisting pressing onto her with his own. The other tangled in her hair and gripped gently, baring her neck for him to kiss before he nipped at her pulse. She was warm and soft, and the scent of oranges filled his nose intoxicatingly. “Does this feel like I don’t want you?” He husked, and Charlie shuddered, hands opening and closing into tight fists in a nervous fidget.

“Too much! Too much!” She yelped just as Loki had half-bucked into her.

He immediately released her, bracing back on one arm as the other made sure she didn’t slip as she made a hasty retreat off of him. There was a lazy, self-satisfied smile on his face at the ruby red flush that was covering all of her exposed skin.

“Fine. I get your point.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, only drawing attention on the delicate swelling of her lips and the goosebumps rising on her flesh. “I’m going to smack that smirk off of your face, I swear to God, Loki.”

“I’m not smirking, darling. How could I ever?” He responded in a feigned offended tone as his grin widened.

Rolling her eyes, Charlie slipped out of the tub, leaving a giddy Loki staring up at her form. The skirt of her dress swished around her hips and legs with every movement as if by magic. She looked so marvelous and now he had the chore of coming back down from his rush. With a sigh, he fell onto his back and turned his eyes to the ceiling, praying whatever deities were feeling particularly giving for the strength of will to remain as steadfastly patient as he had been without going entirely mad.

His answer fell from the heavens at once.

Onto his lap.

In the form of a black and gold floral dress that he could have sworn a moment ago was…

With a start, he scrambled to peer over the lip of the bath, catching just a glimpse of toasted, tanned skin, sashaying off into the bedroom. The floor between them both littered in the remainders of her outfit, down to the golden necklace she had been wearing around her neck.

Loki stared dumbly for a full minute, before his arms and legs were once again connected to his brain, if a little disjointedly. He climbed out of the bath, one foot getting caught on the lip and causing him to take a spill onto the floor with a pained grunt. Beyond the door Charlie giggled at the commotion and he remembered why he was in such a rush, in the first place. Loki scrambled off the floor, clumsily to join her a second later. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one getting overwhelmed.

#Loki #Lover #Angst #Others #Submitted one shot #submission #overwhelmed #Fanfictrashdump

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everlarkficexchange · 4 years

Text

December nights in June

written by @viloula

Rated: M

Prompt 110: AU. Everlark live across from each other in fancy New York (or the like) penthouses. With all those large windows, they see each other daily and know the other’s routine and all he/she does, but they’ve never met. A chance meeting occurs. What will happen? The circumstances of their living arrangements/any backstory and what happens between them is up to you. [submitted by @acpoe82]

Summary: Peeta Mellark may be a successful junior partner at the lawfirm of Finnick Odair, he isn’t a successful partner at all when it comes to love. Every night when he comes home, he watches the lights of New York City, the people on the street… and a mysterious neighbour.

Part II is coming up!

Prologue

When he moved from the small town where he grew up to the big apple, the most fascinating thing about New York were the lights. Where he came from, there were only that many lights in December. Here, every night was like December. Lights everywhere: lights from windows, cars, streetlights. It was years ago when he changed a place where the only noises were the songs of birds to a place were it was never silent. The city that never sleeps.

He got used to the noises. But never to the lights he loved so much. Every night, when he came home from another day at the office, he stood there in front of his large window, watching the street, watching the other windows. He loved the fact that behind every window was another story.

***

January

“Peeta! I changed your appointment with mister Heavensbee to 2 o’clock. There are new files in the Cato/Clove case, and…”

“Good morning Delly,” Peeta smiled. “Thank you. Can I first…”

“I brought you a double espresso.”

“How can I live without you.”

“Not.” Delly Cartwright, his secretary, gave him his double espresso. “Have you seen Finnick?”

“The boss?” Peter grinned. “Think he won’t be there until noon. I’m at my office.”

He walked to his office, holding the warm cup of his favourite drink. His desk was filled with new documents of the Cato/Clove case. It was a law suit he was working on for a couple of weeks. An love affair at a firm between the managing director and an associate, that same managing director being sued by that same associate because she couldn’t finish her internship. It was his task to defend the managing director. A hard task, really. He tried to make arrangements between the parties instead of going to court, but the lawyer of the associate is a woman he knew from law school, Madge. Madge still can’t get over the fact that Peeta always won moot court against her, and also not over the fact that he broke up with her after she cheated. Sometimes, it felt like his life was a soap.

“Mellark! You need to come with me, right now.” Finnick Odair stepped into his office. He did that quite a lot. He always act like it is an emergency, but most of the time it was not. Peeta liked his boss. Although Finnick is a bit, well, Finnick, he is the best lawyer Peeta knew. And Peeta was proud to work for him. Proud to tell people that he was a junior partner of Odair, one of the finest law firms of New York.

“I’m sorry boss, as you can see, I’m busy reading new complaints about my client,” Peeta told him and laughed.

“You come with me now, or we are going to have an love affair.”

“You know, I am not your associate.”

“You were.”

“You missed your chance.”

“You will always be my special associate.”

“Finnick, what are you doing here,” Peeta laughed.

“I need your help.” Finnick sat down in one of Peeta’s chairs, in front of his desk. “I need a pro bono case.”

“Right.” Peeta rolled his eyes. “I need another file of complaints of Madge.”

“I’m serious.”

“Finnick, you never do pro bono cases.”

“That’s why I need you.”

Peeta sighed. “What can I do for you.”

–

Again. Peeta looked at his watch. 11 pm and he just got home. But, he might have found a way to beat Madge, thanks to Finnick.

He threw his leather bag gently against the kitchen wall and took off his coat and shoes. He couldn’t wait for spring and not having to use it anymore. He took off the jacket of his suit and he poured himself a glass of red wine. He loved his job, but his favourite part of the day was coming home.

After moving a lot, last year he was able to buy his apartment. It was a small place to live, big enough for a young man who isn’t home that much. There was a bathroom with plenty of space, a bedroom on the side of the street and a small living room with a comfy couch. There was also a bookcase he build. The bookcase covered almost the whole wall and was filled with many books: from Shakespeare to Alcott, from Reve to Montesquieu. After a whole day of reading files at work, most of the time he was too tired to read when he got home, but when he went on a holiday, he loved to read.

Peeta’s favourite part of his apartment was his kitchen. The kitchen was in the same room as the living room and he spend a lot of money to have the kitchen of his dreams. During the weekends, he loved to cook and bake. Finnick loved to come over then, especially when he made his famous risotto.

He grew up in a small-town bakery. During his youth, he worked together with his father and two older brothers. He was responsible for the decoration of cakes which he loved to do. When he became older, he thought of going to college and take business classes, so he could take over the bakery from his father. Or well, that was what his mum was trying to convince him for. He was lucky his dad supported him with going to Harvard Law School. When he actually got accepted, his mother turned 180 degrees and she couldn’t stop bragging about her youngest son being a student at Harvard, later being a lawyer.

Like every night, he stood in front of his window, enjoying his glass of wine he thought he had earned today. He opened the window, felt the cold breeze of the late night wind.

On the street, some people were rushing by walking fast. Clearly the kind of people who felt uncomfortable walking in the darkness. He felt the same way when he just moved to New York, but after a few months, he realised there was never actually darkness in the city. You just had to be careful.

His eye fell on a window across the street. There was a woman, also holding a glass. Her hair was long and dark, and her face… he wished he could have seen it from a less big distance.

She was wearing a strapless dress, as if she just got home from a party. She was petite. She was beautiful. He had never seen her, but maybe he didn’t really noticed her window yet, there were so many things to see.

It looked like she looked at him. What colour were her eyes? He couldn’t tell. Could she also see him? He wanted to wave, but that would be weird. She was so stunning, he had never seen someone like her before.

His glass was almost empty. After he drank it up, he took a shower and went to bed when the new day started.

–

When Peeta parked his bicycle, he saw the name partner of the firm walking to the entrance. It was a sunny January day, the sunlight made the curls of Finnick turn into bronze.

“Good morning Finnick,” Peeta said.

“Good morning man. Seriously, still by bike?”

“You can get a man out of Amsterdam, but you can’t get Amsterdam out of the man,” Peeta joked, referring to his interview with Finnick where Finnick thought he was Dutch.

“Good point.” The two lawyers walked into the firm. “So, did you find me a pro bono yesterday?”

“I actually did.” They walked to the elevator, Finnick pressed the ‘11’ button. “You are going to defend a man who will be kicked out of his apartment,” Peeta said.

“A rented apartment?” When the doors opened, they walked to Peeta’s office.

“Yes.” Peeta waved to Delly, who was having a phone call.

“Good, you’re very good with cases like that.”

“That’s true. But then again, is there a case I’m not good at?”

“Madge cases?”

“Ah come on.” Peeta sat down, noticed that Delly brought him his daily double espresso. “But wait, me? I thought you wanted a pro bono.”

“I want a pro bono, but you’re going to fix it.” Finnick stood in front of the huge window in Peeta’s office. Peeta loved the fact that he had a window like that: there was always so much daylight, and at night the lights of the city. Though, he preferred his view at home.

“Finn, I’m not your associate anymore. I have this arrangement to settle with mister Heavens…”

“But you are my best friend and you are also the best social lawyer I know and I need you to do that pro bono.”

“But why? A case with a man being kicked out of his apartment is not that hard to do.”

“I just… I just want to do more pro bono cases in the firm and you are good with people.” Finnick had a strange look on his face. Peeta knew him for almost 10 years and he had never seen that look before.

“There is something you’re not telling me Odair.”

“Don’t make me beg Mellark. I promise I will tell you when the time is there.”

Peeta knew something was going on. “Fine. But what about the merge of mister Heavensbee?”

“Thresh can take it over.” Finnick walked to the door. “Thank you Peeta. You’re not only a good lawyer, you’re also a good friend.”

“It’s fine Finnick. I will see my name on the wall next week.”

Finnick laughed. “Are you making risotto this weekend?”

“Really?” Peeta laughed while he turned on his Macbook. “Fine. I will.”

Finnick gave him a thumps up and left the office. He looked… more happy than usual. There was no time to think about what was going on in Finnick’s head. Peeta looked at the pro bono case, which was at his desk with a post-it note, Delly’s handwriting on it. “Have fun!” she wrote. He smiled. Actually, he didn’t really mind working on a pro bono case. He would rather be the lawyer of someone who truly needs it, instead of being a lawyer for someone who wants to make more money. But in the end, he just loved being a lawyer; helping everyone.

–

10 pm. An hour earlier than yesterday. As usual, Peeta took of his coat and shoes, his jacket from his suit, he poured himself a glass of red wine and walked to his huge window. Immediately, he saw the woman from yesterday. She was talking to the phone and wore something comfy and green.

He didn’t know what it was that took his attention. Was it the way she moved her lips, her body? Her dark hair, her eyes he still didn’t know the colour of?

What is her name, he thought. It must be something unusual, or something really classy. Or both.

He walked to his bookcase, where his vinylplayer was, and put on some music.

“Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night…”

He sat down on his couch. Maybe her name is Rhiannon? He rolled his eyes at himself. He needed to stop.

But he couldn’t. All night long, he thought about what her name could be, what she would sound like, what the colour of her eyes were, what she liked to do and what she didn’t like to do. When he lied in his bed and wanted to close his eyes, his thoughts kept him awake. What would she be like? He had a feeling she was special, he didn’t know why. Maybe because he wanted her to be special, maybe because he wants someone special. Maybe he wanted to be special to someone special.

He needed to stop thinking about his beautiful, mysterious neighbour. How long was it ago, the last time he had his heart broken? When will he ever learn… He turned to lay on his back. In front of him, he could still see the hall of his old apartment. That white brick wall, with a picture of a cow and a windmill he got from Finnick as present for becoming a junior partner. It was that moment he noticed it had a crack on the left corner. He could still hear the sound of his fiancés voice, yelling to whoever it was that they could do it at least 10 more times before Peeta gets home.

***

February

January turned into the strange month called February. Peeta was on the road to meet mister Abernathy, his client in the pro bono case. Finnick was proud seeing him travelling to work by car, proud seeing him acting like he lives in New Amsterdam instead of Amsterdam.

While driving, he thought of a strange thing that happened to him this morning. It was the first time these weeks he saw her in the morning. He was up earlier than usual, and when he walked into his kitchen, he saw her. She stood in front of her window, holding a cup, he guessed it must be coffee. She wore something casual, a plaid shirt and jeans. Her hair was in a braid.

She put her cup away and suddenly started to dance, and probably singing, because her lips were moving. Peeta was amazed by what he saw. The way she moved her body was so beautiful yet so sexy. Unfortunately, her dancing wasn’t for a long time. She looked outside her window. She saw him staring.

Peeta started sweating, he took off his glasses, as if then he couldn’t see anymore that she saw him staring. He put them back on, like he realised it was a stupid thing to do.

She smiled and waved at him. He waved back. He wondered if she had the day off. He wondered if he could go to her door, introduce himself, drink something and talk about everything. He looked at his watch and realised it was time to go to work. He looked to her window, she was still standing there, watching him. Peeta grabbed his leather bag, hold it a bit higher so she could see it. Again she waved. He waved back. “Have good day, beautiful,” he said softly.

Peeta parked his car and tried to get his mind back to work. He felt kinda guilty that he had a car of his own, it seemed that this was a kind of neighbourhood where not many people could afford one. After a few minutes, he found the right address and knocked on the door, because there was a post-it note that the doorbell wasn’t properly working.

A blond man in his 50s who smelled like whiskey opened the door. “Are you my saviour?”

Peeta laughed. “I hope so. My name is Peeta, I am your lawyer in the case against your landlord.”

“Well, come in kid.”

Peeta was never called kid before by a client, but he didn’t mind. He had a feeling this wasn’t the last time he was going to be called ‘kid’.

The man walked into his apartment. Peeta went inside, closed the door and followed him. There were a couple of empty bottles, but it looked like mister Abernathy just cleaned the place. The place wasn’t that big, it was a small studio, filled with old, brown furniture. Peeta saw some pictures on the wall, of children in the forest.

“Ah yes,” his client said when he saw Peeta looking at the pictures. “I loved my job.”

“You don’t have a job anymore?” Peeta asked.

“Why else would I drink whiskey during this time of the day?”

“Fair enough,” Peeta said with a laugh. This man was very strange, but in a good way.

“Name is Haymitch,” he said and gave Peeta a hand.

“Peeta,” Peeta said again.

“Not Peter?”

“No.”

“Can I call you Peter?”

“Also, no.” Peeta looked at the pictures again. There 15, maybe 20 pictures hanging on the wall. “What was your job?”

“I was running a summer camp for kids, with outdoor activities and stuff like that. Lost the job because I showed up drunk too much. Now I am going to lose my living place as well.”

“We will see about that,” Peeta said and sat down on a chair. “Tell me your side of the story.”

“Well, I stopped paying my rent.”

“Why did you?”

Haymitch looked at Peeta. “You have a nice suit.”

“Thank you. But why did you stop paying your rent?”

“Because my landlord, mister Snow, is terrorising me. He is making this place a horrible place to live. I have lived here since my wife died 25 years ago. Suddenly, since 2 months I keep finding these cockroaches in my kitchen. I may be an alcoholic, but I am not filthy.”

“And you think your landlord has something to do with it?”

“It must be. I know it.”

Yes, Peeta thought, but you also have to prove it.

–

The raindrops were covering his glasses as he stepped out of the car and ran to his front door. Where the hell were his keys? He searched with his hands in his pockets, finally finding them, in the mean time becoming more wet because of the rain. As if it were a natural move, he looked across the street, looking for his mysterious neighbour he couldn’t stop thinking about during his ride back home. No one in sight. Peeta stepped inside, took the stairs and was finally home. He looked at his watch. 8 pm. He finally had the chance to make dinner instead of eating at the office!

After he changed his suit into sweatpants and a hoodie, he looked what ingredients he had in his kitchen. Not much, he really had to do some grocery shopping soon. Some pasta, there was also pesto. Pasta pesto it was going to be. He felt like he was a student again. He wished he was still a student, at least then he still had time to make dinner for himself every night.

While cutting some tomatoes, he looked out of his window. She was back, folding some laundry now. She was still wearing the same outfit as when he saw her in the morning. He hoped she wouldn’t look at his window right now.

His dinner was ready. When he walked to his kitchen table, he looked out of his window again. She stood there, she was watching him. She waved. He put his plate on the table and waved back.

Maybe one day, he thought. Maybe one day she will be sitting here across me, eating this student meal with me. He would ask her about her day and he would tell her that he is working on a pro bono case, and if she didn’t know what that meant, he would explain it if she wanted to know. He would ask her about everything and he would answer all of her questions if she had any. He would ask her if she wanted some tea or an espresso, or a glass of wine. He would invite her to come over some day in the weekend, promising that there would be self-made cookies.

Again, he rolled his eyes at himself. When will he ever learn. He closed his eyes. He could hear her voice again, yelling at him. “You are always gone, always working! And now you blame me for finding attention?”

“Finding attention?” he shouted back. “Is that what you call the cheating? With my best friend?”

“It was just the attention! You have my heart!”

“You can have it back!” Peeta shouted. “We’re over!”

The months after the break-up, he felt miserable and a failure. At work, he was successful: he was quite young being a junior partner and he managed to bring lots of new clients to the firm. But he sucked being a partner for a woman he loved: not once, but twice his girlfriend would cheat on him because he was working too much.

He looked at the window again. She was gone. It has been 2 years after his break-up with Glimmer. Maybe his heart wanted to love again. To love and to be loved.

His phone rang. Finnick.

“Boss?”

“Hi, I saw you left earlier today.”

“I did, nothing more left to do.”

“Oh, I’m sure of that. How is the case of mister Abernathy?”

Peeta raised his eyebrow. “Fine. Trying to find evidence.”

“Think you’re going to win?”

“Of course.”

“Can you come to office? I’ve got this case and I really need your thoughts about it.”

Before Peeta could say something, Finnick hung up. Peeta rushed to his bedroom, changing his sweatpants and hoodie for something more suitable.

–

It was Valentinesday and it has been 4 weeks since Peeta saw her for the first time. Now they wave at each other on a daily basis: sometimes also in the morning, but every night. He was looking forward to it actually. He was also looking forward for growing some courage and ringing her doorbell. What is a better day for showing 2 minutes of courage?

“Happy Valentines day love,” Finnick said when Peeta walked into his office. Finnick was wearing a tie with both pink and red stripes. It would look horrible on everyone, but he could pull it off.

“Happy Valentines day to you too,” Peeta laughed. “And, did you…”

“Not here. So, how is the Madge case?”

“Really? Are you asking about my ex on this beautiful day?” Peeta laughed.

“She’s hot tho.”

“Case is going well. Court hearing next week, going to kick ass.”

“That’s my boy. So, plans for tonight?”

Peeta thought of his plan of growing courage and ringing the doorbell of his mysterious, beautiful neighbour.

“You have a plan.” Finnick laughed. “Getting drunk?”

“Yes,” Peeta said quickly.

“You deserve to have real plans though.” Finnick looked at him. “You are a good person. And a good lawyer if you return to your office right now and take a call with Crane Holdings.”

–

8 pm. It is a bit late, but it could’ve been later. But, Peeta thought, if this is the start of something new, I need to learn from my mistakes.

Quickly he changed his clothes into something more casual, he felt like showing up in his suit would be a bit overkill. A jeans and a shirt maybe? Maybe she didn’t want him to come in. He put on a pair of jeans and a green shirt. She had a lot of plants in her apartment, so he figured that she would love the colour green.

He took a deep breath and took his coat. He looked in the mirror. His curls clearly didn’t want to work with him today. He sighed. Grow some courage, he told himself.

Once more, he looked through his window. She was home. She was…

She was naked. She walked to somewhere he didn’t know. He could see her breasts, her bottom, her stomach, her long legs. She wore her hair down. He fantasized about her a lot these days, but he couldn’t dream of her being so beautiful as she actually was.

Am I dreaming? he thought. Maybe she just took a shower. Maybe I should wait. I should stop staring before she sees it.

But then he saw why she was naked. A tall man walked behind her, he grabbed her and kissed her.

Of course she is seeing someone. When will I ever learn? I am such a fool.

His phone rang.

“Boss?”

“I’m so sorry, but are you able to come to office or are you too drunk? It is really important.”

“Nah.” Peeta tried to keep himself together. Why did it hurt him so much? He didn’t know her, hell, he didn’t even know her name, or what her voice sounds like! “I can come.”

Finnick hung up. Peeta looked out of the window once more. She was gone.

–

Days went by. When Peeta walked in his apartment, it was 11 pm as usual. He threw his leather bag gently against the wall, took off his coat and shoes, the jacket of his suit and poured himself a glass of wine. Every night, he was trying to look to the city lights without looking at her. There were so many windows to look at, or cars, or people walking on the street. He tried to just look to those people walking on the street. He tried to read a book. He tried to play some music.

But he couldn’t. She was there every night, and there was something about her. What would she do during daytime? he wondered. Did she have a job? What was her age? What would her hobbies be?

Doing fun stuff with her boyfriend, you fool. Peeta sighed. He really needed to stop watching.

–

March

“My hero! You won!” Finnick laughed when Peeta walked into his office. It was already dark outside, the lights of the night shined bright.

“I actually didn’t win, I made an arrangement.”

“An arrangement that lets mister Abernathy keep his place to live! Can I get you something to drink?”

“You can tell me when you let me meet her,” Peeta said and winked. “The woman who made Odair do more pro bono cases.”

“It is for the goodwill of the firm.”

“Yes, of course. And your own.”

“I am one with the firm.”

“You sure are,” Peeta laughed. “But yes, I would love something to drink.”

Finnick poured two glasses of wine for them. “Well, it will be just a matter of time before your name will be next to mine. You are really, really talented. That bluffing, extraordinary.”

Peeta looked outside. No window with her.

“Santé Peet,” Finnick said when he gave Peeta a glass of wine.

–

1 am. Time for a midnight shower, his favourite kind of shower after the 3 am shower. It was a long time ago that he came home from work this late, but he had to admit it was not really work if you talk all night with Finnick, drinking wine.

He closed his eyes when the water washed his body. It has been a couple of weeks, but he still couldn’t stop thinking about how sad he was she was seeing somebody. And he couldn’t stop thinking about how he missed thinking about her without feeling guilty. He couldn’t stop wondering what her name was, how she would sound like, why he was thinking about her all the time. Could it actually be possible to fall in love with somebody you haven’t met? Maybe it was like F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in the Great Gatsby: maybe it was a tender curiosity. Her smile is so beautiful, she, she is so beautiful, so pure. He had that feeling he couldn’t explain. It had been so hard, trying not to want to look, trying not to want to think. And here he found himself again thinking about her.

He could feel himself getting hard. For a moment, he thought about touching himself. But it felt wrong.

He turned the water off, dried himself with a towel and put on a boxer short. When he walked to his bedroom, he tried not to look, but he did.

The light was on in her apartment. Was she a night owl?

Then he saw her. He could see she wasn’t at peace, the way she walked seemed restless. It looked like she was yelling.

Peeta put on his glasses and tried to find himself a sweater. When he found one, he looked out of the window again. He could see the man he also saw on Valentines Day and a couple of more times. He was yelling too. Peeta wanted to go to bed, he didn’t want to stare at a fighting couple. But he got a strange feeling about this, this wasn’t just fighting. He could see the man grabbing her arm in a rough way. She tried to get away but she couldn’t.

This didn’t look good at all. She kept yelling and he yelled back. She didn’t look like weak person, but she couldn’t stand a chance. The man was long, tall and strong.

I should really, really go to bed, Peeta thought, but when he looked outside once more, he saw the man raised his hand and hit her in her face.

Oh my god. He is hurting her.

He had to do something. Where were his pants?

She kept on yelling and got another hit. He needed to get her out of there. He grabbed his sweatpants, put on his coat and shoes and took the stairs, to go outside.

When he wanted to cross the street, he saw the tall man leaving the apartment.

Grow courage. He crossed the street and tried to find the right doorbell. He didn’t know her name or what her address was. Why didn’t he think of this?

E.E.L. Trinket, K.V. Everdeen or A. Cresta? It must be around 2 am, he thought.

He pressed the doorbell of A. Cresta. After a while, he heard a voice cracking from the intercom. “Hello?”

I don’t even know the sound of her voice. Crap. But, this woman sounded like she just woke up. It couldn’t be her.

“I’m sorry for waking you up ma’am, I’ve pressed the wrong button,” Peeta said. Then he got an idea. “Do you know the name of your neighbour, with eh, with the braid?”

“Katniss?”

“Thank you so much. Sleep well.” Her name is Katniss. It was, indeed, a special name.

With his heart beating in his throat, he pressed the doorbell. She didn’t open. Maybe she thought it was the tall man, returning.

He pressed the doorbell again. Then, she spoke. Her voice sounded cracked. “You have a key you know.”

“Katniss wait!” Peeta said.

“You’re not Gale. Who are you?”

He imagined the circumstances would be a bit different when he would hear her voice for the first time.

“I’m Peeta. I’m your neighbour.” Fuck, this sounded even more strange than he thought.

“What is my unknown neighbour doing here at 2 am?”

“Checking up on you. Please, open the door for me. I know what happened.”

“Wait, you are him? My neighbour?” the sound of her voice changed into a surprised tone.

“I think I just told…” Peeta heard the sound of the door getting unlocked.

He stepped into the hallway, it looked just like his. She must live on the 6th floor, their windows were on the same height.

He walked the stairs. Thoughts were running through his head, his heart was still beating in his throat. This was the must stupid idea ever. Who would go to a woman you’ve never met at 2 am, because you were staring at her through the window and had a bad feeling?

She didn’t sound mad. And she must have opened the door for some reason.

It was still the most stupid idea ever.

Peeta reached the 6th floor and saw an open door. What am I doing.

“Neighbour?” There she stood. Katniss. Her cheek was still red from the hit she got, but she was without doubt the most beautiful woman Peeta had ever seen. Her eyes were grey, something he had never seen before. She had long, black eyelashes. She was even more beautiful from a less distance.

“Katniss,” he said. “I wanted to check up on you, I saw what happened and…”

“I was planning to go outside actually, I’m sorry.” Peeta noticed the overnight bag next to her and that she was wearing a coat.

“Oh no, don’t be sorry, I’m sorry for coming here at 2 am.”

“Don’t be sorry, you were just worried and you have all right to. Shall we…”

“Yes!” Peeta started walking to the stairs. “Shall I carry your bag?”

Katniss laughed softly and followed him. God, could she even be more beautiful? “No, it’s fine.”

“You seem tired.”

“Most people are tired around this time, you know.” She sighed, and dragged her bag behind her. Peeta wanted to ask her again if he could carry it, but she seemed firm.

“Where are you going to?” he asked instead.

“I wanted to call my sister, but I don’t want to wake her, she has sleeping problems due to her pregnancy, my god why am I telling you this, I don’t even know you. What is your…”

When they almost reached the door, she fell the last three stair treads down to the ground.

“Katniss!” Peeta ran to her. “Can you stand up?”

Katniss tried, but it didn’t seem to go smoothly. She suddenly burst into tears.

“Shhh, come on, let’s get you out of here,” Peeta said. He took her bag and put it over his shoulder. He helped her standing up. “Don’t panic, but I’m going to take you to my place so I can check your ankle.”

She tried to speak, but she was still crying.

“It’s okay, come on.”

With a lot of effort, they crossed the street. The city noises seemed more quiet than usual, the city seemed more darker than usual. Peeta felt a certain kind of calmness, maybe it was because it was needed.

When they reached Peeta’s apartment building, Peeta put the bag on the ground. He wished there was an elevator. He was going to build one if the owner of the building didn’t, he had plenty of money.

“I’m going to carry you upstairs, could you try to climb on my back?”

Katniss didn’t say anything, she just did what he asked. She wasn’t heavy, fortunately.

Come on Peet. Carefully and slowly, he walked the stairs. The more stair treads he had done, the heavier it became. Finally, there was his front door.

Slowly and gently, he let her of his back. He opened his door and guided her to his couch.

“You’re safe. I’m going to get your bag.”

When he turned back, he heard her voice. “Neighbour?”

He turned to her. “Yes?”

“I may not know your name, but can I trust you?”

“You can trust me. I’m Peeta.”

–

When he came back, he saw her sitting on the couch, rubbing her feet. Why is she so beautiful.

“I may have to go see a doctor tomorrow,” Katniss said.

“What about today?” Peeta laughed.

“Oh God, I forgot it is…”

“3 am. Do you want to drink something? I’ve got eh… tea. Water. Coffee, but that’s a bad idea. And wine, but that is also a bad idea, especially for me since I’ve already drank some.” This sounded stupid. “Not that I’m drunk or something…”

“I would like some tea… please.”

“Sure!” Peeta went to his kitchen. The last couple of hours had been so strange. He went to court today, settled an arrangement, drank wine with Finnick, took a midnight shower, saw his mysterious neighbour who appeared to be named Katniss getting hit by her boyfriend, he went outside and now she was here.

He came back with two cups of tea, he hoped she would like chamomile. He also took an icepack from the freezer.

“I hope this helps,” he said and he sat down on the floor, holding it against her ankle.

“Thank you Peeta,” Katniss said. “Man, this is unbelievable.”

Peeta looked at her. Tears were streaming down her face again.

“But we’ve finally met, right? I really liked those moments of waving at you. It became part of my night routine.”

Still tears. “Can you… can you tell me something. My thoughts are…”

“Sure! Ehm… well. You see your mug?”

Katniss looked at her mug. It had a Van Gogh print on it, from the almond blossom painting.

“I bought it in Amsterdam a few years ago. My boss, who is also my best friend, thought during my interview that I was a Dutchman, because of my name and my hair. So, after working for him a few years, and after hearing him joke about it a few years, I took a plane to the Netherlands and went to Amsterdam. It is actually a nice city, I bought the mug in the Van Gogh museum. I want to go back and see more of the country, I’ve heard Rotterdam is pretty cool too and that it’s called Manhattan at the river Maas, so it should feel a bit like home.”

“Europe is great,” Katniss said softly. “Gale… that… that man took me once to Norway, to the forests and mountains…” She became quiet again. She was more quiet than an hour ago. Maybe because it just seemed to hit her, that her life was changed.

“That sounds amazing! Do you like the forests?”

“I love it. It feels like… home.”

“So, how did you come here in New York?”

Tears again. This wasn’t what he wanted. “Oh no, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to…”

“No it’s fine, I… It’s just… he cheated on me, I found out and… it all fell down.”

Peeta didn’t know what to say. She kept on talking.

“We were together for 7 years, it wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies… I started doubting about us a long time ago, that’s why I… why we… I didn’t want to be intimate with him anymore, I mean, not really anymore, but less and less and he… sometimes he wanted to and I not and… I think he started looking somewhere else and maybe it was also because I didn’t want to get married yet because of the doubting and…”

Peeta still held the icepack against her ankle. He felt that he wanted to go sit next to her, but his mind told him no, while everything else in his body screamed yes.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you with this,” Katniss sniffed.

“You don’t bother me at all,” Peeta said softly. “Trust me, I know how you feel. My ex cheated on me too.” And the one before. Peeta sighed. “You don’t have to be sorry and you’re not bothering me.”

He looked at her. Her grey eyes were still filled with tears.

“Hey,” he said and then he smiled at her. “You know, I am very curious about you. This is also a part of you, and if you don’t mind, I would really like to know you.”

Softly, she laughed. “Yeah, I think you could say this is also a part of me. There is not much more, actually. I’m a mess.”

“Well, what’s your favourite colour?”

“My favourite colour?” She raised her eyebrows and started thinking. “It’s the middle of the night, and you are asking my favourite colour?”

“I think I am,” Peeta laughed, still holding her ankle. “How is your ankle?”

“The icepack helps, thank you. Oh god, you are sitting on the floor the whole time! You can sit next to me, I mean, ofcourse you can, it’s your couch…”

Peeta laughed and sat down next to her. “You may rest your ankle on the couch if you like. Plenty of space.”

“Thank you.” Katniss put her legs on the couch. “This actually is really comfortable.”

“I’m glad. So, you favourite colour.”

“Right. It’s green.”

“Like the forests in Norway?” He smiled.

“Not in particular, but yes, I like the outdoors and nature. What’s yours?”

“Orange.”

“I can see why your boss thought you were a Dutchman.”

Peeta laughed. “I’ve never thought of it that way! No, it’s not because of The Netherlands. I like the colour of the sky during sunset.”

“That’s beautiful,” Katniss said. “So, you also like nature.”

“I do! There is not much nature here in New York, but I just like watching the skies, it’s like a painting.”

“An artist huh?” Katniss smiled. “I can tell.”

“How?”

“You look like one. But, artists don’t usually wear suits to work. Are you a politician?”

“No…”

“A lawyer?”

“Yes,” Peeta said. “A very passionate lawyer.”

“That’s so impressive. My sister is a doctor.” Katniss looked out of the window. “So strange to see my old place from here.”

“Old place?”

“Yes, I’m leaving it.” She stopped. “It’s Gale’s,” she said softly. “Why did you want to become a lawyer?”

“Well, at high school I discovered I was pretty good with words. I wanted to use that for helping people.”

“That’s beautiful. I’m sure you’re like Mike Ross or something, a pretty good one.”

“Except for that I actually went to law school,” Peeta laughed. “And what about you?”

“Me? I… well… I was starting to… to be a singer.”

“A singer?” She can sing? “That’s so special! I am not asking you to sing for me now, but damn, I am curious.”

“Yeah, Gale works at a bank, and I wanted to become a singer, so that’s why I live in New York and not in a cottage in the woods.”

“That last part doesn’t sound bad at all.” They looked at each other. There was this kind of energy, this kind a feeling that told Peeta she was thinking the same thing.

Katniss and Peeta talked all night. Katniss told him about her father who died when she was young, about her mom and sister, about her performances she did so far and that she liked archery. Peeta talked about his parents and the bakery, his two older brothers, that he liked to bake and read, painting sometimes. He told her about Finnick and his job: a few cases that were extraordinary. She laughed, sometimes she cried. He laughed, sometimes he wanted to hold her. They told each other about what they thought when they saw each other through the window.

Suddenly, Katniss spoke. “Hey, I’m just thinking.”

“Hm?” Peeta said, a bit tired.

“It’s the first day of spring today.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t you just love spring? All those flowers: primroses, dandelions. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.”

And that’s when the sun started to rise.

#Springtime Edition 2020 #viloula #acpoe82 #Prompt 110 #submission

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moviegroovies · 4 years

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so i know i’m breaking like, this unspoken vow of silence re: the movie by making this post but this IS a movie blog and i did watch the last airbender. and can i just say. holy fucking shit.

y’all know i like a lot of bad movies. knowing that, take me seriously when i say: this is a BAD movie. and not in a good way. i went into it with no expectations except morbid curiosity and i was STILL let down. i wanted to hate watch it, and yeah, i hated watching it, but it wasn’t even fun to hate. i just hated it.

don’t watch the last airbender.

if you’re like me and you just wanted to know exactly how bad it was, please benefit from my mistakes. read my fun funky rant and then never think of that movie again. put it out of your mind. rewatch boiling rock. love yourself.

anyway.

pretty much the one and only thing i knew about why it was bad going in was that it was whitewashed; that’s like the only thing anyone ever mentions in conjecture with this movie, when they mention it at all. knowing this, going in knowing full well that the casting department did crimes against humanity, i was still shocked and disturbed at the sight of white katara and white sokka. literally... that casting choice was a hate crime. look them up (or check out my last post) if you need to see it for yourself... it’s bad y’all. somehow i had braced myself for white aang, but before i saw it with my own two eyes i couldn’t believe that they would actually whitewash katara and sokka, And Yet. the really stupid thing is that it’s not even “””justified””” IN UNIVERSE; most of the members of the southern water tribe are played by asian actors, meaning that they didn’t even pull a pan and make the WHOLE southern water tribe white, they just made sokka and katara mysteriously “special” in a spectacularly poor judgement call.

actually, that’s another thing. outside the northern water tribe (which is also mostly white... i’m wondering if sokka and katara are white because gran gran--a white woman in the movie--is from the north? anyway it’s a moot point either way because none of them should be white, there are NO WHITE CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW AVATAR, jesus FUCKING christ), most of the extras and background characters are played by actors of color, particularly asian actors, which would be accurate to the show’s canon. maybe m night shyamalan or someone else involved in the making of this shitshow of a movie thought that this would somehow absolve the whitewashing of the main characters, but in reality i’d argue that it makes it even worse; by having characters mostly played by people of color continuously being saved by three little white bitches, the movie goes HARD on the white savior trope, and also just generally uses these actual, living people as exploitative, orientalist set dressing for this 1 hour and 43 minutes of special hell.

with one notable exception: prince zuko is played by an actor of color--specifially, dev patel. (who is himself miscast, considering how zuko and the fire nation are japanese-coded, but the second they opened on that veruca salt looking ass bitch calling herself katara any hope that the makers of this movie gave any consideration to the racial coding avatar introduced went right out the window.) which adds Another layer of racism to this already inconceivably bad fuckup of a movie; how strange, that the movie’s racebending made all three heroes white, but the primary antagonist (as well as the secondary antagonist, zhao, and the mostly-off-screen-but-still-present ozai) is a man of color. what an odd coincidence. hmmmm.

i hate this movie. i do want to note, though, that dev patel’s inclusion was the only thing that actually got me through the whole thing; i have no idea why he was in this film (he’s FAR too talented for the content he was given and no one else in the entire cast went even one sixteenth as hard as he did) but he was its one saving grace. still, though, even he couldn’t save it. he was so cute and he did his damn best with probably the worst script in the history of film... but he was still in THIS film. since the release of this movie, patel has spoken out against his role in it and the world of hollywood blockbusters in general, and to that i say... good for him.

i was going for zuko though. this time it was like YES baby CAPTURE that avatar. full stop.

so yes, it was horribly miscast, whitewashed to hell and back, and went with a racist white hero/villains of color cast as a backdrop. all of these things, in themselves, are enough to completely condemn the movie, and my work here might as well be done... except to end it there would be to leave one million other glaring flaws unexamined. and i refuse to let any rock be unturned.

because, like, it’s NOT just bad because of the whitewashing. the whitewashing and the other racist elements are huge PARTS of why this is a bad movie, but even if this movie was made with an accurate and un-whitewashed cast, it would STILL be a bad movie, and i need you all to know this.

starting from the top: they ruined katara and sokka.

well, they ruined them the second they cast them the way they did. but again, let’s say they cast someone else. let’s say they cast appropriate actors for the rolls, but the level of acting skill and the script they used was the same. even in this case, they would have RUINED katara and sokka. none of the characters in this movie are 100% recognizable (and i’ll keep repeating it: the casting DID NOT HELP), but katara and sokka got hit the hardest and the worst. the things that sokka should have brought to the table (his goofy attitude, his intelligence) were erased, and the “sokka” we were given instead was a jerkass buzzkill who might have occasionally been the butt of a joke, but was never actually intended to be funny in his own right. reflecting on the series, it’s kind of as if we got his characterization from the first episode (before sokka got any development and was, i guess, kind of a jerkass buzzkill) and never strayed from that, which would be bad enough, but i think even episode ONE sokka was more fun and dynamic than White Sokka™. mistakes were made.

but it was even WORSE for katara. katara’s righteous anger was all but erased. SOKKA was the one who broke the avatar out of the ice, and only because they accidentally happened upon him--katara didn’t get to be angry at sokka’s jerkass sexism and unconsciously fuck up an entire iceberg. katara NEVER got to be angry. in fact, most of katara’s moments were taken and distributed between aang and sokka; aang, for instance is the one who inspires the earthbenders to break out of prison. we don’t even see katara train with master pakku, and SHE was the one who actually became a waterbending master when they went to the north pole. in this movie, katara mostly existed to talk about ~hope~ (very ember island players, lmfao) and hug aang when he went into the avatar state.

by the way, that prison? it’s not the metal platform in the middle of the ocean we got in the show. it’s just... an enclosed village. surrounded by dirt and earth. and the earthbenders never tried to break out until aang came along and told them to? hmmmm....

Unfortunate Implications™, but what did you expect.

other than that, idk. the writing was so fucking bad, y’all. a significant chunk of the plot relies on the “as you know” trope, in which characters have an expository discussion about something everyone present should already be aware of and wouldn’t need to get into. this normally wouldn’t bother me THAT much, if i noticed it at all (exposition is essential, after all, and you only have so much time in a movie, so i guess it makes sense when you’re trying to compress an entire season of a show into one), except like... it’s ridiculous. i couldn’t ignore it, they just hit the hammer so hard. “as you know, this is what the avatar is. as you know, zuko was exiled after fighting an agni kai with his father. as you know...”

bleh.

after that, i guess all my complaints are a little more pedantic. some smaller things that made the movie unwatchable: the bending motions were super weird and i think sped up? there were perfectly good martial arts moves right there waiting for them, and shyamalan fucked even THAT up in an effort to... what? make it look more “mystical?” bitch i’ll kill you. also, for reasons completely unfathomable to me, some of the names were pronounced oddly despite being said one million times in the show. “aah-ng” “ee-roh” “soh-ka” “ahvatar.” literally... why.

i’ve been thinking “soh-ka” in my head for like two weeks. hideous.

and one last thing, which really DOESN’T matter in comparison to what they did to the human characters, but like... what fucking happened to appa?? why did they do that to him?

don’t watch the last airbender.

#the last airbender #text post #katara #sokka #zuko #aang #hideous bad movie time

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dontcallmecarrie · 5 years

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Does Bucky think of Maria as his sister and Tony as his nephew. I know that's the cover story but I wonder how he himself sees them. Ergo for the Starks. Also, how do outsiders see their bond.

(I’m assuming you’re referring to By Dawn’s Early Light here, if not, whoops)

Here’s the thing: James did not sign up for any of this.

Existentially, with the whole was-brainwashed-and-used-as-the-Fist-of-HYDRA thing, as well as the incredibly-traumatized-from-said-brainwashing thing.

When HYDRA was burned, he saw a chance to escape and took it, nothing could have warned him of the chaos that would follow when he took the same alleyway the same time as a single mother.

But let’s be honest here: he has absolutely no complaints about it. For the short term, anyway, and even then not for the reasons one would reasonably expect.

For the first year or so, James spends most of his time crashing on the lumpy old couch in the living room. Spends most of his time just recovering, and unintentionally scaring the crap out of everyone else living under the same roof because of the extent of his PTSD [hey, flashbacks + survivors of domestic violence because this is the AU where Howard is a bigger douchebag than normal = not a good time all around, okay?].

Here’s the thing: James did not know when the hell he got adopted by these two. [Spoiler: less than a minute for Maria, less than an hour for Tony.]

Mind, he knew she was unusual right off the bat— no one just offers a random stranger an escape route from the HYDRA goons about to capture him— but… anyone else would’ve left it at that, wouldn’t they?

It’s just…

The extent to which they’d opened their door to him and didn’t ask any questions was a bit frightening at first […and then, once he got to know them better, downright terrifying].

If not for Tony, he would’ve actually expected it to be a trap, at first.

It just felt too good to be true, otherwise— if not for the way Maria had looked at him when she’s mentioned her son, and then her kid turned out to be just as crazy as she was because who the hell just went ‘okay I have a new uncle now. Cool’ at the drop of a hat?

Just…no questions asked. No demands made, no pressuring him into working for them [Maria teaching him recipes for when he had nightmares didn’t count, that was his bastardized equivalent of therapy], nothing.

Tony and Maria helped him hide from HYDRA, but almost more importantly— they helped him heal.

Even when his memory felt like Swiss cheese with how many gaps there were [why did he have flashes of trains and vintage uniforms? Who knew!], even if he was getting a better idea with every day that passed, he liked this new him.

And it was in no small part thanks to the two people who’d accepted him into their home. The unconditional support, and the way they made their environment as welcoming as possible even if he’d had nightmares for the past week and had cracked two mugs during an especially bad flashback.

Tony and Maria were there when he was at his lowest.

They might not be related by blood, but they might as well be at this point.

…and then it turns out that these two also were capable of some pretty ridiculous stunts, and as his memories steadily continue coming back he has a sinking feeling of deja vu because this does not feel like the first time he’s had to chase after someone to help watch their backs. Like he’s herding cats, only they have opposable thumbs and a fondness for explosions and blackmail and he wasn’t being paid enough to deal with any of this.

Not even close.

By the time the dangerously-bland-and-generic-looking government agent shows up, he just…sighs as he grabs his gear.

And when they meet Captain America?

His first thought is, “Who the hell is Bucky?” closely followed by, “OH FUCK THAT’S WHAT I WAS FORGETTING ABORT MISSION ABORT THIS IS NOT GOING TO END WELL also where’s howard I need to punch the bastard”

Meanwhile, anyone who sees Tony and his mom and his uncle interact correctly assume that they’re either family, or very close.

Back when they lived in that small town: there might not have been a very strong family resemblance going on [thank goodness for the wonders of hair dye], but they had each other’s backs. Uncle James baked cupcakes for classroom parties, and everyone in town ‘knew’ that Tony’s interest in robotics was because of his uncle’s prosthetic arm, and woe betide whoever was trying to harass his mom at work or elsewhere.

They got a few raised eyebrows for it, actually: because apparently they got along remarkably well. Almost too well, in the sense that Tony’s lack of teenage rebellion had somehow gotten them attention for it.

(Tony suspected it was the ‘yeah my teenage rebellion is actually sticking it to my old man by being an incognito ninja’ thing, but that wasn’t exactly something for dinner parties or whatever so the point was moot.

Eh. Whatever. If he ever wanted to act like one of the jocks practicing their midlife crises, he’d just borrow Uncle James’ motorcycle and call it a day.)

After the…Incident that resulted in Bucky going MIA for a while before Tony found him again, the family dynamic’s still there— but the outsiders in question?

SHIELD analysts.

Because by now, SHIELD has gotten wind of this mysterious ‘Iron Man’.

Only problem is, since Tony found what he was looking for, Iron Man went into retirement and he went to Culver U. Bucky’s sharing his apartment getting back on his feet [again— gotta love those involuntary ice naps, amirite?] and ends up getting sighted during all the chaos with the introduction of the Hulk.

Which in turn results in SHIELD correctly assuming that if they search for one, they’ll find the other.

(Maria, meanwhile, has taken a less physically-active-but-no-less-intimidating role of mission control, and has a vast network that basically makes her a chaotic neutral Moriarty. She’s not on SHIELD’s radar, which is…a disaster waiting to happen, probably. RIP, SHIELD Agent Who Quickly Discovers That Their Pay Grade Covers Intergalactic Warfare, Not This)

…tl;dr: the found families trope is one of my favorite things, and this is one AU where it takes center stage.

#I got an ask!#replies #Naught replies #behind the scenes #By Dawn's Early Light #My writing #behind the scenes mini fic #kinda

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elegantmess-southernbelle · 5 years

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Our Greyhound Bus Experience

Strap in, friends, this is a long and harrowing ride. Literally, in the case of this friend.

At 11:45 PM (PDT), 10 of July, 2019, my dear friend, whom we shall call Oliver, was supposed to be leaving Seattle on his 11th cross country trip with Greyhound Bus Lines. Our intent was for him to have a leisurely trip to my home in Richmond VA and eventually fly home from Seattle after DragonCon. At least, that was the plan.

First of all, due to health problems, Oliver is a larger person, weighing 350 lbs. He is uses a motorized wheelchair for most mobility that weighs in at exactly 232 lbs. He is Ainu (a Japanese native minority).

Before they could begin to load Oliver on the wheelchair lift, the problems began. The lift began malfunctioning almost immediately, extending and promptly retracting. At one point, it actually reached the ground, and then refused to rise again. Several people fought to get the lift working and, even then, it repeatedly malfunctioned. It would not get off the ground empty, as they tested it without weight. At one point, Oliver was hovering about 1 1/2 feet (50 cm) off the ground with no motion in either direction. After an hour, the employees gave up, and the driver drove himself to the depot nearby to fetch a replacement bus and test the lift himself. 2 1/2 hours after the bus was meant to leave, it was finally ready to go.

That was the easiest part of this trip.

Upon arrival in Spokane at 7:09 AM PDT, it was discovered that the bus had missed their connection to a Jefferson Bus to Billings, MT, and across North Dakota, to Minneapolis (Jefferson Bus Lines serves the Mountain West from Spokane to Minneapolis, though the tickets are issued by Greyhound). The Spokane station is a Greyhound Station. In Spokane, Oliver was reissued his ticket for the next route west, leaving at 5:15 PM PDT. The new route also went to Billings via the same path, but crossed Wyoming and South Dakota, and on to Minneapolis, rather than North Dakota as his original itinerary did. Having the resources available, he seriously considered transferring to the Amtrak Empire Builder and eating the cost of the Greyhound ticket. In retrospect, he believes he should have, but hindsight is 20/20.

During his 12 hour layover, he called Greyhound Customer Service to tell them what had happened. He was told that nothing could be done about the issue until 24 hours after he had arrived at his final destination. That, by the way, would have meant that the earliest he could have called would have been on Monday the 15th of July, after the immediacy of the events could have been lost, particularly to someone with a neurological disability, which Oliver has (namely Moyamoya disease).

Upon attempting to reboard after 12 unexpected hours in Spokane and 2 meals out of pocket that he otherwise wouldn’t have needed (Spokane has no restaurant in station as of that date), they checked what was to be the first of his Jefferson Lines busses, only to discover that, once again, the lift was broken. This was discovered, again, before an attempt was made to load Oliver. Jefferson Lines, however, was able to fix the problem almost immediately. Rather than try and fail to repair the lift, as Greyhound had in Seattle, they immediately went and got another one. During this time, Oliver discovered that his new ticket and his baggage route tag no longer matched (Greyhound has passengers take possession of their own bags at every stop, while Jefferson does not). The single, quite overwhelmed ticket agent in the station —from Jefferson, but doing the work of both companies— had issued everyone replacement tickets, but forgotten to also issue new route tags to put on the baggage itself. Thankfully, the young man who works there as the only luggage specialist was able to run in and grab a new baggage route tag for Oliver, thus making his bag match the itinerary on his ticket.

(Also relevant here and in future in the story is that Oliver’s bag was marked in Seattle with a bright pink a “special handling” tag. This is supposed to mean that baggage handlers at each Greyhound Station are supposed to handle his bag. Ultimately, the only Greyhound stations which respected this were Spokane and Chicago.)

He traveled uneventfully through the night from Spokane to Billings, Montana. Sadly, this meant that part of the reason Oliver had booked the trip as he did was moot. He’s fond of Western Montana, thinks it’s beautiful, and had been looking forward to seeing it. However, due to the schedule shift, the bus was crossing the area not by day, but by night. His arrival in Billings was uneventful. His transfer to the next bus was likewise, due to the professionalism of the Jefferson employees. Alas, it was in Billings where the baggage error caught up with everyone on the bus, save him, who was continuing east. Since their baggage tags no longer matched their itineraries, their bags were held in Billings for the next bus across North Dakota to Minnesota. One friend he had made on the trip, we’ll call her Countess, had lost her baggage, leaving her bereft of clothing suitable for the funeral she was attending in Chicago. Oliver, having caught the error, stayed with his bag across South Dakota and into Sioux Falls.

At this point, the night caught up to Oliver and he attempted to go to sleep. He uses a C-PAP. And, unfortunately, the electricity on the bus proved to be faulty. Ten times during the night, he awoke when his C-PAP shut off. However, he lays no blame on Jefferson for this as they were very apologetic about the complication and he did survive the night.

Minneapolis, unfortunately, is a Greyhound Station, despite it also being the Jefferson Lines corporate headquarters. By this point, three nights had elapsed and Oliver had only managed, at most, 4 hours of sleep per night, the whole time in a seated position. Whilst being loaded into a Greyhound bus from Minneapolis to Chicago, the driver and station personnel responsible for loading him onto the bus manhandled his chair by shoving, pulling, and yanking it into positions of their choice by the seat back, contrary to his explicit orders not to. This ultimately damaged the seat back. The actual trip from Minneapolis to Chicago was uneventful, as Oliver slept the whole way.

In Chicago, everything got better... and much, MUCH worse. The station’s chief baggage handler saw to the handling of Oliver’s bag personally and attempted to console Countess as to her lost baggage. Heartened by the good treatment he and Countess had experienced at the hands of the chief baggage handler, and with memories of a similar wheelchair lift problem in Chicago on a similar trip two years prior having been handled remarkably well by the personnel at that station, Oliver decided that it would be in his best interests to talk to the customer service representatives who are stationed permanently at Chicago to see if his troubles for this trip could be similarly resolved.

He could not have been more wrong.

The customer service agent who took his complaint was not only extremely dismissive of his problems, but having not heard that the lift issue in Seattle took place before he used the lift, took it upon herself to tell him to his face that “weight is not a disability.” That, “they shouldn’t have to accommodate someone whose only disability is being fat.” That, “the ADA has limits and you should know them.”

With Oliver now stunned into, in his own words “Beached Fish-style Silence” (mouth moving, no words coming out), she then walked away, talking quite well above conversational levels, about “entitled people who abuse the ADA”, carrying this monologue throughout the station amongst the other station and talking about how it contributes so heavily to the delays in Greyhound service.

(Editors’ Note: I’m glad I wasn’t there. As a female-bodied person with a disability causing insulin resistance, I feel very strongly about fat shaming and ableism. This person was 1000% out of line and it’s a common intimidation tactic to do what she did to pit other people against the disabled. Thankfully, it didn’t work to turn them against him, though it did silence him, an abuse survivor with PTSD. Just be aware. This is a not-uncommon corporate tactic and NOBODY should tolerate it.)

He left Chicago, en route to Baltimore, via Cleveland and Pittsburgh. A mostly uneventful day passed crossing Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Alas, in Indiana, it was discovered that, like most drivers, this driver did not appreciate the thought of letting a wheelchair using passenger off the bus at meal stops. Oliver, at the outer limits of his capacity, is able to walk roughly 330 feet (100 meters) in a day. This meant that he could not easily walk into and out of the Howe, IN travel plaza, though he forced himself to do so anyway, as the alternative would be going roughly a full day without food. At all previous food stops, the driver or another passenger had been willing to take an order and money from Oliver, preventing delays. Indeed, the driver across Montana was so upset at herself for having to do so, that she kindly bought his food in Missoula with her own money. (Not surprisingly, she was a Jefferson employee....) The driver in Indiana? Not so much.

Given that he had no choice, Oliver walked into the travel plaza, purchased food and went back to the bus, collapsing in agony. At this point, it must be noted that, in addition to Moyamoya Disease, the condition that puts Oliver in a wheelchair is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type VI, a degenerative connective tissue disorder. (Those interested can find more information online.)

After sitting in chair in agony for another hour and a half, the ride eventually returned to normal. Everything was fine into Cleveland. However, because on most Greyhound Busses, the restroom is in the back and the wheelchair seating is in the front, Oliver found himself needing to use the washroom in Cleveland, rather than doing so en route. This meant he had only enough time to either use the washroom or get food, not both. Given the choice, he decided to use the washroom. He was required to do so without his chair again. Upon reboarding, they were informed that, due to accumulated delays en route, they would not be having a rest stop at Pittsburgh, but would instead be continuing through the night into Baltimore. Thankfully, they had switched drivers in Cleveland, and when the new driver was told of Oliver’s needs, re-added a very short break in Pittsburgh to the trip to accommodate. This was necessary, as had he not had stopped in Pittsburgh, he would have been unable to use a washroom or acquire liquid to take his medicine.

From Pittsburgh, they then made Baltimore. However, somewhere in Ohio, (likely at Cleveland), Oliver’s luggage got lost. The loss was discovered in Baltimore when the suitcase did not appear at the side of the bus. He was told at Baltimore that it almost certainly had gone on to Richmond without him. That could not have been, as Oliver witnessed it being loaded in Chicago. The only possibility is that it had been unloaded at a station stop between Baltimore and Chicago, the most likely being Cleveland.

By this point, Oliver was too physically exhausted and emotionally worn out to do more than file a half-hearted complaint. This was also when Oliver discovered that his bus, which was to go from Baltimore to Richmond, having originated in New York, was running at least 4 hours late. No reason was ever given, though Oliver suspects it had to do with the blackout of Manhattan that day.

Two buses left Baltimore with a destination of Richmond, (including one that was an express between Baltimore, DC and Richmond), before his scheduled bus arrived. However, Greyhound would not change the ticket, due to the inconvenience to them of putting a wheelchair on one of those busses. His bus finally did arrive in Baltimore, 4 1/2 hours late. He boarded, minus trouble and luggage and proceeded to groggily travel through DC during rush hour, finally arriving in Richmond at 3:15 PM EDT on Sunday the 14th. This is a full 19 hours later than he should have, on a day when Richmond’s bus system is on a limited schedule and the only local wheelchair transports are impossible unless pre-booked.

At this point, I fetched him from the station, using what means I had, and guided him to my house, via these limited busses. This forced us to hike/roll a mile and a half from the last bus stop served to home, in 90 degree F (33 C) heat and both of us exhausted, angry and miserable.

He is now here, finally, and has had a full night’s sleep. Where his story goes from here is anyone’s guess, but I think it safe to say it won’t be getting there via Greyhound, as they have lost a lifelong customer.

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justgenlockthings · 5 years

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gen:VIEW Episode 5 “The Best Defense”

You know what I love about this show? You pick up on some things and go “Oh, I know exactly where this is going based on these specific tropes” and then they do a complete 180 and it’s like “NOPE I WAS VERY VERY WRONG ABOUT THAT.” That’s a sign of good entertainment, keeping you on your toes week-to-week. The fact that we’ve had one of the major gen:LOCK theories disproved literally one episode after it was formed says wonders about how well they’re doing this show.

WHAT IN THE NAME OF HOLY FUCK IS GOING ON

This is yet another episode that balances the light-hearted nature of the training scenes with the dark reality of the Union-Polity conflict, similar to the previous episode tonally but with more serious subject matter.

I absolute adore how this episode follows up on Cammie’s trauma from her encounter with the Nemesis mech, and how it comes through in the training montages. Her overall skittishness of fighting by herself after such a traumatic event necessitated consequences, and we clearly see those consequences in her actions throughout the episode: surreal, evocative nightmares; frustration at her lack of progress compared to the others; her attempt at “cheating” the system to gain the upper hand and having it horribly backfire. Really, Cammie was the MVP of this entire episode. My only real nitpick is her re-encounter with the Nemesis. I get that there’s no accurate way of depicting PTSD, but I personally think there should’ve been a little more hesitance on her part when she engaged with the thing that literally tore her apart. But honestly, I loved her arc otherwise, and I think having her able to face it with the combined efforts of her team makes for an equally strong characterization.

I also really connected with the team dynamic this episode, which has overall been developing quite nicely over the past 5 episodes. We’ve gone from being introduced to these characters to seeing them get to know each other, and we’re at a point where they’re really feeling like an actual team, which was very-well demonstrated both in the scenes at the Anvil and their skirmish with the Nemesis in Atlanta. There was a review that said gen:LOCK was at its strongest when its characters interacted, and we very clearly got that strong interaction from this episode. Big highlight goes to the humorous turn the conversation at the cafeteria took: it felt like a natural conversation these people who’ve gotten to know each other would have, and a very funny one to witness at that.

I also connected with the sense of intrigue this episode has brought to the series, building off of a simple question stated in the last episode: “What the hell was that thing?!” A certain level of mystery in my eyes can only help the show, giving us something to mull on while we patiently wait for the next episode of this far-too-short season (look, I get that Rooster Teeth can only make so many episodes, but EIGHT?). It adds a new level of engagement to the story, and I’m livid for some of the theories that have been popping up in the past few days.

Worldbuilding continues to work very well. There’s a strong sense that what’s happening in gen:LOCK is connected to what’s happening in the outside world, that we’re viewing something within a much larger context that we’re gradually learning more about, which is why I’m more than willing to forgive a lack of information on the Union (I’ll go into more detail in a full analysis). This is absolutely the case with the mission to the Union base in Georgia: an idea of the opportunities the Holons provide the Vanguard, and how they can turn the tide of the war. We also get some vague hints at what the Union is up to with its captives, though nothing concrete yet.

All positive things aside, one thing I really didn’t like about this episode was what’s going on between Miranda, Julian, and Jodie. I said in the last review it looked like they were pushing away from the standard love triangle in favor of a different, more (I wanna say but don’t quite think is accurate) “wholesome” dynamic, only to have threads of jealousy going on with Jodie. I also didn’t quite understand that whole question of Julian rejoining the Vanguard, since it seems kind of like a moot question? I mean, he doesn’t have a full body anymore, and isn’t the gen:LOCK program technically now part of the Vanguard? However, I did like the whole approach that Miranda is kind of wishing things could go back to the way they were and Julian is more reluctant, but they both understand a lot of stuff has happened in the four years they were apart that they can’t just skip over.

Conclusions

gen:LOCK delivers another very strong character-focused installment that balances itself with some well-done action and an additional layer of intrigue that just make the show all the more complex. I think my only complaint, and this has nothing to do with the episode itself, IS THE FACT THAT THERE’S ONLY THREE FUCKING EPISODES LEFT THIS SEASON.

Ahem...otherwise, good job gen:SMITHs. Keep up the good work.

#gen:lock #gen:view #gen:lock spoilers #gen:lock analysis #gen:lock review #review #spoilers #analysis

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bloodyshadow1 · 5 years

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Nature V NatureBlog:ModernAu

So this is my submission for day 4 critrole femslash week, prompt Alternate Universe. I choose to do a modern au with a vlogger/social media because when I started it I read a few and thought they were neat. Hope you enjoy, read, review, comment, reblog, they really mean more than you’d think when writing stuff like this.

“Oh sweet Pelor, she posted another freaking video,” Vex’ahlia ‘Vex’ Vessar screamed at her brother Vax’ildan, or Vax for pretty much anyone who had ever talked to him.

“Who my dear sweet even-tempered sister,” Vax asked half amused half mocking. He already knew who Vex was throwing her latest hissy fit over, she had been throwing tantrums over the other half-elf for months. It wasn’t fair, there was such a huge storm in Emon last week the meant she wasn’t able to go out and hike like she normally did which meant she hadn’t been able to film a new video. It also meant that she hadn’t been able to visit her sweet baby boy Trinket either and that was even worse. Maybe it was making her cranky, but she wouldn't admit that.

“You very well know who I mean,” Vex said rounding on her brother but her eyes never strayed from her phone, “Keyleth Zephara.” The newest Druid Diaries video already had a couple thousand views and it had only been up for an hour at most. Vex hadn’t watched it yet, but she knew it would be sweet and wonderful and oh so sickening, just like the woman who it focused on.

“Oh right the red-haired bimbo who has been the bane of your existence for the past few months. The one who updates every Saturday, which is today,” Vax said not even looking up from his tablet. He had much better things to do than listen to his sister go on and on about her one-sided war she was waging against her crush even if his sister wouldn’t admit it was a crush.

“I never said she was a bimbo,” Vex retorted. She glanced at her phone again seeing Keyleth’s smiling face as she traveled through the wilderness, “I mean yes I called her a strumpet, but I didn’t actually know what it meant. I thought it was an insult that you called pretty women.”

“I know,” Vax said finally looking at his twin sister, if only so she could see his shit eating grin. “Zahra won’t let you forget it.”

Vex didn’t need to be reminded about her ex-girlfriend/current best friend’s literal rolling on the floor laughter the first time Vex used the word wrong during a rant about Keyleth. Besides, Zahra didn’t matter right now, “I just don’t get how her blog is more popular than mine? I mean we’re both nature blogs, but I’m the 3 time gold medalist and fashion icon, whereas she’s just a nature blog. Why is she more popular than me? Vex’ahlia’s Visions is a masterpiece blog in my opinion, it combines fitness, fashion, and nature.” Vex had started it up sometime during the last Summer games and her third gold medal victory and it had been a very popular blog for the last 3 years. Her friend Scanlan had suggested it, said that she could boost her popularity and show her fans the real her. While she was initially against it she had to admit it was fun and she did love the praise she received for her breathtaking nature shots as well as people lavishing over her beauty during her fitness and fashion segments.

“How could my blog be losing to a blog about a gorgeous girl who does cute things with animals she sees travel the world. It’s only been up for two years.” A moment passed and Vex was about to answer but Vex stopped him, “I know, I know her blog sounds awesome, I realized it the second the words came out of my mouth. Still, it doesn’t explain why she’s more popular than me. She calls her fans Kikinuts for crying out loud.”

“I mean, it probably doesn’t help that you follow her and are like half the views on her videos.”

“I’m not half the views on her videos,” Vex shot back, “maybe a quarter, but not half,” she whispered to herself. She can’t help it, after all Keyleth of the Air Ashari was the competition, Vex had to watch her videos to see why they were so popular, at least 8 times each just to be sure, sometimes with and other times without sound. “Still, I’m a ranger and one of the most famous in the world, how does someone have a nature blog more popular than mine?”

Despite Vex’s complaints she did love Keyleth’s videos. They were always surprisingly informative about the places she visited, and she would always have animals in her videos that did cute things and she would talk to sometimes. Usually she would end up sleeping in the woods somewhere making a shelter, foraging for her own food and water, living under the stars. As a powerful druid she apparently had the ability to summon storms and perfect wifi no matter where she went in addition to her other magical and shapeshifting abilities. Being able to summon lightning meant her equipment was always charged too so that was helpful for a druid ‘roughing’ it.

“You might be a ranger Stubby, but she’s a druid. You both might have nature one your side but she can turn into animals and talk to them and people love animals.”

“I have animals in my videos.”

“You have animals that are running away from you little sister,” Vax said standing up giving his sister a kiss on the forehead since he knows how much she hates it. “Keyleth gets them to gather around her like she’s a Disney princess or something. And that’s not even getting to how she is with plants. Or she gets attacked by them which also leads to a lot of views because people like to see that sort of thing. I’m sorry but I don’t think you’re going to win this one. Especially since you want to keep my nephew out of the spotlight.”

“I swore I would never become a crazy stage mom and force Trinket in the spotlight for something as paltry as popularity. My child is a wild dangerous beast and my animal companion like the ones the rangers of old would ride into battle with. Not some dancing bear doing tricks for snacks and nose pats. The fact that he’s adorable and happens to love me with all his giant heart is a moot point,” Vex said matter-of-factly. She loved Trinket more than anything in this world, which is why she let him roam free in the wilds near Emon instead of stuck in her house like a pet.

“That makes me proud Stubby,” Vax said giving his sister the biggest sloppiest kisses he could muster on each cheek, one for him and one for his nephew. As she pushed him away he continued, “I know you’ve always wanted to be the type of successful woman that those bastards back in Syngorn would have to respect at least. But I’m glad you’re not willing to go crazy over that. I mean if winning three gold medals for archery in the past 3 olympic games didn’t make Syldor respect you, I doubt becoming internet famous will.”

“That might be because I competed on behalf of Emon and beat every pureblooded natural born son and daughter of Syngorn they sent up against me, along with the competitors from the Dwendali Empire, Marquet, and everywhere else,,” Vex said proudly. The memories of her father looking down on her archery skills back when she was 6 still hurt, he had only agreed to let her try after her stepmother convinced him to let her try. He had bet on her quitting in a week. Her stepmother had given her the gold piece when the two of them left to study abroad in Emon when they were 12. A reminder of the first time she forced her father to eat those words Devana said before sending her off with a kiss on the forehead and telling her to not make it the last.

“Syldor and the rest of them back in Syngorn would still respect you even if they hated you, the fact that they still don’t means they never will Stubby. So stop acting like having the best nature blog will make you anything more than an ambassador’s bastard half-blooded daughter to the stuffy elves back home and just enjoy your crush like a normal person,” Vax said as patiently as he could. He knew it probably wouldn’t get through, it wasn’t the first time they had this conversation, but Vex had a hard time letting their horrible childhood go.

“Whatever,” Vex said shrugging off her brother’s words, “why don’t you get out of here, I have a video to watch.”

Sighing Vax just decided to let it go, one issue at a time, “when you watch this time, maybe just forget about your one-sided rivalry with Keyleth for now and just watch her video. You know you always forget about how much you pretend to hate her once you see her break out in that embodiment of sunshine smile she always opens up with,” when Vex flipped him off in response he just let out a sigh and moved to the door. “Just try not to drool all over yourself this time or should I say don’t let her make you so mad you’ froth with rage,” he managed to say before he dashed out of the room dodging pillows that his sister was trying to assault him with.

Unfortunately for Vex this left her alone to deal with her brooding/crush over Keyleth. She wished Trinket was there, he always managed to make her feel better, but a bear wasn’t meant for a populated area, the woods near Emon were fine since he was less than a mile away at worst, but it still didn’t mean his absence wasn’t felt. She had a cabin deeper in the woods on private property that Trinket stayed in or around most days. It worked for Trinket and it worked for her wilderness videos.

She waited to watch the newest Druid Diaries, she knew it would be fantastic even if she could only see the thumbnail. It was of Keyleth sitting up in between two tree branches, she was smiling of course, wearing her classic green ensemble with her iconic antler crown framing her long mane of red hair. Initially she thought that Keyleth had a lot of followers and fans because she was a pretty girl. There were always idiots who followed pretty girls who made videos, Vex knew first hand when she was starting out, but that wasn’t the secret to Keyleth’s success. While she was adorably charming in a clumsy sort of way Keyleth did know her stuff when it came to animals and plants, even if she seemed a bit ditzy at first glance.

Quietly, Vex wondered where Keyleth was going to be shooting this month. The druid seemed a nomad at heart and despite loving each location she got to she only spent a month or so in an area to explore all the natural world had to offer with a video showing up each week before moving on. Vasselheim was an exception though, Keyleth seemed to fall in love with the ancient city and it’s forests full of magical beasts and stayed a whole 4 months before moving on. Her fans loved it though, everything from the forests and the monsters, to the way their idol had explored the ancient city. She had spent so long there that there was speculation on her forum that she had joined the legendary Slayer’s Take hunter’s guild.

Vex had always wanted to go but had never gotten the nerve to. But she would one day, she’d take Trinket there and explore the forests, see the wild magical beasts that hunted in those woods, maybe she’d even join the Slayer’s Take. It was supposed to be a pretty open guild, once you took a contract you needed to fulfill it but it also didn’t have a requirement to keep taking contracts.

That didn’t matter right now though, she had to watch the new video her enemy put out. Despite what her brother thought Vex did not find Keyleth attractive, just annoyingly beautiful and awkwardly charming, but not attractive no sir. Realizing she was just justifying her actions to herself, Vex let out a sigh and started Keyleth’s newest video. It was long enough that she’d by the time she finished she’d be able to watch Keyleth’s live Q&A segment that she always did after the first week. Every now and then her phone would go off to tell her that she had a new notification, something she normally checked religiously, but she ignored them, when it was Keyleth’s video watching time the building would be on fire and she wouldn't notice, which had happened before.

“Hey there Kikinuts,” Keyleth started out with her camera zoomed in way too far so they could only see her right eye. Vex gave a snort, this meant Keyleth was doing things solo, her best friend and camera man when he could Percy wouldn't have let her start a video like that. “Oh sorry, let me adjust that,” she said zooming out a bit until her whole face was in the video. “There we go,” Keyleth said giving the camera a smile and Vex felt her heart speed up. ‘Shut up Vax,’ she thought out loud to a brother that wasn’t there. Keyleth might have had the most gorgeous green eyes Vex had ever seen, but it was her face that she could, and have stared at for hours.

Vex couldn’t help but notice how the morning sun just lit up Keyleth’s long mane of untamed red hair like a sea of rubies or fire. She looked beautiful, Vex could admit that much as she sighed feeling the anger towards the innocent woman whose only crime was being more popular than she was and making her feel weird things.

“I hope you all enjoyed my last month in Whitestone, the home of my best friend and assistant Percival Fredrickstein Von Martini Koala De Rolo the Third,” she giggled. it was a running gag in her videos for Percy’s name to be unpronounceable to anyone other than him. “Unfortunately,” Keyleth said sobering up a bit, “Percy decided to take a bit of a leave of absence for a while. Don’t worry, we’re still a duo and having broken up or anything, he just needed some time to himself. Seeing his childhood home and his family made him feel a bit nostalgic so he decided to stay with them for a while to catch up. You can still keep up with him @Pderolo3 and of course you can follow me @TempestOfAntlers if you aren’t already. Remember if you like this video, leave a like and subscribe, maybe even a comment. Just a reminder because this is the first week of the month, I will be doing a live Q&A session 2 hours after the video airs so send in your questions. It’s weird to be saying that since it will be the future by then but it’s what we’ve been doing. Any way,” Keyleth said giving her fingers a snap, “now that that’s out of the way, we can start our video for real.”

It started off like it usually did with videos of her hiking for a bit and just enjoying the sounds of nature all around her. Vex didn’t usually like this part, it was fine but Keyleth did her best to be quiet for the first few minutes or so and as much as Vex loved nature, sometimes trees just looked like trees, and she had enough trees in whenever she went to visit Trinket. These trees didn’t look any different, which made Vex sit up, actually not only did they not look any different, those were the same trees she saw whenever she visited Trinket, the exact same trees. “Here I am in the Forests of Emon, the capital of Tal'Dorei, and home to Sovereign Uriel Tal’Dorei the Third,” Keyleth said breaking into the talking points of her show where she would list the history but Vex didn’t hear her. She was paralyzed frozen by the information that Keyleth Zephara was literally a few miles away in the forests she walked and hiked in for years.

It wasn’t until Keyleth got a familiar furry visitor, a large brown mass of fur lumbered into the clearing that Keyleth was currently filming in. The two of them stared at each other dumbstruck, neither expecting the other and Vex had a mini heart attack. She knew that Trinket was the sweetest being in creation, but he was still a wild animal, she knew that Trinket wouldn’t attack Keyleth but that didn’t mean that Keyleth wouldn’t attack him thinking she was in danger. Keyleth might not be a warrior, but she was a powerful druid, Vex had seen videos where Keyleth turned into sharks, or tigers, or giant rock monsters, she could destroy Trinket in a fight.

“Alright viewers,” Keyleth whispered into her camera, “I am going to show you how I deal with wild animals that could be potentially dangerous. Just a warning, don’t try this at home unless you are a druid to and even then, I wouldn’t recommend it.” With that she put her phone down so she was still in view, and for a minute she glowed.

Vex was about to run outside with her arrows, crush or not if Keyleth hurt her baby she’d shove an arrow so far up that bitch’s ass that. Luckily her rational side took over before she could do something stupid, it said that this video happened a week ago so even if she did rush out she’d be too late. Also, it said that she always knew when Trinket was in danger thanks to their bond so she had nothing to worry about. She had felt him be nervous during the storm that was after when Keyleth would have shot her video.

“Hello,” Keyleth said in a deeper voice than normal, “I am Keyleth,” her voice said was heavy and harsher than normal, like she was growling. Trinket just let out a large roar in response, Vex could tell he wasn’t angry or scared, just curious, “Oh, you speak common,” Keyleth said in response, “that makes things easier.”

Trinket growled back friendlier than before, “okay so you’re Trinket,” Keyleth responded, “it’s very nice to meet you Trinket,” she said giving Trinket a scratch on the chin. And Vex’s heart started to calm down a little, it also tried not to melt. Seeing the girl of her dreams befriending her son was not something she ever thought she’d see, but it did things to her. Not dirty things, but familial things that she hadn’t dreamed of feeling in a long time.

“You’re very nice for a wild bear,” Keyleth started to say, “I don't mean that other bears aren’t nice wild or not,” she said backtracking. “It’s just most wild bears I meet aren’t so nice or understand common. Oh you’re Vex’s bear,” Keyleth said excitedly and Vex’s heart just froze. The notifications were going off on her phone like crazy now and to the point where Vex had to plug her headphones into her laptop just so she could watch what could be her most important moment of her life. “Wow that’s amazing, I didn’t realize she had a bear, especially one as cute and cuddly as you,” she said in a cutesy baby tone as she gave Trinket a belly rub.

“No,” Keyleth responded to one of Trinket’s growls, “never meet Vex personally, I saw her up close once though,” she said surprising Vex. “It was during the games before last, I went there with my father to represent the Ashari tribes. We don’t exactly have the numbers for athletes to compete, but we were invited to spectate the games. It was a great honor for the tribes, but I was nervous, most of the competitors were hyper focused on their own events they didn’t have time for anyone who wasn’t a fellow athlete, a coach, or the press so I was lost. I didn’t feel like I belonged there so part of me wanted to just curl up and cry in my room from nerves and anxiety. Then at one of the dinner after the opening ceremonies, I saw her, arguing with another athlete form Syngorn despite her being a whole head shorter than him and probably ten years younger, and winning. I think probably the coolest girl I’ve ever seen and she was my age. I didn’t introduce myself back then, I was still too nervous to, but just seeing her stand up for herself made me feel braver. I kind of became a Vex fangirl after that,” Keyleth said kind of dreamily, maybe? It sounded dreamily to Vex who was trying really hard not to get her hopes up. This couldn’t’ be real right?

This couldn’t be happening, this was something after a cheesy romcom, granted it would normally happen with dogs opposed to bears, but Vex didn’t have a dog. “I went to each of her competitions and bought tons of her merchandise, I just was so into her.”

“Do you want to be,’ Vex thought absentminded, she really had no filter when she wasn’t paying attention.

“I got into vlogging because of her actually,” she said surprising Vex when she did. “I got a notification about her on google and saw her video for the first time and I don’t’ know I just subscribed then and there. Oh I don’t know why I’m tell you this Trinket,” Keyleth said looking cute and Vex thought her heart couldn’t take it.

“Oh Vex talked about me with you before,” Keyleth asked excitedly and Vex’s heart dropped, oh no.

For a moment she just watched and listened while Trinket growled amicably with a big smile on her face. Slowly though her smile seemed to fade slowly to the point where she Vex could hear Keyleth’s heart break, “I see she said that about me,” now it sounded like the Druid was about to cry. “I guess I could see that, she isn’t the first person to say things like that about me. I think we should move along, there are so many nice things to see in Emon,” but now she sounded like a carebear who was told love didn’t exist.

Vex’s alarm went off to let her know that Keyleth’s Q&A and Vex immediately shut her alarm off and saw she had hundreds of notifications. Some were “Why are you being mean to Keyleth,” or “I don’t get where you get off being mean to Keyleth, she’s great while you’re the worst,” which seeing how she was feeling right now she couldn’t disagree. Others were worse unfortunately, “I’m with you, Keyleth is an overrated bitch,” or “Keyleth is a cunt who doesn’t know anything and needs to shut her trap. Team Vex all the way,” which got a block from Vex right away. Even a few gross ones that say things like “if the two of you are going to have a fight you should film it with jello to boost both your views.” Honestly she wouldn’t mind getting jello with Keyleth, but she wasn’t’ going to have a catfight in it, at least not for people to watch.

Immediately she turned on Keyleth’s live stream and saw that the area she was filming in was partially destroyed. In the background of her shot though there was a cabin that looked far to familiar. “Hi there Kikinuts. There was a bit of a storm the last few days so sorry I’ve been out of communication. But I’m here and safe, my friend Trinket actually brought me to this nice cabin that belongs to his owner,” she gestured to the, “he took me to where the spare key was so we could both stay safe and dry. I just want you to know Ms. Vex’ahlia if you’re watching this I’m sorry, I never would have trespassed if it wasn’t an emergency. I’ll leave money for whatever I took to survive, I didn’t mean to intrude upon your space.”

“Oh fuck,” Vex swore aloud, the way Keyleth said her name now, it was so meek and formal, she’d talk to her father’s business associates like that growing up.

“Anyway, enough about me,” Keyleth said, “lets here from you guys, what do you want to ask me?” She started scrolling through the chat, “Alright let’s see here there…, there’s a lot of questions asking what the deal between me and Vex’ahlia,” Keyleth said with an aggravated sigh, “look, I don’t know. Like I said I was a huge fan of Vex, and if I could maybe talk to her, I still can be. I know this kind of seemed like I dropped this on you guys, but I’ve been wracking my brain over this for the last week. Maybe I insulted her some way when we were kids by accident or something, but I don’t really know what I could have done to make her…, upset with me but I don’t’ want to start guessing on here without talking to each other first. Since I’m in Emon I thought maybe I’d send her a message to see if we could meet up IRL and maybe clear the air without any cameras or people watching. Maybe I can apologize for whatever I did to offend her. Just don’t send her hate, like I said she’s still the coolest woman I’ve ever seen and Trinket here loves her,” she pointed over to Trinket the traitor who was just rolling around in the dirt being a happy bear. “He’s been talking about how much he loves his mommy all week and how great she is. So I’m sure this is just a problem on my end that I hope we can fix. I get enough hate because of what I do, I don’t ever want anyone else to experience that, especially over me,” her big green eyes were full of sincerity.

“Anyway,” she said trying to lighten the mood, “lets see about another question. Sorry, they’re going by really quickly so if I don’t’ get to yours I’m sorry, I’m not ignoring you it’s just hard to see them sometimes. Alright, how about this one,” she paused for a second before letting out a sigh of frustration, “no @AldarLoverL, I will not say what Vex said about me it’s private, she told her bear not me. I shouldn’t have learned it the way that I did so please stop asking. Moving on for…, are there any questions that aren’t about me and Vex’s so called feud?”

At that point Vex was already out the door rushing grabbing her keys and leaving her apartment. “Hey Vex,” Vax called her as she got to the front door, “are you watching…, I see you were watching Keyleth’s live stream.”

“I always do you know that, dear brother of mine,” Vex said trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. She loved her brother, her twin, the other part of her soul, but she needed to go to her cabin and clear the air. It was only a few miles away, on her bike she could be there in under 15 minutes.

“Are you really going to crash her livestream just to tell her that you don’t actually hate her?”

“Yeah or at least that was the plan,” she admitted, “she’s at my cabin with my son thinking that for the past week I hate her, I need to make things right. Now if you’ll excuse me,” and Vex was out the door quicker than her arrows. She tore down four flights of stairs faster than any sprinter she’d meet and got to the garage where she kept her other baby, “Death From Above”. It was a nice looking motorcycle that Vex loved to ride, she had beaten some crazy dragonborn necromancer in pool for it but it was hers. DFA was loud but it was fast and it got her where she was going and it made Vex feel like she was flying.

It was a quick ride, luckily there was no traffic the way to the cabin, once she was off the main road it was just a barely paved dirt road to get to her little slice of heaven. By the time she got to the cabin her heart was still pounding, she all but jumped off her bike and ran to the back where she recognized Keyleth was filming. She got back there right as she started to realize she had no idea what she was doing, Keyleth was still shooting her Q&A, it usually lasted an hour. Vex’s body moved before her mind could catch up and she was around the corner face to face with Keyleth before she realized these things.

Sweet Pelor the Ashari woman was more beautiful and cute in person, for a good thirty seconds they looked at each other not saying anything, Keyleth shocked just as much as she was. “I was watching your stream,” Vex started to explain, “after watching your last video. I saw you were at my cabin and were talking to my bear. I just wanted to say I don’t’ hate you, Trinket made a mistake. And now I realize how unprofessional this is, crashing your shoot,” Vex said awkwardly slinking behind the corner of her cabin embarrassed.

“Excuse me,” Vex heard Keyleth say to her viewers, and followed Vex.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Vex said her head in her hands sitting on the deck of the cabin That was one of the most embarrassing things that she had done.

“No, you don’t have to apologize for anything,” Keyleth assured her, “I mean it’s your cabin after all, I’m just trespassing.”

“Trinket showed you where the key was, that means you’re a guest,” Vex said giving her an attempt at a smile.

“This is not how I expected to meet you,” Keyleth said taking a seat next to Vex on the porch.

“Well if we’re being fair I didn’t you’d ever talk to my bear and spend the week thinking I hated you,” Vex said

“So…, you don’t hate me,” Keyleth asked quietly unsure if she was going to like the answer. “Trinket said you don’t say a lot of good things about me when you talk to him.”

“I promise Keyleth I don’t’ hate you,” Vex swore, “Look, it’s nothing you did, I just…, I have issues. I promise, I’ll make a video telling everyone that I don’t’ hate you, post an apology letter, anything you want. I owe you that much.”

“Well…,” Keyleth said thinking, “I mean you already said you didn’t hate me in my segment. Do you maybe want to come on with me and we can put the rumors to death for real?”

“You really don’t’ mind if I’m in your video,” Vex asked incredulously. She expected Keyleth to hate her for making her think that she was hated.

“I mean I kind of dreamed of collaborated with you for a while,” Keyleth said her cheeks red, “I wasn’t lying when I said you were the reason I got into making videos.”

“Let’s do it, if it’s really okay,” Vex said standing up face to face with Keyleth. She never realized how tall Keyleth was, even without the antlers she was almost half a foot taller than Vex. It was kind of a turn on.

“Great,” Keyleth said jumping up and down in excitement and hugged her. Vex never thought she’d feel like Elenore to Keyleth’s Tahani but, to quote the Good Place, “of course your hugs are amazing.”

Five minutes later they were in front of Keyleth’s camera starting their collaboration. “Hi Kikinuts, I’m back, sorry about that. I just had to work a few things out with my special surprise guest, Vex’ahlia of Vex’halia’s Visions.”

“That’s Keyleth, you can call me Vex though,” Vex said, not wanting to tell her that she liked it when Keyleth used her shortened name, it made her smile. “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by,” she cursed herself for sounding so stupid. Of course, she was in the neighborhood this was her cabin. “I was watching your lasted video, which was great by the way,” she said turning to Keyleth, “you know up until you met Trinket, my animal companion.”

“Yeah, he’s wonderful but I think we got a bit confused,” Keyleth admitted.

“He’s my beautiful baby boy, but as much as I love him, he’s still a bear and doesn’t always understand the things I tell him. So I’m sorry about that, I can defanetly say that I don’t hate you Keyleth, I’ve actually a big fan. Subscribed the moment I saw your videos.”

“Well that’s really sweet, I’m glad that we got all that cleared out of the way, because like I said I’m a big fan of yours too,” Keyleth said giving her warm smile that shot through the heart. “Hear that views, Vex doesn’t hate me and I don’t hate her so maybe we can drop the whole thing, it was a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really mean it when I said those things to him about you,” Vex explained without thinking, only to realize what she said when they came out of her mouth.

“Oh,” Keyleth said and the look on her face could make puppies cry, “so you did say those things about me.”

“Keyleth not like that,” Vex said she was normally so cool and good with her words, what was it about this girl that made her so stupid.

“It’s fine Vex,” Keyleth said trying to keep her smile on her face despite also looking like she was going to cry.

“I’m such an ass, it really wasn’t like that Keyleth,” Vex said turning away and saw the chat was exploding asking them over and over what she meant, or what she said. It was starting to get aggravating.

“Vex,” Keyleth said meeting her eye, despite looking hurt the druid’s eyes were also strong, “it’s okay, you said you don’t hate me and are a fan and I believe you. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“Keyleth..,” Vex started she’d rather be vulnerable than let Keyleth think she hated her. “It’s true, I said those horrible things about you, I’d say it pretty often, Trinket being a bear only knows the words. If he was a person he might understand the nuance a bit better. I’m not exactly the best person, I’m really competitive and don’t really know…, pretty girls make me stupid, especially the ones that I have a crush on, not the best combination,” and there it was she just admitted in front of all Keyleth’s fans and the woman herself that she had a crush on her. “Like I said, if Trinket was a people person maybe he’d understand that, since all my friends have told me I have a crush on you despite my name calling.” There it was, Vex didn’t do vulnerable, but hey, it was a crazy situation and she didn’t have time to think about it.

“Oh,” was all Keyleth could say as she blushed as red as her hair.

“You don’t’ have to say anything,” Vex assured her. “I know this isn’t how you thought your day was going to go I just felt like being honest to avoid any more confusion.”

Keyleth started to hyperventilate and pulled out a paper bag. Vex was right, this definitely wasn’t how she expected her day to go. “Shit,” Vex said and rushed into the house to fetch Keyleth a glass of water. By the time she was back Keyleth seemed to calm down a little, at least enough to drink the glass of water. “I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t expect that reaction,”

“No need to apologize,” Keyleth said after finishing the water, “its just not everyday your first crush surprises you a dozen times over and admits to having a crush on you. Let’s turn this off,” she said jumping up and turning her camera off to the outrage of the chat. “We’ll tell you guys about what happens later,” Keyleth promised before signing off. She started to pinch her arm wondering if this was all just a crazy dream, maybe she died in the storm and this was hell.

“We don’t’ have to do anything about this Keyleth, hell, we didn’t even know each other before today. If you want we could write the whole thing off as a skit we made together to show people we don’t’ actually hate each other. We can say it was my idea,” Vex offered.

“I don’t want to do that,” Keyleth said firmly, “I’m not going to lie about how I feel. It’s just,” she started to say her face falling, “I’ve never dated anyone before, I’m a mess when it comes to talking to people, that’s why I move around so much and shoot videos in the woods with my only friend. I’ve had a crush on you for so long, but it’s always been from a far. What happens if I ruin that, what happens when I ruin that, I won’t even have my stupid childish crush to fall back on.”

“Well why don’t we start off small,” Vex suggested, “we don’t have to get together and go steady right now, maybe we can start off with something small. My name is Vex’ahlia Vessar, I’m a nature vlogger and 3 time gold winning medalist in archery,” she said holding out her hand, “it’s nice to meet you.”

For a moment Keyleth could only laugh, not at Vex, but at the whole situation, still, she took Vex’s outstretched hand, “Keyleth Zephara of the Ashari, the future voice of the Tempest and a nature vlogger as well.”

Those little gestures became conversations, those conversations became long talks and before you knew it, like and then love. Keyleth wound up spending a record six months in Emon, despite the forests being nice but not impressive. If it was Vex and Trinket’s home then it was the most amazing place in the world. And when she left Emon after those six months, she didn’t leave alone, she was never alone again.

I really needed to wrap that up, the ending was getting away from me. This was supposed to be a quick silly modern youtuber au that got out of hand. Originally it was supposed to end with Trinket telling Keyleth about Vex’s crush on her, but for some reason I added a lot of unnecessary drama. Oh well it’s done and I hope you enjoyed it. I realize that the characters are kind of ooc, but like I said they kind of got away from me.

I also don’t know why I made Vex an Olympic athelet, it just kind of fit since she is a ranger class still, despite the world not really needing adventurers as much as it did in the old days. Still, I did it and it’s done. For anyone interested, I’d say that they’re around level 10, sort of when everything picks up in the campaign.

#critical role #vox machina #vexleth #vex #vex'ahlia #keyleth #keyleth of the air ashari #crfemslashweek #critrolefemslashweek #fanfiction #fanfic

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dragon-temeraire · 6 years

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Werewolf Chaser

Summary: He’d never thought Stiles would be a werewolf chaser—someone who only saw werewolves as a way to fulfill their kinks—although in hindsight he probably should have, considering the number of inappropriate questions Stiles had asked him over the years.

Notes: A ‘werewolves are known’ AU that I’ve been thinking about for a while. I figure if there are werewolves in society, then you’ll also have people who only view them as some sort of novelty, and would never have a serious relationship with one. (On AO3)

Once he’d gotten out of high school, Stiles had taken full advantage of his fresh start, and had begun dating and—as Derek had been informed by his own traitorous nose—having sex. None of this really surprised Derek—Stiles was quite attractive, once he stopped getting in his own way and learned how to talk to people without oversharing.

And he’d been bemoaning his lack of action for years, so Derek had expected him to jump at the chance to get laid. The thing Derek hadn’t expected, though, was for all the hookups and relationships to be exclusively with werewolves.

He’d never thought Stiles would be a werewolf chaser—someone who only saw werewolves as a way to fulfill their kinks—although in hindsight he probably should have, considering the number of inappropriate questions Stiles had asked him over the years.

But it was undeniable; all the signs were there, and Stiles constantly reeked of other werewolves. Derek was fairly certain Stiles had not so much as kissed a regular human.

And as much as Derek is attracted to Stiles, as much as he’d hoped Stiles would be interested in him in return, he isn’t going to lower himself to being someone’s fetish. It’s taken a long time to realize he’s worth more than that, but now that he has, he’s not giving that up.

Not for anyone.

Things are quiet for a while, as Stiles gets busy with his classes and can’t come to visit very often, and all the other members of the pack are either at their own colleges, or doing their own projects. Which leaves Derek with a lot of time to read, cook, and fix up the loft.

But then he’s out, walking to the grocery store because he forgot a few things, when he turns the corner and catches sight of Stiles. It’s a bit of a shock, because he hadn’t heard anything about Stiles coming into town—the Sheriff is kind enough to keep him posted—so Derek is entirely unprepared. Especially because Stiles is with another werewolf, of course, and they’re smiling and holding hands as they walk together.

He has to work to keep his expression neutral as they pass by, and limits himself to a polite nod so he won’t say anything he regrets. Though he tries to avoid it, he ends up catching a whiff of the sex they’d recently had, and it makes his stomach turn sour.

Hopefully by the time he’s gotten his groceries, the scent of Stiles and his werewolf boyfriend will be long gone.

A few weeks later, Stiles shows up to a ‘pack meeting’ (it’s just movie night, nothing important is being discussed) with a different werewolf.

He doesn’t smell of sex this time, but when Derek sees the shallow row of scratches down Stiles’ neck, he immediately gets up and leaves. It’s clear that Stiles is really into werewolf sex, likes them to be partially shifted, and Derek didn’t want to know.

It’s just further proof that Stiles is only a chaser.

Derek scowls the entire drive back, hands clenching on the wheel. And to his annoyance, once he’s back in the quiet solitude of the loft, he still can’t concentrate on a single thing.

He doesn’t go to the next movie night.

That keeps him from wanting to put his claws into something, but it doesn’t stop Stiles from showing up to his loft the next day.

“Hey, Derek,” he says casually. “You have something really important to do last night?”

“No,” Derek says shortly, setting his book down. Then he just crosses his arms and waits.

“Oh, I figured you did, considering you missed movie night,” Stiles says, a false lightness to his tone. “And you never miss movie night.”

It’s true. Derek has always considered it an excellent pack bonding opportunity, and makes a point to be there every time.

“Didn’t feel like watching The Notebook again,” he says coolly, because he doesn’t owe Stiles an explanation.

“It wasn’t Lydia’s turn to pick,” Stiles says. “But you knew that.” There’s a long pause. “Were you mad that I brought someone who wasn’t a pack member?”

“No,” Derek bites out, glad Stiles can’t hear the lie in his heartbeat. He’s so conflicted about wanting Stiles but simultaneously not wanting Stiles, and it’s driving him up the wall. “It’s always open to friends and family.”

Stiles’ eyes narrow calculatingly. “Then why didn’t you go?”

I didn’t want to see you all over some random werewolf, Derek wants to say, but keeps inside. Instead, he goes with the most honest answer he can: “I didn’t feel like it.”

“Okay,” Stiles says, nodding slowly, clearly thinking something over. “Sure. But you should come next time, okay? Jackson’s probably going to pick Remember the Titans, and I know you love that movie.”

“Yeah,” Derek says faintly, not sure how Stiles knows.

By the time he thinks to ask, Stiles is gone.

At the next movie night, Stiles is alone. He sits quietly next to Derek on the couch and eats popcorn, casual and calm, like nothing is different at all. And when Derek gives a tentative sniff, Stiles just smells like himself, and like the pack. No one else.

There’s something in his body language, though, something a little defensive, a little tired, that makes Derek wonder if he had a bad breakup. If maybe Stiles is caught in a cycle of negative thoughts, the way Derek gets sometimes.

And Stiles is usually the one to snap him out of those, so.

He sticks his hand into Stiles’ popcorn bowl, grabbing as much as he can and stuffing it into his mouth, just to hear Stiles squawk in complaint. He gets so passionate about the rights to his popcorn—acting outraged but really trying to hide his smile—that Isaac makes a loud groan and flings a pillow at him.

His aim is perfect, and Stiles’ stunned expression after it bounces off his face has Derek laughing harder than he has in a long time. When he manages to catch his breath, still grinning, he glances over and sees Stiles smiling back at him. He feels certain that Stiles has forgotten all about any exes.

Instead, he just looks content.

When Derek walks into the diner, he spots Stiles talking to a pretty werewolf Derek’s seen around town occasionally, even though her pack is based further north. He’s about to make his exit, not really wanting to see Stiles on a date, when the werewolf gives Stiles a small smile and leaves without looking back.

It’s then that Stiles catches sight of Derek, and he quickly waves him over.

“You get turned down?” Derek asks curiously. As far as he can tell, Stiles hasn’t even placed an order yet. Maybe it wasn’t a date after all.

“Huh?” Stiles says distractedly, busy playing with a straw wrapper. “No, the other way around, actually. I turned her down.”

“Really?” Derek can’t help saying, then feels like an asshole for thinking she’s a werewolf, isn’t that what you want?

“We’ve had fun together before,” Stiles says easily, shrugging. “But I’m not really looking for casual right now, and I think there’s a better option out there for me, anyway.” He gives Derek an almost shy smile, and Derek doesn’t know what to make of that.

He wonders, with a sort of dawning dread, if Stiles wants Derek to introduce him to some werewolf he has his eye on. Derek is not up for that. But he’s not even sure if he knows any single werewolves, so the point is moot anyway.

Stiles doesn’t seem bothered by Derek’s lack of response, and when the waitress comes he even orders him a milkshake.

Then they sit and talk about everything except Stiles’ love life while Stiles eats his burger, and Derek slowly sips on the milkshake. It’s delicious, exactly what he’d have ordered if he’d ever thought to get himself one.

He tries not to consider how thoughtful that is.

“Look, I know we kind of did this yesterday,” Stiles says nervously, standing beside Derek’s kitchen table. Derek slides his map of Beacon Hills aside, giving Stiles his full attention. “But I’d like to take you out on a date.”

Derek stiffens, hands clenching tight, because this is a situation he’d hoped would never happen. “No,” he says sharply, hating that he has to turn Stiles down. And…Stiles thought their moment at the diner yesterday was a date?

“I—” Stiles visibly deflates. “No?”

“I’m not going to be part of the string of werewolves that you,” he waves his hand irritably, “mess around with. I won’t date a werewolf chaser.” He’d done it once, flattered by the attention, and it had ended so, so badly for him.

Stiles’ head snaps up at that. “I’m not—” he goes to deny, then pauses. “Well, I guess technically I am a werewolf chaser, but I’ve only been chasing after one werewolf.”

Derek raises an eyebrow, trying to push down the hope burning in his chest. “Doesn’t look like that to me.”

Stiles winces. “I—Derek, I really liked you, but I felt like I had no chance.” He holds up a hand when Derek tries to say something. “I was a lame, awkward virgin who didn’t know the first thing about dating anyone, let alone a werewolf. So, I figured it’d be best to get some experience, and then I’d be ready if I ever got a chance with you. Which means that yes, I was with a lot of different werewolves. And I thought I’d just keep going on that way, because I was having fun, but all of a sudden it seemed like you were jealous of my dates. And I thought maybe I did have a chance with you. So I stopped, and decided I’d try asking you out instead.” He shakes his head, looking defeated. “You may not like hearing any of that, Derek, but I want you to know that all along they were just stand-ins for you.”

Stiles looks like he’s about to leave, so Derek blurts out, “I’m sorry. I thought it was just a fetish for you, that you were only into the claws and the fangs and the power.”

“To be fair, I do like all of those things,” Stiles says, smiling. “But I think I’d like them a lot better with you.”

“Only one way to find out,” Derek says. “So, how about that date?”

(They go on their date. It’s lovely. Then they go on a lot more. Derek is the last werewolf Stiles ever dates.)

#sterek #eternalsterek #misunderstandings #pining #fluff #my fic

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nellie-elizabeth · 5 years

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Outlander: If Not For Hope (4x11)

Lord John! My love!

Cons:

I actually really super-duper loved this episode. I liked both of the subplots, and of course I loved the Lord John and Brianna stuff. However, there are a couple of substantive complaints that I must talk about first, and then we're going to get in to the "nitpick corner" where I discuss a detail from the books that was altered very strangely.

Okay. First for the more significant problem. We're back at River Run with Brianna, which means we have to grapple with the fact that Jocasta Cameron owns slaves, and that Bree is benefiting from that. How is the question handled here? Brianna treats Phaedra like an equal while still letting her serve her, and glares at people who say racist stuff. That's pretty much it. I don't know how this issue is supposed to be treated in a narrative like this, and I'm not saying I envy the writers who have to work it out. But here, the fact that Phaedra and Ulysses are slaves, and that there are countless other slaves on the plantation, is treated as window dressing to a more interesting and relevant story, and that rubs me the wrong way.

I'm going to talk quite a bit about Lord John in this review, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, but first I want to discuss one change that was made from the source material that just kind of... confused me. It seemed to detract from the scene between Bree and John in a way that I don't understand. There were other changes from the book that I enjoyed, which I'll mention later, but there's just this one thing that felt odd to me. Brianna threatens that she'll tell everyone that John is a homosexual, and when John impresses upon her the seriousness of the punishment for that crime, Bree backs down slightly by saying "then I'll tell Jamie!" John gets this odd look on his face and then says "well, that's assuming that he doesn't already know," and he then points out that Jamie is far away so the threat is moot anyway. This moment reads like Lord John is bluffing Brianna, but we know that Jamie does know. In fact, it's a pretty significant aspect of their complicated relationship. In the book, John tells Brianna that Jamie knows, Bree is briefly confused, they talk some more about it, and Bree realizes just how much Jamie and John value each other as friends. It feels very odd to change virtually nothing else about the way this conversation goes down, but add this element that obfuscates an important piece of information. Maybe there's another conversation about it later? Who knows. It just felt very strange to me.

Pros:

Before gushing about John, I want to turn to the two subplots in this episode.

First, we have a couple of book-ending scenes showing us Roger, along with scenes showing Jamie, Claire, and Ian trying to track him down. Roger gets taken to the Mohawk camp and is immediately thrown into some sort of fight. Meanwhile, the Frasers follow his tracks and get help from the Cherokee in discovering his likely destination. Claire and Jamie are distant from one another, Jamie drowning in guilt while Claire holds on to her anger. In the end, Claire and Jamie talk and have a reconciliation, reunited in their quest to save Roger's life and Brianna's future.

There are a lot of things I love about this. For one, I love that Ian is tracking what's going on with his aunt and uncle, and wants to help smooth the way for them. Ian obviously feels a great deal of guilt as well, and hates to see his loved ones suffering. I also love that Jamie's contrition and guilt is so genuine and motivates him to such great lengths. There's this moment when Jamie reminds Claire that the two of them have suffered in the past, not knowing if the other is alive or dead. Now, Brianna suffers that same pain. This might seem like a small point, but I loved this moment of Jamie acknowledging that Brianna and Roger's relationship is as important and precious as Claire and Jamie's is. Jamie hasn't ever spoken to Roger, but his loyalty to his family will extend to Roger without question.

Then, you've got the Wilmington plot. Basically, Fergus and Murtagh are hunting for Stephen Bonnet. Also, Marsali wants to boost Fergus' confidence by having Murtagh invite him to join the Regulators. This material is very different from the books, of course, mainly because Murtagh is still around.

I love the relationship between Murtagh, Fergus, and Marsali, and all of the loyalties and interplay that we see between these three. The whole thing with Marsali asking Murtagh for a favor in order to help Fergus' confidence is actually lifted straight from the books, only in Dragonfly in Amber, it's a setup between Jenny, Jamie, and Ian. Jenny asks Jamie to take Ian with him to fight in the Jacobite uprising. Ian says no, his place is with his family. It's an element from the books that I quite liked, and it was fun to see it re-purposed here.

Also, Fergus is such a darling. I love seeing his loyalty to Murtagh, and to his family. Watching him coo over little Germain is honestly so precious. And Marsali is coming more and more into her own as a character. She's headstrong and knows what she wants, but she's also considerate and understanding. She's a great wife and mother! Murtagh protects Fergus in the end by letting himself get taken captive, which is the bad news. The good news is that at least they succeed in getting Stephen Bonnet arrested too. Again, because Murtagh's involvement is so different from the books, I'm really excited to see how it plays out over the last two episodes.

And we're back to my darling Lord John. I'm going to try and be brief and just list a few of the things that I found really compelling about the plot at River Run.

- Brianna's interest in drawing. Yeah, I wish the issue of slavery was being treated a bit more delicately here, but I did still like the moment when Bree draws Phaedra.

- Billy Boyd as Mr. Forbes. It was smart to make this character genuinely likable, if a bit clownish. I genuinely felt a bit sorry for him at the end. Also, it's always fun to see familiar faces appear in Outlander.

- One change I really liked from the source material is that Brianna discovers Lord John's sexuality because Lord John and another of Bree's suitors are having a dalliance. In the books, Bree catches Lord John on his way back from the slave's quarters, I believe. The plot significance remains the same - Brianna finds out something about Lord John that she can use to blackmail him into marriage. But the way it is in the books, it comes with a lot of icky implications surrounding slaves and consent and all that. Not exactly something I want to watch this show grapple with. Also, I liked the acting moment when the other guy got up from the table and we just watch Lord John follow him with his eyes. We know what's up.

- Another more complex change that I enjoyed was Brianna's specific motivations for asking Lord John to marry her. There's a conversation with Jocasta that really nails it home for her - if her child is born a bastard, it's going to make Brianna's life, and the life of her child, significantly more challenging, given the time period. Bree is also worried a bit about Roger, given that he might not want to marry her when she's not sure if the child is his or not. In the book, I recall Brianna being worried that Roger would feel obligated to marry her, and that she doesn't want to put him in that position. It worked out fine in the book, but I like how they've sort of streamlined the situation in the show.

More broadly, let's just talk about how amazing Lord John is. He's so earnest, and kind. I love how he reacts when he realizes that Bree is pregnant. He rushes to assure her: "your father didn't tell me about this," and then listens without judgment as Brianna explains the situation. One of my favorite moments is when Brianna asks John, point blank: "will you marry me?" John has this smile of amusement on his face, as he waits for the punchline of the joke, and then you can just see his expression fade to one of disbelief and horror: "Oh, dear God in Heaven." I love it. So much. Also, I love that even though Brianna is blackmailing John here, he doesn't freak out or slip up. You can tell that he's very good at obfuscation, and that he's always managed to deflect suspicion in the past. When he realizes that this isn't going to work on Brianna, he immediately switches to a tightly controlled anger, as he asks if Brianna would really tell his secret and condemn him.

Of course, I love that Lord John's love for Jamie is still on display in such a big way. He refers to him by his first name and says that Jamie is one of the people he holds most dear. Although Jamie's affection for John isn't a focus of the episode, we also get hints of Jamie's regard. He sent John a note and asked him to go out of his way to check on Brianna. He didn't reveal any specifics of the situation, but trusted John to look after his daughter. That's cute.

One of the overarching themes in the entire Outlander series is one of parent/child relationships. We see this with Jamie a lot, obviously, as he has to grapple with meeting his daughter, and the fact that his son doesn't know the truth of his parentage, but also with his relationships with his foster or stepchildren, like with Fergus and Marsali. Brianna is now grappling with the fact that the child she is carrying may be Rogers, or may be the product of rape. I love the fact that Brianna trusts John with this information, and John finds the perfect way to comfort her. He talks about his son, about how he loves him more than life itself, and about how there's no blood relation between them. I love that Brianna tries to compliment Lord John by telling him he's kind to raise another person's son, but John shuts that down. He loves William for his own self. He's not raising someone else's kid, he's raising his own. This would have been a perfectly logical moment for John to ruminate on the fact that William is Jamie's son, but it's not about that. It's about William as his own person, as John's amazing son. I love that.

So now we have Lord John pretending to be Brianna's fiance, to help shield her from other offers. I love it. It's one of the weirdest but best things that happens in these stories, to have these paths cross in such an odd way. I love how Jocasta is just so thrilled that Brianna managed to bag a Lord. It's hilarious. And I'm so excited to see how things play out in the next two weeks. I know I'm supposed to be worried about Roger, and I am, in an abstract sort of way. But I find myself way more interested in Brianna 's story, as well as the Wilmington plot. Here's hoping for lots more Lord John next week!

8.5/10

#review #outlander #outlander review

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 6 years

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Deadpool 2 review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ PAST THE BREAK WITH CAUTION!

It’s about time I reviewed this.

I put off reviewing this movie because of some barely-worth-mentioning drama, and it has been on the backburner for months. But after finally watching the Super Duper Cut, it’s time to break my silence and talk about this year’s biggest breath of fresh air and its funniest comedy.

Deadpool 2 is the Aliens of superhero movies. It takes the groundwork laid out by an already fantastic first film and just amps up everything: the humor, the action, the character interactions, all of it is just fine tuned and perfected. Where the first film was an impressive work for a first-time director, blending a romantic arc and an origin story together while delivering all the fun and laughs you’d expect from a character like Deadpool, this movie features a lot more impressive action, which is fitting since it’s given to us by the man behind John Wick and Atomic Blonde, while still delivering all sorts of gut-busting laughs and wonderful character interactions.

So what sort of mess has Wade gotten into this time? Well, after a life-changing event, Wade is down in the dumps and trying to figure out what to do with himself. In his attempts at straightforward X-Men style heroism he ends up being sent to jail alongside the superpowered kid he was trying to save, Russel. Russel soon ends up as the target of the time-travelling cyborg badass known as Cable, and after getting the shit kicked out of him Wade realizes his true calling: saving this kid from Cable. Armed with guns, katanas, a bigger budget, and his all-new X-Force team, can Wade hope to stop Cable from axing Russel?

The beauty of this film is, ultimately, how it manages to subvert expectations. A lot of movies lately have made being subversive into a big selling point; sometimes it works out really well and the movie is all the better for it - see Infinity War, a film that features the heroes failing miserably and ending on a shot of the villain contentedly relaxing after committing galactic genocide, the opposite of what you’d expect from a superhero blockbuster. Sometimes, it works poorly - see The Last Jedi, which features things going the opposite of how you’d expect due to bad writing and characters acting like idiots and trusting the shadiest people possible, the sort of idiocy we thought Star Wars had moved on from after the first two prequels. And then you have films like this, where everything is subverted for hilarity. And nothing in the world is funnier than how it subverts your expectations for Deadpool’s X-Force. Filled with unique and quirky characters like Shatterstar (who remains an alien from Mojoworld, meaning that Mojo is in fact canon in the X-Men cinematic universe. Put him in a movie, Fox) and big names like Bill Skarsgard as Zeitgeist and Terry Crews as Bedlam, not to mention the hilarious everyman without powers that is Peter, the film builds up and hypes their big skydiving scene, blasting “Thunderstruck” as they leap from the plane onto a convoy to save Russel from Cable…

...And then each and every one of them dies brutally, painfully, and horribly. And HILARIOUSLY, that’s the most important thing. I don’t think there is a funnier bit of black comedy in any other film, let alone a superhero film. Even funnier is that the invisible character, who has not spoken a word and who one could easily assume did not actually exist, has an amusing reveal right upon his death, which is the most hilariously wasteful use of an actor I have ever seen. The entire scene is just brilliant in its subversion of our expectations for a badass new hero team, helped for once by the advertising, which built things up so one would expect this team to stick around.

Of course, we have one survivor - Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, a mutant with luck-based powers. She’s one of the numerous highlights of this film, and she plays the character with the laid-back, rolls-with-the-punches attitude a character like Domino deserves. Frankly, I like her a bit more than her comic version. And speaking of new characters, let’s talk about the best new element of the film, Deadpool’s beleaguered badass bro-for-life, Cable. Played by Josh Brolin - complete with the requisite references to The Goonies and Infinity War from Deadpool - he is the ultimate straight man, his gritty, grim badassery contrasting to Deadpool’s zany, wacky bullshit. Of course, that’s not to say Cable gets no good laughs; there’s something to be said for a man who can growl “Dubstep is for pussies” with a straight face. I’m fully of the mind Cable is the best addition to the movie, and I’m praying we get even more of him and Wade interacting in potential sequels.

Then we have our special guest of the hour, the character we’ve all wanted in the X-Men universe, the one, the only, the unstoppable motherfucker to end all motherfuckers… IT’S THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH. And lord is he incredible, especially compared to the dipshit from The Last Stand. Sadly he does not utter “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” at all in the film, but he does rip Wade in half, confirm he’s Xavier’s half-brother, and threaten to turn Colossus into a cock ring, so it all evens out in the end. In this film, he actually FEELS unstoppable, and though he’s only onscreen in the third act, he definitely uses that screentime effectively, delivering the epic, ultimate smackdown between him and Colossus in what Deadpool helpfully informs us is the movie’s big CGI fight scene.

And speaking of Colossus, he’s even better here than in the first film. His interactions with Wade are hilarious and priceless, which is aided by Wade’s blatant crush on him - Wade at one point gropes his ass, and there is a romantic musical scene that calls back to a similar scene in the first film. He also gets a bit of character growth here, which is great and unexpected. Sadly I can’t say the same for Negasonic Teenage Warhead; she’s relegated to a bit part here, which is a damn shame since she was one of the highlights of the first film. On the plus side, not only is she revealed to be gay, but her girlfriend Yukio is absolutely adorable and charming… though, sadly, she also gets very little to do in the film aside from a cute running gag with her and Wade cheerily exchanging greetings.

Stuff like that is honestly the biggest problem with the film, and even then, the biggest problem is what amounts to a nitpick. Yes, it does suck that some of the characters are underutilized, but it’s hard to be too angry when the rest of the film is so gutbustingly hilarious and action-packed. One thing that did disappoint me a fair bit is Vanessa getting killed in the movie’s opening. Now, unlike many others, I’m not going to whine about “stuffing her in the fridge,” because I think that concept is so absolutely stupid and is used for literally every time a woman gets killed in a story, even if it makes sense for the story and progresses the plot meaningfully and in a well-done way. I don’t think this was awful or tacky, and regardless of anything else, the post-credit scene renders her death a moot point; still, I’m upset that she didn’t get to do anything in this movie aside from be a stand in for Lady Death. I would love if Vanessa got her comic book powers and fought alongside Wade, making them the ultimate power couple. It’s just mild disappointment, though much like with X-Force, it is a pretty subversive move to kill the love interest so abruptly and so quickly, especially when there was every indication Deadpool would get a happy ending… and then even more subversion comes at the end when Deadpool saves her (among many other hilarious moments) via the magic of time travel.

Aside from that, there’s not much else to complain about. The only other minor complaint is that the turn towards more serious elements isn’t always perfect, and some of the stuff with Russell could have been done better, but really, it’s just too hard to get worked up over the flaws. This is a fantastic, funny movie, and one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen. It’s bigger, funnier, flashier, and introduces so many more exciting elements into an already great series. This is how you make a superhero sequel, this is how you make an action-comedy, this is how you make one of the best movies ever. If you like Deadpool, if you like superheroes, if you like action-comedies, movies with great choreography, or love seeing a good subversive film, this is a movie you shouldn’t miss.

As for what version to watch, the Super Duper Cut or the theatrical cut… I have to say that the Super Duper Cut fleshes the story out a lot better and gives some much needed context, as well as adds in some new jokes that were cut from the original, as well as delivering callbacks a lot better and staying more cohesive… but I will say the theatrical cut had some much better jokes that were replaced with some less impressive takes in the Super Duper Cut. Still, the Super Duper Cut is the one I’d recommend watching, just because the story feels more fleshed out, and also because it features Deadpool trying to kill baby Hitler.

Also, I just want to say this: “Ashes” is a better Bond theme than the piece of shit theme song to Spectre.

#Review #movie review #Deadpool #Deadpool 2 #Ryan Reynolds #Cable #Josh Brolin #Domino #Juggernaut #black comedy #comedy #superhero movie #X-Men #X-Force

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starswornoaths · 6 years

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FFwrites2018 Prompt #1: Submerged

Of all the things Uthengentle had planned for, slavery had not been one of them.

When he had stepped off of the airship to Limsa Lominsa, a trembling, terrified teenager only recently separated from his only remaining family the only thing he had thought to do was to seek out the Marauder’s Guild—it was what Serella had saved her every coin to get him here for, surely it would be a waste not to fulfill his dream like she had wanted him to?

The Marauder’s Guild, while pleased that he didn’t lack for enthusiasm, gently informed him that a boy of thirteen summers was hardly old enough to join. Come back in a year or two, lad, and we’ll get you started right and proper, the Guildmaster had promised him.

While wandering the causeways and parapets that made up Limsa Lominsa, lost and unsure of what to do with himself now, he stumbled on what he had thought was a golden opportunity: a ship had only just recently come ashore, and he overheard a deckhand commenting that there was too much work for too few deckhands.

Uthengentle had leapt at the chance to offer himself in exchange for modest pay – I just want enough money for food and clothes, he remembered desperately saying.

At the time, he thought the deckhands that looked him over were seeing if he would be a good fit for their ship—it made sense to him, at least. Now he knew better: they were sizing him up for sale.

You a Mhigan? One of them had asked him. He hadn’t known how to answer that—did that even apply, he wondered. Knowing what had become of his homeland, even someone young as he could understand how little worth that carried. Still, if where he was born was so apparent, honestly would serve him best, he decided as he confirmed his heritage. Hear you Mhigans are a hearty folk, the deckhand mused, eyeing Uthengentle as though he were a cow up for auction.

Desperate for a purpose— for his beloved sister’s gift to mean something, Uthengentle had talked up his strength, how he was strong as an ox and fast as a fox and that had been enough for them to present him to the Captain. Uthengentle had been thrilled, seeing a high and mighty leader of his own ship, dressed in fine armor and wearing the biggest, nicest hat Uthengentle had ever seen.

He had found it odd, at the time, when the Captain had said nothing to him as he circled like a shark in chummed water, took him by the chin and appraised his teeth, felt his muscles— like a prized sow, indeed.

You’ll do, the Captain had decided. You’ll do nicely, boy.

The deception of him being a simple deckhand had been maintained for the first week or so out at sea— he and maybe ten or so other boys ranging in age, race, and build had all been recruited to serve the ship in any capacity it had needed. The work had been hard, but fulfilling; pulling rope, hauling stock, and scrubbing the decks and weapons had been his first— and thus far only taste of the pirate’s life.

Then the beatings started.

When they were out in open waters and there wasn’t a speck of land on the horizon all pretenses suddenly and sharply stopped. The boys were roused from their sleep and hauled to the lowest deck of the ship, beaten until the youngest among them hadn’t the strength to cry. When they had all fallen silent, too weak and hurt to to aught but wriggle in pain, the Captain informed them that the ship was making for a black market trading hub— and they were to be their currency.

Suddenly the examinations, the lack of questions, the lack of discussed pay, all of it added up— but too late. For there he sat, his legs chained to the hull of the ship, his face stained with tears, thousands of malms from anywhere. One of ten or so little boys that were made to grow up too fast, whose tears could well have threatened to capsize the boat.

Despite being one of the boys in the middle of their age range, Uthengentle was one of the sturdier kids, and was quick to shield the smaller boys from the blows, moot as his efforts might have been. In turn, he was simply beaten harder and for longer first, so he was left a bruised mess on the floor too weak to move while the crew moved on to the other boys.

After the third time, Uthengentle laid awake, his body aching under labor and abuse, and swallowed a hard pill: that if he were to survive— if any of them were to survive, he would need a plan.

He spoke to the boys older than him first, in hushed whispers as they kept their heads low and scrubbed at the deck floors with naught more than ratty cloth. Though reluctant, the older ones were willing— for what else did they have left to try? Getting the little ones involved took little more than asking them if they wanted a chance to go home.

Uthengentle might not have been the smallest of the boys, but he was the most fearless, and thus when he volunteered to steal charts and maps from the Captain’s quarters one night to plan their rescue, there was almost no complaint. While he was hardly a strapping and stalwart rogue like in the tales his beloved Da had read to them, he needn’t be; the crew always got belligerently drunk, every night without fail, and procuring the map with the ship’s charted course proved little harder than simply waiting for them to empty another grog barrel.

Two moons and waiting for the right moment, their night of reckoning came.

On the ship’s charted course, they were set to come near one of the primary routes of the Maelstrom— a risky endeavor, but the Captain was apparently counting on their unmarked sails and the cover of knight to slip by undetected.

So the boys set to fixing that— they ignited the sails.

By the time the crew had roused from the light of the sails being engulfed in flames and the sound of the deck lanterns being dashed against the wood, it was already too late for most of them; the boys had poured every flammable resource the ship was carrying on the deck, and the once proud and imposing galleon was little more than a sailing conflagration.

Uthengentle and the eldest boy— a Roegadyn of some seventeen summers— had helped the others jump ship one by one with something to buoy them; a plank of wet wood, an empty barrel, anything that would help them stay aloft until help hopefully arrived they had hoarded before the night had begun.

The Roegadyn boy had nearly leapt first when Uthengentle was grabbed. The smell of burning flesh completely overpowered Uthengentle’s senses, and he fought back the urge to pass out, even as he turned to face his assailant.

The Captain had him by the ankle, his entire body engulfed in flames. From what Uthengentle could see of his face, it had already begun to char in the fire. Looking upon the burning monster before him, Uthengentle could only feel sorry that the Captain’s hat had turned to ashes.

Mhigan bastard, you’ve ruined us all! The Captain shrieked. But ye’ll sink to the bottom of the sea with me!

Before Uthengentle could even think to scream, he was falling.

The Captain had rolled off deck and used his near literally dead weight to drag Uthengentle overboard. His ankle seared in agony where the Captain had touched him but the moment he fell into the dark waters, everything just felt cold.

He wriggled and kicked, even as he felt his lungs burn like the ship above them with the need for air but still the Captain held on. Submerged in the inky wine-dark waters Uthengentle felt his strength wane, bolstered by adrenaline as he had been carrying out their plan it was now exhausted in the aftermath. When he finally wrestled himself free from the Captain’s grasp— only after the burned man’s own strength had left him, along with his life— Uthengentle felt light headed, and couldn’t quite tell which way was up anymore. His head felt heavy, and all he wanted to do was sleep...

I’m sorry, Ellie, he thought sadly. His eyes stung, and a part of him wondered if he could tell if he had started crying, underneath the waves as he was. I guess I won’t be writing home after all. He wondered if she had gotten a letter to him already, waiting in Limsa Lominsa for him, never to be received. He wondered how many more she would send, thinking the fault hers. He hoped she didn’t blame herself for him dying: leaving had been his dream. He’d dove right in, submerged himself in everything that it was to be an adventurer, without knowing how to even swim among them, without knowing what dangers he had to look for in those murky waters.

And this is what he had to show for it. Nothing.

Just as he began to sink, just as he began to slip away, he felt another hand grab his arm.

It jolted him out of his thoughts, feeling another reach for him. He looked up at the source, surprised to see the Roegadyn boy half submerged and holding onto him firmly. Just as he thought his lungs were going to give out, the other boy hauled him up, up, up to break the surface.

Air never tasted so sweet as when he gasped and coughed and clung to his savior.

“Can’t have ye dyin’ just when yer plan worked, ya madman!” The Roegadyn boy cheered, hauling Uthengentle onto a solid plank of wood. “We made it, ye hear me? We all made it! Look!”

It took a bit of frantic blinking— and more than one swipe at his eyes with the back of his hand— but at last his vision came into focus, and he nearly lost it again when his eyes filled with tears as the sight: red coats and rescue boats.

“‘Hoy!” A voice from the dark called. There were lanterns— there were so many boats and so many people, so many Maelstrom soldiers circling, already pulling some of the younger boys out of the water. “Don’t ye worry now— we’ve got you!”

Uthengentle and the Roegadyn boy, shivering and barely able to grip the rope tossed to them, managed to get hauled into one of the boats, where they were promptly swaddled in blankets to stave off the chill.

“Yer alright now, lads,” that same voice, a low feminine tenor spoke to them. Uthengentle felt a cup being pressed into his hands. “Sip this brandy slow now— it’ll get ye warm in to time at all.”

A new kind of fire, warm and comforting like the fireplace in the home he no longer had, settled in his chest as the woman ordered the ships to make for their Galleon— to make for Limsa Lominsa.

The moons it took to get back to where his hell started showed him precisely why his Da had loved the sea— why he had been a pirate in his prime; tasting freedom on the wind as they sailed merrily reminded him of why he’d wanted to leave Gridania in the first place. It invigorated him, reminded him of why he wanted to live. He let life and liberty fill his lungs until it was all he knew once more, and swore to himself that he would never know anything else ever again.

It both surprised and didn’t surprise him to see that the Marauder’s Guildmaster awaited their ship at the docks; evidently, slave trading was the one thing Limsa Lominsa actively refused to abide by, and the ship he had joined had been on watch for it for some time before they had set sail. Lucky him.

Boys, I don’t rightly presume to know if any of ye ‘ave a ‘ome to go back tae. The Guildmaster’s voice boomed out. But ye’ve all more than earned a place at the Guild; I don’t care what age ye be— he looked deliberately at Uthengentle. Ye’ve all been made men far afore ye should ‘ave been. I can’t fix that— but I can help ye become better men, if ye like.

Every single one of them agreed.

Feeling his own axe in his hands for the first time felt much the same as breaking the surface of those dark waters not so many moons ago. And submerged in the darkness no longer, Uthengentle breathed a sigh of relief: he had made it.

His sister didn’t understand for some time after why, upon seeing the red of her Maelstrom officer coat, he had wept with pride, but that was alright; she only need know that he was proud of her.

#ffwrite2018 #submerged #woooo first one done!#and got some backstory in for uthen!#woop woop!#i've been loving the other prompts i've been seeing like oh my gosh #uthengentle arcbane

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