#AA Route 4

[toxictoad]

(Route #4 of Addition AU where Stan raises the Billford Babies)

I think that when the Juno and Quentin were little, like before they were even a year old, Stan had to think really, really hard about what he would tell them. Because he's taken every other aspect of Ford's identity but can he really take this? Can he tell these kids that he's their father? I think he wouldn't. I think he would say a million other things that implied it, but he would never say it himself. He would never teach them to call him "dad" because Stanley Pines loves his family, and he's not taking this from his brother. He'll take whatever else he has to, but he can't bare to take this.

Not this.

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

I'm Your Man - Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal x OFC - Chapter 15

Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 |-| Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19

AO3

Summary: When Rosie doesn't return from a mission, Frankie is forced to deal with the fallout

Warnings: ANGST. just so much. consider this a blanket warning for everything honestly

Word Count: 3.3k

Tags: @mads-weasley @xxluckystrike @curaheehee @footprintsinthesxnd @dcyllom @storysimp @latibvles @love-studying58 @justheretoreadthxxs @ginabaker1666

Files tucked beneath her arm, a cup of coffee in one hand, George strode along the halls of command, humming to herself as she went, the day as monotonous and ordinary as any other. Golden ponytail bouncing with each step, the route back to her desk was so familiar that her mind didn't even have to steer her, the movement utterly brainless as she passed Crosby's desk. Douglass stood talking with the navigator, the pair frowning in concern, but she didn't give them notice until she heard Harry speak.

"No word on Rosie, still. I'll call back in a while, see if he's made it back."

George's pace ceased so suddenly that her coffee sloshed over the side, a great brown puddle landing on the ground with an audible splatter. The two men turned to stare, frowns deepening.

"Aarons?" Croz asked, brow furrowed.

"What did you just say?" She asked.

"... I said Aa-"

"No. About Rosie. What did you just say?"

The men exchanged a wary glance, and Croz sucked in a long, deep breath.

"Rosie's plane didn't make it back with the others. We don't know if-"

That was all she needed to know. George discarded everything she'd been carrying upon Crosby's desk in a single, frantic movement, the last of her coffee spilling droplets across whatever map he had currently been working on. He let out a yelp of protest, but she was already gone, heel almost skidding against the polished floor as she made a dash for the exit, sunlight stinging her eyes after so many hours hunched over a typewriter.

Frankie. Frankie. Frankie.

The thought ran on a ceaseless loop, too panicked to even conjure a whole sentence. But she needed to find Frankie - now. Before anyone else could. If the news came from anyone but her, who knew how much worse the damage could be. George hadn't the time to think before she burst into a sprint, almost skidding against the gravel several times as her mad dash carried her towards the hardstand, sweat drenching her hair brown by the time she arrived.

Her heart was beating out of her chest, breath coming to her in quick, ragged bursts, chest heaving. Lemmons had spotted her the moment she approached, expression already contorted in a miserable scowl, rubbing the grease from his hands with a tattered old rag.

"George-"

"Where's Frankie?"

"She's working on one of the ATS trucks. But George, Rosie's-"

"I know," She uttered, barely more than an exhausted huff as she broke into a run yet again, heartbeat pounding so hard she could barely hear anything else.

The ATS depot was deathly silent as she arrived, the scene almost unnerving. There was not another person in sight, everyone else off on the day's supply runs. As for Frankie, she stood bent over the engine of one of the remaining trucks, one hand propped against the hood to keep it upright, muttering to herself as she tinkered and tweaked, her other hand lazily wrapped in a rag to keep the first away as she poked around inside. George's thundering footsteps pittered to a stop just behind her, fighting to breathe again, desperate to regain some composure before she had to deliver the news.

Frankie never glanced up, assuming the new arrival to simply be another ATS worker. "Yeah, I think it's a problem with the valve - I'll have to get a new spring," She mused, eyes narrowed.

"Frankie," George urged, voice coming in little more than a croak. Frankie paused then. As time had gone on, she'd stopped making sure she was on the tarmac the second Rosie's plane touched down. If there was another pressing job to do, she could get it done and find him after interrogation, so sure had the pair of them became that he would always make it back. After all, he'd returned from fifty-one missions - would else could say that? She'd gotten too comfortable, too complacent in the knowledge of his competency. And now she was paying the price.

Turning to look at George, red-faced and panting, tears in her eyes, Frankie felt her blood run cold. Instantly she was back in the mechanics' hut, more than a year ago now, opening her arms to George as the news of Curt's death arrived. The situation seemed so eerily similar all of a sudden, that her first instinct was to ask after Blakely. Even with Everett safely on the ground, it somehow seemed more plausible that something had happened to him than it did Rosie - the idea that Rosie of all people hadn't made it back didn't even cross her mind at first.

"... George?"

George swallowed hard, blinking away the tears that were forming. Her mouth had gone utterly dry, the act of speaking tearing painfully at her throat.

"Frankie... Rosie's plane didn't make it back."

She didn't flinch, eyes glassy, gaze fixed on some invisible midpoint, never quite settling on anything real.

"Did his chute go up?"

"We don't know."

George had expected her to cry - to let out one of those terrible sobs, or even to empty the contents of her stomach onto the ground below like she had when Egan had gone down. She'd expected her to fall apart, to make it messy and loud.

Her silence was so much worse.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Frankie was floating - the feeling of her feet rooted against the ground suddenly ebbing away, as if she had broken free from her body and began to slip upwards out of her own skull. She could hear nothing save for the thumping of her heartbeat, the sudden swell of blood leaving a prickling sensation in her fingers, as if her hands were being stabbed at by a dozen tiny needles, burying beneath the skin at the softest parts of her. Any colour that remained to her had drained from her face, skin left a cadaverish grey as her mouth gaped open, any and all moisture sapped from her throat until every breath felt like sandpaper scraping against raw flesh.

George was trying to speak - she could see her lips moving, yet no sound permeated her thoughts. What was she saying? It didn't matter. How could it? If it couldn't bring Rosie back, it wasn't worth a damn thing.

Screwing up the rag in her hand, Frankie tossed it blindly into the open engine of the truck she'd been working on. She moved past without a word, shoulder brushing against George's as she began to walk away, relying on her body to move her feet, trusting it was working even when she couldn't feel the press of gravel beneath her. She couldn't feel anything. It would've been terrifying, but that was a feeling too.

"Frankie-" George croaked, but with a lift of Frankie's hand she was silent, jaw snapping shut, eyes red with tears as she watched her best friend leave, overwhelmed by the unknown. Because she simply couldn't say that Rosie was dead. But she couldn't say he was alive either. And that was worse, in a way - its own unique form of torture.

The hut was empty, an eerie silence hanging over it as Frankie entered, letting the door swing shut with a creak behind her, not even bothering to lock it. She closed her eyes, taking a long, deep breath and letting it seep outwards again, the pain in her throat still tender. Everything here was unchanged. How could everything look the same? How could something so fundamentally shift within her, yet the world outside remained exactly as it was? It almost didn't seem real. Here, in the same old hut, the one Rosie had never been allowed to enter, it seemed easy to pretend nothing outside of these metal walls had happened. He'd never permeated this space, so his absence didn't leave the hole it did everywhere else.

But then there were the poppies.

Tucked inside that battered old book George had given her years ago, which sat as ever on the nightstand, the edge of one of the pressed flowers peeked into the light, a tiny glimpse of red against the aged, yellow pages. It had been the best part of a year since the day he'd given them to her, but in this preserved state they'd never lost their colour, as bright as the day she'd first seen them.

Striding towards her bed, Frankie stopped just before it, flicking open the battered cover. Seeing the flowers there, scattered atop one another like they always were, flicked some kind of switch within her. A terrible scream left her, batting the book with one hand as it went spinning across the room, the fragile flowers scattering in all directions. An anguished sob ripped through her chest as she felt her strength leave her, collapsing against the bed as she fought for a breath. Egan's jacket was still hanging over the end of the bed frame. It wasn't cold here, but she put it on anyway, zipping it up as far as it would go as she tucked her chin into the collar, inhaling the smell of old cigarettes that had never gone away.

When her mother had died, had her father felt like this? If so, it was a miracle he'd lived this long.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Snow stuck to his eyelashes, freezing air battering his cheeks, and Rosie wailed through gritted teeth as one of the Soviet soldiers helped him up into the back of a truck, his arm sending shockwaves of agony rippling through his body. He wasn't quite sure where he was - even less sure where he was going. If he considered every single problem the situation posed, his mind might have crumbled in on itself. So instead, he thought of only one.

"I - I need to get back as soon as I can," He stammered, the cold chattering his teeth so fiercely that it was difficult to even speak. "My - my wife, she's waiting for me... She's a mechanic at the airfield - sh-she won't know what's happened," Rosie pleaded, receiving nothing but blank stares from his surrounding company. Either they didn't understand a word he was saying, or they simply didn't care - both options struck him as equally fair.

Everyone had a wife waiting at home, someone they wanted desperately to return to - what difference did his make to anything?

But it was Frankie. Frankie made all the difference in the world. They'd understand if they'd only met her - seen her smile, heard her laugh. Or at least, they would in Rosie's mind. Because how could someone meet Frankie and move on? How could she not become the centre of one's world?

He'd called her his wife without even thinking about it. The word felt at home on his tongue.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Crosby glanced up as a knock sounded against the doorframe. George never stepped into the room, merely hovered in the hallway, coffee steaming in her hand, tiredness tugging at her features. "Any word?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No."

She took a deep breath, nodding as she turned away, and he listened to her footsteps echo down the hall until she was gone. Passing through the next room, she brushed by Blakely's desk without so much as a glance, and his gaze followed her with a mournful frown until he couldn't stand to let her take another step alone.

"George," Everett breathed, pushing himself up from his seat. She trudged so slowly that he scarcely had to make an effort to catch up, and with a gentle hand on her back, he guided her swiftly around the corner, out of view of their coworkers.

"Hey. Hey," He cooed, cupping her jaw with both hands so that she'd meet his eye, her expression awash with exhaustion. "Baby, c'mon."

"It's been a week," George sighed. "She's not getting better. If anything, it's just getting worse."

"She's still up there?"

"Yeah."

The morning after the Riveters had gone down, Frankie had packed up her personal effects and rented out the hotel room above the pub that she and Rosie used to spend the night in. She was yet to come out. When George tried to visit, sometimes she'd let her in, but sometimes she'd simply be left out in the hall, talking through a locked door, desperate for a response. She wasn't going to work. She wasn't showing up in the mess hall to eat. The room itself was mercifully cheap, but nevertheless, if she persisted to occupy it, she'd run out of money eventually.

"... Call her dad," Blakely said.

George considered this. "Yeah. You're right he should - he should be here. But I dunno how I can get him to come, he can't drive with his leg, and he's got the kids to look after, and-"

She had begun to ramble. He pressed his forehead against hers, taking in one deep breath after another until she joined in, breathing in synch until she felt her heartbeat slow.

"I'll drive. You stay with the kids. It's alright."

"But we've got so much work to-"

"George," He spoke firmly. "It's alright."

She sighed, nodding, the faintest of smiles beginning to manifest. "Yeah... Love you."

"Love you."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The bed sheets were pulled up over her head, isolating her from the sunlight that peeked through the curtains as Frankie lay curled up on her side, picking at the hem of her blanket until it frayed. The room was beginning to smell. Well - not beginning. It had passed that point yesterday. But she hadn't noticed, or just simply didn't care. She didn't care about much of anything, not if it wouldn't bring Rosie back.

A firm knock sounded at the door. Frankie threw the sheet off, squinting in the light as she stared, hoping the sound - and whoever was causing it - would go away.

Another knock.

She huffed, calling out. "George, I don't-"

"Come on, petal."

There was that voice - that warm, grumbling, wonderful voice that took her back to her childhood whenever she heard it - to curling up in her father's lap and pretending to fall asleep so that he'd carry her to bed, to Christmases and birthdays at a two-person table, singing and laughing like they were the only two people in the entire world worth being with.

Frankie was in tears before she'd even opened the door.

No matter how tall she grew, he was always overwhelmingly huge, arms like tree trunks as she threw herself into his embrace, staggering out into the hallway. The relief was immediate, his soft shushing blowing warm breath against her scalp as gentle hands stroked her hair and squeezed her tight. He herded her back into the room without her even realising, closing the door behind them with the slightest of clicks.

"Blimey. What's all this then?" Her father breathed, surveying the state of the place. Clothes were tossed over every available surface, save for the ones that were littered with empty cups and food wrappers, every single thing dropped without any intention of ever being picked up again.

Frankie sniffed, wiping her face with the back of her hand as she glanced around. She hadn't noticed how bad it had gotten, hadn't broken out of her trance for even a second long enough to realise that she was rotting here. Her father pushed the window as far open as it would go, and she blinked at the feeling of fresh air on her face.

"Sit down, then," He nodded, and she did as he asked without a second thought, perching on the edge of the bed, hands pressed together, squeezed between her legs like an anxious child. His huge, calloused hands reached for her, tucking hair behind each ear until her face was in full view. "There we go."

The bedframe creaked beside her as he sat down, the entire mattress shifting beneath his weight, the silent feeling of presence infinitely more comforting than anything else she could imagine.

"I don't know what I'm doing," She confessed. "... What did you do? When mum died."

Her father sucked in a breath, closing his eyes for a moment as if picturing the woman whose face Frankie could only recall from photographs.

"...I got on. My Hazel was... the second-best person I've ever met. But she gave me the first," His arm wrapped around her, squeezing her shoulder so tightly she had no choice but to lean in, resting her head against him. "It felt like everything was supposed to stop. But the morning after she died you still woke me up at three in the bloody morning, screaming your head off 'n all. And the next morning, and the next. Everything kept going, and you needed me more than ever - and you were so tiny that I never wanted to put you down for a second, I just wanted to look after you forever."

He beamed down at her, and she choked out something between a sob and a laugh as he continued. "I moved your cot into my room, and I'd just sit there and watch you sleep for hours. I couldn't sleep, so I made sure I'd be there the second you woke up, so you'd never have to cry... You find something that needs you. Even if that something happens to be the littlest bundle of trouble you've ever seen-" She squirmed as he dug a finger into her side, letting out a giggle. "- you find something else. Or someone."

Frankie sniffed. "I don't think any-"

"Don't give me any bullshit, now. Those planes fly 'cause of you - the ones that make it back make it back because of you. And if you can't do that, do something smaller. George needs you."

"George doesn't need me-"

"George is sittin' on the living room floor at home playing dominoes with Jill right now, just so I could be here. You think that girl doesn't need you? You need her - why wouldn't it be the same the other way? When you started tellin' me about her in your letters, I thought 'Oh brilliant, she's found a nice bloke to look after her, all's right with the world'. Now, it turned out she wasn't a bloke - just a funny nickname - but I was bloody right about the rest, eh?"

Now she let herself smile, biting back another sob as she nodded, lips parted in the best grin she could muster.

"Dad," Frankie croaked. "... I was gonna marry him."

"I know. Course you were. But you'll marry someone else - or you won't. I didn't. D'you think my life hasn't been worth it in a million other ways?" He asked. She shook her head.

"We're gonna get up. We're gonna clean up all this shit. You're gonna come home for a couple days and then you're gonna get back to it, yeah?"

Her father rose to her feet, brow raised expectantly as he awaited a reply. Frankie sniffed, nodding as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with both hands.

"Yeah. Yeah."

He had already begun to gather up the litter before she could even stand, calling back over his shoulder. "And you're gonna give George a hug for me."

She let out a burst of laughter, feeling tears well in her eyes all over again. "Always," Frankie affirmed, chuckling. "... Dad?"

"Yes, m'love?"

"... Love you."

Her father stood up straight, turning to face her, a sympathetic smile creasing his perpetually reddened cheeks.

"Love you more."

The realisation that Rosie was no longer the last person she'd said those words to almost knocked her backwards, swiping the breath from her lungs.

But then she steadied herself, fists clenched.

"Love you most."

[breachverse]

Breach: Chicago War Zone - WIP Update 18 - 26th of August 2023

… Hoo boy, this was one of the biggest I've ever made in one go.

Update 18 has been released! over 60k worth of words, finally finished the entire Chapter 2 Part 2 for the FBI route. This update is mostly for the FBI route with only minor fixes for the Archangel route. This update also includes the 1st hangouts for both Megan House and Rita Collins.

You may play it on the link below.

Breach: Chicago War Zone (Updated)

DEVELOPMENT LOG#18 (26-August-2023)

(B2.1.1.23.08.26)

Alpha - 18

Bug fixes, code and grammar fixes, WD40 fixes everything

C2P2 FBI: Finished day 1 events

C2P2 FBI: Continued FBI arc to day 2 downtime

C2P2 ARC: Fixed sewer tokens not setting correctly

C1P2 ARC: Upgrading heist vehicle armor now cost money

MISC: Added flash grenades to inventory stat

Alpha - 18.5

C2P2 FBI: Added hangout status to the day 2 breakfast scene

C2P2 FBI: Fixed crashing after the Greg scene

C2P2 FBI: Fixed eating sandwich crashing the game

C2P2 FBI: Finished day 2 events

FBI Hangout: Added Megan House's hangout part 1

FBI Hangout: Added Rita Collins' hangout part 1

FBI Store: Added Holliday's opening scene

FBI Store: Added Holliday's randomized cold opens COMPLETED: Chapter 2 Part 2 of The FBI branch (100%)

W.I.P.: AA Hangout Part 1 (26%) W.I.P.: AA Store system (85%) W.I.P.: FBI Hangout Part 1 (46%) W.I.P.: FBI Store system (65%) W.I.P.: Stat screen upgrade (40%)

Word Count: 823,723 words including codes (Last update was 759,012)

Good lord, 62k words worth of update. I honestly don't know what to say, this is the biggest I've ever written in one sitting. For those of you wondering, yes I am doing alright. Just a bit tired is all.

My prediction was that I would've gone over 40k words when I added Collins and Megan's hangout but, ooh boy, I didn't expect to be able to finish the entire chapter, but, yeah, that happened.

This update consists of the newly finished Day 1 and Day 2 of the FBI route, completely finishing off Chapter 2 Part 2 of the FBI route. Along with a few fixes, this is mainly a story update focusing on the FBI arc. There is no new Archangel route content. There is also some new hangouts for the FBI with Megan House and Rita Collins being available for hangouts. I can now finally move on to Chapter 3 Part 1 for both the FBI and Archangel arcs in update 19.

As part of this announcements, I would like to also announce that this is as far as where the public demo will go for now. From this point on, I will be focusing on private testing on patreon only. But fear not, I will update the public demo periodically with all of the hangouts and all of the available side missions.

I don't know what to go is with the Hosted Games requirements, but I may also update the public demo with the full beta version of the game going all the way to the last chapter at the end of development.

With that all said… I can officially say, it is now smooth sailing from here.

Thank you all so much for the love and support you've given throughout the entire journey. It's been a long 4 years but, we're getting closer to the end now.

Much love! ❤

Link to the CoG Forums post

I also have a Discord server!

As always feel free to drop however many screenshot feedbacks you'd like, either in the forums or in our Discord channel!

[ms-demeanor]

(remaking the post because you can't edit polls and i gave the wrong options)

Alright I'm registering for classes and someone needs to talk me out of doing stupid shit but I'm unsure of what shit is stupidest.

Winter term:

I just finished an 8-week photo class that ended up being a huge investment in time just to go and shoot. However that was introductory photography and there is a 6-week intermediate photography class over winter term. I am signed up for photography. (Elective option for AA in Visual Arts)

There is also a 6-week introductory python course over winter term that I am signed up for and will be taking. I'm solid on that one, as long as I pass my C# class this term I'm going to be taking Python for 6 weeks at the beginning of the year.

Spring term:

College Chemistry Saturday class. 7am to 12pm for sixteen weeks. Lab and lecture; this school doesn't offer any chem classes that are after standard 9-5 hours during the regular week or that can be taken even partially online. Pretty sure I'm going to be stuck with this one and am configuring the rest of my schedule around being *less* miserable because of this class.

Survey of Western Art - Online, seems like a gimme. Does have a textbook but not one that I'm going to pay for. (Required for AA in Visual Arts)

2-Dimensional Design - Online, seems fun and like a gimme, Free/No textbook. (Required for AA in Visual Arts)

Object-Oriented Programming - Online, seems difficult, expensive textbook. Will probably be very necessary if I end up going down a more CS/tech path. Probably going to force myself to take this class.

Java Programming - Online, seems not unapproachable, expensive textbook. I don't particularly wanna but my school offers really limited options for computer science and I want to get what I can out of it before I go somewhere else.

Rationale for these weird combinations:

I'm applying as a nursing student at three schools and a biochem student at one of those schools (nutrition programs are apparently only for first-time students; 2nd Bachelor's applications are a lot more limited. I could apply to major in Francophone Studies at one of the schools though). Supposing I get accepted, these classes certainly won't hurt my status at any school that accepts me and the chemistry class is going to be really really necessary. This is the "i give a fuck about nutrition science and also directly helping people" path and if I go this way I'm interested in NP programs down the line. LOTS more school of the serious "I can't work and do this kind of school at the same time" variety.

If I *don't* get accepted to the programs I'm applying to, I'm going to go to a different community college and start working on a couple of AS degrees in computer junk (network admin and security management, computer and networking technology) and get some computer junk certs. I don't think I want/need a BS in compute science, this is the "practical" route of "I could finish this stuff pretty easily and continue working in a field where I have a lot of connections and familiarity with the industry but I am indifferent about a lot of it (pretty passionate about security and accessibility tho). Also allows me to keep working while I just churn school in the background, and all of the computer classes are transferable between the two schools.

Art classes: I think having multiple degrees is funney. I am currently 5 classes away from an AA in visual arts, at the end of this term I will be 4 classes away; if I take all the classes here and can take an elective over the summer I'll have a degree in visual arts. (There is a reasonable possibility that I'll continue taking bullshit classes behind the scenes to get silly degrees regardless of what happens otherwise)

Pretty sure the sensible thing is to drop *at least* photography and survey of western art and also possibly Java and 2D design. I'm somewhat concerned that if my spring term is just Saturday chem and object oriented programming I will start biting things.

So:

[minotaur-asterion]

Uncaring God (Cold/Tower)

|||. Love

1. 2. 4. 5. and 7.

(You can choose which ones you'd like to answer, dw.)

1, Who said “I love you” first

Aa far as this couple goes, “love” is vague and doesn’t fully encompass how they feel about one another. But if I had to choose, I’d say Tower, said in a sort of patronizing tone. This is presumably early into their relationship where Cold’s apparent sense of superiority clashes with hers. Eventually they’ll find equilibrium, maybe even see each other being as special as themselves

2, Love languages

Cold’s love language is hard to pin down because one, he’s a disembodied voice who can’t affectionately touch someone or spend time with them, and two, he’s not very conducive to love in the first place. Personally I do think physical touch is his primary method of connecting with someone, considering the Spectre route

Tower’s primary love language is words of affirmation, but she enjoys receiving acts of service the most. She’s also not shy about asking for that from Cold; their ability to directly communicate with one another is one of their relationship’s biggest strengths

4, PDA

Publicly displaying their feelings for one another is a no-go. They can cuddle all they want in private but not in front of other people

5, Kisses, favorite places to kiss

If we factor in their size difference, it’s usually safer for Cold to initiate a kiss, although I can’t imagine kissing is all that common for them. They both like lips the best, but Tower also likes when he kisses her hands

7, Comforting one another

As stoic as these two are, there are times that they need love and reassurance. Their stoicism also makes it hard to comfort people in general, which includes each other. In either case of one of them being upset, Tower will hold Cold in her hands and sometimes pet him with her thumb. The care she has to put into the action helps her redirect negative thoughts and feelings. Cold just kind of likes being pet

[alexa-nowak]

One of my old texts from YouTube arguments about Astarion endings

I am not that invested in this discourse nowadays because I lost hope to change anyone's opinion and also, I am simply tired from dealing with toxic bs that I am getting as a response to some of my old comments on YT to this day. My favourites are those who will reply to my every comment to say how delulu I am and I probably just dreaming about being in a toxic relationships myself, while being unable to understand that people have their own ways to heal through art and that throwing poison on people like that is not helpful at all.

I will leave it there and funny enough, I am not even so much of AA fan, I just don't like people being ignorant and rude.

And I like writing essays, so here it is.

So, what this dark romance fantasy is about for me personally,(even though i prefer spawn romance, i absolutely understand the appeal of A!Astarion because honestly, i was all about this kind of romance during my childhood and teenage years, hardocore the Phantom of the Opera girl is here, inside your head 💀), and why it's also healing route for some players,and no, it's not about kinky vampiric banging.

1)A lot of people feel extremely worthless and insecure, lonely, like no one really cares for them at all. It's a very deep wound that hurts and it's difficult to overcome even in perfectly loving, healthy and supportive relationship with a good partner,and even with therapy. So fantasy about a vampire, being obsessed with you so much that he is ready to do absolutely anything just to be with you for forever is really comforting. Also,you don't have to think too much about your imperfections, because for him you like a center of his vampire heart.

Besides, you sympathise with him - it's like a selfcomfort mirror, i love this monster despite everything, so in a way, i accept myself despite any flaws i see in me.

2) Safety. When the world around you feel like a wilderness, full of monsters, it feels like only the most terrifying loving monster can protect you from it. He is powerful and protective, and i am so precious to him, that he will set the world on fire just so i would be safe.

3) Responsibility. As you may see, this kind of relationship have daddy issues vibes and codependency, and in real life, you can't just fully submit safely to anyone, I don't think i have to explain why it's a dangerous idea to seek this kind of relationships in real life. You have to stay a grown up independent person and seek safety for yourself without expecting someone to come and heal all your wounds. But this is fantasy, so finally you can use this as a comfort fantasy with no fear about being taking advantage of, without shame to be called childish and etc.

4) Independence. Spawn ending is very terrifying for anyone who has issues with feeling safe and independent, because some of us prefer violent power fantasies over "we have each other and that's all that matters", second of all, this ending also has some shady co-dependency undertone to it that can be triggering for some people. I love Spawn Astarion a little bit more more than Asc and yet my heart stayed absolutely broken after running away from the sun scene, and i hate that he is so dependent on Tav. Larian owes me some emotional refund after this.

5)SA trauma: it wasn't even seen as a possibility for healing way by writer, but it is for some.Asc Astarion feels like he is the most powerful creature in the world,and he is fully controlling everything that happens between him and Tav,so finally, it's a kind of situation where there is no chance of him being abused again. It's one of the reasons why some people become Doms in BDSM dynamic relationships: finally, full control of the process and a partner, who trusts then enough to fully submit, trust issues is also big deal in Astarion story of healing. I find idea that that only Subs can enjoy Asc Astarion a little bit naive. Because,well, some news for you: Doms like it too because they understand why he is so eager to be a top

Unrealistic, not the healthiest way? Probably! But this man and this love is not real anyway.

Yes, i think many of us, especially folks who went through therapy and a lot of self reflecting are already aware that it's basically romanticized version of narcissistic obsession and in real life this is creepy, but it's not real, it's a fantasy. People use BDSM to heal, romance books and all other forms of art to deal with their inner demons and it's absolutely normal. Even if someone is blind to see what is wrong with Asc Astarion, I highly doubt that toxic bucket of shame and aggression are able to help see anyone problematic side of things. Do you know who is usually up to romanticize toxic dynamic in romance? Victims of abuse. In real life, if you just scream and yell at any poor girl/boy/whatever about how stupid they are for believing that their abusive partner really loves them, people will either break down and cry or tell you to f#ck off and they will have every right to do so, but they won't see what's wrong with their partner,in whom quite often victims of abuse see their only source of love and safety in life.

Hells, I am so sick and tired from this "white cloak knight saviour from cycle of abuse" toxic flood in this fandom. If you really want to educate people - do it with extreme care and compassion. Real life healing is not working like it's with Astarion in the game,few right dialogs and boom, dude is on the right path.

It takes enormous amount of patience and love, be kind to one another, and stay safe, darlings. Being toxic on Asc fans you are not helping anyone, you just hitting your superiority complex button in your ass.

[tobiasdrake]

AA 4-1, Turnabout Trump, is the best opening case in the history of Ace Attorney. Bar none.

(To be fair, 1-1 and 2-1 fucking spoil the killer for you in their opening cinematic because they think new players are stupid and 5-1... 5-1 makes me shake with homicidal fury at the shit it pulled. So the competition isn't very steep.)

4-1 had the unenviable task of breaking the audience in to a brand new status quo. Seven years after the events of the original trilogy, we have to introduce our new protagonist Apollo Justice. The easy way to do this would be to have Apollo sign up to work for Phoenix and then have Phoenix mentor him.

Screw you, let's get fucking crazy, PHOENIX IS A HOBO and his law career is DEAD. Oh, and he's not the mentor. He's the defendant. Buuuuut he's also still the mentor because he's smooth now.

Incredibly bold of them to go this route. They had to have known that players weren't going to like this. Phoenix's law career ended in disgrace five minutes after Trials and Tribulations ended!? He's been fucking disbarred for seven years!? WHAT!?

What do you mean he has a daughter!? What!?

And she's a precious cinnamon roll!? What!?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S OLD ENOUGH TO DRIVE IT'S ONLY BEEN SEVEN YEARS YOU ARE FUCKING WITH ME NOW FOR FUN

This case took a sledgehammer to the Ace Attorney status quo. This was a huge gamble. People don't like it when you tell them that their favorite characters promptly got kicked in the nuts after the credits rolled last time. They like the idea that everything worked out and it was great. And they riot if you tell them otherwise.

Did it pay off? Uh.

In terms of reception? No. Everybody hates this game. It offended the AA fandom on a deep and visceral level.

But me, I love it. I think this kickstarted an interesting shift in the core identity of Ace Attorney. And the biggest mistake they made was going back on it.

And it starts here with this magnificent bastardry of a scheme.

Phoenix does fill in the mentorship role for Apollo in our Tutorial to Ace Attorney case, but it's... twisted. Because Apollo is apprenticing under a professional attorney and close personal friend of Phoenix's, Kristoph Gavin - But Phoenix has made the curious decision to request Apollo's representation over Kristoph's.

That's not to say that Apollo's doing this entirely alone, as Gavin pitches in to lend his struggling protege some mentorship on the job.

But that's the trick. Phoenix has, throughout his career, successfully identified murderers among various witnesses, two prosecutors, and two investigating cops. But this unique setup allows him to do battle with a defense attorney. His own defense attorney, at that.

(He hasn't had to pin down a judge yet but HO-HO he will get to that in two games' time!)

There's shades of 2-4 buried in 4-1. So much so that they even cite the main theme of Justice For All while they're at it.

Literally what Justice For All is about. Dare I say... Apollo Justice for All?

2-4 fractured the relationship of trust that exists between attorney and client, that the trilogy is built upon. So much of the series is about believing in your client and giving your all to their defense, and 2-4 took a crowbar to that case by asking, "What if the client is untrustworthy?"

4-1 sets the stage for the new status quo by introducing the opposite question: What if the attorney is untrustworthy?

This isn't the kind of question that an AA game asks. It's... unsettling, given the franchise's romanticized view of defense law. The notion leaves an ominous discontentment that can be difficult to place, and sets the stage for what will become known as the Dark Age of the Law.

And yet, this is the kind of over-the-top legal nonsense that can only emerge from the realm of Ace Attorney storytelling, which does not give a fuck. A murder has been committed with Phoenix in the crossfire, and he has successfully created a scenario where the killer is not only in the courtroom, but is defending him in court.

Well. His protege is, anyway. Phoenix was very careful not to allow his representation to fall directly into Kristoph's hands, after all. Instead, he takes Apollo under his own wing instead.

What gets me about Phoenix and Kristoph's relationship is that Kristoph is genuine about wanting to help Phoenix.

We've seen plenty of murderer frame-ups throughout the series, and even one case of a murderer entering the courtroom as a defense attorney to ensure their fall-gal gets convicted.

Kristoph isn't planning that. Rather, he has a different target in mind that he can pin this murder to. His relationship with Phoenix is much too professionally valuable to let Phoenix go down like this.

As with 2-4, we have a perfectly adequate suspect to accuse in the defendant's place. A reasonable case could be made for Olga Orly's complicity instead of Phoenix's. Phoenix could go free by letting the wrong person be convicted.

But he's going to shoot the moon instead.

And he's going to do it, he's going to defeat the untrustworthy attorney, by putting his faith in a trustworthy attorney instead. The same way he defeated an untrustworthy client years ago.

4-1 has met with some criticism for the way so much of this comes down to Phoenix vs. Kristoph, with Apollo relying so heavily on following Phoenix's breadcrumbs. But for me, that works fine. Phoenix can light the course but it still falls to Apollo to navigate it, and that works for me as Apollo's very first case in his career.

After all, Mia leaned on Diego plenty in her first case. And Phoenix leaned on Mia a lot throughout the entire original trilogy. This case serves as Apollo's introduction to the Wright method and its unconventional approach, as Phoenix makes sure that special attention is paid to the kind of small details that unraveled prosecutions in his own time.

Ultimately, Apollo is as much a part of this as Phoenix is. None of this would work without him. We see him torn between his mentor and his hero as Kristoph realizes what Phoenix intends, and the jaws of the trap begin to close around him.

But ultimately, Kristoph's presence in this room leaves him cornered like a rat in a cage. Phoenix already saw to that.

Thus, one mentorship is fractured beyond repair while another is forged in iron. Phoenix even finds a moment to squeeze in foreshadowing for the final confrontation in 4-4.

This is such a fantastic introduction to the new status quo of post-timeskip Ace Attorney. It hints at the darkness inherent to the new world of law following Phoenix's disbarment, while also building the relationship between our next-generation hero and his predecessor, and serving it up alongside the maddest gambit ever to hit the courtroom of Ace Attorney.

And Also Payne is nearby but who gives a shit. XD

The prosecutor is less relevant in this case than any other in AA history. He just stands there uselessly at his booth and watches Phoenix's masterpiece unfold.

That this helpless performance is Winston's swan song, to be replaced by Gaspen in future games, is just the icing on the cake. So long, Winston. You won't be missed.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Assorted thoughts about Astarion's epilogue that I have only seen in video because patch 4 broke my save files and I have to replay the whole thing to get there.

From what I've seen everyone's good endings seem a little... overly good and free of consequence? But at the same time I haven't seen everything with my own eyes and everyone deserves to be happy, so whatever. If I want angst, there's fic.

Sooo... is it that unromanced Astarion disappeared after the scene at the docks and nobody could find him, or did you assholes just not try? I will be generous and assume the former.

Stop stabbing the table you little gremlin. ...although I'd probably enjoy doing that, if I could get away with it.

I still hate that outfit with the ruff.

Not surprised Larian is doubling down on the "no cure" angle. I don't really care if Astarion remains a vampire or if he goes the cure route, so long as he's happy - although I do think in his shoes I'd look for some way to day-walk anyway, on practical grounds alone.

Hiding a knife behind his back while asking an unromanced Durge if they're showing any signs of being under Bhaal's control... I adore a pragmatic bastard.

---"I could've told you that [you can kill people in a socially acceptable manner]" ---"You realise I don't actually pay attention when you talk, right?" ^This is why I both love him with all my soul and also want to push him off a roof.^

Delighted and validated by Astarion feeding by taking jobs as a bounty hunter or something like that. That was 100% what Vel was suggesting to him post game. Like "Hey, have you considered bounty hunting? if my memories of killing people for fun and profit, and the last month or two of everyone suddenly celebrating instead of getting mad when I murder has taught me anything; if you eat the people the majority want dead, you can have all the blood and money you can get your teeth into and nobody will have a problem with it."

And then there's Ascended Astarion... who I will put under a read more to save space and for those who'd like to avoid the uglier side of endings.

So I don't think Larian read the supplement Van RIchten's Guide to Vampires (it's from 1992, but as far as I know it's also still the most comprehensive write up of D&D vampire lore, and some of it still looks to apply here (or at least, it can).)

But the first thing I thought of, watching him constantly turn into a bat, is that it reminded me of the vampire psychological development stages. Stage one is where a vampire is drunk on their shiny new powers and just will not stop showing them off. (Stage two is the "find out" stage of the fuck around process, where the vampire discovers they're not as invincible as they believed and descends into full blown, paranoid monstrosity.)

Then "I will be watching." "I/We need to eavesdrop on everybody."... Oh, the paranoia. How's that thing where the curse of vampirism is twisting the trauma and fear going for you, my dude?

"I'll never forget the time we spent together, though. And I know you'll never forget about me. Until next time, darling." ...might be his expression or the datamined epilogues where he still wants his ex, but that feels like a threat to me? Might just be a jab after being dumped...

And, oh yeah, we're definitely looking at vampire bride/groom tier stuff here: Just sit on the decorative pedestal I built for you and look pretty until I'm in the mood to take you down and play with you. Stop complaining about how you're bored and want freedom!

The PC isn't weak by any measure, they could become a rival.. AA isn't my ending of choice, but I am morbidly fascinated with the concept of Tav and Astarion as toxic vampire divorcees: Two angry, powerful "lovers to enemies" vampire lords "sharing" territory; passing the centuries obsessing over each other; fighting each other; sometimes maybe hate-fucking, and generally making their bad relationship everyone's problem.

[rui-drawsbox]

halo halo this might be out of blue but may i ask how’d you fall in love w Baxter? I wanna hear the story of like how you started to like him if you don’t mind sharing . tysm!!and i love all your artworks!!!!

AGHHHHHHH i was about to go to sleep but healty schedules are overrated. Take a sit cuz this is gonna be LONG bc i dont know how to get to the point (jump right to the end to get the 3 lines resume lmao)

if you ask me why i like right now: he's a dramatic loser. But that was when i finally understood his character! you wouldn't be surprised if tell you that i'm an idiot right? i'm super slow to read between lines and understand people, that applies to fictional characters too lmao (+add that english isn't my first language) So! at first i didn't actually understood what was going on with -well- anything :D.

Took me a few playthroughs to actually understand the game in general, i started to play before step 4 was out so all i could do was play and replay different ways to fall in love with Cove (starting to crush at step3 was my fav) but tbh he was never my *type*, Derek was interesting but just bc he like us by default. Even after playing his dlc i felt like he was just a really good friend (which was kinda weird bc to this point i've just played his romantic route). So, what's different with Baxter?

To begin with! he's... he's....... huhh my first impression wasn't actually strong tbh, i was like "huh new guy to date yay". I didn't actually understood his character the first few playthroughs ngl. I started in fond ofc to get into the dlc but *I* was pretty indifferent, probably in Drinks where we finally see Morning Baxter was that i said "oh shit he's cute" and cuteness+gapmoe is enough to make me fall for any character tbh.

But! that was not enough to provoke a brainrot like this right? i'm the "Oh i love this *forgets about in a week*" type. What sealed the deal (badum tss) was probably bc of the fandom? Once i was done replaying the dlc 5 times in a row i went straight to tumblr to feed of headcanons, fanarts and fanfics. My favorite way to understand a character is thru the fandom tbh, my favs are the long aa essays talking about a character personality.

Long story short, he was dramatic troubled flirty gap-moe guy (my fictional type, coincidentally) with an excellent storyline. I still wasn't 100% into him but he was top1 romatic choice for me (sorry Cove and Derek, love ya but platonically), so i made 2 fanarts for his dlc in may and let the hype die... only for 6 months otherwise we wouldn't be here, would we?

AH-HA-HEM the day 28th of november, beginnings of summer, i went out in the morning to do some errands with my mom, we stopped to buy vegetables in our way home and she bought a small watermelon bc i love them. That same afternoon i was eating it and thought "watermelons are finally here, summer it's officially here!" and got struck with Olba memories like a sleeper agent. (made a minicomic abt that, that's why i have the exact date lol) SO i replayed the game again, reading everything again, and oh boy i finally understood so many things, one of those things was Baxter himself!

A lot of stuff made sense once i actually took the time to comprehend his character with the information i gained out of the game (mainly all the asks ppl sent to gb). Add the way that i always played like *me* on my first playthroughs of anything and then you'll notice why he hit me so hard, it felt like i wasn't giving him enough credit before dasjkfas.

Tbh his dlc is my fav bc it has such a strong storyline, you get to know him and his insecurities thru all step 3, and have a lot of sweet moments too! (and that night goodbye?? omg it hits me so hard bc it's right after the ending song) and because step 4 it's right after you go with all the fresh memories of your summer together and seeing him so cold towards you it's so painful but also so funny because HA I CAN SEE THRU YOUR FACADE YOU STILL LIKE ME HAHAHA and i finally knew the perfect word for him: loser.

Anyways i also did a deep dive in the Olba and Baxter Ward tag here in tumblr and eat pretty much everything, also helped me to get a better grasp for all the little details i didn't noticed before bc haha i told you im an idiot?

sO yeah i made a few drawings of my Mc interacting with the characters, surprisingly it got a lot of attention from the fandom so i made a few more and when i noticed i was deep into the brainrot and i wasn't able to draw anything besides my Ruri and Baxter being cute lmao

Funfact. Ruri is a variation of Rui (duh) that i used in games when i didn't feel like i wanted to be called my name directly, now that she expropriated me of that name i use Ruru, i'm so creative right?

Long story short: it was mix of the game itself, fandom content and people actually liking my oc content. The fandom is super welcoming with everyone's oc's i love that akjdlfhask

ajksdfhasjk WOAH THAT IS SO LONG i def went over the top didnt i? I tried to explain my train of thought and fill the spaces where my memory is blurry with stuff i think i would've thought at the moment, it's also 3am so im- not entirely here tbh hjadfhkj

ANYWAYS THANKYOU ANON FOR LETTING ME RAMBLE I LOVE TALKING TO NO ONE IN SPECIFIC ABOUT THE THINGS I LOVE LOVE YAA<333

[navcommrelay]

JUNO 1-1

Operation: TOUCHDOWN LZ JUNO Battle Report

First Deployment: 0600 Hours

Drop Pod Near Objective  1st Wave (0600 hrs)

SWMC Alpha Lance 

SWMC Bravo Lance

2nd Wave (0630 hrs)

SWMC Bravo Lance Auxiliary (Fire Moth, Elementals)

Objectives: Alpha Lance: Deploy directly to target zone “MADELEINE,” eliminate any local garrison elements and await support. Bravo Lance: Deploy behind and support Alpha Lance, assist with cleanup on any remaining garrison elements, then coordinate fire with Alpha to disable or destroy all non-capital-class AA targets. 

DropShip Deployment at Primary LZ

CFRI 1C Beta Lance

CFRI 2C Alpha Lance

CFRI Angel-4, Angel-5, Angel-6

Objectives:

Alpha Lance: Make landfall at LZ JUNO. Secure drop site. Disperse into surrounding forest / highlands and sweep for contacts utilizing reconnaissance equipment.

Beta Lance: Make landfall at LZ JUNO. Hold position within 100 meters of clear drop point and ensure no hostile forces threaten LZ.

Angel Element: Mid-flight deployment during reentry. Break away from DropShip wing and proceed north towards SWMC Alpha / Bravo. Neutralize any active enemy air elements en route, conduct bombing run against primary capital-class AA targets to secure near-orbital space.

After-Action Report:

SWMC Alpha and SWMC Bravo lances made planetfall on schedule into a curtain of enemy anti-aircraft fire. No casualties on descent. One Drop Pod struck by LRM surface artillery, but damage minimal. OpFor presence at installations limited to a single Level II armored formation at the target. Armor engaged and Anti-Air defense infrastructure targeted at distance. SWMC Forces continued to engage for several hours following the initial drop. Both lances suffered moderate damage, leaving Alpha 2 and 3, and Bravo 3, 4 and 5 below standard performance. Anti-Aircraft Missile batteries targeted with ARAD LRM fire, opening nearby airspace for CFRI Angel Squadron. Objectives complete, awaiting reinforcement and resupply to push to target “HERA.”  Engaged and Destroyed: 1x Prowler IFV (3140) 1x Black Blizzard IFV 1x Fury III MBT 1x Burke C3i (Heavy PPC) 2x Zephyr C3i 6x Heavy Air Defense Turret  Damage and Losses: All Units - Armor and external damage Alpha 2 - 2 Jump Jets (RT), Lower Leg Actuator (LL), significant internal damage (RT, LL) Alpha 3 - Shoulder (LA), Lower Arm Actuator (LA), significant internal damage (LA) Bravo 3 - ER Medium Laser (LA), ER Micro Laser (LT), significant internal damage (LA, LT) Bravo 4 - ER Medium Laser (HD), moderate internal damage (HD, RT), Pilot injury (Treated) Bravo 5 - minor internal damage (RL)

CFRI 2nd Company Alpha Lance Swept a one-klick radius of LZ for enemy contacts. Two targets neutralized, returned to secure the site for the second drop wave. Surveillance equipment noted a significant increase in encrypted traffic over local networks and a concerningly large heat signature originating ~200 klicks southwest- request OPSCOM pass this along to CENTCOM and relay any available intelligence.  Engaged and Destroyed: 2x Hi-Scout Cunningham

CFRI Angel Element deployed during drop and made for targets at full afterburners. Contacts en route did not delay element arrival to the AO. Successful operations by SWMC Alpha and SWMC Bravo resulted in minimal close AA support. Angel-4 and Angel-5 scored hits against enemy command and control structures. Arrow-IV Anti-Ship Missiles launched from Angel-6 achieved confirmed kills on target “MADELEINE” for primary objective success. Engaged and Destroyed: 2x Ripper (ERML) 3x Command Bunker 1x Heavy Anti-Ship PPC “MADELEINE” Damage and Losses: Angel-4 Meteor Inseki II successfully deployed ordinance against auxiliary targets before AC-2 anti-aircraft fire caused catastrophic ammunition detonation. Deceased with Honors.

SWMC Combat Comms Log Excerpt:

SB1: “Kerensky’s cock sheath! Alpha three are you ok?” SA3: “Right as rain, Commander. Just barely- Fuck!” SA2: “LRM impact on your drop pod, Alpha three.” SB4: “Think he’s going to shit?” SA4: “Oh, for sure.” SB2: “One hundred percent.” SA3: “Yeah…” (Severe ‘mech damage aural warning audible)

CFRI Combat Comms Log Excerpt:

NL: “Angel Actual, this is OPSCOM. You have incoming, weapons hot.” A4: “Roger, OPSCOM, Angel 4 taking wing lead. Angels, go hot.” A5: “Angel 5 copies. Sensors show two VTOL craft inbound, we- Fuck! A5: “SPIKE, SPIKE! GO DEFENSIVE!” A6: “Breaking formation! Watch clearance!” A4: “Angel 4 defending! Fox-2 on the first target!” A5: “Hell yeah, you got him! Eat HE you Blakist son of a bitch!” A6: “Coming about, high. Cover me, this boat doesn’t turn that fast!” A4: “Copy, copy! I’m on your low 5-o’clock, pulling with- A5: “FOUR, WATCH BELOW! TRIPLE-A!” A4: “What? I- Fuck! Incoming, incoming! Dropping payload!” A4: “Bombs away! Bombs away! Evading, someone check effect on target-” (A4 FEED ENDS. A5 / A6 FEEDS RECORD DETONATION.) A5: “ANGEL-FOUR, PUNCH OUT! PUNCH OUT!” A6: “He’s gone, Lieutenant!” A6: “OPSCOM, Angel-4 is down. Angel-6 assuming command. On target.” NL: “Copy, Angel-6. Finish the mission and get your ass home.” A6: “Roger, OPSCOM. Ordinance away.” (EXCERPT ENDS)

@is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not @the-tired-merc @the-clawtake @lt-chari @frogblast-the-ventcore

[swaps55]

About (writing) Horizon

@painterofhorizons asked me to go into more detail about this post, in which I whinged about the logistical complexities I was running into while drafting Horizon for Mezzo. I proceeded to write a dissertation on the topic, so here is my Ted Talk for anyone who has some time to kill. I kept it as spoiler free as possible. :D

Not surprisingly, I’ve got a number of challenges to deal with to get this scene to have the emotional impact I want it to have, but the one I referenced in that post has mostly to do with what I refer to as setting the chess board. It’s something I do for combat scenes, or scenes where the setting plays any kind of important role in understanding where characters are in relation to one another, or when I just have too many characters in one place. Ideally, before I write the scene, I lay out in my head: what does the setting look like, and who is where?

For fight scenes, this is important so I understand what combat will look like, and so I won’t lose track of anyone during the scene. How many enemies are there? Who is taking on who? What limitations or advantages does the setting provide to influence the action? How can I use that to provide characterization or advance a character arc? Etc. In the case of Horizon, the issue isn’t the combat: it’s understanding where people start and how they get from one place to another.

Here’s the challenge: I have 3, and eventually 4 groups of people or person. Let’s call them A, B, C, and D.

A and B are in very separate locations.

C joins the fray in a 3rd location that cannot be near A or B.

A, B, and C are all aiming to reach the same location: the AA gun.

C cannot encounter A or B, which means A & B must reach the AA gun via different routes than C.  

D separates off from C, and must encounter B but not A.

C needs to arrive first, then B, then A, then D.

Simple, right? D:

So instead of the chess board dictating the flow of action, I need to set the chess board in a way to facilitate the scene as I need it to play out. This means the basic layout from the game isn’t sufficient, because it’s too linear, and provides only 1 “entrance” to the area where the AA gun are, and I need two different routes to get there.

Now, am I going to waste a lot of time painstakingly explaining to the reader the layout of Horizon? No. That’s boring, and the reader doesn’t need it. But I need to know it well enough and establish it well enough that even if the reader isn’t backchecking my logic, they trust that I have not dragged them into an MC Escher painting. I don’t want people to stop and wonder, “wait, where the fuck did B come from?” in the middle of a high stakes, high adrenaline scene.

The other logistical issue I have is a very clumsy POV handoff. I do not like putting in a scene break just to switch POVs and continue the exact same scene you were just in, but there is a crucial moment where a POV handoff has to happen as a new character arrives on scene and takes over POV duties from someone who is already present. My options are:

Do the entire scene from the first POV and don’t switch. But this would completely alter the impact of the scene and shut me out of accessing some pretty critical information that only the new POV character will have.

Do the thing I don’t like: put a scene break in the middle of the scene, end the first ‘scene’ on a dramatic moment that feels like the close of a scene before jumping back in with the new character.

Do the scene break, but back up a few minutes before the new POV character arrives on scene. This does two helpful things: creates a fresh scene and minimizes the awkward handoff, while giving me a chance to fill in some of the logistics to avoid the, “where the fuck did this person come from??” problem. Because while I know where they come from, there isn’t a good opportunity for me to communicate it to the reader otherwise. Originally this is what I planned to go with, but when I got there, I changed my mind. The problem with this is that it kills the tension and feels like a bait and switch: get the reader to the moment they have been waiting for, then pull the rug and back up a few steps. The last thing I want in this chapter is for the reader to be frustrated by the way I am telling the story.

End the chapter on the POV switch and move the Big Moment to a new chapter. I don’t love this either, because it feels like a cliffhanger for the sake of a cliffhanger – if not for the POV shift, it wouldn’t occur to me to break the chapter here. While I do love it when people yell at me for things, getting yelled at for this particular cliffhanger would feel cheap and manipulative rather than earned, if that makes any sense.   

Option 2 is best for the story, but it leaves me with this clumsy POV handoff that I still don’t like.

Now, on top of all the logistical complexities, I still have the other layers of this chapter: the sheer emotional complexity of it, which causes additional logistical issues. This is some of what I am trying to juggle:

Convey scene setting through the eyes of characters who are not paying a lick of attention to their surroundings because they are preoccupied or distressed by other events.

Telegraph Sam’s distress and anxiety through the eyes of someone who does not have enough context for it. This is further complicated by it being very likely this character would have more context than I would prefer them to have, so now I have to work with that in a way that feels right for the character and right for the story. Too often, supporting characters get shoehorned into plot in ways that does them a disservice, so I try to take the approach that the POV character is now the main character in THEIR story. My job is to get their priorities and motivations to circle back and support the plot while also serving their own interests. Sometimes this is very hard.   

Portray Kaidan, a character known for thinking things through, as someone being extremely (and understandably) reactive in a high stakes and very personal moment while still feeling like Kaidan. He cannot be thinking straight, and he would not be thinking straight, but I have to sell that to the reader and make them believe it.

Not losing track of every other character in the scene,while also not having them interrupt the flow of the scene. If you are familiar with Arrested Development, imagine the scenes in which the camera focuses on two characters having a VERY private discussion, only to zoom out and reveal they are surrounded by a much larger, captive audience. That keeps happening in this scene, ha. These characters are not the focus of the scene, but they are still present, and therefore the reader needs to be aware of where they are and what they’re doing so they don’t seem to magically appear out of thin air when they do or say something.    

So how do I put all of these pieces together? Well, it’s still in progress, so I don’t have a success story yet, but the emotional thumbtacks come first. The whole point of the scene is something I have been dying to write for years. All the details and logistics that ultimately make it work are just in the way when all I can think about is the Big Confrontation, so I just spit it out, even if it’s mostly just broad strokes, because once it’s out there I can actually think about the rest. Now I can go back through and chip away at the logistics, create a deeper and richer narrative for the POV characters, turn the volume up on the side characters who play a smaller role, and sharpen the knives so those emotional moments really land in a meaningful, gut wrenching way. Doing all of this will inevitably reshape the manner in which some of these events unfold, because drilling deeper into characters often leads to new discoveries. But I can rewire the underlying skeleton when the skeleton at least exists.

The hope is that in the end, it reads like the whole thing was effortless, and you would never guess how much work and angst and handwringing went into writing it unless you read this post. Wish me luck!!!!! I need it.   

[toxictoad]

Good morning and happy Halloween everybody. Now suffer

Stanley Pines is the only father ever, actually.

(I'm gonna ramble under the cut now)

GODS the angst is killing me. I wish I had more energy to write because I would be stuck on route 4 forever. The geometry twins grow up knowing that Ford is their dad. Ford, who they're all trying to bring back for the twins' entire lives. They build him up in their heads- Stan tells them about his brilliant, dorky brother and smooths over the not-so-good parts because he isn't gonna badmouth a man to his own children, even if he is kind of a jerk.

But Ford didn't raise them, Stan did. Stan poured blood sweat and tears into this life for these kids, and the whole time he feels like he's stealing something, because Ford should be there. He should be there for their first steps or their first day of school or when they accomplish something.

But he isn't. And when Ford comes back there's a sort of expectation (As well as dread and bitter resignation on Stan's part) that he'll just become their father again. Stan fully expects to get put aside in favor of the twins' "real father".

But he isn't. Because even if they're stupid kids when Ford comes out of that portal Juno and Quentin know one thing:

Stanford Pines is their father, but Stanley Pines is their dad.

[heavyhitterheaux]

Hey Ree! I’ve been thinking about going to school for nursing but I honestly have no idea where to start who to ask or what to do. Could you please give me any advice.

Hiiii!

First do your research!

There are 2 year programs or 4 year programs

2 years you would have an AA and take your NCLEX to be an RN or you can do 4 years and have a bachelor's degree which is preferred now. (But you can do 2 years and sometimes your job will pay for you to get your bachelor's depending on where you get your first job)

2 years is community college and 4 years is a university

And some people take the LPN route!

Figure out which one is best for you. Once you do, you have to decide which school you would like to go to. Look up their program and see what is required of you, such as prerequisite classes (math, chemistry, etc.), and what is required for you to be ACCEPTED into the program.

I hope this helps! 😘💕

[raven]

what video games would u recommend. based on me seeing ur posts and thinking ur right even though i never know what youre talking about. also i have dogshit taste but i have good taste actually but its bad

OMG

hop on backloggd heres mine and heres my buddy rory's bc they make points too and are generally more serious than me so if you want to be serious u can go there. More under the cut bc i cant shut up 👍

otherwise my pretentious but #real and #true recs that i genuinely think everyone should play are disco elysium, pentiment, and kentucky route zero.

"theyre just good!" - who's lila?, the world ends with you, return of the obra dinn, hylics 2, portal 1&2, ghost trick, outer wilds (however outer wilds may be difficult for whatever reason- i recommend hollow_tones on twitch's streams although she has not streamed the dlc!)

series that have taken over my life for periods of time, for good or ill - dragon age (2 is my fav, all are worth playing, inquisition is dogshit storywise but has good gameplay, centrist liberal writers that make u want to bomb a church (for the record @ fbi this is a reference to the events of one of my favorite characters in the series, not real life. he was justified), ace attorney (1-3 are great with some questionable moments but apollo justice is the best overall game, 5&6 are some of the worst games ive played in my life, and the great ace attorney... exists), and persona (UGH). i can go more in depth about any of these, but i will go more in depth about persona because thats my current disorder and because theyre the most problematic, LOL. but dgmw da and aa are also problematic in many ways

persona - ive posted about it. im realizing i didnt talk about the misogyny in that post because i thought it was well known honestly but like. my god. the misogyny. especially persona 5 royal. dont play 4. or do, bc i need anyone to suffer as i have, but im serious. i feel like whatever people say, its worse. ive also posted about 4.

if you want to lose a week of your life in a "game for 16ish hours, sleep for 8ish hours, repeat" cycle play baldurs gate 3. its a fun game it takes up your time it has great mechanics! do not pay attention to character discourse baby.

if you like good gameplay, play dishonored 1&2

if you don't like good gameplay, play morrowind (this is kind of a joke in that i dont actually think morrowind has bad gameplay, but it still can be tedious.)

if you don't like good gameplay, play the persona 2 duology (this is not a joke, the gameplay in those games are actually bad.)

if you like gameplay, play any katamari game

also gonna plug one of my favorite genres, nonlinear visual novel adjacent games (lots of wordy, story-based segments but there are actual gameplay portions) these games also are not necessarily "good" but they are "fun": 999 (play on DS!!), ai the somnium files (note that this and 999 kind of require a... specific taste with the sexual humor) these games did have sequels but theyre all pretty bad for various reasons but check em out if you enjoyed the originals, paranormasight (one of the best ones in this genre imo), gnosia, 13 sentinels

also i have not hopped on final fantasy 7 (ORIGINAL) but i am about to hop on final fantasy 7 (ORIGINAL). and i am currently struggling against the current playing smt iii nocturne.

also, games that i have not played but interest me storywise and deserve honorable mentions are baroque (not really planning on playing but planning on watching stuff), pathologic classic (played a little and watched a full playthrough years ago, probably will get back to one day), pathologic 2 (never completed), fear and hunger (played for a few hours and decided to watch a playthrough instead), and fear and hunger 2 (not played but planning on playing bc ive heard its a little more user friendly than the original!)

so thats video games.

[just-a-carrot]

Hi hi hello hello I am playing Gidget's route on Our Cinderella and I AM DYING????? THEY'RE SO SWEET I'M JUST 😭😭😭 They're so supportive and it's SO COOL seeing them confident and like, living their best life? Idk maybe I've just been playing too much arc 4 OW, but seeing the best case scenario where they are comfortable and happy with their identity and life is so incredibly dear to me? AA I love them so much <3 Anyway Our Cinderella has been the highlight of my break from school and I just wanted to say thanks for making it!! Its so good asdfkgh <3 <3

Sob that's very sweet of you to say!! I'm really glad you liked Gidget's route so much!! 😭💕 Gidget's route to me felt the most down-to-earth (maybe because it's [mostly] less unhinged than the other two LKFDJASDF) and a bit more platonic at least until more near the end, so I was a bit worried maybe people wouldn't like it as much, but I've gotten so many lovely comments about it that it just makes my heart squish so much. I really love how Gidget turned out in general in this game -- like I could finally write Gidget the way my heart wanted to even if it was just for this little on-off thing and it was just so fun to do and I love them so much weep.

I'm really glad you like the game in general and that it could be a little bright spot for you!! Thank you so much for sending in this sweet message, it really made my day 🥺💕

[alynnl]

Now I know why nobody was recommending the iOS versions of Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. I assumed it was more fandom division (which I have been quite tired of seeing.)

However…

Apparently the apps are glitched and they won’t let you play the chapters you purchase past chapter 1. There’s supposed to be a fix for this but it’s not guaranteed.

That’s the only way I would have access to AA 5 & 6 at the moment.

An actual 3DS + the hard copy would be both expensive and unplayable for me because I get headaches from the 3DS screen (bigger screens on the Switch and iPad are easier on my eyes.)

I can’t go the Citra route because my desktop is too old to run it.

And finally, the Switch port won’t be out til next year, and a lot could happen in a year.

I guess a Let’s play is an option, but I feel I wouldn’t be as immersed the same as pressing the buttons myself.

It all comes down to my plans coming to a screeching halt. I was gonna play 1 -3, I1 and I2, 4-6, and Chronicles last.

I heard Chronicles tells the better story and it would’ve been better to end my journey on that note vs. AA 6 which is one of the more controversial entries of the series.

I’m not sure where to go from here.

I know it’s silly to get hung up on a thing like “going through the series in a certain order” and the logical thing would be to start Chronicles now since I bought it a while back, but I’ve been putting it off the way people save the good chinaware for holidays.