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anim-ttrpgs · 10 months ago

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How to Choose Music for a TTRPG Session & Eureka Song Selections

When our own group plays any TTRPG, we always like to have some amount of background music to help with the mood and tone, and if you do too, then here's a post about how best to choose it, because it is a learnable skill!

I am one of the creators of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

and the idea for this post grew out of making a curated list of songs for Eureka sessions, each sorted into different categories for easy access. The Narrator in a Eureka campaign exercises very little control over the story and pacing of the game, so it isn't very helpful to plan for a specific reveal of specific scene set to a certain song. To that end, I have sorted these songs into various types of scenes, tones, etc. for you to grab as the story is emerging.

You can find these lists here:

Session Intro Music (in case you wanna open each session with a musical theme like an episode of a tv show)

Investigation Scene Music (low-stakes) or Meal Scene

Investigation Scene Music (tense/creepy) Part 1

Investigation Scene Music (tense/creepy) Part 2

Foot Chase Music

Vehicle Chase Music

Scooby-doo-ass Chase Music

Investigators Fleeing/Hiding from Monster Music

Unarmed Combat Music

Deadly/Armed Melee Combat Music

Deadly/Firearm Combat Music

Monster Rampage Music

Monster Hunting Music (as in the monster is a PC who is hunting prey)

How to Choose Music for a TTRPG Session

There’s a few things that make a good TTRPG session song that aren’t immediately obvious.

Avoid Lyrics

Lyrics are a no-go 90% of the time. You gotta assume that the players will be trying to read rules and/or do math during the session and lyrics can make that harder.

Avoid Loud, Dissonate, or Disorienting Music

For the very same reasons—and this is especially useful to keep in mind for a horror-themed game like Eureka—it can't be too dissident or grating. A lot of horror video game music is really dissident screechy and offensive to the ears because this induces a tiny sense of panic, but again, like with lyrics, this means it’s hard to actually play a TTRPG while listening to this.

Don't Outpace the Combat

For combat music, a fast-paced “action” song can work, but if it’s too fast-paced it really quickly outpaces the combat itself because TTRPG combat is necessarily kind of slow. I do have plenty of fast-paced actiony songs in those lists, but those are best grouped into a playlist in sequence rather than looped, because then you at least have the rather frequent serendipity of the song changing on a per-turn basis.

The usual better option is something “tense” and “cool” but a bit more understated, usually with a mid-intensity repeating beat. Complex action songs work in other mediums like movies because their notes can be tailored to sync up to the actual actions on-screen, but that won’t happen in a TTRPG 90% of the time, even if just because describing a character throwing a punch takes way longer than a character throwing a punch in a movie.

For Eureka I also had to like make sure there was a good selection of action music in there that wasn’t too “cool” or “heroic.” Eureka characters are not fearless action heroes nor usually trained soldiers. If they are in a fight, it usually isnt cool, it’s scary. If anything, the combat music should be the bad guy’s theme, not the protagonists’, because they’re the ones with the advantage. When a Eureka PC does have the advantage and can be super “cool” in a fight, they’re probably a monster, in which case it’s the other way around, they’re the terrifying bad guy in the NPC’s story, and I tried to pick music to reflect that with “darker,” more “sinister” tracks.

Choose Songs without Shifts in Tempo or Intensity

You want something that is very easy to loop. Lots of cool songs go through pretty dramatic changes in their intensity over the course of their runtime. This is cool like I said when they can be synced up to action in a movie, but they’ll never (or rarely) sync up with anything in a TTRPG session. They’re going to be playing over and over on like a 3-minute loop as you roll dice and occasionally look up rules, and if this loop is really noticeable because of how the song starts out slow and then swells in intensity, that is going to be annoying fast. You want a song that has a relatively consistent level of intensity throughout its whole runtime.

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but you can still check out the public beta on itch.io to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, etc.!

You can also follow updates on our Kickstarter page where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more, you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy earlier, plus extra content such as adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

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crumpetz · 2 months ago

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a little update on the progress of The Big Road Home

it has been so long since i made a post that i had to figure out what to click on all over again lol. this week it hit me that ppl follow me specifically for fic upates and it just slipped my mind that i could be saying more. i have, like, internet social anxiety, and just default to never saying anything most of the time.

anyway, i'm really happy to report that progress on the fic has really moved along recently. for anyone who doesn't know, i have long covid and the brain fog has really interfered with my writing process. i originally taught myself to write using a certain system where i kept a lot of things in my head at once, and since losing that ability, i've been relearning how to write in a way my current self can do. which especially has sucked for the fic and where it left off, because the part i stopped at was actually a huge group of scenes scattered through multiple otherwise completed chapters that i was saving for later (before i got long covid). because even in my peak condition with my brain capable of keeping all the details straight, those scenes were still so challenging and important to get right that i wanted to wait until i was feeling extra sharp lol. so yeah, i've been basically having to reread my entire fic over and over every time i wanna figure out how to add in like one small part of all the things i've gotta cover (and thanks to the brain fog, on average, i'm capable of thinking thru all that maybe three days out of every month if i'm lucky?)

so, all that rereading and getting the details and characters consistent finally has been paying off, because i reached the stage this past week where i could finally bring it all together. the final product is going to be less seamless than what i'd originally intended, but that's just a given now that my brain is different. and, full disclosure, the stuff that i'm talking about is exposition. which i think for most ppl reading my fic is more like information they just want to know and less something that needs to feel seamless in delivery, unlike character interactions and emotional arcs. so, the reality is that the exposition in the next handful of chapters is gonna be a little clunky, but the non-exposition stuff will all be like normal, with the same amount of care i usually work toward.

i don't want to assume when everything will be ready. final tweaks always take me longer than i'm expecting. but to put it into perspective, i spent the last 2-3 yrs (i forget how long it's been oh no) getting thru like 20 percent of what needed to be done. and then i just spent a few days last week getting through 60 percent. i'm gonna wait until the full set of chapters i'm working on is complete because i want to be able to post them without a long wait in between, and i want to take the time to really get the emotional beats right. but i guess if i had to say anything for sure, it would be that for the first time since i got long covid, i'm truly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for this fic.

my final note is that the next set of chapters isn't the end of The Big Road Home btw. i forget if i ever mentioned this, but from the start, The Big Road Home was going to be three main parts. the first part with jason and tim being street kids together, then this part we're in with tim living with the Wayne's is part 2. there's gonna be a whole 3rd part coming. idk how long it'll be, lol. it's the only part i haven't written a single word of because i've kind of been saving it as a treat.

thanks for your patience and encouragement all this time. as i said, i have pretty awful social anxiety on the internet and don't reply to ppl who reach out nearly as often as i want to. but every kind word or fanart or playlist or thoughtful comment on stuff you noticed etc etc has really carried me through the past few yrs. i can't tell you how many times i was spiraling, feeling like i might not be able to figure out how to write the next part with my current limitations, and one of you said something so lovely and encouraging, and i'd just suddenly have it in me to give it another try.

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reiderwriter · 2 years ago

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can i request a fic of pining spencer reid and bau!reader who are brushing up on some hand to hand combat and reader is really invested on winning finally pins spencer down and reader is straddling spencer and they are both like 😳😳

the rest of the bau and other fbi agents are on the side making varies bets about who wins maybe too? (eg that miss congeniality scene)

A/N: Thank you for the request and omg thank you so much for this one specifically - I loved this idea. I had to make Spencer competitive too, because 😊 I wanted to.

Word count: 1.8k words

Warnings: none! Just fluff, however if anyone wanted to send a follow up request wanting a part two where there is some smut I'd be 100% okay with that... Just if you wanted to.

Part two

When Morgan told you that, after an unfortunate shoulder injury you received on the job, you’d have to take another training course to prove that you were up to being back in the field, you almost resigned on the spot. Passing the first time hadn’t been the easiest feat for you, and while you were confident in your skills in the field, you knew that you were, to put it kindly, athletically challenged.

“There’s no way to get out of it? No exceptions they can make to allow me into the field?” You asked, desperate to avoid Morgan putting you through the ringer.

“I’m sorry, sweet cheeks, but they’re worried about your ability to perform under pressure, so I gotta push you today, okay? You’re not alone, at least.”

“I’m not?” you gave the man a questioning look as you followed him to the changing rooms reluctantly.

“Nah, they pulled up Reid and Garcia as well, you’ll all be doing the work together today.”

“What that’s ridiculous! Penelope isn’t even in the field and Reid has never passed one of these things.” You throw your bag down on a bench, and look ahead of you into the equipment room, and sure enough, there they are, looks of equal dissatisfaction spread across their faces.

“You’re preaching to the choir here, sweet cheeks. You’re in good hands though, I’m not going to push you too hard today.” Somehow you didn’t believe that.

–X–

An hour later you were flat on your back, panting harder than you had in months, dripping with sweat and feeling an ache in your bones that you hadn’t felt ever. Next to you on the ground, you could hear your fellow torturee’s moaning in pain, presumably doing their best to stay conscious.

“You know, chocolate thunder, I love you, I really do, but you make it very, very hard sometimes,” Penelope squeaked out as the other man chuckled from above you. “God I’m not even asthmatic but I think I need an inhaler.”

You chuckled at that and pushed yourself up to a seated position.

“I think I am asthmatic.” Reid said form his position on your other side. You stole a glance at him quickly before blushing and looking away. You didn’t have a crush on him, or at least that was what you were telling yourself, but you did have a keen appreciation for how he looked in his button down shirts and FBI vests. His hair was shorter now than when you first met, and the longer parts stuck to his face with sweat. You were lucky that the strength had been all but zapped from your body because given the chance, you’d be pushing his hair out of his face for him and get lost in his eyes.

“Come on, guys. You finished cardio, you finished weights, all you got left is some simple self defense drills. Think you can handle that?” Morgan laughed from above you.

“No! I haven’t been able to handle any of this, what makes you think I can do more?” Reid moaned out on the floor next to you. You stood up, reluctantly, holding out a hand out to the man and helping to pull him to his feet.

You underestimate the help he needed to get up, though and he has to catch you in his arms as soon as he’s up, as you stumble into him, legs too weak. You blush as the two of you stay uncomfortably close for a few seconds, only pulling apart when Morgan lets out a sharp cough. You jump back from each other then, and pray to god that no one else in the room saw the puppy dog eyes you were unintentionally shooting up at him.

“Okay, so there’s three of you, so I’ll join in for these sparring drills. Any volunteers?”

“To tangle my limbs with yours all hot and sweaty on the floor? Sweetie, I thought you’d never ask.” You hadn’t seen Penelope move so fast all day, though you knew she was only half joking.

“Okay, so Y/L/N, Reid, you head over to that mat over there. You’re going to start a hand-to-hand combat simulation, whoever pins the other down first wins. We’ll do best of three, okay?”

Reluctantly, you made your way to the mat he indicated to, knowing that you weren’t going to have as much fun as Penelope any time soon.

“You’re going to start in a common self-defense scenario. Reid, you’re going to be the assailant, you’re going to come up on Y/L/N from behind, okay?” You nodded at Morgan’s words and turned yourself away from Reid, feeling his presence at your back already.

“Is this really necessary?” He questioned from behind you, and you could practically feel Morgan’s answering look on your back. Finally, he rested a light hand on your shoulder, and your session started.

You grabbed the hand on your shoulder and twisted it, and yourself, behind his back, gaining the upper hand quickly.

“Y/N, come on. Take it easy, I’m exhausted. Just let me pin you and we can call it a day.” Reid said from in front of you and your ears burnt at his suggestion.

“Wait, why would I let you pin me? I have the upper hand right now.” He huffed out a breath and twisted his body underneath your arm, catching you off-guard as he swept your legs from underneath you. Before you could fall all the way down, though, he grabbed you around your waist and held you in what you assumed looked like a ballroom dancing dip.

“You were saying?” You desperately wanted to wipe that arrogant smirk off of his lips. “Actually, I have a few years more experience in the field than you, and I was probably beaten up a lot more in high school, so I wouldn’t be too upset about losing to me, okay?”

You returned his smile sarcastically for a second, before lifting and swinging the heel of your foot into his knee, forcing him to hit the mat as you scrambled out of his grip and repositioned yourself behind him, pulling him arm behind his back a second time in an attempt to subdue him.

“If you have so much experience getting your ass kicked, Spence, why don’t you just let me do it?” You enjoyed feeding his words back to him as he moaned out a little.

“Because something tells me you’d enjoy it a little too much.” He somehow slips from your grip again, swiping your legs out from underneath you and climbing over you. The two of you struggle for a few seconds on the floor, but he has your legs pinned with his own, and he forces your hands above your head. Your heads are even with one another, and you’re both breathing heavily now.

You decide to take another approach to get out of his hold this time. Rolling your hips up into his slightly, you let your eyes rake over his body above you.

“You sure you’re not enjoying this just as much, Reid?” you shoot him an innocent enough smile, but you can see the flush staining his skin, and he loosens his hold on you just enough to allow you to wrap your legs around his waist and use your bosy weight as leverage to flip your positions.

Now he’s on his back below you and you sit up in triumph, straddling his lap. His arms fight to get yours pinned to your side but you give back just as much as he is, and you can feel the crowd forming around you. He decides to fight dirty as well.

“Thought you’d enjoy being under me more than you’d like being on top. I was being a gentleman,” he huffs out and manages to flip you over once more, pushing up and wrapping his legs up over your knees and forcing you onto your back. Your legs are now spread wide for him, his crotch pushed against yours, his arms gripping yours and pushing them firmly into the mat. You struggle a few more times but you know this is it. He’s got you.

“What? Not even going to let my hands go to let me tap out?” you huff out, blowing a stray piece of hair out of your eyes. He pins both of your hands with one of his and gently tucks the hair behind your ear for you as you burn up under his touch, suddenly at a loss for words.

“What, and let you try to tackle me again? Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll let you go.”

“Y/L/N, Reid, if you’re finished over there, you can grab a drink and start over. I did say this was going to be best of three.” Both of you suddenly snap your eyes up to Morgan, who has one raised eyebrow pointed at you. You realise that you’ve also drawn the attention of the other gym-goers and scramble away from each other to the sound of chuckles and wolf whistles.

“Shit,” you run a hand through your hair and get in position to go again, this time swapping with Reid so you take the position of the unsub.

From a distance, you don’t realise that Penelope and Morgan have completely given up on their own drills.

“Twenty bucks says Reid gives in and kisses her first,” she whispers to her companion.

“The kid? No way, he’s being too cocky for that. I reckon Y/N will do it to try and distract him first.”

“I’ll take that bet,” Garcia says, and they settle back into watching the two of you, completely oblivious to the fact that you’re both enjoying sparring a little bit more than you normally would be.

“When do you think I should tell them that they never needed to do this training session in the first place?”

“Derek Morgan, if you are admitting right now that you made me walk through hell and back just so you could force these two beautiful idiots whom I love to recognise their feelings for each other then I am going to murder you and then bring you back to life so I can kiss you for being so smart.”

“So I shouldn’t tell them?”

“Take it to the grave, baby.”

They turned their attention back to you, suddenly way more invested in how this was going to turn out.

#spencer reid #criminal minds #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction #mgg #criminal minds fandom #spencer reid x self insert #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds fluff #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x oc

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odiesdayoff · 2 years ago

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JAIME REYES NSFW ALPHABET?? PLEASE ANYTJING NSFW JAIME 🧎🏽‍♀️

IM GONNA BE SO REAL I HAVEN'T EVEN WATCHED BB YET BUT I YEARN FOR HIM. SO BADLY. this may change when I see it like...tomorrow.

NSFW under the cut <3

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

He’s a cuddler. He’ll plant kisses all over you and hold you against him. He’ll keep telling you how much he loves you.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes his arms. Specifically how strong he is and how it allows him to pick you up and spin you around all romantic-like.

He loves your eyes. The color, the way you look at him, the way you squint when you laugh or smile. He can stare into them for days.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He’s a bit more traditional and likes to cum inside. He’ll always wear a condom, though. He likes the closeness. Also includes your mouth!

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He’s into cockwarming. Or falling asleep like that. He doesn’t know how to approach doing that. The thought of having to do some work and just you sitting with him inside? Makes him swoon.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He went through law school. In GOTHAM. Briefly a city boy. He’s had a few dates before you and he knows how to make you lose your mind. It took a bit of a learning curve to adjust to you specifically, but he’s GOOD.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

When you’re, like, laying down together and spooning while fucking? Idk what that’s called. But that. He loves that. It’s just so intimate. He can hold you close.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He loves to laugh. He enjoys spending time with you and doesn’t let it get too serious.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Trimmed. Dark and curly. That's all I'm at liberty to disclose.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He’s so romantic. Definitely would be the type of person that lights candles and throws flower petals all over the bed. He’s such a sweetie. Will constantly tell you how attractive you are and how good you make him feel.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He’ll never admit it, but he totally jerked off using a pair of your underwear that you had left at his place once. He’d rather not masturbate when he has you, but he has needs!

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Heavy on a praise kink. Whether it’s giving or receiving. He’s also into you being in charge!

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

He’s a little basic. In the bed. He thinks it's incredibly romantic. That, or in the kitchen and dining room.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

When he wakes up in the morning before you and you’re sleeping, he thinks you’re so hot he will actually melt. He would fight for his life not to wake you up and ask to fuck. You getting along with his family gets him going fr. Just seeing the people he cherishes the most getting along with you fills his heart.

Also…neck kissing!!! He looves it.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’ll absolutely NEVER do any of the step-family or things related to family, even as a pretend thing or scene. That’s just way too weird. He’s far too close to his family to think about any of them sexually in any way.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He’s a sucker for making you come and oral is one of his favorite things to do. Bro will literally get under the table and give you head while you’re eating dinner if you even mention being a little horny or maybe someone that flirted with you. He’s gotta show you that nobody can make you feel as good as him. He’s a bit jealous.

He loves to receive, but is far too shy to ask for it. If you put it on the table, he’s giddy. He’ll somehow think that he’s degrading you by asking you to suck his dick.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

He takes it slow. Sometimes painfully slow, making you feel every vein in his dick each time he’s inside of you. If you asked him to be a little rougher with you, he ain’t gonna say no! When you’re on top or in charge, he lowkey loves when you kind of use him as a sex toy and go as fast as you need to reach your orgasm. He likes to prolong the moment as long as he can when you’re under him.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He prefers not to have a quickie. He wants to spend time with you as much as he can and take his time making you feel good. He definitely would not say no if you asked him right before either of you left for work and after you woke up. He just prefers a night full of lovemaking.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

It would definitely take a lot of convincing to get him to do more outlandish kinks, but he likes to try some things at least once. He’s not a “it’s hotter if we might get caught” person. Very much a behind locked doors kind of guy when it comes to sex.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He can go a few rounds. Again, the scarab would increase that stamina by a little bit.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Let’s be so real. Yeah. I don’t think he would have toys for his personal use, but getting things for your pleasure is his favorite thing to do. He loves watching you squirm as he presses a vibrator against you. He would literally ask you to watch a movie, then use the vibrator on you while you sit on his lap the entire time.

Also…that suit? It can literally be whatever he wants it to be…IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He looves to tease you. At the grocery store, while you’re having dinner with your/his family, washing the dishes. He wants you to be completely dripping/rock hard by the time the two of you get to fuckin’.

On the other hand, he likes when you tease him. He’s a firm believer that whatever he does to you, you can do to him. A hand on your thigh under the table at the family dinner? He won’t be surprised when you “accidentally” drop your fork and lean over him to grab it from the floor.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Some guys are afraid to moan, Jaime’s in his partner's ear losing his mind. Initially, he’d be hesitant to be noisy and all, but once he gets comfortable (or you get a place alone) he’ll make sure that you know how good you’re making him feel. He’s a whimperer. Hardcore. You can play with his hair and his breathing gets shaky.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

I have a feeling that he would want to try to fuck while dressed as a priest. Maybe he watched Fleabag in college. Or had some religion in his childhood. Either that or have you dress in religious clothing and act that out. He’s not sure yet, but he wants to try it.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He’s about average size, maybe six inches hard? Uncut. Slight curve upward.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

He would be a few times a week guy normally, but after the scarab fiasco, his drive increases. You could bend over picking something up and he needs to have you right now.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

I feel like he would absolutely pass out after a heated night. Like, I'm talking honk shoo mimimi with one leg off the bed and only half the blanket over his body.

#jaime reyes x reader #blue beetle #odiesdayoff #blue beetle x reader

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370005 · 8 months ago

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sollux & terezi on beforus are in the business of ruining lives (for fun and profit)

details + bonus doodles under cut

ive been in a beforus mood lately so im thinking abt what the trolls lives could have been like.

sollux and terezi are white collar criminals. i wanted to give her the seer curse of Seeing Things even though she isn't a player, so she utilizes her infinite outcome matrix analysis abilities to forsee tragedies specifically caused by negligence. there was definitely a point in her childhood where she attempted to be a mothmanesque figure, warning potential innocents of upcoming events and terrorizing the people responsible for totally preventable misfortune.

but then she grew up and realized that the people who were responsible for shoddy architecture, massive layoffs, and general societal injustices didn't have a conscience to torment. They were gaming the system for money $$$ and you had to hit them where it hurts. she used her proclivity for predicting small-scale catastrophes to predict how said ensuing scandals would affect the stocks for the entities involved. you can't make the executive heads feel bad about dropping 30% of their staff to feed their own salaries, but you can definitely manipulate the market and ruin their public perception until people are papering their hives with the company currency

sollux, who worked the BSE as their best surveillance analyst, clocked terezi as a front runner when she showed up out of absolutely nowhere and scored huge profits after two consecutive PR disasters led to the bankruptcy of like 8 corps and heavy damage to their subsidiaries. it was kind of impressive, but he had a job to do yaknow? terezi, who was immediately on the run from the beforus finance cops and had to be sneakier and meaner with her manipulation, and sollux became completely obsessed with this criminal mastermind who was VERY easy to track. she was always behind the scenes in every major upset but sloppy about it. he probably should have turned her over to the authorities the second he knew her location. but, let's be honest, can you resist a pyrope on a mission?

after a very tumultuous rivalry that swung red and black like a centrifuge they eventually join forces because it turns out terezi doesn't have any inside info. she's just acting on VERY good hunches. there's honestly not really anything illegal she's doing PERSAY. and then sollux joins the efforts and uses his forensic experience to make her a lot harder to track, as well as collecting sensitive info and facilitating scandals that will rock the bottom line of anyone they consider an enemy. terezi is very into the networking part of it, amassing a silent army of business associates who can do the dirty work for them, either through bribery or blackmail. she knows how to get people to do what she wants >:] it's a bit morally dubious but it's all for the sake of the people.

lots of fun moments with these two, like when sollux brainstorms a series of possible connections that could insinuate that a group of people have been too careless in their various embezzlement schemez and theres a big tower of cards begging to be toppled. or when terezi comes to a sudden realisation that a potential whistleblower's nerve is about to run out and they've gotta act NOW if they want to benefit from the fallout.

these two are always hiding from the 9+ cumulative life sentences they've accrued and the financial ruin theyve rained on corporate beforus. as a result, they pretty much only have each other, and maybe a handful of their most trusted affiliates. kind of hard to nourish any type of relationship when the people close to you are in danger of being implicated in your many crimes and all of your enemies are incredibly wealthy, powerful, and influential. i imagine their luck runs out one day and they're disappeared from society without a trace.

#terezi pyrope #sollux captor #beforus #homestuck #art tag #h1bernet inc focuses on beaming data directly into citizens' brains while they sleep. it was only a matter of time before they went under #the clinical trials for their patented nanobot-infused sopor were SUSPECT AT BEST

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phantomrose96 · 7 months ago

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twice now ive started and not finished silt verses. (no particular reason i didnt finish, ive really enjoyed it both times and keep thinking that i gotta get back to it.)

a moment that really hit me, and i think i'll always remember, is in hayward's first episode. the series starts with carpenter, so we know that worshipping the trawlerman is illegal and a bit about what that worship is like, but not much about how worshipping other gods works. even with the deer/hound people (who i forget if they happened before or after hayward's intro), that's another illegal and hidden religion. it leaves space to assume that the deadliness and the human sacrifice is WHY these gods are forbidden.

and then hayward's ep happens. and he says, offhand, like it's something completely unremarkable (paraphrased), 'people following those kinds of gods wouldn't get in trouble over it if they could just be reasonable about these things. there's a right and wrong way to do this, like how every new building starts construction by drowning two criminals in the cement foundation.' hearing that, and hearing how casual he was about it, i felt my entire understanding of the setting shift drastically.

legality wasn't about whether a group of worshippers do or don't kill. it was about what worshippers kill the acceptable targets, in the right way. and suddenly i find myself much more distrustful of a society that's motivated to create acceptable targets than i ever was of how carpenter and faulkner do things.

its a really chilling and well done bit of writing.

someday ill get past five episodes. im sure i'll really enjoy it.

Yes!!! YES!!!!

I've mentioned once or twice in my ramblings here that that was also my biggest "Oh" moment for TSV.

I started out episode 1 vaguely thinking of Carpenter and Faulkner as if you'd made a podcast following TMA Avatars as main characters. We know right off the bat the Trawlerman's people are human-sacrificing cultists. Obviously Nana Glass wasn't a good person. She killed people! And she got killed in a police stand-off because she was a mass murderer. And we know Carpenter and Faulkner are following in her same line of work so, really, we're following antagonists aren't we?

And then my "Oh" came later with (not necessarily that Hayward scene specifically) but when I went "Oh. The Trawlerman's people are being persecuted by the authorities not because they're human-sacrificing cultists. But because they're the losing human-sacrificing cultists."

Because actually, the legal authorities, the politicians, the corporations, are all very much part of human-sacrificing religions. That part is allowed. These "backwards hick" gods are illegal and horrible, because their kind of human sacrifice is uncivilized. Unlike the civilized people's human sacrifice, which is allowed because the corporations and the institutions have okayed it :).

They do so much with it over the series.

Also I see you're only on episode 5 so actually I'm putting this part beneath a readmore since I checked and this is about episode 7

The episode with Paige recounting what happened to Vaughan is what drove it in for me, I think. It plays out line-for-line like a corporation going through lay-offs "These are tough times :(. We understand this is difficult for everyone leaving us today :(." but they are... just... allowed to kill these employees they're letting go in a ritual sacrifice. To a legal god. And Paige thinks surely they won't--surely good people won't do that--but they do, very much, kill Vaughan.

Money is tight and times are hard and ritualistic human sacrifice is, in fact, incredibly allowed... As long as you're one of the legal powers, doing it the correct way.

#the silt verses #tsv #chrissy listens to tsv

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drakorn · 6 months ago

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Rewriting Veilguard Part 6 - The Mourn Watchers

Rewriting Veilguard Part 5 - The Antivan Crows

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Writing an Origin Story Mission for the Mourn Watchers

Riiiiight, the Mourn Watch. The Mourn Watch, the Mourn Watch…the Mourn Watch…yeeaahhhppp.

So, you see, when I started these rewrites, the two factions I dreaded the most were the Mourn Watch and the Lords of Fortune. And I’m gonna tell you why: Unlike the other four factions, these two don’t actually have any faction-specific stories. Sure, the Mourn Watch has the ghost bosses, and the Lords of Fortune has that one arena, but other than that? What exactly do these factions actually contribute to the story? They introduce Emmrich and Taash, respectively, sure. But that’s all they’re really here for.

While Veilguard definitely provided me with a lot of foundations to start working on the other factions’ origin stories, the Mourn Watch will require me to refer to Rook’s entry blurb alone and come up with something from there. There is no faction-specific villain to set up, no major contribution the Mourn Watch has to the overall story, nothing at all, really. On one hand, I dreaded it. On the other hand, I find myself strangely excited. Here, I can actually make something up from the ground while still trying to stay true to the spirit of the game.

Yeah, I could just take the Johanna Hezenkoss plot and make that the faction story as that’s the closest thing the game has, but nah. I’d like for that to still remain Emmrich’s companion story. I think, I might have something else in store for the Mourn Watch as a whole.

So, without further ado, here’s a potential origin story mission for the Mourn Watchers.

Creating Rook

So, for the fifth time, we press the start button, watch Varric’s introductory narration, and then click on the Mourn Watch background. At this point, anyone watching this hypothetical walkthrough on Twitch or YouTube is probably screaming at the streamer to finally proceed with the actual story. But we gotta see all the potential backgrounds.

Right, so, we are met with the Mourn Watch faction background, and the little blurb says:

“You are a Mourn Watcher. This elite necromantic order explores the mysteries of life and death, and tends to the undead in Nevarra’s sprawling Grand Necropolis. As someone who has lived among the dead your entire life, the gloomy depths are nothing unusual for you. But when the dead begin acting out of place, even the most safest corner of your home becomes treacherous and perilous. Will you uncover the truth behind the hauntings? Or does your path lead to an early grave?”

The last name, Ingellvar, applying to all four races, isn’t that big of a stretch in this one. Everything we need is already graciously provided by the game itself.

At some point in our infant life, we were found in a coffin somewhere in the Necropolis and adopted by necromancers. Well, in this rewrite, we’ll say that the necromancer who found us was a single man named Alberich Ingellvar. And the Necropolis has a bit of its own thing going about races, so that’s more of a secondary thing. The more important backstory factor here is our class:

If Ingellvar is a mage, they’re a direct member of the Mourn Watch, since those are all mages.

If Ingellvar is a warrior or a rogue, they’re a guardian of the dead, in service but not directly part of the Mourn Watch.

For the sake of this playthrough, let us go with a human mage Ingellvar.

NOTE: For the duration of this origin story mission, Rook will be referred to as Ingellvar in dialogue for the exact same reasons as stated in the previous entries. “Rook” simply does not exist yet.

Once we finalise our Ingellvar, we press on the start button again, and Varric continues his narration.

In the opening narration of the Mourn Watch background, we get to hear the overall inciting situation: The Grand Necropolis, located just outside of Nevarra City, bordering the Silent Plains, is currently in a bit of a messy situation. Multiple undead strangely go rogue and attack their supervising necromancers, disturbing the overall flow of the facility. Their attacks have grown increasingly bold over the last few months. The necromancers are the last force preventing the undead from reaching the surface. And that’s exactly where Varric hopes to find someone he needs for his own endeavour.

So yeah, you see, the War of the Banners is something mentioned in Rook’s Mourn Watch backstory text in the actual game, but we don’t ever get any proper elaboration on it. I think that’s a perfect set-up for an engaging origin story mission. So let’s see how we do!

The Grand Necropolis

I have to give praise where it’s due: The Grand Necropolis looks amazing in-game. It has that perfect blend between sophistication, eeriness, and Tim Burton-esque weirdness going about it. Hey, I never said I hate DAV! There are quite a few things to be praised about the game we got, and the overall presentation of the Grand Necropolis certainly is one of them.

What I would like to establish, however, is its proper location. Some say, it’s in the heart of Nevarra City, others position it somewhere on the outskirts. A few recent concept artworks from Matt Rhodes show it somewhere in the Silent Plains. So let us implement something and stick with it. In this rewrite, the Grand Necropolis lies just outside Nevarra City, right on the border to the Silent Plains. And that’s not an insignificant position lore-wise, for the Silent Plains are, of course, where Dumat was slain at the end of the First Blight. There are some…interesting implications to be had here, and I will delve into them when the time is right.

Meeting Myrna

We begin our game with Ingellvar entering the Necropolis Halls, where we are expected by Myrna. And right off the bat I’m going to make a small change to Myrna. Well, not really a change, more of an expansion. You see, we never actually get Myrna’s last name in any canon material, so for this rewrite, I’m going to call her Myrna Ingellvar. She is our adoptive sister. It was both a combination of our own efforts and her prestigious position that got us into the ranks of the Mourn Watch, which is, I might remind, the most elite necromancer group around. Obviously, in a non-mage origin, we’re an assistant to the Mourn Watchers, but since we’re playing a mage here, we’re a full-on member.

Myrna greets us and gives her congratulations on us finally making it down here, where all the action against the rising undead takes place. We quickly learn that she’s here to pick us up as we’re both invited to attend a lecture on the restless undead, delivered by none other than Professor Emmrich Volkarin. Not only that, since we’re playing a mage here, we get the added bonus of having been chosen as the professor’s new apprentice. Yeah, the Mourn Watcher background really gives us a lot of good things to start off with. We have…a lot to lose!

Myrna calls upon Audric Felhausen, the undead guardsman we met in Tevinter Nights, to accompany us to the Memorial Gardens, where Emmrich is set to deliver his lecture. We are just needed there a bit earlier since we’re kinda important for it.

Exploring the Necropolis Halls

Before we head to the Memorial Gardens, we have the opportunity to do a quick exploration segment in the Necropolis Halls. Not much is yet revealed here, but we can still have a few nice interactions:

We can talk to Myrna and reminisce about our family. It is revealed that our father is actually dead now. For his long-standing services, he has been granted the rare honour of Lichdom and is now residing somewhere in the deepest parts of the Necropolis. Perhaps we may visit him sometime. Yes, we are part of the Mourn Watch, so…we would know what a Lich is.

We can exchange a few words with Audric where we’re reminded of the fact that he’s actually a spirit possessing Audric’s body. Also a bit of set-up for the future of this mission given that Audric’s story revolved around stopping an undead nobleman possessed by a pride demon. While he’s working at the library nowadays, he’s sometimes still used as a guardsman, especially now.

We find a series of letters between King Markus Pentaghast and Myrna, revolving around dispatching a few Mourn Watchers to the royal palace. A little piece of set-up for later, since King Markus is not what he seems.

We can find another series of letters from a few enraged Pentaghasts demanding to know why King Caspar’s tomb is not accessible until further notice. The Necropolis is simply too dangerous right now.

We can read a final letter from Sidony, a mortalitasi mage previously featured in DAI and Tevinter Nights, now a member of the Mourn Watch herself, informing Myrna of the arrival of someone they had previously discussed.

The Professor

Once we’re done, we signal Myrna that it’s time for us to go. We then get a short but sweet cutscene showing the Ingellvars and Audric travelling through the silent halls and passages of the Necropolis, always on guard. But so far, nothing is attacking us. Hopefully it stays that way until we get to a larger gathering.

Thankfully, fortune is on our side this time around and we successfully arrive at the Memorial Gardens, where Emmrich Volkarin and his trusty assistant, Manfred the skeleton, already await us.

Emmrich bids us a very warm and polite welcome and greets us as his new personal apprentice in the arts of necromancy. As a first little task together, we are to light the candles of the Memorial Gardens, both to honour the spirits and to respect the dead.

As we go about this business, we can also find two letters addressed to Emmrich lying on a small nearby desk:

One is from Bellara, as the two are in the process of exchanging knowledge from far away. We get a hint of the magic in Arlathan Forest growing wilder and more unpredictable.

The other is from Dorian, who used to be Emmrich’s student in younger years. It is both a pleasant and informative letter as we get a small hint at rising tensions within the Magisterium.

We can also have a short interaction with Manfred in which we first learn from Emmrich that he’s a spirit of Curiosity.

There is still some time before the lecture begins, so Emmrich invites us to a game of chess. It is quite a favourite pastime of his, and he likes to test our strategic thinking and patience.

The chessboard looks fittingly gothic and we begin our game without further ado. It is both a nice conversation with Emmrich as well as a perfect opportunity for us to roleplay Ingellvar’s personality traits. In the end, we succeed at the game by beating Emmrich’s Queen with, you guessed it, our Rook, check-mating the King in the process.

Emmrich congratulates us on a well-played game and definitely wants to play again, but later, for it is now time for the lecture.

Lecture on the Undead

As the Memorial Gardens fill with other Mourn Watchers, students, and a few outside visitors, we stand next to Emmrich in front of a huge brazier of green fire. Without further ado, Emmrich welcomes the gathered lot and begins.

Why exactly are we showing this, you may ask? Well, Emmrich is an esteemed professor and scholar, so I think it’s only fitting to show him actually being a professor. And Ingellvar as his apprentice gives us ample opportunity to roleplay our character as someone who is either still learning or very knowledgeable already.

In this playthrough, we have a desire to impress our teacher, so we take all chances we get to contribute to the lecture, something that greatly pleases Emmrich. We deliver a lecture on the nature of the undead, possessed corpses, spirits, the Veil, and how to best respect all. But we also inform the people of the current dangers in the Necropolis, that something is disturbing the spirits here, causing them to occasionally lash out and rebel.

As if on cue, the Memorial Gardens are suddenly swarmed with skeletal warriors, intent on slaying everyone they see. Well, Emmrich didn’t expect such a lively demonstration of what we just discussed.

Together with Emmrich and Myrna we fight against the undead, while Manfred and Audric are ordered to stay out of it given their own spiritual status. The fight isn’t particularly long or hard, but we are tested. In a particularly dicey moment, we are suddenly aided by the rapid firing of a crossbow, look to the side, and see none other than Varric Tethras!

An Old Friend

Once the last of the undead are dealt with, Varric introduces himself to us. Emmrich and Myrna are already aware of him, and so are we if we choose to be, given that Varric is very well-known in the world. He says that Sidony tipped him off on troubles in the Necropolis. Myrna knows this already as some correspondence was held a few days ago.

Varric compliments both our fighting and scholarly skills and offers his assistance in the matter at hand, which we all accept.

As we investigate the slain undead, we notice something quite odd: all the warriors bear the Pentaghast banner. Strange, indeed. Emmrich concludes that we must make our way deeper into the Necropolis posthaste to check up on the Royal Chambers. There seems to be something going on here that we aren’t yet quite aware of.

Given their spiritual existence, Manfred and Audric are told to stay here, as there can be no way of predicting the risks they would find themselves in otherwise.

Deeper into the Necropolis

With Myrna, Emmrich, and Varric, we descend into the deeper parts of the Necropolis, towards the Royal Chambers. This is where the Nevarran kings and queens of the past are all entombed, along with their family members, which, given that we’re talking about the Pentaghasts and Van Markhams, is quite the number.

When we reach the Royal Chambers, we are immediately swarmed by another undead horde, one that we are able to fight off with great difficulty. However, the oddities only increase, for these skeletons bear the Van Markham banner. What is going on here? Why are undead Pentaghasts and Van Markhams trying to attack the living? We knew something was going on, that some corpses began to rise against the living, but this is new.

We must delve further.

The Royal Chambers

When we reach the Royal Chambers, we find the doors unsealed, wide open. Before we enter, a dark figure seemingly materialises out of thin air and approaches us. This is Vorgoth, the oldest of the Mourn Watchers who isn’t a Lich. Nobody really knows who and what they are, but they are benevolent and helpful, so everyone just assumes they are some manner of manifested spirit, and leave it at that.

Vorgoth tells us that a great conflict has escalated between the undead, bidding us to follow him. When we do, we oversee a large clash between undead Pentaghast and Van Markham soldiers. Ultimately, it ends in a stalemate and the forces retreat to their respective wings. This is now absolutely baffling. Well, we all know that the Pentaghasts and Van Markhams are constantly vying for control of the Nevarran throne. But usually this only happens when they’re alive. Why would spirits possessing the dead suddenly wish to re-enact this fight in such a visceral manner?

Since we’re playing a mage, we get a bit of a unique scene now. We’ve been noticing it barely on the edge of our subconsciousness, but now it’s getting clearer: something about the Veil is…different here. We’ve been down here before, but now there is something else in the air…something colder.

We can’t really explain it and neither can the other mages in the party. Emmrich finds this whole situation both alarming and utterly fascinating, and we agree with him. Despite this being incredibly dangerous, we can’t help but feel intrigued. Something is going on down here.

Now we get to make a big choice that will impact the rest of this origin story. The decision is made to split the party. While Ingellvar, Emmrich, and Varric investigate one family mausoleum, Myrna and Vorgoth head for the other. We can choose to:

Investigate the Pentaghast mausoleum. We shall head for the much larger Pentaghast crypts and see if we can find whatever is stirring the undead.

Investigate the Van Markham mausoleum. While not as vast as the Pentaghasts’, we shall still have our fair bit of work to do.

Well, since this particular player here wants to learn more about the Pentaghasts, that’s the choice we’re going with for this playthrough. Myrna and Vorgoth will investigate the Van Markham section. The plan is to meet back here once we’re done. We bid a temporary goodbye to Myrna and Vorgoth and the party splits.

The Pentaghast Mausoleum

Together with Emmrich and Varric, we head off into the Pentaghast Mausoleum and are immediately greeted by another batch of undead warriors we have to fight our way through. But in between the fights, we get to experience some neat dives into Pentaghast lore, as well as some callbacks to DAI:

We see a massive tapestry depicting the entire Pentaghast family tree, all the way from King Caspar to Cassandra, showing just how abnormally gigantic this family is.

We take a look at the rather recent tomb of Vestalus Pentaghast, who was the overseer of the Grand Necropolis until his death two years ago.

We pass by the tombs of Matthias, Tigana, and Anthony, Cassandra’s parents and brother respectively. Matthias and Tigana may have been executed for treason, but they still have a place in the family crypts. When passing by Anthony’s tomb, we can find a series of letters left by Cassandra on her visits here, in which she talks about how she is now running the reformed Seekers of Truth while still maintaining contact with the remnants of the Inquisition. She had feelings about revealing how to reverse Tranquillity but doesn’t regret doing so anymore.

NOTE: In this World State, Cassandra restored the Seekers of Truth and made the ritual to reverse the Rite of Tranquillity public knowledge.

I think it’s important to have quiet and atmospheric moments during exploration missions where you can just let the atmosphere take you on a journey into another world. This has the potential to be one such moment.

While passing through the Pentaghast Mausoleum and all the crypts and tombs in it, we feel this strange coldness that has been plaguing us for a while now. The deeper we get, the stronger it becomes. And we still have no idea what’s actually going on. Why are the Pentaghasts and Van Markham’s fighting each other?

When we venture a little deeper, we find dead Mourn Watchers who have been viciously slain. We suddenly get swarmed by the biggest horde of undead so far, way too numerous for us to fight off. Ingellvar and Emmrich try to use their magic to soothe the spirits possessing them, to no avail. One of the undead croaks that the King shall see us now.

An Audience with the King

We are taken to the deepest and most lavish part of the Pentaghast Mausoleum, the crypt of King Caspar the Magnificent. Now, Caspar is, of course, not only the first king of Nevarra but also the founder of the Pentaghast dynasty. The lore states that young Pentaghasts are traditionally brought into his crypt so that the spirit possessing his mummified body may speak to them.

His crypt was built in the style of a great and ancient throne room. The king himself sits upon the throne and “grants” us a very forceful audience. And Caspar looks just gaunt, like a creature straight from a Tim Burton movie. His throne room is drenched in green veilfire. He demands to know why the Mourn Watch keeps interfering in the War of the Banners, to which we reply that the dead should not be waging war at all. The dead must either rest or fulfil their duties to the Necropolis. But rising up against the living is neither of the two.

Caspar stands from his throne and approaches us. Throughout this whole scene, we can be either very respectful or feisty. But we’re playing Ingellvar as a very dedicated and honourable Mourn Watcher so we try to be respectful. As Caspar circles us, we see an opportunity to try and exorcise the spirit out of his body. It would be risky, but perhaps the undead would disperse then. Caspar’s spirit has surely been corrupted into a demon by now. So, do we:

Try and banish the spirit out of Caspar’s body?

Keep our head low?

In this instance, we try to do the right thing, so we perform a Mourn Watch ritual to banish the spirit possessing Caspar’s body. This leads to a horrifying discovery: Caspar is not possessed by a spirit. He’s not even possessed by a demon! He’s not controlled by another’s magic, either. Caspar is...something else. He’s no Lich, that much is clear, but he’s no longer the spirit that usually resides within the corpse either. So what is it?

Enraged, Caspar attempts to have us executed, only to be interrupted by something. As a mage, we are able to pick up on the cold air suddenly turning utterly freezing, and a voice calls through the emptiness, a dark voice, hollow and deep, as though coming from an abyss. It orders Caspar to bring us prisoners down to the Altar Chamber. Here’s where we get some lore: The Altar Chamber is the last room that separates the rest of the Necropolis from the domain of the Lich Lords. It is the place where newly chosen Liches are given their immortality.

The undead, led by King Caspar, take us away.

The Altar Chamber

We are taken down the deepest, most ancient stairs of the Necropolis, before meeting at the doors to the Altar Chamber. But we are not alone. Myrna and Vorgoth are also here, flanked by Van Markham soldiers, led by King Tylus Van Markham, the first of the Van Markhams to ever assume the throne of Nevarra. Tylus and Caspar at first are furious upon seeing each other, but the cold voice has commanded them both to bring the prisoners to the Altar Chamber.

Now that things can’t possibly get any stranger, we enter through the door.

The Lich Lord

In the great Altar Chamber, we encounter a tall, looming figure, with green flaming eyes, clad all in black. As Mourn Watchers, we recognise the figure immediately: a Lich Lord. Now things are even more confusing. The Lich Lords are supposed to protect the Necropolis from such undead uprisings. And yet here we are.

The Lich welcomes us, Myrna and us specifically. He then performs a glamour spell and assumes the form we find most familiar: before us stands our father, Alberich Ingellvar.

At the beginning of this entry, I said that our father, who found and adopted us, was such a dedicated member of the Mourn Watch that he was granted the honour of lichdom. Well, this is him now.

Alberich states that he sees clearer than the other Lich Lords and wishes to finally open the First Gate. Here’s where Emmrich perks up and we get some more lore: The First Gate lies at the heart of the Lich Lords’ domain. It existed before the rest of the Necropolis, and nobody aside from the Lich Lords knows what’s behind it. All we know is that protecting that gate is their main duty above all else. And Alberich seeks to open it.

He brought us here to grant us lichdom as he wants his children at his side. Here’s where we get a first hint of Emmrich’s own desire to be among the Lich Lords should he ever prove himself worthy. But this is wrong, one must earn their place in immortality through a life of dedicated and selfless servitude.

We can ask Alberich about the War of the Banners. He states it as a rather beneficial side effect of his rituals at the First Gate but doesn’t elaborate any further, we still need to keep some mystery alive for later.

As we study the undead around us, especially the two kings, we notice that they are reluctant to be here. So they aren’t possessed or controlled but somehow they both feel obliged to obey Alberich? Why?

Myrna betrays a hint of distress upon seeing her father abuse his powers like that. Vorgoth condemns his actions, calling him unworthy of lichdom. This seems to be the first case the honour was granted to one undeserving.

Paying them no heed, Alberich compels the Ingellvar siblings to step forward and receive lichdom. We can either:

Obey and step forward, expressing genuine interest in lichdom.

Resist because this is all kinds of wrong and goes against our teachings.

We choose the second option and refuse. Myrna agrees with us wholeheartedly. Alberich orders Tylus and Caspar to bring Myrna and us to him. The grip of the mummified corpses is as steel.

But just as we are about to be presented to Alberich, who reverts back to his Lich Lord form, Vorgoth unleashes their whole power. They send forth a burst of magic so strong that it just banishes the spirits out of all the possessed undead soldiers, sending them to the ground. Caspar and Tylus, since they’re not possessed, are knocked back against the wall, hissing and cursing. Alberich resists with some difficulty but ends up knocking Vorgoth out of the Altar Chamber.

He regards us with disappointment and declares that if we won’t join him in immortality willingly, he will bring us over himself. As Emmrich and Varric attempt to join us, they are attacked by Caspar and Tylus and engage in a fight with them.

Myrna and us are thrown into a boss battle against Alberich, in which he unleashes terrifying Lich powers upon us. This is, again, one of those fights we are probably meant to lose and come back to stronger at a later stage in the story.

As Alberich attempts to stab Myrna with the ritual dagger that would initiate the lichdom process, we jump right between the two and engage Alberich one-on-one. Alberich stabs us squarely in the chest and throws us to the ground. As he attempts to go through with the ritual, the dagger is shot out of his hand by Varric, followed by a crossbow bolt to the head, distracting him momentarily.

Varric and Emmrich, having gotten past Caspar and Tylus, rush to our side and, together with Myrna, drag us out. Alberich and the two kings attempt to pursue us, but Vorgoth returns and casts another blast against them. Then, all goes black.

Healing and Leaving

We awaken in a bed, our chest bandaged up. Myrna sits next to us and is overjoyed to see us finally showing signs of life again, a rare display of emotion for her. She tells us what happened: We escaped just at the last possible second, by the skin of our teeth. After a while, Caspar and Tylus broke off the chase and returned to their respective crypts, while Alberich remained in the Lich Lords’ domain. Nobody is ever the wiser about what is actually going on.

We feel a strange cold in our hearts and Myrna explains that it’s the after-effects of the ritual dagger. It will only improve if we leave the Necropolis for a while and get as far away from Alberich as possible. Confused, we ask where we should go. The Necropolis is our home. Myrna tells us that we should speak to Varric about that. He might just have an idea.

We leave our room and find Varric not far away. When asked about what this strange idea of a trip might be, Varric explains that he came to the Necropolis in search of someone who would accompany him on a most daring and perilous adventure. We don’t know if we should frown or laugh given that we just escaped a most daring and perilous adventure and were instructed to leave in order to heal from it. But what is it and where are we going? Varric can’t tell us just yet. We’ll just need to wait and see. Great.

Before we depart, we, of course, have the chance to talk to our Mourn Watcher friends one last time:

Vorgoth commends us on our refusal to heed the call of lichdom, which speaks of our worth. They recommend us to keep our soul clear of corruption while we are away.

Emmrich (now accompanied by Manfred once more) bemoans that we won’t be able to study together after all. We would have made such an absolutely fine apprentice. But our journey outside is not indefinite. We shall return and Emmrich will have the spot reserved. We have proven ourselves most deserving. Manfred gives a happy hiss.

Myrna bids us a very heartfelt goodbye for now and thanks us for saving her back there. We, of course, tell her to look after herself and not heed our father’s call. She agrees and expresses her intention to occupy the library for the foreseeable future, learning everything she can about what could have possibly led to everything that happened down there. Audric shows up and prepares to escort her to the library.

When we return to Varric, he recommends us that we change our name. If Lich Lord Ingellvar gets any ideas to come to the surface, we may not wish to be associated with him, given the clearly malicious intentions. We can’t really think of anything at first, but one last look at Emmrich reminds us of our chess game earlier, so we hesitantly say: “Rook.” Varric compliments us. “The strongest piece on the chessboard. I like it.”

Following Varric, we pass through the corridors of the Grand Necropolis, approaching the surface. Now called Rook, we look back one last time, before following our new acquaintance into the unknown.

And there we have it! A potential origin story mission for the Mourn Watchers. I am fully aware that it’s not at all perfect, and I am not entirely happy with it. Nevertheless, I hope you still found a modicum of enjoyment while reading this.

Next time, we shall travel to Rivain and tackle the last of our six factions’ origin stories with the Lords of Fortune, and boy do I have a bone to pick with those people. Stay tuned!

Rewriting Veilguard Part 7 - The Lords of Fortune

#dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #datv #veilguard critical #creative writing #rewritingveilguard #datv spoilers #dragon age inquisition #varric tethras #cassandra pentaghast #emmrich volkarin #rook ingellvar #dragon age rook #dragon age myrna #vorgoth #mourn watch #manfred the skeleton #grand necropolis #mortalitasi

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cringesdead · 13 days ago

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REVIEW OF KING OF DRAG S1E1, BY A DRAG KING

I just gotta talk about it okay. Spoilers for the episode structure, but no spoilers for this week’s winner and loser.

I have not looked too closely at the critical reception on Reddit because Dragula Reddit burned me too hard with its braindead takes and occasional misogynistic pile ons. The two criticisms I’m vaguely aware of are that the production value is low and than the elimination challenge was weird and bad.

Let me say that, compared to season 1 of both RuPaul and Dragula, the cast of King of Drag blows them out of the water. These are polished, extraordinary artists the lot of them and I am SO FUCKING HAPPY to see them on tv. Crazy that Kings did not get their own show (or were ever cast on Drag Race) until 2025 but I think this cast is very reflective of the fact that-

Drag Kings have always had to work harder to get the same recognition, attention, and pay that drag queens get. This is true across the board from the highest level down to your local Friday night audience. I come from a smaller scene and while the actual drag artists make great efforts to be inclusive and recognize diverse expression, audiences on the whole tend not to get it unless you’re very dolled up and/or do burlesque or some other kind of sexy performance. The drag king starting out doing silly shit in a cheap suit largely does not get the same praise and attention as the new queen doing dips in a thrifted corset.

King of Drag S1’s production value is: very good and cute! I like the stop motion paper style, the kind of highly colorful highly art focused opening is very charming (RPDR could never), the set is nice, the stage is perfectly serviceable. I don’t understand what complaints about production value come from especially compared to season 1 of the other shows. Huh????

The pacing and flow of the show was: decent to serviceable. I’ll talk about the elimination challenge in a moment, which is definitely the part where this episode falls off for literally one minute. I really appreciated the focus on the contestants drag philosophy and experiences, and I think it’s the right choice to have a focus on taking up space and celebrating the fact that drag kings finally have their own show. I do not know if that takes away from the average viewer’s entertainment or not but I truly do not care.

I do think there was a kind of strange underlying dissonance between the masculinity of the challenges vs what a lot of drag kings (as represented by this fantastic cast) actually do? I too would have trouble doing a sports anything. I hope the challenges broaden in scope at least some, but we’ll see. The set is also kind of hypermasculine and doesn’t quite capture the spectrum of king drag like the cast does. I wonder and worry if a drag watching audience has much connection to things like sports or if hypermasculine aesthetics appeal to them. This is purely worry for their numbers and ability to retain an audience- RPDR and Dragula both have a specific aesthetic scope that is better rounded out by the artistic interpretation of their talented casts.

Some people say the king’s court (judges panel) is too big. I have no opinion either way. I think them voting for elimination down the line is good classic reality tv tension.

And now for the elephant in the room: the breakdance elimination challenge-

It does feel awkward and weird. No one really attempts a breakdance, they just vibe to the music for a bit, like it was a lip sync except there’s no words. Maybe they did the attempt but it didn’t make the edit, who knows! I watched this episode at a local gay bar and the room was very confused about why the elimination challenge was breakdance based, and the perplexed reaction lasted all the way through the performance.

In art competition shows, the elimination matters. Audiences want to feel like the contestants are being judged based on the merits of whatever art the show is about.

In RPDR, it’s a lip sync battle- a staple of drag performance and a head to head comparison of charisma uniqueness nerve and talent. It’s a very natural way to do it, and very engaging to watch.

In Dragula, which has fear factor style elimination challenges, they rarely do anything directly related to drag but they plainly lay out their philosophy- conquer your fears to find success. For me at least, this is deeply tied to being a drag artist (especially an alternative drag artist) and it’s also just flat out the queer experience for a lot of people. It’s scary. It hurts. It comes with a real threat of bodily harm at times. But you do it because the other side is more than worth it. It’s also high stakes and engaging to watch.

Drag is a crazy fucking art form. It takes a ton of different skills to do and you can fold an infinite amount of skills into it. I’ve used things from every art I’ve ever done- drawing, writing, music (composing, singing)- and I’ve had to learn a ton more like makeup and sewing and performing on a stage to even start. I feel like I’m learning three new skills per look, and there’s still a metric fuck ton I want to learn (I’ve been putting off wigs for a while now lol). All that to say, there is a LOT you can pull from for an elimination challenge, and drag is so broad of an art form that if you go in a more philosophical direction there’s tons and tons options for you.

Breakdancing, which has not been mentioned in the entire episode up to the elimination challenge, does not fill the audience’s need to witness the merits of the contestants. On top of that, no one actually Did Breakdancing (in the edit) and this was never acknowledged in the show that I saw. I wonder if they were embarrassed about it in the editing room?

I think a very simple fix to this would be to present the elimination challenge as: This is a new show and we’re going to ask you to do new things. As drag artists and especially as kings, we have to adapt while preserving our artistic vision. Therefore, give us your best drag breakdance.

I think it also would’ve helped to see them go at it one at a time, in this case, and the confessional can talk about their feelings on breakdancing and how they intend to approach the challenge with their character. What we actually got seemed rushed and swept under the rug.

Overall it was a great episode and I loved it!!!

Miscellaneous thoughts:

Big D is extremely similar to my drag dad and it makes me miss them like craazzyyyy.

I don’t have any favorites, I love them all and I want all of them to win.

Writing, recording, and choreographing a boy band number with 4 strangers after being in drag all day sounds like an absolute nightmare.

Sending the eliminated contestant off with the cast throwing flower petals over them is very sweet, I like it a lot, and I think it nicely reflects how kind and supportive drag kings are (#NotAllKings, but I stg on the whole kings are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet).

Anyway tune in next week for another review.

#king of drag #review rant #drag race #rpdr #dragula #drag king #drag #drag thing

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one-chaotic-neautral · 8 months ago

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There's a whole bunch of things I gotta say Abt act 3 that I don't have time to, but my god the SYMBOLISM, so I'm just gonna do the couple of obvious ones that stuck out to me.

Spoiler warning ofc.

In ep7 when jayce was in the pit, he broke his leg and used the design for viktors leg brace (which he knew well enough to recreate, the two likely worked on it together in the past which I love) and then painstakingly climbs out. He's in the undercity at the time.

The whole sequence, due to him wearing the leg brace, is very unsubtly a parallel to Viktors journey of metaphorically crawling his way up out of Zaun and into Piltover. Which is to be assumed as his backstory before meeting Jayce, and was probably still something he felt like he was doing his whole life.

(Also hallucinating both Mel and Viktor in the same place is very bisexual behavior Jayce. and adds to the parallels between Mel and Viktor, they're both mages that go through physical transformation this season, and whole bunch of other scene parallels)

In ep 9, during their little gay transcendence scene he basically tells Viktor he's perfect, that he admired everything about him and that his leg and his illness were never flaws etc. Last season also ended with Silco telling Jinx she's perfect.

Which I think its neat we got that happening at the end of both seasons, in a show where identity is so important, (and toward two of the main physically and mentally disabled characters specifically). Personally I loved Jayce including Viktors leg as being a part of him and therefore something he loved as well, that he never needed to feel ashamed about

Again in ep 9 at the end, when Vi is holding Jinx and Warwick over the ledge. This kinda parallels s1 act 1. (With the obvious first scene of teen and tween Vi and powder on the roof in piltover, where Powder falls but Vi is there to pull her back up)

Vi wanting to save Vander, Jinx trying to save Vi when that goes wrong. Now Jinx is hanging there with the literal weight of her dead family weighing her down, as Vi holds onto her trying to pull her up, despite the baggage being to heavy but being unable to let go. Vander so well representing the guilt and trauma she carries with her.

In the end she knows she'll pull Vi down with her too, so she forces her to let go. By stealing the hex crystal, which is what started this whole mess, but is such a jinx moment of quick thinking.

God I bawled at the end there I kept thinking they've gotta have another scene that shows maybe she didn't die, or Ekko came to save her again, but no.

I'd go into more detail cause there's just SO much about this season but I've gotta go and I'm sure someone else will cover everything. The show was just phenomenal.

#arcane #arcane spoilers #arcane season 2 #arcane s2 #arcane season two #viktor arcane #jayce talis #jayvik #jinx #jinx arcane #vi arcane

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nishitanis-left-nut · 2 months ago

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finished LaD. I think Ichiban fixed something in me.

but first of all- took em long enough to give us a majima crotch shot in this game (what hes saying with no context makes this funnier. you gotta go 100 times WHAT)

positives first (im gonna make a separate post with all the more stinky complaining and nitpicking-)

(stinky complaining)

"Once you're at rock bottom, the only way forward is up."

i feel like this is one of those phrases that gets so overused in media that whenever i see it it just automatically reads as insincere and a lazy way of trying to say something profound, and maybe im biased since i was in a place where i needed to hear it, but this time around it didnt feel like that. might have made me cry even. whos to say. the story is pretty self contained and simple (by yakuza standards) and ichiban is a nice man so it doesnt come across as it talking down to you?? the scene feels very encouraging and the lack of mean spiritedness in how ichiban talks and carries himself is nice??? i still feel like they set some things up and then subsequently did nothing with them but eh. i think most of my complaints about this game actually kinda boil down to how they spent the entirety of it teetering in between making it feel like a "yakuza game" and dealing with the new game mechanics and direction and not really knowing how to do both at the same time. eh.

do NOT separate them

this entire last scene gutted me actually. i noticed it back when saeko cries at the club but damn the crying in this game feels so visceral and real like- theyre full on ugly crying on screen. i tried looking back at other crying scenes in past games and the only ones that look and feel like this are kiryus reaction to rikiya getting shot and the nishiki forest scene in y0 (i know the animation is a product of its time too but also specifically with women, comparing sayama crying over ryuji and saeko crying over the soapland owner its like night and day. sayama looked pretty and her tears were barely there, not a grimace or wrinkle in SIGHT, saeko at least was allowed to look "ugly" when she cried) i dont think this scene wouldve hit me as hard as it did if they hadnt made ichi look as distraught as he does (also the vocal performance cuz holly shit? holy shit.)

i knew i was gonna like ichiban, look at him how can you NOT like him? but even while playing the game i didnt think he'd end up leaving that big of an impression on me. but here we are. we really do need more media that revolve around "Adulthood" and how different people cope with and adapt to it, i wish LaD had spent more time on those aspects of the story honestly since with each game it feels like the crime drama parts of it keep trying to get pushed to the backburner, but they still suffocate everything else- no, positives, positives-

im not someone who plays a lot of games so before i picked up any yakuza game id been feeling like Something Was Missing and that something was a piece of media. and then i played yakuza 0 and it was like oh. i guess i live here now. i really do need to start playing more videogames because i feel like its one of the phew mediums where we still constantly get adult protagonists dealing with Adult Things aside from romantic relationships or work without it also just being a parody or a comedy? and it taking itself seriously??

i keep thinking about yakuza 3 and how the game had you be with kiryu as he lived a normal life for a while, it felt like a resting point in his life because, well, it was. and how in yakuza 5 we got to go to work with him and i feel like stuff like that was missing from this game. every domestic and "normal" thing ichiban goes through in this game happens off screen, and for a game thats got friendship and the power of community at its center that feels kind of weird?

not sure how the rest of the fandom feels about y5 and the whole taxi substory and the parts of it you had to do for the main story but i really liked being able to see kiryu get somewhat comfortable in his new environment and do "normal" things. and, as flawed as it is, theres no debating the importance the quiet parts of yakuza 3 had on him and the games that came after it. if y3 hadnt had kiryu interact with the kids as much as it did, if it hadnt had us see how HAPPY he is living with them in okinawa, y5 and y6 wouldnt have hit as hard as their supposed to

in y5 you can even send money to the kids through atm's for christmas presents, and every time you do kiryu sends money thinking of a specific kid and he goes on a small tangent thinking about the things they like and how old they are and sending money according to what he thinks theyll want/need and its like- these are HIS KIDS. he knows their interests he knows their birthdays and even though hes not supposed to exist to them anymore he still wants them to have a good christmas because thats what children deserve thats what HIS children deserve-

i went- kiryu tangent. but back to ichiban, my point was that even in those games where they have the crime drama at the center and are extremely action packed, they still took the time to have kiryu do normal things so when he gets ripped from that you feel it. ichiban didnt get any of that, the crime drama isnt really as all-encompassing as it is in the other games and the "normal" bits of it you gotta hunt down around the map or be TOLD they happened

this was uh, this was supposed to be the Positive Thoughts post so ill get back to that rq. despite all of my barely disguised animosity towards how they didnt balanced the action and the character progressions i really did enjoy the game. i think. i adore ichiban so that counts right? im still real confused about why they established how he can get blinded with rage really easily but then didnt. do anything with that? in fact they kind of go back on it and just have him POSITIVE THOUGHTS POST GRAAAFKASFMPJJO

live laugh love ichiban, i wish the writers loved you as much as i do. i kept calling him a shonen protagonist in other posts because thats kind of the impression i got from him at the start and ive seen other people describe him like that too, but thats not exactly accurate to how he is as a character. hes a really nice person, a stubborn man thats got an idealistic view of the world and wants to make it better so his life and the people in it can be better. i love you kasuga ichiban and i hope whatever happens to you in infinite wealth isnt that bad cuz itll make me sad

who the FUCK are you nick and who do you work for

#ichiban kasuga #ichiban #rgg #yakuza 7 #kiryu kazuma #yakuza 5 #yakuza 3 #yakuza #like a dragon #nick ogata #masato arakawa #majima goro #taiga saejima #saejima taiga #goro majima #daigo dojima #kasuga ichiban

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 8 months ago

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Is there a reason Marinette’s lying to Adrien about Gabriel doesn’t make sense to you from a character-standpoint? She’s lied a fair bit in the show for reasons other than keeping her identity or crush on Adrien a secret, and her love for Adrien has consistently created a blind spot for her in terms of her “general” morals/behavior.

Is there something more specific to Marinette’s pattern of behavior that indicates how her lying about Gabe would be OOC, or is the lie something you believe Canon!Marinette should recognize as too egregious to take part in?

(The closest alternative explanation I’ve seen thus far is that she shouldn’t have any reason to lie for Gabe because they share zero good will, but if we interpret it as lying for Adrien, then I’m not sure if that explanation fits.)

I have, admittedly, not gone through the show and tracked every lie that Marinette has ever told to see if I can weave together a pattern that backs Marinette's behavior at the end of season five. It's possible that there's a lie that I'm forgetting that would totally change my stance and, if you think that's the case, then feel free to respond to this with a comment or an ask on that topic! My "this is BS" stance is based on the overall story of the show and the ways that I've seen people try to justify the season five lies as those are the arguments that I've thought through and found lacking.

We'll start by discussing the two lies people use to try to back Marinette's behavior at the end of season five: the scarf and Chat Blanc. Then I'll talk about the story's lead up to the season five lies and why it makes for a horribly unsatisfying story in my eyes. If someone gave this to me, I'd be suggesting some major edits to make it work on a technical level.

The Scarf

For those who don't remember, the season one episode The Bubbler sees Marinette make Adrien a scarf for his birthday. She drops the scarf off at the Agreste mansion with a note for Adrien and the hope that this will get him to finally notice her. Nathalie then takes the scarf and uses it as a gift from Gabriel instead. Marinette learns about this during this exchange at the very end of the episode:

Alya: Yo, nice scarf, Adrien. Off the chain. Adrien: Yeah, can you believe my dad got this for me? (Marinette looks surprised) it's so awesome. He's been giving me the same lame pen for three years in a row.... Alya:(to Marinette) You gotta tell him you were the one who knitted the scarf. Marinette: But he seems so happy about his dad. I don't want to spoil it for him. Alya: Aw, Marinette. (they hug.) You're amazing, girl. You know that, right? And someday Adrien will figure it out too. Promise.

I can see why someone would look at this and call it a setup for the end of season five. There are some parallels here. The problem is that there are a lot of massive differences, too. Differences that make this a really crappy setup:

Marinette does not lie in this scene. She simply overhears a lie and doesn't correct it. Remove her and Alya from the scene and nothing changes. The lie still exists. Meanwhile, without Marinette, the season five lies would never have come to be.

Marinette knows about the scarf lie for about a minute on screen. She hears about it and tells Alya to let it go within the same scene. That's a gut reaction, not a carefully planned and considered deceit. Once again, wildly different from what season five gives us.

Adrien and Marinette aren't shown to be close friends in season one. They rarely talk to the point that I didn't even know that they were supposed to be friends until we got to Origins. That complicates correcting the scarf lie. How does Marinette approach a random classmate and explain a situation that she doesn't even fully understand herself? That's very different from Ladybug telling a lie to a civilian or Marinette lying to her boyfriend.

Season one Marinette has no idea how messed up Adrien's home life is. All she knows is that Adrien liked her gift, but that he thinks it came from a different person. She doesn't even know that a lie was involved in this confusion! As far as she's aware, this could just be a minor misunderstanding that she'd rather let go because does it really matter who the gift is from? This is extra true because the scarf never comes up again, meaning that this is not an ongoing or damaging lie as far as canon is concerned.

That last point and the issue of Marinette never actually telling the lie herself are probably the biggest points in Marinette's favor. If Adrien wore the scarf all the time and used it as a comfort when he was fighting with his dad, then you'd have a solid case for Marinette needing to say something because the lie is arguably doing actual harm. This is especially true if you let Adrien say things like, "I wear this to remember that my father loves me," to Marinette. But that's not what canon did.

As far as canon is concerned, the scarf lie exists for all of a minute. A minute in which Adrien expresses delight in the gift, but gives it very tepid weight in terms of what it means for his relationship with his father. (Adrien's room is full of nice gifts, I don't think a scarf was going to make-or-break their relationship.) After that, the scarf never comes up again, meaning that Marinette's gut reaction to not immediately destroy Adrien's happiness is all we get. That's hardly a great setup for her being the source of massive ongoing lies about Adrien's personhood and the truth of his father's abuse.

I'll also remind you that this all happened at the very start of the show. The Bubbler is one of the first episodes people see. If this is your best argument for Marinette's behavior five seasons later, then we have a major writing problem on our hands. You should not have to dig back to the very start of the show to justify a major character beat like this. There should be more relevant material. We'll circle back to that problem in a minute. First let's quickly touch on lie two and why it also falls flat.

Chat Blanc

Another thing people point to as foreshadowing for the season five lies is the fact that Ladybug kept Chat Blanc from Chat Noir and, if Chat Blanc was actually affecting her, then I would agree with this take. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. The official story is that Ladybug's actions in season four had nothing to do with Chat Blanc. It was just guardian stress! If that's true, then I don't think she should tell Chat Noir about Chat Blanc.

Why?

Since when do we tell people about all the awful things they did while they were akumatized? There's no point to that. It's cruel. Do you think that Ladybug also needs to walk him through everything he did while under the control of various akumas like Dark Cupid? If no, then how is Chat Blanc any different? What's the value in telling Chat Noir the gory details of what will happen if he ever has a moment of weakness and becomes akumatized? He already knows that it will be bad! Why tell him exactly how bad it will be? I can't come up with a single good canonical reason.

Ladybug has no idea what caused Chat Blanc, so she can't warn Chat Noir what he needs to avoid. You can't even use the "he should know about Bunnyx" argument because that wasn't Bunnyx's debut. Canonically speaking, the only reason that Ladybug should talk to Chat Noir about Chat Blanc or any other bad thing that he's done while under the power of an akuma is if it's effecting her or their partnership and it's apparently not! That's why Marinette never reacts to Chat Noir getting a white makeover (see: the Paris special & Jubilation) and why Chat Blanc is never discussed in the show outside of that one brief nightmare callback in Sentibubbler.

To be clear, I think that's an asinine choice as Chat Blanc's memory hurting Ladynoir would have been semi-decent foreshadowing for the season five lies, but the writers decided to go another route. They also let Chat Blanc haunt Adrien even though he doesn't know about it, which I don't even know how to dissect because it's such terrible writing! If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the official explanation for why Adrien couldn't make it to the final fight. The reason for the white-and-blue Chat Noir that haunted his nightmares:

Mélanie says that he "could become Chat Blanc" and the others add that even though he does not remember and has never lived it, Chat Blanc still has an influence on his actions.

Quality writing here folks. Quality writing. At the very least have season five Adrien be freaked out about the fact that he cataclysmed a human! That would make this make at least a little sense, but we don't get that. Instead we get Adrien almost cataclysming several akumas like it's no big deal while having nightmares about a thing he's never even been told about (see: Derision and Jubilation and probably other's I'm forgetting.)

The Events of Season Four and Five

As you can hopefully see, we don't have a great, ongoing pre-end-of-season-five lie to point to as proof that Marinette would decide to tell the massive lies that she does. That's a pretty big writing flaw, but it's not a show stopper. A lie like this could still fit her character if the story sets it up right.

The problem is that the story doesn't do that. It actually sets Marinette up to be primed to want to tell the truth.

For all Miraculous' nonsensical and wacky writing, the season five lie still comes at the end of two seasons with relatively clear messages. Those messages were to trust others and avoid lies. Let me show you what I mean.

While season four's writing is an absolute disaster, we cannot ignore the fact that the stated lesson in Strikeback is that Marinette learned to trust others, give up control, and stop lying:

Ladybug: Why don't you just give up on me? I've lost ALL the Miraculous! I'm the worst Guardian EVER! I wanted to control everything, I didn't listen to you, I lied to you, I kept you at a distance! Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it! I really made a mess of EVERYTHING! (continues sobbing)

This is what Marinette says to Chat Noir directly after losing the Kwamis. This is the lesson that she supposedly learned. The end note of the season. The word of god meant to be internalized by children everywhere. The show even goes so far as to have Ladybug give Chat Noir more responsibility in the first episode of season five (Evolution):

Cat Noir: Catch, m'lady! (throws the Rabbit Miraculous at Ladybug and she catches it) Only the holder of the Rabbit Miraculous can open a time portal. Ladybug: (contemplates shortly then places the Rabbit Miraculous on his chest, smiling) You do it, kitty. Cat Noir: You want me to control time? Ladybug: It's you and me, remember?

Really driving home this idea that Ladybug is going to be more trusting and open with others moving forward.

The meat of season five sees Marinette and Adrien start dating. During this arc, Marinette learns to be more open with her feelings around Adrien while also being confronted with the reality of just how messed up Adrien's home life is. Marinette and Gabriel clash with each other over Adrien with Marinette fighting for Adrien's freedom and Gabriel trying to control everything:

Gabriel: I don't think you understand, child, so let me put things differently. Life is like fashion. You think you have a choice, but all you have is the illusion of choice. And I decide what choices are given to you. Marinette: You're wrong! (Shows Gabriel her sketchbook.) Fashion is about listening to people, it's about understanding who they are, what excites them and creating the clothes that will help them express their inner world. Help them connect with others and make their dreams come true.

This conflict means that Marinette and Gabriel do not have a single positive interaction in the entire season outside of maybe the final. We also see Adrien defy his father more than ever before. This is not the kind of setup you write if you want Marinette to tell Adrien that his father was a hero. Why in the world would she think that he'd want to be told that kind of lie? Why would he even buy it after all of the things that Gabriel has done? The final literally sees Adrien locked in a padded prison cell!!! Writers, what are you doing??? Why did you write this???

There's also the fact that season five has a major theme of lies = bad. It's the season where Lila's lies are finally outed, but only after they almost cost Marinette's friends their futures. For those who need a reminder: Lila tried to mess with the forms that stated where everyone wanted to go for lycée and would have succeeded in pulling off that harm and blaming it on Marinette were it not for the lies being outed.

On top of that, we also see Adrien keeping the plan to ship him off to London from Marinette, ending in this exchange:

Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien! Adrien: (voice breaking; in tears) Marinette, I should've told you sooner, but... up until the last minute, I thought I'd find a solution. I tried everything, I swear. Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien, what's... what's going on? Adrien: I have to leave Paris. (his voice breaks) I'm not worthy of your love. I feel terrible for hurting you.

Adrien kept the truth from Marinette to try to keep her from being hurt and ended up hurting her more than he otherwise would have because they don't even get a proper goodbye.

None of this is a solid setup for Marinette turning around and lying to Adrien about his father. Why would she do that after all of the harm lies and Gabriel caused in season five? Between this and season four, she has not been setup to want to lie to Adrien. Season five needs massive rewrites to make that choice work! (Note: I have yet to see the London special, but based on everything I've heard, I think it's just going to cement my annoyance at Marinette's wishy-washy writing by continuing to ignore the plot of the seasons leading up to the final and the special.)

Final Thoughts

I don't think that Marinette lying to Adrien about his dad is a terrible idea. It's a believable struggle! It just doesn't fit her character's journey. They've failed to have her tell that type of lie before and they had her tell this lie after two seasons where the main lessons were how much lies have hurt her and the people that she loves. If she hasn't gotten the message that you shouldn't lie by now, then when exactly is she going to learn it? It's incredibly hard for me to get invested in characters that aren't allowed to grow and learn from their mistakes and Miraculous has made it abundantly clear that it will not let these characters grow if growth messes with the plot that the writers want to tell.

I will openly admit that I think that Marinette's lie was a last minute retcon to make there be a cliffhanger to season six, but let's ignore that and give a quick three-point plan of how you could make this ending work:

Really lean into the negative consequences of people knowing the truth about things. Nino knowing Alya's identity outing Alya. Luka getting shipped off to Brazil. Make the truth hurt Marinette at every turn. Basically remove all lies = bad consequences and have Ladybug see losing the miraculous be the result of trusting others because she trusted "Adrien" and lost, leading her to keep pushing people away

Don't let Lila be outed. Have Lila be a good president and make that part of her big plan for the next season.

Have Gabriel and Marinette get along. Gabriel has said that Adrien is like Emilie, let Gabriel see himself in Marinette, leading Gabriel to trust Marinette to be Adrien's support should the worst happen. Let the final fight be a heartbreaking moment between two people who have an actual relationship built around loving Adrien. Have Adrien going to London be a "convenient" trip to get him out of the way on the day of the evil plot and not a prison sentence so that Gabriel doesn't look cartoonishly evil. Make it feel like he cares! Sell the redemption!

Do that and, yeah, I'd buy Marinette's choice even without setup lies because you don't need setup lies! Setup lies don't matter anywhere near as much as selling this lie and the writers simply didn't do that. I don't believe for a second that Marinette would lie for Gabriel or think that this was what Adrien wanted based on the relationship season five gave us for those three characters. It is so glaringly obvious that this is nothing more than a stalling tactic that has nothing to do with Marinette's character and everything to do with the show's rule that "there must always be a secret between Adrien and Marinette." I genuinely struggle to understand how anyone sees it as anything else.

#anon ask #ml season 5 salt #marinette deserves better #ml writing salt #ml writing critical #I have to say doing these writeups really drives home the bad writing more than actually watching the show #Because I try not to think too hard while watching the show #Then someone asks a question and I have to think it through and it's like “wow this writing is so much worse than I thought”#Give these guys a Razzie award!

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nyxi-pixie · 11 months ago

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Hiiiii.

Sorry to bother you, I wanted to know if you had any fic recs? Your writing is so good and your tastes are immaculate, and I am starving for any kind of good content. Please?

its not possible to bother me love dw <3

NOW. i dont actually read all that much anymore bc i am horrendously picky but this does give me an excuse to hype up the few authors that have satisfied my unreasonably specific tastes 🤩.

so. a few bsd recs for you (except theyre 99% skk because im horribly predictable forever). everyone go read all of these and tell the authors how wonderful they are in the comments please <3

anything @booksandpaperss has ever written is genius work and everyone should read it. could talk abt all of their stuff for hours (and i have🤩 they put up w so much of me bothering them godbless). also our brains do some accidental crazy mind melding shit whenever either of us write fic so if you like any of my stuff you will like theirs. thats the rules. <3

like twin stars in the dark (we collide)- dead apple skk porn as a vehicle for 22skk analysis. makes me salivate i have read it so many times. they get 22skk better than anyone🙏

my lies are for you to keep (my love for you to lose) - the only take on beastskk that matters to me ever. you can actually see me losing my mind in the comment i wrote on this fic bc of how fucking insane every single line made me. theres SO much packed into this thing its fucking crazy i NEEEEED everyone to read it. thats all <3

till death, I'll give you my breath - dazai death timeloop. this fic terrifies me so much i await every update with my teeth chattering and my heart pulsing so rapidly i should be hospitalised. the first scene of chapter 2 genuinely had me on the verge of tears im unwell about it.

(elli also has some jjk stuff thats REALLYREALLY good and if ur into jjk u should check that out too.)

NOW. aside from being a propaganda machine for my fav writer ever. Heres some other stuff i love.

the second perspective by @wildflowerteas. murder mystery/detective noir stuff w some time fuckery. the au of all time. mashes aspects of beast, canon, and some extra special niko sauce into a mixing bowl and goes crazy w it. just Such a genuinely impressive piece of writing. i could talk abt the technical brilliance of it for hours but i will stop myself. you gotta commit to this thing because it WILL make u crazy. also i loveee the sskk. its like if we had the beast first meeting sskk forever. SOSO GOOD!!!!

did fate guide the gun or did you? by @kanetheo. i read this pretty soon after chapter 109 and it genuinely fried my brain for months. the writing style is beautiful (as for everything they write AUGHH!!!) and the angst is delectable. the way it intersperses more fun silly skk moments with just. complete misery. GOD. it just hits. ive reread it quite a few times and it never fails to make me go crazy. srsly cannot rec this enough.

the decomposition of dazai osamu by @hella1975 this shot several bullets through my brain and i still havent recovered. i keep thinking 'oh i should reread that' and then i dont bc some part of my brain still concerns itself w maintaining whats left of my sanity. BUT its crazy good and everyone should read it and suffer at least once. EVERYONE LOVES YOU OSAMU!!!! EVERYONE EATS YOU!!! line of all time lets all kill ourselves.

smoke held conversations by feralrookie - i havent reread this in a while but it does cool stuff with nlh and the skkisms are really good in this too. ppl often write teen chuuya as less intelligent than he actually is. hes very observant, esp of dazai, and this fic gave me that 🙏

i called your name til the fever broke by forest_raccoon - vampire chuuya. biting is involved. i blacked out reading it. enough said.

#most of my motivation to write is bc there isnt enough of what i want to read bc im cursed w being the most picky fic reader ever #but this stuff is all sooo good and everyone should read it #ALSO anonnnn<33 im glad u like my writing teehee🥰#asks #soukoku #soukoku fanfiction #skk fanfic #bsd fic recs

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v-o-i-d-e-d · 2 years ago

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May we have a oneshot based on this scene (https://youtube.com/watch?v=BgVJDd5vHfw&feature=share) for Spockxreader?

Omg, I love this scene! Of, course I will do it! I altered some parts just a little bit but the gist is the same. I hope you like it!

Title: Hello Sweetie

Pairing: Spock x fem!reader, implied platonic Jim Kirk x reader, and platonic Bones x reader

Warnings: canon violence, it's implied that Jim meddled for matchmaking purposes, nothing else I think

Word Count: 2924

She really shouldn’t have been here. Pure lunacy had gotten her here in the first place. Doctor (Y/N) (L/N) was never meant for this type of fieldwork and she was willing to bet that her own lack of skill was a huge reason why she was in this particularly dangerous situation. She was stood in the middle of a very ornate room – a sort of banquet hall she surmised – with her hands cuffed in front of her. Her elegant dress was singed at the hem and her hair had fallen out of its elegant updo. She looked around and noticed there were a total of three other people in the room all of whom wore heavy robes with hoods to obscure most of their faces: the alien guard beside her the one behind her and the one standing by the door they just came in through.

“You know when I get invited to parties, normally there’s food,” She said to the guard who stood closely to her right. He did not acknowledge her at all and his large, bug-like eyes stayed focused on the door at the other end of the room. (Y/N) rolled her eyes, “So much for small talk.”

As she shifted her weight from foot to foot with impatience she couldn’t help but place partial blame on the genius who thought this plan up in the first place. Captain James T. Kirk. Just a day earlier he had cornered (Y/N) in her office and asked her to take part in a simple recognizance mission.

“I’m telling you this is an easy mission and it will go off without a hitch! You’re in, you’re out, you’re done,” Kirk pleaded as he followed her out into the main area of the medbay. He had just explained how it would be perfect for her because she was sociable and friendly. Of course, he couldn’t help but add in the added benefit of her good looks. “People will be spilling their guts to you! All you gotta do is bat those eyelashes.”

“Captain, this is harassment. I told you: missions like that are not in my job training.” (Y/N) turned to face Kirk and used her hand to apply emphasis to her statement. “I. Am. Not. Going. End of story.”

The door opened after what felt like hours but what was only a few minutes. (Y/N) watched as an alien that looked similar to the guard but larger walked confidently into the room accompanied by a few other guards. The big alien was dressed in fine clothes and had an elaborate and heavy-looking headdress on, signaling to (Y/N) that it would be good for her health to not piss him off. She stayed silent until the alien stood so close to her that she could smell him. He smelled of rotten meat and expensive oils.

“You are Doctor (Y/N) (L/N) of the starship Enterprise.” He said. “I have reason to believe you are a cohort of Commander Spock.”

This took (Y/N) by surprise. Her brows furrowed and her lips tugged into a frown. Sure she had worked with Spock plenty of times but surely not enough to be considered a cohort, or associated with him by name.

“I think there’s been some sort of mistake here. I don’t even know Commander Spock that well!”

“Spock suggested you specifically for the mission.”

(Y/N) paused and dropped her hand down to her side. Kirk could very well be lying just to get her to agree but then why else would he want a surgeon doing a spy’s job.

“No, he didn’t. You just want me to give in,” She huffed and gathered some old patient files that needed to be sorted and brushed passed Kirk and into her office. She couldn’t deny the rush of warmth spreading across her face but she could do her best at hiding it.

“I’m serious! He said you were beautiful and that you would be disarming enough to get people to talk to you about anything,” Kirk once again followed (Y/N) into her office but this time stopped to lean on the door frame. He crossed his arms and smirked as he watched the doctor deadpan at him.

“Commander Spock said that? Those exact words?” She didn’t believe Spock even knew how to actually compliment people, even behind their backs.

The alien huffed and one of his henchmen stepped forward. He was very scrawny and his large eyes darted wildly around the room.

“We have reliable intel that you are close to the Enterprise’s second-in-command and we would like you to divulge his whereabouts. We know that he has been trying to infiltrate our databases and that is a crime that can not go unpunished,” his voice was harsh, like a steaming tea kettle and (Y/N) winced.

“Well, I’m sorry but your intel is wrong. I wouldn’t even classify us as friends. Well, I mean it’s not that I don’t want to be his friend. I actually like him a lot but he spends just about every moment with me in silence or critiquing me so-“

“Enough! Quit your useless rambling and tell us where he is!” The boss alien thundered out so loud that the floor seemed to shake. (Y/N) was officially freaked out.

“Look, I’m telling you, I have no idea where he is! I don’t even know if he’s on this planet!” She pleaded with the aliens and hoped they believed her because it was the truth. She hadn’t seen Spock for a while, even before Kirk made her go on this mission.

“Yeah, he didn’t say those exact words but that’s definitely what he meant to say. I could tell.”

“Kirk, get out of my office.”

Kirk sighed and walked up to the desk, “Just please do this mission. We are so close to our goal we just need a little push. (Y/N)-

“Doctor (L/N).”

“(Y/N). Please.”

If there’s one thing that (Y/N) can’t resist, it’s James being sincere. It just happens so rarely that she caves right away. After a moment of glaring into Kirk’s pleading eyes, she rubbed her eyes and sighed, “Fine!”

“Yes!” Kirk pumped his fist in victory.

“But I want to talk to Spock first.”

Kirk paused and side-glanced before looking back at (Y/N), “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Cause he’s on the mission.”

“I thought you said he asked for me. How could he have told you that if he’s on mission already?” (Y/N) raised an accusatory eyebrow, she was sure she caught Kirk in his lie but he was quick.

“Because he just left this morning. Now find your hottest dress and meet me in the transport room for your briefing,” Kirk tapped the desk before quickly exiting the room.

“Wait, Now?!”

(Y/N) could honestly say she had not thought of how to get out of a situation like this. All attention was on her – something that she would normally thrive with – but she was at a loss for words for the first time in her life. The big alien grumbled and leaned forward to look closer at her face. She didn’t hide her fear.

“Look, I swear on my life I don’t know what Spock is doing or where he is,” She couldn’t hide the tremble in her voice but she tried to be as firm as possible.

“Humans,” the alien spat, “They lie so blithely.”

“I’m not lying!”

“How can you claim to like someone but know nothing about them? You are lying!”

(Y/N) huffed and rolled her eyes, “Just because I like him does not mean he likes me! The guy does not even think that way! He doesn’t talk to me unless it has something to do with my job!” She had stepped forward during her rant but was immediately seized by the guards that were closest to her. They gripped tightly on her upper arms but the guard on her left quickly loosened his grip and she couldn’t help but think that the sensation was familiar. It reminded her of her first meeting with Commander Spock.

She was in a hurry to get to the medbay as she had been sent a 9-1-1 message by Bones. In her hurry she had been completely disregarding the safety of other people in the halls, bumping into several people while shouting an apology over her shoulder. It was while she was giving one of these hurried apologies that she managed to bump into a solid form that barely stumbled while she went tripping toward the ground. With a yelp, she braced for the ground but was stopped by a strong hand taking hold of her upper arm.

“Doctor (L/N), it’s not safe to be running through the halls. The hazard is amplified when one is not paying attention.”

The monotone voice of Commander Spock caused (Y/N) to snap her eyes open and scramble to stand on her own two feet rather than being suspended by her arm.

“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry, Commander! You’re totally right, I wasn’t paying attention-“

“Apology accepted, Doctor,” Spock interrupted her rambling and then walked passed her without waiting for a response. (Y/N) huffed and frowned as she too walked away from the scene of the social crime.

“Well, isn’t he a sweetie,” She grumbled before picking up her pace through the halls, this time paying attention to where she was going.

From then on, “sweetie” was (Y/N)’s nickname for Spock. She was careful to never say it to his face since she had worked with him a lot more since the “incident” but in private and amongst friends, the sarcastic endearment rolled easily off the tongue. It got to the point where she even used it with the Captain.

“Why do you call him that, it’s weird,” Kirk questioned one day over drinks in the lounge.

“Because every time I talk to him, he’s an asshole. I think it’s funny.”

Kirk laughed and sipped his whiskey. “Well, I think you might have a crush on our favorite Vulcan.”

“Oh, I definitely do,” (Y/N) was very direct. Kirk choked on his drink in surprise and coughed as (Y/N) continued, “But that’s out of the equation because I don’t even think Spock thinks about anyone unless they’re useful for something he needs doing.”

(Y/N) downed the last of her drink and shook her head to try to rid herself of the floaty state the alcohol put her in. In the morning, she would regret letting James Kirk in on her best-kept secret but she was not worried about that or anything else except for going to bed.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Kirk said with a smirk. Spock walked in with his hands clasped behind his back and his usual blank expression. Upon noticing the state of his friend and his colleague he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Oh, hello, sweetie!” (Y/N) laughed at her own words and Kirk couldn’t help but laugh as well. Spock was stunned into silence. He let his hands drop to his sides and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He didn’t know exactly how to respond, she had never called him anything other than his name and rank before. He decided to ignore the sudden endearment.

“Captain, you’re needed on the bridge,” He managed to finally say what he needed to say before quickly turning and leaving the room.

When Kirk took the liberty of retelling the story to (Y/N) the next morning, she was mortified.

The large alien hisses to one of his henchmen in a language (Y/N) doesn’t understand and then another one of them steps forward. In a tone that seemed to be unsure of the words he was saying, he started,

“Our studies show that typically when one human likes another, the feeling is reciprocated,”

“Spock is not human,” (Y/N) couldn’t help but laugh before correcting herself, “Well, not all human.”

“Then you have no reason to protect him.”

“That’s not how feelings even work! Not human ones! I admire him and I will protect him but I do not expect any such action from him. Just as I don't expect a sunset to admire me back or for the stars to gaze back at me! Feelings are not about reciprocity!”

“This does not align with our intel,” The big alien was clearly angry, and (Y/N) had a strong feeling that things would not go well from here but as she said she would do her best to protect Spock.

“Regardless of your intel,” (Y/N) scoffed, “Commander Spock has much more important things to do than worry about me or what I’m doing so. I’m of no use to you. Let me go.”

Why did she never know when to shut up?

The large alien’s face stretched into what (Y/N) had to assume was his version of a grin but looked more like he was preparing to eat her. She wouldn’t doubt it if she was being honest.

“If you are of no use for giving information, you can be put to other uses, Doctor.”

“What? Wait!”

The guard to her right started to lead her back toward the door they came through and (Y/N) began to struggle.

“Take her to the nursery, the larvae must be fed,” The big alien ordered with a loud cracking laugh. Just as (Y/N) yanked harshly away from the guard pulling her, the guard to her left took firm hold of her arm once more but instead of leading her forward, he tugged her back into him. Suddenly, he pulled a phaser and shot the other guard. Crying out in fear, (Y/N) struggled once more to get away from this rogue guard as the henchmen began to make their way over to stop him. The guard removed his hood and revealed his face.

“Commander!” (Y/N) gasped and her cheeks reddened. Everyone paused for a brief moment of shock before the big alien roared for his henchmen and guards to seize the two star fleet officers. Spock shot a few more before looking down at (Y/N) with an almost unnoticeable smirk.

“Hello, Sweetie,” He said before moving his grip from (Y/N)’s arm to her hand and pulling her to a run. (Y/N)’s face was warm and it was not because of the running. She couldn’t help but laugh as they ran through the corridors, dodging phasers and guards. “We have to get to the front entrance. That’s the only place Scotty can beam us up!” Spock shouted over his shoulder.

“Right!”

They ran until they reached the front room. Standing in the middle of the room was not the best option but they were only there for a moment before they both felt the familiar feeling of being beamed up to the transport room. Upon their arrival, Spock immediately ushered (Y/N) toward the awaiting Doctor Bones.

“I’m fine! Just a few cuts and bruises. Nothing I haven’t had before,” (Y/N) tried to wave the grouchy Doctor away but he swatted her hands away and then removed the cuffs.

“I’ll be the judge of that, cupcake. You look like you caught on fire.” He was gesturing to the hem of her dress.

“I think for a moment I did,” (Y/N) laughed while Bones shook his head.

“All right, you’re free to go. You too, Spock.”

Bones finally released the two, though he had told Spock that he could leave about twenty minutes ago. The Vulcan had refused. Spock and (Y/N) walked side by side in silence for a while before Spock broke it.

“You have misread me.”

(Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at her Commander who was still looking straight ahead. “What do you mean, Commander?”

“My feelings about you. You have misread them.”

Her eyes widened. In the chaos of escape, she had forgotten that Spock was standing right next to her when she basically saying she loved him. Okay, slight exaggeration but she still felt embarrassed.

“Oh.” That was all she said. All she could say. Another time of silence passed.

“I apologize if my actions suggested that I do not enjoy your company,” Spock was deliberate with his words as if he didn’t know if what he was saying was the right thing. The tips of his ears were tinged a faint green when he finally paused in his step to look at (Y/N). She noticed the blush on his ears and couldn’t help the small smile that snuck onto her face.

“So, you like to hang out with me?”

“Well, I’ve never accompanied you in a social setting so it would be illogical for me to say that I like something that I have not tried.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes.

“However, I do enjoy working with you. You are very good at your job, Doctor (L/N),” Spock clasped his hands behind his back so that (Y/N) would not see him picking at his cuticles. He was nervous.

“(Y/N).”

“Pardon?”

“Call me (Y/N). Outside of work obviously,” (Y/N) shrugged and looked away from Spock’s intense gaze.

“(Y/N).” She could’ve melted at the way her name sounded coming from his lips. It was experimental and a bit rigid sounding but it was a start. She finally looked back into Spock’s eyes and smiled brightly.

“Do you want to go get dinner with me, Spock? I’m starving,” (Y/N) resumed her walk, this time in the direction of the cafeteria. She heard Spock’s steps fall in line with hers.

“I highly doubt that you are starving. You always attend normal meal times which means you must have eaten this morning,” Spock said in a matter-of-fact tone. (Y/N) laughed and shook her head.

“It’s an expression, Spock.”

#Spock x reader #AOS Spock #Star Trek #Jim Kirk #Enterprise #xreader #SpockxYou #Doctor who reference #Spock Imagine

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