#I have a lot of thoughts on the augment situation though

[thresholdbb]

Let’s talk about some of the problems with Star Trek. There are obviously real-world, behind-the-scenes reasons for many of the things we don’t like about Star Trek, and they’re usually pretty messed up. A very non-comprehensive list includes but certainly is not limited to:

Geordi being bad with women - racism

Geordi and Worf being the people of color on the cast but in heavy make-up - racism/othering

Harry Kim not getting a promotion - racism (see: model minority)

Klingons all being black/dark skinned (pre ~2001 at least cause that’s mostly what I know) but sometimes played by white actors - racism (see: blackface)

Chakotay’s whole deal - racism (see: noble savage)

The Kazon not assimilated by the Borg - anti-black racism

Deanna Troi not wearing a uniform - sexism

Seven of Nine not wearing a uniform - sexism

Jadzia getting killed off - sexism

Ezri’s poor reception - sexism again

Miles/Keiko/Kira’s baby situation - theres a post going around calling it misogynistic and it’s a pretty good take

B’Elanna being reduced to angry Klingon - Racism and sexism double whammy (see: spicy Latina)

Keiko being perceptually reduced to nagging wife even though that’s not what her actions necessarily portray - racism and sexism double whammy again

Beverly Crusher’s trill episode - homophobia

DS9 flirting with different expressions of sexuality (many characters) but barely committing - homophobia

Pike’s fate - ableism

DS9 Augments - ableism

Later iterations of Spock losing the Jewish coding - antisemitism

I’ll stop the list there since we can keep pulling examples out as nauseam and find examples of any of the -isms, any of the -phobias either within the media itself or behind the scenes but especially in some of the fan spaces. There’s plenty of ethnic/religious/gender/sexuality coding, erasure, contradictions, and many other things that can be pulled out and dissected in ~900 hours of a franchise made over 6 decades. (Keep adding examples if you want, since mine do not cover the whole spectrum of the franchise and barely even touch alien species that also have issues.)

Star Trek is undeniably made in a capitalist Hollywood production company, so white supremacy, heteronormativity, and dominant cultural tendencies usually end up dictating what gets put on air. Hollywood has a dominant thread of white supremacy throughout its history, so even intentionally trying to diversify staff and talent is difficult because of the systems feeding into Hollywood or other industries/institutions. There can also be a great deal of privilege working in the favor of successful artists - not always but something to consider.

Additionally, Trek presents itself as a post-scarcity, futuristic utopia, and sometimes things stick out to us if they don’t meld with our personal understanding of what that would look like.

I’m sure we’ve all heard a little about the old production schedules, long days, demanding schedules, rotating writers, rotating directors, etc etc. It has been proven that implicit bias can drive decisions, especially when people are busy. Even if the production isn’t explicitly motivated by these things, they seep into the work. The -isms and -phobias are sometimes reduced to characteristics of a person/piece of media, but it’s sometimes more useful to characterize actions instead of people since it allows better conversation about the topics. Sometimes it is intentional and explicit, sometimes it’s not. The intention does not affect the impact, so how a storyline or message lands on the audience/viewer is important. Science fiction in particular is a genre that makes social commentary, so by design it lends itself to deeper analysis.

We also can’t forget that the shows are products of their respective times, and a lot of what was shown was pushing against cultural boundaries. For the most part, the franchise has tried to explicitly be diverse, but they are bound to make missteps in other areas, intentional or not. No piece of media is perfect or above scrutiny.

Now, all of that said, there are many schools of thought for how to analyze media. I’m not gonna give a whole crash course in literary criticism but we can look at it from a continuum of different perspectives. We can wonder what the production meant when they made it/what happened off camera (author intentionality), we can draw from the piece itself (in universe), we can focus on how the media was received either in its cultural context or outside (reader response), or we can do some combination of the three. No media exists in a vacuum, so they all end up working together to make the work.

My main point is this: it is ok to pick your analytical perspective. You can chose to ignore the real-world contributions and intentionality when analyzing media. If people want to stay strictly in universe to come up with reasons why something did or did not happen, that’s ok. If people want to focus on what happened behind the scenes and how that affected the work, fine. If people are just focused on how it made them feel, also great. Just maybe don’t get all worked up because someone is analyzing media from a different viewpoint or someone has a different take than you do.

[bringthekaos]

I'm excited for your thoughts on the new season if/when you share them

It has legit taken me 3 days to come to terms with Act 1. Enough to be able to speak about it. Gunna apologize in advance for the wall of text, and I’m hiding it under a break for spoiler reasons. Also prefacing with these are all just my opinions. All are free to disagree with me and RB with discussions/theories etc. just don’t be a dick about it, I’m not engaging in any discourse.

Ok. So. I have mixed feelings, and I’m aware that this is because I don’t have the whole story yet. So this is all contingent on how the rest of the season plays out.

First and foremost, I’m… wildly swinging back and forth between love and disappointment for Viktor’s arc. So first the negative, and I’ll try to keep it brief because a lot of people have already expressed this and I don’t need to be beating that particular dead horse.

Viktor has had his agency, his bodily autonomy, his original ideas and nearly everything that made him Viktor stripped away. Nothing so far has been his choice. And while this could have worked just fine for an original character, he wasn’t. So there is a massive disconnect between what this character was/should have been. In League, it was all his choice (albeit with a healthy dose of mental illness thrown in, but still). AND it was very heavily suggested that many of the augmentations he performed weren’t as extensive as he lead everyone to believe (namely the controlling/dousing of his emotions). But it appears that whatever the Hexcore did to him, it’s real. He is clearly having a difficult time accessing his emotions, and if he can feel anything, it is limited to the point of him being completely stoic. And the thing with stoic characters is that you obliterate any emotional payoff for the audience. It’s very hard to make an audience feel an emotional connection to a character’s story arc when they themselves don’t feel anything (I have a theory about this though, but I’ll address it a little later in this post). And then there is the issue of Blitzcrank. Blitz was Viktor’s whole world, after his exile. How are they going to swing that? Like, I’m not even asking for Blitz to be in Arcane (that would be great, but I really don’t think they have time). But I stg if they take Blitz away from Viktor, make them someone else’s invention (my suspicion is Heimer or he finds the idea in Sky’s journal)… I’m sorry but no. This was Viktor’s idea, Viktor’s genius. I will genuinely be extremely upset if they take that from him too.

Then there is the whole situation with Sky. First, this girl was fridged. She was nothing but a plot device and continues to be just that. It feels hollow and forced, especially now that he’s hallucinating her as some sort of penance for what he did. (I have seen the prevalent theory that it’s the Hexcore using her image and his guilt to manipulate him, given that it “ate” her, and we have seen it “manipulate” him before when it punished him for trying to destroy it). But back to Sky—he barely acknowledged that poor girl. The reason for that can be argued, whether it’s because he’s gay or because he was just so wrapped up in his one-track minded research. But regardless, there just wasn’t enough setup between those two for this whole thing to have as much weight and meaning as I think it’s supposed to. Honestly to me (TO ME) it reeks of comphet. It feels like that random woman they threw at Poe Dameron to No Homo him. I’m not even asking for Jayvik canon. But the creators were well aware of this ship, after all it’s the second most popular ship in this show and it’s been around since 2012 when Jayce was literally created for Viktor. I’m asking for the bare minimum here—that it’s left open-ended as it was in League, open for interpretation.

Last negative I have is the whole Viktor Jesus thing. The first problem is I am pretty violently agnostic, and messiah narratives have never spoken to me. I don’t enjoy them, they feel weak. The whole “ordained by a higher power” thing is just… stale. Especially when this character originally had no higher power, he gave it to himself through his own hard work and ingenuity. Honestly, Viktor’s original arc is about as far from a Jesus allegory as you can possibly get. And I am absolutely terrified that they’re going to end said Jesus arc the way you’d expect—with him dying for it. Which leaves the moral of his story “disabled man should have just accepted that he was going to die despite the fact that it was the oppression and xenophobia of Piltover that left him out to dry, without proper health care, accessibility, equality, or equity that lead to his terminal diagnosis to begin with.” Which is a very oppressor-centric narrative and we do not need another one of those.

Sorry, I know I said I’d keep the negatives brief, and that was… not. My bad. But moving on!

I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, I did. I am working to embrace this new Viktor narrative and work it into my brain in a way that doesn’t ruin the ship for me. So without further ado, the positives.

Jayce.

Jayce.

Jayce.

I’d have to go back and time it, but it feels like he got more screen time in this first act than the entirety of the first season combined, and his character shined for it. It humanized him in ways season one never did. He’s caring, he’s devoted, and he loved Viktor! No matter what kind of love you think it is, it proves he loved Viktor without a doubt. He carried Viktor several city blocks to the lab to save him, and then YES, he broke his promise about the Hexcore because he couldn’t stand the thought of losing him!

And he’s funny! (The scene where he picks up the regular sized hammer in the fight against Renni and made that “this is ironic” face?? And then basically the entire interaction with Ekko? The hand me a tome thing, and then when he basically pulled this when Ekko suggested “so this is all your fault cuz you pissed off the Arcane”:

GOD that shit was great. Jayce’s personality just shined, and maybe it’s too much to hope, but maybe this will douse a little of the hate. Because instead of being a subtle hint at all of those things being true about him, it’s now overt. And when people lack media literacy, the hints have to be overt.

And th-the. The h. The HUG SCENE. I don’t think I will ever emotionally recover from that scene. Starting with Viktor who, despite being clearly emotionally—I dunno, vacant I guess—sounded so lost and scared when he said “what am I?” For me, it was whispers of that scene from The Last Unicorn: “what have you done to me?” And my poor sweet Jayce, who clearly hasn’t left this damn lab except to go to Cassandra’s memorial. Sleeping on the desk and bleeding through his bandages because he doesn’t want to spend a moment away from Viktor while he “recovers.” And his euphoric response when he finds Viktor alive, when he realizes he hasn’t lost him. And I OWE HIM AN APOLOGY, goddamn. I said in a post that “Jayce will not understand.” I thought that was how Arcane was gunna start the divorce. But Jayce genuinely did not care, as long as his lover friend was alive. And just… Jayce being so affectionate through this entire scene. The hug obviously, but also blurting things he thought he’d never get to say to Viktor—“I’m resigning from the council, my place was always here in the lab with you.”

And… the hug itself. I know we’re all analyzing it frame by goddamn frame, but I see exactly what everyone else sees—there is a moment where Viktor very subtly smiles. But it’s gone in an instant, and it turns bittersweet. LOOK AT HIM.

There is something there, it’s just buried. Deep beneath the surface. It seems to say “I want this, I have wanted this for so long.” But then he realizes something, something I don’t think we’re meant to understand yet. Maybe that he doesn’t feel anything about it anymore, and he recognizes that this should upset him and it doesn’t. Or perhaps it’s something more along the lines of “it’s too late.” Whatever it is, I think this is the exact moment he knows he has to walk away. Because he knows he’ll cave to the affection, he said it himself. (Which is another thing entirely. His voice changes when he says that. Something in him is reacting to that word. Maybe he’s fighting against it, or maybe he’s fighting to get it back. But something made him almost growl that word.)

Which leads me to my final thought (for this post anyway, cuz it’s turning into a novel); Viktor is still in there. He can still feel things, I just think they’re extremely muted by whatever the Hexcore did/continues to do to him, or he has to fight to express them. Because he also smiled at the hallucination of Sky after he “cured” Huck. And if he feels nothing, he wouldn’t have been “joyous” at the thought of her being proud of him, approving of the good things he’s trying to do in her memory. He wouldn’t crave that validation, that vindication from her. So I’m hopeful that we start to see this shell crack a little, especially if those visions of Sky are the Hexcore manipulating him through guilt. It will start to erode him, no matter how stoic he has become. And literally the only thing I’m clinging to is that Jayce will see this and try to pull him out. “He’s still in there and I have to save him.” And that maybe it’ll start to work.

[saintgoths]

ᴄᴜʀɪᴏᴜꜱɪᴛʏ ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴛ

DEALER!ELLIE X READER - CURIOUSITY KILLED THE CAT. [COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY AU].

[PART THREE TO THE CATWOMAN SERIES.]

WORD COUNT - 3,402.

RATING - 18+. [mutual fingering]. DINA’S FEELINGS ARE TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE BTW.

SUMMARY - ellie finally founds out why you always disappear.

[follow for more content].

It happened again, your absence, it hadn’t been too long, but enclosed by the latitude that had just occurred before those three days, Ellie would’ve thought it would have made you be more engaging with her. If the Williams girl was honest, if it wasn’t because of you, Ellie wouldn’t have necessarily cared of Doris exposing the two of you; yet, due to the fact that you hadn’t been around had made Ellie feel a particular way.

The day everything had gone down, Ellie had immediately informed you about the entire situation and she saw the hesitant look on your face, but it had commenced you to lead Ellie back to your dorm room. Moreover, when Ellie had entered your dorm room which you had the privileges to have no dorm mate, augmented, Ellie had noticed that your dorm room had been bigger than others, yet, that had to come with the advantage of your father being the top sponsor of the university. Howbeit, once the two of you had settled down in your dorm room you had shortly reassured each other that everything was going to be okay.

Nevertheless, when Ellie had returned to her dorm room, Doris was nowhere to be found, which had not surprised Ellie. This time, Ellie had your contacts and within those three days she had repeatedly messaged you, and you had barely responded to any of them. It had pushed fear and anxiety into her, that the situation had caused you to stay away from her. Though, she would’ve liked it if you had actually said anything aside from just disappearing.

Once again, Ellie had wished she had listened to Dina, she could feel her best friend say “I told you so.” Especially throughout the time she had been spending around Dina and Jesse for these past three days. When everything happened, they had comforted Ellie, not because of the nudes leaking because gratefully, no one cared about the nudes exposure for that long, it had just made a lot of noise because Ellie had been caught with a du Armani. They had comforted her because you were unresponsive.

Currently, it had been night, and Ellie had sat on her bed, after a period of time, Ellie had eventually given up on texting you and had begun to practice for her exams. Though, it had been cutting, during the moment the auburn-haired girl had stroked a few strings her device had been alerted, and no matter how much Ellie had tried to hide her curiosity, she had immediately dropped her guitar and flung her hand to her phone to check if the message had come from you, and Ellie had been correct.

“Dinner at my place,” it had read and right after Ellie had finished reading the sentence, the familiar phone ring had played on her phone and your name had appeared on Ellie’s phone screen, the letters bold and glowing hit Ellie’s green orbs, and without second thought, the freckled-face had answered the call.

“Hello?” Ellie answered in a gruff tone.

“Hey!” You replied cheerfully, and from the other side you could feel the dry silence, you understood you had much explaining to do, but you weren’t sure if you were ready to tell Ellie the truth to why you had always disappeared on the phone.

“How comes you weren’t returning any of my texts?”

“Um, I was busy,” you awkwardly responded, “I understand that you’re upset, but I want to make it up to you by inviting you over my home for dinner, tomorrow,” you attentively offered, gently apprehensive that Ellie would deny the invitation.

Ellie had given the invite some thought, she would be lying to herself if she said she weren’t interested to see how her home looked like. “How comes we can’t just eat anywhere else?” Ellie curiously inquired and it wasn’t like Ellie did not want to go to the du Armani habitat, yet, she had found it intimidating to be in the place where other du Armani’s would be at.

“My parents want to meet you,” you replied, and on your line of the phone you had become fretful to how Ellie would now respond.

“Are they not upset over the entire thing?”

“I did get an earful,” you gracelessly chuckled, “but in the end it got Doris excluded. The university did not want to lose its top sponsor, so, by the way, why would Doris even do that?” You singularly measured.

Moreover, it had appeared Ellie had been just as curious as you in regards to that question. “I’m her dealer, so I don’t even know why she did that.”

“Maybe she likes you,” you teasingly joked and Ellie dramatically rolled her eyes.

“I do not believe that,” she responded, embarrassed.

“Okay, cool, so I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 3PM,” you strongly declared and without allowing Ellie to say anything, you closed the call and left Ellie to sit on her bed, dazed and taken by surprise by the turn of event.

Saturday morning, you had taken Ellie by surprise by arriving at her door earlier than she had expected, startled, Ellie had her hand on the door knob and stared at you dismayed by your appearance. With no comment, you had brought Ellie into a hug and gently kiss her jaw. “Sorry for ghosting,” you clumsily apologised before you entered her dorm room. “I’ll try to stop the habit.”

“Well, thank you,” Ellie thanked as she closed the door behind her. “I didn’t think you’d come so early.”

“I just wanted to hang out before we leave to my home,” you prudently responded during the time Ellie had led you into her bedroom. “We should’ve fucked here,” you deliberately muttered as your eyes examined her bedroom. “Everything would’ve been avoided.”

“Well, I’ll have that in mind next time,” Ellie jokingly responded just as she immediately received the knowing look you had sent her way. “And I understand the next time is now?” Ellie questioned as she had felt your fingers gently brush her wrist.

“Didn’t know you were a mind reader,” you answered in a badgering tone and with a smile on her face, Ellie had brought you into a kind kiss but with the two of yours spiking passion for each other, the embrace had turned into a hot and rough peck.

Aroused, Ellie had slid her fingers into your pants, while you had also shared the desiring idea to find her pearl with your slender digits. The both of you had eagerly touched each other, Ellie’s fingers in your cunt and hastily stroked the inside of your pussy while your fingers rotated against her clit.

You had let out an ireful moan before her lips found way against her neck, Ellie had shakingly wailed as she had commenced to hump against your fingers, the blazing pleasure had caused Ellie to work her fingers against your pussy faster, “Ellie,” you whined as your thighs gripped her wrist as your milky climax had leaked against her paws, now determined to have Ellie shake due to your fingers, your fingers found way into her pussy, her cunt warm and her moans raspy and deep.

Her wet hand had gripped your wrist as she felt her body twitch, her eyes had rolled back in ease and fruition as she continued to hump her slit against your hand. “Fuck, [Y/N]!” Ellie loudly-moaned; the back of her head lightly slammed against the wall behind her as her hips began to move faster while her sticky orgasm slipped out of her figure.

Gratified at her successful attempt, you had pulled your hand away from Ellie’s heat and gave her one last peck, you were sure that Ellie had wanted another round, but the loud hammering against Ellie’s door snapped the both of you from the sexual high. Quickly, Ellie had put her lower clothing back on and stalked towards the sealed entrance to see who stood opposite the door.

Once the door had been opened, there had stood Dina, and not too long after, you had exited Ellie’s room, you had been in the process of zipping up your pants and when Dina had realised your existence, she had glanced at you unimpressed ere she returned her perception to Ellie who had gracelessly greeted her.

“Haven’t seen you in a long time,” Dina sarcastically commented, once you picked up your head you had realised, she had spoken to you, awkwardly you had nodded to her wittiness.

As Dina closed the door behind her, she gently walked towards you. “Seriously, where were you these past few days?”

“I was handling issues,” you briskly replied, you had softy plopped yourself against the sofa and with your quick perception, you had noticed the face Dina had pulled in response to your answer.

“What kind of issues do you handle that makes you disappear or even avoid Ellie, all the time?”

Hotly, Ellie raised the both of her hands to quickly calm down the tension between you and Dina that had strikingly bubbled. “Please, can the both of you not argue?”

“I was handling family business and I was off my phone, but I will be spending time with Ellie now since she’s going to be having dinner with my parents,” you braggingly explained, you had cocked your right eyebrow upwards eager to punch an irritated note in Dina.

Surprised, Dina turned to look at Ellie for clarification and with short confidence, Ellie beckoned her head. “[Y/N], is correct, and I’ll be getting ready now, so while I’m in the shower, please can the both of you get along?” Ellie desperately pleaded as she made way to her bathroom and jokingly you had winked at the red-headed girl while Dina loudly huffed and sat a couple of seats away from you.

In silence, you played with your fingers during the time Ellie had prepared herself for the day. Throughout the stiff and intense quietness, you had shared with the woman, you would hastily look at her and return your view to your fingers, and whenever you weren’t looking, Dina would do the same.

“The way you dislike me I would’ve thought I’ve played with you before, but I don’t even remember your name,” you dryly muttered, your cold eyes still remained on your fingers while you had commented that message that had stroke a nerve in the girl far from you.

Amused, Dina scoffed, “how comes you didn’t bother to check up on Ellie?’

Muzzled, you had crossed your arms, awkwardly your feet had swung off the floor before you placed your gaze on the curly-haired girl. “I was handling family issues and I couldn’t be on my phone,” you rudely responded.

Puzzled, Dina spread her arms confused with the lack of closure she had from your replies. “What kind of family issues do you have that has you off your phone twenty-four-seven?”

Adamant, you chose not to reply to her, to help your anxiety, you had continued to swing your left feet off the ground until Ellie had rebounded to the two of you, she had looked ideal in the clothes she had put on and you could see that her hair was slightly damp from the shower she had recently taken. Without second thought, you had brought yourself to your feet and kissed Ellie, surprised, Ellie placed her hand on your shoulders, yet, still, she had returned the kiss.

“You look amazing,” you kindly complimented the moment you pulled your mouth away from her, you clasped her face “the driver is waiting for us outside,” you suddenly informed and taken aback, Ellie raised the both of her eyebrows.

“Has the driver been waiting outside all this time?” Ellie curiously inquired, and forwardly you nodded your head.

“We should get going, don’t want to keep the driver and my parents waiting any longer,” you patted Ellie’s shoulder then hastily made way to the door. Apologetic, Ellie turned to face Dina and without her saying anything, Dina knew that Ellie was sorry.

Attentively, Dina simpered at Ellie as the trio made way to the exit.

Ellie could feel her heart sink in her chest, the manor stood intimidating, and truthfully, the dark aesthetic of the du Armani manor was what Ellie had expected, chiefly due to the aura the name and the heir, [Y/N] du Armani gave off.

“Are your parents homophobic?” Ellie nervously questioned, her hesitant inquiry had caused you to laugh, to reassure her you had gently nudged her rib.

“My family knew I was gay the moment I thought barbie’s tits were hot,” you comfortably joked, and nervously, Ellie had laughed with you.

Quickly, you had held Ellie’s hand and guided the Williams girl into your home. Much of the interior were dark colours, it had prodded Ellie of an ancient vampire’s home, aside from the stone architect, the du Armani’s home was made of bricks and glossed wood. There were statues and chandeliers, staff who had shuffled from room to room to finish their tasks, there was light piano being played in the background and Ellie had been amazed by the entire scenario.

Eventually, Ellie had heard the clack of heels, and a woman who resembled you walked towards you and Ellie with open arms. “I’m glad the both of you made it on time,” the woman cheered on and you had smiled as you had embraced your mother, Mrs. du Armani while the scent of her familiar vanilla perfume hit the both of yours and Ellie’s noses.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ellie Williams,” and as she took in a short nervous breath, Ellie pulled out her hand for Mrs. du Armani to shake.

“No need to introduce yourself, [Y/N], has been speaking about you all the time,” your mother joked and embarrassed you blushed while you had gripped the un-free hand of Ellie’s.

“Mum, can you please not?” You desperately pleaded and by the edge of your eyes you could see a gentle confident smile emerge on Ellie’s face. “Where is dad?” You questioned in motive to change the current topic.

“He’s waiting in the dining room,” your mother responded and after your mother’s response, the three of you had travelled to the main dining room, during the short travel you had been quite tense for Ellie to meet your father, it wasn’t like he had anything against the Williams girl, it was just the fact that you didn’t know if he had been potent enough to stay talking with the three of you.

The juncture the trio had arrived to the dining room, you had immediately raced yourself to your father, kindly you had kissed his cheek and right after you, Ellie had greeted him by shaking his hand. Mr. du Armani seemed like a classical man, he seemed like he was straight from the Godfather, yet aside from his striking eyes, Ellie could see a closed off kindness behind his orbs.

“Good to meet you Ellie Williams,” Mr. du Armani kindly greeted while the three of you sat down on the closest dining seats to him, “what a humorous time to be meeting you,” he dryly smiled and disconcerted, Ellie scratched the back of her head.

Stiffly, you had purposely coughed in sign for your father to stop speaking about the incident, “well, Mr. du Armani has dealt with everything,” Mrs. du Armani included and gawkily, Ellie had turned to look at you for relief as a consequence you had genially sent the auburn-haired girl a smile.

Furthermore, time had moved on and the conversation between the four of you had moved comfortably, both you and your mother had reason to be calm while your father had taken sudden interest to the music course Ellie had participated in university, Ellie was graceful enough to explain what she had to do and the type of song she was going to play for her assessment. During the conversation, Mr. du Armani had informed Ellie that he loved classical music, chiefly music that had included the piano, Ellie herself, was the type of person to listen to classical music, but not the type of music Mr. du Armani would listen to.

When Ellie had meant classic music, she had meant nostalgic music that everyone knew, for example Take on Me by A-ha. “Oh, I do know that type of music,” Mr. du Armani joked, “you youngsters think we never know about your type of stuff,” your father had then waved his hand in a comedic way that had caused the rest of you to laugh.

“Well, then,” Ellie bantered, “I didn’t say anything about you not kno—” before Ellie could finish her sentence, Mr. du Armani undertook a series of violent coughing, from the border of her eyes, the auburn-haired girl could see [Y/N] and Mrs. du Armani jump from their seats, concerned and frightened. Shocked, Ellie placed her hand against her chest, “is he okay?”

She knew that question was stupid, but Ellie had delivered the first thought in her head. “I’m fine,” Mr. du Armani coughed just as Mrs. du Armani passed her husband his tea, you had looked down at your unfinished food, put off to complete it.

“Has he had his medicine?” You lightly asked and with guilt, Mr. du Armani nodded his head, but you didn’t believe him, your father could be so stubborn, there had been many times when has had believed that he was too strong to take the medicine, but the season of violent coughs would usually humble him.

You had begun to play with your fingers, your eyes hadn’t left your food and Ellie easily noticed the scared aura that had embraced you. “My apologies, Ellie, you can proceed with what you were about to say,” Mr. du Armani apologised while he wiped his mouth with thick layers of tissue and sympathetic Ellie shook her head and glanced towards you, you had raised your head and Ellie could see the darkness that had invaded your sight, you had seemed terrible and with how upsetting the events had turned, Ellie didn’t want to continue.

“You can continue,” you soundlessly whispered and with guilt, Ellie resumed.

“Well, the song I’m doing is Fade into You by Mazzy Star,” Ellie awkwardly asserted and with familiarity Mr. du Armani’s eyes glowed.

“Mazzy Star?” Mr. du Armani enthusiastically repeated, “I’m familiar with that b—” ere he could complete his sentence, the head of the manor had begun to fiercely cough once more, his coughing strongly more violent than the last, spots of blood had spewed out of his mouth and quickly, Mrs. du Armani raised a tissue to his opening.

Sincerely contrite, Mrs. du Armani turned her face to Ellie, she had a faux smile on her face but Ellie had understood her faux gleam had no bad intentions. “Thank you so much for dining with us, Ellie,” Mrs. du Armani penitently thanked and you had taken it as a sign to lead Ellie out of the dining room, you had been silent throughout the entire walk and you had avoided Ellie’s gaze, you weren’t embarrassed but you didn’t want Ellie to see you so miserable.

The moment you had arrived to the lobby you had mustered the strength to smile at her. “Thank you for inviting me over,” Ellie faintly acknowledged and barely, you had simply hugged her.

“You’re welcome,” you hardly blessed, “if I knew my dad didn’t take his medicine, I wouldn’t have invited you over,” you candidly directed, but sympathetic, Ellie placed her hand on your left shoulder.

“It’s okay, everything is okay,” Ellie gently reassured you, and heedless, you shrugged your shoulders, your mind had been too focused on what had been going on in the dining room that your contact within the conversation you shared with Ellie was faint.

“You’ll be driven back to the university,” you dryly informed Ellie but the freckled girl furrowed her eyebrows, she was adamant to stay but you were powerfully stubborn. “I’ll speak to you on the phone,” you addressed and to keep Ellie from denying, you had briskly kissed her on the lips.

Upset, Ellie gently sighed, the weight on her shoulders deepened which had caused her shoulders to drop. “Promise you will?”

Mildly, you had smiled at Ellie to comfort her. “I promise.”

feedback would be appreciated!

masterlist

♆

[larrythefloridaman]

Okay a real one this time: Recon Riley and/or Squid Jenny

trans gendered ringside report duo, legends of 'its not that deep, unfortunately, but the soil is soft and we're ready to dig and even make our own treasure to dig up'

Theres so much you could explore with these two, and what fanon's done for riley is great, but its sad how little they're actually explored or get to do in the grand scheme of things. Like. Riley was arguably one of order's most trusted employees, they were a normal person augmented like j0hn and larry were and apparently willingly stayed after, they were the first line of defense at the raid, but then just. unceremoniously joined kerfuffle camera crew. We know nothing concrete about their motives their background or how that happened. Its a rich vein and we havent tapped it basically at all. What we know about them is that theyre unscrupulous, dedicated to their work but NOT loyal, stealth modified, have more ego than they can back up in a fight, and are frustrated by the more baffling details of cpuk's world (how the fuck does Sans EAT-) and not much else, iirc!

And JENNY, baby, you had one of the first character arcs in the show but you've been kind of an accessory to the plot ever since! How does SHE feel about all this shit? In her first tournament a kid only three years younger than her DIED, in season 2 p. rool lashed out and injured her as a result of Iggy's being a dick to him, she wasn't let in on the time loop until some time during season 2 but then fell in line with keeping THAT secret, shes been involved with so much but how does she FEEL about it? Someone else's situation or thoughts are always centered over hers when shes involved. Shes got a lot of fun traits- she's witty, she's got that Intrepid Reporter's Spirit, she's interested in science and became a scientist in folk's time, possibly a chemist judging from the antacids, shes the baby of her friend group and on kerfuffle staff with j0hn and larry making jokes about not doing inappropriate things in front of her even though shes only a few years younger than them, she used to be really into stan twitter before she transitioned and got a life and was kind of adopted by her idol as a personal assistant, shes got so much going on and criminally little expansion on all of it, i love her

[animeomegas]

hmmm i dont know how much youve interacted with him but any thoughts on rex? i adore him and marz a lot

I'm going to start with Marz because I know a lot more about her character! Okay, let me first establish how I view the Stratospheric ship, because I think it will help frame a lot of what I'm going to say. My interpretation is that they are:

A cult.

Failing completely at their attempt to remove class, gender roles, cultural differences etc. and their interest in trying shows ignorance to an absurd degree.

Selfish and creepy. Bringing people so young paired up like that as if they're breeding pairs of cattle, and having children aboard the ship even though they could have easily predicted the untold hardships that would have befallen them.

That's the overview to my opinion on the adults of the colony. Obviously those born on the ship or who were too young to consent, like Utopia, don't inherently fall under those critiques. I should also make it clear that this isn't a criticism of the game, as I believe this is a supported interpretation, and it's super interesting!

The way I view the children is inherently based in this backdrop. They are, mostly, tragic tales. They are victims of the circumstances forced upon them. Each of them is a tragic tale in a different way.

Marz is the tragic tale of someone who loves the Earth and who was denied the opportunity to experience it against her will. She loves the arts, fashion, the ideas of concerts and people and cities... And she gets none of that. She gets a society where survival takes so much energy, there isn't always space for the things she loves. In one of my playthroughs, she only remained Governor for a short while, because she prioritised art, but it simply wasn't feasible when base line survival needed all the attention.

And the adults decided to take a risk on colony life. She never did. And she has to live with the consequences.

(also, wtf is her augment??? Who thought that would be a good idea??? Shame is an important emotion for humans navigating social situations, developing their moral compass, and making friends???)

I really feel for Marz, because she yearns for something more. And the chance of it happening in her lifetime (if at all) just feels so slim.

...

Rex... I don't know as much about him tbh. I think the Heliopause are a group of... absolute nutters, para military dictatorship vibes all over the place. Although it's much more overt in the narrative than the negatives of the Stratos' way of life.

But I haven't found out Rex's backstory really. I think his bar idea is cool, and I love giving him hugs haha. His character design is probably my favourite haha. I'll have to update more specific thoughts when I actually befriend him properly!

[allykatsart]

pls i’m so feral about your deer boi oc tell me more i wanna know how the whole everyone notices he’s terrified of alastor thing goes

Who is Peccantum?

HO BOY YOU ASKED FOR IT-

Husk, of course, is the first to notice.

He's a gambler, bartender, and is far more attentive than other sinners give him credit for. Of course he notices Peccantum is treading on eggshells everywhere, and not just for comedic effect. The young buck is genuinely terrified of Alastor.

However, Husk isn't one to act on that information. Not only is it none of his business, Husk is also kind of in the same boat as Peccantum. Honestly, the bartender thinks Peccantum's fear is warranted. He does soften over time, but what can he do, really?

Angel Dust is the first to help.

It would be post episode 4, when Angel really starts to connect with others at the hotel. Angel just kinda always assumed Peccantum was a panicky, on edge weirdo. As they get to know each other a little more, Angel realizes that's not actually the case. Peccantum is usually a sarcastic, passionate, clever guy! So the way the bellhop acts around Alastor... It reminds Angel a touch too much of his situation with Val

(Not in romance or assault, but in the 'Im going to fuck with you for my own amusement' way)

So, Angel starts doing little things. He doesn't want to piss off the strawberry pimp, so no direct confrontation, but he can still help Peccantum not get jump scared. Angel greets Alastor out loud when Alastor enters a room quietly. He lingers in rooms where Peccantum would be alone otherwise. Small things that prepare Peccantum beforehand.

In return, Peccantum makes Angel warm drinks when Angel comes back from a long day. He learns recipes that Angel likes and cooks dinner. He gives Angel a book called "A hundred and one dirty jokes for the wickedly perverted." Small things.

They don't talk about it, and it's not a foolproof strategy, but it helps.

Sir Pentious, the best friend, takes it very seriously.

Sir Pentious doesn't pick up on it like Husk and Angel do, so it takes an actual conversation with Peccantum about it for him to realize it's serious. Pentious and Peccantum are Science Buddies™️ so it doesn't take long before Pentious starts coming up with inventions that might help! Magic seeking goggles, ocular augmentations, even a scanner to help identify Alastor before he appears! They have a little fun with it.

In the end, though, Pentious keeps it simple. He and Peccantum develop a secret hand signal for if Peccantum needs someone to distract Alastor. That way Peccantum can slip away and calm himself down if he's spiraling!

They also develop a secret handshake but that's beside the point.

Charlie....

Despite what everyone thinks, Charlie isn't stupid. She's observant and empathetic, and quickly picks up that Peccantum is nervous around Alastor. She can understand that, Hell, sometimes the Radio Demon makes her nervous! She's also a fixer, so would try to resolve the issue with diplomacy and setting boundaries. Sure, Alastor probably doesn't care about Peccantum, but Alastor does listen to her!

But she doesn't have the context.

I don't think Peccantum would tell her anything, and may actively try to keep his thoughts about Alastor private from her. I also think Alastor has made it clear that if Peccantum tries to hide behind Charlie, he's in for a lot worse than just some scares. Alastor defers to Charlie out of obligation and opportunity, but he refuses to have others use her to manipulate himself. Especially not a soul he owns.

Peccantum, of course, complies. He has to convincingly lie to Charlie, which makes his stomach squirm with guilt, but it's fine. He's overreacting anyways. It's fine. It's the price he chose to pay for power.

As long as he has magic, he shouldn't care what Alastor decides to do with him.

It's fine.

(No, it's not)

[theweirderstuffblogdontlook]

So I made a yandere au for Bob Velseb of Spooky Month.

So the jist of it, is I call it the "possession au". (Or possible alternatives like the “inner demon au”)

The idea is that the cult has more than one kind of supernatural amulet, essentially giving them a few extra supernatural tools for growing the influence of the cult.

One of these alternate tools, is a two part amulet that let's someone posses the body of their target. Which the cult uses to infiltrate places of existing power and control people like politicians and big business owners.

Though the nature of the possession isn't like detaching your mind to control someone, it's way more body horror than that.

It's more like sharing a body. Being able to hide your actual physical body in another person. Almost like a venom symbiote situation, but without turning into goo.

Bob intends to exploit the effects of this to become literally inseparable from the target of his affections.

And also being able to do a lot of really horny things with some of the in between states from being able to body swap between him and his target.

The au mostly allows for Bob to do absorption vore, but it’s got versatility and plenty of horror themes beyond that as a narrative concept.

Bob can also use this to hide in public. Either to accomplish his own goals through taking full control, or to be a passenger and basically stalk his target from the inside. (Plus all the anxiety inducing effects that could involve for the possessed target, cus they’d be literally walking around with a cannibal murderer that could pop out at any time.)

When in agreement and working together though, this being able to shift back and forth between two people, or split and rejoin, can actually be a pretty formidable skill.

Almost like a Banjo and Kazooie situation. Having different sets of skills and different strengths and weakness. And being able to stretch out their stamina by having one person active while the other takes a break.

As it says in the images, the current target of Bob’s yandere affections is just a placeholder person. Yall are free to use the concept as you like either with your own oc’s or whatever.

I put some more thoughts on it under the readmore.

So I think it’s cool to have like two very different people for this situation, so it’s fun to put them in “situations” where they have to get a bit creative to work through em.

So with Bob being big, strong, heavy, slow, scary, confident, and supernaturally augmented to be more physically resilient, but easily distracted and impulsive. You pair that up with someone who is small, fast, careful, calculating, and focused, and that covers a lot of Bobs weaknesses.

Plus, the whole being able to switch between two people with very different bodytypes could make the duo very slippery beyond just Bob being able to hide in public. For instance, Bob being able to slip out of handcuffs by swapping arms with his smaller captive. Or if the smaller captive gets put in handcuffs, he can just reach his arms out of their body to grab at whoever has tried to capture her and kill them.

As well as being better at climbing and squeezing through narrow gaps. Like Bob seeing a small window, switching to his captive, who’s able to climb up and squeeze through, and the switch back to Bob once inside.

Plus the whole jekyll and hyde opportunity is fun for drama. Like Bob trying to get an otherwise pretty normal person to participate in his heinous acts, while the captive tries to reign in and redirect Bob.

Like having a moment where Bob is like,

“So, If you’ve got such a disapproval of the people I pick, who would you rather be killing?”

“I’d Rather Not Be Killing Anyone!! Let Alone Eating Them!! But... Fuck! I dunno, Nazis? Genuinely bad people???”

Also I wrote a bit of a short fanfic concept to show off the mood of the Au.

So something gets dropped behind a metal grate, and the gap is too narrow for Bobs hand, so she offers to grab it.

But she takes the opportunity to trap him, as when the arm is reached in, she quickly pulls out and replaces her arm with Bobs much thicker arm, getting it wedged in there real tight, and breaks free and runs while Bob tries to get his arm unstuck as he gets mad and yells after her.

She quickly grabs some money on the way out, hails a taxi, and gets driven to the airport.

Though the only flight she can afford is a cheaper one that won't leave for a few hours, so she has to wait.

She starts to nod off waiting in the airport seating as the adrenaline wears off, and a sweaty looking Bob, a big bruise on his forearm from where his arm was caught, sneaks up behind and grabs her with a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming.

Pushing her against his chest and absorbing her into his torso as she thrashes and tries to get free.

He then calmly leaves the airport, gets into a car with blood splatter of the interior that he clearly attacked someone to steal, and drives off.

And once back at "home”, she gets let out of him, and she can incredulously ask how the hell he had been able to find her, as even if he had a lucky guess about her going to the airport, trying to find someone in an airport is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

To which he kinda smugly taps his chest where the embedded half of the possessor amulet is.

"Oh, I know where you are. Doesn't matter how far you run my little chicken wing, I'll always know where to find you."

Which is how she learns that the commanding half of the possessor amulet can track the location of the other half of the amulet.

[gutterspeak]

12, 14 and 16 for Luth :)

ty dujour!!! from this ask game!

under a cut because it got long, whoopsie

12. How does their mythic path synergize with their personality - does it augment it, or is it in contrast? Something in-between?

aeon definitely highlights certain aspects of his personality in... not the greatest ways! it ends up making him one of the worst versions of himself once all's said and done <3

Luthais as a whole is really defined by his desire for control and that particular aspect of the aeon path is part of what makes it so attractive to him, but he goes from just wanting agency in his own life for once + overcompensating for his crippling self doubt to really, deeply, genuinely believing that he is the only one who can see things as they truly are, let alone solve what needs solving. it's a gradual slip and slide into this totalitarian way of thinking, and it starts with this little number in act 3 right here

the aeon in the mirror enabling his inner control freak does NOT do him any favors!!

14. What about another mythic path that they did not take? Is there one that would fit them, build or personality wise, and what might that have looked like?

oh boy...

HAHA this is actually something I've given a lot of thought! something I'm sure I've said about a thousand times (and I will say it again!!!) is that Luthais is a mirror of the events and people around him. he has a strong presence and sense of self but he also, almost subconsciously, shapes himself to fit the expectations and assumptions other people have for him

that being said, I've come to the consensus that the stars could align and I could see him being tempted down nearly every path EXCEPT. probably. trickster. it's just so strongly antithetical to aeon and his own personality that I can't do the mental gymnastics to justify it. angel is also a hard sell considering the baggage he has around Iomedae. gold dragon... is just hard to picture. but 7/10 isn't bad! he has the RANGE!!

azata is the one I think about for him the most! next to demon, it's probably one of the easiest jumps for him, as funny as that is to say. somewhere deep... DEEP down... he has a little bit of whimsy. he wouldn't have a completely drastic shift in personality by any means, but he'd be having a slightly better time than he does as aeon. his RBF would relax a little. he might even smile more than once a week 🥺

demon is a likely alternative too though. he has a maybe not surprising amount of repressed rage? aren't you tired of being nice, etc, but he'd also be self destructive and out of control and thus be deeply, horribly miserable :(

lich and swarm would both come from his morbid curiosity and general resentment for his situation being left unchecked. he's a scientist and a petty bitch first and second!

devil COULD come about in the right circumstances, and most likely through aeon > devil over going azata first. he typically frowns on using his position to his own benefit but he does do it when he thinks it's justified, and ain't that just a slippery slope...

16. How well do they play mechanically with their romance, if any? If not, which party member do they synchronize best with?

well. I LIKE to think they fight well together, but my knowledge on how to build effective characters in the pathfinder system is mid at best, so who knows really LOL

I'm running Luthais as a blood kineticist this playthrough with a focus on using kinetic blade over ranged blasts, but I keep changing my mind and respecing him back and forth. what I picture in my mind and like aesthetically vs what works better mechanically does not always align </3

BUT Daeran's on a wolf pet with dual rapiers, so for now they're both usually in melee, and I slapped them both with the half of the pair necklaces to capitalize on that. from what I remember they were taking down enemies pretty quickly together when I was rolling through the ivory sanctum on core

Daeran's obviously the main support but Luthais can throw out a kinetic heal for him in a pinch. they keep each other alive really well and dish out enough damage between the two of them (and Growlfrey the wolf, of course) that I do tend to keep them on the same enemies as a pair!

I do wish the kinetic blade got attacks of opportunity to take advantage of the wolf trip, but I usually have at least one or two other melee within reach anyway to delete the enemy's health bar when they stand up... and it's even better when they start piggybacking off each other's crits :]

[silverskye13]

That xisuma fic was absolutely incredible! If you have any more specific headcanons about android!X I would love to hear them! The idea is amazing and you wrote it so well!

Hai-yo! I'm glad you liked the writing snippet! ^_^

Oh boy, headcanons. How dare you make me organize my thoughts! Let's see.

Android!X is a server that one day decided to stop running in the background. Where I think most of the hermits were "born" on a home world that they can return to, it's more like Xisuma goes into his own mind. Similarly, if someone were to plot a course in the universe to Xisuma's home world, they'd just end up standing in front of him. [I feel like this also means between seasons X just kinda floats like a spaceman in hyper sleep through the void, go you funky little robot go!]

His body is made of circuitry and nanobots? In a way that isn't in any way functional to real life. But it's like he's a beehive almost. He has a living, moving body, but it's built for finesse and life-like expression. That kind of detail needs constant maintenance, so he has a fleet of little drone nanobots constantly doing repairs.

On that note, I think metallic/cybernetic/redstone components don't respawn like organic matter does on death. If it takes damage, it has to be repaired. Hermits like Doc are only mildly hampered by this, since any time his mechanics break, only parts of him are out of commission. For X though, anything that doesn't kill him outright has to be repaired. His nanobots help this, especially with small bits of damage accrued throughout the day, but anything that does significant damage requires him to power down to focus on repair and rebuild, where his nanos can run rampant while he rests. [He's never not productive though. Normally he uses this time to catch up on writing memory transcripts and other general internal housekeeping.]

Android!X is functionally smart but because everything he's ever done has had to be coded, a lot of things slip between gaps in his logic. He's a very smart computer, but he's still a computer. Common sense things slip between the cracks because common sense on regular people is mostly pattern recognition and intuition. Xisuma's only intuition is something he's hand-written in a table in a file somewhere. If he's never had to write/code it, and it's unique enough to not show up in a basic dictionary/archive search, it's a blind spot for him. He can query and in a millisecond give you data facts about the deep dark and still forget that the clicking noise his thinking pattern makes would attract a Warden. This also means he sometimes has weird hang ups in social situations sometimes. Yeah sure, Etho and BDubs are having the same friendly debate from last week, but this time BDubs is 30% louder [possible difference in altercation severity?] and Etho is on hazardous ground [standing on scaffolding, increasing height, personal endangerment? Posturing? Intimidation technique?], which means this situation is actually totally different and he's never coded protocols for it. He's gotten pretty good at reading other people's reactions to gauge his own, but when he's alone, he sometimes has an error he's affectionately labeled a "social short circuit". Good thing they're all hermits and understand when he sometimes just... walks away from things.

Even X doesn't know where his emotions come from. He knows he can augment them [He has a database for complex feelings like "happy and also sad" and "lonely but content", as well as for tonally dissonant scenarios like "feel worried when Cleo says 'its fine'."] and he has on a handful of occasions been able to shut them down when he was too overwhelmed or in a tense situation. But he has no idea where the emotions originally came from, and his ability to control their intensity [and turning them off] is so non-existent it's nearly random.

Xisuma has been trying to code a way to feel pain for a long time. Most of the hermits think he's crazy when he talks about it, but he thinks it would cut back on a lot of his time spent on damage assessment. It's much easier to tell if something is broken if you can feel it break. Currently his only indication something is wrong is if a circuit is actively frying or something stops working -- or if his nanos sniff it out.

Xisuma doesn't eat, but he tells his friends he eats redstone. It cuts back on some of the unnecessary worry about his well-being. It also means when they think he's distressed, they leave him little gifts of redstone, and he finds that endearing.

Xisuma likes to dress up his cybernetics. It started out with trying new paint jobs and slowly escalated to building new body casings with fancy cosmetics. He's very proud of his bone mage cosplay. The little dragon helmet has glowy-eyes and smoke comes out of its nose and everything. Tango, Joe and Cleo like to help him design things, and he lets Doc and Grian go ham trying to stress test [ie ruthlessly destroy] the parts to make sure they're durable before he commits to a design.

And that's about all I've got for now I think!

[chantsdemarins]

Fresh Snow on Sled Tracks Part 2

a 🌙High Moon Story

Summary: The "whisper chant" lands Loki in a time and place on Midgard during the early medieval period in Alba (Scotland).

An 18+ series because of adult themes and sexual situations

You both had discussed for many days the fact that there was no “off switch” for Loki. The result of those frustrating conversations led to the languid afternoon you were both spending in the meadow. Loki couldn’t imagine this strange infinity-you couldn’t imagine what Valhalla was. It was an impasse.

There was one thing you could offer him besides the haptic-laced sexual experiences and pastries neither of you could consume. You’d described it to Loki using words from Earth since this was where you both found yourself currently.

You used the word snow, it wasn’t supposed to be a grand metaphor, but it was. The word “snow” had many variants, and Loki sat for what seemed like a whole day processing all the words he had for the phenomena of “snow”. Even remembering a word from a time and place he knew somehow belonged somewhere in his history, Jötunnheim. Isbrjótr

He got lost a little. The ancient part of him, the god part of him wound himself around the memory, the word, the feeling, and he was suddenly far away. You told him there was a program that only a few projections and bots knew about. It was used by humans on earth for thousands of years and then it became a “whisper” that bots exchanged amongst themselves from time to time.

You told Loki it was like fresh snow on sled tracks. Even though you’d never seen snow. You had no idea that Loki had. That it was a powerful part of his past. Isbrjótr

“Your past is like the sled tracks Loki. It haunts your present form. Your current self just goes down the path already laid.”

“And this whisper is like fresh Isbrjótr and will allow me to be here without longing to be somewhere else?”

“Yes, that’s the idea. All beings including machines and apparently gods-get stuck.”

“Apparently it is so,” Loki looked at you with sincerity. How it had come to this moment so soon was shocking to him. He thought he had a lot of fight left in him. He would have found the way to end his program and go to Valhalla, but it was clear you were telling the truth. You couldn’t help him permanently shut off, perhaps no one could. Either way it was turning into a more complicated situation than he had first imagined.

“I think you have so many memories still with you Loki,” you quietly exchanged.

“Like the jealous woman you mentioned earlier.”

“She was my wife,” Loki said plainly staring off into a grapefruit-colored sunset that was replacing the foggy blue sky.

“Wife?”

“Yes, wife. Before I was an augmented being, I lived for thousands of years…”

“Of course, yes, and those are the memories that haunt you.”

“It is the reason I want to go to Valhalla, for the chance to find them again.”

“This won’t take you to Valhalla, but it will give you a chance to see them again, I think.”

“Thank you,” Loki said, tenderly smiling.

“Might as well do this now,” you replied, looking into the various bags and things you’d brought to the meadow with you. Still rifling through the bags and looking down you continued, “Are you sure Loki? Last chance to change your direction.”

“I am sure, if this whisper is true as you say it is, then I will find a way to redo the harm I caused.”

Looking up and studying him carefully before speaking, “Why harm, Loki? What about love?”

“What about love?”

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to go back and find those you loved?”

“Harm and love are but one and the same,” Loki said wearily looking off into the distance.

If you could sigh you would have. You finally wrestled out an awkward synth halo from the picnic basket that also held your pan du chocolate and champagne. You placed it on Loki’s head.

You held your small hands up into the sunset and then placed them in front of your face and gently spoke the whisper chant you’d been given by those that were made before into your palms.

Studying Loki’s face briefly, you remarked at the way the sunset cast embers on his pale skin, you placed your hands over his face letting the whisper sink into his programming. His eyes closed and he laid back, it looked like he was paused.

“You will only have time to re-experience three life events Loki, much more than that and you’ll be on my shelf collecting dust with the chopsticks and MP3 players,” you cautioned him, knowing he would be tempted to want to stay, tempted to want to fix it all with the miracle of his seiðr which still accompanied him even in this existence. His voice was already leaving his body as he agreed in barely audible mumbles to come back when you told him to.

You’d stay with him and watch over him.

He was unusually brave. This must be one of the reasons why so many beings loved and apparently hated him, you thought as you watched the sun disappear behind the mountains.

On to part 3 Lady Ragnarök

Some of these folks might be interested? @mischief2sarawr @lokisgoodgirl @michelleleewise @lovelysizzlingbluebird @holdmytesseract @mochie85 @fictive-sl0th @lokischambermaid @goblingirlsarah @vickie5446 @peaches1958 @lokixryss @eleniblue @simplyholl @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @jennyggggrrr

[basedkikuenjoyer]

And We're Live!

Bruh a Miss Kaya update? Sweet! As we've said with Academy, this blog fully stans certified good girl Miss Kaya. I love her outfit here, she was really one of this series's first more classy, modest girlies and say what you will about how Oda draws women but I'm noticing she's not one of the ones who got a Timeskip breast augmentation. Usopp's former crew look like they're growing up fast too. This is a good group, still hope we get more Kaya in Academy because I really like her as the sickly girl who doesn't make it to school all the time. Clever use of a character on Sohei Koji's part.

We can talk about Academy over Golden Week though, because Vegapunk's message is going live! Which means sadly we're done with the fun of dicking around for ten minutes. The Vega Coffee bit was so, so good though. We'll get to the ramifications as we go but first there is a reason for Miss Kaya. Take note of all these people we see, how places like Torino highlight that darker side. VP will even own up to some of his own "sins" in his message. It's a very diffuse reaction to the man. Someone who inspires a lot of different reactions. It's important to pay attention when a story does that, but let's move on:

Hahaha lol eat a dick Mars. Classic decoy maneuver. We did get the brain in a jar! In a chapter where Vegapunk "confirms" his own death and an arc where we've played this game with Kuma. Remember Mars doesn't actually know the deal, he himself is pondering a little over what counts as the real Vegapunk. So I'm inclined to ponder if it is just what we see; part of his brain serving as more or less a hard drive. As much the real him as that paw bubble of memories was the real Kuma. Shout-out to Bonney and her Giant-ish future by the way. It was cool, but pretty much reinforces the same themes. You're acting like Luffy and the crew has fully shifted to treating you (appropriately) as a little kid to watch out for.

The decoy snail though...I like it. Could it have been a long game by Vegapunk? Of course, and keeping York out of the loop is believable. But being on the floor randomly is still weird and putting it right in front of the big brain tank seems rather risky for Vegapunk. Why would he want to nudge at that connection. Get what I'm saying? This is a weirder beat than it seems, but it would make perfect sense through the lens of someone else reacting. Great way to cover one's tracks by just letting the natural assumption take course. There's one part of Vegapunk's speech that bolsters this to me:

Please do not assume that the ones who strike me down are evil. That plus what he says here? Do...not track with thinking the Gorosei would be the ones who came after him. Sounds a little more like he expected Luffy, Bonney, someone like that to take him out. Or even Lucci. It's subtle, but actually a great remind that this all has nothing to do with the Straw Hats. Remember that old theme? The extra effort from the World Government is because of an emperor drifting into the situation. You can't act so casually when the world rocks in your wake. That still seems to be the core lesson for Luffy.

Speaking of, we get another nudge at one of last night's big mysteries. How did Robin get in such rough shape? The scenes before we skip the night set it up okay, she was headed right into a confrontation with York. But it's still a lingering question. And speaking of "lingering," you have the Gorosei hammering that Bakura Town/Ryokugyu theme hard. Reminds me of someone who knows no one called Vermin. The message though, it's what we're all here for. Well, I'm here for Nami Protect Mode.

I have some thoughts about this. Not the reveal itself. Sorta what we saw with Lulusia at the start, the fallout I mean. Excellent through line with Wano and it's own history. Makes Iceberg look so cool in hindsight because he at least was a good enough leader to see it happening locally. Type of thing a shipwright-turned-politician would notice your typical noble wouldn't. Very classic looming threat, makes me think of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou which was our world after massive sea level rise.

Let me just say one thing. This is fucking hilarious from a certain perspective. Imagine you're chilling. Doing your thing. Every PC and Windows product in the world fires up. Bill Gates is streaming live. He takes ten minutes to dick around with coffee then promptly announces his death before telling everyone their own death is imminent because [government conspiracy]. The reaction is going to be wild. Makes me think of David Bowie's "Five Years." If you're a fan, see if you can find the live version from the Dinah Shore show. You won't regret it. That Man Who Fell to Earth look was iconic and you gotta love managing a 4th wall break in a rock opera.

We've talked about this with Robonosuke, who's hanging around in the background still. This is an even better detail someone who learned a lot from Toki would know. Even if it's indirect relevance, it's the exact type of knowledge a modern scholar would find as a big surprise but a friend of the lady from the Void Century could just casually know. Maybe not a fancy sea chart, but say to the degree of a rough map?

Just saying, type of thing there's scenes to support it. The map is right there with some of the first ones that really show Kiku acting like a nanny with Momonosuke. The Act plot with Olin had a lot of subtle bait the girl's a little distinct from the group we'd build on in Act 3. Aside from all that though, just this basic setup of the chapter? We start on a few vignettes around the world showing different reactions to Vegapunk. Then we set up everyone in dire straits as Luffy's run out of gas. Injected a little new mystery through Stussy/York. Now we end on a big reveal that doesn't affect the matter at hand as we pull away from the island?

It's easy to say at a lot of points but if there's a third cutaway...we may be going into it after Golden Week.

[skysometric]

my 3rd favorite game that i played in 2023 is...

Freedom Planet 2

i was originally planning to wait on this one until the console version came out in "summer 2023." after it was delayed to the end of the year, i decided to grab the game on pc so i didn't have to wait… and i'm glad i did, because the console versions have been delayed a second time??

(i do not envy their situation and i hope the console versions are better for taking their time. honestly, i'll probably double dip anyway!)

the original Freedom Planet was a formative game experience for me during college. there was something inspiring about the way it shot for the moon – full voice acting, a fun cast of characters, a lived-in world with political intrigue, a focus on adding fast-paced combat – all trying to prove that it's more than just a Sonic fangame in new clothes.

and it worked. it gripped me and never let go! i must've replayed the story half a dozen times, speedran the levels dozens of times each. that's the reason i decided not to wait on the sequel any longer after the first console delay; i grabbed the game on pc and hit the ground running.

one aspect of what makes Freedom Planet special is its level design, and the sequel delivers – every single level is massive, open-ended, and absolutely GORGEOUS. the unique gimmicks, secret collectibles, and speedrun strats are what encouraged me to endlessly replay the first game, and each of those categories has been expanded here into some of the beefiest and most explorable levels i've ever seen in a 2D platformer, hands down. i'm so glad the sequel took its time in the oven, the levels alone were worth the wait!

to me, though, what really makes Freedom Planet stand out from other Sonic-inspired games is its fast and fluid brawling. enemies in each stage take a few hits to defeat, and every stage ends with a grand, bombastic boss fight – you get a handful of moves to tackle these fights with, and each character has very different fighting playstyles! crucially, though, there is no contact damage, meaning you can run circles around enemies while whacking away at their health bars with momentum-based attacks.

it's an incredibly fun and well-thought-out combat system, and its complexity is right at that sweet spot where it feels deep but not overwhelming. honestly it reminds me a lot of kirby's combat, which is one of my favorite combat systems in any video game! (that RtDL remake very nearly made my Top 5 this year…)

Freedom Planet 2 augments the combat system of the original in two ways. one is the addition of a spot-dodge, which feels so perfectly at home that i'm shocked it wasn't in the first game to begin with?? every game with combat benefits from the addition of a dodge, of course, but in this game especially it allows you to keep your momentum while attacking in a way that just feels so natural. there's nothing else quite like learning a boss's attack pattern enough to spot-dodge directly into a powerful counterattack!

but there's also nothing quite so discouraging as getting the boss's health down to a sliver… and biting the dust. here, too, is a place where the sequel shines: if you lose a life, you can choose to restart from a checkpoint with all your health recovered, or you can get back up on the spot with just 1 HP. the push and pull on this system is incredible – you risk getting a game over and having to redo the whole stage… but you could clutch out a victory at the last second! it has the capacity to turn near misses into huge successes, and it saved my ass countless times over the course of the adventure.

tying this all together is a great story that isn't quite as Big and Grand as the first game, but instead serves to deepen the connection between this loveable cast of characters by exploring their history and personalities in more detail. i'm still floored by the fact that these games have full voice acting – it truly makes the characters feel more alive, their personalities shine! the style of VA isn't everyone's cup of tea, i'm well aware… but as someone with fond memories of saturday morning cartoons, i find that it's very genuine and full of heart in a way that most films and AAA games don't really hit me. it's obvious that everyone involved had a ton of fun!

my one regret is that i haven't returned to the game since my first playthrough – i'd really like to replay those levels and see how fast i can clear them! and try out the other characters, and see what the arcade mode is like, and go for the achievements, and…

[sanvirtheobserver]

Taking Flight, Chapter 52: First Shift

Back on the bottom floor of the building, SMG3 is seen giving the lowdown to his newest employees.

SMG3: Alright, listen up! We run a tight ship here in Three's Lustrous Lair, so I expect each and every one of you to be at your absolute best while on the job. That means no slacking, no goofing around, no stupid mistakes, and if the situation demands it, no witnesses.

Julia: Last one shouldn't be a problem.

SMG3: Now, let's get you all stationed. Noah. You're in charge of the Café. Make sure you know how the machine works before you serve anything.

Noah: I won't let you down, boss!

He hops behind the barista's table and gets to work figuring out how the brewing machine works.

SMG3: Vale. You'll be the bartender for the Graveyard Shift. You have any trouble finding orders, there's a list of recipes under the counter.

Vale just shrugs as she heads for the bar. She couldn't seem to care less if she tried.

SMG3: That leaves you in charge of the Devious Diner, Julia. Just write down orders and pass them over to our chefs in the kitchen.

Julia: Consider it done.

As Julia marches towards her station, SMG3 notices someone is missing. He could've sworn there was one more but can't seem to- OH. Nevermind, there's Cyn standing right behind him much to his surprise.

SMG3: Oh yeah. You. Um......... you can set the tables, I guess.

Tari and Meggy are hanging out at their table, making smalltalk as Mario is preoccupied with the new menu.

Mario: I'm torn between the Seafood Spaghetti and the Jalapeño Sausage Spaghetti.

Tari: Mario, you literally have Spaghetti every day at home. Why not try something else while you're here?

Mario: Hm....... OOOOO they have Spaghetti Pizza!

Tari: *sigh* What about you, Meggy?........... Meggy?

Meggy is currently starting at Cyn as she prances around the tables. A knock on the table gets her attention.

Tari: You alright?

Meggy: Yeah. I was just curious, is all.

Tari: Is it about the new guys?

They both turn to see Noah fidgeting with the machine to see how it works. His first cup seems okay enough as he gives it a test sip....... and it immediately explodes. As it turns out, he had just produced something akin to Omolon's signature fluid munitions, only much more volatile.

Noah: Alright, I guess that button is a no-go.

Meggy: You could say that. It isn't every day you see someone with such extensive augments.......... especially if one of them is a kid.

Tari: I wouldn't really look into that too much. Stuff like that is usually a personal thing. Maybe if we give them some time they- GAH!

There's Cyn again, right next to the table. She innocently tilts her head as she unblinkingly stares at Tari.

Tari: Um........ hi.

A ring of the bell signals a new arrival as a familiar looking Australian takes a look around.

Rufus: Hm. A lot bigger than I thought.

Noah: Oh, hello sir! Welcome to Three's Lustrous Lair. Can I get you something?

Rufus: Just taking a gander at the moment.

Noah: Oh by all means, take your time. I'll um...... I'll be here if you need anything.

He gives a big smile as he goes back to figuring out how the machine works. He turns to leave when he notices some familiar faces at a nearby table.

Rufus: Well, fancy seeing you lads again.

Meggy: Hey, Rufus! Long time no see.

Tari scooches aside to let Rufus take a seat.

Rufus: So, what have you been up to?

Meggy: Just the usual. Fighting undead nightmares in search of old secrets and all that.

Rufus: Is that so. Find any good loot?

Tari: There were some things of value, but most of it went to SMG3's collection. Though I've also learned a new truck.

She snaps her fingers and a small ball of flame appears in her palm. Rufus was taken aback a bit before she extingwished it with a clench of her fist.

Mario: Mario even made a new friend in the sewer! His name is Jonsey, and he loves tacos. There was also this crab guy with these big swords.

Tari: He's talking about that Fallen Captain who helped us. He was actually pretty nice.

Rufus: Wait........ a Fallen?

Tari: Yeah. We ran across him at Bricktown.

Rufus: Hm.............

Meggy: Don't worry, he's not like the other Fallen we've come across. He's actually really good with kids.

Rufus: I'll take you for it, but........

He took a brief look around them. His voice was almost a whisper.

Rufus: Have you heard the rumors, by any chance?

Over at the Devious Diner kitchen, Melony is busy kneading some dough while Kaizo is dicing up a tenderloin into a fine mincemeat. With some diced veggies here, some crushed garlic there, and a few cracks of black pepper, the meat filling is ready just in time for Melony to stuff it in the dough and pop it in the oven. Melony wipes the sweat from her brow and goes to wash her hands when she notices Julia watching from the window.

Julia: I must say, your friend over there sure knows his way around a blade.

Melony: You think that's neat, you should see him with some drumsticks. Or a scythe. Depends on his mood.

Kaizo just gives a quick wave before he goes back to carving up the large pig he has on the table. Julia could sense something in the way Melony looks at him, the way her face always seemed to lighten up whenever they locked eyes. Telltale signs of a strong bond.

Julia: So....... are you two-?

Her inquiry is interrupted by a ring of the bell at the counter. She wasn't expecting to turn around and see a tall purple rabbit eyeing her with a wide s*** eating grin.

Jax: So you must be the new girl. I gotta say you look FABULOUS in that blouse. Really compliments that glare of someone contemplating murder you got going on.

Ten seconds in and he's already getting under her skin. That's gotta be a new record.

Julia: Hello, sir. May I take your order?

Jax: Straight to the point, huh? I like that. I'll take a double triple bossy deluxe on a raft. Four by four animal style. Extra shingles with a shimmy and a squeeze. Light axle grease. Make it cry, burn it, and let it swim. Got it memorized, sweetie?

If that murderous glare wasn't apparent before, it's most DEFINITELY apparent now. Not that Jax minds, though. Over at the Graveyard Shift, Vale is reading up on various cocktail recipes when she sees the new manager takes a seat at the counter.

Martha: How you doing, sweetie?

Vale just gives another shrug. It's been her default answer all day. Martha can't really blame her, considering how she and her siblings are usually a lot more "active." A a calm little gig like this feels almost paradoxical to her nature.

Martha: I know you're more used to the city life, but I think spending some time out here will do you some good. Plenty of fresh and open air to stretch your legs, and it's a welcome respite from having to deal with the authorities.

There's still no real response from Vale apart from a somber look.

Martha: You also seem to be doing much better than the others.

Martha looks over to the others. Noah has finally figured out how to produce a proper expresso after making more of those liquid munitions and what appears to be a cup of multicolored florescent light. Meanwhile, Jax is still bombarding Julia with pet names and cheesy jokes. It's a miracle she hasn't killed him yet. All of this is while Cyn is still standing by Tari's group as they begin speaking in hushed whispers. She remains fixated despite not having a clue about what's going on. That's when Vale feels a gentle hand cover her own.

Martha: Just give it some time. I'm sure you'll find at least something to like about this place.

The impact of a colossal SMACK can be heard across the building as Jax is sent flying straight out the window. He should count himself lucky for his rubbery composure. Julia retracts a smoking fist before dusting off her blouse. Martha just chuckles.

Martha: Just be sure to behave yourself, okay?

Martha gives Vale a comforting smile. Vale begins to loosen up a bit for the first time since she got here.

Vale: I'll do my best, ma'am.

Martha gives her a soft pinch on the cheek with a warm smile.

Martha: That's my girl.

[vossn]

Ooof, lots has been asked. Go with 9, do some angst.

And 25.

Indeed, I am very happy about all the people sending asks <3 Rogue Trader fandom you are my fave fr fr.

9. What was their Darkest Hour? How does it affect them today?

His Dark Hour and Triumph are actually from the same incident, mentioned here. During the mutiny, he got caught up in the crossfire trying to get to his superior - unknowing that she was involved - and ran into the arms of some rogue guardsmen. Not all involved had noble intentions, and who is a better symbol to let out your frustrations with the Imperium than a commissar? Torture ensued, you imagine the rest.

It took a while for him to come out of the field hospital, and in that time, the mutineers had taken a whole fort by force. It was a pretty shit situation to come back to work to.

Physically, it fucked up his leg and gave him some new scars. It is the source of the slight limp he has up to Commorragh. Most of the damage was done to the augments though, which saved him from a lot of consequences.

Mentally, it kind of blurred into the whole, terrible thing that was that particular deployment. It hardened him, driving home that if he survived this, he can survive anything. It could always be so much worse..

25. Wildcard: Share a fun fact, random thought, or headcanon about them!

I always headcanon that you have to dance at your Magnae Accessio, because come on, it's nobility. Zlatko knows higher social etiquette, because the Commissariat expected it both for infiltrating and the occasional ball, but up to that point doesn't know how to dance.

Pasqal has to download schematics and painstakingly teach him hoe to open the floor together with Jae so he doesn't make an ass out of himself. Schola training was less humiliating than this.

[questionablepastries]

Wahoo I beat armored core (just now now!) thoughts below (and spoilers of course)

I can’t believe they made me fight an upgraded balteus lmao but what balteus wasn’t ready for was an upgraded ME 😈

Good game! Visually very very pretty to look at, mentally I’m clapping a lot at the credits rn lol

And the choices the game made me do lol aaaaaghhh. I almost considered putting the game down for the day when it asked me to betray carla. Same thing with eliminating G1 Michigan, only because I thought VIII Pater was my friend (turns out he’s sick in da head!! Scary guy. Really lives up to his AC name “dual nature” whew) less messed up arquebus members the better. In the end I went with ayre all the way but not because I like ayre but because of 2 things

1) carla she did try to kill me once (she made up for it by saving my ass out of prison tho)

2) (the more important reason why I sided with Ayres idea) — who knows what the ecosystem of the planet would be like with the complete removal of coral, not to mention coral is semi sentient so it’d be like super massacre if I went with Carla (and Walters) idea of destroying it all. ALSO, the destruction of the giant space ship crashing into that coral harvesting place, like what would life be like for the rubiconians? Even worse? Nobody has their interests in minds bc as far as they’re concerned they’re always caught in the middle of some corporation war, so if I sided with Carla it’d be adding fuel to that corporation war fire :(

Like ayre says at the end though, I’m sure we can avoid a fires of ibis situation 2.0 if we work really hard together. 621 is a human that didn’t lose their mind completely after contact with coral voices and maybe it has to do with the fact that they’re a fourth generation human (since the later generations worked out the kinks of not having to hear coral anymore)

Also. During the very sad heartbreaking (for me) killing carla mission, do u know how excited I was to beat the shit out of snail lmao

After reading that his augmentations were only perfected thanks to who knows how many innocent deaths, and his mind re-education shenanigans I’ve hated his ass since DAY ONE. Even IF he’s a sassy funny guy

Ok the ps just told me the trophy for this ending is called liberator of rubricon. Whatever ending that is lol idk what ppl are calling it

God I already miss Walter why’d they make me kill him too lol

ON THAT NOTE I MISS RUSTY I THINK WALTER MAY HAVE KILLED HIM. I’m gonna stick to anime rules for this one and that’s “no body seen no death” yup rusty is still out there (<- copium)

Oh wow ok I guess NG+ just starts like that huh, that’s ok w me I’ll do a NG+ run just to see the other endings, they better not make me actually kill rusty tho that’d break my heart more than it did to take out carla and chatty : (

Also pvp is fun but I’m ok at it lol I keep losing a ton but I’ve had a couple of close matches and won like 4 matches so far

Oh right about snail tho, back in the Carla mission? I was talking mad shit while fighting him like “I ALREADY BEAT YOUR DATA IN THE ARENA YOU THINK YOURE HOT SHIT??” that sorta thing. And u know how dissapointed I was that I didn’t kill him right then and there? His ass escaped that ass beating. Don’t matter tho I terminated his ass for good when he was riding that toddler ass upgraded baby chair balteus 2.0

Idk how from soft does it but they keep making these super super climatic boss fights and super fucking awesome attack patterns that are both visually appealing and difficult to evade/survive but when you do it’s like you’re really in the fight in that moment it’s awesome :) this happened with balteus, balteus 2 purple laser moment, and the fuckinnggggg icewormmmm, malenia elden ring comes to mind (alongside demon souls king of storm)

And I can’t believe they got me with the sekiro monkey “it’s not dead! It’s getting up again!” Moment too god damn that flying boss whew, sad the game wouldn’t let me use that boss’ sweet ass wings as a part to equip :(

Rusty really warmed up to me, initially I was a hater because his ass was always setting me up with these missions that always had an extra lil spice in them meant to kill me or set me up in some way (probably arquebus’ fault) but he…. Waghhhggg………”the first to join” ok cool….ty for being so eager to reunite with me rusty…I honestly thought he was dead after the ice worm mission….and the fucking line he says “there’s only one person who can keep up with me” with 621 in on the comm to listen in on….what are we…….(we’re buddies…)

Great game. And amazing cast of characters, like maybe it’s the voice acting that really nailed it but for me to care about a bunch of people (g1 Michigan…..) that you never actually see in game and only hear is wild lol

I do not care for ayre tho. I’m sorry I’m a hater, she always said some common sense stuff like “remember to dodge” baby we been on how many missions together now please. If she was a deep voiced lady I would’ve been on my hands and knees tho, and if she had a male voice I’d be even worse lol

Cortana ass!!!! Anyways cutest ayre moment was 621 and her watching these giant nuke missles hit a massive structure and she’s like (cutely) “they’re really like fireworks” & I had to laugh and be like we gotta get u some real fireworks ayre they don’t look like this gsvdvdvd

Right and do u know how much I was pogging when the fake raven or Rather the Real Raven showed up??? Damn what was that guys situation about and their handler too? Hmmmmm (dlc potential?)

Fun ass game! Slow start but momentum wise it keeps speeding up and then the end is like WHAM did ya like it and I gotta be like YEAH. I DID. Now I have the urge to play the other endings in ng+ since my AC is geared the fuck up to handle anything I feel like. Kinda wish the pacing at the start stayed the whole way as in slow pacing the entire game with the game letting me kill more shounen protagonist types lol (although that would mean killing ppl like Rusty hmmm my sadism for wanting more murder of naive protagonist types and love for rusty is like oil and water when it comes to that idea lol)

One complaint tho just one, the ost can be somewhat lacking. It has its moments tho!! There’s like 3 tracks that really kill it, and they’re at important moments too. Iceworm, balteus 2.0/snail showdown, and Carla fight are good. The rest went over my head tho sowwy

Now that I’ve achieved credits in this game im a certified armored core fan (even tho this is my first one) and I’m glad this game is getting attention! I really hope they release more AC games bc this kicked ass, maybe they can take a break before taking that on though, because every single mission is pretty breath taking visually, and MASSIVE in terms of sheer size sometimes like damn. Lots of love!

[nkn0va]

You know what? You've been getting a lot of uh... interesting ask lately,so let me give you something more wholesome. Can I just have a nice piece of your writing involving Aigis(P3) and Noel(Blazblue) being friends or something? Everyone wants them to battle to the death,yet no one wants to imagine them just hanging out as these created weapons that grow into their own people and soon develop their own heart honestly. I believe you're skills can definitely handle this challenge,my man.

I'm seriously flattered you think so, chief. Kinda hard to be confident in your writing skills when you have an older friend who's literally a professional published author but it's nice to know someone thinks mine is at least worth a damn. I'll try my best.

Post-writing note: This is a long ass post lmao, I really enjoyed doing this ask

-Some really weird shit needs to happen for these two to cross worlds and meet, at least assuming you don't wanna take the lazy way out and just say bbtag happened.

-Something alone the lines of Aigis being sent to investigate an anomaly in the TV world. Said anomaly happens to be a distortion in it made by Phenomenon Intervention and warps her somewhere she's never seen before.

-She finds herself in a forest...somewhere. The biggest problem right now is that there's some sort of airborne material all around her that immediately sets off alarm bells in her head from how radioactive it's making the place, however looking over the horizon she sees some buildings set around a mountain in the distance. Hopefully there she can get some answers as to what's going on.

-She flies her way over to the city, which she quickly finds out is nowhere in her database, she's never seen anything like this before. After some exploring she's confronted by what looks like nothing short of a demon, several times her size, weirdly enough with cybernetic augments.

-Aigis prepares herself for a fight, yet much to her surprise the demon explains calmly that he's not here to fight, but he wants her to come with him to meet someone. Aigis, not seeing anything else to do, agrees to follow him after thinking about it. Maybe she can get some answers.

-It's here that she's introduced to the rebel group of Kagura, Kokonoe, and their suboordinates. It's a long talk but everyone gets the gist of the situation. Aigis is from another world that used another world to get here, the people who found Aigis are attempting to overthrow a corrupt government in this world called the NOL. Aigis agrees to lend her power to their cause as long as they help her find a way home.

-She soon meets someone whose, according to Kokonoe, a defective Lieutenant from this "NOL" organization. She's curious about how and why she left the NOL after supposedly being so loyal to them and tries to pick at her brain about it.

-This Lieutenant, Noel, turns out to be...way more similar to Aigis than she thought. They were both made as weapons to hunt and eliminate something very specific, and much like Aigis did, Noel's currently having doubts on whether she's "real" or not.

-Aigis knows about what that feels like better than anyone, and the two establish a rather fast friendship. She shares stories with Noel about her world, gladly telling her about her time with her friends in S.E.E.S and how they helped her come to terms with her humanity, as shown physically made manifest in her Persona, though the whole Persona business is a story for another time.

-She really helps Noel out a lot in this department. Noel's much more quickly able to accept that she's real. As Ragna says, as long as she sees herself as real, then she is real.

-Aigis is more than ready to support Noel in her own endeavors however she can, particularly in saving Tsubaki from the Mind Eater curse and learning how to control the power of the Eye. She's also the first to jump to her defense when Jin decides to act like a bastard and talk down to her like trash. She is more than ready to throw hands right then and there for Noel.

-Noel herself in all honesty doesn't really feel like she deserves such a good friend. She didn't expect a full on android to be so good to her, but that doesn't mean she isn't ready to return the favor, far from it. While she can't cook for Aigis since she can't nor needs to eat (Thank God), she's always on guard when Kokonoe is around, learning to put her foot down in case the mad scientist gets any funny ideas when it comes to upgrading or tinkering with Aigis.

-Meeting Noel's other friends is quite the interesting experience. Makoto doesn't really understand what the hell Aigis is but still finds her pretty freaking cool regardless. Meeting Tsubaki when she's finally free of the Mind Eater is...awkward. The two had traded blows when Aigis had been sent out by Kokonoe to do some scouting and Tsubaki had attacked her after deducing that she was up to something. They finally have a chance to start off on the right foot and Tsubaki thanks her for taking good care of Noel in her absence.

-When they eventually find a way to get Aigis back to her world, it's a tearful goodbye, at least on Noel's part. The two reassure to see each other again someday, Noel using her power to keep the portal to the TV world open so that Aigis can come back through it and see her again someday.