#I made clips to show what certain characters sound like but I needed to cut this one too even though Mustang doesn't speak

[hyena-frog]

Would you mind cutting the second Reaperstangmeet cute, please with a foxy on top? 🥺

If you mean the one in the locker room, that is included in the google drive link in that post! But. It's too cute so I'm going to post it individually as well.

[forgottenporkbun]

So I have an old Generation Loss theory I made after the Founders cut came out. It's a little incoherent due to me scribbling it down before I forgot but I'm gonna put it here and try to make it a clearer. Like I said before- this is just a silly theory I made and is probably very incorrect so bear with me. (I do go into something that Matpat talked about in his theory videos on GL just to warn you lol).

In the short videos we got before the social experiments we see red text and Matpat talks about how the red represents a certain group of people that I believe Ranboo is a part of (a lot of people speculated that Ranboo is the founder but I don't think that's correct and I'll talk about that again soon). These people want to kill the founder- teach people the "right" thing to do- which is to kill people when needed and possibly not just the founder (I need to rewatch those shorts-). (also I will be referring to the group the red text belongs to the Genloss group bc im not very creative)

Hetch talks about the founder gave him a place and runs the whole Showfall media company (the founder- not hetch if that was unclear). Why would Hetch/Showfall media want to kill Ranboo if he was the founder?

We now know Hetch as the script writer- that is the role the founder gave to him. He mentions stuff like how "characters" are only useful for as long as they are able to fulfill their roles (idk why I put that in there but I do think it's an interesting line). People go through these experiments to become cast members. Ranboo completed his experiment to become a cast member and did what they had to do to get to the end- even if it meant killing. Now the thing that I find quite ironic is the fact that Hetch labelled Ranboo as the hero [Who is he saving?]

In the end before they are killed, Ranboo has flashbacks- I mean- not quite flashbacks, but images of his younger self (could be his life flashing before his eyes). Right before the box closes we hear him mutter something that sounds like "I don't care". They don't care that they're about to die- which there could be multiple reasons why. One is that after the horrible things he did he thinks he deserves to die. Two, he knows that he has "followers" in this genloss group- now you're probably saying "Kai- wtf do you mean by followers?" Well, i think that Ranboo is a very important person in this group. I don't think Showfall media would have taken them if they didn't have a bigger part to play in that group.

Also, an odd thing is that in the Founders cut trailer there's this bit of red text that says "who are you?" that is probably important.

Another thing i found interesting in that trailer "One year ago a show was broadcasted to your world. Using the likenesses of popular figures." Did Showfall kidnap them? What's this other world that Showfall media exists in like?

At the very end we get to see a cassette tape being played- probably one of the tapes that that one character found (the one from that clip of Ranboo talking about how they found some old tapes and just needed to figure out how to work the tape player). This character has finally figured it out and this is the first tape we get to see the contents of (still really curious to know more about this Zero character)

Sorry this is really long- it's old but i wanted to know peoples thoughts on it. I realised a lot of things- like how the red text might not be from this genloss group (but the who are you message makes me have a whole other theory that im not about to go into). And since we have the new "from the desk of the founder" video we have a lot more info on the founder. Anyways, hope you had fun reading through my bullshit. Regards, -Kai

[alecbicheno]

FMP blog

16/08/2024

Zoe and I worked on the shot in the test tube room, which would be the final one in the whole cinematic before cutting to the title. We chose this one next because it was important to get the final shot done to ensure we had the start, filler, and end shots. Also, the one we plan to do last has some trickier animations to work with, so we again wanted all the major shots done before having to spend a longer amount of time on the next one.

So, for the final scene we ended up reversing roles to what we did the previous day, where Zoe added the creature she had made for the project into the scene and then worked on creating the movement, blending the animations and other details.

From there, I then got to work, where my main focus was going through and sorting any minor adjustments that needed working on, such as blending the animations to look smoother, or matching the speed of the creature’s movement with the cycle of the running animation. I also changed a few parts of the shot, as some parts were too slow or lingered too long, and others needed have a bit more added to them in order to do some more effective storytelling. For example, having the character react faster to certain parts of the shot, and in other parts, such as the final frames, changing the positions and rotations of the camera and creature to keep the creature central, ensuring it’s the last thing the viewer sees while also showing off what it looks like.

Next, we worked on the scene where the character is attacked by the spider creature, which is the shot with the tricky to implement animations. Zoe was responsible for setting up the whole scene, this being all the of the movements and animations in the sequencer.

However, there was some difficulty with the frames after the character is bitten by the creature, the troubleshooting and fixing was where I became involved. Firstly, the arm and spider moved too quick for a viewer to really understand that the character had just thrown it off before running. A good amount of time was spent adjusting the speed until we were happy with it.

The major issue was that the spider kept changing scale after the bite animation was finished, except it would change in the one frame between the end of the animation and the start of moving the spider model out of the characters view, meaning the fix couldn’t be simply changing the scale in the next frame after the bite animation had finished.

After a lot of trial and error with timings, scaling and positioning, the solution was to make the animation last a few frames longer. The scale of the spider when it performs the bite animation is a different scale for the rest of the scene, so in order to keep the scale we want so it wouldn’t appear in the frame as huge, we had to extend the animation in the sequencer. This didn’t cause any other issues as the model has been “thrown” off of the arm, out of the camera before the animation starts over.

Zoe then stitched these shots together in Premier Pro, then over time added the music and sound effects. Over these days we also worked on the other parts of the submission our written sides of the submission were all in order.

The last things to do were to record some voice acting for the cinematic, and to add in some footsteps as we realised they were missing. For the voice acting, I was the voice of our character as they’re male. To do this, we worked up a rough script and it was simply a case of me talking in time with what was happening in the cinematic, where Zoe added the clips into Premiere Pro and added some distortion effects.

Zoe added the footsteps in Unreal Engine, which was done via adding a sound effect to the walking animation and was timed with the steps. From there the audio just needed to be rendered and put into Premier Pro.

Over this week I have been very impressed with the work achieved to finish the cinematic. We have learned a lot about Unreal Engine and overcome any problems thrown our way, even when they caused us a lot of trouble, we persevered and found a solution. I’m happy with the quality of the final product too. It conveys the atmosphere we were going for, and the whole aesthetic combined with the lighting only boost this in quality.

Now it’s time to work on my presentation and promo video for next week, and I also need to work on a forefront post, as it appears I've missed a Sunday at the start of August. This is likely slipped under the radar due to the creation of the cinematic taking priority, as well as other goings on in my life resulting in not enough time, so I'll catch up on this one I missed so I have the correct amount.

[bacon-sandwich-of-dionysus]

Baying Dogs; Chapter 3: Separating The Herd

Warnings for: violence, gore and swearing! And above all, character death!

Word count: 2,649

For those of you coming to read from the Solstice event, this is the third chapter of my ongoing Call of Duty fic where I've basically made a whodunit and mixed in some elements from one of my favourite movies: Dog Soldiers. Take this as a horror short! I'll have another short up later on based on my original work too.

Here's the blurb from the Ao3 version to give you some context:

"They were outnumbered, barely making it out by the skin of their teeth. However, they haven't got time to breathe. People are starting to drop like flies and someone's behind it. As for who? Well, as much as I hate to say it, it might be one of their own."

As she was putting her first aid kit back into her rucksack, Dougs heard a peculiar sound.

Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.

It almost sounded like rustling. The scratching of fabric making itself known, followed by a few repressed, pained grunts.

“Gah! Shit!”

Dougs rolled her eyes, knowing full well what was going on.

“I hope you’re not destroying my handiwork.”

Ghost paused at the sound of her clipped tone, her Jamaican accent thickening in her irritation.

After a brief pause, the sound of his itching resumed.

Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.

That does it! This is the third fucking one!

“Don’t scratch your stitches!” Dougs pounced, grabbing his arm, “For fuck’s sake! You’re the third guy and this is getting out of hand.”

The hand which she had caught by the wrist was tense, fingers in a claw-like array, trying to fight against the urge to shove her off. Dougs’ big brown eyes bore angry holes into Ghost’s face, and, judging by the hints of a raised brow under his mask, he was taken aback.

“It’s… so itchy.”

“Well, don’t give in. I can’t be staying up all night redoing everyone’s dressing because they can’t be arsed to resist the urge to itch!”

His eyes narrowed.

“I thought doctors were supposed to be empathetic.”

“Sometimes we get a bit fed up. Now, quit trying to undo your stitches.”

“Can’t I have some of that numbing cream?” Ghost asked, pointing to the tube sitting half-out of its cardboard box.

She shook her head.

“I have to conserve that for when it’s actually needed.”

“I need it.”

“Distract yourself with other sensations. Rub your legs, go look at the stars outside- just don’t itch!”

He was about to protest, only for the zip of their tent to be undone.

Gaz poked his head in.

“I’ve undone my dressing.” He smiled guiltily, showing a bloodied arm.

Dougs wanted to pull the hair out of her scalp.

“What is going on?!” She cried, “Give me your arm, let me see.”

His wound was red and raw, with local swelling around the cut.

“Infected…” Dougs thought aloud, before turning to her half-packed med kit.

“Infected?” Gaz asked nervously.

“Let me just get some TCP out and-”

She turned back to see he was raising his eyebrows at her.

Dougs just stared at him blankly.

Again, he raised his eyebrows at her.

She looked back at Ghost, who was watching on, either with utmost curiosity or because he didn’t know where to place his eyes.

“Well, we don’t know for sure if it’s badly infected.”

“But it is infected.” Gaz said, emphasising the last word, “Infected from the attack.”

“Or b-because dirt can get into it, maybe?” Dougs nodded slowly, “And also because we lack the resources to deliver adequate enough care to have prevented this when we first completed your dressing.”

“Or it could be from the attack.” Gaz once more suggested.

“We don’t know for sure your theory is certain.”

They are definitely talking about something else… Ghost tilted his head to one side, listening to this almost robotic conversation, or they’re both having a stroke.

“Am I in trouble?” Gaz swallowed hard, “Because I’ve got a fever too and-”

She checked his forehead, to find he had a hot head like Graves and Price.

“We’ll see, Gaz. Let’s see what we can do now, okay?”

He nodded, but unable to shake the dread.

Something was weighing down on his chest and Sergeant Garrick began to wonder if the lack of recollection from the night leading up to Weir’s death was in fact not due to a heavy sleep but rather responsibility. Perhaps there was a reason he was the first to find her body.

No, Gaz pushed those thoughts away, there’s no evidence.

Dougs popped on a fresh dressing and sent him on his way, letting out a big yawn.

She ought to have antibiotics with her, knowing full well that these types of infections can get serious, but all she had were diaphoretics and salt.

Luckily, there hadn’t been any signs of pus forming in any of the injuries she had seen so far… but she knew it would be inevitable.

Better get ready to make some salt baths soon.

“Do you feel feverish, Ghost?”

He shook his head.

“Can I check anyways?”

Reluctantly, he removed the skull mask and loosened his balaclava. Guiding her hand, he let her feel his cheeks and forehead.

At least we’ve got one without a raging fever.

He felt cool, the only sensation Dougs really picked up on was the slight roughness of his stubble. She gave a small sigh of relief, eyes blinking slowly in their growing tiredness.

“Well, it seems you’re clear. Don’t start scratching at your dressing whilst I nod off, understood?”

Ghost nodded, taking her advice to distract himself from the urge by raking his nails along his thick cargo pants.

As Dougs snuggled into her sleeping bag, she turned to face Ghost, watching him begin to close up shop. It was nice to be lying down, her feet pulsing with the ache of their walking, only just experiencing a proper rest after miles of trekking. Every muscle in Dougs’ body was reverberating with a dull pain: her back, her feet and her hands, which were cramping a little from all the fine-motor tasks. She clenched and unclenched her fist underneath the covers, trying to get the stiffness out of her joints.

“Are you going to sleep with that thing on?” She asked, a curious smile creeping across her tired face.

“Yes, and soundly.” Ghost replied.

Dougs was going to remark on the surprising tranquillity of this evening, but her mind turned to the chaos that was replacing almost everyone’s dressing.

She looked back at Ghost, who had set his mask aside, looking in his rucksack for the hangable torch, his wounded hand raised in the air, sleeve rolled up. Presumably, the man was trying to see if the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ thing worked and it seemed it was as he wasn’t itching.

She shook her head, hoping that maybe letting the wound breathe might help alleviate the irritation, but she could see by the way his arm shook a little with tension, that he was resisting the compulsion to tear out the sutures.

I should have brought cones of shame with me. Works on dogs.

As if on cue, Dougs whipped her head around at a strange sound. It was distant, but unmistakeable. Almost like a lamentation, it rasped out a little at the end, but picked up for a new cycle of wails.

“Is that howling?” She rose from her sleeping bag, looking in the direction of the sound.

“Baying.”

The medic turned around to Ghost.

“That’s baying.” He repeated, not bothering to dart his head about like Dougs.

“Baying?”

“Yeah. Not quite howling. Not quite barking. Dogs usually do it when they’ve found something they want others to see. Not surprised a farm dog would be baying at this hour, probably saw a fox or something.”

“Are you sure it’s a farm dog?”

Ghost scoffed at the worried look on her face.

“What else is it gonna be? Wolves?”

She shrugged, drawing her knees to her chest.

“I saw you talking to Gaz.” Ghost continued, “Is he still harping on about the attack being animals?”

She shook her head.

“No. He doesn’t think it was animals anymore.” Dougs half-lied.

“Glad he’s getting with the program.” Ghost remarked, hanging up a torch on the carabiner above them, “The last thing we want is infighting on who done it. Northolt is our objective, let’s focus on that.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, “Yeah.”

Dougs looked off to the side, hearing the hound’s baying once more.

***

BANG!

Gunfire rang out and both Dougs and Ghost shot up at the echoing sound.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stumbled out the tent, following the lieutenant.

Soap clutched his gun in shaking hands, the barrel still smoking as he watched the thing collapse onto the ground.

“Soap!” Ghost ran to his side, “Soap, are you alright?!”

“What the fuck is that?”

“What is what?” Ghost looked at him, only to follow his gaze down MacTavish’s raised arm and pointed to finger to see something he… he didn’t know what to make of.

“What the fuck is that?”

Ghost backed up.

It was large, surely as big as a bear if not bigger, with a mane of fur around its neck and two sizeable bullet holes in its stomach. A forked tongue hung out its mouth which was lined with teeth fit for shearing and tearing meat.

Gaz slunk past Ghost to get a closer look, only to be grabbed by the shoulder and held back by his lieutenant.

“It looks like a dog.” Graves observed, resting some of his weight on Dougs who propped him up so he could stand a little more upright.

“That’s one fucked up dog.” Soap remarked, grimacing.

Dougs covered her nose.

“Smells rank.”

“What is it, though?” Gaz asked.

“Dogman?” Soap suggested.

“Fucking dogman?!” Gaz pointed to it, “That’s a whole-ass werewolf!”

Its eyes opened. As they squabbled and argued about the hypotheticals of what this could be… the thing was listening.

And Dougs clocked it was alive.

Blood began to pour from its wounds once more.

“Uh… guys…” She began to back away with Graves.

“Why are you fixed on the biology, Soap?!”

“Guys…” Dougs said again, seeing its fingers tense.

“Because that looks like a dogman! And I know for a fact that dogmen are more likely to be real than a fucking man who can turn into that thing!"

“Oh my God.” Gaz pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Boys!” Graves snapped, “Shoot that thing before it gets up!”

“What?”

“Fuck!”

It had risen onto its hind legs, drool dripping from its chops. They all staggered backwards.

“Fucking shoot it, Soap!” Graves yelled.

Without a second thought, Soap open fired on the animal. It let out a shriek before trying to take a swipe at the gun.

Soap managed to hit it before it got close enough, and the creature stumbled, before falling to the ground.

This was a mistake.

Because, and they hadn’t realised it yet but, that thing was way more comfortable on all fours.

Licking the slobber hanging from those dribbling lips, it snapped at them. Clearly, unfazed that it had another wound gushing with blood.

Soap lined up to take another shot.

“Shouldn’t we need silver?” Gaz mumbled.

Graves shot him a dirty look, keeping a hand on his chest so he’d remain the furthest behind them.

“If I shoot it, what difference is it gonna make?” Soap asked, finger hovering over the trigger.

“What does it matter?!” Dougs groaned, “It’s either it dies or we’re dinner!”

Soap took a deep breath and steadied his aim.

BANG!

Straight through the eye. Its head flung backwards, only to return to facing ahead, glaring daggers at them.

“You see?! What the fuck do I do?”

That’s when Ghost charged at it from behind and flung boiling water from one of the cooking pots.

It screeched, totally caught off guard.

Ghost grabbed his knife and stabbed it in the gut.

Only to be grabbed and thrown across the camp, landing on top of the spare tent.

“Fire again!” Graves shouted.

Soap did so.

And again. And again.

Each time, the animal would get knocked back, return to its original position, staggering towards them like a deranged, sickly yet determined fool, oozing buckets of blood.

The whole party did what they could only do, raise their arms and roar at it, sticking close together so as to appear as a single, frightening unit. They roared and clapped their hands. Roared and fired their guns.

It hissed before turning back around and making a retreat, dashing into the woods with a slight limp… just as the sun’s morning rays landed on their small, temporary plot of land.

They were all left speechless… well, except for Gaz.

“I fucking knew it!” He shook his fist in the air, “That’s what hit us before!”

“How do you know for certain?” Graves asked.

“What got you, Commander?”

“A man.” Was the reply.

“Are you sure?”

As Gaz began to explain his theory on their enemy, Dougs looked around.

And counted.

Soap, Gaz, Graves and Ghost.

There were supposed to be six.

Price.

“Guys.” She called for silence, “Where’s Price?”

They all looked about.

“Oh fuck!” Soap’s head was on the verge of doing a full 360 spin, “Where’s Captain Price?”

“Shit…” Graves sighed.

As they trekked along the winding path, keeping to the perimeter of the field, Dougs spotted something ahead.

Someone.

“Hey!” She whispered to Graves, who had taken to using her as his new crutch, “Do you see that?”

“What?” He asked, wincing as the sun blinded him momentarily.

“Look!” She pointed with her free hand, “Look!”

“Oh… Oh! Woah! Folks!”

They stopped dead in their tracks.

“Is that-”

The distant figure collapsed onto the ground.

“Fuck!”

Ghost remained on overwatch with Dougs as Soap and Gaz, guns at the ready ran ahead.

Within minutes, the remaining three’s radios crackled.

“It’s Price…” Soap said, “And he’s dead.”

They had crowded round the dead body, looking down at it with despondent eyes.

“It’s him.”

They could just about recognise the lifeless form of their captain. His gear was reduced to rags with gaping wounds littering his body.

“What happened to him?” Soap asked, not sure what other words to say.

Gaz knelt down to check his breathing.

“Yep…” His voice quivered, “… Dead.”

“You don’t think he was… you know…” Graves looked to the company to the left, and then to his folks on the right.

“Are you saying that I shot Price?” Soap growled.

“Well, why else would he be here, half naked and dead with wounds that we gave to a monster hours ago?”

Dougs felt cold sweat run down her temple… or was it the foggy air condensing around her?

Either way, she wiped off the moisture.

Only for the wetness to return, this time in the form of a droplet; followed by another and then another.

Ghost looked up to the sky and held his hand out.

“We should think about moving, or this’ll get worse.”

“What about Price?” Gaz raised, “We can’t just leave him here!”

“Can’t exactly bury him…” Soap muttered.

That’s when Gaz turned to face Soap with narrow eyes.

“You were on night watch last night.”

“Aye. So were you.”

“I left halfway through because of my stitches.” Gaz walked up to him, “Did you see anything? Do anything?”

“Gaz…” Dougs spoke sternly.

Soap stared at him, unsure whether to meet his eyes or not.

“I heard voices. More specifically your voice.”

“Gaz, that’s enough!” Ghost barked.

Gaz placed a finger on Soap’s armoured chest.

“Tell me everything.”

“Gaz, what are you implying-”

“Report, Sergeant!”

Dougs knew she would’ve flinched in that moment, but Soap stood strong, unmoved. Instead of recoiling, he simply sighed.

“I saw Price come out the tent, walk into the woods. At first, I thought he’d got up to piss but something was off. I followed him, called after him. And… I lost sight of Price.”

Gaz began to laugh, shaking his head.

“You just lost sight of him?”

“I swear I had nothing to do with this!” Soap snarled.

“You fucking…” Gaz clenched his fist.

Only for a hand to place itself on his shoulder:  Ghost looked down at the sergeant with tired eyes.

“We don’t need this. Price is dead and we have a long way to Northolt, so let’s just stick together as a- Ah!”

He released Gaz, clutching his arm.

“You alright, Lt?” Soap came to his side.

“Yeah…” Ghost breathed out, “Just… tore my stitches.”

He looked over to Dougs, apologetically.

[rax-writes]

Learning Experience

Fandom: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Characters: Nicholas Scratch x Reader Warnings: None Notes: I’ve been watching CAOS, and I saw a clip from the show Good Girls that inspired the dialogue for this fic. 

It was evident to most at the Academy of Unseen Arts that you weren’t the typical witch. You were kind, thoughtful, and constantly worried about how others perceived you. You were well aware that the vast majority of your cohorts deemed you peculiar, and out of place in the Church of Night, so it was important to you that they at least knew you were more than sufficiently astute and competent. That was why it was crucial to you that your tutoring meetings with a certain warlock remained secret.

Conjuring had never been your strong suit. You were proficient in spells, incantations, potions – anything else, you name it. Just not conjuring. Fearing that a poor grade in Conjuring would be a hit to your reputation as an intelligent, well-versed witch, you enlisted the help of Nicholas Scratch.

He was one of very few peers who showed you continual kindness. You were aware of his background: growing up with his werewolf familiar, living in the wilderness until stumbling upon the Academy. In turn, he was aware of your history as well, and seemed to view you as a kindred spirit. However, Nick was aware of his player reputation, so he knew that hanging out with you would give the impression that he was sleeping with you, being that it was unheard of for him to be merely friends with a member of the opposite sex – and you were vehemently against tarnishing your image in such a way. He also knew that outright befriending you would paint a target on your back for the Weird Sisters, especially now that he had recently broken up with them, and they were still vying for his affection. So, the two of you opted to remain acquaintances, occasionally chatting about magical history, potions, or merely sharing a polite exchange about how your days were going.

Although you’d have rather cut off your own foot than admit it to another living soul, you had – against your will – developed a crush on the handsome, sharp, kind-hearted young man. This made you all the more willing to ask him to tutor you in Conjuring – aside from the fact that you genuinely needed his assistance.

“Remind me again why we have to go through all this trouble just for a tutoring session?” Nick inquired one evening, as you two downed a potion to grant you invisibility, before sneaking off to a little-known room in the attic of the Academy. He grimaced slightly at the taste of it as you both dematerialized.

“Because, if anyone were to see us, they’re going to want to know what someone like me is doing with someone like you,” you responded matter-of-factly. Both of you climbed the staircase up to the attic, and after shutting and locking the door behind you, you handed him the potion to reverse the invisibility. He knocked it back with ease, despite grimacing slightly once again, and set the glass vial on the table next to him. Nick stared at you for a few moments, mirth growing in his eyes, before taking a few smooth strides toward you.

“What are you doing with someone like me?” he asked, his tone teasing and curious, as he came to a stop mere inches away from you. “You could have asked anyone for help. But you chose to sneak around with me instead. Why is that?”

He smelled like sandalwood and leather, and it was practically intoxicating. You shook your head to regain control of your racing thoughts and re-focus on the present.

“Obviously I can’t tell them why,” you answered, defensiveness creeping into your voice. Nick didn’t pressure you to elaborate, as he already understood your meaning. He was aware that everyone was incredibly quick to judge you, and that you didn’t want to give them a reason to.

“Right, right….” A small smirk then formed on Nick’s lips. “Well, that potion is disgusting. I’d really rather not keep doing that every time. So, just tell them we’re fucking.”

“What?”

“Oh I’m sorry, sweetheart. Tell them… we’re making love,” Nick said, clearly teasing you on account of your horror at his initial statement.

You stammered for a moment, and even let out a dry, awkward laugh – which only amused him more – before managing to ask, “How would I even say that? Why would I even say that?”

A broad grin overcame Nick’s smirk.

“You’ll think of something. Besides, you’re so heaven-bent on exceeding expectations, and there’s nothing they’d expect less than for you to be sleeping around with me,” Nick noted, then took your books from your hands, as you stood there with your jaw hanging open. “Just make me sound good though, alright? Now, let’s get started on your conjuring homework.”

As you stood there for a moment longer in stunned silence, you absorbed the fact that this whole tutoring setup was going to be the death of you.

[kimkitsuragi]

Final Cut News!

All right, so, by now most people are probably aware that we got a glut of new information about Disco Elysium: The Final Cut yesterday. However, so much content from so many sources can be a bit overwhelming, so I’m making a roundup of links to all the new articles, art, music, and videos I can find, highlighting the details that I personally find interesting.

(under a read more because this will be quite a long post!)

To start with, new official art of Harry and Kim has been released! This art was created by Anton Vill, who did the art for the in-game Thought Cabinet.

ZA/UM's Head of Publishing, Mikk Metsniit, also posted art of Martinaise in the official Disco Elysium Discord. This art has been shared in lower quality before as part of a promotional image for the collector’s edition of Disco Elysium, which will include it as an “illustrated fabric map”. The file Metsniit posted is named “Martinaise Revitalization ‘48.″ In-universe, a design studio previously made an attempt to restore Martinaise to its pre-war state, but ultimately failed. This piece appears to show the planned development of Martinaise--except it’s being swallowed up by the Pale. Fun!

Along with the first piece of art come two new songs by British Sea Power, which will be featured in the final cut:

Advesperascit, named after the city in Vesper-Messina where Dolores Dei was crowned Innocence in-universe. Apparently the name is Latin and roughly translates to “evening comes”

Ignus Nilsen Waltz, named after a prominent communist figure in-universe.

I think these songs will likely be tied to the new political vision quests, which are four new questlines that are each associated with one of the game’s four political ideologies. More information about them, along with other details, can be found in the following articles and videos:

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut Is Like Going From A Black-And-White Movie To Color, article from GameSpot’s Phil Hornshaw. In this article, voice over director Jim Ashilevi talks about adding full voice acting to the game and says that The Final Cut will feature 59 voice actors from countries around the world, chosen to reflect the backgrounds of Revachol’s diverse inhabitants. Lead artist Kaspar Tamsalu speaks about the political vision quests, saying that they will allow the player to meet new characters, learn more about the existing ones, and dive deeper into the politics, secrets, and history of Elysium. Tamsalu also says that The Final Cut will add the ability to fast travel and include Twitch integration, allowing stream viewers to vote on streamers’ decisions and even influence the build of the protagonist.

Biggest Changes In Disco Elysium - The Final Cut, video from GameSpot’s Phil Hornshaw, accompanies the above article. This is a fairly short overview of The Final Cut’s new features as detailed in GameSpot’s article. It includes samples of new voice acting, clips of new animations from the end of the game involving the protagonist and his coworkers (1:47, 2:05), a scene showing a new area added by one of the political vision quests (1:57), and a particularly funny voiced line from Kim (3:22)

‘Disco Elysium: The Final Cut’ comes out March 30. Here’s what’s new.  Article from The Washington Post’s Elise Favis. Includes more details about the political vision quests. According to developer Kaspar Tamsalu, these quests may be started after one in-game day, and are mutually exclusive so that only one may be completed in each playthrough. Jim Ashilevi talks more about the challenge of recording all of the game’s dialogue--more than one million words in total--without outsourcing the work to other studios. Ashilevi also says that he sees ZA/UM as an “art collective”, and “compares his team to the Wu-Tang Clan, in that each person has other creative endeavors, both personal and professional, outside of creating video games.”

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut even gives your horrific necktie a voice. Very brief article from PCGamer’s Fraser Brown. Not much new information in this article, but there is one interesting tidbit: apparently the Horrific Necktie’s voice will be provided by Mikee Goodman, who is one of the game’s voice over directors. Goodman also provides the voices of the Ancient Reptilian Brain, the Limbic System, and several other characters.

Disco Elysium is getting even more political, a long article from PC Gamer’s Fraser Brown. Lead writer Helen Hindpere talks more about the political vision quests, which she says ZA/UM was inspired to add based on fans’ enthusiastic reception of the game’s existing political themes. Hindpere says that the new quests can change the game’s map itself, allowing the protagonist to leave his own mark on the district of Martinaise. The quests will also allow for deeper and more serious exploration of the protagonist’s political views, which were often taken to humorous extremes in the original game. Each quest is different, with some being more wordy and some more visual. The Ultraliberal quest will allow the player to “build a personal brand”, while the communist quest “inspires you to begin a movement”. One quest also adds a new urban location to the game, which Hindpere says reminds her of Berlin. The quests don’t just revolve around a single topic, though; according to Hindpere, "You'll be talking about love, sexuality, hope, ambition, and even about certain geological features specific to our worldbuilding. There's an opportunity to get close and intimate with characters who have thus far seemed unapproachable. Let's say that once you share the same ideology many barriers disappear, allowing you see a different side of many important characters." There will also be a significant amount of new dialogue with Kim Kitsuragi related to these quests.

Disco Elysium PS5 Gameplay - 5 Things You Need To Know, fairly long video from PlayStation Access’ Ash Millman. This video provides some basic information about the game’s premise for new players and shows what the game will look like on PlayStation 5, with a user interface redesigned for the console. The video also includes clips throughout that show some new content, presumably from the political vision quests. Three of these clips seems to be connected: in the first of them, wires are shown that run from the battery of the protagonist’s crashed car to radio equipment set up on and around the statue in the center of Martinaise; in the second, Soona, the radiocomputer programmer from the church questline, can been seen climbing the statue itself to set up some more equipment; and in the third, Soona, Harry, and Kim stand near the modified statue, talking about attempting to contact the flying warship Archer via radio. There are also two other clips: in one, the statue has been splashed with multicolored paints, while in the other the protagonist is seen talking to Idiot Doom Spiral, a local drunk, about hiring him for an unspecified job. Millman also talks about the three different settings that will be available for the game’s voice over: “Classic Mode” will play the same as the original game, with only a few lines voiced, while “Psychological Mode” will provide voice acting for all characters except the protagonist’s internal monologue and skills. The last option, “Fully Voiced Mode” is, well, exactly what it sounds like. There’s also a brief clip that provides a sample of the Horrific Necktie’s new voice (1:26).

DISCO ELYSIUM - The Final Cut (Cuno Voice Example), YouTube video shared by developer Mikk Metsniit. Video is age-restricted. This video includes new voice samples for Cuno, a few of the skills, and Kim. Due to COVID-19, Cuno’s original voice actor, Dot Major, was unable to return, so Cuno is now voiced by Oli Dabiri. Lenval Brown, the narrator of the English language trailers, acts as the game’s general narrator and voice of all 24 skills. Jullian Champenois remains as Kim.

[hopefullystillatheatrestudent]

okay so i’ve been going crazy these past few days. all about cockles/jensmish and obsessively watching their panels or reading the transcripts BECAUSE. THEY ARE LOUD. LIKE. i saw some fancams on twt and i thought people were just exaggerating but noooooooooo!!!???? so, getting to the point. you said that how do we know that jensen is performing masculinity? because jared isn’t and THAT IS A BIG BRAIN MOMENT. ON POINT. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. a particular moment from gag reel that jumps out (which you’ve talked about) when jensen goes ‘cas, you are my baby daddy’ and misha goes, ‘i know i love you too’ and jensen goes, ‘i didn’t say i love you’ and misha goes, ‘i know you wanted to’ and jensen says, ‘i love you’ WHAT THE FUCK! that was NOT a joke. yes, people took it as a joke and had a good laugh BUT I HAVE WATCHED IT TOO MANY TIMES AND IT LIVES IN MY MIND RENT FREE BECAUSE IT WAS NOT A PERFORMANCE. THAT WAS JENSEN. THAT WAS MISHA. jensen has a had trouble with the pda and being all touch feely (the breakup theory) and he gradually grew into it, accepted it and misha was right there all along, never pushed it. it was like a deancas au but tbh, 99% of destiel is because of cockles and we all know it. i just. jensen has latched onto dean as an emotional support because he tunes with it. understands it. projects on to it. yeah, i just had to say it and get it off my chest. (and what about those poetry pages on instagram? alma? what is your opinion?) btw, you have a lovely blog and your analysis are right on target.

so there is a LOT i’m going to address here(how dare you bring up [gunshot] i HAVE to talk about it now) so again!!!! under a cut it goes but i hope you appreciate my rambles anon it seems like you do :,)

1. jared vs. jensen and performing masculinity. hell yeah man. jared and jensen are both just ‘guys from texas’ but they are still so vastly different. today i actually had a revelation that i’m pretty sure has to do with me being bi. and it’s that i have a group of straight friends(that i love dearly but they care too much about hockey and pitbull imo could not be me) and i have a group of queer friends(who are also batshit[affectionate]). and it’s like whichever group i hang out with a different side of me emerges? they’re both me, it’s just that certain aspects of who i am as a person only surface depending on who i am around. however, i will say i feel like i watch what i say around my straight friends more. i see that very clearly in jensen as well. around jared during panels and on set, he’s definitely putting on an air of machismo and engages in typical guy talk. i do think an element of it is performative, because he wants validation from jared that they’re still just two dudes from texas taking on the world together despite his sexual identity. does that make any sense??? i hope so. but when he’s with misha he is an entirely different person and his sense of humour becomes wildly different. the machismo fades away, he’s way less caught up in what people think about him, lets his guard down, etc. to go back to my original point which is how j2 are different in that regard....jared does not do this. he is a constant. he does not flip a switch between ‘performing masculinity’ and ‘not’ because he isn’t performing any part of who he is. he just IS. so yeah these two are similar in many regards but there’s somewhat of a dissonance between them when it comes to how they perform masculinity because one of them is putting on a show and the other is merely being.

2. that crypt scene blooper(here just in case you need to see it again. do it. as a treat.) when i tell you i have easily seen this over thirty times??? since it first came out??? i mean it. it is such an overlooked(r*mantic) moment and it means so much more than people think it does. i’ve talked about the context behind it, and i think that’s why this blooper was so meaningful, so i’ll mention it again. jensen and misha had a LOT of trouble with this scene. the reason is that jensen couldn’t wrap his head around why dean would be saying these things, if i remember correctly, and both of them sat down and scoured over how they should play it for a while before filming(teamwork ;) teammates *ahem*). [to be honest we all know why jensen had a hard time with that scene and it is because it is blatantly romantic. rip to him but i would simply give in to it at that point but oh well] so anyway, their heads were scattered going into shooting, which is NEVER a good headspace to be in for a scene, ESPECIALLY not a pivotal one. but they had each other to help them through said weird energy on set that couldn’t possibly have invoked the best feelings, especially considering jensen STILL doesn’t think he played that correctly(but he praised misha on his performance :,) ). and with that context every single part of that video hits haRD 

-’stop pulling my face towards your crotch’ i think this is objectively hilarious because it really really looks like jensen is pulling HIMSELF towards misha’s crotch. again, you’re fooling no one, jensen. misha’s wheezing laugh and the way he wraps himself around jensen is also,,,sweet??? like i don’t know how else to describe how i see it but this moment really reads as jensen, in his weird ‘constructing elaborate rituals’ way is asking for security through a physical touch from misha and he happily obliges and gives jensen what he needs. because i mean...watch it again. jensen ‘fights back’, but not really at all, actually. pretty wimpy counterattack. he literally lets himself be smothered by misha, and i would literally describe what they end up doing as cuddling. 

-’i need you, cas. you’re my baby daddy’ i love having an actor’s perspective on things bc i think i can explain what’s going on here. jensen just delivered what was(in his own mind) a rotten take of the lines he’s most scared of delivering. so the scene was already messed up. therefore; ensuing fuckery is warranted to help him feel better. but there’s also for sure more than meets the eye for what he says here because of misha’s reaction after??? like he seemed genuinely touched. first of all, he’s saying ‘you’re my baby daddy’ as half-jensen, but not necessarily dean either(because he didn’t say the previous lines as true to his character...you get it), to misha, not cas. i think i’ve made this point before, but every single innuendo in the gag reels is to misha specifically, never once cas. therefore; logical conclusion: ‘you’re my baby daddy’ was for misha and it meant something deeper than we think because of what follows it

-this part. jensen’s giddy ass smile after he sees misha crack and then misha says ‘yeah, i know’ (can i just say his voice when he says this is so intimate???? like am i intruding guys??? sorry i’ll let myself out) also he is smiling SO BIG

- ‘i know’ ‘why are you laughing?’ ‘no i know i love you too’ this analysis is already so long but i still want to get into what THAT whole exchange means. ‘why are you laughing?’ to me sounds like jensen’s pretending to be affronted by misha laughing at something that is serious. and it’s serious because he quite literally meant ‘i love you’. he did. misha knows it. misha’s really REALLY good at cutting the bs and just getting to what people are actually trying to say. he has an innate sharpness to his sense of humour. so yes, misha is being 100% accurate when he says ‘i know, but you wanted to say it.’ misha isn’t lying here. jensen did want and mean to say ‘i love you’. and then he actually does say it(in a jokey way but not really). 

- so yeah. it is actually so romantic??? like in a weird way jensen was professing his love for misha here?????? and that’s why this clip will NEVER. ever. get old. 

3. jensen having trouble with pda and projecting onto dean: we can all call ourselves dean coded cas girls but NO one deserves that title more than jensen ackles himself. he is dean winchester but marginally less repressed because he actually did admit he was in love with his best friend and let himself be happy, and pretty early on too. one year and two months as opposed to twelve years. so. happy deancas au is correct. and yes about the pda thing: one day i want to write my own post about both of their body language when it comes to each other, but all i can tell is jensen, even in the early days, couldn’t help himself from flirting with misha, but if misha ever crossed a line, jensen would not be happy. clearly he’s come around, however. what i find sweet is that misha always follows jensen’s lead when it comes to how much affection they’re allowed to show each other onstage. it touches my soul

4. destiel is cockles fault. yeah. and the thing is everyone knows it, too. even non-cockles shippers will explain early destiel as entirely dependant on jensen and misha’s wild chemistry. and that chemistry is easily explained by the fact that misha and jensen are literally just wildly horny bisexuals who were crazily attracted to one another and were falling in love on screen before our very eyes. and when you have THAT insider info(which sounds cray doesn’t it!!!! the destiel actors are in love irl??? huh???) everything really does click into place. why destiel got SO popular when the show and actors never ever intended for it to happen.(i know some people think misha was playing cas as gay the whole time for shits and giggles, and i won’t deny that[especially considering he found out early on that destiel was why he was staying on the show], but i don’t think he really wanted it to amount to anything, nor did he care??? i mean he has the real thing with jensen, for one, so their characters aren’t really as important. for two, he loves joking about destiel because it’s a cultural phenomenon and it’s fascinating, and i’m sure he did ship it because he’s unhinged, but i don’t think it was vastly important to him either way.) destiel got popular because everyone was and is unintentionally reading into the real deal. i could pull up countless gifs that people have used as destiel proof that is actually just jensen and misha being messy. mainly jensen. if i’m being honest.  the symbiotic relationship between destiel and cockles is why i’ve stayed onboard the destielcule and shellerscape for three solid months now; because it is utterly fascinating to witness and kind of super beautiful, too. 

5. alma(and others). so. i do NOT want to really REALLY get into this in its entirety here and now so i will just give you my opinion on if i think alma is misha or not. also; i don’t want to mention the other poetry accounts here bc i feel like that’s a bigger breach in privacy, but a lot of people do know about alma now. way too many, actually. this is why we can’t have nice things. anyway-to answer your question-there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that yes, misha is running that alma poetry account. i am 100% certain. some people think it’s actually three people and they’re all connected to misha in some way but that is so needlessly complicated. as it goes in psychology; the easiest explanation is probably the right one. it’s just one person running that account, and it is misha collins. i don’t know why it’s so hard to believe KNOWN POET misha collins(who is known to spend most of his free time writing poetry anyway) would have created a secret poetry account to write about his intense secret relationship under an alias and also get legitimate feedback since no one used to know it was him. oh and the handwriting is identical??? you are blind if you do not see that i am sorry. and a million other things prove it’s misha too but yeah all you need to know is yes. it’s him. it would take a literal livestream from a random woman on that account to convince me otherwise. and honestly not even that because a random woman could technically still log in if misha asked her too. so. it would take a hell of a lot to convince me otherwise, clearly. that said DO NOTTTTTTTTTTTT GO ONTO THAT ACCOUNT WITH A SUPERNATURAL RELATED USERNAME AND COMMENT THINGS THAT ARE COCKLES RELATED. ARE YOU BRAIN DEAD WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT’S OKAY. sorry i got heated but god please just don’t be dumb so many people have already gone way too far 

6. thank you for your lovely compliment on my analyses!!! i love doing them but i don’t know if people actually like reading them so i really appreciate it

[daaziscoolbesties]

[REPOST] MY 2K WORD COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS OF RANBOO’S LORE STREAM

‼️‼️This post contains lore spoilers from Ranboo’s 4/23 stream, “The Enderwalk Saga. Chapter 1: The Lessons”. If you haven’t seen that stream don’t read ahead unless you want spoilers‼️‼️

disclaimer: this isnt really an analysis as much as a bunch of commentary and half-baked theories.

-on the way to the mansion he was sort of talking to himself saying stuff like "i'm good i'm good" which m a y be a normal thing but also maybe it's not and it flew over our heads cause he talks to chats and donos like that so often

-again, this one may just be a normal thing but when he was climbing up the stairs in the mansion looking for foolish, he repeats some of his words like down to the exact same tone of voice and everything. 12:42,  "this mansion is way too big actually. this mansion is way too big actually." (why the repeated actually? seems odd to me but again it might just be a normal thing that i haven't picked up on). (right after) "okay okay lemme find him lemme find him" again repeated words in the e x a c t same tone.

-does everyone know about ranboo's silk touch hands ability thing? or was that just a techno and ranboo main character moment. bc if it was, how would foolish know that ranboo could pick up the full cake after it'd been partially eaten. unless everyone on the sever knows about that in which case this means nothing. but if they d o n t know... how would foolish know? ranboo wrote about it in the do not read book so maybe if it's not a publicly known thing maybe foolish got his hands on the book and read it??

-14:53-ish, they're talking about the war room and how it was for tubbo or whatever and ranboo says, and i quote "he prepares for lore but he's never gonna do it." now funny thing is at first i couldn't tell if he said "war" like in reference to the war room or "lore". but after playing the clip over and over i can say with ALMOST 100% certainty that he said lore. there is a definite L sound at the beginning of the word. which either means a) this was a slip up (doubtful bc he said later that there were no mistakes), b) he broke the fourth wall because they were supposed to be rping at that point, or c) i'm completely wrong and he said "war" which leads down an entire other road of possibilities

-15:17 "are you a book reader?" "*checks inventory for do not read book* uh yeah i'd say i'm a book reader-" dunno how i didn't catch this the first time I HATE THAT DAMN BOOK

-15:18 there's blue in his hotbar. where did he get the blue.

-16:40 "it's like a metaphor- i have two minds: i have my normal self, my normal little shift-dancing self, and then the builder one. the builder one is demanding. it's a very demanding mind." ranboo then lets out a weird sigh after this. i feel like what foolish was talking about was an indirect(?) parallel to ranboo in and out of enderwalk, there's how he normally is, trying to do best for others, and then there's enderwalk, meeting up with bad guys and "demanding" things (its very late as i write this i really don't know what i'm talking about)

-17:11 "you have your panic closet" i'm sorry his what now 😀 no but seriously how the hell did i miss some of these

-18:04 "you're asking me if i remember?" very funny ranboo thank you for making jokes in these trying times

-18:25 WHY DID HE GET OUT THE AXE WHEN STARING AT THE BEE

-19:38 why did foolish hold the grass block- most of these observations probably mean nothing but- h u h - is that- i'm too tired for this

-19:54 "i never properly thanked you for the deal you made with me" so foolish got something out of this deal, we're not sure if ranboo did. "the green cardboard box" again do you mean dream's house- but seriously the only people i can think of on the server that are associated with green are dream and sam. and i have no idea what cardboard box could be referring to.  foolish got a lime colored shulker from drista

-20:30 "we're supposed to only talk about it at a certain location" hmm now where would that be? panic room maybe? cause like usually after doing a big thing in the enderwalk state ranboo wakes up in the panic room so maybe?  the deal was that they only talk about it in his house

-21:52 how does ranboo receive(?) the lessons? like are they whispered to him in his mind or is he seeing them as words in front of him like we see? hmm

-"Lesson 14: If you have the opportunity to gain a favor, take it." "gain a favor" don't you usually ask people for favors though? how does one "gain a favor"? anyways i'm pretty sure lesson 14 has to do with the deal foolish was talking about. (the deal explained because i now have info: at some point a bit ago foolish met up with ranboo and asked to make a deal, he'd gotten a shulker box from drista. the deal was that ranboo would have ownership of the box, it would be under his name but foolish rents/borrows it indefinitely. ranboo negotiated that if he took ownership of the box he would get a "war favor"  from foolish where if something happens that creates sides, ranboo can ask him a favor that could change his side. but why would foolish want ranboo to have ownership of the shulker you may ask? well i have an answer for you. a theory actually but still. basically since drista technically isn't supposed to give out shit on the server if someone where to have that stuff then they may get in trouble. foolish wants to be able to use the shulker but if it gets found he doesn't want to get in trouble, so he can blame it on ranboo seeing as it's under his name.)

-22:16-ish "i still have this from when you *can't understand whats said here*" well i guess that sort of explains why he had the grass block? idk man (info update: he had the grass block from when ranboo threw it at him telling him to calm down like what ghostbur does with blue)

-31:35 "i figured out how to cause it" how to cause the enderwalk state

-38:30 "ninety three lessons" I STILL DONT KNOW WHY HE KEPT SAYING NINETY THREE AND NOT NINETY FOUR AND ITS DRIVING ME CRAZY LMAO

-39:01 "it's all for the greater good" okay well when are you gonna start thinking about yourself and not everyone else for once huh. self care bitch.

-40:31 he started holding the axe when he was looking at sam- gonna say it i really don't like that axe ahahah- WAIT A DAMN MINUTE THE AXE IS NAMED "axe of ender" I DONT LIKE THAT I DONT LIKE THAT AT ALL

-41:53 is there something?? physically keeping him from telling sam??? or maybe it's sort of like his enderwalk state taking control to make him shut the fuck up??? so many questions and approximately zero answers

-43:18 ranboo raising his voice legitimately scares me 😀👍

-"Lesson 27: Do not reminisce on what you have lost for it will weigh you down." showed up when he was thinking about and REMINISCING about the community house 👀👀

-"Lesson 53: Never fully trust anyone." showed up literally after he said that he thinks he can trust the other people on the server enough to tell them about what he did

-"Lesson 67: Leave no evidence of what you have helped with." this is different from the others because there doesn't seem to be at least a semi-direct connection to it? unless maybe at the time ranboo was near something he may have "helped with"? not sure about this one

-"Lesson 94: DO NOT LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE" yeah yeah i get it i get it he's fucked up some shit in enderwalk i don't feel like analyzing this thanks

-OH OH NOTICE HOW HE SAYS "REMEMBERING" WHEN THE LESSONS SHOW UP. IMPLYING THAT THIS ISNT A NEW THING, ITS HAPPENED BEFORE AND NOW HES REMEMBERING IT. MAYBE HE WROTE DOWN THE LESSONS WHEN HE WAS IN ENDERWALK AND NOW THAT HES BEEN EXPERIMENTING ITS BEEN EASIER FOR HIM TO REMEMBER THOSE ENDERWALK MEMORIES

-okokok the experiments are that he's been e x p e r i m e n t i n g on how to purposefully induce the enderwalk state. and we know now that it wasn't from the pain of the water because on the stream afterwords he said that it's caused by the intense fear of something happening. and so the "side effects" of the experiments is that since he's in enderwalk more often(?) he starts remembering more things from it

-OH MY GOD WAIT "there is a reason sam, there's so many reasons, theres ninety three of them" (44:47) WHAT IF EVERY LESSON IS TIED TO A QUOTE UNQUOTE "reason" THAT RANBOO THINKS HES A BAD PERSON/NEEDS TO BE LOCKED UP BUT HE SAYS NINETY THREE INSTEAD OF NINETY FOUR BECAUSE THE NINETY FOURTH LESSON DOESNT HAVE A REASON YET/HE DOESNT REMEMBER IT HAVING A REASON

-dude honestly the whole sam part hurts so much this man is scarily good at acting

-46:46 "i cant put you in the prison you wouldn't be able to see michael anymore" bestie that's the point he doesn't want to accidentally hurt michael or tubbo in the enderwalk state—

-okay but there's no way that sam couldn't tell that ranboo was at least TRYING to confess to something- i feel like he definitely knows more than he's letting on because usually like when people do bad shit or admit to doing bad shit he's like in Prison Guard Mode™️ (he literally cut off ponk's arm because he stole some keycards or something) and whatever and idk what he knows but he definitely knows something and is trying to protect ranboo. or he's trying to manipulate him or smth either one works—

-50:38 "you are a good person" "i am?" you can hear my heart shatter. "yes you are" "i don't think so sam" "i do, even if you don't" "i really don't think so" and there it goes again

-51:25 hello badboyhalo i see you to the left of ranboo

-52:44 "but then my curiosity got the best of me" curiosity killed the cat, bitch

-52:54 "there's ninety three, ninety four, ninety- theres so many reasons!" SEE!! NOT ONLY ARE THERE THAT MANY LESSONS THERE ARE REASONS THAT CORRESPOND IM S O SMART—

-52:56 "i don't want to remember anymore!" *quietly brings forth my theory that when ranboo loses a canon life his memory gets wiped*

-53:13 "ive opened pandora's box" isn't the prison?? literally called pandora's VAULT??? so this m a y be a stretch but i'm thinking that maybe this could be taken in the literal sense that he "opened" the prison and let dream out (the sirens at the end of quackity's stream confirm that dream is indeed out)

-53:42 mans just straight up walked through a ghost i—

-55:37 so are we just gonna ignore the eleventh page of the book? "he's alive, but hopefully soon dream won't be"??? alright nevermind it's most likely bc when tommy came back he recruited ranboo in his plan to kill dream

-55:47 notice how he writes "what am i?" as opposed to "who am i?" no elaboration here idk what it could be

-56:08 just so it's clear for anyone who doesn't know- he's wearing armor at this point, and i'm like 90% sure that when he wears his armor water can't hurt him. and i saw someone say somewhere that like with splash potions when thrown it turns into a gas-like thing? so again, it didn't hurt him, he didn't get hurt. he said in the chill stream that he wasn't comfortable making it where his character had to hurt himself to do that. the thing that causes the enderwalk isn't pain, it's intense and sudden emotions like fear and stress. thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

[backslashdelta]

what songs do you associate with your fave glee characters/ships? besides what they actually sang on the show :P or what do you wish they couldve covered?

also i was just scrolling thru your blog then it was suddenly hi, degrassi! i always get excited when i remember im not the only gleek that also watches degrassi lol

Oh this is such a fun question, thank you!

Before I answer: Degrassi, yes! Degreassi is actually sort of what got me into Glee, weirdly enough. When Glee was first airing I didn’t watch it, but I watched Degrassi Next Class a few years ago, and then one day I saw Glee recommended to me on Netflix, and I thought “You know what? Glee seems sort of like Degrassi, I might like it. Maybe I should give it a shot.” So I did, and  now here we are lol. So, thanks Degrassi!

Anyway, on to your question! I listen to music nearly constantly, but I don’t usually just hear a song and get reminded of a specific character or ship, or imagine how it would sound if a certain character covered it. That being said, I do have some associations, most of them a result of fanfiction or playlists that have been made for a specific ship/fic/whatever. So, here we go!

Paper Rings by Taylor Swift. This is just a Klaine song, I don’t think there’s an argument here, right? The box scene? It’s Klaine.

Dying in LA by Panic! at the Disco. I would commit a felony if it meant I could listen to Darren Criss sing this song. It’s a Blaine song. It’s just such a good song and I can imagine how well Blaine would sing it in my head and I need it.

Literally any of Rihanna’s songs I associate with Blaine. I made a post about it once. On that note, I associate pretty much anything by Katy Perry or P!nk with him, too.

Grace Kelly by MIKA. This is a Kurt song. One day it occurred to me that Kurt should have covered MIKA, and I could absolutely see him doing this one.

Porcelain by Marianas Trench. Obviously this is Kurt (also Klaine, but more specifically Kurt), if not for the name alone. But also @blangstydays​ has talked about it a bit, and I even made it into a gif set! Go easy on me though, I just started learning to make gifs so there’s lots of room for improvement.

Bad Habit by Ben Platt. This is both Klaine and Kurtbastian to me. Klaine because of the “sing to me instead” lyric and @heartsmadeofbooks​ fic (which I still have not read and yet I still have this association, so good job Laura), and Kurtbastian because @20xbetterthanu​ has it in their playlist for AWIT and @blangstydays​ has it in their playlist for IWOAK.

A Drop In The Ocean by Ron Pope. This will never not be a Kurtbastian song, because A Change In The Weather by cacophonylights exists.

Ever After by Marianas Trench. This is a Kurtbastian song. @porcelain-nightbird made me an amazing Kurtbastian playlist as a gift that includes this song, they made a gif set for my birthday with lyrics, and oh, the lyrics, I just... yeah. This song is amazing, and it is Kurtbastian. Here’s a post with some more thoughts on that, prompted by an ask @gorgxoxus​ sent to @porcelain-nightbird​.

Every Breath You Take by The Police. This was supposed to be a Kurtbastian duet and I will die mad about it. There’s even a clip of Grant Gustin singing it!

Collide (acoustic) by Howie Day. Another song in the Kurtbastian playlist @porcelain-nightbird​ made for me. I knew about the song before but had kind of forgotten about it, but now that I’ve been reminded I will always have that association.

I also have some associations based specifically on my own writing. I’ll leave them under a cut, though :)

The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists. Is choosing an entire album cheating? I have decided that no, it is not. But, in particular, The Hazards of Love 1, 2, 3, 4, and Won’t Want For Love, I associate all of these with Klaine because of a series I’m writing. The series isn’t even Klaine friendly a lot of the time (though some of it is...? It’s confusing lol don’t ask), but it will always be associated with Klaine for me now.

Don’t Miss Me? by Marianas Trench. This is a Klaine song for me, again because I used a lyric for a fic title.

California Gurls by Katy Perry. Klaine, because it’s Katy Perry, but also because of a lyric I used for one of my fic titles.

Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy. This is Klaine. I used a lyric as a fic title, again. Titles are hard. Lyrics are easy.

Lost? by Coldplay. Klaine, same as above.

What A Catch, Donnie by Fall Out Boy. This is specifically a Blaine song, and it’s because I had him sing it in one of my fics. Surprisingly there’s something on this list that isn’t a title for one of my fics!

Mr. Brightside by The Killers. This will forever be a Kurtbastian song for me because, yet again, I used a lyric from it as the title for the first Kurtbastian fic I ever wrote. This is probably the strongest association I have (from my own writing).

Echoes of You by Marianas Trench. Kurtbastian. Do I have to explain why at this point?

[gumnut-logic]

Coffee

This is @godsliltippy ‘s fault because she was so kind to me and posted Pocket Virgil to help me through the day. Above is the original three clips, of which Pocket Virgil is part of Clip Two. After watching Pocket Virgil try again and again with no success, I kinda wanted to help him, so this fic happened.

Total meta crack, that really didn’t go anywhere, but hopefully will be fun nonetheless. Certain laws of both physics and worldbuilding were totally ignored, so there may be some brain frying concept-wise.

This is for Thunderfam and for all the kindness you continue to bestow upon me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You guys are amazing. ::hugs you all::

Leave sense at the door. I hope you enjoy it :D

-o-o-o-

Virgil Tracy was grumpy.

He knew this idea was good an all and he fully supported Lady Penelope when she suggested they document some of their rescues for the general public.

But not once...not once! Did she mention that he would be dragged out of bed before the sun, thrown on a set to perform, and the only coffee they would provide would be thimble-sized, consequently cold and allocated to break times.

At the moment, ‘break’ was definitely a keyword. Sans coffee, Virgil Tracy was quite ready to do something of the kind to the director.

“Now, Virgil, I know you’re tired, but you are the calm brother, the respected peacemaker of the family. Snarling at the camera isn’t quite in character.”

In character? He was playing himself, for goodness sake. He was in character, character sans coffee! Across the studio, he eyed the Tracy villa swimming pool and wondered if there was a possibility of filling it with coffee.

“Can we try again?”

Virgil grunted at the director. Bet he had had his coffee. Bet he was allowed to access that wondrous machine up so high on that shelf. Bet he hadn’t given one thought to how his precious Tracys might feel about the matter.

Yeah, Virgil Tracy was not in a very good mood at all.

The director stood up from the set and stepped away to be half hidden by the camera again.

Virgil lowered Two’s hatch and climbed aboard. All prepared to launch Two with a smile.

He grit his teeth.

Backing her up into her hangar again, he closed the cliff face and waited for the call.

“Action!”

Practised fingers went through their motions and Two cruised out onto her runway under the fake sunlight.

A poke at a control and the palm trees moved aside...not quite the way they did at home, but well enough...and Two taxied towards her ramp.

“Cut!”

Oh, for the love of...what now?!

“Virgil, you are grinding your teeth. I would say we could mute it in post, but you look like you want to kill someone. You’re the valiant hero, the gentle giant, not Hannibal Lecter daydreaming about dinner!” Virgil stared up at him through the windows. Usually, Virgil would be mortified, but it was barely past 7am, he had been up late for a real rescue last night, hadn’t slept well, and there was no damned coffee!

The director stared at him a moment longer before throwing up his hands. “Okay, you know what? Take fifteen, go find some coffee, for all our sakes.” He ended that with a glare and turned away calling the crew to a halt.

Virgil sat there staring at the replica of his ‘bird’s controls. He had been in the real thing last night. Saved sixteen lives.

He was just tired and not really being fair to anyone, including himself.

He just wanted coffee. Please, I just need coffee.

If his inner voice sounded like a dehydrated man in a desert pleading for water, it was just being honest.

The thing was that the crew had coffee. In that machine on the shelf. Sure, the cup was bigger than he was, but it might be just enough to put his brain to rights.

But he couldn’t reach the button to activate it. In fact, the one time he had tried, some smart ass on set had filmed him jumping up, trying to reach it. It had made the rounds until it hit Gordon, who then promptly made sure the rest of the world had the opportunity to enjoy laughing at his brother.

But then Gordon still didn’t know who poured dye in his pool...while he was in it.

The full body make-up his brother had to wear that day to hide the purple was almost worth it.

But coffee...god, he needed coffee. If only he could extend his reach. If only he could grip the cup...

Virgil blinked.

The solution was obvious. Oh my god. He felt like kicking himself for not thinking of it before. You idiot!

There was one piece of equipment he had brought on set that wasn’t fake.

It was here for two reasons. The first was that it was built for Virgil, only he could wear it and it was cheaper to just wear the real thing than to build a poorly functional duplicate. Secondly, Virgil preferred to have one on hand as often as possible, just in case, and since they had been spending so much time in Aotearoa on set, he had stashed one with the lead model maker for safe keeping.

He exited the fake Two and leapt out onto the runway. The fact that one of the set hands saw him and immediately made herself scarce was kind of depressing. He had been a grumpy bear this morning.

But that was all about to be solved.

He eyed the director and, making sure the man wasn’t looking, grabbed one of the discarded thimble-sized coffee cups and slipped away towards prop storage.

It was a hike and he had to dodge wheels and staff who didn’t see him. Those who did all immediately looked at their watches and, just like the set hand earlier, hurried out of his sight.

Maybe he was beginning to get a reputation.

Serve them right for not giving him coffee!

He found his helmet and his exosuit exactly where he expected them to be. Some neurotic librarian type had attached a huge name tag with a barcode onto it.

Virgil’s shoulder mounted laser took care of that.

It was almost comforting to slide on the equipment. The surety of its strength settling on his shoulders, its weight snug at his hips and ankles.

He sighed.

Of course, that one moment of relaxation was interrupted by Steven, the lead model maker, suddenly bursting into the room.

“I don’t know, Scott. That sounds kind of dangerous. The real Thunderbird One might be able to handle you surfing it, but I’m not too sure of the mockups.”

“I’ll talk to Brains. We’ll make it happen.”

“Why are you feeling the need to surf on the outside anyway?”

“Because it looks cool?” Scott cleared his throat. “Ah, because that is what happened during the incident we are portraying and accuracy is important.”

Virgil hunched down behind a scarily accurate model of that moon buggy Scott was always raving about. He dared not move because the wheeze of the suit’s hydraulics was far too familiar a sound to hide from his brother.

But then, since Scott was buzzing around at Steven’s eye height thanks to one of his jetpacks, his older brother really didn’t have a single leg to stand on.

Mostly because he apparently didn’t need them.

Virgil found himself grinding his teeth again.

He really needed coffee.

“You actually surfed on the outside of Thunderbird One?”

“Well, yeah.”

“That is so cool, man.”

“That’s what I said!”

Steven reached past Virgil’s hiding spot and picked up one of the fake explorer pods and Virgil remembered that he was supposed to clamber up the side of an equally fake mountain later in the morning.

Hell, coffee was mandatory.

Fortunately, Steven appeared to have everything he needed and both he and Scott left almost immediately after that, Scott coming as close to raving as Virgil had ever heard him, babbling about surfing on One.

Sounded about right. Scott and Alan might as well have been twins if it wasn’t for their age difference.

They both gave Virgil grey hair.

But then so did Gordon.

John was easier, cool and calm and sensible most of the time. But that just meant that when he did slide off the rails, he did a proper job of it, likely taking most of them with him.

Hmmm, must remember to grab some more hair dye on the way home tonight.

With the coast clear, he secured his thimble cup to his suit and made a run for it.

He made it across the floor to the blessed coffee machine without interruption this time, though he had to admit, his suit was much noisier than he had realised. But a good percentage of the crew were focused on that scene Scott was filming.

He could still hear his brother declaring that he knew his stunts better than any stunt man.

Virgil had to agree. If anyone was capable of surfing Thunderbird One, it was Scott.

The idiot.

Now, not only was he doing stupid stunts to save people, but now just to show off.

Virgil had a good mind to kick his ass. He was as bad as Alan.

No, correction. Alan wasn’t that stupid.

Virgil found himself taking a step in his big brother’s direction and it was only the wheeze of his suit that made him realise exactly what he was doing.

Coffee, goddamnit, he needed coffee!

Without a second thought, he fired a grapple line up to the bench top and was gratified it secured with a thunk. Pulling himself up with the right equipment was so much more efficient than the equivalent pseudo rock climbing he had had to do last time.

Before he knew it, he was up there standing next to the huge dispenser of coffee. He gazed up at it for a moment and blessed its existence.

But unfortunately, Sadie who had been kind enough to set it up for him last time wasn’t available.

Hell, if his assistant hadn’t been called away at the last minute, he would have gotten his coffee that day. As it was, the director had found out about the incident when Virgil arrived late on set and had given Sadie a dressing down that involved images of Tracy brothers falling into giant vats of coffee and being boiled alive.

As if Virgil would be that stupid.

Boiling himself would be such a waste of good coffee.

But there were no more attempts at giant coffees for Virgil Tracy from that point on. It was banned.

So, this time, he had to set it up himself.

He was consequently reassured that yes, he was really good with his tools. The suit hummed in appreciation as he made it do what he needed it to do and despite dropping coffee granules all over himself at one point – he was considering eating them off the counter, but then considered that a caffeine overdose wasn’t wise – he set up the machine ready to dispense some black heaven.

The teacup he had used last time had been pushed away to one side, but his exosuit made it a simple job to manipulate it into position so he could stand on it.

With the extension of his claw, he easily reached up and hit the green button.

It was a pleasure just to hear the coffee machine start up.

He was seriously tempted to take off his helmet and breathe in the gloriousness that was the scent of brewing coffee, but he still had to get that coffee cup into a position from which it would be safe for him to drink.

He may be coffee and sleep deprived but he wasn’t an idiot.

So, he stood there watching the coffee machine make the drink of the gods.

It was a little mesmerising.

And then the process was complete. The machinery quietened and the coffee cup sat waiting for him.

He didn’t hesitate.

It took both claws and a secure grapple to the shelf above the bench for stability, but he manoeuvred the cup down onto the bench top.

Steam fogged up his helmet as he looked down from atop the upturned teacup, so finally, he broke the seals and lifted it off his head.

Oh.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

He almost melted on the spot.

The smell was heady, intoxicating. Drowning in the dark liquid no longer seemed a bad idea.

He leant over a little further.

Ohhhhhhhhhh, it was just too good.

“Virgil! What the hell do you think you are doing?!”

It was Scott’s voice. Unmistakeable.

He would want to take away his coffee.

No.

No!

Not his precious coffee!

His brother flew up onto the bench and alighted without a sound. “Virgil!”

Virgil hissed at him. “Go away.”

That earned him a worried frown. “That’s not safe.”

Screw safe, he wanted coffee. He unhooked his thimble cup from his waist and reaching down, scooped up some blessed, steaming liquid manna.

It was hot.

It was delicious.

He poured it down his throat.

Oh, god, yessssss.

Another scoop and he sculled some more. His tongue scalded a little, but he didn’t care.

More.

More.

He was guzzling like a dying man at water filled oasis.

“Virgil?”

“Virgil!”

And suddenly the coffee cup disappeared.

No, no, no, no, no, no!

He over balanced and would have fallen if it wasn’t for a sudden thunk of a grapple on the back of his suit.

He looked up to find Scott securing his grapple line to a coffee cup hook underneath the overhead shelf as Virgil teetered on the edge of his teacup, barely prevented from falling by the cable’s connection to his suit.

And there was no more coffee.

No.

Please.

“I need coffee.”

Scott floated down to Virgil’s eye level and Virgil realised exactly who had taken the coffee cup away.

The director was standing behind his big brother.

Virgil was in so much shit.

Damnit.

“I just want coffee.”

Scott was frowning at him. “Are you okay, Virgil?”

“DO I LOOK OKAY?!”

Um, that may have come out a little bit louder than intended. But then he was hanging partly suspended from an empty coffee cup hook.

Much quieter. “I just need coffee.”

Scott’s eyes were wide. “I think you’ve had enough coffee.”

No, he needed more. Buckets more. “Please, Scott.”

“Uh, no. We’re going home.”

Virgil blinked. “What?”

But Scott had turned away and was talking quietly to the director.

Virgil caught a glimpse of something shiny out the corner of his eye and turned to find a single drop of deep brown gold suspended from the coffee dispenser.

Coffee!

Without thought he leapt for it.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Scott actually did think, because a yank on that grapple line probably prevented Virgil from being scalded.

“What the hell, Virg?!”

He blinked as he hung fully suspended by his brother’s grapple line, swinging slowly back and forth, one very unhappy commander glaring at him.

Umm, yeah, maybe that was taking it a step too far.

Scott’s words were firm. “Shed the suit and go and sit in the car.”

“Sco-“

“Now.” Blue fire lasered him where he hung.

Virgil gave in with a single nod.

Scott lowered him to the bench top and Virgil dropped the suit with a clatter. He stomped off in a huff as Sadie was called over the PA system to come and assist him.

He only wanted a decent coffee, for crying out loud.

After all, Gordon did get that massive hot dog the other day, and John had slept in his bagel, for goodness sake.

Why couldn’t he have his coffee?

It just wasn’t fair.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

[flamencodiva]

GBTY 1 - Nothing Against You

Book Cover by: @talesmaniac89​

Description: Amaya Campos and Dean Winchester had a playful rivalry. what happens when Dean is no longer her Dean. Will this change make one of them realize what they really desire, or will they continue to keep secrets?

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Amaya Campos (Original Female Character) , AU Dean Winchester x AU Amaya Campos

Warnings: Language, Violence, Smut, Fluff, Angst

Word for Chapter: 5704

Beta: @superfanficnatural​

A/N: Special thanks to - @crashdevlin​ @atc74​ @smol-and-grumpy​ @winchest09​ @waywardbeanie​ @deanwanddamons​ @malfoysqueen14​  @emoryhemsworth​ @janicho88​ @jensengirl83​ @whatareyousearchingfordean​ @katehuntington​ @anathewierdo​  and to all my friends who listen to me ramble about my writing. your words of encouragement mean the world to me! Without you I don’t think I could have found the courage to come back and share what I love most to do, WRITE.

Getting Back To You Masterlist

Main Masterlist

The rumble of the black ‘67 Chevy Impala echoed in the alleyway as it came to a soft stop, the driver turning off the ignition and looking to his brother beside him. 

 "You said she was coming, right?" the driver said as his brother placed the bookmark in the book he was reading. 

 "For the millionth time," his voice dripped with annoyance, "yes, Dean, I called Amaya, and she said she would meet us here." 

 "Sam," Dean ran his hand across his face. "Look, she is a great hunter. You know it, I know it. But, she got injured in her last hunt. So I'm sorry if I'm a little apprehensive about whether she’ll be --" 

 The loud bang against the Impala's roof made the brothers jump as a soft chuckle filled their ears. They could see Amaya Campos through the window on the driver’s side, laughing. Dean swallowed the lump in his throat. He tried not to get distracted by how beautiful she looked when she smiled. Closing his eyes, Dean flared his nostrils and clenched his jaw. 

 "You know what, Campos," Dean barked as he threw open the driver's side door and climbed out. "You are a real pain in the ass." 

 "Yeah, I know," she shrugged and punched his shoulder. "But you know I'm the best." 

 "If it weren't for that fact, you would have been dead by now," Dean grumbled as he made his way to the trunk. 

 "How you doin’, Amaya?" Sam asked as he gave her a gentle hug. 

 "I bounce back, Sasquatch," she gave them a bright smile. "So, a coven of witches is in there," she pointed at the warehouse then crossed her arms. 

 "Yeah," Sam sighed, "but get this. These witches have been gathering ingredients for a big spell." Sam pulled out his notes as he showed them to Amaya, "They killed specific victims and took certain body parts from them." 

 "Well, that's just wrong… and creepy," Amaya shuddered. 

 "Something we agree on," Dean cocked his gun as he checked to make sure it was working. "I wish there was an easier way to get rid of these hags all at once." 

 "You and me both, Short Stack," Amaya breathed. She grabbed a few Witch-killing bullets and loaded the clip into her pistol. 

 "I'm taller than you, Campos." Dean pulled up close to her, his form towering over hers. 

 "I'm using Sasquatch as a reference," she gave him a sly smile before letting her fingers dance along his chest. "Wanna make this interesting?" 

 "What, like the ghoul hunt last month?" he raised an eyebrow at her before letting his eyes roam over her body. 

 Her Ramones crop top and leather jacket was accentuating her chest, her cleavage leaving Dean imagining dirty things he could do between her breasts. He continued to let his eyes roam over Amaya's figure; her bootleg jeans hugged her hips in the right place. He bit the inside of his cheek, Dean's way to hold back from reaching out and placing his hand on the curve of her hip. His eyes continued to move up to her hair in a neat ponytail. He could always see himself pulling on the elastic to let the tendrils fall, his fingers running through her brown and purple highlighted hair. Shaking out of his thoughts, he looked into her eyes, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.   

 "Come on, Winchester," she moved her hand around to the back of his neck. Her fingers began to play with the small hairs at the nape of it, "If you can last five minutes without a witch blasting you away," Amaya's fingers ghosted over his cheek while staring into his green eyes, "I can make it worth your while." 

 "Whatever you're trying to sell me, sweetheart," he licked his lips. It was his way of controlling himself. He could not fall into the trap he knew she was trying to set, "I ain't buying." 

 "Come on," she cooed, "what's one little harmless bet?" 

 "Last time we had a--" Dean lifted his hands as he pushed back away from her, making air quotes, "' Harmless bet ' I had to drive the Impala in my underwear while listening to Taylor Swift." He shuddered at the memory of Sam recording the evidence to send to Amaya. 

 "Admit it," she chuckled, "you enjoyed it." 

 "You wish," he shot back. 

 "Guys," Sam sighed. "Can you guys please, just make a bet. Hell, I'll mediate. If Amaya wins, Dean has to--" he paused to think. 

 "Give up pie for a month," she crossed her arms, smiling. 

 "You bitch!" Dean growled. "There is no way I'm giving up pie. You win, I'll kiss you for two minutes," he gave an inward groan as the words came out. 

 "Two minutes of making out with Dean Winchester?" 

 Dean watched as she popped out her hip and placed her hand on it. He could tell she was thinking about it. 

 "I'm not thrilled about it either, but it's all I could come up with, outside of humiliating myself farther," he grumbled. 

 "I was gonna say you could dance to the Macarena while wearing women's underwear," Sam shrugged. 

 Dean watched as Amaya's eyes lit up and he gave Sam his best bitch face, "Asshole." 

 "I like Sam's idea better. Not just the Macarena in women's underwear, but I want a live performance!" She smiled, “You need to sing the song too!” 

 "We're wasting time," Dean said, rolling his eyes as he looked between Sam and Amaya. "Fine. You got a deal. But if I win--" he licked his lips, "you are going to give me a very nice strip show in the Bunker to the song of my choice." 

 "Bueno, que quieres? (Well, what do you want?) All nude reviews or bare minimum?" she asked as she gave him a casual shrug. 

 "All nude with a very nice view of the sweet stuff," he said, smiling. "Quiero ver a to-do tu que-ehr-po," ( I want to see all of your body.) Dean smirked, hoping he got the wording right for his Spanish.  

 "Spanish is getting better, perv," she muttered. "Fine. But you are only looking, not touching!" 

 "Fine with me, sweetheart," Dean held out his hand for her to shake. 

 But she did something unexpected. Grabbing Dean by the lapels of his leather jacket, she pulled him in for a short kiss on his lips. 

 Pulling back, she smiled, "Sellado con un beso (Sealed with a kiss). No backing out now Winchester. The challenge, you can't go fifteen minutes without getting blasted by a witch spell." 

 "You're on," he squeaked before clearing his throat and making his way inside. 

 Sam cocked his gun before looking at his best friend, "You love making him squirm." 

 "It's only ever going to be fun and games, Sam," she put on her bravest smile. "Nothing can ever come from two hunters in this world being together. Happy ever after doesn't exist." 

 Sam sighed as he watched his friend and brother head inside. He knew they were ridiculous, but there was nothing he could do except let them be idiots together. As the group filtered through the warehouse, Sam could hear the faint sound of chanting. 

 An eerie lavender glow came from an open door along a dark corridor. Sam crept towards it, self flush against the wall as he peered inside. 

At the same time, in another universe, a group of men dressed in black surrounded the warehouse, each one with a radio and a body cam hooked up to them. They all waited for a signal from their leader to storm inside and take down their targets. 

 "It's too quiet in there," one of them whispered. 

 "Yeah, but we have to follow protocol," the second one answered. 

 "Squad leaders, move in," a gruff voice called over the walkie talkie. 

 The warehouse had filled with the sounds of feet stomping the pavement. The women found themselves surrounded — weapons aimed at them. One of them strolled forward, her cackle bouncing off the walls and filling the warehouse with its shrill sound. 

 "The Men of Letters can't stop us," she proclaimed. "The spell is in motion. It has begun!" 

 "Fire!" 

 The command came from above as the warehouse filled with the sounds of gunfire, figures dressed in black emptying their clips. The witches all dropped one by one, save for one, who cowered on the ground behind the cauldron. When the firing calmed down, the mysterious soldiers in black all pointed their guns at her, waiting for her to make a move as she bled through her wound. As the silence began to fill the air, the faint sounds of high heels and heavy footsteps echoed around them as the men all moved aside for two  figures dressed in suit’s approaching closer to their target. 

 One of the figures was a woman, about 5’4 with long brown hair that flowed down her back. She wore a navy blue pencil skirt with a button up quarter sleeve white shirt that went well with her four-inch black stilettos.  The other figure was a man, 6’1 in height, wearing a navy blue three piece tailored suit, his brown hair perfectly combed back in a short cut. Both figures stood side by side as they surveyed their surroundings. 

 "Is this her?" the female spoke. 

 "Yes, ma'am," came the reply as the woman made her way closer. 

 She stood in front of the Witch and took her chin in her hands.  

 "Excellente. Bind her and take her to the prison, we'll question her there. Whatever they did, we need to find a way to reverse it." She looked over at the green-eyed man who followed closely behind her, "Que esperen y muévanse!" (What are you waiting for and move!)  

 "We will," he said, looking over the papers before signing his name to the documents. "I believe Grandpa Henry will be happy with what we've done. We do make a great team, Amaya." 

 "I wouldn't be marrying you if we didn't, Winchester," she smiled before making her way to him. 

 "We've been tracking them for a long time," the man sighed as the Witch had a black cover placed on her head. He watched as one of the men dragged her off, "I'm worried about the repercussions to their spell. I mean, according to Sam, they were working on something that could be transdimensional." 

 "Then all the more reason to get back to headquarters and interrogate her," she said, placing her hand on the man's cheek. "Dean, everything will be fine. Vas a ver. We've been doing this for years, and we have almost eradicated this world of monsters." 

 "I know but," he said as he leaned into her touch, "what if they bring something over here to throw the balance off?" 

 "Then we will deal with it," she reassured him. "Together, as we've always done things, mi amor. (My love)" 

 The Witch smiled under the hood over her head. Everything was working according to the plan. It was all a matter of time for the other world to align and cast their spell. 

 Meanwhile, in the slick black restored ‘67 Chevy Impala, Dean looked over at his fiancee. He couldn't help shake the pit he felt in his stomach. Following behind the black van, Dean pulled up into the garage of the compound. 

Before exiting the car, he turned to Amaya, "Are we sure this witch is going to talk?" he reached over, caressing her cheek. 

 Leaning into his touch, Amaya took in a slow deep breath, "We can only hope that she does. The only one who can really make her talk is you, Dean. Yo sé que no te gusta, pero, (I know you don't like it, but,) it's your specialty." 

 "Yeah," Dean rubbed his eyes, "I know. Mientras que me ayuda a proteger a mi Familia y el Mundo, (As long as it helps me protect my family and the world) I'll keep doing it." 

 "I love it when you speak Spanish, mi amor," she leaned over towards him and pressed her lips gingerly against his. "I will be in the other room, observing if you need back up." 

 "Amaya," Dean kissed her forehead, "you know I hate it when you watch." 

 "Don't get performance anxiety on me now, Winchester," she teased. "I mean, you look hot when you get all dom on them." 

 Dean let out a low growl before pulling her in for a deep kiss, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth as she moaned. Her hands found their way around his neck, fingers playing with the short hairs that she could find. Amaya shifted her position to press her body against his, her legs straddling him as they made out on the bench seat of his hunter car. The Impala was always good for making out after a hunt well done. Dean smirked against her lips as his hands found their way under her blouse; her soft skin sending a shiver down his spine. He loved touching her, kissing her, tasting her. The two lovers were engrossed in their feelings, too lost in their touches, they never noticed the person stalking towards their car. With a devilish smirk, they lifted their hand and slammed it on the roof of the Impala, making the lovers jump. 

 "That is very unprofessional of you two." 

 Sam Winchester smiled at the lovers as they both flipped him off. Letting them exit the car, he watched as his brother Dean adjusted his tie and smoothed out his hair. 

 "Is the witch ready for interrogation?" he helped Amaya out after she fixed up her appearance. 

 "Yes," Sam said, still smiling, "she's in your favorite room." 

 "Good," Dean linked his arm with Amaya's, "I say, after I’m done, we head on over to Albert's and celebrate with a nice meal." 

 Dean led her towards the dungeon where the interrogation would take place. 

 "Sounds good, baby," Amaya kissed his cheek as she helped him remove his blazer before lifting the sleeves of his dress shirt, "give her hell." 

 "I always do, sweetheart," he said, giving her a wink before entering the room and closing the door behind him. 

Back across the universe, to one where the Men of Letters is all but dead, Sam Winchester watched as his brother and Amaya began to signal to each other. The witches all gathered as, what looked like, the leader started chanting. 

 "Vocamus, antiqui potestates, audire nostrum dicere, sentire nostra potestate. Per tempus et spatium, sit animarum artem. Sicut anima est, luxatis sit pati in solatium, ut desiderium pro amore et carnem esse eius ruinam." (We call upon the ancient powers, to hear our call, feel our power. Across time and space, let the souls switch. As the soul is displaced, let it suffer in solace as the longing for love and flesh be its downfall.) There was a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning. All the while, the witches began throwing the ingredients into the cauldron. 

 "Sam, Now!" Dean bellowed as all three began shooting at the witches. Both Sam and Amaya found themselves back to back as they aimed at the ones running. Dean decided to make a beeline for the leader and had reached her when she gave him a devilish smile. 

 "It is done, my followers cast the spell, and there is nothing you can do," she cackled. 

 "What did you do?" he demanded as he aimed the gun at her as she smiled. 

 "You'll see," she teased and raised her hand and thrust it forward. She used her power to send Dean back, crashing against some empty crates. 

 His body crumbled to the ground while Sam and Amaya screamed his name. A shot rang out, and the Witch's body fell with a thud. 

 With a groan, Dean opened his eyes and sighed, "Did we get her?" 

 "Yeah," Sam chuckled as he helped his brother up, "but you lost the bet." 

 "What?" Dean cried and looked at his brother with disbelief. "No, I didn't!" 

 "Yes, you did! I had my timer on, and you had two minutes left," Amaya boasted with a bright smile. "We'll talk later. You're bleeding, and we need to make sure you don't need stitches." 

 Dean hissed as Amaya brushed her fingers along the cut on his head; he could feel his heart pounding in his chest at her touch. Dean could see the concern in her eyes as she looked for any more wounds; he never wanted to see that look again. He wished he could protect her from all this: protect her from himself. He made a small note to push her away once he was all healed. But then, she did something that made him change his mind. It was subtle, but the way she cared for him, it made him rethink how he should keep his distance from her. 

 "Okay, Romeo," she murmured after cleaning up his wound. "You'll be flirting with barmaids in no time." 

 "I guess I'll have to learn the Macarena then, huh?" he sighed.  

 "I'll give you a few days to recover before I collect," she said as they made their way back outside and towards their vehicles. "I gotta jet," she used her thumb to point to her bike, "need to get some stuff done." 

 "You know," Dean cleared his throat, "you can-- you can come live with us-- in the Bunker," he rubbed the back of his neck. 

 "Did the witch curse you with something?" Amaya wondered and raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, we're friends but--" 

 "Look, we have a friendly competition," Dean grumbled. "Besides, it makes it easier to collect on a debt when you're close by."  

 Amaya bit her lip as she looked from Dean to Sam. She always found an excuse not to stay with them in the Bunker, ever since Sam first suggested it. It was easy to reject the offer when Dean would argue that he and Sam could no longer call it a bachelor pad if she moved in. 

 "Come on, Amaya," Sam's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "It would be better than being out on your own, and you always have a bed to sleep in." 

 "I--" Amaya hesitated as she decided to find the ground fascinating. 

 "Either you're coming or not," Dean growled. "We don't have time to argue about this when we have to figure out what those witches did." 

 "Fine," she breathed. "But I swear Winchester," she walked up to him and poked him in his chest. "One wrong move, one smelly sock or underwear in my room. I catch you playing Peeping Tom, and I am out of there so fast after laying your ass out you won't know what hit you." 

 Dean raised his hands in the air as he used his finger to draw a cross over his heart, "Cross my heart. I will be on my best behavior." 

 "Yeah, yeah," she sighed, "I'll follow you on my bike." 

 Dean watched as she made her way towards the gleaming black motorcycle and waited for him to start driving. Dean couldn't help but glance now and then at the rearview mirror. He had to make sure the bike was still behind them.  He could never shake the feeling that something would happen to Amaya if she stayed near him for long. Even with their friendly banter, Dean had known her since they were kids. And when they started hooking up, much to Sam’s dismay, he couldn’t help but feel he had cursed her in some way. The last thing he needed was for Amaya to end up like every woman in his life, gone, broken, and/or dead. 

 "You know you could just actually tell her you like her," Sam sighed as he read through his book, using his phone as a flashlight. 

 Dean let out a scoff, "What? I don't like Amaya like that. She's -- she's just a very good hunter who I consider a friend and is nice to look at." 

 "Yeah," Sam scoffed as he shook his head, "you keep telling yourself that, Dean." 

 "I'm not kidding Sam," Dean denied, glancing at his brother. "You know how this story ends. Jo, Lisa… they both ended in tragedy, and one of those was an experienced hunter." 

 "Dean," Sam shook his head, "what if it's different? I mean, Amaya is not Jo. Jo lived a sheltered life away from actually hunting. Yeah, she knew about it, but she didn't become a hunter until she met us." 

 "Yeah. And I don't want Amaya to meet the same fate," Dean huffed. "It's better this way, Sam. We don't get happy endings." 

 "Dean," Sam rubbed his eyes, "I know you guys have gotten together more than once." 

 "I have no idea what you're talking about," Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he made the turn towards the Bunker. 

 "You guys are not quiet," Sam pointed out. "You both are being stupid, and keeping each other at arm's length is only going to get messy. You guys think you're going to keep each other safe, but you aren't. And you are only going to hurt each other, or worse." 

 "What could be worse?" Dean asked as he pulled the Impala into the garage just as Amaya's bike pulled in behind them. 

 "One of you gets seriously injured protecting the other," Sam breathed. "You know it's true, Dean. You guys are so alike and…" Sam looked back as he watched Amaya grabbing what little she had on her. "The last hunt, where she got hurt… can you imagine if we were with her?" 

 Dean stayed silent as he tried to imagine the scene. Sam was right, Amaya wouldn't have gotten injured. He was sure that he would have jumped in and taken the hit for her. Or at least taken out the monster without any casualties. But Dean shook the thought out of his head.  

 "All the more reason for me to keep my distance," Dean argued. 

 Sam let out a frustrated groan as his brother got out of the car. He looked over at Amaya just as Dean caught up with her and was glad that she decided to stay with them. He only hoped that it would be a good thing and they wouldn't hurt each other in the process. 

Amaya watched as Dean paced in front of the Witch. The Witch's body hung in the middle of the room, her arms above her head as she dangled like a piece of meat in a butcher's shop. The double-sided mirror was the only thing separating her from him. She walked over to the mirror and pressed the button, indicating that the microphone was on, Amaya needed to hear what was going on. If she listened in, there was a chance that she could help read between the lines. Witches, like demons, always found a way to lie. 

 "What does the spell do?" Dean asked as he walked by the weapons table. 

 Amaya watched as his fingers ghosted over the various knives and tongs. She could see his fingers linger over his favorite weapon. It was a double-edged Turkish knife that had a serrated edge on one side and a smooth blade on the other.

 "There is still one component left," the witch sneered. 

 Dean moved his way towards her, letting the blade drag along her exposed skin, the blood dripping down to the floor as the Witch laughed. 

 "You can torture me all you want son of man," she growled as she took in a deep breath before breaking the chains. 

 Amaya tried to rush towards the door, only to freeze in place as the room filled with the sound of evil laughter. 

 "Foolish mortals," the voice boomed. 

 The Witch was now floating a few feet above Dean. Her eyes were glowing lavender. 

 "Don't take this the wrong way," she floated towards him and grabbed his chin. "Your counterpart in a different world brought this upon himself. You're collateral damage." 

 Dean tried to move, but he found himself frozen in place. He took in a sharp breath as the Witch placed a finger on his forehead and whispered an incantation. He watched as a life that wasn't his flash before his eyes. He saw a different life than what he lived, watched as he saw pain and suffering and a life without Amaya. 

 "No," he growled, "you are not going to do this to me." He tried to break free but found that he couldn't, "Who are you?" 

 "Your worst nightmare," she boasted with a smile as she let out a shock wave of power. "It is nothing against you, well this version of you, Dean. This version of you is more mature. But, you decided to mess with the daughters of Hecate."

 Dean's eyes widened at the name. They were not dealing with ordinary witches any more; they now pissed off the goddess of witches. His gaze shifted to the double-sided mirror, hoping that Amaya was safe before hearing a small laugh. 

 "Your little slut is fine," she assured him and gave him a pat on his cheek. "But I'm going to give you a few days before I rip you from her. Enjoy your time." 

 Before Dean could ask what she meant, the dungeon shook, the lights flickered, and everything went black. After a few moments, Dean gasped as he shot up, hissing in pain as he reached up to touch his head, flinching when he felt the familiar sticky feeling of blood. Looking around, Dean coughed, the pain in his chest radiating. He took a closer look at the damage; the double-sided glass had shattered when Hecate escaped. The Bunker filled with red lighting as the alarm was ringing around him and he could make out the faint yells of the other hunters stationed there, all on high alert.  

 "Amaya," Dean breathed as he made his way to the window. 

 The room was in bad shape; the roof had caved in. The destruction of the dungeon kicked in Dean's protective mode as he tried to look around for any signs of Amaya. He ignored the searing pain that was pulsing through his body as he filtered through the debris. 

 "Amaya?" Dean called out as he began to move the rubble. "Sweetheart, Donde estas? Amaya responde por favor!!" he called out. 

 "Dean?!" Sam's voice called through the door. 

 "Sam?" Dean croaked. "Sam, I can't find Amaya." 

 "Just hold on," Sam said. 

 He could hear orders echoing in the hall as he continued to look for Amaya. 

 "Dean!" a female voice called out. 

 Dean froze at the sound of Amaya's voice. 

 "Amaya? Where are you, sweetheart?" he said as he looked around. 

 "Over here," Her voice was firm. "Maldita madre de la gran puta. Cuando encuentre esa bruja la voy a matar!" (Damn mother of the big whore. When I find that Witch, I will kill her!) 

 He smiled at her outburst and sighed when he could see movement coming from one of the corners of the room. Dean rushed over, forgetting the pain that radiated from his wounds. He moved the debris, thankful that it seemed to only cover her without crushing her, helping her up and carrying her over to where Sam and his men had cleared out a path. 

 "What the fuck happened?" Sam asked as he looked at the damage then his brother's wound. 

 "Hecate," Dean said and winced when he felt Amaya's fingers assessing the damage, “she made an appearance.”

 "How did we miss that?" Sam wondered as he looked at the damage in the dungeon room before turning to his brother. 

 "She was inside one of the witches," Dean sighed. "I guess they invoked her before we got there." 

 "How do we explain this?" Sam asked.  

 "As with any other hunt that can and will go wrong," a voice came from down the hall. 

 Walking towards them was Henry Winchester. His salt and pepper hair short and neat, his face clean of any facial hair. His green eyes surveyed the scene before landing on his grandsons. 

 "Grandpa Henry," Sam acknowledged as he stood at attention. 

 Dean took that moment to show respect to their grandfather. He mimicked his brother's stance; back straight, shoulders squared, hands at his sides. Both brothers observed as the Patriarch of the Winchester family assessed the damage. 

 “Boys,” he said and offered them a small smirk, “it seems the witches have decided to stir up trouble.” 

Amaya looked around the Bunker. She had only heard the stories from the boys themselves a few times. Looking around the garage, she took in all the classic cars. Amaya held in her excitement; she couldn't wait to get her hands greasy from looking through the engines. As Amaya took in more of the garage, she made a note to look at the bikes and make sure they were in top condition. Parking her bike in an empty spot, she grabbed her things from the saddlebag and waited for the boys to approach her.

 "So this is your man cave?" she asked and looked over at Dean.  

 Dean scoffed, "This is just the garage, sweetheart." He took her hand in his, ignoring the jolt of electricity that coursed through his veins, "The man cave needs a… private tour," he gave her a wink. 

 Amaya gave a small smirk before pressing her body up against Dean, "Does that include a private show of your Macarena performance, Gringo?" her breath was right on his ear. 

 "Okay," Dean groaned as he placed his hand on her shoulders and pushed her away from him, "one, I still need to recover," he gave her a devilish smirk before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her body flush with his, "B, if you want a private show," he caressed her cheek, "I'm in room eleven." 

 Amaya tilted her head at him, "Oh? Me vas enseñar algo privado?" she let her fingers dance on his chest. Two could play the flirting game. "It's okay," she pulled away from him, "I'm sure I've seen guys who are… bigger." (You going to show me something in private?)

 "If you want to see bigger, sweetheart," Dean reached for her again. "I'm not shy." 

 "I know you're not," Amaya shook her head while pushing at his face playfully. "But, slow your roll cowboy. I'm here as a roommate. I know in the past we've…"  

 "Danced the mattress mambo," Dean interjected. 

 "Yeah, among other things," Amaya smiled. "But, let's keep our hands to ourselves."

 Dean let her go as she pulled herself back and grabbed her duffle from the floor, watching as she made her way out of the garage and walked down the hallway leading to the main entryway. He couldn’t help but stare at the way her hips swayed when she walked away from him. Shaking out of his thoughts, he decided to follow after her. Grabbing his bag, he traveled down the same path she did before seeing her in the middle of the hallway. 

 "Come on," he called to her, "this way." 

 Amaya followed Dean as he made his way to the kitchen. Upon entering, they both found Sam eating dinner. 

 "What took you two so long?" Sam asked as he took a bite of his salad. "It's been a good thirty minutes since we got here. Everything okay?" 

 "We're good, Sam," Amaya chuckled. "We were discussing where Dean was going to dance the Macarena." 

 Dean rolled his eyes as he put his bag down and grabbed a beer from the fridge. His mind wandered to what he and Amaya did in the garage before turning back to his brother and friend. 

 "Why don't we show Amaya a room and let her get settled?" Dean grumbled and grabbed his bag before motioning for Amaya to follow. 

 "So my room is here," he announced and pointed to room eleven, "and Sam's room is right there," he pointed to room twenty-one. "So, you can have a pick of any of the other rooms that are empty." 

 "Looks like Twenty is empty, so I'll take that one," she said with a smile. 

Dean nodded as he looked at the room down the hall closer to Sam's. He had hoped that she had picked a room closer to him, but this was for the best. He wouldn't be as tempted to make his way to her room. He watched as Sam led her down the hall, and they disappeared around the corner. 

 Amaya looked around the room she had picked and smiled, she liked the feeling of finally having her own room. Amaya could decorate it how she wanted and listen to her music. All the while, she never noticed Dean. Never saw how he watched in silence as she settled in. Deep in his thoughts, he had to make sure he could stay away from her. But if they fell into bed again… well, he would figure it out and do what he always did.  

 Later that night, when the Bunker filled with soft snores, Dean found himself in front of Amaya's door. Opening the door to her room, Dean felt his breath catch in his throat. Amaya laid sleeping on her bed, blanket almost falling to the floor, her brown hair with purple streaks sprawled on the pillow, some of the strands on her face. 

Dean walked in and sighed. She looked beautiful and he had to make sure he could protect her. Taking the fallen comforter, he placed it over Amaya, tucking her in. His fingers grazed her skin as he put the stray hairs that were on her face behind her ear, smirking when she leaned into his touch. Dean could feel a pull in his heart. It took all his strength not to lean in and kiss her soft skin. With a sigh, he pulled back and walked out of the room, giving one final look before closing the door, making sure it didn't make a sound. He had to keep his distance, but he knew he had to get her out of his system one more time.

Chapter 2 

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[theladyofdeath]

Alone in the Ashes {10}

A Court of Thorns and Roses fanfction, characters belong to Sarah J Maas. Modern au. Revolves around Nesta x Cassian, Feyre x Rhysand, and Elain x Azriel. Other characters appear throughout. Based on multiple prompts sent in by anons tbr below.

Warning: Mature content. Alcohol abuse, verbal abuse, drugs, sex, language, eating disorders.

For summary & chapter index, click >  Alone in the Ashes {Acotar}

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: I figured two chapters in one night is okay since, you know, it’s short....and everyone should go to bed sad.

Comment to tell me what you think, or to be tagged! x

“He left bloody fingerprints on the rock, but there was something satisfying about that. I was here. I exist. I’m alive, because I bleed.” ― Maggie Stiefvater, Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Rhysand sat in the quiet interrogation room. 

At least they had uncuffed him.

He’d been sitting there, in the silence, running on pure adrenaline for at least forty minutes. He wanted to call Feyre, but even if he had his phone, they would have taken it from him.

On the ride to the station, no one answered his questions. And he had asked a lot of them. Eventually, he had given up and let the nature of things take its course. 

The door to the white, nearly empty room opened and Beron Vanserra walked in. Rhysand said nothing as he sat in the chair opposite of him.

“Rhysand,” Beron began, and cleared his throat. “Tell me why you’re here.”

Rhysand blinked. “Surely you’re aware, because I sure as hell am not.” 

Beron nodded, face grave. “Look, Rhys,” he began, using that old, familiar nickname. “We got a call-”

“From Tamlin?” Rhysand guessed. “Beron, you’ve known me since I was five. Alright? You know my character. I’m not some dumbass teenager who gets high in his mom’s basement then thinks it’s fun to go spraypaint dicks on historical landmarks.”

Beron rubbed his temples. “Rhysand-”

“For fuck’s sake!” he said, unable to keep his cool. “I just get home from work, get handcuffed and dragged out of my fucking apartment - while my girlfriend and the entire fucking neighborhood watches, might I add - for what?” Rhysand shook his head. “Because Tamlin’s rich and his daddy has a lot of power? Because that’s my fucking guess.” 

“Rh-”

“If you’re going to interrogate me, I have nothing to say. I was at work all day, every day, and when I’m not at work, I’m at home with Feyre-”

“Rhys, if you do not stop talking, I will have an actual reason to throw you in jail,” Beron snapped.

Rhysand blinked, and closed his mouth.

“Thank you,” Beron hissed. “Now, I’ve talked with the officers that picked you up.”

Beron hesitated, and Rhysand was certain it was the only time he had ever seen the man hesitate.

“You were always a good friend to Lucien before he moved away,” Beron said, voice quiet, “and because of that, I won’t lie to you, but if you tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, and I lose my job, I will find a reason to lock you up.”

Rhysand’s jaw went stiff.

He nodded.

“You and Tamlin have never gotten along, I understand that,” Beron went on, and Rhysand stilled. “And as you said, he hails from a powerful family - one that owns this force and half of everything else in this city. Unfortunately, Rhys, whatever you’ve done recently to piss Tamlin off, he’s vengeful. As far as the police go, I’ll do what I can to set matters straight, but this isn’t the only thing he’ll try.”

With a muttered curse, Rhysand shook his head.

“Now,” Beron said, tossing a plastic bag on the table with Rhysand’s wallet in it that was taken from him when he entered the station, ��go home.”

He snatched the bag from the table and pushed back the metal chair, which screeched along the tile. 

“Thanks,” Rhysand said, as he and Beron walked toward the door.

Beron gave him a curt nod. He’d always been a hard man, unreadable, but Rhysand appreciated his honesty. 

“Need a ride home?” Beron asked.

Rhysand shook his head. “I’ll take the bus, thanks. Can I use the phone, though?”

He made a quick call to Feyre before he left, promising to be home soon and to explain everything when he got there.

Beron said nothing more as he and Rhysand parted ways. He exited into the station lobby before ending up in the steps out front. The streetlights were on as the sun had completely disappeared.

He was so fucking tired as he slumped down the steps and down the sidewalk, towards the bus stop.

He couldn’t wait to get home.

But he didn’t even make it to the bus stop before someone grabbed him by the elbow.

Rhysand didn’t have the chance to turn around before he was knocked in the back of the head, and everything went black.

~~~~~

Feyre paced back and forth as Mor, Azriel, and Amren sat on her couch, Mila asleep on Mor’s lap. Rhysand had called Feyre from the police station, telling her he’d be home in thirty minutes, tops, and he’d explain when he arrived, but that had been over an hour and a half ago.

“I don’t understand,” Feyre said, shaking her head. “I don’t fucking understand.” She had googled for news stories after Rhysand left. There was nothing on any vandalism done to the chapel. Amren had even stopped there on her way over and confirmed it. 

“I wish you’d at least try to relax,” Amren said, calmly. “It won’t do Rhys any good if you have a panic attack.”

She had already cried and gotten pissed off. Now, Feyre was just worried. 

“At least let me get you something to drink,” Mor said, patting Mila softly on the back.

Azriel was the only one who hadn’t said a word since he’d arrived. 

“He doesn’t have his phone?” Mor asked, for the third time, when Feyre didn’t answer.

Feyre shook her head. “It’s in the kitchen.”

The front door burst open and everyone’s eyes shot to the entryway.

Cassian strode in.

Nesta at his heels.

Feyre froze.

“Sorry,” Cassian said, walking to Feyre and taking her face into his hands. “I came as soon as I got the message. You alright?”

Feyre shook her head before stepping back and looking at Nesta. “Why are you here?”

Nesta didn’t answer. She showed no emotion as she sat in the armchair in the corner. 

“She was with me at the garage,” Cassian said, softly. “What happened?”

“Cops came in,” Amren began, “arrested Rhys for vandalism that never happened.” 

Cassian’s brows scrunched together. “That makes no sense.”

“Obviously,” Mor said, sighing, “which is why we’re all sitting here looking confused as shit. Doesn’t help that he said he’d be here an hour ago and, as you can see, he’s not.” 

Amren was looking back and forth between Cassian and Nesta, but as she opened her mouth to say something, Cassian shot her a look and shook his head. 

Feyre’s hands raked through her tangled hair. She kept going back to the same thought, the same man. Rhysand didn’t have enemies, just one. “It was Tamlin. I know it was Tamlin.”

Azriel looked up at this, and Feyre saw the wheels moving inside of his mind. Feyre had sounded certain, and Azriel had never doubted her. “What’s his number?”

“What?” Feyre breathed. “No, you’re not calling-”

“No, I’m not,” Azriel said, words clipped, “but give me his number.”

She did so, and Azriel fiddled on his phone for a few minutes. As he concentrated on whatever it was he was doing, Feyre felt like she was going to puke. The rest of the room sat in tense silence.

Nesta included. 

As the minutes passed, which Feyre felt lasted far too long, Azriel didn’t give much away, but then he froze. “Fuck.”

Cassian was instantly turning around. “What?”

But Azriel was already on his feet. He looked to Mor. “Take Mila home, put her to bed.”

Mor nodded, no questions asked.

“What’s going on?” Feyre asked, that panic returning in the pit of her stomach.

“Stay here, keep your phone on,” Azriel said. “Cass and I are going for a drive.”

“Azriel,” Feyre begged, hurrying after him.

He stopped at the door to pull on his shoes. “He’s sitting in the middle of nowhere, near the forest on the other side of town. Either he’s looking for a fight or he’s fucking some poor girl in the backseat of his car.” 

Feyre froze, and paled.

“Cass and I are going,” Azriel repeated, his voice calm. Cassian was already throwing open the door. “I’ll call.”

Feyre nodded, but by the time she had, they were already gone.

~~~~~

Rhysand woke up to nothing but darkness.

His head hurt like shit. He was dizzy. He was stuck in a compact compartment, the world moving around him.

He was in the trunk of a car. 

A small one, he imagined. He couldn’t move, at all, his body, tall and lean, scrunched together and lying awkwardly. 

He didn’t know how long he’d been out.

Didn’t know where he was.

Didn’t know who had him. 

He didn’t have to wait for long, though, because the car came to a screeching halt. 

Rhysand jolted in the trunk, hitting every inch of his body against something.

Didn’t help his headache.

A minute later, the trunk opened and Rhysand was staring into the eyes of Eris Vanserra. 

He took Rhysand by the collar and dragged him out of the trunk. The second Rhysand’s feet hit the grass, he felt like he was going to fall over.

His head.

His vision was blurry. 

“It’s been a while, Lunasa, hasn’t it?” Eris crooned, forcing Rhysand down on his knees before jamming something hard into Rhysand’s side.

He grunted, trying to keep his vision steady. 

Rhyasnd saw a gleam in the side of his eye, the moonlight reflecting off metal.

He’d been hit with the hilt of a knife.

Let’s hope I don’t get the other end.

The driver’s side door opened and he got out, his hair cut shorter than Rhysand remembered, but still that bright, golden hue. He could be seen from a mile, even in the darkness. 

Tamlin said nothing as he walked, slowly, to where Eris had Rhysand. 

He stopped in front of them and tilted his head. “Second time I’ve seen you get your ass kicked recently.”

Rhysand said nothing.

Instead, he fought to get up, but didn’t get far.

A long blade snuck up beneath Rhysand’s chin, against his neck.

Rhysand stilled.

Tamlin shook his head. “Did you enjoy your run in with the law?”

Rhysand stayed quiet. 

“I thought it’d be pretty funny,” Tamlin grinned. “Turns out, I was right. Anyway, I won’t keep you long. Just wanted to talk.”

Rhysand scoffed. “I have a phone.”

“This is much more interesting,” Eris said, from over his shoulder. “For us, anyway.”

Prick.

Tamlin went closer to Rhysand before he said, “Feyre promised me you two weren’t together, that you weren’t the reason she left, but she forgets that I know a lot of people in this city, as does my father. It seems you two are closer than ever lately.”

Rhysand grinned. “Stalking us? Surely you have better things to do.”

Tamlin’s eyes hardened. “How long has she been whoring around in your bed, Rhys?”

Rhyasnd didn’t answer, but his eyes flared. The minute Rhysand tried to move toward Tamlin, the blade pressed into his neck. 

Rhysand could feel a streak of blood trailing down his neck as he spat at Tamlin’s feet. 

Tamlin didn’t seem bothered, though, as he said, “You didn’t answer my question. Has it been a few months? A year? Has it been going on all along and I’ve just been there to get her nice things and take her nice places, because you sure as hell can’t on a waiter’s salary.” 

“Fuck you,” Rhysand said, lifting his chin, his vision blurring, once more, as the pounding in his head returned at the faint movement. 

“Tell me!” Tamlin screamed, his voice echoing in the silence of the abandoned street. “Feyre has been mine since high school, and then she leaves without feeling any sort of guilt and goes straight to you, her lowlife lover, and that’s not a coincidence.”

Rhysand, despite feeling the need to pass out, laughed. “She left you because you’re a fucking cunt, Tamlin! You’re possessive, and manipulative, and make her feel like shit about herself. She didn’t feel guilty because she was so fucking tired of your bullshit!” 

Rhyand screamed the words so violently that the blade Eris was holding pressed tighter against his skin. 

Tamlin didn’t react, though. He simply looked at Eris, and nodded. 

The blade was removed from Rhysand’s neck, but the moment Rhysand let out a breath, Tamlin had kicked him in the abdomen.

Clutching his stomach, Rhysand fell forward as Tamlin’s boot met Rhysand’s knee, then his side, his back. He could hear his nose break, but couldn’t convince his hands to reach up, to try and stop the blood. Tamlin’s boots made contact over, and over, and over again.

Rhysand didn’t bother to fight.

He couldn’t.

He couldn’t move.

For the second time in a matter of months, Tamlin had caught him off guard and weakened him - the only way Tamlin knew how to win was to play dirty, and he was good at it.

His eyes fluttered shut as he heard the car engine turn on.

Rhysand’s world was dark before they even drove away.

~~~~~

Cassian and Azriel were driving with their windows down, speeding down the road where Azriel had tracked Tamlin’s phone.

They hadn’t seen a car in a while, but that didn’t mean anything. If anything at all, it meant that it was the perfect place to kick somebody’s ass.

“Anything?” Azriel called from behind the wheel, eyes scanning the road.

Just as Cassian was about to say no, he stopped himself. “Fuck- stop!”

Azriel slammed on the breaks, his truck sliding before it came to a complete stop. Cassian was already unbuckled and throwing open the door, though, before Azriel had even put it in park. He hurried to the shoulder, at the limp body that laid there. 

Azriel came up behind them, face paled. “Fuck.”

Cassian was on his knees, rolling Rhysand over. He pressed his cheek against his chest, felt his pulse. “Breathing is okay. Come on, let’s get him up.”

With Azriel on one side and Rhysand on the other, they carried Rhysand into the backseat of Azriel’s truck. He was completely unconscious. In the light, he hardly looked like himself. His nose was bloody, definitely broken, his eyes swollen, his neck cut. A dark, black and blue bruise covered the faint one that had just about healed, on his cheekbone. 

“Shit,” Cassian breathed, and met Azriel’s gaze.

There were very few times Cassian had seen Azriel’s murderous gaze.

This was one of them. 

“Let’s get him to the hospital,” Azriel said, pulling up the hem of Rhysand’s torn shirt, his eyes hardening at the discoloration. “Make sure he doesn’t have any internal bleeding.” 

Cassian nodded before hopping back into the truck. The minute Azriel sped off, Cassian pulled out his phone.

Calling Feyre, hearing her heartbreak, was the last thing he wanted to do.

~~~~~

Feyre couldn’t stop herself from crying. “Okay, I’m-I’m on my way, I’ll meet you there.”

She hung up the phone, turned to the others.

Amren and Nesta were already on their feet, Mor clung to Mila, still asleep, on the couch. 

“They��re taking him to the hospital. He…...They’re taking him to the hospital. I have-I have to go to the hospital.” 

“Give me your keys,” Nesta said, instantly.

Feyre shot her a glare. “Why.”

“Because you’re in no condition to drive,” she explained. “I will bring you.”

Feyre hesitated, but nodded.

“I’ll come, too,” Amren said, then looked to Mor. “Go home, put her to sleep, we’ll call as soon as we hear anything.”

Eyes weary and lined with silver, Mor nodded.

The three of them piled into Feyre’s little car, Nesta behind the wheel. She wasted no time starting it up and pulling out of the parking lot.

Feyre couldn’t stop trembling, couldn’t stop panicking, couldn’t stop sobbing.

Amren reached up from the back seat and put her hand on Feyre’s shoulder. 

“It’s my fault,” Feyre sobbed. “It’s my fucking fault.”

“It’s not your fault that Tamiln’s a hateful prick,” Amren said. 

Nesta stayed quiet, but she drove, quickly, through the city. 

Feyre screamed, loudly, deafening.

No one stopped her. 

They couldn’t go to the police, couldn’t say anything. It would just be brushed under the rug. Feyre felt helpless. Feyre felt sick. Feyre was terrified of getting to the hospital, terrified of seeing Rhysand in pain because of her faults. 

Because of her past. 

By the time Nesta pulled into the hospital’s parking lot, Feyre could hardly breath. Nesta looked in the rearview mirror and caught Amren’s eye. “I’ll drop you both off at the door?”

Amren nodded, and when Nesta pulled up to the doors, Amren got out, and waited for Feyre, but Feyre couldn’t move. 

She looked at Nesta.

Her oldest sister was already watching her. For once, her eyes were not hard, emotionless. She gave Feyre a nod of encouragement.

Feyre got out of the car.

Hand in Amren’s, they walked into the hospital. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List (to be tagged, comment or send me an ask!)

@throne-of-ashes-and-beauty  @starkovsnesta​   @redisriding​  @photofeesh

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@midnightrose-reader​  @lord-douglas-the-third​  @thestarguidingyouhome​

@empress-ofbloodshed​

Prompts:

{ “I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you forget you ever met that asshole” - Feysand } -anonymous

{ “How about Nessian needing to fake date when they go home for the holidays?!” } - anonymous

{ “could u pls do like an elriel fic where azriel is like this mysterious bad boy and elain is a goody two shoes lik aaaaa i cant get that image out of my head” } - anonymous

[e-vasong]

Can I ask about your writing process?

Huge fan of your TUA fics here - the way you just GET the characters is incredible - its almost like reading a novel written by the actual show writers!

How do you go about your characterisation and your drafting process? Any tips on nailing the complexities of the characters (specifically five)?

Thanks!!!

:') This is literally so nice I don't know how to respond, oh my goodness. I wish I had, like, life-altering writing wisdom for you here, but I honestly feel like my entire process is kind of a mess. I'll share it with you anyways, though, just in case you can glean anything helpful from it. I’ll tuck it below a cut, but here it is (ft. some of my specific characterization notes on Five, since you asked :D).

Pre-draft: Concept stage! This can be a variety of things -- sometimes it's a specific scene. For me it's usually a challenge of some sort. I like to take things that I think are unlikely for a character (under what circumstances would [x] character ever become a bad guy? How would [x] character’s secrets get revealed if they never talk willingly about their emotions?) Then I build out from there. I outline sometimes now, but I’ve been winging all my pieces for so long that it’s pretty tough for me. 

Draft one: Throw things at the wall. If I let myself, I will spend way too long agonizing on making every word perfect on the first go around, and I’ll never write anything. So draft one has permission to be as bad as it needs to be: sentence fragments, OOC dialogue/actions, clunky word choice, the whole nine yards. The most important thing is getting the words/scenes on the page.

Draft two: What sticks? Everyone is different -- I find it easier to edit than to write in the first place. So here’s where I look over my work from draft one. Is my sentence structure variable enough? How are their voices? Their actions? Does the narration work with the POV I’m using for the scene? 

Like, okay. I’m working on chapter two of the end of the war right now. Currently, it includes this line:

“How did you even—” Five starts, then shakes himself.  Absolutely not.  He isn’t entertaining this.  “Luther.”

In retrospect, I’m not wild about it. It doesn’t sound in character to me. I’m not pulling out receipts right now or anything, but the more I think about it, the more that I feel certain that Five rarely expresses surprise unless really shocked. Part of this is likely the contrast between him in his siblings (all the stuff about the Apocalypse and time travel is familiar to him and new to them, so the show has a lot of “Five explains [x] to his siblings while they look flabbergasted by him.”)

Anyways, it doesn’t sit right. So maybe, instead:

Five frowns, taken off guard. He could ask, but--quite frankly--he’s starting to think that he doesn’t want to know. He does, however, know what this is a preface to -- Luther is going to meddle. 

“Luther,” Five says it like a warning. Luther either doesn’t hear it or doesn’t care.

Anyways, rinse and repeat step two as much as necessary, and you basically have my entire drafting process.

Characterization, though, I have a more thorough process for!

Fanon and meta is super, super helpful, but I definitely prefer to look at canon first and foremost. I find it easiest to build characterization by asking myself questions about the character! I mean, don’t get me wrong. The first step is just to...get your own read on their personality? And there’s no trick to that. Everyone comes away from watching a show/reading a book with a slightly different interpretation of a character’s personality. But when building off of that to write them, I find questions helpful. They vary from fandom to fandom, but, like, here are some of the questions I’ve asked myself while writing Five.

What motivates them? For Five, this is a super easy one. He literally says it at multiple points throughout the show. He’s motivated by his family. To the point of wanting to save the world because they’re a part of it. Five troops through injury and pain and discomfort, but one reference from Handler about a deal to save his family is enough to coerce Five into 1 - working with her when he doesn’t want to and 2 - taking a job that he doesn’t seem like he wants to take.

How far are they willing to go to get it? For Five, he’s willing to do pretty much anything.

Are there any contradictions in their characterization? This is a weirdly specific question, but! People are inherently contradictory. Sometimes in TV or movies or books, it’s just bad writing. But sometimes it’s because people are complicated. So, in TUA, Five is consistently a big-picture thinker throughout the series. He seems to view his job at the Commission with apathy because he knows that it’s part of maintaining the timeline and necessary for him to get back home and stop the Apocalypse. He plans to kill an innocent person because he believes the butterfly effect of their death could stop the end of the world. He is, in many ways, a utilitarian -- the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. The greater good sometimes requires a lesser evil. Pull the lever in the trolley problem, and kill the one to save the five. Unless that one is one of Five’s siblings. 

For instance, his dialogue with the Handler in season one seems to imply that he is willing to give up fighting the Apocalypse if and only if she can guarantee his siblings’ safety (though this admittedly turns on how honest you think he was being with her -- I think he was honest, but smart enough to know she’d never follow through, but a fair argument can be made either way.) There are a million ways to read this, and the fun of playing with characterization is that you get to experiment with them! I read it as proof that Five is so driven by his desire to save his siblings that he actually places their wellbeing above his own moral compass (whether his moral compass is right or wrong is a whole other debate.)

What are they like at their best vs. at their worst? At his best, Five is strategic, driven, independent, determined, loyal, and protective. At his worst, he’s controlling, suspicious, bloodthirsty, temperamental, and obsessive. Of course, most people don’t just switch between these two extremes, and these traits frequently coexist, interact, and manifest in milder ways.  Five being suspicious usually manifests as him being cautious until he’s confronted with a character (in season two, Lila) that strikes him the wrong way. Him being obsessive is often just a side product of the fact that he is determined, loyal, and protective.  The fact that he can be controlling is connected to how independent he can be -- the same reason that Five tries to keep Diego in the mental hospital, never tells people that he’s injured, and hides things from them is the same reason he’s so quick and effective at getting things done. This is just a handy way of compiling a flaws/virtues list, and I like to look at it in terms of the potential extremes because I think it makes it easier to see how they interact to create the middle ground where the character actually exists.

How do they talk? Arguably the most important question for actually getting their voice, and the easiest way to nail this down is to just...look at the canon dialogue. Does the character use really big words? Do they talk in long gusts or in short, clipped sentences?  Do they use contractions more or do they not shorten things? This is the hardest part of writing Five for me, because my first impulse is to make him talk like an Intellectual (tm) and Very Erudite Adult. Like, I default to that when writing him, and it’s a horrible habit (in my opinion) because...while he does speak that way sometimes (usually when explaining things to his siblings) that’s not actually how he talks most of the time.  (Like, for instance, I tend to default away from Five using contractions in my first drafts of things. He actually uses contractions a lot, and frequently shortens words--”got to” is “gotta” for Five, “because” becomes��“‘cause”, etc.) 

Other examples:

Five: Billions of people are about to die tonight. You can change that.

The Handler: Tonight, tomorrow. So little difference in the scheme of things. Don't you remember the Commission's raison d'etre? What's meant to be is meant to be, or, as I like to say, que será, será.

Five: It's bullshit in any language.

I love this exchange so much :D. And it establishes some great things about the way Five talks! He doesn’t dance around the issue or debate her or try and prove her wrong. He just tells her he thinks that that opinion is dumb, obviously.  He’s blunt, straightforward, and honest. (This seems to tie into the thing I was saying about Five and contractions -- he picks the most straightforward way of saying things unless he’s giving a technical explanation.)

Five: Okay, Luther, but be careful. I mean, I've... I've lived a long life, but you're still a young man. You got your whole life ahead of you. Don't waste it.

Five talks like an old man. Not all the time (though there’s a wonderful gif set out there somewhere of Five using old timer slang -- wait, I found it here.) He doesn’t use the old-timey slang all the time -- and I personally like the idea of mixing up Five’s slang habits and including slang from all sorts of eras because he’s a time traveler whose primary source of interaction after four decades alone was other time traveling assassins. But! He also talks in a way where he shows his age. 

Regardless of where you think Five’s psychological age falls (I have my own Opinions on this), he seems to unilaterally view himself as the Big Sibling, and by a very large margin at that. That’s reflected in how he talks. Not always, since not every line of dialogue is relevant to his age. But stuff like this, or related to it, crops up a fair amount. He counsels his siblings on their problems (as when he comforted Diego post-Eudora’s death), and there are little moments like the quote above, where the point is that Five has indeed seen many more years than his siblings and has the perspective to reflect that.

Well, this is way too long now, and it’s really late where I’m at. I feel like the comprehensibility of this post has been steadily declining the whole time, but if other writers have tips that they want to add onto this, please go ahead! 

[quirkychaoticraptor]

“Camp Cretaceous” Season 2 Review

 As the title says, this is what this post is gonna be about xD. And, unless I’m very stupid (which is entirely possible), but the whole “Under the Cut” option for spoilers no longer seems to exist. Sooo....

SPOILER ALERT!!! For this whole post, just in case.

 Alright, first off, I just wanna say this show has surprised me, yet again. I was concerned that this season was going to feel very rushed and turn out disappointing since the date for it was so soon after season 1. Because as I’ve probably said in my last review of this show...usually, when things get a date that soon after the first season/movie/book/whatever, they don’t turn out quite well, most of the time. So yeah, the date for this 2nd season did make me feel really skeptical. However! I binged it, today, and was genuinely surprised that it turned out to be just as good as the first season! Maybe even better!

 I’ll try not to make this review as long as my last one ^^;.

 Anyway, first off (again, but for realz or whatever), I knew that Ben was going to come back. I noticed the twitch in his fingers at the very end of season 1. So I saw that coming. What I didn’t see coming was his kinda sudden character development (if that’s what it’s called...I dunno, I’m no expert on the whole character development thing ^^;). He went from a very skittish boy to like, Tarzan. Lol! He grew a pair, and I’m a little proud of him xD. Then again, I guess that’s what being alone and surviving like that with lack of sleep will do to you. I also loved how big and powerful Bumpy grew up to be! And protective! I mean, of course, she kinda did imprint on the boy (or is it the other way around?), just as how Blue was protective of Owen. I just love those sort of bonds in wild animals and humans that they share (I’m being a nerd, please ignore me xD).

 Oh! Blue! I love that they gave her a bit more screen-time! Just like the first season, her screen-time only lasted about a second...but she had more scene cuts like that than she did in the first season! I kinda hope she’ll make more of an appearance in season 3 (yes, I read that apparently, season 3 is probably a strong possibility), and if she does, I hope she’ll actually have a full scene with her in the spotlight, if that makes any sense. She is just like, my top most favorite character in the Jurassic World movies (with Rexy coming in second).

 Speaking of Rexy, our old girl is as badass as frickin’ always! Her roars will forever give me the chills (I’m still so happy that they kept all the dinosaur sounds from all the movies. I find it interesting that she had pretty much made Main Street her little home. I was confused about her making a nest, though. Like, she an old lady, why does she need a nest xD? On a different note, maybe I just didn’t see them...but, I noticed that she did not have her scars. That confused me because since I didn’t see any of her scars, I wasn’t sure if it was actually her...or, if there has actually been a 2nd T-Rex on the island that nobody knew about (that’s unlikely, though). But she’s supposed to have scars, people! She’s a fighter, and has been in some tough battles! Lol!

 I liked that the people who made this show brought back Toro. Even for only two scenes, and Ben had gone up against her in his story of what had happened after the end of the first season. The Ceratosaur making an appearance did kinda surprise me, as the last time I saw that dinosaur, she was in the 3rd Jurassic Park movie (please don’t at me about that, I grew up with all 3 of those movies). I mean, I saw her in the season 2 trailer, but honestly, she had such a small clip in said trailer that I forgot about her ^^;. Even in this show, she didn’t really make too much of an appearance as I had thought she would.

 The Baryonyxes. This trio were very interesting antagonists! I actually liked them, a lot! And I’m not really much of a Baryonyx fan (probably because growing up, I never really paid it too much mind as I did Velociraptors and Tyrannosaurs. I only remember seeing 1 Baryonyx in the Jurassic World movies, but she only got a little bit of screen-time. Now that I think about it...it might’ve been the two siblings in “Fallen Kingdom...because I think one of them died when the volcano exploded, and the other one was carried onto one of those ships. I could be totally wrong, though...but after watching this season, it would kinda make sense and an interesting theory. Anyway, I went off-track, there. Main point being: Baryonyx, very interesting antagonist, actually terrifying. I was not expecting them to sound like that, either. Maybe I’m just crazy, but they sounded just a little bit like the Indominous! Maybe.... 

 I was not expecting poachers to be in this show, at all. I’m actually very against poachers...I feel like they’re the reason some certain animals are going extinct. But anyway, that was an interesting reveal! I was suspicious of them from the get-go, but I honestly thought that they would turn out to be working for Manticore. The show did a good job on making me constantly second-guess this couple! I never liked them, to begin with, simply because I felt something off about them...but they were just horrible people! The woman, I forget her name, was the worst of the two, or so she turned out. She seemed to be the one actually in charge of things. Lemme tell you, when she killed one of the Baryonyxes, I literally had a “uhhhmmm” moment because I just knew that her actions were going to come around right back to her...literally. My heart actually went out to the other two Baryonyxes because it was just...a bit of a roller-coaster of emotions, there! The woman later on left her husband for dead (now, that’s just a douche move). But ya know...what goes around comes around! So, I wasn’t shocked when the two Baryonyxes made their way onto her boat.

 Yeah.... Karma is a bitch.

 What I really liked about this season was that it threw in so many elements of the first Jurassic Park movie. I loved that! I haven’t seen the movie in a really long time, so those elements in this season was a nice quick nostalgia ride for me. Raptors in the kitchen (though, in the show’s case, Baryonyx in the lab), the watering hole (I think that was in the first movie, but I could be very wrong), Rexy with the flipped over Jurassic Park (World) vehicle...all of it was amazing to see!

 I talked a lot about the dinosaurs, sorry ^^;!

 The kids were great, of course. Honestly, I feel like there isn’t too much to say about the humans, this season. The kids get along, well, and prove to be a great team, Kenji is...well, Kenji xD, and like I said, Ben coming back was expected but still great to watch. One thing I also liked was that the kids realized and pretty much implied about what had happened to the Indominous.

 To close this review off, I have just one question in mind about something that has me totally thrown off and kinda desperate for answers.... What in the hell is in that locked room in the lab?!?! What was cooked up that the show is so implying to be incredibly scary and dangerous?! Is it another I-Rex or is it a I-Raptor or a half-dino, half-human creature?! What?! Dr. Wu?! Explain, please!

 Ok, I’m done with my confused ranting xD.

 That is my review for season 2 of “Camp Cretaceous”! I am curious to see what season 3 will bring and what the kids will do, now, since they’ve decided to no longer wait for people to come rescue them. I’m also curious to see what sort of dinosaurs season 3 will bring. That is all if season 3 does get decided to become a thing. 

 Until next time! Later! 

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 1: Anticipation

Introduction

What is your most anticipated game? Not the upcoming game that you’re excited about, the game that, more than any other, made you count down the days until its release. No game has ever made me as excited for its release like Fire Emblem Fates did.

Fire Emblem Fates was first announced in January 2015. Back when that trailer was first released, I was still obsessively playing through Fire Emblem Awakening, the game Fire Emblem Fates was meant to be a successor for. The trailer hooked me and I eagerly waited for more information on this bold new entry into the Fire Emblem series. The trailer showed a battle between two armies, a monster destroying a castle, a woman dancing, and a duel between two swordsmen. Between these clips, the trailer showed a return of Awakening’s gameplay, the addictive gameplay that’d taken away hundreds of hours of my free time. This trailer told us nothing, leaving me eager to learn more about this new story.

As the months went on, it was announced that Fates would tell the story of two kingdoms at war. More interestingly, the player would be given the opportunity to choose which kingdom to support, adding a layer of moral ambiguity and complexity to the story. I loved this concept and had no doubts it would be executed perfectly. The game released in June 2015 in Japan, but American fans had to wait until January of the next year to play it.

I bought the game as soon as it came out.

And I loved it. I played through all three routes half a dozen times each. For about six months, Fire Emblem Fates was the main game I played.

I haven’t played Fates in four and a half years. I don’t know why I went from spending multiple hours each day playing it to dropping it and never going back. I’ve played Awakening about once a year since then, but I haven’t gone back to Fates for some reason.

Since its release, Fates has gained a certain...reputation among the Fire Emblem fanbase. Put bluntly, it’s widely considered to be the worst Fire Emblem game. And, to be honest...I can kinda see why. Looking back, the game’s writing was filled to the brim with problems. But still, I can’t bring myself to hate the game like other Fire Emblem fans. I still remember asking my mom to preorder it for my Christmas present when I was fifteen. I still remember devoting hours of my life to this game.

So, I’m left with this quandary. Who should I trust? Other fans, or the memories of my youth? Is Fates really as bad as people say? Well, I kinda want to figure that out for myself. And I think the only way to figure this out is to obsessively play the game.

Over the next few months, I’m going to do a deep dive through Fire Emblem Fates and post my thoughts on this blog. I’m going to go through every chapter, every support conversation, every part of this game to answer the question: is Fire Emblem Fates a good game?

Opening Cutscene

Booting up my copy of Birthright for the first time in years, I’m greeted with an opening cutscene containing much of the footage from the trailer. It’s worth noting that the two armies from the trailer have very different aesthetics, one being heavily influenced by feudal Japan and one being heavily influenced by medieval Europe. The transition from the battle to the woman dancing is done by zooming out, revealing that this battle is actually taking place inside a painting. I actually really like this, it shows that the hostilities that this game is centered on have been going on for a long time.

Another thing to note: the song the dancing woman is singing has been translated into English. I’ll be going through the Lost in Thoughts All Alone’s lyrics and analyzing them when they appear in the actual story. The dance scene leads into circling shots of two families; judging from their different styles and fancy clothing, they are presumably related to the two kingdoms at war. The eastern family has a red and white color scheme, while the western one has a black and purple color scheme.

After that, the camera pans into a deep chasm until it arrives in a land of floating castles and islands, which looks interesting. Next, the opening cutscene shows the dancer in a lake, being choked by a large dragon-like creature. As the creature pushes her further underwater, its scales turn into light and fade away, turning into a humanoid form. Finally, the trailer shows the two swordsmen clashing as the dancer freaks out, setting her up as being an in-between that doesn’t want this conflict to grow. Her necklace flies off as she panics and lands in a pool of dark blue water, bringing us to the main menu.

The opening cutscene, like the trailer, hooked me in and made me excited to play this game. Even though I know that the game is going to bungle the story beats it sets up, I’m still excited to dive right it.

While staring at the dark title screen, which features only the quiet sound of waves for background noise, I get a strange hint of nostalgia. It’s a weird type of nostalgia, though. When I replied Awakening last fall, it felt familiar and comforting. Coming back to Fates, it doesn’t feel familiar. I recognize it, and it’s nostalgic, but it isn’t comforting. It’s like nostalgia for something I’ve forgotten, if that makes sense.

Character Creation

Jumping in, I am presented with three settings each for two types of difficulty. Normal/Hard/Lunatic control the strength of enemies, while Phoenix/Casual/Classic determine whether or not units come back to life. I’ll be checking out the other difficulties in a later entry, but for now, I create a Normal/Casual save file. Yes, it’s taking the easy path. But I barely remember this game and am playing it on a deadline, I don’t have the time to restart every level multiple times.

Next comes the character creator. We’re shown the player Avatar standing at the bottom of a lake and given the ability to customize gender, build, hairstyle, hair decoration (if a girl), hair color, face, scars, and voice. None of the options look bad, but the fact that it’s just choosing from a set list of faces is a bit disappointing. Understandable, considering the fact that these assets are drawn in, but that just raises the question of why there needed to be customization in the first place.

A few oddities about the character creator: hairstyles are sorted on two axis chart of Stylish/Simple vs Wild/Slick for boys and Long/Short vs Cute/Wild for girls. I don’t have time to go into each hairstyle, some are better than the canon versions, some are absolutely ridiculous, some are just boring. The short build is the canon design for Male Corrin while the tall build is canon for Female Corrin. This is probably for the best, because Short Girl Corrin looks like she’s eight. Finally, while both choices have three voice choices, two of Male Corrin’s choices are played by Cam Clarke (Corrin’s other male voice is Yuri Lowenthal, while Female Corrin’s voices are performed by Danielle Judovits, Marcella Lentz-Pope, and Stephanie Lemelin). Later games featuring Corrin stick with Clarke and Lentz-Pope.

I flip a coin and end up deciding on Female Corrin. I go with the generic design, because I really don’t care enough to customize her. Speaking of design, Corrin’s design is a mixed bag. Regardless of player choice, Corrin always wears the same outfit: a grey, black, and white suit of armor with a blue cape. Corrin’s generic hair color is also grey, but like a pinkish grey. I do appreciate Corrin being associated with grey, gold, and blue, making them visually appear to be between worlds, but I personally think the armor looks too complicated, looking more like a striped suit than actual armor. I also don’t get why it has a neck cuff.

Also, Corrin is barefoot. Always. This does give Corrin a sort of animalistic appearance, but that design element isn’t present anywhere else in Corrin’s design. Fire Emblem Awakening was kinda infamous for the fact that none of its characters had feet on their models and I get the vague feeling this game is overcompensating.

Next, we get to the details that actually matter. Name (I went with Corrin, because it’s the canon name and I don’t relate to this character at all), Birthday, Boon, Bane, and Talent. Boon and Bane determine stat growths, but they are labeled by personality traits instead of the actual stars, which is both more immersive and slightly annoying. I made Corrin Quick and Unlucky. Talent determines what Classes are available to you. I didn’t care, so I spun it randomly. It landed on Mercenary.

Prologue: The Ties that Bind

Now that we have our character created, let’s start the game. The game starts with the dancer singing Lost in Thoughts All Alone at the shore of a lake before walking into the lake and sinking below the waves. The song continues as she goes underwater, which means she must be amazing at ventriloquism. As she goes deeper underwater, ruins start to appear, floating in the water. The dancer swims into a bright light and disappears.

Smash cut to the Western prince riding on a horse, commanding an army as they charge into battle. The Eastern prince charges through his army, wielding a sword surrounded by lightning. The anime cutscenes in this game are beautifully animated and incredibly cool to watch. The Eastern prince introduces himself as Ryoma of Hoshido and challenges the Western prince, Xander of Nohr, to a duel. Xander accepts and charges into battle, wielding a sword surrounded by shadowy purple fog. The two clash as the cutscene ends.

We then see Corrin and a Hoshidan Pegasus Rider named Hinoka fighting an enemy, This fight is rendered as an actual game cutscene. Side note, the fact that this scripted battle features Hinoka guarding an attack for Corrin is a great way to foreshadow that mechanic. Hinoka mentions that Corrin looks distracted and reassures her, pointing out that all of Corrin’s siblings are here.

The game then moves onto introducing basic mechanics. If you move your cursor away and look at the other units on the battlefield, you’ll notice that all of them have unique names and designs. Fire Emblem Fates shows both armies off to you during the prologue, which is really interesting. Still, it must be noted that the Nohrian Units are marked as enemies and the Hoshidan Units are marked as allies. This isn’t super important now, but keep it in mind.

Between turns, Ryoma asks Xander why he’s invading and mentions a cowardly attack. Xander tells him to surrender and the two fight some more, both doing decent damage. The camera pans over to Xander’s siblings. The youngest of them, Elise, mentions that, due to a bridge collapse, they can’t get over to Corrin. Her older sister, Camilla, tells her not to worry, because their royal blood allows them to manipulate dragon veins. Camilla moves over to the river and a fireball flies out of her, striking the river and evaporating it. The third of Xander’s siblings, Leo, tells Elise to stay back as they attack the Hoshidans. The Hoshidan royals remark that Camilla’s use of a dragon vein means she’s royalty and the Hoshidan prince Tamuki smirks, saying that he’s always wanted to use a Nohrian royal as target practice.

The two armies of named characters start fighting and a Nohrian general named Hans shows up with an army of reinforcements. He then refers to his own army as cannon fodder and says king Garon sent him to kill them all, because he’s very obviously an evil person. A Hoshidan general shows up and we get some more tutorials as Corrin and Takumi beat up a single redshirt. And then the level just ends.

Corrin and the Hoshidan royals run up to the bridge to help out Ryoma. Xander calls out to Corrin, happy to have found her alive and well. He beckons her to come back to her family, which angers Ryoma, who shouts that Corrin is his sister. Xander counters, saying that Corrin is HIS sister. The other royals argue over which family owns Corrin and Hinoka states that the Nohrians kidnapped her. Xander points out that the Nohrians raised Corrin since she was a child and are her real family. As the two families fight over Corrin, the screen fades to white and we hear voices yelling for Corrin to wake up.

The prologue features some good teaching of mechanics, some bad teaching of mechanics, and an introduction to the game’s plot. It introduces two countries at war and Corrin, a bridge between the two that is caught up in this war. I just have one question.

What even is this chapter? It isn’t in media res, the actual point in the game this chapter is playing off of happens differently. The fact that it cuts to Corrin waking up implies that it’s a premonition of the future, but Corrin can’t see the future in other parts of the game. At least, I don’t remember that ever happening. Sure, this chapter introduces the plot, but it does it in such a confusing way.

Awakening did something similar to this, admittedly, but Awakening is a game about time travel. That scene happened, just in a different timeline. Awakening’s use of media res both set up the plot and helped foreshadow the game’s main twist.

Also, the Hoshidans are allies and the Nohrians are enemies. In a game about a morally grey conflict between two sides made up of real, suffering people, it’s not great to start out by calling one of them evil.

These two traits, aping Awakening without knowing why it worked and failing to be a morally grey story, are going to become much more apparent as the game goes on...

[bellamyblake]

I’d love to know your thoughts on sab 👀 I also didn’t enjoy it and liked the books a lot more

This will go on under cut because I can't deal with more hate right now.

I didn't like the sa/b books. I only ever liked the so/c books. I honestly can't believe they are written by the same author, in my head it feels like s/oc was written by an entirely different person and it always felt that way.

Now I read so/c because back at the bellarke fandom a few fellas recommended it and I liked it. I just can't believe that now, I am living to see the day where ma/tthias and n/ina are compared to bellarke of all things when back then I remember that was everyone's least favorite couple and people were glad he died LOL. I guess it's cause the author compared them to one another but tbh to me they couldn't be more different, but that's just me.

So I'm putting s/oc aside. Not that I mind it. I honestly just think that the entire shit was absolutely fucked up. Everyone always wanted just so/c to become a show not s/ab. In the fandom everyone couldn't fucking stand s/ab and then THAT became the foundation for the show???

Stupid af. At least for me.

Then I realized why that happened.

So/c is fine but it's like a story that won't go anywhere from a certain point. Even the fans agree that the second book from the duology is a little like...felt pushed, not too honest to everything that was happening. Like the sequence you thought you wanted but didn't really.

So/c is a story of a bunch of people coming together to do a task and then everyone goes their way. That is the reason why it's no good for a show-they are bound by the idea of doing this heist and getting the money so they could all part ways and in reality they do because all of them want different things or outer circumstances demand their presense elsewhere.

They are cool as a side storyline-you know the rush of a heist and all that, all the bickering and the smart lines, it's cool right?

Plus it appeals more to the younger audience as well.

But they I realized later on ofc, needed s/ab because it fits perfectly not only into what is popular lately (aka bad hero who everyone likes but we've reached the point of no defending needed if he's hot enough and a young girl he chases which is the more fucked up thing I believe). but also what sells.

So you got a very attractive 40 y/o dude who girls are known to fangirl on and a young new face that you know nothing about but that apparently fits in the narrative, though I'm sorry but as much as I dislike A/lina, I cannot see that girl as her either. i think the casting wasn't good, esp when it comes to so/c I'd only exclude the actor for J.esper they've chosen. Perhaps for Ma/tthias too. I'm very disappointed with the casting of K/az. That is what pushed me off at first. I didn't see In/ej that way either but I'd say perhaps the actress fits to a point. But K/az is a total disaster for me. Anyway, so you got the hot dude, the girl and the very basic idea of darkness and light colliding-so that is a story that albeit very stupid in its core can perhaps progress in a way-

and it progresses in the romantic way I guess? The allure to darkness, the love, the absolute finn of a character on the other side forming a very weak triangle that nobody cares about though I've heard ppl like M/al more in the show which is kudos cause he's an absolute disgrace in the books.

Can we also please talk about the fact that A/lina is considered ugly in the books and only grows beautiful when she gains her power?

I won't even go into casting a thin N/ina when she's absolutely the only ever slavic character I've seen in any show/movie/book that i've related to cause honestly-the best written character imo despite L/eighs fucking no knowledge of this culture.

And that brings me back to the absolute main point that is-I don't get why more slavs aren't outraged by this blasephamy that the show and the book is. She says the entire time that she wrote about it and based it on imperial russia cause it was *more interesting* and sounded like *something cool* but that she had no knowledge of it at all.

Start with their names perhaps? Why the darkling has a female surname and alina a male? I think you could at least check that out it's not as hard lmfao.

I remember while reading the books how she used some absolute idiotic words that made no sense like otkazastsya which what??? what's that ma'am. In its sense that's a verb you're using it as a noun and has absolutely no meaning whatsoever???

So that was something that always pushed me away from the books and that's why I knew I wouldn't watch the show after it. the casting solidified it for me, that being also because I'm not a personal fan of b/ bar/nes but that's just my problem in an overall scheme of problems.

i could probably go on and talk about the saints, the killing of animals for power or the dark/ling some more but i'm quite tired and I don't think that'll add much to it. i think that it could've been done a lot better also costume wise if they wanted to represent the slavic or russian culture some more. seeing the soldiers even on the promo clip before the show was out made me close the tab immideately.