#I'm probably missing a lot of potential scenarios here

[askbloatedbellyblog]

I absolutely loved your headcanon for zhongli! If possible can you make one for Alhaitham?

First off, I'm just going to put this trailer here because I actually think this is a good primer on Alhaitham in general and I just think it's really cool. It shows a lot more casual side of all the characters there.

I will preface this in that, I'm behind and only just finished the Nahida Archon quest and this is before I've played his solo quest, so somethings could change or be outdated. I'm just going off of the information that I have.

In a lot of ways, Alhaitham has a lot more potential in the burp category. He's incredibly intelligent, short tempered, and full of sass. Others may think he has a lack of emotion but I don't think that's the case really. He's blunt and straightforward and would rather be left alone or relax so he can read or think. I laugh that his least favorite food is soup because it's hard to eat it and read at the same time.

But Alhaitham is sarcastic often or at the very least sardonic and can even be petty when it comes to his roommate Kaveh or others. He's often the smartest person in the room and while he may not look like he's having fun, he definitely enjoys some jokes or a plan going well. Even if he doesn't always express it. He's mostly a no nonsense, cut to the chase kind of guy.

So how does all of this affect burps? Well in a lot of ways. First off, despite having a background in linguistics, he is well read in all manners of science and more. Not only that, but Alhaitham is a thinker, easily able to access the situation and take the appropriate course of action. Not only would Alhaitham know a lot about the digestive system, but he would know about anatomy, acoustics, and construction. So if there was an occasion where he needed or wanted to burp, he would have wonderful control.

Alhaitham would be able to make them sound however he wanted to, be it to suppress them if he was in the appropriate setting or to suddenly surprise everyone with one that would echo through the halls of the Akademiya. If he knew you were into burps, then heaven help you because he would show he's the best belcher around and tease you relentlessly. Or if someone else was burping, then whoops, he'd let one fly louder than that. All eyes would turn to him and he'd just respond with "Is there a problem?" Seeing his abs and his knowledge, I expect that he'd be able to burp on command and even be able to control his gas well enough that he could say whole phrases as a burp if he saw fit.

But Alhaitham can be an absolute brat when he wants to be. He definitely doesn't like to be told no or above playing tricks on others. If he's told he needs to have manners and thought the request was rude, you better believe your night is going to be full of burps that are rude and crass and interrupt your dinner. Or burping and blaming it on someone else, especially with his control might make it seem like someone else did it. You can also better believe if Kaveh complained about his belches, he's letting it loose all damn day to spite him. For fun. He's definitely one to pull a belch that would wake the dead in their house (potentially doing it by sneaking up behind Kaveh and letting it rip) with Kaveh scolding him like "The NERVE. Where are your manners!? How would you feel if I told everyone that the Scribe of Sumeru was so crass and vulgar as to burp so monstrously as to knock photos off the wall?" Then Alhaitham would come up close, burp in his face and say "Nobody would ever believe you," before leaving with Kaveh getting huffy.

Believe it or not, I think because of his voracious reading that Alhaitham has quite a bit of knowledge when it comes to lewd acts and knows how to wield things as emotional weapons. Kama Sutra the scholarly book lol. So he would definitely know how to flirt and entice someone with belches or know when to let one rip after a big meal and patting his stretched abs. He'd know at least on paper about kinks and would appropriately know how to make someone melt, even if it's just for his own amusement (with probably full denial afterward when confronted). Alhaitham is also not a bad actor or above roleplay when required when he wants to.

The other thing to mention that we see from the trailer is that he's not afraid to drink either. I think Alhaitham doesn't like to party much, preferring smaller gatherings, and doesn't let his guard down. But when it's something full of friends, then I think he's liable to eat too much and get drunk. He probably doesn't get drunk often, but when he does, all of what I've said goes out the window. I think he's mostly a sleepy drunk, falling asleep when he feels comfortable. Stuffed with food and drink, he might fall asleep right at the table or in his chair. I do think in this case, he's more likely to have a severe case of the hiccups, but mostly he'll let out small burps, not knowing what he's doing or rubbing his belly and trying to get them out. he may remember he's in good company and try to cover his mouth to suppress the gas, which only makes them reverberate in his chest and sound even deeper. It's possible he may do even more irresponsible things in this rare state like participate more in a burping contest with less inhibitions and control but it's hard to say.

The big difference is his bigger burps are low and airy, usually deep and loud with a lot of force but dry unless he wanted to be wet or after a meal. His drunken state or overly stuffed state is when he has small short burps that are higher pitched but wet and from true intestinal distress. But you better have some evidence of this happening because Alhaitham will deny that he was ever in a kind of state, and potentially use his connections to make sure any evidence you have are promptly destroyed.

[joels-shitty-puns]

The Key To Your Heart - Track 9

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Musician!Reader

Series Summary: After writing your feelings for Pedro into a song, it gains a lot more popularity than expected. Ultimately it brings both criticism and support, with new possibilities around the corner.

Series Warnings: 18+ only (MDNI). Panic/Anxiety attack. Alluding to sexual scenarios. Kissing. Fat shaming, name calling. Mentions of food, weight loss, weight gain, dieting, weighing, potential eating disorder, food guilt. Potential for puns/dad jokes (name of my blog, and the fic) should give that away. This is my first fic which should be its own warning, lol. Also some cursing. Mentions of masturbation (f) maybe more smut later idk. Sadness, reader is pretty depressed. Poor body image. Rude people. Bullying-ish and just lack of support? Anxiety. Age gap! Reader is in her mid 20's, Pedro is current age (48).

Other stuff: Reader is plus sized. AFAB. Inexperienced. Also has a dog, but you can pretend it is another creature probably. Further, in case it isn't clear, italics almost always are the reader's inner thoughts!

Word Count: 2.7K

Series List: Here!

Miss Chapter 8? Here!

Hi everyone!! I really don't feel great about this chapter, I'm sorry if it sucks. I kinda just want to get it out there though because I don't see my brain thinking up anything better. A lot of writer's block surrounding this scene. Anywho, hopefully next chapter will be better, but I still hope you like it. Although we allude to a little bit of sexual situations now that they are together, I likely will avoid explicit smut being that Pedro is a real human and I am a guilty, guilty human for writing any smut at all. I don't want to offend Pedro (not that he'd ever see it anyway, I am delusional), but I also know people find real person fiction uncomfy as a whole. That being said, I think this story may be coming to a close pretty soon. I plan to have maybe one more full storyline chapter, and at least one little side bonus chapter :) Please let me know what you think in the comments, or DM me if you wanna chat! I love hearing all your thoughts. Thank you for reading and hanging in here with me.

Before the screen even had a chance to load, you canceled the request. Nervously looking at Pedro, he held your hand under the table. “What is it?” he asked gently.

“I just realized,” you replied. “What if they ask about us? About those pictures? What should I say?”

Pedro answered with a gentle stroke of his thumb on your cheek. “Whatever you feel comfortable with. I'm sure I'll be fine with whatever you say, baby. I know your privacy is important to you, and I trust you. I'm all in with you.”

“Okay.” You took a deep breath and once again began the stream.

“Live in 3…”

“2…”

“1…”

The fans began to file in, and before you knew it, you had thousands of viewers. Opting to start with your screen covered, you wanted to give an intro first before the big reveal. 

It wasn't long before the comments flowed across the screen. 

You took a deep breath, squeezing Pedro’s hand, and jumping in. “Hi everyone! It's me… a lot has been happening lately and I decided it might be time to show a little more of myself.”

-“First!”

-“Did she mean to start a live video ??"

-"Hiii! I'm a big fan"

-“Is she there??”

-“Do you guys see anything?”

“So… Here's me.” You turned on your camera, waving at the screen, your stomach twisting in deeper knots.

-“No fucking way.”

-“!?!!!!!”

-“SCREAMING”

“Hi… Some of you might know me, some might be surprised. But this is me. This is the girl behind the music.”

The comments flooded in, entirely too fast for you to read.

“I want to thank all of you for being fans and listening to my songs. It really means a lot and I hope you liked the album. Your support blows me away, especially with what little information about myself I've given.”

More comments.

“Well, I uh… guess I should read some of these comments and answer some questions. I'm sure there’s a lot you all are wondering about,” you stated nervously, starting to read.

-“Why did you hide your identity?”

“Why did I hide my identity… I hid my identity mostly based on poor self image. I never expected my music to gain popularity, never expected celebrities to know it. Never expected any of it, and it certainly brought its share of criticism. I was scared to be in the spotlight and I didn't feel like I looked good enough to be someone famous. You know? I'm not skinny, I have flaws, and that doesn't always sit well with the Internet. I guess I was mainly scared of how I would be perceived. I'm just a normal girl who had her whole life flipped upside down when I wrote my feelings down,” you laughed anxiously.

Choosing to ignore the storm brewing in the comments below, you addressed the earlier comment. “Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad I can make you feel more accepted by seeing more plus-sized people in the entertainment business. Everyone should feel seen and have a place at the table, no matter what you look like, or who you are.”

-“I think it's nice to have more celebrities that look kinda like me.”

-“You're so humble!!”

-“You should've stayed hidden lmao”

-“Shut up, asshole. Why are you here if you're going to be rude?”

-“I'm sure you're a real supermodel behind that keyboard bravery.. smh”

You weren't expecting someone to actually feel like you were representing them and making them feel seen. You didn't think you had enough of an impact for that. You certainly weren't treated that way when you weren't famous. Nobody really even noticed you before.

You could feel Pedro’s eyes on your face, his thumb swirling circles and hearts over the space of skin on the top of your hand, below your thumb. The place where his bullseye resides on his own. Does he trace that tattoo when he's nervous, the same way he is with me? Perhaps his tracing of your hand is calming himself as much as it is for you.

Desperately, you wanted to look over at him and be comforted by his deep brown eyes, but doing so would cause people to wonder who you made eye contact with and smiled at. So instead, you gave a gentle squeeze and a smile towards the screen, hoping he would understand. 

-“Hi, I'm a big fan of yours. Can I ask… is what you said on your album true? You've never been kissed before? I haven't either and I was starting to feel like I'm just a freak.”

“Oh, honey, you aren't a freak. Everyone has things happen at different times in their life. But yes, everything I wrote in my album at the time I wrote it was true. And don't worry, I have felt the same way. Seeing others be kissed, falling in love… having the things I wasn't, it really hurts. But it'll be okay.. nothing is wrong with you. You're deserving of love.”

You hoped they wouldn't pick up on your usage of past-tense wording. Pedro, still holding your hand, rubbed his other hand over your arm gently.

-“Wait… at the time you wrote it? What about now?”

The comments were going wild.

Welp…

Your hands shook, and you used your opposite hand to place on top of Pedro’s that gripped yours. He squeezed gently, feeling the nervous tremors pass through your body, continuing to rub gentle strokes over your arm with his opposite hand.

“Uhm…” your cheeks heated and your stomach sank.

“I've changed a lot since this album was first written. Experienced new things. But I'm still the same person.”

Shit.

-“Who did you kiss?! Is it the guy in your song?”

-“Will you tell us who the song is about?”

-“Wait a second… you're that girl aren't you!?!!!! The one in the pictures with Pedro Pascal!!!!”

-“OMG IT IS”

-“!!!!!!!”

-“IS HE THE GUY!?!”

-“ARE YOU DATING!?!”

The nervous tremors continued, now threatening to cause your teeth to chatter. A full panic attack was brewing. Pedro squeezed your hand again, touching your knee and trying to do his best to ground you without speaking up on your live video. Skipper could feel the waves of anxiousness pooling off of you as well and crawled forward to settle his body across your feet. You took a few calming breaths, but when you went to speak, your voice still betrayed you.

“I..” your voice cracked, shakiness evident as you could feel tears starting to edge their way towards your vision.

I can't do this. I can't do this. I need to shut it off.

You shut your eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to ease your nausea and stress. 

Keeping your eyes closed, you spoke. “Yes.”

You took another deep breath. “Yes it was me, yes the song was about him. Yes.”

You opened your eyes to read the comments, tears pooling down your cheeks as you couldn't hold back your emotion anymore.

This is so embarrassing. The first time I show my face I'm crying and having an anxiety attack in front of the whole world.

You swallowed, choking back the full sobs that your body wanted to let loose. Wiping your face with the back of your hand, you began to read the comments, expecting laughter, criticism, and bullying. Instead, you were met with kindness.

Coming back to your senses, you gave a shaky smile. “Thank you guys. I'm sorry for my emotions.” You sniffled. Pedro was still rubbing your hands and arms, comforting you, having never stopped. His eyes still bore into the side of your head, and you knew he was struggling to not speak up or grab you fully. 

-“Oh my God, are you okay?”

-“I didn't mean to make you cry I'm so sorry”

-“You and Pedro make a cute couple”

-“Oh no, please don't cry”

-“Idk if you guys are dating but you seem cute”

-“I'm so glad you guys are spending time together when he's the guy in your song”

-“It'll be okay, please don't be upset”

-“You're amazing, we love you”

“Yes, Pedro and I have been spending a lot of time talking after he publicly commented on my song a few months ago. The party was the first time we met in person and we're still figuring things out,” you let go of your worries and broke eye contact with the camera, looking to your side to meet Pedro’s gaze. “But… we're happy.” You smiled at him. He smiled back gently, squeezing your hand, worry and sadness plaguing his face over your well-being. Breaking eye contact, you looked back at the screen.

You giggled before answering “well, I think that's all we have time for today. Thank you all for joining me!” You silently clicked off the stream, closing the browser, turning off the computer, and turning to Pedro. He grabbed your other hand in his, now holding both. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern etched in his face.

-“AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

-“IS HE THERE WITH YOU!?!”

-“whaaaaat”

-“SCREAMING”

-“Shut. Up. This is insane.”

-“YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE I CAN'T TAKE IT”

“I think so,” you nodded.

“Seeing you panic and not being able to do anything without potentially making it worse… It killed me. I'm so sorry. I just wanted to pull you into my arms and end that video myself. I hated seeing you so upset.” He stared down at your intertwined hands, rubbing his thumb over them again. 

“I appreciate you being here for me,” you let go of his hand to stroke his cheek. “I couldn't have done that without you.” You met his eyes, leaning forward to rest against his forehead. He let out a shaky breath. “I love you. I'm so proud of you.”

“I love you too,” you replied with a smile. “Let's move to the couch, huh?” You asked, pulling him up from the chair. He stood, just as your phone rang, a call from Rose. You quickly answered.

“I saw the live stream. You did wonderful! Don't worry about any of the negative comments you saw or any stories that come out of this. I'll handle it all.”

“Thanks, Rose.”

“Anytime. Take care.” She hung up.

You updated Pedro as the two of you walked towards the couch. “Do you want breakfast?” He asked.

“Maybe in a minute. Can I just hold onto you for a few minutes?”

“I would love nothing more.”

He sat on the couch, you sitting next to him, before he gave you a look. “What?” you laughed. He patted his leg.

“Let me hold you.”

“I'm too heavy for that Pedro, don't be ridiculous,” you shook your head.

“You're the one being ridiculous.” He reached over, pulling you into his lap. “I'm too heavy! You're going to hurt yourself,” you whined.

“You're not too heavy. You're the perfect size, baby. Come here,” he pulled you forward, your body sliding down his thighs as he wrapped his arms around you. You straddled his lap, knees on either side of his hips while he rubbed your back gently. You placed your arms around him, nuzzling into his neck and closing your eyes. You both sighed, and he grabbed a blanket next to him to pull over your bodies. “I could stay like this for hours, wrapped in your arms” you sighed comfortably. 

“Why don't you?” He turned his head to kiss your lips. You lifted your face up, taking your head off his shoulder to kiss him deeper. The kisses were lazy and comfortable, holding each other and enjoying the warmth of being in each other's arms.

Finally the two of you broke the kiss, settling back on his shoulder, him tilting his head to lean against yours. His hands sprawled over your back, pulling you forward a bit to adjust in his lap. You let out a soft whimper at the contact, fully aware of the location your bodies connected at the moment. “Feel how much you mean to me?” He asked, his breath ghosting your ear as he pulled your hips forward again. You whined. “Yes..” you answered breathlessly. The temptation to keep doing that was overwhelming. But he once again wrapped his arms around you, rubbing your back as the two of you comfortably dozed off, finally relaxed after so much stress of the morning.

Hours later, you stirred, feeling Pedro still underneath you. At the feel of you moving, he stretched a bit before settling with his arms around you again. “Morning, baby” he hummed. “Guess we fell asleep,” you smiled.

“Some of the best sleep I've had in a while, here with you.”

“Same here.” You blinked your eyes open, kissing him on the lips with a peck. “What time is it?”

He turned his head to look at the clock on your TV. “5 o’clock” he laughed. “Guess we both needed some rest.” 

“Mmmm, I guess so,” you hummed, settling into him more.

“Good thing I brought nonperishables. Are you hungry?”

You pondered. “Yeah, I am,” you looked into his deep brown eyes. “Breakfast for dinner?” You smiled at him.

“Sounds perfect.” He pecked your lips before you slid off his lap, the two of you standing to stretch. It wasn't long that you two stood apart before you leapt forward again to give him a hug. He laughed, hugging you back. “I'll never get tired of being in your arms,” you smiled into his chest, breathing in his scent.

“I'll never get tired of holding you in mine,” he pulled his face back to look at you.

“Now let's eat! I'm starved,” you scampered towards the kitchen, him giving a gentle pat to your butt before hugging you from behind as you grabbed the breakfast foods. You giggled, setting food on plates as he kissed your neck, still wrapped around you from behind. “I'm starving too,” he replied back to your earlier statement with a growl, biting your ear.

“Pedro!” You giggled, smacking his arm gently. He chuckled, pulling away and grabbing his plate as you both headed to the table.

The two of you ate, filling the space with light conversation, both of you occasionally sneaking Skipper some bites under the table. He could get used to having two humans spoiling him.

The chatter came to a natural pause, eating in silence and smiling at each other across the table. Pedro stopped eating, wiping his hands and continuing to stare at you. You laughed, asking him what was up. Suddenly, he looked nervous.

“I, uh…” he rubbed his neck. “I was going to wait until after we had at least a first date to say this, but…” he trailed off, and your mind spiraled. Is he breaking up with me? Is he not interested anymore? What's wrong?

“I was wondering if… you'd be my girlfriend? Exclusively?” His cheeks flushed.

You stammered, dropping your fork on the plate. “You… you want… me to be your girlfriend?” You smiled.

He nodded. “If… you'll have me.”

“You want to be my boyfriend?” He nodded again, looking down at the table.

“Yes. Yes, are you kidding? Please! I'd love nothing more.” You grinned, jumping out of your chair to move to him.

He stood, pulling you into a hug. “Really?” He smiled at you.

“Really,” you nodded. “Now kiss me,” you held his face.

“Gladly,” he pulled you closer, kissing you deeply, his tongue asking for entrance to your mouth. You squealed, surprised, but letting him in. You'd never experienced this sensation before. But it was… incredible.

He licked your lips, the two of you exploring the inside of each other's mouths, tongues dancing together. The kiss was heated and deeper than ever before, both of you finally pulling away for air, him coming back in to peck your lips a few times, sucking your lip between his own. You sighed shakily. “Wow.”

“I love kissing you,” he smiled against your lips.

“I love kissing you. You're a good kisser,” you smiled back.

“So are you,” he smirked. “My beautiful girlfriend.” He gave a kiss. “How about that date tomorrow?” He pulled away to look at you, letting his hand rub across your lower back, just above your butt.

“I'd love to,” you stroked his face. “My handsome boyfriend.” You wrapped your arms around him again, blissfully.

“Tomorrow,” you two sighed in unison.

@pedrotonin @starcrossed02 @lightupsketchersperson @cartoon-garbage04 @tyferbebe @maryfanson @gwendibley84 @faithfullyyours2000 @brilliantopposite187 @hc-geralt-23 @jenniferpendragon @winchestergypsy90 @red-red-rogue @theendwhereibegin @lottieellz101 @oliversaurus @kyga01 @milly-louise @titabel @taz-97 @stefanibear003 @marantha @fandomoniumflurry @ilovemybrown-eyedbabygirl @leiadjarin @hmneighbors

Thank you for reading!!! Let me know what you think ❤️

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[divineerdrick]

Homestuck: Beyond Canon Up8 for July 25 (?) 2024

Well that was fast!

I have to admit I started seeing spoilers to this alerting me it was up first, but I was one of the people that got bit by the bug where it wasn't updating. But I switched browsers and it seems to be working now.

Though we don't have a time update, this is obviously wearing on Vriska. I wonder just how long she's been doing this for.

"i, wANT,,,, tO PLAY A GAME"

We could argue Vriska was already doing that. In fact from the way the proceedings have been described that's exactly what she's been doing. But of course, we know what game Tavros wants to play.

Wait . . . does Vriska not even know that much about Tavros? Like, I knew given the chance he'd want to play fiduspawn. Does she really understand him that poorly? Wow.

Huh! It looks like they actually FLARPed. I would have thought for sure Tavros would have wanted to play fiduspawn instead. Maybe he was worried Vriska would rag on him for it? He also could have chosen FLARP because he knows Vriska likes it.

Oh wow! Is she going to realize it? Winning was never the point! Tavros had fun this time! It's obvious that she was so worried about beating him and the "session" making her do everything again, that she pulled her punches enough for him to enjoy himself. He got to actually enjoy the game he was so excited about!

And can I say, it's always nice to see Tavros happy.

By accident, Vriska ran the game in a way they could both enjoy. They could both have fun! Will she realize that's why things are going well though?

She's not grasping it. As Sally "thewertsearch" realized in her ongoing liveblog, winning is life or death to Vriska. It's impossible to be fine with losing, let alone happy about it. That's been beaten into her so badly, is she even capable of realizing there's another way?

"That is quite possi8ly the gayest thing I have ever heard someone say, Nitram." Wow! Is she using gay as a slur? Been hanging around Dave too long!

Yep! We can blame Dave for that one!

Hah! You catch on fast, Nitram! And just like that, Tavros has turned it against her.

Yeah, she's not getting it. Yes, Alternia is stacked hard against Tavros. And he can't seem to do anything about it. And nothing Vriska did ever helped him. And if it weren't for SGRUB, he'd probably be dead. So what? He's just supposed to mope and be angry and miserable all the time? He's not allowed to find joy or pleasure in things? And as we saw, he does feel down and depressed a lot. But that doesn't mean he's always going to be that way, especially if he just did something he enjoys doing.

Wow! There's a deep cut. That was like all of one panel where it showed Tavros struggling with getting into his recuperacoon and mentioned how he always had trouble sleeping. I don't think it ever got brought up again before now.

Yeah, this Tavros may be pretty accurate, but he's apparently still a construct. Of what, I'm still not sure. But again, the machine holding The Plot Point was created by Caliope and Roxy. I mentioned how strong that could be previously. So Tavros can tell Vriska the point, and still be unaware of what any of it means.

"I think if a certain uppity human was here, she'd call it 'projecting.'"

She did spend a lot of time around Rose. Man. There's some real potential for verbal sparring that we missed with the Retcon's time skip.

The Rufioh comparison is actually pretty apt. The "Tavros" Vriska is expecting or demands doesn't exist. She's never thought of him as anything but another goal, another game to win.

Man, that probably would have helped Tavros quite a bit to know she's always been a mess. Vriska has never had the positive self image she projects. It would have likely been quite a relief for him to understand just how fake her bravado often was.

I think Vriska might be starting to realize Tavros is right. Not only is he right, but what he's suggesting might actually be what this "scenario" demands of her.

And now Tavros is ribbing her about playing a blue blood. I've always guessed that Vriska bought into the hemospectrum more than she let on. If only because so much of her world view was shaped by Alternia's demands.

Vriska's turning this around again. Potentially quite viciously. But Tavros isn't rejecting it completely either.

Bam! There it is! Now I'd note I still don't think she's fully listening to him, but she actually did try this time. And yeah, her realization is true. But then Alternia is a crazy place.

Fucking Aradiabot jumpscare!

That legitimately threw me! I was not expecting that! Also, more God Tier art! Look how absolutely menacing and ominous she is!

Well Vriska should know this place well, but she's probably more surprised than I am.

"m0re accurately this is the b0ss fight t0 drive the p0int home"

And she's one hell of a boss!

Vriska really did get everything she wanted when Aradia killed her, or at least what she thought she wanted.

This feels familiar of some other, Homestuck adjacent media.

"y0ure n0t here t0 be redeemed vriska y0ure here to gr0w up"

That's a double slap to the face! Also appropriate and needed.

Everything has to have a purpose, a justification. Every tool has a use and every person a role. Vriska cannot conceive of a world where anyone is enough. And because of that, she can't conceive of a world where she is enough. She has to be saving everyone's butts, even if they hate her for it, because that's why she's here. If she's not doing that, then there's no reason for anyone to care about her.

Somewhat reminiscent of a certain Narrator and his goals . . .

"light players define themselves by their direct acti0ns and understanding"

Yes! More information on aspects! Someone knows there's still a bunch of us lore and theory nerds around!

Fucking. God. TIER!

And now we're in the Quest Cocoon, sans a traumatized Tavros.

We never really got much of seeing Team Charge together and happy. I absolutely love it.

Hah! Look at that fucking echeladder! "DANTE 8ASCO'S INFERNO" XD

And that's the end of that part of the VN!

That was so fucking good! I'm so excited and spun up now! And I have to go to bed! Settlers of Kalguur starts tomorrow and I still haven't settled on a build!

But who cares! I'm loving this so much! I hope you're all enjoying this too!

[bestworstcase]

I was reading your wonderful RWBY posts and I just had a random thought: The relics attract the grimm but why? What would the grimm even do if they get the relics? Salem doesn't control every single grimm ever all over the world (even if, I think, the popular fanon interpretation is that the grimm go for the relics for Salem)

So in a hypothetical scenario of a relic "falling into" the hands of grimm, what would happen? Are the grimm attracted to the relics like they're attracted to humans? For food/Aura? Or are they attracted to the relics for a different reason? The relics potentially being a sounds of "food" for Grimm just feels interesting to me, related to Aura and Souls in some way or something. Also if the Grimm aren't attracted to the relics like they are attracted to humans/Aura, what sort of reason do they have for the relic attraction?

Of course the theory that the relic or the relic spirits are the current form of the God of Darkness after he ascended makes it so that the Grimm seem to recognize and feel that the relics have their creator's power in it, but I'm really curious about what sorts of scenarios you could come up with on this because my brain is fixated on this right now and I wonder what the Grimm would actually DO with a relic or multiple relics?

we-ell we’ve actually seen a relic fall into the hands of some grimm, albeit quite briefly. at brunswick farm, ruby startles and drops the lamp because she sees the flash of an apathy’s eyes looking up from the bottom of the well, right, and then a minute or two later the girls all jump down and there’s no grimm and no lamp.

blake suggests that the "current" may have carried the lamp away, but that obviously isn’t the case (the water is less than ankle deep and the lamp, made of metal and glass, doesn’t float; she’s just under the apathy influence which is, i imagine, degrading her ability to think clearly).

what actually happened is the apathy grabbed the lamp and BOOKED IT to rejoin the rest of its pack around the corner, and then they put the lamp down in the muck where its glow would be just visible to the humans in the main thoroughfare, and waited there.

<- the apathy, uh, used it as bait.

here’s two other facts that i chew on a lot with regard to the relics and the possibility of darkness having ascended a la the dragon divided and what the apathy do:

grimm cannot be held in captivity, because if they don’t break free, they die.

when bartleby separated two apathy from the pack and lured them into the waterway, the rest of the pack followed and crawled into the waterway to find their missing packmates rather than attack the farmers.

(the pack then also spent the night in the waterway, which contrasts their apparent behavior in the present—we see them trying to get up into the house through the wine cellar—so it seems to me that the pack just wasn’t hunting at the time it went into the waterway. otherwise they would have found their missing packmates and crawled right back out to eat the farmers in their sleep. but the waterway probably seemed pretty comfy and safe to them before they got bricked up inside of it? nice place to make a nest.)

anyways if the spirits in the relics were once the god of darkness… and the spirits are, as the chains and shackles imply, imprisoned inside the relics… and grimm die in captivity… and the grimm are also, as the apathy pack’s behavior demonstrates, intelligent social creatures who will actively follow and try to rescue captured individuals… well!

whatever the apathy intended to do with the lamp got interrupted by the girls dropping into the waterway, but their use of it as bait demonstrates intelligence—recognition that the lamp is desirable to the humans, forethought to use it as a lure—so if i’m on target with regard to what/who the spirits are (which, ozpin: "i think it has something to do with their origin, but i’m not entirely sure" <- i am of the opinion that this is a true statement and also hilarious foreshadowing), then.

prying the relics apart in an attempt to free the spirits trapped inside would be my guess. it tracks with both the behavior we see from the apathy pack and with grimm being destructive in nature and the true purpose of destruction as a catalyst for change/growth – and a grimm that doesn’t die in captivity is a grimm which destroyed its cage, yeah?

if the spirits aren’t what darkness became… i would bet anything the attraction is emotional. because the spirits inside are human in nature—they have feelings, and neither jinn nor ambrosius seem best pleased to by the rules that bind them. so it’s like. extremely possible that to a grimm, the relics are literally just searing beacons of misery and that’s what’s getting their attention. like grimm puzzle feeders

[niuttuc]

any thoughts on Shilgengar, Sire of Famine?

I'm leaning heavily into Angels with some Aristocrats to go along with the sacrificing.

Alright a free sac outlet in the command zone is sure useful, let's see what we have in the colors, I'll mostly focus on some angels that are easy to miss but might help with the aristocrats plan to overlap the themes.

Seraph of the Scales has killer art and subpar mechanics, but an angel aristocraty deck is pretty much the perfect home for it. It's an ok angel, and three bodies in one for the aristocrats part of the strategy. Angel of invention brings the tokens on ETB, but is in a similar camp otherwise of providing three bodies on an angel.

Requiem angel is... Less than efficient. Six mana is a lot, but the fact you get Spirits even when (non-Spirit) tokens die makes it quite effective when you get down to aristocrats stuff. This is one that's probably better to reanimate than hardcast, sadly when Shilgengar reanimates with finality counters, those creatures will go straight to exile and not die to trigger the Requiem Angel when they next get sacrificed.

I'm a champion of this card in general as the third or fourth best ramp option in white, but it slots naturally here. Is it gonna live the dream often to remove a finality counter from something and that turning out relevant in the long run? Unlikely. But the dream is there, and the fail case is a two drop that ramps you a nonbasic or guarantees a land drop, and is a creature to sac later on. The deck probably could use a creature-based ramp package anyway, with Knight of the White Orchid, Sand Scout and similar to have stuff to do on the curve before the angels. This guy slots in nicely in that package with potential synergy with the deck.

For similar reason that I say the finality counter thing is an unlikely dream for this card, I would recommend AGAINST playing other single-counter removing cards. Hex Parasite, Power Conduit... They appear on the EDHREC page for Shilgengar but they're only good in the unlikely scenario that you do the thing, bring back your entire graveyard, then have several turns when you somehow don't win but don't get your board removed either to start removing finality counters, THEN get your board removed by a destroy effect, THEN can activate Shilgengar AGAIN to bring everything back. This is VERY unlikely and unlike Scholar (or something like Nesting Grounds that just chills in the manabase), these don't provide enough normal play value to justify their spot. Stuff like Eerie Interlude or Lae'zel's acrobatics will be much better at removing finality counters from your entire board if you want to do that while also doubling as protection spells against board wipes.

In somewhat parallel to Requiem Angel, its etb counterpart. Coming in with two bodies by itself, it'll keep making tokens to fuel the engine. Since it doesn't say "one or more", it'll also create as many tokens as you have creatures when you activate Shilgengar to bring back everything. Tokens ready to be sacced and without finality counters. And at base it's a better serra angel that might even draw a couple cards from the mercenaries buffing it.

This one might not be a great fit for the deck, but I'll mention it because I like playing with it. Reshaping a combat step as a surprise is a really good effect that can save your life, and Shilgengar's reanimation is at instant speed so it could also be a source of surprise blood for that. However, whether to play this is mostly reliant on if you can leave up five mana often in your angels deck that likely wants to slam down haymakers. If you have enough stuff you might want to hold at instant speed, either to threaten a Shilgengar activation or an utter end, Windshaper Planetar MAY have a home, otherwise it'll likely disappoint.

Some non-Angel graveyard-filling creatures. Stitcher's Supplier is likely the best of these to consider because it's a 1-drop, so it doesn't take a slot on the curve you could use an angel in, one of the most efficient cards to do the job. Barrowgoyf is a really really good card in general, and body launderer is often pretty slow but can do a good job.

If your deck is aristocrat-y enough, even with Shilgengar in the command zone, you might want some backup sac outlets in case he gets removed, because he'll be a prime target for anything and everything. You wouldn't need as many as most aristocrats decks, because much of the time you can use Shilgengar. But having a couple can't hurt! Of these, Lazotep Quarry can probably slot easily in the manabase but will be very slow at saccing stuff. Altar of Dementia allows you to fill the graveyard and dodges creature wipes. Woe Strider can come back from your graveyard by itself if it gets milled or destroyed. Carrion Feeder/Viscera Seer is gonna slot it nice and low on your mana curve. Warren Soultrader will give you the MOST out of every sacrifice, doubly so if you have some artifact stuff incidentally to take advantage of Shilgengar's blood tokens. The last three are creatures that will get brought back by Shilgengar too, which can be important to keep in mind. Ultimately, it's your call which, if any, of these to include. It will depend on the rest of the deck if you feel you need the backup, if the Aristocrats part of the deck is necessary for it to do things or just an aside.

[atopvisenyashill]

i love to push it as late as possible in the timeline when i fantasize about aus bc a) i like all the characters i want them there and b) i want to make it difficult, i want to make it spicy.

anyways how do you avoid the dance? angel scenarios aka “we kicked the dragon killing, era ending war down the road a generation, yay us” worlds:

orys baratheon that shit - do we need me to call otto a dumb bitch once again for thinking anyone wins in a dragon vs dragon fight? no but i'm gonna do it anyway because there's a really easy solution here that he could have gone for and that is just offer rhaenyra the stepstones. make dragonstone a paramount seat, make an offer to all the houses in the crownlands that they can stay vassals of the crown directly or become vassals of Rhaenyra and Dragonstone, and make a real effort to include the stepstones (maybe even parts of the disputed territories) as part of the seven kingdoms by protecting the shipping lanes, raising castles and settling families, tempting young bold knights with the promise of their own seat and land, and let Rhaenyra and her line continue to call themselves "Prince/Princess of Dragonstone" the way the Dornish do. if you're not offering something substantial here with an assurance that jace gets dragonstone and luke gets driftmark (and probably a few other matches) than you are half assing this coup and guaranteeing a war that no one can win!!!!!! you dumb bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jace & helaena marriage. i just think this shows a willingness by both sides to give up the fight for real, if they can agree to this.

great council called - DONT crown anyone, just call a great council, make sure there’s planning involved so that most of the lord’s agree to it already and are prepared for it before viserys kicks it so it forces the other side’s hand.

rhaenyra has a daughter first - i simply think that if viserys really does double down on absolute primogeniture, people are going to Have Some Thing To Say and it would force a conversation on how the iron throne succession works beyond “according to how i’m feeling.” this one really has the potential to go belly UP though so u win some u lose here.

technically, if viserys never remarries, it means either everyone has to become okay with Daemon (not happening, he may be popular with some people in KL and Driftmark but it seems in my eyes a lot of the pushback to Rhaenyra is pushback to Daemon) or they simply have to be okay with Jacaerys (even then, if we can change stuff enough so that Criston doesn't murder a teenager at a party, I think Laenor winds up mostly fine and Jacaerys may even be his blood).

i might be missing an obvious one here besides "gc gives the throne to rhaenys and laenor" but i think these are the only way they avoid mass slaughter.

*naomi campbell voice* these people are so fucking stupid.

[charbon-et-eau]

I recently discovered your account through Pixvi. I'm afraid to ask this question, but here goes. I hope not taken the wrong way. I genuinely like your ship art. I gotta wonder how old Brendan is, like, based on your headcanon wise? Forgive me. It's dumb to ask. (If that's the case, I tend to do the same with another Pokemon ship.) If you don't feel comfortable saying it, I completely understand. If you don't want to respond on post, I completely understand; I simply can on DM. Post a chocolate cake picture to let me know.

I've actually already answered this here. I like to hc him as an older teen. I try to reflect that in my art, but I tend to draw Brendan really cute, which probably makes him look younger to most people.

This should go without saying, but I am very much against adults trying to date 16 year olds in real life. However, in fiction, it's fair game. If fictional age gaps involving a teenager make you uncomfortable, that's valid. You're welcome to ignore my headcanons or unfollow/block me.

I just think it's an interesting dynamic to explore in fiction. And I'm actually feeling a bit chatty rn, so for anyone who's interested, I'm gonna expand a little bit on why I find this dynamic interesting under the cut.

For starters, I was a teenager once, and I definitely fantasized about how cool it would be to date someone older. Surely I wasn't the only teenager with fantasies like that, right? Of course, even as a teenager, I knew not to try to make that fantasy a reality.

I was a pretty smart and mature kid, but maybe a little too much. I matured way faster than I probably should have, and as a result, I was always very careful and never took any risks or did any of the stupid things that people usually associate with teens. I was safe (aka boring). I think sometimes I feel like I missed out on the true teenage experience by being too safe. And while that's probably for the best, it's nice to be able to still explore those scenarios through fiction by putting Brendan (or any other fictional character) in Situations.

The other main reason I like making Brendan a teen and sticking him in a relationship with an older man is because it kinda just makes sense given the setting of the source material. In the Pokemon world, it's perfectly normal for kids and teens to leave home and go on potentially dangerous adventures across the region. They can also become gym leaders and champions. I think it makes sense to imagine that kids in the Pokemon world are treated with a lot more respect and agency than in our reality. So it makes sense that the general population in the Pokemon world wouldn't really see any issues with young trainers getting into relationships with older ones. If these young trainers can command a team of up to six incredibly powerful magical creatures in battle, then why would it be weird for them to make out with an older cooltrainer behind the pokemart?

Whether or not this is a good or a bad thing is debatable. My point is that it's interesting to think about what the societal norms surrounding relationships with age gaps would look like in this setting. Also, I think it's funny to imagine Brendan's mom internally cheering "FUCK YEAH!" when she finds out that Brendan is dating the richest man in Hoenn instead of some loser collector or hex maniac that he found on a random route.

I could probably ramble about this more, but I think I've run out of steam for now. Anon, I'm so sorry for rambling, you didn't ask for any of this lol. But thank you for the ask!

[pain-in-the-butler]

Have you ever considered what a meeting of Alois would've been like with the current Dadbastian development? The anime and the 2nd season were both pretty bad in terms of uncomfortable fanservice and handling things very disrespectfully, but thinking back on Alois' character now as an adult, I really pity him as a clearly traumatised and intensely disturbed child, who through abuse has, much like Ciel, developed more 'adult behaviour' that is not appropriate for his age as a defence mechanism. It's probably thinking a bit too optimistically for Dadbastian to extend concern for those outside of his immediate phantomfam, but would you think that maybe, just maybe, Alois could trigger the same kind of protective urges as Ciel? Alternatively, if you were to write something similar to Coattails but instead for Alois and co, do you have any headcanons on how you'd otherwise depict their relationship? Dad Claude? Dlaude??? Thank u for indulging my whimsical ass & sorry for the wordvomit

Hi, anon! As a fellow whimsical ass, I'll do my best to answer your question. Boy, okay, lots to consider here...

First off, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the phrase "current Dadbastian development", but I'm going to assume you're referring to what's happening in Coattails because I don't think there's been any Dadbastian development in the manga that I've missed.

Second off, our feelings on Alois are the same. I was nineteen when season 2 came out and I didn't like it at all, I found its handling of certain themes pretty deplorable and I mean. It was a mess. At the time, I felt indifferent to disturbed by Alois, and ultimately just went away pretending the whole season never happened. However, the current fandom has made me realize that Alois is a character with a lot of potential who was definitely in the wrong hands. It's very sweet to me how many fans still care for him as if he were their adopted son and have come out with some extremely creative and realized content of him. It gives me a better appreciation for him and what he could have been.

So now to actually attempt your question. Again, assuming you're asking about Coattails, Sebastian is only really interested in being a parent to Ciel and a caretaker of varying degrees to the rest of the Phantomfam members. I think he would be able to feel sympathy for Alois's situation, but he's no bleeding heart. I'm not really sure what the scenario is here where somehow Alois and Sebastian are getting to know each other and also Alois might want Sebastian to help him over another person already in his life? It's a little difficult to answer...

And if it was in regards to canon Seb, well... yeah, he's pretty disinterested in anyone that doesn't directly benefit or threaten his contract. I don't think he would do anything to make Alois's life better.

While I hate canon Claude, I certainly think fan content can utilize him as a father figure if they made some tweaks to his character. My bud Em has explored that in this fanfic that I enjoy, and I think she's probably a better judge of Dad-Claude than I could ever be (she might even write a longer story about it someday!). Sort of going off her example, I would keep Claude's awkward/stiff personality intact and get rid of his bad-touch vibes (obviously). Unlike Coattails Sebastian, who is accustomed to big emotions but is new to love specifically, I don't think Coattails Claude would be used to feeling anything outside of his own control. He's also not very playful so he would probably have to learn to let go of things and I just realized I'm describing Bambi's dad's journey in Bambi II so god fucking dammit I did it again—

tl;dr there are so many people who can answer this question better than I just did but uhhhh I hope this was okay 💁‍♀️

[achickennamedcheese]

What they could've done with Lunar's story

Alright, so, this is what I'm gonna call the "Zak and Human" Method, because the storyline for my OC Zak mostly fits here.

Zak works for a galactical government called "The Base of Dimensions" or BOD. Humans aren't supposed to have magic, and when they do it's an anomaly, so Zak's job is to investigate the anomaly and make sure that the magical human is not a threat. This is because the most dangerous galactical and universal threats began from small, unchecked anomalies like magic humans.

Why couldn't they do the same thing for Lunar???

Okay, so Lunar suddenly has powers, wouldn't be weird right? On Earth, even animatronics can cast spells and have magic, such as Moon or Eclipse. But what makes Lunar an anomaly is the fact that his powers don't abide by the same magic system of his original planet. His powers are a different thing entirely, and that is an anomaly, an anomaly that could turn into a threat if left unchecked.

And so Gemini, the "Zak" of this scenario, is sent to handle Lunar by a higher power or a higher government. If Lunar can prove he can handle his powers, then he won't be seen as a threat and all will be well. If Lunar can't, then he will be killed off. It seems harsh, but this is all to prevent a small problem from becoming a big issue. All of this is explained to Lunar by Gemini, because honestly it's stupid to hide it and why would they have any reason to.

All seems to go well, Gemini trains Lunar and Lunar seems to be getting a handle on everything, including a potential relationship with Gemini! But then Lunar does something he shouldn't have, he kills Eclipse.

By killing Eclipse, Lunar has proved to the higher powers that Lunar has the potential to become a threat. At least, a threat to his planet, at most, a threat to his galaxy, and that's what causes Gemini to be so mad at Lunar. Gemini really does care for Lunar, and seeing them mess up like this and put themselves in jeopardy upset them a lot because now Lunar would be on the extermination list. And now Gemini has to plead for Lunar's case, for the higher powers to give Lunar a second chance. And with that, Gemini is gone.

I feel like this would've justified Gemini's anger, along with the reason why Gemini came in the first place. The reason as to why Gemini even bothered to train Lunar is so vague that I don't think the writers even knew. So many say that Lunar didn't deserve to be yelled at and Eclipse deserved to die again, and when you see what played out I can understand that! When you actually look at it, Lunar's weather powers are probably pretty petty compared to the other things that exist in this Universe, so why??? Why would the astral bodies give a shit???

In this little version, Gemini tells Lunar why they're here, what they want to do, and why they're gonna help Lunar. This tells both Lunar and the audience what the stakes are and why Lunar has to do this training thing. And when Eclipse ends up dying and Gemini gets pissed, at least fans who watch can understand why Gemini is mad. Whether or not Eclipse deserved dying, Lunar just put himself on the extermination list and now Gemini has to find a way to get Lunar out of it.

It's such a simple storyline and maybe this is what the writers were going for! But if it is, they didn't convey it well.

I know that LAES and SAMS aren't supposed to be a marvel of writing, but if you're gonna have characters and story lines you could at LEAST make them make sense.

People are probably gonna be mad at me for this or point out things in episodes that point to this little story change not making sense, and okay, I get it, it's not like I watched ALL of the LAES or SAMS episodes so I understand if I missed some things. But seriously I feel like this is a simple fix, especially when you have a world as loose as the Security Breach Show universe. For fucks sake, Monty and Puppet are thinking of switching Cringe Foxy and Normal Foxy???

[jedinightsister]

hey can i ask: do river and sid get together in the slow horses books later? i miss them so much!

Okay, I finally listened to "Standing by the Wall", so I can provide my spoiler-filled answers below. ~

The short answer is yes, they do. And if you want to get Sid River content, you may well just pick up book 7, "Slough House". Granted, you'll end up missing out a lot of nuance and Mick Herron loves killing off his characters so it might get jarring to see unfamiliar faces if you just immediately jump to that book, but I think it can work just fine if you want canon Sid River content. There is a lot in that book.

Then if you want a sort of cherry on top, you can read "Standing by the Wall" as well. It's just a short story, so easy read, and Sid isn't exactly in the book, but we get a perspective from River's inner dialogue about them being together.

The long answer is...well, let me give a bit of my perspective toward them as a ship in the show and in the books.

-

I saw season one first, got obsessed, which is why I ended up binge reading through the book series. Season 1 is probably the season that was most closely adapted as the book (Slow Horses). Seasons 2-3 had bigger changes, but managed to still capture the feelings that I got from the books.

A huge part of what made Season 1 enjoyable is the interaction between Jack's River and Olivia's Sid. I always love in dynamics when the woman is a bit sassy straightforward and the guy just kinda accepts his loser status lol 😆 so yeah, their banter was very delightful.

That said, I don't think I necessarily ship them?? I mean, I certainly don't mind it. I totally see the potential. But I'd say a huge part of the ship's appeal is Jack and Olivia. They truly took on those characters and transformed them, gave them such chemistry. I really don't think I felt such chemistry when I read book 1. Herron definitely implied certain attractions there, but it fell flat for me.

Set aside the rather lack of chemistry in book 1 though, we get way more in book 7. Now, whether Herron's writing of romantic implications has improved, or I was heavily influenced by the charisma of the actors' portrayal, I'm not entirely sure. Most likely it is a combination of both. I have a vague but effective imagination, and I absolutely enjoyed reading their scenes with Jack and Olivia in mind. In fact, I wish the show will be renewed until this book at the very least, just so we can get that onscreen.

And then there's the short story, dealing with the aftermath of book 7. Bit spoilery territory here, but I assume you don't mind lol but fair warning to those who do and decided to read this anyway. 🤷‍♀️

In book 7, it was River's turn to have his near death experience. And the short story basically has a recovering River and thinking about how much Sid's presence in his life has helped him profoundly. There's even a very notable word choice of him thinking of 'coming home to Sid.'

She is his comfort person, and he is hers. I highly recommend book 7 just to see the depth of that comfort and trust, especially the one Sid had for River.

So chemistry aside, their bond feels heavily founded on shared trauma. I kind of wish they didn't get together yet and tried to sort themselves out first, but at the same time, I kinda like that they support each other. I'm just scared it will turn unhealthy for the both of them, and that is very likely given how Mick treats his characters hahaha 🥲. It's going to backfire on them some way or another.

-

In conclusion to this nonsense rambling, while I don't ship them fully, I see their potential and enjoy their interactions a lot. The show has done massive heavy lifting for me by putting the actors in my imagination while I read through the book scenarios of their interactions. I very much look forward to the next Slough House books so we can get a much better picture of them (or who knows, maybe Mick will time skip and they're not together anymore oof 💀). I also badly hope they will manage to get elements of Sid River in the show. They've already made changes that work better in show format, and getting Olivia back would only do the show much better. Whether that's feasible or not tho, I got no idea lol, but we can hope and dream. 😌

I hope my short and long responses were well worth the wait 😆🙈 thanks anon, keep slow horsing yeehaw! 🤠🐌🐎

[marshmallowgoop]

So if DC were that kind of series, how well do you think a HeiShinRan love triangle would work?

A-are you reading my mind? One of the posts I wanted to make is exactly about this!

I... even put together ranji.psd for it... a lot longer ago than I thought, wow.

Thank you for encouraging me to finally actually write this.

So, first off: I'm admittedly not the most familiar with the Detective Conan manga. But I've scanned over some assorted cases in the manga, particularly Heiji cases (of course), and I couldn't help but be immensely intrigued by a few extra interactions between Heiji and Ran that weren't adapted into the anime (Files 93, 151, 152):

The second one isn't too noteworthy—and honestly, it was probably cut from the anime because this plot point of Heiji deducting in an exaggerated accent is, as far as I can tell, never brought up again or resolved—but the protectiveness that Kogoro displays there does catch my interest. He clearly seems to see Heiji as a potential romantic partner for Ran, something that I don't think ever comes up anywhere else.

But it's the first instance that gets to me the most. Something the anime does adapt is that Ran only starts warming up to Heiji because he reminds her of Shinichi (Episode 48):

Further, it's later revealed in the series that both Ran and Kazuha love seeing their detective friends smile upon solving a case (File 319):

So, that moment of Ran pushing Conan out of the way so that she can watch Heiji work is loaded with stuff, for all three characters. For Ran, she misses Shinichi so desperately that someone who merely reminds her of him is enough to make her grin and blush and feel at ease. For Heiji, constantly compared to others—even called "The Kudo of the West" in FUNimation's English dub!—there's something achingly tragic about being admired not for who you are but for the person you resemble. For Shinichi, Heiji represents everything that he has lost. He can't give Ran the victorious smile that she's looking for anymore, and she scolds him and removes him from the picture.

But the third "Ranji" example, from File 152, perhaps points to a shift. When Ran lists what she likes about Shinichi (Episodes 2, 42), thoughtful isn't an adjective that leaves her lips:

(That last one, though... girl....)

Ran appreciating Heiji for his own qualities, rather than seeing him as only an echo of Shinichi, does grab my attention.

Of course, personally speaking, I don't really like love triangles. They tend to be tired, exhausting drama, and in this case, I'm a HeiShinRan (and HeiShinKazuRan) supporter, so ultimately, I'd like them all happily loving each other.

But I do find it unfair, in my probably embarrassingly limited experience with love triangles, that they are often composed of two women longing for the affection of one man. So, I can't lie—I maybe yearn a little bit for the love triangle that was arguably being set up here before getting scrapped?

If nothing else, it would mean more interactions between Ran and Heiji, and I would adore that. Out of the main cast, Heiji's pretty much only allowed meaningful interactions with Conan/Shinichi and Kazuha, and, yeah, I don't love that it'd be a love triangle giving him more meaningful interactions with Ran, but I would love the additional interactions. I'd love to see Ran more involved in the cases that the boys solve. I'd love to have moments where Heiji and Ran bond over being accomplished practitioners of their respective martial arts, or how they both have famous fathers, or literally anything.

Plus, I think a scenario where Ran is genuinely interested in pursuing Heiji romantically would also have a huge impact on Shinichi's actions. He likes Heiji! If he saw that Heiji makes Ran happy, would he really keep breaking her heart and asking her to wait for him?

And, for Heiji, I feel like this setup also allows more opportunities for him to seriously confront his insecurities. "She only likes me because she can't have you" is a conversation I could see between him and Shinichi, and that would absolutely have my interest. I have so many feelings about Episode 479 and will finish that 20-page essay someday maybe because it's probably the biggest example of tackling Heiji's insecurities that I know of.

There's something similar with Ran and Kazuha already (File 280), and gosh, I so wish that we got more exploration into it than just a, "Kazuha... You're so cute! ❤️" from Ran.

All this said... it's way easier and less messy to not go into love triangle business at all, and I'm totally cool with that decision! It's cute that Ran and Shinichi are so supportive of Heiji and Kazuha, and vice versa. Love triangles tend to be pretty obnoxious. But I do think there is some compelling character exploration that could be done with a HeiShinRan triangle that I wouldn't hate—especially if it ended with happy HeiShinRan/HeiShinKazuRan.

[joels-shitty-puns]

The Key To Your Heart - Track 8

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Musician!Reader

Series Summary: After writing your feelings for Pedro into a song, it gains a lot more popularity than expected. Ultimately it brings both criticism and support, with new possibilities around the corner.

Series Warnings: 18+ only (MDNI). Alluding to sexual scenarios. Kissing. Fat shaming, name calling. Mentions of food, weight loss, weight gain, dieting, weighing, potential eating disorder, food guilt. Potential for puns/dad jokes (name of my blog, and the fic) should give that away. This is my first fic which should be its own warning, lol. Also some cursing. Mentions of masturbation (f) maybe more smut later idk. Sadness, reader is pretty depressed. Poor body image. Rude people. Bullying-ish and just lack of support? Anxiety. Age gap! Reader is in her mid 20's, Pedro is current age (48).

Other stuff: Reader is plus sized. AFAB. Inexperienced. Also has a dog, but you can pretend it is another creature probably. Further, in case it isn't clear, italics almost always are the reader's inner thoughts!

Word Count: 2.8k

Series List: Here!

Miss Chapter 7? Here!

Hi all! I know this one took a lot longer than previous. I was on vacation and then went straight into my work week. I almost thought about ending it after the last chapter but I realized there's still some loose ends! Also I gotta say I'm really overthinking the voicing for Pedro, but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless. This chapter entirely got away from me and wasn't the plot I anticipated, haha. Once again, thank you all for reading. I love all the comments, messages, and asks I get about my story and it honestly blows me away. Please continue to like, reblog, and let me know what you think! Love to you all!

Also I made dividers! Weeehooo

The rest of the evening was filled with kisses, cuddles, and sweet nothings whispered to each other through smiles. It was just a quarter after midnight when Pedro finally pulled his lips away from yours and looked at the clock. Turning to set his forehead on yours once again, he quietly spoke.

"I should probably get home, Princesa," he punctuated with another kiss.

You let out a whine, but knew you weren't ready for it to move much further than this too quickly. "What time is it?" You kissed him.

"It's already after midnight." He kissed.

"Hmm," you hummed with another press of your lips to his. "And I never even turned into a pumpkin." Kiss.

"I don't think that's how the story went, mi amor," he ran his hand over your hair, kissing your lips, your cheek, below your ear, and finally your neck.

"Mmmm," you sighed, tilting your head to give him better access. "I can't really think clear enough about how that story went right now." You ran your fingers through his curls.

He kissed down your neck again a few times before gently nibbling your earlobe. Your breath caught in your chest.

"We should really slow this down and call it a night," he whispered directly into your ear. You felt his nose brush your hair and his warm breath on the side of your face. 

You sighed with a pout of your lips. You knew he was right. It was too soon into the relationship - or whatever this is - to go any further. But damn, would you be lying if you said you didn't want it.

"I know, baby. I know." He sighed in response, caressing your cheek with his thumb.

He pulled back, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, and adjusting in his seat, pulling his sweater down further over his waist. You tried to ignore it, but you couldn't help letting your eyes drift down a little lower towards the area he was trying to cover. He placed his hands in his lap, clearing his throat. You looked back up at his face, noticing his cheeks turning a pink hue.

Guess I'm not the only one feeling a little excited here, you thought with a smirk at the idea of you making him react this way. You rubbed your thumb across his reddened cheek. "Don't worry, baby. Me too," you sighed, feeling a little antsy and frustrated yourself. His eyebrows raised, mouth pulling into a mischievous sideways smirk. 

The two of you let out a nervously happy laugh. "Maybe… I could take you on a real date soon? If you would like that?" Pedro asked, looking at you once again with those big brown eyes. "I would love that, Pedro. More than anything." You pecked his lips once more, running your hand over his bicep.

He kissed you back before pulling away with a small laugh. "Okay, I gotta go, baby. I'm enjoying this a little too much, and we should probably cool it down." He gave another nervous laugh.

"Sorry," you giggled. "You're kind of addicting, and you don't know how long I've waited for this. Kissing. Mutual feelings. Romance…" you trailed off with a grin.

"Love?" He asked, holding your cheek and giving a soft smile.

"Yes. That too." You closed your eyes, leaning into his cheek. "But that still sounds so wild to me.  I'm scared to say it to you in case you'll change your mind, or realize you don't feel the same, or that it's too soon for… that word, or…" you rambled quietly, your insecurities creating a wall you know all too well.

"That just isn't true, sweetheart. I know it's soon, and we technically just met, but we've been talking for several months now. We've talked nearly every day. I started to realize I might love you a while ago, but seeing you for the first time over video really made me know for sure. Getting to meet you in person somehow even made me fall harder," he held your hand in his.

"After just one meeting? I mean, it's just… people that have known me for years haven't felt that way, and someone like you? Someone famous and beautiful and so much more experienced and mature than me… I just.. I don't want to push you away, but I can't help but worry that you'll change your mind or it isn't real and it's all just going to… vanish," you looked down at your connected hands, closing your eyes to swallow your emotions.

"Hey.. don't do that. Don't put yourself down or build those walls. I fell in love with your music and your voice the first time I heard it. Getting to know you through text and finally talking to you on the phone, getting to learn all your quirks and your sense of humor, your personality. You. I don't know how anyone could not fall in love with you, and I was scared to let it happen. I told myself not to get wrapped up in relationships. That it would just cause more heartache that I couldn't go through again. But somehow you lured me in like a siren and I couldn't ignore it. I heard your song and wanted to know you. I talked to you and needed more. I don't care that you weren't famous before, and that you don't have a lot of experience with relationships. And any other insecurities you have can just go away, because they aren't true. You are beautiful. You're funny, smart, sweet, and you have the most beautiful voice and heart of anyone I know. I knew you were beautiful before I saw you, and I fell so hard when I finally saw you for the first time."

"Pedro…" you blinked at him.

"The constant thought that you already loved someone, and it, to my knowledge, wasn't me, hurt every day I talked to you. But I couldn't stay away. I just kept wanting to be closer. I want to be with you. If anything, I wonder why you would want to be with someone so much older than you. Someone who can't love you the way you deserve, without paparazzi and fans and spotlights. I hope you won't change your mind. Because despite my best efforts to avoid relationships, I fell in love."

You had tears in your eyes as you looked up from your lap to meet his eyes. "I love you Pedro."

"I love you too." He kissed your lips once again, and as he pulled away, he said your name in a whisper. "Believe me, having to stop kissing you is just as difficult for me too. Maybe tomorrow I can take you on that date?" He asked, standing up with your hand in his.

"I'd love to go on a date with you," you smiled at the ground, cheeks heating. 

"Great! I'll talk to you tomorrow," he kissed your cheek before kneeling down to give Skipper a gentle rub and receiving several wet doggy kisses. The two of you laughed as Pedro stood, wiping his face on his sweater. "What can I say, I like kisses from everyone in this household." He winked.

"Okay cheeseball, get outta here," you gently shoved him before giving a final kiss and waving goodbye to him.

The next day, you were sleeping in, feeling relaxed and happy, like you finally could rest easy. It was around 11 AM when your phone rang, waking you up from your deep, peaceful slumber. Blinking your eyes open to see the morning sun beaming through the window, you stretched and grabbed your phone, looking at the clock as you did so. It was Pedro calling.

Cheerily, you answered the phone, though your voice betrayed you, still sounding groggy and cracked having just awoken. "Morning Pedro!"

"Baby… were you crying?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"What? No? I just woke up. Why would I be crying after having such a nice night with you?" You giggled.

He didn't laugh. In fact, he was a bit quiet. Unusual for the bubbly personality he usually was. "Pedro?" You asked after a beat of silence, suddenly feeling nervous.

He sighed and said your name in a tone that sent a chill down your spine. "I think you should check your phone. It's… something's happened. You should see it yourself. I just… I'm so sorry. I hope you'll forgive me."

Your blood ran cold. What is he talking about?

"Pedro, I don't under-" he interrupted you. "Please. I'm sorry. Just, you should read through everything and think things through. I hope you'll still want to call me back and talk. Goodbye. I love you." He hung up the phone.

With shaky hands, you looked at your phone. 45 missed text messages, 10 of which were from Pedro. 200 notifications on your personal Instagram. 20 emails. 

What the hell?

You first opened Pedro's texts.

"Baby. I'm so sorry. I should've never dragged you into all this, I'm so sorry."

"I'm sure you've seen by now, I'm so sorry."

"Please forgive me."

"I know you probably want your space, but I hope you're okay. I love you."

"Baby?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm getting worried"

"Can we talk?"

"I hope you're just asleep or something."

"I never meant for this to happen."

What. The hell. Happened?

The other messages were from family and friends, all seeming to be freaking out about something. Still confused, you finally came across your answer.

News articles flooded your page. 

"Pedro Pascal Seen Leaving Party with Mystery Woman"

"Pedro Pascal Enjoys Halloween Party with Date"

"Pedro Pascal: New Girlfriend??"

"Pedro Pascal: Matching Costumes with Unknown Girl"

Oh shit.

Photo, after photo, after photo. You kept reading.

"Mystery Girl's Co-Worker Speaks Out!"

"Unknown Woman Is Pedro Super Fan"

"Pedro Pascal Dating Obsessed Fan?"

"Pedro Pascal Being Stalked By Woman"

Okay this is getting absurd. 

You clicked on the coworker article. Sure enough, your coworker, one you always thought was rude, had thrown you under the bus. Your name was out there now, thanks to her. "She and I go way back. We're practically besties. And yeah, she's totally in love with Pedro Pascal. Obsessed even."

That. Bitch, you thought angrily.

It was time to call your agent, Rose. You already had several missed calls from her, and she knew all about Pedro and your crush. She had become your confidante. You dialed her number and she quickly answered on the first ring.

"Rose! What should I do? There's pictures of me everywhere. My name is out there. My coworker commented on it. I haven't left my bedroom yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they've found out where I live. I'm so scared. I don't know how to deal with this kind of thing."

You were on the verge of tears.

"First of all sweetheart," she calmly answered in her southern twang, "take a deep breath." You did what she said, though it hardly seemed to help.

"Second of all, I've been working on some fixin' since it all caught wind this mornin'. Things are startin' to calm down. Nobody seems to know that you're that singer, either. They just think you're some girl who managed to meet Pedro. But, I will say I think this may be the push you need. It might be time to tell the world, sugar. How you choose to do that is up to you, but don't you worry, I'll put out the fires."

You took a deep breath and sighed. "I think you're right. It was only a matter of time."

"Have you talked to Pedro yet?"

Shit. Pedro.

"Sort of. He called and woke me up. He apologized and basically hung up, telling me to call when I read everything. But I had a bunch of texts from him. He kept apologizing."

Rose clicked her tongue. "That poor sweet man. None of this was his fault. You know that too, right, darlin'? This is just what happens in show business. It ain't fair, but it also isn't his fault."

"I know that, Rose. He didn't do anything wrong. I got so caught up in all the headlines that I immediately called you and forgot to call him back. I bet he feels awful. I should get back to him. I hope he's okay, too. He only seemed concerned for me, but most of those headlines were actually about him and his dating life. I can't believe I put him through that." You suddenly realized what he may also be feeling after his confessions last night about avoiding relationships, and the inability to give you privacy from paparazzi.

Rose sighed. "Now if you don't call that sweet man, I will! You two lovebirds are perfect for each other. Apologizin' and feelin' awful for one another when neither of ya did anything wrong. Go get 'im. And hang in there, love. It'll all work out, trust me."

Your cheeks heated at her words about you and Pedro. "Thanks Rose. You always know what to say."

You two hung up and immediately you called Pedro.

"Pedro… I'm so sorry."

"Hon- wait what? Why are you sorry??"

"Those headlines were about you too, and your dating life and history. I hate that you were dragged into all this drama."

"Honey, no, please don't worry about me. Are you okay?? I know this is new for you and some of those articles were pretty mean. And that coworker of yours!? Clearly not a friend. How are you feeling?"

You took a deep breath. "Honestly, P, I'm so stressed. But I talked to my agent and she really talked me down. She said she's been playing crisis management all morning and it's dying down. But she does think it's time I tell the world who I am."

"Oh… babe. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I was so selfish, I just wanted to see you and I didn't think about the consequences. I should have known this would happen."

"Pedro, please don't feel bad. None of this is your fault. She's right, it's time. I couldn't keep it a secret forever. And the party was not a great experience, but honestly, last night was one of the best nights of my life."

"So.. you still want to be with me?" He asked, cautiously.

"What? Yes, what kind of question is that? I love you, Pedro. Of course I want to be with you. Did you change your mind?"

"No!" He answered quickly. "I want to be with you."

"Good!" You smiled for the first time since seeing all the turmoil today. "I guess I better figure out my plans for the big reveal. I have some ideas, but…" you trailed off, pausing a few seconds.

"What is it, baby?"

"I don't want to make you feel like you have to if you don't want to, but… would you come over? I think I'll go on Instagram live, and I don't want to be alone. You don't have to be in the shot, I just want your presence there. You make me happy. Just you, me, and Skipper together today."

"Of course. Anything. I'll be there."

"Thank you, P. Give me an hour?"

"Perfect. I'll see you then. I'll bring you breakfast."

"Thank you, Pedro. You're really too good to me."

"No such thing, mi amor. You deserve it."

The conversation ended, and you showered, thinking through your words for the internet. Picking out the perfect outfit and place in your house for the big reveal, it wasn't long before the hour was up and Pedro was knocking on your door with breakfast and drinks in hand.

"Yum! Thank you, Pedro." You helped him carry, and then kissed him deeply, pouring all your love into the kiss, letting all your stresses of the day fade into pure love. He kissed you back, pulling you in closer by your lower back. "I wasn't sure if you were too stressed to eat, so I got things that would be okay to reheat, or leave out until you felt up to it."

"You're the best, you know that?" You rubbed his cheek.

"Mmmm, that's yet to be revealed, mi amor" he raised an eyebrow and winked, pulling you in for another kiss. You giggled, feeling bubbles of nerves and butterflies in your stomach at his implications. But now was not the time for those thoughts. You had more pressing matters.

Pedro noticed your stress shift. "You ready?" He asked while squeezing your arm. "I'm about as ready as I'm gonna be, I guess," you shrugged. "Let's do this." You stated, him answering with a curt nod.

The two of you made way to your music room, setting up your tablet in the right place near your desk. He sat in a chair just on the other side of you, outside of view, but close enough to make you feel more at ease. He was even close enough to hold your hand under the desk if you needed. Meanwhile, Skipper sat under the table near your feet, willing to keep you company when he could tell you were unhappy.

"Here we go," you breathed. You clicked the button to go live, and the stream began.

Want more? Track 9: Here!

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more!

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[fallout4-reacts]

Anonymous asked:

Ok so this is less of a request and more of a thought to consider. It bothers me that Danse doesn’t really comment on vertibirds going down/crashing/finding dead brotherhood in the commonwealth. It also bothers me that Hancock doesn’t really say much during the synth quest in Diamond City. Idk I feel like there’s a lot of potential dialogue that’s missing. Like Preston commenting on a settlement that’s been “improved” (hit all requirements for water, food and defense) should also be a thing.

do you have any ideas for potential dialogue that’s missing from the game? Again, not a request so don’t feel like you need to write anything, but just a good for thought.

Titan quest part 3! (Part 1 - 2 )

So, I'll end this post quickly in order to get back to taking care of others ask who are waiting

I hope you are not disappointed; sadly, I had very few ideas…

Perhaps playing Fallout again will bring some to me I'll take note of it and possibly write another post on it later.

So, for the time being, The Conclusion

Cait - Curie - Deacon - Piper - Preston - Strong - X6-88

Cait : "Hey Cait, let’s take a nice walk to Nuka-World, where I’ll be the Overboss and I’ll beat strangers in an arena, enslave people..." You know?

"Stop immediately!"

“Cait?”

“Ya filthy traitor!”

“Cait?!”

“How dare ya?”

"Could you please calm down and explain why you are so angry?"

“Raiders! You've risen to the position of raider Overboss!"

"Let me relate you that funny story—

“No! I'm not interested! What are you thinking? You enslaved them!"

"They were evil people..."

"So you're now deciding who gets to live freely or not?"

"It wasn't that; it was strictly for business..."

"I told you everything, everything, everything. The fact that I was sold as a slave and that my life was a living horror. You seemed like a kind person to me. And now I see you putting those awful necklaces around other people necks like they're cattle! Would you have put the necklace around my neck in the past, in those days, claiming that I'm a wicked person, that I don't have the right to my freedom?"

"...It isn't the same."

"Would you really know the difference between a lost and violent drug addict fighting in a ring for raiders?"

Sole finds nothing to reply this time, frozen on the spot and unable to add a word.

"You couldn't have done it. Right now, you can't see someone you're putting a necklace on. I'm not going to kill you in the name of what we shared, because you helped me. But I'm leaving now, and I hope to never cross your way again. Because if I see your filthy, hypocrite face again, I'm going to blow it open, catcha?"

Sole looks, a weight of lead in the heart, as the one they had learned to consider a friend walk away. They realize how wrong they were, but they feel it's too late.

Curie (romanced): Okay, seriously, here I am, doing what many others have had to do, in some ways. It’s a one-in-a-hundred chance, but still, after going all the way around the bazaar, Curie is offered a place in a hospital (clinic?). Okay, some people must have decided to retain her as a companion, but she's not the most interesting element. Probably more appealing than very practical. It’s a command; Curie is assigned to a medical counter, and that’s it! But I'd like to picture a tiny scenario based on my fanfiction, even if I didn't touch on Curie's entrance in "her" hospital at this moment (precisely).

"Here, Curie, I'm not sure if I can help you much further in your quest to discover and study the world, but I think we could kill two birds with one stone if you stayed as chief physician at this new hospital in Sanctuary; your medical knowledge will be useful to both locals and transients. It's a settlement that is quickly gaining traction in the Commonwealth. You should encounter enough individuals and situations to further your education and insights."

The synth stands with her hands clasped against her chest, her gaze gleaming, turning her head from one side to the other, detailing the thick glass structure that was erected at the settlement's gates.

"Sole! That’s! That is incredible! That is stunning! That's incredible!"

"We made an effort to make the place look pleasant. I tried to make it as bright as possible so that you don't feel imprisoned up again like in this vault, as I had considered for some time to attribute it to you."

Curie's voice chokes in her throat as she barely holds back a sob.

"I'm not sure what's going on with me. It’s… It's like when you began slipping into my thoughts repeatedly, but I vibrate; it's as if tickles were flowing through my entire body. Everything seems to be pulsating. What is going on with me?"

"I believe it's excitement. A high amount of elation. You are overjoyed."

Curie's expression darkens, and she shakes her head and frowns.

"I see. Happiness. I thought I'd found it with you."

"You've found happiness in your relationship, but you're more than that. You have your own set of objectives and desires. A complete human cannot exist exclusively on the happiness and aspirations of another. He requires his own accomplishments."

"My... achievement is becoming a doctor for the new Sanctuary Hospital."

"It appears, based on how lit up you are."

Curie's brows raise in surprise, and her mouth makes an o.

"Did I light up? Is that a human ability? I was completely unaware!"

"It's a way of speaking" that Sole enjoys. "I mean, it seems obvious that you're happy."

"Oh, I see. Yes, I'm overjoyed right now."

Deacon : There are several. So many opportunities were squandered. As much in his interacts with other companions as everywhere else in the game. But I'd like to use a glitch because it's really noticeable (and funny).

"Deacon!"

"What?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"What?"

"You're... you're NUDE!"

The spy glances down at his attire and sees he has no one.

"Oh, you mean that? How do you feel about the suit? It's for me to dress up like Adam!"

"It isn't a disguise! It's nakedness!"

"You don't read the Bible. It's a disguise, truer than life; it's the most obnoxious disguise I could find to wear that day when I was dealing with a swarm of hot Amazons on a deserted island east of Boston."

"There have never been any Amazons on a desert island east of Boston."

"They were stunning! But here they were, killing all the people who dared to wear garments in front of their eyes, a religious thing, I reckon."

"You talk away from being naked."

"So they had this tall woman leading them. She was so huge that she was able to peer at the super-mutant from above. I've personally saw her spanking a super mutant on her lap.

"This is getting out of hand."

"Super-mutants were tolerated in this woman's society because they often just wore loincloths. Outfits truly irritated them."

"You.are.still.nude."

"I don't remember why; I think it has something to do with the fact that we come into the world without clothing, so we don't have to wear clothes so as not to offend the life that created us like this."

"Get yourself dressed!"

"It will be your fault if we get harassed by the Amazons of the desert island of East Boston."

Piper : The scoop of the century! The second. Sole infiltrated the Institute and came back. Piper CANNOT ignore that Sole is in contact with the DIRECTOR of the INSTITUTE.

"Sole, can we talk?"

"My personal favorite reporter!"

Sole comes to a halt in the alley leading to Home Plate, their gaze settled on Piper.

"What exactly do you want to talk about?"

"The Institute."

At the very least, she's not going in circles. Sole becomes uneasy as they anticipate what will follow.

"Okay, so what's going on?"

"You have to get me an interview with the director—

"Shaun, my son..."

"The director of the most heinous and secretive organisation ever to be born in the Commonwealth! Blue! I must have this interview!"

Sole looks around for a loophole but can't find one.

"Piper, I wish I could give you what you're asking for; you've been so nice and helpful to me. But I'm afraid I can't. Only I have access to the Institute. I'm not sure what they'd do if I helped you infiltrate them. And since you want to interview the director, it won't go ignored."

"Please ask him to give me this interview! According to what you said, he claims to be acting for the sake of humanity and its future. He'll want to spread the word about his vision, won't he?"

With her looks, the reporter backs Sole up, daring them to contradict her. Sole lets out a long sigh.

"All right, I'll ask him the next time I see him. But I can't promise you anythi—

Piper, overcome with excitement, jumps around her friend's neck.

"MANY THANKS! This is going to be the interview of the century! Of the millennium! Exclusive: The Great Boogeyman justifies himself!"

Sole would like to object and tell Piper that it is not done, but they would rather walk away while Piper is lost in her own vision of the future, gazing bright and bursting with excitement.

Preston : This situation can only arise if Sole is General of the Minutemen AND Brotherhoods of Steel.

"Sole! We need to talk! Now!"

"Preston? "You appear... upset."

The man is normally as composed as an Olympian. He recognises his state of mind and takes a deep breath to recover control of his nerves.

"I'm sorry, General. I... I lost it for a moment. But we need to discuss; it's critical."

Sole tries not to think about the lengthy journey they've taken or the bed that awaits them in a remote area of their home. They keep their anguish hidden and devote their entire attention to the man who truly gave birth to them when they landed in the Commonwealth.

"What exactly is it?"

"The Brotherhoods..."

Sole can't stop rolling their eyes. That was something they was expecting. Everyone around them is hesitant to pledge allegiance to the military organisation on many reasons.

"What, the Brotherhoods?" they inquire a little too bluntly.

"You have allied with the Brotherhoods of Steel!"

Sole closes their eyes and blows hard. They didn't have much patience today, and this kind of debate may sap what little they had left.

"Come on, Preston. Get to the point. I just busted a Super-Mutant camp, I'm filthy, exhausted, and I don't know if there's a muscle in my body that doesn't ache."

"The Brotherhoods appeared in the Commonwealth as if they owned everything; they drove the roads—

"And protect the civilians..."

"And grab any and all technologies they can find!"

The vault dweller cannot help but be astonished this time. They had no idea that, of all the things that could be put against the BoS, Preston would bring this up.

"Uh, what are you getting at?"

"Look, I haven't done much travelling outside of the Commonwealth, but I've met a lot of people who have. In comparison to other societies on the continent, the Commonwealth has effectively remained in the Stone Age. When major cities have risen from the ashes on the west coast, we are still attempting to establish viable settlements. While huge corporations have established themselves elsewhere, our caravan system is primary and inadequate. We have almost no high-profile clinics, let alone hospitals, yet huge health centers may be found in other places. We erect pumps with duct tape and rusted pipes while in the Capital they have cleaned water reservoirs! But, slowly and steadily, we are constructing something. Thanks especially to you, Sole. Every day, every week, we the opportunity to build new communities that are safer and more equipped than ever before. But, in the long term, the Brotherhoods will have crushed our best opportunity of making a real change if they continue to seize all of the technology that rightfully belong to Bostonians! They deploy their advances to take ours as we struggle to shake ourselves up and stand up! They are mortgaging future breakthroughs for future generations even before we are aware of the possibility! This is intolerable!"

Sole doesn't know what to say about it. To claim they hadn't considered it is a far cry from describing where they are. While they had always considered the Brotherhoods' efforts as a helpful means to safeguard the people from anything that could jeopardize their future, they now realize that their fixation with collecting the technologies of the past had the opposite effect on the future. And they are acutely aware that there is little to prevent this looting in its purest form.

Strong : We've been with Strong for a long time; he's a powerful and unique companion, but his personal mission never progresses. Okay, we know the Milk of Human Kindness doesn't exist, but it has been misleading this unfortunate Super-Mutant who blindly follows us from the start. At some time, far beyond all occurrences, after a few months of following all of Sole's whims and following them everywhere, Strong may probably come to realize that things are not moving forward. As a result, he should confront Sole.

"Human! Stop!"

"What's going on, my great friend?"

"Puny human thinks Strong stupid. Strong follow human, respect human, help human. But Human lies to Strong."

Soole wide-eyed in surprise. They finally comes to a halt and turns to face their merry green giant companion.

"I believe we have a major problem. You must explain, because I have no idea when I lied to you."

"Human Kindness Milk. Humans do not seek. Human not wanting to help Strong."

Oh shit, Sole thinks. Indeed, they had never ventured to explain to Strong the struggle this pursuit was, hoping that it would die out on its own.

X6-88 : A Courser’s mission is to bring the escaped synths back to the Institute

"Nick," Sole greats the detective as they return to Diamond City.

"Sole," he reply to his great pal.

X6 examines the Synthetic before turning to Sole.

"Ma'am/Sir, we need to stop and extract this element."

Nick and Sole exchange glances. Nick wishes to object, but Sole raises their hand.

"X6, you can't...stop Nick and...extract him out."

"It is imperative to adhere to the Institute's course of action and report on any stray elements. This element is obviously a fugitive, and we have an obligation to return it to the Institute immediately."

"No, you can't do that."

"This version may be outdated and deficient—

"You know what the outdated and deficient version says!" 

—but we owe it to the institute to report it as soon as possible."

Sole sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of their nose, feeling a migraine surge to their brain.

"Look, X6, we're not at the Institute, and we haven't gotten any specific orders about this element. Furthermore, as you indicated, it's out of date—

"You know what he tells you about the past date!"

—and won't be relevant to the Institute's needs."

"Orders are orders."

"You must also follow my commands. It is not possible to bring this old version back to the Institute!"

Nick adds, growling in his beard, "You know what the old version tells you."

X6 pauses, clearly caught up in a conflict of interest. He must obey Sole, but he must also obey the Institute's directions. He has no idea how to react to the circumstance. He is unsure of what he should do. His brain strives to process all the data, facts, directions, and laws behind his marble face and fixed gaze covered by his sunglasses.

Nick and Sole, realizing the Courser has been frozen in place, decide to let him consider what has just been said. Meanwhile, they're on the hunt for holotapes.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for trying to get my girlfriend back?

Hi, uh, first time trying to post here, sorry if anything is bad....

I (21f) broke up with my girlfriend R (21f) about... Um... A year ago? I think... And, we... We didnt really break up on the best of terms, she... She sort of took all her stuff and left? I still dont really understand why. I miss her so much, despite pretending I don't, and I wanted to tell her... That I miss her, but me and my roomates (21 demiboy and 22m) moved to a cheaper place soon after...

Sorry, I should get back to the main story... You probably dont want a lot of backstory... Recently, I saw R back in town. I'd spent the last year trying to... To move on from her, but as soon as I saw her... I guess I fell for her again. It's stupid, I know, but still...

I'm really good at chemistry, so when I saw R, I thought... Maybe I can invent a love potion, or something... So when the opportunity arose to create a biological method of making her love me again, I obviously took it! I just want her to feel the same way about me again...

I guess I lost track of the experiment, because a few days later I discovered it potentially had affected R's sister, who's now in hospital... I tried to explain myself, that it probably isn't my fault! But R just lost it again... It's R's new friend, I'm sure of it. They're corrupting her into hating me.

That's offtopic, sorry... My question is, am I the asshole in this scenario? I... Really don't think I am, but I guess... If I am, I will apologise to R. Again, I don't think I am, but... Still...

[fereldanwench]

so since i had the tower ending available to me, i figured i'd run through it

disorganized, spoilery thoughts under the cut

so a few world-state items of note:

valerie had no romance (ofc)

valerie did the parade and saved goro (ofc)

valerie never met kerry

valerie didn't help judy with the clouds stuff so judy was also not a friend to call

valerie did have panam and river available as friends

valerie and johnny were very much not friends

i had only seen the ending with a friendship johnny, so getting to experience the rival dialogue was actually really cool. i did record the whole thing so i'll probably upload some clips from that and muse on it properly, but yeah, i love it when valerie and johnny fight. i loved being able to have her call him a narcissist 10/10. and i like that i could play her as still somewhat sympathetic to his situation

i love 2079 reed. his tie and office bod are precious <333

since valerie had no romance, i did get to hear goro during her in-and-out-of-consciousness scenes, which i absolutely loved

i knew about river and panam's phone calls/msgs and neither one of them are actually that close to valerie so the emotional impact there for me was minimal

much like with the devil ending, though, i wish goro was at least listed in her phone, even if it went to a disconnected number in 2079. valerie did tell him she was going to go with hanako prior to this, so having some kind of 'hey, are we doing this thing' msgs from him in 2077 would have been cool.

and like there seems to be some recognition from the devs that players who didn't get attached to any of the romances or had any other friends likely had some degree of fondness towards goro--hence using his voice in the coma. so once again, it just feels like there's missing content from him, basically. not even asking for romantic stuff here either--just more platonic interactions would have been very much appreciated!!!!

vik's situation depresses the hell out of me, even moreso than v's, although i did love getting to spend more time with him and see a different side to him just for characterization purposes. i loved the employee eval on his computer that said he talks to patients too much, because MUSE FUEL MUSE FUEL MUSE FUEL

(i'm actually in the process of working on some story sets for the events that happen directly after the heist, and vik gossiping to goro has been on my mind since the 'vik likes to talk' line v can deliver so this just compounded that)

connecting with misty briefly does kind of heal the soul a little at least

seeing valerie un-chromed and with a shaved head was pretty jarring, although not as much as seeing her in those clothes lmao. like wtf did the fia do with the clothes she arrived in??? even if she wasn't in top form, she would still make an effort to look somewhat nice going to see an old friend but i mean, i get it, at this point my vision of valerie is so beyond the possibilities of the game's potential characterizations for v

i also have a glitch in my game in which she's constantly holding a pistol during some cutscenes lmao so uh having randos try to beat her up while she's visibly armed was odd

the devil ending is still valerie's canon so this was just a curiosity playthrough, but i am somewhat intrigued by the possibility of another AU/alternate timeline for her and goro playing off these events.

the obvious scenario would be valerie becoming a fixer and goro becoming her bodyguard after they work out their shit since goro is clearly unhappy in 2079 lmao, but this ending plays on the convenient-lack-of-communication tropes that i fucking hate in stories (like really, the FIA couldn't find a way to get in touch with v's friends and let them know what's going on? i don't buy it) so it'd require a lot of rework for me.

and i really can't see valerie willingly going with the FIA, particularly after she told goro she was gonna go with arasaka, so i think a lot of that would have to change too

but idk, it's not a priority. i like having the AU stuff to tinker with when i need a break from their canon, which i currently do not. maybe it'll be like the nomad AU and suddenly hit me out of nowhere :3

but yeah im glad i experienced it for myself since there can be so many little personalized variations, but i also feel kinda out of sorts because it just felt really OOC for valerie and there were some major downers there, lmao. i feel like i need a bit of a palette cleanser

OH and i liked rogue taking nibbles, that was a pleasant surprise

[tellmegoodbye]

What would 911: Sunshine* look like?

*Texas = the Lonestar state, Florida = the Sunshine state

LEMON!! This is my dream!!!

And yes 911: Sunshine is absolutely what I would call it!

Okay so first of all, location! I think the city a spinoff would most likely take place in is Miami, but in order for me to really personalize this (it's my dream, I do what I want) I'm going to switch things up and have this take place in my city: Tampa!

This location is interesting for many reasons, but mostly because of its layout and it being on the bay. The city itself is probably where most of the show would take place in terms of emergencies, but there's a lot going on here for a city on the smaller side! Of course, there will also be opportunities to see the rest of the bay area. (Tampa is the city, Tampa Bay is the region)

Here are some potential locations/ideas for emergencies

Skyway Bridge. Visually, it's just stunning, and yes many people are scared to drive on it. It collasped once over 40 years ago and it has safety mechanisms to prevent such an event from happening again, but I'm sure a 911 spinoff would get creative and find another way to make something go wrong.

The airport. Like 3x08 except worse because I have a chaos brain.

The arena where the Tampa Bay Lightning play.

Busch Gardens (a theme park)

Pick a beach. Any beach.

Literally tons of forest area where there could be a wildfire. Also tons of natural springs and rivers where you could have accidents.

Toursists. There is never a shortage of snowbirds being idiots in these parts.

Ybor City. There's a LOT of history here. It's also just a really cool place to explore. They have parades here (I've been in a few of them!) so maybe something goes wrong there.

Alligators. 🐊

Now lets talk major disaster arcs. 911 OG has earthquakes and tsunamis, Lone Star has ice storms and tornadoes, and 911: Sunshine would have a massive hurricane arc.

We kind of have an interesting history with hurricanes in Tampa Bay, at least in my lifetime, where every time we're about to get hit it shifts last minute and everyone who evacuated inland ended up being directly in its path. This happened with Charley in 2004, and Ian in 2022. Both made landfall in the exact same spot after shifting away from the bay area, which is kind of eerie.

I'd say a disaster arc like this would have one finally directly hitting the bay, and it would be a lot like the tsunami in 911. Very angsty, similar scenarios where peolpe go missing, and potential for the kind of water rescues Marjan was talking about doing back in Miami.

One little fun fact before I go. This doesn't apply to the city of Tampa, but I absolutely had to share this. If you venture out into the rest of the county like where I live, the firetrucks and ambulances are a lovely highlighter yellow! Or is it green? I've never been able to tell.

Don't ask me why. I have no idea. 😂