#THE WHOLE ACTUAL APOCALYPSE WITH CONSEQUENCES

[itsqueenshroom]

how it started:

how it’s going:

[theautistichalflinghole]

Oh gods I forgot how devastating John's bite is

Like they're coming off this high after surviving an attack, they're even being silly and joking around with a recall to the before times

And just out of nowhere they get him, and immediately he's not even thinking about himself anymore, he sacrifices himself with all the remaining humanity he has to protect Anna, he saves her and she has to watch him die.

Like I'm so not normal about this they're literally the best friends ever like gooooooddddddd.

[autumnoakes]

i hate when i have a Point to make but i don't want to start like. a discussion about it i just want to post my unhinged ramble

[absolutedestinyapocalypsse]

i love how as you read more into tlt, the ninth house seems more and more normal. Like if i'm at an immoral evil government competition, and i use human fat as soap and animate skeletons to do menial labor, i'm gonna LOSE if my competition is the third house, represented by ianthe "who HASN'T eaten human flesh and fucked a corpse" tridentarius. My weird skeleton thing seems normal, suddenly. Well-adjusted, even. It's recycling. They're using resources in a sustainable way. Normal and regular and productive for a post-climate change apocalypse universe.

People go on and on about how Muir drops you into gtn hearing from the person who knows the least about whats happening, and does not hand hold the reader through the crazy shit that occurs, and that's all true. It truly is a crazy writing decision to make your first pov character come from the universe's equivalent of amish fundamentalists. But the reader is actually done a huge favor being dropped into the ninth house first, because we already understand that space is cold and what catholic nuns are, and what goths look like, and what lesbians are. Very little time is wasted in the first chunk of gtn ripping hair out of your head wondering what the fuck is going on, because for all of its strangeness, the ninth house is already the most familiar thing we're gonna get.

Because THEN we learn that this whole universe's medieval chivalry system is designed to groom people from CHILDREN to not only be exploited and used as human batteries for necromancers, but to LIKE it. to wax poetic about it. to confuse it for love, to write fucking academic papers about it! Then we learn about planet flipping, an act so horrific and violent it turns the planet's soul into a massive vengeful monster capable of killing GOD. Like what do you MEAN the animals "change"? Is this why noodle has six legs? I would MUCH prefer to wear skeleton makeup and repent forever if the alternative was to witness my family dog grow TWO EXTRA LIMBS because the planet he lived on fucking died. Suddenly, living in the asscrack of a planet where no light gets in seems like a sweet deal when the whole solar system is lit by a sun that MAKES YOU GO CRAZY. The ninth house's WORST sin, killing 200 babies to make Harrow, a waste of resources and an act so terrible it haunts Harrow for the entire span of her life, is like a BLIP compared to the death count Jod's empire. God even hears about it and he's like, no big deal! The cohort probably kills that amount of people in a DAY.

And its ALSO tragic because you realize that all of this trauma and abuse that Gideon goes through is not really because of the ninth house at all. It's really just an individual skill issue that she wasn't treated with compassion. Nobody hated her because she's jesus or a bomb, nobody even KNOWS she's a bomb. It's just Priamhark and Pelleamena being deeply guilty and scared people that motivates her treatment, and absolutely nothing else.

They did something bad, and they know it, and Gideon survived it, and they can't kill her to cover it up, and that's IT. They killed themselves for pride, because they were afraid of the consequences of their actions (both the baby killing and Harrow opening the tomb) coming back to bite them. You can argue this is the catholicism of it all, and I wouldn't say you're wrong, but compared to the cavalier system, where exploitation is in the very lining of the house's institutions, the ninth house is really removed from the space empire's blood factory. This is compared to the fourth house where they have tons of children to be CANNON FODDER to join the cohort at fucking 14, compared to the eight house uncle nephew fuckery, even the fifth house which actually does seems nice to live on but also seems to have the fourth house in some sort of fucked up political bear hug??? (maybe the fourth house has so many kids in order to fight the fifth's battles? which is EXACTLY what jod's whole empire is about; politely stirring your tea and acting nice while you destroy everything) compared to ALL OF THAT, the cruelty that Gideon faces is really more a bug of the ninth's system than a feature.

There's nothing baked into the culture and everyday life of the ninth house that necessitated that cruelty; in fact, for such a pragmatic and resource-scarce place, it's WEIRD that a strong able-bodied young person was treated like a waste of space and resources. It could just have easily not happened, if Harrow's parents had been different people. Maybe they were products of their environment, but so was Harrow, and she values Gideon's life SO MUCH that she'd literally rather carve out parts of her own brain than exploit her. Gideon grows up knowing really NOTHING about cavaliers, so remote from the horrors of the empire that she develops an idea of what the cohort is from porn magazines. And in a lot of ways, that upbringing was desolate and terrible, and in a lot of other ways it literally DID NOT HAVE TO BE.

Gideon's MAIN THING is that she wants to be useful, to be needed, to be loved and it SUCKS that she couldn't even get it in the one place where she was actually an invaluable resource, where the death empire had the weakest reach. Gideon can't even blame her lack of love on the fucked up chivalry system like everyone else can because it JUST WASNT REALLY RELEVENT!?!?! This is like if i rolled up to the trauma competition and everyone else was raised in a nuclear warzone by wolves or something and i grew up in like, the suburbs and was raised by teachers and i somehow STILL WON. truly what the fuck guys.

[acepalindrome]

I got emotional thinking about Chrono Trigger tonight, and the fact that the majority of the cast could have just given up on the whole ‘saving the world’ thing, gone home, and lived perfectly fine lives with no consequences for walking away.

If you’re unfamiliar with Chrono Trigger, the basic plot is that our plucky heroes accidentally get pulled back in time after a science experiment goes wrong. On their quest to get back to their own time, they accidentally end up in the distant future, and discover that the world is destroyed in the year 1999 (of course,) and the future they find is a desolate wasteland where the few surviving humans are on the brink of starvation. It’s terrible!

But here’s the thing: our heroes are from the year 1000. The apocalypse is 999 years away from their time. Once they find the way back to their own time, they could have just forgotten about the future. It wouldn’t have affected them! They would be long dead before any of that ever happened! The only character who would have been impacted was the robot they met in the future, but they could have brought him back to their time too and called it a day. There was no consequence for them to walk away.

But they don’t, of course. They make it their mission to figure out what caused the apocalypse and how to prevent it by jumping back and forth through time. They do all that, risking their lives, for a future that they wouldn’t live long enough to actually experience. They don’t do it for themselves. They do it for the world.

It’s just kind of a lovely thought. Planting trees in whose shade they would never sit.

[rafesbuzzcutseason]

wicked game

chapter 5 - fucking frat boys

synopsis: y/n is sarah’s roommate and the embodiment of sunshine. rafe, on the other hand, is her complete opposite. when the boys place a bet that he can't win her over, rafe takes the challenge without hesitation. after all, he never backs down from a dare. the closer rafe gets to y/n, he finds himself drawn to her warmth in a way he never expected, and for the first time, he wants to be more than just the guy with a bad reputation.

but secrets don’t stay hidden for long, and when y/n finds out the truth, rafe is left to face the consequences. now, he has to prove that somewhere along the way, the bet stopped mattering, because losing her was never part of the plan.

masterlist

cw: language

"nope," you mumbled to yourself, refreshing the screen just to make sure you weren’t seeing things. but there it was. his profile, profile pic and all. rafe cameron had just followed you.

you stared at it for a moment, torn between laughing and screaming. sarah clocked your expression instantly "what’s with the face?"

you turned your phone around. "your brother just followed me."

her eyes went wide, "what?"

"yeah. like, literally just now."

sarah’s brows drew together, suspicion immediately flaring behind her eyes. "that’s… weird. rafe doesn’t follow people he doesn’t care about. or isn’t planning to piss off."

you frowned, "how comforting."

she sat down beside you, scrolling through her phone. "maybe he’s trying to apologise for being a dick last night?"

you gave her a look. "he didn’t look sorry. he looked entertained."

sarah hesitated for a second too long before answering. "yeah… i don’t know. maybe he’s just being nosy."

you weren’t convinced. especially not when, a minute later, a like popped up. "oh my god, he scrolled,” you muttered, now slightly horrified. "he scrolled, sarah."

"what do you mean he scrolled?"

"he just liked one of my posts from 3 months ago."

sarah burst into laughter, "that’s not a like-by-accident. that’s a calculated like."

you gave her a look, shutting up her laughs. "what the hell is he doing?"

"i wish i knew,” she said honestly. "but knowing rafe… nothing good."

"sarah! not helping at all." you threw a pillow at her.

she caught it in her hands, bursting into a fit of giggles once again. "oh come on, i'm sure it's nothing. now you've got a class to get to so go on." she said, shooing you out the door.

as you were walking to class, you debated the whole time whether you should follow him back or not. the last thing you wanted to do was give him an ego boost, but before you could finally make your mind up, you bumped into someone.

you stumbled back, muttering a quiet "shit sorry." before being met with the reason you weren't paying attention in the first place.

he caught your arm to steady you, his grip firm and annoyingly confident. "you good?” he asked, his voice low, a smirk already tugging at his lips.

you pulled your arm back irritated, brushing off your top like he’d left something on it. "yeah. fine. didn’t see you."

he raised an eyebrow, "clearly."

"where are you going anyway?" you asked with a hint of annoyance.

"class? obviously?"

"ok no need for the sassy man apocalypse to arrive."

rafe let out an amused laugh, "is this you trying to flirt with me or something?"

"by calling you sassy? definitely not trying to flirt." you responded, straight faced.

he cocked his head slightly, "could've falled me princess."

"don't call me that." you snapped, attempting to brush past him.

"why?" he asked following behind you, "your boyfriend not gonna like it?"

"yes actually."

"didn't take you for the lying type." he raised an eyebrow.

"you think i'm lying?" you quizzed him.

"well you didn't exactly have any photos of said boyfriend on your instagram."

you stopped in your tracks, turning to face him. "so you admit to stalking me?"

he grinned, not even trying to deny it. "i call it light research."

you rolled your eyes, "you’re actually insufferable."

"and yet,” he leaned in slightly, voice dropping, "you’re still standing here talking to me."

you exhaled sharply through your nose and turned back around. "only because you’re following me."

"you’re the one walking away," he called after you.

without looking back, you threw up a middle finger and kept walking.

he chuckled, loud enough for you to hear. "see you around, princess."

you muttered under your breath, "fucking frat boys."

a/n: sorry this was so much conversation but i was actually giggling kicking my feet writing this

🏷️: @heartzshiftamy @hoefordrewstarkey @luvrclub @saintlaurentcowboyy @leleee3 @yktayy9669 @miumiuestmoi @anacamofficial @cokewithcameron @bloodofadoll @shorttandsweett @mysticbby2009 @emmiesummers @wintercrows @drewrry @starkeyxcameron @xxbirkindoll2 @stoned-writer @drewstarkeyslover @hannieskzzz @verycherryblossomhideout @letstryagaintomorrow @@jjsbbg7 @mariamadison6-blog @laniirackssss @xeneasworld @countryclubwhore @drewsphswife @mattyskies @moonywhisp3rs @starkeygirls @lmaolmaos @thereallifebambi @emeloyy @vcnillafairy @rafecameronswhoore @st8rkey @angeldiaryy @therealfairybatman @drewsephrry @vanessa-rafesgirl @dreamybabbyy @pogueprincesa @happy-mushrooms @hannaa20002000 @whoismxtti @darlingstarkey

[championari]

So I’m constantly thinking about Charles and how he could eventually meet Edwin with his feelings.

Here’s something I realized: Charles, despite constantly talking about things he miss, things he wants, he actually has a complicated relationship with desire as a concept.

How I would put it is by taking Supernatural as an example. There’s an episode in Season 5 where the boys meet Famine, a horseman of the apocalypse. However, Dean is not at all affected by him. It’s because due to being the older brother, and a Hunter, Dean was never allowed to consider acting on or even having desire for anything.

You can see where I’m going with this. Charles, like Dean, doesn’t actually believe he should want anything, due to “not being good enough”.

This is something actually touched on subtly in the show through the acting. When Niko says, “I know what it’s like to want something you can’t have.” Edwin directly looks at The Cat King’s bracelet, while Charles stares off into space. When Tragic Mick describes Angie’s light as enforcing a sense of yearning, Edwin looks at Charles, while again, Charles looks off blankly (can’t access screenshots right now). Edwin knows what he wants but is scared of it, while Charles doesn’t know what he wants because he can’t allow himself to consider it. This gives an entirely new meaning to Charles’ hatred of the Cat King. A supernatural entity who describes his kingdom as being about “want and pleasure”. Thomas is the encapsulation of everything Charles was never allowed to have. Charles chases after things that he knows he can’t have, romancing a living girl despite knowing she will eventually leave. Charles can’t consider returning Edwin’s feelings because that would mean he’s been running away from what’s been in front of him the whole time. That what he wanted was always there, at his lowest point, when he thought he deserved it least.

Returning Edwin’s feelings means he was already enough. And Charles can’t imagine that yet.

While I would obviously adore an interaction between Charles and Desire of The Endless, ultimately I don’t think it would do anything. Like Dean, Charles might be completely unaffected by them because he’s spent most of his existence building walls around his desires. Edwin was completely blindsided by Thomas because he never even considered having to think about Desire due to having no attraction to women and that being the dominant narrative of his time. Charles pursues Crystal because he still wants to feel like he has a chance at “normal life” (which as I said is self-punishment by throwing himself at something he knows he can’t have). To accept that he’s in love with Edwin would mean no longer pursuing a living person. Edwin would be it for him, which he kind of already gets but it hasn’t fully sunk in yet. Just like his death

There's also this exchange that drives me nuts:

"You gave up tranquil eternity…for your friend?" "Does that sound like someone who belongs in Hell?"

THIS. MAKES. ME. INSANE. Because Charles, like he always does when confronted with his own wants, completely avoids it. He doesn't respond to The Night Nurse's obvious confusion as to why he ran from Death, and instead turns the conversation back to Edwin. He makes it all about what Edwin deserves, not what Charles saw in Edwin that led him to make that choice. You could say this is practical as time is of the essence, but I think that's the point. Charles throws away the chance to explain his viewpoint on their first meeting, the consequences of his choice to run from Death with a boy he just met and knew for a few hours, and instead remains single-minded on Edwin's safety. Like when Edwin reasonably questioned, "Why are you getting angry?" when he began freaking out over Thomas getting close to Edwin, he says nothing.

There's just so much happening in that head that I can't stop thinking about.

[rederiswrites]

Just saw a (perfectly good otherwise, which is why I'm making my own post, because I have no desire to beef) post that talked about how good Veilguard is and hinged part of its argument on the idea that bringing down the Veil would kill everyone and would definitely be a bad thing. But that theme worked specifically because they forced the narrative that bringing down the Veil was a bad thing, and purged all evidence to the contrary from the game's lore!

Look, I think Veilguard IS a great game! I love it! But, like every other DA game before it, it leapfrogs right over some established lore to tell a different story, and the story it ultimately told was not about quite the same Solas many of us loved in Inquisition and Trespasser, and the difference is significant.

There was quite a LOT of reason to believe that the Veil is an unsustainable artificial structure that, by its existence, does literally incalculable harm. And no one, probably Solas included, knows what the final consequences of bringing it down would be.

The Veil was a mistake in the first place. It changed Thedas so completely that even the ancient lore of all currently existing cultures does not talk about what it was like before. It's unimaginable. We see only tiny glimpes of a world where gravity might as well not exist and form is mutable and elves don't age and if you got bored you could go on a whole-ass vacation from your body, for centuries if you wanted. Where magic was inextricable from physical existence. Where you could spend centuries playing a piece of music. And not only was it a mistake, but it didn't quite do what it was designed to do! The Blight got out anyway! Slower, and less, but it still got out.

So what Trespasser set up was a choice--continue the deep harms of the current world, a world that is in a near-constant state of apocalypse, or incur the terrible harms of bringing down the Veil for what might be a better world after. But what Veilguard gave us was a man who was used by someone he loved, betrayed by people he trusted, and never in all his wisdom managed to move past that. And your choice is to either trick him or help him move past that. It was actually a compelling story! I can buy it. The story of a spirit, deeply damaged by the things he felt trapped into doing. But it WAS a forced narrative, and they had to brush a bunch of really pivotal lore under the rug to make it work. "What is a Circle" levels of don't mind the man behind the curtain.

I defend the right of creatives to alter their story and tell it the way they want to. I also recognize the difficulties they face dealing with technical and business realities. But let's not pretend that people who were disappointed with Veilguard just don't get it or didn't understand the lore correctly. We can enjoy the game and also not invalidate that disappointment.

[sodaequalsbubbles]

One thing I really miss from Inquisition is the Game Over screens. I loved how they weren't just plain "your party went down, reload your save" screens. They were a little more like Bad Ends in an RPG horror game for instance, as it shows a bit of the aftermath if the Inquisitor dies or fails a main quest in some way. Even if they are just a single drawn panel with text on it, it's still pretty eerie to see the consequences if you fail.

The standard game over slide you get ( if you got party wiped while exploring for example):

______________________________________________________________

If your court approval goes down to zero during 'Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts' the Inquisitor is kicked out of the ball and is unable to save the Empress. Leading to Corypheus conquering Orlais:

______________________________________________________________

If you fail to escape the twisted future that Alexius's spell sent you into during 'In Hushed Whispers', it cuts to a screen where Cullen, Leliana, and Josephine stare mournfully at the Inquisitor's empty throne:

______________________________________________________________

During 'Champions of the Just', if you take too long in investigating Therinfal Redoubt the templars are overrun. And you see Ser Barris being held down and about to be executed by his former brethren, now corrupted red templars:

______________________________________________________________

Another game over in 'Champions of the Just' is if you die to the envy demon. The game over screen shows the Inquisition completely unaware that the real Inquisitor is dead, and that the envy demon has taken their place:

(I got these screenshots from FluffyNinjaLlama on YouTube, the link is here you wanna see all of the game over screens with the music attached.)

If I'm not mistaken DAI was the first (and I guess only da game) to have unique fail states. I really was hoping to see more of this in Veilguard, but we ended up getting just three endings (not counting the "secret executioner" ending crap ugh). And while it's obvious which endings are worse than the others, they can't be considered "fail states". They are just ENDS.

There is no possibility of true failure in Veilguard. No matter what decisions you make or who dies, Solas and the Evanuris are stopped regardless and the Veil stays up. Which is honestly pretty boring in my opinion, because it removes all of the stakes from the story.

I can't actually fail to save the world or make choices to change the world, so do my decisions really even matter? No matter what I do the world is going to be just fine and stay as it was. It made me completely uninterested in replaying this game, because I was going to see the same sequence of events that lead to basically the same ending over and over.

But of course, they were considering having fail states or maybe alternate endings in datv. But they ultimately never made it into the final product.

For instance, there was going to be a fail state if you were unable to stop Solas from completing the ritual, and he tears down the Veil.

______________________________________________________________

Another fail state that would occur is if Rook was unable to sever their mental connection with Solas. And that would lead to Solas actually killing Rook.

But I guess that all comes down to me feeling that Datv just does a horrible job in realizing how serious this whole situation is. Solas and the Evanuris are trying to destroy the world as they know it. The apocalypse is right at their doorstep and the odds are stacked against them in almost every way, and yet there is no such thing as a true bad ending in this game. Or at the very least choices that affect the outcome of the ending far more than "everybody is alive and we saved the day :)" and "everybody is dead but we still saved the day :/"

[icharchivist]

when you know the critisms often given to the DA franchise it's so obvious DA4 is reactionary to everything people complained about without a care as to why it was a complain and it makes me so mad dklfhdjlkfjd

Like there was this whole meta about how the Storm Coast having a paper saying "careful, rocks can fall!" but never delivering on it was encapsulating the way DAI tells you things will have consequences but you don't really feel it (whether you agree or not), and i could NOT stop thinking about it when Arlathan had whole sections where Rocks fall randomly on you at all time. Meanwhile DA4 doesn't make you feel the consequences of what you've done much better than DAI did, in fact it's worse because it gives you illusion of choices without actually showing diverting paths.

The total removal of talks about racism, slavery, or even the Vallaslin, is reactionary to people saying "careful you're playing too hard on racist tropes and you really need to handle it better". Instead of "handling it better", they removed it all together.

Likewise with complains about how the Elves are too much in focus, where they instead just decided to stop addressing the Elves.... without exactly focusing on any of the other groups of Thedas, and now they say "the time for the elves is over" without addressing at all that the elven are left in the worst situation possible after an apocalypse in the name of their gods. Likewise for people being tired to hear about Mage Rights.

There was complains about the omnipresence of the Chantry in DAI and discussion of Faith? Don't worry, now no one has Faith in anything and the Chantry, or any other religions for that matter, is never mentioned again. Similarly to critiscms about the way the Qun was handled translating to "no discussion of the Qun anymore, the enemies broke from it so don't worry about it."

They said there will be no fetch quest that are useless, instead every side mission is focalized on the factions you try to help, as a result you just feel like you're working for a selected few people instead of just helping the world heal even if it doesn't advantage you.

They made a huge deal about "you're not special now, you don't have a magic hand" as a reply to the concerns about thee Inquisitor being too chosen-one-ey (disagree but it was a complain) and instead made a MC who has no reason to be here... if not for a magic connection to Solas and the special weapon of Solas. But don't worry you're not that special. You don't even feel guilt for what you unleashed.

They tried so hard to capitalize on "everyone loves Purple!Hawke right?" without realizing that people love Hawke because of the small scale of da2, and love Purple Hawke because you still have different personalities available for Hawke and can play mix and match. My purple Hawke honestly used just as many diplomatic options and a few very angry options esp when Carver was in danger. Rook only has Purple. The others options are just Purple A Bit To The Left.

People complained about how you could do the game without doing the character quests and nothing of note would happen (unlike DA2 where if you ignore your companions they can turn against you in the end of the game, or DAO where eventually some of them will fight you for it), or how there's no stakes because unlike the previous games they can't leave or die, so now they keep telling you to play the companion quests else they will die in the final battle. Doesn't matter that the Companion quests are incorporated in an even worse way that feels disconnected to the main plot (which was NOT the case in DAI), or that there isn't exactly this much change depending on the branching path, the characters don't change. It's really just about whether or not they live in the final battle.

DA4 is inherently reactionary to the criticisms (fair or not) put onto DAI, but somehow missed the point of what those criticisms were about (ultimately: "DAI is a step down from the previous games in the way consequences manifest itself" and "careful you're threading into topics that can get very offensive") and hypercorrected into something worse (mainly: "no more consequences now outside of "if you don't play them you die"" and "we can't be offensive about those topics if we refuse to mention them")

the moment you know some criticism sent at the rest of the saga da4 becomes just this sort of feeble game that is terrified of its audience that it's trying to do whatever it wants without ever once questioning what those criticism were even about.

[artbyblastweave]

Regarding the semantic limitations of capeshit, is there a decent term for "superpowers exist but capes and costumes just isn't a thing for whatever reason" be it due to it never occurring in the first place or due to the status quo settling without capes and costumes and the whole hero vs villain duking it out thing? Like especially the it never occurring in the first place I find quite interesting, and is something I see often enough in media in which magic and spells are innate and the consequences of that power being unrestricted and unpredictable, but I don't think that is termed either afaik

I think that the TVtropes parlance for this is "Not Wearing Tights-" works with that label are often in conversation with or direct adaptations of traditional cape-and-costume superhero stories but with the aesthetic sanded down out of a combination of budget pragmatism and excessive self-awareness.

Unfortunately it's kind of a self-justifying trope in a lot of ways because the logistics of creating an effective traditional costume are genuinely batshit crazy on a lot of levels. Wild Cards is a setting where the idiom exists but fell off as a mass practice because there were very few would-be heroes with powersets and resources that made a typical superheroic presentation practical. Mutant City Blues is a TTRPG setting where, in the face of widespread mutation, would-be "traditional" heroes exist but are largely limited to the convention circuit for liability and practicality reasons and are viewed as unserious weirdos by those who tend to their business in plainclothes. Heroes is a universe where there are several characters who probably would costume up if the opportunity presented itself but shit's going down too fast and too constantly for that to ever become workable. Ex-Heroes is a setting where many of the powered vigilante heroes used to have costumes but they were almost universally really shitty hack-jobs produced on shoestring budgets, propped up aesthetically by the users put-up-or-shut-up ability to flip cars and fly, and, in the face of zombie apocalypse that defines the setting, eventually became just too much of a pain in the ass to repair and replace.

Mass adoption of costumes and code names is, unfortunately, something a setting actually has to do a lot of legwork to justify, and this has been true since at least Silver-age marvel, where, if you go back with a fine toothed comb, a surprising number of the characters are visibly coming to their heroism from a showbusiness perspective- Spider-Man the would-be wrestler, Daredevil the son of a prize fighter, Hawkeye the circus performer, Iron Man the unofficial corporate mascot, Wasp the fashion designer, Cap the USO propaganda object, this crops up a lot. Likewise, works like Worm and Abberant and The Boys burn a lot of narrative capital on the logistics of acquiring a costume that doesn't suck shit, and the proximity to power that a really high quality costume implies.

[amirasainz]

heyy !! I absolutely got HOOKED on baby!sainz reader and I'd like to ask you to write a fic about baby sainz when she's in a new relationship with an unproblematic celebrity (your choice) and the grid and the grid and her brother want them to break up by framing her boyfriend cus they think nobody is good enough for her. but she is actually happy and it's her first healthy relationship and when she finds out about what they did she is very upset with them and in the end Reyes scolds Carlos for ruining her relationship and tells him to go and fix it (ikkk its veryyy long ;] )

I'm back!!!! I changed this request a little bit but I hope you still like it.

Guys I got the notification that some request went lost on their way to me. Please, feel free to send me your request again, and I will writeit as soon as possible.

Enjoy reading and let me know if you have some whishes.

-XoXo

No Part 2!!!!

20-Step plan

When Amira Sainz and Timothée Chalamet officially announced their relationship, they didn’t just break the internet, but also the Formula 1 paddock. As usual in such situations, the drivers already had a 20-step plan. A few months ago, the drivers all prepared the plan, like some might prepare for an apocalypse. So when the perfect time arrived, the drivers set their plan into motion. Don’t get them wrong, of course they want Amira to be happy. However, in their eyes, no man was the one for Amira, even if Timothée was one of the most unproblematic actors in Hollywood. So after a “how-to-get-the-two-of-them-to-break-up-and-cheer-Amira-up-afterwards” meeting, the plan was set into motion.

Everything was going smoothly. They got to know Timothée when Amira and he visited the paddock in Canada. Then, they made sure that they spent more time around the couple. After some time, they took them partying, even going so far as only going with Timothée partying. They wanted to test his loyalty. They started little rumors about Timothée, talked with him about his exes in front of Amira, even making “innocent” assumptions about him and his co-workers. Even though nothing fazed the couple, the plan went smoothly. Until it didn’t.

“Carlos, I just feel wrong,” stated Charles. Lando, Carlos, George, Alex, and Oscar turned to their Monegasque friend after hearing his tone. Charles was deathly pale, his hands shaking. “Mate, are you okay?” asked George. “Yeah, you look horrible,” added Oscar. “Don’t worry Charles, you can help with the next step when we—” before Lando could finish his sentence, Charles exploded. “No. NO! No more us sabotaging your sister’s relationship. No more starting rumors. No more plan. I’m done with this.” Charles’ outburst made all his friends stare at him, shocked. “Guys, don’t you see how happy they are? How in love they are?” He looked at all of his friends who at least had the decency to look down. “Percival, we are just making sure that Amira is—” “No, Carlos. We are trying to ruin something that is beautiful. We all just want Amira to be happy and comfortable. And if she feels that way with Timothée by her side, then we just have to accept that.” After a moment, he continued: “If you guys want to continue, then fine. But every action has consequences.” With that, he left the room, making the other five share some looks with each other.

What they were unaware of was that Amira was standing in front of the door. She heard the whole “plan” they had and what their next step would be. Before one of the men could say anything, the door opened. They were met with Amira’s disappointed face, tears shining in her eyes. “Hermosa, what are you doing here?” asked Carlos. The moment he saw his sister, he stood up from his chair. “Carlos, what have you done? What have you all done? Why… why are you doing this to me?” Immediately, all of the drivers tried to defend themselves, while also trying to console Amira. “You know what? Save it. I don’t want to hear anything.” With that, she left the room, leaving the rest of the drivers speechless behind.

It took the drivers three months and a lot of apology gifts for Amira to forgive them. Timothée, who heard everything from his beautiful girlfriend, also convinced her to forgive the drivers after seeing how miserable they were. So after the three months, everything was like it used to be. Amira got treated like a princess and all of them are still in love with her.

Bonus (+)

When Carlos walked into the kitchen, he was met with the sight of his mother, one shoe in her hand. “Carlos, sit down,” Reyes ordered sternly. After a moment of hesitation, he sat down. “Amira told me what you did. I am more than disappointed in you, young man.” “But mamá—” “Did I say you could speak?” she rhetorically asked. After sensing he wasn’t going to say anything, she continued. “As punishment, I will take away your phone and you will sit in the chair in the corner, thinking about what you did wrong.” “Ay, mamá. I am nearly 30 years old. You can’t…” He fell quiet after seeing his mother slowly raising the shoe. “…But some self-reflecting will definitely do me some good,” he whispered, before slowly sitting down in the “I-behaved-bad” chair.

[astupidweeb69]

You know x-virus don’t get enough love…. Do you have any head cannons regular or nsfw (maybe both)??

I've been thinking about this guy a lot lately for some reason. Also I've never written for Cody before so hopefully this came out okay.

I was going to work on Toby's but.... I have more inspiration for Cody at the moment. He absolutely doesn't get enough love!

X-Virus Headcannons

SFW

Isn't related to Toby at all. In fact doesn't really look like him either. Sure, he's got the brown hair, but he looks waaay more dorky than Toby does. While Toby has kind of a boy-next-door-from-hell look to him, Cody is more slender and works out less. He looks like your typical STEM student (sickly complexion, poor nutrition, etc.). His whole schtick requires him to stay indoors most of the time, in a make-shift lab.

Has a refrigerated van, which he paid to be converted to safely transport whatever science experiments he's got going on in a temperature-controlled environment.

He tries to stay in one place. He's less of a drifter than most of the other creeps but sometimes... the things he does requires him to uproot his life and start over in another town. (No Cody you can't just infect your landlord with a mutated form of tuberculosis when they raise your rent! There will be consequences!)

Has kind of a nasally voice. I feel like he always has a bit of a cold too.

Ironically has a shitty immune system, and probably drinks those Airborne Immune Support drink mixes like it's his job. Also a germaphobe, wearing medical gloves all the time, and his hands are dry and cracked from overusing sanitizer.

LOVES Re-animator. He's rewatched that movie more times than he can count. But he has a love for science fiction movies in general, with horror elements to them. Like Alien.

Also loves zombie apocalypse movies, but that's an obvious one. Specifically 28 Days Later and World War Z.

Sometimes he's like... should I try to make a zombie virus? nah.... unless...?

I also think he was raised by a single father, who worked for a large pharmaceutical company.

Antisocial. I know Toby and him are compared a lot and people give them similar 'hyperactive' personalities, but I don't see that for Cody at all.

Cody's more focused, and is less inclined to interact with others. He doesn't really get lonely?

I'd say he'd get along okay with someone like EJ (both like science, ya know?).

Toby and him hang out a bit - they'll stay in and watch movies together. Or Cody will tag along with him to a bar and watch as Toby fails to pick up anybody. Cody wouldn't say it to his face, but it makes him feel better about his own social skills to see Toby strike out like that.

NSFW (Under the cut!)

I don't know how he'd find himself in this situation - but if he DID have a partner.... the sex would be kind of bland at first?

He doesn't know what he wants and frankly is too much of a germaphobe to get up close and personal with someone he doesn't know well.

You'd have to spend months getting to know him for him to feel comfortable to engage in anything sexual.

I think at the start of the relationship, he'd want to experiment with voyeurism.

He'd be across the room watching you touch yourself, giving you directions while he slowly strokes his cock, loving the feeling of ordering you around.

But as things escalate, of course, he'd give in to his urges. However, the voyeurism would become how he likes to foreplay.

Out of all the creeps (most of whom I view as being dominant) he's actually pretty tame.

He whimpers a lot, and it sounds almost pathetic when he moans. He's been holding out for so long for the right person, and when he finally gets to fuck he's absolutely drunk off of you.

That said, his sex drive is about average.

One of his roleplay fantasies is him being the experienced scientist, and you being his lovely little assistant.

Probably started after the first time you helped him in his lab.

He just kept thinking of you in a tiny little lab coat, bent over his desk - papers and test tubes falling to the ground while his hips piston into you.

[lookingforhappy]

TUA wasn't "always meant to end like this" nor did it build up to a tragic everybody dies ending in any way

sorry this is long and rambly but im noticing a lot of people coming out of the woodworks saying that the ending wasnt even bad actually and i just.. its not a redeemable ending to me and yes it does ruin the rest of the show for me and i wish i had the strength to make it not so but im stuck rn.. anyway:

i don't think i can forgive the ending, more than anything that happened in the final season

they had interesting character points, in an interesting setting.

and yeah they didnt tie up anything, and several people were out of character this season but thats nothing new in this fandom

eudora was forgotten, diego and luthers personalities didnt develop they were altered to be more palatable for the audience, grace and pogo became cameo characters instead of finishing their arcs or development in a meaningful way, reginalds plan has made less and less sense as the seasons go on, the commission was entirely changed from its set up in s1 and then forgotten.

thats all forgivable as long as the season is self contained and satisfys the tone and story.

s4 did none of these things - its not self contained as it leaves jennifer and abigail severely underexplained, and then flips the tone and message of the entire series on its head.

people have already noted that the theme of the show is that recovery from abuse haunts you into adulthood but with love and hard work and perserverance you can overcome it. the apocalypse has always been a metaphor for the cycle of abuse and how it continues to harm people after its been done, and how allowing it to dictate your life will end up in it imploding in your face etc.

but theres also just the general tone of the show.

the final season tries to make out that the siblings are themselves responsible for the apocalypses and only their death can prevent more apocalypses (twisting the meaning to be that of "if you have trauma then you should kill yourself" which like.. clearly bad, no explanation needed)

but to pull through on this ending the previous seasons need to have ended in tragedy too, or hinted towards it tonally. they never do.

the obvious way to do this would be to write each season ending/apocalypse to be sad/tragic. have the focus be on the people dying horribly in pain, show the remorse of the siblings, punish them by making it personal, show that they killed everyone and they know it.

the only season that even slightly does this is s1 as patch is killed because of diego, pogo and grace are killed because of luther and viktor, and the rest of the supporting cast is killed due to viktor.

but even season 1 isnt framed as a tragedy or a story leading up tot a tragedy.

its a story of hope. the siblings arent upset by the apocalypse because they can survive and prevent it and theres hope for the future and more specifically for THEIR future. nothing else remains from this timeline other than them because the whole show is centred as their recovery story. their hope.

if this was ever going to be presented as a hopeless tragedy then we needed to see characters like claire killed brutally. we needed to actually see Grace's lifeless body. we needed to see the consequences and see that nothing they did was fixing anything by having these consequences follow them and not just in a "this happened and im sad" but in everyone around them and them becoming worse as time goes by.

if they wanted the whole "we cant exist" ending to work then we needed to frame s1 and all subsequent seasons to actually show that it was their actions that caused the apocalypses.

viktor causes the first apocalypse because of reginald's abuse.

the US government causes the second apocalypse because they tortured an innocent to the brink of death and then got upset and aggressive when that had consequences (viktors powers overspilling and destroying the fbi building). like sorry that apocalypse was never viktors fault - its like false confession under torture, it doesnt count as real because he only did it to make torture stop.

the 3rd apocalypse is caused by Harlan accidentally killing their mothers, which again is not even his fault. he didnt want to kill them he just lost control and he had no idea that it would end the world (logically it shouldnt because this apocalypse defies the laws of time that they themselves established for the show).

the final apocalypse isnt even caused by them its caused by abigail and reginald. as are, technically, all of the apocalypses as abigail created the marigold and reginald released it and created the broken timeline by allowing it to travel with him to the umbrellas world.

in s2 the apocalypse has no consequences because they prevent it. ray and sissy and harlan get to live. klaus' cult memeber get to live. they even punctuate this ending by showing that theyre moving on and progressing in their healing because ben is finally allowed to move on with his afterlife, and he is no longer kept there, stalling their recovery from his death. even five's integration into the family again in s1 showed growth and recovery and HOPE.

in s3 the world is saved, and luther is brought back to life and five and diegos limbs are returned. everyone who was erased/died like lilas family and reginald are brought back to life because there is HOPE.

if they wanted to sell a tragedy and sell it well then we needed to see consequences. allison should have died in s1. five should have given up and returned to the commission in s2. luther should have stayed dead in s3. their families should have died and caused them pain.

nothing about this ending followed through on the theme of hope.

there are ways to do it. and its been done well.

romeo and juliet works because they are remembered. star wars prequels are loved because its a doomed from the beginning story that ends with hope in the form of luke saving his fathers soul and returning the jedi to their true state - protectors and peace keepers. frodo and bilbo return from their journeys ill and grieving and forever changed, and they and the magic beings of middle earth have to pass on before their time because of the harm of their stories. macbeth dies in the end because his story was one of a hero becoming a villain.

theres so many good examples of tragic endings but s4 wasnt one of them.

[an-indecisive-nerd]

Introduction 2.0 (now with extra... something!)

I decided to make it a whole new post instead of editing the old one (yay new beginnings) partially because it's easier and partially so I could still have the old one so I remember what I said.

Anywhosies, let's get right into it shall we?

About Me!

Deadass forgot to introduce myself in my old intro, so let's do that this time.

My name is Madelyn, but most people on here call me Ain. I answer to either, so take your pick.

As my blog name suggests, I am a huge nerd. I've been writing since I was a youngster, and I assume/hope I'll be writing till the day I die. (When I say writing I do mean fantasizing about my characters and procrastinating doing any actual work.)

I mainly write fantasy or fantasy-esque stuff, usually with a splash of sci-fi and sometimes other stuff.

I have way too many ideas and 0 finished products, so without further ado, let's introduce the gang (wips) shall we?

What's Your Story

What's Your Story is the project I'm currently working on. It's a fantasy/sci-fi series that explores how people's stories are interconnected, how actions have consequences, and how everyone's lives weave together to create the history of the universe.

The first book primarily follows Melantha Tollemache, a sickly young girl who cheats death with the help of a mysterious entity, and now has to learn not only how to use these powers, but why she's been given them. The story watches her grow and her world expand as she tries to find her place in it. All while the threat of cosmic war looms...

Appearances Are Deceiving

Appearances Are Deceiving is a high fantasy/political intrigue adventure, here's the introduction to it:

Kairna and Taren are twin siblings, and the top students of the prestigious Hornfel Academy, the best school in the world. However, with a new and rather strange Director recently being put in charge, the school's reputation may well be on the line. Without the protection of the school, things will go south for the twins fast, but something about the new director seems... off. Whose side are they on?

We All Lie Amongst The Thorns

We All Lie Amongst The Thorns is a dark fairy tale retelling.

The story centres around Rosalie, a young woman who lives in the woods with her adopted mother. She knows she was abandoned by her parents, but her mother won't tell her why or who they are. She eventually decides to try and find out what happened for herself, leading her to be on her own for the first time, putting her at the mercy of the world her mother once protected her from.

Nearly Parallel Lives

Nearly Parallel Lives is a eclectic mix of genres blending together into a self indulgent fever dream.

Strange occurrences have been happening all over the world. Odd, seemingly unconnected events centred around people who have never met. But invisible threads are pulling these people together, as they struggle to figure out why they've been chosen for this unexpected adventure. Or were they chosen at all? Maybe it's all a coincidence. FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON- (shut up)

The Enchanted Forests

Fun little fantasy project inspired by Howl's Moving Castle and a weird dream I had.

The population is expanding, and the cities are expanding with it. They're beginning to encroach on the Enchanted Forests, sacred forests that previously humans never dared touch, and the forests protector, the sorceress Arcana is not having it. But when the media paints her as the villain and all the other sorcerers have long since gone into hiding, fighting against human expansion is becoming an increasingly daunting task, and at this rate the forests are going to be cut down despite her best efforts. Arcana needs allies, more sorcerers to join her cause. And with everyone else in hiding, it looks like she's just going to have to train them herself.

Survival is a Team Sport

Apocalytic sci-fi thing!

It started out as any normal day. Then the world ended. Okay not really, but if apocalypses exist, this is one. Survival Is A Team Sport follows high schooler Camryn Bird and his group of friends as they try to survive the chaos that has descended upon the world. Things like murderous bunny rabbits (Jasper and Zac, the only ones who watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, were terrified), fog that makes you forget your name, and the sky randomly falling are all things these kids have to contend with as they try to find their families if they're still alive, and find out what caused this apocalypse.

Like A Movie

This is a romantic tragedy, also this is the only story I've introduced that doesn't have any fantasy elements in it.

The truth is, Lucian would love to "find someone", as everyone tells him he's supposed to someday. These girls seem very nice, but none of them really interest him, no matter how much they seem to like him. Does that mean he's a bad person? He's not sure, but one night after a particularly awkward date, he wanders into his favourite bar and encounters someone he's never met before. Usually Lucian's not one for socializing, but his name is Caspian and he's got the brightest smile, the most infectious laugh, and no one's ever prepared Lucian for this.

Twisted Inspirations

Woo! This one's new and different. I have no idea what genre you'd call it, but oh well.

The thoughts of a strange and reclusive young woman are written down for all to see. Follow her through her journey as she desperately searches for inspiration and keep her company. Something about this story is odd though. Different versions seem to be happening at once. Which one is real?

This story is actively being posted on my sideblog @the-muse-of-chaos so if you're interested, check it out! It's pretty dark, so tw for mentions of sh and drug abuse and the like.

And I think that's all for now! I'm putting the tag list under here, sorry if you've already seen my old one, but this is just where I keep my tag list for convenience.

@pheonix358 @unforgettable-sensations @littleladymab @megamijadeheart @my-bright-legacy

@ominous-faechild @thecomfywriter @wyked-ao3 @anamelessfacelessnerd @differentnighttale

@mysticstarlightduck @the-letterbox-archives @leahnardo-da-veggie @paeliae-occasionally @tr4sh-p4nd4-404

@oliolioxenfreewrites @aalinaaaaaa @sm-writes-chaos @seastarblue @corinneglass

[percheduphere]

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHO LOKI CHOOSES

I've previously discussed romantic tropes in the Loki series in my meta here. This meta supports the former by counting each of Loki's decisions with each of Loki's love interests (Sylvie and Mobius) and where those decisions occur in the progression of the overall story of S1 and S2 combined. The end of S1 is the midpoint of the whole story. Bear this in mind as I track how Loki's decision-making shifts. You can even choose to view Loki's decision-making with respect to Mobius as platonic if you want. It doesn't change the plot, count, or character development.

I have to give Sylvie attention and credit where it is due. To not do so would not only ignore her legitimate importance in the series and Loki's development, but it would also undermine my own credibility as an essayist. Feel free to comment, but here are my ground rules: no hate and no yucking other people's yum.

S1E1: Loki chooses himself. We could make the argument Loki chooses to trust Mobius here, but I don't think we see Loki start to like Mobius as a person until S1E2.

S1E2: Loki straddles between choosing himself and choosing to help Mobius because he actually wants to. It helps that the latter serves self-preservation. Loki most obviously chooses himself when he bullshits Mobius at the RenFaire. His choice is more gray when proposing the apocalypse theory. To be conservative, I won't count this in Mobius's favor. However, I feel fairly confident Loki chooses to help Mobius (1) sift through the possible apocalypses because of this genuine reaction:

Loki is starved for praise. He's a centuries-old god for goodness sakes.

When a third option presents itself at Roxxcart, Loki chooses himself and Sylvie (1).

S1E3: Loki chooses to: 1.) help Sylvie through "attempting diplomacy" with the widow (2), 2.) help Sylvie with his "shit plan" disguise (3), 3.) be vulnerable with Sylvie on the train (4), 4.) sing Sylvie a song (5), 5.) help Sylvie get to the arc (6).

S1E4: Loki chooses to comfort Sylvie by holding her hand; their feelings for each other trigger a giant Nexus Event (7). Loki chooses to tell Mobius the truth about the TVA; if he didn't care about Mobius, he would have withheld this information (2). Loki chooses to trust Mobius (3). Loki chooses to reciprocate Mobius’s feelings of friendship (4). Loki chooses, with Mobius, to find and rescue Sylvie (8). Loki chooses to combat Renslayer with Sylvie (9). Loki chooses to confront the Timekeepers with Sylvie and gets pruned (10).

S1E5: Loki chooses to share a blanket with Sylvie (11). Loki chooses to stay in the Void and follow Sylvie to the end of time, "Where you go, I go" (12). Loki chooses to hug Mobius (5). Loki chooses to trust Sylvie's insistence that he intrinsically knows how to enchant (13).

S1E6 (THE MIDPOINT): The confrontation with HWR is tricky. Loki chooses to slow down and think about the consequences because he's learned the value of slowing down and thinking from Mobius (6). Loki chooses to kiss Sylvie back (I realize this is debatable for many Lokius fans, but I'm not going to argue this; 14)

S2 NOTES: For the sake of my own sanity, I am not counting Loki's unconscious and conscious timeslipping. You can refer to the counts for that in my meta here. I will also not be counting the near-infinite number of loops Loki refuses to kill Sylvie for "the good of the multiverse."

S2E1: Loki chooses to seek out Mobius for help (7). Loki chooses to be vulnerable with Mobius in the hallway (8). Loki chooses to trust Mobius's judgment that they only have one shot at stopping the timeslipping (9).

S2E2: Loki chooses to protect Mobius from Brad (10). Loki chooses to help Mobius reverse-engineer Brad's TemPad (11). Loki chooses to comfort Mobius in the pie automat (12). Loki chooses to follow Mobius's intimidation plan for Brad (13). Loki chooses to convince Sylvie to join his and the TVA's cause (Sylvie declines #1; 15). Loki chooses to hold hands with Sylvie to combine their blast power (16). Loki chooses to follow Mobius back to the TVA (14). Loki chooses to ask Sylvie to stay and help (Sylvie declines #2; 17). Loki chooses to comfort Mobius in the Control Room (15).

S2E3: Loki chooses to humor Mobius's sightseeing (16). Loki chooses to try cracker jack (and hates it; 17). Loki chooses to prioritize the Loom per Mobius’s advisement (18). Loki chooses to give into Mobius's tandem bike request (19). Loki chooses to plead with Sylvie to spare Timely and asks for her help (NOTE: this is Loki's 3rd request; writers love the significance of threes and Sylvie turns Loki down all three times; 18).

S2E4: Loki chooses to defend Mobius in the Pie Automat (20). Loki chooses to compare (through implication) Thor's relationship with Jane with his relationship with Mobius (21). Loki chooses to use this same comparison to assure Sylvie that her mercy on Timely was an act of mercy for all people on all timelines (19).

S2E5: Loki chooses to look for Mobius in the Pie Automat (22). Loki chooses to look for Mobius in the Control Room (23). Loki chooses to recruit Mobius (24). Loki chooses to quote Mobius's "form and function" to Don (25), Loki chooses to help Mobius through the time door (26). Loki chooses to promise Don (Mobius) that he can return him to any point in time (27). Loki chooses to recruit Sylvie (20; she turns him down a 4th time). Loki chooses to argue with Sylvie that Mobius should have a choice (28). Loki chooses to listen to Sylvie that his friends are better off without the TVA (21). Loki chooses to let Don go for Mobius’s own good (29). Loki chooses to control timeslipping upon hearing Sylvie say "Do you think what makes a Loki a Loki is that we're destined to lose?" (22). Loki chooses to rewrite the story to save Sylvie and Mobius (23 / 30, respectively).

S2E6: Loki chooses to reenact all of Mobius's small gestures of kindness even though they cost precious time: he chooses to hold Victor's glasses (31), he chooses to compliment OB's "not to scale" model (32), he chooses to recite an abbreviated version of his and Mobius's bickering over "who's in the suit?" (33), he chooses to finish Mobius's joke about taking OB's job (34). He chooses to seek out Past Mobius for guidance and comfort (35). He chooses to shake Mobius's hand (36). He chooses to talk Sylvie out of killing HWR (24). He chooses to sacrifice himself to save Sylvie and Mobius (25 / 37, respectively). He chooses to listen (and watch?) to Mobius say, "Let time pass" (38).

Loki chooses Sylvie: 25

Loki chooses Mobius: 38

If I missed any decision points for either Sylvie or Mobius, let me know and I'll update the meta and counts accordingly.

Ultimately, Loki's sacrifice is for BOTH Mobius AND Sylvie. BOTH ships are important to the narrative and Loki. However, between the two of them, there is only one person who has consistently chosen Loki since S1E1, never rejected Loki and his requests for help, and who has, in turn, unknowingly been chosen by Loki in kind. Need a meta for Mobius’s decision-making? Here it is.