#but god i love how excited she was about playing zero and how hard she worked at it

[brummiereader]

@mischievouslittlecreature

Sorry I'm late getting to this. I've had a busy past few days 😩.

Lucy, you're killing me with these comparisons you keep making between yourself and Lizzie. It's so hard to read when she slips into this mindset, because I think as the reader, you see all the qualities about her Tommy loves. As much as Tommy loves a beautiful woman like we have seen in canon (Lucy is gorgeous too!), i feel like he's really attracted to the things that make someone them. That and wit and intelligence. No offence to Lizzie, but even in the series, their conversations don't go very far. He needs somebody to match him on that level, and thats Lucy ❤️.

She remained at his side as they enacted the first part of the plan, schooling her features into an expression of distraught mourning while Tommy climbed into the ring and fired his revolver into the air. I love this scene! Not only does Lucy like to put on a dramatic show, but so does Tommy 🤭.

“You deserved every second of it.” ooh that evil witch 😬. I'd like to think those exact words played out in her head in the final scene to this chapter 😌.

With wrathful, echoing footsteps, Lizzie came storming in, throwing her coat aside as she stalked towards Tommy’s desk. God, will we ever get a break from Lizzie barging through Tommy's office 🙄. She's starting to get on my last nerve with her continued entitlement. I feel so sorry for Lucy everytime she turns up. She just puts a huge damper on every single scene, and it doesn't surprise me how Lucy continues to feel worthless when she's around. Lizzie constantly demands all the rooms attention every time she shows up. It's so bratty and immature. I say all this but, the small interaction between them at the end was a welcome relief. But I just know she'll F it all up again in later scene *slams head repeatedly against table 🤦🏼‍♀️😩.

“Which is why we can go together" yes to this! If they're gonna do this, they need to do it together. Every single interaction. Because if they don't, Lucy will start to doubt Tommy's love for her, something I feel he's caught on to now and hence, why he suggested this ❤️.

“Good to see you again, Lucy,” Luca beamed at her, white teeth barring like an animal poised to start ripping out throats. “How’s your back?” *pushes Arthur out the way so I can shoot him myself 😡. Urghh, he made my skin crawl during this scene. His remarks, his snake like mannerisms 😬. But what make me smile was this line, because I knew exactly what it meant 🤭...What’s the bag for?” She didn’t answer, just staring at him silently, teeth clenching tight against each other.

only to have the back of her coat seized, yanking her back like a kitten seized by the scruff of the neck by its mother.-"Don’t you dare,” Polly said in a voice that was almost motherly. Couldn't not mention this line before moving on to the next scene 😂. I love Lucy, she really is like an over eager kitten trying to get involved!

Ahhh yes ☺️. The sigh of relief I sighed when Audrey finally met her end. Once again you set the scene perfectly with her mulling about in her kitchen as Lucy waited in the dark 😈. It gave me shivers how Lucy toyed with her until the very end.

“Speaking of Luca, I have something of his for you. Would you like to see?” She reached for the bag, and before Audrey could protest or question what she meant, Winters stood, picking up the bag and yanking it open, turning it upside down to allow its contents to drop onto the kitchen table. Luca got the Lucy special 👌🏼. How creepy is it that he's seen the heads of his men one by one thrown at his feet. Did he never stop to think that his head would be served up like all the men before him?? This man has zero hindsight 🤦🏼‍♀️.

Not an inch of iron to be seen. 😳, seems Audrey got the same as Luca! This line was short but so gory, I loved it!

Incredible chapter once again Lily! I can't believe how close we are the end of this Act 😭. So excited for the next installment to this amazing series ❤️.

Part 21: The Shadow of the Abattoir

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x OC

Summary: An incident at Bonnie's boxing match provides the family with an opportunity to end the war.

Word Count: 6,837

Notes: Warnings for depictions of insecurity, violence, blood, and references to past sexual assault and pregnancy.

Previous Chapter • Series • Fic • Next Chapter

Chapter 27: Endless Shadows

“You look dead,” Alfie said to her in greeting as he entered the locker room, moving to sit on the bench across from them. 

“Oh good,” Lucy didn’t open her eyes from where she was still leaning with her head resting against Tommy’s shoulder. “Then I look how I feel.”

Tommy’s thumb rubbed up and down her shoulder soothingly.  

She cracked her eyes open a sliver while Alfie and Tommy talked, watching Alfie curiously. There was something odd in his eyes, and his words were almost…melancholic.

“Glad you’re back, kiddo,” he gave her a small pat on the upper arm as he stood and said his farewells. But that look did not cease, creasing at the edges of his eyes and the corners of his lips. 

“Thanks, Alfie,” she said, brow furrowing at the near apologetic way in which he said it. 

They watched him walk away, heads cocked and frowning. 

“Convenient of him to be moving to Margate now, of all times,” Tommy remarked once Alfie was gone. Lucy nodded. 

“You think that Luca scared him?”

Tommy’s lips pursed. “Alfie doesn’t strike me as the type to get scared off that easily.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she frowned, still eyeing the archway through which Alfie had disappeared. A roar of cheers emitted from the ring. “We better get going. Fight’s about to start.”

He put out his cigarette, standing and helping her to her feet. Linking her arms back through his, Lucy gave him a soft squeeze. 

“Alright?”

She nodded. “Just don’t let me get jostled around too much.”

He smoothed a hand over her hair, kissed her forehead, and led the way back towards the ring. 

It already smelled strongly of sweat, booze, and smoke, the men hollering and jeering, lurching and moving like a great wave of bodies as they watched Bonnie and Goliath circle each other. Tommy led the way to their seats next to Arthur, keeping a protective arm around her to shield her from the bulk of the crowd. After they took their seats, Arthur soon started fretting to Tommy about the men that had come with Goliath. Lucy followed his gaze to where they stood in their corner across the ring. The men didn’t look all that engaged with Goliath, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Maybe Goliath preferred for his men to be more hands off. 

But Arthur continued to insist that something was wrong, despite Tommy’s attempts to soothe him. 

Her eyes darted to where Polly, Linda, and Lizzie all were seated across the ring from them, giggling and shouting encouragement to Bonnie while passing around a bottle of Tommy’s gin. As expected they were all dressed up lavishly for the occasion, in glittering, form fitting dresses, furs draped over their shoulders, and jewels dangling from their ears and throats. 

Lucy felt a sharp wave of self consciousness wash over her, quickly wrapping her arms around her middle, shoulders drawing in as if that would somehow achieve her new goal of becoming invisible. 

She watched Lizzie, so tall and elegant and beautiful as she laughed and chatted with Polly, and wished that the ground would swallow her whole. They could not have looked more different if they’d tried. Where Lizzie was tall and slender, Lucy was short and curvy. Lizzie could wear just about any of the dresses currently in fashion and look marvelous, but if Lucy tried to wear anything without some sort of defined waist, she’d wind up looking as though she was dressed in a potato sack. Some days she could hardly get her curls to cooperate, but Lizzie’s hair was almost always beautifully styled and tamed. Her eyes were actually in proportion with the rest of her face, rather than oversized almost to the point of absurdity like Lucy’s were. Where Lucy’s face was covered in freckles, Lizzie’s porcelain white skin was clear of any marks or blemishes, nor was her body marked with any cuts that would soon heal over into truly hideous scars that would never really fade away. 

God, Lucy couldn’t help but think, she had to look absolutely horrid compared to her. 

She glanced at Tommy out of the corner of her eye, taking in the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones. She was not even close to pretty enough to be with him. Lizzie would have looked right at his side. A perfect match–at least outwardly. Lucy could not help but assume that she and Tommy must look terribly mismatched together. 

He really probably ought to have his head examined. Even on her best days, no one in their right mind would choose her over Lizzie. 

Clearing her throat, she wiped at her face with her sleeve, hoping that anyone who noticed would assume that she was dabbing away sweat and not the tears building up against her lashes. 

Movement to her left snatched away her attention. Arthur had stood, disappearing into the crowd and ignoring Tommy’s shouts for him to come back. Instead he continued towards the hallway leading to the back, following right on the heels of one of Goliath’s men who had wandered off from the rest of the pack still gathered by the ring. 

“Fuck’s sake.” Tommy grumbled as he watched Arthur go. Lucy settled a hand on his shoulder. Around them, the crowd’s shouts rose to a fever pitch as the fight intensified. 

Minutes ticked by, and Arthur did not come back. 

Stretching up in her seat, Lucy craned her head around, trying to see if he was in the crowd somewhere and they’d just missed him. 

“Tommy,” she grabbed at his bicep in warning as another one of Goliath’s minders left his post, heading in the same direction that Arthur had gone. Seizing her hand, Tommy shot out of his seat, pulling her along with him to follow. His jaw was straining, eyes wide, and she wondered if he was thinking about how she’d stepped out just to run a few errands, and was almost snatched away from him forever. How the same exact thing might be happening with Arthur. 

They had just rounded a corner in the maze of backrooms when the unmistakable sound of a gunshot going off echoed somewhere within the halls and rooms up ahead. Tommy skidded to a stop, hand flying into his coat for his gun. Lucy mimicked his movements, flinching at the way that reaching into her coat pulled on her shoulder. 

“Stay behind me,” Tommy ordered. She opened her mouth to protest, then promptly closed it. It would be laughable to try to argue that she could actually be of much use right now in anything but a distanced firefight. And he didn’t have time to waste worrying about her getting hurt again. Following him closely at a rather painful jog, they rushed down a hallway bathed in baby blue light, turning into another room in which one of Goliath’s minders was standing over a crumpled Arthur, gun aimed at his head. 

Tommy’s shot struck him directly in the chest, and he went slouching to the floor.   

Tommy went racing to his brother, shouting his name and pulling him up into his arms. Lucy double checked to ensure that the man he’d shot was actually dead, then checked the corners of the room for any other enemies that may have been skulking about. There was no one. 

Rounding back to Tommy, she went to kneel at Arthur’s side. For a second, she thought that he was dead, his eyes were staring at nothing and there was blood on his hands and throat. Tommy curled over him, a hand cupping the side of his older brother’s face, thin rivers of his blood lacing across his hand. 

There was roaring from the crowd still gathered around the ring in the distance, the sound reaching such a volume that Lucy thought they very well might bring the roof down. The fight must be over. 

Arthur twitched and gasped in Tommy’s arms. Tommy let out a relieved wheeze, hugging him tightly, and Lucy breathed out gratefully, resting a hand on the back of Arthur’s head while his face tucked into Tommy’s shoulder.

“Are you alright?” Tommy drew back, grabbing him by either side of the face. Arthur nodded, still breathing harshly.

“Just nicked.”

Tommy nodded, and while she drew out a handkerchief for Arthur to dab at his neck, Lucy spotted something shift in Tommy’s eyes, immediately recognizing the telltale expression of an idea taking form as the circuits in his head began to whirl at warp speed. 

“Tommy?”

His eyes snapped to her. “I’ve got it figured out.”

“What?”

He grabbed at both of them. “I’ve got it figured out,” he repeated.

“Got what figured out, Tommy?”

His eyes glittered. “How to win.”

∗ ∗ ∗

She remained at his side as they enacted the first part of the plan, schooling her features into an expression of distraught mourning while Tommy climbed into the ring and fired his revolver into the air, creating plenty of noise and commotion, drawing all eyes to him so that Arthur could easily sneak away whilst Tommy announced the news of his ‘death’ to the world. 

It had been chaos after that; hours spent as their men searched and questioned everyone in attendance before allowing them to leave. And the family had swarmed Tommy with questions and reactions of shock and horror. The only other ones outside of Lucy and Tommy that knew that Arthur was still alive were Polly and Linda. It was the only way to be sure that everyone reacted believably during what was coming next. 

The boxing ring was empty and quiet, now. Everyone had finally been dismissed. The family had all gone back home to steep in their shock and grief and prepare for the funeral.

“I’m sorry.” Lucy said, playing with her fingers, keeping her voice quiet.

Tommy raised an eyebrow, fishing a cigarette from his case and swiping it across his lips. “Why?”

“I feel like I’m really fucking useless right now.”

His features creased, moving to stand directly in front of her. “Hey, no; none of that now. You’re hurt. It’s not your fault. Besides, you’ve already taken out plenty of Luca’s men throughout this vendetta.” He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “You’ve more than done your part.”

She sighed, leaning her forehead into his chest. The day had been long, and she was exhausted. Her injuries, particularly her back and shoulders, were starting to hurt badly. 

“Let’s go home.” Tommy suggested, reaching for her hand. Lucy took it eagerly, letting him lead her from the building and out onto the streets. Tomorrow would be busy. They needed to get back to the house to start preparing for it.

“It was some of Alfie’s boys that attacked us,” Tommy mumbled, head bowed, the hand that wasn’t holding hers slipping into his pocket.

“I can’t believe that he betrayed us for Luca of all people.”

Tommy shrugged. “It’s what Alfie does.” But the hurt in his voice was obvious. “Maybe Luca threatened him.”

“When has Alfie ever backed down because of threats?”

A sigh of agreement left his lips. Lucy shifted uncomfortably, her own hurt at Alfie’s actions squeezing within her throat. 

“Do you think he knew that they took me?” Her voice was quiet, not bothering to try to hide the pain that the thought brought her. She’d known Alfie since they were teenagers. He’d gotten her medical attention that she likely would have died without it after Matthew and his friends assaulted her. And despite her working for and being wholly loyal to Tommy, they’d always maintained a friendly, warm relationship. That he would allow for her to be tortured…

She bit her lip, looking down at her shoes. Tommy squeezed her hand. 

“I don’t know, love. When I called him while you were missing to ask him to have some of his men search for you in London, he seemed genuinely worried. I don’t think…” he trailed off with another sigh. “I don’t think that he knew. But it’s hard to say for sure.”

“Yeah,” she offered him a wobbly half smile. “I’m assuming we’re gonna have to pay him a visit to Margate after things are cleaned up here.”

Tommy’s jaw twitched, eyes growing even more sorrowful than they’d been a moment ago. They both knew how any visit to Alfie was now likely to end. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“I guess we can ask him then.”

They continued to walk together in silence. There was something else that she wanted to discuss with him, but she was unsure how he would take it. She’d never made a suggestion quite like the one she was about to make. Mounting her courage, she forced her lips to part and her tongue to move.

“I think that you should send Michael away.”

Tommy did not react, head still dipped, staring at his shoes and the cobblestones while they walked. She’d just opened her mouth to say more when he finally spoke. 

“Yes, I think you’re right.”

“I don’t trust him anymore.”  

“Me neither.”

She sighed, both in relief at Tommy’s agreement to her suggestion and with disappointment towards the boy that had once shown so much promise. “Well…fuck.”

He hummed in agreement. “Not our best year.”

“No. No, it really hasn’t been.”

His fingers flexed against hers in a tender squeeze, head turning to kiss her forehead. She could see the house on the end of the block, her tired bones giving a quiet cry of relief at the thought of soon being able to rest. 

∗ ∗ ∗

The next few days were spent laying meticulous plans and taking careful actions. Michael was sent away to New York, and Lucy and Tommy spent a significant amount of time on the phone, locked in calculated negotiations. Arthur’s funeral was a quiet affair, a good amount of tears shed and sorrow exchanged between the family as the wagon went up in flames. 

The meeting that took place after with Audrey Changretta saw Lucy leaning against a wall. Luca had taken her rings, so her hands had begun to instead unconsciously pick at the skin of her fingers whenever she was nervous, leaving bloody scabs to add to her ever growing collection. She did not say a word during the whole exchange, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead, not even looking at Audrey for fear that if she did, she’d kill her. 

This woman. This cunt who John had spared. And how did she repay them? By setting her sadistic fucking son on all of them. Her husband had Tommy’s wife killed, and yet she dared to speak as if his death by their hands was unjustified. 

When the meeting was over, Audrey gathered up her things, and went to the door. Upon passing Lucy, she stopped, looking over her bruised face and the bandages peeking out from under her clothes. Lucy forced herself to meet the woman’s cold eyes, keeping all feeling off her face. Audrey leaned forward, so that Lucy could smell the sickly sweet scent of her perfume.

“You deserved every second of it.”

“That’s enough; get out,” Polly commanded, taking a step forward, probably at least in part so that she was placed between Audrey and Tommy. A dark storm cloud of rage had passed across his eyes at Audrey’s words, his icy gaze remaining locked on the back of her head as Polly ushered her out the door. He looked to be seconds away from throwing the whole carefully laid plan to the wayside and killing her then and there. 

Heaving herself away from the wall, Lucy went to him, resting both hands on his upper arms to get his attention and draw him away from his murderous thoughts. She rubbed her palms back and forth, feeling the heat and strength of his arms through the layers of his clothes. 

“She’ll get what’s coming to her,” she reminded him. No need to rush things. Besides, what they had planned for Audrey would be far more satisfying than a quick bullet to the back of the head. 

Tommy nodded, head angling down and wetting his lips. Lucy leaned closer to him.

“Almost done,” she whispered in quiet encouragement.

“Yes,” Tommy murmured, with the tone of someone who knew that the tribulations of life would never fully be finished with them. “Almost.” 

∗ ∗ ∗

She passed form after form to Polly and Tommy, helping to keep track of which ones still needed to be signed and by who. The scratch of pens against paper and the rustling of pages was the primary sound in the office, save for the occasional clearing of Tommy’s throat, or quiet mumbles from any of the three of them. 

When they were finally done, Tommy gathered all files into a folder, sighing and planting both hands on his desk while Polly leaned back in her chair, flexing the fingers of her writing hand. 

“Right, so now–” Lucy began, but was cut off by the door flying open. With wrathful, echoing footsteps, Lizzie came storming in, throwing her coat aside as she stalked towards Tommy’s desk. Lucy shrank away, quickly getting up from her chair so that she could retreat into the corner while Lizzie snarled questions as to why Tommy hadn’t been by her house yet to visit her. Tommy sighed, slumping back into his chair with a cigarette. Polly’s eyes darted shrewdly between the three of them. Lizzie dropped into the seat Lucy had been occupying, an expectant look on her face. 

Lucy frowned at the entitlement. Had she forgotten that they were still in the middle of a fucking war? That, as far as she knew, Tommy’s brother had just died? Did she really think now was a good time to start making demands of his time and energy?

She flinched at her bitter thoughts, looking shamefully down at her hands, aware that she probably wasn’t being fair.

Despite their talk before the kidnapping, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that Lizzie and the baby inside of her were hanging over her relationship with Tommy like the blade of a guillotine, poised and ready to drop at any moment to sever them from each other.

She glanced out the window, wrapping her arms around herself. As Tommy and Polly explained to Lizzie that Luca was coming for them all tomorrow, Lizzie’s face paled. She stared at Tommy, completely aghast at his apparent surrender. 

“You can’t just…you can’t just let him take everything…” she began to stammer.

“You want to live?” Tommy asked. Lizzie pressed her lips together, eyes wide. “This makes that possible.”

Lizzie looked around at all of them with her lips parted. “Wha–you all are alright with just giving up?”

“I thought that you wanted him to stop all of this sort of work anyway, Lizzie,” Lucy mumbled. Petty? Maybe. But her shoulders were starting to hurt again and she really was regretting letting Lizzie take her seat. Lizzie’s eyes widened, darting between Tommy and Lucy at the subtle revelation that he’d told her everything she’d said to him during their conversation when Lucy was taken. “And I don’t know about the rest of you,” she shifted uncomfortably, “but I’ve had enough of this war.”

Lizzie’s gaze dropped down to her lap. 

“We need to get going. There’s still things we need to do,” Tommy stood and grabbed his coat. “We’ll talk once this is all over, all right?” he told Lizzie in an attempt to placate her. She nodded, actually looking agreeable to the suggestion. Lucy picked up the folder of papers, moving to follow Tommy and Polly out, when Lizzie delicately touched her arm, triggering her to pause. 

“Lucy, I’m…” she worried at her bottom lip, then sighed. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

Lucy blinked. “You don’t have to lie.”

“I’m not. I know we’ve…I’ve had my problems with you, but I would never have wished what happened onto you.”

Lucy stared at her, wetting her lips, surprised at the genuinely in Lizzie’s voice. “Thank you.” She wasn’t sure what else to say. Jerking her head towards the door, she beckoned her to follow them out. “Come on.”

Lizzie gathered up her coat and trailed her to the door. “I didn’t mean to make such a fuss–”

“It’s fine,” Lucy lit a cigarette, pushing the door open to step out onto the street, moving to stand at Tommy’s side. Lizzie looked at them nervously, it not lost on Lucy how her eyes lingered on Tommy’s hand when it rested lightly on her shoulder. There seemed to be a battle going on inside her, the desire to lash out and rage at them for the gesture of affection, versus the need to keep the peace.

Lucy had to wonder if her current injuries had been what had earned her at least somewhat of a reprieve from both Polly and Lizzie’s hatred. That, and Tommy’s increased protectiveness. If either of them tried anything with him present right now, there was a strong possibility that he would rip their heads off. 

“You want a ride?” Polly offered to Lizzie, who nodded somewhat sheepishly, giving one last indication of goodbye to Lucy and Tommy before following Polly to her car. 

“Sorry about that,” Tommy huffed. Lucy shook her head. 

“It’s fine. You really should go visit her…”

A quiet groan left his lips, thumb rubbing at his eyes while his features scrunched as if in pain. “I know.” It sounded like it was the last thing on earth he’d like to do. Lucy squeezed his arm. 

“It actually is a nice house.”

“Fucking grand.”

“Tommy.”

Another groan. “We can go over there together sometime after this is done.”

“Maybe it would be better if you went on your own…”

He shot her a sharp look, behind which she swore she saw a stab of panic. “Absolutely not.”

“Tommy…I know you’re gonna have to spend time with her. It’s fine. I can be an adult about it.”

“Your behavior isn’t what I’m worried about. Besides,” he watched Polly and Lizzie’s car pull away from the curb and drove away with a little honk of the horn in farewell to them, “she’s already delusional enough about what may or may not happen between me and her. You really think me spending time alone with her is gonna help that?”

Lucy looked down at her shoes. “I just feel bad…”

“Which is why we can go together. Hey,” he took her by both shoulders, waiting until she was looking up into his eyes before speaking again. “Her feelings aren’t your responsibility.” 

“Feels like they are when I’m the cause of her misery.”

“You are no such thing. If anyone is, it’s me, not you.” He brushed his knuckles against her chin. “Even if you weren’t here, it would not change things between me and Lizzie. You’ve nothing to feel guilty for. You’re not keeping me from her. I promise.” His forehead bumped into hers. “I don’t love her. I don’t want to be with her. I want to be with you. Ey?”

A lump formed in her throat, nodding. His words helped, but only a little. It would only take a few days or so, and her insecurities would return as they always did. There was no escaping them. 

“Come on,” he kissed her, and took hold of her hand. “We’ve got more important things to worry about than Lizzie right now.”  

She let him guide her down the sidewalk, still holding onto him, despite the whispers of the guilt and self doubt that Lizzie’s pregnancy had awakened. Murmurs that told her over and over to let go and walk away.

∗ ∗ ∗

“Quick or slow?”

She stared over at the huge barrels that lined the wall of Tommy’s gin distillery, turning the question over in her mind, feeling Tommy’s eyes on her as he waited patiently for her response. 

“I don’t suppose I could ask for a bit of both.”

His head tilted curiously. “How do you mean?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to him being roughened up a bit before we put a bullet in his face. But…” she sighed, head tilting up towards the rafters. She could no longer hear the flutter of starlings’ wings. “I just want him gone.” Maybe then, I’ll finally be able to sleep at night. It had worked, if only partially, with Matthew. No, it had not been enough to stop the nightmares, or the aching from her scars. But the peace of mind that it had brought her, knowing that he could no longer return to hurt her or anyone else ever again, could not be understated. “Quick,” she decided. “I want it to be quick.” It had been enough for her when they killed Vincente Changretta with a single speedy bullet to the head. It would be enough for her now with his son. 

“Okay.” 

She leaned into him, head nestling under his collarbone. “Thank you for giving me a choice.”

He stroked her back tenderly, kissing the crown of her head. “You don’t need to be here. You don’t have to see him again.”

“I want to be there,” she argued back. “Please, Tommy. I promise I’m not going to kill him prematurely, or anything like that. I just…” want him to know that he didn’t break me completely, she finished silently, looking down, lip caught between her teeth. When she raised her face back to Tommy, her gaze was pleading. “I have to see this.”

He searched her eyes for a very long moment. “I won’t let him touch you,” he promised, finally. “And if things get ugly, if there’s any sort of struggle or anything like that, I need you to swear you will stay out of it. I can’t have you getting hurt.”

She knew her agreement to that condition was the only way he’d allow her to be in the same room with Luca, so she conceded. Though not without a small grumble. 

And so she stood there, with Tommy, Polly, and Finn, as Luca’s men filed into the room.  

Her hands squeezed tightly around each other at the sight of Luca’s tall, imposing figure stepping forward. He grinned, that same damned smile he’d flashed her way dozens of times while carving into her flesh. It took all her willpower not to shrink down behind Tommy, her heart suddenly thundering in her ears, all instincts screaming at her to get as far away as possible from the man in front of them. 

“Good to see you again, Lucy,” Luca beamed at her, white teeth barring like an animal poised to start ripping out throats. “How’s your back?”

The deep, barely healed lashes he’d created in the skin of her back ached with memory. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Tommy said through gritted teeth, drawing Luca’s attention back to him. Luca strode forward, until he was close enough for Lucy to gag on the familiar scent of his cologne. He and Tommy stared each other down, and then Luca snapped his fingers, one of his men coming forward with a briefcase. 

What happened next was as expected: Luca monologued for a little while. At his order that they all be searched, slight panic washed over Lucy that he would try to touch her. But when he made a move towards her, Tommy shifted himself in between them with a growl. Luca’s eyes danced with mirth at the reaction, but he seemed to know not to push it, gesturing with a gloved hand for one of his men to come over and pat her down instead. 

“Careful of her bandages,” he said, a leering smile still aimed at her. “Wouldn’t want to rip open any stitches.”

Lucy glowered at him, hate shooting white-hot through her veins. That just seemed to amuse him more, before he turned his attention to Polly.

The Italian man peeked into her coat and patted at her pockets. She flinched at his hands pressing into her bruised ribs, but he followed his orders, being careful not to jostle her too much. He pulled from her boot her hunting knife, her gun from its holster in her jacket, and an empty burlap sack from her coat pocket. Luca chuckled, taking the items, examining them and then setting them on the table. 

“I’d expect nothing less.” He said to her, his tone carrying underneath its faux fondness an edge of something far darker. “What’s the bag for?” She didn’t answer, just staring at him silently, teeth clenching tight against each other. Her lack of answer only seemed to delight him more. “What say you that later we…” his eyes swept up and down her body leeringly, “pick back up where we left earlier, hm? Lucy?”

She felt bile rise in the back of her throat, nails digging into her skin where her hands were still clasped together, leaving little crescent moons in their wake.

“Luca,” Tommy’s voice rasped, tone dangerously low. “You’re here to deal with me. Not her.”

Luca’s gaze lingered on her for a moment more, then shifted back to Tommy. “Yes…” he murmured, a soft hiss drawing out the last letter. Those snake-like orbs gleamed as Tommy shifted a little closer to her, placing himself half between them. Luca raised a pen to Tommy, indicating the papers he’d scattered across the table. “So…sign.”

When Tommy didn’t immediately start signing the papers laid out before him, Luca had a little hissy fit, the display of which managed to cause Lucy a brief spark of amusement. This was all theater, after all. And Luca was about to be in for a very nasty surprise. The calmness in Tommy’s voice as he spoke helped too, reminding her that they were the ones in control of the situation–and all the men in the room. 

Seeing the glee slowly drain from Luca’s eyes while Tommy and Polly revealed to him what exactly they’d been busy doing since the events of the boxing match, was perhaps one of the most satisfying things Lucy had ever experienced. She could feel the beginnings of a smile twitching at her lips, and was aware that there was a sadistic sort of light beginning to dance in her eyes. 

It was not nearly enough for what he’d done to her, but it was still satisfying as all hell to observe. 

Luca made a move to grab his gun from his coat, and Tommy lashed out at him with a metal pipe on the floor, striking it out of his hand. Lucy’s muscles tensed–an action that really fucking hurt–with the reflex to jump in and help him as the pair began to struggle. She took half a step forward, only to have the back of her coat seized, yanking her back like a kitten seized by the scruff of the neck by its mother.

“Don’t you dare,” Polly said in a voice that was almost motherly. Tommy sent Luca crashing into a dozen or so gin bottles lined up on a table. “He’s fine.”

A tiny, distressed noise left Lucy’s throat, but she did as she was told. She’d promised, after all.

Tommy didn’t need her help, anyway. He was bringing Luca’s head down over and over again savagely against the table, steadily transforming his features into a bloody pulp. As he continued to beat Luca within an inch of his life, the side door opened, and Arthur stepped in with his gun already at the ready. 

At the sound of his footsteps, Tommy’s head turned in his brother’s direction, raising Luca up, he presented him to his older brother, and the bullet fired from Arthur’s gun made a quick home in Luca Changretta’s bloodied face. 

It blew straight through his head, out the back of his skull and ripping a hole into one of the gin barrels behind him, a steady stream of clear alcohol starting to rain down onto the floor, permeating the room with the scent of booze and juniper.  

Lucy did not hear any of the orders Tommy rattled off to the remainder of Luca’s men, nor the warning Arthur left them with. Her eyes remained fixed solely on Luca’s dead body. There was a rush of both cold and warmth going through her. Relief, that he was dead. Regret, because she did not get to be the one that made him that way.

He may be dead, but he would be with her forever. Always in her head, laughing as he whipped her and ripped at her flesh. The thought chilled her to her core, her breaths turning shaky. 

“Luce–” Tommy tried to reach out for her, but she shook his touch away, staggering forward and grabbing her sack and hunting knife that Luca had set on one of the tables. Pushing past him, she kneeled by Luca’s corpse. The hunting knife twirled once in her hands, and then she set to work with it. Behind her, she heard Polly let out a soft gasp, turning away as Lucy started to prepare the very final phase of their plan to end the vendetta once and for all. 

∗ ∗ ∗

Audrey Changretta held an expression of iron across her face. 

Even wandering through her own home, alone, putting the kettle on and bustling about to make herself a cup of tea, the look remained, held firmly by the muscles of her cheeks and jaw. 

It was the look that had emblazoned itself upon her face as she lay there on the ground, after Arthur and John took her Vincenzo away and left her laying there sobbing. Slowly, the tears had turned to quiet sniffles. Then, to silence. And her look of grief and sorrow had transformed, until nothing but unyielding steel remained in its wake. 

The fools should have killed her when they had the chance. 

She had grabbed onto the hate that had burned within her with both hands, not caring when it scorched her skin or withered away the gentle heart she’d once had. Even towards the troublesome little boys who had sat in her class. 

But they were no more those innocent, sweet little children than she was the kindhearted teacher she had once been. Her heart had died with Vincenzo. And much as Luca or his men may have liked to think otherwise, she was the real head of the family in his absence. And to be that, she had to be steel. There was no room for gentleness or compassion. She would stamp out each and every one of them. Not just the ones who carried the name Shelby. But any close to them. The old man who owned the scrapyard they so often liked to gather at. The gypsies who’d dared to join up with them. The whore who’d gotten herself knocked up with Thomas Shelby’s bastard. Not even John’s widow would be spared. It would take time to find her, of that Audrey had no doubt. But they would.

Then there was the matter of the little Red Demon, of course. She would be back in Luca’s grasp before too long, if she was not already. Then they could finish what they’d started with her. 

So foolish that he’d let her escape at all. But she supposed that it didn’t matter now. They had her, same as the rest of them. And by the time the sun rose, they’d all be dead.

Finishing preparing her tea, she cradled the delicate China teacup in her hands, and turned to go sit in the chair at her kitchen table next to the window. 

The seat was already taken. 

A harsh intake of breath rushed painfully into her lungs, hands tightening around the teacup in surprise. But despite being caught off guard, the look of iron across her face never waved, not even for a second. 

Her and the figure folded lazily into the chair just looked at each other for a long moment. Audrey’s eyes darted to the exit, considering if it would do better to try to make a run for it or to shout for the guards that Luca had posted outside.  

“Don’t bother,” Lucy Winters said. Even with the lights off and nothing but the silvery light of the moon peeking in through the window to illuminate her, Audrey could make out her distinctive, foxy features. The deep red hair, the shimmering green eyes, the freckles and slanting cheekbones. Despite half her face still a faded purple from the bruises Luca had gifted her, she managed to embody an untouchable, subtly unnerving beauty. Like a poisonous plant or a feral fox. Lovely to look at, but lethal. 

“How did you get in?” Audrey demanded.

“I’m a very talented person. Please, sit.”

Audrey eyed the seat that Winters kicked out for her warily, not moving. “The terms for peace have already been set. The meeting with Luca and Thomas has already taken place,” her eyes narrowed to slits as she leaned forward slightly. “So just what do you think you are doing here, girl?”

“Mr. Shelby had something that he wanted me to deliver to you in person,” she gestured to a bag on the table. Audrey huffed out a rather over exaggerated sigh.

“I have no interest in gifts.”

Winters smiled, and it was a truly terrible thing to behold. Her green eyes glittered madly, red hair framing her face like a fiery halo. 

Horns would be more fitting, Audrey thought bitterly to herself.

“I think you will with this one,” she shifted in her seat, and Audrey noticed the gingerness in her movements. The girl was still badly hurt. A flutter of pride flapped in her chest towards her son. Even if he was an idiot for not outright killing her when he had the chance. “I wanted to be the one to come see you,” Winters said, stretching out, sprawling in her chair. “You see, you and I should have met a long time ago. If only Tommy had sent me to take care of you and your husband instead of his idiot brothers, you’d have never made it out of Liverpool. We could have avoided this whole mess.”

“Luca still would have come after you to avenge us.”

“Maybe,” Winters agreed. “But he wouldn’t have had such deep insights into our organization, now would he? That was all from you.” A sneer curled her features. “Ungrateful cunt. John let you live, and you repaid him with a rain of bullets on his own fucking doorstep.”

“You dare talk to me like that? You’re an adulteress slut who’s only gotten as far as you have because Tommy Shelby likes to stuff his cock in you. You have no room to pass judgment on anyone after the things you’ve done. I ought to order the torture Luca had planned for you finished. It would be justice for all the pain you’ve caused.”

The Red Demon smiled, slow and easy, not at all perturbed by Audrey’s words. “Speaking of Luca, I have something of his for you. Would you like to see?” She reached for the bag, and before Audrey could protest or question what she meant, Winters stood, picking up the bag and yanking it open, turning it upside down to allow its contents to drop onto the kitchen table. 

Luca’s head, bloodied and beaten, hit the wood with a dull, wet thud. His green eyes were open, wide and staring lifelessly at her. The stump where his head had been severed from his neck oozed. 

Audrey’s mouth fell open, but no sound came out. The teacup tumbled from her hands to shatter on the floor. The room swayed, her hands flying out to try to brace herself on the counter. Her boy. Her sweet boy. He’d just been with her that morning, grinning and overjoyed as they celebrated their victory against the infernal Peaky Blinders. They had biscuits and drank tea. Any moment from now he was supposed to walk through her front door, and tell her how his final meeting with Thomas Shelby had gone.

They’d won. They’d fucking won. The vendetta was over. How…?

A low, wailing moan started to emit from her throat, collapsing to her knees, eyes unable to pull away from Luca’s lifeless face. 

No, no, my boys, they’re all gone. They’re all dead, my whole family…

She was not at all aware of Winters striding around her, nor of the cold press of a blade against her throat. Not until it sliced across her skin, and her blood flowed out of her to splatter across the kitchen tiles. When she fell lifeless to the floor, her expression was twisted into one of despair and grief, chillingly similar to the same one that had crossed her features as they ripped Vincenzo away from her, and she sobbed alone into the dirt. 

Not an inch of iron to be seen.

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[riddlerosehearts]

taichi nanao is such a genderfluid icon to me... like i just think putting so much effort into playing a girl in the stranger has to have awakened something in her and if it didn't then playing an insanely gorgeous woman in my worst wedding definitely did <3

[lemonisntreal]

My thoughts on Sing: Thriller! [finally]

I just want to vomit out some of the things on my mind because ohhh my god, do I have THOUGHTS-

Also! Link here to the short, for the people who want / need it 👍

NO WAY

THE BASTARD LIVES???

THE MIKE FANS WERE ACTUALLY RIGHT????

It wasn't just copium!

Kinda off topic, but this is getting me thinking on how different sized animal's seats are priced. Because they only grabbed one ticket I think, so I think they're literally sharing a seat [WHICH IS CUTE]. But does this mean that bigger animals need to buy more than one ticket? Or are all the seats just ridiculously big? Or am I crazy?

Also thinking of that one scene in Spongebob where Plankton gets sat on by Bubble Bass 😭

Tiny blurry Mike hehe looks like found footage

RAHHHHH

RAHHHHHHHH

Me when I see my fav for 2 seconds with zero speaking lines

Nana is eating also holy shit

EATING 👹

Also Eddie guiding her by the hand is sweet, I love their relationship so much aaywusjhisajhajk

He has such an obviously better relationship with her than he does his actual parents and I'm eating it upppppp

The "How hard can it be to fix a stupid tire anyway???" line was so aggressive, I'm taking this as character development !

She's an actually amazing actor in-universe and I love that

Meena Sweep

Also this set is clean as fuckkk- also a lot more realistic, but still very not LMAO

Also he's DOING A JIG AAA

The crunchy version is for my enjoyment specifically

HOLY SHIT I WAS REFERENCED /j

Also also.

Both GMO and Alice in Wonderland were really short plays from what we see, but I actually do think that this isn't how it actually goes in canon. When they're on the bus in Sing 2, the script looks pretty thick for one. And two- why would anyone pay for tickets for 4 minutes of show?

Like it just makes sense, you gotta understand my reasoning.

They couldn't put the whole 2 hours of play in the actual films, but I like to believe that's actually how it goes

That there's some story and depth to it as well [💀]

Reference. For later.

THE WAY HIS FACE SCRUNCHES DUDE DUDEUDUED

Meena Gunter and Ash are absolutely partying in the back bro

I wonder how often Meena finds herself in cars. Because like there's size, but also we know she just takes the bus everywhere. I don't think her family has a car, they all feel like they utilize public transit instead

Cars that are modified for bigger and smaller animals are probably more expensive and not mass-manufactured either

Not just height but weight limit is also something that needs to be kept in mind. Elephants are like a few thousand pounds.

I think it's just easier to have modified public transit rather than modified individual cars for that kind of load. I bet public transit has way more funding in the Sing universe because of this need too. Because there's also Rhinos, and Hippos, and Giraffes-

I'm getting lost in the sauce again.

HER NOSE SCRUNCH

She was AT that door. First one there, bouncing with excitement. Adorable. I wish Clay had speaking lines with her in this AGH

REFERENCE.

girl what the fuck are you doing here, your ass was NOT invited ‼️

The Infection AU would go CRAZY

Somebody needs to make that rightttt now, actually

I'm giving it some thought right now and how with a few tweaks this could be cool. Like I'd definitely make it so there were different phases, like the MLP AUs. And I'd keep the hivemind thing definitely, because I think that adds an extra terrifying aspect to it

Probably make the ooze stuff look more messy, eyes would be leaking the stuff, mouth.

Idk I'm just spitballing LMAO

The dog from under the table is actually terrifying

Rare sighting of angry Meena

ALSO WHY-

I have a complaint.

Why were they dancing.

For a full minute. With nothing.

No singing. Just instrumental. It dragged on for so insanely long. Like that's my one complaint about this short, is that the pacing is just absolute dogshit after they all get possessed. You can give me a Thriller reprise without making it look super awkward and boring. Why couldn't this have been a cool chase scene instead? Like actually keep up that tension you established?? Because like Crawly and Buster are just STANDING there now, and it's just like-

And then the actual chase is over so fast

Man.

HE'S SO STUPID LOOKING I'M GONNA CRY [positive]

the Borb....... [Buster orb]

I hate the "it was all a dream!" trope but I can't really be mad

I saw it coming from a mile away, and I'm honestly glad because it means that this isn't canon and we don't have to deal with random zombie shenanigans in the actual lore

Or maybe not because Crawly was literally possessed at the end but whatever. Not canon.

My final thoughts are that this was really solid! I feel well fed and very happy to get some new content of the sillies. I will most likely be drawing lots of Thriller stuff because WOW were some of those shots pretty. Overall, critically? C+ short [mostly due to that minute of almost nothing happening]. But my enjoyment level puts the grade at a B+ for me so [B is for Biased].

[venture-through-the-mist]

Thoughts on The Lotus Eaters

As I’m sure is obvious, this will be discussing the Lotus Eaters quest in detail, so if you haven’t played it yet, I’d suggest skipping this post! I don’t want to spoil it for anyone (because even though it’s a short quest, I still think it benefits from being played with no prior knowledge of what it entails), so the full post will be below the cut.

Alright, I have SO many thoughts, so I’m going to try and keep this somewhat concise…ish. This is mostly just a bunch of rambles, so I apologize for any grammatical errors or if it’s hard to understand. I just kinda…wrote what came to my mind.

First off,

The Music: I briefly mentioned this in another post, but holy shit the music for this update is amazing. I mean, we all knew it would be, Warframe has a tendency to put out absolutely awesome songs, but oh my god. We get two more versions of what is one of my favorite songs in the game. The loading screen version of ‘This is What You Are’ has to be, by far, one of my favorite things I’ve heard from this game. I love the feel to it, like a combination of ‘old’ Warframe with ‘new’, 1999-era Warframe. I’ve had it playing on repeat almost all day because it’s so good.

Now, for the version of ‘This is What You Are’ that we actually get during the quest, the one that Lotus is singing to herself. I, admittedly, didn’t pay too much attention to it when I was actually playing the quest, at least not beyond “omg Lotus is singing, that’s awesome” (I was just too excited about the actual quest lol). However, when I listened to it again, I was fascinated by the subtle differences in how this version sounds compared to the ‘normal’ version of the song, or even to the new version in the loading screen. The singing is a lot more staccato, and the notes don’t flow into each other in the ways they normally would. It’s almost as if Lotus is having to concentrate more on what comes next (at least, that’s my interpretation), which makes sense given that we know that she’s singing in order to drown out the Indifference’s voice. Her singing also sounds a little sad, or maybe just lonely, to me. Her mind is filled with the Indifference trying to influence her, and she’s taken it upon herself to be a barrier (or as she says it, a “distraction��) between It and the Tenno. She’s secluded herself (again), and her tone of voice seems to reflect that.

Also, after the quest, if you go and talk to Daughter/Kaelli in the Necralisk, ‘Party of Your Lifetime’ plays now, instead of whatever song was playing before. I just think that’s neat (and also brings in some interesting ideas for 1999…what did our Drifter do?).

Moving on…

The Story: I had absolutely zero idea where the story was going to go from this update, but I was a bit worried about how they’d go about locking us into playing as the Drifter for 1999, since — although I 1000% agree with why the Drifter is definitely going to be the one going back in time — I’m definitely someone who would rather play as my Operator for my own lore reasons (and I can’t think of a reason that my Operator would let the Drifter do this instead of her). I was actually wondering if they’d actually lock us into the Drifter without giving us a choice, or if they just wouldn’t give us the option to do the romance stuff if we chose Operator (for obvious reasons…bc yk, they’re a child). But, I really enjoy the route they went down, how Lotus knows that the Drifter has to be the one this time, because if the Operator does, that might just be giving the Indifference exactly what it wants. She’s, once again, protecting her kids in the way she knows how, by taking them out of the conflict in any way she can.

But, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, so let’s backtrack a bit and talk about how cool it is that we see the Operator and the Drifter interacting with Lotus at the same time. I may have missed something in the quests leading up to that, or this might just be something attributed to the Man in the Wall’s hijinks, or…something, but I thought that they couldn’t be in the same place at the same time/in the same ‘reality’. So, I was quite surprised (pleasantly, ofc) to see both of them. I really love the difference in the dialogue options when we initially talk to Lotus. The Operator is torn between wondering if Lotus is alright, and also being super worried about what the hell the noise is, in a way that makes me think they definitely suspect that the Indifference is meddling with things again (which makes sense, given that they’re actively in the Sanctum). Honestly, the Operator was probably waiting for something like this to happen. They know, or at least suspect, that Lotus saw the Man in the Wall after the battle with Ballas, it was only a matter of time before that became important. The Drifter, on the other hand, is more concerned with Lotus herself, warning her to be careful, reassuring her, but also wondering what she means by “It’s you”. Maybe the Drifter doesn’t really know the extent of the effects that the Indifference has on the System, maybe the Operator is just trying to protect Lotus in the only way they know how…get the perceived danger away from her first, ask questions later (I’ve noticed from their dialogue throughout the game that the Operator tends to have a bit of a sharper temper than the Drifter does…perhaps bc they’re younger). Either way, it’s nice that they have different responses to seeing Lotus and hearing the noise.

I chose the “Are you okay” and “What do you mean, ‘it’s you’?” dialogue options, and I absolutely loved that my Operator’s line was “This isn’t just a bad memory, it is? This is new”. This acknowledges, at least in my interpretation, that Lotus does have lingering emotions from everything that’s happened in the past (Ballas/The New War, Hunhow, etc). Once again, Warframe surprises me by remembering to make the trauma that a character has gone through actually relevant to the story even after we’ve dealt with the source of the problem. I probably shouldn’t be surprised at this, but most video games I’ve seen don’t tend to do that. Usually characters are…somewhat fine after experiencing something horrific, so it’s refreshing to see a different (more realistic, imo) take on it. This isn’t even the only time we see this in this quest/afterwards. Lotus outright confirms it herself (“I will not let it devour one instant of my pain. Not even Ballas. Not even the Jade Light.”), and in doing so, is also showing us how she’s dealt with the events of the prior storylines. She’s gone through a series of extremely traumatic events, and she still has those painful memories, but she’s not going to succumb to the Indifference, even if It promises to take that away. She’s been hurt, yes, but she is healing, and she’s finally in a place where she can actually do so as herself. That doesn’t mean it’s easy for her to ignore the voice that’s calling to her —the voice that only she can hear— but she’s determined to. I’m curious if the voice-lines after the quest are different if a player had chosen Margulis or Natah instead of Lotus after the New War, though.

I find it very interesting that Lotus calls the Drifter ‘my champion’. I just really enjoy the fact that she definitively sees the Operator and the Drifter as two separate people, as opposed to ‘her child’, and ‘her child but older’, because I feel like that fact could have certainly been a cause of a bit of discomfort and a learning curve for both her and the Drifter after the New War.

Now, onto the 1999 portion of the quest, which, even as short as it was, was quite interesting. It was really weird to be in the Mall again and not hear ‘Party of Your Lifetime’ playing or see other Tenno dancing around the stage (like how it was during TennoCon). It was quite eery, and I love it. Also, we got to see Kalymos again, so that’s a plus.

All in all, this quest answered a lot of my questions about how the game is going to transition to 1999 (and even answered questions that I didn’t know I had). However, I am slightly (read: very) concerned at the same time, mainly because of the line with Lotus saying “If I become something you do not recognize, do not mourn”. I feel like that’s potentially foreshadowing something…They don’t usually put lines like that in without reason. Maybe I’m just reading too far into that…but I suppose we’ll see when 1999 comes out.

Anywho, another thing that I wasn’t expecting but am really glad that we got was the continued acknowledgement of Lotus/Natah/Margulis being a system. This happened not once, but twice (to my knowledge), and I think it’s really great that they didn’t just disregard the whole “I am not one” thing from The New War after we made our choice between the three of them. It’s really nice to see that that wasn’t just a one-off line, especially as we continue to get more and more moments where the game references them.

This is already way longer than it probably should be, but what can I say? I like well-written characters, and this game has so many of them. I’ve definitely forgotten some things that I’d wanted to put in this post, but ah well.

[utilitycaster]

SDCC panel good so far, EXTREMELY EXCITED for TLOVM and Mighty Nein, loved Laura's answer about playing Emhira, think Krystina is an incredible host for these and I hope she continues to play that role (also I know she is very cool and very busy but would love to see her back on CR again!) so anyway here's my quick takes on audience questions:

the one about Ashley's character creation process: GREAT question and great answer from Ashley!

Future of Exandria question: ngl it's like, this would be a great question if this weren't actual play, but it is and so it's sort of impossible to really get a meaningful answer.

Revisiting VM/Nein characters: I feel the best way to ask more personal or process questions is like, the Ashley question where it is specific; on some level, any "how does it feel" question is going to get an answer of either "good!" or "bad!". That said the cast did elaborate in some fun ways!

If you were a god and could change someone's fate: see end of this post for a discussion of what makes a good question but basically this is a good question.

Session Zero question: VINDICATION; I have been saying from about the Bassuras arc "hmmm it feels the cast did NOT get the same background as they did for C2."

Not a question but the "Sam's fine, he's not here bc he is on a real vacation" is very funny

Balancing the antagonists and heroes: good question! I do think one of Matt's biggest strengths is that he is very good at having the world continue even when the characters are fucking around so it's great to hear his take on how he manages it.

Daggerheart question: great question, very professionally noncommittal answer from Marisha (this is a compliment, she fields those really gracefully)

Laura and Travis question: as someone who draws perhaps stronger parasocial barriers than many, eh, but also answered very gracefully

Music question: YESSSSSSS excellent question, please do drop your new playlists! I do need to briefly note that hilariously, No Church in the Wild was on a Keyleth playlist.

OK so here is what makes a good convention panel question for Critical Role, imo:

Lore or worldbuilding questions that are not too speculative (ie, for which there does exist an answer; 'what would have happened if things went differently' is really hard to answer other than 'shit would be really different')

Specific process questions, like the one to Ashley, the one about balancing heroes and antagonists or the Session Zero one. Really vague "how does it feel" ones can be good but it really depends on whether a cast member finds something specific to hone in on.

Fun stuff that is not invasively personal (music question, the "if you could change one person's fate as an Exandrian deity what would you do, that one question where someone asked Travis about D&D characters on a football team)

What makes for a bad one:

anything overly long, keep it moving

anything extremely personal, this is weird and someone should have taught you not to do this before you were old enough to attend a convention

anything that boils down to "would my preferred ship or outcome have happened had things been wildly different", this is impossible to answer accurately and more importantly asking creators to validate your headcanons directly is tacky, you should wait for that to be dropped when you were not expecting it or else be like "anyway, this is what I believe" and not give a shit what the creators say

[mordentaxis]

Did glass factory, thoughts

So the puzzles are a little too hard for my smol brain

So I honestly thought mid gauntlets Bennett would make Zero Un hypnotize the player and mind control Luna, it is nice to see him progressing as a person, still hate him tho

Zero is… ALOT more unhinged than i thought, the fact that they could have won instantly if they weren’t a control freak was probably not as shocking as it was ment to be.

So mind control is one of my favorite tropes and I like how it was done but I wish it was longer. (I love how canonically the MC is fucking monster of a trainer)

Serra love ya, you need to have more faith more faith in others

Alright so given how Lin talked during the underwater bit in the agate raid I think the voice we hear in the void that asked why we continued doing this is and then that our reason is because it’s fun and how we’re like them and that we don’t even know who our Allie’s really are, ill get to my daily Lin and MC theory crafting at the end don’t worry

LUNAAA NOOO WHYYYYY

Now onto Agate Defense

I love Solaris being genuinely respectful of the player and being genuinely stricken by Taka being dead, I still, again, don’t like him but I’ll be excited to see if we get a Solaris redemption arc

Now we get to Lin, okay so she’s the leader of meteor now definitely no one in the organization would oppose her at this point, okay so her going ‘it would take an act of god to create something out of nothing’ and then doing so makes me believe she’s definitely some Arceus Ajesent (sorry for the horrible spelling) entity and if my theory about the voice in the void is correct, Lin views this all as game between her and the Protagonist and that she could simply create the key out of thin air if she really wanted to, Now maybe it’s deltarune’s and Rejuvenation’s ‘the player is actually an other worldly entity’ stuff talking but I also think the protag sees this as a game and Lin asking why we continue and that it’s cause it’s fun is Lin DIRECTLY asking the player themselves, or if else fails if else fails Ill just go crazy and claim the protag is Lin or something (as for why we just let Lin? Who fucking knows maybe the MC was trapped by cutscene bs or maybe the mc just likes Lin and the game the two are playing, WHO KNOWS???)

Also uh am I able to opt out of Anna route pre-18th badge or after I don’t need the specifics just a time frame

[bomberqueen17]

momentum

last year i kept missing updates and people were so sweet like “you don’t have to post X often! you don’t have to hit a deadline! do what suits your schedule!” and that was lovely and I did appreciate it, but the point of the deadlines was momentum. Now I have fallen down so thoroughly on posting ever at all, zero routine left, no concept of it even, that I have no momentum and my brain is like clearly no one cares about this so give up, and that sucks, and i’m exhausted and cranky and useless and shitty but by god i am not abandoning my like fifty WIPs that i care deeply about i swear and so anyway i am trying to force the engine to turn over, as hard as I can, i swear other people were excited about this and i can use that to get myself excited about it again, i can do this

so please help me get excited about literally anything, i am in despair.

SNIPPETS of THINGS i am TRYING TO MAKE HAPPEN:

direct prequel to Fit For Pearls:

“Did he ask you to tell me about the meeting?” Ciri asked, eyeing him.

“He did not directly ask,” Voorhis said stiffly, “but he knows I intended to ensure you had the opportunity to attend such meetings. Had he not wanted me to tell you, he would have needed to order me not to.”

“Is that how it works?” Ciri asked.

“It’s how that works,” Voorhis said, very stiff and formal and not much like his normal self. She wondered what he was trying to convey. Was it displeasure, that this was his task? Was it nervousness, that it was in fact not his actual task and he was perhaps taking advantage of some confusion to play politics?

She hated politics.

She’d chosen politics.

“I thank you,” she said wearily.

next bit of the Peace-Tied series, a tender little Iorveth & Yennefer moment with hair-braiding, very self-indulgent:

By the time they finished writing and elaborately illuminating the placard, Yennefer’s hair was caught back in a series of delicate little braids that then twined around one another, and caught her hair up off her neck. She was also inexplicably near tears at the tenderness of all of it. 

Iorveth knelt up to finish fastening the ends of her hair behind her ear, after having twined the braids up over her head. His body was a long, warm press along her back, his hands warm and big cradling her head. 

She tipped her head back and he held her like that, gentle and reassuring. “How’s that?” he murmured. 

She took a shaky breath, and he smoothed a hand down the side of her face, settling down on his knees to put his arms around her from behind, cradling her back against his shoulder. “There,” he said. “Now your hair looks like someone cares for you.”

“Is that what it means,” she murmured.

“It does,” he said, and pressed a kiss against the side of her head, above the hairline. “Thank you for fixing my face. I wasn’t ready to die, not like that.”

“I am glad that I could,” she said.

and finally this weird modern a/u (tw for self-directed ableist language in dialogue) i’ve been working on slowly forever that is so close to cohering and yet doesn’t quite, in which I think you can guess what Joe’s thusfar unknown real name is:

A hand caught him by the arm, two hands, steadying him, and helped him sit up. Joe was even more frightening up close; Roche had noticed the eyepatch from a distance but his face was heavily-scarred on that side, like somebody had gone at the eye with a knife and missed. Or, like something had hit him very hard in the face, taken the eye, then bounced off his cheekbone and twisted down his face. 

But his hands were strong and he steadied Roche for a long moment, and despite the frightfully leering aspect his damaged face gave him, his expression was actually neutral. “Is anything broken?”

“I got shot,” Roche gritted out, “twice, a year ago, this is as good as it fucking gets. I just landed badly, just now, and it takes me a minute.”

He saw Joe notice the cane. “Ah,” the man said. “I hadn’t realized.” He looked around. “Dogs knocked you over?”

“The saluki is a fucking menace,” Roche said. He couldn’t sit like this, it was agony on his hip. “They’re all fucking menaces.” He couldn’t get up, he couldn’t stay down, he was shivering with the pain.

“Let’s get you to a chair,” Joe said, calm and businesslike. “Where’s the damage? Hip and shoulder?” Roche managed to gesture, and Joe proceeded to mostly lift him unaided, which hurt like a motherfucker, but once he’d dumped Roche, surprisingly gently-- he was very strong-- into the armchair in the corner it was easier to get his various joints at angles that didn’t hurt. “Do you need anything else,” he said, far too neutral and calm. 

“Yeah,” Roche said, savage with agonized frustration, “I need to not be a fucking cripple.”

Joe didn’t answer for a long moment. “While I can relate to that,” he said, “I meant, do you have any medication or anything that would help?”

Gritting his teeth, Roche pointed to the paper bag he’d left on the sideboard, that still had the pill bottle in it. There were still a couple of pills in the old bottle but he wasn’t going to have Joe wander through his house looking for them. 

Joe took the bottle out of the bag. “One or two,” he said. 

“I can-- one,” Roche said, giving up; Joe was already opening the bottle. 

“Can you dry-swallow or do you need water,” Joe said, but he was already moving over to the dish drainer to retrieve a glass. 

“Water,” Roche said, resenting it. Joe put the bottle down and filled the glass, bringing over a pill between his thumb and forefinger, and the filled glass in his other hand. 

Roche took the pill and the glass, inwardly fuming. He could get the lid off a fucking pill bottle, and he hadn’t asked for this. 

“Would an ice pack help or is it past that?” Joe asked, and while his tone was neutral, it grated over Roche’s last nerve. 

“You know,” he said, “I didn’t ask for your fucking pity.”

Joe said nothing, just stood regarding him. After a moment, he bent down, looming uncomfortably close. “I know we don’t know one another, Vernon,” he said quietly, “but I want you to look me in the eye for a moment, and then tell me that you think I don’t know what it’s like to have to adjust to a new way of living after a bad injury.” *

Roche’s anger flattened out abruptly, staring into his neighbor’s mangled face. The remaining eye was green, astonishingly green against the medium-brown of the man’s complexion. “Uh,” was all he managed; he didn’t have an answer for that.

“I understand that you’re in pain,” Joe went on quietly, straightening up and smoothing his hand down the front of his battered jacket, “and I can extend you a little grace based on that, but I want you to realize what you’re doing.” He glared down at Roche. “One last time, is there anything else you need, or are you all right on your own from here?”

Face burning, Roche managed to grit out, “I’m all right on my own from here.”

Joe stared at him for a long moment, and then turned and left, closing the door carefully and quietly behind himself. 

The canine energy surged through the kitchen again in the wake of his departure, but then Strega came over and put her head in Roche’s lap, and he fondled the silky curls of her ears and said, “Awesome work, guys, we’re doing great!”

*yes this is the Look Deep Into My Eyes Ernie meme, i could not resist

[flipperdipper10]

Magia Record is a funny game and Scene Zero is even funnier.

I've already talked about how Shigure's story is kinda ironic since she made her wish and then did the exact thing her wish was meant to prevent.

The funny part is that she isn't the only one who does this, Scene Zero does this too with Mabayu. Also, spoilers for Scene Zero film 12 below.

I love this girl so, so much. She's such a goober. Why is so silly. I hope she goes to therapy.

But essentially since I'm mostly watching Scene Zero via the translations 29udon is doing on youtube (seriously go subscribe to them they're doing gods work) right now we're at 12-20. And this is where the finale of Mabayu's backstory as a magical girl just finished playing out and we learn of how Mabayu reacted to this.

We learned that Mabayu worked with Mami to help girls contract by seeing the future and knowing what the girls would wish for and as a result would tell Mami just what to say in order to get the girls to contract. And eventually these girls would go on and become witches, and once Mabayu realized what she had been doing she erased her own memory of ever being a magical girl, thus why she had amnesia for the solid part of Scene Zero.

Homura also knew about this because in one of the films after Mabayu died she went and asked Mami "hey whose this green bitch" and Mami told her but Homura never told Mabayu out of respect for Mabayu's decision.

So how does Mabayu react to learning The Truth? Uhhhhhhh not well but like who can blame her that's not something you'd want to remind yourself of. So she does the exact same thing her mom did. She saw her own future. And just like her mom fell into despair over that fact, so did Mabayu.

What Mabayu's future saw was that Mabayu turned into a witch with Mami (a fairly dangerous witch due to how high Mabayu's karmic destiny is at this point) and Homura has to kill her. As the time loop resets again, Mabayu witches the second she comes back to life in despair of Homura failing to kill Walpurgis, and the time loop doesn't reset after that (Implying Homura either died or, more likely, became a witch). And reasonably as you can react when you see futures that can't be changed, Mabayu is panicking and spiraling hard.

And then Kyubey got Madoka involved. The person Mabayu's been doing this to help with Homura. Kyubey told Madoka everything he's managed to reason out about what Homura and Mabayu are doing, and Madoka, in true Madoka fashion (we love her so much she's so nice), decides to use her wish to save Mabayu.

It comes full circle- Mabayu used her wish to save her mom from the despair of seeing her own future, and now Madoka used hers to save Mabayu from the despair of seeing her own future.

It's so interesting when Madoka or Magia Record does this, where they use the wish the character made as a backbone for the characters arc where the options are either: realize the irony and change your ways, double down and have the irony be something the readers can point at, or the third option, go full circle and have the girl end up back where they were when they made the wish.

I'm so, so excited for how Scene Zero eventually ends up, and Mabayu is up there as one of my favorite magical girls right now I love her so much. I really should make a tierlist of my favorite girls Mabayu is up there in top tier.

[izloveshorses]

Just out of curiosity what's wrong with zadkins!dimya? I never got to see the show at all (just bootlegs) so I don't know anything.

I do agree with the 1NT though. I have no idea what they were thinking with Lila Coogan. She pronounces every single thing she says the same way?

anon you have no idea how much this ask delighted me. i'm in tears. i'm so so so excited this made my whole week.

first-- lila was only casted bc she knew lynn ahrens, i believe. this happened a lot with anastasia at the time unfortunately, when it came time to replace the principal cast they kept choosing people they knew or people who were already in the show instead of finding new talent. stephen (steven? i can't be bothered to remember) covered dmitry on broadway so they hired him as principal dima on tour and that was such a waste too tbh 💀 other than a few delightful people here and there, 1nt was such a bland and forgettable cast to me. 2nt superiority <333

now. for zadkins. a couple years ago i would've answered this privately bc his stans would've eaten me alive, but it appears no one left here cares for him anymore anyway ashdljfdjk so!!! i'm gonna be mean. so sorry. or not sorry. i don't really care anymore lol.

man. another bad case of promoting someone mediocre instead of hiring and training someone new. he always kind of gave me an ick, like on a Regular Person level, but for now let's focus on his performance:

the man cannot sing. he yells. he cannot act. he yells! i'm like not an expert or anything on either but i know a bad singer when i hear one lol. there's a moment in my petersburg where he growls? yuck. he and christy, as talented as she is, had no chemistry. not even like compared to christy and derek (which was like ~Magical Chemistry~), they just had zero chemistry period. even off stage their interactions felt weird and forced. i think he tried too hard to be Different™ from derek that he ended up playing dmitry wildly off book. i mean, you Should come with a new and fresh take on the character, that's fair. but he was almost playing a completely unrecognizable character altogether. (the glebya stans love his dmitry for a reason)

and then he kept thowing little fits off stage-- he got a tattoo when he wasn't supposed to, complained about being compared to derek, etc. he was kind of strange with christy sometimes. on one of her live streams during playtime (the 15 minute stretch between crossing a bridge and iacot, where she would invite the little girls and other folks off stage to hang out in her dressing room) he said he saw her in spring awakening, a show with some nudity, and she was clearly uncomfortable by the way he said it. he was also weird online, there was one instance where a teenage girl tweeted and asked him to come to her birthday party and he?? showed up????? he was also dating ashley park at the time and i think the breakup was messy 💀

his stans were awful. i know it's not his fault, but god. they were so loud, constantly complaining about derek for some reason? a man who minds his own business??? bc the only way you can support your fave is by hating everyone else on main?? the infighting was insane. you had to be there.

and oh man. when they announced cody simpson was replacing him.... it got so much worse. they were tearing that little blond australian man (who can actually sing and act, mind you) to shreds. every review was scathing when the show needed a boost. zach threw a fit about it too, because his contract was ending early (i mean. the show was actively losing money because he was so terrible. so yeah of course they're gonna replace him with a stunt cast ashdljfk) and you compare that and his stans to derek and derek stans just quietly mourning his exit and enduring but otherwise minding our business.... yeah. the only anastasia obc member with a bad attitude fr

so you pair that (the Yikes that is zadkins!dima) with max von essen's gleb (as much as i loved him he was also a miscast, i believe he's said the same) both yelling at anya the whole time with the mediocre 1nt cast,,,, of course you have people walking away from the show going 'so,,, what the hell was that. i could've just watched the movie.'

this is just speculation but i truly believe if i had to pinpoint an origin as to why the show isn't open anymore i would say principal zadkins at such a crucial time was their downfall. the second year is so important to get people to come back and to get new audience members at the same time and they botched it. instead of bringing in new talent they just stuck with mediocre people who already knew the tracks. the show had all the ingredients for being the next wicked, but damn. casting for anya, dmitry, and gleb are so important. you really need people who Get It to portray them, and if you have one weak link the whole show falls flat. and for several months, before cody was brought on and before constantine returned to play principal gleb, christy altomare was carrying the whole thing on her little shoulders.

and THEN you have the whole year two Red Dress marketing campaign, which misinterpretted the show So Badly as ~just another princess show~ to compete with frozen across the street... yeah of course it tanked. but that's another topic.

so! in conclusion........,,, summer-winter 2018 was a dark time for fanastasias ashldkjfjk we were in the Trenches

i would also like to let the record show the fact that we got masters who returned Twice in the same month to film derek/obc in september 2017, which are the bootlegs that are probably the most circulated other than hartford, and returned again in january 2019 to film cody and constantine, and returned AGAIN for closing in march. two whole bootlegs of my guy cody simpson and uhhhh zero for zadkins <3 as god intended <3

this isn't even half of it but this is what i remember from The Dark Time. anyone else is welcome to chime in, this is a safe space to be a hashtag hater <3

[crazychaoticizzy]

Cultural Differences Part 3

After talking with some of your family on the phone, you go to your class where you meet someone…

CHAPTER WARNINGS: mild racism if you squint like really hard (grandma being worried about a gringo), brief mentions of previous sex addictions, embarrassing family but it’s not too bad

Masterlist

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Word Count: 3.8k

Talking with your sister on the phone was always an experience. Half the time you knew exactly what she was going to say, and the other half what she said was so out of pocket and unhinged that she would have gone to prison if she said it to anyone else.

That’s why you’re speaking to her with headphones, alone in your room as you worked on her birthday present.

“Did your dress come in?” you asked.

“Yeah, it did.” She wasn’t loud about it, but you could practically see her beaming face. “I ended up picking the sage one, remember?”

You hummed in response before pricking your finger with the needle you held and wincing. “When did you say you wanted me to come down again? Almost a week before, right?”

“Yes, if you can manage that. Also, mom gave you a plus one so feel free to bring someone. A boyfriend maybe.”

You could hear the teasing in her tone at the connotation that you were in a relationship. You rolled her eyes despite the fact she couldn’t see. “Lina, you’re absolutely insufferable. I haven’t had a boyfriend since I was a junior, and have had zero want for one since. I’m probably bringing Mikasa.”

You heard the exaggerated breath she let out, and lightly chuckled. “Y/n, please. Bring a boyfriend or something. It literally doesn’t matter, just bring a date.”

“Mikasa will be my date.”

“No! Talk to someone else. Leave your house and touch grass. Go to a bar. Get some bitches. You virgin.”

You deadpanned, momentarily putting down what you were doing to take a deep breath. “You know damn well I’m not a virgin.”

“Don’t remind me.” You heard some rustling from her end, and the faint closing of a door. “Also I was in front of mom and grandma. They say hi, by the way. They’re really excited for you to come down.”

You made an O shape with your mouth, continuing to thread the silver strands through the black fabric you held. Your family didn’t mind cursing, they were able to excuse a lot of things, but their one condition was that you remained a virgin until you wed. Obviously a promise you didn’t keep.

“I’m excited to see them again, too.” You were lying through your teeth. You weren’t excited to see them. If you didn’t care so much for your sister you wouldn’t even be going to this party.

You didn’t want to stay on that topic for long, so you deflected anything else Lina said about them and changed the topic. “If you’re such an expert how do you suggest I go out and get bitches, as you so purely said.”

“Literally just go outside!” Lina had raised her voice to make her point, and you could envision her throwing her arms out and flopping on her bed. “You’re so much prettier than you think. I swear to god, guys just have to look at you and they fall in love.”

You laughed, putting the blanket you were working on to the side and standing from the floor. You stretched before bending down to grab your phone and walking downstairs to grab a snack of some sort.

“That was in high school. I’ve aged. I’m an old woman now,” you joked. You didn’t pay attention to who was downstairs, but you knew it was someone because something was playing on the TV.

As you opened the fridge, Lina said, “You’ve aged four years, pendeja. You’re still pretty. Just go outside and find some guy to ask. Or ask someone you have a class with even!”

“Lina, I’m not bringing a date to your Quinceañera. Besides, it’s your day and I don’t want the attention on me because I’m, supposedly, dating someone. If anything I’m bringing Mikasa.”

You saw whoever was on the couch move from the corner of your eye as you closed the fridge and cracked open a soda can.

You took a sip, listening to Lina rant about something with her boyfriend.

Suddenly you were hugged from behind and your headphones were removed from your head, making your eyes widen. You squirmed around, attempting to escape the persons grasp and reclaim your headphones.

“Hi, Rosalina!”

Mikasa. Of course. She’s the one that held you in her grip and was now talking to your sister.

You couldn’t hear what Lina said, but you sure as hell heard Mikasa’s response. “Of course she’s bringing a date!” When you stopped thrashing and turned your head to give her a look, she winked and let you go, slipping your phone from your hand and walking away.

Your headphones were disconnected from your phone, and Mikasa put your sister on speaker before continuing.

“Yeah, he’s a great guy. They have a project together and this would be a wonderful learning experience.” She chuckled when Armin, who you had just noticed was sitting on the couch, turned his head to give her a raised eyebrow in question.

“Really?” Lina was ecstatic, you could tell. You heard a door open and some more rustling. You heard her quietly say something to someone else, and it wasn’t long before she put her phone on speaker as well.

“Aye, our little chulita finally got a boyfriend.”

Oh my god.

“Mamí, I don’t have a boyfriend,” you said. “He’s just a friend. Besides, I doubt he even wants to go—“

“Armin.” Mikasa cut you off, addressing the blond sitting on the couch. “Would you like to go to Rosalina’s quinceañera?”

Armin shrugged, not knowing how to respond to the question since he wasn’t aware of the whole situation.

“That’s not a no.” Mikasa turned back you. “He’s going.”

“Dear lord.” You leaned on the counter, hiding your face in your hands. “I hate every single one of you.”

Mikasa blew you a joking kiss. “They will both be there unless something else comes up.”

Your grandmother said something in Spanish that you didn’t catch, but Mikasa partially understood it.

“Yes, but I promise he’s a good person,” she said. You assumed your grandmother asked something about your guest being gringo, something she held a minor vendetta against. It wasn’t anything big, but your grandmother was always more cautious around white people.

“Abuela, no te preocupes. We’ll see if he even wants to go because he didn’t even say.” You eyed Mikasa, giving her an exaggerated look of exhaustion. You held your hand out for your phone.

“I’ll text you later, Lina. I’m giving you back to Y/n, now. Bye!” She turned off the speaker option and handed you your phone, smiling as she gave you a wink.

“I fucking hate you,” you muttered as you took your phone back, rolling your eyes. You held it up to your ear, beginning to walk back to the stairs.

“I love you, my love!” Mikasa proclaimed in a tone of voice obviously meant to be partially joking.

You held up your middle finger to her as you ascended the stairs, nodding a silent greeting to Eren as you passed him.

When you entered your room you closed your door and sat back on the floor, leaning back to lay down and stare at the ceiling as you talked with your sister.

“So what’s he like?” she asked. You imagined her twirling her hair, treating this conversation like a piece of gossip shared at a sleepover.

“Is he nice, mija?” you heard your mother ask.

You let out a tired breath, bringing your free hand to your face to rub your forehead. “Mamá, Lina, we’re not dating. We’re just friends. If he ends up coming, which is doubtful, it won’t be because I’m romantically interested in him or vice versa.”

Hearing yourself say that seemed to lift a weight off your shoulders. Hearing yourself actually acknowledge that you didn’t have any feelings for him would be your saving grace in the future.

“Did anyone ask if you we’re dating? No, we asked if he was nice,” Lina said. “Answer the question.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m gonna FaceTime y’all and then tell you.”

“Okay.”

Before you could even pull your phone away from your ear you heard the tone of another call. You looked and saw that your sister was quicker than you, and you accepted the call. You sat up and propped your phone on the leg of your bed frame, sitting criss-cross with the blanket in hand, trying your best to hide it from the camera.

“Okay, now tell us what he’s like. Grandma and Mom are waiting.” Lina’s phone was propped on the arm of the couch, likely precariously balancing on something so it didn’t fall. Lina was laying down with her mom, allowing her to mess with the tips of her hair, and your grandmother was sitting in the blue rocking chair placed to the side of the couch.

You gently laughed. “Okay, okay. Y’all are treating this like some sort of gossip session.” You readjusted the blanket in your hands, continuing to embroider it with the silver thread. “Anyways, yeah, he’s really nice. He’s my partner for a year long project we have in our culture class.”

“What’s the project?” Lina’s mom asked.

“Just learn about each other, basically. We need to learn about each other’s cultures and traditions, like what we did growing up and stuff like that,” you explained.

“That sounds like a perfect set up for people to fall in love,” Lina said. She put her hands up when you gave her a look.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Don’t you live with him?” Lina asked. Then she gasped in an overdramatic manner. “Oh my god, it’s a roommates trope!”

You burst out laughing, moving your hand to your face as you set the blanket down for a moment. “What? No, I live with like two other people besides him. The roommate trope only counts if it’s just two people.”

Lina hummed. “No it doesn’t. It counts when love interests are roommates, and in this case love interests are roommates.”

“Lina, we’re not interested in each other like that,” you said sternly. “Stop asking.”

“Fine. I guess I’ll stop. Anyways, is he actually gonna come?”

You shrugged. “Who knows. I’ll ask him again later and explain what a quinceañera is. If he does he’ll likely only come to learn more about the traditions of a quinceañera and stuff since I suck at explaining it.”

“Right, because you only answer what you’re asked and don’t elaborate,” Lina’s mom said, slowly nodding her head.

“Exactly.” You looked at the clock you had set up on your nightstand, noticing that your next class was close to starting. “Okay, I have to go. My next class starts soon.”

You saw Lina’s eyes sadden before she nodded, reaching forward to grab her phone. She held it up to fit all three women in the camera.

“Okay, bye,” Lina said, waving with her mom.

“Adios, Chabelita,” your grandmother said.

You smiled. “Adios. Te quiero mucho.”

All three family members reciprocated the words, and you hung up feeling much lighter. Talking to certain family members always had that effect, specifically your sister and her mom. They were always the calmest and most accepting when it came to certain things, and you appreciated that.

You quickly laid the blanket out, standing up to inspect your work before abandoning it on the floor and changing your shirt for your next class. You slipped on your tennis shoes, putting your phone in a small bag before walking out of your room.

You grabbed your keys from the dish on the coffee table in the living room, bidding Mikasa and Eren goodbye before leaving.

Armin was no where in sight, and you assumed he had left for something or was otherwise upstairs in his room, not wanting to be bothered.

What you didn’t know was that the had heard your entire conversation. He wasn’t trying to (though he did pause what he was doing to listen when you specifically talked), but he could hear your voice through the bathroom clear as day, almost like you were right next to him. It’s not like it was your fault, but sometimes the house was extra echoey, especially in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Armin’s heart broke just the tiniest bit when you mentioned that you didn’t like him like that, but he reminded himself that he barely even knew you.

It was still a thought that was present in the back of his mind as he began working on a research project for his Biology course.

—

You were surprisingly early to your Costume Design class. Only a few people were in the studio, and those students had already began working.

You strolled to your station, placing your bag down and grabbing your phone and headphones to listen to music as you worked.

Soon enough, more and more students began filing in. When nearly every station was occupied, the instructor began explaining that students from the acting course would be coming in soon to get measured for their costumes.

You already had a pretty good base for the person you were assigned—a rather tall man named Jean (when you received the paper with his measurements you briefly wondered if this was the person Armin had mentioned when you first met, deciding that it wasn’t with no further thought). You had most of the tunic and overcoat ready for him, holding off on making the pants because they were made of a thick material and you didn’t want to mess them up.

You weren’t paying attention when he had entered the room and stood next to you, too involved in humming to the music playing in your ears and making sure some of the embroidery on the cape looked perfect. You only noticed him when he put his hand on the table, just barely in your line of sight.

You quickly removed your headphones and paused your music, apologizing for not noticing him.

“No, it’s fine. You were working and looked focused, I didn’t want to bother you,” he responded, giving you a smile that showcased his straight, white teeth.

“No, feel free to bother me. I don’t mind. Uhm, anyways, I’m Y/n.” You stuck out your hand, shaking it when he grabbed it. “I’m your costume designer for the rest of the year, I believe.”

He nodded. “Jean Kirstein,” he said.

The awkwardness was obvious between the two of you as a moment of silence passed. Your mind blanked, and you forgot what exactly it was that you were doing.

Jean clapped his hands together, adverting his gaze from you and looking at the table and mannequin you had in front of you. “So, anything for me to try on?”

Realization dawned on you as you remembered what it was you were supposed to be doing. “Yes, actually. Uh, are you comfortable removing clothing so I can properly measure you?” you carefully asked.

This is what you were worried about when you were assigned someone of the opposite sex earlier in the week. You didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable or accidentally make any moves you would regret.

Jean nodded. “Yeah, of course. Whatever you need.”

“Okay, can you take off your shirt for me?” You looked away as you asked, turning towards the mannequin behind you to retrieve the white balloon-sleeved shirt you had made. “And your pants, too, if you don’t mind…”

You were in awe when you turned around, and had to remind yourself that his eyes were on his face.

He was sculpted and built like a Greek god, and you let the quick thought of Holy shit cross your mind before you looked back up at his face.

He nodded again as you placed the shirt you held on your chair, reaching down to begin undoing his belt.

You turned away again. Despite the many other people in the room, this moment felt weirdly intimate to you. Dressing those in the acting course was something mostly reserved for the juniors and seniors in college, so you had never really had reason to ask someone to undress for you unless it was in a heated moment. It took you back, and you had to shake the thought from your head as you took the pants off the mannequin.

“Okay, these aren’t the actual pants since I’m going to be making them of something harder to work with, but this is just an outline I have put together so it might not go on the greatest…”

You had turned back to him, holding the fabric in your hands as you showed him and tried your hardest not to let your gaze wander from his face. He nodded as you spoke, storing away the information you said for later.

“Okay, what first, then?”

“The shirt, please,” you said, gently putting the pants to the side and grabbing the shirt. You unbuttoned the first few buttons, opening it up and facing him. “Can you turn around for me?”

He nodded, turning and putting his arms into the sleeves when he felt the thin fabric on his hands. You fitted it on his shoulders, asking him to turn around and button it as you grabbed a scrap piece of paper and wrote his name on it.

When you returned your attention back to him, he was adjusting the sleeves, making sure they sat on his arms correctly.

You gave him a quick once over, noting on your paper what immediate problems you saw.

“Okay, now the pants,” you said. “They’re going to be a but big, but that’s just so I can more accurately pin where they’re supposed to fit on your body.”

You didn’t say that you wanted him to put them on himself, but he got the memo and slipped into them.

“Alright, any immediate problems you notice with the shirt? Is it uncomfortable anywhere?” you asked, opening the desk drawer and grabbing a tape measure and your small box of pins.

“It’s a bit weird at the shoulders,” he said. “Too tight, maybe?”

You nodded, quickly jotting that down before going to remeasure. You needed to stand on a stool to be able to properly reach his shoulders he was so tall, and you stopped berating when you got close to him and started feeling him up.

You mumbled to yourself as you worked, noting whatever needed to be tailored and refitted.

“What part are you playing? What are you guys even doing?” you asked. You figured that if you knew what exactly he was doing, you would be able to implement that character into the costume more.

“An amateur reproduction of The Phantom of the Opera,” he replied. “I’m Raoul.”

“Really?” You pulled back, giving your work a once over. “Okay, I’ll add more details to make it seem more rich boy later. Maybe I’ll add some gold threading…”

He hummed, letting your hands trail along his arms and torso as you measured. You noted that the sleeves needed to be less poofy, and that the neckline needed to be a bit lower. You grabbed a marker and marked where you thought would be a good neckline, and pinned smaller sleeves before moving onto the pants.

“This is Raoul’s masquerade costume, right?” you asked.

Jean nodded. “For the most part. The shirt, I think, is going to be used throughout the whole thing. But the pants and overcoat you have are for the masquerade scene.”

“Are you guys going movie or broadway accurate?”

“We’re adding details from both. The ones who thought of this idea wanted to find a happy medium for broadway and movie,” he explained.

You nodded, glancing at the overcoat you had. “Okay, I’ll figure something out for that.” You thought for a moment, looking him over again. “I’m going to resize the pants now. Are you comfortable with me…” You trailed off and made a motion with your hands, hoping that would convey what you meant.

He nodded. “Yeah, yeah go ahead. I’m fine with that.”

You started working, kneeling in front of him to tailor the base work you had done for his pants. You barely breathed as you worked, but it seemed he could tell you were nervous because he started conversation, asking about why you decided to choose costume design.

As the two of you continued talking, you became more comfortable with what you were doing. You knew this would be part of the job—poking at people and feeling them up to make sure their clothing fit—but you were hoping you could hold that off for longer.

After you had finished and gone over your ideas for the costume with him, you established that he would come to your place once a week, where you would measure him and go over more small details with him.

“Can I have your number?” you asked. “So it’s easier for us to talk.”

He nodded as you pulled out your phone, and he opened a new contact for him. “Yeah, I was just about to ask the same thing.”

His phone chimed a moment later, most likely the message he had sent to himself.

“And uh,” he paused, handing your phone back to him, “could I take you on a date? You’re really pretty, and seem like an interesting person. I’d like to get to know you.”

He was smiling. Your eyes widened at his question, not knowing how to respond. “Uhm, I’ll… I’ll get back to you on that. I need to make sure I have time for a date,” you lied. You knew you had all the time in the world to go on a date with anyone you wanted. “Send me a reminder text later, yeah?”

He nodded, his eyes sparkling as he stood straight. “Yeah. Alright then. I’ll see you again sometime.”

You nodded, looking down at your station to begin cleaning up and putting some things away.

The two of you exchanged goodbyes after he helped you bring some things to your car to take home. When his hand accidentally touched yours, he lingered for a moment before pulling away.

You waited a moment in your car to calm your breathing before you started driving.

That question was the only thing on your mind on the drive home, and you planned to tell Mikasa as soon as possible. When you got home, however, you noticed that there was only one car in the driveway, and that it was the one Mikasa refused to drive because she didn’t want to mess up its older design.

Since her car was gone, you assumed both she and Eren were out seeing as they had more or less the exact same classes. With the car Armin drove, you assumed he was in the house.

You unlocked your door and immediately went to your room, flopping facedown on your bed.

You wanted to scream.

See I told y’all it would get better

Kind of

Anyways I’m still looking for songs so please leave suggestions! I’ll take any kind of music

Also! If you want to be tagged to be notified whenever I post this story join my taglist! You only need to leave a comment or DM me and I’ll add you!

Next Part >>

Taglist: @kellzyy @slishyrats @arminsvoicecracks @medli-komali @crisalidaseason @g0thkasas @joon0912

<3 Izzy

[mdhwrites]

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War's Summer Break Sadness

I have started watching what might be the best romance THING I have ever watched and it's actually fascinating to see them touch on a subject that is done in one of two extremes usually: Time away from your partner.

So for context since this is my first blog on the show: The premise is that two people are truly, genuinely, madly in love with each other. Both are overachievers who work hard for their status, though one is poor while the other is rich. Both see Love as a zero/sum game. Whoever confesses first loses and for neither of them is that an option. So the battle begins.

It is also one of the funniest, realest shows I think I've seen. It's over the top but never forgets to let the girl be a girl or the guy be a guy. It also never forgets their teenagers so even something as simple as exchanging phone numbers or asking to share an umbrella is something they can dramatize as the end all be all moment that will show the other weakness and ruin everything! And for ten episodes, it had mostly not had any segments (it does 3-4 skits/segments per episode) that were genuinely just serious.

That changed with segment 3 of episode 11: Miyuki Shirogane (the poor boy) Wants to See You (Spoilers, obviously).

It starts with him dying from the heat in his house, annoyed at how the Summer Break has gone so far. Three weeks and nothing has happened. All he has done is study, sleep, eat and go to work. He only made plans with Kaguya (the girl) for a festival at the end of the break after all and until then, he can't text or call her to see if she wants to meet up. That's simply out of the question. So, eventually, he leaves.

It then goes to Kaguya who is in a similar boat. Miserable and denying to her maid that she wants to see Shirogane. She gets teased about it until the frustration finally makes her leave too.

Where are they going?

The school.

For the last six months, they have worked as the president and vice president of their student council. While there have been breaks from each other, nothing has lasted this long. After three weeks, it finally bursts and they rush to the school. To the student council room. To their sanctuary where they have always been safe to be with the other.

And neither catches the other.

It is heartbreaking. It is also incredibly different from how I ever see it played, let alone in a comedy setting. Most people only do one of two options: The first is that once their partner is gone, even a crush, they are MISERABLE. They cannot live without their partner and would rather be dead than even take a vacation without them! Woe be to the man who doesn't have his heart filled with the joy of their beloved every second of his life!

The other is the far more common: Thank god the bitch is gone. Finally slipped the old ball and chain for a couple of days and boys, I cannot tell you how good it feels. How much I needed a break from their nagging and whining and being under their heel. I get to be a free man until the day they come back!

But it did neither. It went for the idea that it took three weeks before they needed a reminder. A moment of that same joy they gain from their partner to be back. I've actually heard plenty of people talk about this sort of thing where they'll be married, have their partner gone and sure, it's kind of nice to get a day or two to breathe but you are with them for a reason. Their presence is something you miss. It doesn't destroy them or anything like that, they're still people, but especially if you can't reach out for some reason to one another, that time can go from a nice, novel reprieve to a cold absence with time. It's much like how you might be excited to go vacation somewhere beautiful but close to the end, the thing you miss the most is your own bed because the comfort, solidity and warmth of the familiar is something you still desire.

It honestly just reinforces one of the absolutely most shocking elements about the show: The fact that it's healthy. Shirogane and Kaguya in most writers' hands (and by no means am I confident I'd never screw up) would be incredibly toxic. The literal concept of the show is that they fear showing any sign of weakness to their partner or compromising in any way after all. Trust, communication and openness are essentially impossible in that sort of environment and it does have fun with the fact that their schemes and anxieties aren't necessarily good for them. However, each segment also ends with stating a winner or a loser because they aren't entirely stuck. They have a push and pull and neither are genuinely bad people. Sometimes someone wins, sometimes someone loses but it's all in the pokes and prods of them figuring out each other and growing closer.

It's genuinely incredibly and I'm only eleven episodes into the first season of a 4 season anime (though the last season is supposedly like five episodes). I am very excited to see where things go.

That and to keep laughing because while this was played shockingly seriously, it was predated by, and I am not kidding: A side character proving that she is a supreme ramen officianado with drama on par with the twists and pomp of a card game anime and a segment where Kaguya keeps interrupting her maid's attempts to take a bath as the tech illiterate girl tries to figure out Twitter.

This show is hilarious and wild and a LOT. And right now, I absolutely think worth your time.

(OP 1. The only one I could find on Youtube for it with an English title was in 4k 60fps which I just genuinely think looks worse.)

======+++++======

Happy Valentines Day! Which wasn't intentional but hey, at least I posted something kind of related. ^^; I do actually hope to post something writing wise today but between therapy and some family stuff going on, I suspect I won't get the second chapter to the project I've been poking at done so I feel more confident about posting it. Hope you all liked the change of pace from me though to be so positive though!

I will also admit that while this is looking at a trope, it's mostly me gushing about a thing I really like. I want this show to infect all teen romances, including mine, because of how good it is.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[sol-consort]

I was so upset when I thought Grunt died because I was like “I’ve seen him in different cutscenes though what’d I do wrong???” Luckily Grunt is the goat and lived because he’s Grunt. Wish I took him on missions more but you can’t beat the Tali/Shepard/Garrus combo I rocked the entire Trilogy

I love my fatass son even if he blocks 60% of my shots by walking directly in front of my camper Shepard just right after I pull the trigger then yells at me for friendly fire WHEN HE WAS THE ONE TO WALK IN FRONT OF MY SNIPER.

anyway so, I love him so much! I was a few seconds away from opening the task manager and force closing the game bc I thought for sure he died and I didn't want to finish the unskippable cutscene. I would've kill a that rachni queen a thousand times over if it meant Grunt got to live, zero hesitation.

Thankfully his bloodied limbing body emerged eventually and I have never felt happier in my life.

I wish him and Eve had an interaction since the two of them were in the medbay during the same time but oh well. She would've definitely fell hard for my glorious beloved son and forgot about dusty crusty Wrex!

Also his email after he recovers is so

OF COURSE MY BELOVED SON, I WILL SEND YOU ALL THE SHARK VIDEOS IN THE WORLD. SHARKS ARE VERY SMOOTH SKINNED AND MISUNDERSTOOD CREATURES WHO ARE CURIOUS BY NATURE JUST LIKE YOU MY SON. I AM GLAD IT IS NOT DOLPHINS YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN SINCE DOLPHINS ARE DEVILSPAWN SOCIOPATHS.

it is super adorable that both the animals he is obsessed with are from earth just like Shepard, dinosaurs and sharks.

Wait are turians dinosaurs who survived their own meteor radiation-

Anyway! Here is more on the game report so far. I am falling asleep as I type.

Story plot

So far enjoying everything, the story writing is amazing and the dialogue is pretty hard hitting at times. Sometimes bloated but oh well. Tuchanka felt like such a big pay off to a huge build up since the first game, the quest delivered a full course meal.

Especially the reaper fight oh god, you get to feel powerless for once with a brute after brute after brute being thrown at you and no obvious spare ammo laying around. You just have to gun it (Ha) to the controls and avoid getting sqaushed like a bug by the reaper or charged by the brutes like a football.

Cloaking is a god sent gift that spared me so many times, I pray the brutes never develop thermal vision or the braincells to employ technology that uses it.

Mordin's death hit hard man, it was so right tho. It felt like it was meant to be, I wouldn't have cared for a random salarian. But Mordin? Oh no.

The fact he sings the model of a salarian scientist during it is the knife twisting in the back after the stab.

It's so clear he is doing it to calm himself down, to not mess this up.

It's a reminder of how much he has given to science, his whole life, identity and hobbies. His music, youth and great mind. So many of his beloved students too.

And he dies correcting the mistakes of superiors playing politics who let fear cloud their judgement.

Wrex calls Shepard his sister in it, Wrex has not hit on me once, I am unbelievably thankful for his writers and so overjoyed with this lovely platonic relationship between them.

Because yes they do feel like siblings!

Still, ME1 Wrex now feels like a different person in comparison to ME3 and I am not talking about believes.

I mean he used to be less open with us, less animated and more shut on himself and brooding. Now he laughs, makes jokes and gets excited, I'm really happy for him! It's like he found his true purpose and passion in life.

Kaidan

I forgot how sappy and adorable he is, when sorrounded by badass characters with edges so sharp it could cut a paper, you get so used to them and someone awkward like Kaidan easily stands out.

He's unsure, confused and just so very human. He's still trying to do the right thing while looking at Shepard for guidance. The fact he doesn't think twice before refusing Hackett's offer to have his own ship just to be with us again.

I don't think Kaidan feels complete without Shepard. In his romance he is so sappy and adorable too, earnest and speaking from the heart. Since the first game he was one for romantics and rarely relied on sexy flirting but rather love confessions are more his forte.

I mean look at this man my heart

I he is just so fjkwkcbaoxjs <3333333 he is the softest person in this whole trilogy, even Tali and Liara are more jaded than him at times. But he still acts as if we were his first love, as if he is a schoolyard boy giving his crush flowers and asking their favourite color.

Femshep

You mentioned only playing as maleshep so I'm not sure how different our experiences are, so I will mention the things I think are exclusive to femshep here.

In the reconcile scene in ME3 where your ME1 romance takes you back after you romanced someone in the second game, they accuse you of cheating.

Apparently maleshep can say it isn't cheating because they broke up with you on Horizon. But femshape has to apologise for cheating??? It's very weird idk dude.

I installed a mod that just let me have the maleshep dialogue instead.

You can also hit on Joker when he asks you about EDI.

And have a full conversation on him being with you instead.

He rejects you and says he's not Kaidan (ouch) and doesn't date crew, he will follow you into hell but not into your quarters.

EDI doesn't wear a uniform so he feels okay dating her.

Can you hit on EDI as maleshep?

Talking about EDI, it's making me really uncomfortable how openly the game is being inappropriate about her. I get she has a hot body and that's perfectly okay, but why does every other person feel the need to comment on it and sexualise her? Like she's an object or something.

ME1 had this problem with femshep where antagonists would hit on you to show them being trashy or whatever and the paragon option is to swallow it down and keep talking while the renegade option is to call them out on it.

And in ME2, someone calls you a stripper, and a turian npc asks about your boobs.

I thought they fixed it in ME3, and true, so far, femshep doesn't get these weird comments.

But instead everything was turned on EDI and the game keeps bringing it up and it's just gross my dude. At least Shepard could tell them to fuck off but EDI can't.

James Vega is a character I really like! I loved his bro relationship with Shepard so much. Even as femshep he still says "hey man" or things like that.

But it is weird when he hits on you out of the blue without any prior interest indications. I envy the platonic bro relationship he has with maleshep, really wish femshep could have the same one.

He isn't even a romantic interest, you don't flirt with him or anything. He just hits on you sometimes. Because. Woman. Ig.

Eve opens up to you more as femshep, that was nice and made me feel better. She is one of my favs too, I love everything about her.

Thane

The Thane romance broke me oh my god.

He calls you Siha when he warns you about the citidal attack. In his romanced ending, his last ever act before dying is to literally pray for you, not for himself but for you. For his goddess to forgive you and grant you eternal love and peace, his son even joins him.

He says your heart is pure despite all, that's the goddess should keep you by her side and make you a companion to her much like you were to Thane. The moment is so touching and genuinely emotional I actually cried.

The voice actor for femshep is phenomenal in this too. You get used to Shepard's harsh and commander voice tones and suddenly it's all soft and quiet, whispery and on the blink of tears and it literally cracks your heart open and makes you realise how this big strong commander is crumbling watching the love of her life die in front of her.

And the dress looks so out of theme i know but the context to it just makes the scene even more sad.

I didn't know the citidal mission would start, I didn't know about any of this when I finished tuchanka. I just picked the prettiest red dress I could find because I was excited to see Thane again and wondering if he'll kiss Shepard again because he mentions he can't do it much bc of his sickness and would need some rest so I assume a mission or two will reset it.

So in my mind, I'm getting ready for this cute date with Thane, dolling my Shepard and all excited and happy walking to the citidal. Thinking about him and looking forward to his dialogue and make I'll take some pics with him in this pretty outfit.

But it's...he doesn't get to see it. He doesn't get to see Shepard in her pretty dress that she wore for him because she had to change into armour for the mission. Then he gets stabbed and you can't even stay by his side after he saved you from an assassin.

Btw that assassin scene was so fucking cool, it's easy to forget how badass Thane is and how deadly he can be even while dying.

By the time it's all over, Shepard had to go see him in the same red dress for their date because If I went to the Normady to change he would've already died. There is no time. This outfit that was supposed to celebrate their love has become the dress for his funeral instead, the date on his deathbed and it's squeezing my heart painfully.

Like that is the oufit of someone who thought they had more time, of someone who didn't realise how close tragedy came by.

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Halloween Roxanne

Masters has been kinda tame this year.  Granted, I am absolutely spoiled by the early months playing this, going from Anni Lillie, H!Caitlin, SC Jamine, SS Lusamine, and Renegade Cynthia, in rapid succession. I think I have it in my head things should go that well all the time, but they don't. And this year has been...extremely bad about hitting the targets I wanted. I mean for god's sake, how was there no Lusamine alt in the Alola VA? I'm been kinda pissy. The biggest wins have been Emma and Anabel to round out Looker fam, Adaman and Irida because I love Hisui, and the Summer Twins, which was really exciting because it was unexpected rather than it being a big favorite. There just hasn't been much at since, like, before the third anniversary.

But this?  This is what I've been waiting for.  Roxanne's my third favorite character, and the last of my Big Three that needed an alt.  And they went with the witch aesthetic, which is the best aesthetic for Halloween.  Even went Runerigus, which is an odd choice that I wouldn't normally love, but is perfectly in line with her conceptually.  This was the big win.  We're so back.

General Overview Looking at Roxanne's base kit before grid showed up gave me heart palpitations.  Sand Tomb is a fairly poor move, offering trap, but having pathetic accuracy.  We couldn't see the amount she boosted stats at the time, but X Atk All separate from trainer move meant slow self-setup.  Her Buddy move is AoE with penalty, and isn't particularly strong on its own either, so her Tech nuke had to pull a lot of weight.  But more concerning, her Buddy move debuffed speed (and defense).  Which put me on high alert, worrying about Cakewalk.  Roxanne felt like she was being set up to be really bad, unable to stand up to the Ground meta despite how limited the competition was.

And friends, I am thrilled to announce: Roxanne don't miss.  Trainer Move gets +3 crit in one, and +2 accuracy to the entire team.  Her trap spreads to all foes on first hit.  Her Buddy move doesn't just debuff Def/Spd, it boosts team Def/Spd, which is an absolute godsend for Ground-type High Score given the slow pace of the type.  While her buddy move lacks for damage, its debuffing potential and its literal zero gauge cost with team speed boosting completely make up for it.  She even has the option for debuffing attack, which is huge for team survival. And of course, her Tech nuke got Sync Power Flux, which is super reliable given her speed boosting, and Slo-ponnent 5, which is divine, since it can be set up in one use of Buddy move. And for no reason other than pure shenanigans, Roxanne inverts all buffs into debuffs on the entire enemy field when she syncs. And as if that all wasn't enough, as if having the most powerful Ground nuke in the game and all this debuffing and team buffing wasn't sufficient...Strike role.

Obviously, Roxanne is not without her flaws.  With buffing or debuffing, she's slow to get to max multipliers for allies. Her inversion of buffs only happens on sync, which takes a while for CS, limiting the potential of Five Stats +3.  She lacks for any serious healing potential, so despite Vigilance on grid and defense buffs, she's not exactly a soloist for Gauntlet.  Activating Slo-ponnent is also incredibly hard in CS if you're aiming for the buff inversion, and a single use of X Spd All from an enemy means there goes that multiplier.  And Ground has some serious powerhouses.  Cynthia's 5/5 grid is nutty, the Giovannis are quite adept at 3v3s, and Maxie's still particularly strong.  So while competition is limited, it is pretty significant, hurting Roxanne's ability to seriously stand out without the Role cake.

EX, Role, and Move Level? You should max invest immediately.  5/5, EX, with role.  Show them Roxanne is actually super popular so they make another.  Do this for me.

But if you want to be serious, Roxanne has a couple approaches.  As a supplemental pair, 1/5 gets the job done.  Trap effect, boosting team damage and speed, debuffing team Defense, she carries a lot on her back, and does so reasonably well.  3/5 is for sync damage, which is good for when she operates more independently.  And this is when role becomes a serious consideration.  EX obviously good for sync, but the Role.  Tech/Strike is incredibly strong, and very worth considering given how her DPS operates.  Effectively, how you plan to use Roxanne changes what you'll want.  For supportive effects as a Tech, 1/5 non-EX non-role is fine, she'll support her type well.  For a sync nuker with supplemental DPS pair, you'll want to maximize sync, but can avoid the role.  Strike role is for Roxanne becoming the center of attention.

Team 1: H!Roxanne, H!Caitlin, Colress/Courtney ROXANNE CAPS CRIT YOU SAY?  You have no idea how happy I am that she and Caitlin are both Halloween alts that synergize.  Get me a good Jasmine pair next year and we're golden.  For now though, Colress can assist the debuffing effort as needed, though frankly, Courtney may be better for the Zone.

Team 2: H!Roxanne, SC Lyra, Cynthia/Maxie/SS Giovanni Roxanne's single biggest claim to fame within her type is the gauge management.  Zero gauge use on buddy move, and boosts team speed each use.  It's amazing.  This is the component that salvages SC Lyra.  Now you can have the gauge to make her effective with these slow ground types.  Cynthia enjoys the boosts to attack that either Roxanne or Lyra can provide, and her 5/5 will be fine on Sandstorm.  Maxie is tremendous, hitting high AoE DPS on the sides while Roxanne nukes center, just mind the Sun duration.  SS Giovanni is especially noteworthy, because the man sucks and needs a billion gauges, and now he finally has a friend.  Or at least, he thinks they're friends.  We're not friends, Giovanni. Get out of the lodge.

Team 3: H!Roxanne, Piers, Steven Since he's rerunning, may as well discuss this.  Roxanne's ability to boost attack is very nice as a complement to supports that mostly handle crit and little else.  She's also able to boost speed, which is a godsend for slower supports, like Piers.  Taken together, while it puts quite a bit on her, she's able to facilitate boosting up a damage dealer like base Steven, who further supports with a high flinch rate attack that stalls turns for this setup. And because they're Rock Pals, it's thematic.

Team 4: H!Roxanne, Bertha, Cynthia Bertha has potential as a sync nuke, but her trap effect is hard to get on something.  Enter Roxanne, who insta-traps everyone, and provides +2 accuracy for the entire team, allowing Bertha to consistently hit.  Or you can use both, skip a proper support, let Bertha tank, and build up a striker like Cynthia.  You have everything you need here.

Team 5: H!Roxanne, Arianna, S!Hilda Arianna is a known Tech nuking monster, whose conditions are relatively challenging to set up alone.  She needs trap, which she only hits half the time single-target, and she needs Relentless, which she's a little slow to get to.  Roxanne supplements everything she needs perfectly.  Last +2 attack to cap, debuffs defenses, applies trap in one shot to all foes.  With Summer Hilda, you can make the team bulky, invert buffs in CS to really mess with things, and even offload some of Roxanne's tasks by letting hits boost attack and debuff defense.

Team 6: H!Roxanne, Gordie, Sonia Gordie is another big winner of Roxanne, thanks to her ability to facilitate both Cakewalk and Inertia sync nukes.  Because he has both, Roxanne is particularly useful for him.  But his self-setup is a little shaky, so bring a good support like Sonia and you'll be fine.

Team 7: H!Roxanne, SS Acerola, Mallow Alright, here's a fun one: Roxanne can debuff attack with grid, and even supplies Def debuffing and Spd buffing. Which is really good for a partner like Mallow, who effectively wants all of that. SS Acerola can supply the needed Terrain and Sun, and the needed offensive buffs. Mallow can get straight to DPS, while Roxanne does her job with debuffs.

Team 8: Argenta, H!Roxanne, SS N This is one I feel real confident in, because I effectively used it with the Argenta breakdown. H!Roxanne, if she takes the attack debuffs, functions like BT Leon, only instead of one extra -1 on a random stat, she gives the team boosts to speed and defense. Beside her, we have SS N, whose Freeze Shock is absurdly strong, and goes absolutely apeshit on that +2 PMUN bullshit Argenta feeds him. N is easily able to one-shot sides, and Roxanne should be more than capable of nuking center as needed. Because of the attack debuffs, she even sets up N's sync, for whatever good that does anyone. Maybe your opponent otherwise has damage reduction or something, I don't know.

Final Thoughts Roxanne is one of those sync pairs where I can absolutely see the flaws, but I don't care. Realistically, this Buddy move is just a gauge-friendly version of BT Leon, and I barely use him. I shouldn't be so excited about her kit. But it's Roxanne, and I love her. I will be using her constantly from now on.

[the-traveling-rock]

There is nothing more confusing or deranged than a newly formed group of adventurers confronted with the delusion of choice. They crowd the bounty board of the Phandalin, hands reach, fingers pointing, voices rise with intensity and excitement as other voices go louder to be heard themselves. I hear tell of goblins, bandits, and even a dragon or two. You know the standard missives. I’m not saying a dragon is boring but I feel the difference between an epic and an adventure is the people taking part.

I scan over the crowd to see a group I can follow, essentially I look for people who know what they're doing.The smallest of them, a female elf, is waving their hand above their head, weakly I might add. Her other hand is cupped to her mouth asking who in the group can heal, dejected as it seems this isn’t the first time I’d intuit. The first group I heard of, I began making my way over as I see the male elf behind her taps her shoulder and I see him bend to whisper in her ear.  I see several emotions flash through her face as eyes widen, cheeks flush as crossed hands rise to cover their mouth, before they look downwards.  I hear the uncertainty of their response as she says that she’s new but supposes she could heal. 

I hate to play stereotypes but I like when I can tell what a book is when I look at it. I look at a book with a picture of lovers in embrace, that’s a romance. I see a magnifying glass and bloody knife, that’s a mystery. A picture of food, probably a cookbook. This gets more complicated with people.

It’s not even 8 minutes since we arrived before the elf rogue mentions his tragic past. There's a whole dramatic pantomime full of momentary anger, sadness, and extolling vengeance for his murdered lineage. In my opinion it appears so canned and rehearsed, but this actually is a story I hear so often that I wonder how there are elves at all. As I mused to myself, the emotion falls from his face as he looks the druid over and demands what circle she’s in. The druid meekly reiterates that she’s new but doesn’t know as she gets interrupted with his self assuredness telling her she should be Circle of the Moon. These are obvious red flags but I’ve already started writing and they're the first group that seems to be coming together the fastest as I see others turning to join the conversation.

Another elf, also a rogue, their clan murdered. Again, the same story as everyone else, but female elf. The difference is this one talks with no emotions when talking through their tragedy. I think about how I’m a half-elf but with the remarkable luck to suffer an approximate zero familicides, but I suppose one is too many. I grew up in a Neverwinter orphanage, at any rate, maybe my parents were murdered. Things just happen though, and maybe we don’t need to be so dour about it.

There’s this incredibly well dressed human man who balances that out by being incredibly hung over. We’re talking hands on knees, bent over, breathing hard and heaving. It’s super weird to see but I swear to all the Gods, he jumps up flashing the brightest smile beginning to play a song on his lute. His voice is majestic and charming as he belts out this amazing improved bardic beat that I actually think I can save this article, that I’m catching on isn’t a success. 

It starts off incredibly strong with a lovely string line with a creative use of hand drum place on the ground he hits when needed. It is a wonderful start with simple lyrics that requires nothing to recall. It is the perfect song that the dragonkin who run the bard industry could sell to pop perfection.

𝄞𝅘𝅥𝅯 Money, money, money!

Must be funny!

In the rich man's world!𝅘𝅥𝅯𝄞

To be clear, I inferred  the last word because it was that moment the bard would projectile vomit on the  male rogue when he turned his head. I’m in the middle of a metaphorical cadaver cartpile up. This is literally the worst group I’ve seen and this is my start. This is the hell the universe gave me, for thinking I could have an idea. The bard wipes his mouth off on his sleeve while the rogue seethes shaking vomit off. Then it happens.

The bard looks at all of them, registering the looks of disgust and awkward feelings of what happened. Opening his mouth he sings that which destroys my will as I resign myself to the realization that torture is no longer an option for me. 

“Same time next week?”

Shockingly, they all shrug and agree. Hopefully, they’ll do more than just talk about themselves next time.

QH

Phandalin, Late Spring

[thewarriorspecial]

Making Her Squirm

*Archive Edition* Previously only linked to AO3, full work now available under the cut.

Read on AO3

Rating: Explicit | Guy Gardner/Tora Olafsdottir

Additional Tags: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Cunnilingus, Vaginal Sex, vanilla stuff this time folks

"Something fearless in your eyes Something careless about your smile Something fragile when you hold your breath And when you move You move right through me" --"Underwater", Delerium

Guy was an antagonizer. He loved making Tora squirm. The redder she got, the better and if he pissed her off she craved his touch. It was probably toxic but Guy wasn’t exactly into healthy shit. What was fun that was healthy? Running laps? Coffee with no sugar? Salad? 

Nah, what feels good is fighting, fucking, and drinking too much. What tases good is beer, waffles, and pussy. If Guy played his cards right tonight he’d have all of the above by morning. He just had to pry her out of her room so they could play.

“C’mon Tora, this’ll be fun. Lemme take you for a ride!” Guy hollered through her door. Why was she always closing doors? If she’d just let him in he wouldn’t have to push so hard.

“Take me where?” She had her back against the door, arms folded. She kept the door locked now that he had felt entitled to just let himself in when she was in the shower.

“You know,” he said, waving his hands about, “Around. Out. We could use some air. Let’s get away from this place.” Away from Bea and her always running mouth. Hater.

“You’re not gonna take me somewhere full of bears and try and wrestle them this time?” She distinctly remembered the camping incident.

“No. No bears. Just us and the open road.” Chrissakes. One Yogi bear comes sniffing around their pick-a-nick basket and suddenly camping was off the list. They’re not even that big. And he didn’t wrestle it; he picked it up and put it down somewhere else, NBD.

Mercifully, she finally opened the door a crack, her lovely blue eyes peeking up at him. “You promise you won’t drive too fast?”

“Yes!” Guy hissed and pumped his fist, “Promise!” 

Tora bit her lip as she mulled it over. Guy’s excited grin bordered on insane. She sighed as she looked him up and down. He could be such a cantankerous pain in the ass but he was so good behind closed doors, sweet and well behaved even. 

“C’mon, doll I see you thinking about it,” he leaned on the door and flexed, “I see you thinking about me.”

Her eyes went straight for the bait. God she loved watching his body work. She was always asking for his help moving heavy things for no good reason. She wanted to be able to just admit it. What she really wanted was to be the easy girl he was looking for. She wanted to skip this whole date bullshit and just drag him inside. She just felt like she wasn’t…supposed to? Like he would just hop off to the next girl if she gave it up too fast. But that doesn’t make sense. If she was putting out, why would he work for someone else? And wasn’t that it? He was supposed to work for it? 

“Hmm…” she thought out loud. She shifted her weight, rolling her shoulders forward which pushed her cleavage up. Guy’s eyes quickly snapped down and back up to hers as he licked his lips unconsciously. He looked hungry and that’s what she loved the most, to feel so wanted. 

“C’mon honey,” Guy’s expression went soft as he gave his just-for-her smile; the one that was mostly around his eyes, “Spend some time with ‘ol Guy, huh?” He pushed in a little closer and she let the door open just a little more, “I won’t bite ‘cha unless ya ask me too,” his voice went quiet and rumbly as he zeroed in on her neck.   

Tora put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back, “Okay, but you be sweet to me today.”

“I’m always sweet to you, what are you talkin’ about?” Guy scrunched up his face and Tora giggled. Her hand lingered on his chest as she felt how warm and solid he was under his shirt.

“Let’s go for a ride,” she said as she stepped out, closing the door behind her. “I’ve never been on a motorcycle before so go slow.”

“I always start out slow,” Guy leered as he put his big arm around Tora’s tiny frame.

Tora had her arms wrapped tight around Guy, not because she needed to but because it felt good. He had taken them out of the city and onto a mostly empty road. She leaned with him as he instructed and watched the world go by through the visor of Guy’s helmet. The bike would roar and settle, roar and settle as Guy shifted through the gears. Between the warm summer wind and clear blue sky, it was the perfect day for this. 

A few turns later and they were entering a park. The bike slowed down and crunched through a gravel parking lot. Guy put the kickstand down and patted Tora’s leg. She swung herself off of the bike and pulled the helmet off. She could hear her hair crackle as it stuck out every direction.

“Well sugar, what’d you think?” Guy smiled at Tora’s wild helmet hair. She looked like an abused cotton swab. 

“I loved it,” she said with a little hop. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, slowly twisting back and forth. She was so cute. Guy couldn’t resist the urge to hug her and lay a kiss on the top of her head. She wound her arms around him, careful not to drop the helmet. She pressed her face into his chest. He smelled so good. 

Guy reached behind his back and took the helmet, flinging it in the general direction of the bike so Tora’s hands would be free to roam as she pleased. Everything was coming together perfect. His shy, lovely Tora would never let him near her with a sex toy and yet he’d managed to get her to sit on one for the better part of an hour. Between that and a couple spritzes of her favorite cologne under his leather jacket, she must be wet to the knees by now. 

Tora reached her hands through the vents in Guy’s jacket, wanting to touch everywhere she could reach, “Aren’t you a little warm in this?” She asked shyly, tugging at the lapels. 

“I‘m always hot for you, sweetheart.” This is great, Guy thought, I haven’t even walked her to the waterfall for the romance-y stuff and she already wants my clothes off.

Tora blushed and looked away. Guy put his fingers under her chin and brought her eyes back to meet his. She put her hands under his lapels, sliding the jacket slowly down his arms and he let it fall to the ground. He surged forward, capturing her mouth in a kiss. His one hand tangled in her hair and the other slid down her back. Her hands gripped his shoulders and he could feel her tremble. He slid his hand further down, grabbing a generous handful of her perky rear. 

“Guy,” she gasped, angrily shoving him away.

“What? How is that not what you wanted?”

“We’re in public!”

“We’re in the woods!”

“We’re in a parking lot,” Tora crossed her arms and turned away. 

“Fine,” Guy sighed and walked over to the bike. He detached one of the saddlebags and slung it over his shoulder for phase two of their day trip. He walked in front of Tora and offered his hand, a little stiffly, “Let me take you somewhere more private.”

“Good,” Tora took his hand and fell in step next to him.

They walked for a while on a well-worn trail. It was peaceful and empty save for one person who jogged by them, uninterested.  

Tora settled into their pace, rubbing her thumb along the back of Guy’s hand. Her head turned as she listened to the ample birdsong. Guy thought the way the sun danced through her hair made it look like fresh fallen snow. 

They came to a split in the trail with one side blazed blue and the other white. Guy took the right fork. He got a little bounce in his step as they speed up. “You’re gonna love this,” Guy told her over his shoulder. “It’s almost as pretty as you,” he added with a shy smile.

Tora could hear the sound of rushing water. The clean, damp smell filled the air. She stopped suddenly, tugging Guy’s hand. He looked over his shoulder and saw her face transfixed in wonder. He followed her eye-line and just over the crest of a hill, he could see the churning top of the waterfall and a pair of antlers sticking up. 

“C’mere,” he whispered. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her legs, slowly standing back up with her bracing herself on his shoulder. “See ‘em?” He asked when he heard her soft gasp. 

“Oh, Guy! It’s a baby! Oh! We have to wait until he gets a drink, okay?”

Guy smiled as he counted six points on the deer. Big enough to eat, so definitely not a baby. Tora calls every animal but Guy a baby and he thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world. “Sure thing, hon,” he whispered as he gently kisses her thigh. 

The young buck got his drink and Guy set down his prize. Tora took his hand again and started dragging him down the trail like this whole thing was her idea. Every time she looked back to smile at him, he felt his heart flip-flop in his chest. So this is love, huh?

Guy opened the bulky leather bag and pulled out a soft blanket. He snapped it open and let it drape over the ground with a, “Ta-da!” He dropped down noisily and offered his hand to Tora.

“It’s perfect,” Tora said, taking Guy’s hand as she elegantly lowered herself to sit next to him. 

She offered her hands, reaching and looking up at him through her eyelashes. Her sweet little smile. He loved the way her hands fit completely inside of his own. He took her hands in his own, embracing them lovingly, watching them vanish, enveloped, protected. 

“C’mere,” he drew her closer, “Let me kiss you.”

She let herself be pulled into his lap. He cradled her gently, in a way that made her feel like a precious, tiny bauble. He pressed his lips to her forehead and her cheek like he was using all of his senses to wonder what lies beneath her shiny surface.

Guy lost himself in the salt of her skin, her cool fingertips trailing over his face and arms like the spray of the sea. He kept one arm around her waist and one hand free to tuck her hair behind her ear. He trailed his fingertips along her jaw and then cupped her head as he pulled her close for a kiss. Each press of his lips to hers was languid, lingering. His tongue lapped against hers like slow, midday waves.

Tora’s hands roamed all over her favorite parts of Guy’s body. She loved the rasp of his stubble against her palms and her cheeks and she especially loves the obvious line just under the collar of his tshirt where he decided his chest hair ended and his beard began. She wants that shirt off, now. She began vigorously unticking his shirt from his jeans, frustrated with how tightly it was trapped under his belt. 

“Easy, T. Here?” He asked, grinning and blushing a little. Tora nodded, the tip of her tongue poking out in concentration. Guy laughed and he leaned back to start unfastening the belt. Tora leaned back to give him room. “Woah,” Guy breathes when he saw the little wet spot on Tora’s tan cargo pants. He hadn’t really noticed her clothes until now. She had dressed really practical in cargo pants, hiking boots, and a sweater. How Tora of all people was one of those girls who’s always cold would forever be a mystery to him. That outfit was gonna be a pain in the ass to take off. 

“What?” Tora asked, challenging his laugh with a hard stare.

“This,” he says, as he laid his warm palm over the spot between her legs. Tora gasped as she almost fell out of his lap. Her hands flew to his wrist and he froze, but she didn’t push him away. “Wow,” he breathed as she pressed the heel of his hand against herself and experimentally rolled her hips. 

No sense hiding it now, she thought. They were really, truly alone and she wanted him. She wanted everything. She wanted him to shove his hands down her pants and do those incredible, magic things he does with his fingers. She’s tried to replicate it when she was alone but it just wasn’t the same without his weight on top of her and his deep voice growling filth into her ear. She draped herself over his shoulder as she continued to grind into his hand and he sucked love bites into her neck. 

Guy started to open her fly and she leaned back, sliding out of his lap. She lifted her hips so he could push her pants down. When he started to struggle with her boots, she couldn’t take anymore. 

“Guy, please,” she whispered. 

“Yeah,” he breathed as he sunk down, sliding his arms under her legs and resting his hands on her hips. He flattened his tongue and ran it along her pussy from bottom to top, trying to get as much of her wetness into his mouth as he could. She squealed and covered her face with both hands, but she didn’t ask him to stop so he does it again, and again. Her knees squeezed his head and when he chuckled it reverberated through her core. She couldn’t help bucking and rubbing herself all over his face. She couldn’t get her feet out from under him because of the pants. She had no choice but to writhe under his attention. She wanted more. She so desperately wanted more and she couldn’t get the words to form in her lust fogged mind. 

She tugged at his arms, at his shirt, trying to pull him all the way on top of herself. He sat up, grinning, and slowly worked the hem of his shirt up his torso. Tora’s hands flew to his abs and followed the path of slowly revealed skin. 

Guy loved to taunt her like this. No one’s ever reacted to him with this much interest before. 

But Tora’s was already opening his fly, pushing his pants down, pulling him down again. 

“Yeah?” Guy asked with a lopsided grin.

“Yeah, now,” Tora demanded, then shyly added, “please.”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

Tora toed her boots off so she could wrap her legs around him. She pulled him down for another kiss and they rolled their hips together slowly, searching for each other with just their bodies. She tilted her hips just right and finally felt him slide inside. This was her favorite part, the initial push that overwhelms her senses. All she wanted to do is spread her legs and let him take as he pleases. He felt so good, like he was made for her. Just when it felt like it was too much she feels his hips slap against hers and he starts to slide out. He slides back in, starting his familiar rhythm. Tora’s back arched and she could feel the perfect curve of his cock deep against her center now. 

Guy heard Tora moan, a real one, uninhibited and he realized he had closed his eyes. He looks down at Tora’s lovely face, cheeks flushed, hair spread around her head like a halo, one delicate hand still pressed to her own forehead. Her eyes were open so he slid down until they were flush together, nose to nose. 

“Good?” He panted.

Tora noded, mouth hanging open and delicious sounds spilling out. She reluctantly let go of his bicep and squeezed her hand between them. Guy’s eyes went wide and he lifted himself up again to watch. 

“It’s good. It’s good I’m just really close Guy, please. Please.”

“Yeah?” He asked, grinning.

“Yeah.” She smiled back and it made Guy warm all over.

Tora grunted and sighed and Guy felt her pulse and clench like she was trying not to give him his dick back. He sat up on his knees, pushing his stupid hair out of his eyes. He kept his slow strokes going while she made little circles on her clit and twitched. 

He pulled out when she stilled. There was a sticky string of her wetness dripping from his cock so he swiped it off with his hands and then licked it off of his fingers. He licked his lips and hummed happily. 

“So uh,” he cleared his throat, “Sun’s starting to go down. It’s gonna get cold. We should probably skedaddle.”

Tora grabbed Guy’s sticky hand and gave it the tiniest lick. 

“Baby…”

“I’ve got another one in me as long as you keep me warm,” Tora’s eyes sparkled as she reached for Guy’s hard-on. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Oh yeah.”

A/N: There was gonna be a part two on this one, and the how the hell is Tora ever cold thing was a little cute joke scene I was setting up. I promise I'm not a dummy, and hopefully I can make time to finish that WIP up and stick it with this one where it belongs. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! <3

[storiesofsvu]

Hey hey, another Thursday!

Starting off with OC, ive seen the promo pics and tbh, im excited.

Jet looking amazing in green.

That was the WOOORST job putting a necklace on EVER. Like, not only was it over the hair, but it was not properly lined up for the reveal…

Just casually walking around the streets of nyc with a severed hand.. nbd

Are you seriously telling me that dog devoured that hand in that little time, bones and all?

How and why is it that these hardened career criminals always fall so fucking hard and fast for the UC cop!?? Like, you should have your guard up a little bit shouldn’t you??

Okay, so…. Can we talk about ayanna’s nails for a hot second? She clearly a pillow princess with those claws… LOL

 THANK YOU JET. THANK YOU for fucking calling out that stabler has done SO much worse than KISS someone while UC.

Man this whole sending an agent cop into the field UC to be the romantic interest of a perp/mob/mafia and the cop ends up crossing a line or two, fucking things up and falling for said perp… all while the guy playing Doyle is the main mob boss?? Hmm… this is a little too familiar, like even jet’s wig…

Is she faking this?? Okay, yes, she is. Called that.

This ep is super Ayanna jet heavy and im LOVING it thank fucking god

Also loving ayanna’s apt

Okay the wig coming off would not be that big of a deal in today’s day and age, tons of girls wear wigs all the fucking time. ALSO, why was it not wigcapped, pinned down and secured??

Welp. Cant say im not surprised by the ending. But I am glad that jet’s getting to do more.

As of right now I am paying ZERO attention to mothership. We’ll see if that changes when sam pops up or not.

Okay, the black & tan number Samantha has on close to the end? It looks like it’s a two piece outfit with her midriff hanging out… good job wardrobe…

Ooo..od’d… yeah… called that…, also Nolan that was some of the worst cpr compressions ive ever seen on tv.. cmon

OKAY. Paying attention now!

We REALLY had to watch that machete attack again!?? WHY

Jfc that opening…did we have to go that graphic?? Is this gonna continue to be a new thing?

I cant figure out if they’re trying to test out muncy/Velasco with the fandom and see what way we go, or of they’re teasing the relationship, or if they’re just playing on the brother/sister vibes, because all im getting is muncy being a brat, which is accurate. Also that scene would’ve been a lot less awkward if there was any kind of background noises/music, like when there’s elevator dings on grey’s, you know what im saying?

Loving the purple on Velasco tho

“you wanna keep a stray puppy?” “you got to keep one!” LOL

So bruno’s here to stay?

#1: wtf is this bucket hat.

#2: why is it pulled down so far over her eyes?

Bro those crutches are way too short for this dude

“A funk?” carisi then gives the “who’s this guy” look to liv. LOL.

Man the writing this ep is great.

I appreciate that we’re getting more into muncy’s personality aside from being a lil teasing brat, like, there’s gotta be a lot of grief in there, knowing that her mom died and im pretty sure it was when grace was young, so she’s probably been bottling shit up since then. Also still and always really hoping that they don’t push her & Velasco, let the brother sister bestie vibes win please.

Glad we’re getting lots of muncy this week

Bruno is growing on me….

“sometimes though it’s hard to make a u-turn” IS THAT THE ONLY FOLLOW UP WERE GONNA GET?! (I say that as someone who is 100000000% NOT an eo shipper, but I do think it’s strange that *that* happened last week and like, fin didn’t even ask how noah’s drive back to the city was kinda thing. Yeah, sure there was enough going on in both episodes, but like, there was literally ZERO follow up to everything. Jeeze.)

 Joe looking hella cute in that toque

Man this just keeps getting worse…

Okay… hold up.. grace says “a great one” about Velasco being a liar and liv just flies right passed it AS IF THEY ALL DIDN’T FIRST MEET HIM WHEN HE WAS UC AND NONE OF THEM BELIEVED HIM. Like homeboy WAS working majorly UC for how long??

Though we DO know a tidbit about his previous gang involvement… so I honestly don’t know what direction theyre taking this… it’ll be interesting to see.