#i guess the game is ages old at this point BUT if anyone DOESN'T know what happens.

[axolotl4days]

Batfam fans i promise I'm gonna post part 2 to the "batman Dead Daughter" story soon (I intended to post it after the first part but I keep getting distracted and haven't finished writing it)(i have adhd and autism and I've never actually posted my story ideas before-)

However, part of why I haven't is i accidentally started thinking of a completely different story-

And it's so much angstier, and I haven't decided if i want to actually write it or if it lives in my head forever

It takes some slight inspiration from the "little misfortune" game, but tbh the most it takes is the name Misfortune

Side note:I have no fucking clue how old any of the characters actually are in canon, so for this it's just going off age order rather than numbers the reader would be in between Tim and Damian age wise but thats about it

Anyways here's the idea lemme know if anyone would be interested in reading it

The basic premise:

Backstory: The reader was adopted by the bat at the age of like 6 or 7 after the bat found reader just kinda... wandering Gotham one night covered in dirt and dried blood, when asked about their parents the reader just stays silent so bats like "Well I guess i have a new kid" because what else do you do? Takes the kid homes, cleans em up, and gifts them a scarf to try to gain their trust (he noticed reader kept covering their neck, he sees a pretty nasty scar but doesn't push reader to talk about it)

And the story would basically be the bat siblings realizing they don't know where reader came from (not even tim knows and he knows like, everything about his siblings cause it's tim)

And they don't ask because they're detectives they can figure it out right? But then they start to notice certain behaviors, subtle things that wouldn't normally raise alarm bells for anyone

But they don't get anywhere and after a few incidents (aka moments where they see reader experience ptsd but don't know what caused it) they decide to ask (I have an idea where they don't ask upfront but try to do the thing where they're all talking about their backstories so it doesn't feel so confrontstional) and reader very casually drops a lore nuke and tries to brush it off like it's nothing because "it happened a long time ago I'm fine" (spoiler alert, they are not fucking fine)(i want them to violently start sobbing while telling the story and they don't even realize it until one of the others points it out) and shenanigans ensue as they learn just how not fine they are :D

Because the story has only been in my head I've got a bunch of alternating scenes and plot line ideas so it's hard ti describe what it exactly is about but it mske sense in my head

This one would have a lot of mention to heavy child abuse, death, and other stuff, but apparently I'm sadistic cause I can't stop thinking about it

Depending how it goes it could be considered platonic yandere batfam but it'd get their gradually, but I haven't decided yet

[hootshooch]

Age Headcanons

I want to share my HCs for all the companion's ages (both so I can reference this later and because it's just fun). Aside from the canon numbers we have, these are just my personal opinions! But If I've gotten any canon information wrong please correct me and I'll edit it :-)

Astarion: 339 (physically 139)

Gale: 36

Halsin: 350

Jaheria: 155

Karlach: 27

Lae'zel: 22

Minsc: 149 (physically 65)

Shadowheart: 48

Wyll: 24

(I'm not including Minthara because Wyll and my Durge killed her in two turns using Hold Person and Searing Smite in my current playthrough so I have never recruited her before nor know much about her character so I can't make an educated guess about her age. Sorry.)

Explanations under the cut!

Astarion

Gale

I think his gravestone (the dates that say he was 39 when he died) is total BS and was just a mistake left in from when Astarion's race wasn't decided on during development (I know he was a tiefling at one point).

Idle Champions seems to confirm this because his age is listed as 350 on his card (meaning he was approximately 150 when he died). BUT, since Halsin also says he is 350 years old, I think it would be incredibly unlikely and sort of weird if two of the three recruitable Elves were the exact same age, so I rounded down so his age does align more with his in-game gravestone. However, unless someone made another mistake, 350 is (probably) his canon age.

Apparently there's conflicting information about what his age is listed as on Idle Champions too. Maybe it changed or something? I don't know. Regardless it makes the most sense to me if he's over 300 years old.

I know this might be an unpopular opinion but I actually do not believe that Mystra groomed Gale (though I think she IS abusive to all her Chosen, Gale included–but that is NOT what "grooming" means. Not in the way people are using the term. She just took advantage of him). Gale said she first appeared to him when he was a "young man" and Mystra was dead up until 1479 DR. It's very unlikely she went straight for Gale the moment she gained consciousness and Gale is visibly greying by the time you meet him (and I know some people theorize that it's just the netherese orb aging him from the stress, but I personally don't think that's what is happening). I think at MINIMUM he was 22 when Mystra first appeared to him and is in his mid-thirties now.

Halsin

He explicitly tells the player he's 350. As far as I'm aware he's actually the ONLY companion who ever gives an actual number for his age in the game, too.

Jaheira

She says she was a "young child" during the Ten Black Days of Elient in Tethyr (1347 DR) and I think it's safe to assume that "young" probably means anywhere from 10 years old to a baby. BUT she also says in the first Baldur's Gate game (set in 1368 DR), Jaheira says that she and Khalid have been married for 8 years and together for 10. I really don't think that the two of them got married as teenage harpers (at least I hope not), but it DOES seem like Jaheira got married young and was never really with anyone else before or after him (I do not consider Jaheira's romance with Gorion's Ward in BG2 to be canon, sorry). So that means she's was probably in her early 30s during the first two games. I just decided on 155 (making her 31-32 in the first two games) since that makes Jaheira only 20 years older than my Dark Urge (Alias, 135 years old) and it's infintely funnier when she makes fun of her for being old because they're both practically the same age.

Karlach

I know most people place her in her early 30s, but I honestly think she was younger when Gortash sent her off to Avernus. The age of majority in most of the Sword Coast is 16 and Karlach specifically refers to herself as "a kid" when she was working for Gortash. She was also still living with her parents at the time and says that she was working to make enough money to move them to the Lower City—and to me the way she says that doesn't seem like she was trying to give back to her parents as an adult but she was still actually a teenager who NEEDED to work because her parents didn't make enough money. I absolutely do not think Gortash is above hiring a poor teenager from a lower class district to be a bodyguard before selling her into compulsory enlistment. In fact that's exactly the kind of thing he'd do. I personally think she started working for him when she was around 16 and stayed there for a few years max before Gortash screwed her over (being in Avernus for a decade), so she's in her late 20s now. I like the idea of her being closer in age to Wyll so I just HC that her birthday is late in the year and "10 years" is more of a rough estimate of how long she was there rather than an exact timeframe (how was she keeping track of time in Avernus, anyway? did time even go by at the same rate in a different plane of existence?)

Lae'zel

She says that she's never been to the Astral before the game begins and she was trying to obtain a mindflayer head so she would be allowed to do so (which I think is a social coming-of-age for githyanki, based on how she talks about it). She's definitely the youngest. Her Idle Champions card says she's 22 and that seems right to me so that's the age I put.

Minsc

We know he was petrified in Baldur's Gate in 1409 DR, but beyond that, his timeline is kind of weird. In the first Baldur's Gate game he was on his dajemma (Rashemaar coming-of-age journey) with Dynaheir. Fyodor first went on his dajemma when he was fifteen and didn't return to Rashemen until he was nineteen. Minsc believes his dajemma was never truly complete because of Dynaheir's death (despite the Iron Lord saying otherwise), so I he must have been YOUNG before during the first two games (despite being bald and appearing older in his original portrait). Considering he was undergoing a coming-of-age ritual, he can't have been any older than 25 in the first two games (and that's only if he was adventuring an especially long time, but that seems to be the case). So he's about a century and a half in BG3, give or take, and physically in his mid-sixties (around the time he was petrified).

Shadowheart

I've seen a surprising amount of people mislabel Shadowheart as 40, but she says (in ambient dialogue) that Viconia was recording information about her INSIDE the cloister for 40 years of her life and in the flashback where she is kidnapped she looked around the same age as Arabella (who tells who she is nine and a half if you're evil enough to let Kagha kill her and use Speak with Dead on her). So she's actually closer to 50. Her Idle Champions card says she's 48 specifically so that's the age that I've gone with because that lines up with everything that we know.

Wyll

In the game, he says he was 17 when his father kicked him out and he was in "exile" for 7 years, so that places him at 24. His Idle Champions card says this, too. (fun fact: this also means he was 14 when Murder in Baldur's Gate takes place and Gorion's Ward dies).

[lonelychicago]

I've been listening to the prophecy by taylor and i have thoughts, so bare with me on this one.

some people might look at this thing like a superpower, like something cool to trick people with or scare the shit out of them.

tommy thinks of it more as a curse than anything else. a punishment from above— maybe he's done awful, terrible things in some pasts lives and now he's paying the consequences.

truth is, he doesn't know. he can guess, can try to feel his way through the dark like a lost, blind man, but he's probably never gonna know why he is the way he is, why he can see the things he sees.

it started around the time he was nine, he thinks. when he went to hug her grandma, and suddenly he had this vision— like a short movie playing in his head, of how his grandma would die.

tommy hugged her and then there it was in his mind, he could hear her heartbeat and saw her laying in bed, so calm and at peace in her sleep, when her heart slowly stops.

tommy remembers crying out, screaming, pulling away from her in fear, much to the confusion of everyone in his family. his grandma was okay! she was right there! no one believed him when he told them what he saw, what he felt.

(nana june died that very night, in her sleep. just like tommy predicted.)

tommy realized pretty quickly that this was not something he could share with anyone else. not when he ran into his teacher at the grocery store three weeks later and saw how the woman would die in a tragic car crash in just a couple of weeks. not when he kissed a boy for the very first time when he was sixteen and saw he would die from a freak accident at a football game, of all places— a fatal hit to the head would be the end of a life cut too short.

his life became a swirl of death and fear and loneliness.

he pulled away from everyone. what was the point anyway? if he knew the end of their stories? why get atta hed, get close, when he knew the specific details of their deaths and would have to bare that weight on his shoukders all on his own?

(he made the mistake once of falling in love when he was in college. with matthew— a guy who would die of old age, at ninety-five years old. at home, holding the hand of his husband... that was definitely noy tommy.

it was okay. he figured he could have some fun and enjoy whatever time he could. but it only earned him a broken heart and matthew calling him a freak when tommy explained why he couldn't say i love you to him, why he couldn't truly commit.

he has trusted matthew with his deepest secret, with this curse that tommy has no other choice but to live with it. and it ended up in tears and half the campus thinking he was a psycho.)

since then, tommy vowed to never make that mistake again. to keep his distance with people.

and he's been successful, for the most part. he has some friends, of course, but he doesn't let his relationships get too deep, keeping everyone at arm's length.

it's for the best, really.

and he's... not happy, but content. maybe. comfortable.

until evan buckley comes crashing into his life, figuratively and literally speaking.

the guy is— adorable.

tommy has no other word to describe him.

evan is energetic and enthusiastic, passionate about every single thing he says and does. he's reckless and loud and everything's tommy has soent a lifetime running away from.

when buck touches him for the first time, it sends electricity to every one of his nerves. it's intoxicating and amazing and warm, and tommy never wants it to end.

then, the curse kicks in. a little later than usual— as if mocking tommy, almost. teasing him with a tiny taste of what normal looks like and then reminding him he can never have it, not for real.

the first time buck touches him, it's at chimney's wedding— he's drunk and sweaty, cheeks pink and flushed and a boyish smile plastered on his face. he practically draps himself next to tommy's side, leans all his weight against him as he hums the lyrics of the song plahing in the background out of tune.

it's fun and heavenly for a couple of seconds, until tommy gets the vision.

buck in a month, maybe a month and a half. hanging from the firetruck ladder as the sky falls around him, lightning striking him right in the chest and making his heart stop.

[tumbleweed-run]

Hello! I love your writing <3 May I ask, do you have any headcanons for Gale? I have a few (eg: his mother raised him alone - he's an only child - as much as he enjoys homecooked meals he's very well known in Waterdeep's fine dining establishments) I'm interested in hearing what you imagine about Gale outside what the game tells us!

Lighter stuff

I agree with you on pretty much all points

Gale might appreciate wine but he strikes me as a fancy whiskey boy. It's a vibe I get

His mother hates the beard, which is why he didn't grow it out until the hermit stage

He loves all books. Magical tomes, history of Faerun, tawdry bodice rippers. And he has a system to his library but it makes no sense to anyone who is not Gale

Personally, I think he's well-known in all Waterdeep's dining establishments. He's in the Yawning Portal at some point as an adult but I also feel like he visits the finer restaurants- probably with his mother

he was raised wealthy, I know he like "oh I haven't dabbled in wealth" but my dear boy was Top Teir middle class at best. I don't think they were 'own the world wealthy' but I believe he grew up with more than just a housekeeper, not having to worry about money. Mama's got Sea Ward money

And of course (because I pointed out his 'tower' is in the Dock Ward) I think as an adult Gale moved to the "rough and tumble" part of town to prove himself. (which is probably why they know him in the poorer establishments )

His tower is a freaking row home, maybe its like two floors taller. But it is a house. Gale is just a fanciful man. Or he's manifesting that shit, idk

I also think he goes home to mama in the sea ward at least 2x a week

Gale is a sorcerer

Gale is 300% a sorcerer whose mother(not magic) was fed up with her shit being set on fire, so she sent him to train in magics the way she was most familiar - Wizard Apprenticing

Less Light Stuff

Gale mentions 'parents' once (I think during the I was denied a kitten speech) I think his father was there at first and then left. Maybe he couldn't handle Gale, or he was just a shitty guy. I think that was the road to Gales "I'm not enough, I must prove I'm enough" syndrome.

I also believe he first encountered Mystra in the Sea Ward at the 'House of Wonder' which is a temple devoted to her. I believe he was young like 13/14 but my guess is she was aware of him from a younger age. (Most wizards apprentice starting at 13... and usually have no spellcasting abilities which is...)

I don't think his favorite color is purple. I think it was Mystra's color and therefor it became his favorite (which is why I like dying all his clothes NOT Purple). Judging by the only room we saw, it's red/maroon/burgundy- but he doesn't know that

I think some of his stunts at Blackstaff were not just his own hubris though he sees it that way, but also at "hey mystra look at me" thing. Which I think she encouraged

I also believe that he was a young adult when the muse-to-lover transition took place. Maybe a few years after he left his apprenticeship, he was old enough to be a 'man' but it was definitely a product of grooming.

I don't think he was ever truly her Chosen. Most gods bestow cool powers (look at the dead 3) or at least protections. She just... screwed him? Taunted him with stuff she knew was going to keep him hooked on her?

When he saw Mystra's interest waning he panicked because he didn't have very many friends (his only named or mentioned friend is Elminster who has the most messed up history with Mystra) and he'd certainly not taken a lover once she 'chose' him. And I assume this was years before the netherese orb disaster. He probably did increasingly dangerous things/adventures to keep her attention, just like he did as a boy.

[emblemxeno]

Sorry king gotta rant. Why does Bernie having trauma mean you can't dislike her? Where's this energy for Rhea, who lost her people and mother? Catherine has good reason to support Rhea since she saved her fucking life but she doesn't get that pass. Dimitri is mentally ill as hell but I don't see Bernie stans defending him? Oh because Bernie didn't hurt anyone else? Okay, what about cyril? The 14 year old boy who was saved from SLAVERY brings up his surrogate mom a lot. Who did he hurt? Why is Bernie's annoying "funny footsteps" ass where the line is drawn? Everyone in 3h has trauma! People can hate whomever they want don't get me wrong but don't act like your favorite traumatized waifu is above criticism while characters like Rhea get dragged through the fucking mud. I guess trauma is only valid if you support the emperor.

Valid feelings imo anon.

I have come and gone on how I feel about Bernadetta, because it's extremely apparent what she was written as: a character whose major gimmick is meant for surface level laughs and entertainment, with a backstory intended to endear her to the audience.

But therein lies many issues I have.

---One support conversation with Byleth, and she says she's fine around them, for no discernable reason according to her. Her entire support chain, including her Goddess Tower scene, is her all but saying "I can't and never could do anything without you professor!" That's a problem 3H has in general because it has no idea how to intentionally write an actual developed relationship. It's why the Lions' intense homoeroticism within its cast, along with Ferdinand and Hubert, are the most common ships outside of Byleth centered ones, as those effectively stumbled into gold.

Comparatively, most other romantic chains-where love/marriage/a relationship was blatantly intended-fall flat because they shove a lot of it into the A supports (sometimes the B rank ones too), which also has to complete the support chain's arc, making one/two conversations tackle two different and delicate topics at once.

I know people are critical of Awakening and especially Fates having romance being hamfisted in the S ranks, but at least you can complete a support chain's story in those games without the shoddy lovey dovey aspect being required reading alongside the conclusion. It's unavoidable in 3H, and also makes many characters look like shitty, emotionally immature people in a meta sense because they can have these near-confessions-of-love with different characters simultaneously due to it being in the A ranks. Not in a cute polyamorous way, either, no just ludicrous.

I digress though, because this affects Bernadetta for me specifically because it's such a rough backstory that it fails to get me to suspend my disbelief that she can suddenly become comfortable with a very speficic stranger to the point of falling for them. Compounding that with a military academy, events, and eventually a war? Yeah, no, it makes no fucking sense.

---Simiarly, as you say, the music that accompanies her supports makes the revelation of her backstory feel insincere and vacuous. Now, I praise similar kinds of writing in games like Engage with Alfred, for example, where learning a very important detail recontextualizes everything you know and have seen about the character. With Alfred, knowing about his illness and losing his father at a young age, it shifts the entire thought process about his supports, story scenes, Firene as a whole, etc.

The difference between him and Bernadetta though, is the sense of respect. Perhaps it's due to Alfred being plot important, but Alfred is written in a way that signals "I, the writer, respect my work, respect the character I'm putting time and effort into, and respect the audience who is consuming it." Alfred has funny music scenes too, but it's never at the cost of making a joke of his trauma. His muscle worship is funny to listen to, his fitness/health regimen is nutty, his overly enthusiastic personality is entertaining, but none of this is at the expense of his vulnerable points. There's hardly, if any, instances of him being forced into changing who he is, altering his beliefs and lifestyle, or being made into a perennial punchline.

Bernadetta, on the other hand, is almost always treated horribly by the support writing. Yelled at by Edelgard, forced out of her room by Ingrid, beat up by a rabbit in Petra's support, accosted by both Ferdinand and Hubert, carried against her will by Caspar, etc. The only supports where I can comfortably say she's treated all right is with Dorothea, Leonie, Raphael, Seteth and Alois, and even then, a couple of those are reliant on a character getting backstory/teachable moment in between her screaming.

It boils down to "Haha, look at this kooky situation that Bernadetta found herself in because of her shut-in personality, what will happen next? 🤪", meanwhile the whole reason why she's like that is because was violently abused by her father and a childhood friend of hers was nearly beaten to death. The backstory itself, doesn't even recontextualize everything the way Alfred's does either, because now all I think when Bernadetta's screaming is "wow, this is fucking gross and potentially triggering for people who also hate having boundaries crossed due to trauma."

And this is the same game that gave us Dimitri's story arc lol. Then again, most of the female characters in 3H have some garbage writing attached to them, soooo...

---This is personal, but I also just can't jibe with Bernadetta conceptually.

Her part one design is okay (aside from the "wow crazy face Bernadetta cuz she's scared haha! 🤪), but her part two design is kinda horrid.

I don't like her voice at all, though that's not an indictment of Erica Mendez at all (she's great as Deirdre and Lianna). It's the direction and character concept, I just hate high pitched squealing and screaming, no matter the voice type, it hits my ears in the worst way.

She's pretty cool as a unit, due to the vengeance builds and having a good spell list if you wanna go a magic route, but... that's about it.

I don't know if I hate Bernadetta herself, or even really dislike her, but I do vehemently hate the concepts behind her and how she's written.

Really, I think people should feel how they feel about whatever character. And I agree, I think it's kinda BS how certain characters are treated worse than others because their personalities are "more annoying/less endearing" despite also being in similar situations.

[emeritus-fuckers]

papa's with S/O who has DID?(dissociative identity disorder)

Please note that this is written by a person who does not have DID. I might be wrong about things. Feel free to correct me in the comments if I got something terribly wrong, I only have basic knowledge on the subject. - Nosferatu

Papas and Sister Imperator with a darling who has DID

Primo (he/him)

Very much not bothered.

He asks you which flowers each alter likes and makes them all a nice bouquets as he introduces himself to each of them.

He's very kind to them. And very cruel to anyone who makes you feel threatened. Let's not forget this man used to piss on his ghouls. (I am never letting that go)

He gifts you and your alters books on subjects they enjoy.

He doesn't push to become their friend, he lets it happen gradually.

He makes you feel very safe about everything. He's especially good to the Little Ones in your system. They call him grandpa. He teases you about it.

Secondo (he/him)

He's had a chance to read about it some time ago, so he has an idea of what he's dealing with here.

He asks you a few questions to understand better and that's roughly it.

He'll try to get to know all of your alters at least to the point of being civil and relatively friendly with them.

Obviously, he loves you the most, but he also arranges to hang out with your other alters, doing things they enjoy.

Very chill about the whole thing. He will, however, change up his entire schedule depending on which alter is fronting. It can be a bit intense, but it doesn't matter, he wants you and your alters happy.

Terzo (he/they)

He makes you a set of pins for each alter, including their name, age (if it's known) and pronouns.

They also play a game of Guess Who? whenever they notice you switching.

Basically, Terzo asks you questions to figure out who's fronting at the moment. It's weirdly adorable.

He's equally excited to see each of your alters, although obviously you are, and forever will be, his favorite.

Tries to get into the hobbies of each alter so they can have fun with them all.

He's very sweet about it all!

Copia (he/him)

A bit awkward at first. He's not sure what to do or how to approach you sometimes, he doesn't want to greet you in a way that another fronting alter might consider offensive.

He's walking on eggshells around you for a while, until he gets to know your alters a bit better. Well enough not to freak out when he meets a new one.

He's still cautious, of course. He tries to win their sympathy with gifts.

He's very respectful, but for the love of Satan, he's stupid and he freaks out way too easily. You need to reassure him a lot, though, even if it's over something trivial he did that he thinks might offend one of your alters. He cares about you so much and he ends up stressing the fuck out.

Papa Nihil (he/him; applies to both young and old)

Don't take this in the wrong way, but he is very confused and weirded out when you first bring it up.

It's just the initial "I don't understand it, I don't like it" reaction that he has to many things, give him a few minutes to organize things in his head.

Once he sorta does, he will ask a lot of questions. Some of them stupid, some slightly insensitive, but that's purely because he wants to understands as best as possible, since he's rather clueless about DID. Just explain to him how some of the things he said aren't really all that good and he'll never mention those again.

It takes some explaining and patience, but he does his best to be as understanding and nice to your alters as possible.

He'll eventually become good friends with them all, but he'll always like you the most.

Sister Imperator (she/her; applies to both young and old)

The amount of reasearch that this woman does is scary.

She needs to know everything. She will know everything.

By the end of her research, she will know better than many specialists, honestly.

She won't ask about the root of your trauma and will remain extremely respectful, conversing politely with each of your alters, trying to have a positive relationship with them all.

~

Written by Nosferatu.

[badasscoffeemug]

expanding on my tags on this wonderful drawing by @moeyoon (hope that's okay), because i can, in fact, not stop thinking about it. guess i'll hereby out myself as an insane f1 girlie but i have Thoughts, so:

bucktommy formula 1 drivers au

buck is absolutely max verstappen-esque, a prodigy already a standout in karting but really caught the attention of several driver academies the moment he set foot in a single-seater

rough around the edges but with so much raw speed everyone Knows he's something special. aka the exact type the red bull driver academy of old would've loved

so he's signed, thrown into toro rosso/alpha tauri/vcarb (whichever name the faenza-based rb junior team is called at the time), impresses, gets promoted to red bull racing, becomes their Golden Boy. the One they rest their hopes and dreams on

his driving style is aggressive, daring, especially in his early years in the sport. maybe he causes a few incidents. maybe some other drivers aren't too fond of his antics. what of it?

but he's good, undeniably. and he mellows out over the years, though he never loses that edge, never afraid to push it right to the limit on track (just knows how to pick his battles now)

his attitude is a bit divisive with the audience, but he is well-liked in the paddock, even good friends with some of his peers. he is fiercely loyal to his team, absolutely intends to stay with them for the rest of his career (that's his Family), but does not put up with any shit and does not hold back from speaking his mind when he's unhappy with things

generational talent, even his detractors won't deny. won at least 3 world drivers' championships to show for it (i'm giving him 5-6 if we're going by buck's current canon age, but i'd probably age 'em down a bit if i ever were to flesh this au out further, for realism's sake)

bonus: buck fucking kills the grill the grid challenges every year, he is filled to the brim with trivia knowledge and hypercompetitive, that's His thing

(reference, max verstappen's action of the year winning overtake in 2019, max winning in 2024, max and his beloved engineer gp)

tommy, on the other hand, is part of the old gen. nearing retirement at this point. well past his prime, but you don't get to stick around for this long if you aren't still good

where i envision a near one-on-one comparison to verstappen's career trajectory for buck, i don't exactly have a clear one for tommy's. but probably something halfway between fernando alonso and kimi räikkönnen

he's talented from the jump, but the timing is never quite right, always driving at his best during someone else's dominance. changes teams a fair few times. never quite lived up to his perceived potential. some may call it "poor career choices", but that's easy with hindsight

did one significant stint at a top team though and got one, maybe two wdcs out of it

"retires" a champion, does some other motorsport (rallying probably, maybe some nascar races for fun) comes back a year later for the love of the game

a known asset for any team due to his experience and renowned skills regarding car set-up and development

doesn't care much for the media side of things, has a bit of a reputation as standoffish, though every team will insist he's great to work with even if he doesn't socialize much

his illustrious career lends to some reverence though, some of the younger gen drivers may even name tommy kinard as their idol, if they were the right age to grow up watching him race at the peak of his success

as for current teams i'd put him in aston martin i think, alonso-like role. alpine would love to have him but anyone with a bit of reputation to spare would steer clear of that mess right now, sauber maybe but tommy's better than dead last, haas was an option but he's still a champion and they cannot afford a driver with that type of salary lmao

(reference, kimi räikönnen in 2007, fernando alonso in the 2023 aston martin)

[kochi999]

I always draw only Arcade porn, but today I really thought about "why I like Arcade" and drew it seriously.

Below is the monstrosity I drew on pixiv. I haven't scrutinized the document after the English translation, so it's probably weird.

　My shit-decker feelings (mainly inferiority complex) for Dr. Arcade have finally calmed down after about 10 months of falling for him, so here's one thing I'd like to summarize (give birth to) why I can't help but have such a fussy heart for this guy. I guess the screen turns red when I put my feelings into it. I know it's not popular to capture long sentences nowadays, but it's the last time I'm drawing, so forgive me, I don't have anywhere else to put it.

　I've tried to put all the elements of why I like this guy so much into this one picture, but the part that people who don't know me won't get from the picture and the part that made me fall for that point in the first place is that this guy is officially gay. The other deciding factor that drove me crazy was the fact that there is an ending where he commits suicide by circumcision for the sake of his own pride.

　This guy, who had been running away from the secret of his origins, who was worried and lost, who couldn't tell anyone about the secret of his life, who couldn't make up his mind in that ephemeral world, who had been moping and sulking until he was 35 years old, makes a decision based on the words of a random courier (the main character) and chooses to live while helping others with his special skills, He can either choose to live for his father's redemption, or he can choose neither and be enslaved until he commits suicide. How can you come up with such a setting? The game is so full of elements that mess with our emotions that I can't help but project myself onto the brain-destroyed (physical) courier and the brain-destroyed (metaphorical) me.

↓I can't help but project myself onto him. 　Why is Arcades set up as gay? It's just a setting that has nothing to do with the story. It is really a mystery. Why did they set him up that way? Is it because he doesn't know his father's face and is a fatherfucker? It's a wise decision. Thanks to you, a lot of nerdy women have been swamped. The fact that a man of such a serious character and nature was naturally homosex active drives me crazy again. There is also the mysterious statement that he had a few boyfriends in the past, but that doesn't play into the main story at all. Are you saying that I couldn't even confide my origins to my boyfriends? I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend who confided in a past man about his origins…and then they finally broke up because they couldn't share their life together, but he never revealed the secret of his origins to anyone…that would be fine. I'm a big fan.

　Please, give me an Arcadian ex-career selection setting. What kind of guy she was dating and at what age, and if possible, her favorite position, etc. No, that's too much to ask. I'll have dinner with that. I'm ready to eat. I'll cook a pot of rice for now. Give me that. Give me a piece of Arcadian life. I don't care if it's too late. Give it to me. Hey. If, at the height of the drama, there are now statements like, "Actually, Nate, the fourth master, was in that movie," then why not have a leak that says, "Actually, that was Arcade's ex-boyfriend," or "Actually, that man at Navarro base is Arcade's father. Give it to me. I'm sure you have some secret settings that you can't reveal to the public anyway. Give it to me. Give it to me in a fanzine. Please. I don't care if it's a fabrication by a fan, please give me a doujinshi of Arcades' ex-boyfriend…someone please draw me a doujinshi…I'll do anything…tumbler prohibits sexually explicit pictures, so if you can, please draw me a sexually explicit picture on pixiv. I don't care if it's a cartoon. I have two new friends on pixiv recently. Thank you I love you and I won't miss you.

[rindragon-from-twewy]

Uh oh! Someone left me alone with my thoughts again! I don't see many people talking too deeply about pre-game stuff beyond "Number One was a terrible person" so I'm here to throw my own poorly explained hot take in to the ring-

I'm not really built for theory crafting and tend to miss or forget obvious details so consider this... an AU proposal more then anything. (Tbh I mostly just wanted to draw smol Yuma lmao-)

Spoiler warning ofc and enjoy this horrifically long and poorly explained ramble-

So... I don't really know much about the general fandom age headcannons on characters. I won't be going in to specifics right now about what I think all the character ages are cuz this isn't about that but for context, I pin Yuma around 15-16, on the early 18 side if you really wanna push it. Mainly cuz... it'd be kinda weird for Kurumi (a school student) to be one of his main love interests otherwise- For the sake of argument, I'll say 18.

So anyways-

Makoto's like... what? 3 or 4 years old? Forgive me for not re-watching chapter 5 just to get my timeline correct here but that's roughly right. Meaning that Number One would've been about 13 or 14 when he agreed to participate in the experiments at most. And sure, he's the smartest person in the world but anyone can be susceptible to lies or manipulations, especially someone that young.

But then of course we don't know how long Yuma had the Number One title for. Surely it would've had to have been at least a little while- I doubt the unified government would go after the blood of the newly appointed "smartest detective in the world" the second he got in to office. So who's to say exactly how much this literal child had been manipulated beforehand?

I'm imagining a sort of... Nagisa plus Kirigiri scenario (the danganronpa characters lol-) where they'd been set on a very specific academic path nearly their whole lives. Sure, Yuma probably had been born a genius and his strong moral code was most likely all his own but... no matter what way you spin it, there must have been some negligence to allow someone so young to become so cut off from the rest of society. It could've been intentional, it could've been accidental. Either way, why is someone like Yuma, who is obviously younger then most of his peers, who could easily pass as a trainee detective simply because of how smol he is, make it all the way to the top on his sheer intelligence alone?

This rambling's getting incoherent, sorry, it's late and I'm tired-

Makoto's pretty manipulative, sure, but he only got to the CEO position cuz of all the blackmail he had- Man had zero control over the city to the point he had to let outsiders get smuggled in just to help him fix it. Makoto (and by extension Number One) is book smart. Not street smart. They can build the rain machine, they can run multiple government conspiracies, etc etc. But if Number One was a kid at the time, it would've been pretty difficult for them to manipulate, mansplain, malewife his way in to office imo. A kid can't manipulate a dozens of adults in to being the leader of the whole WDO, no matter how naturally gifted they are. I mean it's no secret that the unified government and by extension the WDO are just as shady as Amaterasu so why wouldn't they take advantage of a young and impressionable kid when the opportunity arises?

We don't really know how Number One truly felt about anything. We know how Makoto views it, we know what Yuma thinks about it but we don't know if Number One really understood what the repercussions of the experiments could've been.

So let me just... break down what I'd interpret a vague timeline of events to be (in this hypothetical... Uh... AU I guess?)

- Yuma gets in to the WDO somehow. Very young, very impressionable. He may be really good at solving crimes but like any kid, he doesn't know anything that he isn't taught about. Being surrounded by mysteries and crimes, all while constantly being praised by adults as being "just soooo smart!" Is probably what taught him that he didn't need other people and so never learnt (or potentially was never even allowed to) make friends.

- Growing up surrounded by a combination of Yes-Men and people who let the obvious child labour/ exploitation slide because "This little genius is such a special case, we gotta let it slide this once!" Made it so he reached to the level of Number One far faster then anyone would expect. And that then came along with abandoning his old name and identity, isolating himself completely for his own protection. (I like to think he may not even remember his original name because he was so young at the time (for extra angst ^vO))

- And so a completely isolated pre-teen, who's entire life up until this point has entirely consisted of gory murder scenes and tragic crimes he was personally responsible for solving, was approached by the unified government. Who knows exactly how much detail they went in to with explaining their plan? Maybe they said that it probably wouldn't even work out, given all the past failures. Maybe they came begging for his help, like many people seeking justice would have done before them. Maybe they simply told him it was for the sake of peace? Maybe he was in his angsty emo phase and thought having a clone would be cool, who really knows? A pre-teen is a pree-teen, they all do dumb things- either way, he agreed.

- And so things played out like they said in the game, Makoto was created, escaped, saved the citizens of Kanai Ward via isolating them. He keeps them fed the only way he knows how - through the WDO; the only organisation he's ever been able to rely on (and thanks to his authority level, of course). Yuma starts getting suspicious while also simultaneously maturing enough to realise just how wrong everything about his life is, gets his new identity, makes the contract with Shinigami and heads off to start fixing his problems.

Additional Thoughts:

It's like that thing in the original beauty and the beast movie where everyone suddenly realised that the witch probably cursed a 9 year old for not letting a creepy stranger in to his home-

Maybe that's why he stuck with the name Yuma after everything. Cuz he didn't remember his original name to fall back on. He could've been Number One for as long as he could remember for all we know!

Maybe he was so busy trying to run the whole WDO that he didn't even pay much mind to the experiments? Could've just agreed to shut them up without knowing what he was getting in to. Makoto really drove it in to the mud how horrible of a person Number One was but how can we be sure that's an objective fact and not completely opinion driven?

I'm like actually really curious what other's perspectives on this could be. Again, I don't know much about the rain code fandom's age headcannons but it's pretty obvious to me at least that Yuma's on the younger end of the cast- (And by extension, Makoto too-)

Maybe I'll fact check myself when I have the time- either way, it's an interesting AU idea at the very least. I'll probably delete the writing portion of this post if it turns out I'm horrendously wrong-

Its probably gunna turn out that Yuma's in his mid 30s or 40s and suffers from baby face syndrome or something cringe fail like that lmfao-

So. Yeah. That's all just a theory (minus most of the fact checking) A GAME THEORY- Thanks for reading! :D

[legacyshenanigans]

Little facts about my Cats 😺

I don't know why I wanna do this, I just do, so here! Take my kitty information!! 🤣

I was there when Xavier was born, He was really teeny tiny compared to his big sister who was HUGE.

Xaviers name was nearly Moogle, after the Moogles from the FF games, because he had a mushy little face and his little pink nose when he was born.

We found Storm inside the hood of our car when he was around 5 weeks old. He was covered in tics and oil, we have no idea where he came from.

After taking Storm to the vets, I asked my fella if we could keep him, he said "I'll think about it" and never actually gave me an answer, it's been 8 years since then so I assume that's a yes lmao, but we joke sometimes about the fact what if he just turned around NOW and said "Thought about it, nah" 🤣

It took Xavier AGES to get used to Storm being around, he never really attacked him, but he HATED Storm being around him, like he'd get up and walk away if Storm tried to snuggle with him, and then one day he kinda realised "Ok fine, this fuckin THING is gonna be around, I guess" 🤣

Storm has a genetic mutation in his tail, which causes his tail to curl upward and lay completely flat up his spine when he's walking around.

Storm STARTS fights with Xavier on the sly, then will run to me meowing if Xavier hits him back, like a little sibling trying to get their big sibling in trouble 🤣

Xavier HATES and will hiss at anyone who isn't me or my fella. He TOLERATES ME at best tbh lmao, he ADORES my fella though. But if anyone else besides us tries to stroke him he'll whack them with his paw and hiss.

I swear Storm is more like a dog, I first noticed it when he was around a year old. If anyone comes to our door, he runs to the window and GROWLS and SNARLS at them like a dog 🤣 But when they come inside, he'll either hide or be fine.

The only other cat on the street that Xavier is chill with is next doors cat, her name is biscuit, and I see them together outside pretty regularly. She's the only one he doesn't try and fight with.

Xavier knows our car, and quite often when we've been out and enter our road, he'll be waiting somewhere and if there's no other cars coming we'll stop and open the door and he hops in and we drive up the street to our house with him in the car.

Storm is extremely vocal, and Xaiver is fairly mute. But weirdly, Storm will meow and make noises at Xavier, and Xavier just looks at him like he's a weirdo haha.

Storm will always let Xavier know when it's food time. If I walk out of the kitchen with their food, he runs to Xavier and meows at him as if to say "BRO, FOOD!! COME ON!!"

Storm knows the word "Treat" and god forbid if I say it, he's YOWLING and screaming at my feet, circling me until he gets a treat.

Unlike Storm, who uses a litter tray and is an indoor cat, Xavier prefers to go outside to do his business, and to let me know that he wants to go outside, I have this little bell thing by the kitchen door that he paws at to let me know he wants to go out.

Storm is a VERY jealous cat, especially when it comes to me. If Xavier on the rare occasion decides he wants to sit on me or have my attention, that just doesn't sit right with Storm, and he let's it be known 🤣 He also doesn't like it when me and my fella cuddle on the sofa, and will literally try and slot himself between us.

Xavier can reach high places in our house, whereas Storm can't, Storm has never been a confident jumper, and whenever Xavier has decided he's has enough of Storms shenanigans he'll go to the highest point, and Storm just sits at the bottom and makes nosies at him.

Xavier has claimed one of our living room chairs, that's HIS chair, and if anyone sits on it, he doesn't like it. He doesn't like Storm being on HIS chair either.

Both of my cats fucking HATE children 🤣 They have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to kids hahaha. And whenever my mates kids come over, I have to remind them to stay away from my cats lmao. Aslong as the kids don't go near them, they're fine. But they WATCH their EVERY movement from a distance haha.

~

[rosesradio]

I know this sounds kinda weird but I think Lukeabeth would feature some age play? Like a ddlg kinda thing

...

...

yk what fuck it i'll have what anon's having

let me do one of those half-yap half-drabble things for You 🫵

so the...i guess pseudo-incest of lukabeth coinciding with all of the other layers of their relationship is really fucking facinating to me. you have luke feeling almost fatherly towards annabeth in the early demigod diaries days, then she says he's like an older brother to her in tlo...but ofc you also have her crush on him in tlt, and Whatever his death speech was that's gonna be debated about until the end of time.

so how do luke & annabeth feel about each other?

& what if it's all of the above?

so in this scenario you've given me anon, i kinda crafted together an AU in a similar space as my power of neptune lukercy college AU. i'm imagining a percabeth breakup pre-college, though they both go to New Rome Uni, & luke is the resident advisor for percy's dorm (per his sentence of service to the gods for sparing his life, Or Whatever). luke & annabeth meet again, and although it's been years and everything is different, they both have this desperation for things to go back to the way they once were. they find themselves in a bubble of unspoken peace, growing closer than ever before, especially given the aftermath of the war & annabeth's distance from percy. she finds herself in need of an old friend turned...whatever they are.

& luke has good intentions. probably. he probably wants to, at least.

i think at a certain point in something-or-other semester, annabeth & luke have done...some things together. it doesn't even feel like a natural progression to their relationship—it feels like just another piece of the puzzle, just another equal element to all the late-night study dates and in-depth talks. they haven't done all the things—& probably at luke's insistence, too. he wants to be sure that she's making good choices, & although he knows he's Not a good choice, he can't help but give in to how much he wants her sometimes.

luke would probably be very...apologetic in bed, & take his time, using his experience with only annabeth in mind. iykyk 😵‍💫

& annabeth knows that percy already knows about their relationship. he wants to drown luke in the little tiber, & it's only at annabeth's insistence & an urge for normality that he doesn't.

thalia would probably hunt luke for sport if she knew. so she doesn't.

needless worldbuilding aside, i can picure a day like any other in which annabeth is getting ready to go to lecture. luke is lounging on her bed, catlike, reading a book but not really reading so much as watching annabeth change clothes. she puts on a skirt and one of piper's crop tops, just because she likes to feel cute sometimes. she can feel luke's eyes on her before she meets his gaze in the mirror.

annabeth asks if he has a problem. luke tells her he doesn't want her going out like that.

of course, she laughs. that had to be a bit. she could wear whatever she wanted, anyone's opinions be damned. she tells him as much, and that she ought to cut his tongue out if that was how he was going to speak to her.

luke tells her she likes his tongue too much to do that. annabeth's face flushes, momentarily at a loss for words. touché, castellan.

still, they continue this little disingenuous game of cat & mouse. at one point, annabeth asks something along the lines of "who do you think you are, my dad?"

and this is one dangerous poke at the bubble. if this goes wrong, it could shatter this beautiful space of denial that they've created.

luke just gets to his feet, walking towards annabeth. she backs away, further and further until her back hits the wall. she's not scared. she's curious, and excited. and maybe a little nervous, the edges of her emotion tinted with nausea.

luke stands about a half a foot taller than her. he used to be even taller. annabeth wonders if she misses it, or if she wants to get heels to meet him.

he leans towards her, kissing along her jawline, up to her cheek and down to her lips. he kisses her like he's still dying sometimes, and she's the last of his holy ambrosia.

"i just wanna take care of you, babygirl," luke murmurs. he kisses down her neck, hands roaming to explore annabeth's exposed skin as if he were being allowed to for the first time. "let me take care of you, like 'm s'posed to..."

annabeth's stomach drops. she swallows. luke was supposed to take care of her. he failed. and annabeth had picked up the pieces, taken care of herself for the last seven years. in what world should she give luke another chance?

but she does. goddamnit, she does.

she nods. luke drops to his knees like he's praying for his fucking life, more urgently than he'd ever had for a real diety.

annabeth runs her fingers through luke's hair as he puts his mouth to work. his hair is just as soft as she remembers from when she put bows in it as a kid. it's just as soft as she remembers from when she was nursing him with ambrosia after the war.

she doesn't know when or why exactly the word "daddy" slips from her lips, though it does. it's never something they talked about doing. they probably should have had a conversation about that. but fuck it, right? she never called her own dad that, so it was fair game.

luke's efforts falter, the moment possibly the longest in time before he doubles his efforts. he moans against her, the vibrations spurring her to pull his hair harder, to murmer "daddy" between just about every plead and moan of her own.

and then annabeth's hips jolt, and she's coming so intensely that her stomach hurts. she pants, grasping luke's hair like a lifeline, grinding down on his lips and tongue until she's milked every last drop of her high.

annabeth recollects her thoughts and breath, wishing she could stay in post-orgasm bliss forever. she wishes she didn't have to address what just happened.

luke stands, licking his lips, the sight leaving annabeth a little weak in the knees.

"don't you need to be getting to class?" luke asks hoarsely.

thank the gods. he's giving her an out, some more time before they could no longer hold this dynamic up, & everything would come crashing down.

annabeth nods. "you don't mind that i'm wearing this?" she asks, unsure of why she cares.

luke shrugs. "i just like riling you up, babygirl," he grins, grabbing her ass from under her skirt and over her underwear. "wear what you want. i'm the only one who gets to touch you, anyways."

annabeth's attendance at lecture is essentially useless. she can only think of luke & what it all meant—the word "babygirl" on his lips, and the word "daddy" on her own.

[getvalentined]

For the ask game:

Vincent: 5, 7, 9, and 50 (any or all!)

[For the Random Character Asks game.]

5. Best personality trait?

Vincent's best personality trait is probably his intense sense of responsibility, which comes with a peerless level of determination to do whatever it takes to set things right in whatever way he can. This is also his worst personality trait. It pushed him to leave Nibelheim and strike down Hojo for what he allowed Sephiroth to do, and also kept him in the coffin in the first place based on the assumption that everything he touched fell apart. It makes him reliable to a fault in some situations, and utterly useless in others.

It's both the driving force behind his entire existence, and the weighted chain around his neck that keeps him anchored in place, unable to move forward.

7. Age/height/weight headcanon?

We have a canon birthdate for Vincent, contrary to the contradictory Ultimanias' timelines, down to the day of the week based on the real-world calendar for the same date, so we have his canon age at any time and I align with that. Vincent Valentine was born on Friday, October 13th, 1950. He's fifty-seven years old in December of 2007, meaning he was born in 1950, and yes, October 13th of that year fell on a Friday.

He's also twenty-seven until the end of time, but I've written a whole fic about that.

Vincent believes he's 184cm tall, which puts him at just over 6' in Imperial, and this was correct at the time of his death; it is not correct anymore, although Vincent doesn't know that until sometime postcanon. I've talked about it before, but my Vincent had an issue where his skeleton didn't completely scale back down after his first traumatic transformation into Galian, so his arms and legs are disproportionately long (and he already had legs for days) and he's just slightly larger all around, putting him at 194cm or just shy of 6'4" in the present.

After the incident with Omega, he actually starts growing, albeit inconsistently and very slowly; little by little, Vincent is developing into a shape befitting the role into which he was cast when Chaos' consciousness returned to the Lifestream, because at that point Vincent isn't a vessel for the Weapon anymore, he is the Weapon unto himself. The original animal consciousness is gone forever, and the role now belongs entirely to Vincent. It takes a long time for him to pick up on the physiological changes, and everyone except Nanaki and Genesis are dead by the time it starts to become noticeable to anyone else, but he'll top out around 225cm/7'5" not counting the horns and wings.

Vincent's weight is a goddamn mystery because his bone and muscle density are all fucked up because of mako exposure, while he's simultaneously built like a goddamn reed and has the shoulder to waist ratio of a dorito. It also fluctuates slightly between transformations for a while due to incomplete or inconsistent reversion, although those issues eventually resolve. It's anyone's guess, really.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character?

I've kinda talked about this before, but basically I was super interested in Vincent from the moment I learned of his existence, and fell in love the first time I activated his limit break and realized I was dealing with someone with a much more complicated story than previously let on. I have only fallen deeper in love with the character since then—he's smart and snarky and socially awkward, with a specific sort of trauma, both previous and impending, that makes him compelling to me specifically for very personal reasons—and he remains my favorite fictional character of all time.

50. A memory they’ve blocked out?

Vincent canonically blocked out all the memories of Lucrecia's involvement in his seven-year stint as a victim of science, although most of those come back eventually. My Vincent actually has a staggeringly clear memory, to the point that he remembers being on the operating table while Hojo removed all his organs, at least during the term that Hojo was keeping him conscious for it, and is also pretty cognizant of what he does when transformed.

Postcanon, the things he has blocked out are very intentionally blocked out, can inadvertently be brought back at any time with the right trigger, and are mostly related to the experiments. There was a short term when Hojo was still working on Vincent that he would instigate a transformation and run him through the sim on the bottom level of the research facility to observe the monsters, or occasionally just throw Vincent in there once the mako enhancements finally "stuck" in order to get data for Project 0, and Vincent has blocked most of that out. He knows it happened, but the details are either a blur, or he's pushed them so far back that he might as well have naturally forgotten.

[eyes-of-rock]

Gambling With The Heart

Chapter Two

Eric Singer X OC

A/N: I would love to have linked that first chapter, but Tumblr is being a dick, so that it won't let me. Anyway, please enjoy the second chapter of this series.

Eric’s POV

I'm still not sure how that worked for me. I figured there was no way anyone that pretty and young would entertain a conversation with me. I'm not twenty-five anymore and haven't been for a long time. I have to be three times her age.

Then I fumbled, starting that conversation pretty bad. I pointed out the watch as a last resort because I couldn't think of anything else to say. I figured it must have had some kind of story. Not every day do you see a nice watch like that on the wrist of a girl like her. It’s a Tag Heuer Carrera chronograph, in black with rose gold. It’s a sexy watch, and it looks good on her wrist.

The first thing that came to mind was that her rich boyfriend had bought it for her. She'd tell me that, and I’d return to the table and say I told you so. Only that didn't happen, and the story was much more interesting.

It turns out that she won it in a poker game and had no idea that it was worth around $10,000.

Not every day you meet a beautiful woman who won a watch in a poker game and is from Canada.

Vegas has its fair share of characters, but I've never met anyone who's caught me off guard that much. I sure wasn't expecting that when I walked up to her.

I also wasn't expecting her actually to agree to see me again. She is new to town and doesn't know anyone; that could be why she said yes, but even if it is, I'll take it. I was sure I would get shot down, but she said yes and now I have her number.

I sound like a teenager, not a sixty-six-year-old man. Teenage Eric wasn't pulling girls that hot, though. He barely pulled any. I guess that's what teenage me and sixty-six-year-old me have in common. I figured I'd be married by now. Life had other plans.

I picked up the piece of paper with her number written on it. She signed it with her name. Jewel. Next to it, she put a little diamond. It's a cute touch. I wonder if that's her favourite card suit? I'll have to ask her.

She hasn't left my mind since I met her earlier. It’s been a while since I met anyone who did that to me. I want to call her. I don't want to come on too strong, though I don't want to come off as uninterested. I'm interested. I don't know if she's interested in me, but I hope she is. Jewel agreed to see me again, so that has to be a good sign, right?

“What do you think, buddy?” I ask, looking at Ash, who just jumped on my lap.

“Should I call her?”

I give him a scratch behind the ear, and he makes a little noise. I'll take that as a yes, even if it was probably because I gave him a scratch.

I take my glasses off my cluttered coffee table and put them on to see the phone screen. The print on these things is so small. Then I dial her number from the piece of paper. I just hope she picks up.

It rings once. Then again.

“Hello?” I hear her voice answer.

“Hey, Jewel, it’s Eric Singer,” I tell her.

“Oh hey, Eric.” She says, sounding happy to hear from me, which makes me feel good about this decision.

“I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night and if you wanted to go out for dinner.” I shot my shot.

“I’d love to, but I work tomorrow night.” He tells me, sounding disappointed.

“What about tonight?” She suggests, “Unless you already have plans.”

“No, I'm good with tonight,” I say.

The sooner, the better.

I glance at the time on my watch. It's 3:30 now. I should give us time to get ready and for me to find a good place to take her.

“I’ll pick you up at seven,” I tell her.

“Okay, sounds great.” She replies, “I’ll send you my address because I can't remember it off the top of my head.”

I laugh at that; we've been there when we moved to a new place and can't remember our address.

“No problem; I'm looking forward to seeing you later.” Fuck it. I might as well be truthful.

“I’m looking forward to it too.” Jewel replies, “I'll see you at seven.”

“See you then,” I say, hanging up the phone.

Well, that worked out better than I could have imagined.

——————————————————

Jewel’s POV

I can't believe I went from alone to hanging out with Eric Singer within 24 hours. It feels unreal. Yet it’s reality. I'm freaking out a bit. I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of him. He’s him, and I'm me. Yet he asked me to go out for dinner. I am now freaking out a little.

I have no idea what to wear. I haven't been out to dinner with anyone in so long. I've never been out to dinner with anyone like Eric before. I also have no idea where he's taking me. I don't want to be overdressed or underdressed.

I also don't want to look like a sugar baby. After all, he is an older man, and I am a younger woman; this is Vegas. He looks great for his age, but that age gap isn't going to disappear. I've seen lots of that. That's far from my intentions here. I could never do that. I'd feel very guilty. I like making my own money.

I sigh.

Whenever I’m freaking out, there is one person I call my sister Victoria. She always knows what to do. Even though I'm unsure if I want to get her involved, I know she’ll help.

I take out my phone and FaceTime with her.

“Oh look, Mark, it's Jewel! My long lost sister!” She answers dramatically, her fiance Mark sitting next to her.

“Nice to see you too, Victoria.” I laugh, rolling my eyes, “How's it going, Mark?”

“You know the usual, how are you doing? How's Vegas?” Mark asks; I love my soon-to-be brother-in-law. He's perfect for Victoria and like a brother to me already.

“Well, that's why I'm calling,” I tell them, “I’m going out to dinner with someone, and I don't know what to wear.”

“Oh, who?” My sister asks, looking intrigued.

“Eric Singer from KISS,” I tell her, awaiting the judgment.

“THE KISS DRUMMER?!” Mark gasps in shock; he's a big fan of KISS.

I love KISS, but not nearly as much as Mark. They are his all-time favourite band, and he has an extensive collection. So I know his sister-in-law met one of them and is going to dinner with one, so I must have him on cloud nine.

“YOU’RE HAVING DINNER WITH THE CATMAN?!”

“Yes.” I can't help but laugh at Mark’s reaction.

“You’ve been in Vegas two weeks and already have a date with a rockstar.” My sister says, looking impressed.

“What does he look like, Mark?” Vic asks as Mark takes out his phone to do a Google search.

“There he is,” Mark says, showing Vic a photo, hopefully a good one of Eric. Not that bad ones exist.

“For someone in his sixties, he looks pretty good,” Victoria says approvingly.

“Look at you pulling rockstars.”

“I wouldn't say I pulled him.” I tell her, “This is just a dinner between two people; I don't know if it's a date.”

“You always do this, Jewel.” Victoria says, “He asked you out; it's a date. Let yourself have this.”

“Fine.” I sigh. Even if I'm not convinced, it's a nice thought. I would be lying if I said I didn't have a bit of a crush on this man.

He was easy to talk to and not pretentious or flaunting who he was; it was like I was talking to any guy. Not the drummer of one of the biggest bands in the world. It was nice.

I'm looking forward to more conversation later. He seems like a fascinating man with lots to say.

“Now, what should I wear?” I ask her to get back on the subject.

“Hmmm.” Victoria debates with herself.

“What about that leather skirt you wore to our engagement party?”

That is a great skirt. It's a vintage leather mini-skirt with a zipper up the front. It might be a little too sexy, though. I don't want to give off a slutty vibe. I don't see him as someone who'd be into that.

“Is it too sexy, though?” I asked, pulling out the skirt and looking it over.

“Jewel, it's the perfect amount of sexy.” Victoria says, “Just wear some tights if you're worried about showing too much legs.”

“Alight, I can do that,” I say, taking out my sheer black tights to go with it.

“Now for a top, how about….” I pause as I dig through my top dresser drawer for a top.

“This?” I asked, pulling out a simple silk tank top.

“Thats perfect.” Victoria smiles, “I’m so happy for you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this happy.”

“Thank you.” I smile back at her, and I am thrilled.

“Speaking of cats,” Mark says, holding up Shadow, my big fluffy black cat.

“Someone wants to say hello.”

“Oh, hello, my baby boy,” I say to my baby voice. I miss that cat so much.

I couldn't take him with me when I moved, so I left him with Mark and Victoria. I was living with them before I moved. He was my cat, but he also loves them. And know for a fact that they spoil him to death. Sometime, once I'm more settled, I’ll get another cat. I miss having one around.

“It’s pretty empty around here without you.” My sister says, sounding sad. I know she misses me, and I miss her too.

“I know, I miss having you guys around too,” I tell her, “Soon you'll be married, and then I'm sure you’ll find a way to fill that empty room.”

“I know, I know.” Victoria says, “But I just miss my little sister.”

“She misses you too.” I do miss them. I don't know if I could have done this without the ability to contact them and see them. Thank god for modern technology.

“But I'm also happy things seem to work well for you.” Victoria continues, “You deserve it.”

“Thank you, Vic.” I smile.

“You know, if this works out, I could have a member of KISS at my wedding.” Mark fanboys, I just sigh and shake my head.

“If this goes well, I never let him meet you.” I tease, “Nothing could scare this man off more than you jizzing your pants over him being in KISS.”

“Hey.” Mark tries to protest.

“Come on, sweetie, she has a point. You are like the biggest fan.” Victoria laughs, and Mark can't argue with that.

“Oh yeah, you’ll freak out over this.”

When I met Eric, I suddenly remembered he was having dinner with Bruce Kulick. So, I also saw Bruce Kulick, who happens to be our favourite KISS guitar player. I know Mark’s going to flip hearing about this.

“Guess who Eric was having dinner with when I met him.”

“Who?” Mark asks excitedly.

“Bruce Kulick,” I tell him.

“So far, you've met two KISS members?!” Mark says absolutely beside himself, “You’re living the dream.”

I just laugh at that.

“Well, I should probably get going,” I tell them, looking at my watch. The watch I now know is worth $10,000, thanks to Eric.

“Okay, you have fun.” Victoria says, “I love you.”

“I love you guys too. Talk to you soon.” I reply before we hang up.

I hope this dinner goes well.

——————————————————

Eric’s POV

I take a deep breath and knock on Jewel’s door. I'm nervous. I have no idea why. I've taken girls out to dinner before. It’s been a while. I will admit that, but it's not like it's the first time. Usually, it ends badly, though. I hope it doesn't end that way with her.

The door opens, and there Jewel stands. She looks gorgeous. She's wearing a short leather skirt that fits her like a glove. She’s also wearing a silky tank top that shows off the right amount of cleavage to drive a guy wild. Keep it together, Eric.

You don't want to be the creepy date staring at her boobs all night, even if they do look good in that top. Enough of that; be respectful. Don't make it awkward.

“Hi.” She smiles when she sees me, grabbing her purse off the table in her entranceway. Hers is a real table, unlike mine, a drum stool.

“You look gorgeous,” I tell her as she steps out and locks her door.

“Thank you.” She smiles sweetly at me, “You look good too.”

Not as good as her.

“Thank you, I tried my best,” I tell her, “Let’s go.”

“Alright, lead the way.” She tells me as I walk back to my car.

Eric, you can't mess one up. I remind myself. This is a rare chance you can't fuck up.

[viandclintbarton-supremacy]

Hunger Games Phoenix (OC story)

Chapter 1: The Everdeen Children   (Before we start, this was written years ago. It was one of those projects that due to busy life i never finished so i though why not add it here and see what happens. Forgive me if not the best as i said it was written years ago)

It was quiet in the forest, it always is at dawn. In this forest a boy was sitting on a branch, enjoying the sunrise and the view smiling to himself, slowly humming to himself. This is Jack Everdeen the brother of the 73th hunger games winner Katniss Everdeen, unlike prim not everyone knew about him, everyone knows about prim since Katniss volunteered herself and in interviews Katniss never mentioned the boy. It also doesn't help that he doesn't talk to anyone other then a select few. He continued to hum the tune of the song he read about in one of the books he found in the forest years ago until he started to sing the words

Jack: "When god is gone and devil takes takes hold, who will have mercy on my soul" The song is called "O Death" from the lyrics Jack could relate as it's about the person asking death to spare them to live longer, in this case Jack is the person asking to be spared whilst the reaping is death "O death, O death, consider my age please don't take me at this stage" its a dark song to a lot of people but it somehow calmed him "O death, O death, won't you spare me over another year" He finished softly

Peaceful he thought, the birds, the view and the warm breeze

Then a mockingjay started to sing the mocking jay song

Jack frowned and turned his head to the mockingjay with a really look "Really? Do you have to sing that specific song" The boy said irritated at the song that became a constant reminder of Katniss and people call me a dick" The bird tilted its head "Yeah i called you a dick and what are you gonna do about it?"...... It started to sing again which made jack's mouth agape "You little shi-"

"JACK!!" Jack was cut off by the voice of a girl he knows to well, he looked down to see primrose who had a amused look on her face

The boy gasped "OH MY SAVIOUR. PLEASE HELP ME DESTROY THIS FOUL BEAST" Jack shouted in a mock capital voice as he pointed to the mockingjay which made primrose roll her eyes

"How many times do i need to tell you to stop arguing with birds" Primrose put her hands on her hips amused at the scene. Jack grabbed his bag and Knife and climbed down the tree

"When one" Jack grunts getting ready to jumped down "pecks" The young Everdeen lands in front of his younger sister "one of Katniss's eyes out" He said smiling innocently

*Smack*

"Ow why ya slap me!!* Jack whined as rubbed the back of his head

" You deserved it. Plus its funny" Rolled his eyes "Come on Katniss is hunting and i know it won't go well if you two bump into each other an-" Prim and Jack started to walk but someone was in front of them 10 feet away..... "Oh hey Katniss?"

Katniss had her bow and kept glancing at Jack awkwardly

"I wonder if that mockingjay is hungry for eyeballs right now" he whispered to prim and in response she elbowed her brother in the stomach who tried to play the pain off

Katniss: "H-how have you been?"

Jack:"Uh fine i guess" This is awkward

Katniss: "Oh ok, i-i um missed you" Jack blinked

Jack: "Oh uh me too" Katniss slightly smiled "OH HI PEETA" Katniss turned to see no one, peeta wasnt there, she turned back to see prim on her own and a jack running off into the distance

I wish we could be closer brother, i love you Katniss thought.

Jack woke up differently not because of the awkward meeting with katniss yesterday but because its the day of tge reaping.

He woke up ate the bread Peeta gave him and got dressed in his well normal clothes which was a old hooded jacket and ripped jeans with boots but all in light blue, he glanced out the windows and saw peacemakers or shitmakers jack likes to call them.

They were preparing for the announcements, so he hurried to get in the crowd and when he got there and stood between two kids at least are both 13. Jack couldnt help but be so sick that kids get dragged into this they don't deserve it......no one does he thought to himself. He saw the kid to his right sniff,  jack placed his hand on his shoulder

"It will be ok" the boy who was scared started to tear up. Jack started to feel bad and had a sick feeling in his stomach. He bent down and whispered to the boy. "I promise if you get picked I'll volunteer" he smiled to which the boy looked shocked and jack then stood up and look at the podium

Jack: "Please for the love of god be someone who is over 16 and not me" he whispered. He put his name in 19 times but he doubts he would be reaped but the odds aren't always in your favour

Walked up to the peacekeeper who was going to jab his finger

*jabbed*

"Ow"

Wow Effie has less makeup on her then the last time, she looks human, jack thought whilst the video package finished. Surprisingly peeta, haymitch and Katniss were not on the stage properly waiting on the train an get out of here

Effie: "Now as always ladies fir-. Actually let's do boys first *chuckle*" jack rolled his eyes so modest he thought sarcastically

She put her hand into the bowl and mixed it and pick a name. Jack felt everyone's nerves build up and held it up and went to read but she frowned then it turned to a shocked expression.

"Oh my.............Jack Everdeen" Jack looked at Effie wide eyed, he couldn't believe it. He is going to "Where are you darling" crap he thought as quickly walked out of the line and walked up the stairs making eye contact with Effie who had a look of sorrow and what looked like a little bit of heartbreak.

Jack looked out to the crowd, he saw gale in the crowd who looked to be thinking. He was going to volunteer, he locked eyes and mouthed the words "Katniss needs you" please listen for once asshole. Gale looked conflict after a couple of seconds but nodded and looked down

Effie: "Now t-the girls* She repeated the action " Tina summers"

There was mumbles but nothing prepared jack for what he saw, a small, brown short haired , skinny girl stepped out and walked to the stairs. Jack tilted his head at the youngster with horror building inside him

No, not a kid. He thought. He staying to pray and hope that someone volunteered for her. But no one came. A million scenarios ran through his head. What if she dies, who will keep her safe if he is dead...what if they are the last two

"District 12's tributes, Happy hunger games" Effie said trying to remain professional "Yeah happy indeed" Jack mumbled

Jack waited in a room for his mother and sister prim and speak of the devil he turned around with pairs of arms hugging him

"Why! We could of given you food damn it peeta gave you food jack!"

After looking at his family he couldn't blame them

"Someone had to help the families here, I'm sorry but do you know how many kids are there dying whilst we are being fed!. I couldn't stand by"

His mother gave a sad smile but started crying again as she hugged her only son

Prim: " please win, I can't lose you. Katniss can't, she does love you" Jack looked at his sister with sad eyes Maybe she was right, did Katniss love him. There past isn't the prettiest

A Peacekeeper marched in "Times up"

Mother: "Goodbye Jack, i love you" both were pulled out shouting his name

Jack waited and looked out the window and looked over the city of District 12. Was this the last time he would see it.

The door opened, Jack looked behind to see... Gale?

Jack: "What in the hell you doing here?" He said in a weird high pitched manner. Gale sighed

Gale: "I know why you put your name in but why not go to katniss she would of helped" Jack raised his eyebrow

Jack: "You think she would let me put myself in any danger, despite our feelings toward each other she wouldn't let me" gale nodded "And don't go blaming yourself for not volunteering, Kat needs you as much as it annoys me and your nearly over the age limit to be free from all this" Gale sighed before looking at Jack with some admiration

Gale: "I know we aren't fond of each other but I'm glad you think that, I'll see you soon, goodbye jack...and win" He turned to leave, jack smirked

Jack: "Just keep it in your pants asshole" Jack said in a arrogant voice, Knowing Gale's feeling towards Katniss

Gale stopped and sighed shaking his head but then left. Jack smirked, he loved pissing him off

Jack, Tina and Effie were riding to the train that will take them to the capital

"I can't believe you put you name in! You stupid boy Katniss is going to kill you before you enter the arena" that would help, Jack couldn't believe he was chosen but someone had to help those kids. Jack glanced at Tina and sat opposite her "Are you listening, young man" Jack sighed and gave her a look "Fine. Katniss will deal with you hope pain free" Jack looked at Tina

"Hi there my name is Jack" he extended his hand, Tina looked at it and then back at him. She then jumped into his arms and buried her face into his shoulder and started to cry "Hey, hey it's ok. Your gonna be fine Tina" Jack looked at Effie, who teared up. Jack for the first time in a long time doesn't know what to do. All he knew was he HAD to protect this girl

Jack stood there in the train holding a sleeping Tina, rocking her back and forth. Effie went to look for Katniss, peeta and Haymitch. She said she wouldn't tell he is a tribute because she simply can't tell them because she scared of their reactions. Jack on the other hand was scared for Tina and also scared shitless of what Katniss will do. He looked done at Tina those scenarios still playing in his head, he feels so powerless.

*Door opening*

Jacks eyes widen and gulped as he heard the doors behind him open

"Aww the tributes are bonding" very funny Haymitch

Katniss pinched Haymitch "That's not funny Haymitch" She then lowered her voice "One of them is just a kid" she couldn't help but remember Rue

"We are your mentors?...would you like to tell us your names and turn around??" He heard Peeta say. Here we go the boy thought

Jack (Fake high pitch voice): "The girl's name is tina" He heard haymitch snort

Haymitch: "Whats with the fake voice, nervous kid?" Jack sighed and slowey turned around to see his mentors

Haymitch was mid drinking and started to choke on his drink and looked backed at Effie with shock

Peeta eyes went wide with shock and tried to speak but couldn't find them he then looked at katniss

Katniss stared at him with wide eyes, she started to shake

"No n-no no no no" Katniss started to tear up and covered her mouth

Well this is different, He thought Katniss who be furious at him. Katniss then frowned and stared daggers at her younger brother and started to walk towards him like she was going to kill him

To be continued

So yeah that's the first chapter. Honestly have no idea where i was going with this. But i still have the same end goal of the story But what did yall think? Why do Jack and Katniss have a odd relationship. How is Jack going to protect Tina and will Katniss kill Jack before he enters the arena

[ro-botany]

@silque Hope you don't mind me pulling this into it's own post; it's a critical enough point that I really wanna expand on it.

For context for those who didn't read my recent longass post about Frederick in general: We're talking about the canonical age at which Emmeryn was crowned Exalt of Ylisse.

According to the numbers from Awakening Chapter 6, when Emm took the throne she was

NINE YEARS OLD

Maaaaaybe 10, at the most, if you stretch the meaning of "before her tenth year" a bit and play around with the exact date her dad died.

(To be clear, Frederick's age in that table is a headcanon, not canonical in any way)

You are making several excellent points and I'm Big Emotional about all of them, so naturally, I'm going to take four miles of post length to screech about this in more detail.

It is fucking wild to me that the game breezes by the war timeline and the ages of the royal kids so fast. To the point where I straight up missed it! Or forgot, I guess, in the years since my last full playthrough.

I just. I have to set the scene.

Ylisse has just been through an unfathomably bloody holy war. Almost anyone of fighting age was given a weapon and dragged to the desert to fight, leaving behind a halidom populated almost exclusively by children and the elderly, with a dwindling food supply. A country driven into desperation and chaos by its own ruler.

We don't know how the Exalt dies--if his own men turned mutiny or he was routed by Plegian forces or what--but the Exalt does die, and the war dies with him. When the news from the front finally trickles back to Ylisstol alongside what few broken men and women survived the violence, the oldest person of exalted blood is duty-bound to take his former place on the throne.

Overnight, nine-year old Emmeryn goes from playing with her baby brother and awaiting the day her baby sister is born, to being crowned Exalt of a dying country and a shattered populace that now turns all their hurt and ire onto her.

She has her council of old, withered politicians to guide her hand. She has the castle guards--all either old enough to be her grandparents or young enough to be her peers--to protect her from the worst of the violence. She has her mother, too--until one day, too soon, she doesn't.

The game certainly doesn't gloss over the tragedy of that. It neglects to emphasize the ages these kids were dealing with all this at, though. I could tangent off into another 500-1000 words about how fucked that family situation is if I chose to and the unique ways that has played into the characterization of everybody involved. That Emmeryn grew up to be as competent and well-loved a ruler as she did is a monumental feat, not only on her part, but on the parts of the people who supported and raised her.

And to bring it back to the man of the hour on this blog… At some point, Frederick became one of those people. He's been looking after Chrom and Lissa for who even knows how long; there is no doubt in my mind that, like tumblr user silque suggested, Frederick also helped look after Emmeryn. Helped her and her siblings make whatever sense of the ongoing tragedies they could, while probably dealing with a mountain of issues of his own.

He's something at the nexus between older brother, father, bodyguard to all of them. He's been by their side, a constant rock, since all four of them were arguably children. Frederick doesn't let his guard down for a second. He sees the weight on the shoulders of these kids, and he knows helping them bear it is the best thing he can do to help the people starving in his village and every other like it, or to help avert this war, or end that war swiftly. He devotes himself to this duty so utterly that he's practically killing himself from stress and overwork. Always watching for the wolf in the shadows, that Emmeryn and Chrom and Lissa might be able to avoid the fangs and continue being the beacons the halidom needs them to be.

Even when they're at peace, the eyes at the edge of the firelight are all he can see. It confuses Chrom and Lissa; and that's how he knows he's doing his job correctly.

And this relationship between Frederick and the royal siblings.

Is reduced to jokes about pebble-clearing and overzealous recruitment posters a solid 80% of the time.

I JUST.

I want to clarify that these games being goofy and silly and over the top as often as they are is one of their draws, and that I do enjoy how just, cartoonishly cautious Frederick can be. I love the jokes. I am that guy who played the Before Awakening DLC in Fates literally 128 times to max out the pebble joke weapon. In no world do I think we need to wholly kill comedy here.

But at the same time I can't help but be blown away by how often the heart in this relationship is neglected in favour of comedy. The second you start thinking about how Frederick got where he is and why he is the way he is, there is just, SO much there.

It's of dubious canonicity at best, but I want you to read the conversations that Chrom and Frederick have with Emmeryn during her recruitment paralogue. I want you to notice how Chrom, though clearly emotional, is capable of putting his emotions aside, and opts to focus on keeping her safe rather than indulging in his grief, which he knows would only confuse her.

And then I want you to notice how Frederick, stoic, icy Frederick, breaks down. A paragraph of two years of repressed grief comes tumbling out all at once to a woman who, ultimately, is only a ghost of the person he knew. He begs her forgiveness. He cannot, cannot think clearly or objectively in this moment. He hurts too deeply. He cares too much.

The so-called Cold Lieutenant of the Shepherds cares so deeply and self-sacrificingly about everyone and it can be really damn funny, or utterly heart-melting, or utterly heart-breaking depending on the situation and how you play it. AND YET. THE SIDE CHARACTER CURSE. The most genuinely they ever play this bond is in a side chapter that isn't even canon.

How do I end this post.

I am inconsolable for SEVERAL REASONS.

[hallahart]

veilguard thoughts pt 2: first couple companion recruitments

I’m losing it. The crossroads memories are ending me. Sad baby side shave solas!!! Short king felassan. Solas fighting elgarnan and doing the hero thing where he’s at the beginning of a hurt/comfort fic hiding his pain. I feast

like this is so much a solas game I cannot even deal, I honestly thought until recently he’d barely be on screen and now THIS!!!

let me meditate in my fish room to chat with the dread wolf at my leisure please

btw interesting detail that his agents just call him Wolf, so presumably Fen? I think Felassan calls him Solas. I’m sorry, GENERAL FELASSAN ! ! !

ILLARIO DELLAMORTE !!!!!!! they cooked with his design. Teia and Viago too. Like hot damn I almost immediately restarted as a crow. Lemme into your polycule

I loved Teia and Viago’s body language in the one scene I saw, very much couples communicating through pointed looks. The facial animations overall are great and I can see the difference with the mocap.

the ossuary, I assumed bones??? And got whales??? A++++

the spite thing is hot. Let’s get that out of the way. However Neve and Lucanis are very flirty and I love companion romances so idk idk. Haven’t met the old man yet.

RIP abusive grandma Caterina I guess loved your cane girl

doesn't that make Lucanis first talon I forget how the crows work

Overall loving the level design, especially the crossroads… is anyone not playing an elf and know if they kept it grey for everyone else? All the nooks and crannies are great fun to explore.

im terrible at combat but spellblade FEELS awesome. Can’t get the parry window down and everything ranged decimates me. That mage boss in the ossuary wrecked me. Must ponder my orb more

varric as my management coach is hilarious I think he hit his head

AND HOW COULD I FORGET Solas’ passive aggressive letter to Elgarnan wowow. Interesting detail that they were both ‘first of the elves’ and the same age, does that mean the first elves were spirits taking bodies? But didn’t solas take a body later at Mythal’s urging? Maybe solas counts his fade birthday. I need to read it again.