#i miss working on creative projects with people i WORK OFF OF WELL

[sunrisealley]

spotify is playing the “sappy love songs in other languages” section of my liked songs and politely it is BREAKING ME i miss my silly little friends (singular, everyone gets their time for me to Reminisce over them) 

[willowpains]

introducing…

latina actress reader!

mexican to be exact, born and raised. sings and dances, but has decided to focus all her efforts into acting and breaking through Hollywood, fighting closed doors due to her nationality, always with a good attitude and ready to work her ass off to achieve her dreams to be the next it girl and big thing around the world.

she’s…

big hearted. soft. sensitive. hardworking. multilingual. singer. dancer. warm. family girl. fangirl. super friendly. the one that makes everyone feel included. a listener and big yapper around the people she trusts. a bit shy at first. loves a good party. cinephile. tequila lover.

loves…

going out with her friends and fellow costars. traveling back home whenever she can. the beach. taking photos of everyone and everything. speaking spanish in front of people that don’t understand. doing karaoke. her dog. reggaeton. doing tiktok dances. reading romance and fantasy. going to the movies at night. posting photo dumps on instagram. doing pranks. her mexican food. makeup. her alone time.

can’t stand…

horror movies. people that don’t love animals. over bearing and noisy paparazzi and press. liars. smoking and cigarettes. loud chewing. small spaces. rats. not wearing perfume. losing her favorite lip gloss. online spoilers. missing out on stuff. people talking on the movie theater.

wikipedia…

-her first big role outside of her country was as a pogue, with a trope of slow burn enemies to lovers with Drew Starkey’s character, and member of the main friend group in the highly acclaimed Netflix series Outer Banks, still ongoing now with a just released season 4.

-she was casted and is part of the wrapped up and upcoming movie: Wake Up Dead Man, sequel to the famous murder mystery movie Knives Out.

-uploads covers and snippets of originals songs on her YouTube channel, as well as see social media accounts such as TikTok and Instagram.

-had a big role besides actor Jacob Elordi in last years hit project Saltburn, making it one of her biggest movies in her repertoire to this day.

-she was seen attending a Niall Horan concert previously in the year, and was brought up on stage by the artist to sing a duet, as she claimed one of her favorite songs, “You could start a cult” during the show.

-she is rumored to take part in the role of Susan Pevensie in upcoming Narnia Series directed by Greta Gerwig, nothing has been confirmed yet but both the actress and the director have been hinting at it in different interviews and events.

loading more…🎥🎞️🎬🍿

***

I am so freaking excited about this concept that I came up with! I had been wanting to continue writing for drew and this idea just landed on my lap didn’t it? *wink wink*

I have so many plans for this universe with mexican/latina actress reader, from moodboards, blurbs, headcanons, specific scenarios, sooooo so much! if you have any questions, things you wanna request or know about reader please feel free to ask or let me know, you’ll be feeding into my motivation to write more about her and drew and the rest of the obx cast<3

credits and inspiration to all the writers out here that come up with these concepts of ___ reader! if ate up most of them and I think they’re creative and amazing af

about time my writer personality came back, and as always, English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any grammar or writing errors there may be!

stay tuned👀

[happy74827]

Burning Bridges

[Dexter Morgan x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: Upon an incident that was out of your control, Dexter comes to the realization that it wasn't just a coincidence.

WC: 1951

Category: Slight Angst, Hurt/Comfort

I forgot how much I missed this show (him), so I decided to write another. It's been so long since I last wrote for him that I actually see the difference in my writing. It's wack.

『••✎••』

Dexter was many things… a brother, a son, a pro bowler, a serial killer… but what he lacked was being a good friend.

He didn't understand friendship or its value. It was something that he simply couldn't grasp. Sure, he was able to fake it well enough in order to make sure that people liked him and didn't find him too creepy or strange, but there was never any real emotional connection. In his mind, everyone was either someone he needed or someone he didn't need, and he would treat them accordingly. The only exceptions to this rule were his sister, Debra, and you.

The two of you had met back in college, having been assigned to be each other's partners for a group project. It was a poetry class and a course that Dexter hadn't really wanted to take, but a general education requirement and the promise of an easy A convinced him to at least show-up and suffer through it. Well, for a guy who had to fake every single aspect of his personality in order to fit in with society, it turned out that poetry didn’t come quite as easily as he thought it would.

He had always found the art form to be rather silly, with all the emphasis on metaphors and flowery language. There was no purpose or goal other than to be creative and artsy, and it bored him to no end. The first time you had sat down with him to discuss the project, you could tell how much he didn't want to be there, and the look of complete disinterest on his face as he tried to figure out what your poem meant was the most hilarious thing that you had seen in a while. You couldn't help but laugh, the sound of which made him sit up and give you a quizzical look.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, confused.

"Nothing," you replied, still giggling. "It's just that I can tell that you don't like poetry."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you haven't said a word; you're just sitting there, staring off into space and twirling your pencil between your fingers," you told him, and he glanced down at the utensil as if he didn't realize that he was doing that.

"Oh. Sorry, I guess," he apologized, his tone making it clear that he was actually a little annoyed at having been called out on his inattentiveness.

"That's okay. I like poetry, so I'll be happy to do most of the work," you offered, smiling sweetly, and his eyebrows raised.

And that you did. In fact, you loved it so much that you majored in English and planned on getting your Masters, while Dexter got his degree in criminology. It was a nice trade-off because while he struggled in poetry, getting down into the debts of his feelings that were nonexistent, you struggled with chemistry, unable to wrap your head around the subject no matter how hard you tried.

So, the two of you had a mutually beneficial agreement. You did all the work for the poetry class, and in exchange, he tutored you in chemistry and made sure that you got a decent grade. Once the class was over and done with, the two of you stayed friends, though you had very little in common. Dexter had no interest in books, and you had no interest in criminology. He was a loner, and you had plenty of friends. You were a romantic, and he was completely unromantic. He didn't even have a girlfriend, and you had been in three different relationships over the course of the two years that you had known him.

Still, the two of you got along well enough. You were one of the only people that Dexter could actually stand for more than five minutes, and he was the same to you. So you went out to the bar sometimes, hung out with his sister, and did your best to keep him company while also doing your best to try to set him up on dates, hoping that one of these days, he'd actually find someone. It eventually did work out when you found him Rita, but as of right now, she had broken up with him, and he was back to being a lonely bachelor which it didn't bother him much until now.

You were in the hospital, your head wrapped and bandaged like a mummy. You were apparently attacked outside the grocery store, and if it wasn’t for the small instructions he had given you for self-defense, you most likely wouldn’t have survived.

At first, Dexter didn’t think of it as anything important in terms of his line of work. He believed it to be a coincidence, a random crime in the night. But it turned into something more the night he decided to visit with some cake.

���How’s the head?” He asked as he came inside, seeing you propped up reading. Of course, you were reading.

You shrugged. “Like I’m wearing a sweater hat, but it doesn't hurt, so there's that." You paused, setting down your book and glancing at him. "I’m still salty about my groceries. Almost two hundred dollars I spent on that stuff. Gone. Wasted. Poof."

Dexter had to chuckle a bit. "Hey, I can't do much about the food, but I brought you something," he said, revealing the white box.

"Is it chocolate? If it is, I love you," you joked.

"No, it's just vanilla. But, here."

He opened the lid and showed you, and you immediately lit up.

"Awww, Dexter! You are the best friend ever," you gushed, giving him a warm smile.

He smiled back. "It's the least I could do."

He was cutting it up for you when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. You didn’t seem to notice, but out in the hall, a shadow passed by the window. His body went on alert, eyes flickering towards the door. He couldn’t see much, but he could make out an elderly man with gray hair and a beard.

Dexter's face remained unchanged, though his body language betrayed him as he sat the cake knife down. He knew that look. That look in a man's eyes when he was looking at prey. This was a predator.

"Hey, uh, what was that description again? Of the man who attacked you," Dexter asked, his tone a bit distracted.

"You mean Santa Claus on drugs? That pretty much sums it up. Why?" You looked up, confused.

"I don't know. It's probably nothing."

But it was something. The man had apparently come back to finish the job, and Dexter's jaw clenched at the thought. He was already planning his death in his mind. It wouldn’t be pretty. He gave you a piece of cake, swearing that he’d be back soon before going after the man. He stopped at the lobby momentarily, informing Angel to keep an eye on you, which, of course, the cop complied with.

Angel was a good cop. He was loyal, smart, and a damn good shot. But there was one thing that made him a great cop. He cared about his city and the people in it. He would protect the innocent no matter the cost, especially when it came down to those he was closest to. He was the kind of guy who would risk his life without a second thought if it meant saving others.

This is why Dexter liked Angel and why he was the only one that he trusted with this job.

Finding the man was extremely easy on his part. Dexter already knew what the guy’s plan was, so he stuck around outside the parking lot, watching the shadows. After a few minutes, the man appeared, heading towards the entrance once again.

He never got that far.

A hand was clamped over his mouth while the other dragged him away from the double doors and towards the side of the building. Dexter didn’t pull out his knife, though, only resorting to his arms as he applied pressure against his throat. The man fought, trying to break free, but he didn't get the chance. Dexter didn’t kill him, no, not yet, but his arm was still strong, and he had no plans to let go.

“Listen closely. If you so much as look the wrong way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. Understand? Nod if you do," he threatened, his voice calm and even. The man nodded, terrified, his eyes wide.

"Good," Dexter replied, “Why are you here?"

The man was quiet, but he was breathing heavily, and his eyes were watering.

"Talk. That girl, why are you after her?"

"I’m not—”

"You attacked her, and now you came back to finish the job, did you not? Who sent you?"

The man was sweating; his face was flushed and red. Dexter was pressing too hard, and his victim was starting to lose air. He didn’t care.

"Who?" He repeated.

The man choked, unable to speak.

"Last chance. Who sent you? And don't lie to me."

The man didn’t answer, and Dexter tightened his hold. That finally did it. The man began to squirm violently, trying to break free, but it was too late. His face started to turn purple, and Dexter had to adjust his grip and pull him closer.

“It wasn’t personal! I had to! I didn't have a choice! It was just a job!" He gasped out, struggling for air. “I got paid to do it. I was just doing what I was told! Please, please, don't kill me."

"Who was it?"

"I—I don’t know. It was some lady. I met her at a bar. She didn’t give her name, but he wasn’t American. She gave me ten thousand dollars and told me that the job was to attack this chick in the parking lot and make it look like an attempted robbery. Said it had to be done in a couple of days. Listen, man, I didn't want to do it. But the money—"

"What did she look like?" Dexter cut in.

"Dark hair. Young. I don't know! I don't know, I swear. She wore sunglasses the whole time. Please, don’t kill me. Please."

Suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks. The Dark Passenger was roaring, the realization washing over him like cold water.

Lila.

Everything made sense now. The way she had suddenly showed up out of nowhere, the incident outside the bowling alley, her sudden interest in you. It all made sense. She was behind it. She had done it.

Dexter wanted to snap the man's neck. He wanted to rip his throat out. He wanted to take his knife and stab him over and over again, to punish him for what he had done to you, but he refrained. He had the answers he needed, and the cameras around were still running.

He dropped him and watched him collapse, gasping for air. He didn't move, too scared and in shock to do so. Dexter didn’t say a word; his anger was silent, but it was boiling beneath his skin.

He was going to kill her. He was going to hunt her down and end her, and there was no place on Earth where she could hide.

“You ever, and I mean ever, come near her again; I will tear out your spine and make you choke on it. Understand?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I understand."

Dexter didn’t say anything else; he simply walked off, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He had a lot to think about.

[felassan]

Transcript of the DA:TV ‘Meet The Companions’ panel @ SDCC.

Update: this post has now been updated into a full transcript.

BioWare have said that they are going to share a recording of the panel at a later date. In the meantime, here is a transcript of it. When the recording is available, I will update this post further if required. This is a word-for-word transcript (in as far as it was possible to make one, it was quite a noisy room with lots of people in it), but a few bits were not clearly audible - these are marked as "[...]". listening to the original source in audio/video format, when it’s available, first-hand is of course always advisable, in case of any mis-hearings or missing things out etc on my part!! :>

there are other things from the panel here in this BioWare blogpost, collected in this compilation post, and also in this Tumblr post.

The panel was moderated/hosted by Lucy James. In attendance were creative director John Epler, creative performance director Ashley Barlow, and the actors of Lucanis, Neve, Emmrich, and Harding - Zach Mendez, Jessica Clark, Nick Boraine, and Ali Hillis respectively.

----

[panel begins]

Lucy: Goodness me, there are a lot of you. Hello everyone. Hello San Diego. But more importantly, hello Dragon Age fans! Give yourselves a cheer! Now welcome to a panel that I am so excited to be moderating today. A little bit of, what do you call it, a little bit of, I'm just gonna say it, we're doing Q&A at the end. There is a microphone right here. I will give a warning - housekeeping was the word I was searching for. We're gonna be doing Q&A at the end. I will give you a warning to come up and ask questions to this incredible panel of developers from BioWare and actors from the brand new Dragon Age game, The Veilguard. I'm Lucy James, I'm your moderator for today, but you're not here for me, you're here for these incredible people, so let's go down the line and see who we have on the panel today. We have creative director John Epler. Creative performance director Ashley Barlow. The poised and pragmatic assassin, playing the role of Lucanis, Zach Mendez. The necromancer Emmrich, we have Nick Boraine. Absolutely did not mean to skip, but we have different, different lineup over here. The voice behind the private detective Neve, Jessica Clark. And returning franchise favorite, you know her as Lace Harding, the lovable Scout, Ali Hillis. Now, we all love Dragon Age games for multiple reasons, whether it is the combat, the impactful decisions that we get to make, the romances - I know my [...], I know my - but the heart and soul of every game is always the companions, and so we are gonna be doing a deep dive into some of the new cast as well as, like I said, returning franchise favorite. So I'm gonna kick off with you, John.

John: Awesome.

Lucy: Can, you know, you've been at BioWare for a couple of years now.

John: Yeah, seventeen years as of this year, so.

Lucy: Wow. Can you tell us a little bit about your history with Dragon Age?

John: Absolutely. So as mentioned, I've been at BioWare for coming up on seventeen years now. I worked as a QA tester on Dragon Age: Origins, moved into cinematic design, did that [...] Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and then became lead cinematic designer for Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser, where I worked closely with Trick Weekes, building out that story. And then now as creative director on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which has been just a fantastic project to be a part of.

Lucy: Now, I assume pretty much everyone in this room has gone frame-by-frame through the trailers and gameplay videos and every BioWare social post about Dragon Age, but just in case there's anyone in the room who is unfamiliar, give us the quick overview of Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

John: Absolutely. So Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the latest entry in the Dragon Age franchise. It takes place approximately ten years after the end of Inquisition. You start the game hunting for Solas. It's a game built on some core principles of: be who you want to be, in a world worth saving, and with characters who matter. So, again, companions always at the heart of Dragon Age, they're at the heart of this one as well.

Lucy: And so, I mean, why is this team coming together? You mentioned it a little bit there, and like, what's bringing this, kinda 'rogues' gallery' together?

John: I mean it's the end of the world, and each character that you bring into your party understands that the world's ending, that they need to stop that, and you're really building, what I would say is more of a found family. These are characters who may not start off liking each other, may not even start off liking you, but over time, they grow to understand the importance of what they're doing and just, how critical it is to stop the elven gods.

Lucy: Now we were chatting a little bit before the panel, and you kinda said, like, a bold statement which was that this is one of the best groups BioWare has ever written. I say 'bold', cause we all have our favorites. What makes you say that? What's going on with The Veilguard that makes them so special?

John: Yeah, I mean, I think that every Dragon Age game the companions we write and create for those games are the best companions for that one. And I think in this case, what's really fascinating and what I've really loved to see come out through the game, through its development is, the way these characters form relationships, not just with you but with each other, so, whereas, you know, sometimes characters maybe don't interact as much. Each one of these has a relationship that extends beyond Rook, the protagonist, but also some become friends, some become lovers, and some become rivals. And it's just, the way that they learn to get over their differences, or put them aside, has really been fun and exciting, because they all represent a different part of the world of Thedas.

Lucy: I am very excited to see how these family dynamics come together, avoiding my real life family for my virtual family. Ashley, you’ve been playing a huge role in helping bring these characters to life. Can you tell us a little bit about your role at BioWare?

Ashley: Yeah. I’m the creative performance director, so I get to cast all of these characters, with the team at BioWare, of course. And then work tirelessly in the booth with them, I mean, they just met like this weekend. I just silo them off, and they do their work, and they listen to each other, and, you know, 3000 hours later, and then they get them back around, and we can iterate on it, and they can say, ‘oh, oh that’s what everyone sounds like!’, now they get to play off of it. So, it’s a big road-trip in a VO booth. From my house.

Lucy: A big road trip. A big deal. A big game. Where do you even begin with a behemoth like this?

Ashley: We, we audition our companions. We have to make sure that our leads can play off of each other, that compliment each other, that juxtapose each other. Like John said, it’s kind of like a family, an un-chosen family, and so we need them to, you know, it’s, you need to create an ensemble, a diverse ensemble, so that the players get the choice of who they want to bring on this hero’s journey. And so, we brought them all in, you know, and they, we do motion capture, so we need to see how they move, and how they walk, and how they talk, and how they can act like heroes. And they all carry themselves so well. Now, it’s tripping me out, because they all look like their characters to me.

Lucy: Now, there are plenty of returning faces in The Veilguard, but there are new companions that we will get to know and love. Let’s start with Lucanis. John, can you give us a little quick overview of his background, and what’s his deal?

John: Absolutely. So Lucanis is the stylish assassin from the Antivan Crows, you know. But, not bloodthirsty, more, as he sees assassination as a job, one that he is extremely skilled at. Over the course of the story, you learn more about him, more about his character, more about his relationship, not just within The Veilguard, but also with the Crows and with other characters in the world. And I think, it’s fascinating to see how that grows over the course of the game.

Lucy: Now Zach, you are the voice. I mean, how do you approach this? Where did you […]?

Zach: Well, when I first found out I got the role, I read Tevinter Nights, which is the book, that came out [...] and you should read. And I read The Wigmaker Job, in which Lucanis is featured. I read it about three times, and after I closed the book I realized, ‘this might be the coolest guy I ever get to play’. I mean, not only is he a smooth assassin, not only is he determined - yes, he can kill you a thousand different ways, but what struck me was, his mind is as dangerous as his knives. I mean this is a guy who takes in the environment with all five senses. He’s constantly attuning himself to the kind of shifting terrain of every mission. And also, he’s kinda hilarious. I mean, if you look at his relationship with his cousin Illario, in The Wigmaker Job, they’re constantly giving each other crap. But there’s a lotta love there, so I got to pull, you know, from my relationship with my brother. Because we love each other dearly, but we can be ruthless with each other. And so, it was really easy to play in that way.

Lucy: I mean, yeah, you mentioned being a comedian there. Ashley, how was working with Zach?

Ashley: Yeah.

Lucy: Harnessing that and bringing it to the character.

Ashley: Zach’s one of the funniest people I know. And that’s a lot to live up to. But, you know, he came in as one of the most adaptable actors. And, you know, we did a lot of motion capture during 2020, 2021, 2022, even 2023, and so Zach stood in for like, Assan, and Varric, like all the characters [...] just mostly, most - [a scene plays on the screen behind the panel of the actors doing mo-cap. Zach as Assan hops along the ground like :D over to Davrin, Rook and another character. Davrin is happy to see him and scratches him under the chin. Davrin motions to Rook, who then bends down and hugs Assan] - I mean I’m pretty sure [...] a huge inspiration for the cinematics. Once you see this scene that this is, like - remember it, 'cause [...] -

Zach: Just know, when you’re hugging Assan, you’re hugging me. That means a lot.

Ashley: It’s true! But, yeah, but, for Lucanis, Zach was able to bring, I mean once you get in the game and you meet Lucanis, you’ll know that he’s, you know, a murdering Crow, and then, is a […], you know, there’s a darkness. [there is a rumbling noise in the background and the panelists look around confused]

[?]: I think it's just thundering.

Ashley: It’s thundering, let's, let's do a -

Zach: The darkness.

[...]

Ashley: But in the darkness -

Zach: Prepare yourselves. [background noise continues]

Ali[?]: It’s coming.

Zach: Seriously, what is that? What’s happening?

A person off to the side: Other rooms!

Zach: Okay, okay, okay, thank you.

Ashley: Okay, thank you. [...] think you were doing it. As you can tell, he brought like a, he brings a lightness to it, ‘cause you can’t always be that heavy. I don’t want to be scared or crying in the booth all the time. And thank God the writers, John included, and all of the writers of Lucanis really brought some fast, quick-witted writing. So he’s quick as a whip, he really lightened it up, and can’t wait til you guys get in and play it and romance this sucker! Sorry! Sorry not sorry!

Lucy: I was going to say, how does it also feel to play a romanceable character?

Zach: Oh, I’m quite excited about it. Ashley has promised to give me the stats of how many people romance me. I'm really looking forward to that.

Lucy: No pressure, gotta get those numbers up!

Zach: Yeah, I know. But, that’s the great thing about Lucanis, is that, you know, he’s extremely smooth, as an assassin, but, and, yes, he does have a heart, he does have a soft side, he’s not completely adept at always dealing with other people and interactions of that such, you know, he’s extremely stubborn and stuck in his ways, so it’s really hard for him to let people in sometimes, so I’m really excited for fans to get to meet him, and, you know, help him open up.

Lucy: And before we go to the rest of your illustrious cast members, what’s, what was, what’s been your highlight of working on The Veilguard? Is it, you know, this moment getting to see everyone in person? Was it a story from on set one day, or an interaction with one of the devs?

Zach: Well, you know, I did, before the first day of shooting, I did kinda get an idea about how passionate the fanbase was, which made me really excited. I don’t wanna say nervous, because I don’t say I’m nervous, I say I’m excited. And so before the first day of shoot, I was very excited. And luckily, you know, Ashley and them, didn’t have me do too much on the first day. I played a lot of darkspawn. I darkspawn-ed my ass off, though. I want you guys to know, I really –

Ashley: Oh he did, yeah.

Zach: – and when I got home, I thought to myself, you know, ‘Zach, did you darkspawn hard enough?’ I was just worried! You know, and within an hour I got a text from Jeff, who’s a part of this cast as well, and Jee, telling me what a great job I did. And then, I’ll never forget. I got a call from Ali Hillis down here. And I will remember that conversation, because for thirty minutes, she made me feel like I was welcome in the Dragon Age family, and it gave me so much confidence moving forward. So thank you Ali, so much, I still remember that, God bless you.

Lucy: That is lovely. See, the family stuff coming up already. I’m very excited.

Ashley: [...]

Lucy: Right, let’s move on. Coming to the private detective, Neve, who we actually got a glimpse of in the gameplay reveal from a few weeks ago. Let’s take a quick look. [a scene plays on the screen; the scene when Rook meets Neve in the prologue with Varric and Harding, that we saw in the gameplay reveal video] Now John, can you give us a quick overview of Neve?

John: Absolutely. So Neve, as you can see in the video, is one of the first companions that you encounter in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. She’s from Tevinter, Minrathous specifically. And anyone who’s played Dragon Age before knows that we’ve always talked about Minrathous, we’ve always talked about Tevinter, so we wanted to have a character who showed, not the parts of Tevinter that we’ve touched on before, you know, obviously slavery is a big part of it, it’s a mageocracy, but somebody who was pushing back, fighting back against that. And Neve’s shown up in the ancillary media as well, in the comics The Missing. And it’s just, she is that, you know, somewhat cynical detective with a bit of a heart of gold, bit of [a?] romantic, and just seeing her character evolve over the course of The Veilguard, over the course of the game, because again, she’s one of the first people you meet, is. Always fun seeing Neve’s character bounce off other the followers, banter has been super fun, just the way that she, what she brings to the table is always, it’s always so interesting to me.

Lucy: Jessica, I mean, what was it like getting that call to find out that you were gonna be in Dragon Age?

Jessica: It was slightly terrifying, and it was, I just felt really honored immediately, because I feel like, to be, I feel like they entrusted me with such, something with such significance and such importance to so many people, and so I just really wanted to honor that, and bring everything that I could to this fabulous character that I had been gifted. So yeah, that was.

Lucy: And I understand that you are kind’ve newer to the kind’ve voice acting, kind’ve realm. How was it different from more traditional roles?

Jessica: I am pretty new to it. I’ve barely done anything as significant, Dragon Age is enormous. It was very freeing honestly, I mean, like Ashley said, they auditioned and auditioned and auditioned and auditioned us. Like, every time I was brought in, I was like, ‘oh I didn’t get that’, you know what I mean? And then three months later there was another audition, and. But it was just so interesting and so freeing, because it really is sort’ve, it almost felt like play pretend, like when I was a little girl, you know? And it’s like what you dream up in your imagination. Because they, you know, they give you this character, and they give you some of the dialogue and then they really wanna see where you go with it and how you move and how you embody her and how you react to dragons that aren’t there because you’re in an audition room. You know, like all of that. So, and then, also, playing Neve, it really allowed me, and being a voice actor, it really allowed me to sort’ve step into my power a bit more, because, you know, I’m very tall, and things like that. And so, in a lot of my, sort’ve, more traditional television and film work, they kind’ve want you to be the girl, and I have to raise my voice, and be a little softer, and you know, kind’ve, not diminish myself, I don’t wanna say that, but just be very conscious of my physicality. And then Neve, it’s completely the opposite. You know, so Ashley had to work with me literally on dropping my register and things like that, and it was so confusing at the beginning, and then it was so amazing, to kind’ve have that opportunity, so I’m very grateful.

Lucy: Yeah. I mean, what drew you, what’s your favorite thing about Neve? – get that applause going, go on, let's go!

Jessica: I love her loyalty, I love her dedication, I love how much she loves Docktown and its people and how she really sees a different vision for Tevinter than, as John said, than what’s previously been depicted. And she’s really really fighting for those people, and she loves those people, and so yes she’s cynical, and yes she’s kinda tough and brusque and all these other things, but when they say there’s a heart of gold, there really, like to have that kind of a passion and dedicate your life to something like that, I think that, that’s my favorite part about her.

Lucy: And what were some of your highlights from, I mean, is it, is it kind of strange to record a video game, because I assume you’re doing things in different orders -

Ashley: Yeah.

Jessica: Oh yes.

Lucy: - working with some people some days and other people different days - tell me about that?

Jessica: I mean in terms of that, I just trusted Ashley and John, you know, and they know, and I was there to learn and embody and kind’ve grow into that. But I think my favorite thing, even though we were all separate disembodied voices a lot of the time, we kind’ve really all bonded in the way that we were intended to, you know? And that’s why we’ve been so excited all week and all weekend, because we can be like, ‘oh my god, you’re here, oh my god you’re here, you’re here, you’re here’, finally, you know? And you know, I know on a lot of projects, people are like ‘oh yeah, we’re all like, we love each other’, but we really do, we really really do. And it just evolved so organically. And there was something magical about it just being our voices in the beginning. You know, like sort’ve taking anything else out of the -

Zach: Equation.

Jessica: – you know what I’m saying. I’ve run out of words.

Ashley[?]: Yeah, it’s like an audible penpal. […] speaking to each other for so long.

Jessica: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ashley: It's nice with Jess, [...] she hit it on the head, you know, voice acting, you know, I hate to say it, I don't wanna put Jess - Jessica’s obviously a beautiful woman, but in the booth, it doesn’t matter. We just, pulled out the power and the range that Neve has, and it’s limitless, and as a woman to see that kind of writing and that kind of performance ability is, I know for a lot of us in the room, probably, pretty badass.

Lucy: Jess, I wanna, I'm gonna come back to something, because you mentioned, like, you’ve been messaging, and that the cast, you know, really loves each other, is there a Veilguard groupchat?

Jessica: There are several.

Lucy: Hold up. Who sends the most memes, who is the person who only reacts with the thumbs-up emoji?

Jessica: I, I would say Jeff is the most active, who plays one of the Rooks, I would say, in that respect, and to bounce off what Zach said, just an incredibly generous actor. And then, Ali, like it’s so true, like I had that story too, like literally even being back there, I was like, [gasp], I was like, she’s like, ‘it’s gonna be okay’, she’s like, ‘it’s good, it’s like, you’re gonna love it, it’s gonna feel special’. She literally like held my hands and like looked into my eyes and was like [inhale, exhale], you know? [looks at Ali and reaches out to her] I love you.

Lucy: I was gonna say, if we’re doing an Ali love-in, she did that for me too. So.

[?]: She does that for everyone.

Lucy: She’s done it for everyone? Fantastic!

Ali: Guys, you’re making me cry!

Lucy: We didn’t expect, hang on, we did expect one of our companions to be - a stone cold gray fox. BioWare treating us well. Emmrich has been driving the internet wild. And so, John, can you give us a little bit of background there?

John: Absolutely.

Lucy: Where did Emmrich come from?

John: I mean honestly, I will say like, we expected a great reaction to Emmrich. Went beyond what we expected for sure. But it’s been fascinating to see, because again, Emmrich is this character, he’s more of the professorial, more, he brings a wisdom and kind of a calmness to the group, so even when things are at their worst, there’s that one person in the group who’s kind’ve like, ‘okay, you know, we’ve got, let’s figure it out, slow, take a deep breath’. And just his journey through his character arc and his interaction with the others, it’s been fantastic to see. Even just finding opportunities for him to bounce off the other characters, you know, the way he talks to Bellara, the way he talks to Neve, it’s all so different, but it’s all so just, again, based around this core of this warm, kind-hearted, professorial necromancer, which again is not something that you see a lot of in media, usually necromancers are depicted a very specific way. But it’s been, just awesome to see how Emmrich has grown and just, really one of the most, one of my favorite experiences has been just working with Emmrich’s writer and working with Emmrich as a character.

Lucy: And Nick, you are the voice behind Emmrich.

Nick: I am.

Lucy: How did you prepare for the role, you know, what were you told about him before you got into the booth for the first time?

Nick: I think I’ve been preparing for Emmrich all my life. I was very attracted to the role initially. And I was so, I was overjoyed when I got it because I think it was, the writing of Emmrich is really fascinating. It’s this, this man that is obsessed with death, on one hand, but on death as a comfort, death as a transition, death as something that is not scary, and that ability to enable people to transition, and the investment that he gives in that sphere, which we don’t give in our own lives. I was immediately attracted to that and I thought that that was – I’d never seen that before, and so to go in these two ways, to talk about death and to talk about it in a way that is kind and that the transition becomes a kind transition, that was fascinating to me, and I think, will be fascinating to you too, yeah.

Lucy: And I hear as well that Emmrich gets, I mean, you’re all gonna get some fantastic lines, but I hear that Emmrich has some quite spectacular ones. You, Nick, you and Ashley, I would love to hear about the process of, was it difficult to get like some of those tongue-twisters, and?

Ashley: Yeah, Sylvia the lead writer basically was like, ‘Ash, you’re gonna need a dictionary for all of the sessions with Emmrich’, it’s like, 'Okay!'. And we get there, you just nailed them all, like 'shduhfejdkjjdhdjdhfjehfjkhehe into the Fade'.

Nick: Well, I don’t know if I nailed them all, that’s very kind of you. But, there was some serious tongue-twisters there, and, but it’s great, it’s great to be in the booth, and to be given a challenge like that, and. Yeah, it’s fantastic, I mean that’s what I love to do, so it was great to be just gifted that.  

Ashley: You’re such a natural nerdy scientist. […]

Nick: It's my inner self.

Ashley: It's your inner secret.

Nick: Yeah.

Lucy: Now I love that, and I think, I think the, I, I’m drawn towards with Emmrich is that like, he loves learning.

Ashley: Yeah!

Lucy: It’s very clear, like, it seems like you’ve really just thrown yourself into this role and the world of Dragon Age. You know, I asked Zach a similar question and it’s like, you’ve been working on this for so long, what’s it like now that people have caught a glimpse of your character, it is just a glimpse, but people are desperate to know more?

Nick: I mean it’s so interesting that this character has kind of caught fire a little because, when I did it I thought ‘okay, well everyone else is like so sexy and like, it’s just amazing, and I’ll just be this kind of professorial kinda guy chatting in the background, having fun, you know, dealing with death, and you know, on the side’, and suddenly it became this thing of like, no, this is actually really interesting. And I think people have found it interesting, and I love that! I love that you guys have also found it as interesting as I have as because, it’s, it's a fantastic character, he’s a fantastic character, honestly.

Lucy: I mean, Ashley, working with Nick, any other highlights to share about your time in the booth, or?

Ashley: Oh man, every, Nick is the most consistent person I’ve ever met in the booth – or in his garage.

Nick: Yeah.

Ashley: Recording booth, he’s really like [a hippy in art?], so I, so it’s kinda trippy, seeing you again in person and knowing what your character looks like.

Nick: Yeah.

Ashley: But yeah, you’ve just been so consistent with Emmrich and bringing this grounded-ness, and I’ve learned so much working with you, and. Yeah, now, you tell me, what, what good really looks like.

Nick: Oh wow, thank you, thank you. Appreciate that.

Lucy: I mean obviously, there’s Manfred too.

Nick: [gasp!]

Lucy: Played by Matt Mercer. What was it like kind’ve having another character to [...] bounce off of?

Nick: Oh man! I mean that is such a hard question because Matt and I have never met.

Ashley: Yeah.

Nick: And we worked completely separately, and. I mean I know that the rapport is really great, but it’s in the ether, I mean it is just, the magic that these guys create, telling us how to respond, how to do that, but it’s, I can’t wait to meet Matt.

Ashley: We recorded, basically before Manfred.

Nick: Right.

Ashley: All of before Manfred.

Nick: Right.

Ashley: And so Manfred got to play off of your straight delivery -

Nick: OH he did? I did not know that. Oh man!

Ashley: I know!

Nick: He got the easy part!

Ashley: Yeah, totally! So you set him up, just to knock it out of the park –

Nick: Right!

Lucy: Okay, so you got to set the tone. You get [...]

Ashley: Yeah, yeah […]

Nick: Right right right right. I set the tone!

Lucy: And, finally. Last but certainly not least, Ali Hillis returning as Scout Harding. Please [indicates for applause]. Now, I’m so excited because, she’s one of my favorite Dragon Age characters period and it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of her. But what has she been up to, John, between Inquisition and The Veilguard?

John: So I mean, if you’ve read the comics, you know that Scout Harding has been working with Varric to track down Solas. So she has been on his tail for quite some time. The game starts just as they finally - tracked him down, figured out where he is, but she’s been working with the remnants of the Inquisition, working with Varric, and then also working with Rook and Neve. Again, if you read the comics, you know that Harding has met Neve, they have a […] relationship before the events of the game. But yeah, she is dedicated to taking someone who used to be a friend, someone she considered, you know, even if they weren’t close, because Harding wasn’t part of the Inquisitor’s core companions, somebody she knew, somebody who treated her with some amount of respect, and knowing what he’s up to now, knowing she has to stop him, so.

Lucy: She was in the core Inquisitor’s, of my heart, so.

John: That’s right, well, I mean, she had the light romance, so.

Lucy: I tried to flirt with her every time. Never went anywhere. Ali, you are no stranger to playing beloved BioWare characters, obviously, Doctor Liara T’Soni.

Ali: [in her Liara voice] It is very nice to see you all today.

Lucy: What’s it like to be returning as Lace Harding?

Ali: First of all, it was a complete surprise. I don’t know if it was for you guys, but it was for me. So I was so excited when I got that call, because I had no idea it was coming. And after recording the last Dragon Age, and going to cons, much like this one, and having the line in front of me and all my pictures spread out, and every few people, someone would come up and say, well, ‘Where’s your Scout Harding photo?’ I was like, ‘oh, I didn’t bring one! Like. I didn’t realize! Okay!’ So I started getting more into the idea that this was a really beloved character, and I didn’t realize! And she was so much fun to create because BioWare gives us so much freedom as actors, it’s such a collaborative effort, both with Liara as well as Scout, I remember getting in the studio for the very first time to record these characters. I do a lot of voiceover, I do a lot of amazing games, I don’t always remember the very first day in the studio with a project, and I do for both of these projects. Because they were so poignant in my life, because it was, it was, a group of people coming together, they had already obviously conceptualized these characters. There was art, there was writing, brilliant writing that we are only so lucky to chew on in these voiceover sessions with such expert direction. The material that we are given to work with, only, just blasts us off this planet, in the acting world. But, just, knowing that when we went in to create Scout Harding to begin with, and one of the ideas I remember us talking about was, like, ‘well, I wonder if she’s kind of a character whom, when she talks, maybe she draws in the dirt with her toe?��� You know, coming up with these little tiny bits of yumminess to create a character and build it, the fact that they give us that honor to work with them on it, you know, is incredible. So when I heard that she was coming back, I was thrilled from the inside out, because I felt a part of this whole thing, so thank you, guys, for bringing her back. You! [to the audience] You! [to BioWare devs' direction] Thank you.

Lucy: I think I can speak for all of us when I say, we are thrilled.

Ashley: Yeah.

Lucy: You know, a lot has changed in the time since Dragon Age: Inquisition. I mean, what, how, for you has the experience of recording changed, like, technology-wise? Obviously, a little thing happened in 2020 we don’t have to talk about, but how has it changed for you?

Ali: Yeah, and speaking of that little thing that we’re not supposed to talk about, but the way that this company pivoted and, I mean, we were working on something, we had a project in the works, and somehow, every single person had to deal with this big thing in the world that we’re not talking about -

Lucy: We can talk about it.

Ali: - and somehow produce a game! So when you guys play this, just know that the amount of effort that went into this one, you know, maybe exceeds every game I’ve ever worked on because, we had to, everyone had to pivot, you know, suddenly we’re working from our garages – me too – and usually we’re wearing pants. And, and, you know, when I worked on past games with BioWare, everybody was in Edmonton, pretty much, and then everyone just kinda dispersed and I didn’t know where anybody was, and Ash was working out of her house all the time. It was incredible because we just did it, we pivoted, like all of you did, like all of us did, and we all came together and we made it happen and I was really really proud of that. Anyway, I know we weren’t supposed to talk about it, but it was magical, and powerful, and incredible. And I’m so sorry, back to the original question.

Lucy: No, I mean, how has the process changed for you?

Ali: The process has changed for me? I got to do p-cap! I got to be her! I got to physicalize, they gave me that, I got to physicalize her this time, which I didn’t get to do last time and I did not get to do in Mass Effect. And I really had a great time with it! Because, just like these guys have all talked about, we all come from different acting and theater backgrounds, I think Ash as well, and different types of performance, and it was cool to get on the volume - the p-cap stage -because, it’s like a theater.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: You have freedom! It’s better than a theater because you can turn around backwards and talk like this and everybody still knows what’s going on, so, it’s freedom in acting and we get to really bring the character to life outside of being behind the microphone and envisioning all of it, we actually get to perform. So that was one big difference for me in this game particularly. That, and the, doing it from my home sometimes in voiceover, or studio, it was, we kinda just, went with the flow.

Lucy: Is it easy to come back to a character that you kinda know inside out, or is it kind of like a mental block about it because you’re returning to something, or is it easier to come up with something new to […] What was it like getting back into the shoes of Harding?

Ali: That’s a really good question because it had been a minute. I mean, I’m so excited this game is releasing, how about you? Woo! You know what, with her, again, just kind of like Liara, because we came about this character so organically, I did ask, I remember asking to hear voice-bytes, I just wanna make sure we were in the same ballpark. But also, you know, there’s been an evolution.

Ashley: Yeah, you’ve seen some shit.

Ali: Yeah. We can’t really talk about it, you guys’ll have to find out for yourselves. But there’s been an evolution, so.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: So, yeah, it’s, it's, I can’t really say anything else about it without giving stuff away.

Ashley: She comes back with such, like, a veteran voice, y'know?

Lucy: Yeah, I kinda noticed that, like, she’s, she’s got a little bit more of an edge to her.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: Yes.

John: Well, she’s been chasing Solas for almost a decade, so.

Ali: And I love that, that is an amazing relationship that you guys created. And then I’ll stop talking about that. Damn!

John: No more!

Ali: I’m so excited!

John: I know!

Ali: I defer to these guys!

Lucy: I mean, question, kind’ve for all of you. We kind’ve touched on it a little bit, the challenges, and you know, the fact that the game is almost here, Fall 2024. I’d love to know, down the line, and just, you know, what’s been kind’ve your guiding light for all of you on this project?

John: I mean for me, it’s always been about, Dragon Age has always been about the people. I mean, the companions, the villains, the allies you make along the way. And for us, making sure that that stayed central, that that was still our guiding light. We really wanted to focus the game, the story, the gameplay, always around yourself as a character, but also the other characters in the world, not just, again, how they relate to you, but also, having these relationships, having this idea of this world that exists, with people that exist, not just as kind’ve a theme park for the player character to go through. But they have lives, and they have internality, like they’ve got an internal life of their own, that cause them to act in ways that may not always be predictable, but is always fascinating, and makes them feel real, even if you’re only getting a few dozen lines, they feel like real people.

Lucy[?]: Yeah.

Ashley: Yeah. I think that was my guiding light, like, I’m, have to find logic in these, you know, over hundred thousand lines in the story and over 700 unique characters you can meet. And I, in this fantasy world, I, we’re all still looking for the truth. What is the truth? How can we ground this? Do I believe it? Do you believe it? Are we in it? And that was always my North star. And, you know, often times I’m in the booth, and sometimes I’ll just, ‘I don’t buy it, I don’t buy it’, or, and, so, it was my job to be the gatekeeper, I felt, in the booth, to make sure, that I buy it, so you will all buy it.

Zach: I made the mistake, before we started shooting, of checking out the Reddit of Dragon Age. Not a good idea. It was a bad idea. But what I did, what struck me is that these people, these fans, have the same passion for this game that I have had for a hundred fantasy worlds. You know, places where I’ve gone into and discovered different parts of myself through. through, following these stories. And so I felt an, I felt so, it was so incumbent upon me to put as much effort as I could into this game. And I really do feel like the fans inspired me to pour my heart and soul into this, and I just cannot wait for you guys to play it, I really cannot.

Lucy: Jessica, what about you?

Jessica: I would say for me it was the dialogue, honestly. I loved the writing, Brianne was my writer, and Ashley, and John, and she’s right, like it’s, you gotta go deeper, and like we’re trying to find it, and we’re trying to find it together, and sometimes we’re not there, and sometimes we have to come back to it, you know, there was, I could tell there was such an evolution in my work, and part of that was because I just kind’ve gave it over to the writing. And whenever I did get to play off the other actors, you know, sometimes they’ll have, you can play in with their lines, and that was just such a joy, and I got to like discover other little parts of the game that I had no idea about, you know, because we’re doing it in isolation. So that was kind’ve the joy for me, and just honestly trusting, trusting the team and Ashley and John, so.

Lucy: Nick?

Nick: Yeah, I mean I’d have to say narrative as well, I think what the writers have done on this show, you don’t get in other games, you just don’t. You don’t get the level of, the depth of character. And character makes story. And that is what they focused on here. And I just kept coming back into that booth going, ‘I’ve never, I’ve never, experienced this before’. And just one last thing as well, I think the fact that we were separate, and I’m only just sort’ve putting this together now, the fact that we didn’t see each other, the fact that we didn’t know each other, has created a kind of magic that, I think is extraordinary. You can’t see somebody and you have to listen in the dark for cues and signals, and you have to put it together. That, that is magical. And I think, out of the chaos of 2020, 2021, 2022, which was exactly when we were recording and trying to figure this out, that’s when the magic came together, that’s, and I think we all feel that here, and I really hope you guys do too.

Lucy: Ali?

Ali: Well I feel like they’ve kinda covered it. I was gonna speak to kinda like what John said. One thing I really like about this game particularly, and I think you guys will find this as well, is you really find yourself in it.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: And the relationships, not only with the player and the people you bring along, but the team with each other, it’s just, it’s so well-written, the relationships are so conditioned that you really get lost in the moment. And I love when I’m at a con signing somewhere and someone comes to the table and says, you know, ‘this is a game that took me away from something I was dealing with in my real life, and I’m so grateful for it’, and I feel like, this is one of those games. This is gonna take you into a world that’s gonna blow your mind. And, I was just so honored to be a part of this group, again, again, I’m just gonna echo everything everybody said. But when I would hear their voices in my cans, in my headset, and I don’t get to see their faces, there is something so specific and so intimate about that experience, when you’re not seeing each other, and you’re just hearing, they have this amazing system where we get to hear each other. Whoever’s recorded first is played, if I’m having a conversation with these guys, if they’ve recorded first, I get to hear them and talk back. Acting is reacting. So it’s really nice that I actually get to react honestly off of these guys with expert guidance. So, I was really appreciative that we’ve conditioned these relationships in a fantasy land and also in real life, and I think you guys will feel that when you play.

Lucy: Now we do have time for Q&A. I'm gonna ask the panel another question, but if you wanna start lining up, we have, people are jumping to their feet already, this is great. We have a microphone right here. Before we go to Q&A, I suppose, what's the big, the biggest takeaway you want when people actually get to play later this year?

John: For me, honestly, it's just, how much this project has just been a team effort in a way that, everyone is working collaboratively with each other, everyone is bouncing off each other. Everyone was talking earlier about the writing, but I think what's fascinating for [...] has been so awesome to see is, the actors also shaping these characters as we built them. Seeing, like, how, Nick delivers a line, how Zach delivers a line, how Jessica delivers a line, how, and then, bouncing off that and then forming the character, shaping the character, so. We realize, okay, so, Ali has this, you know, has this, says things in a very specific way. Maybe we, let's re-write a few things, let's really lean into this, you know, what she brings to the character, and it's just. That's true across the entire team. It's not just the actor, it's not just the writer, but everybody who has worked on it, has a little piece of themselves in it. And to me there's just this excitement that that brings, and just this amazing passion that you can see in everything that's been built in this game.

Ali: It's so cool, I was gonna say, when we were recording, and I know we gotta get these questions, when we were recording during the pandemic and we were at home, I didn't realize sometimes that on the Zoom call I'd only see Ashley's face, or sometimes, you know, whatever, whatever she puts up. And then suddenly I'd have a question, 'hey, so in this line, this and this?', suddenly, like, John, or somebody else would just pop in, and talk about the line, so, we were always collaborating, it was just amazing, I was very grateful to have you guys ever-present.

John: Thank you.

Lucy: Alright. Shall we go to our first question? We all ready?

[?]: Yeah.

Lucy: Alright.

Audience member: Hello. [...] fan of Dragon Age since Origins. Oh, I must say, I am very disappointed with this panel. You've failed to mention a very important part of the game! The factions!

John: Mmm!

Audience member: So I would like to know, what can you tell me about them, and, can you join them, or do you just interact with them?

John: So, you start the game, you get to choose which background you go with. Each one is tied to one of the major factions. But one of our principles from the start was the concept of 'characters not causes'. So we didn't wanna just give you, 'here's the Grey Wardens, they're just kinda this group that exists in the world', we wanted to attach characters to them. So I can speak to the Grey Wardens in particular, anyone who's read comics and any of our short stories know Evka and Antoine, they kind've represent your connection to that faction. And you can work with them throughout the story, you can help them out. And decide how much you want to spend time with them. But each one of them [...] represents these important forces in the world that you need to get on your side if you're gonna stop the end of the world, so.

Audience member: Looks good.

Lucy: I was gonna say, Zach, you've done, you've done your research, so how exciting was it for you to kind've see and hear all these factions coming into play?

Zach: What, I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?

Lucy: You did all your research, so.

Zach: Oh, yeah.

Lucy: How exciting was it for you to hear about these factions and then hearing about how they'll come into play in the game?

Zach: Well, I don't think they kept my voice for Antoine, but I did my best French accent, I think it was pretty painful for everybody else on set, I really did. Oh yeah, the Grey Wardens are a barrel of laughs, those guys, they're absolutely wonderful. Well, yeah, so I had to play a bunch of characters, so I had to really steep myself in the understanding that, okay, the Grey Wardens go a lot, go through a lot, actually, doing what they do. They make a pretty intense bond in order to carry out exactly what they do. So, I tried to bring that as best I can to the physicality when I did do the motion capture and whatnot, but I cannot wait to see how it plays out in the game.

Lucy: Next question.

Audience member: Hello, I've also been a fan of Dragon Age since Origins. So, I've noticed in pretty much all of the games, there's a lot of influence from classical fantasy and mythology. So I was wondering, general question for the whole panel, what was your first exposure to fantasy or mythological storytelling, and do you use any of that in your voice-acting?

John: Hm. I can speak to mine but I can't speak to the voice-acting part, obviously. I mean I read Lord of the Rings at a very young age, and everything that you read that you, any piece of art that you enjoy, engage with, it's obviously gonna have an influence on yourself and also what you do.

Ashley: Yeah, there's a [depth?], in it, you know, to the fantasy world, that acting, it's kind of timeless, right? It can be anything, anywhere, and I feel like when we were doing the voices, we, you know, we didn't want it to be in 2020 or 2024 or whatever, so I think that's how I was most influenced, is, what's the most universal sound or a language, or a mixture of those, that can feel like nobody knows what it is?

Zach: I mean I was obsessed with, I think it's Theseus and the Minotaur, that story, when I was young. Did I just put my foot, I think it's Theseus, it could be Perseus, I can never remember okay?

Audience member: It's Theseus.

Zach: It's Theseus? My man! Thank you. I appreciate it. But I love the symbolism in those types of myths, right? Like, the Minotaur is this half-man, half-beast, who sits in the middle of the labyrinth, and the labyrinth is, of course, your mind, and you are also the Minotaur, and you are also Theseus. But so, getting to see the symbolism that's represented in Dragon Age, and how deep the meaning is, like that, those the stories I've always wanted to tell, ever since I was young, so I, it was a real honor to get to bring this to life.

Jessica: I also, my first, was Lord of the Rings, but I also was very interested in Greek mythology growing up. And, yeah, I think it's that, as Zach said, the symbolism, that you see, and like, I think you really see that in Dragon Age, and I know you know, right, you all, like, know the lore, and go looking for things, and that's really exciting to me. And then, just, yeah, the limitless possibility, right? You're not limited to what people look like, or whether you're human, I don't know, you know what I'm saying, like, that can really can take your mind and the world and the depth of the world anywhere and everywhere. And that's so exciting.

Nick: Yeah, I mean, for me it was The Hobbit, as well, my mom read me The Hobbit, and I would go, 'stop, stop!' And I would run to her closet and put on a pair of her boots, these shiny boots, and wear a cape, and I would go 'okay, okay, carry on' [...], you know, just, I would just, I would just be so in it. And then I'd go like, 'stop, stop, I'm gonna read that bit, I'm gonna read that bit'. And, you know, it was just, it absolutely informed why I'm sitting here today.

Ali: I wish I had better answers. Talking about, instead of yesteryear, talking about recently, I was travelling, and we were in Greece, and I feel like I saw Dragon Age everywhere. Just like an inspiration to travel and look back and, I'm now infatuated with castles. So, actually, it's brought me into this world, instead of me discovering it, you know, a long time ago, this has what's really brought me here.

[?]: Thank you very much.

[?]: Thank you.

Lucy: Thank you for your question.

Audience member: Hello, thank you for answering questions. For the new companions, if you could romance, from your companion's perspective, which older companion would you romance?

Ali: This could get embarrassing!

Zach: I kinda have a thing for The Iron Bull. Yeah, I saw him for the first time when I was looking up some answer to some question I had when I was reading the books, and I was like, 'oh, that awakened something inside of me! Huh! Look at that!' - You guys are gonna leave me hanging after I said that I want to have sex with The Iron Bull?

Jessica: [...] Um, I, I, don't know, honestly, I'm overwhelmed by that question, so [...]

Nick: I guess I'm a little overwhelmed by that question too. I have a particular fondness for Manfred, but, you know that's, that's a very particular relationship. I would say, like, I think what you've done with Solas is really sexy [...]

Zach: Dorian is really cute too. Yeah. [...] the mustache. Dig that guy.

Ali: Well, he's sitting right next to me, so this is a little embarrassing, but every time I heard Emmrich in my cans. Just, woooo. I might be on-board with all of the fans out there for Emmrich. If you'll have me, if you'll have me.

[?]: Thank you.

Panel: Thank you.

Audience member: So, the first game I played was Inquisition, and, this is not a knock, but, because, my reference would be Mass Effect, and I love that series. For Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 3, it seems the games was more streamlined. I'm getting the same feel from Inquisition to this one. Does that, what you can expect from gameplay-wise?

John: I mean, I don't think there's any, I don't think it's streamlined, it's. Again, each Dragon Age has been fundamentally different in its gameplay. We've tried things, seeing what works, seeing what didn't. In the case of The Veilguard, just like the other games, you wanna keep that tactical, strategic complexity and make that the centerpiece. And each one we focused on a little bit differently. In the case of this one, I think our skills in particular are some of the best we've done. There's some exciting combinations you do there, so.

Audience member: Thank you so much.

John: No worries.

[?]: Okay. There we are, okay.

Audience member: I was wondering what your favorite aspect was of the character you voiced?

Lucy: Ali, should we start with you this time?

Ali: I mean, so many layers, man, we're talking BioWare characters here! I think some of my favorite things about Lace Harding are the little things. Like, she loves her mom, you know, she loves to write letters home, she's always talking about her mama's soup and stuff like that. I love that relationship. She likes plants, and raising plants, which is inspirational, since I kill them. But just the texture they add to the characters, that's, in general, but for me, yeah, it's those little things that really kinda give me a bunch of stuff to work with in my brain, for bringing these characters to life.

Zach: I love the fact that Lucanis is a good cook. I just imagine him finishing a job and then going home, and, you know, cooking him a meal to kind've calm himself down, but with like the same knife he just used to murder somebody. He cleaned it of course, he cleaned it, but at the same time [...] -

Ali: I recommend my mama's soup.

Jessica: I really enjoyed, we sort've worked to bring, like, a noir element to Neve, and her being a private investigator, and so I really enjoyed leaning into that. And then she's just so dry, you know, like, things really mean a lot to her, but she's not necessarily gonna let you know that, you know what I mean? You have to kind've, like, discover that underneath. And, so I, I related to that, and I love that about her.

Ali: I was gonna say, 'I don't know anyone like that'.

Nick: I loved the, the fact that the writers just took Emmrich and explored the whole idea of death. The whole idea of necromancing, and, I really responded to that, I got into that, and bringing kindness into it, I know that sounds crazy, but it's to not have this idea that death is vulgar or kind've to be, something to be terrified about, but something to actually engage with on so many levels. I just thought the fact that the writers had the courage to do that in a game like this, I thought, it just blew my mind.

[?]: Thank you for the question.

Lucy: I think we have time for a couple more quick ones.

Audience member: Hi, okay, so first of all. Okay, hi, again. So, first of all, my dad just died, so [...]

[?]: Oh, I'm sorry.

Audience member: [...] Thank you. [...] So, [...] what you said about your take on Emmrich, really, really, I appreciated that. So, my question, to, I guess, John, would be, so, lore-wise, mechanically, not like story-telling-wise for the lore, how do you decide what lore goes in what games? Like, just, okay, so like, what decides what goes in Dragon Age 3, what goes in Dragon Age 4, what goes in Dragon Age 90-bajillion? Not from like a story perspective, right, but from, like a, what do we want to do, right?

John: Mhm. I mean it really does come down to, each one, as we build, it's, it's hard to say it as [...] something that we come [...], it's like, 'okay, we're gonna do it this way, this way, this way', mechanically, but, we kind've, we always know the base lore of the franchise, of the IP, and as we start to build the story, we start to see these opportunities to again, [...] speaking mechanically, bring certain elements in that make the most sense with the characters we're building and the story we're telling. We try not to overwhelm by saying a bunch, having a bunch of lore included that's not necessarily critical to the understanding of the story, but we always wanna expand the universe, and expand the IP, so.

Audience member: Thank you.

John: You're welcome.

Ali: And, can we please have a Dragon Age 90-bajillion?

John: I'd like that.

Ali[?]: That'd be amazing.

Audience member: Hi, I'm Matt. I've been a fan of Dragon Age since, actually, The Stolen Throne book, before I even knew there was like a game. And my question was, for the voice actors, one of my favorite things is the party banter. Was there any, like, lines of party banter that you recorded that you can say that just made you just, like, laugh, 'cause some of the party banter is pretty hilarious. Like, is there a certain thing that just sticks in your mind, whether you can say what it is, or just who it was with, like, so I can be on the lookout for it?

Ashley: I have one, it's so not appropriate. Do I have permission to say it?

Ali: That's what I was gonna say.

Zach: Yeah, say it.

Ashley: Listen for "hand-to-bone combat".

Lucy: I mean, do we end it there?

Ali[?]: And, scene.

Lucy: Well thank you so much everyone for coming to the panel. Thank you [...] Fall 2024.

[panel ends]

--

[source: DA:TV ‘Meet The Companions’ panel @ SDCC. BioWare have said that they are going to share the recording of the panel at a later date].

[☕ found this post or blog interesting or useful? my ko-fi is here if you feel inclined. thank you 🙏]

[shippingmyworld]

Youtuber!Danny AU

Don't think I have the creative energy to expand this brainworm into an actual fic so ya'll just have to read a wall of text instead.

After a few close encounters where Danny's halfa identity almost gets revealed, Sam suggests the trio start a Youtube channel where they go about investigating all the so called "Ghostly Encounters" around Amity Park. Their goal would be to debunk as many ghost sightings as possible and establish themselves as well-known ghost deniers. After a bit of debate they eventually settle on naming the channel Chasing Phantoms.

Tucker really gets into it and eventually becomes the face of the channel. With Sam's coaching he learns how to play devil's advocate extremely well and figures out exactly how to craft his questions to manipulate people's responses. This way they can make these supposed "witnesses" discredit themselves within just a few minutes; Tucker will make them get worked up, angry, and confused about what they saw and trick the witnesses into making contradicting statements. This way they can throw out the witness statements as shoddy evidence because they're nothing more than a stress-induced hallucinations brought about by a gas leak. (They accidentally lean into the gas leak story a little too much in their early days - Danny uses his ghost powers to safely break piping in the places they're investigate to create evidence to back up their claims - thus triggering a mild panic in the citizens of Amity Park because one town should really not be suffering from this many gas line breaks.)

Sam is the director and editor, and has them film everything like it's in the style of found footage (she got the idea after watching The Blair Witch Project). They’re constantly making the "Looks directly into the camera like they're on The Office" joke whenever they interview someone who claims to have been attacked by a ghost.

Danny is the cameraman for the channel, but never shows his face because every time they tried to filmed him, his eyes would flash green in the lens flare and cause them to have to scrap the footage. He's still pretty chatty and viewers latch onto his sassy and sarcastic nature. They love his one-liners and the top comments of each video are usually just a repost of something witty he said (Sam leans into it and start naming the videos after lines that Danny drops while filming). Fans of the channel are constantly asking him for a face-reveal in the comments section. In fact, there's a whole subset of viewers that are dedicated to figuring out what he looks like. They have a poor quality jpeg file that's passed around and updated whenever a glimpse of Danny's appearance is reflected in a puddle of water or broken glass (which means Sam has to comb over the videos about ten times before they post them to make sure she didn't miss anything while editing).

Any time Danny ends up fighting a ghost and there's a witness, the trio will break into the site of the fight the next day (using Danny's ghost powers off-camera of course) so they can do an overnight stakeout. It always just amounts to the three of them goofing off and finding no evidence whatsoever. They do all the standard ghost hunting stuff but have to fib the data because Danny’s presence alone triggers the EMF reader and if they try and take the room temp anywhere near Danny it’s always like 10 degrees colder.

As time goes on, the channel starts to really kick off as people latch onto their goofy energy and start to get invested. However, they've also made themselves a lot of enemies within the student body at school, as most of their classmates have become discredited witnesses on their channel (with a few unfortunately souls even becoming trending memes for a few days). This also means Jazz learns about it and keeps volunteering to tag along or help out. She even gets Mr. Lancer to recognize the four of them as an official school club (she took initiative and made herself a part of the club AND club president without asking them), which he gladly approves since he doesn't believe in any of this ghost nonsense either.

Jazz is just really happy that there’s finally someone else in the family that is willing to stand up to their crazy parents' belief about ghosts, so she wants to be the supportive older sibling. However, she literally will not give the trio any space to deal with the ACTUAL ghost stuff. There are several pieces of unedited footage that lives on Sam's computer of Jazz showing up unannounced to an overnight stakeout asking Tucker and Sam “Where’s Danny?” and the camera would catch a glimpse of local menace Inviso-Bill getting his butt kicked by Skulker in the distance.

To get her off their back, Danny ends up publishing an hour long video essay about how ghosts ARE real, but that everything happening in Amity Park is just people making up bullshit for attention. He has to really commit to the act at home, but Jazz will eventually drop it and leave the trio to their own devices. This backfires however, as Danny's parents now believe he’s interested in ghost hunting and try to join him as well. Thankfully Danny is able to deter them by suggesting that they should all do their own research and compare notes later. You know, the more data the better, right? However, this means that in addition to his chores, homework, ghost fighting as Danny Phantom, and ghost hunting as Chasing Phantoms, he also now has to peer review his parents work so he's constantly exhausted. Tucker and Sam will usually let him copy their homework when the time crunch becomes really bad, and they will let Danny conk out for a much needed nap whenever the group gets together to brainstorm channel content or edit footage.

Following one of his encounters with Plasmius, Danny decided they should follow up the "Ghosts ARE real" video with a clickbait video titled “Top 10 places in Wisconsin that are ACTUALLY haunted!!!” They make Vlad’s Castle is #1 on the list and offer a reward to anyone that can bring them proof of a ghost haunting. They include a photo of Plasmius (that's been edited to look like bigfoot photos) so that people know what to look for. This means Vlad now has to hire extra security because the video triggers a mass influx of people that are constantly trying to break into his house and find evidence of this ghost for the reward.

Eventually Valerie and her dad end up on Chasing Phantoms as well, but as some of the discredited witnesses. It pisses her off so much that she starts up her own ghost hunting channel, Ghost Hunter Grey. She's constantly discrediting Chasing Phantoms in her videos and is very vocal on social media about how they give actual ghost hunters a bad name. Every time Chasing Phantoms uploads a new video, she stakes out the same place they did and uploads a video of her own a week later that includes all the evidence they clearly missed and a genuine, uncut interview with witnesses. She doesn't reveal her face (because of the reputation Chasing Phantoms has within the school) and uses a voice modifier when she edits her content.

Grey's videos aren’t nearly as popular as Chasing Phantoms content because Valarie tries to keep her videos more grounded in facts and backs everything up with proven science (unlike the trio’s videos which are just a constant barrage of ghost-themed brain-rotting jokes and funny reactions). It only frustrates her more and so she leans into the Popular Kids clique in order to low-key bully them as an act of revenge. 

When the trio catches wind about Ghost Hunter Grey's channel, they will film a fake video and wait the next day to see if someone shows up. Sure enough, Valerie makes an appearance shocking all of them. Sam holds the braincell and say that since they know, they can just be careful and the group shouldn't try and provoke her anymore. Tucker agrees, but Danny has other ideas and starts greifing her as Phantom. At first he will purposefully reveal himself to her when he knows she doesn't have a camera on her, but once he starts getting a little more bold he will start to photo bomb her with the dumbest expressions and just being an overall annoyance. It basically boils down to him doing shit like saying "Nobody will ever believe you." or "It's been five years, you have to let me go." before slowly turning invisible and flying away.

[aha-chuu]

We the hsr community are really missing out by ignoring the aventio dynamic that is canon and funny.

Because okay. Let's be fr: Ratio has however many degrees, multiple PhDs inside that. He has a job now, obviously, but he also spent a fat while trying and failing to get Nous and the Genius Society to notice him. He's renowned and super smart and has a bunch of achievements and credentials, but that student loan debt,,, fml. And we know from Herta and Asta's dynamic that scientific endeavours aren't just automatically funded.

So for some period of time before the IPC/Intelligentsia Guild snatched him up, I imagine Ratio was bobbing along like those rubber ducks he likes so much. Not broke, exactly, but certainly in the midst of six different projects at any given time and also canonically doing TA work as well like. Relatable king.

Dr Ratio has eaten a pot noodle in his life is what I'm saying.

But that's like,,, regular financial strain. Aventurine's situation is so far removed that to talk about it in just a monetary way would be insane. His net worth was *how much he was sold for*. But you know. He didn't have rent? Aventurine wouldn't have had any concept of what was "normal" between his downtrodden upbringing and horrific early adulthood.

So what I'm saying on that unhappy note is that when Aventurine got with the IPC, it's no wonder he seems most cavalier about dishing out credits. What do they even mean to him?? Money is important and he understands its value obviously - like it's part of his job and he's smart - but his personal experience is at odds with what he knows logically.

(and in some ways, after having been assigned a monetary value himself... I don't think Aventurine can conceive of any amount of money that is worth a person's life. He'll use people as "chips" but that's different)

Anyway. When Ratio was a fresh faced IPC collaborator and stuck with Aventurine as his partner, their first mission must have been insane. Like Aventurine only knows top level IPC people's financial situations so when Ratio is just a reasonably normal guy Aventurine must have been ???? He's still new at this too, you know, does Ratio need bailing out of all this debt? (it's very regular and he's responsibly paying it off ASAP), should Aventurine get on his good side with an extravagant purchase on his own fairly new IPC issued credit card? (he chooses not to because that might flaunt it).

Ratio notices. Obviously. But the biggest issue for him is Aventurine comparative cluelessness more than actual offense. Also like Ratio is certainly NOT poor I'm sure that first IPC paycheck will polish off the student loans entirely.

It's that cluelessness that would them trigger him to try and figure out Why this clearly competent Stoneheart who is obviously very good with money would be so out of his element when faced with a normal financial situation. And Ratio is blunt so he says those words out loud but without any of those complimentary parts. Aventurine is still reeling from someone seeing through his façade.

This isn't going anywhere except Aventurine trying to be a sugar daddy for maybe four days before he clocks onto the situation properly. And Ratio isn't about to say no to paying off that student loan debt a bit faster. And eventually they're both so well compensated by the IPC that when Aventurine casually transfers everyone else 100000 credits just for being in the room, he has to come up with some insane and creative way to shock Ratio. Maybe that's where the gun light cone came from: "if I can't impress you with my shiny new wealth I will certainly do it with my luck 🤗 why are you dialling a crisis line rn"

[theemporium]

Yay congrats!

My order: a smut-berry daiquiri (21 - if you want to come, you’ll have to beg.”)

Hot hot, can’t wait!

thank you for requesting! i partially blame @hischierhoney for my feral nico mood🤠anyways, enjoy!

21. "If you want to come, you'll have to beg."

.

It was a stupid fight. 

An incredibly stupid, downright dumb fight that escalated far more than it should have. And to be honest, on any other day, it would have been a small fight that you both would have rolled your eyes and laughed at the very same day because it was stupid. 

Today, however, was not one of those days. 

It had been a cumulation of things that led to the tension in the fight: between Nico spending every free moment on the ice or at the rink and you being swamped with projects at work, the two of you hadn’t had time for each other. It was something you were both at fault for, and the work stress did not help the situation. 

And maybe—just fucking maybe—you missed having each other’s attention. But somewhere in the stress and the tension and the pressure, you both seemed to snap over something as stupid as one of you forgetting to unload the dishwasher. 

Which led to you giving Nico the silent treatment on the first day off that the two of you had lined up.

And you regretted it almost the second you started it because half an hour in, you missed him. You missed being able to curl up on his lap. You missed listening to him tell you stories about the boys that you had missed in the last few weeks. You missed standing in the kitchen, both of you moving seamlessly around each other whilst you cooked together. You missed him and his smile and his arms wrapped around you and—

You just really missed your boyfriend. 

But you were stubborn. One of the most stubborn people he had ever met and, despite knowing how you felt considering the fact you were lingering in the living room with him instead of locking yourself away like you usually did when you were mad, you weren’t just going to give in and break the silent treatment. 

Which meant Nico had to get creative with the ways he got you to finally break. 

“I—” You cut yourself off, bottom lip tucked between your teeth as you felt his soft kitten licks against your clit. 

“C’mon, baby,” he mused, a hint of something teasing and smug in his voice as he squeezed the fat of your thighs. “Gonna keep hiding those pretty noises from me still?” 

You pressed your lips together, determined to bite back the moans you so desperately wanted to let out as you pushed your face into the arm of the couch you were currently sprawled on. 

“Hm, still being difficult?” He murmured, his warm breath fanning over your soaked cunt and you couldn’t resist the urge to buck your hips a little. “Look at my girl, so fucking wet and ready for me. Bet I could just slide right in, you’d take my cock so well. Like you always do.”

And at that, you couldn’t help but let out a pathetic whine.

“There’s my girl,” he hummed, pressing a soft kiss to your inner thigh as his hands pressed your hips down into the couch. 

“Nico,” you groaned, squirming under his hold with a small huff of annoyance when you felt him continue to give your thighs the attention your pussy wanted. 

“You finally done with the silent treatment?” He asked, spoken so casually like he was talking about the weather. Like his face wasn’t buried between your legs moments ago.

“Please,” you grumbled, your pride long forgotten as you glanced down, the sight of him grinning up at you with a few strands of hair in his face making your stomach twist with desire.

“Nuh uh, honey,” he shook his head, keeping your legs spread just how he wanted you. “If you want to come, you’ll have to beg. Let me hear that pretty voice.” 

“Nico,” you whined but he lightly nipped your inner thigh in response. 

“You sound pretty when you beg, baby, let me hear it,” he murmured before he leaned down, licking a slow, broad strip along your cunt. He delighted in the way your back arched off the couch in response. “I know my pretty girl can be good for me, yeah? Beg and make those pretty moans and I’ll make you come as many times as you want, schatz.” 

And truthfully, you would have been a fool to turn an offer like that down.

.

[heyclickadee]

So, here’s the thing. The finale is weird. Yes, I’m hurt by the fact that Tech didn’t come back and that a character that’s very near and dear to my heart was badly handled, and that will never sit right with me. But even apart from that, the finale fundamentally does not function as a piece of storytelling or as the end to this story. I’m glad that people are enjoying it, and I will never tell anyone not to. But I don’t think it works. (I get very negative about the TBB finale under the cut.)

It’s not just the Tech stuff or the CX-2 stuff (which may very well have been the same stuff) that got dropped. It’s *everything*. Every theme, Every narrative thread besides retrieving Omega, every character arc except marginally Omega’s, Echo’s (also marginal), and Emerie’s, which was the shortest and gets wrapped up by her deciding to help Echo rescue the kids. It all stops. It makes everything that came before seem cheap and pointless if you take it into account. And this is so, so frustrating for me, because the entire show was driving towards this incredibly rich payoff, it could have been immaculate, and then it whiffed the ball so bad in the last episode that it didn’t just miss, it managed to knock over the bleachers and set the entire court on fire.

Some examples:

1. This season had a really interesting exploration of Crosshair’s PTSD via his hand tremor and how it was something he can learn to manage, but not something that would ever fully go away. Aaaaand then his hand gets chopped off. One, that was stupid. I’ve seen some excellent posts (here’s one by @the-bi-space-ace) detailing why that was a terrible way to handle Crosshair’s lingering trauma, and others talking about how the idea there was that Crosshair needed to move on and it was severing his last ties with the empire. The former, I agree with; the latter, I don’t, because not only—not only!—does this episode stop dealing with Crosshair’s trauma, it doesn’t even deal with having cut off his hand! It just sort of occurs. No one reacts to it, no one says anything about it, there’s no follow up or commentary, nothing happens as a result—it’s an event which occurs with no results coming after it. It may as well be an animation error. You can say it was about Crosshair needing to let go and move on, but that’s something you have to project on to the text, not something that’s actually offered by it. It’s empty.

2. Crosshair again: We also have the lingering issue of Crosshair’s guilt and the fact that he never seems to get to a point where it’s resolved. There’s set up for a resolution. We have that, “Sure you have,” like about Crosshair from Rampart. We also have Crosshair saying he deserves whatever happens to him in Tantiss. And then…no pushback. No resolution. No moment of Crosshair realizing that he doesn’t need to carry that burden. Nothing that says he didn’t deserve what happened to him. He had all this character development this season, but he needed - last little push to forgive himself—and we never get any indication that he does. It, like his trauma, gets dropped like a rock.

3. Hey! More Crosshair! A good chunk of Crosshair’s arc this season was about learning that anyone can change, first, and that no one is beyond saving. Eeexcept that goes no where.

4. Which brings me to my next point: There is set up for the CXs to be saved. Even if we’re laboring under the conclusion that CX-2 was never intended to be Tech at any point in the writing process (I have. Doubts. Yes, I’m calling the creative team liars, here, but with the understanding that they have contracts that may require them to lie), we do have the set up where we learn the electrocyanide zappers can be removed, and with Rex offering forgiveness to CX-1. “Whatever they did to you, whatever you’ve done, you’re still one of us.” CX-Tech or no, Crosshair’s arc was tied up with the CX plot, and because he’s the one the CXs tend to react to—or, at least, understands what was done to them—the set up was there for him to help save and maybe rehab the CXs. At the least, there was an indication that they could be saved. Eeexcept nope! That gets dropped like a rock, too, and they’re not going to deal with it. Time for maximum carnage.

5. Hunter’s arc actually takes a step backwards. Sure, he gets a technically happy ending, but because the squad is basically in the same place they were in “Pabu” back in season two (down a member but successfully hiding from the Empire in a safe place), it negates Hunter’s development towards actually taking action—and actually hurts Echo’s arc, too.

There’s been this tension all through the show between just sitting things out on the one hand (Hunter’s way) and taking direct action despite the futility on the other (Echo’s way), but instead of finding some kind of middle ground or third road, it sort of comes back around to saying that, actually, Hunter was right, they should have just gone to Idaflor back in episode three and never left even though the Pabu invasion said that no, you can’t just hide, and even Hunter’s development was moving in the opposite direction. And this also means that Echo never reaches a point where he feels like he can walk away and that he doesn’t have to get himself killed doing this. Despite development otherwise they both end up back at that conversation in “Tipping Point” without any move in either direction or resolution of that tension.

6. Omega. Okay, Omega probably comes out the best after the finale, and, conceptually, I actually love the idea of Omega becoming a pilot even if the epilogue falls a little flat for me. But stuff with Omega still got dropped, including:

- The force stuff. We have two episodes dealing with m-count (after learning in episode three what Omega was created to do). We also have Ventress telling Omega that she doesn’t have a high m-count as far as she can see, Crosshair immediately calling Ventress out for lying, and then Ventress basically saying, “Yeah, no shit, but if she has force potential she’d have to leave you behind, and it doesn’t matter what your opinion on that is, so I’m not dealing with that.” Aaaand then,m. That. Goes nowhere. Despite a bit of set up for Omega connecting to the force as early as episode one, and some more set up in Tribe, and that whole subplot of her learning how to meditate, and so on.

Now, I don’t think that it was ever going to turn out that Omega did actually have a high m-count or that she had a particularly powerful natural connection to the force. I think she’s probably got a low or baseline m-count. What I do think, however, is that we were going to see Omega connect anyway as a refutation of Palpatine’s and Hemlock’s entire scheme. Their goal (based off of the ST) was to create extremely force sensitive clones as a way for Palpatine to jump bodies without having to waste time re-learning how to connect to the force. You know—dark side, quick and easy path, focus on eugenics and raw power, etc. Had Omega connected anyway because of her big heart and desire to protect, it would have not only paid off that set up, it would have also refuted Palpatine’s and Hemlock’s entire goal. It would have worked so well thematically and the set up was THERE.

- branching off of that, I think the Omega force stuff was probably tied to the Zillo beast. We also had a through-line of Omega being good with animals and taking the time to calm them instead of responding with violence. The first time we see this is in “Replacements,” where she realizes that the ordo moon dragon (also an electrophage—I don’t know what to call these things—like the zillo beast) is just scared and hungry. This is all conjectural, but it still fits with what was set up.

- Moving on from the force stuff, we also had a through-line that started way back in episode two of the series, but which was really emphasized this season, about Omega feeling like she’s the cause of the bad things that happen to the people she loves. This is why she gives herself up during the Pabu invasion in the first place. This is never resolved! We get Omega’s confidence boost when she realizes she has the force kids to take care of, but we never get a moment where Omega realizes that she has no reason to feel guilty. She’s the glue that holds the family together! But nope! Also dropped!

- But wait! There’s more! The first two season finales have Omega watching someone she loves fall away while she’s helpless to do anything to save them. That’s perfect set up to put Omega in the same situation, but be able to save them, because she’s finally come into her own. Instead we just end up with her needing to be rescued again.

- Omega has this big speech in Shadows of Tantiss about spending her life stuck in one place or another against her will, and how she refuses to be confined like that. I don’t think Omega would have been happy just staying on Pabu for the entire rest of her childhood and young adult life, even if I think she’d want to use it on a home base. But! Dropped!

7. I still can’t get over the fact that the zillo beast is on screen for about two minutes and then just. Walks away. It’s a large beastie that’s been locked in confinement for a while and is probably hungry. And somehow it didn’t go straight to the reactors for some delicious energy smoothies. Like. It. Did. The. Last. Time. Someone. Let. It. Out. But no, that would have required it sticking around for something that was probably dropped sooooo ZILLO BEAST EXIT STAGE RIGHT I GUESS. (Edit: I have been reminded that Hemlock does say to turn off the generators once the zillo beast is out, so that at least makes sense. I still think the zillo beast should have stuck around to do something.)

8. You notice how there are a ton of commandos around Tantiss, even up through “Flash Strike?” And how they kind of largely cease to exist? And how Echo says that there are far more clones imprisoned in Tantiss than anyone thought? And then how they rescue, like, a dozen guys? Because we never find our way back to those cells Crosshair was held in during season two? And how Tarkin does mention not wanting to allow clone dissidence to turn into an uprising back in “The Summit?” Because I did. This show was never going to be about a clone rebellion, that wasn’t the point, buuut I do think the set up was there for an uprising at Tantiss itself. Begin the series with clones losing their agency en masse, end the series with some of the most subdued clones taking it back. Except nope, dropped, soooo we gotta pretend the commandos don’t exist and murder the hell out of poor Scorch.

9. SPEAKING OF. The batch does kill clones sometimes, that does happen, but they do at least usually make some kind of effort to be non-lethal even when they’re not using stun, and times when they do resort to lethal tactics are usually born out of extreme circumstances. Not here, though!! NO HESITATION MAXIMUM CARNAGE. For. Reasons I guess.

10. There’s one point IN THE FINALE where Echo mentions signaling for Rex. This never comes up again. Rex does not show up. In fact, despite being called, “The Cavalry Has Arrived,” the cavalry does not in fact arrive. There is no cavalry. Yes, I know it’s a reference to Wrecker’s first line. But I’m sorry if you call an episode that YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A CAVALRY SHOW UP. Especially when you have a one about calling them in! But that also!! Got dropped like a rock!!

11. One positive: the moment Crosshair and Hunter leaning on each other to make that shot was nice.

12. Sorry, but Hemlock’s death was deeply unsatisfying. Let’s do something more than just shoot him multiple times, okay?

13. Rampart’s death, on the other hand, was incredibly satisfying. That said, the conversation about project necromancer? I’m dying. It’s actually hilarious, because it basically goes like:

“Tell me about project necromancer.”

“Wow! How interesting!”

I’m.

Are you serious?

I’m going to become the Joker.

Yes, I know we know what project necromancer is because of a different show. That’s not the point, the POINT. Is that any pay off for project necromancer in this show got dropped. And that’s deeply frustrating from a narrative perspective.

14. Speaking of, we never find out anything more regarding that partially successful m-count transfer from episode three.

15. We also never do anything with those medical records!

16. And Omega has a whole crossbow she never actually shoots despite the fact that her role on the team was as a sharpshooter after Crosshair left, and despite her getting advice from Crosshair on how to be a sniper. The literal chekov’s gun never goes off. I’m going to go eat gravel.

17. AZI, likewise, got toted around for three seasons for no reason. Probably could have helped with the medical records. Given that he was a Kaminoan medical droid. Oh, and that Omega was Nala Se’s medical assistant. So. Hmm.

18. You can cut everything in the season past episode five and skip straight to the epilogue and end up in the same place. This is not because the other episodes are filler. Far from it! The other episodes are great and deliver some amazing set up. But, because the finale does nothing with that set up, it doesn’t go anywhere.

19. And you know what else? From a narrative perspective, there’s no reason for Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair to be in these episodes at all. They don’t accomplish anything and make everyone else’s job harder. Omega was doing fine, she would have gotten out with the kids with just Echo and Emerie, and Tarkin was coming to cut off Hemlock’s funding and shut everything down once Hemlock lost control of the facility anyway. I can only suppose that the whole reason they were in this episode ended up getting dropped, too.

20. CX-2. Listen, the answer we get about CX-2 isn’t that he’s not Tech. It’s, “Maybe, maybe not—you don’t get to know.” Because. He’s the only CX whose mask never comes off. After a season and a half worth of buildup of unmasking CXs and people pressing them to learn their names. It’s not a no, it’s a non-answer, which is far less satisfying.

And finally:

21: CX-Tech. I’ve seen some people speculating that there was a planned CX-Tech reveal that got scrapped at the last minute—dropped, along with the other points I’ve already laid out. And, honestly? I have to agree. Despite what the creative team says, because even their denials kind of come out weird (like the Kiners saying that the large brass chord in “Battle of the Snipers” was just a nice sounding brass chord and not a reference to “Plan 99.” They also basically say that the sacrifice theme from “Plan 99” is Tech’s leitmotif. Which. Is all over “Battle of the Snipers.” That theme. Not Crosshair’s. In a scene. Where he’s supposed to be fighting a shadow of himself who Totally Isn’t Tech but we put Tech’s leitmotif here and layered it in Techno music but nooo that was never supposed to be him. Nope. I mean, come on. I’m not stupid).This post is already long enough, so here are some posts by @apocalyp-tech-a pointing out the reasons why I think this was the case, and one by @eriexplosion pointing out why CX-2 as Crosshair’s shadow and only that doesn’t quite work. I don’t need to go over the trail that was laid out again. Up to the finale this was a character that had more screen time—and far more solo screen time—than Echo. Some people will not stop yelling that there was no evidence, and. No. I’m sorry, there was. I can’t agree.

And some people might say, well, okay, the show misdirected you guys and pulled off a twist by having CX-2 be no one, and well, I can’t agree with that either. Twists only function if the twist is more satisfying than the conclusion to which the story seems to be leading. And I’m sorry, you can’t tell me that a season and a half of CX building and three seasons (because I can find set up all the way back in episode one of the show) for Tech survival culminating in what amounts to a boss fight is more satisfying than getting to see Omega have her big brother back. You can’t.

The reason I bring this up last is because, yes, I think CX-Tech was a plot dropped at the last minute, but because I also think that it’s the dropped plot that ripped everything else apart. CX-Tech was an incredibly efficient way to tie up most of the lingering plot threads and dropped character development.

-Crosshair’s guilt? Okay, he faces down the end result of his decision to stay with the empire and possibly something he knew about (Tech would be in this situation because of Crosshair, and were given hints that Crosshair knew) and is finally able to forgive himself because they’re able to save him.

- Hunter’s decision to finally take action and be proactive rather than reactive is validated, because it’s the thing that finally gets him his entire family back.

- Echo saves someone the same way he was saved, and maybe he realizes that it is enough and that he doesn’t have to be a soldier forever.

- Wrecker’s efforts to keep the family together and keep Hunter sane finally pay off.

- Omega is able to protect the people she charges about and finally, finally has all of her brothers.

- Thematically, it rounds off each member of the batch (Omega included) traumatically losing and then taking back their agency in a way that correlates directly to who and how they are as people.

- It also rounds out the OG batchers each being haunted by a failure that has to do with the thing that makes them special.

- You get pushback against “Clone Force 99 died with Tech! We’re not that squad anymore!” because no, it didn’t, and they’re more than a squad, they’re a family.

- It comes around and closes the wound opened in Aftermath and ripped back open by Return to Kamino: they go in for Omega and lose someone, but here, they go in for Omega and get someone back.

- Would allow Tech to close off his lingering threads and finish his character development BECAUSE THOSE REMAINED UNFINISHED.

- Completely subverts the “bury your disabled” trope by making sure we know the character whose disability was explored the most’s life is more important than his death. Seems like an important thing to do in a show that is kind of about disability. Just saying.

- Makes the lack of closure and little mentions of Tech make sense from a storytelling POV because the necessarily catharsis would come from his return.

- And it would actually add some triumph to the ending. Yes, this little family survived. They outlived the war. They’re together, despite every effort to rip them apart. They made it, despite the dark times, despite the Empire, despite what they were made to do and be. They defied all of that. That would have been so, so satisfying.

As is, without Tech, without that CX-Tech reveal, we sort of end up in this weird place where all the themes are half-baked. They are more than soldiers…except Tech, who had to fall out of the story as a soldier (despite us getting the clearest glimpse of what his life outside of soldiering could have been). They get to live how they want…except Tech. They don’t leave their own behind, except Tech that one time. They should value their own lives a little…except Tech. They’re more than a squad, they’re a family…except Tech, the only one besides Omega to say that’s what they are, doesn’t get to see it, and they don’t get to have him around. We begin the series with a broken family and end it with a family broken differently. That’s not dynamic.

So there’s no really punch to the ending. It’s sort of…well, okay, we tortured a family for three seasons I guess. Relieved that the survivors are doing okay, but that’s kind of it.

22. The finale in general is just sort of a bunch of events which happen, but which don’t lead into one other. It’s weird. It’s not that too much happens, it’s that almost nothing happens. Nothing of substance, in a way. The finale is, in a word, the only true filler episode in the entire show.

TL;DR: I think a lot of stuff got dropped from the finale. I don’t know why. I suspect that it might have to do with the strikes—basically, the script was done, most everything was recorded and boarded, and then when the finale was in production they got sudden drastic budget cuts (this was during a time when the studios were disappearing entire completed shows and movies as tax write-offs), had to gut what they had planned, and couldn’t bring the writers or even showrunners in to smooth over what was gutted or to even pick what got taken out. They wouldn’t have gotten to choose or compress things. They were on strike (because the studios wouldn’t negotiate), and whoever did choose ended up just ripping out the stuff that would actually take any time or budget to deal with (so, basically everything I laid out), killing it (literally), and using the remains of what they already had recorded. And who knows how they had to fill in gaps.

But I don’t know for sure. Maybe it was that. Maybe it was a last minute decision to take certain plot points and put them in a different show. Maybe it was executive mandate. Maybe the creative team just sucked the whole time (that’s one I have a hard time buying—we have four other shows and most of this one that tell me that they’re better at their jobs than this). Maybe everyone said screw it, who even cares anymore at the same time.

Maybe nothing happened. Who knows? I strongly suspect something bad did happen behind the scenes that was out of the creative team’s hands—I really do, because that’s the only way I can make sense of this—but until we can get someone talking without six layers of PR and NDAs, we won’t know for sure. All I know is that The Bad Batch is an amazing show with 46 episodes that range from “fine-but-clunky” to “IMMACULATE,” with more leaning towards immaculate than not, and some incredible set up, and one episode so nonsensically bad it makes me want to eat drywall.

It’s just that the one terrible episode comes right at the end.

I love The Bad Batch. I love every single episode and all the things that were set up, but…eh, I think I’ll be ignoring the finale until further notice.

[xomakara]

Coming Home

SUMMARY |  You and Haechan try to cope with a long distance relationship but when you land the opportunity to write a ballad song, you finally get to reunite with Haechan PAIRINGS | Haechan/Fem!Reader GENRE |  smut, unprotected sex, dirty talk, oral (female giving/male receiving), LDR RATING |  Mature LENGTH | 6,456 words AUTHOR’S NOTE |  This was originally supposed to be a Jaehyun story but I decided to make it Haechan instead. 

My Love

Hey, baby. I miss you.

You sighed as you read the text message that followed after yours. You were sitting in a local café and sipping your coffee, laptop on the table with your phone next to it. Your papers in your lap, you opened the word document ready to start writing some new lyrics for the new U.S. based girl group you were working with.

Staring outside of the shop’s window, you looked at the passerbys dressed in their winter coats and bundled up for the winter holidays. You wished you were back in Seoul, in the warm arms of that one special person you longed for. But your job as a songwriter made you go to the US, when you wanted to see your love, your heart. You sighed as you continued to sip your coffee.

You wondered what he was up to. Of course he had to be busy; Korean idols usually were busier than American singers. You sighed, wanting to experience the thrill of being back in Seoul, the rush of idols having promotions and performances. You missed the daily screams of fan girls, the feeling of being on stage and dancing and performing. Yes, you were an ex-idol. But your group had split due to problems with your former company and you signed to SM.

That's where you met him...

Your boyfriend. The love of your life.

You remembered the day you met him. Before you expressed the desire to become a singer-songwriter to your new company, you were attending dance and singing sessions despite already being known as a former idol. You were in the practice room one day, when he and his fellow members came into the studio for their own practice session. He caught your eye and approached you. You remember thinking how good looking he was, with those boyish features, and beautiful brown eyes. He expressed that he was glad that he was able to run into you since he was such a big fan of yours.

You laughed because you were also surprised by this, but then he told you that he admired your talent. From there, you started talking more often and he always showed up during your practice sessions. Then one day, he asked if he could talk to you privately and you went to the hallway near the studio rooms and talked about music and you soon became closer and closer to each other.

You still have moments where you replay the moment where he confessed his feelings to you, through song, during a performance at their showcase, back when they were only a rookie group and you were already well into your career. You blush every time you hear his name mentioned or see his face appear on your phone. But then again, you've been with him ever since, and he's the most important thing in your life. The most valuable person in your life.

But right now, you felt lonely.

Even though you spent your days working on music and meeting people to help make songs for the various projects you worked on, your evenings and nights were just so quiet without him. Just you, your notes, and a cup of tea. It wasn't like you didn't have any friends or acquaintances in the States. You were part of a creative team for this U.S based girl group, so you had other Koreans that had worked with you since you joined SM, that flew overseas with you. But you still missed home and all the familiar things from there, like your favorite cafes, people you knew, places that reminded you of him.

And now you're away from them, working on something that you want, doing what you love. And although it can be challenging sometimes, you're so grateful that you are where you are right now, making a living off of something that you truly enjoy. Because no matter what, you will never forget how lucky you are that you were given the opportunity to do this. Even though things weren't perfect at first, they ended up turning out just fine.

You picked up your pen and jotted down lyrics from your favorite Korean group's songs. You weren’t planning on using it in your own composition, no you wouldn't dare do that, but it was a type of inspiration for you. It gave you some ideas just looking at the lines your boyfriend sang. It lifted your spirits up and you knew one day you would go back to him.

“Y/N~” Someone called your name. Looking up from your laptop, you smiled as you saw several girls waving as they made their way to you.

“Hey girls!” You called out as you lifted a hand and waved at them. “What brings you here?”

“What are you doing, Y/N?” Ivy, one of the vocalists, asked as she sat down next to you. With her pale skin and bouncing blonde curls, she was clearly the visual of the group. “Who’s that?”

“Who’s who?” Sophie, another of the vocalists, asked as she sat down on the other side of you. She had the skin of caramel, her dark thick hair barely brushing her shoulders. Looking at your screen she also took a double take. “He’s a cutie!”

“Ah, him?” You pointed to the screen and smiled. You would always look at your screen and smile, the smile of the man staring back at you always made you feel happy inside. “That’s my boyfriend.”

“Who is he?” Gemma, the leader of the group, asked as she threw her long black hair behind her.

“You guys don’t know his group?” You asked, the girls shaking their heads. “Really? How could my girls not know about my boys?”

“We just recently got into the genre.” Ivy frowned, the others laughing. “Give us a break here.”

“Well, you're in for a wild ride once you get into them.” You laughed and gestured to the girls to sit closer. “And my boyfriend? His name is Haechan.”

Haechan watched as his 127 hyungs wandered about the practice room after their practice. He was standing next to Mark, drinking from his water bottle, clutching his phone in his hand as he listened to Mark go on about something one of the Dream members did the other day.

“Dude,” Mark waved a hand in front of Haechan’s face. “Are you listening?”

Haechan shrugged and stared at the floor. “Nope.”

“Are you okay?” Mark raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been spacing out for a while now. Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine.” Haechan muttered, letting out a sigh. “Just tired, that’s all.”

“It’s Y/N, huh?” Mark asked, placing a comforting hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “You miss her?”

Haechan closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “Yeah…”

“Awhhhh,” Jungwoo pouted as he enveloped Haechan in a hug. “Our Haechannie is a lovesick puppy.”

Haechan rolled his eyes and hugged Jungwoo back. “Hyung, please. I am not lovesick.”

Jungwoo scoffed and shook his head. “Whatever. We know better. And besides, how can you not miss your girlfriend when she’s gone?”

“Time differences sucks,” Haechan frowned, watching as the other 127 members made their way over to him. “Even though we have video calls and talk to each other on the phone, there’s nothing like seeing her face every morning and evening.”

“She’s coming home soon, right?” Taeyong spoke up, grabbing hold of Haechan’s other arm. “After Christmas?”

“I hope so.” Haechan answered quietly.

There was a silence amongst the rest of the 127 as they waited for the youngest member of the group to say something else. A few seconds passed before he cleared his throat and looked at them.

“Maybe if we wish really hard for her to come home, she will.” Jungwoo said hopefully. “I kind of miss having Y/N hanging around the practice room. She brightens up the place.”

“Is it weird that I miss Haechan’s and Y/N’s random ass pranks?” Johnny raised an eyebrow. “Like that time you taped some ladybug stickers on us while we were asleep.”

“Or when she would hide in the dark and then scare the crap out of everyone by popping out of nowhere,” Doyoung added.

“Those pranks never failed to make me laugh,” Yuta mused.

All of a sudden a noise filled the room and Haechan jumped, his hand immediately going to his pocket where he stored his cellphone.

“Y/N!” Haechan excitedly said as he smiled at you through his phone.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” You muttered, noticing Jaehyun popping his head in to wave hi. “Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“It’s fine, babe. We just finished practice.” Haechan reassured you. “Where are you?”

“Sitting at this coffee shop.” You replied. “Doing some work.”

“Work sounds fun.” Haechan grinned. “So what is it that you’re working on? Writing some songs or something?”

“Yes, actually.” You smiled sheepishly. “But I’m still trying to figure out what I want to write about.”

“Well maybe I can help you.” Haechan offered. “Why don’t you send me a few of your songs and I’ll give you my opinion.”

“I would love that, babe.” you replied, a soft smile on your face. “How have you and the oppas been? And the rest of our chingus and dongsaengs?”

“Haha, we are great. Everyone’s well and taking care of business.” Haechan chuckled. “The older guys keep asking me about you, about when you’re going to be home so we can meet up again. It makes me happy knowing they miss you too.”

“Me too, Haechan. Me too.” You replied softly. “I’m going to end this call soon because I need to get some work done. So until tomorrow. Go get dinner with the oppas and have fun. I love you.”

“Love you too. Until tomorrow.”

You woke up early in the morning. Getting out of bed, you changed into your everyday clothes, grabbed your bag and headed out to grab some breakfast before you went to the studio. Before heading out, you decided to check your emails. Checking your inbox, you found an email from your company. You were surprised to find out that in addition to the songs that you were preparing for the girls in the U.S, the company offered you an opportunity to write a song for NCT for a winter special.

Specifically for the members Doyoung, Jaehyun, and… Haechan.

You had to smile. You knew exactly what kind of song to write for them. You took their voices into account deciding to write a romantic ballad. It wasn’t the first time you wrote such a song, but you had to admit, it felt good to write this kind of song for your ‘boyfriend’.

You just hoped that you could finish it in time to send it off so that the guys could start recording it. But even if you couldn’t finish it on time, you had faith in your writing ability and knew that you would be able to write it.

Since winter was around the corner, you wanted to write a song that could relate to people who missed someone during the colder months. Being away from your loved ones during the holidays must be hard. That’s why you wanted to write a song that people would connect to easily. Something they could use as a mantra to remind themselves that the person they miss isn’t far away. That they have a place that is still home. They just needed to think about that special person. As much as it broke your heart thinking about being apart from Haechan, you knew that you'd go home to him one day and make sure he knows that no matter how far away you two were, he would always be close to your heart.

Walking into the studio, you greeted everyone and started your work. Hours later, you had the melody written and you only needed to add lyrics and chords.

It wouldn’t take long for you to complete the song and get it sent off. Maybe by tomorrow. You certainly hoped so. The sooner you sent it off, the faster you could hear it. But it needed to be perfect for the guys. Perfect for Haechan especially.

“I can’t wait for you to hear this, babe.” You whispered to yourself. "I can't wait for you to sing it..."

Thinking about it made you smile.

And you could almost imagine Haechan singing it. You wondered if he would be the first to record it. Or if someone else would. The possibilities seemed endless. You wished you could be there in Korea with Haechan. But until then, this song was a sign of things to come. Of how you’d spend your days missing him. Missing his voice. Smelling his scent. Everything about him.

Your fingers danced across the keyboard as you typed out the finishing lyrics. The words flowed out effortlessly and you smiled as you realized you were writing about your feelings towards Haechan. The butterflies in your stomach grew stronger as you remembered all the sweet moments you shared together. Moments that made you feel giddy, silly, and... loved. You were ready to share these emotions with the world.

With Haechan.

After finishing the song and playing a sample to the rest of the staff, you stood back to listen to the track. It sounded amazing. Just like you thought it would. Hearing your own creation was an amazing feeling. You always loved writing songs, but this was different. This was something personal. To you. For you.

"What's this?" Haechan asked his manager as the older man handed him a paper filled with lyrics. He was sitting in one of the conference rooms with Doyoung and Jaehyun.

"This is a song." Manager Jung answered, smiling proudly. "For a Station song that you four will be singing for a winter release. It's called Coming Home."

"Wow." Haechan mumbled, flipping through the lyrics. "This is really beautiful."

"It is, isn't it?" Manager Jung grinned. "I'm really proud of everything she's doing. She even wrote a beautiful song for you guys."

"Who?" Doyoung asked curiously.

"Y/N," Manager Jung replied. "Y/N wrote this song specifically for you guys."

"Y/N?" Jaehyun raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Doyoung let out a small whimper before enveloping Haechan in a hug. "Your girlfriend is a god sent. She wrote us a damn song!"

"What do you guys think?" Manager Jung turned to Jaehyun and Doyoung.

"It's amazing." Doyoung smiled, hugging Haechan. "She put so much emotion into this. Can you believe it?"

"She took all our voices into account." Jaehyun added, hugging him. "This is a perfect song."

Manager Jung nodded. "That's the point. I think it'll really resonate with your fans. Especially those who've missed their family and friends while living abroad."

Haechan smiled as he looked over the lyrics. His girlfriend never seemed to fail him. Not once since they started dating. She truly was a gift from above. An angel sent down to protect him. Who could ask for anything more?

"Can we listen to the demo?" Haechan asked.

Manager Jung nodded. "You're in for a treat because Y/N sang it herself."

"Let's listen." Haechan urged, turning up the volume.

Seconds into the demo, Haechan's eyes widened. He looked over at Jaehyun and Doyoung who had the same look on their faces. Both looked at each other and smiled, their eyes glowing with happiness.

"She did this?" Haechan asked, incredulous. "Damn, this is beautiful."

They listened intently as Y/N's beautiful vocals flowed out of the speakers. Each note was beautifully sung and every word perfectly crafted. When they reached the bridge, Haechan's smile got bigger. He knew this part was the best. There was no way anyone could listen to this song without getting choked up. Without feeling the way he did. The way he always felt whenever Y/N sang a song. Every note was perfectly placed and they held meaning beyond just the song itself. She didn't just create music, she created emotion. She created magic.

And Haechan was lucky enough to be the one who saw it happen.

"We should hurry and record this. I don't want to lose this chance." Doyoung commented, smiling. "Let's try and record it this weekend. Hopefully we can finish it in time."

Manager Jung smiled. "Y/N will be happy that you all like it."

Haechan glanced over at Doyoung and Jaehyun, a gentle smile on his face. This song was his gift. From his baby girl. A piece of her that he could hold on to forever. Even if they weren't together physically, they could always be together through the power of music. Through her beautiful voice. Her unique beauty. All the memories they made together would live on through their music.

Forever immortalized in song. A song written by his angel.

"Thank you, Y/N." He whispered quietly. "Thank you for loving me. Thank you for making this happen."

A few weeks later...

"Noona!" Seungeun, one of the staff members on the creative team that came with you from Korea, called out as soon as you stepped into the room. You walked over to where he was standing and noticed he was holding the remote control to the TV. Your eyes wandered to the other people in the room; Ivy, Sophie and Gemma on the couch, some of the American staff leaning against the walls or sitting in chairs, the Korean staff members all standing or sitting on the floor.

"What's going on?" You asked, shrugging your coat off and placing your bag next to you. "Is this a meeting or something?"

"No." Ivy answered. "This is another surprise."

"Manager Jung sent us a video link and told us to watch it when you get here." Seungeun explained. "He wants us to congratulate you."

Everyone in the room cheered.

"Y/N!" They yelled. "Congratulations! You deserve it!"

"I'm so confused," You laughed and joined the girls on the couch.

"Press play! Press play!" Gemma told Seungeun. "Don't leave us hanging!"

The video began and immediately you recognized Haechan's footsteps as walked into the screen. You let out a small smile as Doyoung's melodic voice filled the room, Haechan's soft vocals following right after.

"My time stopped When I turned away from your crying self I didn't even give you a last goodbye Your warm heart said, "When you’re tired, come back and rest" When I look back on my snowy way after a while, you're there By the time when my trip is over, I'll know it Like that time holding you in my heart I’m coming home"

When Jaehyun sang his part in the chorus, you just knew. You wrote a perfect song for them. And now you were watching it come alive. You couldn't help but smile at how the boys made the song come alive. At how emotional and beautiful it sounded to have such amazing singers bring your words to life.

You couldn't help it when a tear threatened to fall when you looked at Haechan's beautiful face in the music video. If you closed your eyes, you could see him as he sang the song, looking absolutely gorgeous in front of the camera. His brown hair glistened as he stared down at the camera. Eyes filled with passion. Passion that matched the lyrics you wrote for him. A passion that hadn't died even though you hadn't been able to see him in months. The tears spilled down your cheeks as the video ended and you wiped them away, smiling at the memory of how incredible the video was.

The room fell silent for several seconds. Everyone's gaze fixated on you.

You glanced around the room nervously. Everyone was staring at you, waiting for you to speak.

"I'm sorry about that," You finally said, clearing your throat and wiping at your face. "I didn't mean to cry. I-it was just-"

Gemma jumped up from the couch, startling everyone in the room. She wrapped her arms around you and pulled you closer.

"It's okay." She murmured, squeezing you tight. "Just let it out."

"I haven't seen him in months." You mumbled, burying your face into Gemma's shoulder. "Seeing him sing made me so emotional."

"You miss him." Sophie whispered.

"A lot." You admitted. "Even more than I ever imagined. More than any of you probably realize."

Gemma let go of you and walked over to Ivy. They exchanged a few words before returning to sit down next to you again. Sophie wrapped her arm around your shoulders and gave you a comforting squeeze.

"You know, seeing him perform your song was probably one of the most special moments of my entire life." Sophie mused, stroking your cheek softly. "Seeing you write something so heartfelt for him..."

"Yeah." You sighed. "I didn't think it would make me so emotional."

"That's understandable." Sophie chuckled. "If it wasn't Haechan or the other guys who were in that video, I'd be crying too."

"Eonni," Minjung, another staff member of the creative team, rushed to you, her phone in her hands. "You have a video call."

You looked down at the screen and gasped.

There was Haechan, smiling brightly at you. Your smile widened when you noticed Jaehyun and Doyoung, sitting behind Haechan, rubbing Haechan's back gently.

"Babe? What's wrong? You look like you were crying. Did something happen?" Haechan asked, concern written all over his face.

You pressed your finger to your lips and shook your head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

Jaehyun raised his eyes. "Did you watch the music video, Y/N?"

"Is that why it looked like you were crying?" Doyoung asked.

"Baby, you cried?" Haechan interjected. "Why? I thought it would make you happy-"

"It made me incredibly happy." You assured him. "But watching it also made me sad. Sad that I'm not there."

"I feel like that too." Haechan confessed. "Seeing you being so far away from me makes me feel sick. It's killing me."

Doyoung sighed loudly and pulled Jaehyun to his feet. "Let's leave Haechan and Y/N to speak alone."

The boys bowed to you and left the room quickly.

"I miss you, babe." Haechan muttered through the phone. "I wish I could pick you up and hold you in my arms right now."

"I wish I could do that too." You admitted. "I miss you so much."

"Me too." Haechan agreed. "Thank you for the song, babe. Thank you for writing something so wonderful for me. My love for you grows stronger every day."

"And my love for you grows stronger every single day." You said quietly. "Every time I hear your voice, I fall deeper in love with you. I can't stop thinking about you. I dream about you all the time. But when I wake up, it's always just a dream."

"But it isn't a dream anymore, babe." Haechan reminded you. "And when you open your eyes, I will be there."

"Yes, Haechan." You smiled. "When I open my eyes, you will be there."

"I can't wait for you to open your eyes, babe." He promised. "I can't wait until you come home."

"Soon." You promised. "Very soon."

As soon as you hung up, the Korean staff members rushed to you and hugged you tightly. You cried for a little longer, but eventually managed to pull yourself together.

"You guys are so sweet." You said once you managed to catch your breath. "But don't worry about me. I'm okay. Really."

"Are you sure?" Minjung asked worriedly. "We wouldn't mind staying with you if you need someone to talk to."

"Thanks, Minjung, but it's really okay." You reassured her. "I promise. I'm fine."

"Okay, eonni." Minjung nodded. "Just remember that we’re always here."

Everyone was looking at you expectantly, waiting for you to explain what had happened.

You gulped. How was it possible to explain what you just did? How was it possible to explain how the sound of his voice made you melt inside? How you missed him so much that it hurt? How you dreamed about him every night and hoped that one day you would be able to be with him again? How you felt like nothing in the world could tear you apart if you were with him?

Well, all those things couldn't be described with mere words.

"Noona," Seungeun looked at the rest of the team before looking at you. They all seemed to be in silent agreement about something. "Should we...go home?"

"Yeah." You nodded slowly. "Let's go home."

“Haechan, I’m coming home.”

Haechan couldn't believe his eyes when you walked into the practice room. When he saw you standing there, his heart nearly stopped beating. You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down as he watched you approach him. He walked towards you slowly, stopping when you reached him.

His fingers brushed lightly against your cheek. You closed your eyes as you leaned into his touch.

"Haechan, I'm home." You breathed.

He smiled widely, stepping forward and kissing you softly.

"I missed you." He whispered, brushing his lips against yours once more.

"I missed you too, baby." You whispered back. "I've wanted to kiss you since the moment I woke up."

"How long has it been?" He asked curiously. "Since you last kissed me?"

"Too long." You sighed, wrapping your arms around his neck. "It's been way too long."

"Maybe I should keep you locked in my room from now on." He teased.

"You're welcome to try." You snickered. "I promise I won't fight you."

"Deal." He grinned, pulling you closer and deepening the kiss. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." You admitted, sighing contentedly.

"Get a room or something, lovebirds." You heard Johnny snicker from across the room. "I can hear you two kissing from here."

"It's nice to see you too, Johnny." You chuckled. "I would say hi, but honestly, I'm kinda busy right now."

"Busy sucking face?" Mark laughed, opening his arms to give you a hug. "Welcome home, Y/N."

"Thanks, Mark." You smiled, hugging him back. "It feels good to be back."

"Y/N!" Jungwoo called, running over to you and giving you a big hug. "Welcome back! We missed you so much!"

"Hi, Jungwoo." You smiled. "It's good to be back."

"It looks like you already have your hands full." Mark chuckled, watching you give some of the Dream and WayV members hugs. "I wonder who else is going to run over to you."

"Can't help that I'm everyone's favorite person." You shrugged. "They practically attack me whenever they see me."

"Can't believe that I have to fight everyone for your affection." Haechan mumbled, wrapping an arm around your waist and kissing your temple. "I am fighting against all odds."

"It's okay." You laughed. "Fighting for my affection is totally worth it."

"I missed you so much." Haechan mumbled, nuzzling his nose into your neck. "Please don't leave me again."

"Don't worry, Haechan." You promised, turning your face so you could kiss him. "As long as I have you by my side, no matter where I am, I'm never going anywhere."

"Thank god." Haechan sighed. "Otherwise, I might die from this torture."

"Stop being dramatic and take me home." You giggled, pulling away from him slightly. "I want to go home."

"Home sounds good." Haechan agreed, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close. "Do you want to go home right now? Or do you want to stay here a little bit longer?"

"Oh God, Haechan." You groaned, burying your face into his chest. "Take me home now. Please. I need you to take me home so I can give you your present."

"What present?" He asked, still holding you close.

"My surprise gift for you." You sighed. "Now please, before I change my mind."

"Okay, baby." Haechan grinned, scooping you up in his arms and carrying you out of the practice room. "Come on. Let's go home."

Once you got back to your apartment, Haechan put you down on the couch and went to get some water for you. You took a sip of the cool water as Haechan came back to join you.

"I'm gonna put you to bed." He said, standing in front of you.

"Oh no you don't." You laughed, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him down on top of you. "I'm not tired yet. And I haven't given you your present yet. So get off of me and let me give it to you."

"What kind of present?" He asked, trying to wriggle out of your grip. "Is it food? Because you know how much I love food."

"No, it's not food." You laughed. "It's much better than food. Much, much better."

"A massage?" He guessed, sitting up on his knees.

"Hmm, no." You sighed. "I think it's a lot more fun than that."

"More fun than food?" He repeated curiously. "More fun than a massage? Can you tell me what it is?"

"No." You smirked, pushing him onto his back. "But I'm pretty sure you're going to love it."

"Oh boy..." Haechan groaned, rolling his eyes playfully. "Whatever it is, I bet it's gonna make me lose my mind."

"Oh yeah, it's definitely going to make you lose your mind." You laughed, getting off of the couch and straddling him. "So shut up and let me show you what I got you."

"Go ahead, baby." Haechan encouraged, letting his arms slide down your sides. "I'm ready for whatever the present is. Show me."

With that, you drew your shirt over your head, revealing your lacy bra underneath. You let your hands glide over your breasts, feeling your nipples harden as you caressed them gently.

"God, these are beautiful." Haechan murmured appreciatively, reaching out and squeezing both of your breasts firmly. "This present is gonna blow my mind."

You smiled, leaning forward and pressing your lips to his. As your tongue explored his mouth, Haechan wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer, deepening the kiss. After a few minutes, you pulled away slightly and reached behind you, unhooking your bra. You tossed it aside, smiling as Haechan stared at your bare breasts.

"You are such a tease." He growled, trying to pull you back down on top of him. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I can." You replied, pulling his shirt over his head and unbuttoning his pants. "And because I want to. Now stop complaining and enjoy the present."

With that, you slid your hand inside his pants and began to rub his cock through his underwear.

"Oh fuck, yes." Haechan moaned, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against the couch. "That feels so good. What are you doing to me?"

"Giving you your present." You smiled, slipping your hand inside his boxers and stroking his dick with a firm grip. "Like you wanted me to."

"God, you drive me crazy." Haechan groaned. "I wish you'd hurry up and finish. I need to feel you."

"Hmmm, maybe later." You replied, kissing him softly. "For now, you need to be patient."

"Fuck patience." Haechan growled. "I'm gonna explode if you keep teasing me like this."

"Oh yeah?" You smiled. "How will you explode then?"

"All over your tits." He answered quickly, undoing your jeans and pushing them down along with your panties. "Or all over your ass. Maybe even on your stomach."

"Mmm, I'm liking your ideas." You purred, running your hand over his erection as you pushed his jeans and boxers off. "Tell me, baby, which part of my body do you want to cum on first?"

"Anywhere you want." He replied eagerly. "I'll cum everywhere if you ask me to."

"You're a very horny man, aren't you?" You chuckled, squeezing his shaft gently. "Just how much have you been fantasizing about me while I was gone?"

"Enough to shoot a load." He answered without hesitation. "Every time I close my eyes, I picture you naked, rubbing your tits over my face. Or walking around naked, showing me your perfect body. Don't tell me you haven't been fantasizing about me like that too?"

"Of course I have." You laughed, cupping his balls in your other hand. "I fantasized about you almost every night. How could I not? I'm in love with you, you silly man."

"I love you too, baby." Haechan smiled, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. "I love you so fucking much."

"Good." You sighed, sliding down so you were sitting between his legs. "I'm glad we understand each other."

With that, you lowered your head down and took his throbbing cock into your mouth, slowly taking him in. He shuddered as you started sucking him gently, moving your tongue over the tip. He closed his eyes and threw his head back against the couch, moaning loudly.

"Holy shit." Haechan gasped, gripping the couch tightly. "This is amazing."

"You really like that, huh?" You asked, keeping your rhythm slow and steady.

"Love it." He replied breathlessly. "So much."

You continued to suck him slowly, alternating between licking his shaft and swirling your tongue around his head. After a few minutes, he stopped thrusting his hips and opened his eyes, staring at you with lustful eyes.

"Are you ready to cum, baby?" You whispered, licking your lips seductively. "If you are, just say the word and I'll swallow everything you give me."

"I'm so ready." Haechan panted. "Give me your tongue, Y/N. I want you to taste me when I come."

"So do I." You whispered, licking your lips and lowering your head to his lap.

You swirled your tongue around his shaft once more, this time focusing on the sensitive underside. His breathing became faster and quicker, until finally he released his seed into your mouth, coating your tongue with his sweet taste. You swallowed as much as you could, savoring the taste of his release. Once you had finished swallowing, you raised your head to look up at him. He was looking at you with pure lust in his eyes, clearly pleased with the blowjob you had given him.

"Better than expected." He breathed. "Come here baby. Let me feel you against me."

Straddling his hips, you settled yourself between his legs and looked down at him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Wow, you look so sexy like that." Haechan mumbled, running his fingers through your hair. "It's hard to imagine that anyone else would ever be able to make me feel this way."

"Trust me, there's nothing else that makes me feel this good." You assured him. "Nothing compares to you."

"Same here." He smiled, kissing your lips lightly. "I've missed you so much, baby."

"I've missed you too." You whispered, resting your head on his shoulder. "Now show me how much you miss me."

"Gladly." Haechan growled, lifting you up so he could position himself inside you.

"Hmmm." You hummed in response, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him closer. "There's nothing better than having my boyfriend buried deep inside me after he's been deprived of it for months."

Haechan leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours passionately, pulling you deeper into the kiss. You returned the kiss with equal passion, pulling him tighter and tighter as you felt his cock begin to fill you up.

As Haechan continued to push into you, he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you flush against his body, grinding your hips against him. You held on tight to his shoulders, reveling in the feeling of his hard cock inside you again. You hadn't realized how much you had missed being fucked by him until he was finally there, filling you completely.

"Fucking perfect." Haechan panted. "Feels so good to be inside you again. Fuck."

With that, he increased the speed of his movements, slamming himself into you over and over again. Each thrust made you moan louder, driving him wild.

"You love it when I fuck you like this, don't you?" He grunted, tightening his hold around you and grinding harder.

"Please! Yes! Oh god...don't stop...keep going...don't stop!" You begged, panting as Haechan kept up his relentless pace. "Not yet...not yet..."

As you heard the words leave your lips, Haechan slowed down slightly and reached down between your legs, grabbing your clit and pinching it gently. Your whole body tensed as he did this, making you moan in pleasure.

"Ahhhh...oh god...you bastard..." You moaned, losing control as Haechan teased you mercilessly. "Don't stop...I need it...so bad..."

He didn't listen though, continuing to rub your clit, increasing the pressure of his thrusts slowly but surely. You tried to resist, but Haechan was simply too strong. Eventually, he managed to break through your resistance and you came undone under his ministrations, screaming out his name as your orgasm swept over you. Haechan threw his head back, groaning as he pumped his cock into you one last time before shooting his seed into your hot pussy.

You collapsed on top of him, lying on his chest as he wrapped his arms around you. Your heart was still pounding wildly from the intensity of your climax, but Haechan's strong embrace seemed to calm your nerves, making you feel safe and protected.

"Are you okay?" Haechan asked, pulling back slightly to look at you.

"Yeah, I'm fine." You answered, grinning at him. "I needed that."

"Well, then you definitely deserved it." He said, kissing your cheek. "I missed you so much. It's so nice to be able to touch you again."

"Mmm, me too." You replied, snuggling closer to him. "Especially after spending all those nights in bed alone. At least we get to spend the rest of our time together in bed, now."

"True." Haechan agreed. He lifted you up and made his way to your bedroom, laying down with you in bed. "And this time we're together. No more long distance. No more phone calls or emails. Just you and me, together."

"Yes, together." You agreed, burying your head against his chest. "Forever and always."

"Y/N?" Haechan questioned, lifting your head and brushing some hair away from your face.

"Hmm?" You responded, staring at him with sleepy eyes.

Haechan pressed a kiss to your forehead. "Thank you for coming home."

"Anything for you, baby." You replied softly, closing your eyes and falling asleep next to him.

[papermonkeyism]

I think I'm finally starting to recover, after a few years of artistic dry season.

The plague was a big hit, then losing my job and finally my social life collapsing once my IRL DnD group basically disbanded pretty much destroyed what creative juiced I had always lived on up to that point, and it's been HARD to just not having any desire to be creative or do anything.

But now that I have a job again, and have had it for long enough my bank account is stable, and having been adopted into a new DnD group that's active both in-game (weekly game sessions!) and outside of it (we actually talk and communicate generally as well! It's mostly online, but it's still more than I've had in years), I have started to feel more like myself again. That, and the brain meds. I can't overstate how big it is that my default doesn't have to be brain fog anymore.

Like, I'm doing evening doodles again? I'm actually having fun thinking up creatures and characters and plots again? I stopped carrying my sketchbook and pencil case with me everywhere I went during my dry stint of nothing, but now I actually feel like I'm missing it when I don't have it on me at times, like during coffee shop visits.

And I kinda... want to MAKE a thing again.

(Just thinking out loud again, pay no mind.)

I miss having a Project.

Jumping back into making fully plotted out comic feels a bit too much at this stage, though, so I probably won't dedicate myself wholely to something of that scale.

I don't know what exactly will be the final shape of Arcanth's eventual thing, but I'm currently enjoying myself in the fiddly worldbuilding stage. (And just so you know, in the slight off chance that I might maybe pick Wurr back up again some day, I probably won't tell you about it. After all this time and all the messages I've gotten, I don't trust you guys with that one anymore. Even if I would eventually get back to posting it online, it won't happen untill I have a full year's worth of buffer and that would still be a loooooooong way from now even IF I got back to it full time, and I still have that day job besides anyway.)

But what if...

I think an art book or a zine or something might be more achievable at this point.

I feel like the dinosaur project thingy needs some more fiddling with its eventual format (I know I already have enough concept doodles to fill a zine on its own, but I crave an excuse to go ham with watercolors and make full illustrations), but it's one option I still want to make eventually.

And I kinda want to do a slight redesign for the Singing People. (I bought a skull replica a while ago that had narrower snout than how I had drawn them. And I know it doesn't matter that much, and I can always invoke artistic licence and "they aren't necessarily supposed to be any specific real life dinosaur species, it could always go with the 'undiscovered' route if I feel like it and the Troodon/Stenonychosaurus material is super fragmentary anyway", but I'm pretty sure it would bother me anyway if I didn't at least try it out and see how it looked.)

Though I think I got an idea about what to do with Entica!

Those of you who've been here a while know that one started out as my pandemic project. The world had just shut down along with my job warehouse, things were still new and uncertain, and I suddenly had so much free time and not much to sink my creative juices into, and I wanted something low pressure to do.

So I dug up an old setting from my teenage years two decades ago, gave it a facelift, threw out my teenage baggage and just ran wild. No planning, no plot, just art.

The "no planning" part did get back to bite me when the morbs eventually hit and I finally ran out of the creative juices, but that's still a lot of very good material, right there, ready to use.

But I just thought of a new framing device that would work with the already existing material AND give the character more of a goal and agency to make plotting more fun! And I think I like it.

Instead of a random scribe with no background from a place I didn't bother designing who just wants to see the world, Didor now works for a library that has sent her on a mission [to document something and/or take a message to *place*]. She still wants to see the world, but now she has a background, goal and a motive to do so!

And instead of just hanging around at Maaro's cart while Maaro does her own unrelated thing, Maaro is actively helping in her goal! While also doing her job.

I feel that having Didor be on a field work mission would give it more structure while not having to technically retcon anything already existing, and gives more solid excuse to do things than "random encounter number 82" would. Also potential reasons for further adventures ("While you're already out there, could you maybe also do X on the way?")

Also I want to insert nawani in it earlier. I didn't even have them as part of the setting untill psrt way through, and I want to show them off more.

Maybe a travel journal, perhaps?

[shotanzz]

RIIZE ENERGY CHECK ~ based on tarot

reminder this is based off of my interpretations of the energy and cards I receive and is not exact fact unless said so by the members themselves; energy is subject to change or manifest differently so my reading may differ from others

Note : The members are allowing me to do this reading (AoW, 6oW) they’re also willing to not be anonymous because they aren’t really sharing anything too crazy or private (The Sun)

Shotaro

He needs rest and to have a vacation in all honestly. He’s been very responsible and working very hard lately and it might be taking a toll on him to a degree. (8oP, 7oW, Strength Rx, 4oS) I don’t think the company is necessarily pushing him but he feels a need to push and is becoming a bit of a workaholic and is surprisingly optimistic since all of the hard work is leading to success (10oW, KNoS, AoP, 6oW). He should rest though, he might be unconvinced that he’ll get burnt out but it’s still possibly that he could (4oP), he must find balance (2oP)

Eunseok

In the past he went through a period of time where he had feelings of inadequacy and insecurity in regards to his place in the group and uncertainty about his future as an idol. (2oW, The Star Rx, 9oW, 2oS) However recently he feels way more secure and hopeful and even excited for what the future holds due to current success, he’s also hinting towards their 6 time showcase wins motivating him. (9oP, 6oW, The World) He also wants to be more open and to befriend and work with more people as well be more giving with his availability and positive side (3oP, 6oP)

Sungchan

There’s something he’s currently looking forward to and he’s finally making action towards it or acting on the project at hand after a time of having to sort and pick through options and ideas (3oW, KNoW, 7oC). Someone older or more experienced than him/he seeks guidance from is aiding him with what he’s currently looking forward to and setting action on (The Heirophant) however he still has autonomy and creative control over it (The Magician). Im not sure if what he’s looking forward to is music related, it seems that it’s aimed towards the members/briize. I keep hearing the phrase “그것은 비밀“ which means “it’s a secret” in a playful tone 😭 his energy is very goofy here as well.

Wonbin

I’m ngl Wonbin might have schedules or is preoccupied mentally because the cards for him essentially fell out in a heartbeat as if he was in a rush but he still got his point out regardless. Ngl, he’s tired/bored of the “cold” persona SM pushes him to do and everyday wants to scrap it completely more and more (The Sun Rx, The moon, 4oC, 9oC Rx) especially because he knows fans really do like the authentic him, his “truth” (AoS, PoC) . Also Wonbin genuinely appreciates the briize fandom and he is aware he might be seen as shallow but his appreciation is genuine.

Seunghan

My room suddenly felt quiet and the air/energy got very calm and still. He’s currently in a state of building things back up, basically cleaning up and rebuilding after the mess he endured a couple months back (The Tower, 6oS, 8oC, Temperance). There’s people in his circle aiding him fem and masc energies (QoC, KoC, KoS). He’s moving forward into a new era/chapter of his life that will help him evolve and find success/comfortability again (Death, The Empress)

Sohee

He’s been hanging out and spending a lot of time with some friends from within the industry on his downtime (3oC, PoW, PoS) I’m pretty sure the Page of Wands and Page of Swords represent BND Jaehyun (Sag) and ZB1 Hanbin (Gemini). He may have been closer to them and see them as more of friends than coworkers. He might be a bit closer to Jaehyun tho. He’s satisfied with work and the financial gains he’s been getting from it (AoP)

Anton

He feels more comfortable with himself and has been more in touch with his masculine side and confidence. (Strength, The Chariot, AoW) . He currently misses his younger brother and family which is pretty obvious with the cards. (3oS, 6oC, 10oP) but he knows he can cope and will be able to see them again soon, there may be a holiday or event coming up where he can see them all (7oP, 4oW, 10oC) He also might be fighting for a bit more creative/musical control in the group, he may want to compose or have a bit more suggestion towards the groups upcoming music (5oW)

[smoshyourheadin]

spencer agnew enemies to lovers one bed trope

The Start Of Something

pairing: spencer agnew x f!reader

a/n: GUYS IM SO SORRY I KEEP POSTING SO SLOW I HAVE NO MOTIVATION MY BAD THIS IS LIKE RLLY BAD AND RUSHED LMAO I DONT LIKE IT i have better stuff otw i promise (also anon ily for this!!) requests are open <3

working at smosh is pretty great. you’ve been working there about two years now as a producer on smosh games, and you’ve made some darn good videos. the people are amazing, it’s so fun working with literal comedians all day. damien is so kind, shayne is so smart, courtney is so witty, ian is so… morbid? either way, everyone there is family to you. the one thing you don’t like however? spencer.

it all started during your first big project at smosh. you and spencer were both assigned to lead a new series of board af. excited to prove yourself, you put in countless hours to make sure everything was perfect. however, spencer, being spencer, dismissed your detailed plans, opting instead for a spontaneous approach, leading the episodes to be messy, and all around bad quality.

every day at the office is a battlefield. Spencer’s snide comments about your meticulousness clash with your jabs about his unpredictability.

“nice color-coded schedule you got there,” spencer says with a smirk as he passes your desk. “did you plan your bathroom breaks too?”

you roll your eyes, not missing a beat. “at least i won’t forget to show up to work on time, unlike some people.”

he scoffs and walks away, and you smirk to yourself because of how annoyed he gets.

you grew up in a structured environment, where planning and precision were key to success. your parents, both engineers, drilled into you the importance of preparation and hard work. spencer, on the other hand, thrived in chaos. raised in a floridian household with artists for parents, he learned to ‘embrace’ spontaneity and creativity, when in reality he’s just a lazy piece of shit, and this fundamental difference in your upbringings is your reasoning for the friction.

the entire smosh crew is buzzing with excitement for the upcoming vid con. however, ian and anthony made a slight mistake: not enough rooms. as luck would have it, you’ve been assigned to share a room with spencer, and, of course, there’s only one bed.

“great,” you mutter, staring at the single bed. “this is just perfect.”

spencer shrugs. “we’re adults. we can handle this. or are you upset this’ ruined your plans?”

you shove him off, tongue in cheek, and put your bags down.

“yeah, well, i guess we’ll just have to make do,” you reply, mustering a half-hearted smile as you unpack.

that night, as you both lie awkwardly side by side, you can’t help but talk. the conversation starts stilted but gradually, you begin to share your perspectives. you explain how his disregard for plans made you feel undervalued. spencer admits he never realized how much effort you put into your work and how his actions might have come across.

after that night, some subtle changes begin to occur between you both. one day, you catch spencer glancing your way with what seems like concern when you’re stressed. you find yourself defending his unconventional methods when others criticize him.

one day, you witness spencer dealing with a personal crisis - a call from his dad that leaves him visibly shaken. as you’re the only person who saw him, you offer him a shoulder to lean on. that day, you see a side of him that’s vulnerable and human, softening your attitude further, almost affectionate toward him.

as you start getting along better, both of you struggle with your growing feelings. you’re plagued by internal conflict, denying what’s becoming increasingly obvious. spencer starts bringing you coffee in the mornings, and you find yourself lingering in conversations with him to try and stay in his company.

a crisis at smosh forces you both to confront your true feelings. a huge chunk of footage from shayne’s turn on tntl is accidentally deleted, and the blame game begins. in the heat of the argument, spencer snaps, “why do you hate me so much?”

the words hang in the air, and you both freeze. finally, you confess, “i don’t hate you. i don’t think i ever hated you. i think i was just scared that my efforts would never be enough.”

spencer steps closer, his eyes softening. “i didn’t realize. i thought you just… hated me.”

you break. hot tears sting your face, and you bring your hoodie sleeves to your eyes to prevent your mascara from running. he wraps you in a hug, and you sob into his shoulder.

in the end, you and spencer are inseparable. the crew notices the change, teasing you both about your newfound closeness, especially angela who you used to complain to about him. you’re all lovey dovey now, finding joy in each other’s company and embracing the weird balance you bring to each other’s lives.

[queenofbaws]

! Pride Month Challenge 2024 !

Well hi there, everyone! With May winding down to a close and June just around the corner, it's about that time again...the time where @jadedsunshine, @unicornaffair, and I host our yearly create-a-thon! 🥳

What's the Pride Month Challenge, you might find yourself asking? Well, this year it's a little bingo game we've put together, featuring some classic tropes. The aim of this particular game? Make something!!! Anything! Just get those creative juices a-flowin' and see if you can snag a B-I-N-G-O along the way!

This challenge is open to everyone and anyone who wants to take part, whether you know the three of us or not! We're going to be using the tag #pridemonthchallenge2024 for the stuff we create, so if you decide to join in on the fun and games, feel free to stick that tag on whatever you make, too! If you're interested in more details, you can check below the cut or reach out and ask ;)c

Either way, happy almost-pride, and happy creating!!!

I don't write fic - can I still participate?

Ab. So. Lutely!!! We've done this challenge for a few years now (we've missed a year or two for weddings and other life stuff, whoops!), but in the past we've had people doodle, sketch, draw, make edits, create props or other physical art, and even curate playlists! The three of us are writers, so you're very likely to see fic or ficlets from us...but you? Oh. Oh, you can do whatever your heart desires!!!

Are there word limits/expectations for a finished product?

NO!!! :D Zero. Literally zero expectations. We aren't putting together an exchange, we aren't holding a competition, we're just trying to get the spirit of creation in the air. That's it! So whether you're writing 50 words or 5,000, whether you've made a rough sketch on a notebook page or fully lined/colored a scene, you're good! You're so good. As long as you've made something, you've earned a stamp on that bingo card, baby!!!

What if I don't want to do something fandom-y? Can it be OCs/original work?

OF COURSE!!! 100%. You don't even have to ask!!! Show the world your OCs! Tell the world about your story's worldbuilding! It's all fair game :)

What if I don't want to post what I made?

Don't sweat it! Again, this is...the farthest thing from official. This is for fun, and this is for the sake of making something. Sharing your work can be nerve-wracking - don't feel like you have to! We'd love to see you playing along with us, of course, but as long as you've made something that you're proud of, you've earned that stamp! No ifs, ands, or buts!

Is it cool if my creations aren't necessarily pride-themed?

Totally! We host this challenge during pride month because (1) it traditionally works better for the three of us than NaNoWriMo because of our schedules, and (2) we're queer creators ourselves! But if you're feeling a prompt and can't find a way to make it relevant to pride, PLEASE don't sweat it! As I've been known to say (and then get laughed at for saying), this challenge is no rules, just right, Outback Steakhouse :P

Let's say I get a bingo...what do I win?

:) Nothing. <3

Wait, really?

:) Really <3 Hehehe, in all seriousness, this challenge has been a fun way for us to sit down, take our minds off of life and our bigger projects and just...make some fun stuff! In our humble opinion(s), being able to point at a finished piece and say "I did that! I made that!" is its own kind of reward. The bingo board itself is really more for bragging rights ;)c Which, of course, we encourage wholeheartedly. Nothing wrong with a little bragging!!!

We hope to have you along for our month-long adventure! Again, we're going to be using the tag #pridemonthchallenge2024 for our own stuff, so if you'd like to use that tag - or tag any of us!!! - in whatever you end up creating, feel free!!! We love seeing what everyone comes up with, and this challenge is always so much more fun, knowing other people are taking part! <3 Hope to see you along for the ride!

*The bingo board was made by the lovely @jadedsunshine 🥰

[thatgentlewife]

Living a Slow and Purposeful Life in a Busy World 🐚🍄‍🟫🌞✨

In a culture that celebrates busyness and productivity, it’s easy to feel like you’re always running out of time. Social media can make this worse by constantly showing us others’ achievements, travels, and seemingly perfect lives. But life doesn’t have to feel like a race. Choosing to slow down and live more intentionally can lead to greater fulfillment, deeper relationships, and a clearer sense of purpose.

(I wrote a similar post for Christian’s if you’re interest that as well)

Here’s how you can embrace a slower, more meaningful life:

1. Start Each Day with Intention

Instead of jumping into the day with your phone or to-do list, take a few minutes to reflect on what truly matters. Journaling, meditating, or simply sitting quietly can help you set the tone for the day.

Tip: Write down three things you’re grateful for each morning. Gratitude can shift your focus from what you need to do to what you already have.

2. Put People First

Rushing through life often means we miss out on meaningful connections. Prioritize quality time with friends and family, and be fully present when you’re with them. Listening, sharing, and laughing together can bring more joy than any achievement.

Tip: Schedule time for loved ones the way you would for important meetings or tasks.

3. Simplify Your Commitments

Overcommitting is a major source of stress and overwhelm. Take a closer look at your schedule and identify what truly adds value to your life. It’s okay to say no to things that don’t align with your priorities.

Tip: Ask yourself, Does this activity energize me or drain me? Let that guide your decisions.

4. Be Mindful of Social Media

Social media can make us feel like we’re not doing enough, as we compare ourselves to the highlight reels of others. Limiting your time online can free up mental space and help you focus on your own path.

Tip: Turn off notifications and set time limits for apps that cause stress or comparison. Consider unfollowing accounts that make you feel inadequate.

5. Embrace Rest and Leisure

Rest is essential, not a luxury. Taking breaks to relax, daydream, or engage in hobbies helps you recharge and approach life with more creativity and patience.

Tip: Plan downtime into your week, whether it’s reading a book, taking a walk, or simply doing nothing.

6. Practice Living in the Moment

It’s easy to get caught up in planning for the future or dwelling on the past. Slowing down means focusing on the present, whether you’re sharing a meal, working on a project, or simply breathing deeply.

Tip: Try mindfulness exercises like paying attention to your senses or taking a few deep breaths to anchor yourself in the here and now.

7. Redefine Success

Success doesn’t have to mean being the busiest or most accomplished. Consider what truly makes you happy and fulfilled. For many, success is about meaningful relationships, personal growth, and enjoying life—not checking off endless tasks.

Tip: Define your own version of success. What brings you joy and purpose? Focus on that instead of chasing society’s expectations.

8. Let Go of Perfectionism

Striving for perfection can leave you feeling burned out and anxious. Instead, embrace progress over perfection. Mistakes and imperfections are a natural part of life and often lead to growth.

Tip: Give yourself permission to do things “good enough” rather than aiming for an unattainable ideal.

9. Celebrate Small Wins

Slowing down doesn’t mean giving up on your goals—it means appreciating the journey. Take time to acknowledge your progress and celebrate small accomplishments along the way.

Tip: Keep a journal of your wins, no matter how small, to remind yourself of how far you’ve come.

Final Thought

Living a slower, more purposeful life is about finding balance and focusing on what truly matters. It’s not about doing less but about doing what adds value to your life and makes you feel connected to yourself and others. By stepping back from the rush, you can create space to breathe, grow, and enjoy the beauty of the present moment.

“Life isn’t about the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.”

With love,

Thatgentlewife

[divanthesimmer]

The Sims 4: Medieval Save

Hear ye! Hear ye! The Medieval Save is finally here!

This has been an ongoing project which many Simmers from all across the world were apart of and we turned nearly 19 worlds from the game into medieval kingdoms. I've always been a fan of medieval fantasy as well as The Sims Medieval and so this save was born.

A few things to take note of:

* Due to the previous placements of some lots in destination worlds, a bug caused them to became unplayable. It is now fixed (as well as a few other things) and I kindly ask you to re-download the save and delete all previous versions (uploaded before 13 March 2023).

* This is not meant to be a historically accurate save and not all worlds can be considered "medieval". For example Oasis Springs was turned into Ancient Egypt and StrangerVille was turned into a Native-American world and there are many fantasy creatures in the save. Also, The Sims is a very modern game and we had to work with what we have. I guess it would've been more accurate to name it Historical Fantasy Save or something along those lines, but the main theme has always been medieval.

* It requires nearly all the packs and is quite a big file. I didn't want to restrict people's creativity and we don't have many medieval looking items in the game. I recommend lowering your graphics if you have a lower end PC and note that you might have many bald, nude Sims and missing build objects if you're missing packs.

* It doesn't add any new gameplay, though it could change how you play the game. Almost all modern appliances are removed and most lots are off-the-grid. This is not a mod and thus I couldn't add things like swordfighting or things that would make the save more immersive. Luckily there are many mods out there that could help with that.

* Some Sims with royal titles have longer names and editing them in CAS will force you to shorten their name. If you wish to edit them, you can shorten their name in CAS and just re-add their titles with MCCC in live mode.

* NPC Sims/townies will continuously spawn with modern clothing by the game's design. You can either delete them as they spawn, give them medieval makeovers or edit them in CAS and replace them with medieval Sims from the Gallery. There are some tutorials on YouTube which could help with this, like this video by KatsCorner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPsxmGk92M4

Worlds included in this save:

Fairdells, previously Willow Creek:

A magical kingdom home to elves, gnomes, fairies and several magic-wielding races.  Ruled by the tyrannical King Taranath, the future of this once-peaceful kingdom looms in the air. Architecture includes elven palaces, treehouses, dwarf villages and more.

Egypt, previously Oasis Springs:

The ancient kingdom of Egypt ruled by Queen Cleopatra of the Ptolemaic dynasty. It includes pyramids, palaces, temples and more.

Wood Grove, previously Newcrest:

An extension of Fairdells home to dryads, elves, gnomes, ogres and other races. It's a more "foresty" area than Fairdells and includes swampy ogre homes, mushroom homes and lots more.

Windenburg:

A kingdom ruled by the royal Von Haunt family. After the King's death, his young son took his place on the throne, but has much to learn and is ruled by his mother, the Queen. Includes typical medieval architecture like castles, inns, peasant homes and more

Pirate's Cove, previously Brindleton Bay:

A hideaway for thieving pirates and cutthroat buccaneers. Includes pirate nests, ships, inns and more.

Mermaid Isles, previously Sulani:

This kingdom has always been home to both men and merfolk. Recently pirates have invaded and everyone is at war. Includes pirate ships, a mermaid castle, an inn and more.

Chihuahuan, previously StrangerVille:

A desert home to indigenous Native-American tribes. Includes an adobe village, tipis and the infamous Pit of Judgement!

Mt. Komorebi:

An ancient Japanese kingdom home to Japanese farmers and Samurai warriors. Includes onsens, Samurai training grounds, villages and more.

The Swamp of Terror, previously Evergreen Harbor:

A ruined region home to those shunned by society - beggars, thieves, ogres and more. Includes an orphanage, ruined buildings, ogre swamps and more.

Glimmerbrook:

A magical kingdom home to all spellcasters and is ruled by Lady Ravendancer Goth. Includes a castle, library, inn and more.

Britechester:

Built and ruled by the royal Landegraab family, this kingdom is home to scholars and those who wish to learn about history and dragons among other subjects. Includes a castle, student housing, libraries and more.

Selvadorada:

A lost kingdom which includes several inns, temple ruins and more. Many travelers go here to search for hidden treasures and discover ancient secrets.

Nordhalla, previously Granite Falls:

A Viking settlement home to Vikings as well as werebears. Includes Viking homes, a stave church, werebear hideouts and more.

Forgotten Hollow:

A kingdom home to creatures that dwell in the night. Ruled by Count Vladislaus Straud, it's a haven for all vampires, but vampire hunters have recently arrived and things are about to get messy. Includes vampire castles and temples, vampire hunters headquarters and more.

Henford-on-Bagley:

A rural kingdom home to many farmers and their animals. Ruled by House Llamaryen and a place where fairytales come to life. Includes a castle, farm homes, a village shoppe and more.

Guild Centre, previously Magnolia Promenade:

A small shopping centre which includes an inn, tavern, market and apothecary. Travelers from all kingdoms go here for their shopping needs.

King's Valley, previously Del Sol Valley:

Home to some of the most prominent Sims accross all kingdoms, such as the Emperor, his most trusted advisors and high ranking priests. Includes castles and a sept.

Tartosa:

A kingdom surrounded by the Mediterranean sea. Home to the legendary Princess Cordelia and the royal Thebe family. Includes castles, pirate ship, a peasant village and more.

Moonwood Mill:

A village home to lumberjacks, mooncasters and MOOcasters. Includes a lumber mill, peasant village, cowplant farm and mooncaster hideout.

Credits:

Thank you to josh_se_oh for the amazing cover render and KawaiiFoxita for the beautiful build screenshots. Also thank you to everyone for your support as well as everyone who contributed to the save! All builds and Sims created specifically for the save can be found under #divanmedievalsave on the Gallery.

Please tag me with screenshots and videos if you intend to play the save!

Download on Patreon (100% Free)

[the-golden-comet]

✨Writer Questionnaire Tag ✨

Thank you for the tags @wyked-ao3 here, and @thatuselesshuman here and @nczaversnick here. Y’all are great! 💛✨

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? A fast and loose estimate is fine!

I’ve had this blog since….end of April? Early May?

What led you to create it?

When I set up all my socials, I wanted to use this as a way to build a writing community, share my stories, and exploring and sharing the ideas of other likeminded individuals.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

How kind and welcoming writeblr is. The community is supportive of everyone’s stories and OCs, and everyone has some wonderfully unique and fascinating characters.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

You are always. Always. ALWAYS welcome to tag me, message me, send asks, interact with me. I absolutely endorse the engagement and excitement in this community, and even though I may miss a few tags, just know that seeing you tag me to see your stories brings the biggest, goofiest smile on my face. Thank you for being you and sharing your creative minds with us 💛✨

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

Kindness, support, and creative stories. Keep writing, keep inspiring, keep on keeping on.

WIP it Good

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Your Wish Is My Command is my current WIP at about 75% complete. I have a little bit to share from Tenshito as well, but the latter will have to get majorly cut down and restructured before it’s ready ✨

How long have you been working on them?

Planning and ideas began a couple of years ago. Writing them down? For YWIMC since early May, and Tenshito since 2020 (took a hiatus to focus on work and big life stuff, like moving twice and getting married)

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

My love of storytelling, video games, and Disney. I wrote and published Peter Hart based off of a few of my favorite video games 🏴‍☠️💛✨

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

All the time. At least once a day, if not more. My stories help me get to sleep…when I eventually GET to sleep 😴💤

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

BL romantasy novels. It encompasses every person asking, and umbrellas many subgenres.

Let’s Rotate Blorbos

Name any characters you created.  Side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!

Oof that’s a big list. Let me just do major protagonists/antagonists from stories: Peter, Benjamin, Davey, Ali, Noah, Tenshi, Itazura, Yoji, Tyr, Gustav, Jak, Johnny, Nathan, X, Ollie, and Callum

Who’s the most unhinged?

Peter 🏴‍☠️💛✨

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Peter 🏴‍☠️💛✨

Do you ever cringe at them?

Sometimes….depends on what they do. I never cringe at my stories, but sometimes my characters make choices that personally make me go “😬”

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?  AKA, do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? To what degree? Are some less cooperative than others?

(Slowly looks over at Peter)

Peter: …..What?

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? And do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? For example, as Asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on AO3, etc.

Oh always!! ALWAYS!! Any method is absolutely fine and encouraged by me, but I ALWAYS love when people leave AO3 comments on my stories 💖💫✨

On writeblr engagement

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? Do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? Do you follow based on WIPs, or vibes?

I scope out the content before I follow for sure. Because I write adult fiction, I look through posts to make sure that our interests would align, and that the blog mentions an age that is 18+. If I am ever uncertain or have a suspicion beyond a reasonable doubt that the blog is run by a minor, I won’t follow them (and unfollow if I get suspicious of their posts)

What makes you decide against following?

I use discretion on age, politics, and religion before following. Any homophobic, transphobic, or otherwise hateful conduct gets automatically blocked. The world needs more kindness and uplifting of one another. We need to bring each other up, not tear each other down.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

I try to! Usually in the form of reblogs and ask games. My pile for work and tumblr keeps stacking though, so I find myself getting very busy very often (and that’s a good thing! ✨)

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

All the time, every time. To name a few mutuals: G.J, Jamie, Gioia, Casper, Tobin, Jay, Wyked, Gina, and Jev have characters that are my current hyperfixations. But there are SO, SO many that are so interesting that I want to learn more!! ✨

Thank you so much for tagging me, you two!! Going to alert the tag list on this one 💛✨

✨Tag list for writing snippets below. DM me if you’d like to be added 👇✨

Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)

@jev-urisk , @sunglasses-in-the-bentley , @wyked-ao3 , @glasshouses-and-stones , @alinacapellabooks , @gioiaalbanoart , @fortunatetragedy , @deanwax , @dyrewrites , @honeybewrites , @paeliae-occasionally , @lychhiker-writes , @thatuselesshuman , @kaylinalexanderbooks , @katenewmanwrites , @zackprincebooks , @fantasy-things-and-such , @billybatsonmylove , @madi-konrad , @far-cry-from-finality , @froggy-pposto , @fractured-shield , @avaseofpeonies , @thecoolerlucky , @willtheweaver , @somethingclevermahogony , @noxxytocin , @leahnardo-da-veggie , @addicted2coke-theothercoke , @mysticstarlightduck , @the-letterbox-archives , @theink-stainedfolk , @ominous-feychild , @saturnine-saturneight , @words-after-midnight , @sableglass , @cowboybrunch , @moltenwrites , @pixies-love-envy , @davycoquette , @writeahurricane , @greenfinchwriter , @oliolioxenfreewrites , @lavender-gloom , @smellyrottentrees , @aintgonnatakethis , @thecomfywriter