#next it's some Hans Zimmer

[vermillionwinter]

The y'allternative girl Playlist be like

Lets rip your soul apart and male you cry- Take Me Back to Eden- Sleep Token

To

Stomp your boots and demand respect from your man- Any Man of Mine- Shania Twain

[mad-hunts]

things had gotten quiet again and in all honestly, jack thought that maybe giving his father some space might be best. he didn't know the full story behind how barton and nico had met in the first place... but there was a tension there that was hard to explain. so, even though jack wanted to learn more about nico, a thought had come to mind that they could probably use some private time to talk. being deprived of touch for so long and suddenly getting it, too, by having barton hug him back? it felt nice to the point where all jack wanted to do that day was stay like that. for, the touch itself might've shocked him, but that soon faded into a feeling like he was real again.

albeit for only as long as the hug lasted. jack found himself pulling down his left sleeve, then, because he was now afforded a moment alone. though unlike barton who seemed to simultaneously revel and loathe being left to his own devices by others; jack, like a true extrovert, drew energy from interacting with others. and although he didn't mind being alone sometimes, being quote unquote 'good company to yourself' wasn't always easy. the long and jagged scar on the inside of his left arm was not something he liked to look at, as a rule. but jack had been thinking about julien a lot lately since he died in september.

as he let out a soft puff of air, he approached a cabinet on the wall that held all sorts of things within it. jack was looking for one thing in particular though. he let out a soft 'yes' in victory as he found what he wanted (a pack of tarot cards) and smiled for a moment. at least, up until jack heard the faint sound of someone tossing and turning. it turned out to be jervis which concerned him. maybe instead of waking him up, jack could make him some of that yuzu cha tea he'd brought along with him. he'd purchased it back when his boyfriend was sick a little shy of a month ago and it seemed to help him a lot. thus, jack reasoned that maybe it could do the same for his father.

quietly, he set down the deck of cards on the table before trudging to the kitchen. jack was about to proceed into the main room of the warehouse but halted at the corner when he heard barton and nico were talking to each other. now, he didn't necessarily mean to be nosy, but the instant he heard something like, 'you know that i expect for things between us to be settled after this, right?' from nico's side? jack couldn't help but want to listen. he just barely peeked over the corner of the kitchen, to try to hear them better. barton seemed to go completely silent at that before raising an eyebrow. ❝ uhh, yeah, why wouldn't i know that? and i'd say that you preventing me from a possible death is the perfect recompense for what i did for you. ❞

recompense. didn't that mean to pay off a debt? jack knitted his eyebrows in confusion at this, wondering what the hell his father could be referring to. but it seemed he just needed to wait to get his answer, ❝ yeah, well, its not like i wanted to kill mikhail. it was an accident. i just wanted to spook him into leaving my sister alone. he was an insane stalker who she broke up with for a reason. and yet, the damn cops wouldn't do anything about him, so i had to do something before he killed her. or worse. ❞ barton held both his hands up at this and let out a mix between an incredulous scoff as well as chuckle.

❝ ahh, i mean, i get it. you don't need to defend yourself to me. your sister has been your guardian for years and she's also your best friend — right? though i, personally, would've been happy to kill this guy if he was stalking my daughter or something. i suppose that's one of the many ways in which we differ. ❞ barton wiggled both of his eyebrows once before raising both of his arms up in a shrug-like gesture. ❝ but your uncle is still someone i consider a friend, so when i got the call about how you contacted him in a panic about accidentally killing someone... and that he called me because i was the only person he could trust to get rid of all the evidence? i have to admit, my ego was stroked. ❞

barton smirked around the water he lifted up to his lips before he took a quick swig of it, ❝ and i never like to pass up an opportunity to have someone owe me a favor. ❞ jack quickly moved back to the corner of the kitchen right when he saw that his father's eyes were moving towards him. so, nico wasn't really here of his own free will, but because he owed barton a favor? his eyes darted across the floor as jack tried to plaster on his best smile and crept out of the kitchen. his father rose both of his eyebrows at his sudden appearance, ❝ oh, hi, son. how is jervis doing? ❞ jack nearly stumbled as he picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. ❝ ahh, he's fine. the guy is still dead to the world though. ❞

he took out the jar of yuzu cha he had in his backpack, before looking at barton, who simply nodded. nico looked up from the floor then, ❝ mm. just to let you know, if your father is still okay by the morning, then i'm out of here. ❞ jack saluted at this before sauntering into the kitchen. but once he reached it, he let out a deep breath and just stood there to try to calm his nerves. it seemed he was right on time to catch jervis waking up. placing the yuzu down on the table near the bed, jack only rose a hand in a wave towards the other before speaking just above a whisper. ❝ hey. ahh, you're awake... that's awesome. how are you feeling? ❞

Blackness. Cold, frigid blackness, swallowing him whole. No bottom, no edges. Time bends, stretches, snaps, like threads pulled too taut. Memories flicker, stutter, unravel like reels of old film catching fire mid-playback. Jervis floats somewhere in it, the void pressing in, pulling him under, as his body remains slumped against the cold floor. But in his mind, he's somewhere else. Everywhere else.

He blinks, and he’s suddenly younger, much younger. The world around him smells of damp wood and copper, the air heavy with salt. His parents are there, their faces blurry and featureless, standing by the shore. A storm looms in the distance, its howl drowning out his calls to them. He can taste the brine, feel the cold slap of rain on his cheeks. “Mum! Dad!” But his voice comes out small; swallowed by the wind. His hands — so small now — reach out, fingers straining to touch, but they slip through like smoke. And then they're gone, swept away by the tide…

The blackness recedes into cold, sterile light. Arkham's damp walls closing in. White coats loomed over him, their faces shadowed. The cold metal of the restraints bit into his wrists, sweat trickling down his temples. Tick-tick-tick went the clock, just above his head. The tick-tick-tick became the rattle of pills in a small, plastic bottle. White pills. Green pills. Pink pills.

The needles dig deep. Medication floods his veins—no, not medication, poison. The kind that silences the mind, dulls the edge, but never quite kills the thoughts. They still buzz, frantic, scratching at the walls of his brain. Reality and memory bleed together in front of him, like ink on wet paper, smearing and distorting. He could barely tell which was which.

The room was spinning. Everything. Spinning.

Fifteen minutes. Enough time for billions of cells to generate. But not enough to save her. Sylvie's face appeared, pale and lifeless, framed by dark hair like a broken doll. The hospital room swam in and out of focus. The beeping of machines, the cold, sterile air. Where was Alice? The baby. Where was she?

His hands flailed, desperate to touch something solid, anything real. He found nothing but empty space. And then—wet streets of Gotham under dim streetlights. He was running, slipping on the rain-slicked pavement. Chasing someone. Or was he running from something?

“…and have you fret, picking your cuticles bloody…” Now it was his uncle’s voice cutting through the haze, thick with the smell of tobacco and vanilla. Once comforting, now suffocating. “I warned you, didn’t I?” Stephen’s hazel eyes glinted, hard and cold behind his glasses. “Walls, kit. You built them so high you can’t even see over them.”

Walls. Brick, steel, iron bars. Arkham, again. He laughed, or maybe he tried to. The sound splintered, jagged, snapping like bones.

Sylvie. Alice. Gone.

“You forgot.” Sylvie’s voice now, silk-soft, brushing past his ear. “You forgot to take your meds.”

STOP IT!

Light exploded into his vision, searing, blinding. His pulse pounded, his breath ragged. The Bat-symbol loomed before him, casting a long, jagged shadow.

“You belong in Arkham.” It wasn’t Sylvie’s voice. Not Stephen’s. Not even his own. But it echoed, reverberating inside him. His chest seized, breath caught in a cold vice. Was it fear? Or the shadow gripping tighter, squeezing out the last of the air? The Bat-symbol grew larger, swallowing the world whole.

Flicker. Jump. Alice’s laughter, bright and clear, breaks through the fog. She’s laughing because she doesn’t know—doesn’t know what the world is, what it does to people like him. She trusts him. How can she trust him? He can’t even trust himself.

No. Not laughter. Crying. No. Screaming. Her face warped, twisted, blurred.

The iron scent of blood. Flashes of hands—his hands—shaking, slick with red. His? Someone else’s? He couldn’t remember. He didn’t want to remember. He’s tumbling now, spiraling through the dark, limbs heavy, body collapsing on itself. Everything bends. Folds. Chess pieces scatter across a board, his fingers trembling, knocking them over one by one. He tries to pick them up but they slip through his grasp, the board tilting, falling away.

Another hospital room? No. Too still, too silent. No warmth. Not a hospital. Pitch-black. Arkham, yet again. The isolation tank. 10 inches of lukewarm water that matches his skin temperature. Sylvie’s body was rigid, waxen, chestnut hair tangled and tickling his skin as she floated next to him. “Jervis, love,” her voice drifted from somewhere far off, behind the static hum of his mind, “you never did know when to let go, did you?” A chuckle followed, soft and cold. Not hers. Not really. Sylvie was gone, gone, gone.

Jervis' heart thundered in his ears, loud, uneven. His hands twitched, searching for something to ground him. A surface, a texture, anything. His fingers closed around... nothing. Then, the tank vanished. He was weightless. Falling again. The voice—his voice—screamed something incoherent, something desperate.

“Jervis. Jervis, wake up.”

It was Stephen again, calling to him from somewhere far away, his voice low and warm, a lifeline thrown into the swirling abyss. Jervis clung to it, his mind thrashing in the dark, his body heavy and limp on the cold warehouse floor. But Stephen wasn’t here.

He knew it, even as the voice grew louder.

The darkness peeled back like tar, choking him, wrapping tight around his throat. The warehouse floor beneath him — solid, cool, gritty — replaced by a somewhat lumpy mattress. He wasn’t swimming. Jervis' eyes fluttered open. His joints were like jelly, his lungs burned, heart still racing. Barton. Matilda. His body felt detached, a stranger’s. But slowly, awareness crept in. The dream, the memories, they all slipped away like ash seeping through his fingers. He wasn’t falling anymore. But the past—the blood, the voices, the walls—they hadn’t left him. Not really.

Somewhere deep, a whisper curled into his mind: You’re still running.

[sphinxfeather]

For everyone out there who needs some hope....

If politics is really getting you down, and need something to help you get through whatever comes next...this speech still makes me cry every time I hear it. Please vote tomorrow if you haven't already! We can do this together <3

[chip-does-stuff]

Things I’ve noticed and/or thoroughly enjoyed seeing from watching Megamind eight times over the course of six days

Megamind has such a crush on Roxanne before he even steals Bernard’s identity

Hal gearshifts in midair while saving Roxanne during the midnight flight

Roxanne looks like she genuinely feels bad after slamming the breaks on the way to the school house

Megamind is incredibly good at hiding giant, smoke-producing blimps in midair (invisibility cloak???)

You can see projector lines in the observatory from a brain-bot

Minion and Megamind consistently switch back and forth between older sibling and younger sibling roles

There is a brainbot with lipstick and eyelashes

The way Megamind comments on Roxanne’s hair during their date gives me actual butterflies

Hans Zimmer wrote the MOST AMAZING LOVE THEME FOR ROXANNE AND MEGAMIND AND I WILL NEVER GET OVER IT

Roxanne’s absolutely dumbfounded look when Megamind compliments Metro Man’s music

You can hear so much glass shattering every time Tighten destroys a building

Crazy Train is clearly Minion’s favorite song and I respect it entirely

The way Megamind calls Roxanne’s name when he saves her from the alligator room is weirdly sweet (maybe I just have a crush on him)

Minion has a little antenna on his back that I assume lets him control the suit

Megamind immediately steps to protect Roxanne when Tighten sees past his disguise

Is the warden a father figure for Megamind??? Like obviously he’s a crap father if that’s the case but like, is he???

Roxanne runs up behind Tighten with a street sign in hand to defend Megamind while he’s crawling to the invisible car

Megamind’s hurt look when Bernard calls the dehydration gun “cheap”

When Roxanne rejects him, Megamind winces with every accusation (and I genuinely feel so bad for both of them like ow)

I love Megamind’s and Tighten’s themes, they’re both reminiscent of lullabies, which is a fun choice for the villain characters

Roxanne has a picture of the design for the diffuser gun hanging in her apartment when she’s trying to figure out Megamind’s plan

Megamind still has his custom baby seal leather boots on during the Tighten fight

Have I mentioned the music enough? Because I’m trying to figure out some of the themes by ear on the piano and the music is decently complex. It’s not insane, but it’s tougher to figure out than a lot of music.

“Lyrical Magic” is credited as an actual song in the end credits

Megamind’s face when Roxanne admits to looking back is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen and the way the camera follows his face is really well done

The use of lighting changes for ambiance or passage of time can be really subtle, but honestly just amazing

My dad thinks I will get sick of this movie pretty soon, seeing as I’ve watched it once or twice a day whenever possible, and he is seriously underestimating just how much I am in love with Megamind. My mom has given up calling me weird. I’m also using my uncle and aunt’s peacock account to watch it over and over, and if they’ve noticed how often I watch it they haven’t said anything.

Next week I try to beat my friend’s record of watching her comfort movie twenty times in one week.

[noname30]

So, here's the thing:

First of all - Gladiator is one of my favourite movies EVER. It's the only film I've seen more than three times at the cinema and it introduced me to the genius of Hans Zimmer so I will love it forever.

Secondly - I've seen many stupid movies in my life but what I saw today was...

I'm not even sure how to describe it. Why? How? Who gave money for this crap? Who convinced all these actors to take part in this abomination?

Ugh. Before I saw it, I guess back then when I first heard that there was a plan to do it, I had many doubts, I could not believe that they could do it again. But... I did not expect telenovela and such a huge insult to the original movie.

First I thought, well, you have to respect Paul Mescal to be brave enough and try to compete with Russell Crowe but, my lord, he was no competition at all. I mean, he wasn't horrible but he was no fit for this role, I'm sorry, that is my opinion.

The two puppets, I mean Imperial Twins could not be more wooden, my teeth were in trouble every time there was a scene with these two.

And the plot. What can I say? They slaughtered original story of Maximus so badly that at one moment I wanted to cry, it wasn't funny anymore. They completely erased his life in Spain, wife and son and made him simple Roman general, who only cared for Rome. Right.

Next there is music. I have nothing against Harry Gregson-Williams. Even liked some of his works. And it was a tough job to do, following Hans Zimmer. But apart from Zimmer's parts there was nothing interesting in the music for this film. Sad.

One more thing - the movie is brutal. I didn't know how brutal it is before the screening but still I was surprised when I saw a couple with two kids that couldn't be older than 10 going for the same movie. I'm not sure if I would want to see it as a kid.

Uff, so that's that.

There was a good thing in the movie - it was Denzel Washington's role. I liked this character (although his ending was ridiculous) and he did great job acting. And Pedro Pascal was all right, even when he did not have much to work with.

I don't know what happened to Ridley Scott but this movie is a mistake. HUGE, MASSIVE MISTAKE.

Or, maybe it was supposed to be a parody of some sort? 🤔

[cellarspider]

6/30 The road to hell

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⛬

We return to the movie equivalent of an incompletely-assembled Ikea PAX / BERGSBO wardrobe surrounded by chips of particle board and eight thousand extra screws, Prometheus.

If that analogy made sense to anybody, congratulations! You too are succumbing to The Madness.

Content warnings for terrible archaeology, terrible chemistry, and blunt force trauma to the audience with a piece of exposition.

Increasingly extensive alt-text ramblings include the logistics of securing items in moving craft, linguistics, atmospheric science, colorblind-friendly diagram design, swearing about orology, and cursing the crew for their fictional crimes against archaeology.

Many on Tumblr are familiar with Chekhov’s Gun, a piece of writing advice that calls for economy of storytelling: if you mention a loaded gun in your story, it should go off at some point. Sergius Shchukin phrased it this way: “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first act that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third act it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there." 

So Prometheus takes the rifle down off the wall and smashes you over the head with it, just to make sure you saw it.

CH: “Wow, nice place.” D: “It's actually a separate module with its own self-contained life support. Air, food. Anything Miss Vickers would need to survive a hostile environment.” CH: “Okay, so she lives on a lifeboat.” MV: “Yes. I do. I like to minimize risk.”

Gee. I wonder if Vickers’ lifeboat living quarters will become relevant later.

Then, Chekhov’s rifle hits us with its next flurry of blows.

“Charlie, look. It's a Pauling Med-Pod. They only made a dozen of these.”

Gee. I wonder if the Pauling Med-Pod–-yes of course it’s going to be relevant later

You want a movie where a literal Chekhov’s gun gets fired off, along with Chekov’s crossword puzzle, Chekov’s ketchup packet, Chekhov’s swan, and Chekhov’s farmer’s mum, Chekhov’s everything all weaving back together again in a beautiful symphony of hilarious violence? Watch Hot Fuzz! Do it! Just watch Hot Fuzz! Not Prometheus!

I have said it before and I say it now, this movie is TERRIBLE at providing the audience with plot-relevant information. It hits you like head trauma. It bellows at you like Hans Zimmer has his entire orchestra hiding behind your chair, ready to let loose with an Inception Noise.

Vickers is here to make David mix drinks and to be a Corpo Ice Queen who demands that the team not make any direct contact with any alien life they find while they’re here. She doesn’t think they will, though. She thinks Weyland was delusional. But she’s the one in charge of the company money, so she’s the boss here.

Which begs the question of why she’s here at all, rather than back on Earth. This is actually a plot point, but because it’s not explicitly called out like the LIFEBOAT with the PAULING MED-POD, and everyone else has acted like loons anyway, it does not stand out. It just seems like another dollop of irrational behavior in the unpalatable stew of these characters.

However, Vicker’s demand that no direct contact be made? Very sensible! In fact, this was the point in the movie where I distinctly remember thinking in the theater “wait, they don’t have a first contact protocol already?” 

Like, Vickers doesn’t think that anything’s going to happen, but there’s enough of a chance that she’s giving orders not to engage. The sum total of their formal first contact attempt was yeeting a cultural message packet at the planet while in-transit to see if they got any response. The only one who appears to have been preparing was David–he basically spent the last two years learning comparative linguistics, with the aim of acting as a translator, should they get that far. That’s a sound choice, though its actual implementation is going to leave me incensed later.

But that still doesn’t answer the question of what they’re planning to do. Weyland certainly believed that they were going to meet aliens here. He’s arrogant enough to have demanded this whole project happen, and he didn’t have anything to say about what should be said if they made contact without him? 

This is, possibly, a plot point. But everything else that happens around this in the next five minutes is pure, howling madness.

Because they’re immediately descending into the atmosphere of this alien world.

This is too fast. In Alien, they landed on-planet to check out a possible distress signal, and it was a goddamn pain in their collective ass that they were only doing out of legal responsibility. In Aliens, they were a bunch of hopped-up marines ready to go shoot bugs. 

These are, again, scientists. The team leads are archaeologists! Aerial archaeology is a thriving field today that’s only going to get more useful as technology improves! There is no sense that they’ve done any scans, they don’t even know what the atmosphere is made out of, something we, right now, can already determine about exoplanets. Really! We can! 

We are explicitly told, in fact, that all this is happening within the same day as everyone waking up. The events of this movie appear to happen over two days, maybe three at the max.

And now, Spider yells at cloud. Or rather, the atmosphere.

The movie claims that if you spend two minutes on the surface without an oxygen supply, you’re dead. Why? Atmospheric CO₂ is over 3%.

Now, 3% CO₂ is not a fun time, and you will definitely experience weird physical and cognitive effects. But if you hang out in 3-5% CO₂, you’re going to be pretty okay for anywhere from four hours to over a month. 

What I've heard consistently is speculation that the movie meant carbon monoxide levels at 3%, which, yeah, that'll kill ya. In fact 2-3 breaths of 1.28% CO makes people pass out and die within under three minutes. 0.01% CO is enough to result in headaches and memory problems, as one redditor demonstrated to the internet back in 2015. 

But no. For whatever reason, the movie script says “CO₂”. Consistently.

And now, we get to the bit that had me screeching under my breath in the theater. Most people who saw Prometheus lost their sympathy for the human characters about 5-20 minutes after this point. I was ahead of the curve. I hated these characters before it was cool. Because they see a structure. They see what looks like roads.

Holloway, who I remind you all, claims to be an archaeologist, demands they set the ship down on one of those roads.

Let me tell you all a story. A few years before this movie first blighted me, I signed up for an archaeological field course. The university offering it didn’t have a dig permit lined up for the year I went, but their campus was in an area that had seen continuous human habitation for at least 15,000 years. They scouted out a bit of lawn, we cut the turf, and started digging. 

A week or two into the dig, we realized that the top layers were probably modern infill, dirt that had been trucked in from somewhere and completely jumbled. We started hacking away at it with mattocks to get down to the actual archaeology, which was delayed by a day or two when I struck 1940s asphalt. 

Like, literally struck it with my mattock. It felt like biting down on aluminum foil, but spread out over my hands to my shoulders. The professors rented a small mechanical digger to tear up the old car park, and also some of the plywood on the sides of our trench by accident. I have never seen a bunch of professors so gleeful about being turned loose on heavy machinery.

But finally, we got to what we were there for. A bunch of 13th century houses, and a Roman road.

I remember we made sure there was photo documentation that captured every fucking pebble on the medieval surface of that road, before we dug in. We were encouraged to sketch it, too. We took precise GPS coordinates of where the edge of the road started. We sifted through the road surface as we dug it up, finding dozens of tiny artifacts, because centuries of people had tossed little bits of trash onto the road, lost things out of their pockets and pouches, all the random little events that might happen on a stretch of road two minutes' walk from the parish church. 

I remember one student found the metal tag off of a horse’s bridle, that would’ve been used to identify it with its owner’s mark. Another found an 800 year old silver coin, tarnished on one side and perfectly, shiningly pristine on the other. It was beautiful.

And over and over, we were told: “A road is a find.” A road itself is history. A road is a place shaped by human hands, where humans have lived their lives. We can learn a lot from roads.

And that was what I was whispering at the screen in the theater, increasingly incensed. “A road is a find. A road is a find. A road is a find!!”

I was ready to reach through the screen and strangle that motherfucker Holloway from this moment on. The movie had lost me fully. Not because of this moment in isolation–if the rest of it had been consistently competent, I would have sighed and done my best to hold onto suspension of disbelief. But the drip feed of problem after problem had taken me from open and interested in the movie to actively spiteful in about 30 minutes or less.

So, fine. The movie seemed determined to make me watch a bunch of unprepared morons stumble to their deaths. Usually, this sort of movie doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t find much use for the kind of movie where you’re supposed to feel antipathy toward the main cast, as a free pass to watch them suffer. It’s why I still haven’t seen Alien Covenant. But I had been unexpectedly ambushed by just such a movie, and I was rooting for whatever horrors awaited them.

⛬

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⛬

Citations for alt text rambling:

1. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bane-vs-pink-guy--2

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions 

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumulonimbus_incus 

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Mons

[darthgloris]

Our Padawan II

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x fem!Jedi!reader

A/N: inspired by the last fic (and by my undying love of The Lion King), here comes the heartbreaking sequel! This actually started out as a scenario that I replay in my head when I'm bored and now I'm finally writing it down! Enjoy

Warnings: angst, family dynamic, platonic!Ahsoka x reader, heartbreak, sadness, death

Summary: The trio's next mission is on Anakin's home planet, Tatooine. In a moment of free time, Ahsoka is practicing her lightsaber skills on her own, while Y/N and Anakin spend some alone time together. The Padawan's training routine is interrupted by a Sith plot, and when her Masters run to rescue her again, something goes terribly wrong.

Song: Stampede - Hans Zimmer

Our Padawan // Our Padawan III

☆☆☆

"The mission is finally over," Y/N spoke, stretching her arms as she looked out at the sandy Tatooine landscape. "I'm way too tired to go back right now."

"Well, how about we take a break here?" Anakin suggested. "We could leave in a few hours."

"That sounds great," she grinned at her boyfriend, knowing exactly what he planned on doing. "Ahsoka, are you tired?"

"Nope." She quipped. Her energetic nature never seemed to falter.

Anakin chuckled, expecting the answer. "Then go practice. Maybe one day you'll actually beat me with a lightsaber."

"Show-off." Y/N muttered fondly, rolling her eyes with a small smile.

"All right." Ahsoka beamed, walking away.

"Don't wander too far away, Padawan." She called as the young girl turned around to leave.

"Okay. I'll see you guys later." She said and began to walk away.

"Hold on there, Snips. Aren't you forgetting something?" Anakin asked with a soft smile.

"Oh, yeah!" She exclaimed and ran back to hug him. He smiled down at her as she clutched onto his robes, chuckling softly.

Then she rushed over to Y/N, who was already sitting on a picnic towel. Ahsoka, who was now taller than her Master, rested her cheek on her head during the embrace.

"You run along now and go train." She smiled as the girl grabbed her lightsabers and walked away.

Anakin walked over to the towel and plopped down next to her. With a small grunt, he pulled Y/N onto his lap and laughed when she squeaked in surprise. She adjusted her position before pressing a few open-mouthed kisses to his lips. She looked into his big, blue eyes and smiled softly, her mind wandering as she lovingly traced his scar with her delicate fingertips.

"Hey," he said softly, diverting her attention back to his eyes. His sincere, sweet eyes. "She's going to be fine."

"I know. I just... can't seem to get it out of my head. I had never been so scared in my entire life." She replied sincerely.

"I get that. But she promised us she'd be careful. And I promised you a nice trip, so..." he said, pulling his hands off her waist to gesture at himself. "Here's the highlight of the day."

She laughed at his antics before giving him another kiss, this time sinking into him as they both slowly fell on the floor.

...

Ahsoka turned off her lightsabers with a huff, resting them on the ground before sitting down. She wiped the beads of sweat off her forehead and sighed, resting under a tree's shade.

The Padawan frowned when she heard a rumbling coming from the distance.

The ground began to shake and a few pebbles moved, as she looked up to the cliffs, and a gigantic herd of Banthas descended into the gorge at a speed she thought impossible.

She gasped, her body nearly frozen by fear.

Before they could trample her, she stumbled onto her feet and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her, and whimpered in fear whenever they seemed to be close enough to step on her.

She almost tripped over her feet as the sand filled her airways, delaying her fight-or-flight response.

...

Y/N laid in Anakin's arms, her head on his bare chest as she heard the commotion. She sat up and gazed at the gorge in confusion. Anakin soon followed and, with a small huff, tried to see what was going on.

"What's happening down there?" Rex wondered out loud, approaching the couple.

"I have no idea." Anakin said.

R2-D2 beeped repeatedly. There's a stampede in the gorge. Ahsoka's down there.

The Jedi Masters immediately looked at each other in horror.

"Ahsoka!"

...

The girl's heavy breath mixed with whines of worry and small sobs of fear.

Once in a while she looked back to see how close they were, and every time it looked like they were closer and closer to trampling her dead.

She caught sight of a dying tree and immediately leapt on it, clutching onto the thickest branch as if her life depended on it.

Because it did.

...

Y/N never remembered running this fast, ever. Her heart thrummed with adrenaline as Anakin dropped his robes to the ground while he ran.

Rex rushed ahead and took as much care as possible to run through the cliffs without falling, looking out that gorge for the Padawan.

"Rex, help me!"

His ears perked up as he saw the young girl struggling to hold onto the tree, her grip faltering by the second. She tried to wrap her legs around the branch but failed almost every time, only succeeding in slipping off further. "Your Masters are on the way! Hold on!"

"Hurry!" She cried.

The Jedi ran over to a ridge and fearfully inspected the area. Rex came back and pointed to a spot further away, while they craned their necks to try to find her. "There, on that tree!"

Y/N gasped as she saw her Padawan on the verge of falling off. "Hold on, Ahsoka!"

The scream she got in reply was enough. She jumped off the ridge and onto a smaller one. Anakin grasped her arm and gave her a pleading look. She got on her tiptoes and kissed his lips quickly, letting out a small "I love you" before jumping in between the Banthas.

Anakin gasped and leaned over the ridge as much as he could, supervising his girlfriend's moves. "Rex, go back to the ship! Comm Obi-Wan and report the situation!"

"Yes, General Skywalker!"

He looked back to the scene as Y/N ran past the tree, where Ahsoka was hanging desperately, using every bit of strength she had left to not let go. She then turned on her heels and, between the rumbling and the sandy clouds rapidly forming, went back in the direction of a tree.

She tripped on a small rock and dropped to the ground with a groan, then shook her head and looked up as a Bantha broke the tree, sending the girl into the air with a scream. She gasped and jumped to catch her in her arms, holding onto her tightly as she tried to beeline back to safety. She bumped into another Bantha and fell to the ground, dropping Ahsoka.

The Padawan opened her eyes and whimpered as she tried to avoid the running animals, moving and flinching whenever one ran past her. She looked back and caught sight of Y/N and felt something grab her as she closed her eyes, wishing it could all go away.

The Jedi Master avoided the Banthas and with a few hops, grabbed onto the ridge with one arm and set Ahsoka down next to Anakin with the other. She began to sigh with relief, when suddenly she was pulled back into the stampede.

"Y/N!"

"Master!"

Their fearful eyes combed through the herd, looking for their companion amidst the chaos. As after a few second passed and nothing happened, Anakin began to tremble at the thought of having lost her, while Ahsoka's eyes desperately scoured the zone.

A flash of off-white robes sprung out from the clouds of sand and grasped onto the rocky cliffs, now too tired to use the Force, and used whatever small ledge possible to climb up. Anakin felt himself relax almost entirely as he held his Padawan protectively in his arms, relieved that it was almost over.

"Come on, Snips, let's go help her up." He said and hopped on the bigger rocks, Ahsoka following suit.

With a tired grunt, Y/N clutched onto whatever rock she could, now grasping onto the edge of the precipice; her feet began to slip as she looked for any room to lean on and climb up. As a shadow approached, she looked up in relief, hoping to see Anakin.

"Dooku?" She panted, outraged. "This was- mphh - you..."

The Sith didn't answer, just stepped on her fingers, making her groan in pain. "Chancellor Palpatine sends his regards." He kicked her hands off the edge.

She screamed out as she fell through thin air.

"NO!"

[w1ld-wr1t3r]

Can you do 59 for carlando?👀

How did you guys manage pick a song from The Creator for Carlando again. The universe is really telling me to write this AU!

This song plays at the start of the movie, and the scene ends on a less than happy note. I've taken the liberty to create a different scene here, that doesn't reflect the same scene in the movie. Also, this one splits between both Lando and Carlos' POV, so you can get a feel for what they're both thinking at the time.

59. They're Not People by Hans Zimmer

Lando laid on his back, looking out the window at the moon. Silver light drifted through the curtains, shining on him and Carlos. The world seemed peaceful outside.

If only there wasn't an international war happening at the same time.

Carlos was half asleep against his side, breath rasping slightly as he swallowed a cough every few breaths. The muppet had managed to pick up a cold halfway through their little vacation. At least it wasn't a bad one, though Carlos carried on like he was dying every night when he had to prop up two pillows to be able to breathe. Lando would probably catch it next, after spending so much time taking care of Carlos. But he didn't mind. He was more than happy to take care of him.

There was a light knock on the door, and when Lando bid them to enter, a head poked into the room, closely followed by the rest of their body. A simulant had brought them two glasses of water and the sleep medicine that Carlos found more tolerable in taste. Lando smiled kindly at the boy, who projected an air of calm serenity but seemed secretly nervous. He was a new addition to their group, so quiet and focused on his work that Lando hadn't even learned his name yet. He made a mental note to invite him on their next outing into town - the kid could stand to socialize a bit.

"Thank you," he said softly, as he accepted the drinks. He set one on the bedside table with the medicine and sipped on the other. Carlos stirred at his voice, blinking open his eyes and coughing.

"Sorry," the bot apologized, as if Carlos waking up was a crime, taking a wary step back. A few simulants, especially the newer ones, still harbored some distrust of Carlos. Admittedly, it was a bit unusual for an anti-AI fighter to willingly turn to their side. Some folks still thought Carlos was trying to con them, even though he'd been with their group for over a year with nary a sign of betrayal. Lando, for his part, trusted him wholeheartedly. He had helped them, fought by their sides, helped them find shelter, mourned with them. He treated simulants like he treated any other person - it had been tricky for him to adapt to that at first, but now, he really seemed like he believed it. Lando trusted him.

So why haven't you told him who you really are yet? his consciousness helpfully supplied.

That was . . . a question Lando couldn't really answer. Yes, he trusted Carlos. But he was literally the single most important person for the pro-AI side, their leader, practically worshipped as a god by some. There was so much riding on his shoulders, including the entire war effort. He had so many eyes on him, even if only a tiny handful of people knew his true identity. Adding one more person to that number was always a risk.

He trusted Carlos with his life. But trusting him with the fate and legacy of everyone who followed him, everyone who believed in him, thousands if not millions of people, was a whole lot bigger.

He looked down at Carlos, telling the bot it was alright and thank you again, and leaned in to kiss him after the bot left. Carlos' grumpiness at being woken up left quickly, and he held Lando tighter with a smile.

He loved moments like this with Carlos. Domestic, sweet, normal. If only they could hold onto them forever.

But with everything he was - with everything they were, and the way the world was - he was afraid they couldn't.

So he'd try to cherish them for as long as he could.

--

Carlos awoke with a displeased grunt when he heard voices. He'd finally started to get some real sleep. He couldn't wait for this cold to be over.

He looked up to see a simulant backing away from the bed. A glass of water and medicine were now on the bedside table. Right, it was probably time for his next dose. At least that would help him sleep a bit better.

"Sorry," the bot said, looking at Carlos warily. To be fair, Carlos had been told his face when he first woke up could be intimidatingly grumpy.

"It's alright, thank you," Lando said to the bot. He always spoke so kindly, to both real people and AI. He held so much compassion in his heart.

Carlos sometimes wondered if he deserved any part of that compassion.

His mission had been . . . "put on indefinite hold." He'd told his superiors that he had to wait and see if any of his leads on finding the pro-AI leader panned out, and moving on them too soon could jeopardize his success. That was at best a half-truth. He had no new leads, and even if he did, pursuing them would mean giving up his relationship with Lando. Because there was no way Lando would still want to stay with him if he knew that Carlos hadn't actually switched sides out of the pure goodness of his heart.

He might not support AI, but he loved Lando. How could he not? He was funny, kind, energetic, creative, so many things. He was a treasure.

And Carlos felt so selfish and guilty for treasuring him, when he knew he couldn't hide his secret forever.

He watched the bot go, forcing himself to smile at it. A bot that thought it had done something wrong might follow him around to try and make up for it. He didn't feel like dealing with that, some human-looking thing asking for forgiveness it was only programmed to need.

Because after all, the AI weren't human.

No matter how alive they seemed on the surface.

He knew how Lando would react if he knew Carlos still believed that. Lando had grown up with AI, saw some of them as family. He saw no difference between their "lives" and his. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea that they weren't as human as him.

So Carlos hid it. He kept telling himself that maybe one day he'd believe it. Or maybe one day he'd finally come clean. Maybe because he chose to, or maybe because he could no longer keep his secret hidden. That would probably be the day that he lost Lando forever.

He tried not to think about how that second option was a lot more likely than the first.

He tried to focus on the moment now instead, where he could still hold Lando close.

If this couldn't last forever, then at least he would try to cherish every single moment.

[pascaloverx]

Hit The Road

Chapter Ten

previous chapter next chapter

Summary: You are a hunter of supernatural beings who is forced to experience a new reality: being a vampire. The only thing stronger than your thirst for blood is your thirst for revenge.

Author's note: the characters mentioned here were created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name by author L. J. Smith. They don't belong to me. That said, this fanfic will be short. This fanfic may address scenes of violence, inappropriate language and adult content. Minors should not interact with this story. Also some information here is not in the order of the series or the same way it happened in the tv series. I'm changing some things to fit the fanfic story. Hope you like it!

You decided to provoke memories, whether good or bad. Depending on yourself is not working. Whatever happened to your brain, you're having no memories, only suggestive nightmares. In the last nightmare, you were trying to kill Damon and Stefan stopped you, causing his death. In the previous one, you tried to kill Stefan and he turned you into a vampire. There was a nightmare that you even dreamed about your old hunting clan, where they banished you and threatened to kill you and anyone else that is covering up vampires or werewolves. You can no longer trust yourself, just like you can't ask anyone else what happened. So you decided to look for the cabin of your visions. 

"You shouldn't be here." You hear a female voice speaking as soon as you arrive at the place where the cabin is. Cabin that you used to have dates with the Salvatore's brothers. 

"And who are you?" You ask, feeling like you've seen that face before. The witch who helped you erase your memory.

"I'm glad you actually forgot what you needed but I think you're making serious mistakes." The witch says with a certain tone of certainty, as if warning you of your own good.

"I need to know what happened to me. Nothing else matters beyond that." You don't even know exactly what you're saying but you know you want to know who it is.

"That's what you think. Have you ever stopped to think that leaving this city and forgetting everyone was your decision?" She's absolutely right. You caused this to yourself.

"In that case, I should know more about myself. I can't go through life ignoring part of my history." You respond almost breathlessly, there's something desperate about having no idea who you truly are.

"I told you this would happen, you thought forgetting Damon and Stefan would be enough. But it wasn't. I'll tell you enough so you can decide if you really want to remember everything." The witch speaks in an enigmatic way, giving a mysterious tone to this conversation.

"I accept the consequences of knowing the truth, you can tell me." You try to appear confident but inside you are nervous.

"Your memory needed to be erased because the hunters were hunting you and the Salvatore's like crazy. They used a type of spell that tracks feelings and memories." The witch says and something inside you start to fit in.

"Were you the one who erased Stefan's and my memories?" You asked wanting to fill this gap.

"Yes, Stefan by accident; he didn't want you to erase his memory. Like the good "hero" he tried to stop it and ended up falling under the spell." No wonder he was against this joke. Suddenly his heart seems to tighten. 

"Just tell me one thing, who killed me?" You ask, hopeful that you will finally be able to put an end to this doubt.

"I think deep down you know the answer. But I understand that your mind doesn't let you see things clearly. The spell to track your feelings and memories started to drive you crazy.  Your sense of reality was ending. You almost killed Damon. And..." The witch seems to be avoiding getting to the main point.

"Stefan killed me to stop me. It makes sense." You speak as if you finally understand everything.

"He did it with great pain in his heart. You two no longer had any memory of what you felt for each other. I'm sorry for what happened." Bonnie says softly and soon after you fell to the ground. You start to remember Bonnie, the witch in front of you who helped you; and suddenly you remember everything. Unconsciously and with a bloody nose, trembling. You feel like you're dying. But in fact, you are being reborn. Your memory is with you again. What you didn't realize is that your old clan is also getting closer.

[lostfirefly]

Life Must Have It's Mysteries (Ch.1)

Nobody asked me, but the thought of sending my beloved couple on a new journey didn't let me go. Welcome to a new adventure! No idea how many chapters there will be :)

English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) Masterlist is here.

Description: Catherine returns to Cairo after a short trip to her sister. One evening she had dinner with her childhood friend, her sister, and her boyfriend, who told her about the legend of a blue diamond hidden in the Egyptian pyramids..

Warnings: Fun, fluff.

Words: 2195

Buggy x OC from my “You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me” series.

Taglist: @gingernut1314, @operationroots (if you want to be added on the list, feel free to lmk!)

The title is taken from "Life Must Have It's Mysteries" by Hans Zimmer (OST Inferno).

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Ladies and gentlemen, the Loguetown-Cairo flight has landed at the international airport of Cairo. Thank you for choosing our airlines. 

Catherine quickly got up from her seat, picked up her bag and was about to run out the plane, but an old lady in front of her was extremely slow in getting ready to leave. 

"Excuse me, mam, maybe I can help you?" Catherine gently tapped the woman's back with her finger.

"No thank you, sweetheart, I'm used to doing everything myself." In a polite but slightly husky voice the woman replied. 

"I just really need to go. Let me help you!" She grabbed the woman's bag.

"I said I'll do it myself!"

"Fuck!" Catherine saw that the front row of passengers had already gotten off.

“Alright!” She slung her bag over her shoulder, climbed over the seat that was next to the woman and quickly rushed to the exit. “Sorry-y-y-y!”

Catherine tried to walk through the airport pavilion calmly but she was having trouble doing it. She also tried to hide her happy face and not to push everyone away with her hands. 

"God, why are you all walking so slowly!!" She muttered.

The door to the arrival hall opened and after that Catherine didn’t remember anything else. She only remembered how she threw her bag on the floor and rushed towards her beloved clown. Waving her arms happily above her head, squealing “my Buggy Be-e-a-ar”, with a big smile on her face, she jumped on him and hugged him with her legs and arms.

"Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" She pecked him on the lips several times.

"Cotton candy, you're gonna suffocate me." Buggy wrapped his hands around her waist. 

"I don't care!" Smack. Smack. Smack. “I was gone for four whole days!” Smack. Smack. Smack. “I won't go anywhere without you again.” Smack. Smack. Smack.

“I hope you missed it too. Because you're all covered with my lipstick again.” He started laughing. 

“Shit!” Catherine wiped her lips with her palm. “It's time for me to get used to this.”

She hugged him tightly, kissed his temple three times and looked into his eyes. "My silly clown..." 

"I'm listening, my Cathie-pie." 

"Take me home, please."

While they were driving home, Catherine could not calm down. Actively gesturing she told him the latest news, asked how Buggy lived without her, whether he missed her, how his circus was and what was new in Cairo.

"So what happened with your sister?" Buggy asked as he carried Catherine's bag home.

“It turned out that she just had a fight with Ethan. Honestly, I thought there was some kind of tragedy when she called me in tears. But they made up pretty quickly, so my trip to her turned out to be almost pointless.” 

Catherine walked up to Buggy and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much, my Buggy Bear."

“No. I can't. It's still a terrible terrible nickname, my Cathie-pie.” He hugged her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. 

Catherine heard him barely say, "I missed you too."

"I still don't care. I’m not gonna change it.” Catherine pecked him in his lips and pulled his cheeks. “By the way, we spoke about you too. Everyone was curious about our relationship. But don’t be afraid, I said only good things. And my sister and I also had a girl talk about you.”

“I’m flattered by such a high assessment of my person.” He took and kissed her hand, and led Catherine into the living room.

“Jackass. Let me quickly take a shower and then I’ll cook us something to eat. You’re probably hungry.”

"Actually, I bought us Chinese food and your favorite wine."

“Wow! I’m impressed, Buggy the Clown! You're growing! You’re learning to take care of yourself.” She giggled and pressed her head against his chest. 

“Oh, screw you! I lived somehow before you. But I have to admit, you take care of me much better, you know.” 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. “I have no doubt about that. You would probably be dead without me. At least now you've learned how to wash your socks.” 

“Little shit.” 

“Did I tell you that you are my best and I love you so so much?”

"Nope. Hear it for the first time."

Catherine quickly showered and returned to the living room. Chilled wine and packages of Chinese food were already waiting for her on the table. 

“God! It's so great to be back home.” She looked at Buggy. “Why are you smiling?”

"I really missed your ass, but I also really missed your funny pajama pants. Dinosaurs? Seriously?" He pointed at her new pants.

"Oh, shut up! I liked them. By the way, I brought you a gift." 

���The gift? For me?" 

"Of course! Why are you so surprised? I couldn't leave my Buggy Bear without the gift." She ran to the bedroom and returned with some sheets, a bottle and a box in her hands. "The best whiskey from Loguetown and a box of chocolates for my sweet tooth." She gave him a few pecks on the lips and plopped down on the sofa. 

"Wow! Thanks, my cotton candy!” He kissed her cheek. “I've never gotten the present before..”

"What? This is terrible!" She knelt on the couch and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, now you have me, lucky bastard."

“What's that in your hands?" He pointed at the sheets of paper as he opened a bottle of whiskey.

“Oh, this... Yes, it’s nonsense. Or maybe it’s not nonsense. Well, we went to dinner with my sister, Ethan and one of my childhood friends. We met him suddenly.” She glanced at Buggy and noticed how his face changed.

"Friend? Male? Did you go out.. with.. him...?"

"What do you mean? A date? Yes, I did."

"Okay..." Buggy tried to appear as calm as possible.

“Once we went to an ice cream cafe and he also brought me dandelions.”

She run her hand through Buggy's hair.

"Okay..."

"Someone is jealo-o-ous!" She kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm not jealous!"

"Before you run to strangle this poor guy, I can tell you that when he asked me out we were seven years old. So, back to the sheets. My sister and I talked about our fun trip. And while we were talking that friend and Ethan mentioned a myth or rumor.. I don't actually know.. about some kind of treasure, hidden somewhere in the Egyptian pyramids. I was interested in this and the next day I went to my old job in the library and rummaged a little in the archives. I made copies but there is no direct evidence in them that anything exists at all. And.. Why are you smiling again, clown? "

“I just can’t believe it. My little Cathie-pie is rummaging through the archives and looking for information about treasures. You really liked our previous adventure, right? Admit it!”

"Go fuck yourself, asshole. I'm not telling you anything else." Catherine took the wine and turned away. 

"Come on! Come here, baby. Tell me more." Buggy put his arm around her shoulders and cuddled closer. 

"I won't, you're mocking me." 

"I'm not mocking you. I find it very sexy, by the way.” He kissed her temple. 

“I hate you. So.. I studied the copies all the way on the plane, but I can’t definitely confirm whether there’s something in these places or not.” She fiddled with the sheets of paper in her hands and put them aside on the couch. "I think maybe I'll go to the local library tomorrow. Just for fun."

"You know, I know another way to have fun and you don't have to wait until tomorrow!" Buggy stood up from the couch, grabbed Catherine in his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

“What are you doing?! Let me go!!” She slapped his hands.

“Baby, I’m going to do what I haven’t done with you for four whole days. I hope you survive until the morning.” He laughed like a maniac.

"Damn you and your chop chop abilities!"

⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭

"You're going to make me lose the ability to walk someday, fucking clown." Catherine woke up in the morning and put her head on his chest. She took one of the strands of his hair and began to twirl it around her finger. “Do me a favor, send your hand for your t-shirt, because I can't get out from under the blanket naked."

"Who told you that? I'll be glad to see you like this." Buggy began to move his hands down to her buttocks.

"Go to hell, honestly! First, I have manners! Second, stop grabbing my ass, Buggy!” Catherine looked at her hands and shoulders. “Fuck, I need to take a shower. Because someone left red lipstick marks all over my body and even... God, I can’t even talk about it. You've completely ruined me.” 

“You didn’t complain throughout the night, cotton candy. And especially those three times when my tongue was between your..” Buggy ran his hand in circles on her back. 

“Ts!” She covered his mouth with her hand and glanced at him with squinted eyes.  

“That was re-e-a-ally good, right?” He muttered into her palm and winked.

“I hate you!”

Catherine barely fought off Buggy, who seemed to want to give her another hot round, grabbed his t-shirt and ran into the bathroom. 

After breakfast she changed into jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed her crossbody bag, accompanied Buggy to the circus, kissed him on his lips and went to the library.

Catherine sat in the library for half a day, sorting through old dusty books and papers. She asked the library employee what other materials she could read. The gray-haired woman sincerely did not understand why Catherine was interested in this story. She mentioned that she had heard something, but she assured her that it was just a myth that was invented for fools who were simply thirsty for adventure.

"Why do you need this, dear girl?" The woman asked her while Catherine was copying some notes. "You don't look like the kind of person who leaves everything behind to go somewhere far away to find something."

Catherine didn't know how not to laugh, remembering how she once left everything behind to go in search of her sister and how that search ended.

"I just love reading books. Myths, legends. All this is terribly fascinating." Catherine shrugged and smiled.

“You should get married, not read books!” The woman rasped in her voice.

"Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely use it!"

Catherine put the papers in her bag and went home. On the way, she stopped at a couple of bakeries, muttering under her breath that "it will be better if Buggy fill his mouth with donuts and fucking Cinnabons. Otherwise I'm done."

She returned home when no one was there yet. Catherine was drinking coffee when she heard the keys jingle in the keyhole.

She jumped up and ran to the front door.

"Finally, you're home! I went to the library and..."

Buggy shut Catherine up with a kiss. "First of all, hi!"

"Hi!" She kissed him on the nose and dragged him into the living room. "So, I went to the library..."

"Baby, give it back."

Catherine heard Buggy's voice behind her.

"Give.. what?" She looked at him blankly.

He pointed his finger at her hand. Catherine looked down and started laughing. She held his hand in hers.

"Damn, sorry! Take it." 

“Thank God you didn’t pull me for something else.” He laughed loudly and pointed at his pants.

"Oh my god! You're disgusting!"

Catherine led Buggy into the living room and quickly ran to the kitchen to grab whiskey, dinner and donuts.

“Anyway, I dug through the papers at the library here and found out that all this history I've been told about and written about in some of the books I looked at today lead back to the story of some blue diamond." She walked from side to side, actively gesticulating. 

Buggy moved his head after Catherine.

“It doesn’t give you superpowers, of course. But we can get good money for it. But there’s no map. Everywhere it’s indicated that it’s somewhere in a pyramid. But there are a thousand pyramids in Egypt. It would take us our whole lives to double-check them all." She sat down on the floor, crossing her legs.

“Theoretically, I know one person who can tell us the way. Or maybe even knows where we can get the map.” Buggy said, taking a sip of his whiskey and leaning back on the couch.

“Is this your gray-haired man from the desert?” She mumbled, placing her hands on her leg and her chin on her palms. "Wait. What do you mean “tell”? And what do you mean “us”?" She bulged her eyes at him.

"Well, let's try!" Buggy shrugged.

"Are you serious?" 

"Yeah. Why not?” He leaned towards Catherine while sitting on the couch.

"Just you and me?" Catherine pointed at them both.

"Just you and me."

"This means…?"

"This means, baby, that we are going to look for the blue diamond!"

[4ever-the-nme]

Watched Dune earlier today, and I really enjoyed the film as a movie and a sci-fi movie, in general, but I also found myself feeling some kind of way as a Dune book-lover. Spoiler=ish stuff below

Loves:

-Loved the tweaks to Chani's character in allowing her agency and a voice for her people.

-Loved the exploration of Paul's pre-awakened character not wanting to be a cog in the future-seeing machinations.

-Also loved that it made it more apparent how the Bene Geserit played everyone like puppets to gain their wanted future, even though that backfired in their faces.

-Loved how certain things with the awakening, spice visions, and so-forth were explained.

-Loved seeing the relationship between Chani and Shishakli. Would have liked to see Shihsakli do what she actually did in the books, but i liked that they expanded her character, even if it broke my heart.

-Loved the music. I still stand by Children of Dune's soundtrack by Brian Tyler forever being superior (Dune Messiah, Inama Nushif, Summon the Worms, and Reunited are all on my top played playlist and have been for decades in my music library), but Hans Zimmer's stuff for ths movie is spectacular.

-Loved that it really didn't leave much room in seeing Paul as what he truly is, which is the atomic bomb he was always meant to be.

Not-Loves:

-As a Paul x Chani lover from the get-go, my little heart was broken by that ending and how it was handled, but this one kinda moved back to Loves once I wrapped my head around how the changes to Chani would make this ending the only believable path for her, and it also makes me excited for Dune Messiah and how this changes her path there as well.

-Time-frames and Alia. By Jessica still being pregnant, we lose her being the one to kill her grandfather and also, it makes me frown at the fact that all of Paul's development and regression, as well as the war only took place in a 9-ish month span, which was definitely not the case.

-Leto I wasn't a thing, which was kinda puzzling.

-No representation with the spacing guild, which play a huge part in why spice is even so important.

Maybe I will need to see the movie again to come to terms with the not-loves, but like I said, this movie was really enjoyable as is, and it is making me excited for the next one, which there had better be.

[celeste-tarot]

Just sent an ask and forgot the question😭

For your free readings game🤍

TD

Song: marry me by hans zimmer from potc 3, best version is only on yt

Question: what do you see happenning in my life for the next 4 months?

Thanks💕

Hello dear <3

Your next 4 months

Cards: Temperance, Three of Swords, Three of Cups, Five of Swords, Six of Swords, Standstill

I see a lot happening for you in the near future (because my cards won't stop falling 😂). I keep hearing busy busy!!!

Yeah but on a very serious note, spirits are advising you to look out for fake friends and loved ones. Number three is significant as well as number 5. You are being advised to not take things to heart but rather learn from the lessons that life present to you. I'm not good at astrology but do go through your Vedic chart. A new cycle is on the horizon.

You are also being advised to practice self-care and to relax your mind. Moongazing will also be quite beneficial for you. I firmly believe that the universe is preparing you and is trying to instill values in you, via some soul stirring experiences, that will be beneficial for you in the long run.

Now for the main qiestion, the next four months won't be the smoothest for you. The universe is just trying to shake things up for you to come out of your comfort zone. General advice is that let it be. Face the challenges head on. There will be revelations that might hurt your heart a little bit but you'll be fine. They say that god removes people from your life because he heard conversations that you didn't hear. Just say amen to that sister and believe that it's all a part of the divine play. You'll be fine <3

[melishade]

I’ve been eyeing on this for a while and after thinking it over how not to make weird, #17 dark timeline with Eren and Mikasa either during Mikasa confession or after.

This ask game

Am I really about to spoil my own ending for the Dark Timeline?...Yeah, sure why not. Previous ask leading up to this!

Also for more fun: play Hans Zimmer's One Day from the POTC Soundtrack. I personally think it fits!

TW death. TW decapitation.

Mikasa eyes snapped open when the fury of the battle suddenly disappeared. She found herself in a sandy field under a starry night sky. A glowing blue tree was right behind her, reaching as high as the sky itself. But the tree looked...wrong. Why did some of it look like it was glowing purple?

"What...what is this?" Mikasa mumbled to herself.

"Mikasa," the Ackerman snapped her head to see Eren limping towards her. His hair was longer, and his body look weaker. But he still made his way towards her.

"Eren!" Mikasa cried out as she ran towards him and tackled him into a hug. She could feel his bones in his ribcage. What had Shockwave done to him since the attack on Paradis? Since he surrendered himself?

"You're alive," Eren sighed with relief as he embraced her, "Thank god you're alive."

Mikasa let Eren go before looking around. "Where are we?"

"The Paths," Eren explained, "It's where the power of the titans reside, and where all Eldians are connected. Time doesn't exist here. It's all eternal."

"But why does the tree look wrong?" Mikasa asked him.

"Shockwave," Eren hissed in anger, "Shockwave keeps destroying our lives. He managed to remove the source of all living matter from my back. He's using it to turn everyone into titans. We can't let him win."

"How do we stop it?" Mikasa demanded, causing Eren to look away in defeat, "Eren, how do we stop it?! How do we prevent more people from dying?!"

"Mikasa...I brought you here because you're the closest to me in reality," Eren slowly explained, "You have to....I need you to..."

Mikasa's stomach dropped when she realized what Eren was implying. She shook her head furiously. "No-!"

"Mikasa, it won't survive without me!" Eren pleaded.

"No!"

"Mikasa, we don't have time to debate!" Eren yelled at her.

"You just said time doesn't exist here!" Mikasa shouted in anger, "How could you do such a thing?! How the hell can you ask me to kill you, knowing how I feel?!"

"Because I don't want Shockwave to win!" Eren roared, "I don't want Shockwave to continue taking everything we love! We already lost so much! I can't lose any of my family anymore! I can't lose you too! We already lost so much! You're the closest to me in real life! You're right next to me! You have to! I would ask anyone else, but I can't because we don't have time! Please! I'm begging you! I need you to outlive me! Please!"

Eren clung to her uniform and crumpled to his knees. "Please. I'm begging you."

Mikasa felt her body trembling. What Eren was asking her, it was impossible! She wanted her to end his life?! She couldn't! She loved him! She...she remembered the chaos. Of everything they've been through. Of the people they've lost, either through death or through titan transformation or something else. If this continued, no one would be left. Everyone would be gone and Shockwave would win. If Shockwave was going to be stopped, then....Eren had to die.

Mikasa raised her head to the starry night sky, tears streaming down her face. Why?! Why was this world so damn cruel?! Why couldn't they just be happy for once and enjoy the beauty of it all?! Mikasa's gaze focused on the tree, remembering the words that Eren had told her. Time doesn't exist here. They could be here for all eternity if they wanted to, and everything in reality would still be the same. At least, that's what she understood.

"Give me one year with you," Mikasa requested.

Eren raised his head towards her. "What?"

"You said time doesn't exist here, so I want time with you," Mikasa commanded, "I want just one year with you, however long that's considered to be. I just want one year with you where the two of us can live in peace, away from the rest the cruel world."

Mikasa fell to her knees and cradled Eren's face. "Grant me that wish, please."

Eren was surprised at her request, but...knowing that this would no doubt be the last time he would ever see her, he could not deny it. "Okay, I'll give you a year."

Eren had used the dimensions of the Paths to create them a cabin in the woods, the life that Mikasa used the have, and the one that she had always desired. He made it as real as possible, he added seasons, storms, but no real danger. No vicious animals, no people, it was just them. They hunted for food, cleaned the house, walked along the river.

And this moment of peace and quiet had made Eren realize something: how fucking stupid he was. He was so desperate to find freedom and end the power of the titans, that when he finally had stability, even if it was fake, how stupid he was to ignore Mikasa's feelings and his own. She was kind, and beautiful, and only wanted to enjoy the simple things in life. And he was so abrasive and hard-headed. He didn't understand. What did she see in someone like him? The longer they had stayed there in this false world, the easier Mikasa was able to make peace with herself. However, Eren only found himself going through more internal turmoil. Eren had tried those moments of intimacy. Holding her hand, doing acts of service for her, they even slept in the same bed. Mikasa treasured those simple moments. It made her so happy, but it only made Eren feel all the more guilty. For what he had neglected her for, and for what he was asking her to do. He was asking her to do this impossible. And he...he loved her too much to put her through that.

But they were running out of time. He thought about giving an extra year. Spending more time. He didn't want to let this go. He wanted more time to make up for his failings towards Mikasa. But Mikasa was too content. Please, please Mikasa! Voice your concern! Ask for more time! Please!

But she didn't. The final day came. The two of them were sitting and watching the sunset together on the grass. Purple flowers bloomed next to them. Mikasa had rested her head on Eren's shoulder, but Eren just felt so tense. He was going to die soon. And his biggest regret was not treasuring his friends and family! For not treasuring Mikasa in the same manner she treasured him!

"It's almost time," Mikasa told him.

"...I know," Eren forced himself to say.

"...We have to go back soon," Mikasa added.

"We can stay," Eren insisted, "We can stay here just a little bit longer."

Mikasa sadly shook her head. "No. We have to go. We can't abandon our comrades any longer."

"Time doesn't work, remember?" Eren reminded, "We can just stay an extra year. Just the two of us."

Mikasa was stunned at Eren's urgency as she raised her head from his shoulder. "Eren-!"

"Just a little more time!" Eren started begging as he grabbed her shoulders, "I wasn't good to you! I was terrible to you! I want to make it up to you! Please?! I didn't want to hurt you, and I keep hurting you!"

Eren had slumped against her. "If only I had recognized your feelings, and mine, then maybe, I wouldn't have placed this burden on you....I'm so sorry for everything I ever put you through. For constantly running for something beyond my reach when I didn't recognize what was in front of me. For crying like a baby even now because I can't be mature and-!"

"That's not true," Mikasa cut him off. Eren raised his head to her, and Mikasa gave him a sad smile, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed his hands and helped both of them stand on their feet.

"Eren, you've done so much for me already," Mikasa proclaimed.

"Mikasa, I constantly put you in danger because of my own selfishness," Eren said.

"You also saved me from danger, over and over again," Mikasa reminded, "From Shockwave, from those traffickers, in the courtroom. You've saved me so many times. You've taught me how to live. And you..."

Mikasa looked down and touched the hem of her scarf. She looked back up at him as the tears finally fell. But the sunset that reflected on her face made her so much more beautiful. "You wrapped this scarf around me. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for being in my life!"

Mikasa wrapped her arms around Eren's neck and kissed him on the lips as the sun finally set and the world of the Paths finally returned. Eren felt tears streaming down his face her cradled her face in his hands and reciprocated her affection. As they continued to kiss, the Paths crumbled around them, and they returned to the battle that was raging on. Titans on the ground, the source of all living matter writhing and squirming and charging towards Eren. Optimus and the titan shifters were trying to stop it. Megatron was fighting Shockwave while Wheeljack and Arcee were wrestling the Predacon in the sky.

Mikasa had released Eren, the warmth of his lips still lingering on hers. Eren had fallen to his knees before her, leaving his body and soul in her hands. Mikasa was still crying as she pulled out her swords and raised them high in the air. She smiled sadly as Eren raised his head to see her face one last time.

"Goodbye, Mikasa," Eren said, smiling with trembling lips.

"See you later, Eren." Mikasa swung her swords, and sliced through Eren's neck, separating his head from his body with one clean swoop.

Shockwave noticed that something was wrong when he heard Terran cry out in agony. He looked up and watched in horror as the Predacon fell to the ground with Arcee and Wheeljack in tow. The Predacon crashed, and the two Autobots were flung off his back. Shockwave watched in horror as the hallucigenia let out an unholy scream before crumbling away and turning into steam. The pure titans that he had created had disappeared, and the humans that were turned into pure titans had regained their humanity. The titan shifters had lost their powers as well, their titan bodies turning to steam and their human bodies returning. No! NO!

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Shockwave roared at Megatron. Megatron was distracted at the sight before him that he didn't notice Shockwave aiming his cannon and firing at Megatron abdomen. Dark energon leaked out and the former warlord collapsed on his back. Megatron cried out in pain as he held his side while Shockwave stormed over to him. The scientist aimed his cannon at him in frustration.

"How?! HOW DID YOU DO IT?!" Shockwave shouted at him, "You had nothing! No plan! No proper tools! I had everything! I had all the proper tools and schematics! Yet you ended the power of the titans! How?!"

Megatron winced as he did his best to scan the battlefield. Shockwave was right. What did happen? How did the power of the titans even disappear? And that was when he spotted it. Mikasa was on her knees, cradling Eren's head to her chest with sadness and remorse. She was still crying, her swords and 3D gear now discarded. Megatron could see Eren's body crumble away into dust, but his head still remained. Megatron realized what had happened, what Eren and Mikasa have done, and couldn't help but started laughing bitterly.

"What's so amusing?!" Shockwave demanded.

"Love," Megatron answered him with the biggest bitter grin he could muster, "It was love. The most illogical, unreasonable, emotion out there, that helped us defeat you."

Shockwave clearly didn't like that answer. It made no logical sense! Shockwave charged his cannon, prepared to fire, but Optimus rushed him from behind and decapitated Shockwave as quickly as possible. Shockwave's helm rolled on the ground and his optic lost color as Optimus ignored his death and ran straight for Megatron.

(I'm proud of this. Also, I guess the Dark Timeline is technically done. I'll answer questions to fill in the gaps but here it is.)

[4amode]

17.02

Didn't study much today, I mostly did some chores. I did however treat myself to a late night Latin study session. Tomorrow I'll study German and read some papers for my dissertation, but for today it's relax and self-care time.

(posted this the next day since the study session lasted till 2am, should I've gone to bed earlier to fix my sleeping schedule? Yes, probably, but I don't really care much for that)

🎧:

[stardustandash]

It is time for me to put together all my thoughts on Veilguard. Be warned there are so many spoilers ahead under the cut

First off I wanna say that I did enjoy the game overall. After 10 years it was a good jump back into the world of Thedas. I think overall it'll serve it's purpose well as a game to bridge the gap from the first three games to the next game/next set of games, but more on that later.

As this will be a list of pros and cons, I'll start with a neutral opinion: If there was no player created character, I wholeheartedly believe that Bellara would be the main character. The conflict of being Dalish and having to fight the gods believed in by your people is incredible, and having her be a scholar who both sees them as gods and is building an understanding of who they actually were as leaders and people is just so good. As well, I firmly believe that the Cyrian and Anaris plotline is the most direct the game gets with hints towards future games and plots, at least outside of the secret ending.

THE CONS

To start simply, the score. I don't understand the choice made to have Hans Zimmer compose the game's music. He is an excellent composer for film, and has created some of my favourite soundtracks (Pirates is so iconic for a reason), but it is clear after playing he does not know how to score for video games. I found there to be a lack of different motifs and tempos throughout the soundtrack, which is made more glaringly obvious when just listening to the soundtrack by itself. As well, it sounds... copied? I love the Horizon Zero Dawn soundtracks, and a lot of the DAV score sounds like a flatter, sadder version of them. As well, I kept hearing bits that sounded like part of the Star Wars score in the Lighthouse and that bothered me immensely.

The Inquisitor. I was very disappointed by the Inquisitor's role in the game. It felt very much like they were only there so that if you're a Solavellan, you would get your happy ending (though is it happy?). I put Ëonwë, my Dorian romancing mage, into my worldstate in hopes that Dorian would appear and they would get to show that they had kept loving each other through the 10 years in the timeline. Instead I heard Dorian call him Amatus once, in the background while wandering the last room before the final battle, and then only got a letter. And AFAIK if you romance someone else all you get is a letter. That the game doesn't even tell you that you have in your codex library. And from what I've heard, even if you play an Inquisitor that wanted to stop Solas at all costs, they still talk about how Solas was their friend and that they are kind to him at the end of the game. I almost wish the Inquisitor wasn't included, as it feels very unnecessary unless you want your Inquisitor and Solas to smooch at the end. Could have just been letters from the south, thanks. I'm also disappointed in that it would have been nice to have the Inquisitor show up with their LI during one of the meetings.

To piggyback on that a little, I wish that the Devs had gone a little further with bringing over what choices you made in the previous 3 games. Instead it feels like the only important thing you did was whether or not you smooched Solas. I wish that you could have said if your Inquisitor drank from the Well or not, and having them bring out Mythal at the end of the game and/or have the talk about finding the last piece of Mythal with Rook. As well, if you're going to include Isabela in the game, we should be able to say whether or not she ran off, stayed with the kirkwall crew, or was turned over to the qunari. I wish we could have gotten a passing line from Varric in the Fade about keeping an appointment with an old friend if Hawke was left in the Fade in DAI. I wish we could have gotten more flavour text in codex entries about who is King or Queen of Ferelden, who became Divine, etc.

And to add even more, I was surprised at the lack of characters from the previous games. It would have been cool to see Josephine working with the Crows towards their goal of once again becoming Antiva's protectors as their advocate and protector among the merchant princes and politicians. I was also so sure that Fenris was going to show up on some kind of Shadow Dragon quest. It would have been so cool to see him in Docktown, maybe also hunting Aelia and lending his aid to take her down. The biggest issue for me was, once again, the lack of Merrill. This girl SHOULD have been the elven & eluvian expert in DAI, and in Veilguard she SHOULD have been among the Veiljumpers as one of the leaders with Bellara as her protege. She can't join you as she can't leave the Veiljumpers, but she would be able to offer insight with elven lore and perhaps offer a team up with the Wardens to help stop the blight. As well, it would go so far with explaining how Bellara can just fix the eluvian in the Lighthouse. I get that she'd sniff out Solas & the Evanuris' bullshit in seconds, but please you can feel her absence in the games so much.

I did mention this in an earlier post, but I absolutely hate that either Davrin or Harding must die, even if you've achieved Hero of the Veilguard status for them. I really hope they patch this, as this is the most off-putting to a replay thing in the whole game. I really wish they'd gone the route of having that character (if hero status is achieved) be permanently injured, and forced to remain in the Lighthouse instead of joining you on the final quest. I feel like it would hurt worse for both player and Rook to have to talk to them and apologize for their choice rather than a few lines of sad dialogue. It would further the theme of regret and facing the consequences of Rook's choices in such a beautiful way.

The whole of act 3 was a pacing nightmare. You're essentially locked in to just doing the main quests, where as the first two acts are, while not slow, encourage you to take your time. The result felt very rushed and disconnected. I wish we could have gotten a chance to go to each of our allied factions (excepting Shadow Dragons for Obvious Reasons) and do a final quest with them to gear them up and get them ready for battle, with the consequence of not doing so being that you lose your named allies during the fight in Minrathous, regardless of whether the companion fighting with them survives or not. It would have been a good way to keep the pacing of the earlier acts while still keeping the urgency needed through act 3. As well as giving us one last moment with each of the factions.

The lack of a denouement was also a big turn off. We just defeated Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain and repaired the Veil, but at what cost? Minrathous is destroyed, Rook lost two of their dearest friends, the world is going to be looking at them for answers. I wish we could have gotten a small bit, like the party at the end of Inquisition, except instead a funeral for Varric and whichever companion(s) died during act 3. During which you would be able to ask the companions what they intended to do next, maybe talk to the friends Rook made in the various factions. I would have at least taken a Varric narration of "This is what everyone did after the game" over the credits like at the end of Origins or Trespasser.

I also wish there was more intermingling of your allied factions. It would have been neat to see Evka conferring with the Lords of Fortune while Antoine goes to the Crows for alchemical components and discussing ideas for explosives. Or having Viago or Teia visit the Shadow Dragons and slowly go from being hostile towards them to trading tips on how to take down evil Magisters and manipulate politics. Or having Myrna visiting the Lords of Fortune and discussing spirits and death with Rowan. And maybe if you'd levelled up one faction and not another meant that the lower ranked faction was more abrasive with Rook. It's probably a lot to code and do, but it would have made it feel much more pressing to do all the faction work. And create a vision of a more united Thedas going up against the gods.

This one feels more like a bit of a nitpick, but it almost felt like the game was trying to say there were two sources of the blight: the blight that was in the Fade prison(?) that Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan wanted to unleash on the world, and the Titan's anger blighting lyrium and it seeping into the world through the deep roads. Personally, I like the latter version better as it seems to follow the previous lore established by the games. If I missed something somewhere that connects the two let me know, because to me it seems like there's not really a connection between the two.

The last thing is also just a small, personal gripe, but I wanted red lyrium Meredith to appear somewhere. We got that little tease at the end of the Absolution show and I wanted her to come out swinging as a lesser big bad that Ghilan'ain and Elgar'nan were manipulating. I hold out hope that it'll be part of the next game based on the secret ending.

The PROS

The combat! It's a truth universally acknowledged that combat in Dragon Age just kind of sucks. I've literally played a mage in Inquisition and wrote fics with one hand while just holding down the trigger to fight. I really have to hand it to the dev team, the combat in Veilguard rocks. It's fun, it's dynamic, it's crunchy. A friend asked me to compare it to other games, and what I came up with is that it feels as fast and flashy as Kingdom Hearts 2, while being crunchy and using your companions like God of War ps4. I really liked being able to switch from a distance weapon to close range so quickly and using that to strategize. Though as a mage the dagger and orb was my favourite! A lot of replay value for me is going to be trying out the different classes.

The companions! I liked all the companions for very different reasons. They each felt like they had their own lives and goals. I've seen people complaining about the lack of a dialogue wheel or being able to smooch your LI at any time, but to me these are PROS! I hate that in DAI you can exhaust essentially all dialogue with the companions at the beginning and then only get a few new options as the game progresses. In Veilguard having those replaced by conversations out in the world and makes the relationships feel like they form very organically. All the personal quests were excellent, and I almost wish we got more backstory and build up to all of them because I was so invested.

The environments and level designs were so cool. I used photomode more in DAV than any other game, and most of the pictures are of the environments. I loved going through the maps on quests, with each one uncovering something I'd missed while wandering or opening up new areas of old maps. And all the treasure hidden away was so fun to find. It really encourages the player to explore the world they built.

Rook themself is an excellent player character. They have just the right balance of personality and blank-slate that makes them feel alive while also a reflection of player choice for personality. A big improvement over the Inquisitor's nothing personality and blank-slate backstory that had everyone up in arms about 'canon' when in reality the Inquisitor was only ever what you headcanoned for them.

As well, thank you devs for giving us the option to play dress up with everyone regardless of what armour they were actually wearing!! I'll admit I didn't like the majority of armours or appearances, but at least I never had to sacrifice utility for fashion!

Taash's questline was both a positive and a negative. I feel like I've seen so many people say that their gender discovery and euphoria is "too on the nose" or "cliche" but I am assuming those takes are coming from a younger generation of fans. Listen up kids. As a non-binary person who reached 30 this year, I didn't even hear the term non-binary until I was 20, and it took me a while of self-reflection to realize that's how I felt about myself. And I still haven't told my parents. Having that dinner with Taash's mother was one of the most emotional scenes in the game for me, because I saw myself and my fears reflected, and then later having Shathann show she'd accepted Taash for themself, was incredible. The cons for me in Taash's questline was being forced to choose which culture to embrace, which felt kinda gross. I wish there'd been an option to say "embrace your mother and what parts of the qun reflect you, but open yourself to learning Rivaini culture as well.

To me, Rook and Solas were such excellent mirrors of each other. Having Rook interrupt Solas' ritual in an attempt to stop him and instead release a worse outcome than the ritual would have likely had is an excellent mirror to Solas locking the Evanuris in their original prison but accidentally creating the veil, dooming the elves to mortality and taking spirits and magic away from the world. The way Solas manipulates Rook through their dreams is reflective of how Mythal once manipulated him. I think it's an excellent choice to have Solas essentially step into the role the Evanuris & Mythal played during his time of rebellion while Rook rebels against him and his desires. I feel like a lot of disgruntled Solas fans are missing this beautiful cyclical pattern, when right at the beginning of the game Solas basically says it himself with "They call me the dread wolf, what will they call you when all this is over?". And he's right. The release of the gods and the subsequent fall of Thedas is almost entirely Rook's fault, even as they strive to fix it (yet more mirroring to Solas).

The choices and consequences felt much more clear in DAV, especially when compared to Inquisition. There's a real reaction and lasting in game consequences to which city you choose to defend in act 1. If you don't strengthen your relationship with your allies they die at the end of the game. Heck, even choosing who to bring on missions changes the banter about what's going on significantly or raises companion bond strength. It brings a lot of replay value to the game.

I cannot stress enough how much the Varric plot twist rocks. I unfortunately had it spoiled over on twitter with an untagged post, but even before then I knew something was up - I was leaning towards him being a puppet/spy for Elgar'nan, not the real Varric. The truth hurts so much worse with him having died in the prologue. The way it was written into the dialogues was enough that something felt off, but not enough to clue you in too early. And having him always be alone in the infirmary, never visibly healing made the off feeling grow as you progressed with time through the game. I'd like to believe that there was some sort of ghost or shade of Varric lingering in the Lighthouse to watch over Harding and Rook and see the business with Solas through to the end, and that Solas was simply making Rook see him more than the others with their mental tether to the Fade.

I enjoyed all the allies we made in the different factions. They all felt so real, like if things had shifted just a little any one of them could be one of your companions instead of who we got. My favourites were Antoine and Evka, and I wasn't really interested in playing a Warden, but I'm curious to know what their relationship to a Warden Rook would look like.

NO MORE DREADED WAR TABLE!! I liked going on all the missions and discovering sidequests by wandering different areas. The missives received throughout the game did feel like excellent ways to follow up on the quests after the fact, or show how choices you'd made affected other people or factions.

NITPICKS

These are just little things that dont really fall under the cons category for me. Like they'd be nice but I'm not that fussed.

-The Inquisitor should have been in either the ugly Skyhold pjs or the red dress uniform depending on whether the inquisition was disbanded or not, not the Shadow Dragon uglies.

-There should have been an option for an elf Rook to say they are Andrastian/don't believe in Dalish gods

-Conversely, there should have been at least one character, like Bellara or another Veil Jumper like Strife, who wholeheartedly believed in the elvhen pantheon and had to deal with reconciling their religion with the evil the gods are unleashing

-We should have gotten at least one mission in Southern Thedas to see the extent of the damage the blight was doing, like a help the Inquisitor evacuate Denerim type mission or smth.

-idk if it's the same with the Crows if you choose to save Minrathous, but the Shadow Dragons & their shop should have come back mid-act 2, but been cold to Rook, and charge more for items/pay less for valuables. I forgot they were even a thing and then they were kinda important in act 3 and needed a reminder who everyone was lol.

-Ghilan'nain's final fight shouldn't have been harder than Elgar'nan's.

Thoughts about the Future Plot

I think that BioWare was very good at covering their butts with a lead up to the next game. On the surface it feels like they could just leave it there, and we can all be left to imagine how Thedas deals with the aftermath of the Sixth Blight and the destruction the return of two Elvhen gods wrought. However, they do have that secret ending, and I believe both Bellara and Taash's, and to some extent Harding's, personal quests all tie into the direction the next game is heading. Both Anaris and Taash's fire-breath tablet mention a "Devouring Storm". In fact, the two of them have a banter about it after you complete both their quests. While unclear if the "Devouring Storm" is a person or a force of magic, it was something that caused the qunari to flee across the sea to Thedas, and it was something that Anaris was trying to hide from by gaining a physical body. With the secret ending, it's safe to say that it is either someone or some force that has also been manipulating the major events of Thedas from behind the scenes.

I foresee that the game's setting will move northward to Par Vollen, and that the Forgotten Ones will play some major role. Whether they are part of the Devouring Storm or not remains to be revealed, but judging by Anaris, my guess is that it is something else. I also predict that the waking and curing of the Titans to aid you will play a major role, and that dwarves regaining magic will have large ripple effects across Thedas. I also feel like this "Gathering Storm" may be the odd song that Antoine hears throughout the game, and that the Grey Wardens, now without blight/much less blight to fight off, will shift into something else that can stand against the Storm. At least we know dragon fire will hold it off, and how cool would it be if in the next game we can tame dragons to fight with us, and/or play as a fire breathing qunari?? My biggest hope is that it will feel less like we need to play an elf to get the full experience of the game than it does in DAI or DAV.

Anyways, this ended up being far longer than intended. Hope you enjoyed my word-vomit about Veilguard.

[piece-of-the-pie-if]

Hey author, how are you? 💕

I'm curious to know what kind of music the RO's like. Who are their idols? Any artists/genres that are a guilty pleasure for them?

Any kind of music they pretend to like just 'cos it's popular? *discreetly looks at Kinsley*

Hello nonie~ I'm doing good thank you!

this kind of question is hard for me, personally, to think about because of my own relationship with music and music artists (which is why this took so fucking long) which is to say I love music and don't really pay attention much to artists beyond the fact they make the music I love (lmao I really don't care about celebrities, I find it quite concerning that so many people idolise them so much... like your(general) fave is just a guy at the end of the day lmao) (that being said I can understand having an influence and following the *work* of an artist you really connect to) and I find it hard to make hard line distinctions between genres, aha 🤭

That being said, let's have a look at some music! (This is an excuse to show off my extensive and exhaustive music reach and taste, so thank you!)

Dylan──they're open to all types of music but they only really purchase R&B albums! Artists like Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Prince, Alicia Keys, Frank Ocean, SZA, Kehlani and Miguel are all artists Dyl owns albums (and vinyls!!) for! Dyl introduced Kin to R&B and they usually listen to the artists she likes more when they're together (Beyoncé, Victoria Monét, Lionel Ritchie etc) They like ‘Foreign Language’ R&B too, artists like BIBI, DEAN, Cherrie, Girl Ultra, Adi Oasis, ØZI, Yseult and Lous And The Yakuza.

Shay──the real eclectic listener! He likes next to every genre of music, Rap, Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, K-pop, J-rock, Folk, Funk, Phonk, EDM, Heavy Metal, Grunge, House, Synth, Soul... even Country... Country Fusion! Shay likes artists that kind of... don't have a genre? Like Sleep Token, Twenty One Pilots, Pink Floyd, Oingo Boingo, Lene Lovich, David Bowie, Gorillaz, Poppy, Bring Me The Horizon, Afterlife, Seventeen, Red Velvet and Hannah Wicklund. He definitely love finding new music as well as sharing new music! (Watch the YouTube/Twitch channel that's got a segment dedicated to reacting to new music!! Like HTHAZE!)

Kinsley──lmao she doesn't mind Popular music but, like, the last Taylor Swift album she actively sought out was 1989 (she's partial to This Love) and Kin would rather die than be subjected to Trap music. She's very into genres like Alternative Indie, Indie Rock, Neo Soul, and R&B artists like Hozier, Florence + The Machine, Lorde, Phoebe Bridgers, Lizzy McAlpine, Searows, Reneé Rapp, Ethel Cain and Noah Kahan. Her R&B influence is mainly from being Dylan's friend but she does love artists like Beyoncé (she really loved her self titled album and especially Virgo's Groove off of Renaissance), Victoria Monét (particularly the Jaguar II album) and Khalid as well as older artists like Mary J. Blige, Marvin Gaye or Lionel Ritchie!

J──they tend to listen to music for the beat, the bass, the instrumentals more than lyrics. They like heavier genres like Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Alternative Rock, Punk Rock, Nu Metal, Grunge and other genres like EDM, Synth, Techno and Trance. They also listen to Italian artists quite a lot, mainly because J wants to keep up with the language (because their father refuses to speak it or teach them) so artists like Måneskin, Jovanotti, Lacuna Coil, Max Gazzé, Vanerus, and even Vivaldi. J also listens to anything their sister recommends them, even if it's the most bubblegum pink pop shit they've ever heard─if Bells likes it they're listening. Shay will also introduce them to the wonders of J-rock and K-pop which bend genre all the time!

Theo──a Pop lover! Or rather, Theo tends to stick to listening to the radio or the Popular Playlist on Spotify! They tend to like more instrumental artists like or soundtrack artists like Hans Zimmer, Hiroyuki Sawano, Danny Elfman, Vangelis, Rachel Portman (who was the first female composer to win an academy award for best original score!) and Michael Giacchino over anything else and they 'broaden their horizons' by being dragged to Jazz bars and open house cafés by C (and MC) so it's not like they're stuck in one/two genre's!!

Bonus! Some Modern/Nu Jazz artists C likes: Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Masego, Cherise, Camille Munn, Blue Lab Beats, Kasami Washington, Esperanza Spalding, Snarky Puppy, GoGo Penguin, Mathilde Widding and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah!