#same path they're all on the same path!!!

[hemi-demi]

Jon and Martin doing just a little birdwatching

-

Hey all! I'm still chipping away at the main fic, but wrote a short little thing that I thought might be fun to share here as a bonus! And some bonus art as well, because I really like drawing birds, lol.

Short fic below the cut! Rated G, just a bit of fluff.

Takes place sometime between chapters 4 and 5 of Oathbreaker, but it's spoiler free, so no worries if you haven't read it.

--

“Hey, Jon? What are you-”

Martin had already been speaking quite softly when they tapped Jon on the shoulder. Not quietly enough, as it turns out, as the thought is abruptly cut short by a slender finger pressed against his lips. 

A sudden rush of adrenaline surges through him, and he draws back his cloak, preparing to take the sword from his hip before Jon's tail wraps around his wrist, silently asking him to stop.

Martin tries to speak again, but Jon just shushes him with no real concern as to how rude it comes off, then points up to a nearby tree. 

Tilting his head up, Martin spots a bird. Not a particularly stunning one as looks would go; it's feathers a soft brown with an even paler belly, almost indistinguishable from the bark on which it's perched. 

But its song is far more distinct; a collection of chirps, clicks, and warbles that come in rapid succession and seemingly no rhyme or reason. It's a song he's heard before, but certainly not often, and Jon seems utterly entranced by the creature.

“Didn't take you for a birdwatcher.” Martin half whispers, once Jon allows him to, at least.

“Nightingale,” Jon replies, jumping ahead a few steps in conversation, their eyes scanning the trees for more of the little tawny things before turning back to the bird just above their heads, “don’t see a lot of them in this part of the continent.”

“Yeah, haven't seen one in ages…bit early for them, isn't it?”

“Yes…” Without looking away, Jon settles against the bark of the tree. “Apparently they practice their song in the winter months. Bit of choir practice before the big show.”

“Sorry, ‘show’?”

“Their mating season,” Jon clarifies, drawing their coat a little tighter as a cool breeze rolls last, “Sometime around late spring, I believe.”

“Ah,” Martin stifles a chuckle, “so the little guy is rehearsing his pick-up lines. Wonder if he's nervous.”

The bird's song comes to an abrupt stop, raising its wings up high before flitting off into another branch a few trees away. Jon's eyes follow the motion, and then the bird shoots up through the empty branches above and disappears into the sky. Its song plays out one last time, carried on the wind as it finds another spot for its practice, well out of sight.

“Certainly seems to be…” Jon replies. They almost sound – sad for the little thing. Or maybe they're just sad it left, their head hanging low, shuffling their feet without concern for the sound of crunching leaves now that the bird has left. “Can't say I blame him. Although memorising a song sounds far easier than most courting rituals.”

“Yeah…” Martin notices a bit of debris from the tree stuck to Jon's coat, reaching out to brush off the bits caught against the wool. “Just sing a little tune until someone fancies you. Would be nice if it were that simple. I think I’d much prefer that.”

That earns Martin an odd look, that same calculating gaze once fixed onto the bird now turned squarely in his direction for what feels like far too long. Long enough for Martin to wish he could fly off like that nervous nightingale before Jon can identify the source of the creeping blush that blooms across his cheeks.

Then Jon blinks, bowing their head again before stepping back towards the trail. “Right, so…camp, yes? I ah – saw a spot we could set up just this way.”

Before Martin can ask, Jon has already paced halfway down the path, and he's forced to jog behind to catch up.

Didn't take long for them to set up camp. Jon made quick work of things, nervously bouncing around the site and setting up tents, laying out bedrolls. Hardly sitting still for even a moment. 

Martin would have said something, maybe taken some of the work off their hands, but they seemed far too focused on their tasks. 

And if he did, Jon might have stopped humming whatever song they had stuck in their head, and that would be a shame. He always rather liked birdwatching.

[mercutio-the-velaryon]

Thinking about since Mel was banished to Piltover at 15, I'm hcing that Viktor moved there at same time so all of meljayvik were just dancing around each other for eleven years. I see visions of Mel walking down the street and Jayce trailing his mother balancing a very high unstable stack of materials for the forge in his hands, seeing her walk by, spacing out because of how beautiful she is and dropping something on his foot, and howling in pain, and his mother scolding him and telling him to keep up and he quickly does and when he turns his head again Mel's gone.

Then there's Jayce and Viktor dancing around each other at the academy, Viktor being a few years ahead and Jayce dropping out early. Them passing each other in the hallway, maybe bumping shoulders, but both so clearly set on their destinations they barely notice each other.

Mel and Viktor cross paths because Mel visits the academy as a potential sponsor, and Viktor is among his classmates, and they're all raving about the beautiful Medarda girl, wise beyond her years. He watches as his peers try to make her acquaintance, and they all tank. Before she leaves, they briefly make eye contact, and she smiles right at him, piercing through the crowd around her, and he wonders if he'd just imagined it but he soon forgets it ever happened.

[tinfoil-jones]

Jerk Ford AU: The Worst Timeline

Out of all the scenarios and alternate timelines / other AU's this one could cross over into or adopt elements from (You can see a Reverse Portal Scenario Here and Here), the worst and most destructive alternate timeline for Jerk Ford would be Drifting Stars.

If you don't know, Drifting Stars is a popular AU where during the events of Not What He Seems, Mabel goes through the portal instead of Ford coming out. And now Mabel and Ford are together in the multiverse.

Stanley never stopped being involved with family because he was never kicked out, so Mabel and Dipper have actually known their Grunkle Stan their whole lives, they've even visited him a fair few times and stayed over, the summer that the events of the show takes place in is just the first time they stayed for an entire summer.

Imagine if, about five years before the show starts, little 7-8 year old Mabel falls into the bottomless pit and somehow gets ejected to the only other thing out in the multiverse with the same dimensional signature as her; Jerk Ford, her great uncle who has been missing for twenty five years.

Jerk Ford sees this crying little kid and he takes pause because, for one thing what is a kid doing in Mystery Flesh Pit National Park in the Body Horror Dimension, and another thing why does she have an eerie resemblance to his nephew, who was only ten years old the last time that he saw him?

Jerk Ford at first was considering leaving her to the lost and found at the tourist outpost of the national park, but then she called him "Grunkle Stan." (Because she is mistaking him for Stanley, and Grunkle why did you cut your hair?) And it's all over.

Jerk Ford, a multidimensional space hobo vagabond who has been trying to get home for the past twenty five years at this point and has had absolutely no contact with his family for obvious reasons, he just goes YOINK THIS IS MINE NOW.

And why is this the worst timeline for the Jerk Ford AU?

You know that scene in the Lion King when Rafiki is holding up Simba to the valley? Well, imagine Jerk Ford doing the same thing with Mabel. Except she's like this:

Because Jerk Ford already has poor impulse control when it comes to pettiness without his brother to reign him in, and now he has Mabel who is a very similar brand of unhinged as he is, they're just subjecting the entire multiverse to a path of glittery destruction the likes have which have never been seen before and will hopefully never be repeated.

Jerk Ford was already wilding all on his own now he has Mabel who has so many ideas. And she has this pathetic, lonely man wrapped around her little finger.

Also, Jerk Ford is a known runner. He does not fight if he doesn't see himself winning, and he'll usually go out of his way to not kill people. He just lacks the trigger-happy 'shoot now journal about it later'-gene that most Fords have. (He has very specific exceptions)*

But in a scenario where he has Mabel? Where he isn't facing consequences all by himself? He isn't letting anything in the multiverse so much as breathe rudely in her direction. So now, he isn't just some jerk or mostly harmless nuisance, he is stacking bodies (not in Mabel's line of sight, obviously).

The (Jerk) Ford Hate Club is besides themselves. Now, stopping or killing Jerk Ford isn't their only prerogative, they also need to 'rescue' this small, innocent child from The Worst Ford and his influence. Unaware that the terrible-flavoured beanboozled jellybeans that keep making their way into their catering were all her idea.

When Jerk Ford and Mabel return in 2012, Dipper is besides himself because, sweet Moses his sister is alive! She's really alive!

But she's been with with The Author who he hates, and being raised by him for the past five years has had obvious effects on her development.

She's still happy go lucky and nice, she's not a jerk at all like her Grunkle Ford.

But she's basically a supervillain who is on the FBI's Most Wanted List in every dimension she's been to that has one, and some organizations both official and criminal consider her a bigger threat than Jerk Ford (relative to body size).

Her sunny disposition did not change at all; she's blowing up whole buildings with a damn smile on her face

It's terrifying. This is the worst Jerk Ford timeline.

*While he was in the multiverse, instead of celebrating Jewish holidays the traditional way there was no point without his family, he would travel to different parallel Earth dimensions to kill Nazi’s. He would try to be a little more traditional, and halt the killing spree while he had Mabel with him, she was too young for murder.

[brittle-doughie]

(Sorry if my English is wrong, because I'm using a translator)

Man, I'm a recent fan of your content since I started playing CRK again just a whole month ago because of Shadow Milk Cookie (Whoever I can catch with 120 pulls, the same number I caught the awesome Vanilla Lol) and let's just say I stalked your account and stuff... But what I can say is that your writing is very unique and pleasant to read since there are no long descriptions, something I love but sometimes my brain bugs out and stuff, and then I realize that you put love into your content

But anyway, enough of the rambling and fangirling and let's get straight to the content I want to comment on:

Today's Soul Jam victim Y/N -

What we know about them: A Soul Jam created alongside the others but unlike them, they don't have a Cookie but rather have a form and they show resentment (hatred in its purest form) that the other Soul Jams have receptacles

My idea:

As I know, Soul Jam's were created and given to the Beasts before they collapsed, and with that comes my idea of ​​what if Soul Jam Y/N also had a Beast

The relationship between the two was very different from the others because they interacted at every opportunity, had inside jokes, judged the other cookies and even the witches, and to the point that their Hero nicknamed them 'Y/N'

Everyone could see that they had a special bond, a bond that no other hero and Soul Jam had

But then the corruption happens, one by one the heroes fall, all except Y/N's hero, they were the only one left standing, the only one who resisted the corruption...

Because of this, the witches asked the hero to stop those who were once their friends, at first they didn't know what to do "They're my friends! But they're hurting the other cookies! But the other cookies also made big requests! What should I do?!" So they asked for time to think, something very short at the moment and had a conversation with Soul Jam Y/N

"What should I do Y/N...?"

"...This is a decision that I would say is easy from the outside point of view, but from the inside it is the hardest to make..."

"... So there is no answer...?"

"There is an answer, this answer will be the right one, I trust you ██████ Cookie!"

"Heh... thanks but I don't know... What if I make the wrong choice instead of the right one, what if I make the right choice for others and make the wrong one for my friends! I don't want to hurt them, they're already hurt by the cruel fate of immortality"

"You're a kind cookie, I'm sure you'll manage"

"...What if it was all my fault..."

"Hmm..?"

"What if I had been a better friend, noticed the signs earlier, stopped them in time... Maybe they wouldn't have to do this, maybe everything could be the same as before..."

"It's not like that-"

"It would have been better if I was the one to be corrupted..."

" ██████ Cookie!"

"I'm sorry Y/N, but I've already made up my mind, I'll go with them, I'll be sealed with them, but don't worry okay? You won't get caught, you can live your life and find a better cookie than me to be your user"

"Wait ██████ Cookie! Don't go!"

"Goodbye Y/N, I hope you can discover new things in this incredible world"

That was the last conversation the hero and Soul Jam Y/N had, the hero agreed to help the witches in exchange for being sealed with his friends, something that was conceived, during the purity of the Soul Jam's they did not purify Y/N because they were not corrupted

But then why did Y/N feel empty? Why did they feel like everything was wrong? Why did they feel like crying when they didn't even have a body? Why was ██████ Cookie gone?

Time passed and the other Soul Jam's found new users, but Y/N was left in the dark

They felt jealous of their companions, of how they moved on while they still mourned the loss of their Hero, of how they gave their power to their Heroes, while Y/N remembered the times when her Hero borrowed her power to help their friends, how they guide them to the right path, while Y/N remembers all the times they and their Hero would talk through sleepless nights when everyone else was asleep, how they would guide their Heroes through their darkest moments, while Y/N couldn't see him one last time properly

They were jealous, they wanted a Hero, but at the same time they couldn't, they couldn't move on, they couldn't accept another Hero, they couldn't find another cookie as their Hero

So they thought, if I can't have a Hero why can't I be my Hero?

So they did it, created their cookie form and bam! They could walk, touch and feel the Bread Land without any effort!

But at the same time, they hoped to find their Hero once again, maybe they could be like they were before...

Tadaa~ So what did you think of my idea?

-Just a Person

I think it’s a solid enough foundation.

[starrbar]

Thanks for the tag x3 Sorry it took me so long to get to it haha. I'll highlight characters in red if I had a lot to say about multiples in one answer.

Favorite girl: I think I'd say Jinx because I love her character. All her scenes in S1 are compelling and tense, and I found her to be thoroughly tragic by the end. She's the thread that holds everything else together and it's beautiful. Also Ambessa and Sevika are both super hot and I always look forward to seeing them.

Favorite boy: I like boys. O_O My favorites are Silco, Singed, and Viktor. Silco is one of my favorite villain characters, very layered and complex, and I was genuinely intrigued and excited as I learned more of his story in S1. I'm also totally guilty of mega-simping for him in S2 despite how my opinions of the story would later sour. Singed honestly just has a fantastic voice and animation that hits me the same way Rango's animation does, where "ugly" characters are treated with such care that they're a treat to watch anyway. He's so stimulating aaaa. Finally, Viktor's arc in S1 is one of my favorites, handled patiently and expertly, and his arc in S2 has quite a few problems, but I still... really enjoy seeing him, and seeing him with Jayce, so I don't tend to be bothered by how S2 handled Viktor.

Least favorite character: You know what? I was so close to posting this with "S2 Caitlyn" because she's a nasty person who never gets to have a proper arc in any direction, but I think a more fitting answer would be S2 Vi. Caitlyn being an awful person in some scenes was still interesting and believable, if a bit rushed, and I would have been fine with her character going that path had it been executed a bit better. Vi, though, is just... turned into a sad lapdog who doesn't act on her own at any point and is just depressing to watch, even in her "happy" moments. God damn, they destroyed her this season. ><

Favorite ships: Zaundads, Sinco, JayVik, and Jilco. If I elaborated on each, I'd feel like I spent way too much time on this, but they each have dynamics I enjoy for different reasons.

Least favorite ship: S2 Caitvi. They were cute in S1, but S2 made Caitlyn an abusive war criminal and then pretended that didn't need to be properly addressed before Vi just gave herself to her. Blegh.

Favorite side character: Lately, it's Salo because I like em pathetic ahaha~ I've always loved Mylo too, adorable little Junkrat kid. x3c

Favorite songs: Oooooh this is a hard one. x3 Goodbye and What Could Have Been will always hit me so hard and remind me how watching Arcane for the first time felt, and for that, they're extra special. I think Playground still gives me those vibes too. I also adore Guns For Hire, and Dirty Little Animals goes so hard. S2 introduced quite a few songs I love too. Ashes and Blood, Renegade, and Spin the Wheel are favorites. Favorite score songs are: The Bridge, The City of Progress, You're Stronger Than You Think, You Can't Escape the Past, A Story of Opposites, Stubborn to the End, I Can Help Them, The Era of Hextech, Revenge, You're a Jinx, A Bicentennial, The Assailant, Romance, Traitor, She's Back, The Toy Boat, I'm Right Here, Showdown, First Steps, You're Perfect, and I'm far less familiar with S2's score, but I can't stop listening to I Promised You. <3

Favorite episode: S1 episode 3. There are tons of scenes I love throughout the story, but this episode marked one of the greatest experiences I've ever had watching a show.

Least favorite episode: So like... I'm not entirely sure which entire episode is my least favorite, so it might be easier to list "chunks", like all the Mel/Black Rose stuff is a boring waste of time to me, and all the final battle stuff is like... uuuuugh. But I didn't just wanna say s2 episode 9 because I do still like the Jayce and Viktor stuff even if, critically, I don't think most of it makes sense x'D. Those two are legit just a guilty pleasure this season and I'm okay with that.

Favorite duo: Oooooh, mmmm..... I think Jayce and Viktor fit the term "duo" best out of my favorites. My other fave is Jinx and Silco, even though they basically never work together, but their interactions are priceless. <3

Favorite design: Aaaaa so many good ones, ummm... honestly? Powder is one of my favorite characters to watch and her design is adorable and complex (a lot of characters are complex in design, but ye). I really love the mismatched look of a lot of Zaun outfits. Also past Silco is um, I'm locking him in my basement. >u>

Least favorite design: Hm... so... I don't think I've looked at any design and hated it, just felt like a few of them were kinda... not as appealing to me as previous versions. So, I prefer Ambessa's pre-S2A3 designs, and I think it's because she looks too slender in her final look compared to previous ones making her look so big and imposing. I think Jinx's newest design is... overrated and kind of messy to look at. I know she's a messy character, so that would fit, but I dunno, there's something missing or... something. It's also hard not to let my feelings on the story taint my feelings for some of the designs, like Vi and Caitlyn's, which look pretty damn cool actually, but I just always picture that final cuddly scene with them and it makes me feel icky.

Favorite scene: The Guns For Hire sequence ✨

Least favorite scene: The Silco, Vander, and Felicia flashback because it ruins the motivations of Silco and Vander, not just to adopt their kids, but to free Zaun from Piltover's oppressive hold. Felicia is pretty and even has some fun sassiness to her personality, but I want her far away from my boys.

I don't like this ending on a negative, so Imma add one more question myself:

Favorite visual moment: Of course, I can hardly pick less than a dozen, but I'll just list a couple off the top of my head, not counting previously mentioned stuff of course. I love the scene of the mage saving young Jayce and his mother. It's so gorgeous and fluid and the music adds so much too. Gahhhh- I also super love that shot of Silco leaning back while smoking right after he talks to Marcus.

I'm always bad at tagging, so just like, do it if you feel like! 8D

On tiktok there was this arcane trend that was just about stating some basic arcane opinions of yours and I thought it would be fun to do something similar here! You can tag others and make it a tagging game or you can just answer the questions do what you want :)

Favorite girl:

Favorite boy:

Least favorite character:

Favorite ship:

Least favorite ship:

Favorite side character:

Favorite song:

Favorite episode:

Least favorite episode:

Favorite duo:

Favorite design:

Least favorite design:

Favorite scene:

Least favorite scene:

[buckevantommy]

thinking about: buck still being in wallow mode in 8x09.. and then eddie leaves, and maddie is busy with the pregnancy and homelife, bobby is busy with the new house designs.. and buck wasn't interested in putting himself back out there after tommy dumped him, but now he has no one to talk to and no one wants to hear about his broken heart anyway and he feels like he's drowning and needs a way out so to fend off loneliness and pain for at least a night - because it's worked before and he doesn't really have anyone or anything else right now - he goes to a bar or a club or whatever and hooks up.

and he just. keeps hooking up. going out to bars and clubs. dances and drinks and fucks multiple times a week. and he doesn't have the same resilience he did in his 20s but he pushes through because the hurt is finally a background ache he can ignore, so he keeps doing it. and he's not really having fun in the same way buck 1.0 never really had fun - because he was always yearning for more, to be wanted and kept just as he is. he always wanted what he found with tommy. or.. thought he found.

anyway: he's a mess, and it doesn't go unnoticed at work that he looks like shit, even if he tries to hide it with a forced smile and attempted storytimes about what he got up to last night. then comes a bad few nights in a row and some rough calls or just being in a foul mood at work because of his personal life and maybe he really shouldn't be working but when bobby presses him on it he proves his competency OR he does something crazy on a call that almost or does get him injured but it's minor (a cut or bruise) and bobby is worried - but there's another call and it's a big one.. and it all the 118 crosses paths with harbor on that call, where buck and tommy interact for the first time since the breakup.

and buck is not fine, despite what he tells bobby. at first he ignores tommy. he's reached the anger stage in the grief of their dead relationship and he's going to ride that wave above the pain that's tormented him for months. he deserves to be pissed at tommy, and at himself for being so hung up on a guy who clearly doesn't think he's worth the effort or worth trusting or worth anything more than what buck is giving the endless string of strangers right now: a good time not a long time.

tommy takes the hint and doesn't try to force conversation or further interaction with buck. maybe buck removes himself from one task to tend to another - which is right when shit is about to go down. either tommy ends up there too by happenstance or he knows buck went that way and chases after him (against orders) right before they both get trapped or secluded from the rest of the team (building collapse, wildfire blockage, etc).

and THIS is where the good stuff happens: buck wrestles between continuing giving tommy the cold shoulder and snapping at him as they try to work together to get out. it culminates in buck lashing out at tommy, letting his anger loose - whether tommy goaded him into it or he overreacted at a small thing because he needed to let it all out. after buck says his piece he sort of.. deflates, exhausted and hurting again and fighting back tears as his words sink in with tommy. there's no time to process because the situation is shifting and they have to move.

tommy gets a chance to apologise before they're free. but it all ends on a sad note before they part ways, with buck basically recognising tommy's cowardice and saying or inferring that he (buck) deserves to be loved. and so does tommy. and he hopes they'll both meet someone who won't run away.

it's a bittersweet ending because there's closure and we get a strong sense that this is what buck needed in order to heal and move on - and cease his buck 2.0 partying ways. but it's not really that simple.

where i'd like to see things go after this series of events: buck returns to a healthier nightlife, stops hooking up with everything that moves. he starts looking and feeling better, and eventually he meets a guy in his neighbourhood or at the firehouse. maybe they're community members, maybe they collaborate on a project, maybe they become somewhat friends even though there's lots of flirting at first. and they start dating. and they date for a few weeks and it's nice.. but it's no more than that. it's not enough. they end things amicably and may even cross paths again in the future (cue jealous tommy).

so: buck gets his wild buck electric boogaloo time, he gets to air his emotions and get closure with tommy, he gets to heal and move on, he gets to date another guy.

and then later - let's say in 9b - he and tommy reconnect, maybe as friends. and little by little those feelings return and strengthen (because they never really went away), but buck is enoying their friendship because tommy is being more open and vulnerable with him now than he ever was when they dated. anyway: eventual kiss, with inevitable angst before getting back together: tommy still struggling with his own trust issues and self worth, or maybe he's currently dating someone else.

there's so many ways they could do this sort of thing and it would be so meaty and good with a happy ending, y'know?

[butmakeitgayblog]

Medusa and The Blind Woman

First Kiss

(spoilers!!!! Not posted yet so read at your own spoilage)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lexa takes a deep breath, feeling her hands turn clammy as the idea suddenly takes her. Because the moment is so peaceful and Clarke feels so, so good pressed this close. And she doesn't want to overstep, doesn't want to break these tendrils of forgiveness she feels being woven thread by thread between them.

But she wants this and she wants, needs, Clarke to know. 

Scooting back just enough to lift and slip her leg over to the other side, Lexa ignores the questioning look Clarke gives her at the sudden shuffle and readjusts in small shifts until she's sat right behind her.

She keeps her movements slow as she nestles in closer around Clarke's hips, bracketing her there in the loose safety of her arms and legs.

The air explodes in a burst of perfumed lilac that scent Clarke's hair as Lexa leans over her shoulder to see the world before them. She scoops up Clarke's other hand and holds it the same as the first, careful not to let the shake of her nerves betray the steady yield of her hand. 

"And over here, along this path, are the berry patches and gardens. The wild berries sit there, then the grapes and rows of herbs, and finally the blackberries you so love with your wine." Lexa keeps her voice light with each subtle movement, afraid to startle away the calm that had settled over the moment as she uses Clarke's hand to mark the air from the farthest plot of land, inward.  

"I certainly know that place too," Clarke says, turning just enough for Lexa to catch a glimpse of her lopsided smile, undoubtedly sharing the same memories of Clarke lounging amongst the greenery as she plucked stray berries and popped them into her mouth instead of actually helping. "Although, you are right. They're much better with your— What did you call it? Degenerate wine?"

Lexa feels her ribcage expand with the rush of emotion at the mention of that night. That evening spent sprawled out under a blanket of stars as they passed back and forth a jug of too-sweet wine and finally began to let each other in. 

It's a terrible wonder how she could've been so blind to what was happening; to have not seen what was so clearly right in front of her. Her stomach swoops with a pang of guilt at every mistake she had made since, and sinks at the thought of what time she has wasted. 

How she had broken the trust of the woman in her arms, the trust that had been building from that night onward. How she'd let it get muddied by her own idiocy and stubbornness. By her pride. By her fear.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Clarke's heavenly sigh. The one she saves for the dying end of her laugh, the one that sounds sweeter than most. "Well. For what it's worth, from a non-expert at least… I like your wine."

It's overwhelming but so welcome when Clarke leans back heavier against her chest, nestling herself tightly into Lexa's arms. Swallowing against the sudden lump that's taken up residence in her throat, Lexa tips her head to the side in a brush against Clarke's temple and rests there. 

"I'm glad."

The distant crash of the ocean echoes off the rockface and suddenly the world feels like it's made up of only them. Two forgotten souls on a long forgotten island, perched on the precipice where the earth ends and the cosmos littered skies begin. 

Lexa looks out to the horizon and makes a wish she hopes rings through the hills of Olympus that for once, just this once, her daydream didn't have to end.

"What's next?"

The soft call of Clarke's voice breaks Lexa from her reverie. She shifts back to find twin pools of blue turned toward her. Unseeing, and seeing right through her. 

"What?" she breathes, shaken in such wonderful ways.

The way Clarke smiles is like a salve. Like she understands Lexa so perfectly in that moment, and Lexa wonders when she stopped understanding anything about herself at all. 

Silently, Clarke takes Lexa's hands and slips her fingers tightly through her own, and guides Lexa's arms more securely around her waist. She presses Lexa's palm against the soft swell of her belly and holds her touch there. 

Her head tips sideways to find Lexa's again. "I asked what's next."

"Right…" Lexa says in barely a whispered haze, lungs squeezing tight at the feel of her so close as she accepts Clarke's weight as her own. 

Because Clarke is letting her hold her, is holding her right back, when just the morning prior even a hand to Clarke's shoulder would've been brushed away with a flinch. All the nights of idle longing rush through Lexa's mind, nights of fanciful dreams that felt as though they laid well beyond her fingertips despite the embodiment of them sleeping soundly on just the other side of her bed. 

Now that dream and this girl is sat right there, tucked safely in her arms. 

"Well… There isn't much left. You know the rest."

Clarke twists her head and nuzzles closer. Presses her nose to the blush of Lexa's cheek. "Tell me anyway."

Smiling into the skin of Clarke's neck and smelling the sweet notes of lilac and sunshine stronger there, Lexa doesn't bother to look as she slopes their hands downward. "After the garden, you follow the main path past the hen coup. Follow the bend around the storage sheds, and you'll find your way back to the cave… Back… home."

"Home." 

The pulse beneath her lips quickens as Clarke echos the word in a sigh barely second after Lexa utters it. 

The air thickens with the sound of Clarke's echoed whisper of the word. And she knows, oh goddess does Lexa know how Clarke must feel the thunderstorm raging beneath her breast at hearing her refer to their cave with such affection. The cave that had felt like nothing more than a tomb, until Clarke had crashed into her shores breathed life into it.

Into her.

She feels reckless and bold as she nods that, yes, this is Clarke's home. For however long she may want it. And she seals the vow and every wordless prayer that goes along with it in a gentle press of her lips against the bend of Clarke's neck.

Clarke shudders in her arms as her skin erupts in warm goosebumps at the brush of Lexa's mouth. The hands holding Lexa in place, keeping them so tightly tangled together, squeeze her tighter at the attention. Lexa dares for another kiss. Another slow press of her lips. She slips her hand free from Clarke's, because it's not enough. Because she needs Clarke closer. Because she's spent too long without falling headfirst into oceans of crystal blue. 

Her body trembles down to her bones as she runs a hand along Clarke's neck and feels the curve of her jaw beneath her fingertips. Cheeks brush and lungs sigh with matching shallow breaths as Lexa guides Clarke toward her. It feels selfish how she loses herself in watching every shadow and emotion play across Clarke's face. From the flutter of dark blonde lashes that all but sparkle in the fiery death of sunlight, to the gentlest cleft of her chin that's held Lexa's heart captive for days. 

It's terrifying and more real than any moment Lexa can ever remember having survived before.

She closes the small space between them. Lets her eyes fall closed as she traces her nose against Clarke's in a gentle touch. It's something soft, something simple. Just to let her know she's there if she wants this too.

Clarke doesn't pull away. 

The huff of breath against her lips makes Lexa's heart skip out of beat, and it's all she needs to tip Clarke's chin up into her kiss.

It's as tentative as it is resolute, mouths coming together in caresses that linger before breaking, only to crest and press forward in search for more. Her palm cups Clarke's jaw with more demand and she moves her to her whim. Holds her steady as Lexa adjusts the angle to kiss her deeper.

Clarke pulls back an inch, to break the kiss or to breathe, Lexa doesn't know. But she can't and she won't let her because, no. Because Lexa isn't ready to let this moment and this feeling go. She chases Clarke's lips and kisses her again. Moans at the taste of Clarke's surprised noise and swallows her gasp to keep for her own. Wind chapped lips become pliant under the lap of Clarke's tongue as opens for her and welcomes her in.

And she could blame the wind and salt for the sting that sears behind her lashes if only it weren't for the fact that her eyes remain so tightly shut through it all. But the truth lies in the thick and wet rhythm of her heart. The one that beats out every rush of longing for this woman in her arms.

The years she's spent on this island. Years alone and without another human to touch; an endless string of days spent knowing nothing but work, sand, and stone. Sleepless night after sleepless night spent feeling so small in her too-large, empty bed.

It's so much, and yet not enough, and leaves her drowning in the honeysuckle of Clarke's kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[panlight]

Something that's bothered me is how the imprintees are pretty much ordinary people. They're mortal and can just die long before the wolf even does unless they make themselves stop phasing (which apparently is hard to do) and the gene is hereditary, so it's not like they can be turned. In fact, the whole "imprinting = higher chance of more wolves" theory gets rendered useless if the imprintee can easily be turned into a vampire and killed just as well.

In the House of Night series (enjoyed it when I was younger, but re-reading it in recent years, ugh the writing is just Not Good), imprinting is also a thing there, but they make it so the imprintee's blood doesn't really appeal to the vampires (or "vampyres", as they're called) other than the one who imprinted. (At one point, the vampyres try to feed on the imprinted human's blood, but complain that it "smells/tastes wrong".) Also, at least in this imprinting there's no loss of free will....

I would've loved for something similar in Twilight's take on imprinting. At least let them have some edge to maybe get any vampires that might feed on/turn them to back off or avoid them (kinda to parallel how the werewolves' existence is connected with the vampires). Heck, they could even just be poisoned by venom instead of turned just like the wolves! It's weird just how..."helpless" the imprintee is; they're just regular people but with a wolf who's head over heels for them.

I've often wondered what would happen if one of the imprintees were turned into a vampire. Would it break the bond or is it so unbreakable that the wolf wouldn't care? Pre-BD I thought for sure it would ruin it, but now that Jacob imprinted on someone who was BORN half-vampire I'm not so sure.

It genuinely makes me worried that if any of the unimpirinted wolf pack members were to meet Nahuel's sisters they might imprint. I hesitate even to speak this into existence. But all the other imprintees are descended from or related to past shifters except Nessie, but as a hybrid Nessie also has the same number of chromosome pairs as the shapeshifters do, which SM went out of her way to tell us. She seems to imply it makes them genetically compatible and if that's desirable to imprinting magic then there are other female hybrids out there.

(Of course, there's also Leah and Nahuel but as far as we know Leah is infertile and they presumably crossed paths when he was there at the end of BD and she apparently didn't imprint).

On the one hand I do kind of like the other imprints are just normal people; one of the ways imprinting makes the most sense to me if it's to help ground the shapeshifters to the real world. They are functionally immortal and invincible as long as they keep phasing; it would be easy for that knowledge and power to corrupt someone just as it corrupts vampires. They start seeing non-shifting humans as inferior, as less than, they lose focus of their role as protectors and let the power go to their head. But if they've imprinted on a regular human, if that human is the center of their world and their #1 priority, it keeps them from straying too far into supernatural land.

(but again . . . not a factor with Jacob and Nessie!)

But on the other hand, I agree that it's frustrating they are so vulnerable. When someone has that kind of power over someone else (the center of their entire universe with no free will), it makes them a target. The Volturi, for example, know all about this now, since Aro touched Edward and Nessie at the confrontation. So if Aro wanted to try and force the shapeshifters to do pretty much anything, all he has to do is threaten or kidnap or whatever the imprintees. What wouldn't Sam do for Emily? Jared for Kim? Paul for Rachel? Quil for Claire? They wouldn't even have a CHOICE about it! The WHOLE PACK tolerated a dozen vampires visiting Forks the sake of Jacob's imprint, after all. The girls are helpless against vampires. It really puts them in a dangerous spot, so even something like "they smell unappealing to vampires" or "their blood is also poisonous like the shifter's" or "like Bella immune to all vampire powers" would help protect them a little bit.

[alexanderwales]

Game Review: The Roottrees are Dead

When I played Obra Dinn shortly after it came out, I thought "man, that was great, they should make a hundred of these, this should be a whole genre", and on reflection, that would actually be a terrible idea, because what made it great was the storytelling, the attention to detail, and the loving care that went into it. As I've learned from the wave of games that take inspiration from Stardew Valley, there are some genres that I only like if they have a lot of attention to detail and artistry.

The Roottrees are Dead very clearly follows in the footsteps of Obra Dinn, and while it doesn't quite hit the same highs, I think it's a worthy successor that forges its own path and helps to establish what's possible within the space.

In The Roottrees are Dead you play as an investigator in the late 1990s (1998 for the original, 1999 for Roottreemania), looking into the Roottree family to uncover some of there secrets. You do this almost entirely through a simulacrum of the early internet, with a pre-Google web search, periodicals, and checking out books from the local library. Gameplay entails combing through these documents to see what there is to search, then making some deductions to put information up on the sprawling family tree. Just like in Obra Dinn, you get your guesses "confirmed" after you've locked in some number of correct entries, which helps to narrow down the search space.

It's a good game. I recommend it if you like research and puzzles and deduction.

I think mostly I want to talk about how it feels to play this game, and what I think makes it work in a way that's totally different from other detective/puzzle games.

First, and I think this is very important, you can search almost everything, and you are often rewarded for this. Every name, every company, every book, all of them can be searched in one way or another. Sometimes it's the web search, and if that turns up nothing, sometimes you can search the periodicals, except that you don't start out knowing the names of the periodicals. And when you do get the name of one, it opens things up, because you can go searching using this new resource.

Sometimes the information isn't quite right, so you have to think it through. Use someone's maiden name, or find out what a book was retitled to for its second publication, or figure out how the thing you're searching for would be referenced. This is all the kind of thing that I find really enjoyable, and more so than in real life, because the feedback is instant. Even if you hit a dead end, the game will usually have some text for you, and sometimes it'll tell you it's a dead end with a little story, ending with "unfortunately none of this seems relevant to the Roottree family".

What you're ultimately doing is creating this whole web of information, picking up names from articles you read and tracking them down, which gives you more articles and more names. You have some understanding of these people and their relationship to each other. You get to know the history in this very unconventional way. It's pretty unrealistic, but my suspension of disbelief was mostly fine.

Locking things in feels great, particularly because it means that you're removing a possibility from your list of names, making everything easier in the next go. This was something clearly borrowed from Obra Dinn, and I'm glad, because it works so well and feels so rewarding. New here are "optionals" that get confirmed whenever a lockin of the main family happens, and this is a great evolution of the concept.

There are two places where the game let me down a little bit, and both have to do with the pictures. The first issue is that I wanted the pictures to be of a higher quality. The web version had AI images, which were a little wonky, and got flak for it, so the images were (apparently) hand-drawn for the release on Steam when people were paying money for it. And they're still a little wonky, which is surely a budget issue, and maybe a little bit an art direction issue. I don't like criticizing thing for their lack of budget, but man, there were places where I felt it here.

The second issue with the pictures is that these tend to be the worst kinds of clues. People just do not talk about appearance and clothing in these ways, and it always feels clunky in the way that other clues (usually) don't. They're necessary, because this is part of the core gameplay, matching pictures to names, but it feels to me like the weakest part.

New to the Steam version is "Roottree Mania", which deals with a crisis of "extras" to add to the family tree, those who are products of affairs. It's basically the same in structure, and proof to me that this concept has legs: the focus is different, but you're engaging in the same gameplay. I would say that overall, I enjoyed Roottree Mania about as much as the main game, even if the scope was somewhat less focused.

And like before, I find myself thinking "they should make a million of these", but I know that this is only as good as it is because there's significant dedication and care put into it, and you can't just "copy" it and expect for it to be playable or good. You need those little moments when things snap into place, when something confusing reveals itself to be well-ordered. You need puzzles to work out, inconsistencies to uncover, information working together. And that's hard, and it's something I'm happy this game was able to do.

[1dcommunityficrecs]

Rec List: Enemies To Lovers!

We have five awesome enemies to lovers fics to celebrate this month! These are all on the longer side -- I suppose it tends to take a little more words to make such a stark transition -- but I guarantee you the time is well worth it.

As always, please enjoy -- read, kudos, comment, reblog, and show your love to these awesome authors!

I would know you from touch alone by staybeautiful/@harruandlou (72821, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post

The Tomlinson and Cox gangs have hated each other since forever. Add a soulmate twist that Harry and Louis can't deny and you got an awesome lovestory.

Reccer says: I love the author, the story is thrilling with great characterisation and really hot smut ;-)

through walls of trees by ineverateakiwi/@ineverateakiwi (41309, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) Warnings: violence, of the type you would expect from a high fantasy AU

They're fairies, kings of the lands. But they were invaded a few years ago and Louis turned to the dark side. Harry hates him. They work it out during the fic.

Reccer says: It's high fantasy, which is kind of rare in the fandom (at least I don't know a lot of it). Louis isn't evil, but he's not good either. And he isn't apologetic about it. He knows what needs to be done and does it.

I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU by nevermind_991/@nevermind991 (51000, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post

Harry and Louis were best friends, but after a rather unusual request for help, their relationship—and their friendship—fell apart. They cross paths again five years later, with Louis now in the same band as Harry’s ex, Taylor, and a past to confront and a future to decide.

Reccer says: i like that Harry and Louis were best friends, and also the songs

Our Lives, Non-Fiction by indiaalphawhiskey/@indiaalphawhiskey (113574, Explicit, Marcel/Louis Tomlinson ) – fic post

Louis Tomlinson does not appreciate being told that his very serious novel is in dire need of a PR boost. Even worse, that it comes in the form of a joint book tour with the UK’s #1 online romance-writing sensation Marcel Styles.

Reccer says: This fic is funny, sweet, and VERY sexy. There’s sass and banter, sexual tension, and teaching each other new things in the bedroom (so hot!). Because Marcel is an online writer, the fic dives into related stereotypes as well, which spoke to me as a fanfic reader.

Could We Be Such Fools by LiveLaughLoveLarry/@loveislarryislove (27206, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post Warnings: Infidelity (not between Harry and Louis)

When Louis finds out that his new boyfriend is engaged to another man... it only seems right to let the poor sap know the truth. It gets messy, but it all works out in the end.

Reccer says: I like the way their dynamic builds slowly, from hostile to awkward to friendly to romantic. I also love Niall's chaotic energy.

[realtapiocafan]

https://www.tumblr.com/realtapiocafan/776988759562633216/it-fucks-me-up-genuinely-how-you-wrote-how-justin

continuing this train of thought you can see in ja'marrs vids hes drunk as hell and probably high as fuck too and soooo pliant tactile flirty with literally everybody who crosses his path that face he did when zipping up his sweatsuit!! ridiculous!!! so the idea of him getting extra close to the trio to hear them better because his executive function is not really 100% and slyly grinning up at them looking up through his lashes tucking closer when they automatically reach for him hell pressing his cheeks or lips to their cheeks when he accepts their gifts etc etc and then you have the trio just. dying. crush skyrocketing no coming down and theres justin also equally drunk as hell and way too flirty for his own good but hes got a higher threshold than ja'marr for some reason despite being slighter and always takes shameless advantage of him being this way and just tugs him around all over the place and if we bring this around to joe who escaped all the hustle of ja'marrs bday bash in a condo they own in ny together maybe and jjmarr invites the trio to crash there bc its closer than their hotel and the 2023 trio sees how insanely domestic the 2019 trio are and slowly starts to tickle their brain that. oh. theyre together together and them promptly start blushing and struggling to look at each other because. oh. they didnt know that could be a thing. oh.

oh my goodness, anon, your brain 🤯

ja'marr IS a touchy-feely drunk, that is 1000% canon. his love language is physical touch (honest to god i think all of the lsu 2019 trio's love languages is physical touch -joe's just weird and prefers a slightly more violent version than justin and ja'marr <3) so ofc when all of his inhibitions are lowered, he just wants to express all of his love and make sure everyone is solid and safe and there.

meanwhile, 2023 lsu trio is crashing tf out. like they are the definition of 'head empty no thoughts' as ja'marr sees the very Thoughtful and very Meaningful gift that they got him and is just ooh-ing and aah-ing over it and getting so close to them as he thanks them and pulls them in close for the hug and looking up through his lashes and biting his lips (he's flirty in a sober state, do not underestimate how a drunk ja'marr behaves) and DO NOT FUCKING THINK I MISSED THAT KISS PART ANON OMG. ja'marr placing one of those big hands against their cheeks and leaning in (esp since jayden and brian are taller so ja'marr would have to go on his TOES) and they can't fucking believe it, their brains are NOT functioning and he's pressing a messy kiss -ARGH!!!!

how i'd imagine their thought process would go: omfg that's ja'marr chase sharing the same breathing space as me, i can see ja'marr chase's eyelashes, how is this real life omfg -WAIT HIS LIPS ARE ON MY CHEEK!!!

and it is also 1000% canon that justin has a higher alcohol tolerance than ja'marr, thank you very much, and takes full fucking advantage of it, because as stated before, ja'marr is even more touchy when he's drunk and justin's only human, he also enjoys having a ja'marr cling onto him. and justin's absolutely finding the whole 2023 lsu crush on ja'marr hilarious! he's totally snapping pictures and sending them to joe as ja'marr goes on his tippy toes to kiss jayden on the cheek and jayden can smell the tequila (bc i will never ever letting go of my bodyshot-)

wait actually, i CAN insert my bodyshot headcanon in this. ja'marr and justin, hanging off each other, and one of them suggests it and before you know it they're doing shots off each other and licking the salt off each other's necks and just stupidly grinning at each other because even after all this time -it's still them. (and jayden and malik and brian watching with eyes wide, halfway between 'omfg that's so fucking hot' and '😭😭😭🫵 that should be us!')

then as the party dies down and ja'marr turns around (bc they are his three little duckings, his little shadows, latched onto him the second he gave Affection to them <3) and 2023 lsu is just like 😔😔😔 ig we have to leave now. they look like the SADDEST humans you would ever see bc this was a night for their fucking lives. ja'marr liking their present? ja'marr hugging them? ja'marr KISSING them? they'd replay this night over and over again!

and ja'marr, who is a worrier at heart (thinking specifically of him getting tee to his massage therapist here) immediately vetos them getting an uber (athletes still get ubers right?) and invites them to stay over and it's 'head empty no thoughts' pt 2

(justin grinning ear to ear, so amused by ja'marr's protectiveness)

AND THEN A SECRET CONDO IN NY!!! YES! YESSSS

i really like carmen's idea (idk if you saw this anon) about joemarr spending the night BEFORE ja'marr's birthday tgt, bc let's be honest -parties are just not joe's scene. so yes! joemarrjj DO spend the night before ja'marr's birthday and have their own little celebrations (joejj waking up ja'marr with the sweetest kiss oughhhh). maybe they even spend some time during the day, before jjmarr head off to ja'marr's party!

i LOVE the idea of this secret condo being bought by joe after he signed his contract (and justin buys another place in PARIS last year and now they're just waiting for ja'marr's contract so he can buy a place for all of them too <3).

anyways, joe answers the door, probably all sleepy in his pajamas, bedhair sticking everywhere, voice scratchy from sleep (it's probably like. 4AM). and at first, 2023 lsu is like ??? (ja'marr's actual invitation was like 'come back to MY place' bc ofc it is) so they're a lil confused of why joe fucking burrow is here at ja'marr's place... but he might be here to wish ja'marr a happy birthday too?

but then they watch as joe gets the spare sheets from the closet and justin tells them where the toilet is bc out of the three of them, i personally think he'd be the 'do not fucking throw up on my carpets' person and they're even more confused but also drunk af and not really capable of executive thought.

the following morning, 2023 lsu come out of the bedroom (hungover ofc) with joe cooking some eggs or something with ja'marr glued to the back (and joe is moving around the kitchen comfortably like he's been there a million times -bc he has). justin is making coffee and gently teasing ja'marr over the amount of sugar and cream he puts in his coffee and ja'marr immediately grabs onto justin, wrapping himself around and tucking his head and whining. turns out he did have a lil bit of self-control last night but now he's not in public anymore and it's just them three (and the 2023 lsu) so ja'marr is freeeee to cuddle to his heart's content.

it takes a while, bc they're all hungover and their brains are moving slowly but it finally does click after ja'marr kisses both justin and joe in thanks for the post-birthday breakfast and it's like. oh. oooohhhh.

and yes, anon they did NOT think this was even an option and their minds have been opened and they're just like. wow. wowwww.

[rotisseries]

What are your sskk fic recs?

omg yayyyyy! okay so. disclaimer i haven't really read any bsd fic in like 6 months? so i have not been on that grind lately i could totally be ignorant to some works of art. nonetheless i will supply you with my favorites!

anything!!! from @ryuvnosuke, but my fave is don't look back (would you retrieve my soul?) because orpheus and eurydice au is the quickest way to my heart!!!

actually also gotta say don't hurt me (im tired), same author as above, aku character study oneshot, soooo goodddd

i love auroraheart!!! read everything by auroraheart!!!, my fave though has gotta be from duality to singularity. it's a post beast canon oneshot where atsushi kind of joins the ada and i just need more good beast fic

start locking coffins by kaneki, akutagawa character study, canon compliant. just loveee the writing of this

EVERYTHING FROM LIZANDRE. I AM OBSESSED WITH EVERYTHING ABOUT THEIR WRITING STYLE. I LOVE THE WAY THEY WRITE SSKK THEY'RE SO STRANGE. however im specifically going to rec odds & ends. wound tending but they are Weird about it i like that

alsooooo really love my heat rash is in the shape of your palm, again by lizandre, bc i love akudeath angst🫶 me saying im going to give you one fic from my fave authors and then immediately going back on it. anyway both are oneshots

take us down and all apart by magdalenes. again wound tending and they're weird about it. i especially love the way atsushi is written in this one he's on this nice borderline of cruelty you don't see much in sskk fic it's sooooooo💖💖💖💖💖

also by magdalenes, my brain is rotting in places. they're so strange and awful in this one that's all i have to say im obsessed with it. i come back to these two fics regularly when i need a fix of them being Worse

saltwater by @spliqi!! speaking of good beast universe fic!!! post beast canon oneshot, they just keep running into each other on a beach

everything by flipbookorigami, though i have to specifically give you the transitive property of caring. this is an sskk classic TO MEEEEE. im pretty sure it's one of the first sskk fics i read. anyway aku and atsushi get sent on a """mission""" (it's just a nice vacation). it's that kind of fic that's a really long oneshot where technically not much is happening but also the character study is going crazy. my fave genre of fic<3

speaking of flipbookorigami i do also have to give you the five stages of grief don't account for the theory and application of alternate universe contingency plans. so the akutagawa who comes back from the dead is from another universe. atsushi copes badly by hooking up with him. i love this one for being messy. this is messy shit to do to yourself atsushi

until love by fiftysecond. oneshot au where atsushi is a hunting dog and also there's hanahaki. now this concept i have no idea where it's coming from but it hit crazy 2 me<3 snorted like coke

delusion is weighing me down by cherrior. i love this one!!!!!!!!!! longfic where atsushi gets hit by some weird ability that causes his own ability to go out of control and dazai sticks him in akutagawa's apartment until they get it figured out

cherrior also has retribution for the dead, an ongoing street racing au i really like🫶 i think i got an email for an update recently actually i need to get to that expeditiously

the path to paradise by roadtripwithlucifer. longfic where aku gets attacked by dante aligheri of dante's inferno fame and gets stuck in hell literally. atsushi has to go get him out and then they have to catch the guy. really like this one especially the torture bits

alright that's all i got have fun💖

[queen-mihai]

Honestly you're right. If trump is good for America it's for one reason and one reason only

He exposes just how asleep we've all been

Honestly you see it in this second election. Nobody fucking wanted Biden to run in the first place. The establishment democrats put him up as the only option and blazed his face across every TV screen and ad space across the country and made it where no other name mattered.

Make no mistake, we're at war with democrats too. And republican voters see that. This is why we can't throw them under the bus for not wanting to support that nonsense.

They'd rather light the country on fire than put another moron in charge who is going to keep shitty rules in place and make some tiny things a little better

Think of Obamas first victory

He lit the whole country aflame. People in small towns that you'd swear were solidly deep red we're voting for him

Why?

Because maybe FINALLY someone might do something different.

Republican. Voters. Are. Not. Stupid. They're tired of seeing the same shit happen and they're tired of being thought of as ghost towns while they get neglected into oblivion.

But people in cities aren't stupid either. They don't WANT the country set on fire.

But the problem is, you've got one party in office that says let it burn and one party that says make the fire bigger

And anybody who tries to say we should put the fire out is treated like a wishful idiot who can't see reality. But the people see reality. D voters AND R voters see paths through that can help everybody

Trump isn't let it burn OR make the fire bigger

He was walking around his first presidency with a fucking flamethrower wondering why no one takes it from him

And now we've handed him another flamethrower AND given one to musk.

People are protesting though.

Americans are waking up

This matters. It's not an election cycle, and yet people are politically active. They may not understand just how shitty trump is for the country, but musk is not someone they voted for. This might just be the catalyst Americans need to start telling politicians "this is not good enough, and we will not accept another 'biden' as a replacement. And we don't want another trump. And even someone like Obama would be a bit too soft. We need someone who will make ACTUAL CHANGE and will make it RIGHT FUCKING NOW"

You're right, if trump stepped down TODAY and vance and the rest, and just handed the presidency to Kamala Harris, we'd barely be on a different path than we were under biden.

You know who we need?

Jasmine motherfucking Crockett

And we need her EXACTLY the way she is TODAY

Not some watered down bullshit version of herself that the democrats and republicans shape into a her-shaped figure head. Actually her.

SHE would be a change.

The frustrating thing about USAmericans is that they're so indifferent to every other country in the world that, even if they ever get their democracy back, they're just going to set it up in the exact same way, and it will fail again for the exact same reasons.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I'm not ready to shut up about Aveline and Carver--so, when you go see Aveline in Act 1, you can catch up with her a little bit and that's where this conversation can happen:

Aveline: "It's just one more change, though. The real end for me was Ostagar. What about you, Carver? You were there. Do you feel something similar?" Carver: No. Aveline: All right, then. Bit of a tit, your brother.

I wanted to see what she would say if Carver isn't in the party. Instead, she says this:

Aveline: Carver was there. I imagine he feels something similar. If he allows it.

......well, at least she didn't call him a tit?

[thegreatyin]

honestly part of the reason i've been really looking forward to finally playing light fingers (aside from the obvious horrors and whatnot) is because it, alongside bag a legend, contains a Choice™ i to this day am Extremely Torn About Making. like i've known for ages that the Choice™ exists in this ambition and STILL i am undecided about it. this Choice™ is of course. well. let's just say that by the time this ambition ends, caeru may not be the only catboy around town

[see-arcane]

Don't you just hate it when you track down a shady ethics-free Victorian laboratory to have a violent talk with the weirdos who threatened people you've made it your penitent life-mission to protect only to discover someone else has beaten you to the punch (and certain organs) and they just so happen to be your resurrected Creator who's been dead for almost a century and it's all So Awkward, ughhhhhh

( @severedfeetpics behold the Creatures!)