#she cares for her companions very much and will choose not to be an asshole JUST to make them happy

[snapdragonling]

3, 6, 34, 35 and 69 for cian, sabine, and one more of your choosing!

thanks dear!! | 93 fun oc asks

3. What is the meaning behind their name? Do they have any nicknames?

cian — cian means "ancient" or "enduring". honestly now that i'm thinking about it his father probably gave him an elvish name as well, one that cian sadly doesn't feel much attachment to, but i'll need to think on that more. his mentor called him "boy" and i feel like he probably picked up some nicknames at weisshaupt.

sabine — her name comes from a pre-roman itallic tribe. in-universe i think it was just a name that her parents liked, maybe the name of a great-grandmother she never met. her older brother called her "bean" when she was little but since then her nicknames have been contained to "amaretti", "girl" (ulam), or any number of slurred insults. (until bran is on the scene and starts calling her sweetheart and love and other things that sabine rolls her eyes at)

ozy — ciro means "sun", undoubtedly a common name on asdor but no less apt. he was his mother's little bundle of gold. ozymandias is the greek name for the pharaoh ramesses II. obviously i (and theoretically ozy) filched it from the shelley poem, since the themes were perfect for him. he goes by ozy most of the time because "ozymandias" is a mouthful. i don't think there's been any other nicknames aside from the twins calling him fish man 💀

6. What would they give their life for?

cian — people in need. defending his companions. the greater good, whatever that looks like. he'd also rather die than actively kill another person, which i'm sure is a conviction he'll be able to maintain throughout 15 years of blight :)

sabine — not much. despite how often she flirts with death, there's little she actually wants to die for. (she'd die for her people™, who she can count on one hand. if the campaign had continued i think she would have been happy to die for a worthwhile cause. alexa play "something to believe in")

ozy — the party and their goals. his own desperate need to do something right, after everything he did wrong. he's a little less resigned to death at this point (he promised scratch and izzy and kallux he'd try to come back) but he still doesn't fear it.

34. How easily do they trust others with their secrets? With their lives?

cian — he's had little choice but to trust the party with his life and (some of) his secrets. luckily they've turned out fairly trustworthy, but he still prefers to keep his business to himself. he spent half his life as an apostate. that kind of fear and paranoia is difficult to leave behind.

sabine — she values her privacy highly. her secrets are nobody else's business (aside from a handful of people who've earned her trust completely). her own life is a far less valuable thing than her pride and privacy, so she'll trust others with her life more readily.

ozy — with his life, fairly easily. i'd say he's more private than secretive. like yeah he dissembles and talks around the question and rarely offers anything of himself freely, but he doesn't actually have anything precious enough to keep secret.

35. What is the easiest way to annoy them?

cian — answered!

sabine — being pitied or patronised. she also can't stand sanctimonious assholes. (and she's very easily annoyed by all sorts of things on the days when her injuries flare up)

ozy — he gets annoyed at himself pretty often these days. he also gets exasperated when people can't recognise the clearest path from A to B, but he knows some of that is his old self talking and he tries not to let it colour his interactions with the people he cares about.

69. How did the people in their environment growing up affect their personality?

cian — the three most formative influences in his youth were his mother, athras, and mercy. he lost his mother when he was still a child, but he was shaped by her kindness and practicality. growing up under athras' tutelage taught him independence and stoicism (and also provided somewhat of a crucible in which to forge his convictions. cian loved athras, but he came to realise he didn't want to be like him). mercy was a voice in his head whispering comforts and encouragements, showing him how to help people.

sabine — though she was loathe to admit it while she and her family were at odds, she inherited much of herself from her parents and older brother. her work ethic and her pride and her stubbornness are all hereditary. in the end she grew into the amaretti cynicism too, something she'll always be bitterly amused by. the first real mentor she had, a dwarf named reeve, was pretty formative as well. he taught her everything he knew about pottery and running a business and instilled a lot of common sense into her.

ozy — the city of emvalin itself was perhaps the biggest influence on ozy growing up. the people he grew up around were deeply pragmatic and industrious. he was raised outside the bounds (and privilege) of magical society, and learned how to navigate the world as it was while constantly being on the back foot. he never really dreamed, just learned to be easy-going and aloof, and to seize every opportunity that came his way.

[zydrateacademy]

Current Activities in Gaming #229

So the Crimson Fleet in Starfield is actually very well worth doing on most playthroughs assuming you're not trying to burn through another run at Unity (main story skip or not). It rewards a whopping quarter-mil, regardless of what side you choose and near the corpse of an old pirate lord is a legendary named Magshear. Now legendary effects in this game seem to be fairly random across the board (not sure if that's an effect of mods or not), the first time I got it, it had a double clip. So 150 bullets on a Magshear is huge. An absolute beast of a weapon.

I want to try the Fleet again but as an actual criminal and I'm curious about how pissed the companions get. Or just make sure everyone is off my ship and goes home before doing that questline in its entirety.

The interesting thing I found about the Fleet is that it's basically significantly better at stealth design than Ryujin is. I know big games like this have a multitude of teams, so it's very clear there were different teams. In the Fleet, you have to literally wear disguises or you'll be stopped by NPCs. Multiple missions have you duck and weave, generally without even overtly going stealth mode, like you don't have to crouch around and stuff. But more like you just need to do the mission "correctly" and you undergo multiple full blown heists. An early one has you steal some kind of award trophy, in front of an NPC sitting at a chair. But if you dive behind her, pickpocket the key, you can open the door without her making a fuss. Like an actual stealth game. It... is a bit odd how she can basically just watch you pilfer that entire room. Glass wall and all. I think it is marked as stolen, the whole room, but not trespassing. So you do need to sneak but not like, the entire time.

I enjoyed it.

I also did the Rangers and I had an impression that it was YET ANOTHER "no-kill" ruleset but man they didn't give a FUCK. Right away I blast some mercenaries trying to take someone's farm and no shits were given. At the very end of the questline, turns out some very highly ranked asshole arranged the whole thing. It was either take his 20k offer (50k if you have the Negotiation perk) or fight. I was doing an ethical run at first so I refused and it led to combat, killed the guy, and was later congratulated for it. This is long after the Marshal told me to toe the line and be careful when speaking to him. There's even a moment late in the questline where you have a sit-down and they basically review all your actions up to that point. I was playing it pretty aggressively, blasting my way through mercs, and was extolled for it.

I'm not sure where that impression I had came from. But once again as long as you're not a braindead murderhobo and only shoot when you need to (even if you initiate [Attack] dialogs), you come out of that questline pretty clean.

For the Fleet, I know the commander has some words for you if you go in those missions and start blasting but if you end up betraying them anyway then who cares. I'm gonna try it on my current playthrough.

Not saying my current playthrough is my "last", but I will be holding off on Unity for a while. Got a bunch of mining outposts set up, will do a couple of the questlines off-camera and will eventually record for my Youtube... all the various side quests and odd jobs that pop up just by travelling around. Often NPC's you are sprinting by will mention "hey this guy's looking for some work" and a side quest or activity will pop up in your log. So that will be the subject of my later episodes.

I might not have much left to say after that point.

I'm visiting the nexus every day, because I'm always picking up Quality of Life stuff. I keep my eyes out for weapons and armor, which this game sorely needs to let loose in the coming modding tools. So much that's available is just reskins and recolors. A lot of replacers too. I don't want to replace all that much, I want to add onto what's there.

But at 140 hours I'm not in "cooldown" mode quite yet because there's still a bunch of side stuff I want to experience. But I'm getting there.

[jaynosurname]

(72) Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season 2

I didn’t enjoy this season that much. It had its moments. Luke is a great character. I liked him a lot. And the final episode was as good as season 1, so at least the game ended on a high note!

Spoilers Ahead!!

The first episode is awful. It was a miserable experience having to watch Clem get tortured for an hour and a half. I understand this series is supposed to be depressing, but it takes it too far. Introducing a dog companion only to then kill it off moments later is the biggest “fuck you” this game gave me. If this season wasn’t part of a story I was invested in, I would’ve dropped the game after that.

The episode also introduces a bunch of unlikable assholes. I hated everyone except Luke. If I could, I would've chosen to leave them behind.

Episode 2 is the second-best episode in the season, mainly because it reintroduces Kenny into the series. I think the amusing thing about that is Kenny’s group is ten times more likable than the assholes Clem is stuck with.

Episode 3 has nothing unpleasant about it’s just whatever. Carver could’ve been an interesting villain. Unfortunately, he's given only 1 and 1/2 episodes of screen time before he dies. Rebecca was also growing on me in this chapter, mainly because of the whole baby plotline with her.

Episode 4…. Uhhhh… nothing happens pretty much. We meet a group of Russians, and then at the end of the episode, they try to kill us. And the baby is born. That’s it.

Episode 5 is actually really damn good. I loved this episode. The surviving characters were all somewhat likable. (except for Bonnie.) And unlike the rest of the season, it took time to help me get to know the characters. A bit late, but I’m glad it’s there. Also, this episode is where your choices somewhat matter. And I love the final conflict.

If I could change one thing, it would be who Kenny fights with. Jane is a good character, but I feel choosing between the two of them is easy. But if Luke was there instead of Kenny, that would’ve made that final choice so much more devastating. Still a good moment. I let Kenny kill Jane and then shot him when the option appeared. I wanted to put him out of misery because he looked so exhausted, and to put him to rest. Clem can take care of herself and AJ. This season proved it since nearly all the adults are incompetent idiots.

That’s pretty much my general thoughts on the story. But there’s something unrelated that I have a big issue with. The choices that you make.

I’m well aware that the whole "choose your own adventure" stuff in Telltale games means very little in the grand scheme of things. But this game makes almost all your choices meaningless. For example, in episode 4 you are given a choice to save a character named Sarah. I choose to save her instead of leaving her behind. She then dies very soon after. What was the point of letting me choose?! If you’re going to kill her off anyways, why even bother giving me the option. The same thing also happens with Nick.

TLDR: This was a miserable experience, and I’m happy it’s over.

(2/5)

[incorrect-custom-followers]

I would love to see your Dragonborn please <33

claps my horrible, horrible little hands together

u wanna see the baby?

info about her under here

so i make a LOT of skyrim characters, but she's one of the two i'm actually devoted to rn. her name's Faine

she's an imperial vampire born around 237 years ago. She's only been a vampire for around 200 of those years, although (as you might imagine) she's stopped counting birthdays so the numbers may be a bit off.

She used to be a healer to her small town community, but was infected with Vampirism by a patient, and was unable to seek care before the disease fully took hold in her. She abandoned her home thereafter, and joined a group of Vampires as a Thrall keeper, providing the Thralls with medical care they didn't have prior. She prevented a lot of death that way, and kept herself useful in the group before ditching about 35 years after learning everything she could from the others about her new condition. She kept herself on the road after, remaining a devoted pupil to the restoration school, and sought every bit of knowledge on disease that she could get her hands on. As you might imagine, in light of her affliction, she became especially fascinated by Vampirism and Lycanthropy.

Some fun facts

-She met my HOK briefly, and thought she was a prick. A funny prick, but still a prick.

-She only goes to Skyrim after hearing word regarding the resurrection of the Dawnguard, and is thoroughly impressed by their Vigilant-level competence when they recruit her .... a vampire....during her visit of the area.

-She had a family before she was first turned, a husband and two daughters. She wonders sometimes if she has great great great grandchildren out there in the world now, but then again....she heard her family moved to Kvatch after she disappeared, so maybe not.

-Morally, she's allied only with the things she loves. So long as whatever she's doing doesn't harm the things she desires, or desires to protect, she doesn't really care. If there's one thing she's learned after 200 years, it's that consequences stop mattering once everyone hurt by your actions dies of old age.

-she speaks with the vocab of a professor with an immovable stick up the ass. The "clearly, you don't own an air fryer" type. She has the capacity for kindness, though, and can be nice/empathetic when the situation calls for it. Otherwise? kind of an ass

-Has been plagued with horrible nightmares ever since being turned, so she rarely ever sleeps. Maybe a hour of sleep a day, at best, and she never lets anyone near her while she sleeps.

-Always keeps like 80 potions and ingredients on her, has a pet mouse, and a preference for bound weapons. If she must have a real weapon, she'll equip a rapier occasionally.

[casasupernovas]

honestly the way season 3 of doctor who dealt with race was ridiculous.

first of all, you're telling me this black family didn't have anything to say with the fact that their father had ran off with a younger white woman who he was spending all their 'inheritance' on? ever have martha address how this might have impacted her? maybe in how she views romantic relationships? how she is stuck in the middle? how annalise belittles her and only her mum really sticks up for her and her father doesn't?

let alone the show having the 'doctor' choose joan, the white racially prejudiced woman in the series where the black girl is in love with the white lead, and have a gag that he only goes for blondes; newflash, that translates to white. let alone give that black character any black romances in her series. the people who hit on her all season are all white; the doctor, shakespeare, riley, captain jack and tom. then to slap her character with the only other black character in the show was laughable. i don't care if their relationship was supposed to develop in torchwood, it never happened so they should have scrapped it. it was tacky af.

or have martha ever talk about the prejudice and stereotypes she would have had to deal with as a training medical student? medical racism in the nhs is very much a thing. we're still having to break racist ideas that black people don't face the pain the same way white people do in 2022.

then the shakespeare code? the doctor's stupid wide eyed innocent reaction to martha asking him if she was safe? first of all, why on earth did the doctor react that way to someone asking him if they are safe. almost every companion he has ever taken he got to know under extremely dangerous circumstances. so yeah they're gonna ask if they're safe. and when martha specifies her race, you have this 900 and something year old genius timelord just say to walk around like you own the place and point at the two black background talent in front of them to make it okay. i am well aware that slavery was not recognised as legal in london at the time but if you think those people weren't racist you're an idiot.

moreover, you have martha be surprised at the way shakespeare addresses her? "i can't believe i'm hearing this" - WHY. why tf would she be surprised given you had literally JUST had her voice her opinion about race? and have the doctor respond that it's 'political correctness gone mad?' are you serious?! ESPECIALLY considering shakespeare referred to her as a 'blackamoor' and only two years prior in history the queen had ordered for the expulsion and removal of them from london? there were many black servants working in london and the queen literally sent letters to 'masters' in london to transport them away to SELL THEM. so martha's claim was 100% valid. and even if historians debate whether or not these letters were ever sent, it confirms massive racial prejudice that was definitely not all in our heads. and we see firsthand the 'othering' of martha.

then you bring martha to 1930S NEW YORK. and racism is NEVER addressed because you threw in hugh quarshie?! because racism magically disappeared during the great depression? trying to push that the great depression made everyone realise they were in the same boat? bullshit! america was still under jim crow and racially segregated! black people were still getting lynched in america! the wall street crash only made race relations worse!!! the doctor has willingly taken martha to a dangerous era for her TWICE. something that may have been okay if we knew he took it seriously but for some reason the show makes him brush it off, making him seem like an asshole. the episode was five years off the harlem riots! new york was the epicentre of jim crow! race relations were at an all time low during the great depression. and the show conveniently ignores that.

then you get 1913. the only episodes that actually show racism for some reason. i still don't know whether or not the doctor or the tardis intentionally chose this era, i don't think he did but to never hold joan or john accountable for their actions towards martha? to practically reward joan by giving her narrative sympathy and have the doctor actively try to get her to travel with him? despite her being an explicit racist?

then martha gets stuck in the past AGAIN this time in 1969? poc who have lived in the uk for decades have repeatedly talked of how they would still encounter racism despite the race relations act of 1968. being refused service. refused goods. human decency. and you explicitly have martha work to support the doctor and make it a joke, like she's nagging him? knowing how much racism martha would have had to encounter to get the shop? note martha is having to work in a shop anyway. not to mention again their presentation as a mixed couple living together? less than 2% were married in the uk. and them just being together period still would have been a thing. not to mention the national front had been founded already and enoch powells 'rivers of blood' speech.

then the master enslaves the jones? show them being roughed up by police? this is the second time the show has had black characters forcibly subservient to white counterparts - first with martha, then with the jones family. maid outfits and all.

and you don't even address the doctor x martha pairing at all. only a couple years prior to the season being released the uk aired that racist episode of wife swap, exposing just how much people loathed the idea of interracial dating and how much racism was steeped in britain still. the closest the show ever got to addressing that was playing "sunshine" by arrested development in the first episode, a song about interracial love.

and i haven't even mentioned the implications of making the first black female companion in the show's history constantly and negatively compared the previous show's white romantic lead, and the show having the lead character uphold this sentiment and actively perpetuate this? giving the racist fans ammo and justification? with little to no repercussions due to the next season being so focused on being the grande finale that the show never has time to address it? so martha gets sandwiched in the middle and forgotten by the time of the christmas special?

the blatant disregard towards the black characters, particularly martha and general lack of any sort of historical research in series 3 is terrible.

[imagine-silk]

Hi! Can I have the non-human companions' reaction to a male sole that is very protective of them? Like if they're at a bar and someone shouts "get out of here freak/bucket of bolts/etc" he's beating the crap out of them immediately and when he's done he just goes back to the said companion and is all caring like "are you ok? Do you need anything?" Djdjfnfnejjr p l e a s e I've had this idea for so long

It would be my pleasure! I did try to write for a Male!Sole but you could swap the pronouns and it would be Gender Neutral. And this is a good ask so I threw in some extra. I may have done too much...

Nick is baffled

He has learned to ignore it for the most part. He only finds humor in it if the person said something original, even if it is because it doesn't make sense. But it is also something he takes into account when he goes out. To him it's inevitable.

To [Sole] it's not.

He was enjoying a nice, well earned, drink when a patron decided Nick needed to know exactly what he thought of him. When he didn't answer to the slurs the man smacked the drink out of his hand. "A scrap of metal like you should be torn for parts." What annoyed him the most was the man wasn't drunk. What horrid behavior for a sober man.

However he didn't want to make a scene in front of his companion. He never was an eye-for-an-eye type, but especially not in front of good company. So he was just going to leave.

He did not account for his partner's reaction.

Before he even finished sighing [Sole] punched him to the ground, and didn't relent until the man was sure to be hurting the next morning. Nick was caught so off guard he didn't really have time to react. He only stare at [Sole] as he asked him if he was alright.

He blinked and let out a small laugh, "I should be asking you that."

He's not an advocate for violent answers but no one has ever done that for him. How could he not find his intense care as something novel and kind, if not a little excessive.

(If this happens a lot he'll start to interfere. If [Sole] continues it becomes a known fact not to mess with the prototype synth because of his company. If Romanced he'll entirely not even warn the asshole. They should know what will happen at that point.)

Strong is confused

... Why would they ever do that?

To be fair he was drunk and decided this was his hero moment to save everyone from him. Because in his inebriated he believed he could kill a super-mutant. However Strong didn't know he was being attacked. The man was flailing at best. He didn't know what was going on.

Then [Sole] kicked the man in the face. Repeatedly.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" It's only then does he realize he was attacking him.

"Human make Strong feel itchy." Not quite the right word but it got the intent across.

Curie chooses mercy

It is not well known that she is a synth, unless you knew he before the upgrade. So [Sole] was very surprised when one of his minutemen was yelling in her clinic. At first he thought it was just a scared patient but it's hard to misunderstand 'Synth Filth'.

Curie ran around the clinic dodging thrown objects, in her arms the attacker's lazor-musket. [Sole] wasted no time knocking them to the ground. He yelled, "What are you doing?!" with his arms crossed.

The patrolman tried to stand but he shoved them back down with his foot, leaving them breathless. "I asked you a question." As the patrolman scrambled explanations of Curie being a spy and dangerous Curie also tried to explain while pulling his arm to relent. She begged for [Sole] to understand that they were confused and angry nothing more.

After letting they go [Sole] turned to her and searched for any wounds. Asking frantically if she was okay.

"Yes. This was all just terribly exciting for me and I believe I need to sit."

Dogmeat protection squad

"Stupid dog." a man spat.

Dogmeat understood and whined.

The man was quickly incapacitated. If not by [Sole], by me.

Hancock is relieved

There are two reactions you will get if you curse him out in public for being a ghoul. Either one, he'll laugh and joke along. Or two, he'll stab them. Simple as that.

This time a drunken woman was simultaneously hitting on him while calling him gross. Getting very touchy while degrading him. Normally he would do one or two but he had never been in this situation. To say he was uncomfortable was a gross understatement. He felt so vulnerable and naked. Trapped.

Until she was thrown to the floor. To which he heard the cries of angels as [Sole] asked him if he was okay, he could swear he had a halo too. He held on to his touch as if it would erase any remnant of her. The woman was escorted out but Hancock focused on the man in front of him. His touch. His words. His care.

"Say something, please John."

He smiled, "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes."

Kent wants comfort

Now we all know this is a cinnamon roll, but to others he's just a ghoul. It's okay. We know they're wrong.

Kent is very demure so [Sole] doesn't like to expose him to anything poor taste. But when he came back from the bathroom and saw him being harassed by some dudes what else was he supposed to do?

[Sole] reached out but pulled back. "Ah, I shouldn't touch you with bloody hands. Are you okay?"

Kent fell forward onto his chest and grabbed his shirt. "Can we go home?" [Sole] held him and took him home to be doted on.

X6-88 is glad

After leaving the institute (I have a AU where no one has to die) he followed [Sole]. But that came with the fear of the lay person. The average surfacer who had any idea of what he was avoided him. Until one threatened him.

He did not engage with the man. But then the man persisted.

He would harass him daily. At his house, while tending to crops, even while he's on patrol. As much as X6 could remove his tongue, he didn't want to waste the new life [Sole] had given him. So he endured.

"Hey X6, I got you-" When [Sole] walked in the man had X6 in a corner. When he came to the man was running away. He turned frowning X6 and started checking him. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

X6 couldn't help but smile. "You have just made my restraint obsolete. "

"Perhaps I overreacted."

"Nevertheless, I thank you."

Sturges is worried it will change things

No one believed the old guy who claimed he was making a device to sense synths. Everyone was just like, "That's nice dude." Then he started yelling at Sturges. And Sturges was freaking the fuck out.

As much as Sturges is build like a brick wall, he wasn't a fighter. And that was why [Sole] quickly detained the man. Sturges took that time to hide away.

No one could find him. Eventually [Sole] found him down the river, the moon glowed on him and his sour expression. He didn't move as he sat next to him.

The wind blew and the water rushed, as if nothing happened. "[Sole] I'm a-"

"It doesn't matter." He finally looked up to [Sole]. "This changes nothing. In fact, it never happened. That machine didn't work. You hear?"

He let go his tears and sniffled. "Okay."

Danse is scared

The Brotherhood declared Danse dead. He thought that was the end of it. Until he was held at gun point by a past subordinate in the middle of Sanctuary. The young man demanded answers while Danse tried to deescalated. He thought, 'This is the end of the line.' Then the kid was hit on the back of the head and promptly knocked cold.

Danse' legs finally gave out as [Sole] scrambled to him. "Are you okay? There was no shot. I didn't hear a shot. Where are you hurt? Someone-"

"I'm fine." Danse said breathless, not looking up from the ground. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

[Sole] held him to his chest, "That's right. You're okay."

Hope you enjoyed! Until next time.

[danses-with-dogmeat]

We are given so little to work with for the fallout 3 companions, I feel any content with them is at least 60% headcanon at this point. So what are your fallout 3 companion headcanons?

Omg it's true 😞 whenever I pick up FO3 I realize how much I miss the companions quests and all the dialogue we get with NV and especially with 4.

I'll be pretty brief (I'm lying to you), but here's just a tidbit of my own ideas on each of the FO3 folks that help me with characterization and such.

Butch:

He's a lot of talk. And not just when it comes to bragging and fighting, but with everything. He likes to overexaggerate, and it comes to him so naturally that he often doesn't even realize he's doing it.

Butch is an incredibly loyal friend. If the two of you don't know each other well, he couldn't really give two shits, but if he's known you a long time? If he considers you a good friend? He'd give you the jacket off his back or lend you a hand any day. He'll stand up for you too, even if it gets the both of you into a fight, he considers it worth it.

On that same note, he doesn't take insults lightly. Words have a lot of meaning to him, and even if he is a lot of talk himself, he'd rather land a few punches than be insulted in a real, genuine way, especially with someone who knows a lot about him, and can use the truth to hurt his (or his friends') reputation(s).

Charon:

He feels every emotion very deeply. Outwardly, he doesn't seem to express it too much, but his words say a lot about what he's truly thinking and feeling, if you know what to listen for. Same thing goes for body language. He's just very particular, but once you start to understand him, he actually is pretty open and honest.

Charon tends to catastrophize in his mind, which is one of the many reasons he tries not to get attached to his employers. He's lost quite a few of them, and the other half of them turned out to be complete assholes, so forgive him if he doesn't get attached right away, no matter how many caps you spent or how many favors you did to get him under your employment.

He loathes the fact that he isn't in charge of his own life, but there's a part of him-- a very small part, mind you-- that is relieved that he doesn't get to choose the people he spends time with. The few employers that Charon's felt any affection at all for, that he's lost, been responsible for losing, have left a big enough hole in him. It's easier to be stuck with people you don't care about, and it's easy to commit atrocities in their name, rather than his own... like he was doing before the contract. Employers just make a good scapegoat, both with his actions and his emotions.

Clover:

She's loyal to a fault. Even at great cost to herself, Clover puts the one(s) she cares for above her own needs and wants. It's almost a survival instinct at this point, the way she does everything for everyone else, they way she makes sure she's always needed, so they can't just throw her away when they get bored or find someone new to pay attention to.

Sweet people freak her out. Clover is so used to being surrounded by assholes who are only out for their own selfish gain, who pay her feelings little to no mind at all, and who choose to be cruel over all other options. So selfless people? Kind-hearted, compassionate, generous people? She can't trust them and she never believes they're being genuine. It takes her a long time to warm up to anyone like that.

There's a lot of inner turmoil within Clover. She's constantly at war with being too dependent on others, or being too independent. She likes to have people in her life to take care of her, to protect and provide for her, but she's also tough as nails. She's had to look out for herself for most of her life, and independence is hard to come by as a slave, so she revels in it when she has it, but... she doesn't like to be alone. It's difficult for her, no matter what she does, she loses. If she fights back and gains independence, then she's forced to face the wastes alone, but if she remains compliant, her life belongs to everyone but herself. She usually opts for the latter, sadly enough, because, at least then, at least as a possession, she feels like she's needed and noticed. Clover has a lot she needs to work through, and her upbringing was pretty fucked up, so her world view always seems to keep her tethered to the awful past she's been trying to escape since she was young.

Cross:

This woman does not know how to retire. She'll stay in the Brotherhood until her last breath, even if it means she's just mopping the floors of the Citadel (which other members of the BOS would never let her do, since she's a Star Paladin, but still, to her, it's better than retiring.)

She's a busy body whose always been married to her work, and ever since her injuries, and the cybernetic replacements she's had done, she feels less than human, less than worthy of the esteemed position she's in, and finds that she wants to work twice as hard to prove herself, despite the fact that she already has. A dozen times over, or more.

Cross feels personally responsible for the Lone Wanderer, especially after James's death, and if she dies looking after them? The Star Paladin would consider it an honor.

I find that she and Danse have many similarities: in speech pattern, personality, background, and values; and I feel as though, when Danse was at the Citadel, he really looked up to Cross, but was always a little nervous to bother her. Even though the young Knight was bound to have a million questions for one of the heroes of the Brotherhood.

Fawkes:

He loves philosophy. Those deep, 3am "meaning of life" conversations are his absolute favorite, and he's genuinely curious about other people's world views.

Fawkes has a mental list of facts he wants to look into or prove, ones that he read about on his monitor in the vault. Sometimes he'll wander off towards a specific building, plant, or animal and really study it as he looks to make sense of the world he's read so much about, but hardly experienced for himself.

He may be a supermutant, but Fawkes is as gentle as they come. He's much more of a pacifist than anything, and though he believes in standing up for what's right, he tries to avoid conflict as much as possible.

He's also immeasurably grateful to any humans who chose to trust him. He's seen what his brothers are capable of, and knows how difficult it must be to refrain from passing immediate, violent judgement. And he's sure to voice how much he really does appreciate your trust in him.

He also LOVES complimenting people. It's his favorite thing to see the way he can make someone smile. His brothers in the vault never did respond to his kind words, so it's a nice change of pace.

Jericho:

Jericho loved being a raider. In his youth, he thought he was the baddest shit, and it felt good to be apart of something, even if that something was just a ragtag group of criminal assholes, he was one of them. That being said... There are days he regrets that he never really retired from it.

If he'd gotten out earlier, maybe he coulda settled down a bit. As much as that sounds pretty fucking awful to him, and as much as he makes it seem like that's the last thing he'd ever want, he doesn't know... Maybe his life wouldn't be so shit now if he had somethin' to fall back on. Sure, he could go back out into the wastes and die in a blaze of glory instead of living these boring days in Megaton, but the way he wouldn't be leaving any bit of him behind would get to him. He doesn't like the idea of just being reduced to nothing once he's gone. Though he knows it ain't really true, he'd like to think his life was worth somethin' in the end.

Young people piss him off. That's what he says. And he acts like he really means it, but that shit ain't true either. Sure, their wide-eyed wonder and incessant optimism get on his nerves, but the truth is, he finds it really refreshing to be around people like that. He acts like it annoys the hell out of him, but really, it gives him a new lust for life he'd never thought he'd have again.

Okay, this was really fun to do. I really love these guys, and though we weren't given all that much to work with, I think there's a bit of beauty in that. This way, the characters really have a lot of wiggle room and there's more space to be creative with their backgrounds and true thoughts on the world and on the Lone Wanderer in fics and reacts, so, I actually find that really nice.

Plus, there's less dialogue in their scripts to sift through when doing research on them 😅😅

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

If Bella was somehow bitten somehow and woke up alone during New Moon, but the Cullens didn't find her (I don't know if this is still 'Edward mercy kills Bella' territory but if it is then maybe her gift knows this and starts blocking Alice) and she became a nomad, would she still do the diet and if so for how long?

This is shockingly in the realm of possibility and not necessarily in the land of Edward mercy killing Bella.

Though there are some dangers Bella would have to avoid somehow for survival.

Bella is Bitten Alone in New Moon

We have one vampire who meets Bella during New Moon and another who with very little difference in the timeline would have run across her: Laurent and Victoria.

In the case of Laurent, he and Bella have a chat, he decides Bella smells delicious and he'll spare her the pain of being slowly murdered by Victoria, and just as he decides to go for it he gets run down and eaten by giant wolves.

Bella survives her vampire encounter.

In the case of Victoria, she never really gets close enough to do damage until the fight between Edward and Victoria and Riley and Seth in Eclipse.

So we have a few ways this could go:

Laurent's a few seconds ahead of Sam and company. He manages to get a good bite in and doesn't crush Bella on impact. He's run off by the wolves and Bella survives.

The problem here is that Bella has now been bitten and there's no coming back for her. It's a tragedy, and the wolves will feel a shared sense of failure and burden that they failed to save her, but she's dead anyway. They have to kill her before she fully turns.

Bella's gift, while powerful, doesn't appear to help in this kind of situation. Though, that said, in her dire need it could suddenly give her the ability to project illusions like we see in Renesmee. Doesn't seem to be how Bella's gift typically rolls, but hey, this is her darkest hour.

Otherwise, Jake could pull his alpha move much earlier in order to save Bella's life. He ignores Sam's order, flees with the turning Bella, and dumps her in the wilderness somewhere with a note from Jake that she must never return to Forks. She wakes up alone, only guessing though not knowing what Jake has done for her, and stares blankly at the wilderness.

If Victoria catches up to Bella, well, it's not looking good. All too likely, Bella dies painfully, and Victoria leaves a video tape of the entire ordeal in the Cullen house for when they eventually return (as they surely will).

Though, that said, the ease with which Victoria accomplishes this and the complete lack of Cullen intervention could catch her off guard. Perhaps... Edward doesn't actually give a rat's ass. That says terrible things about James' needless death, but Victoria's holding this girl hostage. She will die, in the most painful manner imaginable, and the Cullens aren't there.

Victoria might turn Bella out of pity or else turn her as she figures out, in part from Bella, that Bella becoming a vampire is Edward's worst case scenario. However, in that case, it's unlikely Victoria would abandon Bella, so Bella wouldn't be on her own.

Which, I think for this post, makes Jake's alpha sacrifice the most likely path. He dumps Bella's half-vampire body somewhere in nowhere Canada.

Bella After the Bite

Being dumped in the wilderness helps a lot. For one, Bella already has unbelievable control, for another this is Edward's penguin scenario. There is no one else out here for her to eat even if she wanted to.

So, following the diet is easy.

And it's something she'd very much wish to do. Bella sees the world of vampires divided into two types of vampire: the good Cullen vampires who don't eat people and the bad vampires who, well, eat people.

This left such a mark on Bella that she has very little idea of what a vampire even is.

Bella would be horrified at herself if she became a bad vampire. In wanting vampirism she wanted the vampirsim she sees in the Cullens. Bella might be miserable and alone, without a friend in the world, but she would be horrified to choose anything other than the Cullen way of life.

At least, at first.

The Return of the Cullens

There's a few paths for Bella after she's dumped in the middle of nowhere.

Alice sees that Bella's become a vampire, an abandoned newborn, and is wandering aimlessly around the wilderness somewhere. Even though Edward has forbidden contact, this is probably enough to motivate Alice who was genuinely worried.

She likely goes behind Edward's back and tries to find Bella with Jasper and possibly the rest of the Cullens.

Edward, of course, is still in Rio being a miserable saint for leaving precious human Bella.

Eventually, they manage to find her, and there's a lot of miscommunication, very hurt feelings, and heartfelt apologies even from Rosalie because look what happened to this poor girl. Though they each, either reluctantly or more enthusiastically, agreed to leave this was not what they had in mind.

Bella forgives them quite readily, as she did in canon, because she has the self-esteem of a thimble. The Cullens are awed and very grateful, Rosalie would never have forgiven them for this.

It probably takes them both a) a while to decide how best to tell Edward and break the news to him b) a while to get a hold of Edward because he's ignoring all their phone calls.

Eventually they do, it's a shit show, for the purpose of this post we'll say he does not mercy kill Bella. He might actually be feeling too guilty for that. Instead he grovels on the ground constantly, begging Bella's forgiveness, and refuses to enter a relationship with her because he's unworthy.

This undoubtedly upsets Bella, because she's also unworthy and Edward knows it and doesn't love her, but that's not the point of this meta.

In this world, the Cullens keep Cullening after picking Bella up, Bella's adopted into the fold and made Edward's twin sister due to looking the most like him (which, of course, makes them look actually incestuous in high school to add to the Cullen mystique).

With the support of the Cullens, living the Cullen lifestyle, and having the control that Bella has there's no question of ever leaving the diet.

Bella stays on the wagon.

Bella Seeks Out the Denali

Alice is successful and doesn't see Bella's future for whatever reason. Edward will be so proud. Bella is left alone in Canada to eat moose.

Eventually, Bella decides that however great being a vampire is, she's lonely and miserable. She wants companionship.

Well, obviously the Cullens hate her, so even if she could find them they probably never want to see her again. But what about the Denali?

Bella's already in Canada, she could head over to the Denali National Park in Alaska, and surely the least she could do is actually introduce herself.

Of course, the coven sounds blonde, hot, aggressively female, and very intimidating. Tanya's history of wanting to bang Edward has Bella feeling very small and worthless. More, the Cullens may have told the Denali all about how stupid and ugly Bella, Edward's current human girlfriend, is and they've all laughed at her.

However, Bella's so desperate for companionship, for some connection back to her old life, that she goes for it.

She makes it to Alaska, wanders around until she eventually finds the Denali coven, and introduces herself. The Denali are weird assholes, but Bella's so oblivious she actually doesn't notice.

That said, they've had their brush with the law, and Tanya doesn't want a newborn running around by herself. Eleazar also gives a truly pompous, awful, speech about compassion to their fellow man. It's unbearable, Bella finds it charming.

They take Bella in, she can be the dark-haired sister. Her control is so good the three single ladies quickly take her clubbing and encourage her to sleep away her troubles with human men.

Bella quickly finds that, when you're on the vampire end of the equation, the relationship with human thing is kind of gross. These people smell like food, are squishy and overly warm, and have the substance of tofu.

Bella feels even worse about her relationship with Edward.

She sleeps with human men anyway so that the Denali sisters won't judge her/will think she's cool.

They're so proud of her.

Regardless, Bella stays on the diet as the Denali follow the diet. She will likely have a few accidents with her human lovers, and will be inconsolable, but the coven will be there to offer comfort and help her get back on the wagon.

Bella stays on the wagon

Bella's Low Self-Esteem Wins and She Becomes a Hermit

Bella can't return to Forks and she's so ugly, stupid and boring that even though she's a vampire if she met anyone new they'd realize how ugly, stupid, and boring she is.

Better to just forsake society altogether and live with moose.

Bella's able to do this for quite a long time. Years even. And it's... fine. But her life has no purpose nor any direction to it.

She becomes tempted by society. How many years has it been? Has the world changed since she left? Has Forks changed? Is Charlie still alive? Is Renee? What about her classmates?

Bella starts travelling and visiting human cities and, thanks to her control, she does very well.

However, it's very likely that one day she'll slip, she takes her control far too much for granted and all it takes is one mistake.

And that's where Bella starts getting into trouble.

She's horrified at first, of course, and that likely doesn't break her. She gets back on the wagon, but the second time it happens...

There are no consequences to her breaking the diet. She has no companions, no one cares. Why is she living in constant agony, every single day, for people who will one day die anyway? Why is Bella choosing to suffer?

As time goes on, as humans start to mean less and less to her and all the humans that she knew when human herself are dead, Bella starts forgetting the reason that the diet seemed so vital to her existence.

At one point, it stops meaning anything at all, it's just Bella pointlessly choosing to live in agony.

Bella falls off the wagon.

TL;DR I think it'd take a while, at least ten years, but if she becomes a solitary nomad, it would inevitably happen.

[wastelandlovingscenarios]

Romanced!companions react to their precious fem!sole survivor getting slapped or strikes by an npc right in front of them? Can we categorize this; who would be the violent/threatening/just angry group? >:^0

omg, i’m pretty sure none of them would be remotely calm if that happened... but damn imagine the outcome of that poor npc. they lived a good life. this was a short request while i work on like 7 other ones, LOL.

thank you for requesting and please enjoy!

the next request i’m posting is gonna be a react that turned out a little longer than i expected so buckle up. ���

-

Danse:

violent/threatening

danse would for sure fall under the violent criteria of this situation. he already has one foot in the door once someone dares to go too close to sole, but hit her? that’s a totally different story for another day. that person better be praying to some god out there to give them mercy cause danse knows he won’t. the minute he hears that slap on soles face, it will trigger him to attack without a word. and to answer the question; does danse need a gun to do the job? absolutely not. those muscles are not just for show after all. no matter how many people hold him back, he will always fight his way through the crowd of people and beat the living fuck out of the person, even if they’re begging for him to stop. he won’t even realize the damage he’s done until after and won’t regret it either way, knowing that it was well deserved on their case. now if it was a situation where it was shoving or showing signs of starting a fight with his beloved, he’d step right in front of them and stare them down angrily with the biggest scowl ever. in some cases, that’s more than enough to scare most people off towards the other direction but in a few, he’s forced to threaten them. “i advise you step away unless you desire for this situation to escalate into something that involves solely you and i.” no one will ever be a threat to sole on his watch and he will make sure that nothing will stop him from protecting her.

Deacon:

threatening mixed with violence (depending the intensity of the situation)

deacons nice. he’s really laid back in most situations and is more than willing to let things go if he feels like it’s not worth the trouble. following that, deacons nice to a certain point and if you cross that point? consider yourself on his hitlist for the rest of your life. the intensity of the situation will determine how he’ll react towards it. if the person were to do as simple as shove sole, he’d keep an eye on them and say something within the lines of, “woah, woah, take it easy.” now if it was something like a slap or a punch, he wouldn’t even let it happen, not while he’s around. deacon would have fast enough reflexes to catch their wrist and he’d grip it enough to leave a mark, a displeased expression on his face. he’d even go as far as making jokes with an evil smile, such as, “oops my hand slipped,” or “oh you dropped this,” and proceed to deck the person as hard as he can with his free hand, not caring whether or not he knocks them unconscious. after that incident, he’d constantly terrorize the poor individual, often pulling pranks on them without any breaks. sometimes, he’d even go near them and speak in a happy tone while patting their back in a manner where it seemed a little too friendly.

Maccready:

threatening

mac is aware he’s not muscular nor is he made for fighting, which is why he sticks with guns during most situations. hes a lanky man and gets intimidated a little easier than most people, knowing that many of them could take him down with something as simple as a punch. it’s easier to say he’s more confident with a gun in his hand in these instances. despite his weaknesses, he would not hesitate to step up, knowing that hes unable to control his anger. he’d immediately point the gun at the persons temple and cock it just for intimidation purposes, but knows that he’s more than willing to pull the trigger if he needs to. it benefits him and the commonwealth more than damages it, seeing that this world needs one less asshole living it in, so who is he to care if this person dies or not? he’d slowly press it harder against the persons head, angrily speaking, “back away now.” if the person does so, he’ll gladly let them walk away without an injury and instead tend to sole. he wouldn’t let them go without some snarky comment like, “yeah keep walking and please let the door hit you on the way out.” if they refuse to move away from sole though, he’d gladly take the butt of his gun and smack it against their temple within seconds, completely ignoring the persons body knocked out on the floor. mac would get sole up and out of there as soon as he can, complaining under his breath about how much of that guy was an asshole and how he shouldve shot him.

Hancock:

violent group

consider one thing; that this person who fucked over his lover is beyond dead in his eyes. no one touches his sunshine, and if they dared to? theyll be wishing they hadn’t. hancock can quickly become someone’s friend, but the same can be said if it were an enemy. if he’s willing to stab someone for getting even a little too chummy and touchy with sole, imagine what he’d do if they dared to inflict pain on them. depending on where they are, like a bar for instance, he’d grab a glass bottle and crack it on the guys head, pushing him down on the floor without another word. using his shotgun, he’d make sure he’d put a few bullets through his body before he decides he’s completely satisfied with the new makeover he’s given them. now if he was in a more violent mood and was definitely not having it, he’d want to have their blood on his hands and wouldn’t care if it stained his clothes or not. he wants to send the message to everyone watching that if anyone dares to fucking cross his line, they’re gonna learn it the hard way and he will make it very known how the outcome of the situation will be. for example, he has a knife and what better way to use it than to stab the fuck out of someone for pissing him off? in some cases (depending on the severity of the situation), he’ll shank them in a place where he knows it’ll hurt the most and leave them there to suffer so they’ll get the idea that if they fuck with the people he treasures, they have another thing coming.

Nick Valentine:

mix of threatening and just angry.

honestly, nick is very civil about most cases and he won’t get violent unless absolutely necessary. he will definitely be beyond angry and give the person so much fucking shit for their actions. nick almost never yells but in this case, he’d yell so loud, it would fill up the silence of the room. nick also uses a lot of profanities when doing so, unable to maintain his professional attitude and his usual cool. “now what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” he’d even go as far as shoving them back, keeping a distance between sole and the person who deemed themselves as a threat to her presence. he’d try to minimize the possibility of violence arising, knowing that both him and sole are not as replaceable as they seem. he’d sneer at the person who striked sole, talking in the most irritated tone possible, “if i wasn’t here controlling her anger, you would’ve been dead on the pavement just a few minutes back, pal. consider yourself lucky that you were spared.” regardless if the person continued talking or not, nick would casually take soles hand and pull her away from the scene as he let out a remark loud enough for them to hear; “we don’t have time for the likes of you anyway, so take your trouble elsewhere.” nick has like zero shame when it comes to back talking or insulting someone he’s not fond of, so you best believe he won’t shut up until you both are out of sight.

Preston:

honestly, just angry.

preston will avoid violence at all costs, considering he doesn’t favor the idea and as much as he hates seeing sole get hurt, he doesn’t want to risk starting another issue. sole has a reputation amongst the commonwealth and the last thing he wants is to taint it or fuck it up, so he lets sole decide whether or not violence should be pursued. also considering that she has more than enough on her plate, he doesn’t want to add on to the list of problems she already has. so unless this guy is literally on the verge of gravely injuring his other half, he won’t do much besides step in front of sole to protect her from any further hits. he’d rather take the hits than to let someone as important as her take them firsthand. he wouldn’t forgive himself if such a thing happened. even if sole did most of the work in the end, he’d still send them the dirtiest look he’s ever given anyone and his hand would already be on the trigger of his laser musket, ready to fire at the guy anytime just in case. before officially leaving the person to do their own thing and bidding them goodbye, he’d get a little up close and personal, talking in the most threatening tone possible (even if he’s not the greatest at it); “once you mess with the general, you mess with the minutemen. i’d suggest you choose your battles a little better next time around.”

Sturges:

just angry

we all know by now sturges is a huge pacifist and will refuse to resort to violence unless he has no absolute choice but to do so. sturges is a very kind man and just like deacon, he’s willing to let most cases go but he respects sole too much to let violent situations like this slide. even if he’s very afraid to get into a violent situation head on, he’ll try to keep it as calm as possible, not wanting to escalate the situation more. being the considerate lover he is, he will ask sole to stay back and keep away from the person as much as possible as he tries to handle the situation himself. even if sturges doesn’t show it, he does get very angry in these instances and will not allow it to happen regardless of the reason. he’ll probably talk to the person with a firm tone and an irate expression but do nothing further than that unless the individual wants blood spilled, which in this case, sole is brought back into the situation. knowing sturges, he’d probably tell the person something like, “hey buddy, i really don’t appreciate what ya just did to my girl. ya need to quit it cause it ain’t right.” or, “if we got a problem, you can always just come to me instead of strikin’ that beautiful lady of mine. i’m willin’ to fix it with ya and if not, then i’m willin’ to take the hit.. though i’m sure my girl wouldn’ appreciate such a motive.” he knew she really wouldn’t. sole would shoot them down before he could let out a soft, “told ya so.”

Gage:

the ceo of violent

even if the raider life consists of injuries, blood, dirty work, and violence, he will never allow sole to get hurt under his watch. even if he tells her to toughen up and get used to it, he truly wants to protect her from the world and anything that could run as a potential hazard. that being said, he doesn’t care who the fuck strikes sole- it could be a man, woman, the highest and most royal person in the planet and it’d still have the same result in the end. gage wouldn’t even give them a chance to explain themselves and would simply let out a small, “oh fuck no, you ain’t.” and shoot them down himself before sole could give him an order. he would take the situation into his own hands with or without soles persmission, knowing that they crossed gages line of comfort. if he’s not satisfied with that or feels as if that’s too much of an easy way out, he’ll shoot their leg and come closer to them to step on their chest to block any chance of escaping. “wanna act tough, huh? show me how tough ya are, why dontcha? be my guest and apologize to the overboss. i’ll let her decide if it’s good enough to let ya go.” if sole were to deny every apology, he’d continue to shoot them limb by limb until he decides to put them down completely. now if sole decides their apology is more than enough, he’ll willfully let them go but let her decide their fate on whether they should be put down or not. in the end, if he had his way with that bastard, they wouldn’t be seeing the light for a long while.

[amishfruit]

Lady of the Lake Ch. 2, Walk

full chapter on ao3

commissions/tips

Ahiru wakes up refreshed, stretching her lithe arms above her head and letting out a happy sigh. The house is quiet, but she can tell from where the sun is in the sky that it’s nearing time for breakfast so she gets out of bed.

“Oh, you’re already up.” He steps backwards to let her by and follows her to the table where their plates sit waiting for them.

She nods with a smile on her face, sitting down and quickly tucking into breakfast.

Fakir smiles back when she isn’t looking, enjoying his own meal more than he would without the pleasant company.

When she starts to feel full, she slows down between bites. “So, Raetsel is already at work?”

He nods, “She’ll be home again around supper time.”

“What does she do? I know she said it was a bakery but she wasn’t very specific.” Ahiru asks curiously.

“She helps some with the prep and finishing, but mostly she runs the front and handles the sales.” He explains it simply, hoping the words he’s using are familiar enough to her.

“Oh! So like, icing cookies and stuff?” Ahiru clarifies.

“Yeah… and stuff.” He agrees, not really knowing how to explain a job that he has never actually worked. “Do you still want to go to the library today?” He asks, changing the subject as they carry their plates to the sink and Ahiru begins washing.

She grins up at him where he leans with his back against the counter. “Yes please!”

He laughs at her enthusiasm, taking the clean dishes from her and drying them before putting them away. “Get your boots on,” He prompts, walking with her to the hall and entering his own room.

She quickly laces her shoes, meeting him back in the hallway where he slings a satchel over his head and holds it on his left shoulder.

“Ready?” He asks, walking to the door and waiting for her to answer before opening it.

Ahiru looks down at herself and runs through a mental checklist of all required garments, once she’s sure she has properly dressed herself, she nods and follows him out the door.

They don’t walk towards the stables and Ahiru secretly breathes a sigh of relief.

Fakir stops for her whenever she falls behind and matches her pace, the walk is no longer than 10 minutes and soon they find themselves at the door of a large building.

Holding the door open for Ahiru, he scans the room and finds the section they should start with. He leads her over to the archives, setting his satchel on a nearby table and showing her how to search through the papers. Once his notebook is set out with his quill and ink pot resting on top of the now empty satchel, he joins her in sifting through the collection of historical records. They look for mentions of memory loss, and Fakir also looks at victim reports, finding a few where the victim recounts a memory being blocked and struggling to answer questions from investigators.

The stack of papers grows tall and he suggests they sit and read through them before continuing. Ahiru agrees easily, wobbling slightly before depositing their finds safely on the table next to his things.

They sit side by side, perusing the papers one at a time.

Fakir takes notes on anything they find useful with the intent of referencing them later.

They continue like this for the next hour, library remaining mostly empty with the exception of occasional visitors that come in and out.

Around the time Ahiru starts to grow bored, someone clears their throat nearby and Fakir looks up from his notes, expression quickly growing exasperated.

“You missed your deadline.” The stranger says, voice haughty and more than a little bit annoying, “again. What’s your excuse this week?” They push their thin wired glasses up the bridge of their upturned nose as they say it.

Fakir searches his mind for a simple way to explain the events of the past few days. “Uh, family emergency?”

The stranger scoffs, flicking short navy hair out of their face. “I take it she’s involved?” They gesture towards Ahiru, who crosses her arms and shoots them a glare.

Fakir chooses not to answer, “I’ll bring the article to you tomorrow Autor, it’s not like I’m delaying publication.” He rolls his eyes, “Good thing you always set my deadline before anyone else’s.” Sarcasm laces his tone and the two men have a stare off, Autor breaking away first to turn to Ahiru.

Recognition lights up his face and he looks over at Fakir with a smirk before leaning his elbows on the table to address Ahiru. “You’re the one who walked out of the lake, aren’t you?”

She bristles, scooting back in her chair to create distance. “Yeah, what’s it to you?”

He sits across from her, earning a groan from Fakir. “I was there.” Autor shoots a look at her companion before continuing, “I bet Fakir wishes he were there with me to see it.”

It takes her a moment to grasp the connotation, turning bright red once she realizes what he’s implying. “You’re a total creep!” She hisses it in an attempt to avoid yelling, rage threatening to boil over.

Fakir is similarly angry, he grits his teeth and wills the burning in his face to subside, not wanting to give Autor any satisfaction from leaving him flustered.

Autor raises a brow, “Found yourself a real feisty one, huh Fakir?”

Ahiru lets out an angry yelp and stands up from her chair.

“Go bother someone else Autor.” Fakir grinds out.

“Yeah! We have better things to do than talk to you!” Ahiru adds, causing Fakir to wince from her less than ideal word choice.

Autor stifles a laugh, standing up from his seat. “I’ll leave you to it then.” His tone is amused and he winks at them as he walks away, leaving them to fume in peace.

“That guy is such an asshole!” Ahiru exclaims, too angry to sit back down and fists clenched.

Fakir snorts a surprised laugh, earning a confused glance from her that he waves off. “You are an excellent judge of character.”

Her anger subsides slightly and she slumps back into her seat. “Is he always like that?”

Fakir sighs. “Unfortunately, yes.”

She makes a sound close to a growl. “How can you stand him?!”

He shakes his head, “I barely tolerate him, he’s technically my boss so there’s not much else I really could do without losing my job.”

Ahiru pouts and crosses her arms. “Well he’s not mine, let me know if you want me to take care of him.” She punches a tiny fist into her other hand as she says it and he laughs again in response.

“I don’t think I’ll need you to defend my honor anytime soon, but thanks.” He looks down at her, amused. “Come on, let’s pack up and go eat lunch, I don’t think either of us will be able to focus now.”

She agrees easily, helping him carry the stacks of references back to where they had found them after he puts his writing tools back into his satchel and slings it onto his shoulder once more. She’s still irritated but the walk home helps her calm down and by the time they are inside taking off her boots she’s mostly back to normal. (...more on ao3)

[itsclydebitches]

I adore talking about this with you, it's so cool to be able to agree, everything I've read is just excusing yen lmao.

And with "geralt would rather do and say things Yen wants to avoid pissing her off" LIKE YEAHH I guess I annoyed yen with my answers and she teleported Geralt out of the tower thing, and then threatened to do it again like??? Like he pissed her off so she has fuck all care about him, was over water thank god but like girl??? omg and her refusing to tell the wticher bros what she was planning on doing to Uma, like I get that they would be hesistent but I mean it's cause it's cruel and painful and they have that trauma around that. She just expects everyone to do what she asks when she asks no questions. (Lambert's "I'm not geralt" when he and Yen are kinda arguring, bb red flags)

I just assumed she didn't believe him cause if she did whats her excuse for behaving how she is lmao??? Like you believe he has amnesia and you still blame HIM over the person who maniplated him KAY.

And goodddd that fucking scene when Triss and Yen see Ciri in Kaer Morhen is genuinely the worst, Triss and Yen see their sis/daughter (not gonna get into how weird I find it that Triss considers Ciri her sister and Geralt is Ciris father and she still wants to fuck him, uncomfy) for the first time in forever, she's alive and well and while Triss is hugging Ciri, Yen kisses Geralt and Triss throws a glare at her. I hated that scene so damn much, it's stupid and shouldn't have been there. (aso I get emotions and all but Yen kissing Geralt is so bitchy, idk even full of gratitude and emotion I wouldn't kiss the man who just dumped me lol, especially not in front of a situation like Triss)

I'm still mad about the women, I really wanted to like them fuck meeee

YOU GOT TO THE PART. Oh thank god, anon, I've wanted to talk about this since we started these conversations lol

Okay, let's set the scene, shall we? You arrive to find that, with our playthroughs anyway, your ex has barged into your home. I say "barged in" because although we (Geralt) know that Yen's help is necessary and she'll be tagging along, the other witchers living there are given no prior warning and, according to Vesemir, Yen teleported in without so much as a "Hello." She then immediately starts ordering everyone around like her servants, failing to explain the situation beyond there being a curse that they have to help with. No, this isn't negotiable. She (still being an ex) takes your old room for herself, which just happens to be the biggest in the keep, and proceeds to toss a bed out the window. It's only later that Vesemir recalls that Triss used to use it, so prior to that everyone apparently just accepted that Yen was destroying their stuff for no understandable reason. Classic Yen. You go upstairs to find her cursing a blue streak at her failed experiment and when you try to lighten the mood, she snaps at you. If you're of the opinion that Yen's every order must be obeyed, this is when you're supposed to drop the conversation entirely, because she said to. Except, funnily enough, you'd like to know why she's up here being The Worst Guest Ever and destroying your property. She tries to justify this by saying that destroying a bed is better than how she could be dealing with her anger over Triss. Be grateful and all that. Except, it's not really about Triss, is it? The line is "You shagged my friend. For upwards of a year. I don't know what your witcher's code says on the matter, but ordinary folk would consider it obscene, base, vile." The blame is not on the woman who knowingly manipulated Geralt into having sex with her while he was vulnerable, it's on Geralt himself! He is the "obscene, base, vile" person for... daring to have amnesia? And when you point that out - "Yen... told you already. I lost my memory" - she yells that she's "lost [her] patience" and teleports you into a lake! This is, apparently, how she really wants to deal with her anger. Not by destroying beds, but by attacking you for things outside of your control. And I do consider it an attack. Yen is meant to be insanely powerful, she is leveraging her magic as a weapon here, particularly when Geralt has spent the whole game commenting on how much he hates portals. Yen knows this. Not just because he says so in her presence, but because she frequently reads his mind, something else he's expressed discomfort with. She's not just demonstrating her power (controlling) and sending him away when he makes a point she doesn't want to acknowledge (immature), she chooses the one thing she knows makes Geralt uncomfortable, perhaps even scared. Then when you've swum your way back to shore and returned to, despite all this, begin her list of chores, she makes a dry comment about how next time she just might drop you high enough for the fall to be fatal. With the next time implied to be, you know, the next time you disagree with her. The next time you dare to do anything other than agree with her every belief and jump at her every command.

The fandom interpretation of all this: "Lol Geralt getting yeeted is so funny. And their banter is just 😍"

Me:

You mentioned red flags and yeah like that ENTIRE SCENE is a crimson banner for me. I mean, by all means, love the fictional ships that are super messed up (I often do), but it astounds me how many fans honestly think this is just a cute interaction with absolutely no problems attached. Nothing to question here, folks. I've mentioned before, but last I discussed this in depth the asker wanted to know if I'd been an asshole to Yen and... that's it. That's the perspective. Any disagreement with her, any pushback, anything that's not complete, blind obedience is something she will not permit AND something most fans take as a given. If you're not doing what Yen tells you to, you're automatically the asshole, and if you're the asshole, you automatically deserve any punishment she chooses to dish out.

Comic spoilers coming up if you want to skip, but this is made abundantly clear in "Curse of Crows." Yen and Geralt are at their best in the moment below, enjoying one another's company on a nice day. Yen asks if Geralt wants to swim and he says nah, he'd rather watch her. She appears to like that idea and, indeed, swims naked while Geralt admires from the shore.

Actually cute right? I really liked this moment! They're cuddled up together and exchanging smiles. It's a rare moment of peace where I can believe that they truly care for one another, outside of passionate sex and not wanting the other dead. Finally, something beyond that incredibly low bar.

...except Yen starts flirting with a young man who shows up, invites him to travel with them, all while refusing to explain why she's interested in his company. The sudden third wheel is clearly bothering Geralt, but Yen continues to ignore his questioning. The answer she finally gives later that night?

She did it purely to mess with Geralt! It's his "just desserts" for "refusing to swim with [her]." She is "not one to be refused - I thought you needed reminding" by giving him "a flick on the nose." When I say that Yen treats Geralt like a dog I mean she literally treats him like a dog. He's a servant who must jump at her every command and if he doesn't, he'll punished for disobedience. He might not even know why he's being punished for a long stretch because Yen enjoys making him think she's a normal person capable of accepting that he doesn't feel like swimming right now - insert the Kaer Morhen scene where she wants to go have sex upstairs, but Geralt wants to catch up with the brothers he hasn't seen in an age here - only to reveal that actually she's made their formerly nice outing uncomfortable because he needs to be put in his place. All of which is followed by, "So... willing to join me now?" The message is very clear! Geralt had better get his ass in that tub unless he wants to be punished some more. Whether he wants a bath right now or not is inconsequential.

This is also the run where she scares the women Geralt was with, despite them being separated right now. Why? "I could."

Claims that Geralt is allowed to return to his companions (who he actually waves away) only for him to realize she's cast a spell to burn him with the water. Yen loves pretending she's okay with things only to punish Geralt for them later - sometimes with physical punishments. And what would have happened if the women had actually joined him again? Do witchers weather hot water better than the average courtesan? Who knows, but Yen clearly doesn't care who might get hurt.

Just like her time in Skellige and at Kaer Morhen, she refuses to explain what's going on. She just expects people to obey her, so-called loved ones included. Geralt was to get her cider, and arrive before her bath went cold, not question what they're doing on this dangerous hunt. He's a servant.

And my favorite, petty moment: transforming her awful inn food into a lavish meal without offering to do the same for either Geralt or Ciri.

"But, Clyde, that's just the comics. They're not really canon." Nah, questions of canon aside, this is 100% Yen's characterization. She's prideful. Immature. Beyond controlling. And punishes anyone who dares to tell her "No." Fans are always pointing out that she's meant to be horrible, she could have been a villain in another life, like any of that explains why I'm supposed to root for this relationship or enjoy her existence outside of being a complex character. Yen is interesting, but she's interesting in a "I can't wait to see her get her own just desserts" way. Not "Wooo now I get to watch this story ignore her behavior again to push a True Love narrative."

She punished Geralt frequently during their first meeting, she punishes him whenever they get together, and, I think, she punished him during the reunion with Ciri. Given our playthroughs, do we really think that after breaking up with her and all this fury over Triss - an anger so deep she destroyed the bed and attacked Geralt - she's just overcome with such joy that she forgets they're not together anymore and forgets the anger she's been nurturing for years? Yen doesn't forget. She's staring at Ciri during that moment, right where Triss is currently running towards them, and then after a considering look at Geralt pulls him in for that kiss. That was calculated. She did that to make a claim she no longer had. To punish them both: make Triss uncomfortable by playing at the "perfect" family reunion; make Geralt uncomfortable by kissing him when she knows he doesn't feel the same way. But of course, the popular reading is that she just loves him so much she couldn't help herself. Riiight.

It's just all SO BAD. (Including, as you say, the ickiness of having Triss lusting after Geralt and referring to Ciri as "little sis.") I love a lot of the women in Witcher - Cerys is a fave, Ciri, Saskia, Philippa, Keira, etc. - but the two I'm supposedly meant to fall in love with are just the worst lol.

Basically:

Half the fandom: TEAM TRISS 🤬

The other half: TEAM YEN🤬

Me: TEAM REGIS 😭

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR: On Companions, Agency and Opinions

I always scratch my head when people say Lana has no personality or agrees with the PC with everything they do. I mean, they're entitled to that opinion. I just don't get it.  Lana complains a lot in KOTFE and KOTET, depending on the choices you make. If you save the sun reactor, she yells at you. If you accept Valkorion's power she has a lot to say about it. If you don't tell her Valkorion is in your mind, there's an entire scene of her telling you off about it. If you don't save the Imperials from the Eternal Fleet ship, she's unhappy. In the traitor arc, if you choose to leave Theron behind she argues with you about it and it's made very clear that she's in extreme disagreement with it.  In Onslaught she's perhaps more neutral, but not really - she pretty actively trolls Arn and Tau for her own amusement, is seen debating Gnost-Dural on his level, and has that whole ongoing thing about Corellian whiskey. Considering the character had like ten lines in the entire expac, they packed a lot in.  In Echoes of Oblivion, she's vocal that she's not happy with the situation. And unlike some of the other companions, most of the time she actually respects and abides by the Commander's decision that she should not come along.  What Lana doesn't have is the agency in the game to leave, actively oppose the PC or hold a permanent grudge. Although, for the latter, I think that may be changing. If you choose to kill Theron, there's a bit of awkwardness between Lana and the PC when Theron's name comes up at the end of another expac.  She's really not the only companion in that position. With only a few exceptions, the companions do not have the agency to leave a PC or openly fight them. There are other companions that you can literally kick across the room and choke and in the next scene they're smiling and happy to see you. In Ossus and Onslaught you can be a complete asshole to some of the new companions and they really don't react in any lasting way, at least as of yet. FWIW I don't think that's really realistic. I think the way they had things in Dragon Age where the companions actually did change their behavior based on how you treated them and your decisions, to the point of leaving if they were angry enough, is actually way better.  And there are some cases where Bioware kind of tests the waters with this: Ashara openly disagrees and debates with the PC in the class story. In her reunion she lets the PC know that she won't be abused by them again if they attack her, and is openly snarky.  Akaavi will tell the PC off to their face in the class story.  Khem Val criticizes the PC numerous times in the Inquisitor's story and has uncomplimentary things to say during the reunion.  Kaliyo all but rolls her eyes at the PC depending on what they say. In KNOTE, if the Imperial Agent says they were in carbonite and were rescued, Kaliyo literally calls them pathetic. She also has a lot to say about the raid on the Spire.  Aric Jorgan openly disagrees with the PC if they don't take his side in the Spire assault assignments.  Elara Dorne breaks up with the male Trooper if he does certain things in KOFTE, and if a Trooper at all goes with the Empire, she wishes them dead to their face.  If a SW kept the collar on Vette in the class story (OMG WHO CAN DO THAT) she tells them off in KOTFE.  Lokin will literally sic rakghouls on you if you piss him off in KOTFE.  In KOTFE, Xalek walks away and refuses to be recruited if you won't duel with him.  Theron criticizes the PC in KOTFE if they kill Kaliyo or Aric, and he also has very strong reactions to a Commander's decisions on Onslaught.  But there are a lot of complaints about some of these instances where companions do express their own opinions or there are consequences for them. In the one instance where Bioware really ran with it, the playerbase wasn't happy.  Ahem, Koth. Koth had no issue telling the PC when they were pissing him off. He didn't back down. He remembered things the PC had done and didn't let them go, whether they were positive or negative. Even his opinion about Valkorion - yeah, it wasn't something we agreed with, was it? He wasn't smiling and nodding with the PC; he was letting the PC know how Valkorion appeared to him, and yeah, it was frustrating but it was realistic, given that he had grown up in a society where people were conditioned their entire lives to accept Valkorion as a benevolent god. 

And so much of the playerbase hated him for it.  Leaving and taking the Gravestone was completely in character for him, IMHO. He left the Zakuulan navy because they were killing civilians, he's not going to let you do it too. I personally feel that planting the bomb on the ship was out of character for him and just made him look bad. I think he would have cared about the rest of his crew's safety, since that is an ongoing theme for him. I don't think he really would have asked the Commander to rally the entire Eternal Alliance fleet around him with the knowledge that the Gravestone might be about to destroy them all.  But the way he called the Commander out, reacted to their decisions and did things that suggested actual consequences? Great stuff.  I actually wish there was more reactivity to how the Commander interacts with the companions. But I also don't think that much of the playerbase would stand for it if they really went there with other characters.

[4aloysius-porteu]

i really wish i hated you || tsukishima kei

masterlist | 1 | chapter 2  | 3

pairing: tsukishima kei x f! reader

sypnosis: It was an accident that (Y/N) met a certain tall, blonde male; a memory she isn't fond of remembering, but it is where it all started. And ever since, she magically makes her to his path. The image of the bespectacled man dwelled in her mind more than she thought. Tsukishima pushed away his softer emotions and denied their existence, or at least that's what he told himself. But then, he couldn't believe that this girl he labeled as a clumsy, unlucky creature who smashed his glasses is slowly bringing these strange emotions back to him. She might be irritating and dumb sometimes, but he couldn't get himself to completely hate her. Either that destiny was stupid, or he was blessed or cursed.

genre: fanfiction, fluff

wc: 1881

(Y/N) stopped her tracks upon hearing his voice and turned around to confirm, but it was true, much to her dismay. He held his black-rimmed glasses with its left lens and frame cracked. The girl's mind went blank. She hesitantly glanced at him a few times, hoping that he would forgive her or let the incident smoothly slide.

He hissed, "Don't think you can get away with this, miss."

She sighed in defeat. The kids approached her with worried looks. She patted her heads, accepting their sympathy. "Well, playtime's over."

"But we haven't finished the game!"

"Do you still want to play?"

"Yes!"

"Next time, when you see me again at the park. Onee-chan has to go now."

She bade goodbye to the children and walked towards the guy she hit with his friend. She looked at his broken glasses again and couldn't help but to let out an exhale with anxiety. This is the result of my stupidity...

"W-What do you want me to do?" (Y/N) slurred.

" I don't know, maybe you should fix it right here and right now." The blonde guy crossed his arms and frowned.

Why don't you just get to the point?

"Replace it."

Of course, she will have to replace it. What a question to ask. She mentally rolled her eyes.

"I'll check there out if there's an optical store, I guess you will have to keep an eye on me so that I won't escape?" She pointed to the nearby mall, walking distance from the park.

"What else? Nobody trusts a stranger."

They reached the town's mall and saw an open optical store, but (Y/N) remembered her wallet. She wasn't sure if there's enough money for her to buy glasses.

"On the second thought, can I buy the glasses tomorrow? I don't think I have enough money."

"No." He instantly replied.

"Tsukki," His green-haired companion interrupted, "Maybe we can give her a chance? What if she's telling the truth?"

"I need my glasses in my everyday life, and if she doesn't have the money, I'll be happy to spare her some, but she'll have no choice to be in my debt."

How merciless. It's not like (Y/N) could blame him, but if the same thing happened to her, she would treat them nicely. She looked around the store to find a pair of glasses exactly like his, as he demanded, with his friend helping her for 30 minutes. After she gets the correct measurements and eye grade, she emptied her wallet to pay for the damn thing,

"Here." She held out the new glasses in the case. "Take care of them, it costed my LAST savings."

He took them and wore them immediately, "I am taking care of my glasses, it's just someone 'accidentally' kicked a ball on my way and knocked them off. Thank you for the horrible experience."

He excused himself and walked away. His friend stayed to talk to her.

"I'm sorry for the way he acted, he's like this most of the times. Please understand," He bowed, shyness evident in his voice.

"It's okay, it was completely my fault, so I don't mind."

"It was an accident, though. Thank you for your generosity." He soon followed the blondie that headed first.

"That was mandatory, though." (Y/N) lightly chuckled to herself.

She got out of the mall to take in the fresh air, but her soul almost left her body when a bolt of lightning strikes a tree near her, setting it on fire.

"Oh, my fucking- Did the sky just attempted to finish me?!" She said, calming herself down and looking up. The clouds were much darker than earlier.

As the townspeople bombed the burning tree with water, she ran to her apartment before it rains. There, she dropped her things on the couch and flopped to her bed, thinking what happened on this day because of her own stupidity. She groaned when she held her now empty wallet.

"Argh! Why am I so unlucky?!"She threw her wallet in frustration.

"That tall, blonde, asshole! He didn't need to embarrass me in front of people! I didn't mean it! He could've waited for tomorrow for me to replace his glasses! He's so unforgiving!" She complained, hating the thought of the said guy.

She sighed, cringe, anger, and embarrassment filling her head as she hugged her pillow.

"May karma comes to him sometime," was her last words before drifting off to a nap.

A few days passed, she went out of the house again to buy food supplies in a convenience store. It was almost nighttime. The chilly wind blew to her face and the sweet scent wafted in the store. She picked up some junk food and meat first before stopping by the confectioneries section. While choosing what shortcake flavor to pick, she bumped into something that almost made her fall to the floor, if she hadn't retained her balance.

"Oof, I'm sorry..."

Or rather, it was a person she bumped into.

She looked up and recognized the face of the man. It was the guy she's kind of mad at, but this time, he didn't have his nice friend with him.

(Y/N) took a step back, "You!"

The male looked back at her, tilting his head, observing the girl. He spoke with a monotonous expression, "Do I know you?"

Her eye twitched in irritation, "He doesn't remember me?!"

"I was the girl in the playground three days ago! I... I replaced your glasses!" She said, hesitating on the next sentence.

"Oh." His eyebrows raised, "Did the midget learned her lesson not to play a sport she's bad at?" He mocked.

"I'm not even a soccer player to begin with! What are you doing here?"

"What? Am I not allowed to buy food in a convenience store like a normal person?"

"I've been buying stuff here and I've never seen a similar face I've met twice in a week or month. That's sus."

"Maybe you are following me."

"What do I gain by following a huge, mean person like you?" (Y/N) retorted.

"Perhaps you want to get back at me after what happened days ago even if it's your fault. I don't know. Ask yourself." He took his eyes off her to choose among the sweet desserts.

She paused, analyzing his comment, "Well, you aren't completely wrong..."

"So, I am being followed? What a stalker."

"Of course not! What you said might be possible, but it's not the case right now!"

Both of them have set their eyes on an item and surprisingly the same one. A strawberry shortcake in the middle of the section. Their hands both grabbed the object before staring at each other in annoyance.

"Let go." They chorused.

"I chose it first." Said (Y/N).

"I do not see your name in it. You let go." He replied.

"How about no?"

They glared at each other for a few minutes before (Y/N)'s brows creased deeper in the middle, knowing well that this guy won't back down. "Whatever, you take it. I don't care anymore."

"Wow, thanks." He subtly rolled his eyes then walked away.

It was very awkward in the cashier where she had to wait behind him. Damn, he's so tall. Does he play any sport? Is he human? Or probably just a walking, mean tree?

What happened in the park flashed in (Y N)'s mind again. The impact of the ball might have been so painful to him since he wears glasses, where it cracked. What if the shards got into his eyes? Her wallet isn't ready for more payments, but that isn't the issue right now. She was worried about his well being. Both of them got out of the convenience store and she called the blonde male before he could get away again.

"Uhh, hey!"

He looked over his shoulder a little, "What?"

"Are your eyes okay? I mean, your glasses cracked... shards could've got inside your eyes..."

"Yes, they're fine, fortunately."

(Y/N) let out a sigh of relief. "That's... good to hear."

"But if something happened to my eyes, I will not hesitate to find you and make you pay for an eye surgery."

"You're exaggerating."

"It's not impossible. Now, go home. Elementary school students shouldn't go past the curfew."

She frowned. If only he wasn't a stranger, she would've kicked his ass to hell.

"Oh, gladly. I wouldn't want to stay near a bootleg Eiffel Tower any longer. Have a good day for you."

The blonde male left without any more words. (Y/N) sighed again in mental exhaustion, having to finish a lot of things this night. She was walking straight to her home while thinking of ideas to put in her current project when she realized that he was still walking ahead in front of her.

Where is he going?

She made her footsteps lighter, not wanting him to think that she was following him. She was thinking where does this guy live or why is he walking the same route as she does. It's not wrong to know where does this asshole stay, right? This continued for a couple of minutes before he turned around.

"Will you stop following me?"

Her eyes widened, not expecting him to know that she was behind him, "Excuse me? I'm just walking to my place?"

"Really?" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

(Y/N) looked around to find a way to escape. There, she saw her house that she almost missed because her mind was occupied, "Oh, look. It's my house. I gotta go!"

She waved goodbye to the blonde stranger, ran to her apartment, and slammed the door, dying from the awkwardness. She proceeded to the kitchen to drop the food supplies and to cook for herself as well. The salt in the cupboard reminded her of the rude, four eyes that she just met again minutes ago. That's when she realized, she kept calling him either insults or his evident physical features when he probably has a name. She could've asked for his name earlier, but shrugged the idea off, thinking that he will never give her his name.

The common thing to do after graduating junior high is to find a decent high school. (Y/N) is scheduled to have her entrance exams next week, so she has to spend time reviewing her notes these days. She opted to go to the prefectural library the next day to get further references as she isn't satisfied with the books she has. It was Wednesday, thus it was full of people who are also preparing for their entrance exams. With her stature, it'll be easy to pass in this crowd of people but she will have to ask for help because she can't reach the books at the top of the shelves.

After wandering around the crowded library, she found an unoccupied table to quietly study. She made her way to it, carrying the heavy books she needed that was luckily located at the bottom shelves. As she set the books on the left side of the table, someone did the same on the opposite side. She looked up to see who the stranger is, only to find out that the person isn't a stranger to her anymore.

"Oh, the midget stalker is here." 

©4aloysius.porteu.2021. please do not repost, copy, or edit. plagiarism is punishable by law.

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP  meme from Werewolf: The Apocalypse "Black Furies" Tribebook (Revised Version) Ch 2 "Pegasus’ Flight"

"But how can you be here?"

"I’m sorry. I’m easily sidetracked. Where was I?"

"Every day the possibility exists that you will find some great treasure — a companion, a fetish, riches, secrets or whatever is important to you."

"Divine justice is not something that can be safely left in the hands of mortal men and women — or even certain sky goddesses, as Athena’s blindness showed."

"While limits and strictures are frightening to many, I take peace knowing that purposes exist for all things."

"The problem comes when limits become absolute."

"It’s a human mind-twister — and I love mind-twisters — that the only rule to which there is no exception is that there’s an exception to every rule."

"I said before I love mind-twisters, but it’s good to know when to stop twisting your mind."

"Change hurts."

"The questions do not always need to be answered, often just asking them is enough."

"If they lead only to more questions or to simple answers (I remember well learning the answer to “What do bees smell like?”), then that also is learning and therefore good."

"Laughter doesn’t have to be mirthful; it can be bitter or rueful as well."

"How many of these stories actually happened?"

"Take from a story the wisdom that is in it; one of humanity’s biggest problems, I think, is that many of them take their legends too seriously."

"Contemplation is good, but too much of it causes the topic to become irrelevant."

"Beautiful, isn’t it?"

"The average first-time mother can expect an ordeal of fourteen hours."

"Everyone agrees that breast milk is best for babies; doctors, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and parenting gurus."

"I am sorry for your discomfort, but you can just suffer through it a bit longer."

"A woman’s sexuality is hers, and can be a closely guarded secret or a gift to the world, as she chooses."

"Only the weak deserve pity."

"And yet we’re still spit on as often as not. Unfair, isn’t it?"

"Sex and childbearing is all about responsibility."

"There is no honor in blood for blood’s sake."

"These assaults take place far from the eyes of humanity, and the large-scale ones are most frequently mistaken for natural disasters."

"First, while faith might be eternal, religion must evolve."

"The world is often random, and believing it to be loving and fair is just as false as believing it to be cruel."

"They aren’t thieves, mind you; they just seem to know where to find things."

"I’m quite sure you’ve heard it all. Stay awake and listen again. This is important stuff, you know."

"That kind of cruelty doesn’t really help anyone, does it?"

"Note that there’s a big difference between “breeding” and “having sex.”

"My opinion has always been that announcing one’s presence and intentions when entering another’s territory is polite and proper behavior."

"A predator sees any encroachment on her territory as a threat. If the intruder nears her den, expect her to become very violent."

"If you enter another’s territory and announce yourself, that doesn’t mean you can stay. The one who lives there can still tell you to leave, and you should respect her wishes."

"Be careful when traveling."

"Look, we’ve all got anger control problems. It’s part of who we are."

"If you’re hurt, quit."

"Die to be a hero if you want, but don’t die to prove you were right."

"When the challenge is over, when the winner is declared, accept the ruling and live with it."

"Challenges are serious business — never initiate one without good cause."

"Do not look away. I hardly need to explain what that will lead to."

"We all know why it isn’t good to eat humans; for one thing, their flesh is fouled by the chemicals they eat, and for another, we’re meant to protect and avenge them, not prey upon them."

"If it becomes necessary to kill humans, do so, but remember that you are what you eat."

"From the face you’re making, I can assume you find the notion of cannibalism to be truly repulsive."

"Find other ways to hide your action."

"The problem is that humans are resilient and tenacious, especially in fear or hatred."

"Sometimes, however, we must let go."

"When the time comes for me to die, assuming, of course, that I do not die in battle, I shall walk into the sea and let the waves take me on my last journey."

"They can’t be challenged if no one can find them."

"I’m not saying that the system is corrupt, only that it could be."

"Such a small place, yet so many differing cultures!"

"Any biologist will tell you that you may measure how well an area thrives by the diversity of life it supports."

"Women are, on average, not as physically strong as men. This means that they sometimes need protection. I hardly need to tell you who should provide it."

"Unless I missed a major theological event, there haven’t been any immaculate conceptions recently."

"No matter your personal feelings on men, they are and always have been one half of the equation."

"A man is not evil simply by dint of his sex; to believe so is no better than calling women “the weaker sex.”

"Weak people produce more weak people, and since humans have virtually no method of natural selection, it is up to us to try to correct their weaknesses as best we can."

"Something is urging the citizens towards these evils, for I cannot believe that they did this themselves."

"The idiot humans continue to think that if they could just clear away the trees, they’d have wonderful land for agriculture, never once realizing that it’s the forest itself that preserves the land."

"Tell me why you think you could do better."

"So many believe the courts will do nothing — and if their attackers are rich and privileged enough, that is sadly true."

"Celebrities and advertisements show thin and unhealthy looking women being adored and generally enjoying life. So, young girls are made to feel abnormal and loathe their bodies."

"The Church decries sexuality for any reason but procreation — and women learn to fear their sexual power."

"Time may dull the memory, but we still have blood on our claws."

"It’s harsh, but good exercise."

"Don’t let their foul behavior and mannerisms fool you. These bumpkins and slum-dwellers have contacts all over the city. I avoid them when possible, but when I am left with no other choice and need information in the city, I go to them. Of course, that information does not come cheaply."

"Some of them can get a little corny at times, I admit, but I’d rather have them with us than against us."

"A more serious bunch of assholes was never born."

"They are reprehensible dogs."

"They have money, they have places to stay, they know good places to party, and they have access to guns, and explosives, and body armor, and — well, you get the idea."

"They have a lot of hate, and the near-extinction of their species isn’t something that one just gets over."

"No one ever identifies herself as “evil.”

"You will get far more than you bargained for."

"Most national leaders are ridiculed without mercy, because every mistake they’ve ever made is on display for the world to see."

"Too much time spent mucking with forces beyond their control taints these people, if you ask me."

"Bloody opportunists."

"I’m not going to say they planned it that way, but they sure didn’t stop it either."

"Sure, they got fucked, but they’re still assholes."

"A quaint story, I thought, no more than a sort of urban legend."

"However, they do learn many secrets that we miss. Getting them to give up these secrets, however, is usually more trouble than it’s worth."

"Maybe they aren’t all dead?"

"Greek myths are replete with dragons; Ladon, Typhon, Python, Hydra, and so forth. They are never cast in favorable roles; most of them only exist for a hero to kill."

"I’ve never liked practical jokes, and I don’t like the notion of pushing someone’s buttons just to teach them not to respond. You can lose your head doing that to the wrong person."

"Other creatures share the unseen world with us, and it would behoove you to know something about them."

"The spirits of the dead do not always rest easily."

"The dead aren’t staying in the ground."

"Some of them are complete pigs, so I’m told, but even so, they can be quite seductive."

[solasan]

💛 👗 🤷‍♀️ for any oc of ur choosing <33

headcanon prompts:

leda shepard:

[ 💛 ] how empathetic is your muse? how compassionate are they? is this something people expect from them, or are people surprised when they find out how compassionate or empathetic they actually are?

yeah, leda's pretty empathetic. idk. people don't rly expect her to be; stories about the reticent, hard-hearted survivor of akuze have made their way through the grapevine here and there, and she's such a sorta... legendary badass that people generally expect her to be a lot like she is; kinda gruff, quiet, not very personable at all. but she cares a lot about the people around her, which doesn't always come across until u get to know her better, so usually it's a bit of a surprise. most of her abject kindness is present in the little things; buying thane tea from the citadel for their journeys during me2, or subtly threatening the more xenophobic members of her crew into treating tali with respect during me1. stuff like that.

she's done a lot of good, don't get me wrong!! there's enough testimony from people she's saved flying about the extranet that most people who hear the name 'leda shepard' offer it a lot of respect, but she's... less the cuddles-and-marshmallows kind of heroic figure, more of the 'shes done some good stuff but dear god don't get on her bad side' kind. very coldly practical to the outside world. renegon babey!!

[ 👗 ] what is your muse’s fashion sense like? are they able to dress the way they want to? what would they wear in an ideal world?

dhsdjkdslk military. very military. quite sparse, too; she doesn't keep an eye on fashion trends and largely avoids accessorising for practical reasons (she worries about jewellery getting caught on stuff during a life-or-death situation, for example). her only accessories as a rule are her dog tags. even tho obviously she's in a combat uniform most of the time, she doesn't... actually mind it much?? she likes that she doesn't have to put thought into what she wears and she can actually reserve her brain power for what she thinks is 'more important' stuff.

when she's not in uniform, she's usually in like... sweatpants, wifebeaters, stuff like that. clothes she can move in, that are comfortable enough to sleep in but also could be worked out in? im realising she dresses like a gym rat dshdjks. colours are usually blacks, whites, greys; the occasional like... camo green. even when she's not obviously geared up, she dresses like she's military, basically. u could absolutely tell she was a soldier even if she wasnt in her fatigues when u met her. NO DRESSES. they're bad to fight in, and she doesn't have a very high opinion of her looks / her body, so she doesn't like having her legs on display much.

[ 🤷‍♀️ ] how does your muse approach strangers? how does this compare to how they interact with close friends or lovers?

pretty gruffly, i guess?? idk it depends on the stranger; she's not gonna be an out-and-out asshole to, like, a kid, or anything. generally tho leda can be expected to be quite uhhh... to-the-point, blunt. no nonsense. quiet. she'll ask what questions she feels need to be asked, and often she'll kinda sit back and let a conversation run its course, only taking charge if she feels it's necessary or like they're getting off-track.

close friends and lovers definitely see a different side of her, though it takes some time to really tease it out. she's still quiet around those she's closest with, but it's more of a comfortable, companionable kind of quiet, and she's less pissy about any silences being interrupted. her humour really only comes out around those she feels she can be herself around, and that humour's pretty deadpan and dry, but if the people around her are receptive to it, it comes out more and more. garrus and thane are rly the only people to see the true 'heart' of her, though, which is much more... not nervous, but uncertain. she doesn't like to let anyone else see that rly, bc there's so many expectations on her shoulders, but garrus and thane are the people she trusts the most in the world, so they're aware of it.

[off-in-the-moors]

Joseph Kavinsky analysis, part 2

aka no voice and no dream pack

Warnings: spoilers for the whole Raven Cycle, mentions of: drug-use, abuse, death, s*cid, xenophobia

Part 1 // Part 2

Before starting, I wanted to thank for likes and support, not only on part 1 but also on my other posts. I was writing this more for the catharsis, after months of seeing and not really speaking about a lot of stuff. It’s nice to know, somebody read it. Some say, Kavinsky is their comfort character and, well, he will stay with me for a very long time. But enough of that. Let's talk about the point of view, xenophobia and the Dream Pack.

PoV

The running motif in TRC is, all antagonists get PoVs. No matter if they appear in one book (like Whelk) or reoccur (like the Greenmatles). The reader gets multiple chapters with their backstories, internal thoughts and goals. This move by the author is a double-edged sword, on one hand we get a better understanding of them but on the other, by knowing them better they become less effective antagonists and the air of mystery and surprise of what they're up-to/what they know is lost. E.g. In TDT we are first told about Colin Greenmatle and what is he capable of, making him a good threat for our main characters. But when we finally meet him in BLLB, with his attitude and scenes like dissing Ronan's Latin grammar or making cheese crackers while his wife is held at gun-point, he becomes more of a comedic antagonist than a villain to fear.

But here's the thing: I already lied to you. In TRC, all antagonists get PoVs, except for Kavinsky. It's a odd exception from the rule, considering Gray Man in TDT and The Wasp Demon in The Raven King, also got PoVs. But why? There are two things to look at. One I already mentioned. By giving a character PoV, the reader gets better understanding of them. By not giving Kavinsky one, Margaret didn't give anything to make K or his actions clear or understandable. By not knowing his motivations, K is left to pure interpretations, but how the reader will do it mostly will be influenced by his demonetization. Of course, not everybody will just accept what the book tells them without thinking for themselves but most fans don't.

"Bang", he said softly, withdrawing the fake gun. "See you on the street."

Alone, this single line can be interpreted in many different ways. Is it K being angry and threatening Ronan? Or maybe Joseph breaking inside because he was proofen, he really has no one? It all depends on the reader.

Second, when asked on her tumblr, if she'll ever write anything from K's pov (in 2015, before The Raven King was published), M*ggie said she won't, because: she already explored that type of character ("the thoughts and motivations of a powerful, suicidal, creative person with few inhibitions") in Sinner (2014, spin-off/companion book of her older series, The Wolves of Mercy Falls, 2009-2011 for the main three) with Cole St. Clair; that writing through PoV of such character is emotionally and mentally draining for her (which is understandable); and even if she wanted to explore it again in the future, she would through a different character's lenses than K's.

Let's talk about St. Clair.

The characters of Cole and Kavinsky have some similarities: both are drug addicts, who are rich.

That's where they end.

Cole was a famous musician, having the stereotypical rock-star life (drugs, alcohol and sleeping with fans included) with good family relationships, while K was a son of a mobster who tried to kill him and a mother who was a drug-addict herself. While their perspectives would have similarities, there is also other problems. Cole St. Clair already got PoVs in his series and a stand-alone book, Joseph Kavinsky got nothing and will get nothing. Cole had friends that cared for him and helped him, Joseph Kavinsky had his Dream Pack (which whom we don't know what type of relation he had) and his customers who we can safely say, only cared for what he can provide them with, he tried to befriend or start a relation with Ronan who rejected even the idea of it and no one even reached out to him. Cole got his happy ending and (hinted at) a girl he loved, K got rejected by everyone and committed public suicide. (Now, I heard a opinion that K didn't commit suicide, because the dragon killed him. Here is the thing, K could move out of the way multiple times, even Ronan shouted to him to move. But he didn't. He watched the dragon fly towards him and just said "The world is a nightmare.". He choose death.)

People wanted K's PoV, because they wanted to know, what pushed him to do what he did in TDT. But, in my opinion, even if M*ggie gave K pov, she would use it to further demonize him than to make the reader understand him more. She already did write a whole post exaggerating and straw-manning the canon, just to also say "Kavinsky has a very logical backstory that leads him to this place". A backstory we as the reader never truly see and one she forgot to write into her book. At the end, she truly cared only about Ronan.

Xenophobia

The Raven Cycle is a very flawed and problematic series, there are already many other posts taking about racism, misogyny, lack of diversity and many other issues with it, but in regards to Kavinsky, I'll only touch on the xenophobia. (I could talk also about portray of metal-illness, but I'm not the person to talk about it and I would feel comfortable with it.)

Kavinsky is a stereotype of a Slavic person, one we see in American media since the Cold War, especially in 80s movies. The Evil Russian trope. The son of the mobster, drug-addict, forger who can get you anything even illegal stuff, a thief.

When describing Kavinsky, one of the things Ronan mentions is: "refugee's face, hollowed-eyed and innocent". One could argue, "refugee" has many meanings, but boiling it down, is a person who came to the country to escape and seek a refuge. Many people moved to America to find a better life, in the believe of the American Dream, and many of them where driven to do that, especially from ex-Eastern Bloc countries. Kavinsky's Bulgarian, unknown if an immigrant himself or a son of immigrants, but the point still stands.

About Blue’s comment "import from somewhere else" I don't need to say much. First, obvious: You don't import people, only foreign goods, like cars. Second: this shows, he is "the other" in the eyes of the characters.

There is more to it, then just the physical description. We need to look at the outfit he wears. White tank top, white sunglasses, a small earring in one ear and a gold chain around his neck. This gives two images: one of a typical douche-bag, party asshole and the rich kid; the second of a Slavic stereotype, especially of a Russian criminal. If Margaret wanted to make K even bigger stereotype, she would dress him like a dress/gopnik, in a tracksuit.

The thing is: M*ggie could had saved the situation if she had subverted the stereotypes. E.g. K didn't wanting anything to do with the crime live, his family was forced into by circumstances or K being the guy to get stuff from, but he isn't doing it for any gain.

The truth is, K being Bulgarian doesn't add anything to his character, except for xenophobia. (Personally, I tried to find where the surname "Kavinsky" came from. It is Slavic, that much I can tell you for sure, but the rest is my speculation and searching. My best guesses are: Russian (it appears most commonly in Russian, after USA and a use in Russia set novel) or Polish (because it has uncanny simulates to the surname "Kawiński", if it was anglicized like e.g. "Kamiński" into "Kaminsky"). This isn't a common surname and with Peter from the To All the Boys trilogy and the musician, it's hard to find any information.)

But for now, K's portray is one of the many issues.

The Dream Pack or the lack of it

The Dream Pack is the unofficial name for K's group, with whom he parties and races (the canon name is "Kavinsky's Pack of Dogs" which is ugh). They're unfortunately, a non-characters. It's bolt to even call them background characters. Their portray, or again, lack of it, leaves them as props, their only role is to be K's followers and to show K as a leader on a equal ground as Gansey. We're lead to believe, they are like Kavinsky, yet another raven boys, and to make are main characters so “not like the other raven boys”. Problem rises in connection to the previous point, out of four members, only one has an English surname.

Prokopenko is a Ukrainian surname and for his description, we get "ears like wingnuts", "crooked shoulders" and his voice as "milky with drugs". It's said he had "recently attained official crony status", and was noted being in close desecrate to K for a while. Later we discover Proko is a forgery, a dream creature like Matthew and Aurora. It's heavily implied the real Prokopenko is dead, but if K had something to do with it, is unknown. He is the only character to "chortle", which Margaret said she hates and also "fratty boys and the chortling men they turn into". From this we can deduce, that not only the Dream Pack and people at K's parties but all raven boys (with the exception of the main characters) were writen like this on purpose as the personification of everything M*ggie hates. We are also informed, he drives a Golf.

Skov, who according to a deleted scene, full name is Blake Skovron, is polish (or at least anglicized version of it). In said deleted scene he's described as "major asshole, minor bigot" (unfortunately I couldn't find it to confirm it). The only canon stuff about him is: he drives a RX-7 (Mazda RX-7).

Jiang is Chinese, making him one of three canon Asian characters we see in the series (not counting Henry's father, because he's just mentioned, same goes for the Vancouver crowd). Like Proko, his role is a little bigger. In the Raven King, after Ronan finally returns to school after a long time of skipping, he tells him: "Hey, man, I thought you'd died". Ronan doesn't respond, but tells the reader he doesn't want to see Jiang outside of his car, racing. The only other thing we know about him: he drives a Supra (Toyota Supra).

Swan is the only one with an English name, but all we know about him is: he drives Volkswagen Golf, one that matches Proko's.

(For future writers: what car a character drives, isn't a personality trait.)

With the already minimal diversity, this shows the non-Americans as the antagonists or at least "the worst". On the opposite side, we have our main characters. Richard Campbell Gansey III, who has the whitest and British name I ever saw; Adam Parrish, born and raised in Henrietta, Virginia; Ronan Lynch, son of a Irish immigrant, whose Irish identity starts and ends on tit-bits; Blue Sargent, who is half-tree and ambiguous, but was drawn as white by the author multiple times (Yes, I am aware of the Instagram post, but Margaret herself said, she isn't confirming anything that isn't already written in her books. She couldn't even confirm Adam's hair color and made a joke out of it.) The only exception is Noah Czerny, whose surname is Slavic (probably Czech), but this bares no effect on his character.

The Dream Pack are the whole communities babies, created by head-canons and fanons, their relations with Kavinsky and themselves are explored, who they are as people, their appearance, their interests... This is beautiful how many different versions and interpretations of non-existing characters is there. (I, myself also made a version for a rewrite, based partly on the fanon.)

But at the end of the day, the fans did the author's job of creating believe friend group and in the end, their only function was to show, Kavinsky is a king, just like Gansey.