#so when you tell her that there's Empires Out There what do you think she'll do like logically

[knaveofmogadore]

So like, imagine this. It's the first big family reunion after COVID restrictions let up, your family took a few years to all get vaccinated, ect. Your kid is 6, so they weren't old enough to take to the last one, this is the first time they're meeting some of these more distant relatives. So you introduce them to Uncle Mike, and you say "This is Uncle Mike. He thinks you're so small and delicious, and that it'd be so easy to pick you up and throw you at the nearest wall and break all your bones." If that 6 year old then power kicks uncle Mike in the nuts and runs away screaming, whose fault is that?

So this post is about Doctor Who. The patron unknowable Eldritch entity of your country has just spent an entire afternoon telling you that the universe is full of things that are stronger and bigger than you, and a lot of them will happily blenderize your planet for a bit of rocket fuel, or eat all of you for a big Sunday brunch. And he's letting that ship full of slavers happily fly away to tell the entire galaxy about your tiny planet's existence. You are an animal, your empathy and reason only extends to the boundaries of what you can understand, and the Doctor has just told you that the vast majority of the galaxy sees you as prey. Me, personally? I'm with Harriet, I wouldn't stand a chance in that situation, I'd 100% take that shot.

All I'm saying is that if the Doctor wanted to foster empathy, they probably shouldn't have started with enthusiastically explaining how cleverly the aliens were going to coerce them into slavery, especially not to a woman who grew up in Britain as it rebuilt itself from the blitz in a post-nazi Europe

[silkythewriter]

Heyy so weird request but could you do a vox x reader who has a kinda one sided rivalry with him in the sense every time he releases tech she'll challenge herself to make a better version

Vox with a one sided rivalry with reader!

Warnings!: A tad tinne winne bit of angst!, sorry if he’s OOC! (˃̣̣̥ ^˂̣̣̥`)

Fandom!: Hazbin hotel!

Author note!: OOOOOO I haven’t written rivals to lovers in a bit! Hopefully it’s not too bad!

(￣▽￣)💧

Summary!: One sided rivalry with are favorite TV demon (ﾉ ≧∀≦)ﾉ

❤️Written by silkythewriter Do not steal or repost on any other platform please! <3.❤️

★🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮★

“In the morning, you would gone

I'd be mourning, tryin' to hold on To

the memory of your lips God,

I'm so lovesick What have you done to me?“

★🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮★

!📺✨Vox✨📺!

Devastated, like actually in greif

After YEARS of not even a single demon upon billions below in the forsaken place called hell could make a DENT in the empire he built. But then you came along! With all your Gezmos and trinkets! (He refuses to call them anything other then that)

He is insecure, no matter how much he puts a face on about not having a fear in the world. He dose, he’s terrified of being replaced or knocked off the top!

The first time you released something after he did he merely laughed. You? A small tiny little business? What idiot would do that!? Your product was most definitely gonna be looked over!

Or that is what he thought at first (ಡ‸ಡ)…

Soon he realized how quick your growth to fame was. And honestly had a melt down, who even were you?!

He makes back handed complements on his TV show like for example “and on recent news a new technology has been released by *insert your name/company name*, looks a bit cheap but it’s okay for their first time!”

Yea expect those a lot…

He’s use to company’s butting heads with him, but he always squashed them in under a day! If not less!, so he was bewildered when you just kept popping up everywhere. He doesn’t even know how. half of the channels in hell are owned or under his name! Or at least played on HIS tvs!.

And when he released a product only for the next day for it to get a bit over shadowed by yours he loses it. He immediately thinks your doing this on purpose, he thinks your doing this as a means to get his attention.

Will never admit it but he bought one just to break it outta rage but after a bit he understood the hype, will take this to his second death bed.

He’s never had a good look at you before maybe a small invention or gala for some of the highest company owners in hell. And let me tell you when this man saw you he was shocked, it took velvet to snap her fingers for him to get out of his trans-like-state. He’s more embarrassed then he’s ever been, not only are your products prove to be a good runner up to his but you were making min lose his breath.

He didn’t wanna believe at first before velvet confirmed it to him.

And may i say, the minute you glanced at him and gave him a charming smile while waving your hand at him with a small glint of pride in your eyes, he actually had a system crashed screen as his whole system rebooted.

It wouldn’t be long till you made your way over to him trying to introduce yourself(•̀ᴗ•́)و

Honestly he couldn’t think straight until you excused yourself to talk to another business owner. He dosent understand, for all the years he’s been dead how is his heart beating so fast for you?

In denial about any feelings towards you, it can’t be! He despises you !, right?

Takes him a bit to work up the courage to talk to you again, as he introduced himself properly with as much passive aggressive charm he could muster. Only to be confused at your sweet yet passive aggressive smile as you shook his hand with such care

How can someone be so competitive yet so sweet?

We’re you trying to woo him on purpose!?(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

He didn’t understand even though he knew your intent, and the underlying nature in your interaction. He still found it charming, and shocking at you technical level and marking tactics. He isn’t happily impressed, but he is definitely impressed, he would never show that though of course.

It always seemed no matter how much of a short time between releases you always managed to make it better he just didn’t understand how!. How did you have such short time to perfect something that he’s been working at for months!

He soon realizes out shinning you or squashing you business wasn’t gonna work. You guys were too evenly matched, it would be through pure luck that one of you would out shine the other one day and not the next. So he did the best next thing, purposed a business deal (quite reluctantly might I add)

To just merge company’s he knew your rise wouldn’t falter anytime soon.

At first you felt like this was a trick, to steal your soul or take you out while your walls were down. But he quickly explained it’d be easier to just have you work on things and share the profit (surprise, surprise)

Now you can decide weather you accept or not!

But after that meeting he would call you over for many more strictly for business meetings! Definitely not just desperate to spend time with you or anything

Even when you proposed to just, email, or text, he still declined saying he found it easier to say what he needed out loud. Definitely…. (≖ᴗ≖✿)

Sooner or later you’d catch on, or some people on the news would gossip of your “secret affairs”

You would soon confront him about this, and let me tell you this man is decent at standing under pressure in some if not most situations expect this one.

I feel like he wouldn’t admit it till MANY months later cause he’s just that stubborn

He just hates it, he hates your stupid smile, the way you make his stomach do back flips, the small glint of happiness and pride when your product is loved and bought by the millions. He hates the smile you keep even if at a rivalry with him. He hates everything about you, he hates it, he hates it so much he ends up realizing he loves it.

Yea he is one complicated man….

But once he finally admits it, and you end up giving it a shot. This guy would try to act like he wasn’t about to shut down, like his inner fans and vents weren’t about to self implode, he’d act cool and collected about it but behind closed doors he’s quite literally smiling like a dope

NOW if this were released to the public, the mess that would ensue is scandals upon scandals.

I mean! Imagine the head lines! “Two of hells most biggest company rivals now together?!”

News is fast to spreed lemme tell you that

I feel like he would rather have the relationship private but if it got out…let’s just say he wouldn’t stop it either per say (¬‿¬)

Overall! I feel like even if it was a one sided rivalry I feel like it would quickly turn to both of you butting heads. Cause to out shine the king of tech himself is quite the challenge, and you being able to do that says a lot!, he’ll be holding a grudge even into a relationship and still would get competitive here to there he would definitely still study your work to see how you improve so fast!. Still in the end of the day he’ll still dote on you behind close doors!

ପ(๑•̀ᴗ-♡ॢ)⋆*✩

★🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮★

WOWZA THAT WAS ALOT OH MY GOSH

ヘ（。□°）ヘ

I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!, I haven’t written rivals to lover plot in a bit BUT MY GOSH NESS ITS VERY FUN TO PLAY AROUND WITH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REQUESTING PLEASE COME AGAIN! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

[whereserpentswalk]

There's an orc attending your college. Your city is pretty diverse, there's a lot of human cultures represented there, and even harpies and dwarves are common. But an orc is still a really rare sight. And she's not assimilated at all, she wears the symbol of the dark lord around her neak, and the strange black cloths from the wastelands she came from, and she always seems to have a gun somewhere on her. It's strange just to see an orc in person, she's not like the green skinned monsters you see in movies, her eyes are pitch black, and her skin is so pale you can see veins, she's muscular and tell but also strangely skinny, and her teeth are sharp and spiked like a sharks, this one doesn't have tusks, just these rows of serrated teeth.

Everyone avoids her at first. There's something creepy about her. She doesn't move like a human. She emotes weirdly, being stoic during conversations, but sometimes smiling or laughing at odd times. In class it becomes clear that she lacks knowledge anyone growing up in your society has, but has extensive knowledge on things most humans will never know. She also very clearly supports the dark lord and the demons who serve him, and gets mad when his narrative of conquest and strict genetic hierarchy is challenged in class.

You end up paired with her for a class project. It's weirdly awkward. But you end up spending more time with her then most. It still takes awhile to get used to her mannerisms, and you have to convince her of evolution in a long debate (but eventually you do convince her). She seems strangely naive to a lot of things. Every time she does something that she considers a failure she goes into self loathing, and she gets really afraid she's going to be punished. You have to explain to her things are going to be ok sometimes.

You try to spend time with her. She supports the dark lord but out of a strange sense of fear more than the type of ideological support humans in nations not under his control have. When she does something that she thinks is heresy agaisnt him she becomes afraid. And while she's angry at people who follow gods other than him (which is basically everyone here) she's more afraid of them than everything. When a holy symbol you own touches her she's surprised it doesn't burn her, you have to tell her it's ok.

She has a lot more freedom here than she did back in the wastelands. You slowly help her realize she doesn't have to worry about being punished for sinning agasint the dark lord. She's able to go on the internet for the first time, you help her get everything set up. You also introduce her to your freinds, only some of whom feel safe around her, but those who do seem to like her.

It's weird just hanging out in her dorm. She can be weirdly laid back and introspective at times, at least when she's not nervous or paranoid. But when she's just relaxing she'll tell you about things, about the beauty of the desert sands, about what it was like to observe the rattlesnakes and condors and wyverns of her homeland. How she likes to observe the city, the way the diffrent people flow through it, she was scared of it at first but now she likes to explore it, and the way it lacks stars at night but the lights from the buildings replace it. She says she wishes she could stay here forever, that she wishes she could be an artist but that she was sent here to learn skills useful to the dark lord's empire.

There's something nice about showing her new things. You get to take her to a musical for the first time. Get to show her neighborhoods you like. Get to explain to her what public transport is (though she got scared feeling trapped in a subway car). You get to show her stuff she never got to experience because orcs are never really children, she loves getting to hold a plush for the first time, or watching cartoons for the first time, it's like she's finally getting to live an experience she never had. Even though she's a well armed adult she really likes plushies once she finds out about them, they weren't something she was allowed to have back home.

Over time she starts meeting people and learning things that go against her worldview. As she makes more friends, understands new things, slowly learns that she shouldn't be punished for mistakes, she slowly comes around to seeing how fucked up the world the was raised in is. She tells you she doesn't want to worship the dark lord anymore, she cries just from saying it. You hug her, and realize she's never been hugged before, she seems to really like that feeling. She bathes in the waters of a healing goddess, and she worships something out of love instead of fear for the first time.

Eventually the spawning warlock who spawned her and her siblings comes to visit her. You told her to be careful but she ended up spilling that she doesn't worship the dark lord, she ends up spilling all the things a warlock like that considers a sin. When he leaves she tells you she can't go home. Not ever. Never again will she see the shifting sands, or flying condor, or flowing serpents of her homelands. She's trapped where she is now.

You know it hurts her a lot. She says she feels like she's in a small pocket of safety. Back home she'd be hurt for being an apostate. In human lands outside of the city she'd be hurt for being an orc. But she's safe here. She stays in her apartment for awhile, while you try to make things work. She's finally changing her major to art, and despite everything she's finally free, free to watch the starless sky, free to not be punished when she makes a mistake...

[hazbin-a-helluvamagines]

How about this? Headcanons for Loona and Octavia (separate) with a nerdy!male!reader??

Idk, but when I was thinking of this I thought of him just being Milo thatch from Atlantis: The Lost Empire if he was an imp (and maybe looking like him with a human disguise).

"My Geek" ; Loona, Octavia Ars Goetia

AN: I have never seen ATLA, so I hope I did this okay for you!!

Loona would tease you. Brutally, in fact. But she does it all out of love. She just doesn't really know how to show people that she cares about them, so she resorts to teasing to hide the fact that she does. She doesn't want to seem vulnerable, after all. Look where that's gotten her in the past.

With that said, that doesn't mean she lets anybody else makes fun of you. No, only SHE'S allowed to do that. Girlfriend privileges, she calls them. Even before you're actually dating.

But the second someone else tries? Ohhhh dear, be prepared for tears. And not hers (or yours).

"Don't be such a prick when he manages to pull hot bitches with his nerdiness, and you're going to die a loser virgin."

She'd of course comfort you afterwards, in her own Loona way. Telling you how that person was a loser, anyway. How they didn't understand your "weird, shitty hobbies", but that that only made them a little bitch.

Loona will act like she doesn't care about what you're suggesting to her, but in reality... well, her Mammazon cart is full of her gift ideas for you for special occasions. Comic books, manga, movies, costumes, you name it.

And y'know what? She'll never tell you that she actually paid attention to what you told her.

"Here. A random shut-up gift."

That's code for "I've been listening a lot, actually, and I know these are things you like, so I wanted to get you something that lets you know I paid attention", by the way.

Honestly, I feel like she'd prefer a nerdy S/O for a guy, though?? Someone she can be playful and fun with without having to maintain her stone-cold persona.

Now your human disguise... oh boy.

You saw how she was with Vortex? Yeah, well, with you, you can basically amplify that by ten.

Basically heart eyes lmao.

Don't worry, she eventually starts acting more normal around you in that form once she begins associating it back to you, her loving boyfriend.

She'd still have those momentary slip-ups where she says something she normally wouldn't, though, although they're much more welcome when you're actually her boyfriend.

"Uh... Loona? You okay?"

"You're hot... I mean, uh- Y'know, literally. Cuz it's... a hot day out."

Girl is down bad.

Honestly? Octavia seems pretty nerdy, too. Probably has a secret comic book hobby. So she doesn't see anything wrong with your hobbies. She even finds them endearing.

Likes to hear your little hot takes, whether or not she really agrees with them. It opens the floor for some productive discussion and banter.

"Oh yeah? And what happens if I do something like this?"

And she proceeds to either do it, if it's a physical thing she can do, or explain the idea, eager to hear your take on it or if it's something you'd suggest in that scenario.

Due to that, she really isn't hard to make conversation with at all, since she can relate pretty well to your more geeky interests, and even be persuaded to get into the same fandoms. Or have fandom battles, like Marvel vs. D.C..

She'll always side with D.C., though.

And of course, she'll happily come with you to those types of movies, since she usually really enjoys them, herself.

She's more of a music nerd, though, and she'll definitely try to get you to listen to some of her favorite artists. The music is pretty angsty, but it's not bad, either. And you love her, so you bear with it for her.

Definitely the type to take you to one of those geek stores for your birthday and just let you pick whatever you want.

Girl comes from money, and she knows how to spend it. :)

"S/O? What about this one? It's got that thing you like on it."

As she's proudly showing you a T-shirt of a character you mentioned liking, excitedly looking around for her own things, as well.

Always a fun couple experience.

Oh, also, Stella HATES you, but that's probably to be expected. Not that Octavia really cares for her absentee mother's approval.

[fanfoolishness]

I've been meaning to dive into how much I love Cal and Cere's tension, and their relationship, in Fallen Order. It's so well-written and well-acted, and I love how much both of them grow throughout their time together. Buckle in, folks, this is a long one!

Here, Cal's just been rescued by the Mantis crew after being kidnapped to fight the Haxion Brood. This is something he has every right to be furious at Greez about. Greez's gambling debts led the Brood to put out bounties on him, and when they couldn't get him, they snagged a kid who just happened to fall into Greez's orbit. Cal and BD-1 were both at risk of losing their lives for Greez's mistakes. While Greez is appropriately apologetic, Cal barely even pays attention. He stares at Cere, his shoulders slumped, expression barely hiding his hurt.

He's still reeling from what he learned on Zeffo the day before. From who he learned it from.

The Second Sister cornered and nearly killed him, goading him about being a weak Padawan, about Jaro Tapal. But she also revealed that she was Cere's former Padawan, that Cere had lied to Cal, and that Cere was responsible for what had happened to Trilla.

This devastates Cal.

He holds it together as much as he can. While still on Zeffo, he allows himself a moment of real vulnerability, asking quietly, "Cere, why didn't you tell me?" But by the time he's rescued from the Brood, that vulnerability shifts into disappointment and a desperate hope that somehow Trilla was lying to him.

I love what they do with him here. He's sarcastic. Angry. "I had a nice chat with the Second Sister." He waits a second to drop the bomb. "Trilla." This is Cal Kestis at his most teenaged, snarky and hurt and venomous. He still keeps it reeled in -- he did grow up a Jedi, after all, he's not gonna cuss her out or anything absurd like that -- but he's so human here, and so young.

There's that desperate hope. He asks Cere if it's true, if she really betrayed Trilla to the Empire.

But Cere, for her part, can't go there yet. How she can explain to this traumatized Padawan whose connection to the Force is still so fragile, that not all masters sacrificed themselves for their Padawans? How can she admit it to herself? She tries to deflect and to tell Cal that Trilla would do anything to compromise their mission, because she can't yet say "Yes. I tried to protect her, and I failed, and she paid the price." Because who can just say that? Who can take a look at the lowest they have ever been and stare at it with the cold light of honesty and say yes, the bad things you've heard about me are absolutely true? And imagine trying to do that when you're also trying to make amends, to move forward, to protect other children -- and you know that that protection starts right here, right now, with this one boy, and you've got to do anything you can to earn his trust?

So she deflects, and avoids saying anything of substance, and Cal's having none of it.

Check the subtitle here. We got the ?! in the house!!! Cal has to know, how can she not know how important this is? Because now that he's off Bracca, the safety valve's gone. He's got to do something of meaning now, got to help people the way he should have been doing all along. His own survival? Fine. Who needs it now. If he can just do something meaningful, if he can just keep someone else from having to go through what he did, then by the Force he's going to do it. Once in motion a Cal Kestis in motion must stay in motion, for the alternative is terrifying.

"Is it true?!" and he doesn't know what to think about the former Jedi before him, if he can trust anything she'd told him so far, if she'll protect him if the time comes, if she'll give in to the Empire again. He's pissed off and wounded and scared. Cere and Trilla's relationship has nothing to do with him and everything to do with him.

And Cere just acquiesces that Trilla was her apprentice, and Cal snaps, "You should have told me."

They don't get any more time to deal with it, because Kashyyyk needs them.

If you keep having Cal and Cere interact after this point, Cal is noticeably brittle. Cere tries to apologize, but Cal has thrown up his walls, deciding that fine, this is how it is now, and the trust they were starting to share is over. He doesn't want to talk about it when Cere tries to bring it up... but he lets Greez see how hurt he still is. That's safer than trying to talk to Cere about it directly.

Compare Cal asking why she couldn't tell him, and sharing how he feels like she broke their sense of being a team...

... To Cal's response after Cere admits she should have told him the truth from the beginning. That's what he said earlier that he wanted, but here, he's having none of it. It's too hard to get into with her. He's too afraid of what he'll find if they're really honest at this point, so he tries to shift the focus back to the mission. Things are broken between him and Cere, fine, but they can still do their work. He clings to that. As hurt as Cal is, he knows what they're doing still makes sense, and he still wants to fight against the Empire. If he has to do that with someone he can't trust, well, so be it.

And Cere understands. Despite her fear of going into the truth, she knows she's the one with greater wisdom and experience here. She doesn't tell him he's being a petulant child about something that has nothing to do with him, or tell him he needs to get over it. If she can't be fully honest with him, not yet, she does an admirable job of being otherwise open and accepting of his feelings. She knows he'll either come around, or he won't, and all she can do is offer the space for him to do so.

By the end of the second Kashyyyk mission, Cere's hoping that enough time has passed that maybe Cal's ready to hear more. Perhaps she's also guilty that Trilla went after him again, and that the Ninth Sister also put Cal's life in danger. Whatever the reason, she tries to reach out to him again. She gives more explanation that she has so far, and you can see just how difficult this is for her. All three characters are acted so well here -- Greez awkwardly in the middle putting way too much salt on his food, Cere's halting explanation, and Cal's completely closed off body language. H

ell, we practically even get an eye roll from him. Yeah. This dude's still a teenager.

...but one who's acting this way out of hurt, and out of not knowing/being afraid to know the whole story. Once you know everything that happened to Cere and Trilla, it's not wrong to want to shake Cal and tell him to be more understanding! They were in an impossible situation! There was no way to win and they both lost!

But he doesn't know that, and at this point, it's easier -- less painful for him -- not to know. So he tells Cere it's okay, but the message is, I don't want to hear it. He's been thinking about it all along when he goes off on his missions, and he's come to the conclusion that yeah, Cere probably did the best she could, there's no point dwelling on it, and that's good enough to go on with the mission. It's fine. (He's fine.)

And then we get... Dathomir and Kujet's Tomb, and all of Cal's efforts to move forward in the Force, to be strong when Cere let him down, to focus on the mission, it all goes to hell.

Suddenly Cal's the one overwhelmed by regret and self-blame. He's forced to examine his own darkest day, and when confronted with it, he falls apart. He's heartbroken all over again and convinced that what happened to Master Tapal was entirely his own fault, even though Cere tries to absolve him by telling him the truth, that he was just a child. Cal can't hear a thing she's saying.

Both actors here are so, so good. Cal is scared and small and a hurt, grieving child so desperate to find a sense of control about what happened that he blamed himself. His voice breaks, he hunkers down into himself, he holds his ruined lightsaber as tight as he can. And Cere finally lets the poison spill out, the self-hatred she's been carrying so long, she gets down on his level and manages to say everything she's been holding in. It comes out in a frantic, breathless rush, and honestly, both of them bring tears to my eyes in this scene.

So she's finally open. Finally lays it all out. What happened to her, how she used the dark side, how she failed both Trilla and herself.

More importantly, both for herself and for Cal, she reveals how she kept going. How she found a new hope. How she decided that this was not the end of her story.

Now we see what Cere was like as a Jedi truly. She's compassionate, but commanding. She instructs Cal to get up. Tells him he's going to make a new lightsaber. That it isn't over. That he can move on. He just has to take the first step.

And Cal wipes the tears from his eyes, and nods, and he believes her.

The lesson stays with him. He always was a fast learner. He goes to Ilum and rebuilds his lightsaber, goes to Dathomir and confronts his past again and this time succeeds. He learns that failure is not the end, but a part of the path. He starts to thaw towards Cere, grateful that she didn't turn away from him when he fell to his lowest and confessed what had happened to Master Tapal.

Then Trilla confronts him on Bogano, and he sees what happened first hand.

The entire sequence is gutting. Trilla's fear and agony are palpable, and Cere's devastation -- both emotional and dark side -- are so painful to see. Cal's utterly overwhelmed by it, sent into a partial seizure from the intensity of the flashback. (That dazed expression afterward sure looked post-ictal to me.) And when he gets back to the Mantis, bereft a Holocron, instead of telling Cere the next thing they need to do for the mission....

Cal Kestis halts everything because he has to apologize.

He wastes no time. He tells Cere immediately he saw what they went through. He says "I'm so sorry." And he takes responsibility for his own behavior, that arrogance that he clung to that told him he would never fail someone that way.

The thing is, Cere was comfortable never hearing this apology from him. She had started making peace with it, ever since Dathomir, with what she had done. She never expected him to empathize like this, but hearing it must have been such a powerful, emotional feeling. It's only after Cal apologizes and makes things right between them that he goes forward to discuss what happened to the Holocron and what they need to do next.

When it's Cere who takes the news hard, who blames herself... look who's there, reflecting his master's teachings right back at her. He tells her that mistakes are in the past, that they're in this together, that she won't be going after the Holocron alone; he even reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder, starting to grow from a mentee to an equal, to someone who can support her as she's been supporting him.

Seeing how Cal lifts Cere up during her darkest time, both here on the Mantis and later in Nur, as a reflection of what she did for him after Dathomir... I could scream about it, okay??? In fact I have been screaming about it! Right here! In this post! For several thousand words!!! Just seeing these two respect each other! Care for each other! Lift each other up!!! I can't even with it! They have both grown SO MUCH!

SHE'S SO PROUD OF HIM JUST LOOK

and then she KNIGHTS HIM and my heart just bursts with pride at how far they've both come, Cere finally embracing the Force again, Cal kneeling to accept a Knighthood he thought he would never, ever see....

you can't tell me he wasn't tearing up here. I saw how bright they made his eyes look in this split second. YOU CAN'T FOOL ME. Damn, I wish I could gif the little looks on his face right at this moment, because you can see so many emotions wash over him. Cameron Monaghan over here just exploding my heart. This kid!!!

...

anyway, I think that's all I've got. Just... CAL AND CERE! They mean a lot to me, okay???

[illuminatedquill]

Ahsoka Tano & Ursa Wren

The Promise

Story Summary: One night before the Purge of Mandalore, Ursa Wren makes a desperate plea to Ahsoka Tano.

“Lady Tano,” called Huyang. “There is a call coming through for you. It is labeled urgent by the sender.”

Ahsoka Tano opened her eyes, coming up from a deep meditation. Ill tidings could be felt through the Force and her dreams of late had been filled with fire and death.

She rose slowly from the training floor within her T-6 shuttle; the lights were dimmed inside at her command, the only sound being the quiet hum of the engines as they traveled through hyperspace. Grabbing a night robe from the nearby worktable and slipping it on, she walked into the cockpit, giving a nod to Huyang.

He switched the comm channel open. A hazy blue light began to emanate from the instrument panel before sharpening into the image of a familiar figure.

It was Ursa Wren, the mother of her padawan, Sabine Wren. The Countess of Clan Wren stood tall and proud, garbed in her beskar armor, but her face was noticeably more lined and wearier than Ahsoka had ever seen it.

"Hello, Ahsoka," she said. Even exhausted, the Mandalorian's eyes burned with a tenacity that the Jedi found intimidating, despite her years of experience as a warrior.

Ahsoka, hiding her surprise, adopted a neutral tone. She wasn't particularly close to Sabine's mother; Sabine had warned against it, considering the subject of her Jedi training was a touchy subject with Ursa.

"Hello, Ursa," she replied. "I take it you have news?"

Ursa nodded. "The Clans are preparing for war."

Ahsoka grimaced. It was to be expected but she had thought the Empire would not be so bold as to move against Mandalore this late in the war.

But Moff Gideon was no ordinary servant of the Empire. There were no lines he would not cross to please his master.

"No word from Bo?" asked Ahsoka. She knew that Bo Katan, leader of Mandalore, had gone to meet with Moff Gideon as a last-ditch effort to stay his hand.

The Mandalorian shook her head. "None. I cannot tell you if she is being held hostage or worse."

She paused. "I think this attack, Ahsoka," she finally said after a long moment, "will be the worst Mandalore has seen in generations. I think this will be the end."

Ahsoka sucked in a breath. "What do you mean, Ursa?"

Ursa smiled bitterly. "I think this is the death of us all."

"Mandalore," Ahsoka argued, "has survived worse. It survived Maul."

"We had a Republic and a plucky young Jedi who helped us out of that particular situation," Ursa remarked wryly. "We have none of those now."

"Sabine and I can be there within a day," Ahsoka said. "I'm nearby - "

"No." Ursa's statement struck Ahsoka with its finality, stopping her from finishing her reply.

She blinked in shock. "No? You don't want us to help?"

Ursa took a deep breath and closed her eyes before replying. "Correct. I want you to keep Sabine far away from Mandalore."

Ahsoka leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. She stared at the hologram for a moment, thinking. Ursa was an experienced warrior, just as she was; she had seen action during the Clone Wars and had fought alongside her and Bo Katan in re-taking Mandalore from Maul. Ahsoka knew better than to doubt her judgment.

If Ursa thought this was the end of Mandalore, then it was.

"That will be a difficult task," Ahsoka pointed out. "You know how stubborn Sabine is. She will want to help."

Ursa snorted. "I trust you can handle her. You've been keeping her in line so far."

"Barely," Huyang said from beside her. Ahsoka turned in her chair to glare at the droid. He shrugged.

"What if I leave Sabine behind and come to you by myself? Surely - "

"No!" Ursa shouted. "I want you beside Sabine when this goes down. Without you there to stop her, she'll find a way to Mandalore and she will die. I will not see her die here!"

"Ursa," Ahsoka said firmly, "Sabine is your daughter. Her place is by your side. With her family. With her clan!"

Ursa's smile was sad. "Not anymore. Our paths diverged a long time ago. She has a new family now."

Ahsoka shook her head. "She would disagree. The Ghost crew is not a replacement for you, Alrich, and Tristan."

Ursa stared at Ahsoka. "Listen to me closely, Jedi. I am not asking you to do this. I am telling you. You are to keep my daughter safe and away from this madness."

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "I don't take orders from you, Mandalorian."

"This," seethed Ursa, "is the natural order of things. Sabine will realize that someday."

"Sabine will - ", Ahsoka started to argue but was cut off.

"Oh, she will rage," Ursa interjected. "She will be furious, I know. She will grieve. But, most importantly to me, she will be alive. This is how it should be. When I lost my own parents to a civil war between clans, I felt the same way; I raged at the cruelty of the universe, at its unfairness. And do you know how it answered me?"

"How?" Ahsoka asked quietly.

Tears in her eyes, Ursa said, "It told me that it was better that I should lose them, rather that they lose me. It told me that it had seen grief a thousand times over, since the first star bloomed to life in the darkness of space; that it had seen countless children lose their parents to senseless tragedy. I was no different. And that is how it should be. That is how it always should be; that children bury their parents and mourn for them and not the other way around."

Ahsoka just sat there, listening to her words.

"I will not," said Ursa, her voice quavering, "bury my daughter. I won't. I refuse to lead her to a certain death. As her mother, who raised her to never run away from a fight, it kills me to deny her. I would love to have her fight by my side one last time. But, also as a mother, I cannot allow it."

"What about Tristan?" Ahsoka countered. "Is he not your child also?"

Ursa grimaced. "He's already here. I cannot dissuade him from his choice, no matter how hard I try. He refuses to leave."

She looked away for a moment. "I raised him too well. He is a Mandalorian, through and through."

Ahsoka looked at Ursa, seeing the tears stream down the woman's face. "She won't take your decision well," said Ahsoka.

Ursa shrugged. "I'm used to it. Sabine hating me is nothing new."

"No," Ahsoka said, suddenly feeling tired. "Sabine never hated you. You've never seen her hate."

Ursa raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I haven't?"

Ahsoka smiled. "She's not capable of it. There's too much good in her."

Ursa smiled back. "I wonder where she gets that from."

Ahsoka snorted. "From you, Ursa. And Alrich."

"You don't know us that well," Ursa pointed out.

"I know Sabine," Ahsoka replied. "And I see the best of you within her."

Ursa was silent in the moment after Ahsoka's comment. "You'll do it, then?" she asked, her voice rough. "You'll keep her away?"

Ahsoka sighed. "Yes. I will. I promise. I'll leave your involvement out of it, as well."

Ursa cocked her head at Ahsoka. "You don't have to do that. She'll be furious with you."

Ahsoka shrugged. "I can handle it. I'm no stranger to anger."

Ursa nodded. "I can see that," she acknowledged. "And . . . thank you."

"You're welcome," replied Ahsoka. "And this isn't a good-bye. Nothing is certain. You can still survive this."

"I will try," Ursa promised. "Unlike you Jedi, that is all we can do." She paused again, hesitant.

"Something else?" Ahsoka offered.

"You'll stay by her side? Continue her training?" asked Ursa.

"Of course," said Ahsoka.

Relief eased into Ursa' rigid stance. "Good. She has a promise to keep, after all. Between you and the Bridger boy, once you find him, I think she'll be alright."

Ahsoka quirked an eyebrow. "You like Ezra, don't you?"

Ursa frowned. "Don't be ridiculous. Sabine likes him. I tolerate him, on her behalf."

"You approve of their . . . relationship?" asked Ahsoka carefully. She wondered how much Ursa had intuited about Sabine's feelings for her lost friend.

Ursa shrugged. "A Jedi and a Mandalorian are a unique pairing. Never heard of one before. The songs that will be sung for them are sure to be legendary."

She glanced at Ahsoka with a knowing look. "Bridger cares deeply for my Sabine. He has already sacrificed much to protect her and the people he cares for. And he is an excellent warrior, courtesy of his Jedi training. I can ask for nothing more in a life partner for my daughter."

"Yes," Ahsoka murmured. "I'm sure." She does know.

Privately, Ahsoka found it amusing that many people around Sabine seemed to know about her and Ezra before she did.

Ursa turned to the side, listening to someone speak from off-screen. She nodded and turned to face Ahsoka once more, her expression grim.

"Time to go?" asked Ahsoka.

"It is," Ursa responded somberly. "If the worst comes to pass, please tell Sabine that . . . I'm sorry. I don't regret the decisions I made to protect her, but I regret the cost that came with them. I was grateful that she came back and the time we spent together since then. And that I'm proud of her and all she has accomplished. And, also, that I . . . "

Ursa stopped there, uncertain of what to say next. Ahsoka said, "She knows, Ursa. Everything you've said, everything you're going to say - Sabine knows already."

The Mandalorian nodded. "This is hard," she observed.

"What is?" asked Ahsoka.

"Letting go," replied Ursa. "I don't know how you Jedi do it."

"It's never easy," said Ahsoka quietly. "Some never really master it."

"I see," said Ursa. "I wonder if I would have made a good Jedi, then."

"If you survive this," Ahsoka joked, "come see me for training."

Ursa grinned at her. "I don't know if you could handle both myself and Sabine as apprentices, Master Jedi."

And she ended the call on that note. Ahsoka stared at the space where Ursa's hologram had been for a few seconds and then bowed her head, feeling the weight of what was to come already pressing down on her.

Huyang, turning to look at her, asked, "Should I wake Lady Wren?"

Ahsoka turned in her chair to face towards the door that led to her padawan's room on the shuttle. Inside, Sabine was sleeping soundly.

Ahsoka thought for a moment. "No," she decided. "Let her have one more good night's sleep."

Tomorrow, Ahsoka thought, she might wake to a nightmare.

[crimeronan]

Oh man I’m just very head full many thoughts about this AU again this morning, so question:

_Does_ Hunter not want to be the Golden Guard in the same way Luz doesn’t want to be Empress? Like obviously he doesn’t want to leave Luz and is working on dismantling the Empire and it’s authority but does he just have days where he’s like “one of these days I am going to grab Luz and fucking book it to the Knee or the Toes or somewhere and we can live like hermits in the wild I am so tired of this,”

And follow up if he does have those thoughts: Does Luz realize he does? Like does she realize that just because he loves her and wants to protect her doesn’t mean he isn’t just as exhausted of this whole schtick as she is? I wonder if the only reason Luz has never got a decent answer to the question of what Hunter would do in his own life is because she’s always picturing herself Not In It. And if she’d get an actually okay answer if she asked Hunter what he’d like to do when they’re done with the Empire and can do anything they want

hunter thinks about this constantly. CONSTANTLY.

arguably he's straight-up admitted to it, albeit in a projecting way: that moment when he tells camila "if you think you can go play house with her back in the human realm, i'm telling you now, she won't go." he's like well EYE know her and love her enough not to even ask. get on my level.

he would Love to just take luz somewhere quiet where nobody knows either of them and hole up in a house for the winter without worrying about anything except food and water and sleep. he has a pretty reasonable suspicion that she would immediately become 90% calmer and 100% more able to tolerate the non-calm parts.

but he knows luz won't be able to live with herself if she abandons the kingdom.

so he hasn't even Considered asking. he's not gonna convince her to stop caring. if he asks, then luz will not Only have to tell him no, but Then she'll spiral about how she's making hunter miserable by refusing to leave, and how hunter should just go off on his own, even though that's the last thing he'd Ever do.

hunter hasn't let himself think much about an after-empire future because it's hard to believe in it. his primary emotional priority is being with luz, and this is what luz's life is, so this is what hunter's life is. but he would LOVE to grab her and run. if luz woke up one day like "i think i need to abandon the empire or i am going to actually die," hunter would be like "great. i can speed pack, i already know the least populated route out of here. let's GOOO"

luz knows that hunter is currently incredibly fucking stressed out and exhausted and frequently unhappy. but she is also a self-loathing idiot who defaults to seeing herself as the problem, instead of their circumstances. luz is like wow it sucks how i'm evil and am destroying him slowly. as if the thing wearing hunter down is not Literally The Exact Same Thing that's wearing her down....

i think if the question was "what should we do when this is all over," hunter would indeed be able to come up with a better answer. he'd probably need a little while to think it over, but at least he'd be able to Conceptualize it.

he wants to go somewhere warm and quiet. he wants to sleep. he wants luz to be there.

pretty simple desires, all things considered!

[mrsnancywheeler]

a while ago @nomorespahgetti mentioned eddie and muse were vampire empire coded and I wholeheartedly agree and felt like dissecting it rn so here we go

"i see you as you see yourself through all the books you read" for me this represents the way eddie thinks he sees her (he doesn't) but he pays attention, he understands in her in what she listens to, reads, but he doesn't really understand it. he thinks he sees her but he doesn't. and it goes around the same way, she doesn't really see him even if she thinks she does

"overwhelmed with guilt and realizing the disease" she feels so guilty for being with eddie when technically she's billy's girl (even if that situation is confusing) and for feeling like she's hurting eddie even though she's told him they'll never be together and she'll always pick billy (500 days of summer core). slowly she's realizing that neither of these relationships are fruitful or sustainable, but she lets them continue. eventually she gives billy an ultimatum right before the big tour but she doesn't even stay true to that, during the time of the tour she stays with billy even when the cycle mostly continues. she tells eddie it will never be him when he asks and yet she'll take him back every time he thinks he can change her mind because she needs to feel wanted.

"you give me chills, I've had it with the drills" chills being what she experiences when eddie finally gives up not just on being with her, but also being there for her. it's really a terrifying time for her because her whole world is falling apart. but eddie has had it with the repetitive cycle of aching for her to not just love him, but love him more than billy and choose him first. he's done with the drills.

"I am empty till she fills, alive until she kills" eddie is longing for her love until she gives it and feels on top of the world until she inevitably goes back to billy. deep down he knows it will happen, but it breaks him every single time.

"I see you there rejecting all your earthly power" she knows eddie would treat her better than billy, that she could so easily stop with cycle and just be with eddie. but she refuses to do so.

"protecting and dissecting till you've emptied every hour" her endless talks about all the things billy's said and how that's made her feel, how it's altered her, his words fill the void even when he's not there. eddie is there to make her feel worthy, like she's more than just a groupie, like she's lovable"

"you lay upon my pillow and you open like a flower, I wanted to see you naked, I wanted to hear you scream, wanted to kiss your skin, and your everything" the times they're intimate together and vulnerable. she lets eddie have that part of her, express himself through that to express that she does love him even if it's not how she loves billy. and eddie wants to be that way with her all the time.

"I wanted to be your woman, I wanted to be your man, I wanted to be the one that you could understand" she does want eddie (not like she wants billy and I believe if billy gave up on her and was with someone else she would pick eddie but that's not for now) she wants to be loved, and even if she doesn't really say it she wants the traditional idea, to be someone's girl in a way that means they belong to each other and end up together forever, marriage, kids, all of it. and that's what eddie wants from her too, but there's billy. there's always billy and the fact they've both idealized versions of each other that aren't true. they don't really understand each other.

"where you can't seem to hold me, can't seem to let me go" she doesn't commit to eddie, but completely breaks down when he leaves and doesn't call. when he rejects her it breaks her, but she'll still pick billy.

"you turn me inside out and then you want the inside in, you spin me all around and then you ask me not the spin" this is billy and all his constantly changing expectations for her, but also eddie letting her live the fantasy that she's said isn't what she'll choose but then losing it when she still doesn't want it.

"you wanna be with me, you wanna be with him" yk

so yeah eddie and muse are literally this song

[mrs-toohot]

This week's episodes: Live react

Candace is taking my man on a date? I'm gonna have thoughts.

(Also my MC's name is Sophie)

Firstly, he'd better say no.

Okay, so he can't say no. Fuck.

Awww 'the look on his face turns from shock to reassurance when he notices your expression'

"You know you have nothing to worry about, right? You and I are solid." aw omg stop??? so cute

"I'd never break your heart, Sophie, you know that, right?"

Oh we're getting three stress tests

"What if Wesley is already making out with Candace?" Nora STFU you bitch lol. If we were friends that would be funny, but we're not so shut your slut whore bitch mouth.

How insecure do you have to be to press the button because you found out that she's 22 and American? Like wtf? Yeah cool she's a model, but Jesus Christ, do you really think your man is going to fall over himself that easily? HE'S ON TV! HE'S BEING JUDGED FOR HIS ACTIONS!

'No, I trust Wesley' is obviously my choice.

"There's nothing hotter than a guy who knows what he wants and isn't afraid to go for it."

Yeah, cool, but this is just telling me that she wants him. Again, I am not phased.

Again, trusting Wesley. This is easy af

'Candace is perfection incarnate' Yeah but she's also got pink hair and my man's a CEO like fr he wants a WOMAN not a GIRL.

Okay as predicted, Candace is Cassia's ex (Lucky Candace... damn...)

'If she sees even a small opening with Wesley, she'll jump on the opportunity'.

Um yeah but she's not gonna.

God, this would be so much harder on a loyal Ryder route. I'd be genuinely shaking in my uggs rn.

Yay, I passed the easiest test in the world

Seriously you would have to be insanely jealous to fail this, the fuck???

Oh sweet we get $10k!!!

Ancient Greece Party!!! Writers should've made it a Roman Empire party just to keep it current and up to date

Amari - I've always wanted to dress like a goddess Antoine - You don't do that already? Could've fooled me.

EXCUSE! ME! SIR! YOU'D BETTER HAVE THOSE LINES ON MY ALTERNATE ROUTE!

Why is Wesley literally in underwear tho

NO HE DID NOT JUST GREET ME LIKE THAT

"Sophie! There's my girlfriend!"

"I'm not interested in pursuing a taken person".... Why does this fill me with dread. What is she going to do? Is she gonna try and break us up and THEN pounce on him?

Cute toga, omg that one hairstyle (you know which one) it is CUTE

"His jaw goes slack as he takes you in" dear god who is writing these LIs and can you please take over LITG

OH HE LOOKS SO FUCKING HOT FJDKHGSBF

HE'S GOT A LITTLE LIGHTNING BOLT EARRING GUYS LOOK AT HIM

You suddenly feel shy under his smouldering gaze. (Oooof)

'I can't remember if I've ever mentioned, but my parents own a hotel nearby'

Yes babe you did but please take me aside and tell me exactly what you're planning on doing to me once we get there.

I am teetering on the edge of BFFs with Cassia, and then I'm hoping I can jump her bones. She's so hot I stg

Amari's outfit is so boring

NORA'S OUTFIT IS SO CUTE

Elena's outfit is so mid

ANTOINE'S GOT WINGS bhfkdsfasdhvdbs HAHAHAHHAHAHAH he's so fucking extra I can't

SLAY NAOMI I LOVE YOUR BUTTERFLIES

ONCE AGAIN ZAYN'S OUTFIT IS TOO MUCH he's got a lion head as a dick cover wtf hfkdbsahs

Excuse me while i thirst over cassia deeply

Blah blah blah playing beer pong with Wesley

WYM YOU'RE STARTING TO SOUND LIKE NAOMI

WHY YOU BEEN SPENDING TIME WITH HER

THIS IS MAKING ME MORE JEALOUS THAN THAT DATE EVER DID

bdhsfksdahfsd me distracting him though ahehehehehehhe

"That was a dirty trick, love."

Yeah, I know, that's why I did it. Now do it back.

OH ANTOINE'S TELLING AMARI HE LOVES HER aaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww

Since when are they that serious the fuck

"Should I say something to Amari?" About Antoine being noncommittal? When he's been all in for me since day one in my other playthrough? Nah babe, I'm good. I believe it.

Aww Wes brought me brekkie. OJ.

AWWW HE WANTS TO LEARN TO COOK FOR ME BECAUSE HE'S SHIT AT IT of course he is, he's never had time to cook because he's been too busy working.

WESLEY SLEEPS NAKED WESLEY SLEEPS NAKED OH MY GOODNESS HE'S GOING TO MAKE ME BREAKFAST WITHOUT ANY CLOTHES ON

Oh Lana's got snitching to do sigh.

WHAT THE FASHIONNOVA IS ZAYN WEARING HSKADFHBSDA

Oh Zayn and Nora in the suite?? I see I see.

okay i forgot to write during the workshop because Wesley

Literally stop Antoine and Amari are wearing matching outfits CEASE

Okay wait...

I decided to stay out of it, and Zayn and Nora got back. Lana annoucned they broke the rules, and then the game glitched back to my conversation with Amari about Antoine in the bathroom???

URGH i had to restart the episode.

skipping skipping skipping

Even though I'm replaying this i still forgot to take screenshots of the workshop. But trust me Wesley's dialogue is REALLY CUTE

muaahahhaha the benefit of getting a glitch is that now I know NOT TO TRUST ZAYN AND NORA

ha 'IMMEDIATELY WESLEY IS ON YOUR SIDE'

They learned from last season where people got SO MAD at Liam & Henri hahahahah

AW IS RYDER GOING!?!?!?

UM UM UM WHAT THEFUCK IS WESLEY GOING ON ABOUT? "What if Sophie walks away once I tell her?!"

BABE TELL ME WHAT!??!?!?

SOMEONE GET A BETTER SCREENSHOT THAN THIS PLEASE HUFDSHKAVFSBJASD I NEED A NEW SCREENSAVER

[perspectivestarters]

Perspective's Sentence Starters; Speak Now (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift (Part III)

ELECTRIC TOUCH

"Just breathe, just relax, it'll be okay."

"I've got my money on things goin' badly."

"Got a history of stories ending sadly."

"Still hoping that the fire won't burn me."

"All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life"

"Got a feelin' your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life."

"I want you now."

"Wanna need you forever."

"I've been left in the rain lost and pining."

"I'm tryin' hard not to look like I'm trying."

"Every time I tried hard for love, it fell apart."

"I've gotten used to no one callin' my phone."

"I've grown accustomed to sleepin' alone."

"I know that all it takes is to get it right."

"I was thinking just one time."

"Maybe the stars align and maybe I call you mine."

"Maybe the moment's right."

WHEN EMMA FALLS IN LOVE

"When (Name) falls in love, she paces the floor."

"The ways that this one could go wrong."

"Little Miss Sunshine always thinks it's gonna rain."

"I know that boy will never be the same."

"She's the kind of book that you can't put down."

"All the bad boys would be good boys if they only had a chance to love her."

"To tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her."

"When (Name) falls in love, it's all on her face."

"When (Name) falls in love, she disappears."

"We all just laugh after seein' it all these years."

"When (Name) falls apart, it's when she's alone."

"She takes on the pain and bears it on her own."

"When (Name) falls in love, she's in it for keeps."

"She won't walk away unless she knows she absolutely has to leave."

"She'll call you out."

"She'll put you in your place."

"(Name) met a boy with eyes like a man."

"Turns out her heart fits right in the palm of his hand."

"Now he'll be her shelter when it rains."

"His whole world's about to change."

I CAN SEE YOU

"You don't think I can see ya?"

"I’ve been watchin' you for ages."

"I spend my time tryin' not to feel it."

"But what would you do if I went to touch you now?"

"What would you do if they never found us out?"

"What would you do if we never made a sound?"

"I can see you waitin' down the hall from me."

"I could see you up against the wall with me."

"What would you do?"

"Baby, if you only knew."

"We kept everything professional."

"They keep watchful eyes on us."

"It's best that we move fast and keep quiet."

"You won't believe half the things I see inside my head."

"Wait 'til you see half the things that haven’t happened yet."

"I could see you throw your jacket on the floor."

"Make me want you even more."

"You know I won’t ever tell."

"I could see you being my addiction."

"You can see me as a secret mission."

"Hide away and I will start behaving myself."

CASTLES CRUMBLING

"I had an empire in a golden age."

"I was held up so high."

"I used to be great."

"They used to cheer when they saw my face."

"I fear I have fallen from grace."

"I feel like my castle's crumbling down."

"I watch all my bridges burn to the ground."

"You don't want to know me."

"I will just let you down."

"I was the great hope for a dynasty."

"Crowds would hang on my words."

"They trusted me."

"Their faith was strong, but I pushed it too far."

"I held that grudge 'til it tore me apart."

"Power went to my head and I couldn't stop."

"Ones I loved tried to help, so I ran them off."

"Here I sit alone behind walls of regret."

"Falling down like promises that I never kept."

"My foes and friends watch my reign end."

"I don't know how it could've ended this way."

"People look at me like I'm a monster."

"They're screaming that they hate me."

"Never wanted you to hate me."

FOOLISH ONE

"Chances are, tonight, you've already got plans."

"Chances are I will talk myself to sleep again."

"You give me just enough attention to keep my hopes too high."

"Wishful thoughts forget to mention when something's really not right."

"You are not the exception."

"You will never learn your lesson."

"Stop checkin' your mailbox for confessions of love that ain't never gonna come.""

"You will take the long way down."

"You know how to keep me waitin'."

"I know how to act like I'm fine."

"Don't know what to call this situation."

"I know I can't call you mine."

"I will do my best to seem bulletproof."

"Maybe, someday, when we're older, this is something we'll laugh about."

"You will learn the hard way instead of just walkin' out."

"How could I not see the signs?"

"You haven't written me or called."

"You got her on your arm and me in the wings."

"I'll get your longing glances, but she'll get your ring."

"Maybe I will finally learn my lesson."

"They ain't never gonna come."

"The day is gonna come for your confessions of love."

"When all is said and done, he just wasn't the one."

TIMELESS

"Down the block, there's an antique shop."

"The kinda love that you only find once in a lifetime."

"The kind you don't put down."

"In those photos, I saw us instead."

"Somehow, I know that you and I would've found each other."

"In another life, you still would've turned my head even if wе'd met."

"You still would've been mine."

"We would have been timeless."

"I would've read your love letters every single night."

"Prayed to God you'd be comin' home all right."

"I believe that we were supposed to find this."

"I had to smile when it caught my eye."

"Brought me back to the first time I saw you."

"Time stood still like somethin' in this old shop."

"I thought about it as I started lookin' 'round."

"Hundreds of years ago, they fell in love, like we did."

"I'd die for you in the same way if I first saw your face."

"Run away and left it all behind."

"Time breaks down your mind and body."

"Don't you let it touch your soul."

"It was like an age-old classic the first time that you saw me."

"Sometimes there's no proof, you just know."

"I'm gonna love you when our hair is turnin' grey."

"We'll have a cardboard box of photos of the life we've made."

"Oh my, we really were timeless."

[fireemblems24]

Lol "the most important one's can sit down" is so far from Edelgard's actual perspective. Read her support with Linhardt, or the amount of support she shows Petra in achieving her goals in their support. Not to mention everything to do with Lysithea and attempting to facilitate her goals by taking care of the things she is unable to do so she can focus on her strengths. Or how she takes time out of her morning every single day to escort Bernadetta to class.

Then there's the whole equal opportunity consideration with the free schooling, an idea courtesy of Ferdinand that she is eager to consider and integrate.

All she does is try and facilitate the "weak" so through that support they become "strong" and can achieve their individual goals for the betterment of everyone.

"I intend to create a world where the best are free to rise to the top and succeed, regardless of their bloodline." Is not a statement about importance. Nobility has inherent importance due to bloodlines. If only the "important" could rise to the top and succeed it would create a feedback loop, lineages. The "best" refers specifically to those who excel in their field, and since they can come from any bloodline none of them were more important than any other.

For that to happen the world she needs to create a world that facilitates the opportunities of all people equally and equitably so the "best" can actually rise and succeed. She removes importance from the equation since it disadvantages those who could be great in favor of those who were born into great things. That's her entire point with Miklan. It's why she's removing the nobility.

It's those who think that bloodlines and certain deific blessings should determine who lives in the biggest castles and mansions that have ideas of "importance." Like, say, which families are important to preserve for the ongoing existence of their nation due to hereditary traits that just so happen to also keep them in positions of ultimate authority as the adjudicator for who gets listened to. And that we should all just "respect" those differences instead of empowering everyone.

Don't get Emperor "I can never be seen as weak because half of the Empire nobles are looking for an excuse to reinstate the power of the Slithers" Edelgard confused with the person she demonstrates herself to be through her words and actions to those in her care. To the extent she's accused of being a mother hen by Linhardt with how doting she is.

Bernadetta leaving her room in Crimson Flower isn't a mistake. Bernadetta wasn't "important" to Edelgard, she figured she would walk her path alone, hated by her Eagles, and still every day, the crown princess and most "important person" in Adrestia took the time to help Bernadetta find her confidence and work towards self-improvement. Something actively detrimental to herself if you think about how she believes they would oppose her. Something that goes double for Petra who she never forces to join her side.

She really seems like the kind of person to leave others in the lurch. Definitely the narrative the game was telling.

I'm gonna be real. I had no idea what you're talking about. You need to give me more context for that line.

Also, I've seen this all before and it's unconvincing.

There's a world of a difference between Edelgard's personal friends, who the vast majority of which also just happen to be Adrestian nobility, and Joe McJoe the (former) Faerghus farmer with a handicap son told his failure is because he lacked merit and not because war killed his other kids, destroyed his farmland, and etc . . .

It's one thing to get cozy with a noble's daughter and another to care about the common person, people she openly says she'll sacrifice and gives a big shrug when Shez says they will suffer the worst in war.

Do I think she's a heartless bitch? No. But I do think she's perfectly willing to leave people behind to starve and die in her war, and that her methodology will not help the ones who survived get back on their feet but blame them for any lack of success by lack of "merit."

[calamitaswrath]

Lucia plays Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn: Chapter 10

So, we're already at the endgame of this first part. I think I mentioned it before, but on the one hand, I found it really interesting how in terms of both setup and general structure, this part really strongly mirrors the story of Path of Radiance - evil kingdom(/empire) invades, plucky small hero group fights against them and all odds, and they help the hidden, long-lost heir to the throne get into power. They even have a chapter where they attack a prison to bolster their ranks! But the fact that this is all just setup for the rest of the game really feels like it kind of hurts this new cast, who I feel were really rather rushed through their story without really being given the chance to be properly developed. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. . .

To leave that tangent somewhat relevant, though: Jarod really is no Ashnard, even if he is the final boss of this arc. I guess if you wanna read into this a bit deeper, you could say that this parallel wants to show that Ashnard and everything he did is just a petty squabble compared to what else is to come in this game?

. . .Huh, Izuka actually making a good point for once. Micaiah really has been getting far more renown from everything she has done, leaving Pelleas a bit on the wayside. Speaking of him - I'm still not quite sure what his deal is. Like, with him as a person. He recognized Micaiah being a branded, but what does that mean for him and did he even really recognize her?

Pelleas is even having some trouble with his speech like Elincia did in the last game. Parallels are strong in this one.

Base conversations! . . .God, I still feel bad for not really using Fiona. By all rights, she should be an important and strong character, but. . . yeah. And she's even giving me a Thani, when my current one's not even close to breaking yet. . .

Volug can talk?! . . .But only the ancient language, lol. But he's giving me money (or, well, a blue gem, but same thing) so that's neat.

You know, if nothing else, then I have to admire Jarod for sticking to what he believes in, and having a realistic outlook of his position. Dude's a shithead, but at least one who's honest in his own twisted way.

Ha, a proper coronation scene for Pelleas in-engine. That's neat. And if I see this correctly, then Almedha has an overworld model? Inch resting. . .

Micaiah's getting a promotion from the rightful heir to the throne that she has been helping all this time. The parallels sure are paralleling here.

But ahhh, her Light Sage outfit is super cute and pretty!

Aaand I knew this was coming, but it's still sad to see - our farewells to Muarim, Tormod, Nailah, Rafiel, and last but absolutely not least, Vika. The interactions between Sothe and Tormod, though. . . man, I really do need to read up on whether or not those two had any supports in PoR. They have chemistry.

But yeah, Laguz racism is still a thing. No wonder there, considering that Gallia played a big role in Daein's defeat.

Hm. You know, between it being a thing that's intrinsic to who you are, but also something that you wouldn't be able to tell at a glance of somebody and being something that makes you fit in with neither Laguz nor Beorc - being a Branded really does work as a stand-in for being queer, no? Anyway, trans Micaiah headcanon I'd say.

Speaking of her, that branded sign is absolutely sick. Depending on how much I like her and the game overall, that might be worth an idea for a tatoo one day. . . idk, just throwing random thoughts out. Who knows if I ever really want that.

Also speaking of Micaiah - I have already been wondering about her heritage! I sadly did already get spoiled and heard that she is Sanaki's half-sister, but I know literally no context on that. Which parent does she share with Sanaki, and what kind of Laguz her Laguz parent was. . . I really have no idea.

MICAIAH INSISTING THAT SHE'LL VISIT VIKA IN THE DESERT!! I was fully prepared to have their base conversation being the only interaction the two of them have, but AHHH THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO SEE

Oh, Volug's staying with Micaiah and the others after all! That's nice.

lol @ Sothe getting pecked by Yune. These games are really not for people who do not like birds.

I didn't actually deploy the Black Knight on this chapter because I figured he'd just steal experience from units who need it more. But I'll also read up on the conversations that I missed on this map, because I am Curious™.

Oh, Jarod's conversation with the Black Knight is gold. "What inspired you to slooooowly clank your way up out of your grave?" - yeah that's just how armoured units are in this game. But also, Jarod actually wanting to avenge Alder's death. . .

Not much there in the other conversations with the Black Knight. Him talking about how Micaiah reminds him of someone. . . did he know her mother, by chance? Or. . . nah, that probably can't be, since Micaiah is apparently far older than she seems. Sanaki then?

[whereserpentswalk]

Your girlfriend used to be a supersolider. I mean physically she still is, but she doesn't work as one anymore because of an injury taking away the use of one of her arms. She's been through a lot, she's been fighting for longer then unmodified humans tend to live, even with life extension technology, she's been fighting for longer then even the planet you're on has been colonized by humans. The empire she fought for is long gone, but she's still here.

She looks strangely inhuman. Her body looks almost like a statue, she's so perfectly lean and muscular, but in an almost inhuman way. Her eyes are strangely colored, and her skin has pieces of machinery sticking out of her. She's more human looking then the cyborgs you tend to see throughout the city, but there's something most people consider off about her. People always act uncomfortable around her, especially since her body language is kind of stilted, and her face doesn't show emotion, it makes her think of herself as less human than she is.

She's strangely skittish due to her past. Robots always scare her, even ones you consider small and cute. Occasionally she'll see someone with a visor covering their face and she'll want to avoid them due to some memory she has about that. She can't sleep when spaceships are passing overhead, and you'll have to hold her and comfort her until the sound ends.

Most people you meet just walking around the city think of her as being sort of creepy. A lot of your freinds talk behind her back about how she's killed people before. A lot of people think she doesn't feel emotions just because her body doesn't show them, a lot of people think it's impossible for her to love you.

You do your best to make her feel safe. You pet her skin, and kiss her a lot, and play with her hair. You feel the need to make her feel comfortable again. Whoever made her into what she is now took away her ability to feel sexual pleasure, but she seems to enjoy pleasuring you. She wants to cry when she lays her head agaisnt your breast, but her eyes can't do that anymore.

She seems to so often feel like a monster, feel like something designed to hurt people. She's so aware that her body itself is built as a weapon of war, that it makes her feel like violence itself is her nature. But you tell her that she doesn't have to be violent anymore if she doesn't want to. And you call her pretty, people have said a lot of things about her body, but you don't think anyone has called her pretty before.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

As someone from the same part of the world (I'm Polish) your Ukraine makes so much sense. Can you tell us about what she's like with Canada? They seem like they could be so sweet together.

Thank you! and their relationship is about building and about growth. In histories so defined by Matt's loathed abilities with killing and Katya's land being the land where empires clashed, and destruction fills so much of her life, it has to be about building and growth. It has to be Matt's hands joining hers in building and rebuilding after so many others have been destroyed.

This looks like Matt boosting her onto the dacha roof and her pulling him up after her so they can lay the shingles Matt cracked from split logs.

He learns the wild mushrooms of her region, and together they spend time picking and then pickling wild mushrooms and garlic. In the woods, she touches things and says the word for it in Ukrainian, building his vocabulary.

Her counters are ancient, and Matt says fuck this and goes out hiking to find a deposit of granite so beautiful it could be mistaken for mother of pearl because literally all of the Canadian shield is covered in beautiful granite, and he sends her a photo of it like "If we can find that at the store do you want it for counters?" She sends him a thumbs up, and he takes that as enough approval to literally mine this out of the side of a hill and make Alfred pick it up, and he ships it and then installs it for her. She thinks he's insane, but goddamn, it is a beautiful counter.

She isn't very expressive in a lot of ways, and Matt sleeps separately from her a lot when she wants space, or he just really, really wants to make sure she doesn't feel like she's being pressured into anything. And if he's out sleeping above the oven or on the sofa, she will sometimes join him out there and lay down with him and kind of prod him awake until he understands something's up and even when she'll never talk about it, he'll obey her prodding and snuggle and hold her until she can sleep.

[ryutarotakedown]

i have been slacking on posting dgs stuff here because the aa tumblr server is so good at quarantining my brainrot but No Longer. here is my latest subject of dgs thought™

gregson & gina are transmasc & transfem solidarity

gregson is a stealth trans guy. literally no one on earth knows this about him other than maybe herlock though i'm not sure how he would have found out either. he is very aware of what his empire thinks of people who don't conform and in true gregson style has decided that if he conforms well enough then maybe britain will finally love him back

gina would be stealth if she could but living on the streets isn't really conducive to voice training or outfit experimentation or anything so instead she's proud of it — she won't tell anyone who doesn't ask but doesn't try to hide that she's trans. she figures that the other gnc east end kids need someone to look up to and she'll be that person if necessary. better she be a target than them

gregson sees gina and feels a hot prickling shame settle over him. doesn't she know she needs to be careful?

gina sees gregson and thinks he's never had to worry about violence in his entire life. typical copper.

when he moves her into his flat she sees him getting ready one day with the victorian equivalent of a binder (a.k.a. a really tight corset) and thinks Oh

they never talk about it, because there's nothing to talk about. but she understands him a little more and he feels more understood around her.

there is once when she asks whether the corset damages his chest, wearing it that long. he scoffs and says that of course it does. she asks why he doesn't take it off except for sleep then. he says he can't take the risk.

she's always seen him as an unwilling dog to the state, but this is the first time she's felt a sort of weird compassion-pity about it.

when she first gets her inspector uniform he starts fussing over doing the sleeves properly. she says, "what are you, my old man?" and it stuns both of them into silence for a good minute

when he dies she runs to the coroner's and demands to look at his autopsy report. maria says gina has nothing to worry about. she understands too.

when the truth comes out she just feels this sort of hollow emptiness in her chest. she knows how much danger gregson was in. she knows how much it meant to him to be able to stay in the good graces of a government that would have hated him if he ever tried to be truer to himself.

but all the same, she wishes he had loved her more than the empire that killed him anyway

she puts flowers on his headstone and then goes to sholmes's for their weekly karaoke. she's brought some of her friends. they call each other the irregulars.

[korgbelmont]

Choices Summer Updates

I admit, I didn't expect to be doing a post like this until next week with the July Insiders, but here we are!

Undercut due to length of post

Blades of Light and Shadow 2 Oh, do we have a story for you! When you face the Shadow Realm once again, your skills are put to the ultimate test. Are you back in the Realm of your own accord? Or are you there against your will? Only time will tell, in the September 2023 premiere!

So it looks like the skills from BK1 may be carrying over to BK2. I'm interested to see what the Empire of Ash is like compared to the Shadow Court and how everything will play out.

My guess is that these are the new Love Interests mentioned in the video that was put out after BK1. Which means those who were hoping for Aerin when BK1 was releasing could potentially have their win! And just like Imtura, Mal, Nia, and Tyril, he is getting a new look. The other is named Valax, and I am intrigued about her and how she'll fit into the story. I remember when it was announced BK2 would add new Love Interests, I was hoping it would be a female Elf and male Orc. It looks like I may have been half right.

Unbridled: An Untameable Story Saddle up, partner! In the spinoff of Untameable, you’ll play as a brand new character, but you'll still see some familiar faces around. So get ready for a rodeo of a good time!

My guess is that the new MC will be someone who takes a job at the ranch in someway. As for the Love Interest, no idea. I imagine, like Untameable, it'll be a Single Love Interest book.

So I think the first image may be something to do with the new MC as we know that it is a gender of choice book. The second image I think might be related to Kit in someway as they may have since gone more into their dream of working in food. The third and fourth image I'm guessing may be CGs for the Love Interest.

The Cursed Heart 2 Coming 2024: The Cursed Heart 2! After a grueling battle to rid Kieran of their curse, you may think all has been put to rest. But friends, that could not be further from the truth. A new threat stands to rid the land of fae – no matter which Court they belong to.

I really don't know what to expect for The Cursed Heart 2. I do have a theory that somehow Longclaw is going to become Gleam again, but I don't know.

Intrigued as to what this could be in relation to during the book. Only one way to find out.

Immortal Desires 2 Another sequel is in the works! Immortal Desires 2 will also premiere in 2024! After your Turning at the end of Book 1, your kindling romance with both Cas and Gabe soon turns to jealousy when you are faced with the ultimate decision – which coven will you dedicate your life to?

To this day, I am still surprised at the decision to give this a sequel rather than have it be a standalone. And I am definitely ready for more. I had a feeling the whole choosing a coven thing would be a part of it and it'll be interesting to see how the decision affects the relationship if you went the poly route during BK1. For me, it'll probably be Clement as I played Gabriela's route only.

All that being said, I feel like there could be a chance something will happen that may see MC, Cas, and Gabe make their own coven.

Upcoming Themes Sometimes, the community will request a certain type of book, and we love to hear those ideas. We often can’t share details about books that will come out way in the future, but we dug up a few hints that we wanted to share. In 2024, you can expect to see books about: 👻♥️ | 🔪🧐 | 🏒🔥

I know I've said about being rubbish with emojis, but this time I'll have a go haha.

The first I imagine means another supernatural book (woohoo!), bit of a strange pair of emojis to pick though. I guess the heart refers to the Love Interest(s). Guess we'll find out next year.

The second screams mystery book. The monocle emoji gives me Poirot vibes. I'm guessing a murder mystery.

The third pair I imagine is in reference to the sports book they announced earlier in the year. Looks like said sport could potentially be hockey. I'm not really a sports person, but for now, I'll say I'll give it a go.

So that was everything regarding upcoming books in the blog post. I'll be back with more thoughts next week for the Insiders.