#talys hates his family

[talysalankil]

y'know, i hate that i 100% saw it coming when my mom adopted two cats two years ago, but i really wish she'd stop sending me pictures of how one of them is apparently constantly missing me since i moved out. like. thanks mom. what was i supposed to do here, we adopted siblings so they'd remain bonded so we couldn't separate them, plus he's probably too anxious to be moved anyway, so like, what, should i have waited for them to die before i move out (by which point my mom would have gotten another cat or two since she's never been more than a couple months without cats, and they would also have grown attached to me)? am i gonna have to suffer a perpetual guilt trip from now on?

[arolesbianism]

I should rly start eternal gales posting again I need to make sure the ppl who follow me know how much Tali and Aris make me to insane so that the isat au can have its full effect but alas I am allergic to drawing the human eg cast like 99% of the time and rn the only thing stopping that from being 100% is that I like fucking around with different art styles sometimes

[katz-rambles]

Hi ! Could we have a childhood friends to lovers ViktorxReader please ? 🥰 I am CRAVING for new works

Yess!! I love this trope it's sooo cute!!

2k words, so I hope you enjoy, Anon!

(fluff, gn!reader, reader is a professor, making out, getting caught, Viktors a bit of a tease (when is he never though), I think this is it!)

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚˚₊‧꒰

When your family left the under-city, you knew everything would change. You were glad that it happened, it opened a whole bunch of doors for what you could become when you grew into an adult. But it also meant leaving your old life behind, one of the things you still think about to this day. Your heart aches when you think about the people you knew, you just hope that they ended up in a good place. When the shimmer trade spiked, you thought you'd never see any of the people you knew ever again, most of them probably either succumbed to the drug, or was killed during the many times the enforcers went down. You didn't like to think about it, but it's the harsh reality of Piltover.

Now you're walking the halls of one of the most esteemed universities inside of piltover, not as a student, but as a professor. You climbed your way to the top, and you know that your family is proud of you. They're the only reason this became possible, so when you got offered, you jumped at the chance. You're not complaining either, it's a well paying job with good benefits.

The day seemed to be going by incredibly slow, each hour felt like a year. You had a pile of tests on your desk that you had to mark, you've gotten through about half of them. But there's only so much marking someone can take before you feel like ripping your hair out.

So, instead of ripping your hair out, you decide to go on a coffee run and get some fresh air. You've been inside your office for so long, you're surprised you're still standing. One of the downsides to being a professor.

The walk to the Cafe down the road from the university isn't a long one. It's about three minutes, so long enough that you can get some well needed fresh air, but not long enough that you're regretting your decision.

When you reach the university, hit coffee in hand, you run into one of your former students, Jayce Talis. He gives you a friendly wave and comes up to you, “hey, professor. How's your day been?” He asks, awkwardly trying to make small talk and you have to cover your smile by pretending to clear your throat. “It's been well, thank you for asking. How's yours been?” You smile at him, not wanting to seem impolite by just ending the conversation there. He shrugs and sighs, you get the feeling.

Just when you're about to ask a question someone calls Jayce over, and when you both look over you're met with the sight of someone who you thought died long ago, but there he is, standing right in front of you, his cane in hand. You've heard of hextech, you're not in your office that much, and you've heard that Jayce didn't do it alone, but you never knew who his lab partner was. You also know that Heimerdinger has an assistant, but you were never able to catch said assistant's name. But you expected everything and anything, but him. You could have sworn he was dead.

“Viktor,” you manage to get out, although it's been years since you've last seen him, the memories you two made together as children stay fresh in your mind. Plus, he's incredibly attractive, everything from his overgrown hair to the way he leans on his cane, still managing to be taller than you, though not by much. It all had your mind swarming. His eyes rake over you before he looks back to your eyes, “Milý,” he breathes, a faint smile on his face as he continues, “you’re.. ehh.. hi.” He chuckles, standing a bit straighter on his cane. Before either of you can say anything else, Jayce buts in, “I hate to ruin a good moment, but the council wants to see us, Viktor.” Viktor nods and gives you one last nod before limping after Jayce.

Seeing someone who you hadn't seen in a good decade or so was not on your bucket list. You sit down in the chair behind your desk and lean back, letting your head just barely dangle off the back of the chair. You bring your hands up and rub your face, taking a deep breath and groaning. The sound is muffled by your hands. You sit back up again and sigh, you shouldn't feel this way. But you can't deny the way that you felt your heart race when you saw him again, he has such a boyish charm that just pulls you in, the same as is it did when you two were kids. You just chalk it up to a shock factor, you haven't seen him in years. You're just shocked, that's what you tell yourself.

The whole day all you can think about is him, you almost feel giddy, almost like a schoolgirl again. You take a breather, you've made a good amount of progress on the tests so you can afford a quick walk. Plus you have a class soon, and your classroom is on the other half of the university, and you've still got to set up your notes, you internally groan at the thought of giving another lecture. This is your fourth today.

When you finally reach the classroom, the professor that was using the room before you is just finishing cleaning up. You opened the door, only to be met with Viktor and Jayce, and then Heimerdinger soon after. You give a polite nod to Heimerdinger, and smile at Jayce and Viktor. You take your bag off and grab your notes, placing them on the table in front of you, before speaking up, “I thought your lecture ended a while ago, what are you still doing here?” You try and make your tone seem polite enough to cover up the, almost, rude question.

It's Jayce that speaks up first, “Heimerdinger thought it would be a good idea for us to sit in for one of your lectures, since the subject your an expert in is arcane.” You nod and chew the inside of your cheek. You're an amazing talker, and can easily give an hour long lecture, but with Viktor there, you feel anxious at the thought. Although it makes sense, hextech deals with arcane and what better person to listen to than someone who's an expert in it. You try and finish setting up without letting your mind wander too much, but your eyes keep on drifting from the papers in front of you to Viktor. When you look over at him, you find him already staring and he quickly looks away from you.

Now it's just a matter of waiting, you have ten minutes until your class starts so why not help Jayce and Viktor with their problems. You let them, mainly Jayce oddly enough, to ask you any questions they may have and you answer them to the best of your ability. Soon enough your class starts and you have to push away the temptation of staring at Viktor the whole time. Though, a few times you caught him, out of the corner of your eye, looking at you, and you embarrassingly stumbled over your words those times. You swear you saw the ghost of a smirk on his face at your reactions. Everything about him is so damn enticing, it's infuriating. How can one man be so wonderfully perfect, it doesn't make sense to you.

After your lecture, you're leaning over your desk, your mind swarming with thoughts, some not as innocent as you'd like.

When you're met with a hand on your back that has you letting out an embarrassingly loud yelp. Lo and behold, Viktor’s standing right behind you, with a smirk on his lips. “You seem awfully.. eh.. jumpy today, is everything alright?” He asks, moving his face closer to yours, and your heart is racing so fast you're convinced it'll jump out of your chest. His hand on your back moves lower until he rests it on the curve of your hip, gently squeezing it. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired.” You sigh, doing your best to not stutter or hesitate on your words. Viktor chuckles, the sound is something you'd pay to hear again, and moves his face closer to yours again. “Well, we can't have one of the best professors sleeping on the job. Now can we?” If it weren't for the teasing lift to his words you'd think he was actually concerned, but you both know that you're he's not actually. He almost immediately caught onto your lie.

You have to crane your neck at an, almost, uncomfortable angle to be able to see his face. You have to loft your face up for your neck to not be strained too much and you unintentionally bring your faces closer together. In the moment everything feels heightened, you're more aware of him. The hand he has on your hip feels heavier, you can feel the heat coming from his body from the proximity of you two, and you can smell him, a wonderful scent mixed with oil from the lab, the salty smell of the bay, and the knee-weakening scent of his cologne. Right now, everything about him feels intoxicating.

His hand lifts from your hip and to your back, carefully nudging you to turn around so you two are fully facing each other. He then places his hand on your chin to lift your face up, once again. He lets go and grabs your hand, placing it on his chest before speaking, in such a quiet tone you almost didn't hear him, “do you feel that?” Under your palm you can feel each beat of his heart, it's fast, probably just as fast as yours is. All you can muster is a nod. “That's what you're doing to me.” He sighs and brings his face closer to yours, the sound of his words mixed with the tone of his accent is something you're slowly becoming addicted to.

You bring your free hand up to hold his face, your finger traces his cheekbone and then you rest your palm on his face. “Good.” You smirk and his eyes flick down to your lips, and you take the hint, closing the gap between you two. He presses you against the desk and reciprocates the kiss, just as eager and desperate as you are. Each second that passes by feels like an eternity, and you hope it never ends. You've wrapped your arms around his neck and his free hand is resting on your hip. You're the one to pull away first with a quick gasp for air. Viktors face has a red flush to it and you swear you fell deeper in love right then and there.

“I've waited so long to do that, when you left for the top-side the only thing I regretted was not telling you how I felt.” He chuckles, stroking your hip, and you smile and lean in to kiss him again, this time it's him who closes the gap. His lips against yours feels right, you've kissed other people, men and women, but none have felt as right or as good as this. It's a bit messy, and rushed, but it feels right. You slide your hand back down to his chest, feeling his heart race under your palm is something that has you feeling giddy. He wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you impossibly closer to him. The moment, unfortunately, had to come to an end, the sound of the door opening, not only were you two caught but it reminded you that you two were inside a classroom, thankfully it wasn't a student who caught you, just an incredibly shocked Jayce. You look at Jayce and then back at Viktor, who looks just as shocked as Jayce, and you cover your mouth with your hand to stifle your giggles. “This is a place of learning, you two!” Jayce scoffs and throws his hands up, and Viktor groans, taking a few steps back.

“Good thing we're learning then, or we were learning.” Viktor teases, giving you a quick wink before going over to Jayce who looks even more shocked than before, he looks at you and then back at Viktor before groaning in defeat and chasing after Viktor. You're not sure what's going to happen between you and Viktor next, but you're sure that, whatever it is, it will be amazing.

[ahlore]

10 things i love about you.

ekko x piltover! fem!reader

↳ in which ekko lists ten things he loves exclusively about you.

He loved that you made it easy for him to be vulnerable. You showed him it was okay to feel weak and not be afraid to talk about his struggles. You welcomed him with open arms, ready to be there for him whenever he needed it. You’d wipe away his tears along with your own, so that one day, you both could find lasting peace together.

He loved that you knew a relationship needed both people to put in the same effort, but he felt there was more to it. It wasn’t healthy for you to do everything for him, but it’s not like he doesn’t do anything for you. He sees you as someone who works hard and always tries to be strong for everyone, including him and yourself.

He loved that you weren’t stuck-up or judgmental. You didn’t look down on people because of where they came from. Even though he was from Zaun, you treated him like an equal. You welcomed him completely, both as a friend and as something more.

He loved that you had a great sense of humor and always welcomed his semi-awkward jokes. He adored how you’d get flustered when he made flirty jokes that subtly hinted at his deeper feelings and desires. The way your nose would crinkle when you felt self-conscious, even though you were breathtaking in every way, was endearing to him. And he loved how only you could truly get him riled up, pushing his buttons in the most exciting way.

He loved how you listened to him. How you’d take the time to lend an ear, even for something as small as a fleeting thought he had. He appreciated how you’d hear out his worries about what people might think of you—a woman from Piltover and a [last name]—dating him, a Zaunite. He also appreciated how you listened when he talked about his sadness over his former friend, who had become Jinx. He missed her and hated how things had turned out for them, and your willingness to hear him out meant a lot to him. He was genuinely grateful to have you.

He loved how you faced adversity with confidence. No matter the criticism, you stayed strong and never hesitated to challenge anything if you believed it could lead to a better future.

He loved that you were open to meeting his family and friends from the Under city and welcomed them warmly. He was unsure of how you’d react to Vi or even meeting Scar, his right-hand man. And when he first brought you to the Firelight hideout and all the kids kept saying how pretty you were, he could feel his cheeks heating up. It made him feel like he didn’t deserve you at all.

He loved when you’d sneak him into your manor, also known as the [last name] estate. He was amazed by its grandeur. And when your parents caught you both, you didn’t hesitate to introduce him as your boyfriend, not caring whether they accepted him or not. To your relief, they did. It didn’t take long for you to introduce him as your boyfriend to your friends in Piltover. You introduced Ekko to Caitlyn Kiramman, your childhood friend who you absolutely adored, and then to Jayce Talis, another friend of yours. Jayce was a councilor and inventor like Ekko, so you thought they’d get along well. However, Ekko wasn’t too fond of Jayce (he was jealous of jayce, lol).

He loved when you’d ask to have a self-care night with him, where you’d both do self-care together and you’d pluck his usually untamed eyebrows. He loved how you’d hover over him while he lay in your bed, your body close to his as you worked on his eyebrows. The way you’d stick out your tongue in concentration was just adorable.

But he truly just loved you. You were a gifted painter, with a talent that brought beauty to everything you touched. Your words had a way of captivating and comforting, always knowing just what to say. You had a deep love for your home, Piltover, and a genuine desire to see it flourish. Yet, you were never blinded by the wrongs committed against Zaun; you strived to improve both worlds, aiming to unify Piltover and Zaun. Your compassion for those less fortunate was evident in how you consistently gave back to the community, always seeking to make a difference. Every facet of your character, from your creativity to your noble intentions, made him love you more deeply than he could ever express.

“Guide your hands here, my love,” Ekko whispers, gently directing your fingers to rest against his lips. His gaze locks with yours, intense and tender. “Just like that. I want to savor this moment.”

He leans in closer, his breath warm against your skin. “You always know how to make everything feel special.” With a soft smile, he presses a gentle kiss to your fingertips, his lips lingering for a moment before he pulls back, eyes still holding yours.

Let him cherish these moments with you. It’ll all be worth it in the end.

[maxdibert]

Honestly, I’m not as angry with Jayce for taking his post-breakup depression in the most toxic way possible, realizing his ex had ascended to messiah nirvana, as I am for destroying Vi and Jinx's happiness again. They were finally becoming a family with their redeemed Frankenstein father and their new adopted daughter/niece i mean even even Caitlyn was in "I’m done being a puppet of the system" mode, like, I’m going to help my ex-girlfriend/situationship and her psychopath sister that I hate, even though it repulses me and I detest her, and I’m going to throw all this gaslighting they’ve been doing to me for half the season out the window. I'm masking this with sarcastic humor, but really, I’ve been crying for half an hour, just wanting someone to punch that man in the face because THEY WERE FINALLY HAPPY AND A FAMILY, AND I HOPE YOU SINK, JAYCE TALIS, AND SUFFER TERRIBLY, AND MEL LEAVES YOU TOO. I HATE YOU.

[thefloatingstone]

How would you compare Presley's racism vs Ashley's racism. Although now that I type this at least Presley never compared them animals. Hmmm...

Honestly it's all down to "root cause" and "how they express it".

Pressly is a veteran of the first contact war who was shooting at these people less than 30 years ago. His racism has its roots in a perspective forged during wartime and all the baggage THAT drags up. But we get clear and straightforward addressing of Pressly growing out of his racism by his own words, remarking in his log "Reading back on my older entries, what a damn fool I've been."

Ashley on the other hand may have similar baggage, as her grandfather is a disgraced military man and caused her entire family to be blacklisted because of the First Contact War with the aliens, and that would be a similar place to draw her prejudice from and help her grow out of by realising her true feelings of anger and resentment are misplaced. But the way she voices her racism is full of venom and true, deep seeded contempt and hatred. Comparing them to animals is the big one, and ME2 itself mocks her for this comment if she died on Virmire. But it's more than that. Ashley's entire personality is that of "High School Mean Girl". The second Liara steps on board of the Normandy Ashley is GUNNING to bully her. Not just because she's an alien but ALSO for being "one of those lesbian sluts". (reminder, in ME1 Liara is an extremely shy and awkward historian and archaeologist)

When Shepard tells Ashley to NOT bully Liara for being an Asari, Ashley straight up says "No fun, Commander >:("

Also there's this line which some people miss because it requires you to have the discussion with Liara about the Prejudice and racism Asari face galaxy wide and then going directly to Ashley and speaking to her)

(the clip starts at 2:44)

idk if I said it here or if I said so in discord to a friend, but I see kaidan and Ashley as being written as the answers to Bioware's handling of Renegade and Paragon options. Kaidan is more geared to reflect a Paragon playthrough and Ashley is more geared to fit a renegade playthrough. Possibly the thinking was whichever way the person is playing, it would affect who they decide to spare on Virmire.

(also I have a good relationship with my family but Ashley going "WHAT DOES SHE MEAN SHE DOESN'T LIKE HER MOM???? THAT'S STUPID." comment also makes me really fucking angry considering how many irl friends I have who have moms who suck ass)

Pressly's racism is problematic (same as Garrus' racism in the first game) but he outgrows it and openly says "I was wrong."

Garrus has a full on conversation with Tali in ME3 and directly says to her "I'm sorry and I was wrong."

Ashley never apologises or excuses her early comments and behaviour. She just at some point stops doing it so overtly and comments how "no I like Tali a lot" (Everybody likes Tali) as if this somehow undoes everything she said. More than anything, she tries to justify and excuse her past comments and opinions while also saying the most hateful things about the crew.

She's a racist bully from a heavily religious traditional military family who makes no effort to understand people from family structures or upbringing she doesn't understand, alien or otherwise, who immediately started picking on the shy nerd the SECOND she stepped foot on the ship and never apologises for any of her actions, racist or otherwise.

The racism is a symptom of a much nastier whole.

She's a VERY well written character. I just heavily dislike her.

[littleshopofchaos]

Fuck it.

Gonna write a fanfic where my oc Athena Shepard has a twin brother Lou Shepard who is a merc and various members of Commander Shep ( Athena's crew) have met both Sheps but never tell anyone to keep up the stories that Commander Shep is an only child.

And then it gets to Mass Effect 2's opening and all shit breaks loose because people are confused because Commander Shep is working for Cerberus, whilst Lou has been causing chaos in the family name as a merc.

Then it gets to the end of Mass Effect 3 and Lou turns up to his sister's wedding, Tali in arm and Garrus is just like "What the fuck is going on?"

And it all ends with Hannah Shepard being like "Garrus, did you not meet them both on Omega?" And Garrus is like "I hate you all."

We could call it "The Merc Mindfuck" or "How To Solve A Problem Like Shepard"

[bullet-prooflove]

Downtime: Clinton Skye x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @crazybeautiful1987 @caffeinatedwoman @soultrysworld

Noone knows about the cases Clinton works in his downtime.

The ones he keeps locked in the top drawer of his desk in the mobile command centre.

They’re the ones that nobody else wants, the ones that local authorities won’t dedicate the resources to.

It’s heartbreaking, the amount of crimes against indigenous people that go unsolved. It’s the reason that he joined the FBI, he wanted to change the system, be the solution to the problem. Only the stack gets bigger and the resources scarcer.

He makes his usual round of calls while the others are asleep, hitting up the detectives, talking through their leads, making notes. The truth is the ones that do care are inundated, they try their best but it’s a deluge of violence, one that even the most diligent officer can’t hope to keep up with.

He leaves you until last, his pen tapping on the surface of the manilla file in front of him as his gaze flickers up towards the clock. Despite the late hour he knows you’ll be at your desk, you’re as bad as he is these days. When you see an issue you try to rectify it and working in Hate Crimes, you come across a lot of issues. You’re always out in the community, making connections, helping rebuild. It’s how the two of you met.

“Sienna.” He says fondly when you pick up the phone.

“Clint.”

He can hear the smile in your voice and he imagines you leaning back in your chair, the phone cradled underneath your chin. He’s only been away a few days but he misses you with a ferocity he can’t vocalise. The way he feels for you, it burns like a fire in his chest. With everyone else, he’s calm, reserved but with you he’s passionate, wild.

You’re a spirited woman, fierce, head strong. You’d brought colour into his world after the death of his sister. He hadn’t been living back then, he’d been holding everything together for Jesse, for Tali, his parents. It had become his pattern, numbing him to everything else outside of the grief they  suffered. His days blurred, his existence monotonous and then you had stepped into his life, a whirlwind of texture and vibrance. Your warmth had flowed over his battered psyche like the water from a stream, soothing, restorative.

You’d spent days working together, repairing the shopfront of a tribal member whose business had been firebombed before Clinton realises he’s starting to feel something again. It comes back slowly after that, the essence of his soul feeding back into his body.

“I just needed to hear your voice.” He finds himself saying as he closes the folder in front of him. “This case, the one I’m working, it hits a little too close to home.”

“Tell me about it.” You say so he does.

You already have an awareness about the residential schools. There had been an article last year when the Pope visited Canada to apologise to the Indigenous community for the abuse their children had suffered at the hands of the missionaries who ran those places, you had asked it about him about it back then.

“Your parents?” You had queried after you’d shown him the article on your tablet one evening.

“No,” He had said, shaking his head. “They were fortunate. They were hidden away when the authorities came to take them. They managed to avoid the ‘Kill the Indian and Save the Man’ rhetoric.”

Clinton knows hundreds that didn’t. There are still people in his tribe who to this day don’t know what happened to their children, they were simply taken away, never to be returned. The Bureau of Indian Affairs are still uncovering unmarked graves connected to these schools, thousands of dollars are being spent running DNA in attempt to reunite these children with their parents and debatably those are the lucky ones. For the survivors their stories play out over generations, the effects of their abuse like a stone being thrown into a lake, rippling throughout the branches of their entire family tree.

The case he’d worked today was a symptom of cultural genocide. The entire family were so broken by it and the continued systemic disinterest in indigenous cases that one of them had decided to do something about it.

“I was in one of those schools today.” He says quietly as he recalls the dilapidated building, the soulless of each and every single one of those rooms. “There were numbers on the walls, that’s how they referred to the kids, not by their names but by numbers. It was a way of breaking them down, eradicating their identity, their culture…”

He trails off because it’s the cruelty of it all that gets to him. Children younger than his niece Tali being beaten, abused, starved and all of it sanctioned by the state. He knows he doesn’t have to explain hate to you, you see it on a daily basis, experience it the same way he does.

“I don’t know what to say.” You tell him. “Those places, what happened… it’s deplorable.”

“I just need to hear something good.” He whispers down the line, his voice breaking as he speaks. “I just needed to hear your voice, to remind me there’s something in this world that hasn’t been tainted by all the darkness out there, that there’s still someone fighting.”

“You’re still fighting.” You remind him, referring to his case files. “You’re still seeking justice for those people, even when no one else is, you’re still telling their stories.”

“I don’t know if it’s enough.” He says you sadly, his gaze straying to the growing pile of manilla files neatly stacked on the corner of his desk.

“It is for their families.” You tell him. “For the father who lost a daughter to trafficking, for the mother whose son was beaten to death because of his culture, it’s enough for them knowing that that animal is behind bars, that he can’t hurt anyone else. That’s what you’re fighting for Clinton, to give those people a peace of mind, to stop it from happening again.”

“You’re right.” He says with a sigh, his fingertips massaging the sore spot right between his eyes. “I know you’re right. It just gets a little much sometimes.”

“I know.” You say quietly and you do.

This isn’t the first pep talk you’ve given him. He’s done the same for you. The weight of these cases, the importance of them, they’d crush you if you let them. He has a duty to these people and he won’t be the one to let them down, not when everybody else has.

“Thank you.” He says softly. “For picking up the phone, for always knowing what I need…”

“I’m your wife Clinton.” You remind him and he can hear the smile in your voice, despite the distance that stretches between you. “I’m always here for you.”

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[snowfolly]

A Simple Life

Astarion x original f!Tav | one shot, 2,931 words

Astarion and Tali are taking a break from the road to stargaze for a moment. He reflects on what was and what could have been with his little gray songbird at his side.

Cw: references to Astarion’s past abuse, some cursing

Tags: tooth-rotting fluff, hurt/comfort, soft Astarion, post-game, headcanons, self-indulgent af, Astarion’s Pov

Notes: Headcanons galore about noble elves in Evereska and Astarion’s past- if that’s not your thing then this may not be the story for you friend! • No beta on this one-shot & I am certainly not a professional writer • Also just as a little side note- My Tav, Taliesin, is genderfluid and uses any pronouns. They have used a ring of opposite gender for around 60 years (which they use about half the time), so I write/draw them as either gender :>

Read on ao3

-

“Imagine though, if we had stayed back in Evereska we could have had a simple life, well, at least compared to the ones we’ve lived. Perhaps my bitch of a mother would have sold me off to your family to wed you — for a handsome dowry of course,” Tali mused, staring up at the night sky and the thumbnail of a moon that bled the faintest silver light upon the land, “can you even imagine? We would have been absolutely miserable.”

Astarion laughed, his arms behind his head as he laid upon the long autumn grass, the scent of comforting vetiver and leaf rot was strong but not unpleasant so close to the earth. He stared at the constellation Correlian just over the horizon, thirteen bright stars standing out amongst a million others, giving him some kind of vague nostalgia, although he couldn’t pinpoint why exactly. Likely something left over from his past, from the time before; broken memories that would sometimes seep through in the form of indefinite feelings.

“Oh certainly, we would have hated each other. I would have resented you, you’d have resented me, we’d keep to different rooms on opposite sides of our sprawling mansion. We’d drink too much, despise our jobs in the family business, take other lovers and hate each other for that as well. It simply would have been a grand old time!” he jested sarcastically, one hand on his chest and the other waving about for humorous emphasis before glancing over at Taliesin.

Tali was such a slight creature, dressed in an oversized ruby hued poet shirt and high black breeches, her long, cool gray hair was back in her typical loose braids, balled up unceremoniously at the nape of her neck and held in place with a red silk tie. She sat cross legged and leaning up against the trunk of a tree nearly barren of leaves, her violin propped up beside her.

“We would have bickered nonstop, both of us bored to death as we played our roles,” Tali made a dramatic gagging sound and sat forward, hugging her knees and resting her head on them as she glanced down at Astarion with an impish grin, “but here we are.”

“Indeed, here we are, love,” Astarion replied quietly, turning to lay on his side, better facing his partner.

“Just two elves that have been really shitty at being elves,” Tali conceded with a smile, and Astarion nodded with a slight eye roll. She certainly wasn’t wrong about that. Neither of them worshipped the Seldarine. Tali was as decadent as he, self absorbed and mean spirited at times as well.

They were both city dwellers and cared not for the woods, but while she had played her music in taverns and inns for over a century in Baldur’s Gate he had been prowling them as a vampire spawn for much longer. The only time they had frolicked in forests was out of necessity, to get from point a to point b.

Lying on the grass with her and staring up at the heavens, contemplating the vastness and meaning of it all was as elfy as either of them got, he supposed.

“So…what exactly would have been your fate if you had stayed home? Seeing as to how I wasn’t there to come sweep you off your stamping mad little feet?” Astarion asked, nodding his head rhythmically with each of the last four words out of his mouth and Tali shrugged, her face not showing a hint of perturbance, which was good. Her past, much like his own, could be a point of contention.

“I was arranged to wed a noble merchant’s son when we both came of age, poor boy was sweet as mead but dense as cow dung. You might have known him, he was a bit older than me and a smidge younger than you. Not a brain in his head. Spent all day elfing-about in the woods, absolutely loved all that shit. Thank the gods I had the wherewithal to run away.”

“A dire fate that would have been,” Astarion said with a half smile, his gaze distant, deep in thought.

Evereska was such an obscure, foggy memory for him. He had very little recollection of it but he could vaguely remember the sprawling estates in the upscale part of the city, and one of them, not so far from his own family home was Tali’s — a house of noble merchants.

“Do you remember what would have become of you if you had stayed in Evereska?” Tali asked him with a hint of hesitation, but it was a question he had anticipated after he had asked her the same so frankly.

Astarion stared off into the field, garnet eyes faraway, his head propped up on his hand as the gears in his mind turned, but they weren’t turning nearly as efficiently as he would have liked. They never did when it came to the past, to the time before.

“Well, I’m not sure what my parents had planned for me, if anything. I… I really just don’t remember. I know that I left when I was very young, and I don’t know if I left on my own accord or if I was sent off. I just recall that it wasn’t a positive farewell,” he said solemnly, glancing back at Tali who was absentmindedly playing with the grass under her right hand.

“Do you… ever plan to go back to see them? Your family?” Tali asked without looking toward Astarion, and he was glad for it. His face fell and his heart sank at her words. His family.

A few stray crickets brave enough to bear the autumn chill were the only sound heard between the two as Astarion stayed silent for some time while he processed Tali’s question. He knew that she was curious about his past, but she never pried or prodded and it was only fair to answer her truly now.

“I have thought about it, of course I have,” he swallowed, looking up at her with round, pleading eyes and then back up to the sliver of moon hanging above, “I don’t think I could face them. I don’t know that I could…”

Astarion stalled a moment, irritated at his hitching voice before taking a deep breath out of habit. Oxygen was useless to his undead lungs but necessary for all the talking, “they’ve thought me dead for over two hundred years now. I don’t even know them anymore, Tali. I’m positive I left on very poor terms, I was buried in the city after all and that never would have happened if…”

“You don’t know that,” Tali interrupted, grimacing as she locked eyes with him, “there could have been many reasons for that. I remember when you died… well, vaguely as I had no idea who you were then, but I do remember your family mourning.”

Astarion’s languid heart skipped a beat, he felt like he had been punched in the gut at this revelation. Tali had never told him that. Astarion had known that Tali knew of his family but never knew that they had mourned for him. He had never asked about something like that though, of course he hadn’t.

“They mourned?” he asked in a small voice as he rolled over on his back once again, feeling defeated, feeling empty, at a loss. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to hear any more of this. That part of his life was over anyway, dead in the ground like his kin thought of him, right?

“Of course they did. Your mother…” Tali looked at Astarion with a sadness that she rarely displayed, a look that hurt him further, and she must have picked up on his discomfort because she changed direction.

“Gods… I. Look , I was only a child but I remember everyone making a big deal of losing an elf so young,” Tali sighed, hesitating a moment more before continuing, “so I don’t think you left on awful terms, Astarion. If you ever wanted to go back…”

She was right… possibly. What if the negative recollection that he did have of his family was incorrect? It wouldn’t be surprising, as his memories of the time before were so shattered. But why would she even suggest going back to a place that she had run from for so long?

“You’ve been avoiding Evereska for how long now? A century?”

“One hundred and twenty two years thereabouts,” Tali said nonchalantly, taking a particularly hard blade of grass and poking Astarion with it in the side of his neck without warning.

“Gods, Tali, you little shit,” he growled, slapping at the grass with an irritated grin, “then why do you care if we ever go back? Your mother will have your head…”

“I don’t care about returning for myself you idiot, I care about what it means for you. For you to see your family, not mine,” she exhaled, ripping the long blade of grass in two with furrowed brows as Astarion glared at her momentarily before his eyes softened. He grabbed at her arm with his clawed hand, beckoning her wordlessly to his side.

Of course this was about him.

Tali was as selfish of a creature as Astarion was, unless it came to matters involving him, and then she was patient, she was generous and she was kind in ways that he knew that she sometimes felt vulnerable for. He could certainly relate to that, as he often felt the same way with her.

He couldn’t, however, quite understand why she loved him though. He would never be able to fathom why she chose to love him after he had threatened to kill her when they had first met, after every shitty thing he had done to try and manipulate her, after all the baggage he’d brought to the table, but he would not ever question her affection. He would accept her love gratefully, and give all of his in return.

Tali obeyed his beckoning hand and rolled over to his side without another word, lying against him with her head resting on the crook of his arm as he clutched the seemingly infinite amount of fabric of her oversized sleeve. They laid together in silence, watching the moon creep slowly above the grasping bones of bare branches for an indeterminate amount of time, and his mind lulled back to his atrocious past, as it was wont to do during stretches of silence.

And gods, he had endured so much silence in two hundred years, so many endless nights of hushed horrors. He found quietness in busy taverns hunting for prey, he heard nothing when his victims moaned in ecstasy under him, and when they were taken away screaming from the boudoir he would lay in silence, a million miles away. Worlds away.

Like the year he spent clawing and screaming into the dark… there was nothing but silence for so very long.

Astarion bit his lip, bringing his mind out of despair, reining his thoughts back to his gray songbird who chirruped love songs to him before every sunrise, his strange little pet, who could play every instrument put before her and made so much pleasant noise. Tali gave him so much joy, shared his wretched sense of humor, made him laugh every night with endless raucous stories and bawdy jokes. She filled his life with so much sound.

His little songbird now lay shivering against him though, and it pained him that he could provide her no warmth. He held onto her tightly as she clung to him, burrowing her head into the crook of his neck as he touched his lips to her silken hair, nearly loose from its red tie.

“I do appreciate you thinking of me like that, you know. I really do, love” he whispered to her and she nodded slightly, exhaling her warm breath against the cold flesh of his neck, sending chills over his skin.

“Of course. I love you. That’s what people do when they love each other, Astarion,” she said in way that could be construed as flippant if it wasn’t said so sweetly.

“Truly though, if you ever want to go back, we’ll go. Just say the word. I’ll be fine, my mother hasn’t sent anyone looking for me for twenty years or so. I’ll use my ring or something to lay low,” she yawned, “just say the word.”

He smiled into her gray hair, dark as charcoal in the low light, inhaling her scent, clean and floral, and he felt almost overwhelmed with it all. Not in a negative way at all though. Two hundred years of horror, neglect and misery had all led up to this moment of comfort, of truly being happy. He guessed that what he felt was overwhelming gratitude, for his freedom, for another chance at life, for her.

“Maybe if we ever find the cure for my condition…”

“When we find the cure,” Tali murmured, correcting him, and Astarion exhaled, knowing deep in his heart that the cure might not ever come, no matter how many years they searched — but he’d humor her anyway.

“Fine. After we absolutely, definitely, one hundred percent find the end to my curse then I'll think about going back. Perhaps. Maybe I’ll write them first, though. Wouldn’t want to give them a fright, thinking I was some sort of phantom,” he ventured facetiously as she curled up against him closer.

Astarion couldn’t feel the chill in the same way Tali could, and though she was no weakling he couldn’t help but worry over her being too cold. He shifted slightly, ready to announce that it was time to go when she spoke up in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Do you think it would have been so bad, really?”

“What?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, momentarily confused.

“If we had stayed home, if we had been arranged to marry. I was joking but really, it could have been possible you know. We’re not too far off in age.”

Astarion blinked, his mind going over an entire century of what very well could have been in just a moment. Gods how mad they both would have been at the prospect. But would they have really hated each other after they had gotten to knows one another? They hadn’t liked each other very much when they had first met nearly a year earlier, but now. Now he couldn’t picture his life without the little shit.

“I don’t think so. It wouldn’t have been so awful,” he answered quietly, holding her tighter, helpless to comfort her as she shivered slightly, “but we would have never stayed there.”

“Oh we wouldn’t have stayed at all. Never in a million years. But I don’t think we would’ve hated each other. I don’t think I could ever hate you,” she said groggily, and he smiled to himself as she continued, “do you think you could have hated me?”

“No, I don’t think I’d ever be able to hate you either, songbird,” he said without hesitation before pulling away from her slightly, causing her to protest with a groan.

“But it’s time to move on, pet. The next inn’s a few miles up the way, It’s getting early and you’re freezing to death. That won’t do.”

“Are you sure that you don’t hate me?” Tali whined, curling up into a miserable ball and clutching her hands at her chest as Astarion rose to his knees, beckoning her up.

“Get up. I know you’re hungry too. If the innkeep’s up and about we’ll get you a potato, butter, salt, the works. A glass of hot mead, mulled wine…” Astarion smirked as she opened her eyes wide, he knew that mentioning food, potatoes in particular, would do the trick.

“Well. Fine,” Tali finally relented, her hands reaching up to him with lethargic waggling fingers as he stood to pull her all the way to her feet.

They collected their belongings waiting at the base of the tree and Astarion dug a cloak out from her pack for her, placing it on her shoulders before they made their way back to the road in silence. Tali grabbed his hand as they ventured forth once again.

“We’d have been hand in hand getting the hells out of Evereska too, I think,” she said after some time, and he was amused that the subject was still on her mind, especially after putting the idea of hot buttered potatoes and mead in there. Astarion looked down at her, her rose hued eyes bleary but as spirited as always.

“Darling, they’d have been lucky if we didn’t burn the entire damned place to the ground before we left,” he said with a dismissive wave of his free hand and Tali laughed out loud.

“Oh, so lucky.”

The simple life would have never been for them, not in any way, shape or form. But perhaps if fate had brought them together so long ago they would have had an amazing century with one another, running all over Faerûn, getting into gods only knew what mischief. If only things had been different. If only he hadn’t died in Baldur’s Gate, hadn’t suffered for two hundred godsdamned years…

Tali squeezed his hand tightly, bringing him back from his dark thoughts once again.

Everything leading up to that moment is what they were given. Nothing could change the horrors of the past, but hand in hand they could now do their best to make up for all that lost time.

With Tali by his side everything would be alright.

[bikorarey]

I appreciate yer takes on Ashley, Cause I always feel like I have to justify choosing her on Virmire because people rag on her constantly. When, I like a lot of things about her character, like her bond with her siblings and her strong moral/family values. And she's Funny! I want to see her grow. Cause she's had to claw and struggle for what little she had, her arc is learning to trust not only others but herself. Plus people forget she HATES the actual Earth First movement Terra Firma! She critizes them for using Xenophobia/Racism to push their agendas!

Glad to be of use to fellow Ashley fans. I love that Ashley's arc is gaining self confidence! All it takes is Shepard and others believing in her. Anderson believes in her enough to get her a posting on an advanced warship with a Spectre candidate. Kaidan believes in her enough to give his life so that she will make it off Virmire. Shepard believes in her enough to ease her worries of Cerberus involvement when Cerberus returns to being the bad guys. She gets officer training and becomes a viable Spectre candidate for Udina to even believe she can protect him during his coup attempt, but Shepards belief beats his.

The alien stuff is always weird to me because people ignore the lore of Mass Effect 1 where Humans are barely second class, have next to no social or political power and literally need to rude in as the cavalry during the start of a galactic extinction to gain any kind of standing and even WITH that standing we still aren't as powerful as thenrest of the Council politically. Even with that in mind, Ashley has disdain for all types of intolerance. She hates Saren cuz Anderson tells us about his hatred of humans, hatrs terra firma because of their intolerance of Aliens, hates the (Heretic) Geth for what they did to Eden prime and the Quarians cuz of her closeness with Tali. She also protects those close to her. Her family, her CO, the crew, and even the Council.

No one should feel bad for their choice in Virmire Survivor*

*Unless you says "I killed Ashley/Kaiden on Virmire" cuz no you didn't. They gave their life to save yours, you prick. That's what Squadmates do.

[smol-lydia]

Lyds Fanfic Master Post

Hey all here you can find all my delicious Viktor x reader fics in one spot finally as well as my headcanon posts for Jewish Viktor, etc

---

First, this is my ao3: my x reader stuff is not posted here but for my Jinx and Viktor mutuals you can find all of those AUs there as well as my Mileven long form fics and Danganronpa fics and Bob's Burgers works as always don't like don't read applies here let's be mature adults about this thank you <3

After Hours, A Viktor x Fem!Reader fic: Standing on the freezing streets of Piltover, you're having a hell of a shift bringing in customers for drinks. You see a pair of Academy students headed your way--one is eager enough but the other is much more of a challenge and you like a challenge. (Incomplete) For @astudyincontrasts

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Skin of My Teeth, Viktor x Fem!Reader: Viktor finds his lab assistant unwell and is doing his damndest to take care of her. Unbeknowndest to him, his tough as nails mechanically minded assistant has been harboring a crush on him for quite some time and this is no ordinary flu. TW/CW for implied drug use and addiction (In progress; in complete)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

For A Sweet New Year: Viktor x Fem!Reader (Oneshot, NSFW)

You attempt to bake bread in a way that's traditional for Viktor's people as a surprise when you're invited to meet his family for the first time. It doesn't go as planned, and when Viktor arrives to pick you up he finds a mess and the two of you get distracted. The horny Rosh Hashanna fic no one asked for. Fic

Salty Sweet: Viktor x Fem!Reader (Oneshot, SFW)

You are set up on a blind date by Jayce's sister, no matter how many times you tell her you have no time in your busy academic life for dating. Both Talis' are determined to prove you and Viktor wrong, and you hate that they just may be right. Read it here.

Winterblessed: Viktor xFem!Reader (Oneshot, SFW)

Written for @therealtendercrisps Secret Santa exchange for @shimmerforall prompt was Viktor and reader dancing awkwardly in the snow

Read it here

Kindling the Light: Viktor x Fem! Reader (Oneshot SFW)

A gift fic for my beloved @astudyincontrasts prompt was Viktor and his S/O enjoying a cozy Chanukah celebration at home together. Read it here

Headcanon Posts and Misc Viktor Meta:

Moodboard for gyaru!reader in After Hours

Ask box prompt for a match making Jinx and Viktor fic that turned into my Chem Baron AU

Art of Jinx and Viktor in Vik's lab from the Burlesque AU

Jayce x reader 1920s headcanons for a friend's b-day as well as more Jewish Viktor headcanons in this post

Art of Viktor and gyaru!reader

The OG Jewish!Viktor headcanon post

Another gyaru!reader moodboard

Jinx and Viktor regency/Bridgerton AU headcanons

[talysalankil]

earlier today my mom sat with me to look at stuff for my new apartment, except the jeremy strip challenge was still open (thankfully in small size) and my mom went "what are those pictures of MEN" djfklsdjflksdj

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 2 replay, recruiting Tali:

Illium

-Salarian reproductive contracts are interesting. Good call on Bioware’s part that an asexual species would be pragmatic in reproduction. Of course it’s centered around politics.

-With that said, why did the salarian have his family’s reproduction information in Nassana’s building anyway?

He said that he had just had it restored after a tech attack. Nassan’s buildings are under construction, so I presume the restore did not occur there.

Ergo, he was most likely a worker for Nassana. Considering that the data is vital to his family, why did he take it to work???

-Seryna’s moved on, but left behind a message for you. What’s odd is that the option to delete the message is on the left side of the dialogue wheel, but listening to it is on the right.

The left side of the dialogue wheel is normally for extending conversations. So why have delete on the left?

For that matter, why have the option to delete it at all? Why not just have the option be to listen to it or not?

-Also, this message just once again makes Nassana’s death sound personal to Seryna. Why does Seryna hate her so much? This hatred is too intense for your average shitty boss.

It feels like Seryna’s role was initially different, and the rewrite is why so much around her is odd.

Haestrom

-Going by the planet description, the quarians specifically settled this world to observe the odd behavior of its sun.

So I take it that quarians have always been scientifically inclined. They didn’t just observe it via ships, they settled an entire colony. Not a small investment.

-This is the only quarian architecture we see in the series, and it’s a massive disappointment. It’s just numerous concrete buildings. No interesting shapes, no decorative art, no unique interiors.

Unless the takeway is supposed to be that the quarians are a strictly utilitarian species, this is missed opportunity.

Bioware, please at least try.

-It’s interesting to consider this mission from the geth perspective. They presumably don’t know why the quarians are here, and probably assume they’re scouting the world with plans to retake it. So the geth’s actions are defensive – they’re protecting their home from invaders.

Except, why Haestrom? It’s said repeatedly that Haestrom is deep in geth space. The geth must be so baffled – why are the quarians here and not making a grab at one of the outer worlds or Rannoch?

Then Shepard shows up. Shepard, who Legion is supposed to be keeping an eye on. What is that independent platform doing??? Why didn’t they warn the geth collective that Shepard was coming?

And, well, the geth don’t want to kill Shepard because Shepard is opposed to the Old Machines, but like every organic ever Shepard is shooting them so they need to take Shepard out to defend themselves.

Except, oops, that didn’t work.

And then… the quarians and Shepard pack up and leave.

Do the geth ever learn why the quarians were there? Do they send reinforcements to Haestrom expecting the quarians to make an attempt to retake it?

The geth already consider organics baffling. I’m sure this did not help.

-When you first speak to Kal’Reegar, the renegade subtitles don’t match the spoken dialogue. What caused that difference?

-The geth dragging itself along the floor when you make it past the pillar is sad. And no one even mentions it.

I’m assuming that there are servers on Haestrom so none of the geth truly “die”, but that was still a pitiful sight.

-Why are Tali’s journals scattered all over the place?

Yes, this area was quarian’s base but these logs seem like something that would be stored on omni-tool. Instead Tali’s just… leaving laptops scattered around for no explicable reason. Why does she have multiple laptops?

And they’re not set to autolock after a period of inactivity. Considering that this is a geth-controlled world, you’d think all the tech devices would be set as secure as possible. Maybe to auto wipe if there are too many failed access attempts.

I take it all back. Clearly, the geth learned what was up by just listening to the logs on these laptops.

-Tali specifically asks Shepard to keep “Reegar” alive. Not Kal’Reegar, Reegar.

The two must be close. I would have liked them to get together if you don’t romance Tali.

-And here’s yet another mention of dark energy. It’s destabilizing the world’s sun.

If ME3 had done anything with dark energy, this would have been fantastic foreshadowing.

Instead, it’s one of the most frequently mentioned dropped plot threads I hear about for the series.

Another prime example of how ME3 chose to make ME2 irrelevant. ME2 provided plenty of plot hooks for ME3 – ME3 just disregarded all of it.

Normandy

-Tali assumed Shepard was undercover and is upset to learn they’re not.

Me too, Tali. Would it have killed Bioware to have that as option? Meet Anderson, he tells you to stick with Cerberus and report to him on all you learn?

-She also mentions the experiments Cerberus did with the thorian creepers rachni.

That is such a relief to hear. The first part of ME2 is full of Cerberus apologism, but the cracks start to show the further you go in the game.

Unfortunately, that apologism is so extended (and out of character for many Shepards!) that this criticism comes too late for me to ever feel comfortable when I start another ME2 playthrough.

-If you go paragon, Shepard says they want Tali because Tali is not Cerberus – they want someone they can trust.

This is similar to what they tell Garrus when Garrus is recruited. Shepard is much less comfortable with Cerberus than they let on at the start of the game.

-Jacob���s actually pretty professional through this exchange. Tali makes it very clear she does not like Cerberus, and Jacob acknowledges that she has reason not to and hopes that will change with time. If you go paragon, he offers to get her access to the ship systems.

The infamous exchange when he tells her to introduce herself to Edi does not come off as malicious to me. It’s said in the same tone that he says everything else, and Tali should know the ship has an AI before she leaves. Given the history of quarians with AI, that’s something Shepard should have told her before she agreed to the mission.

For comparison, Jacob can do malice – he was intentionally insulting to Thane when he said he doesn’t trust mercenaries. At worst, his comment to Tali about Edi was thoughtless in its delivery.

Normandy

-The quarian Admiral Board emails Shepard to let them know Tali has officially transferred to their command.

They note that as Shepard is Tali’s former captain, they may have significant influence over her.

Good to see at least one organization in Mass Effect acknowledge the concept of power imbalances.

-Another use of the “just like old times” line comes from Joker. I did not realize just how many times this phrase was used in the series.

Joker: It’s great to see Tali onboard, commander. Just like old times.

-Thane made his first kill at 12. That’s fucked up.

The drell live into their 80s, so I’m assuming their 12 is comparable to a human 12.

As much as Thane says the hanar valued him as a person as well as an investment, they did not value him enough. The compact’s been in place for two centuries; they can’t be so hard up on personnel that they need a 12 year old to go out killing.

And if they are so hard up – maybe the hanar should reconsider what they’re asking from the drell? If what they’re asking is reasonable, why can they find so few drell willing to give it?

-Supposedly anyone can refuse to serve the hanar as part of the compact.

However, Thane started his training at six. Can a six year old really consent?

You can say his parents consented for him. Fine. However, Thane made his first kill at twelve.

Can a twelve year old consent? Is becoming a murderer something your parent can consent to on your behalf?

There was some abuse going on. Only question is if this particular hanar was shady or if it’s institutional.

-Thane emphasizes that the hanar are at a disadvantage because they’re aquatic.

On the surface, that makes sense. The other sapient species are land animals, so the hanar are quite literally fish out of water in society.

However, you know what other space faring species is aquatic?

The leviathans. And they ruled the galaxy for a damn long time. So how did they pull it off, and what do they have that the hanar don’t?

Well, besides some form of indoctrination… I’ll give that to the hanar, mind control is a huge advantage.

Still, the hanar could probably take some lessons from the leviathans on how to get by.

-Tali repeats what’s said frequently through her recruitment mission: Getting the data was a huge sacrifice, and it had better be worth it.

And it’s a damn shame, because in game it’s not. The data makes no difference at all. You don’t even get war assets from it.

This was such a huge missed opportunity in ME3.

-The first investigate option with Tali is to explain what the admiralty board is. It mentions that they deal with major crimes, like treason.

Good to see Bioware laying the groundwork for Tali’s loyalty mission early, if a bit clunkily. ME3, take notes. Foreshadowing is good!

-Love Tali calling bullshit if Shepard says Cerberus is working for them. Explain those listening devices and tracking beacons, then!

Tali has a zero tolerance policy for Cerberus, and she has my full support.

-We finally get some background on the quarian/Cerberus beef, and it is woefully insufficient. And probably long after most players have forgotten it was ever mentioned.

I maintain they could have added a Codex entry for a more detailed explanation.

-If you go paragon, Shepard says they expect Cerberus to betray them. If you go neutral or renegade, Tali warns you that Cerberus will betray you.

The writers upped their game with Tali. Everyone else is getting character focused writing, but Tali’s out here with character AND plot development in her dialogue.

-If you go renegade with Grunt, you can skip getting his loyalty mission entirely. Interesting – if I recall correctly, doing so with others still gives you the mission.

-Prior to puberty, Grunt enjoyed violence but did not feel the need for it.

Now that he’s hit puberty, he apparently craves it.

And krogans… never lose that. They just learn to direct it. However, older krogan generally seem far more chill.

If this is triggered by puberty, I like to think that it’s hormonally driven. Krogan hormones go wild in puberty, and it makes them excessively violent. As their hormones settle down, they mellow out.

-Krogans don’t trust doctors after the genophage.

Reasonable. Look at what Mordin gets up to. If that were my experience with doctors, I’d let them know the bare minimum too.

Although realistically speaking, the salarians undoubtedly have all the information they learned prior to the krogan rebellions backed up in multiple locations.

-If you go neutral, Grunt says that the krogan doctors don’t leave Tuchanka.

Again, reasonable. Still, given that most krogans offworld are mercenaries, I’m sure krogan doctors offworld could find employment.

Codex:

-The fate of the drell’s homeworld Rakhana has obvious parallels to Earth. Industrialization led to environment issues which eventually resulted in it being unable to support the drell.

When you speak to Thane, he implies that humanity was close to the same fate, but since they achieved spaceflight they were able to create colonies and narrowly avoid it.

-Many high ranking hanar are supposedly inseparable from their drell servants. I presume this is a retcon, as we see many hanar on the presidium in ME1 but no drell.

-Interestingly, I don’t recall seeing any hanar and drell together in ME3 either. We see a lot of the presidium and Citadel night life, so you’d think there could be a pair or two in the background.

-Do the hanar not have any colonies? All references to them are them being on their homeworld, Kahje. Drell are supposedly there or integrated into the society of other species.

If they don’t have colonies, why not? There must be some worlds out there with oceans that meet their needs.

Do they not have enough political capital? The elcor are minor, but they have colonies. Is it a religious thing? I presume some hanar live on the Citadel.

-If the hanar don’t have colonies, I think it’s safe to say the drell don’t. Which is a shame, because even one would probably make a huge difference to their future.

[bringthekaos]

I think tumblr ate my "meeting the family" ask part 2 😭😭😭

Anyways, when is Viktor's turn to meet the rest of the Talis family and he realizes within 20 minutes that their attitude towards Jayce is pretty much "We never thought you'd amount to anything but now that you are there how about you use your position to give the family business a boost, eh?"

Turns out Jayce and his parents were the outliers in the family 🫠

Ask might have gotten eaten, it’s possible I missed it too!

Poor Jayce, that really gives weight to his “no one thought very much of me.” Stings twice as much if it’s coming from inside the family. And even Ximena at times wanted him to give up (I don’t think it’s vicious or that she didn’t believe in him, I think she just saw that his obsession was a little unhealthy and wanted him to take a step back, is all. She got some hate in the early days of Arcane fandom, and I saw a lot of people saying Jayce should have cut her out after what she said at the trial. And while what she said was hurtful, I know that in her own way, she was just trying to protect him, even if it meant saying he ‘wasn’t in his right mind.’)

But it does go to show that even the person closest to him, his own mother, never had that much faith in him. And it sucks to think they’d all come out of the woodwork after he was successful to claim they believed in him all along, but… it likely happened. But Jayce is a smart guy, I’m sure he saw through all that shallow ass kissing and ran back to the bed of the man that believed in him all along—Viktor.

[abl0gnam3lia]

Im new and here's a first post talking about how Sam deserves to be with his space fam ( this is Marvel related btw)

The MCU has been not so gud lately, I don't think u need ANOTHER person saying that. But just like everyone else I do think that the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie is SO FUCKING GOOOD. And it got me realise something, other then the fact that I didn't realise how much of a fan I was of the Guardians, I ALSO realise that there isn't any fanfiction with Sam Alexander with any of the Guardians. If you don't know who Sam is he is the 2nd Nova in the Comics while Richard is the first. U can do ur research I'm not really here to summarise his character but he does technically interact with them in the comics, and the Ultimate Spider - man cartoon and Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon, there are more interactions that he has with them. And I honestly think he would have an interesting dynamic with them and adds something to the group, u know being the only kid in the group. But I see on AO3, there's barely ANY fanfics of him with them if not at all and I see this as a federal crime. How dare u people not do anything with this? There's so much potential, hell try making a fanfic that maybe inserts him in the MCU somehow or how he fits in the group literally ANYTHING GOOD MY SON HAS SO MUCH TO ADD. Look maybe I'm asking for too much, plus Richard is a lot more interesting as a character but STILL. IM GOING ABSOLUTELY FERAL KNOWING THAT THERES BARELY A TINY SALT OF CONTENT OF SAM AND THATS JUST A HATE CRIME AGAINST HIM. ALSO ALSO HE DESERVES HIS BESTIES MILES AND KAMALA TOO, YEP, THATS RIGHT IM GETTING THEM INVOLVED TOO. Imagine the trio discussing their families and then we have Sam, who not only has a mom and a sister, BUT A MCFREAKING SPACE FAM CONSISTING OF A TALIING TREE, A GUN SHOOTING RACCON, AND ASSASSIN WHOS THE MOST DEADLIEST WOMAN IN THE GALAXY, A QUOTE ON QUOTE DESTROYER AND A PIRATE/ CRIMINAL. The reaction to that would just be so-

So uhmm, I'm yeah case in point Sam deserves more Fanart and Fanfic with his Space family and Miles and Kamala ( or boyfriend and girlfriend-) and he deserves to be in the MCU to share Saif dynamics with said characters.

Note: so if there is any updates about, you know, fanfiction related to my boy Sam with his Space Fam let me know please, I beg.

[letters-to-rosie]

Fullmetal Alchemist!Arcane AU

thanks to @typewriteringalaxy for inspiring this one lol

Piltover is an expansionist empire that started out as a small city-state and grown by taking over land surrounding it by conquest. Currently, they are engaged in border skirmishes with their neighbors

After the deaths of their adoptive family, Vi and Powder attempt to resurrect their family, but when they fail, they flee Zaun. This is during the Zaunite Civil War (an analogue to the Ishvalan Civil War), but Vi is arrested for committing the taboo of human transmutation.

To be free and reunited with her sister, she joins the Enforcers (this universe's equivalent of State Alchemists, still thinking about how this would work). In the present, she's under the direction of Colonel Kiramman, the hard-working youngest colonel ever in the Piltovan Military (though she's kind of a nepo baby).

Vi is working to restore her and Powder's bodies back to normal after the effects of the taboo, though Powder's able to get prosthetics through the help of their childhood friend Ekko.

Silco is a killer looking for revenge against Piltover (I made him the Scar analogue because he'd be a killer with a big scar on his head who hates the government. I had to!). He and Vi wind up in a fierce rivalry after he tries to kill her and her sister. However, later plot developments lead to him teaming up with the sisters, just as Scar and the Elrics do in FMA.

Something something shadowy government making the nationwide circle. I think Jayce and Viktor would be military scientists. Maybe Jayce talks about things being in the Talis family for GENERATIONS, you know.

Chimera Warwick????? I mean????