#that is what all eso costumes are missing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

esoscreenshots · 3 years

Note

What are your impressions of Blackwood are you enjoying it or is it lack luster for you?

I've been hearing a lot of mixed opinions on it-- I definitely am seeing a lot more criticism and irritation with Blackwood than with Greymoor. I warn you I have not started the main quest, done any of the public dungeons, the trial, or entered the major cities. (When I adventure in a new zone, I usually do world bosses/anchors/storms first, then delves & delve quests, then public dungeons, then areas of interest e.g. cities, pathfinder spots, crafting places, then squeeze out as much as I possibly can from every location, then do the main questline.)

Under the cut since this might get long? Also spoilers for minor quests.

COMPANIONS:

I think the companions system is great-- definitely a little grindy, and I have not seen a single piece of companion gear in my adventures so far-- but both of the characters are incredibly endearing. It's a lot more fleshed out than I thought it would be in terms of abilities, but there's only one other character to manage beside yourself, so it's not overwhelming. Costume and mount customization was nice, and I definitely did not expect it. The commentary they deliver is varied enough and I genuinely feel great when I unlock special dialogue-- I've ulted many times, and once Bastian said something to the effect of "Huh! Show-off!" and I've been smiling thinking about it ever since.

PERFORMANCE/MINUTIA:

Performance is fine; I've been stuck on one infinite loading screen, but other than that, I've had no issues with performance. There are a few occasional dev issues like spelling mistakes or missing map geometry, but they're banging these zones out like lightning and the pandemic is on, so it's understandable a few things get through the cracks.

COLLECTABLES:

I really hate the tapestry collectable so far. There are, as far as I'm aware, no hints or riddles to where they are, and they're usually in far-flung obscure corners of the map. I've only found three legitimately so far. I really wish it was more like Summerset/Wrothgar/Murkmire and you get a little riddle for each piece. Please let me know if there IS one and I've just missed it and then I'll totally remove this point.

(As an aside, I think the zones for finding the digging spots are way too big in some maps, though this one isn't as bad as I've seen. But like, damn, it should not take me five minutes of painstakingly combing the landscape to find the spot! Especially with all the perks in play! It's a weird/frustrating difficulty spike versus the ease of the divination and the digging minigame.)

ENVIRONMENT:

The environment is really nice. Seeing a return of old Argonian plants make a return alongside new animals and features was pretty cool. I do not care for Imperials (they're pretty close to Bretons as my least-favorite ES race), but even so, the interweaving of architectures and cultures has had... an interesting effect on the landscape. It's kind of cool to see wooden buildings and stone intermesh, and seeing how the landscape blends. I think it's cool. I also like the continuation of the Grapple Bow as a game mechanic. Nothing makes me feel as bad-ass as leaping over a cliff's edge to my certain doom only to grapple to my safety.

MINOR QUESTS:

The minor quests I have done I really enjoyed. The one where one of Hermaeus Mora's servants was desperately trying to escape into the real world, plus the intrigue of the sleepy town's mystery (and adventuring with Alchemy!) was really nice and had me on the edge of my seat entertained. The return of the Blackfeather Court was much enjoyed and I forgot how much I liked the Duke. The "brother was transformed into a pig" bit was also hilarious. Interacting with Nocturnal after thwarting her plans previously was... interesting. There are probably other things I'm forgetting, but I've mostly found the writing and premise of the minor quest to be a cut above those we got previously.

(I really want to advance in the Bog Dog quest, but I don't know how and I don't want to look it up until I'm really, really done with the zone and I still haven't found it.)

QUANTITY:

I've been impressed with the amount of content, though I've seen many who were disappointed or irritated that it was only "eight hours of content" and moved on once they were finished. I've gone through eight hours myself and I haven't touched any of the main story, public dungeons, dailies, 75% of the quests, and probably about half the delves. Granted, this is from the idiot who spent 80 hours in Vvardenfell when they were starting out, so, grain of salt, perhaps. I can easily see 20-30+ hours of content in this expansion. That does fall shy of my usual "a dollar per hour of enjoyment" for most video-games, but whatever; either during the next ESO trial I'll play the second expansion for free and make up the loss, or I'll find something to do. Maybe I'll play through with another character-- I have a Redguard who would really like Mirri.

VERDICT:

Negatives: The fucking tapestry haunts my dreams. Companions are maybe a little grindy in terms of level-up, and their weapons are difficult to get.

Neutrals: I have no idea if the story is any good, or if the dungeons are any interesting. Performance can sometimes be an issue, but othertimes run as smooth as butter.

Positives: I love the companion system, the commentary, the rapport system, etc. The side-quests are fun and interesting so far, and the return of the grapple bow makes my heart happy.

Overall: Got some flaws. Could possibly be considered overpriced given the amount of content, depending on how much you want to play. I think it was worth my forty bucks- I’ve been enjoying it, anyway- and that maybe the whingers might be bandwagoning.

I could feel differently if the main story turns out badly, though...

#mod b #eso #not screenshots #long post #blackwood spoilers

40 notes · View notes

icequeenoriginal · 4 years

Text

The Meaning of FamILY

Note: I am so sorry for this taking centuries to come out, I blame laziness and writer’s block. So here it finally is, @khadij-al-kubra, the fic you requested. Again, I am so so sorry this took so long to get out. Also, this takes place a year after Intimacy and All Its Forms. Also Happy Late One Year Anniversary of this AU’s blog.

Thank you @theromnempire for editing. You’re the best!

Names of side characters belong to @hi-i-love-u-bitch. This AU belongs to @ask-spiderverse-virgil and @sugarglider9603

Trigger Warnings: Deaths mentioned, two past minor character death, crying (Let me know if I missed anything)

Pairings: Prinxiety and Logicality

Roman was ushered into the living room by his older sister. He couldn’t understand why. Normally when his father came home, he would see Roman sitting at the kitchen table, doing his homework and his father would walk over and ask about before changing out of his work clothes.

Maybe it was a celebration! Or maybe a surprise! But…why was Amá crying?

Roman’s mother looked up and locked eyes with her confused, innocent son. It made her burst into more tears and Roman ran to comfort her.

“¿Amá?¿Por qué lloras mami?” Roman asked while tilting his head to the side.

Lupita couldn’t help but smile at Roman, almost forgetting what had just happened. She frowned, and more tears fell as she realized what she had to do now.

“Roman ...mi Valiente chico…tengo algo que decirte...se trata de tu padre…”

Roman woke up with a start like he did every year on this day. It’s always the same memory that would wake him up like clockwork, ending right before his mom said the words that shattered his world forever. Roman’s brain liked to torture him but pretend to forget the worst part.

He decided not to think about it and just dressed.

Roman never noticed how quiet the house actually was on this day. Any other day of the year, even if he was the first to wake up, there was some kind of noise. It could be anything from the humming of the ceiling fan or people rushing to get breakfast ready. But today, nothing. All the sounds of the apartment were swept out as if the family occupying the house needed a reminder of what was happening

Maybe Roman just lost his touch with reality on this day. He was never sure, not that it really mattered. He knew the world did not stop just because he is in a shitty mood. Did that ever make him feel any better? No, but it gave him a false motivation to get up and get ready for school.

He walked to the twins' room, like every day, to get them ready for school. Any other of the 365 days of the year, the twins would already be awake, fully ready to run around and make Roman’s morning even more hectic. Today, both had a blanket over their heads and he could hear his little sister sniffling.

He wished it was because of a cold. It never was.

“Vamos, es hora de levantarse,” Roman said, just loud enough for the twins to hear, worried if his voice went any height they could hear how broke it was.

“NO!” both Jenni and Marco shouted, pulling the blanket simultaneously over their heads. Roman wanted to laugh at the sight, badly.

Instead, he sighed “No no, you guys gotta get up and go to school.”

“NO!” Marco shouted

“It’s a bad day today!” Jenni cries

“I know guys but we can’t miss school,” Roman said softly.

“We’ll go to school tomorrow!”

“Yeah, when it’s not Papi’s death day!”

Roman inhaled sharply, it was the first time of the day someone acknowledged what the 17th of February meant. The house somehow got even muter, if that was possible. His sister and brother burst into tears and Roman felt his face heat up. But he couldn’t cry, he was-

A soft, reassuring hand landed on his shoulder as he took a step forward.

“Amá…” Roman said, his voice strained

Lupita’s eyes were full of storms of sadness, threatening a downpour. “Roman ... ve y desayuna.”

Roman shook his head. He could do it, he had to. His mother had enough on her plate. “Pero Amá--” Lupita cut him off.

“Está bien. No te preocupes por eso”

Roman sighed “Okay.” He was too tired to argue. This day seemed to already take so much out of him and it had hardly had started.

Roman sulked to the kitchen and made himself some toast. Something quick, easy and he was least likely to get sick from. He stared absently, unfortunately making eye contact with his father in an old happy family photo. He sucks in his breath as silent memories began to haunt him like they always do. He hated those more than any amount of his siblings sobbing or screaming in agony. He could tune those out with music, his one constant. These just got louder and louder no matter what he tried.

What snapped him out of the pitiful void was a vibration from his phone. He pulled it out to reveal a text notification from Patton.

Bestie <3: I’ll be on the fire escape in a minute! Alex stole my sweater again :(((

Roman frowned, had he really taken that long to get ready? He hadn’t even made anyone’s lunch or even breakfast. He wasn’t even sure he was ready to talk to anyone today. Much less to get their glances of pity. Constantly hearing “sorry for your loss” got old quick. Besides, he didn’t want to bring anyone down, especially his best friends, just because of what today is. He sighed and texted Patton back:

Romaine Lettuce :): It’s okay. I’m gonna swing over to school today, go on without me.

Roman saw that Patton had read his text but he didn’t reply. Roman didn’t think much of it, he figured he was still chasing Alex around, and just grabbed his toast as soon as it was done in the toaster.

“Amá! I’m heading out to school! I love you! Bye!” Roman didn’t wait for a reply and ran up the stairs that lead to the roof as he put on his costume. Web swinging always seemed to calm his nerves, or more accurately, distracted him. Something about one mistake and you can fall to your death really makes your other problems seem small. As he was about to fire his first web, a voice shouted for him to halt.

Patton ran up to him, also in full costume “Wait for me!”

“Pat?” Roman asked, not trying to hide his confusion. “What are you doing here?”

Although Patton had the mask on, It wasn’t hard to tell he was smiling. “I’m going to swing with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know but I want to head to school with you like I always do.”

Roman felt a mixture of happiness and guilt swirl around in his stomach, creating an unpleasant cocktail make just for him. Not that he knew what a cocktail tasted like.

Roman gave a small smile behind his mask “Okay then Pat, I’ll race you” and took off without another word.

They swung without another word, which relieved Roman. He didn’t want to be asked about how he was doing, the answer was obvious and Roman was tired of being asked it.

Unfortunately, this feeling did not last and Roman quickly returns to his self-pity and dark thoughts. Roman was so lost in his brooding thoughts of the bombardment of sympathy that he would receive through the day that he did not see the tall building in front of him. Thankfully, Patton did and webbed Roman quick enough so that he landed on the roof.

Well...landed is a generous term here. With how fast Roman was going, Patton had to quickly web him and throw him on the roof of the building.

Patton landed gracefully next to him. He placed his hands on his hips and said: “Okay, that’s enough swinging for you, mister!”

“I’m fine Patton, I just wasn’t paying attention this time.”

Patton shook his head, “You’re distracted, understandably so and I know you don’t want to talk about it, even though you should, but I won’t make you. It’s not safe Roman! I can’t let my best friend get hurt again! Not on my watch…”

Roman could see the agony swept into Patton’s eyes. He knew that memories of the year before, bad ones brought nothing but pain, were swarming Patton’s mind. Memories of Roman avoiding him, the fighting, the robot battle, all were tearing Patton down. It was a look far too familiar to him.

Roman ran to Patton as he began to shake. Roman muttered an apology that seemed small to himself but was perfect to Patton. Once Patton was able to calm himself down, he hugged Roman tightly, to show he was never going to let him go.

“Let’s walk to school okay? I know a game we can play. It’s called “Beautiful Things’. As we walk, we point out the beautiful things we see and why we find them beautiful. Alex and Georgie made it up after Frankie…passed…and we played it all the time”

Roman raised his mask just above his lip to show that he was smiling “That sounds great, Patton, I’d love to.”

So they snuck off the roof, changed, and walked. They pointed out birds, children, babies, and music playing from cars. Roman had no idea that such a simple game could bring him so much calm, but it did. He never realized there is so much good in the world, that was what they, as heroes, fought for.

When they got to school, Roman headed to his locker. To an outside viewer, it was nothing out of the ordinary. But for the four, it was breaking the sacred tradition. First, they would meet at Logan’s locker as it was the closest to the entrance. Then they would make their way to their own lockers while catching up with one another. Finally, they would arrive at homeroom to get ready for the school day.

However, as Roman watched Patton saunter over and embrace Logan, his feet didn’t want to go anywhere except towards an island of isolation. He didn’t want to ruin the happy mood, especially after making Patton think of Frankie so early in the morning. What best friend forces you to remember your dead brother?

He opened his locker and slowly pulled out the books he would need until lunch. When that took less than a minute. He stared at the objects he taped onto the door of his locker over the course of the year. At the top was a small mirror that he suddenly did not want to look into. At the bottom is a whiteboard with reminders of tests written by Logan, supportive messages from Patton, and quick doodles by Virgil. He felt the tug of a small smile on his lips, though it went away quickly.

He had only begun scanning the dozens of photographs he had before two arms snaked their way around his waist. He felt warmth in his chest as his boyfriend’s lips were pressed on the space between his shoulder blades.

“Morning” Virgil said, tiredness leaking into his speech.

Roman smiled softly and leaned slightly into the touch. “What leads you to my neck of the woods?” Roman asked as if he did not already know the answer.

“I needed to escape before I drowned in the puppy love.”

It wasn’t the answer he was expecting so he pressed on, “What do you mean?” Roman turned his head slightly to look at Virgil. Virgil, without lifting his cheek off Roman’s back, unfortunately, removed one of his arms from around Roman and gestures to his right.

In distance, Patton has Logan’s shirt held carefully in his fingers, playing with the buttons as he talked to Logan. Logan watched with nothing but love and appreciation in his eyes. Roman couldn’t help but sigh at the couple, he was part of the team that got them together after all. One of his best accomplishments, if he’d say so himself..

“It’s so sweet...disgusting.” Virgil continued. Switching from resting his cheek on Roman’s back to his chin, he looked up and said, “Now give me my good morning kiss.”

Roman chuckled and happily obliged. When they pulled apart, Virgil asks “I’m going to ask you a stupid question.”

“No question is stupid, love, ask away.”

“Are you okay?” “I stand corrected.” Virgil elbowed Roman in the side, both happy for their spider-strength for the opposite reasons.

“I mean it, Ro. I know you hate being asked that question, especially today, but I rather you get annoyed with me than let something happen like last time. So I’ll ask again, are you okay?”

“I am.”

Virgil raises an eyebrow “Am what?”

“Fine.” “I asked you if you were okay”

“Same difference.”

“Big difference, people only say they’re fine when they don’t want to admit they aren’t okay.”

Roman just looked away, having nothing to really say, plus he didn’t want to argue. Virgil sighed and hugged him again. Roman doesn’t push away, the pressure behind his eyes getting more and more unbearable. His emotions were already becoming too much for him to handle. He hugged back, relishing in the warmth of another person. It was stupid, in his mind, since Virgil was just hugging him moments ago.

With a sigh, Roman pulled back. He brushed his knuckles gently against Virgil’s cheek and whispered “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay because I’m sorry too,” Virgil said softly.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Virgil couldn’t help but smile at that. “You know what? You’re right. I don’t. And with that, I’m going to spend this whole day cheering you up.”

“Virge…You don’t have to. Really! There’s no reason to-“

Virgil suddenly poked Roman chest, silencing the boy. “Do you remember the day that marked the anniversary of my grandpa’s death?”

“Of course I do, you were so upset. You didn’t even want to leave your room”

“Yeah, and you know what you did? You broke into my room, like some lunatic by the way, wrapped me up like a burrito-“

“It’s called a blanket burrito for a reason.”

“Don’t interrupt me. You wrapped me up, put on all my favorite movies that I wasn’t even aware you remembered and fed me snacks as we cuddled. Not even Logan had thought of doing that, he would just let me lie under my blankets while he just sat in the room.” Virgil paused to smirk before continuing “And I was never more grateful for you than at that moment.”

Roman’s face began to heat up. He couldn’t help it. No matter how big or small the compliment that Virgil would give him, he would turn into a blushing schoolgirl, ready to throw himself at Virgil and pepper him with kisses.

He opted to just hug Virgil again, a silent thank you. They were in public after all. They had some class.

Virgil embraced him for a few moments before the warning bell went off. “Listen, I’m going to make sure today is not going to be total shit for you.”

Roman chuckled in response, “Thanks, stormcloud.” Roman took a step to walk to his class but stopped when Virgil firmly grabbed his hand, “Huh?”

“What? I can’t hold my boyfriend’s hand as we walk to class?”

Roman chuckled, if there was one thing he knew about Virgil is that despite his boyfriend’s wariness of physical affection, Virgil always saw things through. Roman gently squeezed Virgil’s hand, absorbing the love that came from that simple gesture. Logan told him a few months ago about Love Languages and how physical touch was definitely his. It was a nice bonding moment for him and Logan, and it made Virgil really happy. Roman was rewarded handsomely for it.

Compared to every other year since his dad died, this was actually a pretty good day. Virgil would bring him to every class, even the ones were Virgil’s classes were nowhere near. Virgil had to keep reassuring Roman that it was fine, “I will just use my invisibility and sneak in. It will be funny to see how confused my teachers will be.” It made Roman genuinely laugh, something seemingly unachievable on this day.

The classes he did share with Virgil were the best. Virgil left his non-writing hand resting on Roman’s shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze whenever he felt Roman quiver, shake or tense up. Which was often since their teacher would not stop shooting Roman sympathetic looks, even after Virgil glared at her. Other classes that Virgil wasn’t in, Virgil would wrap his hoodie around Roman before he headed off to his next class. People would focus on this action and how cute it was that Roman would forget, even for a few minutes.

Around lunch, Roman’s mood changed from melancholy to calm, relatively speaking. He wasn’t walking with his head down, and even partaking. The numb and somewhat painful feeling in his chest was still present, but it was no longer the black pit sucking his emotions into it like usual.

Already seated at the lunch table were Logan and Patton, whispering and smiling at one another. Before Roman could announce his presence to the couple, Virgil tugged him back. He nearly made Roman fall backward in the process, but they both knew it wasn’t intentional. They always forgot how strong their spidey strength actually was.

“Sorry!” Virgil said instinctively though he did start laughing as Roman caught himself.

“What was that for?” Roman asked once he regained his balance.

“I needed to tell you before I forget, I asked Thomas if we could borrow his living room for a movie night and he said yes. Ask your mom if you can stay over.”

Roman smiled, “That sounds great”

Virgil smiled back as the two sat in their normal seats. As soon as the two entered Patton’s vision, his eyes light and he pushed a plate covered in tin foil towards the couple. It wasn’t anything uncommon, Patton using any excuse to make people food, from “Virgil had a headache” cookies to “You saved a bus filled with little kiddos and the city still won’t give you a key!” double chocolate cake. Roman removed the tin foil to reveal donuts. It shocked Roman, he had a bit of an expectation that Patton would make one of Roman’s favorite desserts; like he always did in years past.

Roman looked up at Patton puzzled and Patton reached over the table to squeeze Roman’s arm as it rested on the cafeteria table. “I know you don’t want to make this day all about you, so I made something we all consider a normal snack. Is it okay?”

Patton’s eyes read desperate and Roman, half because he wanted to be a good best friend and half because he did not want Patton to use his Empath powers, smiled, and nodded.

“This is perfect, Pat.”

Patton pulled back so he could properly muffle his squeal of delight since they were still in school and he did not want to get into trouble for “starting a disturbance.”

Logan whispered to Patton “You told me it was because you did not have enough time to make Roman his favorite cake.”

“...I can have multiple reasons” Patton whispered back, glad that Roman and Virgil were too busy bickering about the best Avenger to listen in.

Everyone ate their lunches and donuts, just enjoying the time they had together. Logan commented on how he heard that Roman and Virgil would not join them on patrol and he hoped that they “don’t burn down Thomas’ apartment”. That earned him a look from Roman, a “Logie!’ from Patton and a kick in the shin from Virgil all at the same time.

“It was a simple precaution!” Logan shouted, only to be told to quiet down by the cafeteria monitor.

It would later become a memory they would always look back on, Virgil even including it into his best man speech at Logan and Patton’s wedding, much to Logan’s dismay.

Once lunch was over, Roman snuck into the bathroom and sent off a text to his mom asking if it was possible if he could stay over at Virgil’s, adding that if she needed him to come home then it would be fine. He didn’t want to be selfish.

Roman figured he would get his reply by the end of the day since he knew his mom would be really busy at work and he wasn’t exactly sure when his mom had her lunch break. He put his phone in his pocket only to scare himself when his notification sound went off in the silent password. He pulled it out and his phone and had a new text from his mom.

Amá: Of course you can, Your sister is watching the twins today, go have fun. It’s what Papí would want.

Roman smiled, a single tear fell down his face. His mom was the best.

Roman’s afternoon classes came and went, nothing exciting or saddening happened of note. Though it wouldn’t have mattered, the prospect of cuddles and Disney movies filled him with so much excitement and joy.

As faith would have it, he had no play practice since their show season had just ended and Mr. Bell always gave them a week off so he could tie up any last loose ends and decide the dates for the next auditions. This gave him an extra two hours to spend with his boyfriend, perfect!

Roman ran up to Virgil’s locker and bounced on his toes as his boyfriend got his stuff together so they could head off. Virgil smirked and tilted his head to Roman, “You seem excited.”

Roman smiled and nods “I’m really excited for tonight”

“Oh?” Virgil teased “What’s happening tonight? I can’t remember anything important”

Roman lightly punched him in the arm “You’re so mean, remind me why I love you again?” “It was your choice to get into this relationship, Princey, don’t forget that” Virgil waved his hand as he spoke and Roman, to Virgil’s surprise, quickly snatched Virgil’s hand.

Roman smirked back “I am very aware, and I am so happy to have you.” He then kissed Virgil’s knuckles.

Virgil cursed his cheeks for the blush that always came when Roman did something romantic. He pulled his hand back and nervously giggled “Oh shush, let’s get going already.”

Man, did he love that boy.

After swinging over to Thomas’ apartment with Patton and Logan, Roman and Virgil quickly went to work on their pillow fort as the two other spider children spoke to their spider dad about the details of the patrol.

Once everything was set up, Thomas said “Great. Patton, you and Logan get my snack bag and go to the bodega on the corner, there is money in the bag so don’t worry about using your own money. Meet me on the roof in half an hour.”

Patton and Logan nodded and left to get their favorite snacks.

Thomas turned to Roman “Hey, Ro? Before you guys start, could you come with me to the roof?”

Roman was confused but agreed. He was a bit nervous, he felt like a child about to get yelled at and tried to think of what he could have done wrong recently.

Once they got to the roof, Roman asked, “If this about keeping your apartment clean, I promise Virgil and I will not burn it down. Logan already gave us the rundown.”

Thomas put his hand on Roman’s shoulder and softly smiled “I can feel you stressing out, even without Patton’s power. Don’t worry, I trust you. I just wanted to tell you something. Sit with me” Thomas patted Roman’s head when Roman released a sigh of relief.

The two sat on the edge of the roof, Thomas in his Rainbow Weaver costume with the mask on and Roman in his civilian clothes.

Thomas gazed over the city before saying “I know you are probably expecting me to give you a speech about grief and how to handle it, but I hated those speeches at your age when I got them because of my Aunt Patty. In fact, you remind me a lot of myself when I was younger, and I’m not just talking about being a fellow theatre geek. I never wanted to think about when she died and I would throw myself into helping people, with or without the suit. One thing led to another and I ended up beaten and bloodied in an alley on the anniversary of her death. When Talyn and Joan found me, I swear my Aunt Patty possessed them to yell at me for it. I thought Talyn might kill me themself.”

Roman laughed “I can see them doing that.”

Thomas chuckled and nodded “Oh yes. But what they and Joan did instead was patching me up and we had a FRIENDS marathon, ‘the police will handle crime for now’ Joan said. I broke down after three episodes because I love my friends so much. So before I start crying again at the memories, I just wanted to tell you that your friends--including Joan, Talyn, and I--are always here for you. Don’t make the same mistake I did and forget” Roman threw himself at Thomas for a hug “Never again, I promise.”

Thomas hugged back “Thanks, kid. Now go have fun.”

Virgil looked up from his phone when he heard footsteps coming towards him “What did Thomas want? Hey, are you okay?” Virgil pops out from under the fort and cups Roman’s face to wipe the tears away.

Roman smiles “I’m fine, really. I’m just...thank you, for putting up with me”

Virgil kisses him “It’s not putting up with you, it’s loving you. Ready to start Tangled” “Of course my love”

Tag list (Ask if you want to be added or removed):

@corkeecoderyt @per-seph-o-nee @3milystuff @asymmetricalgarbage8888 @fairytailtwists @sanders-sides-rebloger @mycatshuman @sanderssidesfluffyangst @unikornavenger @0callmevirge0 @gloomingwitch @roxiefox24 @ijustreallylovesanderssides @unisaurioamorfo @nadja-chamack16 @angelic-cali

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #spiderverse au #prinxiety #logicality #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #joan #talyn

142 notes · View notes

deberiaestarescribiendo · 3 years

Text

Saint Jude's Miracle: a Javier Peña x OFC (Isa) FanFic. Chapter III

Summary: After the operation at the border, Javier accepts a task to continue his new partnership with the DEA but that would may affect his marriage with Isa who sees how he’s getting farther and farther away from her.

WC: 4,5k (Ups sorry)

Warnings: angst and domestic Javi cos I like to hurt my feelings, light smut: very light descriptions of oral (female receiving) and p in v sex (I’m trying guys, not very used to write this things in English)

A/N: Hi! This third chapter is a little longer because I didn’t know where to cut without making it just feelings and angst, so I add a little bit of spice and plot. Again thank you so much to the ones that find this and read it, like it and reblog it. It means a lot. And lastly, as usual, this has not been beta’d and I’m sorry for any mistake and bad grammar you find.

Spanish in cursive with translations right after in parenthesis

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Stay

"Jav...what you found at the raid, what you did, my bosses are impressed. They are actually asking me if you’d be up to do this again, maybe they need your formal statement about those documents” Steve announces

“I’m doing whatever you need, Steve” he answers

“Really? Okay, they’re going to freak out once they know you’re back...kinda”

“Yeah...I wouldn’t be surprised if they think I switched sides or whatever and that’s how I got that intel” Javi jokes

“So, Javi Peña...you’re my informant now. I won’t treat you as kindly as you treated yours though” he mocks

“Fuck you, Steve”

“Yeah, that’s what you did with them and that’s exactly what I’m not going to do to you” he continues

Javi grins. He misses that, the bickering, talking to his friend.

“I’ll call you back, Javi. I let you know what they say” Steve says after Javier had been quite for a few minutes

“Anything, Steve”

A few calls back and forth and Javi’s heart is pounding on his chest, he doesn’t know if it’s excitement or fear or the two combined, but, anyway,this is the most alive he has felt in a long time.

Isa and Elvira sit on the garden, both of them on the grass drinking an ice cold cola. Javier is holding the exterior tubes of the air conditioner cursing like a sailor when the machine still doesn’t work, he has been trying to repair the thing for hours now, and the persistent calls interrupting him aren’t helping. Normally they call after dinner time. Javi locks himself in his office or in the living room if Elvi and Isa are already upstairs. They, whoever they are, are the ones guilty of her husband’s behavior lately. The ones that keep him up at night, they stress him and distract him. Get him farther and farther away from me she thinks. They’ve called at least four times already.

Isabel knows something is up. Every time Javi returns from one of those phone calls he grows more a more frustrated over the device.

“Fuck me” he mutters pressing violently every button.

“Are you alright, honey?” Isa laughs. She gives a gentle squeeze on his shoulder feeling the tense muscles underneath the shirt.

“We’re going to get a new one right now. Do you want to go to the mall?” He turns, his handsome face covered in sweat. Isa pulls his wet hair out of his forehead, with that brief distraction; Javi takes her cold drink from her hand really fast and gulps the whole thing in seconds.

“Hey, that was mine”

“What’s mine it’s yours, remember?” He winks “I really don’t know how to repair this shit” and he kicks the machine

“Javi, it’s going to cost a ton. I think my mum had an old one at the hair salon”

At the mention of her mother in law, her husband rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I know” she tickles his belly, the white shirt glued to his skin “You just have to leave me there, we pick it up and then we leave. You don’t even have to talk to her”

Javi runs a hand through his dark wet hair “Well, fuck it, I can’t stand this hell anymore might as well go all the way down and say hi to the devil”

Isa snorts laughing and slaps him playfully “Javi, she’s not that bad”

“We hate each other, it’s fine” he shrugs “Anyway I have to go downtown. What if I drop both of you at your mother’s salon while I do some errands? Elvi likes to spend time with her”“That’s a good idea” she agrees, Isa is dying to know what “errands” he has to do, but she doesn’t ask.

“Pues se dejo la carrera a medio terminar, una gran decepción para su padre y para mi” (She didn’t finish her degree, it was such a disappointment for her father and me)

“Claro, mijita, es que una se espera hasta que ya termina los estudios y ya se casan y después tienen los muchachos” (Of course, love. You have to wait until you finish your studies and then you get married and have kids) Mrs Alvarez adds holding her hair in the towel while she waits for Carmen to start.

Isa is used to the bickering whenever she spends time at her mother’s salon. Her usual costumers know the entire story: First child to go to college in the family gets pregnant before getting married and then she had to drop out; a disgrace.

At the beginning of her pregnancy and her relationship with Javier, she blushed and tried to bury herself on the purple sofa where the clients waited when her mother and costumers started this conversation about her. But after years and years of the same discussion she just smiles boringly while she glances uninterested over the different magazines on the table and waits until they’re finished with her. Luckily she has her daughter now, who distracts the ladies with her funny comments, a song, or anything her bubbly self makes up. Elvira loves the salon; the ladies give her a few one dollar bills and candy whenever they have some.

“Tan linda, mi nieta. Ese es el consuelo que tengo” (My granddaughter is so lovely, that’s my only consolation) Carmen Alamos is a strong woman. Stern and straightforward, a good and god-fearing catholic that works hard to sustain her family and that has always kept a passion for knowledge. Isa remembers clearly when she was a teenager and she would clean up at the end of the day giving the chance for her mother to take a little time for herself that she usually spent reading her books and studying English so she could speak it and write it properly. She also kept studying other things out of curiosity and Carmen wanted her daughter to be someone, to really seize the opportunity to build a bright future for herself. Then shit happened. And Carmen sees only one culprit for that: Javier Peña.

After a few saddened sighs from the women, Carmen turns to her daughter.

“So what is it that you wanted?” she asks massaging Mrs Alvarez scalp.

“You still have the old Air conditioner from home right?” Isa tosses the magazines over the table and walks to the glass door. Javier is still somewhere in town.

“Yes, at the back office. Why do you need that?” she starts cutting the client’s hair with her swift and experienced hands.

“Ours broke down and it’s almost impossible to stay inside” Isa smiles seeing her daughter who looks mesmerized at her grandma’s skills.

“It’s so hot, abuelita, Mami had to sleep naked” Elvira says casually.

The three women at the salon gasp. Mrs Alvarez turns abruptly to face the little girl. Unfortunately for her hair, Carmen has chopped at the same time she turned and her hair is now uneven.

“Ay, Dios santo” Carmen quickly starts to solve what she’s done to the poor woman’s hair.

The sound of the car stopping breaks the uncomfortable moment. From the door, Isa sees Javier getting out the car. Tight jeans, black shirt and those aviator glasses she had gifted him on his birthday. He grins when he sees her and jumps the three steps towards the salon. The little bell rang when he opens the door while he takes off his glasses.

“Papi” Elvi runs and grabs him by his knees

“Hola, mi amor” (Hello, my love) he kisses her crown and hugs Isa with his other arm. “amores” ( my loves) he corrects

“Where were you?” Isa asks but he mutters later so she lets it go for the moment

“Señoras” (Ladies) he greets the ladies with a smile that rapidly disappears as he approaches his mother in law “Carmen, ¿cómo está?” (Carmen, how are you?)

“Hola, Javier. El aire está detrás.” (Hello, Javier. The Air conditioner is at the back) She answers dryly

“Gracias” Javi turns to Isa and rolls his eyes with a told you kind of expression.

“Por eso tu mama duerme desnuda, porque tiene a ese en la cama, ay pues no me extraña” (So that’s why your mum sleeps naked, she has him on her bed. It does not surprise me) Mrs Alvarez comments with a sly grin

Carmen jerks her harshly on the chair.

“Quédese quieta, señora Alvarez si no quiere que le haga un trasquilón” (Stay still, Mrs Alvarez if you don’t want a bad haircut)

Javier grunts carrying the heavy machine so Isa rushes to open the door for him and helps him get it to the car.

“We clearly agree in one thing, we hate each other’s guts” he leaves the device on the truck and dries the sweat on his forehead.

“Well you were the one that dishonored her little girl, what do you expect?” Isa hangs on him on her tip toes and kisses him softly. “Where were you?”

“Pardon?” He holds her by her hips and pushes her against his chest “If I recall correctly you were the one that seduced me” he ignores the second question

“You asked me out first”

“You approached me first” he smiles before lowering his touch to the end of her jeans shorts, but she slaps his hand away.

“I was waitressing, it was my job” Isa laughs “I’m going to say goodbye and take Elvi with me” she kisses him briefly one last time before climbing the stair to the salon.

Javi gets inside the car and watches as the little girl waves her goodbyes and Isa has annoyed expression. He knows her mother had some last comments about him as it is the usual thing with her. He can imagine perfectly how she’s complaining about him not giving her daughter a good life just because he couldn’t repair a damn air conditioner. He bites the inside of his cheek and leans on his seat, he knows the life he gives Isa and Elvi is about to be a little bit worse and it’s not because of a stupid machine.

It was too late to hide the papers he had on the dashboard: The documents that Steve had sent and his voyage plan to meet him in Mexico. He rushes to put everything inside the glove box, but Isa is already opening the door to the copilot seat. He pushes everything inside without much care.

“What was that?”

He was going to tell her but he has to find the perfect time so he can minimize the harm. He doesn’t want to seem too eager to leave, as he thinks that it is already the image his wife has of him. Javi Peña, always out the door.

“I had to pass by the office and grab some stupid documents. It’s nothing”

“I thought they’re closed for the summer…” Isa fastens her belt and turns to make sure Elvira has hers correctly locked.

“Yeah, but the doorman had a key and he opened it for me. Anyway, should we grab dinner somewhere? What do you say Elvi?” He smiles back to his daughter through the rearview mirror. Isa observes him with her arms crossed over her chest.

Javi starts the car, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on Isa’s thigh giving her gentle squeeze.

“Can we get ice-cream after?”

“Of course, baby. Anything for my girls”

He gets lost watching her do her little things: how she pulls her curls back to apply her night cream and the soft rose scent that it leaves on her face that he can smell when he buries his face on her neck; how lovely she looks in one of those big old t-shirts she uses as pajamas and how he’s dying to run his hands under it to find the familiar curves of her body. Without realizing it, he smiles lost in his daydreaming from the bathroom door. Her caramel eyes turn to him and a cheeky smile appears on her mouth.

“What?”

“Nothing”

“Okay…” she giggles “You can stop, you know? I’m not mad anymore”

“Stop what?”

“All these” she draws a circle in the air “Today. Eat out, ice-cream, now you look at me with those puppy eyes”

“I cannot take my family out? And look at my wife?” Javier comes closer and hugs her from behind, his large arms closing her tight against his chest. “That, by the way, looks quite gorgeous today” he says to her ear. He hums smelling the rose perfume, the one that has accompanied him every night of their marriage, the scent of home and making love in silence and sleepy kisses in the wake. He makes both of them swing in front of the mirror. I wish it was easier he thinks I wish I only wanted this

“Thanks” Isa caresses his strong forearms, following the veins and the freckles of his tanned skin.

When Javi opens his eyes he sees her reflection in the mirror; her eyes sparkle in the yellowish lights of the bathroom with tears struggling to be contained

“What’s wrong, baby?” Javi makes her turn and holds her with his arms on her lower back

“I…just…I feel like I’m becoming…” the tears finally roll out to her cheeks as she tries to swallow the lump on her throat

“What?” Javi puts his large hands on both sides of her head, wiping away the tears with his thumbs

“My mum…” she says eventually and crumbles to his chest in soft sobs

“God, what did she say?”

“That I’m becoming her… and I think, for once, I think she might be right” she whimpers and sniffs

“No, no. Mi amor…you’re not” he separates himself from her softly just so he can look at her face

“All my life I’ve seen her being like that…bitter, angry, asking question after question. I thought she was annoying. But now…well”

“I don’t get it”

“I think I understand. I don’t want to get to that point, but little by little we’re looking more and more like my parents marriage. I mean, you come home late and I get angry, I ask questions, and you get annoyed. I worry a lot and you’re getting bored of me” Isa fixes her gaze at some random point on the floor and she speaks faster and faster spitting every word until all that comes out from her mouth are soft whimpers

“Hold up, wait. I’m not bored of you” He pulls her chin up so he can look at her in the eye

“C’mon, Javi.” She bites her lip, trembling and tears now uncontrollably coming out of her eyes. “You hide things from me because you think that I’m gonna be mad and scream at you, which I do. And then you get inside your shell that I cannot get in” she points at the center of his chest.

Javi becomes silent and just cups her cheeks softly

“I don’t want to be that type of wife. I don’t want to scold you like if I were your mum. I want to be your friend, your confident, your lover”

“And you are, baby” He holds her again close to him and kisses her forehead “You are all of that”

“I don’t want just to be a housewife…I don’t want us to be a cliché”

“We are not that, babe”

“I’m exhausted, the house, Elvi and…”

“I don’t make things easier” Javi starts rocking their bodies softly side to side.

“No, you don’t. I wish you could just tell me what’s going on. It drives me crazy”

“Noth…” Isa shakes her head before he can finish

“Javi, please. The calls, the documents, the way you’re behaving” she counts

“Alright.” He sighs “They asked me to assist in a big operation. I’ve found something weird in one of the export’s companies that we manage at the office. So I called my old colleague and now I’m involved in this”

“Javi…” Isa murmurs

“I have to go to Mexico. Just for a week, meet him there and see what they got” The husband holds her by the arms, squeezing the skin as to alleviate the pressure he knows he is inflicting on her.

“When?” she says exhaling all the air in her lungs.

“In a week”

“Fuck…”

“I know, I didn’t tell because you would…”

“Be a pain in the ass?” she exits the bathroom and takes a seat on the right side of the bed.

“Worry” he completes. Javi turns off the lights and the two of them stay in the dim light of the nightstand lamp. The lamp she always leaves on when he’s away.

“Yeah” he crawls on the bed until he is kissing her nape “You’re never a pain in the ass by the way”

“I see how you react” she slightly turns her face, and Javier takes the opportunity to kiss her temple and the side of her mouth

“Nonsense” He circles her waist with both arms and pulls her against him. The softness of her skin and her warmth burn him with desire. He wants to take the pain away the only way he knows.

Isa responds with a moan at the feeling of his heat and the firmness of his chest. She lays her head back on his shoulder watching his hand roam around her body every touch of his fingers lighting a fire on her skin. He knows every corner, every touch that makes her tremble in pleasure and also how that ends conflicts right away.

“Javi” she pronounces his name like a plea. A plea for more, to make him stay with her and also to make her forget all her worries with his love.

His lips create a slow and unbearable path of kisses and bites where her skin more sensitive. His hands cup her breasts and the tender skin on her lower belly and hips.

“Te amo” (I love you) Isa says writhing, her whole body responding to his attention.

Javier looks at her, his deep brown eyes glowing, his breathing is now heavy. He pulls her in a swift movement to the end of the bed so he has access between her thighs. Isa laughs trying not to fall.

“Te vas a joder la espalda” (You’re going to hurt your back) she giggles

“Me estás diciendo viejo ¿o qué?” (You’re calling me old, or what?) he smirks and grabs her legs to open them

Isa smiles and covers her face with her forearm to hide her laughter.

“¿Ahora te ries?” (And now you’re laughing?) He’s standing on his knees between her thighs looking at her amused “Mala” (You’re mean) he gives a slap on her ass. When she uncovers her face, looking at him with her mouth open he mutters an apology.

“No, me gustó” (No, I liked it) she bites her lip and brushes her legs on his hip enticing him to come closer

He’s surprised for a second but then bends towards her, caging her against the mattress “Ah ¿sí?” (Ah, yeah?) Javi brushes his lips over her jaw pushing his hips towards her core

“No soy de las esposas que solo lo hacen en misionero un par de veces al mes, Javi” (I’m not the kind of wife that only does it missionary a couple of times a month, Javi) she grabs his hips and pushes him until his sex is against her. The wet friction of her damp panties sending shivers through her body.

“A mí me gusta el misionero” (I like missionary) He answers catching her lower lip with his, biting it gently

“You know what I mean” she rolls her eyes

“Yeah, I have a kinky wife” he slaps her again and swiftly grabs the waistband of her panties and rolls them to her feet. Isa rushes to take her over-sized t-shirt off and rests again laying on her back, legs wide open, exposed. “Mi amor” (my love) Javi moans watching her like that, squirming with desire and doesn’t waste time in adjusting his position so he can sink his face between her legs.

He tastes her and moans, words incomprehensible, and Isa closes her eyes while he drinks of her like she’s the first drop of water after a drought. His large hands hold her still and open when the pleasure it’s too much to handle. She begs, his name mixed with the name of God until she can control her trembles. Without giving her a moment to rest, Javi tops her and submerges himself in her holding a curse

“Mi amor” he repeats breathy on her ear. He thrusts into her slowly and deep at first but Isa’s legs wrap him even deeper, her nails scratch him and he starts going faster and harder. His forehead stays on hers watching how she closes her eyes and her mouth murmurs his name again and again. When he finally spills on her, she gives gentle kisses all over his face and hugs him impossibly tight.

“Te amo” she says again

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

She admires at his profile, the way his plum lips are parted, breathing peacefully, his bare chest going up and down while he dreams. He looks beautiful like this, relaxed, almost boyish in a way. His sharp features are soft when she reaches to his face and traces his nose, his eyes and his jaw line with her finger. She has asked herself many times what is inside his head; those parts she doesn’t know. Sometimes she wishes to know everything; but sometimes she thinks the truth would hurt too much.

She knows that his former job as a DEA agent had affected him enormously. Isa knows the horrors that the drug war had caused in Colombia mainly by the news reports she’s seen and the brief stories Javier had told her at the beginning of their relationship. That Javier is dead, the agent, the man after monsters is gone, at least that’s what he tells her and himself.

Isabel met a broken man, a greyer version of himself, half way between the tough DEA agent and the young man that left Laredo full of dreams to see the world. Sometimes he was open, sometimes he was deep in his regrets and memories, Javier would always stay in a limbo where Isabel could reach him just in a physical way but his heart and his mind, even after many years, were still a mystery.

Where was he when he was quite? Where was he when he disappeared in his memories? Was he thinking about others? She knows quite well that he was more experienced than her in matters of the heart and almost in every other aspect. Isa had a high school sweetheart and just the one brief and disappointing relationship in college. He, in the other hand, had travelled the world, fought drug lords and corrupt governments, and the very system that employed him. He is older than her, and that doesn’t bother her, but sometimes she finds herself lacking in many ways: Lacking in interesting things to tell, in adventures, in knowledge other than being a housewife.

She sees how Elvira jumps in excitement when Javier comes home, she idolizes him and even though Isa doesn’t want to admit it, she is jealous. Elvira and her little world is hers, it’s the only thing she has. Every now and then she finds that her conversations circle only around her: her school, the new things Elvi likes and the things she says, to the point that Isabel has disappeared and only the mother exists.

And in that, she fears that her husband will lose all interest in her. All those doubts from the past come back now that he’s accepting those jobs that force him to leave the house for weeks. Was he running away? Why? And that little insidious voice answers: He didn’t love you back then, he doesn’t love you now. You just got pregnant in the worse moment and he had to act as a responsible adult

Javier had been single before meeting her for a long time, having sporadic lovers when he needed one. He didn’t tell her much about his past lovers but she recognized the type of men he was. He is intoxicating, raises desiring looks everywhere and she had fallen for that without a chance. She had been one of those girls that he dated briefly, a relationship with an expiring date, but then she took the pregnancy test and it came positive.

All he said when she told him was that he would be there for her for everything and whatever decision she would make; and he said yes to meet his parents, and he said yes to keep the baby and never complained or blamed her; but she knew that he didn’t planned to stay together much longer before she had told Javi the bad news. But everything changed after a dinner night in the Alamos’s household

“When are you marrying then? It has to be soon or else people would notice your belly” Francisco Alamos, her father, welcomed Javier in his house with his hands holding tightly his belt, ready at any moment to throw those big hands to his face if he said the wrong thing.

Javier had looked confused at first, but in a second he got himself together and answered with a bright smile that would have melted anyone but the Alamos:

“Everything has been so unplanned and out of the blue that I wanted that to be a surprised and, well, a little bit more romantic. Anyway, Mr. and Mrs. Alamos” he held Isa’s hand “Les pido la mano de su hija en matrimonio, si nos dan su bendición” (I ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage, with your blessing) he continued in Spanish

Isa nodded confused and didn’t say another word during dinner. When she escorted him to the door, she had asked if he was telling the truth, if he really wanted to marry her and form a family and he had agreed that it was for the better. And since then, Javier had acted the part and even if he had moments where his mind was elsewhere, he didn’t neglect his family in any way.

Isa dries a single tear that rolls down her cheek. The night is silent but the soft breathing of her husband and the air coming out the new Air conditioner; she cuddles his warm body, holding him tight against her chest; a futile gesture to bind him to her heart and the house.

“Stay” she whispers.

#Javier Peña #Narcos #Javier Peña Fanfiction #Javier Peña Fic #Narcos Fic #Narcos Fanfic #Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal characters #Pedro Pascal characters Fic #pedro pascal fanfiction

4 notes · View notes

littlegalerion · 5 years

Text

A valid reaction.

The demiprince only came to be due to Vile's constant meddling with Trechire's life.

For those that don't know my Vestige's canon, thanks to the bargain she made with Clavicus Vile during the Summerset questline, Trechire became immortal. This was because, by the end of the main questline with Molag Bal, literally 95% of the NPCs you love die. Vile found this very amusing, and still held a personal vendetta against my Vestige for what happened in Morrowind- plus she was getting a touch too powerful for his liking, what with having that little battle inbetween realities inside the White-Gold Tower, just for a start. So he decided to cash in on the bargain, and took "something of value" from her- her mortality.

So now she would never find peace, never melt into Hircine's Hunting Grounds, watch loved ones come and go for all eternity, and of course never retire- as that's a hero's biggest weakness, and Vile quite likes watching heroes squirm, trying to save EVERYONE, when sometimes you just have to gamble.

Regardless of all this, there were of course slumps in the many years between the events of ESO and Oblivion, so Vile and Barbas would stir up trouble just out of boredom. One favorite past time of theirs was for Barbas to assume the forms of loved ones of Trechire, those who had gone missing or had been seemingly lost to fate. Trechire was able to catch Barbas' scent rather quickly, so most of the time it was short lived fun that was nothing more than childish taunts.

But Hircine wasn't exactly happy that Vile had meddled with one of his favorite hounds.

So Stag Dad got wind of Barbas' latest little "costume", and told Trechire to play along. I can assume you know what came of that, which Barbas and Vile both found hilarious, humiliating Trechire afterwards for how "easy and trusting you'd become, despite us graciously teaching you otherwise".

It backfired on them as Trechire had concieved a demiprince from Barbas, which Hircine was quick to pocket for himself.

"Your hound played around in my backyard and got fresh with my prize bitch. My bitch, my pup."

Hircine even went as far having the demiprince named Hirchire, for further insult, and you can bet Trechire dotted and spoiled her son rotten.

So it is very in character for Vile to want to kill ol' Hirchire. He's either angry over custody rights or sore over his plans not working out again thanks to another of the princes working against him ♡

#barbas #clavicus vile #trechire #elder scrolls online #elder scrolls #demiprince #hirchire

22 notes · View notes

utterimmolation · 4 years

Text

AC: Syndicate/Captain America Drabble

He's a scrawny thing as they grow up. A heart full of courage and lungs barely strong enough to keep him going. Full of righteous fury and desperation, born of a premature birth and his father's distance.

"Fool," his sister murmurs, dabbing at his bloody lip and swollen eyes, souvenirs from yet another fight in another alley, goaded by another taunt. The light is dim, the stove barely works enough to heat the warm, medicinal milk she presses into his bruised, skinny hands, hand so like her own, yet far weaker.

On his worst days, he resents her healthy body. They were born at the same time, but she'd come first, perfectly healthy.

He came next, nearly dead and stealing his mother's life in a twisted exchange.

she is his twin though and no matter how much shakes her head clucks tongue at him full of that same righteous fury all who have been cast aside have. a woman in man world.> Look down at her at your peril, because her stringent refusal to exchange her pants for skirts mean she has a greater range of movement to kick you in the gnads and clock you in the face.

-----

Their father dies in the first war. Sort of.

He came home yes, but his mind, his soul had died, trampled in the trenches.

He doesn't drink, doesn't rage and rave like some other veterans do in the streets. He becomes quieter and quieter, and every tightening coil of rage and pain until he pops.

Jacob wonders if he was worse before they came to live with him in his small flat.

(Years, decades later, he discovers that yes, he was worse, and for all his faults, he was still just a man. A man who sent his children away, knowing he was a ticking bomb, knowing how volatile he could become, living in a neverending nightmare. A man, who tried to protect his children by sending them to his late wife's elderly parents, who sent money and medicine to try to prolong his in-laws lives.

A father who, when he could no longer deny the truth, fought his demons for the chance, for the right, to raise his children, and when he was on the brink of becoming them, fled, knowing they would chase him and leave those he loved safer.

Jacob Frye reads his father's letters and diaries, and finally, finally begins to forgive. He has too much regret already.)

Usually this rage will be released in an abrupt hurling of a book or a mug at a wall. Other times, is the sudden tightness of his voice as he excuses himself from the table, strides into his room, closes the door and punches the brick wall by his bed for hours. Occasionally it's him staying in bed for days on end, further stressing his poor daughter, who does what respectable jobs she can from sympathetic neighbors in order to try to keep both men in her life alive.

The final time Jacob ever sees it happen is the final time he sees his father.

He's taking out his temper, his inextinguishable rage from constantly being bedridden on his father. He's yelling himself hoarse, his beleaguered lungs straining more and more to provide his thin blood with oxygen and his father is winding up, tighter and tighter and he's ignoring the signs and--

Suddenly, Evie is on the floor, a large bruise already appearing on her face.

The room is silent. Ethan Frye's blank eyes begin to clear and slowly fill with horror as he looks from his hand to his daughter slowly getting up (never staying down, never), keeping herself between her other half and her sire.

Their father doesn't say a word. He slowly turns, shakily gathers his coat, his wallet and a bag, that he fills with a few clothes. He picks up his hat and slowly lurches out the door.

It closes with a quiet, definitive click.

-----

The twins are twenty years old and war has broken out once again.

The country is still raw from the last war. Buildings are still settling into their rebuilt frames and new brickwork to replace the ones that had lasted centuries, only to be blown to bits by falling bombs.

"I've been drafted," Evie breathed in his ear as they lay on next to each other on his ratty bed, listening to their neighbor's radio playing the latest patriotic tune hailing King and Country.

"...what?"

"Of a sort," she murmurs. "There was a woman at the library, a regular. It turns out she's been watching me for weeks. Said I make a good fit for British Intelligence." She smiles wryly. "Apparently the noble folk call it the 'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare', so it's perfect for a woman."

Jacob laughs so hard he causes himself a coughing fit.

-----

Her being a woman is not the reason he stands in line at the draft office, clutching his papers. Evie can protect herself. But he can't stay in bed whilst there's the chance they send his other half (his better half, Evie would snark) somewhere that he can't follow.

They were meant to be side by side, forever. Poverty and sickness had never stopped them. The Frye Twins were indomitable together, be that scrapping up money or fighting whatever group of dog-kicking fools had earned Jacob's ire.

They deny him, of course. Even in a country seemingly determined to grab every warm body, they won't take his.

So he tries again. And again.

Evie knows of course. She doesn't approve. But she knows him like she knows herself and knows he needs this--she won't stop him.

-----

"Why do you try so hard to fight?" An old man with a German accent asks him after he's been scolded and threatened by yet another draft officer and been kicked out to the mocking chuckles and pitying looks of other, stronger men.

How can he explain the crushing fear of loneliness looming in the distance, the horror of a life of possible solitude when he's never been alone since conception? The fear that his twin may not come back, or worse, come back the same way their father did? The anger at his helplessness, the pride he feels for his sister, the longing for a destiny that he knows is greater than the one he forsees?

"Someone has to," is what he goes with instead.

The old man smiles.

-----

What Erkstine describes is fantastical, impossible, ridiculous and possibly deadly.

Jacob is immediately on board.

"This will hurt," Erkstine warns as they strap him into the coffin-like machine and eject him with pale blue chemicals.

-----

It really, really, really bloody hurts.

-----

He emerges a head taller than his twin and rippling with muscle. Men feel his chiseled chest and bulging biceps, murmuring to each other in awe.

She pushes her way to the front, ignoring caustic glares at her audacity. She clasps his arm and smirks mischievously. "Looks like you hit a growth spurt, brother."

His straightened and dazzling new teeth gleam in the spotlights of the lab. "Jealous, sister?"

"Hardly," she scoffs, trying to cover the glimmer of tears welling in her eyes at the sight of her healthy, happy alive sibling. "Muscles wither, dear brother, but I was still first."

"By four minutes! That doesn't even--"

Gunshots ring out.

-----

Erskine is dead, the formula to creating a thousand great knights is lost with him.

The higher-ups are furious. They debate his fate in front of him, acting as if he isn't even there. To him, he is a low-blood expensive pet project that they can never recreate. He has little to no formal training, comes from Whitechapel, of all places...he is socially worthless.

-----

On one hand, they give him a knighthood for his service to the Empire--Good job they seem to say. You didn't die the ethically dubious dangerous experiment in service to the country.

On the other hand, they dress him up in a cheap costume designed to look like a modern day knight, color it red, white and blue, and use him as a propaganda symbol. Sir Britain they call him, putting his cowled face on posters encouraging people to buy war bonds and sign up for service. He stars in commercials, gives pre-written speeches on the radio.

He hates it. He hates it even more when they fly him out near the front and have him pose with real troops, like his very presence will help fill empty stomachs and block bullets.

It's on one of these trips near occupied Poland that he hears more about the about the mysterious Hydra group, who murdered Erkstine, who controls the Nazis. He hears about whispers of another group that controls even them, one centuries old. He hears about how an entire regiment is captured by Nazis wielding futuristic, Asimov weapons.

He hears about the three ESO agents were with the regiment and how while one was found dead, the other two, a Polish man and an English woman, are missing, presumably captured.

He demands to know the woman's name, feeling the twisting in his gut that already knows. They hem and haw before they finally admit her identity.

Evie Frye.

-----

He doesn't know how to fly a plane.

Luckily, the angry Scottish mechanic, fired for having dared point out the head engineer was letting shoddy work go through, for speaking up despite being a woman, does.

"Names Agnes Macbean," she yells over the racket of the old two-seater's engine. "Ain't this a way to go out, eh? Sticking it to the Nazis!"

-----

It is embarrassingly easy to sneak into the Hydra base. He's so much faster and stronger than the average man now, and the brass knuckles certainly help.

Most of the men he finds imprisoned but Evie isn't with them.

Instead, he finds her in a lab straight out of a pulp novel, full of blinking lights and needles with strange chemicals.

(Nazis and military officers would say they decided to experiment with a version of the serum on her because it worked so well on Jacob, and genetically speaking, there was no one on earth as similar to him than his twin.

Jacob and the men who were imprisoned would say they used her first because it was she who rallied them into rousing chants of defiance, who, when backhanded by a sneering soldier, proceeded to blind him with her own spit blood, knee him in the groin, and headbutt him unconscious.)

She's only half-conscious when he pulls her from the chair, but she's still a crack shot and able to hold her own beside him as they fight through soldiers, elites, and a strange, powerful Hydra officer known only as Roth.

-----

Afterwards, the higher-ups give him training and his own elite squad. It's as much a punishment as it is a reward: he's no expert fighter, and his what he's allowed to pick isn't what's considered the cream of the crop.

To him, it's perfect.

He gets three ESO agents: Evie and two men: one, a Ned Wynert, is rumored to have run a corner of England's black market prior to the war breaking out. The other, Robert Topping is a fast-talking former bookie and carnie, with a penchant for ridiculous hats and getting through nearly any lock.

Agnes is brought on as the team's engineer and mother hen and she quickly gains some assistants in the form of former street urchins: a clumsy lad named Nigel and a sly, cunning young code-cracker named Clara.

They get a discharged soldier named Abberline, who is as honorable as he is resilient. A couple of brothers, Billy and Dennis Strum, children of Jamaican immigrants and expert riflemen. Durand Boucher, a beast of a Frenchman with delicate fingers and talent for explosions.

They're the diamonds in the rough, the unappreciated and overlooked. Some, jokingly, mockingly, call them the Knights of the Crooked Table.

Jacob Frye, Sir Britain himself, calls them his Rooks, to his sister's audible dismay.

Mission after mission, fight after fight, the Rooks succeed. Bases are raised, no-man lands taken. Sir Britain is a whirlwind on the battlegrounds, wielding pistols and knuckles, his arms covered in gauntlets made with a rare, unbreakable metal and painted with the flag of the Motherland. Evie is at his back, sometimes with her own pistol and throwing knives, other times crouched in a tree for days on end, guiding and clearing the way with her sniper rifle. Robert wears such bright clothing that he's practically invisible when he forgives them to sneak into enemy territory, Ned is able to self-talk and turn many a soldier with the promise of money for intelligence. Agnes can turn even military rations palatable, and hotwire Nazi trucks with a speed the belies her large frame. The brothers are crack shots at impossible distances, Durand, capable of turning nearly anything into a bomb. Abberline is a long-suffering sort who gets along swell with Evie, and has a poorly hidden soft-spot for Clara and Nigel.

They are an unstoppable team.

But Hydra grows ever more powerful. A man by the name Red Skull looms like a spector, guiding the war like one would a chess match. The elites of Nazi appear with incredible armor and weapon that are difficult to defeat, nearly impossible to reverse engineer, and glow an insidious gold.

Jacob is grim, but he isn't worried. He has his team, he has his fists. He has his twin. Everything else can be overcome.

-----

And then...there's the train.

The Hydra weapons. The elite soldiers guarding the dangerous cargo. Him nearly getting killed, only to be saved as Evie fires with unerring accuracy.

The golden beam nearly tearing the train in two, the force sending his sister tumbling out.

Trying to reach for her, straining as she dangles from the side of the train over the mountain pass--

The snap as the bar gives way.

And the sight of his sister, his twin, his other half, tumbling like an errant leaf into the snow, hundreds of feet below, becoming nothing more than a black dot, then disappearing altogether, like she never existed.

He doesn't remember if he screamed her name. He probably did.

(Honestly, he had probably stood there gaping in horror instead of doing something, instead of lunging after her, following after like he'd done all their lives. Like he should have done. Like it was supposed to be.

He thinks this because there are many moments where he should have said something, where he wants to scream...and doesn't, too overwhelmed, too broken:

The first time he woke up in a new century, taken from his frozen coffin by a mysterious Brotherhood.

The first time he realizes that everyone he knows is dead.

The time when he goes to the British History Museum and discovers monuments and exhibits to him...and only him. His friends, his family, his Rooks, his sister...regulated to footnotes.

And of course the moment that he fights a deadly assassin on a rooftop in the dead of night, one who killed a member of the Brotherhood he will call his own. An assassin just as strong and as fast as he. An assassin who goes by many monikers the world over, the bogeywoman of the Creed:

The Creed Killer. The Winter Huntress.

Well, no. That's a lie. He does say something.

In that moment where he fights this impossibly skilled assassin of assassins, when he struggles against the strength and tricks contained within her left, silver arm. When he knocks her mask off, and the face looking back at his is achingly familiar and as improbably young as his own, covered in a legion of freckles and holding artic blue eyes in a too blank face.

He does speak then.

"...Evie?"

"...who on earth is Evie?")

-----

The eventual battle with Roth, with Red Skull is a blur. He fights with that same raging fury in his heart, but he still feels...empty. Cold. Even seeing Roth try to harness the power of the mysterious golden artifact, only for it to overwhelm him and wreath him in ethereal flames draws only a grim satisfaction from him.

It's when he is behind the controls of the futuristic plane holding legions of bombs capable of turning all of America to ash that his thoughts crystallize with abrupt clarity.

One Frye died to the cold and ice. It's only fitting that the other should as well.

Or blazing fire, should the bombs go off on impact.

Either way, he'll be going home.

The water rushes in, the cabin shudders and he welcomes the piercing darkness with a smile on his face.

#Crossover #AC Syndicate #Marvel #Ubisoft #drabble #The Frye Twins #Evie Frye #Jacob Frye #Jacob becomes Sir Britain #Evie still becomes an assassin #sort of

9 notes · View notes

eldritchsurveys · 5 years

Text

654.

Honestly, what are you thinking about right now? >> I’m aggravated because ESO’s server maintenance is supposed to be over by now, but it isn’t, and I want to play. I also hate that I am so easily aggravated by things like this sometimes, because I’m sure to people with fully functional brains it’s not a big deal and it probably shouldn’t be to me either -- but no one ever said I had a fully functional brain. Also, I’m thinking about all the raucous crowing going on outside. The crows have really been out in full force lately. Do you like to get your nails done? >> No, it involves too much physical contact (although, at least it’s only on one part of my body). Also, I can do just fine at home by myself, and save like... fucking $60 or whatever. Why the fuck is it so expensive anyway? What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day? >> I don’t have any thoughts on Valentine’s Day. It really doesn’t affect me most of the time (it didn’t even affect me when I was single, honestly). I think it’s a bit of a silly holiday but far be it for me to rain on other people’s parades about it -- the last thing anyone needs is someone like me being pedantic and bah-humbug-y about the fact that they’re doing something cute for someone they love. Anyway, while V-Day doesn’t really factor into my life any (Sparrow sometimes gets wine and makes dinner and we just veg out watching YouTube or whatever), I was flipping through a local publication while we were at Biggby the other day and I found a V-Day event at one of our favourite places (Long Road Distillery), which was perfect. So we’re going to that, and I think it will be fun. Sometimes V-Day is just a convenient time to find fun "date” ideas. Do you remember the last movie you saw while on a date? >> Well, in the last question I put “date” in quotes because I, an aromantic, don’t really know how I feel about the concept, but at the same time it’s not completely illogical to call planned outings with my spouse a “date”, so... you know. Regardless, the last time we both went to see a movie together is when we went to see Jojo Rabbit last year. Do you love the color pink? >> I mean, it’s fine. I like it in some cases and I like it less in others.

Have you ever cheated on someone? >> Yes. What color is your favorite bra? >> My binder is black. Sometimes I do consider getting one with a cool print on it, though. I forget the name of the company that makes those. If you took on the surname of the last person you kissed, what would it be? >> Can Calah doesn’t have a surname. Do you kiss on the first date? >> --- Do you like to wear dresses? >> Sure, sometimes. What I don’t like is wearing them in public and knowing that I now have no way to assert that I am not a cis woman. Because “well, you’re wearing a dress, after all!” Yeah, because it’s comfortable and has a cool pattern on it. Fuck off. Are you into sports? >> No. Do you like any ‘manly’ activities like hunting, fishing, or camping? >> I’ve never been hunting or fishing, but I imagine I’d find hunting a bit more interesting than fishing (although, from what I understand, both activities involve a lot of waiting around without moving, which doesn’t sound fun at all). Camping, however, can be a lot of fun. Did you lose your virginity before you were sixteen? >> I was coerced into sexual activity before I was sixteen. If not, are you still a virgin? >> ---

What was the name of your first boyfriend? >> Craig. Your first kiss? >> Hm.

Are you still with either of those people from the last 2 questions? >> Like, of fucking course not. Have you ever used your bra to hold things like you would a pocket? >> Yeah. Are you a shop-a-holic? >> No. How many purses do you own? >> Zero. Describe your favorite pair of shoes: >> --- Who knows a secret about you that no one else does? >> --- What is your longest relationship to date? >> The one I’m in. Who ended the last relationship you were in? >> I did. Have you ever gotten back with an ex? >> Yeah. Everyone makes mistakes. Are you bi? >> I assume I would be if I wasn’t ace. Have you ever done something with a friend of the same sex? >> Yeah. Who was your first prom date? >> A 29-year-old police officer from a nearby town. My father set it up. Yes, it was just as sad as it sounds. Have you ever dated someone more than three years older than you? >> Way more. Have you ever dated someone a year younger than you? >> Yeah. Have you ever fallen for a guy friend? >> No. Have you ever had a guy friend you weren’t into, fall for you? >> I don’t think so. Do you cry during romantic movies? >> Not usually. I don’t have the kind of heartstrings that romance flicks are primed to tug upon.

Who was the last person to see you cry? >> The only people that see me cry are Inworlders if I can help it.

Have you ever been used? >> I don’t think so.

Have you ever felt violated? >> Yeah. Do you like when I guy takes you by surprise and kisses you? >> I wouldn’t like it if anyone did that. What do you think of red lipstick? >> I don’t think anything of it, really. It’s just lipstick. Do you ever leave the house without make up? >> I usually leave the house without makeup on.

Do you tan? >> I’m already dark-skinned, boo. What is your natural hair color? >> Dark brown. Is it that right now? >> Yes, with a tiny crop of greys. Have you ever gone for someone despite knowing they were bad for you? >> Well, I kind of just overlooked my instincts, is what I did. Do you prefer guys with dark hair or light hair? >> --- Have you kissed anyone who’s name started with 'C’? ’D’? 'J’? 'K’? 'R’? ’T’? >> I don’t feel like digging back into a history I don’t care about to figure this out. Would you be more likely to date a redneck or a goth? >> A goth, if I were to date. A prep or a skater? >> Unlike “goth” and “redneck”, I don’t know anyone my age who identifies as “prep” or “skater”, so.... An athlete or a musician? >> Musician, probably. I don’t think I’d be able to remain interested in (or interesting to) anyone for whom atheticism was important. When was the last time someone gave you flowers? >> I don’t know. What kind of gift can win you over? >> Win me over to what? Has anyone ever sung to you? >> Yeah. What was the stupidest thing you’ve done while drunk? >> Drank too much and ended up sick for the rest of the night. Are diamonds really a girls best friend? >> I don’t know, ask a girl. Gold or silver? >> Gold. What is your favorite scent? >> I don’t have one. Do you like massages? >> I really don’t. Apparently “no one hates massages” except lmao I do. Have you ever been skinny dipping? >> No. Do you sleep naked? >> No. Is smoking a turn-off? >> Not necessarily. But the thing about smoking is, if you do it enough, it has lingering effects that are turn-offs -- smelling like smoke all the time, yellowed fingertips, a persistent cough, that sort of thing. If you smoke every once in a while, that probably won’t be a problem, so it’s fine. But I’m guessing not many people can say they smoke every once in a while (I’m the only person I’ve known that does).

What is the perfect date? >> --- Is there a certain tv show you get upset if you miss? >> Not really. I can always just... catch up... What is your favorite movie? >> The Fountain. When was the last time you spent the night at someone else’s house? >> Christmas. Was that someone of the same or opposite sex? >> It was Sparrow’s parents... What is one food you always crave? >> I don’t know about always. Baklava, maybe? I have it so rarely that I do end up wanting it often. Are you an exercise freak? >> I am... freaked out by exercise. Ha. What scares you more, spiders or snakes? >> Neither. Do you expect to be married in the next two years? >> I am already married. What would you do if you found out you were pregnant? >> I wouldn’t be pregnant. It’s scientifically impossible for several reasons. Was the last person to call you male or female? >> --- Does it matter if a guy has a sense of humor? >> I mean, I’m not going to hang out with someone completely humourless. Do you wish on shooting stars? >> No. What are your thoughts on guys who wear wifebeaters? >> Literally, that’s just an undershirt. What kind of specific opinion can I possibly have about people who wear undershirts... Who do you vent to when something is bothering you? >> Can Calah.

What is the best way to cool off when you’re mad? >> Distraction. Plenty of distraction. Do you have someone who is protective of you (father, brother, etc.)? >> No. Well, King Crimson would be, but there’s not much he needs to protect me from Inworld, lmao. Would you ever get implants? >> No. Have you ever had a crush on a sibling’s friend? >> No. Have you ever had a crush on a friend’s sibling? >> No. What is the corniest pick-up line someone’s ever used on you? >> I don’t remember. It would have had to be like 10 years ago. Does it mean more to you if a guy uses the word 'beautiful’ about you? >> --- Is your best friend a guy? >> --- Are you more of a 'girly girl’ or a 'tomboy’? >> I’m not either, since I’m not a girl. Is your hair longer than your shoulders? >> It’s not even longer than an inch. Do you prefer showers or baths? >> Showers. Have you ever dated someone with a child? >> Yeah. She was a funny kid, I liked her. One time she dead ass sat in front of the main menu screen of a movie that her father had put on for her and then forgot about, for like an hour, and he was like “omg why didn’t you come get me to press play???” and she was just like *lolshrug*. Kids. Have you ever dated someone shorter than you? >> No. Have you ever dated someone of another race? >> Yes. Do you secretly still love to dress up for Halloween? >> I have never dressed up for Halloween (aside from just wearing a nice outfit, but not like a costume) and I would love to have that experience. Have you kissed anyone today? >> No. Will you kiss anyone tomorrow? >> It’s possible. Are you addicted to texting? >> No. If you and your best friend got arrested, what would it be for? >> ---

#surveys #survey #random survey

2 notes · View notes

profanetools · 5 years

Note

that costume party post makes me realize there are depths of your oc trove i am completely blind to

rosariah is new, I barely talk about andrana (ESO), i haven't talked about narga (morrowind) or revas (skyrim) in ages, and i've barely talked about kasmei since i stopped playing ESO

that's not even all of them honestly. I'm missing rels (morrowind alternate; grumpy ordinator who loses faith), wulf (skyrim; naive sweetheart who wants to be a True Nord but realises too late what it entails is a lot of unjust violence), s'zita (alfiq academic, ex cyrod wizard who travels with khajiiti merchant caravans in places far away from the thalmor), a couple of dwemer ocs (guar herder rzarak and failed architect turned poet mzanthual), and finally, maudri (morrowind alternate; bosmer thief who was unjustly kicked out of his community and exists mainly to romance julan). I have less coherant thoughts on most of those though - rels and wulf are to some extent retired OCs, the rest need more development as people.

3 notes · View notes

sleepymarmot · 5 years

Text

Compensating for the spadeleaves I missed last week, spent 100k on the blue glowing mushrooms before I knew it -_- At least I'm not likely to run out of them!

By the way, I started to actually use my Warden in combat for the event, and discovered how much I dislike the look of some skills - especially the flowers. So it was a surprise to see them as a new item at the luxury furnisher, and read the comments of the people excited to buy them! Here I am wishing I didn't have to see these ugly flowers to use the skill - and other people are willing to pay gold to put them in their house?

It is a disappoinment that I don't enjoy the aesthetics of the Warden skills I've tried so far. This Khajit started out as a mule, then I had the plan to change her race for an actual character concept I came up with, then I put on a costume and noticed that the character looked nice already and it would be a shame to change her appearance completely, so I couldn't decide what to do and just kept using her as a mule/secondary crafter, considering another Warden just for that Argonian concept. But if I'm not actually into the class, it all feels a bit of a waste.

Necromancer skills also use the same teal color I dislike (which signifies summoning in ESO apparently) but otherwise I enjoy her gameplay and aesthetic. Here I have another problem: initially I wanted to make her a mag dps, and now I can't decide between healer and tank. So I'm afraid to commit to conflicting morphs, attributes and CP, and haven't taken her to a single dungeon yet.

#eso #blah blah blah

1 note · View note

crysdrawsthings · 6 years

Text

So, thank everyone for your sketch suggestions, I still have around five more to do, since they are all amazing and I don’t want to miss any of them. So, yeah, thank you so much, this is amazing and really wholesome.

And what about Halloween Suggestions? I mean, I am sort of late to the show, but if we can start celebrating month in advance - we can celebrate for once more. I will at least.

So, the rules are simple, again, go to my askbox and suggest a Halloween costume for one of my TES OCs. Or yours, both ideas will do.

A list of mine for reference, I sadly don’t have an OC Page for them or anything, but, eh, feel free to ask if you need more information: Deer (Lanaraume) - Vestige, ESO. Yeoba - Nerevarine, TES: Morrowind. Sheba - Hero of Kvatch\Sheogorath, TES: Oblivion. Elanor - Dovahkiin, TES: Skyrim. Murder Puppy - Emotional Support Werewolf, TES: Skyrim. Cassia (and Wraith) - Crossover Nonsense, TES: Skyrim.

14 notes · View notes

beuhoepresax1989-blog · 6 years

Text

I have not used other Banilla products other than the Purifying Cleanser. I have combo skin with acne issues and only predominantly wear Missha Essence Sunblock. This product was great at cleansing my skin and doing what it is marketed for. Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. She was a blonde young lady, small, dainty, well gloved, and dressed in the most perfect taste. There was, however, a plainness and simplicity about her costume which bore with it a suggestion of limited means. Ik ben door deze problematiek al heel hard aan het nadenken hoe ik de vastgoedmarkt in ga stappen als starter nu, want dat gaat in de komende decennia waarschijnlijk nog een grotere teringzooi worden in ons landje dan dat het nu al is. Moet je nagaan hoe het is voor deze jongeren die datzelfde dilemma hebben binnen ongeveer 10 jaar, en dat is nog maar n relatief egostisch aspect. Want wij zitten nog in een welvarend land in een politieke unie waar we wel ondersteuning kunnen verwachten. That how bad it is. You could avoid buying a house, save everything, get enough to retire, and then die penniless as the system sucks everything you can possibly pay for a chronic condition. Even with insurance. 1 point submitted 1 year agoFor all the ones you mentioned, it is largely irrelevant. I had non Christian friends who attended SMU Notre Dame and they had no issues. Of course, the surrounding communities may be different than what you used to but you be in the MBA bubble anyway :). This type of thinking has fascinated me as well. According to OP the two planets are tidally locked (the same face of one planet always faces the same face of the other). Also, provided the physics are the same, they would be revolving around each other while simultaneously revolving around their Sun.. I 청양출장안마 probably just adding to the echo chamber here but I wholeheartedly agree. I not really sure what the producers were even thinking with this season. Its such a horrible train wreck they can not know how bad it is, right? I am almost completely turned off by the franchise at this point. In the past, the situation has been switched or we both had roommates. It was never an issue, really, as far as feeling judged for it. I always lived in HCOL areas. Now, the fun part. Depending on what color(s) you get, the hair fades. Pretty fast. I worked with some brands on Instagram (as an influencer) and most of the time I go with the giveaway option too. As someone else said, ads don get a lot of engagement. And on the other hand, a giveaway will get the influencers tons of likes and new followers. Recently Mitchell turned 65. Federal funding has dried up and Ã– as with all the arts dance has been hit hard. Dance Theatre began touring less and less. I usually go for Amazonian Clay when I want more coverage. I find that though Born This Way is marketing as a hydrating, luminous full coverage, it looks dry and awful on me if my skin isn't hella prepped and moisturized. The Water Blend is slightly too dark for me and the Ultra HD Stick is slightly too light for me but I like the formula of both. I use daily and drink lots of water. I am 60 and nobody can believe I am even forty. I look back at old pictures and can see the difference myself. I cant wait to start wearing it again. I love that BB cream. 45 points submitted 5 months ago. But why ding ESO for optional subscriber perks while simultaneously recommending two other games that (as far as I know) instead require you to subscribe?I grant that ESO marketing can be pretty obnoxious 청양출장안마 at times, and I haven played in a while so maybe things changed, but still. If you going to play a subscription based MMO, you could just subscribe to ESO and eliminate like 99% of the issues.But don enemy shields also block transporters? I feel like it already trivially easy to destroy a ship if you hit them by surprise when their shields are down, so I not sure there be any kind of advantage.I forget, do transporters work through a cloak? I feel like they don but if I wrong then that an excellent niche use.That could just as easily be a nerve agent they transport in. Or perhaps a neutron bomb.

1 note · View note

dancingnlancing · 7 years

Text

RP advice: Paying attention to the setting

Role play is something I've been doing since I was about 5 years old. Anyone else recall make pretend games as a kid? Adult role play is quite similar to that, actually, only far more organized. You have character sheets or costumes, elaborate back stories... Dungeon Masters who build plot and question. And rules. Lots and lots of rules to keep all the stupid shit that happens when kids make pretend from happening. You know what I'm talking about.That infinite forcefield shit. Or now your character is the son of a demon and also ate gods and also... The point is, rules (from books or predefined by those engaging in rp) are around to keep the game fun-- because that's ultimately what rp is. It's a game. The closest thing I can possibly equate it to is playing adult literary dolls. And there is no better example of this comparison than the MMO. World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, ESO-- these games all have a strong role player community in which participants use their player characters as avatars to represent their concepts. Like action figures or stuffed animals when you were a kid made digital. Now, each of these games have a unique narrative and experience. Lore for these universes primarily will act as your boundaries of plausibility for the setting. For example, in World of Warcraft, an orc cannot be a Druid because they aren't from Azeroth. Similarly, if you were developing a character within the Lord of the Rings universe, they couldn't be in possession of the one ring while Frodo had it. This wouldn't be logically plausible in the material you have been given to work with. Simple logical leaps such as continuity are easy enough to make, but now consider the various other laws set in place via story given to the reader though out a book, film, or game. Suddenly the scope is widened to what is and is not world breaking and this can be even more unclear in a higher fantasy, or vague setting. Imagine trying to build a character into a Dark Souls canonical setting? The story in those games is intentionally open ended. How on earth could you conceive a fan made story for it? I think there is a simple answer here... Look to the source material, and emulate what you can observe the boundaries are. It's impossible to know the exact intent of an author, and for translated games, I'm sure a lot more is lost. However, the vibe if you will, the atmosphere is usually made clear and easily relatable to many different people. Keeping with material thematically is the first step to making a good Rp character. It's very common, perhaps increasingly common for people to haze each other for specific types of character tropes or backgrounds. First off, this is wrong, as is any form of harassment. Stop picking on people for what they like. As much as I'd like to point out what's "optimal" for good setting writing, there are some people out there who are going to do their own thing no matter what. And that's totally okay. Everyone is aloud to have their own piece. You don't have to do anything with anyone you don't want to, and if they aren't hurting you, just fine like minded people and do stuff with them. Second, I find often people go WAY too far in their policing of what's canon and what isn't to the point when they themselves might be thinking a silly story far more serious and grounded in reality than it actually is. Enter Final Fantasy 14. Since it's my current MMORPG of choice at the moment (and where I do all my RP currently) I feel the most comfortable using it as an example for this particular pet peeve of mine. That being said, there WILL BE SPOILERS. FFXiV is a pure anime game through and through. In story, visuals, character archetypes. It's oozing with all those delicious Japanese animation tropes even down to cute girls and tentacle monsters. It's got no small amount of absurdities. Poorly written at times, there are more than two hand fulls of moments I've eye rolled so hard I thought my eyes would fall out. And yet, for all it's plot holes and goofy edgy neko main characters, it works-- at least for me. FF14 is this big stupid world full of stupid ideas that are so heart felt in how they are pulled off they meld into this lovely little anime universe I'm totally a sucker for. So to my surprise a game where ancient techno wizards put a dragon into a satellite and launched it into orbit, having a character who's one of the in game jobs is just TOO MUCH. An argument I hear commonly is that "WELL THOSE ARE ONLY SPECIAL CASES WITH NPCS AND FOR THE TRUE EXPERIENCE YOU MUST BE A PEASANT." Referring back to the were dragon bit, those are regular people with special tainted dragon blood because their ancestors decided a big dragon looked delicious and HEY WE COULD BE POWERFUL IF WE ATE A DRAGON. Now, there is obviously nothing wrong with wanting to be a regular person in FFs high fantasy setting. But guys, you have to consider the sort of world Eorzea has been built to be. It's a setting where friendship and love can conquer evil. It's a setting where bug people live in a hive mind, except for some because they can be remind controlled. It's a setting where Moogles can actually exist and be intended to be taken seriously-- Basically the hardest time I've ever had trying suspend my disbelief because I hate fucking HATE Moogles. Paying attention to the rules of this universe, and it's clear that FF14's universe is a pretty fantastical silly one. This is a wide, ridiculous story, and some people would like to consider and write in spirit with that. There is nothing wrong so long as they know the source material and honestly... have fun with it. That's what's RP is meant to be when you break it down. It's just a fun game of make pretend. It's not a finalized edited novel. At best, what you are writing on the fly is a rough draft collaboration. Nothing will be perfect, but if you want it to be you are missing the point entirely. Role-Play is for fun, and choosing or making up a setting you like just adds to the depth you can give it. And personally, I choose 14 over other MMORPGs because I like how stupid and bad ass it is-- and I'm totally fine with people calling my RP stupid because that means I've hit that sweet spot on setting recognition.

#rp #rp ramblings #ff14 rp #ff14 #ffxiv rp

1 note · View note

esonetwork · 5 years

Text

Why being a geek brings me joy, even in uncertain times

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/why-being-a-geek-brings-me-joy-even-in-uncertain-times/

Why being a geek brings me joy, even in uncertain times

I was planning to spend this weekend getting ready for Planet Comicon, the regional geek convention my dad and I look forward to attending together every year. If you’ve never heard of Planet Comicon, I’m always happy to help promote it — it’s a fantastic mid-sized con that draws about 60,000 people to Kansas City, Missouri, every year. They have great vendors, celebrity guests, and cosplayers.

With the event originally scheduled to begin March 20, my goal for this weekend was to start packing all my cosplay supplies, put some final finishing touches on my costumes, and run to the store for any last-minute items I needed.

Then yesterday, Planet Comicon organizers announced the con was going to be postponed to an undetermined date, due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus. I’d tried to mentally prepare myself that this announcement was likely coming (in light of other major events being cancelled around the country and the globe), but the news still hit me pretty hard.

For many geeks, a con is more than just an event — it’s a place where you can cut loose and fully celebrate your geekiness. It’s like a gigantic gathering of family and friends who are as passionate about pop culture as you are. I’ve really gotten into cosplay the last couple of years, and it brings me so much joy to wear my costumes to cons.

Planet Comicon was the only con I was planning to attend this year, and I know I’ll be sad about its cancellation for quite some time. But this post isn’t going to be all about that.

There’s a lot of fear, stress, and uncertainty right now, and while some might say it’s naïve to focus on the positive, I personally find comfort in reflecting on what’s good and what I still have to be thankful for. We’re all worried about how our lives may or may not be impacted in the coming months, so I wanted to take some time and put together a post about how being a geek brings me joy.

While many public events are being cancelled or postponed this spring, I’m thankful for all the great comic con experiences I’ve had in the past. I attended my first major con in 2017 — shout-out again to Planet Comicon! I didn’t cosplay that time, but by the end of the day I really wished I had. I was definitely hooked on cons, and I’ve attended Planet Comicon every year since.

In 2018 I got to attend Dragon Con and meet many members of the ESO family. I had an awesome time, and looking back over all the pictures I took always makes me smile.

As a long-time Star Wars fan, going to Star Wars Celebration in Chicago in 2019 was a once-in-lifetime experience. I felt like I was walking on a cloud the whole time I was there, completely surrounded by wonderful Star Wars geekiness and positivity. I got to meet several of my favorite Star Wars authors and get some books signed. I’ll never forget that weekend!

Something else that I’ve been thinking about as lots of cons and events get cancelled is that many local artists, authors, crafters, etc. rely on these cons as a source of income. I try to buy some new geek artwork every time I go to a con. If a con you were planning on attending got cancelled, I’d recommend looking up some of the vendors who were going to be there and supporting an indie creator by buying something online instead.

One of my other favorite geek activities is going to the movies, and I’m not sure how the spring/summer release dates of certain upcoming movies will be impacted (“A Quiet Place Part II,” the live-action “Mulan” and the next Fast and the Furious movie have already been delayed). So, this is a good time to dust off that Netflix queue of movies/TV shows you’ve been wanting to watch but just haven’t gotten around to.

Some of the best movies I’ve watched this year actually aren’t new releases — I’ve really been enjoying watching movies for my (shameless self-promotion alert!) “Better Late than Never…goes west!” blog series about Westerns. I’m going to really miss going to the theater for a while here, but there’s still plenty of good stuff to watch and discuss with other geeks.

Finally, since we’re all going to be spending more time at home than we’re probably used to, now is also a great time to get creative. Start a cosplay project. Make a new craft. Learn how to draw or paint. Write that story idea you’ve been chewing on for a while.

Maybe you’re not an expert. Maybe you don’t really think of yourself as an artist/writer/etc. But don’t censor yourself just because your work isn’t perfect. If creating brings you joy, then by all means, create!

I bought this Rey crochet pattern on Etsy, and I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

Stay safe out there, everyone — don’t forget to wash your hands, and may the Force be with you!

#celebrate #Con #Geek #positive #thankful

0 notes

thomasroach · 5 years

Text

Elder Scrolls Online Plus Free Trial

The post Elder Scrolls Online Plus Free Trial appeared first on Fextralife.

Zenimax have launched their free trial for ESO Plus, so if you ever wanted to try out the benefits in Elder Scrolls Online you can now until May 6th.

Elder Scrolls Online Plus Free Trial

To get a taste of ESO Plus you can now try out the free trial that runs until May 6th at 10:00 AM EDT. Currently the 5 Year Anniversary Event is moving into the last week of festivities, so it comes at a great time to enjoy the benefits which includes access to all DLCs, meaning you can pick up each of the daily quests needed to earn yourself those Anniversary Jubilee Gift Boxes.

ESO Plus gives you a handy craft bag, so your main bag doesn’t fill up with all those materials.

While ESO Plus isn’t mandatory for players to enjoy the game, it can be super helpful with a Craft Bag to store all your mats, increased experience, access to all DLCs and more. You can test out all these different features with the free trial which includes all these advantages:

ESO Plus Benefits

Full access to DLC game packs—new zones, quests, dungeons, and more

Includes the Imperial City, Orsinium, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Shadows of the Hist, Horns of the Reach, Clockwork City, Dragon Bones, Morrowind (zone and story), Wolfhunter, Murkmire, and Wrathstone

A Craft Bag offering you unlimited storage for all of your crafting materials

Double Bank space for all the characters on your account

10% increase to Experience and Gold acquisition, Crafting Inspiration, and Trait Research rates

Double Furnishings and Collectibles space in player housing

Exclusive ability to dye costumes

Double Transmute Crystal storage

While usually ESO Plus comes with crowns each month, this benefit is only for fully paid members.

How to Start Your Free Trial

To get your hands on a free trial of ESO Plus, you will need to visit the Crown Store:

Log into The Elder Scrolls Online.

Navigate to the Crown Store.

Select the ESO Plus tab.

Select “Free Trial!”

What to Do During the Free Trial

To get the most out of your free trial be sure to pick up the added daily quests which can be found in such DLC zones as Murkmire, Clockwork City or Orsinium, if you’re missing any of those from your collection you can go pick up the dailies from those zones. You can also take on the DLC dungeons by picking up the Undaunted Pledges, these even include the latest Wrathstone: Frostvault and Depths of Malatar. Both of these dailies will gain you Jubilee Boxes. Don’t forget to use your Jubilee Cake 2019 Memento to get which grants 100% experience XP buff as well as two event tickets.

If you’re taking on some of the DLC dungeons be sure to check out the latest guides in our Frostvault Dungeon Guide and Depths Of Malatar Dungeon Guide.

For more Elder Scrolls Online read more in Elder Scrolls Online Celebrates Turning 5 Years Old With 5 Week Event and don’t miss out the latest trailer for Elsweyr in Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr Trailer Features Necromancer Class. You can also learn about all the upcoming Elsweyr Sets.

The post Elder Scrolls Online Plus Free Trial appeared first on Fextralife.

Elder Scrolls Online Plus Free Trial published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

0 notes

newyorktheater · 5 years

Text

Roman Theater of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The incomplete theater dates back to the 2nd century

Teatro Olympico (Olympic Theater), in Vicenza, Italy. The oldest surviving enclosed theater in the world, built in the 16th century

The Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia,

The Paris Opera House

Palacio de Las Bellas Artes, in Mexico City

Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona

The National Grand Theater of China, Beijing

Belasco Theater, Broadway, New York City

World Theatre Day logo

Today is World Theatre Day. Created in 1961,it is celebrated annually on March 27. How will you be celebrating?

Below, ten facts about theater, and this year’s World Theatre Day message in both English and the original Spanish, by Carlos Celdrán, stage director, playwright, and theatre educator, living in Havana, Cuba, and presenting his work all over the world.

Marble disk with two theater masks in relief, 3rd quarter of 1st century A.D. Roman, Early Imperial Marble; Diam.: 13 1/16 x 3 3/8 in. (33.2 x 8.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1913 (13.229.6) http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/248802

Top 10 facts about theater,

via the Daily Express

1. Theatre as we know it began in ancient Greece with a religious ceremony called ‘dithyramb’ in which a chorus of men dressed in goat skins.

2. The word ‘tragedy’ comes from a Greek expression meaning ‘goat song’…

3. …and ‘theatre’ comes from a Greek verb meaning ‘to behold’.

4. Ancient Greek audiences stamped their feet rather than clapping their hands to applaud.

5. World Theatre Day has been held on March 27 every year since 1962 when it was the opening day of the “Theatre of Nations” season in Paris.

6. The longest continuous dramatic performance was 23 hr 33 min 54 sec achieved by the 27 O’Clock Players in New Jersey, USA, on July 27, 2010.

7. They performed The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionescu, a play written in a continuous loop and said to be totally pointless and plotless.

8. According to Aristotle, the plot is the most important feature of a dramatic performance.

9. Walt Disney World, Florida, has a record 1.2 million costumes in its theatrical wardrobes.

10. The oldest play still in existence is The Persians by Aeschylus, written in 472 BC.

Carlos CELDRÁN, Cuba – Journeying Toward The Instant…Toward Their Heart

Before my awakening to the theatre, my teachers were already there. They had built their houses and their poetic approach on the remains of their own lives. Many of them are unknown, or are scarcely remembered: they worked from silence, in the humility of their rehearsal rooms and in their spectator-packed theatres and, slowly, after years of work and extraordinary achievement, they gradually slid away from these places and disappeared. When I understood that my personal destiny would be to follow their steps, I also understood that I had inherited that gripping, unique tradition of living in the present without any expectation other than achieving the transparency of an unrepeatable moment; a moment of encounter with another in the darkness of a theatre, with no further protection than the truth of a gesture, a revealing word. My theatrical homeland lies in those moments of meeting the spectators who arrive at our theatre night after night, from the most varied corners of my city, to accompany us and share some hours, a few minutes. My life is built up from those unique moments when I cease to be myself, to suffer for myself, and I am reborn and understand the meaning of the theatrical profession: to live instants of pure ephemeral truth, where we know that what we say and do, there under the stage lights, is true and reflects the most profound, most personal, part of ourselves. My theatrical country, mine and that of my actors, is a country woven from such moments, where we leave behind the masks, the rhetoric, the fear of being who we are, and we join hands in the dark.

Theatrical tradition is horizontal. There is nobody who may affirm that theatre exists at any centre in the world, in any city or privileged building. Theatre, as I have received it, spreads through an invisible geography that blends the lives of those who perform it and the theatrical craft in a single unifying gesture. All masters of theatre die with their moments of unrepeatable lucidity and beauty; they all fade in the same way, without any other transcendence to protect them and make them illustrious. Theatrical teachers know this, no recognition is valid when faced with that certainty which is the root of our work: creating moments of truth, of ambiguity, of strength, of freedom in the midst of great precariousness. Nothing survives except data or records of their work in videos and photos that will only capture a pale idea of what they did. However, what will always be missing from those records is the silent response by the public who understands in an instant that what takes place cannot be translated or found outside, that the truth shared there is an experience of life, for a few seconds, even more diaphanous than life itself. When I understood that the theatre was a country in itself, a major territory that covers the whole world, a determination arose within me, which was also the realisation of a freedom: you do not have to go far away, or move from where you are, you do not have to run or move yourself. The public is wherever you exist. You have the colleagues you need at your side. There, outside your house, you have all the opaque, impenetrable daily reality. You then work from that apparent immobility to design the greatest journey of all, to repeat the Odyssey, the Argonauts’s journey: you are an immobile traveller who does not cease to accelerate the density and rigidity of your real world. Your journey is toward the instant, to the moment, toward the unrepeatable encounter before your peers. Your journey is toward them, toward their heart, toward their subjectiveness. You travel within them, in their emotions, their memories that you awake and mobilise. Your journey is vertiginous, and nobody may measure or silence it. Nor may anybody recognise it to the right extent, it is a journey through the imagination of your people, a seed that is sown in the most remote of lands: the civic, ethical and human conscience of your spectators. Due to this, I do not move, I remain at home, among my closest, in apparent stillness, working day and night, because I have the secret of speed. Translation from Spanish by Luis Llerena Diaz

In the original Spanish:

Antes de mi despertar en el teatro, mis maestros ya estaban allí. Habían construido sus casas y sus poéticas sobre los restos de sus propias vidas. Muchos de ellos no son conocidos o apenas se les recuerda: trabajaron desde el silencio, desde la humildad de sus salones de ensayo y de sus salas llenas de espectadores y, lentamente, tras años de trabajo y logros extraordinarios, fueron dejando su sitio y desparecieron. Cuando entendí que mi oficio y mi destino personal sería seguir sus pasos, entendí también que heredaba de ellos esa tradición desgarradora y única de vivir el presente sin otra expectativa que alcanzar la transparencia de un momento irrepetible. Un momento de encuentro con el otro en la oscuridad de un teatro, sin más protección que la verdad de un gesto, de una palabra reveladora. Mi país teatral son esos momentos de encuentro con los espectadores que llegan noche a noche a nuestra sala, desde los rincones más disímiles de mi ciudad, para acompañarnos y compartir unas horas, unos minutos. Con esos momentos únicos construyo mi vida, dejo de ser yo, de sufrir por mí mismo y renazco y entiendo el significado del oficio de hacer teatro: vivir instantes de pura verdad efímera, donde sabemos que lo que decimos y hacemos, allí, bajo la luz de la escena, es cierto y refleja lo más profundo y lo más personal de nosotros. Mi país teatral, el mío y el de mis actores, es un país tejido por esos momentos donde dejamos atrás las máscaras, la retórica, el miedo a ser quienes somos, y nos damos las manos en la oscuridad. La tradición del teatro es horizontal. No hay quien pueda afirmar que el teatro está en algún centro del mundo, en alguna ciudad o edificio privilegiado. El teatro, como yo lo he recibido, se extiende por una geografía invisible que mezcla las vidas de quienes lo hacen y la artesanía teatral en un mismo gesto unificador. Todos los maestros de teatro mueren con sus momentos de lucidez y de belleza irrepetibles, todos desaparecen del mismo modo sin dejar otra trascendencia que los ampare y los haga ilustres. Los maestros de teatro lo saben, no vale ningún reconocimiento ante esta certeza que es la raíz de nuestro trabajo: crear momentos de verdad, de ambigüedad, de fuerza, de libertad en la mayor de las precariedades. No sobrevivirán de ellos sino datos o registros de sus trabajos en videos y fotos que recogerán solo una pálida idea de lo que hicieron. Pero siempre faltará en esos registros la respuesta silenciosa del público que entiende en un instante que lo que allí pasa no puede ser traducido ni encontrado fuera, que la verdad que allí comparte es una experiencia de vida, por segundos más diáfana que la vida misma. Cuando entendí que el teatro era un país en sí mismo, un gran territorio que abarca el mundo entero, nació en mí una decisión que también es una libertad: no tienes que alejarte ni moverte de donde te encuentras, no tienes que correr ni desplazarte. Allí donde existes está el público. Allí están los compañeros que necesitas a tu lado. Allá, fuera de tu casa, tienes toda la realidad diaria, opaca e impenetrable. Trabajas entonces desde esa inmovilidad aparente para construir el mayor de los viajes, para repetir la Odisea, el viaje de los argonautas: eres un viajero inmóvil que no para de acelerar la densidad y la rigidez de tu mundo real. Tu viaje es hacia el instante, hacia el momento, hacia el encuentro irrepetible frente a tus semejantes. Tu viaje es hacia ellos, hacia su corazón, hacia su subjetividad. Viajas por dentro de ellos, de sus emociones, de sus recuerdos que despiertas y movilizas. Tu viaje es vertiginoso y nadie puede medirlo ni callarlo. Tampoco nadie lo podrá reconocer en su justa medida, es un viaje a través del imaginario de tu gente, una semilla que se siembra en la más remota de las tierras: la conciencia cívica, ética y humana de tus espectadores. Por ello, no me muevo, continúo en mi casa, entre mis allegados, en aparente quietud, trabajando día y noche, porque tengo el secreto de la velocidad.

Today is #WorldTheatreDay 2019. How will you be celebrating? Today is World Theatre Day. Created in 1961,it is celebrated annually on March 27. How will you be celebrating?

0 notes