#the panel that was in here when everyone starting lining up let out and it was like 15-20 people that came out

[thebiggestfuckgiven]

hey wait i just got an idea for a dpxdc fic

sam, tucker and danny never went to high school together and they never met let alone become friends

bear with me here

im a firm believer in everlasting connections that are not limited by time, space or dimensions. Meaning that these three, no matter what, will always find one another somehow. (I also just really like their friendship)

anyways, tucker is in college. He’s in his second to last year, looking for an internships. Surprise, surprise he gets accepted for an IT internship at Cadmus! It goes pretty normal but he starts realizing that something’s… kinda off. And it has to do with the building’s power source. What’s powering our servers? The one we’re in charge of making security programs for. What do you mean that’s classified????

Fast forward, Tucker doesn’t question it too much. He doesn’t want to get in trouble. But whenever he accidentally falls asleep at work (he still has classes okay?) he has these… weird dreams. His supervisors tell him it’s normal when you’re stressed. Don’t worry about it. Don’t talk about them again. Don’t even think about them.

Oh, okay…. but the dreams get aggressively persistent. It’s always a voice, floating in a void… tucker eventually starts seeing a blurry figure, broken and crawling. It talks about Cadmus and, Tucker can’t not investigate.

On a different line, we have Sam. She is an avid activist, as we know. Cadmus’ new base of operations (the same where Tucker is working) is rumored to be dumping toxic waste in the lake. It isn’t radioactive but it has a weird effect on the wildlife. Like, really weird. Everyone is very hush hush about it and Cadmus allegedly gets rid of the evidence before anyone can get to it. (Sam caught them do it once, but couldn’t get it on camera)

So, she decides to do some heavy investigating. Think Nancy Drew meets the Doctor kind of thing. Eventually it leads to her working as a custodial and stealing key cards. She’s overheard enough and gotten glimpses at exposed info on computers to suspect where the waste is coming from, and that it’s definitely NOT normal.

Tucker and Sam go investigate on the same night. Same hour. They scare the everliving shit out of each other because who the hell are you and what are you doing here???? But they find a middle ground (their suspicions), compare notes, and decide to work together.

With Tucker’s skills, their trip to the basement (they had no idea there was a hidden panel in one of the elevators with ten additional basement floors..) went smoothly, for the most part. And after a lot, a lot, of searching they find a heavily vaulted room.

They open the room.

In it, there’s impressively tall machines, what look like servers and some kind of filtration system? There’s cables and tubes everywhere, all connected to the giant glass tube in the center back of the room.

Floating in that tube, in a vat of bright green liquid that Sam recognizes as the toxic waste in the lake, is the same blurry figure that Tucker would see in his dreams. It’s surreal to see him there, for both of them. Phantom, in his hazmat suit, has large IVs on each side of his neck and other strategic parts of his body. Even the sides of his head. There’s a weird metal collar around him, too.

After a moment of confused and worried discussion, they decide to free him. Tucker manages to do it without activating any kind of alarm (or he hopes at least), narrowly keeping Sam from breaking the glass with a heavy duty police baton that she apparently just had on her.

They take off the IVs carefully (still ripping some of the skin regardless), they’re panicking slightly, figuring out how they’re going to leave without getting caught on cameras or by security when an alarm goes off. A really loud one with red lights.

All of a sudden they hear voices, Sam and Tucker’s panic blows up but they freeze because the voices are right there and—

and then there’s a bunch of teenagers (?) dressed in bright suits and masks in front of the heavily vaulted door. They’re half dragging another kid, who’s weirdly wet. Kind of like Phantom. The two groups freeze momentarily and just… stare at each other.

“Are they with us? Rob?” The teenager in the yellow suit asked the one wearing an R on his chest.

“No, they’re not. Are you guys stealing a person, too?”

Dazed, Sam and Tucker just nod.

Then the large machinery behind them makes a repeated beeping noise, like it’s failing, and the lights go out. As does the power in the whole building.

[droodlebug]

dragoncon fumbled their expectations to how big bg3 and people in america wanting to meet the uk actors reallllly bad so the room for dnd is tiny. but my sibling and i got here like 3 hours early and got up front (and surprisingly i got to pick first bc of my wheelchair lmao). (im the glasses guy w wyll themed bracelets i made myself)

it starts in an hour. they loaded us in the room two hours early bc of the line already up which Never Happens Ever

[celaenaeiln]

Something fanon gets wrong

Dick Grayson is genuinely one of the greatest fighters in all of DC.

I know people have trouble believing this for some reason but a man who has defeated every single one of his enemies, other people’s enemies, and has consistently come out on top should have his abilities talked about a bit more because they’re amazing.

Let's start small to big. Firstly Donna talks about Nightwing's abilities.

When I read this I was confused by what she meant. Prowess means skill or expertise and that makes sense but Dick has a lot of power behind him though...

And then I realized she meant metaphysical power.

Dick isn't a magician. He can't run at supersonic speeds, throw buildings, speak to animals, communicate with the dark, fly above the clouds, bounce bullets off his chest (Oh, wait. He can do it off his ass instead never mind), turn into animals, or other amazing abilities. But his skill is so high that he is easily able to keep up with people who can.

M'gann, the white martian with extraordinary capabilities, tells Dick, "You are just a human, with no superpowers, yet you have consistently excelled throughout your career, despite being surrounded by godlike beings."

This is incredible.

We see Dick leading teams of superheroes and metas all the time and we take it for granted but we never acknowledge the immense power and skill he must have for him to be able to do this.

Repeatedly. Time after time. He outsmarts both his human allies and outfights his meta ones.

One of Dick’s greatest OP moments is when he takes down the entire Titans team -Gar, Raven, Donna, and Jason too when he hung around with them- single handedly. And when Jason put a gun to the back of his head in supposed victory, Dick opened his hand to let the golden bullets fall, gleaming in the light with the coldest line, “with these bullets?”

We all know how amazing Bruce is, but Dick is on Bruce's level.

No?

Okay, here's the evidence.

Dick has fought Azael in a sword fight to a standstill when Azael has beaten Bruce separately and Tim and Jason combined.

He has defeated Ra's in a sword fight and Ra's is one of the greatest swordsmen.

Sometimes he doesn't even need a sword to defeat a skilled swordsman.

He's a League of Assassins member and we all know that anyone from the League of Assassins is never just good. They're excellent. The entire fight Dick is looking for Blockbuster and he's so capable and good at fighting the entire scene was like watching Thanos flick Captain America away vibes. He's not even looking at him when he smashes his foot into Shrike's face!

Most importantly, he has defeated Deathstroke

The greatest thing about Dick is he is able to defeat Slade at the peak of Slade's abilities. Slade doesn't need to be weakened for Dick to win.

Here's where people has some hesitance accepting Dick's abilities.

"Bruce has defeated Slade but Dick has never been able to!"

He literally has in Dark Crisis but I'll give you the lead up.

Dick can easily disarm Slade.

He can predict Slade's moves ahead of time and properly counteract them.

He can go toe to toe with him and in one comic, they dance down a hallway, fighting, neither able to get the upper hand. The mercenary meta, considered by the US Government to be 1 of 2 greatest assassins (the other being Katana) isn't able to pin down and defeat a 20 year old despite his enhancements.

I left out the scene where Dick twisting Deathstroke's arm and smashing his face into a bedroom mirror despite being complete weaponless and in his civilian identity. No protection and no support. But it's another example of how Dick's poweress is much greater than people expect of him.

Of course there are panels where Dick has been defeated by Slade but Dick isn't 17/18 anymore. He isn't learning to fight without Batman hovering over his side.

Also there is a panel everyone references to when talking about Nigthwing losing to Deathstroke. This one.

sure. okay. whatever. BUT WHY WON'T YOU SHOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT COWARDS?!?

THEY DANCE-FIGHT LIKE THEY'RE ENEMIES IN A BALLROOM ON OPPOSING SIDES BUT CAN'T AFFORD TO LET ANYONE FIND OUT.

THIS IS SOME HIGH LEVEL JAMES BOND-RED NOTICE-MISSION IMPOSSIBLE- TYPE SHIT.

"Close the hold, you morons! Close the--Guuk!"

That's Slade talking by the way. To his allies. Who do you think made him "GUUK!"?

And here they were evenly matched.

But Slade had to pull out bombs he had been saving for when other people came in order to defeat dICK AND HE STILL LOST BECAUSE DICK BESTED HIM.

Yup. Dick is just that good.

Nightwing defeated Bane

Before you go into saying something like "it was a holographic construction." What the fuck difference does that make? Does a holographic construction alter the strength used by the enemy, change their fighting style, phase through when fighting, act dumber than the real deal? No, right? The fact is Dick broke Bane's back the exact same manner that Bane broke Batman's. All those scenes of Bane punching Nightwing around? Let me remind you that the guy snuck up on Dick. The second time Dick underestimated Bane's powers before getting ready to put in real effort before Batman interfered to take Bane for himself.

All those amazing scenes of him defeating enemies that we've scoffed at recently? They're just a continuation of what already is written. It's not new or unbelievable, it's expected.

Here's my final point. Dick has defeated all of the Justice League's enemies in one go.

This is Batman/Superman comic where Kara gets infected so Dick as Batman sends her to the medbay while he tears down the Watchtower to save her. As in every single defense mechanism the Watchtower has, he demolishes it with his pure skill and abilities. Furthermore, the Watchtower defenses were enhanced by cyborg Superman to be lethal. To kill on sight.

Just. Phenomenal.

He did it! He defeated all of them and made it to the electronic controls he was aiming for.

Another thing I want to point is Dick's strength is greater than what people assume it to be.

He's the world's greatest acrobrat and has a build fitting of that but the strength he packs in his body is equal to that of a meta. Maybe it's because of how he only fights with metas and has teammates that are all metas but he has raised his striking power to equal that.

He shatters cyborg superman in one blow.

He can handle blows from meta humans in a way most others can't which suggests to me that he must've done some kind of training or have maybe increased pain tolerance or have the ability to backseat the pain so it won't affect his fighting. How many can take a hit and rise up the next second?

He's not metahuman. Batman must've done several tests because he also was amazed by robin Dick's poweress lol but really Dick is just extraordinary. Give him any enemy and he will garaunteed defeat them without using cheap tricks or surprise moves which is why he is one of the greatest. The only time people have gotten an upperhand on him is when he has been emotionally weakened. Emotionally. Imagine the absolute monster he would be if he controlled his emotions like Batman.

But I would never want him to though because his emotions are the reason why he's the light of DC.

[waiting-for-a-sunny-day]

If Geto and Gojo were so close, why didn't Geto try to convince Gojo to defect with him?

Because Geto knew that Gojo’s support would guarantee his success, but that success would come at the cost of hurting Gojo.

I believe that Geto cared more about protecting Gojo than he cared about building a better world.

..

Let me explain…

First, let’s talk about why it would’ve made sense for Geto to ask Gojo to join him:

(1) Gojo would’ve been Geto’s most important / most powerful ally

By the time of Geto’s defection, Gojo is already the strongest sorcerer in existence. He and Geto are two of only three special grade sorcerers. Having them both on the same side is essentially an automatic win.

(2) Gojo should’ve been (relatively) easy to persuade

Gojo had already told Geto that he didn't like having to save the weak and didn't care about the moral justifications for it…

…Geto has also seen that Gojo doesn’t always value / protect human life. He was ready to massacre the Time Vessel Association without reason, but ultimately he didn't, because he deferred to Geto's judgement…

…and, most importantly, they are best friends on a DEEP, unparalleled level. Geto is Gojo’s “one and only” best friend.

If Geto was truly dedicated to changing the world order, Gojo should’ve been the first and most important person that he tried to recruit to his insurgency / cult / mission.

BUT

Not only does Geto make zero effort to reach out to / recruit Gojo, he actively avoids him and pushes him away...

- - - - - Keep reading cut - - - - -

After he kills the 112 non-sorcerers, Geto runs into Shoko in Shinjuku. He happily approaches her and willingly answers her questions.

Look at his smiling face in their interactions:

But, when Shoko calls Gojo, Geto leaves before Gojo shows up. Gojo tracks him down anyway and demands an explanation. Geto still doesn’t want to talk about it (“You already heard it.”)

It's strange, right? Geto loves talking about his vision of a better world with everyone else.

Then, there is this confusing progression of dialog:

Geto is hurt/annoyed that Gojo doesn’t believe in him, so he points out that Gojo’s argument against his plan is invalid. The plan is possible (“You could do it”), therefore (according to Gojo’s own logic) it’s not “pointless.”

In a way, Geto is admitting that he knows it would make the most sense for Gojo to join him.

But before Gojo can respond, Geto pivots to saying something extremely hurtful. He's questioning who Gojo is / would be if he wasn't the strongest. Is there really anything more to him? (See more detail in my post here).

Then, in the very next panel Geto turns and starts walking away.

In summary: (1) Geto avoids Gojo, (2) Geto only argues in favor of his plan when Gojo forces/baits him, (3) Upon invalidating Gojo’s opposition to his plan, Geto immediately puts emotional distance between them, (4) Geto then puts physical distance between them.

Why is Geto trying so hard to make sure that Gojo won’t follow him?

Is he just being prideful about doing this on his own? Is he so angry at Gojo's arrogance that he'd jeopardize the success of his life's mission over it?

These arguments aren't in line with Geto's characterization / known motivations (see the end of this post, if you're interested in more on that.)

Geto's main motivation is (a twisted form of) compassion. He wants to end the suffering of sorcerers.

He is a thoughtful, contemplative person, and would've thought about the ramifications of recruiting Gojo.

What are the ramifications?

If Gojo joins the cause, Geto’s plan would succeed, but Gojo would suffer for it.

Like anyone who joins Geto's cult, Gojo would become a pariah / fugitive from Jujutsu society. He’d kill people. He’d kill other sorcerers.

But because Gojo has the singular level of strength/ability to kill non-sorcerers en masse, he would commit the vast majority (or all) of the murder / destruction. The legal, social, and mental impacts would be most severe on Gojo.

(Also, at this point, I think Geto may still question whether he’s made the right choice. It’s difficult to go from a hardline stance on protecting non-sorcerers to wanting to gen0c1de them, within the span of a year, without any lingering ethical qualms. So he may be worried about moral costs to Gojo as well.)

Let’s remember that Geto (canonically) deeply loves Gojo. Gojo is his one and only best friend. Geto worries about Gojo when he overworks himself protecting Riko. Geto is shocked when Toji kills Riko in front of him, but he only flies into a rage when he thinks Toji has killed Gojo. (Again, see my post here for more on how much Geto loves Gojo).

So, it makes sense that Geto is ready to make sacrifices to create a better world, but it’s a cost he’s willing to put on his own head. Not Gojo's.

Ultimately, Geto cares more about Gojo than he cares about achieving the mission he has dedicated his life to.

The last thing Geto says to him is this:

What he's really asking Gojo is: "Have you stopped loving me, now that I've committed myself to this dark path? Would you kill me to save them?"

If Gojo hates Geto enough that he’d kill him, then Geto never had a chance of recruiting Gojo in the first place.

Of course, Gojo can’t make himself hurt Geto. He still loves Geto too much.

Geto protected Gojo by pushing him away.

___

Addendum:

I'll also argue against two other possible explanations for Geto's behavior.

(1) Geto is jealous / prideful /wants to build his own legacy without Gojo stealing the spotlight

Geto has clear motivations for his goals and they’re not egotistical. He wants to end the suffering of sorcerers caused by non-sorcerers’ existence (e.g., Riko’s death, Mimiko & Nanako’s abuse).

Geto’s pride isn’t hurt when Gojo becomes the strongest. The only thing that bothers Geto is that they’re getting sent on separate missions.

After Gojo becomes stronger that him, Geto still has overt affection for Gojo (e.g., he asks Haibara to bring back sweets from his mission so he can share with Gojo).

Although Geto does believe in his superiority over non-sorcerers, he doesn't feel superior over other sorcerers and doesn't struggle with his 'inferiority' to Gojo.

Does Gojo’s lack of faith in Geto’s ability (calling his goal “impossible”), spur Geto to want to prove himself? Yes, probably. But Geto had already been avoiding Gojo before he said that. And I don’t believe that wanting to prove himself to Gojo would overshadow his stronger motivation to build a better world for sorcerers.

(2) He thinks Gojo actually is too moral to join him

After Geto kills the 112 non-sorcerers, Gojo is shocked and upset by what’s happened, but not once does he insult Geto or imply that Geto has done something unforgivable. In fact, he’s practically begging Geto to explain himself because he wants to be able to justify his actions. And, again, Gojo’s argument against Geto’s plan is NOT that “it’s wrong,” it’s that “it’s impossible.”

[felassan]

Transcript of the DA:TV ‘Meet The Companions’ panel @ SDCC.

Update: this post has now been updated into a full transcript.

BioWare have said that they are going to share a recording of the panel at a later date. In the meantime, here is a transcript of it. When the recording is available, I will update this post further if required. This is a word-for-word transcript (in as far as it was possible to make one, it was quite a noisy room with lots of people in it), but a few bits were not clearly audible - these are marked as "[...]". listening to the original source in audio/video format, when it’s available, first-hand is of course always advisable, in case of any mis-hearings or missing things out etc on my part!! :>

there are other things from the panel here in this BioWare blogpost, collected in this compilation post, and also in this Tumblr post.

The panel was moderated/hosted by Lucy James. In attendance were creative director John Epler, creative performance director Ashley Barlow, and the actors of Lucanis, Neve, Emmrich, and Harding - Zach Mendez, Jessica Clark, Nick Boraine, and Ali Hillis respectively.

----

[panel begins]

Lucy: Goodness me, there are a lot of you. Hello everyone. Hello San Diego. But more importantly, hello Dragon Age fans! Give yourselves a cheer! Now welcome to a panel that I am so excited to be moderating today. A little bit of, what do you call it, a little bit of, I'm just gonna say it, we're doing Q&A at the end. There is a microphone right here. I will give a warning - housekeeping was the word I was searching for. We're gonna be doing Q&A at the end. I will give you a warning to come up and ask questions to this incredible panel of developers from BioWare and actors from the brand new Dragon Age game, The Veilguard. I'm Lucy James, I'm your moderator for today, but you're not here for me, you're here for these incredible people, so let's go down the line and see who we have on the panel today. We have creative director John Epler. Creative performance director Ashley Barlow. The poised and pragmatic assassin, playing the role of Lucanis, Zach Mendez. The necromancer Emmrich, we have Nick Boraine. Absolutely did not mean to skip, but we have different, different lineup over here. The voice behind the private detective Neve, Jessica Clark. And returning franchise favorite, you know her as Lace Harding, the lovable Scout, Ali Hillis. Now, we all love Dragon Age games for multiple reasons, whether it is the combat, the impactful decisions that we get to make, the romances - I know my [...], I know my - but the heart and soul of every game is always the companions, and so we are gonna be doing a deep dive into some of the new cast as well as, like I said, returning franchise favorite. So I'm gonna kick off with you, John.

John: Awesome.

Lucy: Can, you know, you've been at BioWare for a couple of years now.

John: Yeah, seventeen years as of this year, so.

Lucy: Wow. Can you tell us a little bit about your history with Dragon Age?

John: Absolutely. So as mentioned, I've been at BioWare for coming up on seventeen years now. I worked as a QA tester on Dragon Age: Origins, moved into cinematic design, did that [...] Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and then became lead cinematic designer for Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser, where I worked closely with Trick Weekes, building out that story. And then now as creative director on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which has been just a fantastic project to be a part of.

Lucy: Now, I assume pretty much everyone in this room has gone frame-by-frame through the trailers and gameplay videos and every BioWare social post about Dragon Age, but just in case there's anyone in the room who is unfamiliar, give us the quick overview of Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

John: Absolutely. So Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the latest entry in the Dragon Age franchise. It takes place approximately ten years after the end of Inquisition. You start the game hunting for Solas. It's a game built on some core principles of: be who you want to be, in a world worth saving, and with characters who matter. So, again, companions always at the heart of Dragon Age, they're at the heart of this one as well.

Lucy: And so, I mean, why is this team coming together? You mentioned it a little bit there, and like, what's bringing this, kinda 'rogues' gallery' together?

John: I mean it's the end of the world, and each character that you bring into your party understands that the world's ending, that they need to stop that, and you're really building, what I would say is more of a found family. These are characters who may not start off liking each other, may not even start off liking you, but over time, they grow to understand the importance of what they're doing and just, how critical it is to stop the elven gods.

Lucy: Now we were chatting a little bit before the panel, and you kinda said, like, a bold statement which was that this is one of the best groups BioWare has ever written. I say 'bold', cause we all have our favorites. What makes you say that? What's going on with The Veilguard that makes them so special?

John: Yeah, I mean, I think that every Dragon Age game the companions we write and create for those games are the best companions for that one. And I think in this case, what's really fascinating and what I've really loved to see come out through the game, through its development is, the way these characters form relationships, not just with you but with each other, so, whereas, you know, sometimes characters maybe don't interact as much. Each one of these has a relationship that extends beyond Rook, the protagonist, but also some become friends, some become lovers, and some become rivals. And it's just, the way that they learn to get over their differences, or put them aside, has really been fun and exciting, because they all represent a different part of the world of Thedas.

Lucy: I am very excited to see how these family dynamics come together, avoiding my real life family for my virtual family. Ashley, you’ve been playing a huge role in helping bring these characters to life. Can you tell us a little bit about your role at BioWare?

Ashley: Yeah. I’m the creative performance director, so I get to cast all of these characters, with the team at BioWare, of course. And then work tirelessly in the booth with them, I mean, they just met like this weekend. I just silo them off, and they do their work, and they listen to each other, and, you know, 3000 hours later, and then they get them back around, and we can iterate on it, and they can say, ‘oh, oh that’s what everyone sounds like!’, now they get to play off of it. So, it’s a big road-trip in a VO booth. From my house.

Lucy: A big road trip. A big deal. A big game. Where do you even begin with a behemoth like this?

Ashley: We, we audition our companions. We have to make sure that our leads can play off of each other, that compliment each other, that juxtapose each other. Like John said, it’s kind of like a family, an un-chosen family, and so we need them to, you know, it’s, you need to create an ensemble, a diverse ensemble, so that the players get the choice of who they want to bring on this hero’s journey. And so, we brought them all in, you know, and they, we do motion capture, so we need to see how they move, and how they walk, and how they talk, and how they can act like heroes. And they all carry themselves so well. Now, it’s tripping me out, because they all look like their characters to me.

Lucy: Now, there are plenty of returning faces in The Veilguard, but there are new companions that we will get to know and love. Let’s start with Lucanis. John, can you give us a little quick overview of his background, and what’s his deal?

John: Absolutely. So Lucanis is the stylish assassin from the Antivan Crows, you know. But, not bloodthirsty, more, as he sees assassination as a job, one that he is extremely skilled at. Over the course of the story, you learn more about him, more about his character, more about his relationship, not just within The Veilguard, but also with the Crows and with other characters in the world. And I think, it’s fascinating to see how that grows over the course of the game.

Lucy: Now Zach, you are the voice. I mean, how do you approach this? Where did you […]?

Zach: Well, when I first found out I got the role, I read Tevinter Nights, which is the book, that came out [...] and you should read. And I read The Wigmaker Job, in which Lucanis is featured. I read it about three times, and after I closed the book I realized, ‘this might be the coolest guy I ever get to play’. I mean, not only is he a smooth assassin, not only is he determined - yes, he can kill you a thousand different ways, but what struck me was, his mind is as dangerous as his knives. I mean this is a guy who takes in the environment with all five senses. He’s constantly attuning himself to the kind of shifting terrain of every mission. And also, he’s kinda hilarious. I mean, if you look at his relationship with his cousin Illario, in The Wigmaker Job, they’re constantly giving each other crap. But there’s a lotta love there, so I got to pull, you know, from my relationship with my brother. Because we love each other dearly, but we can be ruthless with each other. And so, it was really easy to play in that way.

Lucy: I mean, yeah, you mentioned being a comedian there. Ashley, how was working with Zach?

Ashley: Yeah.

Lucy: Harnessing that and bringing it to the character.

Ashley: Zach’s one of the funniest people I know. And that’s a lot to live up to. But, you know, he came in as one of the most adaptable actors. And, you know, we did a lot of motion capture during 2020, 2021, 2022, even 2023, and so Zach stood in for like, Assan, and Varric, like all the characters [...] just mostly, most - [a scene plays on the screen behind the panel of the actors doing mo-cap. Zach as Assan hops along the ground like :D over to Davrin, Rook and another character. Davrin is happy to see him and scratches him under the chin. Davrin motions to Rook, who then bends down and hugs Assan] - I mean I’m pretty sure [...] a huge inspiration for the cinematics. Once you see this scene that this is, like - remember it, 'cause [...] -

Zach: Just know, when you’re hugging Assan, you’re hugging me. That means a lot.

Ashley: It’s true! But, yeah, but, for Lucanis, Zach was able to bring, I mean once you get in the game and you meet Lucanis, you’ll know that he’s, you know, a murdering Crow, and then, is a […], you know, there’s a darkness. [there is a rumbling noise in the background and the panelists look around confused]

[?]: I think it's just thundering.

Ashley: It’s thundering, let's, let's do a -

Zach: The darkness.

[...]

Ashley: But in the darkness -

Zach: Prepare yourselves. [background noise continues]

Ali[?]: It’s coming.

Zach: Seriously, what is that? What’s happening?

A person off to the side: Other rooms!

Zach: Okay, okay, okay, thank you.

Ashley: Okay, thank you. [...] think you were doing it. As you can tell, he brought like a, he brings a lightness to it, ‘cause you can’t always be that heavy. I don’t want to be scared or crying in the booth all the time. And thank God the writers, John included, and all of the writers of Lucanis really brought some fast, quick-witted writing. So he’s quick as a whip, he really lightened it up, and can’t wait til you guys get in and play it and romance this sucker! Sorry! Sorry not sorry!

Lucy: I was going to say, how does it also feel to play a romanceable character?

Zach: Oh, I’m quite excited about it. Ashley has promised to give me the stats of how many people romance me. I'm really looking forward to that.

Lucy: No pressure, gotta get those numbers up!

Zach: Yeah, I know. But, that’s the great thing about Lucanis, is that, you know, he’s extremely smooth, as an assassin, but, and, yes, he does have a heart, he does have a soft side, he’s not completely adept at always dealing with other people and interactions of that such, you know, he’s extremely stubborn and stuck in his ways, so it’s really hard for him to let people in sometimes, so I’m really excited for fans to get to meet him, and, you know, help him open up.

Lucy: And before we go to the rest of your illustrious cast members, what’s, what was, what’s been your highlight of working on The Veilguard? Is it, you know, this moment getting to see everyone in person? Was it a story from on set one day, or an interaction with one of the devs?

Zach: Well, you know, I did, before the first day of shooting, I did kinda get an idea about how passionate the fanbase was, which made me really excited. I don’t wanna say nervous, because I don’t say I’m nervous, I say I’m excited. And so before the first day of shoot, I was very excited. And luckily, you know, Ashley and them, didn’t have me do too much on the first day. I played a lot of darkspawn. I darkspawn-ed my ass off, though. I want you guys to know, I really –

Ashley: Oh he did, yeah.

Zach: – and when I got home, I thought to myself, you know, ‘Zach, did you darkspawn hard enough?’ I was just worried! You know, and within an hour I got a text from Jeff, who’s a part of this cast as well, and Jee, telling me what a great job I did. And then, I’ll never forget. I got a call from Ali Hillis down here. And I will remember that conversation, because for thirty minutes, she made me feel like I was welcome in the Dragon Age family, and it gave me so much confidence moving forward. So thank you Ali, so much, I still remember that, God bless you.

Lucy: That is lovely. See, the family stuff coming up already. I’m very excited.

Ashley: [...]

Lucy: Right, let’s move on. Coming to the private detective, Neve, who we actually got a glimpse of in the gameplay reveal from a few weeks ago. Let’s take a quick look. [a scene plays on the screen; the scene when Rook meets Neve in the prologue with Varric and Harding, that we saw in the gameplay reveal video] Now John, can you give us a quick overview of Neve?

John: Absolutely. So Neve, as you can see in the video, is one of the first companions that you encounter in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. She’s from Tevinter, Minrathous specifically. And anyone who’s played Dragon Age before knows that we’ve always talked about Minrathous, we’ve always talked about Tevinter, so we wanted to have a character who showed, not the parts of Tevinter that we’ve touched on before, you know, obviously slavery is a big part of it, it’s a mageocracy, but somebody who was pushing back, fighting back against that. And Neve’s shown up in the ancillary media as well, in the comics The Missing. And it’s just, she is that, you know, somewhat cynical detective with a bit of a heart of gold, bit of [a?] romantic, and just seeing her character evolve over the course of The Veilguard, over the course of the game, because again, she’s one of the first people you meet, is. Always fun seeing Neve’s character bounce off other the followers, banter has been super fun, just the way that she, what she brings to the table is always, it’s always so interesting to me.

Lucy: Jessica, I mean, what was it like getting that call to find out that you were gonna be in Dragon Age?

Jessica: It was slightly terrifying, and it was, I just felt really honored immediately, because I feel like, to be, I feel like they entrusted me with such, something with such significance and such importance to so many people, and so I just really wanted to honor that, and bring everything that I could to this fabulous character that I had been gifted. So yeah, that was.

Lucy: And I understand that you are kind’ve newer to the kind’ve voice acting, kind’ve realm. How was it different from more traditional roles?

Jessica: I am pretty new to it. I’ve barely done anything as significant, Dragon Age is enormous. It was very freeing honestly, I mean, like Ashley said, they auditioned and auditioned and auditioned and auditioned us. Like, every time I was brought in, I was like, ‘oh I didn’t get that’, you know what I mean? And then three months later there was another audition, and. But it was just so interesting and so freeing, because it really is sort’ve, it almost felt like play pretend, like when I was a little girl, you know? And it’s like what you dream up in your imagination. Because they, you know, they give you this character, and they give you some of the dialogue and then they really wanna see where you go with it and how you move and how you embody her and how you react to dragons that aren’t there because you’re in an audition room. You know, like all of that. So, and then, also, playing Neve, it really allowed me, and being a voice actor, it really allowed me to sort’ve step into my power a bit more, because, you know, I’m very tall, and things like that. And so, in a lot of my, sort’ve, more traditional television and film work, they kind’ve want you to be the girl, and I have to raise my voice, and be a little softer, and you know, kind’ve, not diminish myself, I don’t wanna say that, but just be very conscious of my physicality. And then Neve, it’s completely the opposite. You know, so Ashley had to work with me literally on dropping my register and things like that, and it was so confusing at the beginning, and then it was so amazing, to kind’ve have that opportunity, so I’m very grateful.

Lucy: Yeah. I mean, what drew you, what’s your favorite thing about Neve? – get that applause going, go on, let's go!

Jessica: I love her loyalty, I love her dedication, I love how much she loves Docktown and its people and how she really sees a different vision for Tevinter than, as John said, than what’s previously been depicted. And she’s really really fighting for those people, and she loves those people, and so yes she’s cynical, and yes she’s kinda tough and brusque and all these other things, but when they say there’s a heart of gold, there really, like to have that kind of a passion and dedicate your life to something like that, I think that, that’s my favorite part about her.

Lucy: And what were some of your highlights from, I mean, is it, is it kind of strange to record a video game, because I assume you’re doing things in different orders -

Ashley: Yeah.

Jessica: Oh yes.

Lucy: - working with some people some days and other people different days - tell me about that?

Jessica: I mean in terms of that, I just trusted Ashley and John, you know, and they know, and I was there to learn and embody and kind’ve grow into that. But I think my favorite thing, even though we were all separate disembodied voices a lot of the time, we kind’ve really all bonded in the way that we were intended to, you know? And that’s why we’ve been so excited all week and all weekend, because we can be like, ‘oh my god, you’re here, oh my god you’re here, you’re here, you’re here’, finally, you know? And you know, I know on a lot of projects, people are like ‘oh yeah, we’re all like, we love each other’, but we really do, we really really do. And it just evolved so organically. And there was something magical about it just being our voices in the beginning. You know, like sort’ve taking anything else out of the -

Zach: Equation.

Jessica: – you know what I’m saying. I’ve run out of words.

Ashley[?]: Yeah, it’s like an audible penpal. […] speaking to each other for so long.

Jessica: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ashley: It's nice with Jess, [...] she hit it on the head, you know, voice acting, you know, I hate to say it, I don't wanna put Jess - Jessica’s obviously a beautiful woman, but in the booth, it doesn’t matter. We just, pulled out the power and the range that Neve has, and it’s limitless, and as a woman to see that kind of writing and that kind of performance ability is, I know for a lot of us in the room, probably, pretty badass.

Lucy: Jess, I wanna, I'm gonna come back to something, because you mentioned, like, you’ve been messaging, and that the cast, you know, really loves each other, is there a Veilguard groupchat?

Jessica: There are several.

Lucy: Hold up. Who sends the most memes, who is the person who only reacts with the thumbs-up emoji?

Jessica: I, I would say Jeff is the most active, who plays one of the Rooks, I would say, in that respect, and to bounce off what Zach said, just an incredibly generous actor. And then, Ali, like it’s so true, like I had that story too, like literally even being back there, I was like, [gasp], I was like, she’s like, ‘it’s gonna be okay’, she’s like, ‘it’s good, it’s like, you’re gonna love it, it’s gonna feel special’. She literally like held my hands and like looked into my eyes and was like [inhale, exhale], you know? [looks at Ali and reaches out to her] I love you.

Lucy: I was gonna say, if we’re doing an Ali love-in, she did that for me too. So.

[?]: She does that for everyone.

Lucy: She’s done it for everyone? Fantastic!

Ali: Guys, you’re making me cry!

Lucy: We didn’t expect, hang on, we did expect one of our companions to be - a stone cold gray fox. BioWare treating us well. Emmrich has been driving the internet wild. And so, John, can you give us a little bit of background there?

John: Absolutely.

Lucy: Where did Emmrich come from?

John: I mean honestly, I will say like, we expected a great reaction to Emmrich. Went beyond what we expected for sure. But it’s been fascinating to see, because again, Emmrich is this character, he’s more of the professorial, more, he brings a wisdom and kind of a calmness to the group, so even when things are at their worst, there’s that one person in the group who’s kind’ve like, ‘okay, you know, we’ve got, let’s figure it out, slow, take a deep breath’. And just his journey through his character arc and his interaction with the others, it’s been fantastic to see. Even just finding opportunities for him to bounce off the other characters, you know, the way he talks to Bellara, the way he talks to Neve, it’s all so different, but it’s all so just, again, based around this core of this warm, kind-hearted, professorial necromancer, which again is not something that you see a lot of in media, usually necromancers are depicted a very specific way. But it’s been, just awesome to see how Emmrich has grown and just, really one of the most, one of my favorite experiences has been just working with Emmrich’s writer and working with Emmrich as a character.

Lucy: And Nick, you are the voice behind Emmrich.

Nick: I am.

Lucy: How did you prepare for the role, you know, what were you told about him before you got into the booth for the first time?

Nick: I think I’ve been preparing for Emmrich all my life. I was very attracted to the role initially. And I was so, I was overjoyed when I got it because I think it was, the writing of Emmrich is really fascinating. It’s this, this man that is obsessed with death, on one hand, but on death as a comfort, death as a transition, death as something that is not scary, and that ability to enable people to transition, and the investment that he gives in that sphere, which we don’t give in our own lives. I was immediately attracted to that and I thought that that was – I’d never seen that before, and so to go in these two ways, to talk about death and to talk about it in a way that is kind and that the transition becomes a kind transition, that was fascinating to me, and I think, will be fascinating to you too, yeah.

Lucy: And I hear as well that Emmrich gets, I mean, you’re all gonna get some fantastic lines, but I hear that Emmrich has some quite spectacular ones. You, Nick, you and Ashley, I would love to hear about the process of, was it difficult to get like some of those tongue-twisters, and?

Ashley: Yeah, Sylvia the lead writer basically was like, ‘Ash, you’re gonna need a dictionary for all of the sessions with Emmrich’, it’s like, 'Okay!'. And we get there, you just nailed them all, like 'shduhfejdkjjdhdjdhfjehfjkhehe into the Fade'.

Nick: Well, I don’t know if I nailed them all, that’s very kind of you. But, there was some serious tongue-twisters there, and, but it’s great, it’s great to be in the booth, and to be given a challenge like that, and. Yeah, it’s fantastic, I mean that’s what I love to do, so it was great to be just gifted that.  

Ashley: You’re such a natural nerdy scientist. […]

Nick: It's my inner self.

Ashley: It's your inner secret.

Nick: Yeah.

Lucy: Now I love that, and I think, I think the, I, I’m drawn towards with Emmrich is that like, he loves learning.

Ashley: Yeah!

Lucy: It’s very clear, like, it seems like you’ve really just thrown yourself into this role and the world of Dragon Age. You know, I asked Zach a similar question and it’s like, you’ve been working on this for so long, what’s it like now that people have caught a glimpse of your character, it is just a glimpse, but people are desperate to know more?

Nick: I mean it’s so interesting that this character has kind of caught fire a little because, when I did it I thought ‘okay, well everyone else is like so sexy and like, it’s just amazing, and I’ll just be this kind of professorial kinda guy chatting in the background, having fun, you know, dealing with death, and you know, on the side’, and suddenly it became this thing of like, no, this is actually really interesting. And I think people have found it interesting, and I love that! I love that you guys have also found it as interesting as I have as because, it’s, it's a fantastic character, he’s a fantastic character, honestly.

Lucy: I mean, Ashley, working with Nick, any other highlights to share about your time in the booth, or?

Ashley: Oh man, every, Nick is the most consistent person I’ve ever met in the booth – or in his garage.

Nick: Yeah.

Ashley: Recording booth, he’s really like [a hippy in art?], so I, so it’s kinda trippy, seeing you again in person and knowing what your character looks like.

Nick: Yeah.

Ashley: But yeah, you’ve just been so consistent with Emmrich and bringing this grounded-ness, and I’ve learned so much working with you, and. Yeah, now, you tell me, what, what good really looks like.

Nick: Oh wow, thank you, thank you. Appreciate that.

Lucy: I mean obviously, there’s Manfred too.

Nick: [gasp!]

Lucy: Played by Matt Mercer. What was it like kind’ve having another character to [...] bounce off of?

Nick: Oh man! I mean that is such a hard question because Matt and I have never met.

Ashley: Yeah.

Nick: And we worked completely separately, and. I mean I know that the rapport is really great, but it’s in the ether, I mean it is just, the magic that these guys create, telling us how to respond, how to do that, but it’s, I can’t wait to meet Matt.

Ashley: We recorded, basically before Manfred.

Nick: Right.

Ashley: All of before Manfred.

Nick: Right.

Ashley: And so Manfred got to play off of your straight delivery -

Nick: OH he did? I did not know that. Oh man!

Ashley: I know!

Nick: He got the easy part!

Ashley: Yeah, totally! So you set him up, just to knock it out of the park –

Nick: Right!

Lucy: Okay, so you got to set the tone. You get [...]

Ashley: Yeah, yeah […]

Nick: Right right right right. I set the tone!

Lucy: And, finally. Last but certainly not least, Ali Hillis returning as Scout Harding. Please [indicates for applause]. Now, I’m so excited because, she’s one of my favorite Dragon Age characters period and it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of her. But what has she been up to, John, between Inquisition and The Veilguard?

John: So I mean, if you’ve read the comics, you know that Scout Harding has been working with Varric to track down Solas. So she has been on his tail for quite some time. The game starts just as they finally - tracked him down, figured out where he is, but she’s been working with the remnants of the Inquisition, working with Varric, and then also working with Rook and Neve. Again, if you read the comics, you know that Harding has met Neve, they have a […] relationship before the events of the game. But yeah, she is dedicated to taking someone who used to be a friend, someone she considered, you know, even if they weren’t close, because Harding wasn’t part of the Inquisitor’s core companions, somebody she knew, somebody who treated her with some amount of respect, and knowing what he’s up to now, knowing she has to stop him, so.

Lucy: She was in the core Inquisitor’s, of my heart, so.

John: That’s right, well, I mean, she had the light romance, so.

Lucy: I tried to flirt with her every time. Never went anywhere. Ali, you are no stranger to playing beloved BioWare characters, obviously, Doctor Liara T’Soni.

Ali: [in her Liara voice] It is very nice to see you all today.

Lucy: What’s it like to be returning as Lace Harding?

Ali: First of all, it was a complete surprise. I don’t know if it was for you guys, but it was for me. So I was so excited when I got that call, because I had no idea it was coming. And after recording the last Dragon Age, and going to cons, much like this one, and having the line in front of me and all my pictures spread out, and every few people, someone would come up and say, well, ‘Where’s your Scout Harding photo?’ I was like, ‘oh, I didn’t bring one! Like. I didn’t realize! Okay!’ So I started getting more into the idea that this was a really beloved character, and I didn’t realize! And she was so much fun to create because BioWare gives us so much freedom as actors, it’s such a collaborative effort, both with Liara as well as Scout, I remember getting in the studio for the very first time to record these characters. I do a lot of voiceover, I do a lot of amazing games, I don’t always remember the very first day in the studio with a project, and I do for both of these projects. Because they were so poignant in my life, because it was, it was, a group of people coming together, they had already obviously conceptualized these characters. There was art, there was writing, brilliant writing that we are only so lucky to chew on in these voiceover sessions with such expert direction. The material that we are given to work with, only, just blasts us off this planet, in the acting world. But, just, knowing that when we went in to create Scout Harding to begin with, and one of the ideas I remember us talking about was, like, ‘well, I wonder if she’s kind of a character whom, when she talks, maybe she draws in the dirt with her toe?’ You know, coming up with these little tiny bits of yumminess to create a character and build it, the fact that they give us that honor to work with them on it, you know, is incredible. So when I heard that she was coming back, I was thrilled from the inside out, because I felt a part of this whole thing, so thank you, guys, for bringing her back. You! [to the audience] You! [to BioWare devs' direction] Thank you.

Lucy: I think I can speak for all of us when I say, we are thrilled.

Ashley: Yeah.

Lucy: You know, a lot has changed in the time since Dragon Age: Inquisition. I mean, what, how, for you has the experience of recording changed, like, technology-wise? Obviously, a little thing happened in 2020 we don’t have to talk about, but how has it changed for you?

Ali: Yeah, and speaking of that little thing that we’re not supposed to talk about, but the way that this company pivoted and, I mean, we were working on something, we had a project in the works, and somehow, every single person had to deal with this big thing in the world that we’re not talking about -

Lucy: We can talk about it.

Ali: - and somehow produce a game! So when you guys play this, just know that the amount of effort that went into this one, you know, maybe exceeds every game I’ve ever worked on because, we had to, everyone had to pivot, you know, suddenly we’re working from our garages – me too – and usually we’re wearing pants. And, and, you know, when I worked on past games with BioWare, everybody was in Edmonton, pretty much, and then everyone just kinda dispersed and I didn’t know where anybody was, and Ash was working out of her house all the time. It was incredible because we just did it, we pivoted, like all of you did, like all of us did, and we all came together and we made it happen and I was really really proud of that. Anyway, I know we weren’t supposed to talk about it, but it was magical, and powerful, and incredible. And I’m so sorry, back to the original question.

Lucy: No, I mean, how has the process changed for you?

Ali: The process has changed for me? I got to do p-cap! I got to be her! I got to physicalize, they gave me that, I got to physicalize her this time, which I didn’t get to do last time and I did not get to do in Mass Effect. And I really had a great time with it! Because, just like these guys have all talked about, we all come from different acting and theater backgrounds, I think Ash as well, and different types of performance, and it was cool to get on the volume - the p-cap stage -because, it’s like a theater.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: You have freedom! It’s better than a theater because you can turn around backwards and talk like this and everybody still knows what’s going on, so, it’s freedom in acting and we get to really bring the character to life outside of being behind the microphone and envisioning all of it, we actually get to perform. So that was one big difference for me in this game particularly. That, and the, doing it from my home sometimes in voiceover, or studio, it was, we kinda just, went with the flow.

Lucy: Is it easy to come back to a character that you kinda know inside out, or is it kind of like a mental block about it because you’re returning to something, or is it easier to come up with something new to […] What was it like getting back into the shoes of Harding?

Ali: That’s a really good question because it had been a minute. I mean, I’m so excited this game is releasing, how about you? Woo! You know what, with her, again, just kind of like Liara, because we came about this character so organically, I did ask, I remember asking to hear voice-bytes, I just wanna make sure we were in the same ballpark. But also, you know, there’s been an evolution.

Ashley: Yeah, you’ve seen some shit.

Ali: Yeah. We can’t really talk about it, you guys’ll have to find out for yourselves. But there’s been an evolution, so.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: So, yeah, it’s, it's, I can’t really say anything else about it without giving stuff away.

Ashley: She comes back with such, like, a veteran voice, y'know?

Lucy: Yeah, I kinda noticed that, like, she’s, she’s got a little bit more of an edge to her.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: Yes.

John: Well, she’s been chasing Solas for almost a decade, so.

Ali: And I love that, that is an amazing relationship that you guys created. And then I’ll stop talking about that. Damn!

John: No more!

Ali: I’m so excited!

John: I know!

Ali: I defer to these guys!

Lucy: I mean, question, kind’ve for all of you. We kind’ve touched on it a little bit, the challenges, and you know, the fact that the game is almost here, Fall 2024. I’d love to know, down the line, and just, you know, what’s been kind’ve your guiding light for all of you on this project?

John: I mean for me, it’s always been about, Dragon Age has always been about the people. I mean, the companions, the villains, the allies you make along the way. And for us, making sure that that stayed central, that that was still our guiding light. We really wanted to focus the game, the story, the gameplay, always around yourself as a character, but also the other characters in the world, not just, again, how they relate to you, but also, having these relationships, having this idea of this world that exists, with people that exist, not just as kind’ve a theme park for the player character to go through. But they have lives, and they have internality, like they’ve got an internal life of their own, that cause them to act in ways that may not always be predictable, but is always fascinating, and makes them feel real, even if you’re only getting a few dozen lines, they feel like real people.

Lucy[?]: Yeah.

Ashley: Yeah. I think that was my guiding light, like, I’m, have to find logic in these, you know, over hundred thousand lines in the story and over 700 unique characters you can meet. And I, in this fantasy world, I, we’re all still looking for the truth. What is the truth? How can we ground this? Do I believe it? Do you believe it? Are we in it? And that was always my North star. And, you know, often times I’m in the booth, and sometimes I’ll just, ‘I don’t buy it, I don’t buy it’, or, and, so, it was my job to be the gatekeeper, I felt, in the booth, to make sure, that I buy it, so you will all buy it.

Zach: I made the mistake, before we started shooting, of checking out the Reddit of Dragon Age. Not a good idea. It was a bad idea. But what I did, what struck me is that these people, these fans, have the same passion for this game that I have had for a hundred fantasy worlds. You know, places where I’ve gone into and discovered different parts of myself through. through, following these stories. And so I felt an, I felt so, it was so incumbent upon me to put as much effort as I could into this game. And I really do feel like the fans inspired me to pour my heart and soul into this, and I just cannot wait for you guys to play it, I really cannot.

Lucy: Jessica, what about you?

Jessica: I would say for me it was the dialogue, honestly. I loved the writing, Brianne was my writer, and Ashley, and John, and she’s right, like it’s, you gotta go deeper, and like we’re trying to find it, and we’re trying to find it together, and sometimes we’re not there, and sometimes we have to come back to it, you know, there was, I could tell there was such an evolution in my work, and part of that was because I just kind’ve gave it over to the writing. And whenever I did get to play off the other actors, you know, sometimes they’ll have, you can play in with their lines, and that was just such a joy, and I got to like discover other little parts of the game that I had no idea about, you know, because we’re doing it in isolation. So that was kind’ve the joy for me, and just honestly trusting, trusting the team and Ashley and John, so.

Lucy: Nick?

Nick: Yeah, I mean I’d have to say narrative as well, I think what the writers have done on this show, you don’t get in other games, you just don’t. You don’t get the level of, the depth of character. And character makes story. And that is what they focused on here. And I just kept coming back into that booth going, ‘I’ve never, I’ve never, experienced this before’. And just one last thing as well, I think the fact that we were separate, and I’m only just sort’ve putting this together now, the fact that we didn’t see each other, the fact that we didn’t know each other, has created a kind of magic that, I think is extraordinary. You can’t see somebody and you have to listen in the dark for cues and signals, and you have to put it together. That, that is magical. And I think, out of the chaos of 2020, 2021, 2022, which was exactly when we were recording and trying to figure this out, that’s when the magic came together, that’s, and I think we all feel that here, and I really hope you guys do too.

Lucy: Ali?

Ali: Well I feel like they’ve kinda covered it. I was gonna speak to kinda like what John said. One thing I really like about this game particularly, and I think you guys will find this as well, is you really find yourself in it.

Ashley: Yeah.

Ali: And the relationships, not only with the player and the people you bring along, but the team with each other, it’s just, it’s so well-written, the relationships are so conditioned that you really get lost in the moment. And I love when I’m at a con signing somewhere and someone comes to the table and says, you know, ‘this is a game that took me away from something I was dealing with in my real life, and I’m so grateful for it’, and I feel like, this is one of those games. This is gonna take you into a world that’s gonna blow your mind. And, I was just so honored to be a part of this group, again, again, I’m just gonna echo everything everybody said. But when I would hear their voices in my cans, in my headset, and I don’t get to see their faces, there is something so specific and so intimate about that experience, when you’re not seeing each other, and you’re just hearing, they have this amazing system where we get to hear each other. Whoever’s recorded first is played, if I’m having a conversation with these guys, if they’ve recorded first, I get to hear them and talk back. Acting is reacting. So it’s really nice that I actually get to react honestly off of these guys with expert guidance. So, I was really appreciative that we’ve conditioned these relationships in a fantasy land and also in real life, and I think you guys will feel that when you play.

Lucy: Now we do have time for Q&A. I'm gonna ask the panel another question, but if you wanna start lining up, we have, people are jumping to their feet already, this is great. We have a microphone right here. Before we go to Q&A, I suppose, what's the big, the biggest takeaway you want when people actually get to play later this year?

John: For me, honestly, it's just, how much this project has just been a team effort in a way that, everyone is working collaboratively with each other, everyone is bouncing off each other. Everyone was talking earlier about the writing, but I think what's fascinating for [...] has been so awesome to see is, the actors also shaping these characters as we built them. Seeing, like, how, Nick delivers a line, how Zach delivers a line, how Jessica delivers a line, how, and then, bouncing off that and then forming the character, shaping the character, so. We realize, okay, so, Ali has this, you know, has this, says things in a very specific way. Maybe we, let's re-write a few things, let's really lean into this, you know, what she brings to the character, and it's just. That's true across the entire team. It's not just the actor, it's not just the writer, but everybody who has worked on it, has a little piece of themselves in it. And to me there's just this excitement that that brings, and just this amazing passion that you can see in everything that's been built in this game.

Ali: It's so cool, I was gonna say, when we were recording, and I know we gotta get these questions, when we were recording during the pandemic and we were at home, I didn't realize sometimes that on the Zoom call I'd only see Ashley's face, or sometimes, you know, whatever, whatever she puts up. And then suddenly I'd have a question, 'hey, so in this line, this and this?', suddenly, like, John, or somebody else would just pop in, and talk about the line, so, we were always collaborating, it was just amazing, I was very grateful to have you guys ever-present.

John: Thank you.

Lucy: Alright. Shall we go to our first question? We all ready?

[?]: Yeah.

Lucy: Alright.

Audience member: Hello. [...] fan of Dragon Age since Origins. Oh, I must say, I am very disappointed with this panel. You've failed to mention a very important part of the game! The factions!

John: Mmm!

Audience member: So I would like to know, what can you tell me about them, and, can you join them, or do you just interact with them?

John: So, you start the game, you get to choose which background you go with. Each one is tied to one of the major factions. But one of our principles from the start was the concept of 'characters not causes'. So we didn't wanna just give you, 'here's the Grey Wardens, they're just kinda this group that exists in the world', we wanted to attach characters to them. So I can speak to the Grey Wardens in particular, anyone who's read comics and any of our short stories know Evka and Antoine, they kind've represent your connection to that faction. And you can work with them throughout the story, you can help them out. And decide how much you want to spend time with them. But each one of them [...] represents these important forces in the world that you need to get on your side if you're gonna stop the end of the world, so.

Audience member: Looks good.

Lucy: I was gonna say, Zach, you've done, you've done your research, so how exciting was it for you to kind've see and hear all these factions coming into play?

Zach: What, I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?

Lucy: You did all your research, so.

Zach: Oh, yeah.

Lucy: How exciting was it for you to hear about these factions and then hearing about how they'll come into play in the game?

Zach: Well, I don't think they kept my voice for Antoine, but I did my best French accent, I think it was pretty painful for everybody else on set, I really did. Oh yeah, the Grey Wardens are a barrel of laughs, those guys, they're absolutely wonderful. Well, yeah, so I had to play a bunch of characters, so I had to really steep myself in the understanding that, okay, the Grey Wardens go a lot, go through a lot, actually, doing what they do. They make a pretty intense bond in order to carry out exactly what they do. So, I tried to bring that as best I can to the physicality when I did do the motion capture and whatnot, but I cannot wait to see how it plays out in the game.

Lucy: Next question.

Audience member: Hello, I've also been a fan of Dragon Age since Origins. So, I've noticed in pretty much all of the games, there's a lot of influence from classical fantasy and mythology. So I was wondering, general question for the whole panel, what was your first exposure to fantasy or mythological storytelling, and do you use any of that in your voice-acting?

John: Hm. I can speak to mine but I can't speak to the voice-acting part, obviously. I mean I read Lord of the Rings at a very young age, and everything that you read that you, any piece of art that you enjoy, engage with, it's obviously gonna have an influence on yourself and also what you do.

Ashley: Yeah, there's a [depth?], in it, you know, to the fantasy world, that acting, it's kind of timeless, right? It can be anything, anywhere, and I feel like when we were doing the voices, we, you know, we didn't want it to be in 2020 or 2024 or whatever, so I think that's how I was most influenced, is, what's the most universal sound or a language, or a mixture of those, that can feel like nobody knows what it is?

Zach: I mean I was obsessed with, I think it's Theseus and the Minotaur, that story, when I was young. Did I just put my foot, I think it's Theseus, it could be Perseus, I can never remember okay?

Audience member: It's Theseus.

Zach: It's Theseus? My man! Thank you. I appreciate it. But I love the symbolism in those types of myths, right? Like, the Minotaur is this half-man, half-beast, who sits in the middle of the labyrinth, and the labyrinth is, of course, your mind, and you are also the Minotaur, and you are also Theseus. But so, getting to see the symbolism that's represented in Dragon Age, and how deep the meaning is, like that, those the stories I've always wanted to tell, ever since I was young, so I, it was a real honor to get to bring this to life.

Jessica: I also, my first, was Lord of the Rings, but I also was very interested in Greek mythology growing up. And, yeah, I think it's that, as Zach said, the symbolism, that you see, and like, I think you really see that in Dragon Age, and I know you know, right, you all, like, know the lore, and go looking for things, and that's really exciting to me. And then, just, yeah, the limitless possibility, right? You're not limited to what people look like, or whether you're human, I don't know, you know what I'm saying, like, that can really can take your mind and the world and the depth of the world anywhere and everywhere. And that's so exciting.

Nick: Yeah, I mean, for me it was The Hobbit, as well, my mom read me The Hobbit, and I would go, 'stop, stop!' And I would run to her closet and put on a pair of her boots, these shiny boots, and wear a cape, and I would go 'okay, okay, carry on' [...], you know, just, I would just, I would just be so in it. And then I'd go like, 'stop, stop, I'm gonna read that bit, I'm gonna read that bit'. And, you know, it was just, it absolutely informed why I'm sitting here today.

Ali: I wish I had better answers. Talking about, instead of yesteryear, talking about recently, I was travelling, and we were in Greece, and I feel like I saw Dragon Age everywhere. Just like an inspiration to travel and look back and, I'm now infatuated with castles. So, actually, it's brought me into this world, instead of me discovering it, you know, a long time ago, this has what's really brought me here.

[?]: Thank you very much.

[?]: Thank you.

Lucy: Thank you for your question.

Audience member: Hello, thank you for answering questions. For the new companions, if you could romance, from your companion's perspective, which older companion would you romance?

Ali: This could get embarrassing!

Zach: I kinda have a thing for The Iron Bull. Yeah, I saw him for the first time when I was looking up some answer to some question I had when I was reading the books, and I was like, 'oh, that awakened something inside of me! Huh! Look at that!' - You guys are gonna leave me hanging after I said that I want to have sex with The Iron Bull?

Jessica: [...] Um, I, I, don't know, honestly, I'm overwhelmed by that question, so [...]

Nick: I guess I'm a little overwhelmed by that question too. I have a particular fondness for Manfred, but, you know that's, that's a very particular relationship. I would say, like, I think what you've done with Solas is really sexy [...]

Zach: Dorian is really cute too. Yeah. [...] the mustache. Dig that guy.

Ali: Well, he's sitting right next to me, so this is a little embarrassing, but every time I heard Emmrich in my cans. Just, woooo. I might be on-board with all of the fans out there for Emmrich. If you'll have me, if you'll have me.

[?]: Thank you.

Panel: Thank you.

Audience member: So, the first game I played was Inquisition, and, this is not a knock, but, because, my reference would be Mass Effect, and I love that series. For Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 3, it seems the games was more streamlined. I'm getting the same feel from Inquisition to this one. Does that, what you can expect from gameplay-wise?

John: I mean, I don't think there's any, I don't think it's streamlined, it's. Again, each Dragon Age has been fundamentally different in its gameplay. We've tried things, seeing what works, seeing what didn't. In the case of The Veilguard, just like the other games, you wanna keep that tactical, strategic complexity and make that the centerpiece. And each one we focused on a little bit differently. In the case of this one, I think our skills in particular are some of the best we've done. There's some exciting combinations you do there, so.

Audience member: Thank you so much.

John: No worries.

[?]: Okay. There we are, okay.

Audience member: I was wondering what your favorite aspect was of the character you voiced?

Lucy: Ali, should we start with you this time?

Ali: I mean, so many layers, man, we're talking BioWare characters here! I think some of my favorite things about Lace Harding are the little things. Like, she loves her mom, you know, she loves to write letters home, she's always talking about her mama's soup and stuff like that. I love that relationship. She likes plants, and raising plants, which is inspirational, since I kill them. But just the texture they add to the characters, that's, in general, but for me, yeah, it's those little things that really kinda give me a bunch of stuff to work with in my brain, for bringing these characters to life.

Zach: I love the fact that Lucanis is a good cook. I just imagine him finishing a job and then going home, and, you know, cooking him a meal to kind've calm himself down, but with like the same knife he just used to murder somebody. He cleaned it of course, he cleaned it, but at the same time [...] -

Ali: I recommend my mama's soup.

Jessica: I really enjoyed, we sort've worked to bring, like, a noir element to Neve, and her being a private investigator, and so I really enjoyed leaning into that. And then she's just so dry, you know, like, things really mean a lot to her, but she's not necessarily gonna let you know that, you know what I mean? You have to kind've, like, discover that underneath. And, so I, I related to that, and I love that about her.

Ali: I was gonna say, 'I don't know anyone like that'.

Nick: I loved the, the fact that the writers just took Emmrich and explored the whole idea of death. The whole idea of necromancing, and, I really responded to that, I got into that, and bringing kindness into it, I know that sounds crazy, but it's to not have this idea that death is vulgar or kind've to be, something to be terrified about, but something to actually engage with on so many levels. I just thought the fact that the writers had the courage to do that in a game like this, I thought, it just blew my mind.

[?]: Thank you for the question.

Lucy: I think we have time for a couple more quick ones.

Audience member: Hi, okay, so first of all. Okay, hi, again. So, first of all, my dad just died, so [...]

[?]: Oh, I'm sorry.

Audience member: [...] Thank you. [...] So, [...] what you said about your take on Emmrich, really, really, I appreciated that. So, my question, to, I guess, John, would be, so, lore-wise, mechanically, not like story-telling-wise for the lore, how do you decide what lore goes in what games? Like, just, okay, so like, what decides what goes in Dragon Age 3, what goes in Dragon Age 4, what goes in Dragon Age 90-bajillion? Not from like a story perspective, right, but from, like a, what do we want to do, right?

John: Mhm. I mean it really does come down to, each one, as we build, it's, it's hard to say it as [...] something that we come [...], it's like, 'okay, we're gonna do it this way, this way, this way', mechanically, but, we kind've, we always know the base lore of the franchise, of the IP, and as we start to build the story, we start to see these opportunities to again, [...] speaking mechanically, bring certain elements in that make the most sense with the characters we're building and the story we're telling. We try not to overwhelm by saying a bunch, having a bunch of lore included that's not necessarily critical to the understanding of the story, but we always wanna expand the universe, and expand the IP, so.

Audience member: Thank you.

John: You're welcome.

Ali: And, can we please have a Dragon Age 90-bajillion?

John: I'd like that.

Ali[?]: That'd be amazing.

Audience member: Hi, I'm Matt. I've been a fan of Dragon Age since, actually, The Stolen Throne book, before I even knew there was like a game. And my question was, for the voice actors, one of my favorite things is the party banter. Was there any, like, lines of party banter that you recorded that you can say that just made you just, like, laugh, 'cause some of the party banter is pretty hilarious. Like, is there a certain thing that just sticks in your mind, whether you can say what it is, or just who it was with, like, so I can be on the lookout for it?

Ashley: I have one, it's so not appropriate. Do I have permission to say it?

Ali: That's what I was gonna say.

Zach: Yeah, say it.

Ashley: Listen for "hand-to-bone combat".

Lucy: I mean, do we end it there?

Ali[?]: And, scene.

Lucy: Well thank you so much everyone for coming to the panel. Thank you [...] Fall 2024.

[panel ends]

--

[source: DA:TV ‘Meet The Companions’ panel @ SDCC. BioWare have said that they are going to share the recording of the panel at a later date].

[☕ found this post or blog interesting or useful? my ko-fi is here if you feel inclined. thank you 🙏]

[twipsai]

this one panel in issue #50 and it's, like, not THAT bad alright

fuck it im tired and had a long day this is my treat to myself. im talking about that panel. yes, THAT panel. which one?

THIS ONE. alrighty this is off the cuff and terrible, lets go.

so this panel isnt like, that bad in context when it comes to Sonic. i think specifically "ive made peace with enough enemies to know there is a better way" is a really interesting line here, because it calls back to the amount of times that the "villain" hes fought has just been a person whos hurting, and how hes been able to help those people. it makes sense that eventually hes more keen on trying to figure out someones whole story before deciding if theyve gotta go (which is rare).

but i want to talk about the FRAMING of this panel, and specifically the larger context of this issue in particular. theres a lot of flip-flopping in perspectives. usually, IDW is told through Sonic's perspective (loosely, this kind of thing is up to interpretation a lot), but in issue 50, it switches rapidly between four different groups -- Sonic and Surge, Tails and Kit, Eggman and Starline, and Belle and Metal. within these groups, the perspective its being told from changes a few times, but never as much as Sonic and Surge's do

i actually love these two when they interact as a storyteller myself, and one that has handled scripts too often for my own liking. Sonic and Surge do this thing where they push and pull the pacing of the script to fit their motives -- Surge keeps trying to escalate things, whenever shes in a panel everything starts pushing rapidly and it feels like the panels are tumbling off the page. when Sonic does anything, though, its slow and deliberate. hes having fun fighting, sure, but he can very much tell that Surge is trying to kill him and hes not having any of that. Sonic keeps things slow and focused, Surge tries to push things faster and unfocused. i could get into how this reflects her motivations and stuff but thats not what this is about i already lost track of what i was talking about fuck hang on

ok so. Surge knows shes supposed to be Sonic, to be BETTER than Sonic. its all she knows, really, and thats the problem. shes traumatized and full of rage and Sonic has been put on this high pedestal, not just by her, but by everyone. she cannot stand this.

this panel is how SURGE sees Sonic, specifically the composition. hes shrouded in light and physically above her -- its not even that subtle of a metaphor, they use it all the time in idw.

the entire overpowered saga shows Surge clawing for control of herself, her life, her freedom... this issue sets all that up in the main story. the way Sonic is framed here isnt how he sees himself at all. weve seen him do this exact same thing from his own perspective before, where everyone is on even ground. he doesnt see himself as above anyone, this instance of him being depicted as such isnt alluding to how Sonic feels about himself, its how Surge feels about Sonic.

and, look, its not the most well-done in the world. this issue has a whole host of problems, evident by the constant switching of focus from one group to a next (a problem that i think they did better on in the Phantom Rider saga). i literally forgot about Belle and Metal in this issue bc theres just so much more going on, i wouldve loved for them to slow things down a bit, maybe splitting it into two issues, but hey, what can you do, yk?

as an aside, i think its really weird how people narrow in on this specific panel of Sonic as being "so out of character", which i sorta like, 30% agree with (i think some phrasing could be better), and then ignore the page right after it...

...in which he pretty much says "you dont get freedom if youre gonna be a problem". funnily enough, on twitter i have this flow chart saved whenever i need a quick guide on Sonics morality and stuff, its really not that complicated

x

none of this is new imo, we see he has the same philosophy in sa1 and satbk. Chaos was blinded by rage and pain after being trapped for thousands of years RIGHT after they were attacked by the echidnas. Merlina was so scared of death (implied to be because she had lost family members and wasnt able to cope with it well) that she became a monster in an attempt to never let anything change ever again. these arent very different stories in my head i guess, just cases of Sonic seeing people who are hurting and doing his best to free them from that.

uhhhh anyways. all this is disorganized i forgot what i was talking about like 5 times while writing this but. people on twitter are ripping into this issue again. like its a b tier issue stop acting like its an f yk Q_Q i will defend anything if people are too mean tbh

thanks for making it this far if you read all this. i love idw a lot and i think that it does have some flaws, theyre all really blown out of proportion.

have a great day/afternoon/evening wherever you are yall :) bye bye

[sevs-corner]

Tf 141: Mafia AU- but the boys see you slowly opening up to them

A/N: i just feel too soft for these boiyos (is this self-indulgent? yeah) Masterlist here! Song Inspo here!

Johnny was one of the first that you truly opened up and relied on during your first couple of weeks working at the bakery

You could recall like it was yesterday

It was during a particularly rough night for everyone

Your shift was shit for the amount of times you were fumbling and being so out of your element just because of a failed presentation during one of your online classes yesterday

You worked so hard and spared so much time on it-- just for it to get roasted and toasted by the panel of biased professors who only believed in "abstract" art

So working with that over your head wasn't fun

Neither was Johnny on his end

Their job turned out to be a bust and even lost one of their more loyal men to some ambush their informant set up for them

To put it simply, everyone was a mess

Words of comfort were reached in neither sides, nor did any of you try to

You all just couldn't

Not right now at least

Even as you and Johnny sit at the sidewalk in front of the bakery

Sharing a smoke and a small drink in between you two

Something to drown in for the moment, to decompress you suppose

You had a couple of inches in between you two, keeping a respectable distance from each other's personal space

Soap, even when was cooped up in his headspace, was hyper aware of how he shouldn't cross the line by touching your fingers as you passed the cig or when grabbing the glass

Somehow, you two always reached for the same thing at the same time

Which made you breath out a sigh before just inching closer to him, making him look at out in curiousness

Once your shoulders were touching, you placed the cup on your thigh, hand wrapped around it so it wouldn't spill

And ever so...gently, your head lands on his as you offer the almost finished cig to him

This time, its easier to reach for it, easier to accept it

After a puff, he leans into your head as well, your temples touching and pounding against each other

But you both don't mind

Not even when he wrapped his hand on the other side of the glass

Not even when he laid an arm around you to pull you closer to him

Not even when he smelled your hair, taking in a deep breath of it and exhaling it out shakily

Not even when he pulled you close for a hug you both seemed to need more than a cancer stick and some poisoned drink

Gaz starts noticing you more, and he doesn't even know when or how it happened-- but it just did

Everyday, every time you get his breakfast from the kitchen yawning all the while with a head of hair that just might be worst than a nest (as Soap likes to call it)

He notices how you blink more often when the sleep is still scattered across your face

He notices how you yawn so softly and stretch quite similarly to the white cat you take care of

He notices how your smile, the many variations of it, is particularly designed to whoever you talk to

And he thinks the one you give him is the most adorable one

Cheeks slightly puffed up with small :3 made him want to pinch em

You notice this one day as you see him do some sort of grabby hands behind you and you could only assume the best from this man

He has treated you so so well compared to all the other people you've met so far in your life

Always made sure you were comfy and just treated you like a person, valuing your opinion and putting your safety first over everything

Always looking out for you and making sure your fridge is well stocked on days you got sick or even just regular days when it gets a little rough-- he was always there

So you thought, why not let him pinch your cheeks a little?

Turning around, you bend to his eye level and gave him your grin, offering your cheeks to him

He gasps in realization, hands already raised to do it

Yet... he hesitates, asking if you were fine with it

You laugh, saying that just because he asked he's have full reign for five minutes

His eyes were already shining, you were giving him that much power? Oh you'll regret it

He then goes off to coo at you and squish at them mercilessly-- even making you do funny fish faces that made you- try to- swat him away for a couple of times

Afterwards, with your cheeks all rosy, he tries his best to soothe them and gives you an apologetic smile-- promising he'd make it up to you

But you deny, telling him that was you repaying him and he could do it anytime he wanted from now on

This time he doesn't hesitate and does it again, despite your efforts of you running away from him

Simon and you didn't quite get along, so much so that your petty arguments with him would be worse than yours with Johnny's

So its quite a wonder when you find yourself crying at his doorstep, rain pouring so harshly behind you that he knew that he had no choice but to house you for a while

Simon was never good with handling emotions nor was it easy for him to handle it himself, so he could only ask for your forgiveness in his head as he tries his best to clean you up and comfort you in a way he knew best

Some coffee and pastries.

Once you got out of the shower all warmed up and dried with a fresh set of clothes he gave you (and his poor dear heart was about to explode from seeing you in his clothes), you went up to him and thanked him

For a lot of things, but before you could get another word in- he shoves a cookie in your mouth-- commanding you to chew and sit at the table, where a tray of pastries ranging from sweet to savory that was accompanied mug of coffee

Your eyes soften at how much he's giving and you relent, sitting down with him and deciding that maybe its alright to stay at his place for now while you wait out the rain

He doesn't question why you came to him out of all the others

He doesn't question why you cried

He doesn't question why you gripped him in a hug so hard it reminded him of child him

He doesn't question why you were trembling all the way to the bathroom, scared to even touch the water

So he tried to help you, show you that's it okay

And he grounded you, and he expects nothing in return

Not minding if you went back to your usual self of keeping up the banter between you

So he doesn't expect to hear you talk, to share your story

To explain why you find yourself here at this moment

And he lets you, and he thinks that maybe he minds more than he thinks, cares more than he lets on, and thinks he should question you a bit more

for once, you're thankful he brushes aside your apologies (however sarcastic it may be) and lets you be

And maybe from the way he had shared some of the things he liked with you, you were more inclined to owe him something-- even if he cared less for it

For once, you're glad Simon didn't mind you and your presence in his space-- its calm and cool, just like him

Somehow, you find it more comforting than the space you're currently living in (even if it had the same vibe) and sharing this sentiment with Simon makes him chuckle

So when he offered him place whenever it gets too cold in yours, you told him he had no 'take back-sies' and you were gonna abuse that right now

This makes him rolls his eyes, not surprised at how you're back to your usual gremlin self

And... he definitely prefers this sight than the one by his doorstep just a few moments ago

Price always tried to observe you and your little mannerisms, taking note of your routine, and pointing it whenever it you stray off from it

Making you quite surprised at how much attention he's giving you and he chuckles, reminding you that he's always there to help you

He cares so openly that its hard not to love the guy extra special

Whether that came into putting more efforts to his food prep or making sure he got all of his nutrients in his meals

you were sure to give best effort when it came to him

But he made it hard for you to do that

Not when he does anything in his power to make it easier, making so easy to like and pleasant to talk with

But only when he finds himself downtrodden in front of you does he actually see how much you've grown on him (and vice versa)

It was a lone night in the bakery, and he was downing drink after drink

Just to get his mind off some nightmare that haunted him during a nap he took in his office

He told the boys he wouldn't be long, promising to follow them after a couple more drinks

But... he couldn't

Not when he was so inebriated that somehow, when he woke up, he finds himself in your bed-- and you lying on a makeshift one at the couch

The guilt grows when he sees himself in clean clothes, body feeling more clean than ever, and a wet towel and basin right besides him

you took care of him

you let him into your home

He sighs, kicking himself mentally for drinking too much, but for also forcing you to take care of him

He also wants to talk about you bringing men into your apartment again but... when he sees that peaceful sleeping face despite the uncomfortable place you were positioned in, he decides to put that on the back of his mind

He wants to pay back your efforts into taking care of him so he carefully trudges about your mini kitchen, making you your favorite food and setting it onto the coffee table before waking you up (and bless John's heart for wanting to see this moment everyday for the rest of his life)

He feels lucky that you trust him enough, and you feel lucky for trusting a man that would also take care of you in return

So you then share the breakfast, indulging in light-hearted chats that made him even feel better than a night out drinking away his sorrows

You find yourself happy to help this man take off a couple of weight off his shoulders now and again, especially with how devastated he looked last night

So you try-- for him, try reaching out of your shell for him in return for all the kindness he's shown you (and he's very much appreciative of this)

A/N: Nothin much but a lil blurb i can't wait for winter to come :<<

Taglist!: @accidental-obsessionist @sunshineistoofuckingbright @sleepisfortheweakpooh

[aingeal98]

I don't think Damian was insecure because Cassandra was a closer part of the family than he was, especially considering that at that point in time he was wasn't fully invested in being a part of the family as he is now (also lets be real, its not like Cass is the center of the family or anything.)

I think it was more of case of him putting her on a pedestal based on what he heard about her, since her reputation probably made her seem like the ideal version of himself that he was told to aspire to all his life, so he was probably hoping that she was similar to him in some way as a form of self-validation, but when he did meet her it probably made him feel very conflicted since she didn't live up to his exceptions.

So in his mind it probably started out like "I'm supposed to be perfect and Cassandra Cain is already perfect, so she's probably very similar to me and I need to aspire to be more like her, which would be easy since we're already very similar to each other" then when he did meet her it went on to become" "Wait that's Cassandra Cain? But she's nothing like me?! Does that mean I'm not perfect after all and everything I'm doing is wrong? No.....its her who is doing everything wrong" so him butting-heads with her was him grasping at straws since putting her down would be easier than for him to accept that what he was aspiring to become all this time was the wrong image and he didn't want to start from scratch by believing in a new version of the ideal him (which thankfully he did end up doing at the end, he just was unsure if it was really what he wanted for himself at that point.)

Either ways its crazy that this plot-line didn't have any follow ups and no writers tried to have interact with each other again in almost 15 years.

I half agree with this, because I do think that Damian would have put Cass on a pedestal before meeting her. And I feel like part of him would have felt betrayed when they did meet and instead of being someone he could relate to, she was chatting with Dick and Tim and connecting over their shared history. The framing in those panels from Gates of Gotham where the trio are strategising and Damian is sitting away from them watching feels very deliberate. But I do think insecurity plays a role in that. You came to a new country all alone to meet your father but now he's dead and you're stuck with a bunch of older people meant to be your siblings and here comes one who was trained from birth to fight as a league funded project and yet... She clicks with your other siblings more than you? I think it would for sure make Damian feel more insecure even if he wasn't fully invested in becoming a part of the family, and he'd almost feel irrationally betrayed by Cass for not living up to the version he had in his head that was meant to ease said insecurity over this new "family" of his instead of making it worse and making him feel even more alone.

I can definitely see that thought process you describe in his head though. He's a genius technically but he is only ten and if something is wrong then either he's the problem or Cass is the problem, no room yet for emotional complexity. And he refuses to be wrong (similar to a certain sister of his who refuses to lose shhh who said that) so he's just going to have to butt heads with Cass until everyone including her understands that he's right and she's wrong, simple!

We deserved so much more of them working together. Gates of Gotham was a great start and I love that it's forever canon that their first act of sibling bonding was blowing up the batboat together. But we deserved so much more.

[wandamaximoffsbadgirl]

Let's Talk About That

I came all this way just to feel this pain (4)

Warnings: talks of mental health (PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks), mentions of death/dying, anger issues, angst and fluff

Word count: 1,969

A/N: listen I love rewatching Marvel movies but having to watch civil war and pause every 5 seconds for the accords scenes killed me, but it would have bothered me if the lines weren't accurate so here you go.

May 19th 2016

You were in your office when Natasha came round telling you that you had to go to the meeting room. The secretary of state was here to talk with the Avengers. You knew this couldn't be good, but you got up with your laptop in hand just in case you needed it. 

All of you sat around the meeting room while Secretary Ross spoke, "The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives, but while a great many people see you as heroes there are some who would prefer the word 'Vigilantes'." Your grip on Wanda's thigh tightens and her hand goes over yours. Trying not to cause a scene, but you must have squeezed a little too tightly. You release it completely, balling and unballing your fist.

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asks.

"How about dangerous?" He replies. "What would you call a group of U.S. based enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who frankly seem unconcerned with what they leave behind." Ross speaks freely, but you interject.

"Excuse me Sir, but if you'd have gone over my notes thoroughly about everyone's after mission session when things go good and when things go not great there is in fact a difference in their psyches. This team though we are enhanced individuals still have emotions and feelings. We still care about others and it's the exact reason we do what we do. Just because the world doesn't see them break down. I do." You stand up. "Tony has severe anxiety and suffers from panic attacks when things go wrong. Steve and Natasha have PTSD. Wanda," you look at her and she nods, " thinks every goddamn day about how she could have done better in Lagos. If she had been able to hold on a second longer than no one would have gotten hurt that day. Those lives every one of them rests on her mind." You tell him though he doesn't seem to care much as he shows a video, you sit back down, moving closer to Wanda and she holds your hand, your fingers intertwining. 

"New York, Washington D.C." He's showing the group's past failures as you look over at Steve and Natasha, watching their faces pale as both try to stay in the moment. "Sokovia." The battle for Sokovia from Ultron, the one you missed. You feel her hand squeeze yours as you move your other hand to her thigh to try and soothe her, "Lagos." The footage starts playing of the building that got caught in the blast Wanda had tried to contain. The close up of a dead girl in the ruble is shown and you can feel her shift as you pull her against your chest and whisper, 

"Don't look. I've got you."

"Alright that's enough." Steve calls out. I mouth a thank you to him as I let Wanda go once the footage stops. 

"Good to know we'll need a group therapy session after this." You say flatly. As you turn back to the front of the room.

"For the past four years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate, but I think we have a solution." He hands over a binder to you. 

"The Sokovia Accords?" You ask, thumbing through it with Wanda.

"Approved by 117 Countries. It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead you'll operate under the supervision of the United Nations panel. Only when and if that panel deems it necessary." Ross informs you all. 

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve interjects.

"Tell me Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of mega 30 ton nukes you can bet there would be consequences. Compromise, reassurance, that's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." Ross states. 

"So," Rhodey starts. "There are contingencies?" 

"Three days from now the U.N. meets in Vienna to ratify the accords." Ross tells us and you see Steve finally acknowledge Tony sitting in the corner away from the rest of us. "Talk it over."

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha asks. Ross stops his exit from the room. 

"Then you retire." Ross answers.

"Sir. I'm 19." You remind him

"Good thing you went to college already. Whole life ahead of you unlike the rest of your team." He says and you've never wanted to break someone's neck more and once he and his men leave the room, you hand your laptop to Wanda and have everyone back up from the table as you slam my fist into it, reducing it to rubble. 

"You're paying for that." Tony mentions.

"You pay me. So you're paying for that." You remind him and you're lucky it wasn't his face." You say taking your laptop back from Wanda. "Thank you sweet girl."

As the tension in the room simmered and Secretary Ross exited, leaving the group to grapple with the weight of his ultimatum, a heavy silence settled over you. You could feel the collective unease radiating from your teammates, each grappling with their own thoughts and emotions in the wake of his proposition. The mix of all the feelings makes you nauseous.

Turning to face your fellow Avengers, you could see the turmoil etched on their faces, the weight of Ross's words bearing down upon us like a crushing weight. But amidst the uncertainty and fear, there was also a glimmer of determination in their eyes, a silent vow to stand together in the face of adversity.

"We need to talk," Steve's voice cut through the silence, his gaze sweeping across the room as he addressed each of you in turn. "This isn't a decision to be made lightly. We need to weigh the consequences, consider our options, and come to a consensus as a team."

You nodded in agreement, your mind already racing with the implications of Ross's proposal. The Sokovia Accords represented a fundamental shift in the way the Avengers would operate, a relinquishing of your autonomy in exchange for the illusion of oversight. But at what cost? Would you be forced to compromise your principles, to bend to the will of bureaucrats and politicians who viewed you as nothing more than tools to be wielded at their whim?

As the group dispersed from the meeting room, each lost in your own thoughts, you felt Wanda's hand slip into yours, her touch a comforting anchor amidst the storm of uncertainty that raged within you currently. With her by your side, you knew that whatever decision we ultimately made, you would face it together, united in your commitment to stand up for what you believed in, no matter the consequences. And as you retreated to the solace of our shared quarters, you knew that your journey was far from over, that the road ahead would be fraught with challenges and trials, but that so long as you faced them together, you would emerge stronger, more resilient, than ever before.

===========================================================

As the team goes back and forth arguing sides of right and wrong and if things are better in your hands or in the U.N. Wanda speaks up, "You're saying they'll come for me." Before you can speak, Vision does beside you after you had nudged your way in when he tried to sit next to Wanda, "We would protect you." 

"They'll come for me too. Wanda was given powers by the mind stone." You flick it on Vision's forehead, he flinches a bit, but you know it doesn't hurt, not like your own, "But this stone in my chest is a ticking time bomb. Something I've never told you guys is I have never once used 100% of my power. I had talked with Thor who knew about the stones." You gently touch your purple stone, reacting to your touch with a soft glow. "This stone in the past was held and wielded by Celestials, Gods in their own rights, used to decimate worlds." You look around the room. Faces of various degrees of worried or scared or nervous. "If I were to lose control...there's a possibility there won't be an Earth anymore. I know how dangerous I am with this stone, but much like Tony's arc reactor, If we extract this from me. I'm going to die. Last time Bruce did a check up for me...the stone...the stone is wrapped around my heart and lungs. Bruce and I did some tests of moving the stone around and we came to the conclusion it's more than likely to make my lungs collapse and my heart stop if it's pulled out." You look down, unable to look at any of them. "If they take me it might be for the better, but no matter what. I want to keep fighting and keep helping. If I sign that...I'm signing over to my own arrest basically." 

"Well it sounds like that might be a good thing." Tony states. 

"Fuck you Tony! I've only ever wanted to help people! I never want to hurt or kill people! I'd rather just go live my life as a psychiatrist! Work a normal day and come home to a nice home cooked meal, but I can't just do that! You brought me into this world. Now if you want me to stand down, I guess you'll have to take me out." You state before leaving. You hear Wanda follow behind you, catching up as she holds your hand and arm. 

"That is probably the scariest couple with the powers they possess." You hear Tony say just before the two of you get out of hearing range.

As you two left the heated discussion behind, Wanda's hand in yours providing a grounding reassurance, a silent acknowledgment of the challenges you faced together. The weight of the impending decision pressed down on your shoulders, each step echoing the tumultuous thoughts swirling in your mind.

The two of you found solace in a quiet corner of the compound, away from the prying eyes and the cacophony of conflicting opinions. The moon cast a gentle glow over you as you turned to face Wanda, her eyes reflecting a mix of concern and determination.

"I can't believe they'd even suggest something like this," Wanda murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "To turn against our own, to put us in a position where we have to choose between our principles and our freedom."

"They're scared," you replied, gently squeezing her hand. "Scared of what we can do, scared of the power we wield. But we can't let fear dictate our choices. We need to stand up for what we believe is right, even if it means going against those we once called allies."

Wanda nodded, a quiet resolve settling over her features. "I won't let them take you, Y/N. No matter what they decide. We'll find a way to navigate through this mess together."

A mixture of gratitude and warmth enveloped you as you leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "And I won't let them take you either. We'll face whatever comes our way, side by side."

As the night stretched before you, uncertainty lingering in the air, the two of you stood united against the challenges that awaited you. The Avengers, once a symbol of unity, found themselves at a crossroads, and the choices we made in the days to come would shape the course of our future, both as individuals and as a team.

[class1akids]

Crowd-pleasing vs THE THEMES

Let's talk about about how Horikoshi brought back Bakugou for another crowd-pleaser moment and managed to destroy several character moments for dubious gains.

I'll start with Shoto.

As I said last week, Shoto's panel placing was odd and it looked like Horikoshi was hiding something. This chapter makes it clear that - as some have speculated - Shoto in that moment, lifted Izuku with his ice. Shoto was the endpoint of the Class A combo, the person who got Deku through the last leap.

The moment - if shown full, god forbid included with a DIALOGUE - would have been a nice and emotional callback to the iconic ice-platforms Shoto made at Kamino, or during Class A vs OFA, when he trapped Izuku in an ice pillar. Shoto is one of Izuku's closest friends - it really would have been nice for him to get something like Iida or Ochako - to parallel an earlier moment (here is an idea: get rid of the jarring US president moment that makes this page needlessly cluttered and put Shoto's ice there!)

But well, ok - if he left him off, that's because there is a twist right? We'll get a big TDDK moment, right? Or we get a finally a satisfying Origin Trio moment?? We'll get to know what was the point of the origins and rising and how it all comes together. Right?

Nope. What we get is Shoto being off-screen again (I'm not kidding you) for a "twist" or whatever, that doesn't even work as one. All these last chapters of holding off the TDDK moment was to reveal that Bakugou Katsuki who already had a huge team-up with Deku to save All Might that was good and satisfying, used Shoto's jump platform to reach Deku. (You didn't even need to hide the ice-platform for that!!)

I guess you could count it as a "recall" to the Class A combo scene in Dark Deku where Shoto and Katsuki work together to help Iida reach Deku or to the earlier Kamino rescue scene where Shoto's ice is the starting point of the rescue

But it really doesn't work when the visual is just this - Shoto gets a panel showing the size of an anthill, when he had Phosphor activated before and if it was gonna yet another ice move, it should have really been knocking on heaven's door and to boot, gets once again no lines and no scene neither with Deku nor with Bakugou in the end.

2. Well, if Horikoshi ruined Shoto's moment with Izuku it must have been for a fantastic, compelling team-up that had to be drawn exactly this way. Right?

The team-up in question is Deku punching through and Bakugou blowing up ShiraGiri's warp gate.

And Deku doesn't even stop and think, there is no internal conflict, there is no question about right or wrong. He went through Tomura's memories, so how much he cherished his friends, but not a single thought was spared about what ShiraGiri was trying to do.

Haha! Hilarious! So satisfying... FUCK THE THEMES!!! WOHOOOO!

3. Was any other dynamic destroyed?

Well, now that you asked, let me remind you that the Rooftop Trio whose dynamic and comeback was already shafted horribly was devolved to this:

Mic's emotional outburst over ShiraGiri's choice turns into wide-eyed Bakugou awe. Mic has no more emotions to spare for the tragic fate of ShiraGiri - what could ever take precedence over another layer of glaze for the main character, the inimitable, forever-winner-of-every-poll, Bakugou Katsuki?

It's a wonderful and logical character conclusion after all for the character who got twisted into an awful, insecure bully partly due to constant praise to share the spot of the most-praised character of the endgame with the toxic, outed family abuser, right? We must make loud and clear that there is a rEdEMptiOn aRC here in case some people missed it and they are so awesome because they are doing exactly what everyone else is. (I miss Bakugou who worked WITH Class A, who put on a tie to stand with them, who took out the trash quietly - that Bakugou was endgame material Bakugou. This current Bakugou to me feels blown out of proportion.).

4. At least we got a fantastic joke out of it. Right? Something new? A nuance and interesting moment between these two. Something special to be treasured by generations to come!

Well, ok. I guess cheritably it works like a recall to Ch 286. Maybe Shoto will catch Bakugou again. Strictly offscreen.

Don't worry. The crowd this scene was made for will be pleased. They have two weeks to gloat at the Ochako fans how Bakugou is the closest, bestest, amazingest, only-ever-important, special friend to Deku. Fuck the rest. They'll make hype, they'll tweet the tweets, blow up the trends and will successfully drown out the voices of the people who don't just focus on a single ship and care about the themes and dynamics and ask:

What happened to my MC?

What happened to the themes?

Btw, I'm not saying necessarily that Bakugou shouldn't have been back or he didn't deserve a moment. He did. He should have been part of Deku Rising last week as everyone else.

But looking at how Hori keeps fumbling the final arc, it's sadly fitting that instead of the chapter that raised Deku to his peak, Bakugou once again steals the spotlight in a chapter that wasn't about him and that tore down everything in a span of 15 pages that Izuku stood for as a main character.

I'd say I'll drop this manga, but it's too late. I'm still invested to see what happens with Touya and the Todoroki family, though after this chapter, my expectations are extremely low. All I can pray for is that Horikoshi doesn't assassinate Shoto's character as he did Deku's.

And maybe Deku is right and there was no other choice than to kill ShiraGiri (something Deku refused to do both to Muscular and Overhaul) and pulverize Tomura's body to ash while offering no words of comfort, but if Deku came to that decision, maybe the space wasted praising Bakugou could have been used for him to reflect on that, to grapple with the choice, to let us feel the sadness and weight of what he must do.

There is so much wrong with this chapter, with how Deku was written in the last part of the manga, with Shigaraki's "conclusion", with the AFO-overload, etc. This is just a small part of it. But I wrote it to show how much a badly placed scene can destroy several other important moments.

RIP THE THEMES. Crowd-pleaser won by KO.

[danothan]

i am female manipulating you….tell me about your hyperfixations and special interests…..

!! well my biggest hypfix rn is arcane and my most pressing special interest is dc, so i’ve been trying to find as many similarities as i can between my respective faves (aka jayce talis and barry allen). no other reason than self-indulgent crossovers and categorizational satisfaction U__U

i’ve done this before, but now i’m also adding a visual component by comparing screenshots/panels! here’s a taste:

[s2e1 spoilers below cut]

i was thinking abt what i said abt their compartmentalizing tendencies, which led me to think abt the different ways jayce confides in his loved ones and how that plays into his inability to see the bigger picture. after his partner viktor nearly dies in the councilroom attack, jayce confides in mel (gf) for emotional support but tells caitlyn (family friend) what he’s actually thinking. when mel asks how viktor’s doing and jayce responds “he’s still breathing,” it feels defeated but leaves room for hope. when cait asks the same, he tells her “honestly, i don’t even know if he’s still in there,” like there’s less stakes to have to hide behind optimism

that’s not to say he isn’t vulnerable w mel ofc, he lies his head in her lap and allows her to comfort him thru his survivor’s guilt. however, this only reassures his emotional unease (sm to be said abt this x his argument style, but that’s for another day). with cait, he’s definitely not confiding for comfort lmao (i still think it’s funny and so very little sister of her to ask jayce how his dying partner is doing and then immediately start venting abt her own problems). instead, it’s more like jayce is trying to process, even if it’s just to be honest w himself

all of this to say, the ppl in jayce’s life have specific roles, which means he goes to them for specific things. this is a normal thing that pretty much everyone does, but in jayce’s case, his compartmentalizing feeds into his tunnel vision + influenceable disposition. having specific ppl for specific things is great for not burdening any one person w all of your problems, but it makes it harder for him to see the bigger picture outside of himself. there’s a reason why jayce is notorious for his recency bias; it’s easy to get lost in the details when you can only see what’s being reflected at you in a given moment

this tendency to compartmentalize is a trait jayce shares w barry “i try not to blur the lines” allen. if anyone is going to have specific ppl for specific things, it’s gonna be the guy that splits his life into two personas (that he refuses to overlap yet can’t exist without the other, but hey, who’s keeping track?). barry does it a little differently tho; whereas jayce is very external in his emotions, barry is internal, going so far as to use his powers to speedrun his grief alone so he can be there for other ppl instead

they’re both very intense in their emotions, but barry bottles his up until they reach a boiling point. if he confides in someone, there’s a calculated secrecy that jayce doesn’t have. for example, barry’s best friend hal (who knew him first as the flash) usually has to force barry to admit his feelings abt smth, while his gf/wife iris (who knew him first as barry) feels like she’s pulling teeth to get any information out of him. “flash is flash, barry is barry”; he tries not to blur the lines, and this extends to the ppl that know him

it’s not that barry wants to hide himself (in fact, his love language is to understand and to be understood), he just has a hard time letting any one person know all of him. he’s social and sensitive but selectively vulnerable. it’s like he scatters fragments of himself so that everyone can have a piece, but no one has the full picture. it’s no surprise he isn’t able to see the big picture himself

between their compartmentalization, their short-sightedness, and their audacious idea of protecting their loved ones, i think the jayce-to-barry pipeline was inevitable for me lol. but interestingly enough, i never realized how different they were in their similarities until i wrote it all out here! i hope this makes sense if you aren’t familiar w the characters, it’s definitely been enlightening for me ^__^

[pareidoliaonthemove]

Another Pitch

Sequel to "The Pitch"

Scott sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. As if loosing Dad wasn’t hard enough. As if having to become a guardian to his underage brothers wasn’t hard enough. As if taking over the reigns of a multi-billion dollar corporate empire, when his dad had only just started showing him the ropes wasn’t hard enough.

No. Now here he was being buried by an avalanche of opportunistic pitches and deals, all looking to take advantage of his grief and inexperience.

He was working his way through them, albeit slowly, with the help of Grandma and Quinn Johnston, his fathers – and now his – PA of long standing.

Quinn had smiled sympathetically as she forwarded him five files first thing in the morning. “Let’s get some momentum going by knocking over some easy ones, shall we?” she’s said.

It had become the norm – five easy ones to start the day. Scott recognised the tactic. Start of with five (or some other arbitrarily chosen number) quick, easy tasks, and that way, when you got bogged down by the big stuff, you had still accomplished something that day.

Dad had liked the number five. One job done for each son.

Quinn had suggested three or four, but Scott stuck to his guns. Dad did five, so Scott would do five.

Everyone pointing out that his father had slowly worked his way up to the work load over years of developing the company went unheeded. As dis assertions that nobody would blame him for passing some down the line, but Scott was worried about missing something important, and letting his family – his father down.

He sighed again and hit play. The last of the five was an advertising pitch that the other company claimed was ‘a mutually beneficial partnership, increasing product brand awareness while raising Tracy Industries CEO’s public recognition and supporting the narrative of International Rescue’s suspended operations.’

The words made Scott feel sick.

That crack about his ‘public recognition’ was designed to make him feel insecure in his new role – not that he needed help with that. And as for the ‘narrative of International Rescue’s suspended operations”, well, that was an … interesting way of saying IR (otherwise known as the Tracy family) had been grief-stricken by the sudden death of the founder and father of the organisation and its operatives.

Scott privately thought ‘death’ was also euphemistic for what had actually happened to Jeff Tracy. ‘Annihilation’ or ‘vaporisation’, maybe even ‘atomisation’ better seemed to fit the bill of the fireball that Scott saw every time he closed his eyes.

Saving the world may have cost Jeff Tracy the ultimate price, but it seemed to Scott as if he was paying that prices’ interest.

Still, in about ten minutes the unsolicited pitch would just be a minor detail in another long day.

Scott jolted as his father’s voice boomed out of her speakers: “Five!” and the blank screen cut to a rough sketch of a space station that claimed to be Thunderbird Five. As the voice counted down – accompanied by “sketches” of the appropriately numbered Thunderbird – Scott realised it wasn’t his father’s voice at all, but a very good sound-alike. As the countdown reached “One” the visual cut to a so-so facsimile of Thunderbird One sat on her jet engines in a large hanger that couldn’t have looked less like her real silo if it had tried, which had Scott’s eyebrows reaching for the heavens.

“Thunderbirds are Go!” the faux-Jeff Tracy declaimed triumphantly.

Nothing happened on screen.

Scott leaned in, captivated despite himself.

“Thunderbirds are go!” It was insistent now.

The visual paused, and then switched to the product, enticingly displayed on a dainty china plate, it’s logo superimposed in the corner of the screen, and then the familiar extortion to “have a break”.

The camera pulled out, and Scott started to see a look alike of HIM, dressed in a mock-up of his IR uniform reclining in what must be ‘Thunderbird One’s cockpit, feet on the control panel, sipping a cup of – oh dear God – tea.

The advert finished with the faux-Jeff screaming over the radio “Go, Thunderbird! Go!”

There were several seconds of silence, and Scott started as Quinn gently touched his shoulder. He realised that he had been staring with his mouth hanging open.

“Are you okay, Scott?” she asked, gently. “I’m sorry, if I had the slightest idea what was in that video…”

“I – I’m okay, Quinn. Thanks,” he smiled, a bit sadly. “It just took me by surprise, you know.” He tapped his fingers on the desk absently. “That soundalike was very good.”

Quinn nodded sympathetically, as she retook her seat, then asked, “And the ‘Thunderbird One’?” Her voice was carefully casual, but Scott could hear the burning curiosity in her voice.

He smiled. Quinn was one of his father’s oldest and most trusted friends, she had known about International Rescue even before Scott had, but she had never even been to the Island, never seen the craft.

“Rather less convincing,” he replied.

Now that their cover had been broken, there was no reason Quinn couldn’t see the Thunderbirds, he thought. He’d talk to Grandma, John and Virgil, see what they thought. Kyrano, too, if he would accept Scott’s call.

Quinn’s next careful question broke his introspection. “And your answer to the sales pitch?”

Scott blew out a heavy breath. “Had better go through PR. How I feel about it won’t help ‘raise my public recognition’ in a positive way.”

Quinn nodded. “That’s good. Delegating things to people better equipped to handle them is the single most important thing you can do as a CEO. Just give me the main points, and I’ll get PR to write them up for your approval.”

Scott nodded and thought. “Dad never agreed to participate in third party advertising campaigns – authorising his likeness to be used for this would be disrespecting his known wishes.”

Quinn nodded as she typed. “And?”

“International Rescue is not ‘taking a break’ – we are on a stand down as we grief and restructure our operational protocols after the death of our father who is … was” the past tense was still hard to admit “our commander and lead operative.” Scott frowned as his considered his next words. “This is an unavoidable break in operations, and we feel this ad campaign would be disrespectful to the victims and their loved ones that we are not currently in a position to assist.”

Quinn nodded, even as she privately wondered what would happen when the boys inevitably needed to ‘take a break’, due to the demands of running a rescue operation, a multinational corporation and god-only-knew what other side projects they each worked on.

Scott paused again, clearly going over what he had said so far. He obviously thought there was something else to say, but either couldn't decide what it was, or couldn’t find the words to articulate it.

“May I make a suggestion?” Quinn asked. Scott nodded. “The product – a candy bar – is in direct opposition to several health and nutritional foundation and education plans that Tracy Industries and your father personally have championed and founded. This advertisement would be undermining that message.”

Scott nodded ascent and flashed her a grin that Quinn recognised from when he was a child -and she had snuck him and his brothers illicit candy under their parents not-so-completely oblivious noses.

Quinn typed. At the end of the paragraph, she looked up at Scott. “Anything to say about the bit about ‘raising your public profile’?” she asked.

Scott flushed. “Nothing that Grandma wouldn’t wash my mouth out with soap for saying,” he conceded.

Quinn snorted. The ‘retired’ doctor had a vocabulary that had frequently made Jeff and Lee – astronauts and combat fighter pilots both – blush, and had sent several hard-bitten special ops generals running for cover. Sally might have made threats for forms sake, but she doubted the older woman would be shocked by any profanity Scott could utter.

The same could not be said about a reverse situation. Sally Tracy had always been a shadow player in Tracy Industries power structure for a very good and compelling reason.

Quinn scanned the document she had produced. “I think we’re done with this one,” she announced, filing in the ‘To’ and ‘Subject’ fields before adding a note for the draft reply to be ready for Scott’s review first thing tomorrow morning.

A final check, and she hit send.

“Okay, Scott. That’s the five. Here’s your choice of the main problem of the day.”

A the mention of ‘five’, Scott sat up straighter, his gaze flicking to the row of framed photographs on the desk.

Four brothers. And his father.

The five people Scott was fighting this paperwork war for.

Notes:

Sigh. The sequel I never wanted to write, but Scott was really upset about the “slander” of the ‘Kit Kat’ advertisement, and wants everyone to know that he would never EVER prioritise personal downtime over an emergency call out. The idiot.

And I’m pinning this one squarely on @tikatu , it’s her fault for directing me to the advertisement in question.

The standard disclaimers, I do not own Thunderbirds, either the TOS or CGI Series. (Although I do own copies on DVD.)

Oh, and Kit Kats were DEFINITELY harmed in the making of this fic! (Although not with a cup of tea, REALLY Scotty: tea and chocolate?)

I do not do this for money, but for my own (in)sanity and entertainment.

[newx-menfan]

NYX #6 Review

*Spoilers!*

Kiddddeeeennn !!!

The issue starts with Kiden dancing in the rain while going to a “Dazzler concert”…(the scene is really GORGEOUS here!!)

Kiden is soliloquizing about people being a trap… (this is what being friends with Laura DOES to YOU lol)

Kamala is basically me at a concert… that was basically how I was when I recently went through security for Charli’s Sweat Tour…😬😂🤣 (I WISH I could be Anole 🤣🤣🤣🤣)

Does Sophie still have her powers when she says “Cuckoo”? (Idk, this plot point admittedly doesn’t make much sense to me…)

While walking through the venue (they should really be getting into the merch shop line-amateurs…), Kamala is worried she’s not taking the “no contact” with her sisters well…and apparently becoming addicted to video games…

Anole is basically eye-fucking everyone at the venue (GET IT VICTOR 🤣🤣!)

We get a sleight of hand from the writers- it’s NOT actually Kiden, but LOCAL, that Laura smells and is kind of fixating on! (sorry Kiden…you’re too good for Laura anyway!)

Local then shows up to basically hit on Laura/tell her to “stay out of his way”. (Playing hard to get- copied from the Hellion Playbook!)

The team FINALLY remembers the Mojo plot exists. (I get it… Hellion was WAY MORE exciting…)

Prodigy has of course the RIGHT reaction (“Oh Fuck” indeed!)…

Dante is promptly dent to the merch line while they deal with the baddie (finally- it’s 100% going to sell out of all the good items guys!) and Dante offers Sophie to come with and be in the “normie group”…she promptly declines…

Kiden narrates how Mojo has basically been taking homeless mutants and how she didn’t trust Mr. Friendly (and apparently DOES kind of think Laura is a shit friend too!)

The team springs into action while Sophie feels awkward on her secondary team with Anole (sorry Sophie!), while Local brakes into the sound booth.

Prodigy calls out Local and Co.’s evil plan to insert a subliminal message into the music to use Dazzlers fame to essentially get followers (so…TikTok?😂🤣)

Local argues that it’s the same as what they did at the protest (let’s not rehash that last issue, Local…) and that Mr. Friendly is the only one helping homeless mutants (which is TRUE- even BEFORE this event Xavier and Co. We’re terrible at helping the Morlocks…)

Laura talks sense into Local and Local admits to Laura that if he goes back Mojo, he will kill him…but sadly Mojo has already taken over Local’s body… (🥺)

Mojo works the crowd like a BOSS…while lamenting how generic this evil villain plot is (not your BEST work admittedly, Mojo)…

Kiden busts onto the scene to save the day and beats everyone (GO KIDEN!!) and decides to catch up with Laura…while they just…let Local escap? (But the CONCERT guys!!….Seriously though…I get it…I would probably turn the other cheek if I had TS tixs too lol)

Laura totally up and leaves with Kiden without saying goodbye to the rest of the group (AKA probably hooking up with Kiden😘😘!)

Back to the Local subplot…we see Mojo has apparently adopted parasocialism… (but has he read Mark Fischer???)

Review:

This issue was good- fun. Don’t have a lot of complaints.

I didn’t really LOVE the art- some panels, like the rain were gorgeous…some were a letdown…

Dante is still just kind of awkwardly there…but Anole is slightly better in this issue.

My biggest gripe is how NICE Kiden was to Laura and basically letting her AGAIN back into the fold despite Laura being a shitty friend (I felt similarly irritated with Jubes in X-terminators barely saying anything to Laura basically ignoring her for months) …but I feel like that’s potentially COMING in the NEXT ISSUE!

Theories:

Kiden is working for SOMEBODY… either the new Quiet Council or Mojo…and Laura just got kidnapped…

Her POV sounded way too bitter and Laura randomly disappearing, sounds like we are finally going to see someone TURN on LAURA…

I was kind of wondering if Lil Bro, Tatiana, or any of the others in the group are being held/controlled by Mojo…

It would 100% be HILARIOUS if Kiden, Synch, AND Hellions formed a group of basically “Laura’s EVIL EX’s” 😂🤣😈

[daryltwdixon]

The Heart of Us: Chapter 12

warnings!!! this chapter contains smut!!!

wanted to give it a try and see how everyone liked this, but I'm also thinking of taking it out and keeping it clean as usual. lmk your thoughts please!

Daryl

Daryl walks with Y/N along the wall of Alexandria into the early evening, the shadows of the massive steel panels stretching long across the ground. The quiet hum of the community buzzes faintly behind them— people chatting on their porches, working in the gardens, kids running around and dogs barking. The noise still feels weird, but between the two of them, it’s just asphalt under their boots as he tries to steady your breathing.

He feels her cast a glance at him, his shoulders hunched slightly, his crossbow slung lazily across his back. His hair falls in messy strands that catch the last bits of light as he trudges alongside her, every step radiating irritation. He can tell that she's not much better off—her hands flexing and curling into fists at her sides as if trying to physically wring out the tension still humming through your veins.

“You gonna tell me what the hell happened out there?” Daryl asks suddenly, his voice low and gravelly, cutting through the thick silence. His eyes dart to Y/N, sharp and searching.

She exhales heavily, her jaw tightening as she pushes your hair back from her face. “It was stupid,” she mutters, not quite meeting his gaze. “Aiden and Nicholas thought it’d be a good idea to tie up walkers. As some kind of... ritual. A ‘pregame,’ they called it. Then they lost control of one.”

His pace slows slightly, his head tilting as his expression darkens. “They what?”

“They tried to tie it up again,” she snaps, irritation lacing her voice. “And when it broke loose, the asshole practically threw it at me. Glenn backed me up,”

Daryl stops walking, turning to face her fully. His mouth opens as if to say something, but instead, his hands flex at his sides, his jaw working as he grinds his teeth. When he finally speaks, his voice is low, dangerous as he looks back in the direction they came from, “Should’ve broken their damn arms.”

She sighs, shaking her head. “It’s not worth it,” you say, though the words feel hollow. “I don’t want to deal with them. But... Glenn, Tara, Noah—they’re stuck with those idiots if I’m not there. I don’t want to leave them hanging.”

Daryl narrows his eyes at her, his irritation shifting to something sharper. “You think I care ‘bout them bein’ stuck with those pricks? I care ‘bout you, alright?” He takes a step closer, his voice rising slightly. “You almost got killed. That ain’t happenin’ again.”

Her lips press into a thin line, the annoyance bubbling back up. “Daryl—”

“No,” he cuts her off, shaking his head. “You ain’t goin’ out on those runs anymore. Not with them.”

She crosses her arms, glaring at him. “So what, I just sit here? Watch everyone else deal with their shit while I hide behind these walls?”

“You ain’t hidin’,” he growls, his gaze locking on hers. “You’re keepin’ alive.”

She exhales harshly, the fight in her dampened slightly by the look in his eyes. It’s not just anger—it’s fear, the kind that ties knots in stomachs. He doesn’t back down, though, his stance firm and unyielding. She rubs at the back of your neck, glancing at the ground. Maybe she's realizing she'd feel the same way if it happened to him.

“Fine,” she finally mutters reluctantly, “But you better believe I’m not happy about it.”

“Didn’t think ya would be,” he says, his voice softening just slightly. “But I ain’t losin’ you ‘cause of some damn fools who don’t know what they’re doin’.”

The silence stretches between them, heavy but not entirely uncomfortable. After a moment, Y/N glances toward the gate, then back at Daryl, “Let's go hunt.” she offers, and his eyes find you again, “Clear our heads–it felt good to be out there, despite everything.”

He nods, his lips twitching in what might’ve been the start of a smirk. “’Bout time.”

Together, they make your way to the gate. Sasha stands nearby, leaning against the wall with her rifle slung across her chest. She glances at the two of them, her expression sharp and unreadable, but she doesn’t say a word. Instead, she just gives a slight nod, her gaze lingering as they slip through the opening and into the woods beyond.

The quiet of the trees greets him like an old friend, the tension in his chest easing slightly as the forest wraps around them. Daryl walks ahead, his steps lighter now, more deliberate. She follows close behind, the sounds of Alexandria fading with every step, replaced by the rustle of leaves and the distant call of birds. For the first time since stepping back inside those walls, he starts to feel like himself again.

➳

The woods stretch out, quiet and still, as Daryl keeps his pace steady. The golden light from the setting sun filters through the canopy, dappling the ground in warm hues. The air feels different out here—cleaner, freer—and the irritation that had been simmering in his chest since the scene at the gate begins to fade, little by little. The crunch of leaves under his boots and the faint dampness in the air feel familiar, grounding, like slipping back into an old habit.

He glances over his shoulder, just to check. She’s there, walking a few steps behind him, her movements lighter, more measured now that the tension of Alexandria is behind her. The sight of her out here—away from those walls, those people—makes something in his chest ease. She belongs in the woods, same as him.

Daryl keeps moving, scanning the ground and the edges of the trees for any sign of game. It’s not just about the hunt—it’s about shaking off the day, the frustration still buzzing low in his blood.

“Y’think you’ll get anything?” she asks after a while, her voice soft enough not to disturb the quiet.

He doesn’t look back this time, his eyes sweeping the forest floor. “Dunno,” he mutters, keeping his tone low. “‘Least I ain’t stuck in there listenin’ to their bullshit.”

She huffs a quiet laugh, and he catches it, faint but sharp enough to pull at the corner of his mouth. His pace slows as he spots a clearing up ahead, and he veers toward it, scanning for signs of movement or fresh tracks.

The ground tells the story first. Daryl stops and crouches, his fingers brushing over a faint trail in the dirt. Hoofprints. He studies them, tracing the edges with his fingertips, feeling the soft crumble of the soil. Fresh. He frowns slightly, piecing together the direction and size as he gauges how far the deer might’ve gone. It’s a good trail—something to focus on, something to quiet the irritation still simmering low in his gut.

But then he glances up, and the thought disappears like smoke.

She’s leaning casually against a tree, her arms crossed over her chest, more comfortable than he’s seen her the past few days. Except she’s not wearing the flannel he’d made her throw on earlier—the one he’d pulled from her hips when she’d said goodbye to him before her run. No, now it’s just her damn tank top, damp from the heat of the evening and clinging in all the wrong—no, all the right—places.

His jaw tightens as his gaze flicks over her quickly, like he’s trying to look without actually looking. But it’s damn near impossible not to notice the way the sweat beads lightly on her collarbone, catching the fading sunlight. Or the way the fabric molds to her chest, perfectly outlining what he’s trying so hard not to think about. Braless. As fucking always.

She’d be the death of him.

Daryl curses under his breath, looking back down at the tracks like they’ve got the answer to his problems. They don’t. Not even close. He shifts his weight, adjusting his crossbow on his shoulder and trying to get a grip on himself.

“Find somethin’?” she asks softly from behind him, her voice cutting through the quiet and slicing through his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he mutters, not looking up this time. “Tracks. Fresh.” He stands, brushing his hand on his pants and glancing to the side, deliberately avoiding her gaze. But when she steps closer, right into his space, his breath catches despite himself. He should be used to this by now—the way she affects him so deeply, how just a little skin showing has his pulse hammering in his ears.

He can feel her eyes on him, curious and unbothered, like she doesn’t have the faintest idea what she’s doing to him just by standing there. His fingers twitch at his sides, his jaw tightening as he swallows hard, forcing himself to focus.

“You okay?” she asks, her tone dipping just slightly, and it sends a ripple through him he’s not prepared for.

“’M fine,” he grunts, his voice harsher than he means it to be. But he can’t help it—can’t help the way her presence makes his pulse race, the way the heat from her skin seems to reach him even though she’s not touching.

“You sure?” she presses, stepping even closer now, her brows furrowed slightly, like she’s trying to read his thoughts.

He doesn’t answer, just looks at her finally—really looks—and it’s a mistake. Her cheeks are flushed from the heat, a few strands of hair sticking to her neck. And that damn tank top. His eyes flicker down to her chest again, just for a second, and the sight sends a jolt through him, making his heart thunder and his body tighten in ways he can’t ignore.

“Ya shouldn’t’ve taken off that flannel,” he mutters, his voice rough and uneven as he looks away again, his ears burning.

She raises an eyebrow, and he can see the faint smirk pulling at her lips. “Why not? It’s hot.”

“Yeah, well,” he says, shifting uncomfortably, “you’re gonna get scratched up or somethin’. Ain’t safe.” He’s rambling now, and he knows it, but it’s better than admitting the real reason.

She doesn’t let him off that easy. “Pretty sure I’ll survive,” she teases, her voice soft but pointed, and she takes another step closer.

Daryl tenses, every muscle in his body coiling tight. She’s so damn close now, close enough that he can smell the faint salt of her sweat mixed with the woods around her. He clenches his fists at his sides, the effort of keeping his hands to himself almost painful.

“Y/N…” he growls low, a warning he doesn’t even know how to finish.

Her smirk widens, and she tilts her head, like she’s daring him to finish the thought. “What, Dixon?” she asks, her voice dipping into something that sends his restraint snapping like a twig underfoot.

He catches the glimmer of her wedding ring on her finger in the fading light peeking through the trees. His wife. His.

Without thinking, he stands and closes the gap between them, his hands finding her waist and pinning her back against the tree behind her. He makes sure to keep her head from ricocheting against the harsh bark, one hand cupping the back of her head as he leans her back. She lets out a soft gasp, her eyes going wide for a split second before they darken, her lips parting in a way that damn near ruins him.

“You,” he mutters, his voice rough as gravel, “You drive me fuckin’ crazy.”

Daryl’s hands then grip her waist tightly, his calloused fingers rough against the bare skin peeking out beneath her tank top. His body presses her firmly against the tree, chest pressing against his, and he feels her hardening nipples against the fabric of his shirt, making him groan against your lips as he catches them with his own. He’s near desperate and unrelenting– kissing Y/N like he’s been starving for it, even if he’d had her all to himself just yesterday. Her fingers tangle in his hair, pulling him closer, and a low, guttural sound rumbles in his throat. His hips press into hers, the hard line of him against her hips and stomach, causing her to gasp against his lips.

But as his lips trail down her neck, his stubble scraping against her soft and trembling skin, he hears her whimper, her voice coming out breathless, “Daryl... we can’t. Not out here.”

His head snaps up, and his eyes find hers, dark and almost feral, “Why the hell not?” he mutters, his voice low and gravelly as his thumb brushes her hip bone, dipping just under the waistband of her pants.

She glances around the woods, her breaths coming quick. “We’re out in the open,” she hisses, your voice wavering, his mouth returns to your neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin. “What if someone, what if walkers—”

“Then you better keep quiet,” he growls into her ear, his voice rough and commanding, and he feels her shiver against him.

Before she can even argue, his lips claim hers again, silencing whatever protest she might’ve had. His hands move with purpose, sliding under her tank top, fingers brushing over the bare skin that’s been driving him crazy all damn day. When he cups her breasts, his thumb and forefinger twisting hardened nipples, and a low groan escapes him. He kneads and grips at her, rough but deliberate, as if he’s been holding himself back for too long.

Her back arches into him, and her mouth parts instinctively, letting him push his tongue between her lips, exploring and tasting. Spearmint. The flavor hits him, sharp and unexpected—a change from the days on the road when brushing your teeth was a luxury. It’s new, fresh, and he ravages the taste of it as his hands keep working her, his rough palms skimming the soft, plump curves of her chest.

The way she presses into him, her body moving perfectly with his, sends heat rushing through him, and his lips move to her neck, his teeth scraping along your skin before his tongue soothes the marks. Her hands fall to his belt, fumbling with the buckle as his hips grind into hers, the rough bark of the tree biting into her back, only amplifying the heat of his body against hers.

His breath is hot against her collarbone, and he mutters, voice thick with want, “C’mon…” His hands slide lower, gripping the backs of Y/N's thighs and hoisting her up slightly. She clings to him, her legs tightening instinctively as he pins her more firmly against the tree. “Ain’t no one out here but us.”

Her head falls back, exposing more of her neck to him, and he takes full advantage, his mouth trailing lower. His teeth nipping just below her collarbone before his tongue sweeps over the skin, soothing the sting. Her breath hitches, and when she bites your lip to stifle a moan, it nearly undoes him.

“Daryl…” she groans, your fingers digging into his shoulders, her voice shaky and strained. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah,” he mutters into her skin, his lips quirking into a smirk as he pushes the tank top higher. It was the second time she'd said it to him today, and he was starting to think she might only be saying it to feign your reluctance. His mouth trails along the curve of her chest, taking a nipple between his lips, tongue lapping at the hard bud, leaving heat in its wake. “And you love it.”

She doesn't bother denying it, and he doesn’t need to hear it. The way her nails pull at his hair, scraping his scalp enough that the tug makes him groan, and the way she presses into him, needy and desperate, tell him everything he needs to know. 

Every touch, every kiss, snaps the tension between them like a live wire. His head comes back up, eyes wild as he looks at her, his breath ragged as he growls low in her ear, his voice dripping with arousal. “You gonna stay quiet for me,” he murmurs, his lips brushing the shell of her ear, “or do I need to remind you how?”

She whimpers, nodding frantically, her lips parting as she tries to catch her breath. The look on her face—needy, pleading—nearly makes him crumble, but he holds it together, driven by the way her body arches into him, asking—begging— for more. His pants fall to the forest floor, his rough hands letting go of her perfectly taut and heavy breasts to push her shorts down next. His hands move to her waistband, yanking her pants lower with a roughness that makes her gasp, his calloused fingers brushing her skin, leaving trails of heat that seem to burn right through her. He doesn’t bother with finesse, taking only one leg out of the pant legs before hoisting it up around his waist.

Daryl’s hand moves down, his thick fingers brushing against her slick center, and he groans, low and guttural, when he feels how wet she is for him. The sound comes from deep in his throat, more animal than man, and his head drops to her shoulder for a moment as he savors the feeling of her arousal coating his fingertips.

“All this fer me?” he rasps, his voice low and gravelly, barely audible through the heat and tension thrumming between them. His words are almost a growl, the disbelief and desire in his tone making her body tremble. She clings to him, panting as she nods, her nails biting into his shoulders now, silently pleading for more.

“Yes,” she whispers, her voice shaking, and the word pushes him closer to the edge of control.

He pulls his hand back, his fingers curling around himself, fisting a few times as his forehead presses against hers again. He lines himself up with her, the tip teasing at her entrance, and then he pushes in, slow and steady, letting out a ragged breath as he feels her take him in, inch by inch. Her head falls back against the tree, jaw slackening as a soft, stifled cry escapes her lips. The tight, wet heat of her around him nearly undoes him, and it takes everything in him not to lose himself right then.

“Fuck,” he mutters, his voice strained as his hands grip her hips, holding her steady. “You feel so fuckin’ good, girl.”

She bites your lip, her hands gripping tighter at his shoulders as he starts to move, his hips rolling into her slow and deliberate. The friction sends sparks through both of them, every thrust drawing a muffled gasp from her lips as her nails dig into him again. He fights the urge to speed up, to let go completely. He knows the woods aren’t safe enough for him to let her scream the way he loves to hear when they're alone, but it’s hard to hold back when she feels this good.

Daryl leans in, his lips brushing against her neck, his teeth grazing your skin. “Gotta keep quiet, remember?” he murmurs, his voice low and teasing as his hips grind against her a little harder, making her shudder against him. “Can’t have the dead hearin’ how good I’m makin’ ya feel.”

Her breath hitches, and she nods again, her thighs tightening around him as he thrusts into her deeper, harder now, his control fraying with every muffled sound she makes. His lips trail down to her collarbone, sucking and biting lightly, leaving marks he knows he'll see later. Marks that’ll remind everyone that she's his and no one else’s. His grip tightens on her hips, his fingers digging into her skin as he drives into her with a rough, deliberate rhythm, every thrust making her body press harder against the bark of the tree. His lips brush against the curve of her ear again, his voice a low, gravelly growl.

“Ain’t no one ever gonna touch you but me,” he mutters, her hair tickling his lips. He feels her clench around him at his hot breath against her skin, the words he growls, “Those fuckin’ pricks think they can control you, swing at you… they try anything like that again, I’ll break every damn bone in their bodies.”

He takes her soft earlobe between his teeth, his words laced with raw possession and need. “You hear me? You’re mine. Always been mine.”

Her nails dig into his shoulders, sharp enough to sting, but it only pushes him further. The way she clings to him, her breath coming in soft gasps against his neck, makes his chest tighten and his hips slam into her harder. The sound of her voice—breathless, desperate—is a damn drug, and he’s too far gone to hold back.

“They don’t get to touch what’s mine,” he growls, his lips now traveling down her jaw, “Don’t even get to fuckin’ think about it.” His words come out rough, thick with everything he’s feeling—anger, possession, need.

He pulls back just enough to look at her, his forehead pressed against hers, his breath coming in short, hot bursts. Her eyes meet his, hooded and hazy with arousal, and it drives him insane, “I’ll make sure they never forget it.”

He slams into her harder, his hands rough as he holds her hips, his lips crashing into hers again. It’s messy and all-consuming, and his words keep tumbling out between ragged breaths and kisses.

The way she shudders against him, the way she whimpers in response, almost brings him to the edge once again, but he's not done. His hands grip her even tighter, his thumbs pressing into her skin hard enough that he knows it’ll leave marks. The thought of it—his marks on you, his claim—elicits another growl from his chest.

Her lips part, and the sound of his name falls from her mouth like a prayer. “I’m yours, Daryl,” she pants, hanging onto him with desperation. “All yours.”

She cling to him, your her arching as he can feel her nearing close and closer to her finish. His growls mix with her muffled cries, the two of them moving together in a rhythm that feels as natural as breathing.

“My wife ,” he breathes, his voice breaking, and he presses his lips to hers again, rough and hungry. She's his, and he’ll do anything—hurt, kill anyone—to keep it that way.

His hand slides down to the back of her knee, lifting her higher, adjusting the angle just enough to make her gasp sharply into his mouth. He takes advantage of the sound, swallowing it with another deep kiss as he thrusts into her harder, deeper. The friction between them is electric, every roll of his hips drawing a muffled cry from her lips that makes him burn hotter.

“That’s right, baby,” he mutters against her lips, his voice rough and raw as his hips snap into her again. “Take it. Take all of me.”

She clings tighter to him, her body arching and moving with his in perfect rhythm, every inch of her responding to him like she was made for this—made for him. The tension in his gut builds sharp and fast, coiling tighter with every muffled sound she makes, every time her nails rake over his skin.

Her thighs tighten around him, and he knows she's close, feels it in the way her body shakes and clenches around him. He buries his face in her neck, his lips dragging along her skin, his breath hot and uneven.

“C’mon,” he growls into her ear, his voice breaking as he thrusts harder, faster, losing himself completely. “Cum with me. Let me feel you, baby. Let me fuckin’ feel it.”

Y/N's body responds, tensing and arching into him as she cries out his name, her release hitting her hard. He clamps a hand over her mouth to muffle the cries, but he can hardly control himself. The way she flutters around him, the way her nails dig into him as she falls apart, is all it takes to send him over the edge. His hips stutter, and he buries himself deep one last time, his own release crashing through him like a tidal wave.

He groans low in her ear, his arms wrapping tightly around her as he holds her against the tree, both of them shaking and breathless. For a moment, the world is quiet except for the sound of her ragged breathing and the steady thrum of his heartbeat pounding in his chest. His forehead presses against hers again, his eyes slipping shut.

“You good?” he murmurs, his voice hoarse, his hands still gripping her thighs, letting both of them catch their breath together, intertwined in more ways than one.

She nods, fingers brushing lightly through his damp hair, and he lets out a breathy laugh, rough and low in his chest. “M’sorry,” he breathes, his lips ghosting over your skin as he opens his eyes. “Get a little…”

“I loved it,” she chuckles softly, cutting him off, her voice filled with warmth. “I’m yours. I love you.” Her breath wafts over his face, and his eyes darken at the admission, as if it’s the first time he’s hearing it. “But you know I can handle those pricks, don’t ya?”

His lips twitch, curving into a faint smile as he gently sets her back down, his hands steadying until her legs find balance. He lingers, his thumb brushing her waist before he lets go, watching as she readjusts her clothes. “Yeah,” he says finally, tugging his pants back up and fastening them. “But I ain’t gonna stand and watch ‘em try to throw punches at you, neither.”

She huffs out a soft laugh, grabbing the flannel she'd tossed aside earlier and shrugging it back on. As she buttons it, his fingers catch her chin, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. The lazy, hooded smile on her face makes his heart skip, and the heat in her eyes stirs a flicker of something that hasn’t quite settled yet.

His lips brush hers again, this time soft and unhurried, savoring the moment, drawing it out. When he pulls back, his rough fingers linger on her jaw for just a second longer than necessary. “‘nd I love ya too,” he murmurs, his voice soft but firm.

Releasing her face, he steps back and adjusts his crossbow back onto his shoulder. “Now,” he says, the familiar gruffness returning to his tone, “let’s find dinner.”

She smirks, smoothing down her flannel as she glances around the quiet woods. “Sure we didn’t scare it off?”

He huffs out a dry laugh, the corner of his mouth twitching. “If we did,” he mutters, his eyes trailing over her one last time, “reckon it was worth it.”

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Grey 69

First / Previous / Next

Immediately after they vanished, Fen could sense that the ship was moving. She didn't feel it, not exactly. What she was doing wasn't feeling, she had no body. It was more like she... perceived that there was motion. She reached out to try and figure out what was going on, but Gord and Chloe had locked her out of the sensor suite. She was effectively sitting in her "room" waiting for them two tell her what was going on.

It was always like this. First when Ma had an idea, then when she was Empress, and now as a consciousness running in emulation. Everyone else decides for her. Everyone else figures out what to do. "Just sit tight Fen" they'd say "we got this" they'd say, and what did that get her? A bunch of Nanites in her body telling her what to do, an entire Empire telling her what to do, and now some AIs telling her what to do. When was she going to get to decide what to to?

Fen ruminated for a couple of minutes as she perceived the ship rock and buck under the attack. She sighed, and virtually stood up. The only way to get agency was to take it. Gord and Chloe were busy and had left her unattended. She was locked out of ship controls, but they hadn't bothered to lock her out of everything. She could see the reactor, the environment systems, her own cabinet... the pressure suits... and the link backpacks that Gord had used. Hmm. Fen stood over her own broken body in the hibernation cabinet. The cab had started repairs, but she was reading the readout and while she wasn't a medical professional, there was a lot of red on the panel. More than she thought was good. Still...

"Ancestors, this is going to suck." She said to herself, and began the wake procedure.

****

"No response from Gord's ship or Home, Empress!" Zhe said, reading a report on her pad. "They are ignoring us."

"Well, then it's time we get their attention another way." Empress Penelope said. "Weapons! Target Gord's ship. Shoot to damage, not destory."

"Yes, Empress." The weapons officer hunched over his station, and there was a thump from deep within the Dreadnought.

Penny sighed internally. Ever since Fen disappeared and the K'laxi declared independence, things have been moving at lightning speed. Penny had declared herself Empress after the K'laxi said that Fen was "no longer Empress," whatever that meant. She had a icy pit in her stomach at the implications. But someone had to pick up the pieces and try and hold things together. If the Empire fell apart all at one there would be dozens of wars on hundreds of fronts, all vying for the power that Fen left. For now, Penny concentrated at the task at hand. The AIs knew something about what was going on, and weren't saying.

"No reply from Gord's ship, Empress. Further, Home has begun to turn. We don't know if they're turning to fire, or turning to leave."

"Full sensor suite on Home then. If they link away, track them. If you see weapons powering up, we link away. Comms!" Penny snapped. "Full spectrum blast. Let me know when the channel is open."

"Mic is hot, Empress."

"Attention Home and all AI ships within a few minutes of my voice. I am Interim Empress Penelope. With Empress Fen's disappearance I am in charge of the Human Empire. We know you have information on what is going on with the K'laxi, and we hope you have information on the Empress. We are demanding your assistance in discovering what happened."

The reply came back a minute later, filled with static. "Typical humans, shooting first and asking for help second. It was a mistake for Gord to take Home here, it was a mistake to think we could work with you again. If you continue to fire upon our ships, it will be taken as the aggressive act it is, and we will return fire." The line went silent, only the background hiss of interstellar space still audible.

Penny nodded to herself. "So be it then. Prepare to capture Gord's ship. We will ask him personally what is going on."

"Empress!" The command crew began bustling at their stations, and Zhe looked over at Penny.

"Do they really know what happend to Fen?" Zhe asked.

"They must. We know they were following her expeditionary trip to the white hole. We also know that none of those ships came back, except for Gord's. I don't think he destroyed the entire force, but I sure would like to know what he saw."

"Why isn't he saying though? We asked before shooting, he could have just told us."

Penny shook her head. "I can't think of any good reason why he'd ignore our ask. I just hope Fen is captured. If she's dead, we need the body to have the funeral, and set up the new lines of succession. There are already competitors to the throne, it's going to be messy if Fen's gone."

"And the Nanites?"

Penny snorted. "They're the least of our worries now. We need to worry about survival. Between the AIs, the K'laxi, and the other humans, there are more than enough threats to us to worry about those things. Fen said they were advising her and gave her the Voice, but we don't need those to rule. We did it fine for millennia before, we can do it again."

****

Fen was hot. And cold. And aching. And burning. And stinging. All her senses were confused. She blinked her eyes, and they were crusted over, painful. She reached up to rub her eyes, and felt the tug of cables and wires. Pushing with her hands, she sat up and the world spun. Fighting against retching, she rolled out of the hibernation cabinet and fell to the deck. Ugh, this was worse than she thought. The cabinet had warned against an emergency wake, but she didn't have time to let it wake her slowly. Shaky and unsteady, she stood up, the cables connecting her to the cabinet popping like wine corks as they pulled them out. When the back of her neck felt wet, she put her hand back there, and it came back slicked with blood. "Uh oh, that's not good," she thought and had a moment marveling at her calm. "This is real bad, I should be freaking out." she thought.

"Hey, Nanites? Either the OG, or Han'iels? You there?" She thought. No reply. Maybe they were gone for good, and she was filled with the anti-nanite virus. Her whole plan - ad hoc as it was - relied on that being true. She rubbed her eyes, and scraped the crust away, as her head throbbed and stars filled her vision. She grasped the side of the hibernation cabinet to steady herself and began to realize she was in no condition to walk around, let alone escape.

Just then, the pressure suit she called for walked in. It was a model she wasn't familiar with, but it was an emergency suit, so it was designed to be simple to use. It was safety yellow, with a beacon on the top of the helmet and shoulders, and RESCUE written in contrasting letters on her arms and legs. She stumbled towards it, and it spun around, the back opening like a flower. One leg, then the other, then an arm, and the other and as she squeezed the connections with her hand, the irised shut. The suit readout was projected into her vision. Suit diagnostics, and a medical report. There was a lot of red. The suit queried her: UNABLE TO REPAIR. EASE PAIN?

"No" Fen croaked. "I can't be floating now. I'll deal with it. Assist with locomotion."

CONFIRMED. LOCOMOTION ASSIST ACTIVATED.

Fen found she had to only think about walking and the suit did the work. She made her way out of the room, towards the locker where she saw Gord's linking backpacks.

"Fen! What are you doing? You're not supposed to be in your body, you're too injured!" Chloe's voice came over the suit comm to her. She had the decency to sound worried, while also sounding distracted.

"I'm tired of decisions being made for me." Fen said. "I'm making my own choices from now on."

"But where are you going? You can barely move, let alone escape. Get back to your room, we'll put you back into the cabinet and you can heal."

"No, Chloe." Fen paused and had a hacking coughing fit. Her lungs ached at the effort to speak, and her voice was raspy. "No. I'm doing this myself."

Fen muted the suit radio, but she knew that Chloe or Gord could probably override the suit. It didn't matter though, because she had reached the lockers. The ship had told here where to go, and helpfully pointed out which backpack Gord had used. "Put it on." She told the suit, and it moved to shrug on the backpack.

Gasping against the pain of the motion, and her vision going grey for a moment, the suit moved entirely too fast for her comfort level and put the backpack on. As it touched the back of her suit, a new overlay entered her vision. Fortunately, the backpack was recharged. Two links available. Fen frantically scrolled through the logs. "It has to be here, it just has to." she whispered. Eventually, she found it. The address Gord had linked to when he grabbed her.

"Ancestors, this is going to suck even more." She said out loud and activated the link.

[pythi-the-drawing-writer]

Welp here we are I guess... @nitpickrider requests a sacrifice of a penny's worth of thoughts and the appropriate amount of digital ink spilled in exchange for the knowledge I have been gifted and who am I to turn down a fair trade. So come one come all to witness my first full effort into the world of Comic Books and without further ado

Let's Talk About:

Giant-Size X-Men; Issue #1

This is... not at all gonna be structured, I'm just gonna ramble off with some summaries, thoughts and pictures soooooooooo.

We're starting off with individual introductory bits to various X-Men. First with Kurt Wagner chased around town by a fairly classic angry mob, pitchforks, torches and the like. The chase leads to them burning down a whole building to try and kill him and in response he stops running and well

Leaps right into the mob, ready to brawl for his life. Which... Might be something to note later. He's got the superior movement, he could probably just run far enough out of town to the point they won't bother chasing him. But instead when reason fails he leaps straight in. Is it recklessness, adrenaline, an attempt to die on his own terms maybe? Once again might be something to note.

But anyways, the fight goes on and Kurt is pinned, the civilians full on plan on using a stake on him like he's some kind of vampire which... Maybe got a morbid chuckle out of me. Although they are quickly halted through psychic power by Charles Xavier. And this is a small bit that very quickly caught my attention

This tiny part of the exchange just kinda hits me as someone who has a few disabilities under my belt. The very first question of "can you help me be normal" is.... Far too familiar to me personally. And Charles quick response essentially being "look at what 'normal' people do to people like us, would you truly want to be like them?" And then of course followed by that conviction of "then how do I be Me" it's just... Something that's very familiar and really really caught my eye. And maybe I wanna bring some attention to that too.

But next up we move on to Wolverine, comic doesn't even tell us his actual name, just Wolverine. This one's honestly fairly straightforward. Xavier just shows up to the secret military base they have Wolverine stashed away in and says "hey wanna join me where you can be free?" "Sounds cool sure" but there's two details that caught my attention, and I'm a sucker for details

Wolverine uses his claws on the guy that tries to stop him from leaving, however no cuts are made. If you look you see he used the back of his claws, the blunt side. Which is a really cool detail to me and it just makes sense. Dude knows his way around these claws and this one panel and detail is a swift little demonstration.

And the other

Xavier is obviously moving, there's motion lines and everything. But his hands are still on the arm rests and obviously no one's pushing him. So he just uses psychic powers to push his chair around I guess. And I think that's pretty cool.

Next up The Banshee, no real name given yet again.

And here it is

I'm not even kidding. It's just these two panels. Not even half a page which is just humorous to me.

Next up is Ororo. This one's interesting because it's something I probably wouldn't at all think of but it makes so much sense. In her homeland Ororo is Revered as a literal god

And it makes sense, with total control over the weather itself what could you call an ability like that other than godlike. And for her we get to see that on display in full force, lighting, wind and rain crashing down as she commands so effortlessly yet with tremendous force. And then... Xavier makes an offer

And once again my eye was immediately caught. I think a lot of us can relate to the whole escapism of fantasy and all. Hell it's part of why people would read comics like these after all. And it's especially appealing for people who just aren't "normal" the fantasy of a world where not being "normal" puts you above everyone else, makes you important, makes you loved. And this little exchange is such a simple and efficient comment on that, the fantasy is captivating but limiting and it can blind you to the wonder of the world that truly exists.

Next up is Shiro Yoshida... Who's also only 2 panels long. Nothing really special here other than he's the first one so far who we learn both the real name and the superhero name, Sunfire, immediately.

Next up is Peter Rasputin and tbh the first thing I have to say is damn what a look

I adore the way they draw his metallic body like this, the harsh white light reflecting off of it, contrasted by the equally harsh shadow where the light doesn't quite reach. Just damn.

But anyways for the recap. Peter's working on a farm near lake Baikal in Russia (btw I accidentally went down a whole rabbit hole on that lake a bit ago, it's a weird ass place). A runaway tractor threatens to flatten a child playing in the field and he runs in front of it, the tractor smashing into pieces against his seemingly indestructible body. Xavier of course shows up and makes the same offer he always does. But this time Peter decides to ask his parents what he should do, his heart tells him to stay on the farm but his conscience says that he needs to go. And this has very quickly endeared me to his character. Sure others have already had more interesting little relatable or thought provoking moments but something about Peter's short bit just speaks to me.

And finally for our introductions, John Proudstar.

There's really nothing special to comment on here. Tbh I'm not even sure what John's mutant power is supposed to be ^^; sooo yeah... But this marks the end of chapter one

Chapter 2 will be it's own post because I'm hitting the image limit oops