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walkingstackofbooks · 7 months ago

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I was thinking last night about how it would have affected Julian if he'd arrived a few seconds too late to that Cargo Bay in Hard Time and Miles had died in front of him (because that's always a fun (distressing) scene to imagine 👀) and that kind of spiralled into a whole canon-divergent 'verse...

Because then I got to The Quickening, and while I don't think Kira and Dax would have let a more emotionally-vulnerable Julian actually stay on the planet by himself for that whole time, if they did (or if he refused to beam up/ threw away his badge so they couldn't find him/ idk otherwise made it so they had to leave him) (because if anything he's going to be even MORE convinced he has to save every life he possibly can) it would obviously be even more devastating.

And I can imagine that, after all that time that Julian has spent with Ekoria and looking after her, Trevean might ask if Julian's going to take her baby or leave him to be raised on Teplan. In the canon universe Julian's obviously like *nervous laughter* "no I think he'll be better off with you... I could not raise a child" but in this 'verse he's entered his Feeling-All-The-Loneliness-Feels phase early and so is like "fuck I can't raise a kid but also I Literally Cannot Leave This Child It Would Kill Me" and so he takes Ekoria's baby back to DS9.

He takes his kid to the medical conference he goes to with Jake which, valid, but then they get the distress call from Ajilon Prime* and he's like "I can't take my baby to a warzone" and Jake's like "I'll look after him, it sounds like these people need you" and Julian's pretty torn but also he does Need To Save People so they go and, uh. Like I think reactions are pretty mixed about the baby but Julian is literally a Lifesaver so no-one's gonna complain too much and some of the patients want to hold Maris (the kid's called Maris after Ekoria's husband I decided) and it's sweet, y'know, to have a moment outside of the war and pain with this tiny lil bab.

[*Umm yeah this was just me jumping to the most fun (traumatic) events to imagine as I tried to go to sleep so forgive me but...]

Obviously Jake doesn't go off to the runabout with the kid so he still gets lost and when he returns Julian's cradling the baby and idk but my heart just imagining the scene where Julian's like "I should never have brought you here, what was I thinking?" is just MORE with him having his own son there too.

And then we skip to IPS/BIL and Julian's in the prison camp not knowing if his baby is alive and then coming back to realise the changeling has been parenting his son for a month (and having to run multiple test on Maris to check if his baby is actually his or if Maris is a changeling too) and also no-one even noticed he was missing even though apparently his kid had been crying like all the time (and fuck, how fucked up is that going to leave Maris because that sort of thing affects kids when it happens that young, right? anxietyyyy)

(also Miles would have noticed I wasn't me, Julian thinks. because he needs more reasons to feel sad.)

And then DBIP in this 'verse makes me UNHINGED because IMAGINE a Julian Bashir who hit his depression point a season earlier but has been teetering along okay since Maris came along now that he has this whole little life to look after and he will do Anything for his child. (okay apart from stay away from warzones when there are people to save but you know. basically anything)

Anyway yeah so Julian's got Maris with him in Sisko's office when Jadzia turns up with his parents and he is FAR less able to cope than canon Julian is because 1. more emotional instability, but mostly 2. he is a Dad with a Kid and NOPE he cannot have his parents anywhere near his baby that is Not Happening.

He has his oh, my god moment and then hands Maris to Sisko being like "Your grandson is lovely, Commander" and Ben and Jadzia are like ??? but play along and Julian finds some quarters for his parents and by the time they've got there with all the small talk of "hah, for a second there I thought you'd be telling us we have grandkids! when are you going to settle down with a nice girl, Jules?" he's ready to burst but his kid's still with Sisko so he just excuses himself with "I've got to work" and hurries back...

Dax and Sisko totally haven't been gossiping about him and they're all like "So what was that about? Grandson??" and he's like "You saw how they kept calling me Jules, right? I haven't gone by that name since I was 15. And my dad saying he had to convince me to do medicine?? He hated the idea of me being a doctor. I had to study for Starfleet in secret because he just couldn't let go of the idea of his son being a famous tennis player. And now he's convinced himself my career was all his idea!" and is getting angrier and sadder and Maris starts crying and so he's hushing him like "it's okay, i'm sorry, i'm not angry with you, i love you, you're safe, i'm not going to hurt you" -- just idle things he's not really thinking about

Ofc Sisko and Dax are immediately on it like, "Why are you saying that? Did your parents hurt you...?"

And Julian's like a deer in the headlights, and awkwardly replying, "Not, like... My father didn't get as angry with me once I was seven and had grown up a bit, got more capable.. and I hit my growth spurt when I was 14, I got bigger than him, he didn't really do anything after that."

"That's not really an answer," Sisko tells him.

Julian's body stills for a moment. "Isn't it?" he replies quietly, looking up at the captain.

...

And then Sisko gets Kira involved to kick his parents off the station and you think the augment reveal isn't going to happen because Julian deserves a break and his parents are gone and can't fuck it up anymore ...

BUT, nah: Zimmerman - realising he's not going to get his precious interviews after all - decides to bug Julian's parents (because what's privacy when you have a job to do?). And then Rom realises that Zimmerman is cocking up a load of things on the LMH deliberately because he doesn't want to replace the EMH* and looks into Zimmerman's files and finds the report he's going to send and blackmails the guy* (there's gotta be a rule of acquisition about that right?) into not sending the report.

[*Not my idea -- this was the original plan for the episode, though with Miles, not Rom.]

Also after all this Julian really feels like he needs to punch something he goes to Quark's to viciously hurl sharp pointy objects at a board because that's the next best thing -- but also he hasn't exactly done that since Miles, and why is the fucking dartboard still up anyway it's not like anyone else ever uses it so he has another minor breakdown over that and tries to rip it down until Leeta drags him into a storeroom.

(oh yeah I totally think Leeta would have broken up with him when he turned up with a baby -- like not in a mean way, just in a "I'm sorry Julian, I love you, but I'm not ready for a kid (and also you did just leave me for a month without sending a message and you definitely didn't think about me before agreeing to adopt the kid, did you?)" kind of way, y'know? but they're still friends and she still definitely cares for him.)

(idk when rom tells Julian what he did to zimmerman but when he does he's also awkwardly like "oh and I wish you and Leeta all the best" and Julian's like ???? and Rom's like "I saw you with her in the storeroom earlier. she called you sweetheart" or something and has assumed they're back together.)

And that's as far as I got but I just had to write it up so far because it has haunted me all day and I just need to get it out there.

Thanks for reading my stream of thoughts 💔

#Julian Bashir #genetically enhanced Julian Bashir #andi writes #sorry miles and keiko and like everyone else #i'm sure miles dying would have a lot of other effects #but i'm all about piling the trauma on our boy you know me 😅#also i /was/ thinking this as i went to sleep and don't know many episodes in order unless they're julian ones :P #my trek musings #fic ideas #wsb

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victoria-rue · 2 years ago

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victoria-rue's Recommendation Masterlist

I was tired of play hide 'n seek with old stories in my likes. So I'm just going to leave them here so I can find them better and so other people can find them easier too ♥︎

Recommendation Masterlist part 1, part 2, part 3, & part 4

Stranger Things

Eddie Munson

Beth by @farfromharry

Eddie’s trying to navigate adulthood after a baby is dropped on him from a prior hookup. He tries his best for the baby girl and does well, things are made even easier with the help of his friends around him. When he meets you his life flips again, and although it takes a while to admit your feelings, he eventually ends up with a family he never expected he would have.

june baby by @luveline

you're a single mom living three trailers down. eddie thinks you're the prettiest girl he's ever seen. queue smiley face oatmeal, grossly misused power tools, desserts on the living room floor, a haircut, and an abundance of nerd metaphors

the pain of letting you go by @strangermarvelss

you've separated from your husband, eddie, but aren't looking to rebound anytime soon. but he is

Penny 'Verse by @queenimmadolla

having found a family in your friends, Hawkins is no longer a sinkhole to you, so when you and Eddie discover you’re expecting, letting all your other plans go in favor of starting a family isn’t all that difficult.

Billy Hargrove

18 by @perpetuelledaydreaming

Billy Hargrove needs a Queen and you need someone to help you get out of the hellhole that you are currently in as you move to Hawkins. It should be an easy and obvious solution, right?

the hurt is good by @bookshelf-dust

Steddie

Good Neighbors (Steddie X Reader) (Book One) by @justmeinadaze

You move into a new apartment complex with you six year old son while going through a divorce. You meet your sexy neighbors Steve and Eddie who are adorable with your kiddo and both care a lot about you.

We're A Family (Book Two) by @justmeinadaze

Steve, Eddie, reader, and her son are now all under one roof taking things one day at a time with their taboo little family.

Marvel

Steve Rogers

the send-off by @earth616variant

Being his best friend and assistant, Howard Stark asked you to be the first one to be tested on his time machine project. After some unexpected errors, you ended up stuck in the modern times of the 21st century. Where you meet the man you thought died years ago: Steve Rogers.

Peter Parker

Infinitely You by @spider-stark

In every universe you are the one person Peter Parker will always love more than anything; unfortunately, he always realizes it too late. Now that they've been granted a second chance none of them are willing to miss out on finally making things right.

Barbie

Ken

Kenough for you by @frost-queen

This Isn't Barbie Land by @guppydoll

You are working away as a waitress at a night club when the oddest man came up to you after your shift and accidentally swept you off your feet. Yet you don't know if you are ready for another relationship after the disaster that was your last one. You just hope everything goes nice and easy. Ken is your doll and he wants you to teach him how to be human and help you through the pain you've been feeling.

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Pure-Blood Potter by @fanfics4all

Are You With Me? by @sourstilinski

Y/N is a Slytherin muggle born. She’s used to her house ostracizing her due to her blood status and her friendship with the Golden Trio, especially Draco Malfoy. But during their fifth year, they discover they might need each other more than they think

Bill Weasley

long hair & tattoos by @wisteria-blooms

You, (Y/N) Malfoy, despise your family’s views on blood purity. Unlike your little brother Draco, you won’t be roped into marrying for status. However, when your father, Lucius, puts down an ultimatum, you’re forced to find a lover for next week’s dinner. With his long hair, tattoos, piercings, and your father’s worst nightmare reincarnated in a man, who better to bring than a much older Bill Weasley? What should’ve been one night of deceit turns to a battle of charades and wits. Just who will crumble first: your family, Bill, or you?

James Potter

𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 by @astonishment

James plans on proposing to Lily. Trying to calm his nerves, he goes for a walk in the woods, then somehow finds himself in the land of the dead, engaged to Y/N, the corpse bride. With his friends and girlfriend looking for him, can James make it back to the land of the living? Does he even want to?

Regulus Black

Manipulating Death: Season One by @morganalatina21

When Harry discovers he has a twin sister that was hiding for years, he wants to know all about her, specially about her ability to bring people back to life.

Second Son by @cherryslyce

Forbidden from contacting Harry over the summer, you opt to explore the eerie halls of Grimmauld Place where you stumble upon a lonely portrait of the House's second son.

Tom Riddle

Challenging fate by @lovebeinaprincessworld

There were a lot of unexpected things happening the day of the Battle of Hogwarts. Being send back into the past to change the course of history was definitely one of them.

Young Sheldon / The Big Bang Theory

Georgie Cooper

Texas Romance by @countrymusiclover

Y/n is Missy's high school friend, even though the Cooper girl is only in elementary school. She spends a lot of time at the Cooper house and learns what living with Sheldon was like. Through her years of high school, she realized that she's crushing on the eldest football playing brother Georgie. He's reckless and does things his mom doesn't approve of so Y/n questions herself of how she is falling for him. The two have to figure out if they can actually be a couple or not and deal with Missy's teasing.

The Texas Tire Family by @countrymusiclover

10 years after George Sr passed away Georgie and Y/n have to adjust to being the adults of the family. But when Sheldon reunites with the pair he needs them to come to his wedding, except Georgie tells him no. Dealing with two ten year olds and a secret they never expected to hear Sheldon was getting married.

Avatar

Jake Sully

Si fpom by @fluloa

You're dead to me by @chaethewriter

In which Jake Sully leaves his life on earth to settle down with the Omatikaya people as Toruk Makto. Having a family that consists of four kids with Neytiri, everything seems to work out just fine, but what if the past comes back for him? And his babygirl is right there in front of him?

folklore masterlist ✩ jake sully by @theseuscmander

widowed jake sully tries his hardest to heal from the loss of neytiri and you’re there to pick up the pieces and mend him back together, even if neither of you wanted to or realized.

Hoodie by @midnightsapphire

you thought jake was the one, now you’re grasping straws at what was.. and what could have been

I See You by @heirtothekingdom (now only on Ao3)

You observe the mighty warrior, the famed Toruk Makto, struggling to adjust to his new life in the Metkayina clan. The gentle whisperings of Eywa push you past your comfort to reach out a helping hand, to ease Jake Sully in the only way you can.

Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyo'itan

i want to see mama too by @dreamingofpandora

seven years ago, you had died alongside grace while trying to protect pandora. a few months after your death it was discovered that you were pregnant; leaving tsu'tey to raise your son vu'ran without you. but, things start to get strange when vu'ran is certain he saw you move.

Miles Quaritch

Ma Miles by @mechformers

When your son is taken, left behind by your Toruk Makto, you desperately go on the hunt for your boy. Knowing who took him, knowing that nothing good awaits him, you search high and low through the battlefield of Pandora, praying that Eywa will guide your way.

What Do I Tell My Friends Family by @plzfeedmebread

No More Than a Memory by @chaoticlicense

Miles isn't the same man as his human counterpart. The mistakes of the past are not his own. Neither are the feelings he has for a woman he's never met but remembers as though he has. In another life, you were everything to him. His light, his life, the one who brought a little joy to his dreary world. But you made your choice just as he made his. You both know that neither of you can change the past but maybe, just maybe, you can forge a new future…

Avatar: The New Mission by @milknhonies

After failing his mission to hunt down Jake Sully, Miles Quaritch is given a new mission. Let’s just say you’re not the most co-operative na’vi native and Quaritch loves to put you in your place.

Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan

ONE OF US by @forever--darling

neteyam sully was the next olo'eyktan and for years had been focused on his training and his responsibilities only. he had never accounted for you to become one of them. when you got your avatar body and ended up in the forest alone, being brought to the village and offered to be taught the ways of the people wasn't what you expected. let alone it being neteyam, future olo'eyktan becoming your teacher.

“you make me feel brave//you make me feel safe” by @thesparkisnearlygone

alyara was only six weeks old when she was left behind as the sky people were forced to leave pandora 19 years ago. she was raised by Norm and Max, and she grew up running through the forest of pandora with the sully’s. her love for neteyam had blossomed over the years, but she knew nothing could come of her feelings for him, even after she is surprised with her own avatar. still, she can’t seem to picture herself with anyone else, and she will soon find that her feelings are not unrequited.

Charming Killer by @writing-makes-me-human

You get chased into the wilds of Pandora with a broken communication collar and a bullet wound, but Neteyam finds you. He goes to kill you but an omen from Eywa stops him, and as he approaches you he realizes you are his destined mate.

His Secret Admirer by @teyums

All Of My Love by @kurogxrix

IN WHICH Neteyam’s mother and clan disapproves of your relationship, because you’re a dreamwalker. When you both advance in your relationship, the clan cannot help but attempt to ruin things for the both of you.

Ao’nung

Weakened by Eywa by @shkudss

Ao’nung finally realizes that his actions have consequences

Jake & Neytiri

My Heart Never Knows by @star-girl69

In the safety of the Reef, you know no war. You only know your family, the feel of the ocean on your skin, the feel of the wind blowing through your hair. You know only simple things, the barely there shine of the sun, a reprieve from where you are covered by your sister. You are the moon and she is the sun, and you are destined to live like this. You had long since given up any hopes of a mate until the Forest People arrive, on their colorful flying ikrans. Ronal does not like them. Tonowari respects them. Tsireya is entranced, Ao’nung sees them as new market to tease. With your family divided, you do not know how to feel about them. Until you See them, the parents of this family, Jake Sully and Neytiri, and the sun suddenly feels so much brighter. But your heart never know the future. It is in the hands of Eywa, but you cannot give your heart to these strangers knowing it could hurt. But, it seems this strange man and woman have other plans.

Keep Me Ablaze (Book One) by @star-girl69

The only mother you have ever known is the forest. Yes, you have Grace, other women at the base. But they are not quite your mother. It’s hard for your Aunt to talk about her- but how can you blame her? Alone and drifting through the world, a fire burning inside of you that threatens to snuff out, Grace teaches you alongside the Omaticaya at her school. They call her sa’nok, and sometimes you wish you could call her that too. But you feel like you would be betraying your mother. Neytiri is your spark, even while you’re young, shy when Grace pushes you to play with her and even shyer when the two of you form a tentative friendship. But it grows, and she grows into the woman you know now. Life without her is miserable, but at least you have something new to explore in the form of your Avatar. You run through the forests and help Grace, and soon you are 20 years old and looking out onto your life like it is a prison. You could leave. Go to Earth. But you couldn’t leave the forest, your Aunt, the memories of your mother and father. Then, Jake Sully comes, a warrior with no legs, who holds the same spark as Neytiri does. But with the weight of impending war looming on each of you, death everywhere, you don’t know if they can keep you ablaze.

Ember in Your Hands (Book Two) by @star-girl69

Although a part of you had died, you found that you were still full of life. With children running around and healed scars, life is what you dreamed about during those dark nights so long ago. You don’t know betrayal anymore, you don’t know loss or suffering. When you’re forced out of the only home you’ve ever known, you find yourself becoming hateful and bitter. You blame your mates, who have only ever burned for you, for all that has happened. You’ve changed and they’ve changed, and you’re not sure if they can keep you ablaze- not this time. You’re just an ember in your hands.

Yawnetu by @sunandsstars

One other mate was enough, but two? Unneeded. _ was the outcast, the unwanted woman. Jake and Neytiri wouldn’t ever see her..right?

Tonowari & Ronal

Yawnetu by @sunandsstars

With her arrival in Awa’atlu, reader seeks to find a sanctuary for her family, one that she may find in two particular individuals

Neteyam & Ao’nung

He's Not So Bad by @biolumilunareclipse

your parents as well as the his had decided that you would be ao’nungs mate and the tsahìk of the metkayina clan. you were to be mated after you had both reached a certain point in your training. naturally, they suggested you help ao’nung and tsireya help teach the forest people your ways in your free time. this allows you to develope a close bond with the eldest son, neteyam, with whom you have plenty in common. as time passes and ao’nung becomes more accepting of them, he realizes they have plenty in common as well.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka

Chocolate Princess by @the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf

Y/n Ficklegruber can't help but become enamoured with the spectacularly peculiar man stood in the middle of the galleria.

The Candy Man by @kteezy997

Enola Holmes/Bridgerton

Sherlock Holmes

Upon a nightly walk by @frost-queen

Having snuck out of the house to explore the town at night, you stumble upon a drunken Sherlock. His drunken behavior very silly and adorable to you, you take it upon yourself to escort him home. Once there, you find it hard to leave him alone so you decide to stay. Which comes to a surprise for a waking Sherlock who tends with care for his sweet savior.

Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether

Love at first encounter by @frost-queen

The moment I knew by @frost-queen

You are very bubbly, sweet and wise. Every since you were a little girl you dreamed of becoming a princess. One day you meet Tewkesbury, completely smitten by him and he by you. You are very certain about your future with him after meeting him once. Later during family diner, you tell your siblings you are to marry him. Leaving them with different reactions to your sudden news.

Benedict Bridgerton

love letters and seconds sons by @jimblejamblewritings

The princess is finally ready to debut in society. But before she does, she decides to disguise herself and see the true faces of the ton.

The Bear

Carmen Berzatto

Six Months by @aestheticaltcow

parenthood angst

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smolkiwi98 · 2 years ago

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Control

masterlist

WARNING!! Mentions of orgasms, fingering, steddie x reader, smut, "orgasm control", um I believe that's it. MINORS GO AWAY

Not proofread sorry if there are errors.

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"Come on, Princess." Eddie said with that charming smile "Its something new to try." Steve said joining in. You were sitting on the couch watching some random show when your two boys approached you with an idea that just sounded insane, but it did peak your curiosity. You let out a little sigh "So you two want to try and train me to cum on command?" You asked, looking at them back and forth. They nodded "But…we would have to say a certain word in a certain tone of voice." Steve said which made you raise an eyebrow "...okay. Fine. We can try it." You said with a smile.

Since that day the boys have been trying different words and tones to try and get you to feel some kind of way. They've played with you, fucked you, just to see if you have different reactions and different ways you can cum. Steve loved to try this while at home, while you were trying to do every day tasks, folding laundry, making the bed, doing the dishes, anything. Eddie on the other hand loved to test this in public. In the store? He's whispering in your ear. In a restaurant? At the hideout…you name it!

It took almost a month for this work. The boys were about to give and so were you, the three of you just thought it wasn't going to work…but one night at the Hideout after one of Eddie's shows it happened. Steve was standing behind you hands on your hips while the two of you watched your boyfriend having the time of his life on that stage. After the show you all made your way to the bar and this time you were leaning against the bar with Steve and Eddie on either side of you, their arms caging you in so nothing would happen to you. Steve was in the middle of ordering some beers when Eddie leaned in to talk in your ear since the music was a little loud, "How'd I do?" He asked with a goofy smile. You looked at him smiling "You were fantastic!" Eddie's smile slowly faded and he leaned back in to your ear "Ya know…you looked pretty hot down in the crowd, Babygirl." His voice was deep, raspy, and it shot shivers down your spine. You could feel your legs get weak, your thighs clinched together, and you squeezed your eyes shut. Eddie watched with wide eyes and smirked when he heard a small whimper escape your lips.

It finally happened. He was able to make you cum by a simple nickname in a certain tone. You let out small heavy breaths and leaned into him, his arm wrapping around you to keep you up. He was looking down at you and kissing your head. Steve turned to face the two of you, beers in hand, and a very confused face. "What happened?" He asked worried. You looked tired…like you were going to pass out any minute, "Do we need to go? I think we should go, she doesn't look too go-" "Steve!" Eddie interrupted him "It worked!" He said in a cocky voice. Steve raised an eyebrow "What worked?" Eddie rolled his eyes and kept his hold on you "The thing we've been working on worked!" Steve was about to question him again until it clicked. His eyes got big "I missed it!?" He said, sounding disappointed. You rolled your eyes and let out a small sigh "I would actually like to go home. I want to shower." You said in a small voice, but they were able to hear you.

~ 2 weeks later ~

Eddie was at work at the auto shop leaving you and Steve home alone. You both wanted to relax today, but sadly it was Sunday…which was the day you picked to clean. It's laundry day, deep clean the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, really everywhere! You've been up since 8:30 in the morning and started your cleaning downstairs so Steve could sleep in. It was now noon and Steve was trying to get you to take a break and snuggle with him, but you had so much to do and wanted to get it done.

You were in the kitchen sweeping the floor when you felt a pair of arms wrap around you "Please take a break." He said softly in your ear, "I gotta clean, Stevie." You said leaning back into him. Steve left little kisses on your neck making goosebumps run up your arms "Come on, Babygirl." Once again your legs felt weak, your thighs clinched together, and you were home so your head fell back to rest on his shoulder as you let little moans escape your lips. You could feel Steve's smirk, "I think you need a break." He said keeping that deep tone and helping you to the living room.

After that little act you were feeling needy. You needed Steve, you needed Eddie, you needed both or one of them! You were on the couch and started to squirm a little in your spot "You doin okay, Princess?" Steve questioned looking at you. You've never felt this needy before "I um…ne-need you." You said shyly. Steve knew exactly what you meant, but he wanted to hear you say it, "What do you need?" A deep blush grew on your cheeks "I need you to-touch me. Please!" Steve smiled and slid his hand down slowly to your pussy "Only because you asked so nicely." He said as one of fingers started to rub you on the outside of your little yoga short making your hips buck up in his hand a little bit. You whined…you needed more, "Steve please." You said breathlessly. Without a word Steve moved his back up and then down your shorts, "Oh? No panties?" He asked as his middle and ring fingers worked little circles on your clit. You couldn't answer. You just gripped onto the couch. You were surprised that you were still so sensitive and your second orgasm was building up quickly…and Steve could tell. He nibbled on his bottom lip and started to go a little faster until you were a shaky little mess next to him. He worked you through your high and kissed your head, cheek, and lips letting you know he was right there. The two of you stopped momentarily when you heard someone clear their throat.

"So…you two weren't going to wait until I got home?" Eddie said with a raised eyebrow.

#imagine #oneshot #fanfic #eddie munson #steve harrington #steve x reader #eddie x reader #eddie munson imagine #steve harrington imagine #steve x reader x eddie #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson smut #steve harrington smut #steve harrington fluff

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jate-kara · 2 years ago

Note

*gentle yelling* Write something! If you need a prompt, maybe something fluffy or just soft in a fandom of your choice?

Tuesday felt like Tuesday. Which felt like Monday. Which felt like every other day before that. Sun rose. Sun set. The City carried on.

And Cayde watched it all from The Prison of Zavala.

"C'mon," Cayde groaned, draping himself across the back of the office chair he was supposed to be occupying. "Please tell me you’ve got something for me to do."

On the other side of his desk, Zavala was so immovable that he could give the sculptures in the courtyard a run for their money. Cayde waved a hand in front of him, just to test the theory. In the old days, he would have had to brace for a Titan Glare.

But now, just like every other time Cayde had spun in his chair, or rearranged the bookshelf, or paced with the very deliberate goal of actually wearing a hole in the floor, Zavala remained steadfast. All Cayde got for his efforts was a soft snort that might have passed for a laugh. Zavala's mouth twitched. Just barely. Possibly a smirk.

"Okay, that means I won this round." Cayde pulled his hand back and slumped down into his chair.

"I wasn't aware we were playing a game." Zavala, for the first time all morning, set aside his datapad. His tone betrayed no irritation or annoyance, though Cayde strained with every power he had to hear it. "However, if we were, I believe I would still be ahead, four to one."

It struck Cayde to silence. It wasn't like Zavala had never indulged his games before, or cracked the worst deadpan joke on the planet. But he, like most people, had a limit to his tolerance for interruptions, and more specifically, Cayde’s interruptions. He should have tossed him out on his ass two hours ago.

"All right, I give up," Cayde huffed. "Put me under constant surveillance if you have to. Have three fireteams tail me around the Tower. Just-"

"You'd lose them in the first five minutes."

"Not the point."

"That would defeat the entire purpose."

"The Young Wolf! Where's my favorite Guardian at? They've killed how many gods now? Sticking with me should be no problem."

"The Young Wolf has more important things to do."

Cayde slumped onto the desk and propped his chin on his arms. "And the Titan Vanguard doesn't?"

That unshakeable composure cracked, just a little. "You should continue reviewing the mission reports. You have a lot to catch up on."

Cayde was quiet for a beat. Zavala’s tone had been carefully pitched for a soft reproach, more like a gentle reminder. In fact, everything he’d said in the last three days had been said with that same gentle note. Not like it was unlike him; the big guy had a heart of gold. But three days was a long time to be stuck in the same room with anyone, let alone Cayde.

“Hey, Zavala,” Cayde started, pushing himself back upright. “You’re not keeping me here for surveillance, are you?”

Zavala arched an eyebrow. “Your reports,” he reminded, measured, but not quite even.

“Nah, I think I’ve read enough reports, thanks.”

Zavala met his gaze squarely. Cayde didn’t flinch. “You said it yourself: there’s no way to prove if I’m me or I’m a me the Witness made to act like me or - whatever. You’re not gonna learn anything keeping me locked up here. And I know you know that. And you know I know you know that.”

“Is there a point to this?”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna die if you let me wander around the Tower. Or - and brace yourself, this is a big one - go for a walk in the City.”

Cayde expected a denial or a dismissal. Not a sigh. Definitely not a half-hearted shrug. "I suppose you are correct," Zavala allowed. One of his hands curled into a fist.

"Also, Ikora just asks me if I want some tea or ramen when she wants me around. Or she just tells me. You should try that."

Zavala made a noise that was somewhere between a huff and a strangled laugh. "I'll take it into consideration."

Cayde shot to his feet. He got halfway to the door before Zavala spoke again, so soft he almost missed it: "Be careful."

"Hey, it's me."

"I know."

Ouch. Rude. Probably true. Cayde had the urge to press his hand to his heart, but spun around and marched back to the desk instead. He plucked Zavala’s communicator off the corner and dropped it unceremoniously into his hands. "Here. I'll check in every couple of hours."

"Since when do you follow protocols?"

"Since now. For now. We'll see how long it lasts." Cayde tossed off a salute. "See ya later, Commander."

It earned him half a smile, and that, Cayde decided, was the second win of the day

—--

#destiny #destiny 2 #cayde 6 #zavala #fic #destiny spoilers #my writing

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clairedaring · 8 months ago

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Shuffle your on-repeat playlist and then list the first ten songs!*

*any playlist on any platform will do!

Thank you Kat @troubled-mind for tagging me (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ). I've been itching to share new music. 'new' being new to my playlist though, most are old releases.

1. Your Call (อยู่ที่เธอ) - TYTAN

I want you to think and reflect Who do you want more in your life? Without him, you seem to be doing fine But without me, you’ll be okay right?

as expected, i like this song so bad i even made a gifset for solely self-indulgent purposes... it's just crazy see how much TYTAN has grown since his Waterboyy days. I feel like this song was the starting point of me finding every songs i liked recently linked to MingJoe from My Stand-In.

2. ชายคนหนึ่ง (Just A Man) - Bodyslam, Clash, Potato Feat. ก้อง สหรัถ, โดม ��กรณ์ ลัม, ตู่ ภพธร

I’m just a man who wants to look after you and be concerned about you, that’s all I just want you to still have someone worrying about you, I’ve never wanted anything else You don’t have to give me anything in return I’ve never wanted anything else

I AM WEAK FOR SONGS ABOUT UNREQUITED LOVE. i first heard this song like seven years ago in Secret Seven The Series but the obsession with it has come back in full force since i recently watched a lakorn starring the original artist of the song (Peter Corp) and there's this scene where he plays this song on the guitar to the female lead... oh i was a goner. (original by Peter Corp)

3. วัดปะหล่ะ? (TEST ME) - 4EVE

Open your heart to know each other a little bit, yeah (like this) Then you will see someone that your heart is searching for

this is a popular song that came out a few years ago but i recently fell in love with it when i heard it used in the trailer for a thai film 'My Boo' starring Bow Maylada, Gee Sutthirak and Thanaerng.

4. อยู่กับฉันฝันถึงใคร (Who are you missing?) - Nine Kornchid

When you are with me, who are you dreaming of? When we're close together, who are you missing? Just a faint shadow. There is no way to own your heart. Why do you still keep me around? Whose substitute do you consider me as? Can you just answer me clearly? The reflection in your eyes, am I the person whom you are looking for.

as expected of a person who's deeply in her MSI era, of course the OST is on repeat. the lyrics though like I AM CHEWING GLASSES.

5. บินเข้ากองไฟ (Flying Into the Flame) - Big Ass

Oh, heart, remember their face They're the same person who once hurt you Enough already, don’t let them hurt you anymore Enough is enough, my heart, why love them? The more you love, the stupider you get, the more torturing it is, you never remember (enough, heart) We’ve been more than sad enough already, why love them? Nothing can be as evil as a heart hurting itself The more it loves, the more it’s hurt (remember that)

this song i actually first heard from Kidnap! pilot trailer but i never looked up the lyrics until recently and god it is so MingJoe coded. this song is a nice monologue talking to the heart and asking why it keeps falling in love, even though it knows it’s only going to get burned. like the inability to get someone out of your heart and still loving someone even though they've hurt you so bad before ಥ_ಥ

6. เพียงพอ (Just Enough) - Potato

If I had you, I would never need to reach for anything else It wouldn’t stir up troubles, anxieties just stopped, and I’m more confident than before Since I had you, I know my needs have ended No need to aspire for anything more, just this is enough Every day, to just have you, regardless of anything, I’d be satisfied

watching The Believers on Netflix really sent me down a spiral of listening to Potato (a Thai rock band). I love this song so much because it's a refreshing addition to Potato's usual collection of 'unrequite love, breakup' songs.

7. Kẽo Cà Kẽo Kẹt (The Creeking) - Hoàng Thùy Linh

I inflect every syllable so that my name goes down with history No matter how much vilification and mockery I have to endure, I’ll stand up against them again I inflect every syllable so that my name goes down with history No matter how much agony they pour on me, I’ll survive, no matter how many times they do that From dire ramified a sprig of nectarine Verdant foliage shrouded the entrance Amidst solitude, I squawked shrilly

i've been on a spiral of listening to old music i love so i'm sharing this mini commentary i made on this song a while back.

so 'the creeking' is based on tấm cám aka the vietnamese ver of cinderella. specifically, the part after vietnamese cinderella (tấm) was murdered by her stepmother & sister, she reincarnated into a bird, but then got killed AGAIN and she reincarnated into a weaving loom (insane, you just gotta read it, after she became a weaving loom, she got BURNED and she reincarnated into a freaking tree). but the simple gist is, when tấm reincarnated into a loom, the loom kept making noises to threaten her step sister as if to remind her step sister of the evil deed she did to tấm. the creeking may at first glance be a simple retell of this part of the story in tấm cám but it also parallels directly with hoàng thùy linh's life story. from the mire (the excessive hate train from her "scandal" when she was a minor and victim of revenge pornography), both hoàng thùy linh and tấm rose up to put their name down in history. ending the song with the statement that they'll survive no matter how many times evil forces (the press/media) try to bring tấm/htl down. the creeking is just such an empowering and feminist anthem like i cannot stress enough. hoàng thùy linh is currently going through her 2nd hate train rn and i honestly wish her the best bc i fully believe she'll make it through this cycle of vilification again.

i truly love this song because even though hoang thuy linh is more popular for her tiktok hit see tinh (sped up) aka ting ting tang tang, her first full album Hoàng is literally a masterpiece full of songs based on Viet culture/folklores. THE viet pop album of the decade for me tbh.

8. I LOVE U - MANBO ft. NAMVEE

viet hiphop hasn't been on my rotation for a few months but i always trust manbo to deliver a good rap on a pop rock beat.

youtube

9. Building Outside The Building - TNT

while TNT is known for their youthful, hopeful, lovely music, it's these hard hitting songs that makes TNT music so attractive to me. cpop having better hard hitting songs than kpop these days is killing me. wishing i could steal all the cpop demos and send them to my fave kpop bgs.

youtube

10. Ponytail (KR version) - VANNER

my list of music recommendations can never be complete without a glitter gel pen song. THIS GLITTER GEL PEN BSIDE. petition to ask kpop boygroups to opt their glitter gel pen songs to be their title tracks more often.

no pressure tagging @weizhiyuan @poonmitpakdee @uppoompat @sherrymagic @supanuts

#you've got tagged #really in my thai rock era again #but old thai rock #dramatic ass lyrics about loving someone you shouldn't love #YES #GIVE IT TO ME

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denimbex1986 · 7 months ago

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youtube

BRIE LARSON: Hi.

ANDREW SCOTT: Hi, Brie.

LARSON: Hi, Andrew, thanks for coming over.

SCOTT: Thank you, it's pretty tidy.

LARSON: I tidied up for you; I know how you like it.

SCOTT: You know the way I like it. You got my text: 'Make sure it's sparse.'

LARSON: Yes. So I'm excited to talk to you because I don't know how to talk about acting at all, so maybe you can teach me to talk about it or what we do - because I don't even know.

SCOTT: Yeah, it's hard to talk about.

LARSON: First of all, do you know how to act?

SCOTT: I don't know how to act.

LARSON: That's what I thought - nope, not at all. Don't know. So I'm glad that we got there first - we can get that out of the way.

SCOTT: You started as a kid, so it's playing when you're a kid.

LARSON: Yeah, exactly.

SCOTT: And then it turns into acting.

LARSON: That's exactly right. Well, I didn't know that there was anything beyond auditions for a very long time, so I was devastated when I learned that I wasn't actually booking anything.

SCOTT: Oh my God, that is so sweet.

Yeah, I thought that was it.

SCOTT: Did your parents just not tell you - ?

LARSON: That there was more? I think they just assumed I understood, but I didn't and that mentality actually really works because then I really started to enjoy the audition - at certain points.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: Sometimes it's very hard of course but -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: Just to think that the audition is -

ANDREW SCOTT: The thing is an opportunity to act.

LARSON: To learn, exactly - yeah.

SCOTT: When was the last time you auditioned for anything?

LARSON: Not that long ago. I insisted that I do it because I wasn't sure if I could do it. The team believed in me but I was like - it was so far away from anything that I had done I was like: 'I don't even know how to grasp this' so - ...What about you?

SCOTT: It's been a while since I auditioned, and I sort of - I sort of miss it because you know the way you used to come out of auditions, and you'd be sort of elated - you'd be flushed with excitement? And then if you didn't get it, if you did a good audition, you would be sort of thrilled and you, you'd be okay. It's when you don't get the audition; I think it's so hard for us actors - is when you don't get a chance to get in the room.

LARSON: Yeah.

SCOTT: And then if you've done your best, and you go: 'Okay, well they've gone with somebody that's famous or they've gone with somebody that looks completely different to you', then you don't mind.

LARSON: Yeah.

SCOTT: But I love the idea that you can sort of test it out for yourself a little bit, because we don't have much power.

LARSON: No. No actually very limited - I've learned...So, you didn't start as a kid -

SCOTT: Well I sort of did, a little bit.

LARSON: I thought so.

SCOTT: I just did a - I did a little, not like um -

LARSON: You did theatre?

SCOTT: A little bit of the theatre and commercials when I was a kid.

LARSON: Cute.

SCOTT: And I was reading that you were shy as a kid.

LARSON: Yeah. Not anymore. I’m totally fine now. I’m totally confident and cool.

SCOTT: That's - I, really related to you when I was reading that, because that’s kind of why I started as a kid.

LARSON: Interesting.

SCOTT: I think there’s a slight myth about actors — that they’re very outgoing or sort of precocious in some ways -

LARSON: Yeah.

SCOTT: - and, um, or confident in some ways. So did you ask to, to start acting?

LARSON: I did, yeah. My parents were chiropractors; they wasn't - that wasn't in the family or anything, and I was super shy; so my mom was like: 'She must be repeating something', I wouldn’t let it go. And when I think back on it, I mean, of course, it’s changed the course of my life in so many ways, but it - at a young age, at a time when I was so shy and had such a hard time expressing myself, looking people in the eye, at like 6 years old, I was basically given, like, 'OK, here’s a script for how you have a conversation.'

SCOTT: Oh my God, totally - totally.

LARSON: So it's like the actual, like, fiber of how I understand how to like, have pleasant conversations with people is based upon weekly acting sessions.

SCOTT: Absolutely; and then you all of a sudden, I - I used to go to these drama classes on a Saturday, and I would be fully shaking before I go in. And then you’d have to do like - get up in front of your other 7-, 8-year-olds, and do an improvisation, or say a poem or something.

LARSON: Oh no.

SCOTT: And something just happened where you go 'Oh' - it's like an - a weird sort of escape from yourself or, or something. And I feel like - I don’t feel like it’s an overstatement to say that I think it’s, it's completely changed my life — not just my,my career. I think if I didn't - I had a really bad lisp when I was a kid as well, so I had to do elocutions - elocution lessons. I had to go, “He sees seashells by the seashore,” and all that stuff, and it just completely got rid of it, and got rid of so much stuff that you go to, to play - it actually can really, really help you.

LARSON: Yeah, I really think so.

SCOTT: And do you feel shy now? (they laugh) No, no, no - but do you feel shy - do like it's helped you like -

LARSON: Yeah.

SCOTT: - because you have to do so many public facing -?

LARSON: I had to face myself in so many different ways; that’s part of the thing that I actually seek now....I mean, I’m so grateful that I had so much rejection growing up. It’s wild.

SCOTT: It toughens you up.

LARSON: And maybe you had a similar thing where like - I was very much like a slow burn in my career. It was not easy for me. I’d get close to things, so I knew that I had something, but I wasn’t booking, or I’d book like one job a year or something — just enough to give me hope....It gave me so much experience so that when I was given the opportunities, I was truly ready for it.

SCOTT: Absolutely, absolutely.

LARSON: I never had a time on set where I was like, 'Oh, gosh. This is bigger than what I understand.'

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

LARSON: It was always, like, well paced...now when I look back on it, I'm like: 'Oh someone was looking out for me.'

SCOTT: Absolutely. Because to be exposed too early, you know, to be able to sort of play around without too much scrutiny I think is so beneficial. I think that people who get an awful lot of scrutiny at an early, early age, I think, find it harder to experiment a little bit, because auditioning is experimenting because you're going up to play a policeman and a detective and then a psycho in a thing and you're like: 'Well, I don't know, you choose.' So you're playing with all those different sides of yourself, whereas if you're cast in something that's very famous when you're 20 - I don't know, you can - you have to work quite hard to sort of, to sort of, um, you know, get yourself out of that, that, that, that space - so it’s good that I was unemployed for so long.

LARSON: It turns out I’m so happy that it seemed like it wasn’t working out for me! Look at us now! But, yeah, when I was stalking you online, I was like, “Wow, it feels similar.”

SCOTT: Yeah, similar vibes. Yeah.

LARSON: Similar. I was like: 'Oh wow, you've been doing this for so long.'

SCOTT: Yeah - a long time.

LARSON: A long time.

SCOTT: And do you know - somebody said a really good thing - just on the - to wrap up that shyness thing up - but somebody said a really brilliant thing to me which was like, “There’s nothing wrong with being shy. Be shy...Like, it's fine to be shy. It’s a nice thing you go a little bit red.” That's why I'm wearing this - just so I could be -

LARSON: I blush very easily. It’s horrible.

SCOTT: I might do it now.

LARSON: Yeah, I'm gonna do it. Let's do it...

SCOTT: It's working.

LARSON: Yeah, yeah...

SCOTT: So “Lessons in Chemistry.”

LARSON: Let’s talk about our shows.

SCOTT: Your character; she's a little bit - I wouldn't say she’s; actually she's probably not shy - would you say?

LARSON: No.

SCOTT: She's just - she's singular, but it’s not, it's not shyness. She’s actually quite forthright. What a character.

LARSON: Yeah, yeah, it's great.

SCOTT: And you’ve been involved with it for …?

LARSON: A long time.

SCOTT: A long time.

LARSON: I developed it for like - I think it took two years. Maybe longer. But I think it was about two years when we started working on it to then actually filming it.

SCOTT: Are you so proud of this?

LARSON: Yeah, I think so. I’m proud of what we achieved in the time that we did. I don’t have a connection to when it goes out in the world; it just feels like then it’s not about me anymore — it’s just images and feelings. I am proud of how much we said in the show.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: I felt like we got a lot in it, and a really amazing group of people that worked on it.

SCOTT: And you assembled the people, right?

LARSON: Yeah, I did...I was like: 'If I could be in it earlier -' - we have these amazing production meetings that happen; actors aren't invited to them -

SCOTT: No.

LARSON: So to me it always felt like playing a championship basketball game and like, your star player doesn't train with the rest of the team.

SCOTT: Absolutely.

LARSON: So, I was like...if you include me with more information, it's not gonna stress me out; it actually just helps me understand how I can better do the organizational part of my job.

SCOTT: Absolutely.

LARSON: Like the artistry is like - part of what it needs is like: 'Just tell me if we're running out of light and we only have two takes - '

SCOTT: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

LARSON: You know, I'm so okay with that.

SCOTT: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

LARSON: ...lots of other departments get moments where they have to - you know, they get to shine in like a spot where it's like: 'Okay, you gotta take one for the team', and I feel like the acting department could really use more opportunities to do that.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: ...it really worked; the dynamic really worked because it felt like everyone was working together and assisting one another to make the same thing.

SCOTT: I, I, I sometimes find that difficult, and it's a big thing as an actor - maybe not so much in the theatre - but, but where you're so involved with so much of your character's journey and then the edit comes and you're like: 'Wha -?' And sometimes I feel like it's important, you know, if you're an artist - and I've never had any shame about calling myself an artist because that's what we do - you may be an interpretive artist, but sometimes it can feel like you're not a co-artist, you're just the paint. You know, you just feel like: 'Okay, well, you can just take whatever' and you go: 'Well - ', you know, because I don't care about having - sometimes actually it's about having less time, you know? It's like, it's about - or less screen time; it's not about vanity, it's just going: 'Oh, well, you know, you know, how you think the, the set is of the character you - sometimes I've had that experience where you walk on and you see your character's - the set of the, the house - and you think: 'This isn't - '

LARSON: I know; isn't that amazing?

SCOTT: Yeah. And that's, that's - it's just about communication.

LARSON: I know. Also I find that you learn about the character through these department heads as well.

SCOTT: Yeah. These really skilful people.

LARSON: ...it becomes like we're finally admitting to what we're doing -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - which is a massive team sport.

SCOTT: Yeah, absolutely.

LARSON: It's a lot of people making one piece of art.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: And I think problems arise when we act like that's not what's happening.

SCOTT: Absolutely.

LARSON: So I want to talk about your show.

SCOTT: Ripley - yep.

LARSON: That one - I know you've got a lot going on, but we're talking about that.

SCOTT: No, no - that's it.

LARSON: So what kinds of conversations did you have ahead of time, and I'm thinking specifically, when I was watching it, I was like: 'I love minimalism' and I'm like: 'You are a minimalist', and I mean that as like the highest compliment.

SCOTT: Oh wow.

LARSON: It's like you're just - and for so long not talking.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: And I was like: 'Oh, it took me my surprise.' I was like: 'Oh yeah, he still hasn't really said anything.'

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: And you're also playing someone who's lying a lot -

SCOTT: Yes, yeah.

LARSON: - which I think is one of the hardest things to do.

SCOTT: Yeah, it's hard - yeah. Yeah.

LARSON: And so in thinking about how you do something SO minimal with lies -

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah; I know what you mean.

LARSON: - you're doing a very fine dance there. What kind of conversations are you having, and does it feel good to be in that minimal space, or do you second guess yourself?

SCOTT: I second guess myself, I think.

LARSON: ....I'm not a good interviewer.

SCOTT: No, you're a beautiful interviewer. Do you know what? I know exactly what you mean - your concern sometimes, or my concern, and maybe it's from, from a theatre thing, is that I always have had this slight terror perhaps that I was doing like too much - a sort of shame I remember that I would feel in my early film stuff - I'm like: 'Oh God, pull back a little bit.' But then in the theatre, there's something I think is completely wonderful about people being, um, wonderfully expressive with their body, but also some of the, the film actors that I love are actually incredibly expressive as well - it's not all just, you know, completely poised. And if I'm honest, I think I gave Steve Zaillian, our writer/director quite a lot of, um, options; I feel like that's my duty, and he chose the ones that, that are probably a little bit more to his taste, which are, you know - he's very, very sparing, um, he likes minimalism himself, and I'm happy to provide that for him.

I find it so difficult to watch myself, I don't know - that's one of the, one of the things that I was going to ask you when, when, in Lessons in Chemistry, like, do you - are you looking at the edit and all that kind of stuff?

LARSON: Oh yeah, all the time...

SCOTT: Do you find that you were able to…

LARSON: … detach?

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: You have to. The first time I edited myself was years ago and the editor so smartly always referred to 'her' as 'her.'

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: 'She's this' or 'I wish she was - ' and it really helped because it's not about us criticising; like, no one has to feel like there's something wrong with saying that something wasn't right in front of me.

SCOTT: Absolutely. Exactly, absolutely.

LARSON: I’m just like, “Of course I didn’t do it all right.”

SCOTT: Who'd want to be right? Exactly. I think there’s maybe a fear that people are going to say, “We need another close-up of me, please. Why is no one focusing - push in, push in!” And it's actually a lot of the time, because it's a collaborative actors are used to, we're not - you know, a lot of writers or even directors don't get to see other directors' work in a rehearsal room, or what their process is, whereas actors are always looking at other actors and how they're doing on set, or how they - you know; it's - you're very like, open to being told: 'That wasn't so great.'

LARSON: I like that.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: ...I felt very committed to finding what things weren’t working...a lot of the time I'd be looking things every night -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - I'd look at the dailies from the day before -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - and so you can kind of see like...are there ways to save this a little bit?

SCOTT: Yes. Map it out.

LARSON: Especially with a character that I also felt was very different from me, and how little she emotionally expresses.

SCOTT: I love that about it.

LARSON: I struggled with it a lot, and I felt very lost with it. I am just very used to my understanding of when something’s working — when it feels very true and I’m just in it. And I would be in it with her, but I felt like the part of me that would want to cry, for example, was being pushed. She’s always twisting the knot inside, and won’t give it to anybody.

SCOTT: Yeah, I love that about the performance.

LARSON: ...the third episode is about grief and...I realised that like the little part inside of me is like: 'Are people going to think I'm not doing enough?'

SCOTT: Yeah, that's the fear isn't it?

LARSON: Yeah, it's like: 'Why? What is she doing? She's not doing anything.'

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

LARSON: ...it takes a lot of confidence to not telegraph every little thing.

SCOTT: Have you had a lot of experience where you've been on a project and you think the stuff that you provided has not been seen and they've used takes or they've manipulated your performance into, into something where you feel like: 'That's not exactly what my taste would be but I -' Yeah.

LARSON: Yeah.

SCOTT: It's difficult that, isn't it?

LARSON: ...you just go and you give them raw materials -

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: - and then a year later, you sit with your friends and family -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - and it's on a giant screen, and you see how your stuff was edited together that doesn't seem right.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: And I think there's a part of it though that I like -

SCOTT: You give it up.

LARSON: Yeah, I like that...sometimes I want to drive the car, sometimes I just want to be the passenger -

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: - and there was something about this show -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - this story, that I was like: 'No, I want to be in every part of it.'

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

LARSON: ...it would have felt really strange not to.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: But I'm happy to live in like another director's world for a while.

SCOTT: Absolutely.

LARSON: I've worked with people that are like - never blink...

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LARSON: ...and you learn all these different ways of expressing -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - which is cool.

SCOTT: And it's one of the reasons I think that I like; I quite like to move from different - because I'm not sure if I would be able to cope with that if that was for like 10 years, where you're like: 'This is this person's vision and you have to slot into it without having some sort of - without wanting to sort of break free a little bit.'

LARSON: Yeah, I agree.

SCOTT: So I, as you say, sometimes it's okay to be in that world, and then you watch and you go: 'Okay, well that's - I'm there to serve that person's vision; there are things that I would do differently', but I think that's the struggle. And I think - what I never want to do is to be able to be on set and think: 'This is the way I see it, so I'm not going to provide them with any options.' You know what I'm saying?

LARSON: Uh-huh.

SCOTT: So you just do it. I feel like your job is to be like -

LARSON: Yeah, give a bunch.

SCOTT: Give a bunch. You know, I think it's pretty courageous - I'm, you know, a huge advocate for actors and the kind of courage and vulnerability it takes to be an actor; I really do. I really - I, I think, you know, to put yourself out there and then to have to watch your big face on, on like, on a big screen with other people -

LARSON: I know, TV's better.

SCOTT: TV''s better - exactly.

LARSON: It's like iPad size; I can deal with that.

SCOTT: Yeah exactly. Watch it on an iPhone.

SCOTT: Do you watch a lot, a lot of your stuff?

LARSON: No, not at all.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: No, no; I mean with Lessons -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: I have watched it a lot -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - because I was editing the show but -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: But normally, no.

SCOTT: It's so extraordinary. It must feel - do you have a different feeling of pride now that you've been, been so involved with it, so its success - does it have a sort of -

LARSON: It feels good, but you know, it came out during the strike -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: And so it felt very -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: It just came out and it lived its life, and I really appreciated having that experience to truly just let the piece speak for itself.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: That I couldn't come in and explain myself.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: And I realised how much of our artistry is then us trying to explain -

SCOTT: Or sell -

LARSON: - a lot of questions about like: 'What do you hope people get from it?' And I'm like: 'I'm more curious to know what you do get from it than what I thought I was saying.

SCOTT: Well said. That's exactly it - it's like, sometimes it is, you know, we are contractually obliged to talk about this stuff, but sometimes you think: 'Did you like it or did - did you not like it?'

LARSON: Yeah. Like I want people to have their own experience.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON:...I struggle with talking about acting because I didn't go to school for it.

SCOTT: No, I didn't either.

LARSON: You didn't?

SCOTT: No.

LARSON: I knew l liked you - we have so much in common.

SCOTT: Oh, not a minute's training.

LARSON: ...So I have a hard time understanding fully...there's the preparation part, which I care a lot about and enjoy -

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: - and there's there's just something that happens on set that seems to be truly divine that I can't even take credit for.

SCOTT: Yeah, that's exactly right.

LARSON: I don't even know how to explain it.

SCOTT: It's not, it's not; but it's - again, you know, it's something I say endlessly, but you play a part - you play a part, people - so your work of course, your work of course is important, but if you were to say a kid is able to just do it, and you don't go: 'So what did you - why did you just make that teacher, why did you, why did she arrive on a, on a unicorn? Where did that come from? What do you think about unicorns?' The kid's just like: 'I don't know.'

LARSON: It's just free.

SCOTT: It's just - it's sort of, it's sort of freeing, and to be able to hold onto that as much as possible; and that's not to say that the work isn't - you know, the preparation and all that kind of stuff - but the first priority is to be there, on the set, and to be like: 'Well maybe we don't know what's going to happen now.' So we have to unlearn what - the, the idea that, that we do.

LARSON: Just being present, yeah.

SCOTT: Just be present, listening.

LARSON: So what about the lying part of your character? How did you -

SCOTT: My own? Oh, Tom Ripley.

LARSON: Yeah, sorry, sorry. I jumped. So when you’re playing Tom Ripley -

SCOTT: Yes?

LARSON: - what does it feel like to lie when he’s lying?

SCOTT: Well, I tried to make him lie as little as he could get away with, so that he lies in order to get himself out of a situation. And he murders to get himself out of a situation. Like, so he's not going: 'When am I gonna -?' He’s not bloodthirsty. He's, he's doing it because he had nothing else to do - sort of - I mean, he could have not murdered, I suppose.

LARSON: Yeah, yeah.

SCOTT: We all make that decision.

LARSON: Yeah, no, it’s a choice you make every day.

SCOTT: Yeah...so I tried to sort of - it's that thing of just going: 'Okay well, it's seeing somebody think', although, you know, it - a lot of the time I think the best acting opportunities is when someone like; the thing that we really, really want to see when we're, um, watching a movie I think, or at least I do, it's when someone goes: 'I'm not in love with them at all' and you know that they are.

LARSON: Uh-huh.

SCOTT: That's the best. When you're - when, when the thing that you are expressing is, is in opposition to the thing that you're feeling; and that sort of is lying, but it's lying sort of in a way that we find acceptable. So all that stuff and you go: 'How is she?' and you know you're - that brilliant acting that when people when we disguise what we're feeling, which we do so much. Um, so I suppose any of those things about him being a liar or socio - sociopath, or any of those kind of things I found kind of unhelpful. And actually the kind of stuff that Tom Ripley I suppose is famous for as an iconic sort of literary character is him being — “Is he a psychopath?” or “Is he a murderer?” or whatever. But the murder-y parts actually only took up - we shot it for nearly a year - they only took up for a few weeks, so the rest of them was actually -

LARSON: He’s mostly not murdering.

SCOTT: He's mostly not murdering.

LARSON: I noticed that too...I guess it's like the times where I've had to do a scene where it's lying or trying to get away with something; it's an interesting and very fun dance where you know in order for the scene to work, you can't let on to your scene partner that you're lying, however you're kind of giving the *clicks tongue* to the audience like: 'Go with me here.' And that's so fun...it felt like I was doing target practice...it's very fun.

SCOTT: Yeah, and it's like when someone's playing an evil character in a bad piece of television, and then they've manipulated someone and they hug them and then over their shoulder -

LARSON: Yeah, oh gosh - fabulous.

SCOTT: It's like - when has anyone ever done that in real life? But I do think it's extraordinary how human beings are, are - we're able to disguise absolutely what's, what's going on. Recently, my mother died very recently, so I'm doing a lot of press at the moment and, um, I've had to do a lot of, you know, in, in the grieving process, and I re - the thing that's really al - alarmed me, or it's certainly something that I found really um, uh, astonishing, is that I know that when I'm talking to someone on the street or like you're getting into your Uber or whatever, you're like: 'Hey, how's it going?' But there's no part of me - even though I'm going through this devastating time in my life - there's no part of me that's conveying that to, to, to, um - to, to the taxi person at that time.

And it's like when you're doing period dramas, when people talk about war, wartime stuff, that you're not spending your whole time talking about the war. It's like during the pandemic, you - when we were all dealing with the pandemic and somebody would come round like: 'Can we please not talk about that? Do you mind if we don't?' So sometimes when you're going through the very thing that's the stress - where is it living? There are some people who actually don't want to talk about it, and I think sometimes the unconvincing things when we're seeing things like that are set in World War II, that they're always talking about World War II. And the rest of us are like: 'Oh My God, can we just lighten up or, you know, whatever'. And, and, and I suppose that idea of what we're able to disguise I've always found so interesting about acting, you know, and um, and so that we get a story that's perhaps very comedic and you play the soul, or you get something that's very tragic and you play the, the lightness - I think that's what the, the great actors are sort of able, sort of able to do. It's a fascinating thing to discover; it's never like - it's never one thing. And so did you find it hard, when you finished Lessons in Chemistry, to let it go?

LARSON: ...it's a true loss of purpose.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: My purpose was this thing; it's not there anymore - what do I do now?...

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: ...I was pretty tired by the end of it.

SCOTT: I bet you were.

LARSON: ...it felt very complete.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: But I missed it. Like, I missed that feeling of having a purpose that was beyond myself.

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: ...that feeling - it's so rare too.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: ...it felt really satisfying.

SCOTT: Yeah. The obstacle sort of becomes, becomes the way. There's a - a director that I, that I worked with that I - he said a thing that I really, just really loved which is: 'Of course in artistic situations, you're going to argue and you're going to have differences of opinion, but that you should argue as allies not as enemies.' And I thought it's such a beautiful thing to say because I think sometimes a difficult set, and I don't believe that I, I don't believe that there isn't anything that through communication you can really just, everybody mostly wants to make it - do it right.

And there's a, there's a choice that you can make to say okay; to set up an environment where you're able to just communicate things a little easier and, and people who are just, um, in the business of making sure that they get their own way I think - it's; it's - I think that can happen to really very talented people, and in a way sometimes understandably, because I think actors have to save the day an awful lot of the time and, you know, I don't like it when people say: 'Oh you know - ' Sometimes it can be: 'Oh that actor is difficult.' I've never really - maybe that's just my experience - but I've never really seen an actor go: 'I don't like my costume. I've got, got, got, you know; I'm not coming out of my trailer.' Usually I've seen actors saying: 'My character just wouldn't say that; the audience isn't going to buy that, and I don't want to let the story down or the audience down - that just doesn't make sense and so, you know, let's not do that. Let's not proceed until we've solved this problem.'

And I think that's an honorable thing to do because then what happens is it comes out and everybody goes: 'Oh God, that's really clever' and you think: 'Well, that was going to be passed over because people were only interested in completing the call sheet that day.' Sometimes you've gotta just go: 'We've covered it, but we haven't captured it' and I think that's -

LARSON: Oh, I like that.

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: Okay, so I have a question about playing a character that has existed in many different iterations and forms.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: And I feel like you have experience with that, because you do theater as well.

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: Do you have the same approach every time, in terms of researching and watching previous versions of it?

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

LARSON: Or do you just block it out?

SCOTT: Absolutely, I block it. Because, No. 1, I adored the film “The Talented Mr. Ripley” — the Minghella movie with, with Matt Damon and Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow and all those amazing people. But mercifully, I hadn’t seen it in a very long time, and I knew that this was going to be a very, very different prospect. Um, one of the first conversations I had with Steven Zaillian, our writer-director, you know was “What? Why?” And he had such a singular vision for it, you know; he wanted it a very particular way. He wanted, you know - I was worried that I was too old and blah, blah, blah — because I had just a very specific idea that was based on the film, but I suppose I had to remind myself that that's - that film was also a re - a reiteration of something: there was another version with Alain Delon before, and there were diff - you know lots of different Ripleys and there were loads of different ones. So it has been reinterpreted a lot. And I feel like it’s very important that, you know, he said, you know, “We want to age the characters up.” And then, you know, he was talking about this very particular kind of noirish black-and-white version that he had. And that made me feel very comfortable. He had no interest in, in doing that again. And I always think that it’s important, you know, because it happens in the theater so much — if it was a Shakespeare character, you know - you know, thousands of people have played, played one character. And I always find that really interesting. And I think the response I suppose is to be respectful, but not too reverent. Because what’s the point of doing it if you’re going to do it exactly the same way? So I didn’t look - no way, because you know, I don't want to do it for myself; I don't want to do it for myself - I don't want to do that because I love that film, and I see them as two very, very separate entities, which they are. I mean, anyone who would see it, you'd go: 'They - they're miles apart.' Thank God, yeah.

LARSON: What do you think about some sort of Ripley universe — you know, into the Ripley-verse? Just all the Ripleys.

SCOTT: Like little - like Marvel? Oh, sort of like the Fantastic Four? Is that a thing? Oh, and they all get together?

LARSON: Yeah, Ripleys together. I’m just curious because I got a couple studios interested, so I just …

SCOTT: You do? So kind of you! You are good. You make things happen. Are you not tired? You’ve been setting up projects for me? God, you’re kind.

LARSON: No, I’m writing a part for myself as well.

SCOTT: Oh right, you're gonna be in it too? You could play - you'd be a good Tom Ripley!

LARSON: I'll be a Ripley as well.

SCOTT: I have to ask you about working with Lenny Abrahamson, because it was such a moment of Irish pride. A sensational movie. Do you get bored talking about Room?

LARSON: I actually don't talk about it that often...I had someone come up to me and say: "You know what film you were good in? 'Room'." I was like: "Okay." (laughter)

SCOTT: "Yeah, thank you. Where is my Oscar?"

LARSON: I was like: 'Yeah, I kind of thought that was like my one thing I've done...'

SCOTT: I thought you were good in that; I don't care what anyone else says. I thought you were quite good.

LARSON: 5000 years later, I was like: 'Glad it holds up.'

SCOTT: That's amazing.

LARSON: But what part did you want me to talk about? Lenny?

SCOTT: Did you know what it was going to be so -

LARSON: Did I know he was Irish? (laughter) No. Did I know it was going to be good?

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: No...

SCOTT: In Lessons in Chemistry, did you have a feel - because you had more control over it? Did you think: 'We're onto something here?'

LARSON: Yeah, because also you're doing everything at the same time...with 'Room', it was my first time - I mean I'd been a lead in one other thing.

SCOTT: Wow, really?

LARSON: I auditioned for it though...it took a lot of time and I did not have the technique that I have now.

SCOTT: Meaning like?

LARSON: I was like what I think actors are like where they like have headphones in and they're kind of like this (leans forward and over). I was that kind of actor.

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: I was listening to really intense music; and it's like I didn't fully truly myself to go in and out.

SCOTT: That's so interesting.

LARSON: ...after that movie I was like: 'Woah, I need to figure out a plan' and I started scuba diving, and I realised that it was the perfect metaphor, because you don't get to like strap a tank on your back and just jump in the ocean. You have to be like: 'Okay, this is how much I have in my tank; if I go down deeper it takes more, I have to go really slowly on the way up.' And was like 'Oh. That's what I need to be doing.'

SCOTT: Wow, yeah.

LARSON: And I need to give myself the grace of that. So then moving forward, when I'd have big emotional scenes, I'd make an announcement and be like: 'Hey, I'm gonna go underwater for a little it. It might take me a while to get back out, but I'm here and I'll be okay.'

SCOTT: That's really wonderful. So as a producer, you felt like it's your job, when you have a big scene on, on Lessons in Chemistry, where you think: 'Okay, but now today, all I can do really is act'?

LARSON: Yeah. Sometimes you have to put the phone down -

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: - and other times, you want it though.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: Other times it was very helpful to be like - to snap out of it and to be like: 'Okay, now I need to deal with whatever is going on.'

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LARSON: ...that was the learning lesson from 'Room'...I didn't want to mess it up.

SCOTT: Well, you didn't. I agree with that guy. I actually thought you were quite good in it.

LARSON: ...I even remember seeing the movie for the first time...it's just a white wall to me -

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LARSON: - so I just remember the first screening and everyone was like: 'What the hell was that?' And I was like: 'Is it good?'...it's maybe my own performance, maybe on a good day I can receive 40% of it through the screen - like, on a good day.

SCOTT: On a good day. Like, it's hard.

LARSON: ...it'd be really weird if I was like watching myself being like (motions looking teary and proud)

SCOTT: 'Oh, you go, girl'.

LARSON: Yeah, it's not for me...

SCOTT: Well that's why I'm asking about when you have a producer role, and I've definitely had it in, in the theatre, but in the theatre - what I love about working in the theatre is that you; it's the only art form - stage work - where you don't get to see the result of what you're doing. You're a painter, see the painting, you make a movie, see the movie, the book, you read the book, if you write, write a book, but this - you only see it through the feeling in the room and the audience sort of reflects it back to you. And I love that about it because sometimes when I see my own work, or like when they film theatre, I find it horrific because I think: 'Oh God, I, I - like just stop, or whatever you're doing, desist.' And uh, so that's why I'm asking about the producorial thing where, where I do think there must be some other hat that you have on that actually goes: no, I think - that actually your, your development of your, your ability to be able to discern what your performance is must have to - must, must be quite strong.

LARSON: Oh yeah...Lenny would talk to me and brief me on what he was trying to achieve...and then once the doors closed, it was really hard to get in and out, and so it was much easier if I understood what Lenny's agenda was, and I could just be there instead of constantly resetting. And so, there was one day in particular where I realised I could hold this scene with the boy, with Jacob, and also fix the props that were needed to be reset, and wait and hold...I remember being like: 'I think I've just unlocked like a new level of focus and flow -

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah.

LARSON: - and it's a really amazing thing.'

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: You felt that too?

SCOTT: I know exactly what you mean.

LARSON: Isn't it the best thing ever?

SCOTT: It's great. It's like - it's, it's, it's a challenge and everybody's like doing that together; like isn't the best thing I think about filming is when everybody's got a big, big job - I don't know, some big shot, everybody, somebody's going to have a change of clothes; it's all sort of quite theatrical - theatrical - and you're really involved all together. I find that really the most exciting thing. That's why I think it's beautiful what you say about everybody just doing the same thing; we had it on - again, to go back to the theatre - but we had it where we were all called co-creators, but that's exactly what you're doing. You're all co-creating together, and so if you were to just take out the job titles and go: 'Well, everybody has an opinion here; what's the thing', and everybody, you know, everybody's just little, little cogs in this amazing machine.

LARSON: Exactly.

SCOTT: Yeah.

LARSON: We need it all.

SCOTT: We do; we need everything.

LARSON: Well thanks; I feel like I kind of understand acting now.

SCOTT: Yeah I've fully - I've fully got it.

LARSON: Yeah, I'm ready. Okay, well -

SCOTT: Nothing more to learn.

LARSON: There we go. Now we're good to go. (laughter)

#Andrew Scott #Brie Larson #Actors on Actors #Netflixc #Ripley #Lessons in Chemistry #Apple+#Long Post #Steven Zaillian #Room #Oscars #The Talented Mr Ripley #Matt Damon #Jude Law #Gwyneth Paltrow #Anthony Minghella #Lenny Abrahamson

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wcrpbubble · 9 months ago

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❝ i’m not gonna let anything happen to you. ❞ picard to bev

her stomach is in knots and it feels like a stone has lodged into the pit of her belly. it's not a pleasant feeling, but it reminds her she's still human at least. she isn't afraid of what lies ahead - she's afraid of it not working. there are so many variables and the scientific part of her could point out that it increases the danger beyond measure, but she's trying not to think about that. in a few hours, everything could be over.

beverly is dressed out of standard uniform; she's in an all black ensemble, hair pulled back into a tight bun. with careful precision, data has been attaching pieces of borg tech to her stealth suit and her skin; the stark contrast of the grey against her pale skin makes her a bit uneasy. it isn't connected in any way to her body, only placed in certain points to mimic an assimilated borg. it's inert and there's no chance of it turning against her which is a small comfort; still, the metal feels cold against her hands, her temple. they're meant to emit the same registrations any borg tech would, therefore disguising her as human. as long as she doesn't provoke the hive so to speak, she shouldn't be detected. the metaphasic shielding geordi had rushed is still unknown; they've barely had time to test it. it should afford her time, at the very least, if things go sideways.

she is desperately hoping things do not go sideways.

she flexes her fingers, watching the borg tech move with her every motion. slung around her waist is a utility belt with several hyposprays loaded with the virus, as well as a phaser; it'll be her only defense and she's just fine with it - a phaser rifle would only slow her down. she needs to move quickly, efficiently. there won't be much time once everything kicks off.

"your false implants are transmitting borg signatures correctly." data says matter-of-factly. "it should not be detectable as a disguise for some time. i've confirmed the installation of the metaphasic shielding into your communications badge; simply touch twice to engage it - though i suggest only as a last resort as it is still currently unstable."

"thank you, data." beverly gives the ghost of a smile. "can you check in with geordi, make sure there's nothing else we're missing?"

not that she doesn't trust geordi to be two steps ahead with the torpedos, the shielding for the ship - he'd floated the idea of trying to extend the transporter lock range for a brief period of time, but she's had no confirmation. at any rate, data leaves and beverly's facade slips a fraction of an inch. she pushes off the edge of the biobed she'd been sitting on, trying to pretend the borg tech strapped to her is nothing more than a costume, nothing more than what she'd wear for a play. it doesn't make it any easier to see.

"i know." beverly replies to jean-luc softly, checking her belt once more to ensure she has everything. it's nervous energy she has no outlet for. "if it were anyone else i'd be terrified i'm walking into a death sentence." and frankly, she still might be. but she trusts jean-luc and his promise to her, to keep her safe, to bring her back in one piece. beverly intends to do what she can to ensure her own safety of course, but the borg are her top priority. the queen herself.

"just promise me you'll have one hell of a sizeable romulan ale waiting for me when i get back."

@nebulaties

#( --- character && beverly crusher )#( --- nebulaties && jean luc picard )#nebulaties

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certainempatheticturkeymuffin · 2 years ago

Text

So, lately I've been playing Genshin (because epic seven banned me for a century fsr), and I've enjoyed it immensely. I've also....um, hyperfocused on Bennett. He has so much fic potential it's insane, even a Kaeya main such as myself can't dodge his allure. Here are a few fic ideas I have:

○--○--○

Pyro Archon Bennett:

Pyro Archon Murata is the Goddess of War, she knows when war is on the horizon, she can see all the signs; she's also the type to do ANYTHING to win said war. She catches wind of the Tsaritsa's plans, she notices the Abyss planning and building up their numbers and power. She knows war is on the horizon, and she knows that the gnoses will play a large part in it.

Never one to lose a war, she comes up with an ingenious plan: she'll have a child, give them the Pyro Gnosis, abandon them in a village, burn that village down, curse her child to appear human, kill herself, and let the infant be taken to a foreign land. That way the only one with knowledge of the Pyro Gnosis's whereabouts, her, will be dead, and so she makes winning the war easier, if not guaranteed!

She didn't account for the fact that she's terrible at cursing people. She's known to fight head on for a reason, and so she accidentally curses her child to not only appear human (drawing from the features of those around him), but also to have horrendously bad luck. She doesn't notice her fumble before killing herself, and she's still an ARCHON, so removing the curse would require a lot of power.

Mondstadt sure has their work cut out for them, especially when the fatui start getting desperate to find the Pyro Gnosis.

Fatui Bennett:

Bennett has accidentally run into a lot of formidable foes. He can't always run away, so learning to fight was a necessity. If he bothered to test it, he might end up being one of the most powerful individuals in Mondstadt. One day, upon stumbling into Liyue, he runs into a man named Childe (his parents must've hated him).

Childe loves a good fight, and Bennett attracts good fights like a light to moths. Childe decides to hang around him, and the Ruin Hunters turn into Ruin Graders with an extra person always tagging along. Bennett doesn't mind, doesn't even notice when he starts outpacing Childe in every fight, attracting undue attention.

Eventually, Bennett relents and gives Childe a spar, convinced he was no match for the bloodthirsty man. Except...he wins. He wins with an ease he didn't expect. That neither of them expected. A fire is lit, and Childe reintroduces himself as Tartaglia, a Harbinger of the Fatui, one of the Traveler's friends. He begs Bennett to come with him to Snezhnaya to meet the Tsaritsa. Bennett has his doubts about going so far, but he's always been a people pleaser, much like the Traveler, so he writes his dads a note and off he goes.

When Diluc hears the news, he's ready to skewer the harbinger, Traveler's friend or not. His dads are beside themselves as Bennett accidentally impresses the Tsaritsa and gets offered a position as the Twelfth Harbinger. They've been in need of recruits for a while, and Bennett checks nearly every box. Not willing to say no to an ARCHON, Bennett reluctantly joins the fatui as Pedrolino, the Provoker. When a strong opponent needs to be tracked down, the Tsaritsa sends him to the general area, and his bad luck will always attract them, often with much of their ranks as back up.

Eventually, while every other Harbinger remains stagnant, his strength grows by simply doing his assignments, and he's vaulted through the ranks. He becomes one of the Tsaitsa's most prized on accident, and he misses Mondstadt dearly. He doesn't truly believe in the Tsaritsa's cause, but he isn't strong enough to oppose her....or so he thinks.

When the Traveler finally picks a fight with her, Bennett finds himself defecting, finally back on Mondstadt's side. He tells Diluc and the Traveler everything he knows, aware that his knowledge is more than enough to topple the whole organization. Mondstadt welcomes him back with open arms, even as they tremble at his power when he joins the Traveler on the front lines and absolutely demolishes his ex-coworkers.

Good Luck Charm Bennett:

Bennett, the adventurer with notoriously bad luck. When a storm rolls in, he'll always be struck by lightning. When at a cliff's edge, it'll always crumble beneath his feet. Even when he's simply walking along a path, slimes will appear as if from thin air. Wouldn't that be a deterrent to those wishing to adventure with him?

No, because everyone knows that if you travel with Bennett, all your chests will be high grade, with the best of the best artifacts and ores inside, so long as Bennett himself isn't the one opening it. If a storm rolls in, the lightning that strikes will always cause a warm fire to keep you from getting sick. The Hilichurls that seem to pop up around Bennett will always drop items, and they'll never attack anyone but Bennett.

Bennett gets cabbages, sure, but any adventurer worth their salt will let him tag along simply because it'll get them better loot. You don't even have to look after him, his bad luck refuses to let him die or get permanently injured, after all. Just stay within ten feet and you'll reap the rewards.

Bennett is a boy who suffers from constant bad luck, injury, and pain, and now he also has to deal with being kidnapped for loot, dragged on adventures at all hours of the day, and no one really cares about his well-being. His dads are too caught up in their shiny treasure, fellow adventurers have tied a leash to him so they didn't have to bother keeping an eye on him while using him for good loot, and even the Knights of Favonious will demand his presence on important missions with no care towards the hour or any previous obligations. Bennett is Mondstadt's tool, ignored until someone needs a good artifact or for a mission to reap great rewards. It seems that not even Barbatos truly cares about him.

No one cares, except a boy raised by wolves and a traveler that's being used the same way. People that genuinely enjoy his company, with the loot being a generally ignored perk, and his bad luck causing them worry rather than annoyance.

BAMF Bennett:

Bennett is a healer with a pyro vision. His control is practiced to perfection, fingers capable of igniting small sparks and large explosions alike. He can draw forth healing potential in Pyro, something previously thought impossible. His diligence can produce the tiniest sparks to prevent infection, the perfect fires for cauterization, and yet he goes even further and draws the true power of healing from flames and destruction as if he were a Hydro Healer.

He is more meticulous and careful than even the finest Akademiya healer, and yet he's also capable of the absolute destruction inherent in his element. God-made or not, he can destroy it. Something many adepti have failed to do, and yet this mortal child is capable of it with ease, and often on accident. He calls it bad luck when something indestructible is shattered by his touch, but the archons and adepti know better.

They know that the constant threat of death from the universe is Celestia's fruitless attempt to eliminate a monster of its own creation. If they left him with normal luck, he'd be unstoppable, but his survival has only made his power grow. The trials from Celestia itself have not killed this mortal, and so he grows stronger for having survived. Even the eldest archon quivers in fear as this child walks off being struck by lightning. Even the Conquerer of Demons feels a shiver go down his spine when an automation goes up in flames.

So yeah, I've been having fun with overpowered Bennett. He is horribly built, and yet he carries me regardless. Rip Kaeya, you wouldn't have survived without your bad luck charm.

#bennett #genshin bennett #genshin impact #genshin ideas #fic ideas #genshin aus

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raayllum · 1 year ago

Note

Do you think Viren will follow Callum’s arc if Callum follows Viren’s?

Not precisely in either case.

I think either S5 or S6 (the Tragedy Seasons, if you will) will eventually have Callum do some fucked up / terrible thing for the people he loves. Could be a dark magic attempt, could be something related to the cube (his paranoia leading him to chasing it too far to make it a weapon) - something along those lines where the people he loves is more important to him "than anyone or anything" (Callum's Tales of Xadia bio) and are his Primary Motivation above anything else. That to me is the Viren-esque quality that's going to come to the forefront and lead him to play into Aaravos' hands, either leading to him being brainwashed into it, or breaking free of the brainwashing or still being coerced. But I don't think S5 and/or S6 can really end any other way, given that we know that defeating Aaravos has to come in S7.

Part of this is also due to Callum's seasons long parallels to Claudia in personality ("You're going to be better now - that's all that matters"), his parallels to Rayla ("going to dark places and making hard choices is an act of love. It's a gift"), and to Terry ("I had to. I couldn't let him hurt you"). The theme of people doing terrible things for love is something that basically the entire main cast is either already embroiled in an arc for, or has already come to pass (hi Soren in 3x09 and Harrow in 3x06) and I don't see why Callum would be any different. Tests of love and all that.

For Viren, I think he'll have a mix of Callum and Viren's arcs going forward. In S2, as a result of 2x07, Soren and Callum are both injured/ill and have epiphanies regarding their lives in 2x08; Soren verbally expresses his, while Callum symbolically sleeps through his in dreams. Viren was already having some of their arcs in S4 (retracing his and Callum's steps, asking to let go, rejecting dark magic; having the emotional ramifications steamrolled over by Claudia and her physically 'fixing' the situation). I don't think there'd be much of a point in keeping him alive this long if there wasn't a turning point of atonement for him.

Which, now that I'm thinking about it, Viren trying and then going back to dark magic would fit a parallel of Callum 'relapsing' (for lack of a better term) as well in a future season, as his VA Jack De Sena has readily teased, but we'll have to see.

I do think they're more of a switch pair - Viren ending arc 1 in a terrible place (falling) and Callum in a good one (flying) with arc 2 being the opposite, of Callum being in the worst place and Viren in a better one (also means Viren can mostly be a supplement and/or have relationship development with other characters in s6/s7 whereas Callum as the main protag will always have more of an Internal thing going on regardless) is likely, than say, Claudia and Rayla, who tend to operate a bit more in tandem (S3 both ends with them exiled; they're both knowingly reunited with mages they've missed terribly who are far more caught off guard and refuse to consider letting those mages die in S4; are wanting to or trying to save their parents in S5 etc).

It also means that S6 could be about Soren&Viren saving Claudia (in ways she's always been saving/preserving them) and Ezran&Callum (particularly if Ez is working through a Runaan adjacent rift) saving Rayla.

#it was just red #tdp viren #tdp callum #tests of love #s6 speculation #s5 speculation #parallels #thanks for asking #anonymous #tdp #the dragon prince #predictions #update:#predictions achieved

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pocket-jack · 1 year ago

Text

Corazon returns to Donquixote family in exchange for Law's freedom (I may or may not may see this outcome)

Doflamingo's expectations:

Doffy: Now your soul is mine. Your body. Your mind. Your will. You'll obey me and only me without any doubt or hesitation. You signed for it. You're exchanged your life for it. Now i'll juice you up. All of your potential will be used on max. I'll not pity you. You're not my brother anymore. You're my thing. A tool. A personal weapon

Cora: Yes... Yes, I will. Anything for Law's sake. I'm ready to sell my soul. To sacrifice my life for him. I am ready to lose my personality, my mere and pitiful existence. I will became an object and won't do anything against it. As long as my love is burning, I will bow lower than the ground to my only king and God. I am ready...

A hard reality:

Doffy: Where are you going?

Cora: To my shack (at the other end of Dressrosa as far as possible from Doffy)! I wanna put Law's (A son I should have been missing for Doffy to manipulate me) first poster on my wall! (The one that covered with a giant picture of the Donquixote Family - the pitiful attempt to put Cora under Doffy's will. Finally have a point to get rid of that).

Doffy: I didn't allowed that! I need you there! Don't forget about your duties, Corazon! (The one's that you never do or mess up so catastrophically it can sabotage all of the plan and turn my hair grey)

Cora: If you so needy for my attention (that is absolutely true, but Doffy won't admit it under any torture) than you should say the magic word for once

Doffy: Don't test my patience, Corazon.

Cora: Or what? You'll kill Law's only motive to come back? C'mon, you just don't know the word. The powerful Donquixote Doflamingo doesn't know how to ask properly! I can't believe it!

Doffy: Grrr-... Please...

Cora: What was that?

Doffy: .............Please.

Cora: Please, what? And where's the affection?

Everyone just watches Doffy completely red faced presses to his brother, holding him by the hands, and trying not to fucking look at people around him: Please, stay....

Cora: That's it! Wasn't hard enough, right, Doffy?

Doffy: ..........

________________

The idea.

Corazon exchanges his life for Law's safety. Doflamingo let's the child go, attempting to manipulate both of them. By his idea Law will train hard to reach the level of the Immorality Operation, only to return and safe Corazon from Doflamingos claws. Meanwhile Corazon will be obligated to play Doffy's game and play it fair too. They've faked his death for the Marines and left the island leaving crying Law behind.

The plan crumbled greatly, when Cora awoken his manipulative skills by spending years by his brothers side. He ended up manipulating Doffy, making him somewhat dependant and deprived of his brothers presence.

In the end it will play the crucial part in the Dressrosa conflict 13 years later, because Doffy will feel himself tangled by Cora's strings as well as everyone on the island is tangled by his one's. There will be an attempt to redeem Doffy, but he was too deep inside of his delusions and hatred. Cora will feel melancholic about it. Perhaps they will met again one day, and Cora will reach his hand to Doffy's heart. Perhaps Doffy is just asleep and one day will wake up... But until then Cora will travel by his son's side to find more things to show and tell to his brother, when they will met again

#one piece #one piece au #donquixote doflamingo #donquixote corazon

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dairogo · 1 year ago

Note

hi!! wanted to give you a free pass to respond with any ideas/rambling/writing bits/literally anything you might have been wanting to post recently! you always reblog top tier content to the dash and on top of that have stellar fma takes so i know we will get good stuff if you’re interested in sharing ❤️

T_T <3 Meg you are a delight - thank you!! In my drafts I have so many half-witnessed shadows, deep down in my cave here, and I never crept close enough to the surface to explore them in their Platonic perfection.

I don't have the brain to write this the way I originally wanted to, but let me say this: President Breda is where it's at.

Look, you've got these war criminals trying to make the world a better place because they realise that what they've done is horrendous - and that's great, we want them to realise that - but you know what's greater? People who didn't commit the crimes and who are still trying to make the world a better place. You don't have to have come to a major moral dilemma - or even be a victim - to stand up for the right thing, and that's what President Breda represents.

Breda is smart. Not just because he plays go, but because he waits before he acts - he tests and sees who are his friends and allies, and he picks his moments. He does what he can to help innocents (helping Maria Ross escape), to see that murderers come to justice (packing a gun to shoot her just in case), and he's fully aware of how to use information to his advantage (telling Mrs Bradley that her husband and son were missing while she's on air on the radio).

That, uh, might all seem a bit cut-throat, but when your comparison points are two people who have killed (honestly) more civilians than combatants, I'd take the wily, manipulative, politics kind of guy. And, I think, so would more of the voter-base.

#vote for Breda #underrated character for sure #ask answered #thank you <3

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fountainpenguin · 1 year ago

Text

"How do you know which memories to save? Like the very last footprint that Orpheus made?"

---

New Dog's Life chapter today!

Chapter 6 - “Charred (Lizzie)”

Read on AO3

Start from Chapter 1

---

Down in the lush cave, the Spelunkers - Lizzie, Mumbo, and Martyn - have a catastrophic run-in with Cleo and Jimmy... but not nearly as catastrophic as what happened to Joel last chapter. After play time is over, Scott entrusts Lizzie with something she's never held before... her husband's player file. Her mission? Bring it to Etho's apartment so he can start patching the damage in Joel's code.

Ft. fun dialogue such as:

“TIME OUT! I haven’t put my crocs in speed mode!”

“I literally eat people.”

“I miss… ostriches.”

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

---

LDShadowLady - Zombie

Quarry: SolidarityGaming

Hunter: Unknown

💚 💛 ❤️

The Life series is a stage, the creeper on the cave ledge below is an audience member, and Martyn InTheLittleWood is a theatrical man. Lizzie knows that, Mumbo knows that, and maybe that's why they both lunge forward to grab him by the arms before he can fling himself off a cliff. The last mob he killed was a skeleton, so touching him feels like touching a bundle of branches in a shroud. He shakes them both off anyway, protesting and promising not to do anything stupid. Martyn's idea of something stupid, Lizzie very quickly discovers after that, has far narrower parameters than she would have guessed.

"Lizzie! Lizzie, Mumbo. Watch this."

"Oh dear," Mumbo says weakly, rubbing behind his neck. Lizzie grimaces, holding one hand to the sword at her hip. She probably makes a goofy sight - her navy blue schoolgirl uniform, her tangled pink hair stuck with moss and gravel, her iron armor, diamond sword, the zombie traits that have left her with greenish flesh - but hey… she's here to win a war, not a photo op. Although it would be fun to bring a sword to one of those…

The ledge they're standing on opens into a larger cave, which is spotted with glowberries, distant lava flows, and the shiny violet eyes of endermen. Spiders too, their eyes bright and red. The cave's walking paths curl around the right-hand side, leaving an enormous drop to the left. With her current zombie orientation, Lizzie can see perfectly well a hundred blocks out, and there are… a lot more more mobs than the three of them can take on all at once. "Someone's already come this way," she murmurs to the others. "They've loaded the chunks and spawned everything… They might even still be here."

Martyn ignores her and lines himself up - backwards - against the edge of the drop. He grips a bucket of water in his hand. "Let me see, let me see… There we are. All right: watch this and prepare to be astounded."

"Uh," says Mumbo, reaching out his arm. His soot-stained fingers grasp the end of Martyn's sleeve. He tugs him back. "I'm not sure what I'm looking at here, dude, but I don't think it's a very good idea."

Martyn slaps the hand off anyway, his bones clattering beneath his armor. "Nah, nah; I've been practicing at home. I'm getting some sick footage out of this. Watch me, watch me." Martyn backs up again. Mumbo lets him, though Lizzie can tell from his wincing shoulders that he's still expecting the second death of the season to pop up in the chat any second now. Third, maybe, if you want to be technical, and Lizzie doesn't; it'll be all the more funny to tease her husband that canonically, he died before Jimmy in this round of the games.

Martyn bends his knees a few times, testing. Cautious inhale. Smooth exhale. Then he throws himself backwards off the drop. He backflips, dumps his water bucket, and sticks the landing. Perfect MLG clutch. Half the water's on the cave floor; half comes splashing down on top of him. He throws out his arms, embracing the rain. Lizzie and Mumbo break into golf claps.

"Nice, mate!"

"Oh, come on… You can cheer harder than that! Same team, guys. Same team."

"Creeper, creeper!" Lizzie calls, pointing behind him. Martyn's eyes bulge. He ducks away, searching his inventory for a torch. He doesn't have boots yet and his shoes keep skidding on wet stone. He starts swinging at the creeper, shouting "Avast!" and "Get back, dynamite swine!" until she and Mumbo jump down with weapons in hand. The creeper butts Martyn with its head and knocks him into the water so hard, it disconnects his skeletal forearm. Mumbo ducks sideways, looking for an opening. No dice. Lizzie gives the creeper a hearty swing and accidentally sends it flying off the edge of the next cliff. It falls for a solid second before she hears it thump somewhere below. Its claws scratch as it picks itself up and scurries away into the darkness. Lizzie spits out a bit of hair. Ah, well. Maybe it's better to stay a zombie anyway. She's liking the night vision… and exploding sounds like it might hurt.

She turns away from the drop to find Mumbo pulling Martyn back to his feet. He's soaked and wincing, but doesn't look like he's in too much pain, all things considered. "No hearts lost," he says when he sees Lizzie looking. His disconnected arm bones start finger-crawling away across the floor. "Uh-oh," Martyn mumbles, and tries to kick it with his foot. It scuttles sideways. "Stop, mate… If you make any rude gestures, you're gonna get me fired. At least try to pretend we're PG."

"Huh," says Lizzie, watching the arm crawl closer. Skeletons poof away after you defeat them in battle, apart from the bones they drop on occasion (which you can use to tame greedy wolves). She doesn't normally take the time to study them. If you'd asked her to guess what the skeletal structure of a forearm looked like… she certainly wouldn't have said "actually two separate bones that lie next to each other."

Weird.

The three of them watch in silence for a couple seconds until Lizzie bends down and grabs Martyn's hand by the wrist. The upper part of the arm is fritzing with loose pixels. Lizzie passes it to Mumbo, who holds it near Martyn's elbow until the connector points swirl together again. There we are. Martyn pinches his tongue between his lips, testing the way his arm bends a few times, then gives Mumbo two thumbs up.

"Aw, beauty… We're good. Thanks, guys. Real lifesavers. See Mumbo, this is why I married you."

Lizzie blinks. Mumbo, who's taken Martyn's bucket to scoop the water sloshing at their feet, swings around. Her surprise must show on her face, because his instantly glitches out. He catches himself quickly, but not before she registers that sign of embarrassment.

"It wasn't like that," Mumbo cuts in, covering his face with one hand. He shakes the other Lizzie's way, palm outstretched. "It was… It was back in Last Life. Martyn was just ready to transfer me a life!"

[Cnt'd on AO3 - Link at top]

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theadventurerslog · 2 years ago

Text

King's Quest VI: Heir Today Gone Tomorrow | Part 2

The Adventurer’s Log

King’s Quest VI: Heir Today Gone Tomorrow Part 2

Attempt the castle, go island hopping, communicate with Cassima and start treading the Isle of Wonders.

Last time I left off with my next goal being to go to the castle. On returning to the fork in the road I found a nightingale in the tree, perhaps Sing Sing, Cassima's pet Jollo spoke of. I left her be for the moment and continued to the castle.

Guard dogs! However, they've been alerted of Alexander by the Vizier and ordered not to let him through. And if it wasn't obvious, it was Vizier Abdul Alhazred speaking with Shamir in the last scene.

I'm actually slightly annoyed I did things in this order. If you go to the castle early you can get a scene meeting the Vizier, who informs you that he's already set to marry Cassima and basically Alexander has no chance here and go away. But you also get to meet the Captain Saladin (who is also a dog person). I missed Saladin and now I don't know when I'll get to meet him, probably not until much later.

Oh well. That's how it goes. This is a game with a couple different routes/deviations at a couple points, so gotta suck it up.

I popped back into town for a moment and saw the pawn shop owner dumping some trash into a pot. What else is there to do but search it! I found an empty ink bottle. Using it causes the sound of faint sloshing, but maybe it's only Alexander's imagination.

I went back to the nightingale and couldn't get her to interact until I used the mechanical nightingale from the pawn shop to play a song. She liked that and flew to a lower branch. I was able to give her the love poem and she took it off to...

Cassima!

Who... having no way of knowing who it's from assumes Abdul, and was not impressed.

I reloaded as I'm not ready to lose that poem just yet. I need a way to send her proof! Like the insignia ring! Of which I need something else valuable to trade back for it.

So, it was finally time to put the magic map to use.

I started on the Isle of the Crown, so there are three other places to check out and maybe some mysterious fog on the right there, but I couldn't do anything with it. I went to the Isle of the Sacred Mountain first.

There's a very smelly flower and a feather, both of which I picked up. There's an inscription on the cliff face and the game informs you to read the guidebook to the Green Isles to make sense of this place. This is something that comes with the game--fancy copy protection basically, but it gives you the information needed to solve this place. This wasn't something I wanted to attempt tackling now however, so I moved onto the next island.

There wasn't much to do here at the moment. The water is boiling and can't be crossed without dying. Naturally I tried.

Mmm stewed Daventry Prince.

Before I left I tried picking up the mushroom to a shocking response.

Not letting me do it? Alexander, a King's Quest protagonist, being safe? Not killing me with poisonous or enchanted mushrooms? They really have grown softer.

Next, I went to the Isle of Wonder.

Where there are some sleepy oysters in their little beds. Yeah, this island lives up to its name in strangeness. And fun!

Sadly one poor little oyster can't sleep for the awful ache in its mouth. You can catch a glimpse of something white in its mouth.

What better way to put something to sleep than that boring book?

youtube

Yeah, I recorded this. The way Alexander reads it is just so soft... Sweet nonsense.

During one of its yawns I was able to snag a pearl and with that pesky thing gone the oyster feels much better and falls asleep with its fellows.

There was also a string of words in the water to scoop up. Yes words.

Then I tried to progress further into the island and oh boy. It's guarded. It's guarded by none other than the sense gnomes set by the vizier to guard this place.

I don't. I don't like them. I think they would have scared me as a kid. They still just. No. They all speak in unison until one comes forward to test and their rhymes. It's just... a lot.

They line up and you need to trick each sense with an item. The stinky flower for the nose, the nightingale for the ears.

No! Yes, go away!

No! I realized I didn't have something for the eyes, so I deliberately failed at the taste to end this suffering sooner, and tried giving him now I can't remember what, but not the mint like you're supposed to.

And so failing they know it's a man.

And throw Alexander out to sea where he dies again. A lot of deaths by drowning happening.

SIGH.

Still, I did get the pearl, the very lovely valuable pearl, and went back to the pawn shop where I was able to trade it back for Alexander's insignia ring.

I was able to give the nightingale the ring and she flew off to Cassima.

She sends back a red ribbon and on examining it more closely I also found a strand of black hair.

Now I sent the poem again for which she was far more open and she sends back a letter warning of Abdul and tells him not to endanger himself trying to get to her.

Oh Alexander. He's got it baaad.

But we can't let this or the threat of the vizier stop us or love!

I tried fiddling more with the ink bottle and this time attempted using it on him. That caused him to try and open it and in doing so he spilled some on himself causing some of him to vanish. It's invisible ink.

Now I was ready for the dreadful gnomes.

Flower for nose, nightingale for ears (I wonder if the flute would work too), mint for mouth, rabbit's foot for hands (those are gloves being worn by the way, but the actual hands are not much better), and at last pouring the invisible ink over himself to fool the eyes. And off they go, convinced there is no man here.

And now I never have to see them again. Thank goodness.

I found a swamp.

Some milkweed growing milk and a dogwood tree!

I took one of the bottles of the milk as you do. I drank it too and nothing bad happened. It was probably good for Alexander to get some refreshment really.

And the dogwood tree lived up to its name and barked at me for taking the milk. I still took another milk bottle.

Alexander, however, doesn't seem too concerned when I tried talking to the tree. Haha, Alexander, haha.

And then I carried on to this scene of wonder and mystery.

Which I shall tackle next time! This island is fun once you get past the...gnomes. Their voices are still stuck in my head. Perhaps all these plants will save me or will there be more deaths for Alexander?

Points: 54/231 Deaths: 4 Time: 2:09

#king's quest #king's quest VI #heir today gone tomorrow #KQVI #KQVI_Log #sierra #adventure games

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realityhelixcreates · 10 months ago

Text

Boarded Up Paradise pt 5

Nash decides to take care of a problem.

Warning: Nash is still underage and some sexual-ish things do happen in this fic. Certain non-consensual actions are implied here and there.

Song: The Floor is Lava-Epic Mountain Music

@cardwrecks @captainbaddecisions @whocares-idont

As the weeks ticked by, Nash built up his 'savings', sought out little foxholes to hide in and create his traps, and settled into the weird domesticity of living with a demon. Lust was quickly becoming a stable presence in his life, which made sense considering Nash had previously lived such a transient lifestyle, and never spoke anyone more than a few days in a row. Yet Lust was there almost all the time, and always told Nash if he would be gone. He cooked for Nash, even though Nash could never eat much, and often took his leftovers to Mons. He continued reading the demonology books, and Lust continued to take an interest in his schooling and especially his extracurricular activities.

Sometimes the two collided; there was a school resource officer who had been giving Nash trouble lately, and Nash had been building a trap especially for him. Nash knew he wouldn't pass the test, just as Nash knew he would not be missed. He wasn't the only kid on the officer's harassment list, and Nash felt certain that the other students would keep their mouths shut, even if they suspected him. By his calculations, their hatred for him was not as strong as their hatred for authority with a gun.

He had continued to play on his teacher's pity for his new orphaned status, and had even gained a few points with the principal, just for acting like a pathetic, lost little kid. That would be fewer detentions, as long as he kept the ruse up.

People were beginning to notice him more, though he didn't know why. He hadn't changed the way he dressed or acted, and he wasn't sure that his fellow students were looking out for him more because he'd lost his father, or if it was some other change. One girl had even told him he smelled nice. Why would she even say that? He wasn't even wearing any cologne or lotion, or anything!

He'd stolen some lotion from a corner store on the way home that afternoon.

All of these things delighted Lust, who wanted to know what he thought of the girl (nothing), what he got so many detentions for (speaking, mostly), and what kind of traps Nash made.

So he gave Lust one of his special Rubic's Cubes.

They were piecemeal contraptions, taken apart and recombined with sensors and taser parts, a little crude, but he was always improving.

“If you don't make any moves in within a certain time, it zaps you. If you try to tamper with the stickers, the sensors will pick it up and zap you. If you don't finish a row in a certain time, it zaps you. And the zaps get worse the longer it goes. I have a remote that I can use to control them, so I can make it worse if I want to, and start or pause the timer. I can also make them overload and self destruct.”

Lust plucked the little cube up in his long claws.

“~So it is a portable puzzle~”

“It's a toy.” Nash said. “They've been around since long before I was born; basically everybody knows what they are and what you're supposed to do with them. I've just improved that one so that it's more of a challenge.”

“~And you can solve it~”

“Of course!” he took the cube back from the demons claws. “Let me show you.”

Nash poked a button on his remote 'just to keep it fair', then his hands flew along the cube, a rainbow of spinning colors that swiftly resolved themselves into solid faces. He set the finished cube down well before the first electric pulse, and tapped the remote again.

“~That...was quite swift. So it is a color matching puzzle. I see. I think I could do that~” Lust mused.

“Go ahead and try.” Nash challenged, remixing the colors. Lust delicately took the cube and waited for Nash to start the timer. His deft movements were not fast enough, and Nash grinned as the demon yelped, nearly dropping the cube at the first zap.

“Not as easy as I make it look, is it?” Nash teased.

“~I merely need to get an initial grasp on where the colors are-ouch! Why~”

“No movement for too long. Gotta keep going.”

Lust continued, absorbing the increasing electrical charges, but not without complaint.

“~Ouch! Where is the last blue? Ow! I thought it was over here, why is it over there? Ouch! Why is this side solid, but this one mixed? How did that even happ-oww~”

Lust dropped the cube from stinging fingers, scowling at Nash's smug giggle.

“~Perhaps I am a touch rusty~” Lust admitted imperiously. “~Lofty Hellish plans tend towards greatercomplexity, after all~”

“Uh-huh. You got beat by human ingenuity, own up.”

“~So this is what you plan to do to your cowardly officer~” Lust asked.

“Maybe. I'm gathering info on the guy to see what the most fitting plan would be. I want him to really feel his inadequacy. He wouldn't be a school cop if he was actually worth anything. When all you're good for is bullying kids, you know there's either something nasty or utterly pathetic in your past. I'm gonna dig it up and rub his face in it.”

Tampering with evidence, petty theft, wrongful arrest, and soliciting sexual favors from a suspect in custody. Nash had been right: it was pathetic. The kind of shallow evils that apparently made someone the perfect authority for kids. Surely, nothing could go wrong there.

No, this one would definitely not be missed.

The police force had really been going through it these past couple of years. First the old commissioner had been indicted under massive corruption charges. Then' he'd put out a hit on the DA and the judge looking over his case. The DA survived, but had been horribly scarred, both inside and outside. A new name began trickling down the ranks of Gotham's organized crime rings. Even Nash, currently the pettiest of criminals had heard.

Two-Face was a damn stupid thing to call yourself, but Nash would bet all the bodies being dredged out of the harbor hadn't been laughing in the end. Especially not the old police commissioner.

The new one reminded Nash a bit of Mr. Rodgers in a kevlar jacket. He had all the seeming of a kindly old grandpa, but had dodged assassination attempts, ousted prominent cops who were also under investigation for corruption, and was even rumored to be working with Gotham's own urban legend: The Bat himself.

A lot of people thought the Bat really was just a legend; a huge bat that lived somewhere in the bristling, stony rooftops of Gotham. Nash knew though: Nash had seen him. Once. He was a man. Just a man in a costume, who had practically flown high over Nash's head, and away into the dark. It had given him an idea.

He also had the advantage of knowing that the Bat existed on other worlds, and could be outwitted, if necessary. Arkham still fought him regularly. Nash didn't really want to fight him though; he agreed with what the Bat was doing. He agreed with vengeance. He would join in soon.

His Riddler persona didn't need to be an enemy. The Bat could patrol the skies, and he could take the underground, make it into something productive.

And if they ever did end up on opposing sides, well, Nash had the combined experience of six other Riddlers behind him.

“~Vigilantes do tend to be romanticized, don't they~” Lust mused over it. “~There's a definite sexappeal in the mystery, the apparent altruism, the fantasy of justice~”

“I don't really care about that.” Nash said. “I'm just tired of it. Things need to change, and they aren't gonna change unless someone does it.”

“~Perhaps. Many were the hopes of those who beheaded the king. What happens if the next one is the same~”

Nash shrugged.

“He's got a neck too.”

“~Ah. Bloodlusssst~”

The sensuous hiss that escaped the demon sent goosebumps shivering across Nash's skin. Lust glided closer, looming over him until Nash bent backwards against the kitchen table. The scent of ozone and rose intensified around him, and Nash found himself swimming in it, floating in the hypnotic ocean of Lust's eyes. Anxiousness strangled him, left him short of breath. Lust both braced and unbalanced him, long arms blocking in both sides of his trembling shoulders.

“~Why, Eddie...you're salivating. Is that what drives you? Is that where your hunger lies~”

“I-I-” Roses on the demon's breath, so close he could see the hidden fangs. “P-please...”

“~Yessss~” Lust's deep voice neared a whisper.

“M-move back...”

The huge blue eyes dimmed with the demon's startled blink.

“~Ah, yes. Of course. Well, that form of lust isn't solely under my jurisdiction anyway~” he grumbled.

Nash relaxed as the demon moved away. Apprehension swirled in him, and something else. What would have happened if he just hadn't said anything? What was he willing to allow? Lust seemed to listen to him, more than their pact really demanded. All Lust really needed to do was not hurt him. He didn't need to feed Nash, or keep him company, or teach him things about Hell and beyond. Hostless, the demon was also alone in the world. Was he lonely too, or just an opportunist?

Why did Nash like it so much? His body reacted to Lusts teasing, but wasn't it supposed to? Could Lust tell when it happened? The demon never said anything about it, which was good, because Nash didn't know how to feel about it. He kept telling himself that it was because he was a teenager, and didn't have control over it. That Lust's presence was supposed to affect people like that. But what if it wasn't just that?

Nash wasn't very concerned about sexual orientation. Detective, Puzzles, and Swag had been effective roll models, and Nash had decided that it really wasn't that big a deal if he was gay. The only reason he'd been afraid of that in the first place was his father, and that was no longer an issue. It was very, extremely clear that Lust didn't care either, and why would he? It would all be food to him.

“Sorry, what?” Nash asked. Lust had been speaking.

“~I said that somethings are too complicated to be assigned to just one of us~” Lust repeated, tilting his head to look suspiciously at Nash. “~I cross lines often enough with both Gluttony and Love, and sometimes even Wrath and Trust, that things sometimes blur together. Why Eddie, it's unlike you to be so distracted~”

Nash scowled. Lust did like teasing him.

Narci seemed surprised to find Nash on his doorstep, but quickly ushered him inside.

“Are you free of that thing now?” he asked, concern in his airy voice. “I was talking to Arkham, and-”

“Really?” Nash said, skeptical. Narci's pale ears flushed.

“Well, I was talking to Puzzles, who talks to Arkham, and we were trying to figure out how to maybe banish-”

“Don't bother. I'm fine. I told him not to mess with you anymore, and besides, I don't want him gone. I like him.”

Narci stared at him.

“Nash, it's a monster!” Narci insisted. “It's going to hurt you!”

“No, no.” Nash waved his hands in front of him. “We have a pact, I'm safe. You don't have to worry.”

“It's a liar.” Narci shot back heatedly. “You can't believe anything it says! It just wants to take advantage of you. It'll swallow you if we don't drive it off. You can stay here with me while we figure out how. It's a demon, right? So, salt. Lots and lots of salt. I think it's...gold and amethyst that drive off evil spirits? I think I read that somewhere. I can get some of that easy, I might already have it, actually.”

He retrieved a box and began spinning through the complicated puzzle lock. He flubbed once, swearing in irritation at the needle that pierced his thumb upon his mistake, grabbing ad slurping down a vial of something from a nearby rack of what looked to Nash like fancy toiletries, and continuing on until the box cracked open.

It was full of beautiful jewelry, which sparkled in a dozen flashing colors as Narci rummaged about within, turning over loose stones and finished pieces alike, until he fished out a thick gold band topped with a shimmering purple stone the size of a penny.

“There! That oughta do it.” He handed it over to Nash.

“You don't actually believe this'll work, do you?” Nash asked.

“It's a start.” Narci said. “We can't let that thing have you.”

Nash handed the ring back. “Maybe you should wear it, if you're that scared.”

Narci grimaced and pushed the ring back into Nash's hands.

“I'm not scared!” he insisted. “I'm worried about you! That thing showed me awful visions. Awful lies. It's planning something for you, I know it.”

“Narci, they were just fantasies. That's what he does. Shows you something you want-”

“No! It's all lies! I'm not like that!” Narci struggled to regain control of himself. “Anyway, you keep that on. Just in case.”

“If you insist.” Nash said, pocketing the ring. It was a bit large for his hand. I actually wanted your help for something.”

He laid out his plan for the school officer, the why, the where, and the what.

“But I think I'll need help getting him there.” he finished. “It's not like I can dump him in a wheelbarrow and cart him around Gotham, you know.”

Narci smiled his cherubic smile.

“I think I might know a guy.”

#shards of the nexus #nash!riddler #narci!riddler #personification of lust

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