#unfortunately he has chosen to go about it in the worst ways possible

[isfjmel-phleg]

A thing I am figuring out about Talfrin: quality time equals love for him. He grew up an only child with parents who were often too distracted with their own concerns to bother much with him, so he learned to place a lot of value on getting meaningful attention from them, although he finally figured out he'd have to go elsewhere to find it, and that has come to be how he connects (or doesn't!) with other people.

Although Elystan lives in a separate household from his parents, Talfrin (as long as he's king and still in Corege) has made it a point throughout his son's childhood of visiting as often as he can. During family vacations, he's always the one with some kind of activity planned, and he wants everyone to participate. Whenever he wants to connect with Delclis, he'll talk with him one-on-one or take him on hunting trips--which can also double as a way of punishing Elystan for failure to live up to expectations by leaving him out of quality time with his father. Similarly, he will spite Bethira by denying her access to her sons. The more their marriage suffers, the less time he bothers to spend with her, and they haven't shared a room in years by the time they first appear in Book 1.

Exile is particularly hard on him in part because he's not able to spend time with his son anymore. And once he's in prison for treason and awaiting his fate, one of his last requests is to see Delclis one more time.

Delclis declines.

Whether or not Elystan gets a last visit with his father before losing him--whether or not Talfrin even wants to see him at that point--is something I'm still deciding.

[wowitsverycool]

unfortunately after replaying disco elysium i am now considering the economic and political implications of ISAT's world so i'm going to ramble about it now

specifically in vaugarde.

firstly with dormont housing multiple shops and mirabelle mentioning dating *companies* and expensive earrings. market economy, possible capitalism. SAD!

then "defenders" existing as either a profession or volunteer position (i assume profession due to it being referred to as a "job" and the fact that you have to take "defender exams". speaking of which vaugarde seems to place a lot of emphasis on education which checks out culturally but it's probably politically important too so jot that down) and 'protecting [their] neighborhood, [their] city" from robberies at worst, with them usually helping with civil issues like rescuing cats from trees or helping old men with bags. is isabeau an ex cop or an ex social worker? is it both? perhaps defenders are citizens militias?

and the king targeting a house of change rather than any other particular form of government. is mirabelle a simultaneous college student and bureaucrat? or are Houses of change simply instances of government that provide education/food/body craft/healthcare to all, with "housemaiden" being a catch-all term for those who reside in them? furthermore, under the assumption that Houses DO constitute Vaugarde's government (again assuming that there is a government and they're not... like... ancaps with defenders existing as privatized policing institutions), are head housemaidens something like representatives or legislative bodies in a confederation? do you vote for head housemaidens, or are they simply chosen? promoted? in which case, by who?

and then there's the way the king talks about monarchist ideals in the context of vaugardian society, which is of course NOT a monarchy.

*in vaugarde*? was vaugarde at one point a monarchy before possibly undergoing a revolution? "against the will of the people" -- perhaps this is a hint at a general *distaste* for monarchism among vaugardians... is that part of its cultural reverence towards Change?

WHAT IS THE HIERARCHY UNDER WHICH VAUGARDE EXISTS IN ORDER FOR THERE TO BE STORIES ABOUT "LORDS" GUARDING "CASTLES"?! since vaugarde is not a monarchy, is the status of a lord residing in a castle purely economic? is lord josephandre a lackey of capital?! is the cursing of chateau castle Defender propaganda?!!?! or-- or-- maybe the cursing of chateau castle is some kind of historical piece! it's long running, so maybe it contains cultural relics of a bygone era (possibly monarchist in nature)??!!?

also, notice how during his friendquest, isabeau points out that jouvente has "more than one house" as a way of emphasizing how big it is:

sure, it could just be that bigger cities need more resources and public service, but still.... it tells you something about House jurisdictions. maybe about representatives.

and the way mirabelle describes euphrasie:

the head housemaiden of *dormont*. the town, not the house. this all but confirms that towns/cities are ruled individually by their own House(s, in the case of larger cities)!

while not *all* vaugardians follow the Change belief, it seems pretty likely that the country itself is ruled by it.... boy, they sure are lucky that the House of Change is so welcome and opening to everyone regardless of belief! (though it's implied proselytizing might be encouraged for its members when siffrin tells mirabelle he might want to go on a pilgrimage.)

so TL;DR, in MY AMATEUR OPINION,

vaugarde is a confederation of theocratic city-states with a social-market economy and no central governing body.

i just thought that was interesting.....

[wallbeatjournal]

If they'd have chosen to just be straight up about it, when in the canon timeline do you think is the most likely place narratively for hirarchie to have gone sexual?

i've said before i think season 2 is already a grooming narrative with a subtextual consummation, but if i'm actually script-doctoring what we've got across the whole series to have hirarchie fuck nasty as a shocking and trashy and high-aesthetic plot development, i'm going to argue that it's more satisfying if we don't have an explicit archie cheating plot at this stage in the story. it works better as an emotional affair. (saying this bc to the characters i think it would be first and foremost about the complication of cheating, not bc that's the biggest problem with hiram/archie.)

imo riverdale should have done it as a mid-seasons escalation in season four. give us a season or two to really sit with how unhinged and obsessed hiram is about archie and then decode it in the worst and most extreme bad taste like the second archie turns 18.

putting my season 4 hirarchie proposal below the cut since it got quite long:

the s4 dodger plot is...extremely uneven and feels a bit cobbled-together on the fly by a writing team grappling with the death of luke perry and the in-universe death of fred andrews, and whether it would be respectful to keep being super weird about hiram in the wake of all that. but there are still useful components in the dodger arc - archie is the oliver twist in the oliver twist riff happening*, a boy "orphaned" without reliably engaged, aware parents who was groomed into criminality and doesn't see a way out without a wealthy benefactor. lean into that!

it can happen as hiram starts working out at archie's gym, mysteriously ill in a dickensian sort of way. riverdale's favorite weird incestuous overtones come into play especially hard if we're considering season four hirarchie, when it can really only be largely about fred for archie and holding on to/deepening a relationship with the sometimes-father-figure he has left. archie has been trying so hard to be a good brick in this monument of fred's legacy but it feels impossible because the only tools that come naturally are violence and sexuality and appealing to benefactors, so why not get a little nihilistic-horny with it.

he's also frankly already being a pretty bad boyfriend to veronica this season, it's stale, they're bickering, they don't have emotional intimacy the way he used to have emotional intimacy with hiram during what he probably still unfortunately remembers as their best days......i just don't think he'd be guilt-ridden about fuck-nastying veronica's dad at this point the way he would have been in season 2 when fred's cheating was the big looming legacy beat to avert and goodboyism seemed like an achievable and real thing archie could prove to others.

this is also i think when indulging in fuck-nasty hirarchie would be least damaging/difficult an option for hiram - he's ill and wants to feel vital again, he's ill and he wants archie to remember and honor him when he's gone the way he remembers and lionizes fred (he knows this isn't possible and that makes him resentful and apt to grasp at another form of intimacy that wasn't available to fred). he's feeling aggression towards his daughter, who is leaving him (by going to college) as much as he might be leaving her (by dying of a mysterious illness). it's a big complicated sick emotional motivations stew and both archie and hiram are looking at getting left behind to cook in it while the rest of the core four move forward in life.

and it would be hot. archie and hiram in the gym "personal training" (gone sexual) with weird grief-hate-reconciliation-validation sex would be hot. archie and hiram doing vigilante violence and then making out in sketchy alleys would be hot. are you kidding me?

all of this would make archie even weirder about hiram's illness and tenser in discussions with veronica about what to do about hiram's illness, and i do think barcheating would still happen - it's escapism/avoidance from what's going on within varchie, it's escapism/avoidance from what's going on within hirarchie, and archie is primed to be impulsive. so we still get barcheating fallout but MORE.

does veronica find out archie hooked up with her dad when they all thought her dad was dying? maybe! maybe she feels more sorrow and guilt (irrationally, about being the conduit bringing hiram into archie's life in the first place) than personal betrayal. or maybe she does feel very betrayed and that's an additional factor in everything (especially archie choosing to run away to the military. sorry everyone i know i've disappointed you all deeply and am very fucked up. instead of talking it out i will simply Leave).

all of this fuck-nastyism of course would make hiram's reaction to the barcheating that much more intense and outsized. veronica was feeling her relationship with archie wane already but hiram was IN IT. he's getting well, he's fighting again, he's offered archie a job, archie is about to be his main special interest while veronica and hermione drift and archie would CHEAT on him?? he's only supposed to be cheating WITH him!!!!

and then we segue into season 5 post-timejump when the riveradults are all kind of weird with each other but moving through it, and hiram has been behaving like a jilted ex throwing a temper tantrum for 7 years. and he will certainly continue.

*i think everyone notices but the dickinson crew is mostly named in reference to the gang of thieves who adopts and trains oliver - the artful dodger, fagan, bill. intertextuality, yippee!

[yuri-is-online]

Congratulations 👏 on your 500 folls 🥳

Prompt 15 for Riddle, Kalim, and Silver? If I pick the 1st year, I think the prefect might quickly discover who it is and I can't choose any of them.

I think those 3 might really, REALLY want to dance with the prefect, while the prefect just trying to hide.

15. Formal balls weren't a thing in your world so you have been hiding in this strategically chosen corner to avoiding having to step on anyone's toes. Unfortunately someone really, really, REALLY, wants to dance with you and has managed to track you down AGAIN.

Hm I'll admit when I wrote this prompt I wasn't exactly thinking of this as being one with mistaken identity, but I like your thinking annon! Kalim especially would want to dance with the prefect, it's one of his favorite things to do and Yuu is one of his favorite people.

notes: they/them used for Yuu, references to voicelines for Riddle's Masquerade Card, Kalim came out a bit of a tease idk if that's ok? And some french in Rook's part that I don't know if I used right. The other event requests can be found on my masterlist here.

Riddle

"It is against the rules to loiter at an event like this!" You had not even bothered to get a good look at your accuser before slipping away into the crowd. You do your best to keep your head high and act as natural as possible, searching desperately for yet another place to hide.

"Look I am sure you are very nice, but I have a friend to get to!" You call over your shoulder, and yelp in surprise as the surprisingly nimble knight pins you to the wall.

"And just who is this friend?" You can see a danger in his smile that is familiar, but you can't quite place where the nerves in your throat come from, but you are surprised to find it's not from fear.  

“Ummmmm-” You desperately, fruitlessly, look around the ballroom for any sign of someone you know.  Who the hell thought giving everyone in this school a mask was a good idea?  Now you are going to be forced to take a crack at picking a savior from the worst possible line up of idiots in all of Twisted Wonderland.  “Riddle!”  Because that’s got to be a safe bet, right?  There is no way that the tiny teapot tyrant would ever be brave enough to let out such a dark laugh and push you further into the wall at the call of his name. “I- I’m supposed to meet up with Riddle, so could you, you know let me go?”

“Go?  But that would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?”  Riddle takes off his mask, with the intent to spare your feelings as your eyes pop halfway out of your skull in despair.  “You have been so dutifully looking for me prefect, that is why you kept running, right?  Someone as well behaved as you would never dream of shirking their duties at such an important event.”  But despite saying that he doesn’t dream of letting you out from under him, because he knows you will run again you remind yourself.  Logical Riddle has to know this is inappropriate but won’t realize it ever because it’s in the name of enforcing the rules.  “Well?”

“Um sure!”  You release some of your embarrassment by carefully examining the ceiling and laughing just a bit too long, missing the angry pout on Riddle’s face when your attention is no longer his and his alone.  “Just what were those duties again?”

“Dancing.”  He is angry now, he has to be, better stop looking at that ceiling and let out some more nervous giggles.  “You did say you were going to dance with me, yes?”  No you just said you were looking for him, but you cannot deny how fast your heart jumps up into your throat at the thought of dancing with Riddle.

“I suck though.”  You blurt out the words before you can find a nicer way to say it, but for once Riddle does not scold you for your language.  He just finally steps back from pinning you to the wall, childish anger replaced with joyful confidence as he bows just so.

“You have absolutely no need to worry about your dancing, not when I am your partner.”  And oh how stupidly handsome he looks taking your hand and leading you to wherever it is he wants to go. 

Kalim

"Yuu!!!!" You hear your pursuer long before you see him, the bells sewn all over his costume would have alerted you even if he didn't insist on shouting your name as soon as he saw you. Avoiding him was easy too, but you were starting to run out of nooks and not liking the look of the crannies.

And you were starting to not have fun, not that you had been having loads of it once the dancing had truly started. Sure you could have tried asking Vil or Riddle for help but you knew they would be in the trenches already and didn't want to add to that.  It had also occurred, or perhaps it was politely suggested, to you that you could have asked for Kalim and Jamil’s help.  Ballroom dancing might not be what you have seen them do, but it is still dancing and you cannot picture either of them really hating it.  Yet for some reason, every time you had walked towards the mirror in the hall you had stopped in your tracks.  Much like you were stopped now by the swirling of other people and fabric, those jingle jangling bells finally clamoring directly in your ears as their owner decides to plop his head on your shoulder with a melodic laugh.

“Finally!  I was worried I was never going to catch up.  You turn to see a bright sunshine of a smile, his catlike mask hiding most of his features but the gentle concern peeking out from the eyes can only really belong to one person at this school.  “C’mon!  You can’t be having fun just watching everyone, right?”  So Kailm says but you still feel somewhat unsure even as he wraps his arms around you to give a small hug.  He even rubs his cheek against yours truly committing to the cat bit.

“Then why aren’t you dancing?”  You ask quietly.  “You can’t have been having fun chasing after me all night.”

“Well it wasn’t all night.”  Even though he asked you to dance, he doesn’t move to let you go.  Almost as if he is just a bit more aware of your emotions than you think he is, as if he is afraid that you will run away from him again and that he will have to accept the rejection for real this time.  “And I did dance for a bit but then I thought ‘this would be so much more fun if Yuu were here’ so I went looking for you.”  He guides you slowly into a sort of sway, laughing softly when you finally relent to move your feet; rewarding your participation with loosening his embrace to fall around your waist and across your chest.

“Don’t blame me if I step on your feet.”  You grumble and you think he shakes his head from the sound of the bells but you are too embarrassed to look up at his face.

“But if I do I could keep asking you to dance by pretending to offer you lessons right?”  He hums along with the music and spins you around so you have no choice but to look at him now.  Kalim’s head is as light as his smile as he dips you into a faster dance.  “Oooh that’s much better, you’re smiling!  It looks wonderful on you.”  As it does on him.

Silver

Silver is comically unaware of how he comes off on a typical day, but tonight he has gotten enough strange looks that even he has started to notice.  He is undecided on whether or not it bothers him.  

“Prefect.”  You startle and Silver immediately lunges to catch your falling cup before returning his attention to you.  Or trying to anyway, he half wonders if you had tossed it as a distraction to assist in your get away.  It’s clever, maybe something he could use in the future but realistically his brain would probably take him dropping the cup as a sign it was time for lights out and only allow him a mental escape.  But he’s getting sidetracked, he is supposed to be looking for you.  He has a mission.

“Ah a masquerade!  Que c’est romantique!”  Rook has been saying some variation of that since the Headmage first announced his plans, but today he has an addition.  “You must be most excited Monsieur Sleepyhead.”

Silver starts, somewhat surprised at being singled out. “Malleus is extremely pleased, of course I’m excited.”  Rook shakes his head.

“Non, not like that, you must be excited for them.”  And though Rook does not point and SIlver does not turn his head he knows where the junior is looking.  His eyes have been inadvertently wandering towards you, he tells himself it is because Class A seldom gathers together in one place.  Because he needs to keep an eye on you, you are his Lord’s first friend and he wishes to honor your need to be protected.  “I am right, am I not?”

“I think so.”  He says with his usual even tone.  “The Prefect won’t have seen anything like it in their world, so they should take this chance to-”

“Be swept off their feet by a handsome prince.”  Rook sounds like he is directing a play, Silver actually looks over his shoulder to check on you before he realizes Rook is speaking metaphorically.  “You will ask them to dance I trust?  With how often you think of them you must have been dreaming of it for some time now.”

He has no real way of knowing if that’s true, Silver never really remembers his dreams.  But something in him, perhaps it was the certainty Rook voiced his imagination, practically screams that he was right.  He has been dreaming of this, dreaming of you in his arms as he dances with you around a forest as his animal friends provide the music.  It feels real almost, as he once again finds you shying away from the crowd resolving to try a different approach.

“Yuu.”  The stranger’s voice is soft, as is his grip on the edge of your cape.  You find your breath caught up in the softness of it as he reaches up to remove his mask and reveal just who you have been running from all night.  “I’m sorry I frightened you, would you allow me to make it up to you?”  You barely recognize that you have nodded your agreement, too shocked at how natural the movements come to you as Silver guides you to the floor as if he has done this a hundred times before.  It’s surreal and dreamlike, the look in his eyes is trying to say something.  Something familiar, something you’ve heard before but not out loud, you don’t think.  But then you blink and the strange aura is gone from you both, replaced by the warmth of reality and the realization you were afraid for nothing.  So long as you had Silver to guide, you think you could fly.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Imagine- having to introduce your ex lover (a.k.a disney villain) to your spouse who has no clue what (was?) between you and this person.

Imagine your cute new wife coming in to your work drop something off for you because they are literally the sweetest person alive just when Cruella, your boss and ex lover, walks by. Her eyes light up in cruel curiosity and introduces herself, making conversation with your beau. She acts with her just like she did when meeting Roger, like 'Oh- what's a pleasure?', 'Making your acquaintance, Miss!', 'Oh, how sweet,... I wish I could reciprocate!' while you are just there on the edge of your seat, very stiff, hoping the crazy doesn't say anything. You're ashamed of your time with her... but she's always made it clear she still wants you and will continue to toy with you.

Imagine you intend to marry someone, but before you can you have to present that person to the Sultan... its just a formality, but who is always with the Sultan??... Yes, Jafar. Your ill-conceived secret ex lover. You're dreading the meeting, because the man is a creepy old viper and is not going to make this easy for you and unfortunately... you're absolutely right. He interrogates your fiance, which strikes even the kind Sultan as odd, and once your fiance is excused... he makes you stay back for further interrogation! He takes it all way too far, the Sultan himself not even participating in the whole ridiculous farce. When Sultan and Jafar both dissapewr for a sidebar, to decide your fate though- you still are not expecting what's about to happen. Jafar wouldn't. He wouldn't go so far as to refuse your marriage. That would be ridiculous-

... Except when he comes back into the throne room there's a very pleased smirk on his face and solemn look on the Sultans. And you're utterly shocked.

Imagine you performed favours~ for the lord of the dead, kn exchange for him finding you a comfortable suitor- someone with money, and didn't have a history of hitting his spouses. When Hades finally comes through with his end of the bargain it's an awkward affair to be sure... but more so for the poor soul Hades has chosen to marry you. You're lovely, to be sure. He should be so glad to have you. But... He knows that he's going to have to take care of a gods plaything, now. A Gods favourite. Someone who knew the sensual arts far better then he did- after all how could he possibly satisfy you after you had been with a god? And it's clear that you and Hades both are still very fond of eachother, as well... he feels the terrible glare of the lord of the dead every time he turns his back.

Imagine, introducing your new husband to the King and Queen... and the sullen Prince in the corner who you don't know why he's even there. Scar, who you used to fraternise with before meeting your now-partner, seems to perk up when you walk in and zeroes in on your husband. Mufasa and Sarabi are keeping pleasant conversation with the two of you but Scar is circling you all and uts very uncomfortable until you snap at him and ask him what he is doing?? The way he smirks at you is not a way that acquaintences- or even friends- look at eachother and you're so afraid everyone will know. They will all know you and Scar were together. They will all know how he made you feel. They will all know how he makes you feel!

... But then he shrugs and slinks past you and there's your husband, asking if you're alright, and something feeling wrong inside you looking back into those eyes rather then poisonous green ones.

Imagine, an ex Lady of the Queen's you must come by the palace with the husband that you left her services to marry since the two of you are passing through the area for your honeymoon. Since you and the Queen's escapades together, the affair, used to be the countries worst kept secret- you and your husband are dreading it. You're trying to assure him that there is nothing between you and her any more and you regret it ever happening in the first place (Whether thats true or not). When you finally get to introducing them all actually goes quite well! She's polite, he relaxes, and y'all have lunch ^^

Well- it is all perfectly fine... until Hilda has a proposition for the two of you. Y/N and I still have feelings for eachother, clearly... she says, and you feel your soul go cold. What is happening- But she also wants you, (Husband's name), because you offer a comfortable and stable life for her. I understand that. Which is why I suggest she reserve her desires... for me. She lives with you, she acts as your wife... but she comes to me for the things that she wants at night. You do not touch her.

... Fair?

[marianperera]

Transformers Two

I watched Transformers One a week ago and although I can think of ways to improve it, the film was great. It also made me long for a sequel, so of course I started imagining one and came up with this plot :

Shortly after the events of the first movie, Optimus receives news that a fleet of Quintesson ships is heading for Cybertron. It's evident that the Autobots alone can't defeat them, so Optimus reaches out to the Decepticons - not only because of the Quintessons, or even his past friendship with D-16, but because he regrets exiling the High Guard en masse. He realizes that this gave Megatron a ready-made army, and moreover, the High Guard's attack on Optimus wasn't backstabbing or Sentinel-level cruelty, but three higher-ranking members of the High Guard performing their duty of protecting their leader. Not something they should all have been punished for. Optimus isn't perfect, but when he makes mistakes, he owns them and does his best to make up for them. Megatron and Starscream argue about Optimus's offer of an alliance, but when Decepticon scouts confirm the threat, Megatron agrees to temporarily set aside his vendetta against Optimus. Megatron is also learning as a leader; he realizes that rather than reacting with an enraged charge as he did previously, he needs to come up with plans and tactics that take his opponent's vulnerabilities into account and capitalize on them. The Quintessons arrive and the alliance swings into action. This is a chance to show more of Elita and Bumblebee as well as 'cons with cool abilities: Soundwave's cassettes can gather intel, Skywarp can teleport into a Quintesson ship, and so on. The Quintessons fight fiercely but the alliance holds firm. Working together against the common threat brings out the best in Megatron and his troops, and Optimus starts to hope that they can resolve their differences. He suspects the alternative is civil war, and is determined to do anything in his power to avoid that. The Quintesson ranks break and flee, but they leave behind a trap which nearly destroys Megatron and although he escapes just in time, he finds evidence showing that Optimus and Starscream conspired together to set the trap. Of course the evidence was planted by the Quintessons, but Megatron doesn't know that. When he recalls how Starscream argued in favor of the alliance, he believes that Optimus wanted to use him to get rid of the Quintessons, then remove him and allow Starscream to retake leadership. Megatron finds Starscream and starts to deliver a beatdown which is inadvertently interrupted by Optimus, who wants to negotiate peace and bring his former friend back. Unfortunately he's chosen the worst possible time to do so. Megatron and Optimus clash, and this time it's a stalemate because although Megatron has learned from their last fight, the Autobots back Optimus up. Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons leave, swearing revenge, and it's obvious that a civil war is on the horizon. The only question is who's going to remain standing after it.

[thevalleyoftriumph]

"He'll apologize after he's done here. Make it up to them somehow later, have a long talk with them about this." Assuming Dark did not execute cg/ they weren't there/ SOMETHING idk, and Dark was able to patch a very beaten and unconscious Chosen up and drag them back to the house, how would that conversation go? Would Beast take one look at Dark and attack him? Even if Killer or Chosen want to try diplomacy? Would They (one of the alters) wake up, realise their still in the house with the guy who is stronger than them and has harmed them, and book it? If so would Dark follow? Or let them leave Would they wake up to a note? Would one of them rip it up before the others have a chance to see it? Would they TRY diplomacy, only for the argument to immediately resume Theres so many possibilities, none of which can happen since Dark was blasted to kingdom come, BUT we can imagine for a moment

Oh man the convo would go so horribly so badly. Like let's be so honest Dark is the worst person to have a genuine and emotional conversation with he does NOT know what he's doing he's almost worse than Chosen 😭

I've never actually thought about this particular scenario before [as in it's actually like.. never crossed my mind somehow] so I can't really say for absolute certain what would happen, BUT . Let's indulge.

I think you're pretty right that if it were Beast still in front when they wake up, it'd probably immediately assume it was still in danger and attack Dark - that, or it'd absolutely book it the first chance it got, since it's not really looking for a repeat of the Virabot part of that whole thing. Sometimes it's just gotta do what's safest, and that doesn't always mean fighting back - sometimes it means retreat.

I think Chosen would still have some sort of faith in Dark and would like to stay and hear him out - and Killer by extension would, too, in a way. But both would be extremely hurt by everything and can be just as stubborn as Dark when they want to be, so it'd be pretty hard for them to not end up cutting him off a bunch to put their points in.

I think however, aside from Beast, Killer would also probably think about leaving. Maybe not forever, but definitely long enough to go sit outside and think about things for a while. They'd probably slip out when Dark is busy and he just comes back to them gone and briefly freaks out lol.

Honestly I'm certain the argument would just start back up eventually unless something changed REALLY fast you're totally right about that. These guys are sooo bad at emotions and Talking Things Out that it's almost comical if it wasn't borderline depressing.

HOWEVER ☝️ I think even during another argument, for Both of them their fight would just constantly be lingering in their minds - especially through Any Other Future Argument, the thought always rears itself back around. They're cautious of their actions, both of them - neither wants to get close during an argument anymore. If, say, Chosen instinctively tries to get closer - he stops, pulls back, then continues with what he was saying. It would do neither of them good if it got physical again, in fact thats the last thing EITHER of them want, so they do everything physically possible to remove even the possibility of an accident if they end up disagreeing about ANYTHING. No matter how small.

IDK THERES JUST SO MANY WAYS THIS COULD GO AND COULD EFFECT THEM ALL IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE TIME POST-SHOWDOWN TO HEAL FROM THEIR ISSUES. They love each other dearly and are each others best friend but they're also both so so so badly traumatized people and need a therapist SO much. So badly. Alas there's no therapists in the Outernet who work with cybercriminals who had a hand in nearly destroying their world unfortunately. 😔

[electricbluebutterflies]

george/bertha + “I will never get enough of you.” from the prompt list!

Vaguely close to canon timeline, vaguely NSFW, and also on ao3.

They are always just slightly different after their separations.

After all these years, Bertha knows it should not be this way. It is routine enough that her husband must take meetings and check in on projects elsewhere, and she knows she should enjoy those times, but they have never been ordinary, and-

A week apart is enough to make her insatiable. She knows these tendencies by now, and still her body surprises her.

She forces herself to be patient enough, to wait until she can at least claim a quiet moment. A different woman would wait until nightfall, if not delay as long as possible, but she knows what she is just as she knows what her love has come to expect from her and-

There is no need for discussion, she thinks as she takes a deep kiss. She has been denied and she is going to fix that.

She is reminded sometimes of how unusual her life is in ways that would be improper for anyone else to know. She sometimes hears acquaintances make delicate comments about the unfortunate duties of being a wife, and… that has never been her experience. Awkwardness as a young bride, at worst, but that was twenty years ago and since then they have become a fire, since then-

“Should I be surprised you haven’t pushed me to my knees?”

Bertha laughs. This is the man she loves, eyes deep with desire and she knows what he wants but if she asked him to tend to her first he’d do it in a heartbeat with genuine delight and-

“Only because I assume you’re too tired for that to be comfortable.”

“Then what do you have in mind?”

“If you would sit down…”

There is maneuvering to do before she can get what she wants, more kisses until they’re both breathless, hands over covered skin until he makes sure he can lift her skirts enough for the position she’s apparently determined for and-

“This is what a week apart does to you,” he murmurs, slowly dragging a finger between her petals. “I should know, but-“

“I do miss you, and I do understand but-“

He kisses her without moving his fingertips, and she focuses on how her body reacts, desire turned to outright need and-

More maneuvering to make the position work, and she envies how easy it is for men in such circumstances, much fewer layers of clothing to move or undo and trying to straddle him in this many skirts is a nightmare but worth it, worth it as she lets her body rest above his for a moment before-

She wants what she wants, she thinks as she lowers herself and everything is familiar and good, and at some point she stopped questioning whether that was right, and-

She may have chosen their position for convenience, but the angle doesn’t hurt either. She rolls her hips and shifts slightly to make sure her internal pleasure spot gets the pressure it needs, and perhaps the past week has made her more desperate than usual, and-

She shatters first. She doesn’t always without more focus, but she is good for it now, breathless and clinging and-

Her husband is overwhelmed at some point during her haze, and she barely feels it happen but there is a certain way he says her name at a certain moment, like she is everything, like-

“Was that enough for you?” he asks after, in the warmth of not wanting to separate their bodies just yet.

“I will never get enough of you,” she murmurs. “You know that, darling.”

They are always different after separations, Bertha thinks as her current position becomes uncomfortable, as she moves herself off him and straightens her skirts and hopes she does not look quite as ravished as she feels. They miss each other so easily, and she won’t sleep alone for a week and he’ll forgive every bruise she leaves on his legs, and-

“You do realize how perfect you are.”

“And I will never mind you reminding me.”

[pickalilywrites]

Rivetra celebrating Valentines day out at a resort. And unfortunately for Levi, his old love rival, Zeke is the part time life guard there. Ruining the day for him. College AU.

thanks :)

last resort

rivetra. college au. 1017 words.

Levi thought it would be easy to enjoy his Valentine’s Day. After all, he’s with his perfect girlfriend at a beautiful resort on an employee discount courtesy of Petra who has been working at the hotel’s restaurant as a waitress. They can enjoy all of the resort’s luxurious amenities at half the price: the high-end restaurant, the massage therapy sessions, watching the sunset from their room’s balcony. Under normal circumstances, he would have absolutely enjoyed it even if his surly, default expression says otherwise. As it is, he can’t possibly appreciate any of it now that he’s at the pool with Petra after seeing who the lifeguard is.  

“You didn’t tell me that Zeke was your coworker,” Levi says stiffly. He’s talking to Petra who’s currently shrugging off her lacy shawl, but his gaze is fixed on the lifeguard sitting on top of his white tower with an apish grin on his face as he looks down on Levi and Petra.  

“Hm? Oh, we don’t really interact with each other. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning,” Petra replies. Her indifference towards Zeke’s existence would normally delight Levi, but he’s too displeased by Zeke’s presence for anything to lighten his mood. Petra folds her shawl and places it on her lounge chair. She flashes a dazzling smile at her boyfriend. “Do you want to go for a swim, too?”  

“No, thanks,” Levi replies. He has as much aversion to water as a cat does. He’d rather hide in the shade like a vampire afraid to burn in the sun. Still, he doesn’t quite like the way that the lifeguard is ogling his girlfriend in her swimsuit. When Petra stands up to head to the pool, Levi reaches out and grabs her by the wrist without realizing.  

“Did you change your mind?” Petra asks, surprised.  

It’s not like him to be possessive, but something about Zeke brings out the worst him. Maybe it’s because they’ve been rivals since they’ve met, a rivalry that had been one-sided on Zeke’s end until Levi got so fed up with being dragged into an unwanted competition that he decided to beat Zeke at everything just to spite the asshole. In reality, he knows that he doesn’t need to be competitive. Even when they had been competing for Petra’s affections, Petra had chosen Levi in the end and Levi knows that Petra would never betray him. Nevertheless, he finds himself wanting to throw Petra’s shawl back over her shoulders and escorting her away from the pool area to deprive Zeke of the sight of her.  

“You should put on more sunscreen,” Levi says instead and reaches for the bottle inside the bag they had packed.  

“I already put some on this morning,” Petra laughs, but she sits down beside Levi anyway. She holds out her hand for Levi to squeeze some sunscreen into her palm and begins to apply it on her arms. She turns around so that Levi can begin apply it on her back.  

“You should reapply it every two hours. We’ve talked about this before,” Levi gently scolds, and Petra giggles in reply. 

Levi begins at where Petra’s neck is exposed from her hair being tied up. It’s not that he’s usually careless with sunscreen application, but he’s typically not this thorough. He goes through every square centimeter of skin slowly, deliberately as if mapping out every inch of her. The palms of his hands caress her, his touch light as his hands traverse from the base of Petra’s neck to the expanse of her back under the guise of applying sunblock. Petra must sense the unusual display of affection, perhaps even unconsciously, because her back arches against his touch the way it typically does only underneath dim lights and behind closed doors.  

As his thumbs rub circles underneath the tie in the back of Petra’s string bikini top, Petra lets out an almost inaudible gasp and the corner of Levi’s mouth twitches in the hint of a smile. His gaze flits over to where Zeke is sitting and the corners of his mouth turn upward in a smile when he sees the lifeguard’s face. Instead of the smug grin he had been wearing earlier, his mouth is hanging agape and his gray eyes are filled with a mixture of anger and jealousy as he watches Levi instead of the kids currently trying to push each other’s heads down in the pool.  

“L-Levi, we’re in public, ” Petra stammers as her boyfriend’s fingertips barely ghost the sides of her breasts not quite covered by the top of her swimsuit. When she turns, her cheeks are flushed. Despite her protests, she hasn’t pulled away from him. She had been in the middle of applying her sunscreen — there’s a smear across her left leg that she had started to rub in — but had evidently abandoned her task after being distracted by Levi’s deliberate touches.  

“You’ll get burned otherwise. Most people forget to apply near the edge of their swimsuit,” Levi replies nonchalantly. His touch travels back up her spine and he smiles when her entire body shivers as he rubs against her shoulders. He leans forward, his lips ghosting against the shell of his girlfriend’s ear. “Should we just head up to your room?”  

He watches as Petra bites her lip, her cheeks growing redder still.  

In the end, Petra hastily rubs the remaining sunscreen on her leg before grabbing her shawl and bag with one hand and grabbing her boyfriend’s hand with the other. Without another word, she begins to drag him towards the hotel, her cheeks still burning. 

“I thought you wanted to swim,” Levi says teasingly. 

“Shut up,” she hisses, jerking him forward so that he’ll follow her faster.  

As Levi passes the tower, he casts a glance up at the lifeguard tower where Zeke is watching. He gives a single wave at Zeke, whose mouth is still hanging open as he watches Petra and Levi disappear into the hotel. Zeke’s infuriated expression makes him smirk. It seems he might be able to enjoy this vacation more than he thought.  

[medicus-mortem]

@chatcambrioleur answered [+]

She wasn't sure how long she'd been in the dark. It had been a while, now --- days, maybe weeks. She was resilient --- after all, it was only a matter of time before the Straw Hats got here, she knew. It didn't make captivity any easier. She'd never forgotten the sensation of a cold, metal chain around her neck, and it was all too soon to feel it again, for Nami's taste. Unfortunately, her newest accessory wasn't chosen with her comfort in mind. The navigator's heart hadn't stopped pounding since she'd woken up. Not only panic from horrid memories, but a fear of what her future held. Did they plan on turning her in for her bounty? Exploiting her captain for her return? Or perhaps she would become a slave to a Celestial Dragon. Too many terrible possibilities ensured the tears that did not stop rolling down freckled cheeks. Her captors weren't particularly bright, but they were strong, a few with impressive Devil Fruit powers. From what she'd gathered, they didn't recognize her, when they'd attacked her from behind. The village the Straw Hats had been visiting seemed friendly enough. Certainly safe enough to wander around, to visit the bookstores and shop a little. The moment she lost track of her crew, the men had been waiting, and pounced, before the cat thief had the chance to reach for her cloudy protector. The next thing she knew, she was ... here. Wherever here happened to be. It was dark, it was cold, and dirty--- her clothes had been ripped and tattered. She wasn't sore enough to imply the worst, though it was possible someone had felt their way around her soft curves as they were searching her. When she woke up, her den den mushi was gone. Zeus was gone. Her crew had no idea where she was, she was chained up, and she had no idea how long she could go on like this. Before they did something terrible. The sound of rusty door hinges creaking open had quickly become a blessing and a curse. One of them, maybe bringing her food --- or coming to taunt her. The famed Weather Witch, Cat Thief, Straw Hat Nami, pathetic, dirty, and chained to a wall. The only relief was the crack of light from the outside hallway, which she basked in, every chance she got. Her head lifted as she heard the sound, searching for the reprieve, the literal light at the end of the tunnel. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, although there wasn't much to see. At most, she was expecting to spy one of the monsters who'd taken her hostage. Instead, she saw a much more familiar soul, one far more welcomed by the navigator.

"Law..." Her voice, a pitiful, dry croak, hardly audible. Her eyes were still adjusting --- as the moments passed, it became easier to recognize that the Surgeon of Death was spattered in crimson. Grateful her hands weren't restrained, she reached for him, desperate for an ounce of kindness after a lifetime of cruelty. "You --- you came for me...?" She'd expected her crew to find her first. For some reason, she hadn't expected Law's presence, at all. Take me home. "The key --- please. I need to get out of here." Not just her cell. Not the prison she'd found herself in. She needed to be freed of the iron links, keeping her trapped like a human pet. Desperation shined in glassy eyes, a sob choking in her throat. "You found me..."

   Another guard falls with a dying gasp, his blood splattering on the stark white walls. Another splash of fresh, metallic scent to add to the aroma of death that follows Law down the hallway. In this moment he doesn’t care about the lives he’s snuffed out here. He cares not for the blood that stains his shirt and mixes with the black of his coat. Law no longer registers the agonised cries coming from the rooms above. Most will fall silent soon enough. At this moment it is all background noise, all distraction. He has only one focus now.

   Law can feel her presence down the hall. He can hear the distress in her Haki, in her voice. He breaks into a run, heart pounding in his desperation to see Nami alive and safe. Fear curls in his gut, the thought that he is too late still swirling in his mind. He finds her door, fumbling with her key as he takes a deep breath. He has to calm down some, has to be strong to keep her tethered, especially after an ordeal like this.

   The big metal door creaks as he shoves it open. Golden gaze falls on Nami, the light hitting her and glinting off the collar around her neck. A hissed breath in through his teeth and that rage is back. He should have left more of them alive so they could suffer longer. He does not linger in that fury, instead Law is quick to come to Nami’s side. Her weak words and desperate, reaching hands tugging at his heart.

   “I found you. I got you,” he says, deep voice becoming impossibly soft.

   He drops to his knees before Nami, a bloody Kikoku getting dropped to the concrete beside her. Law takes one of those reaching hands, grasping it tight as his focus drops to the collar. He scowls at it, jaw tight. His free hand rises and he makes a localised Room around Nami’s head. He doesn’t have the patience to fumble with keys. Gently he releases her hand and grasps the collar. His other hand runs a finger against the metal, creating a cut in the front. He continues the process on the back and a moment later Law eases the two halves from Nami’s elegant neck before throwing them aside. In the interplay of light and his shadow Law sees the raw, bleeding flesh beneath. Golden eyes become cold, hand rising to gently touch Nami’s neck as his Room vanishes.

   “I’m gonna get you out of here,” he says, voice hinting at that cold, unyielding rage. “And then I’ll fucking tear this place apart.”

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 6 Tsumihoroboshi pt. 18

I don’t have a big block of screenshots for you this time, I promise. Nine is less than twenty-six.

This is quite possibly my second favorite part in this entire chapter. Ignoring the last two lines between Keiichi and Mion, this entire little segment just amused me greatly. Rena and the Okinomiya police department all think the Sonozakis are looking for her for sinister motives, when really it’s just a big old misunderstanding. It’s really funny, and shows that Ryukishi07 has some decent comedy writing skills. It was some much needed levity in a progressively more grim story. Also Kasai just strikes me as a character that if he was in more scenes would definitely be the comically serious foil to more direct goofs. His scene where he was asking that cafe owner if he had that dessert from way earlier on was a good example. Also I do hope you don’t find my randomly flitting between art styles irritating, it will happen again. I just like remake art Shion better than console art or original art. I like her sweater better than the tank top and jean skirt. If I could I would totally have the art styles clash by having some characters only be in remake style and others in console style.

Keiichi and Mion then have a lengthy talk about why the cops are suddenly after Rena. Keiichi theorizes that perhaps the police want to question Rena about the bodies of Teppei and Rina, but Mion assures him that’s not the case. After all she had some of her guys move the bodies shortly after they buried them. But just in case Mion tells Keiichi to try to send Rena her way if he hears from her because the Sonozakis can lawyer her up good, and protect her from the police come hell or high water. To which Keiichi agrees, completely forgetting that because of the scrapbooks she got from Takano Rena is certain the Sonozaki family are behind a certain amount of bioterrorism.

What you find to be the most embarrassing moment of your life, and what I think is the most embarrassing are going to be so wildly different Keiichi it’s not even funny. Mion ends their conversation by saying she’s going to mislead the police to the town of Gogura, in an effort to help her friend avoid the law. Keiichi then leaves his home to try to search for where he thinks Rena might be.

So this is clearly a hallucination right? It’s little moments like these that makes me think that perhaps Ryukishi07 could do a halfway decent job with a Silent Hill game. Of course that’ll more rely on actual visuals to convey the scares, but I think he could probably do pretty well with a more straightforward horror story.

Rena runs back to her hideaway positive she gave the creature the slip, however she has new troubles as shortly after getting back a couple of members from the Sonozaki group arrive to look for her. They split up to search the dump more efficiently putting the fear of god into Rena. Unfortunately for her, her body has chosen that time to become incredibly itchy, and for her stomach to start growling in hunger. Her paranoia starts getting the better of her, positive that these two Sonozaki goons are merciless killers she starts to prepare for the worst. When one of the two gets a call on their radio. Atsushi is informed that Rena has been spotted in Gogura, to which the other Sonozaki grunt complains because they’ll never find her there. Atsushi says they have to find her no matter what, after all Rena has Takano’s scrapbooks “and he wants them.” But since they’re still in Hinamizawa they’re on their way back to HQ, unaware they were perilously close to finding their quarry.

Part of me wonders if parts of this radio call Rena overheard are simply part of her delusions. Not the part about her being seen in Gogura, but the “he wants the scrapbooks” part, after all who is “he?” If the Sonozaki family is leading the manhunt for Rena then surely it would be Oryou calling the shots, and last time she showed up in the narrative she was a woman. Still Rena thinks about how the Sonozakis are trying to hunt her down for the scrapbooks, and how they’re keeping her house under surveillance. But the most peculiar part to her is the notion that she was seen in Gogura despite still being in Hinamizawa.

Rena having a paranoid fit about how the mysterious “them” is controlling events and having a duplicate Rena running around she notices the sounds of someone approaching her hideout. It stands right outside the door of the car she’s in and knocks on it to get her attention.

We, as a society need more bow tie Rika.

[scoonsalicious]

Okay, I finally got around to reading the new parts as well as the asks and your responses, and first off, I just want to say I'm proud of you. Like truly. It takes so much strength to be able to fight through what you just experienced. Dealing with trauma will always be an uphill battle and it's going to be a bumpy road to say the least. but you're strong and brave so I have no doubt you'll get through it 🤍 I'm so glad you were able to find writing as a way to process things. It really does help us more than we think. I'm so so sorry that it happened. Sending you all the warm hugs i could give from the other side of the world 🤍

Now, onto the story which, is very heavy as you've warned us before. I mean things aren't in detail but still. You can just feel it. Sam being out of the picture was just so so bad. Obviously, he needed to because that is his nephew. And I know A.J. would be okay but God...not having him there is just, bad news. And it happened at the worst time possible too.

When I saw that Chloe has been "chosen" my heart literally ached. And I could feel Pocket's guilt because, how couldn't she be? They were in the same room together. They literally spoke with each other. You can't just stop the "what-if's" going through your head because there are so many things she could've done but didn't, and so many things she did that she shouldn't have that change the whole course. That's the killer part. So many possible outcomes going true your head and the would've, could've, should've's. But, unfortunately, there's not much she could do. She made a choice during the moment, a temporary solution which, unfortunately, didn't have the best outcome in the long run.

At first, I was hopeful that Chloe was going to be fine and that they'd just somehow taken her somewhere to be experimented on with Hydra wanting to make a new serum or something. So the way my heart literally dropped when I read the first part of Chapter 25. I just...I don't even have the right words. It's just horrible. And then I read her age? Fifteen? I had to put my phone down and take a deep breath. I just feel so devasted. Now if I'm already feeling all that, imagine what Pocket must've been feeling? She's literally living through it and she feels like she had a hand in what happened. It wasn't her fault, not at all. She could only control so much of that situation. She's a strong ass woman but she can't fight against those guys while fighting her own demons at the same time. There really wasn't much she could've done. But God, it's going to haunt her for the rest of her life. But the sad part is, no matter what she does, there's not much she can do to change things. She's just going to have to learn to live with that guilt. I know you really don't like Steve, but the line he said to Wanda in Civil War: "This job... we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, next time... maybe nobody gets saved."

So her spiraling? It comes as no surprise. It's not healthy, but she's in too deep. She's just trying to find a way to numb everything and I can't blame her. Like, it's so easy for us to say oh just go through therapy, rehab etc. don't buy any drugs, don't to this, don't do that because were not the ones in it. But it's never that easy. I just...feel so sad and devasted by it all.

I know everyone's mad at Bucky and rightfully so. But, I am so so glad he's going to be back because yeah, Pocket hates him but at least we have someone who'd stop at nothing to protect her and make sure she's okay. You can't deny he cares about her and that he knows her well. So if there's ANYONE (besides Tony) who could at least snap her out of it for a moment, it would be him. I mean, nobody can pull Pocket out of her spiral apart from herself, but I think Bucky would be helpful in that at least. They're going to butt heads when they meet again but with Pocket's current situation and her mindset, I'm at least grateful that there's someone there to stop her from going even deeper into this hole. She's already off the rails, so I'm grateful that now she's going to have someone who's going to try his damnest to pull her back. Drag her (lovingly) if he has to.

Sigh. We're getting so close to the truth unfolding. I can't wait to see it all. Also saw a snippet of Chapter 26 and honestly, I really do see Bucky's growth (hence why I'm calling him by his name this time) and I can't wait to see more of it. As always, you're amazing. Be kind to yourself and don't forget to always take care of yourself. Lots of love!

— Jnon 🤍

Thank you, Jnon <3 I gladly accept and return your warm hugs from half a world away. They mean so much! Sometimes it's hard to see myself as anything other than broken and weak when I'm in the midst of my feelings, so I appreciate the reminder that healing from this kind of thing is a journey.

I really didn't want Sam to leave, but I needed Pocket to be at her absolute worst point, and alone. I felt like that was the only way she was going to be willing to accept Bucky back into her life. She doesn't want Tony to know what's happening-- she doesn't want to disappoint him, not when he had so much faith in her, so she's kept everything that's been going on from him.

AJ's gonna be alright. Poor kid is just a plot device for me, here. I feel bad, lol. He doesn't deserve it. In my head, he's being spoiled with ice cream and video games while he recovers, lol.

Pocket's gonna feel Chloe's loss for a long time, even beyond this fic, I'm sure. She set out to save girls like her, but instead, because of her selfishness and her perceived weakness, she got a girl killed. In her own mind, she's just as bad as everyone who hurt her growing up. Chloe was her, in a way, and Pocket failed her, and thus herself. Pocket's gonna mention later that it's like this cycle never ends. She could spend the rest of her life working to save women from a similar fate, but it will never be enough. But if she can help save even one woman, well, that's one woman who didn't have hope before. Pocket needed to be at her absolute lowest point so she could get her head out of her ass and fix herself so she can help others.

Funny thing about Pocket and Bucky-- she never hates him. She might think she does, but would actually make her life a lot easier if she really did. She loves him too much, almost.

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 105 (Oct. 24, 1987) - "Where No One Has Gone Before"

Written by: Diane Duane & Michael Reaves Directed by: Rob Bowman

The Breakdown

On Starfleet's orders, an Engineer named Kosinski is sent to improve the Enterprise’s warp efficiency with the aid of his mysterious assistant. Kosinski immediately reveals himself to be quite the pompous dickhead with a massive ego, but orders are orders, so Picard and Co. induldge him.  The first test goes so unbelievably well that the Enterprise finds itself in another Galaxy, which everyone acknowledges is a bit too far to make a return trip using standard warp speeds alone.

Excitement over this new technological achievement is soon quelled when Kosinski finds himself unable to repeat the experiment, leaving the Enterprise potentially stranded in the middle of nowhere.  It turns out that Kosinski was actually just an idiot the entire time, and it was actually his assistant who made the jump, on account of being a ‘traveller’ with special abilities that allow him go wherever he wants, with few limitations. Unfortunately, exhaustion just happens to be one one such limitation; and this dude is plenty exhausted after the jump.

Wesley has been the only person up to this point to notice the Traveler, and has tried to bring it to Picard’s attention, but everyone keeps getting too irritated by Wesley’s “Wesleyness” to bother listening to him.  But once Picard IS willing to listen, he pays the Traveller a visit where the mysterious visitor explains that he is a) from a group of advanced space jumping folk, and b) that Wesley is super special and that he should be encouraged in his specialness, but never told about it overtly (apparently he needs to figure it out on his own, for reasons that are definitely not arbitrary).  And with that, the Traveller agrees to one last attempt towards bringing everyone home.  It almost fails again, but Wesley is evidently able to transfer some of his special-boy-energy to aid the Traveller before he disappears-possibly-to-death. With everyone home safe, Picard decides to let Wesley become an acting ensign, to start him on his chosen-one journey toward specialness.

The Verdict

This may be the first episode (chronologically speaking). That I can honestly say I like. Oh, there are still plenty of hokey and down-right-cringey moments, also Wesley is more involved than I care for, but at it’s core this is a solid little episode. The Traveler and his story are both intriguing, and there’s some solid groundwork that’s established seemingly in the service of Picard becoming less of an asshole to children (and hopefully also just in general). I can understand why others would rate this lower, but with Star Trek one has embrace a little campiness, and an embarrassing dose of optimism; That being said, ��Where No One Has Gone Before’ very closely pushes the limit of what I can tolerate for both.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

ST: Voyager is basically the same plot + 7 seasons.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I actually don’t despise Wesley this time around. I mean yeah he’s still the worst (sorry Wil Wheaton), but his character serves the plot, and he legitimately does nothing wrong. Indeed, he actually helps, all while enduring a lot of abuse. I came very close to rooting for him.

At the same time, the way the crew bullies Wesley is also hilarious, if only because it goes completely unaddressed. It’s like the show is trying to gaslight the audience into doubting that it’s even happening.

[pinkiexneomorph277]

Story in Making , Crossover

Tf2 x Pokemon Legends Arceus

Title: Fallen Runner

Information: The story follows a BLU Team Scout makes Razz though for the first chapter he is mainly called Scout as america go by class names than their birth names .

Razz has had a tough life being second eldest of five siblings , the oldest sibling ditched them after they got old enough and enough money leaving Razz to help his Ma care for 3 sisters, though being in a bad neighbour hood didn’t help much especially as his Ma had to work two day jobs and a night job to help support them all.

So at age 13-14 Razz was always fighting to defend his family from any gangs wanting to use his family for whatever gains they wanted honing a special skill which was he had a mean curve throw , he can flick or curve his wrist at JUSTthw right way to make about any blade (or rare instance objects) curve through the air hit a target and come back like a boomerang.

This got him some curious gazes and he got the street name -Razor- as he used mainly small razor blades (anything sharp he could find) etc , cane to a point a manager for Builder League United offered him a job to make big bucks when he was legal age.

Though at this time Razz’s family was real desperate for money so he begged to get the job then and their , took some convincing but he was let in with forged documents since he was tall for a 13-14 year old , when he told his Ma she cried both at him leaving and him wanting to help telling her how much he would make (a shit tonne ) never got into the details and not only that the manager guy will have someone guard his family till they can afford a safer home.

For the next 2 -3 years Razz fought on BLU Team in a war were deaths SUPPOSEDLY never happen , supposedly cause the poor boy unfortunately experiences what the company call Respawn Failures , at the end of his first year Razz’s leg got blown off and never rehealed when he Respawned leaving him freaking out and the battle being postponed (right when he was getting use to dying too )

Now BLU Team is a mixed bag , one half are all logistics, try hards, hard heads or impassive dumbasses, Medic being focused on logistics saw poor Razz freaking on the ground with Enginnee trying to calm him and said .

-How unfortunate , a scout with no leg is useless on the team , we could just put him down and out his misery-

Which set Engineer in a rage who grew quite close to the boy seeing him as a sorta son even if Medic was kidding about ETHUINISING a human , Soldier was no help ethier as he agreed the yelled.

-SUCK IT UP MAGGOT BE A MAN !-

Heavy just silently watched with putty while Demoman was trying to figure out if this was a drunk hallucination.

Spy stayed hidden having no idea what to do as Pyro and Sniper were consoling the boy tillfinally he calmed and Engineer offered making the runner a new leg , a robot one which the others thought was satisfactory and left that half of the group to discuss shit.

Which left BLU Teamin two divided groups , those who realised they is a chance a Respawn failure happens again and they COULD die PERMANTLY then the other half who treats this as a game and ignores reality in favour of having sick fun and money for life.

Since then Razz and his group have always had that small nagging feeling in their heads as they battle and try not to die as much as possible , around the second year is when Razz got a foreboding feeling and his worst fears happen, a complete Respawn failure, he didn’t survive not matter how hard he tried in the end he fell , wishing not to go just yet , something answered his wish and he was pulled somewhere, to a void with a bright light of white and gold apparently he was chosen by some weird God from another universe ?

Being a chosen champion of God he got a small run down of what he has to do then dropped him into the world confusing the fuck out of therecwny reborn teen covered in bruises and cuts as he stares completely dumbfounded at the little creatures looking at him holding a strange ass looking phone with a Quest Icon.

Seek all Pokemon.

Will add link to story soon:

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: How To Keep A Husband for 10 Days by Jessica Hatch

What is about these simplistic, warm colour paletted book covers that makes them absolute catnip for me? I can’t seem to resist at least having a look at rom-coms dressed in covers of this cute style. Unfortunately, I really need to break the connection that my brain has made with these adorable covers with good reads because this really didn’t deliver even a little bit!

Lina and Brown’s friends are coming to stay unexpectedly but to admit that the pair are actually going through a divorce and living separately is unthinkable. So, Lina convinces Brown to pretend that everything is fine just for ten days. What could possibly go wrong? 

I knew that this book and I weren’t going to get along within the first couple of chapters, when Lina appears to believe that telling those closest to her that she’s getting divorced is the worst possible thing in the world. I couldn’t understand this at all. Just does not compute with me as a person or indeed, I believe with 95% of people I’ve ever met. I should clarify that Lina isn’t devoutly Catholic or of any other faith that explicitly teaches that divorce is inherently bad. So, considering that hiding her divorce is Lina’s primary goal throughout the narrative, I knew that I was never going to be on board with the book as a whole.

Lina and Brown have a friend called Sophie, who appears to think that she’s given them a ‘couple name’ by calling them ‘Bellini’. Their names are BRown and LinA. Therefore, an actual couple name would be Brolina or something. Bellini doesn’t work as a couple name for them. What’s even crazier is that the author has chosen to call the guy Brown. She could have chosen any real name in the world but instead she named him Brown. If she wanted them to have the couple name of Bellini, it would have been much more sensible to name him Ben or something. You know, like an actual, real life name.

Of course, this is a romance, so we know that during this pretence that they’re still together, they’re probably going to rediscover each other. However, Lina behaved in a completely erratic manner, considering she was the one that initiated the break up. I genuinely have no clue why she decided that divorce from a man that she never stopped loving at all was a sensible thing to do at all and I really don’t believe it’s a decision that any actual, sane woman would ever do.

Lina was without a doubt the most unlikeable, frustrating character I’ve read. She constantly gave Brown mixed signals and treated him appallingly. She then had the arrogance to question whether he ‘still felt the same way about her’ after he’d read some pretty horrific things that she’d written about him. I just really wanted her to leave the poor guy alone and let him find someone who deserved him because it certainly wasn’t her.

How To Keep A Husband For 10 Days is a very dull, infuriating romance that features a completely-unrelated-to-anything plot about affordable housing that seems to go on and on. I couldn’t help but wonder where everyone’s family members were. Not one of these people in their late 20s/early 30s seemed to have parents or siblings or anyone related to them that they had any regular contact with -literally no one was even mentioned! They also had a non-binary friend called Freddie who was obviously more masculine-presenting because they used he/they pronouns and there were references to when they were a ‘he’. I wasn’t sure what the author was trying to do with Freddie’s gender identity other than shoehorn it in to add ‘diversity’ because if they’re non-binary, I shouldn’t KNOW that a character is biologically male unless it’s very relevant to the plot. It was just a very unfunny romance with absolutely no substance and an abhorrent heroine.

[redmoonwanderer]

FFXIV Write 2023, Day 1 Prompt: Envoy

When Hemera got, yet again, involved with Etheirysian business, he decided he would solve this without consulting his friends. Hades had been rather unhappy with the previous time, even when he’d been able to literally smack some sense into people who’d gotten a little heated, and he believed he could solve this one one his own, anyway.

At least this time, he’s not forced to calm down a fight. Technically.

When a village known for their marine foods got into an argument with a village that usually provided them with fruits to complete their cuisine, which meant some chosen delicacies were off the menu, Hemera had asked what had happened.

(Definitely not because he was lamenting the loss of one of his reasons to travel here this time around.)

Apparently, the fruit-village leader believed the fish-village folks had been mocking their age-old tradition to offer the first fruit plucked that day to a villager celebrating that day (and that included their animals, apparently).

The fish-village folk on the other hand thought that the fruit-village had been giving them only their worst fruits.

Hemera tries to persuaded the leaders of the two village to meet, but they disagree, as neither is ready to travel to meet the other.

He doesn’t feel like walking back and forth between the two in his attempts to settle this unfortunate argument, so he persuades them to meet half-way through on a piece of ground that rises close to the sky.

It takes a lot of sweet words, and possibly a little bit of deception, but they eventually agree, and Hemera can almost smell the food in the air that he’s bound to taste again soon.

“What’s this?” asks the other as he sees the light meal on a blanket where their meeting is to take place.

“Indeed. You would offer us such poor meals though we are leaders?” asks the other.

Off to a great start! Hemera smiles as he gestures for them both to sit down and partake.

“So, I believe your dispute has to do with with some of your people,” he looks at the fish-village leader, “mocking their traditions, as well as some of yours,” he looks to the other, “potentially offering fruits of lower quality than before. If you could begin?” he asks, looking at the fish-village leader.

As Hemera drinks tea, the man explains that there have indeed been some that find their tradition a little odd, but mostly because they cannot understand why you would feed a perfectly good fruit to an ox that gave a good old what’s for to a bandit that had come thieving in the darkness of the night. “You see, he was going to steal some of the fish you had brought us. Fish that we intended to use to make a celebratory meal for your village for our many generations of working together. When Grim sent that thief running screaming bloody murder, he deserved his piece of our crops.”

The fish-village leader seems surprised, but quickly schools his expression. “What about the fruit?”

The fruit-village leader takes a bite out of a pastry, chews it for a good while in silence and thought before speaking. “The rumours of us only giving our worst to you is mostly a lie. The worst of the worst we give to nature, the best we divide between us and you. The fruit that remains, we sell, but also divide between you and us, because we know you use it to attract some fish that seem to like the food dry land has to offer. Sometimes, fruit that doesn’t appeal to us is just as fine for fish, and we thought you would not mind too terribly. Perhaps we should have talked about it with you, first.”

Hemera smiles as he sips more tea, quietly listening as the two work out their misunderstandings and come to agree that a celebration would indeed be a great idea.

When that happens, Hemera is sure to be there, eating the food and enjoying the company of the people of the two villages that would, hopefully, from now on talk first, hate later.

One could always hope.