#we just went in for the main band’s entire set - it was fantastic | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wherethewordsare · 4 years ago

Text

The Din in the Silence

So this idea came from the amazing @thetinymm who wrote me a fantastic outline and then told me to go nuts. I hope this was what you were looking for darling. <3

It hadn’t been the first time, and Geralt knew it wouldn’t be the last time that they would be nearly violently removed from a village. Jaskier walked beside him, spitting acidic though not completely inaccurate curses the entire time as they made their way back to the main road.

“The actual fucking nerve of some of these backwood mouth breathing…” Jaskier fumed, pulling his lute round from behind his back as he plucked out a few chords angrily.

Was that a twig? Geralt’s head turned and he looked, but he couldn’t see anything.

Jaskier beside him belted furiously over his shoulder the first few lines of “Toss a Coin.”

“Jaskier,” Geralt growled a warning. There was a feeling of being watched crawling up his neck but he couldn’t seem to focus.

“When the White Wolf fought,” he bit around the word, spinning on his heel.

“Jask!” There had to be rustling in the forest. Heavy feet but he couldn’t tell where they were.

“A silver tongued devil.” The notes thumped heavily. Geralt turned just in time when Jaskier turned to face back up the road to see the bandits emerge from the wood, stalking toward them.

“JASKIER! ENOUGH!” Geralt drew his sword and only had a second to regret the look of fear and hurt that crossed Jaskier’s face before he flew past him, handily disarming and running off the men that were obviously sent to ‘take care of the Witcher problem’.

Jaskier stood next to Roach, his lute clutched in one hand, his other at the back of his neck. He wouldn’t look at Geralt exactly when he returned, only stepping aside to let him pass and returning his lute to his back.

Fuck.

-o-O-o-

They had made it into a more accommodating town when Geralt realized why the road felt so strained for the past few days. Only in the safety of the tavern did he realize Jaskier was singing. He tried to think back over the past few days and realized with consternation that Jaskier hadn’t sang at all since the bandits. Not only that, Geralt couldn’t remember him really speaking.

He frowned, watching Jaskier dance around the room, taking in the bright smile he gave the barmaid and the bawdy shout he gave when the crowd cheered. But there was a tightness to him too that Geralt didn’t care for, along his shoulders and the way his eyes didn’t seek out Geralt like they usually did.

He just needs to loosen up a little. He’ll be okay once he works out his nerves. I shouldn’t have shouted. Geralt thought, scowling down at the ale in front of him.

“Hmm… fuck,” he murmured softly. He would have to watch now. Not like he didn’t usually watch Jaskier.

-o-O-o-

Geralt hated that he had nearly lost track of the times in the following week he had heard Jaskier start to hum and then quickly stop himself. He hated how when he did he’d quickly look up at Geralt then behind them. Around the camp they would set, Jaskier would talk quieter than Geralt had ever remembered him doing.

The tightness in his chest wasn’t panic. It wasn’t fear that was tearing up his chest; fear that any day now Jaskier would realize how much safer it was to just be anywhere where Geralt wasn’t.

He had to do something, anything. He cleared his throat and leaned back a little, looking at Jaskier.

“It’s a really clear night tonight. Did you hear that rail back there? Never hear them that close,” he tried.

Jaskier looked up from where he was scribbling some notes, his teeth painfully sunk into his bottom lip. He looked around, his eyebrows knitting together for a moment before he only nodded, going back to his work.

Geralt sighed, poking at the fire. He just needs time. It’s only a matter of time, he thought.

The next day he tried again, opting to walk beside Jaskier, and pointing out over the hills that ran along their left. “That storm is going to get caught up against those mountains. We’ll have decent conditions today and tomorrow, but then we might find us a cave if we don’t come across a village.”

Jaskier only looked out toward the horizon, squinting. “Ah. Good to know.” And then fell silent again.

Geralt had never found himself on this end of whatever it was they were and suddenly he had a new appreciation for the trouble he put Jaskier through. But more than that, he realized he missed it; the sound of Jaskier talking openly, his singing, even the bickering. He was beginning to desperately miss the sound of his bard.

They found a village before the storm blew over, and again, Geralt watched as Jaskier seemed to come back out of the shell he had built around himself. The tightness in his shoulders seemed worse now and when they asked about a room, Jaskier chose to ask for a separate one.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay for both,” he said, too quietly, before Geralt could protest. Though even Geralt wasn’t sure what he was about to protest.

That night he laid awake and listened through the thin walls as he heard Jaskier pluck softly at his lute, his voice raspy and subdued. There was a quality to it that hadn’t been down in the bar that night. The thing that wasn’t fear in his chest reared up and raked painfully against his ribs.

The ache pushed him up onto his feet and he walked carefully over to the shared door between their rooms, but as he raised his hand to knock, he heard Jaskier make a soft gasping noise and then the unmistakable noise of a lute being quickly put away.

Geralt pulled back from the door, glowering. He took another step back, his hands rubbing against his thighs as he shifted from one foot to the other. What was he supposed to do? Thinking back on it, Jaskier didn’t smell like fear to him recently. He wasn’t afraid of Geralt was he? That thought alone fed the beast that was now wrapping thick bands around his lungs and it squeezed tighter for it.

He felt himself deflate slightly as he stepped as lightly as he could back to the door, pressing an ear to it as he slowly slid down to the floor. He closed his eyes and hoped that Jaskier might return to his soft plucking, his half murmured tune.

He didn’t. Geralt sat through the night in a silence that was nearly deafening.

The next morning, Geralt waited out front, not quite expecting Jaskier to show. But he did, packed and ready to go.

He watched as Jaskier gave a warm greeting to the barmaid at the bottom of the step, before turning back to Geralt. There was a smile there but it wasn’t as warm as he remembered Jaskier’s smiles to be.

“Shall we then, Witcher. Those contracts won’t fill themselves.” It was the most Jaskier had said to him in weeks, but it meant nothing. They were still standing in the safety of an inn.

“Hmm.” And he tried to pour as much warmth as he could into that one small sound but he was out of practice.

They walked in near silence for half the day, Geralt making small attempts to point out that they were clear of any danger and that Jaskier could say something, anything, even if it was just to yell at Geralt, he’d give his last Gwent card for a bickering match.

They stopped at a stream to water Roach. Geralt stood beside her, Jaskier leaning against a tree just on his other side.

There was a toad beside Roach’s hoof who swelled up and let out a loud croak in warning. Roach was unimpressed and went about her drinking.

“Reminds me of this bard I used to know.” Geralt says softly. One last play. That’s all he gets. One last try to make things right before he was certain that Jaskier would peel off from him before too long.

“You know many bards, Witcher?” Jaskier shot back. It was sudden and Geralt turned to see Jaskier looking around, already tucking himself further back against the trunk of the tree.

He always found himself failing to protect those he cared for, even from himself.

“Jaskier, why don’t you go home?” He finally said.

“You- You want me gone?” Jaskier’s eyes were bright with tears that came far too quickly for Geralt to think that they hadn’t been already pressing against the surface.

“No, Jask. No, I don’t want you to leave.” He was shaking his head, looking back down at the toad that now focused on his boot and made another attempt to be threatening. “You stopped talking, Jaskier. You don’t sing except when we’re in towns and I…” He couldn’t bring himself to look up at Jaskier.

“I messed up. I was too loud and I nearly got us killed and you-” Geralt had to look up now because how couldn’t he, “you were so angry, Geralt, I thought you were going to just leave me right outside of that backwater heap and be on your merry way without me.”

“Hmm.” Geralt took a slow step forward. “And in the inn? When you stopped playing in your room?” He had to know. He had to know so that he could stop it from ever happening again.

“Didn’t want to be a bother,” Jaskier huffed through a wet laugh. “There is no home for me, Geralt. Well… There is, but I thought I almost lost it.” He looked up at Geralt, half a smile not quite reaching his eyes. “Oxenfurt is nice and all, but where’s the adventure in blackboards, chalk dust, and old hacks with too long beards and no imagination left in them? I thought maybe if I tried to stay quiet on the road… you,” Jaskier gulped, wincing slightly, “I thought maybe you wouldn’t leave me behind. I hoped my home… wouldn’t leave me behind.”

Geralt ran a hand over his face. “Jaskier. Please, please don’t stop singing because of that. Please don’t stop talking,” The tightness around his chest pressed in more, making it hard to talk, hard to breathe. “I… I miss it. I miss the sound of you.”

He dared to look up and Jaskier was inching terribly close, his hands up as if trying not to spook Geralt. “Oh?”

“I miss the talking and the singing and… I didn’t realize it sounded like home until it stopped.” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He looked down at the ground, his arms over his chest as he silently cursed at himself.

It started small and then rolled and tumbled and gathered around the edges like a coming storm. Jaskier was laughing, tears streaking down his face as he stepping in closer to Geralt than he had in weeks and he kept crowding in until Geralt had to wrap his arms around him. They stood there for a time, Jaskier pressing his face into Geralt’s shoulder. He closed his eyes and let the feeling of home wash over him.

When they finally broke apart, Jaskier already had that look that Geralt knew he was going to end up eating his words, but he couldn’t fight the fond warmth that settled in and squashed the fear that had taken root before into nothingness.

“You like my singing, Geralt.” Jaskier teased, looking at him sidelong with a knowing smile.

“Fuck.” Geralt chuckled and it was the safest either of them had felt in too long.

#geraskier #geraskier hurt/comfort #jaskier #geralt of rivia #fic fill #cowritten by thetinymm #thetinymm #honestly this was entirely her idea #i just punched it up a bit.#long fic

249 notes · View notes

aries-rising-on-an-aquarius-tide · 3 years ago

Text

Helter Swelter

Rating: MA, NSFW

Spoilers: None

Trigger/content warnings: alcohol, semi-public sex, implied voyeurism

This is for the IN THE POOL square of @thatesqcrush 's Sexy Summer Bingo, and was requested!

-----------------

"This is a fucking disaster," Olivia sighed, throwing her bag onto the bed in frustration.

Amanda rammed the heel of her hand against the sputtering A/C unit in the window and frowned. "I don't know why you ever expect anything more from Daddy Dodds than a fuckup," she muttered.

Liv ran a hand over the nape of her neck under her hair, finding it moist with sweat, and surveyed their room. Dodds had told her that he had booked them at a high-class hotel for the Extended Learning conference that weekend. A five-star, full-service, swanky joint, he had sworn.

Yet, here they were - sweltering during the peak of a heatwave, in a barely passable room with one double bed and a busted A/C unit. Even better, they weren't even in the right city for the conference - a fact discovered when they called Dodds upon landing to tell him that nobody had heard of the hotel he named.

Fuckup was putting it mildly.

"I'll go talk to someone at the check-in desk and see if they can do anything about the air conditioning," Olivia announced.

"I'm going to take a cool shower in the meantime," Rollins said, palming sweat from her forehead.

The young man at the front desk looked at Liv as though he'd fallen asleep and she had walked out of one of his fantasies into the lobby. Handyman? Not on weekends, it turned out.

"The pool's open 'round the clock though," he shrugged. He finished up by giving her some info on what was available to order from the kitchen, then went back to the glare of his cell phone screen.

When Olivia got back to the room, Amanda was already out of the shower and had changed into light cotton shorts and a sports bra. Liv shrugged apologetically and tossed the info about food to her on the bed.

"No-go on the A/C. There's a pool though." She stopped at the bed long enough to grab her bag. "My turn in the shower, I guess."

Amanda nodded disinterestedly, perusing the menus as the brunette disappeared into the small bathroom.

The clock in the room was ticking past 1:30am. On the coffee table in front of the room's armchairs was a plate of mostly-eaten chicken nachos, and what was left of a six-pack of beer, still sweating condensation.

On the bed, the SVU detectives were also sweating, awake atop the bedclothes. Olivia was on her back, eyes to the ceiling, Rollins was on her side. They breathed the overwarm air and tried not to move too much, but neither could sleep. Amanda's tossing and turning was more irritating with every creak of the narrow mattress.

Tick -

Creak

Tock.

Always followed by the dying, strangled hum of the useless A/C.

This is it, this is how I'm going to lose my mind, Olivia decided.

Tick. Tock. Tick -

Creak.

"Amanda!" Liv snapped, "Can't you stay still for five minutes?!"

"I"m sorry!" the blonde whined, "I can't fucking sleep!"

Liv rolled her eyes. "I thought you grew up in the South? You must've had nights hotter than this."

"We slept out on the porch in the Summer."

"Be my guest and go sleep in the parking lot if you'll be more comfortable."

Amanda gave a surprised huff that was partway between amusement and annoyance. She leaned up on her elbows, shot Olivia a look, then rolled to her feet. "I'm going for a swim," she announced.

Liv's head turned on the pillow. "Amanda - it's nearly two AM."

"It's still almost 97 degrees! I can hardly breathe, I'm so hot," the blonde groaned. "Plus, I bought an expensive new bikini to wear at the hotel Dodds promised, and it's a damn crime for it to go to waste."

She crossed to her suitcase and unzipped it. "'Sides, you don't have to come. Stay here and melt, if you'll be more comfortable," she mocked.

Ten or so minutes later, both women slipped into the elevator, dressed in thin complimentary hotel robes, bikinis and sandals. In their robe pockets they had tucked cans of the warming beer from their earlier order.

On the main floor, they followed the signs to the door that lead to the pool and pushed outside into the thick, hot night air. The pool was somehow cleaner than their room, and they had it all to themselves. It rippled and beckoned under the starlight and the few florescent lamps that lit the tiled area around it.

Amanda stopped alongside a lounge chair and emptied her pockets of beer before she slipped off the robe. "What do you think?" she asked Liv, hands on hips.

Olivia swallowed dryly, glancing quickly at the bikini and then away. "Very nice," she murmured, busying herself with her own robe and cans. As Amanda walked away toward the pool's edge, Liv took another, more surreptitious look at the bathing suit. It was a dark green color, highlighted with square, gold rivets along the straps, the band under the bust, and along two split straps at the front of the bottom, which tied at each hip.

She popped open a beer and took a long pull from the can. I've seen underwear with more material than that entire suit, she mused. Her own suit looked conservative by comparison: a sporty black two-piece with boyshort bottoms ruched at the sides, and a crocheted, mesh high-neck top that covered her cleavage.

Amanda let out a loud, satisfied groan that startled Olivia out of her bikini thoughts, nearly dropping the drink in her hand.

"Oh my God that feels so good!" she cried. Blood rushed into Liv's face and groin simultaneously. "Hurry up and get in - and bring me a beer!" Rollins urged excitedly.

Olivia shed the last barrier between her bikini and Amanda's gaze, and grabbed two cans of beer. She leaned down to hand one to the blonde at the pool's edge.

"Thank you," Amanda said, and smiled genuinely for the first time since their plane touched down. It raised a relaxed twinkle to her blue eyes, and Liv stared until she caught herself.

She let herself down carefully on the tile and then scooted to the pool's edge, stretching her long legs into the water. Amanda was, of course, right - the water felt fantastic against the cloying heat - and Liv sighed with relief, letting her head fall back as her eyes closed.

The Southern blonde smirked and drank her beer, feeling more herself now that she wasn't sticky and uncomfortable. Setting her drink down, she plunged under the water and wet the rest of her body, kicking hard. When she split the surface, she was a few feet away from Olivia, who was still kicking her legs, watching.

"You didn't come all the way down to just sit on the sidelines, did ya?" Amanda teased.

"What, you wanna play Marco Polo?" the brunette tossed back, smiling as she raised her can to her lips.

"Don't make me drag you in here, City Girl!"

Liv set aside her drink and rolled her eyes, pushing her weight up and over the side with both hands against the concrete tile. The soothingly cool water ribboned over her warm skin, sending goosebumps racing in every direction.

"Better?" she grinned.

Amanda put a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Mostly . . . " she drawled, "just - " Then she spread both arms wide and used them to scoop and splash water at Olivia, laughing.

Liv opened her eyes as the water settled, letting drops drip from her jawline and hair. "I'll make you regret that, Dixieland," she said calmly.

Rollins laughed and tipped backward into the water, kicking her feet and floating along the surface. Liv ducked under the water to finish cooling off, then swam back to the side for another drink. The dehydration from the heat was making the beer go to her head more than usual; she felt good, and she was enjoying Amanda's flirting.

"You'll have'ta find me, first!" Rollins giggled from behind Olivia.

Rolling her eyes, Liv swallowed what was in her mouth and replied, "Right, because the pool is soo - " she turned around to face the water, finding herself alone, " - big," she faltered. Scanning the pool she didn't see ripples or bubbles - no sign of the blonde mermaid.

Olivia shivered, partly from her lowering body temperature, and partly from the eerie silence of standing there in the water alone.

"Enough, Amanda," she called. "you're not funny." When there was still no response or sound, the brunette turned defiantly back to her beer. The quiet, early morning dark wasn't so peaceful, suddenly.

With absolutely no hint of movement or sound of warning, Amanda tunneled up out of the water behind Liv, the noise breaking the surface like rolling thunder as splashes rained down. Liv let out a gasping yelp as she startled, then Amanda's arms locked around her middle from behind.

"Marco Polo!" she shrieked in glee as she pulled Olivia underwater against her.

Sputtering, they broke the surface again together after just a beat, Amanda still holding tight. "Jesus, Rollins!" Liv coughed out, "You gave me a heart attack!"

They stilled as Liv caught her breath, heart pounding from being caught unawares. Slowly, the feeling of Amanda's wet body wrapped around her from behind began to register with her senses: their legs, sliding against each other, cool skin on skin, the press of hard nipples against her back where Amanda's wet suit pressed. It sparked another shiver, but this one went to Liv's center.

"I don't think that's how Marco Polo is played," Olivia murmured softly.

"Well, we didn't play it that much in Georgia," Amanda chuckled, her warm breath tickling the back of Liv's neck. Then, just as suddenly, she let her go.

Liv pushed away slightly, back to the side and the drink that had been interrupted. But her mind was buzzing about more than beer now, wondering if Amanda's flirting was purposeful, natural or beer-induced. She kept her eyes on the stone tile as the blonde floated over and resumed her own drink. Their bodies were unnervingly close. Liv's breathing shallowed as she bored a hole in the spot she focused on.

Then, Amanda's foot, sliding against Olivia's ankle. Too pointed to be an accident. Higher - the leg was slipping against calf. Underwater footsies, Liv mused, a little drunkenly. Still, she refused to turn her head, not wanting to break the tranquility.

Rollins drained the can she was holding, then set it poolside before shifting her body so that she was directly behind Liv again. Cool, wet lips pressed against the nape of Olivia's neck, and she drew in a ragged breath, held it.

The kiss warmed and went on, lips dragging over the water drops on the sensitive skin there until finally her tongue joined in. Liv's eyes closed, relaxing into the touch as she exhaled. Next there were fingers at the strings where her bikini top was tied, tugging slowly, gently, giving plenty of opportunity for the brunette to call the stops.

All of it felt too good, however, for stopping to enter Olivia's mind. The water, the touch, the buzz from the beer - it all beat an Extended Learning conference to hell and back.

Amanda pulled the ties away slowly, one side at a time, kissing and nibbling warmly over Liv's shoulders, while her legs continued to playfully rub and slip around and between Liv's underwater.

Liv felt a hand return to her middle, pressing firmly, while the other arm crossed her upper chest. Amanda tipped Liv's head to the side with wet fingers to the jawline, then licked the point of her tongue up the curve and pulled an earlobe into her mouth.

A moan escaped Olivia as she wriggled against the blonde's hold, turning in her arms. "You taste like salt and flowers," Rollins smirked, her voice thick and deep. It was all she got out before the brunette framed her face with dripping hands and kissed her mouth.

Her tongue was a shock of heat in comparison to her hands, and Amanda gave back everything she received, their kisses as deep and wet as the pool itself. The turning in her embrace had taken care of moving Liv's top out of the way, and Amanda could feel the brush of wet breasts as the brunette made out with her madly.

She fought to get her hands between their bodies, then the smooth weight of those same breasts filled her palms. The sensation sent a ripple of desire throbbing through her swollen center. Amanda's thumbs grazed over the hard peaks and it finally broke their kiss, Liv's head lolling back.

"Fuck," she hissed, spurring the blonde on to rub harder. When she couldn't take it any more, she pushed her hands under Amanda's arms and grasped the bottom of her bikini top, yanking it over her head.

Olivia ducked low, her mouth just as hungry for this as it had been for Amanda's tongue. One cold, dripping nipple, then the other rolled under the brunette's tongue and pebbled under the scrape of her teeth until Amanda was panting, fingers slipping in their search for purchase on Liv's shoulders.

Kicking her feet, she steered them back to the pool's side until she could leverage her weight to regain dominance. Amanda pushed her knee in between Liv's thighs and made contact with the place she wanted to touch most. Immediately, Olivia's head dipped to the blonde's shoulder, her breathing quickening. She turned so that her lips were just under her ear and breathed, "I want you to make me come."

Without a breath of hesitation, Amanda buoyed Liv's weight up with her hands spread on her outer thighs, and deposited the dark haired woman on the pool's edge. Both hands tugged on the bottoms Liv still had on, until they rolled down and were tossed to the tile with a wet splat.

Amanda pulled Olivia's ass flush to the edge and wrapped her arms around her tan thighs, then lowered her tongue to the dewy pink valley between. Her clit was swollen and aching, twitching as Amanda nosed over it and sucked it gently.

Impatient, Liv bucked her pelvis into every touch of Rollins' sweet mouth. "I'm so fucking wet, Amanda, please . . . "

"Patience is a virtue," Amanda grinned. "Guess they don't teach that in the city," she teased, running her tongue down and inside Olivia's dripping entrance with a moan. She brought two fingers into the mix, slipping then inside carefully, then rubbing firmly against the G-spot.

The normally restrained SVU detective was sprawled on the pool tile, propped on her arms with her head dropped back and her legs over the Southern blonde's shoulders. Mouth open, thighs quivering, Olivia could hear the roar of her blood rushing and the sound of Amanda's talented fingers fucking her blind.

"Oh God, Amanda . . . don't stop, please . . . don't - yes, fuck me fuck me . . . " she babbled, unsure if she was even coherent.

Rollins couldn't stop grinning as she sucked and fucked the trembling brunette with fervor.

"I'm going to - oh fuck, oh oh Amanda! Ungh I'm going to come!"

"Damn right you are," the blonde mumbled as she pulled her fingers out and replaced them with her tongue again. Olivia squeezed her thighs and rode her orgasm out on the thrust of Amanda's tongue, dripping hot juices.

Pleased with herself, she released her grip on Liv's thighs and cupped pool water in both her hands, dousing her face and hair to cool down. "God, you're fucking incredible," she grinned.

Liv let out a laugh. "You did all the work! Get up here, Amanda."

She did as told and joined her on the cool cement tile. Olivia liberated her from her bikini bottom, then straddled over her on all fours. Delighted to once again be presented with Liv's slick, pink pussy above her face, Amanda wasted no time in sliding her fingers back inside. She was distracted this time, however, by the long, gentle brush of Liv's own fingers, spreading her own pussy open.

"Fuck, look how wet you are," Liv praised, gathering the slickness on her fingertips and swirling them around the blonde's hard clit.

"Jesus!" Amanda cried, her hips quaking at the touch as she remembered to pick up her thrusts into Liv.

A greedy race to the finish line started as both women worked to make the other come first with fingers and tongues as the pool threw reflections of light and the stars winked down on them.

When they returned to their room, the morning was rushing toward dawn. Olivia opened the door and was startled to hear the hum of the now completely functional A/C unit.

"I'll be goddamned," Amanda drawled from over her shoulder.

Liv crossed to the unit and put her hands in front of it to make sure the air was cool. As she did so, Amanda found a new six-pack of cold beer on the coffee table. A post-it was stuck to the table beside the cans.

"Fixed your A/C, beer's on the house," Amanda read aloud to Liv, followed by, "But please feel free to enjoy another night swim anytime." She looked at Liv quizzically.

The front desk kid. Liv rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Oh, God."

"Good thing we ended up in the wrong place, after all," Amanda giggled, and pulled open another beer. "Cheers!"

END

#thatesqcrushsummerbingo #law and order svu #olivia benson #amanda rollins #svu #rolivia #hearteyes4mariska #my writing #in the pool #helter swelter #heatwave #fluffy smut #rollivia #tw: alcohol #tw: semi public sex #my fanfic #requested #semi public sex

28 notes · View notes

solange-lol · 4 years ago

Text

"why don't we be friends (why don't we make out)" - (1/1)

words: 2,373

read on ao3

—

There are very few people that Nico forgets about. At least, as far as the people that have stuck around with him for most of his life.

He’s known Percy and Annabeth since they were young, remembering watching the two of them chase each other around the schoolyard and purposefully try and get desks right next to each other before they were inevitably separated by alphabetical last name seating. He remembers trying to convince Piper to do his french project and Jason sitting in the halls with him outside of the music room when they wouldn’t want to go outside for recess in middle school. He can still hear the alarm when Leo accidentally knocked over a bunsen burner in their sophomore year chemistry class, and the feeling of paint on his skin when Hazel tripped and sent half of her palette onto him in their art class.

Nico can even recall moments with the people he was never particularly close to, like when Rachel told him she loved him backstage of their winter concert after only having known him for five minutes (in a very lesbian/gay solidarity way, of course), or when Grover spent an entire hour hiding out in their school library to get away from their math sub.

It’s strange now, looking across such a large circle of people piled into Jason and Thalia’s house. They’re all people from his grade (or class , he supposes, now that they’re officially graduated), Each one of them, Nico can remember at least one conversation he’s had with them, one story he’s passed into his closer friend group that is laughed over and then inevitably moved on from.

It was supposed to be a big party celebrating all their friendships throughout the years.

Ironically, so many people that had such little impact on him, in retrospect.

Which is why it comes as a surprise to him when he sees a flash of blonde curls and freckled skin among the sea of people. He’s hit with what feels like a wall of memories of the two of them, laying in the same bed trading quiet secrets, and walks to the store to get an inhumane amount of candy that they can go share at the pier. Images of blue eyes, warm hands in his, and the sound of stifled laughter at midnight feel all too familiar. Nico is stuck on them.

He hasn’t seen Will in years.

It wasn’t exactly his choice. It wasn’t either of theirs, really. They had gone to middle school together, and from the ages of 10 to 14, Will knew the most about him.

And then their middle school graduation came and went, and Will left for a boarding school. Nico remembers, vaguely, Will asking him to come with them.

“They offer more classes, and there are more opportunities for help,” they had said, or something along the lines of it. “And we could be roommates.”

Part of him wanted to. All of him almost went. But it was the same year he lost his sister, and while moving to another state for school sounded like a fantastic way to avoid all his trauma, he had to stay with his family. Not that his father would have stopped him, but Nico knew he couldn’t go. Not yet.

So he stayed, and Will left, and it all worked out fine. They texted every other day, facetimed once or twice a month when their schedules lined up. Will came home for Christmas that year, telling stories about the other kids on their floor and their girlfriend. Then, when he came home for that summer, about their boyfriend.

Nico would listen, then catch Will up about what was going on at his public school. He had gone out on a date with one boy which was nice but didn’t turn into anything, and Will told him he would find someone eventually. They took trips to the mall together instead of the pier, mostly just to get milkshakes and have a place to walk around.

One morning, Will convinced him to bike to the beach in the morning to see the sunrise. The sky ended up being too cloudy, but they still sat together on the empty lifeguard chair, swapped sweatshirts and bagels with cream cheese, and talking about summer jobs and college.

Then Will left for their sophomore year, and school caught up to both of them and whatever kept them going was lost. The most Nico talked to them was through the occasional Snapchat sent to each other or on a group facetime

The last time Nico had called Will alone, it was in a panic to ask advice on how to break up with the boy he was dating at the time because he realized that relationships weren’t really his thing, at least not yet. Will had sat quietly, giving him occasional advice, and mostly just comforted him.

And that was it.

Nico had gotten a new phone later that year, and all their call logs and long text threads were lost into the depths of his phone memory.

It was bittersweet, in all honesty, and pretty painless for the most part. Maybe it’s because Nico never really forgot about Will. There was never any clear ending; no hard feelings between the two of them. He still sees their posts on social media, sees their mom in the store on occasion. He remembers passing Will at their local fair when they came home again for the summer of their junior year with their boyfriend that they were still dating, and then later again the next when he noticed that all posts had been removed from their Instagram including the ones with said boyfriend and nothing but will - they/them in their bio.

He wondered, briefly, where Will had gone when he didn’t even see him in passing over the following summer. Was he still going to the boarding school? Had his family moved out of the state entirely?

It never felt like a friendship breakup. It was clear now, though.

Nico wonders at which point it became one. He didn’t mean to stare at Will as long as he did. Everything had just come washing over him at once, and he was frozen in place staring at the person Nico had once called his best friend.

He doesn’t even realize he was staring until Will looks back. Their blue eyes meet his brown ones, and reality sets back in. The loud music he had drowned out in his daydream came filtering back through his ears, and he stumbles as people shove past him towards the kitchen. Still, his gaze locks on Will.

Neither of them makes a move towards each other at first.

Then, a moment later, Will is right next to him.

“Hey,” they say it slowly, almost like they were testing the waters, like they knew how long it had been since they had spoken.

Nico doesn’t know what to say. His first instinct was to hug them.

He withstands it, though, instead grabbing onto their wrist and pulling them past the crowd of people and into one of the rooms off of the main hall, which was miraculously empty. He can still hear the pounding music, but it was a little bit quieter with the door closed. Quiet enough that he can think again.

“Uh, hi,” Will tries again, and god, their smile never changed.

“Sorry,” Nico says once he realized he had just seemingly dragged them into a secondary location with no explanation. “It was just… loud. Out there.”

“I get it,” Will says, sitting down on the couch pushed onto the far wall and looking back up at Nico. They were wearing a pinkish-orange button-up Hawaiian shirt that looked straight out of their dad’s closet (Nico would know, he’s seen it before) that was half-tucked into mid-rise light wash jeans that were cuffed just enough that you could see a glimpse of where their socks met their Converse. Yellow, possibly the same pair they had bought at the mall two years prior when Nico was there.

They got taller, he thinks vaguely. Nico had too, but Will still has at least half a foot on him.

“So, what’s up?”

“Not much, I guess,” he shrugs, twisting his ring. “I mean, I graduated. I assume you did too.”

Will nods. “I did. Lou Ellen invited me as her plus one. You know her, right? Friends with Rachel.”

Nico nods. Shoulder length, cloud-like hair that was a different color every other week. Wore lots of random thrifted t-shirts over big pants. Loud personality, even louder voice. Band kid. Friends with Cecil; her good grades probably being the only reason he hasn’t been kicked out of the school yet. Once debated the legitimacy of gender binaries with him in an English class.

“Sorry for, like, staring at you before,” he says. “It’s been a while.”

They nod again. “All good. I was staring at you before anyway.”

“You were?”

“Yeah,” Will shrugs. “You’re easy to look at.”

Then, a moment later, “It has been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah. You’ve changed a bit.”

“Have I?” They ask. “I think just my look, maybe. I’m still just as obnoxious.”

Nico snorts. It’s comforting to know they could just slip back into it like this. Like no time had ever passed, and Nico is back in their bedroom creating each other in The Sims.

“Are you still dating Connor?” Nico asks, vaguely remembering the last conversation they had.

“Nah, we broke up last winter.”

“Any reason?”

Will squints a bit like they’re curious why Nico’s asking. It makes Nico blush, immediately regretting saying anything.

“Dunno. We just grew apart,” they say. Then, “Sounds kinda familiar, doesn’t it?” followed by a laugh.

“I didn’t mean to stop talking to you,” Nico says quickly because he didn’t. There are days where he sees Will’s Instagram story or a tweet and knows that even though he could still comment, it wouldn’t quite be the same.

“Life got busy,” Will says. “It happens”

“I didn’t want it to. Not to us.”

“So let's restart.”

Nico blinks. “Just… start over our entire friendship?”

“No, just pick up where we left off.”

“Just like nothing happened?” he asks, sitting down on the couch next to them.

“Just like nothing happened,” Will affirms.

They’re both quiet for a moment, then—

“Do you remember what you told me when you first came out as bisexual to me?”

It was in the basement of Will’s house. Nico had come out as gay a few weeks prior, and when he was talking about the boy he liked, they just casually mentioned it. Being with Will like this again reminded him of something they had said, and something he later found out.

“I think I just, like… told you, right?” Will smiles. “And I said you were a big part of helping me figure out.”

“Yeah. I always thought you meant because I had already come out,” Nico said. “It wasn’t until, like, last year that Piper mentioned you meant that because you liked me.”

Will laughed again. “I figured you didn’t. You were always talking about what bad of a couple we would make.”

“Yeah,” Nico said, and his heart picked up pace as his knee knocked against Will’s by accident. Neither of them moved. “I actually had a massive crush on you for a while. I think I just said that because I wanted to try and get over it, so I wanted you to indirectly reject me.”

“Did you ever get over it?”

Nico laughs. “Not really. But I moved on.”

He notices Will shift closer, notices how their hands are now on top of each other and their legs are fully pressed together.

“Same,” Will says, moving their head closer to Nico’s until their foreheads are pressed together and their breaths mingle. They look at him for any sign to stop, and Nico doesn’t move.

“Good thing we’re starting over then, right?” they continue, practically a breath of a whisper before their lips connect, and god Nico did not think this was where his night was going but no way in hell was he about to stop it. (He’s not sober enough to care, anyway, and seemingly neither is Will judging by the strong scent smell of weed coming off of his shirt.)

Their hands laced together, subconsciously, almost like muscle memory from all the days walking hand in hand down the dock. (Nico wonders if his younger self was ever trying to tell his mind something.) Nico’s other hand comes up to rest on warm skin, brushing Will’s cheek with his thumb like he’s trying to wipe the freckles off.

Will wraps one arm around Nico’s waist, pulling him closer until he eventually just shifts so he’s in their lap. Will certainly doesn’t complain, only tilting their head to deepen the kiss and breaking apart their hands so they can run one hand through Nico’s hair.

They have to break apart after a moment, and Nico can help it when he laughs.

“Guess we were a little dumb when we were younger, huh?”

Will’s breathing heavy, but Nico doesn’t miss the familiar playful glint in their eye. “I don’t know what you mean. You’re still an idiot,” they say, pressing a kiss to the underside of Nico’s jaw, and another one right next to his ear.

He wonders if Will has thought about doing this the same way Nico has.

“Says you,” Nico says. “You were far more oblivious than I was.”

“I’m not the one who said we would make a bad couple,” they remind Will.

“Yeah?” he says, then leans back in to kiss Will again. Their mouths slot together, and god, they’re an even better kisser than Nico ever thought they could be. Something in his mind tells him maybe it’s not relationships he didn’t like, maybe he just knew it wasn’t the right person.

Perhaps Will’s that person he was always looking for.

Nico leans back, just barely so he can mumble “Lucky for you, I’m willing to test that theory,” against Will’s lips just before they pull him in once more.

—

solangelo tag list (message/ask to be added/removed!)

@unicornsgomooo @anxiouswinter @soulangelou @number-of-fucks-i-give-0 @underworldystuff @theeloquentsnake @solangelover@thefandomsaretakingover @internallyexplodingrainbows @hairasuntouchedaspartoftheamazon @motivatedcryptidtamer @emilyfairchild @wherethewildthingsare-nt @hetapeep41 @blavk-dahlia

#solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo #pjo #heros of olympus #my writing #liz writes.com #i like this update for the automatic italicies but holy shit just let me type my tags tumblr dear god

56 notes · View notes

tomtenadia · 4 years ago

Text

Island Dreams - Chapter 19

Good evening, afternoon, morning to everyone and welcome to chapter 19.

I have a few notes before letting you to the chapter. Rowan and Aelin finally attend Heb Celt. Heb Celt is this wonderful festival held in Stornoway each year (non covid years) and it's all about Scottish and Celtic music. It's big and it's amazing. That's where they are. I mentioned some groups. Peat and Diesel have been mentioned before in the fic. The new ones are Skerryvore and Skipinnish. they do some amazing music and I highly recommend it if you want to try some Scottish bands. They also sing in Gaelic. The song from Skerryvore that Aelin sing is called You and I. Awesome stuff.

Half way through you will notice Elide and Lorcan appearing in the fic. I tried to keep Lorcan IC as much as i could. not an easy task. I had to give them modern world jobs so Lorcan in my head is perfect for a rugby player. He is the Captain of the Glasgow warriors. They are a real team in Glasgow. The boys also mention the Six Nations. This is a wonderful competition that if you are in Europe you might have heard of. It happens every year and it has 6 teams competing: Scotland (YAY), Italy (YAY - I am Italian... imagine my pain on a Sco vs Ita game), Wales, Ireland and France. I love this competition and it's going to start this weekend. Rowan and Lorcan joke about England and Scotland. Although England wins most of the times (grrrrr) a few years back Scotland actually won and it almost became a new national day after St Andrews. I am not joking. Rugby is a big thing in Scotland.

Two Gaelic phrases: -Tha Gàidhlig agam cuideachd: I speak Gaelic too -Tha beagan Gàidhlig agam. I speak little Gaelic.

Quick update as well about the fic. Most of the chapters have some big chunks written. But there are two important chapters: 22 - something big happens. I wrote the main important part 5 times already and probably re write another five before i publish it. It involves something I don't usually write and I am really nervous. So finger crossed.

26: this will be the last chapter (there's an epilogue as well) and again I have written the main event. There is so much fluff that it's probably not healthy :)

So, after this massive introduction I can let you go and enjoy (hopefully) the chapter.

---------------

Aelin had woken up before Rowan that morning. It was finally mid July and it was Heb Celt day and she was super excited. The festival would run for three days but they had chosen the one with the most of their favourite artists. Plus Rowan had tickets for Peat and Diesel and they could not miss them. She rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen. That morning it was her turn for once to prepare breakfast. Rowan had taught her enough for her to make breakfast safely without burning the house down. It was a special day and she was going to make eggs and bacon, the only concession Rowan would make in his perfect diet. Once a week they could treat themselves to a non healthy breakfast. She prepared the coffee, sliced some bread for the toaster and started frying the bacon in one pan and getting the eggs ready as well. She felt good, she could make breakfast for Rowan for once. She was almost done when she felt his arms around her waist and a soft kiss behind her ear. “It smells lovely.”

“It’s a special day today so we are having our special breakfast.” She told him while finishing ti prepare the eggs. She was very proud of her job. “I’ll set the table.” He added and moved away and she missed his arms. “So, the main event is tonight at seven.” She said passing him the plates with food “I had a look at some events and it seems there is enough for us to fill up the entire day.” “You have done a good job,” he commented taking a bite of the food she had prepared for him. She tasted it as well and found it edible. Well, at least she was not going to poison them and he seemed satisfied. “Look at you.” He pulled her to him, and Aelin sat on his lap. She grabbed her plate and finished her breakfast with one of his arms around her. She was really loving it living with him. It had taken her a little while to adjust to his way of life but she had realised that living with him was quite easy. They had their little fights but he seemed to hate to hold grudges for too long so every time they had fixed their issues quite quickly. The two of them ate in silence for a moment “This is good, Fireheart.” And he polished off his plate. “I had a good teacher.” She stood and Rowan noticed that she was only wearing a large t-shirt, his t-shirt, and under it he could very barely notice her underwear. He grabbed her and pulled her back on his lap and she straddled him. His hands landed on her butt and she kissed him. “You really love teasing me, don’t you?” “It’s fun.” He looked at her in a weird way “Sure, torturing a poor man like that.” She got up again and took all the plates to the sink and she walked swaying her hips on purpose. Rowan almost howled at the sight. She started washing the dishes and at the same time she began dancing and singing and that’s the way we do it, the way we do it in the Western Isles. Rowan laughed and helped her. She washed and he dried them. She kept singing and bumped her hips into his and the two started dancing together. Once they were done Aelin went to her old room to get changed. She wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Then she braided her hair and tied a colourful bandana to her head. She prepared her backpack and she was ready to go. Once out, Rowan was waiting for her. He had blue shorts a grey t-shirt and on top of it a blue shirt with short sleeves and his sunglasses on top of his head. Aelin took a photo of him “so sexy.” He raised an eyebrow at her comment “I am not—“ “Shh…” she said placing a finger on his lips “I am your girlfriend and I am the one to judge.” He bit her finger in reply. “Fine, fine.” He grabbed her hand “Come on, I have a surprise for you.” Her face lit up and he could spend an entire day staring at her smiling at him. It was such a beautiful sight. They left the house and began their walk all the way to the harbour and Aelin was getting curious about their destination. They reached a small house down at the pier and Rowan pulled her toward the small group of people gathered. Aelin noticed another couple and a woman on her own. She was quite intent in studying the couple. The woman was quite petite with black hair and black eyes as well and she had a very bright smile. The man was almost the opposite. He was tall, Aelin suspected even taller than Rowan, something she could not believe it was possible. He had a thick muscular build with long dark hair and same for his eyes. But where she exuded a friendly attitude, he seemed to scowl even at the stones. “Is this part of the festival?” Wondering about his plan. “In a manner.” He explained quite vaguely “It’s just a pre festival fun.” Sure, now it was clear, thought Aelin, none the wiser. Rowan left her side for a moment and she noticed him talking with a man who, from the way he was dressed seemed to be a crew member on a boat. Rowan looked relaxed and Aelin suspected the two were friends. And with sadness she realised she had never met any of Rowan’s friend and he did not seem to mention any of them. “Ready for an adventure?” He told her once he came back, carrying two lifejackets. Aelin stared at him and then he pointed at the small rib boat and he gave her a huge grin. “I know one of crew members, Callum,” and he pointed at the man he was talking to. We used to dive together. I asked him if he could save us two seats for this morning. It’s a gorgeous day and a boat trip seems like the best way to spend the morning.” “You are a very resourceful man, Rowan Whitethorn.” She tiptoed on her feet and kissed his nose. One of the crew member walked around distributing lifejackets and explained the basic health and safety measures. Aelin wore her vest and Rowan double checked it was up to his standards. Once he was happy that the jacket was safely on he helped her to get on the rib. The brunette girl who was part of the couple sat beside her giving her a wide smile full of excitement that probably mirrored Aelin’s. “I am Elide.” The woman introduced herself and Aelin took her hand. “I am Aelin.” She smiled back “Are you here for the festival too?” She had a feeling they were tourists. “Yes,” she replied excited “Lorcan and I come every year. We love it.” Then she turned to the man at her side “This is Lorcan by the way. Don’t worry he does not bite. That is just his regular face” and the man grunted in reply. Aelin laughed. The man seemed to be mad at the world. She turned to introduce Rowan to the couple, but she noticed he was still on the pier chatting away with one of the crew members. “The tall guy on the pier with the blue shirt? My boyfriend, Rowan.” Elide’s gaze took in Rowan and Aelin smiled wickedly at the woman’s stare of understanding. “Did you come here for the festival too?” “Oh, Rowan and I live here. He is the local, I moved her a few months ago.” “Nice,” said the woman. Aelin liked her already, she had a very bubbly personality. “Lorcan and I live in Glasgow.” “I never been there but Rowan did uni there..” “You should come and visit. It’s quite a fantastic city. So alive.” Rowan finally returned and sat down beside Aelin “nice chat?” “Yeah, I haven’t seen him in ages. I knew he had opened a boat tours business but I never had the chance to come and say hi. We were just discussing some ideas for possible diving adventures.” She caressed his head and realised that there was still so much she did not know about him. Some days he still felt like a huge mystery, but still, she was madly in love with him and she was looking to find out more about him day by day. “I made a friend by the way,” and she pointed at the woman at her side “This is Elide. She and her boyfriend Lorcan are here for the festival too.” Rowan extended his hand and then he and Lorcan exchanged a manly nod and both women rolled their eyes. Rowan fussed over her again and double checked one more time that her lifejacket was fitted and tied properly, when the rib boat started to move. His hand reached behind her back and he leaned comfortably against the side of the boat and closed his eyes, letting the sun kiss his face. Aelin and Elide on the other hand, were taking photos and chatting away happily pointing at all the points of interest. The boat glided on the water and Aelin leaned back against Rowan, taking in the scenery in front of her. She had explored all of that during her adventures, but seeing it from the water was a completely different experience. “Thank you for this.” She said to him. “Hopefully we will see some wildlife.” He added “Callum said that yesterday they spotted Orcas.” Aelin’s eyes went wide in surprise “I saw whales at the Butt of Lewis, or what I think it was whales.” “Highly likely.” Then she turned to Elide “So, you guys are staying here for the whole festival?” The woman nodded “Yes, Lorcan and I always rent a cottage for a week and spend the whole weekend at the festival. I am looking forward the main event tonight: Peat and Diesel.” Aelin almost squealed “us too. Rowan introduced me to them very recently and I am dying to see them live.” “We have been to one of their concerts in Glasgow at the Barrowlands.” Said Lorcan almost grumbling. “Oh, he speaks,” joked Elide, patting his leg and giving him a smile. He did not reply and just placed a hand on her back. “What about we spend the day together?” Aelin turned all excited to Rowan who gave her a nod “Yes,” she shouted looking at Elide again. They sailed for a bit longer and reached Tiumpan Head and Rowan told her to keep and eye on the sea. Not a moment later she spotted a couple of fins and she and Elide almost jumped. “Dolphins,” Rowan said in her ear. She made a 360 and sat on her knees facing now the water. She felt Rowan’s arm tight around her waist. “Please, don’t fall in the water.” Her hand was in the water and a dolphin passed very close to her and she almost touched it. Rowan used his free hand to take pictures of her. His phone gallery had nothing but pictures of Aelin. Elide turned as well and Rowan noticed the panic in the other man’s eyes and they exchanged a glance of understanding. Aelin leaned a bit further but Rowan’s arm pulled her back “Please don’t. Lifeguard service is not in my plans for today.” “There’s dolphins around the boat.” Aelin squealed. “I know, Fireheart,” he pulled her back “but you need to calm down.” She sat back down to a safer position and Rowan felt like he could breath again. “Is that Tolsta?” She then asked when they continued north and she recognised the place in front of her. The closer they got to the beach the clearer the water got and Aelin was in awe “This reminds me of when Lys and I swam at Luskentyre.” Oh yeah, Rowan remembered the day and very quickly chased the memories away. They were in public. The boat made a turn and they began to make their way back to the town. Aelin snuggled to Rowan’s chest, with her arms around his waist. “Are you cold?” He demanded “I have your favourite hoodie with me.” “I am fine.” An hour later they were back at the harbour and Aelin was high on excitement. The trip had been amazing. Once off the boat she flung her arms around Rowan’s neck and kissed him “Thank you. I loved my surprise.” “You are most welcome.” He pulled back from her “Let me say bye to Callum.” And she was left alone with Elide and Lorcan. “That was a nice trip.” Said the woman, grabbing her boyfriend’s hand. “Totally. I had never seen dolphins before. It was so awesome.” “Really?” Elide was curious. Aelin nodded “Until a few months ago I lived in London. Born and bred there. Not much chance to see dolphins in the water. I doubt they would enjoy the Thames.” Elide gazed at Lorcan “We were planning a quick weekend in the capital next month.” “Ask me anything. I can tell you the best places to go and how to survive London without breaking the bank.” “That would be lovely,” was Lorcan’s reply “I feel like I need a mortgage for this trip.” He kissed the woman’s head and she noticed the first sign of affection “But it’s a belated birthday present, so…” he shrugged. “Ach, I can help you with that. I survived London on a budget when I was student.” Rowan finally came back and embraced her from behind “Sorry, Callum and I were just planning an excursion for next Sunday.” He kissed her ear. “Can I come too?” “Of course.” Then he lifted his head and looked at their two companions for the day “Aelin and I are going to grab lunch, fancy joining us?” Lorcan almost protested but Elide poked his shoulder “Stop being grumpy.” Then she turned to Aelin and Rowan “Of course we are coming.” Rowan smiled and took Aelin’s hand and started walking to Maeve’s. He laughed when he noticed that Aelin was almost skipping. Gods, the woman had never ending energy. While walking to Maeve’s Rowan and Lorcan ended up side by side and Aelin just noticed that her assumption was right and Lorcan really was taller that Rowan. The man must have been closer to two metres. She felt tiny all of a sudden and Elide seemed even more petite beside the huge man. She could put Aedion with them as well and they could form a sexy, tall wall of muscles. She grinned and was glad that Rowan was busy talk to Elide so he did not notice her savage blush. They reached the cafe and noticed that it was packed and Rowan sighed. He loved the festival but it also meant a savage invasion disrupting his day to day life. He entered first and went to his aunt and Aelin smiled when she noticed that Maeve had managed to find some space for them. “Privileges of being related to the owner,” he smiled, going back to them. “This is a lovely place,” commented Elide “why we never stopped here?” “So, will you be enjoying the entire festival as well?” Asked Elide, passing a menu to Lorcan. “No, Rowan and I will be doing today only. Tomorrow we have to reopen the bookshop.” The woman’s eyes lit up in surprise “do you run the bookshop down the road?” Rowan nodded “It’s my shop.” He took Aelin’s hand in his “she helps.” “Yeah, I fix his displays and I charm customer. Rowan scares them away by being a grump” She grinned back at him and he, in exchange, flicked her nose. “I am a primary school teacher,” continued Elide who was definitely the chattier of the pair “And Lorcan is the coach of the Glasgow Warriors. They are a rugby team.” And Aelin was grateful to the woman for the clarification. “No way.” Said Rowan amazed “That’s why you looked familiar. You were their captain until a few years back. Lorcan Salvaterre.” Lorcan nodded. “I studied at Glasgow university and the Warriors were, and still are, my favourite team. I went to see plenty of their games. You guys are awesome.” “You like rugby?” “Aye,” added Rowan and Aelin studied him for a moment. He was alive all of a sudden, his usual calm disappeared and he was one beautiful sight “Stornoway has a small club and I go and watch some of the games. But I miss the big league guys. I usually get tickets for the Six Nations as well.” Lorcan smiled “I can get you some tickets for one of Scotland’s home games. Perhaps for the one against England. Wonder if it will be finally the year we trash them as they deserve.” “Hey,” Aelin exclaimed almost hurt “English woman here.” And as a joke she pushed her London accent. “No one is perfect, Fireheart.” Rowan kissed her temple. She pinched his side and he barely reacted “Fine, I will support England this year, just to annoy you” She threatened and the two guys glared at her. “Fine.” She raised her hands “but you need to teach me Flower of Scotland.” “It would be my pleasure.” And he pulled her to him and in that instant Maeve came with their order “Sorry for the wait guys, we are quite busy today.” Rowan said something in Gaelic to his aunt and she walked away with a smile. Elide turned to him “Tha Gàidhlig agam cuideachd.” Rowan’s face lit up. “I teach at the Glasgow Gaelic School. I am not a native. I picked it up at uni and I fell in love with it. I spent some time on the islands to learn it and then I got a job as a teacher.” “Yeah if she starts to shout at me in Gaelic I know she is really mad at me.” The man joked taking her hand. “I only know a few sentences. Tha beagan Gàidhlig agam.” Aelin said proudly “Rowan has been teaching me.” They finished their lunch chatting away nicely and getting to know each other. Lorcan did manage to utter a few more sentences but he became quite talkative once he and Rowan started talking about rugby. Aelin ordered a trip to the ice cream parlour. And the boys followed. Aelin took Elide’s arm and let Rowan and Lorcan follow. They were super immersed in their conversation. Aelin wished Lysandra was there too. She had a feeling the three of them would get along greatly. Aelin and Elide got a triple cone and the two men just went for something more sober with just one flavour. “Look at them all perfect and healthy.” Aelin mocked them and Elide giggled at her side. Rowan, in front of her just met her gaze and then licked his ice cream in a very taunting way and took great pleasure in noticing her reaction. Aelin almost chocked and his eyes flashed in amusement. A wall, she just wanted a wall and twenty minutes alone with him to remove that smirk form his face. He knew he had rattled her and hated the way he casually went back talking to Lorcan. She would have her revenge. Eventually her mind started functioning again and went back talking to Elide, hoping the woman had not noticed their exchange. That would have been embarrassing. Slowly they reached the festival grounds. They made it till four and they still had three hours to fill in before the main event. They all collected their tickets and ventured inside the main arena. Aelin squeezed Rowan’s hand and once she turned to him she noticed he had the most amazing smile. “We got a concert coming up.” Said Elide, then grabbed a notebook and scribbled something down “this is my number. Text me later. We can meet again for the main event.” Aelin took the piece of paper and then the notebook and wrote her number for the woman “Looking forward to.” The two said their goodbyes and Rowan finally pulled Aelin to him and kissed her deeply “I had to restrain myself all afternoon.” “You are a wicked man,” a whisper against his lips “You will pay for the ice cream trick.” But in response his kiss deepened and his tongue repeated some of the motions he did early. “Unless you want me to drag you in a hidden corner and have sex at a festival, you’d better stop it.” He laughed “Yes, Fireheart.” And mirth flashed in his pine green eyes. “Come on, let’s go and have a look at the merchandise. See if we can get you a P&D hoodie.” And he dragged her to the area with all the stalls. “Uh, food stalls.” She pulled on one side. “Later. We just had a massive lunch and ice cream.” “You are no fun.” She complained while following him. He walked with her in tow for a little longer and they finally found all the stall with the merchandise for the bands and the festival in general. “Look,” he said to her pointing at the big stall of the band “Good thing we are here early, we can do all these things now. Later on it will be mobbed.” Aelin got closer to the stall and started having a look at the hoodies. She noticed a green one and gave it a try. She had decided that for some reason green reminded her of Rowan, perhaps for his eyes, but the colour now was a reminder of him. She tried on the hoodie and Rowan turned and stared at her in appreciation. “You look lovely.” “I’ll take it.” As Rowan turned again, apparently interested by what was going on on the big screen and she used the moment to buy a t-shirt for him. His birthday was coming up and this was the second part of her present. She paid for her stuff and quickly placed the t-shirt in her backpack before he would turn again. She embraced him from behind and leaned her head against his back, he turned, “I really, really like it.” And kissed her forehead. They wandered a bit longer until they finally reached one of the smaller stages where the first band they were waiting for was going to play soon. They did manage to squeeze to the front and Aelin felt bad for whoever ended up behind Rowan. He pulled her in front of him and his arms went around her neck “Are you ready to sing?” She nodded. The band was called Skipinnish and one was one of Rowan’s favourite and she agreed that they did some wonderful music. The group started with a slow song and Aelin danced on the spot in Rowan’s arms and she felt like the happiest woman alive. In his arms she was finally happy. As if the last year ceased to exist all of a sudden. That had been his magic. He had slowly taken away all the grief she had felt until only a few months ago. He had given her again the desire to dream. She squeezed his hand and tried to convey somehow all those feeling in that simple gesture. The music suddenly picked up in pace and Rowan turned her to him, one of her hand landed on his chest and the other one in his hand that he held high. He started dancing and she swayed with him, then he lifted her and turned on the spot and put her back. A quick kiss and they kept dancing. His eyes alive with happiness. She giggled and he smiled at that sound. All through their dance, Aelin sang, impressing him by her knowledge. She only refrained from singing the songs in Gaelic, that was still too much of a challenge. They danced for another few hours then they moved to the next stage where Skerryvore, the next band they wanted to see was going to play. This time they ended up at the back, but Rowan had Aelin climb on his back, piggyback style, and that allowed her to see the stage a little better. She could not dance but loved her position. Her chin leaned on his head and her arms went around his neck. She took a sniff of his wonderful scent of pine and snow and kissed the back of his head. One of Aelin’s favourite songs began playing and she sang out loud you and I, we held each other tight. Time will take its toll, but I will never let you go. Your love is like a high, you and I. Our love can never die, together as we grow. I’ll always let you know, you’re my reason why Rowan joined in and she hugged him tighter and her head leaned against his head. “I love you,” she whispered while he was busy singing the chorus. It was past six when the concert finished. Aelin looked at her phone and noticed a text from Elide telling her that she and Lorcan were already at the main stage and they had a spot at the very front. “Let’s go.” Aelin grabbed Rowan’s hand “Elide and Lorcan have spot fro us as well at the front of the stage.” Luckily the main stage area was not busy yet, and they found the couple quite quickly. Rowan had a look and noticed they had found a good spot. “This is perfect.” Rowan commented. “Not our first festival.” Lorcan grinned back. Aelin and Elide were huddled together talking and being all excited for the grand event. Aelin paraded her hoodie and Elide showed her the t-shirt and the hoodie she had bought as well. Rowan really thought he had created a monster. With the passing of time the area started to fill and Aelin could feel the excitement around them. Half an hour later the show started with a roar. Aelin climbed on Rowan’s shoulders again and she noticed that Lorcan offered the same to Elide. Aelin roared as well and shouted as soon as she recognised the notes of the first song Stornoway of course. She sang with all of her voice and waved her hands in the air. She and Elide grabbed their hands and sang and waved together. Then they moved to Western Isles and the crowd went wild. Rowan laughed at Aelin’s wild excitement and was impressed by the fact that Aelin really had learned all the lyrics. “And that’s the way we do it, the way we do it in the Western Isles” she was singing with a passion and his mind went to that morning when she was cooking breakfast in nothing but a baggy t-shirt while singing and dancing to that song. Rowan moved a bit dancing as much as possible with Aelin on his shoulder but he sang as well and with his hand he beat the rhythm on Aelin’s legs. The band was playing some of their hits and he was having the time of his life. He had never been able to convince Lyria to go to Heb Celt with him. Her music taste was different and she was never interested in that type of music so he had gone alone for a very long time. But now he had Aelin and she was basically perfect. The guys started playing My islands and Aelin let out a savage cheer and then started to sing. She slowly slid off his back and started dancing and jumping in front of him shaking her head at the rhythm of the music Elide at her side being just as wild. She took his hands and danced on the spot as much as the crowd allowed it. Aelin took some photos of her and Rowan and went back dancing. It was quite late when the concert finished. Aelin and Elide were now walking silently hand in hand with their respective men. “I think they finally ran out of fuel.” Joked Rowan, seeing the two women quiet. “It took them a while, but eventually it happened.” Joked Lorcan who had slowly opened up a bit more. “You are both so mean.” Said Elide leaning against Lorcan. “Yes, and you are going to fall asleep soon.” Lorcan crouched down and offered to carry Elide piggyback “Come on, time to get you to bed.” “Are you coming to the ceilidh at An Lanntair tomorrow?” Aelin and Rowan looked at each other “we might,” she said. “Let us know.” Said Lorcan settling Elide properly on his back “Thanks for the day and evening.” And the two slowly walked away. Rowan turned to Aelin and noticed she had a massive grin on her face. Alas, she seemed to have some energy left. “That was awesome.” She took both of his hands “And we need to go to the ceilidh tomorrow. It’s your birthday. We need to celebrate.” “Fine. We can go. But now we are going home. You have to rest and recharge the batteries for the ceilidh.” She leaned forward and kissed him “Thank you so much for this. It was unbelievable.” He pulled her to him and lifted her and pirouetted while kissing her. Finally they started making their way home and when Rowan noticed that Aelin was on the verge of falling asleep on her feet he offered a piggyback ride and she accepted. By the time they got back home she was fully asleep. At home he deposited her on the bed and he started to ponder how to get her out of her current clothes and into a pyjama. He went to get her Cookie Monster pyjama, removed her hoodie and placed it on the chair at the bottom of the room. Next it was the t-shirt and her shorts and he tried to look away. He was about to put the new clothes away when she groaned and woke up briefly. “I am just changing you into your pj.” He told her gently. Still half asleep she let him guide her body into her night clothes. Then he realised she liked to sleep without a bra and he had no idea how to solve that one. “Bra…” she muttered. “I am… you…” he tried to hide his embarrassment “you do that.” She muttered something unintelligible and removed her bra and threw it in his face. Then collapsed on the bed and went back to sleep. Rowan slowly tucked her in then changed in own night clothes and joined her. His arms went around her waist tucked her head in the crook of his neck. Not longer after he was asleep as well.

#rowan x aelin #rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius #fanfic #fluff #throne of glass series

29 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years ago

Text

A Beginner’s Guide to Marvel Zombies

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains spoilers for Marvel’s What If…?

Man, Marvel’s What If…? series really does draw you in with a false sense of security, doesn’t it? The first episode is an adorable romance story laced with punching Nazis. The second is a tribute to a late actor in the form of galactic utopia. Then we get the Avengers being murdered, the universe being melted, and now Captain America eating human flesh. Enjoy your nightmares, kids!

The fifth episode of What If…? is a bit of a fanservice choice. For the latter half of the 2000s, Marvel was riding the Marvel Zombies train like nothing else.

While the first use of the concept came in 2005, one could consider What If…? v.2 #24 (What If Wolverine Was Lord of the Vampires?) to be the prototype. The story involved Dracula turning the X-Men into vampires, but Wolverine’s healing factor allowed him to overwhelm Dracula’s control and fight back. He then littered New York City with vampire heroes and humanity’s last hope came in the form of the Punisher wearing Dr. Strange’s cape.

Mark Millar

The first real use of Marvel Zombies was more of a prank than anything else. Mark Millar and Greg Land were doing Ultimate Fantastic Four and all signs pointed to the idea that they were setting up a crossover. Not just any crossover, but THE crossover. Marvel had been adamant about the Ultimate Universe being separated from main continuity, but solicitations and covers made it seem like the two Reed Richards counterparts were going to meet up. Much of Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 played into this with Ultimate Reed conversing with an alternate universe Reed who very much resembled the mainstream one. Ultimate Reed created a portal to go visit him.

What he found was zombie incarnations of the Fantastic Four with Reed asking, “Ever had the feeling you’ve been had?”

Robert Kirkman

The rest of the arc was about Ultimate Reed trying to survive and escape that world with the help of that world’s Magneto. This set the stage for the first Marvel Zombies miniseries, written by The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips (Arthur Suydam did zombie parody covers of classic Marvel art, which would continue for several more miniseries). Initially, Kirkman wanted to do a story about Luke Cage being the last hero alive, playing up his unbreakable skin as a deterrent, but since the Ultimate Fantastic Four arc already depicted Zombie Luke Cage, that was off the table.

Instead, his story involved two main arcs. One was the survival of Black Panther, who – much like the animated What If…? episode – was kept alive, albeit with his limbs being gradually removed for the sake of being zombie food without infecting the body. While the cartoon had Scott Lang’s disembodied head, the comic had a decapitated Zombie Wasp as Panther’s ally. She was never cured of the disease, but she did stop being hungry after a while and came to her senses.

The other story was about Earth’s zombified heroes dealing with the coming of the Silver Surfer and Galactus. A handful of them went on to devour the invaders and absorb their cosmic powers, along with their cosmic hunger. Hank Pym, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and the Hulk went on to wipe out nearly all life in the universe as the Zombie Galacti. The follow-up was the basis for Marvel Zombies 2.

As for what caused the zombie outbreak in the beginning, that’s where things get a little hairy. The Ultimate Fantastic Four story revealed that a Zombie Superman (recolored to be the Sentry so as not to piss off DC) got so hungry that he punched reality until breaking into an alternate universe and infecting its heroes.

Kirkman and Phillips did a one-shot prequel called Marvel Zombies: Dead Days that suggested that Magneto bartered with some force to unleash the virus on Earth, thinking that it would only target humans and not mutants. Then a later miniseries called Marvel Zombies Return created an alternate universe time-loop where the zombies from Marvel Zombies continuity ended up in another universe, where they caused an outbreak, infected that world’s Sentry, and Zombie Sentry ended up popping into the Marvel Zombies universe to cause the initial outbreak.

Did anybody follow that? I hope so. Either way, Zombie Sentry was never mentioned again. He infected the heroes and then…nothing. Just a loose plot thread. Weird. Though fitting that the Sentry stopped being a threat because people forgot about him.

Crossovers

The initial Marvel Zombies universe was revisited here and there in several ways. Black Panther’s comic (during when he was leader of the Fantastic Four) journeyed into that universe and dealt with the Zombie Galacti. Ash from Army of Darkness got his own cool crossover miniseries taking place during the initial outbreak. Zombie Wolverine showed up in an Exiles story about a team made entirely out of Wolverine variants. Zombie Deadpool (Headpool) became a major part of the short-lived Deadpool Corps. Marvel Zombies also did a crossover with Marvel Apes.

There was also a one-shot called Marvel Zombies Halloween that revealed that Kitty Pryde and her son survived, while also showing what Mephisto was up to in this reality.

Fred Van Lente

With Marvel Zombies 3, Fred Van Lente started writing and brought the series in a different direction. He introduced ARMOR, a SHIELD offshoot based on dealing with alternate realities. While it still dealt with the Marvel Zombies universe, focus was more on the mainstream Marvel universe as it tried to prevent an invasion. The protagonists for the story were Machine Man and Jocasta. In the follow-up, Marvel Zombies 4, Morbius brought the Midnight Sons back together to save the world from a possible outbreak.

Van Lente’s swansong was Marvel Zombies 5, which was about Machine Man and Howard the Duck venturing into different zombie universes for reasons. After that came Marvel Zombies Supreme, taking place in regular Marvel continuity and featuring Battlestar and Jack of Hearts fighting zombie versions of the Squadron Supreme. Then came the last gasp for the line with 2012’s Marvel Zombies Destroy, where ARMOR sends Howard the Duck and Dum Dum Dugan to fight an alternate reality filled with zombie Nazis.

The Zombie Saga Continues

They did get a shot in the arm a few years later with Secret Wars. The event featured a world made up pieces of alternate Earths, haphazardly connected together. There’s a No Man’s Land on this Earth that’s filled with zombies and homicidal robots. It’s basically a place to dump criminals for execution.

A couple more stories were released, though neither had any connection to the original Marvel Zombies or the stuff with ARMOR. Marvel Zombie was a one-shot about a band of heroes trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, who end up teaming with Simon Garth, Marvel’s Zombie. The ending is…well, it sure is something.

More recently is Marvel Zombies: Resurrection. This one is about the Brood infesting and killing Galactus. The race evolves into a hivemind of zombies, all very interested in infecting Franklin Richards. The heroes for this one include Spider-Man, a Sentinel reprogrammed to be Franklin and Valeria’s nanny, a blind Wolverine, a techno-organic Frank Castle, and a SUPER EXCITED Blade.

Also of note is Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher and its sequels (Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine and Marvel Universe vs. The Avengers). This reality also dealt with a zombie superhero apocalypse, but in a different and more coherent way. Instead of being a virus, it was a bio weapon let loose into the ecosystem. That meant that presumably everyone was going to succumb to it eventually, turning into a savage cannibal. The Punisher, who was inadvertently behind the mess and was immune, would spend his days hunting down and beheading heroes. Also, he’d have to kill Deadpool on a nearly daily basis.

That’s Marvel Zombies in a nutshell.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post A Beginner’s Guide to Marvel Zombies appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3tqMadj

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

3 notes · View notes

bwemph · 4 years ago

Text

The Measure of Things | Chapter 4 | Just Like Old Times

Pairing: Din Djarin x Reader

Summary: After seeking some quiet on the planet Minikov, a band of pirates attack the inn where you and Din stop for lunch. An old friend, Ra’vena Zapal, urges you and Din to hunt them down and bring peace back to Minikov. The two of you accept the mission, and you prepare to bring down the band of brigands, just like old times.

Word count: 3.0k

Warnings: Canon typical violence, y e a r n i n g, angst

The journey out of the atmosphere was bumpy, to say the least.

The Razor Crest rattled and sputtered as Mando dodged some of the larger meteors that screened Rabadus off from the rest of the galaxy. The smaller rocks knocked against the sides of the ship and rattled the hull.

The baby gave a dismayed cry at the loud noises outside and at the way his pram shook vigorously.

Fortunately, the assailant’s ship couldn’t keep up with Mando and crashed straight into one massive, looming asteroid.

Mando made the jump to lightspeed.

A little red light flashed repeatedly on his dashboard; he was receiving a transmission.

In the moments following, an image of a lanky man with dishwater blond hair who was clad in a grey and red uniform appeared before them on the holoprojector.

His face was wrinkled in some unsavory mix of a wicked smirk and a glower.

“This is Jido Horne of the Star Crawlers,” the hologram spoke. “We demand that you hand over the child, Mandalorian, or else there will be consequences. You saw what we did to your little friend’s shipyard. We won’t hesitate to do the same to you.” Jido’s smirk-glare twisted into a sickening, sparsely toothed grin. “My deputies are transmitting coordinates for a rendezvous as I speak. Meet us there by the end of the week or we will find you and we will light you up like sweet y/n’s boyfriend. Consider this your one and only warning.”

Your stomach dropped to your feet as confusion twisted your features. They knew your name. They knew about you. How? And how did they know about Max? Did Mando say something? Was that what he meant when he said he was here for “work”? Or did these brutes raid the Base’s computers? Who even were the Star Crawlers?

A hundred more questions circled in your brain as you stood and gripped Mando’s seat.

“Mando, what’s going on?” you asked. “What aren’t you telling me?”

His gaze remained set on the hundreds of stars whizzing by in tubes of white light. You weren’t sure if he was just contemplating his response or ignoring you as he sometimes would when he thought he knew better than you.

“Mando.”

His helmet tilted down to the baby in his lap, and he stared back with his wide eyes.

“They’re after the baby, just like everyone else in this damn galaxy!” He brought a fist down to the dashboard in frustration.

The sudden expression of force made you take a step backward, your heart thudding a little in your chest.

A sigh slipped through his vocoder and he stood to face you, placing the child in the pram first. He softened, his head dropping again. “You never should have gotten wrapped up in this. I’m so sorry.”

“What’s going on?” you asked again, your voice small and shaking a little.

He rested a hand on the edge of the pram, casting a glance as the baby’s hand went over his in a small, comforting gesture.

“There’s remnants of the Empire that have been after the kid for months now. They have whole companies of hunters after him, and not just hunters from the Guild. Now that these Star Crawlers seen you with me, there’s a target on your back, too.”

You fell silent, only finding a nod as a response. You fell back in your seat again, eyes fixated on the floor.

“Are you alright?” Mando finally asked, crouching in front of you to meet your eyes.

His touch on your arm snapped you from your trance.

You gave a heavy, albeit shaky, sigh. “I will be. I...I need a shower.”

He nodded once and stood again. “You know where the fresher is.”

“Thank you.”

***

The water was cold at first, but it warmed up a little the longer you were in the shower. You always seemed to be able to clear your mind in the shower, to restart and refocus.

Restart and refocus looked like letting out your pent up tears. Heavy, ugly sobs wracked your shoulders for you don’t know how long. You tried to keep them quiet, to smother them with your hands, and you could only hope to no avail that you were successful.

Finally, with wet hair and dry eyes, you stepped out of the fresher and found a neatly folded towel and a new set of clothes that probably wouldn’t fit you very well, but it would be a refreshing change from your sweat and grease-covered mechanic clothes.

Those definitely were not there before you got in. You found a tiny smile within yourself.

After drying off, you took a moment to look in the mirror. To your relief, the hickeys Max left were finally fading away.

Oh god, Max.

He was gone. That Jido character said it himself. Max had been blown up just like HE-27, just like Stantin, just like the entirety of Rabadus Base and most of its staff and the cargo ships and the pilots and--

No. You couldn’t let yourself think like that. Yours, Mando’s, and the baby’s lives were in danger, so you had to focus on the present, the future, and not the past.

“What’s done is done,” you said to yourself, pulling Mando’s tunic over your head.

You returned to the cockpit after getting dressed.

The ship had left lightspeed and you were simply floating in space now.

The baby was fast asleep in the pram, its little snores providing a soft white noise that you thought might have lulled Mando to sleep as well.

But as you entered, his helmet turned in a subtle acknowledgment of your presence. You stood next to him and stared out at the wide expanse of space that stretched out infinitely in front of you.

“What’s next?” you asked.

He tore his eyes from you and flipped on a few switches. “I’ve charted a course for Minikov. We’ll lay low there for a little while until we figure out our next move.”

“Minikov…” you murmured to yourself. It sounded familiar, but you couldn’t quite place where the planet was or why you knew the name. “That’s not where we tracked down Nej Angard and his goons, is it? That time when we nearly got trampled to death by the Irkoxen?”

“That’s the one.”

You swore you heard a hint of a chuckle in his voice as if he too were remembering fleeing across the wide open prairie terrain from the gray and brown cow-like creatures with the sharp, wolfish teeth.

You laughed softly. “I probably haven’t run quite like that since that day.”

“Me either. And I don’t really intend to,” he quipped.

“Well, we’ll see when we get there, eh?”

You sighed a little as the ship left hyperspace. The planet loomed before you, sparsely populated with no ships leaving or entering the atmosphere.

Mando landed the Crest a little ways away from the main town on Minikov: Besutis. It was the most densely populated place around, which wasn’t saying much, seeing as the population was maybe a couple hundred people maximum.

It was a perpetual early summer on this planet. Flowers were in full bloom, and a breeze cooled the air that steadily heated up as the crescent shaped sun rose higher in the sky.

You and Mando drew many gazes as you ambled through the town toward the tiny inn at the end of the street.

Most of the small, scattered crowd, a healthy mix of humans and twi’leks, likely recognized you. It’s not often you see a Mandalorian with a companion on the same planet twice. Those that didn’t recognize you were probably more intrigued and their gazes were a little more prying. You could see the gears turning in their heads as you met their eyes.

Inside the inn was quiet, nearly deserted. Two or three foreigners sipped on tea in the corners of the room, but otherwise, it was entirely vacant.

A twi’lek woman with crimson skin emerged from the kitchen holding a tray of some kind of freshly cooked meat. It smelled fantastic given your empty stomach that only now started complaining.

She set the food in front of one of the patrons before turning to you and Mando. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled at the familiar faces.

“Mando! Y/n!” the twi’lek cried in excitement. She bounded over to greet both of you with hugs and handshakes.

“Ra’vena,” you greeted, embracing her warm hug.

Ra’vena grinned, taking a moment to drink in the sight of her two favorite travelers. “What a pleasant surprise it is to see you two again.”

“The pleasure’s all ours,” Mando returned.

“Please, take a seat.” She gestured to the empty tables scattered about the dining room. “Can I offer something to drink? It’ll be on the house, whatever you two need.” Her eyes dropped to the pram that hovered next to Mando, and she laughed softly, caressing the baby’s large ear that drooped as he yawned. “Or, I suppose, whatever you three need.”

“I’m starved,” you said. “I can meet you back at the Crest if you want to eat something too, Mando.”

“That’s alright,” he replied. “I’m sure the kid will want to eat, though.”

Despite the child struggling to keep his eyes open, his gaze was locked on the meat that Ra’vena placed in front of the Rodian across the room.

“I’ll have something right out for you, then.”

Ra’vena disappeared again behind the doors to the kitchen, leaving you with Mando and the baby.

You gazed at Mando for quite some time, trying to find the courage to voice your next thought.

“You came to hide.”

“What?”

You shifted in your seat to get a better look at him. “When you came to Rabadus, it wasn’t for work. You were there to hide.”

“And it took you this long to put that together?”

“No, it just took me this long to call it out.”

Ra’vena emerged from the kitchen again and placed a bowl in front of you, then a slightly smaller bowl in front of the child. “Chef’s special. You two will love it.”

“Thank you,” you replied, taking a spoonful of the piping hot stew. It was just the right balance of spicy and savory, and the right balance of meat and assorted vegetables. You nodded gratefully at Ra’vena before she went to attend to another patron.

You turned your attention back to Mando. “You’re not a step ahead of the competition this time. You don’t even know what you’ll do while we’re here, do you?”

“What’s your point?” There was a coarse edge to his voice; it was just short of a snap.

You reached out and touched his forearm, setting down your spoon. The soft heat of the flamethrower in his brace warmed your bare fingertips slightly. “I want to help you, Mando.” Your eyes dropped to the table and you withdrew your hand, remembering the day you left the Bounty Hunter’s Guild and looked upon the betrayed faces of your found family for the last time. All save for Mando’s, anyway, and it wasn’t just because of the helmet that hid his surely handsome face.

Memories rushed back of the band of hooligans who kidnapped you and Mando, who coaxed valuable and very sensitive information of the Guild and some of its highly sought after members out of you after days and days of interrogation—after days and days of torture. Shame overtook you when you recalled them setting you free, beaten and bruised, but they kept Mando. He hadn’t broken yet. He was too strong for them.

Obviously, he had escaped. Just weeks ago, you heard news of a Mandalorian on the run, and there was no doubt it was him. You just didn’t realize the quarry he had stolen was so small, so...delicate.

You gazed at the baby for a moment before breaking free from your thoughts.

“I know we never really talked about what happened before I left the Guild, but...I just want to put it in the past. We’re here now and as long as we’re both on the run, well, I don’t think we should leave each other behind.” You set your jaw. “Not this time.”

Mando looked around at the prying eyes, but his gaze was enough to make any nosey listeners avert their curious stares.

He lowered his voice, and this time it was he who reached out to touch your hand. “You know I don’t blame you for anything that happened, right?”

You slowly withdrew and wrung your fingers. You gazed at him with wide eyes as you processed that, given that you assumed he was always bitter for being left high and dry in such a tense and dangerous situation.

Maybe it was just your guilt talking to you, though.

“I know you didn’t have a choice,” he went on. “You had no chance barging back in there on your own. Besides,” he chuckled a little to lighten the mood, “I made it out just fine.”

You opened your mouth to respond, a tiny smile playing on your lips. His words eased your anxieties about anything that happened before. He was always good at making you relax with just a few words.

No words had the chance to drop from your mouth when the front door flew open and slammed against the wall so hard that it bounced back and nearly hit the group entering the inn.

Seven human men entered, blasters drawn with sinister smirks on their faces.

Immediately, they opened fire on the staff and customers.

“Get down!” Mando instructed, flipping the table up so he, you, and the baby could hide behind it.

He drew his blaster and began firing back at the assailants now flooding the inn.

You turned, eyes wide as one of them approached from behind the table. “Mando!” you cried.

He whipped around and shot at the man towering over the three of you, and he slumped to the ground, dropping his blaster. It skidded to a stop at your feet.

Without hesitation, you picked it up and began firing at the two men making a beeline for the cash register where another twi’lek cowered, gritting your teeth as you just barely missed the top of his head, nowhere close to the enemies.

After a couple lucky shots, you were able to cut them down before they could fill their pockets any further.

It wasn’t long before the thieves were eliminated and lay scattered about the inn floor. The disarray eased, and despite the bodies on the ground and shaken up customers, it was as if nothing had happened.

You looked to Ra’vena, who stood in shock for a moment as thought she hadn’t processed the chaos yet.

Slowly, her gaze turned to you and Mando, who was placing the baby back in the pram and closing it in case of any more danger.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice shaking a little.

“Who the hell was that?” Mando asked, a hand remaining on the pram.

Ra’vena swallowed hard, her gaze still stuck on the crumpled man that lay in front of her. “Pirates. Nej Angard hired them. They’ve been terrorizing us for weeks now, and we’ve had nothing to do about it without anyone like you two here.”

“Angard?” you said. “That bastard is still around these parts?”

“Unfortunately.” Ra’vena gathered some spilled silverware across the room. “Gives us a headache whenever he and his men show their faces around these parts. They do nothing but rob our establishments and start shootouts in the streets. We haven’t known peace since they showed up. Mayor Dolpho has a hefty reward for anybody who will bring back Angard’s head.” She sighed. “Nobody around here has much gusto for that kind of thing, though.”

You shared a brief glance with Mando. You already knew what he was thinking.

You could already hear the delighted grin in his voice. “I think I know what we will do while we’re here,”

****

Before heading off to sniff out Angard and the pirates, Mando insisted you come back to the Crest with him. He wouldn’t tell you why.

The two of you left the baby at the inn with Ra’vena, as she assured Mando the child would be safe and well taken care of in her private quarters while you took care of the pirate problem.

“Come on,” you pressed, pushing Mando’s arm gently, “why didn’t we just go straight to the camp? Ra’vena already told us where it was and everything!”

“Well, if we’re going to face pirates, you’ll be needing something more than that blaster pistol.” He opened the hatch, making sure you were following behind him. “Wouldn’t do much for us anyway,” he added.

“Hey!” you fired back. “I’m just rusty is all. With a little more practice I’d be just fine!”

“Well, we don’t have time for practice,” he said, entering the code that opened his small arsenal. “Which is why you need this.”

He pulled a staff from the vault, handing it delicately to you.

Your breath caught as your fingers closed around the weapon. It fit perfectly in your palms, flawlessly balanced as if you had held it yesterday. Your electrostaff.

“You held onto it all this time?” you said, gazing at it in disbelief.

He nodded once.

With the click of a button, the staff lit up with purple electricity at both ends. You took a moment to swing the weapon around, fighting off imaginary foes and planting the ends into their theoretical chests.

A grin lit up your face. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course.”

The electricity dissipated, and you sighed, slinging the staff over your back by the hand woven strap you picked up on one of your many adventures with him. “It’ll be just like old times, eh Mando?”

A laugh crackled through his vocoder. “Just like old times.”

#din djarin #the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian x reader #pedro pascal #the child #baby yoda #the measure of things #star wars #star wars the mandalorian

18 notes · View notes

sole-cuore-amore-e-droga · 4 years ago

Text

Italy brings the rock’n’roll youth of tomorrow to Rotterdam 2021

youtube

It’s the final day of doing my yet again botched attempt at a review series and I’ve been dying to post my gigantic write-up for my newly beloved Italy, at the top of the bookies, darling of all hearts, ready to rock Eurovision, and even more! Vai vai~

ARTIST & ENTRY INFO

Representing them this year is Måneskin, a band made up of four - singer and possibly the hottest motherfucker to grace the planet Earth Damiano, guitarist Thomas, drummer Ethan, and the cherry on top - bassist Victoria, whose half-Danish heritage is the reason Måneskin is called Måneskin (= Moonshine). They thought of this name at a “battle of the bands” that they won, thinking they might as well change it to something different, but in the end... say it with me now

They have known each other since highschool, made a band in 2016, won the “battle of the bands”, started out making a living as buskers in the streets of Rome, from which they gradually grew through playing small gigs, and later tried out for X Factor Italia season 11, on which they came 2nd.

youtube

They went on to release an EP titled after their debut single of the name of the song above, including some of their X Factor covers, and later on got to get big through releasing an album, getting it certified all kinds of goodnesses, having singles from that album be popular, even releasing a documentary of themselves... they’ve done so much in life and they’re only 20-22 years old... aw man, the life is just ahead of them, for them to be so young and win Sanremo on their first try. (And I’ve always wanted them for Eurovision ever since I was aware of their existence, because their music is very nice, and they just feel like charming human beings. So imagine my joy seeing them announced for Sanremo 2021? And them WINNING months later??? man what kind of luck do I have even if just for a year lmao <333)

“Zitti e buoni”, the last song title alphabetically this year, is purely of the band’s making, and the lyrics are talking about not abiding the rules in general, how they’re out of their minds but they’re not like “them”, and how people talk but don’t know what they’re talking at all.

REVIEW

IT’S A PRETTY CRAZY GOOD ROCK SONG AMEN HALLELUJAH OPRAH WOOOOOOO

wbk I love it. Yeah sure it might be composited of something that sounds like standard rock riffs and what not, but it’s the ENERGY that goes into it that gets me more excited for this than for Finland, a fellow rock song of this year’s final.

Damiano’s vocals have the specific kind of rockstar tinge to them, and they’re very complimenting to the song. The way he says everything is beautiful, the “e buonasera signore e signori” line in particular is just a moment that shows the beginning of power somehow, I don’t know. The chorus is great, eventhough it’s just one line repeated but it changes the pronoun each time (going from “I’m out of my mind” to “you’re out of your mind” to “we’re out of my mind”) - MAGICAL.

And the bridge. YES, the bridge. Along with the outro it’s the best part of the song. The chord progression. The lines repeated on that bridge. The emotions going on. The delivery of the lines of the emotion. It’s a convincing little bridge, to the point that it sounds just as great with violins! Wish they brought one, because according to Love Love Peace Peace, nothing screams winner quite like a violin.

God damn to the Måneskinsters pump this song up to the maximum. It was originally a ballad song, and I think that’s for the better for them to present it as a rock song, because a Sanremo ballad in a pool of Sanremo ballads... unless it stands out according to demoscopic & press juries, and there seems to be a no better option at hand that could make them stand out other than just sending a classy ballad, it just fizzles out in a spectacularly lame fashion. Måneskin’s one real shot through was with a song that would make them stand out, and they did it, and they’re here.

Everyone has put in their work, their passion, their skills into this, and it shows off in spades. Måneskin themselves are fantastic and chill human beings, who too, just like Flo Rida, get to enjoy how crazy amazing Eurovision experience is. And for that I salute them with my whole heart. Whatever they do tonight on Eurovision, they’ll leave a lasting mark in it. And for a good reason.

Also an Italian Eurovision edit that doesn’t suck, once again, yay! (In their defense, they didn’t have a whole lot to work with, so they released theirs early - just a few trimmings here and there, and a lyric change so that they skate by EBU easier with their anti-swearing policies. Gahddamn swearing~)

Approval factor: FUCK YES Follow-up factor: The funny thing about this is that last year their entry is about making noise but the song was a love ballad, this year it’s a song titled “shut up and behave” while dressed in a loudest motherfucking musical setting lol. Fuck the rules! It was solely on the Sanremo’s last year’s winner Diodato not to send an entry he thought that would fit for Sanremo, and that’s good on him - he can return next year replenished as all hell, and maybe aim for the trophy again? wishful thinking? aaaa. Anyway on a personal scale “Zitti e buoni” is a marvelous follow-up from “Fai rumore”, even if skipping 2020 entirely, especially after “Soldi”, which was already a fab follow-up after “Non mi avete fatto niente”, and even from “Occidentali’s Karma” on. And so it is subjectively a good follow-up. Italy SLAYS. AQ factor: As I write this, the odds are very much in their favour, if not a little bit too persuaded over the fact that Måneskin gave a good rock performance and knew what they would be doing, or it’s just that the Italians like overbetting for their acts way too damn much. But nevertheless, I just wanna hope for them to break the expectations people set on rock songs in Eurovision and SMASH themselves a victory. Or a top 2. Or a top 5-10. Anything will do, goddamn.

NF CORNER

Well, I promised that I will talk about Sanremo in a NF corner, because this is the first year I actually cared to watch it myself, unlike when I would’ve sided with someone whose reviewing style I love in not caring to watch it, and usually just check all the songs on the last day lol.

One thing about Sanremo that I sorely underestimate is that a handful of artists on there can come across as very versatile, and the one song you loved of one genre they presented several years ago, can be completely different and leave you baffled for days if you’re not very familiarized with their discography and the Italian music scene in general. Which now I’m going to pay an extreme amount of attention towards following Sanremo 2022 on out because hot damn did I never see gems like Willie Peyote coming!

youtube

Did I call him a gem over his entry? Yes, somehow. Am I even sure if I’m being serious?

I think I can somewhat agree when I say that for the international fam watching Sanremo at least, “Mai dire mai (La locura)” was a major expectation destroyer, at least for the crowd whose main lookouts in a lineup like this years were Ermal Meta, Annalisa, Arisa, etc. You know they’re gonna bring a ballad, and their ballads are usually decent, but what about the unexpected? That’s where a handful of acts, including Willie, comes in for me. The bass hooks in the second the song starts. The beat is minimalistic but strong enough to slap. The steady rap flow is mesmerizing, paired with that somewhat specifically Italian(?) vocal timbre. The chorus is greatly catchy, and it is a sung chorus, with this song still being largely a rap song. The electric-esque guitar soundwaves interspersed throughout the song are magnificent and magical, and on the chorus they even make a constant melody riff that repeats and may get annoying on multiple listens, but I still adore them. I really love the bridge as well and all that goes into it. A fantastic surprise of the season for me personally.

Now I figure that the lyrics may hinder the enjoyment for some, especially the points raised in some lines that may seem questionable and shady (if this went to Eurovision and got a “twerking” comment on Youtube, I will not be surprised if the description of choice is “patriarchic twerking”), but am I supposed to be fully offended at some points of it if I’m not its target audience, although I see some of what I do nowadays in those lines? “Mai dire mai” is probably dedicated to the Italian media and the Italian trends and what not. I’m not even disappointed it didn’t win, because if it went to Eurovision, it would’ve likely been met like a lesser “Occidentali’s Karma” - catchy song with lyrics that fly over listener’s heads which might as well be very accidentally mocking how we live our lives.

“Mai dire mai” has just less of a memorability-in-history value and no memorable gimmicks (Francesco had a gorilla, what is it visually going for on Willie’s performance?), besides, it would’ve suffered even WORSE post-Eurovision-edit than OK has - a lot of the bits and bobs that pass me by but when I notice them they make a really great entry, but other than the (presumably copyrighted) removal of a sample from a TV series (spoken by a fish character, nonetheless), what else is there to remove???? With Eurovision’s rules specifying that brands (Spotify, TikTok) and swearwords (lots of the good old Italian ones that Italian radios would digitally scratch out to emphasize that there were a LOT in the second verse) can’t be sung live, the song loses some of its lyrical charm. And you can’t just go around the song like Francesco Gabbani chopping off entire verses full of content full of witty lyrics and a reference to Chanel in order to present the more lyrically singable-along-to lines and not let go of the long chorus to whom his gorilla can dance to. “Mai dire mai” is RIFE with lyrics, that’s what a rap song is. It would have absolutely fallen apart.

Also no one paged it as a potential Eurovision winner during Sanremo, at least seriously, and it doesn’t have much that would have clicked with the future Eurovision generation and contestants when they would be asked to name their favourite Eurovision song of all times. In a world where from Italy they really like “Grande amore” and “Soldi” and even sometimes could name “Occidentali’s Karma”, is there really a place for “Mai dire mai (La locura)” over “Zitti e buoni”? Who would be naming that song as their favourite of all time? If you raised a hand, you lie to yourself, because that would’ve been me.

Now I don’t know how many of the Tumblr fam would draw ire at me putting out paragraphs worth of me being ultra positive towards this song, because as I’ve learned, there’s an ironic and unironic audience for Mr. Peyote on Tumblr especially, but for me I guess it was pretty worthy, also a thing I was finally able to yell off my chest since, and now I finally said it, I will continue streaming “Mai dire mai (La locura)” in peace.

He might’ve not won Sanremo, but his song won the equally important Mia Martini Critics Award, and also, my heart. Rest in broken shards of the Boris aquarium, my sweet cynical prince~

Måneskin were my 2nd after him so I’m equally happy they won. But what about my other favourites?

• Extraliscio ft. Davide Toffolo - Bianca luce nera A diluted version of the liscio genre, still makes for a very fascinatingly catchy and swaying song with lots of great instruments that are violins and a clarinet. What I figure is kinda a love song. Their performances were also great, with lots of dancers on stage and a genuinely great fun to be had, and you may remember them more after their performance in cover night, which was titled “Rosamunda”. They were the ones with their main singer’s guitar spinning for whatever reason that was there to make their song catchy, I guess.

• Lo Stato Sociale - Combat Pop A little bit of a far cry from their glory heydays with 2nd place in Sanremo 2018, but they returned with an equally banging song and an amazing set of performance chaos they brought in each and every time - dedicating their first night’s one to making a performance to not forget (and being the ones of two to reference the great Bugo&Morgan incident from last year, the other being Willie Peyote), the second competitive one was for referencing politics, and so on.

• Colapesce & Dimartino - Musica leggerissima Sweet melancholic song with the shades of Sebastien Tellier kinda sound, this song may seem jolly at first, but the especially melancholic undertones denote that there’s something else going on. It’s actually about depression, as that’s what the term “musica leggerissima” (very light music) means. But it still found a heart in Italian listeners and the Italian world finally woke up to how great Antonio Di Martino and Lorenzo “Colapesce” Urciullo are, and a handful of viewers were slightly heartbroken to see it not place in the superfinal top 3. Who knows if they would’ve actually won over Måneskin. I just know that their rollerskater girlie is so damn fine~

Bugo has also returned but I think his redemption arc started off the wrong foot, as his return entry, “E invece si”, was a bloated showtune ballad and got obnoxious to listen to at part. I declared to myself that night when I first heard the new entry that regarding on what made “Sincero” great, I side with Morgan.

And a special shout out to Ghemon, whose 2019 song was more than just a “purple rose” unlike I noted on a last proper Italian entry review. I don’t know what expectations I had for him, but I certainly wanted to love “Momento perfetto” more at the first listen, which was also somewhat of a show-tuney piece, but with a bit more funk and pizzazz, also Ghemon was VERY much vibing with his song, and that made me feel great for the few other performances of it that I saw the following days. It’s definitely a grower song, and around 2 months after Sanremo I fell into a bit of a rabbit-hole of his earlier music discovering, and I may be a bit exaggerating but, give Ghemon a bit more of acknowledgement and a stellar enough song, and with a little bit of magic touch, I can maybe see him lifting the Golden Lion trophy one day. Don’t ask why. (also lovely music video for his 2021 entry, which replaces continuous spinning in an aesthetic area to everybody moving their body in a diner (hopefully with everyone in the MV tested and been negative for long enough for the MV to actually happen).)

NF CORNER (NON-COMPETITIVE)

There’s so much needed to be discussed about there. So I’ll restrict myself to the moments that I remember and cherish:

• Rosario Fiorello. Just. Him.

• And the gentleman next to him, Achille Lauro.

tw // body piercing

Belarus 2018 could never

Fiorello and Lauro are perfect matches to each other’s worlds of imagination, and I was more than ever glad to see so much creativity coming from each one of them, a host and a nightly interval act respectively.

• Once again, “Rosamunda Medley” by Extraliscio, I didn’t watch the cover night in its entirety but I think it’s good enough of a medley if it got a 3rd place from the cover night from the orchestra!

• Sanremo Newcomers section of this year. I liked or vibed to almost every song out of the 8, and I’m decently happy with the winner, but if there’s one big shoutout I really want to make, is to “Regina” by Davide Shorty, for it’s such a cozy funky little love song that always makes me happy when I hear it. My personal winner preference, but I don’t mind Davide getting 2nd! For as long as he gets to place 1st in a future main Sanremo event hihihihihi

youtube

• Diodato proving himself to be a dance king at the beginning of his “Che vita meravigliosa” performance, my good Twitter friend made a bunch of videos where he dances to a lot of songs, as per request, check them out and you won’t forget it.

• Since Sanremo 2021 got rid of the audience as per COVID regulations and much to Amadeus’s dread, there ended up quite a handful of audience related memes. Such as the penis balloon et al.

• Remember when Sanremo 2021 audience was supposed to be whisked away in a cruise ship for safety measures? Pepperidge Farm remembers

• SESSO IBUPROFENEEEEEEEE

The guy that sang this song actually has the same birthday as me, so in my eyes, I feel like he has some charm to it. I’m biased lol sorry

There’s way too many more but I am afraid of flooding my post beyond your readability interest. Let’s hope that, in an event of Italy’s victory or non, we’ll get to see an even more iconic event of Sanremo emerge come the future. <3

ANY LAST WORDS?

Måneskin’s big goal was to rock Eurovision, and I think they’ve greatly accomplished that by just... doing what they do best, and that is, rocking. They leave energy lasting for days.

In bocca al lupo, fam. You’ll nail it, and even if you don’t win, Italy shouldn’t not hail you as national heroes after it’s all over.

#eurovision #eurovision 2021 #rotterdam 2021 reviews #italy #måneskin #zitti e buoni #gifs i didn't make

2 notes · View notes

judylicious · 4 years ago

Text

“I’m glad we both have found back to you.”

Alan Rubin x fem!Reader (chapter three)

Word Count: 1,950

Fandom: Blues Brothers

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Blues Brothers characters or movies.

Warnings: swearing, age gap, jealousy and slight smut

Summary: You met a handsome musician and his band, including a surprise form your past.

chapter 1

chapter 2

chapter 4

It was the day of Kelsey’s very first Blues Brothers concert. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror taking care of her make-up. She usually wasn’t the type of girl that applied much but for tonights special occasion she chose to add some eye shadow and a soft lip gloss to her regular make-up which involved a foundation, mascara, some light powder and doing her eyebrows. The girl tied up her hair in a bun and pulled out one curly strand at each side of her face. She picked another dress from her wardrobe, this time it was a dark red one with dark blue flowers on it, matching well to her blonde hair. She put on her black boots again, which she loved above all, given to her as a birthday present by her mum and threw on one of her black leather jackets.

She entered the concert hall and was surprised how big it was. This is a fucking barn. I didn’t think they would fill it. But they did, most seats were already taken. She was lucky to find a single empty seat on the far left edge, second row.

The show opener was “I Can’t Turn You Loose” and Jake and Elwood did a grant entry, Elwood with his briefcase and his harp in it and Jake was doing incredible flic-flacs across the entire stage. They played a great choice of songs with solos for the sax, the guitars, trombone, the horn, piano and harmonica, bringing out every member of the band, suiting Jake’s rough voice very well. She couldn’t resist staring at Mr. Fabulous during his stunning solo in the Peter Gunn theme. He looked hot killing those high notes with his sensuous chiseled lips and she missed his hazel eyes which were covered by the dark sunglasses everyone was wearing during concerts. Her staring of course hadn’t gone unnoticed by the trumpet player and as soon as the song came to an end he gave the girl his biggest and warmest smile, clearly happy to see her in the crowd. It wasn’t that easy staying focused on Alan though, with Elwood dancing and vibing right in front of Kelsey’s eyes. The tall man looked so sexy, swaying this hips and tasty bum to the rhythm of the music, and the way he played his harp, looked like he was making love to it. Every now and then he gave her a few glances before shaking his butt and she could swear he did it a little wilder just for her. She enjoyed every minute of their concert and was one of the loudest when calling for an encore.

After the concert she walked up the stairs at the side of the stage to greet the boys. Kelsey immediately caught the trumpet players eyes, who quickly put down his horn, excited to see her. As they both walked towards each other Kelsey was pulled into a hug from Elwood, approaching her from the side. “I don’t believe it, I didn’t knew you were coming.” “Hi Elwood.” The girl stammered taken by surprise and broke away from his arms.”Alan has invited me.”, she explained while letting her gaze wander in search of that very same man. But Alan had turned around on his heel as his heart dropped from seeing the two embracing each other. She saw him walking down the stairs to the backstage area with Lou carrying some of the equipment and she instantly felt bad for letting him down. She needed to talk to him after what had happened yesterday. “I’m almost finished but gotta help Willie demounting the drum set first.” Elwood explained. Kelsey quickly jumped down the stairs Alan had taken before and bumped into Tom. “Woah, slow down girl!” “Damn, I’m really sorry, Tom… Have you seen Alan?” The troubled girl apologised to the trombone player. “Mr.Fabulous? Yeah think he has already left with Lou. Seemed to be in quite a hurry.”, the tall man explained to her. She sighted in disappointment. “Oh, alright… Aaand Tom? Brilliant show by the way!” “Well thank you.”, he smiled and gave her a little bow. Kelsey then decided she should try not thinking about the horn player tonight as she went outside, waiting for Elwood to show up.

He pulled her out of her thoughts by poking her in the side and hugging her from behind. “You ready girl?” “Sure, been waiting for you.”, she beamed as he took her hand and they started walking to the little place where Sonny Boy was presenting some of his best tunes and songs.

When the show came to an end, the two walked hand in hand to Elwood’s car, inhaling the fresh but cold night air. The handsome musician gave Kelsey a look. “You freezing?” “Huh? No, I’m alright.”, she stated but the man took off his suit jacket putting it over her shoulders. “Thanks Elwood.” They reached the Blues Mobile, turning to each other. He broke in on Kelsey by crushing his lips on hers and pulled her in a tight hug. The kiss became more heated before Elwood stopped for a second, both gasping for air, when the pushed his forehead against hers. “I had a fantastic time with you tonight.” She wanted to answer but he pulled her into another deep kiss. The man grabbed her legs at each side and placed her on the bonnet of the Caddy, stepping in between her spread legs. Kelsey pulled at his shirt collar, loosening his tie and started to unbutton the white shirt. Elwood had moved his lips from her mouth down to her neck, nibbling at her ear causing her to moan softly. “How about we continue this at my place?”, he whispered in her ear. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t extremely tempted to agree on that but something held her back. “Perhaps another time, Elwood? It became rather late.”, she tried to say in a seductive way, not wanting to push him away completely. She couldn’t catch much of his reaction since he was wearing his shades. She caressed his face giving his glasses a soft tap. “Do you ever take these off?” “He gave her a roguish smile. “Only in bed.” “Stop it, you!”, she exclaimed and gave him a push on his chest. “Come on girl, I take you home!” She took a seat in the Cadillac’s passenger seat and watched the houses and lights they passed by while Elwood drove. He stopped at a red signal as the lifting bridge in front of them slowly started to move up, so the approaching tanker could pass. “You’re free from giddiness?” He grinned. “Err.. that depends.” Kelsey answered nervy. That answer satisfied him way enough so in the twinkling of an eye, he hit the gas, twisted the steering wheel around and raced straight towards the moving the bridge. The girl jumped up in her seat, grabbing the handle right above the car door and yelled in panic “Heeell, what are you doing?!?” The car picked up speed and jumped from one edge of the bridge to the other side, landing with a big jolt. Kelsey gasped for excitement, looking back at the bridge behind them. “THAT WAS AWESOME! What else can you do?” He laughed “Relax girl, think that’s enough for one night, don’t want the cops on me.” Shortly afterwards they reached Kelsey’s flat. He opened the passengers door for her and walked her to the main door. “So.. you’re sure I won’t get to take these off tonight?” He wiggled his eyebrows causing his glasses so slide down a few inches. “Well you can do whatever you like in ‘your’ bed.. by yourself.” He rolled his eyes in joking way and licked his lips. “You are such a tease, you know that?” He leaned in a gave her a kiss on the lips. “See you hun.”, the man whispered and made his way back to the car, driving off after giving the girl a quick wave. The next day the band had its usual rehearsal of course. Alan was one of the first showing up, so he started unpacking and warming up. While he applied some oil to the valves of his horn, Elwood, Jake, Willie and Murphy walked in. “Come on Mr. Motorhead, don’t be shy” Jake patted him on the back. “Yeah man!” Willie shouted. “Tell us if you finally got her laid. We do have a right to know.” “The hell you have”, Elwood said annoyed. Murphy added “If I’m up to speed it was their 3rd date, you all know what ‘that’ means.” Alan looked up from his horn, watching the guys acting like a bunch of pubescents.” Willie clapped his hands. “Nice man, real nice. How was it? Boy if you ask me, she's one of those wild ones who likes to take the reins!” Alan dropped the small bottle of oil. Did they really…? Could it be true? Elwood sighed. “You know what they say. ‘A gentleman does not boast of his conquests.’” “Aaaand once again we all know what ‘that’ means.” Murphy assured causing the harp player to roll his eyes but Alan couldn’t see that with Elwood being turned away from him. That statement though hit Alan right in the heart. So they really have. He just stood there, staring dead ahead. He didn’t know what to think or say or feel. But it hurt. It hurt as hell. “You don’t wanna pick that up?… Alan? ... Are you alright?” Lou waved his hand in front of his friend's eyes, bringing him back to reality. “Huh?” “The oil?” Lou pointed down. “Oh, err… yeah.”, Alan said emotionless and grabbed the little bottle.

As everyone was set up they started rehearsing, first on the list was “Gimme Some Lovin”. Jake started dictating the rhythm and the guys gave it everything. Except for Alan. As soon as the others realised he hadn’t joined them, they stopped. Jake gave him a look “You’re ready or what?” “Yeah, yeah, just start over.”, the trumpet player mumbled and so they did. They played half of the song when Murphy interrupted, suggesting to change a chord in the guitar parts. Tom looked over at Alan. “Psst, Alan, what the hell was that? Sounded like you left out a bunch of notes there, man.” The trumpet player didn’t even look at him but hissed under his breath. “Yeah, whatever.” Alan couldn’t stop thinking about ‘them’. He saw them in front of his inner eye, making out and with each second more he imagined them it hurt him even more. They started from the scratch until the chorus came up for the second time. Alan missed his cue, rapidly tried to catch up but lagged behind, so Jake broke off again. “I’m sorry guys, I, I seem to have some trouble focusing today.” Steve was fuming “Jeez Mr. Fabulous.”, he mocked his nickname by pronouncing it funny. "As soon as we make a mistake your bigheaded New York ass is hacked off but once you’re playing like crap, it’s alright, huh?” To be fair, this was nothing new, Steve and Alan often had a brush with each other, Steve’s southern characteristic trait hitting on Alan’s New Yorker attitude often ended in disputes. Lou chipped in “Woah hey, calm down, guys!” “Steve’s right though...” Elwood muttered, shrugging his shoulders. Alan gave him an intensely strain look but laughed derisively. “You know what guys? Fuck this, I’m getting out of here!” And with these words he grabbed his things, rushed to the door, kicked it open and left.

#Blues Brothers #blues brothers fandom #blues brothers fanfiction #Alan Rubin x Reader #Alan Rubin x fem!Reader #Mr. Fabulous #Alan Rubin #Elwood Blues

5 notes · View notes

jackdawyt · 5 years ago

Link

ICYMI: As my last video/post for 2019, I figured we should have a reflection on Dragon Age 4’s major news updates and uncover what we know about Dragon Age 4 throughout this year and beyond! So, we can go into 2020 with the right expectations and understanding of the game’s development!

The Dread Wolf Rises:

To boot of this year - we had the most exciting announcement from The Game Awards in December - the official confirmation of the next Dragon Age project with the current given title: #TheDreadWolfRises.

The trailer, while enigmatic, showcased the next Dragon Age centring on the Solas’s plan to rise up and destroy the veil, fulfilling the Dread Wolf’s prophecy. At least that’s one interpretation of it.

The trailer seemingly was made for the fanbase of Dragon Age with the given title, because if you didn’t know what Dragon Age was, or anything about The Dread Wolf, you could totally pass up that trailer as a different game entirely. So, it was more of an ode to the fans that the next Dragon Age game is in the works.

Alongside the release of the trailer, the Dragon Age website was updated for #TheDreadWolfRises with Mark Darrah, Executive Producer & Matthew Goldman, Creative Director sharing a few words on the production of the next Dragon Age.

TLDR: Mark is excited to show more and Matthew states that this is the strongest team yet and they’re venturing forth on the most epic quest ever.

In a September blog post, Casey Hudson wrote that ‘I can confirm that indeed the Dread Wolf rises,’ alluding to the narrative and production of Dragon Age 4. Before we delve into the current development of Dragon Age 4, we’ve got to talk about the two initial iterations of Dragon Age 4.

Project Joplin:

Based on Jason Schreier’s expose’ into the past and present developments of Dragon Age 4 - the previous iteration of Dragon Age 4 was known as ‘Joplin’, like Janis Joplin.

Janis Joplin was one of the biggest female rock stars of her era, she revolutionized her genre of music for the next generation – clearly, this is something the devs were going for with the original Dragon Age 4 project – to revolutionize the Role-Playing Game genre.

The developers on Joplin were committed to avoiding the mistakes they’d made on Dragon Age: Inquisition. Veteran Mike Laidlaw was the creative director of ‘Joplin’ until the project was canned and reworked so ‘live service elements’ could be added. After the decided rework of Dragon Age 4, Mike left the studio in late 2017.

Project Joplin’s initial concept followed the next protagonist ‘playing as a group of spies in Tevinter, a large chunk of the narrative centred on heists. The goal was to focus as much as possible on choice and consequence.’

There was an emphasis on this ‘hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth.’

The developers talked about building systemic narrative mechanics, allowing the player to perform actions like persuading or extorting guards without the writers having to hand-craft every scene.

It was very ambitious and plenty of the developers were excited, stating that they put some of their best work into this project.

However, Anthem was in real trouble, and there was a concern that it might never be finished unless the studio did something drastic. EA and BioWare took that drastic action, cancelling Joplin and moving the bulk of its staff, including executive producer Mark Darrah, onto Anthem.

Project Joplin was reworked into Project Morrison with a skeleton team building the very foundations of the next Dragon Age.

Project Morrison:

The latest iteration of Dragon Age 4 that is currently in the works is known as ‘Morrison’, like ‘James Morrison’ – the lead singer of the rock band ‘The Doors’.

Jim Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock history. (Wikipedia).

Morrison is being built on Anthem’s tools and codebase of the Frostbite Engine, this will save time as Mass Effect: Andromeda, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Anthem were each built from scratch. With a pre-set already there, Morrison’s development can save a lot of time.

This new version of the fourth Dragon Age is planned with a live service component, built for long-term gameplay and revenue. It’s not clear how much of Joplin’s vision will shape Morrison.

Matt Goldman, art director on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then Joplin, took over as creative director for Morrison.

Many of the BioWare developers “know it’s going to change like five times in the next two years.”

Morrison will change its shape multiple times. However, “Dragon Age games shift more than other games.” So, it’s not uncanny for a Dragon Age project to undergo drastic changes in its development.

Live Service/Multiplayer:

It has been confirmed on LinkedIn that BioWare has hired a software engineer to work on a multiplayer component for Dragon Age 4, however, it’s unsure what exactly this multiplayer could look like.

Jason Schreier stated that “he heard some ideas for Morrison’s multiplayer include companions that can be controlled by multiple players via drop-in/drop-out co-op, similar to old-school BioWare RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, and quests that could change based not just on one player’s decisions, but on the choices of players across the globe.”

In 2018, Casey Hudson tweeted a statement on live service: “Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you’ll be relieved to see what the team is working on,” he wrote on Twitter. “Story & character-focused. Too early to talk details, but when we talk about ‘live’ it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story.”

It’s still unclear how much of this game will focus on live-service elements and multiplayer, it could follow something as simple as Dragon Age: Inquisition’s separate multiplayer mode, or it could transform the game completely. Take note that Morrison is still early in the works and it will change multiple times until release. That is for sure.

Production:

Now we get to the tea - The past and present developments of Dragon Age 4’s new iteration.

So, Project Joplin was canned in late 2017, with Project Morrison rebooting sometime after that with an essential, small team. The rest of the Dragon Age team that worked on Joplin, went to fix Anthem during its troubled development. Even Mark Darrah, the Executive Producer of Dragon Age was shuffled to Anthem’s production. All the while, Morrison lay low in very early pre-production stages.

In 2018, the majority of the news we got on Dragon Age 4 came out in January, with Joplin’s initial codename and Anthem’s reshuffling. However, with Morrison in deep pre-production, nothing substantial - production-wise - was heard on this project until The Dread Wolf Rises teaser launched at The Game Awards eleven months later in December. Of course, this trailer was hype hype hype!

In early 2019, BioWare resumed their focus on Anthem and its release date. After Anthem was released in February 2019 - according to comicbook.com - the core Edmonton team working on Anthem, returned to work on Dragon Age 4 in full-scale development following the reworks of Morrison.

Built on Anthem’s codebase and its pre-sets of the Frostbite engine, following a very enigmatic live service model – Dragon Age 4 entered its pre-production stages with a full-team. As Casey Hudson later confirmed in September:

“We have several other big projects in the works. I wish I could tell you more about them, but they’re mostly super-secret right now. I can say however that one of our projects has a large and growing team in Edmonton working through pre-production, and based on the progress I’m seeing, I can confirm that indeed the Dread Wolf rises.”

Key processes during the pre-production stages include:

Concept Art

Storyboarding

Level Design

Mechanic Design

Around June, an IGN Greece article resurfaced again, according to said article ‘an anonymous BioWare employee had given clues Dragon Age 4. Stating that the game will be released in 2020 and that the voices of the characters are already being recorded, which indicates an advanced stage of development.’

This article initially launched in 2018 and has many rebuttals, the first being the release date.

This 2020 expected release date has been debunked because according to EA’s 2019 earnings call, the new release window for Dragon Age 4 is at least April 2022, and any time after that. Perhaps Joplin’s initial release window was 2020, and the developer may have shared that, but as far as Morrison is concerned, the project is 3 years away.

However, voice work being in the works could be plausible at this stage. Alix Wilton Reagan has teased a few seasons of her in full mocap mentioning NDA’s and #dragonage and #inquisitor, this could just Alix teasing us, or using social media to its full advantage, or it could be something Dragon Age-related.

Surely the Inquisitor will make a cameo appearance and that could justify why Alix could be doing VO?

On top of both Alix’s tease and IGN Greece’s article, very recently Jo Berry, a writer at BioWare tweeted about voice over work coming in and it being fantastic, however, they have to remove the goofy robot text to speech which is awkward and funny to listen to.

“When VO is coming in and it’s fan-tastic, but it means saying goodbye to that goofy robot text-to-speech that makes you all laugh.”

So, indeed voice work does seem to be going on for Dragon Age 4’s development at this stage.

In jest, BioWare hasn’t replied to my request for voice acting a character in Dragon Age 4, so I think because of that, we can assume that they haven’t started the majority of the main character’s voice work just yet, right?

Moving on…Throughout the months of August and September, BioWare moved to a new office space in downtown Edmonton. Once they had settled in, a few very interesting Dragon Age 4 titbits came to light.

Emily (Domino) Taylor posted a picture on Twitter, showcasing a post artboard for Dragon Age 4, as we can assume it’s Dragon Age! There’s a Grey Warden and their Griffon-friend showcased in the picture.

Griffons and Grey Warden’s confirmed for Dragon Age 4? It’s not too much of a stretch considering the drama at Weisshaupt and Last Flight’s ending, but alas, as we can see BioWare’s art division are getting ready to line up concept artwork for further production and development. Probably for 3D model creation and animation stages.

Regardless, it’s very exciting to see the start of official artwork developing for Dragon Age 4, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see how this board develops further.

Another huge titbit that was revealed with BioWare’s office move, was when the mayor of Edmonton decided to visit and congratulate BioWare at their new offices. On one of the photos the mayor and his team took, there was a shot of an HD version of Solas on a TV Screen.

I personally believe that this is a shot from Dragon Age 4 or the prototype version of Morrison showing off Solas. There’s been no confirmation of where this shot comes from, and I’ve spent an entire video dissecting it. However, my point is, I don’t think this comes from Dragon Age: Inquisition, it’s way to HD, look at his face, the fur on his outfit, the outside environment. It’s very distinct, and I believe it’s the first shot of Dragon Age 4 revealed.

I’ve not seen any rebuttals to this, and I’ve openly asked multiple times online, however, no one has come up with anything. So, even towards the end of 2019, it remains a mystery. I think this is a Dragon Age 4 shot, let me know if you think otherwise!

Around the same time, Matt Rhodes, an Art Director, posted a short story on his Instagram stating that he’s “more excited working on Dragon Age 4 than any other project so far.”

Just after BioWare moved offices, Fernando Melo, a senior producer on The Dread Wolf Rises left the studio after 12 years.

As stated on his LinkedIn profile, a lot of Fernando’s job on Dragon Age 4 surrounded “help[ing] establish the vision for the game. Guid[ing] the team through EA’s concept and early production phases. Prov[ing] out the core concept and key innovations of the game”.

He signed off with an email sent to everyone on the Dragon Age team, stating that he left at the “least disruptive timing as it would likely get.”

Considering that Fernando’s job was ensuring the pre-production stages were completed efficiently, and with his departure being at a time where it’d be least hectic for the development of Dragon Age 4, it’s safe to say that the pre-production processes are wrapping up and the team can begin to enter full production.

Fernando said that “with a great game leadership team in place, a fantastic creative vision, and some of the best devs in the world. Morrison is well underway to becoming the definitive Dragon Age experience - and I’m incredibly proud and honored to have played a part in that. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the opportunity to experience the next DA as a fan this time around.”

So, with Fernando’s send off via email, the entire Dragon Age team has moved on from the initial pre-production stages to the main development of the project with an estimated release window of any time after April 2022.

Mark Darrah Major Hints & Teases:

Now we get to the most divisive news topics - the teases from Executive Producer Mark Darrah!

Mark has actually been teasing us since the beginning of 2017, when he dropped a video of an artbook that collated a plethora of Dragon Age concept characters, with many mysterious and ominous photos showcasing potential concept art and character designs.

A logo of a wolf, on fire encased in a tower, was all we had on Dragon Age 4 at the time. However, considering Project Joplin was canned at the end of that same year, I think it’s safe to assume this work went alongside that project, whether it will remain, we’ll uncover in-time.

At E3 2018, in a video interview with Game Informer, Mark Darrah said that Dragon Age 4 was going ‘swell’ with a cheeky grin.

At Pax West 2018, Dragon Age 4 was officially confirmed again since it’s reboot in development, the Triforce Quartet played Dragon Age: Inquisition’s theme as Mark Darrah confirmed that the next instalment is in the works… again.

Towards the end of November, Mark Darrah teased the entirety of Twitter with his Dragon Age remarks. Having tweeted the single words “Dragon Age”, he had PC Gamer and many other onion articles writing up on his huge Dragon Age 4 tease.

However, to be fair, Mark dropped an image that resembles Dragon Age, only we’ve never seen anything quite like it before.

Midnight snow, rocks, forests, a completely different landscape to any of the maps in Dragon Age: Inquisition, yet very familiar with its Frostbite Engine aesthetic… is this a shot of Tevinter, more than likely taken on Mark Darrah’s phone?

Well, I think so. It doesn’t resemble any location I can recall in Dragon Age: Inquisition… But you might say “there’s snow in Tevinter, which is the opposite end of Thedas’s Equator, that doesn’t make sense lore-wise.”

Well, Mark Darrah replied to someone questioning if and why there would be snow in Tevinter, he sent them a link to this article that explains how there can be snow on the equator, meaning that Tevinter can have snow.

So, is this our second or first look of Dragon Age 4? Well, depending on if the Solas shot is viable, I’d say definitely, but I’ll let you make your own mind up on that. Speaking of Tevinter, Mark Darrah also teased that the working plot title of Dragon Age 4 is titled “Tevinter of Our Discontent”, which is a huge story reference that I’ll touch upon in a separate category.

However, back to the picture teases, and Mark Darrah also posted another photo…

A sun blinding a knight, very ominous, I don’t even know where to start with this one… I mean it could have some subliminal message about how Solas may destroy the veil, or it could have a rather obscure context that fits to Dragon Age 4’s narrative, but I honestly just don’t even know what this is…

On Dragon Age Day, Again, Mark Darrah posted another screenshot of Dragon Age 4 with everything redacted other than a pixel in the corner.

And, erm, yep. That’s super. Thanks for that, Mark.

If you’d like to see more Dragon Age 4 teases that may or may not make sense and will most likely leave you frustrated and clueless, why not give Mark Darrah a follow-on Twitter. He’s one to keep an eye out.

Story:

The next narrative surrounds the Dread Wolf rising and attempting to destroy the veil, it’ll most likely be our next protagonist’s goal to stop Solas from achieving this.

We will have a new protagonist, like every other Dragon Age game. It’s been confirmed copious times by many developers old and new that the Hero of Ferelden will never return in the future, so stop asking. And even if they did return, Patrick Weekes is in charge now.

Dragon Age 4 will be set in the Tevinter Imperium, if Trespasser’s ending wasn’t a good enough clue for you, Project Joplin was also set in Tevinter. Alternatively, according to PC Gamer, it was the newly announced Tevinter Nights book that confirmed Tevinter to be Dragon Age 4’s setting.

Mark Darrah confirmed and teased on Twitter that the working plot title of Dragon Age 4 is Tevinter of our Discontent, derived from Shakespeare’s “The Winter of our Discontent” which is the opening lines from the play - Richard III (3rd).

As a TLDR: the words lay the groundwork for the portrayal of Richard as a discontented man who is unhappy in a world that hates him. However, since his family were victorious in the war, they reign the nation once more, and so as winter dies, glorious summer is upon them.

There are plenty of references we can make to Solas and his scheme to destroy the veil, he’s woken up to a world that despises his name and people that revoke his actions as evil. He wants to correct this world and restore his ‘family’ so to speak. Perhaps, like Richard the 3rd, Solas’s glorious summer is what awaits him in the next game.

So, we have plenty of plot potential with this given title and I do have a separate video for even more thorough speculation on this topic. However, based on Shakespeare’s work being the main inspiration for Dragon Age 4’s narrative, we should expect tragedy to be one of the main themes of the plot.

According to Video Gamer, in 2017, Alexis Kennedy was writing freelance for BioWare, ‘working on a whole chunk of lore and backstory for the faction in the game that you would think of if you were thinking big old goth. You know, if you were interested in death.’

Instantly what comes to mind is Nevarra’s Mortalitasi – Death Mages that’s responsible for the mummification process of the dead in Nevarran culture. However, we’re not sure how much of his work went into the cancelled Joplin, considering the timing at which he worked on Dragon Age 4.

According to Alexis’s LinkedIn page, he worked freelance at BioWare from February – August 2017. The end of 2017 was the same time Joplin was canned, and Mike Laidlaw left the company, so there’s a huge possibility that Alexis’s work has been shelved.

Even if Alexis’s work wasn’t shelved at the time, given his recent allegations and controversy, Mark Darrah confirmed on Twitter that BioWare no longer has a working relationship with him, so his work seemingly has been scrapped.

According to Dark Horse writers Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir who’re creating the comics. In a comicbook.com interview, they shared the collaboration with the BioWare writers, it’s a case of sharing notes on where the narrative is going, and how the comics can help reach that point for Dragon Age 4’s narrative.

So, if you want to see where Dragon Age 4’s narrative may go, or which characters could turn up, read the comics as they’re pushing the narrative forward.

According to Chelsea Fariello, Assistant Animator at BioWare, it seems we could have a Mabari War Hound companion, or at least NPC in Dragon Age 4, as she stated on Twitter that she was interested in what interactions people would want to see for a dog-like creature in a video game. With the hashtag Dragon Age. Perhaps Mabari War Hound, or even a Griffon? “What interactions would people want to be able to do with a dog like creature in a video game? I need to know…for reasons… #DragonAge “

The “creature” part in that tweet is what makes me think it could be a small griffon? If it’s a Mabari then it’s just a dog, however, if it’s a small griffon then that could make sense. That’s just my hot take.

On Dragon Age Day, Arby’s expressed their interest in opening a new branch in Thedas, could we see a new type of cuisine in Tevinter? It’s hard to say, other than the fact that John Epler loves Arby’s, not Wendy’s though. Don’t mention Wendy’s!

Weekes’s Tweets:

Adding to the story category, we have plenty of tweets by Patrick Weekes that hint at future elements for Dragon Age 4.

Patrick Weekes responded to Autumn Witch when asked on Twitter ‘to pick one character from Dragon Age that has never been a companion or advisor that you would like to see as a companion in DA-4? (For the sake of this post, Lace Harding is also not available.)’

Patrick said: “Oh that’s obvious, I’d go with (Reads parenthetical) THIS IS RIGGED.”

So, Scout Harding as a Dragon Age 4 Companion teased? I freaking hope so.

Patrick Weekes posted on Twitter that they just teared up reading a scene, so unless they’re cutting onions while writing, we should expect tears to be shed in Dragon Age 4. If I were to guess, I mean Solas is walking the Din’anshiral. Which means there is only death on this journey…

Weekes was asked about non-binary lingo & representation and if the players would have the option to not identify as a male or female in the next Dragon Age. They replied saying:

“No guarantees (it’s something that is very difficult in romance languages we get translated into), but our team is always looking for better ways to let players see themselves in our games.”

Other Dragon Age Projects:

According to EA’s 2019 Earnings Call, “there are plans for not only Dragon Age 4, but other Dragon Age products too.”

At a guess, this ‘other product’ could simply be a mobile companion app to coincide with Dragon Age 4’s launch. Or it could be the rumoured tactics game that we haven’t heard about since Mark Darrah’s tease in 2017.

On top of that, at a guess, it could also be an extension to the Dragon Age Keep.

Expectations:

There’s still a couple of years yet with an expected release window at any point after April 2022. However, that doesn’t mean the news will not be coming, just look at all the tidbits I’ve uncovered from developer tweets on the side.

Not to mention that BioWare generally start the marketing phases of their upcoming games two years prior to release, so if Dragon Age 4 were to release in 2022, we could actually see something in 2020. I’m not banking on that, but just for the doubters out there, we’ll easily hear something regarding this game in 2020, whether that’s a trailer or small tweet trials of news, we’ll be sure to get something, and I’ll be sure to stay on track of that.

if you have anyone saying there’s no news for Dragon Age 4, just gently send them my way and share this video in their dm’s!

146 notes · View notes

x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 5 years ago

Text

DELAIN: Chillin’ As Doomsday Approaches

In the band’s press release, you state that Apocalypse & Chill will surprise your listeners. What are some of these surprises you have in store for them?

We always write our music pretty organically, so we set out with every album to make it bigger, better, and louder. But it’s not like we’re going to completely change. We just go with whatever inspiration brings us. However, on this album there are some new elements. We’ve got a real choir, we’ve got Timo screaming, and we have full instrumental tracks, which we’ve never done before. There are definitely some parts where we really explored what we could do differently. And then what I mainly think will surprise our listeners is, especially in the first half of the record, the sound is very electronic, without going away from sounding like Delain. They’re all very much from a pop and electronic side of the spectrum. And I think that some of our fans who like us for our previous material, they will kind of be scratching their heads during the first half. But towards the second half of the album, it picks up on the orchestral elements again and becomes more symphonic. There’s plenty of new things on the record, but I definitely think that our fans will be able to appreciate what we’ve done.

How did these electronic influences creep in? Was there something specific you were listening to or interested in that made you want to incorporate it into your music?

I don’t know. I think that within the writing team, Martijn comes up with really 80s synth parts and I often come up with kind of like 90s dance parts. Those two mix well in our music. But it’s not like we said, “We’re going to incorporate this.” When we meet up to write, we all take some ideas with us, like a verse or a chorus or a theme or whatever. We sit down and listen to it and see what we want to work on all together. That’s how those ideas work themselves into the music.

With these ideas, themes, and lyrical inspirations, was there anything going on in your life or the world in general that catapulted these ideas into the songs?

Yeah, I think so. One thing that’s relevant for the way that we’d written this album is the fact that we’ve recorded it very fragmented. Martijn is a producer who really spearheaded this idea of “let’s do everything in several blocks of just a couple of songs” instead of in one go. Because first of all, we didn’t have enough time to have one big block for writing and recording and mixing the entire album because we’ve been touring like crazy. So, this gave us a lot of flexibility, but also the chance to go back on the songs now. All these ideas come from different places as well. But I must say that over the last few years, definitely a lot of it has been inspired by the concerns about the world today. If you open up a newspaper, if you turn on the TV, you see the world quite literally being on fire. And then if you open your socials, you’ll see everyone living their most perfect lives. There is this great contrast between the two where you wonder how can these actually exist at the same time and is this even the same world? And I think that contrast is also visible in the songs on our album.

The visual of the album cover and the promo photos have a 1950s cinematic movie star theme. Is that the concept or theme behind it?

It was really that contrast between the impending doom that you sense when you look at the news these days and then at the same time the complete projections that is very much the majority of things you see on socials. That was very interesting. Since it is so much about zeitgeist, Netflix and chill, it’s a very 2019 thing. So, we felt like the play on words was really fitting for this album. And then when I was playing with the idea of that title…it’s not like I think of a song first and then the title and then the artwork. Usually when you think of a title, there is an image in your head. Or when you think of the music, you see something, like you can imagine it. And for this title right away, I could imagine someone lounging while the world is on fire. I actually put this image together in Photoshop, but I am not a very practiced designer. We really liked that image. We’ve been also looking for images that were more towards the kind of covers that we usually have, like the more art nouveau/romantic/goth imagery, but it just didn’t fit the theme and the title as well as this one. What we eventually did to give it that identity and authenticity that my mockup was lacking, is we gave it to this collage artist. She works really analog. She cuts up images and papers and she reworked the image into what is now the cover and also continued that for the promo photos in the inside. Inside of the booklet you’ll find all of us wearing sunglasses and having different natural disasters reflected in our sunglasses. We put that topic throughout the entire artwork. Not that a lot of people get to see CD booklets these days, but for those who do buy the physical thing, we always try to give it something extra.

How did getting Beast in Black’s Yannis Papadopoulos to sing on “One Second” come about? Did you specifically write his part or realized after the fact that he’d be a good fit?

We realized afterwards that it would be a good fit. We really like working with guest musicians. It’s always a very nice surprise to see what other people, other creatives come up with when they listen to your music. Yannis, we’ve been in touch with him for a while. We met him in Greece. I remember during an after party at a show he taught me a bunch of Greek curse words! We had a few songs where we thought we could really use a guest here, we could really imagine his voice there. Then we were at a festival this summer and they played there as well, and that’s I think when the deal was struck. We gave him a choice. We had three songs where he could imagine it. We always try to give our guests an amount of freedom, so they can really make it their own.

The video for “Burning Bridges” has such cool visuals and beautiful scenery. Where was that shot, and how did the concept and the characters come about?

It was filmed in Snowdonia, which is a gorgeous part of Wales. We filmed it with the company Video Inc., which is a company that we’ve actually worked with for four different videos in one year. In 2019, we did four videos with them, including “Ghost House Heart.” The idea behind “Burning Bridges” for me lyrically was really that the protagonist of the song keeps leaving his surroundings in order to get away from the negative energy there—the negative energies are following him. The real question is, are those negative energies actually coming from your surroundings or are you the one bringing them? And then leaving and burning your bridges behind you will solve absolutely nothing. That was the idea that we wanted to work with for the video as well. What I really like about Video Inc. and how they work is we’ve had in the past where we pitched a song to other video companies and they came up with all these ideas that didn’t fit the song at all. And then we thought, “Oh, we have to give him some more input.” So, any images or ideas that we have with the themes, we send them over, but sometimes then people just say, “Okay, we’ll do that.” And what I really like about Video Inc. is they take the idea and then they go over it. They’re the video makers, that’s their expertise, and they give their own twist to it. “Burning Bridges” is definitely one of the most dramatic ones of the four videos, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

You’re the frontwoman and the main focal point of the band, but the album closer “Combustion” is a cool instrumental that gives the rest of the band a chance to shine. Was this a song specifically created as an instrumental or music that you had trouble finding words for it?

It wasn’t meant to be a song with lyrics ever. Actually, this song was written by Timo and I’m sure that Joey also had a say in it because his drumming parts are very prominent. They actually started performing this song as a showpiece Joey had at his graduation at music school, and they performed it there. We really loved that song and that performance. Another thing is when we write songs for Delain, we really like pop structured songs. None of us in the band are ego trippers, none of us try to show off what we can do. We just do what the song needs, but on this track, they really get to shine. And I think that it’s really cool to give them that moment to shine because we have some really fantastic musicians in the band and they play very functional parts in the regular songs. So, I think that this is a great opportunity for them to show what they’ve got. Also, this is an egocentric reasoning, but for me, a lot of the songs have become much harder to sing. I really appreciate the two minutes of taking a breath during the shows! I think that on the album Apocalypse & Chill, that song for me, represents the explosion, the combustion, the apocalypse itself, if you will. I think it’s got a very symbolic function on this record.

What’s the music scene like in the Netherlands? You’re a very well known international touring band, but what was your humble beginning like?

Delain is a little bit of an odd example in that case because Martijn had rolled out of Within Temptation, who were at their breakthrough, and he had so many well known guests on this album that he wrote and that took a long time. There was a lot of work that went into that, and he had a whole big business plan that he used to get to the labels as well. But we got into that label straightaway for the first record because of all that hard work that Martijn had already put into it and the planning he did and the whole set up of the project. But, if I look at the scene that I was in before I got involved with that, the Dutch metal scene is a very small scene. Everyone knows each other, everyone is in everybody’s bands. I was I think in four bands at that moment. I was in a band, a guitarist in that band was doing a project, and I was in that project and then Martijn did arrangements for that project. And that’s where he heard me. So, he asked me for his project. I know that’s a very confusing sentence, but that may be a good representation of the Dutch music scene. It’s very interesting because a lot of metal comes from the Netherlands and actually a lot of symphonic metal comes from the Netherlands. But you would never tell if you looked at the Dutch mainstream music media. I don’t know, maybe it’s because it’s not exotic enough for us, or maybe it’s because it’s too exotic. The Dutch popular music is basically just dance and hip-hop. And I have nothing against dance and hip-hop, but sometimes it’s weird to me. I do these Dutch guest things and there will be people from multiple genres, and I will always be the one with the most followers on Instagram and Facebook. And they will be like, “But we don’t know you!” And that’s very typical for Holland, I think. Music that is very well known internationally is not really well known in the Netherlands itself. On the other hand, it also has its benefits because I bet that even if Delain would have a massive hit in the genre that I could still go grocery shopping without people recognizing me!

Delain has been around for 18 years and you have this new album out and upcoming gigs for the next few years. What are you looking forward to the most in the near future?

We have already reached so many things that we wanted to reach with Delain. It’s been really amazing. It’s been an absolute roller coaster. Martijn and I do most of the work behind the scenes, and we’re a really tight team and we both have started talking about how we might want to start doing some things outside of Delain every now and then. I think our biggest goal for now is to really find a balance and do anything in order to keep making beautiful music together. Because if I look at what we’ve done in the past, if I look at the album that we made now, I’m just really, really proud. It is really a product of our team. The sum is more than its parts, so to speak. I just really hope that we can keep doing that and make a lot more beautiful music and hope that people keep enjoying it. Delain has been around for 18 years and you have this new album out and upcoming gigs for the next few years. What are you looking forward to the most in the near future? We have already reached so many things that we wanted to reach with Delain. It’s been really amazing. It’s been an absolute roller coaster. Martijn and I do most of the work behind the scenes, and we’re a really tight team and we both have started talking about how we might want to start doing some things outside of Delain every now and then. I think our biggest goal for now is to really find a balance and do anything in order to keep making beautiful music together. Because if I look at what we’ve done in the past, if I look at the album that we made now, I’m just really, really proud. It is really a product of our team. The sum is more than its parts, so to speak. I just really hope that we can keep doing that and make a lot more beautiful music and hope that people keep enjoying it.

#Charlotte Wessels #Delain #2020 interviews

12 notes · View notes

tisthenightofthewitch · 5 years ago

Text

Ghost Are Shaping To Be Metal’s Next Awe-Inspiring Arena Act

From Motorhead, to Black Sabbath, and now the thrash kings, Slayer, metal is slowly losing its festival headliners, arena fillers, and most importantly its legacy acts. While it’s been a rather gradual shift, time only moves forward, and sooner or later metal will have to knight a new generation of arena and festival heavy weights. Early 2000’s bands like Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, and Disturbed have long demonstrated a knack for selling out arenas and filling headlining slots at festivals. However, most of these bands have rocked for nearly two decades, and it’s time for the 2010’s to showcase its respective arena acts. Currently completing their first US arena tour, Ghost are leading the charge for the next wave of arena and festival headliners.

Established in 2010 with their debut, Opus Eponymous, Ghost is quite possibly the fastest growing and most popular metal band of the decade. At first glance, the Swedish metal group embodies a very satanic aura, from their upside down crosses and the litany of demonic and catholic symbolism. While the music is the primary focus, their costumes and theatrics as a band are essential to the image and mythos they’ve established over the course of their career. They’ve even gone as far as making a web-series on their youtube channel, detailing the fictitious origins of the band and it’s current vocalist in power, Cardinal Copia. All masks and costumes aside, Tobias Forge is the creative force behind Ghost, being the band’s songwriter, lead vocalist, and founder. Tobias is actually the only known member, all the touring instrumentalists are incognito and share the stage name “Nameless Ghoul.”

As scary and sinister looking as they might be, Ghost brings one of the most melodic, catchy, and entertaining live shows in all of modern metal. Seeing them at their Hersey, PA stop was a remarkable and genuine concert experience; the crowd participation and the sheer enthusiasm that packed Giant Center arena is unrivaled by any band I’ve seen from the 2010’s. The crowd’s enthusiastic chemistry is comparative to Ghost’s onstage chemistry, with their goofy choreographed antics, and just their flawless musicianship between one another. Ghost’s stage production alone was worth an entry ticket; the cathedral-like stage spewed everything from pyro, fireworks, to a confetti filled finale. There’s something very authentic about Ghost as a band, but also as performers. They cater to several aspects of metal and rock music, but also theater in many ways, and at the end of the day Ghost is just pure entertainment, they give something for everyone to enjoy, and leave you feeling just awestruck.

Getting the chance to speak with Tobias Forge, he details the evolution of Ghost and how they got to their arena headlining status over the years.

Ghost went from opening arenas for Avenged Sevenfold in 2013, to more recently opening soccer stadiums for Metallica this summer, to now headlining your own arenas in the states, and soon to be in Europe. What’s the transition been like from opening arenas to now headlining them?

It’s been pretty gradual, over the years we’ve done support shows here and there, support tours here and there, but by the time that we headlined our first arena, which was now a few years ago, we had done quite a lot of arena shows before that, opening up. It wasn’t like a big physical shock, most bands will probably tell you that the weirdest thing about playing bigger places is usually you have to cover so much space on stage, like physically you have to. If you’re a semi-active rock band, the biggest shock from going to a club to arena or even worse, a stadium, is that all of a sudden you have so much physical ground, so much real estate to cover, which can be a shock. If you’re not used to running, and you have to run from one side to the other, and sing, that will punch you out. Gradually we’ve moved up through these venues, and on the first bit of the tour, not this tour leg, but on the tour when it started, we were doing “an evening with,” which meant we were playing two hours and forty minutes, and I definitely had a little bit of a shock over the first night like “whoa,” it was very tiring.

From an Economics, marketing, and profit standpoint, how have these aspects changed or evolved with “the ultimate tour named death?”

It’s kind of like what you’d say about bringing children up, if you have small children the problems are sort of small, and if you have older children then they are bigger. So you know back a few years when we were a band and crew in one bus, it took some time before we even had a truck. Now we’re three buses of people and six trucks, and it’s sort of the bigger the show the more it costs. That is the dynamic of every tour in the world, and the only thing that is making it harder for a band like ours is that it’s sort of new in the greater scheme of things, and in comparison to a lot of the other bands that are doing it on this level, or on an even bigger level. We are a new band that has managed to qualify into this setting, and if you look at most other very established and older artists, they charge a lot more for their tickets, a lot more than we do. That’s sort of the law of gravity and that makes it sometimes a little bit uphill, but we are fortunate to have the promoters and festivals believing in us on a worldwide basis. They believe in the idea that they need to invest in new headliners, the stars have aligned and fortunately they believe us to be one of the new ones to be able to fill that space. Just back a few years, there were several bands out there, but you know Black Sabbath is gone, and so many bands are just retiring or dying and in order to sustain these festivals they will need to invest in new bands and we’re one of them. However, you can clearly see on a festival of three days where The Scorpions are headlining one night, Kiss is headlining another night, and we are headlining a third, we are not getting paid the same as they are, of course not. The bottom line with that is we’re still looked upon and it’s expected of Ghost to deliver the same show, and that requires determination and you cannot look for economic return at this point. It’s further down the line of years and years and years of proving yourself, but that’s part of the game and that’s what I’ve been doing for almost ten years now.

You’ve stated the excitement for this tour was not only the fact Ghost would be playing arenas, but because the tour is spread across so many different markets. How has the reception been so far, in playing to these different markets, or territories that Ghost has less experience performing in?

The reception at the shows has been fantastic. Of course there are a few markets where it’s hard to expect anything because it’s in the middle of no where, and on top of that some of these shows have been on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and you can clearly see the ones that are on the weekends are doing way better. A lot these places that we’re playing are essentially in small towns, so they will have a magnetism for towns and cities around them, so people have to travel to come see it. That’s sort of the basis of that market in the first place, of course it’s a little bit sensitive if it’s a Monday or a Friday, but I must say that overall the promoter is very pleased, and we’re living up to the expectation of what a tour like this can do. That’s the point of the tour, reach out to people in territories where we haven’t really been, and having that in mind it’s been fantastic.

Have you held the idea or goal of Ghost inhabiting stadiums, or large venues since you started the band? These environments seem embedded in the very nature of Ghost’s live show.

My answer will be a little bit split between yes and no. Yes, I have always intended for my band to become a big arena headlining production value band. I always thought that Ghost as a project would be very production oriented. I never thought that Ghost would be that band, as in when I started I didn’t think that that was going to be the band that would define my entire career. However, once the first record got out and we started playing and we started touring, I had definitely put all my eggs in that basket, because I was like “this is the one that sticks, let’s just do this.” This is the one that I intuitively feel most myself, and I was gravitating towards that. Compared to all my other projects, this is the only one that I really truly understood, and could just do intuitively. I knew what to do with it, where as the other bands that I had were more of a head scratch. A lot of the ideas that I managed to either do or are still on the list with Ghost are things that are based on drawings and ideas that I had fifteen to twenty-five years ago. It’s a mixture, yes and no, I always thought I was going to work either with a band or in a band that was going to do full production touring, but I wasn’t sure it was going to be Ghost. It just happens to be two of my main interests, being in a band and writing songs, but also I’m very interesting in touring, and I’m very interested in the idea of stage design, tour design, light design, and all that. Had it not been for me being in a band, I would have gladly also done it for another band, building stage design for other bands.

Seven Inches of Satanic Panic undoubtedly has a very 60’s rock aesthetic, but specifically what bands from that era are influences to you personally?

Ever since I was a kid my absolute biggest idols before I found extreme metal were from the sixties. It was Pink Floyd, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, I grew up listening to that. When I was eight, my favorite band of all time was The Rolling Stones. I knew everything about them, that was my biggest obsession. The sixties in general and as music have been hugely influential for me. Ghost just happened to be a little bit more heavy metal leaning, but there’s a lot of Pink Floyd in there, and a lot of The Doors, that was the stuff I listened to when I started playing guitar. When I was in my various different bands I’ve always heard that my writing was kind of odd because I had time signatures that were strange, and a melody language that was kind of peculiar. That was because I listened to Pink Floyd and The Doors, they taught me how to just write weirdly, and it’s not as outlandish as it might seem.

Many hail Ghost for their ability to balance a sense of nostalgia whilst maintaining an original song craft and sonic perspective. What has been your process, if not organically, in achieving this balance?

I always try to remember how I felt writing the first record [Opus Eponymous], and during the recording of the record coming after that, [Infestissumam], I think I’ve managed to tap into that. Don’t misunderstand and think I try to write the same record every time, it’s quite the contrary, but having that same playful approach when it came to writing that I had back when I had nothing to lose. Opus Eponymous was written in a complete void, where there was no one involved in my writing. I was depending economically on it, I had no crowd to please, and I had no one to please with my writing except my self and a buddy of mine basically. That’s what I’m trying to do every time; try the best of my ability to stay within that, and not think too much about the fact that “this is your most important record of your career.” With that being said you have that in the back of your mind every time, but you try to even that out, and you try to be somewhat distant from that. I wanted Ghost to sound like a big band, and because I’m trying to distance myself from that, that does not mean the songs aren’t commercial or whatever. I really tried to be commercial on Opus Eponymous, it was supposed to be very very catchy. I wanted it to sound like that huge band that you had missed out on. It was supposed to be very catchy, very memorable, and very playful. It was supposed to be a band from the seventies that didn’t know what the eighties were, but was trying to shape the eighties because they knew that was coming, but they didn’t know what the eighties were.

FORBES.COM

#Tobias Forge #Tobias Interview #Cardinal Copia #The Band Ghost #Ghost Band

60 notes · View notes

jackdawyt · 5 years ago

Link

As my last video/post for 2019, I figured we should have a reflection on Dragon Age 4's major news updates and uncover what we know about Dragon Age 4 throughout this year and beyond! So, we can go into 2020 with the right expectations and understanding of the game's development!

The Dread Wolf Rises:

TLDR: Mark is excited to show more and Matthew states that this is the strongest team yet and they’re venturing forth on the most epic quest ever.

Project Joplin:

Based on Jason Schreier’s expose’ into the past and present developments of Dragon Age 4 - the previous iteration of Dragon Age 4 was known as ‘Joplin’, like Janis Joplin.

There was an emphasis on this ‘hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth.’

The developers talked about building systemic narrative mechanics, allowing the player to perform actions like persuading or extorting guards without the writers having to hand-craft every scene.

It was very ambitious and plenty of the developers were excited, stating that they put some of their best work into this project.

Project Joplin was reworked into Project Morrison with a skeleton team building the very foundations of the next Dragon Age.

Project Morrison:

The latest iteration of Dragon Age 4 that is currently in the works is known as ‘Morrison’, like ‘James Morrison’ – the lead singer of the rock band ‘The Doors’.

Jim Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock history. (Wikipedia).

This new version of the fourth Dragon Age is planned with a live service component, built for long-term gameplay and revenue. It’s not clear how much of Joplin’s vision will shape Morrison.

Matt Goldman, art director on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then Joplin, took over as creative director for Morrison.

Many of the BioWare developers “know it’s going to change like five times in the next two years.”

Live Service/Multiplayer:

It has been confirmed on LinkedIn that BioWare has hired a software engineer to work on a multiplayer component for Dragon Age 4, however, it’s unsure what exactly this multiplayer could look like.

Production:

Now we get to the tea - The past and present developments of Dragon Age 4’s new iteration.

"We have several other big projects in the works. I wish I could tell you more about them, but they’re mostly super-secret right now. I can say however that one of our projects has a large and growing team in Edmonton working through pre-production, and based on the progress I’m seeing, I can confirm that indeed the Dread Wolf rises."

Key processes during the pre-production stages include:

Concept Art

Storyboarding

Level Design

Mechanic Design

This article initially launched in 2018 and has many rebuttals, the first being the release date.

Surely the Inquisitor will make a cameo appearance and that could justify why Alix could be doing VO?

"When VO is coming in and it's fan-tastic, but it means saying goodbye to that goofy robot text-to-speech that makes you all laugh."

So, indeed voice work does seem to be going on for Dragon Age 4’s development at this stage.

Regardless, it’s very exciting to see the start of official artwork developing for Dragon Age 4, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see how this board develops further.

Around the same time, Matt Rhodes, an Art Director, posted a short story on his Instagram stating that he’s “more excited working on Dragon Age 4 than any other project so far.”

Just after BioWare moved offices, Fernando Melo, a senior producer on The Dread Wolf Rises left the studio after 12 years.

He signed off with an email sent to everyone on the Dragon Age team, stating that he left at the “least disruptive timing as it would likely get.”

Fernando said that “with a great game leadership team in place, a fantastic creative vision, and some of the best devs in the world. Morrison is well underway to becoming the definitive Dragon Age experience - and I'm incredibly proud and honored to have played a part in that. I'll be eagerly awaiting the opportunity to experience the next DA as a fan this time around.”

Mark Darrah Major Hints & Teases:

Now we get to the most divisive news topics - the teases from Executive Producer Mark Darrah!

At E3 2018, in a video interview with Game Informer, Mark Darrah said that Dragon Age 4 was going ‘swell’ with a cheeky grin.

However, to be fair, Mark dropped an image that resembles Dragon Age, only we’ve never seen anything quite like it before.

However, back to the picture teases, and Mark Darrah also posted another photo…

On Dragon Age Day, Again, Mark Darrah posted another screenshot of Dragon Age 4 with everything redacted other than a pixel in the corner.

And, erm, yep. That’s super. Thanks for that, Mark.

Story:

The next narrative surrounds the Dread Wolf rising and attempting to destroy the veil, it’ll most likely be our next protagonist’s goal to stop Solas from achieving this.

Instantly what comes to mind is Nevarra's Mortalitasi – Death Mages that's responsible for the mummification process of the dead in Nevarran culture. However, we’re not sure how much of his work went into the cancelled Joplin, considering the timing at which he worked on Dragon Age 4.

So, if you want to see where Dragon Age 4’s narrative may go, or which characters could turn up, read the comics as they’re pushing the narrative forward.

Weekes’s Tweets:

Adding to the story category, we have plenty of tweets by Patrick Weekes that hint at future elements for Dragon Age 4.

Patrick said: “Oh that’s obvious, I’d go with (Reads parenthetical) THIS IS RIGGED.”

So, Scout Harding as a Dragon Age 4 Companion teased? I freaking hope so.

Weekes was asked about non-binary lingo & representation and if the players would have the option to not identify as a male or female in the next Dragon Age. They replied saying:

“No guarantees (it's something that is very difficult in romance languages we get translated into), but our team is always looking for better ways to let players see themselves in our games.”

Other Dragon Age Projects:

According to EA’s 2019 Earnings Call, “there are plans for not only Dragon Age 4, but other Dragon Age products too.”

On top of that, at a guess, it could also be an extension to the Dragon Age Keep.

Expectations:

if you have anyone saying there’s no news for Dragon Age 4, just gently send them my way and share this video in their dm’s!

49 notes · View notes