#wherever you are i am

[thesconesyard]

What?!? An update to a story I haven’t updated in months?!? That’s right! I got hit by an attack of writing and inspiration! So enjoy!!!

(Need a refresher first? Here.)

Wherever You Are, I Am

Part 44

“Good morning sir.”

McCoy looked up as he entered the classroom with Scotty. Astrid was sitting in her usual spot.

“Hello Astrid,” McCoy replied. “This is Lt. Commander Scott.”

“Hello sir,” Astrid said promptly.

“Aye lassie, hello.”

“Astrid, could you give us a moment please?”

“Of course Dr. McCoy. Would you like others kept out as well?”

“Just for a few minutes, please.”

“Bright lass,” Scotty said after Astrid had left the room.

“She’s been a big help,” McCoy agreed. “She’s looking to be a botanist like Sulu.”

Scotty nodded.

“You didn’t have to walk to class with me,” McCoy said. “I could have said goodbye at home.”

“I know,” Scotty said softly. “I just wanted the few extra minutes with ye.”

“I know, I did too.”

Scotty looked at him quietly for a moment before he stepped forward and embraced McCoy.

“It’ll be soon love,” Scotty whispered in his ear. “Holiday break will be here before we know it.”

“We’ll have a whole week,” McCoy whispered back. He leaned back, then cupped his hands around Scotty’s face and kissed him.

“Bye mo ghràdh,” Scotty when he pulled back.

“Bye Monty.”

McCoy stood near his teaching podium and watched Scotty leave.

“He’s all yours again lass,” he heard Scotty say to Astrid outside the door.

McCoy took a breath to center himself as Astrid walked back in followed by a couple cadets. He turned to get his lesson pulled up.

“Alright sir?” Astrid asked quietly.

“Yes,” McCoy answered.

“That was your husband?” Astrid asked even quieter.

McCoy felt his eyebrow raise in confusion.

“I read up on you sir, remember?”

McCoy let out a chuckle. “Yes that was. He came from Yorktown to Riverside and surprised us.”

“That's so sweet,” Astrid said with a sigh. “Us, sir?” she asked a moment later.

More students were entering the classroom.

“Jaylah and I. I thought you read up on me cadet?” McCoy grinned.

Astrid gave a sheepish smile. “I must have skimmed that part. Jaylah is your—”

“Family,” McCoy said. “I can’t believe I haven’t introduced you two. She would benefit from an older cadet showing her and her roommate around.”

“I’d love to meet her,” Astrid said.

[hinamie]

can't believe im saying this but long time no megumi

[waitineedaname]

Al coming back from his travels: Xing was great! I've learned so much about alkahestry, and I think we're really making progress and getting Jerso and Zampano's bodies back! It was really nice to see Mei, and Ling is doing a great job as emperor, and I even got to visit some of Xing's neighbors to the east! I feel like I'm learning more about alchemy and alkahestry every day

Ed coming back from his travels: I Have Been Banned From Five Countries

[cauldronblssd]

Professor Vanserra says you’re going to have to work hard if you want an A! For free day, @moonpatroclus and I had the absolute treat of working with the wonderfully talented @velidewrites. No thoughts - just Eris looks hot in glasses!

Happy @erisweekofficial to you all, it’s been so lovely to see everyone’s talent and creativity this week!

Please do not repost.

[scholliski]

I will forever love that from every point of view we’ve seen, whether that be Jeans, Neil’s or even Aaron’s in the extra content, they’re all instantly mesmerised by Kevin but he will literally never know because everyone has seemingly made the silent agreement to never publicly compliment him so that his ego doesn’t get even bigger than it already is

[randomfandomss]

James Lance on the relationship between Trent Crimm and Ted Lasso Source: From this lovely interview by Lauren Coates - Article & Video

[leopardmuffinxo]

Assan is best wingman (hehe)

[naliahh]

There’s something about a vigilante x civilian pairing that will always have me kicking my feet in the air

[ygsunflower]

“Come here.”

🥵

[notbecauseofvictories]

I fucking. love birds. I love them so much. "what if there were small friend-shaped beings who could fly" phenomenal!!

(and also sometimes a squirrel is there)

[thesconesyard]

In keeping with a silly tradition I started for my birthday, what?, three years ago?, here’s an update of a story, and a new chapter will go on ao3 in a little bit.

Wherever You Are, I Am

Part 45

October passed and slid quietly into November. The weather cooled and rainstorms passed over more frequently. McCoy saw less of Jaylah on weekends as class assignments became longer and more frequent, and the semester end began to loom. She had also begun to make more friends on campus after he had introduced her to Astrid.

“Who all is coming?” he asked.

“All the usuals,” his mom answered.

“Ma, I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving in I don’t know how many years. I don’t know who the usuals are anymore.”

Mrs. McCoy laughed. “You do get to the point Leonard. Your sister and the boys. Your uncle and his new girlfriend. Nana Mabel and a few cousins.”

“Well it’ll be nice to see them.”

“We’re all looking forward to seeing you too. It’s been too long.”

“I know Ma. We’ll be on the first shuttle out after Jaylah’s last class Wednesday, and should be there mid-evening.”

“I’ll keep something warmed up for you to eat when you get here.” Mrs. McCoy smiled at her son.

“Sounds like a good plan. Speaking of, I should go get some dinner. I’ll see you next week Ma.”

“Yes, go eat. Can’t wait to see you. Love you Leo.”

“Love you too Ma.”

McCoy clicked off the call and set the PADD aside. Slowly he rose from the couch and went to the kitchen.

“Any plans for the long weekend Astrid?” McCoy asked as he packed his few things into his work bag.

“Some studying, not much else. Just hanging around campus. You sir?”

“We’re heading out to Georgia soon as Jaylah’s done for the day. Haven’t been home in who knows how many years.”

“Is your husband going to join you?” Astrid asked as they began to walk to the classroom door.

“No, but we’re heading to Yorktown for Christmas.”

“That’s good,” Astrid smiled. “Have a good holiday Dr. McCoy.”

“You too Astrid. Don’t study too much.” He stood for a moment as Astrid walked the other way, then began the walk to his quarters.

McCoy pulled the hood on his coat up as it began to rain again. He picked up his pace and was soon in his quarters. He glanced at the clock as he walked in the bedroom. There was still at least another hour before Jaylah would show up. He grabbed a bag and began to pack for the weekend.

“How long is the shuttle?” Jaylah asked as they boarded.

“Couple hours,” McCoy replied as they picked seats. “I can bore you with stories about who’ll be there if you want.” He laughed.

“I would like to know,” Jaylah said with a smile.

McCoy smiled as they pulled up to his childhood home. It looked the same as it always had. He had begun to tell Jaylah about his family on the shuttle, but she had leaned onto his shoulder and fallen asleep not too far into the trip. The drive to the house she had been wide eyed, looking out the windows.

“Come on darlin’,” McCoy said, getting out of the car.

He was quicker and shouldered both of their bags.

“This is your home?” Jaylah asked in awe.

“Yep, the ol’ McCoy homestead,” he smiled. “I’ll show you around tomorrow when it’s light. Show you the peach tree I planted when I was a boy.”

“I can not wait Dr. Bones.”

They had reached the front door and McCoy put a hand out to knock. In moments the door opened and Eleanor McCoy was in front of them.

“Oh Leonard! It’s so good to see you,” the older woman cried out.

McCoy set the bags down from his shoulder and stepped forward into his mother’s embrace. Mrs. McCoy squeezed him close before finally setting her hands on his shoulders and looking at him thoroughly. She brushed a hair from his forehead.

“You look well,” she smiled.

McCoy stooped to pick the bags up again as his mother turned to Jaylah.

“Welcome my dear,” Mrs. McCoy greeted her.

“Hello.” Jaylah’s greeting turned surprised as Mrs. McCoy pulled her in for a hug too.

“I’m so glad you could come.” Mrs. McCoy moved back. “Come in, come in, don’t spend the night on the porch. I’ll show you up to the room and then feed you, alright?”

“That’s fine Ma,” McCoy chuckled. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Jaylah. She was looking overwhelmed. “Who’s here already?” he asked as they followed Mrs. McCoy up the stairs.

“Leah and Steven and the kids. And Nana. I do hope you two don’t mind sharing a room. Uncle Eugene is staying over tomorrow and that’s that.”

“It’s no problem Ma,” McCoy said.

“I set a cot up in your old room. And of course you’ll have your own bathroom.”

“Ok.”

“You two get settled and come down when you’re ready. I’ll get dinner heated back up for you.” Mrs. McCoy left them at the bedroom.

McCoy dumped his bag on the cot and Jaylah’s on the bed.

“You alright darlin’?” he asked when they were alone. “I know Ma comes on a bit strong.”

Jaylah nodded, then smiled. “I like her.”

“Good.”

“Dr. Bones why did you put my bag here? It is your room.”

“I can rough it a couple nights. I remember those dorm beds; enjoy something nice for a few nights.”

“But—”

“Nope. No buts. I’ve slept on worse, trust me.”

“Ok,” Jaylah said slowly.

[sainz100]

waiting the same way

[whiskeyswifty]

The Black Dog - Taylor Swift (Starting Line Album)

based on the Starting Line album Say It Like You Mean It

[kaaaaaaarf]

Maggie Rogers was so cruel when she said "you never touched me, but I felt you everywhere."

[schumi-nadal]

Who's your greatest opponent?

Fabio: Even if Pecco and I fought for the championship in 2021 and 2022. In 2019, I had two very nice battles with Marc. [giggles] Unfortunately, I lost both but I think that they helped me to grow up as a rider.

[alongtidesoflight]

so here's my honest thoughts on dragon age: the veilguard, after ~40 hours of playing. i finished the main quest after having finished all companion quests and major faction quests. just to clear up what content i saw, i played as an elven transmasc rook who is a member of the lords of fortune. he romanced lucanis (although after finishing the game i'm now leaning towards taash). i don't know what's happening in playthroughs that have a different race, gender identity, romance or faction going on.

full spoilers ahead, i mean it. don't read further if you want to avoid them. i don't want complaining about it in my asks.

oh and also, if you're worried because of a few negative reviews online i can comfort you by saying don't give a fuck about a certain big name youtuber who is very much tied to bethesda franchises giving this a negative review. i'll explain why.

i'm starting off with the things i liked

the game looks really pretty. i was worried it wouldn't feel like thedas anymore (with them trying to "focus on northern thedas only" i thought they'd make a clear cut in environmental design. they do and they don't. it's complicated. i'll elaborate on it when talking about the negative stuff). anyway it does. minrathous feels like kirkwall. treviso enchanted me like the winter palace did. the hossberg wetlands reminded me of the hinterlands and a couple other inquisition maps. arlathan looked like... arlathan. the crossroads were different, but familiar. overall i like the way it looks and feels. it's thedas, with a twist. it's a good one, and gives everything a solid but unique feel.

combat is top tier. if you're a hardcore dragon age player you WILL miss the tactical aspect of it for a bit, but i promise you, once you're used to the way the combat works, you will be lapping that shit up. and once you get to ability combos you'll mourn the control you used to have over your companions in battle a bit less

the MAIN quest and its story. i expected worse, way worse. and for a while the game even had me tricked (harr harr you'll get it in a second) it is Really That Much Worse. but holy shit was it good. i walked away satisfied ngl.

your choices have SOLID weight. there's consequences, good AND bad. i got minrathous blighted, ruled over by venatori, and the leader of the shadow dragons ultimately died because of my decisions. i made those at the beginning and throughout the game. he died at the end. DAVRIN died because i didn't expect what i was saying to have that much weight. i thought i was in the clear. he had hero status. well turns out, your choices can still get your companions killed even if you do everything right. i fucking love him. he shouldn't have made that sacrifice just because i told him to do everything it takes once.

the inquisitor, morrigan and dorian being there, surprisingly. there's also negatives to this though, see below.

speaking of companions dying and the inquisitor playing a bigger role: the final quest feels like me2's suicide mission. i was blown away by it and the fact that i got to see the results of all my efforts playing out in front of me.

bioware are NOT trying to redeem solas. they love him as a character yes, but i wasn't forced to see any good in him. he betrays you. he fucked my rook over twice. he fucked him over right back, for good this time (the veil wasn't torn down, i anchored it by binding him to it, he's doomed to uphold it). but solas really lives up to his name as the trickster elven god. rip to all the people who grew really attached to him over the years.

varric died. if you like him that's probably as hard reading it as it was watching it. varric died and the game lies about it until the very end. when the realisation hits, it hurts. but in the very best way.

the amount of care they put into gender expression and trans identities this time around. (i'll add onto this with negative points as well too).

rook feels very much ingrained in the world of thedas. he doesn't ask questions that expose the player to lore through dialogue as if he's stepped foot into thedas for the first time. those conversations feel very solid and good. i hope other faction players got as much joy out of this as i did.

and the things i didn't like and boy there's a lot unfortunately

the music. let's just get that out of the way holy shit. it doesn't feel like it belongs in this universe. it gets so incredibly sci-fi-y at times you'd think it's taken straight from mass effect andromeda. there's not a single song unique to veilguard that i really enjoyed. it broke my immersion, real bad. hearing a busker play the tavern songs from inquisition on a lute right after i killed some venatori with wobbly bass songs playing in the background is just odd. weird tonal shift. don't like it. it's made for people who like flashy light-weight cinema.

tevinter nights is required reading. the podcasts are required listening exercises. the game is so fast paced, especially at the start, that there's no time to introduce you to characters and how much weight their names carry in-game. i would not have known who half these people are if i hadn't skimmed over tevinter nights. i'd care even less about them than i already did. there is no time to get properly attached to them. people will act as if you're talking to a legend personified and you'll be thinking man goddamn which chapter of tevinter night were they in again and what did they do???

there's a weird mismatch with the animations. you'll have beautifully fluid ones, like emmrich casting spells. and then you'll have rook's face animating in the most unnatural manner that's sorta reminiscent of mass effect andromeda's "my face is tired" addison, when their emotions SHOULD be landing with the player rn instead.

i'm not vibing with the art style. sometimes it works. most of the time it doesn't. at points i felt like i was watching tangled.

that also brings me to some of the dialogue. same issue. i am watching frozen. i am watching tangled. someone on the writer's team really likes the adorkable trope. bellara is its victim.

for all the talk about identity, bioware sure doesn't like theirs. the grey warden armor got a redesign again and it just makes them look like a generic army. i hate it lol

in general, i don't like the armor design. the wardrobe/appearances system is fine, but it's just not helping if all the armors are just... kinda bland or downight bad looking? and don't get me started on the lords of fortune armor. that is orientalism personified.

the world states should have been carried over, full stop. i know they said they didn't because they want to separate what happens in the north from what happens in the south, which... i could have lived with that. but the inquisitor sends you letters that keep you up to date on... the south of thedas. you learn that there's a blight again, that people are standing strong but it's difficult, denerim's fallen, the rulers are taking care of it, orlais is fighting and they're successful for a while, etc etc. what's good bioware. i thought we don't care about the south this time around. why are you feeding me so much boring generic information. if you're not gonna show any of it and just write letters, then carrying the world state over should not have been an issue. i have a game dev background. those few lines of code would not have broken your budget or pushed your engine's limits. fuck right off.

this gripe of mine carries over to all the cameos. as a lord of fortune you have to deal with isabela a lot. it's fun. i missed her. you get to go drinking with her and taash and bellara! also my hawke romanced her. she's not mentioned once. they had the opportunity to put a sentence or two about her in there with not a lot of effort, trust me.

when varric dies, all she has is a single line about it. for gold, for fortune, for varric. she only says it if you interact with her on your way to the final push. that's not mandatory.

morrigan is there. kieran isn't. the old god soul that mythal and then solas absorbed? who cares at this point, the gods are dead now and solas is locked away for eternity. i suppose? why is morrigan there. she feels unneeded. i wish they'd just left her down south, at least that way i wouldn't have had to witness her god awful redesign.

dorian at least feels as if he belongs in this story. the shadow dragons are a crucial part to protecting minrathous. he's also weirdly underutilised. isabela and morrigan had more lines than him in my playthrough.

on the topic of romance: bro that was underwhelming. no, genuinely. you know when romance picked up a bit? after the point of no return. i heard maybe two lines of companion banter about it before that. maybe i missed something which i honestly doubt, but romance did not play much of a role in lucanis's storyline. i saved his grandmother as he wished me to (and if you read tevinter nights you know she was rather abusive and their relationship not the healthiest) and told him to focus on his family. a reunified family my rook wasn't even introduced to as a partner at the end of all that.

really, do not buy this game if you're only in it for the romances. others might be better, lucanis's basically gave me nothing. except for an outing (the second coffee date i had with him, it was getting repetitive) all of it played out once i committed to the final quest. the sex scene was a fade to black. annoyingly right after davrin died. if you're looking for well paced and good spice, pick up something else. the sweet talk and the final goodbye were nice though.

for all the good the ever-presence of gender identity does, it is brought up in such a disruptive manner too. it doesn't even play out naturally if you CHOOSE the lines that are meant to be said. hearing the words trans and non-binary in this setting doesn't feel right, and i'm saying this as a trans guy. i think it could have been handled more gracefully. the amount of times my rook went "i'm a MAN" as if he's about to start drumming on his chest and roaring any second now got super nerve-grating. "i'm so glad you're into me... the me who is trans. remember?" just. tell me one trans person who'd talk like that to a person they've grown close with and are trying to romance. this game doesn't handle sexuality well, so all this hey my body might not look like the way you're expecting it to look talk amounts to nothing anyway. i feel about this the way i feel about krem: this is partial exposition to trans experiences... packaged up for cis consumption. the ONLY exception to that is interacting with taash. holy shit was all of that heartwarming and bro did it feel good and natural to talk to them about theirs and rook's gender.

rivain and nevarra are new locations added by veilguard. they're also incredibly underwhelming, small and constricted maps. rivain is a coastline with a few ruins. the hall of valor is a partial ruin nestled into a cave on a beach, with a fighting pit. isabela is there in her skimpy outfit commentating your pit fights. that's it. i'm sorry if you were looking for a bustling pirate cove or whatever. you're not gonna get it. the nevarran crypts btw are a long ass dungeon crawl. that's it.

speaking of maps. i thought people were being dramatic when they said you're gonna be fighting the same enemies on them again and again. i thought they were figure of speeching it. they're not. you WILL fight the same amount of enemies. in the same spot. every time you reload the map. best to stay on a map and clear out the enemies and do as much questing on that map as you can before leaving, because you WILL have to do it all over again once you return.

the three choices i made for my inquisitor didn't matter lol she didn't have to face solas and therefore couldn't stop him at any cost as she had sworn (maybe because my rook tricked solas into binding himself to the veil, there was also an option to fight him. would she have stepped in? who knows). blackwall wasn't mentioned. and either her using a small amount of her forces in the final fight was the reason the civilians of minrathous fared so well..... or it just didn't matter. ultimately i think she had very little impact on anything