#yikes perhaps

[keicordelle]

I know I've seen fics of Zhongli and Neuvillette meeting, either antagonistically or to solve some quirk of draconian biology (or because Zhongli has to come bail out his stupid husband from prison), but I want to see Zhongli and Wriothesley together, just sampling tea and exchanging notes on prefered brewing methods and blends. Both of them just sitting there contentedly, getting on like ducks in a pond, while Neuvillette just stews in the background. Childe's at the next table over just grateful someone else is occupied drinking the leaf water instead of him for a change

[the-bi-space-ace]

I have this really brutal image in my head of my clone OC Trick with his skeleton tattoos on display and his right finger tattooed now but it's red and dripping as if bleeding, on his knees, eyes wide, tears streaming down his face.

It's all I can think about when I think of That Scene in chapter 16 of The World Tumbles Down.

[nellasbookplanet]

I just finished my playthrough of me2, and as I put off the overlord and arrival dlcs until the end of it my thoughts on them are very fresh and Must be aired.

The frustrating thing is, they didn’t have to suck. The gameplay, like the shadowbroker dlc, is fun and stands out from the rest of the game! The story and themes of 'how far will you go in sacrificing individual lives in the name of winning a war/stopping extinction' fits well with the overall narrative and emphasis on hard choices! I mostly enjoy them! Only, overlord is completely undone by gross ableism, and arrival doesn’t actually let you engage with the choice it sets up; it fully forces your hand, and then makes the whole thing feel pointless by just having the reapers show up for a surprise attack in the next game anyway. It’s a trolley problem that doesn’t actually let you control the lever and then derails the entire train to hit both tracks no matter what you do.

So, how do you fix arrival? Personally, I would probably keep in the loss of the batarian colony as inevitable, but change the focus. As it is, barely a moment is spared to let it sink in that you're about to end 300 000 lives, and the only 'choice' you get is whether you attempt to (futilely) warn them in a blink and you'll miss it scene. I would've at a minimum added dialogue options where Shepard/the player could’ve expressed anger at how this work could’ve gone on for as long as it did without a warning being sent long before. For a bigger change, that could’ve led into a major conflict: a paragon Shepard trying to warn the colony, while her opponents argue that doing so would jeopordize the project/the hidden base and tries to stop her as part of the final fight of the dlc. If you choose to warn and do it in time, perhaps some small amount of people make it out, with the majority of the colony still being destroyed to keep the tone of sacrifice. If you want to keep it real dark, everyone dies no matter how hard you try to save them, but you should at least have been given the option to seriously try even if it’s hopeless.

But there isn’t really a workaround for how part of the problem with arrival is a problem with the batarians: had the colony been human, turian, or asari, most players would likely have been more upset because those are our allies. The batarians, however, are a one-note species never portrayed as anything other than slavers, criminals, and terrorists. While other species are allowed horrific acts while still being portrayed as complex people capable of both good and bad (need I remind you of the first contact war, the krogan rebellion, the genophage, the quarian's attempted genocide of the geth, the geth's war against biological life, and so on), the player is given little to no reason to sympathize with batarians. Had they been made to feel like actual people while still our enemies from the start of the game, arrival would've felt more like the gut punch of sacrifice it was and less like it was off-handedly writing off a people everyone hates, anyway. There could’ve been a discussion of 'are you more willing to sacrifice those you don’t know/don’t like and what does it say about you; is this a sacrifice or is it selfish revenge with the greater good as cover (a discussion especially brought up if you take the renegade choice)' but instead it feels almost vindictive.

[mad-hunts]

okay, i'm not saying that feeding barton would just straight up diffuse barton's need for being a murderous gremlin because that is just so deeply ingrained him in now that it's not even funny, but i'm also not saying if you — say — placed a quesadilla in front of barton right before he was about to do about something horrible to someone... that there couldn't be at least a bit of a chance he would think about eating that instead

[hailsatanacab]

new chapter new chapter new chapter!!!!! (finally)

[euclydya]

oversleeping doesn't do anybody any good. let me try to fix this.

[just-a-living-meat-thing]

Ugh why do I fucking hate myself and everything rn. It’s okay???? U will be fine lol chill????

[drowzyscatterbrain]

this one's like, 98% workplace nightmare with a little bit of him, but still.

(cw toxic work environment)

I was a new employee in a massive office building.

Had to be at least 10 floors, maybe even more.

It towerd over all nearby buildings, looming, intimidating.

Dressed in brand new white office shirt and dark pants, navy tie around my neck, a new uniform for a new job.

And enter the building I must, to find the office I am assigned to and start my first day.

Staring at the concrete giant that is my new workplace, I took deep breaths and prepared myself.

Breathe in...

Breathe out...

Relax, it is your first day.

Just try your best.

Mistakes are normal, today is your first day.

You got this.

With one last deep breath, I walked inside and started my search.

...

I can't find it.

I don't know where it is.

No messages telling me where to go, and there's no network. No floor directory signs in sight, either.

That means I must ask for directions, if I want to make it on time.

I am absolutely terrible at asking for help, this is bad.

But I need to do it, I have to.

So I reached out, and asked one of the figure standing around for help.

They turned around, but they did not answer me.

A glare, full of annoyance and disdain was all I received.

Then it got worse when the lobby went quiet, as I felt the air shift and all turned their eyes upon me.

Indifference, sneer, each of them held different kinds of malice within.

None of them offered help.

They just stared.

Feeling like a pinned moth, I decided to shut my mouth and try to find it myself.

I never managed to find it.

As my fruitless search goes on, they began to talk amongst themselves.

They spoke of me like they are watching a dog chasing its own tail.

I am simply a fool, a clown in their eyes.

Standing inside the elevator, clutching my office bag so hard my knuckles went white.

I only dare to stare at my own feet as the sneering continues around me, trying my damn hardest not to cry.

There were so many people, yet I felt incredibly alone.

It was horrible.

Then eventually, I ran out of time.

And they didn't like that.

Not at all.

They've all decided, since I wasn't in my cubicle when my shift started, I must be torn apart by every single person in that building.

And ran I finally did, away from this horrible building and into the streets.

Conveniently, a thunderstorm started as soon as I turned the first corner.

How fitting.

With only my office bag in hand, I am soaked within minutes, the files within definitely ruined.

It took a while, but after a few close calls, I managed to lose them.

I was horribly lost, standing beneath the roof of a 7-11, out of breath and shivering nonstop.

I remember just spacing out, it's all too much. Ridiculous, even.

Just trying to not think about what a terrible day it was.

A few minutes later, still in a trance and shivering uncontrollably, I decided to hug my bag. Not very useful against the cold, but it's better than nothing.

But the bag wasn't in my hands anymore.

One arm held in my hands and dangling, my sans plushie stared at me instead.

That snapped me out of it for sure.

Now holding it properly, I stared back, while trying to figure out how, or when did this happen.

Then quickly, I decided not to question it anymore.

He's all dry and fuzzy, oddly warm, too. And I was absolutely freezing.

So I hugged him tight, and buried my face onto the top of his head.

He smelled like he's freshly cleaned, and have been sitting under the sun for a good while.

And just like sunbeams breaking the clouds, this calmed me down fairly quickly.

A couple of deep breaths, and my heart stopped shredding itself into a thousand ribbons.

I am still under that roof, drenched and extremely lost.

The storm's still going hard, no sign of going away.

But he's there with me.

Well, not actually like, living and breathing, but he's there, in a way.

I think I felt him trying to comfort me through the doll.

And that's why I know things will be fine.

I'll be alright.

[c-kiddo]

i will behave i wont keep talking about this i wont , im bored of talking abt yasha’s design now i- *sees the worst take abt it imaginable*

[emilyjunk]

Rambled to my gf for like 10 mins about my new novel idea and then finally explained the key point of it and she said "oh my God that's genius, you're cooking" so today is not so bad I guess

[crystallineconflict]

i keep thinking i need to make arcelia fuck more people in her grief post-hw but i just don’t think she’s got that dog in her u_u

[olympiansally]

If the twt ban is what finally drags me back here after all this time it would be kinda funny though ngl

[speckledbearz]

Honestly I'm in-between being genderfluid, non binary or being unlabled and it's really confusing

I like to dress masc, but I also like being fem but I hate wearing any overly feminine clothing so I'm like aaaaaa

Maybe I just exist I don't know lmao

[pinktinselmonstrosity]

guys HELP i bleached my root regrowth to get it to match the rest of my hair but i fear. it does not in fact match the rest of my hair my roots are now MUCH lighter 🥺 help

[patrice-bergerons]

Morse in the series finale-

[kellystar321]

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