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nightingaelic · 1 year

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Since I’ve seen you also do fallout 4 Reacts, how about this, romanced fallout 4 companions react to synth Shaun calling the mom/dad

They had known, going into this thing they shared with Vault 111's sole survivor, that the road to a happy ending wasn't going to be easy. Love was already hard enough to navigate, even without the person on the receiving end being a pre-war relic, a figurehead of the Commonwealth, and number one most wanted on multiple factions' bounty lists. Those moments of peace they managed to snatch were fleeting, but they teased of greater things, and when their fingers and the sole survivor's intertwined atop the roof of Mass Fusion as the Institute crumbled into the Charles River below, they selfishly wondered if this meant a newfound freedom for their relationship.

Then came Shaun. Pure, naive, starry-eyed Shaun, who looked up at the sole survivor with the sweetest smile and gifted them the saddest holotape, who held out his arms for one person only and folded inward if left with anyone else. He confounded everyone, not just the sole survivor's chosen partner, but it didn't matter. His remaining parent held him close during the darkest hours, told him stories and sang him lullabies until he stopped shaking and slept. It was on one of these late nights that the sole survivor's companion resolved to do right by both of them, no matter what it took, and pressed a gentle kiss into the crown of the sleeping boy's head.

Cait: "You envy him," the sole survivor said quietly the next morning as they watched Shaun skip ahead on the road to Diamond City.

Cait swallowed. "I do," she admitted. "I've told you what my own parents were like. When I look at you, I can't help but notice every last little thing they didn't do. Everything you are doing, with him. He's damn lucky, and he doesn't even know it. Then there's me, and kids... All the ones I spent time around were just as broken as I was, older souls than they deserved to be. He won't ever know that kind of fear, and I'm fucking glad of it, but it also means I can't talk to him."

"Well, you have to start somewhere. But I get it." The sole survivor pulled her in by the waist and kissed her. "I love you, Cait. I can't tell you not to feel sad about the way things worked out- just don't take it out on him. He's been through a lot, too."

Cait rolled her eyes when they weren't looking, certain that she was always going to be the distant, red-headed stepmother to Shaun's actual parent, but her moment came sooner than expected. Batty old Moe Cronin was still hawking his baseball gear in Diamond City's town square, beckoning to anyone who wandered too close. "Swatters, right here!" he called as the sole survivor and their little family passed by, clearly aware that Shaun had perked up his ears. "Don't let down the home team! Why, even kids will appreciate a swatter in their hands, when they're traveling the Commonwealth!"

"No thanks, Moe," the sole survivor said, waving the salesman off. "He's still a little young for that kind of sport."

"I disagree," Cait cut in, putting a defiant hand on her hip. "Best to start him young, else he won't know what he's doing until it's too late."

Shaun looked between his two guardians. "Please?" he begged the sole survivor. "Mom's okay with it."

Cait could've melted, right then and there in the marketplace. Before the sole survivor had a chance to answer, she'd turned back to Moe, fumbling for her caps. "That one," she said, pointed at a lighter model splashed with indigo paint. "Seems about the right size."

Moe took it down from his display wall and presented it to the boy. "A genuine model, there. Perfect for a first-time owner. You take good care of her, kid."

Cait pulled the boy close to her hip and ruffled his hair. "He'd better. I was planning on using those caps to buy us Power Noodles."

Shaun smiled and closed his eyes as he hugged the baseball bat close. "Thanks, mom."

Curie: Although her educational modules had only been installed for the purpose of making her a better laboratory assistant in Vault 81, Curie still had the full knowledge repository of a Miss Nanny robot to draw upon stored up in her new synthetic brain. Caring for a 10-year-old boy meant following clear developmental guidelines and standards, and she set about writing a rough curriculum for him so as to give him some semblance of schooling while he wandered the Commonwealth with his guardians.

To her delight, Curie found Shaun to be especially receptive to her lessons. He was very interested in biology and history, perhaps because of the obvious blind spots that came with spending his early life inside the Institute. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the mutated creatures that walked the wasteland, coloring in the pictures of radstags and deathclaws and bloatflies alike in Curie's battered notebook as she sketched them. For history, though, Curie had to turn to those around her. The most recent history of the Commonwealth could be found with the sole survivor, who had spent most of their post-vault life at the center of it. Further accounts came from Preston Garvey thanks to his experience with the Minutemen, and Piper Wright and Nick Valentine had quite a bit more in their extensive periodical and case records. Even Paladin Danse pitched in, offering a rather thorough recollection of the Brotherhood of Steel's history on both coasts of North America and in between that left Shaun playing at being a Scribe for over a week.

Shaun's best subject, though, was language. He had an adequate grasp of English, but he began to press Curie early on to teach him French. She added it in between her other lessons, until they could carry on basic conversations. "Pourquoi vouliez-vous apprendre le français?" Curie asked him one day when it was just the two of them, curious. "Oui, ç'est une belle langue, but it is not especially common in the Commonwealth."

Shaun smiled. "Parce que ça nous appartient, maman."

"Maman?" Curie smiled back. "I did not teach you that word."

"You did," Shaun insisted, crawling into her lap to hug her. "Oui, maman, you did."

Curie ended the lesson early and gave him her pencil and notebook to draw pictures in. When the sole survivor returned that evening from their trade excursion, she presented them with the piece of art he had made, depicting the three travelers locked in battle with a mirelurk queen. The sole survivor looked over it with a smile, ran a thumb over the words he'd scribbled next to Curie's blazing laser rifle. "'Ma maman,'" they read with a grin, drawing her into a one-armed hug. "Congratulations, mom."

Paladin Danse: "I'm a liability to you," Danse argued with the sole survivor the next day, as they packed their things to hit the road again. "To both of you. You know what will happen if a Brotherhood patrol recognizes me."

"So wear this." The sole survivor tossed him a ratty shawl and a red bandanna. "Cover your face. Plenty of people do, in these parts."

"And if they recognize my voice?" Dance argued. "Only the greenest Initiates would be fooled by a disguise this thin."

"You're giving the Brotherhood too much credit." The sole survivor straightened up from organizing their pack. "Just let me do the talking and try not to worry."

"Easier said than done," Danse grumbled, picking up their wasteland fashion offerings with obvious distaste.

They were ready to go by noon, the sole survivor's pack slung over their shoulder and Shaun's hand firmly grasped in theirs. Danse brought up the rear as they crossed the bridge out of Sanctuary, and he tugged the bandanna around his neck up to cover his face once they reached the other side of the river.

When Shaun next turned back, distracted by some dry branches creaking together overhead, he giggled in surprise. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked, pointing to the bandanna.

"It's not safe," Danse grunted, lowering his laser rifle a little.

"But why does that help keep you safe?"

The sole survivor reached down to ruffle their son's hair. "It's a little hard to explain, Shaun. Some people out here don't like Danse. He's trying to hide his face from them, so they don't know it's him."

"But there's no one here," Shaun insisted, throwing his arms out to indicate the barren landscape and its silence.

"Well, you never know," Danse said, taking the bait. "Come here. Look at that tree. That big one, see it? I'd say it's wide enough to hide a man behind it. Maybe even a raider or two, if they're skinny."

"What about that one?" Shaun asked, pointing to a larger tree.

Danse nodded solemnly. "Three raiders. Easily."

He winked at the sole survivor, who was stifling their giggles. Shaun, who was staring open-mouthed at the trees, missed it. "Can I have one too, dad?" the boy asked, tugging Danse's sleeve.

"One of what?" Danse replied, unable to keep his voice from cracking.

"A bandanna." Shaun looked up at him with a smile. "We can hide together."

Danse, lost, looked helplessly to the sole survivor. Without a word, they pulled a navy blue bandanna from their pack and handed it over. Danse knelt down and carefully tied the cloth around Shaun's face. "There you go, soldier," he said when he was finished, and the words felt softer in his mouth than any of the other times he'd said them.

Mayor John Hancock: Though he was brave enough to risk a little affection after the kid was asleep, Hancock gave Shaun plenty of space during the waking hours. He wasn't blind to the way some people looked at him. Most kids stared.

Shaun wasn't any different in that aspect, but the fact that this red-coated, tricorn-bedecked ruin of a man was keeping his parent company proved too much for his curiosity. Once the stage of open-mouthed, morbid fascination had passed, Shaun's face grew more contemplative. He started to watch closely as Hancock did basic things. Eat. Sleep. Tie some cloth over a wound. Brush his teeth. He didn't seem embarrassed when Hancock made it obvious these attentions were noticed by waggling his brows or pulling funny faces in the middle of a meal- he just looked like he was filing the information away in his head. He wasn't immune to Hancock's infectious humor though, and he eventually started to giggle and make faces back. The sole survivor rolled their eyes at the pair of them, but Hancock egged them on until they, too, succumbed to the silliness.

When the trio paid their first visit to Goodneighbor and people on the street began to greet Hancock as "mayor," Shaun's eyes grew as wide as Port-A-Diner saucers. Hancock relished the attention, stopped in at every trading stall and tipped his hat to every vagabond they passed. Though Shaun kept a tight hold of his parent's hand, it was obvious he was a little lost between the attention that the sole survivor and the returning town leader were receiving. Things came to a head when a crowd gathered around the travelers and Shaun's grip on the sole survivor's hand was jostled loose. As would-be admirers moved in and separated them, Shaun's voice was thin and high under the boisterous conversations. "Ha-Han... dad!"

"Whoa." Hancock threw his arms out, pushed the crowd back. "Give us some space, folks. Yeah, you, back up or I'll sic Fahrenheit on you."

Shaun was clinging to his leg, and he relaxed a little as Hancock lifted him up to eye level with the adults. Hancock puffed with the effort. The kid was heavier than he looked. "Now this here," he said, grunting as he re-positioned the boy on his hip, "Is Shaun. He's with me."

"Is he yours, Hancock?" teased Rufus Rubins from somewhere in the crowd.

"As good as," Hancock replied proudly. He looked at Shaun and smiled. "It's okay, kid. I've got you."

When the boy smiled back at him shyly, Hancock plopped his tricorn onto the boy's head. "Ever thought about becoming a deputy mayor?" he asked. "Don't worry. It's a pretty easy job."

Robert Joseph MacCready: More than anything, MacCready wondered if he was being fair. He'd just gotten his own son back, and Duncan's renewed presence in his life was a constant reminder of just how much he'd missed. How long had it been, since he'd left his little boy with friends and trudged north, hoping against hope that he'd find a cure for the illness that wracked his little frame? How many pounds had he put on since he'd sent the miracle medicine home? How many inches had he grown, how many questions had he missed? He couldn't help but marvel at this little boy who was so big now, so much like Lucy and so much like him.

Shaun was older, Shaun was quieter, and Shaun was watching every time MacCready felt the need to pause, staring at his own little creation in awe. He knew it. He started consciously doing the same for Shaun, just so he wouldn't feel left out, and to his surprise, taking the extra time meant he noticed things he initially hadn't. The way he looked warily at the settlements they visited, searching for hiding spots to retreat to. The way his eyes gleamed in the light of his parent's Pip-Boy, entranced by the holotape games they collected. The way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, the way he pronounced certain words, the way he tied his shoes and drew his letters and grabbed his guardians' hands when he was scared. Yes, Shaun was a miniature sole survivor in countless ways, but there was a little bit of MacCready in the way he approached the wasteland.

MacCready began to mix them up, Duncan and Shaun, and they laughed and corrected him and teased him to no end along with the sole survivor. It only made him smile wider. They were between Bunker Hill and Goodneighbor one day, playing "I spy" as they passed through the ruined city, when Duncan picked a rather obvious target for the guessing game. "I spy with my little eye... something that is... green."

"The water," the sole survivor guessed, pointing toward the Charles River. Duncan shook his head emphatically.

"It better not be a super mutant," MacCready said, only mildly concerned. The streets had been quiet for their entire trip.

"Dad's hat," Shaun guessed.

The sole survivor and MacCready stopped in their tracks. MacCready's hand went to his cap. Duncan nodded and giggled, and he squirmed with joy when his dad plopped the hat in question onto his head.

MacCready swept Shaun up into his arms. Shaun looked at him, wide-eyed, unused to the overt affection. "What?"

The sniper cocked an eyebrow at him. "Dad?"

"Yeah."

MacCready planted a scratchy kiss on the boy's cheek, reveling in the shriek of surprise it elicited. "Okay," he said with pride. "We do look alike."

"We do not."

Piper Wright: It was a promise that Piper had made once before, after her dad had been murdered and she'd been left the sole caretaker for her little sister. She and Nat had managed to navigate their new roles eventually, eked out a living in Diamond City and grown together as best they could. Piper had settled into something that wasn't quite sisterhood, parenthood, friendship or work partnership, and yet encompassed all of the above. The sole survivor had fit into that life alongside her fairly well, what with their transient inclinations, responsibilities to their associates, and being a lightning rod for Commonwealth intrigue, but Shaun presented a new challenge.

"Diamond City's the best place for him," Piper insisted to the sole survivor any chance she got. They were at Home Plate for now, but the wasteland wanderer had that look in their eye that suggested they were growing restless, unsure of their safety and the safety of their child. "There's a school, there's food, running water and a security force and oodles of people who dote on him just because he's a kid in the wasteland with manners, which is a rarity nowadays."

They always looked at her sadly. "A synth kid, Piper. People will notice eventually."

"So what? Nick's a synth, Diamond City got used to him!"

"We need to go soon, Piper, for his sake. It'll be okay."

"Stay, Blue."

The pair went around in circles like that whenever they got a spare moment, saying it every different way but getting nowhere. They were in the middle of one of these arguments when they were interrupted by Nat and Shaun, who blew into the little house with a gust of wind, rain, and flapping newspaper pages. The two kids had their arms locked at the elbows and were giggling wildly, but they stopped short when they saw the way their respective guardians were talking. "Is everything okay?" Nat asked warily.

"Yeah," Piper answered quickly, hiding her expression by removing her cap to scratch her head. The sole survivor had other ideas, and took this moment as an opportunity. They got down on one knee and took Shaun's hands in theirs. "Shaun, buddy, we need... I need to go on a trip. For a while. Do you want to come with me?"

Shaun's eyes flicked between them and Piper, uncertain. "Are mom and Nat coming, too?" he asked.

Nat's eyes widened and Piper's heart leapt into her throat. The sole survivor choked on their words, and tears welled up in the corners of their eyes. They looked up at Piper, their apology plain on their face. "She- we-"

Piper dove in, wrapped Shaun in a hug and twirled him up in her ratty coat. He laughed, surprised, and the reporter beamed down at him.

When the two had ceased their little dance, Piper turned back to the sole survivor and helped them up off the rug. "Come on, Blue," she said, giving them a kiss on the cheek. "We're being stupid. Let's talk this out like a family. Nat and Shaun deserve to know what's up."

Preston Garvey: Preston had thanked his lucky stars several times over the last few months that the sole survivor had risen to the challenge of becoming General of the Minutemen, but now he found himself continually second-guessing that decision. As they pursued the Institute across the Commonwealth, unearthed horrific truth after horrific truth, he'd grieved their spouse and child with them and thrown himself into the work of rebuilding the Minutemen to help them fill that void of loss. He hadn't expected, at the end of things, that the Institute would leave them something else to help fill the void - and now, looking at Shaun, Preston couldn't help but blame himself for centering the sole survivor and leaving them with responsibilities that got in the way of caring for the boy.

So Preston did what he could. When the General was in talks with traders to negotiate caravan protections at the Castle, he took Shaun walking along the shores of Dorchester Bay, hunting for mirelurk eggs. When the General was away from Sanctuary helping settlements, he tucked Shaun into bed at night and read him stories from a worn book of fables that Sturges had bought off of Trashcan Carla. When the General came home late looking like they'd crawled through a yao guai den on their stomach, he hung up their coat, pushed them into the shower, and made dinner with Codsworth while Shaun supervised and decided whether it needed more salt.

"I don't deserve you," the sole survivor said gratefully each time.

"You do," Preston always reassured them. "You both do."

Shaun was less quick to appreciate Preston's care, but slowly he warmed up to the General's right-hand man. He remembered the best spots for picking raspberries that they found together, he started to request tales about the Minutemen as his bedtime stories, and whenever Codsworth asked him about his day, he would shyly look to Preston before relating their adventures together. It was slow going, but each time the boy looked at his parent's partner, there was less and less hesitancy.

One night after a particularly long day on the road, Preston and Shaun were pinching together some ground mole rat potstickers for soup while the sole survivor washed up. Shaun had a case of the giggles and kept leaving floury fingerprints on his own face, which Preston kept trying and failing to wipe off with a kitchen towel. As Shaun fought off another of these attempts, amidst his happy laughter, he pushed the towel away and shrieked, "Dad, stooooop!"

Preston froze. In the bathroom, something clattered to the floor. Even Codsworth paused chopping vegetables to swivel his eye stalks toward the kitchen table. Shaun made a face. "What?"

Gently, Preston put his thumb over one of the flour spots on Shaun's face and rubbed it away. He tousled the boy's hair and chuckled. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Save the razorgrain flour for the dumplings, buddy, okay?"

Porter Gage: Even compared to everything else in Nuka-World, Porter Gage knew he was the rustiest piece of equipment in the park. Well, everyone in Nuka-World was an antique of some sort, hanging onto a bygone or kitted out in tattered costume from days gone by - hell, the Overboss was practically a pre-war collectible - but Gage felt stiff and dusty, even compared to them. He was old, for a raider. Raiders didn't get old. There was safety in being overlooked because of your age and lack of ambition, but it sure didn't make you interesting to the average kid.

Eventually though, that ability to be overlooked came out in Gage's favor, when it came to Shaun. Shaun was an oddity in the park. Anyone who was stuck firmly to the side of the Overboss was an oddity, but beyond that, Shaun was a kid. Raiders didn't get old, and they definitely didn't have kids if they could help it. Most of the gangs were respectful to the Overboss and their kiddo, but when they'd passed out of earshot, they talked. A liability. A loose end. Not even human, a few of them said.

Gage didn't say anything, but he did listen, and he did tell his partner what the situation was when Shaun was asleep for the night. When they had him pressed against the wall of Fizztop Grille's reception, he spun them ideas about what to do until they told him to shut up or rendered him speechless themselves. Honestly, that told him everything he needed to know. They were at a loss for what to do about the kid, too.

If he'd been a younger man, maybe Gage could've let things play themselves out. But he wasn't, so he took the boy under his wing. He gave him his best knife and his second-best pistol and taught him how to use both on the prop cutouts in Dry Rock Gulch. He taught him how to move silently through the overgrowth of Safari Adventure. He taught him the best places to check for supplies in abandoned towns, on one particularly memorable afternoon in Bradberton, when Shaun shot his first feral and only cried for a little bit afterward.

"It's alright, kid," Gage reassured him, rubbing his shoulder while Shaun tried to calm his hiccups. "They don't know themselves anymore. There's no going back. You did him a kindness."

"Doesn't feel like it," Shaun sniffled.

Suddenly, the boy turned into Gage's shoulder, hugged him awkwardly around the metal mess of his armor. "I'm not any good at this like you, dad. I'm sorry."

Gage closed his eyes for a moment. Against his better judgment, he unbuckled his armor, put his arm around Shaun and pulled him into his chest. "No one's good at first, kiddo. But I'll be here until you are. Promise."

BONUS!

Deacon: Though Deacon would never admit it, Shaun terrified Deacon. He'd wanted a kid at some point, obviously, but that version of himself seemed so far removed from who he was now. Different place, different face, different circumstances and perspectives. He wasn't sure he could go back to that mindset now.

Much like the sole survivor though, he didn't have a choice. Shaun was here, curiously peeking at the papers on Desdemona's workstation and getting shooed out of Carrington's clinic. At least Tinker Tom was self-aware enough to tone down his swearing and more dangerous experimentation, but Deacon and the sole survivor agreed that the sooner Shaun got out of HQ, the better.

"They're all intimidated by you," Deacon whispered conspiratorially to Shaun on the day they finally packed up their things. "You're the best Railroad agent here, and they all know it."

"Really?" Shaun whispered back. "I thought you were the best Railroad agent here."

"It goes you, me, Desdemona, then your parent," Deacon counted off on his fingers. He shouldered the pack Shaun had stuffed to the brim and groaned. "Oof, you've got a lot of stuff already. That's how I know you're the best agent. You're already hanging onto supplies in case of the worst. Smart."

The sole survivor pulled Shaun into a half-hug, caressing his head. "I still rank under Desdemona, huh?"

Deacon winked. "You're getting there. Come on, we'll go out the back door."

Once the three emerged, blinking, into the North End, Shaun took one of the sole survivor's hands and one of Deacon's. "Where are we going?" he asked.

The sole survivor squinted at the buildings around them. "North," they answered vaguely.

"To a deathclaw farm," Deacon said solemnly. "Where they hatch the little lizards and teach them how to be big, ferocious beasts."

"Deacon."

"Sorry. Just a rad chicken farm that's helped us out once or twice."

Shaun looked up at Deacon. "Are deathclaw farms real, dad?"

Deacon choked on his witty response and fell into a coughing fit. The sole survivor looked shocked too, but a smile came over their face and they slapped him on the back a few times until his lungs quieted down.

"Uh, eh-heh, no, buddy," Deacon answered, gripping the boy's hand a little more firmly. "But you know what they say: Be the change you want to see in the world. If you want to go all-in on deathclaw farming, I'm right there with you."

Desdemona: Every day after that, Desdemona expected to wake up and find the sole survivor and their son gone. She couldn't leave HQ now, what with the post-Institute clean-up filling all their safehouses and gumming up the usual escape routes, and PAM changing her mind every minute about what predictions were most likely. All of that combined with the general atmosphere of uncertainty around the Railroad's future - what does the Railroad do, when all of the synths that can be rescued have been rescued? - kept her to-do list full and her mind racing. In the past, her busy periods were an invitation for her unlikely partner to depart on their own adventures, check in with things around the Commonwealth that didn't immediately concern the Railroad, and she fully anticipated this from them now that they had a child to care for, too.

But Shaun and the sole survivor stayed. Deacon's finest recruit rolled up their sleeves and joined her at the war table, read her notes back to her and pointed out strategic opportunities, discrepancies, details she might have overlooked. Desdemona was surprised by how well they managed to mesh with her style of leadership. In the past, anyone who had tried to butt in on her planning usually wound up clashing with her, prioritizing in different ways or misunderstanding critical operations they just didn't know the ins and outs of. Somehow, the sole survivor avoided all of these pitfalls and slid right into the fray next to her.

Shaun was less helpful than his parent, prone to doodling on less-important papers and humming along with the songs on Diamond City Radio, but his quiet presence was company enough. While the sole survivor was still catching up on the sleep they'd lost burying the Institute, Shaun seemed content to remain at Desdemona's side late into the night, watching her work.

It was on one of these late evenings, after all of the agents except the night watch had gone to bed, that Shaun let out a yawn as wide as the Charles River and blinked sleepily up at the Railroad leader. "Mom, I'm tired."

Desdemona paused her dead drop status review and looked down at him with a surprised smile. "I've got to stay up, Shaun. This is important."

"But I'm tired."

"Okay." Desdemona put her pencil down and picked him up. He was heavy, but not so heavy that she wasn't able to carry him to the cots in the back and deposit him gently next to the sole survivor. The movement was enough to wake them, and they pulled the boy in close and wrapped him in some of their blanket. Desdemona tucked them in and went back to the glow of the lanterns with the sound of Shaun's words ringing in her ears.

Elder Arthur Maxson: The Squires on the Prydwen tried to adopt the new boy into their number, of course, but to the sole survivor's dismay, Shaun's odd remarks about "life on the surface" soon labeled him as an outcast. The boy turned even further inward, befriending an odd group of individuals: Scribe Haylen, Paladin Brandis, Senior Scribe Neriah, Emmett the cat. All of them were kind and patient with Shaun, but none of them were exactly peers.

"I don't suppose you could order the Squires to be nicer to him," the sole survivor remarked with a hint of bitterness during one of their visits to the Elder's quarters.

"Let him find his own way," Maxson replied kindly. "If I interfere, they will only resent him for it."

It felt harsher when he said it out loud, but the sole survivor respected his judgment. Still, Maxson couldn't help but recall his own difficult childhood spent searching for friendship, for anyone who might see him as a person instead of a future Elder. When he next had free time, he visited Proctor Quinlan's library of holotapes and came away with a stack of games and transcribed books.

Later that evening, the sole survivor walked into their quarters to find Maxson and Shaun on the bed with their Pip-Boy, Maxson cheering the boy on as he navigated his band of adventurers through a dungeon level in Grognak & the Ruby Ruins. "Go left," Maxson urged. "There's a treasure chest down that hallway."

"How do you know?" Shaun asked, screwing his mouth up in concentration as he input the commands.

"I've been playing this game since before you were alive. See, in the corner over there."

The sole survivor joined them on the bed. "Watch out for goblins."

"Oh, dad showed me how to fight them off already."

Maxson stiffened, and looked quickly over Shaun's head at the sole survivor. Their eyes widened meaningfully, and they tilted their head down toward their son. "Did he show you the goblin village yet?"

Shaun looked up at Maxson. "There's a goblin village?"

"There... there is." Maxson swallowed his misgivings for the moment and directed his attention back to the game. He put an arm around the boy and tilted the Pip-Boy so he could see a little better. "Let's get through this dungeon together first."

Nick Valentine: To Nick's surprise, Shaun warmed up to him fast. He wasn't put off by his missing parts, his glowing eyes or the occasional whirring noises that emanated from inside his chest cavity like most kids. In fact, he liked to press his ear up to Nick's shirt and listen, trying to figure out what the noise was. "It's like your heartbeat," he always said.

"What's it saying?" Nick would ask. Shaun would imitate whatever noise he was hearing, and they would both laugh.

"He grew up around synths," the sole survivor reminded Nick when they were alone. "Er... well, he's been around synths for as long as he's... you get my meaning."

Nick raised his cup of tea to them. "I do. I'm just so used to kids being wary. It's a nice change of pace. How's he doing in class?"

"Great in science and math, horrible at spelling. He could use some practice that isn't just me peering over his shoulder, you know how he hates doing schoolwork if he can't relate it to the real world. Is there any way you could...?"

Nick held up his metal hand. "You don't even need to ask. I'll get him to help Ellie take notes on some cases."

The sole survivor smiled. "How's Ellie's spelling?"

"Impeccable."

A few days later, the little family was ensconced in Nick's office with Ellie poring over a case that had come in from Vault 81 about a missing person. Ellie had given Shaun his own clipboard and pencil, and the pair were scribbling furiously while Nick went over everything that had been written in the letter from the vault's overseer, Gwen McNamara. "Says here that she might have gone to seek her fortune with one of the local caravans," Nick noted. "If she hitched a ride with one, she might have paid them to cover her tracks, but it'd still be worth paying a visit to Bunker Hill to see if they've seen her. Shaun, do you know how to spell 'investigate'?"

"I-N-V-E-S-T-A-G-A-T-E," Shaun answered confidently.

"It's 'I' after T, not 'A'," Ellie corrected him.

"Oh." Shaun deflated a bit. "Sorry, dad."

Ellie dropped her pencil and the sole survivor choked on the Nuka-Cola they were drinking. Nick lowered the letter, perplexed, but when he caught the shy look on Shaun's face, he couldn't contain a grin of pride. "It's okay, son," he said. "We'll keep practicing together, okay? We've got nothing but time."

Old Longfellow: "The island's no place for a child," Longfellow told the sole survivor when they first brought the boy to the docks of Far Harbor.

"You wanted one, once," they had retorted, grabbing him by the lapels of his coat and planting a kiss on his bearded face. "Were you planning to leave, once you'd had the baby?"

"That was different. Wasn't as bad then as it is now."

"Take us back to your cabin on your sand bar, old man. Shaun and I are survivors. And if it gets worse, we'll get on my boat and go back to the Commonwealth."

So Old Longfellow rowed them home to his shack under the pines, and he double- and triple-checked the fog condensers he'd bought off the scientists at Acadia. Shaun followed him around, taking in the little island's woods, beach, and craggy landscape with a pair of eyes wider than a mirelurk's shell. This relationship continued for well over a month: Daily excursions to check the traps and mechanical equipment that kept them all from dying, weekly trips into town to trade and stock up, and the occasional trudge down to the beach to see if anything interesting had washed up. Sometimes the sole survivor remained behind, skinning a radstag or shucking oysters, leaving the old man and the boy to their daily chores outside in the chilling sea breeze. On one of these occasions, Longfellow was making his way toward the wood pile he'd been stocking up and didn't realize that Shaun wasn't right behind him as usual. He might never have noticed, if he hadn't caught the quiet word on the wind at his back: "Dad."

Longfellow spun and found Shaun frozen, staring at the edge of the woods. Staring back was a radstag, glowing faintly from internal radiation, with only one head and pair of antlers.

It was a ways off, but Longfellow still moved to grab the boy and pull him out of harm's way. The movement startled the creature and it huffed before alighting into the trees, its tail flying a warning as it bounded off. Longfellow pulled Shaun close and sighed, trying to catch his breath again. "Stay close, boy."

"They all used to look like that," Shaun replied softly, watching the deer's retreat. "I never thought I'd see one without two."

"Rare as hen's teeth," Longfellow agreed. "Must be our lucky day."

X6-88: X6-88 knew that technically, his role with the director was a protection assignment, but excursions to the surface and a growing trust between them had blossomed into something else. He also knew that technically, Shaun was an assignment too, one that Father had bestowed upon the sole survivor just before his death. In the safety of their Institute quarters though, they could be something more to each other. They could talk about what it was to be a synth, to live apart from the world at large, and what within their little underground haven could be changed for the betterment of something beyond mankind.

He and the sole survivor were cautious at first to talk about these sorts of things around Shaun, but the synth boy soon proved bright enough to understand the dangers of self in this place, be they realization, expression, or actualization. "It's not fair," Shaun would say at dinner. "I want to become a scientist. I want to grow up. And I can't even talk about it anywhere else."

"We're working on it," the sole survivor always said. "Dr. Li and I have some ideas. You won't always be a child, Shaun."

X6 knew that they were doing their best, but they were hiding the fact that Dr. Li had pushed back on the project multiple times. She'd believed the synth child was a waste of time and effort from the beginning, and extending that effort would take more than just a few ideas from the sole survivor. He knew they would keep trying, but it would never be fast enough for a 10-year-old boy. And every step they took toward that goal would bring the scrutiny of the Directorate, some of whom were eager to find any reason to discredit the brand-new upstart that had passed them up to lead the Institute.

"We should leave," X6 suggested as he lay in bed next to the sole survivor after another night like this. "Before it's too late."

"We can't," they replied in a whisper. "They don't have the tech on the surface to help Shaun, and we have so much we could offer the rest of the world. If we leave, we'll never see this place again."

"It would be difficult, but we would be together."

"Just give me a little more time, X6. Please."

The Courser lay awake long after the director had gone to sleep, trying and failing to come up with a better plan. As such, he was still awake when Shaun stole into bed with them, rubbing tears from his face with his little hands. X6 settled the boy in between himself and the sole survivor and wiped the rest of the tears away with the sheet.

"I had a bad dream, dad," Shaun explained, sniffling. "I've been having them a lot."

X6 didn't have the heart to correct the child. "I know," he said instead. "I've been having them too. Dreams can't hurt you, Shaun. If they try, I'll protect you."

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #fo4 companions #fallout art #fo4 companions react #fallout 4 companions react #12 days of ficmas #love in the wasteland

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transfemlogan · 3 months

Note

For the fandom ask game; 2, 10, 16

Positive Fandom Ask Game

a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

that janus is loveless. i will say my hesitance didn't last very long and wasn't really hesitance, it was more "oh loveless janus is a hc? i can see how people can dislike it, but i love it." (so this option doesn't really count but i quite literally cant think of anything else)

there is a headcanon that janus is loveless/cannot feel love/doesn't love because he is a snake and snakes don't feel love. and as a loveless aromantic I absolutely love this headcanon.

i know people don't like this headcanon because people tend to view love as an inherently positive force and if you don't love or refuse to love that it's negative and offensive. & because people will try to use the lack of love to demonise janus, an already very demonise side. which... the demonising janus one is a valid reason to dislike it, the other reasons aren't.

i only ever consider patton to be loveless and i never see loveless hcs in fandom so knowing there's already a hc for janus being loveless makes me so so so so happy. i think there's something so sweet about janus not feeling love or choosing not to love or being critical about how society views love, but still being compassionate & caring towards the other sides & c!thomas*. that whether or not he loves them that doesn't control how he treats them. that his care isn't controlled by one singular feeling, but a multitude of feelings or opinions; he cares for the sides & thomas, because he knows they need it. & that idea means the world to me.

*obviously, loveless people can care & be compassionate. im loveless & im so compassionate to the people around me. but i mean more that, choosing janus 2 be loveless when he is literally self preservation & cares so much about the other sides & their health is soooo smart & beautiful. i know it probably originated to demonise him (or write aus where he "thinks he loveless but finds out he CAN feel love" eugh), but i like that you can switch it on its head & go "he doesn't feel love but that doesn't mattwe & wont ever matter. he feels so much compassion for the others" & choose not to demonise him.

i probably explained that all strange & worded it so bad i just woke up. BUT LIKE. YOU CAN CHOOSE TO DEMONISE HIM FOR BEING LOVELESS, BUT YOU CAN ALSO RECOGNISE THAT IF HE IS LOVELESS THAT LOVE DOESNT PUSH HIS CARING ACTIONS. HE JUST CARES.

also janus 100% would be loveless in the sense that he's criticising how society views love as the most "important thing" or as an inherently positive thing , as if people don't do horrible things bcuz of their love.

a blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter

UM. HOW DO I LIST A GAJILLION BLOGS.

i was gonna go thru & explain why they r on my list but thats 2 much effort so im just gonna rapid fire:

@sankiisides , @warnadudenexttime , @intrulogical , @edupunkn00b , @lovecorepatton & everyone i know on instagram. i was gonna list blogs that im not mutuals with but i am so tired & couldnt remember anyones blogs . ill just come back (<- is lying & wont come back)

the one blog i am not mutuals w/ that i can list rn is @we-all-horny-here :3

a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

PERHAPS A REALLY SMALL DETAIL, but the way remus pauses & actually thinks about what is being said to him when logan is talking to him at the end of working through intrusive thoughts

maybe im crazy & insane & making things up bcuz i want them to be friends so bad BUT thruout the entire ending scene w/ logan & remus, remus is shown turning his back and reading a book and taking a cockroach out of his ear and eating it. very actively ignoring him.

BUT . IN THIS SCENE:

logan tells remus how he can see how remus can be helpful (albeit. thru gritted teeth.) & then asks him, "but perhaps, you can also see the merit in what I'm trying to do?"

& remus pauses.

he hesitates.

you can see him sit there and actually think about what logan is saying. & ofc he immediately goes back to ignoring him but it makes me crazed that logan tells remus that he can see why remus is doing what he is doing & that it can be helpful & then asks remus, straight forwardly, to try & see what logan is trying to do & remus stops in his little schemes and thinks about that. he has a little moment of hesitation.

though it could also be remus going "hmmm should i eat the tongue lollipop first or should i do the cockroach?" /j

im ill . im ill. im ill. im ill.

Positive Fandom Ask Game

#ask #intrulogical #janus

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eggtartz · 1 year

Text

a/n : SANZU YOUTUBER FIC FINALLY DONE NYEHE, pretty long because i've been wanting to do this for a long time

summary : q&a with sanzu 🫶🏻

masterlist

: ending manga spoilers!

◇─◇──◇─────◇──◇─◇

sanzu : hi everyone welcome back to my youtube channel, hope you're going well! anyways as you can see i have two chairs today but spoiler alert it's not for senju it's for.. cue the dramatic music!

y/n : *makes drumrolls noises with a pan*

sanzu : my girlfriend, y/n!

y/n : *holding the pan* hi everyone! oh gosh a bit nervous here i-

sanzu : babe? the pan..

y/n : o-oh yes *puts pan aside* well, let's just move with it yes?

sanzu : yeah so we're going to do a q&a for y/n and she's going to answer to each one of them yes?

y/n : yup!

sanzu : awesome so first question, where did you first met me?

y/n : oh wait i don't think im allowed to say that *giggles while not looking at the camera because it felt awkward*

sanzu : i mean it's been a long time ago

y/n : i mean, we met at a gang meeting and him and senju was my division captain and vice captain so senju kinda matched us right haru?

sanzu : yeah she kept doing these dates which were disguised as meetings so we could see each other everyday

y/n : remember that day she ditched us in the middle of nowhere? *sanzu laughs while running away while y/n laughs, face out of frame*

sanzu : no, everyone imagine! we had an argument yeah and senju just left us on the street! *sanzu yelled from across the room while y/n is gasping for air still outside from the frame*

y/n : oh gosh and our phones weren't with us too, shinichiro had to pick us up and we got scolded

sanzu : *finally sitting down* oh gosh okay second question, what's the thing you like most about me?

y/n : wait there's so many things i like about you

sanzu : list three of them

y/n : ..... *stares at sanzu's face*

sanzu : how dare you?

y/n : *laughs and face gets out from the frame again* okay, geez he's so grumpy! alright, you're gentle haru i like that. you're selfless too and cares about me a lot even though you don't show them. i appreciate that

sanzu : *dramatically wiped non-existing tear* i love you too babe. okay next question, what was your first impression of me?

y/n : i was like ayo damn he's prettier than me?!

sanzu : NO WAY

y/n : it's not like in a mean way babe, it's like almost like majestic way kinda because your lashes are very pretty i love staring at them

sanzu : is that why mikey always said you're daydreaming at meetings hm?

y/n : mikey doesn't know what he's talking about!

sanzu : aight next question, do you like my siblings?

y/n : ain't no way you're asking me that question babe. THAT'S BORDERLINE DUMBAS-

sanzu : ITS THE QUESTION'S FAULT NOT MINE

y/n : SHOULDN'T YOU HAVE READ THE QUESTIONS BEFOR-

sanzu : NEXT QUESTION

sanzu : people keep asking do you we have a matching tattoo, so is it a real tattoo and if it's real how many did we got together

y/n : we've been together for three years and we did four tattoos right? *fingers lifted showing four fingers while sanzu nodded*

y/n : we did one at the back, at the neck, at my ankle, your collarbone and at the ribcage

sanzu : do you have a favorite one?

y/n : the one on the back is really cute, it's that silly childish things where you have to like finish the sentence so you need to have two parts of the tattoo but i like how cute it was. plus ran did it for us so it was more memorable that day

sanzu : yeah the way he kept chattering at that day wow fucker really has a lot of energy. okay next, where was our first date?

y/n : wait we have several first dates *snorts* because we kept getting distracted by the division members and the others kept bugging us so there was attempts for a first date but i think the sunflower field? right?

sanzu : mmh i think so too. that was the only date we had in the early days where the others weren't bugging us

y/n : *makes eye contact with the camera* oh shit i forgot we're recording uh anyways sanzu here said he found a place so we both went there and had a simple picnic. it wasn't much or fancy but it was nice and we still go there if we have time

sanzu : yeah, the place is really nice and windy and everything. gotta love the place

y/n : gotta love the flowers there too!

sanzu : okay so what's your favorite thing to do with me?

y/n : i like doing everything with you haru

sanzu : *grabbing the pan earlier* im about to hit myself with this pan woman you're so sweet to me stop it

y/n : *laughing while smacking the table* i really do though! maybe waking up next to you? mornings with you too i think? but i also like *y/n kept talking while sanzu has left his chair and laid down in the floor, face down* HARU?!

sanzu : i don't deserve you..

y/n : get up!

sanzu : okay last question

y/n : shoot!

sanzu : can you imagine yourself marrying me? *sanzu throws the phone and hides his face in his hands*

y/n : *blushes too* i mean, you were planning to be my fiance next year right?

sanzu : yeah *muffled*

y/n : so yes! i'll marry you haru, no doubts!

sanzu : okay guys videos over, next video is me vlogging our wedding reception

y/n : that's so soon!

sanzu : okay guys i think that's it for today? hope you enjoyed this chaos of a video and do leave comments down below if you would like y/n to be our guest often because honestly she's loving this aren't you?

y/n : yup!

sanzu : don't forget to subscribe and hit that like button! bye, y/n say bye!

y/n : bye! *kisses the lens of the camera*

◇─◇──◇─────◇──◇─◇

bloopers

sanzu : someone asked ass or tits what the fuck

y/n : but you don't have tits haru

sanzu : no it's a question for me i think but excuse me i have a little bit at my chest area

y/n : no you don't *sips coffee*

sanzu : you- SENJU! SENJU GET YOUR ASS HERE FOR A BIT!

senju : *kicks the door while wearing a headset* wassup?

sanzu : she said i don't have tits is that true?

senju : what the fuck? *senju wears the headsets back in her ear and walks away*

y/n : okay fine you have tits but not actual breasts tits. they're there

sanzu : really?

sanzu : *🥺* thankyou for saying that, draken has been training my weak ass so having tits motivate me more

y/n : say that again?

a/n : i love chaotic youtuber sanzu

#tokyo revengers #tokrev #tokyo rev x y/n #tokyo revengers fluff #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers x yn #fluff #sanzu x y/n #haruchiyo sanzu x reader #haruchiyo sanzu #sanzu akashi #sanzu haruchiyo #haruchiyo fluff #tokyo revengers haruchiyo sanzu #akashi haruchiyo #haruchiyo x reader #sanzu fluff #sanzu x reader

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tkwrites · 27 days

Note

Sorry for the length of this but I wanted to go through and find particular parts of your series that I really liked and show how I really appreciate the little things you add. Turns out that list was way too long after just one part so switched it to some quotes that I found funny/made me laugh xxx

“So you're what, 20?” “I hope I look older than that!”

“Were you worried I was going to ask for pictures of your feet or something?”

She snorted. Every time she saw Quinn, he was in a variation of three outfits: jeans and a jacket, athletic wear, or a game day suit. Okay but had to bring up how accurate this is, have you seen this man in the past like fortnight? He has worn the same suit to every game, I mean iconic for sure but dude come on aha

The interaction with Quinn and Emma when she asks if he's slept with Sarah yet is also so cute and funny to me aha

They ended with a very off key “Yooooou!” and the camera turned back to the front, showing Elias with a teasing, mischievous glint in his eyes, “Happy birthday, Sarah!” he said. “Thanks for making Huggy bearable!”

“You keep in touch with everyone who was there that night?” he joked, hoping she would see how ridiculous her worry was.

“Gee, thanks, Hughes,” she said, flatly. “I had no idea ice is slippery.”

“Can you hold me?” he asked. It came out quieter than he thought it would. Okay this one isn't funny but this was from the first one I ever read and remember this being the point when I was like 'aww this is cute af' 🥹 just how he was clearly so in love with this person and not afraid to be seen in whatever state

“If you want me to go back to sleep, straddling my thigh isn’t the way to do it,” he teased.

She pointed to the bed, “you want to tell me they're not going to know we weren't just having sex?” Just the pure 'bitch please' tone I read this in aha

Have the best day and thankyou endlessly for this series 😘

Can we know what kind of scenarios you have as wips? All good if you'd rather not xx

I do have a question actually, what do you envision Sarah does with the puck Quinn gave here from her first game? Is it on display or tucked away somewhere?

Well goodnight from me and best vibes sent your way always x

Oh my goodness, Alora. 🥹😢😭 Thank you so much. This was such an incredible message to receive during such a hard week.

I don't even know what to say. I feel so very blessed. Every time I get a message like this - scratch that, this is the first message with so much detail I've received - it just kills my imposter syndrome a little bit more. Thank you for that. I really can't even express how much it means to me.

I'm happy to share my wip list. I've put it below the cut in case someone doesn't want to be spoiled. A caveat, though: some of these pieces are farther along than others. Some are 99% finished, but I'm waiting for a little more context before posting them. Some have barely been started, while others have a good amount of work done on them. I write fics on the side of my regular, full-time job and living my life, so sometimes progress is slow going.

I honestly kind of forgot about Quinn giving Sarah that puck.

She definitely has the puck Quinn gave her out on display. It's on her desk, used mostly to hold her place in/as a weight to hold open her text books when she's studying.

Thank you for asking!

Endless love sent your way! 😘

WIP list:

(These are in no particular order)

Quinn meets Sarah's uncle

Sarah gets bombarded by fan girls on social media and bonds with the other WAGs

The Canucks are eliminated from the playoffs - comfort ensues

Quinn and Sarah discuss no longer using condoms and put that into practice

Golf. Of course. We meet sassy Sarah for the first time.

Sarah meets Jack and Luke during the playoffs

Sarah’s finals

Sarah and Quinn discuss the summer situation

Sarah does a photo shoot for Quinns birthday (I can't decide if this one is super dumb or not. If you'd like to beta read it, let me know)

All of the summer shenanigans including but not limited to :

Car sex

A black bikini

The lake house

Quinn meets Sarah's siblings

And an unnamed Nico Hischier x art student Lena 3 part friends-to-lovers series.

#quinn & sarah snapshots #asks #answered #quinn hughes #nico hischier

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k-atsukibakugou · 4 months

Text

🖱️mercury's "everything i didn't say" milestone collab!🖱️

thank you so much to everyone for being here for my first milestone!!! to celebrate i thought i'd host a collab and share this fun with everyone!! this is inspired by the unsent project — basically all the things you/your fave wanted to say, but didn't, i know the prompts seem angsty but i promise this can be any sort of genre you like, as long as they were supposed to remain unsaid!! thank you especially to my loves @t-tomuras & @mattsukawaii for always listening to my ideas and babbling

the screen's bright, white light nearly blinding in the early hours of the morning, your eyes blurring staring at the send button lit up. with a sigh, you lock the screen and roll onto your back, staring at the ceiling with thoughts of them plaguing your mind, thoughts of all the unsent texts, the ones half-typed in the middle of the night you'd delete when you came to your senses.

about to drift into a restless slumber, your phone vibrates, buzzing in the spot you'd tossed it, a familiar text-tone ringing in your ears; a reply to your message.

what'll happen when the things you weren't supposed to say get said?

THEME: all things left unsaid, or were supposed to remain unsaid, what are you or your fave typing out but never sending? never admitting when you're finally alone together? something that slips out when they didn’t mean it to! this is all about that! no matter the genre or character or situation, as long as there's something haunting one of your characters! if you get a little stuck i compiled a prompt list from the unsent project here that you're welcome to use but it's not necessary at all!

GUIDELINES: ↘ must be 18+ with your age in your description or pinned post, on either a side or main blog MINORS + AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT WITH THIS ACCOUNT ↘ DON'T need to be following me to participate but it is appreciated teehee ↘ ANY genre/topics welcome, please make sure triggers are tagged appropriately ↘ ANY characters + fandoms + repeats (of character/mulltiple submissions) welcome! ↘ DOESN'T have to be x reader ↘ NO minimum/maximum word count or due date ↘ TAG me (@/k-atsukibakugou) + the 'mercurys unsaid collab🖱️' so i can read them + add your work/s to the masterlist!!!

↘ STATUS: OPEN

TO ENTER: please send me an ask or message with the character/fandom you have in mind! if you are on anonymous or writing from a sideblog please include which url you want tagged here

↘ MASTERLIST BELOW !

🖱️ masterlist 🖱️

↘ my hero academia

title: tba ~ touya todoroki | @/k-atsukibakugou | rating: tba summary: tba lmao i was so angry for so long ~ katsuki bakugou | @bleedingredridinghood | hurt/comfort summary: unsent prompt 04; "i was so angry for so long."

#mercurys unsaid collab🖱️#dividers by benkeibear #k-atsukibakugou #fic collab #fic collabs #fanfic collab #fanfics collab

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luveline · 1 year

Text

a long and slightly pointless announcement from me to you <3 there's nothing too important here just a general announcement!

guys not that it matters too much or that I'm worried you'll mind, I'm gonna be taking it easy again on here for a little while (writing wise <3) cos I'm busier than I was now holidays are over again and also I think (cringe sorry) my mental health is really tanking lately and it is likely a mixture of being on my phone wayyyyyy to much and the lack of sunlight! whatever it is, I want to make some proactive changes before it gets worse again, because being happy is important to me

which ISNT to say I'm stopping writing, I promise (and you can hold me to this) to do at least 5 of those beautiful shy Friday requests I've been sent, and something off of my big fic list (probably a hotch one or the kidnapping because those are all nearly finished!)

I just don't want to keep forcing myself, it's lame, and I know it doesn't help, I'm also gratefully aware that all the sweethearts here don't mind one bit, and also that this must be majorly irritating to hear, I'm sorry to be full of complaints lately but it is an invaluable thing to me to know I can come here and speak my mind, so please accept my endless thank you <3

this may also mean I am less contactable, BUT if you have something very important to tell me then please feel free to use the dm function !! this sounds like I'm dying or like I'm not gonna be on here tomorrow chatting shit but I probably will be <3

shootout to the lovely people who have so diligently supported me and loved on me during my hard time lol, if it weren't for some intense behind the scenes love and light I don't think this announcement would sound so positive here, whether it be dms or asks, sometimes I get sent the most gorgeous asks and I don't answer them and I want it to be known that I keep them for me !!

my ask box is fast approaching a thousand again and I can't see myself being able to sort it all out any time soon, so I just wanted to make some assurances — I am so grateful if you have ever taken the time to send me an ask or a request. unfortunately I cannot answer them all, but that doesn't mean I appreciate them any less, or that what you have to say isn't valuable to me! my time is too, and i can't devote it all to tumblr <\3

tldr: I'm overwhelmed as usual, but everything will be okay, and I hope you can be patient with me while I take the time to clean up!!

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kamilion-en-pointe · 11 months

Text

Just watched Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 a few days ago. And I mean this with 100% sincerity—I don't think I've ever watched a movie so good it made me want to rewatch it in cinemas, until this one.

Anyway, here are some thoughts that have been spinning around in my head like a microwave lol. And feel free to add your own stuff. I'd genuinely love to read more of other people's takes :)

Uhhh surprise most of this is gonna be about Rocket

Spoilers Below!

The entire opening. I've listened to the acoustic version of Creep at least a billion times since watching it

I love that the stakes start relatively small. They're not going (initially) to save the entire galaxy or anything. They just need to save a member of their family. That's all you need to care

Mantis getting more character development is always really nice to see. She gives me the vibes of a therapist friend, which makes her ending of needing to part from the group to find herself quite satisfying

Nebula. Just Nebula. I love her

I think the movie handled the flashback scenes very well, especially the ones that featured heavy animal cruelty. Choosing not to show any visuals, just audio of a young Rocket screaming in pain. You can feel the horror of the Guardians as they watch the data they gathered

I like the brief scene of baby Rocket pocketing some of the High Evolutionary's tech. Especially once it's revealed he was hiding all the necessary components to recreate a keycard for the cages—something I don't think he would've done if he really had faith the High Evolutionary would let him and his friends free

When the High Evolutionary put a turtle in one of his pods, there was a little kid in the cinema who said, "Ninja turtle!" Which is great 'cause that's also what I was thinking lol

That same kid also really freaked out (/pos) when Peter dropped that f-bomb. It was really cute

I also love that Vocaloid is apparently a staple bit of pop-culture on Counter-Earth? Because that implies either:

A) The High Evolutionary thought it was literally the perfect music genre OR

B) He counted it as one of the many mistakes on his 'Reasons To Explode An Entire Planet I Spent Years Figuring Out A Way To Speed Up Evolution For' list

I'd like to just take a moment to appreciate how great of an actor Chukwudi Iwuji is??? Like, when the High Evolutionary drags Rocket to the pods and hysterically questions how? How could he have known what to do? How could this vermin be more intelligent than his creator? How dare he look down on him?! I was scared shitless

Just... Rocket's scream of anguish once Lylla is dead. After having hugged for the first and last time. Sends shivers up my spine

Floor's repetition of "Rocket, Teefs, Floor go now! Rocket, Teefs, Floor go now!" has been ingrained into my brain for the rest of time (Major shout out to the voice actor, Mikaela Hoover!)

And then the High Evolutionary has the gall to mock Rocket, calling his grief a crying contest. I already hated this bastard but oh boy—!

Which makes Rocket's reaction so cathartic, when he jumps and scratches the High Evolutionary's face off. But his friends are telling him they have to go. They have to go now! Pleading with him as reineforcements arrive until...

They go quiet. And you can't help the dread bubbling inside you. Because we all knew how it was going to end, but we hoped, just maybe, we would be proven wrong

We weren't

Rocket, on the brink of death as Peter screams for him to be alright, seeing his friends in a white void, stacks of cages barely visible behind him. They're flying, they can see the neverending sky! "Can I join you?" he asks.

"Of course. But it's not your time yet."

Me: :')

Rocket seeing a cage of baby animals that look like him, after decades of thinking he was the only one in the universe. Looking at the plaque to see 'Racoon'—that's what he is? That's what he is!

Followed by him immediately scooping them all into his arms. Doesn't matter if they can't fit, or if some of them scramble onto his back. They can't go through what he went through, they just can't!

Rocket seeing the High Evolutionary after all these years of running, being beaten and thrown around, insult after insult flung at him—"How dare you think you are more?! 89P13!"

Before Rocket changes the gravity—one of the things the High Evolutionary boasted only he could control—and declaring, "Name's Rocket. Rocket Racoon."

He uses his name. He's not only found belonging with the baby racoons he just saved, this is also the first time his torturer hears his chosen name from his own mouth. He's saying, "I am not just a string of numbers! I am not just part of a batch of 'failed' experiments! I am my own being!!"

The reveal of the High Evolutionary's actual face was gross in all the best ways. The makeup was just *chef's kiss*

Rocket insisting they have to get the animals out too, even though the initial mission was to just get the children out, and the other Guardians going along with it because they can see how important it is to him makes me smile

Peter fucking Quill going back for the Zune, not for him, but so that he can give it to Rocket!!!

For real, I was actually worried that they would kill him off. The stakes were that convincing

I like that Peter and Gamora don't end back together. It's realistic, and more importantly, it feels like the characters made that decision themselves and not a bunch of writers forcing something between them. And Gamora has grown to care for the group now, even if she'll never return to how she was before

The fact that we can understand Groot because we're part of the family now ❤️❤️❤️

I genuinely don't get why some people thought ending with a dance party was weird/bad? Maybe it's just 'cause I'm a dancer so I associate it a lot with my emotions. But if any movie deserves to go out with a dance party, it's this one. It feels so...relieving, seeing everyone on Knowhere smiling and having fun together

(And, of course, I've also been looping Dog Days Are Over a billion times and smiling stupidly to myself)

And Peter finally returning to Earth, seeing his grandfather, who immediately gets up to hug him? Tears, just like that haha

I also adore both end credits scenes. Adorable

#guardians of the galaxy #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #kamilion rambles #i have so many emotions #yeah i'm gonna be thinking about this movie for a long time #i think i cried at least 3 times and i could see tear stains on my mask #rocket raccoon #high evolutionary

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panelshowsource · 4 months

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it's actually been leaked for some time, although — and not to sound whiny — any time i've posted it or just talked about it i've gotten 10+ anonymous messages telling me i'm the devil and ruining the establishment of taskmaster with my irresponsible gossiping. so i didn't post about it and deleted any of the asks/convo about the new cast, even though ofc everyone has had tonsss of thoughts about it 😅

anyways would have laid down my whole life betting john robins (one of THE most obvious future tm contestants, being such a good friend of alex's!) and joanne mcnally would be on so i feel very vindicated — and excited! — in that regard! we're gonna have a great time :)

someone sent an anon asking about people i'd bet — not who i want, but who i'd bet — would be on the show so i'll think more about that and post later this week! the series will def have more seasons so i'll try and get some guesses in heh

OMG ME TOO her name is mabel! she's sooooooo cute ≧◡≦

hello anon!! actually you don't need me for this, it was recently posted on tv_bunny :)

enjoy!

she's great! she reminds me a lot of roisin, in that when she's not doing her semi-pre-written joke material, she's supremely good at hanging, bantering, fitting in with the vibe. i really appreciate that when it comes to panel shows particularly! but i can't say i've seen much of her standup

(wait — can i digress for a second — roisin is one of the ONLY recurring catsdown contestants who actually brings in sensible mascots that have the purpose of helping her/bringing her luck, and her presentations of them are always so hilarious and she deserves more credit for that)

+ not important but i really like her voice

thank you for sending her well wishes <3

i appreciate the message and you weren't the only person to say this, but i think some people are only part-way informed as to her journey reclaiming her name. her intention was never to scrap the nickname shappi or stop people from calling her that; it was 1) to reconcile her experience growing up in the uk with her name and how that led to her committing to shappi as a teen, and 2) to be published, credited, and billed as shaparak in professional capacities. she has clarified many times, including here and here, that it is totally acceptable to call her shappi; people on tv & radio still call her shappi after formal introductions, like in the new wilty when everyone calls her shappi throughout the entire episode; her social media handles are still shappi; and so on. she's shaparak, but that doesn't mean she "no longer goes by shappi". there is some confusion here i think some people are taking her journey, which was lovely to follow, as rejecting shappi — but that isn't the case.

i already updated her tag to 'shaparak khorsandi' a while ago and would definitely credit her full name where necessary, but socially, colloquially, like in the quick text post i made asking people to give shappi some love, there is no disrespect in calling her that! of course, plenty of people are credited by one name and are regularly called another/a nickname, like olivia colman who is actually called sarah by her family and colly by most everyone else. she seems really happy with having done her book and her recent show under her full name, and it's been beautiful to see her come around to love shaparak as much as she has loved shappi :')

btw for anyone who doesn't know, shaparak means butterfly in farsi!

hahahahaha that is hilarious

long story short is just that keith lemon is a disreputable character (and i mean character literally, he's not real, he's played by leigh francis!) who spends a lot of his energy shouting and oogling over boobies etc

i think it's fair to say hating on white supremacists does bring us all together 😅

i'm sorry i haven't seen it! but ugh tamsin greig is one of my longest-time crushes fr i actually think the friendship between her and stephen mangan is one of my roman empires. i have a list of scripted tv rewatches i plan to do this year — the thick of it, peep show, and so on, some of my faves ever — and green wing is def on the list so maybe i'll add friday night dinner!

—————

PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS / NON-PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS FAQ / TAGS / ASK

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qqueenofhades · 6 months

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Okay so I’ve been a huge Old Guard fan since the comics and recently binged all of Deo Volante and KoS on the recommendation of a friend and loved absolutely every bit of them. The same friend said I absolutely had to read all of your works but I don’t overlap into any of the other fandoms- I know a bit about Good Omens and Sandman through tumblr osmosis and a bit less about Shadow and Bone, then nothing at all about Timeless and some of the others.

The friend in question said most of your works are similar to KoS in that they’re completely separate AUs that reference/cameo canon but can be appreciated and understood without reading them (I believe they specifically mentioned one called Promised Land or something that was that way?) and I just want to poke in and ask if you’d also say that was the case, like which of your works (if any) can be read and appreciated without having read actual canon and if there are any I should avoid until I’ve read/watched the source material?

Aha, thanks so much. I think one of the highest compliments you can give a fic writer is to want to read their stuff even from fandoms that you yourself are not in, so yes. This will not by any means be an exhaustive list (you can find my full AO3 profile here, I have a lot of fics and most of them are, uh, Long) but some highlights that you might enjoy include:

Shadow and Bone:

This is the "Promised Land" fic referenced by your friend above. It's a historical AU set in the 1980s Soviet Union. You don't really need to know anything about the source material to enjoy it, and other fans of mine who weren't familiar with SaB have read this and liked it.

The Sandman:

This will introduce you both to the characters and the ship (Dreamling) in the course of a long historical saga. This one isn't an AU; it's canon-verse (for the TV show) all throughout, but it's designed in a way that doesn't really rely on knowing the TV show beforehand (and especially since this ship became a fan favorite after literally 30 minutes in half an episode).

Timeless:

This is another of the fics of mine that people who don't know the source material have read and enjoyed. It's an AU set in a magical steampunk Victorian universe, and features one of my favorite Garbage Men of all time, Garcia Flynn. Blowing up things, as he does, and being outmatched by a tiny and feisty historian named Lucy.

Also, if you are a KoS fan, I have exciting news for you, in that I'm currently working on an original-novel rebuild of it based on the same premise, featuring all-new characters, world, relationships, plots, etc., entitled The Empire of Bones. I have just finished part 2 (of a planned 3) and am planning to publish it when I'm done, probably independently but possibly also looking for a tradpub deal (depending on how much hassle that proves to be; I have tried it before and don't have unlimited patience). Anyway, yes. I'm very excited about this project and am looking forward to being able to share it.

Happy reading!

#anonymous #ask #my fics #lighthouse au #aitww #starlight & strange magic #the empire of bones

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monkey-network · 1 month

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Every Tyler the Creator Album Ranked

And then, out of the bleu, I listened to every album from the predictably unpredictable Tyler, the Creator. Frankly, I only knew him best from Loiter Squad and The Jellies with the occasional cameo via Regular Show and Axe Cop. It was last Fall where I started listening to music more, eventually going Tyler's full discography. Here we are now, recognizing his game, getting surprised in more ways than one, and going through his albums from good to peak. Don't take this as a "worst to best" ranking, I will confidently say he has no bad records. But, gotta discuss one thing though before we get to the list and that is...

0. The Grinch Album

Back in 2018, Tyler was commissioned to make a couple songs for Illumination's Grinch movie. They were okay even though they wasted his version of "You're a Mean One" on the opening minutes instead of the part that matter. It was in the same year that he made an EP with songs inspired by the movie that weren't used in said movie, just something Tyler was into doing. It's only six songs, ten minutes and change, but it's breezy while not being annoying about the Holidays. I'd overall say, since it came beforehand, the EP's great in getting a feel of IGOR's instrumentals but with a more upbeat tone. You can really tell Pharrell Williams was a big influence to Tyler here, coincidentally since Pharrell made songs for Illumination and a couple of these Grinch songs resemble his works in a way. If I were to rank it, it'd be number 6. Way too short to fairly ranked among the others but admittedly memorable compared to the bottom 2. With that said, NOW let's do this...

7. Cherry Bomb

Again none of these are bad albums, and I say this was a very important one for Tyler's career. Cherry Bomb is to Tyler what Vaudeville Villain was for MF DOOM. After the Wolf Trilogy, this was him popping off one more time like the old days before coming to terms with where he wanted to go next, you notice with how things mellow out halfway in. You get how his direction in music shifted while not feeling ashamed of what used to be his initial style; Flower Boy wouldn't have worked without this and I can see why it's Tyler's personal favorite. With that said, most the tracks aren't as memorable as the later albums on this list. 'Deathcamp' is a fierce bop opener, I love 'Find Your Wings', 'Okaga, CA' and '2Seater', but man it can be a tonal mess that doesn't reach the same highs. Plus it's the one where I can say the mixing is weird; like some vocals feel muffled and the production sounds unintentionally worse than Goblin. The titular 6th song I just hate, personally the all time worst song he's ever made and it's not close. Not as great an album as I'd hoped, but to dismiss this album would feel wrong as it exists no differently to Tyler's growth as a artist. Change ain't easy, y'know.

6. Goblin

Yeah, even I can't deny this is the weakest of the Wolf trilogy. It's better than Cherry Bomb in that it has a... more consistent flow, but that leads into my biggest problem. Goblin feels too same-y and just a messier expansion to Bastard. 'Yonkers' I'm amazed got the praise it did when I could tell Tyler made it as a joke; emblematic of his career I guess. Still, when it hits it hits, we got 'She', 'Tron Cat', "Nightmare', 'Windows', and you get into it better than Cherry Bomb. Now I'm one of those crackpots that thinks of this, where if you ever get into Tyler's music, I recommend Goblin after Wolf where you'll understand the latter more but listening to Goblin then Wolf as naturally ordered will play out like an edited timeline story if listened to all at once. Goblin overall feels like that middle child where it fits the time it was released but hasn't aged as well as its siblings.

5. Scum Fuck Flower Boy

This is probably blaspheme but it is one of those cases where this is great but the next few albums are just better to me by comparison. I can appreciate this album more after listening to Cherry Bomb; the neo soul heavily leaning from CB's latter half songs. The vibes are more chill but retains those underlying somber feelings like previous albums. This felt like he refined his style; Tyler got to loosen up lyrically & it's all a mood. At the same time, I didn't grow up with this album while I wish I did. It just doesn't resonate with me as much while I do grasp how the Creator was feeling when he made this. Best way to describe is that I could see the characters that exist in the albums; I can see Wolf Haley, Baudelaire, IGOR, etc. It's hard seeing Flower Boy himself because he feels that overshadowed between his works of the past and future. Again not like I didn't understand, just that it wasn't as impactful as I'd hoped. Don't take this as a negative, because this is just how strong Tyler's music can be for me.

4. Bastard

I genuinely tend to switch between Bastard and Wolf as to which is number 3. For Wolf, it's with the storytelling and the composition that's done better. For Bastard, it's the energy and unfiltered fun with it being Tyler's first mixtape. I was taken aback initially on the contents of this like I will not call it "horrorcore" but it's like JESUS christ; can't even tell you what's on this for the fear of getting flagged. However, I say Tyler's music gets better with re-listens. Bastard feels like the title lives up to the name; Ace and Odd Future making bangers together, flippin' birds to the sky, and the titular track laying out that it isn't just shock value for the sake of it. This feels like the album Tyler would always want to make starting out, with that no fucks given confidence being the foundation of him exploring his troubles with love and developing a career. Basically, the "Fatherless Behavior album" as my friend pointed out that blessfully hasn't aged like milk given the man's future livelihood. I enjoy Bastard for its garage appeal and this being where Tyler got to start out before 'Yonkers' pushed him to stardom.

3. Wolf

This to me has the best storytelling in Tyler's discography. I like that it kinda tricks you in terms of what the perspective is for the album's concept. You could say this is about Wolf Haley himself finding some peace after Goblin and getting in the love triangle with Samuel and Salem. You could say this was more Samuel's album while Wolf is mostly out the picture hanging with Salem. Either way works with Tyler's growth considering this is far less shocking than Goblin and Bastard combined. You can tell while Samuel exists as the remaining edginess of Tyler's past, he's cooled down with the graphical lyrics for a different approach to his music; 'Answer' and 'PartyIsntOver' shows his softer tune that fits the album's camp aesthetic. Again, this and Bastard I will flip ranks on certain days, but I can see why it's the fan favorite among the initial three.

2. Call Me If You Get Lost

From what I've seen before listening, I figured that this would be a flex album and Tyler did not disappoint. Tyler Baudelaire felt like a real persona, I'd say the evolution of Wolf Haley with DJ Drama being the cherry on top. I think this wouldn't have worked as well without the hypeman, not only for being a great jab at DJ Khalid after the one sided beef back in 2018 but an enjoyable narrator that I couldn't imagine any other for the spot. Call Me is just the epitome of swagger, the time where Tyler can finally gun out with his rap skills while it's not full on chest beating. Like his previous albums, it explores his love life and how he works out his feelings when things don't go right. Felt like Tyler at his most vulnerable, especially with 'Wilshire' that's the longest song if you don't count the notable conjoined tracks like 'Sugar/I Thought You Wanted to Dance'. When you recognize growth, this album was it. Incorporating his previous albums into this, utilizing his ability to make banger after banger. That's if you don't count The Estate Sale, basically a victory lap upon the existing victory lap that was the base album. When I say 'Sorry, Not Sorry' was the pinnacle of Tyler's whole career I mean it. Call Me If You Get Lost felt like a celebration, where you're with Tyler in how much he's living life. This seriously would've been number 1 with or without Estate Sale, if not for...

1. IGOR

Might as well say it now: it's his magnum opus. I've brought up a couple times now that Tyler's music can be messy and that can apply here, more on a emotional level than technical. Here though, that's what makes it perfect. This album is about the love you had being pulled and eventually crushed, and it's not around to sugarcoat. What helps it stick out is knowing IGOR exists as his own being, not just a persona of Tyler. He embodies how we all can feel when it comes to heartbreak and how ugly the emotions can actually be. This wouldn't have worked without 'New Magic Wand', without 'What's Good' or 'I Don't Love You Anymore'. Tyler's music, from what I've recognize, has always been taking ugly with the beauty you can find and this is that note perfected. Being the shortest album of the collection, this album's ergonomic where I can hardly listen to one song on its own and was the record I've listened to the most because it got better every time. This isn't even accounting for 'Are We Still Friends', which I've considered the all-time greatest closer I've ever listened to. It brings me to actual tears every time and it's like everything clicked. This felt like more than just Tyler proving himself as the Creator, but him respecting the oldheads of music with this neo-soul masterpiece.

Conclusion

Tyler's music is the first instance I truly grasped what he meant by each album pinpointing the certain periods of his life. Listening to his works in order, you understand his growth as an musician without it ever feeling out of nowhere. What I love most is that you can tell he constantly had fun producing; the confidence he always has even at his worst can't be understated. It feels like Tyler got to grow up on his own terms, never taking his success for granted and becoming the most prolific artist I've known next to Kendrick and Dre. Having caught up, I'm genuinely interested in his next direction because hell, what else is there to say?

He's the Best

#tyler the creator #Tyler Okonma #odd future #music #hip hop #rap #neo soul #albums ranked #list #reviews #long post #Good Stuff

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 1 year

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The Golden Boy (All the Things She Said, Part 3.)

Description: After a rather unlucky coincidence, Lord Asriel is left alone on his supposed expedition to meet the king of Lapland. Thanks to Thorold's advances, he's lucky enough to get an assistant sent over from the University of Oxford.

Part Summary: Your arrival at Asriel's observatory didn't quite go as expected with Asriel revealing a crucial detail to you. Yet you as manage to find a system of sorts in living on the snowy plain, the man doesn't plan on making it all easier for you.

Word Counter: 5.7 K

A/N: So, I hope you'll agree with my presentation of Lord Asriel. It's quite hard to make him a personality out of scratch (not scratch precisely, but we do frighteningly little about him) while trying to check out the boxes presented in the show. Also, all his Wiki page says 'is highly intelligent' like... No shit Sherlock? We know that duh. I see him as a person who tends to get possessed by whatever he's working on when left without supervision; he doesn't sleep, doesn't eat and barely drinks. But, in all honesty, even though he's focused on his work and academic achievements, I'd say that he can be very passionate and emotional somewhere deep down under it. As for significant features, I'd say he can be rather defiant and tends to be stubborn, usually making it the habit for things to go precisely as he plans them to. Therefore, to get along with him and have the chance of Asriel complying with their requests, people need to be more stubborn than him, not get charmed by him and don't be worried to have a full-on argument with him if the situation calls for it.

Tagging: @emmyspov

Series master list: h e r e | Series playlist: h e r e

His expression alone was saying it all, no need for words. In short, Asriel didn't have to speak out loud to make you realise you weren't welcomed in the observatory. Well, if you were worried about how you're both going to handle the situation on your hand for the next few months, this certainly didn't fail to make the dynamic interesting for all of you. To be frank, you were almost worried about being bored there, only working on editing scientific papers. This was a twist. The man was now standing in front of you with his palms on his hips while giving you one of the grumpiest furrows you've ever seen on a man. If looks could hurt or kill, you'd be beaten to a pulp by that point.

"What do you mean by 'what am I doing here'? Isn't that obvious?" "Ms Y/L/N, if it was obvious I wouldn't ask such a question." - Asriel spat back right into your face, snickering in disbelief; as if you insulted his intelligence. - "Why, for the love of God, have you travelled here all the way from Brytain? Given the nature of the said travel and the dangers surrounding it, I wouldn't suspect anyone in their right mind to just... Do it." "Lucky me, I haven't undertaken this path on a whim, isn't that right?" "Then my question still stands." - Asriel quite literally hissed under his breath, closing the distance between the two of you by walking closer, catching your shoulders into his palms, shaking you a bit with each word he asked; he was surely thinking that you're in a shock. - "Why... Are... You... Here?"

"Get your hands off me, sir, I'm neither stupid nor deaf. The journey here was lovely, thank you very much for asking. If you're finished with the unnecessary antics, it would be greatly appreciated if you helped me unpack the supplies and helped me with my luggage." - Yes, both Joy and you realized that Lord Asriel has his quirks and can be quite a nuisance on his own... But this was too much for you to handle. Who gave him the right to even touch you in such a way? What was his deal? Trying to smother all of the anger inside of you, you began to take off your coat and all of the layers you'd been strung up in. Asriel, obviously, wasn't ready to either end with the theatrics or make it easy on you. The moment you heard him take in another breath, your vision was already veiled in a crimson veil. "Why..."

"Because Dr Carne sent me here on your personal request!" - The sudden outburst visibly made Asriel straighten up, his stare now becoming more vigilant than before... And his expression was getting more and more confused. - "So I don't know if this is supposed to just be a cruel joke you're performing or if you're being serious, but I'm here because you had requested my assistance with your scientific papers. Lord Asriel, I don't know if you're taking me for a fool or..." "No. Whatever you've just said isn't the truth." - The man muttered under his breath, another of the manic moments taking over his mind, fogging it again. This one was different, though, now there was some sort of a reason behind his confusion and repeating rejection. - "What you don't understand is that you can not be here. You... You can't." "And yet, here we are. Care to explain what this is about? Why are you acting like this, Lord Asriel? You're scaring me."

"Ms Y/L/N, I don't think you'd be able to comprehend the nature of the research I'm conducting. And just reading or knowing the conclusions of such research would put you in a rather unfavourable position." - Now, he took in a long breath in an attempt to calm down, walking to one of the kitchen islands to lean his arse into it. Letting a long breath out, he put his arms over his chest, turning his head to you. "What I'm about to say is meant with the best intention, believe it or not. We live in a society driven by a supposed divine power while men are in charge and do their little silly political schemes to keep the public obedient. You are a woman, Y/N, so you're already facing many obstacles, ones I'd never bump into. The scholastic scene already doesn't take your research too seriously, let's be honest, and for the most part, simply being born a female gives the Magisterium enough reasons to flag your research as prone to be heretical. Many female scholars met such obstacles before you and there will be many that will hit it after you." - Suddenly, the frantic man in front of you was ice-cold and calm, as if he had never acted up in the first place. Asriel remained standing there, watching you with such ferocity that the hair on your back stood up - sending a chill down your back. - "And while I don't doubt your capabilities or intelligence, if there was a day the Magisterium would know that you had something to do with this research... You'd get burned on stakes in the best scenario, tortured for months in the worst."

Sighing, you straightened up as well and returned his stare with matching intensity, pushing your palms deep into the pickets of your warmers. There was a moment when you stared at each other in utter silence, the silence only being disturbed by the howling blizzard outside. The darkness outside the observatory's windows was now white as the snow reflected the dim lighting inside. "I'll call myself lucky that I hadn't been burned to death yet, then." - The shift in Asriel's expression made you chuckle. Instead of scaring you to death, you were now snickering ironically upon hearing what he had on his mind. - "My research of foxes and nightingales sure is bloody heretical, no doubt in my mind. If they'd get to know I helped you study Dust, my ticket to the biggest and scariest torture chamber in London is basically ensured, right? Lord Asriel, truly, do I look like an idiot to you?" - This being a rhetorical question, you didn't give the man any time to come up with a reasonable comeback. He'd just ask where did you find it was Dust he was studying anyway.

"Do you really think that once I'd get my hands on this, I'd then take all the papers to wave them in front of the Cardinal's face to piss him off? Do you really think I'm stupid enough not to keep this research in the utmost secrecy? And do you think I'd risk everything if it wasn't worth it?" - Now, he didn't even want to answer. He simply waited until you get everything off your chest. "I'll be honest with you if you don't mind. Yes, Thorold sent your message to Dr Carne who informed me about this research, but, Master put himself in danger as well just so you have the chance at finishing it. Anyone else in the entire University knows you're here - everyone thinks you're in Lapland. Dr Carne had to pull out big guns for me to even consider risking everything I have, such as my life, academic recognition and credibility... The university provided me with a fully funded expedition. If I go down for this, I want to go out with a bang." - Taking in yet another long breath to calm down and stay reasonable, you decided to start gesticulating as you walked around the place, taking in the scenery of it.

"As you correctly pointed out, I am a female scholar. And as such, I had to be quick on learning the inner intricacies and politics of our academic world and for my entire career, I had to be on my toes. It means, for short, that while I might be a nice and collected, respectful person to all of my colleagues and other academic figures, I need to stay within my boundaries and understand exactly when to step out of them. And after you sent the message I was excited - not only because this expedition means everything to me but because this might have the power to open the public's eyes." - Your stare was stuck on a bookshelf in the far left corner of the room, but you knew that Asriel is paying all the attention he could. "So trust me when I'm telling you I'm very reasonable when it comes to being here. I'm within a sound state of the mind, I'm not here to get in your way, I'm not here as your enemy, I'm here as your ally. And as for you, me, being a female scholar, only proves that I perfectly understand how much I'm put on line just to be here."

"Opposing such an impressive argument would be extremely difficult if only there wasn't one inconvenience, Ms Y/N/L." - Asriel said after a while, making sure your monologue had come to an end. - "Again, I'm not doubting your intelligence nor the ability to withstand oppression from the academic community. I appreciate your concern... But... Due to the risk of this research, I haven't requested anyone's presence or assistance, not anyone's and surely not yours. Therefore I don't understand why Thorold sent you here." At that, your eyes flew back to Asriel as you furrowed at him, not being sure what he was trying to get across. Lord Asriel hasn't asked for help, he didn't ask for company. And yet, there you were, standing inside his observatory. Well, this was explaining his initial reaction to your presence, in the end. It was making perfect sense.

"Well..." - You mumbled, not quite sure what to answer. - "I'm here nonetheless and my guide had already left. I don't care if you like it or not, but I'm quite literally stuck here with you - the expedition had been paid for anyway. I need to stay and conduct the research." "You're stuck here, that's right. How long will you need to finish your studies, realistically?" - The man asked quietly, turning his back to you as he started randomly picking things up; so they wouldn't fall into your possession, presumably. "Could be a month, could be three, could be all four. This isn't anything I'd be able to rush - the longer the observation, the more prominent the habits and behavioural patterns. This leads me to more conclusive and accurate results." "I suppose... Fine. You'll be conducting your study and I'll be taking care of mine. We can both do what we are supposed to without putting you at unnecessary risk." - The man mumbled while hiding his tools in a paper box next to the island itself. For a reason, this made you upset once more.

"I already told you about comprehending all of the risks and by God, I know you're Jordan's Golden boy who gets away with virtually anything and the Master clearly loves you because if he didn't, Magisterium would already be all up in your business... But if we plan on even surviving the next four months, we cannot ignore each other's presence. Surely, if you're writing down the results of research such as this, it's tens upon hundreds of pages of text that need to be revised and edited. Let me help you, Lord Asriel, I mean it. We had done it before, we can do it again." - Not expecting such an outburst, Asriel froze in place and watched with yet another furrow; this one didn't seem to be lingering with anger or fear, this one was amused. He was so amused that he scoffed while packing up some more tools, shaking his head in the process. - "What is it? What's so bloody funny about this situation we have here?" "What did you just call me?" - The man asked, snickering under his breath as if he was trying to hide it away from you. - "The Master's Golden boy who gets away with virtually anything? Wow. Gotta admit that I really dig all of the resentment that you hadn't expressed out loud... Dear. That's amusing, I'll give you that much... I quite like it. But my answer remains no. Upon hearing out your situation, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to, but - don't touch my stuff, don't clean up anything and don't get in the way of my research. Also don't expect me to have afternoon tea with you so we could giggle and chit-chat. I'm not the one to honour this particular tradition." - And with this overly dramatic statement, Asriel picked up the paper box and disappeared back into the upper floor, leaving you confused and alone.

"Does any of that makes sense to you?" - It was after you put all of the supplies at their place when Joy asked you this. At that moment, you were sitting in a boiling hot bath. It wasn't anything luxurious but it was enough to keep you warm; in fact, the bathroom itself was pretty scary. "No matter from which direction I approach it, this doesn't make any sense." - Your voice was revealing all of the acrimony and bewilderment you'd been feeling on the inside. If Joy couldn't feel your emotions, this would definitely give her a hint... Or two. - "While I believe that Asriel hadn't asked for an assistant, I struggle to understand why Thororld asked the Master to send us here. Did Thorold even ask Master to send us here, or are we supposed to serve as a repercussion for doing all of these bullocks behind the University's back, some sort of control over Asriel's descent into insanity?" "That is pretty probable, the insanity part I mean. I told you this is tiptoeing on the very line, Y/N, remember? On the other hand, Lord Asriel might not be the teacher's pet we always suspected him to be, don't you think?" "Doesn't change bloody anything on Asriel being the Golden boy. The Master of the University learns that he's studying bloody Dust, which crossed the line of scholastic sanctum by miles just between you and me, and Carne simply... Instead of reporting it to authorities, as he should, he sends an assistant." "And... If I remember correctly, I told you so." - The daemon butted in, making you laugh from the bottom of your belly. The laugher, after a few long days, was rich and lively - which just uncovered the despair you've been truly in. Joy realized you were rather close to an overall mental breakdown. - "Now that we're here, I don't think it will be as bad. The location is nice and we can have coffee, also we'll be seeing the bloody bear king and the most beautiful auroras on the northern side of the globe. What's more than that, Y/N?" "You're just saying this because I couldn't wait to see all these things, Joy." - You dismissed with a sigh and in response, the animal slipped its head into your palm hanging out of the wooden bathtub. "At least we're still together." "Truly can't imagine you wouldn't be by my side now, Joy. I'd be so hopelessly alone." "You'd go insane here, no doubt in my mind. Our plan is just as you stated in front of Samuel; this guy is a nuisance but we've done this once and we'll do it again. Give the man a few days to accept the fact that we're staying here and then, we can try giving him the wine we got for him." - The coyote stated before laying down, closing its eyes and putting its head on top of its tail. Once more you had to admit that Joy was right.

While Asriel was sort of giving you the silent treatment, you managed to capture one of the bedrooms and mark it as yours; your luggage laid open all over the floor as you unpacked all of your belongings - ranging from expansive cold-resistant clothes, books, ink pens and journals all the way to your private collection of animal behavioural patterns that had been observed in the last fifty years. You've handpicked all of them just before your departure to match the species living in Svalbard. It was usually early in the morning when you put on a turtleneck with warmers and snow boots, walking out of the door with a cup of coffee in your palm. The mornings in the place of such high altitude were strange, to say the least; as the sun shone down on you, you almost couldn't feel the cold getting to you - so you usually walked a bit higher to look over the frozen valley below you while Joy was busy rolling around in the snow, discovering it with childish excitement.

Back in Brytain, it never really snowed; sure, the time around New Years' celebrations was notorious for being cold and the streets for being peal white, but that snow barely reached your ankles. Here, Joy could jump right in and roll around as if she was mimicking a dog - the snow was true that high, reaching your waist. The noons and afternoons you've usually spent preparing lunch (the only indication of Asriel actually eating was usually half of the meal missing when you came back) and by strolls around the observatory; when you were lucky enough, you could catch a glimpse of snow foxed living in an alcove an hour away from the building. The longer you've been watching the pair, the clearer it became that one of the foxes was expecting pups - the male tended to hunt for the female and just when the light started to fade out, they both hid into their hole and you couldn't catch a glimpse of them again.

Once you've made it back to the observatory, the air was numbingly cold by then, you prepared supper (leaving one plate for Asriel) and hid in your room where you set fire to the fireplace before sitting in a huge plushy chair to write down your observations. To be frank, on days when the weather got ridiculously bad you tended to stay in your room and sketch the animals; you wouldn't describe yourself as the best painter, but you've managed to perfect the craft throughout the years of practising it. On those days, you couldn't see anything past three feet from the window, that's how thick the storms got.

On lucky days, you managed to catch a glimpse of Lord Asriel working - sometimes, he'd simply vanish for days on end (you could hear the door's lock fall into the place as he left the observatory, coming back the following day or late in the night. Yet on said lucky days, the observatory wasn't feeling that isolating. It wasn't feeling like the last place on earth; you sat down in the resting place located behind the stairs, reading through your notes and comparing them to the journal entries while the man worked upstairs. You could hear the sounds of metal clinking in the silent building, glass objects being moved around, and oftentimes you'd hear the sound of mortar being used or scratching of a highlighter writing on a glass surface. Sure, he wasn't acknowledging your presence in the slightest, but it was these small moments which reminded you about someone else's presence.

On the eight days of your stay, the silence was becoming too loud. Your sources of excitement were rather limited and while Joy was proving herself to be an excellent company to you, you could feel you were being pushed to your limits. You haven't spoken to a soul in a week and Samuel was scheduled to come in 28 days from that point. Once again, you've found yourself sitting in the resting area with the fireplace cracking in the background. As you sighed upon finishing yet another entry about arctic foxes, Joy looked up at you; she was laying next to the footstool, resting her eyes. - "I think it's time." - You said simply, picking yourself up to walk into your room. The way there inevitably lead you around Asriel, who was once more fully immersed in his work. He was scribing something down, mumbling like a madman - depending if he was talking to Stelmaria or not. When you stopped at his laboratory counter, the man didn't even notice you watching him. By the looks of it, he was trying to solve an equation of some kind but the equation wasn't making it easy on him. If it was the same problem we tackling yesterday, he was about to go to bed late or don't go at all. Asriel seemed to be obsessed with it.

"Have you at least stopped yourself to have some supper?" - You asked, holding the bottle of Tokay between your fingers. The first time you spoke out, Asriel either didn't hear you or simply ignored you; so you tried it again, louder than before. It was at that moment the man stopped to raise his eyes at you. Since you've seen him seven days ago, he started to look dishevelled; his beard was a mess and his hair was all over the place. His blue eyes were bloodshot, the intense stare you've grown to somehow appreciate now feeling beyond horrifying. As opposed to what you've been used to, his clothes weren't properly adjusted. Asriel was completely out of it, obsessed with whatever discovery was haunting his mind. - "Are you feeling alright?"

"If I recall our last conversation correctly, I specifically told you not to stick your little nose into matters that do not include you, Ms Y/L/N. Which words in this sentence are so hard to comprehend for you?" - Asriel growled back as if you were but a nuisance ruining his beautiful evening. - "I think he lost his mind." - Joy whispered inside your head. "If I remember correctly, I rebutted your question by explaining to you how important it is to cooperate to make it out okay. What about the part where you start looking like an empty vessel of yourself walking around the observatory? When did you sleep properly for the last time? When did you have an actual dinner? You've always been such a good-looking man who made sure he is presenting himself in the best way, because you realized that your looks are your best weapon. You're looking like an asylum escapee, Lord Asriel. And not the good kind." - You spat back as an answer, putting the bottle of wine with force, creating a loud bang. - "I know you're busy pretending you're a mad scholar, but please, take a moment off and have a glass of wine with me. I've brought you Tokay, your favourite."

"I'm this close to..." "Without discussions, Lord Asriel. I'm pretty sure the great, breathtaking breakthrough can wait a few hours. Now, you need to take a shower, tame that hair of yours and meet me in half an hour downstairs by the fireplace. I'll reheat the supper for you." "I'm afraid I'll have to pass on your offer because..." "Dear Almighty, do you have to be this bloody defiant? I just need to talk to someone. Believe it or not, my brain still realizes that talking to my daemon is still passing as talking to myself. I'm not about to go insane in this snowy wasteland. Although by looking at you, I'd suspect you had already passed this point. Half an hour. This is not a plea or a discussion topic, this is an order." "Y/N..." "Don't make me lock all of your research tools up. Did I make myself clear? You need a damn break, Asriel, come on."

Whichever two dots have just connected inside his brain, Asriel fell silent for a moment, straightened up and took in a deep breath while leaning his palms into the counter. You've finally seemed to break him, thankfully - this conversation wasn't too from being a full-on argument in the next few seconds. Then, he nodded in defeat, taking off his leather apron. "I suppose you're right. One evening off shouldn't slow my progress much. As requested, I'll join you in the resting area soon. As for the supper... I'd like it if you'd heat it up for me, thank you. And the wine is also truly appreciated." "You're welcome, Lord Asriel, it's my pleasure. Meet you downstairs then."

As you walked into the small kitchen area, it was also looking kind of spooky, Joy was sitting beside you with a shit-eating grin on her face. - "What is it?" - You asked, being busy heating up the canned tomato soup. To be frank, you had tons of canned tomato soup in the infirmary. Tomatoes will be something you'll hate until the rest of your days once this is all done, you were sure of it. "That was some attitude you showed there, almost didn't recognise you amidst all of that fuming and such." "To be frank, I didn't think it would be in my power to talk Asriel down." - You hummed back at the coyote, mixing the red thick fluid with a stoic expression. - "Back then, when we assisted him for the first time, I wouldn't suspect he's this stubborn. True, we had to obey him since he was our superior... Maybe it's because we hadn't talked much during that time. I only saw Asriel as that brilliant, bright, dashing man he undeniably is, but since he didn't let me see what was under the exterior, I didn't expect... Whatever the hell this is." "You're certainly the last person I'd suspect to be directive." "Excuse you? Should I start being directive, huh?" - You mumbled as a smile broke out on both of your faces.

A little bit later, you found yourself sitting in the resting area - the wine poured into whiskey glasses (funnily enough) and Asriel's supper was served in a heat-retaining container, the fire started and you were laying on the sofa, wrapped in a warm blanket. There was yet another blizzard starting beyond the walls, only letting you know thanks to the distant howling of the wind. As Asriel made the first step down the spiral staircase, your eyes naturally flew his way to acknowledge his presence. Now there was the man you were used to seeing, stealing all of your attention away.

Now, Asriel was wearing a plain shirt which was tugged into yet another pair of comfortable but formal pants, completing the outfit with a black sleeveless vest. If anyone would tell you that a person can undergo a total changeover in the spawn of thirty minutes, you wouldn't trust shit; yet there he was, an entirely different person standing in front of you. The beard was suddenly trimmed perfectly, his eyes seemed less tired and while his hair was still overgrown, it was styled masterfully. Seemingly, Asriel truly took your advice to the heart.

"I'll be the first to admit that the shower was almost divine, I feel like a brand new man." - Asriel said as he sat down in the armchair next to you, letting out a long breath as he let his body take a relaxed position. Just thirty minutes after abandoning his research for the night, he seemingly felt much better; that was what you assumed. Yet you just hoped he won't be as snappy as before. - "This is a consistent issue with me. I tend to let myself go too far and stop thinking about my physical needs, taking myself for a machine that I surely am not." "Now I'm sort of intrigued... When did you shower for the last time?" - First, he hung his head a bit lower before giving you a warm, amused smile. As if he hadn't heard a funnier thing in weeks, months even - well, he was here on his own for weeks, in the end; presumably, Asriel wasn't the type to go out and search for any kind of company during his scientific craze. "Any true explorer knows that you shouldn't wash too often during such an expedition due to the dangers of frostbites, you see?" "I think now you're feeding me bollocks, Lord Belaqua." - You mumbled back, having his gaze wander towards you, watching you as you bent forward for your glass of wine. He repeated similarly, carefully setting the container on his knees. - "Surely, what you've said is a fact, we won't be discussing that... But in your case, I'd judge it's because of different variables, isn't it? How long?"

"I'd been rather busy with my work, make your deductions out of that piece of information." "Obsessed is the right word to use here. Which, I don't necessarily think is a wrong thing, but it's taken its toll on you... And Stelmaria." "If that's the price I have to make to bring revelations and progress to this world..." - The man mumbled quietly as if this was a topic which was rather sensitive for him; you had to sharpen your ears to hear he had spoken. - "Then this sacrifice must be made. No way around it and no compromises. Lacking personal hygiene is the tiniest obstacle I can imagine if it's for the good of all humankind." - Asriel ended in a joking manner, snapping out of whatever state he found himself in. True, you needed to admit, one shower less or more wasn't the worst sacrifice imaginable; naturally, you chuckled at his thought too. - "Now that we debated about what's of interest to you, let me bring up a topic of conversation. Did you mean what you said?" - Asriel asked, leaving you flustered for a bit.

"Which part of what I've said are we talking about? I've called you quite a few names since I arrived, I'm talkative like that. Really, you can pick - Golden boy, Mad scientist..." "The part where you called me good-looking?" - Asriel rebutted, jumping straight to the point. Oh, you thought to yourself feeling your cheeks heat up as you stared at him in silence, oh. That's what he took out of the conversation, then? Not you being stubborn about taking a break, not him descending into insanity; he seemingly focused on being handsome. "No offence, but one would assume that's a commonly known thing." - This thread needed to be approached rather carefully and both you and Joy realized that; the animal shifted on its feet as a wave of heat hit both of your bodies. Why carefully? Well, you didn't want to spill all of the beans to him; sure, you found Asriel unnervingly handsome... But did he have to know? - "If I was asked by anyone at the college about who I think can use their looks as their deadliest weapon, you'd be at the top of the list. Mr Johnson following suit, Mrs Coulter being right there with the both of you."

At first, Asriel wanted to seemingly jab back at you but dropping Mrs Coulter's name oh so casually made his expression stoic and hardened. After eating a spoonful of tomato soup, the man rose his gaze to look at you. - "You'd put Marisa up there to your top three, yeah?" "Definitely. She's brilliant and very attractive... Surely has bigger experience in seducing people to manipulate them than I do. Not that I'd necessarily deem it as a negative thing; we're both female scholars and need to do what we need to do to cling to our careers. It's a handy attribute if anything." "That sounds about right, almost as if nothing changed." - Asriel muttered, being lost in reminiscing as he stopped himself for a moment. - "Let's change the topic, Ms..." "She was asking Dr Carne about your research, Lord Asriel." - It flew out of your mouth before you could stop yourself; why he'd need to hear this sort of information was beyond you, but it somehow seemed super important. - "Just before Master asked me to assist you, she was striving for the position herself, determined to get it." - Upon hearing said information, his eyes snapped in your direction. - "I'm positive she must've heard what happened to Thorold, with his broken bones and such... Arrived at Jordan college two days later to ask about the position."

"And Carne hasn't detailed anything to her? My location or the nature of..." "When I said we're here to assist, I meant it; utmost secrecy and scholastic sanctum, remember? Master is fond of you, Lord Asriel, he wouldn't betray you... Even though realizing where you truly are and what you're up to shocked him a bit." "And he sent you instead of her?" "Is Mrs Coulter sitting in front of you?" - The sassy rhetorical argument made Asriel chuckle as he finally got back to eating his soup, sipping on his glass of wine while slipping to a different conversation topic entirely. - "Suddenly, your arrival doesn't seem so bad given the context behind it."

As it usually is, there are paragraphs of text to be said about the bad events and so little to say about the good ones; the evening conversation wasn't by no means too long, but it was swift, lively and nicely paced. Against your expectations and fears, you caught yourself chuckling quite a lot - now, when Asiel wasn't in a working mood and wasn't ready to throw tantrum over your presence in his observatory, it could appear that you seemingly get along. After talking for an hour, yes an entire hour of which none was filled by voids of comfortable silence, Asriel suddenly picked himself up and clapped his hands soundlessly.

"It's time we go to sleep now, the blizzard is intensifying and you surely must be tired. Let me take care of the dishes and go." - This time, the order was accompanied by a soft smile and a warm gaze in his eyes (you had a theory that he always warmed up and opened up after drinking Tokay) so that time, you didn't even protest. As you walked up the stairs yawning your jaw out, the exclamation of your name stopped you in your tracks. - "I forgot to mention that I'd be travelling to my other sighting spot located nearly at the geographical pole - in case you'd be willing to spare some of your time to clean up the working station, I'd be truly grateful to you. Why I'm saying that I'll be gone is in case you'd worry since the way is rough and it will take me a few days to complete... But I'll be back." - The man added almost gently, making you smile warmly back at him while nodding. - "I promise." "Good night, Lord Asriel." "Sleep well, Ms Y/L/N."

#lord asriel x fem!reader #lord asriel #his dark materials (2019 2022)#his dark materials imagine #his dark materials hbo #his dark materials #hdm imagine #hdm

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neechees · 2 years

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What’s your thoughts on arcane so far? You tend to have good takes on media, so I’m intrigued on what you think of it :0

I wanna say that overall I like it, but there are some things I wish they did differently or weren't afraid of portraying. I'll put this in short form because I feel like that's what will be good for my brain to categorize. I just finished it so I'm still disgesting everything and a second rewatch could probably help refine my opinions, but I'll put what I have so far (also note that I don't play league of Legends so I can't compare it to its game lore or whether or not its better, so I'll be treating Arcane as a standalone series just for this)

Things I appreciated, liked, and thought the series did well:

The animation and art style is gorgeous. I love the spurts of color throughout. I see a lot of references to art and art history, particularly with a LOT of inspiration from Art Nouveau. I feel like the Art Nouveau thing could specifically be intended since Art Nouveau takes inspiration in nature & plants, & one of the themes in Arcane is classicism & how the lower classes have less or little to no access to fresh air/clean water. Art Nouveau used architecture to both mimic nature AND depict it, & in Arcane the people of Zaun have to literally create greenhouses just to get fresh air, and you see the Art Nouveau architecture in Zaun, too. Their access to nature is mostly through Art Nouveau architecture mimicking nature, or self created through greenhouses. By extension, Topside (while still having references to Art Nouveau) seems more influenced by Art Deco, which had emphasis on modernity and luxury.

Classicism. I like the theme of classicism within this series because I feel like it portrays it very well, particularly with showing us the living conditions that the lower classes have to survive in, and how pollution is affecting them first, foremost, and the worst. Also explains why Silco was such a successful crimelord with Shimmer, since the shimmer can be used as medicine to treat illness and injury.

Characters. I think they did the characters really well, and explained their motivations, and their stories intertwining in a complex, yet not overly complicated or cumbersome way. Also a lot of really touching & profound relationships between the characters

Racism and sexism (at least between humans) don't really seem to be a thing in the Arcane world, which in a few ways, is really nice. The female characters are just as complex as the men, there didn't really seem to be any gender roles or prejudice between characters on the basis of "race" or skintone because of the existence of institutional racism.

On top of that, homophobia seems to not really be a thing here either, which is great. I heard that when Vi asks Caitlin if she prefers "men or women", she didn't outright say any specific sexuality because the writers said that it's so normalized, that this society doesn't even HAVE a word for it. I like that. I hope they're more explicit with gay relationships in the next season, and adding trans charas featured in the plot would be awesome

The Jinx vs Ekko fight. That gets its own point on this list because it was visually stunning, the music was killer, and it told a really tragic story with rich history between these two characters in about 2 minutes

The music

The eye motif that keeps popping up

Things that I didn't like, thought could have been done better, or wished they did differently:

Racism/colorism & classicism. I know I said I thought they did the classicism well as well as the fact that there's no racism (IN universe) in Arcane, but at the same time I feel like real world prejudice (irl) of the writers or designers or whoever else was involved leaks through. What I mean is stuff like how 3 of the more violent & less feminine female characters aren't White & are dark skinned (with the only other dark skinned female character is Mel), Mel is probably the most beautiful & most feminine female character & is a dark skinned Black woman but she's also manipulative at times (which I think is worth mentioning, even if it IS a character flaw, since Black women, especially dark skinned women, are often shown as controlling), you have like 3 Asian characters who are rich cops with one being VERY corrupt and working for a crime lord (on top of brutalizing the lower class), Sky is fridged because of a White guy's fault. A lot of the cops, upperclass main characters aren't White, and a lot of the poorer characters are. This is awkward because racism is VERY connected to classicism in real life, especially when talking about environmental racism, so this is almost sort of coming off as a "reverse racism" thing to me, which I don't think was intended, but still. I think in the very least they should have had more lower class characters of color to balance out this issue, but we only have Ekko (whom I love, Ekko is wonderful), Finn (who isn't a main character, doesn't appear much, & works for Silco), & Sevika, who again, is kind of a villian & violent & a foil for Vi, a White woman

On the classicism side, Silco is one of the main "villians" as someone who's trying to take down the oppressive state but he's also cool with killing children & torture & kidnapping, the narrative treats revolutionaries and those who try to fight oppression with violence (because their oppressors are being violent themselves) as if that's the "wrong" way to get freedom, most of the more morally grey characters are poor, the lower classes are frequently shown being violent with each other while the narrative was ALSO trying very hard to humanize the cops & upperclass people so we'd sympathize with them. I think they were trying to do a broken windows theory here, or trying to imply that classicism is inherently violent and creates violence, but I feel like it wasn't very effective or done properly & should have focused less on trying to make us like the rich characters so much, because this way it makes it seem like the poor are just naturally predisposed to violence, that the rich actually DO care about the poor most of the time if it were not for ignorance rather than because of their own classicism/belief of superiority & the dehumanization of poor people, & that most cops are just good guys "following the orders" of whoever is leading them rather than the whole system being wrong & most cops being corrupt or happily complacent. There's ways that they did or tried to show this, but like I said in a previous post, they should have pushed it over the edge.

Ableism... I don't like that Silco, Sevika, and that scientist dude are all kinda demonized & villians, but they're also disabled and/or disfigured in some way. Viktor faces this too, in a way. And again, they're all lower class.

The plot is very picky & convenient with who it wants to kill off & at what time, & plot armor is a fickle bitch. Somehow that little blonde bitch who was jacked up on shimmer was able to survive a direct blast from the hex crystals, but 2 people who had a door & a wall between them & the crystal didn't. Vander, who is MUCH bigger and had WAY more shimmer in his body, was also somehow not able to survive. Vi gets stabbed AND falls from a big height doesn't immediately die. Sevika gets beat up a bunch AND put in front of an explosion and survives multiple times.

I don't want to say I think her "villian origin story" is "weak" (although I don't like using that for her, necessarily), but I think it could have been a bit... stronger. Like Powder says "Vi isn't my sister anymore" & into the arms of a guy who killed her Father & was trying to kill her siblings because Vi went to sit in the corner & she thinks Vi "left" her?? Like kid... you SAW her go over there and sit down, you literally could have followed her over there. Vi was shitty for hitting her little sister & letting her cry by herself in the rain & an idiot for not booking it out of there WITH her when the cops were still looking for them, but I think it could have been more effective if they'd shown Vi get seperated from Powder FIRST, Powder be alone for a while thinking Vi left without her, and Silco progressively manipulating Powder before then her turning to be with him as a replacement Father out of desperation, because to me this just seemed too quick of a character decision for Powder to go from "I'm going to help kill this guy" to "you're my dad now" because of one argument with her sister in the span of like 10 minutes

This is a really minor one but, costumes. I wish the characters had bigger wardrobes & more clothes between all of them, but instead for the most part they all generally wear the same clothing or recolord of the same basic clothing throughout. Alternatively they could have also shown the richer characters with a lot of clothing, and the poor characters wearing the same tattered outfits to further demonstrate class disparity

So that's my thoughts on Arcane... I give it a solid 7/10 at least

#arcane spoilers #arcane #long post

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