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popculturebuffet · 1 year

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Tal'Dorei Travelogue: Dragonic Nightmares, Beyond Any Measure, Will Friedle Daydreams To Treasure Forever (Rise of the Chroma Conclave, Trials of Vasslehiem, The Sunken Tomb)

Hello all you happy critters and welcome to a new feature on this blog: Tal'Dorei Travelogue, where I take a look at each batch of Vox Machina episodes as it comes out. For those new here, I review comics and animation and i'm a MASSIVE fan of this show, to the point that despite having tons of other work i've decide to give a try to covering it every week simply because I love talking about it that much and didn't want to miss out again like I did last year. While I haven't seen much of critical roll...

I know, I know, I've bought the book, and deeply loved season one of this show, an epic fantasy about vengance, accepting who you are.. .and pulling on scanlans motherfucking beads. It nicely blended the kind of bullshit i'm told is normal for a DnD campagin with the epic fantasy that's just as normal, gorgeous animation and made it's main cast personal faviorite va's of mine.. except Ashley and Sam. They were already there since childhood. So my anticipation was through the roof for season 2 and after a VERY rough year for animation and a rough start to go along with that... I really needed this and the show not only didn't disapoint but somehow topped itself from the high it left off on. So join me under the cut but be warned.. there be dragons.. and also full spoilers for this weeks episodes.

Rise of the Chroma Conclave: So kicking my 2023 in animation (As I haven't yet watched the one Great North i've gotten yet and i'm not getting near Velma till me and my friend @jess-the-vampire (Who I also swept into this very show), are good and ready) with one hell of a bang, The Scouring of Emon, as i'm calling it as a big nightmarish fantasy event needs a cool name and I need something to call this to my therapist after this whole thing gives me nightmares for month, is easily one of the most tense events i've seen in animation. The first ten minutes of this episode is a mixture of the Chroma Conclave killing everything in their path in the most brutal way possible, and our heroes running for their lives and BARELY surviving. It sells just how BIG an event this is and just what a full power DnD dragon can do, something I really wasn't aware of not playing the game no matter how badly i've wanted to: it only takes what seems like MINUTES in story and seconds in real time for them to utterly destroy emon, kill most of it's people, and for Thordak to grandly delcare they scan serve them.. or they can die. There is no other option. The dragons are also played well, with Lance Reddick, who I previously saw play a villian masterfully on Ducktales with Lunaris utterly top himself with a deep terrifying growl, and continuing a trend of using a voice acting legend for one of their main villians instead of a guest star, Cree Summer nicely follows up Grey with her turn as Raishan, something they set up last season and i'm glad they followed through with. I haven't seen her play a villian in a while but god does she do as amazing as you'd expect, and with just a few lines she sells our heroes are fucked and why they barely escape her alive. Matthew Mercer and in a surpise as the voice was so diffrent from Vax, LIam O'Brian, do wonderful as Umbrasyl and Vorugal, completing the quartet. The CGI is also leagues better than last time: While Brimscythe was intimidating and all, the crew outright said that Titmouse worked overtime to make sure the dragons felt like the full characters they are instead of just beasts and it works, and thus the CGI instead helps sell that these beasts are BEYOND our heroes, beyond strength, and beyond hope.. and all they can do is run and HOPE to survive for now a Thordak hyper beams emon to cinders.

Our heroes are thus less terrfied as the king dies (Tragically, and with dignity, simply smiling that his family lives on as he bleeds out his eyes) and their left simply running, seperated and scared. And we get some close calls to show just how outclassed our heroes are: Percy nearly DIES. While obviously given both the trailers and how early it is this wasn't going to happen, the show doe swhat good fiction does and still sells you on the danger and it still utterly jarred me to see my faviorite of the group's skin melt off and Pike BARELY save him in time. Meanwhile the other half of the team.. faces Raishan... and in nice final boss preview fashion... their best efforts do NOTHING. Grog's move that served him so well last time, raging then splitting a dragon open... looses him his faviorite head chopper, simply breaking off on Raishan, and the most Scanlan can do is literally put a foot in her mouth, which only delays her for a moment. We also see Gilmores, one of the best locations of the last season... as burnt out husk. Gimore himself barely lives and it's telling that he's so shaken he offers them anything they need at a discount.... then just says fuck it and lets them loot whatever he has left. Scalan gets stuck with a broom, but everyone stocks up well for the rough road ahead. I also like how the lance of epic dragonslaying from last season isn't forgotten.. but also isn't allowed to make our heroes quest easy, being smashed quickly with Percy just sighing "of course".

This leaves our heroes retreating and welcoming in refuges, with some wanting to fight.. but Percy suggesting fleeing to whitestone instead.. and being you know.. right. And not just because he's my boy: they BARELY escaped with their lives, the dragons will be on them soon, and it's the only safe haven they have. These dragons just took the captial of the land hostage in a second. The rest eventually agree... though Keyleth wonders if this was their fault after Brinscythe, though while that's a neat question i'm glad they don't dwell on it as Percy ultimately points out it isn't: Emon had the best army in the world before him, so it was clear this was in motion a long time and while it goes unsaid, them stopping him likely meant as many survivied as they did rather than have Brinscythe destroy the entire army outright and possibly start the invasion sooner.

What I like is that the castle bit gets you a few seconds of breather.. before VORUGAL comes dowon on them, kills most of the refuges, and once again proves our heroes have no chance as they are as Scanlans gambit from last time.. is dispeled in seconds as Vorgual can see through illusions. It's another nice bit of storytelilng: As keyleth said earlier "Do they have magic?" And it proves they do. Brimscythe was not only have the size.. but also a brute in combat, simply using his sheer strength as a dragon. His allies are stronger, smarter, and our heroes can only hope to run and get stronger , get help and get out alive, barely escaping with maybe 20 people tops. So with some help from Cassandra and the Keeper our heroes keep them safe. And it's also telling for her leadership that Cassandra wholeheartdly agrees to keep the refuges safe here as Whitestone's isolation, which helped the briarwoods keep their iron fist on the place, is now working for the city as it's not a major target. It dosen't mean they have forever though: our heroes need a plan and having seen the pilot again recently... it's a really nice subtle show of character growth: in the pilot when just facing ONE dragon sacking emon eventually... our heroes response was...

Only turning around because they saw the people they'd just seen moments ago dead, all dead at Brimscythe's hands. Here there once again backs to the wall, now by FOUR dragons who are all smarter, stronger and deadlier than the dragon they BARELY defeated a few months ago, just likely weeks at best days at worst after they again barely (if not by as close a margin) beat a powerful necromancer, a god and rid their friend of a smoke monster. It's not only more understandable to run completely this time but almost expected.. and yet it takes little convicing for most of the party to agree. Vax and Vex are mildly reluctant but agree quickly, with Vax being skeptical.. but also likely understanding this is their duty. It's heartwarming to see these guy go in just a few month from scoffing at the idea of doing something heroic... to all but two fully agreeing to leap into this and find some way to defat the dragons. Their the defenders of the realm and while the guy who gave them that title just melted, it still means something. The only holdouts make sense: Grog is unsure of his strength after the axe thing, and Scalan being the most cyncial .. is the one just outright saying...

The speech that follows is also inspriing as the team join scalan.. and have also gotten closer as instead of laughing, or anything they just simply find him and Vex and Percy point out what they've acomplished and what whitestone has: in just a few days to a week they already have their surrounding wall almost repaired, and it shows what our protaganist have become: true heroes. Because a hero... inspires people. There someone to look up to and to whitestone they see not fuckups.. but people who risked their lives to save them, freed them from a nightmare, and did more than they ever could've dreamed of. Their heroes wether they like it or not and in this dark time SOMEONE needs to act like it. And if they die.. at least they die gloriously. Scalan caves with the instant classic line of "Can't do my world tour without the band" and it's off to the holy city of Vasslehiem for help. This episode is a tightly packed thrill ride I love to death: it only lets the audeince catch their breath twice to really sell just how fucked Emon is, how much our heroes have lost, and how dire everything is. There's still some great jokes, but the humor is kept either to the quiter moments or simply kept brief as it should: The show knows when to be hilarious as fuck... and when to really sink in how dark things have gotten and how far away the dawn is.. granted in this case the dawn is another year away as they seem to be splitting this arc over two seasons, but it sets up an epic world tour for our heroes, and that they need to take some serious levels in badass , and as we've see their already pretty high up, if their going to survive, much less win.

The Trials of Vassleheim Our heroes manage to enter a tree with Yennins vauge directions and after a hilarious bit that was released to promote the season with Kiki saving the twins and pike by flying like the wind and Scalan saves the rest of the party with a giant ass.... percy... takes it suprisingly well

Vasselheim itself.. ends up being no better. Percy suffers some humilation with his wheeling and dealing failing (Vex assures him it happens to all the nobles), and Pike trying to appeal to their council... fails because Highbearer Vord and co.. are your standard council of assholes who won't do anything if ti dosen't effect them. Insert your own politics joke here but i'ts one of the most common jokes in fiction and despite the fact that you know, their going to come for them eventually, they decide not to help.. the despite the fact that they don't even need to send an army or something, they could you know have given our heroes weapons, knowledge you know... on the sly. Anything besides "Gee that's rough buddy". Thankfully one of the guys working for them actually has a working soul and directs them to the Slayers Take, some bounty hunters who are rough tumble.. but their patron deity can help. Also all the while Vax is seeing creepy visions of death and is thus more protective of Vex than usual. Well not exactly death but for those who haven't read campaign spoilers a book or what have you, I shan't tell you what he's seeing, though you can likely guess after the next one.

The story then splits in half as Craven Edge, Silas' creepy sword starts talking to Grog who mistakes it for his stomach and thus wonders off for a fun grog solo adventure. And after eating and suprisingly without visting a whorehouse , Grog wonders his way into an arena where he finds Earthbreaker Groon, a badass monk played by Ike Amadi, a va I hadn't heard of but whose had tons of rolls from Martian Manhunter in the Tommorowverse to Aaron fucking Davis Prowler in the insomniac spider-man games. He's awesome here and the traning sequence... as it is here is one that will stick in my head for a while. Groon simply breaks down Grog asking where his strength comes form.. and suprisingly to me and Grog it isn't the typical "heart" answer I thought he was going for. It also nicely shows how utterly outmatched grog is in a way I always love seeing: Grog gives everything he has from craven edge, to raging.. and never even gets CLOSE to landing a blow, often never even drawing a punch. Groon meanwhile simply uses a few strikes. It's one of those things I just love when I see, to signal the begining of a heroes climb up to that level: that someone can outclass them that easily. Being used a lot in manga, it's likely not a suprise a bunch of nerdy va's who love anime used this trope and bless em for it. Grog finally stops getting made into hamburger when he admits he dosen't know, and that's the first step. The next ones are his. While an old man beats up Grog, the rest of our heroes head to the slayers take, which Vax says is a bad idea and refuses to explain why... until they get in there and we find out the take is pissed at the twins for stealing a bounty on a hydra from them, a nice nod to the origianl stream where VM first met the take fighting a hydra they had marked and had to join them to avoid arrest. It was a whole thing I have not scene. Point is our heroes are mostly marked for death by voice acting legend Will Fredle!

Yeah it's been a while since I heard him though he DID play Star Lord in that guardians of the galaxy show I forgot existed, so he hasn't stopped working, he just hasn't had any high profile gigs for a while is all. If you don't know him

And second I don't qutie mean that but it's still weird as he's played Terry Mcgunnies,Doyle Saturday Jamie Reyes, and of course the one the only best boy of all boys Ron Stoppable. He's been in this buisness a while with many more under his belt. He's not here because of that though but because Will Fredle actually guest starred on Critical Roll along with Mary Elziabeth MCgleenn as Zahara, a warlock and fellow take member whose just as eager for said revenge. It was part of that arc I mentioned, which was heavy on guest stars, including Felica Day who I hope gets more of a roll down the line, either as her character or just as someone period. To explain to people like me who only watch the cartoon, Critical Roll will occasionally have someone else sit at the table, bring in a character for the session that sort of thing. It's the tabletop equilvent of when someone TECHNICALLY joins your party in an rpg but you either have no control over them or their only there for the dungeon. Zahara and Kash were some of the most popular, so it's no suprise they made it over eventually, simply compressing thing: most of the party meets the take here instead of in the past, and one part of Kash's story, his flirting with Keleyth, was moved here. I won't say what I know backstory wise, as it may be revealed here later.

Anyways the take is overulled by their patron, who has them drop the party into her sarlac pit. It's there we get my faviorite sequnece of the episode: the fact it dosent have boy meets world's brother sucks but instead we get Allana Ubach, aka Manny Rivera herself, as Osysa, an ancient sphinx who quickly sets out to test our heroes.. and how is simple: break their spirit and see if they get back up: being a sphinx she apparently knows everything and thus needles our casts weakensses: Pike is afraid she wont' be good enoguh to save her friend smuch less the world, Percy is still wondering if he can ever earn back his friends trust after what he's done or evne forgive himself, the twins have seperation anxiety with Vax being afraid of loosing his sister and Vex having tried desperatley to please a father who will never love her back, Kelyeth faces the fact she's been avoiding doing her armante, and Scalan gets the biggest put down of all "No one cares about you and i'm no exception". She offers to let the heroes leave.. but PIke is steadfast standing up and refusing to leave , even willing to die to prove a point, and everyone is behind her.. and that, in classic fantasy fashion.. was the point. It was a test of resolve. To see if they were worthy and if they can do what's necessary: to fight even in impossible odds and be ready to sacrifice anything to succeed.

Their tools.. are something awesome that was ironically, thank you book for this knowledge, cooked up to solve a common dnd problem, and one that plauges video game rpgs too: you often get cool weapons, rely on them, come to value them as part of you.. ,but due to it's nature as a game you have to give them up eventually. Matt's solution? The Vestiges of Divergence. While there's KIND OF an explination in the show, here's the short version of teh long version: Long ago there war between the good gods and the evil betrayer gods. To help save humanity the gods gave their various patrons the vestiges, weapons embued with the power of gods from weapons to armor to cloaks. The weapons were either lost or hidden after the war, and thus wait for new bearers. When the bearer undergoes an emotoinal turning point, the vestige becomes awawkened and thus stronger. So in short a characters development... makes the item stronger and thus keeps it around, and nicely translates to tv storytelling. They can give our heroes the leg up to fight the dragons

The first is in a tomb in the lake to the west, The Deathwalkers Ward. We'll learn more about it in a moment but for now our heroes have ana ctual plan: get the vestiges, kill the dragons and then profit.. that's.. literally how vex puts it suprising no one. Our heroes decide to spend a night getting good and hammered first, before preapring to set out Edit: Crap on a crap cracker! While i'm not going to kick myself too much fo rmissing something most of the time I nearly didn't mention victor. He was a recurring charcter in the stream apparently tha tnaturlaly matt not only reprised here but they found a way to include.. and he's every bit delightful as he was built up to be, casually exploding his place by the end of his apperance, talking jolliy,.. and still being nicely integrated as a random shop keep is easy to put in a stream but here not only does Percy getting some black powder before he heads off make sense.. but it reveals Ana ripley is not only around.. but got some herself. percy decides to keep this to himself but there's no way this can possibly end well.

The Sunken Tomb

Or as I call it

Yeah even knowing what's ahead.. didn't help. This episode hurt. And for the first third or so it's just okay: Pike is a bit wory about the pitch black sword made of pure evil wielded by a spooky vampire Grog is using, Scalan indulges in his foot fetish, Percy's only suggestion when some creatures from the black lagoon attack him is "KELEYTH TURN INTO A BIRD OR SOMETHIGN" i'ts normal. The only diffrences are Zahra and Kashaw, who are commencing with operation "steal the vestige out from under them" an d"Get into kiki's tunic dress whatever" respectively.

This does lead to one of the shows funniest moments so far and one I had to replay at least twice before I could move on: the tomb as it turns out is the temple of Purvan... which for some reason Matt insisted be prounounced pur-von.

Yeah as you can probably imagine the original livestream, which I luckily found a clip of this moment on youtube so I didn't have to dig for it, went off the rails for a second after this as the entire cast laughed at it for some time while Matt vainly tried to both restore order and defend the purv. So i'm delighted the gang's knee jerk and entirley justified reaction of chorttling like middle schoolers was kept, with the entreity of vox machina bursting out into laughter, and with the best two jokes given to their actors respective characters with Scalan wondering if his last name is Pedo Bear and Vax admitting we all need to get our perv on sometime. IT's somehow made better with Kash's deadpan "You guys are the worst", which is clearly echoing what Matt was thinking in the moment. The rest is a prettty standard dungeon crawl, though spiced up with the sense of impending dread: the mysterious figure of the raven queen keeps stalking vax, his paranoia at his sisters death is hightned.. and then they get seperated. It's also telling he's hung up on this as he only reacts maybe once to Kiki moving on to someone else... whic is refreshing as you can only see so much scooby doo before your sick of "Daphne gets mad at fred despite them not being together" #87, so good on him. Worry about his sister now. Admitely i'm not on team Vax because it's the clear endgame. Being the clear endgame.. does not necessarily make a ship good. For instance i'm mostly supporting the main ship of miraculous ladybug out of fatigue at this point. Just because the writers want a relatoinship dosen't mean the audience is rooting for it. But the two have genuine chemstiry, to the point it just happened organically in the game, while Kash.. just seems to be hitting on her because he thinks she's pretty. Which.. she is. I mean this entire team is a smokeshow. Even grog who I kinda put to the side last season has gone up a notch thanks to him getting a breard. Also him getting his beard was comedy gold, from him putting on the belt of dwarvenkind to Kash sarcastically brushing it off.. only for Grog to get in his face. As for why this is a big thing apparently Goliath's, Grog's race, are naturally smooth let's say.

At any rate, we get two parties, and a nicely tense fight scene with the fish man, as well as Vex's exasperation that one of them is a wizard. It's a fun fight, and we even get trinket eating some guys then letting pike ride on his back.

And more disturbing and plot relevant.. grog gets a bit too into murdering which starts funny (it's because his beard was half shaved off, a nod to a prank from the stream i'd heard of), and .. then gets creepy as he gets very slasher villian into his bloodshed to Pike's horror. No time to talk though as the slayers booked it and went down a hallway to possible doom.. as it turns out when Vox machina enters and finds out the secret entrance they found is not the one they need. Instead Vax goes investigating instead of vex.. which proves to be a fatal mistake. Not for him, he's fine and finds out where their informant is. But Percy flirtly egging Vex on with "your brother wouldn't like it", which is also what he calls oral, finds them the grave and the vestige. Which normally would be great: magic item found, flirting between my faviorite pairing on the show, a good time for all.. but well... this show likes to hurt us and matthew mercer like sto hurt his players so .... Vex .. is well....

An arcane bolt hits her, and she disturbingly just.. htis the floor.. her eyes dead. Probably not the best time to see this given my cat died two weeks ago and had the same look. It's well done and makes you think for a second it might not be undone. All the party can do is scramble to her while Scalan, despite being often at odds with both twins, screams for him to get up here. And just to twist the knife further, the episode spent a good chunk of it's runtime somehow making us feel worse as we get some backstory for vax and vex. It's one of the nice thigns about the medium: instead of just saying the backstory, which is a necity in tabletop and still can be done hauntingly well as, having seen the first episode of the whitestone arc, Talisen Jaffe did a soulcrushing performance of percy telling everyone his. But here you can flesh it out an dhave the players actually act out their tragic pasts.

So going back a bit, we focus on the day Vax and Vex left their abuse father. IT's been mentioned their mom was killed by a dragon but what hasn't come up till now.. is their father. See their dad Sygorn is..

He's a racist asshole who basiclaly abucted the twins from their mom.. then proceded to emotoinally abuse them, being cold distant and feleing like they were an embarssment for being half human. He is a giant back of fuck you good sir and his first scene has him getting overly pissed at Vex for trying on and accidently breaking a diadim, then calling them out on their "Muddled" blood. Vax has enough and says their getting the fuck out of there and while Vex hestiaties, badly wanting her dad's love... the fact her dad dose n't put up a fight crushes her enough to go along with it. The two end up fighting with Vex, feeling vax needs her too much, leaves. She succesfully hunts and is fine on her own... but finds a sobbing Vax. As it turns out his clingyness wasn't because he felt she needed him.. but because he felt worthless and needed HER. They reconclile and promise to mever be apart. It puts a LOT of Vex's clingy behavior in season one in a more sympathetic light: she's utterly horrible to Kiki, true, and it's still not okay.. but given her brother is easily hurt, she just wants to, if entirely misguidedly protect him. It also explains why despite Vex being openly flurtatious with percy so far Vax hasn't returned the same: While Vex likely worries her brother can't handle himself (he can), Vax knows she can and only got scared and overportective when he kept getting portents of death.. and given said portent caused her death, I can't blame him. TH eending is just.. liam doing som heartbreaking sobbing. And true to form that's where we leave the week.... Mercer you bastard. I'll hopefully be here next week but if not catch me on twitter @lanternmogo and thanks for reading.

#the legend of vox machina #critical roll #vox machina spoilers #the sunken tomb #rise of the chroma conclave #the trials of vasselhiem #vax'ildan #vex'halia #percy de rolo #scanlan shorthalt #keyleth #pike trickfoot #grog

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commenter2 · 9 months

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Who do you think could voice Bethesda von Eldritch?

For a while now I’ve been curious about who could voice Bethesda von Eldrtich from Hazbin HoteI. I bet a lot of you would choose a Mortica Addams like VA for her, as that idea was popular some time ago, but I bet we can think of another unique kind of voice just as good for the character.

I have some headcanons about her character (some I’ve had for a while now and some new for this) that I think could help narrow down the choice for a VA.

My biggest headcanon is that though not stereotypically dumb or bubbly/ditzy, she will say/do something dumb from time to time or get confused by something, such as falling for an obvious lie told by her daughter Helsa. A sub headcanon for this is that this is because she has a minor learning disability or (given how violent Hell is) she suffered head trauma at a young age which effected her brain/mind.

She is NOT a trophy wife as she and Fredrick deeply love each other, and it helps that they are around the same age.

Though she likes being rich, I see her being more tamed with it unlike canon Stella for example. This means she won’t buy everything she wants when shopping and though she at times can spoil her kids, she doesn’t give her kids everything they want, even willing to cut them off or take away objects like their phone or computer if they misbehave. Besides, Helsa seems like a better choice for such a personality trait.

There is this popular fan theory that Fredrick von Eldritch introduced his son to Charlie in hopes they would marry so the von Eldritchs would become royalty, but I could see Bethesda being against the plan a bit as she wants her kids to marry out of love like she and Fredrick did. Admittedly she did like the idea of being sisters with her friend Lilith and kind of hoped it would happen naturally. After Charlie and Seviathan broke up, Bethesda made sure Fredrick wouldn't be mad at Seviathan or try and forcefully get the two back together.

She looks like a character that would have been on a “Real Housewives of Hell” show at some point in her life.

Like I said she and Lilith are friends, however I can see Lilith not liking how at times Bethesda will depend too much on Fredrick to do something for her like taking care of a problem with her broken phone/get work on the car or getting into a night club when she can do it herself.

She is developing a fear of being an empty nester, and has brought up the idea of wanting to have another kid, though Fredrick is scared of that. This would go away temporary after the family takes in a “pet”.

If I had to pick a voice right now for Bethesda, I would choose something like an older sounding Poisandra from Power Rangers Dino Charge or the person that voiced Badonna from Power Rangers Ninja Steel, as I could imagine Bethesda having an accent like hers.

Who do you think would be a nice, non Mortica Addams, VA for the character?

#hazbin hotel #bethesda von eldritch #hazbin hotel bethesda #vivziepop #hazbin hotel bethesda von eldritch

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sword-dad-fukuzawa · 2 years

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For the SVSSS Ask Game :3

4. Have you seen the donghua? What do you think of it?

7. Do you believe there is a character that deserved more 'screen time'?

8. Favorite SVSSS fanfic?

14. Favorite quote?

20. What is your unpopular opinion about SVSSS?

28. Any prompts you want to give for SVSSS?

HELLO PERSON I'VE NEVER MET BEFORE, THANK YOU FOR ENABLING ME!!!

Scum Villain Asks

4. I have only seen some of the first episode of the donghua! I really wish it wasn't 3d animated. However I am on twitter silently supporting everyone crying for it to be released from censorship hell (since word on the street is S2 has been completely finished, it's just that with the recent crackdown on BL, whether it'll be released or not is up in the air. It's been over a year since the trailer ;-;). However I stan SQQ's VA for also being Dottore's VA in Genshin.

7. Oh my god Liu Qingge. Instantly. I may adore Sha Hualing and Gongyi Xiao and Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun but Liu Qingge fascinates me. He's so obviously head over heels for Shen Yuan but is treated as his sword glare taxi service (pretty sure SQQ calls him something like that in his head, too).

Like this is a man who is irrevocably in love with his shixiong and also a little in denial about it?? He fistfights Binghe every day for years and loses every single time, hoping to god he can give SQQ a proper burial. "Women" as a concept deeply embarrasses him. He's like a proto-Jiang Chenga and Feng Xin. He doesn't know how to be a proper shizun. He's a prettyboy (derogatory). God. More Liu Qingge content please.

8. Answered here for Yan but I'll throw this one in, too:

^^ suuuper ominous, it gets the horror of Bingqiu so perfectly.

14. Hard to say. There's a lot of comedic lines I adore ("He'd turned the protagonist into a homosexual!" comes to mind) but I think I have to go with this Binghe quote, said right after SQQ self-destructs:

“You don’t like the fact that I’m part of the demon race, so I was afraid that if I went straight back to the Cang Qiong Mountain sect, you would chase me out. I thought that if I could seize the Huan Hua Palace and become a peak lord of the righteous path like you, maybe that would make you happy…”Luo Binghe said in a trembling voice, “Shizun… I… I really…”

This was the moment I realized Scum Villain meant business.

20. Unpopular opinion? Probably that it's better than Heaven's Official Blessing. That's really just because I like it more and for some reason, TGCF didn't hold my attention the same way. Scum Villain has a much shorter, tighter narrative.

28. Hmm, prompts. Alright, how about:

Tianlang-jun unexpectedly survives the attempted merging of the realms. What does he do in a world where his son hates him (with good reason), his lover is long gone, and his nephew--the only person who stuck by his side--died saving him?

#the prompt is really just because i adore tlj and i want him to learn to live #thank you again!!#scum villain asks

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ciitrinitas · 8 months

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baldur's gate 3.

100+ hours later, and i survived baldur's gate 3. it partly took me so goddamn long to finish because i got to the end of act 2 on my first character...only to find out it wasn't just me and that minthara is likely bugged (or has an insane amount of cut content, but i'm on hopium here). so i decided to restart on a second character as the dark urge to complete the story on whilst i await a minthara fix.

so, yeah. that was a choice i made! 🫠

to preface, however, while bg3 isn't a game i'm keeling over in sheer love for or a new favorite for me, i had a fucking blast playing it. any flaws or personal issues with the game aside, it is genuinely a ton of fun and full of shit to do.

long, scattered thoughts below the cut.

"huh, i wonder why there's so much grumpiness about the ending." ohhhh. i get you all now. the lack of ending cards or epilogues or any kind really stings when it's such a standard for wrpgs of this type. the main plot lost momentum for me early on when the urgency and desperation surrounding the tadpole infection slowed down, so i was vibing well enough with the ending until the lack of any epilogue hit. that is a weird oversight for a game like this and a sequel to games like bg1-2 and spiritually following games like dao.

biggest plot complaint with the ending: i choose to free orpheus because it's what my girl lae'zel wanted, so move aside, squid. in response, the emperor...skedaddled to join the fucking netherbrain????? what. i don't remotely understand this. did i miss some stuff about the emperor's motivations...? regardless, this was a bit of whiplash for me before i popped orpheus out then left him with no choice but to...abruptly turn into a mind flayer because...sorry, but my beautiful boy's skin isn't going to be sacrificed...nor karlach's despite her offer...and gale shut up about the damn nuke.

on villain side, i was disappointed with how little we saw the chosen. ketheric is introduced for a single scene earlier in act 2, but we only see orin and gortash by the end of it and then they aren't as present in act 3 as i would have hoped. ketheric is...fine (imo, i found his voice delivery kind of flat), and i appreciate the hammy glory that is aylin, so thanks for bringing isobel back, i guess. orin's design slaps, and her va's performance makes what could have been a too-much script really work. she's a bit more interesting if you're playing dark urge and have that backstory connection with her. gortash...i got a little caught up in shipping him with my dark urge half-elf boy in that coronation scene because of what good old murder pals the two used to be! but gortash gets killed by the netherbrain just because even if you side with him, so eh. better to let karlach have her revenge on his shady ass.

on my first character, i was initially set on romancing shadowheart until i learned about minthara and then was wildly divided between them. then i met minthara in person and next thing i knew, i had slaughtered refugees and druids and was married. 😌❤️ it really broke my heart a little to learn that she is (HAS TO BE) bugged when i turned my entire playthrough on its side to nab her. no regrets because she is easily one of my favorite characters, but a bummer. the crazy hot cultist lady exterior drew me in, but it was her intriguing character on the interior that got me to stay.

if it weren't for the whole "violently slaughtering the grove" thing being necessary to get minthara (unless you go out of your way to not do things or glitch it afaik), she'd be my default pick over halsin all the time, every time. halsin is deeply boring to me. he talks about nature...and then some more about nature...and more about nature. jaheira is more involved in the main plot than him, so an odd choice to cram a second druid in when he's much duller than minthara or jaheira.

jaheira, jaheira, jaheira! oooh, i adore jaheira! i'm familiar with bg1-2, so i knew the basic deets in jaheira. i really hope larian wrote her as a natural extension to her classic self because while i planned to play bg1-2 eventually, the urge is now truly powerful because jaheeeeeeeiiiiiira, my beloved. cool hot older woman who is just so good. that she partly has some batman in her with her four adopted kids is adorable... her house is so cute... that she has a keepsake from khalid, too... i want jaheira to be happy. 😭

UNLIKE ASTARION. look. i was pleasantly neutral with his ass until after visiting jaheira's home, he thought he could make a catty remark about jaheira being a horrible mother. i'm happy his final appearance in the good end of the game is him sprinting away as he burns and screams in the sun and gale weirdly comments that this will probs be the last time they all see him. fucking bizarre writing choice, but a victory for me. don't be mean to jaheira!! (in all seriousness, astarion is a perfectly fine character with solid writing. he isn't the type i tend to latch onto, and i was salty when he made such a bitchy comment about jaheira.)

gale gave me my favorite line in the game. if you're slutting it up, mr. wizard can hit you with one of those ultimatum conversations. if you pick to simple leave without a word, he says you are being a very cone of cold. i keep subjecting xofi to references to this. it's my favorite line. gloriously dweeby, and gloriously wizard-y. oh, gale. i can tell you don't have friends that aren't your magical flying cat, a very old man, and uh...your divine ex, i guess. he's like you transplanted a bard's personality into a wizard. he was fun to have around!

lae'zel...my abrasive darling. you know what, i'm glad she's inspiring "discourse" (aka "women wasn't 100% nice to me :(((") because it exposes the weaklings. if lae'zel is too mean for you, then thank you for letting us know. we must cull you so that we won't waste resources on you. the winter is harsh, and only those warmed by good taste will be able to endure. i'm happy for where my ending had her: orpheus went mind flayer and then i politely knifed him when he asked, so lae'zel was asked to carry on his torch in inciting her people against vlaakith's tyranny.

shadowheart is my meow meow. the eight-or-so hours of early access that i played two years ago had her as my favorite by the end and that was carried over into the full release. she and minthara are the favorites. my only real quibble with shadowheart's arc is that binary dnd god morality does not spark joy for me. worship of shar being so bluntly evil took me out of a bit. nice to see viconia, though!

i...honestly forgot wyll until a second ago. there's an interesting conceit to him, but he's woefully dull. he and halsin are just boring. i feel kind of bad that i'm so bored by wyll. there's a missing bite from him that i vaguely recall from early access. i get that the devs wanted a companion that is, like, good, but oh, wyll, buddy...idk what the hell they did to your writing.

minsc isn't a terribly deep character, but he's enjoyable when i view him as a charming addition to jaheira. i'm going to try and get him earlier in future playthroughs because i nabbed him terribly close to the end on this one. orz

karlach...i think here arc was my favorite of all the cast. in act 3, i had swapped lae'zel out for her for a bit and lae'zel ended up kidnapped by orin, so my defaulat party just ended up shifting to gale, shadowheart, and karlach. i'm pretty happy it ended up this way. i ran into some interesting conversations for her, and her reactions to things like my dark urge signing raphael's contract surprised me in their passion. she's effective at keeping up her cheer until the latter end of act 3 when the unfairness and shittiness of her situation come to head in some gorgeously acted scenes. her fury and despair at the tragedy someone else thrust her into is really fucking good. i'm not even mad about her ending. it can feel odd in the greater context of bg3, but for my tastes, i was fucking there for her having to pick between dying or return to live in a place she loathes.

this is a "era has personal preferences that don't align with the game's goals" thing, but i kind of wish the dark urge was the protagonist. i like even customizable mcs to have a bit of an arc built in despite that impacting the scope of roleplaying lmao. the dark urge stuff had me wishing there was more than what is present, though. i wanted it to be dug into deeper, but i did still like what is there. the temple of bhaal was really fucking good, and i love that the dark urge turns out to be the architect of the absolutist cult.

#era.txt #bg3 spoilers ///#2023 media

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primofate · 2 years

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so, ever since we talked about fruits basket, i can't stop thinking about Genshin Impact boys becoming animals when you huhug them!!!! which animals do you think they would become and how would they react (it might me the ones from the anime, or not). my friend started telling me Childe had the cat spirit, because apparently there's a ginger cat that stays on top of the Fatui's Bank in Liyue. and Zhongli, of course, would be the dragon one. then Keya, hm, maybe the snake? what about Diluc? the horse? or the rooster? or the rat (and if so, i can imagine being the cat, as well – but i guess Childe works too since they'd surely have a rivalry (especially from Diluc towards Childe) if they met). what about the others? what do you think? i hope i'm not being annoying.. if so, i apologize, you may ignore this. thank you for reading, anyways <3

~ 🍰 anon

Ah I was thinking about this the whole day! Such a cute and chaotic concept XD

Oof it's really hard to pair them with an animal. Lemme see....

Aether - An antler..... (idk only because I associate Aether so much with his VA Zach... and Zach also voices Moon Carver hahahah)

Albedo - Owl (the "wise" animal)

Bennett - Monkey (it's all that energy...)

Chongyun - Rabbit

Dainselif - Eagle (idk it just feels like he's always watching from afar)

Diluc - Horse (I'm gunna quote this photo "for some reason horse people have a great deal of trouble believing they are loved, when in fact, horse people are easy to like and love")

Gorou - Dog :D

Itto - Ox (Saw on his preview that he can summon Ushi, so cute)

Kaeya - Snake (cunning person, knows how to talk)

Kazuha - Rooster (Apparently people born in the year of the rooster thinks very deeply about things and are good talkers)

Razor - Wolf :D

Scaramouche - Swan (something about him is elegant to me, but also dangerous. Then I found out that swans are more aggressive than I think. lol)

Tartaglia - Tiger (apparently show-offs, brave and powerful)

Thoma - pig (kay before anyone kills me the pig is part of the chinese zodiac, so I have to give it to someone. Also, people born in the year of the pig are seen as nice and good-mannered. So...)

Venti - Rat (according to the zodiac, generous, charming, loves to talk)

Xiao - Sheep (also refer to that photo in Diluc's)

Xingqiu - Dolphin (i also don't know... I guess hydro + intelligent?)

Zhongli - Dragon :D

You're never annoying dear :D

#genshin impact #genshin boys as animals

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finalheaven · 3 years

Photo

Hi guys, here’s a translation of Ayumi Ito’s interview from the newly released Material Ultimania. We also translated Sakurai Takahiro’s interview and will share it this week.

We love Ito. She is such a warm and intelligent woman, and you can tell she really loves and enjoys voicing Tifa. Did you know she took kickboxing during the recording period to better perform as Tifa?

More can be found behind the cut!

Q: Please share your reaction when you first heard that FFVII Remake would be made.

A: I couldn’t believe that they would want me to play Tifa again, and I was like, “Are you fine with me?” I was very anxious to be able to show how much I had developed, and I’m very thankful for the staff who believed in me, so I thought that I’d try my best to not go against their expectations. Actually, I asked Irino Miyu (Sora in Kingdom Hearts) who I co-starred with before, for advice to prepare for recording. I still have difficulties performing using only my voice and without using my body and expressions, so he directly taught me various techniques.

Q: What kind of performance plan did you have in mind for playing Tifa in the original FFVII story?

A: In FFVII: Advent Children, I had the impression that she was relatively anxious and seemed to watch over everyone one step away, but this time Tifa gives off an enjoyable presence and charming side to herself. For example, she giggles unintentionally at Barret and Cloud’s banter, shows a little bit of a strong stern side… There were times when they used lines when I naturally laughed when recording while listening to Barret and the others’ voices that were previously recorded.

Q: I believe this is the first time that you’ve been a VA for a whole, fully voiced RPG, so please share your thoughts during recording.

A: I was very moved when it ended because recording took 2~3 years. Acting jobs take around 5 months at most, so it was a new experience to be able to play one role for how many years, and I was careful to not pull in from roles in other works that I was playing in parallel. Once again I felt how amazing VAs are for performing various roles at the same time.

Q: How did you try expressing Tifa’s personality which is said to be “acts cheerful but is relatively timid on the inside”?

A: While discussing with the staff, I performed each scene being quite particular in regards to how much of her delicate side should show. Shaken up, acting cheerful, or really enjoying herself; I thought over and created her emotions for those moments in detail.

Q: Please share what you kept in mind when you acted the scene where Tifa let out her emotions to Cloud in the flower field in the night before going to rescue Aerith from Shinra.

A: I actually cried while performing that scene. The thoughts that Tifa carried all came out at once and it was a very memorable speech. Usually Tifa tends to repress her feelings, and I was struggling with the subtleties of how much emotion she should speak with. So, it was easier to straightforwardly get all the feelings out.

Q: Was it tough to act being more and more tired and keep the conversation going during the scene where they climbed up the emergency staircase to the 59th floor of the Shinra building?

A: Tifa wasn’t that tired and rapidly goes on ahead, so it wasn’t that hard. Instead, it was fun to bring out Tifa’s stern side as she severely scolds Barret and Cloud who are behind her.

(Editor Notes: lockharts would like you to know Tifa is basically telling Cloud and Barret to get their shit together. 😂)

Q: What do you think about the different difficulties when acting out event scenes and battle lines?

A: While I understood in my head the kind of action, I had a hard time when it didn’t go according to what I imagined. For example, when asked for a “shout when jumping around 50m,” I imagined the kind of strength if I were to actually jump, and performed while actually putting strength into my body. Actually, I wanted to perform while feeling the physical all body movements in the fight scenes this time, so I started to learn kickboxing during the recording period. Thanks to that, I was very happy when the sound director said to me, “You were able to express Tifa’s strength more than before.”

Q: What is your most impressionable Tifa line in Remake?

A: I can’t forget the lines in the flower field scene, but my favorite is the scene where she receives a flower from Cloud who just returned to Seventh Heaven. I believe it is a very lovely scene that includes Tifa’s liking towards Cloud. Also, it was very amusing to perform the banter when meeting crossdressed Cloud at Corneo's mansion. It isn’t a line, but I personally kind of like the scene where Cloud jumps out of the train while holding her tightly (laughs).

Q: Please share if you have any unforgettable memories while recording.

A: I remember when my growling stomach was picked up by the microphones a lot, so I concentrated to somehow not let it growl (laughs). I guess other times for scenes that did not have the video completed yet, I acted while recalling Cloud and the others’ forms in the space in front of me in order to grasp the distance between me and who I was talking to. I couldn’t do it before due to my lack of technique, but now I can visualize the other characters and voice acting became even more enjoyable.

Q: After Remake, has your impression regarding Tifa changed?

A: I was able to feel a more three dimensional sense of her humanity and way of thinking. There were lines in the script that for a moment made me go, “she’d say this?” or “she’d go this far?”, but over time while recording I came to understand that “Tifa has sides when she’d say things like this”, and I was very happy that Tifa’s character was steadily fleshed out within me.

Q: What do you think makes Tifa so appealing?

A: This is just my own interpretation, but probably how her maternal quality and strength are subtly hidden, and at her core she will “definitely see it through to protect someone”. She is reliable and you want to protect her, and I can’t describe her in one word; she’s a very endearing woman. It is a common occurrence when playing a role, but for example, if the role has a subtle personality, there’s a tendency for that to be it without depicting other characteristics. I believe that only in a game where you can spend a long time portraying a character you can feel so many different sides of her.

Q: Please share your expectations and enthusiasm for upcoming Remake projects.

A: In order for everyone to enjoy it even more, I would like to give it my all at those times. It is probably difficult to find a portrayal for everyone to understand, but I would like to get close to that level as much as possible. I’m honored to be able to play a wonderful character like Tifa, so I will continue to concentrate on expanding her appeal more deeply.

Q: Please give a message to fans of the FFVII series.

A: My friend who is a FF fan said to me, “I’m very thankful that despite the difficult time the world is in, I was taken to a world different from reality while playing this.” There aren’t many works that can influence someone like this, and it might be presumptuous for me to say, but you can enjoy the wonderful performances of the cast, and I hope you thoroughly play through it all and look forward to the next game.

Notes:

Translated by tsubomi from FH

Edited by lockharts from FH

HQ scans provided by mayaaris from FH

Follow @finalheaven and @bestofcloti on Twitter for more content.

#tifa lockhart #ayumi ito #ffvii remake #final fantasy vii remake #ff7 remake #translations

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ranposlittle · 4 years

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Hi! I just discovered your blog and I love your writing❤️ If that's not too much to ask, could I ask for a nsfw scenario with dom Dazai who edge his s/o until she becomes a mess and beg to let her cum ? And maybe, only if you're comfortable, you could include some mirror sex and vibrator 🙈? I’m sorry if you don’t fully understand my English is not very good 😅❤️ Thank you in advance ❤️

Genre: NSFW ( SO MUCH OF IT OMG)

Tags: Vibrator, Mirror sex, Teasing, Edging

A/N: Ooo another spicy for Dazai~ not much I can say about it other than I hope this is what you wanted and listen to this audio (warning: very super spicy aaa) if you'd like. I love this VA and his works hehe. Enjooooy! ⸜( ◍´꒳`◍ )⸝◌｡˚✩

˚ * . ⊹ • ꒰꒱ • ⊹. * ˚

It’s just been well over a month since you’ve joined the Armed Detective Agency and instantly developed an attraction to a certain peculiar man. Your wandering imagination have desired to have him in your room- naked and hovering above you as his hips swing back and forth to meet yours- so much so that when the opportunity presented itself in a form of a date, you threw all sense of pride out of the window and invited him back to your place. Of course, you are aware that your intentions was completely transparent to him despite of your best efforts to conceal it, but you didn’t really care as the aching feeling inside you grows each time you look at him. You’ve dreamt of experiencing pleasure through him as he pounds you into the bed but so far, you’re being proven that good things don’t come easy as he was still fully clothed while you’re completely devoid of clothing.

“Dazai-san,” your wispy moan fluttered through the cold air circulating around your dimly lit bedroom and the quiet hum of the fan was a distant muted sound that slips out of your mind with every contact of Dazai’s tongue on your swollen clit. As both of his thumbs hold your folds open, his tongue was free to roam and ravish every moist inch of your exposed flesh. Your head further sank onto the fluffy pillow below you as another suck from Dazai’s warm mouth sends you flying over to the moon. He moaned softly when your fingers curled up on his hair and your hips bucked up to his face.

“Dazai-san, I’m close.” You called out to him once more as your toes curled inwards and your heels pressed down on the mattress. “Please, don’t stop.”

Sweat was dripping on every corner of your naked body and your muscles ache as you were repeatedly drove to your peak, only to be forcefully pulled back down whenever Dazai would abruptly stop. The fuzz in your brain further clouded your mind as Dazai’s muffled chuckle vibrated on your sensitized core.

“Not yet, (Y/N)-chan,” he crooned, dragging a finger up and down your slit. “Just a little bit longer for me, okay? I promise I’ll reward you if you do.”

You whined as Dazai resumed on the task at hand, giving more powerful sucks on your plump sex. Once he felt your legs trembling in a familiar way, he popped your clit out of his mouth immediately. You let out a wanton cry; you know you’re a thread away from breaking down because of his cruel game. The bed wobbled as Dazai pulled your body up until you’re sitting face to face with him. He gave your parted lips a quick kiss and you tasted yourself on its supple surface before his signature smirk quirked up on the corner of his mouth.

“You look so beautiful, all sweaty and flustered,” he commented, brushing back the hairs that were stuck on your forehead. “Do you want to come now, hmm?” You nodded enthusiastically which greatly amused him. “Well, where are your toys?”

You blinked in surprise from his question. “C’mon, don’t tell me that a dirty girl like you don’t have one,” he said before coming closer to whisper deeply on your ear. “I know you like touching yourself. Show me what you use on yourself while you think of me.”

Guilt washed over you as your deeply personal dirty secret was exposed in the open. You accepted the fact that Dazai knows how much you want him from the way you ogle at him but it somehow still surprised you that he apparently was also aware of what you do once you’re all alone with the memory of how good he looked that day and the faint smell of his perfume still lingering on your nose. Your eyes dropped to the floor in shame as you gingerly crawled to your side table, opened up the drawer and procured a cordless wand massager.

“Wow,” Dazai teasingly whistled. “I was right about you. You’re just as naughty as I thought.” Your eyes refused to meet his as you handed it to him but he didn’t took it; instead he titled your face up to his own.

“You see that mirror over there? I want you to show me.” He demanded in a gruff voice. “Show me how you make yourself come.”

Your heart thumped inside your chest in mixed feelings of nervousness, embarrassment and excitement. You hang on to the hopes that if you do what he asks you, no matter how humiliating, you’ll finally be allowed to reach that high your body has been craving from the first moment that he touched you. You swallowed dryly and did exactly what you were told. Dazai followed closely and sat down on the floor with you in front of your body mirror.

“That’s it. Now, spread your legs,” he ordered, settling down behind you. Dazai’s hot breath tickled the insides of your ear and send shivers running down to your core. You obeyed, of course. “Spread your pussy for me too. Let me see deep inside you.” His voice was so goddamn sexy and with all the lewd words he’s saying, you’re just dripping down with desire. You didn’t even thought of this scene playing out even in your wildest wet dreams. Your trembling fingers reached down and exposed your flushed pink flesh.

“Mmm, that’s good. You’re so soaked,” he praised sweetly. “Now, use your toy.”

The smooth head of the massager rested on the top of your clit, the sheer contact already making your legs shake. With just one flick of your finger, the massager started up in slow and steady pulses. You squealed at the sudden sensation and Dazai’s arm slithered onto your breast, caressing it and rubbing your erected nipple.

“Look at me in the mirror,” his smoky voice buzzed in your ear and you met his eyes on the perverted reflection in front of you. “This is what you dream of, isn’t it? Every time you touch your pussy, you picture me with you just like this. Well, now I’m here. You don’t have to imagine anymore. You can look at me while you enjoy using that toy on yourself like you’ve always wanted.”

You sucked on your lower lip as the massager continued to vibe on, sending volts of pleasure on your nerves. Still high from Dazai’s earlier coaxing, you didn’t even have to adjust the speed of the vibrator to feel your orgasm climbing back up again. A long drawn out moan escaped your lips and your whole body shook against Dazai.

“Are you about to come already? Does getting watched by me while you masturbate really turn you on that much?” His teasing really didn’t help your cause as it just brought even more heat to your core. “Well, you can come now if you’d really like. But if you do, then you won’t get to have my cock inside you. I know you dream of my cock too, right?”

“Y-yes, please,” you replied and cringed at how your voice sounded more pathetic than you anticipated.

“So needy,” Dazai said, pinching on your nipple. “If you want it that bad then why don’t you beg me? Maybe I’ll do it if your begging pleases me.”

His tone was so smug and domineering that it would’ve pissed you off if it wasn’t for the tingling tension in your abdomen that was threatening to snap before you can satiate the hunger you have to feel him stretch you out and fill you up. The massager kept its steady vibration on your clit as your hands tremble on its handle.

“Dazai-san, please,” you fixed your gaze on his eyes at the reflection. Lust took over you as you once again caught a glimpse of your own reflection in such an obscene position, the wrongness of it all made you even needier. “Please give me your cock. Fuck me. Use me however you want. I don’t care what you do just please… let me come.”

Your voice was so desperate, your body quivering in whichever way and your overwhelming want for his cock distracting you on the fact that you can absolutely do whatever you want, but despite of your shaking limbs, you never dared to move the vibrator away from your clit, and it’s all just to please him. It was all too entertaining for Dazai’s sadistic side to hold back his own excitement as his strained erection twitched inside his pants.

Without a warning, Dazai pushed you forward causing the vibrator go flying on a corner; your hands reflexively caught your own weight as you get down on all fours and your nose grazed the mirror. With such close proximity, you can see just how ruined you look right now, looking almost foreign to your own self. You hear Dazai’s belt clinked as it dropped on the floor and the sound of him zipping down followed. Not even having a chance for your eyes to focus on the reflection to see what Dazai was doing when a sudden piercing pain enveloped your vagina.

Dazai cursed lowly as he pushed the last centimeter of his length inside you without a care of your loud hiss of discomfort. “Wow. You’re so swollen that your pussy just sucks me right in. How nice.”

He leaned forward and gives the small of your back light kisses before reaching up to yank a fistful of your hair. You gasped as your neck strained and the angle that Dazai was holding your head was forcing you to look at your own disheveled reflection. Without a hint of hesitation, Dazai just started slamming himself into you. His hips making a loud slapping sound as it crashes into yours and with each blow, your staggered exhales fog up the mirror.

“Look at yourself,” Dazai mumbled through gritted teeth. “Not so innocent now, are we? You act like such a proper lady at the office but it only took me a second to know just how horny you truly are. It wasn’t hard to notice how your eyes would slide down to my pants and how you would rub your legs afterwards. Don’t you think it’s bad to look at your co-worker like that and think such naughty thoughts? You probably just walk around the office soaking wet all the time, don’t you?” Dazai’s mocking chuckle tightened the built-up desire inside you as you witness through your lidded eyes how he continue to forcefully pound into you. “Is this what you wanted all this time? Am I making your dreams come true?”

“Yes,” you groaned out with the little strength you have left. “Oh God, yes. Don’t stop, Dazai-san. I want to come. Please.”

Dazai grunted and pulled you back down and maneuvered you to his lap as he settled on the floor once again. “Watch.” He ordered. “Watch how my cock will go in and out of your pussy and ingrain it on your mind. If you look away, I’ll stop, understand?”

As promised, Dazai sink his fingers on your hips and he began thrusting upwards. Your breasts bounced as he rocked you but your mind was only focused on watching the way his shaft would appear and disappear into you. Wet squelching sounds occupied the space around you along with your cries of pleasure and Dazai’s breathy moans hitting the delicate skin of your back. Your hand unconsciously reached up to your breasts to massage them as you completely drown in ecstasy, but the way your walls contracted erratically around Dazai didn’t go unnoticed.

“Mmm, my naughty girl’s ready to come now, huh?” his voice was sickeningly sweet given the way he carelessly tormented you for this long. “I’ll let you, but only on my count. Let’s come together, okay?”

One of his hands moved away from the bruising grip on your side and dipped on your folds to rub circles on your clit. Your lips shivered a quiet moan as a tidal wave of pleasure rushed from your head to your toes.

“Three.”

Dazai’s hips buckled up once more and send a mind-numbing sensation on your brain piled up atop of all of the others that came before it.

“Two.”

He grunted as your walls pulsated; your orgasm was starting to spill out of you and you clamped yourself around him in an attempt to hold it for a little bit longer.

“Ugh- hold it. Not yet.”

He continued to ram himself into you and you once again cried out: in pleasure, in frustration, in need. Despite your effort, your climax was unraveling and you just about lose your mind as you wait for Dazai’s final count.

“Here it comes- ah! One-”

Two deep thrusts and Dazai sheathed his cock inside you as he release hot streams of cum. The feeling of his fluids splashing on your walls was the last straw for you to be pushed off of the edge and your orgasm busted out of you like a backed-up waterfall. Everything you know was swallowed up in a void; you felt nothing but euphoria and bliss as you let yourself convulsed erratically without neither control nor guilt present on your mind. Liquid slowly flowed down to your aching thighs shortly after Dazai pulled out of you and you limply rested your back against his chest. Your slow descent to sanity left you breathless and without an ounce of strength left on any part of your body. You felt as if almost all of your life energy was sucked out of your body and you’re just one breath away from passing out completely.

“You’re amazing.” Dazai said as he gave your temple a tender kiss. “I don’t think you’ll ever need that toy ever again. I’ll be happy to give you the real thing whenever your imagination goes wandering.”

You weakly opened your eyes and see Dazai’s dark eyes glistened as he whispered, “Even at work.”

#bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd hcs #bsd imagines #bsd scenarios #bungou stray dogs imagines #bungou stray dogs scenarios #bsd headcanons #dazaimw #osamu dazai #bsd dazai #bungou stray dogs dazai #dazai osamu #dazai osamu x reader #osamu dazai x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader

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bloodfromthethorn · 3 years

Text

The Weight of Legacy

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Tag to 1x03 Power Broker, written pre-episode 4. Also on AO3.

Sam knew he should leave it alone. He really, really should. It wasn’t like he and Bucky were on the best of terms and he certainly wouldn’t consider them friends, not the kind who trusted each other with their fault lines. Worse, they were both exhausted, Zemo was still sitting barely three feet away like some ghoulish spectre, and ‘trapped in a tiny tin can several miles above the ground’ was not on Sam’s top ten list of ideal situations to start a conversation that could turn violent but-

But.

Bucky hadn’t said a word in over two hours.

More telling was that since taking himself off to the back of the plane, as far away from all of them as he could get, he hadn’t moved an inch from where he’d tucked himself low to the ground in a tense crouch like he was willing himself to take up less space. Sam wasn’t even sure he’d blinked in the last ten minutes - at first glance, it was as if he’d simply turned to stone while they sat and watched. Stillness and silence were hardly outside of the man’s usual MO, but there was something dark in Bucky’s eyes that went well beyond his normal stoicism and Sam couldn’t deny that it had gotten under his skin.

It could be anything, really. There were a thousand things from just the last few days that could be bothering him: his return to being the Winter Soldier, being poked and prodded like cattle at a market, any number of fights, the way a man had been violently executed two feet in front of his face, the explosion that had followed seconds later… The list went on and on. It had been a shitty few days for them both, but even Sam could admit that Bucky seemed to have got the raw end of the deal during their stint in Madripoor.

And maybe it was none of that either. Nearly a century’s worth of horrifying memories slowly trickling back into his consciousness no doubt gave Bucky plenty of things to keep him up at night, things that would put that blank, desperate despair in his eyes.

But Sam didn’t know and Bucky wasn’t talking. Whatever else Sam might be - whatever else Bucky might be - Sam had worked with a lot of veterans who had shit to deal with and he might be perhaps the only person in the world currently in any position to help the man in front of him. It was the same reasoning that had led to him trying to keep in touch with Bucky when he was settling down in New York - not that it had amounted to anything in the end. The man had never once replied to his texts, no matter how directly he was asked a question. Maybe Sam should have taken the hint.

He had enough sense to wait until Zemo had absorbed himself with whatever it was he was reading - Sam thought he should probably care, but he was about 12 hours past exhausted and honestly the details were just going to have to wait a while - before he climbed achingly to his feet and wandered over to sit opposite his silent companion.

“You doing okay?”

Bucky’s eyes flicked to him, not quite meeting his gaze. He gave a sharp nod and said nothing.

Sam should really leave it alone. He sucked in a deep breath and reached for calm. “Any injuries I need to know about?”

A head shake. He couldn’t more obviously be looking to be left alone, and in any other circumstance, Sam would listen to his instincts telling him to back off and leave the highly dangerous predator to his business. As it was, he scrambled for a topic that seemed like it might be safe ground. “That book of yours. That was Steve’s right?”

They both knew that it was, even though Sam had barely caught half a glimpse of it when Bucky had snatched it back from Zemo, never to be seen again. Wherever the man had squirrelled it away on his person, it seemed pretty clear that no one else was going to be able to get anywhere near it again for some time.

This time the look Bucky shot him was measured, assessing, and his nod more curious.

“Steve gave it to you?”

“He thought I might need it,” Bucky said eventually, his voice much too quiet to carry over to Zemo.

“To help you integrate with the 21st Century?”

Bucky’s gaze dropped, his expression souring. “Maybe.”

Honestly, Sam had only asked about the book because he’d thought it might act as a decent stepping stone into a conversation on what was really going on, but now he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d managed to somehow hit upon the problem with his first shot. “You think it was something else?”

Bucky twitched, then his expression went blank like a veil had been drawn across his face. “What is this? I said I was fine.”

“Yeah, that was a thing that you said. What, you want me to pretend I believed you?”

For a tense moment, it looked very much like Sam was about to either get yelled at or hit, but Bucky’s therapist must have been doing something right because he backed himself down less than a heartbeat after the irritation had risen in his eyes. He took a measured, slow breath and fixed his eyes on Sam’s chest instead. “What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. I was just talking.”

“Then, if it’s all the same, I was hoping for some peace, okay?”

It was likely hopeless. Sam had been good at helping the folks at the VA, but those were people who had wanted to be helped; Bucky- he looked like he didn’t have the first idea what he wanted.

He still had to try.

“C’mon man, what’s eating at you? I don’t need superpowers to know something’s up, and we both need to be on our game for this one.”

Playing the duty card was a low blow, but it had the intended effect: Bucky didn’t soften at all, but he didn’t get any angrier either. “I’m just tired Sam. Drop it.”

He sighed. “Alright then. Tell me about that book of yours.”

“It’s just a book.”

“It was Steve’s, you carry it with you, and you nearly crushed Zemo’s throat when he got his hands on it. It’s something more than just a book.” There wasn’t an immediate response, so he pressed. “He said there were names in there?”

Bucky didn’t look as though he had any intention of replying, but despite himself his mouth twisted. “My sins,” he murmured.

“People you hurt when you were the Winter Soldier.”

“Yes.”

“People you’re looking to make amends to?”

Bucky twitched again, looking deeply unhappy for a split second before he smoothed out his expression. “Or for.”

That was- a lot, honestly, and it was far too much to try to get into when they were on Zemo’s plane, of all places. So instead, Sam went for the path of least resistance. “Does it help?”

He shook his head very slowly, eyes far away. “I don’t know.”

“So why do you do it?”

“Part of my court-ordered therapy.”

It was clear he wasn’t lying, exactly, but Sam had an idea it wasn’t nearly as simple as he wanted to make it sound. No doubt whatever it was was something tangled up with Steve and even if Sam had any idea how to even begin to help him work through that, he could not have more obviously been the wrong person to try. From the moment they’d set out Steve’s legacy had been lying between them like a field of broken glass, and Sam had exactly zero intention of tearing himself to pieces trying to cross it just to help a man who didn’t want him around to begin with.

Maybe this conversation really had been a bad idea after all.

“I meant to say,” Bucky said suddenly into the uneasy quiet that had descended upon them, his eyes finally landing on Sam’s face and sticking there. “Thank you, for before. I know how much you hate this.” He gestured vaguely towards where Zemo appeared to still be enraptured by his book.

It would have been easy to use the admission to hurt him, to make a dig at his rusty personability, the way Bucky was very obviously expecting him to, but even in his worst moments Sam hoped that he wouldn’t ever be that cruel. Instead, he blinked in surprise and shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “Well, you weren’t wrong. We did need him. And his help has been invaluable, even if I don’t want to admit it.”

Bucky dipped his head in acknowledgement of the indirect praise. He didn’t look better than he had before Sam had approached him precisely, but his shoulders had at least relaxed back down from around his ears and he was no longer trying to press himself into non-existence in the corner. In the face of it, Sam felt himself softening.

“How are you holding up?” He asked quietly, tilting his head in Zemo’s direction. “Having him around sucks for me but I’ve gotta assume it’s worse for you.”

Bucky shrugged. “He’s a means to an end.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you have to like it.”

“I don’t. But that’s the job.”

Sam hesitated for a split second, trying to weigh up his options. A large, loud part of him wanted to grip Bucky by the shoulders and shake him, remind him that it didn’t have to be any part of his life if he didn’t want it - in fact, there was a not insignificant number of people all around the world who had been desperately hoping that when James Barnes shook off the mantle of the Winter Soldier, he’d get out of the game altogether and retire to civilian life. If he’d had to bet, Sam would have guessed that was the very reason Steve had given him that book.

But Bucky had already spent far, far too long living in a way that other people wanted him to.

“Maybe it is. But if we’re doing this, it’s gonna be our way, alright? Walker, Zemo, Morgenthau, all of it.”

Bucky’s mouth curled up in an unamused smirk, his eyes cold. “Like Madripoor was?”

He leaned back, out of Sam’s space, to pillow his head against the wall behind him. The dismissal was obvious, but Sam wasn’t about to let the defeated belligerence of his tone stand without comment.

“Okay, yes, we made mistakes. A lot of them. But we also found out what we needed to know and because of it, we’re a step closer to keeping people safe. That’s not nothing.”

Bucky didn’t reply, just watching Sam as he considered what he’d said. Unreadable as he was, it was impossible to know if he was swayed by the argument, but either way it was obvious that he was done talking. Convenient, really, since Sam was pretty sure his own patience was just about to run dry.

“Good talk, man,” he said, clapping a hand against the immovable curve of his metal shoulder as he pushed himself as upright as he could get in the cramped space and headed back towards his seat. He’d tried; if Bucky wanted to spend the rest of the flight uncomfortable on the floor then that was his decision. “Get some rest.”

Still and silent, Bucky just watched him leave.

#tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier #my fanfic #fanfiction #my fics #bucky #james bucky barnes #sam wilson #the falcon #winter soldier #1x03 power broker #episode tag

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thejustmaiden · 4 years

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Why do you think Sunrise did that event in with Sesshomaru and Rin's VAs mirroring InuKag? They have already done that CD Drama, do you think they did that to give hope to the shippers? What if after so many hints, if they reveal in the anime that Sessrin isn't canon, aren't the shippers gonna be disapointed? This may be a dumb question and your answers are always smart and well-articulated, but i seriously don't understand their marketing strategy, do you care to explain for me?

Oh, hey there! I appreciate all the love you've been leaving on my blogs lately. I really hope I'm able to give you an answer you're satisfied with. Sorry it took some time to get back to you. I hope this makes up for it. 🙏

I'm not gonna lie, I'm up and down about how I feel about that livestream and what it means for the future of this ship. My brain has been on roller coaster mode since basically the moment the sequel was announced. We're in the home stretch now, and we better get the answers WE WANT the second that sequel comes out. Since it's evidently not going to happen anytime sooner- welp!

Before the livestream aired, I really thought us fans were on the verge of discovering the mom and that it was going to be Rin. We still had hope she wasn't, but at the same time most of us antis were "bracing for impact." lol

Then nothing happened.

We were pretty shocked but obviously relieved. The days before it came out, I was telling others (as well as myself lol) that just because Sesshomaru and Rin's VAs had a livestream together doesn't confirm anything. Besides, why does that have to automatically mean that both pairings need to be romantic? We all know how integral these characters are/were to each other's storylines, so these pairings make the most logical sense, wouldn't you say?

In the previous livestream with the voice actors who play Inuyasha and Kagome, they discuss the new character Moroha and introduce her as Inuyasha AND Kagome's daughter. Now let's compare that to the other livestream with Sesshomaru and Rin's VAs. When they described Towa and Setsuna, they did so as Sesshomaru's daughters NOT Sesshomaru and Rin's daughters. That to me is the most telling piece of evidence.

Like how could they not use that prime opportunity to tell us Rin's the mom when her voice actor was literally sitting right there??! We were all expecting it and they still insisted on giving us nothing! What this tells me is that it's possible this mom is a new character, and it even appears she is quite pivotal to the new series. I keep changing my opinion on that part though to be honest with you, because sometimes I think she won't be important at all in the grand scheme of things. (See what I mean about being up and down? lol) Idk about you, but it seems to me like we haven't even met her character. If it was Rin, why keep it a mystery? It's not like Sessrin's popularity is exactly a secret in this fandom. Why wait until the big reveal if it's "so obvious" in the first place? How does Sunrise benefit from hiding this information?

If it does end up being Rin, it would've been better to just come out and say it. If this ain't just pure fanbait like some of us still hope it is, why hold back? Give 'em what they want already and let us antis be at peace. If they hope to think that I'll change my mind and give this sequel a go just because I've waited this long so might as well, they're sorely mistaken. If anything, I'm going to be pissed they kept us in the dark this long when they could've just saved us all the trouble. I imagine that goes for a lot of us, shippers and antis alike. Whatever way you look at it, I won't be invested in this sequel if Sessrin goes canon- period. I cannot and will not be on board with a series that promotes such a harmful and insulting dynamic.

Which brings us to Sunrise's marketing strategy. Well, I definitely think they have been catering to the fans of this ship for quite some time now. Because, ya know, money. Whether that's because they plan to make this ship canon or not remains to be seen. "Show meee the moneeeeyyyy!" *yells in Jerry Maguire*

There was first the drama cd and more recently that calendar which included art of adult!Rin with Sesshomaru, but neither of those are canon first off. Also, does anyone know if it was actually confirmed to be pro-Sessrin fan art? I mean, I know it doesn't look very good when the artist who made it is a Sessrin shipper and certain fans are fawning over their OTP, but that doesn't necessarily mean the calender automatically is either last I checked. I wonder why it can't simply be Rin as an adult visiting with Sesshomaru. I believe in one picture she's seen giving him a flower, much like little Rin would've done, or just as any child does for a loved one. So if Rin is still bringing him flowers as an adult, I would assume that means their relationship dynamic hasn't changed at all. That's what's supposed to happen, too! If an adult's relationship was established with another person while they were just a child, then that adult will always view them as a child no matter what and vice versa. Even when those children become grown-ups, that won't change. That's just how things are, or how they're supposed to be rather. In other words, a normal healthy adult-child bond does not resemble one like Sessrin.

Both Sessrin fans and antis agree there haven't been any romantic implications between Sesshomaru and Rin in the original series. That's why I can't understand for the life of me why we're even having this discussion. Alas, here we are. This is what happens when society has conditioned us to believe that the only proper (aka "best") way an adult male and a young female's closeness can evolve is with romance. So maybe it's not obvious at first (because that would be illegal), but we should EXPECT their relationship to shift in that direction. Why, you ask? Well, simply because sexualizing young girls is the norm so why not, right? No clues or foreshadowing required! Because like I just said, that would be illegal. Fiction has loopholes for this kinda stuff, so problem solved?

Nope! Aging her up counts too, folks! When you look at a girl character and the first thing you think is, "I can't wait till she grows up so she can f*ck" then, yeah, you're a part of the problem. You may not realize it, but you are. That's not to say you're a bad person or that it's even your fault, just saying that there are times in all of our lives where we start to question some of our beliefs. If you not only support but desire the idea of a romance eventually forming between a grown man- yes, 19 is an adult- and a young girl, then you should probably ask yourself why that may be and re-evaluate. Please stop using cultural differences and history that dates back almost a thousand years to justify this so-called tradition.

"You all shouldn't think too deeply about this, it's just fiction! Ugh, you're ruining the fun! Antis should all just shut up! Only we can have problems, but when you do it's just complaining!"

Right....

And by the way, most of us are not even complaining. We're being critical of the content we're watching. Criticism isn't always pretty unfortunately.

If Sunrise and Rumiko do decide to go through with this, then I will disappointed, sure, but not surprised. Romanticizing these sexualized images of young or pre-pubescent girls has been happening for far too long, after all. We've become desensitized to it sadly enough, especially when the media continues to glorify it. I wish we'd realize how many young girls- or minors in general- we're putting in danger by sending messages such as this.

To you young teenage girls and even boys reading this, you may not fully understand right now, but it's never okay for anyone to tell you that your body being sexualized is a natural and beautiful thing. It's going through through a lot changes at your age, yes, but they should never use your curiosity to satisfy their sexual needs. Don't allow some of these stories to be an example of what is acceptable to occur in your own life if you were ever to encounter a similar situation, especially if fiction is all that you have to compare it to. It is not in any way, shape, or form okay for an adult to say or do sexual/romantic things to you. Even a conversation that may seem harmless at first could have dire consequences. No, not even if you trust them and they're one of your favorite people in this world are these things ever appropriate. What they're asking from you or showing you is dangerous, and even if it doesn't seem like it they are very likely taking advantage of you. If you're ever unsure about something, don't hesitate to come to me. Or maybe you have a loved one that you can go to, that works too. 😊

Idk if I even gave you a definite answer, but perhaps it's because I'm still figuring it out myself. If I ever do, ha! I hope by allowing you to get inside my head for a little bit you got a better idea. Or maybe not, and I just made it more confusing for you. Oops! lol Feel free to hit me up again, dear, and have a nice day/night!! 👋

#inuyasha #hanyo no yashahime #anti sessrin #asks #answered ask

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asotin · 3 years

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what're your thoughts on castlevania (the netflix show, not the game, ive never played the game) what do you like, what don't you like? make it as long as you want. i don't care if i have to scroll for 5 minutes. go feral (personally trevor is extremely hot and i would like to date sypha. i'm not really into alucard's whole sickly victorian child aesthetic, yknow?)

oh god this is way too long, but you did say to make it as long as i want, and i have a lot of thoughts that i need to inflict on the world

i played two castlevania games, both from the nintendo gameboy era, so please don’t get mad at me, gamers

details below the cut, but since i’ll be talking about season three, i need to preface this with content warnings for mentions of: graphic violence, rape and sexual violence, racism, and the holocaust

before i get into it, i usually don’t go for alucard-type characters either, but knowing that he was redesigned to be bishounen sexy specifically because the boring, middle aged man look he originally had in the games wasn’t appealing makes me enjoy him. and he’s fun with trevor and sypha

do like:

the voice acting

it’s all good. i can’t think of any characters whose voices were awkward or fit poorly. they don't make sypha’s va use the standard flat affect or false high voice women tend to be assigned, trevor sounds suitably worn out but not monotone, and alucard sounds exhausted but in a sexy way

and the spanish dub is killer, arguably superior

the animation & design

it isn’t full-on artsy, but it’s definitely got a distinctive style that’s easy to look at. the color use and effects are gorgeous. it’s a story set in the medieval era, and the mixture of desaturated and oversaturated elements works so well with that

dracula’s castle and the belmont bunker aren't revolutionary in design, but they didn't need to be. they're suitably creepy and empty, and i enjoyed them

the monsters were unique enough to have obvious different types, and the scene where a monster commits blasphemy in a church by accusing a priest of committing blasphemy was good writing

lisa

she shows up to a stranger’s spooky home and scolds him for being rude. she really looked an ancient vampire in the face, told him he had no manners, then had a kid with him. what a phenomenal woman. 11/10, no notes

“start with me, and i’ll start with you.” you know what? i’d fall in love, too

dracula

this ancient, unfriendly vampire let a human woman walk into his home and tell him he’s got no manners. and that made him fall in love with her. just like that. lisa walked in and handed him his ass, and dracula thought “oh i love her”. and when she was killed (more on this in the bad section), he raised literal hell to destroy the world for doing it

speaking of lisa being killed, it fucks me up that it happened because she convinced him to leave the castle and experience the world. he left her alone to see what she loved so much, only to come back and find that the people he’d come to like- the people lisa had loved so much it drove her to help in a way that got her killed- had burned her at the stake. i love a good tragedy, and that’s good tragedy

the way he weeps when he has to fight alucard?? during a showdown in their home?? the “i must already be dead” moment in alucard’s childhood bedroom??? when he speaks to lisa about killing their boy, her greatest gift to him??? poetic cinema.

the trio’s dynamic

three bisexuals with two total brain cells and only alucard bothers using them. incredible

i went so hard for this ot3. it's right there and so good

sypha

she initially seems to be assigned the role of the adult™️ ie she's the only woman and gets stuck being responsible, but surprise! she’s just as annoying and dumb as alucard and trevor. she dropped a castle she didn’t understand on the ground and didn’t think too hard about it. then she argued about breaking it. i love her

if we don’t get an ot3, then she needs to have a dumb gf

alucard

he's got a stupidly low neckline and lower pants. they really leaned into ayami kojima’s redesign, as they should have. his little curl annoys me, though. why the fuck does he have a random section of hair that’s like three inches long when the rest is shoulder length or longer? love that he really looks like lisa

if you say he's canonically bisexual and polyamorous, no he isn't. yes he is. no he isn't :)

trevor

disgusting. a nasty man whose appearance mirrors his state of mind. he's 50 mental illnesses in a dirty jacket and his coping mechanism is… alcohol? maybe? he’s a mess, and i dig it

him trying his trick of kneeing alucard in the balls during their fight? and finding out it doesn't work? (which…… why doesn't it……?) juvenile but suitable

hector

his love of animals makes him my favorite. normally, i won’t touch anything with this much animal death, but i’m willing to set that aside because hector loves them so much. he’s so sweet and kind, and he loves his monster pets

yes he sided with dracula and has some really fucked up ideas about what constitutes humane treatment of people, and yet i love him. 11/10, but i have a lot of notes

isaac

i support him, including his murdering and his decision to support dracula. dracula throwing him out of the castle to save him was so cruel in that it was an attempt at kindness from a man who hated the whole world, but it was against isaac’s wishes

his time with the captain was great

idk enough about islam to know if he's portrayed correctly and haven’t seen any complaints, but given the show’s track record……… i wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not great

the forging

very cool. fresh and interesting! hector creating pet friends is cute and heartbreaking. love isaac for his dedication to reducing, reusing, and recycling

season 2’s big battle with all those vampires

the new version of “bloody tears” is phenomenal

this goes back to the animation, but listen……. it's so good. i loved the smoke vampire, and alucard’s fluid wolf transformations. his flying sword looked really good, and incorporating them together? super good to watch. and trevor’s whip?

the type and level of violence are suitable for what it is. it would be weird for a gritty show like this to be bloodless, but i don't think it would work if it were bloody to the extent of a slasher. it's also more clean violence, if that makes sense. you don’t linger just to look at gore; you see it because stabbing someone spills blood. the games weren't about extended, gritty scenes of realistic murder, so the show sticking with quick, slice and dice type fights fit with what i remembered of them

please watch this fight if you don’t remember it or haven’t seen it (part 1, part 2)

trevor’s whips

trevor’s weapons don’t follow the physics of normal whips, and they shouldn't. they’re heavily stylized and clearly a fantasy weapon, but they still have rules that they (mostly) have to obey. his morning star-whip hybrid in particular is so good

it’s easy to follow, too. a lot of times, speedy weapons disappear, which is an understandable effect but one i find boring because there’s nothing for me to do. i’m just sitting on my ass with nothing to do

trevor’s whips don’t disappear. they’re fast, but you can always see them. and they have weight! you can see them slow down and gain speed. i don’t need physics to be real; i want movement to be pleasing, and that’s exactly what i get with the whips

don’t like:

fridging lisa

she could have been kidnapped (possibly make dracula think she was dead bc people want to lure out her scary demon husband, idk), then s2 could have ended with her and dracula reuniting as he died. she and alucard go on a trip together to attempt to make amends for the pain dracula wrought in lisa’s name. orrrr she dies a tragic death with him and we’re left to hope that they find each other in the afterlife. do vampires get to go to the afterlife? can alucard reintegrate? can he be happy with his new friends? or will he go back to his crypt and sleep again? will he ever be rediscovered? if so, what will he do? deep questions. i would prefer to cogitate on these instead of experiencing the shitshow that is s3

season 3

they should have ended it with dracula’s death. the quality of storytelling goes down immediately. just plummets. i’m sure there were problems in the first two seasons, but this one is so bad, i genuinely can’t remember

but i may as well get specific, so here we go:

abandoning alucard

trevor and sypha leave their friend alone in his childhood home where he just killed his father. where they helped him kill his father who, as i’ve said too many times, raised literal hell to get revenge for people burning alucard’s mother to death

yt they don’t talk about alucard. they don’t make any plans to touch base ever again. trevor’s entire family got killed. sypha’s culture, from which she’s now estranged, is family-centric. if ever two people should give a shit about alucard and know why alucard shouldn’t be left on his own, it's them

so what the hell is going on?

trevor and sypha’s relationship

look. it could be good. it would be better with alucard but they could be together and it could work fine

but this……….

trevor hates what they're doing. he hates traveling around and fighting. he's clearly tired and deeply depressed

sypha not only doesn't care enough to address it (did they forget the first two seasons?? sypha is annoying partly because she doesn't stop poking people) she might not even notice? yes, she's having fun, but trevor is basically dead on his feet in front of her

racism

hector, sumi, and taka all got done dirty

sumi and taka

i hate the way they died. i hate that i’m certain that the plot won’t bring japan back into the narrative (or if it does, i don’t trust it not to be shitty). i hate the fact that by killing them off, i’m not going to get any more of them. they were interesting!!

speaking of the japanese vampire: the biphobia, arguably, given what happens with alucard

the addition of sexual violence

i don’t need or want lenore. if all she’d done was manipulate hector, i could have lived with that. she’s a villain, so she does bad things. that’s the point. but what she did was a massive escalation. we hadn’t had any sexual violence, and then the last few episodes gave us

tumblr feminists who love her for how she treated hector need to be quarantined until their brain worms have been cured

everything that happens to hector

what was this shit? why did i open my netflix app and tap castlevania and find them making this man walk around naked in the cold to torture him? and starving him? he got manipulated, degraded, chained up, collared like an animal, and raped. and why? to show us how bad lenore is? that the other vampires are bad because they let her do it? i didn’t sign up for this

the holocaust reference

the imagery at the end of s3 when it’s revealed that the judge has been killing people he’s decided are undeserving to live and collecting their shoes in that barn was chillingly close to images of shoes taken from victims of the holocaust. there's no reason to invoke the holocaust here. it’s unnecessary and in bad taste

#asks #anonymous #long post #anti-castlevania netflix #i guess #cw rape #cw holocaust mention #cw racism #cw holocaust #all of these are tags i didn't anticipate using on my stupid sideblog #i'll probably find a bunch of typos in like 12 hours rip me #but i feel bad for taking so long

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independentartistbuzz · 3 years

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7 FROM THE WOMEN: RED FLOWER LAKE

Red Flower Lake is lush, heady electro-pop. Aloe vera for our dried-out hearts. Sweeping melodies and understated yet complex soundscapes. These songs are open doors to a relationship: two people who know each other about as well as two humans can, singing to the other, about each other, offering a brave and heartfelt depiction of the territories they have survived and navigated together. It’s all here: intimacy and distance, heartbreak and ecstasy. Vulnerability, insecurity and courage.

1. What have you been working to promote lately?

It feels like I have been working on promoting a lot lately (internally and externally). Things like honesty, clear communication, empathy, patience, naming emotions, opening my heart, peace in my family, etc, etc.

But that’s not quite what we are talking about. ;)

I have been working alongside my husband to promote our EP Three Truths as well as an exhibit of our multi-media work at the Torosiete museum of contemporary art - a virtual museum unlike any other. Our exhibit just opened at the end of October and will be open for all of time - as long as there is internet.

Our EP Three Truths consists of three songs, Heart is Breaking, Baby Don’t Go, and Brave. The first two were written when we had super young kids (about 8 years ago).

When we were first considering releasing some songs this past May, we weren’t sure which songs to begin with. We were pretty tired of Heart is Breaking and Baby Don’t Go but also felt like they were worth something, belonged together, and like they might be the beginning of a story. We figured we would see what mixing one of them would do and take it from there. We sent out Baby Don’t Go and after trying a couple different mixers, we landed on Mike Pepe through a family friend named Kelly Musgrave at Linear Management. He did his thing and we actually got inspired enough to completely redo the vocals which was pretty satisfying. I had started voice lessons several months earlier and felt like I had more to offer the song. Once the energy was back in Baby Don’t Go it was pretty exciting to see what some mixing would do to Heart is Breaking. Deciding to release those particular songs really felt like the end of a pretty challenging time. It has been nice to have them out in the world where people might be able to relate to them giving voice to an experience that is painful but also real. I don’t know how many emotions we get away with leaving unturned but I appreciate a song that can help me reflect on a feeling.

Heart is Breaking was the kind of song that was so of a moment, it didn’t feel worth it to try and enunciate the words better or change what I was unsatisfied with after hearing it mixed. I am curious whether that choice will actually impact my satisfaction long term but, so far, I have found it both surprising and amusing that putting something out into the world that is a little bit vocally unfinished doesn’t bother me at all.

As for Abel’s vocals though, they are straight from the heart. They are also his original vocals. I remember when I first heard them I felt a lot less significant as part of our musical duo. He just put it all out there and it sounds so good. Heart is Breaking speaks to the experience of wanting love even though it seems to always end in heart break. An experience that, as a young parent, felt very prevalent.

Brave to me is all in the title. My setup is such that if I want to play around on the keyboard with a feeling I’m having, I still need to pull up ProTools and title the session - even though I don’t know what I am going to play which is the case a lot. Often when I am sitting down to play music, it is to explore something in my mind and on my heart and in this case I wanted to be brave about that exploration so I titled the song Brave. Brave is about sticking around and being present to see what is true even if it is scary.

All of the songs I write are deeply personal. In the past, it has sometimes surprised me that Abel would even touch the material, considering how blatant it is but I’ve learned that I’m not the only one in the relationship that sometimes feels paradoxical and complex feelings.

Having made music together for such a long time now without releasing any of it, we are both really excited to share more of the story and more of our music. It feels like an epic tale that is still revealing itself in real time. Three Truths feels like the beginning of a bigger message - this first message being “Damn this is hard but relationship is sort of like that sometimes”.

2. Please tell us about your favorite song written, recorded or produced by another woman and why it’s meaningful to you.

Sade’s Smooth Operator. There are a lot of songs and a lot of reasons why to pick them but this one pulls me right back to a time in my life when not a lot of things were easy but at that moment, the house was warm, the whole family seemed happy and there was an abundance of food. I was maybe 5, my family was living with my great aunt and her daughters who were at least ten years older than us. We were all still getting used to living together and my family was still getting used to living in Va after moving from New Mexico. When Smooth Operator came into my awareness, it was the day after Thanksgiving and there was a bounty of leftover mashed potatoes, peas and onions in cream sauce, and stuffing that needed to be eaten. While we formed those leftovers into little balls and baked them, we were introduced to that song. I think we may have listened to the whole album a couple times through but we named our food creation after Smooth Operator and it is one of the special happy memories I have from an amazing but also pretty heavy childhood. Throughout my childhood from then on, Sade was a voice I leaned into. I remember one night my twin sister and I lay down in the dark of her empty room in middle school and listened in consecutive order through Diamond Life, Promise, Stronger Than Pride, and Love Deluxe on our tape player to the light of a big moon. One of my all time favorite nights.

Smooth Operator felt like a warning. Like watch out girls, they’re everywhere. The first song of their first album. Her voice was always my reference. I wanted my voice to sound like hers. I wanted to make songs like hers - with a point, with heart, and with a voice you want to listen to. Smooth Operator is our family anthem, made so by a moment we all recall fondly - an odd anthem perhaps but my family is as odd and as amazing as they get.

3. What does it mean to you to be a woman making music / in the music business today and do you feel a responsibility to other women to create messages and themes in your music?

Having an opportunity to use my voice as a woman at this time feels very special and important and I hope that I am doing my part in honoring the power of the feminine, and the important work of keeping it real in all my relationships at all levels.

I work to be authentic and express as clearly from my heart as I can. Making music - making art, is a way for me to connect with my emotions, my inner wisdom, a way to express those feelings, ultimately it is a way to communicate something that means something to me. I recognize that this is a potentially self indulgent process and I pray that my purpose of honoring the human experience and reminding us of our power is conveying.

It is important for me to be super honest because there are so many feelings I have felt ashamed of and wouldn’t even admit to in the past that I am now realizing are actually just part of a human experience. Honoring and expressing my truth thus far has been a thousand times more empowering than the results have been of hiding from my truth as a result of believing I should be ashamed of my feelings and for believing in my worth - what I know is true in my heart. Denial of my truth has wreaked havoc in my life and it isn’t worth another moment of time to feed or encourage such disempowering paradigms.

I recognize that we all have a lot to heal from and a lot of healing work to do individually and collectively. I think a large part of that healing work is around being brave enough to honor our feelings, identifying their source, and getting empowered to speak/know/honor our truth - a truth that is both unique and valid.

Perhaps if we are able to honor ourselves in this way, we will be able to hear each others’ truths with compassion, recognizing ourselves in each other's struggles.

A big step for me in my healing journey has been accepting and being willing to hear and honor my own truth. No more wars - internal or external. When I am not fighting myself, I am one less person who is fighting themselves and that is extremely motivating. I think all of my fighting ultimately comes from internal conflicts so I might as well start with that and find some way to work that stuff out. I have been working on not making other people the bad guy but, if I see ‘bad guy’ out there in the world, to note that I see a reflection of parts of myself I still am in a healing process with.

I am not sure what the depths of our world’s healing will entail but I know my responsibility is to my own healing and it is empowering to own that responsibility. I pray we all honor ourselves like the magnificent and unique creations we are and honor ourselves like we are somebody’s child who adores us. Even if we can argue that our parents did not or do not love us, there is still and always will be immense love for each of us in the vast universe and from our mama earth. We are worthy of our best life. In fact. I think it is the only sustainable future.

My responsibility is to honor and stay true to my truth.

4. What is the most personal thing you have shared in your music or in your artist brand as it relates to being female?

All of the songs I write are extremely personal and expose my deep internal struggles. But I am okay with being a voice and a sound. Being an image has not been easy. Learning to embrace my face, my body, my movement, my inner style, etc, feels much more exposing and personally challenging. The entire world of what is sexy, what is beautiful, what is inspiring, what is useful, etc. has been out of reach for me since forever. I find that the more I turn toward my spiritual truth, my spiritual purpose, toward awe and gratitude for the children in my life, the more permission I have and the more energy I have for exposing my physical person on a true and personal level. What feels beautiful, what feels empowering, what feels good and right?

I have in the past, been absolutely disempowered around beauty and sex that I feel like only now am I getting access to any answers internally about what is beautiful, empowering and what feels good for me. I am a mother and it is important to me that the children in my life have examples of real women and men in their lives who are empowered and strong and honest- not because of our physical form but because of our clarity in purpose and our open hearts.

I know the sexiest thing a person can do in my heart/ mind is their inner work, get straight with themselves about what they are doing here and live and breathe their purpose.

On the level of the eye, I think playing with what my spiritual guides have to say to me at any given moment feels the most appropriate and fun. I’d rather be in a conversation with them about physical expression than with old paradigms of sex appeal and survival on this physical plain.

5. What female artists have inspired you and influenced you?

Oh my goodness, So many. I really believe that the unapologetic art of all women throughout time has molded me as part of the collective creative conscience. Art begets art.

I come from a family of bohemian artists and I would be remiss in not honoring them particularly and their absolute influence in my life. Their authentic expressions have absolutely shaped and inspired me and I am so grateful to each of my family members for their conscious participation in living their best lives.

My highschool teacher and friend Zap McConnel reinforced and added to what my family already inspires in me. She was my first real mentor and example outside of my family in living a life of integrity and breaking the molds of our boxed beliefs.

And Beatrice Ost. She has been part of my family for a long time but it really wasn’t until her grandchildren connected with our kids that we became better acquainted and, just as kids tend to do, through our children we have been led into a most beautiful and inspiring relationship of collaboration and inspiration. We wouldn’t be where we are now without her and really everyone in the world. The ripples are real.

6. Do you consider yourself a feminist? If so why and if not why?

I consider myself a feminist because I believe in the unique and essential wisdom of the feminine and its absolute importance in the balance of life. I could also consider myself a divine masculinist but that movement is really in conjunction with the healing of the divine feminine. It is for all of us to heal from this woundedness - not just women.

There is no denying that women have been oppressed for millenia - longer than any other human group except children - and it feels important to me to keep raising the collective awareness to the long lasting effects of oppression that continue to weigh on the lives of everyone. If mama is oppressed, everyone is oppressed because if mama is oppressed she does not have the power she needs to stand up for what she knows in the depths of her heart - to care for the hearts of her family and that kind of pain and injury is passed down a long way.

I have been considering the narrative of our media history around witches - how they have been conveyed so terribly in our social history. I am interested in those stories from the witches’ perspectives. I’d love to hear the backstory of Ursula the deep sea witch in The Little Mermaid. It seems to me that she may have wanted to say something to someone… An easily identifiable sentiment for most human beings at this point. There can be no more pretending how much we have all suffered because of fear and domination. I don’t think we need to gender specify suffering generally but just like with race, it is true that there are some significant stereo types that have been disempowering for a long time.

We are still living in the antiquated world of shame about menstrual cycles for God’s sake! It’s bonkers. I can attest that this particular gift has felt like a burden in this worn out world of 9-5 schedules and limited sick days and - if any - and our basic needs for survival are not cared for enough so that we don't even know this immense gift as an honor. But as we each recognize our person as an immense gift and when we honor ourselves and each other as such, we change the world.

I am a feminist and a masculinist because I strongly believe that each of us as individuals needs to feel empowered as part of something larger than just our individual egos. Each of us is essential and honoring our unique gifts will and does heal our world in deep and profound ways. Each of us knows something, has a purpose here that needs to be respected by everyone. Men and women both would benefit from honoring the feminine in all that is and vice versa. It is a balance and as long as the balance is off there will be a need for feminism. And just as much there is a need for honoring the divine masculine. It truly is a matter of balance - one that needs support internally and externally as individuals and as a collective.

7. What was the most challenging thing you have had to face as a female Artist?

The most challenging thing I have had to face as a creative being is myself. My own pride and jealousy, self doubt, and a need for external approval have kept me from taking risks, whether it is going into action or taking a nap. Everything I did or didn’t do was based on what I thought somebody else might think which gave me very little room for actual self expression. Giving myself permission to exist independently of other people’s approval and trusting the creative flow has been a matter of challenging oppressive systems - both external and the ones and the ones in my head that I have defended as part of a fear based world. As I continue to grow wiser and my body becomes more of an ally for my heart rather than a sculpture project, I find myself in battle with old paradigms around self image.

It is an interesting time to be alive and I have lots of hope for us as a collective as I continue to break my own belief systems because if I can do it, it can be done. Breaking out of old and limiting beliefs, considering new paradigms, recognizing my inner/outer calling and prioritizing that calling beyond all else has been liberating and empowering. My dream is that all our dreams come true. I know my heart is based in love and that all the struggle has been for learning. This knowledge has helped me come to terms with trauma but I would say I think oppression is systemic and the more we can break free of our own excuses and reasoning to defend oppressive systems, the more swiftly and easily we will transition to a new world. I am more than happy to be inviting in a paradigm of inclusivity, kindness, inquiry, compassion, and honesty. An undeniable breath of fresh air from so many oppressive paradigms past and present.

Listen to “Three Truths”

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swaps55 · 4 years

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What's your favourite character to write?

Wheeee, I’m gonna cheat and give you more than one.

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Kaidan is a filthy soft-hearted paragon with integrity coming out his ears, loves carefully but deeply, is tough but kind, has been through trauma and hardship but found his way through to the other side. He’s steadfast, warm, funny if you pay attention, and the type of character who gives an excellent opportunity to observe others. So, basically, if you wanted to trap a Swaps in the wild, Kaidan Alenko is the friggin’ template you should work from to do it, Plus, when he’s with Shepard I get to go ham with old soldier imagery, which I have discovered is one of my absolute favorite things. Not surprisingly, I write Kaidan eagerly and often. Virtually all of my mShenko is exclusively from his POV. When I do it from Shepard’s it loses its magic somehow.

The less obvious one? ASHLEY. I was never satisfied with Ashley in the games. I knew what I wished she would be, but the games never quite...gave me that. So a goal for me when I sat down to write Exordium was to create the Ashley that I’d wanted to see in the games. How surprised was I when all of her scenes basically wrote themselves? She was effortless for me to write - in fact I had to be very careful that she didn’t dominate POV characters when she shared scenes with them. She’ so fun and freeing to write. Loud, funny, confident, uninterested in worrying about what people think of her. She just...does her thing. And doesn’t apologize for it. It’s a blast.

Honorable mention? Garrus. I love Garrus. I love him as a romance, I love him as Shepard’s best friend. In my stories I work his snark and sense of humor, and I’m always happy with the results. I very badly want to write more ME2-era fic, where he’s got Shepard’s back no matter how dark it gets, and in my ME2 canon things get really dark for Shepard. (Not Fine is my favorite example.)

Couple of snippets that I love for each character:

Kaidan, from Celestial Navigation:

Shepard’s body is familiar, but only as it functions in a hardsuit. Where it’s weak. Where it’s strong. How long before his amp overheats, how much punishment his barrier can take before he’s spent and vulnerable. He knows Shepard’s weak left hip – still weak, even after he’s been rebuilt from the ground up, because the man doesn’t know how to roll to the right every now and then – and how to protect him from it.

Now instead of gauntleted hands searching ablative for a breach to seal, Kaidan’s fingers skate over bare skin, find where it’s whole and where it’s broken. Instead of checking his biofeed and reading Shepard’s pulse he feels it under his palm, flesh and blood instead of numbers in his HUD.

This is better. This is much better.

Ashley, from Exordium, Chapter 24 - Corpora Numerandum:

When Kaidan crawled his way back to groggy consciousness, he discovered he wasn’t alone. In the dark confines of Dr. Chakwas’ office there was a small rectangular glow of light from a datapad. The smell of eggs and sausage filled his nostrils, eliciting a growl from his empty stomach. The vice around his skull had loosened into a dull, throbbing ache. With a groan he rolled over and reached up to thumb the switch of a small lamp on Dr. Chakwas’ desk. In the sudden light he saw a pair of neon green boots propped up on the frame of his cot.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Williams drawled, not looking up from her datapad. “Did you know Dr. Chakwas likes celebrity gossip? I think she has half a dozen entertainment mags on this thing.” She swiped at the screen, head cocked to the side with one eyebrow raised. “Apparently Varesh Onek and Chan’Dren Yara vas Naroma of Fleet and Flotilla fame may be a real life couple.” She looked up at Kaidan. “See, they’re assuming I have any idea what the hell Fleet and Flotilla is.”

“What are you doing here?” Kaidan replied, sitting up slowly as he waited for his brain to shake off some of the cobwebs. The aftermath of a migraine felt a little like what he imagined coming off a three day ryncol bender might be like.

She lifted a tray off Dr. Chakwas’ desk and removed the cover with a flourish. Beneath it was a steaming pile of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes dripping with syrup. The smell was heavenly. She smirked. “The Doc said you’d be coming around soon, and I hear biotics like to binge eat.”

“You brought me breakfast?” he said, surprisingly touched by the gesture.

She raised her chin proudly. “Reconstituted it myself. I figured I’d save you the trouble of shambling through the mess to get some grub. Someone might mistake you for a plant zombie.”

“How chivalrous,” he said dryly.

“Right. Cute. Because of the knight in shining armor comment. I get it.” She pulled the tray out of reach. “You can’t have this now.”

Garrus, from Noel:

“I bet there’s a few turian traditions that sound more than a little odd when you try to explain them to outsiders,” Liara prods.

“As odd as a single person visiting the homes of an entire planet in one evening?” Garrus asks. “Liara, we’re talking physics here.”

She gives him a withering look. “Ok. Then tell me about the turian belief in Turak Selar.”

His mandibles twitch. “You mean the spirit that snatches the souls of ill-mannered children and traps them in lizards?”

Liara is silent.

“How is that weird?”

She sighs and turns back to the monitors. “Christmas seems like a multi-layered tradition. There are even hints of fertility rituals in there, though I’m not sure humans still acknowledge those origins.”

Garrus shudders. “I really hope fertility has nothing to do with this.”

“The Christmas tradition appears to have both religious and folkloric derivations,” EDI’s offers helpfully over the comm. “The human Christian faith honors it as a birth commemoration for the offspring of their deity. The occasion is marked with religious services, re-enactments of the child’s birth—”

The turian’s mandibles flail in alarm.

“—communal singing of relevant songs and reuniting of families. However secular influences appear prominently throughout the holiday’s history as well. The date coincides closely with a winter solstice. Several related ancient customs therefore have been adopted as part of the festivities, such as interior decorations with greenery, feasting, and gift giving.”

The AI’s voice quirks with interest on the last comment.

There’s a knock on the door, and Tali enters. “You said you wanted to see me?”

“For solidarity,” Garrus quips. “Shepard and the rest of the humans apparently neglected to tell us they secretly worship an immortal fat man who rides around in a hover sled dragged by hapless mammals, distributing presents to young children by breaking into their homes.”

Tali is so still Liara feels out the room’s gravity well to see if she’s somehow accidentally put her in a stasis field. “Is…that a joke?”

“No, Tali,” Garrus says with a sigh. “We’re actually friends with these people.”

#rpgwarrior4824 #swaps replies #mememe #meme replies #how writing is written #YAY FOR ASKS #thank you!

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elenatria · 5 years

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What are your thoughts on chernobyl episode 3 ?

Bestest ep ever.

This episode starts with silent looks.

It’s so heart-warming to see Boris’ boyish smile of pride and relief as he claps and waves, like a kid watching national heroes parade right in front of him. He’d be waving a flag if he could.

Of course Valery has no time for smiles because he knows better, he knows this isn’t over. However they do exchange a glance, starting to appreciate what they’re both doing for the cause, starting to realize the power of their collaboration.

In the next scene they’re almost demolishing what they just built, the trust and respect. Valery lashes out at Boris about the evacuation zone. Boris gets defensive because he just won’t have his newly found partner blaming him. This is getting too personal.

And oh, here it comes, the revealing “Don’t use my name” moment of this episode but in reverse.

Boris is not just offended by Valery calling his peers apparatchiks.

He’s deeply wounded. And he delivers his next line in the darkest, huskiest tone imaginable.

Because hey, Valery could be talking about him for all he knows. So yeah, watch your tongue because I’m one of the people you loathe and I DON’T want to be one of the people you loathe, I’m not one of them, do you understand?

Of course he’s quick to hide his hurt behind a wall of authoritativeness.

But Valery knows the meaning behind Boris’ words. He stops and stares and blinks and drops his head not because he’s embarrassed for being rebuked but because he got to hurt Boris’ feelings again. He wants to learn not to hurt him anymore, and fails.

Pikalov then comes to bring some good news about the reduction of iodine 131 and Boris grabs this opportunity (the first in a series of attempts to cheer up Valery) to help the scientist see the glass as half full, not half empty. He still needs Valery’s approval and to tell him he’s doing things right.

Valery turns to face him because he really really wants to be on good terms with him and Boris looks away casually as if to say “We’re good, no harm done.” Or maybe he can’t face him just yet.

Next scene, Valery is being his usual blunt self to Gorbachev himself. This Nerd is getting more and more dangerous to himself, not to mention an embarrassment to Boris.

Naturally Gorbachev, offended by Valery’s aggressive tone, hangs up.

And then we have Boris asking to do something as intimate as taking a walk with him. Is that… the equivalent of a first date?… That’s… like… fanfic material right there.

And then… Valery blurts out the most common excuse in the book. Wait, “common”? Yeah it’s common but the way he utters it he sounds like Boris’ girlfriend “having a headache”, y’know. “Not tonight, love, it’s late and I’m tired.”

But see, Boris Shcherbina is Boris Shcherbina and he won’t take no for an answer. I don’t think he ever took no for an answer tbh.

Valery breathes out a sexy resigned exhale and stares back because yeah Boris is being his usual self with that hoarse authoritative tone, however this time they’re alone and Valery is probably having a massive boner right now, being ordered around. Ordered to have a walk. Anything else you want to order me, Boris?

Next they’re seen walking and Valery is starting to learn how he should act around people. Of course he’s resisting. “Yes I know I embarrassed you in front of Gorbachev but here, have my non-apology instead, it’s better than nothing, yes?” Yeah, Valery, like you care how Boris feels. Or do you?

Then Boris asks him about the effects of radiation. The description gets more and more gruesome but Boris is a big boy, he can take it. And he wants to learn. From Valery.

Now this “Continue” here is like a total plot bunny for any bottom!Boris smut fic because yeah, imagine Valery on top of him, hesitant, not sure if he should enter him or not but Boris, like the power bottom that he is, is ready for anything and urges him on. Because he wouldn’t let anyone top him but he would make an exception for Valery. Because who doesn’t want to let go once in a while and be fucked by a brilliant scientist, amirite?

Ok. Mind. Out of the gutter. NOW.

A-hem. Sorry for that, that was my evil smut-writing twin. Moving on.

And this is when things get even more intimate, this is every fangirl’s (or fanboy’s) dream. After listening to the horrible effects of radiation on a human body Boris wants to know how “lucky” he is compared to those doomed men. How lucky THEY are, and how much time they have on this planet.

Yeah, it sure is a friendly “we’re in this together” moment but there’s something more, right? The way Boris delivers that line is like they’re an item, they’re “us” now. He’s not alone. And Boris is not the only person Boris cares about.

Valery takes a step back, pauses and squints as if he’s thinking “not sure if Boris is just worried about his hide or if he’s genuinely concerned about me, about us, and… is that a glimpse of hope and lust in his husky tone?”

AND THEN WE GET THE BESTEST (ok one of two bestest) VALORIS MOMENT OF THE EPISODE.

That’s Boris seeing the glass half full once more, encouraging Valery, and practically telling him “You know what, I’m glad I’m not alone in this and it could have been worse and I’m glad we get to live a little longer and I’m glad YOU get to live a little longer. With me.” And I mean, look at his face when he says those words and LISTEN TO HIS VOICE as he gradually reduces it to a tender whisper saying “Valery…” Is that the first time he calls Valery by his first name? I think it is. And it’s a payoff of the first time Valery called him “Boris”. Now Boris is finally apologizing for his tone in the helicopter and acknowledging the fact that using their first names gives him life.

Then we have the second time Boris asks about Valery’s feelings, the second “what?” scene.

Ooooh first names again. The boys are so getting used to each other and Valery is acting like an insecure lover, asking for support.

Next scene, the second best Valoris scene of the episode.

Boris staggers into Valery’s office like he’s had one cup of Vodka too many with the guys and obviously Valery didn’t want to join them because work, because Apocalypse, because Armageddon. So Boris will bring the party to him whether he likes it or not.

THEN WE GET THE SECOND GREATEST VALORIS MOMENT OF THIS EPISODE.

Boris calls Valery by his nickname (are we on a nickname basis now??). And to my uneducated western ears that still sounded a bit too intimate. If google is correct Valera is pronounced Va-LYE-ra or something but you get my drift.

What’s next, Valery calling him Borja or something?

Valery begrudgingly shakes his head in approval but basically ignores him.

Look at Boris being frustrated and hurt once more by Valery’s coldness.

But nooooo Boris won’t have anyone ignoring him, especially not Valery. Not when HE is happy. So Valery should be happy too. So he makes him drink. He demands it.

And to me btw that glass being dragged between Valery’s hands is the equivalent of Boris dragging himself between Valery’s knees and grabbing his face for a kiss. You can’t ignore me now, can you?

Boris tries to cheer him up and uses the worst words he can.

The double (and fateful) meaning of that phrase doesn’t get lost on either of them.

And oooooh the naked miners’ scene. Look at their shocked faces lol.

Valery witnesses Boris not acting all-knowing all-powerful in front of his inferiors for the first time. That’s progress. And he feels bad for him.

Later on, upon hearing the news of Ulana’s arrest Valery appeals to Boris as if asking his boyfriend for help. First name basis always.

Yes, Boris, Valery is a demanding boyfriend.

And oh, Boris won’t have his boyfriend embarrass him in front of the committee.

When Valery storms out of the room to address the chief of the KGB in his usual blunt manner Boris is scared shitless. “I didn’t bring you here to have you sent out to some gulag because you’re a STUPID, unceremonious and reckless nerd.”

And finally, one of the funniest yet tender moments of the episode. Valery is looking at Boris for approval. He knows he almost got himself arrested but still Boris’ opinion counts more than anything.

And that’s Boris telling him “you scared me shitless, you idiot, did you know they could kill you for that? Don’t EVER do this to me again.”

#boris shcherbina #valery legasov #chernobyl #hbo #jared harris #stellan skarsgard #valoris #episode 3

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