#I think the devs know how thirsty we are for him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

series-thoughts · 6 months

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JUST HEAR ME OUT:

Imagine, in the end, Caroline and Chucky are cornered. And they purpose a game, if Chucky wins, they all die. If they win, they get to kill Chucky. The game? King's Corner. Real simple, really easy. And the rules are to get through three rounds without quitting, they don't even have to win.

Seems too good to be true, right?

They decide to play it, since they'll willingly have Caroline on their side. And Jake decides to be the one who plays with Chucky, Devon watching out to see if he cheats. But before the third round, Caroline complains that she's thirsty and gets drinks for everyone before the next round. Chucky said that you always have drinks and snacks during a card game, or that was how his family played.

But, surprise surprise, Chucky drugged the drinks. But not in a way you'd expect, it didn't kill them, but put them under enough drugs to think that they had all made this up and they were in a psych ward together, and Chucky was their therapist and Caroline was his daughter that came to visit.

And Chucky convinces Jake that his dad died due to an accident, and he wasnt really killed by a doll. Jake just didnt want to fault his own father for his death, that's where the idea of Chucky came from. Something to blame. All this time, Jake didnt want to understand why Chucky was doing this, all he wanted to know was what he was.

And for a second, he almost gets Jake to quit the game.

But Devon steps in, he immediately recognizes it when Chucky says "You need to quit this game, Jake." and prevents him from doing so by knocking Jake to the ground, shattering a glass cup.

He picks up the largest piece, but all Chucky says is "Put that down, little man. You're going to hurt yourself."

And Devon's like "Jake, listen to me, okay? Don't believe it. Chucky always lies, you know this! And if...if you believe him, that means all our time spent together has been nothing but a story you created! I'm just character, nothing more. Lexy, Jake, if you truly don't care...then nothing I do can affect you, right?"

He turns to the two, raising his sleeve. "Snap out of it, you two. Please." And then, trigger warning, he slits one of his wrists, getting blood all over the floor while Jake just lays there, and Lexy just sits, watching.

"Wake up, guys. Please." And soon, Devon's on the floor too. And Caroline just walks up to him, softly petting his head. "You poor, poor thing. Never recognized, always overlooked. Your love isn't enough to save them." And it sounds like she actually has pity for him, before she looks at Jake. "Jake, do you quit the game?"

There's no response, as Chucky smiles manically. "That means...we win, Caroline. We win!" And he's laughing, and it seems like they actually won, before Jake reaches for Devon's hand.

"Dev." He began. "I want...I want to be able to say "Good night" to you tonight."

Devon smiles. "I want to be able to watch a horror movie with you guys."

"I want to see your faces tomorrow." Lexy tells them. "And I...I want to be able...to maybe make a tiktok with you guys."

"One of these days," Jake begins. "I'm gonna take you guys to an art show."

"And I want to make breakfast tomorrow." Devon says. "And I wanna hear Lexy backseat cooking with me."

"That would be pretty nice. I never got to take you on that movie date," Jake says. "After this, I swear to God I will."

"Even arguing sometimes would be pretty nice." Lexy laughs.

You can see Caroline's face drop, as Chucky just furrows his brows, not knowing what the hell is going on. That's before Jake sits up. "I'm gonna protect you guys. Like you guys protected me." He looks to Chucky. "I don't quit. Let the games continue, Chucky."

Jake sees two tears fall down Chucky's face, and everything is back to normal again. The cards are still on the table, and they're still in the White House.

Caroline nods, as Lexy helps Devon sit up. "You shouldn't have done that, you could've bled out!" She scolds, and Devon just shrugs, before Caroline hands Lexy a couple of papertowels. "Here," She says. "This will help."

Lexy takes it skeptically as Chucky just watches them. "How, utterly, sickeningly...magnificent." He says, and Jake turns to him, and Chucky has a sad smile. "That was pretty moving." His smile drops. "For their sake, let's finish this, Jake."

Jake nods, and the third round begins.

Thoughts?

That's such a cool idea!

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mybg3notebook · 3 years

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Astarion and his standards

Disclaimer: this is a meta with my personal interpretation of the character, sticking as much as possible to the facts and leaving little to “desires” or “projections” of what I want him to be. If I do so, I will state it explicitly in the text for the sake of analysis honesty. I want to be clear about what is canon (facts shown in bg3 EA), from what’s personal interpretation with little proof.

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were made up to the game version v4.1.101.4425. As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information.

Additional disclaimers about meta-knowledge and interpretations in (post)

The number between brackets [] represents the topic-block related to (this post), which gathers as much evidence as I could get.

Stargaze and romance scenes

The Stargaze scene can be misunderstood as part of the romance, but it’s a glimpse of the permanent issue in Astarion: the bloodthirst.

He starts with a manipulative move, praising Tav in an euphoric way (if Tav interacts with wariness towards him) or in a seductive, intimate way (if Tav answers in a flirty way). In either case, Astarion is playing the game of seduction to guarantee his survival, since this group is the only thing that will give him high chances of success in controlling the tadpole and surviving the experience.

In this scene we also see how little he cares about consent in general. During his manipulative game, he approaches Tav too close (Dev’s notes)

Tav: “True. I am pretty impressed.” (Dev’s notes: Astarion stands uncomfortably close to the player)

Although this first move could be considered a “seduction” attempt, a Tav telling him that he is too close, in order to suggest him to go away because the discomfort, will receive this answer:

Astarion: “Of course. Terribly sorry.” (Dev’s notes: He doesn’t move. Smug, quiet, he’s still right in her face.

Astarion will ignore Tav’s non-consent (for the first time; the second time happens during the bite scene), and he will say one thing while doing the opposite. This is a behaviour we should be very wary of [7], because in certain scenes (like the one in which Astarion is asking Tav about whose companions’ blood would taste if they were a vampire) may imply a hidden mechanics of Astarion killing companions after Tav gave them their permission without knowing it, even though Tav told him explicitly not to.

It is worth mentioning that, despite the two previous situations in which Astarion ignored any consent from Tav, he held his word, so far, about no assaulting Tav in the middle of the night

“No more surprises. You have my word.” (Astarion sounds sincere. He lays his hand on his heart.)

Which so far in Early Access has been accomplished. We need to wait for the full game to truly know it.

The second part of the scene shows Astarion’s eternal curse: his bloodthirst. The way he loses his trail of thoughts is not because he is impressed by Tav or he is “falling in love”, if a vampire can even do that (we need to remember the aspect of Dark Desires explained in the post Lore Details about Vampirism). This is all about thirst.

As proofs, we have the following evidence:

A proof based on narrative and word choices: During the bite scene Astarion says that he needs blood “to think clearer”. Then, we contrast these words with the “cryptic” ones—really not that cryptic—said during the stargaze: he needs to "get some air and clear his head", after explaining he had been zooming out.

Another proof of this is when you trigger the stargaze scene after the bite scene (so Tav now is aware of Astarion’s vampire nature). You can pick the new option in the dialogue that acknowledges that the bite happened, and Astarion will answer, relaxed, about clearing his head without the preamble that he has been zooming out, suffocated by his bloodthirst.

The dev’s notes on the stargaze scene state he is thirsty.

The first part of the Origin playthrough, in which we see that the new options added for Astarion alone in all dialogues is mostly related to bloodthirst and his hunger for having been starving for several days.

If we have our doubts about how manipulative Astarion is, and how much his relationship with Tav is useful for him, he offers a clear line during the scene of the possible ways of being killed.

“You think I’d kill you, just like that? Darling, I would never. I still need you.”

The emphasis on the “still” (the voice actor emphasises it) suggests that probably a low approval Tav will have, eventually, an unfortunate accident if they give enough power to Astarion.

This concept is reinforced in stargaze scene again:

“I don't want you to run off just yet.”

In his “romance” scene, we get that, no matter your approval, Astarion will always invite Tav to spend the night together because he uses sex and seduction as a manipulative tool to keep an strong ally as Tav under his arm (he is securing his permanence in this group which is useful for him). This is particularly notorious when Tav is low in his approval, and saves the tieflings. When Tav is more evil-aligned and has high approval, Astarion is more self-indulgent with Tav—he doesn't mind accepting Tav’s invitation either—, since it’s clear he enjoys Tav’s presence, after all, they are kindred evil spirits, finding pleasure and entertainment in cruelty at some degree.

This need to keep the pretence and work on the manipulation can be seen in the option “say please”. Dev’s notes clarify Astarion is not liking it one bit, but he plays along because he doesn’t want to break the control he has acquired on Tav or simply he doesn’t want to break the mood. But in that moment, Astarion feels humiliated, and we know how much that affects him:

Dev’s notes: “You insolent little-” (Dev’s notes: Annoyed, you’ve just been humiliated. 'You insolent little brat’ is the full line.)

If the dev’s notes still apply, his immediate approval could be understood as liking a high-approval Tav or/and a perfectly caught prey. If Tav has low approval, Astarion will plainly reject the initiative of Tav, claiming “he has some standards''. Considering he is manipulating Tav and weaponizing their night together, losing this opportunity seems odd at a first glance. But behind this scene it is only Astarion playing “hard to get”. Tav is asking for sharing the night with him, so Astarion is absolutely sure that Tav has been “caught” already. He is just playing with his prey. If he knows he got a “low approval” Tav under his arm, he can use that night to try to manipulate/keep on his side another strong ally like Lae’Zel (Or truly enjoy a moment with a fellow evil-aligned char)

Another interpretation could be that, since Cazador never allowed him to reject anything, doing so with Tav gave him another taste of personal freedom. So, in theory... he has no standards. It's all about control and manipulation on Tav and about his own desires. Further details in (Astarion and Power part 1/ part 2)

Doubts about this interpretation can be easily cleared with the Dev’s notes for the whole romance scene:

Dev’s notes: Synopsis: “After the goblin hunt celebration party (whether you helped the goblins or the tieflings), Astairon has made arrangements to get intimate with the player at night. For Astarion, this is a game of power - one he’s played many times before in the taverns of Baldur’s Gate, trying to lure people back to his master. He’s an old hand at seduction, very self-assured at first, but the player might not go along with the script he expects them to follow.

After that night, we have another interaction in the morning, showing how much of sex, control, and bloodthirst are entangled in Astarion’s personality (he keeps playing the game), and how, if there is any emotion that can be held, it would be twisted by the (Dark Desires). After sex, the manipulation and the convenience continue (clearly seen when reading the dev’s notes):

“I thought so.” (Dev’s notes: with satisfaction, he’s ‘winning’ at seduction)

“Delicious as you were, I didn’t want to go too far.” (Dev’s notes: 'delicious’ = partially referring to sex, partially referring to drinking your blood)

Don’t get me wrong, Astarion is absolutely honest in terms of what that night means: fun and pleasure, there is no promise for more. But behind it—or as an extra of that entertainment—he is also looking for elements to grab Tav and secure his position inside the group.

(Datamined content) In the videos talking about the possible taste of companion’s blood ( video1, video2), Astarion teases Tav with the double meaning of “you are my first''. We know that the bite scene is deeply important for Astarion, not only because he drank blood of a thinking creature for the first time—defying Cazador’s first rule— but also because that consensual offering has been a gift, a gesture of acceptance to his vampiric nature, and a great contrast with his ex master. I would not go that far to say this scene is the “liberation” of Astarion from his animal-slave condition, but seems to be a step in that direction. This comment of Tav being “his first'', it may be honestly important to Astarion, but also it could be another of the many small details he is using to keep Tav interested in him. The sexual connotation of it (especially in the way Astarion says it) reinforces the idea that he is keeping Tav seduced and secure, in order to have protection and a possible solution/control on his tadpole.

Manipulation as a means for survival

“Quite the opposite. I’m here in the spirit of openness and honesty, to work together as a team.” (Dev’s notes: He doesn’t mean it, but he’s trying to sell it.)

A lot of this topic can be easily seen in the previous scenes and in all his romance. He is not exactly subtle in his manipulation (even though it may be confusing for some people). I think it’s easy to see it when you explore all the options available for a scene, with a low and with a high approval. It gives a real overall idea of his adaptiveness. He manipulates the way he is seen by Tav in order to guarantee his survival inside the group [7,14].

In my opinion, one of the best moments showing Astarion’s arts in manipulation is when we witness Arabella's death. (1) (2)

If you did nothing and Arabella is killed, his lines are more related to investigating the reason for Tav’s neutrality: how much good-aligned or evil-aligned Tav is. He is looking to see which side Tav favours the most so he can adapt to it and become more desirable for them and guarantee his safety. When Tav doesn’t intervene in Arabella’s death, Astarion passes no judgment on Tav (2), stating that guilt depends entirely on you. This may suggest that Astarion always chooses not to feel guilty, since no meta-knowledge displayed on the screen says otherwise. This is combined with the fact that he will always enjoy murder in any of its forms since he considers it an entertainment (he states that he liked to see the show of Arabella’s death when we talk with Kagha afterwards).

If you tried to save Arabella, but failed the rolls, he will speak of the druids implying a judgement: these druids are cruel and harsh. We also know, considering his background, that a dead criminal is a useless one; he can always profit from them in other ways (but Tav is completely oblivious about this). In doing this, he will take a position on the slightly more “good” side saying he would have removed her hand had he judged the situation. Despite the twisted ways of Astarion, he is trying to convince Tav that “he is a good person”. Because staying by Tav’s side is his ticket to survival and probably the only way to find some control of the tadpole.

If you saved her, Astarion will not say anything because he clearly can appraise where Tav stands with such intervention. It’s a place he is apathetic in the best case, or he doesn’t like much in the worst case. This is what his neutrality to certain events means: he doesn’t want to compromise his position in the group, so he saves his explicit opinion, or he is simply apathetic on the matter. When talking with Kagha after this event, he would not state that Tav ruined a very enjoyable show with Arabella’s death or similar, because he knows already with Tav’s action that such a comment would work against him. He wants to be as much as pleasant as possible to Tav because his survival depends on it.

Another situation that shows how well he uses words to twist the perception of Tav while keeping his words in a half-truth level is the one we saw during the first night in the camp. He speaks that all this is “novel”, and while he is playing with what Tav (and the player) are inferring from his words (this is, that it’s novel for him to sleep on the ground) he kept it vague enough so it would not be a complete lie, but a half-truth. What’s truly novel for him is the new dynamics of resting during night and walking during daylight. The dev’s notes said so.

Dev’s notes:“Astarion’s trying to adjust to the novelty of being asleep during the night, instead of prowling the streets. The player doesn’t know he’s a vampire yet, and Astarion doesn’t want them to find out. He tells them he has too much to think about to just fall asleep, so offers to take the first watch that night. Emotionally, he finds all of this novel and is curious about his new situation (moving around during the day, resting at night)”

Bite scene

During his bite scene, we witness another example of his manipulations. From datamining information, we know that there is more to it than just bloodthirst in this scene, he also is trying to test how much he can break Cazador’s rules.

“I'm too weak now. If I just had a little blood, I could think clearer. Fight better.”

“I do trust you. And you can trust me.”

“Can you trust me a little further? I only need a taste. I swear. (...) Not one drop more.”

These three lines are extremely interesting, because they show the level of manipulation Astarion uses: Astarion is not telling Tav about the dream, about Cazador’s rules, about his deep need to check if the first rule still applies to him. On one hand, it makes sense since this group of people are just strangers to him, there is no need to disclose so much after all, but unlike others companions—who acknowledge that they keep secrets—Astarion denies that there is more. He just focused on the starving part. He has no intentions in trusting Tav. He only wants to convince them to drink blood.

I keep highlighting some of the many manipulative situations over and over, not only because it’s repeated in a constant pattern on Astarion, it’s essential to understand his behaviour (which seems to confuse many players into thinking he is just “random”; he is not.) In the 99% of the scenes, he is constantly adapting his words to better suit Tav. He changes his excitement behaviour or even entire phrases depending on his relationship with Tav, in order to avoid extra frictions (this is the true meaning of his neutrality): his primary goal is to survive, is to please Tav so he can be sheltered, and that means to stay in this group.

Following with the bite scene: if Tav fails their rolls while letting Astarion feed, he will lose control over his thirst and will end up killing Tav. One could forgive this excess when considering this situation as an exceptional one, since restraining vampiric impulses, especially when Astarion has been starving for so long after his kidnapping, is not a small feat. Technically, in this situation, Astarion has lied to Tav: he took more than a drop (the first time was when he said he was currently a magistrate in Baldur’s Gate). These lies can be more than understandable since Astarion fears for his survival if Tav knows about his vampiric nature. After all, as he said during Nettie scene, “people spooks easily” so lying is a matter of survival.

After killing Tav, Astarion’s reaction the next day will show how good he is at finding his way with words and at using, once again, manipulation (Read Dev’s notes post for further detail and direct proof).

Astarion’s first intention when seeing Tav alive is to say “You’re alive?”, surprised and nervous that he could not get rid of Tav and of the only witness of his true nature. Then, he changes to a more manipulative/welcoming “You are here”. Astarion is nervous: he now can be kicked from the party, he can be even killed; his secret of being a vampire has finally been revealed. His careless attitude and his dismissal for the gravity of the situation, giving an apology more concerned in his permanence in this group than in truly being honest with Tav, shows that Astarion cares little for Tav. If he does, it’s always around the fact of guaranteeing his position inside this group of powerful members that grants him safety and potential solutions in controlling the tadpole. When Astarion kills Tav there is no scene of “gift”, so Tav is completely unaware of how important this event was for Astarion, and since he’s not addressing it later, one wonders if it truly was such.

He tries to talk his way out, using several arguments: he is now a well fed vampire, a more formidable asset to keep, there is strength in numbers, etc. He is trying to survive Tav’s fury, as well as keeping the right to be part of the group, which is more than important for him since he is convinced that it will provide solutions and real protection.

But if we return to the bite scene, and Tav can stop Astarion before getting too lost in the bloodthirst, we will see that, no matter the approval with Tav, Astarion will consider this situation as the first time he tastes humanoid blood. And it’s not just blood, it’s also about being aware that Cazador’s rule one doesn’t apply to him anymore. This is what the gift means to him. Or so he says, because like everything with Astarion can be just manipulative words that he could use to guarantee his survival, to make himself look grateful when he truly doesn’t care much.

“This is a gift, I won't forget it.”

He promises he won’t forget it, and so far, the gesture may be appreciated to a certain degree, if we think that he held back during the sex scene. However, this could be interpreted as a gratefulness gesture, but also as a way of not pushing his luck twice. He can’t kill Tav again, because he knows that a second time, he won’t be forgiven, and in the best case scenario, he would be kicked out from the group if not killed.

These are some of the many, many scenes we see where he is actively being manipulative [7, 14], adapting himself to please as much as possible to Tav in order to guarantee his survival. This is so important to his character that, despite his freedom, he doesn’t kill/drink blood without asking permission of Tav. Once his vampiric nature is accepted, he will not overstep that trust, since he wants to survive at any cost.

This is so important that under almost no circumstance, Astarion would abandon the party (at least in EA). Even if you disrespect him twice. This is how much he values this group as a means for survival. He could endure humiliation as long as it guarantees shelter and a possible solution for his tadpole problem. The only reason for him to leave should be when you meet Gandrel and give him the location of the camp, telling Astarion about this later (sadly this option is not there anymore, in previous patches you could tell Astarion about this). In the following morning, Astarion is not there, whether he was captured by Gandrel or simply Astarion left (if this option is restored later) since the group stopped being a shelter for him.

Other situations with a more subtle meaning are the one we see when we kill the druids: Astarion is “almost” impressed if you kill all of them. If you ask “almost?, how many corpses does it take to impress you?” He approves that question and answers “depends on the corpses, darling.”

This answer can be interpreted as Astarion trying to manipulate Tav into killing Cazador. A Tav asking “almost?” is a Tav interested in Astarion’s approval, and he would not miss a chance to keep pushing Tav in the direction he wants them to go. The implied subtext here is that Astarion would be impressed if the corpse were Cazador’s, not a bunch of druids that everyone can kill (from Astarion’s point of view, of course).

This post was written on April 2021.

→ For more Astarion: Analysis Series Index

@ tskei, I recommend you to understand what you read. For an obvious reason I wrote a version game disclaimer in the begining of each post. And if someone cannot fanthom what that version means, there are tags explicitly saying early access. Thanks.

#astarion #bg3 early access #bg3 meta

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thefisherqueen · 3 years

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Review of The Green Knight

As a lover of Arthurian legend and medieval reenactment and a once-upon medieval literature student, the new movie The Green Knight of course was on my to-watch list. Especially after reading qqueenofhades’ excellent essay. I finally watched the movie last week. And I have some Thoughts to share.

There are a lot of things to like about this movie. It was delightfully non-sensational and devoid of GoT-like violence and political power struggles. There was some really beautiful cinematography, partly thanks to the beautiful Irish mountains this movie was shot in. I love that TGK not just adopted, but instead reworked the legend. The main moral themes and outcomes, while not a literal copy, felt authentic to the Christian medieval context of the poem, involving questions around honor, courage, hospitality, greatness, humility and what it means to be a good knight, or even a good person. The movie made it beautifully clear that Gawain’s main problem could have been avoided had he just given the Green Knight a scratch, but because he chose to behead the knight while said knight was lying kneeling and harmless at his feet, there is no escaping from facing the consequence of that action, which is neatly echoed throughout the movie. The green knight, the knight with the green belt and the lord who goes hunting in the green. The lover, the saint and the temptress. What you give, you will receive, and the other way around. The cast was great (too asexual to be thirsty for Dev Patel, though, sorry). The messing up of the mistaken image of medieval europe as just white is also always appreciated. I too liked that the film didn’t care to explain some of the wonders and mysteries, like the giants and the saint who lost her head, they just were accepted as part of that world. Being somewhat puzzled and enchanted is sadly rare in media nowadays where everything has to be explained or else it’s a ‘plot hole’. The liberty this movie takes with time, with multiple possible versions playing out and the reoccuring circular motives were impressive. However, the film as a whole didn’t quite work for me and I don’t really care to rewatch it. I think there are two fundamental reasons why.

The first is that the viewer isn’t given reason to care about the main character. I think this choice is deliberate, as we see Arthur asking Gawain to tell a tale of himself to get to know him, and Gawain replies that he has none, and after Gawain takes on the Green Knight’s challenge as an opportunity to gain a tale for himself. Questions about telling and re-telling tales and achieving greatness are a central theme. However, this narrative choice poses a problem, as it results in a movie where we see Gawain wrestle through difficulties on his quest and he’s this strange identity-less puppet, escaped from the children’s puppet show. We as audience are set up to be detached from him, which makes it hard to root for his success or even his survival, despite how pretty and sad Dev Patel may look in a dirty-and-distressed state. This could have been solved without removing those identity themes by giving Gawain, if not great deeds, at least some establishment of his character at the start of the film. He doesn’t have to be likable, but he has to be something more than a drinker and brawler with a faint sense of wanting to prove himself. That is just not enough to make us attached to Gawain’s wellbeing and involved in the quality of his decision making. The rest of the movie doesn't quite build Gawain’s character either. We get that he’s uncertain and afraid, yes, but his actions remain inconsistent, his motivations unclear. His main character arch - that he needs to give up the protection of the enchanted green belt, needs to face fear and consequences rather than to rely on the treacherous protection of witchcraft - doesn’t come off the ground because we only learn close to the very end that the belt is a problem to the completion of his quest. That’s no arch, that’s an exhausting flat march and a sudden steep slope right before the finish line.

The second problem ties into the first. Namely, you don’t need a strong emotional tie to the characters if there’s a light tone, an adventure with a side dish of some fun and humor perhaps. This movie, however, is anything but light. It’s dark. It’s grim. It’s cold. It’s wet. There’s exactly zero humor. Above all, it’s slow. So slow. Apart from an emotional connection, you also need a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat amount of story tension for this kind of dramatic tone and slow pace to work, and the script just doesn’t build that tension. A shot of Gawain riding through the moor after he leaves his home is just that: the confrontation with the Green Knight is still far away, there’s no looming threat we’re aware of, there’s nothing else to be told or resolved. Together with our emotional detachment it makes for a movie that switches between boring and ridiculously overdramatic, while occasionally looking stunning and taking on deeper questions and parallels. Overall it just makes for a frustrating viewer experience that lacks impact. I was left with a thorough “meh”. Which is a shame, because this movie is very interesting and could have been so good. That clever panning shot showing Gawain as a tied up skeleton should have been devastating. I should have been shouting “No DON”T do that, you IDIOT!” at the screen the moment Gawain scares away his adorable guardian fox. Instead, I couldn’t care less. Come on, Green Knight. Off with his head.

Some final details to note: erotic movie scenes are normally already awkward, but the scenes in this movie take the usual akwardness next level. At least it’s handled consistently - whether straight or homoerotic, it’s basically all a dissapointment. (That cum shot has scarred my brain forever). Which has its own merit, I guess, but does make for an odd contrast to the camera’s loving, even somewhat objectiving depiction of Dev Patel and the way about every character tenderly touches his face. I’m left wondering what the point was of this choice. It tells something about Gawain’s failure to meet chivalry standards, maybe.

The scenes which show witchcraft was used to make the Green Knight appear were rather cliché and I don’t think they added anything, as the Christian morality and consequences of relying on witchcraft are already addressed in the theme of the enchanted green belt. Also, it’s frustrating to keep seeing scratched-in runes used as literal magic. As far as our limited knowledge goes, runes were a whole writing system, magical only in the sense that writing something down can have a power of its own. Please, movie makers, think of something original.

Also, torches are terrible for indoor lighting. They burn out quickly and are horribly sooty, so it’s lanterns or candles you want indoors. But the use of the pentacle shown as a common talisman for protection rather than a specific symbol for evil or magic was nice. I’m not equipped to comment much on the choice of costumes and they didn't try to be accurate to a specific historic period and place anyway, but would have loved to see more men in long robes like the beautiful ones they gave king Arthur. Somehow, medieval themed movies only seem to go for the pants and knee-length tunic style for men, while long dress-like garments were in fact very common. Gawain’s beautifully patterned yellow mantle was the brightest point of the entire movie.

#the green knight #Dev Patel #movie #film #review #medieval #history #medieval literature #chivalry #arthur legend #movie critique

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the-order-of-fools · 3 years

Note

The knights' treasured keepsakes? Specter Knight has his locket and Propeller his rose but what about the other knights? Also, I just remembered reading something in the comments section on Treasure Knight's wiki page where it mentioned a dev (I think Sean Velasco??) saying TrK used to have a wife and I thought you'd find that interesting.

This was such a fun idea to work on. We made Treasure’s ex wife a buff, sea dragon corsair. King Knight happens to be quite the materialist. His Majesty proves himself to be superior to others once again as he not only has one personal keepsake, but two; the first being his iconic crown. His loving and supportive mom once bought him a platinum crown (platinum wasn't considered a valuable metal, so it used to be quite cheap) which he painted with a gold layer and decorated himself. He's incredibly proud of his work. During his early days adventuring (in search of kingdom to rightfully conquer, despite the fact that he was quite literally in a kingdom already), he had amassed enough jewels and gold to improve not only his crown, but also afford a hefty gold armor (though - he could only afford a gold finish and not a suit made entirely out of gold - and you do not want to show up to a duel in what is practically a flashy cardboard box). The second keepsake is his cape, as his mom has lovingly sown it for him. Even if he occasionally denies it, he's attached to his mom's gifts. It's as simple as that

Specter Knight has his dear locket. Gifted to him by his late friend Luan, Specter finds himself heartbroken whenever his mind wanders to it. What he now realizes was practically an engagement ring, was a testament of the bond shared between them, a bond forged through years of thievery. If only he could have realized his feelings for Luan were more than platonic... Bitterness fills his heart when he recalls the showdown at the Tower of Fate, how he had forsaken his only chance at humanity in exchange for Reize's freedom. He does no regret it one bit, even if a frighteningly selfish part of him wishes he had just accepted his reward without a fuss. For a moment, the memory of the locket doesn't stab into his dead heart. Perhaps he could take it out of its chest again? Just for a moment, to remember the last gift Luan bestowed upon him

Mole Knight has always been a being of simple tastes. He's happy with what he has, he's happy with who he is. Still, he knows that he could never have the life he has if it wasn't for his beloved armor. Yes, the armor he possessed is his keepsake. It's resistant enough to face the high temperatures of a lava-filled mine, and it allows him to perform all of his tasks easily. He found it one lucky day when he was still a shapeless mass of sentient magic, seeping into the very soil the mine workers always dug through. The armor he found seemed to bear the appearance of a giant mole - maybe the legacy of an ancient civilization of giant moles? Still, he had no problem claiming it as his. He has never thought about changing it, he feels comfortable in it - you could say that it has become his permanent house. Plus, it gives him the appearance from which his name is taken, Mole Knight wouldn't be Mole Knight without his armor

Plague Knight has his reasons to keep a giant grimoire close to his heart. His birth was... complicated, he gained his sentience artificially, and whoever created him left this strange book before he disappeared. It's a little bigger than Plague himself, but he can use it just fine (as long as his Plague minions put enough work into holding the giant thing). The tome contains a variety of alchemical formulas, old legends and spells. They were all written by hand - and Plague has taken the liberty to add his own formulas, the most notable one detailing the process of creating a human-shaped body out of magic. Sadly, certain pages have been ripped out at some point. He has managed to find a few of them hidden throughout the Explodatorium, but most seem to have vanished

Tinker Knight is the most practical out of the entire Order. He must have at least one thing he particularly cares about. Every engineer, no matter how old and skilled, must have started from scraps and faulty attempts - our tiny Knight is no different. Back when he was still an amateur, his head was already buzzing with ideas that he promptly scribbled down as blueprints. Only one of these projects was put into practice in order to create a little basic robot with no function other than moving around and emitting monotone beeping sounds. It wasn't the result Tinker Knight had hoped for, but it was a starting point and he was still proud of it. To this day, he keeps his first blueprints and the -now old and unusable- little robot. He has challenged himself to renew the blueprints and bring them to life thanks to the skills he has acquired. Once the Order will fully establish its power and he’ll find some spare time for himself, he may take up those old scraps once again

Treasure Knight is greedy. A greedy underwater pirate who is obsessed with gold. If one were to guess his most beloved keepsake, they would turn their gaze to his treasure vault. Despite this educated guess, there's something more to him. He may seem shallow on the outside, but he treads deep waters. Inside his vault, away from the most desired riches, lays a small chest. Inside of that chest sits a silver ring with a pearl head. At first glance, it seems awfully suspicious. Why leave a single ring in a chest all to itself? Does it hold great power? Can it lead you to an even greater treasure trove? No. It's a memento. A memento of someone he can only come to describe as his past wife. During their first meeting, she decked him. Hard. How they had gotten along after that is unknown to him, but at some point, they simultaneously accepted the fact that they were a couple, and with it, he gifted her a ring resembling her pearly dragon scales. However, sea captains aren't bound to stay together. His choice of pursuing riches was clear, and forcing her morality onto him wasn't ideal. She gave it back right before she left - the same ring locked in that little chest. He doesn't regret it, or so he tells himself

Polar Knight is awfully difficult to read. The mysterious aura that envelops him might appear as apathy and hardness of heart, which seems to drive away the majority of adventurers. As you may guess, this titanic Knight does not have a keepsake. Or at least, one that he could define as a possession of his. If you pay attention, you'll see how deeply he seems to care for life. The loyal Spinwolves that never leave his side, a poor black tortoise that he took care of when its master was nowhere to be found. The icy wastelands around the Stranded Ship claim many lives, but not as many as it used to, back when Polar Knight didn't preside the lands that were rightfully entrusted to him by the Enchantress. He took care of them, nursing them to health until they were able to leave the Stranded Ship again. His keepsake might not belong to him directly, but it's one that gives him immense satisfaction - and a sense of redemption from the terrible duty he has decided to honor

Propeller Knight is a stud. Some may come to ask themselves: has anyone conquered this gentleman's heart? Yes, you thirsty motherfuckers, but not in the way you may expect. Propeller was a bit of a wild card during his younger years (to be fair, he remains as flighty as ever), and during that period, he had been through many on and off relationships, mostly due to his tendency to court others, single or married. Though, one of them was different. The bouts of love were nothing compared to the flame burning bright within his heart. There was only one problem: his newfound lover was very ill. Propeller wasn't one to quit. For perhaps the first time in his life, he had truly felt love and affection for someone, and he cared for them until their very last breath, holding the very final present he had given them, a brilliant rose. He had arranged for them to be buried quietly, and planted roses at their grave. He took the last rose that they've ever held and found a fellow who enchanted it for him. His lover has faded into the realm of the dead, but the rose will forever remain intact. He placed it in a chest for safekeeping, and left. Members of his crew, as ordered, continue to keep a watchful eye over it

Black Knight might have an infamous reputation, but we all know that he's the romantic type deep inside. His romantic vein might be a little twisted, just like his sense of justice, but this doesn't mean that he's uncaring. He happens to have two keepsakes instead, one of them being his mighty steed. Black Knight raised Terrorpin with all the care and patience he could muster (something you wouldn't expect from him) as the creature mistook him for its mom when its egg hatched unexpectedly, right as the Knight was passing by. How lucky, if it wasn't for the fact that Black Knight wasn’t (and still isn't) quite the perfect parent, that little tortoise would have been no more. He tried his best, though. His second keepsake is his beloved Shovel Blade, which was forged by the same blacksmith who created Shovel Knight and Shield Knight's weapons. He wanted to wield the same weapon as his rival. He must have had his reasons. He, too, is a very practical person, so it's no mystery that he prefers weapons over useless trinkets

-Mod Tinker and ~Mod Propeller

#shovel knight #treasure knight #Specter Knight #king knight #Tinker Knight #mole knight #plague knight #polar knight #propeller knight #black knight

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iaintyourbro · 4 years

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Shipping Makes Me Question My Sanity

I learned about the FFVII waifu wars after playing the remake. I played the OG many moons ago, replayed it a few years ago, but really got interested in the character dynamics after playing FFVIIR.

I foolishly looked up “Is the remake pushing Cloud and Tifa more?” I found the shipping wars... That I never knew existed.

You see, I played the OG and it was pretty clear to me that the story went a certain way. In fact, I didn’t even associate FFVII to romance.

FFVII was a story about a villain who was pissed off that a grunt killed him, so he finds a way to come back from the dead through clones that his father made to fuck with said grunt and get revenge on all the humans that wronged his Mother.

(This is my explanation in as few words as possible, because we all know explaining FFVII would take multiple posts).

So why did I look up my question about Cloud and Tifa? Well, I was shocked at how they presented them. I didn’t remember this from the OG. Like I said, I didn’t associate FFVII to romance like I did with VIII, IX, and X. Those were clear. FFVII didn’t have this as a main theme. FFVIIR created extreme sexual tension between Cloud and Tifa.

I remember when you finally found out Cloud wasn’t a SOLDIER, that he actually DID kill Sephiroth 5 years ago, and that he did come to save Tifa - he fulfilled his promise. The part when the main theme plays and he takes his helmet off... chills. Even now, I love that part. Still, I associated this with us finally getting answers to some of the weird shit that happens earlier in the game. And I was way too young and dense to understand the Under the Highwind scene.

Needless to say, I wanted to see if others had the same impression. It seems they did, and those posts were then overpowered by the other side. “Yeah, I used to ship Cloti, but the remake made me see that it’s clearly Aerith.” What? What did I miss?

So I questioned my sanity a bit. I played every quest - I did both Tifa and Aerith’s discovery quests. Until the point we get back to Tifa in Wall Market, I still was kind of iffy on how they were presenting Aerith and Cloud. They removed a lot of stuff from the OG that was a bit more direct from Cloud’s end. They also removed a lot of the jealousy scenes between Tifa and Aerith. Seems they gave all the jealousy to Cloud in other scenes.

Cloud clearly is soft with Tifa. He remembers The Promise, he calls her beautiful, you have no choice but to give her the flower. No matter what choices you make with Aerith. He still gives her the flower. He gets jealous whenever he even thinks a guy is talking about her in a romantic/sexual way.

Then I see things like “Cloud was so emotionless and mean until Chapter 8″. HOW? And this goes beyond Tifa. Cloud had a ton of character growth during the first 3 chapters, and it continued on until Chapter 8. This was not something where he suddenly turned nice to Aerith. He had a ton of people help him out before.

Take Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. Cloud was a dick to them. I mean, he really was. I was sad for Wedge, cuz I think he’s so nice, and Cloud was just mean to him. By the end of Chapter 4, he’s much nicer to them. He’s left out of their celebration, and I think maybe this was a reference to him as a child. He thought he was better than the other kids (except Tifa). He treated everybody like shit (except Tifa) in the first three chapters and Barret told him to gtfo.

Jessie made sure to let him know she wanted him there. Now, I’m not a fan of how thirsty Jessie is. I mean they REALLY slam it on you how bad she wants to get with Cloud. Cloud then says what I was thinking “Are you seriously that desperate?!” Yes, she is, and it’s obnoxious, but I think it’s a hilarious addition to the story. However, I think it was a light bulb moment that he would be included if he was a bit nicer to people.

Cloud and Barret start getting along more as time goes on as well. This is all before Chapter 8. So I actually have commented on these posts... “Did you play the first 7 chapters? Did you play the rest of the game?” There’s so many points during FFVIIR where Cloud clearly has character development outside of what Tifa and Aerith do.

They ignore this. That’s my issue. The ignore everything else in the story. They ignore reality, so that makes people like me question themselves.

It reminds me of a personal situation with my job. We had a really bad leader. Like, cruel, mean. And he got away with it for a long time. You can say, “just leave”, but I think anybody with a family knows that’s not as easy as it sounds. Not when you rely on your job for not only income, but benefits, retirement, and stability. Not when changing buildings causes months of legit mental breakdowns (imagine changing companies completely?). So, it wasn’t really an option.

The worst part during all of that was knowing and seeing the reality of what was going on and having people flat out try to tell me that what I was seeing wasn’t true. I had conversations with other co-workers who started to question their sanity. Is it us? Are we the problem? Are we wrong? What are we missing? And that’s tough, especially when it goes on for so long.

In the real life example, there was a resolution earlier this year, where finally the guy was fired. And a lot of people were fighting him. More than you’d think. But they were scared, so they had to be careful. This is real life, not a game, so the stakes were much higher. The truth all comes out after this type of thing, and it was actually worse than we thought. There was a lot we missed, and a lot we just weren’t aware of. We weren’t crazy - there was just a group of his followers trying to brainwash us in to thinking he was great.

The shipping wars give me the same feelings I had during that. I question my sanity and don’t get what I’m missing. This is beyond how you interpret the LTD. This is legit ignoring parts of the story as it’s presented. SE put these Cloti moments throughout the Remake to make a point. They have Aerith say things to make a point. They even have Aerith stop making moves on Cloud after Tifa comes back and she sees the obvious “thing” between them.

There are tons of analysis on multiple scenes and how Cloud reacts. Facial expressions tell a lot, so does voice acting. There are reasons they put these scenes in. There are reasons they are part of the main story and not part of side quests. There are reasons that the devs responded the way they did in interviews.

The Ultimania clearly talks about Cloud’s feelings. The OG talks about them.

So why do I still feel upset when I see these? Well, for one, the posters that say “I was a Cloti until..” in most cases are probably shipping the other side, but this is a great way to make people question themselves. It may make new fans not enjoy the story as much.

Then you have Twitter. And it’s a shame, because there’s some great fanart on Twitter. But, you can’t search for “tifa” without seeing some really bad posts. And it’s the same accounts over and over. There isn’t a large amount.

The entire goal of these posters is to fight people who don’t agree with them. They also start posting similar complaints about a week after the Cloti side makes them.

The most recent being that Cloti fans are going after Nojima and it’s not going to change anything. What? I saw a similar post about the C////erith side about a week or two ago. Why are Cloti’s going after Nojima? So I went through some of his posts. I found one where he posted about FF7R. The only Cloti posts I saw were thanking him. The C///erith ones were over the top trying to say how it was all C///erith and there was no Cloti in the remake. One even said that “millions of fans want Aerith to survive.” No, I’d say the majority of fans want the original plot points to stay.

Nojima himself liked a fanart of himself... where they called him the Cloti king.

So where are the Cloti’s going after Nojima? I only saw praise...

The next new one is that C///eriths aren’t racist and Cloti’s are. I’ve seen this argument in reverse as well. It seems they scope out some things and repost them in the opposite argument.

I just don’t understand the extreme nature. You can ship who you want, but you can’t erase parts of the story to make it work. Why even bother playing the game? The romance aspect is SO SMALL in the OG.

In the remake its a bit heavier, but it’s different times. Sex sells. Let’s add some spice to the game, and they did. I felt no sexual tension between Cloud and Aerith. Jessie tried HARD. The only mutual tension felt was between Cloud and Tifa. That deep, dear lord please do something to release this tension, feeling. Cloud and Aerith had cute little moments similar to a Disney movie or a kids movie. Tifa and Cloud had the moments you see in more mature things.

Some of these moments are optional - the resolution scene you can technically avoid every time you play if you choose to. The Clotiscrew tunnel roll is a bit harder unless you KNOW you can avoid it and/or are terrible at the game. You literally have to try hard to mess up to not get that scene.

The Clotiscrew tunnel scene is also hilarious to watch people react to. Cuz you do feel like you need to take a quick walk to cool off from that heat. Even my husband who doesn’t give a shit was like “wow, yeah, okay, that’s... intense.”

It didn’t have to be, it could have been a roll and release, but he holds her and says “You okay?” in that soft af voice THAT HE ONLY USES ON HER. Her response is equally sexy. Then they get up and stare. Once again, not necessary.

All the “unnecessary” touching that goes on is fun to point out. People are still finding moments, I think. During battles, in the background during other scenes. They’re making this a point. They make it a point to show shots of those two during other scenes in the game. They aren’t being subtle anymore.

So I don’t understand how you can erase all of that.

The other side has a small group that is completely shitting on Tifa to do it. I don’t see that as much on the Cloti side towards Aerith. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, I bet it does, but it’s not as easy to find. Almost EVERY shipping fight has something about Tifa’s boobs, Tifa not telling Cloud about his past, something. They make stuff up in some cases.

All of this is a way to recruit people to their side. To “convert” them. I feel bad for the streamers who like Tifa and you see a group come in to try and “correct” that thought. Why do they care so much?

Maximillian Dood doesn’t seem affected by those opinions - he’s a great supporter of Tifa as a character. He was very happy with the way they handled the remake, and that says a lot. He also has some great reactions to parts of the game. He also is a more experienced streamer, it seems.

My thoughts are... the Remake has blown expectations on how it was supposed to go. Probably a lot of fans assumed they’d make a point to build up Aerith as the love interest... but they didn’t. Tifa is in almost every chapter (2 is the exception). She is referenced multiple times in Wall Market - especially if you actually listen to the lyrics for Midgar Blues. Why place that song in during that part?

So we go to the attack mode of survival here. They’re going to change as many opinions as possible. They’re going to make people question themselves. Make people feel bad.

The reality is, there’s a clear cut story - they’re making it that way. There’s multiple hints that there isn’t going to be a love triangle. There’s multiple hints that Zack is going to be a thing in the Remake. They’ve definitely put it on more heavy that Aerith still loves Zack.

I can only hope that things are made clear. That this can stop. I still say people should ship who they want. Hell, I ship Vincent and Lucrecia (this was my only romantic love in the OG back then...). However, canon is that Hojo and Lucrecia married and had a child. I wanted Vincent to secretly be the father so bad, but he’s not. That doesn’t ruin the game for me, at all.

It would ruin the game for me, in a sense, if they completely pull a 180 in Part 2 and try to “remove” all of the stuff from Part 1 from a character dynamics perspective. It would feel wrong for Aerith to tell Cloud not to fall in love with her, tell him that everything isn’t real if he does, and also have her back off completely after Tifa is back, and then all of a sudden throw herself at him. It would erase all the friendship scenes between Tifa and Aerith.

And how could you just “turn off” Cloud’s attentive nature to Tifa? It wouldn’t make sense. It would ruin it for me because that is legit trying to erase parts of the story.

I don’t think that will happen. But I still get anxious when I see shit on the internet.

#cloti #clotif #ff7r #ff7r thoughts #shipping wars #cloud x tifa #tifa lockhart #ltd #final fantasy 7 remake #final fantasy 7 #cloud strife #ff7 spoilers #ff7r spoilers

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silver-wield · 4 years

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CA on twitter are wild, they attack new fans because according to them, they don’t get the game… they have to start accepting that FFVIIR is not a Bioware game and you can’t choose a love interest, the game is linear and there’s no choice the player make that affects the plot, of course you can ignore Tifa all you want but Cloud still gifts her the flower, calls her beautiful, cares about her and they can't skip that... [1]

I don't get the obsession they have with being canon, its fine shipping CA *i ship a lot of thing that aren’t canon*, what i dont like is how they lie to new fans about it and make fun of them when they don’t see the ‘love at first sight’ on chapter 8, they create this fantasy and get mad when others don’t see it. [2]

My roommate started the game after some crazy CA friend of hers told her the story *their version*, so she was playing with the idea that Aerith was the LI and was really excited about the dynamic between them *it was a lieeee*, and got confused when Tifa was introduced, she didn’t know Tifa existed… oh but she wasn’t disappointed, she fell in love with her at first sight *oh the irony* [3]

Her best comments while playing were ‘yes Cloud Tifa is beautiful’ ‘Tifa talk to me FOREVER please’ ‘why are dementors here?’ ‘he doesn’t care about Aerith!’ ‘Oh no… Aerith is a little annoying’ ‘Aerith im not ditching you please walk faster!’ ‘she’s in love with someone else?!’ ‘Cloud mind is TIFATIFATIFA’ ‘Cloud wants to f*ck Tifa’ ‘omg Tifa just kiss him please!’ ‘HE IS SO THIRSTY’ ‘Barret is the best third wheel!’ ‘YES HUG, NOW KISS’ ‘Why nobody told me about Zack?’ it was amusing af [4]

Now she’s a Cloti fan, lost a friend *they stopped talking to her* and got on a fight with some crazy CA on twitter her exfriend wanted to use so my roommate could get ‘the real plot’… her response was to share some cloti smut fic and art, they didn’t find it funny, her exfriend was like ‘you are a lost cause’ and blocked her. now we share headcanons and theories and we are going to play the next game together (so i guess i have a new friend yay me lol). [5]

That's one way to describe them, and that’s a whole lotta irony them accusing people of not understanding the game when they literally misunderstand or deliberately misinterpret all of the themes and plot points because the only thing they care about is shipping.

I think they just wanna be right. I mean, they don't seem to care about what the characters want unless it aligns with their own beliefs, so being right seems to be the whole basis of all their arguments. Which just proves how arrogant they are.

Love at first sight? In chapter 8 when they go on about it them being reunited after chapter 2? Well, then, this is actually the first moment Cloud saw her

Flailing around with people staring at her. His reaction is this

Wow, check that lightning bolt of love 🤣

And then in chapter 8 he looks at her like this

Kinda disgusted if I'm being blunt about it. Cloud doesn't like people in his personal space and Aerith does that all the time, which is pretty rude tbf.

Not one bit surprised to hear your friend didn't know Tifa existed since to them she's just an npc....that's playable for 15 chapters 🤣

It's always interesting getting new player povs, especially for the older set to see it's not just them having got used to defending canon. New players are seeing through the bullshit and lies those dumdums spew and it's making the fandom a lot more positive. It's really just those toxic dumdums still being really loud and obnoxious, but I'm betting the devs have more shade prepared for part 2 and beyond until they learn to stfu and accept canon or just stfu and go fanon in a corner where we don't have to listen to them anymore lol

#Ship war #For the ship #For the plot

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angelsfalling16 · 4 years

Text

Life Would Be Better With You

Read on ao3

Summary: Simon and Baz get trapped together in one of the hidden rooms in Watford, which forces them to work through some feelings that they have both been denying for years.

Word Count: 3987

A/N: This fic is for @captain-aralias who was one of the winners of my fic giveaway. I hope you like it! :)

***

Simon

Baz is up to something. I’m certain of it.

First, he was gone for the first two months of school, refusing to give me any explanation for why that is. And now he’s creeping around the school, clearly planning to do something horrible.

I am apparently the only one who cares about what he might be up to, so I have taken it upon myself once again to follow him and try to figure out what it is and then stop him.

It’s been a few days now since I began tailing him, and it seems that he has caught on. We’re walking down an abandoned hall in the Weeping Tower, long after classes have ended for the day, and since he sneered at me to fuck off a few minutes ago, I have stopped trying to be sneaky. I am outright following him now.

“Go away, Snow,” he calls over his shoulder, but I keep forging on, walking faster so that I can catch up to him.

“You’re awful at this. Did you really think that I didn’t know you’ve been following me all week?”

“Why didn’t you stop me?”

“Because I know that you are too inept to figure anything out. I have been walking aimlessly up and down these halls for the past hour, and you still think that I’m ‘up to something’.” His tone is mocking, and I shouldn’t let him get to me, yet I do. I always do.

I’ve caught up to him now, and he is resolutely ignoring me.

I have had enough of this. I’m not getting anywhere by following him, so I need to make him tell me what he’s doing.

Reaching out and grabbing his arm, I manage to catch him off guard enough to turn him and slam him into the wall.

I only have a moment to take in his wide-eyed expression before we start falling.

The wall seems to open up behind Baz, revealing a doorway that wasn’t there before, and then we’re falling and stumbling backward as we try to keep from hitting the ground. I trip over someone’s foot – probably my own – and I end up crashing into Baz and knocking us both to the floor.

Baz groans as I land on him, and a moment later he’s shoving me off of him, hard. I scramble to my feet as he grumbles about the bruises that he’ll have from my elbows and how he’ll make me pay for that later.

I’m still ready to have it out with him, my hands itching to hit him as they form fists by my side, but I’m stopped when Baz stands and exclaims, “What the hell?!”

He’s staring at something behind me, so I turn to see what it is, careful to keep him in my line of vision in case this is a trick to catch me when my back is turned. What I don’t expect to see is that the wall has closed up again behind us, trapping us in this mysterious room.

Baz pushes past me, wand held out, and he immediately starts reciting a number of spells, obviously trying to get the wall to open back up.

Whispering the familiar incantation, I pull out my sword, not really sure if there is anything that I could do with it to help get us out of here. Baz’s spells don’t seem to be doing any good, so with a though of ‘why not?’, I swing my sword at the wall.

There are sparks, and it bounces off the wall, nearly hitting me as it rebounds.

“Shit, Snow. Put that thing away.”

“Why?” I ask, just to be contrary.

“Because it’s dark in here, and I don’t want you to accidentally maim me.”

“Who says it would be an accident?” I murmur, but I put my sword away anyway, more worried about accidentally harming myself than harming him.

Baz casts another spell, then murmurs, “This room shouldn’t be here.”

“Well, it is.”

“No, I mean that was an outer wall that we just fell through. We should have fallen to the ground.”

“Then, you should be glad that this room is here. It means that we aren’t dead.”

He turns to look at me long enough for me to see him glaring at me in annoyance. “Or I can be furious because you caused us to get trapped in here.”

“How did I cause this? You’re the one walking around doing who knows what?”

“You slammed me into the wall, causing it to fall away. It is clearly your fault.”

“Would you like me to do it again? I could slam you into the wall, and we’ll see if it opens up again.”

“You will do no such thing.” His cheeks are tinged pink with fury now.

It was obviously the wrong thing to suggest, but it seems like a pretty reasonable idea to me.

“It worked the last time,” I say with a shrug.

“I’ve got enough bruises forming because of you. I don’t need any more.”

I roll my eyes and take a couple of steps away from him before plopping down on the ground and leaning against the wall. We obviously aren’t getting out of here anytime soon.

After a quiet moment that seems to stretch forever, Baz casts a spell to bring a ball of light into the room, shining light into the dark corners of this barren room that we’re in. He hesitates briefly before sliding down the wall and sitting gracefully beside me.

Looking around, I notice that the room looks like any of the other classes in the Tower. It’s just lacking in furniture and windows. And a door, of course. At least the floor is carpeted and not too uncomfortable to sit on.

Baz is right, though, however much it pains me to admit that. This room shouldn’t be here.

We sit in silence for a long time. It could be minutes, could be hours. It’s hard to tell. Baz occasionally throws out a spell at the wall or to renew the light spell when it starts to dim.

After a while, I hear Baz’s breathing getting shallow, and I can feel him practically vibrating beside me. He doesn’t seem to be taking well to this whole being trapped together thing.

“Baz?” I whisper.

“What, Snow?”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he snaps.

“No. You’re not. You’re shaking. And I-I think that you might be panicking.”

Baz stays silent, but his breathing is still quick. If he doesn’t find a way to calm down, he’ll hyperventilate.

“It’s okay,” I tell him, and I can feel the force of the glare that he turns on me, so I continue talking quickly. “I mean, it happens to me a lot. Like when I’m about to go off. You need to try to focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath in, then exhale slowly—.”

“I know how to breathe, Snow.”

Merlin, is he never not an arse? Even when I try to be nice to him, he snarks at me.

Why am I even helping him? What do I care if he hyperventilates?

“Really? Coulda fooled me,” I say.

Baz scowls, but I notice that he does as I said, taking deep breaths in and exhaling slowly as he stares at the blank wall across from us until his breathing is a little closer to normal.

We fall into another long silence until Baz surprises my by breaking it with, “I just don’t like being trapped in small, dark places.

“You practically live in the Catacombs.”

“I’m not trapped down there. I know my way out.”

“What about the last time we were stuck in a small room together? Back in fifth year?” I haven’t allowed myself to think about that day in years, but I know that he wasn’t frightened that day. Far from it, in fact.

“That was different.” It sounds like his voice shakes, but that has to be because of the claustrophobia thing, not because he’s thinking about anything that we did that day.

“How?” I ask.

“I knew we were going to be let out. For all I know, we’ll be stuck in this room until we die.”

“Can vampires die?” I muse aloud.

“Everything can die.”

“Ha! So, you admit that you’re a vampire,” I say excitedly.

“All I said was that everything dies,” he says in a bored tone.

I ignore him and ask, “Should I be worried that you’re going to get thirsty and suck my blood?”

“You should be worried that I’m going to hit you if you don’t shut up.”

“Do you seriously want to sit here in silence for who knows how long?”

“It’s better than listening to you talk.” He leans his head back and closes his eyes, apparently done with me.

I huff but don’t say anything more.

Unfortunately, with nothing else to focus on, I find myself thinking about that day in fifth year.

I didn’t even want to go to that party. Penny dragged me to it, insisting that I needed to stop obsessing over Baz, at least for an hour. I am certain that she never predicted that he would be there or what would happen between us that night.

I’m not sure who suggested the game or why Baz and I got sent into the closet together. All I know is that it seemed to be the magickal version of seven minutes in heaven. Two people would get sent in and spells would be cast to lock them in there and to make it so that no one could hear anything so that no one would be able to hear anything that you may or may not have done in there.

It seemed stupid, but when I saw Baz hand his wand over to Dev, I knew that I couldn’t be the one to back down, so I handed my wand to Penny and went into the closet with him.

Baz and I spent the first full minute in a stubborn silence. No one would know if we didn’t do anything. And I don’t think anyone would have cared.

I began to grow restless, though, and as I shifted around, I bumped into Baz.

“Could you be still?” He sneered.

“Make me,” I told him without really thinking about it.

Before I could register what was happening, Baz had slammed me into the wall, pinning my arms to the wall at my sides, and I remember letting out an embarrassing shriek of surprise.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, breathless for some reason.

“Making you be still.”

My eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness, and I could just barely make out Baz’s expression. I expected him to be sneering at me, like he was about to hit me, but his expression was one I had never seen before. I didn’t know what it meant, but I could smell the alcohol on his breath as it brushed across my face, making me very aware of how close we were.

I seemed to be the only person who wasn’t drinking at that party. I could only imagine what would have happened if I had decided to mix alcohol with my already unpredictable magic. It likely would be the biggest disaster that I had caused yet.

I was just thinking about pushing Baz away when he whispered, “It’s just a game.”

Then, he kissed me.

I was so surprised that it took me a few moments to respond, and then I surprised myself by kissing him back.

His lips were soft and pliant, and I hummed as he parted his lips just slightly against mine.

I tilted my head, jutting out my chin, and kissed him deeper, cautiously delving my tongue into his mouth. I still wasn’t completely sure that this wasn’t some kind of trick. He could have planned this whole thing to get me locked in here and vulnerable so that he could finish me once and for all.

I might have actually believed that if he hadn’t willingly left his wand out there. It was a rule of the game, but I’m sure he would have protested if he wanted to.

So, I kept kissing him, and when he released my arms, I pushed one of my hands into his hair, mussing it up and feeling the sleek strands slip through my fingers.

His hands were gripping my hips before one of them pushed up under my shirt, resting on my waist, his hands refreshingly cool against my over-heated skin.

We broke apart for a moment to catch our breaths, and Baz smiled at me.

“I really like you, Simon” he whispered, and before I could respond or figure out whether he meant it or was trying to mess with me, he was kissing me again.

I moved my free hand to his side then over to his stomach, dipping my fingers between two of the buttons on his shirt, feeling the smooth skin and hardened muscles of his stomach.

He moved his body impossibly closer to mine, and I could feel him pressed against my leg. Curious, I reached my hand down to touch him through his trousers, evoking a beautiful groan from him.

“We only have seven minutes,” Baz said, sounding regretful.

I gave him a quick squeeze in response before moving my hand. He was right. We didn’t have time for that, even though I could feel my own body reacting to everything that he was doing, to all of the different sensations.

Too soon, we felt the spell that was keeping us in there fall away, and we only had a moment to break away and attempt to right ourselves before the door was yanked open.

Baz sneered at everyone who was standing outside of the closet, waiting for us to emerge, and even though to me, it seemed apparent what we were doing in there by the state of our appearance, I could hear people whispering about how we must have spent the entire time fighting in there.

They had no idea that what we did in there was so much better than fighting.

Baz pushed through the crowd and disappeared from the party before I could even think about following him. He didn’t return to our room that night, and when I tried to talk to him the next day, he pushed me down the stairs.

He continued to avoid me after that, pretending like nothing ever happened, and I’m not going to lie, that hurt a lot. It left a deep ache in my chest that I couldn’t tell anyone about. I couldn’t even tell Penny. I couldn’t admit to here that she was right, that I was obsessed with Baz

So, I dealt with the pain by myself, and when I started dating Agatha a little more than a month later, I decided that I was never going to think about those wonderful six minutes with Baz ever again.

Until now, apparently.

I can feel that ache in my chest again, but it isn’t as strong as it was in fifth year. I’ve gotten over it. Baz is going to treat me like shit no matter what I do or say, and I just have to deal with it, even if it means lying to everyone about my real feelings for him.

“You would have told me if there was a chance for us, right?” Baz asks quietly, breaking through the silence and my reverie.

“I—. What?” I ask, no idea what he’s talking about.

“We played that game, and I thought that maybe there was a chance you felt something but… But you never said anything.”

Apparently, he was thinking about the same thing I was. Though, I have no idea where this is coming from. He hates me, and he made that perfectly clear, back then and every day since then.

So, why does he care if I felt something for him?

I look over at him, but he’s still staring at the wall, so I can’t see his expression.

“I didn’t think it meant anything to you,” I say truthfully.

“I kissed you!” He exclaims, turning to look at me.

“It was a game! You actually said that, right before you kissed me.”

“And then I told you that I liked you.”

“And you were drunk,” I point out. “Plus, I did try to say something, the next day, but you were avoiding me. Then, you pushed me down the stairs.”

“That was an accident. A lucky punch.”

I shake my head at him. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore. That was years ago.”

We’re quiet for a bit, but it doesn’t seem like Baz is ready to let this go yet.

“What would you have said?” He asks quietly, staring at the floor now, at the space between us.

“What?”

“You said that you tried to talk to me the next day. What would you have said if I hadn’t – if we hadn’t fought?”

“Why does it matter? It was a long time ago.”

“It matters to me.”

“Why? so you can have something else to make fun of me for?”

“No, I just—.” It’s his tone that gets to me. It almost sounds like he’s choked with emotion.

“Just what?” I ask, softer than I mean to.

Baz gets really quiet, and when he finally speaks, I barely hear him. “I need to know that we didn’t waste three years. I need to know that you liking me back was only a hopeless dream.”

I’m speechless. How do I respond to that? I had no idea that Baz had feelings for me. He never showed me. If I had known, I would have done things differently. I would have—. Well, I’m not really sure what I would have done back then, but I know what I want to do now.

I turn to him, scooting closer until our legs are nearly pressed against each other, and our faces our just a few inches apart.

I search his face for any sign that he may be lying, but for once, his expression is open and vulnerable. I can see his fear of being rejected.

“I would have said that I liked you, too,” I murmur.

Then, I kiss him.

I kiss him softly at first, but as he kisses me back fervently, I press my lips to his more firmly.

Unable to resist touching him and remembering how his body felt against mine in fifth year, I reach for him, tugging and pulling on him until he huffs out a laugh and climbs onto my lap, trapping my legs between his muscular, footballer ones.

I immediately pull him back into the kiss, tangling my hand in his hair and keeping him there.

I slide my tongue experimentally against his lips, and he parts them easily to allow me entrance.

I sigh into his mouth, wondering why we haven’t always been doing this. It feels so good, so right. Like this was my purpose in life.

Not saving the World of Mages or defeating the Humdrum. This.

I was born to kiss Baz, to hold him and love him. (Do I love him? That’s a question for another time.)

I break away from the kiss to kiss down his jaw to his neck, and I can’t help myself. I bite down on his neck, sucking the skin into my mouth, leaving a mark there. I smile to myself, thinking about how it’s just another bruise that Baz can blame me for.

Hopefully, he won’t be too mad about this one, though.

Baz’s hand tightens in my hair, pulling on it, and rather than it hurting, it feels almost good. I moan against his neck, and my hips involuntarily jerk up against his. It feels good, though. It feels right, so I do it again.

“N-not now,” Baz gasps. “Not here.”

“O-okay,” I say, attempting to catch my breath and feeling a little dejected, wondering if I was wrong about what he wants.

He places his hand on my cheek and tilts my head up so that I’m looking at him, and his gaze is so soft, so gentle. He’s even smiling at me, and it warms my heart to have him look at me like that.

“I want our first time to mean something. I want it to be—.”

“Special?” I finish when he cuts himself off.

“Shut up.”

“No, it’s fine,” I say, grinning. “I get it.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Now, shut up and kiss me.”

We continue to kiss for a long time, switching between slow, gentle kisses and frenzied, hungry kisses, until our kisses turn lazy and sloppy as we fight to stay awake. Pulling my lips regretfully from his, I press my face against his neck and inhale deeply, smiling at the familiar scent of his posh soap.

“It looks like we’re going to be stuck here for the night,” I say, fighting to keep my eyes open.

“Yeah, we should probably get some sleep.”

“Mhmm,” I agree, yawning sleepily.

Baz drags himself off my lap, pressing a final kiss to my forehead, and spells some bedding for us before laying out a make-shift bed on the ground.

We spend the night sleeping in each other’s arms, and I’m pretty sure it’s the best that I’ve slept in months.

***

When we wake in the morning, the first thing that I notice is that the wall is open again.

Actually, the first thing I notice is the way that Baz’s body feels curved against mine. Then, I notice the wall.

“Baz,” I whisper, shaking him lightly. I know he hates to get up early, and he hates it even more when someone tries to wake him, but I figure we might want to get out of here before the wall decides to close up again.

Baz seems to agree because a few beats later, after grumbling at me groggily, he’s jumping up and holding out a hand to me as he spells away our bedding, pulling me out of the room and down the stairs.

When we step outside, I welcome the feel of the autumnal wind as it rushes through my hair and clothes.

Baz says something about having something he needs to do, and I know he probably needs to feed (whether he will admit it or not), but I’m not about to let him get away this time.

“Wait,” I say, reaching for his hand to keep him from leaving.

“What?” He asks, and it’s weird to hear him ask that without sneering at me.

“What does this mean?”

“What do you want it to mean?” He asks, not even pretending not to know what I’m talking about.

“I want to be your boyfriend.”

“Okay.”

“But I’m a terrible boyfriend. I’ll likely muck this up and say the wrong thing or scare you away—.”

He interrupts me with a kiss, just a small thing, but enough to shut me up.

“Simon,” he says, and I smile at the sound of my name on his lips. “You won’t scare me a way. You’re a bloody nightmare, but I’ve still liked you for years. There’s not much that you could do at this point to scare me away.”

“So, you want to? Be boyfriends, I mean.”

He laughs lightly, pulling me into his arms.

“Yes. I want to be your terrible boyfriend.”

I pull him into one last kiss before letting him go. I’m happy, knowing that he will return to me this time.

Things have changed now, and I couldn’t be happier about it as I practically skip back to our room.

I know things won’t always be easy, but they will be better than they would have had we continued to fight all the time.

Things will be better with him.

#snowbaz #simon snow #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #baz pitch #carry on #wayward son #rainbow rowell #snowbaz fic #snowbaz fanfiction #my writing #i hate titles #the title is a good title #i'm just not sure that it's a good one for this fic

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wickedcupcake · 4 years

Text

so... that event story, huh.

unpopular opinion maybe but i actually don’t really mind if they keep reusing “mc is having another wacky dream” as their excuse for these AU events. of course having an actual plot that makes some amount of sense would be nice but i play this game because it’s fun, not because its writing is a literary masterpiece lol. and vampires are very fun to me, so i very much enjoy the concept and don’t much care how exactly we get there.

but okay, yeah, i’m a thirsty hoe with a thing for vampires. so in my first playthrough, naturally i offered my blood and my body as enthusiastically as the options allowed, and while the boys were definitely pushy i was into it so it didn’t really bother me personally in that case. then i saw people talking about what happens if you refuse (you know, like a normal person with any sense of self-preservation) so i went back to see for myself and... congrats devs, i was just starting to kind of appreciate lucifer, but never mind i guess!

yeah it’s just a dream but the fact that mc even perceives him as someone who would do that + the writers apparently thinking that was a sexy portrayal still leaves kind of a gross taste in my mouth. not to mention how much luci has been constantly forced on us lately, even literally now. like please can the others stop getting cockblocked the entire time and let someone else have a chance for once... why give us intimacy and romantic interactions with the others if we’re just gonna be railroaded into fucking lucifer every time, you know?

idk, i still mostly liked the event honestly just bc i am a simple being-- i see vampires and i black out and instantly nut. but i am disappointed too. if you’re triggered by that sort of thing, be aware there’s definitely some disregard for consent in the dialogue for this event and it may be best to skip the stories if you can.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me spoilers #omspoilers #original post #idk just random thoughts i guess

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saint-cichol-is-watching · 4 years

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Honestly, I’m not mad about the whole consent thing, I didn’t even realize it when I was playing. I’m just tired to always end up with Lucifer. He’s a nice character but not my favorite. I was so hype for a vampire theme but there was such small interactions with the others brothers that I was kinda disappointed. I also don’t really understand the whole “report to the devs” thing, for me they did nothing wrong. It just correspond to the “thirsty vampire” character they were going for...

Yes I understand we are always following the same pattern right now where we spend little time with the younger brothers and then climb our way to Lucifer where we are forced to like whatever he does to MC and honestly it's just so tiring at some point because : Once ? okay why not ? Twice ? I guess I can go with it. Thrice ? Well no. I don't want to.

I also want to point out that not only we spend very little time with the other brothers but they're also paired up together and while I don't specifically mind because I like all the brothers but still a little one on one time with Beel wouldn't hurt me.

So yes at some points the fans of the other brothers (especially Satan and Asmo if I'm being honest) feel disappointed because they never get anything. This is not a critic towards Lucistans by the way you guys are thriving and good for you 💞

(Not really important there but I do want to add that newfound hypocrisy of Lucifer where he is always around telling his brothers not to do something to MC but then proceed to do it himself because apparently if it's him MC will like it. And well no. No MC won't like it (well not all, Lucistans would be thriving atm go babes). I just think if Lucifer is really the Avatar of Pride he wouldn't use his authority to shut down his brothers and not use underhanded ways or force himself onto someone to get what he wants. He'll do it with grace and Pride and actually prove that he is the greatest of them all)

Anyway end of the parenthesis report to the Devs doesn't specifically means to force them to fix an event that's already out but just give proper and respectful feedback about something they find important (ex : consent because it can be triggering to some people, yes even if they willingly went onto a game talking about demon boys) to influence future events and make them more appealing to the players. This game is so good the story is good, the content knows how to balance light-hearted fun and more heavy demon stuff which makes it good to any punlic honestly it would be a shame to stop a game just because of one character that takes too much of a spotlight.

Again that's just my opinion and my take of things so far I am not forcing anyone to agree with me if you disagree actually don't hesitate to share your thoughts (I'm sure you're not alone) 💞

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wizardessheart-sideb · 4 years

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Random question, do you think Zett will ever get a story of his own? We still see Viggo from time to time so I haven't given up hope he'll get his own route soon. Felix and Vain are still relatively new introductions so they may get stories of their own as well. Right? But as far as I know we haven't seen anything of Zett, not even a mention, since dwellers of darkness. Any theories?

Hm. I’m honestly not sure about Zett getting his own route and at this rate, I can see it going both ways.

On him getting a route, the fact he debuted in a star collection event that happened way before Caesar’s route dropped makes me think the WH devs had big plans for him. Not to mention they had him in Dwellers of Darkness like you mentioned and he was at least featured on the 5th Anniversary popularity poll (and iirc he was someone you could vote for in a previous popularity poll but i won’t swear to that).

But on the other hand, I don’t think he’s really connected with fans the way Viggo, Felix, Lacan, and Vain have. I don’t think people were ever really clamoring for his route or for him period. Viggo got more attention than him and it feels like almost no one was interested in Zett. At least from what I can remember the Tumblr fandom being like.

Personally, I’d love a Zett route. I think he’s an interesting dude and I’d be interested in seeing more of him. I’d love to see more of his backstory and it’d be nice to see him again without having to re-read Caesar’s route. We all know I really don’t like Caesar. But I don’t have a lot of faith he’ll get his own route, partially bc people seem eh about him and his lack of presence. I can see him being in Viggo’s route, but honestly Idk if he’ll ever get a route.

I think as of now, Viggo, Vain, and Felix are more or less shoe-ins to get routes. I have a theory Viggo was supposed to get a route right after Hugo but something happened and it was shelved, but I think with him making more appearances, he’s getting a route soon. And Felix. Oh, Felix. People seem to really be thirsty for him which like. I get it? He’s a pretty dragon. We all know my love for Hugo knows no bounds so I kin it to an extent, but honestly I have like. No interest in romancing Felix or even really getting content with him. But considering how insanely popular he is, I would honestly be shocked if he didn’t get a route at this point. And Vain like. Idk, it just feels inevitable to me. To be honest, I think season 11 will be Vain, Felix, and Viggo, although not necessarily in that order.

If we get a Viggo route (which tbh I think we’re absolutely getting his route in season 11), I do see the possibility of Zett making an appearance since he’s like, working with the Ministry and could see Viggo only respecting Zett or someone. But ultimately, I’m really not sure. I would really love a Zett route, but man, who knows what SWD has up their sleeves.

#azoo's replies #trekstar05

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nearlynorth · 4 years

Text

Day Two: Role Swap

Baz Pitch was thirsty. He hungered for blood, let his fangs slide out of his gums. He reluctantly drained rat after rat until he finally wasn't thirsty anymore. Until one day he wasn't.

——— Simon I'm cold. Why am I cold? This is the first time this has happened since my magic erupted, even after I lost it. I normally wake up twisted in my sheets, sweat soaking my pajamas while Baz sleeps beside me shivering. Something feels wrong.

I do a mental check of my body.

Feet. Check. Stomach. Check. Face. Check. Wings. Not there. Tail. Not there.

I sit up suddenly. My wings and my tail are gone. My last connections to magic, gone. Tears begin to leak out of my eyes as I cry silently. I don't want to wake Baz. He sleeps like the dead, which I guess is fitting, even though he's not dead. It's the point of one of our only arguments, the fact that I think that he's not dead. He insists that he is, the self-deprecating twat.

I look over at Baz, my panic momentarily forgotten. He's sleeping in an odd position under the blankets, it looks like he has a pillow underneath him.

I feel my stomach rumble, and I pray that it doesn't wake Baz. I watch him open his eyes, and just stare at me.

Baz I hear Simon's stomach rumble and I laugh quietly to myself. He must want scones. Simon is a bottomless pit, no matter how much he eats he could still keep going.

I shift uncomfortably. There is something poking at me, making it hard to lie flat. It's pushing me up from the mattress.

I turn to smile at Simon and I have to stop and stare.

He looks different. He's still beautiful but in a different way. He's still covered by those freckles and moles that I love, but his normally tawny skin is paler. And his wings, his wings, and tail are gone.

I sit up to get a closer look at him, and he gasps.

"Baz, why do you have my wings?" Simon says to me. His voice is awash with disbelief, and Crowley, that's how I feel.

"I don't have wings!" I say indignantly, even as I get up out of bed to look in the mirror. "Crowley, I do have your wings."

Deep, blood-red wings are sprouting out of my shoulder blades, ripping twin tears into my shirt. A barbed tail in the same shade is flicking in between my legs. I'm not as pale as I normally am, and when I flick my tongue to where my fangs normally would be, I feel nothing.

I'm still staring at the mirror when he says, "Baz, I'm hungry."

I roll my eyes at him. "Simon, you're always hungry." In the mirror I see his face begin to show signs of stress, and I turn around to face him. "Simon, what's wrong?" Worry begins to creep into my voice.

"It's like I'm hungry and I'm thirsty at the same time." He whispers. Strain is evident on his face.

Is it possible that since I have his wings and tail, he got my vampirism? That doesn't seem possible, but you never know with Simon. The holes have been being filled, and Bunce's father says that Simon could get his back too. His magic always was explosive. Could this be a sign?

I walk over to him and I lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. Simon's cheeks are puffy with fangs, and he's paler than usual. "Simon, let's get you some blood, and then call Bunce."

"Penny," he mumbled around the fangs. "She'll know what to do."

I nod and lead him into the kitchen that was attached to our small flat. We had made the decision to move in with each other three years into our relationship. Crowley, if Dev or Niall could see me now. They'd say that I've gone soft. But that's true. I've gone soft for Simon Snow, and I'm finally not afraid to admit it. I was so scared for so many years.

"Snow, sit." I point at the mismatched chair that resides at our round wooden table. As he sits down, I go to the fridge and pull out a cup of blood. We had managed to find a sustainable blood source for me, with blood coming from a magical butcher in London that caters specifically to vampires. "Do you want a straw?"

"Yes," Simon's words are muffled by the fangs that are filling up his mouth. He grimaces and shivers.

I push a straw through the plastic film on top of the blood cup and hand it to him slowly. His vision must be heightened, and his hearing should be amplified as well. I'll have to be careful not to frighten him.

"I'm going to go call Bunce. Is it okay if I leave you here for a few minutes?" I ask quietly. I don't want to overload his senses. One of the few memories that I have from when I was younger is just the feeling of being completely overwhelmed.

Simon I shake my head at Baz when he asks if it's alright if he leaves. I don't want to be here alone. Everything feels so different. My balance is off because I don't have my wings and tail, and I'm cold. When these stupid fangs go away I'll have to tell Baz that I'm sorry for leaving the window open on all those nights at Watford. No wonder he was always so insistent that it was closed, I'm freezing.

And I'm thirsty. These dumb fangs are filling my mouth and making it even harder to speak. My words are being caught physically too instead of just mentally.

I take the cup of blood as Baz pulls out his phone to call Penny. We moved into separate flats recently as Micha moved to London. She moved in with him and I moved in with Baz.

The blood is weird. It has a metallic sort of taste and it feels weird to be drinking blood through a straw, but it makes the fangs slide back into my gums.

I can hear Baz talking quietly with Penny as I drink the blood. Penny was hesitant about Baz at first, but she has warmed up to him. Baz helped me a lot in those first days after I lost my magic. He helped me understand that my magic wasn't what made me me. It was only a part of me.

"Bunce," Baz says simply on the phone.

I'm surprised when I am able to hear Penny's response, a single word. "Hello." Baz is always talking about how he can hear me even when I'm in a different room.

"We need you to come over immediately." Baz is looking at me. I used to hate when he got that look in his eyes, the one that fills his eyes with concern. But now I know that it means that he cares about me. I used to feel like I was useless when he looked at me like that. It wasn't his fault, it was a product of my own mind. Now I just feel loved.

I smile at him to show that the fangs are gone. He smiled weakly back at me, filling in Penny on what happened.

"I'll be right over. Let me just check in with my dad." Penny always wants to do research.

I suppose that I can wait a few minutes for her to come. I don't feel as uncomfortable now that my fangs are gone and I've finished the blood. I just feel cold.

"Baz," He whips his head around to look at me. It's interesting to be able to see my wings without looking in a mirror. Baz looks gorgeous with them, like an avenging angel. "I'm sorry for arguing with you about the window being open."

Baz I feel my face break out into a smile when he apologizes. The idiot's finally realized that I was actually cold for all those years and not just opposing him. "I'll get you a blanket." Walking with the wings is cumbersome, but if Simon can do it, I can.

As I'm coming back with a blanket, Bunce arrives. She walks right into the flat, letting herself in with her key. A map is cradled gently in her arms.

"Oh, wow." She breaths out, taking in Simon before turning to me. "This really is a powerful spell."

"Really? This could be a spell?" Simon asks. He's gotten better at not flinching when magic is talked about. He used to hate any mention of magic at all. "Who could've cast it?"

"That's what we are trying to figure out." I bring the blanket over to him and drape it around his shoulders. "I didn't cast it, so the only reasonable solution for who cast it could be..." I trail off, letting Bunce finish my sentence.

"You, Simon. It could be you." Bunce finishes.

Simon looks stunned. He never was good at hiding what he felt. "What... how... how is that possible?"

Bunce lays the map out on the table carefully, revealing London and its surrounding areas. Large circles are filled in on various spots on the map. "This is a map of where all the holes, dead spots, places without magic, that used to exist."

"Used to exist?" Simon's eyes are blown up wide.

Bunce nods. "Can you see where they are filled in? That's because the dead spots no longer exist. The magic has returned to these places, and we think that it could have returned to you."

"We?" Simon manages to tear his gaze away from Bunce to stare at me.

"I've been talking with Professor Bunce. I think that your magic could have returned to you, and that's what prompted the switch." I place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Simon looks like his whole world just blew up. He's slumped against the back of the chair and his eyes are half closed.

"Try casting a spell." Bunce encourages. "I recommend Flick of the Switch." She said the words without magic purpose behind them, so that she wasn't casting a spell.

"What's that from?" Simon asks, astonishment turning into curiosity.

"It's from a popular song. Trixie used to use it all the time when she wanted to switch the properties of two things, so it should work for you." Bunce tells Snow, smiling at the memory of Trixie.

"Flick of the Switch." Simon says forcefully. There is magic behind the words, and my body begins to tingle.

I can feel Simon's magic encasing my body. It feels different than how it did at Watford, with no smoke smell coming off of him. When I make eye contact with him, he's giddy.

Simon I'm magic. I'm a mage again. I can do magic. I cast the spell and it works, it actually works!

My magic feels controllable now, not like how it felt when I was the Chosen One. I feel like how I did when I was sharing my magic with Baz, except I'm doing this by myself.

I connect my eyes with Baz. When I open my mouth to speak, my vision goes black for a few moments.

When my vision comes back, I see Baz standing close to me. He no longer has wings.

I smile at him and reach back to feel if I have my wings back. They are there, like they always are.

"Baz, I can do magic." I say to him, my smile huge.

"I know, Simon, you can." Baz pulls my face to his, and gives me my first kiss with controllable magic.

#COC 2019 #Carry On Coundown #Carry On Countdown 2019 #Snowbaz #Simon Snow #Baz Pitch #I know that it’s a day late #I didn’t know how to end Ghost-o-Matic

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irageneveart · 5 years

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there are so many things a 16 years old person should be doing beside throwing hate, BUT HERE YOU ARE BEING A BRAT

@bfmyers I really can't take this anymore, are you really that full of hypocrisy to scream TOXIC left and right while you yourself use your free time to only spread hate? I don’t usually do this and I try to stay away from useless discourse but you're just kicking on my nerves way too much

under the cut cause boy I have a lot to say. (really, it’s long. I needed to point out everything)

I'm going to kindly tell you to fuck off artists' backs.

you have 0 fucking knowledge of what you're talking about yet you're making callouts and worse, people agree! the same people who supported the artists before by reblogging and liking their art are now shitting on them and "ihh no more reblogs from them" only because you write a lengthy shit in which not only that you threaten a human being, you don't even know how to argue. a link to a picture and screaming "toxic" ISN'T A GODDAMN ARGUMENT

people of this community, PLEASE use your fucking brains and don't bow your head to what every nameless kid has to say. you don't have to believe me either, just use your fucking brain and heart and do the decision making yourself

Now, you did a callout post on @dbd-omija pointing out how toxic they are!!! omg gasp animal death? abuse?? HOW IS THAT pOsSIbLe

where have you been until now because this is a horror community:

in the TCM universe inbreeding is mentioned multiple times

in the Halloween movies Michael kills two dogs and eats one of them

omija clearly stated they went with the 1978-2018 timeline BUT NO YOU KEPT SCREAMING BECAUSE HOW DARE THEY SAY SOMETHING AGAINST YOU

on that matter: in the halloween movies Michael's cult makes him rape his niece, in another movie Laurie, before jumping to what it seemed her death, kisses Michael's mask lips. GASP, when will you sue the directors?

after he escaped, Max literally slaughtered every living creature in that farm. put the DBD devs on your "I need to sue them cause I have something to say against this horror game!!!" list

If there’s something I can agree with you on, it’s about tags. Yes, these are triggers, yes tagging is important, but let’s not forget that being in this community IS about being surrounded by triggers. out of courtesy sure, we should tag our stuff accordingly, but to go all out to say “omija, if you’re reading this, i’m going to pee in your mouth.” HOW. IS. THIS. ACCEPTED?! HOW

HOW THE FUCK PEOPLE WHO REBLOGGED THAT CALLOUT THOUGHT YES THIS IS GOOD?!!?!

now you said that Omija's making all of these seem cute and that’s the real problem. this is where you are sooo wrong and let me explain:

a round head doesn't instantly make everything cute. there are many many details that the human eye perceives as cute, things that artists go to when they want their art to be seen as cute. from the color chosen to the way their eyes and mouths are drawn, to the very line work they’re using. yes, shapes count too, but this is not the case and we should get out of our tiny box and see the big picture. Their comics are not meant to be cute, actually much respect to them for being brave enough to approach well known subjects that are not explored. But that’s it. If YOU see it as cute then it’s your problem really. Art and fiction is prone to interpretation

If anything, how much cute stuff we have in the community should be the anomaly, not that someone draws anxious Bubba

omija's Amanda and Bubba art is problematic! someone asks why, you: because is toxic!!!

really? I actually think that, given their individual personalities, omija portraits the ship’s dynamic really well. Amanda is not dealing well with her feelings and with humans and Bubba has problems understanding things in general. they are two deranged people finding a way to cope and to accept another human presence nearby. "Amanda is picking on a disabled person how can you say it's well!!!!" let me remind you that his entire family is picking on his disabilities and the fact that he loves but also FEARS his family is a big theme in Leatherface's story and personality

Also, another argument of yours was about “the power play” and how that’s problematic. I’m...honestly surprised you even thought of this argument because the entire slasher fandom, the movies, everything slasher related IS BASED ON POWER PLAY. Have you read what they wrote for Laurie/Michael to say the ship is based on power play and it’s wrong? No, me neither, cause I don’t care, but you seem to care enough to vomit about it. Go read some things and tell me how problematic the writing is, you need to call out writers too after all

Btw, surprise! I don't ship neither of the mentioned ships, but I can use my brain enough to see what omija does is actually well made and well thought, sick, weird in some instances, but well thought. kudos to you artist. I can also see those who ship Laurie and Michael are still nice people

But just like you and many others I have my own morals (do you now? Exposing yourself like that to NSFW content while so many people are scared for their life because of people like you? hmmmm) and I can’t really stand explicit pedophilia. I’ve read so many books or seen so many movies where it was mentioned, it’s a trigger factor, it’s taboo, therefore is normal to be used in darker works. It all depends on the circumstances and the way it is presented, cause it’s a piece of fiction. Nobody attacked George R. R. Martin for the controversial things he had written in his books right? I wonder why

Because, another surprise, fiction is different than reality and only this argument alone should be enough, but some monkey brains out there will come to scream at me how fiction affects reality. Someone who writes a murder mystery isn’t actually killing people when they put pen to paper. People who play shooter games do not wish to shoot people in real life. Someone who writes about rape will not welcome the rapist in their arms nor do they wish to rape someone. So on, it’s simple, again, we just need to use our brains.

If you have bullying-related or a family related or any thing related trauma and you see a Michael/Laurie fic or Quentin/Freddy or whatever other ships or subjects you have seen around, and decide to click on it, and then you have a negative reaction, that fiction is not harming you. Your unresolved trauma is harming you. Your decision to read something when you know it triggers you is harming you. The past actions of yourself and those who inflicted harm upon you are harming you. All of those things – your trauma, your real-life bullies, your actions – are real, and have the ability to harm you. (the italic bits are from @dracfics who said it better than I ever could put in words. Thank you)

next on your "who am I going to shit on today" is @renlvbon

not gonna lie, for the omija callout I read everything searching to see whenever you are right or not. I don’t personally know either of the artists but I could read enough to see you’re just a self entitled person with something to say regarding everything. for ren's callout I simply skipped after I saw your argument.

you're not doing gods' work by opening people's' eyes that they can or should portray the characters the way they are, disabled and gross. no, you're just picking on someone's art style

Can we stop this toxic nonsense???

don't get me wrong, I agree that we shouldn't make them supermodels and we shouldn't erase what they are, fucking ugly and gross killers, but saying people who don't draw them a certain way are cowards or calling them out or whatever else shit is TOXIC and ANNOYING. We all change them more or less, we have to because none of us are the original creators! We’re just thirsty people making them to be what we want and what we imagine because they’re fucking fiction

I’ve seen people agreeing with you saying the artist should consider real people with disabilities or on the heavier side (“like me” they pointed out). I’m so sorry if this comes out as rude but if you search or need validation in a horror community that’s not a good thing at all! Body positivity and a healthy approach to disabilities should. not. be. searched. in. a. horror. community or any community on tumblr for that matter. You want some positivity on that? In a real case scenario with them we all would die, no matter how you look like

Going back to the artists, some people don't have experience/ are insecure/ are uncomfortable drawing body hair or fat bodies or whatever. That doesn’t make them fatphobic or whatever shit I saw you writing in your tags.

Drawing a black character less than the color YOU think is good? Have you ever tried to color skin? There are so many ways to do it, there are so so many colors you combine and you play around with + lighting and shading that alters everything. and yeah maybe some people pick a different color, a lighter one, or a more yellow one than they should for asiatic people, or whatever. but these tones are NOT easy to get well (you can always put a brown color down and to call it a day, but maybe people won’t want that. They don’t want to be disrespectful, exactly cause there are predators like you that don’t know how to help, only how to fucking scream). Or maybe they simply don’t know how. Every artist has their own range of comfort zone, be it about subject - composition - colors - etc. I don’t do well with neon colors for example, it happens. Hell even the screen you’re using alters the colors

How about giving actual tips, support and explanations instead of rude call outs? And don’t come at me with the “color picker” shit cause color picker from a real life photo is hell and if you don’t know some color theory your art is going to look dull and lifeless regardless

The only time I can agree that whitewashing is wrong is when white-supremacy, nazi and other ugly shits like these are coming into the topic. But it’s not the case here

some young artists don't have the skill to draw certain body shapes, or body hair, or even a non-anime face. some others think putting a scar on the character’s face make them 'uglier' and ‘scarier’ and for them that's enough AND THAT'S ALRIGHT

drawing something that's supposed to be ugly but still having anatomy and proportions and a functionable mouth or eyes placement or whatever ISN'T EASY. ofc, you can go all out if that's what you want, but personally I want things to still be working because at the end of the day every single one of them is human. I'm not drawing dark fantasy in this fandom, I'm drawing slashers

NO ONE IS DRAWING FOR YOU. NO ONE IS USING THEIR SKILL TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD. art and writing, especially when is made in the free time of the creator, is made FOR THEMSELVES. If there are people enjoying it? Yay, that’s a win, but no one expects everybody on this planet to like what they’re doing. We’re getting back to that golden rule, DON’T LIKE: MOVE THE FUCK ON/ BLOCK AND LIVE YOUR LIFE. EASY. no one uses these unnecessary callouts for anything, if you have something to say do so kindly, if you can’t, just vent to your friends

So now let’s wrap it up cause IDK how many of you even make it through this point

can we fucking stop making young artists and writers cowards for drawing or writing how they can and however they fucking want? Please and thank you

this shit going on with "the best artist/writer for x y z character" or "conventionally drawing ugly Bubba uwu" will just destroy the confidence of whoever wants to keep drawing or writing or joining the fandom. There’s no competition who draws Bubba the ugliest nor who writes Michael the best. if you can do things a certain way, do it, and let the rest draw and write whatever they can WITHOUT FEARING THEY'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

now I'm waiting for your very "well" argumented reply but I hope you'll understand that what you're doing is TOXIC and you should stop or at least change your way to address things. You’re talking to other human beings, not a void when you can throw any random thought you have in the morning. I don't care about you to be honest, but there are so many people out there following your words mindlessly and the creators are suffering and it's not fair.

don't forget to tell me to go kill myself. have a nice day

#ira talks #bfmyers callout #vent and triggers #this shit needs to stop #long post #my opinion #i won't put this in the main tags cause that's really useless #so I don't really know how to tag lol

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