#I wonder if that would have resulted in more bad endings for certain companions...given what happens in act 3. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theramseyloft · 3 months

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If I wanted to start companion bird breeding and I wanted to make it my “career” so to speak. What advice would you have for me. I’d keep specific breeds with higher levels of intelligence like racing homers, Birmingham Rollers, Newyork Flying flights, tipplers, performance pouters

I’d also keep selective show breeds for calm broody nature like COFs and OGOs

I’d still breed some single breed stick for show quality but I’d work on my passion of creating a super friendly pet bird

How would I even advertise the birds I produce since most people seem to frown on mixed birds and would it be wise to add feral pigeons into my breeding pool?

I really like the nuanced questions you ask.

And a lot of this answer is going to be a list of mistakes I have made, laid out for you to avoid hopefully more easily.

A word of caution before we go any further:

Pigeons breed so fast and peeps are such a joy to be around that it's frighteningly easy for thigs to snowball!

So start small!

I mean between two and four pair.

Enough that you should have fosters if a pair prove to be bad parents, and can easily keep up with who came from who and hatch control when you don't need peeps.

Wait lists can be the salvation of small breeders, but they can also be a trap.

Because I still had people on the wait list waiting for babies of specific temperaments, I fell head first into it!

The thought went: "I have x (between 10 and 20 at any given time!!) people on the wait list! ALL the babies getting ready to hatch will definitely have homes!"

The reality was that it isn't that simple.

I am trying to develop a completely new breed, entirely by intelligence and temperament: traits that are not immediately visible like color and structure, that take a long time to accurately assess in a developing young bird.

Most of those people wanted birds that fit my project's end goal.

Four to six generations in? Not gonna be reliably producing the homogenous result of a whole new breed!!

At this point, they are mutts.

Mutts combined towards a very specific goal, but mutts none the less.

Super sweet tempered mutts? Unique and wonderful masterpieces in the eyes of their care takers.

Flighty or shy mutts? Or even temperamentally ideal but plain looking! Passed over, because people will wait for 'better', until they find it somewhere else.

(Mind that that is their right! It is not a slight against you, and if you don't have what they want, it's better to point them in the direction of someone else who might than ask them to wait for you to have it.)

It's the breeder's responsibility to find places for those birds to go, who were passed over.

If you keep trying to meet the demands of the list, the babies who don't can really pile up!

A small number of pairs helps prevent that from happening too fast.

Because I am trying to develop a new working breed towards a purpose focused entirely on traits that aren't visible, I am kind of working on extreme hard mode.

DO NOT START that way!

You absolutely can work your passion for super friendly companion birds into your show breed of choice!

So my advice is honestly to start there.

Consider your potential breeds carefully, and since you plan to make a career out of this, this is the best time to go all in and get started with the breed you most want to show.

Exhibition breeds like

COF,

Lucerne,

and Show Line Danzig

Are a few among my favorites for their extremely laid back temperaments.

There are more, but I can share those on another post. This is going to be a bit of a novel as it is.

Any time any intentional breeding is done, there must be a goal in mind beyond just making more.

Your goal determines your selection process, and selecting for certain traits means culling for/selecting against others that are not conducive to your goal.

To cull does not mean to kill!!!

It means to remove from the breeding population.

There are pigeon breeders who do kill their culls, but any bird sold or adopted out has, by definition, been culled from that specific breeder's program.

Breeders keep back the birds that best fit their goals, so if you start with the one breed you intend to show, your keeper from each pair will be, of that pair's offspring, the birds that both fit the breed standard most closely and develop the closest thing to your ideal temperament.

These will be your absolute best of the best, and trust me, they will be very few!

The majority of babies, then, will be the ones you sell/adopt out, which will fall into one of three categories:

No model, but great personality

If you are starting with a sweet tempered, mellow breed, most peeps should be very easy to socialize without imprinting, so these will be the vast majority of what you produce.

What the show pen considers a flaw, pet owners will adore as something that makes their baby a more unique individual.

These will be treasured by the people looking for a pet raised lovingly by a reputable breeder!

Social media is your best friend for getting the word out, but let your babies speak for themselves.

Show them interacting with you of their own volition, show their parents, your set up, show them growing up, if you can.

This will allow people to get to know the young birds and feel attached to them as their personality develops.

2. Gorgeous Bitch

Typically, when breeders focus on breeding to show standard, they are more focused on the look than the temperament.

Birds that look fantastic, but don't match your program's temperament will be easily placed among other enthusiasts for the breed.

These are the birds you want to take, if you attend a show to compete.

These are your advertisements in the show ring, and a bird does not have to be perfect to still be considered a desirable improvement to another breeder's flock.

Discuss raising the birds with other competitors, and listen more often than you speak.

The people who don't respect their birds as living things will not make any attempt to hide it, and the breeders who really are passionate about their breed for more than their potential to win show ribbons will stand out like beacons of light.

That will give you valuable insight into who to support with your funds, come time to retire former breeding pairs and seek mates for your up and coming keepers.

3. Poor temperament and structure

You'll get the combination of all possible undesirable traits about as often as you get the combination of all potential ideal traits that you will keep back for breeding.

That is to say, not very.

But it will happen.

And they will be hard to place.

You will save yourself and your flock a lot of stress and heart ache by just hatch controlling the parents until a home is secured for those especially unfortunate offspring.

If more are produced, that's a good sign to retire that pair from your program.

It takes a while for a breeder to establish themselves as Reputable either in the show ring or among conscientious pet care takers, and starting with two to four pairs of a single breed allows time and space to practice rearing, socializing, and advertising babies, as well as screening applicants, at a pace that makes snowballing more easy to avoid.

Once you get comfortable with all aspects of care for your breed of choice, then you can start to branch out into other colors or other breeds as space and time permit.

I would honestly not recommend mixing breeds unless you have a very specific end goal in mind, and even then, absolutely not right off the bat!

If you do want to develop something new, start by taking your time to get to know your favorite existing breed inside and out.

What traits make it your favorite?

What traits is it lacking that would make your perfect breed?

What other breeds have these desired traits, and are there any traits of that breed that could detract from your favorite's desirable traits?

There is so much more I could discuss, and I would be happy to go into more detail in regards to any aspect of this very broad question, but this post is already half a novella, and it's 1am.

Hopefully some decent breakfast for thought, at least.

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willifordkbkmccormick · 2 years

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Wedding and reception scheduling - Selecting Your wedding day Dress

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Another process you could wish in order to try is try five Wedding gowns and even then selecting a pair of the best. These kinds of 'winners' would after that be set in opposition to five new dresses. Continue the contest before you find the perfect dress. This can be appealing to state, "Oh no! That other Wedding ceremony Dress has been better. " Make an attempt to help to make sure you help make your making your decision from no more than five dresses. In the event that you find oneself with too many to choose from you may be overwhelmed plus finish up selecting a good inferior dress, or selecting an ideal dress but eternally wondering yourself whether or perhaps not you designed the best option or not. Choose Sensibly Choose a reasonable companion when an individual go shopping; take one or two of the closest close friends or family together with you who have fine public knowledge of Wedding party Style and clothes. Their recommendation may be very helpful when selecting wedding and reception Dress. You should also make sure that you verify the robustness and quality from the Wedding Dress, it's material and accessories. Not what you want is definitely for your wedding day Dress to break apart about you during your own Marriage ceremony.

#Wedding Dress

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littlemisssquiggles · 3 years

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...So...about that RWBY V8 season finale episode...

I knew it. I knew there was a catch to all the Penny focus that happened throughout this season.

[YEAH YEAH SPOILERS AHEAD. YUH KNOW THE DRILL. LET’S GO]

I knew in my kingdom of hearts that they were going to kill Penny off. I just had that feeling.

Hoooooooooowever, I’m at least pleased that Penny got the chance to die nobly and the Winter Maiden powers instead went to the person who should’ve rightfully gotten it in the first place: Winter Schnee.

I am so happy that the showrunners corrected this because the way in which Penny became a maiden was an issue.

That being said, I would like to change the title of this season. It’s not RWBY V8. It’s actually PENNY V8..

V8 was Penny’s season. It was NEVER about RWBY or Ruby. It’s was all about Penny. V8 was her season.

Even the ending theme was about Penny and…honestly...it was aight. I dug Penny’s last theme. It suit her.

I’m also happy that the showrunners OFFICIALLY confirmed for the final time that the bond between Penny and Ruby is, has and ALWAYS will be a friendship. The title of Penny’s final theme is even called “Friend” and it’s a great theme that I believe encompasses, not just Penny as a character but her relationship with the two people who mattered to her the most in the end. It was Ruby who was Penny’s first friend and Winter Schnee who was her last friend that she willingly gave her powers to as her successor.

I was so pleased with that moment between Penny and Winter that I actually clapped. That scene was perfect and believably a fitting end for Penny.

The only gripe that I have is that…WHERE THE F***K IS PIETRO AND MARIA. No seriously, I’m starting to get worried right now. What happened to them? They didn’t even show up for the finale? Are Pietro and Maria okay? Are they still alive?

The thing that saddens me about this is for the second time in the series, Penny has died while away from her father. Pietro didn’t even get the opportunity to spend the few minutes of Penny being alive. Pietro was nowhere to be found. That’s sad.

Also…they REALLY did Ruby Rose dirty. Here I was expecting Ruby to be a focal point of the finale and she wasn’t even a factor.

Ruby got taken out of the finale episode so quickly that I’m wondering why they even bothered showing her on the thumbnail.

Ruby didn’t really do much for the finale. She didn’t even get to be the one to tragically kill Penny so that the maiden powers would go to Winter.

Speaking of which...

...And now for a squiggly rant...

WHAT THE HELL SHOWRUNNERS? RUBY DOESN’T GET TO BE THERE DURING PENNY’S FINAL MOMENTS???

DESPITE BEING PENNY’S FIRST AND CLOSEST FRIEND, RUBY DOES NOT GET TO BE THE ONE TO BE WITH HER ONE LAST TIME BEFORE SHE DIES? THAT MOMENT GOES TO JAUNE????

JAUNE ARC! THE GUY WHO BARELY HAD ANY INTERACTIONS WITH PENNY UP UNTIL THIS SEASON?

MUCH LIKE HOW JAUNE WAS THE ONE WHO GOT TO LEAD THE CHARGE TO SAVE OSCAR DESPITE THE FACT THAT RUBY WAS THE ONE CLOSEST TO OSCAR, JAUNE IS THE ONE TO SPEND THE LAST FEW MOMENTS OF LIFE WITH PENNY? NOT RUBY. HER BEST FRIEND. BUT JAUNE.

DON’T THE SHOWRUNNERS THINK IT WOULD’VE BEEN MORE FITTING TO HAVE PENNY BE KILLED BY RUBY???

I mean yes I know it sounds bad but…it would’ve FIT. Penny wanted to die in that moment. In that moment, she CHOSE death for herself and wanted to be killed. So again, WHY WAS THIS MOMENT GIVEN TO JAUNE???

Ruby, as I will say for the umpteenth time is PENNY’S BEST FRIEND AND CLOSEST ALLY. THIS MOMENT. THIS FINAL PENNY MOMENT SHOULD HAVE GONE TO RUBY AS PENNY’S FRIEND.

BUT IT GOES TO JAUNE??

THEY REALLY DID MY GIRL DIRTY. RUBY DESERVED BETTER YA’LL. V8 IS RUBY’S WORSE SEASON. THEY DID NOTHING FOR HER.

RUBY, DESPITE BEING PUSHED AS OSCAR’S CLOSEST ALLY ON THE HERO TEAM MORE THAN JAUNE, DOESN’T GET TO LEAD THE RESCUE MISSION TO SAVE HIM FROM SALEM, HEREGO MEETING SALEM IN THE FLESH AND GETTING TO ACCOST THE WICKED WITCH HERSELF FOR KILLING HER MOM.

RUBY DOESN’T GET TO SPEND PENNY’S FINAL MOMENT WITH HER AND DELIVER HER FINAL WISH AS HER FRIEND TO DIE AND HAVE THE WINTER MAIDEN BE PASSED ONTO WINTER. THAT AGAIN GOES TO JAUNE.

AT LEAST WITH OSCAR, THE ARGUMENT COULD BE MADE THAT JAUNE WAS THE SECOND CLOSEST FRIEND TO OSCAR. BUT NOT WITH PENNY. FREAKING JAUNE STEALING RUBY’S DEVELOPMENT WITH HER CLOSEST GREEN ALLIES AGAIN.

I’M SORRY. YOU MIGHT THINK FROM HOW I’M SCREECHING THAT I HATE JAUNE. WRONG. I ACTUALLY QUITE LIKE JAUNTUS. BUT THIS SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN HIS MOMENT. IT SHOULD’VE BEEN RUBY’S WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUDGE NUGGETS WERE THE SHOWRUNNERS THINKING????

THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RUBY’S MOMENT WITH HER FRIEND BUT AGAIN, SHE GETS SIDELINED. SHE DOESN’T EVEN GET TO FALL NOBLY. SHE FALLS AS A RESULT OF CINDER DOUBLE CROSSING NEO---BIG F***ING SURPRISE.

The one interesting consolation is that Ruby fell to the Other World with Neo. So…I’m assuming that…this means that Neo will be an unwilling companion to Ruby while she’s in the Other World?

I mean…that’s unexpected but at least it could potentially provide Ruby and Neo with the opportunity of becoming allies---maybe. Neo has lasted this long so let’s see how this goes.

I still can’t get over the fact that Ruby got taken out of the finale fight so soon. SERIOUSLY, THEY DID HER SO BAD THIS SEASON.

Speaking of being done dirty, R.I.P. VINE.

Wait a second…RIP VINE? Why do I get the feeling that there is going to be a meme about Vine’s death.

But in all seriousness, VINE WAS NOT THE ACE OP I EXPECTED TO DIE. I expected Harriet to die honestly because she’s been god awful whole season but…yeah, she’s alive. The lucky rabbit.

So now we have Robyn, Qrow, Marrow (Thank God the God Boi made it), Harriet and Elm together. I hope somewhere on their way to…Vacuo, I’m assuming, they run into Maria and Pietro. SERIOUSLY WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TWO OLD PEOPLE. I AM SCARED NOW. WHERE THE FUDGE ARE THEY AND I WILL KEEP ASKING ABOUT THEM UNTIL THEY SHOW UP HOPEFULLY IN V9.

Overall, that’s the finale??? That’s...all folks?

Was it good…well, for the most part, I’m okay with where it ended things for certain characters. Mainly Penny and Winter.

I’m happy that Winter got to become the Winter Maiden. As for Penny, I’m sorry but…you guys know how I feel about how Penny was used this season. From the minute they kept shoving Penny in our faces, I KNEW something was up. I KNEW THEY WERE GONNA KILL. Ya’ll didn’t wanna believe me. BUT I WAS RIGHT.

At least Penny’s death wasn’t a gruesome one though. At least Penny got to die the way she lived---doing it the way she wants to and spending it with her closest friends. NOT RUBY but at least Winter cause I did like their friendship from V7.

Penny Polendina got to live the life she wanted and she also got to die the way she wanted and I think that’s a satisfying ending for her in my opinion.

I just pray there isn’t another backlash from the FNDM as a result of Penny being killed off.

Sorry to all the people who were hoping Penny would live past this season but I’m not mad because it fits for me. The one issue I had with Penny’s death is that neither her father or her best friend Ruby were present during her last moment.

You guys realize they sorta killed Penny the same way again, right? Kind of? SHE DIED WHILE AWAY FROM HER DAD AND BEFORE RUBY COULD DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT.

Shit, RUBY DOESN’T EVEN KNOW THAT PENNY IS DEAD YA’LL…

JUST LIKE HOW SHE DIDN’T KNOW THAT OSCAR WAS KIDNAPPED BY SALEM AND TORTURED FOR HOURS BY HAZEL, RUBY DOESN’T EVEN KNOW THAT PENNY ASKED JAUNE TO KILL HER SO THAT WINTER COULD BE HER SUCCESSOR...

RUBY IS OMITED ONCE AGAIN AND I AM WAITING TO SEE WHO IS THE PERSON TO TELL HER ABOUT PENNY.

I HOPE IT’S WINTER. Or rather once she sees Winter, she’ll probably put two and two together.

STILL SAD THOUGH. THEY DID HER SOOO DIRTY. THEY MASSACRED MY GIRL THIS SEASPM, I’M SORRY. THE SODIUM CHLORIDE IS RETURNING.

Overall, this finale was something else. I don’t know what to think of V9. But one thing’s for sure...

I cant AT LEAST say that I am EXCITED to explore this mysterious OTHER WORLD.

Already it looks interesting and of course, I’m going to make the obvious joke---They’re not in Remnant anymore.

I just want V9 to open up with Ruby saying “Neo, we’re not in Remnant anymore”. If that ain’t in the V9 trailer, I will be thoroughly disappointed.

But…I really feel like V9 can be about Ruby having her own “Wizard of Oz” type of adventure with…Neo of all characters.

Either way, already I like the LOOK of this Other World. Is it just me or does the ground look like bricks…and it’s yellow?

YELLOW BRICK ROAD YA’LL??? FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO OZ?

Aww man, I’m interested. I’m really interested in where this story will go. Either way, let’s see how V9 will turn out. And with that, my ramblings about RWBY V8 are done.

See ya’ll next season for more squiggly commentary. Peace.

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

#rwby #ruby rose #penny polendina #rwby volume 8 spoilers

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emerald-amidst-gold · 3 years

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I blame no one but myself

Since I saw @little-lightning-lavellan create THIS I had to do it for Fane. You have a glorious mind, just so you know! I had to do this, and as a result, I splurged. Holy fuck. Strap yourself in folks!

***

You have selected _____ to join your party! Is your OC a Companion in the Dragon Age series? What would it be like for a player to select them to join their party for quests (or romance them, perhaps? 👀)

(yes, I will always use this picture until the day I die. Fight me.)

Fane Lavellan (born 9:17 Dragon) is a Dalish warrior and hunter from Clan Lavellan, but abandoned the clan at the age of 20. He feels no kinship with his own clan or the Dalish as a whole. He is a volatile young man that is prone to bouts of rage, but also indifference, swapping between the two at any given moment. However, he shows an astounding sensibility with keen observational skills and a plethora of worldly knowledge that many would not assume a mere Dalish warrior to have.

Inquisition scouts report that he was along the fringes of the hills surrounding the Conclave several hours before the blast, seemingly observing the gathering of the mages and templars with levels of confusion and intrigue, but was within the village itself when the initial explosion occurred, thus he was brought in as a potential suspect and questioned as to his reasons for being there. Fane stated he was ‘just watching’ and left it at that, so the Inquisition decided to keep him close so they themselves could ‘just watch’. (If playing the Mhairi World State then his reason for being in Haven is as a bodyguard for his sister, and stays with them for her sake alone. He does not leave Clan Lavellan in this world state.)

Fane is a starting companion (appears at the first initial rift with Solas and Varric) and is a romance option for either a female or male elf or human. The initiation of the romance is, however, based on the approval scale. You must be at a certain percentage upon the initiation scene, otherwise, the flag will be unavailable (Dalish Inquisitors start with infinitely lower approval than human, dwarf, or Qunari Inquisitors). If playing the Mhairi World State then romance option is voided, and a background relationship like Dorian and the Iron Bull will be initiated with Solas through banter hints during the game. The background relationship applies for other world states, and for low approval, or if the Inquisitor does not romance Solas.

His primary abilities upon recruitment are centered around two-handed and DPS, but can be respecced after the first seal attempt. Fane’s specialized Ability Tree is akin to the Reaver Ability tree, and unlocks along with other companions’ Ability trees after Haven. However, he has two personalized activated skills named Emotional Baggage and Leashed, But By Choice.

Emotional Baggage is a support, sustained AOE ability that Fane can activate to use the emotional duress of an enemy (i.e. status effects such as panic or weakened.) to augment his, the Inquisitor’s, or other companion’s abilities and basic attacks. This ability eats away at his stamina however and when depleted, Fane is unable to use any of his other abilities for a short period of time, and his basic attacks and general movement is impaired.

Leashed, But By Choice is an ability exclusively tailored to support either Solas or the Inquisitor (if high approval or within the Mhairi World State). When within the appropriate radius of either one, Fane can ‘tether’ himself to Solas or the Inquisitor to bolster their strength by feeding his emotions through the link established. Any debilitating effects upon Solas or the Inquisitor is transferred to him and redistributed back through with fiery purpose. (status effects stack until stamina pool is depleted) If Fane’s stamina pool is completely depleted when the tether is still established, he will begin to take high amounts of spirit damage due to all debuffs circling back to him until he disconnects himself, or Solas or the Inquisitor cease any basic or activated attacks. (If friendly fire is toggled on, Solas or the Inquisitor can direct an attack towards Fane to forcibly remove the link if he is unable to).

Fane’s focused ability is circumstance dependent, meaning it is only activated if Solas has fallen or is at critical health. (If playing the Mhairi World State, it will be available if Mhairi falls or is critically injured, as well.) It is listed with the name Shattered Vow and is along the lines of the base focus ability Berserk. However, Shattered Vow greatly amplifies abilities such as Dragon Rage and Devour, and has no cooldown times on either, but at the cost of extra amounts of health when used. Stamina rate of depletion is exceptionally lowered during the duration of the ability, but upon focus depletion, or if Solas or Mhairi is revived or healed, Fane will immediately collapse and be incapacitated for the rest of the fight. (Revival, potions with Lifeward, or if Healing Grenade is upgraded with Revival will not work to recall Fane.)

Combat Comments

Kills an enemy

(scoffs) Disgusting.

I’m sick of you! *if enemy downed is a mage*

(snarls) Don’t touch me!

Kills an enemy (after Haven)

(tired sigh) Will it ever end?

So much red..

I wasn’t made for this..

Low Health

(growls) Permission granted to heal!

Suledin.. S..Suledin.. Vir enasalin..

I..I have to..keep going..

Low Health (Companions)

(the Inquisitor) Stop attacking! Focus on the Inquisitor! He/She is injured!

(the Inquisitor - if Dalish) Will pride be your downfall, too?! Someone help the Inquisitor!

(the Inquisitor - Mhairi World State) Help, Mhairi! NOW!!

(Solas) Solas! You damned fool! Fall back!

(Varric) Varric! Archers in the back, warriors on the front! Get it?!

(Cole) Cole! Easy, damn you!

Fallen Companions

(the Inquisitor) - If you fall, we all fall! Get. UP!

(the Inquisitor - if Dalish) I thought you would never submit?!

(the Inquisitor - Mhairi World State) My, no! (voice cracks) NO! Open your eyes! OPEN THEM!!

(Solas) Solas! (snarls angrily) I swear if you’re not breathing when I get to you, I’ll--I’ll--!

(Solas - if romanced by Fane) No..NO! (choked up) We made a vow, Solas! It can’t shatter again! I need you!

(Iron Bull) I’m large, but you’re larger, you oaf! Get up!

(Cole) Cole, no! You still have so much to see, to observe! Come on!

(Varric) I don’t fancy having Hawke’s hands on my throat, dwarf!

(Cassandra) The Seeker’s down? (snarls) Fuck me!

Location Comments

If within radius of any Elvhen artifact

Fane: I’m..going to stay out here.

Inquisitor: Is everything all right? What’s wrong?

Fane: Nothing. It’s just more practical for someone to stay outside in case of trouble. Go on.

If within radius of any Elvehn artifact and Solas is in the party (primarily after Haven)

Solas: There is an elven artifact nearby.

Fane: (sighs) Of course there is.

Solas: Ir abelas. We shall be quick.

Fane: Go on, then. I’ll be here.

Exalted Plains

The land is burnt to ash here. How typical.

The sky is...grey. (sighs) I want to leave already.

(Within Halin’sulahn)

Fane: Could we have built a life here? Harmonious with them and free? Without a yoke to bind us, a noose to threaten us?

Inquisitor: With humans, you mean?

Fane: Huh? Hum--? (clears throat) Yeah. Yeah..

(when reading one of the plaques depicting the Exalted March)

(growls) The world would be better off without religion. (scoffs) Zealots, all of them.

(Approaching the Dalish camp)

Inquisitor: Huh. Look. It’s the Dalish encampment.

Fane: Traipsing about a battlefield? (scoffs) Idiots. I feel bad for the halla.

Emprise du Lion

(takes a deep breath) Ahh, feel that? That’s cold. (chuckles) Just how I like it.

I need to shed a layer...or five. How can you all stand so much fur? Ugh.

Watch for falling snow from the branches. It’ll crush you as surely as any boulder would.

(near red lyrium)

This stuff needs to know the perpetuity of black. Destroy it already.

My head is pounding. (growls) Can we get moving? Tsk.

(after walking across Judicael’s Crossing)

Fane: I hear them..

Cole: They’re confused, crazed, chained. They want to correct it, but it’s too much..

Fane: ...Let’s go.

Temple of Mythal

(entering the temple)

Guess the elves learned how to cherish some things. Don’t let that be in vain.

(after meeting Abelas - didn’t attack)

Fane: I wonder if they know..

Solas: They do.

Fane: Hmph. That’s...good, I guess.

Companion Comments about Fane

Varric: Tempest? (laughs) He’s a handful, but he’s not so bad once you get past it. Elf can drink, too! The other night, half the soldiers were knocked out cold and he was still wide awake!

Blackwall: Have you ever played Diamondback with Solas and Fane at the same time? Don’t. My coin purse is still recovering from that duo.

Sera: Grumpy? (cackles) I put a rat in his bed roll the other day and I friggin’ swear his hair turned as red as his face after the screech he let out! ...I had to hide out in the kitchens all day, though.

Cole: His eyes hold dueling duality. He wonders when the battle will end.

Cole (if Fane is romanced with the Inquisitor): He doesn’t know which side he wants, but observing you gives him hope. He feels safe with you.

Solas (not romanced with Fane): Fane has been through a lot, Inquisitor, but his words do not wholly define him. Observe him as he observes all of us, and you will see that.

Solas (if romanced with Fane): (chuckles) Ma’isenatha? He is special, Inquisitor. In more ways than you realize. (more quietly) ...He is more important than you realize.

Iron Bull: He gives me a wide berth for some reason, but he’s one hell of a fighter! (hums) Sort of unhinged though. Like he doesn’t know he’s even moving in for the kill. Kind of worrisome, if you ask me.

Dorian: Fane? (chuckles) Have you ever heard him speak when he thinks no one’s listening? That man is a walking poetry book! Caught him reciting one to himself one time and when I asked about it, he turned beet red! I swear the man’s eyes changed colors from that alone!

Leliana (if not playing the Mhairi World State): I don’t know much about him, or rather, I cannot find much about him. For a large man with very unique features, he remains shadowed. ...And he seems to want it that way.

Leliana (if Inquisitor is Dalish): I attempted to contact your clan after Haven to gather information, but...all inquiries were met with refusal or deflection. You yourself mentioned you had never interacted with him, yes? I believe there is more going on than Fane wishes to admit.

Leliana (if playing the Mhairi World State): Your brother is highly observational and subtle for a man so large. He had taken one of my investigations as his own, and brought back amazing amounts of intel that uncovered a ring of mages attempting to repeat the same dragon control from the Grand Cathedral. ...Would you be adverse to me making him an agent?

Trespasser

No matter the romance or world state, Fane becomes unavailable at the end of Inquisition. If romanced, however, he will leave the Inquisitor a letter stating that he’s sorry, but he can’t continue to ignore what is needed for what he wants. If playing the Mhairi World State, he also leaves a letter, but the message is attached with the favor Mhairi had given him when he turned twenty-one; a velvet sash. After various attempts of locating Fane and turning up no leads, he is presumed out of bounds of Thedas or dead.

During Trespasser, upon the final eluvian that ultimately leads to Solas, the Inquisitor will be stopped by a dragon masked warrior, who is also blocking the Viddasala from entering the mirror. Even when questioned, the warrior doesn’t speak and ultimately moves to the side to allow passage, but not before finally saying, in fluent Elvhen: ‘Your wings are clipped, and only stone awaits you.’

When the Inquisitor speaks to Solas, he will explain that Fane is not dead or missing, and is actively within the Crossroads as they speak. Any circumstance will yield questions from the Inquisitor as to Fane’s exact whereabouts, and Solas with state, with a saddened smile, ‘He saw you when you came in, but you did not do the same courtesy. Such is the way the world views his kind.’ If the Inquisitor made an effort to learn the history of the elves, their downfall, and Solas’s own identity, then he will explain exactly what Fane is and who he is to Solas himself. If not, then Solas will say to find Fane themselves to learn the complete truth and will only explain his own side.

In the Epilogue, it is made known that the warrior the Inquisitor passed in the Crossroads was Fane, after Leliana’s agents reports sightings of a large male along the fringes of Tevinter, wearing the same armor, but without the mask attached. It is later revealed that Fane is working as one of the Agents of Fen’harel, but mainly as Solas’s second in command.

Trivia

Fane has an unhealthy obsession with anything sweet. He often gets stomach aches.

He is demisexual, thus why his romance is based upon the approval scale.

Fane is the only companion that cannot have armor crafted for. He will equip himself as levels dictate.

His area within Skyhold is situated in three places: The third floor in the tavern with Cole, leaning on the crates in the rookery, and most frequently, reclining on the couch in the rotunda, reading. Sometimes banter will trigger between him, Solas, Cole, and Leliana. During Haven, Fane can be found along the edges of the training yard or along one of the broken docks.

His idle animation has him scanning the sky with his arms crossed, or clenching and unclenching his fists.

He enjoys the scent and look of Gladiolus.

If not playing the Mhairi World State, Fane is revealed to have no family beyond his deceased mother and missing father, the latter he speaks of with great disgust and loathing, however.

There is a DLC called Emerald Eyes Amidst Golden Vows that doubles as Fane’s personal quest which reveals towards dragons having a greater influence beyond the Old Gods. It hints towards Fane’s identity, as well, but it is not resolved until Trespasser.

Fane can speak and write in fluent Elvhen, but refuses to unless pressed.

Fane’s Reaver ability Dragon’s Rage is a silvery blue color rather than crimson. Upon activation of Shattered Vow, however, the blue is mixed with red.

It is revealed in Trespasser that Fane was able to ‘tether’ with the Inquisitor due to the mark, since it is Solas’s magic.

He is secretly claustrophobic. This is revealed in The Descent DLC, if taken.

He personally tests every strange bottle of liquor the Inquisitor finds in the wilds.

The Mhairi World State is an origin preset for Fane to personalize the player’s experience with him through special dialogue and unique buffs.

Fane’s ‘climax’ romance scene reveals the abuse he underwent as a child from his father. His scars are exposed for the Inquisitor to see, then.

Refers to Solas as ‘my sky’, if in a romantic relationship. If involved with the Inquisitor, he will call them, ‘my wings’.

***

Yeah, I got carried away. I had to stop myself because I think about this a lot since Fane was not originally my canon Inquisitor. Not entirely canon compliant, but you all know me, I recognize canon, but I don’t chain myself to it. XD

#dragon age #oc: fane lavellan #meme #oc meme #i got really carried away about the abilities #i honestly have so much more like actual companion banter #maybe i'll make another one *side eyes*#dragon age inquisition #male lavellan #reject canon return to fanfiction

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carewyncromwell · 3 years

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“It's just like déjà vu, me standin' here with you, So I'll be holdin' my own breath -- Could this be the end? Is it that moment when I find the one that I'll spend forever with?”

~“Gotta Be Somebody” by Nickelback

x~x~x~x

In 1941, the vampire called Bat Varney was murdered by the dark wizard Grindelwald for aiding the resistance movement organized by Ministries across Europe. Bat left behind many friends, including Danny Gibson @catohphm and the Selwyn-Ellison family @that-ravenpuff-witch -- but the person most devastated by Bat’s death was his most constant companion, Atticus “Grim” Grimsley @cursebreakerfarrier. Never in his life had the retired professor considered that he’d be the last one standing, out of the two of them -- and in his last days on earth, just before he died peacefully in his sleep at a ripe old age, all that he wished was that he might see his first true friend again. Little did Atticus know that -- in his last moments alive -- Bat had made a similar wish...praying that maybe he and his mate Grim could meet again someday, somewhere where Bat didn’t have to regulate how much or how long they touched...maybe even with his real face...as Robert.

About a decade after Professor Grimsley’s death, the only son of a well-respected Pureblood family started his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted into Ravenclaw house. The boy -- appropriately enough also named Atticus -- wasn’t particularly popular at school, given his hyper-focus on his academics and on satisfying the high standards of his father. Not only was Atticus expected to bring his family honor and esteem, but he also had a rival at Hogwarts who he was expected to “outdo.”

Bartholomew “Barty” Gilbert (pronounced “JO-behr”) was the only son of an up-and-coming Pureblood family who’d just emigrated from France and made a lot of money investing in robe shops in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade alike. He was also now a Gryffindor in Atticus’s year, and Atticus’s father was very firm that Atticus not let the boy surpass him in anything. Although Atticus normally obeyed his father with a certain degree of reluctance, in this case, he didn’t like the thought of losing to Barty Gilbert either. Not because the Gryffindor wasn’t pleasant -- no, in fact, he was almost too pleasant...too amiable, too inoffensive. And that made it so that even though Barty got away with doing whatever he wanted without worrying about his family’s expectations, it only served to earn him more friends and admirers. Even before that, though, when Atticus had met Barty in passing before school, he still couldn’t help but dislike the other boy. There was just something off about him -- something Atticus could hardly put into words. It was like whenever Barty opened his mouth, he sounded wrong -- whenever he smiled, it looked wrong...even his eyes weren’t as they should be. There was something almost familiar about Barty’s auburn hair, face, and height -- and yet something was wrong. And it just made Atticus upset for a reason he couldn’t really explain. It reminded him of those times, when he was a very small child, when his mother would try to comfort him after he woke up sobbing and could hardly explain why. Something about someone with red eyes squeezing his shoulders, tears streaming down his face and laughing like his heart was breaking...

So Atticus was determined to throw himself into his studies and do everything expected of him. Just because Gryffindor Golden Boy Barty Gilbert refused to do things the right way didn’t mean he shouldn’t -- and Atticus knew karma would eventually go his way in the end, if he put in the proper work. It didn’t mean that he didn’t still sometimes feel somewhat resentful every time Barty Gilbert waved to him in the hall, his two best friends at his side. One of them was the most popular girl in their year (of course), another Pureblood witch named Cecelia “Ceci” Crouch -- the other was one of Atticus’s own dormmates, a poor Muggle-born boy who in third year had become Ravenclaw’s Star Chaser named Robert Bellamy. Despite sleeping in the same dorm for five years, Atticus and Robert had really never talked -- Atticus was focused almost exclusively on his studies, of course, but even Robert seemed actively disinterested in talking to Atticus. Perhaps it was because of how much Atticus kept sticking his nose up at his best friend Barty -- perhaps it was because of how much of a stick-in-the-mud Atticus was -- or perhaps it was for a reason Robert couldn’t quite put into words, the same way Atticus couldn’t completely explain his instant dislike of Barty.

One day at the beginning of fifth year, however, Atticus and Robert were forced to engage with each other when Professor Binns inexplicably decided to actually assign a paired homework assignment. (A possible result of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore casually reminding the History of Magic professor of a similar assignment he’d assigned his OWL class back in the days when he was still alive.) Although Binns of course didn’t remember any of his students’ names, he nonetheless paired Robert with Atticus. Neither of the Ravenclaws was particularly pleased, but none of them was the type to actively argue or complain.

After class, Atticus approached Robert outside the History of Magic classroom. Robert told Barty to go on ahead to the Great Hall and that he’d catch up. Once Barty was gone, Atticus uncomfortably questioned Robert about when they could meet to work on their oral report on the Witch Hunts of the 14th century.

Robert frowned slightly, his well-toned arms crossing casually over his chest.

“Hogsmeade weekend starts tomorrow,” he said placidly. “You occupied then?”

Unlike the rest of his classmates, Robert wore his bronze-trimmed blue Quidditch robes over his disheveled uniform, instead of his usual black school robes. Atticus couldn’t help but wonder if Barty Gilbert’s buddy just liked to remind everyone that he was one of Ravenclaw’s Chasers.

Pushing this faintly condescending thought aside, Atticus shook his head. “No -- I’m available.”

“Good. Meet me at the Three Broomsticks and we can talk there.”

He turned on his heel as if to go. Atticus couldn’t help but sputter and he quickly rushed in front of the other Ravenclaw to stop him from walking away.

“What is there to talk about? We need to get started right away!”

Robert raised his eyebrows. “Tomorrow isn’t soon enough for you?”

“The project’s due on Monday,” said Atticus seriously. “We’ll need to spend a good deal of time at the library, if we want to be prepared -- ”

“No need,” said Robert with a shrug. “I already know everything we need to know.”

Atticus couldn’t keep himself from quirking a disbelieving eyebrow. “Oh really? Robert Bellamy, slacker jock who always dozes off in History of Magic, knows enough about the Witch Hunts of the 14th century to get us an O on our oral report? Somehow I doubt that.”

Amazingly Robert didn’t react with anger -- instead his black eyes turned very cool.

“The Witch Hunts really can’t be narrowed down to just the 14th century,” he said in a very level, matter-of-fact voice appropriate to a professor. “Not only did the ‘witch hysteria’ phenomenon last well into the 18th century, until the Age of Enlightenment, but there was a lot of set-up beforehand that laid the groundwork for it. Witchcraft, specifically black magic, was considered illegal even in ancient times -- the Romans considered it a capital offense. And of course one can’t ignore how early Christians demonized pagan beliefs by associating them with witchcraft, hence why images of the Devil came to embody traits associated with the nature god Pan. The Witch Hunts of the 14th century largely came about because a bunch of Muggles got their knickers in a twist about an increased interest in necromancy and herbal remedies among the poor, spurred on by the printing and circulation of older Islamic texts. The fact that many of those people who had the most use for those herbal remedies were women -- frequently mid-wives -- scared the church as well, of course, given the sexism of the time. And of course when bad things happen and there’s no explanation for it, people love to find a scapegoat. Add a text like the Malleus Malificarum that tells the terrified masses all of their problems are the fault of evil witches to the mix, and Incendio -- you’ve got yourself a bonfire.”

Atticus was completely sideswiped. He caught himself staring with his mouth open, and quickly closed it.

“That...well...”

He felt very sheepish. His ears burned -- his mother would’ve been scolding him if she were there, for jumping to conclusions like that.

“...That’s really impressive,” Atticus said self-consciously. “Forgive me, I...I was very rude, just then.”

He brushed a loose piece of his dark brown bangs out of his eyes.

“...How did you even know all that? I don’t recall Professor Binns ever saying -- ”

“I doubt he did,” said Robert. Once again he didn’t seem the least bit offended by what Atticus had said and was currently grinning cheekily. “I got my hands on the fifth year History of Magic syllabus from an older student before term started. I went to the Muggle library and borrowed a whole stack of books about the Witch Hunts so I could read them over the summer.”

Atticus blinked. “Muggle books? But -- but wouldn’t that information be incomplete?”

“In some ways, yes. But honestly, magical history isn’t much better that way -- it leaves plenty of stuff out.”

“I suppose it does -- but Professor Binns expects you to know what he teaches too. That’s why he does those lectures.”

“And puts the whole class to sleep,” said Robert with a snort of laughter.

“That’s beside the point,” said Atticus firmly. “It’s good that you studied the material so thoroughly -- very admirable, in fact -- but there is a right way to do things, and falling asleep in class when your professor’s trying to teach you will only make it harder for you to get top marks.”

Robert shrugged. “Guess I don’t see the need to regurgitate my professor’s lessons like a parrot. And how do you know I don’t already get top marks? I don’t remember you ever asking to see my grades.”

Atticus faltered. “Well -- it’s just -- I never see you study.”

“Probably because you never leave the library,” said Robert with a rather mischievous smile.

The words were an unpleasant barb in the corner of Atticus’s chest, and his eyes narrowed to hide the slight hurt he felt. Noticing the shift in the other boy’s expression, Robert immediately put down all trace of humor.

“Only joking,” he said defensively. “Crimey...you really are too grim for your own good...”

As soon as the sentence had left Robert’s mouth, there was a strange, silent ping that seemed to ripple through both young men’s ears. The word “grim” had hit Atticus in the heart stronger than anything else Robert had said. The young Pureblood had stiffened sharply, and his expression tensed further when he realized that Robert too seemed to have suddenly gone oddly pale.

Did...did the word affect him too? Did he also find it so strangely, frustratingly, achingly familiar? Why?

The two stared at each other, both looking incredibly disconcerted. Then Robert, stuffing a hand into his pocket, quickly strolled past Atticus.

“...I’d better go catch up with Barty,” he muttered. His voice sounded oddly calm to Atticus’s ears -- almost evasively so. “Is tomorrow at noon okay?”

Atticus glanced over his shoulder to look at Robert’s retreating back.

“...Yes,” he said quietly.

Robert didn’t turn back around.

“Three Broomsticks?”

“All right.”

“Good. ...Bring some books from the library, if you want. I’m sure Madame Pince will have some suggestions I haven’t read yet. Just don’t tell her we’ll be at the Three Broomsticks -- poor thing would probably throw a fit if we spilled butterbeer on her books...”

With that, the Ravenclaw Chaser departed down the hall without looking at Atticus again.

Atticus didn’t move from his spot in the hall for a while afterward, unable to completely shake the heavy, invisible weight that had settled down on top of his heart.

He’dd only ever felt such a strange, irrational kind of déjà vu around Barty Gilbert before, but this kind...this kind was different, somehow. The feeling that accompanied Barty Gilbert made Atticus feel irritated for no reason at all. This one accompanying Robert Bellamy...it was cold, and yet also so soft at the same time -- like the feeling one has when they hear a beautiful, sad song...or when they wake up sobbing from a dream where someone is squeezing their shoulders, while tears stream down their brokenly laughing face...

#golden era #hphl #atticus grimsley #bartholomew varney #my art #my writing #au #reincarnation!au #OH MY GOD #REINCARNATION TIME BABY #let's give grim and bat a real happy ending shall we?!#I mean sure bat had a lot of happiness in his life before he finally died but he only lived a half-life as a vampire #and this way bat can be there for grim when he's younger so grim can live the life at hogwarts he deserved #without his father's influence looming like a shadow over him the entire time #also yay bat can touch! and actually grow up! and actually be a professor!#I see bat and crew being in cedric's year #so they'll be seventh years when cedric dies and just be starting careers when the wizarding war starts #of course we all know bat would join the order of the phoenix because...duh #but yeah so this means bat flies alongside cho chang!! :D #robert hasn't gotten the nickname 'bat' yet but he will #and of course atticus isn't 'grim' yet -- even in his original canon he only ever was okay with bat calling him that </3 #robert's discomfort around atticus really comes back to him seeming famiilar and yet 'off' too #in this case because grim is supposed to be happy!! he's supposed to smile!! he's supposed to dance and have fun!!#and yet he's this huge stick in the mud that has a beef with robert's BFF -- what's up with that?!#he really doesn't *dislike* atticus at this point but he is uncomfortable and unsure and when bat is uncomfortable he tends to disappear #in all universes bat does not like being uncomfortable or talking about things he doesn't want to talk about XD;;#also yeah bat is smart AF but is the type to only express it when his intellect is useful #he doesn't show off his intelligence by answering every question in class or sharing his grades or going to the library constantly #instead he most often expresses it whenever he's tutoring someone in something or when the knowledge solves a problem #so it's no wonder atticus had no clue that robert's not just a dumb jock XDDD

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warsofasoiaf · 4 years

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Sure, the internal politics was a bit flat, but I thought you punched it up enough to make it work. But realistically, Collins would be much more politically powerful after repelling two invasions? The Protestant Ulsterites are given fair consideration. Just seems like the game mechanics got in the way, but you wove it into the story well. Also, Rose of Sharon Cassidy reminder!

Rose of Sharon Cassidy is a great companion. At first glance, she’s a callback to one of the more popular Fallout companions, John Cassidy. Both have big hearts (neither can be recruited if the player has low Karma) and a heart condition. Both are small business owners. Both have a knack for shotguns (Cass gets the Shotgun Surgeon perk and I usually end up giving her Dinner Bell) and acquit themselves well in firefights. Both are experienced. Both can have quite colorful and inventive pieces of profanity. However, Rose of Sharon Cassidy is a great character in her own right, she is not merely another character’s shadow.

Cassidy is one of two Western-themed companion characters in the game, the other being Raul. While the second act of Fallout: New Vegas is about Vegas and the power struggle within it, the first act of the game borrows a lot of Western themes and motifs, from the little town shootout ala Rio Bravo to finding a sheriff for Primm to the man rising from certain death to pursue their killer like a non-supernatural High Plains Drifter. Cassidy is a caravanner and muleskinner (or brahminskinner because it’s Fallout), a classic Western archetype, and she fits the description: rugged, colorful, and individualistic. She’s tough and violent to contend with a tough, violent Wasteland, with a love of whiskey to match any Clint Eastwood character.

Speaking of Clint Eastwood, Rose of Sharon Cassidy is firmly in the revisionist Western camp of Western characters. Classic Westerns often didn’t have many roles for women outside of love interests to damsel, doting wives, or wicked saloon girls, which in the era of the Hays Code was a codeword for prostitute, but in the 1960′s roles began to expand for women in Westerns as the Western genre itself began to revise itself. Revisionist Westerns, for those not in the know, often took the classic Western genre to task, the depth and scope of which would be too lengthy an aside for this essay. Suffice it to say, when Cassidy joins up, she makes it plain that she isn’t looking to be just a tag-along, she’s being joined because of her skills. Cass is not a worthless hanger-on, a character devoid of depth to simply enrich the Courier’s tale. She’s a Revisionist Western character, and she has her own story.

Rose of Sharon Cassidy is a moral person even though she has Neutral Karma herself. She does not like a Courier that commits hostile acts and will call the Courier out if their Karma begins to drop. You get two strikes with Cass, and dropping to Evil Karma means you’re out, she will up and leave. If you do not start something, she will head back West, giving up on a future for herself in the Mojave. Or contrarily, if the Courier is a shitbox as well as evil, she’ll shoot. There are things that she won’t tolerate and it’s based on Karma, not faction reputation like the other companion characters. Again, Cass has her own story, she will not content herself being a tag-along. This isn’t perfect, of course, open-world games being what they are, you can take your time accomplishing her quest, but mechanics and story are always, in some ways, at odds. A pressing deadline means lost content, which can be perfectly fine for some games, but other times, not so much.

Cassidy, however, is at her lowest point when she meets the Courier, drinking away the days at the Mojave Outpost bar after her caravan company had been roasted to ashes in an apparent raider attack. Unable to leave due to Ranger Jackson forbidding caravan travel due to giant ant attacks, Cassidy is content to spin her wheels and drown her sorrows, and will not move for any reason, not even the most silver-tongued Courier. Instead, she recommends you to one of her competitors, Alice McLafferty of the Crimson Caravan, the largest caravan company in New California, and an ironic recommendation given what will come later in Cass’s own quest.

Continuing with McLafferty’s quest line, however, gives you Cass’s companion quest Heartache By the Number, which is also a song on the New Vegas soundtrack - a mournful Guy Mitchell country song about a man who constantly has his heart broken by a lover who leaves him, comes back, leaves him again, and says that they’re coming back but never do. The song’s protagonist, despite the pain, cannot bear to end it and leave, because even though it hurts, the day he stops counting his heartaches is the day the world ends. Despite the pain, the singer can’t give his lover up, and we see that Cass, despite her caravan having been lost, can’t bear to give it up and sell it to Alice. Anyone who has ever owned a business can tell you, there’s a piece of themselves in their work, and it can be hard to give it up even if the offer is tempting (this isn’t universal sentiment, of course, plenty of business owners do wish to sell at a good price). Cassidy Caravans isn’t just a caravan company, it’s a piece of Cass. She even asks flat-out “if someone asked to give you 1,000 caps for your name, would you?” Even if all she had was nothing, nothing was still worth something because it was still hers.

The quest to buy the caravan is one of the little things in the game that truly show Obsidian’s love for the craft and their use of dialogue for fun. You can pay extra out of your own pockets to recruit Cass, standard fare for an RPG because you don’t want to miss out on content just because you don’t have the right skill and money is usually an acceptable fix in gaming, but the other options are excellent. The two speech checks, the first to point out that she doesn’t want to be trapped here forever, and the second that points out that if she was responsible for Cassidy Caravans, the destruction of it is on her too. Both get you the same results, but require different speech levels in order to get out. Neither one provides any mechanical difference to Cass, but the accusatory stance naturally would engender hostility, and so it should be a harder speech check. The game uses the mechanics to reinforce the action in a way that the game’s limitation on programming cannot easily match. This isn’t as elegant, perhaps, as the speech check with Ulysses at the end of Lonesome Road litters the conversation tree with false answers that will catch someone who wasn’t paying attention and just clicking through the tree, but it gets the point across with much less conversational depth (and accordingly, less programming and voice acting work). The best option, however, is the drinking contest, where you pay 12 bottles of whiskey to attempt to drink Cass under the table. The actual choices all end in the same successful quest resolutions, but the paths that they take vary considerably and hilariously, from Cass smoking you and you falling off your stool (in dialogue options only, the engine wouldn’t render that), you becoming equally drunk and saying stupid drunk things like “I love you and your little hat,” to you simply obliterating Cass with your gigantic 10 Endurance, asking if you felt *what* exactly as you polish off six bottles of whiskey like they were water. There’s absolutely no point in creating that many dialogue choices other than the pure love of doing it, of putting it in there, of enjoying the craft of the RPG. It’s these little things that make me love Obsidian as a developer, and it’s something more game developers should do, to place more love into their programming and presentation.

After joining up with you, Cass still isn’t ready to simply forget her caravan, and asks if you can stop by site where it was hit. She wonders whether there’s any indication of what hit her caravan, but even if you’ve been there and seen the devastation, she asks to go anyway, to pay her respects if nothing else. Part of this is simple signposting, you need to get to the caravan so you can hit the next checkpoint of the quest to continue, but it still speaks to Cass’s character that she says that she wants to go there and does not simply take the Courier’s word and be done with it. The scene is every bit as bad as she thought, her caravan was hit by someone carrying energy weapons and looking not to rob the caravan but to destroy it completely and utterly, which is baffling. Hitting a caravan is typically supposed to be about stealing the goods and getting rich, not simply bloodsport. It’s confusing, but it’s also Fiend territory, who use energy weapons. A Fiend warband, whacked out of their brains with Psycho might look to satisfy their bloodlust, or Jet might make them so twitchy that they keep shooting until everything is ash. The hit is too professional though, Brotherhood of Steel-level military tactics, which wouldn’t match up with tweaking Fiends, but the Brotherhood doesn’t attack caravans without high-level technology.

Since there are too many inconsistencies, Cass wants to see what happened to Griffin Wares, another caravan company. The wreckage is the same, disintegrated caravan and cargo both, which means it cannot simply be a one-off, at least by video game logic anyway. Conservation of detail means that two times is enough to be strange, and three times is a confirmed pattern via the Rule of Three. Now suspicious instead of curious, Cass and the Courier investigate Durable Dunn’s Caravan. Living up to their name, however, this time there’s evidence that this was not the result of random juiced-up Fiends but a concerted assassination and murder by the Crimson Caravan and the Van Graff crime family, looking to murder their way to maximum profits by eliminating the competition and establishing a monopoly. We have the reveal and now we reach another classic hallmark of the Western genre, what is the hero supposed to choose? Kill them both in revenge for their crimes, or trust in the NCR’s justice system and bring evidence to Ranger Jackson to indict both of them. We also get a good view of a classic Western conflict, the big monied interests versus the little guy. These happened plenty of times in the west, such as in the Johnson County War where the homesteaders fought the wealthy Wyoming cattlemen’s association.

Cassidy, hot-headed, is looking for a good brawl, and you can have two big fights at the Crimson Caravan HQ and the Silver Rush, the latter of which being a big energy weapon fight where, if successful, you can walk away with enough microfusion cells that you might qualify as a ghoul. That’s the classic Western anti-hero move, where the justice system is a tool of the powerful and both the crime syndicate and the corporation are the powerful. This form of justice is sorted on the frontier, beyond where the corrupt courts can reach. It’s immensely satisfying to Cass, and when she gives into her wrath her character receives a permanent upgrade of 15% gun damage. Combined with her Shotgun Surgeon perk, which ignores DT, Cass can become quite lethal with a 12-gauge. Yet the damage is not limited just to the Van Graff’s and the Crimson Caravan. The NCR is proven to be unable to protect caravans leading out to the Mojave on the Long 15 and so supply shipments drop off, and NCR settlements suffer. The Divide was already destroyed by the Courier before the game even started (and the Long 15 might be nuked depending on your choices in Lonesome Road) so that really stings.

The alternative though, is putting your fate in the hands of the corrupt NCR, ruled by its brahmin barons and other monied interests. Cass trusts Jackson with the evidence, but it would take a long time to prosecute the two conspirators. It means delaying the visceral satisfaction of revenge and the power that such an act can entail, and risking the chance that it fails. But if you show faith in the NCR, then that faith is rewarded. NCR uses the conspiracy to shape up their trade laws, and the Crimson Caravan and Van Graffs hurt in their bottom line. For her own part, Cass calms herself and becomes much tougher as a result, gaining max HP. Of course, this is clumsy though, since the Gun Runners can end up vaporizing both of them with no push back and your get the best of both worlds (and previously, a bug allowed you to peacefully complete the quest then go kill them and get both perks). It’s a bit clumsy perhaps, but life isn’t fair. Personally, I would have designed the quest so you had to collect a certain amount of evidence, not enough and the Van Graffs and Alice McLafferty get off scot-free. Whether that would be in the quest or just an ending slide, I could go either way, but I think that would have been a better way to build that kind of quest.

Of course, you could do nothing with Cass. You can bring her to Jean-Baptiste Cutting and have him gun her down to complete Birds of a Feather, coldly escorting Cass to her own slaughter. Of course, this is an evil act and it makes perfect sense for Cass, the one who would be disgusted by an evil Courier, to be the one eliminated in an Evil Karma path. That’s a credit to Obsidian, few developers are brave enough these days to create mutually exclusive content because of the cost of production, or mutually exclusive content being binary beads on a string where you have to choose between a saving a bus full of nuns or devouring a live kitten with minor callbacks and a morality meter to note your choice. But that’s a function of the increased cost of production these days, gone are the days when a level could be produced with a couple of writers, artists, and scripters (such as it was in Fallout 2).

You knew it was coming. If this surprised you, you have only yourself to blame.

Cass is a supporter of the NCR, and it’s here that she shines, perhaps even unintentionally, as a revisionist Western character. She likes her country, but she’s aware of its flaws. The NCR lacks direction and cohesion, their compass is “always spinning, all the time.” The NCR is family, and you love family, but you can help but hurt as well that your family is constantly screwing up. The constant need to spread, to acquire more land and resources. It’s great press for the top, like Kimball who can give his pretty speeches at the Hoover Dam, but the common NCR grunt has to fight hostile gangs and wildlife without an established support structure to back them up. And Cass sees that if the NCR wins, it won’t change because it won’t learn. She wants the NCR to fix itself and is completely at a loss for how to do it. She far prefers NCR over the other factions, but she isn’t blind to its flaws. Like Raul she understands why some would join the Legion (provided they weren’t women, of course), because the security of their supply lines means that the threat of random violence is reduced, and that’s important in a post-apocalypse. Why pay these crushing NCR taxes if they won’t protect you? Why is NCR expanding to Hoover Dam when it can’t even stop cazadors from nesting near the power lines? They’re too thinly spread, and they won’t consolidate and reform because that doesn’t win you elections.

The same is true of the Western genre in the revisionist Westerns. They state that the frontier was a black-and-white affair, where good guys wore the white Stetson and the desperados wore the black one. Cass’s feelings on the NCR are similar to what plenty of Western writers thought about Westerns, and what citizens of their own countries think about the nations they live in. The words that Cass speaks about the NCR could be said by any member of any nation, loving their country but wanting to fix the flaws.

This isn’t to say that New Vegas is completely morally grey. There’s some clear moral lines that can be drawn, Caesar’s Legion is clearly an evil and cruel nation despite Caesar’s claims of Hegelian dialectical inevitability. But what about the NCR? Do its intentions for good or ill doom it or save it? Do you continue to support that family member that constantly screws up or do you stop giving them the rope to hang themselves. The answers to that question aren’t easy, but the faction system working toward the goal of what the Mojave is one of the biggest draws of the game, and so it’s clearly showing that these are types of questions worth discovering an answer to, whether it’s in the real world or the fantasy world.

Cass, as a character, gets you to start thinking about the flaws of these factions, because the grand climax of Hoover Dam has you picking which factions you want, whether one of the large ones with their own visions, or the ala carte options of the Yes Man playthrough where you pick which ones to embrace or reject. So Cass, in a nutshell, is that way a distillation of the grand Fallout: New Vegas experience; something you’d never expect from a whiskey-soaked nobody drowning her sorrows in a dingy bar in the corner of the map.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#fallout: new vegas #character analysis #fallout

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askthewitchlady · 4 years

Text

A.I.C.O. Incarnation Reveiw

THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

So while weighing which Anime to watch next from netflix I came across a couple good candidates, after watching the trailers I settled on A.I.C.O. Incarnation in part because the trailer presented a strong female protagonist and in part because the wormy monsters reminded me of the graboids from tremors so I had to see what that was about.

Two years prior to the start of the series there is an accident at a research lab which resulted in synthetic organisms to erupt in sudden and extreme cellular growth. This event called the ‘Burst' leads to the quarantine of Kurobe Gorge. In order to retrieve data and samples that where still in facilities in the gorge during the burst, teams of 2 called divers go into the area on contract to collect these samples and data for different companies. The danger being the malignant and violent nature of the synthetic organisms known as Matter.

Aiko Tachibana is a high school student who attends school on the grounds of the hospital she stays at for physical therapy after being involved in a fatal car accident prior to the burst event which killed her father. After a transfer student comes to the school only two days before summer break begins Aiko learns that her mother and brother are still alive in the quarantine zone and that she is the key in destroying the matter and ending the burst.

STORY TIME

Inside the quarantine area three groups of divers are in the same area for different collections only for them to come up against Malignant Matter. Eventually meeting up it’s stated that the Matter is different and not responding to their weapons as normal. One group splits off from the others leaving the two other teams tackle the aberration as they go to collect their target data. Unfortunately while the other two teams manage to escape the third team ends up killed by the matter.

Two years after a car accident that killed her father and badly injured her Aiko Tachibana has been recovering slowly however is still wheelchair bound. After being hit by a baseball because shed dozed off Aiko falls from her chair and thinks her arm bruises however the bruise fades away leaving her confused. After admitting to her school friend that she’s been falling asleep a lot like that lately and having odd dreams they go their separate ways Aiko stating she can’t attend club activities that day due to needing a health check up. She returns to her room in the hospital and talks with her nurse for a while, she also meets with her doctor Isazu who compliments her hard work at her physical therapy.

Following another strange dream Aiko and her friend rush to school fearing they will be late when Aiko accidentally crashes into a new student. Yuya Kanzaki, while he says nothing at first he picks Aiko up and settles her into her wheelchair making sure she’s alright. Despite being dazed by the run in Akio and her friend make it to class in time. To their shock however Yuya is introduced to the class as a new transfer student despite there only being two days left of class. Aiko is shocked by this but it’s more shocking when she stands up to stare at him. After school Yuya meets Aiko and her school club the ‘paper airplane club' on the roof and they talk a bit. Later that evening Aikos nurse suggests that now Aiko can walk again she should return to her family home and collect some of her belongings. Aiko is scared to go because she feels it would be the final proof that her family is dead. After talking it out with her friend and Yuya she decides she will go.

The next day Aiko accompanied by her nurse, her school friend and Yuya, is driven to her home, the front walk overgrown with weeds showing it has not been tended. So that she can have some closure the nurse decides to let Aiko go inside on her own assuring her that they are right outside if she needs any help. While wandering around the home and collecting a few things Yuya notices two vans that have been lingering near by. Breaking down in her fathers study Aiko finds a strange blue orb, the last gift her father gave her, which he had actually given her immediately before the accident. Before she can wonder what it is Yuya enters the study and tells her it’s time to go. While two suspicious delivery people attempt to enter the home Yuya, with Aiko escapes through a window and highjacks the van the nurse had driven them to the home in.

Following a brief chase which ends at the border of ‘old town' Yuya takes Aiko to meet his companions Dr. Susumu Kurose and dive team leader Daisuke Shinoyama. After explaining a little more that they need Aikos help in ending the burst Yuya exposes Aiko to her biggest secret. Taking a large tactical knife Yuya slashes it across her face, breaking the knife and showing her, her body is not human.

THE BAD

To be honest the show is pretty solid, there’s a bit of fan service it could have done with out but having seen how extreme some shows can be with it it’s not bad especially considering that with the cast in skin-tight jumpsuits through a good chunk of the show it could have been bad.

There are a couple plotholes however since they are related to the end of the show and I highly recommend this one I won’t get into detail, suffice it to say they could have been fixed with a couple lines of dialogue but they weren’t.

While there is a compelling subplot about Dr. Isazu trying to save his comatose daughter, there are further complex cutaways involving the government’s plans for the Matter and how to handle it which felt like padding.

The ending feels a touch rushed, it’s satisfying and all loose ends are tied up, I just feel like a proper epilogue episode would have been nice.

THAT BEING SAID THERE ARE GOOD THINGS

The story is great I really enjoyed it, all the characters feel real, even the obnoxious Kaede of the Divers team is a good character. Dr. Isazus descent into a desperate madness the closer Aiko and Yuya get to primary point is really well done and despite being the bad guy you can’t help but empathize for the father who just desperately wants to save his daughter.

The show feels the perfect length but also to short, it’s enjoyable and the ending is just perfect but I won’t say why.

The Malignant Matter is amazing as a concept and is realized well especially when characters connection to it is established. The way it moves is fast and fluid and the idea that different Lazer frequencies only work on certain types of matter adds a level to the stakes as the team runs into undiscovered matter and have to engineer bullets on the fly with data collected from samples of damaged matter.

There is a part were Aiko just picks up two huge guns and starts shooting, it was badass.

FINAL THOUGHTS?

Go watch it. Seriously, frankly after two duds I was fully prepared for A.I.C.O. incarnation to fail, but it doesn’t, it’s a good and engaging story with pretty animation well rounded characters and a cool concept.

I would recommend this, I know I'll be watching it again

#Netflix #netflix reveiw #anime #anime review #aico incarnation #Aiko #Yuya #Gummy is super cut I need a gummy plush!!!!

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elopez7228 · 4 years

Text

Scenic route 23/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

Perched on the sidewalk with his elbows on his knees, Ben Solo lit a cigarette.

With his other hand he scrolled through his phone, reading and re-reading Rey's last messages.

He knew exactly where she was and what she was doing: Syed was sending him a brief every hour. Yesterday she had visited the southern reaches of Yellowstone, today she was up north. Syed had even mentioned something about bathing in the river.

He had hoped for a picture that never came. Imagine his reaction if he ever saw Rey in a swimsuit—of course, that would go beyond the strict definition of surveillance—he’d be flirting with the boundaries of stalking. And he had taken enough liberties with his initial mission to know not to venture there.

Was she going to text him?

He had ended their conversation last night...was it pathetic of him to contact her first?

She said she wasn’t ready for a fling and instead wanted to get to know him better. But that evening...her hands and mouth told a different story. He could feel the desire coiling in his abdomen at the very thought of their heated embrace...

He gave in, thumbs gliding across his screen:

Good morning stranger, sleep well?

Should he sign it with a name?

He would have liked her to call him Kylo Ren, like everyone else. Ben Solo was the name of an anxious teenager with voices in his head, abandoned by his parents, misunderstood by the world. Kylo Ren was the name he had given himself to turn the page. It was the emblem of his reincarnation as a critically-acclaimed rockstar and celebrated prodigy, Andrew Snoke’s prodigy, and Armitage Hux’s infamous nemesis.

He felt that she was suspicious of Kylo Ren...but the only person who called him Ben was his mother, and that was one more reason to bury the name. It brought him nothing but bad memories. She would just have to get used to calling him Kylo.

But he couldn’t bring himself to sign it.

The answer was almost instant:

Good afternoon to you. It’s 1400 hours, if you just got up I reckon you had a rough night?

Touché. I’m more of a night owl. Music and inspiration are nocturnal things.

And I’m ever the early bird. It's amazing that our paths crossed, in the end.

The day and the night...

The sun and the moon?

Okay stop.

Rey and Ben looked down at their phones, simultaneously terrified.

What was this? Some heartfelt exchange of poetry? Flirting, both??

They were thousands of miles apart, her sitting on a park bench and him on a patch of asphalt. She was brilliant, shining in the sunlight as the wind swept against her face. He was taciturn, his heart preoccupied and his vision clouded with worry. Yet they found themselves back to back, each contemplating the absence of the other.

So far and yet so close.

In that moment suspended in time, Rey was the first to breath again.

What had changed? Nothing, in a sense. She was still mourning her marriage, drowning in anguish for Finn, and lacking insight on Ben. On the other hand, she was no longer angry, and under the Wyoming sun, on the cusp of happiness. Soothed, to say the least. She was no longer afraid of what the future would hold for her.

But Ben was drowning. It felt like they were at an impasse. Rey carried the weight of her grief like a burden, she lived on another continent and entered his life only by accident. She seemed destined to exit it just as quickly. They had met for the first time only a week ago, and the conviction that she was going to escape him and disappear forever from his life plunged him into an abyss.

Rey got up, stretched, slipping her phone into her back pocket. Maz was still playing fetch with BB8.

“You’re turning red. From the sun, no doubt?” Maz smiled mischievously.

“Of course. It’s only sunburn. Why else would I be turning red?” They smiled; neither fooled by this coded little conversation.

Rey sat down at the wheel of the Millennium Falcon and put both hands firmly on the steering wheel.

“Maz...would you like to attend a concert tomorrow?”

Maz, busy fastening her belt, turned her head to look at the girl before her. “What kind of concert?”

“The rock kind. I would like to introduce you to someone.”

"A rendezvous with the sun himself, I take it?”

"Perhaps," said Rey, who felt the "sunburn" come back to her cheeks, “it's up in Gardiner tomorrow night. That still leaves us this afternoon and most of tomorrow to see the park...if you’re alright with the agenda, that is.”

"Nobody's waiting for tea with me in Anchorage, child. I can bring myself to spare time to meet someone tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” Rey giggled, she couldn’t repress her broad smile. “I hope you'll like him more than BB8...And honestly, I want to know what you think!”

“Ah, so it's BB8’s dear friend Ben Solo, the same man you had to speak to...I see. I don’t know if I'm the best judge of character, you know.”

Rey turned to her, beseeching. “Please. I cannot stand to be left alone with my contradictions, I lose focus. I need an outside opinion, and an objective one at that.”

Maz nodded, but she had stopped smiling. “You know Rey, we have not known each other for a long time, but I feel that sometimes, it feels good to be a little lonely. I think you did well to undertake this trip, and I think you shouldn’t go too fast with this Ben Solo. Concentrate on yourself, your needs. The temptation of meeting someone “new” is great, I understand. But don’t let him lead your heart astray.”

“Well you'll be there to stop me from doing something stupid, right? Please?”

The little woman took off her glasses. Her eyes were tiny, almost lost in the middle of her face. “You must also learn how to cope with what is happening to you, instead of letting your entourage deal with your problems...Take charge, make decisions, learn from your mistakes. It would not help you at all, if I "stop" you from anything. It's time for you to stop letting others decide for you. "

These words, though spoken kindly, pierced Rey like a dozen stab wounds. It was all her fault, in the end.

Her breathing became uneven and she looked away, so that Maz wouldn’t see her glistening tears. But the old woman could guess, all the same. She laid an affectionate hand on the girl's forearm:

“I'm sorry to have hurt you. You are a wonderful, bright girl. You simply lack confidence in yourself. Listen to your heart, it will never lead you astray.”

“My heart led me to marry a man who could never love me the way he was supposed to,” she replied bitterly, “you will forgive me if I'm suspicious of my intuitions, now.”

Ben Solo crushed his cigarette underfoot.

He would have to handle the tour and the mission at the same time. He had to be in Gardiner that very evening, after what was shaping up to be three hours of skirting Yellowstone traffic. The roads were flooded this time of the year. Syed, who was still chasing Rey on her adventures, was ahead of him. The rest of the group was split into three vehicles and a van, all parked in the 4B parking lot for lunch.

His phone vibrated and he grimaced as Hux's name appeared on the screen. Hux calling never meant anything good.

“Kylo Ren.”

“Hello, Kylo. I have Snoke on the other line, let me activate conference mode.”

Hux’s voice was too smooth, overly honeyed and precise in a way that indicated he was plotting something...and there was no telling what trouble was brewing with Hux and Snoke in the same room. Ben ran his fingers through his hair, straightened his shoulders, and took a deep breath. Every conversation with Snoke these days smacked of lawsuits. He wondered what it would be this time.

The sound of Snoke's slow breathing filled his speaker.

“Kylo Ren. How have you progressed?”

“As discussed, I’m tracking the girl, sir.”

“What were the results?”

"For now...her connection to Earth Soldiers is still unascertainable, apart from the fact that she is traveling with BB8 aboard the Millennium Falcon.”

"I’m certain she's walking you across the country when we need to concentrate our forces here at the headquarters. The mission is over, you are to come back.”

Ben Solo's heart skipped a beat. He had expected a reprimand, but not this. He did his best to control the trembling of his voice. “With all due respect, sir, it's too risky. We would have a lot to lose from letting an activist agent go. "

"She's no more an activist agent than you are a musician, Kylo Ren," rasped Snoke. “The party is over.”

Ben was looking for the right words when Hux intervened.

“Don’t forget to keep your receipts, I will ask my assistant to prepare your expense report.”

The bastard was having a ball. He would pay for it dearly when the time came. Ben felt his blood boil with a combination of fury and humiliation. “Every single move Rey Jakku makes is being monitored. Where she's going, who she's talking to. I will make her talk, it's only a matter of time.”

“We are out of time. This conversation is futile, I’m sure Skywalker’s devotees are tired of running around like chickens without heads. It is time to silence them. Get rid of the girl and come home.”

Ben’s blood turned to ice. “Get rid of? What do you mean…?”

It was Hux who replied, his nasal drawl annoyingly triumphant.

“Burn the Millenium Falcon to ashes, kill the dog, steal the girl's papers to scare her. Come tomorrow, she will be back in England and her hitchhiker will find some other pathetic tourist to ride with.”

"What hitchhiker?”

The question came out reflexively and Ben regretted it in an instant. The first rule of the First Order was to never, ever admit failure, even if you were behind. Too late.

“How is it that you didn’t know?” Snoke said, sotto voce. “Am I to understand that you are supposedly monitoring every single one of Rey Jakku's actions, to use your own words, but that you did not know that she had picked up a travelling companion along the way?”

Ben remained speechless as he processes this new information. How did Hux and Snoke unknowingly get such intel?

“Perhaps you owe this failure to a pair of pretty eyes. If you want to keep your job, Ben Solo-Skywalker, you have an interest in getting results. Immediately.”

His full name was uttered with such contempt that Ben got goose bumps. He could feel his throat growing tight with hate as he held his tongue.

“Get rid of this girl, her car and her dog, and come home. I leave you twenty-four hours. If I don’t see results by then, I think you would benefit from a stay in the office. Hux will ensure your field work gets done while you go back to the drawing board.”

So that's what Hux had been up to, Ben thought, he wanted my place. Ben could feel his jaw clenching. Hux would pay for this in blood.

But he had to admit, it was the ideal form of blackmail: Rey or him. Whatever decision he made, it would cost him dearly. He knew he would not be able to recover.

His throat constricted, his eyes began to burn. Everything was falling apart so fast...as a young man, Ben had risen past his childhood trauma to become one of the most powerful men in the United States, respected and feared by all. But Snoke called the shots. He could reduce Ben to misery as easily as he had propelled him to the top.

"Do you hear me, Ren?” Snoke hissed.

“Yes sir. Crystal clear.” He paused. “Have you canceled the concerts?” He added quietly.

“I think your little publicity stunt, once a credible cover to justify your absences and trips with your cohorts, has gone to the head. You will play Gardiner tomorrow. As for Bozeman...we'll see. You know what you have left to do.”

Ben hung up and screamed. In his rage, he snatched a metal trash and hurled it to the ground, before kicking it violently against the wall.

It was Syed. That fucking bitch. She had doubled crossed him and sold him out to Hux. Oh, that she was going to pay for, very, very dearly.

It took him a long time to catch his breath and find a semblance of sangfroid. A few yards away, Shakti, Skylar, and his other knights watched the scene in terrified amazement.

They heard nothing of the conversation but knew that only Snoke and Hux could ever make Kylo feel this way.

And Shakti, though she would never tell anyone, could have sworn she saw him cry.

#Reylo #fanfiction #Modern AU #Scenic Route

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crasherfly · 3 years

Text

Weekly Update

It’s a privilege to write about personal shit this week.

There’s not much I can add to the conversation about the election, suffice to say it was both better and worse than expected, and I’m glad that society isn’t immediately collapsing, at least this week.

Which is to say I’ve never been so glad to focus on my stupid, deeply low-stakes life updates. Obviously, the future is still uncertain and there will be plenty of work to do in the days and years ahead, but a week ago, I wasn’t certain if I’d be witness to a reality where questions like “how did a week of not drinking go” and “what are you playing” still matter.

So without further ado...

It was a challenging week, obviously.

Not just the election- I’m talkin’ for like- EVERYTHING. Home life. Work life. Creative life. I could go on. You get the idea.

I went on full blown quarantine as of last Friday after learning a member of my household may have covid. You wouldn’t think it was much of a change from my normal every day, but man, I did not realize just how many little things were working together to keep my sanity together.

A short list- weekend walks to pick up morning coffee, Friday night carry-out sushi and pizza, my weekly groceries at the co-op, and most importantly- trips to the weight room- all suddenly off the table until testing results come in.

In my state, testing often requires booking at least 3 days in advance, and it can take another 3-4 days just to get results back. Luckily, everyone in my home works remotely, so this doesn’t put us out too bad. I can’t imagine now non-remote workers manage. Even so, having to toss all the precious little things I’d managed to keep despite the pandemic stung. I even had to put my wrestling watch parties on hold- they took place on Discord, but one of my friends would normally come over to watch.

I’ve worked through a lot of huffy anger and annoyance over the course of the past few days. Losing my ability to get to the gym as the weather turns especially hurts. As a weight lifter, I’m pretty reliant on what the gym offers. Early into the pandemic I got a lot of folks snidely telling me to go lift paint cans. I resisted the temptation to tell them they could in turn pay for my back surgery. Thanks to the pandemic I’ve learned that the gym is actually a need for me, emotionally and physically. Losing it, even for a week, feels awful. I can’t wait to get back to it.

Until then, jogging and biking will have to suffice.

One positive- I’ve gone a week without drinking!

Based on my tracking, that’s actually the longest I’ve since June, which is nuts.

Predictably, I have gained weight. Because no good deed goes unpunished.

I don’t know if I’d say I notice any life-changing effects yet. For all I know, my body is still adjusting to the sudden absence of all the shit it’s normally used to working in overdrive to break down.

A few things I’ve noticed- my runs are going slightly better, I can stay up later working on games or creative endeavors, and I’m actually experiencing REM cycles again- meaning I’m dreaming, and dreaming vividly. I also get incredibly hungry around 10:30 every night- because, surprise!- that’s when I’d normally sit down with a beer or glass of sake. So I’m working on finding ways around that.

I can’t say I’ve felt a huge urge to drink. I occasionally wonder when, or indeed if, I’ll grab a glass of beer again any time soon. But beyond that, it’s been pretty easy to lay off. The fatigue alone was just such a pain to work through, not to mention the way a glass of beer would just kinda pin me into place for the rest of the night. I like how active my brain is now in the late hours.

But I do watch a lot less anime now :(

On that note, here’s what I’ve been playing lately!

Outer Worlds (XBONE)

So, you probably missed it last post- probably ‘cuz I forgot to write about it in my first draft, but I wrote about my Total Kill Run that I just wrapped up in Outer Worlds.

The short and dirty version for those of you who can’t be bothered to go back and read- I tried to do a run where I killed every NPC in Outer Worlds, a space RPG from the Obsidian, and instead got sidetracked with completing the nefarious Board’s story and ended up doing a Board run instead.

I was surprised by how humor and wit the game brings to its commentary on your wanton slaughter. The devs were not bluffing when they said you could kill anyone and anything in Outer Wilds and they even prepared a few nice moments in anticipation that some players would try.

I was disappointed to find that the Board’s mission- and indeed, some of the progression points I followed on my own go-it-alone-and-kill-everything story, mirrored the Good Guy story beat-for-beat, basically shrugging and saying “well, you’re gonna do this anyway, like it or not”. At several given points you can kill everyone you like- but you’ll still have to find that keycard, access that terminal, or visit that far off map point now matter how hard you try to get out of it.

I was finally struck by how little I missed. I skipped A LOT of stuff- almost every sidequest and all the companion quests. And you know what? I had a fine time. I might even say I had a better time. So much time in Outer Wilds is devoted to fetching, traveling, and sitting in load screens. Turns out you do less of all of that when you just go guns blazing into every civilized map.

Some friends earlier this week were talking about revisiting old Bethesda-style RPGs like Fallout: New Vegas and Skyrim. It got me thinking about whether or not I would bother doing that myself any time soon. It’s true those are better games than Outer Worlds. But if the point of Outer Worlds is to echo those positive experiences so closely...what does my recent experience say about the source of that reflection?

Just a thought I’m chewing on. I don’t have a good answer. But feel free to HMU if you have your own thoughts!

NeoGeo Arcade Stick Pro- Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury, World Heroes 2

Friday night I sat down at my desk, dimmed the lights and hooked up my NeoGeo Arcade Stick Pro. On my second monitor, I brought up move lists for King of Fighters ‘95 and started my fighting game learning journey.

I did OK, in my opinion. I stuck to just learning the hero team- Kyo, Daimon, and Benimaru. I even managed to trigger a few level 1 supers. I think I could safely beat the average player at an arcade now- but there’s definitely plenty of system I came nowhere close to learning all the ins and outs. However, after trying out a few subsequent KOF games, it seems like my learning should transfer forward.

I also tried out a few other games on the stick. Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury aren’t games I’ve had prior exposure to. In my experience, they seemed a little slower than KOF. The command lists were definitely shorter. Samurai Shodown was absolutely gorgeous and felt really, really good to play. I could see getting really into it.

My big highlight was World Heroes 2, which I ended up playing most of the night. It’s a bit sillier than the previously noted titles, but it has a really fun roster and a good, medium-sized move list that isn’t too taxing to remember. I had seen some of the characters, like Johnny Maximum, on the Spriteclub roster, so it was cool to see them in their native environment.

Overall, the Arcade Stick Pro is holding up nicely. The stick itself is solid, and the deck is a natural fit on my lap or desktop. I’m not noticing any serious input lag and the buttons seem really responsive. Of all my retro consoles, this might become one of my favorites.

Endless Space 2

AMPLITUDE’s 4x sci-fi has entered hallowed realms of my “Games I will Be Playing 20 Years From Now” list. A massive, sprawling turn-based strategy about managing a spacefaring empire, Endless Space 2 is great for those weeks where I want to play a 4X that I can resolve within 20 hours.

For my most recent run, I once again took up my favored faction, the Riftborn. Every game is a learning experience, so this time around I was determine to try and tackle the massive and deeply inconvenient quests that Endless Space 2 mercilessly slews at you every_damn_turn.

I was mostly successful. I didn’t finish my faction’s quest, but I did complete the Academy quests. Throughout every game the Academy looms as this impartial faction that hires out heroes and provides boons to those who donate resources to it. In the endgame, the Academy offers a quest that forces every active civilization to choose sides regardless of existing alliances. Depending on the results, the last phases of Endless Space 2 can look very different

I finished the questline, unlocked a cool cinematic and learned that next time I should definitely not ignore those quests, however obnoxious they might be. The faction buffs earned from successful completion are....pretty wild.

Sunless Skies

Another week, another dead captain in Sunless Skies. This captain had a particularly long run- I had managed about...15 hours with him before losing him to some enemies that I was not at all prepared to fight. Death comes quick in Sunless Skies- a single bad decision can lead to swift death.

This run I at least managed to bank a ton of valuable supplies and upgrade my engine. My next captain will have a better shot as a result. I’m not sure when I’ll pick the game back up. After a particularly long run I usually take a long break- weeks or even months. We’ll just see what happens.

Pokemon Shield

I’ve finally, FINALLY beaten the endgame of Pokemon Shield. At least, I think I have. I’m sure there’s a few more things to do here or there, but for the most part, I think I’m done. I beat the champion and saw the credits roll. There’s some DLC to visit and more ‘mon to catch, but mostly, I’m done.

I had the opportunity to take care of some trade evolutions and partake in a friendly battle with a friend. It was the first time I’ve done that since...I kid you not...the playground in 5th grade.

It was...really fun?

I’m a deeply casual pokemon player. I don’t search for shiny ‘mon or suss out perfect numbers. I just use who I think looks cool and I try to keep type and consideration in mind. As a result, my friend and I had to agree on some ground rules for average levels- but the result was a compelling match.

I found myself afterwards making plans for another battle night. This tends to happen in November- I get really into Pokemon again for a few weeks. Historically, this is ‘cuz I’m normally traveling a lot for the holidays. That won’t be true this year, but old habits die hard.

Maybe I’ll even bust out my 3DS again soon. Who knows?

Quest 2: Revisited

Last week, I posted some thoughts about the Oculus Quest 2. I’ve spent another week with the headset, testing some new features and trying some more involved experiences. I’m happy to report my thoughts on the machine are still positive.

If anything, my impressions are MORE positive than before. My eyes have grown used to the world of VR. I’ve found a setting on the out-of-box headstrap that I don’t hate. And I’m finding more experiences than I initially suspected I might.

I’ve had a change to run the Link option, for instance, which allows you to use your Quest 2 as a Rift. It’s actually pretty seamless, requiring only a good desktop and a USB cable. My cable seemed to suffer from some bad speeds, so my experience was pretty laggy, but with an approved cable, I have no doubt the Quest 2 could handle just about anything you throw at it.

I finished Superhot, and have only raving reviews to offer. It is a perfect introduction to all the Quest 2 can do. Given limited space, Superhot places you in do-or-die situations where you must dodge, duck and shoot your way through enemies. When you move- time movies- so you will often find yourself forced to take stock of your surroundings before making your next step.

It is sharp, offers a great mix of puzzle solving and brisk action, and even serves as an ad-hoc workout. Picking it up with your Quest 2 is a must.

Encouraged by Superhot, I gave Job Simulator a try. It is a zany VR experience that humorously simulates a number of white collar job environments. It is short, funny, and with no shortage of silly interactions. I spent several minutes in my digital office cube shooting staples into neighboring cubes and giggling at the angry responses of my co-workers. WHO THREW THAT. STAND UP.

Finally, I’ve taken some time to try and get into the streaming world beyond the Mozilla app. It has been both encouraging and...well, not so much. I’ve mostly been dinking around in Bigscreen, an app that offers a number of Pluto TV channels in digital theater environments. You log into a room with other people, who appear as avatars, and you all watch the shows together.

Well, sorta. Most people don’t really watch the shows so much as they throw digital tomatoes at the screen and shout upsetting shit at each other. The server population seems really low, so the massive theaters take on the quality of a creepy XXX cinema, where one always feels a bit apprehensive of who they might meet.

At its best, Bigscreen is genuinely funny. I’ve made nightly stops at the Star Trek theater, which plays old reruns of Next Generation. The most enjoyable moments come in the spirit of MST3K, with witty comments and memes as people throw digital refreshments at the screen. I’ve found myself giggling despite myself.

At its worst, Bigscreen is a deeply racist and sexist hideaway full of the types of folks you’d normally shush the hell out of in a real theater. You can mute people, but it’s a tedious task. A reporting function also exists, but who knows how or if its being enforced at all. Finally, unless you’re doing a film rental, you’re going to be subjected to commercials on everything from erectile pills to The Blaze. I’ve described it to others as being Peak Late Night Cable: The App. If that appeals to you, well, it’s there and it’s free.

I’ve tried streaming my desktop, both on Bigscreen and via Oculus Link. Both were very laggy. There’s a very popular desktop streaming app I could try, but it costs IRL money. Honestly, most of what I’d want out of my desktop streaming I already get from Mozilla.

I like the Quest 2 a lot. I hope we see more experiences tailored specifically to it, as opposed to through the Link function or via desktop streaming.

Dungeons and Dragons

I finally wrapped up my improv sessions with my local DND group. Having just finished The Lost Mines of Phandelver, I wanted to take some time between campaigns to improv and get off the grid a bit.

The result was 4 sessions, 2 hours each, where I had nothing prepared in advance and I let my players take the lead. I gave them a map I’d built of the region and told them we could go anywhere they like.

My party ended up splitting into two groups- one heading to Castle Grayhawk, and one to Neverwinter. Antics ensued, personal quests furthered, and by the end, everyone felt ready for our next adventure at the Salt Marshes.

An interesting takeaway- when doing improv sessions, I had almost zero fights. I never once broke out the battleboard and only a handful of attack rolls were even attempted.

I, personally, like combat a great deal. So I don’t think that will be my style forever. But it was interesting to see what my sessions could look like without it, especially after such a combat-heavy campaign.

Anime

I’ll be honest- I’ve fallen really behind on this season’s anime. I have so many hobbies, and one thing gets shoved aside for another, necessarily so. This time, it’s anime and manga. I promise I’ll get back on the horse soon.

As the year winds down, I’m already thinking about my experiences over the past year and what my end of the year experience list will look like.

I’ve seen so many amazing titles this year.

Like, I get deeply, viscerally emotional when I think about Re:Zero.

My heart races as I think of the thrilling high points of Tower of God.

I delight in my inner goth kid as I ruminate in experiences like Gleipnir and Berserk.

I’m going to have a lot to talk about. Just thinking about it motivates me to get out there and see more.

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darksiderssin · 5 years

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Post Apocalyptic Slowburn feat. Horsemen

WOW THIS TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH. Super long post, so I’ll stick it under a cut so you don’t have to scroll forever XD

War: The fact that you've survived despite your planet being dead for the good part of a century has impressed the guy right off the bat. Not so much the Watcher, but War is adamant you stay with him- initially to prove to the Council that humanity isn't extinct and strengthen his case. Then you start having each other's back- you are vicious with that machete and Chaoseater is never too far from neatly bifurcating whatever's out to eat you. He's blunt when he tells you why your world ended, and you admit that it's not cool that this was pinned on him just because he was the closest person at the time, and War comes to treasure your loyalty like you treasure having him for a companion. You have a solid friendship already going on here.

By the time the Chosen are dealt with, War doesn't expect you to blindly follow him into the Black Tower for his rematch with Straga and grudge match with the Destroyer, but you do. Your bond is only strengthened by Azrael's confession that the Apocalypse was a mistake, so you are 100% down to help him fight Abaddon. Afterwards, it's just kinda natural that you stay together- you have work to do.

If your first kiss as a couple took a while, then you'll have to wait for one of your more calmer moments to get it on. No Watcher to taunt him now, no Council out to vindicate him- War knows what's coming next. You sit beside him, leaning on his shoulder and holding his arm gently as he admits that despite everything, despite the fact that he's ready for whatever comes next, he is terrified of losing you. That night is spent with your bodies intertwined in a way you know the Horseman just needs, but he's so scared that he might break you in half that you have to talk him through it the whole time, reassuring him and giving him praise. The look in those eyes as he takes you is a mix of feral lust and deep devotion that makes your loins twinge in just the right way, and the growled curses in Abyssal against your ear is enough to send you over the edge. You spend the rest of the night sleeping in an exhausted pile of tangled limbs, but it's a moment of peace you both deserve.

Fury: She absolutely didn't want you around at first. Why you didn't just go to Haven was beyond the Black Rider's comprehension, but you don't get in the way, you're smarter than you look, and you're not a bad shot with a bow and arrow- if you're lucky, you might catch Fury musing aloud how archery is a dying art among other races and that it's refreshing to see it still practiced by humans. ("What was that?" "Shut it and keep walking.") It becomes nice to have you around, though; your reassurance against the taunts of the Seven is strangely comforting, almost, especially when you say you don't know why they call her the dumb one and mention that it's pretty rude.

Speaking of the Seven, hearing them say awful things about how they want to eat you or something along those lines pisses Fury off to no end. Like no, that's her emotional support human, get fucked. Especially when Pride has the nerve to insult her further for "cavorting with the dustborn mongrels"- at least you have a clapback for it that takes Fury by surprise. It definitely knocks Pride's ego down more than a few notches when she's lying defeated with your arrows sticking out of her, But when the masks fall away, you tried to save Fury from Envy, and Envy took you away as a result as the Horseman fell. Fury's mega pissed when she sees that Envy has you chained like her brother was as she assaults the Council.

After it's over, and Fury has ferried the last of the humans at Haven away to safety, she admits that she was terrified of losing you. Now that you both have a moment alone, she's holding you to her chest and making sure Envy didn't hurt you. She finds a few marks and grumbles about it, even when you insist that it's not that bad and it'll heal. "She took what was mine," Fury growls, then captures your lips in a kiss. If you thought Envy left a mark, you're in for a ride, my friend; there's no real method, none of her usual dominatrix posturing, this is her boasting to her deceased enemy that she tried to take away her cherished human, the one who made her want to change, and failed. She's not giving you a moment to breathe, and you get sucked into the frenzied, feral, "holy-shit-we-survived" sex that leaves you both covered in hickeys, and you're pretty sure you passed out at some point. Sure, you've got a temporary colony to set up in the morning, but you crazy kids earned this.

Strife: You know him as Jones, the mild-mannered man of few words that you ran into on your way to the big-ass tree in the middle of Manhattan. He asked if you were alone, and when you explained that it was just you and where you were heading, he asked if he could tag along, since a giant tree isn't something you see every day. You talked about yourselves on the way, but you didn't glean much from his brief answers; middle child, two brothers and a sister, not a local by any standards. You brushed it off as him being a tourist when things literally went to hell in a hand basket and let it go. Ulthane and the other two Makers welcomed you both warmly, and you settled in with the others, finding your place to sleep. You noticed that Jones looked amazed that there were still so many humans alive after everything- you joked about needing a bigger tree, considering a tree this big would draw way more people, given time, and you might run out of room. With time, though, you'd started to pick up on things that he said that gave you the impression that he was a total fish out of water; not knowing about Chuck Norris jokes, or any of the TV shows that had been on before the world ended, and it seemed like he'd never picked up a book, either. You guessed that he was just raised a certain way and left it at that- you just didn't have the heart to ask.

It was one day while you were out hunting together, when you got jumped by a pack of Stalkers. Just your luck, your gun jammed, and you had no idea how to fix it. But just as you'd resigned yourself to the fate of being a lesser demon's chew toy, you heard gunshots ring out next to you- you had no clue where they came from, but Jones was holding two ornate pistols that blasted huge holes in the heads of the Stalkers and didn't seem to run out of bullets. When the smoke cleared, you didn't let it go- he was going to tell you what happened right now. Jones tried to tell you that you didn't want to know, but you were his friend, and he knew you wouldn't stop until you knew the truth. So he showed you. You were sworn to secrecy, but you felt you could trust him more now that you knew who he really was under the mask of a grizzled man in his late thirties, and it showed. Everyone joked about how close you two were getting and you nearly spat your stew across the room when someone asked when the wedding was one night over dinner. Jones took it in good jest, though- but wow, if you two weren't thinking about it later.

He did sleep with you, but it wasn't at Haven. You two were out on a run for supplies and any other things that could be useful to Ulthane or the others when you found what was left of one of the big hotels in town. There had to be stuff in the old safes here that the rich folk left behind when the End came, one being one of the mattresses in the suites that could fit like three people on it, and it was in pretty good nick. Maybe out of some childish impulse or lack of thought, you thought it'd be hilarious to tackle him onto the mattress. After he got over the initial shock and realised you were playing around, you both had a friendly wrestle on the mattress, laughing and rolling around until he let the facade fall away, pinning you down. You could feel his smirk under his mask before he took it off and tossed it aside, capturing your lips as your play-wrestling took a more intimate turn. I mean, no better way to break in a mattress, right?

Death: He was surprised, but elated to find you after stopping some of the Phantom Guard from pulling you out of your hidey hole. Gently as he could manage, he coaxed you into coming out to talk. You were alone, no clue where your friends had gone, and moreover, you were lost. You offered to help the Horseman look for the pieces of the Rod of Arafel, but you weren't sure where you would go after that. Begrudgingly, Death offered to take you with him (a poorly worded statement either way from someone named Death) so he could take you somewhere where you would be safe and protected- and most importantly, you wouldn't be lonely. At this point, anywhere sounded better than Earth, so you went with him. Then, the Pale Rider noticed something with you- not so much on your part as it was his, but...what was this old, familiar feeling? He thought he was being protective because he'd promised to get you to safety, but now he had these thoughts of staying with you. But War...

The more you convinced Death to tell you more of his family, you came to see another side of him- a side that was selfless and wholly prepared to sacrifice for his siblings. You found that quite endearing, that he seemed so human beneath the mask. He made you swear not to repeat any of what was said, but you knew that was a good thing. He was starting to trust you more, enough so that he'd started to take your perspective into consideration when you two were presented with obstacles or challenges, or listen to any random tidbit of trivia or a memory with interest. You wondered if it was love or if you were reading too much into it, and secretly Death wondered the same thing. He was beating around the bush when it came to figuring it out, but it wasn't like he was doubting it, gently brushing his knuckles against your arm as you slept next to him.

Death has to admit it- away from prying eyes. Really, it's the last thing he does, and he knows it's going to be cruel when he has to leave you behind, but he really wants to get back to you someday- time progresses differently depending on the realm you're in, after all. That's why he has to come clean to you. You're not sure how it happened, but you're so close, your body pressed against his chest. You reach up to remove the mask barring access to his lips, but his hands catch yours. "No." It's not said to scorn you, it's a request that shows his vulnerability- you're not sure where it comes from, but with his hands so attentive to your body's aching need, you can forgive him. Lying in the afterglow of your completion, Death feels an ache in his chest. He feels the crushing weight of his duty to War, to his siblings. One day, he hopes, you can forgive him for having to put you second.

#tried to focus on the relationships more here than the smut #i think it turned out fine #darksiders sin #slow burn #war #fury #strife #death

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it-stheaulifeforme · 5 years

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lonely but never alone

Fandom: Playmobil: The Movie (2019)

Characters: Rex Dasher, Del, Amber (my cute kitty OC)

Whumptober prompt: October 11th (1 day late), Stitches.

Rated for: consistent mention of injuries (generally not graphic, but still), drugs (hospital themed, but still), violence involving brief mention of a physical assault, accidental injury by a cat, brief musing on a near death experience, stalking

Premise: After getting back late after a while out after shaking off some people that were following him, he’s greeted by a cute bundle of black fur known as Amber. Seeing his cat when he gets in always brightens him despite everything, and he muses on his life and commitments as a result. This is besides understanding even more when he decides to have a shower and has to be reminded again of a particular wound on the side of his head, nonetheless feeling comfortable knowing the people and things in his life that he wouldn’t know how to live without.

Word count: 2,033

Tagged: @whumptober2019, @unlikelyxmisfit

It was a late night by the time Rex got back home. He hadn’t had the chance the last couple of nights because he hadn’t been able to shake a particular bunch of people off of his tail, so he ended up having to sleep in his car. His whole body ached from lying in awkward positions, from running, and he felt so dirty. His sleeves were rolled up and he held his jacket over his shoulder as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Ugh, he thought, throwing his jacket on the floor and switching on the light. He shut the door and slid down against it. He put his hands up to rub his eyes, and sighed.

Mew?

That was always a good thing to hear. He looked up, seeing a sleek black kitty with golden yellow eyes pad his way over to him. He laughed as she stopped next to him, nuzzling into his neck and licking near his face. He could feel that same warm purr he always did every time he got in. It was always something to look forward to.

“Heyyyy,” he said, in an amused tone, “ya missed me then huh? Sorry, I didn’t expect for this to happen.” He went to scratch the top of her head, feeling that contented vibration as always on his skin. Besides - it was quite soothing considering the level of bruises and scarring he’d endured. They were fading, but still tender. The warm softness of a cat helped to take his mind off of things like that.

He’d named her Amber after the striking colour of her eyes. He remembered he found her abandoned and half-starved in an alleyway, and was discreetly able to take her to a vets that he knew of near his work where he wasn’t as recognised. He usually took in animals like this, managing to find them new homes in the end. He just couldn’t keep them permanently considering everything, but she’d stuck round the longest. 2 years now, actually. He didn’t know what he would’ve done without her.

He stroked down her back and she sat up, tilting her head at her. God, he loved the way she looked at him with those eyes. No wonder he named her after them.

“Hey, yeah, I’ll go grab your dinner before I have a shower,” he said, pulling himself up and stretching, “I damn well need one.”

He picked his jacket back up, and strode towards the kitchen as best he could, her strolling next to him. Although, she then decided to go in front of him, meowing and going in between his legs, almost tripping him up. “Alright, alright, careful! D’you want your dinner before or after you make me fall over?” he asked, laughing, trying to step over her. He eventually made it to the kitchen, but not without falling into the door frame.

He always wondered how he managed to look after these animals, knowing him. His job was irregular enough without getting living things involved. He had enough trouble trying to keep the people he cared about from getting too close, and yet he always got super attached to animals enough to keep them. I mean, he was never really able to connect with his peers, instead preferring to hang out with the family cat and dog when he got home from school. Not that he didn’t like people - he cared about them a whole damn lot. He just wasn’t good at being able to be friendly with people, especially ones his own age.

Not that his parents seemed to care. He looked like he was alright, as far as he made them aware. They just seemed like a naturally distant family, and he just kept to himself.

He put the bowl of food down in front of her, since she was clearly eager. He’d been away for a bit but planned to be home earlier if it wasn’t for certain people that decided to follow him. He still wondered why, since he’d spent pretty much all his time trying to shake them off and wait it out in back alleys, make his car signal more secret and take a longer route home. He’d already had a late-night job somewhere else, he didn’t need this.

He unfortunately knew this came with who he was. He’d gotten rid of them, for now.

Fortunately, he wasn’t usually out for long, even if some enemies did manage to catch up to him. Of course, there’d be some scarring and bruising in the escape process, but many of them he found would have an easier way out. The others were more of a problem, but sure, they couldn’t keep him forever. He’d be damned if they ever did.

She went to work eating it, and bent down to scratch her head softly. “Heyyy, I knew you’d be hungry. I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier, but I’m gonna be around here for a bit here. Maybe I can do some things from here,” he said with a small smile, “I’m not always one to want to be long anyway...some people just like to remind me how popular I am, and not in a good way, frankly enough.”

She was clearly more intent in the meal, but it was nice just to feel like he was talking to somebody. He had company, that was the main thing.

He stood up and left for the bathroom. He really did need that shower.

It was obvious how terrible he felt once he was in there. Everything really did ache, and places like his neck and shoulders always seem to sting in contact with warm water. It was hard to know just how much he seemed to bruise and scar, as even when they faded, there was always new ones. It hurt knowing how much he needed to cover up when he went out, especially in a more casual manner. He didn’t need the questions.

He had stopped though, hissing as his fingers, after putting his hands through his hair, went over a recent wound in the side of his head. He’d been so busy with everything else, he’d forgotten he actually got that recently treated with stitches. It wasn’t too big, but it really did sting now. He wondered why it took so long to remind himself even with what he’d been doing, especially with the number of times he’d put his hands through his hair and how much time he spent just trying to cover it up.

He ended up kinda just letting the water fall over him as he ran his fingers gently across it. He always seemed morbidly transfixed with his injuries, maybe because he didn’t have a whole lot of time to focus on much when he was doing jobs. And maybe because they were such heavy reminders of why they were there.

This was a particularly bad one, where he remembered he’d been in a fight after he’d managed to escape with something important, and blocked off on a street. He achieved a few bruises during it, but it got to a point where he was losing and stumbling on his feet. Seeing their opportunity, he was shoved sideways into the brick wall and fell to the ground almost instantly.

They took what they needed back from him, leaving him on the ground as if to die there. He wondered how he was still alive - and if it wasn’t for a much needed emergency call just beforehand, as much as his instincts said not to involve anyone, to Del who drove over with the truck, he pretty much wouldn’t have survived anyway. He’d remembered waking up in a small underground doctor’s place that both of them had been aware of, drowsy from sedation and his injury in a bed and stitches barely hidden by his hair. Del had been sitting next to him, absolutely relieved and grateful that his friend was still alive. It must have been funny to see him of all people lying in an absolute state practically comatose in an underground hospital.

He did have to laugh about it. He hoped it wasn’t the drugs he’d been given that made him look up and grin like an idiot at seeing his friend there over the moon and not worried sick.

He pushed his hair back, blinking rapidly. He’d been here a while, standing under this stream of warm water. He did need it, feeling less strained, especially across his neck, back and shoulders.

He should get out though. He couldn’t stand here all night.

After he washed and got out, he heard the familiar sound of scratching at the bathroom door.

“Hey, Amber, I’m here,” he soothed, opening up the door once he’d put on his dressing gown to see her stretched out up against the door, claws unsheathed and staring up at him, “you can stop scratching the door now.”

She kept staring up at him, meowing, before she sat back down to lick her paws. He always found that adorable, watching her groom herself. She was always just as curious, whenever he went to use the hairdryer and she sat by his bed.

It made him smile, thinking of the parallel. She was always there whenever he woke up, whether that was her sitting on him and pawing at his face, or watching from a distance near his bed. He still had a companion with him, even if he found it difficult to maintain close connections with people he cared about. He’d always been an animal person, and whenever he got in the door, he at least knew he had someone waiting for him. In each other’s ways, they relied so much on each other. It was comforting, understanding that. He could forget how lonely he felt when she was around, or even just knowing she was.

When he was eventually dressed in his pyjamas and dried his hair, being followed and watched by a warm load of black fur, he had ended up sitting in front of his TV with his dinner. Since he had quite the chaotic lifestyle, it was usually microwaveable, but he didn’t care. Amber was perched on the arm of the sofa as he ate, half tuned into one of his favourite B-movie sci-fis on the TV. Usually he could distract himself enough with these things, and not have to think about anything else.

He was chewing on some potato and staring past the screen when he was surprised by Amber pawing on his head to the point she was scratching on the stitched area and he practically jumped at the painful sensation, managing to save most of it from going on the floor. He grabbed at her paw and managed to pull away without catching anything, breathing heavily. He turned to look at her, not happy, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Hey, please don’t do that,” he said gently, stroking her head, “you can touch my head, just...not there please.”

She was really one of the few living things that could touch his head and end up messing his hair up. He could get self-conscious about his hair, and as much as he cared about others, he wasn’t keen on people just touching it. Especially with something like that underneath it.

She put her paw down and licked his face. Her breath smelled like chicken and he amusedly pushed her face away and licked his hands instead. “Hey!” he said, laughing, “I’ve just had a shower!”

She sat up, gazing at him with that head tilt. Of course, he didn’t think she understood. But for someone like him, he couldn’t care less. He was pretty much too tired to really want to, anyway. Care that she didn’t really understand the things he did or said. It wasn’t really the point.

Mrrrrow? she seemed to ask.

“I don’t know,” he yawned, looking back at his dinner and then the screen, “I think things are okay for now, maybe.” He stroked her down her back and turned around to her again with a soft smile. “Even if it’s just the two of us.”

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ask-the-clergy-bc · 5 years

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Yay, your asks are open! Something I've been constantly wondering about is; what would happen if the Papas and the Cardinal were into a member of the church and about to ask them out/make their feelings known-only to find out that their love is already in a relationship, with one of their own ghouls. :D :D I love ghouls and I live for drama, so. XD (Also, please include which ghoul it was, if you can! if not I understand, no pressure)

Oooooh, drama llama! I’m here for it fam!

Papa Nihil: Papa Nihil had considered asking for your companionship for a while now. You were a dutiful sibling of sin, and one that was very pleasing to the eyes and senses. He had found excuses to bring you closer, what with him being in the higher clergy and everything. Nihil was ready to have you inducted into his harem when the news was broken to him. Funnily enough, it was in the most indirect way possible.

Nihil had overheard Copia explaining away some damages to Sister Imperator. Apparently, from what he could gather- the ghoul, Ember, had picked another fight. Resulting in many fires and scorched hallways. When Imperator asked why on earth his ghoul was fighting again, Copia sighed and admitted it was over a human sibling of sin. Imperator looked to Nihil and mentioned firmly that there needed to be an amendment of human/ghoul relationships if this behavior keeps up! Copia reluctantly agrees, too afraid to say no or otherwise. It’s not until your name is mentioned that Nihil suddenly can’t breathe. The conversation is dropped as the two scramble to help papa with his oxygen.

But that amendment does go through, putting stricter rules on ghoul and human relationships. You and Em are none the wiser that Nihil had a …. special input for it. You both assume it was cause of Ember’s recent fight, and both accept it. It’s harder in a lot of ways, but you and your boyfriend as willing to get through it. Nihil never admits his feelings, but that petty bit of revenge was sweet for him. Especially when the band ghoul sulks that he’s not allowed to be near you during sermons- banished to the ghoul pews.

Papa I: Admittedly, the most boring. Papa I doesn’t have feelings for someone often, but even in the face of heart break- he values you too much as a friend to let it wedge between you. Papa had casually confessed his feelings to you, but nodded sadly when you admittedly to seeing Omega. Papa admits that actually makes him happy. He has known Omega for a very long time, and comments how the Ghoul would treat you lovingly always. Even though it’s a sullen thing, Papa asks if it would be alright if you two can maintain your friendship. He asks because he respects you and doesn’t want to make you or your love uncomfortable with his presence.

Again, he values you still as a close companion and in his inner circle. You know he would never intrude on your and Omega’s relationship, and you still love him very platonically. So of course you say yes, and Papa couldn’t be happier.

It hurts for a little while, but you and Papa almost seem closer after the fact. Even Omega is not disturbed by it. He’s always had respect for the eldest Emeritus brother, and vice versa. Papa will get over his feelings, but his bond with you as his friend is that much stronger. You all walk away happy and closer than ever!

Papa II: He’s the pettiest out of all of them. He’s so floored and a bit offended that you could chose Air over him. A mere, lowly ghoul over the amazing and powerful Papa! ESPECIALLY when the lowly band knows NOT to sniff around any person Papa fancies- little traitorous wretch!!

Air admits to you later that Papa is probably just being a dick to save face. Neither of you find the behavior acceptable, but it makes sense. Air can’t exactly stay away from Papa if called upon, but you can. You go out of your way to AVOID the second Emeritus, and in some ways, he does the same. It’s easier to cast you aside and belittle you in his mind than admit he is hurt.

The only thing that sucks is he’s able to take it out on Air. Which, thankfully, doesn’t last as long as you both feared. Papa let’s up a tad bit when he finds someone else…. and Air refuses to be broken by it. It’s just a lot of nagging and getting Air to run around and work tirelessly for Papa. But Air does it because he refuses to let Papa win. It just makes your ghoul that more attractive to you! Seeing your boyfriend stick it to the pompous man!

Your relationship with Papa is never the same, really. But that’s ok. All that matters is that you are happy with your Stoic, amazing ghoul boyfriend.

Papa III: Had he been a little less self absorbed, he might have known you were taken sooner. And by one of his closest ghouls none the less! It was not a big secret to most that you and Alpha were an item. It got to the point where it was such a given no one really bothered bringing it up anymore. It was common knowledge! Save to Papa, who is late to the party. Admittedly, he’s not the brightest when it comes to certain matters. Not from stupidity, just his habit of being more interested in himself.

Papa honestly thought you were around so much because you wanted to see him… when in truth, your boyfriend Alpha is just around him all the time. But you caught Papa’s eye.

The ironic part is, Alpha himself had to break the news to Papa. Papa had been going ON and ON about how he found someone he wanted to spend an actual relationship with… and dropped your name. Alpha had to inform Papa that you were actually HIS s/o, and NO- he;s not joking. It takes a little back and forth to finally convince Papa that Alpha is being serious, and this isn’t their typical locker room banter. It’s so heated even Water steps in to tell Papa to back off. Papa accepts it and begrudgingly apologizes to Alpha, after much convincing from Omega to do so.

Papa’s pride and ego is hurt a bit, but he can get over it. He’s Papa after all, how hard can it be to find someone just as amazing as you? The only thing that sucks in the after math is rumors that your relationship had something to do with Alpha leaving shortly after. The Papa and Alpha fought over you, and other sorts of nasty rumors…. ouch.

Cardinal Copia: You would think it was Papa II’s pride who was hurt the most… but it was really Copia who took rejection the hardest. He had fancied you even before his most recent promotion. But he wanted to make his move when he was at his peak. Back from his tour, swimming in fans and siblings of sin alike. How surprised were you gonna be when Copia would declare his feelings for YOU? Out of everyone wanting a piece of the soon to be new Papa, Copia wanted you!

He had everything planned down to a T. A bundle of your favorite flowers, his best suit on, and the chance to have you alone. You were so taken about to the point of speechlessness when he confessed his long term feelings. Hell, it would have been a perfect dream! He was on his knee, holding your hand gently, his other hand over his heart. Looking deep into your eyes as he admits he always had feelings for you. It’s too bad that loving, hopeful look would be replaced by his face falling. And boy, did he look like he was about to cry when you mentioned you were already seeing someone.

You and Aether had been a couple since he was still performing with Papa III. Save it was on the DL for years. Nothing wrong with it, you two were just very private. And Copia, admittedly, never looked deeply into his ghoul’s affairs if it didn’t suit some purpose. You feel super guilty as the man, now sporting a cold poker face, stands up. You tell him how much that meant to you, but hope you two could be friends. He shakily agrees and apologizes for not knowing. For the most part, that is the end of it.

You and Aether are still happy, and Copia keeps his distance from you both. You notice Copia doesn’t go out of his way to talk to you as much, nor Aether. But he keeps things very polite, friendly, and professional. You can see a look of sadness in his eyes, especially when you aren’t as close as you used to be.

#the band ghost #ghost bc #Ghost headcanon #reader insert #Nameless Ghouls #aether #omega #alpha #air #papa nihil #sister imperator #papa emeritus i #Papa Emeritus II #papa emeritus iii #cardinal copia #ember

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technicallyoneofakind · 5 years

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3, 4, 16, and 20 for your favorite oc

Going for Lynnea from my Heroes and Thieves fic since I hardly getthe chance to flesh her out.

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories theyhave of it? What’s a bad memory?

Being the princess of the most technologically advanced kingdom inthe entire world of Ni no Kuni, she led a rather comfortable life as a kid. Herchildhood days were spent reading tales of legends long gone and being brought upto replace her father as great sage and empress. She would often mimic the talesshe read with toys or playing make-believe.

She has many fond memories running around the palace doing so. Herbest memories, however, were when her uncle Gascon came home from his duties asan ambassador of Hamelin. Having a different outfit and cleaner look, he wouldoften tell her doctored stories that focused heavily on himself as Swainethroughout the course of the game. As a result, she idolized the thief as animmortal role model without ever realizing who her uncle was.

She also had a favorite toy- also given to her by her uncle. Itwas a wind-up robot she liked to constantly modify. She kept it by her sidewell into her teens and it eventually became her familiar, Avery.

As for bad memories, it was just before she ran away from home.She felt pressure on her future duties and the lack of progress she was makingin healing magic. This had been an ongoing issue that eventually came to ahead. They began to wonder if her interests in Swaine’s legend something had todo with her lack of healing abilities- especially when she couldn’t becomegreat sage without them. When it appeared that they were accusing her, she fledthe room, considering herself a complete failure to her parents. She swore ifshe couldn’t become what they wanted then she’d model herself after the legendarymagicless thief, Swaine.

(In this fic, she’s still a teen and something far worse happenslater, but spoilers.)

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memorywith them? Did they know both parents?

A brief rundown on her mother for clarity: Her name is Josephineand she used to be a mechanic and hermother was a seamstress, but that’s not what she wanted to be. She has tan skinjust a shade or two darker than Swaine’s. Also, dark brown hair. As a result,it’s debated whether Lynnea inherited from her grandfather or her mother. Shetends to be a very kind and loyal woman, but as a mother, she can be quite sternand stubborn. It’s joked in the fic that some of the similarities to Gascon arethe reasons Marcassin was first drawn to her in the market where they met.

Lynnea’s relationship with her parents is rocky at best. When shewas a child everything was fine. She loved both her mother and her father. She wasmystified by Marcassin’s magic abilities at times and wondered if she’d everhad such power. However, this interest was often subdued by the various talesof myths and legends she consumed on a daily basis. She really likes readingthe stories in the Wizard’s Companion.

As she grew older, she found that she couldn’t perform all thespells she needed to become the next great sage of Hamelin no matter how hardshe tried and how often they made her practice. She ended up feeling inadequate,and because of this, she looked to her role model.

However after certain events, and discovering who Swaine reallywas, her relationship with her father was renewed. She realized through sometalks with her uncle that her father just wanted her to be strong- that Marcassinstill loved and cared for her deeply and would accept her no matter her magicalskill.

It would be safe to say that one of the strongest connections toanyone resembling a father would be Gascon since he’s the source of the legendshe so ridiculously tried to mimic. While he didn’t often visit, he was in herlife since the day she was born. He swore that he’d look out for her as if shewere his own kid- but his duties got in the way of that. It’s something heregrets because if he had more time to spend with her he would have been ableto prevent her living on the streets and making the same mistakes he had.

16. Do they collect anything?What do they do with it? Where do they keep it?

All sorts of things- mostlycomplex and small bits of shiny machinery. She likes studying what it is and whatsort of potential it probably once had. She usually keeps a box of themsomewhere in her room. As a kid she used to cobble together little modeldragons with the metal pieces and stuff- usually they weren’t that intricate,but she tried. She still has a shelf dedicated to her “children” as she callsthem. Nowadays, she collects them for spare parts for her prosthetic armpowered by her own magic. She has had to make quick fixes before on it.

When she can get the chance, flowers. They occur so rarely inHamelin, so she will often preserve flowers by letting one she found somewhereoutside dry out so she can add it to her vase of decorative dead plants. Her motheroften wonders what she’ll do when she runs out of room in the vase. Her fatherconsiders it a good way to keep connected with nature outside of the city. Heruncle rolls his eyes and asks her if she realizes there are more plants thanthat in the world.

And rocks. Shiny unique rocks. She started a rock garden once- atiny one. Sometimes the more intricate metal pieces she finds end up in it,too. She keeps it on a shelf.

20. Do they like musicals?Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes?

Musicals are okay, but theyhave to have a good amount of decent high energy and, sometimes, dramatic numbersto hold her interest. This does correlatewith her regular tastes, but there are some soothing songs she also likes.

I don’t believe I included my Mandolin headcanon in my fic, but Ibelieve Swaine would have had one in this reality, too. She liked hearing himplay mellow songs, surprisingly. Something about the way he paced the rhythm andthe notes as well as how that specific mandolin sounded was unique. I’d like tothink he didn’t bring it with him while he traveled from kingdom to kingdom andprobably never mentioned it when he told his stories.

With Swaine, she usually just sits and listens- probably closesher eyes and lets her imagination conjure up stories. If it’s a recording ofsomething, she’s prone to dance when she’s alone or perhaps time her practice/workto music and kind of make little suave movements in time to the song. She smilesblissfully either way.

Oh, boy. I’m glad I got to do that. Lynnea is actually one of my topfavorite Ni no Kuni OC’s but she never gets asked about, so I took the opportunityto ramble on about her. Sorry, it took so long to get back to you.

#Ni no Kuni #ni no kuni: wrath of the white witch #Ni no Kuni Fanfiction #Heroes and Thieves #Ni no Kuni OC #Lynnea #Swaine #Gascon #Hamelin #Marcassin #Asks #OC asks

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timeagainreviews · 6 years

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When Rosa met Banksy

Racism in Doctor Who has been dealt with in various ways throughout the years. The Daleks themselves represent possibly the essence of racism. Anything that isn’t a Dalek is inferior and to be hated. But even that is a fantastical portrayal of racism. What "Rosa," attempts to address is something far more insidious- the racism of humanity’s past.

Doctor Who has had its own racism to address before, and amended when possible. Li H'sen Chang is set to be portrayed by Nicholas Goh in upcoming audio adventures with River Song. Casting a man of Asian descent is a step in the right direction from the yellowface portrayal by John Bennett in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang." What will the BBC say if a certain missing episode of "The Celestial Toymaker," is ever rediscovered? Will they own up to the use of a horribly racist slur in their family program?

Regardless of what the show has done, or hasn't done, having done an episode like "Rosa," shows a lot of growth in the show's own identity and execution. So let's talk about that execution, shall we?

In my post "Considering 'Rosa'," I worried that one of the biggest issues would be that Rosa Parks didn't survive without her agency intact. She has, as well as anyone who just had their actual real-life traipsed through by fictional characters can.

The story begins in 1947 Montgomery, Alabama, with Rosa Parks (played by Vinette Robinson who was also in the episode "42," written by Chris Chibnall) sitting on the bus. The bus is segregated between "whites," and "coloreds," as it was in those days. When the “whites” section fills, Rosa is asked to move by the bus driver James Blake, played by a very over the top Trevor White. The scene serves to show not only how segregation on the buses worked, but also how Rosa Parks has had to deal with this bullshit for years. We're also given a bit of foreshadowing when Rosa pauses for a moment, as though she may remain seated.

Fast forward to 1955. After fourteen incarnations, the Doctor still can't really pilot the TARDIS, but as we all know, the TARDIS usually has other plans anyway. Her target was present-day Sheffield, instead, she has arrived in 1955 Montgomery. While landed, the Doctor realises there is a strange trace of Artron energy (ambient radiation from the time vortex) in the area. Which means, of course, she has to explore.

Almost immediately, the crew is served a heaping dose of racism when Ryan nearly gets his block knocked off for returning a dropped glove to a white woman. If not for the interference of Rosa Parks, things could have gotten even uglier. The TARDIS crew are star struck by meeting Rosa Parks, but she doesn't really understand why, as her big history defining moment is still a day away. On a whim, the Doctor gives her a cheeky scan with the sonic as she's walking away. The trace of Artron energy is coming from her. But why?

Back at the TARDIS, we're given a bit of the why. A man, looking a lot like Mac from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," (but in Alabama, so Country Mac?) eyes the TARDIS up and down. We're given the impression he knows this is a sort of time machine. After knocking at her doors, Country Mac tries to shoot the TARDIS with an anachronistic device. The TARDIS's shields hold strong as the resounding "vworp," she emits could easily translate into "Yeah mate, try me." Discouraged, Country Mac walks away.

The Doctor and her friends are treated to more racism after being thrown out of a segregated cafe. I liked that this was used as a moment for the Doctor to take a little responsibility and offer to let her friends stay on the TARDIS. “It’s easier for me here,” she says, acknowledging her own white privilege. Ryan and Yaz refuse on the grounds that Rosa Parks doesn’t have that option.

The Doctor and her friends trace the Artron energy to an abandoned warehouse, where they uncover a suitcase full of knackered timey-wimey instruments. The owner of these instruments sneaks up and chases her and her friends away. Their chase ends in a sort of stand-off between the Doctor and Country Mac. The Doctor and her friends find a hotel to use as a base to formulate a plan. Part of that plan is to learn Rosa Parks’ routine, which requires them to take the bus.

Ryan, being a black man, has to ride on the back of the bus. Due to their situation, it’s an unpleasant necessity, despite the Doctor’s apology to Ryan. In watching this scene, I'm reminded of a moment in John Peel's loathsome Doctor Who novel, "Timewyrm: Genesys." In it, Ace is molested by the Gilgamesh, and the Doctor is basically like "Er... duh... just go with it. Ur. Dur. Uh... It's the culture." (I may have taken license there as it's kind of despicable and I hated that book).

The main difference here is that Doctor does not seem to enjoy abiding the situation. You can see the shame on her and Graham's face as they sit in the "whites," section of the bus. Poor Yaz, who gets referred to as a Mexican for most of the episode, is also pretty torn as she's not even sure what part of the bus a non-black, non-white woman should sit. One of the reasons the Doctor may be so abiding, however, is not in that it's "the culture," but that they're in a very important moment of history, which may be in jeopardy. She’s afraid to tip the balance of history in the wrong direction.

This brings us back to the villain of the episode- Country Mac, or "Krasko," as I'm not going to refer to him. Series eleven has had some pretty wonderful highs. Jodie Whittaker is a lovely Doctor. The companions are all developing decently. Though I would like to see more Yaz, lest she becomes the new Nyssa. "Just gonna nap this one out guys, enjoy your ancient snake gods or whatever." For the most part, I've liked a lot of elements of it, but the villains have been absolute tosh!

So far we've had the Tooth Fairy, some bog roll, and now Country Mac. So who is this Krasko? After being interrogated by the Doctor, we learn he's a former prisoner of the Stormcage Containment Facility (the very same that imprisoned River Song), for some sort of crime that resulted in the loss of 2,000 lives. He's been implanted with a device that inhibits his ability to use violence. So when the Doctor removes the vortex manipulator from his arm, he can only watch in anger. They released him and said: "Keep yer nose clean, kid." He's also super racist.

For some reason, he wants to keep Rosa Parks from jumpstarting the civil rights movement, because "That's when everything went wrong." Right. Sure. How that really affects him, a man from the future is kind of perplexing. Considering the 51st century is when people who use vortex manipulators usually come from, it's like he's saying that for at least the next 31 centuries, black people will continue to sit in the back of buses. He's gotta be really stupid. Which, he's racist, so maybe he is. Regardless, it's a pretty thin premise, but whatever.

I was really hoping for the rest of the episode to explain his motives, but it never really does. All we learn more about him is that he's pretty racist. Man is this guy racist. Hoo-boy, so racist. Yeah, that's about all I got on him. Other than that, his plot is basically what I expected from him last week. Only now that the Doctor has relieved him of his cool little timey-wimey toys, he's forced to screw with time in more creative ways, such as delaying buses, sending the antagonist of Rosa's narrative, James Blake, on a fishing trip, or blocking roads. It's not a bad story device on a Doctor Who level. Pretty much classic in those regards.

The brilliance of Malorie Blackman's script comes in how the Doctor and her companions deal with the issue. I said how I worried about maintaining Rosa's agency could be in jeopardy, but Blackman wisely works around this by having the Doctor and her friends aiding time in secret. They have to thwart Country Mac at every turn, which requires some very basic footwork. Instead of pointing the sonic at a magical machine, or beating the sludge monster with the power of love, their methods are more practical, and visible onscreen. I love that about the script. Getting to see the Doctor and her friends be clever is always a welcome sight. Though watching the Doctor rip her coat as to require Mrs. Parks' service as a seamstress made me die a little inside. I've been working on a Thirteenth Doctor cosplay, and that coat has been the bane of my existence!

On a production level, the episode is also rather praiseworthy. Making modern South Africa look like 1955 Alabama, cars and all, is rather impressive. It has the look and feel of a small segregated town in the south. The cinematography is generally really effective, but if I am honest, it’s got some really annoying tendencies at times. Their shot-reverse-shot dialogue scenes can get really hacky. There are moments when a character standing to the right will be framed left, and a character standing to the left will be framed right. You see it used a lot these days, but they seldom use it in context to the scene. It feels used for the sake of “looking cool.” Another thing I really can’t stand are the extreme close-ups we’ve been getting during scenes of intimate dialogue. They’ve used them in every episode so far, and they’re rather ugly and annoying. Instead of feeling more intimate, I’m left irritated that I can’t actually see the scene. #letcharactershaveshoulders

Another praiseworthy element would be Segun Akinola’s music, once again. I know I keep talking about him, but this stuff is seriously good. Has anyone else gotten a bit of a John Hughes or even Heathers vibe from some of his music? The music during the montage scene reminded me of that 80′s goodness, especially. Though isn’t it a bit sad that Yaz’s shining moment of the episode was in a montage? Give that girl some better screentime dammit!

Perhaps one of the most effective moments in the episode is when the Doctor and Graham realise they have to be on the wrong side of history, in order to protect the future. The bus has not yet reached capacity enough for bus driver James Blake to demand people of colour move to the back. Yaz and Ryan have had to take the brunt of much of the racism, and now the tables have turned. The Doctor and Graham must partake in the racism. They have to use their white skin against Rosa, as much as it pains them, and sit on the bus.

In a lot of ways, the episode strives to portray what it's like to experience racism, and how it affects different people. When the Doctor says "Who's up for a bus ride?" The bus loving Graham's hand shoots up, while Ryan looks less enthused, as he knows what that entails. We spend a large portion of the episode worried for Ryan's safety. Especially after Rosa reminds him that Emmet Till was also a visitor when he was murdered by a lynch mob in Mississippi. Ryan and Yaz are not having a great time, despite the fact that they're travelling with the Doctor. It's a harsh reminder that history has never been very kind to people of colour. Malorie Blackman gives them both a chance at some very powerful character development as the two of them speak on their own experiences. Yaz once again, gets a bit sidelined, sadly. Ryan however, gets to go on his own journey, spending an evening with Rosa Parks, Fred Gray, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Aside from the atrocious American accents (I now know how British people must feel hearing Americans do their accents), my only other major qualm with the episode was the dialogue. It wasn't so much the content of the dialogue, as much as it's hamfisted nature. It seemed choppy and unnatural throughout a lot of it. That’s not to say it was all bad. There were plenty of snappy moments and cute dialogue. The Doctor’s claim that she could be Banksy was particularly funny. The bigger issues were when dialogue was used primarily to expound information. I was reminded of early Doctor Who when Ian and Barbara used their teacher powers to edutain children into learning something about history. But in this episode, perhaps that was a necessity.

Portraying racism in a family show like Doctor Who really does take a bit of education. When Graham hears Ryan say he couldn't remember exactly what Rosa Parks was famous for, he almost has a stroke. It's perhaps more responsible for the show to assume many young people watching Doctor Who won't know who Rosa Parks actually was. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know that she and Martin Luther King knew one another. Also, since when don't Doctor Who historicals pack a load of information about their subjects into the episode? It's part of the journey.

Country Mac is sent back in time by his own stupid time displacement gun, leading me to think that perhaps he'll return again. Older, wiser, racister. It's about as exciting a prospect of more Tim Shaw, which isn't much. Like I said with "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," perhaps they'll get more character development when they return?

There's really nothing fun about portraying racism, which by extension made this episode, not a lot of fun to watch. So far, Chris Chibnall's vision for Doctor Who has been a bit on the dreary side. It's got that Broadchurch misery porn stank to parts of it, that I hope it shakes off soon. Next week's "Arachnids in the UK," could be a welcome bit of respite. The small preview reminded me a bit of “Gremlins 2.” It seems like more of a whimsical romp. Then again, so did Chibnall's "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," and even that was too serious to be much fun. Even still, I'm glad Doctor Who is attempting to tackle some bigger issues. 'Rosa,' isn't a perfect episode, but it's an improvement on some of the show’s past sins, and hopefully, a step forward.

Up Next:

In a day or two- Doctor Who and “The Daleks” Midweek- Twin Peaks season 1 episode 1

#Doctor Who #rosa #thirteenth doctor #chris chibnall #jodie whittaker #bbc #tardis #time and time again

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lucyreviewcy · 5 years

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Doctor Who - Series 11

I want to start this review by saying that I really, honestly wanted the new series to work. Before the series started I waited in a crowd outside a radio station for a solid 45 minutes to catch a glimpse of Jodie Whittaker. I spend those 45 minutes thinking about what I’d say if I spoke to her, how exciting it would be to meet someone who was making television history. In the end I got trampled on by the crowds, and saw some blonde hair and a stylish military jacket drifting into a taxi, but I want anyone reading this to know that I was excited and ready for this new series to blow my mind.

There is a limit to how much novelty an audience will tolerate. This is perhaps why it is so useful for old stories to be retold encompassing novel concepts, like technological advances, contemporary politics, and “women.” Ocean's 8, for example, takes a well-established set of codes and conventions and puts women in the driver's seat. This results in an Ocean's film that also happens to be a Sandra Bullock film.

Series 11 of Doctor Who took some well-established codes and conventions and put a woman in the driver's seat.

And changed the run time.

And the visual aesthetic.

And the length of the series.

And anything else it could get its greasy mitts on.

And managed to singularly fail to make Doctor Who.

Perhaps I am being too judgemental. There were a couple of episodes that almost hit the spot: the zombie witch hunt and the poison space possum were great, and who hasn't wondered what it would be like to work for space Amazon? But where were my quips? Where were my moments of frippery in the face of certain death?

Jodie Whittaker has the potential to be a great Doctor. Her moments of humour were shining lights in the grey blandness of this series. The heavy subjects that almost every episode took on are important points of discussion, but by grounding themselves in these sticky moral conundrums, the writers of this series were restricted from fully exploring the unbearable lightness of Doctor-ness. From Matt Smith's oblivious flirtation with danger to David Tennant's ability to undo pretty much any villain by sneering and saying “well”, the combination of light and dark is what has made the rebooted Doctor such a loveable figure. Even Peter Capaldi, bogged down by frustrating season arcs and some of the most painfully structured series known to man, managed to strike that balance.

Whittaker has a beguiling joy as the Doctor, but she is held back by a heavy chunk of exposition in almost every episode. In her final showdown with the incredibly not-menacing bad tooth fairy, the character just seemed to be taking the whole thing too seriously. The new year’s day special “Resolution”, despite feeling a lot more like a series finale than the actual series finale, was so forgettable that I almost loaded it up on iPlayer for a second time because I couldn’t remember anything that happened in it.

The standout moment of this series for me was the bit where Bradley Walsh said “Alright cockle.” I mean that. Walsh's character was surprisingly well rounded and likeable, while the other companions, boy one and mouse ears, were burdened with dialogue bogged down in exposition and a thuddingly unearned sense of gravitas. For all its desire to embrace equality and bring new voices to the screen, the most rounded character that the writers created is a middle aged white man.

I found the series difficult to watch because every interaction between the central characters was jarring and uncomfortable. This is just my opinion: I know that for a few people I’ve spoken to the new series has been a breath of fresh air, so perhaps I am just not the target audience anymore, and that’s fine. I admire Jodie Whittaker for having the gumption to take on a role that would inevitably earn her a lot of trolling and criticism; I just don’t think she was given good enough scripts to work with. Perhaps it is good that the show won’t be back for over a year, perhaps in that time the writers will create jokes that land, characters that we like, and a Doctor that is allowed to be funny.

#doctor who #13th doctor #review #series 11

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