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#but he character developed especially for her

lornaka · 3 days

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My five cents on Tech’s fate in TBB

It’s been over three weeks since the show ended and I’ve been writing this in my head ever since, mostly to have it summed up in one post for posterity lol. I considered letting it go at this point but I know it’ll drive me crazy if I don’t get it out of my system so might as well.

So here we go, some of my rambly post-finale thoughts on Tech’s death (and a few other issues) under the cut!

Disclaimer: while this post is in critical spirit (because that’s how my brain works), I want to make clear that I have nothing but respect and gratitude towards everyone who’s worked on the show. My criticisms are of the final story as a whole as I interpret it (art is art, everything is subjective, you know the drill), but one never knows what goes into the process of making it behind the scenes, so I’m not holding anything against the creative team. I love this show dearly and am in awe of how good it is at its best, despite certain things I wish they did differently.

To begin, if I had to sum up the biggest problem that TBB writing suffers from, it would be lack of closure, and too many red herrings. Not just for Tech, but many things. Major plot threads as well as little character moments are cultivated or thrown in just to never culminate in anything or to be immediately discarded after serving the plot, some of them incredibly misleading. Some of the top examples:

- Crosshair’s chip. We never get an exploration of how the trauma of his chip activating and being left behind not only affected his motivation and choice to stay with the Empire, but his relationship with his brothers. While it was made fairly obvious, if subtly, that Crosshair became free of the chip’s influence after getting hit by the ion engine on Bracca, the narrative treated this change as if it didn’t matter at that point, while it obviously mattered a lot within the context of Crosshair’s character. Add to that all these little details with him clutching his head in s1 finale, Omega expressing her disappointment in him, and Tech’s comment on how “it is just his nature” (as if it matters!!! See what I mean about the narrative treating Cross’s chip as if it didn’t play the key part in his trajectory? They throw in this line, like we are supposed to take away that it’s simply Crosshair being Crosshair and not like, the results of brainwashing and abandonment), Wrecker blaming Crosshair for not going back to them, all while we as the audience have been shown and told repeatedly how these chips work (and so were the Batch), we ended up with an incredibly confusing situation with lots of mixed signals from the writers. And once Crosshair makes his choice to stay with the Empire in s1 finale, his chip and the confusion it brought to his relationship with his brothers is never brought up again, because the plot simply moves on.

- Cid’s betrayal. After her being a major character for two seasons with a continuous relationship build-up with Omega in particular, she is discarded as soon as her betrayal serves the plot, with all that character development getting thrown out of the window. You can be mad at Cid all you want, but to me it’s incredibly weird and wasteful to end two seasons worth of build up on that note without it having any closure for the characters, especially Omega whose whole theme is trusting people and bringing out the best in them. It’s fine if they decided to make Cid exactly what she appeared on the surface (untrustworthy and self-serving) after playing around with her potentially growing through her fondness of Omega, but then at the very least the betrayal should’ve had an impact on the characters, Omega most of all. Even just one casual line from Omega in s3 about how Cid’s betrayal impacted her emotionally, however minimally, would have solved that problem. And no, CX-2 mentioning how he extracted info on Phee from her off screen absolutely doesn’t count as closure, because I’m talking about emotional closure for the main pov characters as well as the audience. Cid had a presence for two seasons, then as soon as she executed her role as a traitor to further the plot, she was discarded like she was a random extra.

- Emerie’s relationship with Hemlock. We are led to believe that he basically raised her, instilling in her the idea that she had no chance without him and owed her purpose and “safety” to him. You can’t tell me that this didn’t deeply affect her struggle and eventual decision to break away from all that and choose to help the kids, basically betraying Hemlock. I get that the show only had so much screen time and Emerie is a supporting character in season 3 at best, but common, she has more tension with Dr. Scalder than Hemlock while the potential for this rich deep conflict between them is right there.

I can probably list more smaller examples but this is getting long and I don’t want to go on any more tangents, so, finally, the biggest example of lack of closure and tendency of TBB writing to display foreshadowing that leads nowhere:

Tech’s death.

First of all, I’ll die on the hill that it wasn’t denial or delusion that led to such a big portion of the audience to believe that Tech didn’t really die in s2. If we look at the facts:

- there was no body

- it’s the finale of season 2 out of 3, pretty early for one of the main titular characters to get killed off

- the only/last character to allegedly see Tech after his fall is a villainous scientist who is known to experiment on clones specifically

- not a fact but: the whole scene with Hemlock presenting Tech’s goggles to Hunter was incredibly suspicious. In hindsight, I think the whole purpose of it was so that the Batch got Tech’s goggles back in their possession as a memento (and to show how evil Hemlock is to rub it into Hunter’s face like that) but it was executed in a way that read as something much more. It read as if Hemlock was going out of his way to convince us/Hunter of Tech’s death, but with us knowing who Hemlock is, his background in experimenting on clones, everything screams at us to not trust a word he says. Is it really so surprising that so many of the viewers immediately jumped at the conclusion that something more was going on there?

- Hunter’s (lack of) reaction/immediate narrative fall-out. More on that later as I address lack of emotional impact of Tech’s death in s3.

- it’s Star Wars. And there was no body.

So yeah, to me, it is completely justified that so many people read that whole thing as open to speculation at the very least, foreshadowing Tech’s survival at most.

Personally, I was 70% sure Tech was truly dead prior to s3, but not because the text told me so, but because at that point I was used to the show’s writing regularly sending out mixed signals, and a part of me was resigned to Tech’s death becoming another example of the writer’s intent clashing with their accidental empty foreshadowing.

As season 3 aired and the whole CX-2 plot was unfolding alongside continued lack of closure for Tech’s fate, my hope for Tech Lives reveal grew and grew, but in the end my initial doubt was proven right, unfortunately.

Oh, CX-2.. what a mess. You can’t tell me the creators went over all of these scenes, all of these lines, looked at the whole picture and *didn’t* see how it was incredibly easy to interpret CX-2 as potentially being Tech with all these little potential parallels. “Domicile” alone.

If they didn’t want us to entertain the idea that it could be Tech, they could’ve done it differently, but for some reason, they chose to leave that space for speculation. My question is, why?

If they truly wanted us to believe Plan 99 was it, Tech’s Noble End that we were supposed to take as this dramatic super emotional ultimate sacrifice and all that, then why would they not make it clear that CX-2 couldn’t be Tech? Why breed confusion? And breed confusion they did. It’s hard for me to believe they didn’t foresee the “ohh is it Tech?” speculation.

When so many members of the audience immediately and individually jump at a theory or have the same take away from the story they are being told, yet the authors say it wasn’t meant to be taken that way, something went seriously wrong with the writing.

I don’t like to speculate on such things because we will probably never know for certain, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had at some point considered CX-2 being Tech or at least something more for the whole CX plot thread, but changed and reshuffled things at the last minute for whatever reasons.

Which is fine and understandable. But it brings me to the heart of my biggest issue with how Tech’s fate was handled:

lack of impact and closure.

Let’s disregard all the Tech Lives theories for a moment and focus on what we did get: Tech, one of the main characters, getting killed off at the end of s2 out of 3, for stakes and consequences and NOTHING else. When I say nothing, I mean nothing.

Imagine, for a moment, he survived and stayed with the Batch. Nothing would have changed, in the grand scheme of things. Nothing. We wouldn’t have had a few obligatory “Tech mention, everyone feel sad now” throwaway lines/goggle shots and whatnot, sure, but that’s it.

Tech dying didn’t change the trajectory of the plot in any way, nor did it affect any of the other characters in a way that changed their trajectory. And anything less is simply not enough to justify killing one of your main characters. Stakes and consequences ain’t it.

Consider Mayday, for example: a supporting character, but his death in s2 affected Crosshair in such a way it completely redirected his journey, AND in s3 we got an episode that cemented the impact Mayday had on Crosshair and provided emotional closure for them. That’s a narratively meaningful death.

Tech’s death was not meaningful to the narrative beyond removing him from it. That’s why so many Tech fans insist he deserved better treatment: not only was he not present in one third of the show physically, but he lacked any sort of presence even in death. His absence was never processed or grieved by any of the main characters and so by extension by the audience.

And before anyone starts with the whole ‘they are soldiers/they had no time to grieve/etc’ arguments, it is the responsibility of the writers to provide the space for all of that emotional impact. It they don’t, there is no impact.

A few reactions here and there, moments of missing Tech as a person and a brother, not an asset, anything would have made this whole thing easier to accept.

The lines that we did get, from Omega mentioning the stuff Tech taught her to Echo commenting on how decryption would be easier if Tech was with them to “Clone Force 99 died with Tech” from Crosshair - each and every single one of those lines linked to Tech’s functions as part of the squad, his usefulness, but we didn’t get a single line in remembrance of him as a person of his own, no one missed or remembered him for himself or his personal impact on them.

Just one line from Omega about how he taught her about change being a constant part of life or whatever, or Wrecker making a comment on how Tech used to info dump about stuff, anything would have instantly provided that much needed sense of “he was here, he was a person and is still a part of us”. Instead, Tech was killed off to show that messing with the Empire is dangerous and risks are real, I guess, and immediately lost any and all presence within the story.

We never even got to see Crosshair’s or Phee’s reactions to losing him.

Speaking of Crosshair, that’s a whole other example of complete lack of closure: they never closed the loop on the family being reunited again after initially leaving Crosshair behind, and with Tech dead, it’ll forever stay broken.

They could’ve given this a bittersweet yet meaningful spin if they developed the angle of Tech dying on a mission to bring Crosshair home, making a sacrifice so Crosshair had a chance.

Instead, the moment Tech dies, we get Hunter (and through him, the narrative) immediately abandon the idea/plot thread of going to rescue Cross all while saying “let’s not waste Tech’s sacrifice”. Sacrifice for what? Clearly Hunter doesn’t see it as a sacrifice for Crosshair’s sake, so, what, to make sure the rest of them makes it from the mission? The mission to save Crosshair. That mission. Right.

I see people talking about Tech’s noble sacrifice that ensured his family got to live and eventually have their happy ending, but all I can think about is how the creators chose to have him die on a mission that was immediately abandoned and the only take away from that whole sub plot was Tech’s own demise.

And after Crosshair is back with the Batch, his reaction to Tech’s death is never explored at all.

So yes, to me Tech deserved so much better. If you are going to kill off a major character, it must be necessary to be compelling. The way I see it, Tech’s death was not necessary at all because it didn’t change anything. And if it was meant to, the creators failed to communicate that by choosing not to explore the emotional impact of it and not structuring certain story beats in a more precise manner.

To wrap this up, if the way Tech’s death was handled was satisfying for you, that’s valid and I’m glad for you. For me, unfortunately, it’s completely the opposite and will forever remain the biggest and most unfortunate low point in the story.

And while I welcome anyone to share their own perspective if they wish, please don’t take this post as an invitation for debate, since there is no one right or wrong way to interpret or be affected by art.

#tbb analysis #the bad batch #And I ask you to please not use this post as an excuse to hate on the show I love in spite of all the issues described above #you can make your own post to express your dislike of the show #especially for reasons not covered in this post #personally I consider TBB to have some of the deepest and most meaningful moments in all of Star Wars #at its best it is a masterpiece #the character writing is stellar and the subtlety of expression of certain moments is chefs kiss #it’s the story writing I have problems with #tech

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d3sire-97 · 2 days

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Danganronpa Opinions

WELLLLLLLLLLLLLL...

(I mean none of this with offense and I'm not targetting in any way shape or form btw-)

THH:

. Chihiro is VERY overrated.

. Off topic but it's canon Taka can sing, he wants Sayaka to teach him to sing so he can project his voice, and his Japanese VA is amazing at singing, and his English VA is Kinger in TADC (which I don't know much about but heard a song and imagined Taka singing it - which made me laugh -)

. Sayaka is underrated and over hated.

. Some of the executions aren't that good, and Celeste's was good and theatrical, but she (technically) killed 2 people and deserved to suffer a bit more.

. Toko is bad in THH and highly overrated if people like her and haven't seen her in UDG.

. Kiyotaka is annoying and loud even in his FTEs (He's like... my favourite character but I HAVE TO BE HONEST I WOULDN'T BE FRIENDS WITH HIM IRL-)

. Byakuya and Kyoko are EXTREMELY OVERRATED!!!! (If Byakuya has no haters I'm dead-)

. The survivors were so uninteresting, Hiro did almost nothing the whole time, and after Chapter 4 Aoi seemed to outlive her usefulness. She's still cool though, but also overrated.

. TRIAL 3 WAS WORSE THAN TRIAL 5 AND YOU CAN'T CHANGE MY MIND.

. 11037 is still kind of funny, but only in context and not for making fun of Leon as a character.

. Sayaka haters are just mad for no reason... leave her alone gang-

. Junko was a terrible choice for a master-mind, they should've given fake Junko more development before killing her off. I forgot about her after Chapter Two.

. Byakuya x Anybody is a terrible ship, especially Makoto x Byakuya.

. Celesgiri have chemistry, but no interactions that make us ship them.

. LEON, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. BUT IT WASN'T SELF DEFENSE!!!

SDR2:

. Nagito is actually kind of annoying... he was better in Chapter One, but he did make the game 10x more interesting.

. Nekomaru > Ibuki

. Peko is a cool character but not as loveable as the fans see her to be.

. Hinanami is ONLY platonic, nothing else.

. SDR2 TRIAL 3 IS NOT AS BAD AS EVERYBODY SAYS

. This may be exclusive to me but Trial 4 was stupidly difficult (I knew who the killer was and didn't get it because I'm a fucking moron.)

. Mikan and Hiyoko are both equally as annoying as eachother, but Hiyoko is much more upfront about it.

. MIKAN HAD A TRASH EXECUTION AND THIS OPINION ISN'T GONNA GET ME SHOT IN THE HEAD!!!

. Souda x Gundham is a bad ship... even the Voice Actor of Tanaka says so.

. Chiaki is slightly overrated.

. AI Junko is mid.

. Kamakura should have gotten more development, and is overrated.(I haven't seen the anime)

V3: (I haven't played the game so this might not be accurate) (I'VE SEEN UP TO THE START OF THE CHAPTER 2 TRIAL-)

. Kokichi and Gonta are overrated

. From what I've seen Maki gives rip-off Kyoko vibes and I don't like it that much lol.

. They shouldn't have killed Kaede off early, for her development as a character, but it was necessary to do so.

. Rantaro's overrated and him and Ryoma NEEDED MORE DEVELOPMENT. Just kill off Miu earlier please.

. Kokichi isn't that good.

. Gonta is overrated.

. The Motive-Video for chapter two is a reused from chapter one THH, did they run out of ideas? If so, how did they recreate Danganronpa 53 times without the audience getting bored?

. Traffic Light (HimokoxAngiexTenko) is a bad ship because though Himiko cares for them both, Tenko doesn't like Angie much. (from what I've seen)

. They should've gotten in some new VAs for V3, I love Shuichi but I can only hear Leon in his voice...

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batfamhyperfixation · 1 day

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I know we constantly talk about Jason being a classic lit person, but most people only use P&P and exclusively Jane Austin novels, like yeah my homie she is great but I wanna see more content where Jason’s niche is purely books that people think are related to his death but also not at all related to his death: Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Why people think Jason loves Frankenstein: he relates to the Creature, being born again after death but not quite right, rejected by father figure, causing a separation between him and all the humans, thus plunging him into isolation, highly literate but not taken seriously because he doesn’t have a degree from an accredited school (basically self taught)

Why Jason actually loves Frankenstein: it is written through letters!! There are like 4 stories going on at once all embedded in one another, like that’s so fuckin cool! He actually relates to Robert Walton, as he travels the world only to form the outlaws, taking these misfits with him, like how Walton traveled to the North Pole only to find and befriend Victor Frankenstein, taking him with

Why people think he likes the Metamorphosis: Jason relates to Gregor because he turns into something nonhuman overnight only gaining consciousness again after the transition period and although he still feels the same, everyone will forever fear him as something other, just like Jason after the pit which seemed like it changed him overnight as he woke up something othered

Why Jason actually liked the metamorphosis: Kafka didn’t like metaphor so he made the transformation something literal, and he subverted the expectations of transformation at the time as usually transformations were done to give the character some upgrade but in metamorphosis it was a downgrade, ruining Gregors life instead; not to mention for a story about a man being transformed into a bug, not a lot actually happens in the story nor does Gregor actually do a lot, it is less a narrative in the traditional sense and more a stream of consciousness kind of writing which helps it feel different, also I think he would relate to Grete, always trying to help adults around him who were self-destructing a lot of the time, probably especially his parents, I mean he died by trying to save his mother only for her to turn on him, he was fighting crime to help Bruce, etc. Grete was still a child who was helping her brother stay alive when no one else would, she tried to protect her parents from having to deal with Gregor in his transformed state, she even got a job to help the family (similar to Jason becoming Robin to help Bruce)

Why people think Jason liked the picture of Dorian gray: the theme of fleetingness unless intervened through supernatural means (aging painting keeping you young forever or being reborn again despite original life fleeting) only to eventually cause your untimely demise (likely how others view Jason’s perception of himself)

Why Jason actually liked Picture of Dorian Gray: it has so many takes on society that even if you don’t agree with all of them, it at least forces you to think about your own stances and understanding how you view the world around you, it puts a high value on the arts and takes them seriously, it has very well-developed and deeply flawed characters that are fun to read about, and the novel has an interesting history of it being used as evidence in Wilde’s criminal case for being queer

#look I’m just saying that there are tons of books I think Jason would like beyond just Jane Austin #even if you exclude it to only classic lit books I think there are others and I think we should expand it beyond just Jane Austin #these were my examples of other classic lit novels Jason would like so please for the love of god give me some other books for Jason cause #by this point those who say he likes classic lit then exclusively state Jane Austin are starting to sound like they have never read any #like I’m begging on my hands and knees just give me something other than Jane Austin like his parallels to other classic lit books are so #clear yet no one wants to even talk about it cause he is only allowed to exclusively like Pride and Prejudice #like hell I would even accept Jason talking discourse about different classic lit novels as long as he is seen reading other things #idk I’m probably just rambling; but overall there are other novels and I think we should utilize them more #cause I’m tired of every Jason book post I see only citing Jane Austin #jason is starting to sound like those dudes who read exactly 1 book and somehow convince everyone around them that they are a huge bookworm #jason todd #jason todd headcanon

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stromuprisahat · 3 days

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What would have wanted Mal to do differently for him to be a good love interest to Alina? Especially in the situation where Alina somehow decides to go along with the Darkling's plan?

He isn't bad love interest, he's bad endgame presented as happily ever after, instead of intimate horror-in-making.

His change of heart would happen on-page, not in between two books, while living in religous fucking cult.

I'd address both his and Alina's anti-Grisha bias and the issues they developed in their culty orphanage, realize it was actually pretty far from idealisation-worthy. I don't expect either of them to completely overcome it- that sort of "deprogramming" should take more than a few months, certainly not weeks.

I'd want them to realize harmfulness of their codependency and work on that too. Not so their relationship can become pristine, but because it limits them both (as characters AND human beings).

I'd want them truly genuinely supportive of each other, not just feeding off each other's bad habits and insecurities.

While their relationship isn't good for either of them, Malyen's the one with upper hand- he IS Alina's abuser. Even if he would genuinely work on himself, Alina isn't obliged to stay with him, and that's what I'd want.

I hate the implication she owes him anything, because he's "nice" now.

I wouldn't mind them staying in touch- again- should he TRULY change- as friends, family, whatever you want to call it-, but they simply don't work as a couple and they have history so convoluted there would always be quite a danger they'll slip back into their harmful patterns.

Malyen's set up as the romantic relationship Alina's supposed to grow out of. Again- it hardly makes him bad love interest, they merely should let go.

For Alina to choose to work alongside Aleksander, she's need to be less prejudiced, and that's what I mentioned above. It's all intertwined. Changing Alina might influence Malyen. She might be less likely to succumb to their usual patterns of bahaviour, or it might be noticed by others and the disproportion between that and her status of Sun Summoner might be the impulse needed to dig her heels in and continue her positive development.

#reply #Grishaverse #Alina Starkov #Malyen Oretsev #grishanalyticritical #What if/AU/...#Grisha trilogy #anti Malina #ish #just to be safe

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catboymoments · 20 hours

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I think the veeeery different quality between shows can be attributed to the fact that the hazbin characters are veeeeeery much her middle school ocs. Especially Alastor. That’s a pretty cute thing but it also means that she doesn't actually want to develop them, if it makes sense?? She has this idea of these characters that she refuses to change even if more experienced writers give their input because she's so attached to them. While helluva was developed later and has a much more mature storyline.

(Also. Helluva boss is as much a Brandon Rogers show as it is Vivienne's. And Brandon is actually a really cool creator actually???? Idk if a missed some canceling moment but he makes so many queer skits and characters with complicated costumes and storyline and backgrounds!)

That makes sense

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storiesofsung · 2 days

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Yuu OC - Mulan ⚔️

Pt1 An interesting concept

I’ve always been curious about the direction that TWST could go in regards to MC being a girl.

One of my favorite examples of this being this fic by DuckInSuits on Ao3

Now this inspired me to watch Mulan because it is one of the most famous “girl disguised as boy” story (other than OHSHC) that I know of.

Since literally almost everyone is twisted off someone (idk who Jack is tho) +the Disney references that make me cringe sometimes just because I know the existence of Disney, why not make the MC also twisted off something?

(lol Grim as Mushu tho imagine)

I just feel like the in canon MC does seem like the type of person to kind of work hard with what ingenuity they have since they live in a worn down building and pass classes they have zero prior knowledge on.

And they do kinda use their brains to figure out shit, especially with the overblots !!

Idk i just think it would be an interesting dynamic to work through

None of that liar arc tho, that usually stretches on too long but like… yk

I really enjoyed the fic because it made us connect with Cater (and I believe Ruggie?) in ways the normal canon didn’t explore. It made me empathize with them and actually be invested in their relationship with the MC. And I like how it shows just slice of life stuff like MC making pancakes in Ramshackle dorm/needing feminine pads.

Moments like these really give us a moment to stop and breathe to notice the story’s surroundings while making it believable and lived in. It balances out action and pure dipshitness.

Pt2 “Also I really like Mulans songs”

Honor to us all + Reflection

in regards to this while listening to Honor to us All, it actually made me think of a believable motivation for my said OC, she ran away because she didn’t want to get married, and didn’t want to pretend to be someone else just for her parents (and by extension society) to accept her

Now I know this motivation is more selfish than not wanting your elderly father to fight in a war but remember TWST characters ≠ their twisted counterparts. (Ex. Rollo is less pure evil than Frollo). And I think this could be an interesting motivation since her journey going to TWST could make the MC realize her actions and make her decide whether she did was right or wrong (=character development)

A Girl Worth Fighting For

You cannot make me believe every single man in an all boys school is 100% feminism core.

I think that’s where a girl worth fighting for could come in. (Deuce not included he is a feminist) but the 1st year friend group being a lil (while unknowingly) sexist in regards to how they see a female romantic interest, then later drinking respect women juice after realizing the strongest (they fought 6 overblots stfu yes they are) one in their fg is in fact a woman (and later apologizing to her lol)

Make a Man out of You

It’s self explanatory based on what I said earlier but I’m not sure who could be Shang in this song 😭😭. Personality based it’s either Vil or Riddle, Physically it’s Leona (he would not give a shit other wise), unless it’s for spelldrive)

Summary: Overall this is more of a Yuu not based on having a love interest, but as a character based on an icon (✨).

This has just been on my mind for a bit about an AU that I do not have the skills to write about l…but it’s for all you girlies who prefer pants over skirts and generally dont like to be categorized as feminine 🔥

#twst #twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst fandom #twst rambles #twst oc #twst yuu oc #twst yuu #twst hc #twst fanfic

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tskei · 10 hours

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If only for tonight

You can also find me on AO3

Rating: Explicit

Words: 5,4k

Pairing: Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character

Warnings: 18+, Vaginal Sex, Oral Sex, Vampire Bites, Blood Drinking, Manipulative Astarion, Romance, Dissociation, Trauma, Falling In Love,Tiefling Tav, Vampire Spawn Astarion (Baldur's Gate),one shot

Summary:He tried to weigh the consequences in his mind but his hunger, which had already reawakened at the mere suggestion of drinking her blood, was terribly distracting, gnawing painfully at his belly. He took a reflexive breath and as if on cue her scent invaded his nose, the bouquet of her blood mixed with her arousal. This might be a terrible idea, but most fun ones were. All he had to do was hold back a little, he could do that. Surely.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Gentle music and lively conversation filled the camp, after so many days of uncertainty and danger, this celebration felt like a breath of fresh air. Thiriann, surrounded by her people and basking in their adulation, felt a sense of belonging that had eluded her for far too long.

She flitted from one conversation to the next: creating light displays with Rolan, mulling over song ideas with Alfira, and sharing drinks with Bex until the latter succumbed to slumber. Her companions weren't forgotten either —a toast with Shadowheart, nostalgic stories with Gale, and an unexpectedly flirtatious exchange with Halsin.

She just wanted to know everyone a little better before separating ways but despite her efforts to mingle, Thiriann's gaze often drifted to the one person she yearned to speak with that night.

Perched in front of his tent, drink in hand, he seemed out of place at the festivity, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but at this party. His striking beauty, undiminished by his sullen demeanour, drew her in. The firelight danced across his face, softening his features and igniting a desire to trace her fingers across his lips.

She shook her head and averted her eyes before he noticed her staring, her thoughts tinged with shame. Perhaps the alcohol was to blame, making her foolish.

But that wasn’t really the case, was it?

The reality was that she was developing feelings for her pale companion. His humor, intelligence, and sarcasm, along with their late-night talks, had captivated her.

Things had gotten worse for her after they’d spent the night together.

And it had been…good? Somewhat. Initially eager, he had become distant as the night progressed. Or maybe he’d grown bored? She tried not to take it as an insult to her skills. This was no time to get focused on insecurities over her performance.

In the morning after, he claimed he was restraining his vampiric urges—a plausible struggle. She could only imagine the difficulty of his condition.

She had chosen to deem it a flop and move on, happens to everyone. Dwelling on it served no purpose, especially since he avoided the topic.

Lost in thought, Thiriann was oblivious to the giant red figure sneaking up behind her until it was too late.

“Hey,Soldier~” sang a voice making her almost jump out of her skin. Astarion really would be the death of her if thinking about him prevented her from noticing this hulking beast of a woman approach.

“Karlach! What are you up to?” she gasped holding a hand over her chest.

“You’ve been holding out on me, soldier. ~ What is this I’ve been hearing about you and Astarion?”

Karlach had a very unsettling devilish gleam in her eye, it was clear she was out on a quest for scandalous tales.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean.” She said, trying to keep her face neutral.

“Oh, come off it! I thought we were friends. You know you can tell good ol’ Karlach anything, especially any juicy stories.”

Thiriann searched her mind for a way out of this. There was no way she would talk about anything that had transpired between her and Astarion. Luckily for her, Karlach relented first.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d ride him to the Feywild and back if I had the chance, but I wouldn’t let my guard down around him. Good to see the two of you getting along, anyway. As for myself, I think I’ll go look for a fire-retardant lover to go lost in ‘til sunrise.” She winked before taking off in the direction of a rather good-looking bard.

“Enjoy yourself tonight, Karlach.”

Unconsciously, Thiriann shifted her gaze to his tent again and to her surprise, he met her eyes. His look conveyed a silent invitation. There was only so much delaying the inevitable, she couldn’t avoid him forever. Taking a deep breath and steadying herself she approached him.

“Here’s my little treat with their cheeks all flushed. You will come to my bed tonight, won’t you?”

She hesitated. This was rather unexpected.

“I’m not sure…” she said with no small level of uncertainty.

“Ah, you need a bit of enticing, let me see.”

He said, hand gripping his chin in thought.

“How about this one: All these accolades from the Tieflings are nothing compared to the sound of my name, cried from your lips.” He said with a flair, arm gesturing for effect.

A ghost of a laugh left her. Did he want to play some pickup game?

“Is that the best you can do?” she teased.

“Hmm, let me give it another go: Every part of your perfect body whispers temptation - it's as if the Gods made you just to ruin me.”

The blush on Thiriann’s cheeks returned with full force.

“You're sweet, and sillier than I thought.”

“I can go on all night with the flattery, but is that really all you want?” he drawled, hand hovering over his chest, drawing her eyes to the little bit of skin visible under his collar.

Maybe.

“How about if I said these little words... Everyone's favorite...” he put on an innocent face, if not a bit sad. “I love you.”

The smile fell off her face, and she stared at him in stunned silence. This playful banter had been a nightly routine, but those words coming from him held a powerful punch.

Finally regaining her composure, she teased him, "Having fun, are you?"

“I am, it's hard not to with you.” He giggled, and she raised an eyebrow. Somehow, hearing him say he enjoyed their time together stirred her emotions more than any of his pickup lines.

“Now, as much as I relish standing around and saying all my favorite lines at you, I'd much rather we got to experience each other’s full portfolio of talents once again.”

She really didn’t think he’d bother with a repeat after last time. But she had heard him complain that the party was boring, and the wine was bad, and, well, if it was entertainment he wanted, she had a few ideas.

“All right, I’ll come see you after everyone’s asleep.”

Once the party had died down and the camp had settled into silence, she sauntered to his tent.

“I'd hoped you would come. And now you're all mine, and I’m all yours. Until morning at least.”

His eyes drifted to the cup she held in her hand. A flicker of concern crossed his face. Not that it had stopped him in the past but the idea of sleeping with her intoxicated brought a sour feeling to his stomach.

“I see you've been indulging. “ he said, trying to gauge her inebriation.

“Don't worry...”

She was pleasantly surprised to see how he arranged his numerous pillows within his tent, evidently trying to provide some comfort. Moreover, he had an actual bedroll spread out.

“…I've brought you a drink as well.”

She reclined on a pillow and placed her drink down next to her. His gaze travelled over her form. She was only carrying one cup. A thrill of anticipation shot through him as he realized her game.

“Really, now?” His voice purred seductively.

She removed her top in one swift motion, but he was already used to such displays from her. Probably half the camp had seen her topless by now.

“Tonight, you can drink as much as you want from wherever you want.”

With that she slid out of her pants as well, remaining only in her underwear.

His eyes lit in excitement. Now, this sounded like fun. But he wasn’t one to just jump at an offer that sounded too good. Most of the time.

“Darling, as much as I want to accept your generous gift, I believe the others will be less understanding in the morning when Shadowheart is forced to resuscitate you again.”

“It won’t come to that. I’ve taken some precautions.”

“Precautions?”

“There’s a scroll of Revivify in my pants. The others don’t have to know.”

Oh, so she had a deviant side to her after all. This was rather surprising, and so very tempting. For a moment, he considered this had to be a trap of some sort, even if an unusually elaborate one. But that didn’t seem like her. She had too much of a bleeding heart for that.

He tried to weigh the consequences in his mind but his hunger, which had already reawakened at the mere suggestion of drinking her blood, was terribly distracting, gnawing painfully at his belly. He took a reflexive breath and as if on cue her scent invaded his nose, the bouquet of her blood mixed with her arousal.

This might be a terrible idea, but most fun ones were. All he had to do was hold back a little, he could do that. Surely.

“My, my, I had no idea you enjoyed it that much, darling.” He said as he sat between her legs leaning over her. He placed both his hands on her knees spreading them further apart.

“You should have said so earlier. I would love nothing more than to devour you.” He drawled, trying to sound as seductive and sexually charged as possible.

In reality, he had no idea where to begin. Elation and nervousness surged through him as he took in her form. Her delicate neck was extremely alluring as usual, but shifting his eyes lower he couldn’t help but draw his attention to her supple breasts. They would be so soft against his face, her nipple would fit perfectly in his mouth as he bit around her areola. Moving his gaze even lower he was presented with her thighs. Firm and toned, he’d heard you could draw a rather large amount of blood from them with barely any effort. He wondered if that was true. And then there was her tail. Could you even draw blood from a tail? He had no idea, but it had a large vein on the side of it that seemed to almost challenge him to try.

He realized he’d probably taken longer than he should have contemplating his options. He stole another glance at her face, only to see her patiently observing him. At a first look might have mistaken it for casual relaxation, but he could hear her heartbeat, it was elevated. Even in the dim light, he could almost perceive a shift in her eyes, a dilation of the pupils that sent a jolt through him. This wasn't just idle amusement. Desire flickered beneath the surface, a silent mirror of the hunger gnawing at him. She wanted this, almost as much as he did.

A trail of fire danced across her skin as his lips brushed upwards from her knee. The coolness of his breath against her heated flesh sent shivers rippling down her spine. He paused, hovering just above her thigh, a single raised eyebrow in a silent question.

“Go ahead.” She answered him out loud, her voice trembling but he couldn’t tell if it was fear or arousal.

Either way, he’d at least try to be gentle, he was a gentleman after all.

He bit her swiftly, but her thigh was softer than he had anticipated, and his fangs sank in deep. A gasp, sharp and quick, escaped her lips and her legs trembled, but she remained still.

Blood gushed into his mouth, filling it with rapid speed. He moaned around her leg startled and swallowed everything he could. A few errand droplets ran down his chin. A wave of warmth surged through him, an intoxicating sensation that left him breathless. He didn’t even have to suck at the wound, her blood was freely running into his mouth, and he swallowed a second time. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew this was too much, she would bleed out in no time at all. A third mouthful gathered, and he forced himself to pull away. He licked at the wound hoping to aid congeal the blood and felt a jolt of panic when his senses finally returned to him.

He stared in shock as the holes stopped bleeding almost instantly and even closed. She hadn’t been kidding when she said she’d taken precautions.

When he glanced at her face, her eyes were lidded, and she had a confident smirk on her lips.

It seemed it was his turn now to impress. Of course, there was no such thing as a free lunch.

He kissed her thigh one last time, the smell of her blood making him want to dive back in but he could be patient.

He moved his face to the apex of her thighs, hovering above her sex. He hooked a finger in her underwear and moved them to the side before blowing a cold breath over her. She gasped as goosebumps ran over her skin.

Astarion looked so beautiful between her legs. She was caught between wanting to look away in embarrassment and staring into his eyes forever.

He was the first to break their momentary connection as he lowered his face and took a broad sweep of his tongue over her clit.

She moaned quietly at the contact and spread her legs further. He smirked at her eagerness and ran his tongue over her hole before bringing it back to her clit. There was something in her taste that was uniquely hers and he could swear he tasted it in her blood as well.

Without musing over it too much, he began his usual routine, habits kicking in. She moaned loudly above him, and her hips thrust against his mouth. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself and of course she was, he was very good at this. It was after all one of his, admittedly few, talents. Words echoed in his ears as memories began to surface, reminding him exactly what he was good for. So, he drifted away from them, sinking into the quiet abyss of his own mind. How long had he been gone? Had he even left at all? A throbbing beat, insistent and growing, clawed its way through the fog. When his eyes snapped open, reality slammed back. He tried to take in what had happened. It seemed at some point she’d put her legs over his shoulders, or maybe he’d done that, and he now found himself almost squished between her thighs, her pulse loud right by his ear.

He pulled away from her slightly, every instinct in him was screaming to just get on with it like always, get it done, and move on, but he found himself hesitating. His feelings were even worse than usual, maybe that was the problem, he had let them run loose and now his thoughts were a mess as well. Shame twisted his gut in a dull ache, familiar and unwelcome.

He wanted to clear his head, to calm down. Almost by instinct, he grabbed her by the thigh he hadn’t bitten and sank his fangs in. He hadn’t asked this time, a sliver of unease worming its way into his gut before he felt her hand run through his hair. He stilled expecting a blow or a yank, but it never came. She just carded her fingers through his locks and stroked his head, her light touch a soothing counterpoint to the storm raging within him. He’d bitten her at an awkward angle, and he couldn’t fully see her face but from what he could tell she appeared to be smiling. A strange calm washed over him, a quiet settling in his usually churning stomach. Before he even swallowed the first mouthful, a sense of control, however fleeting, began to return.

As he drank greedily from her again and slowly began to feel more like himself, with every drop he consumed, the world seemed to sharpen, the confusion receding. Feeling his confidence return to him he unlatched his fangs and licked her wound closed.

He finally looked at her then and what a sight she was. Her face was flushed, almost red, the color reaching all the way to her delicate collarbones. She was panting with a gentle smile on her lips, a sheen of sweat clinging to her flushed skin like morning dew. Both her thighs were smeared in blood, his marks clearly visible despite it. Her cunt was glistening, slick dripping down onto her tail. He felt a twinge of pride that he could reduce their righteous leader to such a wanton state. His dick twitched against the confines of his pants and he stood up to remove them. Her eyes were glued to the motions of his hands before they fell on his cock and she looked away. He’d had his tongue inside her just minutes prior but now she was suddenly feeling shy? Ridiculous woman.

He sank back to the ground, a predatory glint returning to his eyes. Before she even had the time to ask him why, he grabbed her by the thighs and pulled her to him, making her fully prone on the floor with her legs wrapped around his waist. She gasped at the sudden motion and looked up at him with wide eyes. He was finally back on track with the evening. He loomed over her, taking in her form before lowering his hands to her hips. He gripped her underwear and ripped them off with a snap. Thiriann gasped, more at the audacity than the pain. But her eyes, wide and unblinking, remained fixed on his.

He lowered himself onto her and their lips locked in a passionate kiss. He plunged his tongue in her mouth and slid it against hers. She responded eagerly, and the kiss immediately turned into something filthy. He retreated his tongue, and she followed him, licking into his mouth, just where he wanted her. He bit her tongue gently in a silent request. She shivered under him and he fought the urge to rut against her. He felt her drag her tongue against one of his fangs in permission. He bit down just hard enough to draw a few drops. The taste of her blood mixed with her saliva was intoxicating and he sucked greedily on her tongue. Despite drinking from her twice already, his bloodlust was far from satiated. She felt the heat in her belly intensify as he growled animalistically in her mouth.

She pulled away trying to regain some composure, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

"Oh no you don't," he whispered, his voice husky; not when he finally had her where he wanted.

He trailed kisses down her delicious neck, over her delicate collarbones until he reached her breasts and sucked a nipple into his mouth. She keened loudly and arched her back in an attempt to touch as much of him as she could. Her hands were now firmly on his back but he could tell she was trying not to scratch him with her nails. A bittersweet pang shot through Astarion's chest at the thought of her concern. It was a foreign sensation, almost unwelcome. He shoved it down, a familiar darkness settling in its place. Tonight, he wouldn't be swayed by fleeting emotions.

He swirled his tongue around her nipple, and she thrust up, her wet heat pressing against his length. The sudden sensation against his neglected cock sent a shock of pleasure up his spine. He gasped and pushed down more firmly into her, dragging his length along her folds and rubbing against her clit. Giving her a taste of her own medicine before pulling away and pressing her hip down with his free hand, holding her still.

She whined loudly at the loss of contact, and he smirked against her breast.

“Now, now, darling. Wouldn’t want to end our night before I’ve made use of your very generous offer, would we?”

The desire to be filled was making her ache with need but he was right. She wanted him to enjoy himself without holding back, even if that meant slowly driving her to madness with lust.

She forced her muscles to relax under him, giving no resistance to being pinned down. “I’ll be good. “

Gods, he wanted to ruin her.

He felt a strange sense of satisfaction having her submit to him, allowing him to take whatever he wanted at his own pace. And seeing her so eager to follow his lead for once sent a thrill of excitement up his spine. He'd never had an opportunity like this before, so he was going to make the most of it now. Astarion lowered his head to her breast once more.

“May I?”

Her breath stuttered, but she nodded, closing her eyes anticipating the pain. He took her nipple into his mouth again giving it a firm suck before opening his mouth wider and sinking his fangs into the skin just barely above her areola. Her breath hitched and he rubbed his thumb over her hip in a silent apology.

When he felt her relax against him, he removed his fangs and let the blood seep into his mouth.

He swirled his tongue around her nipple playing expertly with it. Her muscles tensed once more, fighting fiercely with herself to stay still.

He could just lower his hand and give her the much-desired relief but a part of him relished having her like this, completely at his mercy. He wanted to push her to see when she'd finally break and start making demands of him. Or maybe start begging.

Light-headedness set in and Astarion began to feel almost tipsy. He wondered if he wasn’t drinking too much of her blood. But there she was releasing chocked little sounds above him, her face beautifully flushed and sweaty.

Releasing the now-swollen bud from his mouth he flinched as a flash of brilliant light erupted in his vision. He snapped his eyes open, searching the room for the source but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

A trail of heated kisses climbed up her body, stopping at the vulnerable curve of her neck. He lingered there, brushing his lips along the sensitive skin. A subtle shift in her breath betrayed a growing anticipation. He dragged his fangs gently across her flesh, teasing himself as fire pooled in his gut from the action. Interesting, that was new.

Finding his favorite spot mirroring almost perfectly where his own scars were, he licked the delicate skin and felt her tremble.

He blew a cold breath over the now wet spot and with a swift movement, he captured her lips in a fierce kiss.

“Mmh-“ a strangled moan escaped her lips, surprise melting into raw desire. She met his kiss with equal fervor, her hand tangling in his curls, pulling him closer.

“I thought you were going to drink.”

“Oh, I will, darling. But I think it’s time I gave you your reward. You’ve earned it.”

Removing his hand from her hip, he grasped his length and lined himself with her entrance. She felt hot and incredibly tight, too tight. Astarion froze, a curse escaping his lips. The unexpected resistance sent a jolt of frustration through him. He couldn’t even push halfway in.

He moved his hand to rub at her clit to get her to relax.

“Astarion, wait, I- “ and with that, he felt her squeeze him even harder before her tight channel started fluttering around him. It felt as if her body was trying to suck him in and he bucked into her instinctively, making her scream. He stared at her in awe as she came undone on his cock.

Having someone finish prematurely wasn’t a novelty to him but it had been always men. He’d never made a woman cum with a single thrust before. Unfortunately for her, it made his already impressive ego swell further.

“Oh, you poor thing. You should have said something sooner, had I known you were this frustrated, I would have helped you out right away.”

She tried, and failed, to glare at him.

“Liar.” She pouted and something like fondness swirled in his chest.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll make sure you’re thoroughly satisfied tonight.” He punctuated his last words with languid thrusts making her eyes glaze over and her mouth open in a gasp.

Astarion angled his hips in just the right way to bring her to bliss again and set a steady pace. He panted quietly against her, she was still so impossibly tight, and his pleasure was building faster than he would have liked. He blamed it on the amount of blood and wine he’d drank. She tugged gently at his curls and the sensation sent a shiver down his spine.

The closer he got to release the more overwhelmed he felt. He blinked, momentarily disoriented. Time seemed to have blurred. Her arms, once loosely around him, had tightened their hold. A soft brush against his leg startled him, and he realized her tail had also wrapped around his leg. A wave of nausea threatened to rise, a primal reaction he couldn't seem to control. He clenched his jaw, forcing the feeling down, desperate to salvage whatever connection they'd built. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to pull away, to flee from the very touch that had moments ago filled him with pleasure. Shame burned hot in his chest, a bitter cocktail of self-loathing and regret. Why couldn't he allow himself this moment of connection, this flicker of normalcy, without the past rearing its ugly head?

“Bite me.”

He had been so distracted he wasn’t sure he heard her. Pulling back to see her face he felt mesmerized by her eyes. It was a look he hadn't known existed, a look that held not fear or disgust, but acceptance, even admiration. No one had ever looked at him like that.

“You can bite me again.” she repeated, her voice a gentle murmur, devoid of lust or demand. It was a simple statement, spoken with the same trust she offered him every night.

Words failed him so he bent down to her neck and bit. It may have been the fourth time he’d drank from her that evening but the joy of it hadn’t weaned at all. He felt her blood course through both their bodies and every sensation felt charged. He hooked her legs over his shoulders bending her in half, allowing him to pump into her with animalistic need. She cried out, bucking up against him as much as she could. He wasn’t going to last long, the coil inside him ready to snap. He tried to reach for her clit again, but she held him tighter, pressing their bodies even closer.

“Like this-ah- is -aah- good!”

She clenched around him, and he growled in her throat, the sound not quite human. He sucked harder and his release approached with every coming second. He fucked her with reckless abandon, intoxicated by the sensations of her blood filling him and her tight heat wrapped around his length.

Suddenly, without any warning, the coil snapped. And it was as if a dam had burst, wave after wave of uncontrollable pleasure crashed into him. He finally released her neck to gasp as he unravelled, filling her. The feeling of his hot spend inside her and his delicious moans by her ear finally pushed her over the edge as well. She screamed and dug her nails into his shoulders holding onto him for dear life.

Her cunt was spasming and convulsing around him trying to drain every last drop and he was more than eager to let her.

After a few last desperate thrusts, he collapsed on top of her. Coming down from his high, reality began to sink in once more. He didn’t often reach bliss with his partners let alone reach it first. And he’d drank from her, a lot, definitely more than he should have. Shame set in his gut, and he winced.

Willing his shaking muscles to cooperate he lifted himself off her and moved to crash by her side.

She whispered an incantation by his side and suddenly the room was engulfed in a bright green light. It vanished as soon as it came, and he finally looked at her, a complex mix of emotions swirling within him. Gods, she looked radiant. His bites decorated her body, and blood had been smeared all over her neck down to her chest. He felt an urge to lick it despite it having already gone dry. But the most unexpected sight was the radiant smile on her face. He realized with a pang that he rarely saw her smile at all, except during these intimate moments. It shouldn't be surprising, given their current circumstances, but it still felt like a shame.

“Healing magic?" he rasped, his voice rough. "I didn't know wizards could mend wounds."

A smug grin spread across her face "We can't usually. I learned it from a scroll I bought in the Druid Grove. Abjuration's my specialty, after all” A hint of pride snuck into her voice.

Of course, a wizard would use any opportunity to brag about their intelligence. Despite the urge to roll his eyes, there was something rather adorable about her smugness.

"Actually," she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper, "when I saw it, I remembered what you said before… about holding back." her eyes shot open suddenly only to see him staring at her curiously"-"Not that I expected this to happen again or anything!"

A sardonic smile played on his lips. "Of course you didn't." He paused, studying her flushed face. It seemed like his plan was already working, soon he'd have her wrapped around his finger. Somehow it didn’t feel like a success.

"But if we did," she pressed on, "I thought… well, you might enjoy it more if you didn't have to worry about keeping your hunger in check."

Her cheeks burned scarlet, and she quickly averted her gaze, focusing on a stray thread on the bedroll. She cursed herself inwardly. A lifetime spent studying magic hadn't prepared her for the flustered mess Astarion turned her into.

"Casual relationships aren't exactly my forte," she mumbled, the lack of experience a foreign and unwelcome sensation.

A strange tug pulled at Astarion's chest. People didn't typically prioritize his pleasure, let alone go to such lengths to ensure his enjoyment. He pushed the thought down. This was about a fair exchange, he gave her as good as he got.

"You sweet generous thing. Aren’t you just full of surprises?” he teased, his voice tinged with amusement. “I can't wait to see what other hidden talents of yours we can explore."

He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow.

"Really? Well..." she said half-jokingly as her tail raised, waving through the air " I can think of a few." She said with a wink.

She was more debaucherous than he gave her credit for.

Her tail snaked out and snatched her drink, bringing it to her lips before setting it down beside him. He caught a whiff of a healing potion, she truly had thought of everything.

"We should probably get dressed before anyone decides to thank us for saving their tails."

A moment of silence passed and when he looked back up at her, she was fast asleep.

Disbelief battled with a flicker of genuine warmth in his chest. How could someone fall asleep so quickly, so trustingly, after their… exertions? A chuckle escaped his lips. Well, it wasn’t that surprising given how much he tired her out.

It would be downright cruel to wake her now. And the thought of her staying until the morning wasn’t unappealing exactly.

He rose and put his clothes on hastily, embracing the feeling of safety they brought. Dressed, he lay back down beside her, the warmth of her body a stark contrast to the chill that had settled within him. Here, in the quiet aftermath, the silence pressed in, suffocating.

A soft sigh escaped her lips, her body shifting unconsciously closer to his. He flinched, a primal instinct against the unexpected touch. But then, as quickly as it flared, the tension dissipated. He watched her for a moment, there was a vulnerability in her sleep, a stark contrast to the determined woman he knew.

Hesitantly, he reached out a hand, brushing a stray strand of hair from her forehead. Her skin was warm under his touch, sending a tremor through him. He snatched his hand back, a surge of self-loathing rising in his throat. What was he doing? He shouldn't…

But the quiet rhythm of her breathing, the steady rise and fall of her chest, had a strange calming effect. He found himself mimicking her breath, slow and deep, willing himself to succumb to the darkness.

#astarion #astarion bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 spoilers #astarion x tav #smut #bg3 fanfiction #astarion fic #astarion fanfiction #my fanfiction

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myosotlsart · 2 days

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Listen I've become privy to Daisy Oak's new official design and I am so disappointed 😭

The things that stand out the most is her overall 'smoothness'. I get it: she's the sweet, helpful older sister of the prideful/snarky, antagonistic rival, and the juxtaposition of Green Oak's spiky hair and her overall smooth hair really sells that.

But Imo it makes her look bland, especially in comparison to her pokespe outfit, where the resemblance is made clear with a spiky bang. It's a fantastic balance of the original character with added decals to show her relation to Green. (Also her pokespe laboratory demonstrates intellect and competence expected of the Oak bloodline but- I understand why they wouldn't go that direction with the official design).

But the thing that hurts me the most is the fact that *she isn't wearing the amulet*. *The* amulet- Green's silver tear-shaped amulet he's worn since the 90s. It's never specified, even in the manga, where this amulet came from or what it's meaning is, but the fact they both wore it is a statement in of itself.

Green Oak, the sassy, at times petulant kid, sharing the same amulet as his older sister shows that despite his arrogant world perspective, he has a soft spot towards his sister. Similarly, Daisy Oak is especially fond towards her brother, despite all the 'flaws he may portray.

It's sibling dynamics, man. In a world where your own grandfather barely acknowledges your existence, leaning on the sister that always resides at your side is crucial, and barely developed by the games. Red has his mother, but Green really only has his sister.

Justice for Green and Daisy's amulets. Bring them back 😭

*Apparently in the manga Oak gave Green the necklace and it has a protection charm. Thanks Oak! This actually shows you *do* care about your grandchildren 😅

#if anyone has Daisy and Green/Blue Oak fanart id love to see it like literally Daisy is one of my fav characters #rival green #rival blue #pokemon #pokemon adventures #Green Oak #Blue Oak #Daisy Oak #pokespe

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cursedvibes · 1 day

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The more I think about this chapter and read others takes the less negative I’ve become towards it. I’m just neutral now and if anything I quite like a lot of things in here, especially since the full TCB translations are out now. I’m still disgruntled about Yuuji like literally being thrown to the side though.

I never cared for Yuuta but he did need a last hoorah, so I hope it is a last hoorah that Yuuta fans find good.

It has been interesting seeing people’s takes on the story and what the theme of the story is meant to be. I actually kind of disagree with the takes that JJK is a nihilistic story, for how dark and gritty it can be it very much seems to be a story of hope and change than just a story where good people fail.

I have settled my emotions a bit too. Mostly just feel tired. My main issue is like you said that Yuuji is just getting thrown to the side when we finally get a tense moment between him and Sukuna. Gege really wants to stretch that fight. Yuuji was literally digging into his chest after just landing a Black Flash. Sukuna apparently felt so threatened that he healed his brain and CT, which is quite risky, to cast a domain. But then he can just shove Yuuji away and that's it? Also this Sukuna vs Gojo rehash is for one redundant and also very ill-timed. They could've done this when Sukuna was about to unleash Furnace or his altered domain. When people were actually in danger and Yuuta's sacrifice could've meant something. Yuuta gives a very passionate speech, but the whole time I just have to think that that's really not needed. If they need back-up, the people who got transported away could just come back. Maki's Soul Blade actually seems much more useful here, since we know hurting Sukuna's soul is how you actually get him down.

Also, Yuuta telling Maki that she doesn't understand what it means to be a monster and that she's scared leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. He didn't directly target her, but maybe have some self-awareness about who you're talking to? Not ooc though I would say, nor the rest of his speech and plan.

Another thing that I find confusing is why Yuuta can't heal himself, but is then able to grow Gojo's body together. If it's because of the stitches, Shoko could've stitched up his real body too. Could be that Kenjaku's technique gives a healing boost after the transfer, but they don't talk about that and I don't know how they would know that either. Nobody has ever seen Kenjaku change vessels.

But yeah, overall my reaction is just "do we need to do this again?". I don't agree with the criticisms I've seen that this is too dark, too bleak, too immoral, irredeemable and especially all those comparisons to horror and psychothriller stories. Seems to come also a lot from the people who think Choso's death was bad. Like using Gojo's body like that is grim, it shows how rotten jujutsu society is and that they perpetuate this mindset even in the students, but I think it just shows Yuuta breaking under pressure and emphasizing certain character flaws of his. A negative development. Not necessarily bad. If anything it shows why Yuuji can be the only one to defeat Sukuna because he doesn't give in to Sukuna's believes and he won't let the jujutsu system rob him of his value of life. Even if he sees himself as a tool, he does not treat others like that and he has always been someone who saw Gojo as a human first and the strongest sorcerer second. I wouldn't even say jjk is bleak right now. People have died and Yuuta threw his humanity away, but they are still gradually chipping away at Sukuna.

Certainly not nihilistic. There are very clear values governing the whole story as seen by the dichotomy of Sukuna and Yuuji. I do think they could've been put more into focus by using Shinjuku Showdown to highlight both of their mindsets and hone in more on Sukuna and Yuuji's mentality through it, but it's far from being nihilistic. Everything has meaning, Yuuta just now made the choice to compromise his previous morals. That doesn't mean the overall message is mute. Yuuta only played a small part in it to begin with after all. It's character development for him, but not a complete overthrow of the story's themes. He was told to become stronger he needs to throw away his humanity and disregard others. The challenge for him was to fight while still maintaining his humanity at the cost of not being The Strongest. He failed and also hasn't fully committed to that path, he's just perpetuating Gojo's dehumanization by saying there needs to be someone to fill that role. Someone who needs to stand at the top, despite even Gojo saying (or previously believing) that this burden shouldn't be carried by just one person. That's why he raised the students to be strong. Not quite the right approach either and not a break of the principles of jujutsu society, but certainly not what Yuuta took away from all this that there needs to be one pillar of strength far removed from the others who does the dirty work for them.

So like there is something there in the chapter, an attempt was made to say something, even though I don't think it quite stuck the landing. Doesn't make me especially ecstatic for the next chapters either though.

#don't know if this is entirely coherent but yeah agree that this doesn't make the story grimdark or nihilistic #asks #jjk spoilers #jjk 261

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spicyicymeloncat · 2 years

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Concept: Nya and Kai post unseaification. (Too lazy to make into a comic or a fic)

After the ninja broke out of prison.

Kai and Nya hanging out, enjoying being reunited

At some point, Nya quietly says “I’m sorry”

Kai is confused but Nya goes on about how she feels so guilty

That she left him. When she became the sea, she left him and forgot about him and forgot about herself

And she left him just like their parents

And Kai takes her hands and tells her that

She’s always been there for him, every time he’s been low,

every time the loss of their parents made Kai curl up away from the world, Nya was there for him

Every challenge and set back kai has faced, she supported him

And Kai had never dealt well with loss, growing angry and distant but Nya never gave up or pushed him away for it

And so that’s how he got through it when she became the sea

He wouldn’t just fall apart after all her sacrifice

He got better, got a job, kept in touch with the world, because that’s what she wanted for him

Because she was there for him and she never left

#does this make sense #i hope it makes sense #essentially kai Nya post Seabound angst #where Nya has something about survivors guilt - or like victim guilt idk #and cuz Kai never took loss well #but he character developed especially for her #there’s that one line from s5 where Kai mentions that Nya was there for him when they lost their dad #so like #cry ig #ninjago #Lego Ninjago #Ninjago crystalized #Ninjago crystalized spoilers #Ninjago kai #Ninjago nya #angst #Ninjago angst #but like happy ish ending

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stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage · 5 months

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This. This. This entire conversation with Morrigan actually makes me want to sob. She and my Tabris always becomes close friends over the course of DAO; that, paired with the fact that my Tabris always romances Alistair, makes everything about this hurt so much more when you take DAO's ending into account.

Her confusion over why my Tabris didn't send her away. Why she didn't abandon her after they learned of Flemeth's plans. Why Tabris went out of her way to slay Flemeth and bring her the true grimoire. She asks Tabris why, and is baffled when the answer is, "I did it because I'm your friend," as if it's that simple.

The way Morrigan looks at the warden, the way her voice cracks when she says, "I want you to know that while I may not always prove... worthy... of your friendship, I will always value it."

She knows how this will end; Flemeth sent her with the wardens with the end goal of stopping the blight and obtaining the old god soul through the dark ritual. Morrigan knows that Alistair and Tabris are the only Grey Wardens here, and assuming they don't find more, one of them will have to die defeating the archdemon unless they agree to do the dark ritual.

With that context, her asking Alistair, "And what if a Grey Warden has forced to choose between the Warden he loved and ending the Blight? What should his choice be?" suddenly has so much subtext weaved through the words that I'm gonna start foaming at the mouth. She's practically telling Alistair that a warden has to die. She's scrutinizing his reaction to find any hint that suggests he would agree to the dark ritual in order to save himself and the woman he loves. And when he doesn't choose, she has her answer.

Morrigan made comments to Tabris about him, almost hopeful that their relationship was just a physical thing between them and not actually riddled with feelings... and then gives disapproval when Tabris says she loves him.

She doesn't want the warden to die; hell, she doesn't want Alistair to die, either; whether because she does actually care about him or because she knows it'll break her friend's heart if she loses him, or both!

Things would be so much easier if the only two Grey Wardens left to defeat the blight didn't fall in love, wouldn't they, Morrigan?

She knows that in the end, no matter the outcome, she will lose the woman she called sister and it's devastating.

Morrigan, who has never known true friendship. Who grew up isolated in the woods with an abusive mother and terrible implications for her future. Who discovered said mother planned to take over her body just as she did with her other daughters. Who doesn't understand kindness as it was rarely given to her without a catch. Who isolates herself from the others in camp. Who finally has a companion she cares about... and in the end, if her plan works and the dark ritual is completed, she'll end up pregnant and alone and wearing Tabris' resentment like a tender wound on her heart.

Or Tabris will reject the ritual, and will die to the archdemon.

Or her lover will.

I just- the dynamic between the warden, romanced Alistair, and Morrigan is so good and painful and rich that I'm gnawing on furniture as we speak.