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il-predestinato · 9 months

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Will you ever write any more of this is our place, we make the rules? It's my favourite series ever. I've read it so many times already!!

Thank you for saying that! It really means a lot, and brings so much joy to my heart to hear people say they enjoyed my writing! 🥰

And to answer your question, overall - I would say I consider the series to be complete. I feel like I told the story I wanted to tell. There are definitely headcanons, small details, cut scenes, etc. from that fic-verse that I've sometimes shared with people who have asked without expanding into a full fledged sequel/prequel/inter-quel(?).

That being said, never say never! I really enjoyed writing that whole series. And there is a tentative 'sequel' that I've on and off played around with, writing some scenes here and there, since finishing the series. It's called "Architectural Digest: Inside Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc's Monaco Penthouse" and is basically a celebrity home tour (AD really makes videos of these!) of our favourite retired couple showing off their weird ass home, which is filled with mementos of their time together and shit they've collected through their travels/competition years, etc. Like the poster in the guest bathroom teaching the differences between the Singapore vs. Monaco vs. Indonesia vs. Poland flags ("because Max gets confused all the time," teases Charles, while Max ducks off camera to hide his blush). And the 'bull mounting horse statue' that Lando bought for Max next to the 'bull sucking horse dick painting' Carlos bought for Charles as wedding gifts (Max: "WTF, who told you we're getting married?" Carlos: "This isn't your wedding?! Lando said -" Max: "This is our BIRTHDAY PARTY." Carlos: "Oh FFS, Lando, why am I wearing a tux?! ... Well, um, happy birthday?").

Who knows? Maybe one day I'll have enough scenes written and polished to share? 😅

#elle.ask #anon #lestappen #thank you sweet anon!#the most common request i get for this fic series is whether i’ll ever write their wedding #and ecery time i have to disappoint by saying that although i left it vague in the last few lines of ‘even the sun sets in paradise’ -#to me… they never married #they were just so…untouchable in their relationship by the end that i always felt that getting ‘legal documentation’ would have…#dunno- maybe cheapened that relationship/soulmate-ism #/i say this as a married woman 😂

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thebirdandhersong · 6 months

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on the good news train today: I have finally finished the last chapter(!!!) of my Inklings challenge story, which marks the FIRST ever Inklings challenge story I've ever completed properly :'D coming in at 30,810 words (yikes) (it did get out of hand, I must admit), it is definitely not a short story, but it IS a piece that I think articulates a lot of what I've been thinking about lately re: love and death, and, considering everything, is probably something I needed to write. I am very happy!! It has been a wild ride, but a deeply clarifying one.

#ALSO i went to watch hadestown on friday and i came out of that a changed person. i will literally never recover from that experience.#hadestown also has significantly shaped this story along with HMA's little mermaid and goblin market and sir orfeo btw #anywayyyy i am going to BED i have midterms to study for tomorrow which i have been putting off for too long!!!!#inklings round 3 #i'm bracing for impact this week (it's gonna be ROUGH) but i am holding to julian of norwich's wise wise words for this one #all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well!#including midterms (of which i have TWO right after reading break. ain't no rest for the wicked and the righteous #don't need none and who knows where i fall) and boy problems and family worries #all SHALL be well!!#why my soul are you downcast! why so disturbed within me!#put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him my saviour and my God #magpie said think of jane austen's wise words too #(friendship is the best balm for the pangs of disappointed love) and she was right :)#im sitting on my little raft and paddling steadily onwards!#thank you for sitting on the step with me through the dusk and blue hours and dark days #all shall be well for pete's sake!!!!! all SHALL be well!!!!!#last year of school log

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presiding · 7 months

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What is your favourite thing about Billie Lurk?

(Answers are obvious possibly but i love when people talk about her👍)

thanks for the ask!! YEAH ME TOO I love when people talk about Billie! I can't say I have a favourite thing specifically, but I can explain why she's my fav. apologies for not taking this qn literally, but -

short answer: she’s really cool

& you can stop reading there, or, for the maybe 2 mutuals who might have time to read this my thoughts on her as a character, her meta, and her character as raw potential...

long answer:

i considered making this entire thing a gush so you could read a gush about Billie. but, part of what draws me to her is that she’s not always well written, and in fandom she’s underrated for a literal protagonist.

since you ask...

billie is a cool character

when I played Dh2 (hadn't played Dh1), I was excited to see a black woman with disabilities who was captaining a massive ship by herself. wow.

then I discovered Billie’s backstory with Deirdre, the way she responded to that, then having to survive while living on the run, and her bisexuality. as well as her history with daud & delilah. fascinating!

she’s an outsider who has so much to lose, and knows what it's like to lose everything - having lost everything not once but three times - but nevertheless speaks truth to power. she's so brave! she went and helped Emily & Corvo and she must have known they might kill her! plus, she’s smart, she’s funny, she gets shit done, she’s gorgeous.

but... the meta

mild critique of fandom & arkane incoming.

skip this bit if you want - you've been warned twice now - jump to tired Hayao Miyazaki and read from there if you'd like my thoughts on writing her.

i thought Death of the Outsider was going to be amazing and then... well. *sad trombone* i've written about that before so i won't keep banging on. i figured others must be disappointed too, so I joined a few fandom spaces in hopes of finding camaraderie.

most people with complaints about DotO didn’t like how the Outsider and Daud were handled. which is valid & I agree. but it seemed like most paid no attention to Billie; when people talk about her it’s with respect to Daud, as opposed to in her own right. you could argue for fandom misogyny because people don’t talk about adult Emily Kaldwin that much either, but in Billie's case, it’s misogynoir (compare & contrast with the popularity of thomas, particularly the popularity of thomas portrayed as a white man for no particular reason that i've been able to discern - i keep asking around, is it in the books???).

i think this is a LOT better now than it used to be, which is fantastic. or perhaps i have found the correct echo-chamber? ha.

ultimately, The Fandom is a fraction of the entire picture, and not even the important bit since The Fandom is not who these games are made for. you can't make money relying on only your hardcore fans even if all of them spent a fortune on merch, this is true for any AAA game.

while it's true that Billie is underrated from a fandom perspective - but Billie as an underwritten protagonist is squarely Arkane’s fault.

it was reasonable when she was a side character - the lack of info in Dh2 makes perfect sense (if anything there was more lore in Dh2 which is kind of wild)-

- but as a protagonist in Death of the Outsider?

.... there’s lousy writing, and there’s whatever is going on with Billie Lurk, a black woman who mostly exists as a foil or saviour for light-skinned characters. In her own game there’s barely any of her own lore except where it's relevant to saving two dudes.

lore hints at, but barely touches on what race means in the Dh universe (xenophobia is stronger in Dh1; separate essay i guess), but Arkane has patted themselves on the back for portraying non-white characters, which feels like the same thing as the aesthetic of diversity we're seeing in advertising currently because it’s in marketing trend guides. it's self-congratulatory and it's a missed opportunity for deeper storytelling.

you can see an example of diversity at its most shallow in the way that Billie’s written: there’s little engagement with her as an entire person with history & wants & preferences, and the world she walks through in that game feels like it has nothing to do with her. you could make a case for alienation as a theme, but then, how do you handle the titular premise of 'Dishonored' without ever letting Billie make changes in an environment without a chaos system? it's disappointing from that angle too.

in my opinion, whatever it's worth, it was an accident Arkane created such an awesome character - they needed someone to betray daud. congrats billie.

all this said, it makes her an underdog as far as characters to enjoy & create art & stories for. it's nice to find so many like-minded, switched on people! <3

billie's character potential

she’s got a wealth of unexplored lore, being deeply intertwined with both Karnaca & Dunwall’s fates & criminal underbellies, as well as her connections to the witches & whalers, and three Empresses.

she’s lived a few distinct lifetimes and in the games we get to meet her at two peaks (KoD & DotO) & a low (Dh2 as Meagan).

her voice is very distinct, her dry & often dark humour is entertaining & fun to write. her perspective is really interesting - she’s had the widest variety of void-powers of anyone canonically, and she’s also lived through the highest highs and lowest lows.

she's got everything going for her :) i couldn't really pick a fav thing!

#i assume my followers are cool enough to let me give a brief measured critique on fandom trends and DotO #thanks for the anon question!! what fun!#i love billie lurk <333 #jumped on the opportunity to rant n rave #what part of billie isn't my fav! (im a guy who likes the bad stuff too. mmm interesting meta)#trying to be not unfair or mean- i'm not targeting anyone but rather trends. and it's ok to be disappointed with something you love #fuck it. make it part of the appeal! her writing sucks! plenty of room for me & other creators!#its easier for me to indulge my billie brainworms when it sorta feels like she's not getting as much love as she deserves #you know? i want stories where her history is explored and her agency is important so i guess i'll roll up my sleeves #tumblr is a terrible place for this sort of critique IMO- lots of nuanceless empathy-free guilt-trip-ish rhetoric #so i hope i avoided that. but not so much that i seem forgiving.#that said i'm not tagging this one with fandom tags! no thank you.#i am blaming arkane yes. but that is also not without games industry context #i could complain about amateurish writing but that also never happens in a vacuum. industry problem(s) for sure.#people love to blame writers for things #and yeah a couple really fucking good writers can push a boulder uphill #but its usually a company problem #hire lots of diverse people in your company. give them authority and respect and reasonable workloads. and no crunch.#ah fuck this is a separate essay in tags. again #THIS WAS A SIMPLE QUESTION #*clutches head in hands*#uh if you're still reading at this point im SO sorry and thank you and i love you

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softquietsteadylove · 2 months

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Ahhhh second first date! Second first date! Of course i need to know how it goes!!

"And the server was definitely super jealous of me."

Thena laughed again. That was all she'd been doing since they left the house, she was quite sure. Since Gil 'picked her up', that was to say.

It was very sweet. He had showed up at her guest room door, dressed up and with a charming smile, even making an attempt to look nervous. He asked if she was ready, offered his arm; he was the perfect gentleman for their first date.

Her second chance.

Of course she had to know more about their first-first date. And Gil was happy to elucidate her once she insisted enough that telling her that much would not cause her brain to catch fire (as the doctor seemed to have implied in some way).

"But it was a nice dinner, then I walked you back to where you were staying at the end of the beach," he recounted, his eyes completely starry. "I had never gotten to actually have a romantic walk on the beach, before. Total bucket list stuff."

"It sounds lovely," she remarked mildly, without much choice with no memory of it for herself.

"The moon was out and everything, and it looked really pretty with your hair and your white dress, and the shawl thing-y you had on over it." Gil gestured vaguely to simulate the flowing garment she had worn over her bare shoulders. It certainly painted a picture, and she was quite sure she knew what he was referring to, having glimpsed a long white shawl in their closet.

She tried not to laugh too hard, mindful of the gentle atmosphere of the bakery. The tables were really just for people waiting for orders. They didn't have a fancy coffee machine, or an official barista. But Gil did bring out cups of real, boiled hot cocoa from the back--a secret only for their own, of course. They were waiting on their fresh baked pastries to come out and cool.

"I was so distracted by you that I didn't even realise when we were back at your doorstep," he sighed, but his comedic tone faded. He looked at her more softly, leaning his cheek against his hand. "I told you flat out that I was having such a good time I wished you were staying further away."

Thena attempted to laugh into her mug, this time.

"You laughed at it then, too." He sounded more wistful now. "But I told you I was serious and asked if I could see you again. I don't know why you were so surprised."

Probably because she had never been one to be asked out by someone like him. Men, sure, but not very sweet, very funny, very honest gentlemen like Gil. Just...men. She wasn't approachable enough for someone as sweet and charming as Gil.

She still thought that, to a degree.

"But you agreed, and I asked if I could kiss you too," he at least smiled at this part of the story, although his longing for the past remained. "You said I didn't have to ask, which wasn't a yes, but I guessed I was supposed to read between the lines."

Again, the Thena in the story and Thena herself in the present were different people. But she felt her stomach clench faintly at the idea.

"I did kiss you," Gil sighed, returning to his lighter, more jovial tone. "And it totally blew my mind. I mean if I wasn't in love with you already, that would'a done it."

"Gil," she admonished lightly, partly laughing and partly sheepish at the description of this passionate kiss she couldn't remember at all.

"What?" he chuckled before taking a sip of his own hot chocolate. "You wanted to know. And that date changed the rest of my life, sweetheart."

She liked it when he called her that. She nodded, looking down at her mug. "I suppose I did. It's a nice story."

"Yeah," Gil concluded, although his sigh felt a little heavier.

She still didn't have any memories of her own to contribute. But she attempted to jump over that wave of guilt, trying to put a smile back on his handsome face. "What was our second date like?"

He clearly knew what she was trying to do, but he kept quiet about it at least. He pulled himself up in his seat and started his next story. "Well, we were still on vacation. I asked a little more about you, and you at least told me you were an artist, and you were there on leave because you found teaching wasn't really your thing."

Thena winced faintly. She was sure that was an understatement. She did have memories of teaching before moving to their current residence, and none of them made her glad to have them instead of memories of Gil.

"I told you that I had been a boxer in college, and that I was just working some boring office job and also wanted," he paused to shrug and make a face, "a change of scenery."

They were both in the midst of becoming different people when they met. How fascinating, Thena mused. Although she was quite sure Gil had always been sweet and charming and funny. Just a feeling.

"It was actually you, on that date, who asked what I liked to do for fun," he admitted much more quietly. He looked down at the table, picking at a chip in the lacquer. "I told you I liked baking and you said I could try working part time in it, just to see if I liked it enough to make it my job."

"It sounds like something I would suggest," she agreed. It was hard to imagine the man she knew now doing anything else, really. Although it was almost funny to imagine him stuffing those muscles of his into a regular office suit.

"I said I'd give it a try," he chuckled, reaching for her hand. She gave it reflexively, sense memory knowing Gil much better than her own mind. He kissed her knuckle. "And now I have the best job in the world."

She smiled down at their adjoined hands as well, feeling as if the weight of the world were on top of them. "The date, Gil?"

"Right, right," he chuckled, allowing her to move the story away from the more emotional of the topics. "Well, you suggested that, and I asked about your art some more. And since the restaurant looked kind of full, and I didn't think that was your scene, I asked if you wanted to walk along the boardwalk a little first."

"We walked by a bakery there, and you asked me what everything was, since I was 'the expert' and all."

That also sounded like something she would say; Thena attempted not to roll her eyes at herself.

"I pointed out the regular stuff," he shrugged and even looked at the pastry cases in front of them in the moment. "Croissants, cupcakes, they had some tarts. You asked about one in particular."

Thena tilted her head as he paused, but she leaned back as he did, having been so sucked into the story that she didn't even notice Ajak coming over with two small plates.

"Thanks," Gil smiled at the petite woman, obviously familiar with her.

"Thank you," Thena added, keeping her eyes on the woman who only smiled and waved in response. Ajak knew her, Thena was aware, but Gil had been determined that they could meet formally when Thena felt more ready to reintroduce those parts of their life to herself.

"This is called a petit four, just a small cake," he chuckled, turning his own plate so she could admire the little dessert from all sides. "It's pretty old school, but you asked me about it when I pointed it out to you. I bought one so you could sample it, even though you told me not to."

Thena eyed the little dessert. It seemed to be vanilla, small and glazed completely white. There was something on the top of it.

"I add just a little sea salt to mine. Call it a secret ingredient."

It was just a hint of salt, but it sank into the sweetness immediately. Just like on that day five years ago, she had tasted the saltiness of the ocean air around them as she took a bite. She could remember the wind on her skin, and how warm Gil's hand was in contrast. The smell of the little shop and the breeze around them, and Gil's cologne wafting gently over to her.

Thena whipped her head up at him. He blinked at her sudden movement but didn't say anything. He was trying to read the expression on her face.

She didn't have any other memories of it. Just that one moment had jumped out at her as she had tasted that same taste--perhaps an improvement upon it. She could remember Gil's smile as she had told him that she liked it.

"You promised."

"Hm?"

She blinked, trying not to cry over a silly little cake. "You promised you would make me one sometime. I told you I expected it to be better, since you were indeed, 'the expert'."

Gil teared up immediately. Of course he did, the gentle hearted giant. "Y-You-"

She looked down at her cake again, the pressure immediately mounting. "It's just that one moment. I can't remember past that. But-"

Thena startled as he launched from his seat across the tiny cafe table from her. He caught her lips at a funny angle, but they both tasted like chocolate and vanilla and sea salt. Her eyes fluttered.

"Sorry," he chuckled, offering a sheepish grin as he seated himself, ignoring the worried glances of other bakery patrons. "Couldn't help myself."

"Hm," she pursed her lips faintly, and he returned to his cake, unable to keep himself from staring at her. She dabbed at her lips, resisting the urge to fan herself. She still had her coat on, but it felt far too hot now in their little corner by the window. "Whatever happened to asking?"

"You told me I didn't have to ask."

#Thenamesh Vow AU #thank you so much sweetheart!#I love this au so I'm very happy to write more believe me #so in the movie she actually never regains any memories at all #which I did find interesting #but I think Thena and Gil have been through enough #taste really can unlock a deluge of memories and sensations #and now that they've made this progress #Gil is gonna be obsessed with making her stuff they've had together #Thena tells him not to get too ahead of himself #she's worried about disappointing him if she doesn't remember more #but he's just so overcome with happiness #people in the bakery look at him like dude calm down #and he's like #sorry can't a man kiss his WIFE in a moment of passion?#Thena drags him back into his seat because he's embarrassing her #Ajak is just behind the counter like ah young love #Now Gil wants to repeat all their dates #in a sense of the word #They literally get home and have brunch right after this but still #Thena texts Kari like wow had a wonderful first date #Makkari: WITH WHO #Thena: my husband obviously

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stagandsteer · 10 months

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Here's the thing. I don't really have any set feelings on any of the stuff that has been going in. I do hope that Froy and Richard are still apart of each other's lives, even if they may be on like a slight break or something. Or if they're all in some big group thing, I don't give a shit. I don't like how some people are trying to shade Richard. Saying that "Well, at least now Froy has someone who publicly acknowledges him", which, one, how someone acts in public or on social media isn't the biggest indicator of how they really are. I mean, they're are tons of very public couples that looked happy and then were either abusive or just completely miserable behind screens. Two, while I would say that whether or not someone is closeted is a big deal or not, Richard was neither out nor really closeted. He never tried to deny his relationship with anyone. He simply just didn't talk about it, which is his fucking right. And yes, some of the privacy stuff may have been about his sexuality, which I don't blame him for. Hollywood is still an extremely homophobic place. Either way, I am sick of people treating Richard as if he trapped Froy in this relationship and treated him like crap. Maybe they have broken up, but from what little we would see of them, they seemed happy. I hope they both continue to be happy whether thats together or apart, or maybe apart for a while, and then back together at some point. Due to them still following each other's families, I will say I still think they are pretty close because I think even they wouldn't be mature enough to continue following each other's families if they weren't at least somewhat close still. Sorry for rambling and the long sentences. This was all just bugging the shit out of me. I will say whatever their relationship is, this blog is amazing, and I thank you for creating it.❤️❤️

this is literally most of what i’ve been thinking and talking with people about privately. the way people in online fandom spaces of any kind - gay and straight fans! - immediately jump to vilifying richard is infuriating. you don’t know, we don’t know what goes on in their private lives and in the history of their relationship. and i agree with you that Richard isn’t not “out” he just doesn’t want anything about his personal life to be documented or commodified on social media. that has NOTHING to do with how he treats Froy intimately and in their real lives and is no indicator of…like, anything. not anything real. exchanging instagram comments and emojis doesn’t change that and doesn’t define a real adult relationship!! I feel like we’ve been saying this same thing forever. anyway. herein lies the peril of getting invested in real life people and their relationships. they’re real and things happen, people change, people outgrow…I’m not saying that’s what happened here but clearly the side of Froy we got used to seeing in 2020-2022 wasn’t the one that was going out dancing twice a week. not even going to clubs and bars but literally this man is dancing and it looks like good fun. 💃🏻

#phew that’s a wall of text #is anyone going to read all that #lol #thank you disappointingbisexual #you’ve never disappointed me!#🥰#happy pride 🌈

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