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komatsunana · 4 years

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My Reincarnation Isekai Villainess Rec List

So. I’ve gone and found myself in Isekai/Reincarnation/Villainess hell. For those who don’t know Isekai is a genre in which character(s) are transported to a different world. Initially you might be thinking “oh, she’s gonna share a both a series like Sword Art Online.” Oh no. You have underestimated the amount of taste I have. By which I mean I have none but that SOA is a taste I’m not here for.

Now a very specific sub-genre of that is the reincarnation one, particularly in which a character is reborn as a character from one of their favorite books or games from their previous, modern life. An even more specific sub-genre of that one is in which the MC is reborn as a villainess from that book or game, thus creating a bit of a challenge as villainesses usually are destined to die in the source material.

So! Here are my favorites, many of which are all 3 but some combine one or two of the above tropes. It’s my list so I do what I want. And most of my faves have a shojo genre tag, or at least a romance tag, because that’s where all the good stuff is:

Survive as the Hero’s Wife by Nokki

Canaria is reincarnated as the villainess of a popular cliche novel. Based on the novel, she is destined to be executed but can she prevent this from happening before it’s too late?

Why *I* like it: So this one was the one that really got me into the villainess reincarnation isekai genre! And it remains the top of my list. The huge draw for me in this one is that I actually really like the main couple! Like not even just lukewarm, I really like it! I’d read fic for it, if that existed. A lot of the villainess genre tend to portray the original heroine as vapid, unworthy of their status of heroine, or the actual villainess but in this case Gracie just turns out to be just an amazing strong woman who doesn’t actually need a man. (In fact I ship the three together full stop tbh lol). In fact, it’s a subplot that Gracie realizes (because of MC’s words) that if she wants to inherit her father’s title even though the law says a woman cannot... That she just should strive to change the law rather than be a tool with no use outside of marriage. And not to spoil anything, but she will definitely do just that.

And since I’m mainly finishing the rough draft of this list out of absolute RAGE at being made fun of for being into this genre.... A compilation of the main love interest, Cesar, because he’s absolutely beautiful. Look at those eyes! He’s such a great example of the sullen, dark love interest because he’s not those things when he’s with his wife, the MC!!! He’s so soft for her. And the whole point is that the love interest shows a different side to their lover right??

And like the great thing is Canaria, the MC, totally doesn’t notice for the longest time. She read the novel in her previous life so she’s *convinced* that one day Cesar will fall for the novel’s original leading woman, and she makes plans accordingly throughout their early days of their marriage. She completely hadn’t thought about the fact that since she’s not being a villainess this time around and not abusing him and everyone around her, and makes friends with Cesar... Like of course the course of events change. It utterly baffles Cesar when his wife keeps bringing up divorce because he’s so completely in love with her and you just gotta eat that shit up with a spoon because it’s so good and perfect drama but also funny.

There’s even a Halloween chapter where everyone wears costumes and basically I believe I was pandered to specifically.

Tbh, the arc going atm is sorta losing my interest but that’s because there’s political intrigue and I’m like just here for the romance lmao. So someone looking for substance and not just fluff might be more pleased than I. But it’s still on-going so. It’s just all in all a fun and great introduction to the genre imo.

I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags by Hidaka Nami (Art) and Yamaguchi Satoru (Story)

Eight-year-old Katarina Claes is the only daughter of a duke, living her life peacefully and without incident until she hits her head on a rock... and then remembers that she is not actually the duke's daughter. She used to be an otaku who died on her way to school after spending the entire previous night playing Fortune Lover, her favorite otome game. After noticing that her current surroundings seem oddly familiar, she is shocked to discover that she has been reincarnated into the world of Fortune Lover as the villainess.

The villainess in the game usually winds up dead or exiled, so Katarina decides to use her knowledge of the game and its routes to avoid any bad situations. But is it even possible for the villainess to reach a good ending?

Why *I* like it: Ok ok ok, lol. So this one is probably one of the most well-known of the villainess reincarnation isekai genre atm! Particularly because of the anime currently running. And for good reason... the MC is so brilliantly stupid in the best of ways. While she plots on how to escape her fate of being killed or exiled by learning to sword fight and how to garden, she’s more or less seduced every capture target in this dating game... AND all the female rivals to boot AND heroine. The thing is that she is completely unaware and continues training for the day she is inevitably killed or exiled, as per the game’s original ending.

It’s just a silly, fun series and all the women’s feelings for her are taken about as seriously as all the guys’... Which isn’t much because absolutely no one really has a chance of getting this woman to understand they are all madly in love with her. Not a series to take seriously which is part of it’s charm, but it retains a lot of heart especially when it comes to the MC Katarina (affectionally called Bakarina by fandom) remembering her friend and family from her past life.

This series also has a manga spin-off about what if she’d been reincarnated while already in high school and bullying the heroine instead of a child... So basically she’s in hard mode, and yet she still succeeds in getting even more people into her little harem she has for herself.

Whether you chose to watch the anime or the manga (or the LN, which I haven’t got to) you can’t go wrong.

It Seems Like I Got Reincarnated Into The World of a Yandere Otome Game by Hanaki, Momiji (Story) and Setsuri (Art)

As a precocious child, Lycoris suffers from a strange sense of deja vu. On the day her father told her about her fiancé, she realizes that her fiancé was a character from an otome game she once played in a previous life.

“I am the heroine’s rival from the game?

And in the bad ending, I get stabbed to death?

What a joke.”

A story in which the protagonist is determined to avoid a yandere situation.

Why *I* like it: Hear me out! I know what you’re thinking... Yanderes??? But here’s the thing... Just by the MC being kind and getting 2 of the “yandere” characters out of abusive environments, they no longer end up as yanderes as they grow up. They aren’t those tropes any more! While the characters remain protective, they aren’t possessive and are happy to see MC branch out, if a little lonely. And the yandere that remain aren’t treated as hot, but annoying. So like sorry to disappoint if you think yanderes are hot but this isn’t the series for you.

Additionally, unlike other series of this trope, the MC is pretty quick to realize she just needs to trust her lover, that he will not turn on her and kill her as he did in the game nor will he fall for the heroine instead of her. It’s somewhat refreshing, as a huge part of the trope is the MC typically doesn’t realize until it’s spelled out that by not acting as a villain.... the rest of the characters don’t want to harm them... And might even have fallen in love with them.

Another fun aspect is how MC doesn’t remember things immediately, but only remembers things from her past life (and of how the game went) until it comes up. Additionally, she wonders some interesting things that aren’t even mentioned in other series like... What if she’s destined to be exactly like the game character? Will she be forced to be exactly like her? It’s a fun exploration of some common reincarnation isekai villainess tropes if you have experience with the genre!

Ascendance of a Bookworm by Shiina You (Art) and Kazuki Miya (Story)

A book-loving student and soon to be librarian ends up crushed to death by the pile of books during an earthquakes and wakes up as a five year old girl named Main in another world where books are scarce only available to the elite. Main, retaining her memories of her past life, decides to create and print her own books so she can read again.

Why *I* like it: So here is we depart from solely the villainess sub-genre (but only briefly!) Because there is another sub-genre of reincarnation isekai and that’s in which the MC uses the things they learned on our planet earth to re-invent things like shampoo and the printing press. And no other isekai does it better than Ascendance of a Bookworm imo. Main’s love for books leads her to recreating things she took for granted on Earth and starts selling them from a young age... Which might just end up saving her life as she ends up having a terminal disease that ordinarily she’d only be able to survive by being a slave to a noble... But by selling her products she has a chance to save herself!!! And the products she creates are available to commoners, not just the nobles who of course make it impossible for the poor to have nice things.

Additionally, a majority of this trope centers around nobles and royalty (and all the best ones are historical settings)... The fun thing about this one is that it actually centers around a povert stricken family. It’s a good break from the noble hierarchy within most isekai.

Finally, this series is the one that hits most closely to my feelings if I were to be reincarnated in another world... Which is to cry at the realization that I will never finish any of the on-going books and manga I had going on. That’s absolute hell, I don’t know how any of these MCs deal!! ;_;

btw there is an anime and manga both. Also LN but tbh almost all of these have LN.

Isekai Omotenashi Gohan by Shinobumaru (Story) and Medamayaki (Art)

Akane, an ordinary office lady, gets summoned to a different world along with her younger sister and pet dog. There, she ends up treating rare guests one after another with hospitality through meals!! Can she satisfy the citizens of a different world with home cooking...?!

Why *I* like it: Continuing our brief deviation from the villainess trope, Isekai Omotenashi Gohan is my favorite example of another subgenre of isekai - one without reincarnation - but one in which a “hero” is transmigrated to another world to save it... The problem? Oppsie, 2 people were taken. Sometimes in this sub-genre there is a question who the true savior is but in Isekai Omotenashi Gohan’s case they figure that out pretty quickly. They quickly figure out the MC’s younger sister is the savior. At first the older sister (Akane) is set aside as unimportant... But her sister only wants to eat the food her sister makes and it quickly becomes obvious that Akane’s role is important.

Akane makes lots of allies and friends by sharing the food from Japan and of course has a very subtle romance going on with her guard. But honestly I just enjoy this series as a person that likes food manga, like that’s it lmao, so much so that don’t be surprised when I make a best food manga list and yeah sorry Food Wars won’t be on it.

But fr, even if you don’t love the food manga genre try it!! It’s a sweet series and mixes domestic with fantasy in a great way. Plus only a few series are complete, with the rest being on-going, so if you want a complete and finished series try this one!

The Duke's Fiancee, Why She Had to Go to the Duke by Milcha (Story) and Golae (Art)

When Park Eunha dies in modern-day Korea, she awakens in the body of Raeliana McMillan, the eldest daughter of a nouveaux riche baron. However, this is no ordinary world; it's the exact same one as a novel she once read. Beloved by her family, it would seem as though she is in a fairy tale. But Raeliana is far from the main character—she is a mere plot device, whose murder at the hands of her fiancé instigates the entire story.

Raeliana has no intention to accept her fate quietly. She sets her eyes on someone in a position of great power—the vieux riche male protagonist Duke Noah Volstaire Wynknight—aiming to completely change the original story. Using her knowledge of future events, Raeliana offers information to Noah on the condition that he acts as her fake fiancé, but the Duke's two-faced nature throws a wrench in her plans!

Why *I* like it: This one is a fun one!! It really plays with different concepts that don’t often get explored in reincarnation isekai like where did the original consciousness of the character the MC became go??? Because MC only remembers her life on earth and is otherwise treated as though she has amnesia.... But is it amnesia? Is she another person entirely?

Also the humor is... great. Listen I refuse to give the best joke in the series just to make you read it but... the series is worth it just for this running joke.

Of course the romance is good too. The dude is kinda an asshole but she gives as good as he dishes out and it quickly becomes flirting anyway. I don’t want to say too much and give any thing away... but s’good!

Who Made Me a Princess? by Plutus (Story) and Spoon (Art)

The beautiful Athanasia was killed at the hands of her own biological father, Claude de Alger Obelia, the cold-blooded emperor! It’s just a silly bedtime story… until one woman wakes up to suddenly find she’s become that unfortunate princess! She needs a plan to survive her doomed fate, and time is running out. Will she go with Plan A, live as quietly as possible without being noticed by the infamous emperor? Plan B, collect enough money to escape the palace? Or will she be stuck with Plan C, sweet-talking her way into her father’s good graces?!

Why *I* like it: Ok, big sigh. How do I explain the pull ‘Who Made Me A Princess?’ has on me? Now a lot of the pull for many people is how cute the budding father daughter relationship the MC (Athy) has with her dad. But like, her dad is the worst and I want to fight him. On the other hand, most of the fandom hates Jeanette, the MC’s sister who has done literally nothing wrong except make everyone around her miserable but it’s not her fault ok, and I’ll fight the entire fandom in her honor. So it pains me to rec this series knowing that more than likely anyone who picks up this series because of me might have Wrong Opinions and I invite you to tell me just so I can shake my head about another wrong person existing in this world.

Never the less, this series is very cute! All the other series I have recced had the MC remember their past life at early childhood at the earliest, if not as a teenager. Athy? She has the misfortune to remember as a *baby* and it’s exactly as hellish as it sounds for an adult to be stuck growing up as a baby and suffer through the absolute embarrassment of having people feed and wipe her ass.

The MC was an orphan in her previous life and the book that she wakes up in is a shitty book even by her standards but then she really only skimmed it it sounds like that’s what interests me. As Athy makes changes to the original events of the novel and depth is added to the world, I start to wonder if the added depth was in the original novel or if the world had to add its own depth to stand as an actual lived in world?

Additionally, since I made the cover image Athy and her dad you might as well see her with her 2 love interests (and Jeanette!). People need to know who to ship, I get it.

Also I need a moment to appreciate, up close, the beauty of Athy’s eyes. So gorgeous.

Living as the Tyrant’s Older Sister by Aperta (Story) and Chyobab (Art)

When I opened my eyes, I was inside a fantasy novel world! The beauty I see in front of the mirror is the future tyrant’s older sister, Alicia! She’s not even a protagonist or an antagonist, but a character that doesn’t appear much and gets beheaded by the (upcoming) tyrant little brother. My life is all about escaping that fate from the novel. In the end, I seduced the male lead’s merchant friend who also doesn’t appear much and was about to leave the country with him. How-e-ver. The face of the man who spent the night with me was extraordinary, and was the male lead himself!

Why *I* like it: ……………...keke. Ok so this one is one I like just for the laughs. The love interest is an arrogant asshole, but see… The important detail the summary leaves out is that the MC’s… cousin (?) wrote the book that she woke up in! Moreover she’s the one that told her cousin to change the MC of her novel and make him good at everything and also make him a freak in the sack. Like who is really at fault here??? Lmao. Especially when she goes out intending to seduce a character she remembers being rich from the novel and accidentally bags the MC from the novel, aka the dude who kills her and her brother in the original novel.

In seriousness though, it really is funny. The facial expressions of the MC is just… chefs kiss. She’s got a pretty face but then she makes all these goof ass faces and I love it. If you need any more reason to at least give it a go, just know that at one point the male lead comes to check on her, expecting to find her crying and instead…. Walks in just as she screams FUCK at the top of her lungs and then begins a tirade of very creative curses including "Bitch oompa loompa ass bitch" which how can you not love her? Anyway the face the male lead makes after that has me maintaining that’s the moment he fell in love with her lmao.. but this is not Confirmed so it’s not a spoiler!!

EDIT: as of August 2020, I’ve since dropped this series. It remains on the list since I’d still rec it to people looking for a laugh.

Seduce the Villain’s Father by bia and dalseul

Upon opening my eyes after a bus accident, I found myself in the fantasy world of a webnovel I enjoyed reading... the only catch is, I reincarnated 20 years before the novel begins! Reborn as Princess Yerenica of the small Lebovny kingdom, I'm determined to change the future in order to prevent the series of unfortunate events that will soon occur!

Why *I* like it: How many times have you yourself had a suuuuuper side character be your favorite in a series and be depressed to see them done dirty? Well MC has a chance to fix that, to save a character that basically one appeared in prologue and basically prevent the birth of the villain character that later kills his own father… by seducing his dad, before he can marry the villainess!!

Yerenica is just adorable in her attempts to thwart the original novel. And like, I have to give her lots of respect for seeing the villainess character and having herself a good moment where she had to consider seducing her instead lmao. She knows when to let well enough alone though so she immediately boards back on the dad train, much to his chagrin because she keeps calling him father……………….. Even though he’s like…. Not a dad yet.

The characters are still relatively early on in their romance, but I have high hopes for it yet!

Edit: As of August 2020, I’ve dropped this series. It remains on this list because I think it’s a cute series and I think anyone who feels really strongly about the main couple will enjoy it.

Death Is the Only Ending For The Villainess by Gwon Gyeoeul and SUOL

Penelope Eckart reincarnated as the adopted daughter of Duke Eckart and the villainess of a reverse harem dating sim. The problem is, she entered the game at its hardest difficulty, and no matter what she does, death awaits her at every ending! Before the "real daughter" of Duke Eckart appears, she must choose one of the male leads and reach a happy ending in order to survive. But the two brothers always pick a fight with her over every little thing, as well as a crazy crown prince, whose routes all lead to death. There's even a magician who's enamoured with the female lead, and a loyal slave knight! But somehow, the favourability meters of the male leads increase the more she crosses the line with them!

Why *I* like it: So this one is another relatively new one added to my list, but it’s shot high up rather quickly!! The other otome game isekai’s that I have on my list are just like the real world, but the interesting thing about this one, is that it also retains otome game mechanics such as she can see the love interests love meter and also she can chose to use the video game script choices to reply to the characters, in the hopes of raising their love meter. This adds challenge, since she knows that if she gets any of the dudes to -10 she’ll be killed even as she sort of wonders if she truly would die or wake back up in reality.

What’s interesting also is that while she is the villainess character in the game… It ends up that the character was actually abused for years and that her title as a villain is unfair and that the game can be played as the villainess as even a player as a ‘hard’ mode compared to the heroine character. It’s up to her to turn things around and it’s actually a fun take on the villainess genre. I’m really looking forward to how things proceed even as my fears about which dude she’ll end up with continue to increase.

Finally, another layer I enjoy is that the MC lead a similar life in her previous life. She’d only just escape her own abusive family before she’d ended up here and MC just desperately wants to escape once again… using any means necessary.

The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass by SanSobe (story) and Ant Studio (art)

With the marriage of her prostitute mother to the Count, Aria’s status in society skyrocketed immediately. After leading a life of luxury, Aria unfairly meets death because of her sister Mielle’s schemes. And right before she dies, she sees an hourglass fall as if it were a fantasy. And just like that, she was miraculously brought back to the past.

“I want to become a very elegant person, just like my sister, Mielle.”

In order to face the villainess, she must become an even more wicked villainess. This was the new path Aria chose to take revenge on Mielle who murdered both her and her mother.

Why *I* like it: If you thought that this list might be in descending order, guess again! This one is one of my favorites. Now this one lacks isekai, but is a reincarnation of a villainess!! Rather the MC was an absolute horrible person in her past life, but finds out at the last minute that her ~pure~ sister had been leading her by nose into acting like a brat just seconds before she is executed. Now that she has a second chance, she’ll be a proper villainess and turn the tables on her sister.

In her last life, Aria never bothered educating herself so now that she’s a teenager again she actually has to learn things again (it’s not just like she gets to act like she’s a genius and good at everything) but she works hard at maintaining a sweet image and making everyone love her, even as she snickers behind their backs, all the while subtly setting her sister up for failure.

This is a proper revenge story, I’m promised by those who read the LN!! Revenge stories about women are rare to come back, especially one that doesn’t make revenge look like a total evil thing lol. What can I say, I have my interests. Anyway, it’s super cathartic to watch Aria slowly unfold her masterplan to foil her sister’s plans and take everything that her sister had cherished in her previous life. And all that not to mention the certain powers that Aria later discovers she has at her disposal... :3c

Beware of the Villainess by Bbongdda Mask (story) and Pureunkanna (art)

I became the villainess of a novel! Do I hate it? No! I find it rather nice. A duke’s daughter equals a jobless rich person. How can I miss out on a chance like this?! This is the best chance to just enjoy life. I should throw out the main plot and just live life how I want to! Not long after waking up as the villainess, I witnessed my fiancé, the crown prince and the novel’s male lead, cheating. I saw him embrace a lady other than I and he was smiling so bright. I was brought to tears… Just kidding, I didn’t cry! My tears are worth too much to be wasted on that garbage. Instead of tears, I yelled out, “Your highness, are you trash?”

Why *I* like it: Listen there are 2 ways to react to waking up as a villain of a series you once read… Either you turn the tables and become a good guy OR you can embrace it! The world the novel is based on has the basic premise of the pure and good heroine winning the affection of 4 bratty, horrible men. MC is the fiance of one of them and says fuck that. She also has some thoughts that none of these dudes deserve the heroine of the novel but this one is still pretty early on so the jury still out on if she’s going to save this poor girl from her fate of ending up with any of these absolute assholes.

This one is along the veins of the previously mentioned Living As the Tyrant’s Older Sister, in that the pull for this series is even less of the romance and more about the comedy aspect… Also MC’s facial expressions are…. Choice. Just so good. Enough with pretty girls making pretty faces!! We need more girls being ugly. It’s what we deserve. Yell at cheaters!!!!!! Tell them to fuck off!! Yes please.

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter by Reia (Story), Umemiya Suki (Art)

Although she had reincarnated as the daughter of a Duke's house, by the time she regained her memories, the Ending was already here.

"After he cancels my engagement, the story would have me confined to a church. Where can I find my happy ending?"

Why *I* like it: I never read or watched Wolf and Spice but I imagine this is isekai Wolf and Spice… Well it’s got a lot about the economy at least lmao. That’s literally the only thing I know about Wolf and Spice. Anyway!! The twist in this one is that the MC remembers her past life just as she’s about to be exiled, the end of the original game. What the series focuses on is her life afterwards, as she scrambles to grab at any semblance of a good life… And she does so pretty quickly!

Her past life comes in handy as she sets to work managing a dukedom and fixes the economy!! Moreover, even though it pains my heart whenever two women are pitted against each other… It does a great job of putting into question the original heroine’s pure shtick as she spends extravagantly on dresses and would rather just donate to the poor one day, instead of Iris the MC who sets to work on fixing the economy and creating jobs for the poor and putting money into bettering their lives in the long run, rather than throwing money at them and running. Also, she’s grabbed the attraction of a mysterious man who takes a job helping her even though he is a prince aka the brother of her ex-fiance who he is fighting for the crown for.

And that’s it!! My list for now!! Tbh by next month there’ll likely be even more faves as I continue to add more and more series to my read list lol. Because this isn’t even a fraction of all the reincarnation isekai series I’m into, just the best for certain reasons.

BTW, if you’re like... wow this list sure is straight then true unfortunately. I’m waiting for the day “I Favor The Villainess” gets adapted somehow. Also there are several isekai in which a straight girl reincarnates into a yaoi novel but I haven’t found a true gem among them yet.

#isekai #i scream #long post #recs #this post was sponsored by pure spite #but frankly yes i know i didn't have to go this far #but this is just who i am... which is too much

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tripstaysnoided · 4 years

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Flow Just Like Water

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Story and writing-related transparency update and my many shames...

The Question on Everyone’s Mind

“Hey you haven’t updated No Stars over Uptown in almost a year...”

Hmm, I hate it when you’re right. (This section has been rewritten ad-nauseam to curb back the bitchiness by the way)

So back in early/mid 2018, the idea was to divorce Uptown from a person who influenced it (and myself) heavily. She was my most important audience member, the closest friend I ever had, and unfortunately someone who used her power to bully, ostracize, and hurt others with my help. I cut contact when the hurt + some self-awareness finally reached me. Apologies were made and I feel like my work will never be done with it, but there was still Uptown.

Between censored comments, entirely recasting Axel’s save, different plot threads, and a load of disclaimers, there was nothing that would scrub her influence from the story. There was no way to cleanly drop everything because of how deep her influence went. It disgusted me to look back at it, and I had to private the blog because I feared what it endorsed, even if just in the past.

I pulled back from that sims writing community. I had its main thread on the Official Forums removed too (I guess if that was a mystery to anyone). It was a surrender that I never wanted to do, but I had it in my mind that if I was gone, then she wouldn’t be there either. Uptown became this cursed item, and as I quietly retired it, I noticed that she went quieter too. Not gone, but enough to make me sleep easier at night and even occasionally say hello to old friends.

And I hope deep in my heart that no one else is getting hurt in my place, but now this is gonna haunt me all day huh!

The two paths forward...

1) Complete Uptown rewrite that I’ve been threatening everyone with all year. While it won’t ever be clean because I can’t undo time, I do have a sound outline for a story that is much more true to my actual vision and how I’ve evolved, with a few necessary boundaries in place that are going to be there for all stories moving forward: no more casting calls and no more collaborative efforts. I am not going to open myself up to this happening again, even if the people have changed.

2) Same as above, but I continue the original Uptown as a favor to loyal readers alongside the rewrite. I would try to put the effort into it that I initially did, but with no promises on an update schedule and no advertising. I did ask myself “is there Patreon but without pledging money, just the private posts function” but it could operate as part of a private forum, a members-only part of a website, etc.

Also readers of the original would be beholden to a rule of “don’t spoil the rewrite for new readers, c’mon guys”. I mean, not really, but it is a good courtesy to extend to people.

Priority on this isn’t high but you at least will see what is!

I will probably make the blog public again either way due to the many broken links on my Tumblr but we’ll see. There are other things to deal with as I shall list!

Where Life’s Been Regardless

Been spending more time with my grandpa every weekend. Life’s pretty good and he’s warming up to my dogs.

Shiny New Webbed Site

Cucumber Fields Forever is a site I own now. We have a full domain, cucumberfieldsforever.com, a blog with one post, and the framework needed to host stories the way I want to and still through WordPress. The functionality of likes, comments, and following should still be the same but you know...I’ll take feedback too...

The main blog still has an undefined purpose though I do have drafts sitting around about:

The maybe/maybe not hoax band that was on the Metal Archives and the history of Funeral Doom Metal.

The curious case of when Sims 4 babies get their genetics and my only collaboration (read: was talking about it with a friend and might quote her if needed, it’s actually a bit of a doozy)

Amazon.com’s fake dried udon noodles, an actual issue by the way.

Things I’m reading! (This’d be a monthly feature if so)

For the sake of unity, I am thinking of solutions for hosting old and shameful content there including Uptown and for the real fans in my followers feed, Eight Cicadas...a world I totally have plans for too (not really). I don’t want them to be front-and-center, and that’s why I mentioned forums/members-only content. I finally have that power! Maybe.

Ooooh but what are the costs? Not too much to handle, that’s what. 😉 (Like really, I don’t need any hand-wringing about this, I can manage my finances)

Project Queue (In Order of Confirmedness)

Outrun the Scythe: have you seen me post out-of-context Sims 3 pictures? Did you want more? Did you hope it was Linda in Custody? If the answers are yes, yes, and “meh, whatever you want”, then you’re in luck.

Outrun the Scythe is a Sims 3-based tale of a young gay man and his zombie grandma, as they are both offered separate roles of being the undying intermediaries between the world of humans and the influence of a race of space daemons. It’s pretty familiar if you’ve been following me pre-Uptown, taking some cues from stories I’ve kept under lock and key like Eight Cicadas, The Chains of Lyra, and the not-so-locked-up Ironstar Immortals (of which Outrun is just the direct sequel to sans any retconning...ah the smell of early 2013 and performative heterosexuality)

Ah, back to my roots.

It’s a hybrid of gameplay, story, and lore about my little race of daemons with a lot of my own idiosyncrasies that I’m not really ashamed of: basing it off a super-polarizing Sims 3 challenge from a site I moderate, using a lot of EA’s pre-made townies and their genes, lots of unnecessary posemaking, stupid references. It’s a comfort to have in my roster.

While the first few chapters are in the middle of revision, I have around six in the queue and will be making this public when I have ten. I’m guessing December then?

Undocumented Black Widow Challenge: I just did this for fun/forum kudos (yes, in fact I have joined many forums), there was going to be a short story but it was quickly becoming something against my code of ethics. I mean, sims die and all. (read: I had to choose between “heterosexual widow” and “widow with some same-sex marriages that still end in tragedy, reinforcing negative stereotypes to the public for the sake of me not getting bored and detached during gameplay” so there were no good choices. Except for her affair with the mailwoman, 10/10) I hope to finish this before October ends and get my medal on Boolprop, I’m pretty far through it all. I might upload the sims involved anyways. This is for TS4.

I mentioned it because it’s keeping me busy. But not for long!

NaNoWriMo 2020: Dipping my toes into that again! It’s not sims-related, just a tale of lesbians, nosy neighbors, a haunted beach house, and some light murder and kidnapping. And I actually got my brother to scout out locations for me this weekend. If there’s any demand, I can share chapters as the rough drafts are finished, especially for the sake of proofreading.

Not saying I’m publishable, but wouldn’t it be nice? Will keep me occupied for much of November.

Untitled “Dear Diary” Challenge: Tired of feeling left out of the fun on the Boolprop forums, their “Dear Diary” challenge was the one that appealed to me the most on first glance. Why? Probably once I found an idea that let it be set in the early/mid-2000′s to begin with and explore some interesting characters through diary entries (which I have mixed feelings on as a literary device but I think that’s just me saying “well I didn’t like Dracula”, yes you get bonus points for writing it like a diary)

Also writing is the one skill I’m good at across multiple games. Wanna hear me bitch about the cooking skill tree in TS4 or riding in TS3? I’ll spare you.

I guess I could have included “spending time on Boolprop with old and new friends” in where my life has been. It’s a nice lil community if also a place with its own idiosyncrasies as well. So it doesn’t feel like I’m promoting another community if/when I make a thread there for Outrun the Scythe, I want to have a couple chapters of this ready to go by Outrun’s release, though it’s not gonna be the highest priority compared to it nor as long because I think I can blast through the gameplay quickly.

This one will be played in TS4 due to it having the easiest writing skill/I dunno variety is the spice of life. And hopefully another December release.

Defunded or Forgotten?: Oh shit I actually released stuff in 2020 and told no one? I do have a “mortifying ordeal of being known” sinking feeling whenever I get a site hit because it’s not my best work (but good enough) and veered sharply into issues I may be over my head in, though I try to be a good noodle with research and listening. Maybe hiding is bad after all.

Being based off a very flawed and incomplete Sims 3 challenge I found in the annals of the Official Forums, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work just making sense of things. And I’m scared of working on reconstructing the house but I haven’t abandoned the project yet. The story has eight chapters so far and is pretty game-based with some additions here and there. Scared of how long it could be though!

Date for this unknown.

Untitled Sunlit Tides Decadynasty: another year-long abandoned TS3 project with a much stupider reason why. Last update was about Hua getting ready for her wedding, and I wanted to do some poses for a bait-and-switch wedding chapter because to put it mildly, her real one was an absolute disaster.

Blender decided to fuck up its interface again, I got discouraged (this probably does account for some of the Uptown delays too), and when I decided to plow forward, it was for other projects instead.

Meanwhile I played all the way to Gen 5′s teenhood and the only thing stopping me is time (it takes almost 30 minutes to load the file right now, though they’ll be looking at moving towns in a couple gens) and maybe fear of the Logic skill.

Date for this also unknown but it’s easy to pump out updates once I’m in the groove for it. My third heir had a difficult life so maybe I’m just trying to bury it.

Also I just noticed the view count there was really good and probably because I linked it here on Tumblr last year. Thank you so much guys. I can’t really fret over views on Carl’s forum these days thanks to the years-long death spiral pretty much every forum anywhere has been riding on. But it’s a nice surprise. And it’s an alright little challenge recap to read during your lunch break or whatever.

The Wawas

I figured I’d end on the real news everyone wants! Both the chihuahuas are a year and a half now and reached their adult size around a year ago. For the most part, they are happy and healthy dogs.

#state of the uwunion #long post

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sheliesshattered · 4 years

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This Isn’t A Ghost Story extras for Chapter 1: The House

I thought I’d share a few behind the scenes details for This Isn’t A Ghost Story as I post chapters each Friday. Spoilers for chapter 1, so be sure to read it first, either here on Tumblr or over on AO3!

Those of you who have been following along with my process thoughts tag for This Isn’t A Ghost Story may remember in early June, exactly two months ago now, when I posted a rough draft of the first couple of scenes of what was at the time called Poltergeists and Real Estate (Do Not Mix). It was my first real attempt at writing a non-canon AU Whouffaldi story, something that takes the Clara and Twelve relationship from canon and puts it in a completely different context, no time travel or aliens or anything.

When I first posted that rough draft, I had no idea if it would go anywhere, but the response here on Tumblr was so supportive that I’ve spent the last two months focused almost entirely on this story. It certainly morphed and grew on me as I went, but those initial scenes actually changed very little on their path to becoming chapter 1 of This Isn’t A Ghost Story. I think it’s interesting to compare that rough draft to the final version of chapter 1 side by side, see what changed and what is exactly as it was in the original.

Before I started working on this story, I’d been wanting to try my hand at a non-canon-based AU for awhile, and Poltergeists was initially inspired by this Tumblr post:

As you can imagine, the original tone of Poltergeists was sillier than the story eventually grew to be (you know how I love my angst) and as it became its own thing, very much separate from the Tumblr post that had been its jumping off point, I decided a name change was needed. After a bit of consideration I decided to go with a line that actually comes from the Eleventh Doctor episode Hide, where Eleven says to Clara:

It's the oldest story in the universe, this one or any other. Boy and girl fall in love, get separated by events. War, politics, accidents in time. She's thrown out of the hex, or he's thrown into it. Since then they've been yearning for each other across time and space, across dimensions. This isn't a ghost story, it's a love story!

There is, of course, a ghost in this story, but it isn’t a ghost story. What exactly that means will be explored more in future chapters. ;)

If you compare the rough draft of Poltergeists with the finished first chapter of This Isn’t A Ghost Story, the first difference you’ll notice is that I put a date at the top of chapter 1. As the story grew, I found that I had to build out a timeline just to keep everything straight in my head, and the specifics of dates plays into the plotline and unraveling the core mystery quite heavily. While I didn’t keep many canon details, I did decide to keep Clara’s canon birthdate -- 23rd of November 1986 -- and the entire timeline of the story hinges around that date.

As the chapter title implies, The House is a rather large player in the story, almost a character in itself. I have a fairly good view of it in my mind, but haven’t found any images that quite match what I imagine. The house was built in 1885 or so, and would have been part of what’s called the Eastlake architecture movement, from the late Victorian era. Neither of these houses are exactly like what I imagine for Clara’s Gran’s house, but they come close in terms of style and size:

I think that’s about it for chapter 1, and I’ll have another post of extras for chapter 2, when I post it next Friday. This Isn’t A Ghost Story will be 8 chapters in total, taking us through the end of September at this once-per-week posting schedule. I can’t wait for you guys to see what I’ve been cooking up these last two months, and to hear your thoughts on it all! ❤️

Extras for Chapter 2: The Box

#This Isn't A Ghost Story #This Isn't A Ghost Story extras #my writing #process thoughts #Doctor Who fanfic #Doctor Who #Clara and the Doctor #Clara Oswald #Twelfth Doctor #Poltergeists and Real Estate (Do Not Mix)

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notquitecanon · 4 years

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New Routines// Criminal Minds x Marvel Crossover pt. 4

Part One Part Two Part Three

“So Captain Rogers,” you started, watching him look around the room in curiosity before he corrected you.

“Please, call me Steve, ma’am.” He nodded, eyes settling on the computer sitting on your desk. You nodded in return, pretended to take note of that but actually scribbling notes about his body language. You had already worked up a ridiculously preliminary profile on the three-hour train from DC, but the combination of the extenuating circumstances and outdated material made it hard to get a feel for his personality. You scratched out ‘profile’, and wrote down Psychological Eval at the top of your notes. It would be easy enough to bend a normal psych eval and throw around a few improvised questions for Steve.

“Alright, Steve, as long as you don’t call me Ma’am.” You smiled, before continuing, “Like Director Fury told you, I’m just here to assess how you’re doing mentally. As he said, my name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

You paused, a snap decision to tell him a little about yourself flashed through your mind. You hoped it give him a little confidence in your work, or at the very least build some rapport. “I formally worked in the FBI, with the BAU. I was recruited to SHIELD a little under a year ago. Before we get started, do you have any questions?”

“Sorry, what is the BAU? And Director Fury said something about a Psych Eval.” He asked, one eyebrow raised, and hands folding in his lap. You smiled, apologizing quietly.

“BAU, behavioral analysis unit. We’re specially trained to ‘profile’. We use behavioral cues to analyze, prevent, and catch criminals. But, this can also be used just to learn about people and how/why they do what they do. And a Psych Eval is just a series of questions that helps me understand where you are mentally with what’s going on.” You watched him listen intently as you explained. “If you have any more questions, please feel free to stop me. Ready?”

And with a nod, you began as you flipped to a blank page. Most questions were fairly standard for an evaluation, and he answered flawlessly- showing you that he could at least come off as well balanced, but he also seemed exceedingly genuine. Forty-five minutes later, you were nodding along as he answered a question. Finally, it came to a natural pause long enough for you to interject, “Thank you for your honesty, and due to the uniqueness of this situation, I’ve drafted a few questions for you.

The blonde man in front of you, nodded eyes catching a helicopter outside the window. When he zeroed back in on you, you smiled before reading off the question, “As you’ve seen, a lot has changed. And while I know you haven’t had a chance to explore, what seems to be the biggest change?”

“Well, obviously, there’s the physical things. Clothes are different, the city is different- I almost didn’t recognize Time’s Square. I don’t know if I’ll ever wrap my head around technology- computers used to be the size of a room, and now they’re barely radio sized. But, the biggest change is the people.” He explained, eyes looking past you and out of the window to the New York streets. His interest piqued your interest.

“Can you elaborate on that?” You asked as you shorthanded notes. He paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing while looking at his hands.

“I mean this with all due respect. You. Director Fury. The people on the street. People have changed. You’re a woman who was a field agent for the FBI, I only knew a few women who carried a gun in the 40′s and they had to work endlessly just to get a foot in the door. You take orders from an African American man and people genuinely respect him, no more segregation. That’s amazing, I didn't think I’d ever get to see that. People seem more abrasive on the street, but are so much more accepting.” He seemed to ramble, but every word was perfectly chosen. Not knowing what else to say, you softly smiled bobbing your head up and down.

“A lot of that progress was actually made in the 60′s/70′s and still even today.” You remarked, finishing off your notes as you looked up to him. He smiled down at his hands before meeting your eyes.

“Well, if I woke up and nothing had changed- I’d be a whole lot more worried.”

Immediately after you excused yourself, you were ushered into a meeting with Director Fury. He quickly skirted around his desk and into his seat, leaning into his desk as he prompted, “Well...?”

You quirked an eyebrow, cocking your head to the side, “Well what, sir?”

His good eye narrowed in on you, deadpanning as he continued, “Could he work in the Avenger’s initiative?”

You sighed, flipping through your notes. “Do you want him because you think he’s a good fit, or because he’s an American Hero and the public will react well?”

He just stared at you, tell you your answer. Finally, he continued, “Are you telling me he’s not a good fit?”

“I don’t know yet, There’s still a lot to learn.” You nodded, not liking the gut feeling you got. You had a lot of respect for the director, but every now and then his hidden intentions made you uneasy.

“Like what?” He pressed, voice stern as he leaned in. You slid the file across the desk as you squared your jaw.

“Well, I only did a baseline, slightly modified psych eval. He fell asleep in 1945 and woke up in 2011- like every veteran, it’s likely he has PTSD, which he would know as shell shock or combat fatigue.” You began, eyebrows furrowing at the eccentricity of the situation, “He’ll need to be reintroduced to society, socialized to today’s societal norms. And that could arise or create issues all in of its own.”

Fury flipped open the files, eyes darting over your notes as the two of you fell into silence. It was a loaded silence, and you felt the pressure of it as you watched it. Slowly, your brain ticked through ideas. “Sir, I may have an idea?”

He motioned for you to speak without looking up from the file, you nodded as you began training your eyes on the hair tie you were fiddling with, “First, you move him to DC. Closer to SHIELD headquarters first of all. Secondly, New York’s a lot to take in any way. DC is still a big city, but is less likely to overwhelm him as much. Over a period of 6 months, you can assign an agent to reintroduce him to the world. Monthly, have him meet with a psychologist to gauge his progress. In six months- that would be June, right?- I’ll meet with him again.”

You paused, looking up to see Fury watching you intently, so you kept going, “Then, after the six months, I’ll draw up an official profile, and we can revisit the Avenger’s Initiative conversation then.”

He stared at you for a moment, eye narrowing before nodding, “We’ll cut out the middle man. You’ll be in charge of getting him out in the world, and monthly you’ll report to me about his progress. In six months, we’ll discuss his involvement in SHIELD.”

Your eyes widened and you resisted the urge to drop your jaw, “Sir, you want me... babysitting... Captain America?”

He smirked, the file in his hand slapping against the pristine desk.

“Think of it as real-time profiling.” He chuckled as he walked out of the room. You couldn’t do anything more than gape after him.

____

Two weeks later, coming up on the end of January, Steve was issued a clean bill of health- even with the super immunity, they played it safe by revaccinating and running a ridiculous amount of tests- and the two of you were relocated to DC. In those two weeks, you set to work. You were issued a SHIELD credit card, to use for ‘Steve related costs’- funnily enough, Steve was still awarded his pension, adjusted for inflation. You bought him furniture, new clothes, a cellphone, and tracked down his belongings. You mentally thanked Howard Stark for paying to have Steve’s belongings stored.

Annoyingly enough, they placed you back in your old apartment which made it incredibly annoying to unpack your belongings. Steve was your upstairs neighbor. He was almost your next-door neighbor, but you suggested even a floor's worth of distance would give him a better feeling of independence. You had gotten the feeling that Steve valued his privacy. You now regretted your suggestion as you heard him pace around at all hours of the night. Despite sneaking into several Nazi bases, he was a very loud walker.

Despite his nocturnal habits, Steve was nothing but polite and thankful as you helped him. He’d been extremely attentive when you taught him the basics of how to use his cell phone (how to add contacts, make calls, text, take pictures, download apps and music, use google), and he picked it up pretty fast. It was a slower process teaching him how to cook, so for the first few weeks, he usually ate with you, or stuck to sandwiches. You got him

The task that truly overwhelmed you was figuring out how to go about actually reintroducing him. Coma victims felt lost enough after a month, but 72 years (give or take) was a long time- and a lot had happened. Politics, History, Technology, Culture, Pop Culture. The task made your head spin. Spencer was a big help, more than happy to take you up on your challenge of creating a thorough timeline of everything he could think of- which was a lot. Everything from politics to pop culture, but you redacted the bits about the serial killer knowledge.

The timeline was very helpful, as Steve would break it down by decade. In the 1950′s he took interest in rock ‘n’ roll (he was not a fan), the Korean war, the beginnings of Vietnam, Alaska and Hawaii becoming a state, and the invention of color TV. Then in the 1960′s, it was JFK (election and assassination), The Space Race (he was astonished that not only was there a man on the moon, but we also had colored video of it), integration of Ole Miss (and then consequently the Riots of Ole Miss), the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, The Beatles, Civil Rights movement, the height of Vietnam, and Nixon.

Steve decided he was better off for sleeping through the sixties, “There was a lot going on, even in the 40′s I was basically propaganda for Stocks and Bonds, who knows what I would have “represented” with all that going on.”

Then in the 70′s, it was Disney World, the end of Vietnam, Star Wars, death of Elvis, and things becoming digitalized. 80′s was similar: the election of Reagan, first space shuttle launch, assassination attempts on Reagan and the Pope, first female supreme court judge, first woman in space, Chernobyl, decommissioning of nuclear warheads, and the fall of the Berlin wall. Then in the 90′s, it was the Hubble telescope, Gulf War, dissolvent of the Soviet Union, OJ Simpson trial, and successful cloning of a Dolly the sheep. And then, the most modern, the 2000s, the second Bush presidency, 9/11, invasion of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the rise of cell phones, first iPhone, North Korean tension, the election of Obama, and death of Osama Bin Laden.

You were very careful to keep most of your opinions to yourself, as it was very important to let Steve decide his own opinions. When he wanted to know more about the subject, you always jumped in to help him research- it was like a refresher course in World History. (Spencer Reid was a constant contact, and you were grateful he didn’t ask what you were up to, and Garcia was amazing at finding playlists to really explore the music of the decades, and for fashion trends.)

Like Natasha, Steve had become a friend. Believe it or not, under all that 1940′s manner and modesty, he had a good sense of humor. And after spending nearly all of his time with you, he finally loosened up and showed you. Of course, it helped that he was honestly one of the best guys you knew. He was honest, well-mannered- a perfect gentleman. Just as you listened to him, he listened to you when you were having problems (usually when one of the BAU got hurt or was going through something). Helping him get used to the world felt less like an assignment and more like off time.

It took a while, but by March you settled into a weekly routine. Monday/Wednesday was reserved to show Steve around the city, exploring new things and old- introducing him to new and old things. Fortunately, DC was a hotspot for museums that Steve seemed to enjoy. Over the past two months, he seemed to warm up to you- you’d even dare to call yourselves friends. Tuesday was reserved for Natasha, she’d come and hang out with you- and work out with you, you might have passed your field test, but that didn’t satisfy her.

“I’ve seen a lot of agents that passed this test get their asses handed to them. I’d rather not see you do the same. Well, unless I’m the one doing it.” She smirked after, in fact, heading your ass to you. You’d just rolled your eyes and get up to go again. “But you are getting better. It’s getting slightly more difficult to hand your ass to you.”

Afterward, she’d hand you a water bottle and take you to lunch/dinner. Every now and then, Clint would come with her. You and Clint weren’t close, but it was comforting to know he tolerated you. Or at least pretended to for Natasha’s sake.

Thursdays were reserved for the BAU, when they were in town. Sometimes that meant stopping by the office with coffee offerings and ‘book club’ with Reid, and sometimes that meant ‘family dinner’ at Rossi’s. Derek slowly seemed to completely forgive you, but still gave you shit on a near-daily basis. Prentiss, JJ, and Garcia made girl’s night a more frequent event, and you were still working on convincing Nat to come with you one night. And on the rarest of occasions, Hotch would call you up to babysit Jack.

Fridays were to recover from Thursday nights- (Surprisingly babysitting was almost exhausting as a night of drinking at Rossi’s). Friday afternoons were reserved for Fury to call you and harass you for details about Steve.

Weekends were for larger expeditions like taking Steve to neighboring cities. Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Richmond were all on the shortlist, and New York was a constant. Thankfully, Sunday ( or at least Sunday Afternoon) was reserved for you.

That was your time to rest, relax, and recharge. On rare Sundays that you were already home, Steve would stop by after his morning run after picking up coffee and breakfast from his favorite breakfast place you had shown him- an old fashioned diner with amazing breakfast- as a small thank you for your help. (Truthfully, you only knew about it because Gideon had treated the whole team to breakfast after the jet landed one day at six AM).

But on most Sundays, you got home mid-afternoon. You’d run some errands, maybe cook yourself dinner and a movie. But most importantly, you were home and ready to rest and relax.

So at 7:23 PM, you were startled out of a nap by your phone vibrating off your desk. You shot up looking for the source of the disturbance, slowly becoming aware of your surroundings as you dove off the couch for the offending device. Quickly reading the caller ID, you tried to clear the sleep out of your voice as you picked up.

“Hotch?” You asked drowsily, propping yourself back up on your elbows as you drug yourself up. Your eyebrows crinkled, it had been a long time since you got an impromptu call from Hotch.

“(Y/N), we need you to come in.” He started, straight to the point as usual. Your mind became steadily more cleared as you wrenched yourself off the comfortable couch. “We have a case, and it’s bigger than we can handle. We’re calling in JJ as well.”

You were speeding into the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee- knowing this phone call meant a long night- as you responded, “Hotch, you know I want to. That I’d be back in the BAU in an instant. But I have to get clearance from my supervisors, take off of my assignments, and that could take-”

Your worries were cut off by both Hotch’s voice and a knock on your door. You listened to Hotch’s voice as you set out a mug before letting Steve in- not even sticking around long enough to smile at him as you returned to the kitchen.

“You’re already cleared, and cleared to use SHIELD intelligence. Anderson is coming to get you in 30 minutes. Pack a go-bag. You’ll be briefed in person. This is highly sensitive.” His voice was stern, but you picked up on how fast he was talking- a habit he had when was anxious. You bit your lip, putting the mug back in the cabinet and retrieving a travel cup instead.

“Hotch...” You paused, eyes flicking to Steve who looked at you with concern in his blue eyes, he’d probably just come back from an evening run and was hoping to mooch off your dinner, “Is everyone alright? Are you safe?”

“It’s Emily. I’ll see you soon.”

And with that the line went silent with a click. You sighed, relishing the last minute of peace before spurring into action. Leaving your phone on the counter, you went to retrieve your old go-bag. Steve was hot on your heels, “(Y/L/N), is everything alright?”

You didn’t miss a beat, retreating into your bedroom- which Steve never followed you into, instead, waiting in the hall as you threw things into a bag. You shoved business clothes in, neglecting the pajamas- knowing the team wouldn’t sleep until the case was solved. Dry shampoo, face wash, deodorant, toothbrush and paste, and makeup were quick to follow; these were the toiletries that you could use in a police station bathroom to freshen up. Just like old times. You’d honestly forgotten to answer Steve’s question, mind-boggling all of the very few details Hotch gave you.

He’s calling JJ in- so this is a multibranch operation, probably organized crime, It involves Emily, she worked for Interpol, so international organized crime... You breezed past Steve again, tossing your bag onto the couch and gently tossing your SHIELD tablet on top of it. Just as quickly, you turned to go back to the bedroom but ran smack into the super-soldier. You’d almost forgotten he was there. But he grabbed your arm, minding his strength so it didn’t feel threatening. “(Y/N), what’s wrong?”

Even with the analytical part of your brain working through the situation, you couldn’t help but worry for your friend and the possible danger she was in. You wanted to cry but knew it wouldn’t help anything, instead, you took a deep breath, “My old team just called me in, there’s a case they need my help with. One of my friends might be in danger. If they’re calling me in, it has to be bad.”

He slowly let go of your arm, and you could tell his mind was somewhere else, but he offered a quiet sentiment as he let you pass, “With you on the case, your friend has nothing to worry about.”

Not knowing what else to say, you retreated back to your room to get dressed. After slipping into some of your old work clothes, you attached your holster and slid your loaded gun into it. Taking a deep breath, you looked in the mirror, Just treat it like a routine case. You don’t even know if Prentiss is even hurt. Just do your job.

____

You repeated that in your head as you buzzed about the apartment, finally, with Anderson ten minutes out, you shouldered your bags to leave, or at least to wait outside. Nervous energy bubbled in your stomach as you turned to the blonde who was still eyeing you with worry, “I shouldn’t be gone more than a few days. You should be fine but if not, call Fury and he’ll send someone. There are leftovers in my fridge. I’ll have my phone if you need me and-”

Steve cut you off with a soft smile, knowing your rambling wasn’t an insult, “(Y/N), I’m a grown man. I lived on my own for years before I was even a soldier. I’ll be fine.”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair and smiling apologetically “Sorry, Steve, I know.”

“Just be careful, don’t do anything stupid or reckless.” He ordered. This time you actually smiled, recalling all the stories of his own reckless stupidity.

“That’s your MO, Mr. I’ll Sky Dive into a Nazi base by myself.” You teased, pausing when your phone dinged. Anderson was waiting. Steve chuckled, ducking his hand and crossing his arms over a broad chest.

“Yeah, yeah.” He chuckled as you turned to leave, “Seriously, be careful.”

You turned back for a moment, nodding your head like a promise, “I will.”

_________

Shorter than usual and I don’t really like it, but I think Y’all know what’s coming. Also, should I put a romantic interest in this??

Taglist: @irishfaulk97 @viarogers @toboldlyscream @benji-booxx

#criminal minds x reader #marvel x criminal minds #marvel x reader

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carmelokym · 3 years

Photo

ESPORTS - AN ANALYSIS ON THE GRAND FINALS MATCH OF THE MLBB (MOBILE LEGENDS: BANG BANG) M2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: BREN ESPORTS VS. BURMESE GHOULS (PHILIPPINES VS. MYANMAR)

┄ ┄ ┄ ┄ ┄ ┄

Background Information:

Just recently, I’ve spectated an online international tournament of the game “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang”. In particular, this is already the grand finals round or the last match of the M2 World Championship: between Bren Esports from the Philippines and Burmese Ghouls from Myanmar. Considered as the initial favorites of the tournament are the Bren Esports matched against the Burmese Ghouls, or the team considered as the underdogs. In this match specifically: it was planned to be best-of-7 games.

Fighting for the team of Bren Esports are the following members:

1. FLAPTZY

2. LUSTY.

3. PHEWW

4. KARLTZY

5. RIBO

Meanwhile, these are the contenders coming from Burmese Ghouls:

1. RUBY DD

2. MAYBE

3. KID

4. ACE

5. DEE

Court Dimensions:

In playing Mobile Legends, a map serves as the court or a battlefield where the gameplay or battle occurs. Though a map in the game depends on the game mode, for competitions like this; a Classic Map is utilized. In a Classic Map, there are three lanes: Top Lane, Middle Lane, and Bottom Lane. All three lanes have three turrets defending the base turret. In the map as well, belongs jungle areas in between the lanes; these are used to easily move through the map and farm (way of gaining gold or experience) since certain monsters spawn there. Other than the monsters belonging in the jungle areas, there are also monsters in the middle part of the map: the Turtle (gives off extra gold) and the Blue Knight or Lord (aids in pushing a lane after defeat); which are killed for the benefits they offer to the team. Once again, there are two bases that the towers are defending. In a base, belongs a spawning area which is where the players initially spawn at the start of a match, where they spawn again after dying during the game, and where players recall to heal up.

Equipment:

• A phone that is/has:

➤ equipped with at least 1 GB of RAM onboard

➤ a Quad-Core processor

• Headphones

• Team Uniform

Basic Skills:

For a team to win successfully, before anything else they need to have good teamwork which could be started by a team having a good variation of hero roles (assigned to a respective lane; each role should be properly understood for a team to wisely curate their choices). Other basic skills involved as well in basic gameplay are: wisely choosing and purchasing fitting items for the chosen hero whilst continuously killing creeps or farming to gain the needed XP for a level-up and to purchase high-tier equipment. Moreover, it could also simply include properly fending off one’s base against the enemy team whilst also penetrating the enemy’s main base to secure victory.

Rules of the Game:

As for a basic explanation of how the game works; the game “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang” is a multiplayer online battle (MOBA) game in which requires 2 teams of 5 players each. An important thing to consider while in-game is teamwork; how the team uses the map and skill combinations to their advantage. The main goal is to: destroy the enemy crystal which’s located at the enemy bases’ core (while defending own); but in order to reach this, a team needs to destroy all the turrets of the enemy’s side (third, second, and first-tier turrets).

How to Officiate:

• An official should ensure/know that:

➤ a team should consist of only 5 members, 1-2 reserved players (optional), & 1 coach (optional); and that once nominated or registered, he/she cannot be replaced throughout the entirety of the match.

➤ Players of both teams should compete with/and demonstrate good sportsmanship. They should avoid vulgar words, taunting, and spamming.

➤ Any form of cheating, be it a successful attempt or not, is qualified as a violation.

➤ END OF MATCH: Whoever destroys the opposing team’s base wins.

➤ GAME MODE: Tournament Mode

➤ In case of a server crash, the game can be continued using a new draft (but involves the same line-up)

Technical & Tactical Skills During Gameplay (7 Games):

First Game:

a) Drafting Picks:

MYANMAR – Burmese Ghouls

- RUBY DD – Harith

- MAYBE – Jawhead

- KID – Silvanna

- ACE – Yi Sun-Shin

- DEE – Yu Zhong

PHILIPPINES – Bren Esports

- FLAPTZY – Baxia

- LUSTY. – Atlas

- PHEWW – Mathilda

- KARLTZY – Claude

- RIBO – Alice

b) Game Flow:

As the first game started, expectations were already set for the Burmese Ghouls as they’re known to be usually strong off during the early game period; they did not disappoint as they immediately got first blood and secured the turtle.

For Bren Esports, they did well with their pushing/map control. With, KARLTZY (Claude), he had a good strategy with his farming. Moving on, as the opposing team had the lead; they eventually caught up and even got ahead since they focused on quality pushing, farming, and rotations. As the final clash began, the team focused on destroying turrets and controlling the jungle; consequently, finishing off the base turret (winning the 1st game; scoring: 1-0).

As for Burmese Ghouls, again, they were initially leading the game since they started off strong; but situations worsened. Blamed, could be due to the hero choices as they had none who could lock down the swift heroes of Bren Esports. For another contributor to their loss, it could be with ACE (Yi Sun-Shin). As the hero was already strong on its own, it wasn’t utilized properly (YSS’ passive); not activating the hero’s full potential made the team be at a disadvantage.

Second Game:

a) Drafting Picks:

MYANMAR – Burmese Ghouls

- RUBY DD – Benedetta

- MAYBE – Atlas

- KID – Vale

- ACE – Roger

- DEE – Yu Zhong

PHILIPPINES – Bren Esports

- FLAPTZY – Baxia

- LUSTY. – Chou

- PHEWW – Selena

- KARLTZY – Yi Sun-Shin

- RIBO – Pharsa

b) Game Flow:

Bren Esports shifted the tides as they had the winning momentum early game, which should’ve been the condition for the Burmese Ghouls. In particular, they were more extreme early game; but still having strong positionings, whilst getting kills here and there. It could be seen how good their strategy was in the 2nd game, as they got a lead of 6-0, as Burmese Ghouls had awkward positioning throughout the clashes. Moreover, the team of Bren Esports was good at switching lanes, being a good factor in this game. Now, 8 minutes within the game, they easily pushed through having a score of 16-1, with Bren Esports being at a 15-kill lead.

Now for Burmese Ghouls, as they were having a hard start for the 2nd game, they still ultimately have what it takes to get back up in the late game, but they really need to chill down and take things one step at a time. The team formulated a split push as their procedures for getting back up, but things got too worse for them that it was now uncontested for their team. As the end of the game approached close, the team’s middle lane towers went down, and eventually, they only had two towers left to destroy; proving how Bren has got the win in the bag. 11 minutes in, all towers of the team were destroyed by the opposing team. In the end, as some of the members died making them unable to properly defend; Bren Esports quickly destroyed the base turret and got the win for the 2nd game (scoring: 2-0).

Third Game:

a) Drafting Picks:

MYANMAR – Burmese Ghouls

- RUBY DD – Chou

- MAYBE – Silvanna

- KID – Mathilda

- ACE – Yi Sun-Shin

- DEE – Lapu-Lapu

PHILIPPINES – Bren Esports

- FLAPTZY – Yu Zhong

- LUSTY. – Atlas

- PHEWW – Benedetta

- KARLTZY – Claude

- RIBO – Kagura

b) Game Flow:

For the third game, Burmese Ghouls had a good line-up. As for their early game status: they got the lead, as they showed their aggressiveness proving their good early-game flow again. As the game progressed, it can be said how if they manage to get the 1st and 2nd lords, they have a good chance of winning the 3rd game. They eventually broke through the turrets of the opposing team (they knew their momentum and took advantage). Ultimately, they got ahead with the destroyed turrets all throughout as they prioritized pushing. Now, 11 minutes in, all turrets of the other team were destroyed. Almost finishing the game, the team just focused straight on the base turret for victory (though it wasn’t exactly a quick process as Bren Esports successfully defended at one point).

Now, for Bren Esports: they managed at first, but things went bad for them. Though they also know their winning conditions, they didn’t utilize their capabilities. 8 minutes in the game, and they still haven’t destroyed a turret. Then, in clashes, they mostly were at a disadvantage, as to why they didn’t succeed in one clash. As the time for defending came; again, they succeeded at one point, but Burmese Ghouls still won in the end (scoring: 2-1).

Fourth Game:

a) Drafting Picks:

MYANMAR – Burmese Ghouls

- RUBY DD – Grock

- MAYBE – Jawhead

- KID – Lunox

- ACE – Yi Sun-Shin

- DEE – Claude

PHILIPPINES – Bren Esports

- FLAPTZY – Baxia

- LUSTY. – Chou

- PHEWW – Silvanna

- KARLTZY – Lancelot

- RIBO – Pharsa

b) Game Flow:

For the fourth game, Bren Esports had a good early game rotation; accompanied by a good play style. The team matched the aggression by the opposing team. As for clashes, they did good, gaining many kills on the other team. But, as for pushing, they need to focus more on that as to beat the lead by Burmese Ghouls. 6 minutes in, both teams have an equal number of destroyed turrets; but whilst considering that, Bren Esports still need to apply more pressure, and they ultimately did as they got the lead (kill, score, & gold-wise). Digging deeper, the members of the team really had good chemistry and skill combinations. Though having a slight drawback at one point, they fought back wisely and still prioritized pushing.

Being a start in the shift of game conditions, the Lord went to the opposing team making the lead a huge amount; it made Burmese Ghouls now be at a huge advantage. Though the opposing team had a risky line-up, they still successfully accomplished their objectives (with DEE (Claude) quickly clearing jungles and racking up gold; whilst having good map control). Also, because of Burmese Ghouls’ good positioning, they succeeded in going straight for the base turret after emptying the battlefield; letting them gain a win for the 4th game (their 2nd game overall).

Fifth Game:

a) Drafting Picks:

MYANMAR – Burmese Ghouls

- RUBY DD – Harith

- MAYBE – Akai

- KID – Selena

- ACE – Claude

- DEE – Yu Zhong

PHILIPPINES – Bren Esports

- FLAPTZY – Benedetta

- LUSTY. – Jawhead

- PHEWW – Lunox

- KARLTZY – Yi Sun-Shin

- RIBO – Khaleed

b) Game Flow:

For the fifth game, things started well for Bren Esports as they had a tactic in which made the opposing team delay their farm. As they had good timing, they quickly secured the first turtle, maximizing their early game momentum. Kill-wise, they got in the lead by 4 kills (4 minutes in). As the game progressed, they upped the pressure because of their quick and effective rotation. Successfully pushing, the team had destroyed all the first line towers (5 minutes in). as the team, continuously secured the turtles and effectively split pushed, it made them be at an advantage; as to why it was key for the opposing team to just play things safe.

Later on, Burmese Ghouls eventually caught up with good map control which shifted the conditions. Now, Bren Esports have to take it slow to win back the lead. Now back to Burmese Ghouls, as they caught up and destroyed tower after tower, they’re now at a full advantage over the opposing team. Before the end of the game, Bren Esports successfully defended against the Lord, but their 1st tier towers are already close to destruction. As Burmese Ghouls exhibited good patience and avoided aggressiveness, the base tower of Bren Esports then easily got destroyed as there were only 2 members of the respective defending team to defend, which in the end, gave Burmese Ghouls the win for the 5th game (scoring: 2 – 3).

Sixth Game:

a) Drafting Picks:

MYANMAR – Burmese Ghouls

- RUBY DD – Yu Zhong

- MAYBE – Baxia

- KID – Natalia

- ACE – Hayabusa

- DEE – Pharsa

PHILIPPINES – Bren Esports

- FLAPTZY – Benedetta

- LUSTY. – Chou

- PHEWW – Lunox

- KARLTZY – Brody

- RIBO – Alice

b) Game Flow:

For the sixth game, an ulterior motive could be seen by Burmese Ghouls as three members had “Execution” as their skills, suggesting that they would be willing to go all-in in team fights (though risky). Things went good for them at first, as they even secured the turtle; the Burmese Ghouls are dictating the tempo. Though, at one point in the game, Bren Esports realized their power spike and played carefully; whilst Burmese Ghouls were only rushing and being reckless. For Bren Esports, they got numerous kills during the first clashes, whilst still destroying towers. Though, the Burmese Ghouls caught up. Having a good side push and map control, Bren Esports still maintained a good flow throughout the sixth game, whilst Burmese Ghouls are showing more aggression.

During the late-game, Bren Esports showed beautiful and well-executed skill combinations, as to why they got the lead (kill-wise); but of course, making sure to prioritize and focus on pushing. In the end, the duo of “TZY” brothers was a great contribution to the team’s success. The gameplay of Bren Esports, overall, had amazing tactics and strategies in which made for a good game. After wiping out, the Burmese Ghouls immediately cleared the base of the opposing team, making for their win in the 6th game (3rd win overall, making for a tie; scoring: 3-3).

Seventh Game:

a) Drafting Picks:

MYANMAR – Burmese Ghouls

- RUBY DD – Grock

- MAYBE – Minsitthar

- KID – Lunox

- ACE – Brody

- DEE – Lapu-Lapu

PHILIPPINES – Bren Esports

- FLAPTZY – Baxia

- LUSTY. – Chou

- PHEWW – Luo Yi

- KARLTZY – Claude

- RIBO – Harith

b) Game Flow:

For the seventh game, FLAPTZY from Bren Esports exhibited good rotation (early-on). For Burmese Ghouls, they had the potential to dictate the tempo of the game. Prioritizing split pushing and farming, Bren Esports established a good tactic. Though, Burmese Ghouls initially had the power spike; Bren Esports caught up easily whilst split pushing and having good tactics. In this game, Bren Esports didn’t risk too much, if they knew things were risky: they didn’t risk too much. It could be stated even, how Bren Esports had the better map control during this game, as to why they had the lead as well (kill-wise). After successfully diverting, they broke through the first-tier towers of Burmese Ghouls. Now leading in terms of destroyed towers, aiding in the process: was the Lord secured by Bren Esports. Now during the last clash, Bren Esports was definitely at an advantage; and afterward went direct for the base tower, and a victory in the end making for their victory in the Grand Finals, being the world champion (scoring: 4-3).

Review of Overall Game Results:

As the final game of the match ended, it was concluded that Bren Esports won, 4-3, in the grand finals of the M2 World Championship. Along with their victory, came the fact that the team from the Philippines became the first Filipino team to be able to win the 2nd annual edition of the M2 World Championship.

Though their road to grand finals wasn’t exactly that easy as they had their ups and downs as well. But all was worth it as they were able to be a contender for the round.

In the final match, things went well for Bren Esports at first. With their good rhythm, positionings, map control, skill combinations, teamwork, and farming tactics; they were able to get a good start and ended up securing the wins of the 1st and 2nd game of the match.

As the 3rd, 4th, and 5th game proceeded on, Burmese Ghouls finally got a hold of things during the three games; aided by their perseverance and a well-executed strategy (map control & farming) by their members in which in the end, led them to gain three straight wins of the match.

Now, for the 6th and 7th game, Bren Esports was able to finally able to execute their strategies whilst finally pushing through with their aggressiveness; leading them to gain massive leads in the course of the two final games. This of course gave them the upper footing, and as they continuously seized the winning opportunity and maximized the momentum whilst the opposing team was affected by the intense pressure; they eventually were able to secure their 3rd and 4th wins making them catch up and even go ahead of the opposing team’s initial one-point lead; ultimately, letting them win the grand finals match and be the M2 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Champions.

Over-all, the winning conditions for Bren Esports would be their:

◎ Well-executed skill combinations, farming, aggressiveness

◎ Proper and strong positionings during team fights

◎ Good map control

◎ Thorough momentum maximization

While the losing conditions for Burmese Ghouls would be their:

◎ Unfitting hero choices

◎ Inability to:

➤ handle intense pressure late-game

➤ keep cool at most parts of the game

➤ maximize the potential of chosen heroes

Photo Credits:

• https://sea.ign.com/mobile-legendsbang-bang-android/168017/news/m2-world-championship-bren-esports-secure-grand-finals-spot

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8dv5y_njZw

• https://www.gnlm.com.mm/e-sport-burmese-ghouls-reaches-upper-bracket-final-of-m2-world-championship/

Links to Videos of Gameplay:

Game 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaa39k_Tg8I&t=8s

Game 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDHvFLv2qm0

Game 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKv6BWGRXlI&t=105s

Game 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLqTqn2Sdtc

Game 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VuLRcW2c_8

Game 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDv5l5oqSoI

Game 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUuecvag384

#mobilelegends #brenesports #burmeseghouls #philippines #myanmar #m2 #analysis #worldchampion #grandfinals

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maze-zen · 4 years

Note

Prompt list #1! “I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”

An old ask, but I haven't forgotten! I have several asks waiting that I'm using to write a multichapter war AU.

Thank you for this ask @jennyfair7! It was perfect for what I've planned and Raoulstine Week.

"I'm leaving for Iraq tomorrow morning."

The words were out of Raoul's mouth the moment Christine had picked up the phone and he silently cursed himself for being so blunt. But he had been caught off guard too; he'd barely been in the Navy three months when the US joined the Gulf War and only three hours later he was being shipped off to Iraq for Operation Desert Shield. He'd only just turned 18 in May.

The other end of the phone was quiet, except the initial gasp in response to his words that told him it was in fact Christine on the other end and not her guardian Mrs. Valerius whose voice was hoarse after years of smoking. Christine had a mild and beautiful voice that enchanted everyone. It had kept him afloat these last few months in the Navy; every time she picked up the phone for their weekly call, he instantly would stop clutching the receiver and relax.

He'd hoped he would get to see her again soon, but instead he was being shipped off to another country for God knows how long.

"Little Lotte?" He whispered the nickname her father had used when Raoul had first met the Daaés as a plucky 10 year old, jumping into the ocean after an old red scarf to impress the pretty blonde girl who owned it; it had worked and he'd even endeared himself to her father as well. He'd been a part of their tiny family ever since, though Christine had never been like a sister to him; she was the girl he planned to marry one day.

A shudder sounded from the receiver, the pain in it traveling directly from his ear to his heart. He knew her fear: that he would die, like her father had only six months ago. Raoul missed the old violinist every day. "It will only be for a few months," he assured her with a calmness he didn't quite feel, "the Coalition will quickly stop that bastard Saddam and then I'm coming home for good!"

He hadn't even wanted to join the Navy in the first place. The draft was abandoned in the 1970's which was the only reason that his father had been in the Navy; if Philbert de Chagny hadn't been drafted to the Navy, he wouldn't have insisted that both sons joined as well. His father claimed it was important for men to serve their country and now that Raoul was being shipped off to the Middle East, the old veteran was more proud of his youngest than ever. Raoul didn't dare disappoint him. The fact that Philippe had never been overseas as a marine was still a tender subject in the de Chagny household.

However, Raoul didn't feel ready for combat. And he certainly wasn't ready to leave Christine. He could hear her sob quietly on the other end and felt more despair than when he'd first been given the order.

"I don't want you to die," she finally managed to say between shuddering breaths, "I love you, Raoul." No matter how often he heard it, those words always made his heart beat faster. He knew that most people thought Christine was lucky to be in a relationship with a wealthy man from a good family, but to Raoul he was the lucky one; Christine was intelligent, beautiful and had the most magnificent voice he'd ever heard. When she finished high school (being a year younger than him), he would use his trust fund to ensure that she got into the best vocal program in the country. Her destiny, besides marrying him, was becoming a singer - a star - and he would do everything possible to make it happen.

"Don't worry, you won't get rid of me that easily," he joked, though it fell flat. An awkward pause followed. "Before you know it, I'll be back and out of the Navy. You'll finish high school and we'll begin our future. Together."

"Together," she whispered. It sounded like she'd stopped crying. "Will you write to me every week?" He could picture her smile from the words and imagined the sweet face, he knew so well, with new light in her blue eyes.

"Every day," he promised truthfully, "they can't stop me!" The Stone that had been sitting in his stomach for the last few hours finally seemed lighter. It would be alright. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"I know. And I love you." Her voice grew despondent; she knew it was time to say goodbye. "Please be safe, Raoul."

"I always am. Just focus on school until I get home. And you can ask Philippe for help if you need it, okay? I've told him to be there for you and he promised." He'd actually been very strict with his older brother, for once standing up for himself and for Christine. He knew his family didn't approve of their relationship, but he didn't care; if he had to go to war, they better treat her properly. Philippe had accepted this.

"Ok," Christine said hesitantly, obviously not believing that his brother could be nice. He was about to argue when a whistle sounded: it was time to gather outside.

"Chris, I have to go, but I promise to write all the time and to come home to you in one piece. I will get Philippe to send you the address for the base when I get there, okay?" He said quickly, nodding at his fellow marines as they passed him to go outside.

"I'll write to you too when I get the address. Take care, Raoul." She was crying again and he was reluctant to hang up. He wanted to flee this base, sweep Christine away to the sea side and live happily ever after.

But he had responsibilities. When I get back, he told himself. "I will, Little Lotte. Goodbye." He hung up on his crying girlfriend, rubbing his chest as though it would relieve the ache in his heart.

Somehow, he knew that Iraq would change his life; whether it was for the better or worse was remained to be seen.

#raoulstine week #War au #R/C #Phanfic #phic prompts

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freyayuki · 4 years

Text

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Zack Fair Spheres Guide and Plans Part 1

Another old draft that I just finished editing, so it’s now ready to be posted. This was supposed to be 1 single post only, but it’s turned out to be really long, so I thought it was better to just split it up into different parts.

Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (#ad) is currently my most favorite character in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game. While this was written quite a while ago, at the time I’m editing this post, the previous sentence is still very much true.

Who will dethrone Zack? Will he be dethroned? We’ll see, I guess. I’m not saying it’s impossible though because my fave in this game used to be Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII and then Kuja from Final Fantasy IX before Zack ended up dethroning them.

Or, to be more precise, Squall was my fave back when I started playing this game for the first time. Then Kuja dethroned him. And then Zack showed up and dethroned Kuja. There might be others in-between, but I’d have to dig further into my notes for the info. How ‘bout I discuss that in another post and get back to the actual topic of this one, yeah?

Best Spheres for Zack Fair

Zack Fair (#ad) is such a fave that I actually took the time to plan out what spheres I want to give to him. Yes, that’s right, I actually took the time to look at the list of all available spheres (well, the ones that were currently available when I wrote this. There are even more spheres now), going through each one, and trying to decide if it was good for Zack or not.

Zack Fair Sphere Slots

Zack can equip 2 A (Attack) and 1 B (Defense) spheres. There are lots of A spheres, so it can take quite a bit of time to go through each one.

Possible A Spheres for Zack Fair

Here’s a list of possible A spheres that I considered giving to Zack Fair. Like I said, there are a lot of A spheres, so I decided to break them down even further.

Attack Up A Spheres

The following A spheres raise the attack stat:

Oerba Yun Fang from Final Fantasy XIII

Break Hit Attack Longer - Raises ATK by 10% for 6 turns when inflicting Break or attacking target afflicted with Break

This is what makes me want to get Fang’s (#ad) Ex, realize it, then MLB it. At the moment, I doubt I’d be able to get this though. Even if I did, I really don’t have the resources to MLB it just to get the sphere. Ugh, if only we had more books and ingots.

Seriously though, I feel like this is a really good sphere, not just for Zack, but for other damage dealers. The duration is pretty long, and I feel like it’s possible to constantly have the sphere’s effect active since you either break a target or attack a broken target.

The only other time you can’t break a target is if they get such a huge amount of brave that you’re unable to shave it all off. I’ve seen this happen in Chaos fights, particularly with my Warrior of Light (WoL) and Sherlotta (who doesn’t have Ex+ yet), especially with WoL who sometimes ends up dealing 1 brave damage.

I haven’t taken Zack to a Chaos fight yet, so I don’t know how he’ll fare there. But, even still, I feel like this sphere can be really useful for him. I want to give this to him. Too bad, I don’t think it’s gonna be possible at the moment.

Update 1, after Fang’s Ex+ banner dropped: yeah, this is a good sphere. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t have it. I don’t think I’m ever getting it. Besides, even if I do have it, I can’t justify purpling a lackluster Ex for a character that’s not even a fave. Totally not worth it.

Besides, there are other spheres that increase attack, so it’s not like this is a unique sphere. Moreover, I think spheres that increase both attack and initial brave are better for Zack anyway since his barrier shield is based on initial brave.

Update 2, while I’m editing this post for publication: you know, I actually ended up throwing some tickets on Fang’s banner in the hopes of snagging her Ex. I failed. I’m just thankful I didn’t end up using gems on that banner.

Anyway, I’m just gonna say it again: there’s no denying it - Fang’s (#ad) sphere is good. But it’s also true that it’s not unique. There are a lot of other spheres that can raise a character’s attack.

And that stuff I wrote about increasing Zack’s attack and initial brave - man, I wish I’d gotten that memo before throwing tickets on Fang’s banner because I really regret that now.

I don’t know now why I got so into Fang’s sphere. I mean, even back then, I already knew it wasn’t the only one. Why did I want this so badly for Zack that I even ended up throwing tickets on her banner even though that was an especially bad idea since I already had Tidus’ Ex?

Vaan from Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

Full HP Attack - Raises ATK by 10% while HP is MAX

Zack’s HP should be at max most of the time since he can heal himself, and I always have a support who can heal in my party. So I feel that this sphere’s pretty good for him.

Besides, I already have Vaan’s Ex, so it’s just a matter of using up the resources to purple him to get this sphere. Too bad Vaan (#ad) isn’t gonna be meta at all, and he’s not exactly a fave, so it’s gonna be a waste to use scarce books and ingots on him. Maybe if I get extra materials, I’ll do it.

Much later (ugh, seriously, my notes need to include actual dates. Sheesh): Vaan’s Ex will be realizable real soon, so all the more reason to consider what to do about this. I’ve been thinking a lot about it. However, in the end, I’ve decided not to purple Vaan. Heck, I might not even bother realizing his Ex.

Actually, his base Ex isn’t even MLB, and I don’t want to waste power stones to MLB it. Vaan really isn’t meta. I even looked up what purpling his Ex would give him, and it’s not that good at all. I feel that he’s really not worth it.

Update 1, after Vaan’s Ex+ banner showed up: while his Ex is now realizable, I haven’t bothered to give him a book. His base ex is still not MLB. He does hit hard.

But he’s locked on to multiple elements, and I feel that he doesn’t bring as much as other magical DPS like Ultimecia and the upcoming Emperor. His longevity is still a bit of a problem too, especially if he isn’t purple.

His sphere is pretty good, but there are plenty of others that increase attack as well, so it’s not like I don’t have other options. If I really feel like I need his sphere, then I guess I can consider purpling him.

Update 2, while I’m editing this post for publication: still haven’t MLB’d Vaan’s base Ex, much less given him a book or ingots. I still haven’t felt like I need him or his sphere.

Machina Kunagiri from Final Fantasy Type-0

Break Hit Initial Attack Shorter - Raises INT BRV, ATK by 10% for 3 turns when inflicting Break or attacking target afflicted with Break

Another good sphere even if it’s only for 3 turns. Initial brave up is actually super good for Zack because his barrier shield scales off initial brave. I feel like this sphere was basically made for him. Heh.

Too bad I don’t have Fang’s sphere as well because, man, just think about it – Zack has 2 A sphere slots. What if I can give him this and Fang’s sphere? He’ll get a total of 20% additional attack. Super special awesome! Argh, why can’t the effects of Fang’s sphere be on a character whose Ex I already have?

Update, while I’m editing this post for publication: I know I already said this like a few paragraphs ago, but, seriously, what’s with Fang’s sphere? Why was my past self so into this sphere? I mean, yeah 20% additional attack up is super good, but Fang’s sphere isn’t the only one that provides attack up.

Too bad my notes don’t have anything to say about this. But if I have to hazard a guess now, I think it might be because Fang’s was one of the first realizable Ex+. She’s also one of the first A sphere we got that increases attack. Maybe I just really wanted to give Zack a sphere already.

Anyway, I don’t have Machina’s Ex either, but that’s really because he’s an event character, and he hasn’t shown up yet. He will be featured on a banner with Rem’s Ex. I plan to pull for Rem because she’ll get a rework.

This will make her a pretty decent support and healer. She’ll even get free turns. Considering how turn requirement missions can be really tight in Chaos quests, I definitely want more characters who get free turns.

Also, not only do I not have a single weapon for Machina (#ad), I also have no weapons for Rem except 1 copy of her 35cp, so I feel like this is gonna be a good banner to throw my gems at and possibly even pity. The only question is how good or meta Machina is gonna be.

Then again, even if he turns out to not be meta, well, Rem is supposed to be good. Plus his sphere is looking to be pretty freaking awesome for my Zack, so maybe I’ll pull anyway and use books and ingots (assuming I have some to spare) to purple him, just to get his sphere and give it to my fave Zack.

Much later, after Machina and Rem’s double Ex banner just dropped: welp, I ended up pitying the Machina and Rem banner for Rem’s Ex. Depleted my gem stash so back to saving.

I’m dithering between regretting the decision to pity Rem (#ad) or not. She is good, not the best, but good enough. Machina isn’t the best either, but he does hit hard, and he gets free turns too, which helps with tight turn requirements.

While I’m not entirely sure that pitying Rem was a good idea, I don’t regret getting Machina’s Ex. Heck, he didn’t even cost me that much. Got 2 copies of his Ex on the first multi-pull I did, so he basically only cost me 5k.

Then I got 2 more copies of his Ex plus enough copies of his 15cp and 35cp to fully MLB them all without having to use a single power stone while trying to pull Rem’s Ex all the way to pity.

Initially, I just wanted Machina (#ad) for his super special awesome sphere. I also thought he was pretty hot. But now he’s really grown on me. I enjoyed all the cut scenes in his event, and I’m looking forward to his Lost Chapter. Now, I can say that I purpled him, not just for his sphere, but also because I ended up really liking him.

He’s also good, maybe not the best or meta, but I like using him, and he did help me win his event’s Chaos plus Dimensions’ End Pathos tier 6. I plan to use him in more Chaos quests. Heck, I like him enough to want to farm perfect arts for him.

Anyway, since I purpled him, yeah, I got his sphere. Of course, I immediately put it on Zack. His Ex can’t be realized yet, but I don’t care. LOL. I really wanted to give him a sphere already.

Even purpled his armor already. My notes didn’t specify who “his” is referring to here, but I can say for sure that it doesn’t matter because both Zack and Machina’s armors have been purpled.

So far, from what I’ve seen, the sphere’s effect is on pretty much all the time. Well, I’ve only brought Zack to Cosmos fights, so haven’t really encountered fights where the bosses gain a huge amount of brave that can’t easily be shaved off.

But if such a thing happens, I’m gonna need to bring someone with a gravity effect anyway, like Ultimecia or Sherlotta, so I don’t think there should be much issues there.

At the very least, maybe the effect will disappear for a turn or 2, but then he can just reactivate it soon enough anyway. Totally looking forward to being able to give him 2 more spheres to complete him. Naturally, also can’t wait for his Ex to be realizable. February can’t come soon enough.

Update while I’m editing this post for publication: oh, yeah, my Zack is now double purple. But this post is long enough as it is (it’s not even over yet. Seriously, we’re not even halfway through yet, and I’ve already written this much), so will talk more about that in another post.

For now, I just want to say absolutely no regrets purpling Machina or giving his sphere to Zack. And, remember what I said about liking Machina enough to want to farm him arts? Yeah, I actually ended up doing that. Took a lot of time, of course, but I can’t help it.

I really did end up liking him, and I double purpled him, so I thought I might as well try to get him perfect artifacts too.

I still like him, so much so that I’m totally looking forward to his upcoming LD (next weapon tier in the Japanese version of the game) and considering giving him some spheres. Up to now, I still use him as much as I can.

Noel Kreiss from Final Fantasy XIII-2

Breaking Attack Short - raises attack by 15% for 3 turns when attacking a broken target

Noel’s (#ad) sphere is pretty nice. Too bad it’s only for 3 turns and doesn’t also include the “when breaking a target” condition. However, compared to the ones that only have the “when breaking a target” condition, this one seems better.

This is because broken targets do spend quite a few turns broken before they regain brave. The only question is if it’s possible to keep this buff active, like, would a target still be broken by the time the 3 turns are up?

Much later: eh, the percentage is high (15% compared to the usual 10%), but the condition to activate the effect isn’t that good. You only get the attack up if you attack a broken target. Even if a target remains broken for a few turns, well, it’s not like Zack’s the only chara in the team.

It’s possible that, on his turn, the enemy won’t be broken anymore, so he’d attack to break the enemy, and that won’t activate this sphere. So even if the attack up is high, it won’t make a difference if it isn’t constantly up.

Besides, I don’t even have Noel’s (#ad) Ex and not sure I want to bother pulling for it. And, like I said before, I think it’s better to use spheres that increase both attack and initial brave for Zack.

However, this kind of sphere with the condition that you need to attack a broken target is actually good for the likes of Vayne because he has the ability to break and rebreak an enemy, meaning he can keep this effect active on demand.

I think Noel has this ability too, but don’t really remember since I don’t have his Ex. I do have Vayne, so this sphere is an option for him, assuming I manage to get Noel’s Ex then decide to purple it. And that’s also assuming I want to give Vayne spheres.

Update while I’m editing this post for publication: there isn’t really an update since Noel’s Ex hasn’t shown up yet. I still don’t feel like pulling for it or purpling it if I somehow get it.

And that’s all for this post, or we’ll be here forever. See you next time in part 2.

Notes:

pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above

the gear and abilities list for Zack and Machina are screenshots from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

#zack fair #final fantasy 7 #dissidia #final fantasy crisis core #dissidia final fantasy opera omnia #mobile apps #mobile games #games #gacha #gacha games #final fantasy #dffoo

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biscuitreviews · 5 years

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Biscuit Reviews The Witcher III Wild Hunt (2-year Anniversary Review)

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is perhaps my favorite game to come out of the PS4/Xbox One/Wii U-Switch console era. It’s won tons of awards and was game of the year for many people in 2015. I didn’t get into the Witcher series until Witcher II: Assassin of Kings was a free download for Xbox Live members in 2016.

After I finished Witcher II, I immediately went to Witcher III and my god, talk about an amazing sequel. It was bigger, it was better, and for being the end of Geralt’s story, it did a great job for making newcomers such as myself, not feel lost at all.

I’m going to be spoiling the game so if you haven’t played Witcher III, definitely play it before going into this review.

The story of Witcher III, revolves around Geralt of Rivia, a witcher looking for his adoptive daughter Ciri alongside his on and off again lover Yennefer of Vengerburg.

Geralt will travel through large open world zones during his quest. Velen took inspiration from the Polish and Northern German countryside, Novigrad is reminiscent of the Polish city of Gdańsk during the medieval era, and finally you have the Skellige Isles, taking inspiration from Ireland. Each of these areas are massive and beautiful to look at. It’s easy to forget that you’re in a world currently being ravaged by war or filled with monsters until you stumble across areas that give you a stark reminder that there is a war happening.

One thing that I love about the game is how it handled decisions. There’s no clear good or bad decision, everything has a shade of grey. Sure there are choices that sound better in the short term, but it could have long term ramifications that could come back to haunt Geralt. One example is Triss’s quest line in Novigrad. Sure, you’re helping mages escape the city to where they no longer have to fear for themselves, but by doing so, you give the witch hunters a new target to pursue, which are non-human races such as elves and dwarves. However, if you don’t help mages escape, than later in the story Geralt’s dwarven friend, Zoltan, can help him with a jailbreak. If you do help the mages, Zoltan won’t be able to assist Geralt due to not wanting to face the wrath of the witch hunters.

Even the types of decisions you make are fantastic as well. All of these choices are actions that Geralt himself would make and do in that situation, it’s just a matter what you believe would be the overall choice he would go with. With many choice based games, dialogue options cover many aspects of a character archetype, because normally, you are making a character and are taking that character on the journey. In this case, Geralt is a character, he has his own beliefs, likes and dislikes, and dialogue choices reflect his specific personality rather than a personality a player would create.

It’s also why some aspects in gameplay are limited such as crafting. Geralt is able to craft oils and potions on his own as long as he has the formula and the ingredients. Applying the proper oil and drinking the necessary potions are necessary for fighting monsters in this game, which I’ll discuss more about later. When it comes to making armor and swords, Geralt has to seek out a Blacksmith to make these items as Geralt himself doesn’t have the kind of skill set, therefore he has to seek out a person able to build these items.

I also love how story quests and side quests interact with one another. Main story quests could go differently if you’ve done some side quests that relate to that specific quest and vice versa. Also the fact that side quests have just as much weight as the main quests make them feel more important and worth doing for that extra bit of lore or for that impact it could have on the main story.

As well polished and built the Witcher III is, it does have some minor glitches being an open world game. Sometimes you’ll find objects just randomly floating in air. Occasionally the input to talk to NPCs won’t work and you’ll have to either step back and walk forward to have the prompt reappear or just reposition Geralt himself for the NPC to talk to you. The fact that Geralt can either die or get heavily damaged from ridiculously low heights is also highly annoying and instills a fear of any small dropping points.

Another issue I would like to point out is that it’s not exactly the most socially inclusive. A lot of the main women are highly sexualized and sometimes feel that they’re nude for the sake of it. There are moments where you can choose anti-LGBT dialogue options when you encounter those characters, which I found exteremly baffeling that it was an option considering Ciri is bi and Geralt seems supportive in the dialogue they exchange. I get it, it’s a choice, you don’t have select those options, but the fact that they’re there to begin with just leaves a bit of a bad taste. Let’s not forget the entire ocean of white people in this game. I’m sorry, but including two people of color in a DLC just doesn’t cut it. Does it break the game for me? No, but I think not acknowledging that this exists within the game is even worse.

As mentioned previously, monsters have certain weakness and you are expected to exploit those weakness when fighting monsters. Using the proper tools to easily take down a monster feels great and makes you feel more invested in the world as you have to research these creatures in your bestiary to know their weaknesses.

Going above and beyond to take on an extra tough enemy or a monster clearly above your level although feels great at first, it’s quickly brought down when the experience gained is very little and the loot isn’t something that equates the struggle you went through. It’s just a bit disappointing that you’re encouraged to research monsters and exploit weaknesses and when you do just that, the rewards just don’t reflect that.

There’s also one quirk with dialogue as well that’s honestly more funny than terrible, but the way it happened just made it more memorable to me.

This instance is going to a wake party with Yennefer in Skellige. She’ll comment on how she likes that Geralt is growing out a beard. Now if Geralt does have a beard in this instance, it makes sense, however if Geralt is clean shaven, Yennefer will still make the comment which I always found that to be a funny little programming quirk. It’s obvious that this response was to happen when Geralt has a beard and the programming within the game was supposed to read that. There are a couple of instances that NPCs will react to Geralt’s appearance and the reaction is appropriate in those moments. But the beard moment, always brings out a chuckle.

Granted for a game as massive as Witcher III to only have a few minor issues, it’s actually rather impressive. However, I will admit that it has been four years since it’s initial release and there might have been more bugs then, but now it’s a mostly smooth experience.

As mentioned in a previous post, I do refer back to this game a lot for professional research as well. CD Projekt Red used a branching writing program known as Articy Draft, a program I use in my day job. I’ll do different decisions, I’ll change the order of when I do quests and just imagine how the branching dialogue looked within Articy and the type of variables used to determine how certain events play out.

One also can’t talk about Witcher III without mentioning Gwent, what is perhaps one of the best mini-games within a game since Final Fantasy VIII’s Triple Triad. Gwent is an easy to learn, but tough to master card game at the start. It’s tough at first as Geralt doesn’t have many cards at his disposal, but once you finally get a win, the dam starts to break little by little. Geralt will begin winning more powerful cards that can be added to his deck. Eventually it does get to a point where everyone becomes a bit easy to defeat as you gain more powerful cards and build your deck for effective strategies. Regardless it’s a game within a game that you can easily get lost in.

Witcher III also set what many gamers regard as the “Golden Standard” for how DLC should be treated. Witcher III includes 16 free DLC additions ranging from additional quests, items, additional costumes, and Gwent cards. Then there’s the two paid DLC expansions, Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine, which involves two new stories.

Both of these expansions also add additional gameplay mechanics to make Geralt stronger, which you will need to take advantage of for Blood and Wine as monsters and enemies in that particular expansion are a bit tougher than in the main game and Heart of Stone.

Blood and Wine also contains my favorite quest in the entire game. The quest is called “Paperchase” and it’s hilarious. Something about a legendary monster slayer still having to adhere to the bureaucracy of a bank to get a reward for saving a guy years ago is just amazing. It shows that not all great quests have to involve you having an encounter that puts you on the edge of your seat.

The Witcher III is a game that deserves the praise and reception it has received. It has made a mark on the RPG genre that many developers are taking note and implementing in their games. The most famous case being Ubisoft with the Assassin’s Creed series by following a similar dialogue decision based structure and having side quests impact the main story and vice versa. This is a game that has earned its status as a modern classic, which I’m sure will keep that status for a very long time.

As I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone on Tumblr or any denizen of the internet, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt receives a 5 out 5

So far it’s been quite an interesting two years on this site. Frankly, I expected to just be a reviewer that would continuously scream into the void. To my surprise, I’ve had quite a few of you that like and share my posts adding more to the conversation whether you agree or disagree. I’ve also recently passed the 50 reviews milestone as well so the 50 and the two year mark happened rather quickly!

Here’s to the march on getting to 100 reviews...at some point!

#Witcher III #Witcher #Witcher III: Wild Hunt #geralt of rivia #video games #gaming #video game review #game review #gaming review #review #biscuit reviews

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ja9doeswhole30 · 5 years

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Food Freedom: The Good

Hello friends.

I swear, I’ve been trying to write a post updating my progress the last few weeks and it just didn’t happen. The start of Passover kept me very busy, and I have a draft about the holiday’s dietary restrictions and the nature of Seder meals. I finished the Reintroduction phase right before Passover started, and I enjoy telling stories in linear fashion, so this seemed logical at the time, but now that it’s been a while it might be better to discuss things differently.

So, this post will be about all the Whole30 victories that I’ve experienced/maintained in the last few weeks. Then I’ll post separately about the fails/things that need the most work.

3 meals + 1 snack, at home. The biggest impact Whole30 has had on my diet is to emphasize large, filling, plant-based meals. I’ve always made it a point to cook lots of veggies and lean meats at home, but I was an avowed grazer. I’d have a small (usually processed-carb-based) breakfast, which meant I was ready for snack mid-morning, followed by a small lunch, and another (possibly two) snacks in the afternoon before dinner.

Now, most days, I’ve gotten pretty good at planning out meals and (limited) snacks so that I eat in a structured fashion. Once I started trying it, I found that I can usually sit down for a nice breakfast around 8 AM, which is late enough that I haven’t eaten in at least 12 hours, but early enough that I’m not starving. Sometimes if I’m able I try to push it to 9 AM to extend the overnight fasting period, but that doesn’t always work. Either way, though, having a good, filling breakfast will keep me going until lunch around 12:30-1PM. I allow for a snack in the afternoon but try to push that ‘til at least 4 PM. Then we have dinner at about 6:30 and finish by 7:00.

Less indiscriminate eating. Another big reason I started Whole30 in the first place was that I would constantly pick at my kids’ snacks, or other nonsense we happen to have around the house. Hence, always gave myself credit for being a healthy eater, but whatever good I was doing eating plant-based & whole foods for meals was offset by my random unscheduled snacks. With certain foods off-limits during the Whole30, I broke my habit of helping myself to a few Cheddar Bunnies or chips whenever I wanted. Food Freedom Forever discusses the concept of deviating from an eating plan if you really consider the treat worth it, and can properly savor the experience. I haven’t been perfect with this practice (more on that next post), but it’s a good guideline. I’m definitely in the mindset of closing the vault unless there’s a truly worthwhile deposit to be made. Yesterday, for instance, I was tired and considered ordering sushi for lunch, but decided that reheating things at home was perfectly feasible and I didn’t want sushi that badly so as to indulge.

I broke up with Dunkin’ Donuts. While I don’t drink an enormous amount of coffee, I have at various phases of life been a regular at chain coffee establishments. Although raised in a Dunkin’ household, my most sustained love affair was with Starbucks, which provided daily fuel for my second summer of law school, studying for the bar exam, and my first job. The Starbucks around the corner from my Brooklyn apartment became a necessary destination when I was home with my first baby. Thereafter we moved to a house in the suburbs, with the nearest Starbucks and DD each a mile away, serving as motivation for a nice walk when the weather was right and nothing else was going on. Following the birth of baby #2, coffee became both critically necessary and harder to obtain out of the house. The DD in the next town over has a drive-thru, which I patronized occasionally but otherwise made coffee at home - always iced, with whole milk and a teaspoon of Sugar in the Raw.

Gradually, though, my kids were spending more time in preschool, I went back to work part-time, and I also became aware that DD’s rewards program is much more generous than Starbucks’. For a long time it seemed like there was always a promotional deal, be it a $1.99 medium latte or double-points when you order on the app or whatever. Going back to this past fall, I’d gotten sucked pretty deeply into a downward spiral of vice. First came an increase in the number of visits per week (from one to three... or more). Then I got into the habit of adding ridiculously sugary flavored syrups to my order, which I justified by asking for only one pump of the stuff, as opposed to the three or four the usual recipe would call for. Finally, I would use an especially stressful or exhaustion-ridden day as an excuse to get a large instead of my usual medium.

Coffee every day having become a necessity, I began keeping a supply of small-batch homemade cold brew for my non-DD days. Thankfully I’d perfected my cold-brewing method prior to Whole30, because I knew that during the 30 days I wouldn’t be able to go to Dunkin’. In theory I could have sussed out the brand of almond milk they offer, to assess compliance, and possibly keep the habit alive. But I knew, deep down, that it would be especially worthwhile to cut my outside-coffee habit off at the knees.

It was hard. Having my homemade cold brew with almond-coconut milk (no sugar) became a nice part of my daily routine, but during the Whole30, when I was limiting so many foods, it hit particularly hard to drive past a Dunkin’ and know that I wouldn’t - couldn’t - go in. It was truly the biggest form of deprivation for me; I didn’t miss the “treat” itself so much as participation in the ritual. As with the rest of Whole30, though, it felt like a great achievement once I realigned my habits.

Case in point: On April 15th (federal tax deadline here in the U.S.) DD had an offer for a $1 medium coffee, so I made an exception, purchasing a black iced coffee on the way to work and adding my almond-coconut milk once I got to the office. It was... not good? I guess I’d gotten used to the bold flavor of my cold brew, and the way I make it at home. And while I was excited to participate in the commercial-coffee rat race yet again, the unsatisfying result was the exception that proved the rule. It’s cheaper and healthier to make coffee at home, so that’s what I do now. (I even grind my own beans, which feels really rustic and industrious.)

Daily exercise. During Whole30, I think I exercised 27 days. Initially it was motivation to earn my extra post-workout meal, but even prior to that my daily elliptical session + strength workout had become a seemingly necessary part of my routine. Since Whole30 ended, I’ve been able to maintain the habit. Some days, I need to work to squeeze it in, setting up kids with breakfast before I race down to the basement to bang out a quick 20 minutes. Other mornings my kids play downstairs and I need to pause my workout to help them figure out a toy or set up another activity. In the past, their presence might have stopped me from even attempting the workout (”Why bother if I’m just going to get interrupted?”), but I find that if I just force myself to get started, I’m compelled follow through even on the most hectic of mornings. Other times, I’ve been able to skip the morning elliptical in favor of an outside walk later in the day, which has been a (literal) breath of fresh spring air.

That’s it for now, I think! Stay tuned for the next entry which will detail all the stuff I’m still doing wrong. D:

#whole30 #food freedom #Food Freedom Forever #healthy eating #healthy food

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inky-imagines · 5 years

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Tea-ee’s OC special

With this, I’ve completed all the OC specials, sort of.

There’s still one more, but the person never sent the info I need so I haven’t been able to write it. I could just ask them for it, but it’s been a while, and I think I bothered them enough at the time (AKA, I’m a asocial coward who doesn’t like messaging people).

Anyhoo, this one’s for @tea-ee. Sorry it took so long. I hope you enjoy! ^^

TW: Mentions of death and violence

The attack had been brutal. All battles were, he knew that, but this kind of mindless destruction hadn’t been seen in centuries.

People milled around the shattered guard, careful not to tread on the innumerable injured member lined up on the floor. Ewelein and her team were working overtime to accommodate the many, many hurt member who’d been caught in the initial blast. Working so hard to keep anyone from joining those who’d passed.

Ezarel looked away from the sight, focusing on the slow drip of his burette. It was calming on the worst of days. The regular drops falling into the beaker, filling it slowly with vibrant colours gave him time to think. To breathe.

Now it felt like choking.

He can still remember the first explosion. How people were literally thrown through the air from the force. The bloody battle that had followed after. He’d gained new scars in that fight. Nothing to be proud about; he’d almost lost his life after all.

But those hadn’t been the worse part of the attack. No. It was the aftermath.

Names were called, people searched for. Some answered back, a few were found. Most were not.

They searched, and they saved and they hoped, but no. They’d lost more than they could’ve ever imagined in less than an hour.

The entire Eldaryan guard brought to its knees by a small group of people and some explosives.

“Pathetic.” He hissed, fist curling against the table.

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself, Ez.” You stood in the destroyed doorway of his lab, a cheeky smile on your face. “You can’t help it.”

He snorted, turning back to the equipment, both appreciating the sudden company and wishing you’d leave him be. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”

“You technically did though.” Sauntering in, you appraised the damaged lab with a raised eyebrow. “Damn, they really trashed the place, didn’t they?”

“It’s still functional. Unlike other areas.” He could feel your body heat as you stood beside him but refused to meet your gaze, choosing to continue watching the steady drips.

“Barely.” A hand delicately landed on his shoulder. At the lack of reaction, you gripped it more firmly – more reassuringly. “You hanging in there?”

He shrugged half-heartedly. “Doing better than the others.”

“The others are barely keeping their shit together.” You retort. “They’re not the best measuring stick.”

“They’re the only one I have.” He finally looked at you, forcing a half-assed smile. “And you? I heard you were pretty close to the initial blast.”

“As you can see,” You gesture to your bandages and gauzes. “I got off pretty lightly all things considered.” He nodded in agreement, returning to the apparatus once more.

Truthfully, he wasn’t strong enough for social interaction. Heavy guilt constantly weighed him down. Questions and scenarios of how he could’ve prevented all of haunted him. The past day’s events had left him lifeless; it was a miracle he was even able to work when all he wanted to do was to collapse and never wake up.

At the same time, he needed the closeness. Needed someone, something, to pull him from the whirlwind inside his head. Needed to be reminded that not everything was lost.

And you seemed to understand that, taking a seat beside him and quietly looking through the forensic results of what little evidence they’d collected. For hours, you both just sat there, in perfect quiet, the only sounds breaking the temporary peace were the sounds of rustling papers or an occasional cough from the floor below.

For the first time in what felt like years, Ezarel was at peace.

“Hey, Ez?” He glanced at you questioningly. “What’s that?”

You gestured to the brightly-coloured bottle in his hands, the finished product of his hours of titration.

“Analyser. Concentrated.” Seeing your mystified look, he explained. “We use it to [analyse and track something based on what we’ve found on the crime scene.”

“Huh. Didn’t know you guys had forensic science too.” You crossed your legs, the documents in your hands placed neatly on top. “Didn’t Nevra say there was no trace at the site though? What’s the point of that?”

“Anything leaves a trace, Y/N. It’s just a matter of finding it.” He tucked the potion on his belt, collecting a few more drafts from the table and gesturing for you to do the same.

The bottles are suspiciously examined, but you load them into your arms, following him out the door. “You've found something?”

“I suspect something. I need the analyser to confirm it.” Down the stairs he went, you jogging to keep up with his long strides.

“And what,” You ask, pausing to watch Ezarel hand the concoctions to the medical staff and injured. “Do you suspect?”

He didn’t answer for a while, continuing to pass out the medicine before pulling you to a quiet corner. “I think,” He stopped, swallowing. “I think we have a traitor amongst us.”

Your reaction wasn’t at all what he expected. Surprise, fear maybe even disbelief. But he got… nothing. Nothing at all. It was like someone had swiped you clean of everything that made you human, leaving a cold robotic shell in your place.

“Y/N?” At the sound of your name you shook your head, expression and life returning to your features but it was too late. A small pit of dread settled in his stomach.

“Sorry, sorry. You surprised me so much I zoned out for a moment.” You said, scratching your cheek. Your expression goes from bashful to serious as you return to the topic at hand. “Didn’t we deal with the traitor already? Leiftan’s gone and there’s no one else with a motive, right?”

Muttering how it’s just a theory and you should keep it yourself for now, he slunk away. He didn’t want to consider it, even hypothetically, but your reaction…

“Damn.” He growled, fingers raking through his blue locks. “They’re a suspect too.”

Logic was a bitch. It was unforgiving, cold and indifferent. No matter how you look at something – in the end, no matter how you wanted – objectively, the truth never changed.

Usually, he loved that. But now it made him sick.

No matter how he spun it, looked at it, broke it down and build it up, the conclusion never changed: you were the traitor.

You were the one on guard duty that night. The closest to the blast, but relatively unharmed all things considering. You had the motive, you had the skills. You didn’t have an alibi beyond your own word.

“Damn it!” The desk shook from of the force of his punch, it’s trembling slowly steadying even as his breathing did not.

He didn’t want to believe it. He couldn’t.

You were so kind, so sweet. Even with the wrongs they’d done to you, he couldn’t imagine you resort to such senseless violence.

And the others wouldn’t either. Even if the circumstantial evidence screamed that you were a danger to the guard, nobody else would believe him. He’d need physical proof of your betrayal before e could talk to anyone else about this.

But where could he find his proof? What would he do if he didn’t find anything?

A steadying breath. “One step at a time, Ezarel.”

The obvious place to search was the blast site, a small alcove on your patrol route. It was less of an alcove now and more of a gaping hole in the wall.

There hadn’t been enough time to properly fill the void, so the hole had a few strips of flimsy tape ‘covering’ it that did nothing to block out the chill of the night.

Almost as if it was cursed, people avoided the area, some going as far as taking a longer route just be saved the walk past the painful reminder of their loss.

The lack of people and chill of the night air made the entire area far creepier than it should, and for a moment, Ezarel considered leaving the investigation until tomorrow.

But this couldn’t wait.

At first, it seemed the place was barren of anything useful. Some shrapnel here and there, a little-dried blood the clean-up crew that missed. Nothing he could use. Then he saw it.

Your knife. A once beautiful silver blade he and Valkyon had taken great pains to craft for your last birthday, now it lay on the ground blackened. And lying next to it…

“Flint.” This was worse than he thought. Before this point, he’d thought your role would be limited to a mole of sorts. The worst you could’ve done was the rest of the attackers in. But this…

“You aren’t supposed to be here.” His blood froze. Behind him, you approached. You moved too quickly for him to react, to quickly for him to comprehend what you’d done until he spied the blood-soaked blade in your hand.

He collapsed, a hand pressed against the wound in his stomach.

“_-____....” You appraised him with that same cold, robotic look from before. The blood staining your hands didn’t seem to bother you at all.

You both stared at each other, one with the pain of betrayal, the other with nothing at all.

“Why- why would you do this?” The question is spat out with his blood, the words are dripping with pain.

“The stabbing or the betrayal? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure they’re both pretty self-explanatory.” You turn away, bending to pick up your knife. A shadow of melancholy crossed your features as you stare at it, turning it in your hands.

“You betrayed us! Why?”

“Of all the- Are you serious?” You laughed – a bitter, harsh bark that sounded so wrong from your mouth – clenching the knife so hard he could see rivulets of blood run the blade. “The potion? All the times you’ve used me as bait? The way you leave me to pick up the pieces every time you’ve finished ruining my life?“

“Your grudge is against us: the captains. You shouldn’t have gotten innocents involved.” He just has to keep you talking. With such copious amounts of blood spilt, there’s no doubt Nevra would find him soon; he just survives until then.

Your face crumples so suddenly, he’s taken back. “I didn’t want to… all those people…” Maybe it’s a trick of the light, but there’s a wet glint in your eyes. You square your shoulders, eyes narrowing. “I had no choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

“God, you sound like a bad action flick.” You snort, kneeling beside him. Let’s make something clear: I didn’t want this. Or for all those people get hurt. But-“ Gone is the soft, almost apologetic look, replaced with bitterness and anger. “If it means you suffer, even a little, I’d do it all over again. You understand? You people took everything from me. I’m repaying the favour.”

He tried to speak, to protest, but something blocks the words. He could only stare into your hateful gaze with dread. This person you’ve become… he’s afraid. Of what you can do. Of what you will do.

“_____.” You both turn to see Ashkore, standing just outside the hole, arms crossed. “We’re leaving.”

“You-! You’ve been working with him?”

“Obviously. We share an interest in your demise.”

“You’ll never get away with this.” He managed past the pain and dread. His defiance only amused you though; a giggle just as acrid as the last escaping your lips.

“I think you’ll find I currently am.” You push yourself up, standing tall over his vulnerable body. A foot is raised, and he flinched. “Don’t worry, Ez. Nevra’ll here pretty soon I’m sure. You won’t die today.” You smiled radiating pure malice. “You don’t deserve the luxury. Goodbye.”

Then your foot came down and his world turned black.

#eldarya #eldarya oc special #sorta #no oc was specified so...#angst

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Doctor Who: Ranking Every Single Companion Departure

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Graham and Ryan have left Doctor Who, and it was sad/joyous/on telly (delete as applicable), but where do their departures rank on the all-time list?

The question of “Who counts as a companion?” is a tricky one. Overall it’s an ad hoc combination of different criteria, with allowances made for the exceptions that are intended to fulfil the companion role on a one-off basis. The ranking system is based on whether the departure makes sense for that character, how well it’s built up to, and what it says about Doctor Who in a larger sense. The article only covers TV stories because I value what remains of my sanity.

That’s all the exposition. Please enjoy this non-linear history of production compromises.

47. Peri

Peri spends almost her entire time on Doctor Who being miserable, scared and under threat (even Big Finish doing a timey-wimey farce with Peri has abuse as a plot point), but there’s no compassionate release for her. Her mind is erased so her body can host another. She dies scared and alone, and it’s unlikely the Doctor could have saved her. While this is horrible, it could function, very bluntly, as an indictment of the Doctor and his treatment of Peri, but then it is revealed that this didn’t happen.

Peri is instead married with a pink love-heart around the flashback (the Matrix is corny AF apparently). This is because producer John Nathan-Turner changed his mind about killing Peri after they’d filmed her death.

On one hand: yay, someone not dying. On the other: she only goes to a slightly better place, and when companions return from the dead it tends to require some cost to the Doctor. Here, any previous suggestion that the Doctor mistreated his companion is abandoned. Peri’s happy ending, rather than death, is that the Doctor abandons her without explanation and her new husband is an angry warlord who doesn’t seem the type to understand PTSD.

46. Leela

Producer Graeme Williams hoped that Louise Jameson would stay on in the role of Leela, despite Jameson insisting that she was leaving, and so didn’t write the character out. Leela was a warrior, intelligent but steeped in tribal superstition, and the investment in making a potentially problematic character work in her earlier stories gave way to more generic writing, hence Jameson’s departure. At the end of ‘Invasion of Time’ Leela abruptly announces that she wants to marry the Captain of the Time Lords’ Guards.

To borrow a term from critical theory: this is total f****** dogs***.

Jameson was happy for the character to be killed off but instead she ended up married on Gallifrey. We never see her again. It’s a lazy piece of writing; disrespectful to the actress, the character and the viewer.

45. Dodo

Poor Dodo never really stood a chance. Originally intended to be from Sixteenth Century France, producer John Wiles and script editor Donald Tosh remembered that previous historical companions had been deemed unworkable and so another was probably a bad idea. Instead, Dodo started off Cockney until the BBC told the Doctor Who team that she had to speak in Received Pronunciation English.

A happy-go-lucky soul, the production team never warmed to their creation and Dodo is sent away to recover from hypnosis halfway through ‘The War Machines’, and we never see her again. Polly tells the Doctor “she’d like to stay here in London and sends you her love” two episodes after her final appearance.

44. Sergeant Benton & 43. Harry Sullivan

Sergeant Benton and Harry Sullivan appear in ‘The Android Invasion’ as if it’s just another story for them. Benton last appears as an android duplicate and Harry says nothing during the final fight scene. They never appear again. For all of the strengths of early Tom Baker stories, emotional resonance is not one of them.

42. Katarina

Katarina was brought in for the final episode of ‘The Myth Makers’as a replacement for Vicki, and then sacrificed herself in ‘The Dalek Master Plan’. The production team had decided that, as a Trojan handmaiden, Katarina’s ignorance of modern and future technology meant she’d be hard to write for. This makes sense to an extent, except that her death involves her activating an airlock. So we have a production team creating a problem but solving it by suggesting that it wasn’t insurmountable anyway. As the Doctor says at the end of ‘Dalek Master Plan’: “What a waste.”

41. Sara Kingdom

Having killed off Katarina, the production team needed a new companion to fill her role for the rest of ‘The Dalek Master Plan’, so Terry Nation wrote in a Space Security Agent inspired by The Avengers’ Cathy Gale. After killing her own brother, believing him to be a traitor, Sara Kingdom joined the Doctor and Steven’s attempts to stop the Daleks from using the Time Destructor. Ultimately Sara is killed by the device, ageing to death. As the planet around them turns to dust, Sara’s body does likewise and is blown away by the wind.

It’s a horrific fate, to the extent that cuts were made to the sequence. Sara Kingdom was always designed as a short-term companion, and actor Jean Marsh wasn’t interested in joining the show permanently.

Companion deaths aren’t intrinsically a bad idea, it’s just that they can’t be regular, expected events or else the show becomes ‘Come with me for an adventure, you’ll probably die. Yes I’m a psychopath’. They’re usually short-term solutions to mistakes but the momentum of the Doctor’s failures here could have gone somewhere. Instead, the show casually resets itself to the status quo on a flimsy pretext, so these deaths mean little. If Doctor Who doesn’t care about their impact, why should the audience?

40. Liz Shaw

New producer Barry Letts had decided that Liz Shaw was too intelligent to be a Doctor Who companion, and the interpretation most generous to Letts here is that Liz wanted to continue her own work rather than be drafted by UNIT as an assistant. While I hope this was the intention, it’s still a move that implies a reductive take on the role of the companion (that they’re a function rather than a character) and reinforces the paternalism of the Doctor: fatherly, yes, but also dominating and controlling.

39. Polly and Ben

Polly and Ben follow the Doctor into the TARDIS in ‘The War Machines’ and discover at the end of ‘The Faceless Ones’ that they’re back in London just when they left. They ask the Doctor his permission to leave, saying they’ll stay if he needs them. The Doctor is sad to see them go but doesn’t stand in their way, although he does suggest that Ben can go back to the Navy to become an admiral and Polly can… look after Ben.

It’s a pat, patronising little scene that comes and goes suddenly, especially as Polly and Ben haven’t actually been in the story since Episode Two. Polly and Ben leave and the Doctor and Jamie immediately start talking about their next adventure. The production team had decided the characters weren’t working, and the best you can say is that they were given slightly more ceremony than Dodo.

38. Astrid Peth

The thing about Astrid’s death is that it’s impossible to type ‘She pushes a mugging gold-toothed businessman down a ravine using a fork-lift truck (in slow motion)’ in a way that conveys any sense of pathos. People talk about Andrew Cartmel’s time on Doctor Who influencing Russell T. Davies’ approach, and while they’re wrong (RTD would have written it like that anyway, even if the Cartmel era didn’t exist, but fair play to Cartmel for being on that wavelength) few ever mention ‘Time and the Rani’as an influence. Russell T. Davies’ writing sometimes feels like he’s gleefully trying to combine the tone of Sylvester-McCoy-playing-the-spoons-on-Kate-O’Mara-while-Kate-O’Mara-is-dressed-as-Bonnie-Langford, with the opening ten minutes of Up. Sometimes he actually does it! This was not one of those times.

37. Adric

The Davison companions tend to get good leaving stories that are apparently based on some unbroadcast version of Doctor Who in which they’re completely different people.

So on one hand obviously the death of Adric was a memorable piece of television that affected people deeply on broadcast, but on the other hand it’s a glorified jump-scare. Adric is on board a space freighter about to crash onto prehistoric Earth and cause the extinction of the dinosaurs. He doesn’t know about that last bit, so instead of getting into the escape pod he attempts to solve a logic puzzle that is stopping him from controlling the ship. His bravery in going back to the ship doesn’t achieve anything. In fact if he had succeeded it would have changed history dramatically, so he dooms himself for nothing.

It’s brutal, in comparison with earlier companion deaths the emotional fallout is poorly handled, and it doesn’t pay off anything we’ve seen earlier. Consider Adric’s character up until his final story – a reckless know-it-all who keeps joining the bad guys – and it doesn’t join up with his final story and fate. The initial setup of Adric feeling like an outsider is swiftly resolved rather than used as motivation for his death. There’s no redemption, just a cruel and unlucky moment of bravery for the sake of a semblance of drama.

36. Amy and Rory

Steven Moffat’s first companion departures are not his best work. Initially Amy and Rory broke a trend: companions leaving as they get married off. Only then Moffat wrote a poorly handled pregnancy storyline where the characters’ emotional responses felt implausible, and unlike his softening of the Twelfth Doctor’s character the attempts to address this were bumpy. Then for Amy and Rory’s departure he has River Song, the Doctor’s wife who he rarely meets in chronological order, tell them that he doesn’t like endings and “never let him see you age”.

This reminds you that the Doctor isn’t only manipulative and scheming on an epic scale, and the fact that he tries to convince Amy not to try to go after Rory continues is more in-your-face selfishness (another example of the Seventh Doctor era being on similar wavelengths to the post-2005 show), rather than feeling like a genuine concern for her safety.

Now, I love Doctor Who, I like that the hero is flawed but that they try to be hopeful (and Moffat addresses this successfully elsewhere). The issues with giving the Doctor flaws are whether they’re dealbreakers for people watching, and whether or not they’re deliberately done. This feels like it’s aiming for a commentary on the Doctor but goes too far, and I can understand people finding this hard to watch.

As with many of Moffat’s ideas, just because it didn’t fully work here doesn’t mean it won’t crop up again later.

35. Kamelion

There are a lot of cases of a companion leaving because the production team can’t make them work, but this is a bit on the nose.

Like Adric’s death, Kamelion begging the Doctor to destroy him would have much more impact if it followed through more substantially on previous stories. Unfortunately Kamelion’s character was that of a shape-shifting robot where the robot prop didn’t work, and rather than have him just assume a human guise they simply never wrote him back into the series until his final story. As a result, there’s no real relationship in play when the Doctor grants Kamelion’s wish. On the other hand the robot’s plight is consistent with what little we know of him.

While it’s never fun to watch someone beg for death, it’s more of a testament to Gerald Flood’s acting and Peter Grimwade’s script for ‘Planet of Fire’ that his death scene works.

34. Donna Noble

Everyone remembers the sequence in ‘Journey’s End’ where the companions pilot the TARDIS and drag the Earth back to the right place while “Song for Freedom” builds and Freema Agyeman looks directly at the camera. It’s joyous. It’s huge. It’s wonderful.

The 10 minutes that follow are bleak.

Rose gets her compromised happy ending, then it’s the fate of Donna. She gets given some of the Doctor’s mind, becomes even more brilliant, but then comes the turn: this will kill her. She can’t be this brilliant, she can’t have any more adventures with the Doctor. As she shouts “No” the Doctor wipes her memories of their time together.

33. Lady Christina de Souza

Flying off in a knackered double-decker bus to further adventures is a really good way to go. This would rank higher if it weren’t for the fact that the character is hard to warm to. Unlike Donna Noble’s first appearance in the show, Christina’s role in ‘Planet of the Dead’ doesn’t allow for much pathos or depth, and the character never returned on television to show these. As it is we’re left with a bored member of the aristocracy flying away in some very British iconography, but without the promise of a Barbara Wright figure puncturing their ego.

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32. Mel

It’s worth stressing that any critique of Mel as a character has to firmly centre on the inadequacy of her creation. She was devised as a computer programmer from Pease Pottage who was into keep-fit, and that’s her entire character. It seems churlish to criticise Bonnie Langford for playing the part as “Bonnie Langford in Doctor Who” because there was nothing else for her to go on.

Mel leaves the series because she decides to travel with Glitz, a mercenary. Does this follow on logically from her character? All we know about Mel is that she’s wholesome and enthusiastic and seems extremely unlikely to go off with a violent intergalactic Del Boy.

However, she gets another leaving scene that would be wonderful if it reflected a recognisable character. We get a sense of the Doctor’s affection for Mel and a series of wonderful melancholy moments: the Doctor shutting the conversation down so he doesn’t have to deal with human emotion, his obvious sadness at another friend leaving because that’s what his life is. Mel’s last line about putting a message in a bottle and throwing it into space (“It’ll reach you. In time”) is brilliant.

This scene bears comparison with Sarah Jane’s leaving scene, specifically because it wasn’t in the original script but the lead actor insisted it be added in its place. It was the scene Sylvester McCoy read when he auditioned for the role.

31. Adam Mitchell

Adam joins at the end of ‘Dalek’ and leaves at the end of ‘The Long Game’, the next story, and has a piece of future technology in his forehead so whenever someone clicks their fingers a little door opens up and you can see his brain.

Yes, in the grand scheme of things this is unfair. Other companions have done stupid things and the Doctor has helped them. The Brigadier flat out murdered people. But Adam was deliberately rubbish and this is reminder that the Ninth Doctor is a damaged man who lashes out. When he says ‘I only take the best’ it seems more like an excuse to get rid of Adam than anything factual, but then the Doctor starts acting like it’s true.

30. Vicki

Vicki left the series because producer John Wiles heard actress Maureen O’Brien complain about her dialogue in ‘Galaxy 4’, so decided to let her go when her contract expired one story later. This led to her being paired off with Troilus at the end of ‘The Myth Makers’, set during the fall of Troy. A late decision requiring rewrites, this is quite an enigmatic fate. We see Vicki fleeing Troy after its fall with Troilus, the Doctor hopeful that she’s safe, but we never see her again. Given the TARDIS’ translation gifts, one imagines she suddenly has to learn Luwian.

29. Nyssa

Nyssa, a scientist/fairy princess mash-up whose entire family and planet was destroyed by the Master (who took over her father’s body) could be a great character. Her innately calm, generous and curious nature contrasted with all the horrors of her past is full of potential, and indeed her choice to stay behind at what is essentially a space leper colony is consistent with this. However, because none of this is ever seriously addressed in the show, the potential pathos of her leaving is greatly reduced. As is often the case we have to make do with a sad leaving scene, where Tegan flat out says to her “You’ll die here” to which she replies “Not easily. Like you I’m indestructible.”

As with Adric’s death, there’s the vague shape of something weighty and dramatic there but without the substance to fill it. John Nathan-Turner hated soaps, but actually using their techniques might have given us a stronger sense of Nyssa and Tegan’s relationship, meaning the audience wasn’t left to fill the gaps.

28. Jackson Lake

Considering during the course of ‘The Next Doctor’ Jackson Lake is in a fugue state, has a breakdown, remembers the death of his wife and the abduction of his child… he seems quite well adjusted by the end of the story. Reunited with his son and suggesting a Christmas dinner honouring the people they’ve lost, Lake seems to be in a better place than the Doctor.

27. Steven Taylor

Steven went through a lot: Wounded in Troy, witnessing the deaths of Katarina, Sara, and the Huguenots of Paris. Initially conceived as a replacement for Ian, meaning he took on most of the action sequences, he leaves in ‘The Savages’ to mediate between two societal factions after a story designed as a more cerebral alternative to biffing. It’s a good place to leave for a character who had stagnated (which, as you can see, happened a lot).

26. Graham and 25. Ryan

Ryan didn’t get killed or converted by Cybermen, so that’s progress. What did happen is that the Doctor accidentally returned to Sheffield ten months late. Yaz is hurt and Ryan returns more comfortably to his old life. Graham is also there.

The returning character of Robertson, an American tycoon with interests in becoming President functions as both a Doctor Who villain and a Donald Trump analogue (in a story universe containing Donald Trump) and this version of Doctor Who isn’t currently capable of dealing with that. Ryan watches Robertson on telly, unpunished by the Doctor and resolves to do something. This is a good reason to go, especially given the concerns of the Chibnall era (at its best focussing on the impact on well-drawn individuals, at its worst expositing over abstractions and sketches).

Graham decides that he will stay with his grandson after Ryan’s sudden announcement. This pays off their development in Series 11, where they had the main character arc of that series.

So far so good, but we also see Graham and Ryan deciding that, actually no, they’re not going to deal with real world problems, just Doctor Who-style adventures instead. It’s a useful microcosm of the era: good ideas present but not followed through on, being not shown Ryan’s reasons for leaving, and not successfully tethering the characters to either the forced whimsy of Doctor Who or the contemporary societal issues it wants to highlight.

And a final issue, which may be resolved: why is this the break-up of The Fam?

This ending doesn’t preclude the Doctor coming back to visit them in any way. In this respect it’s a classic companion departure: practically speaking actors aren’t always free for a cameo or a return visit (for example William Russell wasn’t ultimately available to play Ian Chesterton for ‘Mawdryn Undead’, so the Brigadier was written into the role of a school teacher instead), which means the Doctor not returning for their friends becomes a feature of the character. So while Ryan and Graham are choosing to leave, rather than being drastically and permanently separated, is the Doctor is still making the decision to cut them out of her life?

24. Mickey Smith

Mickey is given, in ‘The Age of Steel’, a proper old-fashioned companion exit, by which I mean some plot points are introduced at the start of his final story and by the end they’ve caused him to leave. Here it’s based on the Doctor and Rose’s behaviour and Mickey’s worth being dismissed until he does something heroic. He’s finally able to say to Rose that she doesn’t need him anymore and move on. Broad brushstrokes stuff in a busy episode, but it continues the idea that the Doctor makes people better that was emphasised from 2005 onwards.

Sure, he does it by being a bit of a prick here but the point stands.

23. The Brigadier

What is the Brigadier’s final story? I’m looking for a story that is written as a final departure, ideally after sustained involvement in the show. For the Brigadier that means ‘Terror of the Zygons’ doesn’t quite work, it wasn’t meant to be his final story (he was unavailable for ‘The Android Invasion’). ‘Battlefield’might have been his final bow, but writer Ben Aaronovitch set up the Brigadier’s death then found he simply couldn’t kill him off. The episode the Brigadier is initially written out of the show in is ‘The Wedding of River Song’ – where the Doctor receives news of his death by phone – and this is swiftly retconned with the divisive Cyber-Brig from ‘Death in Heaven’.

These two were written after Nicholas Courtney’s death, and the first one is used for dramatic weight but is over with too quickly. The latter does show the Brigadier, even in death and converted, saving the life of his daughter and helping the Doctor before going on to possibly eternal life – as seems right and proper – but as it involves the Brigadier’s buried body being reanimated there’s an invasive element connected to a beloved figure. As with many of Steven Moffat’s ideas, just because it didn’t fully work here doesn’t mean it won’t crop up again later.

22. Turlough

Peter Grimwade deserves credit again. Given the job of writing out Turlough, Kamelion and potentially the Master while also writing in the new companion Peri, Grimwade actually makes the brief for ‘Planet of Fire’ work. Here Turlough realises early on that his home planet is involved, and by involving his family Grimwade makes the stakes personal. Turlough also gets to use his brains here, rather than just wander around with a gun looking scared.

Turlough’s departure is developed through this story, and the farewell scene is a low-key goodbye as he admits that travelling with the Doctor has made him a better person. Again, it doesn’t follow from previous episodes, as Turlough isn’t developed as a character after ‘Enlightenment’, but in the context of this story it works well.

21. Mike Yates

An example of Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks addressing how being a regular Doctor Who character might make you feel, Captain Mike Yates is shaken by his hypnosis when undercover at a petrochemical company and becomes concerned about the environment. He falls in with a plot to reduce overpopulation and restore Earth to a golden age by time scooping dinosaurs into central London, because Doctor Who, and is discharged from UNIT. He goes to a meditation centre to recover, and uncovers a sinister plot – because Doctor Who– and ultimately gets better. Yates gets an arc and closure, especially in comparison to his fellow UNIT soldiers.

20. Nardole

Nardole, chiefly a comic relief character with moments of depth, is entrusted with the task of evading the Cybermen for as long as possible while keeping a group of humans alive (a continuation from his assigned role of monitoring the Doctor). It seems likely they will eventually fall, and though this is de-emphasised to stop an already tragic episode from overloading, it’s quietly harrowing. Adric’s death shook up the children watching, Nardole’s affects the parents: the feeling of being a guardian to children in an uncertain, dangerous world is all too familiar right now.

19. Sarah Jane Smith

Sarah Jane’s departure in ‘The Hand of Fear’(written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin) comes out of the blue. An early outline for the story involved the Brigadier’s death, sacrificing himself to save the world. This was lost in development, and the story delayed while it was simplified. In the meantime Elisabeth Sladen asked to leave and for Sarah not to be the focus, married or killed off. Sarah was going to be killed off though, in a story called ‘The Lost Legion’. Script Editor Robert Holmes disliked the story, so a simplified version of ‘The Hand of Fear’returned to replace it with Holmes writing Sarah’s leaving scene. This was rewritten by Sladen and Tom Baker, with Holmes unavailable to do further rewrites. This is why Sarah’s departure is sudden. There’s no huge focus on her and then unrelated to the rest of the story the Doctor receives a summons to Gallifey where humans are not allowed (and given what happened last time he went he probably doesn’t want to take Sarah). What the scene does have is a strong sense of the unsaid to it, a sense of wistfulness akin to seeing someone else living in your childhood home.

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18. Wilf

Essentially, if Bernard Cribbins is crying then I’m going to cry. It’s Bernard Cribbins, for god’s sake. He’s so lovable its actually weaponised against the audience, and while ‘The End of Time’ might not be to everyone’s tastes, Cribbins makes every scene he’s in work, so you’re thoroughly invested in Wilf and his responses. However, this is harks back to Susan’s departure. It’s undeniably moving that the Doctor is making this man cry with happiness… after lying to him (no mention of the safeguards he put in Donna’s mind, or that Donna didn’t want her memories wiped anyway) and who he emphasises is “not remotely important” before saying it would “be my honour” to save him. It’s said of the Doctor “words are his weapons” in ‘Hell Bent’, and the pattern emerging here is that they’re weapons he uses on his friends; when the Doctor says “I only take the best” this is not only another weapon, it’s asking the question: the best for what?

17. Bill Potts

Potentially eternal life you say? A walking dead person? Maybe keep the dead body aspect of it and this idea has legs. Bill follows the Brigadier in becoming a Cyberman, and Clara in returning from the dead to travel the universe. The images of Cyber-Bill carrying the Doctor, the reaffirmation of who Bill is, the arrival of Heather: all of these are great.

Steven Moffat was right that the show hadn’t been diverse enough in its casting, but presumably no one behind the scenes understood that there are unintended connotations to a white man telling a black woman that she can’t be angry if she wants to be accepted – as happens to Bill in ‘The Doctor Falls’ – or that Clara got a gore-free death compared to the lingering shots of Bill’s gunshot wound. There’s also ambiguity in ‘Twice Upon a Time’as to when Bill dies – in that episode she is represented by an avatar taken from a moment near death, but given everything that’s happened to Bill this could be tomorrow or in a million years’ time – so overall this one has some extreme highs and lows.

16. Romana and K9

After Mary Tamm left the show, feeling similarly to Louise Jameson that despite a strong start her character was reverting to the stock companion figure (a damsel in distress, tripping ankles, screaming for help to advance the plot that’s being explained to them) Romana regenerated with Lalla Ward taking over the role. Ward left the show as new producer John Nathan-Turner came on board, and while Romana’s departure was foreshadowed well in advance, Nathan-Turner didn’t want any soap opera elements creeping into Doctor Who, and so Romana’s farewell scene was understated and rushed against Ward’s wishes. Otherwise it’s a good exit for Romana, who refuses a summons to Gallifrey and, finding herself in another dimension, decides to go off on her own journey after her travels with the Doctor.

K9 goes with her because John Nathan-Turner hated K9. Compared to ‘School Reunion’ this is just completely dismissive, but there is at least a coda: another scene at the end of ‘Warriors’ Gate’ where K9 and Romana face their future together with optimism, and Adric asks the Doctor if Romana will be alright: “Alright? She’ll be superb.”

15. Susan Foreman

The first companion departure, and something of a template. Susan falls in love and stays behind. Actress Carole Ann Ford left as she was unsatisfied by Susan’s lack of development.

It’s the Doctor’s decision to leave Susan, his granddaughter, behind. He locks the doors on her, believing that she stands a better chance of happiness staying on Earth rebuilding after a Dalek invasion. William Hartnell didn’t want Ford to leave and channels that into his performance. A clip of this scene was used to represent Hartnell at the beginning of the twentieth anniversary special ‘The Five Doctors’, and with Susan’s fate unconfirmed after The Time War his line ‘One day I shall come back’ lands even heavier: we know he never did.

No wonder he never comes back for anybody else.

14. Captain Jack

‘The Parting of the Ways’ is Jack’s departure story as it’s his last as a regular companion before moving to Torchwood.

Torchwood was not announced until after Series 1 of Doctor Who, and so when it became clear that Jack – with his cheesy grin and action hero posturing – was going to die, it was unexpected. There’s a sense of inevitability about the Daleks killing him when everyone else is dead but, because this was a new series, it was never clear how far it would go. Maybe there’d be a last-minute reprieve. Ultimately there was, but as far as self-contained character arcs go Jack’s journey from con-man to sacrificial hero works, and if it had ended there, it’d have been on a high.

13. Adelaide Brooke

In Base Under Siege stories we have the stock character of a distrusting commander who doesn’t get along with the Doctor. A fun idea in ‘The Waters of Mars’ is ‘Hey, what if they were the companion for one episode?’

One of the less fun but still powerful ideas is also that the Doctor’s behaviour be so unnerving that this stock character would kill themselves in response. So here we have someone standing up to the Doctor as he states the laws of time “are mine, and they will obey me!” What’s interesting is that this is not dissimilar to the standard companion departure, but operating in the epic register rather than a more intimate one. The Doctor has previous on saying that companions have to leave and not giving them a choice, but here the controlling behaviour is scaled upwards to time itself. Possibly the show was not ready to explore this explicitly in a smaller scale just yet.

12. Grace Holloway

Sneaking in unnoticed is the fact that Grace Holloway, the one-off companion for the 1996 TV Movie, ends the film by kissing the Doctor at midnight under the fireworks but refusing to go with him because her experiences have given her renewed self-confidence. Grace is that rarest of things – a Doctor Who companion who gets to leave on her own terms without the Doctor being a dick about it.

11. Ian Chesterton

Ian and Barbara are the first humans in Doctor Who to explore the universe in the TARDIS, taken away by force when the Doctor kidnaps them. Initially they want to return home, but this desire fades. However, when they’re presented with a chance they take it. As a contrast to Susan’s departure, Ian and Barbara’s departure is joyful as it turns out that you cantravel with the Doctor and leave on your own terms as richer, fuller people.

10. Rose Tyler

Rose and the Doctor. The Doctor and Rose. It’s easy to lose track – amidst the melodrama, epic gestures and various tensions – of the way Series 2 sets up Rose and the Doctor being torn apart almost straight away. They’re so wrapped up in how much fun they’re having that it stops them from noticing other people’s feelings. It becomes clear that had the Doctor and Rose done this, the Torchwood Institute wouldn’t exist, so Harriet Jones wouldn’t have had a weapon to fire at the Sycorax in the preceding Christmas episode. However, the show is also telling you that Rose and the Doctor being split up is a colossal tragedy; performances, visuals and music tell you this is incredibly sad while the stories are reminding you they’ve contributed to their own downfall.

This is a companion departure with the heartbreak turned up to 11, to the point where the pretty loud “Brought this on themselves” track can get lost in the mix. Here’s the beginnings of companions burning out rather than fading away.

There’s also the unfortunate business where Rose Tyler, the beloved character who helped bring Doctor Who back as a critical and popular success, rips holes in the universe to find the man she loves.

Said man takes her back to the place she had the worst time of her life, gives her a genocidal sex clone and then quietly leaves when she’s making out with it.

9. Ace

Bearing in mind that Ace has left Doctor Who in so many different canons over the years, it’s specifically her departure in ‘Survival’ that I’m taking as her final story. I’m heavily indebted to Una McCormack’s book on ‘The Curse of Fenric’ here, as it makes the very good point that for everything that could happen to Ace – whatever fates spin-off media has in store for her – there’s nothing quite as perfect for where Ace has reached at the end of Season 26 as the promise of further adventures, the possibility of joy rather than darkness, an ellipsis rather than a full stop.

8. Barbara

Why is Barbara’s departure better than Ian’s? Because:

In ‘An Unearthly Child’ the Doctor asks them “What is going to happen to you?”, the single most important question in the entire series. Firstly because that is half the format of Doctor Who, and secondly because the other half is the same question in reverse. If Barbara Wright doesn’t happen to Doctor Who, then Doctor Who is a short lived 1960s sci-fi show about a cantankerous old git who kidnapped some school teachers (Missing presumed wiped).

7. Zoe and 6. Jamie

Zoe and Jamie both leave suddenly at the end of ‘The War Games’. Patrick Troughton was leaving and the actors decided to go with him, and that sense of an era ending bled into the fiction.

At the end of ‘The War Games’ the Time Lords are named and appear for the first time, represented by a group of solemn men in robes who wield immense and ineffable power. The Doctor is put on trial for stealing the TARDIS and interfering on other worlds. His companions are returned to a time after their first meeting with the Doctor, their memories of their travels erased. This isn’t built up to, but there’s a general sense of unease in the final few episodes and the Time Lords seem aloof enough to mete out this sort of punishment.

Jamie and Zoe try to escape with the Doctor, but when they’re recaptured he gives up. With Patrick Troughton’s Doctor this is especially shocking, and it’s only his melancholy resignation that convinces them to give up too. Zoe ends up back on a space station, and knows there’s something she can’t quite remember, but with Jamie – who has been with the Second Doctor for almost the entire incarnation – he ends up back at the aftermath of Culloden, charging a redcoat. In a kind touch, the redcoat turns and flees, suggesting Jamie might be alright in the aftermath of the battle.

Doctor Who wasn’t really huge on tearjerkers until 2005, but it was very, very good at quiet melancholy.

5. Martha Jones

Martha is in love with the Doctor. The Doctor spends the entire series pining for Rose and being oblivious to this fact.

Martha Jones puts up with a lot, looking after the Doctor while in his human John Smith guise and having to restrain herself while being continually patronised, racially abused and treated like an idiot. She then spends a year travelling the Earth avoiding capture as the Master enslaves and murders the population, holding Martha’s family captive while she does this.

So frankly when Martha says she’s leaving and the Doctor still doesn’t understand why (“Is this going anywhere?”) it’s hugely cathartic for the audience and for someone who deserved better. Some people do get to choose when being with the Doctor stops, and it’s usually great when they do.

4. Jo Grant

However muddled the reasoning behind Jo Grant’s existence, the casting was inspired. Essentially a remix of Jamie (which suggests that Jo and Liz could have worked if Jamie and Zoe did), Jo Grant wasn’t the brightest but wasn’t stupid, and was incredibly loyal and brave.

With the Doctor’s paternal streak fully activated, the production team decided that Jo falling in love and telling the Doctor “he reminds me of a sort of younger you” would be exactly what the Doctor didn’t want to hear. In contrast to Victoria’s departure and the Doctor’s selflessness there, the Doctor doesn’t do what Mike Yates does when marriage is announced (looks upset and does his best to mask it) but instead quietly slips out and drives away by himself. The fact that he leaves in a way that suggests jealousy or loneliness is a huge change; now we see the Doctor closer to Susan’s position and he does not like it.

3. Tegan

Coming at the end of ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’, where she’s seen a lot of people killed and the Doctor pick up a gun and announce that he’s going to kill Davros (who Tegan presumably hasn’t heard of), Tegan’s leaving scene is very close to being perfect.

Firstly there’s the line “It’s stopped being fun”, which begs the question of when it started being fun for her, but that’s ignorable. Secondly, and this is more about personal taste than an inconsistency in characterisation, there’s a case to be made for Less is More here. Tegan runs from the Doctor and Turlough as he begs her not to leave “like this”, which causes the Doctor to consider his actions before he and Turlough leave in the TARDIS. As it’s dematerialising, Tegan runs back in has one final line. For me it’s just a line too far, and Tegan being unable to say anything at all would have been more powerful, especially for the self-described “mouth on legs”.

However, that’s more window dressing rather than substance: the reasons for Tegan leaving are excellent: it’s a commentary on the stories and Doctor we’ve seen recently, and a plausible emotional response to them. It sets the Doctor on his way to ‘The Caves of Androzani’ where the show comes even closer than ever to paying off a sustained period of grimdark storytelling. Adric’s death might be more famous, but Tegan’s departure is much better writing from Eric Saward and deserves more plaudits for it.

2. Victoria

Actor Deborah Watling wanted to leave, and so Victoria goes in ‘Fury from the Deep’. Here the character has a plausible response to screaming at monsters and getting into trouble: she leaves. She says that she’s having a miserable time screaming and getting into trouble, but isn’t sure if she can go: her father died saving the Doctor, she’s an orphan out of her own time. The Doctor intervenes and suggests a family she can stay with.

Most importantly, the Doctor and Jamie stay an extra day to give her time to think it over, and the Doctor stresses that it must be her decision. On top of this, the final scene of the episode is the Doctor quietly trying to make Jamie feel better about her leaving. Rather than the usual one scene and gone deal we have something drawn out, stemming from character, full of warmth and empathy.

1. Clara Oswald

Potentially eternal life you say? A walking dead person? Maybe lose the dead body aspect of it and this idea has legs. ‘Hell Bent’ is a divisive episode (referential meta-commentary on Doctor Who isn’t what everyone was looking for from a season finale) and the ideas in it are incredibly pointed: the grieving Doctor overthrows Rassilon, shooting a potential ally to retrieve Clara from a moment before her death, and tries to wipe her mind to save her life, addressing the long-term trends of companion departures head on.

Rather than a Gallifreyan epic, this is focussed on one relationship and the shade it casts on the Doctor’s behaviour, all the while dancing in and around threads from other plotlines. The Doctor wanted Gallifrey back so badly, but now it’s simply a means to an end for him to bring Clara back.

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Clara’s final story is often compared to Donna’s departure because of the mindwipe element and the idea of Clara being a Doctor-like figure in her own right – here realised rather than excised – but looking at this list you can see how it harks back all the way to Susan: the Doctor thinks he knows what is best and often gets it wrong, and what seems like extreme behaviour in this story is actually pretty standard. Here he gets properly called out on this behaviour, the show finally able to address this in an intimate rather than epic setting.

The post Doctor Who: Ranking Every Single Companion Departure appeared first on Den of Geek.

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sanjuno · 7 years

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NRT+SW: That We Answer To Our Stars

Just remember that you people asked for this and if I end up posting a story concept that you love and want to see as a fic? Be well aware that all of these outlines only have one thing in common:

I HAVEN’T WRITTEN A SINGLE SCENE FOR THEM.

Which means I won’t be turning them into fic for a year at least so... *handwaves* Encourage me IRT your favourite WIP of mine, because finishing one of those will clear up space in the docket for a new story to get some attention.

Now, these outlines can get kinda disjointed but at least you’ll get to see a bit of how my brain works when I plot out stories.

THE SCENE!

>Kaguya’s multiverse trip goes wonky b/c best crossover fodder scene

>Uchiha Clan dumped wholesale on Rim World/Wild Space World in SW’verse. All the Uchiha Clan. All the Uchiha since ever.

->World is XL planetoid version of TG44, with added biome options b/c YOLO (unless you’re in the Uchiha Clan I guess b/c then you get to Live All The Times?)

>Indra, Madara, and Sasuke separate ppl w/ wiggy chakra resonance. V disorienting.

->Ninshu gets Dialled Up To Eleven = Force Bonds! Force Bonds everywhere!

-->Entire Clan gets Highlights Reel of Historically Important Memories (also so much purposely induced trauma wow WTF.)

--->Mass Meditation required to untangle/unfuck heads

>Entire Clan now Force Sensitive BTW

->WTF w/ crazy Nature Chakra infesting everyone? Uchiha are Not Pleased.

-->Upside: Force Bonds/Ninshu Super Connection can be used to awaken Sharingan w/out Psyche Destroying Trauma so yay for that

>All Uchiha now have Kaguya’s est. life span. Also nubbin horns and forehead sensory organ b/c aliens are a SW thing I can do this now (don't know if want full-on third eye or just funky Clan Marking thing? Hm...)

THE PLOT THICKENS/ACTUALLY STARTS BEING A THING!

>Sep. forces land on new Uchiha Homeworld b/c shenanigans and The Force Likes To Meddle

->Sasuke introduces said forces to Kirin b/c is reminded of T7 mission to Land of Iron? Or Snow? Dunno which but Naruto’verse says machines = bad juju so Sasuke is 100% justified ok thanks.

>212th follows. Obi-wan is v concerned by the Uchiha

->Entire Pop. of Planet is FS WTF is this nonsense?

-->Clones v impressed at least. Free-range jedi are badass why were they not informed of this being an option? (Clones made for jedi = have a hard time leaving GAR b/c existential dissonance when no jedi for retired soldiers? Also Kamino sucks and slavery sucks more but now the Clones who don’t want to be soldiers or recycled can Take A Third Option! So much Clone chatter about the Uchiha thing wow.)

>Madara is sent to be Senator b/c Jedi are Very Insistent that this Planet be part of the Republic.

->Madara terrifies all the politicians b/c Uchiha Hate Politics (they're too blunt and the see too much) but Madara is best at it v good at lying without saying anything untrue.

-->Madara knows Palpatine is skeevy b/c Uchiha See All The Things and You Can’t Fool Me With Such A Weak Illusion, Foolish Human and now there are clashing manipulators and Your Attachments Make You Weak and this is going to get out of hand so quickly I just know it.

>Sasuke is apparently still best Prophecy Child Bait and Anakin is Conflicted b/c how can he be attracted to someone not Padme?

->501st would like to adopt b/c last time Anakin fucked off without backup Sasuke came back 5 minutes later with Anakin hogtied over his shoulder and the Seppie base on fire. Sasuke is so unimpressed b/c That’s Not How You Infiltrate Enemy Lines, You Moron

-->Sasuke is still 100% going to seduce Anakin and Padme b/c his life is Not Complete without an Idiot to yell at and a Crazy Berserker who likes to pretend she’s The Sane One to ride herd on.

--->Obi-wan is Done With All Of Them b/c Sasuke isn’t even pretending to try and hide his intentions b/c if they get fired Sasuke can just take them back home for a proper marriage. Mikoto is So Proud of her boy.

>Madara and Mace have ‘sip and bitch’ IRT Palpatine being an evil fucker

->At some point Madara will wonder out loud what Palpatine is grooming Anakin for? Mace is Concerned by this revelation. Madera is not.

-->Sasuke had Issues IRT not sharing well with other children. BTW Mace Sasuke is planning to steal away Anakin and marry him. Don’t worry he will be returned eventually and so will his wife.

--->Mace thinks Anakin had it coming. WTF was the boy thinking? Did he really think he could hide anything from a temple containing several thousand telempaths? Jedi can get married, it’s just considered polite to ask first and go through the counselling with the Mind Healers beforehand. (Idea! Coruscaunti Jedi treat marriage the same way the Japanese treat Gun Control. Lots of paperwork and regular mandatory psyche evaluations and pervasive low-key terror at the idea of having one.)

->Madara will hear the “too much fear in him” story and cackles

-->Slaves have to please their Masters to survive. Anakin was freed to be a Jedi so if not a Jedi then he’s a slave again? No Fear = Be A Jedi (Not A Slave) and now Anakin is The Hero With No Fear

--->Therefore everything the Council dislikes about how Anakin acts was initialized by the Council. Mace hates Irony so much. Madara is still cackling in his face.

->Madara wants the aged out Initiates who still want to fight (or even just the Initiates who don’t suit the Jedi lifestyle)

-->He has a Clan to maintain! About 25% of the Uchiha never fell in love or fell in love with non-Uchiha so they need Marriage Options. (Uchiha don’t fall out of love easily either so new potential spouses need to be Impressive As Fuck and the jedi know how to be Impressive.)

--->Species doesn’t actually matter Uchiha’s Forest of Death planet has lots of different options despite being mostly Giant Fuck-Off Trees and the higher your Force Sensitivity the higher your chances are for successful cross-species hybrids. (Madara is planning to keep Obito and Itachi away from the aquatic species for a while b/c they have a concerning fondness for fishes.) Hybrids are viable though b/c The Force loves grand babies.

>Izuna is there as Madara’s Security Chief and he’s having Far Too Much Fun getting to be paranoid for a living. Plus all sorts of time to spend with his wife! (Need to pick name and develop Izuna’s wife beyond terrifying DFAB genderfluid interrogation specialist but at least they’re happy together.)

->Izunami (Izuna’s daughter) and Kagami are tiny children again b/c weird cross-dimensional space-time fuckery is like that

-->Shisui is super amused to be ‘older’ than his grandfather.

->Kagami approves mightily of Madara-shishou’s friendship with Mace (reminds him of Tobirama-sensei!)

->Izunami is 100% in favour of actually getting to ‘grow up’ with her Mom and Dad around this time (although she only really listens to Madara b/c he was her Parental Authority Figure and old habits don’t break) Jedi actually find this comforting b/c even if Uchiha crazy about attachments there are familiar bits there in how they arrange instruction even if the three students at a time thing is weird.

-->Both Izunami and Kagami are So Relieved that their Spouse is the same age as them b/c while they would be willing to wait until the other grew up this is much less creepy.

>Speaking of age fuckery Itachi is smol now and just about permanently leashed to Mikoto’s side.

->Sasuke is v amused b/c Aniki deserves this.

-->Mikoto and Fugaku are the first Uchiha couple to make a new baby and it’s Sarada b/c she’s the only good thing about the Next Gen (Except for Snake Fam but they aren’t a part of this fic boo)

>Obito is Madara’s primary assistant b/c some of the Uchiha are Not Over the whole Killing Us All Off thing.

->Obito runs into Quinlan Vos. Results are hilarious.

-->Brainwashing to the Dark Side ep. goes v differently. (Need to re-watch this ep for details but yes) Obito will rampage over everything b/c dude has No Chill

>Shisui is v jealous of his relatives b/c Itachi is too smol to play with and also has been hijacked by Isami (who will hold her death over Itachi for the rest of forever but again Uchiha don’t really fall out of love so she’s also learning Itachi wrangling skills from Mikoto now.)

->Everyone else is finding Jedi favourites and Shisui misses his ANBU team b/c it’s not like he really had time to make any other friends

-->Sulking Shisui trips over Feemor while waiting for Madara. Apparently Uchiha and Yoda’s Lineage have A Type.

>BIG PLOT POINT: Uchiha Remember

->’Curse of Hatred’ spun by Madara as ‘plague’ caused by ‘non-native invasive plants’ (Blames it all on Zetsu and says plant was toxic to non-Uchiha) Says is why there are no non-Uchiha in TG44′s population despite stories otherwise.

>Uchiha think the Jedi Code is silly but the Clones are the Best Thing. All Clones look different to FS/Sharingan

>Uchiha have a habit of “stealing” spouses.

->BTW Shisui has No Patience

-->Upside: Feemor is v flattered by the attention and TG44 has a v interesting ecosystem. TF is in everything on this planet like WTF how does this work?

->Kagami is So Proud. Look at his Grandson, so proactive.

-->Starts to ‘hint’ that maybe Madara-shishou should think about settling down.

-->Mace has been meditating and consulting with the other Masters of the Order.

--->War changes everyone. Plus certain contracts between the Jedi Order and the Senate have been voided by the drafting of Jedi Generals. (Look up the details of the Ruusan Reformation for more info on disbandment of Jedi Military Powers and what it means when Senate gives them back the right to raise levy forces.)

-->Jedi don’t need to look harmless anymore just need to look less dangerous than the Seppies and the Sith.

>Uchiha Clan FB keep any of them from Falling to the Dark Side.

->Sasuke finally gets his hooks in Anakin and Padme. Notices the ‘nightmare vision’ problem first time he sleeps over.

-->Kidnaps Obi-wan to ‘repair’ the stress fracture in Anakin’s only familial FB b/c having his partner be so alone in his head is creeping Sasuke out and it’d only get worse if the bond to Obi-wan breaks completely.

--->Obi-wan is too tired to even object and now Anakin is freaking out b/c he’d been so focused on Padme maybe-dying in childbirth that he hadn’t even noticed how sick his Master looks.

---->Oh and also there is a Sith Energy Parasite attached to Anakin’s FS and it’s been poisoning his bonds. Sasuke just facepalms while the Jedi have panic attacks and drags in the genjutsu expert hostile deprogramming specialists.

----->Upside: Uchiha now know what Sith Master’s chakra signature is and can hunt him properly. Also help Mind Healers check all Jedi for similar problems, starting with Active Duty Generals. My the Council Chambers look so much Lighter now.

>Then some stuff happens where Palpatine is exposed as the Sith Master and there are explosions.

>Plot Twist is that Madara and Mace have been banging and rewriting the Jedi Code of conduct since like their third date and no one picked up on it.

->Mace: *stares Anakin in the eyes* And that’s how you hide an affair, Skywalker.

*jazz hands* And this is how my fics look before I start writing them.

#Sanjuno self metas #Sanjuno Monolouges #prompt myself #Fic I haven't written yet #that we answer to our stars

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winterdonna-blog · 4 years

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