#and I guess this means Maya would inspire Baby maybe??? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hoodharlow · 4 years

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Family Addition

AN: I promised this one shot to @hoodschick like a week ago lol. It’s inspired by Michael and Crystal becoming foster dog parents and joking about maybe adopting the dog they’re fostering.

Summary: Maya and Calum have been together 5 years. After some convincing from Maya, they become foster dog parents. A bump in the road

Warnings: smut lmao

Word count: 4.1k words.

“Fuck,” Calum groaned as Maya slipped him back in her mouth.

Maya bobbed her head up and down on him quickly, then slowed her pace as Calum’s fingers tightened their grip on her hair. She let Calum guide her head as she continued to take him. His grip on her loosened; she pushed his hand away and took over.

Calum threw his head back on the couch. His stomach began to contract, letting her know that he was close. Maya rested her tongue on his tip as she stroked him. Her hand sped up, and Cal’s moans grew louder. She took him back in her mouth, bobbing her head. She made sure to take in every last drop when he came.

“Fuck, I love you. I’m pretty sure you can ask me for anything, and I’ll say yes.” Calum said after he caught his breath. He pulled up his sweats.

“Well actually….” Maya said, straddling his lap as Calum’s arms welcomed her.

“I knew something was up the minute I saw you in those shorts.” He shook his head, smiling to himself.

“I was only showing you my new pajamas, not my fault your dick can’t control itself.” Maya smoothed out her pajama shorts.

Earlier that day Maya met up with Crystal for lunch before stopping by La Perla for some new pajama shorts and nightgowns.

Maya is eternally grateful for Crystal because she’s the reason why Maya met Calum, her boyfriend of five years and father of her three year old, Jaime. Crystal was one of her first friends when she moved to LA from Texas in pursuit of acting. She helped Maya get the role as Calum’s love interest in the ‘Wildflower’ music video a few years back.

They pretty much pulled a Chrissy Teigen and John Legend by hooking up after filming a music video and then just spending the rest of their lives together.

“So, what’s on your mind?” Calum asked, rubbing her legs.

“I know you’ve said no to us adopting another dog, but-”

“No.” Calum cut me off.

“But-”

“Maya, I said no.”

“At least let me tell you before you make up your mind.” She pouted, crossing her arms against her chest.

“Fine, what is it?” He sighed. Calum unwrapped her arms and put them around him.

“Okay, so you know how Michael and Crystal always foster dogs, right? So I was thinking of us, you know, trying it out. The longest they stay with their foster people is like two months.”

“What about Jaime?”

“I looked into the place, and the website said that kids should be at least two years old. Plus, we would only be fostering dogs that are okay to be around other dogs and children.”

“You already looked into this, huh?” He joked.

One of Calum’s favorite things about Maya was that she always loved researching and learning about things. When she started directing and making her own short films, she would spend hours upon hours looking up materials and different directing techniques.

“Yeah,” she smiled at him.

She reached back to the coffee table and got her phone.

Calum smiled at her lockscreen. It was a picture of them at Luke and Sierra’s wedding a few months ago. He had Jaime in one arm and the other was lazyly resting against Maya’s waist. He was the only of the boys that hadn't gotten married; ironically he was the only one with a kid.

Maya rested her head on his shoulder and pulled up the website. It was a pitbull sanctuary called El Santuario. He immediately recognized it because it was attached to a public dog park that they always went to with Duke and Jaime. Originally the place was for all dog types, but when the owners began taking in pitbulls and their crossbreeds, people began to go to other places. Eventually they decided to focus on them.

Maya showed and explained to him the process of becoming foster parents and the few changes they would have to do if they got approved. He took in how her eyes lit up by the seconds as she read him the bios of each of the dogs. The way she talked was filled with so much compassion and emotion, it reminded him of why he fell in love with her.

“Okay,” Calum said.

“What?” Maya looked up at him in disbelief.

“Let’s do it.”

“Really?” Maya smiled.

“Yeah-”

“I fucking love you!” She grabbed his face and kissed him all over.

Calum pulled her close to him as their kisses began to get more passionate. Calum laid her on the couch and showed her how much he loved her.

***

Calum and Jaime stayed at home while Maya went to pick the dog they were fostering. It took them two months to get approved by the Humane Society. Duke let out a bark as Maya called from the front door.

Their foster dog stood behind Maya’s legs as Duke continued barking. Calum scooped him up in his arms. Calum reached over for Duke’s leash on the key hanger and attached it to him, setting Duke down on the floor. Maya sat on the floor and gently pulled the dog in front of her. The dog was a grey staffy. It reminded Calum of a dark rain cloud.

Duke hesitantly walked forward and sniffed the dog. After a few seconds, he excitedly wagged his tail and barked. He spotted one of his toys and pushed it toward the dog. The dog hesitantly sniffed it and took it in its mouth.

“Doggy.” Jaime pointed to the dog.

“Yeah, her name is Cloud. Dame la mano.” Maya extended her arm to Jaime.

He walked over to her and grabbed his hand to let Cloud smell him. Jaime giggled when Cloud licked his hand. She nuzzled against him.

Calum detached Duke’s leash and let him wander off back to his bed. Calum sat down next to Maya and waited for Cloud to smell him. She looked over to him and then scooted away from him.

“Southy,” Jaime said.

“What baby?” Calum looked up at him.

“No like you. Like Southy.” He mumbled.

Calum slightly frowned at the comment. It was rare for a dog not to like him. About 98% percent of dogs like him, the other 2% is Southy.

He watched Cloud lay its head on Maya. She rubbed Cloud's side.

With her other hand, Maya reached for his hand and gave him a gentle squeeze. Calum picked it up and kissed the back of her hand. He noticed the slight flush around her neck. It made Calum feel things. Even after five years, she still blushed at the small gestures they shared.

"What?" Maya giggled.

"What?" Calum blinked at her. He must've zoned out.

"You were staring at me." She smiled.

"Oh, sorry. I love you. You know that right?" He said.

"If you say so."

Before he said anything else. Jaime came back running to them. He watched Jaime show Cloud a raccoon stuffed animal. Then he threw it across the hall and ran after it. He came back and got Cloud to chase after it.

"I can't wait until we have another kid." Calum said. He grabbed Maya by the waist and pulled her into his arms.

"You want another one?" Maya asked.

She tried hiding the hopefulness in her voice. The night they agreed on being foster dog parents, they spent the whole night loving each other. With her excitement of becoming foster parents, she had forgotten to take the pill. A week before that night was the last time she got her period. This morning she started getting morning sickness.

"I mean in a few years, but yeah, I want another mini us. You?" He replied. He was playing with the fringes on her cardigan.

"Oh… I guess when the time comes." She looked over at her purse where the pregnancy tests were burning a hole at the bottom. Maya got up. "I'm gonna change, and then I'll get started on lunch."

"Okay, want Chipotle later for dinner?" He asked her.

"Um, sure." She shrugged and walked up to their room. Maya ran into their bathroom. She peed on all five sticks. While she waited, she changed into one of Calum's hoodies and the La Perla shorts that got her into this mess in the first place. She ran her fingers into her hair in an attempt to disentangle it and braid it. After three minutes, her phone buzzed.

Maya hesitantly went back into the bathroom. She gave herself the sign of the cross before checking the tests.

"Puta madre." She mumbled to herself. The tests either read positive or pregnant.

She caught herself in the mirror, looking like a hot mess. Maya lifted her hoodie and placed her hand on her stomach. Inside of her was her baby, their baby. One made of pure love.

She blinked back a few tears, remembering when Calum first announced they were going to have Jaime. A lot of his fans were quick to come for her. They claimed she didn't love him and was just trying to tie him down. That was far from the truth.

Maya loved Calum with her whole being. He showed her what unconditional love and support was. She never had that growing up. Back in Texas, her parents wanted her to pursue a career that guaranteed a job. Maya was basically disowned when she told her parents that she's moving to LA to give acting a shot. Little did anyone know that her true passion was behind the camera and not in front of it. Calum always encouraged her to follow her dreams, and he was always supportive of her decisions.

Now Maya isn't sure how he's going to feel about this.

***

Calum decided to get started on lunch. Knowing Maya, she probably fell asleep.

Calum felt Maya off, maybe under the weather, so he decided to make some soup. The same one his mom would make him and Mali whenever they would get a cold or a stomach flu.

"Hi, baby," He heard Maya tell Cloud. He watched her bend down to pet her. Of course she's wearing those shorts, Calum thought to himself.

"Hi, mumma," Jaime replied.

"Hola, mi amor," she kissed his cheek. She felt Calum's gaze on her and she smiled at him.

He saw a little sadness in her eyes.

"I'm making my mum's soup." Calum told when she walked over to him. "Just need it to simmer."

Calum glanced back to Jaime. He was on the couch watching soccer, resting his head on Cloud while hugging Duke. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the trio.

"Send that to me." Maya said. She was sitting on the counter, watching him. Her shorts showed off her toned legs while the pale pink contrasted against her brown skin. What Calum would do to have his head in between them or to have her against the counter.

He walked up to her and kissed her. It was short and sweet. It left them wanting each other. Maya wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. In seconds they got lost in each other's lips. Calum opened Maya's legs so he could fit better. He gripped her hips as his tongue fought for dominance. Maya melted against him.

"Mumma, I want food." Jaime called from his spot on the couch, making them split apart like opposing magnets.

"Okay, just give us a minute." Calum replied. “Of course my own kid would cock block me.”

***

It’s been three weeks since Cloud has been here, and she’s still wary of Calum.

“She just doesn’t like me. I walk into the living room, and she’ll walk away.” Calum told the guys. They had all come over for dinner.

“You’ve been together five years and she still can’t stand your ass.” Ashton joked.

“Funny, I meant the dog Maya wanted to foster. Thank god, we’re not adopting it.” Calum took a swig of his beer. His eye caught Cloud, she was laying on the ground watching all the other dogs play with Jaime. Calum came to know that Cloud was not a big fan of large groups. Whether it was dogs or people, she would stand back and just watch, very much like Calum.

“Is it me or is there something different about Maya?” Michael asked. The other day, he may or may not have overheard her and Crystal talk about her being pregnant, and how she’s scared of telling Calum.

Calum’s breath hitched slightly. He was thankful that he wasn’t the only one that’s noticed. The past few weeks he’s noticed that Maya’s diet has changed. The most obvious is that she hasn’t drunk coffee or alcohol, and Maya loves those. And ketchup. She loves ketchup and puts it on everything. It reminded Calum when she was pregnant with Jaime. During her pregnancy with Jaime, she stopped eating ketchup because it made her nauseous. Though her other eating habits seem pretty much the same.

Another thing he noticed was that she wore her loose traveling dresses. When he commented on it, she just shrugged it off and told him the weather was warmer.

“No clue.” Calum said. His gaze fell on her. She was casually dipping celery sticks into her mango ice cream. Not the weirdest thing he’s seen her eat. When they first started dating, he caught her making a peanut butter and cheese sandwich.

Maya felt his gaze on her, and she turned to him. She smiled and waved at him. He waved back and turned back to the boys’ conversation. Thankfully the topic changed, and they were talking about when to meet up to record their upcoming single.

***

Being fourteen weeks pregnant and picking up dog poop was the worst combination ever. Maya barely made it to the bathroom in the home gym.

Cloud had never seen anything like it. It scared her. She ran up to Maya and Calum’s room to get him. Unfortunately, the door was closed. She scratched and barked on the door.

Calum rolled over, trying to cover his ears from hearing. He reached over to Maya, and her side was empty. He looked at the clock and groggily mumbled. When he opened the door, Cloud barked at him.

“Hey, be quiet.” Calum scolded her.

Cloud started whining and trying to get him to follow her. It wasn’t until he heard Maya throw up again that he understood what she was doing. She ran down the stairs and barked at Calum to follow her. She led him to where Maya was. She looked worriedly at Maya.

“She’s going to be okay.” Calum reassured her before going into the bathroom.

He knelt down to where Maya was. She was resting her head on her arm. Maya started crying. She didn’t want Calum to see her like this. Unsure on what to do Calum pulled her hair into a loose braid and then gently rubbed her back, letting her cry. They stayed like this for a few minutes until she was done.

Cloud stayed with Calum and made sure Maya made it safely up the stairs. She even followed Calum when he went to the kitchen to get Maya a glass of water.

“She's going to be okay, pretty girl. Mumma is going to be like that for a bit.” He explained to her. Calum reached over to her, and she let him pet her. Calum left his heart skip a beat in excitement when she laid on her back, so he could rub her belly. After a bit, she went back to where she and Duke slept. Calum washed his hands and went up stairs with Maya’s water.

“When were you going to tell me?” Calum asked Maya when he got to their room.

He sat in front of her and pulled her legs over him. Maya just shrugged at him.

“Maya.”

“I don’t know. You said you wanted to wait a few more years. I was scared that you were going to get mad and leave me.” She said, tugging at the chain around her neck, a habit she had when she’s nervous or avoiding a conversation.

“What?” He asked in disbelief.

“But you wanted to wait a few-”

“Yeah and?”

“I just don’t want you to stay with me because I’m having your child.”

“Maya, I’m with you because I love you, and you make me happy. You being the mother of my kids is a blessing.”

“You mean it?”

“Of course. Let me see.”

Calum gently pushed Maya’s t-shirt up, revealing her growing bump.

“Hi, baby. I’m your daddy. I’m also your mumma’s daddy when she behaves.”

Maya rolled her eyes at him when he looked up at her.

Calum gently kissed her all over her belly. It was an innocent gesture, but it got her feeling. Especially when his kisses made their way down.

He opened her legs exposing a damp spot on her panties. He placed her thighs over his shoulders and got closer to her core. He licked the damp spot before ripping her panties off.

“Hey, those were expensive.” Maya protested.

“And?” Calum didn’t let her say another word. He attached his mouth on her.

Maya was a writhing mess in seconds. Silently cursing at him for cutting his hair because she couldn’t pull on it. She slid her hands inside her shirt and played with her breasts. He pushed in his ring and middle finger in her and licked her clit as he thrusted his fingers. When he felt her clench on his fingers, he pulled away. Earning a whine from Maya.

“Apologize first for not telling me you’re expecting our child or I won’t let you come.” Calum said.

“What? No!” Maya breathed out.

“Fine.” Calum pushed her legs off his shoulders.

“No, wait! Calum, I’m fucking sorry. I should have let you know about the baby.”

“See, was that so hard?” He latched his mouth back on her and teased her clit with his fingers.

In a matter of minutes, Maya came, repeating his name in pleasure until her high wore off.

Calum laid next to her and pulled her to his side. “I love you, you know that, right?” He asked her.

“Yeah, I love you too. I really am sorry I didn’t tell you.” She said quietly.

“It’s alright. I was going to ask you eventually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You expected me not to notice that you stopped drinking coffee and eating ketchup? You need your daily scrambled eggs with ketchup and morning coffee.”

“Kinda.”

***

“I’m going to ask her to marry me.” Calum told Ashton.

They were at their go to coffee shop by the dog park where El Santuario is. He even brought Cloud along. Ever since that morning, they have been getting along. She even lets him cuddle her. A week had passed and they finally told the rest of their group. Well, Jaime did when he told Luke that his mumma was getting fat because there was a baby inside her. Luke, being the loud mouth he is, asked Calum in front of everyone.

Ashton hummed in agreement, taking a sip from his drink.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, honest. Just surprising. Didn't expect you to want to marry her."

"I fucking love her. Of course I want to marry her." Calum defended himself.

"Not because of that. A blind person can see how much you both love each other. I just never saw either of you as the marrying type." Ashton said.

"Oh."

"Not to mention, you're both pretty private about each other and Jaime. Hell, I'm still surprised how Jaime has never been photographed by the paps. When word gets out, because it will, it'll be hellhole for all of you. The paps will want to be up your arses. Kait and I almost called off the wedding because of them. I'm just looking out for you. I should get going. Think it through. And ask Maya if that's something she wants too."

Ashton patted Calum on the shoulder and gave Cloud a scratch and left.

Calum and Cloud walked around the block as he processed his thoughts. Of course he wants to marry Maya. Ever since she got her first Academy Award nomination, he realised that he wants to be there for every milestone supporting her. He just never found the perfect moment to ask her. Something always happened that kept him from asking her.

The more he thought about it the more he also imagined Cloud in the picture. He'd gotten used to her being at the house.

Fuck it, Calum thought to himself.

They walked to El Santuario. Cloud got nervous. She thought back to when her first owners dropped her off there when they got a puppy. She began to pull on the leash trying to get Calum away from there.

"Pretty girl, it'll be quick. I just have to do something really fast, and we'll leave." Calum reassured her.

In an hour or so, Calum signed the adoption papers and got her registered to their insurance. It would take a week for the paperwork to process, so she can officially be theirs. While they walked back to the car, Calum spotted a jewelry store.

It was a sign.

He tied Cloud to a parking meter, and went to the store. He spotted the ring. Like in Harry Potter, where the wands come to you, the ring called him. It wasn't huge or flashy like the others in the display window, but it was beautiful and bright like Maya. The jeweler told him that the ring will be ready within a week or so.

Calum was so giddy and excited when him and Cloud got home. He was taken back when Maya ran into his arms crying. Blood drained from his face. He thought something happened to her.

"Hey? What's wrong?" he asked her.

"You're going to say you told me so. I got attached to Cloud. Yesterday I was going to ask if we could adopt her, but I forgot. And I just got a call that some pendejo adopted her. Who would do such a thing! She belongs with us. She's part of our family, Cal."

Her tears became full-on sobs. Calum didn't know how to tell he was the pendejo that adopted her.

***

Today was the day that Cloud would leave them forever. Maya stayed home with Duke while Jaime and Calum went to drop off Cloud. They congregated on the couch and watched 'A Dog's Purpose' and finished off the bag of cuties. She cried throughout the movie. Then she got angry at Calum for letting her convince him to become foster parents. Then she got hungry again.

She tried calling Calum, so he could get her some shrimp tacos from Playa Azul Mariscos, but he didn't answer. She took it upon herself and ordered thought postmates. She ordered three Baja style and four shrimp diabla. For Jaime she got him shrimp empanadas and for Calum veggie quesadilla. While she waited for their food, she made herself a turkey sandwich.

"Mumma?” Jaime called.

"Aca ando." She called from the kitchen.

Jaime came in.

"Ven." he said, pulling her. He led her out to where Calum parked the car. Maya stopped dead on her tracks when she saw Calum holding Cloud.

"What's this?" She asked him, tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Funny story, I'm the pendejo that adopted Cloud." He smiled.

"No!" She cried.

She got down and pulled Cloud into a hug. Cloud was wearing the collar Maya saw at Petco a few days ago when she went to get more snacks for Duke. She gushed to Calum about how cute Cloud would look with it. She reached over to see her dog tag only to find a ring.

"Cal-" She looked up to him.

He was barely able to contain his tears.

"Marry me?" Was all he could manage to say. He had a whole speech planned out and everything, but his emotions got the best of him.

"Yes! A million times yes!" She wrapped her arms around him. "I love you so much, Cal!"

"I love you!" Calum said in between kisses.

Later that night after Jaime had settled into bed, Calum and Maya were in the living room.

"Stop, that tickles." Maya giggled.

Calum was painting a "#2" onto her stomach.

"Well, if you sat there and not moved, we'd finish much faster." He told her.

"Ya?" She asked a few minutes later.

"Yes. Cloud go sit with mumma." He patted the space next to Maya.

Calum placed Maya's left hand on top of her stomach while the other was draped over Cloud.

"Okay, smile on three." He said. He counted off from one to three.

"Let me see it." Maya said once he had taken it.

"You'll see in a bit."

Calum opened Instagram and posted the picture. 'We got two new family members in the Hood-Arroyo household.'

#calum hood imagine #calum hood smut #calum hood one shot #calum hood oneshot #calum hood fanfic #calum hood fanfiction #calum hood

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taste-in-music · 3 years

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taste-in-music’s top 30 songs of 2020

Hey everyone! If you missed it, you can check out my year end wrap-up post going over my favorite albums and EPs of the year. This list will go over my favorite songs of 2020, whether they happen to be on those projects or not. My only limit is one song per project, and thirty songs total. Now then, let’s get started!

First Aid by Gus Dapperton: There is one easy way to get me to love a song, and that’s if an artist adds in another person’s vocals for the bridge and final chorus, hence infusing them with more dimension and meaning. “First Aid” is the best usage of that device all year. The song tackles Dapperton’s struggles with mental health, citing his sister as a large help in the midst of it all. Who best to come in for the bridge and final chorus, then, but his sister (who goes by the stage name Amadelle)? It all comes together to make the final act of the song hit like a gut punch.

Josslyn by Olivia O’Brien: Every year I have to have my helping of big, sugary, bombastic pop tunes on this list, and “Josslyn” was the first of that type of song I fell in love with this year. This song is full of snark and blunt lines, (maybe don’t listen with mom in the room,) but god help me if it didn’t have one of the catchiest chorus melodies of the year. I’ll shout along to the entire song every time I hear it.

Frustrated by Lauren Sanderson: Okay, I only found this song by chance, like, last week, (another good reason for postponing these lists until the year is actually over,) and I have to include it. If you love the hooky guitars lines of The 1975, vocalists with a gritty edge to their delivery, and a free-spirited feel that captures the euphoria of youth, then this is the song for you. I may have just discovered it, but I’ve already played it countless times.

To Me by Alina Baraz: Everything about “To Me” communicates blissful tranquility, from the watery production to the subtle confidence in Baraz’s delivery. Every time I was feeling overwhelmed or stressed this year, (and lord help me, that was a lot,) this was the song I’d always return to to center myself. Baraz demanding respect out of her relationships and the best things out of life was downright inspiring.

Do It by Chloe X Halle: If there is one word I would use to describe this it would be effervescent, this song is so fresh, bouncy, and bubbly, like orange soda in musical form. With its tropical production and effortless vocals, this song made me want to hit a dancefloor like nothing else this year. It was the perfect pop Summer smash that deserved a better Summer.

ringtone (Remix) by 100 gecs ft. Charli XCX, Kero Kero Bonito, and Rico Nasty: This is probably the best remix of the year? The original “ringtone” was a cute, hooky fragment, but this turned it into a fleshed out, full-on posse-cut where each guest gets a moment to shine. Charli XCX turns the hook into an earworm, Kero Kero Bonito contribute their signature chirpy vocals, and Rico Nasty jumps in for an awesome bridge that provides a nice change of pace. And, of, course, 100 gecs are the glue that holds everything together. If you’re new to the gec train, this is a great place to start.

By Myself by Maya Hawke: “By Myself” was the song that proved that Maya Hawke was way more than the usual actor trying to cash in a quick buck. She was a bona-fide craftswoman with the potential to being tears to my eyes with blissfully simple yet artfully constructed folk ballads. This song feels like a long-forgotten lullaby, gentle and beautiful with just enough woeful melancholy to remain emotionally resonant the whole year.

killing boys by Halsey: “killing boys” is the epitome of short but sweet. This song is a fifteen second long dialogue bite Jennifer’s Body followed by some of the most focused, atmospheric pop of the year that only lasts two and a half minutes. The way the thudding heartbeat, low plucked strings, and Halsey’s hushed delivery all build to the distorted end is a pure adrenaline rush every time. It always had me coming back for more, and by the end of the year it had climbed its way up into my top 5 most listened to songs of the year.

Bloom by Donna Missal: It’s not a list of mine without a Donna Missal song, is it? As soon as I saw the name of this song on the Lighter track list, I just had a feeling I was going to love it. “Bloom” is the most stripped-back moment on the album, with just a guitar accompanying Missal, and yet it is also one of the most memorable and evocative songs it has to offer. What the stripped-back production allows is for Missal’s sheer, raw talent as a vocalist to blossom, especially in how she displays so much power not by belting, but by holding back. Accompanied with lyrics that detail the fear of holding someone back in a relationship, “Bloom” is awe-inspiring every time.

fever dream by mxmtoon: mxmtoon’s double album from this year didn’t leave much of an impression of me, but lead single “fever dream” got countless spins. This song feels like a warm hug, with mxmtoon’s amiable vocals, pillowy indie pop production (the chirps! the chimes! the gentle woodwinds!) and comforting lyrics that seemed to synthesize everything I was feeling while giving me a comforting pat on the shoulder at the same time. Take the line: “I want something more than / More than restless mornings / Getting by is so boring.” Gee, I wonder why I would’ve hit a nerve in a year like 2020?

Shoulda Known Better by Nasty Cherry: From the first chord of the intro’s ringing guitars, this feels dug up from a mid-2000s coming of age soundtrack. In fact, there is an inexplicable nostalgic feel to this whole song, from the frankness the lyrics, to the filmy vocal processing, all of it. And the way the song kicks into a faster groove on the chorus is so fun, it makes me want to speed down a highway every time I hear it, and I hate driving! I guess that’s just the power of a great pop rock song.

Heart of Glass by Miley Cyrus: Do you ever hear a song that stops you clean in your tracks and makes you sit in stunned silence until it’s over? Hearing this cover for the first time did that to me. I had been wanting Miley Cyrus to take the rock route for a while, but this cemented that my intuition was 100% correct. It’s not necessarily better than the Blondie version, (Debbie Harry’s original delivery is very smooth and nonchalant, Miley’s is more gritty and rough around the edges,) but it fills an entirely different purpose. And that purpose is to be listened to on a never ending loop, in absolute awe.

WIGS by BLACKSTARKIDS: SURF traverses a slew of sounds, from boisterous rock to hip hop to indie pop. One of the albums best moments, however, comes when all those sounds meet in the middle “WIGS” is a blissed-out in the best way, still providing a memorable hook, (one of the best the album has to offer,) while also letting you relax and hang on for the ride.

Dead Horse by Hayley Williams: This was the most unexpected bop of the year. The lyrics may be all about betrayal in the lead-up to divorce, but the delivery is so upbeat and bouncy that I can often forget just how soul-crushing the content is at times. The production on this is so catchy, with the chirpy, tropical synths, the “ya-ya-yas,” and Williams’s stellar vocals.

this is me trying by Taylor Swift: My favorite songs on folklore came to me in waves. First, “epiphany” was my favorite, with its timely lyrics and orchestral arrangements. Then, it was “the lakes,” with its nostalgic, poetic feel, (consider it a very close runner-up.) But in the end, it was the slow burning ache of “this is me trying” that didn’t just become my favorite on folklore, but one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs ever. Looking back, “this is me trying” synthesizes what I like about those other two songs. It has a grand, atmospheric instrumental and pointed, detailed lyrics, combining the two into a single, perfect, emotional wrecking ball.

Susie Save Your Love by Allie X ft. Mitski: This was my most anticipated duet of the year, and it didn’t disappoint! This song goes by like a long sigh on a humid Summer night, filled with breathy vocals set against a churning groove. The lyrics detail parties gone wrong and unrequited love with a best friend with just enough ambiguity to allude to something darker hovering under the surface. Mitski’s vocals work great in an alt-pop context, I love what she does with her solo work but I certainly wouldn’t be mad if she hopped onto more tracks like this. Also, that guitar solo makes me levitate every time.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple: Okay, who had “Fiona Apple meows on a song” on their 2020 bingo card? But it works, it works so well! From its opening clatter of percussion, “Fetch The Bolt Cutters” establishes a locomotive groove that never stops moving forward. In fact, the entire song seems to be dedicated to that sentiment, each lyric linking lines about middle school bullies, media critics, and Kate Bush references into their perfect place. It’s a narrative that may span a lifetime, but it still feels as timely as ever.

forever by Charli XCX: I’ll admit I haven’t returned to How I’m Feeling Now all that much throughout 2020, but I have returned to “forever,” again and again and again. The sugar-sweet hook at the heart of all the blown-out bass is just irresistible. The way it manages to fight to the forefront, cutting through the clouds of distortion like a shimmering pink diamond, is nothing short of hopeful.

Fit N Full by Samia: This was my instant favorite off The Baby. The glistening guitars make for a sweltering summery jam that you can’t help but move to every time you hear it. The way Samia weaves lyrics about the agonizing pressures of womanhood, diet culture, and body image into a catchy pop hook is pretty genius. She wraps them all up into a pretty package for consumption, just like women are forced to do with their pain.

Heartbreak Weather by Niall Horan: Niall Horan has made folksy balladry his mainstay, which is all fine and good, but god help me if his turn towards stadium-rocking power pop didn’t result in one of the most anthemic songs of the year. “Heartbreak Weather” is sharply written, lushly produced, and performed with so much spirit and heart that I can’t help but think that this is the genre Horan has been meant to fall into all along. It’s certainly deserving of its title track status.

Pretty Please by Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia was an excellent showcase of Dua Lipa’s mastery over nonstop pop bangers, (”Physical” is the very close runner up for this list.) But surprisingly, it was the breather moment on the album, the song where everything slowed down, that really hooked me. I’m gonna say it, “Pretty Please” is so fucking sexy. The whole song screams sensuality, from the lyrics, to the bass line, to the funky synths, to Lipa’s delivery. It may not be as in-your-face as its peers, but it deserves just as much hype.

Woo! by Remi Wolf: I had such a hard time picking a Remi Wolf song for this list that I had to resort to the raw data. “Woo!” ended up on my Spotify Wrapped, so “Woo!” gets this spot. This song just works in some ramshackle way I can’t describe, all the disparate pieces come together with so much charm. The way Wolf’s performance effortlessly flip-flops between jaunty half-rapping modulated with distortion to full-blown, raw belting on the bridge is a wild ride of the best kind every time.

gold rush by Taylor Swift: We have another entry for the highly esteemed category of songs that capture the feeling of butterflies in your stomach. This latest Antonoff-Swift collaboration is a wistful, glittery whirlwind that captures the simultaneous excitement and soul crushing realization of a blooming crush. The way the dreamy intro snaps into the steady thrum of the rest of the song, before the song fades out in the same way, as if to illustrate how your mind can race to dozens of different places all within in the moment of meeting someone? Damn, I’m getting butterflies just thinking about it.

Eugene by Arlo Parks: “Eugene” is a testament to soft-spoken heartache, as Arlo Parks details watching her straight crush in a relationship with a man. The song is incredibly intimate, both with Park’s hushed vocals and the specific details she utilizes in her writing, (Sylvia Plath poetry, a cigarette hanging between purple lips.) It all comes together to make the song all the more personal and heart-aching.

People, I’ve been sad by Christine and the Queens: Christine and the Queens have perfected setting emotionally resonant sentiments against wire-tight grooves, and “People I’ve been sad” may just be their most elegant effort yet. The echoing, stuttering drums, fluttering backing vocals, and reverb give the track a wide sense of space, which perfectly illustrates the loneliness Chris describes. But there’s also this intangible warmth to the song too, harking from the strings and Chris’s introspective performance. Just gorgeous.

XS by Rina Sawayama: Picking a song of SAWAYAMA for this list was damn near impossible. My first favorite off the album was the nu metal rager “STFU!,” then the slinky intrigue of “Akasaka Sad,” then the glitter-flinging “Tokyo Love Hotel.” But did those songs end Karl Marx’s career with their razor-sharp critique of capitalism? No. Hence, “XS” gets this spot. The craftmanship of this song is so impressive, with the rock guitar hits contrasted against the glossy pop production, Rina’s pitch-perfect performance, the witty lyricism, everything. This will go down as a classic in Ms. Sawayama’s discography, no doubt!

Guilty Conscience by 070 Shake: I didn’t even realize this was one of my favorite songs of the year until I was writing this list and felt like something was missing. This feels like a song that plays for the last stragglers on a prom dance floor. It’s melancholic yet just upbeat enough, sprawling yet buoyant, and hooks you in with the perfect balance monstrous, shimmering 80s synths undercut with rattling modern trap percussion. It’s just irresistible. If HBO doesn’t put this on the next season of Euphoria then they’re fools.

I Know The End by Phoebe Bridgers: I don’t even know if I can describe the full impact of this song, so I’ll keep to short. One word: catharsis. The way this sound builds up from signature Phoebe Bridgers Ballad™ to forceful rollick to gut-wrenching climax gives me chills every time. I don’t want to spoil it. If you haven’t heard it before, go listen to it, (preferably with the rest of the album, too.) If you know, you know.

Delete Forever by Grimes: Okay, now who had “Grimes makes the best country song of the year” on their 2020 bingo card? I certainly didn’t. I’ve loved Grimes’s work in the past for its ability to transport me to another place. “Delete Forever” does the exact opposite in its discussion of loss, exhaustion, and hopelessness, rooting me right to where I am. But you know what? I think I like that a lot more, especially when the song incorporates a lush acoustic guitar and strings, sunny synths, and just enough optimism to remind me that there is always hope to keep the darkness from fully taking over.

circle the drain by Soccer Mommy: This song was in the running for my favorite song of the year since even before the pandemic began, for its classic 90s-alternative sound, for its clever production choices, and for its anthemic feel. But as the year went on, it just kept getting more and more emotionally potent. I’ve been wanting to look at the songs and albums I’ve discussed on these lists without putting on pandemic-tinted glasses, but the truth is, that experience drastically shaped my year, and how I consume music. The lyrics in this song were so goddamn relatable as this year kept spiraling and it felt like I was along with it. “circle the drain” showed me that it’s okay to be feel like I was “falling apart these days.” Because those feelings are not new, I’m not alone in feeling them, and I may keep feeling them, but you know what? I’ll still have this song, in fact, many of the songs on this list, to return to when I do.

Here are some songs I loved this year that didn’t come out in 2020: “Nikes” by Frank Ocean, “Prom” by SZA, “Rhinestone Eyes” by Gorillaz, “Anyone Else But You” by The Moldy Peaches, “Cold War” by Cautious Clay, “Plans” by Maude Latour, “Sleepyhead” by Passion Pit, and “Narcissist” by No Rome ft. The 1975.

Whether you liked, reblogged, or commented on a post, sent me an ask, or interacted with this blog in any way, thank you so much for all the support throughout the year! I can’t express how much I appreciate it.

What were your favorite songs from this year? Did I miss anything? Send me an ask and let me know. I’ll tell you my thoughts, or put it on my to-listen-to list if I haven’t heard them.

Here’s to 2021! May it clear the extremely low bar set by this year.

#songs #song recommendation #taste in music 2020 faves #taste in music

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beyond-far-horizons · 3 years

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Rhythm of War reactions so far (half way through.)

I caved despite mountains of work and I’m half way through Rhythm of War! So many cool things so much I could scream about, so many cosmere links! Bit right now I’m just gonna throw it out there that I think Thaidakar is a dragon like Hoid’s friend. No idea if this is true (and don’t confirm or deny til I’m through the book please.)

Spoiler reactions for RoW so far and rest of Cosmere Book (poss) so far under the cut. If you do respond please don’t spoil me for the rest of the book!

KALADIN!!! My baby! My boy! Someone help him! Someone give him a hug! But he is doing so well and I love his solo quest/Die Hard in the Tower at the moment. I loled officially at Kaladin Stormblessed the Psychiatrist who discovers group therapy! It’s a little on the nose to be honest but I still liked it.

F*ck Moash #noredemption. Although LOL that Kaladin is officially a thorn in Odium’s side (payback time pal!) and yeah I BET you want to turn him. I admit I loved this section. Enemy/hero connections are always so interesting to me and the metastory with the Shards is the most interesting part of any cosmere book to me apart from maybe Kal-centred stuff. I love seeing the hints of how the emotions/properties of the Shard play out in the narrative/characterisation as it’s one of the main themes in my own WIP and magic systems. Odium seems to break the power of Shards by targeting their main Intent (as someone else suggested). I predict Kaladin will stick with Honor and conquer the Hatred in his heart as Dalinar did. Also ‘Son of Tanavast’...I don’t think Kaladin is physically Tanavast’s son but I think spiritually he is, which is why he suffers so. He’s def key to something, protected from harm but for a better reason than he is led to believe. We’ll see.

Poor Shallan! This book is heavy on the mental illness although I am glad it is being addressed in Epic Fantasy and Sanderson’s integration of it with his magic systems is inspired. I really hope Shallan can get through this, she deserves it. PATTERN WTF??? Please no.

I’m much more of a Shaladin/Shalladin (official ship spelling please?) fan and tbh that put me off reading this book at first because I felt really betrayed about how things were developed in OB. I felt it cheapened the deep connection they made in the chasms in WoR to have it as a ‘passion’ thing from Veil etc. Having said that Adolin and Shadolin really shine in this book so far and Shalladin would be a bad choice for both of them right now. (WoB states he developed the love triangle as an echo of a previous thing - most likely Gavilar/Navani/Dalinar and rereading WoR, OB and the start of RoW underlined that both Navani and Shallan commenting on Kaladin/Dalinar’s intensity.) That said I’m really warming to Adolin. I really hope he resurrects Maya and the scene with him demanding a trial with the Honorspren was great. PheonixWright!Adolin (Objection!) Nale can be the lawyer for the opposition.

WHIMSY. INVENTION. MERCY. VALOUR!!!!!!!! Also Harmony getting on the scene! Go Sazed. My first thought about the sword he mentions was Kaladin who keeps fighting with the protect/kill thing throughout the book and series but he’s not connected (Connected) to Scadrial (yet). Same for Nightblood and Szeth so I’m not sure. Also I feel and hope that Sazed is a lot wiser a Vessel than many of the originals. Who knows as we mostly haven’t seen them esp in their original uninfluenced selves. Also what’s the issue with Mercy? I get a really creepy feeling from that tbh. It’s interesting how a supposedly wholesome Intent could be twisted.

Talking about that...Rayse/Odium...I like that we are getting hints of more human feelings from him but I’m still not convinced by the whole Passion/Hatred thing. His Shard’s name is Odium - Hatred. That is a very specific emotion. From WoB it’s indicated he might be lying to himself but he doesn’t seem that hateful to be honest and neither do a lot of his forces. I mean I was expecting Dark Lord levels of torment. It makes it more interesting, but I’m a little concerned the concept of ‘Passion’ being tainted by this association in a meta way. Unless Odium used to be Passion and it got twisted by Rayse which is possible but the text at present doesn’t really support that...hmm. Looking forward to the showdown between him and Dalinar/Kaladin and Hoid - yesssss!

Also Hoid....WTF is going on with Jasnah??? I mean I could ship it but...yeah what is going on? Also this frustrates me because Brandon is being very coy with Hoid’s knowledge here and I feel this doesn’t work in the narrative and characterisation. I feel we need a scene establishing Jasnah/Dalinar trying to force Wit to say what he knows and him establishing to them (and us) that he can’t be forced. Because right now he’s just blithely being allowed to waltz around wisecracking with cosmere-saving knowledge in his head that could be vital to Jasnah and Dalinar and...they are just letting him? Bit of a stretch. I know they likely can’t force him and need to keep him on side but we need to see that.

Ghostbloods!!!! I confess I like Mraize far more than I should. Until he hunted Lift and then I wanted Kaladin to kick him off the side of the tower. That was a shame to me - there are so many possibilities to a book (like Atium I guess) and one I was really hoping for after the shock/horror of the attack of Urithiru was realising there were some seriously powerful people there who could combat the Fused - Kaladin, Lift, Mraize and Zahel. I just really want to see Zahel let go and kick some ass properly and tell everyone his secret. Still it makes sense that Mraize would play both sides and I guess it’s more interesting that way but still screw him! (Pun intended because I still like sexy bad guys.)

Navani - the engineering sections can be difficult to get through but I’m so here for her arc and her scholarly battle of wits with the Lady of Wishes. (Again with the complex enemy/protag dynamics). I LOVE that there are so many multifaceted women (and femalen) characters at all levels and esp a STEM older female character. I hope she becomes the new Bondsmith of the Sibling although it’s again a little on the nose considering she is married to the first one.

The Singer stuff is interesting to a certain extent and Leshwi in particular is cool but I admit I’m just not as invested (lol) in them as I am in the rest of it. Fingers crossed for Venli and Rlain to win the day though (also again I love the genderflip of those two and her having to pretend to want him as love-slave which is usually what happens the other way around. Brandon is getting really good at this stuff and I appreciate it.)

I’m sad we missed some key development in the timeskip but I guess for pacing this was important. Some of the casual language still annoys me esp when Brandon’s worldbuilding is so interesting as it just seems lazy and out of place. I know some people like it but it’s my opinion that seeing things like ‘neat’ and ‘teenagers’ brings me straight back to 21st Century America when I had just been in a world of Stormlight and Greatshells. There’s better ways of conveying those ideas than reverting to our slang developed from a specific subset of our world. Anyway....

Overall enjoying it much more than I though. Onward!

#stormlight archive #rhythm of war #spoilers #brandon sanderson #shalladin #kaladin #shallan #I can't tag them all but you get it #don't comment on anything beyond C64 please

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comicteaparty · 4 years

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March 21st-March 27th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from March 21st, 2020 to March 27th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

What are some background details you know about your story that won’t ever actually come up in the main narrative?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Oh boy... So many in Whispers of the Past... The first—which I believe I've mentioned before—is that some of the characters' sexualities never really get brought up outside of some subtle subtext. For example, Ryukou is asexual aromantic, but he is married, and he honestly doesn't even know that being aroace is a thing. His wife, Maya, is bisexual, and her attraction to women is hinted at, but not explicitly said. The second background detail that will likely never make it into the main narrative is Kelan's grief after SPOILER the death of his wife. END SPOILER The story takes place years after this event, and yet he still hasn't completely recovered. That being said, it just never really comes up in the narrative, again, outside of subtext. Thirdly, Izrekiel actually has a dependency on physical contact and skinship, because of the lack of affection he was given as a child. This, once again, only really comes up in subtext and is hinted at through his actions, but it is never explained. Aaaaand finally, there is a lot of magical lore that is never explained even remotely. In the story, it is treated very much like a soft magic system, but there are some "harder" elements that go into explaining why certain things have happened, but... they are not actually explained in the story. More like... I know about them, and I can explain these things to anyone who cares to ask (edited)

Capitania do Azar

Oh I suppose that in https://www.sarilho.net/en/ I'm never gonna go in detail about the geopolitics, the different power structures or even how the main empire is structured. We may get hints at it, but it's not necessary for the story so I don't think I'm gonna include much. Details about characters' sexualities are prolly just gonna be hinted at mainly because they don't have the words to express them the same way we do Also I really care about the differences between the different languages and particularly between the spoken and written versions of these, but I can't find a way to have a character explain those just because so you'll have to figure it out through background information like posters and graffiti

sagaholmgaard

Ohh this prompt came at the right time because it's been on my mind lately!! In Reclaim, https://tapas.io/series/_Reclaim_ My two main characters, Albus and Styrka, are in a queerplatonic relationship, which they don't have the word for and it doesn't ever come up except in subtext. I'm trying to write them so that it really shows that they love each other, and everyone knows this, but there won't be a point were they "get together" so to speak because they already have everything they want between each other! And I'm very Soft for this but also nervous that when the story is finished people might feel let down that it doesn't end up in straight up romance? if that makes sense And there's a lot of history research I did that is contextually there but not mentioned in words. That's just one of those things where my knowledge is deeper than what shows in the comic, but I think the story is better for it :D (It's not historic fiction because I'm taking a lot of liberties, but the research is helpful all the same)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

One of the paladin/church knight's gay, but it never comes up, because, you know, marriage in their world's decided by the parents, because it's a matter of inheritance and heirs not love. He's married, and actually decent friends with his wife and children, but he's taking his oaths seriously. So he never even mentions the people's he's attracted too.

There are openly gay couples in the story, it just didn't work out for him; his family needed that alliance.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

In Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/) I have two gods that drive the entire story. But seven other gods existed at one point in time. I will be delving into at least two other gods’ stories - as a good background for why the remaining two are in such a tumultuous relationship - but there are five others that I don’t really plan on writing about in great detail. Their symbols and names may pop up in various texts/decorations/etc, but there’s not enough time for a super detailed character study of each. Perfect for side stories, though

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Rainy Day Dreams (http://rainydaydreams.mariahcurrey.com/) takes place in an alternate dimension and the plot deals mostly with interdimensional travelers, but the world is post first interstellar contact also. Only the story isn't a sci-fi so there's no real reason to talk about how robust their space program is and there are already monsters so there's no easy way to tell who's a native and who's and alien.

eli [a winged tale]

Whoa Mariah that sounds fun! I love how everyone’s worlds are complex and in depth and there are clues within the story

Would these details be part of another project/side stories/lorebook? What’s everyone’s plans for these secrets

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

My secrets are basically just stewing in my brain I mean, I guess if a reader ever asked, I'd spill all the secrets, but so far, that hasn't happened.

Tuyetnhi (OIYD!)

same lmao

I guess a background detail the comic won't get into is how the imagery in Cara's dream became promiment before her dream boyfriend came to the picture. I did wrote a prequel where she was having dreams of her late grandma who's stories got super visual in her head. Most of the events she told to Cara were from late 70's Vietnam.(edited)

some of those dreams and nightmares were partly inspired from my parent's part growing up in the time, such as my dad encountering a ghoulish corpse with his grandpa and my mom actually building things from a hut in the jungle

so yeah lmao. ghost story dreams

eli [a winged tale]

Mariah I’m curious about non-scifi parallel universe space program alien monsters are they more the reasoning for how the story exists but you won’t be going into depth with them? (Ie not a plot twisty thing?)

Ghost story dreams and parallel places in real life sound like a good atmosphere/mood element in your story!

Tuyetnhi (OIYD!)

yeah lmao. I wasn't sure how to add it but Cara does mention about her grandma's story in future chapters (if my hands let me draw faster lolol). but as a small tibit. Maybe I'll sit down and write more as a side story lol

eli [a winged tale]

Side stories sound like a great way to showcase more of the world

Tuyetnhi (OIYD!)

I'll consider it lolol

mariah (rainy day dreams)

They're just kind of an additional details that I came up with while thinking about the world. The planet itself I decided a long time ago is Eart but like 100,000 years in the future so the tectonic plates have shifted and the continents are different. The setting is kind of a mix of old-timey and futuristic, but also mixed with magic so the lines between what is technology and what's just supernatural are already pretty blurred. So since it's already sort of a futuristic society I thought it would just be a neat addition to also have had aliens either have shown up or been discovered. I also figured that since the world is super used to inter-dimensional travelers they probably wouldn't be super freaked out to life from off-planet since they already know they aren't alone in the multi-verse? X'D but this stuff really doesn't have any baring on the main story. Like it might be something Mara tells Tristin as some point to blow her human mind. I just like to dig into little setting corners and make tunnels readers probably won't ever see X)

eli [a winged tale]

Ooh that sounds really neat! A big world to discover for the attentive readers

DanitheCarutor

Oh I got some stuff! 1. Part of this can be spoilers for future scenes, so I'm putting it behind a thing. SPOILER Apollo's origin. He was adopted and while at some point him and Julian discuss his parents briefly, it never really comes up in the main narrative. Apollo himself doesn't really care much since he was adopted as a baby and doesn't even know who they are outside of a picture that was given to him as a kid. Essentially they were an Irish couple who moved to the states, the father died at some point and the mother followed close behind during childbirth. There weren't any known relatives, at least ones that wanted to him, so Apollo went into the system and was lucky enough to be adopted almost immediately. END SPOILER 2. Julian's origin. This is kind of brought up briefly later on, but Julian doesn't really know where they're from so nothing much comes of it outside of remembering small bits of how their life was before being found. Although it is eluded to what the situation possibly could have been. 3. Julian's real age and date of birth. Since they didn't have any kind of ID the doctors had to guess their age, which isn't an important detail for the story so I don't see a point in adding it. 4. The details of what happened at Hopeful Hands. This place is discussed a lot, but the talk is more about the trauma that was inflicted and how to move on, rather than lingering on the details. Although enough of what happened is brought up to get a good picture of what kind of place it is/was. I figured laying it all out would be a little too much, and would take away from the main point of the story. 5. The lives of Apollo's friends. There are a couple side character who get fleshed out a bit later on, but since the story isn't about them I didn't see a need in showing more than what is necessary.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Hmm... there's certainly quite a few things that don't show up in the main narrative. Like Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R is very much the Mizuki show, very few other characters get deep explorations into their backstories. But, like, that's what the short stories are for. As for things that never show up in the series at all... the only ones I can think of are the history of the world (because, like, it's pretty boring) and the specifics of how certain technology works. Like, I have a list of people & companies that various locations in the series were named after, and a list of the dynasties in the Giduli Kingdom. There's... not really any interesting stories there, it's just a dry list, so it's not something really worth caring about. And, like, saying "FTL travel in this world works by traveling to a parallel universe where everything is exactly the same except half as big" is kinda interesting I guess... but there's no reason for any character to mention it, and that specific detail really isn't relevant to the story besides "there is FTL travel in this world".

Feather J. Fern

Oh man, for Teasday, any detail about what the actual background of the story is. It's mostly character driven, if the characters don't care, or don't know, they don't talk about it. For Go Figure, I think no one is going to be told anything about the other battles in the past but they did happen.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

There are so many stories I have built into the backstories of various characters that probably won't come up in the main work but have thought about making other adjacent comics about. For example I could imagine doing a prequel type thing about Joe's life & exploits

Since he is a cool character but unfortunately dead for this entire story

AntiBunny

In AntiBunny, http://AntiBunny.net/ I can't think of any reason to bring up the fact that Runo is asexual. Juju is also bisexual, and that also never comes up.

Desnik

Right now it's the warlock's magic system. I got it all worked out and then it suddenly had nothing to do with my plot.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I think sexuality details are easier to work in than a lot of people expect. You don't need a character to stand up and announce Have I Mentioned That I Am Asexual Today -- it can be an offhand mention that not all your readers will even pick up on. (But the ones who are looking for it will notice.) https://leifandthorn.com/comic/family-deserts-4-33/

What I've teased but never been able to work into Leif & Thorn canon (yet?) are the details of the World's Largest Cheese Sculpture.

There's also a lot of country names and flags in the bank that haven't shown up yet...but I'm about to draw scenes from a big international song competition, so I'm probably gonna need even more than I already have.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

TBH as an ace person, I don't really pick up on these things. It has to be more concrete for me. Kudos for those who do pick up on them and find them validating, though.

The cheese sculpture sounds epic.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Ahhh, that's what "reading the comments section to check out other people's theories" is for!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I do that, but I don't consider that canon until the actual comic convinces me

It's also not something we creators can rely on, especially those of us who don't get many comments...

I'm not saying this is bad. Offhand mentions are great, just not concrete proof for everybody (and nothing is for everybody, sooooo).

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Yeah, as a reader I like a lot of comics that don't get many comments...but it's cool when they do and there are people coming up with things.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

So I get it if a fellow creator finds it difficult to show that a character is ace -- like, maybe they're like me and they want Concrete Proof rather than an indication.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

But the creator would already have concrete proof, right? Since it's their character. And the idea is that, even if it won't reach all readers, the indications are still better than nothing.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, like I said, they're not bad to have.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

(for reference, the comic I linked above isn't the first offhand-mention related to that character, it's just the point when readers started putting it together)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from slipping in those indications. Just saying different strokes for different folks.

DanitheCarutor

Reminds me of a comic I read called 'WANDERING' (https://tapas.io/series/wandern), the main male character in it is ace, although this is never stated out right in the story. At some point readers were speculating about his sexuality due to some hints, although I was totally oblivious. Didn't have any idea where the discussion came from. I do agree that a reader is more likely to pick up on something if they're looking for it though, as someone who doesn't care too much about a character's sexuality and gender (when those subjects aren't important to the story) I don't pick up on then unless the author holds my hand a little. Although when it comes to one of my character's genders it's never stated in my comic either, someone just asks about pronouns and attire later on and that's it. Kind of ironic. Lol

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'm in a similar boat. Most of my characters' orientations are left ambiguous. I may need to drop an additional hint or two for some of them...

DanitheCarutor

Pfff right? I don't think my comic even had the word 'gay' in it until a few pages ago and I'm already into chapter 5. (to be fair, Apollo's sexuality is pretty obvious. The hits are really unsubtle.) I've thought about making my character's gender more easy to read for oblivious people like me, but that part of the comic is more about what makes them feel good in their own skin rather than putting a title to it. So people who miss my Twitter posts and author's comments can just speculate for themselves, I guess.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I can respect that. For me, a big part of the reason I'm wanting to put more hints is because I don't want people to accuse me of.... what people accused Legend of Korra about (I didn't watch it, but I did see some of those complaints)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Ah... The good ol' "why is she randomly bi?"

They didn't do a good job of showing it throughout the series up until that point at the end

But, big but, the creators mentioned that she was always intended to be bi, but they were afraid that Nickelodeon wouldn't let them represent a bi character on TV.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Again, coming from someone who hasn't watched it, I feel like the complaint should be "why is she suddenly in love" rather than "why is she suddenly bi" -- same issue with shoehorned in straight romance

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

That too

These characters were fighting over the same man at some point

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

big shrug indeed, it sounds like

DanitheCarutor

Oooh! I thought it was the "stop the show to announce my gender/sexuality" thing. I never saw the show either and didn't see many of the complaints since I don't hang out on social media very often. Lol @keii’ii (Heart of Keol) That's understandable! With how stuff like that is nowadays it's better to be safe and make sure readers know, rather than not make it known till the last possible minute. It does kind of suck if putting in bigger hints doesn't mesh with will your story though.

Gosh, about the Korra thing, they could have dropped some subtle pick up lines in while fighting over the dude. But not wanting your show to get pulled or not wanting to be denied stuff is understandable.

Tuyetnhi (OIYD!)

oh yeah, the LoK convos about Korra and Asami. I watched the show during that time and it's just rip

Nick said to the creators they will pull the show if there's an explict statement that Kora and Asami being BI

so they had to be lowkey as hell in the end, which at the time of 2013-2014? idk the year

it was a steping stone for american cartoons I guess rip

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, and even though LoK aired back when things were a little different.... honestly I still feel that kinda pressure from EVERY angle, just a different flavor of it.

Tuyetnhi (OIYD!)

yea

DanitheCarutor

Well, last minute LGBT+ is better than none. Now there are a few shows like that, right? SU is super into it? (I don't watch this show either so I'm guessing based on fan discussion) and the MLP final dropped in some last minute stuff.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I have at least one character with cross orientation, and that's really awkward to show when I don't wanna put any... sex in the comic. (It's got lots of juvenile "tee hee butts" kinda stuff, but nothing steamy)

AntiBunny

Other tidbits I've thought of that I couldn't really address without just dropping a big exposition bomb are bits of lagosapien biology. They for instance have a shorter adolescence than humans, so they're shorter, but reach adulthood sooner. Their eyes are a bit wider than a human's, giving them a wider field of view, but less depth perception, and that they have higher muscular density, but being about half the size are on average human, are a little weaker than an adult human.

eli [a winged tale]

I know some webcomics have world lores and character notes at the end of each chapter

mathtans

Oh, things that don't show up? Randomly I'll toss in here that Expona is left handed. (Mostly consistently, I may have slipped up in the art once or twice.) Never something that makes sense for characters to talk about though, and not plot relevant, so... does that qualify? I dunno.

Joichi / Sarah

@Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn) sorry I'm late but I like the way you point out about asexuality. I was thinking of how to show concrete proof one's ace. But most of the time, I can pick up 'emotional signs' if it has inner monologue about romance.

The hard part of it, is being one myself, and it's always 'been like this' but in comic, it has to be said somewhere

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Ah, good to hear!

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

And yeah, that was my intention, encouraging people who feel stuck between "explicit announcement" or "nothing at all" to remember that you have in-between options. And if you take that approach, there's all kinds of creative/offbeat/fun things you can do with it.

(Applies to everything else, too, sexual orientation just happens to be the thing people were talking about when it came up.)

#ctparchive #comic #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble #comic tea party #ctp

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someone-elses-star · 5 years

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Episode 6x07: Nevermind Personal Narration

You guys seemed to like my personal narrative last week, so I decided to do one again! I’m super excited for this episode, and I’m really wondering if we will get Clarke back this week, or if the crew will somehow find out she is still alive.

IT”S STARTING!!!!!

Love hearing Eliza’s accent when she introduces the show!

Okay...give me some Clarke goodness!

Love hearing the voices of her memories!

Lexa! Still ship bellarke but......LEXA!

Door is opening......

And back to older Clarke!

Is this the Jake Griffin scene?!?!!?

YAYAYAYA JAKE!

Is he still hot? I think he’s still pretty hot! Lol

No Clarke. You didn’t die. YOU FIGHT GIRL!

Awww poor Clarke thinks she’s dead.

YES girl! You still alive!

Yes, baby girl. Daddy is in your head. But why should it mean it isn’t real? (Harry Potter references! lol)

Are we already leaving Jake? Is he coming back?! I want him back! Maybe he’ll lead her back after she beats Jo? She better beat JO!!!

I do love Jo, though. Very good evil girl! I just want Clarke back, too!

Ohh! ALLIE! and old Clarke grounder outfit!

Ohhhh....Allie saved Clarke! Coolll!!!!

Yes, save that memory! Use it to beat Jo! Use it to come back!

Face your demons, Clarke! Fight! Live!

Ohhh. Is the red door a Jo memory?

HI JOSEPHINE!

Damn right it’s not! Kick her butt, Clarke!

COMMERCIAL BREAK #1 Thoughts: If Clarke really dies is this show even worth watching anymore? If they save her through Madi’s chip instead, will she have to relearn all her new memories. That makes the most sense. I really don’t want her to forget Madi though! Also, random, but what do you guys think about the theory that this season will end with time travel to a past Earth before the nukes? I feel that that may take it a little too far, but I honestly just want Clarke back now, so that is my main focus. NANCY FUCKING DREW! Is anyone else excited?

Yes, Clarke. He did. Does anyone else want to punch Jo? She kinda has that kinda punchable expression constantly on her face.

If anyone can fight brain deterioration it is Clarke!

It better hurt you psychopath!

I also don’t want Clarke to survive only to have to take a new body because I don’t want to lose Eliza either!

Ahh there is Jo’s little hair twirl.

Yeah, you fight Clarke!

Ohhh, love Clarke’s change in every room!

Ohhhhh....memories are already fading off the walls!

Damn, Jo is quick. Guess she’s gotta be after all these years.

Clarke is a badass! Shut your bitch mouth!

Damn.....Jo is smart though!

Yes, Clarke beat her ass into the ground!

Damn......slamming her head with the door. Inspired!

Doubt this means Jo is dead though.

Yup....there she is again.

Ahhh, backup. LIke a computer.

Ah so that is what the pill was. A sedative. Makes sense.

Don’t be so sure Jo! Clarke is a cockroach!

COMMERCIAL BREAK #2 Thoughts: Trying not to be worried about Clarke’s survival. I feel the writers know that a dead Clarke means the end of the show. Also, Eliza is a queen. Losing her would also mean the end of the show I think. Still....very nervous like last episode. Wondering if this episode was the writers trying to give us a final goodbye to Clarke. But I can’t let those thoughts win or I’m going to start having a panic attack. Not good. Need happy thoughts. Clarke surviving. Bellarke reunion. Madi burning these bastards to the ground. I wonder when we are going to get the Bellamy scenes from the episode photos. I want those scenes, but I also want to give Clarke plenty of time to beat Jo. But how will she do that when Jo is backed up? Kinda feel like she will need a window to take over her body and let the others know she is still there so they can do something on the outside that she can’t do from the inside. Then all she has to do is stay alive on the inside. Easy, right? lol

RUN CLARKE RUN!

Ohhh....bloodreina!

That’s bull! She fought a lot of battles. Don’t let your demons kill you Clarke!

OHHHH she brought up Bellamy!!!

Love the collision alerts every time Jo is coming on screen!

AH MOUNT WEATHER!

Will a projection of Bellamy help save her?

Oh, no! Maya! Damn!!!

Because she has people to live for! People who love her!

Awww honey. Gotta stop letting your demons break you down!

This is worse than the eclipse psychosis! Poor Clarke!

YES! You’re in control Clarke!

She has an idea?!?! What did she do with the chip!? Ohhh I bet she controlled Maya to lie for her!

YES I was right!

Cute....lmao....

Jo reminds me a lot of a girl who used to bully me in school. Is that why I hate her so much? Probably.

Yes, shock her to death....until she reboots. Damn. She brought in an eviler Russell? Note that I said eviler because no matter how nice he’s trying to play he still killed Clarke and has killed many before her so the Primes could live.

COMMERCIAL BREAK #3 Thoughts: Not many, honestly, I just want Clarke to live. It’s fun seeing her projections come to life in the form of old characters. That’s fun! Already half over? This show always goes by so quickly when I’m narrating it! Anyone else get these Liberty Mutual commericals with the emu? Do we like? I don’t know! OHHHH LOVE RUBY ROSE as the new batwoman! What a great casting call!

RUN CLARKE RUN! AGAIN!

Oh no! Don’t watch daddy get floated again!

Uhh oohhhh....Jo is going to play mean with the floating memory!

Did they actually have Yatzee? That could be the only reason she knows that saying, right?

Oh....a little scary! Poor Clarke traumas! Isn’t that like....her whole life?

“A ringing endorsement.” Lmao. Sassy Clarke!

Damn, Jo is great at manipulation.

Ohhhh bringing up Bellamy again!

“You have drawings, I have books. Don’t judge!” Lmao

Ohhhh....Clarke seeing Jo’s memories of Bellamy.

Damn....please don’t stop fighting!

Oh God.....she’s considering this! She’s going to sacrifice herself again!?!?!

Do you actually trust her, Clarke?!?!

What.....my heart is breaking. Are we actually losing Clarke? NOT MY Daughter you bitch! (Yes, another HP reference. I can’t help myself!)

COMMERCIAL BREAK #4 Thoughts: I think I’m dying. I feel like this was to be expected because Clarke is a self-sacrificing angel, but oh my gods please let this be fixed somehow! In a way that does not have Clarke dying...and preferably with her memories of Madi still intact. But that last part can be negotiable in lieu of new memories. There is NO replacing Clarke! I will RIOT if they actually kill Clarke off. Who’s with me? We still have twenty minutes. Miracles happen in this show all the time! Especially in the last couple of minutes! KEEP THE HOPE ALIVE! I’m wondering if we are going to get a, “I bear it so they don’t have to” from Clarke anytime soon. That would fit well in this episode.

Okay. Now she is in her old hut. With....MONTY?!?!?!?! Oh my fucking GOD! MONTY!!!!!

Yes, Monty! You tell her! Tell her not to give up! Save her Monty! This is so much better than a memory of Bellamy saving her!

AHHH THE QUOTE! I’m so good! Yes, bring up Madi! Don’t leave Madi!

They wouldn’t bring back Monty if she was going to actually die, right?!!?

It’s never over, Clarke! Yes, Monty! Lead her to freedom!

I’m crying over Monty. Are you?

Yes, going in to Josephine’s mind! You can do this! You have Monty! Everything is better with Monty!

Damn.....that is a lot of books.

Ohhh....she knows you are there!

“I like your drawings better.” I love you Monty! We never deserved you!

Yes, control your body! Our predictions are coming true!

Oh. The scene of Jo being murdered in her last body!

Ohhh. How is Clarke going to use this memory? Or any of the memories she sees?

Baby!

Nulls? That’s what they call those who can’t bear a host? Damn....

COMMERCIAL BREAK #5 Thoughts: So, Clarke is fighting again with the help of Monty. They are discussing her controlling her body through Jo’s memories. GOOD! BUTTTT....we have less than ten minutes. What’s going to happen? Could Clarke take control of her body and interrupt Bellamy’s meeting with Russell that we saw pictured? Will Jo take over at the last minute and try to convince them that she was just joking...and that Clarke is really dead? Could that send Bellamy into exploring Clarke being alive? If Clarke stays inside her head for more than this episode do we get to see more Monty?

He got it! Go Monty!

And we’re....in a cafe. With XMAS decor. OHHHH Earth before the bombs?!?!!

Yes, why would she lock this memory away?

Oh are the bombs about to go off?

Water rationing protest? Is this our future? Probably.

Oh......what is this guy to her? Damn...a gun?!?!

Oh MY GOD! I would want to hide this memory too!

Ohh more fighting!

Oh no! She’s awake!

No! She can’t win! Clarke can still be alive!

Oh....he’s using Morse code! Is that Morse code?

Bellamy knows!!! He can see it! He knows! Clarke is still in there!

It is Morse code!

“I slept through most of Earth skills so....” Lmao! I love Miller! We never get enough Miller!

Yes, go last five seconds of Bellamy finding out about Clarke still being in there!

#the 100 #bellarke #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #6x07 spoilers #Nevermind #the 100 spoilers #raven reyes #john murphy #echo kom azgeda #echo kom spacekru #jo!clarke #emori #memori #octavia blake #charmaine diyoza

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cruddyborderlandstheories · 5 years

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Sanctuary-III: Demo Analysis

Hi again! I’m here to do my full Sanctuary-III analysis. (im back on my bullshit of actually structuring posts like a functioning human. holy mother of g-)

Tl;Dr: So from what I’ve gathered so far, Sanctuary-III looks like a Maliwan-inspired ship, but was actually built by a company named <SUPAMAX MFG>. I do think the ship we go on in the demo is taken from another part of the game, probably the time period when we’ve reached the Maliwan/Monastery planet of which I don’t know the name (the one we see Maya on). I understand that we can see Pandora in the demo, but it’d be easy to travel back there and simply remove the option for the monastery planet when we go to Promethea. I have a couple reasons for thinking this, so I’ll go over it when we get there.

For now, let’s get started :D

So, even though we’re going to be doing a full analysis of the demo, I did want to start with our previous sightings of the ship.

Ellie hanging onto a smaller version of the ship.

Lorelei resting her foot on a larger model

one hiding behind Zane near the car

better view below:

and a ship as we see it on the cover art:

notice I say A ship because there are definitely differences between this one and the Sanctuary-III we meet in the demo.

Most notably the colors/design, but also the back engines are missing from below the spoiler and the fins on the front are different shapes. Additionally, the one in the cover has windows that are significantly different from the demo and the engines in demo have fins coming off the tops that we don’t see here. I’ve been yelled at before that this isn’t a noticeable enough difference to think about, that the developers just decided to roll with it, but honestly I believe if the designers put that much time into ensuring the cover art has a dozen easter eggs to solve, why would they look at the ship and decide “eh, that’s good enough”? I wanna believe they’re not that laidback about this.

So I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now and provide a handful of theories as to what this cover art ship could be:

1. Sanctuary-II or an earlier model of Sanc-III (or both)

2. A shuttle used to move people to-and-from places Sanctuary-III is too large to access and the drop pods are too violent to hit (I’m thinking meteors/asteroids here) annnd hopefully we get to putz around space in one

3. A fully separate ship from Sanctuary-III that we’ll have to use later on in the game, either due to Sanctuary-III being destroyed, or other weird circumstances that would render it unavailable. Could possibly be used to reach Elpis?

Anyway, enough of that. Let’s get right into the thick of things with the actual ship from the demo!

This hit me right in the heart. I love that u can see Pandora in the background, too.

The actual ship! Do you see what I mean by those minor differences to the cover art ship? Moving on.

The reason I thought this ship was mainly because of the huge swaths of orange and the blue engines/bridge. I had thought it was Atlas as well at one point, but retracted both those statements when I saw the name of the manufacturer printed everywhere inside lol

It is possible it was made specifically for either of those companies. I am leaning towards Maliwan, so I’ll point out my reasons why as we move through this.

Also, check out the docking bay on the bottom there. That door leads to the large room we see Ellie in. I think the fins on the front of the ship are to hold it up when it’s landed so we can drive vehicles out the bottom. I am hoping for a scene near endgame where the ship is shielding us from huge attacks from above as we drive out of the bottom and, right as we escape, it collapses behind us. Fingers crossed.

the back of the ship. And the engines I mention you can’t see protruding out the back on the cover art.

Oh, and say hi to the CoV!

that’s where Troy’s sword gets launched from orbit

as we zoom in, we can see a whole bunch of things

to start, looks like Hyperion got some nice rebranding. I hope Blake took over tbh

a poster of moxxxi’s. I love the feather in her hat; I wonder if that means her a mordy got back together...

also im going to take the time to point out

how much I love that each Vault Hunter gets something that glows. Amara has her tattoos (and she can customize the color!), Fl4k has their eye, Moze has Iron Bear’s digistruct pack, and Zane has a cool jacket. Rock on my babies, you’re all beautiful. Oh, and the whole teleporting animation for this, I don’t know if its like a “first time” only thing or what, but I love it, I love it so much. I’m so glad we’re going to be able to see our Vault Hunters in the third person.

okay moving on

so right away you notice the guide telling you where places are, with arrows point in different directions. It’s quite hard to read at the moment, but we do see it again later.

We all know about the quick change station and the lost-and-found, so I don’t think I ought to go over those right now.

claptrap seems to have his own little cereal or something, not sure if that’s been sighted anywhere else, but im afraid for anyone who eats it

player quarters! holy balls im so excited for these

We can see the display cases everywhere, but there’s also a vault (not that kind) in the back left. I imagine that’s the bank. Hoooopefully we get a larger storage capacity or my mule characters are gonna have a ton of new buddies to talk to lol

better look at the cereals.

also apparently that water bottle we see in the Game of Thrones joke the twitter posted is an actual asset in the game.

While we have singular display cases for guns, it looks like items get their own display cases

it can show off rarity color and on the bottom left, you get to see exactly what you’re looking at. no more confusing grenade mods for shields in this house

a non-holographic poster for the Typhon Deleon movie. I think this is the first we’ve seen outside of Promethea. I guess Amara’s a fan.

A vault symbol rug, and the symbol spray painted onto her punching bag. I think that poster in the back is a Monty Python reference? I didn’t get quite a good look at it, we might see another one later on.

Amara has a window seat, I’m actually hoping we’ll be able to hang out in our rooms and look out the window at space. I would honestly spend so much time here. Also, regarding the bed (not pictured, that’s the window seat), I’m wondering if that will have any gameplay effects or if it's just aesthetics. I hope it’s at least bouncy...

she does have some jakobs crates holding up the plants. Don’t know if that has anything to do with her backstory or if its just to fit the aesthetic of her room.

we’re also told “again, you can modify your player quarters to how you want to play” which... I don’t know if I’m looking too deeply into that, but it seems like we’ll be able to pick and choose things like furniture or overall layout. I wonder if they’d let us cycle between the other VH’s rooms. Not sure exactly what it’s supposed to imply, but it is something to point out.

Our first look at the SUPAMAX MFG logo. “Ships made Quick”

We also get our first look at Ellie’s cargo bay. More on this later

behind the curtains to the left of here

a poster of Jack and some lootable washing machines. We’ve seen the poster before, from what I’ve heard it's a movie poster starring timothy doppleman. Which... What a legend.

Now, I do want to point out we see this logo next to the cargo bay

this is one of the reasons I thought the ship was Atlas at first, however you can tell there’s no gap on the right of the triangle and the bottom edges don’t match. I definitely think the new Atlas logo is a delta to signify change, though, cause Rhys is a big ol nerd.

some blueprints of the ship and a bunch of reused posters from BL2 thrown in for decor purposes. There’s another poster of Typhon to the left of that, but since we’ve already seen it, fuck ‘em

We also see a buttload of Maliwan crates hanging around the ship, matching the color design of the one we saw floating around space

here’s one of them!

a better look at the blueprints as a standalone poster. It looks like ‘Sanctuary’ was written over with something, but I can’t make out what. also checkout how the paint on top doesn’t match the paint on the cover art’s ship. Nor does the cover art have the fins coming off the engines like we see here. I actually just noticed that even the spoilers are different shapes.

Moving on before I go off on another tangent

a poster for Marcus’s shop

the new golden chest as Randy called it. I believe we’ve seen the animation already, where the guns splay upwards like a peacock or smth

a cowgirl hangin out on more Maliwan chests

Marcus’s new sign. Honestly? He’s rocking the bun.

this dude we find walking out of the store. Don’t know what his deal is, but I’m digging it.

this Amara already has 5/8 Pistol SDUs unlocked! (Also, there are 8 max SDUs) Makes me think she’s a high level character. That’ll come into play later lol

5/8 Backpack SDUS. I didn’t show it but she also had 1/8 Shotgun SDUs. Also only +3 to backpack space each. Considering Amara already has 5 unlocked, that means we get the regular 12 backpack space to start. D:

bank space only gets +2. Amara already has 2, meaning the bank can only hold 8 items without upgrades. F in chat for the big bank dreams. Max amount the bank can hold is 24. Somebody comfort me... hopefully these SDUs increase exponentially 😭

the mystery SDU. It looks like a box with a question mark on it, giving out guns and grenades. Makes me worry this is some form of loot box, but considering it can be bought with cash in-game, that’s probably a good sign. Maybe you can buy golden keys in game to open the gold chest now? Randy said no microtransactions and, while he is Randy, I want to believe him (disregarding the skins fiasco because we all knew that was coming).

since i’ve also seen speculation that it’s the upgrade for the capacity of the Lost-And-Found, I think that’s probably what this actually is.

the shooting range we can see from here. Doesn’t appear to have any targets yet, but it may be like the one in BL2 where they only appear when we enter.

more Maliwan boxes to the left of the shooting range.

Crew Quarters sign!

some very big (tm) Maliwan crates

tannis’s sign!

this NPC actually seems important, I’m wondering if she’ll give us a side quest or something

what i’m guessing is the power core to the ship. It’s in such a great place to get shot... i wonder if perhaps... we’re going to have to do that at some point...

“ain’t no place like space” I love this place.

also looks like there’s a shortcut here. You can see the planks across the pipes, the balcony, and the railing here that’s gonna be easy to get over. Excitement!

looks like a control panel right in front of the core. Yeah, there’s definitely going to be something related to it. Maybe we’ll get attacked and we have to go stabilize it. Maybe our ship will get hijacked and we’ll have to blow it up from the inside. I can’t be the only one who thinks this place is wayyy too grand to not get destroyed...

better look at that bad boy

the opening to moxxi’s bar

actual bar

i have no idea what this is, but i dig it. Also the zer0 for the O is making me go 🤔 i don’t THINK Zer0 would get involved, but then again, they are doing missions for Moxxi in Tales, so maybe the two got together to make something

this door seems different enough and detailed enough (red glowing light) to make me think we’re going to be unlocking this and going through it at some point. Then it shall glow green and make me happy instead of frustrated. the minimap, unfortunately, does not agree with me, but I want to believe. or that’s gonna bother me to no end. Maybe some sort of “we just escaped control core angel” situation, idk.

some slot machines. Ca$hTrap! and Tinx’s Hijinx. Looks like an NPC is using the latter though so idk if it will be available to use.

scoring system. Looks like the ??x row will give us a new character skin!! hype.

the uhhh... Lava Lamp column... will give us...? ???

A devil fruit?? A grenade? wtf is that???

3 bananas gives us new colors! Crowns = head

the... Eridium...? That seems way too pink to be Eridium tbqh. It reminds me more of Seraph crystals, but maybe its a reference to the ‘Eridium’ growing out of the ground on Promethea? ...... Maybe that’s growing because Atlas/Typhon actually DID open the Vault on Promethea

uh anyway

The last column is about more crystals and then cash and then the last one... I assume the icons are Claptrap’s eye (considering the game), but the reward? i think that’s the grenade the demo player gets in the demo

we’ve also got Loot Boxer (also taken by an NPC) and Vault Line. I’m wondering if the NPCs using the machines are just a gameplay mechanic and they’ll disappear after a certain level/event. Maybe those ones give us better loot. idk.

for Vault Line, i think that says “Knockout Prizes” but I could be wrong. More importantly, it looks like we can get legendaries from this one! First column shows a green/purple/yellow (legendary?) gun. I can’t tell what the other icons are meant to be, though. i think the next 3 are shields, then maybe class mods? or... grenade mods? i don’t know. The last one is a total blob for me, no ideas on that. Also wondering if that machine costs Eridium to play or something, 1) because of its design and 2) because the rewards seem sooo much better than Claptrap’s.

outside we see the Crew Quarters sign for the first time and, interestingly enough, a TV broadcasting the same symbol we see being broadcasted all across the CoV camps. What’s up with that?

infirmary and crew quarters signs on the wall this time

more Maliwan crap. even says it right on the tin. Why is there a pokeball on there?

a map of the ship. We see this on a bunch of monitors, even ones on Promethea, for some reason. This one is mirrored. dunno why.

more signs. Left top to bottom: “Cargo Bay” “Armory” “Infirmary”

Right top to bottom: “Engine Room” (OwO) “Crew Quarters” “Cargo Bay” “Armory” annnd nothing on the last line this bend around. when they turn the corner, you can see that it, too, says “infirmary”

Also, the Heatant and Coolant Pipes lmao

“LAB/SICK BAY” pointing to the left towards Tannis’s corner

so, here’s where we get our first glance at something very very interesting

now, the crew makes us think this is our first time visiting Promethea in the demo. But if it is, why are there Promethea civilians wandering around the ship? I believe i go over this some in an older post, but I’ll recap:

1) It could be that Sanctuary III was already in the air before the game starts and had already visited Promethea to take some Civilians off Rhys’s hands so he had less to worry about. That would mean that we’d need a shuttle or something to reach the ship in order to activate the fast travel station, which is (possibly) where the ship on the cover art could come in. Because in the borderlands universe, you need to reach a Fast Travel station first before you’re able to teleport to it and if Sanc III is flying and Lilith doesn’t have her powers, we’re stranded on Pandora. (Alternatively, the ship could come down from space, but... I kinda doubt it can without not being able to take off again. Maybe borderlands just has cooler spaceships... idk. They were able to make a caravan space capable). Unfortunately, this would mean those screencaps from the new trailer that looks like Sanctuary III being infested with wildlife would not take place on early-game Pandora/that we wouldn’t rescue the ship and claim it as our own. (We could possibly get Sanctuary III in the air in the new BL2 DLC if this is the case.) The ship getting infested then could take place above the Maliwan planet or Promethea or soon after we join the crew and we’re sent down there to clean it up as a side quest. Or there’s a time skip and the ship gets overrun and we have to fix it. Now that’d be rad...

2) gearbox is being sneaky beaky about the demo time. We do see Maya later on, which leads me to believe this takes place after we meet her. Where does it look like she’ll be? On the Maliwan/Monastery planet. It could be possible that the devs took the ship back to Pandora and simply removed the Maliwan planet from the list of places to take our ship. That would leave Promethea as an option while also explaining why there are both Promethean citizens and Maya on board. Could also explain Lilith having her tattoos back, since we don’t know the events of the story that lead to us going to find Maya. Though, I think I have an idea... I’ll leave that for my Maya masterpost though. Lilith also says “We arrived in one piece... that’s a first” when we travel to Promethea, leading me to believe either that’s where Sanctuary-II warped and got destroyed (maybe explaining why there are Promethea Civilians with us now), possibly in the asteroid fields, also maybe due to a mechanical failure, or Sanctuary-III, when it first went to Promethea with us, got a bit damaged by the rocks floating around Promethea or some other thing like the CoV attacking, idk. What are those rocks for, anyway? ....... I gotta make a post on that, don’t I? oi oi oi...

Moving on

the front of the Infirmary

....

this kinda looks like a baby T-Rex. There are T-Rexes on the swamp planet, which we now are assuming is Promethea, aren’t there? Oh hell yeah. If the swamp planet ISN’T Promethea I’m gonna be all like [shocked pikachu face]. that outskirts area was really making me believe.

anyway, see above lol

we also get another glimpse at the SUPAMAX logo

some lootables in the back

not sure if these are Maliwan or not.

Zed also has a machine in the back here. We haven’t seen him around yet, but odds are he’s still kicking because of this. And hopefully still friendly with the crimson raiders. Maybe Tannis locked him in a closet or something, idk.

oooo i haven’t seen this screen before

i want to know what it isssss

this also looks eerily familiar. brb, gonna go find what this reminds me of

okay, so

not sure if its exactly the same material/type of symbol, but this location, what i have dubbed the “temple” cuz i got no better name for it, does have square emblems across the floor with borders.

so, interestingly, this one has what looks like an eye with beams shooting out of it. if that description sounds familiar to you, it should, because

EYEBALL

now i got no idea if these are related aside from being in the same game, but it does interest me that they’ve both got eyeballs and streaky beams.

Oh and Tannis’s Vault symbol doesn’t have the writing (?) across the edges, but I will say, it does kinda look like cuneiform and eridian writing had a baby. Like, if you super heavily pixelate the Watcher’s name on her title card...

tbh I’ve theorized a lot about this place, but haven’t found anything I particularly like. From the place where the first Vault Atlas ever opened is (meaning its on Promethea and could explain why Tannis has that slab), the Great Vault’s holding place (where the skeleton on the ground is Typhon and his final journal) (perhaps the Great Vault is the entryway to the Eridian homeworld... that could explain why the CoV are trying to find it... might be a reason why they’re being manipulated by new aliens to find it. god please let them be the Seraphs...) uh, anyway, I also had an idea that it was someplace on the Maliwan planet, and maybe that it was in the archives area that was taken over by Maliwan and that the skeleton was of a Siren. That would explain why Maya is shown handing the book to Little Blue in the MoM. I go over that in an old post though, so moving on.

oh, there’s also a frame of Tannis’s animation where the dinosaur she was inside stands up and clips through the table:

there’s a small room over here we don’t get to see, and I’m wondering if there’s another NPC joining us on Sanctuary-III that isn’t showcased. god I hope if its pickle he got more bearable as he got older because dear god i hated him in tps. I can’t see Athena nor Janey with a desk like that. Maybe Vaughn? Though would he really want to go back to being an accountant after everything...?

more maliwan boxes btw. looks like someone scribbled on this one lol

now we head to the bridge!!!

looks like an arcade game lol

but possibly a control mechanism for shuttles coming in??? 👀 👀 👀

Crew Quarters and the SUPAMAX logo

oh yeah, and in case you were doubtful that this was a borderlands game:

“Caution: Excessive Farts Detected”

the Bridge!!!

We’ve got a holo-projector thing up front like we’ve seen Rhys use, as well as a mini one used as a digistructer during Lorelei’s hamburger quest. Most interesting, Lily has her tattoos! Definitely wondering if this takes place later on in the story or if they swapped her early game model in. either way, they’re definitely there.

some cool art of Sanctuary III zooming away

just have to say

i love this so much

its great

okay moving on

I wish they’d be more specific. do ruins = vault? Typhon says he discovers the Vault and the Key in one fell swoop. if Typhon DID give atlas the Vault key and the location to the Vault (and we’re not just listening to an ARG for the movie or smth) then why didn’t Atlas open it immediately?! I mean, in TFTBL Cassius says Gortys is their last ditch attempt at opening a Vault! So what the heck?? I can’t believe that it would be less than 200 years from the first Vault being discovered to the Eridians abandoning everything. like vault keys take 200 years to naturally charge so there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be already charged and available (Unless its more of a cycle thing where it charges and then discharges after a while for safety’s sake??).

And another thing, if that IS Eridium growing out of the ground on Promethea, then they totally DID open the first Vault. Or at least Typhon did. Unless there was something stopping them... like... Maybe in the temple those demon-looking-things stopped them from getting through and that’s why we find a bunch of skeletons around the place? Or maybe the Guardians got to them, or some other Eridian protection scheme. i don’t know... im so confused... brain hurt...

anyway

why the fuck does Elpis look like this

is that the light side of the moon? dear god im blind.

hhhh at least we can still see the crackening

lowkey wondering if the ship is based off of Eridian tech. I could totally see a slip-space drive being based off Lilith’s phasewalking

when we finish travelling, Lily says “We’ve arrived in one piece. that’s a first” and yeeah, i can see whyyy

rocks. rocks everywhere. tbh i think these rocks are 1) why lilith says that (we’ve either been to Promethea before in Sanc-III or Sanc-II got decimated slip jumping here) and 2) why the VH’s entry into Promethea is apparently so awful Lilith needs to ask if they’re actually still alive. also, we get to see just how much of Promethea is cities and goddamn. that’s a lot for a borderworld.

sorry for the youtube bar.

Deck A: Hammerlock - Infirmary/Tannis - Deck B: Marcus - Moxxi Deck C: Cargo Bay

I am honestly so curious how they got this ship with that lettering on it. I guess they could’ve made it themselves, but... you gotta wonder... maybe we get the ship built on Pandora by Ellie. Or she helps us fix it up after we remove all gross rat things from it.

MAYAAAAA

better look at the Monty poster plus some other stuff, like a clock, dartboard, and a gas mask. Also if anyone knows what that says up top there, please let me know, im super curious!

Hammerlock’s quarters!

this guy has the same facial hair as Zane. I swear to god if I hear “Oh, that’s me fourth brother” im gonna lose my absolute shit

something to the far left outside of Hammerlock’s quarters we’re not allowed to see yet :(

there’s also graffiti of “Charge port here” around the ship and i think that’s hilarious. It’s like an airport

put your ports in, damn it!

Ellie!!!

More maliwan boxes to her left, btw

the actual cargo bay. remember how i said to look at the bottom of sanctuary III to find the door? I’m like 90% sure that’s it right there. Randy also says “down here we can check out the vehicles we’ve collected AND this is how/where we get access to the planets while we’re in orbit”.

Crazy Earl’s black market! dunno how he’s actually, like, connected to the black market from here, but, hey, who knows what he’s got in there.

veteran rewards, apparently drawn over one of Marcus’s machines lol

“Inter-Galactic” a little drawing of Sanc-III and another Maliwan box (you can see why I think this ship is Maliwan, right?)

Clappy and his GF... yeah...

one very big digistruct pad. listen... im praying for a space shuttle. i really am.

finally:

the drop pod

god this looks awesome. I bet we’re gonna have many a fun time in there lol

I finally get to live out my dream of being an ODST in borderlands. what badasses they are.

#borderlands #borderlands 3 #bl3 #sanctuary 3 #sanctuary iii #sanctuary-iii #yeet #sanctuary

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farklelucas · 5 years

Note

for the fanfic asks -- 2, 5, 7, 13, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 38, 43, 48 that's right i want full essay length answers with sources provided pls and thank u :)

oh my god maggie ahjskdfjdksd

okay so this will be under the cut because. i don’t hate my followers.

send me fanfic asks!

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

so currently, i write for girl meets world, teen wolf, and smosh, and i’ve dabbled in it, supernatural, book of mormon, and death note. currently gmw is my favorite (obviously) but i also love teen wolf.

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

i mean i think it has to be it’s gonna take a superman, which is my baby.

7) When is your preferred time to write?

any time i can ahsjdkflj i would do it more often but im never motivated lmao

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?

probably… richie from it. idk im not at that level of chaotic disaster ajskdlf. but also maya from gmw bc she and i are so different.

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

if i sit in silence, i die.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

i cried last night while doing research for ocs so… yeah ahsjdkfjkd. maybe i’ll cry while finishing igtas…… who knows. ;)

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

it’s for you. don’t hang your hopes on other people and what they think!

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

honestly…. igtas ahjskdfnmkdfn. i mean like finding the answers in lines between stars and rub the skin raw would also qualify, because i adore both and wish more people would read them, but i don’t really think anything but igtas is deserving of it lmao.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

i got a question for ya; can i get an answer? and the incredible words on your body. im tired ASJDKNSMKDFM im just kidding i still like both but im like…. those?

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

UHHHHHH @friarlucas!!!!! also @alecfightwoods and @queen-of-edolas both of whom i’ve planned collabs with but have yet to work out, mostly of my own fault ahsjdkfgjnfj

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

im sorry but when i read this question i thought of that time i said yogi was a villain in one of my fics and you said “IN IGTAS?????” because god. comedy. but you probably have and mauricio definitely has so between the two of you… yes.

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

*looks at my soulmates fics* i…. have no idea.

#maggie #lets play a game called how many times can i mention igtas in one go ahsjdkflkjnd #friarlucas #what kind of woman doesnt have an ask

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yuniesan · 5 years

Text

Girl Meets Season 6 - Episode Fourteen – Girl Meets Spring Semester

Girl Meets Season 6

Synopsis: The Journey from High School and into College will test everything Riley knew about her life, her friendships and her love. What life lessons will she learn in her first year of college?

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

A/N: the reason this took so long to post (outside of my real life problems) after my one-shot (which was probably a precursor to another one-shot) was because I heard a song, now hear me out, so the new Backstreet Boys song Chances, inspired me to go back and look at a one-shot I wrote last year, and from that I actually started writing another long fic, because obviously I had to write it after hearing the song. Although that story is going to be RUCAS centric, the other couple will exist yes, but the one shot in question is Love among the stars from Rucas fanfic week, and it has them going to different schools from everyone and all of that. I added a couple of twists, including a secret relationship storyline, because no one can stop me when I want to write something. I'm deciding on a posting schedule for this story, that story, and my Holiday Bingo stories, because I finished my writing sample for my MFA applications (they're being proofed as we speak), so I'm going to trying and write more, which means I want to write everything at once. Once I'm done with one of these things, I'm going back to the superhero AU, and possibly start plotting out season 7 for next year. Hopefully if I get into the MFA program I want to go to, I'll have time to keep writing what I want to write. This next chapter after this one is connected to this chapter, I'm still writing it right now, because I had started writing the first chapter of the other story first... sue me I really wanted to write this secret relationship AU.

Episode Fourteen – Girl Meets Spring Semester

There was a mad dash to get coffee before they left to go back to Maya’s school, Josh just wanted the morning with the two of them alone, since he knew that with his school year ramping up, he wouldn’t have the chance to visit as often as possible. They needed to schedule their lives around one another again and he wasn’t really excited at the prospect. He liked their weekends together, their dates, their lives, but he knew that Maya needed more time with Riley since they had a weird start to college so he wanted to give them that.

“I don’t wanna go,” Maya said slumping next to him on the couch at Topanga’s, “Too tired, want to go to sleep.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the way she was acting because it was adorable to him, nearly two years together and he kept finding things he would think were dumb but were actually adorable. “I know Maya but you have to go, you’re a good student and you don’t want to fall behind,” he said before pulling her closer and letting her slump over on him to the point where he was sure that she would fall asleep if he didn’t give her coffee.

“I wish we could be like Riley and Lucas,” she mumbled to him before burrowing her face into his scarf. “They get all of this time together, and we have to commute for our dates, it’s not fair.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad, plus soon I’ll be up there with you and you’ll get sick of having me around all of the time,” he pulled off his scarf and put it around her neck, she would at least be warm.

Maya’s mother walked over to them smiling, “She giving you any trouble there?” the older woman said.

Josh shook his head and smiled, “Not a bit, she just needs some coffee and she’ll be alright.”

“That’s why I’m here,” she said as she placed their cups in front of them. “Take care of her on the way up to the school, I would love to go but Shawn is taking me somewhere so I can’t.”

“Don’t worry mom,” Maya mumbled through the scarf. “I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah I know, just be good baby girl,” Maya’s mother walked over giving Maya a kiss, then squeezing Josh’s shoulder before going back to the counter and working on stocking the display.

Josh handed Maya her coffee, getting a smile from her before she pulled down his scarf and taking a sip. She sighed once she finished, and smiled at the cup like it was the elixir of life.

“Feeling better,” he said once she put the cup back down.

“Yeah, would feel way better if you were with me at school though,” she sighed before leaning back into him. “I was serious, about wishing for what Riley and Lucas have, they sleepover in each other’s rooms, they have lunch dates, and all of that, and I want it.”

“Riley and Lucas get to have sleepovers because they go to the same school, while we don’t, we do have things that they don’t,” he said trying to bring forward the Brightside of their relationship.

“Yeah but I never get to see you like that, it’s just I guess it’s something I want.”

“Maya do you want to live with me? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Maybe, I guess it’s just that I’m a little jealous that they get all of that and we don’t.”

“Maya, my sweet, sweet girlfriend, just because Riley and Lucas have sleepovers doesn’t mean that we can’t...”

Josh was going to say more but a cup shattered behind them causing the two of them to jump, before seeing his brother standing behind them. His eyes wide as he looked between Maya and Josh, which means he heard some of their conversation, and Josh knew that they were in for it soon. Before he could stop Cory, his older brother moved so fast he hadn’t had the chance to grab him. He knew that Riley and Lucas were going to be in the middle of a storm the moment her father reached them, and Josh felt a little guilty, and from the look Maya had on her face so did she. The two of them sighed and got up, moving towards the exit, Josh texting his sister in law, who was probably asleep, on the way to his car.

Riley wondered why there was such a long time between semesters in college, it was five weeks of being at home, five weeks of going out with her friends, hanging out with her family, and of course getting sick. Now that the new semester was starting, she felt as if she had done nothing notable during the break even though she had gone out constantly. The break wasn’t as important as getting internships during the summer months, but it still felt weird not doing anything that would benefit her future. Now the spring semester was going to start and she wasn’t sure how she would be able to pay for things with the little money she did have saved up.

“You know sugar,” Zay said as he helped her with her bags. “You could have packed a little less, I mean you didn’t even take this much with you when you left.”

“Not my fault,” she said with a smile while carrying her laundry bag which was filled with extra pillows and blankets. “I didn’t know I needed all of this until I didn’t have it with me,” which was true, especially since people were always in her room hanging out, more so now that Maya, Josh, Farkle, and Smackle were feeling more comfortable with coming over and not living in their own little lovey dovey world. Which Riley thought it was cute, that they were all so in love, but she had missed her friends.

Zay sighed, before Charlie walked up and grabbed the other end of Riley’s suitcase and helping Zay up the stairs with it. She really hadn’t thought about bringing so much with her, but with Lucas always hanging out in her room, and now that her and Maya were going to figure out how to hang out more. There was a need to have things around, clothes to share, or more pillows so that Lucas wouldn’t sacrifice his arm to her. Even though she liked the feeling of his arms around her when they were watching movies, it only became a problem when they fell asleep and she ended up with his arm as a pillow.

“Oh, Riley,” Maya said as she rushed up towards her, “Josh said to tell you that he’s sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Riley asked wondering what her Uncle could feel sorry about, they hadn’t seen much of each other since he had gone with Maya to Philly the week before the semester started. She knew that he was nearby too, because he had been helping Maya with her bags not too long ago, so now he was hiding from her too.

“Um well,” she said not looking her in the eye, “He may or may not have accidentally told your dad about Lucas staying over in your room a lot.”

“What?” Riley yelled out dropping the bag she had been holding, watching it as it rolled down the stairs. “What do you mean he accidentally told my dad, Maya my dad shouldn’t know things like that.”

“Well it was an accident, we were talking at the café, before we came back up here, and I was telling Josh about how I wish he could sleep over at my dorm with me like you and Lucas do and Josh was saying that maybe on a few weekends, that way we could all hang out more, and your dad had been standing behind us the entire time... so... yeah that happened,” she said and Riley knew it was an accident but what she was afraid of was her father showing up and ruining one of the good things that had kept her grounded during the first semester away from home.

“Maya, I need my Lucas time, we’re all so busy and it’s going to get busier and oh god my father is going to be in my room the minute I get up there isn’t he,” she said as the realization dawned on her. There’s only so much her mother could do to stop him, but if she didn’t know that he was coming up here with the pretext of knowing something then she wouldn’t stop him.

“Hey Riley,” Sam said as she was walking towards them, “your dad is in our room, and he’s doing something weird.”

Riley left the laundry bag and ran to her room just as Zay and Charlie were dropping off her stuff, watching as her father tapped up her window with a sheet, she noticed that some of her drawers had been opened as if he had been looking for something.

“Dad,” she yelled out looking at her room in horror. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Boys, I’m trying to keep boys away,” he said a nervous hitch in his voice. “No boys, boys bad, boys will take away my little girl’s innocence.”

Without even thinking she walked in and pulled him away from her window, forcing him to look her in the eye, “This is going too far,” she said to him her voice hard with anger. “I’m eighteen years old, I’m allowed to grow up, nothing is happening between me and Lucas that you don’t already know about.”

“But sex,” he started but before he could say anything, she put her hand up to stop him.

“No,” she said to him. “This is an invasion of privacy, I’m not living at home, you had no right to do this,” she could feel anger rolling through her, when she was growing up, she thought it was nice to have him worry, but now it was going too far. “Lucas and I only sleep in the same bed, and mostly it’s because we’re watching movies, his clothes which you have thrown all over this room are only here because I tend to steal them from his room, it’s a thing, girl’s steal their boyfriend’s sweaters all of the time.”

“That’s true Matthews,” Maya said from the door, she was actually wearing Josh’s NYU hoodie which long enough to be a dress on her, especially with how tall Josh was compared to the blonde.

“Now take all of that off the window, and get out before I call mom and tell her what you did,” she said knowing that her father’s Achilles heel was her mother, even after all of these years he was still afraid of making her angry.

Her father mumbled a fine, before undoing all of his work, Riley got to work on picking up what he had taken out of her drawers, looking for who knows what, while Zay brought in her laundry bag which had been left at the bottom of the stairs. Hiding behind him was Lucas, who didn’t dare go into the room, or let it be known that he was standing there. Rushing off she went to greet him, pulling him away from the door.

“Do I want to know what happened?” he asked once they were in the student kitchen on the other end of the hallway.

“Maya and Josh were talking about us,” she said looking up at him. “About how we tend to sleep on top of one another when we watch movies, and how she wished she could have that with Josh and well...”

“Your dad heard,” he said finishing what she was saying, before running his hand through his hair. “Will this change anything about how we are? Is he going to get crazy about me seeing you again, because I can’t afford to lose my shoes right now.”

Riley sighed, they were both in need of jobs, or at least work study, they didn’t have money most of the time, and the money they did have they saved up for when they wanted take out. Most of their dates since starting college had been to school events or just sitting in their rooms and eating what they had. They didn’t want to ask for help, it was oddly freeing for the both of them to try and make it on what they could, it was an experience for them all. But for the two of them, it was about finding ways to be together and not having to spend so money, they were trying to see how to live without relying on their families for help.

“I know,” she said to him as she put her arms around his waist and pulled him close. “I’m sorry that my dad is crazy.”

“We’ve known this for years,” he said as he kissed her hair. “Should I go to your room, or should I run.”

“I’m thinking we both could run, but that would only cause more problems, since it would leave my dad with Maya, Zay, Charlie, and Sam, and we don’t want to leave them with that level of crazy. But you can run if you want, I won’t hold it against you.”

Lucas shook his head, he wouldn’t leave her to deal with this, if anything, he would want to show her dad how much it didn’t affect them or their relationship. “If you have to deal with it so do I,” he said smiling at her before pulling away. “It’s what I signed up for when we started dating.”

“Okay but I’m going to protect you and your shoes from him today.”

“It would be an honor to have you protect me,” he smiled at her, and it still made her giddy just seeing him smile, it was strange feeling as if she could have someone just giving her butterflies for this long.

The two held hands walking back to Riley’s room, she held onto him comforting him, she didn’t want her dad to find a way to separate them. They wanted to be united in the fact that they wanted to have their little dates, and their sleepovers, where nothing happened.

Much to her surprise, her mother was standing in her room quietly yelling at her father, which only made Riley giggle, because if her mother was quiet when she was angry at you then that meant that she was really angry. Her mom smiled at her before dragging her father out into the hallway, “Seriously Cory,” she said.

Riley heard her mother telling her father about how when they were in college, they did the same things, and how there was the time where he was asking for more and she flashed him her butt, which only made Riley snort. “Honestly, those two sleeping in the same bed is still vanilla compared to how you and Shawn acted when you were in college. And yes, I know she’s your little girl Cory, but she’s technically an adult now and you had no right to come here and do that to her room.”

“But his clothes are all over the place,” he father practically squealed, which made Riley laugh harder.

“Cory, I’ve seen them, and honestly she wears Lucas’s sweaters all of the time, why is it a problem now? She probably steals them which is normal for a girl her age, it reminds me of when we were that young, but now you’re so preoccupied with making sure she doesn’t grow up I feel like you’re neglecting our relationship,” she said before turning around and winking at Riley. Her mother was up to something, and it was nice that she was using this as a teaching moment against her father.

She watched as her mother walked away, smiling, but acting like her husband wasn’t paying attention to her, Riley watched the woman who had raised her convince her husband that he didn’t care about her. Riley knew her father loved her mother, he was just overprotective, but it was interesting to watch. Instead of following her mother, her father watched her, before saying a quick goodbye to Riley and walking off. She knew that they would make up by the end of the day, her mother was just trying to make him feel guilty for ruining the beginning of the semester for Riley.

When she walked into her room, she was greeted by her friends all sitting around, Charlie and Zay on the floor with the extra pillows Riley brought with her, Maya and Josh sitting on one side of her bed, while Sam, Farkle and Smackle were on Sam’s bed.

“Well that was exciting,” Sam said making everyone laugh, it was the first time that Sam had truly been exposed to her father’s meddling, “But I think we should just relax for the rest of the day, because classes start tomorrow, and that was too much drama for the first day back.”

“Here, here,” Farkle said smiling at Smackle.

“I still don’t understand why your father is like that,” Smackle said, but there was no real answer for it. Farkle just took her hand and kissed it before turning back to the room.

“Let's just hope that he’s not going to do it again for a while,” she said before sitting on her bed with Lucas at her back. “Nope no more drama, so how about we get some food and watch a movie and we can talk about tomorrow.”

“Already ordered,” Farkle said with a smile. “We did it while your parents were fighting, or at least it looked like fighting.”

“More like her mother was plotting,” Maya said smiling at the group.

“I’m sure that Topanga is going to read him the riot act when they get back to the city, and then they’re going to do exactly what we’re all doing,” Josh said looking over at Riley. “Your mom is scary,” he added.

“That she is,” Riley said snuggling into Lucas before yawning, it really was her favorite place to be, he was always so warm.

Riley ended up falling asleep ten minutes into the movie, the fell of Lucas at her back, and the smell of his soap in her nose lulled her to sleep. No one had really noticed until the food arrived and Maya jumped off the bed so that Josh could help the guys bring up the pizza boxes, and everything else they had ordered. The bed moving made Riley wake up, but Lucas had held onto her so that she wouldn’t fall to the floor. It was a strange feel, being so comfortable around so many people that she could fall asleep without worrying about something happening.

“Have a nice nap?” he said kissing her temple. She relaxed into his arms, nodding before yawning.

“I don’t know why I’m so tired,” she said to him, the rest of the group had left them alone in the room.

“Too much excitement, I mean you and Maya have a class together this semester, we’ve scheduled our lives around each other, it’s our own little family, and you want to make sure that everyone is involved and happy.”

“It’s a good feeling,” she said to him. “Plus, it’s a little less stressful than my dad constantly being... well you know.”

“Trust me we all know, but hopefully he’s going to calm down a little after today, Josh was right about your mom being scary, and I wouldn’t want to cross her on any level.”

When the group came back into the group Maya leapt on top of Riley and Lucas, landing right on Riley’s legs, before turning and making herself comfortable on Riley’s legs, while putting her own on Josh’s. The food was spread out in front of them, everyone smiling at one another, it was weird, even with all of the time they had spent together over the break, this was more normal than anything else. She liked this more than going out and doing a million things because at least this way they would have the chance to sit and talk about things. It felt like having their little family together, which would only make her father sad, but she wanted to grow up and if it meant that the only version of family, she had around was her friends it was okay with her.

She didn’t love her own family any less, it was just a way for her to extend her family, make it grow into something bigger. This was the long game, this was life, you bring people in and make them a part of your world, and you hold on tight to those who matter to you. Her parents had embraced her friends before, and she knew that they would embrace them now as they are, because they were an extension of her. The only difference now was that her father had to learn to accept that she was growing up, she wasn’t going to stay a little girl, and while it scared him, she knew that her mother would show him that it wasn’t all that bad.

#rucas #rucas fanfic #riley matthews #lucas friar #liley #liley fanfic #yuniesan #gmw #gmw fanfic #rucas fanfiction #rileyxlucas #joshaya #smarkle #liley fanfiction #girl meets season 6

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herotheshiro · 3 years

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ok i didn’t do a review of the phoenix wright trilogy but i’ll do a mini-write-up on apollo justice which i just finished earlier. this is mainly due to me looking up apollo justice/ace attorney afterwards and seeing ppl talk vaguely abt how and where the series and characters go after this... i wanted to add my 2 cents to the void of the internet i guess lol

spoilers for aa4 below

i think as a story, apollo justice is quite good but definitely a bit lacking in writing compared to the 1st trilogy. i feel like this is pretty much the common fan opinion, esp since the 1st trilogy was written all together as a 3-game-set and apollo justice has to conclude everything within 1 game. i think this game did real good at revealing info over time... i remember when they revealed the troupe gramarye poster and i was like WAIT... THAT’S SHADI SMITH... HOLD UP... personally though, i think the ending was not very strong for me -- i feel like we nailed kristoph almost a bit too easily at the end without much i guess concrete evidence linking him to everything even if basically everything was really pointing to him. [EDIT: lol ok reading summaries on aa4 and yeah apparently this is the point and why it being a jurist sys trial was so important… and the realization that he really could get nailed for the crime that he’s been paranoid abt for years made him break down at the end. Ok that makes sense I guess, I was just used to things playing out like the 1st trilogy where you would last min get decisive evidence lol] other than that, there was quite a number of loose ends that didn’t get tied up

so what happened to valant? i think the implication was that he was gonna turn himself in out of guilt even if he didn’t actually kill magnifi (sp?). and also w trucy having the rights i guess it would be complicated for the 2 of them to work that out. that whole aftermath wasn’t entirely clear to me esp since they didn’t give him a post-credits scene

so we’re not gonna get an explanation for why thalassa left her not-even-1-yo son to fend for himself? that was like my no. 1 thing i would’ve liked to get a reason for but the ending is just her being like oh yeah i remember now he’s my son and that’s it. no explanation for why she left him behind and returned to troupe gramarye w/o him. like at least a “oh it would’ve been complicated to bring a literal baby to raise back into that traveling group” would’ve sufficed, esp since we’re supposed to get the impression that lamiror is a kind woman. yet she left her damn kid behind with only a bracelet. were we just supposed to assume the explanation i gave above? i mean yes i’ve looked it up vaguely and i think we get more info on apollo’s growing up in later games but i’ve heard w very little mention of thalassa. which i mean i get, thalassa left him when he was around 1yo so he prob wouldn’t remember shit but man we never gonna get that explanation huh. it’s kinda messed up to leave this baby behind who i assume you care about; it’s another story if she didn’t want the kid and therefore didn’t care what happened to him but she left a bracelet w him which implies she does care

also the loose end of them not telling apollo and trucy they’re siblings. i’ll save this for a later paragraph though

also side note but when i was finishing the game up and before i saw the ending, i literally had a passing, very brief thought like “oh what if lamiror was actually trucy and apollo’s mom lol. what a crack thought” but then it actually happened... i mean it’s good to wrap up that mystery of lamiror’s past, plus they were insinuating so hard that maybe thalassa wasn’t actually dead lol so yeah you knew the mom was gonna pop up fr by the end

apollo himself as a character. now i’m not gonna nit-pick as much here bc he does show up again in later games w more backstory and character development as i’ve heard, but yeah he is very much a mystery character in aa4 i feel. he has basically no given history throughout the game, and the lack of detail made sense at first when you slowly started connecting the dots that he and the gramarye power were related, but then they never really shed any more light on him at the end. they really only reveal he and trucy are related just to explain why and how he has the power to perceive, not even to really indicate anything abt them as characters. i kinda forgot about this as i played the game, but i read a write-up by someone else being like “oh yeah phoenix you know his motivations as a defense attorney but apollo has basically none” and i was like yeah that’s right huh. bc the 1st trilogy reveals p early on that phoenix had a certain motivation to be a defense attorney but apollo you don’t get that, he’s just an attorney just to be an attorney i guess. which i mean is fine, you don’t always need a reason to do stuff sometimes, but it does make him a weaker character. i think maybe in the beginning they were like oh apollo respects kristoph as a lawyer but then they don’t really develop mpre backstory there like how they met or why kristoph decided to take him on. i thought the latter was gonna be a point that was gonna come up, like maybe kristoph took apollo on as part of his large masterplan or something bc i think kristoph does mention being aware of apollo’s “power” but yeah they didn’t delve further into that. anyway i’ll go less on this bc i’ll just assume they had plans for him to show up in later games therefore they didn’t fully flesh him out here. otherwise that means they just didn’t bother on him other than him having the perceive power and having a personal relation to the whole gramarye case

how did drew misham or vera idk who painted it know abt all of apollo’s 3 cases? i thought it was gonna be like oh phoenix or kristoph saw all this coming and somehow told misham abt it who drew it but uh that didn’t happen. was that bc drew misham was following phoenix in the news and saw the stuff happening w apollo and was inspired to draw his cases? that was a dramatic reveal when apollo/trucy/ema found it out but i mean i guess it was just to show that misham was connected to them/the overall story more than just a simple jurist sys test case

the last writing thing i’ll mention is abt trucy and apollo being siblings. after the whole phoenix x maya crap in the 1st trilogy i suspected they were gonna do the same with apollo and trucy... thankfully they didn’t which was good bc i liked them a lot as a platonic duo, also since i actually thought apollo was 25yo for a while so that age gap is pretty weird too if you do it romantically. i suspected they were actually related p early on after discussing my playthrough w my sis who upon googling info said ‘lol i did say why not ship them but i will not say that anymore’ so i was like lol it’s prob bc she found out they were related or something. regardless i mean i would have suspected that anyway bc the game pushes the ‘oh this perceive power is really only seen in trucy’s family line’ so hard so it’s like not that hard to draw the line bw them, esp when they’re super vague abt apollo’s history and how he even got that bracelet in the 1st place. anyway i think it’s cute to imagine two siblings running all over town to solve shit. as expected tho, there are still ppl out there who ship them even after knowing the truth which is meh but i mean what do you expect of fandom/the internet.

although one of my biggest disappointments is the fact that apparently even in later games, the two never find out they’re siblings. i mean i guess it’s not a major plot point that NEEDS to be addressed as covered in point #3 above, but come on? their mom is literally still alive? a mom and her children reuniting and developing their family relationship again? i mean she’s been so distanced from them for so long that a family reunion would be awkward sure but zak literally made phoenix promise to tell trucy apollo was her bro so i’m surprised he never told her even before his conversation with thalassa at the end of the game. like i thought for sure they were gonna reveal their sibling relationship in aa4 but sadly my imagined revelation scene never happened

(i literally thought up a funny scene too... them seeing thalassa and both being like “MOM??” at the same time and then looking at each other in confusion before thalassa confirms that yes she is both of their moms. although this makes less sense on apollo’s part since he prob wouldn’t remember what she looks like but i mean same bracelets)

otherwise, gameplay was pretty interesting this time around. music was bopping tbh, i played aa4 right after finishing trials and tribulations and wow the music quality improvement was so obvious. the perceive thing was pretty cool and their tutorial on how to use it was super cute lol (apollo: that’s cool but i’m freaking out a little here // trucy: yeah your eyes are kinda bugging out); although absolutely hilarious on how apollo "explained” it in court... imagine a lawyer looking real hard at you and then being like ‘actually you swallowed weird when you said this therefore you’re lying’... i cannot even imagine how that sounded the 1st time to the judge and klavier... anyway i also thought the MASON technologies chapter was really interesting, w phoenix going back and forth through time and using evidence from the future for the past and vice versa. fun time traveling stuff!

ok and that’s kind of all i wanted to say i guess. i’m prob gonna try to stay in the dark on fan content stuff like i was purposely doing before playing aa... i was looking some stuff up and i was like ‘huh... i didn’t get this impression of apollo or the apollo/klavier ship when i was playing aa4...’ i don’t want to get my own opinion of these characters warped by fan content/others’ opinions so i might just take a bit of time to solidify how i feel about/characterize each of the characters before i trek out into fandom land. also it’s prob bc i haven’t played apollo’s later games since he supposedly gets more character dev later. tbh idk if i will bc to be frank i’ve been using emulators to play aa so far and i don’t think there’s a rom out for the later aa games on 3ds. i mean if there really isn’t, i’ll prob just watch a playthrough on YT so i can continue the aa story since i did like apollo as a character despite his lack of backstory.

i was considering skipping edgeworth’s games to go right to dual destinies and continue on apollo’s story/the aftermath of that game, but tbh i’m less incentivized to since i’ve heard that the story/character continuity aspect kind of goes out the window in later games (also the point abt apollo and trucy still being in the dark abt them being siblings. even though yes it wouldn’t change how they interact w each other, i would also prefer the fact to be known officially in-universe so characters don’t be freaks as apparently there are some lines in later games that are a little weird). i mean i could end up having a different opinion abt the continuity, but yeah seeing those comments did put a damper on me diving straight towards dual destinies. so i might just play edgeworth’s games first as i originally planned anyway since they were developed right after even if they take place before aa4

#hopefully i don't have to censor the series #i don't say anything controversial in this but idk. sometimes ppl just want to have beef #i'll just say i've only played aa1-4 so just keep that in mind if i say something that doesn't sound right abt apollo #gaming

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pluckyredhead · 6 years

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Daredevil 101: Echo

Thanks for sticking with me through “Guardian Devil,” friends. Brighter days are ahead of us! Well, not for Matt, he’s going to continue to be abjectly miserable for about 12 years, but the comics are a lot better.

Today, Matt tries to process Karen’s death with a little rebound in “Parts of a Hole.” This is written by David Mack and the art is a collaborative process between him and Joe Quesada, blending Quesada’s more traditional (though still very experimental for the time) work with Mack’s paintings. The result is a book that definitely has some rough patches, but is visually stunning. (If Mack’s work looks familiar, it’s probably because his Alias covers were the inspiration for the Jessica Jones opening credits.)

[ETA: I was incorrect about the above - Mack did thumbnail layouts but the art is all Quesada.]

Also, it introduces Echo, and she’s the best.

This is how it starts:

Yeah, Matt’s not in a great headspace these days.

I think this page is mostly Quesada, with some Mack influences in the background and hand lettering. I’d love to know their creative process for this story, because this was still the early days of digital art and sending huge files to collab on was no small thing.

With the new headquarters of Nelson and Murdock still under construction, Matt seems to spend most of his time wandering around his palatial home in a robe, playing piano:

This isn’t really plot-relevant, but I couldn’t deprive you guys of it. Also, Matt must have made an insane salary working for Rosalind because he had no savings when she hired him and yet he apparently bounced back enough to get a place in Manhattan with floor-to-ceiling windows and fill it with a grand piano. (Quesada is the king of giving Matt ludicrous, implausibly expensive surroundings; in another miniseries Matt has an entire room dedicated to his collection of Japanese armor and weaponry.)

Matt is not the only piano player in this story, though. Meet Maya Lopez:

Maya is Cheyenne (and presumably Latina, going by her last name, though that’s not confirmed in the text). She was born deaf, but she can remember and perfectly mimic anything she sees. When her father, Willie “Crazy Horse” Lincoln, was killed, his employer became her legal guardian. Once the guardian realized she was a prodigy, he spared no expense getting her the best schools and tutors to allow her to develop her gifts to their full potential.

Maya is a celebrated concert pianist, boxer, performance artist, and more. Her body does everything she asks of it, and audiences love her story of overcoming the odds. (Don’t let the childish drawings fool you - she’s about Matt’s age. I like the conceit artistically, but it does make her come off as much younger than him or somehow emotionally arrested. I mean, I guess she is, since she hasn’t made peace with her father’s death, but no one’s more emotionally arrested that Matthew M. Murdock.)

And who is her munificent guardian? Oh, just Wilson Fisk.

Fisk’s narration at the bottom picks up some of the themes of “Guardian Devil” - that Matt’s problems are because the women in his life have failed him - and it’s gross. Also gross? That he’s about to pimp out his foster daughter in yet another effort to destroy Matt from the inside. STOP TRYING TO BREAK HIS HEART, WILSON. JUST FUCKING SHOOT HIM.

But yeah, even though Fisk does seem to genuinely care about Maya - and she loves him and has no idea he’s anything but a legitimate “spice dealer” - he also recognizes that Matt will be drawn to her due to their shared life experiences, and so he sends her to see him on some legal pretense.

Before that, though, Matt and Foggy have a client (who they’re seeing at Matt’s house, since the office is under construction). His name is Lenny, he’s a former employee of Fisk’s who wants to flip on him, and he’s got a speech impediment that Matt has no trouble with but Foggy can’t quite get a handle on:

The bullet grazes Matt’s cheek - and kills Lenny. Matt suits up and takes down the sniper - a weirdo of a hired killer named Murphy - but it’s too late to save their client.

The next day, Matt’s a little stiff and concussed, but Foggy’s a mess:

I think Foggy’s OTT emotional reaction here is supposed to be comic relief, but it’s worth remembering that in the last storyline Foggy was drugged and sexually assaulted, arrested on false charges, fired by his own mother because she thought he was a rapist, and lost his second best friend in the world to a horribly violent murder. So yeah, not a shock that he’s fragile right now:

Anyway, drink it in, friends: Matt holding Foggy while he cries and then someone assuming they’re boyfriends. Also, presumably Matt heard Maya come in but decided that Foggy was more important. Aw.

Maya tells Matt about the flimsy legal pretense Fisk sent her there on and they make plans to meet to discuss it in more detail while he’s wearing pants. (She’s an expert lip reader so as long as they’re facing each other there’s no problem with communication.) Matt is charmed because Maya is adorable and smells really good and Matt is profoundly vulnerable right now and also, as Wolverine once put it, “the biggest himbo that ever wore a pair of tights.” (That line is CANON, folks!)

Next, Maya goes to see Fisk and ask him a very important question:

Who killed Maya’s father? Why, Daredevil, of course.

Having a specific person to blame has a profound effect on Maya. She does her best to process this new information through her art, in a one-woman show she writes and choreographs called Echo:

The handprint on her face represents the bloody handprint her father left there as he died. (This page is pure Mack, btw.)

But just performing it isn’t enough. She needs revenge.

But first, she needs to meet Matt Murdock for coffee!

I love Maya’s description of Matt up there, which could come out of pretty much anything on AO3 today. (Maybe Charlie Cox really took this comic to heart while he was researching the character?) I also love that she is serving up a serious 1999 Look (TM) while he looks like a pallbearer.

Anyway, they are utterly smitten with one another and it’s super cute. They agree to see each other again and part happily.

A few hours later, Echo attacks Daredevil:

Right, so Matt obviously knows immediately that it’s Maya - I’m not even sure he knows she’s wearing a costume. (And the handprint doesn’t really hide her face anyway.) But unless Maya stops for long enough to read his lips, she’ll have no idea it’s Matt (even though he tries to tell her right away, which is admirable, but dude, don’t ever tell Foggy about that).

I have to say, Maya’s costume makes sense for “I’m a dancer in the late 90s who is gonna go do some parkour and kill a guy, what do I have in my closet that works?” but it’s pretty half-assed design-wise. It’s...a sports bra and pants and Docs. The feathers are a really lazy “Also, Native American!” addition. My kingdom for a redesign and series by a Native artist. (Maya’s plotline here only touches on her Cheyenne heritage in passing, but there’s a later vision quest storyline that’s...dicey.)

The fight is broken up when some kids appear and Maya doesn’t want them witnessing violence. Matt’s left trying to figure out why Maya’s trying to kill him.

Meanwhile, the Lenny case isn’t over! See, Lenny has a twin brother named Larry, and both he and Murphy (the sniper) are willing to testify against Fisk. The DA’s office makes Foggy a special ADA due to his familiarity with Fisk’s history and general badassery. To rattle him, Fisk hires Rosalind:

The absolute pair on you, Franklin. My God.

Taking this case is a sublimely shitty move on Rosalind’s part, of course, on multiple levels. (And yes, I know I said last time it would be the last time we saw her, but I’d forgotten about this. She’ll be back one more time in a few years, too.)

Foggy loses...and kind of flips out, openly calling Fisk a murderer and accusing him of buying off the jury. It’s not stated outright, but I have to imagine his mother coolly opposing him in court after abandoning him without a second thought didn’t help his emotional state.

As Fisk leaves the court, he’s attacked by Larry, looking to avenge his brother. Daredevil shows up, but too late:

Fisk falls into the river and is presumed dead. Matt takes the gun from Larry and is photographed holding it - and Maya, seeing the photos and the headlines, thinks Daredevil just killed her second father.

Meanwhile Foggy, still in his role as an ADA (with no acknowledgment from the story that he used to be DA), is tearing through Fisk’s organization while, uh, Matt faps to it:

ILU FOGGY YOU BEAUTIFUL AVOCADO

Oh, but Fisk’s not dead, of course:

Nope, just hanging out in the sewer eating rats. This is like the third time, idk why Daredevil characters always end up in the sewers but they super do.

Oh, and we get so Fisk backstory which clearly informed the show:

Baby Fisk kills some random dude with a hammer, not his dad - we don’t actually know what happens to his parents - but the hammer is there, as is the working class household full of fighting.

Meanwhile, Echo goes after Daredevil again - but when the cut from the earlier bullet graze opens up on his cheek, she remembers Matt’s injury and finally recognizes him:

Sigh. Did we really need that much sideboob, Quesada?

Anyway, Maya finally draws the inevitable conclusion: Fisk killed her father, not Daredevil. It’s not entirely clear why Willie would’ve asked his murderer to care for his child or why Fisk did it (side note: I’d love to know what kind of relationship, if any, Maya had with Fisk’s son).

And so Maya finally confronts her father’s killer:

Maya leaves town to figure herself out. Matt returns to the slow process of healing. And Fisk? Fisk gets the ironic ending. I’m not sure exactly where Maya shot him, but, well...

Next up: Bendis!

#daredevil #daredevil 101 #the lack of content warnings on this is so refreshing after last time #also please come talk to me about rosalind sharpe she fascinates me

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justauthoring · 7 years

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Feigning The Connection (17/?)

Prompt: You seem so invincible. But just touch you and you’ll wince. You have secrets and trust no one. You’re the perfect example of betrayal. Because anyone you’ve ever trusted broke you. Thrust into a new world, will you be able to stay alone, or will Bellamy work his way in

SEASON ONE + SEASON TWO

SEASON THREE: PART ONE

A/N: So this chapter a bit shorter than usual and I apologize for that, but in a way this is kind of a filler chapter? like sorta. Anyways, here you guys go :)

I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Send me a little comment in the ask section or leave it below on what you thought of this chapter. It doesn’t have to be long, I appreciate every single comment I receive and telling me just helps inspire me to write it more frequently.

AGAIN, remember if you’d like me to continue this series, just leave a little comment or an ask letting me know. I will NOT continue the series if no one wants me to.

Pairing: Bellamy x Reader

Based off of: The 100 03x03 and 03x04

Warnings: spoilers?

Tag’s List: @super-river-walker - @deathofthethrones - @dontstopxx - @chebz - @isabellaskyliner - @jeppthatsme - @sarita-villa - @jedibookmasterofnorta want to be featured on my tag’s list? message me letting me know.

“Kane’s trying to teach me a lesson.”

“He’s trying to teach us both a lesson.” You scoffed, raising an eyebrow Bellamy’s way. Turning around, he looked at you and you shook your head, moving around the help Raven. Though as you turned, you didn’t miss the way Gina gazed at you, but you chose to ignore it. Hefting a bag off the back of the rover, you grunted, dropping it on the ground.

“Did I ever tell you guys about that time I saved Sinclair’s ass on the Ark?” Raven asked, a bright smile on her lips as she too helped unload bags. “Please don’t.” Octavia groaned and you let a smile slip, laughing at Octavia’s reaction.

“You mean the time he went rogue on a space walk?” Gina asked. Turning, you shut the back of the rover, walking in step with Raven and Gina as you patiently waited for Raven to answer. “That depends on your definition of going rogue.” Raven shrugged, you chuckled lightly.

“Really?” You asked, turning your head towards Raven.

“I just hopped on a robotic arm and aimed it at the solar array.” Though some of her words made absolute no sense to you, you still laughed along with her joke. It was these moment you enjoyed the most, moments you’d never experienced up on the Ark and certainly not when you’d first landed on earth. It was a new thing, being able to be yourself and relax. Even if you were incredibly nervous about entering the place where thousands had died, where Maya had died along with her father and all those who helped you, you enjoyed the peacefulness. “The whole time I was out there, the control room thought I was just fixing a loose wire.”

Looking over at Gina, you raised your eyebrow, knowing she was thinking the same thing; “that is in fact the definition of ‘going rogue’,” Gina reminded. “You dangled yourself within inches of an electrified array that could’ve killed you.”

“Only time I ever saw Sinclair lose his Comms.”

“So how long were you benched?” Gina asked and you found your attention drifting elsewhere. Looking around, you remembered the distinct build of Mount Weather, and even at first if it seemed like walking into this place wasn’t going to bother you. Actually seeing it now... it most definitely did.

“Benched? I got the job in record time. What can I say? Sinclair thinks I can do no wrong.”

Walking around the corner, you heard the distinct noise of chatter. Your stomach tightened at the sight of the place where all those had died that day, instead replaced with your own people, chatting and laughing as if no wrong had been committed here. Walking up a bit, you stopped beside Bellamy; “looks like nothing’s changed, eh?” Though your comment could’ve been perceived as a joke, your expression was one of disappointment.

“Welcome!” Pike suddenly announced, your gaze falling on him. He was quick to get up from his seat and make his was over to you five. “Come. Join us.”

“Someones made themselves at home.” Raven uttered sarcastically. With response you shook your head, trying to stay calm so you didn’t burst out.

“There must be thirty of them in here.”

“Thirty-six.” Pike corrected, a bright proud smile on his lips. “But the more the merrier.” Bellamy stepped forward, offering Pike a handshake to which he took. Rolling your eyes, you bit your lip. This was ridiculous. They really had no care. Even if all those who’d done you wrong when in this mountain died, along with them innocents had died. Children. Babies. Parents. Some people who may have not even know what Cage and all them had been doing. And here your people were, sitting in the room they died, laughing.

“Thirsty-six?” Octavia repeated, “wow. The Grounders are gonna think we moved in.”

“Well...” Pike started off, “there was no room at the inn.”

“And this is your option?”

“O-” Bellamy interrupted, glaring back at his sister. Octavia scoffed, nodding before turning towards you. Handing off her bags in your hands, you accepted them, nodding her way. “I’m out of here.”

Pike chuckled; “spirited.”

You raised an eyebrow, dropping the bags on the ground so you could cross your arms over your chest; “she also happens to be right.” You drawled, smiling shortly and forcibly his way. “Not to mention hundreds of people, innocent people, died just where you’re standing now.”

“Y/N.” Bellamy interrupted you, much like his sister. Though, the only difference was you weren’t his sister, and he definitely did not have the right to talk to you like that. So taking a deep breath, you walked forward, stopping just beside the two. Looking up at Bellamy you shook your head; “didn’t you help murder them?” You questioned, knowing that would hurt him. Part of you felt bad, before this was something you would’ve never thought of saying to him. But part of you was so angry for everything that had happened with him the past three months, you didn’t care.

“I won’t pretend like it didn’t happen.”

“Y/N, wait.” Bellamy called after you but you were already walking through the cafeteria, walking past everyone.

“I don’t remember Y/N being that... um-”

“Angry?” Bellamy offered, looking after the direction you’d gone. Sighing, he shook his head; “she isn’t. Well wasn’t. I-I deserve it.”

“Listen up, okay.” Bellamy called as soon as you walked in. Surprisingly you found everyone there before you, so picking up the speed in your step, you were quick to reach them. Bellamy wouldn’t have called all of you if it wasn’t important. “If we want to get to Polis before the attack, we have to move.”

“Attack?” You questioned, pausing Bellamy.

“Do we have confirmation on that?” Sinclair asked, and you nodded. It made sense, as this was so abrupt and out of the blue, you questioned if this was really a code red or more just a fear.

“We radioed, but no answer.” Bellamy shrugged and your eyes fell on the newcomer, she didn’t seemed recognizable. And she was obviously a grounder with the face paint but it seemed Bellamy held no hostility towards her, which regarding his record with grounders was a bit odd. The only one he was himself around now was Lincoln, and that was months of trust. But this girl seemed to already have it.

“They may already be dead for all we know,” Pike interrupted, shaking his head. “And if they are we need to be ready to respond.”

“Don’t make this about the missiles.”

“This is about survival.” Pike stated, no room for argument in his tone. Crossing your arms, you bit your lip. This really could go either way and both sides were right, no matter how much you didn’t like to agree. If this was bigger and there had been an attack you did need to respond, but if it happened to just be a mix up and this grounder girl was lying... well everything that needed to be done was just slowed down for a day.

“We don’t have the numbers, but the missiles in this mountain. Even the playing field, and you know i’m right.”

“Even if I did agree with you,” Sinclair responded. “We still don’t have the launch codes.”

“No,” Raven cut in, gaining everyones attention. “But we have me.” Sinclair walked towards Raven, shaking his head at her jokes. Before you knew it they were walking off in the direction of the launch pad and Pike had grabbed ahold of the grounder, hauling her off. Turning your head, you froze when you saw Gina only a few inches away from Bellamy, her hands around him. You paused, unsure of yourself before turning.

You made your decision and bit down the jealousy you felt. You were the one who turned down Bellamy, not the other way around. And even if you hadn’t, maybe things wouldn’t have worked out, they certainly weren’t now.

“Hey,” Bellamy called, gaining your attention before you walked around the corner. Pausing, you held onto the wall, turning your head. Gina was right in front of you, softly placing her hand on your shoulder before walking past you. You nodded softly at her, still unused to the kindness she was giving you. After all the silence and awkward disappearances anytime she’s been around, you would’ve figured she’d want nothing to do with you. But, it seemed she really was too kind for her own good.

Turning your gaze to Bellamy, you pushed down your nerves and nodded; “yeah?”

“Aren’t you coming?” He asked, pointing in the direction he needed to go. Bellamy asked it as if it was obvious and you guessed, it had been. Anytime he had gone out of the wall or on a mission, you’d been the first to sign up and join him. Some of it was because you hated being kept inside all the time and liked the adventure. But it was mainly because that meant you could keep an eye on Bellamy, keep him out of trouble because he had no one else to do it. Even if Gina wasn’t going with him, he had someone else now. Bellamy didn’t need you.

“No...” You finally replied, drawling.

Bellamy turned his head in a movement of shock; “you’re never one to turn down a mission.”

“You don’t need me.”

“Is this really how it’s gonna be between us?” Bellamy asked, referring to all previous times there had been tension between the two of you, in the last few days. The snubs, the glares and the remarks. You knew what he meant. You just didn’t know how to answer.

“You don’t need me anymore.” You repeated, turning back to your destination. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Gina, are you okay?”

“What’s wrong?” You asked, running into the launch room. Raven’s attention immediately turned to you and you could tell by the expression on her face something was really wrong. Walking in more, you raised an eyebrow; “Raven? What’s wrong?”

“Gina.” She rushed, panicking. “Somethings wrong with Gina.” Your head shook repeatedly, fast movements trying to understand. “I don’t understand. Where is she? I’ll go to her.” Raven nodded and you turned towards the door, ready to make your way out before the radio beeping caught your attention.

“Raven, we’ve got a problem.” Gina’s raspy voice echo over the radio, and you paused, turning your head back towards Raven. She looked up at you, and she knew you wanted to stay, wait to see what’s happening. “A grounder set off a self-destruction sequence. He has the codes on his arm, you have to catch him.” Just as Gina finished explaining, a figure ran past you, slightly knocking you back. You wasted no time looking back at the others and picked up the speed in your feet to catch the man.

You were only a few steps behind him, and while your heart was racing you didn’t stop. Instead only picked up the speed, going as fast as you possibly could. You faintly heard footsteps behind you and figured it to be Raven and Sinclair. You paid no mind, your eyes only on whichever direction the grounder was taking.

“How much time, Gina?” Raven yelled.

“Forty-five seconds Raven.” Hearing the small limited amount of time you had, you pushed yourself further. Soon the grounder led himself outside and watching his movements closely, you jumped on his back. While you considered yourself an okay fighter this man was much stronger than you and managed to fling you off his back. Your head hit the back of the ground dazing you for a moment when Sinclair showed up.

Panting, you pushed yourself upwards, knowing this was no time to delay. Shoving the grounder off Sinclair, you pushed Sinclair away; “help Raven!” You screamed, blocking a punch from the grounder. You didn’t need one of your best engineers getting hurt, so it was best you did this on your own.

You managed to land a punch on his stomach and then the side of his head, but he retaliated only stronger and shoved you to the ground. Groaning at the impact you kicked at his feet but he was quick to grab your ankles, hauling you towards him. Letting out a scream, you placed your hands above you, stopping the knife from piercing your throat only inches away. Breathing heavily, you bit your lip and shoved with all the strength you had.

Just before it seemed you’d lose, a gunshot echoed and the grounder above you slumped. Looking over to your right, you saw Sinclair and Raven, a gun in Raven’s hands as smoke floated on top. Panting, you nodded their way, crawling up. “Get the numbers on his arm!” Raven ordered and you were quick to obey, crawling over to the man. Grabbing ahold of his arm, you pulled his sleeve back, revealing the code.

“Gina, Gina. We got the code.” You looked over at Raven, waiting to hear Gina’s voice but nothing came. Still you waited and nothing, this could only mean... Eyes widening, you began pushing yourself up. “Gina?”

“I’ll go in.” You declared, marching towards the Mount Weather door.

“No, Y/N!” Sinclair called, grabbing your ankle.

“We can’t just let them die!” Raven bellowed, crawling up herself.

Then an explosion echoed and suddenly an invisible force hit your chest, knocking you back. You screamed, the blow taking everything from you as you slammed against the ground. You were knocked a good distance away from the door, and smacked against the ground. Your chest burned and you found it hard to breathe. As you blinked, your vision blurry, you tried to find your surroundings but only felt sweat pour down your face and your body ache. Your vision blurred and you suddenly found it much harder to stay awake.

“Gina...”

Taking a deep breath, you slowly raised your hand, knocking on it. Your presence was immediately known when your father looked up from the table, his face softening when he saw it was only you. Nervously, you wrung your hands together, unsure of how to start. “May I- may I come in?”

“You know you don’t have to ask,” your father replied, beckoning you in. “What’s the matter?”

It still felt completely weird to come to your father for these kind of things. When you were upset, you mainly bottled it up inside because your father had never been an option, and after your mom dying, no one had. And even if Marcus had made it clear time and time again that he was now willing to be the father he should’ve been a long time ago, it didn’t make it any less odd.

Nonetheless, you walked into the room, shutting the door behind you. Just as you were about to open your mouth, the corner of your eye caught a jacket laying on the table. From the many times you’ve seen him wear it these past few months, it wasn’t hard to tell it was Bellamy’s jacket. Walking up to the table, your hands found the jacket, fingering the material before turning to your father. “Bellamy?”

“Resigned.” Was all your father said.

Biting your lip, your brows furrowed. Obviously you found this strange as the position Bellamy now held, or did hold, was something he’d been working hard for for a while now. To give it up like that, made you worry. “But we’re not here to talk about Bellamy, Y/N. How’s your chest?”

“Better.” You smiled lightly.

“Y/N.”

Scrunching your nose, you tried to stop yourself from tearing up. This was pathetic really. All the crying you do now a days. You needed to be stronger than this, wiser and crying about every wrong thing that happened wasn’t happening. “Hey,” you heard your father whisper and then Marcus’s hands were on your shoulders, directing your attention his way.

“Every time something goes right, something always goes wrong.” Looking down at your hands, you tried to blank out the noise of the explosion. If you had just been quicker, caught the grounder a moment sooner than maybe everyone would be alive right now. Gina would be alive and Bellamy wouldn’t of resigned. “I’m sick of everyone dying.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“This time it was. I had him, but I let him slip through my fingers.” Your voice cracked slightly as you realized all those that had died when you could’ve done something. Finn... Maya... Gina.. All of them died on your watch. Your mother.

You jumped slightly when arms wrapped around your figure, but soon relaxed when you remembered it was only your father. Letting your strength slip, you sobbed against his chest, squeezing him tighter for support.

Bellamy heard your soft cries from behind the door, faltering in his step. He knew it was you. No one else would go to Kane for that purpose and he knew of the guilt you felt even if you hadn’t really told him. Clenching his fist, his lip snarled as he thought of the blame you were putting on yourself. It wasn’t your fault. Not you. It would never be your fault and here you were crying because you thought you were a murderer.

Taking a deep breath, Bellamy turned away from the door, nodding to himself.

“Who will speak for Gina Martin?”

It was undoubtedly Bellamy who stood up, walking to the front of the crowd with a book in his hands. Though no one could really see you, you’d gone to the memorial. It wouldn’t of been right if you hadn’t. But you also didn’t want to really make your presence known, so you opted for standing in the back, hoping somewhere in his mind Bellamy knew you were here. Supporting him.

“Gina was real.” Bellamy started, his voice cracking slightly. “She always saw the light. Even here. She deserved better.” That concluded Bellamy’s speech as he walked over to the memorial stand and placed down the book in his hands.

A door opening pulled your attention away from Bellamy and standing up straighter, you saw a group of guards walk in, Lincoln following. Though instead of walking to the rest, he trailed across the crowd. Deciding to finally make your presence known, you stepped away from the shadows, walking over to Lincoln. “Hey, everything okay?”

“Fine.” Lincoln replied shortly, his gaze falling on you. Staring at the bruise on your cheek that had consumed from your battle with the grounder, he faltered. “And you?”

Your hand shot up to your cheek, holding it. “Yeah,” you laughed lightly. “Yeah, just a little bruise.”

“You gave a grounder one of our radioes?!”

Pulling your attention away from Lincoln, you looked over at Pike with a curious look. He was obviously angry or at least shocked, but for whatever reason you didn’t understand. You’d been in contact with the grounders for a long time now, Indra having a radio was old news. And besides, you were standing in front of a grounder right now, in your peoples guard uniform. It seemed odd of Pike to react like that. But then again, Pike didn’t like the grounders, that was no secret.

“Sir, are we under attack?”

Murmurs followed the guards question, everyone standing up in alarm. You shot a look at Lincoln, confused but he only shook his head.

“No, we are not under attack.” Kane was quick to answer, “the Commander sent a peacekeeping force to ensure that we can defend against any further attacks from Ice Nation.”

“Peacekeeping force?” Pike spat, “even you can’t be that naive, Marcus.”

“Watch your tone, your talking to the next chancellor.” Abby reminded, before turning to the rest of the crowd. “We’re all grieving. This has been hard on all of us, but we can’t let our anger drive policy.”

“Anger is our policy.” Pike reinforced, raising his voice. Murmurs of agreement echoed and you turned your gaze to the ground, suddenly weary of how this was going to turn out. Stepping forward slightly, you grabbed ahold of your gun. “Now if they’re here to defend us, like you say, then tell them to go home. We can defend ourselves.”

“Yeah!”

“Right!”

This wasn’t good. Your heart beat sped up, the last thing any of you needed was to retaliate against the grounders. Especially when things were finally working out in a truths.

“You,” a man spat, pointing your way. At first you were confused, until you turned and found Lincoln. “You don’t belong here.”

“He’s one of them.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey,” you yelled, raising your hands. “He’s one of us!”

“Y/N-” A rock flew in the air, hitting Lincoln in the head. Turning your glare to the men and women in front of you, you braced yourself. Mocks of people who didn’t agree with your fathers ways came at you, as guards, Bellamy and yourself created a line blocking Lincoln from the angry mob.

“Arrest him!”

Raising your hand, you punched the man in front of you, trying to get him away. He grabbed ahold of your wrist, pulling on it and you let out a groan. Kicking out your foot, you knocked him to the ground just as a whistle blew. “Hey!”

“We do not attack our own!” Pike yelled, silencing everyone. “Fighting each other only makes us weak. The enemy is not in this camp. The enemy is out there!”

Turning around, your attention flew to Lincoln. “Lincoln, are you okay?” You walked up to him, trying to help him but he gently shoved your hands away.

“Lincoln, you need to go to medical.” You heard Abby say behind you and you turned to her, nodding. “Please, Lincoln. Let me help.” You pleaded softly, worried for your friend.

“I’m fine.”

“You need to step aside right now.”

“What are the guns for?” Harper asked, and you took a deep breath bracing yourself. You haven’t gone against Bellamy like this since when you first hit the ground.

“There’s an army out there.” Bellamy reminded, his voice blank. “We need to hit them before they hit us.”

“That army was sent to protect us.” Biting your lip, you gripped your gun harder. This was becoming more and more difficult by the minute and even if you knew you were doing the right thing, you felt like you were betraying Bellamy.

“Do we have a problem?” Pike asked, and you glared at him. Stepping out from behind Lincoln, you made your presence known to Bellamy and for a split second you could see his expression change before it hardened once again.

“No,” Bellamy answered. “I have always done whats best for us. I need you to trust that i’m doing that now.” Bellamy’s eyes flickered to Monroe, nodding her way. “Monroe.” Taking a steady breath, you watched from the corner of her eye as she backed off.

“Harper.”

“Sorry, Lincoln.” Turning you shook your head at her, and she only offered an apologetic look. “Sorry Y/N.”

Turning back to Bellamy, you found his eyes on your own and you faltered for a moment. But you knew what he was going to do, and it wasn’t good nor would it benefit anyone. For the first time in a long time you didn’t trust that Bellamy was making the right decision, and rather the opposite. “Y/N, trust me.”

“This is the first time I don’t trust you.”

“You too, Lincoln.” Pike started, stepping forward. “You wanna prove your one of us, let us pass.”

“You think you’re right,” you started, shaking your head in disappointment. “But you’re wrong. Bellamy, don’t do this.”

“I’m not moving.” Lincoln said.

The boy from before, who’d thrown the rock at Lincoln stepped forward, gun raised threateningly. Hesitating, you tightened your grip on your gun, raising it slightly as the man walked forward. “Get out of the way, grounder.” Jumping, Lincoln grabbed the edge of the gun and yanked it back, smacking the boy in the head. In one fast movement, Lincoln had the boy in his hands and a knife against his throat.

The crowd in front of you raised their guns, and you were quick to follow suit. Watching for anyone headed both yours and Lincoln’s way.

“Guns down!” Bellamy ordered, “guns down!”

“Do what he says now.”

Everyone listened, lowering their gun but you kept yours up. What Lincoln did only made them more hostile towards him, and you weren’t going to let him get hurt. The boy in his arms struggled, but you paid no mind to it.

“So much for the good grounder.”

“Quiet Hannah.”

“Whose people are you defending here, Lincoln?” Pike asked, and you stepped forward, shaking your head. “Our people.” You spat, “he’s defending our people.”

“Lincoln put the knife down.” Bellamy started, his gaze falling on your gun. “Y/N, put your gun down. We don’t want anyone to get hurt here.”

“Can’t let you start a war.” Lincoln revolted.

“We’re already at war.”

“You can’t stop this.” Bellamy shook his head, slowly stepping towards you. You shook your head, pleading for him with your eyes to just stop this. You really couldn’t believe that Bellamy thought this was the right thing to do. Start a war with the grounders.

Just as Bellamy neared you, the P.A. dinged on, signalling all personal to report to the main gate. Shaking your head at Bellamy, you looked up at him, “please.” You begged. “Don’t do this.” Octavia stormed by you, falling next to Lincoln as she stared at her brother in bewilderment.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Main personal walked through the crowd, your father in the middle. Lowering your gun slightly, you backed off. It was good that Marcus had arrived, he would be able to handle this situation much better than just you or Lincoln could. Farm station, upon Pike’s command, dropped their guns on the ground as Marcus stepped in front of the crowd.

“Lincoln, it’s okay. Let him go.” Marcus ordered, “Y/N, lower your gun. It’s fine now.” You immediately obeyed your father’s command, dropping your gun to your side where it usually rested. Lincoln followed suit, letting the boy go, as he scrambled back to the rest.

Abby appeared and you let out a breath of relief. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“What you didn’t have the guts to do.”

Watching your father carefully, you found him make his way over to Bellamy. “Did you arm these people?” Bellamy said nothing, only slowly nodded his head. You sighed, knowing that this wouldn’t end well. Your mind was still baffled that Bellamy would do this, it was like he was a completely different person.

“Guards, take them to lock-up now.” The guards scrambled around, locking all those who had committed the treachery in handcuffs. Pike and Bellamy also fell in that category and when Bellamy’s gaze fell on you, you only looked to the ground in shame, unsure of what to do. “Everybody, back to your quarters. It’s over.”

“Nothing is over.” Pike yelled as the guards dragged him, effectively stopping their movements. “We are surrounded by warriors who want us dead-”

“That’s enough!”

“No.” Pike shook his head; “it isn’t. Not even close. Why don’t you show us all, what you let the grounders do to you yesterday? Or how they beat up your daughter?” Gazes fell on you and your father, specifically you found Bellamy’s on you. And self-consciously, your hand found the bruise on your cheek, covering it from view.

“Come on Kane. I think that the people who are about to vote for you have a right to know.”

Looking back at you, you waited for your father to comply. Though when he did, you certainly didn’t expect to find a burnt symbol on his arm. Your hand flew to your mouth in shock, not expecting such a wound to be there. “It’s the mark of the Commanders coalition.” Marcus explained, nodding at you. Slowly, you let your hand fall, nodding back. “It means, we are the thirteenth clan.”

“No, it’s what farmers used to do to their life stock.”

“Right before the slaughterhouse.” Screams of agreement echoed and you shook your head, this was bad. Everything was going wrong. And when things went wrong someone payed the price for it.

“Pike for chancellor!” Your mouth opened in shock, turning around in the direction of the voice. They couldn’t be serious.

“Sir, you should be on the ballot tomorrow.”

“That’s enough,” Abby interrupted, stepping forward. “Take him away.”

“Pike!” Bellamy chanted and your gaze fell on him. Eyes wide, your head jutted backwards in surprised. What was he doing? “Pike! Pike!” Everyone followed him, chanting Pike’s name and you shook your head.

“You can’t be serious.”

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nancypullen · 4 years

Text

Back On Track

Sorry about yesterday’s rant, I let someone get under my skin. Usually I let that stuff roll off like water on a duck; I’m going to blame this head cold for my lack of patience. You guys, I haven’t had a cold in ages and this one is the mother of all colds. It has really knocked me to my knees. I’ve been trying to defeat it by continuing my normal activities but I’m waving a white flag. I give up. Everything aches and I just want to have some chicken soup and curl up under a blanket. My nose is raw from blowing it, my eyes are watery, and I have a cough that sounds like a sea lion. After I finish this blog post I think I’ll take a hot bath and smear Vick’s from my eyebrows to my ankles. I’ll drape myself in flannel to complete the pretty picture. My husband is one lucky man. While I’m busy looking like a troll with plague I might as well mention that the MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT is coming up! December 8th is the big day and I’m scouring YouTube and Twitter for hints about how preliminaries are going. I really just want a peek at the national costumes. So far I haven’t found much, but I’ve just started. There have been some unusual happenings this year. The pageant is usually hosted by the country of last year’s winner. That would be the Philippines - but apparently they passed and there was a rush to move it to Atlanta. Because of the last minute planning a few contestants have opted out, claiming conflicting engagements and other issues. There’ll be no princess from Greece, Switzerland, Russia, Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, or Zambia. That’s a shame. Still, the night promises sparkling gowns and glittering crowns so it’s a win for me. I can’t wait! I found an article about Miss USA’s national costume. It’s better than some of our more recent offerings. A red head wrap, big ol’ wings, gold dress with feathers, torch of liberty and scales of justice....sort of a buffet of patriotism. I can work with that.

Here’s what Miss USA, Cheslie Kryst, had to say about it. “I wanted to think of a way to combine several iconic American women into one costume,” said the former Miss North Carolina, who helped design her dress with a team at Izquierdo Studio, which has also worked with Madonna, Heidi Klum and Lady Gaga.The knotted headband and denim gown painted gold are inspired by Rosie the Riveter. “She represents power and empowerment and how women contribute to society,” said Kryst. The crown and torch — which shoots confetti) are nods to Lady Liberty. “She speaks to freedom,” Miss USA added. The towering wings reference Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and symbolizes “creativity and authenticity,” Kryst says. Lastly, the beauty queen will carry the scales of Lady Justice, the moral compass of the judicial system. I’m not sure why the torch needs to shoot confetti, but okay. I guess they felt that without a small confetti cannon the outfit was too subtle. In true American fashion, go big or go home, amiright? Now I’m off to soak in the tub, honk my nose and wipe my eyes before searching the interwebs for more national costumes. I’ve already found Miss Malaysia’s and I’m dying to see if those tables full of food are actually part of the gown.

Are they on wheels? It looks like she’s standing in a circle, so maybe the whole thing glides? I mean, if I could have had a dress that carried a four course meal, I might have entered a pageant or two. Even if you lose at least you have snacks. And then there’s this bit of fantasy from Miss Finland - doesn’t this make you think of a Disney princess?

I’m in love with this one! Anywho, I’ll be back with more pageant nonsense. This is just the pick-me-up I needed, I’d probably come out of a coma for the Miss Universe pageant. “She was flat lining but then she saw a crown...” Pretty sure that’s holistic medicine. Later, babies. XOXO

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paradisefovnd · 7 years

Note

8-12 for the multi muse meme

multimuse ask meme accepting

put this under a readmore bc it’s gonna get long

what is each of your muses otps? notps?

ruth balakov - otp: anything gay notp: darth vader??? idk

samir chaudhry - otp: i rlly like the thing goin on with @cverture‘s beth (im super slow in replying but ??? i like what we’ve got goin on) notp: voldemort

tutankhamun “tut” mcmullen - otp: ROWAN notp: that ask when rowan dumps him :(

jughead jones - otp: burgers notp: humans

melody valentine - otp: ALEXANDRA CABOT as written by @shenaniganelous notp: sadness

mark darcy - otp: BRIDGET OFC notp: not bridget???

choi han-kyul - otp: eun chan i cry :’) notp: someone who writes him off as a stupid playboy (and refuses to see his potential)

dr. noelle akopian - otp: a nice bath and glass of wine notp: any human who doesn’t treasure her like she deserves

greg serrano - otp: i’m trash but rebecca (also happiness) notp: greg and josh? (it’s not a bad ship i just can’t feel it for my greg? he thinks of josh as a bro and he can’t get those sexual feelins goin for chan)

maya - otp: aNYONE WHO TREATS HER WELL SOMEONE TAKE CARE OF MY BB notp: someone who is mean to her :(

valencia perez - otp: anything gay notp: valencia and men

johnny castle - otp: bABY notp: someone who takes advantage of him

blair warner - otp: GAY MOMS notp: not gay moms??

jo polniaczek - otp: GAY MOMS notp: not gay moms!!!

emily gilmore - otp: happiness notp: never having growth or independence

meredith quill - otp: diggin her and claire played by @iiinfiltrator!!! notp: ego

alice longbottom - otp: frank notp: what happens to her in canon

arthur weasley - otp: MOLLY notp: not molly

victoire weasley - otp: teddy, anything gay notp: idk??

helga g. pataki - otp: ARNOLD! notp: someone mean to her :(

effie trinket - otp: haymitch and anything gay notp: president snow??? idk

katniss everdeen - otp: madge :’) notp: men

jane villanueva - otp: michael, rafael, PETRA notp: adam :( (altho i might love him we’ll see)

michael cordero - otp: JANE GLORIANA VILLANUEVA notp: death :(

rogelio de la vega - otp: xiomara :’) notp: ppl being mean to him

elle woods - otp: VIVIENNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! notp: professor callahan?

ryan atwood - otp: taylor townsend :’) also marissa i cry notp: lindsay

pam beesly - otp: JIM notp: roy

fitzwilliam darcy - otp: elizabeth (maybe charles bingley??) notp: sadness

jane bennet - otp: charles and anything gay notp: mean people

queen clarisse renaldi - otp: JOE notp: sad

sabrina fairchild - otp: anything gay notp: david what a icky person

capheus onyango - otp: HAPPINESS notp: being pressured into things :(

princess fiona - otp: shrek, anything gay notp: lord farquaad

shrek - otp: fiona notp: dragon

charles brooks - otp: liza notp: his ex i forgot her name whoops

josh - otp: liza, happiness notp: cLAIRE IHATE

chuck bartowski - otp: SARAH notp: JILL >:(

denny duquette - otp: life notp: death :/

why were you drawn to each one of your characters?

ruth balakov - i’ve had her character in my head for such a long time, and i was finally just like “fuck it! i’m gonna write her!” bc i love parks and rec, but i just can’t play leslie bc there’s too much history and stuff and i really wanted to play a quirky nina fc bc i used to have one that i loved, and it just seemed like a perfect fit

samir chaudhry - i felt a desperate need to reply as an astronaut to @cverture‘s beth, and so samir was born

tutankhamun “tut” mcmullen - tut’s origin story is one of the best!!! so, @idyllicism and i decided to use this randomizing character generator to do a fun random thread, and it gave me tut (which is why his name is so out there) who has grown so close to my heart, and i am thankful

jughead jones - tbh i added jughead bc i wanted to write him properly aKA ASEXUAL! I’M LOOKIN AT U RIVERDALE

melody valentine - tbh… i added her bc i wanted to write her with jenna :) and also i loved archie comics as a kid and always thought melody was so beautiful and her voice came easily to me so !

mark darcy - buckle in, this is gonna be a long ride. bridget jones’s diary is one of those movies that i love to death. it’s one of my sick movies, it’s one of my sad movies, my homesick movies, it helps me feel better. so, watching bridget jones i’ve always identified with both of the lead characters, but there’s something about mark that was especially easy for me to access. i’m still trying to figure out exactly what it is, but there’s something to him that i just…understand, if that makes sense. when i decided to make a multi-muse, he was one of the very first characters i had as a muse bc i knew i had to add him. he’s in my heart and soul.

choi han-kyul - so han-kyul is another one of those characters who i just really strongly identify with. in coffee prince, he’s someone who undergoes some huge development in who he is, and when i saw the drama for the first time, it aligned with some things i was dealing with in my own life. his relationship with his father, his coming to terms with his sexuality, his maturation, his longing to live up to his own potential, it all just hit me. another heart and soul character.

dr. noelle akopian - i added her for the funsies

greg serrano - i think i added him because he helps me come to terms with some real life stuff i have going on and also because i loved his development and wanted to explore that past what the show was able to give us

maya - honestly she’s the most pure being, and i just had to add her

valencia perez - valencia is a goddess who deserves better and i’m looking forward to exploring why she is the way she is

johnny castle - when i saw dirty dancing, i fell in love with johnny, and that’s pretty much it. god bless.

blair warner - i cANNOT fuck this is taking so much longer than i thought it would, but i have so many muses, and want to give them all their proper due, and fuclasfhdads. so from the beginning, i walked into a gas station this summer, and one of the employees was like “oh my god, you look exactly like blair from the facts of life!” and i was like “haha thanks!” bc i didn’t know who she was, but my dad who was with me was like “oh my god she does!” and then he was like “she’s like her more than just in looks too” meaning our personalities were similar. so OFC i had to watch this show to see my doppelganger. and WOW i was amazed bc she’s the closest i’ve ever seen to myself in physical aspects but also we’re very similar personality-wise too, and after my first episode, i fell in love, and i just had to add her as a muse

jo polniaczek - i didn’t expect jo, but after i watched that first episode, i fell in love just as i did with blair. honestly, the writers and cast can say she’s straight all they want, but jo is a gay icon, and it’s just so cool to see a character like that who’s so layered. jo is sensitive but also tough. she’s gone through a lot, but still holds such compassion and i love her to death and fuckfdsakfasf she’s honestly ruined all human beings for me now bc she’s the ultimate.

emily gilmore - so, emily is another one of those relating characters. what can i, a 22 year old baby bi, have in common with an old middle aged straight? well, let me tell you: a LOT. i identify so much with the way that emily has tried all her life to succeed in the society she was brought up in and having set ways of doing things and then just…letting go and trying to make herself happy. it’s inspiring and i love her.

meredith quill - listen, i’m not a fan of superhero movies, but i like the guardians of the galaxy series, and when i saw the second movie, i fell instantly in love with meredith and her light, and i had to add her

alice longbottom - i have never read the books, but i’ve read a lot of fandom stuff, and i just love the longbottoms, and i like that there’s a certain amount of freedom there to explore who she is and her story

arthur weasley - arthur reminds me of my dad, and his voice comes super easily to me which is why i added him

victoire weasley - again, i like the amount of freedom i’m afforded in figuring out who she is and all that

helga g. pataki - this is another heart and soul character. as a kid, i was also mean and dramatic and precocious. i was a LOT like helga. even today, i struggle with trying to soften myself for the benefit of others because i can come across as intimidating (idk why??). but i just…it’s just like damn. i get you, helga. we both have an alcoholic parent, tense relationships with our older sisters, and we both don’t have a TON of friends and just feel kind of…out of place, i guess, in the world we live in. we’re a little out of place and i just get her. i understand her, and i’m glad that she exists.

effie trinket - she’s just such a fascinating character, and i want to explore her more

katniss everdeen - i get her

jane villanueva - see, jane is someone who i think i look up to. she’s someone i wish i could be more like. i chose to add her as a muse because i love her and just want to give her a nice life bc lord knows she deserves it

michael cordero i added him bc he loves jane and is a huge dork and so caring and i lvoe him

rogelio de la vega - in a weird way, this is another character i relate a lot to. we’re both dramatic and a little vain, but we also care a lot about our family and most of the time, our intentions are good. he’s honestly such a fun character, and i’m glad i added him.

elle woods - i added her bc she’s amazing??? one of the best people of all time??? and her voice came easily to me so i was like “all right!!!!”

ryan atwood - he’s my fave character from the oc. i love his development, and i love how he’s not exactly who you expect him to be. you think he’s gonna be this big troublemaker, but actually, he just wants a stable life, and he wants the people he loves to be happy. he just wants peace

pam beesly - she’s another heart character. i think a lot of people find it easy to relate to pam bc she goes through so many relatable things, and her story is overcoming insecurities and becoming more confident, and i think that’s something a lot of people can see themselves in.

fitzwilliam darcy - i mean, i’ve always loved pride & prejudice, and i’ll be damned if darcy isn’t the easiest character for me to understand (a lot like mark)

jane bennet - she holds a special place in my heart bc people have said i’m like jane, and i’m always like “i wish” bc she’s the softest, most pure, most kind person, and i just needed that positivity in my life

queen clarisse renaldi - mY LOVE i love how they made her so layered in the movies, giving you hints of her background. i’ve always been interested in exploring her past, so i added her as a muse (another character whose voice came easily to me)

sabrina fairchild - sabrina is one of those movies i would watch after school was i was younger. i loved the romanticism of it and the costumes and music, and as i grew older, i started to think that it would have made for a more interesting movie if sabrina dumped linus at the end rather than ending up with him. what’s so interesting about that movie is her growth. she goes from a very dark place and undergoes some major development while still holding underpinnings of her past despite desperately trying to leave them behind.

capheus onyango - i love sense8, so i knew i wanted to add muses or a muse from there, and going through all the characters, capheus’s voice was the one that came most easily to me. he’s more than just his optimism, and i love having him in my roster bc he has such warmth and compassion for those around him. he worries about how his actions will affect others, and i just have such immense love for him.

princess fiona - me??? i grew up on shrek, and i love it in the most unironic way possible. i sincerely adore the movie and the musical, and fiona is a character i’ve always loved and related to a little bit.

shrek - but more than relating to fiona, i probably relate to shrek more. my family has always joked that i’m like an onion too and that i have layers just like shrek. he grosses me out a lil with all the farting and earwax, but otherwise, i love shrek and think that for living alone for years after being abandoned by his parents, he was able to grow rather quickly once meeting other people, and shrek is good in my book

charles brooks - he’s another darcy like character, although i don’t love him as much. i added him bc lbr the younger fandom needs him

josh - mY SON i love josh and i think that he has so much growing to do, and i love how the show has left some of his background open so that i can take a lil bit more liberty in figuring him out. i also love his adventurous spirit and his ease while also being so loyal and loving. he’s someone i really love.

chuck bartowski - chuck is one of those types that’s easier for me to write, and i think it’s just cause one of our core values is the same: family. family is one of the most important things to him, and it’s one of the most important things to me, and i think we just get each other in that aspect and more.

denny duquette - “i’m a man! i’m a strong virile horse of a man stuck in the body some weak sick bastard that I don’t know, like or recognize. now if you knew what that feels like, you would have never convinced me to let a battery run my heart. if you knew what that feels like izzie, you would have let me go.” this is why.

which muse is the most fun to write for?

again, i have fun with all of them, but probably rogelio. he’s just so much fun to write. helga is a lot of fun too! and ruth!

is there another muse you’ve been thinking of adding or writing for? who?

i mean, there are always more muses i’m thinking of adding. i’ve thought about adding na ae-ra from cunning single lady, but i’m pretty sure no one would write with her, so i haven’t added her yet.

i’m planning on watching the good place, and i just know i’ll probably wanna add someone from there

adding someone from frasier would be cool, but like…i highly doubt there would be an audience for them. like i’d love to write niles or smth, but idk if anyone’s even watched it. i mean, that hasn’t stopped me before, but i’m not pressed about it rn

i’ve always been wanting to add elizabeth from the crown because she’s another one of those characters i just super strongly relate to, but seeing as how she’s actually a real person, i haven’t. this is where i get a little confused because i know she’s a real person, but also, the show takes liberties, and she’s not actually queen elizabeth. like if i could take her character and make her not the real queen of england i would? but i just don’t know about what other people think of that? i dont knowslfjhads it’s a weird situation.

also someone from the west wing

what is something everyone should know about your muses before interacting?

sometimes, the muse for a certain character isn’t always there, so i can be really slow in replying.

#thank u lissa for sending me some!!!!#this took so long bc i wrote so much ims aljfhsdfhsldjfha #( answered tag. )#( mun tag. )#imthelcstprincess

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