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sharknadoslutt · 3 years

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Not that I ever wanted to watch it because of the era it plays in, but what was so awful about Star Wars resistance?

Oh Okay this ask got me GOING so Welcome to my Tedtalk on my feelings on Star Wars Resistance; a story of Disappointment.

So Mr. Dave Filoni, the story telling Prince, left the show like halfway through production of the first season for other projects (For TCW season 7 and The Mandalorian). This left what was a promising show with characters Dave himself had created, in the hands of very inexperienced story board artist and writers. Personally, I think they panicked and half assed it so that Disney could make money on toys. Because.. idk. It just doesn't even come close to the emotional story arcs that TCW and Rebels gave us. and that's what Star Wars is supposed to be about. Changing for the better. Hope or some shit, am I right?

What was most disappointing in my opinion.. is that the protagonist, Kazudo Xiono, is UNBEARABLE. He is the EMBODIEMENT of privilege. This punk has had everything handed down to him from the moment he was born. He was born like 14 years after the Empire has been brought down and the New Republic reigns, so he has never known war. AND HIS DADDY IS THE SENATOR OF HOSNIAN PRIME FOR FUCKS SAKE! THE CAPITOL????? WHERE THE SENATE IS???? YOU KNOW HOW RICH THAT MUST MAKE HIs FaMiLY??? His dad literally gives him an allowance even though he is a grown ass man in the military when the show starts.

To put things into perspective for those not up to date on Sequel Era Lore and I envy you greatly tbh bcs not to be that person i do not like the sequels that's the equivalent of being the Senator of Coruscant in the Prequels!!!!

Not to mention he is a BUMBLING idiot. Like. This man has ADHD on steroids. As a person with ADHD it's.. lord, it's cringe. He is clumsy. He is loud. He says inappropriate things at the wrong time. He doesn't know how to do anything for himself. AND HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SPY FOR THE RESISTANCE UNDER COVER AS A MECHANIC???? HE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT MECHANICS and really doesn't really learn anything about it by the time the show ends. And don't come at me saying this is a kids show so I cant complain about things being silly bcs I'm not the target audience. I can and I will bcs no one was NEARLY this obnoxious in TCW or Rebels. Kaz is Jarjar Level, but I ACTUALLY LIKE JARJAR!

DUDE IS A DAMN SPY HE DOESNT EVEN LIKE GO BY AN ALLIAS!!! HE DEADASS USES HIS REAL FULL NAME. BCS KAZ IS AN IDIOT.

I'm not saying he isn't a good person. Kaz is very sweet tbh. He's just an unknowing spoiled ass man-child who NEVER REALLY DEVELOPS INTO ANYTHING ELSE?????

It would be okay if he entered the show like this and exited a more mature, capable man. But he really doesn't. There are never any consequences for his actions. Ever. Other than when he becomes a spy and, again, IS USING HIS REAL LEGAL NAME as a spy for the Resistance... to avoid a scandal and to scold him for LITERALLY DESERTING THE NAVY his daddy cuts him off from his allowance. So instead of half assing his cover job as a mechanic, Kaz has to actually apply himself so he can make money for food. He doesn't improve much. His co-workers (Who are MUCH more interesting than him) constantly complain about him messing things up and making their jobs more difficult.

Man, FUCK KAZ. MY HOMIES HATE KAZ. BEING HOT CAN ONLY GET YOU SO FAR!!!!!

At the Season one finale there is a moment where you think he is finally going to grow as a man! Grow into the protagonist we deserve! Tragedy, for the first time in his life, strikes Kaz! It's during the events of episode 7, when The First Order blows up Hosnian Prime. His home planet. Where his FATHER LIVES. He has a moment of humanity and he is devastated. He almost cries. But he sucks it up to finish the mission and get his friends off base for their safety. He is a man now. and the audience feels a sense of comradery for Kaz. After all, Star Wars is about Fathers. Kaz has lost his father forever. His father was KILLED by the First Order. He now, first hand, has experienced real loss for the first time and this is going to help him grow and toughen up. he has to live on his own now. Our hero has a reason to be doing what he's doing. Fighting against the first order.

BUT NAH. FAM. then the very next fucking EPISODE YOU FIND OUT HIS DAD IS FUCKING ALIVE AND THAT HE DIDNT ACTUALLY EXPEIRENCE THE LOSS THAT HE HAD THOUGHT, AND HE GOES RIGHT BACK TO BEING HIS GOOFY ASS CHILDISH SELF. NO. I HATED THAT. THERE WAS NO REASON FOR GROWTH. MAN FUCK RESISTANCE.

FUCK. IF ANYONE DESERVED THEIR FATHER TO LIVE THROUGH A DAMN PLANETORY DESTRUCTION IT WAS MY GIRL LEIA, NOT FUCKING KAZUDO THE CLOWN XIONO. FUCK. guys I'm sorry I just really hate this god damn character.

Like. Lemme break it down, folks.

TCW started and Ahsoka enters. I HATED Ahsoka for a long time. Bcs she was young, cocky and annoying. But that was on purpose. Narratively, she experiences loss, she experiences pain and GROws as a character while navigating her Jedi life during the war. Our girl grows into the capable protagonist that we EXPECT out of a Star Wars story.

Same for Rebels. We meet Ezra, and he's not quite as annoying as Ahsoka was at first in my opinion (I cannot stress how much I did not care for Ahsoka yall) but he was young. He was childish. But he was more capable at 14 than fucking Kaz was at 20. By the end of Rebels, not only is he more wise and capable, but he is selfless. He has found his own path and it's only because of what he has gone through. His journey has made him stronger. Ezra is my favorite Star Wars journey, if I'm being honest. He is the perfect example of character development.

KAZUDO XIONO ENTERS SEASON ONE AS A 20 YEAR OLD MAN-CHILD USING DADDY'S MONEY WHO IS LOUD AND DOESNT KNOW WHEN THE STFU... AND EXITS THE FINALE... AS A LOUD MAN-CHILD WHO CAN NOW USE TOOLS. He doesn't' experience REAL FAMILIAL loss. He doesn't really experience a lot of character development at all. Things just happen around him, he helps, but he doesn't learn. He doesn't grow. I fucking hate that.

Literally every single character in the show BESIDEs Kaz is more interesting than him. and EXPEIRENCE CHARACTER GROWTH!!!

Jarek Yeager, Kaz's boss in the mechanic shop, was in the Rebellion and LOST HIS FAMILY. He is a sexy ass man too. HE starts the show not wanting to help the Resistance at all bcs he's experienced loss since his days in the Rebellion, and his heart is hard and he's comfortable. By the end of the show he is risking not just his career, but his VERY LIFE to help the Resistance.

Tam Ryvora, Kaz's co-worker. Daughter figure to Yeager and a total bad ass woman of color. She is the one on the show who experiences the most character development and struggles to find her identity while the First Order is taking over the galaxy. I LOVE her.

There are these 2 kids who are force sensitive and orphaned after Kylo Ren comits GENOCIDE on their planet. This arc set up is never fully addressed nor does it have a conclusion, like most story arcs on this show tbh.

There's a literal witch for some reason??

There's this fucking rad ass sexy Mirilian Pirate girl named Synara who FOR SOME REASON is suggested to be Kaz's love interest. Gross. Girl, you gay. Move in.

I could go on and on and on. But I wont. Fuck this show. Fuck Kaz. It literally adds NOTHING to the bigger Star Wars lore. TCW and Rebels do this beautifully and this show is a hot mess of ideas and characters that never come to a satisfying story telling conclusion.

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk, dont watch Resistance.

#I know a lot of people on tumblr think Dave is problematic but he is VERY good at story telling and yall cant deny this #otherwise we wouldnt be here on Clone Wars tumblr now would we?#Also Rebels is art at its finest and no one can tell me otherwise #ask #anon #hollyspeaks #star wars #star wars resistance #star wars rebels

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phoenotopia · 3 years

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The Last Phoenotopia Blog Update

(Date 2021 MAR 01)

I debated how to open this blog post, but perhaps the main crux of this blog post is the best place to start. The blog is being retired.

The purpose of this blog was to be a "development" blog for Phoenotopia, and well, Phoenotopia's development is done. I'll still be doing bug fixes and maintenance on the PC and Switch versions, and playstation and xbox ports are underway (by a publisher). But I'm not going to be making any more major changes to the game. At some point, you put the paintbrush down and say it's done. Blemishes and all.

Recent Events

The game launched on Steam last month, and like any launch, it was hectic. Bugs Galore. This is our first commercial PC launch, so it was a real baptism by fire. Unlike Switch's one configuration, the PC has multiple configurations and factors to account for. The game needed to be able to handle multiple control schemes, screen resolutions, refresh rates, and more! I had a 60Hz monitor going into launch and didn't know anything about Hz (I do now). There was a troublesome stutter that some players were sensitive to that my whole team didn't notice since our eyes compensated it away. There were a few times where in fixing something at one party's behest, it introduced problems for another party. A few times, due to disorganization, I unwittingly rolled back a fix that was meant to be applied. For some, the game couldn't play at all (really glad Steam allows refunds).

It was messy. It was tiring. I.AM.BEAT.

I think the worst of it is over... I'll still be around to do the last updates and bug fixes, but I'm ultimately ready for what's next.

SO what is next?

What isn't next... is Phoenotopia 2. As you may have heard down the grapevine, the game couldn't be what you call successful. No one's earned even minimum wage on it.

Maybe there's hope in the game's long tail. A year or two down the line... maybe. I won't hold my breath though. At some point in the past few months, I finished processing (or grieving) and it's time to move on.

The game has at least earned enough for us to continue our modest operations. As long as we don't expand the team, and we don't take another monster six-year dev cycle like what Phoenotopia took, we can continue. We'll have to be smarter and faster. Perhaps the most valuable thing we gained from all this is experience.

The Experience

It is a dev blog. Here are some of the lessons I've accumulated from this game's development.

- Have a good menu design. Menus aren't just that in-between fluff before you get to the good stuff. Menus are KEY. Your menus need to be robust, expandable, and *understandable* (to you, the developer). Because once the game's out, you will invariably be asked to add more options. And if your menu design is bad, every time you have to add a new menu option, it becomes a whole new pain all over again. Support mouse from the get-go, etc.

- Focus on features that people will actually care about. For instance, I've never seen anyone praise the camera's zoom feature. In practice, people try that feature a few times and then never use it again. But that feature was a constant consideration factor for every level. Run through it multiple times to make sure the level didn't break, think about which zoom levels made sense, resize rooms because they worked at one zoom level but not the other, and so on.

- Don't do boxes that you can move around. Other 2D platformers avoid movable boxes because they're a huge headache to program and they really complicate the game space. Enemies need to respond to boxes you throw in their path and either navigate around or attack it. When you're moving the box, you have to worry about constantly changing your collision size and reconciling when the box gets snagged on the environment. The boxes were also a constant source of bugs because people can manipulate them to soft-lock themselves and more.

- More focused script. Phoenotopia's 100,000+ word script was panned more for being bloated than it was praised for being lengthy. Long scripts take a long time to write and make the game more unwieldy, increasing the costs of translation and upkeep. Every update we're addressing some textual error or mistranslation. There are some highly renowned games (e.g. Hyper Light Drifter) that do without a script at all!

- Be flashy! A bat and a lightsaber take the same amount of work to program, but the lightsaber will draw a lot more attention and interest.

- Slopes, surprisingly! Six years ago when I started, Unity was ill-equipped for 2D games. If you used the physics that Unity provided you'd have a really floaty character that wouldn't adhere to the slope when going downhill. There were a hundred different tutorials saying different things (use forces, use move position, use translation, etc). You can get rectangular collisions done in a day, but to do slopes took weeks. Meanwhile, games can actually get by fine without slopes. Most people won't even notice. Did you know the Phoenotopia flash game didn't have slopes? Neither does Hollow Knight or Rogue Legacy. You can save yourself a lot of work by avoiding slopes.

(big entities look weird on slopes. Bad slope!)

I could write enough little knowledge nuggets like this to fill a book! But I'd rather just make the next game.

So… what IS next?

As mentioned previously, it's not Phoenotopia 2. Pirate and I are mostly just tossing some ideas back and forth right now. We'll go silent for a year (or two). Our next game's scope will be more modest in some ways, more ambitious in others. It will definitely be more smartly designed. (There will be a map!)

We'll announce it when it's ready for the public. It might be necessary for us to do a kickstarter. I've tried to avoid kickstarters having been burnt on quite a few myself and also because I worry that mismanaging a kickstarter would earn the ire of backers.

But I did keep this blog regularly updated for six years. So I've gained some confidence in my abilities to at least manage a kickstarter well.

Is it really the last Phoenotopia Blog update though?

Okay, not really. There is some news that I'll need to announce, and this blog is one of the game's main outreach channels. Here are the events that will cause me to update the blog:

Announcing the launch of the xbox/playstation ports when they're ready

If a physical edition of the game happens

If a new language is getting introduced into the game (Korean is a high possibility)

When we're ready to talk about our next game

If (BIG IF) we begin development on a Phoenotopia sequel. I do want to do a sequel one day if we have the means and the demand is there.

Those updates will be more on a "when they happen" basis, rather than me reporting in every couple months.

Fan Art

As always, I'm very happy to see fanart of Phoenotopia. Major thanks again to Pimez for collecting all the artwork from the corners of the internet! Since this is the "last" blogpost, Sir Pimez can finally take a rest from collecting the fanart :P

ÆV made a series of pictures that tell a story. A Pooki is humanely sheared of its wool to create a hat. The Pooki is unharmed. Nice! Gotta love Gail’s expressions.

Amagoo Mazeru makes a stunning landscape shot of a full moon and shooting stars. It’s a sharp and clear vector art. I like the faint glow of the moon and the fire and the subtle gradient in the night sky. Very skillfully done!

Hah hah. I got a chuckle out of this one. I imagine this is how Gail's enemies see her by the end of the game. CaESar made this image based on TerminalMontage's famous youtube videos. Nailed it!

CrownStar drew two pictures of Gail. I'm a big player of JRPGs, so the first shot instantly reminded me of Persona 4's art style. (Hmmm... Phoeonotopia as a JRPG... there’s potential there...) Next, Birdy is shown carried off after her defeat. I really like Birdy's expression here - she just seems mildly uncomfortable.

There's a bit of a story behind the first image. As Firanka shares it, she wasn't able to defeat the Big Eye monster at the end of the flash game, so she believed a tall tale that what awaited after was a 6 armed Kobold boss. Hilarious! The second is a rendition of the lonely Anuri elder. A rare subject. The loneliness is portrayed well here. I feel lonely just looking at it!

Koo_chop draws the clash between Gail and Katash at the top of the towers. I really like this interpretation of the game's art style. It’s faithful to the in-game graphics. And the lighting, from the glow of Gail's bat, to Katash's sword, and the lightning in the background... Amazing!

Lime Hazard shows Gail with a salute pose. Very appropriate for this occasion. I also like how there's a slight tilt in the angle that Gail is portrayed. Those dynamic angles are always hard to get right, and Lime Hazard pulled it off very skillfully. See you next mission!

Lyoung0J with a digital painting of Gail posed sitting on a rock. I like how it almost seems like she was caught in a candid moment - she’s smiling, but also feeling self-conscious. Cute! The art style really pops, and I like how Gail is sporting what I call the old anime style nose.

MyUesrNameIsSh*t with a sketch of Gail performing a skillful slingshot. I like how Gail is depicted with her tongue out in a mischievous manner, the way all mischievous people with slingshots do.

Niitsu Kentaro returns with a 2021 Happy New Year picture. That happened didn't it? A New Year... Gail's pose gave me a chuckle with how she seems to be waving the bat around as casually as one would wave hello. And "Phoenotopiyear"... Well said! One day we'll have our Phoenotopiyear...

Ochan Nu breaks all records with a stunning NINE pictures in one session :O

There's so many goodies here. My favorite would be the one with Gail staring intently at the screen - it's like she's looking directly at you. You almost feel uncomfortable.

Next, there's an Animal Crossing villager dressed as Gail and sporting her pink hair. It even looks like a house Gail would live in. Gail is a connoisseur of the arts and likes Mona Lisa. Yes :)

There are various comics of Gail pointing out Gail's weird food habits. A picture of Fran looking really cool, and even Gail rocking a bathing suit. (bathing suit image linked here in case NSFW). Wow!

Pimez didn't just collect the arts, he creates them as well! This one, which he aptly named 'The Year 175' is a depiction of when the dragons invaded the towers as told by an elderly Daean woman. Great pixeling skills! I got a good chuckle from the ice dragon leaving with its stuff slung over its shoulder.

Quo made a stunning picture of Gail playing the flute surrounded by the 5 musical notes and the Phoenix logo behind her. The theme seems to be "fire" and it works really well. Gail herself looks awesome depicted in her red suit - it's like she's leading a marching band!

Rai Asuha depicts Gail in the late game with her red suit, and night star bat, and holding a lamp. She looks ready for adventure! I really like the white outline here and Gail's poofy shoulders here - the art style feels reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Seri also draws Gail bearing her late game equipment. Unique to Seri's drawing is how all of Gail's equipment is accessible from a pocket on her shirt. I also like how Gail is depicted with her lucky earrings - that accessory is often forgotten.

Treedude depicts Gail with a bat and wearing a funny smirk. She looks like she's ready to hurt someone!

Warotar returns with everyone's favorite Great Drake, Bubbles! It seems so happy to be featured!

I'm really grateful for all the fanart this game has received. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Closing Notes

Pirate drew a picture to mark the occasion. It shows Gail enjoying a hot chocolate with marshmallows and a pumpkin muffin. A rest well-earned...

Goodbye! Until next time!

#phoenotopia

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felassan · 4 years

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Insights into DAI’s development from Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

The book is by game industry journalist Jason Schreier (it’s an interesting read and well-written, I recommend it). This is the cliff notes version of the DAI chapter. This info isn’t new as the book is from 2017 (I finally got around to buying it). Some insight into DAO, DA2 and cancelled DA projects is also given. Cut for length.

BW hoped that DA would become the LotR of video games. DAO’s development was “a hellish seven-year slog”

The DAI team are compared to a chaotic “pirate ship”, which is what they called themselves internally. “It’ll get where it needs to go, but it’s going to go all over the place. Sail over here. Drink some rum. Go over here. Do something else. That’s how Mark Darrah likes to run his team.” An alternative take from someone else who worked on the game: “It was compared to a pirate ship because it was chaotic and the loudest voice in the room usually set the direction. I think they smartly adopted the name and morphed it into something better.”

A game about the Inquisition and the large-scale political conflicts it solves across Thedas, where the PC was the Inquisitor, was originally the vision for ‘DA2′. Plans had to change when SW:TOR’s development kept stalling and slipping. Frustrated EA execs wanted a new product from BW to bolster quarterly sales targets, and decided that DA would have to fill the gap. BW agreed to deliver DA2 within 16 months. “Basically, DA2 exists to fill that hole. That was the inception. It was always intended to be a game made to fit in that”

BW wanted to call it DA: Exodus, but EA’s marketing execs insisted on DA2, no matter what that name implied

DAO’s scope (Origin stories, that amount of big areas, variables, reactivity) was just not doable in a year, even if everyone worked overtime. To solve this problem, BW shelved the Inquisition idea and made a risky call: DA2 would be set in one city over time, allowing locations to be recycled and months to be shaved off dev time. They also axed DAO features like customizing party members’ equipment. These were the best calls they were able to make on a tight line

Many at BW are still proud of DA2. Those that worked on it grew closer from all being in it together

In certain dark accounting corners of EA, despite fan response to DA2 and its lower sales compared to DAO, DA2 is considered a wild success

By summer 2011 BW decided to cancel DA2′s expansion Exalted March in favor of a totally new game. They needed to get away from the stigma of DA2, reboot the franchise and show they could make triple-A quality good games.

DAI was going to be the most ambitious game BW had ever made and had a lot to prove (that BW could return to form, that EA wasn’t crippling the studio, that BW could make an ‘open-world’ RPG with big environments). There was a bit of a tone around the industry that there were essentially 2 tiers of BW, the ME team and then everyone else, and the DA team had a scrappy desire to fight back against that

DAI was behind schedule early on due to unfamiliar new technology; the new engine Frostbite was very technically challenging and required more work than anyone had expected. Even before finishing DA2 BW were looking for a new engine for the next game. Eclipse was creaky, obsolete, not fully-featured, graphically lacking. The ME team used Unreal, which made inter-team collab difficult. “Our tech strategy was just a mess. Every time we’d start a new game, people would say, ‘Oh, we should just pick a new engine’.”

After meeting with an EA exec BW decided on Frostbite. Nobody had ever used it to make an RPG, but EA owned FB dev studio DICE, and the engine was powerful and had good graphic capabilities & visual effects. If BW started making all its games on FB, it could share tech with sister studios and borrow tools when they learned cool new tricks.

For a while they worked on a prototype called Blackfoot, to get a feel for FB and to make a free-to-play DA MP game. It fizzled as the team was too small, which doesn’t lend itself well to working with FB, and was cancelled

BW resurfaced the old Inquisition idea. What might a DA3 look like on FB? Their plan by 2012 was to make an open-world RPG heavily inspired by Skyrim that hit all the beats DA2 couldn’t. “My secret mission was to shock and awe the players with the massive amounts of content.” People complained there wasn’t enough in DA2. “At the end of DAI, I actually want people to go, ‘Oh god, not [another] level’.”

It was originally called Dragon Age 3: Inquisition

BW wanted to launch on next-gen consoles only but EA’s profit forecasters were caught up in the rise of iPad and iPhone gaming and were worried the next-gen consoles wouldn’t sell well. As a safeguard EA insist it also ship on current-gen. Most games at that time followed this strategy. Shipping on 5 platforms at once would be a first for BW

Ambitions were piling up. This was to be BW’s first 3D open-world game, and their first game on Frostbite, an engine that had never been used to make RPGs. It needed to be made in roughly two years, it needed to ship on 5 platforms, and, oh yeah, it needed to restore the reputation of a studio that had been beaten up pretty badly. “Basically we had to do new consoles, a new engine, new gameplay, build the hugest game that we’ve ever made, and build it to a higher standard than we ever did. With tools that don’t exist.”

FB didn’t have RPG stats, a visible PC, spells, save systems, a party of 4 people, the same kind of cutscenes etc and couldn’t create any of those things. BW had to create these on top of it. BW initially underestimated how much work this would be. BW were the FB guinea pigs. Early on in DAI’s development, even the most basic tasks were excruciating, and this impacted even fundamental aspects of game design and dev. When FB’s tools did function they were finicky and difficult. DICE’s team supported them but had limited resources and were 8 hours ahead. Since creating new content in FB was so difficult, trying to evaluate its quality became impossible. FB engine updates made things even more challenging. After every one, BW had to manually merge and test it; this was debilitating, and there were times when the build didn’t work for a month or was really unstable.

Meanwhile the art department were having a blast. FB was great for big beautiful environments. For months they made as much as possible, taking educated guesses when they didn’t know yet what the designers needed. “For a long time there was a joke on the project that we’d made a fantastic-looking screenshot generator, because you could walk around these levels with nothing to do. You could take great pictures.”

The concept of DAI as open-world was stymying the story/writers and gameplay/designers teams. What were players going to do in these big landscapes? How could BW ensure exploring remained fun after many hours? Their teams didn’t have time for system designers to envision, iterate and test a good “core gameplay loop” (quests, encounters, activities etc). FB wouldn’t allow it. Designers couldn’t test new ideas or answer questions because basic features were missing or didn’t exist yet.

EA’s CEO told BW they should have the ability to ride dragons and that this would make DAI sell 10 million copies. BW didn’t take this idea very seriously

BW had an abstract idea that the player would roam the world solving problems and building up power or influence they could use. But how would that look/work like in-game? This could have used refinement and testing but instead they decided to build some levels and hope they could figure it out as they went.

One day in late 2012, after a year of strained development on DAI, Mark Darrah asked Mike Laidlaw to go to lunch. “We’re walking out to his car,” Laidlaw said, “and I think he might have had a bit of a script in his head. [Darrah] said, ‘All right, I don’t actually know how to approach this, so I’m just going to say it. On a scale of one to apocalyptic... how upset would you be if I said [the player] could be, I dunno, a Qunari Inquisitor?’”

Laidlaw was baffled. They’d decided that the player could be only a human in DAI. Adding other playable races like Darrah was asking for would mean they’d need to quadruple their budget for animation, voice acting, and scripting.

“I went, ‘I think we could make that work’,” Laidlaw said, asking Darrah if he could have more budget for dialogue.

Darrah answered that if Laidlaw could make playable races happen, he couldn’t just have more dialogue. He could have an entire year of production.

Laidlaw was thrilled. “Fuck yeah, OK,” he recalled saying.

MD had actually already realized at this point it’d be impossible to finish DAI in 2013. They needed at least a year’s delay and adding the other playable races was part of a plan/planned pitch to secure this. He was in the process of putting together a pitch to EA: let BW delay the game, and in exchange it’d be bigger and better that anyone at EA had envisioned. These new marketing points included playable races, mounts and a new tactical camera. If EA wouldn’t let them delay, they would have had to cut things. Going into that BW were confident but nervous, especially in the wake of EA’s recent turmoil where they’d just parted ways with their CEO and had recruited a new board member while they hunted for a new one. They didn’t know how the new board member would react, and the delay would affect EA’s projections for that fiscal year. Maybe it was the convincing pitch, or the exec turmoil, or the specter of DA2, or maybe EA didn’t like being called “The Worst Company in America”. Winning that award 2 years in a row had had a tangible impact on the execs and led to feisty internal meetings on how to repair EA’s image. Whatever the reasons, EA greenlit the delay.

The PAX Crestwood demo was beautiful but almost entirely fake. By fall 2013, BW had implemented many of FB’s ‘parts’, but still didn’t know what kind of ‘car’ they were making. ML and team scripted the PAX demo by hand, entirely based on what BW thought would be in the game. The level & art assets were real but the gameplay wasn’t. “Part of what we had to do is go out early and try to be transparent because of DA2. And just say, ‘Look, here, it’s the game, it’s running live, it’s at PAX.’ Because we wanted to make that statement that we’re here for fans.”

DA2 hung on the team like a shadow. There was insecurity, uncertainty, they had trouble sticking to one vision. Which DA2 things were due to the short dev time and which were bad calls? What stuff should they reinvent? There were debates over combat (DAO-style vs DA2-style) and arguments over how to populate the wilderness.

In the months after that demo, BW cut much of what they’d shown in it. Even small features went through many permutations. DAI had no proper preproduction phase (important for testing and discarding things), so leads were stretched thin and had to make impulsive decisions.

By the end of 2013, DAI had 200+ people working on it, and dozens of additional outsourced artists in Russia and China. Coordinating all the work across various departments was challenging and a full-time job for several people. At this sheer scale of game dev, there are many complexities and inter-dependencies. Work finally became significantly less tedious and more doable when BW and DICE added more features to FB. Time was running out though, and another delay was a no.

The team spent many hours in November and December piecing together a “narrative playable” version of the game to be the holiday period’s game build for BW staff to test that year. Feedback on the demo was bad. There were big complaints on story, that it didn’t make sense and was illogical. Originally the PC became Inquisitor and sealed the breach in the prologue, which removed a sense of urgency. In response the writers embarked on Operation Sledgehammer (breaking a bone to set it right), radically revising the entire first act.

The other big piece of negative feedback was that battles weren’t fun. Daniel Kading, who had recently joined BW and brought with him a rigorous new method for testing combat in games, went to BW leadership with a proposal: give him authority to open his own little lab with the other designers and call up the entire team for mandatory play sessions for test purposes. They agreed and he used this experiment to get test feedback and specifically pinpoint where problems were. Morale took a turn for the better that week, DK’s team made several tweaks, and through these sessions feedback ratings went from 1.2 to 8.8 four weeks later.

Many on the team wished they didn’t have to ship for old consoles (clunky, less powerful). BW leadership decided not to add features to the next-gen versions that wouldn’t be possible on the older ones, so that both versions of the game played the same. This limited things and meant the team had to find creative solutions. “I probably should’ve tried harder to kill [the last-gen] version of the game”, said Aaryn Flynn. In the end the next-gen consoles sold very well and only 10% of DAI sales were on last-gen.

“A lot of what we do is well-intentioned fakery,” said Patrick Weekes, pointing to a late quest called “Here Lies The Abyss”. “When you assault the fortress, you have a big cut scene that has a lot of Inquisition soldiers and a lot of Grey Wardens on the walls. And then anyone paying attention or looking for it as you’re fighting through the fortress will go, ‘Wow, I’m only actually fighting three to four guys at a time.’ Because in order for that to work [on old gen], you couldn’t have too many different character types on screen.”

Parts of DAI were still way behind schedule because it was so big and complex, and because some tools hadn’t started functioning until late on. Some basic features weren’t able to be implemented til the last minute (they were 8 months from ship before they could get all party members in the squad. At one point PW was playtesting to check if Iron Bull’s banter was firing, and realized there was no way to even recruit IB) and some flaws couldn’t be identified til the last few months. Trying to determine flow and pacing was rough.

They couldn’t disappoint fans again. They needed to take the time to revise and polish every aspect of DAI. “I think DAI is a direct response to DA2,” said Cameron Lee. “DAI was bigger than it needed to be. It had everything but the kitchen sink in it, to the point that we went too far... I think that having to deal with DA2 and the negative feedback we got on some parts of that was driving the team to want to put everything in and try to address every little problem or perceived problem.”

At this point they had 2 options: settle for an incomplete game, which would disappoint fans especially post-DA2, or crunch. They opted to crunch. It was the worst period of extended overtime in DAI’s development yet and was really rough: late nights, weekends, lost family time, 12-14 hour days, stress, mental health impacts.

During 2014′s crunch, they finally finished off features they wished they’d nailed down in year 1. They completed the Power (influence) system and added side quests, hidden treasures and puzzles. Things that weren’t working like destructible environments were promptly removed. The writers rewrote the prologue at least 6 times, but didn’t have enough time to pay such attention to the ending. Just a few months before launch pivotal features like jumping were added.

By summer BW had bumped back release by another 6 weeks for polish. DAI had about 99,000 bugs in it (qualitative and quantitative; things like “I was bored here” are a bug). “The number of bugs on an open-world game, I’ve never seen anything like it. But they’re all so easy to fix, so keep filing these bugs and we’ll keep fixing them.” For BW it was harder to discover them, and the QA team had to do creative experimentation and spend endless late nights testing things. PW would take builds home to let their 9 year old son play around. Their son was obsessed with mounting and dismounting the horse and accidentally discovered a bug where if you dismounted in the wrong place, all your companions’ gear would vanish. “It was because my son liked the horse so much more than anyone else ever had or will ever like the horse.”

MD had a knack for prioritizing which bugs should be fixed, like the one where you could get to inaccessible areas by jumping on Varric’s head. “Muscle memory is incredibly influential at this point. Through the hellfire which is game development, we’re forged into a unit, in that we know what everyone’s thinking and we understand everyone’s expectations.”

At launch they still didn’t have all their tools working, they only had their tools working enough.

DAI became the best-selling DA game, beating EA’s sales expectations in just a few weeks. If you look closely you can see the lingering remnants of its chaotic development, like the “garbage quests” in the Hinterlands. Some players didn’t realize they could leave the area and others got caught in a “weird, compulsive gratification loop”. Internet commentators rushed to blame “those damn lazy devs” but really, these were the natural consequences of DAI’s struggles. Maybe things would have been different if they’d miraculously received another year of dev time, or if they’d had years before starting development to build FB’s tools first.

“The challenge of the Hinterlands and what it represented to the opening 10 hours of DAI is exactly the struggle of learning to build open-world gameplay and mechanisms when you are a linear narrative story studio,” said Aaryn Flynn.

“DA2 was the product of a remarkable time-line challenge,” said Mike Laidlaw, “DAI was the product of a remarkable technical challenge. But it had enough time to cook, and as a result it was a much better game.”

Read the chapter for full details of course!

#dragon age #bioware #video games #SW:TOR #mass effect #I've seen plenty of this info discussed in articles/thinkpieces and on online communities over the years #but it's nice to read it first hand #some very insightful stuff here #these behind the scenes looks are very valuble #a lot of DAI's elements make sense given the context and what was going on in the background and the tech challenges they faced etc #be kind and respectful to devs folks they're human beings #also in general this book is really interesting and easy to read #funny in places too #it has lots of other chapters on lots of other games including Stardew Valley #I def recc buying it #anyway hope this post is useful/interesting to someone!#oh and as always support good treatment of game devs #crunch culture in the industry is harmful and exploitative

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human-enthusiast · 3 years

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Absurd Person #1 - Monkey D. Luffy (kid)

Let’s start with not only the main protagonist of One Piece but also the first character to give Luffy any sort of injury...

...his dumb, seven-year-old self...

*Disclaimer: I don’t own this image - screenshot from Episode of East Blue

The last time I wrote this, I forgot to hit save and my browser just reloaded the page and lost everything. After that I just went “I’m done” and rage quit Tumblr for the night (which I normally don’t do). That’s how my Sundays usually go😒🥴

Now Onward!

Basic Classifications

Real World Ethnicity/Nationality: Brazilian

Class: farm / country / lower class

Culture (the one he grew up around): Dawn Island - Sea-side village

Fishing community

Farming / Ranching community

Hard work ethic

Small and close community members; relatively friendly; little to non-existent conflict

Selective mix of being open towards strangers (especially with merchant vessels for better trading opportunities) and weariness towards those they expect to be harmful (likes Pirates; I’d imagine the people of Windmill Village were understandably unnerved with the Red-Haired Pirates first showing up).

Core values (personal to Luffy): pride, physical strength, adventures on and outside his home village,

Relation to authority: neutral - shifting slightly towards negative (no clear basis of opinion; can only go off on Luffy’s fascination with pirates as the main viewpoint)

(The added information feels a little scatter-shot but figured I give it a try based on little information from the manga panels and how it lines up with real-world similarities. Most information is based on logical speculation and could change with new information in later chapters.)

I know that the Romance Dawn arc consists of the chapters up until he meets Coby and Alvida (I think...), but the depiction of Luffy’s character in the first chapter seems different from when he is seventeen and setting out to sea. So, I’ll treat kid Luffy as a separate character for the first analysis.

First Impressions and Introduction

Now, I am an anime watcher, first and foremost, so my first impression of this character stems from the Anime. My introduction towards this ball of chaos was when he popped out of a barrel, that he put himself into after realizing that a whirlpool suddenly appeared (how he missed it? - It’s Luffy), and then inexplicably took a nap in. That was the absurd reason I was able to stick with One Piece in the first few arcs (until Baratie became one of the major reasons I stuck with it - I’ll explain why when we get there).

And since the first chapter was used for episode four in the anime, I was already somewhat familiar with how the story started and who Luffy was as a kid. However, reading the first chapter felt....different than what I would’ve expected. And because the anime cut out a few details from the chapter, there definitely are some things to take from kid Luffy at that point.

So my first impression was, as follows:

The kid is unhinged...That explains some things...

Complete wild child of a backwater village from Day 1.

LIKE-- The anime episode DID NOT explain how he got that scar and the guy didn’t bring it up ever. To be fair, that wasn’t a big focus because the anime didn’t make it a focus. Reading that part though did more for his character and a little of his upbringing, through speculation, making it a rather slow-building but also fascinating introduction into this series.

Just a bit of an add-on, but if the manga introduced Luffy in the same level of neutrality as what the Anime did, It may not have fully made it clear if Luffy was going to be the main protagonist. Then again, it’s a shounen manga, maybe it was rather obvious to everyone else. Regardless, his introduction served to

(1) Make his entrance memorable

(2) Establish his character that could either compare or set him apart from his teen self.

(3) Act as a sort of precursor towards the introduction of Luffy’s world and upbringing (which isn’t completely established until the last few arcs of Pre-Time Skip)

Personality

The best way I could describe Luffy at this point is a stereotypical kid...

Energetic, short-tempered, adventure-seeking, easily impressed, and ignorant...

That last description is actually something I brought up in a separate post about the “Fluid themes” of One Piece. Because I found that a small but overarching part in many (almost all) themes and world issues that One Piece reflects has some level of unawareness or apathy. Jimbe put it best during the Fishman Island Flashback when they found Koala (paraphrasing)

“They are afraid of us because they don’t know us.”

Know us referring to acknowledging them as people on the same level as humans.

Because of that and plenty of other instances from the East Blue, it can be a potential center for many characters who go up against or wish to explore the world and find that they are a frog in a well.

And that’s what kid Luffy represents. A rather aggressive frog in a well that wants out.

Granted, he is a seven-year-old, whose schooling has a closer equivalent to the 16th and 17th centuries of our world, living in what appears to be a farming community, so I’d imagine his education only focuses on at least the basic levels of reading/writing, mathematics, etc. A small, unexciting farming village probably has more concerns over their melon crops rather than what the world has going on. Adding in Luffy, you get a kid who dreams about being a pirate and adventuring outside the isolated village, making him avidly interested in a world he has no experience with. Or in a world he thinks is all fun and games.

That’s pretty standard for any child that has a mild and peaceful life. No doubt Shanks and his crew would tell him stories about their adventures. Not as a sort of attempt to make him a pirate, but because he was easily entertained by it, building up this expectation with stereotypical pirate personas. And whether he has his “destructive” tendencies before they became a fixture in Windmill Village, they definitely seemed to amp it up enough for Luffy to try and prove he was “man enough” to be a pirate at seven years old.

Then when you add in this idealistic expectation with the selfishness of a young child, it creates an opportunity to learn. Because, as any kid may go through, will find that their fantasy of the world won’t be what they expected, and will often react negatively. Luffy’s expectation of Shanks is that he is the strongest man worthy enough to be a pirate.

Now, Luffy’s view of a “real man” stems a lot from this stereotype of men solving their problems through fighting only. Which also embodies this rather damaging philosophy of never running away or backing down from a fight (which I refer to as stupid bravery - something that comes up in a certain other character).

The amazing thing about all the combined aspects of this kid is the ability to create a learning lesson for Luffy. Which can become a motivational factor in his pursuit as a pirate.

His easily impressed nature makes it known both when the Red-Haired Pirates talk positively about piracy adventures and when Shanks leaves the village. The difference between the moments can be showcased by the difference in determination and will to make an effort to achieve his dream. As he declared he wants to be King of The Pirates, he sets himself to work at it, rather than try and go with others.

How He Shapes the Story / World Around Them

I don’t know if anybody else made a similar connection (I wanna say someone DID but I can’t remember where) but in combination with Luffy’s general enthusiasm growing up hearing wild stories, his narrative reminds me so much of Don Quixote De La Mancha.

It’s been a while since I last read that story-- and by read I mean translate some paragraphs from Spanish to English during my Spanish I class in freshman year of high school. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Part I entails an old man who, after indulging himself with various stories of knights and valor, decides he wants to partake in his own adventures. Under various delusions and misadventures, his story becomes a rather well-known one.

Don Quixote was called the first “modern book”. That was something my Spanish teacher mentioned regarding its acknowledgment by the world and always stuck with me. It was one of the first stories of the early medieval period to focus on a regular man. Other stories before this tended to be about legends, gods, demigods-- individuals who often were referred to as legends because they were born into high status (often above humans). Either through original texts (often for religious purposes) and then through varying interpretations (such as the Arthurian Legends), these tales were a part of the status quo.

Kid Luffy is a person that reflects so much of the Don Quixote story (And not just because his village has windmills-- the most iconic scene about the knight’s story). He is that simple, normal boy that longs for his own adventures when there seemingly is already a well-talked-about story about someone who achieved infamy. In place of that is a man named Gold Roger whose execution we see in the manga’s opening. At this point, we don’t have much understanding about how it impacts the world as of yet, we just know it is setting up for something significant to the story.

Luffy becomes that “regular” person from a small-town with big expectations for a grand adventure.

That perspective can slowly build into the story by starting in a simple setting with a character going through one of the first dynamic changes in his life. Luffy’s experience with Shanks’s sacrifice sets a course in his own adventure. A story that trails into a rather bonkers adventure at the end of chapter 1.

His development is what shaped his world. It’s the way he learns when as it stems from the consequences of his actions. Especially ones where the smaller ones turn out to be very costly, making it a hard lesson that ingrains into the young kid. His actions created by his old ideologies sparked an intense reaction in the people around him. Especially Shanks, who felt he was worth losing an arm towards.

How The WORLD Shapes HIM

So, for the sake of the fact that kid Luffy’s “World” in Chapter 1 mostly consists of Windmill Village, I’m adding in Shank’s and his crew’s influence to extend and further give credence to his influence. Because, as of this point, Shanks represents a glimpse into the life of a pirate that Luffy strives for.

With Luffy being in a quiet environment all seven years of life, there is growth through basic schooling and healthy child development (theoretically since Makino seems to be the most likely one acting as his guardian), instead of doing things outside that norm. Now Shanks is the odd factor that creates new development into Luffy’s dreams and future ambitions.

The crew’s stories, charisma, and connection towards the kid actively (and probably unintentionally) created a positive expectation if he chose to pursue his dream. While that sounds inspiring, there were also negative aspects. Such as driving his ignorance and impatient nature to seek it out too early in his life.

Shanks then became a mediator. Luffy often has mixed feelings with Shanks as the man begets a level of encouragement while verbally making fun of Luffy for being a kid constantly. Despite that, it doesn’t completely deter Luffy’s ambitions. All it does is slowly drop his high expectations in Shanks after the first bar incident. This is again done by his childish outlook of physical strength and bravery equating to his ideal of a real man.

With Higama, Luffy learns about real-world dangers, and how bravery won’t always be enough to win battles. The same can be said for physical strength but at that moment it doesn’t apply to Luffy.

Shanks’ and the crew’s involvement helped Luffy’s views change. His expectations are fulfilled, which in turn reveal that he was wrong about them.

Finally, seeing Shanks’ sacrifice unfold drove Luffy into a pang of newfound guilt. By then, he was able to change one part of his world views from a childish fantasy into the beginnings of a mature way of thinking.

He gains some level of patience. Along with a set goal to work with. Attributes which are identifiable with Luffy in the chapters last few panels.

Patience = Luffy took time to train and learn to set sail at age seventeen.

Set goal = Be King of the Pirates

Add-Ons

When I say that kid Luffy, after Shanks’ sacrifice, gained a level of patience, it is meant as a deduction during that chapter. By no means am I insinuating that it became a permanent trait for his character. Because as of chapter 1, all of Luffy’s personality has yet to be revealed.

And this will apply to other posts for various characters. They may behave in ways during or in response to a particular event but it doesn’t necessarily equate to that becoming a whole personality trait. Calling Luffy patient, with having full acknowledgment of his personality during the bulk of One Piece, is completely off. But, there can and will be moments where Luffy will act patient when he deems it necessary.

This is a little hard to articulate but I hope it makes enough sense.

🏴‍☠️🐒

After-Notes

Here’s my first attempt at this analysis. It felt scattered even after editing everything. Breaking down characters sounds easy (and most times it is) but articulating and connecting things takes a lot of work.

Here's to hoping it gets easier with the next character. And maybe shorter paragraphs.

Up Next: Shanks (East Blue)

#OPA #One Piece #East Blue Saga #Romance Dawn Arc #Monkey D. Luffy #Chapter 1 #One Piece Characters #Worldbuilding #Analysis

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honeymoonjin · 3 years

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Content Creator Year in Review!

now that i have finally escaped the labyrinthine 2020 i may as well go sappy for a lil bit and chat about my creations i suppooooosee.... thank you very much to the thoughtful @ttttaehyungie @kkulfm-writing @flurrys-creativity and @nightowls388 for tagging me in this xx

first creation and most recent creation of 2020: my first creation of 2020 was my most recent creation is strawberry lemonade, which i wrote for a sapphic fic fest on twitter

one of your favorite creations from 2020: i didn’t write many oneshots, but i have a soft spot for florezco. i love writing gentle, passionate characters, and the jimin in florezco is the epitome of that. researching it was so much fun too, and i have nothing but fond memories.

a creation you’re really proud of: honestly, love is the warmest colour is one of my personal achievements because all the things the mc is struggling with, i was really having a hard time with when i was writing it. i poured a lot of my heart into this and it helped me process things for myself a little.

a creation that took you forever: definitely tgm. i guess it’s kinda cheating bc it’s a longform series but i feel like if i finished it all the way it would end up taking like 2 years fkjdsfksddjfsk in terms of oneshots, strawberry lemonade took a long time. i was so rusty that sometimes it felt like pulling teeth to get words on the page. i’m so happy i powered through though.

a creation from 2020 that received the most notes: technically my most popular 2020 post is the tgm masterlist. out of curiosity, i added all the notes for the masterlist and each chapter and bonus content (since the whole thing was written in 2020) and it’s over 27k notes isn’t that BONKERS ? tgm also currently has over 60k hits on ao3. i had never expected to even get 1k notes when i first started out in march of 2020. wow, even just working this out now makes me feel even more grateful for this lil community we fostered together and i promise i’m working really hard right now to try and find a way to bring it back <3

a creation you think deserved more notes: because i had a lot of direct interaction with tgm (asks, reblogs, discord) i had the luxury of no longer paying attention to notes. i know everyone preaches (and i have too) about how notes don’t matter but they kinda do, in terms of feeling like your hard work is being received with warmth. i do wish strawberry lemonade would get more notes but i’m unsurprised since it’s not the usual fic you’d find here, and i was inactive for so long. i know it’ll take time to build a regularly interacting community again like i had with tgm.

a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it: ...crickets

a creation you made that breaks your heart: tgm. always tgm. i feel so unsatisfied with myself for not finishing it. i miss the days i was updating weekly like crazy. isn’t it weird that i could update a 10k chapter each week while working and being in uni, but now i’m graduated and unemployed and i spend a whole day on 1k? fksdjfkds madness luv

a ‘simple’ creation that you really love: honestly, i really loved making the tgm bonus contents. the social dummy app is a lot of fun and it was nice getting to kinda play in that world without having to pay attention to the grand arcs of the plot and stuff.

a creation that was inspired by another one: almost all of my oneshots have been inspired by the art style of ghibli movies. it’s that magical realism, the wonderful mixed in with the ordinary, the love given to the smallest of details. whenever i write, i’m picturing my story in that aesthetic.

a favorite creation created by someone else: this is so hard trying to choose just one but it’ll have to be The Songbird and the Sea by maia_archives. this fic is literally so good that it is now PUBLISHED (or at least available as a fiction ebook w name changes i believe) and there is even a sequel which i haven’t gotten too yet bc i’m putting off rereading the first one as long as possible so that it feels like the first time again THATS how much i adore this fic. i don’t think i’ve read any piece of fiction better executed than this. it literally does every genre better than anyone. it does the pirate au better than potc, it does slowburn better than pride and prejudice, it does worldbuilding better than jules verne, i cannot praise it enough.

some of your favorite content creators from the year: on the home soil: my best girls @dreamyhan @hongism @baekhyyun @wintertae @sope-and-shine @ironicarmy @minjoonalist and my absolute role model @joopiterjoon (i’m sorry for not putting down more, i really have not read on tumblr at all this year) on ao3: annie_vi, Arobeebee, GinForInk, minverse, SugarAndMint, Lilithgirl, moonflower1306, tendershipping, Only_A_Fangirl, maia_archives, elle_O_moonchild, jjks, spudcity

and for good measure, another couple more creations of yours that you love: my guy if i actually posted more things in 2020 maybe i could list them here

tagging: the people i have tagged above, as well as anyone who sees this and wishes to do it! please tag me so i can read about your marvelous creations ;;-;

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killiansprincss · 3 years

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Never Forget You ch. 15

Season 6A Canon Divergence.

Emma is happy. Finally happy with her parents, son and boyfriend. But this happiness is taken away from her when the Evil Queen curses her and turns her into a toddler.

Heartbroken and angry, Killian and Henry run away to Neverland to wait for Emma to break her curse. But when she does break it and comes looking for them 25 years later, she soon realises this Neverland is very different now it is no longer under Pans rule.

Will she be able to save Henry and Killian in time, or will this new ruler of Neverland keep them hostage forever?

Chapter 15 of my Neverland fic is here, I hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment if you liked it, they mean the world every comment I get :) AO3 Link

Previous chapters

Verena was worried about Cecelia. This was a dangerous plan to begin with, even before Hook and Henry’s family came for them. She’s proven that she will do anything to make sure the two of them stay on the Island. The Echo Caves were a dangerous torture device, once used to drive the darkest secrets out of fairies, so they could be exiled or executed. And she feared this was exactly what she planned to do.

Verena was worried, no, scared for what her sister was doing. She was afraid for her life, if she stayed by her side she could end up dead, if she betrayed her she would equally end up dead. She needed a way to help Henry’s family while making Cecelia think she was helping her.

_____

She watches the family as Cecelia does. Cecelia thinks Verena is watching them in the same way she is, searching for a weakness in them. She’s a smart fairy, but also very passionate about what she wants so could be willing to let a few pieces of information slip from her mind.

“Anything new?” Cecelia asks one morning.

Verena shakes her head, “Not at the moment. They’re mainly talking about their lives, what’s been happening in their land over the past 25 years. But I’ll keep watching, there may be something in here we can use.”

And then it hits her. She’s watching the boys grandparents talk about their journey, they had been through a lot during the Enchanted Forest with corrupt Kings and Queens. But there was one part of their story that stuck out.

A sleeping curse.

Verena knew of her sister's plans for the pirate and the boy. And if she could give their family time, time to defeat Cecelia, she would keep the pirate safe under a sleeping curse, that way Cecelia would not be able to touch him. Her sister would be defeated, and then Emma, if she loves him as she says she does, she will wake him up.

Verena doesn’t tell her sister of her plan, afraid she will do it herself with some sort of twist. No,she does this independently, and will show her sister the outcome.

____

Despite never being the biggest fan of Hook to begin with, he was his daughter's true love. And he had shown countless times how far he was willing to save her, and Emma for him. They all went to hell, the Underworld to save him. So it shocked him when Emma told them he was sleeping with the fairy. There was no way he would do that, he knew how much he loved his daughter.

“I think I need to have a little chat with our Pirate. Find out his intentions.” He tells his family. He wanted to speak to him alone, find out the truth about him.

Emma doesn't even bother to stop him. She’s still angry, hurt and upset with Hook. Nobody stops him.

/\/\/\/\

If there was one thing Killian Jones associated with Neverland, aside from Pan and the fairies, it was Rum.

Rum in some senses had been his only companion during his years in Neverland. When he had handed Bae over to Pan many years ago, he greatly regretted this decision every day and it haunted him. So he turned to Rum, and he drank it every day to make him forget what the horrible consequences of that decision was. He couldn’t run away from his problems, he was in Neverland and needed the eternal youth it provided him with, so Rum could help ease his mind and put those worries to the back of his mind.

He doesn’t sleep. He made that mistake enough times to know it’s a bad idea. In his first days of Neverland before he met Emma he would see Liam. And if he didn’t see Liam, he would see Milah.

“Killian. Killian.”

He kept hearing a voice, it sounded an awful lot like his brother. But he knew better than to think his brother came back to life.

Except he kept hearing it. He opened his eyes to see Liam Jones standing in front of him.

“Liam?”

“Little brother what are you doing?” His voice was hoarse and bitter.

“Liam? Is it really you?” He was shocked to see him just walking around like it was nothing.

“Of course it’s me you bloody bastard! What are you doing with your life, little brother? This isn’t what we planned.” He was angry with him, that was sure.

“I’m sorry. Liam. You died. I messed up. I can’t trust the Navy, they killed you. I had to avenge your death.” It was true what Liam was saying, this wasn’t Killians plan-they planned for Liam to captain the Jewel of the Realm for a few years with Killian as Lieutenant until Killian would Captain his own ship one day. They would sail under the Kings Realm as the Jones Brothers, 2 of the finest Captains their kingdom had seen.

“Pirate, Killian? Really? Pirates were our worst enemy, and is that Rum? After all your talk of Good Form? The moment I’m gone, you become a drunk pirate?” This wasn’t Liam, or at least the Liam he knew once.

“You’re not Liam are you? What are you? Demon reveal yourself?” He could tell it wasn’t him by the way he spoke about his choices. Yes it wasn’t their original plan, but he wouldn’t judge his decisions so harshly considering what happened. And he would never call him a drunk. Never.

The demon was revealed to be a shadow. The shadow demons would take the form of another to try and trick you, or reveal dark desires. He learnt that the hard way when Pan when he revealed a dark secret about Milah.

“We wouldn’t want poor Bae finding out his mother’s darkest secret now do we?” Pan taunted him, he was unsure whether it was 50 years into his time in Neverland or 200.

At the time he had no idea how he found out. “Captain you can’t be so foolish as to speak to every shadow demon you see. O matter how many times it appears as Bae’s mother.”

When he realises it was just a bloody demon and not actually Milah's ghost or spirit, he goes back to his ship and drinks as much rum as it takes until he passes out.

Passing out from too much rum had become a regular occurrence for Killian, and slowly turned into a habit. The only way he could get through the days and nights which along with the time moving differently that had turned into a blur.

When Killian arrived back in Neverland with Henry, he told himself he wouldn’t use rum like that again. But that changed when he realised the shadow demons were Neverland speciality, not just Pan’s.

He sees Emma. He’d recognise her face anywhere, her blonde hair loose, green eyes shining as they always did, and her red jacket.

“You left me.” Emma grumbles.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry love. I didn’t know what to do.” He apologises and apologises to her, but she won’t hear his cries or his pleas, she just keeps repeating

“You. Left. Me”

It takes a while for him to understand that this was a demon. The demon looked so like Emma, and he so wanted to see her, to bring him home.

But that was a long time ago. 1,000 years could’ve passed, that’s how Neverland works. And the only thing that could help him see past the demons was Rum. And lots of it. Neverland had an unlimited magic supply of the stuff so it was an easy fix to his daily problems. Especially after what happened with Eli, he couldn’t bare to look at his brothers face without feeling an enormous sense of guilt, so he would drink and drink and wake up the next morning with no clue what happened. It was best this way, just drink the pain away.

He pushes Henry away too. And he hates himself for it. But the poor lad looks so like his mother, he’s only reminded of the blasted reason they’re here every time he looks at him. He came aboard the Jolly one day with his ever present smile and boyish grin, ever the positive lad. He tells him to get off his ship, raising his voice at him.

“I-I don’t understand.” The poor lad trembles.

“I want you off my ship. Don’t ever come back onto my ship without a direct invitation from me first.” Killian snaps at him. He cringes at the memory, but he was angry once again at the universe and he took it out on Henry who was a painful reminder of the woman he lost.

Emma would be ashamed if she knew how he had been treating him, he made a vow to protect him and he had broken it. He’d done worse than broke the vow to protect him, he banished him from the only familiar place on the damn Island.

He only sees Henry in the Lost Ones clearing each night. They don’t ever say more than a few words to another at first. But then as time goes on in Neverland, and Henry forgives him, well he doesn’t outright say he forgives him, but he asks how he is. Henry knew better than to ask about his mother, Henry was having his own awful dreams of her, he knew it would only be worse for Killian. They keep their distance but Henry knows Killian isn’t okay, he notices how he drinks and drinks, each night, sometimes he will sit down and say nothing the entire night except mumbles which Henry can’t make out. He drinks his flask of rum, some nights he even has 2 flasks.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Emma that you?” Killain asks as he hears a knock on the door to his hut.

“Sorry to disappoint.” Oh it was Dave, “She’s not coming.”

“I didn’t sleep with Cecelia. I don’t know what she showed Emma, but I swear on my life that nothing has happened since I returned to this blasted Island.”

“I know.” David knew, he knew fairies, especially darker fairies were unpleasant creatures who created a web of lies and deceit to fulfil their desires.

“You do?”

The Prince nods at his once almost son in law. “You love Emma, I see it. I saw how it broke you when she was cursed. You ran away to Neverland, with Henry to protect him against seeing the person you both love not recognise you. The place that is filled with your own personal demons and nightmares. You came because you love Emma. I’d do the same for Snow.”

Killian breathes a sigh of relief, “you have no idea how much it means that you believe me. I just wished there was a way to show Emma.”

“You know what she’s like, stubborn as hell.” David laughs. “Give her some space. She’ll realise soon enough that the fairy is messing with her. Just stay on our side and we can figure out how to defeat -“

He is cut short as he senses movement outside Killians window.

“Verena!” Killain says as he and David grab their nearest weapon as the fairy poofs in front of them.

“I’m so sorry. I swear I’m on your side, my sister has much darker plans for you so this is something I have to do. If the woman you love truly feels the way you do, then she’ll wake you.”

One moment Killain is pointing his sword at the fairy dressed in red, and the next moment he suddenly feels sleepy and hits the ground as slumber.

“What the hell did you do to him?” David asks, sword pointing at the fairy.

The fairy clicks her fingers causing the Prince to fall to the ground,

“I’m afraid it’s for the best.” She whispers as she takes the Pirates body and disappears in a puff of red smoke.

#never forget you #my writing #captain swan #cs ff #cs fic rec #captain swan ff #fanfic #Emma swan #Killian jones

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tundrainafrica · 3 years

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Masterlist

This will serve as a personal tracker of all of the fics I have ever written, all of the books and series I have consumed etc. I wrote this out to help me organize my thoughts since I have time now to reflect on this closet hobby of mine. I also put it up just in case anyone has ever read my stuff and is curious about how these works are doing in my head space.

Some were written back when I was way younger so apologies for the quality.

ALEX RIDER

Come Home (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Memories don't keep people grounded in their present. They're the reason people think of what ifs and would haves, regrets and daydreams. Alex sees three dimensions of his reality and makes a decision. Set after Never Say Die.

Status: Done (I guess?), not posted on tumblr or AO3 yet

Killing (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Spoilers for Never Say Die. Killing is like learning to ride a bike as Alex is going to figure out very soon. For Spyfest 2017.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not posted on tumblr or AO3 yet

Transparency (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Although the bank robbery made national news, the young boy who saved the lives of all the people in the bank didn't. First hand witness accounts said the boy was a hero, the media said there was no young hero in the bank and one journalist tries to get to the bottom of it all.

Status:WIP (could probably still finish it, it’s almost done anyway), not posted on tumblr or AO3 yet)

Type II Error (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Written for Spyfest Week 3. Set before Ark Angel. The updates on payroll accounts and budgets lined up too well with mysterious deaths and undisclosed missions. An auditor working for MI6 decides for herself whether or not the orders of her bosses Blunt and Jones were worth prying into.

Status: Done (Oneshot), will post on tumblr yet

Unforeseen Circumstances (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

It's April, the time of year when most students start salvaging their grades. Missions had taken their toll on Alex's grades and he needs to start salvaging soon or risk repeating the year. Nature wasn't on his side though and it turned out that his devil's luck had just run out.

Status: WIP (8/15), On hold, not posted on tumblr yet

ATTACK ON TITAN

Levi and Hange’s Relationship in Erwin’s POV (Status: Completed, not posted yet)

A Tale of Two Slaves (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

"Soulmates don’t exist. Fate doesn't exist. Everything is a choice. At that moment, Levi could only watch as she made the choice for him."

Levi remembers everything from their past life. Hange doesn't.

Status: WIP (6/?)

A Free Spot (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Slight AU! Levi sacrifices himself in Chapter 132 instead of Hange and Hange deals with the consequences years later. Written for Levihan Angstober Week 4. Prompt: Free Spot

Status: Done (Oneshot), not posted on FFN yet

Division of Labor (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

"The past years, we have noticed a lot of our fresh high school graduates knew nothing about responsibilities the that awaited them outside high school and even college. Many students do not master budgeting, taxes, household planning, loans and we hope to raise a generation who can navigate the adult world without the consequences of bad decisions they are bound to make going in blindly..."

Paradis High school starts a program incorporating adulting into their curriculum and Hange and Levi are paired together.

Status: WIP (1/?)

En Prise (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Hange already had the innate analysis skills and the quick wittedness to excel in the classroom. Chess should have come easy for her. As she processed her fifth loss to the man in front of her, she started to understand that there was more to the game than meets the eye.

College AU! Levi is a little too good at chess and Hange gets roped into studying the game further.

Status: WIP (1/18), will try to create a backlog before I post more.

Heroes or Victims (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Post Chapter 115, Hange reflects on emotions, relationships, war philosophies, and a future while taking care of a severely injured Levi.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not posted on FFN yet

Household Planning (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

"It was Levi's household. The plates were arranged and sorted by color and use, the way Levi liked it. The cabinets and the storage were arranged in a way which would be efficient for cooking, or at least the way Levi would have wanted to cook."

Levi gets sick and Hange is left to navigate household chores.

Status: Done (2/2)

Passion Project (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Levi tries to ignore Hange but it never seems to last. A ficlet detailing the development of Levi and Hange's relationship before canon.

Status: WIP (1/3) Timeline written, Chapter 2 rough draft complete, not posted on FFN yet

Rough Day (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

It should have been apparent to Hange by the weight gain and the sudden lack of red days. Somehow, Levi noticed it first.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not posted on FFN yet, will probably write more fluff similar to this

Sugar Rush

(AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Marley brings the celebration of Halloween to Paradis. Hange and Levi go trick or treating with their child for the first time and start to realize how much the world has changed since the war.

A Halloween piece for the Levihan spookfest one year late.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not posted on FFN yet, will probably write more fluff similar to this

Would You Cry? (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Hange asks an innocent question and Levi finds himself reflecting on his emotions and his relationship with Hange. Written for LeviHan Week, Angstober 2020. Prompt: Silence/Screams

Status: Done (Oneshot)

Vulnerabilities (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Slight AU! Although Levi is humanity's strongest soldier in the battlefield, his rough childhood had left him weaker and more vulnerable to illness. Levi had always taken measures to prevent sickness nit anyone who has ever been close to him caught wind on it anyway. A series of oneshots throughout the story focusing on Levi's chronic weakness and others taking care of him.

Status: Sporadic updates depending on mood, not yet posted on ff and tumblr

Big Hero Six

Deal with the Devil (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

When mourning becomes too much for him, Hiro finds himself resorting to prayers and deals to bring back the brother he lost. The devil may have had pity on him but he never promised to let Hiro go unscathed.

Status: WIP, on hold, probably could get back to it just need to rewatch the movie, not yet completely posted on AO3 and tumblr

Fatal Flaw (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Grieving may be a long and painful process but in time most people do recover. For Hiro Hamada though something probably went wrong along the way because from what Aunt Cass could see, he was moving on yet at the same time, he wasn't.

Status: WIP, abandoned, completely forgot what I was planning, not yet posted on tumblr

Coco

Dares, Pranks and Curses (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Written for the Coco Valentines Fanwork Exchange. The night of Dia de Los Muertos, Miguel ends up staying out late to play a little game with his friends in the cemetery. Hector, Imelda and Miguel reunite through a game of Ouija.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not yet posted on ff and tumblr

Somewhere between Life and Death (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Dia de los Muertos isn't the only day the dead can visit the living. Miguel is reunited with Hector, Imelda and his other relatives from the other side but in one of the worst ways possible and he finds himself caught in a struggle between life and death.

Status: WIP 9/20, on hold, timeline is complete just need to get it written, need to fix tumblr tags

Crossovers

Quest for Origin: Ranger’s Apprentice x Percy Jackson (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

A young boy gets washed up on the shore of Camp Half Blood with no memories whatsoever of his life before. How did he end up there? Is it all just a coincidence? Or is it a message from the Gods? What's with his uncanny skill with the bow?

Status: On Hold (25/35), timeline complete, will probably continue with PJO TV show comes out, not yet posted on ff and tumblr

Kingdom Hearts

Coded Connection (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Post KH3. If Kairi keeps Sora's memory alive, he'll eventually call out to her right? Then it will be her turn to find him, hold him and never let go.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not yet posted on tumblr and ff

Kuroko no Basuke

Yellow, Red, Green, Blue and Purple (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Collab with friend back in high school. All Kise wanted to do was complete one more level of Flow Free before practice starts. When you have teammates as lazy, eccentric, hyperactive, sociopathic or invisible as the Generation of Miracles though, sometimes the things that sound the simplest, can be the hardest to do. Crackfic

Status: Done (Oneshot), not yet posted on tumblr

Ranger’s Apprentice

Being a Ranger’s Wife (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

As Will leaves on a suicide mission, Alyss ponders on her choice to have married him.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not yet posted on tumblr or AO3

Danger Zone (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Rangers are human. Humans make mistakes. The difference though between an ordinary human and a ranger is the consequences they'll eventually face for past mistakes. Will should have known that for rangers, this included being on the run from an angry group of pirates with his silver oakleaf on the line.

Status: Probably Abandoned, first fanfic I have ever written lmao, completely forgot where I was going with this, not yet posted on tumblr or ffn.

Farmer’s Apprentice (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Will lied to Mr. Chubb about stealing from the kitchen years ago. How did that small decision change the course of the young boy's life? AU Crack fic.

Status: Done (Oneshot), not yet posted on tumblr or AO3

Masters, Apprentices and Sons (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Gilan accepts Morgarath's challenge in the Plains of Uthal and Halt is left to care for his apprentice in the aftermath of the battle. Halt wonders why it took him this long to realize that there was no fine line between an apprentice and a son.

Status: WIP. I have written out all the way until chapter 5 but I completely lost the files. I don’t know if my current frustration will allow me to continue this.

The Fall of a Hero (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Will had fallen from his place as one of the top rangers in the corps and one of the top figures in Araluen and it's up to his friends to help pull him back up. Recovery Fic.

Status: WIP, timeline not written, could probably still continue this, just need to catch up to the series

Prince of Tennis

A Break from Ingenuity (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

Timing is everything. Fuji gets his timing wrong, makes one misstep then finds himself facing a career ending injury. Maybe, that's when everyone will realize that he's human too.

Status: WIP. Will probs continue if new POT content comes out.

Yuri on Ice

Surprises (AO3/Tumblr/FFN)

With all the stress piling up for the Japanese National Championship and more importantly, the World Championship, one can expect an athlete to get injured. To have the coach be the one struck by a career ending injury during practice is another story. That's exactly how Victor surprised the crowd though, maybe for the last time.

Status: WIP (3/?), not yet posted on tumblr

#Yuri on ice #Prince of Tennis #ranger's apprentice #kuroko no basket #kingdom hearts #percy jackson #coco #big hero six #attack on titan #Alex Rider #fanfic #masterlist

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leftenant-sinani · 3 years

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Unreal x X-COM x My Sci-fi Universe Crossover

So, I was listening to Unreal Tournament music, and I got an idea... what if Unreal universe was mixed with the X-COM one? It would kinda fit because they both are kinda neo-futuristic, Unreal certainly a bit more. Also it will not only be mix of these two, but there will be a lot of things from my own Sci-Fi universe. Since I want to write whole bloody list of my shit about this, this is going to be a very, very, VERY long post, if you have the patience and interest, please click ‘Keep reading’.

Also warning, there will be a lot of repeating of words, because I am small-brainer who cannot think of other words. (And there will be surely some mistakes, although I am trying my best to avoid them)

Games Introduction :

For those who don’t know what these games are about, I’ll give you quick insight of what is what. (Not really quick, because I tend to write long-ass paragraphs)

Unreal :

Unreal (also often known as Unreal Tournament) is a First Person Shooter game made originally in 1998. The story wasn’t really what this series was about, it was all about quickly paced shooting and often about skill flex. Unreal is divided into two types : Unreal and Unreal Tournament. Unreal was the start of it all which included very long single player campaign (+ it’s expansion ‘Return to Na Pali’) which was set on planet known as Na Pali. The Na Pali was full of strange alien species which you had to fight in order to get through levels. While I adore it, I never really finished it. There were two Unreals, Unreal and Unreal II : The Awakening. However, Unreal Tournament was far more known when it comes to Unreal or basically whole FPS community back then. Unreal Tournament was less campaign and far more arena shooting. For me, it was one of my first games I’ve ever played and I still play to this very day. It had also very unique environments. From urban areas and buildings, through medieval-style maps to space stations or bases on asteroid, and that is only Unreal Tournament 99 (Which will be main source of Unreal universe in my crossover), Unreal Tournament 2004 had even far more interesting diversity of environment. There were 5 UTs in total, UT99, UT2003, UT2004, UT3 and UT (often refered to as UT4). There were also two console-exclusive games known as Unreal Championship and Unreal Championship 2, but I don’t know much about them.

X-COM :

X-COM (or just XCOM) is mostly squad-based Strategy (but not only, there were some exceptions which we will get to later) game that has been here since 1994. While the original games aren’t much known today, the modern ones were the reason why is it so popular (at least in my opinion). The plot is mostly very simple, the Earth is under attack of the aliens and you, as the Commander of X-COM AKA eXtra-terrestrial COMbat unit, are meant to repel the invasion and save the humanity (and that is not always the case either). First game was a bit of an oddity, because it is only known as X-COM : UFO Defense in America, all over the world however, it was known as UFO : Enemy Unknown, but then it kept the name X-COM for the rest of series. The gameplay was made of two phases. First phase was strategical type where you had to take care of your base, research, engineering, in some games you even had to take care of aircraft to intercept air attacks (mostly it was UFO) and most importantly, that’s where you were getting the missions. The second phase is made of the already mentioned squad-based strategy gameplay, and that’s where the main fun of the series was. There was a lot of games actually, I’ll try to explain in few words each game + include when they were released. UFO : Enemy Unknown / X-COM : UFO Defense (1994, alien invasion from space) - X-COM : Terror from the Deep (1995, alien invasion but from ocean this time) - X-COM : Apocalypse (1997, alien invasion which was created biologically on Earth or something) - X-COM : Interceptor (1998, alien invasion from space, but you only fight with aircraft instead of infantry) - X-COM : First Alien Invasion (1999, some kind of email game or something (like wtf is that)) - X-COM : Enforcer (2001, Third Person Shooter this time) - X-COM : Genesis and X-COM : Alliance (Both were unreleased, Alliance was some sort of Squad-Based First Person Shooter and Genesis was the your standard X-COM game) - XCOM : Enemy Unknown (2012, standard X-COM game, first modern one) - XCOM : Enemy Within (2013, expansion for Enemy Unknown, according to the wiki, EW isn’t canon, don’t where the truth lies though) - The Bureau : XCOM Declassified (2013, Third Person Shooter, didn’t play, but from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty mediocre besides the story) - XCOM 2 (2016, standard X-COM game, most known game from the series, also a direct sequel to the Enemy Unknown) - XCOM 2 : War of the Chosen (2017, expansion for the XCOM 2, my personal favorite and also the primary source of X-COM story elements in my crossover) - and last but not least, XCOM : Chimera Squad (2020, standard X-COM game, but you only fight for one big city as Peacekeeping Force againsts three criminal factions).

Whew, that’s for the introduction. Let’s head for the meat of this thing.

Background & Story :

I want to put a little note here before I’ll continue. Unreal has it’s own story, and while I will mix it with X-COM elements, there will be a lot of my own headcanon things, so basically, Unreal x X-COM in my sci-fi universe. Here’s a timeline if you want to know a bit about Unreal story https://unreal.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline (Although we won’t be really going alongside it, so :P). So let’s get started, eh?

Background :

It is year 2293, Milky Way galaxy is under the control of humanity which is divided into two great factions; Sol Alliance (SA) and Milky Way Union (MWU). Sol Alliance is the root of the whole civilization that is scattered across the whole galaxy. They are most advanced when it comes to economy and military when it comes to both Ground Force and Navy, however, they are quite power-hungry and xenophobic which makes them hated by alien minorities, even though it is common knowledge that a lot of alien civilizations destroyed themselves in countless wars and humans had no feat in this, and if not for Sol Alliance in the first place, there would be almost no alien civilization at all (except two, but we’ll get to that later), despite this fact, Sol Alliance treats aliens like low layer of society, and that’s why they are hated so much by aliens and also by a fair amount of humans. It’s also the reason why Mliky Way Union was created in the first place... to get rid of Sol Alliance oppression againsts not only aliens but also their national socialist ideologies.

The Milky Way Union has its own sector in the galaxy, and while they and Sol Alliance are not currently in war (not at least openly), they still hunger for conquering those “Alliance swines”. They are made mostly of humans of course, but there is also a fair number of alien species confirmed among them. MWU isn’t doing really as great as Sol Alliance when it comes to economy and their armies are mostly made out of mercenaries, however, they are the peak of industrial effectivity and mineral-processing industry in the whole galaxy. Their ideology is mostly communistic and they can be quite fanatic about it. (Yes, it’s kind of based on Soviet Union).

The galaxy has been divided into four sectors :

Sector Minotaur, South-Eastern part of Milky Way. It is primary sector of Sol Alliance, that means that’s where our beloved (to some) Earth is, it has been centre of Alliance commmunity for dozens if not hundred of years by now. Roughly 45% of planets are habitable, which is the most when compared to the other sectors.

Sector Hydra, North-Eastern part of Milky Way. This sector belongs to no government nor either of the two great factions, it is mostly a place for the scum of the society. Rogue soldiers, prisoners, mercenaries, pirates, slavers, even some bits of aliens here and there. There are planets in this sector which are also serving as colonies for immigrants from either MWU or SA, however, this sector is not really the choice for ideal life, as there is extremely minimal amount of planets which can be lived on without any major difficulties (the ones that are, are mostly habitats for Rogue Militaries) + pirates and slavers are sometimes raiding colonies. There are also signs of dog fights between certain criminal factions in some places of this sector.

Sector Medusa, North-Western part of Milky Way. Primary sector of Milky Way Union. A good amount of planets in this sector are mineral-rich and are optimal for life. There is a lot of history about this sector, since it used to be a place of many alien civilizations many centuries ago before they devastated each other. There are planets that have a lot of antique sites which are a big enticement for people from both MWU and SA that are interested in alien history or archaeology. Years ago, there people who claimed that there are even ancient alien technologies on few planets which could be used as weapons, power generators or there could be perhaps other uses of it, local alien citizens are rejecting such claims though, as they are sure that their predecessors destroyed everything that could be of use to make sure that their enemies wouldn’t have the upper hand. Most of the found items were either only trinkets or salvaged parts of something that might’ve been weapon or something similar, but wasn’t really usable anymore.

Sector Phoenix, South-Western part of Milky Way. Our centre of the whole story and also a place of our known planet Na Pali. The main planet of this sector is called ‘New Earth’, and ironically, was a point of many wars between the locals just like our home planet. Sector Phoenix is infamous to be place of our two already mentioned alien races and not only that. The two alien races are in fact only the tip of the iceberg, as it goes much, much deeper than that. First off, it is occupied by humans too, but there’s only about 40% compared to the aliens and they are divided into civilians and fighters as the sector is known to be one big warzone. Although there are places here and there that are peaceful, not even urbanized areas like cities or certain buildings are safe from fighting between locals. Sector Phoenix is ruled by New Earth Government (NEG) and local giant corporation known as Liandri AKA Liandri Mining Corporation. The sector also used to be the centre of mining for the galaxy, that didn’t last for a very long time however, as Sector Medusa was far more profitable. Despite the fact the local resource called ‘Tarydium’ was exclusive mineral and it’s use is universal, the great factions found their own exclusive minerals which they found to outmatch this so-called Tarydium. The reason why Sector Phoenix is being often refered to as warzone is the fact that not only the wars between humans and aliens or aliens and second aliens, but also because Liandri Mining Corporation implemented the idea of creating a blood sport only known as ‘Tournament’. The Tournament was a deathmatch between local teams; Almost all of the teams were only humans, and there were even two alien ones and one made purely out of robots. Many teams failed and were massacred, and those which survived eventually fell apart after the end of first Tournament. The combatants which were in the Tournament were everything but common people, there were ex-soldiers, commandos, specialists, genetically enhanced warriors, mercenaries, even robots and aliens.

Story :

After the end of first Tournament, the Liandri Corporation made a big load of money which was shared with New Earth Government to keep the flow of human cilivization. Now, after four months since the end of first Tournament, a civil war started between local factions (which will be introduced later). The conflict included humans, human-made robots and both alien races. All the zones that were used for fighting before and in Tournament were once again used as areas for this massive firefight. The reason for the civil war was following; “Due to the Na Pali being invaded by humans, which is planet that rightfully belongs to the Skaarj race (we’ll get to the races too, do not worry), they broke the peace treaty that was signed at the end of Skaarj-Human war.” Things were worse than they looked though, and it was found out that the second alien race known as ADVENT attacked Skaarj base close to their world. It’s an all out war...

Races & Factions :

This will be a long one. Note that few things won’t be corresponding with the lore of both games.

Races :

In this part, I will only talk about alien races. There are two big ones, and one minor. The big ones are races which are made out of more species, just so you know. I will use some texts from wiki, because I am lazy xP.

Skaarj :

Skaarj of the Skaarj Empire from planet Skrath. They are tall, powerful imperial reptilian race. They are born from eggs of the queen as ‘Pupae’ (the little disgusting thing in the middle), which will eventually mutate into 7-9′ tall monster you see in the picture. There are two types of Skaarj fighters. First is Warrior (the one on the green and blue ones), they are extremely agile and have strength of at least three men. Some of them have cybernetic implants, and many have blades, called Raziks, strapped or surgically affixed to their wrists; these weapons may also fire energy charges from between the blades. Then there is second variant of Skaarj fighter; Skaarj Trooper (You can see him behind the blue Skaarj Warrior). They are artificially made and are meant to be the support line as they use firearms made either by Skaarj or Humans, it doesn’t matter to them. There is a lot of variants of both types, all of them and more info about Skaarj can be found here https://unreal.fandom.com/wiki/Skaarj. Besides that Skaarj are also highly tribal race and divided into clans. Each clan of Skaarj is headed by a Queen (which has a central role in their society) and a Warlord (who leads the Skaarj in combat situations (Can be also seen on the picture, it is the tall one in the middle)). While Skaarj hate humans and tried fighting them three times, they were always defeated despite their efforts, so they eventually signed a peace treaty with them, the peace lasted for 90 years until now. When it comes to the ADVENT, their relationship with them is rather neutral, but there were signs of aggression between both.

As Skaarj are imperialistic race who enslave other races for either labor or fighting, there a few races which are under them.

1. Krall

They are a brown, lizard-like species with large spikes that are more primitive and feral than humans. Their home planet is unknown. Species originally It is a testament to their fighting skills that the Skaarj use them as warriors rather than slaves. The Krall social structure is too fragmented for them to become a major force on a large scale, but as individual fighters, they are truly formidable.

2. Brutes

Large but slow creatures who are part of Skaarj defense line just like Krall. Besides that, not much is known about them. Their origin, home planet nor how their race is truly called is known. They could be possibly artificially created creatures by Skaarj, but who knows really.

3. Nali

The Nali are a primitive race native to the planet Na Pali, as well as its former rulers. The Nali are deeply religious and spiritual and can often be found in heavy prayer. Sometimes their prayers are answered with the ability to teleport (however their ability is limited) or to open solid walls. They also are extremely timid, afraid of anyone who might attempt to harm their benevolent race. Many Nali have been enslaved by the Skaarj to work in the Rrajigar Mine to mine for Tarydium. As their religion forbids the use of violence the Nali could not resist being under Skaarj rule and were left to pray for their freedom. The Skaarj forbids the Nali to leave Rrajigar Mines, so the Nali were also placed under constant guard to prevent them from merely teleporting away to a safe haven.

ADVENT :

While ADVENT is coalition rather than race on it’s own, it’s made out of a fair amount of alien species and many humans and even Skaarj call ADVENT a race (despite the fact it’s not really true). They are being lead by psionically gifted creatures known as ‘Ethereals’ and are often being refered to as ‘Elders’.

Unlike Skaarj, ADVENT has no hatred towards humans and is looking rather for relationship and trading with them and since NEG is having enough problems with Skaarj already, they couldn’t say no to trading with each other. ADVENT even allowed human colonies in their territory, which was suspiciously great generosity from them, but it was better than open war with them.

And unlike Skaarj, they have been here only for few dozens of years and not much is known about them. Their true goals in Sector Phoenix are also unknown. There are sources of knowledge about them like databases, public studies and scientists’ logs... but also rumors and claims.

As mentioned before, ADVENT is made out of fair amount of aliens which were either created or enslaved just like the ones under Skaarj.

1. Genetically Engineered Humans

They are often refered to as ADVENT Troopers. According to the official statements, they are volunteers who willingly chose to serve the ADVENT, if it’s true or not is not known however. They make the backbone of ADVENT army. There are also different variants of Troopers, there is Officer, Shieldbearer, Priest, Stun Lancer, Purifier and General.

2. Sectoids

These originally used to be smaller typical ‘gray aliens’, in recent years however, they somehow grew and resemble humans far more. Physically, they are probably on the same measure as humans when it comes to height and strength, the only advantage they have over ordinary humans is the fact that they have the psionic gift which allows them to mind control lesser-willed beings including humans.

3. Vipers

Vipers are another species enthralled by the Elders. Despite their resemblance to terrestrial snakes, the Viper is actually a wholly extraterrestrial species unmodified by human DNA. Spitting poison and binding their victims make this alien dangerous just as any other alien on this list.

4. Mutons

A frontline unit of the ADVENT army. Standing over 6′6″, this humanoid creature is physically powerful and aggressive, but mentally weak. They appear to be the least intelligent, however, studies showed that their memory is imprinted with high amount of knowledge in combat tactics and weaponry.

5. Archon

According to the knowledge shared by scientists that are working in the ADVENT territory, this particular specimen is both mechanical and organic. They have received extensive mechanical implants, including ones that replace the internal organs. Due to its modifications, there is no distinguishing line between mechanical and biological to describe this creature. The visual design of the Archon is based on the Egyptian gods, featuring ornate gold armor, a wreath-like design for its levitation jets and a muscular physique.

6. Chryssalid

Not much is known about these nasty creatures. The only knowledge we have is that they use to walk in packs, tend to burrow into the ground and their poison on the claws of theirs can affect any organic being as it is their only way of reproduction. Organics that are killed by a Chryssalid attack or die by the poison will become a cocoon; If the cocoon is not destroyed during the gestation period, up to three new Chryssalids will emerge from the cocoon. One of the scientist that studied them claims that their previous version’s way of reproduction used to be far scarier and nastier than now.

7. Berserker

The Berserker appears to be a larger, more heavily armored Muton. As a melee-only attacker, the Berserker relies on its superior health, defense and higher movement rate in order to close the distance between itself and its enemies; the Berserker also benefits from higher will than a basic Muton.

8. Chosen

Last but not least, we have three aliens of their own kind. People call them ‘The Chosen’. Since they all have humanish look, there are claims that these could be either created or remade humans. According to the knowledge gathered from the databases, they could be around 8′ tall if not more and are considered Elders’ ‘children’, which leads to a fact they are also considered siblings. The one with the hood is Hunter, an unmatched sniper according to the claims, it’s being said that he has a bit of jester-y behavior. The elder-looking one is Warlock, the most psionically gifted out of those three. He is, according to the rumors, ‘a bit crazy’, in what sense though, is not known. And last one is Assassin, one of the best swordsmen ever alive in ADVENT lines. She is told to be the most ‘normal’ when it comes to behavior unlike her siblings. According to logs, they also should have names, but they are not publicly known unfortunately.

There could be more alien species on both sides, but if there are, they are not known yet.

Necris :

Alien race which looks awfully close to humans, the only difference is the gray pale skin and completely white eyes without pupils (although there was a case with pupils spotted once in the Tournament), whether they human look is their true form or not is unknown. Their society is known as Phayder which declared guerrilla war againsts New Earth before. According to the claims, Necris are an alien race that was, "until now, rarely seen." Their thirst for fighting is given by very odd belief, The Necris, and thereby the Phayder, believe that they are bringing "salvation" to the universe, by giving others "purpose" through death. They consider life to be a weakness and are grateful to the Nanoblack and the Necris Process for their present state of being.

Factions :

The civil war divided the sector into four factions :

Order of the Thunder

Commonly refered to as Order is the faction made purely out of humans fighting for the humanity and of course NEG. Their common enemy are Skaarj, but if provoked, they will fight ADVENT or even their own if there is need for it. They are well-armed, disciplined and will be protagonists of main story (Yes, I am thinking of making stories from this shit and yes, Chosen will be part of them, just so you Chosen lovers will be happy). There is also a fair amount of Tournament survivors confirmed to be among them.

Coalition

ADVENT’s faction. Same as Order, they want to fight the Skaarj as they believe that they could surely get something out of it too. However, they might get into conflict with Order too if they will not be careful enough as Order is zealous in their cause. They hope that such thing won’t happen, as they still see humans as good trade partners.

Raziks

Skaarj faction. They are willing to fight humanity once again and believe that this time, they will finally win and claim humanity as their slaves as they did it with already mentioned races under them. Since ADVENT attacked their base, they will be divided into two fronts, more Warriors will be deployed againsts Coalition and more Troopers againsts Order.

Mercs

“Sure we’ll fight... as long as the payment’s good.” Motto of every member of Mercs. Mercs are neutral faction and will fight for whoever will pay them high enough to do so. The faction is made out of humans, robots and aliens. Some of them are fighting only for money. Some for money and fun. Some for money and glory. There will be money in every case though, as it is with every mercenary. Most of the time, they were working for Liandri Corporation, there is even an evidence that some fought in the Tournament. They have their own armies, bases and even infrastructure which makes them rather a Private Military Company rather than just Mercenaries, it is obvious that Liandri pays them rather well.

That’s it for today, I originally wanted to add something more, but I can always add that later. I was working on this whole day, so I hope you’ll enjoy this ‘small’ piece from me after a long time. I have also in plan to add Arsenal eventually, which is the content I wanted to originally add, however... I am tired now. I’ll take another half-year long pause from writing. :P (just kidding lol)

#CrossOver #xcom #xcom 2 #xcom 2 war of the chosen #chosen #aliens #unreal #unreal tournament #sci-fi #lore #skaarj

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thefiveavengers · 4 years

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jester and sexuality/romantic inclinations

so, this is my last day of summer break (actually the day before last, but tomorow is monday) and I decided to put into words what my thoughts about this dicey, dicey subject are. First, these are solely my opinons based on 1) watching the second campaign, 2)watching talks machina and the meta knowledge that comes with that and 3) assuming the players are playing in good faith and are open minded to organic changes that might come to their characters along the way.

and second, I do have my biases, and I come from the following inclinations: I ship lavorregard, and I don’t believe Jester is straight.

That said let’s begin. I��ve written a far amount about the lavorregard ship, but mostly focused on Beau’s feelings and her perspective. Right before the ep that Beau reveals the crush to Nott I wrote the following: “ If I were to put a chronology on Beau’s feelings for Jester it would go something like that: 1)“This girl is cute and somehow I like her way more than I usually like, well, anybody” 2) “This girl is cute and we are… friends???” 3) “This girl is cute, we are friends and I love her” 4) “We are friends, I love her AND I think she is hot” 5) “This girl is hot, I love her and maybe I love her as more than friends?”

But last ep I think it shifted to, “I’m definetely into Jester as more than friends and she’s never been hotter AND I think I’m getting to a point where I’m ready to actually process my feelings regarding that and be open about it.”

And lo and behold, the very next ep we saw Beau actually processing her feelings when talking to Nott. But what about Jester?

I’ve seen some people express the idea that “wouldn’t it be galaxy brain if all three cr ladies had independently decided when creating their characters that they are lesbians?” and honestly, while a cute thought, I don’t think that’s what’s happening. In my opinion what happened was, Marisha created Beau as a lesbian and she made sure to make that clear as possible from the get go, and one of the reasons I think she did that is because she entered the campaign looking to avoid a pc/pc romance, since the one she was in in cr1 took such a toll on her. She probably figured it would be a safe bet, playing a lesbian she would shield herself from the male characters and most likely the other female characters would not be interested in Beau, right?

Enter Ashley Johnson. Honestly I don’t think Ashley had such a clear idea that Yasha was (or is) a lesbian. She had a wife, and from what has been said in canon Zualla was her only romantic and sexual relationship. Now, from what we’ve seen Yasha hasn’t expressed any interest in men, but to be fair she hasn’t really expressed interest in much anybody. She called Jester adorable in the very first ep and she seems to be fond of Beau’s flirtations even if not directly responding to them. The conversation where Yasha has said that she has “seen {Beau} a lot” coupled with one of the songs in Yasha’s playlist has me convinced that Yasha has some kind of feelings for Beau, even if is just a small crush. And I say this as someone who doesnt ship Beau/Yasha. I don’t think they would make a good match, but that doesn’t mean I’d deny either of them having interest in the other. But that doesn’t mean Yasha is for sure a lesbian who would never engage with a men ever. She seems pretty adamant on not having any romantic connections, so its hard to gauge really where her interests lie. She is for sure though a wlw.

Now, when it comes to Jester and Laura Bailey that’s when things get complicated. I would assume that most of us that have considered the possibility of Jester not being straight have read the excellent essay on comphet by tumblr user fuzzy-face ( https://fuzzy-face.tumblr.com/post/185001577009/you-make-your-own-fairytale-jester-comphet ), so I’m not gonna rehash what she’s said already. While I do agree almost wholeheartedly with this post, I’ll say this, I don’t think Laura Bailey when creating Jester set out to tell a story of a wlw learning how to overcome comphet. But (BUT!,!) I also don’t think her idea was Jester is totally straight and that’s that! I think she created Jester as a sexually and romantically inexperienced young woman that almost immediately got a crush on Fjord because, among other reasons, he reminded her of a hero from her smut books.

Recently, with the new upload of talks to the CR youtube channel, I rewatched this talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqJzNj_1tI , which is about the ep a Hole in the Plan, deep into the pirate arc, but before the first big Beau/Jester moment, the conversation they had in the boat on ep 46. First I must express my annoyance at the fact that Laura and Marisha are the guests and yet at least 80% of the questions are about Fjord. I know it was in his arc, but COME ON! Also I was very surprised by how open they are talking about Fjord/Jester as if it were a done deal alaready. When anyone involved in Talks claim that they don’t do shipping questions, you should show them this ep because it is all about shipping questions. Anyways, Laura clearly states that Jester has a crush on Fjord (at the time at least) and she compares it to a super intense high school crush. So to me there is no refuting the fact that at least at some point Jester had a crush on Fjord.

What I do find it interesting is when you compare her answers in that talks to what she said in the most recent talks she’s participated ( https://youtu.be/_NmZ2b_Q3So ) which seem to at least indicate that Jester has, on a level or another, moved on from said crush. It’s also, the now infamous moment where Laura talks about Jester’s crush...es. We’ll get back to that.

That’s all good and dandy, but this is meta outside the game. Let’s go analyze actual in-game developments. As far as I can remember (and I’m not an expert in Fjord/Jester, so I might be forgetting something) these are the moments Jester spoke directly or inderectly about her crush on Fjord; when Caleb point blank asked her if she was sweet on him (to which she answered “I don’t know” and let’s keep that in mind); when she talked to nott about first kisses and the best thing she can say about it is that it didnt make her feel dead, and to me the most significant moment; when she asks the traveler how to make a boy like her. Now, I’ve seen some people band about this as irrefutable proof that Jester IS straight, otherwise she wouldnt be asking the traveler advice about boys, but in this case she wasn’t talking about boys in general, she was talking about ONE boy and that was Fjord.

And that’s the crux of the matter isn’t it? Jester has demonstrated sexual/romantic interest in one man and one man alone, and that’s fjord. That does not mean she is straight. It doesn’t even mean that she, if a wlw, is bi. Her crush on Fjord has been wrapped around in all these expectations and I think its hard to parse how much was just projecting, among other things, the romance her parents had. Also, let me comment on how all these developments were long ago, during the pirate arc, over one year ago in real time.

Jester has commented about Fjord’s appearance and Caleb’s and even pointed out to Reani that hot boi Essek was hot, but its all done very matter-of-factly. And if we are going to talk about Jester commenting on people’s apperances we have to acknowledge how Jester cannot SHUT UP about how she finds women beautiful. From Beau to Nott, from Reani to random shop girl in Uthodurn and her obssession with the Bright Queen in particular its all very in your face. Once someone wanted to argue with me that this is just how straight girls air their insecurities, and even if that’s true and not just misogyny, the only time Jester commented on a woman’s apperance with any kind of insecure note was one time when she compared herself to her mother.

Look, the thing is, if we take at face value every comment Jester has made about Fjord’s looks and strenght, we also have to take at face value how distraught she looked and sounded facing the idea that Beau’s new vestiments wouldn’t let her abs show. Is it funny? Yes, but it’s funny for the idea that Jester is very appreciative of Beau’s abs, which, I’m still waiting for the straight explanation if anyone if willing to give me.

To end, this goddamned book that I’ve started, the thing that gives me the most certainty that Jester is not straight and that a Beau/Jester romance is not only possible but likely is that I do not believe Laura Bailey is cruel. If she had no interest in exploring the possibility of a not-straight Jester and a B/J romance she wouldn’t been doing what she has been doing for awhile now.

And what do I mean about that? I mean that even before Beau’s confession there’s been a different dynamic to their relationship. I already mentioned the “but can I see her abs????” incident, but also her encouragement about beau’s qualities and abilities (beau, you’re super strong), using the traveler as a proxy to her feelings (the traveler thinks you’ll do great, the traveler thinks you’re awesome, the traveler loves you), waiting to hold beau when she went up a column and showing disapointment when she didnt fell into her arms, listening to Beau regarding her wanting to confront her dad, being super, and I mean SUPER bummed out when Beau and Reani kissed and took a walk. And after the confession things ramped up.

Like, that was Laura Bailey listening to the conversation between Nott and Beau, not Jester. She could have had continued to play out their friendship as usual, but that’s not what she did. She used this opportunity to play the romantic possibility as never before. Making sure that Jester shielded Beau’s body in combat, being VERY specific that when her double cured her, she leaned over her body and put her hands to her face and even contradicting Matt, pointing out that when she woke up, it wasn’t the laughing hand that she first saw, but Jester’s face. And then there’s ep 89, the juiciest lavorregard ep since ep 46. It’s romantic comedy set up, one character confesses their love to a third one, and the one character who is the target of that love starts a conversation with “Are you avoiding me? Because I think I know why.” That’s a romantic trope ladies and gents, and Laura Bailey the genius she is played it to perfection. Not being sure why she was so upset about not curing Beau (a sentiment that battle mercy Jester has never expressed before). Wanting to punish Beau’s dad for not treating her right, getting to an agreement after arguing about tarot and molly. Afterwards engaging Fjord in an activity that she usually associates with beau, that goes disastrously and thanks to the dice gods, I could see, in real time the comphet melting away.

And concluding with the fact that she bet 20 extra gold on Beau on the down low.

So coming back to the idea of Jester having crush...es, to me is very clear those crushes are, the one she has/had on Fjord and her new emerging one on Beau. do I think Jester herself is aware of these feelings? Not really, but Laura sure is.

look this is not about being entitled or acusing anyone of queerbaiting if my ship doesnt pan out. its just, you know, laura’s sister is a lesbian, and I do think that gives people some perspective that they might not have, and I genuinely don’t think she would be playing things as she is, if she didn’t have any interest in playing out to the end.

#critical role #jester #jester lavorre #beaujester #lavorregard #this got super long and took me a few hours #but anyways these are most of my feelings regarding queer jester

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marvelslut16 · 5 years

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The Pirate’s Princess

Pairing: Harry Hook x reader part 2

Soulmate Au

Synopsis: The people of Auradon all have Soulmates. (Y/N) met her’s months ago on the Isle of the lost while trying to save Ben and bring Mal back. (Y/N) was forced to leave Harry on the Isle. Months have passed and (Y/N)’s soulmate makes a surprise return to her life.

Word count: 4067 (I genuinely thought it was longer)

Warnings: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN DESCENDANTS 3, I spoil the entire plot of the movie. More swear words than part one.

Author’s note: It’s like 4 in the morning, so there’s a good chance I have spelling errors. Also I love Ben and Mal, but this story definitely makes it seem like I don’t, whoops.

Part 1

Ben proposed to Mal. Right in the middle of the school grounds, in front of everyone, he sang a remix of did I mention. The song he created when Mal spelled him almost a year ago. The worst part was that he didn’t tell me, his own sister, that he was doing this. Not to be rude or anything, but she just ran away to the Isle in fear of her future. Now all of a sudden she wants to marry my brother?

“Congrats sis,” I put on a fake smile as she walks up to me.

“Thanks!” she pulls me into a tight hug before turning to Evie. “Did you know about this?”

“Of course!” the blue haired girl smiles. Wow, thanks Ben. It seems like everyone knew but his own twin sister, I thought we were close.

I sigh as I look down at my sad little compass, having no contact with Harry is killing me. What if he got tired of waiting for me and moved on to some Isle girl? What if he really is evil and was just playing with my heart when I met him? Ben’s the king, he could bring Harry over, but he won’t. One of the VK’s could have chosen him to come over, but with their past they definitely would have never picked them. They all know how much I’m hurting, they all know he’s meant for me, and yet none of them seem to care.

I look over at mom and dad, who are hugging each other and smiling at the golden boy. Their sweet baby with the giant heart that is so easily forgiven. They never once asked me about my soulmate, but they always asked Ben about his when his compass appeared. He was destined to be the king, and I was destined to live in the shadows. At least as much of the shadows as you can when your a princess. Taking a deep breath, I walk away from the group and to the privacy of the ocean. No one bothers me when I sit on the shore, something I’ve been doing every day since we got back, as I stare out at the horrid Isle that holds my soulmate captive.

Normally wherever Ben goes, I follow, some sort of diplomatic thing. Shows great honor, plus I was always the sibling to remember statistics and contributions made by the Princes and Princesses we were meeting with. Ben was always the charmer. But picking up the new kids from the Isle is where Ben drew the line apparently. I’m not allowed to go with, apparently I’m dangerous now. Ben and I used to be so close, inseparable, now he’s keeping secrets and keeping me away from my soulmate. There’s an ache in my chest, brought on by the separation from Harry, but worsened by my brother’s actions.

Jane isn’t one of my best friends, but we’re still pretty close and have been our whole lives. So of course I was invited to her birthday party, Carlos and I are on cake duty. He and I had agreed to meet at Evie’s cottage/filler castle and head to the party together. I dropped the cake off there last night.

“Okay, who ate Jane’s cake?” I hear Carlos shout as I enter the cottage.

“What happened?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen. Before he can respond, there’s a green flash and a wicked flash that came from the back patio. “Audrey?” I ask in confusion, I can recognize her laugh anywhere.

I walk out the door behind Jay, who stops abruptly and I run right into his back. I look over his shoulder and see Mal old and bent over. I gasp and my eyes widen, Audrey did this? How?

“Audrey has my mother’s scepter,” Mal says. “We need to get Hades’s ember, it’s the only thing strong enough to overpower the scepters powers.”

“I’m going with you guys,” I step out from behind Jay.

“No you aren’t” Mal slowly turns to look at me.

“And who’s going to stop me? You?” I laugh. “I’d love to see you try. I’m just trying to help you guys. Mal, you and Ben are already leaving me out of things ever since we found out Harry is my soulmate. I’m sick of it! It’s frustrating and belittling. I’m going with you, whether you like it or not.”

“There’s strength in numbers,” Evie agrees.

“You and Ben have been hurting her,” Carlos frowns.

“It’s kind of obvious,” Jay adds.

“Whatever,” Mal rolls her eyes.

“You can ride with me,” Jay smiles before walking back inside.

“This is so cool,” I breathe, as we walk into Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Arcade. Celia gives me a confused look. “We don’t really have arcade’s in Auradon, it’s more about courtly duty.”

As Celia asks her father for the key to Hades’s cave, I wander over to the tv with Carlos. He puts a coin into the top and the news from Auradon starts to play. The reporter is talking about how the sleeping curse is spreading, and that even though it’s rumored to be Audrey, it must be a villain doing it. I frown at his generalization that everyone from the Isle has to be bad. A magic barrier doesn’t magically make people evil or good depending on which side they’re on. We get the key and quickly dash out of the arcade and back to the bikes. Sitting atop the bikes are pirates, Harry’s sitting on Jay’s. I bite my bottom lip as I smile at my pirate.

“Get off my bike Hook,” Jay frowns.

“You shouldn’t have had my girl clinging onto you then,” Harry winks at me. My breath catches in my throat as I study is face. His hair is parted slightly different, and the eyeliner is thicker. To top it all off he’s in a new outfit; he has the same ripped white shirt, but he has a new red vest that’s so dark it almost looks black, and he has no pirate hat in sight. He’s even more handsome than I remember. With one last smirk to me, he’s driving off with his buddies.

Jay and the rest go to follow him to get the bikes back, but Mal stops Celia and me. “You two are coming with me.” I roll my eyes, but obediently follow my future Queen.

“I was a God!” Hades bellows. “I don’t belong here!”

“If it makes you feel any better, I never thought you should have been imprisoned on the Isle,” I speak up for the first time. “You’re stronger and have more power than and King or Queen could have.”

“I like this one,” Hades smiles at Mal, before turning to me. “I like you.”

“Dad,” Mal huffs. “Enough. We need the ember.”

I sigh, causing everyone to look at me with raised eyebrows. “The daughter of Maleficent and Hades, two of the most feared individuals, was allowed to come over to Auradon. I just want to brink over Captain Hook’s son, but no.”

“Now is not the time for that (Y/N),” Mal furrows her brows.

“Then when is it time?” I laugh humorlessly. “Because you and Ben have been avoiding this discussion at all costs.”

Mal frowns, but ultimately ignores me, grabbing the ember before heading to leave. I smile at Hades before following her out.

We meet up with the other’s, and walk out of the barrier. Just as it’s closing two bodies jump through. Two bodies that belong to Harry and Gil.

“Princess,” Harry smiles at me before picking me up and spinning me around.

“I missed you,” I whisper, running my pointer finger over his jawline. Gil high fives me after I reluctantly pull away from Harry.

“Did you miss me?” Uma asks from the water.

“Uma!” Harry, Gil and I cry out at once. Uma caught the Ember that Harry had almost knocked into the water when I was greeting Gil.

Uma and Mal argue about the Ember, and how it can’t get wet. Uma explains that she’s been trying to find a way for the kids to get off the Isle. Uma eventually turns back into a person and hugs Harry and Gil, before pulling me into a side hug as well. As Mal and Uma continue to argue, I stand between Harry and Uma, lacing the fingers on my left hand with Harry’s right.

We head to my castle to hopefully find Ben, but the only thing we find claw scratches on the wall. As we walk further into the castle, Harry subtly guides me behind him. I smile at his protectiveness, so he didn’t move on with some Isle girl.

We walk through the castle before eventually going into the hall of knights. Metal knight outfits line the walls. As Uma and Mal bicker for the hundredth time today, Harry and I notice one of the knights moving. This time there’s no subtlety in his actions, he fully pushes me behind him.

“Guys,” Harry tries to get their attention, which doesn’t work.

“Shut up!” I raise my voice at them for the first time, they all turn to look at me confused.

“Look at the knight,” Harry points out. Everyone looks at it and Audrey’s voice comes through commanding the armor to fight us. Everyone quickly grabs swords as the knights surround us, I stick with the pirates while the VK’s stick together, in a way it’s showing the separation in the groups, and which one I’m ultimately loyal to.

“I’ve got a strategy, you take the left,” Mal says to Uma, before whispering to the VK’s. “The rest of you can follow me.”

“Uh-uh,” Uma glares at her.

“This is my crew,” Mal argues.

“Well this is my squad,” Uma counters.

“This is my turf,” Mal argues further.

“Oh my gosh,” Evie complains. “Look guys, we have bigger fish to fry, put your differences aside. Because right now we’re on the same side.”

“You can go back to arguing later, this isn’t a joke,” I complain from Harry’s side.

The fight rages on and Uma and Mal work together to beat the knights. After they used their combined powers to stun them, Mal uses a spell to get them to copy our moves. Everyone starts dancing around to distract them, while I just stare with a raised eyebrow. The safety of Auradon and its people is in the hands of a group of dancing teenagers?

When the dancing somehow defeats the knights, everyone starts to celebrate, I of course am being hugged by Harry, but Uma and Mal almost high five. That is until they realize what they’re doing, and walk away from each other and stand on opposite sides of the room.

“We were a team, we worked together.” Evie tries to get the two sides to get along. “Uma? Mal? (Y/N), c’mon.”

“Yeah no,” I grunt along with Uma and Mal.

“Let’s try a little ice breaker,” Evie gets all excited. I give her props for staying optimistic through all of this. “I’ll start with Harry.”

��Ye really don’t have to,” he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me in tight.

“I like your accent,” Evie continues anyway. “And you and (Y/N) are really cute together.” Harry just stares at her, as I send her a little smile.

I get sick of their bickering on where to search next, and head out alone to the place I know she would go to. Fairy cottage. After a long walk I finally end up there, and I can hear her throwing things and Chad whimpering. Will she just give into the soulmate bound already? I know she isn’t happy it’s him, but he’s devoted to her, and she could honestly do worse.

“Audrey?” I shout through the door. “Let me in.”

The door opens to Audrey’s grinning face. “ How cute, you decided to come here and plead for your safety.”

“Hi (Y/N),” Chad dopily smiles at me.

“Shut it Chad,” Audrey snaps.

“Actually, I came here to talk,” I frown. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why am I doing this?” she laughs humorlessly as she rolls her eyes. “Because I lost everything! I lost Ben! I lost my spot as Queen! And I lost you! But Mal got everything I lost. If everyone wants a villain, I’ll give them one.”

“Audrey, you never lost me,” my frown deepens. “You have always been, and will always be my best friend.”

“You stayed my friend when they first came here, but you changed after the cotillion,” she deadpans.

“A lot happened on the Isle that you don’t know about,” I defend. “Audrey, I’m mad at Ben and Mal too, but I’m not attacking everyone because of it.”

“And what could possibly have you so mad at your perfect little Ben?” she asks.

“I met my soulmate on the Isle,” I sigh. “He’s friends with Uma, and he was actually the one to kidnap Ben when we were there. Ben refuses to let Harry come over and blows me off whenever I want to talk about it.”

“Is he here now?” Audrey asks, sounding like her real self for the first time.

“Yeah, he’s the one in the red vest with the eyeliner,” I grin at her. “It’s a little frustrating, ya know. Mal tried to steal the wand for her mom, but she gets stay. Harry just wanted off the Isle and he gets treated like he’s some big criminal.”

Audrey’s eyes snap to me, studying my face. “You’re tricking me!” she exclaims. “What has gotten into you?” I frown.

“Where are they?” she screams running from window to window. “You’re just trying to distract me until they can get here and stop me! Well that’s not gonna happen!”

Audrey uses the scepter and slams both Chad and me into a closet, before locking it behind us. “Audrey, I’m not tricking you,” I yell through the door.

“Of course you were! You wouldn’t dare speak ill of your king or Queen,” and with that, the door to the cottage slammed shut behind her, Leaving me locked in a closet with a whimpering Chad.

I don’t know how much time has passed, but I think I’m going crazy. It sounds like there are voices coming from outside the cottage. Chad finally just shut up, but thinking Audrey returned, sent him into another whimpering fest. Soon the door to the closet is opened to reveal Ben, who suddenly has facial hair and pointy teeth. Chad whimpers again, and curls tightly into my side, fearing that he’ll get more glass bowls thrown at him.

“Chad get off me,” I groan.

“Yeah mate,” Harry’s voice is low and threatening. “Get off my girl.”

As soon as Chad comes to his senses and gets off of me, Harry is pulling me up and holding me tightly to his side. He glares at Chad as he spins his hook around, almost daring him to look my way again. I lean into his side and place my right hand on his chest, almost instantly he starts to relax. Everything about being in his arms feels like safety and home, and I can’t keep the large grin off my face as he calls me his girl.

Chad runs from the house screaming that he’s free, and the rest of us set off to find Audrey.

“I want to know how you convinced them to help you,” Ben says to Mal.

“She promised that all of the kids that wanted to get off the Isle could,” Uma smiles.

“Mal?” Ben frowns.

“What’s going on?” I match my brother’s frown.

“I lied to you,” Mal stops walking and looks at all of us. “The kids won’t be coming off the Isle.”

“What do you mean?” Jay asks.

“The programs been shut down. And the barrier will be closed for good,” I strangled gasp escapes my lips.

Everyone starts talking at once, until Mal cuts in. “I did it for us,” she defends to the VK’s. “For the life we have here.”

As Mal and Evie argue, Harry turns to Ben. “You’re probably gonna throw us all back inside of it,” I laugh and shake my head when Ben doesn't deny it.

“This is bullshit,” I laugh, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Don’t do this,” Harry frowns at me. “He’s still you’re brother, and you’ll regret this.”

“No, he needs to hear this,” I look Ben directly in the eye. “It’s bullshit. You have no idea how happy I was, how proud I was of you, when you took my idea from when we were kids and made it a reality. You bringing these eight kids over is quite possibly the only good decision you’ve made recently. You’ve kicked me out of important meetings, left me out of the loop on all decisions you’ve made. It’s bullshit Ben, these kids have done nothing! And yet you’re leaving them on a miserable island to rot, when they’ve done nothing wrong. Uma, Harry, and Gil are risking their lives to save Auradon, and yet when everything’s magically fixed, they’ll be sent back. Audrey is my best friend, but we both know she’ll just get a slap on the wrist and everything will be forgiven. She won’t face punishment, and yet innocent kids do. It’s bullshit Ben, you knew before we were even off the Isle that Harry was my soulmate, and you’ve done nothing,” by now tears, both angry and hurt, are pricking the corners of my eyes. “You were content to sit on a big fancy throne with Mal at your side, and watch me be alone. You lost your soulmate for a day and you still complain about how painful that was. I haven’t seen mine in months, because you won’t bring him over, none of you will. It hurts Ben. You hurt Audrey, proposing to Mal in front of her. You may not be her soulmate, but she loved you. You both planned that she would be your Queen. And you don’t know, or care, about how painful that proposal was for me Ben. You told Evie that you were going to propose, but you didn’t even tell your own sister. But on top of that, I bet it didn’t even cross your mind how much it would hurt me to see you get your happy ending with Mal. You proposed to her right in front of me, knowing damn well that I would probably never get that moment, or any, with Harry. You never planned on bringing any of the pirates over after Uma refused to help. But I can’t tell if it was because of your encounter with them, or because of Mal’s past with them. Either way, it’s bullshit. We used to be so close Ben, but now I’m honestly embarrassed to be your sister.”

Harry pulls me into his chest, as he runs his hand through my hair. Before Ben can react, Celia grabs the ember from Mal, and throws it into a birdbath.

“No!” Mal screams.

“Bummer,” Uma deadpans. Harry and I follow her as she walks away.

“(Y/N) wait!” Ben calls after us.

“No Ben, I’m done with your lies. When this is over and you send the three of them back, I’ll be going with them. I won’t respect or listen to a king who has so little respect for his own people. Like it or not, the people on the Isle are your people too. And just like Dad, you don’t care about them.”

Everything’s over now. Audrey was taken down by Mal, and brought back from the brink of death by Hades. The pirates went back over to the Isle, Harry wouldn’t let me go with. Said I deserved better than the life he could give me on the Isle. What he doesn’t realize is that any life with him would be perfect. And just like I predicted, Audrey got away with no punishment, everyone’s acting like it never happened. Now here I am, standing up on a balcony with Ben, Mal, and my parents for their engagement party. None of us have really talked since I got mad at them, but they needed to hear it.

“I can’t do it,” Mal says after she’s called the future Queen. Everyone gasps, but I just roll my eyes. She goes on about how the people on the Isle are our people as well and they need to take care of them, hmmm sounds familiar. She even managed to fit it in that Hades is her dad, earning more gasps from the people.

Ben takes over the speech, “Mal’s right. We have been neglecting them, something (Y/N) has been trying to tell me since we were kids. Not only have I been a bad king to those on the Isle, but a bad brother to (Y/N). I’ve been keeping the truth from her, and knowingly hurting her. She was right when she told me that I didn’t seem to care about how she felt. I do care, but I’ve been purposely keeping her and her soulmate apart,” the crowd gasps. “As we brought in a new group of kids from the Isle, I made sure her soulmate stayed on the other side of the barrier. I didn’t care if he was different around her, better even, I let my own feelings for him cloud my judgement. I didn’t stop to think about how much she must be hurting. And I’m sorry (Y/N), for everything. I just want to be someone that your proud to call your brother.”

“Ben,” I give him a small smile. “It takes a lot of guts to say that in front of everyone, but I’m still hurt. And there are still so many kids on the isle that don’t deserve to be.”

“That’s why we need to bring the barrier down, unite Auradon and the Isle,” Mal grins. That’s definitely not something I would advocate, yes I want the kids off, and yes I don’t think Hades should be there since he’s a God. But some really bad people are on the Isle, and that could cause more chaos and trouble for Auradon.

Ultimately, Ben uses the well I’m king card to shut our parents up and let them do what they want. Fairy Godmother, shockingly, agrees wholeheartedly that the barrier should be brought down. So Mal uses the wand and a bridge connects the Isle to Auradon. We all rush down to greet the kids walking across the bridge. I smile as I see Harry and Uma leading the group.

I run and jump into Harry’s arms, wrapping my legs around his waist with little care that I’m currently in a dress. Harry laughs as he holds on tightly. “I’m never leaving ye again,” he promises.

Instead of verbally responding, I grab his face and pull him in for a kiss. It was slow and sweet, but conveyed all of our emotions. He sets me down so he can weave his hand through my hair while his hooked hand rests dangerously close to my butt. For the first time since we met, I don’t have to fear Harry being ripped away from me. I’m finally home.

“You look ravishing,” Harry lightly tugs the bottom of my red dress to bring me closer.

“I wish I could say the same about you,” I giggle softly as I play with his collar. “What’s up with the ruffles?”

“Isn’t this what ye royals wear?” he grins. “I was just practin’ for our future.”

“I like the sound of that,” I slide my arms behind his neck and bite my lower lip.

“Well get used to it, cause I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he leans in gives me a slow passionate kiss.

Behind us Jay and Gil are making plans to travel Auradon and see some of it’s spectacular sights. “They make really cute friends,” I smile over at the pair.

“It’s more than that love,” my brows furrow in confusion. “Their soulmates, Jay always denied it and because of that no one believed Gil. Thought he was just bein’ stupid.”

“Well I think they’re cute together. Now that Jay got over himself.”

“But not as cute as us,” Harry protests.

“Never,” I giggle.

Taglist-

@nightshade7117 @princessleah129 @travelnottogoanywherebuttogo @stormi-ames @bourbonandblow

#harry hook imagine #harry hook #harry hook x reader #descendants #Descendants 2 #descendants imagine #descendants 3 #soulmate au

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jurijurijurious · 4 years

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Rambles on watching PotC in reverse...

So I finished my "watching Pirates of the Carribean films in reverse order" thing. Had a blast, tbh, not seen them for so long it was almost like seeing some of it fresh and all the feels came back! The music is stunning, particularly in number 2 and 3; Hans Zimmer and co. knocking it out the ballpark. Gave me goosebumps!

Anyway, ramble ho!

I appreciate watching a series backwards is a bit odd. It certainly opens your eyes to the nuances (or weirdness) of character development that occurs, but instead of you seeing it flow naturally from origin to conclusion, you end up picking up on where all the little seeds were originally planted long after you've witnessed what the final "bloom" is going to be; a "reverse order" watching also highlights some gaping plot-holes and even the odd awkward and utterly retconned plot point (Jack's compass story, for example, appears to be completely re-written in the fifth film when it is clearly stated in the second that he bartered it from Tia Dalma. There could be a convoluted explanation but it certainly looks like a writing fuck-up, or a case of "we give no shits any more". I'm wondering if the team behind the fifth film even re-watched the other movies?)

I feel like I have much more respect for Elizabeth's character than I once did; I don't think I paid her nearly enough attention back in the day, and watching her story backwards made me recognise how, from the start, she was always more pirate than Will; she was brave, a total geek about pirate lore (her child-self was super excited at the very prospect of pirates!), and she was brave enough right at the start of her adventure to be asked to be taken to parley with the dread Captain Barbossa — just in her nightgown. (Christ, she even tries to kill him! Gutsy lass.) It is only natural therefore that she continues to use her wiles, cunning, and to a degree her sex, to trick and deceive whenever the need calls; in "Dead Man's Chest", she even uses this guile to sacrifice Jack to the locker!

She also, right from the start, learns a lot from ol' Barbossa, and this runs on into the third film; Hector Barbossa is no spring chicken but he has managed to remain captain of a ship of unruly thugs for nigh on ten years following his own mutiny of the original captain, Jack Sparrow. He would never have been able to hold onto that position without a measure of competence, skill and bravery. Elizabeth recognises this and, whether consciously or not, begins to both emulate and acquire knowledge from him, becoming something of a willing student to his ways.

Now this is something I should probably have taken on board more before as I used to write and read "Barbossabeth" fanfiction regularly (probably the most far-fetched alternate pairing in the saga; in reality, Hector is probably the only central male figure Elizabeth doesn't kiss/have a fling with/get engaged to at some point). In truth, as aforementioned, Elizabeth proves from the start to be a match for Barbossa, who is certainly no fool himself, but even in the first film, she starts to learn from him — his line about the pirate code being"guidelines" which he throws at her early on, she literally parrots nearly word-for-word when it suits her later on in the film; and in "At World's End", she works well with him in a team and soaks up how he holds a crew together and the way he rouses loyalty and action through skilled oration; his speech at the Brethren Court, for example, she again regurgitates later on in the film to galvanise her crew for battle. As a pair they banter and tease and argue, but push each other in the right direction when they need to be pushed, and, by the end of the third film, they have both respect and admiration for one-another. It's one of the most subtle but fulfilling character-and-relationship arcs across the original trilogy and deserves more attention.

On the ol' "Barbossabeth" note, to be frank, there's little sign in the films that they would or could be a romantic item; Barbossa teases her in the first film and seems like he might have an idea to make her a"pirate bride", but there seems little chance of him being able to subdue her spirit. There is that wonderful jokey moment in "At World's End" however, designed to trick us all, when Will asks Elizabeth to make her choice regarding his proposal of marriage to her (in the midst of battle) and Elizabeth shouts out in return "Barbossa!"

And just when we all think, along with poor Will, "what the Hell, when did he come into the equation?" she finally finishes her sentence and we realise she is asking Barbossa, in his capacity as the ship's captain, to wed her to Will. (I still remember seeing the film in the cinema and my heart popped at that moment — I'd take Barbossa any day.) But those of us who take a shine to Rush's scarred old sea dog can dream, I suppose.

I think when all's said and done, standing back and looking at these characters and what they go through, Barbossa comes out best at the end. Even though we are introduced to him as a black-hearted brigand who pillages and plunders with his cursed crew, and is allegedly "so evil Hell spat him back out", we finish up with a rogue who has aimed to live his best life, and whose dedication to his ship is unshakeable. When the Pearl is threatened by the Kraken in "Dead Man's Chest", Jack's first thought is to save himself and he sneaks off in a longboat; irrespective of the fact he does have a change of heart and comes back to save the day, we should contrast this with Barbossa's tale of the Pearl being attacked by Blackbeard: the ship is possessed and turns on him and his crew, the rigging coming alive like snakes, wrapping itself round and round his leg. In his head, Hector knows he has to escape to be able to live so he can plot to retrieve his beloved ship and save it from this dark magic; in order to do so, he cuts his own leg off to get away. There is no universe in which Jack Sparrow would have cut his own limb off to free himself, but Barbossa does; there's a steel and strength to this character I don't think is always fully appreciated; he sails the ship like a boss, will hold up in the darkest of battles, and ultimately in the final film gives his own life when he knows his time has come and he owes it to the child he has left behind. There's your hero; Jack Sparrow is your comic relief and nearly always goes in for self preservation.

The other behemoth of these movies which I can not fail to mention is Davy Jones. Though Captain Salazar is a force to behold as the creepy-ass, psychotic undead captain in the final film, the best real menace of the saga is Bill Nighy's captain of the Flying Dutchman. Hans Zimmer composes him a musical theme unlike anything we've heard before, a theme full of deep organ blasts which hits you with clout, and though Jones is entirely CGI, he is still utterly Nighy. To be honest, he's perhaps one of the most incredible CGI movie characters ever created; he looks utterly convincing as the rain pours down his face or his eyes flash at his crew. Considering he first appeared on our screens 14 years ago, this is one Hell of a feat; there have been few better CGI characters on the big screen since. He's extravagant and perhaps hams it up too much for some people to appreciate, but it's a pirates film, you expect extravagance; I never get tired of watching Davy Jones. A piece of artistic wizardry, a cinematic masterpiece.

I will probably think of more to wax lyrical about some time soon. I currently have a plan in my head for a storyboard I would love to get down, at least in sketches, though part of me would love to make a video to mock a scene up, all based on Barbossa's tale about how he lost his leg and the Pearl to Blackbeard. It'd make a cracking scene, I've no doubt, but it'll be a job and a half to realise

#potc #pirates of the caribbean #captain barbossa #davy jones #elizabeth swann #at world's end #dead man's chest #salazars revenge #on stranger tides #blackbeard #geoffrey rush #bill nighy #barbossabeth

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bigkyle990 · 3 years

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A Witchy Pirate part 3

Links!

Part 1

Part 2

A second jump in time, while not a major event, contains a good bit of fluff and some exposition of things that happened since the Payback War. This will also be last part taking place on Great Blue, so expect a return to the Boiling Isles coming next

About a year and a half had passed since the events of the Payback War and Luz found herself in a rather rare occasion of calm and relaxation on a Summer island. She was currently relaxing on the beach of the island Soleil, a rather nice resort-like island that was under the crew’s protection, due to its own resources being a usual target for pirates and the World Government. The island locals didn’t want to be part of the WG, much to the government’s own annoyance, and thus had originally looked to Whitebeard’s Crew for protection from most outside forces. With the old man dead and his crew long since disbanded after the war, Jaune had made the choice to try and claim as much of Whitebeard’s old territory as they could. Before Others could get to it.

They hadn’t been able to get to everything, Luz had some regret that they let Big Mom get to Fishman Island before they could, but regardless, they had been able to claim quite a bit. This had been the reason why things had been so busy for the last year or so. Not only was the crew starting to grow, as needed to make sure they could protect the islands they’d claimed, but the main crew had been turned into Commanders for divisions of the crew itself. Each now held their own ship to command and direct, normally operating in areas close to their territory to insure they could get to them if an attack should happen. Luz herself had been named the Fifth Division Commander and given a mass of pirates to command herself. It was nice to know that she was trusted, but man was it a lot of work to keep things running smoothly when she was away from the flagship and on her own. While her ship the “Owl Lady”, being a Galleon, was nice and spacious, it was just nice to be able to kick up her feet and relax for once. “Ah, so this is where you’ve been hiding.” Came a voice from behind her and a swift slap of a newspaper onto her face. “Been looking all over for you Luzy.” The voice continued as it made itself even more known by sitting right into her lap. Luz grunted from the sudden weight and pulled the newspaper down from her face with a bit of a disgruntled look. “Usagi… I’m relaxing here, it’s my day off.” She grumbled good naturedly, not at all unhappy to see her blond haired fellow commander and head navigator in her lap.

Even among most of the other members of the main crew, Usagi was an enigma of her own.

She was the Third Division Commander of the crew and currently stood at a bounty of 1.6 billion. A young blond woman, about the same age as Luz was now, her hair was cut much shorter than when they had first met 6 and half years ago. It now being cut to just past her shoulder blades, rather than being almost as long as the ship’s main mast. She may have only been half joking about that. She also liked to dress much more casually, wearing a simple silver tube top underneath a light blue jacket that was cut off at the midsection along with a pair of long jeans normally. At the moment of sitting on Luz’s lap, she was only wearing her jacket from her normal attire, the rest replaced with a silver swimsuit, not that she could go deep in the water, being a devil fruit user herself. She held a rather powerful Logia devil fruit called the Crystal Crystal Fruit, it’s powers allowing her to create, control, and become crystal itself. A power that made her effectively intangible to anyone that couldn’t use Haki or didn’t know her weakness.

Of course, none of that was the strange part about Usagi herself. No, the strange thing was that unlike the rest of the main crew, she hadn’t been pulled here by some strange force or power. Rather, she had been reborn here after previously being a princess of some far off kingdom known as the Moon Kingdom, and having gone by the name Serenity until this lifetime where she had been given the name Usagi. Some galaxy spanning kingdom that covered all but one planet in the system and fell because of an outside force. A spell had been cast on the princesses of the kingdom to have them reincarnated on a single planet, but had somehow messed up and had her reincarnated on Great Blue instead. It was nearly unbelievable, if she wasn’t also able to use some magic of her own and been on a crew of equally odd individuals.

“So, what’s this about exactly, Princesa?” Luz asked, moving the paper to the side instinctively as she knew the blond was going to snuggle her in the beach chair they now shared. As Usagi made herself comfortable next to Luz, she held the other side of the paper open for them both to read. “Well, Jaune thought you’d be interested to see today’s big news.” She grinned. The darker haired woman blinked as she looked up to the headline and couldn’t help but laugh. The headline read: Donflamingo Falls!! It then went into an article about how it was the alliance formed between “Straw Hat” Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates and “Surgeon of Death” Law of the Heart Pirates, that had taken down the powerful warlord and freed a country that he had taken over and declared himself king. At least that’s the information that was on the surface of the situation. “So they’re targeting Kaido, huh? Man the Worst Generation really does love to make noise.” Luz grinned as she read over the article. Like most higher level pirate crews, Luz and hers knew of Donflamingo’s black market activities. The man went by Joker, selling weapons, slaves, the works, all with protection from the government and one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, “King of Beasts” Kaido. “Seems that way,” Usagi giggled “but that’s not it, there’s word that back on Fishman Island, Straw Hat caused a bit of a ruckus there. He practically declared war with Big Mom to take Fishman Island as his territory instead. That was like a week ago” Luz let out another laugh and shook her head. “Straw Hat really does know how to start things doesn’t he? Next thing you know, he may come after us.” She grinned, continuing to read the article. It was fairly recent, but Jaune had been named the fourth Emperor of the Sea, taking the place Whitebeard had once held due to their increased territory in not only the second half of the Grand line, but even a few in the first half as well. This meant that he was considered on the same level as the likes of Kaido, Charlotte “Big Mom” Linlin, and “Red-haired” Shanks in terms of threat to the World Government. Usagi shrugged at that. “You never know, that could be his goal honestly, the guy is nuts.” She said honestly. “That he is, that whole crew is pretty nuts from the stories you hear. They’re gonna turn this whole world on its head, no doubt about it. And I for one hope I get to be there when it happens.” Luz grinned as she set the paper aside and went back to relaxing in the sun.

#fanfiction #fanfic #owl house #the owl house #one piece #sailor moon #luz noceda #usagi #mass crossover #crossover #crossover fanfiction #yes #Luz and Usagi have a thing on Great Blue #because bi Usagi is a thing and Seiya was always better than Mamoru!#fight me

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unfragilelove · 4 years

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when all is lost, then all is found. (1/1)

This is the idea that’s been knocking around in my head and refusing to let me rest until I spat it out on paper. I hope you all enjoy. <3 (begins post-Frozen 1, and ends post-Frozen 2.)

Frohana/Kristanna || No warnings/rating || ao3 link

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did you travel with ice harvesters as a child? Why didn’t you live in an Arendelle orphanage?” Kristoff just shrugs. “Because there isn’t one.”

aka: The royal family establishes the first orphanage in Arendelle, and the children are not the only ones who find a home within it's walls.

Arendelle has always prided itself on being well-run kingdom, fortunate enough to have an abundance of resources, plenty of trade, a fairly stable economy, and residents who rarely disturb the peace.

Which is why it comes as such a shock to Anna and Elsa when, in a conversation with Kristoff, full of quiet admissions and tales of their childhood, the topic comes up:

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did you travel with ice harvesters as a child? Why didn’t you live in an Arendelle orphanage?”

Kristoff just shrugs. “Because there isn’t one.”

Anna’s jaw drops and Elsa looks a combination of surprised and uncomfortable, both of the women falling silent for several long moments, seemingly at a loss for words.

“There isn’t one?” Anna speaks up first, her voice incredulous, “Not anywhere in our entire kingdom?”

“No. But, to be fair, it’s not like there are a lot of displaced kids in Arendelle.”

“But when there are,” Anna says, her voice rising with her building emotions, “When it does come up, and there are parents who can’t take care of their baby, or a kid whose parents die,” Elsa and Kristoff both wince a bit at that, and the waver in Anna’s voice speaks for itself, “We don’t have anywhere for them to go?”

Kristoff presses his lips together in a tight frown, unable to find the words to ease her mind. Admittedly, it does bother him, too— the thought of other children growing up without homes, and perhaps not ending up as fortunate as he did. (Trolls they may be, but they’re his family, all the same.)

“I feel awful, for not even knowing.” Elsa says, her voice quiet and eyes pensive.

“Up until a few months ago, you two spent your entire lives inside the castle walls. It’s not your fault that you don’t know every inch of Arendelle yet.” Kristoff says, looking at the two downtrodden sisters, and hoping to assuage some of their guilt.

“But we can change that, right?” Anna asks, though her voice leaves little room for argument. “We could create a place where kids can be safe. Somewhere that they can stay until they find home and families, somewhere they don’t have to be alone anymore.”

None of them seem inclined to disagree.

It’s a fairly small thing, Arendelle’s Home for Children, but it’s plenty homey, with plush blankets on warm beds, and boxes full of toys, and a view of the fjord through the dining room window. It’s located right outside the castle gates, too, which makes overseeing the building process all the easier. (They all play a role in it’s creation, Kristoff helps with a lot of the hands-on work, Elsa oversees the plans, and Anna is the creative force behind it all, offering ideas and helping in any way she can.)

The demand for an orphanage was not immense, but it's a cause that proves itself more than necessary.

This rings particularly true, when it hasn't even been a week after they finish painting the outer walls, and they are approached by a woman, tears rolling down her face, a young toddler in her arms. A child that is not hers, but her brother’s, who went out for what was supposed to be a two-day trek into the mountains and failed to return alive, and she simply can’t raise the boy herself anymore, she’s sorry, so sorry--

(It isn't long at all before a couple-- two lovely women, both skilled blacksmiths-- tentatively come into the Home. They’ve wanted a child of their own for years now, and considering the way the couple’s eyes well up with tears when the two tiny hands reach up toward them, Anna, Elsa and Kristoff all have no doubt they made the right decision.)

As time passes, the amount of children in the Home ebbs and flows— thankfully, they’ve rarely had more than five residents at any given time, and in the two whole years since it’s been open, they’ve said tearful farewells to almost a dozen children who’ve found happy homes with new parents.

Turns out, there are kids in Arendelle who need a safe place to live, but there are also plenty of couples-- same-sex couples, or ones who cannot bear children, or individuals who simply want to adopt a child into their life-- who are equally grateful for the opportunity to expand their family.

It may be far from a lucrative business, but it’s brought them far more fulfillment than any amount of coin could.

When they first opened Arendelle’s Home for Children, Gerda had offered her assistance in running the place. Anna, who remembered how kind she was to her as a child, knew she’d be as good a fit as any. And now, coming up on two and a half years into the endeavor, it still rings true. However, while Gerda remains the primary live-in caretaker, the royal family’s presence has been far from absent.

Kristoff spends a fair amount of time down in the Home, often bringing Sven, who happily brays and lets the kids hang off his antlers, or ride on his back. He can’t help but talk for Sven, too, which almost always makes the younger children giggle and squeal in delight.

There’s one little girl there, Sylvi, with pale skin and tangled blonde hair, who mostly keeps to herself— she’s nonverbal, and hasn’t quite warmed up to any of them yet, curling away from any sort of physical contact.

(They’re not sure if she was born that way, or if it’s a coping mechanism, or some combination of both. They know next to nothing about her past, but they’ll do everything they can to ensure her a happy future.)

She still remains rather closed-off, despite being at the Home for a few months now. But then, on a crisp Spring morning, something incredible happens-- Kristoff breaks out in Sven’s voice, and Sylvi’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. She smiles-- the very first smile they’ve seen cross her face in all the time she’s been there-- and she wanders over to bury her hands happily in the thick texture of the reindeer’s fur. It’s the most progress they’ve seen her make thus far, and Kristoff has never felt prouder.

Meanwhile, Anna spends any free time she has at the Home, too-- enthusiastically telling the kids stories of her adventures, (usually with Olaf at her side, reenacting the scenes with equal enthusiasm.) And she’s almost always bringing the kids more toys. (“Your highness, how many times must I insist there are already too many toys to keep the place tidy!” “Oh, come on Gerda, how am I supposed to be considered a kind and generous princess if I don’t spoil my favorite little Arendellians! Plus, Kristoff and I already started building them bigger toy boxes, don’t worry.”)

There’s a boy there, Fredrik, with wild curly locks and a gap-toothed grin, who always runs and flings himself into Anna’s arms. He, too, always has a new story to tell— of he and the other kids playing pirates, or this baby rabbit he saw in the woods, or the way he swears there’s a sea monster in the fjord. Sometimes he’ll stop himself mid-sentence, as though realizing he’s rambling, and stumbles over an apology-- in a way that feels painfully familiar to Anna. But she’ll be damned if she makes a child feel any of the same inadequacy she did. With a shake of her head and a smile, she’ll urge him on, “Well, don’t leave me hanging! You’ve gotta tell me what happened next!”

The way his face always brightens in response is worth more than anything in the world.

Elsa stops by frequently, as well— though at first it had taken her a bit longer to get used to being around children, mostly due to the fear she still wasn’t fully in control of her powers. Once she had begun to visit, though, the children quickly grew on her, and she’ll often make them little flurries and piles of snow to play in during the hot summer months. There’s an older girl in her late teens, named Runa— who starts to sit next to Elsa while the younger children play. Runa is mostly blind, but she often requests little ice sculptures from Elsa, a smile always gracing her face as she runs her fingers along the frigid curves of each figurine. Of course, they have plenty of wooden toys that could serve the same purpose. So one day, Elsa can't help but to ask, “Doesn’t the cold bother you?”

Runa shrugs, “I’ve never minded it.”

Perhaps it’s not so much the ice figurines she enjoys, as much as it is the company and kindness of another.

Of course, all the children who have come into the Home hold special places in each of their hearts. It’s a complicated sort of love, as every farewell they have is a bittersweet one (it means they’ll see the child far less, if at all-- but it means they've found a real home, which is so, so good.)

And on a similar vein, every child they watch get passed up by potential families breaks their hearts.

It's Autumn when a lot changes in an incredibly short span of time. By the time the dust fully settles in Arendelle, Anna’s both engaged and coronated as Queen, Elsa lives in the Enchanted Forest with the Northuldra, and there’s an entire chunk of their kingdom’s history that needs retelling. For Anna, in particular, the queendom comes incredibly natural to her— but the journey it took to get there, the mass of secrets their family kept, holding Olaf as he perished, the gripping fear that she was truly alone , followed by nearly dying on the dam-- well, that all is a bit harder to come to terms with.

Eventually, though, things calm down enough for them to fall back in to a mostly normal routine, and they waste no time visiting the Home regularly once more. There, they find a couple new residents, and, unfortunately-- three familiar faces who’ve yet to find homes.

Sylvi, despite most families passing her by, makes great strides-- she warms up to Kristoff through her comfort around Sven, and begins to trust the sisters, too. Elsa, with her calm and composed demeanor, seems to put her at ease. And Anna, though far more excitable than her sister in nature, is always careful to not to overstimulate or stress the child out. Eventually, the first time Sylvi makes proper eye contact with someone is with Anna, her curious little eyes becoming absolutely fixated on the princess’s face as she tells her a story. The little one doesn’t even seem to realize she’s doing it, and yet it takes Anna all the willpower she can muster to stay focused on the tale she’s weaving, and not start to cry right then and there.

Fredrik, meanwhile, is a lovebug with just about everyone, as outgoing as ever and never seeming to run low on energy. He loves nature, always asking to ride Sven, or picking up little snails off the cobblestone path and moving them to safety, or doodling different plants he finds throughout the town. He can almost always be found running around playing with Olaf, or dragging the other children into games, or asking Kristoff and Anna to take him on hikes, or running headfirst into a snow pile Elsa made-- (to which she quickly has to add extra snow to cushion him from hitting the ground beneath, and dear gods , these children will never fail to keep their reflexes sharp.)

Elsa, although no longer living there, still visits Arendelle rather frequently. While it’s their family game night that keeps her coming back weekly, she makes time to visit the Home, as well. Despite it being a regular occurrence, Runa’s face never fails to light up when she hears Elsa’s voice. It always makes her heart feel full-- that is, until the day Gerda pulls her aside and shares that they haven’t had many potential adopters, lately, and those that do visit are almost never interested in Runa.

“Beyond being blind, she’s nearly an adult, in most people’s eyes.” Gerda tells her in a whisper, her voice thick with sadness. “And I fear she may not find a family before that day comes.”

It sticks with Elsa, the words ringing in her ears and refusing to grant her peace. She feels like it’s the siren’s call all over again, something nagging in the back of her mind, except instead of being mysterious and exciting, it’s an echo of a far more grim reality. She returns to the Enchanted Forest that night, and it’s several weeks before she visits the orphanage again.

“You came back!” Runa exclaims when she returns, “I was starting to think you forgot about me.”

“Quite the opposite, actually, I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. There’s something I need to speak to you about.” A sharp breath, and then: “How would you feel about coming to live with me and the Northuldra?”

A few more months pass, and while the newest children have come and gone from their system in nearly record time, Sylvi and Fredrik still remain. It’s just the two of them in the Home now, and with the holidays only days away, it doesn’t appear they’ll find homes before the new year.

As a result, Kristoff and Anna, in addition to the time they spend with them during the day, have taken to inviting the kids for dinner with them in the castle, most nights. (“They deserve to eat in a proper home, you know?” “Of course, and I’m sure Gerda will enjoy having the afternoon off--” “Right, and Fredrik didn’t get a chance to finish telling us about how he saved that baby bird!”

“And really, no child deserves to feel alone this time of year.”)

It’s not the first time they’ve all eaten in the castle together, but there’s something about the way Sylvi erupts into a fit of loud giggles when Fredrik puts a carrot up his nose to imitate Olaf, or the way Kristoff feigns shock to amuse the kids each time he looks away only to find more and more brussel sprouts being snuck onto his plate, or the way Fredrik, with a belly already full of hearty food, looks at the dessert tray being brought in and says, “Man, I love you guys.”

The moments are happy ones, and yet Anna’s chest aches while watching how well these two children seem to settle into their everyday life. The Home would continue to keep them safe and comfortable, yes, but it’s still not… well, a home .

The short trek back to the orphanage that night is a heavy one, as they know the kids need to be back in their own beds, but find that it’s getting harder and harder to say goodbye each time. Sylvi tucks her nose into the crook of Anna’s neck as she carries her, no longer terrified of touch as she once was (at least, not from Kristoff and Anna.) And Fredrik sits on Kristoff’s shoulders, his boundless energy finally waning as his eyes droop closed.

They tuck them in and say their goodnights, returning home to a castle that suddenly feels far too empty.

It’s only a few hours later, when Kristoff and Anna decide to retire to their room for the night. The two of them are quietly getting ready for bed when Kristoff speaks up, his voice tentative.

“Anna, do you, uh-- do you still want to have kids?”

“I do. Why? Wait, are you having second thoughts—“

“No, no, definitely not! I still do too. I really do.”

Anna watches him, her fingers playing absent-mindedly with his hair as she waits patiently for him to get to the point he’s clearly trying to build toward. He takes a deep breath, and then:

“Do you want only... biological children?”

Her heart swells as it occurs to her where he’s heading with this, and she wonders how she got so lucky, to find someone whose soul aligns so perfectly with her own.

“Not at all," Anna says, and oh, she can already feel the tears building in her eyes, "I’d be happy raising a child with you, however they come into our life.”

“So say there was a boy with curly hair and a kind heart, as feisty as you, to slide down the bannisters with--”

“Or maybe a little blonde like you, who trusts us more than anyone, quiet but brave as can be, who comes out of her shell more and more every day--”

“Or both?” He asks with a sheepish, yet oh-so radiant grin, and Anna mirrors it tenfold.

“Yeah. Both sounds good to me.”

#kristanna fanfic #frohana #kristanna #kristana ff #kristanna fic #(sort of au sort of canonverse idk idk)#kristanna au #frozen #frozen 2 #kristanna fanfiction #frohana fic #adoption fic #my fic

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snowbellewells · 4 years

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CS Fic Rec Monday: Fics I Loved in 2019 /// July - September

Continuing my goal to celebrate the fics I most enjoyed last year, here comes by third list of great fics for 2019. Again, I am sure there were even more, but these were the ones I remembered or found in scrolling by through my history...

“Break Me” by @thisonesatellite

It’s hard to believe it’s really only been about six months since I discovered and started reading Stephanie’s incredible and affecting stories! And this one was the one that reeled me in! An amazingly unique, heartwrenching, and thrilling supernatural fic that you just won’t be able to put down. I certainly couldn’t! (I also discovered her older short MC “it’s our scars that give us character” during this time frame, for a bonus suggestion. :)

“A Drowning Soul Will Clutch at any Straw” by @shireness-says

This one shot was written for last year’s @cssns event, and features a pirate Killian and his discovery of a mermaid Emma. Where they go from there is so beautifully well-done it reads like a true classic fairy tale. It’s lovely and inventive, and I can almost guarantee you’ll want to go back to it again and again.

“Sadie Hawkins Dance” by: @searchingwardrobes

Okay, so I just had to list this particular fic from Melanie’s Fandom Birthday Playlist separately, as it was written for my birthday!! ;) <3 I loved every little bit of it, but it feels particularly special since Emma and Killian are teachers like me in this modern au version, and it’s so touchingly sweet and perfect how they go from friends to more. (Other birthday playlist highlights in this time period: “If I Fall” and “Your Love is a Song”)

“Just Human, Volume 2″ by: @donteattheappleshook

This touching story is also from last summer’s @cssns event, and a take on the BBC’s show Being Human, with Emma, Killian, and David as the ghost, vampire and werewolf roommates. I love how emotionally affecting this was. It has really stayed with me ever since reading it.

“One Day” by @darkcolinodonorgasm

Another @cssns fic that just reeled me in right from the start and hasn’t let go of my imagination since! I love the version of a cursed Storybrooke the author has created, and her Henry just struck me right in the heart. This WIP has me hanging on every update to see how things will finally be put right.

“Historical Inaccuracies” by @thejollyroger-writer

This is a lovely July 4th flavored fic with a fun CS and Charming family feel and just a happy modern au one shot. Such an entertaining read with an adorable little Leo Nolan for added irresistibility. :)

“Rainbound” by @profdanglaisstuff

This one shot sees Emma and KIllian stranded at his remote cabin, thinking they hate each other, but over the course of their time there, they find they have more in common than they’d realized. It’s beautiful how they come to this, and the connection that flares between them.

“On What They Fall” by @profdanglaisstuff

This story of Emma and Killian as younger versions of themselves in a non-magic AU will tug on every single one of your heartstrings all throughout the course of it! You will ache for Emma and for Killian both, even as they cause each other more pain with misunderstanding and self-doubt. It makes the hard-earned ending all the more glorious a reward though! Plus, there’s lovely CaptainBook in this one as well - which I always love! ;)

“The Very Witching Time” by @profdanglaisstuff

Oh my goodness!! This entry to last summer’s @cssns event features a witch!Emma and perhaps the most completely adorable version of Killian I’ve yet read. I don’t want to spoil all the lovely thrills and chills of this one, but if you missed it, you’re in for a supernatural treat!

“Time and Again” by @kmomof4

This engaging and completely romantic take on Killian and Emma as soulmates destined to meet even in a non-magical modern AU is wonderful!! It has mutiple chapters, but you’ll want to devour it all in one go to see as our lovely OTP’s connection strengthens and their True Love grows.

“Sick of Love” by @spartanguard

This one was such an interesting take on the whole idea of soulmates and how they find each other. I could feel Emma’s pain and how torn she was all throughout it and how much Killian wanted to reach out to her. Neither of them could ignore how drawn to each other they were - really amazingly well-written!!

“Mistress of the Sea” by @let-it-raines

This lovely short series of one shots has such an appealing take on the Captain Wench version of Emma and Killian. I love how they meet, how they completely charm each other - changing the course of both their lives up to that point - and set out together on their own new adventure! You don’t want to miss this one!!

“An Education in Southern Gothic” by @searchingwardrobes

Man alive! This entry into the @cssns19 event has just the right about of thrills and chills without becoming too much for a definite chicken like me. I honestly can’t resist Killian as a teacher/professor, which Melanie gives us here, and the mystery surrounding the school, as well as the still very real threat reaching its claws into the present will make you unable to stop reading this one until you reach the end. There’s friends to love romance, pining, suspense, supernatural danger, both Captain Cobra and Captain Book friendship, and just everything you could want in a fic really!

“Took My Soul, Wiped It Clean” and “Echo” by @shireness-says

Two lovely, feelsy and AMAZING one shots I discovered during this time period. “Echo” is a much more deeply layered and affecting take on heart-sharing, and “Took My Soul, Wiped it Clean” has one of the most heartwarming daddy!Killian versions I’ve ever read (and one of the most engaging and perfectly formed CS kids I’ve read as well!)

“Until the Day Breaks and the Shadows Flee” by @searchingwardrobes

This alternate take on the Cupid and Psyche myth also brings to mind previous of versions of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and gives nods to elements of the OuaT 5b Underworld arc (but much more affectingly written!) I loved Emma’s bravery in this one, and how she and Killian tentatively move toward affection and genuinely knowing each other’s hearts. Achingly lovely!!

“Life Meant Nothing Until You Used My Toothbrush” by @let-it-raines

This one shot first written for last year’s @csseptembersunshine event is one of my favorite of Raines’ MANY awesome stories. I love the cozy small town feel of it, how it’s a bit of a mash-up with Gilmore Girls, and the friendship Emma and Killian have and the way it finally becomes romantic for them as well. :)

#cs fic rec monday #csfrm #fics I loved in 2019 #july - september

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