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rhenuvee · 10 months

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Do They Get Invited to the Fontaine Masquerade Ball? [Mondstadt]

A/N: Based on my post where I begged Hoyo to give us a Fontaine masquerade ball event. If they don't, this is the post I am using to quench my thirst.

Warnings: This is just my opinions and thoughts! If you think differently it is okay! (In my original post I said that I thought that the "higher-ups" would get invited so that is what I'm basing it off), written in an informal way, not all characters have headcanons!

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Yes - Jean, Kaeya, Diluc, Eula

Jean: She's anxious that something may go wrong if she's not there, especially with Klee. Lisa reassures her that everything will be okay (Lisa can be strict too so I think they'll be fine). Her co-knights (and Diluc) try to comfort her as well saying it is something to be proud of for her. I think she starts feeling better when she receives compliments from other guests of her being the acting grand master.

Kaeya: Was surprised he was going, because he thought Jean would've asked him to stay (Diluc: the Knights of Favonius are inefficient, you really think you'd stay?). He remembers that one time his adopted father was away for two days for the ball, and can't fathom that he'd get this chance. I just know his outfit for the masquerade ball is e x t r a v a g a n t.

Diluc: He remembers his father getting invited, so now it's his turn. He is hesitant on going, since there is business to take care of with the winery, possible memories of his father, and of course- his "dear" brother who is also attending. He probably is asked to bring wine by the organizers. When he gets dressed, Kaeya's like huh you're not wearing the darknight hero mask? And if you listen closely you can hear retribution.

Eula: Also surprised she got an invite because of her lineage... but on the other hand, she is not her ancestors, nor is she getting invited for that reason. Amber is excited for her and begs her to tell her all about it when she comes back. She is the best when it comes to the ballroom dancing part.

No - Amber, Lisa, Barbara, Razor, Bennett, Noelle, Fischl, Sucrose, Diona, Rosaria, Mika, Klee

Most of them are too young anyway... however that doesn't stop them from getting excited about a ball even though they cannot attend.

Fischl: She claims she is not jealous, because in her kingdom they have their own masquerade ball. Fontaine has an exquisite ballroom with the most brilliant chandeliers? The Immernachtreich has a better one, all purples and black with candles and Oz themed lights. She immediately organizes it along with asking her mom to make her favourite cold cut platter, and invites all her friends.

Bennett: Hears about Fischl's masquerade ball and is very much convinced that her's sounds better than Fontaine's. When he attends Fischl's ball, (well it looks better in her head but) he thinks it's the most amazing event he'd been to.

Klee: She is sad that Kaeya and a few of her other friends have to leave, though it's only for a bit. Klee asks him to bring back something like a Fontaine-Dodoco, Kaeya chuckles and says sure. Lisa and Albedo are the main people who have to keep her out of trouble.

Razor: Potatoes.

Well... - Venti, Mona, Albedo

Venti: If this guy can somehow make it to Lantern Rite and Irodori, then he can get to the ball. Not saying he was ever invited, but something tells me he has a scheme twirling his fake mustache and sneaking in. I won't deny that it would be fun to see him at a masquerade ball. Insert Diluc's deadpan face when he sees an alcoholic bard made his way to Fontaine. Venti makes up a fake title- "The Best Wine Taster of Teyvat"

Mona: She has wrote on the Steambird which drew in a lot of readers, so I think she has a good chance of getting invited. She'd be able to connect with any Fontaine fans that enjoy her astrology columns. I also think her outfit would be very elegant.

Albedo: I feel like he has a chance of getting invited but declines for two reasons. One because he has a lot of research to do and two, because someone needs to keep Klee from blowing up Mondstadt (and possible sus-bedos on the loose). I believe if anything, Sucrose would be the one to convince him to go since there could be more things alchemy related to discover in Fontaine, or other alchemists or scientists to meet.

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mercuriallycooperative · 1 year

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so i was reading a bunch of star wars fanfic (i have not actually watched star wars yet. shh.) and ruminating about how clearly the Jedi teachings have a serious disconnect between what they ostensibly mean (as a perfectly stable space philosophy based on a perfectly stable nonspace philosphy) and how they are presented, definitely irl (i.e. a number of people being like NO ATTACHMENTS?! NO EMOTIONS?! HOW CAN YOU NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU GOVERN?! HAVE YOU NO COMPASSION?! when i am given to know that is in fact strictly incorrect) and presumably also in-universe because i have a very limited view of what exactly happened in Anakin's head during Everything but popular consensus seems to be that There Was A Disconnect. and also possibly he needed therapy he maybe didn't get, and also possibly that since the Jedi didn't usually take in older initiates, they were legitimately unprepared to raise someone with different fundamental foundational ideas, even notwithstanding his specific circumstances.

*anyway*

then i jumped to reading a youjo senki fanfiction where Tanya was doing the 'i believe strongly in the intensely rational and try not to let myself be ruled by emotions because that's foolish and inefficient, what do you mean i am not always self aware about that' thing. (i have personal interpretations of Tanya but they're neither here nor there for the purposes of this thought.)

and then i made the connection of hey, what if post-life-as-Tanya she got yeeted into star wars? i mean you could also do some neat things with Salaryman getting yeeted directly there without being in youjo senki proper first, idk, but the main point is just... what sort of Jedi would Tanya be? because like her thing about ah yes we must not let emotions rule us, rational behaviour is the only way forward, *is* in direct opposition of any YOU MUST USE EMOTIONS TO FUEL THE DARK SIDE or whatever is going on there, like, that shit is something Tanya would be explicitly philosophically opposed to. (especially if she doesn't have to go full magical doping into combat.)

on the other hand Tanya is... her decisions do not make her seem like an ideal Jedi, to the untrained eye. also while i personally interpet her even as Salaryman to have been neuroatypical as heck and therefore (mood) having a somewhat nonaverage experience with how emotions work, i feel also like there are some that she probably does just... not unpack properly? like, in a way that impedes inner peace and self-understanding or something, idk. which i feel like would be a quiet albatross around any potential Jedi teachings she may or may not absorb?

like i said idk, but mostly it would be interesting to explore the idea of how Tanya would react to getting isekai'd again, now into Star Wars, maybe as a baby Jedi. even notwithstanding how you could use her to fuck up the entire plot of Star Wars in basically any way you see fit, her relationship with the philosophical structure would be interesting to explore. also there are many ways you could append Being X to that superstructure, or, like, unappend him, and I think that would be neat.

#youjo senki #saga of tanya the evil #star wars #my contribution #it was one of #tanjaded #'s youjo senki fate crossovers that i was reading btw #the saga of tanya the evil

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kanerallels · 9 months

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#33, 47, 74, and 99 for the 501st follower celebration?

I shall FINALLY answer this one, in honor of the Ahsoka show coming out in LESS THAN TWO HOURS I'M TOTALLY NORMAL AND STABLE (lie)

33: Hera & Lucy are famous singers and Tim, Jackson, and Kanan are their bodyguards Au. The title says it all. Plus also Nolan is their agent. Have a little snippet below:

“I still can’t believe Nolan got us BODYGUARDS,” Lucy complained, pacing as best she could in the enclosed space of Hera’s trailer. The other woman gave her a patiently amused look.

“In his defense, Lucy, we’ve both received plenty of death threats.”

“Yeah, well, this is invasive,” Lucy grumbled, flopping down onto the couch. “That Bradford guy is already the grumpiest drill sergeant of a guy I’ve ever met.”

“I didn’t think he was that bad.”

Scoffing, Lucy said, “How would you know? You were too busy flirting with your bodyguard with the ponytail.”

“I was not!” Shooting her an offended look, Hera said, “All I’m saying is that we should make the best of the situation.”

“You do that.” Frowning thoughtfully, Lucy said, “I, on the other hand, am going to try and get rid of them. Especially Bradford.”

“This should end well,” Hera sighed.

47: Frank gets Snapped. Also pretty self explanatory!

“So let me get this straight,” Frank said slowly, trying to wrap his mind around what he was being told. He was used to a world where things were, if not straightforward, at the very least no magic was involved. “This alien guy—”

“Thanos,” Amy provided as she poured them both a cup of coffee.

“Right, him. He snapped his fingers and erased half of humanity?”

Nodding, Amy said, “Pretty much. Well, it helped that he had these magic gems called Infinity Stones that controlled key aspects of the universe—”

Holding up a hand, Frank said, “Too much.”

“Right. Sorry.” Sliding him his coffee cup, she said, “Anyways, long story short, now you guys are back… after five years.”

Frank cursed under his breath, running a hand over his forehead. “Five years. What— who else? Besides me?”

He knew the first name that leapt to mind, but reluctantly pushed it aside to ask, “Curtis?”

“He was fine,” Amy assured him. “He was the first— well, second person I called when everything went down.” They both knew who the first person was. “He and I teamed up to look for some of the others. That’s how I met your friend David Lieberman.”

Frank’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. He was really helpful in finding everyone. He, uh— his wife got snapped. But both of his kids were fine.”

Wincing at the memory of Sarah— the kind woman who’d offered him that fancy wine— Frank said, “Got it. What about, ah, Madani?”

“She made it,” Amy assured him. “Mahoney didn’t, though.”

Nodding slowly, Frank said, “Right. And you found some of the others?”

“Yeah, David’s hacking skills made him pretty helpful. Other people hired him for it, too.” Amy half-grinned. “We thought we found you alive, one time. This guy hunting down crime lords. But Curtis figured you weren’t the sword type, and this guy, apparently, “didn’t move like you”, whatever that means.”

“Sword, huh?” Frank took a sip of his coffee. “Seems inefficient.”

“See, you say that, but he managed to kill a whole crap ton of guys. Major assassin skills going on there.”

“Huh. Not bad.” Frank took another long sip, playing for time before he asked the question. He was already scared of the answer. “What about, uh—”

“Karen made it,” Amy told him before he could force the words out. “She didn’t think you were sword guy either– although we were all a little disappointed. Her lawyer buddies didn’t make it, though.”

Frank grimaced at the thought— Karen alone, without Red or the shorter guy who’d been scared at the sight of him, but still stubborn and smart. She’d been alone for five whole years. She hadn’t known where he was for five whole years.

Time to fix that. Downing the rest of his coffee, he rose to his feet. “I gotta go.”

Smirking, Amy said, “I figured. Let me get my stuff— New York is a long drive.”

74: The Wraiths being trained by Vostress. I've posted this one before, but I have another snippet for you, as a treat!!

99: B99 Au. Believe it or not I actually have multiple Brooklyn 99 inspired aus. This one is set in the Star Wars universe and is MUCH chaos, very fun.

“So let me get this straight,” Fox said, staring at Kanan. “Not only did you lose the criminal Dark O’Reilly again—”

“Less lose and more he slipped out of our clutches,” Kanan offered.

“—but you spent part of the time that you should have used trying to thwart him to sing karaoke with him?”

Shrugging, Kanan said, “What can I say? He does an excellent “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

Fox let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead with a grimace. “How is someone as intelligent as Syndulla in love with you?”

Grinning, Kanan said, “I ask myself that question every day, Captain. Honestly, I’m so lucky to have her. She’s incredibly beautiful and smart and—”

“Get out of this office.”

“Absolutely.”

#thanks for the ask!#i'm actually very proud of the punisher one #star wars rebels #swr #kanan jarrus #commander fox #the punisher #frank castle #amy bendix #chenford #lucy chen #kanera #hera syndulla #501st follower celebration #kastle #writing stories is a kind of magic too

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shiapetdiary · 5 months

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Ok let me explain

How truly crazy I am.

I had a flight to Kansas City to see my lovely friend, in order to maintain our long distance friendship. I bought a plane ticket for $200, even though it is only a 5 hour drive away from where I live, even though my stay was only two nights. I am aware that choosing the illogic inefficient route reveals me as a weakie.

We were all seated on the plane and I was about to fall asleep because it was 4am. I was dreaming about having brunch with my friend upon arrival. But after a while I realized we had not moved, and they announced the flight was delayed.

People clomped with irritation back into the airport. Some people sat in the waiting area, and some people formed a line at the front desk. But I didn’t want to wait because I’m tech savvy and know how to expedite things using the internet, and not a weakie. I called American Airlines to change my flight to a different airline leaving from my airport. The person on the phone and I were both calm and softspoken, in a way that acknowledged that her job was probably not ever chill.

She began to switch me to a United flight, but then the call dropped. I called again. My new collaborator declared switching me was not possible. I don’t like to correct people so I concurred, said goodbye, and hung up. I called again, still calm. New voice put me on hold to ask her supervisor. I observed that some people had moved through the front desk. They did not tell others their results, whether waiting in line was worthy or not. It wasn’t a secret, but to find out you would have to have to inquire, and likely that would have to be a whole conversation, since they are not faceless bots that answer when you push a button, and these types of struggles are individual anyways, any advice would require listening to unnecessary context. Dunno, they would say, my situation is different from yours. I joined in line for the front desk, curious what secret remedy it provided but not willing to ask.

There are always a million solutions for every problem, and I wanted to test them all at once. While in line, the voice on the phone said I could get a flight arriving by 5pm. I told her I might be able to get an earlier flight via the front desk. I told her I would call her back. All around me people began lamenting that their phones told them the flight was delayed to 6pm!!!! This they were willing to share.

The line was not moving. Solution numero 5. Walk up to another desk for the next flight to Kansas City. I asked the woman at the desk if there was room, and she told me the flight had just filled up, a flight had been cancelled, had I heard. Apparently not quickly enough.

I got an email that said my flight was changed to 5pm. But now I am thinking, I do not want another cancelled flight, and if I start driving now I will get there at 12pm in time for brunch. Because I was fueled by anger, I thought I had the courage to drive. I went out to the departure desk to cancel and refund my ticket!!!!!!! And they did thank god bless them!!!!!! Best solution achieved!!!!

Then it started SNOWING.

I went back in line and asked them if it was possible to undo my cancellation.

People working at the desks were very annoyed. Justifiably. I was directed to another person, who put an end to my shenanigans. He said, we can do it but it will take a while to sort out. He said, that’s what happens with your messing around with the system.

He clicked around and asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said, why? He said, take me with you, because I’m cleaning up all your problems and know how to and that’s what a good boyfriend does. I said, oh trust me my boyfriend KNOWS I’m MESSy

as if that was a winning retort.

He printed my new tickets and said it arrives in Kansas City at 11pm. I winced and he said please understand these are the only spots left. I said, yes yes thank you I for sure understand thank you it’s GREAT. You’ve been so kind and informative and I know the people here have been impatient and each one endlessly frustrating in their own ways, everyone knew how to help themselves but no one knew how to help each other, so thank you. He said, “I assigned you first class as well.”

In conclusion I am not better than anyone. In fact I am worse.

My seat, 1A. Packaged green olives, white cheddar chips, chocolate covered pretzels, small slices of cheese, a healthy dose of quiet reflection time wherein I thought about whether or not I had made a single good decision today. I accepted them all.

#flash fiction #dear diary #funny #midwest #read aloud

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foster-the-world · 2 years

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Tired

T-minus two weeks until I'm finished with this semester. I did as poorly as I thought I did on my last peds/maternity exam. I went from an 86 to a 78. You have to have a 76 to pass the class. It's a small consolation that everyone seems to have done poorly. The program has a very stupid rule that they cannot tell us what we got wrong on the exam. It's the most inefficient teaching method I have ever had.

If I fail the class I have to take it again next semester. I'll have to take it by itself and graduate a full semester later. Not great. Luckily, I've got A's/A+ in my other two classes so I can focus all of my attention on this class. I'd feel better if I hadn't studied for this exam. I'm not convinced studying will do the trick but am going to do it anyway. My plan is 8 hours a day 7 days a week. Will see.

Rebel's still being a pain in the ass. The past two days the girls camp counselors have told us how we have the "BEST" girls. Her PreK teacher LOVED her. She's an angel for everyone else. She's so fun with us until we tell her no about any little thing. Then she's a nightmare. Explaining the reasoning, ignoring, giving a lot of attention, etc, etc, = nothing has worked. I think all we can do is ride it out. Luckily Bee and baby boy have been great recently. All three of them are a riot.

Yesterday Bee was complaining that Rebel called her dumb. Rebel claimed it was just a part of the make believe game they were playing. Bee said "and I'm the one who taught her how to read." HA! HA! While she sometimes criticizes her sister for getting something wrong while trying to read I have yet to witness this teaching.

Sent the 10 millionth email about covid vaccine permission + getting baby boy a correct birth certificate + a social security number. Covid vaccine still in the works but at least something has happened. No one bothers responding to my questions about the BC/social security number. 25 months and counting. We do have court next week. Fingers crossed that gets us some forward movement.

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dloveg · 7 months

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Xu Si

+ Xu Si is the less exciting character between our two leads. yup, he is cool but he has less adversities stacked against him.

+ I am wondering what his arc would be

+ So here is a guy who seemed to have nothing but success in his life. because of this, he is convinced that his mindset is the right one.

+ one pov is that he simply does not prefer the stress of running a business (his mom was probably really stressed and was not around much while he was growing up), or, he just disregards the opinion of the elders that managing/growing a business yourself is a nobler endeavor than just financing developing businesses (these are all shared by his mom, jiang hu's dad and aunt yue). will the growth be in the form of acknowledging/appreciating the efforts of his mother by experiencing the hardships real time through jiang hu?

+ he says he wants to put value in inefficient companies - now there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion, so i cannot see where the growth would come from that

+ a more dramatic conflict could be between love and career. do you choose the managing director position over the future mother of your children? this does not fit the confucianist temper of c-dramas though so i dont see it playing out. as one of his co-investors said, career and family life are EQUALLY important

+ so maybe xu si's character development matches his personality. the weight is more cerebral than emotional, which is ok, but not dramatic

+ is it is his cold hearted computations? is the drama saying that efficiency does not come without compassion? that founders are not kpi machines and thus dealing with them requires some leniency and understanding? yup, this could be an arc, and even if it a serious one in the financial sector that runs the world, it does not make for a compelling character development

regarding this, this is currently the most obvious arc for him. he is shown to be very calculated, when his actions do not make sense on the surface, it is because he is actually serving a deeper (more nefarious) goal beneath. he is a guy with plans a-z with z actually being the real plan all along.

as set up, we have ex gf, who consistently tells audiences that xu si was ruthless with her when they were together, no softening of the blows, no excuses; rationality is the name of the game and the only acceptable result is profit

he was like this even with jiang hu in the beginning. was he insulted when she mistakes him for a junior secretary? no. he takes her money, buys a burger and plot to run her father's obsolete shoe factory to the ground.

and then we see him start to soften up. that's ok, he has a hidden agenda for teng yue anyway. but then we see him start to make contradict himself and make excuses. he told his boss he just needs a majority stake on teng yue, so why does he help jiang hu with operations? okay, maybe to increase teng yue's evaluation for a latter sale. xu si continues to manufacture justifications, to maintain an image of himself as a rational investor. what cannot be denied, is that delila has come for xu si's samson.

but can you see xu si, humanity is not separate from profits. they only separate when stakeholders refuse to be kind. value could be created both from viciousness and consideration.

anyway, but baoxing boss could see differently, right. a dollar today is greater than a dollar+ tomorrow and xu si could be forced to choose between keeping teng yue for jiang hu or keeping his career

+ he does serve a lot in the romance department though, so I'll stop complaining haha

#risingwiththewind #rising with the wind #xu si #gong jun #simon gong

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hoxooster · 1 year

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THANK YOU SO MUCH for the very great answer i will cherish it forever (and probably be back next week with another idea/question/whatever that has basically nothing to do with this one)

Now this probably doesn't have much to do with wolfie but more with me trying to approach plot holes

Because I've been, let's say, mentally sketching, on what could be wolf's daughter. What I can't really wrap my head around, though, is how she would be able to actually find him. Yeah, the payday gang is basically known all over the world and all that, but how would she _find_ him??? Find as in able to actually confront the guy? i will basically throw all the ideas i currently have at you, please wear your seatbelt

Seriously help me because I honestly don't know how she would find him, let alone meet him, which literally is the main fucking plot point :(

Worlds biggest sidenote and one of my main concerns: Did wolf commit crimes and shit in sweden too? What did he do? (No, illegal parking doesn't count because it is fucking impossible to park correctly in stockholm)

OOOOOOOORRRRR this stuff i'm writing could take place in pd3??? Or like what the game currently is in? (Downtime between the games) So the gang is back together in new york and all that but not yet heisting? Ok i just realized how heavily dependent my idea is on Bain so that went down the drain. (nice rhyme) (how would she even know they are in new york) (this idea is swiss cheese due to plot holes)

Maybe he goes to Kiruna after the secret ending? To the cabin. It's far from Stockholm, so accidentally running into his family at the grocery store wouldn't happen. UNLESS his wife went to court after he left the country, got protected identity, and now lives untraceable somewhere in sweden with the kids? And some shit like this goes down with wolfie?? Okay at this point i feel kinda bad for you for having to try and keep up with my train of thought.

tl;dr - i have questions for you.

How could wolf's daughter possibly find him so she could confront him? Going to random banks and hope the payday gang decides to rob them while she's there seems a bit.. inefficient.

Did Wolf commit crimes in Sweden as well? If so, what do you think?

Do you think he would go back to Kiruna after the secret ending?

Bonus: do you think his wife ever gets courage to find someone new after the shitshow with wolf?

Don't feel pressured to answer it all if you don't feel like it. Take care, I appreciate you a lot <3

Alrighty then, let's get into it.

Like I said before, it depends on what set up you have for their past.

If she doesn't know, then why would she know about him heisting now? Even if they saw reports on the TV that showed his picture--which I doubt, because the only heisters that get talked about on the news in other countries are ones who also commit crimes in their countries, as far as I am aware--it's been years since they've seen him. We don't know what Wolf looked like before he started heisting. I mean, we can just use older pictures of Ulf as a base if we really want to, and it's probably the best and only option that we've really got, when you think about it. This was Ulf when he was 21ish:

Baby-man. Anyway, if he looked like this before he left them, then why would they recognize him from his police sketches now?

If she does know, then why in the hell would she even want to confront him? Say that she knows about what he did before he left and has heard about him on the news. Why in the ever-living FUCK would she want to confront a known cop and hostage-killer?

Here, as an example, I'll give you a lil' backstory on my parents. My father is a narcissist and a psychopath--I've mentioned this on here a few times--and he gets violent and abusive VERY QUICKLY when he has to deal with anything he 'doesn't like'. When my mom told him that she wanted a divorce, he got a hammer, went into the backyard, and brutally murdered one of their dogs so they 'wouldn't have something else to fight over in court.' My mom still remembers the groans that dog made as she tried to quickly get me and book it out of there before he could hurt us too.

Now, like I said in my previous answer:

So, after seeing him lose his shit more than a few times when she was a kid, having him disappear from her life, then show up in police sketches on the news where he's referred to as a robber and murderer... Yeah, I don't think that she'd want to be around him. She'd probably start running as soon as she saw his face, to be honest.

So, in my opinion for your story, you should go with that she doesn't know about his old and new heisting life. It just makes it so much more believable that she would actually want to meet up with him and ask "What gives? Why did you leave?"

As for how they would meet, you have a bunch of options. Wolf used to be a programmer as his day-job in his old life and he's very intelligent. Sometimes, kids will follow in their parents' footsteps for careers they want to go into. Failing that, Wolf's kids're most likely wicked smart too. So, you can always go for an exchange student or 'goes to college in America' type of deal, if you want them to meet up accidentally. It can even be during a heist, if you want extra ✨drama✨ for the whole thing. Or, like you said, they can meet-up accidentally (or maybe even intentionally) in Sweden during one of his visits.

If you want them to meet intentionally, then I would recommend that you look up videos and articles and whatnot people have posted about their own experiences with tracking down a family member. Use those to get your inspiration for what you want to do with them, 'cause I'm not a good source for this. The only reason why I met up with my father again while I was in my early teens was due to a lie his then-wife sent my ma in an email. She said that 'he wanted to reconnect with me', when it turned out that she was forcing the meet-up to try and drag me to a wedding for a step-brother that I hate and am afraid of for some reason. So...

As for committing crimes in Sweden, I already half-answered that question last time.

Considering how he was alone at the time, he probably started out by robbing small stores and businesses. Maybe even smaller banks. You can actually find videos of former bank robbers who worked alone and hear about the methods they used. I personally like this video the most, as he looks at and breaks down film-based robberies from his own perspective. After that, since his company went under due to another company, he might have tried robbing them. Maybe this score was even what put Wolf on Bain's radar. Who knows?

Wolf visits his cabin in Kiruna at least once a year.

This is mostly in reference to the fact that the real-life Ulf Andersson left OVERKILL and made his own studio and game, but the first sentence is still relevant. So, he probably went there and set up shop, yeah.

Bonus round for the ex-wife: It's possible. I don't see why she would avoid relationships, unless she personally wanted to. 'Cause their divorce wasn't based on a 'he's a man and I believe that all men are pigs now because of what happened' issue, it happened due to a 'he had a mental breakdown and he isn't safe anymore' issue. My ma had plenty of boyfriends when I was growing up--not that I met many of them, because my ma wanted to keep me and our homes/apartments safe. She also remarried in 2009 to my step-dad, so Wolf's ex-wife could either be alone, in a relationship, or married to someone else. It has been ~7-8 years, after all. Shit happens.

#ask hoxooster a question #Wolf #PAYDAY 2 #PD2 #fan project #fan experience #long post warning #tw trauma #tw abuse #tw animal harm #tw animal death #personal stories #my shitty edits #Apologies for the even LONGER wait on this one.#I've been even busier over these past almost two weeks.#And as you can see from my answer I had a lot to say.#Good luck on your fic!#Lemme know if you need any other insight or information. My askbox is always open.

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icepixie · 1 year

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baseball and russia both have me intrigued 👀

"baseball" was almost certainly inspired by a conversation @rivendellrose and some other folks in our B5 rewatch group on LiveJournal about which sports the B5 characters were fans of. I think we came to the conclusion that Ivanova was a hockey fan and turned Delenn into one as well. Anyway, this is a riff on the Mulder/Scully batting practice scene from "The Unnatural" featuring my ship of choice, Ivanova/Garibaldi.

"russia" is my white whale of a fic, in that it requires PLOT and POLITICS and ACTION in order to finish, none of which I am great at. I am better at all three than when I started it, though, so there's that. Again part of my Ivanova/Garibaldi universe, to take place between "Epithalamion" and "Biological Inefficiencies." While trying to have a honeymoon on Earth, they get pulled into stopping a plot to assassinate President Luchenko. I have about 5,000 words and a two-page outline, but there's a lot of "and then we somehow get from point A to point B" in that outline.

Here are a couple of snippets (okay, long snippets) I particularly like:

She was pacing again.

Michael Garibaldi watched his wife of not quite four days, thoroughly amused at her obvious frustration. "You're going to wear a path in the carpet," he commented.

Susan Ivanova paused, glared at him, and then joined him in leaning against the bulkhead of their tiny cabin, ostentatiously standing still. "I just wish getting to Earth on a commercial liner didn't take so long."

He laughed. "That's not why you're pacing."

She raised an eyebrow, silently asking for an explanation of the patently untrue words that had just come out of his mouth.

He provided one. "You just hate being on a ship you're not commanding."

She looked like she was about to glare at him again, but then she shrugged. "Captain's prerogative. Besides, don't think I didn't see you re-encrypting the standard lock code right after we boarded."

Michael blanched. He thought he'd been more subtle than that. They didn't have any reason to suspect someone would want to get into their berth for purposes nefarious or otherwise, but accusations of paranoia or not, it never hurt to be cautious.

"All right, so we're both married to our jobs," he said. He caught her hand in his, and began tracing his thumb lightly across the inside of her wrist. "We are also married to each other. And since both my boss and your second were very insistent about us taking time off for a honeymoon, I think we should use this trip as it was intended."

"Do you," she asked, but it wasn't a question.

"Absolutely," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her.

"Incoming message," the computer said before he got there.

Michael closed his eyes for a moment, sighing softly. He heard a matching sigh escape Susan's mouth. "Who's it from?" he asked. Sheridan and McCreary were the only ones who would dare call them during these two weeks, and if they were on the line, something serious had happened—like B5 blowing up, or one of the Alliance races declaring war. He really hoped no one had declared war.

"John Sheridan," the computer replied.

He opened his eyes, catching Susan's annoyed expression. "I suppose this is his idea of payback," she said. At his questioning glance, she shook her head. "I'll tell you later."

Curious on two fronts now, he let her go and turned to face the vidscreen. "Put it through."

Sheridan's face appeared on the screen. "Susan, Michael," he greeted them. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but we *really* need your help."

----

[At one point, Susan throws herself in front of a PPG to save Luchenko, which enabled me to write the angsty-then-fluffy hospital scenes I wanted.]

Around one in the morning, he was about to experiment with making a bed out of four of the chairs when a doctor walked in. "Mr. Garibaldi?"

The smile on the doctor's face gave him more hope than he'd had all night. "Yes?"

"She just woke up. We had a little trouble in surgery, but she came through just fine in the end. It's going to be a while, but she'll make a full recovery."

He nearly collapsed onto a chair, but managed to convince his legs to hold him up. *Thank you,* he sent into the ether. Just in case. "Can I see her?" he asked.

The doctor nodded. "This way."

He found her lying partially propped up on the hospital bed, pale where bruises didn't mottle her arms and shadows darken her face, but her eyes were open and she was alive. He'd never in his life been happier to see her.

This time he let himself sink into the chair beside her, unable to speak for a long moment. She was *alive*, and she was going to be just fine.

"Hey," she said, her voice husky from the ventilator that had been used while she was under.

"Hey," he replied, finally finding his tongue. "How're you feeling?"

She shrugged her good shoulder. "They've got me on so many painkillers I can't actually feel much of anything. They said it'll start hurting in a couple days."

"Well, you look like you've been through a war." Actually, he'd seen her when she'd been through a war, after the Shadows. She'd looked better then.

She snorted. "Thanks. You don't look so great yourself."

"Well, you try pacing around a waiting room for seven hours straight and see what you look like," he joked back. God, he'd thought he'd never get the opportunity to speak to her again. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go, but he settled for squeezing her hand between both of his. "You scared the hell out of me," he admitted.

"Sorry," she murmured. They both knew she'd do it again without hesitation, but the exchange made it better, somehow.

"The president asked after you," he said. "You're going to get a medal out of this."

She let out a tired laugh. "Great. My office needed something shiny."

#babylon 5 #ivanova/garibaldi #fic ramblings

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egcarlos · 6 months

Text

Why I'm Here

It's always wet and muddy here in Bukavu

This week has been slower than what I expected my first week back with MSF would have been. I am still in the capital of South Kivu, Bukavu. I had a meeting yesterday with the medical coordinator of the project and she said that I will likely be out into the projects hopefully by Tuesday, but most likely Thursday of next week, depending on when I will get my work visa approved. Nonetheless, I am making use of my time here in the capital by trying to improve my French with the other ex-pats in the house. I’ve made another friend, his name is Mamadou, a nurse from Niger. At least three times a day he sits in the balcony to smoke his shisha. I take this opportunity to sit next to him and blab out whatever French I can muster. He doesn’t seem to mind my broken French and we’ve had conversations about religion, family, and politics here in the DRC and in his home. The Head of Mission, Sebastian is from France; despite the rapidity of his speech, I find it a little bit easier to understand. He is usually pretty busy so I catch maybe 10 minutes with him in the morning. Juan, who also goes by Jose is from Spain. Initially, I got very self-conscious talking to him in French because I couldn’t really comprehend what he was saying. Come to find out, his French was no better than mine, which is the reason why I couldn’t understand him.

But anyway, outside of my French speaking ventures in the house, I finally got to speak to the doctor that I will be replacing. Her name is Alexandra from Denmark. I received a text message this morning on my Whatsapp asking if I wanted to talk to her today. I of course agreed without hesitation because I am hungry for more knowledge and to gain at least whatever familiarity I can about the projects. Around 9 AM I walk to the MSF office and find her waiting for me with another ex-pat. They both speak English to me, which was not completely welcomed because I want to improve my French, but I go with the flow and to build rapport, continue to speak in English. Alexandra and I walk out of the MSF office and into a hidden coffee shop just about a 10-minute walk from where we were. The coffee shop is a gem here in the neighborhood; it is called Bazima Coffee. It’s a rather popular place for NGO workers as I notice we were not the only foreigners enjoying a drink. I ask for a hot chocolate as she orders a cappuccino and an ash tray as we grab a seat. Her story is quite interesting, and I enjoyed the conversation I had with her. Aside from the formalities in the beginning about project details that seem more or less verbal diarrhea for now as she was naming abbreviations, I was not familiar with and names of nurses and doctors that flew by my attention, we got into the conversation about stigma and its continued harm in the community. Because of the problem of stigma and gossip that eventually comes with it, sharing the HIV status of a person, even among health workers, is risky, especially if the health worker is part of the community. For the project, only the clinician and the health worker performing the test will know the result. From what I was told, rarely will it be written in the person’s hospital charts, nor will it be known by all the medical teams involved (for instance, if the patient is also getting a surgery, it is up to the surgeon to ask if that patient is HIV positive, if relevant for him/her). To me, this is inefficient and creates even more of a stigmatization of HIV, but at the end, this is it. Long-lasting change is going to be a long and tedious process in a context where the ministry of health is almost non-existent, where war and poverty are the norm and where health education is lacking. Change can happen, but it will not happen in the way that I want it to. This is one of the things that I learned working in my first project working in a similar context in South Sudan; MSF, more so NGOs are not going to be the answer to the situation in where they are currently working. We are here to help and to contribute in the best way that we can, but it will not be perfect, nor should we expect it to be. Alexandra has been working with MSF for the past 30 years, both as a field worker and as a referent and she gave me an interesting representation of what NGO and humanitarian work is like. She had me imagine several boats that were trying to get across a body of water. We, as the field worker, are at the beginning with all of the boats as their captain. We can try to push one of the boats forward- if the boat is ready, prepared with everything it needs to move, it’ll start moving forward at the pace it wants to. If it is not ready, no matter what I do as the captain, sometimes it will just not move. My job for this mission is to observe what boat I can start moving in the projects when I arrive.

I know the table above is in French, but just to summarize, the current positivity rate for HIV in Kalole is 3.59%. To put this into perspective, the positivity rate of HIV in the United States according to the CDC is 0.5% in 2021. The positivity rate in Kalole is about 7 times higher than it is in the United States.

But anyway, she leaves to go back to Denmark Sunday morning. She tells me that she has two teenage boys waiting for her when she gets home. She will also be back to her regular job as a pediatric infectious disease specialist in a local university and she will also be practicing medicine in Greenland for a little while as well.

At the end, this is why I’m here. My work as a humanitarian worker will just be a tiny drop in a vast ocean and it is up to me to make my time here significant. I’m here because I am an optimist; I'm here because i know that the tiny drop that i can contribute, although miniscule, is necessary for things to keep afloat.

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ezarelz · 3 years

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Catch me rewriting Ezarel's route with a different protagonist who also doesn't like to be touched due to past trauma and the two naturally work through fears and discomforts together and don't push boundaries (aka ignore consent)

T H I S

You cannot know how saddened I am by the fact that they did my ex-boy wrong like that. Ezarel was literally the reason I started playing Eldarya. I loved him SO MUCH. I was soooo excited to learn what had happened, why:

1) Valkyon told us "not to fall in love with Ezarel/not to take interest in Ezarel"

2) Nevra told him to "better get used to being touched instead of limiting himself to touches he initiates".

We can also clearly infer that his responses to touch would indicate that touch is a taboo with him, rather than something he doesn't appreciate.

All these clues clearly build up to a greater plot, but then....? Nothing. Like, NOTHING. AT ALL.

Our character (MC) straight up put her hands on his waist, put her head on his shoulder, SAT ON HIM, all of these before they got together. And I was like???? So, when is he going to get mad, or tell her not to do that. Why was it so triggering before, and not anymore?

More importantly, and another consistency mistake on the writers' part, WHY WOULD MC ALLOW HERSELF TO INITIATE THOSE TOUCHES IF WE WERE CLEARLY ALL AWARE OF HIS DISCOMFORT WITH IT. It felt very "I'm special and get special rights", which okay, a lot of MCs are written this way, but where is the explanations, where is the consistency? And, by making it canon, and despite Ezarel's sudden lack of care about her initiating touch, she, again, is characterized as a boundaries-crossing MC.

You build up Ezarel's plot only to give it up when we approached the logical climax. And what did we, players who had Ezarel as cdc/lover, get instead? A shitty, shitty arc with a random h*e who got to ultimately flee and live with him. I-

You make the MC canonically cross strict physical/touch boundaries after having so many times made it clear that a character strongly feels upset when someone initiates touch.

Double homicide. But are we surprised?

I've heard that they changed the teams of writers, but if we as players are able to come to these conclusions, a team of PROFESSIONAL WORKERS PAID TO WRITE FOR THIS GAME could really have taken the time to ??? familiarize themselves ????? with the storyline and the plot of one of the MAIN characters.

Anyway, this is why my username is @ezarelz, he was my baby initially, but yo, the lack of consistency and inefficient use of Ezarel's arc led me to reconsider.

The ultimate result: I ended up with his best friend lmao, my man, Nevra. MC is still shitty with Nev at times on this route, but this post doesn't focus on that. And also, as I had a past with Ezarel, and had never kissed Nevra, I got the spiciest dialogue of the first season:

In episode 20, Nevra said, and I quote: "At first I thought I liked you because of your kiss with Ezarel. The appeal of the forbidden."

NEVRA CLASSIFIED MY GARDIENNE AS "FORBIDDEN/OFF-LIMITS" WHICH MADE HIM WANT HER EVEN MORE I- Y'all this is the b e s t line I had read in the whole game.

To have access to this part of Nevra's thoughts and imagine him longing for my gardienne in secret as he considered it "not possible" to court me due to my past with Ezarel, but still trying to spend moments with me at the Fenghuang Temple because he gave into the envy (of the forbidden), literally trying to charm me despite considering me off-limits, made me fall for him. HARD.

I know this particular route storyline isn't common, most people had kissed their final LIs prior to getting with them, so they didn't unlock this dialogue. But I did, and I did not regret it one bit. He says the same if you kissed Valkyon, I checked.

Anyway my OC's lovestory with Nevra is *chef's kiss* but,,, eh I'm drifting off. Can't make a single post without adressing my love for that man, damn.

Anyway, don't hesitate to tag me if you ever choose to publish that story! I'd love to read it, and I'm sure many others would, too!

Kisses :)

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hardlystrictlystarwars · 3 years

Text

“More in common than we thought we did”(TBB!Echo x Reader)

Masterlist || Taglist

TBB!Echo x Former Separatist!Reader

Could be read as a cute starter to an enemies to lovers fic or as platonic

A/N: My tags and replies are FINALLY WORKING! This is attempt #4 at posting this and seeing how it goes. My tags and replies weren’t working so I was hesitant to post anything for a long time. Anyways, I posted a small part of this about a month ago but wanted to add onto it. So I took it down and am reposting it now.

Warnings: The Three A’s: Arguments, Anger and Angst

Echo couldn’t believe he was sitting across from you. Another separatist -or well technically a former separatist.

While his face didn’t hide any of his shock, it shouldn’t have really surprised him. Cid had a way of bringing the individuals with more interesting and unconventional backgrounds in the galaxy under her wing. Especially now since the empire had a lot of people on the run and in need of a “friend”.

Shortly after Senator Avi Singh had paid Cid for helping him escape Raxus, he had offered her double in payment if she could manage to get you out too. Of course Cid, a broker by DNA, was never one to say no to more money. That meant Echo and his brothers were sent on another job to rescue yet another person on Raxus.

“Echo?” You waved your hand in front of his face trying to get his attention, “You still with me?”

You had gotten shot while being rescued. A small graze on your shoulder due to a blaster shoot. It wasn’t anything too bad or life threatening by the time you walked into Cid’s. But Echo very quickly sat you down at the bar, telling you he would help you bandage it up to prevent an infection.

“Echo, you’ve been staring at my shoulder for the last minute -are you okay?” You asked again, your voice sounding considerably more concerned this time. You had just told him that you were an emissary for Raxus before the Empire before he stopped responding to you.

“You’re separatist,” was all he said. The words coming off his tongue quietly, just under his breath, but certainly intentional.

“Oh,” You nodded, exhaling and sulking down in your chair.

“You’re part of the CIS,”

“I’m a deserter, just like you Echo,” You clarified, your eyes looking back up at him, “I was just a little smarter to leave the Republic before you,”

“Yeah? Well some of us have a sense of loyalty,” He huffed back, taking offense to your words, “We didn’t care about the price we had to pay for democracy,”

The former ARC trooper leaned in close to you. Resting his cybernetic arm on the bar, making sure to give his attachment a good whirl for you to hear. It was a reminder to what the Techno Union had done to him on behalf of the CIS.

“Echo, some of us were just trying to protect our planet. Our starving people, our children were dying and there was nothing we could do,” You pleaded for him to understand.

“Was that what you were trying to do? Save your people?” He scowled, “Tell me who shot first then?”

“Raxus joined the CIS because they were willing to help when the Republic wasn’t,” You tried to explain, “The Republic and the Jedi Order built an army before they tried to help any of the planets that joined the CIS,”

“Yeah? Well the CIS went to war with the Republic. Killing innocent people and destroying everything else. You believe that was the best solution to your problem?”

“The Republic was corrupt, inefficient and greedy-”

“Describes a lot like the seppies I used to fight,” He scoffed back, not letting you finish.

“Yeah? What’s your precious republic doing now?” You finally sneered back at him, raising your voice, “Both them and the jedi seemed to have really stood the test of time,”

“You’re just separatist scum,”

“And you’re just a blind clone,”

“That’s enough!” you heard Hunter yell from across the bar.

Both of you pulled back, away from each other. Not realizing how close you had actually gotten to each other.

“You two managed to wake up Omega,” The sergeant glared a the both of you, “Took Wrecker and I an hour to get her to go to sleep -and you two ruined it,”

You and the trooper next to you softly mumbled out a couple of low apologies. However it was both very clear that you were only sorry for waking up Omega, not for what you had said to each other.

“Whatever the bantha meat the two of you have with each other, it’s ending it now,” Hunter warned, with a stiff grumble, “Besides we’re all on the same side now,”

“What side is that Serg?” Echo asked, glancing over at you, questioning if it was really possible you could be considered an “ally”.

“We’re not the Empire,” Hunter answered taking a few steps towards you both, “That is if you can focus on not fighting each other and you can focus on the bigger picture,”

“That is?” You asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not getting killed,” He answered, making it clear the last thing he needed was the two of you going after one another’s throat, “Just because you’re off Raxus doesn’t mean you’re safe -it doesn’t mean any of us are safe,”

“So what’s your plan then?” You asked him, still with an arched eyebrow. While you hoped he had a plan in mind, you were really actually concerned if you were included in it. You didn’t have too many places to go with your home planet being occupied by people who wanted you dead and any remaining rebels still wanting your head because of your ties to the CIS.

You were hoping Hunter wouldn’t mind one extra person around. He, unlike Echo, seemed to be living in an era where he was fighting to survive, not defending the bygone Republic.

“For now, we stay low, keep our heads down and don’t make any noise -that goes for everyone,” Hunter explained, still in a serious tone, his glare hardening even more at you for the last part, “The more attention you bring to yourself, the more danger you put us all in,”

You hesitantly nodded back, agreeing that you would keep a low-profile. You figured Hunter talking like he planned on keeping you around for the foreseeable future was the best deal you were gonna get. As much as you didn’t like the thought of getting comfy with a few GAR troopers, the last thing you wanted to do was end up with another target on your back.

“Echo, fix up her shoulder up,” Hunter gestured to your shoulder that still bleeding, “Do it preferably before blood gets on the floor and Cid gets pissed,”

“Yes serg,” He nodded. Although when Hunter then made his way out of the room, mumbling something about having to get Omega back to bed, Echo rolled his eyes and flipped his commanding officer off with the only middle finger he had..

But true to his word, Echo started with cleaning around your wound, trying to get most of the dried blood off your skin with a cloth.

You hissed when he got too close to the open gash, “Kriff that hurt,” you flinched away.

“Sorry,” He mumbled in a low tone, “If I could move your arm band would be easier to clean” He gestured to the piece of jewelry sitting high on your arm, just below your gash.

“Sure, I guess you can if you have to. Just don’t take it completely off,”

“Fine” he nodded, tugging it down your arm just a little like he promised.

His eyes slowly drifted to the center where a blue stone was situated. It softly glowed just like that of the krill on Kamino. He tried to finish taking care of the gash on your arm but even when he tried to solely concentrate on your injury, his eyes tended to flow back to the stone.

“It’s a soul diamond,” You said, taking notice of his stares, “My mother was Corellian, it’s tradition when someone dies you take the carbon from their body and turn it into a diamond. The glow from the stone is believed to be her soul,”

“That’s nice,” Echo said, now studying it a little more. Taking your explanation as an invitation to get a better look at it.

“How did a Corellian end up in Raxus?” He asked.

“My mother was Corellian who fell in love with my father, originally from Raxus. They met while he attended Corellia University for engineering. After he graduated they moved back to Raxus so he could become the head engineer at the Raxus Spaceport,” You told him, “She gave her life during the war and I couldn’t transport the stone back to Corellia because both planets were on opposite sides of everything during that time so I decided that this was the best alternative,”

“Better that than being forgotten,” He said, trying to see the silver lining.

He knew regular civies did stuff for the dead. He had attended his fair share of burials and traditional ceremonies of life for government officials being a part of the GAR and all. But clones had never gotten the same treatment. Most of his brothers that died on the battlefield were left there. Only leaving a digital file that was probably long forgotten in the GAR database now. The whole thing made him a little bitter about the whole getting together for a dead person.

Some time passed as Echo finished wrapping your arm before you decided to speak again.

“I’m sorry about your friends and what happened to them,” You said.

“Eh they’re not that bad,” Echo shrugged, pulling your arm band back up to its original spot, “They gave me a home when I didn’t feel like I had a place anywhere else in the GAR,”

You shook your head though, “Not those ones, I think you’re lucky to have them. I’m talking about your... sabacc squad? Or was it called the bakurat squad?” You guessed, trying to remember.

“Domino squad,” He said softly, with a sad smile on his face.

“That was it!” You snapped your fingers finally getting it. A little too caught up in your small celebration before you noticed Echo. The soldier clearly in a trance remembering his original batch mates.

You leaned in close, “Omega told me about them on the ship -she’s quite the fan. I think she has your whole file memorized,”

“Yeah? What’d she tell you?” He chuckled, not surprised at all.

“She told me you’re the only one left,”

Echo nodded, his small little smile gone now.

“Well, maybe we had more in common than we thought we did,” You said.

You had lost your mother and planet. Echo had lost most of his brothers. Both of you had lost your way of life.

“I’m sure we were different people before the war but here we are,” He said looking over at you.

“Here we are,” You repeated, looking back at him.

Tags(tag form here!):

@yodasbitch @badbatch-simp24 @mylifeinthetardisforever @fandom-garbage

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lastoneout · 2 years

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I get the impression that Laventon and Cyllene took one look at Akari and on one of the nights where both sleep in their quarters, and Laventon’s about to go to fall asleep, Cyllene just hits him with a “I think we should adopt Akari” very nonchalantly, then immediately falls asleep.

Laventon is left with his giddy thoughts unable to sleep the whole night because he is just going “IM PROFESSOR DAD NOW”.

That’s why he gifts you the rest of the starters. 😘

Also… imagine post Volo reveal, Akari probably came back badly wounded because she didn’t expect Volo to attack her. And alright. She is a bit traumatized because she basically met Satan (Volo’s like. The most mediocre and inefficient merchant and acted like a useless idiot but it was all a cover up! To lull you into compliance)

Cyllene noticed this so she sends her Abra to watch over Akari constantly. If she gets injured, a potion suddenly falls from the thin air. And when she’s back to Jubilife Cyllene frets over her… in her own quiet way.

Anyways. The found family posibilites with these characters make me feral.

haha this post got long oops

d;kflskdj okay but that's so Cyllene tho like *admits vulnerability and then immediately dodges having to explain or examine it at all* but also you know Laventon saw the protag fall out of the sky and then admit to being completely alone with no family or place to go and was like "is anyone gonna adopt this teenager" and then didn't wait for an answer. Cuz like yes any scenario is funny but pls imagine Cyllene and Laventon with that "we've been together forever" style psychic bond just taking one look at Akari and then each other like "Teenager Acquired"

Also...my weakness......imagining Professor Dad and Cyllene deciding to have another kid and Cyllene is ofc totally chill about it like no sweat at all but when she tells Laventon she's pregnant he's SO nervous and happy that he spends a week accidentally walking into walls and shit, falls down the stairs once or twice, trips into and over furniture, literally has a shinx chewing on him for half a day and barely notices, cannot hold a conversation, just a Mess(tm).

AND my OTHER weakness ofc cuz Found Family Feels imagining protag Akari being happy but also a little sad like "okay yeah now they have a Real Kid" until the kid is born and when Akari gets to meet them Laventon just goes "see that's Akari your big sister" and Akari just goes FULL

(same ofc for big brother Rei, and he and Akari are immediately like "I would DIE for this child" because ofc they would)

Plus pls...uncle Ingo...he already helps with the sneasel babies...open that basket and there's like five little sneasel and one human toddler all asleep. I cannot, my heart, sobbing ect.

Also ah yes Volo my favorite dumbass merchant with rabies(I literally want to rescue him from himself cough cough time loop fic) BUT yeah you know after that Akari/the protag was Fucked Up and I can imagine out of everyone Cyllene would be the one to notice Akari being like "I will keep all of my feelings right here and then one day I'll die" about it and she's like "I'm not gonna make you drag all this Shit(tm) out BUT I am going to absolutely dial up the stealth mom vibes by 500"

(sdkfkldj ALSO abra just fuckin' teleporting a potion to Akari IS adorable but now I'm imagining the abra just being a bit dumb about it and so there are a few times where said potion gets dropped ON Akari or like...over a cliff or something, or like it's getting tossed from off stage left...like look that abra has dumb lazy cat vibes I'm just saying and it's fucking hilarious dklfjdlksj also tbh I can see Akari not saying anything even tho it's OBVIOUSLY Cyllene because she appreciates the Stealth Mom thing even if the results are uh...mixed)

But I also like the idea of Akari/protag just...falling apart like that's the final straw they just Can't and burn out SO hard and we gotta get a FULL found family intervention going we get Cyllene, Laventon, Rei, fuckin' Ingo, everybody is gonna let Akari know she is loved gdi!!! Akari is on the Depressed Express and everyone is getting together to Derail That Train with the power of friendship and love.

#pla spoilers #be forewarned of some slight volo apologism but only because I love that feral bastard motherfucker #and my time loop fic might uh yeah involve him a lot lmaooooo #but yeah this got long!! I am sorry!!#except not #pls come talk to me about pla I'm dying squidward

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dixbolik-lovers · 3 years

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Warning: Much text.

We absolutely all know that Yui is a good person, so much so that it seems almost absurd and more so in her current position.

So how exactly would we do to get someone like her out of her comfort zone?

Well we've witnessed that before, the most popular one being on Kanato's route when he assassinates every one of the sakamaki brothers (minus Kanato, obviously).

The AU that I am proposing to you is simple:

Karlheinz is strongly interested in bringing out this side of Yui as much as possible, but how would he achieve something like that? Well, in this case he wants something different, instead of her children being the one who put her to the limit, she will do it with herself.

Explaining better, his new experiment is that the roles are reversed, and Yui is the new soulless vampire. The truth was that it was easy to turn Yui into a vampire, he only had to make an unexpected visit to his children's house and take the lady just as he was leaving the tower where his third wife was (a casual visit he supposed).

The process was painful, as always, but the results were completely precious. That girl looked helpless and scared, in contrast to the enormous power that surged from her and was growing. Either way, those gorgeous scarlet eyes hinted that she was ultimately no longer human.

The ecstasy was enormous, for a moment he thought that it was no longer necessary to turn his children into humans, he thought that regardless of keeping those gifts, they could not empower his beautiful creation, he did it anyway.

He placed a magic barrier around the mansion and set his guinea pigs in motion. He admitted that it would be a lot of fun, he loved the idea of his children becoming docile to someone they treated worse than trash in the past, a very strong blow to pride.

The detail was that sooner or later he would have to deal with Yui, his power was constantly increasing and he admitted he did not calculate that detail. Either way, nothing the King of the vampires can't deal with.

This AU calls himself "Resurrection", I like the idea that Yui has at least a little bit of control in this scenario.

Clarifications of the AU of "Resurrection":

❋ Double personality, clash of ideologies: Here Yui will have a double personality, she is like her vampire version self (Like her new nature). These two will always be in conflict, since Yui only looks for a way to escape from that place now that she has enough power, instead her new nature / personality only seeks to torture the sakamaki. They will have very intense internal battles to see who will have control of the body, although at the moment Yui has it rooted.

❋ From pawn to king: In case you don't make it clear, sooner or later Yui will surpass Karlheinz, it's only a matter of time.

❋ Reboots: In this universe Yui knows about the reboots that Karlheinz does constantly over time, or at least she already has an idea. He suspects it more than anything because of the constant deja vu that he always suffers.

❋ Submission on the part of Lions: Although I already said that at the moment Yui has her vampire nature, we all know that she will not be able to with that forever, she will have some moments where she loses control. This is where I need your great writing and your ability to capture children's reactions according to their personalities. The scenarios where Yui can lose control I can leave it to you or your followers. How the story will progress I can also leave it to you.

❋ Yui built a fortress full of traps with her powers in a single day just below the Sakamaki mansion, it is made especially so that nothing escapes from there, this she did later when her self-control was already becoming inefficient to maintain her vampiric nature at bay.

❋ This AU only believes it because I realized that in many of your AU, Yui's participation is very limited, and I wanted to change that.

This is.... quite long. XD I’m interested, but also slightly confused. It’s definitely an interesting concept, and I’m really impressed by all the backstory you gave! I wouldn’t mind writing something like this (if I’m understanding the idea right), but I will say that I’m a LOT more prone to reader-insert stuff. I love Yui, but I don’t know if something purely canon character-based would fit in quite right on this blog... Still, thank you for the idea, and if you or anyone else would like to talk more about it, I wouldn’t mind!

#Ask #Anonymous

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baejax-the-great · 3 years

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Aches

Fenris x Hawke (G)

1850 words of banter about old injuries between even older friends. Mentions of alcohol, spiders, and aging.

Read on AO3

When Bethany summoned ice from thin air, Varric reflected for the umpteenth time what a fantastic waste locking up all the mages had been for all those years.

“Thank you, Sunshine,” he said while scooping it into a handkerchief. It would soak through eventually, but it was going to get the job done.

Hawke watched him with a raised eyebrow. “Was I the only one who thought the ice was for our drinks?”

“Ice in wine? Yes,” Fenris replied.

“I don’t know, it might have been nice to try it cold. Something new?”

Fenris shook his head.

“I’m an old man now,” Varric explained as he tied a knot to hold the ice in, “I have aches and pains, and in my time in the charming south, ice helped.”

“What aches?” Bethany asked.

“My wrist,” he replied. He rolled his eyes at Hawke’s failure to hide a childish smile. “There’s a cranking motion I have to do for Bianca and—”

Hawke was no longer pretending to listen seriously, giggling to herself, and Varric put his hands back on the table, regretting his choice to act out the motion in the air for more than just the predictable pain that came with it. He set the ice to do its work.

“Tell me more about how you crank Bianca,” Hawke said with a flutter of her eyelashes.

He shook his head. “I know I’m not the only one here suffering. Come on, Hawke, you’re practically a walking bruise at this point. Maybe you’d like to be put on ice for a bit.”

She grinned. “Well there was the old shoulder injury. And the knee injury, of course. Every time it rains it starts creaking. And I really did roll that one ankle too many times. It seems always on the verge of rolling again.” Bethany quietly began summoning more ice as she spoke. ”And, well who could forget my back that one time, except that the answer was all of you forgot my back or nothing would have happened to it in the first place…”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Bethany tied up the ice and handed it to her sister, who only used it to gesture in the air as she said, “Honestly, at this point I take a healing potion prior to fighting just so I can make the stabbing motion without wincing. And I’m still not half as fast as I used to be.”

Fenris raised an eyebrow. “I thought that was whisky.”

“You thought I was getting drunk before fights?”

He nodded. “I was worried about you. Now I know you are in too much pain to hold a blade. That’s much better.”

“Not after I take one of these,” Hawke said, wiggling a small vial in front of him. She seemed to remember the ice in her other hand at that point and after some consideration she balanced it on her right elbow, her smile fading into consternation. “And then take three more the minute we’re done, or I’d have to make you carry me home.”

“Give me that—” Bethany said, snatching the vial before Hawke had the chance to protest. She swirled it in the light, popped the cork to delicately sniff it, then sighed. “You really shouldn’t be taking four of these in one day.”

Hawke snatched it back with her tongue stuck out. “It’s better than taking a knife to the gut, but I’ll keep that in mind. Not all of us can shove healing magic into our shoulders after every fight.”

“Maker, don’t remind me. All that twirling has taken its toll.” She sighed. “And Alistair—all that plate mail on his big body—his knees are practically dust at this point. I think magic is all that’s holding them together.”

Hawke laughed and offered her elbow to Bethany, who prodded at it a bit with some magic. Fenris was conspicuously silent through all of this, and Varric just couldn’t help poking.

“What about you, elf?” he asked, “Where’s your worst pain? No, don’t tell me. It’s either the shoulder or the elbow, and my money’s on the elbow.”

Fenris took a slow drink of ale, and Hawke, to her credit, didn’t shout out the answer. “I may not know my age,” Fenris drawled, “But I am now certain I am younger than all of you. My joints are fine.”

Hawke laughed. “Maker, but you were a haggard teenager when we found you,” she snickered.

“Bull shit,” Varric replied. “And here’s how I know it’s bullshit and that it’s your elbow. I haven’t seen you do that over-the-head hack move in two years. Now I know you’re strong enough to lift that enormous sword of yours, but I’m guessing your elbow won’t let you do the follow-through.”

Fenris shrugged. “It was an inefficient maneuver,” he replied simply to Hawke’s giggles.

Bethany, who had prepared yet another handkerchief full of ice, turned to Varric and asked, “Should we play pin the ice pack on the elf? Honestly I’m guessing there are no wrong answers.”

Of course, with her time spent healing, she had an eye for these things. She leaned over and whispered in Varric’s ear.

He grinned. “Alright Mister-Younger-Than-The-Rest-of-Us, let’s have a demonstration of your peak physical condition. We’ll start with something nice and easy. Put your hand all the way up in the air, as far as it will go.”

Fenris rolled his eyes and started to raise his hand.

“The other hand,” Varric and Bethany protested at the same time.

Fenris considered the hand currently holding his cup of wine. “No.”

Hawke accepted the ice pack from Bethany and placed it on his shoulder for him. “I really thought I’d be much older when all my conversations devolved into what hurt where and how bad,” she said, Seems like a conversation for people with white hair.”

Fenris gave her a very pointed look.

“I mean like Varric,” she sighed. “He’s not nearly gray enough for this conversation.”

“Thanks, Hawke.”

“Any time. Anyway I suppose we’ll really be lost when we start arguing over whose pain is the worst.”

“It’s you,” Bethany said simultaneously with Fenris’s “Yours is.”

Varric, who might have enjoyed a great sympathy for his poor wrist that started the entire conversation, had to agree. “We all saw—”

“Don’t bring up the Arishok,” Hawke interrupted flatly, “I’m so tired of talking about the blasted Arishok—”

“That golem-looking thing in the Deep Roads that crushed your foot,” he finished.

“I was going to say that time a Maker’s Fist blasted her right off a cliff on the Wounded Coast,” Bethany said, “I think she hit every shrub on the way down.”

“I was thinking of the Arishok,” Fenris said.

Hawke elbowed him.

“We all had our fair share,” she said, “What about that time Merrill got that spider bite and we had to carry her home?”

“That was nothing,” Varric said, “She was fine by the time we got back, but I think she was enjoying the ride. Void, she probably weighs less than Bianca, so it wasn’t some big imposition or anything. Whoever had to carry her staff got the worse end of that deal.”

“What about when Isabela got that nasty burn? I can still remember the smell,” Bethany said, scrunching up her nose.

“But you healed that in about a minute,” Hawke said, “She hardly suffered at all.”

The rest of the evening was spent arguing over not over which injury was the most grievous, but which injury was the stupidest in their history. Isabela’s hand blowing up twice its usual size because of what turned out to be a very infected splinter was right up there with the time a crab snapped Fenris’s bare toes and refused to let go until Varric bolted it. Varric personally felt that while Isabela’s injury was more serious, Fenris deserved the crown because he could have just done his lyrium thing at any moment to get away, but instead hopped around like an idiot for a solid minute before Hawke got him to hold still.

Regardless, the ice eventually melted, leaving them all a little soggy, a little nostalgic, and definitely ready for bed.

In their bedroom, after their slow, verbose goodbyes to friends and family that involved Hawke hugging everyone at least three times, including Fenris who was going nowhere, Fenris asked Hawke, “So what happens now?”

She frowned. “Well I was going to peel off this shirt and toss it in the hamper, and then normally I would take two more of these so I could go to bed, but Bethy just told me to limit myself to four.”

Fenris stared at the potion in her hand. “You’ve already had—that is not what she said—”

“Maybe a bath?” Hawke continued as if he had said nothing at all, “With those fizzy salts. That should help, right? Everyone always says those help. Have a bunch stored in a drawer somewhere.”

“No, I meant…” They had slowed down. Fenris had been mostly joking about the whisky, but he hadn’t really registered the extent to which Hawke was in pain. They were both in pain. “Are we…?” He didn’t even know how to phrase the question. What were they if not mercenaries, champions, and warriors? “Are we done?”

“With fighting?” She tossed her shirt away with a small grunt. “Maker, yes. That’s done. We’re old, it’s over, you couldn’t pay me to pick up my blades again, which no one does anymore anyway. May they rust wherever I dropped them last time we came home.”

He nodded, though he couldn’t quite tell if Hawke was serious or not. “Just like that?” he asked.

Hesitating a little, her flippant attitude smoothed into sincerity as she walked over to him and rested her arms over his shoulders. “Do you remember that time you got bashed over the head?”

“Not really, no,” he replied very honestly.

“Right. Of course. I do, though, and after tonight’s conversation, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The slower I get, the stiffer I get, the greater the chance it happens again. Only this time I might not finish off our assailants on my own, or get you to the healer in time, or be able to carry you at all if I have to.”

Fenris rolled his bad shoulder. That thought had crossed his mind once or twice, that should extraordinary circumstances occur as they often did around Hawke, there was less certainty of them prevailing. Still, he didn’t know what a future of quiet peace looked like.

Perhaps it looked like Hawke, slowly undressing as she spoke.

“So I’m done,” she continued, “Didn’t realize it until tonight, but I am serious. Someone else can clean up Darktown or mend the Wounded Coast. I’ll be in the bath, with my salts.” She tossed the rest of her clothes and sauntered toward the bath, pausing to look back at him. “Are you coming?”

Questions of the future aside, what could Fenris do but follow? She had certainly led him to worse places before. “Always.”

#hawke #lea hawke #fenris #fenhawke #fenris x hawke #bethany #bethany hawke #varric #varric tethras #my writing #alcohol mention #feels good to write a dumb one shot again

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recurring-polynya · 2 years

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Writing/Art Update 12/3/2021

I did not finish the fanfic. I have one and a half scenes left.

What happened was this: I had a pretty rough, emotional week generally (I had a family funeral to go to and it was just a lot of feelings floating around on many fronts). I was working pretty diligently, if inefficiently on the fic, up until the point that I had one scene left to do. I went to pick up my kid from school, and on the way home, in the car, it occurred to me that I really needed one more scene, not because I wanted it, but just for... closure...purposes. I have described this dumb things as Xeno’s fanfic multiple times, because no matter how much I work on it, the end it still out of reach. In any case, I was one scene from done, and now I was two, and my brain just said “go to Hell, polynya” and all of the motivation just dropped straight out of my body. So, I worked on my Christmas lights today instead of writing anything.

SIGH. Hopefully, I will finish it up this weekend, and surely next week if not. It still has to go to my beta after that before I can post it (she’s read everything except the last chapter, but I need her reassurance that I haven’t accidentally left some dangling plot thread that I need to go back and finish in Ch 3 or something).

So, anyway. SOON. In the meantime, if you need to catch up on/re-read your favorite bits of Heart is Muscle, now might be a good time? It’s not required reading, but...why not?

Also, did you see the bee-yoo-ti-ful coloring job @iz-star did on my sketch? It’s actually secretly part of a spoilery illustration for the fic (unfortunately, it’s for near the very end, so it will be a while)

I will stop doing excerpts once I’m posting the fic in earnest (I am planning to do one chapter per week unless someone convinces me otherwise), so hopefully this bit from Chapter 7, in which Ginrei invites Renji to a Kuchiki family dinner party and everyone has to deal with it, will be the last one.

“I just wish you had given me a little notice, it’s common courtesy,” Fifth Seat Kuchiki Takehiko griped for the fourth time as he, Renji and Choei made their way up the winding front walk of Kuchiki Manor.

“I’m telling you, I only got invited an hour ago!” Renji protested.

“And if you had told me then, I probably would have had time to send a message to my Honored Mother. She’s going to be furious.”

“Captain says she’s a big fan of mine.”

Takehiko made a long-suffering eyeroll. Renji wasn’t sure if it was directed at him, or Lady Azami, or possibly even Byakuya. “Whether my mother likes someone or dislikes them is immaterial. She simply wishes the events of the world to proceed in a manner that she believes to be correct. There is no room in her philosophy for surprise dinner guests.”

“I just want to know why we had to be so early,” Choei grumbled.

“Captain said to be here by six!” Renji protested. “It’s five of, we’re perfectly on time!”

“Surely, he said come at six,” Takehiko correctly, “which usually means to arrive in the vicinity of and certainly no earlier than six. If you are Choei, it means ‘roll in at eight, just in time for dessert.’”

“You don’t like getting lectured by your mom, I don’t like getting lectured by my mom. We are on the same page here, we just have different methods,” Choei sniffed.

Renji wondered what it would be like to have cousins. It seemed kinda fun.

“At least you look respectable for once. Was that your doing, Vice Captain? Well done, if so.” Takehiko gave Renji a brief once-over. “You don’t look half-bad yourself. Might go a little lighter on the eye make-up next time, but that’s a handsome kimono.”

“Thank you, Kuchiki,” Renji puffed out his chest, and made a mental note to thank Rukia for insisting that he buy two nice kimono. This one was a dark bluish-grey, dyed in some clever way to leave a pattern of lighter vertical wavy lines. Rukia said they were steam clouds, meant to symbolize rising above one’s circumstances. Renji was just glad it didn’t have carp on it, like three others she tried to put him in.

“Wait a second!” Choei exclaimed. “Is that why you showed up at my place and asked me a bunch of questions about obi knots? That was a distraction?! I was gonna gel up a pompadour and you made me forget!”

“I am just a simple man who goes to very few dinner parties,” Renji replied innocently. “Speaking of obi, I kicked that hideous orange one you were gonna wear under your couch, in case you’re looking for it later.”

“Betrayal!” Choei wailed. “Treachery!”

“I hope you now see the problem with arriving early,” Takehiko gave Renji a steely look. “We’re forced to admit that we brought him.”

#my writing #my art

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