#wlb spoilers

[ratasum]

Boy I am 84 levels of not ready for next week.

#wlb spoilers #post eod #post eod spoilers #gw2 spoilers

[wall-legion]

...Zojja doesn't know anything about Aurene. I'm. Holy shitfuck that just slammed into my brain Zojja doesn't know shit about fuck about hatching a baby dragon from Glint's egg, nurturing her, watching her grow up, watching her devour Joko, watching her die to Kralk, watching her come back from the dead and kill Kralk in turn. Watching her grow even more and grow in her power. Her assisting in taking down Jormag and Primordius. Her absorbing Soo Won's magic to try and save Tyria from the Void magic. Her leaving to rest.

Zojja doesn't know about any of that, unless Logan or Rytlock or Caithe has thought to keep her up to date somehow. Or an asuran NPC.

I'm absolutely fascinated to see if ANet addresses that.

#ooc nonsense #post eod spoilers #wlb spoilers

[skaald-of-the-hearth-fires]

Rama... RAMA TOOK THE TIME TO LISTEN ABOUT ALMORRA AND FIGURE OUT WHO SHE WAS TO ME AND THAT - good soldier! And good friend! AND HIS VOICE WHEN HE SAID IT OH NOOO ITS SENDING ME IM DYING IM DYING IM DYING

He took the time! To! Listen! AND HE UNDERSTOOD! AND HE EXPRESSED COMFORT AND SOLODARITY!

I'm screaming BTW. Banging on everything. Keeping ppl awake. My vocal chords will not be happy in the morning. Ow.

My hand hurts. Oww.

RAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

#Gw2 #Rama #What Lies Beneath #Wlb spoilers

[the-proofreader]

Alternative ending to Garrus's WLB AU

(because I like hurting @ratasumportauthority. This is the third section of the event for context, where in the original story I had Garrus face the dead members of his warband from the start of the charr personal story. Bold text is from the original, everything else is new. Setup over!)

“Commander, look out-!” Rama shouted. Garrus turned his head just in time to see the demon swinging at his head. Once again he hit the ground, this time his head bouncing off so hard that the breather with its special Jade Brotherhood filters was knocked away from his muzzle. He shoved himself up, reaching for his breather, but froze as a familiar wheezing made all four of his ears prick up. He spun around and felt his fur ripple upward again at the tiny pale form on the ground, struggling to pull air in. "Why..." he managed after a moment, unable to move. "You were down with Yao..." "You..." Her voice was so weak. "You brought me here. That's why..." "No, Qirri. Don't say it like that. If I had known I would have sent you back-" To sit out again, like you're something fragile. He tried again. "I would have made sure you were better equipped." "Well... you didn't... did you." Her red eyes rolled upward to look at him, accusingly. "I followed you everywhere. And you led me here. They warned you the air wasn't right and you still kept on going. You've killed me." "No," he whispered, as the first tears started rolling down his muzzle. "Don't- I'll get you out-" "It's too late," she wheezed, and her head rolled away from him, just as the demon appeared from nowhere to stride over her to attack. Garrus, caught completely off-guard in the midst of his grief, managed to direct Cailin to strike as he fumbled for his hammer. Once he had it, he directed all of his anger and pain into his blows.

For a while, it seemed like their combined attacks, along with what Rama was doing, was finally working…

And then it abruptly disappeared.

“What happened?” Garrus tried to shout, but it didn’t come out. Instead it suddenly felt like every ounce of his strength was suddenly gone, as if something was dragging it out of him, and he dropped to his knees.

“Something’s wrong with Qirri-!” he heard from Gorrik in the distance, and everything disappeared in a blanket of gray.

#gw2 fanfic #gw2 characters #gw2 spoilers #wlb spoilers #post eod spoilers #guild wars 2 #garrus firstblood #qirri tinkerfirst

[kdelarenta]

DR SLAYA FOX <3333333

#she slayed 🔪🔪🔪🔪 #quite literally #i'm obsessed #EVERYONE GO PLAY WHAT LOVELY BONES!!!! #*spoilers #wlb: maya #clownplays #clown.txt

[hawkepockets]

this 1 i will spoiler tag but while we’re on the topic of female characters, a strong expectation i had for this ep was that we would get some combination of joon, navan, kas, jory, caithe, and taimi back for wlw. let’s pause to acknowledge that the episode is called wlw. let it pass over and through you. anyway. since wlb was so conspicuously an all he & they party i felt so good about our odds of getting the girls back for this one. i really thought that was likely.

#lovely to see taimi in person of course even if it was for filler #but. hm :-( #gw2 #eod spoilers #what lies within spoilers #what lies within

[prydon]

uh so! juno spoilers but that episode completely recontextualises buddy's dad and her relationship with him huh!

it sure is unsettling to say the least 🙃 like we kinda knew he sucked, but this on another level. makes you wonder whether he tried to use any of his "behavior modification" theories on her, and why it is that dark matters killed him. (maybe because once he saw his theories in action, he realized how dangerous they are and tried to stop them from using them? idk. in WLB it is implied that even he realized that dark matters is uniquely terrible)

man, i really never expected palomine/the fact that buddy's father was a prison owner to become relevant, but honestly it makes perfect sense given the current storyline. and now the fact that she's imprisoned in one of his prisons, having to hear his voice everywhere.... fuuuuck. that is some painful, distressing stuff.

#asks #anonymous #the penumbra podcast #tpp spoilers

[herald-of-aurene]

So, Widget is a part of soto with Spite, and i wanna jot down the parts that are different for her (spoilers below)

so, instead of getting ambushed and interviewed, Widget was with Taimi, who she was trying to talk to but Taimi was just giving her short responses and kinda just ignoring her in favor of her work. When Widget gets super quiet Taimi realized what she was doing and to apologize she takes a bit from her work to try and comfort her, but Widget is distant. Normally, this wouldn't bother Widget, as she also hyper fixates on her work sometimes, but after WLB she's been trying to keep her heartbreak about Gorrik and Taimi dating under wraps. Which, of course, makes her a lot more sensitive. Needing a distraction, she begins to test her teleportation device. Similar to an earlier work (the Interspatial Translocator) it uses Taimi's comms device to track someone's coordinates and teleport to them. She decided to test it out with Spite. While it did work, she was dragged into the kryptis rift without W.A.F.F.L.E.S. and her rifle.

when she sees zojja for the first time, after Zojja talks to spite, she turns to Widget, a little shocked to see her, but Zojjas a bit more outwardly worried about her, "You're okay, right Widget? Of course you are."

as soon as things settled down widget straight up cried and hugged zojja like she sat there for like five minutes trying to comfort widget until they could get up again. (im not sure if they would be less aggressive to her as shes not the commander, but idk)

Bc Widget doesn't have any of her usual weapons, while Spite is dealing with rifts and other things, Widget is working on creating a photon forge.

Spite is the one with Peitha in her head, and Widget has zero idea that the voice even exists.

She also really struggled in Nayos due to the air and just everything going on, and it caused her Kralkaorik scars to flair up, and the first mission she goes on is the one to open up the wizard's tower.

After Soto, Widget decides to stay with Zojja, and helps her go through everything pre ascension. She wants to spend as much time as possible with Zojja (and also she's hiding from Taimi and Gorrik.)

Once it's time for Zojja to ascend, she tells Spite, who comes to visit her one last time. Spite decides to wait outside, while Widget decides to be in the room.

Spite and Widget spend time with Zojja, until Peitha calls Spite to go to Neyos, Widget decides to go back to where she was staying with Taimi to go get everything she left behind, and to get a new inhaler. Where she is ambushed by a very mad and scared taimi

#guild wars 2 #oc: spite scorchedearth #oc: holomancer widget #soto spoilers #gw2 spoilers #zojja #taimi

[pippalovestunabrick]

So Who TF Is Juno's Friend On Io? An incomplete list

Diamond - popular theory given how much it was teased in WLB pt 2. Implied to be an ex-cop I think although honestly hard to remember if that's canon or fanon? I like this theory because I want to know what happened already but it will surprise me, considering how hard Juno resists even thinking about it.

Cass Kanagawa - last we heard they smuggled her out of Hoosegow and off of Mars. Idk if she would be an ideal partner, but we don't know a ton about their history, she certainly wouldn't flinch at all the law-breaking, and she's in Juno's debt.

Alessandra Strong - this is not so much a theory with anything to support it as much as it is me going "I'm miss her" and knowing I trust her as Juno's partner, both to be capable and kick ass but also to be nice to him.

Puck Falco - Juno's old HCPD partner, who he and Rita both seem to feel pretty positively towards in the flashbacks in SotP. I don't really have anything to support this except that they have a history of working together and we have no reason to assume he's still on Mars.

Feel free to add to this! I want to see theories!

#junoverse #the penumbra podcast #tpp #juno steel #juno steel and what lies beyond #wlb #tpp spoilers #wlb spoilers

[stummysnort]

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE STRUCTURE OF THE JUNO STEEL SERIES AND HERE’S WHY

The first part of an episode generally ends with a satisfying technical win (usually Juno figuring out a turning point in solving the given case). The second part of the episode doesn’t— Juno is almost always in deeper trouble by the ending than he was at the start. But it’s still satisfying for the listener because the true ending is reaching a mental/emotional conclusion (finally trusting Nureyev at the end of Train from Nowhere, realizing he wants to stay alive at the end of Promised Land, etc). I really like this because it shifts how we view his success. He reaches the end of an episode when he experiences personal growth, not necessarily when he saves the day. The arc always primarily follows his healing.

#they mastered this in s3 #this is why i despise when ppl hate on wlb #like bro #this structure has been present for the entire series #and it’s one of the reasons this show is so special #tldr harley and kevin are galaxy brained #tpp #the penumbra podcast #tpp spoilers #the penumbra spoilers #juno steel #junoverse #juniverse

[ratasum]

Aftermath

Days pass. The next step looms. How to move forward becomes harder to see.

Or: Qirri struggles to cope with the reopened wounds of childhood trauma.

“Oh by the pinion gears- we’ll be overrun at this rate!”

It was strange, to have those thoughts rattling around in her head. Or perhaps “strange” wasn’t the exact right word. Perhaps it was better to say unsettling. It wasn’t as if she didn’t remember the events of Claw Island as clearly as if they’d happened yesterday.

Trying to breathe in the sickly mixture of briny air and the sour scent of rot and decay from the once dead shambling in their direction.

Struggling with shaking hands to try to put together a rifle turret, head down, breathing already labored, before being interrupted by someone screaming for her to move and looking up. A risen abomination. Massive, fast, barreling down on her with incredible speed.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t react. Her rifle was right there!

Grab it, grab it GRAB IT-

Her grip tightened on the ventilator mask in her hand, checking over the crack that ran through it. No point in repairing this one- the damage was pretty severe. A total loss. Maybe she ought to consider Yao’s idea of using a modified breather like the ones some of the miners used out in the Jade Sea. She’d have to ask them to get her one she could take a look at.

Or maybe see if Joon had one. She tended to keep all sorts of tech lying around the mansion sometimes.

Deft hands began to dismantle the one she was holding, pulling out ruined filters and unscrewing the tubing that had led to the dispenser tank she kept hooked to her belt. That part seemed undamaged at least. It could be reused.

Damn ley abomination. Just her luck it would hit her just like that. Garrus’s voice crying out her name, concerned as always, still rung in her ears-

“Qirri look out!”

In the moment of time it could have taken for her to be trampled into the dirt, she found the wind knocked out of her as someone bodied her out of the way, turning around just in time to see the abomination slam into Garrus instead. She saw his arm crumple, watched him roll out of the way and hit the ground hard.

He hit the ground and he did not move.

Her shoulders curled tightly inward as she gave her head a hard shake, dispelling the memories as best she could. Of one of the charr Lionguard pulling Garrus up to get him out the gates. Of Forgal and Tybalt and dear, dear Sieran hurrying them all out to get them to safety. Of Sieran cradling her face and insisting it would be all right-

“I should have known I couldn’t rely on a child.”

“You were too little, ruby eyes. Too small, too young. I should have known you could never handle this weight. You could never be strong enough.”

“Poor, weak little ruby eyes…”

The gasp she let out was so sharp it sent her into a coughing fit. She’d been having more of them since that damn cave, harsher too, leaving a burning ache in her chest after each one. There was a doctor Rama recommended back in Seitung who may have suggestions on a higher dosage or perhaps some new medication that may soothe her lungs better.

Not that it would do much to soothe her mind. That had been Sieran’s voice, hadn’t it? But it hadn’t been Sieran. She had to remind herself of that. Sieran would never speak to her in such a way, would she?

Her ears twitched as she laid out the components of the device in front of her. Broken. Useless. Her hand went to her throat briefly, rubbing lightly, considering the burning sensation that felt as fresh and raw as it had when it was new. How much more could she push herself without her body finally giving out?

“You’re weak. Sickly and frail. You were never good enough to be my student. You were a failure as a student, and you were a failure in Maguuma.”

“You were never. Never worthy.”

She covered her mouth on another cough, only to this time be interrupted by a hand on her back, a familiar voice speaking softly as it inquired, “Chief?”

Immediately Qirri whipped her head around, blinking up at Yao as they looked back down at her. Their expression was one of clear concern, and their free hand held a small saucer on which sat a cup of steaming tea.

“Oh- Yao. I’m sorry, I- did you need something?”

“I heard you coughing so I figured you could use a break.” They moved their hand from her back, reaching over to arrange the components of her old ventilator out of the way to set the tea down in front of her. “Ginger green tea. It’s good for the lungs.”

Qirri turned her head back to look at the cup before reaching for it, pulling it closer to herself on the table. The warmth bled into her hands, and the smell of it gave her at least some small sense of grounding in all her unease and the bitter memories of the all too recent fight. “...thanks, Yao. I don’t think I’ve taken much of a break at all today.”

They chuckled at that, tugging one of her loose braids gently. “I figured.” Then, after a moment, they reached out to scrub a thumb against her cheek, brushing away tears Qirri didn’t even realize had fallen. “...are you sure you’re okay? We can see about getting you a train back. Rama, Gorrik, and I can make sure Garrus stays safe. You can get back with Taimi and Joon at the mansion.”

Her hands tightened slightly on the teacup, rasping out a gentle sigh. “No. I won’t leave Garrus alone like that. He… what if he needs me?”

“...I think he’d understand, chief. But it’s your decision. I’m not gonna press.” They stood straight after that, glancing around at all the devices and tools she had laid out around her. “...I was planning on putting on some Kaineng rice noodles for lunch. Do you want some? It’s got a hot broth. Might help your throat.”

Qirri nodded, watching for a moment as Yao started towards the door of the small room she had holed herself up in. Her ears perked, and for a moment, a thought rippled through her head. “...hey Yao?”

They blinked, then turned to look towards her, looking expectant as their hand rested against the door. “Yeah chief?”

Her mouth opened, then closed, considering what she wanted to say. She wanted Rissia. She wanted to cry. She wanted to go home. But none of those things came out. “...could you see if we can get our hands on one of those jade tech breathers the miners use? I want to tinker with it for a little bit.”

The disappointment that crossed Yao’s face was incredibly brief, and they gave her a lopsided smile in return. “You got it, chief. One breather coming up!”

They headed out the door, closing it behind them as Qirri turned back to her desk, picking up the teacup to take a good sip. It felt good going down, soothing against the burning sensation curling into her throat.

This time, though, she felt the tears start to roll down her cheeks, letting out a little hiccup before setting down the teacup and pressing her face into her hands, shoving her glasses out of the way. They were ugly, rough, painful sobs, racking her small frame as she curled forward, ears drooping, chest tight.

What was she going to do?

#gw2 spoilers #post eod spoilers #wlb spoilers #what lies beneath spoilers #qirri tinkerfirst #yao #yao sees qirri as a little sister film at eleven #she made them an honorary member of the Dragonwatch Krewe #and they basically went These Are My Siblings Now #bunny writing

[wall-legion]

The Last of the First: Garrus Firstblood

Garrus was born the second of a litter of triplets to sire Vitus Bladesight and dam Domitia Nightcaster, and it was said to be lucky that she was an experienced dam at that point in her life because it was a difficult litter to bear and bring into the world. Garrus and his one of his two sisters, Fausta, survived: the runt, Horatia, would not. Such was the way of the world with litters that produced multiple cubs. Garrus was unremarkable when he was a young cub. He was polite and minded his elders, to be sure; he engaged with the other cubs his age in all the right ways; and when it came time for his entry into the fahrars he made it into a respectable enough one that made his parents proud. If one were looking for evidence of a future savior of Tyria that far back, one would be hard pressed to find any proof of concept. It was as he progressed in the fahrar that his true talents began to emerge. He had a knack for getting animals to trust him due to his quiet, patient nature. He was able to disappear into a crowd, in spite of his increasing height and horn length. His tracking skills became the talk of the higher-ups, in the fahrar and beyond. There were mentions of those in his extended family: “he’s the nephew of Liath Slaughterclaw, you know,” legionnaires would say in passing as they started talking about whether or not to recruit the young charr as the time grew closer. He found a group of friends in his fahrar, his first “practice warband” before they would be recruited into a larger one. They fought like they had always fought as a unit together. The legionnaires now truly sat up and took notice. At recruitment, Garrus was one of the first to be announced, called into the Ash Legion and recruited into the almost legendary First warband. He couldn’t believe his ears when everything was said and done; more so when his “practice” group was also recruited with him. It was like a dream come true. For a few weeks, everything seemed like it was going the way it should be. They were training with the First, they were outfitted with their new kits, and they had moved into their new quarters. They were given their official names, now that they were in the warband: Garrus remembered asking naively if the Blood Legion would be upset that he had been given the name Firstblood, and the old Ash legionnaire who had named him just laughed and laughed in response. Then there was the announcement: they were taking on a human ghost, someone called Duke Barradin, in his own tomb the next day. It was one ghost. How bad could it be? The answer would prove to be “very, very bad”, Garrus would think in retrospect, trying to not recall walking past crushed bodies or hearing muffled voices screaming for help under dusty rubble. Trying to not relive the memory of looking at Aulus Firstdawn, an elementalist his dam’s age, who had been singing something bawdy and racist about humans one moment and the next was just gone under a wall, and the weird vacuum that was the silence that followed. He helped get out who he could, but the legionnaires called for them to fall back after a while. Anyone who was left would be retrieved at a later date. But Garrus had performed so outstandingly, and in front of Rytlock Brimstone! Rytlock himself was impressed with the young charr and said he should be made legionnaire, to replace one of the ones who had died in the assault! Garrus returned to barracks, laid on his bunk still covered in grime and dust from the tomb, and tried to not weep like the cub he felt like. So many had asked him if he thought that was exciting: it wasn’t. It was horrifying. He did want to serve his warband, his legion, his people, but not at the expense of others dying. Not like this. But the wheels turned, and as a cog in the machine, Garrus turned with them. He was made legionnaire and, as it turned out, Rytlock had other and greater plans for the Ash Legion upstart who proved himself quick and clever in the tomb. Suddenly it wasn’t just legionnaire, it was going with Rytlock to Lion’s Arch whenever he met with (or, Garrus thought, perhaps “clashed with” would be more appropriate) his old guild. It was after one of these “visits” that Garrus decided he needed some time away from... well, everyone. He loaded up on supplies, and headed out into the fields with his pet at his heels. He was perfectly content that day to just spend some time training with his stalker, making sure that they were in tune with each other, and instead he found himself helping to defend an asura from a Flame Legion shaman. When it rains it pours, I guess, he mused, as he listened to her prattle for a bit before he could finally introduce himself. Her name was Qirri of Pazz. He wondered where Pazz was. It took a bit before he learned that asura introduced themselves as from their more accomplished parent, and Pazz was her sire. He never told her that he originally thought that her father was her hometown. He probably never will. Then it was “oh Garrus, you should meet with the three Orders; they have a conflict and I’d like your input on it”, which turned into him having to pick an Order to join. Naturally he chose Whispers; it was the closest to Ash Legion so it felt like a good fit for his skills. Qirri chose the Priory, and suddenly he had to leave the tiny asura to her own devices. After having traveled with her for weeks, there was a heart-rending loneliness in the idea of leaving her with someone else as they parted to train with their respective orders. But duty called, and as a responsible charr, he listened. And since then, duty seems to have been calling nonstop. First Claw Island (and the incident that led to necrotic damage to his right arm, causing Qirri to invent a glove to help stimulate the muscles in that arm and assist with drawing on his bow string). Then Zhaitan, then all of Scarlet Briar’s madness and machinations. Then Maguuma and Mordremoth (after sending Qirri home, because she got so sick and she was so mad, and he was certain he’d lost the only friend he was sure he’d ever had). After that it was off to the Crystal Desert and taking on Balthazar and actually dying and having to get himself and Vezz out of the Mists, then that musty bastard Palawa Joko, before finally facing down Kralkatorrik. In the middle of all that, hatching and raising the dragon Aurene with the guild, and teaching her to work with the mortals of Tyria instead of in opposition. In the midst of everything in Elona, a moment of reprieve: his guildmate Agaue, a fellow charr, accepted his advances. She doesn’t travel much though, having brought her mother to the Olmakhan charr. Her mother was a Flame Legion dam and treated horribly by that legion. The Olmakhan are treating both women with kindness and care. Garrus knows it’s what’s best for both of them, even though he misses Agaue terribly. Thinking for a moment there might be a breather, but no, his own people had to start a civil war because Imperator Ruinbringer had to want a dragon for himself (as if Aurene belonged to anyone!) and the charr as a whole. Thankfully it was subdued, but in the process the linked dragons Primordius and Jormag arose. Jormag and Primordius destroyed each other, and almost destroyed their champions, Ryland Steelcatcher and Braham Eirsson respectively, in the process but Aurene’s intervention saved them. Garrus had to intervene as Ryland attacked his parents, but when Ryland tried to stab Crecia he could not act in time to keep Rytlock from stopping their son by killing him. Having to follow Gorrik to Cantha to save him from being kidnapped by former Inquest member, now Aetherblade pirate Ankka, and having to navigating both jade tech and Canthan politics to figure out how to find the pirate and how to deal with the last Elder Dragon, Soo-Won. Dealing with the aftermath of Ankka’s actions when she used her device to attack Soo-Won and inflicting Void upon the world. And now... whatever’s going on in that mine. He’s tired. He hasn’t seen Agaue in ages. Hasn’t properly talked to her other than in letters. He’s so worried about Qirri. He’s worried about if he’s properly doing his duties to the Black Citadel since he hasn’t sired a cub yet. His right arm hurts all the time now, because of just how much fighting he’s done for ten years straight since the injury at Claw Island. Even the new glove Qirri made with jade tech only just takes the edge off, but he won’t tell her that. Worse still, he wants to be able to go home, but he’s pretty sure he doesn’t know where that is anymore.

#gw2 characters #Garrus Firstblood #here it is folks; Garrus's version of the story #eod spoilers #post eod spoilers #wlb spoilers #long post #(matpat voice) LORE

[whatlovelybones-if]

Okay but a WLB AU with all the actors which are portraying the characters 👀 With Jane and Thomas, please

naomi (vivienne): kit kept goofing around in the set and he just improvised many of the dialogues.

sejeong (jane): even the ones which weren't supposed to come off as flirty!

kit (thomas): i was only channeling my inner detective kaufmann.

álvaro (sebastián): he did a fabulous job though, the actor couldn't stop blushing and it was without any special effects.

the interviewer (me): your chemistry on set is immaculate too. what were your most memorable moments?

naomi (vivienne): uh uh, you're not getting any spoilers from us.

kit (thomas): eh? for me it was when the killer–

everyone: *scrambles to cover his mouth*

álvaro (sebastián): he's basically the tom holland of our cast.

sejeong (jane): where's the duct tape when you need it *rolls eyes*

naomi (vivienne): now you're the one channeling jane's energy *laughs*

the interviewer (me): alright, since we're obviously not getting any spoilers from you all *wink* is it okay to assume that the show is heading for a bad ending for the killer?

everyone: *looks at each other with a secretive smile*

the interviewer (me): i'm going to take that as a yes...

kit (thomas): phew, i'm thirsty. i could use some chilled tomato juice right about now.

the interviewer (me): you all didn't give me a definite answer *sighs* also kit, you're in the wrong show. *flipping through the notebook* speaking of TCS, didn't you audition for a previous version of the role of reiko/isabella, sejeong?

sejeong (jane): oh yes, i did! but the casting directors had remodelled her character so they needed a different actress for the role. which was probably a good thing since i'm not cut out for the crazy gymnastics that nana is doing for reiko/isabella.

naomi (vivienne): i need her to give me some tips on being that fit, honestly.

álvaro (sebastián): girl, same. with that physique, even i could've auditioned for charlie's angels. *laughs with naomi*

kit (thomas): oh come on, you can accompany me to the gym. i'm right here.

sejeong (jane): he is a decent gym buddy, i can vouch for that. he doesn't really have any particular goal for going there though.

kit (thomas): *scoffs playfully* sure i do!

sejeong (jane): *folds arms* and what's that?

kit (thomas): being a DILF, of course!

sejeong (jane): *groans and jokingly hits his arm*

naomi (vivienne): *facepalms*

álvaro (sebastián): *laughs along with kit (thomas)*

the interviewer (me): *shakes head with a smile* that will be all for now, we'll catch up later.

everyone: *blows kisses to the camera as it turns off*

#asks #please it will be so chaotic #yes they are all aware of TCS too #it's set in the same universe after all #or filmed in the same studio according to this AU #what lovely bones #these crimson strings #actor au #bonnie nonnie #ro: j park #ro: t kaufmann #ro: vivienne malhotra #ro: sebastián navarro #ro scenarios #ro questions

[alecjmarsh]

Story Structure and Independent Media: Why the Juno Steel finale absolutely fucks (but you might have been disappointed)

The season finale of Juno Steel dropped Thursday (Spoilers ahead). Tl;dr, I loved it. The emotional payoff of Juno’s continued growth, his sense of family, and the entire crew’s faith in each other was satisfying both as a fan and as a writer. So often, a story may technically answer the questions raised at the beginning, but fails to emotionally satisfy.

Penumbra did the opposite of that.

We have SO MANY unresolved questions right now, some of which have been hanging around since the beginning of the season, and we got very few answers. We have several villains, none of whom have been defeated. If we were listening to this story as unemotional analysts, it would feel unfinished. It IS unfinished. But Juno has had a very important emotional epiphany, and that’s what Penumbra lives and dies by. Each season finale (and the season 2 midpoint, which really was a finale in its own right) have been about Juno’s emotional change as much or more than defeating the villain. It was less noticeable before, because we also had Miasma, Pilot, and Ramses to present as classic villains.

But here we are at the end of season 3, and Peter is missing, the crew is captured, and Juno is alone. We don’t know if we can trust Sasha, we know we can’t trust Dark Matters, and Peter’s creditors loom.

If I were to analyze this from a plot perspective, this isn’t a finale. It’s the dark night of the soul. It’s the moment when all is lost, 75% of the way through the story. We should have had 1-2 more episodes where Juno executes a daring rescue, pays Peter’s debts, and they kiss as the sun sets.

Here’s the thing: the Penumbra doesn’t have to do that! The Penumbra is not beholden to anyone except their patrons, and their seasons are organized by emotional arc. That’s why season 2, which was 2 seasons in length and complexity, was a single season: because it followed Juno’s emotional arc cohesively. He had a massive change in the middle (”fuck you blood chair, I want to live”) and spent the second half of the season learning to make good on that decision and how living is different from surviving. Like I mentioned above, that emotional arc matched up well with all the Ramses shit, which is how most stories are structured. The internal arc and the external arc are perfectly twined together, and one helps resolve the other. Because the Penumbra isn’t running on a network or constrained by a publishing house, they know they will have as much time as they need to resolve all the problems they have hinted at.

So to analyze season 3 from the perspective of the emotional arc, what we got is exactly what we’ve been building to. This season took a huge risk by adding rotating narrators. One the one hand, I loved it, because every Penumbra character is vibrant and interesting and the character voices are incredible. But it was a little harder to follow, because it wasn’t Juno’s story anymore, and it wasn’t about his depression. He was still depressed—a hot boyfriend and a loving family won’t cure that. But he was learning self care, and the depression wasn’t controlling his every decision anymore. Instead, the emotional arc was about the whole crew learning to trust each other. 

Each episode strengthened at least one interpersonal bond, and over and over we hear references to family movie nights and family meetings and Buddy’s enforced bonding. WLB was the culmination of that, as Juno trusted each family member to pick up his clues and plan an escape—and then when that failed, Jet put all his faith in Juno and sent him off to be a one-lady rescue team. They are separated, but they are still family.

We still have the problem of Nureyev, but his failure to bond has been an issue mentioned in every episode. He’s the puzzle piece that refuses to fit into the board. It hurts and I hate it, because I love and trust Nureyev and just want him to live a happy, debt free life watching streams with Rita and being dramatic about how strong and sexy Juno is.

It’s unsatisfying because we love Nureyev, and because it goes against the central thesis of the season.

But, I repeat, the Penumbra doesn’t have to wrap everything up at the same time! They’re playing a long game. Season 3 is over, because Juno has a family. I don’t know what Season 4 will bring (I know better than to make guesses about what Kevin and Sophie are planning), but I know it will be a new emotional arc, and I know it will involve Peter. I hope we get his POV. I’m certain he will finally become part of the family and learn to be vulnerable. Somehow, the whole family will be together again. Because that’s the second half of this arc from a plot perspective. Whatever happens in Season 4 could arguably be considered part of Season 3, but we’re getting some breathing room, and probably switching up the format and focus, and whatever happens, I’m looking forward to it.

PS: If you enjoyed this, I wrote an essay on my patreon about story structure from a broader perspective. It’s free for everyone, but if you find it interesting, please subscribe for more free essays! 

#the penumbra podcast #penumbra spoilers #juno steel #story structure #plot #patreon #independent media

[lemonlushff-iy]

What's a scene you're SUPER excited for in AWS, OLR, or WLB?

AWS: it’s a tie for buzz buzz and Inu sandwich. 

OLR: House painting and their real first kiss again. 

WLB: .....too many spoilers. 

#nuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha fanfic #inuyashafanfic #inukag #ask me anything #underwater0phelia

[ratasum]

Dark Visions

The haze hides darker thoughts. (AKA I am so sorry this is living rent free in my head now.)

Spoilers for EoD: What Lies Beneath

“I should have known I couldn’t rely on a child.”

If the tightness in her chest wasn’t bad enough, the sound of that sweet, familiar voice felt like a punch in her gut. The darkness clouding her vision was intense, but Qirri could just make her out: Sieran, glaring at her from where she lay on the ground. Glaring like the bubbly, kind sylvari had never glared at her in life.

“Sieran?” Qirri’s voice was muffled behind the breather mask, cracked from a blow from that awful ley line creature before. The air felt like oil. “Sieran, no, I- you said I did everything I could-!”

“You were too little, ruby eyes,” the apparition was rasping out. “Too small, too young. I should have known you could never handle this weight. You could never be strong enough.”

Qirri’s breath hitched in a sob, taking a few steps back, only being startled out of her shock when JUICE slammed a massive jade arm into the apparition of a Risen brute coming up on her left. Shaking her head hard, the little asura swung around her rifle, taking a few shots as she backed up, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

“No! No, Sieran, I did everything like you taught me! I messed up but I got better I know you know I did-!”

“Poor, weak little ruby eyes…”

“Sieran please!”

She had to focus. Clear out these Risen so she could think. Sieran… Sieran had always believed in her, hadn’t she? Had always known how capable she was! That’s why she’d pleaded with Gixx to let her take her on as an apprentice, in spite of her young age. She’d known what Qirri was capable of!

But the anguished rasping of the dying apparition continued in its damnable mutter, the words curling into an icy ball in her gut, so loud in her ears that she almost didn’t feel the hand that gripped her arm, yanking her out of the way of an explosion of dark energy right where she’d been standing.

Startled, she blinked, whipping her head around to find Gorrik, his mouth moving on words she at first couldn’t quite make out. She just caught the last of what he was saying as most of the darkness cleared from her vision. “...-gotten killed, chief! Are you okay- oh by the pinion gears, your mask is cracked! Quick, we can have JUICE carry you out of here into fresh air and-”

“I’m fine, Gorrik!” she bit out, jerking her arm away. Every breath felt heavy and thick, and she could feel her lungs laboring, too weak to process the strange mixture of haze and oxygen she was taking in. They didn’t have the luxury of backing down right now. “Where’s Garrus?”

The look Gorrik gave her was genuinely hurt, but he didn’t press, instead gesturing towards the platform lower down. “He’s down there with Rama. Yao and I are handling this one. You’re sure you’re okay? You were calling Yao Sieran-”

Immediately, almost as a reflex, Qirri tensed up. “It’s fine, Gorrik, don’t worry about it. Let’s just kill this thing and get out of here!”

She didn’t wait for him to reply, charging forward and giving a verbal command to JUICE to attack the demonic apparition. Not that it was easy- with her ventilator cracked, the medicated mist it pumped directly to her was no longer doing much to help, slipping out into the viscous haze instead, and the filtration system she’d added before heading down was no longer functional.

There was no time to think about that right now, however. There was too much at stake, too much to do. They had to stop these things feeding on the ley magic, had to find out more about what was affecting it like this.

Yao was calling something out to Gorrik as they directed Finn to fire along with JUICE, but their words felt strangely muddled. Distant, like she was hearing them speak from underwater. That strange darkness was creeping into the edges of her vision again, and her breathing quickened, grip tightening on her rifle. “Gorrik! Gorrik it’s happening again-”

“I can’t believe I ever thought I could rely on you.”

She didn’t want to look. How could she look?

But she didn’t have much of a choice. If she didn’t, there was no way she was going to banish the strange nightmare, shaking as she shifted to glance in the direction of the all too familiar voice.

Sieran may have been her mentor in the Durmand Priory, but Zojja had always been there first.

And there she lay, that intense gaze focused on the small asura, a sneer curling up her lip. Qirri swallowed, shaking her head. “No. No, Zojja, not you.”

The apparition’s gaze didn’t falter, voice rasping as it had after Zojja’s injury in Maguuma. The last time Qirri had seen or spoken to her. What sort of pupil was she? “My mentor learned quickly that the first pupil is always the failure. I see now that was all too true.”

A hiccup of a sob escaped Qirri as she shook her head hard, JUICE moving into action on autopilot to take down a few Mordrem apparitions that threatened at the edges of her vision. “You don’t mean that!”

“You’re weak. Sickly and frail. You were never good enough to be my student. You were a failure as a student, and you were a failure in Maguuma.”

It was all she could do to keep firing on the Mordrem that clawed their way towards them. Keep knocking them back as her one time mentor continued to berate her, plucking at insecurities and whispering things she’d only ever secretly thought of herself.

“You don’t think that. You never thought that!” She hiccupped again, the awful tightness in her chest increasing. It was so hard to breathe. Her hands felt weak. “I was a good student! I learned so much, you taught me so much, I know I was good!”

“You were never. Never worthy.”

“Stop it!”

The darkness cleared as a final shot sliced through the apparition of a Mordrem, and this time it was Yao near her, their hands reaching out to right her as she staggered. “Qirri-! You don’t look good…”

Qirri sniffled and hiccupped again, coughing roughly as her lungs struggled against the thick haze. “I’m okay, Yao. It just… I just got distracted. Where is everyone?”

“Gorrik’s still up here. Detective Rama’s still with Commander Firstblood on the next platform. I think we’ve got this one on the ropes, but after that, we’re getting you out of here.”

“But-”

“No buts. I’m not losing any more friends down here today.”

Yao gave the top of her head a fond rub after that before they darted off, calling out to Finn to support her and JUICE as they engaged their prosthesis to start firing on the haze demon.

It was even harder to breathe now, but she did her best to keep her feet under her, checking her rifle before beginning to fire again. It was all she could do to stay focused on the fight again as her vision blurred in and out, even with her glasses somehow still in tact on her face. Strands of hair hung loose around her face, pulled free from where it had been clipped beneath her braids, and she could hear herself wheeze with every breath.

The platform where Garrus must’ve been was as loud as this one, and she could hear the charr even if she couldn’t make out what he was saying. It was, if nothing else, proof that he was still alive. Proof she could hang onto.

This had to be over soon, didn’t it? Surely the fight couldn’t drag on much longer. She wanted out of here, away from the terrible visions and the apparitions berating her, dragging up insecurities from the darkest parts of her mind.

She wanted her lungs to feel less like they ached and burned.

Focus was what she needed, but even as she tried, she could feel the darkness creeping in at the edges of her vision again. Like it had before, it made her stomach churn, and the knowledge that she would again be reached by these awful visions…

It couldn’t, she thought, be worse. Nothing could be worse than her two mentors acting like she was their worst decision.

But turning her head to see an all too familiar figure, just her size with her dark hair hanging around her face, sitting on her knees and huddled over as if to protect herself from the darkness that surrounded them both… it was almost too much to bear.

She would know Taimi anywhere. Even in a horrible vision.

“You were supposed to be there for me.” The accusatory voice from her dear friend, her krewemate, cut deeper than either of the previous hallucinations combined. “You weren’t there when I needed you.”

Qirri swallowed hard, taking a step towards the apparition. “Taimi… I’m sorry, I- I was sick, I couldn’t-”

The apparition curled tighter, and Qirri was forced to recoil and react as more aggressive haze beasts, resembling Awakened this time, began to claw their way towards them both. “You’re supposed to be my friend! Why haven’t you helped me?!”

“I’m trying, Taimi, I… you know I’m trying…”

This time, she couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks, shoulders shaking as she struggled to keep her feet underneath her. Taimi’s voice was too real, too close. They had been one another’s first asuran friend, they had formed the Dragonwatch Krewe, they worked so hard together and Qirri had made no secret of her work to try to find something to help.

“You never try hard enough!”

“I’m trying as hard as I can! I can’t lose you, Taimi!”

Those words seemed to finally break the apparition’s hold on her, and she staggered back as the darkness cleared, just in time to watch the demonic creature crash to the ground. Gorrik was yelling something, but it cut short when he saw Qirri standing with her rifle dangling in her hands, eyes wide as she stared at the spot the vision of her friend had been just moments before.

“Qirri?” He called, turning to head back over after seeing Yao down the zipline to the platform where Garrus continued his own fight. “Chief, Taimi isn’t here- are you okay?”

She tried to answer, but her throat felt tight. Every breath felt desperate, barely bringing any air into her aching lungs past the tightening in her chest, and Gorrik hurrying forward to get his arm around her was the last thing she saw before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed, everything going dark around her as her krewemate called her name.

#gw2 spoilers #post eod spoilers #wlb spoilers #spoilers #qirri tinkerfirst #in which qirri is too damn stubborn for her own good #also just fiddling with the hc that Qirri was Zojja's first pupil before Taimi #bunny writing