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noneorother · 7 months

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All the music you didn’t hear: The Good Omens soundtrack is lying to you. *Part2*

The Bonkers Meta Series 2: Electric Boogaloo. This week on the chopping block: The official Good Omens 2 soundtrack album!

Part 1 l Part 2

If you, like me, have absolutely no respect for your time (or your 2023 Spotify Wrapped) and are willing to sit with the show and the David Arnold score album running side by side to match up all the songs, then you too can find out what I did: exactly 6 songs in the album go off the rails in the show in a very specific way. And you know what they say about a song…

So let’s break these misbehaving songs down, shall we?

A Bell Tolls for Thee

There are SO MANY DAMN BELLS in season 2. I think the sound department might have had a competition going. But I want to show you the bells that happen in the music of the show, but not in the album.

Specifically, there are tubular bells all over the score in David Arnold’s orchestration in season 2 (and some in season 1). It’s an instrument used throughout classical music to represent grandfather clocks or church bells, signalling time passing, like striking the hour. But, this season has done something devious: it sets up your expectation by putting tubular bells in all the regular places in the score, so that you notice less when they whack a big tubular bell ring in a place where it should not be, at a key moment in the story.

Feel free to go back and listen to these time codes in the show, it’s going to become obvious real fast.

S2E1 - 14:55 l Song : Into Soho Aziraphale answers the door to a naked Gabriel, and recognizes him for the first time. A bell rings once.

If you listen closely to the album version, David Arnold recorded a beautiful and uplifting ending to this track. Too bad we never get to hear it in the show, it splits off into a bell toll and then a reorchestration. We never hear the end!

S2E1 - 42:30 l Song : Tiny Miracle Aziraphale & Crowley perform a class-A miracle, and Crowley pokes the barrier with his finger. A bell rings twice.

Same thing for Tiny Miracle! The ending of the song in the album we never get to hear in the show, it gets interrupted by 2 tubular bell tolls and another reorchestration of other music.

S2E3 - 33:59 l Song : Reprise - Something Terrible Aziraphale considers the statue of Gabriel in his present day trip to Edinburgh. A bell rings three times.

This one starts from silence with 3 bell tolls as a reprise of “Something terrible” starts just after it. The second and third bells are woven into the music on beats they never appear in those bars on the recording.

S2E4 - 38:00 l Song : Zombie Dressing Room Shax asks Beelzebub for permission to attack the bookshop. A bell rings four times.

This one is extra weird (see my first music post). Even though we stretch out Zombie Dressing Room way after the dressing room scene is over and into the Shax in hell scene, it still manages to work in 4 new tubular bell rings that aren’t there in the score, and we never hear the same ending as on the album.

S2E5 - 00:05 - 10:14 l Song : Reprise - Something Terrible Shax requisitions troops and gathers her legion. A bell rings five times.

This one is tricky because Shax’s scene in hell is cut up 5 times, but you probably see where this is going: every time we cut back to Shax there’s a new bell rings once that wasn’t in the recording.

S2E5 - 29:56 l Song : Shax Shax arrives from Hell in the elevbator to attack the bookshop. A bell rings six times.

This is the last time in the season when we hear extra tubular bells. In a pretty bizarre turn of events, the demons Shax has mustered have walked in from down the street, but Shax takes the elevator to arrive at the bookshop. What a way to treat your troops. In any case, we get a final song that doesn’t get the ending it deserves, and gets cut off in favour of a reprise.

Taco Bell: Live Confused So why put so much effort into signalling these 6 specific actions with bell tolls? The first three are clearly Aziraphale & Crowley related, while the second three are Shax related. (All the Shax actions accompanied by bells have flashing lights above Shax.) Could this be a way of signalling we are halfway to the second coming, 6 hours until midnight on the armageddon clock? Or something else entirely?

Every time we hear the added bells, the soundtrack in the show deviates from the planned endings written for the album. Are these mistakes in the timeline, that were never supposed to happen in the ineffable plan? I guess we'll all be listening together for tubular bells in season 3... -------------------------------- Thanks to @embracing-the-ineffable for the encouragement, and the Ineffable detective agency for all their hard work. Part 1 is here!

#good omens meta #art director talks good omens #go season 2 #good omens 2 #good omens prime #go2 #go3 #good omens season two #go meta #good omens season 2 #good omens soundtrack

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whetstonefires · 1 year

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Do you have any opinions on Scholomance?

I do! I like it a lot. I really enjoyed all three books, blitzed through them easily and was much more excited to see how the plots unfolded than I'm used to these days, as a jaded adult, and I also really appreciated them as works of craft.

Especially the first one, I spent the whole time being all 'wow!' at how simple it was. So easy to read, but no waste. You really need to know what you're doing, to get that kind of pared-down elegance of form to work and still fit so much content in.

Like these are dense, there's a fantastic stylistic minimalism that allows El's character all the space it needs to breathe by making absolutely every other thing and person in the whole novel also do character work for her, which is exactly where the first person voice shines.

Also great use of character perspective to make the pacing feel really natural, so the fact that the first book takes three weeks, the second book takes one year, and the third book is like. Five or so incredibly stressful days spread out over the course of a few weeks? Doesn't feel imbalanced.

I actually got distracted from the story a few times by noticing the strength of Novik's technique. 😂 This is a me problem, in itself it's the opposite of distracting. Very low-profile.

I think the Scholomance is a great example of how far you can go in specfic when you aren't cringing from the label 'derivative,' because the Scholomance books feel very fresh ad clean specifically because nothing in them is concerned with standing out as 'original,' whatever that's supposed to mean, only with being well-executed and suitable to its task.

Hm, maybe that's where Liesel was born, the intersection of the efficient narrative style and the vast proportion of the story that concerns the maximization of utility and the instrumentalization of persons by themselves and others, and the forces that incentivize these behaviors. Or maybe she's just the narrative counterweight to Orion 'Head Empty' Lake lmao. How's that for a principle of balance, Galadriel?

I really did enjoy how beautifully it was laid out, over and over, in dozens of shades of humanity, how no matter where you go in an exploitative system almost everyone is being driven by the same survival instincts.

Because I don't think I've ever seen made so cleanly clear why you just can't expect any person or small group of people, no matter their level of goodwill or status, to unmake one of these systems from the inside; how it's not a matter of people being bad but of every single person being very...small.

And then not retreating into the idea of a person who is Big coming and breaking the cruel system from the outside as some kind of panacea, because 1) that is terrible, even if it's necessary and done in the best way possible and 2) that's not a sustainable answer to anything. Getting a balance between the protagonist being able to effect change and not subscribing to the great man theory of history can be really tricky!

Also did I mention, I love El, and I love most of the cast, even the dreadful ones. How am I going around with this many feelings about Li Shanfeng who doesn't appear until the actual climax?

The romance murdered me a bit, but it took up no more space than it absolutely needed to do its job, and I respect that. Also I appreciated Orion as a love interest; Novik has a slight record at this point of a version of that style of male love interest who's like a caricature of Mr. Darcy but old, which was shaping up to be my least favorite thing about her body of work.

...Orion is kind of like if you took the human king from Spinning Silver and gave him an alignment flip come to think of it, so he's not coming out of nowhere. Lmao.

Which reminds me (re: romance character typing) I've heard Novik didn't want it to be known she was astolat, which this series has renewed my sympathies if so. Because if I were a published novelist I wouldn't want people going 'you know, that resolution was really emotionally satisfying! reminds me of that fic she wrote where optimus prime and megatron get stuck in a hole underground and hatefuck about it.'

I don't even like Transformers. That fic almost made me cry. Actually I suspect it reads better if you don't like Transformers because I'm sure it does not give a shit about canon.

Anyway, whoever pointed out that one of the things El has going on is she's Enoby (and we're going to sit down and explore what the true reason to put your middle finger up at preps is, and what are some constructive ways to channel that socioeconomic wrath, and what it means that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism) was right and I'm not entirely over that either.

Fucking love El's mom as a character. Spectacular level of parent relevance and usefulness. A+.

Aadhya and Liu are also characters who fucking delivered.

Re: minimalism though, I laughed at the start of The Golden Enclaves when I realized that none of the enclaver characters who'd gotten development in the the first two books were from London, the enclave El was theoretically shooting for when we met her.

#ask #hoc est meum #Anonymous #scholomance #my sister's biphobia made an appearance when i was reading the second book and tried to tell her about this thing i was enjoying #still mad at her about it #anyway though #good!#wish i could ask novik what she was thinking by making a single-cell abortion work as human sacrifice #like is it just because magic works on intent so if you think the newly fertilized egg #that you couldn't know about without magic #is 'your baby which you are killing'#then it is?#for purposes of hole in reality making?#or does this story have a spot where its politics sharply reverse and human life begins at conception #spoilers #scholomance spoilers #especially in the reblog #lakjfaldkfs seanan mcguire has granted this rambled Circulation oh dear

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ddarker-dreams · 1 year

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hi! i wanted to ask what scaramouche would be like with an "artist" darling (artist, musician, author, etc)

would he let his darling persue her passion or would he want to be the only one to see her talent?

creativity is a fascinating concept to scaramouche, especially since in his kabukimono days, he wondered if he had the same capacity to create as the general populace. he's since ditched worrying about it in pursuit of greater ends, but the intrigue never left his synthetic brain entirely. your artistic proclivities brought it out of hibernation.

if you ever asked him for the necessary instruments to engage in your hobbies, he'll get huffy. demand to know why he should be generous when you're so disagreeable all the time (aka the last time he tried to cuddle you, you shifted to the other side of the bed, or whatever). there is no right answer to this, it's best to leave it at that. despite what you think to be a rejection, you can expect to find what you asked for in your shared room the next morning. and yes, he expects a great deal of gratitude, although he'll say "he just happened upon it" with an air of forced nonchalance.

(he did not just happen upon it. he demanded his subordinates find the highest quality version of everything you asked for, lest their lives be endangered).

while you get to work, he sorta just... hangs out. sits next to or across from you. by this point, you're used to him hovering around in your general vicinity, but he's not even bothering to hide it. truthfully, he finds it fascinating to observe you engaging in your passion. it's nice. you get this cute little concentrated expression that he could (and will) stare at for hours.

he doesn't like sharing your attention with anything, inanimate objects included. so expect for him to try and engage with you in his own awkward way. he'll ask questions, fully expecting you to set aside whatever it is you're doing to give him a long, thought-out answer. yes, he will start glaring at what's in your hands if he feels your reply is too short.

should you be an artist, he'll frame his favorite works of yours around the house. if you're a writer, he has a special hidden drawer at his desk that's home to your rough drafts, which he has secretly read enough to memorize the contents. in the case you're a musician, listen carefully. you might catch him humming a melody from a piece you've been playing recently. do not point this out to him if you value your instrument remaining in working condition, though.

#yandere scaramouche x reader #scaramouche brainrot #concepts #answered #Anonymous

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pookie-mulder · 4 months

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Season 8 AU I will never write (feel free to steal this idea for a fic):

Instead of Doggett becoming Scully’s new partner, the Powers That Be decide to punish Skinner by demoting him and banishing him to the x files

a Bad Guy (Kersh? Someone new?) takes Skinner’s place as AD, causing conflict

(An alternate version: Doggett gets promoted to AD. Scully and Skinner hate him at first, but he slowly proves to them that he can be trusted and ultimately becomes an ally.)

Skinner is honestly kind of relieved because now he gets to protect Scully and her baby and focus all his energy on finding Mulder

At the same time, he’s angry that his leadership position was taken away from him and wants his old job back

Skinner is wrestling with his newfound belief in the paranormal and what that means. He feels guilty that he wasn’t able to save Mulder.

Scully wants to resent him because he’s not Mulder (and he didn’t stop Mulder’s abduction), but at the same time, she’s secretly relieved to have someone she knows will watch her back and is as dedicated to finding Mulder as she is

Plus we all know Skinner has a bit of a crush on Scully — he’s happy for the opportunity to work closely with her and keep her safe, but he respects Mulder (and Scully) way too much to ever act on his feelings.

Skinner just wants Scully to be happy. He knows the only way that will ever happen is if they get Mulder back, so he throws himself into his work, trying everything he can to ensure Mulder’s safe return

His feelings for Scully aren’t his only motivation though. He finds himself caught up in Mulder’s search for The Truth and feels a responsibility to continue his work

Once Mulder comes home, the Powers That Be recognize that Skinner was instrumental in bringing him back, so they reinstate him as AD (maybe with an endorsement from Doggett). He’s overjoyed, of course (with his job and with Mulder’s return), but he misses being out in the field with Scully

It hurts to see the agents together, but he never had the expectation of anything More with Scully. He’s just glad they’re happy together

Idk how it would end. Maybe when William is born, M&S introduce him to Skinner as “Uncle Wally” or something ridiculous and sappy. Skinner knows he did the right thing

#idk I just think they didn’t utilize skinner enough in the show #he’s so incredibly loyal to m&s (making the deal with csm on Mulder’s behalf for Scully’s life for example)#I would’ve liked to see more of what that loyalty means to him and what the motivations behind it are #anyway I’m not joking when I say I will never write this so I would love for someone to take this idea off my hands #txf #the x files #x files #msr #dana scully #fox mulder #walter skinner

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capriccio-ffxiv · 12 days

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thinking about Illyria and how her main job isn't actually Dragoon (though that's a big part of her!) or Arcanist

It's actually Mimic/Mime & Blue Mage.

Both "This is a way to explain why she's an omniclasser"

and some other things

I'd never intended to pick up Bard or Dancer but did anyway and am glad because they're actually super fun, but a whole thing for Illy is she was always the black sheep of the family there (her mom and brother are actors & musicians; her dad is a carpenter who builds musical instruments). Terrible singer, two left feet; she's actually decent at carpentry, but terrible at things like accounting, staying on task, actually finishing orders. It's why her parents sent her to arcanist school... and why she dropped out after taking several extra years.

But here's the thing. Give her instructions and tools and she can perfectly replicate an item. Show her a song or dance, and she can exactly copy it... but she can't remember it after. It's why she loves cooking, but could never be a chef---people love it when you can follow a recipe exactly (or even improvise a bit to fix the recipe), but it's not a big deal if she isn't coming up with her own unique stuff all the time.

It also means she always feels... hollow. Like an impostor, like there's nothing there. She mimics, she mimes; she builds on everyone else's talents, but there's no Illyria at the center of all that. The Warrior of Light doesn't exist, as far as she's concerned; that is a mask she wears. People told her what that hero was supposed to be like, and she followed their instructions perfectly. She's always been trying to live up to what others wanted her to be—her mom, her dad...

(even sex for her is just something else you do to please people, another mask, another thing she's good at because she's just a mirror people project on to)

Haurchefant was one of the only people who just wanted her to be her.

And then Estinien, it turns out, was the same way, or rather, he never really expected anything of her. First, it was get out of his way, then it was ... but he's always gone. Always leaving.

I'm still sorting the timeline, but I think she stuck around long enough that she did, indeed, defeat the Endsinger, but most of that wasn't even her—it was this sort of... Dynamis-fueled idea of her, this... mantle, this mask she was wearing. All the hopes of the star, worn like a costume, like armor.

And then after that of course she goes to Feo-Ul and says, "Surely you can take the me out of this thing, this... whatever it is. And let me rest."

Greymalken pretends they don't care—they're a voidsent, this is just another body to wear. Nevermind that their pact had been an equitable one, that they'd started to feel... something? Something, from being in the sun. No.

The Maenad wants to argue that she is part of that core, she is the part of Illyria that loves herself, except that her hate and pain and rage is greater than her love, and in the end maybe she's just part of that greater whorl of expectations and projections. The version of the Warrior of Light that's feared, not loved.

Silver is a soul bound to a weapon and some part of him thinks in his last life that's all he was too, and he promised he'd always be by her side (he thinks?) except she's not even there anymore. He is not as he was. ... but a knight must give his life for others. This is his calling. Isn't it?

The gestalt entity that's left, well, even Y'shtola barely notices; after all, the Maenad still holds the same color and shape, just as any Dark Knight's shadow does. And the Voidsent and Anima were already there. Why would even she notice that there's no longer a core? Was there ever a core to begin with?

(And again, Illyria's name... 'Illyria' is an imaginary country from a Shakespeare play. 'Capriccio' is a painting of a place that doesn't exist; a fantasy of architecture and landscape that looks like it could, maybe, be real, but isn't. Often of ruins; the most famous of which is Piranesi's Prisons of the Imagination...)

#oc: illyria capriccio #warrior of light #final fantasy 14 #my wol #tbh I think maybe the most merciful thing would be to just let Illy sleep and Dawntrail is the Hollow #Zero absolutely DID notice but I think there's a combination of that she never knew Illyria herself and was busy re-discovering her own fac #but maybe if they meet again...#either way #Feo Ul keeps her soul in a beautiful tree that grows in the castle #where she dreams of Haurchefant and peace #and her daughter is safe with her grandfather and will never have to know a mother so full of pain that she cut out her own heart

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kanerallels · 3 months

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A little late, but the first few chapters of my first-ish Chenford fic are up! They're also prompt fulfillment for @monthly-challenge's Februfluff, day 27: stuck together. First chapter under the cut, the second is up on AO3!

Some people had a hard time believing in the impossible. Lucy Chen had never been one of those people. Sure, it probably helped that she was a vigilante who could manipulate light energy with her bare hands, but that hadn’t always been the case. There had been a time she was just like everyone else.

But that had been a long time ago. Now, when night fell, she was Lyra, one of many vigilantes that patrolled the streets of L.A., looking for people in need and crime to fight.

Usually, her version of crime fighting saw her out on the streets in her disguise, fighting muggers. But there were the occasional circumstances that required a slightly more delicate approach. And today was one of those circumstances— a restaurant that one of her fellow vigilantes suspected was running drugs out of the back room.

Hence why she was sitting at a table in a nice dress, eating dinner across from the last person in the world she would have expected to be sitting across from about two months ago.

Lucy had met Tim Bradford approximately three months into her work as Lyra. Ex-cop turned woodworking shop owner, he’d been serious and a little grim, but respectful. Lucy had been curious about him when Jackson, her roommate, mentioned him, and had slowly gotten to know him better as time went by— his shop was a few storefronts down from the coffee shop where Lucy was currently employed.

Around the same time, she’d met Orion— the stern, incredibly boss vigilante who was known as the Huntsman by local gangs. He was notorious for his intense attitude, vicious but generally nonlethal attacks, and strict adherence to police procedure when necessary.

Lucy had mostly just found him annoying. Especially since he had a habit of showing up in the middle of her work and lecturing her on what she was doing wrong. And he called her “boot” a lot— which, thanks to being roommates with a cop, she knew what meant. This did not make it any less obnoxious.

They’d gotten off to a rough start, but it wasn’t long before Lucy found herself working with Orion more and more often. He was smart, and they made a good team. And he’d saved her life more times than she could count at this point— although it was definitely true the other way around as well. Which Lucy never let him forget.

All things considered, she shouldn’t have been surprised to find out Orion was Tim. The attitude, some of the jokes, the rookie cop nickname and the stickler for procedure attitude? It made perfect sense.

Somehow, it had still surprised her when she found out. Although her reaction had definitely surprised Tim, and Lucy snorted in amusement at the memory.

Glancing up from his steak, Tim lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing,” Lucy said, waving a hand. “Just— do you remember when I found out who you were?”

“You mean when I found out who you were?” Tim corrected her. “I basically handed it to you on a platter.”

Rolling her eyes, Lucy said, “As if I didn’t do the same thing for you. Anyways, I was just thinking about it, how I reacted.”

“Oh, I remember that part pretty well,” Tim said with a dramatic wince, and Lucy scoffed.

“If you didn’t want to get slapped, you shouldn’t have called me boot so many times.”

“You’re sounding a little too pleased with yourself there, Chen.”

“Uh-huh.” Holding back a grin, Lucy glanced around the restaurant again. It was a nice place, with a bar at the back and instrumental music playing in the background, overlaid with people’s conversation. You wouldn’t think a place like this would be a front of some kind.

“Hey.” Tim’s voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked back at him. His expression serious, he said, “Stay sharp. Just because it’s got a pretty cover doesn’t mean the Ghost’s intel is off. Generally, she knows what she’s talking about.”

Nodding, Lucy said, “Right, got it. But— how exactly do we find what we’re looking for, here? I mean, we’re probably not going to just stumble across a cash exchange— and even if we did, we’re civilians right now.”

“Which is why tonight is about surveillance and keeping a low profile,” Tim told her. “We watch the waiters and the rest of the staff, and if we can, we’ll get a look inside the kitchens. Anything we can get pictures or proof of, we bring to Lopez, and she gets a search warrant.”

“Got it.” Tapping her fingers against the tabletop, Lucy resisted the urge to look around the restaurant again. No matter how much she wanted to catch these people, she couldn’t make herself conspicuous. It was better to focus on what was in front of her instead.

Namely, Tim, who looked just as impatient as she felt— if the people around them were supposed to think this was a date, they weren’t giving much of an impressive performance. Time to change things up a little.

Leaning forward, Lucy said, “Okay. Tell me about work.”

“What?”

Lucy couldn’t hold back a grin at Tim’s baffled expression. “Come on— we’re supposed to be on a date. If we just sit here in impatient silence, that’s not really going to sell it.”

Nodding, Tim said, “Good point. Uh… work was good. Celina’s finally learning how to use the woodstain without getting it everywhere, which is an upside. She’s a good kid, though. Nolan was right to hire her— don’t tell them I said that, though.”

“What, do you think they’ll figure out that you have a heart?” Lucy said, raising an eyebrow.

“Exactly. I can’t be seen as the good guy here, you know.” Tim quipped back, and she laughed.

“I’m pretty sure that ship has long since sailed.”

“That’s not what you said when we first met.”

Rolling her eyes, Lucy said, “Okay, that barely counts. You were intentionally mean then— wait. Which time are we talking about?”

“Which time are you talking about?” Tim countered.

“The second first time,” Lucy said. “You showed up and immediately started telling me everything I was doing wrong—”

“To be fair, you could have been killed if I hadn’t—”

“—and you wouldn’t stop calling me boot. The first first time you were a lot nicer. Or… less mean, at least.”

“Because you were a customer,” Tim said, taking a drink from his glass of water, “not a rookie vigilante who was about to let a two bit criminal stab her because she hadn’t secured him properly.”

Pointing at him, Lucy said, “See, if this was a real date, this is the part where I’d throw a glass of water in your face and stomp off dramatically.”

Holding up his hands, Tim said, “Hey, you’ve improved a lot since then.”

“Improved?”

“Well, what do you want me to say?”

Tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully, Lucy said, “Hmm. How about… “Lucy, you’re the best rookie I’ve ever trained”?”

“First of all, I already said that you were one of the best,” Tim pointed out. “Second of all, you’re not a cop, so it barely even counts.”

“It counts!”

Tim opened his mouth to argue, but something caught Lucy’s eye— a man moving towards the kitchen. In one hand, he held a briefcase, and Lucy could make out the clear outlines of a gun under his suit coat.

“Tim,” she said quietly. His gaze snapped to her immediately, and she nodded to the man disappearing into the kitchen.

Understanding flashed across his face, and she saw his hand twitch, the way it did when he wanted to reach for a gun he no longer wore at his side. “Let’s go,” he said, getting to his feet.

Lucy rose and followed him across the wide main room. None of the other customers so much as glanced at them, and Lucy silently thanked her lucky stars for that.

The main room was partitioned off by low wooden walls framing, but not completely obscuring the dining area. To their left, a walkway led to the entrance. To the right there were two doorways— one leading to the bathrooms. The other at the end of the hall, a swinging door, opened into the kitchen.

As they moved around the corner, Lucy glanced at Tim. “Hey— let me take the first look,” she said, keeping her voice low. “It might look less suspicious if I’m spotted then if you are.”

He gave a brief nod, hanging back a little. As Lucy headed towards the kitchen door, she couldn’t hold back a flicker of pleasure. It couldn’t have been that long ago that Tim wouldn’t have trusted her with this role. Things had changed a lot between them.

Coming to a stop next to the door, Lucy peered over the low swinging door. There was the usual bustle of a restaurant kitchen— cooks weaving their way around each other, the clatter of pans and sounds of voices.

And then Lucy spotted the man with the briefcase. He was talking to another man, with short blond hair and a scar cutting across his brow. The two of them spoke in voices low enough that Lucy couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.

The briefcase sat open on the counter in between them, the contents obscured by the blond man. If I can just get a better angle… Quietly, Lucy stepped closer, her hand coming to rest on the top of the door as she peered into the kitchen.

She caught a brief glimpse of what could only be cash— stacks of it, lining the inside of the briefcase— before the door under her hand moved slightly, letting out what felt like a shatteringly loud creak.

Both men turned at the sound. Lucy’s heart nearly stopped, and she ducked away, turning her face so they wouldn’t catch sight of her. She couldn’t hear what they were saying over the noise in the kitchen, but she knew criminals. They were paranoid, and with good reason. Which meant there would be someone out here to check in a few seconds.

She sensed rather than saw Tim moving up behind her. “They saw you?”

“Only barely,” Lucy said. Her heart had regained momentum, and was pounding against her collarbone now. “But someone’s going to be out here soon.”

It wouldn’t be long— and they wouldn’t be able to make it back to their table without being spotted. Better to stay here and come up with an excuse, and there was only one that Lucy could think of.

Spinning to face him, she said, “Kiss me.”

His jaw dropped, just slightly. “What?”

Lucy caught what sounded like a creak behind them. Abandoning any pretense of explaining the situation to Tim, she caught hold of his face, and kissed him.

He didn’t freeze, which shouldn’t have surprised her. Tim was a natural at adapting, and they’d been working together long enough that it wouldn’t be too hard for him to pick up on what was going on.

What did surprise her was the kiss. It was supposed to be awkward, embarrassing even, to kiss Tim. It was supposed to be something she wanted to get over with quickly, and not linger on.

It was none of those things. It was the opposite, and so much more. Her heart was pounding and she knew there was something she was supposed to remember, but all she could really register was Tim— his lips against hers, his hand at her waist, tangling in the fabric of her dress.

And then someone cleared their throat, loud enough that it broke through the trance she was in and reminded Lucy where she was, and why. Pulling back, she made eye contact with the man who’d been carrying the briefcase.

Before he could have a chance to speak, she did. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Lucy said, letting an embarrassed half-smile cross her face. She was pretty sure she was a little flushed, which definitely couldn’t hurt the illusion. “We, ah, we didn’t realize anyone was back here, did we?”

For a minute, she didn’t know if Tim would chime in— he was completely still. Lucy could feel his heart beating against her palm resting on his chest. But then he said, “Nope. Is this area off limits?”

“No,” the man said after a brief pause. “But the kitchen is. Why don’t you two go back to your seats?”

Lucy shrugged, flicking a nonchalant look at Tim. “I guess this can wait until later. Come on, babe.”

Catching hold of his hand, Lucy gently tugged Tim after her, forcing herself to move casually and not look back. When they reached their table, she sank into her chair and looked down at her half empty plate. As Tim sat across from her, she asked quietly, “Is he still watching us?”

“He just turned and went back into the kitchen,” Tim told her, and Lucy let out a long breath.

Finally, she looked up at him. His expression was set in the Tim Bradford Cop Expression, which was… understandable, honestly. “Hey— I’m sorry about springing that on you,” Lucy told him, feeling herself flush a little. “It just seemed like the best move at the time.”

“It was,” Tim said, shrugging. “It kept us from getting caught, so, you know. Good work on that.”

“Yeah, you too,” Lucy said, and nearly groaned at her own words. Things were awkward now— and why wouldn’t they be? It made a lot more sense for things to feel awkward than for them to feel… the way they had earlier.

She shoved the thought aside as Tim said, “I don’t think we’re going to get anything else here tonight. Should we—”

“Call a night, yeah,” Lucy finished for him. “Great idea. We can debrief and regroup tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” Tim turned and waved for a waiter, and Lucy sat back in her chair, holding back a wince.

They paid for their dinner and left the restaurant. Tim had driven them there, so he drove her back to her place first, and walked her up to her apartment. When they reached the door, Lucy hesitated before she went in.

“We’re okay, right?” she asked. The rest of the thoughts that had been boiling in her head came rushing out as she continued. “I— I know it was out of nowhere and— and weird, right? Obviously it was weird, I just know that PDA makes people uncomfortable, so the guy wouldn’t have questioned it as much, and… yeah.”

Tim had waited patiently through her whole rant. When she finally trailed off, he said, “Lucy. It’s fine. I was a cop, remember? I wasn’t a UC, but I still get it. It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh— of course, right,” Lucy said, a little twinge going through her. Of course he’d get it. And of course it wouldn’t affect him. She should never have thought otherwise, even for a second. “Okay, glad we got that settled. Um— talk to you tomorrow?”

“Talk to you tomorrow, Chen.”

And then Lucy was stepping into her apartment, the door was closing behind her, and she was pretty sure she had a headache.

So she did the logical thing and went to bed before Jackson or Tamara could show up and interrogate her about her date or who she’d been with, internally swearing to not think about the whole thing until tomorrow.

Her dreams had other plans. It was like her traitorous brain insisted on reminding her of the kiss— replaying parts of it over and over again until it was hard not to think about it.

Which was stupid. She didn’t have any reason to think about this so much, Lucy reminded herself as she got up to have breakfast before work. It was just one kiss. Didn’t mean anything, especially not from Tim of all people.

Right, her mind said. Tim. Who you used to be interested in. And WHY did she have to remember that right at this moment?

So she’d been interested in him when they first met. She’d been curious about the admittedly handsome, stern stranger who only softened on very rare occasions. But it hadn’t been long before it had been clear to Lucy that Tim wasn’t looking for romance, with her or anyone else. So she’d stuck with just friends, especially after finding out he was Orion. Romance with Orion was unthinkable on a level she couldn’t begin to comprehend.

Or it had been, anyways.

Okay, enough of that. Lucy pushed the thought out of her mind. And continued to do so as she got ready and went into work.

Lucy had worked at Wellington’s Coffee for almost a year now. It was a nice shop— the decor practical and sturdy, matching the personality of the owner, and the wide windows at the front filled the blue walled shop with light. And, luckily for Lucy, she clocked in today right when the lunch rush started. So she had plenty of time to take her mind off of the fiasco that was last night.

Not that that stopped her co-workers from bombarding her with questions. And they weren’t the only ones.

“So, did I hear you went on a date last night?”

As Lucy passed Aaron his coffee, she frowned at him. “Where did you hear that?”

“If I tell you, will you answer the question?” he countered. The younger man was a usual at their shop, and a good friend. He was also a little too invested in Lucy’s love life ever since she’d asked for his advice on how to break up with her last boyfriend.

Sighing, Lucy said, “Yes. To both, but it wasn’t a big deal— I don’t think we’re going to go out again.”

Aaron’s eyebrows went up. “Really? Cause that’s not what I heard.”

Lucy frowned. “Okay, where exactly are you getting this information?”

“Uh—”

“Lucy!”

Both she and Aaron looked up at the voice calling her name. Tim was striding across the coffeeshop towards her, his expression serious. Which was pretty on brand for him, but Lucy had gotten good at reading the different types of seriousness. There was definitely something wrong right now.

Giving Aaron a brief nod, he turned to her. “Hey. We need to talk.”

“Okay,” Lucy said. “I don’t think anyone’s using the break room right now— follow me.”

She moved out from behind the counter and towards the door marked “employees only” at the back of the shop, Tim on her heels. As she moved, she saw her co-worker, Dark, moving out of the back room, and waved to get his attention. “Hey— I’m taking my break. Can you watch the register?”

“...sure,” Dark said slowly, his voice making it clear he had some questions. Most likely about Tim being there— but honestly, Lucy had neither the time nor energy to handle that.

The break room was, as predicted, empty. Lucy didn’t bother taking a seat, but turned to face Tim. “Okay— what’s up?”

He hesitated, which was definitely rare for him. “Ah… okay. We were seen last night?”

Frowning, Lucy said, “Wait. What do you mean— we weren’t even there as Lyra and Orion, how could we be seen?”

“Not… that kind of seen,” Tim said. “My former watch commander was there having dinner. With his wife.”

What does— and then it clicked, and Lucy’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh, no— did they see—”

“If he and Luna’s visit to the shop this morning, and her comments about the lovely young woman I had with me are anything to judge by… yeah.”

“Crap,” Lucy whispered, with as much emphasis as she could muster up. Starting to pace back and forth, she rubbed a hand across her forehead. “Okay. This is fine— we can figure this out. I mean, we can’t tell them we were undercover, but we can figure this out. What did you tell them?”

Grimacing, Tim said, “That it was a one time thing, and they were reading too much into it. I don’t think they bought it— and they’re not the only ones who know. Luna told their daughter, who’s friends with Nolan’s kid, who told him, who told Celina—”

“Who told Aaron,” Lucy finished, the realization hitting her like a bus. “That explains a lot. Ugh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to blow up this way.”

“Hey,” Tim said, his voice stern but with just a hint of gentleness that definitely didn’t make Lucy’s heart flutter. Because that would be absurd. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have predicted this.”

“Couldn’t have predicted our friends being incredibly nosy?” Lucy said, lifting an eyebrow.

“Well, that’s pretty much a given at this point,” Tim said wryly. “But it’s still not your fault. They’ll forget about this after a week or two— let’s not worry about it right now.”

“Right,” Lucy said, nodding. “Focus on the job instead. Um… oh! I saw what was in the briefcase last night.”

She gave Tim a quick recap of what she’d seen, from the cash to the man with the scar who’d received it. He listened with a deep, thoughtful frown, not speaking until she finished her description. “I’ll have to check with Lopez— but that does sound like a felon she’s been watching for a while now— Valen Rudor, I think. Guy’s got a long list of charges, and a warrant out for his arrest. But if we can’t get proof he’s there—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lucy said, nodding slowly. “Okay— any ideas how?”

“Actually, yeah,” Tim said. “It involves going back to that restaurant again tonight, and you doing some light sneaking while I start a fight. You game?”

Oh, this was a bad idea. After the first time, putting herself in a situation where she had to pretend to be Tim’s date again? There was potential for this to end very badly.

But there was a dangerous felon out there who needed to be stopped, and Lucy didn’t back down from a fight. “Count me in,” she said.After all, she thought as she headed back to work, what’s the worst that could happen?

#februfluff2024 #chenford #tim bradford #lucy chen #aaron thorsen #the rookie #tucy #tw drug mention #tw kissing #fake dating #writing stories is a kind of magic too #chenford vigilante au

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enlighten3d · 2 months

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(this might become a tradition lmao of me throwing oc lore at you while you’re probs alseep) okok so the main families in the story are the beckett’s (we know all about them), the biswar’s (janette’s family) and the rivera luzardo’s (carmela’s family)! there’s another one but their not as important to the story at the moment!

Basically janette’s family’s deal/literally janette’s life story (so sorry this is so long akdhdl) is:

-Mum continued the family cult and roped janette’s dad/her husband into it

-When janette and her sister were born, janette’s dad up and left with janette’s sister Mary (name to be changed btw) and janette didn’t have contact with them until she was in her early 30’s

-Her mum made her life shit (its a cult what did you expect tbh/silly) meaning she was very reliant on her mum for most of her teenage years/early twenties

-Janette killed her best friend Huan Lin (cult reasons)

-Then her mum (who’s name is Diana) got really sick and was given a year left to live and janette,who was 25, was like ‘oh thank god i’m out of here’ and left before she could see her mum die

-And basically spent her late twenties running around the cities, trying to catch up on everything she’d missed in her very closeted life (music, alcohol, friends, work etc)

-Then her guilt caught up to her in the form of her best friend’s ghost and her mum’s ghost and went back home to the town that she was raised in to dismantle the cult

-that is basically where the main story starts but the dismantling of the cult isn’t going well (she’s basically started it up again)

YEAH SO. THATS HER LIFE? I was going to go into the other families but i will do that laterrr (janette was stuck in my head today) but yeah yeah as always any questions are welcomeee

yes this might and i am all for it, i love waking up to see Lore and eating it and replying to it like hours after ive seen it bcs i procrastinate too much

mary... why do i get the feeling that something Bad happened to her. its either that or she left and never heard anything abt this ever again and now lives happily on like... a fucking farm or some shite.

was janettes reunion w mary and her dad okay... were they Weird.. why didnt her dad take her too.. was it the courts. i bet it was the fucking courts.

okay but also DID JANETTES DAD (does he have a name? if not can i name him charles. /nf) K N O W ABT THE CULT STUFF?? HOW DID HE AND DIANA MEET?? DID HE FALL IN LOVE W THIS GIRL, GET MARRIED, EXPECT A HAPPY LIFE, AND BOOM, WEIRD CULT SHIT. SORRY BRO, YOUR SKINS BOUTTA BE STOLEN (yes ik that they (prolly) dont steal skin, its just funny to say it like that). or did he Know what he was getting into and think 'i can fix her'...... stares at him 👁️ What Is Up With You...

does mary know anything at ALL abt the cult......

.are the Cult Reasons the same reasons that carmela cut off ryans arm (i THINK those are the right names..). Are They. Are They.

the ghosts.. does everyone get a ghost ? or is it just the cults/ppl who got sacrificed for weird cult bullshit. can only ppl who are.. oh i cant think of the word so ill just say Attached to them see them? or it just everyone. or yeah, is it a sort of 'you knew this person + were instrumental in their death' thing.. (do ppl who died and then got resurrected (ahem, janette, ahem) get ghosts. do they see ghostly versions of themselves... (this is getting too close to the dsmp /silly) probably not, right. MORE OF A HEATHERS-STYLE THING YEAH?? GETTING TORMENTED??

bro the cult would have disappeared if you didnt Meddle........ oh well, L

does she get haunted by the ghosts to this day (i think she does?? you mentioned smth like that near the start i think)

damn janette. thats some shit indeed...

#asks #am i allowed to suggest names for mary or #i have so many questions abt janettes dad #and abt the cult rituals and shit #HOW DOES THE CULT ACTUALLY FUNCTION.#DOES THEIR WORSHIP POWER THE SPIRITS IN ANY WAY???????#👁️#anygays thank you for the food (:#gods my tendency to ramble in tags is back #it was much much worse than this back when i did tumblr rw rp i promise you #ive hit the tag limit soooooo many times #murder lesbians

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icanttalkimhavingacrisis · 5 months

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but if we set the bone straight // it'll mend // it'll fix // and we'll be well

“Yuri?” Monika tilted her head slightly, stopping by the entrance to the classroom, her sheet music in a blue folder under one arm, her instrument case in the other. “I didn’t know you went here!”

“Monika!” Yuri dropped her bow, startled. She took a deep breath and smiled at the other girl. “I wasn’t expecting you here.”

“I’ll say!” Monika laughed, entering the classroom. “I was just told by my teacher where I have band practice, he didn’t tell me with whom.” Yuri blushed slightly.

“I’ve had the band placement list for a week.” She said softly. “My cello teacher enjoys being the first to tell me about different things.” Yuri picked up her bow from the floor and placed it gently on the music stand before her. “I just did not recognise your surname on the placement list.”

“Oh, yeah.” Monika nodded. “Not many people know that I’m half-polish, I must’ve forgotten to tell you.” She scratched the back of her neck. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Yuri smiled. “At least we’re both surprised.” Monika smiled.

“What’s your second instrument?” Monika asked.

“Oboe.” Yuri looked at the smaller instrument case in the back of the room. “I enjoy the beauty of the sound it produces. How unique it is, and how important. It’s the instrument in an orchestra that all the others tune to, did you know that? Because it’s so hard to tune the oboe, the rest of the orchestra tunes to it instead. And it has the most beautiful solos.”

“That’s wonderful, Yuri!” Monika beamed. “I love to see you so passionate about things. Why did you choose the cello?”

“It’s the most similar to the human voice.” Yuri blushed. “It has a soul. It’s just… special to me.” She turned to Monika. “What’s your second instrument? I knew you played piano, but I don’t know your second one.”

“Violin.” Monika smiled. “I’m actually the concertmaster in the school orchestra!”

“That’s wonderful, Monika.” Yuri smiled softly. “I can’t wait to join you there next semester.”

“You’ll love it, I’m sure.” Monika nodded. She sat by the piano and took out her sheet music. “Have you seen the pieces we were given for band?” Yuri nodded. “What shall we start with, in that case?”

“How about the Tchaikovsky piece? The gallant poet?” Yuri asked, turning her sheet music to the band section.

“That sounds lovely!” Monika brought the piece to the front of her set. She opened the piano’s lid and adjusted the seat. Yuri took her bow in hand, quietly tuning the cello. They sat in silence for a moment, preparing to play. And then one breath, taken together - and they played.

They played the Tchaikovsky twice, before moving on to Mozart, Saint-Saëns, and a take on Chopin. When they finished all they had prepared, Monika silently took out her violin, and they continued playing, now Vivaldi and Dvořák. To finish off, Yuri took out her oboe, and, at her request, the two played a simplified version of the swan lake theme.

They packed up their instruments and left the room, somewhat fulfilled by the music. Yuri left the keys to the classroom at reception and the two left the music school building. It was snowing outside - Yuri took that as a good sign. She always loved the snow, how delicate it was, the pleasant chill it brought. She didn’t mind the cold much most of the year - she only took out a proper winter coat when the temperature was well below zero, much colder than today. She turned to Monika.

“How’s Sayori doing?” Monika blushed slightly and Yuri smiled. Those two - they had been together for a few months now, and Sayori had moved in with Monika just last month.

“She’s decided to grow out her hair.” Monika said proudly, looking over at Yuri. She had tears in her eyes, happy tears. Yuri didn’t understand them - but she was happy for Monika and Sayori all the same.

“That’s wonderful, Monika.” Yuri smiled. “I remember how beautiful Sayori looked with long hair last year.” The two started walking towards the car park.

“How about Natsuki?” It was Yuri’s turn to blush, Monika noticed triumphantly.

“She’s better, much better.” Yuri smiled to herself. “We’ve been cooking together - she really enjoys that.”

“That’s lovely to hear.” Monika beamed. “You two should come over sometime, we’d love to have you!”

“Of course.” Yuri smiled back. “I’ll let Natsuki know you’ve invited us.”

The two girls said goodbye, and went their separate ways, both to home. Monika put on her headphones and got on the bus, smiling softly to herself. Sayori was growing out her hair, Natsuki was having fun, Yuri was proud in her interests. They were all getting better. Her friends were healing.

#ddlc #jonny writes stuff #yuri x natsuki #natsuki x yuri #natsuyuri #ddlc yuri #ddlc monika #ddlc fanfiction #sayori x monika #monika x sayori

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dreadark · 5 months

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whats your current top 5 arknights operator themes? ik you like endospore (i do too i think it's one of the best. it reminds me of pokemon gen5 ost) and the pallas one i think? but im curious abt the others

and. while we're at it. which ones do you think suck if there are any

always a hard question... probably like

keep the torch (pallas) forever #1 of course it's such a unique style that somehow the only thing I've seen it compared to is beyond the bounds which was also my first thought when I heard it because they really are similar. but what Is this style called... (the word is genre isn't it)

immutable (kal'tsit) I really like how the instrumental has a completely different vibe (imo) it sounds mechanical(?) like along the lines of passenger or rosmontis's themes. but with the lyrics it sounds...graceful? with this sense of longing?? idk what I'm saying I don't actually know anything about music

endospore (mizuki ... #2) it just makes me so instantly emotional somehow it's like 80% of why I like mizuki. and I...don't like IS3 but this theme is so good i can imagine a better version. like...it really is mizuki's last stand

high mists of spring (qiubai) probably half the reason this is here is because it doesn't have lyrics but it's still just a really good theme... I like how emotional guitars can sound, I didn't expect something like this for qiubai but it really works

dormant craving (ho'olheyak) actually I think it fails as a character theme (the sound(?) is good but if you start paying attention to the lyrics they... do not match ho's character. which makes me a bit sad because I assumed she was a more interesting character from the lyrics before I read lonetrail rip) but still it's been stuck in my head for months so I have to include it. I literally have all the lyrics memorized (mostly it's really fun to sing to)

the explanation wasn't asked for but I love rambling. other than the top 2 the other ones will change based on my mood probably

there's... also a lot of themes that I think suck but to not get too much into a rant... recently degenbrecher's theme annoys me... she should've gotten something cool like carnelian or flametail or her own boss theme hello?? how did you make that one so good and then this... (I have this same problem with mudrock...)

but it's like... I guess the song isn't bad just... uncharacteristically wistful..? just not intense enough. does this sound like a 3 time kazimierz major champion to you like why does stainless's theme sound cooler than hers. it's not right

#ask #arknights #recently the themes are really hit or miss i feel #also i miss the earlier styles..

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supportivecircle · 1 year

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i ran a sonic based dnd campaign for a year

my folders on drive and on my desktop are filled with so much crap

we didn’t get to finish it but the campaign document was sitting at around 130 slides and we still had a final stretch to go. it was post metal virus arc by a few months, sonic didn’t come back immediately (in fact he wasn’t sent to the Sol Dimension, he warped to the Twilight Cage. the players who knew Sonic expected Sol Dimension. i robbed their minds. i ROBBED them. THATS RIGHT. DARK BROTHERHOOD WAS BEING WORKED INTO IT. LOOSELY. WE CLOWN IN THIS MOTHERFATHER.) so Amy didn’t step down but Jewel did become her administrator of the Logistics branch of the Restoration, while Amy lead the Security branch.

i made a custom warlock subclass (balance unsure) for wisps patron that had an experimental prototype variable wispon the restoration was testing based off of whisper’s

i pieced together a map of the main continent based off of: tabbing in and out of the sonic forces map screen to get the rough landmass and locations of “zones”; some work people online did to try the same thing; cream’s WRONG map (she says thats north but cuhLEARLY in forces this cannot be the case dear god help me you stYUPID CHILD); and amy’s Restoration map was of no help to me at all because it shows Central City on the coast where Seaside/Sunset would have been, and also on a northern shoreline while barricade town is on the end of an entire peninsula. so i FIXED it. i fixed ALL of it. also there is a small town named Degrassi near the snowline south of Winterburg. because we love Degrassi. make it canon Evan Stanley if you somehow stumble across this. whisper into Flynn’s ear like wormtongue and get this done for me, whatever it takes, because i know you can make it through. maybe name it like Dagrassy. idk you’re the talent not me.

we had started in 2020 and played for two months before taking a year hiatus to play a magical girl campaign in the FATE system. some highlights of the campaign:

at one point early on, a piece of the orbiting ruined Death Egg fell to the earth in an event known as a “Death Fall” and landed on Orchardville. the players got to team up with Whisper to infiltrate it and deactivate the systems onboard controlling the badniks coming out of it. mimic was also there to steal data for starline.

the Bad Guys didnt split up like in canon, instead eggman had been working real lowkey on finding where sonic warped to to finish him off, and starline became better at being a leader. mimic was still doing stealth ops. rough and tumble were given a task of leading bandit activity in the western part of the continent to keep the Restoration busy. honestly, i just didn’t want to think about what to do with the Zeti so they never came up. its a whole thing. probably not well thought out grand scheme but no one asked questions about the Zeti.

i stole the entirety of the death house from curse of strahd but toned it down to just make a spooky haunted house segment near windmill village and i played the instrumental loop of pumpkin hill for at least 30 minutes at one point as ambience.

one of the players had a truck that over time got suped up with upgrades to be a complete wrecking ball with a lightning cannon to shock badniks and an on-board AI the inventor made based off of his boss, Lanolin, named LAN who would activate with the phrase LAN-Online.

the players helped begin the healing of the Green Sand Hill Zone by uncovering the underground main hub Egg Pyramid that had been controlling the Egg Pyramids in Forces and were draining oil out from the earth. they fought Thunderbolt the Chinchilla there, who had been running the operation for Eggman while he was working on his grander plans.

one player was offered a FIST BUMP in the first session by Lanolin and refused cause the character was an old grouch. this stain on their character was never cleaned.

there were several starline’d versions of badniks that appeared the closer they got to his operations. incredibly obvious knock offs with a new color scheme. starline also freaking died by being outplayed by Eggman.

there was a recurring merchant they met in the first city and almost every major city afterwards who was actually a wizard who inherited wealth from their bastard father and decided to open up a series of pawn shops across the world called Thorne’s Tradery (her name was Juliet Thorne). she refused to use offensive magic out of an oath she took, but was doing her best to help the Restoration by supplying their agents (and civilians) with easy access to a fair place to trade and possibly get magic/advanced tech items (not for civilians).

i did what SEGdont and had Tangle and Whisper finally resolve their blatant romantic tension with the aid of the player characters. we stan these lesbian queens. tangle was a monk who had “determination” or something instead of Ki, and whisper was the same warlock subclass as the player character, but a lower level. i never got around to making an amy statblock but she was going to be a battlemaster fighter with some character feat type stuff akin to divination wizard’s portent, and would have focused around giving players advantages/extra actions in combat when not beating stuff with her hammer.

the finale was going to have the entire team go super-mode via chaos emeralds (screw the canon) and fighting a giant invasive monstrosity from the twilight cage threatening to destroy Central City, while Sonic was still dealing with REALITY SICKNESS from his time spent in the cage. they’d have had unique abilities, a theme song on their turn (Endless Possibilities Rockestrate My World version, Reach for the Stars, What I’m Made Of, and Knight of the Wind), and a one-time reaction called “We’re All Counting on You” that would have provided them with an emergency supply of rings from notable NPCs they had bonded with during the game. it was going to be hype.

i was far FAR too lazy to draw my own characters on top of maps and writing everything, so i used a freaking ton of OCs i found online as character pieces. possibly controversial to some, but i never passed them off as my own and knew i’d never be able to draw or show artwork of them in any posts online i made about the campaign cause they aren’t my characters. so unfortunately, i cannot make or post artwork of player character Periwinkle the Pangolin making out with her witch girlfriend Rosaline the Fox. i did make this little guy though: Georgie Greenhorne, the deer, and avid child scout. he has several badges.

anyway decided to finally make use of this account to post something of substance and then probably nothing else.

i also found this old meme i made about one of my player’s Forces OC (the brown dog) and mine, who appeared in the campaign as the CANONICAL BUDDY near the end to fist bump with knuckles. i also have this cursed lanolin with no fluff in the back. check it out. tell your friends.

#idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #dnd #dungeons and dragons #sonic wisps #lanolin the sheep #tangle the lemur #whisper the wolf #georgie greenhorne #more tags more #oh you like tags do you? well have all the tags in the world!#sonic campaign #sonic oc #sonic idw #idk which idw tag to use #wait you mean the author came back to add MORE tags?

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night-heron-writes · 1 year

Text

Buddy Daddies Episode 10

~*~WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BUDDY DADDIES EPISODE 10~*~

Okay so first things first. Ouch. Damn was Episode 10 angsty. Also Misaki looks unsettlingly like me? I don’t quite know how to feel about that 😂

Poor Miss Anna is not musically talented in the slightest, and all the kids are roasting her for it. Miri’s singing voice is really nice for a toddler, which makes sense since Misaki apparently taught her to sing, and Misaki is a really good singer.

So, Misaki’s back. We all knew that from the PV. She’s got a new haircut, new clothes, and seems to have gone sober. Good for her. However, the daycare is an interesting spot for her to show up at. How would she know where Miri goes to daycare?

The timing of her return is also suspicious to me. Just in the last couple episodes we learned that the organization is after Miri and Kazuki. I suspect Kyutaro is behind her reappearance, since this is the least violent way to resolve things. Not much of a resolution, but hey, we still have three episodes left.

Rei being the one to pull Kazuki back from a fight is interesting. He usually doesn’t get involved in whatever Kazuki decides to do, and he used to not care about making a scene in front of the daycare moms. Character growth!

Somebody else here on tumblr identified a piece of music as “Kazuki’s Theme” (I can’t remember your name, sorry! If you’re the person/know the person who did, please tell me in the tags so I can credit properly!). “Kazuki’s Theme” starts playing once they’re back in Rei’s apartment and Miri is playing with Misaki. It’s a very melancholy theme, the same one that played during Kazuki’s conversation in episode 7 with Karin. It often pops up when he believes he doesn’t deserve happiness.

Misaki dodging singing for Miri is interesting, especially given that we know she used to sing for/around Miri all the time. Rei also seems somewhat suspicious.

Oh so Misaki has cancer? Not what I expected. But if she has throat cancer, why is she still smoking cigarettes? Old habits and addictions are hard to break, but this is almost downright self-destructive. I’m also noticing the connection between Rei quitting smoking for Miri’s health, and Misaki being unable to do so even though continuing to smoke puts her life at risk.

Misaki having cancer also adds an interesting, rather macabre dimension to her theme being an instrumental version of “Don’t Say Goodbye”. She’s dying, at least potentially, and is trying desperately to cling to life, to not have to say goodbye. If you listen closely to her dialogue, you’ll also notice that her voice sounds strained, which adds an excellent dimension of realism.

How does she know that Rei and Kazuki are involved in “dangerous business”? I’m suspecting Kyutaro even more now, since Kazuki gave nothing away about his profession in Episode 3.

So it was Kyutaro who called in Misaki! I knew it! It’s also really the only choice he could make where nobody dies. His language in this episode is really harsh compared to previous episodes, and I’m willing to bet it’s because he’s feeling more than a little guilty.

Their final family outing is so sweet and so painful at the same time. Rei and Kazuki are trying to give Miri one last good experience with them before they have to say goodbye. The most painful part, at least to me, was that right when Miri says she wishes Misaki could’ve eaten with them, the theme I’ve nicknamed “Miri’s Family” starts playing—but it’s the piano rendition used when things are serious or sad. The music this episode straight up broke my heart worse than the episode itself.

The Ferris Wheel ride is eerily silent for a while. There’s not any background music, which is often more telling than whatever music might play. Other fans have compared the Ferris Wheel ride to the family’s journey together, and it’s certainly a good comparison to make.

Interestingly enough, Kazuki brings up the cat from Episode 1. Not a single mention of that cat has been made up until now.

The ride is silent until Kazuki says “Sometimes it’s kinder not to get involved”, when “Kazuki’s Theme” starts playing. He’s basically given up on ever having a permanent family, or ever being happy.

Rei talks a lot in this episode, especially in this conversation. He’s more open and emotional than we’ve seen him before, and he reacts a lot to Kazuki just giving up. His line about Miri having shown him things he never would have seen otherwise hurts so bad 😭.

Kazuki tells Miri she’s having a sleepover with Misaki. I can’t help but wonder how Misaki is going to explain that Miri will be living with her now, that she won’t be seeing her Papas again. I can’t imagine that being a fun conversation.

Kazuki wrapping his scarf around Miri paralleling the cat in Episode 1 made me bawl my eyes out. And so did Kazuki’s line “Guess we weren’t able to change.” But he has changed, they both have, and we still have three (?) episodes left. It’s not over yet and this series had better have a happy ending. If it doesn’t I will learn to draw and animate a second season myself.

#buddy daddies #buddy daddies spoilers #episode 10 #the angst was *strong* this episode #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #long post

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hilarychuff · 2 months

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for the ask game :)

i carry it in mine + 3, 13, 14

howl + 9, 15

the ask game

ty for the questions!!

i carry it in mine - tag, ao3

3. what’s your favorite line of narration?

hmm it currently stands at 45k words so hard to pick just one but i'm p sure this was the line that i was like first working towards when i started writing it

He means to make me queen, she thinks, her legs turning to jelly as she sinks to the floor.

like the scenes in chapter 6 and 7 at the wall where he shows her his mark/she realizes the full implications of it all were for sure like one of THEEEE inciting visuals i had

13. what music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

i actually write mostly in silence 😭 i can plot and write notes etc with the tv on or with music on but honestly i usually find it too distracting!!! i'm a big singer alonger and i really need to like. concentrate for the most part when i'm writing for real. nooooo clue what would be a good soundtrack for reading bc i would want vibes to be similar to like medieval period piece stuff so maybe something sort of instrumental???? or like a softly crooning female singer songwriter type of vibe. something a lil folksy perhaps???

actually wait i lied sometimes i listen to asmr videos on youtube!!! not that i recommend that per se lmao. but just a lil something to provide a bit of sensory stimulation so that i don't get like. bored.

14. is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

hmmmm. i don't think i went into this fic with the intention of like "this is what i want readers to learn" so much as i was like wouldn't if be interesting if... and then if their places were switched....

but i will say that something i didn't expect while writing was how many people would be upset with jon in the beginning for not making sansa his priority number one. which i GET like it's a soulmate fic that's sort of the expectation and it's an uneven expectation because he knows something here that sansa doesn't. but i always kind of felt like.... sure sansa is something different to him here than in canon but at least in the beginning the love is very much the same and exists and always existed???? and i could have done a better job writing TO that if i wanted it to be clear but i think it never occurred to me that it wouldn't be. it's so clear to me in canon how much jon loves his family, including sansa, even though we never actually see them interact for ourselves. but the way he thinks about her is so sweet. and the memories he has of her are very tender.

i think probably for the most part anyone who stuck around found a way to move past that if it felt wrong/unfair to them but i guess if i had one thing i wanted people to learn it would be sometimes that your ability to help someone or be there for them is not always a reflection of the love that you have for them. sometimes circumstances are just complicated. sometimes there's nothing you can do. but that doesn't mean you don't love someone and have love for them and hurt for them and think about them etcetcetc.

i am very much a problem solver in my own life/relationships which i think frustrates people sometimes and also sometimes leaves me feeling useless if someone is upset about something and there's nothing i can do but sometimes just loving someone and making sure they know that is enough !!! not that jon does that either in the beginning i guess lol woops but he's very much a sad boy ok maybe cut him some slack 😭

howl - tag, ao3

9. were there any alternate versions of this fic?

WELL the first howl i banged out in literally a 72 hour period cribbing heavily from an old scream script i found online that wasn't quiiteeee screen accurate and there was only ever one version of that. BUT in the larger grand scheme sense of this i do have notes for a howl 3 and howl 4 so like. not alt versions but additional installments in theory!!

i think there in the initial like "casting" phase if you will i had different notions for what howl 2 would be. bc joffrey was an obvious billy but i was like then who is stu.... and then finagling howl 1 meant some changes for howl 2 but honestly those felt really right to me when i settled on them!!!!!

as for howl 3 that casting has also taken a LOT of finagling that probably still needs some ironing out so that has probably gone through a couple different mental makeovers about how exactly to handle the roman/john milton of it all but rest assured i have lots of thoughts!!!!!!

15. what did you learn from writing this fic?

WELL!!!! actually!!!!! one thing that always bugged me about scream 2 was sidney being an actress and doing theater when it felt so like antithetical to her character to put herself in the spotlight in any capacity. but it's so like baked into the movie that doing howl 2 i was like ok how do i keep it??? and in thinking about that for sansa i considered a lot about the interiority of the character and how like. sure it's putting yourself in the spotlight. but it's also an opportunity to step out of yourself and be somebody different which i think both sidney and sansa are really craving, especially when stab/knifed is putting them on a national stage in a lot of ways. so that was something i hadn't really thought about before!!

i also think there are lots of times watching a horror movie where you see a character doing something and you're like "NO WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT WHY AREN'T YOU DOING XYZ INSTEAD" and then when you're making it like prose narrative as opposed to a script and you're in their head you really have to make it make sense to yourself a lot more (like not just running away after the police car crash scene in scream 2/howl 2) and so that was something i felt like i learned more about too like. yes sometimes you are making a decision because it serves the plot. but also how can you reconcile that action with your character's needs/wants/turmoils/experience etc.

#my writing #ask game #i carry it in mine #howl #jonsa fic

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gatheringdusk · 4 months

Text

I now believe every college town in those days had its own version of Ms. S, but you will not find this information in the history books.

You see, many of us girls still came from provincial towns where the morals and expectations of the late 19th century and first half of the 20th had pretty much carried over into the 1970s. Women like Ms. S played an invaluable stabilizing role for many of us during our college years as we were exposed to so many new ideas and possibilities.

The woman who played this role would usually be a private woman of taste and education, but also one with experience of the changing world, of its snares and the challenges we young women would face. Her appearance and manner and methodology no doubt varied widely by location. I can only speak of Ms. S---in outlook she was not reactionary; in fact, if we take her as an example of the type, then her ideas were rather progressive.

I think we can say with some certainty that all of these women would have understood the importance of moral clarity, self-discipline, courage, and consequences.

Like Ms. S, I imagine many of them lived in a small, well-tended house on a quiet lane within walking distance of the campus.

Her name and phone number would be quietly given out by the dean's secretary when a mother concerned about rumors of a daughter's behavior or her latest grades called to inquire. Once contacted, she would send the girl in question a note on her customary stationary (peach-colored, in Ms. S's case), the envelope small and of the same color or design, her script precise and flowing.

At our college, there wasn't one of us girls who didn't know what the peach-colored envelope meant when they saw another girl slide it out of her mailbox in the mailroom and quickly tuck it away in a book. It wasn't unusual for a certain overdramatic type to start crying when she received one, but most of us were better at hiding their butterflies, the cool blend of shame and fear running up the backs of their legs, the regret at their recent behavior suddenly strong.

Most girls who received such notes at their parent's instigation were no strangers to corporal punishment, mostly in the form of a mother's hairbrush. This instrument can be very thorough indeed when wielded with determination. But now they were young women, and knew that at their coming appointment they could expect a punishment of severity befitting their age. In fact, it was rare that more than one visit would be required to keep the young woman in question on the right path.

But you will want more detail about these matters. Here is my experience. The first time I walked up the path to the front door of Ms. S, I did so as if pulled against my will by many fine strings. I did not dream of disobeying the invitation. I had not been raised that way. But it is a curious sensation for a young woman on a warm autumn day to walk toward her punishment of her own free will. I still remember what I was wearing. A gray skirt of fine soft wool; penny loafers; a green cardigan sweater open over a black blouse. I knocked and was greeted at the door by Ms. S.

Hello, Lisa,” she said. “You are Lisa, aren’t you? Why don’t you come right in?”

I shook her offered hand. I’d pictured a more austere, lean, genteel, and older woman than the tall, even imposing thirty-something woman in a black dress who stood aside as I entered, studying me with a frankly assessing glance.

The house immediately gave me an impression of taste and care as I stood waiting while she shut the door and turned to me, again studied me for a moment, and said, “So Lisa, I understand you’ve gotten involved with a fast crowd that likes to smoke and drink, and that you stopped attending church here in town or even pretending to hide your superiority when you go home to visit. This is not how you were raised to behave, is it?”

Then, before I could say a word in my own defense, she had taken my arm, turned me a few degrees, and smacked me twice hard on the seat of my skirt.

Tears came to my eyes at this indignity. I had in some vague way expected to be treated as an "adult," whatever purpose I was there for. This was a blow to my ego. If I was actually to be punished by a woman I'd never met, there would surely be a quiet, difficult conversation first, a cup of tea, some connection formed, some kind of preliminaries at any rate. Not brisk bottom smacks in the front hallway like those given to a young child. Was there nothing unique about me, about my "case"?

Letting go of my arm, she watched me as I reached back in shock to rub the sting. The force of her smacks seemed to have set something in my entire pelvic region vibrating, and my breath felt a little shallow. She was a strong, handsome woman in a simple black dress, sheer stockings, and low heels, her black hair cut on a slant, with a remarkably clear gaze and beautiful eyes. She was stronger than the average woman, but she had the rare kind of athletic but feminine harmony of form and movement that is striking in person but doesn't come through in most photographs. Beside her, my slender frame felt small, vulnerable.

“I imagine you’re thinking we hardly know each other," she said. "But I’ve actually spoken at some length with your mother, who is very concerned that you may be losing your way. I assured her that I have met many another highly intelligent, pretty small town girl like yourself. She knows you well. I agreed with her surmise that this is a crucial moment in your maturation, and assured her that she could trust me to help you through it. In fact, I let her know that she could expect a call of apology from you later today."

She stopped and led me down the hall and into a small, simply appointed sitting room with windows onto the back garden. She closed the door, then crossed the room to a closet, opened it, and when she turned back to face me was holding a smooth, sturdy men's leather belt. Doubling it up and tapping it lightly against the side of her leg as it hung beside her, she said to me,

"Lisa, I think you know that you are here to be disciplined. I've found that it's generally best to get a girl's punishment out of the way first during an appointment. Then our talk afterwards about expectations will be more productive.”

“But I’m a grown woman,” I said, suddenly realizing how real the situation I'd gotten myself into really was. “I don't have to submit to a... a punishment.”

“Yes, but I believe you will, Lisa, because I can tell that in your heart you already know you’ve earned it. I never punish a girl who doesn’t appear capable of real remorse. There would be no point. I am certain that you are sorry for how you’ve behaved already, but too proud to admit it to yourself. This can become a lifelong habit if not stopped as soon as possible.”

I knew deep down that what she was saying was true. I didn’t even want to be doing the things I’d been doing any longer. But she was right. I was too proud to admit it.

“The best remedy I’ve yet found for such an attitude is this belt. You can start by taking off your skirt. And I think the sweater as well.”

I couldn’t quite believe I was obeying, unzipping my side zipper and stepping out of the skirt as she watched me. It was all happening so fast. My chest felt funny, the air thin, and I had a funny clenchy sensation in my bottom and, since we're being honest here, also between my legs in front.

But time was passing and I couldn’t stop it. When I had taken off my skirt and wore only my blouse, and below the waist just underwear and socks and shoes, I stood before her.

"What a graceful, lovely girl you are," said Ms. S. "It's a shame that you haven't behaved with such grace as you've been blessed with. Are you at all sorry, Lisa?"

I had to keep myself from crying all of a sudden. Yes, I was sorry. But my pride was strong, and I bit my lower lip and gave only a slight, begrudging nod.

"It must be a shock to find yourself standing here before me, Lisa. But I want you to know what I told your mother, who loves you very much: I am going to punish you no more than is necessary to make this a lasting lesson. The point where we will know this has been achieved is different for every girl, but together I think we will find it."

The longer Ms. S spoke to me, the more I felt like she knew me as I really am. As my fear and dread mounted at what was coming, so did my sense of trust that she had my best interests in mind. It was a very curious feeling. And I also had the clear impression that Ms. S was aware of my heightened state. She told me quietly to take off my shoes and then lie down on the couch, and I did so. She told me to take the pillow near my head and place it under my hips, and I did this too. I remember it was a small but plump red velvet pillow. I remember that she stepped forward and tugged my panties down to my knees in one swift motion and that I didn't resist, that my heart beat faster and something in me even thrilled at this intimacy, at the baring of the pert, pale, tender, neatly rounded bottom I sometimes admired in the mirror when alone.

Then she told me that I'd been a very naughty young lady, that she was going to give me a belt whipping that would be very difficult for me to bear and and even harder to accept with obedience, and that she believed I would do my very best no matter how long it went on. Then my lesson began, and I still remember it to this day.

#fantasy

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