CONFRONTATIONS

CONFRONTATIONS

“  you have to talk to someone,  eventually.  it doesn’t have to be me,  but.  you need to.  ”

“   i’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.  ”

“  you may like to pretend,  but i don’t.  something is wrong and you’re hiding it from me.  ”

“  you can’t even say that and look me in the eyes.  you’re clearly lying.  just tell me the truth.  ”

“  everyone else might be buying it,  but i don’t.  what’s wrong?  ”

“  you’re not fine.  you’re clearly not fine.  and you don’t have to keep saying that you are.  ” 

“  you can talk to me,  you know.  whatever you have to say,  i’m not gonna judge you or do anything.  i just want to listen.  ”

“  you can’t run away from this forever.  ”

“  i can’t keep acting like i don’t see something is wrong with you.  ”

“  you keep acting like if you let down your guard the world will end.  ”

“  stop brushing me off.  i know something is going on.  ”

“  hey— look at me.  you can talk to me.  ”

“  i don’t know if you think you’re being strong or protecting me,  but i don’t need you to keep painting on smiles when you’re clearly upset.  ”

“  why don’t you trust me enough to let me in?  ”

“  you think if you run around taking care of everyone else,  no one will notice you’re falling apart.  ”

“  you keep acting like you’re looking for an excuse to leave.  ”

“  stop.  just stop trying to avoid this.  shutting me out isn’t going to fix the problem.  ”

“  you do realize you don’t have to do this alone right?  ”

“  you think you’re handling this on your own but you’re not.  that’s not how it works when the people who care about you can see you’re suffering but refusing to ask for help.  ”

“  you don’t get a choice this time.  i’m helping you.  ”

“  why do you keep lying to me like i don’t know ever time you try it?  ”

“  i don’t know why you seem to think you have to hide your pain.  ”  

“  i don’t know why you thought i wasn’t going to notice.  but i see right through you.  ” 

“  i know you’re having nightmares again.  ”

“  why are you acting like this?  ”

“  don’t change the subject.  i saw you crying.  ”  

“  you fucked it up.  ”

“  what the hell is wrong with you?  ”

“  just tell me what the fuck the problem is?  ”

“  did you just flinch away from me?  ”

“  i trusted you. why can’t you trust me too?  ”  

baldur's gate 3 starters (part 1)

part 1 / ? .

❝ a less trusting person might think this all sounds very suspicious. ❞ ❝ you say all the right words, but i’m not sure you mean the right things. ❞ ❝ i know somewhere quiet. somewhere intimate. somewhere we can…indulge in each other. ❞ ❝ eugh, don’t be nice to me. it makes me want to be nice back. ❞ ❝ we needn’t be enemies. there’s plenty of those to go around already. ❞ ❝ there’s a steeliness to you, an unwavering tenacity in the face of, to be frank, quite dire odds. ❞ ❝ even the waves of fate can break upon the shores of will. ❞ ❝ i appreciate anyone that opens a conversation with threats of bodily harm. ❞ ❝ oh, you know me - ever the optimist. i’m trying to focus on the positives. ❞ ❝ i’m not easily impressed by people, but you’re stronger than i gave you credit for. ❞ ❝ there’s an air about you. something alien. ❞ ❝ loosen the grip on your pride for one blasted moment, won’t you? ❞ ❝ it’s been a long time since someone stuck their neck out for me like that. ❞ ❝ there’s something odd about this village. people skulk around like they’ve something to hide. ❞ ❝ you know, if you want to spend time with me, you only have to say so. ❞ ❝ i want to know what the world sees when it looks at me. what you see. ❞ ❝ what’s better than a devil you don’t know? a devil you do. ❞ ❝ you must know that you’re…that you’re very special to me. ❞ ❝ the gods are nothing if not vindictive in their vengeance. ❞ ❝ stay with me a while, will you? day will come all too soon. ❞ ❝ here’s my little treat with their cheeks all flushed. ❞ ❝ i am terrified. i will not claim otherwise. ❞ ❝ my apologies. i’m not quite myself yet. i had the strangest dream last night. ❞ ❝ we didn’t die today. tomorrow, perhaps. but not today. ❞ ❝ leader’s need to make tough decisions. we do what we must. ❞ ❝ i think that unknowable powers come with unknowable consequences. ❞ ❝ i’ve had a lifetime’s fill of watching little men puff themselves up with grand titles. ❞ ❝ in these times, all we can trust are the blades in our hands. ❞ ❝ it’s not easy to turn away from one you once loved. ❞ ❝ much has been promised to you, hasn’t it? but what has been taken from you? ❞ ❝ damn it all. i can do nothing right - not a damn thing. ❞ ❝ every instinct i have tells me that nothing’s changed. that i’m still just a means to an end. ❞ ❝ do not speak of a story you only know the half of. ❞ ❝ i dreamt every night that you’d come back to me. that somehow it was all a nightmare dawn would undo. ❞ ❝ when the time comes to strike, you must take it. for there may be only one chance. ❞ ❝ your eyes. there is pain, endless and deep. but also devotion - blazing like the sun. ❞ ❝ you’re adorable even when you’re teasing me. ❞ ❝ i don’t need your help, and i don’t need your pity. ❞ ❝ i’m more than what i was. and i’m not afraid of anything any more. ❞ ❝ i said exactly what i meant: i love you. you should never, never doubt that. ❞ ❝ this is all like some sort of terrible dream. but it’s real, isn’t it? ❞ ❝ there is no redemption. can’t you see? it is too late. ❞ ❝ i don’t know that it was brave. i just know that it was right. ❞ ❝ you took those bastards down like it was nothing. it…was amazing. ❞ ❝ they underestimated me. so they paid the price. ❞ ❝ we fight, we die, and we just hope that when our time comes, there is someone else to take our place. ❞ ❝ unfortunately for me, you’re my friend. rescuing you from mortal peril is my right. ❞ ❝ what did you think i was going to say? 'oh, come here, i'll kiss you better'? ❞ ❝ flowers are so overrated. they're bright, gaudy, and almost never make good poisons. ❞ ❝ i’ve been lied to, my whole life. and i was gullible enough to just believe it. ❞ ❝ you know, i never pictured myself as a hero. never thought i'd be the one they toast for saving so many lives. and now that i'm here…i hate it. ❞ ❝ you know, i feel a connection between us. like we're two souls walking the same path. ❞ ❝ the forgiving sort, are you? you should be careful. plenty would take advantage of that. ❞

❝ it’s as if god made you just to ruin me. ❞ ❝ perish the thought. every word i said was nothing less than true. ❞ ❝ you have a manner of irresistible desperation about you. i like it. ❞ ❝ i got my eye on you. you got the look of a troublemaker. ❞ ❝ i’m starting to think you’re my guardian angel. ❞ ❝ it seems you know me better than i know myself. ❞ ❝ you…you have no idea what you’ve done. ❞ ❝ they say madness and genius are separated by but a hair’s breadth. perhaps the same is true of madness and stupidity. ❞ ❝ oh, it’s you. don’t you get tired of telling people how to live their lives? ❞ ❝ good morning! thank you for not killing me the other night. ❞ ❝ when the time comes to strike, you must take it. for there may be only one chance. ❞ ❝ it is good to savour the moment of victory - but pace bg3 syourself. our fight is just beginning. ❞ ❝ i was too hasty to judge you. i thought you were witless, gutless, unimpressivably bland… ❞ ❝ yours is the first happy face i’ve seen in a good while. ❞ ❝ when hope has been whittled down to the very marrow of despair – that’s when you’ll come knocking on my door. ❞ ❝ thank you, my friend. maybe we’ll meet again, in another life. ❞ ❝ you’ll regret sticking your nose in my business. ❞

Weiner dog wearing armor at the Michigan Renaissance Festival (2002)

every moment that ella can spend with the grizzwald sisters is a moment ella feels this certain rush of relief that little else can. they are alive- she knows they are alive, but it is only when they are near that she fully believes it. whenever they come, she clings to any moment she can spend with them, but that doesn’t mean that every moment spent in their company is carefree.

one moment the pair ride through the woods around the castle, chatting, catching up, the next a noise, something moving, a whisper of the wind disguises itself as some sinister threat and sends ella ashmore’s steed galloping off alone to protect on instinct, riding and riding until she reaches the glowering towers and finding nothing- not even a bird. it was just a noise…

meeting justine halfway, ella is about to explain when @playbarbies frets “  yes.  i am telling you what to do.  i’m telling you not to pull something like that again because—  ‘cause fucking hell.  i care about you.  okay? ” and ella can only blink in surprise.

justine is the sister that ella can only imagine having, her kindness and protectiveness for even her after everything that both her and her sister have been through is something that ella cannot begin to understand, no matter how she tries. but she can hear. and that simple four letter word has something inside of her and has her swallowing the defense that is on the tip of her tongue.

for a long moment, ella can only stare at justine as she tries to process the weight of the word echoing in her head. of course, she knew it deep down, justine and lucinda have been in her life for as long as she can remember- even years spent away from each other, the memories of them

" ... i thought- " but again the protest dies on her lips as she instead shakes her head, instead moving so to hold justine's hand and squeeze it in hopes to assure and calm the other. " i did not mean to worry you. ”

despite herself ella couldn’t keep the fear from filling her face at her stepsister’s scolding, half tempted to already begin to apologize for upsetting her, though part of her is so focused on trying to read her stepsister without looking too deeply into lucy's eyes- was that foul little creature placed in her hand a gift or was it a trick? ella was thinking trick until her step sisters scolding turned to....

thanks?

ella was certain she looked a fool, staring at rancilda with her mouth slightly agape and confusion swimming in her eyes. she corrected herself, closing her mouth, standing straighter, with her head hung low, almost still bracing herself for some sort of punishment- be it from the youngest troll or her mother, but she commented back as calmly as she could, still honestly. " ...it was a clever one. you do not have to thank me... " but kindness, especially from them... in the years they have been within her house, she knew not the last time she was treated with any sort of kindness.

best not to linger on it all too long. it will not last, ella knew that. even if it did she did not know how long she could look into lucy's eyes without rage bubbling up inside of her and an overwhelming pit of grief. ella focused in on the gift at hand.

" ...would you like me to try and find it? " the roach. the bug. an impossible task but she was used to trying to complete impossible tasks for their own amusement. " was it your friend? "

rancilda was the most tame of the trio. fucked up, nonetheless. that was in her dna and deep seeded, just like the hatred she was taught to have for her stepsister. useless, rotten, worthless. those were the most common words thrown around by her mother. and usually, rancilda was there to egg it on. but at breakfast, rancilda had been proud to deliver a riddle that had fallen on deaf ears . . . except for one person who had laughed. so, she wanted to repay the favor . . . in her own, unique way.

she had something cupped in her hands while she waited on bouncing feet for her stepsister to open her palms. there, she excitedly released a large cockroach into her palms, and rancilda was nearly giddy with delight until she saw the reaction.

" hey!! don't fucking squash it! what the fuck is wrong with you?! " she scolded as she scrambled to try to collect the cockroach, who made a big leap and skittered away. rancilda groaned and huffed out of frustration. her head dropped for a second before she looked up to her stepsister with large brown eyes that belonged to ella's former friend.

" you were the only one who laughed at my riddle today, and i . . . wanted to th -- " she stopped herself as the word caught in her throat, hacking a gag as if the word 'thank' was a hairball rather than a pleasantry. niceties were foreign on her tongue. " thank . . . you . . . "

for those of you who don’t know ella’s source material i have to share that her i want song is called “step on your grave” and honestly i think that is powerful of her