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slippinninque · 5 months

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✨ Pillow Time ✨

a/n: I've been inspired by the likes of @mcondance @megamindsecretlair @sageispunk and so many more of the lovely writers who has been feeding meeee wit the Fontaine thoughts! I hope you all like it!

warnings: Smut, MINORS DNI, 18+, Cursing, oral sex, cockwarming, needy!reader, softdomvibes!fontaine, long-fic

You had a very special pillow.

It was peach pink and white, made from the plushiest yarn that you found on a whim. It stayed fluffy and you could sit on it and still see the corners peek out when you're cross legged.

You often referred to it as one of your best creations. It reminded him of those cartoon pillows that would swallow anyone up if they sat in it. Ya'll had some good times with that pillow.

Fontaine called it your 'Princess Pillow'.

You were standing near him now, that pillow hugged to your body with your bright eyes peeking over the top at him. Fontaine was on the couch, rolling up and watching Coming to America.

"Feel like being good fo' me?" He asked, teasing as if he didn't know the answer. Fontaine watched you shift from one foot to the other, your smile fighting it's way onto your face as you nodded.

Nothing else for him to say. Fontaine widened his thighs and kept on rolling.

You'd toss the pillow onto the floor and shift close enough to be between his feet. He'd wait until you got comfortable, resting your cheek onto his thigh. While you rested there, Fontaine's attention returned to the TV.

Wasn't long before he felt the drawstrings being undone and sighed when your soft hands found him. He wasn't all the way hard yet, Fontaine knew that wouldn't be a problem.

Your lips suckled the head of his dick and Fontaine groaned softly at the drag of your tongue. A satisfied noise came from you and you sank down to the root of his dick. After a moment of shifting, you resettled and closed your eyes.

You swallowed around him, head bobbing as you fell into your own little world. Above you, Fontaine finished rolling his blunt and fired up. Taking a long pull while one of his hands went into your locs, scratching your scalp and rubbing the silky new growth between his fingers.

He blew the smoke up into the ceiling and murmured a few filthy praises. Pleasure was hooked to the tip of your tongue, in the patterns that grew more and more languid the more you relaxed into serving him.

You weren't in any hurry to make him cum, this part was all for you and Fontaine was just happy to be give you what you want.

When you went still, eyes glassy and slow blinking, Fontaine reached down and stroked the back of your neck.

"Gettin' what you need, baby?" He asked. Your answering mhmm vibrated right to his spine, "Mmn. That's good, pretty. Take your time, then."

You purred again and he had to take a breath to re-center. He could still remember how hesitant you were the first time you suggested this.

"I-I don't know if you think it's weird, we don't have too, I-I just really like having, um, you in my mouth?"

Fontaine would have bust on the spot had it not been for the gravity of the situation. You've been keeping this tucked to you for a long time, despite the laughing as you told him as if to soften the blow of his denial.

He kept his cool and reassured you that you could do anything with his dick that you wanted. In the meantime, Fontaine got ready so he could stay ready for you.

Fontaine absolutely made sure to keep his shit neat and trimmed for you and he switched to a soap that didn't have a strong fragrance. He looked up a few tips online to make sure he was taking good care of you and you weren't pushing yourself.

You rarely touched yourself. You prefer to rock against your pillow and often kneaded one of Fontaine's ankles as you savored him. It was the service, the act itself that brought you gratification. Knowing that you were being good to him, for him.

If left to your own devices, you would be down there for more than an hour. The record being two hours and some change as you both were immersed in the new Batman movie that finally started streaming.

He wanted to beat that record.

Presently, Fontaine's head was filled with a pleasant buzz as he smoked his blunt down to nearly half before it was put aside. On the TV, Hakeem finally touched down in New York in all of it's grimy splendor and to Semmi's dismay.

He was brought back by the quiet, kittenish noises coming from you as you nuzzled your nose into his coarse curls. It never ceased to amaze him how easily you could swallow him down. His hand went from your hair to the front of your neck this time, feeling as much as he could of how full of him you were.

"Look at you feelin' so good f'me, pretty. Can I play witchu? Hm?"

You nodded, putting your hands flat onto your thighs and relaxing into him. Fontaine rocked, ebbing and flowing his dick deeper down your throat with his eyes focused on yours. Your lashes fluttered shut with a sweet whine when he groaned, thrusting deep and flexing his dick in the velvet of your throat.

"Precious girl, right where you need to be. Doin' what you do best, look at that..."

Fontaine pulled his dick from your slick lips, pressing his first two fingers down onto your tongue. You were getting messy, spit twinkling along your face and down your throat.

He took off his tank and wiped your face with it.

You leaned into his touch and looked up at him, all floaty and tender, settled in that headspace that you were still too shy to talk about. Once your face was dry again, he leaned down to press a brief kiss to your soft lips after tossing his tank to the side.

Fontaine spent a moment rubbing and petting your face still, relishing in the pleasure of having such a vision willing to kneel for him and accept his care.

It was special, how you liked to please him. Different from anything he's ever encountered and much more than what he deserved--but Fontaine will be sure to be what you needed.

He spotted your wriggling and grinned in gold, "Still messy, baby?"

"Mmhm."

"Show me where."

Leaning back, you showed him the good-sized damp spot that darkened your pillow. All Fontaine had to do was lean in and you obediently leaned back onto your elbows, legs parting for him to look his full.

Fontaine whistled low, stroking himself at the sight of your ruined panties. He hadn't even known you bothered to wear any, but seeing your sweetie covered in the soaked cotton heated him.

In due time.

Fontaine crooked his fingers and you straightened at once, attention on where he held his dick for you. You got close enough or him to rub his dick across your face. When you opened up, your alluring tongue pink and perfect, he finally gave in. How could he not?

"Here you go, baby, take what you want 'cause once you're done--Imma do the same."

He didn't miss your shiver as you answered his words with a hard suck, making him moan and reach for the rest of his blunt.

............... ............. ............

END!

(or is it??? dundun duuuuun!)

a/n: Thank you for reading! I couldn't get this out of my head, lol! Tell me what you think!

taglist: @megamindsecretlair@thadelightfulone@mag1calenchantr3ss@cocoeffects@wide-nose-and-wonderful@8ttached@thadelightfulone@hobiesmain@thickeeparker@longpause-awkwardsmile@ms-angiealsina@educatorsareslutstoo@mysterychick93 @eggnox @notapradagurl7 @sageispunk @mcondance @hunnishive

(let me know if you want to be tagged!! 💕💜🌟)

#fontaine x black reader #fontaine x reader #fontaine x fem!reader #Fontaine x Fem!Reader #fontaine x black!fem!reader #they cloned tyrone #fontaine smut #they cloned tyrone smut

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egrets-not-regrets · 4 months

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A Chance (Meeting)

This is about how Lenora (OC) and Erriox (Iron Warrior OC) first met.

She wasn't sure how it happened or what happened. Whether it was by fate, by chance, or by some strange magic warpery, it definitely felt like it was luck that she found him when she did. This strange hulking man lying there with his own blood soaking into the dirt, armor seemingly broken beyond repair, with wounds that would be a guaranteed death sentence for any lesser being.

This was an astartes warrior, a space marine. Lenora knew what he was from having met her neighbor's space marine companion, Mithras, one of the Thousand Sons. But what was this one doing with such serious injuries? She did not hear any sort of conflicts between any warbands recently and there were no drag marks, no footprints; it's as if he just teleported to this place.

Regardless, this space marine would die if he didn't receive medical help soon. How much time does he still have? There was nothing that any normal human first aid can do for him. Her hands shook as she frantically looked up the number for local Astartes emergency medical and rescue services.

"Please work, please work, please work,..." Lenora muttered as she dialed the number.

A voice on the other line responded, "Hello? Astartes Emergency medical services."

The tension in her shoulders relaxed slightly as Lenora explained her situation, "I found a space marine on my property. He's injured really bad." She glanced at the prone body lying at her feet nervously, "His armor is all broken and it looks like he's been shot and beaten. I'm not sure what to do. I don't know how much time he has left."

"Ma'am, thank you for calling. We will get a team ready to retrieve him. Can you tell me which company or legion the marine is part of?"

"I don't know." She didn't delve too deeply into know what legions are in existence, "Parts of his armor have what looks like yellow and black hazard stripes? And the rest is grey? Sorry, that's the best I could do."

"Yellow and black hazard stripes... Hm... You may have an Iron Warrior there. Do you see any strange growths, like horns, claws, extra mouths, etc...?" Lenora's brows raised at that. Horns? Extra mouths? What in the world? She did another once-over at the comatose space marine. "No, he looks pretty normal to me."

The voice hummed in acknowledgement then asked for her address, which she gave, with added detail of where she was located on her property, "Okay, thanks. A team is on their way."

"Thank you. Please hurry."

Lenora settled on the ground beside the space marine and sighed, looking at him worriedly, "They're coming big guy. Hope they come in time."

As she waited, a small beetle started to climb onto the marine's face. She reached over to brush it off, but hesitated. Lenora knew it was dangerous to touch him, she's read and heard stories of their toughness and tenacity, and also how they could still fight like none other and react lightning-fast despite near-death injuries. Curiosity won out though, and she gently brushed the bug off his face before flicking it into the grass. Gaining no reaction, Lenora caressed his cheek gently again, as the distant rumble of the emergency vehicles neared. She murmured,

"You’ve come so far already, just hang on only a little while longer. Survive, and if you do, I hope you can make the most of your second chance. Good luck."

************************

Erriox slowly came to. He raised a hand, recognizing he was in a bed, connected to a multitude of tubes. Where was he? How did he get here? He could hear voices, some speaking in strange tongues, others in his familiar language. The scent of anti-septic, blood, and other chemicals invaded his nostrils. There were no clashing sounds of bolter fire and destruction, no people screaming and crying, no city structures crashing down, none of the heat from the blazing fires. There was no more of that acrid stench coming from the corpses piled in the streets or the overwhelming smell of carnage and blood, except perhaps for his own. It was almost too quiet, too strange.

The last thing he remembered was getting shot and beaten by his own brothers, and a building crashing down onto him. He had disagreed with his genesire's decision to either have Olympia enact decimation upon its own people, or face extermination and enslavement. In the end, he failed; he failed to convince his brothers, failed to preserve his homeworld and its people.

Then something happened, knocking him out in the process. Erriox had a faint recollection of a gentle touch, a warm hand, and murmured words that felt like a gentle balm to his anguished soul. He was not sure who it was or what was said, but he hung onto the voice desperately, anchoring himself from being swept away into dark thoughts and despair. Erriox vowed to find this voice once he gets out of here. Wherever this place was.

#space marine husbandry sentience #space marine husbandry #oc: Lenora #oc: Erriox #iron warrior #my writing

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hopelesswritergall · 1 year

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Hello could you possibly do a cersei lannister x transgender male warrior/king of the guards or a buff female knight reader

Alright let’s do headcanons. Buff female knight is coming right up. You address female knights also as Ser right?

@zoomdeathknight

I think that Cersei met you while Jaime was still in the kingsguard for the first time. So when all of her children would be still alive.

It is very uncommon to have a female member in the Kings guard, so you certainly caught the attention of many

Including Cersei. She first really noticed you after Joffrey fired Ser Barristan Selmy. You took a step forward and tried to plead his case.

This quickly ended as Joffrey threatend to have you fired or worse.

Normally these threats wouldn't affect you but as you looked to the king's mother it did something with you. Her eyes filled with worry, you couldn’t leave her. Joffrey didn’t realise this yet but he should be thankful for your service. Cersei would make him realise eventually.

Eventually when she needed more protection and she had to choose a personal guard, despite the knights who would kill for that position, she chose you.

As her personal guard you were obligated to be near her at all times. This included : dinner, walking through the gardens, when she reads a book and eventually she demanded you slept in the same room as her. Or at least as close as possible. She would clear out a room just for you if it was necessary.

With the battle of black water as a member of the kings guard you were meant to be on the battlefield, but by the wishes of the king’s mother you were protecting the women as they took shelter.

This is we’re she really starts to develop feelings, first it was just harmless flirting. Now she couldn’t bear the thought of you getting hurt or worse dying.

This led to her making sure that whenever you did have to fight you would have the best armour and weapons. Valyrian steel for your sword and armour made by the best smith in whole of Westeros.

If someone dared to insult you due to your appearance, she would have their head. No one insults her lover like that.

Just some random things between you and her

When she noticed you: “Joffrey, darling. Don’t you think it is a bit harsh to immediately have her killed? She just wanted her mentor to stay. Isn’t that right, Ser Y/N?” She asked, awaiting you response. “Yes, your grace it was indeed, I would never betray the crown.”

When she wants your presence: “Y/N, please sit down. We’re having dinner served.” “Your grace? Don’t you want me to leave the room and stand guard?” You asked confused as why she requested you to stay. “I made myself clear right? We are dining together and that is the end of it”

#cersei lannister #cersei lannister x reader #cersei lannister x y/n #cersei lannister one shot #x reader #asoif/got #got #got imagines #got x reader #game of thrones imagines

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lovebaela · 1 year

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Ice & Fire ༄ Pt. 8 (Bran Stark x Targaryen OC fanfic)

⋇ Chapter 8: The Three-eyed Raven ⋇

Tsireya’s POV

On our way to the three-eyed raven, we met someone, or something, named Coldhands, well that’s what Sam and Gilly called him. They told us that he would be waiting for us so he could lead us the rest of the way. He was actually pretty useful. He would help us get food, let us ride his great elk, and fight off any men coming our way. I still couldn’t help but be afraid of him still, and Meera didn’t trust him. Coldhands told us to go to a village near by and he would meet us there.

With the help of Summer, we found the village and went inside the long hall. Summer left us to go hunt, commanded by Bran so he wouldn’t attack the elk. Our stomachs began to growl. The best Meera could find was acorns, she crushed and pounded them into a paste for all of us to eat. It was so disgusting, but better than nothing. Bran and I gagged after eating it. I’d rather have raw fish like we usually ate than this. Then I noticed Jojen wasn’t eating at all, “Jojen you must have at least a bite.”

“I…just need some rest,” he replied to me, “later, I will eat.”

The rest of us looked at each other confused. Jojen was getting weaker everyday, we were scared for him.

“But Jojen you’ll perish,” Meera said, “you need to eat!”

“This is not the day I die, I promise,” he said smiling weakly at all of us.

Bran decided to warg Summer for a bit. While he was doing that, Coldhands came back with a sow. I helped Meera cook it on the flames. The smell of the meat must have brought Bran back, “is that…meat I smell?” Meera smiled, “yep, you came back just in time!” Hodor was already chowing down his meat happily. The rest of us ate while Coldhands stood aside and watched with his raven on his shoulder. He didn’t like fire.

Bran told me the men he killed were men of the Night’s Watch. Meera continued to argue that he didn’t trust Coldhands, but Jojen insisted that we go with him or we will die.

Days later…

Jojen told us that we were close to the three-eyed raven’s cave. He hasn’t been able to walk for days, we all took turns helping him stay on his feet. Poor Jojen, I always thought to myself. Bran would try to comfort me saying, “food and fire will set him right again, you’ll see.” Deep down I could tell he was frightened for him too. One day, due to starvation and weakness, the elk collapsed, for the third time, but it never got back up. We all placed our hand on the elk, praying and thanking it for its service. Meera and Coldhands finished the job, butchering it while Bran held me as I wept for it. Luckily, the elk provided us food enough for seven days later. I didn’t want to eat it, but I was hungry. To be respectful, I prayed every time before I ate it, Bran did the same.

We begin to climb a snowy hill, instructed by Coldhands, to get away from wights nearby. I helped Meera take Jojen up the hill, but we still struggled. We were all half-starved, not as strong as we used to be. Once we climbed all the way to the top, the scenery was just so beautiful and magical. We could see the cave and a huge white weirwood tree on top of it.

It’s beautiful, I thought to myself. Bran looked over at me with a smile, as if he read my mind. We walked down the hill getting closer to the cave. “We’re about sixty yards!” Bran told me. Suddenly, Hodor falls on the ice, “Hodor!” He screamed. Something was grabbing him! It was an ambush! Wights start to jump out of the ice below us and from the snow. Bran and I helped Hodor while Meera was trying to protect Jojen. We all tried our best to fight them off with dragon glass swords.

As we were fighting, we noticed some wights were on fire! “Who’s doing that?” Bran asked. We both look back at the entrance of the cave, and we see a little girl, she sort of looked like Arya, but it was too good to be true. Coldhands told us to go on without him.

“Come!” She yelled, “He is waiting for you!”

We all ran as fast as we could and made it inside the cave. Before we could even ask her who she was, she ran deeper into the cave.

“Wait!” Bran shouted, following her. We followed after him looking around the place. There were weirwood roots everywhere! The place was huge, so many side passages and chambers. We all then slid down a steep part of the passage.

The girl child was waiting for them, standing on one end of a natural bridge above a yawning chasm. Down below in the darkness, Bran heard the sound of rushing water. An underground river. (A Dance with Dragons - Bran II)

“Do we have to cross?” Bran asked, out of breath.

“No,” a voice answered. “Behind you.”

We all turned around and gasped.

His body was so skeletal and his clothes so rotted that at first Bran took him for another corpse, a dead man propped up so long that the roots had grown over him, under him, and through him. What skin the corpse lord showed was white, save for a bloody blotch that crept up his neck onto his cheek. His white hair was fine and thin as root hair and long enough to brush against the earthen oor. Roots coiled around his legs like wooden serpents. One burrowed through his breeches into the desiccated flesh of his thigh, to emerge again from his shoulder. A spray of dark red leaves sprouted from his skull, and grey mushrooms spotted his brow. A little skin remained, stretched across his face, tight and hard as white leather, but even that was fraying, and here and there the brown and yellow bone beneath was poking through. (A Dance with Dragons - Bran II)

“Are you…the three-eyed raven?” Bran asked him, approaching him.

“Yes,” he answered. We expected him to be old, but not that old. We thought he was a corpse at first glance!

“Wait a second,” I said, walking next to Bran. I examined the pale lord’s face and hair. “Look at him, the pale skin, his silver long hair, his red eyes, and his bloody blotch that’s shaped like a raven!” I turn to Bran, “Bran, do you know who this is?” He tried to think, but he couldn’t figure it out so I tell him, “He’s Bloodraven, Brynden Rivers!”

“I have been many things, dear relative,” he told me. Then he looked at Bran, telling him how long he’s been watching not only him but all of us.

“We’ve come such a long way,” Bran said, “Why did you want to see me?…or us.” He said looking over at me.

“You both are magic, capable to save us all,” Lord Brynden said. “But first you must learn to fly.”

The longer we stayed, the more we both learned. It turned out that Old Nan was right, the children of the forest were real! Well, they are actually called singers. Due to their names being so long, we all came up with simpler names for us to remember them by. The girl that helped us earlier we named Leaf.

Bran and I asked Lord Brynden so many questions, but he didn’t seem to mind them.

“Lord Brynden, I’ve been having these dreams, strange dreams,” I confess, “They fell more and more real every time I have them…what does that mean for me?”

“You are a dragon dreamer,” He told me, “you can foresee parts of the future, prophetic dreams. Like how Daenys foresaw the doom of Valyria. Your dreams are true. Do not fear what you see..” I actually liked the lectures he gave me on dragon dreams, he made me understand them more.

Bran started to learn how to warg into the ravens that lived in the cave. I wanted to try, but I’m not that powerful. When he flew for the first time, he ran into the wall. He came back and said that he felt a woman was inside the bird, but Lord Brynden explained there are many different parts of people from the past that live on in them. He tried flying again and he was a natural.

The more days that passed by, the more Jojen grew weaker. It was depressing seeing him that way. “He wants to go home,” Meera told us as we sat around a small fire, “I know he does, he won’t even try to fate his fate!”

“He’s staying strong,” Bran said. “Being brave.”

“No,” Meera said. “He’s being stupid…all I have ever hoped was to make it here, but now I’m starting to wonder why even come…”

That made us sad, “his greendreams.” Bran answered. “Yeah. Those.” Meera said bitterly. We could see tears in her eyes. “Meera, come on don’t cry!” I told her. She got up and walked away crying in the dark tunnel. She continued to grow colder towards everyone after that, but we knew it was just her emotions getting the best of her.

After much time of warging and skin changing, Lord Brynden said it was time. “Time for what?” Bran asked. “For you to know what it is to be a greenseer,” he replied. Leaf came up to Bran with a bowl and spoon, “eat this.”

Inside was a white paste, thick and heavy, with dark red veins running through it. (A Dance with Dragons - Bran III)

It honestly looked worse than the acorn paste we had. The singers claimed it to be “a paste of weir wood seeds”, though I had a hard time believing it, so did Bran. “And…eating this will make me a greenseer?” He asked the pale lord. “You are already one, all it will do is strengthen your power and wed you to the trees.” The look on Bran’s face was sad. “Look,” I told him, getting a bit of the paste on my finger and licking it, “see it isn’t so bad.” Bran knew I was obviously lying, I couldn’t even describe the taste.

At first bite he took looked rough, but then he chowed the rest of it down. The singers and the raven told him to close his eyes and slip his skin into the roots of the trees. It must have worked because Bran was gone for about a minute. He gasped once he came back. “What did you see?” I asked him. “It was Winterfell, I saw my father! He was there!” He said. The raven explained to us that Bran travelled back in time and saw Lord Stark through the eyes of the weir wood tree in the godswood. “Can I see him again?” Bran asked. “Once you master your abilities you’ll be able to go and see whatever you wish.”

It was time for all of us to rest, but Bran and I stayed up for a while in his chamber. “Tsireya,” he said, “I don’t know if I can do this.” “What do you mean?” I asked him, “you are getting stronger, more powerful! You are finally getting the hang of it!”

“But he said I’ll wed to the trees,” Bran said lowly, “I don’t want to marry a tree! I…I’d rather wed…a girl and…become a knight!”

“Hey,” I told him, taking his hand, “the raven chose you to take up his role for a reason, you are strong and brave, look around! We even made it through the haunted forest to get here. You probably didn’t notice, but you didn’t even need to touch the roots just to travel through time! You aren’t the prince that yielded his kingdom, you are Prince Brandon Stark, the winged wolf.”

“You always know how to make me feel better,” Bran smiled, “don’t forget he wanted you with me for a reason too, your dreams that is.”

“I’ve never even had different dreams since the fall,” I admitted, “they just get more and more real. Now, I feel a little strange. Maybe I shouldn’t have tasted that paste…”

“I don’t know, maybe you’ll get something different next time,” Bran said. “Let’s go to bed.”

After that night, I’ve been getting more different dreams! I even dreamt of a dragon flying over King’s Landing, but it didn’t look like the same dragon as the ones I would usually dream of. I’ve mainly been dreaming of Daenerys, I saw her in Meereen ruling! Bran has been seeing fragments of the past, most of the time with Lord Brynden to guide him.

We continued to grow into adulthood. Bran had to cut his hair due to it being so long! I helped him cut it with a blade. He helped me cut mine too.

With Bran being gone with Lord Brynden, I would talk of my powers with Jojen and the singers. It made me happy to listen to Bran explaining to me what he saw, but it broke me hearing him wanting to go back to Winterfell to watch his father when he was a kid. I also liked to play fetch with Summer. I would hang around Meera sometimes, but she didn’t like to talk much.

“Jojen,” I said, tearing up, “You’re getting weaker as the days go by! You need help! Meera was right, you don’t even try to fight it..”

“No, do not weep over me, Princess.” He told me. “I gladly played my part to get you two here, I did it for you and the sake of the realm. I would gladly do it again.”

Before I could speak, Bran gasped and asked, “Why did you do that?” We all turned at him as he continued, “take me back, I want to go back!”

“No,” the raven replied.

“He heard me, when I called for him!”

“Perhaps, or maybe, it was just the wind he heard.”

“No, he heard me! I know it…please I want to go back.”

“Like I’ve said before, stay too long in the past, and you will never return. You will never be able to finish your training to become me.”

“I never asked to be you, I don’t want to be you! An old man stuck to a tree…”

“I don’t blame you…don’t forget Bran, I was once a man who lived his life. I had a family and had a woman that I loved. I didn’t ask for it either, but I took the responsibility anyway, because I knew I was meant to do it. You won’t be like me, stuck to a tree. But you must continue learn everything before you leave.”

One day, Lord Brynden told us more of the wights and the Night King, he wants to take over the world and make it an endless cold night. That scared me. “You two are a key importance to stop him,” he told us. He soon after took Bran and showed him how the came to be in the first place. “It was you,” Bran said to Leaf, “You created the Night King, the wight walkers!” “We were at war. We were being slaughtered. Our sacred trees cut down. We needed to defend ourselves,” Leaf said in defense.

“From who?” Bran asked.

“Men, you,” She replied before walking away.

That night, Bran and I were talking, “I want to find out more,” he told me, “I’m going to go.”

“But Bran,” I told him. “You can’t, you know you’re not supposed to without him.”

“It only take a little bit,” he said. “You should try it too. Let’s do it together.” He offered his hand to me, “maybe it will work for you.” I thought about and said, “okay, let’s try.” I took his hand and we entered the part of the cave the raven was in. We look at each other and nod before grabbing a root of the tree.

I look around and I don’t see Bran anywhere! “Bran?” I asked. All I see is pitch black! I suddenly hear a painful scream, I quickly turn around. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was my mother. She was in the water with her sister, my aunt, giving birth to me! “Push!” My aunt yelled. My mother let out a roar and pushed one last time. I watched as my aunt caught my baby self and gave me to my mother. “A beautiful and healthy girl,” she told her, tearing up. They swam closer to shore and sat on the sand. I cried as I watched my mother weep as she held me. “Please watch over my daughter, give her strength and magic,” my mother prayed to the Valyrian gods, “and let the sea always be by her side, Tsireya Targaryen...” She kissed my forehead and gave me to my aunt, “they’ll be here at any moment, take her and run, now!” My aunt hugged my mother and then took me away. I stayed and watched my mother continue to pray until the assassins showed up. “Where is your daughter?” They yelled. “You’ll never take her!” She replied, cursing them. One of them drew out their sword and swiped her neck clean off. “NO!” I screamed.

Bran’s POV (while Tsireya was having her vision)

I just woke up from my vision, there were wight walkers everywhere! And the Night King grabbed me. “He saw me!” I yelled. I look over at Tsireya, still not letting her hand go. “What have you done?” Lord Brynden asked me. “I didn’t mean to…” I replied.

“He touched you,” Jojen said weakly. “You have his mark.” I roll up my sleeve and see a red mark burn.

“He knows where we are now,” Lord Brynden said. “He’s coming.”

“We need to pack,” Meera said, gathering our things.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-.”

I start to feel Tsireya’s hand moving, I look over at her and she’s shaking! The same way that Jojen used to! What frightened me more was that hers was much worse. “Tsireya!” I cried out. I quickly moved her other hand from the root of the tree and laid her down on the ground. Summer ran next to me and whined for her. Hodor wouldn’t stop “hodoring” as he watched from a far. Meera ran to the other side of Tsireya’s body and helped her the same way she did with Jojen. “Shhh, it’s okay,” Meera told her. “We’re here, Tsireya. We are with you,” I joined in. “Kostilus gaomagon daor morghūljagon. Gaomagon daor henujagon nyke. Nyke jorrāelagon ao…(Please, don’t die. Don’t leave me. I need you…)” I continued to hold her hand, I never let it go, not even while I had my vision. I kissed her hand. Oh gods, please don’t let this be the day she dies…

Her eyes opened wide and she began to cough. Meera helped me sit her up saying, “thank goodness you’re okay!” Summer wagged his tail and licked her face. Tsireya didn’t say a word and immediately went to tears. I don’t know what it was she saw, but it must have been terrible. I’ve never seen her cry like this before. “Hey, don’t cry…” I told her, “you’re back, we’re here for you.”

She first looked at Meera, “t-thank you…” she said, hugging her. After Meera got up and continued packing, she turned to me and gave me a tighter hug, “oh Bran!” She said, “I…I saw my mother…she gave birth to me but then she- she-.” “I’m so sorry, Tsireya…” I told her, “I shouldn’t have made you do it.”

“She tasted the paste,” the pale lord said, “and was able to see the past. You disobeyed me, going somewhere you shouldn’t have. But now we mustn’t waste time, the Night King is coming. You need to become me.”

“But am I ready?” I asked. A singer, Snowlocks, walked up to us with something in her hand. At first glance, it looked like a chunk of snowy ice. Once we looked closer, it looked like an egg. “Is that…,” Tsireya started to ask. “An ice dragon egg?” I asked, finishing her sentence. “Yes, for you,” Snowylocks told me. “Me? Why me? What do I know of dragons let alone ice ones!” I told her. “Be not afraid, you will need this dragon, in the future. You will bond with it. As she will with hers.” She told me, looking over at Tsireya’s bag she was wearing, “they won’t be eggs forever.”

“I have taught you a lot, but that might just not be enough…now come with me.” Lord Brynden said.

I wanted to stay with Tsireya, but she turned her head to me saying, “go, I’ll be fine.” She sniffled, “I have to help the others get ready to leave anyway.” I nod and let go of her hand. Suddenly my eyes go white.

Tsireya’s POV

We tried packing as fast as we could, the Night King could be here at any second! Bran and Lord Brynden have been gone for a while. “Guys,” Meera said, “we can finally go home! Well, not home but somewhere that isn’t here.”

“Yes,” I agreed, “finally!”

“We’ll actually have good, well-cooked food!” Meera said.

“Hodor,” Hodor chuckled.

“I could really go for egg,” she told him, “how do you like ‘em? Boiled? Fried up with some butter?”

“Hodor,” he replied.

“And you,” I said to Jojen, “you will finally be able to get help and back on your feet again.”

“Tsireya-.” Jojen began to say. We all heard a noise outside of the front cave. Meera and I run as fast as we could to see. The singers were already outside looking. It was a whole army of dead, wights, and the Night King stood in front of them. “You must take Bran and go!” Leaf yelled to us. We both ran back inside and tried to finish gathering our belongings. Jojen tried to help as well but he was too weak to go fast.

I run to Bran’s body, shaking it, “Bran, wake up we need to leave!”

Hodor stopped helping us and sat in the corner, rocking back and forth.

We can hear explosions coming from outside. The singers run in telling us they set fire around the cave, but the wights and the Night King were still capable of coming in. Usually, I was against Bran warging in Hodor unless for emergencies, because I could tell Hodor didn’t like it very much, but this was definitely an emergency! Hodor was too scared to move or doing anything! “Bran, we need you to warg Hodor!” I said, shaking him. “Bran!” A singer gave us a sledge for us to pull Bran with, “lay him on this, he will be gone for a while.” I nod and drag Bran’s body onto it. “Bran, please warg Hodor, if you can hear me!” I look back at Hodor and watch as Bran wargs him. He gets up and helps us gather food. The best we could get was mushroom, white fish from the river, and cheese from the goats that the singers had.

A wight crashes through the ceiling of the cave, the singers tried to fight it off. Then, another one crashed in! Summer tackled at it, protecting us. The first two wights were killed, but more were entering the cave. Some singers got killed trying to protect us. The rest of us threw dragon glass spears at the walkers killing some of them. “There’s too many,” Leaf said, “you must leave now!”

Bran, inside of Hodor, drags the sledge to the back exit of the cave. I double check my bag to make sure the eggs are in there and then grab Jojen’s hand, “come on!” Jojen wouldn’t move, “no, I must stay here to protect you.” “What?!” Meera and I asked. “You are coming with us!” Meera yelled. “No, this is where my story ends…now go!” He commanded, “I love you, all of you…”I took Meera’s hand and ran with her. We then noticed Summer not leaving too, “Summer no!” I screamed. I watched in horror as Summer jumped at the wights sacrificing himself. I began to tear up, we couldn’t bare watching Jojen die so we just ran to catch up with Bran and Hodor.

At the end of the cave, Bran was trying to bust the door open. Leaf caught up with us, “You both must leave and never look back!” She stopped running with us and used her fire bomb to explode the herd of the dead that was chasing us. I grew to like the singers, seeing them die made me sad.

We busted the door open and went outside. It wasn’t even the same beautiful scenery anymore, just dark and gloomy. I quickly placed my bag next to Bran’s body. Meera and I began pulling the sledge as Hodor stayed behind.

“Come on, Hodor!” I told him.

Hodor put his back against the door, blocking it, “Hodor!” Something deep down was telling me that Hodor was telling us to go on without him…

“But-.”

“Hodor!”

The dead reached the door at the other side, scratching and banging on it. Hodor still held the door. It was so much of them, about over a hundred, the door started to open. We could see their hands coming out of it, scratching at Hodor.

“Hold the door!” Meera yelled, as we kept pulling Bran away. “Keep holding it!”

“Thank you Hodor!” I yelled, “We love you!”

We heard one last “Hodor” and that was it. Everything went so wrong so fast. Bloodraven, the singers, Jojen, Summer, and now Hodor. Gone. Gone forever. I can’t believe it…

As we were dragging the sledge, I heard a strange noise. It was coming from my bag! I look inside and gasp, the eggs were hatching!

“Oh gods,” Meera said.

My egg, hatched and the dragon was as small as a lizard. It was beautiful. The dragon was, primarily, slightly darker than a baby blue color and had secondary silver markings. Its crest was silver and had pale blue wings.

Bran’s dragon egg hatched, it was beautiful too. It was much paler than mine, a pale blue crystal color with white markings. It had translucent wings.

I didn’t understand though, why hatch now?

We kept on pulling and we made it into the haunted forest again. We were exhausted. We both dropped into the snow, breathing in and out fast. We could hear the dead getting closer. Meera began to weep, “it’s no use, they’re here!” We both went to Bran’s body and used ourselves as shields to protect him. I look down at the baby dragons, they tilted their heads curiously like pups, “I’m so sorry…” I whisper to them. They both began to screech, sounded like crying.

I look at Bran, who’s eyes are still white. I place my hand on his cheek, “Bran, come back. Please.” I few seconds later, his eyes were back to normal. His face was filled with guilt and sorrow, “Guys, they…they found us.” We all look around as the dead surround us. We all huddled together, preparing to die, until someone on a great elk came to our rescue! He extended a chain that had fire at the end of it, killing them off. He sort of looked like Coldhands. We all looked up at him confused, “Who are you?”

“You all must come with me, now! The dead do not rest!”

We agreed to go with him, we took our belongings and go on the elk’s back. I was surprised that the elk was able to carry all of us, but if Hodor or Jojen were here, they wouldn’t have fit. I miss them.

We rode away from the dead and set camp. Meera and I had our guard up, not knowing if we should completely trust the man. He cooked rabbit for us and gave us the cooked meat. Bran laid his back against a tree as he held his baby dragon. “Do they eat rabbit?” Bran asked me. I gave my dragon a piece of the cooked rabbit and it ate it, “I think as long as the meat is cooked, they’ll eat anything they want.” He nodded and fed his dragon the meat.

Bran looked up at the mysterious person, “who are you?”

The man unmasked himself and the two of us gasp, “Uncle Benjen?” His face was gray with blemishes.

“What happened to you?” I asked.

“The last letter Jon wrote to me said you were lost beyond the wall!” Bran said.

He explained to us that his ranging party were attacked by white walkers and one stabbed him in the gut with their sword. The singers found him and stopped him from turning with their magic by using dragon glass and plunging it into his heart.

“You are the three-eyed raven now.” He told Bran.

“He taught me as much as he could,” Bran said, “but I still don’t feel like I am ready…”

“You will learn to control it before the Night King comes. You will be ready for him,” he then looks at me, “the both of you…”

We travelled with Uncle Benjen to the wall. We were almost there, but we stopped as we found a weirwood tree. “This is where I leave you,” he said. “But can’t you come with us?” I asked.

“The Wall is not just ice and stone. Ancient spells were carved into its foundations. Strong magic to protect men from what lies beyond. And while it stands, the dead cannot pass. I cannot pass,” he explained.

When Meera asked where he would go, he responded saying that he would do what he could to fight during the Long Night.

“Thank you, Uncle Benjen.” Bran said, sadly.

He nodded saying, “I wish all of you good fortune.” He jumped onto his elk and left.

Bran looked back at the weirwood tree and reached his hand out to it to have more visions. Meera and I stopped him asking, “are you sure you’re ready to do this?”

“I am the three-eyed raven now, I have to do this,” he replied. His touched the tree and his eyes went white.

┈┈┈┈﹤୨♡୧﹥ ┈┈┈┈

TAGLIST: @icarusignite

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abrthephantomq · 1 day

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Encoder Zim AU - Ch 3, pt 3

(Master Post)

Year: 2024

Dib knew, without a doubt, that Zim was following after him.

Dib also knew there was no way he'd be able to conceivably outrun him. He was good, but he wasn't that good. Zim had the advantage of those ridiculous pak legs – and despite Dib's best efforts to invent something similar for himself, he couldn't quite manage to figure out just how the technology actually worked.

Or well, he knew that the pak itself was connected to the Irken’s nervous system – but there was something more complicated going on there. And in the near quarter of a century he’d known the alien, Zim had never once bothered to explain how any of that shit even worked.

Still – he needed to get as far away from this area as he possibly could – as quickly as he fucking could. And that stupid alien had blocked his original exit route.

Jumping rooftops and climbing down fire escapes only went so quickly – though luckily for Dib, he’d planned several different routes, just in case the Super Secret Service managed to determine his location.

He just hadn’t considered Zim in all of his preparations for this mission. Not once had the alien crossed his mind as he scoped out the area; as he planned his various routes.

He should have.

Cursing his lack of foresight, Dib slammed his way through a boarded up window and into what he knew was an abandoned building. He rolled on the filthy floor boards, springing up to his feet just as Zim elegantly climbed through the same window.

“Where are you going, Dib-worm?” Zim asked, narrowing his terrifyingly human eyes in Dib’s direction. “This isn’t your stupid hideout.”

Dib rolled his eye. Great. He’d have to move hideouts, again. “What do you want, Zim?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest. “You fucked up my shot!”

“Those in power need Mr. President-Man alive,” Zim answered, settling onto his feet. He then grinned at Dib, razor-sharp teeth on display. “They’re paying me quite handsomely to ‘take you out.’”

Dib slapped a hand to his forehead, swaying a bit dramatically. “Oh no, you’re out to kill me again,” he said, absolutely deadpan. “Aren’t you tired of taking these ‘missions’? I can’t outrun you but I always fucking escape.”

“That’s because Zim lets you escape, you wretched little –”

Dib stalked forward, letting himself tower over Zim. He raised an eyebrow. “‘Little’?” he repeated, smirking down at Zim. “I’m pretty sure I’m as tall as your stupid leaders –”

“My Tallests would TOWER over your inferior human form!” Zim shouted, stomping a boot against the floor. Dib snorted, fighting to keep the smile off his face. “Also, these missions are important – they are all part of my plan to figure out this planet’s weaknesses –”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know,” Dib said, stepping away from Zim. He moved to another window, keeping himself to the shadows as he glanced out it. He could still hear police sirens below and helicopters above – but both sounded as if they were heading away from his current location. “You’re gonna turn the planet over to them when you have figured out all of humanity’s secrets and eventually turn us all into slaves, blah blah blah – why are you here, Zim?”

Zim glared at him – even with his disguise, Dib could detect the soft glow of Zim’s natural eyes underneath. “I already told you, I am here to ‘take you out.’ Were you not listening?”

Sighing, Dib began making his way through the building – while this was not, in fact, his hideout, it was a building he’d scoped out long ago. He knew the layout of it; he knew that the stairs leading to this floor were precarious at best, absolute death traps at worst. “You’re not gonna do that, Zim,” he said, approaching the staircase. “You never do.”

He paused, turning towards Zim – who had followed him soundlessly. He offered Zim another smirk. “Chances are these stairs are gonna collapse underneath my weight – the fall from here would probably kill me for you. I wonder what you’re gonna do?”

The first step groaned ominously under his weight. The second cracked, sharp and piercing, but still held.

As Dib stepped down onto the third, strong arms wrapped around his torso, hoisting him off of his feet and into the air. He snorted, rolling his eye to himself as Zim’s pak legs navigated them both down the stairs. He didn’t give Zim the satisfaction of losing his balance, either, when Zim unceremoniously tossed him onto the ground.

Dib just smirked at him. “That’s what I thought,” he said, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Thanks for keeping me alive just a little longer, Zim.”

He turned on his heel, mouthing along with Zim’s rant about how only he could bring an end to the Dib’s sad, miserable little life, and made his way over to a disguise he’d set aside, just in case he’d needed to come here.

He couldn’t be looking like himself, after all. Chances were someone had spotted him – as careful as he’d been, it was never guaranteed all of his precautions worked.

“What’re you doing?” Zim asked as Dib dropped his equipment and dug out another bag buried within the floorboards.

Dib didn’t answer as he lifted his shirt over his head; he didn’t answer as he stepped out of his boots and pulled down his pants – all without a care in the world that Zim was right there, watching his every move. He opened his second bag, pulling out a pair of black sneakers, a button down shirt, and a pair of khaki pants. He also grabbed the makeup kit he had buried in there.

Zim snorted when he saw it. “You can’t possibly think that’ll work to hide that hideous thing on your face,” he said, sneering.

“You’d be surprised,” Dib said, setting up a small lamp, along with a mirror. “Human beings aren’t exactly the brightest, you know?”

Zim sputtered, indignant. “Then why do you keep trying to prevent me from completing my mission!? Having humans like Mr. President-Man in place will help it.”

Dib began to haphazardly place foundation over his scar. “Just because I think a lot of my fellow human beings are stupid, doesn’t mean I want them to become slaves to a ‘superior’ alien race, Zim.”

“You should,” Zim said with a snort. “They would at least be better taken care of than they currently are with the human overlords.”

Dib sighed. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Zim. You told me yourself you’ve never gone back to a planet you’ve previously ‘encoded.’ How do you know your leaders haven’t just – completely wiped everyone out? Or that they aren’t worse off than they were before you showed up on their planet?”

He hated applying makeup. Hated the way it tugged on his scar – but even with his limited skills, he could see the difference in his appearance take shape. The scar was still present – but smaller. He smoothed it all out as best as he could, then took off his eye patch. He stared at the empty and twisted eye socket for a moment before locating the fake eye he always carried with him.

Zim had gone silent – as he frequently did, whenever Dib brought up the fact that he didn’t know that his race truly hadn’t just – wiped out so many different indigenous species and races throughout the entire universe. When Dib finished with his face, he shoved everything back into the bag – including his original outfit.

“Until you can prove to me that the human race would really be better off, under Irken control,” Dib said, rising to his feet once he’d stashed everything under the loose floorboard once again, “I will do everything I can to stop your mission.”

Their eyes met, and Zim’s narrowed eyes still glowed eerily in the dark.

He shouldn’t have found that as comforting – even reassuring – as he did.

#encoder Zim AU #Invader Zim #Zim #dib membrane #ZADR #kronk voice: aw yeah it's all starting to come together #I will probably be posting the first chapter to AO3... soooooooon

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gabrielx-wolf · 17 days

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@svguinus

Gabriel was fed up with counseling. It did absolutely nothing for him but reminded him he was alone. That the only person who could never die, died on him. It left him prickly and made him want to fight everyone. The only person from the group that didn't make him angry was Francesca. It might've been because the two lost their significant others mysteriously. She did a great job walking the tightrope of holding Gabriel accountable for his bullshit and being understanding through it all. The only reason Gabriel continued to frequent the counseling sessions because it was court mandated.

He had lost his cool one night at a bar. He was reminiscing about his ex Sabine and had drank too much to be sane and coherent. Thus he started a fight and landed a few people in the hospital. Whether it was the pack's involvement or pity from the judge they gave him a light sentence. Besides community service he was subjected to two years of counseling.

As the group adjourned Gabriel muttered to Fran that he'll be outside. He swiftly dodged the questions and small talk as he exited the facility. He hung out off the side of the building near the side entrance that had two small steps and a rail. It's where he would meet Fran after their meetings, away from the prying eyes. The minute he saw Fran he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. "I'm so fucking tired of Martha," He spat out.

Martha was a woman who lost her husband a long time ago. She had moved on from his death for many years. However, she continued to go to group for whatever reason. What made Gabriel angry was that she tried to empathize with him, and many others. When she simply would never understand the loss of someone unexpectedly.

Gabriel was doing his best to stay calm and not let it get to him. Fran's presence did a great job in keeping him in check. "How the fuck does anyone let her talk? Why is she there?" He motioned back towards the group congregating outside the doors. "Fuck me," He rubbed his face, "How do you do this shit? It feels like this town is small enough that everyone knows who the fuck you are and your shit. If I was you I'd fucking set fire to this group. The fucking side comments from these assholes." Gabriel huffed some more, only riling himself up further.

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dragoncxv360 · 2 years

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I decided I wanna make some info posts about my characters and stories and stuff, so I’m gonna start with my Security Sun AU

Sunflowers and Stardust is the canon story/timeline. I haven’t completed any chapters yet so I haven’t posted it

Blood and Oil is an alternate bad ending and is just…really dark. It deals with a lot of things I’ve had personal experience with such as loved ones dying and all the grief that comes with that. To be honest, I actually feel like it’ll help to get all those feelings written out as something that’s not what actually happened to me.

But anyways, back to the canon story. (Also sorry that this won’t be very organized, I am very adhd so my thoughts are everywhere.) In this story, Sun and Moon originally started out as one attendant, Eclipse. At some point during the testing phase, they split into Sun and Moon and their design was modified to fit that. Sun was assigned security and Moon was the main face of the daycare. These were their designs at the time (I’m still working on them so there might be some changes):

Sun enjoyed being security, maybe too much. He was ruthless with intruders and staff. He didn’t hesitate to resort to violence. Staff were terrified of him. People started disappearing. Eventually, staff started finding the bodies, what was left of them. Sun had been eating them (which was totally added ‘cause of That One Fic Where Sun and Moon Eat People). Soon after, staff confronted Sun and told him they were taking him off of security. He fought hard when that happened, tearing any staff apart that managed to get near him. Finally, they were able to tie him down and shock him so he stopped fighting back.

He and moon woke up later in parts and service, with a different body and different face. Moon had been put on security in Sun’s place with safety protocols put in place to keep the same mistake from happening again. They screamed and screamed when they realized and through it all, they couldn’t cry or do anything but smile. They looked like this (about, this is old art so there would be some differences):

The years after that were the hardest they ever had. They both hated their new bodies and new duties. They tried to destroy themselves and every time they got close, they woke up in parts and services, put back together and with more safety measures put in place to keep them from doing it again. Eventually they stopped trying and just gave up on doing anything. They refused to come out of their room to take care of the children. The daycare was shut down.

And then the virus happened. Moon became violent and lost his connection with Sun. He wasn’t himself and he wasn’t aware of what he was doing. Sun would wake up covered in blood and it scared him because his Moon had never been violent, had never taken part in the things Sun did. He knew something was wrong with Moon, but with no access to his lover anymore, he had no way of fixing things. And that’s when the events of the game happened. Sun was panicked when the power went out ‘cause he had no idea what Moon would do to Greg and he had no way of keeping him safe.

I’ll need to read more about the different endings to see which would be the best fit for this AU but I know for sure it isn’t a fire ending

The virus is eventually fixed and Moon is back to being himself. He has vague memories of what happened while he was “gone” and they terrify him. He gets flashbacks and they scare him and send him into panic attacks where even Sun can’t calm him down. When the daycare opens back up, he’s terrified that he’ll hurt the children again. It takes a long time for him to stop feeling so panicked around the kids and to get back into the swing of things.

Eventually, Mary (she/her) and Alex (any pronouns) are hired as Sun and Moon’s new techs. They start helping to get Sun and Moon in better working order and eventually ask them if they’d like to be split into separate bodies. Sun and Moon are hesitant at first but they eventually decide they would like that. Mary and Alex get their input on the new designs and try to follow their wishes as much as they can within the limits corporate gave. Their final designs end up looking like this:

In some ways, they like being separated and in other ways, they regret it. They love being able to touch and kiss and hug. But they miss being one, they are only half an AI each after all. They’re meant to be together and they can’t function without the other, it’s why they ended up loving each other so much. (And why Moon losing Sun in Blood and Oil hurts so much.)

And I think I'll end this post here now. Hope you enjoyed reading it

I almost forgot but I have a playlist for blood and oil

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bettygemma · 5 months

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In no order, here are my reading highlights for 2023

Best literary page turner (LPT)

This is a tie between 'I have some questions for you' by Rebecca Makkai and 'Birnam Wood' by Eleanor Catton. Both about moral quandaries of some sort, both really well written and extremely readable.

Best fantasy

'Babel' by R. F. Kuang. After I finished Babel I had to stare into the void for a little while to recover. One of the questions the book asks is, is it actually possible for those with power to be truly friends to those without power, and it answers pretty firmly in the negative. Which I remember being sad and sceptical about when I first read the book in August but now, on this side of the Voice to Parliament Referendum, it feels extremely prescient (*laughs bitterly*).

Best Australian fiction

'Love and Virtue' by Diana Reid. Also best campus novel of the year (I read lot of them in 2023 coincidentally!) I was devastated to end this book, not only because parts of this novel are set in my home town #representation but more importantly its genuinely brilliant and empathetic and recognisable. Also has multiple moral quandaries.

Best retelling

'Home Fire' by Kamila Shamsie which is a retelling of Antigone. I knew nothing about Antigone going in so found it super intense and surprising. Just like 'Love and Virtue ' I could have spent a hundred more pages with these characters.

Best Lenten read

'Passage' by Connie Willis. Willis is now probably my second favourite writer after Dorothy Sayers, and this book is up there as one of her greats, along with 'Doomsday Book' and 'To Say Nothing of the Dog'. A book to read to when death is near and you are in need of hope.

Best memoir

'Educated' by Tara Westover. Also wins the prize for being the book that made me the most thankful for my parents and for them sending me to a normal public school (honourable mention for this prize goes to 'I'm glad my mom died' by Jennette McCurdy').

Best feminist read

'Wifedom' by Anna Funder. Part biography of Eileen O'Shaughnessy, part novel, part memoir, this book is possibly the best investigation of the toll domestic inequality has on women I've read for a number of years. Read it if you're interested in biography and women's history and the literary canon. In one of the many passages that jumped out at me, after praising her husband for his modernity and equal mindedness, Funder writes:

"This was not enough to protect me. The patriarchy was too huge, and I was too small or stupid, or just not up for the fight. The individual man can be the loveliest, the system will still benefit him, without him having to lift a finger or a whip or change the sheets. This is the story I tell against myself. And against the system that made this self, as well as my husband's, and the system that put her into his service. Wifedom is a wicked magic trick we have learned to play on ourselves."

I mean??!?!

And finally, Book I recommended the most

'This is not a book about Benedict Cumberbatch' by Tabitha Carvon. I hyped this book to nearly every woman I know. Extremely funny if you were in Tumblr in 2012 or have ever participated in any fandom. A great companion read to 'Wifedom'. May it inspire you to find joy.

#adultbooklr #connie willis #anna funder #tabitha carvon #kamila shamsie #rebecca makkai #eleanor catton #r. f. kuang #diana reid #tara westover

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cierrabiscuits · 2 years

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Hawks X Reader PT.1 Time After Time

Hello! This is my first fic I've posted in awhile! It feels good to be writing again! Hope everyone enjoys. There will a part 2 uploaded soon! (灬♥ω♥灬)

Word count 2.4K Content Warnings-Structure Fire involving reader, slight angst. Not edited

Title and story inspired by this song

F/N - Friend Name Y/N- Your Name L/N- Last Name

~~~~~~~~~~

“Get this report done L/N. This is super important to me." Your boss barked at you.

“I will do my best!” You said giving a soft smile.

“I'm counting on you. ” And just like that you were left alone in the office building.

“Yeah, asshole.” You mumble as you put your chin in your hands. "If its so important why aren't you the one staying late?"

Staying late wasn't the end of the world by no mean. But being alone in the creepy office building is enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies. The office lights went off leaving your computer monitor the only light source. You pulled your phone and headphone so you could listen to music instead of the silence of the deserted office. Sadly winging the report was out of the question. So real effort had to be put in. You crack your neck and start typing. You just hoped to be done before the last train home left. After a few hours you look up to see the clock was nearing 9PM. After a few more adjustments the report was done and sent to upper management for finalization.

“I’m all done.” You announce to the empty office while stretching in your swivel chair. “Now Y/N let's get the hell out of this creepy office”

You shut your computer down and begin to pack up your things one by one into your work bag. Before leaving you took a moment to look at the street life. Your office had a great view of the Tokyo nightlife below. The massive LED sign on the building across you was playing a fight Endeavor had a few nights ago. Something come into your vision that catches you off guard. The office building across from you has flames reflecting off it. You at first thought it had something to do with the LED sign, until you see smoke rising into the air above you. It took a few moments before you were hit with the realization, the floors below you were on fire. You could see people on the street below panicking and running away. You were frozen in fear. If the fire was below that means there was no way out going down. The fire alarm begins to blare, making your ears ring. You need to do something quickly. You pull your phone out to call emergency services.

“What is your emergency?” The operator asked calmly over the phone.

“My name is Y/N and the office building I work in is on fire.” Your mind was spinning a million miles an hour.

“What is the building's name and address and what floor are you on Y/N.” The operator asked

“I don’t know the specific address, but I’m on the 10th floor of the Tokyo Commerce building. The fire is below me. I am unsure what floor it is on.” You bite your nail trying to ground yourself.

“Stay calm, Y/N I am sending emergency services out right now. Get as close to the floor as you can and wait for rescue.” The call was cut off. You looked at you phone screen and see the low battery symbol flashing. You mentally scold yourself for not charging it.

You look around the room as your survival instincts kick in. You run over to the door that leads to the higher floors. You pulled the handle but it is locked. You looked around the office for anything that could break the door handle but saw nothing. You run to your desk and rip a piece of your jacket off to make a face cover to filter some of the smoke that was pouring into the office. You take a step back and stumble, landing awkwardly on your foot. You wince at the discomfort beginning to form in your ankle. Tears pricked your eyes as the pain progressively got worse.

"Calm down Y/N, think." A lightbulb went off in your head. You crawled over to your desk and grabbed a flashlight out of your desk, you always kept it in case of power failure. You click the small on button and flash it in the window in hopes someone may see it so they can save you. It was your only hope. You hear sirens in the distance, but the office was filling up with more and more thick smoke by the second. Your lungs begin to burn from the thickness of the air. A sense of helplessness washed over you. If this where you died? In the floor of your shitty office job.

“Help me someone.” You whimpered out. Your blood pressure was rising from the pain in your ankle, causing your head to spin.

Your consciousness becomes hazy when you hear glass break. You pry your eyes open to see a silhouette in the smoke. It looked like an angel.

“Over here.” You let out one last plea. Your eyes shut from irritation. You felt something soft wrap around your head to stabilize it.

“I’ve gotcha.” A reassuring voice puts you at ease. You feel your body lift off the floor of the office and into the arm of the unknown man. “ Ready to fly?”

“Fly?” Your eyes shot open despite how irritated they were to see the number two hero Hawks smiling down at you.

“Yes sweetheart, you ready?” He did not give you time to answer as he clutched you close to his body and jumped into the cold night air. You watched his crimson wings spread, veiling you from the burning building. You gripped his beige jacket for dear life as you floated down. “That was a smart idea with the flashlight. My feathers were having a hard time pinpointing you thanks to the smoke.”

“Oh thanks.” You see why your co-workers are obsessed over Hawks. He looked like an angel and smelt like heaven laced with smoke. The rushing wind caused your makeshift mask to fly from your face. Hawks looked down at you with wide eyes. Like he saw a ghost. Once he landed on the ground he stared at your face for a few seconds before snapping out of his trance.

“Hey, can we get some assistance over here?” Hawks yelled at the first responders who rushed over to you with a bed. Hawks gently laid you down as they hooked an oxygen mask to your face. “I’m going to help evacuate the area in case the building collapses.” You see his wings open and in a split second he disappears into the smoky sky. Why was he looking at you so intently?

The night has taken a toll on you mentally and physically. You had enough energy to answer and few questions for the first responder until the world turned black.

~~~~~~~~~

You woke up to the sound of a machine beeping and the faint floral smell. Your head was aching and your foot was throbbing.

“Y/N you're awake!” You felt a pair of arms wrap around you, gripping you just a little too hard.

“ F/N, where am I?” Your eyes struggle open due to the bright fluorescent lights.

“You're in the hospital hun. The doctors said you were really lucky, the worst injury you have is a sprained ankle after a few days you should be able to go home. I was so worried. I’m glad you're safe, Y/N.” You watched tears of relief flow from your friends eyes.

“Thanks F/N, that means a lot.'' You look around the room and notice the large bouquet of flowers and a small teddy bear sitting on the nightstand. “Thank you for the flowers as well, that is ver sw-”

“Actually those aren't from me. ” Your friend smirked. “Y/N spill the details, how did you swoon Hawks.”

“Huh?” Dumbfounded by the information your friend just gave you.

“Hawks dropped these off yesterday, the nurses told me. I am so jealous Y/N!” You felt blood rush to your face at your friend's words.

“I'm sure he is just being nice. Do you know if anyone else was rescued or was it just me?” You ask to change the subject.

“You were the only one in the upper floors, security was able to evacuate the lower floors before it spread. The fire chief said It was an electrical fire that got out of control quickly. Some luck you have Y/N. But you have to tell me about Hawks. Did you get his number? Tell me!” Your friend interrogated you.

“Sorry to interrupt, visiting hours are now over.” A nurse came in and informed your friend. You mentally thank the nurse for rescuing you.

“Well that's my cue to go. If you need me I'm just a phone call away. Get well soon! And don’t think this conversation is over Y/N ;) ” And with that your friend left you in the uncomfortable silence.

You turn on the small Tv that was hanging on the wall and flip through the channels, any noise was better than this suffocating silence. You pass a news channel that was covering the story and decide to watch it.

“We are outside of the now burnt Tokyo Commerce building. Reports say a small coffee pot caused this big problem. Luckily no deaths occurred thanks to the fast work of the pro hero Hawks. Those who were rescued by him and sent to the hospital with minor injuries. This was Tokyo 5 news, reporting.” The TV screen changed to commercials.

“Minor injuries my foot!!” You curse out “Literally I can’t even move it.” Speaking to the air you attempt to move your foot.

“I think the whole point of you being here is to not move that foot and let it heal darling.” Caught in the act you turn to see none other than pro hero Hawks standing in the open window seal.

“Uh right. Wait, why are you here?” Hawks climbs into the hospital room and shuts the window behind him.

“I needed to return this little guy, plus I needed to talk to you.” He handed you the flashlight you used to beacon him, as he pulled a chair beside your bed.. “Why were you in the building so late?”

“My boss wanted me to finish a report. I was getting ready to leave but the fire had already broke out” You answer honestly.

“I see.” The room became silent. Hawks looked like he wanted to say something, but was holding back.

“Thank you again for saving me, also thanks for the bear and flowers. I didn’t know you bought your damsel in distress gifts.” You joked with the pro hero to break the silence.

“No problem. I figured you could use a companion while you're here.” Hawks sent a feather to the night stand where the bear was and placed the plush gently in your lap causing you to smile. “I wish I could stay longer, but I’m on night watch. I’ll be back to see you soon Y/N. And be easy on that foot” He stood up from the chair and walked over to the window to open it.

“Whatever you say, Tweety Bird.” Your remark caused him to roar out laughing. You normally don't joke with people you barely know. But Hawks made you comfortable and he seemed to be around you as well.

“Tweety huh. Well I’ve been called worse I guess.” Hawks jumped on the window seal. He looked at you one more time. “One more thing Y/N. Have you ever played hero rescue?” He looked at you with a serious expression.

“Is that like an xbox game or something?” You gave him a confused look.

“Not quite.” His phone began to beep. “Duty calls.” Hawks' facial expressions seemed sad as he took off into the night.

“Be careful.”

You still did not understand why Hawks were being so kind. He spoke as if he knew you personally. Not that you were complaining. What girl your age didn’t have at least a little crush on the hero? But it still did not make much sense. You lifted the bear to get a better look at it. It reminded you of the one you had as a little girl. It was the last gift your mother gave you before she passed. The bear was your only childhood friend for as long as you could remember. Your father was always working and did not have much time for you. He worked for the hero commissioners office, meaning you spent many days in the huge office building while your dad finished work. You and the bear would explore the building and its few doors that would be unlocked. You clutched the bear close and let your heavy eyes close for some much needed rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Don’t go too far Y/N, I’ll be done soon.” Your father said while typing on his computer.

“I won’t!” You ran out of his small office and down the vast corridors of the hero commissioners building.

Many people had gone home for the day, so it was empty for the most part. You stumbled across a hall you have never been down. You tried to open a few doors but they wouldn’t budge. You got to the last door, it was already open just a bit. You pushed on the door gently to open it and took a small step inside. The room was dimly lit. You saw movement towards the back of the room that made you take a step back.

“Hello, who's there?” You said with a fear laced voice. After a few seconds you heard footsteps coming towards you. You clutched the bear you had in your hands close to you and shut your eyes. The footsteps stopped in front of you and when your eyes opened you saw a boy with messy blonde who was just a little taller than you.

“Hi.” He said shyly. “Who are you?

“I’m Y/N, my dad works in this building. Who are you?”

“My name is Keigo.”

“Where are your parents at?” He looked sad when you asked that.

“They aren’t here.” He looked at the floor while he answered.

“Oh okay. Umm do you want to play with me?” You asked to change the subject.

“Sure!” The boy named Keigo came closer to you and the red wings on his back became prominent.

“Wow you have wings! So cool!” You gawk at the boy.

“Yup, they are going to help me become a hero one day!” He said proudly and spread his small wings.

“Let's play hero rescue then! I’ll hide my bear and you have to come rescue it!” That night you and him played until your father called for you. From there on out you played with the boy every night. Until one day he vanished. You went back to what was once his room everyday hoping he would show back up. But it was empty every time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Keigo?” Your eyes opened to the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital room. It finally hit you. The boy from all those years ago was Hawks.

#bnha hawks #hawks x reader #hawks x y/n #keigo fluff #hawks fluff #mha fluff #bnha fluff #hawks x female reader #bnha angst #mha angst #takami keigo x reader

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phanfictioncatalogue · 2 years

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(TW) Violence (2) Masterlist

part one

Black Blood - howellester8791

Summary: Dan is a vampire hunter, one of the best in the entire London, and he has to solve the mistery of the “Blue-eyed vampire of Haze”. But when he meets the vampire, something in Dan changes and he’ll find out that the enemy is not this pale, dorky, black haired and blue-eyed vampire named Phil.

Blackthorn Forest - elskerxeven

Summary: Phil goes to a boarding school built near an ancient and mysterious forest. What he discovers amongst the trees will change him forever.

Change Will Come (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: Dan’s a depressed university student. Phil’s just a cute coffee shop barista who writes notes on Dan’s hot chocolates.

Come Back To Me (I Need You) (ao3) - TsingaDark

Summary: Dan and Phil got separated when the zombie apocalypse broke out. It's been weeks since then and Phil still won't give up hope of finding Dan.

Coming Home (ao3) - soundofthestars

Summary: Dan Howell had been kidnapped. Phil struggled to cope, struggled to keep hoping.

Demons (ao3) - glitterhowell

Summary: One night Dan and Phil have a terrible fight which results in Dan storming out of the apartment. Dan finds himself in the neighborhood he used to get drugs from the only thing is Dan has been sober of any drugs and alcohol for over six years. Will Dan be able to resist his old comfort and fight the temptation? Will one night ruin his entire life?

Falling For You - georgiabread

Summary: Dan Howell is dead. Well, sort of. He’s a guardian angel, forced to protect only one human, and that human is Cat. But when he accompanies Cat to school, he can’t help but be intrigued by the broken boy with the black hair who sits by the window in class and disappears at lunch times. Dan realises this boy needs more protection than Cat will ever need, so he takes on human form to save him. But soon he finds himself falling in love, which is something he definitely can’t do. Dan Howell is an angel, and he’s falling for Phil.

False Hope by placingglaciers

Summary: In which Dan is determined to find a wanted outlaw to bring back honor to his father’s business; Phil, a wanted outlaw, steals from Dan’s father’s business to pay off a debt; the mess of revenge that comes along with it; and why each side of the story matters. (Taken place in 1860 America, if you don’t mind.)

Heart Of Fire - jewelphan

Summary: Phil Lester, the most notorious pirate captain to sail the seven seas did nothing more with his time then capturing and selling supernatural creatures on the black market. Well, almost nothing more…Phil had always had an impractical dream to catch a dragon, a creature that had been extinct for years, or so people said. So imagine Phil’s surprise when he actually finds one—though, when secrets get revealed and emotions get in the way, things don’t go quite to plan.

Hooked (On You) (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: Rentboy AU. Dan is a hooker trying to make it on his own in Manchester. Phil is his customer who ends up becoming more involved than he expected. What started out as a business transaction ends up being something neither of them anticipated.

I Don't Own You (ao3) - mollieblack

Summary: Phil was born with a blue mark. This mark represents that he is part of the 'high class'. Dan was born with a black mark. This mark means he's destined to be a slave, otherwise known as a 'blank'.

When Phil turns 18 he is assigned his slave, a young brunette who has resigned himself to a life of service.

I'd Rather You Were There - howthemoonsuitsthenightsky

Summary: When war breaks out everyone wants to sign up, well, almost everyone.

Life Finds A Way - dxnhowell

Summary: Dan and Phil in the Jurassic Park world! With a genderswap twist. Daisy and Penelope are sent to Isla Nublar to check out the upcoming Jurassic World amusement park. Daisy wanted a nice trip, wanted to see some dinosaurs, and hang out with co-workers. Nothing more, and nothing less. Unfortunately, a dinosaur breaks out of containment and all hell breaks loose.

Mafia Baby (ao3) - Do_it_with_the_Howell_Lesters

Summary: Phil is the head if the city’s most powerful mafia, and Dan is his baby. Phil is ruthless, and feared. Dan is soft, but crazy, and most importantly, he is Phil’s. God help anyone who disrespects Phil’s baby.

Promises From The Dark (ao3) - glitterhowell

Summary: Dan was so deeply in love with his boyfriend Phil he would do anything to be with him again. Even if that meant murder.

Snakebite Heart With A Bubblegum Smile - dark-days-dark-nights-xx

Summary: Phil didn’t want to be there, he really didn’t, but his parents had insisted Uni would benefit and he was determined to hate it. That was until he met his roommate, a guy whose wardrobe consisted of pastel jumpers and flower crowns who made Phil admit who he really was.

Stained (wattpad) - audrat

Summary: Meet Phil Lester, a bad boy with blood on his hands. Literally. After one night strikes, Phil turns to a group of serial killers as a distraction and soon he finds himself with a trail of dead bodies with their blood on his knife. Meet Dan Howell, a shy boy with flowers in his hair and thoughts on his mind. Friendless and quiet, he's lonely, until the blue-eyed boy with tattoos and piercings sits right next to him in support group. Phil finds himself falling for Dan when his mission is to kill him, and he finds himself wanting to get close, even if that's means revealing the reality behind the mask and spilling the unwanted truth.

The Act of Recovery (ao3) - TheOrangeAurora

Summary: When Dan arrived at the household of the newest recovering drug addict, he expected it to be the same mundane, but important work that he had committed to a few years back. What he didn’t expect was that his whole life would be turned around one tentative step at a time, and what was supposed to be his work would become his own salvation.

#phanfictioncatalogue #phanfiction #phanfic #phan #masterlists #tw #violence tw #violence #violence masterlist

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junkyarddevil · 2 years

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Some advice from an Aussie for those in fire risk areas in Europe

Idk how many people are gonna see this but I figured I’d put some advice that has literally saved some of my friends lives out into the web just in case it does make that difference. I’m gonna share with you guys some tips that helped keep my friends alive during fires / wildfires / bushfires. Some of these tips are officially sanctioned advise from Australian Emergency Service Agencies, others are just bits of advice that were passed down to me. I’ll try my best to specify which is which. Do not ignore advice from your countries officials if it contradicts something I have said here, please.

Firstly: Time is the most important thing.

If you need to evacuate do it sooner rather than later. This is ESA advice too. IIRC (I could be super wrong tho) fire safety officials say you should be evacuating within about three minutes of being told to do so. Some helpful things to make evacuating way faster are as follows:

- Keep all your important documents (birth certificates, passports, photos, etc.) in a container near you. In this container It’s also recommended that you have bottles of water, torches, batteries, P2 masks (they stop smoke inhalation). Obviously some things like the P2 masks need planning and thinking in advanced.

- It’s also recommended you keep your car tank full in case you do need to make a speedy evacuation, you don’t need to stop for a long while. Personally I’d also recommend keeping items in your car as well: Like water bottles, towels, clothes, etc. Just in case.

Secondly: You can’t fight a fire.

As silly as the advice sounds written out like that, the large majority of people who died in the 2019 black summer bushfires here in Australia were people who decided to stay home and protect their properties from the fires.

I’m not saying that everyone who stayed -DID- die fighting fires, or that people were incapable of protecting their properties. But it is a really dangerous choice. Fire safety officials were even pleading with people back during the 2019 fires to leave their homes because of how dangerous it is. I personally do not want people taking the risk, so I’d recommend evacuating instead of staying to fight the fire.

Additionally, a large number of people also died after evacuating too late because they had originally planned to stay and fight fires. Time is truly important, again.

Thirdly: Open Communication and Planning in Advanced save lives.

During the bushfires I had a number of friends become stranded in a coastal town. This was because the only highway in or out of this town became overrun with fires and collapsed trees. They became stranded because the info about the fire, and the word that the highway was overrun, got to them too late. The chain of messages before it got to the people on the scene was just a little too delayed, unfortunately due to the fires knocking out cell phone towers. Thankfully because it was a coastal town, they did have a way to escape the fires (on boats).

At the same time I had friends who nearly became trapped in a small town with fires on all four sides of it, but because they had received word of fires in nearby towns from various friends and official service channels, they survived. They had decided to plan ahead under the presumption that if alarms are being set off for nearby towns, they were next. They evacuated before the warnings went out and it saved their lives.

So please, please. Keep note of where evacuation warnings are, where they are near you, and which media channels (text, radio, television, internet) are the best to keep yourself up to date on the fires.

Planning in advanced also allows you to obtain things like P2 masks, fire extinguishers, and more. It helps speed up the evacuation process too.

Lastly: Keep as calm as you can.

Even during and after evacuations, it is super useful to avoid panicking for your own sake. During an evacuation appearing as if you remain calm and level headed actually keeps those around you calm... and speeds up the evacuation process.

Additionally, once you have evacuated it is obviously a very stressful time and a horrible waiting game. At this point it’s recommended you do your best to keep calm for your own health, the last thing anybody wants after going through such a horrible experience is to get sick.

While I fully believe in this advice, and some of it is sanctioned by Aussie fire officials, I am well aware this may not work for the situations in Europe. While I want to share this advice with you, because I have personally seen it make a difference, please also make sure to listen to your country officials and your countries emergency officials. This info is not intended to contradict any advice given by officials; if it does, please ignore what I’m saying because the situation is different.

#Fire #Europe #Heatwave #wildfire #France #England #UK #Greece #Italy #Spain #Portugal #australia #bushfires #wildfires #bushfire #fire

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jcmarchi · 29 days

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Vampire Survivors' Contra DLC Shows One Of Gaming's Best Values Still Has Plenty Of Life

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/vampire-survivors-contra-dlc-shows-one-of-gamings-best-values-still-has-plenty-of-life/

Vampire Survivors' Contra DLC Shows One Of Gaming's Best Values Still Has Plenty Of Life

Ever since it came to Switch at the tail end of last summer, Vampire Survivors has been my plane game. Sure, other run-based indies like Balatro and Dead Cells, all-encompassing triple-A titles like Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and retro compilations like Sonic Origins and TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, have shared that title, but I always know that when I need to pass time on a flight, no game does so as effectively as Vampire Survivors. Logically, I know that each run will last, at most, 30 minutes, but for some reason, it never feels that way. And because of that, I look down for what feels like 20 minutes, and when I look up, 2 hours have passed.

I travel a lot, so I play Vampire Survivors fairly regularly. Still, each time I turn on the game, developer Poncle has snuck more into it. New characters, new maps, new ways to customize your experience – I’m continually surprised and delighted by additional features and content the developer has added in the time since I fired up the game. Sure, Poncle puts out free updates on a regular basis, sometimes even as surprises, as was the case last week, but these paid pieces of DLC – each of which cost $2.50 or less – are the tentpole content releases. The latest, Operation Guns, crosses over with Konami’s legendary Contra IP in both expected and unexpected ways to deliver the same Vampire Survivors fun we’ve known with a distinct Contra flavor.

Operation Guns adds a significant amount of Contra content to Vampire Survivors. On top of 11 new characters, 11 base weapons, and 11 weapon evolutions, Operation Guns brings an enormous Contra-themed map called Neo Galuga, which progresses almost in lockstep with how the original Contra (and its recent remake, Operation Galuga) advances. You start out blasting, slashing, zapping, whipping, and otherwise annihilating humans and robots, but as you go further into the map, more sinister threats show that this isn’t just some standard Earth-based war. Alien eggs, structures, and enemies slowly join the fray, as do an increased number of robotic adversaries. Just like what happens in the original, the alien and cyborg presence eventually takes over the war, giving Poncle plenty of room to play with the Contra license.

Before I knew it, I went from blasting away foot soldiers to enemies on jetbikes to waves of flying Metal Aliens and snake cyborgs. I loved repeating the same process of leveling up my character and their weapons, but with myriad fun discoverables scattered throughout the Neo Galuga map. Along the way, I uncovered some fun Contra-themed power-ups – like homing missiles – that allowed me to further combat the alien horde.

However, the biggest surprise came near the end of my first successful run on Neo Galuga, as a ticker appeared on the bottom of the screen, telling me that something big was happening in a specific corner of the map. I only had a few minutes to get there, and with denser waves of enemies impeding my path, I was worried I wouldn’t get there in time. However, once I did, I was greeted by one of the coolest things I’ve seen Poncle do with Vampire Survivors. I won’t spoil it beyond saying it’s a unique encounter that pays homage to an iconic fight with one of the Contra series’ recurring enemies.

Though I’ve only done a few runs, I’m steadily unlocking new characters and weapons. Most of the new content is clear about how to unlock the next character, which is helpful in unlocking additional weapons. You unlock Bill within the Neo Galuga map, then unlock Lance by evolving Bill’s Long Gun, and so on. It’s all in service of giving the player a clear route to experiencing all the content that Operation Guns has to offer with as minimal friction as possible. Add on top the Bonus Stage, and the Operation Guns DLC is well worth checking out for all fans of Vampire Survivors, regardless of your Contra fandom.

The wildest part about all of this, as I always tout, is the sheer value of Vampire Survivors. Though the game is often on sale, it never really needs to be; even if you buy the game and all its DLC at full price, you’re spending less than $15. It runs well on Switch, which is where I play it, but it’s also verified for Steam Deck, hammering home that this is the ultimate plane game. Though Poncle continues to release free updates a year and a half after its initial Steam release, these major tentpole releases excite me for the future of Vampire Survivors.

Will the future hold more crossover content? We’ve already received collaborations with Among Us and Contra, but words could not describe how excited I’d be for crossovers with even more prominent properties like Final Fantasy or Resident Evil; imagine slashing your way through hordes of fiends in Zanarkand as Lightning before a boss battle against Sephiroth, or exploring Raccoon City as Chris Redfield, taking down low-level zombies before a Nemesis spawns on the map. The Operation Guns DLC even has my imagination running wild with some less obvious crossovers like Street Fighter; so many of those characters have such iconic moves. Starting off with Ryu throwing a Hadoken before evolving it all the way up to a Shinku Hadoken would be a natural progression that could be applied to several of the series’ characters. And since Vampire Survivors includes music and remixes from the Contra series, that makes these crossover ideas even more enticing.

This article isn’t about speculation or creating a wishlist, though. But that’s what Vampire Survivors’ latest DLC inspires. It shows that Poncle is more than capable of giving these IPs the care they deserve while staying true to the Vampire Survivors formula that made me fall in love with the game in the first place. Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns DLC is out now on all platforms aside from PlayStation (that version arrives later this summer when the main game comes to the platform) and costs just $2.50.

For more on why Vampire Survivors is well worth your time, check out our review of the base game right here.

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andronicmusicblog · 30 days

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Making a game trailer is like making music: you have to decide what kind of piece you want to write. Is it a ballad? A punk track? How will you play with tempo? What emotions do you want to evoke?

This all depends on the game, of course. Some trailers are so good they stick in your brain forever. They create the feeling of the game itself.

Take the cinematic trailer for the original Assassin’s Creed: what makes it so memorable 18 years later? Immediately the protagonist reveals to us what the game is about with how he hides in plain sight, his hooded, stealthy appearance, the gruesome reveal of his now-iconic hidden blade, and how he times his escape by camouflaging with white-robed priests. We the audience don’t need to be told anything, nor have we seen any gameplay; we know what the game is about, and we want to play it now.

Or consider the ‘Mad World’ Gears of War trailer, directed by Joseph Kosinski, who went on to direct Top Gun: Maverick. Widely regarded as an all-time-great game trailer, it captures the desolation of Sera post-Emergence Day, when underground ‘Locust’ sprang to the surface and stomped humanity to near-extinction. It doesn’t show the events of E-Day—it doesn’t need to. It tells you everything you need to know, without speaking a word, through the journey of Marcus Fenix, who is alone in a dark world, chainsaw-rifle in hand, fighting tooth and nail to survive the creatures he encounters, all to the backdrop of Gary Jules’ heart-wrenching Tears for Fears cover.

Both examples—Assassin’s Creed and Gears of War—were inaugural games of franchises that went on to have huge cultural impact. On the flipside, when you work with IP that has already made such an impact in a previous life—say, a popular film or comic book—the rules of the game change.

In many ways it gets simpler: you can give long-time fans what they want to see, whether that’s a scene, a line of dialogue, or even just a shot. But in such cases, you’re working with fragile china. One oversight, and BANG!, catastrophe. You’ve just shown your pig-headed ignorance to the die-hards. Good luck getting them back onside after that.

At Heroic by Room 8 Group, we had the pleasure—and the responsibility—of making the launch trailer for RoboCop: Rogue City. We knew all along we’d hit certain notes: RoboCop’s metal boot meeting the tarmac as he steps out of his police car; the shot of his car climbing the station-house ramp; and of course that line: ”Dead or alive, you are coming with me!”

A new game based on an old franchise is an extension of a cultural institution loved by millions. It has to be handled with care. It’s important to give those millions of fans what they want, and truthfully, we didn’t try to hide our fan-service. But it’s important not to go too far, or to get bogged down in it. The trailer should excite newcomers, too.

It isn’t just iconic movie IP that can do this kind of fan-service. Remember when Battlefield 2042 put this in its reveal trailer? Almost 10 years prior, a Battlefield content creator invented a move called the RendeZook, where the player, mid-dogfight, ejects from their jet, fires a handheld rocket launcher, downs an enemy plane, lands back in their jet and returns to flight. This immortalized the creator, and in so doing, sent the Battlefield community into a (positive) frenzy.

When working with cult-favorite franchises like RoboCop, a trailer is more than a way to build hype for a game: it’s an important part of a franchise and its community, because it is the first touchpoint of a new chapter. Delicate subject matter? Yes—but so rewarding when you get it right.

Bringing RoboCop to life

So how did we do it for RoboCop: Rogue City?

All visual elements, down to the way light reflected off of RoboCop’s armor, are dictated by the films’ aesthetic:

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And to reiterate, the best trailers feel like the games they preview. We had to make our cinematic feel like RoboCop on a technical level.

The cyborg himself is mechanical, calculated. Because he’s the protagonist of the game, we felt the trailer—which, importantly, was 85% gameplay and 15% CG cinematic—had to recreate this feeling.

We did this with camera movement. The artists who shot the gameplay footage for the trailer recorded movement as if they, too, were RoboCops: jerky yet deliberate, like a bot scanning for lifeforms. A good example: 1:12 of the trailer. Pay attention to the camerawork as RoboCop enters the shot with the news anchor. Catch the subtle zoom-in when he speaks?

On narrative: We used Mediabreak anchor Casey Wong, who featured in the original movie in 1987, and his colleague Cindy as a narrative device to introduce RoboCop. We see thugs smash a shop window—a reference to another movie scene—where a TV is showing Wong’s live broadcast. This allows RoboCop to arrive at the scene and get out of his car in the manner that fans recognized right away. Later in the trailer we gave another nod to the original film with the line: “It seems there will be … trouble.”

If you’re a RoboCop fan, there are several moments in the trailer that will catch your eye. The most graphic of these is the “groin” shot (at 1:02). We understood that we had to fully convey the brutality with which RoboCop deals with the enemies, but the trailer still needed to be acceptable for most age groups. It took some time and effort, but after recording 47 versions of the shot, we got the perfect one.

Trailers as storytelling

But a fantasy world isn’t essential to make a good trailer.

Take chess—hundreds of years old and very simple in premise. Neither its age nor its simplicity prevent the chess match in Harry Potter, or the one in Star Wars (albeit Holochess), or Sherlock Holmes, from engaging us as viewers. It’s always about the people playing the game.

If you have a strong narrative and compelling characters, you can make a great trailer, because trailers are stories. An even simpler, even older game than chess is The Royal Game of Ur. And what better advert for a 4,500-year-old game than a part-match, part-history-lesson between YouTuber Tom Scott and British Museum curator Irving Finkel, the man who reconstructed the game’s rules?

As storytellers, it’s our job to find the hook. For RoboCop, the touchpoints are kind of obvious. Iconic characters, set-pieces, dialogue—it was all oven-ready; we just had to orchestrate. We felt fortunate to work with a cult favorite, and we had a great game to work with, which helps! But ultimately, trailers are stories—and stories are how you get people excited. Reposted from gamedeveloper.com Whether you're a game developer seeking immersive sound effects and interactive music or a TV producer looking to refine your show's audio, don't underestimate the power of post-production. For professional services in music, sound design, audio restoration, and mixing, Andronic Music can take your project to the next level.

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