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crystalelemental · 1 year

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Select Scout A (New Years 2023)

So you’re looking at those select scouts. And you’re looking at your paid gems you failed to talk yourself out of buying. And you’re like hey. Is any of this worth it? There’s like six sync pairs here, and I’m only getting one of them out of this. How worth it is this?

Classic Red remains a pretty solid unit, in that he’s able to apply Supereffective Up Next and can enable fast-ramping for first sync in CS. I’ve always disrespected Red. Always. And I feel like now, I can disrespect him further. NY Jasmine is better in like every meaningful way. If you pulled Jasmine, you do not strictly need Red. He’s got far less healing, is just as dependent on your ally buffing their Atk/Sp Atk themselves, but has no defensive boosting ability for maximum survival. And can Red solo Tornadus? No, this Red, we know about the damned rat. Anyway, I feel like Classic Red is a viable option if and only if you’re both lacking Winter Jasmine, and if you’re going for longer Gauntlet streaks. Because I don’t think he enables all that much otherwise. If you already had Red, and you’re considering a copy for higher move levels, 2/5 is useful for On a Roll and Hostile Environment, the former being good utility and the latter being nice Gauntlet support for Tornadus/Uxie/Cobalion. 3/5 gives the coveted Safety Net, and MPR on Mini Potion. It’s not a terrible choice. But 1/5 is also fine, given MPR on trainer move allows multiple uses of SEUN.

Classic Blue is...fine. I guess. Hyper Beam is good DPS, but listen to me. SS Diantha though. Like, you want to win? You pull for SS Diantha. Who is Rock-type, and will make this man sad for the rest of his life, because he’s like the only guy who doesn’t specifically benefit from her presence beyond the Zone. Still, Zone-based Hyper Beam, big funny. I will give Blue a lot of credit for three things though. He’s super self-sufficient with buffing, has Dire Hit All+ for team support even if he’s not your primary damage dealer, and Endurance is a fantastic Gauntlet skill. Hyper Beam DPS is, as usual, fine 1/5. 2/5 really just gives Sharp Entry and Accuracy +10 on Hyper Beam so it won’t miss. 3/5 is when you get Haymaker sync potential. I don’t feel his grid is essential, so at least there’s that.

Ingo is fantastic, if you don’t have him, get him. Role compression is tremendously valuable in this game, so having Sandstorm on a support frees up a lot of options. He’s downright essential for Sandstorm teams, and is quite good outside of them as well, capping crit and giving a nice +4 attack and +2 special attack, alongside potential Free Move Next for the team. Add in Potion and accuracy debuffs, and Ingo’s a great all-around unit. I will admit, however, that 1/5 was somewhat disappointing. No MPR on Sandstorm is limiting, no MPR on Potion means he struggles, and he doesn’t fully cap offenses either. That said, candy exists, and this is one of the top 4 supports in the game. Absolutely the best pick here.

SS May is not worth your time at 1/5. The only thing she does is fast-ramp by a turn on her own. It’s definitely a niche, but you probably want your tech to do a bit more. Which, she can. Dire Hit All+ is always helpful. And she can technically debuff both defense and speed per Low Kick. If she mega evolves, she hits -2 defense per hit, but there’s the catch. SS May’s often too slow to get those drops rolling in CS to operate independently, so she’s still team reliant for defense drops. To make matters worse, absolutely nothing changes at 2/5. It’s not until 3/5 that she gets anything good...and where she gets a lot of good tools. But...well, Fire-type. No one is hurting for a good Fire-type. So as much as SS May can hit like a truck, and is generally a decent unit, I have a lot of trouble saying she’s worth your gems here.

Lucas is a character I’ve shit on a lot, and I think it’s time to make amends. I’m sorry, Lucas. I don’t hate you. I just don’t like you more than Dawn, and you took one of my favorite legends. I’m still sour about it, but I think we can move past this. Lucas is good. 1/5, he provides Dragon Zone, which is a unique ability and a very good one. What makes Lucas so amazing as a third pick at 1/5 is that he is gauge-free. X Speed+ means he can cap his own speed, and generate a lot of gauge. But each use of a trainer move also gets Free Moves Next, which turns his solid 4-bar spam into a completely free action. He’s one-turn setup for max offense too, so there is like no inefficiency in his kit. Lucas is a great option. That said, nigh-identical issue to SS May. 2/5 does nothing for him. It’s 1/5 utility, or 3/5 full power. There’s nothing for him in between.

Raihan is...a choice. Seriously buddy, why are you here? You’re a really old PokeFair, are people seriously clamoring for you? Is it because Steel-weak Glacia? It’s because Steel-weak Glacia. To get right to the point, I find Raihan terrible as an investment compared to the others. His only real claim to fame is big boosts on entry at 1/5, leading to a powerful DPS Steel move that is special, making him the current best answer to Steel-weak Glacia, one of the most frustrating stages. But also that’s not a good justification. He doesn’t do enough otherwise. Despite having good boosts, his trainer move doesn’t seal the deal, still requiring him to take other entry skills to top off. He’s not even getting anything at 2/5. You need 3/5 to actually acquire anything that makes him self-sufficient, or reasonably powerful on sync. But as an older PokeFair, even that is no longer enough. Raihan has a 5/5 grid, where he gets useful tools like Trip Twice, Cakewalk, Weathered Warrior 3, and...Sand Sync. Man, they really just said “Use Cynthia” this month, huh? Anyway. This new grid can 100% replace everything else he had. But then you give up self-sufficiency on buffing. Raihan’s just another casualty in the 5/5 grid costing full energy debacle. I don’t think Raihan is strictly bad. But I also very strongly feel that he exists mostly for Steel-weak Glacia, which he can do at 1/5, I’ve tried, and otherwise is probably just waiting for Gloria and Steven to get expansions that put him under.

Final Thoughts and My Pick Priority is, in my book, Ingo > Lucas > C!Red > C!Blue > SS May > Raihan. Ingo is by far the most valuable, though Lucas gives a good run for his money. Classic Kanto Bois are decent but far from essential. SS May doesn’t feel as worth it, and Raihan is miles behind the others, especially if you’re getting him at low move levels.

As for myself...I’m still torn. I’m debating picking up C!Red. I do want to go for a 100 win streak in Gauntlet, so it would make sense to take the support that can save my life, but also I kinda want to take Lucas. I think he’s been a good option to have on hand, and I do love Dialga, so now that I’m over the initial salt, I kinda want him to do well for himself. I’ll definitely be pulling, but I think it’ll depend on if I get lucky. If I get Red, I’ll take Lucas. If Lucas hits 2/5, I’ll take Red. If neither shows, snap decision.

#pokemon masters

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lacebird · 3 years

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💜 HOW TO MAKE A GIF WITH PHOTOPEA 💜

Hey everyone! I recently got asked to do a tutorial on how I make my gifs. I know that many people (such as myself) don’t have access to Photoshop for various reasons but they’d like to get into gif making. When I started making gifs, I only had a free trial of Photoshop, but when that ran out, I had to find another way to make gifs. Enter Photopea! A free, web-based software that you can use anywhere and that works just like Photoshop!

In this tutorial, I’ll teach you how to make a basic gif like the one I did above. I use a macbook air, but it should be doable on a regular pc too!

If you found this helpful, feel free to share it with your friends! The tutorial can be found under the cut below 💜

THINGS YOU’LL NEED

A browser (I switch between Safari and Chrome, more about this later)

A screencapping software (like MPlayer OSX Extended) or, alternatively, a presentation program like Keynote or Powerpoint.

A program to screenrecord or a program that let’s you download from YouTube

Lots of patience bc gifs are annoying little shits <3

1. GETTING A VIDEO BY SCREENRECORDING

First things first, you need to have the clip you want make a gif out of. There are plenty of ways that you can get them. I’ve seen some gifmakers say that they torrent entire movies and gif from that. The way I do is I screenrecord the part I want to gif directly from where I’m watching the movie or show (like Disney+ or Netflix [or something like 123movies if you’re a pirate 🏴‍☠️)]). That way, I don’t have to download the entire movie and I have just the part that I want.

To screenrecord, I use my macbook’s built-in program called Screenshot.

Open the program by pressing ctrl + command + 5 on your keyboard and you get these funny little buttons.

Click on the button that says record entire screen. The program is now recording your screen. Play the scene and make sure you expand the video into full screen so you get a full resolution. When you��re done, click the stop button that is at the top right of your screen (next to the wifi and battery symbols.)

If you don’t have Mac, I suggest you look into how to screenrecord on your computer, as I don’t know how other operating systems work. Sorry!

1B. GETTING A VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE WITH CLIPGRAB

Another way you can get videos is from Youtube. I use a program called ClipGrab for this. Download and open the program. You’ll get this window

Simply paste the link and chose the highest quality, then click ‘grab this clip!’. Done!

2. SCREENCAPPING

After we’ve obtained the clip we wanted, we can do this two ways. The first way is to use the program MPlayer OSX Extended. Here’s a tutorial on how to set it up, make sure you do this if it’s your first time using the program. Make sure that you have a special screenshot folder!

Open MPlayer, then go to file > open and find the video of the scene you screenrecorded or downloaded. MPlayer will now play the video. Use the left and right keys (< and >) to go go backwards or forwards 1 minute, but try not to move around too much because the software crashes if you do. If that happens, just click the reopen button when the popup comes on, and reload the video again.

When you’ve gotten to the point you want in the video, press the command + shift + s buttons at the same time and the program will now take a screencap of every single frame until you stop.

If everything goes smoothly, you should find all your frames in your screenshot folder that you’ve made before when setting up the program!

2B. USING A PRESENTATION SOFTWARE TO MAKE A GIF

If you want to skip the screencapping part and you want to have a fully completed gif, you can do the second option. That’s what I used to do before I got MPlayer. In my experience, it’s a really fast way to make a gif, but the quality isn’t really good.

Here’s a tutorial on how to turn a slide into a gif in Keynote.

Here’s a similar tutorial on how to make a gif on PowerPoint.

Basically, you make sure that the size of your presentation is the same as your video, and that you make sure to export one slide into a gif. Also make sure that you export in the highest quality!

3. LOADING THE FRAMES IN PHOTOPEA

Finally, we can start giffing! As I said at the start, Photopea can be used anywhere, but I switch between Safari and Chrome. The reason why is that if I upload the frames in Chrome, the frames will be out of order. In Safari, that doesn’t happen, but the downside is that once I start editing, Safari will reload the page because it takes up too much memory.

So, first I go to photopea.com on Safari. I click New Project and put in the same dimensions as the screencaps (in my case, they are 1440x900 px). You’ll get an empty project.

Then click file > open & place and select your screenshots. Wait until Photopea has loaded all the frames, then, at the speed of light, quickly click file > save as psd before Safari reloads! You’ll find it in your folder where all your downloads are.

Next, I open Chrome (I use the incognito window because I have adblock on my usual Chrome, the program won’t work as usual if you have it enabled) and I click Open From Computer, locate your saved .psd file that you saved from Safari.

Now, you’ll see all the frames as individual layers. Select everything by clicking on the first layer, then golding the shift button and clicking on the last layer. Press command + G to group the frames into a folder. Here’s how everything should look after you’ve grouped the layers.

^^ See how Agnes approves! Agnes things you’re going a great job!

Now, it’s time to crop the gif and get rid of the black borders. Making sure that the folder is selected, click on the crop tool (or press C) and click on Fixed Size

W is Width and H is Height, write in your sizing here. Tumblr’s max width is 540, so I put the width as such. For the height, I use 405. Then you just drag the corners until you’ve selected the part that you want, like this

Press enter and the image will be sized down 540x405 px.

Now, our gif looks like this after cropping!

Open the folder so you can see all the layers. Select all your layers and right click on them, then click rasterize.

Then, go to layer > animation > make frames. You’ll now see that each layer begins with _a_ - this is crucial because this is how Photopea knows that the layers are part of a gif. If your layers don’t begin with _a_, then it will not play as a gif

If you instead already have a gif done, all you have to do instead is simply click open from computer when you first open Photopea and load your already finished gif and it’ll have the _a_ at the start of every layer. You won’t have to go through the steps of loading your frames into a new project to make your gif as it’s already done and in a folder :) Just start cropping once you load it

You can preview your work by going to file > export as > gif. Make sure to change the speed in the preview window until your gif plays the way you want it! I put my speed at 500%

4. SHARPENING

Hooray, we now have our gif! But to make it look a little nicer, it’s good to sharpen it. I always use Smart Sharpen when I sharpen my gifs, and many other gifmakers use that too. It’s really good :D

To sharpen your gif, again, make sure that all your layers are selected. Go to filter > sharpen > smart sharpen. I use two different settings for my gifs, it really depends on the gif.

Setting 1 (which is the default setting)

Setting 2

Again, it depends on the gif, play around until it looks good to you!

Here’s our gif after sharpening it

I ended up deleting the last few layers as the gif got bigger than 10mb (that’s Tumblr’s file limit, it your file is bigger than 10mb, it won’t upload). I also added a gradient map and it made the file size smaller, more about that in the next segment!

5. COLORING

Here’s the fun part! Now we get to play around with the gif, making it brighter and look Extra Nice™! Since this is a black and white scene, I make sure that the blacks and the whites really pop.

Notice how in the original scene it’s not actually b&w, it has a slight sepia tint to it. I want to remove this, so I add a gradient map by clicking on the white square with a black circle (I want to point out that we’ll be clicking on this button a lot in this step)

and I change the blending mode to Saturation

Then I add a curves layer using these settings

Then a second curves layer

Brightness/contrast

Then my favourite! Selective color! First layer, I deepen up the blacks

Then another selective color layer, this time the whites

Lastly the neutrals

Here we have the final results!

Wasn’t this a gas! I hope this helped you out, let me know if you want to know anything else about gifmaking, I’m happy to help! Also, sorry if I wasn’t very clear, I’m bad at explaining 🙈

MORE RESOURCES:

Here are some other tutorials that are really helpful in making gifs. These users use Photoshop, but you can still use their tips most of the time in Photopea too, you just need to play around and see what works for you!

Gifmaking for beginners by @chloezhao (this one saved my life)

Pale coloring tutorial by @itsphotoshop

Two-Toned Gif Background by @clubgif

Text with white outline tutorial by @anya-chalotra

#resources #tutorial #gif tutorial #photopea #photoshop tutorial #photopea tutorial #tuserfran #userlaur #userlaura #usermirna #(tagging mutuals if you wanna share :P)#my tutorials

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bigskydreaming · 3 years

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I know some people just aren’t comfortable engaging with parts of canon where Bruce is abusive, because that’s just not the version of the character they’re here for, and I get that.

But the second a fic shows a willingness to address or even center itself around something like RHATO #25 or the Batman issue from King’s run where Bruce hits Tim......but DOESN’T acknowledge any of the many, MANY times that Bruce has been abusive to Dick on both sides of the Reboot, from post-Forever Evil to after Jason’s death post-Crisis and times in between?

Yeah, that’s when I see red.

Cuz that’s when it starts to look an awful lot like people are viewing abuse as some kind of narrative spice that they can selectively dole out only to those characters they like, while ignoring the times its applied to characters they don’t like because it might make them too sympathetic or interesting or what the fuck ever.

And I know people aren’t viewing abuse that way, right? Like surely there’s got to be some other explanation for why fics that heavily reference every single time Bruce has done something bad to Jason or Tim seem to act like Dick was just passively at Bruce’s side through all this, backing him up or else just being too naive to think Bruce could ever be like that, instead of like....actively a victim of their father’s abuse as well.

Look, its one thing for a certain character to not be your focal point or someone you’re particularly interested in, but you GOTTA look at the way this looks when you treat a character who has had instances of being a victim of Bruce’s abuse going back over thirty years, as like, being enabling, uncaring of or even party to Bruce’s abuse to the others in more recent years. Like, I focus a lot on the times he’s done it with Dick like in NW #30 or NTT #55 and just talk about Bruce and Dick in reference to those, because I’m trying to keep the focus limited to just Bruce and Dick for the purposes of whatever point I’m making, but the thing about that is.....I’m not CLAIMING that Bruce has never been abusive with any of the others, they’re just literally not even coming into the post because it isn’t about them.

But the second you open things up to a full fic where things from all points of canon are being referenced in characters’ issues with Bruce, and you have a full cast list assembled.....it doesn’t work the same way because now you’re not just not talking about Dick’s experiences there because he’s not the focal point, now you’re actively writing over his experiences with a veneer of oh Dick and Bruce are fine, nothing like this has ever or would ever happen with them. That’s when you’re making for whatever reason a conscious CHOICE to depict certain kids of Bruce’s as victims at his hands, but NOT depicting the one who inarguably has been written that way the LONGEST and going back the furthest....because you simply don’t WANT him to be as sympathetic or the others or someone who can relate to them on this front, you want him to be an OBSTACLE to all that.

That’s shitty. I don’t know how else to tell you that that’s shitty. Please stop reserving abuse as some kind of ‘prize’ that’s only awarded to your personal faves’ backstories, because oh my god is that an offensive fucking take both coming and going. Not only are you unintentionally framing abuse as something ‘that can be quite good, actually, cuz it makes characters (people) interesting,’ you’re also again, as I said, seeing absolutely zero problem with taking a canon abuse survivor and making him part of the issue instead of someone similarly affected by it, simply because you don’t like him or find him interesting and you don’t want him to be the same as Jason or the others in this regard.

Frankly, this applies to the way this fandom treats a LOT of specific kinds of traumas. Like catch me side-eyeing the massive trend of Jason-as-Robin era fics that have Jason view Dick as spoiled, pampered, and harder to relate to or understand even than Bruce because god forbid one of those fics go with the juvie origin for Dick. I’ve more than once heard people say “I just don’t like that origin for Dick because I find it too angsty” and I gotta say, its a good thing that Cass and Damian’s origins aren’t too angsty to avoid and that nobody has ever extrapolated from what we do know about Jason and Tim’s childhoods to go into extremely elaborate and angsty detail about every possible facet of abuse or neglect they might have endured.

I mean nah, this isn’t yet another way in which people deliberately depict Dick as just ‘not getting it’ because he hasn’t been through the kinds of stuff the others have, and its like. Okay but see thing is, he actually HAS, and you not acknowledging any of those instances is a CHOICE that you’re making as a writer, and as readers, we’re allowed to question those choices. We can look at what you’re presenting in the way that you’re presenting it, and think okay, but one of these things is not like the others, and the way you treat various characters as extremely sympathetic because of various aspects of their canon stories or their backstories while acting like the same could never ever be true of a character it absolutely has been true of on many different occasions....its super uncomfortable. And it kinda casts a shadow over everything you write into your story about abuse or specific other traumas because now there’s actually this implicit undertone where its like, okay but we actually only care about these things when they’re affecting someone or some character we LIKE, and that’s.....yeah. Not awesome.

I’ve ranted many a time before about the abuse apologism that runs rampant in this fandom, particularly in the vein of people refusing to acknowledge Bruce’s abusive actions (which again, I understand and am fine with up UNTIL...) but being perfectly comfortable sticking with any and all of Dick’s REACTIONS to literal abuse, but now deliberately separated from the inciting actions which makes it look like he’s just instigating shit or upset for no reason whatsoever. That’s literal abuse apologism, no matter what your intentions are, because hate to break it to people, but “Avoid Acknowledging An Abuser’s Actions And Flip The Focus To What The Abuse Victim Is Doing Wrong Instead” is literally chapter one of Abuse Apologism 101. But this shit? Abuse only happens to people I care about or find sympathetic already, because weirdly I seem to be able to make excuses for or overlook any instances of abuse that happen to someone I DON’T like?

That’s literally chapter two of the same damn book.

And good god but am I tired of people harping endlessly on about how much they care about these topics while blithely doing nothing BUT reinforce abuse apologism tropes and narratives in the process of shining a spotlight on the abuse that happens to personal faves and personal faves only.

And this definitely falls into the same pattern of people who happily talk about taking a match to canon and watching it burn at the exact same time they make the deliberate choices to depict Dick as the one Batkid who just doesn’t truly get the others and never will, or is unrelatable or all these other things.....

And its like hey guys? 90% of the stuff you hold against Dick Grayson or cite as your reasons for not liking him? When we say those aren’t canon its not because we’re trying to be the canon police always showing up to bust up your fun and be like no no no you naughty people, that never happened so you’re not allowed to write that. No. That’s not a thing. That’s not what that is. What it ACTUALLY is, is us pointing out all the times and ways where when Dick comes across as a giant asshole in fics, and we’re like why tho, we’re just literally trying to understand where your interpretation of his character is coming from, and you guys are like bitch its canon, and we’re like okay no but thing is, its really actually not. Its us just being like hey, the vast majority of the stuff you say you dont like about the guy or the times you leave out all the stuff that you cite as what you DO like about other characters, its like....

But anyway....

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ajokeformur-ray · 4 years

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Hey can we get a bit of fluff with ledger's joker? Most fics with him are super kinky and he deserves a bit of fluff

I am all here for this ksksksskks I love loving on J, he deserves it so much

I asked @jokershyena for a prompt so: It’s been a long, long day and J’s so exhausted; he can barely move, but you manage to get him into bed. You get him sorted out; you undress him, clean off his paint, and while you’re there, you take a moment to love on your clown. He’s the only one for you.

Word count: 1, 689.

J was late home.

There wasn’t a set curfew, as such, but it had always been, at the very least, a guideline that J was supposed to come home before you went to bed every night. Not just to alleviate the tensions and the worries that you had at his being out so late - where was he? What was he doing? Was he injured? - but also because you, quite simply, couldn’t sleep without your clown, your agent of chaos, right there beside you.

His warm, strong arm slung carelessly over your waist, his fingers beneath the hem of the shirt you slept in because skin on skin contact was something special for the two of you, something which kept you both firmly grounded in reality and proved to the both of you that you were both needed and loved, his leg between both of yours so that you were anchored together, his heartbeat in your ear, his deep and steady breaths the accompaniment to your own…

You could sleep in no other way, and though J rarely voiced all the ways in which you helped him did you know that it was much the same for him. So deeply connected and in love with each other were you that you simply knew things about the other, even and most especially when they were left unvoiced but not unacknowledged.

On nights like this was the sentiment returned with J’s actions. He was nothing if not a man of his word, after all.

At two in the morning precisely did you hear a series of taps and other noises at the window of your bedroom. You were freaked out and panicked until you heard a muffled cackle, the sound slightly strained.

“J!” You marched over to the window and threw open the pane, which enabled your exhausted and chaotic clown to tumble in to your room gracelessly, as his head came through the window and then his legs followed, the rest of his body folding in on itself as he fell to the floor. You shut the window before you bent down to smooth your hands through J’s hair, which was slightly greasy and in desperate need of another round of dye. “What the hell are you doing?”

A dramatic grunt was your only response. More seconds passed and still did J remain on the floor, unmoving, and you realised that he was exhausted. Used were you to J pushing his body, strong though it was, past its limits, so you easily slid your arms beneath his armpits and hoisted him up as you mentally cursed him out for not taking care of himself. J was helping you as best as he could, his head hung low, his limbs limp as you got him onto the bed.

You pulled off his shoes, setting them against the wall beneath the radiator. Sat him up to shed him of his purple trench, his tie, his waistcoat and his braces. You left him in his purple work shirt, a few buttons did you undo so that it was easier for him to move around in his sleep and his pinstripe trousers. You even took off his eccentric socks so that his feet could get some breathing space.

Your next trip was to the bathroom. Quickly did you assemble a bowl of hot soapy water and a flannel. J was already starting to lightly snore and that was a sure sign that he was really and truly tired. You had been working methodically all the while, talking to J while you touched him so that he knew what you were doing to him at all times, always so guarded was he. Most especially when he was like this, however, was he clingy, and it was easier for him to stay asleep if he could hear you at the very edge of his consciousness telling him that you would be back in a minute, he was safe.

Carefully did you sit down beside his head on the bed, moving slowly. Periodically did J crack a single dark eye open, though upon seeing it was you did his eye slide shut once more. Right now was he showing you the biggest and more sincere display of trust which you could have ever asked for, and you renewed a private vow in that moment. Never would you betray J’s trust in you, never would you betray this moment, right here and right now.

You would rather die than betray J in any way, such were the depths of your loyalty and devotion.

A large patch of white greasepaint in the middle of J’s forehead had completely worn away and your eyes stayed on that spot as your hand dipped into the bowl of hot soapy water. You took a minute to just enjoy the serenity and stillness of this moment; of the smell of J’s greasepaint and of the soap you had chosen, of the slow rising and falling of J’s deep breaths, of the way he looked so beautiful laid out before you like this, trusting you so implicitly with himself and with his continued safety, to just enjoy the heat of the water against your skin.

Oh, shit, you loved him.

You loved J.

You had known for the longest of time, but moments like this really hammered it all home for you, so much so that your heart was currently squeezing in your chest.

You wrung out the flannel and - wait, you wanted to do something which was super romantic and made you feel all warm and fuzzy. If J had been awake, really awake, there was no way you would ever do this, but before you began to wipe off his paint did you slowly, slowly move forward so that you could press a tender kiss to the bare patch of skin, your lips lingering against his skin. With the softest smile did you pull away, resuming your previous position, as you began to wipe off J’s greasepaint with slow, gentle wipes. The minute traces of your love from your kiss would now be rubbed into J’s skin, seeping into his pores and reaching him on the inside.

J’s eyes shot open at the touch of the flannel and you shushed him gently. “It’s okay, J. It’s just me, it’s Y/N. You’re safe.”

“Safe… mine… safe.” J’s eyes closed once more and you felt his body relax into the mattress. Only then did you continue cleaning his face, your heart clenching at his simple words, heavy with exhaustion but just as weighted with a multitude of emotions. You traced around to his right temple and cleaned off that side of his face and then you went around to the left. You left his chin and his scars for last, and when finally did the rest of J’s face only have a lighter hue than the rest of his skin (he even painted his ears, bless him) did you begin to gently, gently dab at his scars and mouth. Red and white smeared together and you leaned in as close to him as you could get away with, concentrating on getting as much greasepaint out of every crevice and crack in his scars.

“There he is,” You hummed, “My handsome clown.”

As more and more of J was revealed until at last was he bare faced before you at almost three in the morning did you feel your own physical and mental tiredness begin to creep in. Calling it a day did you go to the bathroom to dump out the murky water and get yourself ready for bed, before going back into the bedroom to tuck J in. He was supporting himself on his elbows in the bed, squinting at the doorway while he waited for you. He had been awake the entire time you had been looking after him, and it had touched some long forgotten, often neglected part of him. The word love didn’t cross his mind, not really, but the words mine and Y/N had merged together into one, and he rather felt that now did the two of you belong to each other in equal measures.

You crawled into bed beside J and let your body relax. The weight of J beside you in the large bed, the steady rhythm of his deep breathing, the warmth which was practically radiating off of him… you were home, now.

A grunt beside you told you that J was still awake, as did the arm which snaked around your waist and pulled you back into a firm chest. “Get a good look at ‘em, did’ya? Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Teasing though the question sounded, there was a definite edge to his voice. Did J think you had been mocking him?

You didn’t even have to think about it. Yes, he had.

You brought a hand up and over your shoulder. You felt J jerk his head back but you persisted. Finally did J allow you to slide your fingers into his hair, your fingers lightly scratching against his scalp. J almost purred as he tilted into your touch, so feline in nature could he be. “I meant it. Every word. I thought you knew me better than that.” And now you were the one with hurt feelings.

Your hand slid deeper into his hair as J dipped his head to press an open mouthed kiss to your neck. It was an apology for being snappy and an acknowledgement of your kindness. It was the best you were going to get and you knew it.

“Come on, J,” You turned around so that you could face him, pointedly leaning forward so that you could lean your forehead against his, a hand coming up to rest over his heart so that you could feel that he was as alive and as real as you were. “Let’s get some sleep.” You paused and then, “I love you.”

The sleepy hum and the way J pressed his forehead against yours for just a moment said everything he wouldn’t:

I love you too.

Destructive raccoon boii™ @nothing-but-a-comedy @jokershyena @anyatheladyclown @mijachula @joker-daddy @rinbyo @imightaswellnotexistatall @vladtoly @joker-is-my-hero @liz-rdwitch @enigmaticandunstable @ledgerskitten @tsukiakarinobara @germansarechill @ezziesworld @antonija89 @acw1

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nonstop-haikyuu · 4 years

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Can’t Do This to Me, Baby

Another fic from my other blog! Daichi has the best thighs in Haikyuu and they deserve all the hickeys. Of course, with eagle eyes like Noya and Tanaka, however, avoiding teasing is impossible. Revenge is needed and Daichi is more than willing to hand it out. Seriously, big shoutout to @haikyuufairy for enabling me on this one!

Word Count: 4478

Warnings: thigh fucking, rip the kitchen counter, hickeys galore, slight breeding kink, riding, Tanaka and Noya are menaces, Captain kink (don’t look at me like that), praise kink, fingering, vaginal sex, gagging with fingers, small mention of a possible threesome, itty bitty bit of D/s but not really??

As captain, Daichi held a certain amount of prestige with his team. But thanks to years of volleyball, he had thick thighs that were oh so wonderful and I couldn’t help but pay special attention to them when I had the chance.

“Baby, baby, please, you can’t leave hickeys, my team will see.” Daichi insisted, fingers tight in my hair. I glanced up at him as I sucked another bruise on the inside of his thigh before I whined, “But baby, you look so good with all these marks. Plus, it’s not like they’re actually going to say anything to you, you’re their captain. They respect you enough not to tease you about having sex with your girlfriend.”

He laughed and fell back into the pillows as I continued to kiss upwards on his thighs, leaving small marks, and he groaned, “Clearly you haven’t spent enough time with the second years. Ennoshita won’t say anything but fuck baby! Oh god, you’ve gotta stop, you’re killing me.” I pulled away from the newest bite I left then gave a small lick to it before I crawled into his lap, murmuring, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

His fingers tightened in my hair then he pulled me into a kiss, sliding his tongue into my mouth as I moaned. Daichi pulled away then he murmured, “You didn’t hurt me, I just didn’t want to come just from you giving me fucking love bites, baby. Now c’mon, give me a condom and I’ll fuck you like you want me to.”

That familiar gleam, the one that always seemed to have a place in his eyes during an intense match, had begun to set in and I squirmed with anticipation. Not only were his thighs good for leaving marks, but fuck, they were a hell of an asset during sex.

I nodded with eagerness and fumbled through the top drawer while Daichi pressed his fingers against my slit, a growl rumbling through his chest as he felt how wet I was then he sighed, “You're already so wet for me, baby. God I can’t wait to fuck you, you’re so good to me. I love you.”

I whimpered when he pulled his fingers away then watched with awe as he began to fuck his hand covered in my slick, groaning, “Goddamn, Princess, what I would give to fuck you raw. Fill up that pretty pussy so full you wouldn’t be able to shift without come trickling out.”

“Daichi, oh god, please!” I cried out, rocking against his thigh. He grabbed the condom from my fingers then kissed my jaw, cheeks and finally my lips before he murmured, “We can’t do that though, baby, you know that. But soon, when we’re older. I’ll give you that and so much more. “

I moaned at the promise then he gripped my hips before pulling me close enough to press the head of his cock to my hole, murmuring, “That’s a good girl, just sink on down for me.” I drew in a deep breath and did as he asked, sighing when I finally slid to the hilt. I pressed my forehead to his as I drew in a couple deep breath then Daichi asked, “What’s the matter, baby, you want me to fuck you? You don’t want to take a ride?”

It wasn’t until this moment that I was thankful it was a weekend. Daichi often pushed himself to the limits during the week and his body usually paid the price for the work he put in, which meant that he ached on most days. As much as I enjoyed riding my boyfriend, there was nothing quite like having him pin me to the bed and fuck me. I gave a small nod and a grin stretched across his face then he gripped the backs of my thighs to flip me onto my back. I laughed and kissed him.

Monday came like normal and I had planned to sit in on their practice since I didn’t have anything planned for after classes. I entered the gym and slid my shoes on, chirping, “Hello everyone!” The team turned and greeted me separately.

“Hey (Y/N)-chan!” Noya chirped as I gave a respectful bow to Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei. I waved to my kouhai then turned in search of Daichi, who was currently practicing his receives with Suga and Ennoshita. I waited until they circled together for a quick drink of water then waved to them with a bright smile before claiming a place against the wall, prepared to work on the last bit of homework for the day.

The practice was mostly uneventful until they were almost finished with their first set of a practice match. Daichi had dug out a low ball and his shorts rode up on his thighs higher than usual, leaving the marks I had left a couple nights before in plain view. The first to notice the hickeys was unsurprisingly, Suga. He grinned in my direction then nudged Asahi,who flushed with color at the sight and quickly turned away from his captain, who gave an inquiring look to his best friend.

Then two of the first years noticed the bruises. Yamaguchi quickly turned away from Daichi and I watched as his freckles were overtaken with the red of his blush while Tsukishima merely rolled his eyes at the sight. That’s when the second years managed to catch a peek of the purples, reds, and blues decorating their captain’s thighs.

“Holy shit, Daichi, I think your girl has fancies your thighs a bit much there.” Tanaka crowed, earning the attention of his fellow classmates. Noya lit up at the opportunity to torment his senpai then he laughed, “Oh my god, I haven’t seen that many bruises even on an overripe banana!”

It was at this exact moment when I realized what Daichi had meant by I hadn’t spent enough time with the second years. I could practically see the gears turning in Noya and Tanaka’s heads as they constructed joke after joke about their captain’s sex life before my boyfriend snapped, “Shut up and get back to work!” Thankfully, the two listened to him and the game resumed, with the three seniors, Ennoshita, Kazuhito, and Kinoshita taking both sets.

Daichi walked towards Ukai and Takeda then murmured something to the two, earning nods for whatever he asked, before he walked towards me, rumbling, “Grab your stuff, we’re leaving.” My eyes widened at the realization of what was about to happen then the second years, with the help of Suga yelling encouragement at Daichi, began to tease us as we walked out of the gym.

He offered his hand out to me then murmured, “I cleared it with Coach, I’m leaving early for the day. You and I need to have a bit of alone time.”

“Daichi, you’re not mad at me, are you?” I asked quietly, squeezing his hand. He glanced down at me then replied, “Yes, I am.. I told you no marks and yet you insisted on not listening to me and now I have the underclassmen poking fun at the fact that my girlfriend is insatiable and doesn’t know how to keep her teeth to herself. Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

The calm before the storm. It was something that I had hated about Daichi. The man had a poker face like no one else I had even seen, besides Ennoshita. That kid was unbeatable when it came to hiding the nasty emotions he felt, except when he dealt with Tanaka and Noya, but those two were enough to make the strongest will bend.

I cuddled into his side and he sighed before pulling his jacket from around his waist, draping it over my shoulders. I smiled up at him then Daichi muttered, “Even when I’m mad at you, I still can’t let you freeze.” I let out a soft laugh and cuddled closer, satisfied that he wasn’t ignoring me, before we stopped at Sakanoshita Store for a couple of meat buns to eat while we finished walking to Daichi’s.

He pulled me into his apartment by the front of my shirt and kissed me,, his other hand claiming the back of my thigh as he rocked into me. I moaned quietly then he pulled away, murmuring, “I’m going to take a shower, you can do whatever you want for right now.” He turned away to start his shower and I snagged the front of his shirt, whining, “Daichi, there’s no point in taking a shower when you know that you’re going to fuck me.”

He glanced down at my fingers tangled in the hem then met my eyes as he cupped my jaw with his hand, asking, “Are you whining at me?” I paused at the coldness of his tone and felt the material of his shirt slip through my fingers then mumbled, “Yes, Captain. I’m sorry.” Daichi hummed at my apology and released my face as he stated, “You do have a point, baby. I’m going to put the rest of the meat buns away, alright?”

He began to move away and I decided to follow him, hands sliding around his waist to press my cheek against his back. He paused and I pressed myself against his back with a smile, murmuring, “I’m sorry, did you want me to stay put?” He drew in a deep breath and replied, “No baby, you know that you can go wherever you want. But you have to at least walk with me.” I curled against his back and followed his footsteps into the kitchen as he put the buns into the fridge then he turned in my arms, kissing me on the top of my head. Daichi tilted my head upwards and asked, “So, are you ready to reap the consequences of your actions?”

My tongue peeked out at the question then I chirped, “I’m sure I’m going to enjoy whatever you dish out as punishment.” He chuckled at my insistence then kissed at the underside of my jaw as he murmured, “You’re so eager and you don’t even know what I’m going to do to you for the hickeys you left, even after I asked you to stop. I might not even let you come today, baby.” My eyes widened at the threat and he turned me around to bend me over the counter, stating, “You look so pretty underneath me, baby. I’m glad you didn’t change out of your uniform yet, that way I can just flip up your skirt and look at that, fuck. Cute little panties, were you hoping that my team would see and it would rile me up, baby?”

I whined at the question and pressed my hips against his, muttering, “Daichi, c’mon.” He cupped my cheeks then turned my face to kiss me on the corner of my mouth before he insisted, “You can wait for me, baby. Don’t you want to be good for me?” A small smirk stretched across my face and I chirped, “What’s the fun in being good when you can be bad, Captain?”

Daichi groaned in my ear and pressed against me, growling, “You’re really going to push your luck right now? Fine, baby.” His fingers tightened around the waistband of my underwear then yanked downwards and he kissed at the backs of my thighs, purring, “Goddamn, I may have thick thighs but yours could save my life, baby.”

I laughed at the statement and glanced behind me when he came to a stand then teased, “You still have nicer thighs than I do.” Daichi growled at my insistence and rumbled, “I’m pretty sure you have nicer thighs.” I pressed backwards then replied, “I’m sure we can have this argument at a later time, you’re supposed to be punishing me for the beautiful hickeys I left.”

He hummed at the reminder and pressed a large hand to the middle of my back as he rucked my skirt up higher to expose my ass. A thick thigh slid behind my legs then I gasped. He was playing dirty tonight and oh god it was going to feel so fucking good. Daichi slid his free hand underneath the front of my skirt then cooed, “You’re already so wet for me, baby. I guess you really did want the team to see your handy work, huh?”

“Daichi, please don’t tease me.” I moaned, my forehead against the counter. His fingers circled my clit and he pressed his thigh tighter against me before he replied, “Baby, this is nothing and you know it. Now stand there and take it like a good girl.” He pulled his fingers away from the bud and I cried out at the loss then he pressed them against my lips before he ordered, “Open and suck for me.”

I did as he asked, whimpering against the slick fingers, then he groaned, “Fuck baby, you’re so eager to listen to me. Maybe I won’t be so mean and I’ll actually take it easy on you.” He backed away then I began to protest still with his fingers against my tongue, only for him to press them deeper in my mouth, warning, “I’d suggest you not be too much a brat for your captain, if you know what’s good for you.” I choked against the digits then he pulled them out, strings of spit dangling from my lips, before he turned my face and kissed me.

He rocked against me and we shared a moan then he backed away to pull his shorts down. I glanced behind me to try to gain a look, only for Daichi to push me harder against the counter, earning a cry. He laughed at the sound then he stated, “You’re so loud for me, baby. It’s adorable.” I groaned at the compliment then two fingers slid inside, forcing it into a loud sob. He growled at the sound and encouraged, “Keep it down, there’s people we live next to still, little girl.”

He honestly didn’t believe that keeping me quiet would be that easy, did he? I pushed backwards and moaned, his fingers sliding deeper, then cooed, “C’mon, Captain, you can do better than that, can’t you?” He knew I was baiting him, it was a game that we often played but I still felt the same thrill when he pulled his fingers out and I gasped at the sudden emptiness. Daichi leaned forward and kissed my cheek then ordered, “Legs together. I’m going to fuck your thighs, baby.”

“Fuck, oh my god.” I moaned, head falling forward at the demand then did as he asked. He moved his hand off my lower back then the head of his dick pressed between my inner thighs. He sighed in my ear after pushing his cock further between my legs and he snarled, “Shit baby, this is almost as tight as your pussy is. I should fuck your thighs more. God, I can feel you dripping for me.”

“Fuck please, Daichi, please fuck me!” I pleaded, wiggling my ass at him as he continued to fuck my thighs. Slick dribbled down my skin and he sighed, the head of his cock bumping my clit. I whimpered and dug my fingers into his hip with a sob, “God, Captain, please! I promise I’ll be your good girl, please, I need your cock, need you to fuck me senseless!”

“You’re missing something in that statement, baby. What are you supposed to say right now?” I growled at his ridiculous question then the answer slid in. Right. Of course. The reason why we’re here for a reason, the wonderful hickeys that remained on Daichi’s thighs that I don’t regret. He wanted an apology for something that we both enjoyed. What a difficult situation.

“If you’re looking for an apology, Captain, you’re not going to find it. I’ve got nothing to say sorry for.” I informed him. He growled at my stubbornness then snapped, “You're such a brat. I can’t believe you at times.” I laughed and tightened my thighs, drawing a groan out of him as I replied, “You’re so easy to rile up. No wonder Tanaka and Noya bug you so much. You always have the most amusing reactions.” His hand slid further up my back and tangled in my hair, pulling the strands to yank my head upwards. I screamed at the pain that raced down my spine and Daichi fucked my thighs faster, clearly deciding that I didn’t deserve mercy.

“You’re such a noisy little brat. Maybe I’ll bring Suga back with us so he can choke you on his cock while I fuck your tight little pussy. That way you can’t make any noise.” Daichi snarled, snapping his hips faster. I cried out at the suggestion and pressed my hands against the counter to help push back against my boyfriend, taunting over my shoulder, “If that’s supposed to make me behave, I hate to break it to you, but that’s not the way to do it. If anything, that only makes me want to be worse.”

“Of course you would like that. Your captain and vice captain fucking you like the whore you are.” he murmured in my ear, wrapping an arm around my waist to help prevent the onslaught of bruises that was sure to blossom by the next morning. Daichi kissed down my neck and bit my shoulder, pulling a cry from my throat as I leaned into him, stuttering out, “Daichi, please! I want you to fuck me!”

A laugh bubbles out of him, without the familiar warmth that I was so used to before he kissed my cheek, stating, “That’s cute that you still think that you’re in charge here. Come on baby, do you want me to take you into the bedroom and fuck you right?”

He was giving me an out from the punishment and as hot as that certain position against the counter was, it was uncomfortable with the pinch of marble pressing against my skin. I pushed against his chest and he pulled away with his fingers tangling with my own before he tugged me to the bedroom. Daichi nudged open the door with his foot and ushered me inside, murmuring, “Go on, get undressed for me.”

I nodded in understanding then pulled my sweater over my head and wiggled out of my skirt, thankful to be naked. Large hands tightened around my hips and Daichi leaned into me, kissing at my neck, murmuring, “You’re so fucking beautiful, baby. I’m so lucky to love you.”

I smiled up at him and said, “And I’m so lucky to love you. I’m sorry for leaving hickeys. It’s just, I couldn’t resist and you didn’t make me stop. I’m sorry if I pissed you off.”

He laughed quietly and kissed me, tongue pressing into my mouth, then he slid away, reminding me, “Baby, you wouldn’t do anything that I don’t like and you know how I feel when you bite me. Sure, it’s a bit embarrassing having my kouhai see the marks you left, but fuck, baby. It’s hot when you get in that mood.”

“You act as if that mood is rare. If it were up to me and I knew you wouldn’t get picked on, I would be leaving hickeys all over your thighs every chance I got.” I informed him, pushing him on the bed. He smiled at me and replied, “Trust me, I’d let you do it too. Anything for you, baby.” I crawled into Daichi’s lap and pulled his shirt over his head then admired the way he looked underneath me. Dark eyes watched as I rocked against his thigh, a soft moan spilling from my lips then I whimpered, “Please… please, I need it, Captain, need you to fuck me.”

He pushed me onto my back and he wrapped a hand around the base of his dick then he purred, “You’re so pretty when you beg for me. It’s okay, baby, I’m gonna fuck you.” Daichi reached into the top drawer and grabbed a condom to roll on. I watched with intrigue as he did then tilted my hips upwards to allow him to sink just the tip inside.

I panted and he made me wait for the rest of his cock then Daichi praised, “You're so pretty, baby, so patient with me. I love you.” My nails clawed against his back as he sunk deeper inside me then I cried out, “Fucking hell, Captain! God, please, please, just fuck me, Daichi, I promise I’ll be good! I’ll do anything, please, I just need you to fuck me!”

His grin stretched wider and he kissed my cheek then he fucked up into me, fingers tightening around my hips. My head slammed back into the pillow and I sobbed at the pleasure rushing through my senses then Daichi cooed, “You’re so good, baby, so fucking good. God, I love you.” I clutched at his back and kissed at the crook of his neck as I murmured, “Love you too, so much. Please make me come!”

He laughed at my insistence and cupped my face then he kissed my cheeks and forehead, thighs tightening. I lifted my ass higher to change the angle, sighing with delight. Daichi groaned then pressed me back into the mattress, warning, “My pace, baby, not yours.” I whined at his order and tangled my legs around his waist, the headboard rocking against the wall. Had I not been half gone with pleasure, I would have cringed at the sound and the scuff marks that would likely remain as a reminder of what happened tonight. But now, there wasn’t a single thought that ran through my head that wasn’t related to Daichi.

“Yeah, that’s good, baby. C’mon, hold onto me tighter. This is going to be a bit rough.” Daichi snarled, fingers knotting through my hair as he tugged on the strands. I cried out when the pain mixed with the pleasure that overtook my mind and body and tilted my head backwards, offering up my throat as a treat. He grinned, a mean undertone settling across his features, and encouraged, “That’s it, baby, so easy for your captain.”

“Daichi, please- oh god!” I sobbed as his hips snapped faster and a growl burst from his chest. He sucked hickeys into the skin of my throat and teeth skimmed the bruises, ripping a keen from me as he bit harder. His fingers tightened around my hip then his thumb found my clit, pressing harshly against the sensitive spot before he rubbed tight circles. I cried out as my orgasm was dangled just inches from my face then he groaned, “That’s it, baby, come for your captain, you’re such a good girl for me. Fuck, baby, I’m gonna come.”

I whimpered at his instruction and my head tilted backwards as I screamed. I delighted in the pleasure that diluted my senses then Daichi growled in my ear when his own orgasm shuddered through his body. He backed away slowly, pressing a soft kiss to my lips, then pulled off the condom and tied the end before he murmured, “I’ll be right back, okay, baby? Just wait for me while I go get some things.”

I let a small noise of acknowledgement and he smiled softly before disappearing into the bathroom. He returned with a warm washcloth in hand then wiped gently at the inside of my thighs before cleaning the rest of my come away. Daichi brushed my hair out of my face and asked, “How’re you feeling, baby? Feel okay, need some water?” I nodded and he placed the cloth in the dirty laundry then entered the kitchen, clearly grabbing a couple bottles of water from the fridge.

When I opened my eyes again, Daichi had returned with water and an old shirt of his in hand, clearly prepared for my need to cover up. I glanced down and realized that he had already pulled on a pair of sweatpants before I accepted the items, pulling the shirt over my head. I sighed with relief when the cool water slid down my throat, easing the soreness that had settled in. He offered up a hair tie and I quickly accepted it, thankfully to get my hair out of my face before curling into Daichi’s side.

“So you’re really not mad about the hickeys, Dai?” I murmured, stroking his hip. He smiled down at me then answered, “Course not, baby. I already told you- I think it’s hot when you get all bitey and possessive.” I laughed quietly and he tugged our blankets over us, pressing his cheek against the top of my head as we settled in for the night.

Morning came early and I groaned at the gentle soreness in my body then Daichi kissed my shoulder, murmuring, “How are you, baby? Hurt?” I hummed at the question and stretched out with a soft moan before answering, “Little bit but it’s good, love. Feels so good.” He chuckled and slipped out of bed. He tugged me out with him then I fell against his back as we walked into the bathroom, prepared to get ready for the day.

We had entered the gym then Tanaka and Noya immediately greeted us, rushing out multiple questions back to back before I tugged my jacket off, revealing the multitude of bruises on my throat. The second years paused at the sight and exchanged a knowing grin before the teasing set in.

“Holy shit, girl, looks like our captain got his revenge for the hickeys on his thighs, huh?” Tanaka chirped, looping an arm around my neck as Noya jumped in front of us, laughing at my terrible attempt at hiding the multiple marks that Daichi left. I gave a small sigh and muttered, “I knew I should’ve skipped the rest of the week.” My boyfriend glared at the two then barked at his second years, “You two, three laps around the court for harassing our guest!”

Noya and Tanaka turned to try and make their cases against why they shouldn’t have to run laps for teasing me, only for his expression to harden, leaving no room for argument. The two took off and Daichi gave me a soft kiss on the cheek as he asked quietly, “How are you feeling?” I pressed a gentle hand to my neck then replied, “I regret that I didn’t invest in a scarf this winter.”

He laughed at my statement and chimed, “Alright baby, here’s my jacket, I’ve gotta go change. Love you!” And with that, he raced to catch up with Suga and Asahi, who clearly was prepared with taunts and statements of their own about the hickeys. This team was ridiculous, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

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softluci · 4 years

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omg, hey, how r u, hi, so nice to see u; welcome to my 3AM (now 6AM bc miss hellsite deleted everything) ramblings (which i will try to make as close to the original as possible); this one’s gonna be a Doozy

now that ap testing is over and i have more time to care about literally everything else, i realize that i . i am So Bad at taking care of myself. like, so bad. and i actually realized this months ago but i didn't have this account months ago and i didn't think of this months ago so—

((i was debating whether or not to limit this to gen z but i know it isn't just us who do this; or maybe that’s wishful thinking and it Is just us, but idk, man,, i feel like millennials be doing this too))

sometimes, a lot of the time i just . don't eat . and i don't have a bad or difficult relationship to food or an eating disorder or anything like that, i just Don't Do It because i either legitimately forgot or i didn't feel hungry even if i hadn't eaten for a significant period of time (6-18hrs, we'll say, because i do lose track). like,, when quarantine started, i was in my room, door Locked, for 15 to 19 hours a day + i wouldn't leave unless i had to use the bathroom or shower. i only started eating and leaving my room more because my mom had to ask me to. oh, and this should be obvious, but i don't sit and eat dinner with my family either.

additionally, and this is Much More Frequent, i don't sleep. i know i don't sleep because i slept for nine hours today and woke up dazed and confused. when we had school, i would either sleep for 1-6 hours or just not at all. and then i'd go to school and not pack anything to eat :p. i actually think the longest i've gone without sleep is a full day. and i don’t have insomnia or anything like that, i just be Staying Up

so, with those things in mind, i've been wondering, like,, like how the boys would react to an m/c like that, you know?

like, okay, first of all,, there's No Way mammon is gonna let mc sit alone in their room all day. his emotional support human?? alone without him??? unacceptable. it just isn't happening. he would Literally break mc's door down if they tried to keep him out, unless they, for some reason, really, really, really needed to be alone, and even then it is a Tossup. and then not sleeping or eating? hello, what do you think this is? he would accommodate them for a little while by bringing them food and making sure they slept but after a while he would literally drag them out of their room because there is no way. there is No Way he’s letting them turn into levi. not on his watch

an mc like this would give luci an ulcer. a literal ulcer. why are you a human and playing with the limits of your body?? who are you, do you think you’re made of metal? do you realize you have classes to attend and that you’re surrounded by demons literally All The Time? you cannot be caught lacking (i.e. feeling faint or fatigued because you haven’t eaten in seventeen hours or slept in a day). he would bring food to your room so he could make sure you ate, but when it came to sleeping? get ready to literally be dragged/carried out of your room and into his because he has work to do and he needs to keep an eye on you because Clearly you cannot be trusted to take care of yourself. he would probably go as far as to stop doing work and go to bed so you have nothing to hold against him. can’t sleep at a regular time because of your nonexistent sleep schedule? that’s okay because, beloved, He Is Putting You To Sleep. how he does so is up to you; and if you try to play like you’re Fine??

“mc, it’s seven pm, when was the last time you ate?” “five.” “am or pm?” “...” “well, when was the last time you slept?” “i haven’t.” “MC.”

you haven’t slept in just over a day? baby, levi’s record is three. he would be absolutely terrible for an m/c like this; he would enable them So Hard. maybe he would bring them food (and that’s Snacks, not actual food), and Maybe he would tell them to go to sleep once or twice, but Other Than That? he can’t take care of himself for Shit either, sorry you had to hear it from me, leviastans <3

asmo,, you are worrying this man Sick. you haven’t eaten in fifteen hours? are you on a diet? no? you Forgot To Eat? how many hours of sleep have you gotten? one? you Think? oh, Maybe it was two? ah, yes, mc, because that is So Much Better. seriously, though, if you won’t eat, fine, but if there’s one thing you’re doing, it’s sleeping. you can’t sleep at a decent time because you have no concept of a sleeping schedule? sweetie. beloved. he is putting you to sleep, be it through relaxing self care or something else, darling, you are knocking out. and when you wake up, he’ll have a full course meal ready and he will literally feed it to you himself.

what’s that? you haven’t eaten since Yesterday and it’s three in the afternoon? oh,, you sweet summer child, beel is heartbroken. keep insisting that you aren’t hungry while you can barely stand and his eyes will fill with tears. you don’t wanna leave your room? fine, but that is the only thing keeping him from throwing you over his shoulder and going to the kitchen. he would literally bring you as much food as he could carry and only eat a little bit on the way back to your room. can’t sleep? not a problem, wait there while he gets belphie to charm your pillow. do Not worry, teddy bear beel always has your back MUAH

speaking of belphie,, tell that man you haven’t slept in a day and he’s stopping what he’s doing, dragging you to the nearest cushioned surface, and laying down with you; you’ll be out in No Time. and once you’re up?? he’s dragging you to the kitchen and you’re eating any and everything he puts in front of you, and he’s not leaving you alone until you’re functioning like a human and not a gremlin, or so help him, you’ll die a second time.

you’re like, op,, y did u put satan last?? i couldn’t think of anything for him until now, i Swear i love him, okay, Anyway, you haven’t eaten in almost a day? do all humans do that? no?? why can you Barely Stand??? do you need to be carried to the kitchen? he is so confused as to why you just Haven’t Eaten when that is a basic function that humans need to complete or else they literally die; now wait in your room while he brings you something to eat. you can’t sleep?? do Not worry, that man will curl up with you and read to you until you’re Knocked Out, which won’t take long because he has a calming presence and a soothing voice, sweetheart, u r in good hands

ok it’s 7AM and i’m contemplating doing the undateables,, should i do the undateables? i’m gonna do the undateables.

oh my god,, if luke finds out that you haven’t eaten in, eighteen hours and you haven’t slept in like twenty,, the way you’re gonna have to put in Work to convince him that you did those things of your own volition and the demons you live with aren’t starving or overworking you and No they aren’t forcing you to lie about anything. after you’ve done that, he is seeing to it that you eat something right away; it does not matter where you are, you are a human and you’re feeling Faint around literal demons, are you Dumb? are you Dumb of Ass?? come with him immediately before you hurt yourself or get hurt, he is feeding you and then you’re sleeping in his room and he’s Not taking no for an answer; don’t even think about telling him no, he’ll cry at you.

you cannot tell me simeon is not the doting/fussing type, okay, and he is appalled. Appalled. what did you just say. the reason why you don’t look so good is because you’ve been up since Yesterday and you haven’t eaten since then either? why? what do you mean you forgot to eat; what kind of human Forgets To Eat? oh, you didn’t forget? you just didn’t feel like getting up? you’re gonna give him an ulcer. if he doesn’t do anything else, he is getting you something to eat, you literally just activated every older sibling/parental instinct he has from luke being an angel. he will literally take you to the closest place with food, sit you down, and buy you whatever you want, and if you say you don’t want anything, he’ll buy you one of everything and give the leftovers to beel, do Not test him. and when you’re done eating, you’re taking a nap. where? anywhere. no one will disturb you so long as he’s there, you’ll sleep perfectly fine <33

dia is half horrified and half intrigued. you haven’t slept in how long? are humans supposed to do that?? NO??? like,, part of him wants to see how long you can last without sleep or food just to see the limits of the average human and part of him wants to feed you and make sure you sleep immediately. he would have to fight every urge to do the former, but once he did, you are eating everything he finds and you are sleeping for however long his Humans 101 manual says you should sleep for.

i am so thoroughly convinced that solomon literally would not care at all you have No Idea-

like,,, i just feel like he’d ask you if you were alright because you looked a little off and you’d tell him you hadn’t slept or eaten in a while and he’d first look at you like you were literally out of your mind and then depending on where you were, Maybe keep you company (read: make sure nothing happens to you) while you take a nap, or Maybe buy you food, or take you to the house or purgatory hall (whichever’s closer) because he wouldn’t leave you alone,, surrounded by demons, ever; let alone in your current state. ok wow maybe he does care what a sweetie

barbatos would literally. he would keep his ^_^ cool facade, but on the inside he would be Screaming. full throttle internal screaming that has been going on for centuries just got several notches louder because you can’t take care of yourself, i hope ure happy. you haven’t slept since yesterday? one notch. you didn’t eat breakfast or lunch? another notch. you feel faint? oH WOW REALLY??? I FUCKING WONDER WHY another notch. come with him. please come with him before he blows a fuse for the first time in 400 years because you think you’re an exception to the rules of being a human. he’s feeding you and putting you to sleep whether you think you’re fine or not; don’t argue with him, he already takes care of his immortal boss who is the equivalent of an excited child on most days or a troublesome teenager on others and he Does Not Lose Arguments.

ok it’s almost 11am goodnight now <3

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ranmanjuu · 4 years

Note

Could you write some hc’s for a zombie apocalypse au? Can you write it for Sasuke, Mitsunari and Ranmaru? Thank you!!! ☆*:. o(≧▽≦)o .:*☆

hey op are you a mind reader because this’s actually been an idea of mine for a while now (but again, lack of motivation hsaglhsa) and i’m ???? (also my three most favorite characters i’m !!!!) thank you for enabling me. it’s a bit different than what i had in mind for the original fic and it has just a liiil bit of world building details but enjoy!

—sasuke:

sasuke works in what they call the “safe zone”, ran by the government. you yourself never did go there—a decision well-made, in your opinion. rumor’s spread through the city that every day a good number of people were kicked out due to lack of resources, and their workers being put through hell to also not get fired and thrown out. but you never really did regard it as either true or otherwise.

it didn’t matter to you—until you met sasuke.

he’d been faring rather well, with footsteps silent as ever. it was the matter of food, water, shelter. the needs of his body would kill him before the zombies did—the simple matter of even eating a contaminated piece of candy could mean the end for him.

and there you found him, in a dark alleyway, fading in and out of consciousness; hungry, weak, cold, dirty—you didn’t think it through when you dragged his body to where you stayed.

it’s too late, you thought, watching his body wrapped in layers of blankets writhe awake, might as well let him stay for a bit.

as soon as sasuke could sit up, you immediately gave him food and water. snacks were better than nothing. as his body desperately gobbled the food up (he tried to cover it, but to no avail), you explained what happened.

“. . . as soon as you’re done, grab the set of clothes there and leave.” even words as cold as yours were said, the slight hesitance pooling in your eyes said otherwise. if he noticed, he never commented.

instead, he asked you while you were heading to the door, “and where are you going, if i may ask?”

“. . . fix the power outlet.” you answered warily; you never knew what people could do with information. you hated the distrust, but it was a given at times. “autumn’s coming, it’s gonna be cold.”

and you thought it was the end, worst case scenario is he’d sabotage you. but you tried to stave off the suspicion—

“i can go along, if you want. i know how they operate.” you stopped your tracks, silently looking back to sasuke and making your judgement for the decision. “i’m fairly knowledgeable with electronics.” he explained further.

your heart and mind weighed the offer. on one hand, so far you’ve been fooling around and picking up things with trial and error. on the other hand, it’d be easy for him to make it shit for you. a sigh, you grabbed a crowbar and half-assedly pointed it at him, “okay, i’ll stave off the zombies. i see you doing fuck-all, it’s over.”

even at your threat (one you hated to make, at that), sasuke’s expression remained stoic with a nod, “i understand.”

you watched his movements with hawk’s eyes, while decapitating any approaching undeads. but the swarm grew bigger and bigger—you thought security was better than this, but oh well. it’s not something you can’t deal with.

even so—you hurt your leg. prosthetic one, lost in a reckless accident and replaced with a stiff and quite low-quality metallic one. “fuck—” you scowled, looking behind at sasuke for a moment, “are you done?”

“——yes.” a brief answer, “let’s get out now—” with surprising agility, he grabbed your hand and fled the scene.

you were mildly pissed at those walking corpses for crushing your prosthetic leg, it’d take a while to trade with someone out there to repair it, if you couldn’t do a shitty job of it yourself.

but to your mild surprise, sasuke knew how to do it. just a few scraps of whatever piece there was lying about, some tools, and it’d be fine, he said. the usual wave of distrust fell over you—but it somehow felt easier to agree and leave it up to him. a repayment of sort.

and over time, it seems like the universe made an effort to put excuses for sasuke to stay, whether it’d be ventilation problems, electrical, mechanical —it was impressive, no doubt. you’d soon take him in permanently under the guise of him being useful (but it’s more of sympathy really, you’re aware of that fact.)

and even on the off-time, you spent most of it talking to him. silence ringing around the rooms with occasional guttural growls of the zombies weren’t the best atmosphere, so to say. but he’d often crack jokes (which earned a nose exhale, or chuckles on a good day).

he’d tell you about his experience working in the equally suffocating safe zone—everyone’s working for themselves and friends don’t exist much, as you understood it. a dog eat dog world, where everyone scrambles to be the most useful and cram their brains to the brim while distrusting everyone.

and you felt a semblance of relatability in his detachment to people—but why does it secretly hurt for you? the thought of him dismissing your bond. . .

it hurts; you don’t know why.

and of course, he has more knowledge about zombies than the ones you just pick up from experience. in fact, it’s been a speculation that the virus withheld the body from decomposing—but not limiting it. in a about a year, he guessed, they’d rot away.

“does. . .does that mean this can end if they drop and infections decrease?” you asked, letting the curtain crack open to hope.

“. . .best case scenario, yes.” even as his face remain mostly stoic, you see the crinkles of hope, melancholy, happiness.

you don’t recall how you got to the decision—not a logical stream of thought at least. it jumped like an instinct for you to just propose it, nothing else— “sasuke, you wanna stay with me until then?”

a look of surprise overcame your hushed question, so filled with long-lost warmth. but similarly, the answer came immediately, “of course.” his hand reached to yours, tender and soft, the most you’ve felt in forever, “i’ll stay. face the past, present, and future with you.”

—mitsunari:

a strategist wasn’t a job common in modern times, but it’s one mitsunari’s taken during the apocalypse. securing paths, ways to efficiently scout out, etc. that’s why to say he was utterly baffled when a major breach reached his group—the oda—flooded the zombies inside.

the last thing clearly in his mind was hideyoshi’s firm order. the blur of rotten flashed around, the words echoed around, “everyone, flee immediately!”

and so he did. perhaps farther than he planned at first with the enormous swarm behind him. no matter where, it wasn’t safe—until he didn’t even know clearly where he was. and he’d remember the city layout, along with some areas outside of it.

he’s lost.

analyzing every path that he could take, his mind was too overtaken to realize a zombie spying overhead. only once the slight sounds of rasped growls did he notice—

and even so, a loud crack got it away from him. it’s dead now, he realized, and right beside the bloodied corpse was you.

“what are you doing, just standin’ here?” you asked, a small sign of irritation by the scowl on your face visible. but it remained flying over mitsunari’s head, even after you sigh, “it doesn’t matter—not now. come on, follow me.”

his surprise quickly dissipated as soon as you made your way into the twists and curves of an alleyway. you’re well-versed of here, he noted.

he took notice of many things on the way, how you’re always well armed with knowledge of the zombies weak spots, how they’re sensitive to noise, how you seemed to know which path would crumble if stepped on.

only when he entered where you stayed, a safe place, was he painfully aware how worn and tired his body felt—and you did too, quickly sitting him down and handing some snacks while also asking things about him. who he was, why he was there, so on.

he explained the breach, the split of his group, how he ended up here and you listened to every detail with your own cogs working along with his. “and where was your base?”

“nearby lake biwa.” mitsunari didn’t know where he was, but the way your face scrunched up didn’t seem too good.

“how did you even get here? lake biwa’s a good three cities—ah, fuck.” the constant tapping of your fingers did few to stave off either worry or just mild irritation, you didn’t know yourself. “and if you really did flee, there’s a chance they went in separate directions, too.”

he listened in you assessment, already making plans on how to search around in his head. but your proposition slightly baffled him—

“i’ll help you find whoever this group is.” with words that sounded kind, the slight discontent in your face went unnoticed by the other.

you yourself didn’t understand—years of wariness and distrust has led you to distance yourself from everyone—but why was it different with him?

“there is no need—” / “come on, it’s easier with two people right? you’ll go quicker.”

though words often harsh, mitsunari was a master in dismissing that with cluelessness. each time you declined that you wanted to help him because you wanted to, you kept saying it’s to be faster. but it didn’t matter to him, you were helping, and he cherished that.

days went on, with some city maps sprawled across the floor written on it some routes to search for. and maybe filling the air with conversation from time to time lifted your heart just a bit.

you’ve caught on his horrible self-care habits a long time ago. even as he’s very well-versed in most subjects (amazingly so,) he still read whatever book you had. and you’ve experienced his reading-trance.

you’d often scold him each time—especially in the instance of an expedition where he gets caught up in planning. even forgetting to eat would result in a disappointed gaze from you (rightfully so in your opinion, these were times of desperation from starvation). but he was improving.

you find yourself opening up to him, for the first time in a long one. the thought of sleeping in the presence of another made you revolt originally; but you felt safe with him.

soon, both of you’s efforts weren’t for nothing. traces of his group—”nobunaga” and “hideyoshi”, he told you—was temporarily taking base on the outskirts of the next city.

and suddenly, the concept of him leaving you created a pit of darkness inside. you’ll be alone, the walls will no longer echo your laughs and his soft voice; but instead silence.

from then on, you find each day a small struggle for it to stretch as long as possible. staying up just so you could feel being near mitsunari while awake, clinging onto whatever you could for now. it hurts, more than anything you’ve felt—but it’d be selfish for you to take him from the thing he’s spent this much time searching.

but the world wasn’t known for mercy, it never was since forever. time flowed as normal, and the day came. “. . .pack up a bit. it’s gonna be a long journey, and we’ll need to stay in some shitty abandoned house.” your voice came as a silent croak. mitsunari wasn’t often aware of picking up hints—but he was painfully aware now.

“. . .and why do you look so sad?” his words were spoken with gentle sadness, a tad bit of melancholy. as much as you wanted to avoid it for less damage to your heart, he already took your chin to tilt it to his face. you never wanted to say goodbye to his twinkling lilac eyes, it was the closest to warmth you’ve felt.

slowly. . .you were crying, sobbing. each shake from your shoulders sent painful stabs to mitsunari’s heart. and even as you were hurting—both of you were—you wrapped your arms around his, diving your nose to his chest.

“. . .i-i’m happy. . for you. i really am—.”

you didn’t remember anything else of that night, only the tender voice he spoke to you akin to bells from heaven jingling.

the next day, and the day after, the rest of the oda were found. overwhelmed by the many faces you didn’t know, you simply sat back and watched what would be your eventual farewell. you didn’t listen into what they were talking about; it didn’t matter much. at least you’d see him smile like that one last time.

only when he turned to you were you brought back to reality, staring with those earnest purple eyes. you know the others were observing in silence, you didn’t pay attention to it. only mitsunari. . .the one you. . .l-loved?

. . .yeah. you loved him.

he made his way to you. once you faced each other, he gently lifted your hands in his, and brought it to his chest. you felt the beats, ba-dump ba-dump, fast against his clothes.

“this may not be an easy request to ask of you. . .” he started. the fondness were now pooling in his eyes, and you were sure it was the same for you, “but. . . would you please stay with us. . .? my heart feels heavy of leaving you.”

—ranmaru:

it pained him, more than anything in his life. he wasn’t sure which would feel better, if the oda died and otherwise. from a breach that he caused. ranmaru wants to just disappear—but that wouldn’t be fair for a traitor like him, he didn’t deserve such mercy. he’s supposed to return to kennyo one way or another, but he just couldn’t. his legs kept on running and running—perhaps not from the zombies, but from his own swallowing fears and hatred for himself. it felt absolutely revolting to be in his own skin right now.

and for a moment, ranmaru considered if it was better. to just succumb to the pack of zombies in front of him. he knows how to fight them, maybe improv his way out—but he doesn’t want to. and just as his muscles fell limp in an act of surrender—

BANG—!

and that was the first time he saw of you; on the other side of the conglomeration of rotten flesh, gun pointed up to the air with no trace of fear or regret. and quickly, the attention of the zombies were quickly taken from him, and onto you.

and he felt the fear for you, you shouldn’t’ve done that for him. . .!

even so, there was nothing he could do. the last of he saw you then was you mouthing a clear word to him: “run.”

he did, and so did you. ranmaru’s mind screamed, scraping at the walls of his insides to not, but instinct and adrenaline took control more than anything.

he didn’t know where he was running—but wherever it was, you miraculously found him. and you managed to drag him to your base, no matter how many times he rejected.

as soon as you two arrive, he’s much more reserved than usual. not that you’d know, you just consider it normal to be that much quiet from a near death experience. you gave him food, a set of clothes, and water. but as time went on, you noticed he didn’t so much as touch it.

eventually, you had to push him to do it, even if his body felt sickening to its core. slowly, ranmaru told you little bits of his story, leaving out many parts (like the fact he was the orchestrating traitor). and just like mitsunari, you find an unknown source inside you just. . . allowing yourself to help him.

and because ranmaru wasn’t as much a strategist as mitsunari was, your execution was a lot more of wandering than anything.

and during those outings, you start to notice how weirdly capable he is. he’s switched back to his cheery, bubbly self, yes. but you catch how he’s so skilled with swords, sneaking around in inhumane silence. you waved your first encounter as a product of turmoil, and that he was as fragile that he framed himself, but. . .

the thought of him being a traitor to you, putting up a mask like that, it settled a churning feeling in your stomach. you’ve gotten so used to, enjoying even, his hugs and rambles—nights that were previously spent sleeplessly, just staring out the window and to the shit world splayed across it, were now filled with talks about silly and pointless things.

it reminded you of how it was before all this.

just like young school friends having a sleepover, you found a happiness and light feeling in you that was buried since quite a while.

along with that were times where you got serious. it wasn’t often, ranmaru would try to change the subject. but you were your own stubbornness; running away from something wasn’t a good way to go, you knew this.

and you’d always be aware of how his eyes seemed like a dark pit of untouched emotions. like the mere existence of the conversation was weighing him down a thousand pounds.

to add, you pick up on some inconsistencies to his stories. . .first he said that the loud speakers in the building overrode the zombies’ sensitivity to sound and caused them to break everything like the windows and doors (even the locked ones, he added), then he said that it was because they were open in the first place. how he says only one person withheld the keys to certain places, then he said how said places were miraculously open later on. . .

you came to just a small conclusion.

“then, there’s a traitor, right?”

your words were toned in a way that was like just a throwaway line—unimportant, irrelevant—but ranmaru still tensed up, like a deer in headlights. fear, anxiety, regret; it all chipped away at him slowly.

and you’ve been friends for a good time now—you caught this. and it wasn’t just surprise either, it’s like he secretly knew.

in the end, an answer was never said. he just called it a night, and you let him.

it’ll be resolved in the morning, you thought, going back to your worn out mattress. and, just like many nights, you simply stared out at the sky with a mostly blank mind.

but then, you heard footsteps.

unstable, but not the way a zombie’s would. it’s not disarrayed, and they couldn’t get up anyway, not with all the security you set up. it can only be a human’s then. . .

you grabbed your crowbar, and silently left your room. a dark figure stood in the hallway, silently making their way to the stairs next floor. before you pursued, you tilted your head to ranmaru’s room.

it’s open, and empty.

your steps became quicker and quicker, hoping nothing bad happens as each staircase brought a chain of doubt and anxiety over you.

the rooftop. the figure—who you assume is ranmaru—stood in silence over the edge. the moon and stars’ light shone on them, and it was your dear friend. the soft purple-pinkish hair dusted over his head so perfectly, played by the breeze.

“ranmaru.” you called out. his body flinched. “what are you doing here. .?”

for a moment, he didn’t respond. you saw how his shoulders shook while his overall self was trying to make him as small as possible, but no words were said.

“answer me,” you took a step, hesitant, “please.”

“. . .i’m sorry.”

his voice was quiet, cracked, as if it could shatter at any moment. what were you supposed to do, seeing your dearest friend on the edge like that. . .?! all you could was reach your hand out—and take his.

“wh—” before he could say anything, you pull him into your arms, wrapping them securely around him. his shuddered breaths, then turned into sobs and cries. slowly and weakly, the hug was returned.

“. . .what am i supposed to do?” he sound so horribly lost, afraid, your own heart was ripping. “everything i do—the food tastes like sand in my mouth, every step feels wrong to take, i—i don’t know what to do!”

ranmaru broke down in front of you, and you let him. words were slurring into thoughtless ramblings and rants. there wasn’t a thing you understood completely, but—

“please, ranmaru, i. . .” your arms tightened around him. he’s alive, he’s safe. “please stay with me. we’ll get through this, just—i beg you, stay.”

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen #cyikemen #ikesen ranmaru #ikesen sasuke #ikesen mitsunari #*au #*writing #coreycore420 #hslakhgs srsly tho i had a fun time with this #hslakhgs srsly tho i had a fun time #it's way longer than what i wanted it to be originally—but sasuke's was already rlly long #and i couldn't just Do It to the rest so ykno what *consistency baby*#aha i tried to avoid using lady title considering 2/3 suitors use it #cause yk inclusion #but also i've never been one to use (y/n) anyway #idk small tangent #there's a lot more i can dive into here #like how they would cope specifically to the apocalypse. etc. etc.#but also rip my hands bro :)))#i srsly did have like a thing thought out #but who knows if it'll be done like ever!!!!! :D #also mc's personality's more crude here #with the nature of distrust usually seen in zombie movies #and i did want to give em more depth but #again #fingers tired!! writing abilities gone poof #hopefully it isn't too much lol

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saturniandragon · 3 years

Text

Part 3 of 4

Part 2

Part 1

“Ugh, I hate this rain.”

“Oh don’t back off now, you said Countess Viena is counting on you.”

“…was that pun intended?”

“Yes.”

Merri’sa and Elrain regrouped back at the Ayleid temple after the sun had set and darkness covered the skies, albeit under downpour. Both an annoyance and a blessing; none of them could stand being wet and cold for long periods of time, while the sound of rain and abysmal lighting could mask their movement and help them sneak around better.

Merri’sa couldn’t miss that Elrain was unusually packed with equipment, more than what she’s used to go with. A knapsack containing who knew, a metal pick for climbing, and several opaque bottles with cloth on the lid in place of conventional cork.

“What’s in those bottles?”

“Oh these? You’ll see. Hopefully I get to use them so I can show you.”

Elrain took one last look through the monocular before going in. Observation from a distance was now more difficult due to less light available and raindrops coating the glass.

“It’s too quiet. Only six of them out and about, what is this? Where the hell is the rest of them?”

“Probably asleep. Or shielding themselves from the rain.”

“Doesn’t matter, this ends tonight.”

“Ready when you are.”

Elrain took out a rope, tied one end to a large tree trunk on the edge of the overlook, and threw the other end downhill. Followed by Merri’sa, she began rappelling down the cliffside as quickly and safely as possible under the rain. They began their infiltration into the Ayleid temple.

Elrain used the cover of the rain, distraction and cunning to get close to the unsuspecting targets and slit their throats, Merri’sa used her night vision ability and unmatched marksmanship to take down the rest from long range. And just like that, in about 10 minutes, the temple exterior was cleared. 5 years of mutual trust in combat has enabled them to act quickly and efficiently even without verbal communication.

“Wasn’t so bad.” Merri’sa scavenged any arrows still intact enough to conserve ammunition. She still held her principle of utilizing every resource to its limit.

Before going in, Elrain inspected the bodies that they’d killed, hoping to gather any piece of information about what they’re about to face. One of the bandits bore an unusual symbol painted on the back of the hand. It consisted of a number of circles with texts written in strange letters.

“Mary, look at this.”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve seen this before?”

“No idea, but that’s… Daedric script.”

“Can you read it?”

“I wish I could. Well, at least now we know we’re dealing with a band of corpse raisers of some sort.”

The rain hadn’t stopped pouring down. If anything, it became heavier than before, and the ambient temperature got colder as a side effect. Adding the faraway cracks of lightning and it might as well classify as a storm.

“The hell are they doing here?”

“Whatever it is they’re doing, it’s not benevolent. Just keep your head down in there.”

The pair began entering the temple interior through an opening. Inside, the walls were lined with beautiful and flowing elven carvings, as well as Ayleid scripts. Unfortunately, none of them were able to translate any.

The Ayleids, like the Dwemer, all disappeared from Nirn before the Second Era started. However, their elven magic still persisted in the temples and buildings they left behind. One such magic was glowing energy stones used to light up interior, in place of conventional oil lamps or candles. Even over 3000 years later in the Fourth Era, these stones hadn’t ceased giving off light, and many discoveries on lost Ayleid ruins revealed traces of usable magic in artifacts and weapons, attracting attention from both magic researchers as well as maleficent individuals looking to harness power.

Merri’sa and Elrain continued their speculating from their last time in the tavern, while traversing the temple interior carefully and keeping eyes open for threats and traps from all angles. Until suddenly they found a corpse of a woman in white robes trapped inside some metal cage. Elrain went ahead to inspect it.

“Mary, cover me.”

Elrain slipped her arms through the metal bars and checked the body for possible information. Blood patterns, laceration wounds and burn marks. Some organs appeared to have been removed from the body. But it didn’t take long until she was struck by a terrible realization.

“Shit, Mary, it’s the missing priestess.”

“Is she dead?”

“Been dead for at least 2 days, judging from the dried blood. But looks like they… removed her heart.”

“What? Let me see.”

Elrain and Merri’sa swapped turns. Nothing much they could gather from it as the metal cage was tightly locked with no visible keyhole. Aside from the missing heart, all the blood also seemed to have been extracted out.

“Seems like they kept her alive for some period before deciding to kill her.”

“But necromancers don’t salvage body parts, do they? Unless they plan on resurrecting someone else.”

“I feared as much. We better keep moving, I don’t want to find out what atrocities they’re about to commit if we don’t do anything.”

Merri’sa and Elrain continued on forward, deeper into the temple. The further they went, the stranger the ambient air felt like, giving a clear sign that there’s heavy influence of magic in the area. While they continued finding more dead bodies of travelers, mercenaries and civilians alike, they hadn’t encountered any hostiles in the temple interior, which was unusual as they earlier expected to face fierce resistance. But they knew they were going the right way as they noticed more and more of the same symbols painted on the temple walls, the same symbol as the one found earlier on the bandit they killed.

“Mary, I don’t like this. Where the hell are they?”

“I don’t like it either, just keep your eyes open.”

All the corpses they encountered shared the same characteristics; lacerations, at least one missing organ and all the blood drained out. Even some were missing limbs. A really gruesome place to be in, but they had a job to do and they intended to complete it. Though the overall scent of the temple interior didn’t make it any easier.

One hour of carefully walking through the hallways of the Ayleid ruin, dodging traps and unknown objects, they finally found something significant. At the end of a large hall was a door with lights and muffled chanting voices propagating from it. And the same symbol with Daedric script appeared again, carved on the door.

“What the hell? Mary, you hear that?”

“I do. C’mon, help me open this.”

Merri’sa and Elrain both tried to force the door open, first by focusing their body mass on it, and when that didn’t work, they started using other methods like using a metal pick to pry it open and burning it with a fire spell. Yet, the door wouldn’t budge a hair no matter what they did.

“Ugh, it’s not opening. Something’s blocking it from the other side. Mary?”

“I’m gonna look around.”

All that’s left of that night’s journey was behind that very door, anything in there could help answer what had been happening between Skingrad and Kvatch. So close, yet still far.

Merri’sa started looking around the large hallway, while Elrain sat down on a boulder to regain some stamina and magicka. Pillars towering to the ceiling, large balcony 6 meters high, piles of rubble blocking another doorway, carved elven statues and furniture, and stone coffins. Nothing particularly useful to get the door open.

A particular relief on the wall caught her attention. She studied the carvings for a while, until she discovered a horrifying piece of history.

“By the Eight. El, come here.”

“What? What is it?”

“Look at this.”

Elrain walked towards Merri’sa, both set their eyes on the carved relief on the temple wall.

“Woah.”

“This may be our answer.”

The relief displayed a female figure of elven origins, surrounded by what appeared to be elven wizards channeling magic to her body. A possible hint of practice of resurrection or life preservation done for significant persons in ancient society to prolong their age and firm hold over power. But what ticked them off was the part that pictured a stack of corpses surrounding the wizards, as well as a ring of worshippers around the edges of the relief.

“Is this…”

“A necromantic ritual? Likely. Whoever’s behind that door is probably trying to revive this female figure, possibly the queen who once ruled this place.”

“So wait, those corpses we saw earlier…”

“Someone or some people are trying to replicate history.”

“But to what end?”

“I don’t know, seek of power? An insight to the future? I’ve read stories of Ayleid fanatics doing whatever it takes to see the rise of Ayleid dominance on Tamriel again.”

“Shit. Well we need to get in there.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. Do you have leftover rope?”

“Uh, I think I do, actually,” Elrain scrambled through her knapsack, and took out a small pile of rope. “What are you doing with it?”

Merri’sa snatched the rope from her hands, and the metal pick hanging on her belt.

“Hey that’s mine!” With quick hands, she tied one end of the rope firmly to the grip of the pick. She then threw the pick over the balcony where it held a strong and stable grip, allowing the hanging end of the rope to be used for climbing. And immediately, the Khajiit got up from the ground floor to the balcony pretty easily.

“Oh,” Elrain was taken aback by her creativity and intelligence. Never in her life had she thought of utilizing both of those items in combination. “Where did you learn that?”

“A certain book.” Merri’sa inspected the balcony spaces and found a doorway leading to a narrow corridor. “Looks like there’s a way forward, come on and climb up here.” Without second thoughts, Elrain followed suit and climbed up the rope, and the pair continued their journey deeper into the temple. Their goal was now made clear; stopping terrible history from taking place again.

The chanting they heard earlier became clearer and clearer, and soon enough they found themselves on different balcony in yet another massive hall, but this time even more corpses littered an area large enough to fit a small settlement. Some were no more than bones and skulls.

But their attention was in the middle of the room. Probably 3 dozen people dressed up in blue hooded robes all in a worshipping position circling around a central altar, collectively chanting ancient elven or Daedric language, while other two individuals in black robes stood on the altar with raised hands, supposedly the master necromancers who were leading the ritual. A visible flow of magicka surrounded the room, most of it was directed towards the altar itself, where presumably the body of the Ayleid queen was laid on.

“What on Nirn…”

Merri’sa and Elrain both were stunned by the sight before their eyes. They had prime seat of observing real time attempt of an entire necromantic cult resurrecting an Ayleid queen. This was it, a jarring string of events that had taken countless of innocent lives over the past few months, that they had to stop before the worst. They took cover behind the balusters, making sure no one could see them just to be safe.

“Looks like they can’t hear us from up here, good.”

“You want to take them all out, just like old times?”

“I still need to know what’s in those bottles you carry.”

“Ah, perfect time to show you.”

Elrain took one of the bottles, plucked out the cloth from the lid and placed the lid close to Merri’sa’s nose, signaling her to take scent of the bottle content.

“You smell that?”

“Oil. But what is–”

Merri’sa immediately found out the purpose of said bottle. It’s a makeshift fire spreader, designed to set things on fire from a distance by spreading oil over an area and letting the cloth act as a wick and burn the flammable liquid.

“Yes, you see my point?”

“Clever. Where did you learn to make that?”

“A certain book.”

“Hmph.” Merri’sa let out a small but audible condescending exhale, but it’d be lie if she wasn’t impressed with what her elven companion had managed to come up with mundane, everyday objects. “So what’s the plan?”

“We don’t have enough arrows for all of them, but hear me out. First, we burn the cloth in these bottles, and then, those two in black robes,” Elrain pointed towards the two people standing on the altar. “Kill both of them at the same time, throw these bottles on top of the crowd and escape in the chaos.”

“And what about the ones who survive?”

“Hopefully confused enough to process what happens. If they’re this committed into the ritual, we should have time to leave before they realize.”

A crudely made strategy, made in a hurry. But they knew their situation, they didn’t have enough ammunition for all of them even if they counted their shots, and fighting necromancers in close range surrounded by a mountain of dead bodies would be pretty much death.

At this point there was hardly any better plan than what Elrain proposed.

“I don’t see any other way, let’s do it.”

Elrain prepared the bottles, placing them on the floor. One by one she ignited the cloth wick using a small fire spell. Merri’sa prepared her trusty recurve bow, nocked a steel arrow into place and pulled the bowstring. Elrain followed short after. They had to time their shots at the same moment.

“The cloth wick won’t last long. Let’s be quick about this.”

“Alright, you take the one on the right, I get the left one. Ready?”

“Ready.”

“On three. One, two…”

“Three.”

Two arrows were launched from the dark corner of the hall, arcing down as they traveled towards the target. A second later, two thuds were heard as the master necromancers in the center of the altar dropped dead on the floor and the magicka flow around the room quickly faded out. The pair wasted no time, grabbed the bottles and threw them as accurate as possible towards the cult worshippers. Three loud sounds of glass shatter echoed across the room, as fire spread on their feet and incinerated some of the cult worshippers.

“Great shot, El. Now let’s go, they’ll be searching for us.”

Merri’sa and Elrain didn’t take chances as they booked it towards the temple exit. They jumped down the previous balcony they climbed, but by the time they landed feet on the ground, the door that they tried to budge through was immediately busted open, and a group of angry mages were at the doorway. Without hesitation they casted various Destruction spells as the pair tried to flee.

“Behind us!”

“Forget them! Just run!”

“Intruders! Kill them!”

The pair spent no time looking over their shoulders. Their mind was focused on escaping the temple alive. Merri’sa’s agility and Elrain’s compact posture made it easier for them to navigate tight corners and doorways. At one point the mages got dangerously close to them, so Elrain lit up another oil bottle she brought as a backup.

“This should buy us time.” When they sprinted through the last corridor before the exit, Elrain shattered the last oil bottle on their tracks, creating a pool of fire behind them and stopping the mages from going after them.

“You’re a dirty little wood elf, El, you know that?” Merri’sa said sarcastically.

“Oh, sod off. Save your compliments for later.”

They finally got outside, where the rain had stopped falling down and the two moons of Masser and Secunda lit up the night sky, but their escape wasn’t done just yet. They still needed to make sure no one trailed behind them, so they went after the nearest treeline into the dense Cyrodiilic forest, and through the woods they ran towards Skingrad, the closest guarded settlement.

Inside the walls of Skingrad, Merri’sa and Elrain were filled with adrenaline, having a hard time believing what they just did at the Ayleid temple. They always found satisfaction in doing stealthy combat —Merri’sa especially—, but this one would become an unforgettable experience for both of them, for a pair of skilled markswomen doing a noble service for the people of Cyrodiil.

“Is that why you visited Imperial City? To craft those oil bottles.”

“Hell yes it is. Not bad at all, don’t you think?”

“Impressive, El. Impressive.”

#tes #the elder scrolls #fic #the elder scrolls fic #oc: merri'sa #oc: elrain #khajiit #bosmer #mine

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

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What You Fear To Lose (2)

Cal Kestis x Reader

Requested by: Anon | Prompt:

Okay so maybe a fic where Cal keeps having nightmares and visions when he meditates of the reader dying and the events leading up to her death. He starts being really protective and the reader tries to reassure him shes fine. But on a mission things start happening that he saw in the visions before the reader dies and gets really on edge. You can decide how it ends, aka reader dying in cals arms to make me cry or him saving her to also make me cry! Sorry if this is too much!!💕

Tags: Near-death! Reader

Previous: Part 1 | Next: Part 3 | Masterlist

2 of 3

The next morning, Cal woke up realizing that he was late for the morning briefing; he rushed to the room where Cham Syndulla and his fighters are gathered. He finds you standing at the far back, away from the crowd, yet listening intently to the leader.

“Hi,” Cal huffed, gasping for air as quietly as he could. “Did I miss anything?”

“Oh hey, not much. Cham was just getting started,”

You filled him on the minor details before the Twi’lek got to the chunk of the plan; pointing which teams go where, when to strike, and who to avoid. Later, Cham turned to the two Jedi which prompted you to step forward and the people gave way for you.

“This section is the most crucial—and obviously the most well and heavily-guarded—with your weapons and knowledge in better combat, you two are our only chance of ever achieving our objective. You must destroy the main shield generator so we can have a better chance in taking it down with aerial assault. Can I count on you, Jedi Knights?”

There was a pause. You stepped closer to the hologram, your head panned across the very edge up until the blinking red square on the map that indicates the objective. You turned back to Cham and your signature confident smug plastered all over your face.

“Trouble seems to be our only selling point. Why don’t we give the Empire a free trial?”

Cheers filled the conference chamber, brandishing their weapons of all types, and fighters poured out of the mound—a handful rode in their mounts, whilst several continued on foot.

You and Cal were on the vanguard, with a designated assault squadron flanking you for cover.

This was only the beginning phase of the plan. The assault squadron that charged with you traded shots with the baffled Stormtroopers that were standing by and keeping watch at the main entrance. The pair of Jedi assisted the fighters as they faced head on with the melee-wielding Stormtroopers.

“Requesting reinforcements! The main entrance is being overwhelmed by rebels!” a Stormtrooper cried out helplessly before taking a shot from a blaster rifle.

“Go, Jedi! Half of the squad will cover for you once you’re inside!” Cham bellowed.

“Come on!” you beckoned Cal and he ran by your side.

The two of you come across a human barricade of Stormtroopers between the entrance of the stronghold and you. The barricade was spearheaded by a rocket launcher-wielding trooper, he already had a single shot loaded into his weapon, and all he needed was to pull the trigger.

A torpedo comes popping out of the barrel of the weapon. With your combined lightning-fast reflexes, you and Cal worked together—with his Force-Slow, he hindered the slug in mid-air, ripples in the air encased the large bullet, and your ability to manipulate the flow of objects using the Force comes into play: your hands weaved the air in a continuous spinning motion to which the slug motioned in a similar manner until it now faces the opposite direction. Cal then released his focus on the bullet and sends it flying back to the row of Stormtroopers—including the one who shot it.

The entire stronghold is now on high alert, but the two of you eluded the eyes of the Stormtroopers marching across the hallways until you could reach the objective. Neither confidence nor arrogance have a place in this mission, so going in quietly was the best option. The hallway you prowled through was similar to the fortress in Nur, though neither of you sense anything… yet.

“Cham, we’re inside the stronghold. Stormtroopers are coming your way,”

“Copy that. We’ll be ready for them, they haven’t thinned out my numbers yet!”

You and Cal sprinted through the hallway, eager to get to the objective. Along the way, the Stormtroopers have started pouring into your direction and you have no choice but to fight through it.

“Calculating attack success probability.” The Imperial security droid monotonously annunciated as you dodge-rolled its uppercut punch.

This was already the third wave of enemies. The Jedi were beginning to anticipate that the next wave is bound to be more difficult than the last.

“They killed our droid!” a Stormtrooper whimpered.

“Oh no, now they look mad!” another followed.

To the Stormtroopers’ eyes, the blinding beams that are your sabers dazed them, messing up their aim and footing in effect; the Jedi were fluid and lithe with their attacks and general movements that none of the Stormtroopers’ blasters can find its mark.

The arrival of a Purge Trooper in the skirmish somehow became their beacon of relief. Humbled by the presence of the black-clad trooper wielding a massive electrohammer, they’ve technically placed all their hope of survival in their more tenacious, high-tier comrade.

“Two Jedi? Looks like my lucky day!” the Purge Trooper hissed through his helmet.

You made yourselves busy with the inferior Stormtroopers first before setting your sights on the Purge Trooper.

“Puh! They never even stood a chance anyway!” the enemy taunted, striking the floor with the pommel of his weapon.

Cal exchanged glances with you and for a moment, there was an unspoken understanding between the two of you. With each of you running on the walls on either side and leapt off at the end with an overhead strike, you took the Purge Trooper by surprise but he was quick-witted enough to deflect both attacks.

“Oh-ho-ho!! A worthy challenge!” he chortled.

The joint stunt you did with Cal somewhat enabled the Purge Trooper rather than intimidate him, now he’s gotten more brutish with his attacks albeit sluggish—which you took advantage of. Cal immediately engaged him as a diversion while you sneak in and exploited an opening, regardless how narrow that window of opportunity might be.

To your surprise, the Purge Trooper deflected your sneak attack with his own gauntlet! A cocky snicker muffled through his helmet and he literally has his hands full with both of you. A hard kick to the shin from Cal caused the brute to lose his footing and it granted you a short time to finally kill the Purge Trooper.

You pulled your saber away from his gauntlet and while he fumbles, you released a triad of slashes across his body, severing his armor in half until an ember-encrusted gash across his body steals away the last breath in his lungs. The two of you stood there with your mouths agape while sucking in air.

“Well then… that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Cal blurted.

You threw yourself into Cal’s arms, not even as a response to his remark, but simply out of your heart’s content. You took Cal by surprise, he felt your fingers crumpling the back of his jumpsuit as you cling onto him. You drew the strength to pull away and shyly avert your eyes from him.

“Sorry… I just couldn’t help it… I don’t know what came over—”

He ignored your nervous rambling of reasons, he cupped your cheeks and his lips met yours for the very first time. His thumb caressed the fullness of your cheek as his tongue sneakily dips into your mouth. Of course by instinct, you kiss him back—tenderly sucking the bottom of his lip as you held him by the neck.

Even when he has pulled away, Cal followed up another kiss—but tender and short.

“Now isn’t really the best time but… I just wanted you to know it before shit goes down.”

You breathed out a chuckle, “Oh Cal, I know… I know.”

There was an exchange of awkward but endearing smiles, accompanied by snickers in between.

With your heads back in the game, you find your way to the place where the red blip on the map showed.

“There’s the door!” you squealed.

The blast door starts to open, slowly revealing a tall, hulking figure standing on the other end.

Your path was cut off by the Fifth Brother, a gray, hulking brute whose helmet made him resemble a Zeffonian or the guardian in its tombs.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he hummed, brandishing his dual-ended lightsaber.

“Wouldn’t you like to know!?” you snarled back.

Your lightsabers hissed back as you assumed stances. The Fifth Brother remained indifferent.

There appeared to be no room for small talk. The two Jedi faced the Inquisitor head on. Even though the dark warrior was outnumbered, his strength was twice the combination of your strength and Cal’s.

Meanwhile, Cham Syndulla was beginning to get worried why you and Cal were taking so long. He had feared the worst—and it has come true.

The Inquisitor has lured his enemies into the other side of the blast door, leading you into the exact place where you needed to be: the main shield generator chamber. Sitting at the center of the vast room is the pillar coated with electric currents—in other words: your target.

He’s made this duel much trickier. The walkways that lead to the main pillar had no railings, they lead straight into the abyss of the shaft, and it limited your space, thus forcing you to be more tactful with your movements.

“Careful!” Cal cried out.

“I know!”

The Fifth Brother’s fighting tactics was similar to the Ninth Sister’s, however, he moves in a feather-like grace despite his physical appearance—rendering his elusive and dexterous with his attacks. It was too impractical for both of you to keep on charging, it was a given fact that if he saw that strategy, he will just tire both of you out until he emerges victorious.

The Fifth Brother dealt a hit on your shoulder, afterwards he used the Force to push you away from him just so he can target Cal next.

When Cal got a little too close, the Fifth Brother landed his elbow against the boy’s jaw, disorienting him until he staggers backwards. He interrupted his fall by holding onto the edge of the bridge, the Inquisitor stood by the edge and hovered his foot just an inch above Cal’s fingers.

“No, get away from him!” you violently pulled the Inquisitor away from the ledge, making him return his attention to you.

He watched you bring yourself back up to your feet. You winced as you got both feet flat on the floor. The Inquisitor almost gutted you open by the abdomen—luckily, the thick fabric of your jacket only made the strike into a graze but it still burned on your skin. You looked at your arm, deep red blood dribbled and stained your tattered sleeve, and the seared flesh peeked through the slit that the Inquisitor has cut on your clothes.

“Pitiful! Stand up straight, girl!” he roared.

Cal immediately pulled himself up and saw that you weren’t in your best shape, but the Inquisitor had no regard to that and marched right towards you. The Inquisitor’s large hand braced your neck and hoisted you up from the floor, your legs kicked as you struggled for air, your small hands couldn’t loosen his crushing grip around your throat.

“This is the fight I was promised? Pssh, shame.”

Cal’s heart sank the moment the Fifth Brother drove his lightsaber into your abdomen. He didn’t even grant you to dignity to stand up straight as you prepared to face him.

The sensation was excruciating. Your body didn’t know whether to cough to recover from the choke or gasp for oxygen as you felt like you were a balloon that’s been ruptured open and is quickly running out of air.

You found Cal’s eyes, wide and wrought with anguish, and it slowly curdled into a seething rage—a dangerous seething rage that can be weaponized when the tables have turned.

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cruddyborderlandstheories · 4 years

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so i’d really like to finish my guardian takedown lore analysis, but honestly the game isn’t really fun to play at the moment anymore (even with the health debuffs they added) so I think im going to be taking a break for now because I’m just not having fun anymore.

this game has a lotta mechanical problems i think need to be addressed so im gonna summarize it as bullet points below. I’ll play the new dlc when it drops, but idk if i’ll be on more than that (grinding, end-game stuff) until they make some serious changes. I’ve been playing (near) daily since launch, followed the patch/hotfix notes every single week, and my patience has finally, FINALLY run dry, especially with that really disappointing Phase 1 Patch and then the hotfix this week not adding anything else. What is the balancing team doing??? 😩

tl;dr: FIX THE VAULT HUNTERS!!!!

anyway. That’s all I needed to get outta my system. I might log on to this blog every now and again to post some random shit that pops into my head (probably with regards to my AU), but I’m not going to be actively playing and posting for the time being. Goodbye (for now), and here’s hoping the new DLC is good!!

guardian takedown only problems:

there’s a lot of waiting around, and sometimes it’s not explicitly stated that you’re waiting for something, so you’ll be lost on what to do next (not sure if that’s a dialogue glitch or not)

the crystal charge insta-death is bull. just. what the hell. at least make it so you just have to start over. killing ur players for failing a “puzzle” that they then have to fight all the way back to is so infuriating.

dying because you fell off a platforming puzzle is also bull.

i remember playing the first DMC on my playstation in middle school and having a conniption over the part in the observatory(? it’s been a hot minute since I played DMC 1) with the disappearing/invisible platforms. I h a t e jumping puzzles. why are they in a section of the game where death is semi-permanent and a detriment to your teammates. i tried the takedown 2x with friends and both times one friend didn’t make the first big jump to the temple and had to wait for our inevitable deaths. that’s so unfair to them.

there’s absolutely no reason for a boss to have 12 fuckin immunity phases. 4 per health bar with 3 health bars? Who the fuck designed this? *pumps shotgun* i just wanna talk.

i appreciate a tasteful immunity phase every now and again (the ones in the Valkyrie fight are actually p reasonable), but christ. that is overkill. I don’t mind the main boss fight, since u can end those early through certain actions, but jesus. the mid-boss fight is annoying as hell. you spend more time running from the immunity phases and finding the damn boss than u do actually shooting it.

drop rates are crap, which I guess should be expected given what happened with the Maliwan Takedown and the handful of months it took for them to fix that, but also you think they’d have learned.

in the maliwan takedown there’s a sense of progression thru the facility after you kill each area’s batch of enemies, but in this one it’s... dampened by the crystal charging sequences. you kill all the enemies in an area, press a button, and now you have to kill 3x that number of enemies in the same area, expect you’re just standing there motionless. It’s not fun.

the crystal charging stuff is just not fun in general. standing in a square is not entertaining. it’s worse that it was clearly designed for 3+ players when a majority of people play/grind solo

i gotta admit the boss fights just aren’t as fun as the Maliwan Takedown fights overall. I felt like a real badass fighting Wotan for the first time, but the main boss for this Takedown is kind of a bitch. Wotan’s fight is chaos, there’s so much shit happening at once and you don’t really have time to process everything and I love it. This one is p meh...

This would be fine and I’d 100% not care that much if there weren’t all these OTHER problems

General Issues with the Game

There’s no endgame stuff to play outside of the takedowns.

I assume they’re working on the first raid given some stuff I found in the Guardian Takedown files, but I really wish they’d keep the seasonal events/areas. They give us the option to disable/enable them while they’re ‘active’, just give us the ability to do it whenever we want.

when i hop on i either run through Athenas (my favorite map), or farm a boss or two. I have all the loot i really need from the maliwan takedown/elsewhere, and the guardian takedown just... isn’t fun atm, so i have nothing to do.

I’ve reset my playthru multiple times to play the main story at m10, but u can only play it (and the dlc) so many times

Mayhem levels and modifiers are a hot m e s s

a majority of the modifiers just aren’t fun to play with

they incorporated like 2-3 fun modifiers (from the community), then added a bunch that straight-up aren’t. I’m fine with the game being more difficult, but at least give us modifiers that make it more entertaining to play at a higher level instead of more annoying. I like the ones that have trade-offs or add new ‘enemies’, but I hate the ones that just straight up reduce your damage output.

a majority of the weapons with the mayhem 10 anointment (scaling) do not work on mayhem 10 (we’ll go more in-depth with this later)

Player Characters (Vault Hunters!!!) are also a hot mess and a lot of problems plaguing them haven’t been fixed SINCE LAUNCH

theyre literally the basis of the game and its balance. why havent you guys fixed them yet. stop adding new content until they’re fixed. no new skill trees until the base 3 trees work ON EVERY CHARACTER.

seriously. Why is amara p much limited to using Phasegrasp. Why does Iron Bear not matter to Moze except to proc anointments. MAKE ALL ACTION SKILLS EQUAL AND HAVE HEFT.

i wrote an essay here about it bc i feel that strongly about this

SERIOUSLY FIXING UR VAULT HUNTERS WILL MAKE BALANCING SO MUCH EASIER PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU THEY ARE THE BASE OF UR BALANCING WOES

ZANE IS STILL UNUSABLE WITHOUT THE SEEIN’ DEAD CLASS MOD!!!!!!!!!!!

MOZE IS SCREWED BC HER DAMAGE IS TOO RELIANT ON ASE ANOINTMENTS!!

AMARA DOESN’T HAVE A FUCKING MELEE BUILD AS THE ADVERTISED MELEE CHARACTER???

FL4K’S HEADCOUNT SKILL IS S T I L L BROKEN EVER SINCE THE RELEASE OF THE MALIWAN TAKEDOWN

ARE YOU GUYS LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY *PLEASEEEEEEE*

BUFF AND FIX THE GODDAMN VAULT HUNTERS

Anointments were a mistake. Damage end-game is wayyyy too reliant on them

anoints should have a maximum of, like, a 20% damage bonus. the damage necessary to kill enemies *should be coming from the VHs themselves*. i don’t care if you have to revamp every single Vault Hunter’s skill trees and buff them all by 9000%. THEY DESERVE IT AT THIS POINT

at the moment in m10 there really isn’t much build diversity *even between Vault Hunters*. We’re all using the same 5 guns (OPQ System. Kaoson. idk. fuckin brainstormer? is that still a thing? jesus fuck) with the same 3 anointments (100% on ASE, cryo while SNTL, and 300% while 90%).

you want to diversify builds like you said during the gameplay reveal???? you want our choice in Vault Hunter to actually fuckin matter???? FIX THEM!!!! THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEAL DAMAGE WITHOUT STUPID POWERFUL LEGENDARIES AND ANOINTMENTS!!!

Anoints also shouldn’t be common. At all. They should be, like, Pearl rarity. To let that happen, their damage needs to be tuned way the fuck down (again, 20ish % bonus MAX) and ALL ANOINTS NEED TO BE USEFUL IN SOME WAY

NOBODY IS GOING TO USE THE AIRBORNE OR SLIDING ANOINTMENTS JUST REMOVE THEM ALREADY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

obviously these changes can’t happen because they fucked up and buckled down with everything being anointed in m10, but still

imagine a world where the VHs actually did damage on their own without anointments and the damage buff from them was just an incentive to grind for the 100% perfect weapon and NOT A REQUIREMENT TO DEAL DAMAGE

>:(

A majority of gear is borderline worthless at M10

I’m fine with the difficulty of M10, i should let it be known. The enemy health isn’t really the problem IF ALL GUNS ACTED THE SAME AS THE OPQ SYSTEM

ffs.

you know, if you fixed ur vault hunters so they all did damage with just purple weapons (abt the same damage as legendaries w/o special effects) and removed the anointment requirement from late-game play, balancing your guns would be sooo much easier. you know. just saying.

right now only 10% (im being generous) of guns in the game are viable. 90% are worthless. We need AT LEAST 60-70% viable at M10. WHERE IS MY BUILD DIVERSITY. WHY ARE ALL LEGENDARIES NOW JUST “HEY THIS GUN IS STRONGER THAN THE LAST 4 WE RELEASED. HAVE FUN”

how to fix this problem? do as above: BUFF YOUR PLAYER CHARACTERS. MAKE ANOINTMENTS LESS STRONG.

then, at least the 10% already strong weapons would be stupid strong and OP as fuck, BUT AT LEAST WE COULD HAVE BUILD VARIETY!!! I don’t care if other people are dummy strong one-shotting everything in sight. I don’t! so long as they don’t play with me, I couldn’t care less!!! I want to be able to play with the unique, interesting legendaries. instead of the OPQ System. which, by the way, I dislike compared to the normal Q-System. let me use the frozen heart shield and the infiltrator mod. I don’t wanna be chained to the Seein’ Dead anymore :(

honestly at this point im starting to think removing slag was a mistake bc then at least we could use guns that aren’t solely damage-based guns. you know how fucked up you’ve got me that im thinking maybe slag wouldn’t be so bad this time around??? YOU GOT ME FUCKED UP B A D.

FIX THE GAME

IM TAKING A BREAK

MAYBE I’LL BE LESS UPSET WHEN I COME BACK FOR THE DLC BUT HOT. DIGGITY. SHIT.

#borderlands #bl3 #whelp #i needed to get that out #still frustrated...#just... fix the game #please #its so disheartening to see this STILL going on #like i know bl2 had the same problems #with the balancing #remember when they nerfed zer0 and buffed salvador?#but like christ at least they were messing with the vault hunters #now they're trying to brush their problems under the rug and it's really sad to watch #you would think they'd have learned from bl2

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memories-are-mine · 4 years

Text

We Survived the Crisis, Babe

I was lazy about posting these on here so yall can have 2 (two) chapters today!

Comment to get on the taglist!

ao3

Chapter 7 - Ethan

Ethan woke up to the sound of laughter, of elated shouts and the name ‘Becky Barnes.’ He decided to wait to process that information until he sorted out whatever drug trip he was on.

He was feeling somehow better than he had before, despite dying, coming back to life, and proceeding to be drugged by his shop teacher and his nurse friend. His head felt clear despite the tranquilizer, and when he tried to move his bad arm, he found it didn’t hurt. He could still feel that the stab wound wasn’t there, but even that didn’t hurt so much anymore.

What was happening?

He opened his eyes and found Hannah’s face just above his, staring at him intently. He jumped a little bit.

“Jesus Christ, Banana Split,” he murmured. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” Hannah whispered, moving so she wasn’t directly above Ethan’s face. She was cradling Ethan’s head in her lap. “Was worried. But the hat worked. Just like Webby said.”

Ethan reached up a hand and found that he was wearing his hat, the hat he had given Hannah that morning outside Toy Zone. The hat he had told her was magic. Thinking about it, the fact that he’d had a magical hat in his possession wasn’t any weirder than anything else he’d experienced today.

“The hat?” He whispered, matching Hannah’s tone. “Is it magic?”

Hannah nodded, then looked around fearfully. “Lets Webby help. But they got us.”

“Wait,” Ethan said. “Who got us?”

Hannah gestured towards a large group of people clustered around the stairs to the second floor, who currently had their backs to them. “Bad guys. Lady in the black cape. They want Wiggly.”

Fortunately, whoever the bad people were seemed to be ignoring them for now.

With a grunt, Ethan sat up, and Hannah pressed herself against his side. He put an arm around her instinctively.

He was surprised he had the energy to do that, but he thought about what Hannah said. The hat he was wearing let Webby help. Maybe she was the one behind this, sustaining him.

You’re right, Webby said in his head. The hat enables me to lend you the strength to survive. But my power has limits. Especially here.

Ethan almost felt ecstatic. Webby was watching over him and Hannah. Whatever these assholes wanted, whatever they had in store for Ethan and Hannah, they had a spider from outer space watching over them. That made him feel a lot better.

“But where are we?” He wondered aloud.

One glance around both answered his question and made him want to throw up. He and Hannah were in Toy Zone, but it was a mess. The register had been thrown against the wall, and the giant spool of twine they used for gift-wrapping was thrown carelessly in the middle of the floor. Lex had always made fun of that twine.

Where are these kids gonna take ‘em? The fucking jungle? Why are we gift wrapping children’s toys with literal rope? She would always say.

That wasn’t the part that made Ethan want to throw up.

The rest of the place was practically destroyed, too, save for a shelf of plush unicorns and a bin of flowery aluminium child’s softball bats tucked away in the corner. Why the unicorns had been spared, Ethan really wasn’t sure he wanted to know. That wasn’t the throw up part either.

The throw up part was that ten feet away from where Ethan and Hannah lay, there was the dead body of Frank Pricely, Lex’s boss. He was lying in a pool of blood, flies already starting to gather around his body. Ethan had never liked the guy, but now he felt sorry for him.

There was no sign of Lex.

Ethan’s heart sank. What had these people done with her?

He almost wanted to call out to her, but also really did not want to attract the attention of the cluster around the stairs, who were now laughing raucously.

“And the only man that’s after her now is Jack Daniels!” Said a high-pitched, annoying woman’s voice that sounded familiar for some reason.

It brought the entire house down. All of the adults, and adults they all seemed to be, apparently collectively thought that this was the most hilarious thing that they’d ever heard.

“Whatever that joke was,” Ethan murmured. “It cannot have been that funny.”

“Shhhh!” Hannah whispered.

“Hey!” He heard. “The boy’s awake.”

He looked towards the stairs to find that the entire cult was now staring at them. Without a word, Ethan slipped the hat off his head and gave it to Hannah. She took it without protest.

“Yes, yes, excellent,” said the same woman’s voice. Where did Ethan know that voice from? “Bring the other heretics to me!”

Hair-a-ticks?

Ethan didn’t know what that word meant, but it didn’t sound good. Was it some type of insect? Why would this lady be calling them bugs?

“What’s a hair-a-tic?” He whispered to Hannah.

Before she had a chance to answer, the group surrounded them. They hauled Ethan up by the arms and ripped Hannah away from him, pulling her along by her hair.

“Hey!” he shouted indignantly. “Let her go!”

The adults completely ignored him. They shoved him and Hannah forward and they stumbled to the bottom of the stairs, then circled around them, boxing them in so that they couldn’t escape.

Ethan glanced around. His heart was racing. Becky Nursing Scrubs was here, too, but still very much unconscious and being held by two of the psychopaths who had brought them here. She would be of no help.

Heretic, Webby decided that now would be a great time to play dictionary in his mind, providing a helpful definition that just made things worse. It’s a religious word. It means betraying a certain religion.

A shiver went down Ethan’s spine. Whoever these people were, they were calling Ethan and Hannah traitors. If there was one thing that Ethan remembered from Ancient History class, it was that traitors were punished by death.

He had to get them out of this. He owed that to Lex. Also, he was not going to die in a fucking Toy Zone.

“Get Becky Barnes out of my sight!” The woman’s voice, coming from directly above them now, ordered.

Ethan looked up and gasped. He did know who this woman was, from the local cable channels that always interviewed her, and the way she had sneered at Ethan, talked down to him when he had been friends with Peter Monroe back in Elementary school.

The leader of this insane cult, the religion that was after God-knew-what, and who had captured Ethan and Hannah, was the President of the Hatchetfield Boating Society, Linda Monroe.

The two men holding Becky complied with Linda’s orders, dragging her through a door to the backroom, and out of sight.

“What should we do with him?” One of the men asked, indicating Ethan. Ethan recognized his voice as the one that had raised the alarm that Ethan was awake. He glanced over. The man who had raised the alarm wore a blue zip-up hoodie and a checkered baseball cap. He looked chillingly familiar. Not because Ethan knew him from the outside world, but because it was one of the men who had attacked him and Hannah outside the Cineplex. The one who’d run his knife through Ethan like it was nothing.

“What have you done with Lex?” Ethan demanded, looking wildly around him. Now that he had their attention, he might as well use it. “Tell me where she is!”

The man with the baseball cap stepped forward and Ethan met his eyes evenly. He could not show fear. Not now.

There was a brief staring contest between them, then, out of nowhere, the man who’d stabbed him swung out his hand and struck Ethan across the face. He stumbled backward, more out of surprise than pain, though the man could hit, Ethan would give him that.

“Leave him alone!” Hannah screamed.

“You’ll speak when you’re spoken to!” Baseball Cap bellowed at Ethan.

Above them, Linda waved her hand impatiently.

“Enough, enough. Leave him here,” she said, looking between Hannah, who had run to Ethan’s side when he had been hit, and Ethan, who, despite the circumstances, had to fight the urge to laugh. She looked kind of ridiculous, standing on the steps of a rundown Toy Store like it was the fucking Oscars or something. But there wasn’t anything funny about the hunger in her eyes. “He could be useful.”

Reluctantly, Baseball Hat backed off.

“Now,” Linda gave him one of those half-grimace smile things that rich people gave when they had to be polite to people they didn’t like. “As for where your little trailer-trash whore is, I’ll let you wonder about that. And what I might do to you and the little brat here if you don’t behave.”

“Now, as for you, you little shit.” Linda Monroe wheeled on Hannah, who shrank back. “You’ve kept the shepherd from his flock for too long.”

Ethan moved protectively in front of Hannah. He silently thanked Webby for giving him the strength to stand.

At a wave of Linda’s hand, two of the cultists marched forward and grabbed Ethan by the arms, pulling him roughly to the edge of the circle as he struggled, but healing though he may have been, Ethan wasn’t at full strength yet.

“Quit it,” one of the men holding him said, jerking his arm roughly. A flair of pain went through it. That shouldn’t have hurt.

Webby was losing energy. Ethan could feel it. So he stopped fighting, bided his time. If he was going to make some spectacular move to incapacitate Linda and get them out of this, the timing had to be perfect.

Hannah started crying, and it made Ethan’s attention snap right back to her.

“Nuh-uh,” Hannah sobbed, as Linda loomed over her. “Magic hat, nothing can hurt me.”

Linda scoffed and ripped the hat off of her head. “Magic hat,” she muttered with a laugh, handing it to one of her cronies, a woman with a long skirt and a sweater with a picture of a cat emblazoned on it.

That was his hat. They couldn’t do that. They also were not allowed to touch Hannah.

“You little fool,” Linda taunted. “You think a magic hat is going to protect you?” She walked behind Hannah. “That’s ridiculous, only dolls are magic.”

Ethan wanted to shout that magic dolls made about as much sense as magic hats, but Webby reminded him of his goal. He had to wait. Not draw attention to himself. For both his own sake, and Hannah’s.

Linda Monroe ripped the backpack off of Hannah’s shoulders. She didn’t protest.

“I’ll be taking mine, thank you very much,” Linda said gleefully as she ripped open the backpack, triumphantly pulling out… nothing. She gasped in total outrage, her face contorting into something like pain.

Ethan quietly snickered. She was so outraged over a doll it was almost hilarious.

He stopped laughing when Linda pulled a switchblade out of her expensive-looking purse.

“Is this some kind of a joke?” Linda Monroe wheeled on Hannah, who stared back defiantly. “Tell me where he is, or I will open your mouth with my fucking kni-AAAGGGH.”

That last part was courtesy of Ethan’s fist connecting with her nose. He knew it was dumb, a terrible decision, probably the worst decision he’d ever made, and that was saying a lot. But when Linda had pulled the knife on Hannah, he’d snapped. Webby was lending him this strength to protect Hannah, and so protect Hannah he would. No matter what. No one threatened his little sister like that. Ever.

His body thought for him. He surged forward and grabbed Hannah’s hand, pulling her to her feet and began to make a break for it. The cult was so surprised at his recklessness that they didn’t react at first. Out of the corner of his eye, Ethan saw the crazy cat lady holding the baseball cap. He ripped it out of her hands as they passed, her barely resisting.

Ethan felt ecstatic, he felt unstoppable. It was the best he’d felt all day. All fucking week. He and Hannah were going to make it out of here. Linda wouldn’t get her doll and she’d cry about it into her expensive champagne glass. They’d be on the road to California right after Ethan and Hannah found Lex, who was alive, thank you very much. He almost wanted to laugh as they ran for the exit.

They didn’t make it.

Taglist: @hurricanehellion, @asshole-gay-797, @ethngreen, @just-a-side-kick, @theirishhufflepuff, @somegeekychic, @curse-brekker, @unusual-ly, @softotacoo, @believeinasmilinggodtoday, @scorpiotrash468

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gumnut-logic · 5 years

Text

The Hero (Part Two)

Title: The Hero

Sequel/companion piece to The Joker

Part One | Part Two

Author: Gumnut

27 Oct – 3 Nov 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: Thunderbird Two, with Virgil and Gordon aboard, is hijacked and stolen. With Virgil injured, it is up to Gordon to save his brother and his ‘bird. Sequel/companion piece to ‘The Joker’. Gordon is far more than he seems.

Word count: 3140

Spoilers & warnings: Violence, WASP!Gordon, Military!Scott, whump.

Timeline: Sequel/companion piece to ‘The Joker’.

Author’s note: For @corbyinoz because she has written some magnificent Virgil and Gordon fics and is a great inspiration. Thank you for all your wonderful words.

It started with ‘The Joker’. I got interested in WASP!Gordon and decided to explore his side of the story. Then PLOT happened. Now I have no idea what is going on.

Many thanks to @vegetacide and @scribbles97 for putting up with my crazy.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

“Count?”

“Four. One at my door, one in the hallway, another at Virgil’s, plus the interrogator.” He stared at his hand. His gloves had saved his knuckles, but the impact was still there.

They were standing on the residential balcony overlooking the main part of the house. The sky was darkening, the breeze cooling. Below them in the Comms room, Grandma was doing busy work dusting Virgil’s piano. She always got fidgety when members of her family were ill or injured and today definitely qualified. The whole week qualified.

Behind him, on the far side of the building, Virgil was curled up in bed in his room. Today, they had finally got him home. Three days in hospital wrestling with the cocktail of drugs and injuries those bastards had inflicted on his brother.

Virgil wasn’t military. Never would be. It wasn’t lack of skill or capability. It just wasn’t Virgil. At the edge of things there was a factor that made a soldier a soldier. Scott had it, Gordon had it, Virgil did not.

It was not a deficit on his big brother’s part. It was just not his place in the world. What he contributed was different to what Gordon contributed, but it had no less value.

But it meant his brother should not be on the front line, should not face what he had had to face. Virgil was strong, that was not the issue.

It was just wrong.

And it put bile in Gordon’s throat.

“I think we should call him in.”

Scott shifted beside him, but neither man looked at each other. “Already have.” The fading sun sparkled light off the tumbler in his hand as he drank a mouthful.

“Good.” A pause. “Tin?”

“Pissed, but she’ll live.”

“They are better together, no matter what she says.”

Scott snorted. “They are one hell of a pair.”

A grim smile. “Two is always better than one.”

-o-o-o-

Gordon crouched in front of his brother. “Hey, Virg, that was some speech. Who knew you could be so eloquent under pressure?”

Brown eyes struggled to focus on him. Virgil remained canted to one side, his whole posture limp. “He’s strong. He’s going to kick your ass.”

Shit. Virgil was so far gone he didn’t even recognise his own brother. Gordon bit his lip. Time. He didn’t have time for this.

“Hey, hey, Virgil. I’m Gordon, remember? The joker guy you said was going to save your ass.” He traced the ropes holding his brother. Virgil’s baldric was missing. A quick glance around the room located it in the shadows. Excellent. Virg always had tools at hand. He took a second to grab the green length of silicone leather and strung it over the khaki hanging off his torso. An attempt at his brother’s comms gave as much result as he expected it to. Nothing.

The penknife blade made short work of zip-ties and rope and Virgil sagged into his arms, mumbling. His brother was heavy. This was going to be a problem. “C’mon, we gotta get you outta here. Won’t be long before they discover I escaped.” And they were in a dead-end corridor, not exactly a strong defensive position.

“Don’t underestimate my brother. He’s funny, but he’s so much more.”

Gordon ran a hand through his brother’s hair as he lay on his shoulder, taking just a split second to hold him tight.

“In any other circumstances, I’d be lapping this up, but Virgil, we need to get you onto your feet. I’m strong, but not strong enough for your heavy lifting. C’mon, up you get.” Gordon pushed up with his thighs, his brother’s weight on his upper body. Virg, please.

The interrogator on the floor squirmed, wailing something against the wad of the man’s uniform Gordon had shoved in his mouth.

Virgil responded, swaying where he stood. “Gordon is going to come. You’re going to regret it.”

“Yes, yes, help me here, Virgil. I did come. I’m here. It is time to go.”

Virgil continued to mutter his faith in his brother to the world at large as Gordon manhandled him into a position that could enable them to move efficiently as possible.

“Okay, arm over my shoulder, we gotta move!” Virgil’s weight fell on him and Gordon grunted. The muttering continued. “What the hell did they give you?! Some kind of truth serum?”

They stumbled from the room. The guard outside was still out cold. Gordon took the opportunity to grab his firearm before hurrying himself and his delirious brother up the hallway.

Sneaking a look around the corner, he found the coast clear and they made the length of it until they were back to the main corridor. Virgil’s head had fallen limp onto Gordon’s shoulder. Blood was staining the khaki brown as Virgil muttered into the material.

A group of men were striding down the corridor.

Shit.

Gordon dragged himself and Virgil back a little down the hallway, avoiding the door he had already stashed one knocked out guy, he tried another, only to find it locked.

Shit.

The voices grew closer. “Um, you’re going to have to be quiet for a bit, we have to sneak past some bad guys.”

Virgil started in his grip, his head wobbling on his neck. “Bad guys want to hurt Gordon. Can’t let them hurt Gordon. Tried to kick their asses, but I’m not like Gordon.” His head lolled. “Or Scott. Couldn’t do it.” His voice faded a moment, only to return much louder and panicked. “Too many. Now they want to hurt Gordon. Can’t let them hurt him. No, no, can’t...”

“Shit, Virgil, shhh!” Gordon dragged him further down the hallway and around the corner they had already escaped from. “Just be quiet for a minute, please.”

Virgil froze and Gordon held his breath, but it was only a moment and Virgil’s panic returned. He appeared to think Gordon was going to be attacked.

Which wasn’t far from the truth, because the men in the corridor had stopped and responded to the noise Virgil was making.

Gordon slammed himself against the wall, his hand clamping over Virgil’s mouth.

It was a mistake.

His brother, forced beyond his limits, took it as a threat and fought back. Gordon lost his grip on Virgil and was flung away just as three men tore around the corner and spotted the both of them.

Virgil collapsed, the dull thunk of his head on the linoleum floor registered briefly before Gordon found himself in a fight for his life.

-o-o-o-

“There were four of them.” A swallow. “Virgil received his second head injury because I had to let him go.”

“He’ll be fine, Gordon. You did what you had to do.” A hand landed on his shoulder.

What he had had to do was fight for himself and his brother.

He got off a shot before the gun was knocked from his hand. After that it was a blur of fists and impacts. He had been so lucky. Only one of the men was armed. He went down with a bullet in his side. Gordon had been aiming for his weapon, but he moved at the last second. Regardless, he didn’t regret it. He hadn’t had time anyway as the other three had piled onto him.

One had half a brain and went for Virgil, face down against the wall. Gordon had been hard put to divert him...into the wall. The snap of bone had been nasty.

But that had left two and he could handle two.

“Remind me to thank Tin for the two-opponent drill she made us run through so many times. It paid off, big.”

The hand was still on his shoulder.

He didn’t object.

-o-o-o-

“Virgil?! You with me? C’mon, bro, please.” If there was desperate pleading in his voice, so be it. His ribs hurt from a blow that had made it through his defences and a shin wouldn’t be forgiving him anytime soon.

And if Virgil didn’t wake up, he would have to throw him over his shoulders and stagger out of this complex best he could. C’mon, Virg.

As if he had heard him the second time, his brother answered, his voice rough. “Gordon?”

Oh, thank god. “Yes. You with me?”

“Knew you would come. Kick their ass.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that.” He sighed. Whatever the hell they had given his brother, it was strong. He grabbed an arm and pulled as gently as possible. “Can you stand?”

Virgil looked up, but Gordon got the distinct impression he couldn’t see, his eyes vague and unfocussed. Hell.

“Don’t mess with my brother, he’ll kick your ass.” And he was back to vaunting Gordon’s defence skills. Gordon had no idea Virgil had such faith in him. It was something he would have to analyse at a later time.

“I’ll take that as a maybe.” Another tug on that arm and Virgil complied, awkwardly pushing himself to his feet. The moment he straightened, his brother’s pallor shifted from grey to green to almost white. He wavered and would have fallen if Gordon hadn’t caught him.

“Shit!” It was rasped out and Virgil’s face clenched shut.

Gordon straightened throwing his brother’s arm over his shoulder. “Sorry, bro, but we gotta move now. You can throw up on my shoes later.” For a moment he thought Virgil was going to puke right then and there, but he must have found some inner strength, because as Gordon guided him down the hall, he kept it together enough to stumble alongside.

Gordon fingered the gun in his hand.

-o-o-o-

It was Scott who broke the moment. His hand dropping from Gordon’s shoulder, he turned back to the two chairs, fingered the decanter and poured two more shots of the whisky.

“Another four. That brings the count to eight.”

Gordon’s glass found his hand and he sipped the drink absently. “Yeah, it does.”

“The total was fifteen.” And Tin appeared at the edge of the balcony, her cat-like stride slinking her through the glass doors. Dressed in shorts and a loose top, she eyed the alcohol in their hands, but did not comment.

Scott stared at her a moment before turning to Gordon with a frown on his face. “Fifteen?”

Gordon shrugged. “Well, I had to get Two back, didn’t I? It’s not like I could leave her there. Virgil would never forgive me.”

Scott’s head tipped slightly to one side. “You know that’s not true.”

He hid behind his tumbler, revelling in the liquid fire it poured down his throat. “I couldn’t leave her there.” Security and technology be damned. She was his brother’s ‘bird.

They couldn’t have her.

-o-o-o-

Virgil was flagging by the time they made it back to the hangar, Gordon virtually carrying his big brother. Words were muttered about Gordon kicking butt, but they were barely coherent. It was the clearer and desperate ‘make it stop’ that wrenched Gordon’s heart out.

“Not much longer, Virgil, I promise.” There was a breathlessness to his voice. Virgil was damned heavy.

He hauled his brother down the last corridor and prayed he didn’t run into anyone else.

A set of doors and he held Virgil with one arm and peered through. It was the hangar, Two sitting there in all her glory. Nearly there, Virgil, nearly there. There was no one in sight, so he slipped himself and his brother through those doors and towards the open module of Thunderbird Two.

An indrawn breath and Virgil attempted to lift his head, eyes searching as if he sensed his girl.

Gordon shuffled his brother over to the side of his ‘bird. The moment they reached the green hull, Virgil reached out and his hand found the cahelium alloy.

An exhale and his brother rested his forehead on the cold metal.

Voices echoed from inside the module. Eyes darting, Gordon took a chance and lowered Virgil to the floor. “Sit here. I’ll be back in a moment.”

His brother curled up beside his ‘bird, his cheek against her green skin, eyes closed and frowning.

A moment. He only needed a moment. Please be safe.

A prayer to the powers that be and Gordon slipped around and through the open module door.

Another three men. All in khaki, all with red criss-cross patches on their arms, pulling apart the mechanics in one of the pod bays.

Virgil would be so pissed. He kept that machinery well-ordered and functioning flawlessly. These assholes had probably screwed up the robotic alignment and it would take half a day to get it back in sync.

Yes, pissed, Virg was going to be so pissed.

He crept along the wall silently, taking advantage of their absorption in their investigation to sneak as close as he could. The moment he was spotted, he charged.

One of them yelled and Gordon swore. That one was the first to go down, the thud of his head hitting cahelium was almost enough to make the aquanaut wince.

Almost.

The other two, less aware and slower in reaction, went down even harder.

One glance at exactly what they had done to the pod robotics had him muttering profanities as he dragged the three bodies hurriedly out the door, flinging them onto the hangar floor out of range of where he fully intended to taxi the giant cargo plane.

Returning to Virgil, he found his brother reaching out blindly calling his name.

Aw, hell.

“It’s okay. I’m here.” He grabbed Virgil’s wavering hands. “We’re okay, but we need to be fast.” A heave and his brother’s arm was around his shoulders again and he dragged him into Two’s module.

Virgil’s collapsed against him, his legs folding as if finally aboard his girl, he had nothing left.

Shit.

Gordon staggered and nearly fell. With some effort he was able to lug Virgil over to the wall and lay him gently down, rolling him into the recovery position. Hell, Virg, don’t do this. A very quick vitals assessment, and his brother appeared stable, but considering the unknown substance in his system, Gordon wasn’t game to trust anything.

But first things first.

He hurried to the module remote and pulled up a ship’s status screen. A quick scan for life signs and he found two in the cockpit.

Damn.

Of course, this was when he wished Virgil was both awake and in his right mind, because the engineer could make his lady dance and do whatever he wanted her to do.

But he wasn’t. Work with what you have. A Scott Tracy motto which meant it was likely a Jeff Tracy motto, too.

And what he did have was access to the security system.

Punching in his co-pilot’s code, he brought up the anaesthetic gas defence network and hit the button to flood the cockpit. An extra flick of a finger secured all the exits to that space.

A count to ten and he closed the module door. Another flick and TB2 lowered her body and drew the module up to dock.

He had to move fast.

Raiding the module’s supplies, he dug up a gas mask and with a quick check on Virgil made his way to the cockpit. Another code to unlock the door and, ready to take on whatever he encountered, he leapt through.

He needn’t have worried. A man and a woman were out cold on the deck plates.

Gordon hurried over to the pilot’s seat and activated the security system that electrified the skin of the ‘bird.

Now no-one could get in, he could breathe a moment.

Pumps began cycling out the gas and clearing the air. Gordon took that moment to dig up some zip-ties and secure the couple. He dragged them to a supply closet, stripped the tiny room of anything that could aid them - Virgil was likely to be pissed at that, too, he kept his supplies in neurotic order and now they were scattered all over the corridor - and stashed them in there for safe keeping.

Then he ran to get his brother.

He didn’t want Virgil out of his sight. In his condition, he needed monitoring.

His brother was exactly where he left him. Blood still sluggishly dripped from his head wound and Gordon was harshly reminded of the steel bar responsible.

With Virgil out cold, Gordon hauled his brother up as carefully as possible, walked him the short distance to his own cockpit and gently placed him in his pilot’s seat. Harness secured, Gordon took his own co-pilot seat and started a very hurried pre-flight.

Someone outside started yelling, but Gordon shut it out as he initialised Two’s engines and her familiar whine began to build.

The hangar door remained an obstacle, but his brother’s ‘bird had a laser for a reason.

“Two.” It was slurred and rough, but it was Virgil.

A glance in his brother’s direction found him still slouched in his seat, head lolling, eyes still closed.

“Yeah, Virg, we’re on your ‘bird. Hang tight because I’m afraid I might have to scratch her paintwork.”

“You wouldn’t do that. We only joke about it.” Slurred, but clearer.

“Well, I’m not in a joking mood right now.” And he fired the laser, Two’s targeting computer slicing a Thunderbird-sized hole in the steel door.

“What are you doing?” Virgil’s eyes were open, but still glazed.

“Cutting our way out of here.”

“Where?”

“They stole your ‘bird, Virg. Remember?” The moment he said it, he knew it was a mistake. Virgil’s response was to start an anxious muttering about Gordon getting hurt, he had to protect Gordon.

“It’s okay, we’re escaping. Another five seconds.” Literally, the laser was nearly finished. “Hang in there, Virgil.”

The muttering got louder. A mix of faith in Gordon and terror for his safety. Virgil’s voice was slurred and random and he needed a hospital as soon as humanly possible.

Two roared as Gordon engaged VTOL, the whole ship lifting off the hangar floor. Ship’s sensors tracked their intended flight path, and with no little amount of vengeance, Gordon engaged her rear thrusters, likely torching whatever was behind the Thunderbird, and pushed her through the hangar doors with a godawful crash.

-o-o-o-

“Virgil lost consciousness again not long after that. I got in contact with John and we flew to Wellington. You know the rest.” Those moments with Virgil limp beside him had lasted forever.

The hand on his shoulder returned. “You did good, Gordon.”

“Yes, he did.”

The familiar voice was calm and quiet and ever so controlled, but it made all three of them start in surprise.

“Mister Gordon, it is good to know you’ve kept up your training.”

Tin was glaring and Scott smirking. Gordon found himself lining up with his big brother, his lips curling into a grin.

“Hey, Kyrano.”

-o-o-o-

End Part Two

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Gordon Tracy #Virgil Tracy #Scott Tracy #the joker and the hero

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selemina · 4 years

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(Play with your npcs more! Tell me about your favorite npcS IN first casters and what makes you like them so much and what's most fun to play about them? :D)

... Oh my god you should not enable me so much, friend. XD There’s nothing I love more than to rent about universes and characters, be ready for an absolute WALL of text! XD

So first, let’s tackle Damien!

Damien is a street kid : he’s been growing up in the poor district. His parents are an unfortunate couple : abusing mother with a foul temper, spineless soft dad too afraid to defend himself, and a sister that eventually turned maniac and tried to kill their mom. As a result, for most of his life, Damien has been the only one keeping the house standing : standing up to his mother on the rare occasions that she came home, and trying to responsibilize his father despite the fact that he’s terrified of Damien. Because of his history of abuse victim, his father struggles to get close to him, flinching at the slightest raise in voice, and well... Damien is a passionate kid. He also has no problem beating up people he doesn’t like, like a young vigilante, to the point where people in the poor district know him by name... but more as a violent, rabid dog than as a noble crime-fighter. Damien’s fights are usually messy... His only friend is Alexia, that has befriended him one pastry at a time, until he would literally die for her. And then, after the magic started waking up, one day he just.... turned into a tiefling!

Since tieflings are new in this world (and look like devils), of course he couldn’t show himself, so instead they managed to make him a ring enchanted with an Alter Self spell that he can wear at work.

Why I like playing him : ever dreamed of charging a group of thugs from a dark alley and having them actually panick? :D No but more seriously, Damien is just learning to have more friends, and actually be wanted and included after having been alone most of his life. He’s also being teased without fear, and shown endless kindness, and he’s slowly opening up. Seeing him be begrudgingly positive and agressively supportive is a joy! :D He has yet to go absolutely feral but I’d love to see that! ;) Also it’s always fun to be able to play a character that can go from screaming to reluctant silence with just one donut being handed to him. XD

May I talk to you about Lord Peter of the Blackwoods? :3c

Originally from the other world, Mira, Peter is another unfortunate soul. Drafted for a war he had no stake in, he was left for dead on a battlefield. At the time, those bloodbaths were so prolific that vampires in the area were growing complacent and fat, so creating more was a luxury many afforded. He was turned and introduced to the delicately balanced and measured world of the children of the night along with a few others. But then, the war stopped... No more battlefield to scour for food. So his flight headed further inland, looking for more thralls and more food. Unfortunately, in the wake of the war, a terrible plague had found the nearby cities... and with horror, they discovered that it could jump to vampires. Around this time, he guided his weakening flight to a necromancer who promised to help... But soon enough, they realized said necromancer was actually experimenting on them during the day when they were out cold, looking for the secret to their immortality instead of finding a solution against the plague. Peter struck him down, and once again moved with his remaining brothers and sisters, further inland... After the vampire infestation from the war, hunters had multiplicated, and soon his entire flight was recorded and hunted down, vampires scattering in search of safety. Left alone, he holed up in an abandonned mansion deep in the Blackwoods, wanting for nothing more than to be left undisturbed. Taking the occasional suicidal people that came to find him in the hopes of ending their lives, and those looking for immortality, he gathered a small following of thralls to come visit him occasionaly for food, but that he insisted must have a normal life away from him most of the time. Eventually though, the thrall presence in the area alerted the hunters, and they rallied the nearby towns to go walk on the mansion, setting it ablaze, and killing Peter inside. While he should have gone back to his coffin to reform and recover, Peter... drifted, and woke up on Earth instead. Seeing this as an oportunity to start over and reclaim some of his lost humanity, he has made a very strict point to not harm anyone, not make any thralls or any other vampire. He kept Courtney from bleeding out after a robbery gone wrong, and has been found by the group and protected ever since, keeping a low profile.

Why I enjoy playing Peter : Suave motherfucker! A noble trying to stop his tendency to be extra, because he’s not in any vampiric court anymore. Very proper and crafty, he has repressed his power-play tendencies A LOT.. And recently got to stretch a bit and flexe on Dylan, and that was SO satisfying! XD He could demand attention and worship if he felt like it, and force people into serving him, but... First, he wants to change, truly wants to go back to being an equal to humans, and second... Ivan would backhand him and put him back in his place immediately. XD And he’s not ready for the emotional whiplash of being told to sit down by a man shorter than him. ;) Although I hope I can show soon how truly, deeply dangerous Peter can be...

Oh hey, speaking of people that got flexed on, it’s Special Agent Dylan Ross! :D

Dangerous organisations? Underground cults? Mafia? Organized crime? Those are Dylan’s usual scene. Get in, gather information, relay his finds with a precise plan of action, and let his general take care of taking the initiative and getting all of the glory for it. Dylan is the kind of man to light a cigarette while walking away from a building on fire. However... magic? ...Sure, why the fuck not, there are actual videos of a group of kids forcing a walking tree back into a forest, and others of a gigantic wolf and two pups in astreet, from multiple people. Reports of cult activity, too, that turns out to have been... actual animated scarecrows, that kidnapped people? Alright. Sure. ....And now people are growing horns. What the fuck is happening in this place? Put all of that shit on lockdown! Blame it... blame it on Covid-19, the medias won’t mind! (My players groaned at me when they heard about it being used as a plot point, it was great! XD contemporary world, after all!) And now, to investigate. Seems the local police, after a bit of pressure, admitted hiring... kids? Magic users, for things they couldn’t handle on their own. Following the trail, he went after a few of them, not fast enough as they skipped town... But not everybody went, so eventually he managed to get a hold of Alexia, and later Ivan. Expecting a LOT of bullshit and secrets, he found both to be fairly forthcoming with informations? Even helpful? Huh. that’s new in his line of work... A few tests and unethical trials later, he had to recognize he was unprepared for whatever THIS was... For fuck’s sake, the vampire he met put his entire backup team of highly trained soldiers to sleep before talking to him! And then read his entire health situation just from a drop of blood! And now his mind keeps coming back to him, again and again, it’s distracting. There’s also this Archeon guy, his best hope of finding a scientific way to measure magic, scolding him every time he’s a little abrasive. And now the well-behave Alexia revealed that she is linked to a “patron”, the founder of her school, trapped in the school’s statue? Yeah, sure! ....Until the statue animates and points it’s cane straight at his face! ....dylan might actually need help on this one.

Why I like to play Dylan : MY PLAYERS HATE HIM! XD He is a sassy, venomous, unpleasant man, with just enough humanity to keep people from truly doing anything about him. It’s really fun for me, who is usually a nice person, to be able to be unbashedly rude as a tired, sleep-deprived special agent in over his head! XD He is also a perceptive, crafty bastard : he threatened Alexia with an entire firing squad just to see what her immediate response would be, fight or flight! Everything he does is dangerous, and he can tell when people are bullshitting him from a mile away! And he fully knows that he’s a bastard, he owns up to it : someone has to be the bastard and get shit done. Might as well be an efficient bastard, and get on everybody’s nerves! And yet, he can listen to reason. He’s able to cooperate to get to his goal, listen to advices, and take good decisions. He is very fun to play! :D (Also I can hear the groans from my players when he shows up, voluntary or not, and I live for their visceral reactions. XD)

We’ve talked about Oni quite a bit already, but.. yeah, Oni. XD

Originaly from the north of France, his thunder demon ancestry came to him after the magic had started reappearing, showing that the event is not limited to the area around Paris... With his Ancestor pushing him to carve himself a place in the world, he went on to find “the strongest caster” and duel her one on one. Let me tell you, this whole session was incredible... XD It was the first time I was introducing a villain MEANT to be a villain and not to be reasoned with. Buuut, well... He got beat fair and square. XD Then failed to escape. Then was executed, and his body was melted and burried. ...Then later that night, Ivan came around with a diamound and resurrected him, because nobody wanted to actually be murderers. And that’s how Oni realized he had been messing with the wrong crowd : he was here to hurt, when they were here to KILL. Needless to say, that put him in his place, and gave him time to think. With his life dept to Ivan, he can’t really run away and try to rebuild himself ; his family has thrown him out after his fugue, and now he lives at the Standon household as an unofficial adopted son. XD He tries to be useful around the house, but wishes he had more reasons to fight... Why I love to play Oni : A RESURRECTED VILLAIN IN DND IS JUST SO UNEXPECTED! XD How does one cope with that? Oni is still struggling to find his place, but at least now he’s open to the idea of helping to defend the town instead of just running in head first and crushing everything on his path! I enjoy his ancestor’s code of honor : Essentially, BE BIG. Either make this territory yours and be feared and respected, or recognize those that defeated you and serve them with all your might. Sometimes, being the biggest around doesn’t mean killing : if you keep an army from assaulting a town just because you are sitting at it’s gate, it is also a victory! Be a force to be reckoned with, either for yourself if you’re strongest, or for those above you if you are not. Be invaluable, be reliable, be fearsome. Sucess is when men throw down their arms the moment they see you. Oni is trying to reach this level of strength... but he is also the only man alive to have been resurrected, when nobody else has. People more worthy than him could have been brought back, but no, this miracle fell on him. And he’s uncertain how to feel, having had such an impossible gift offered to him, a humbled nobody, of all people. The weight on his shoulders is heavier than one might know.

Oh hey it’s Master Kavoleg! :D

(seen here with his assistant and Earth-discoverer, Salin! :D) High level mage, high level mage, high lev- XD I LOVE Master Kavoleg! He’s a bit of a hermit, but always ready to help, curious, clever, his has very nice maners, he’s prone to throwing spells in the air when he’s frustrated at a bunch of bickering diplomats... His tower/library, the White Tower, is built right over a place of power, and is a hub for a lot of free wizards, students and experts, coming to do quiet research. Although business has been slow lately, it gives him the opportunity to meet the Earthlings and both learn and teach once more. As an influent person of interest, he is well placed to influence Mira’s approach to Earth in a favorable way, and to give advice on how to handle the surge of magic energy in the other world. People talk about him with reverance, and he is an approachable if imposing figure... as long as you’re not wasting his time.

Why I love to play Kavoleg : *slaps tiefling* “This Wizard can fit so many secrets! :D” I am SO excited to have the team discover a few of them, but... in due time. In due time. XD He is a soft, elegant man, with a certain disregard for people’s misplaced pride. He has a note of mischief to him (giving literal translations of places’ names to the Earthlings, underlining how SIMPLE they sound when not in the different languages, like they’re usually presented) that I love playing, and his relationship to Salin and his new assistant Elias is wonderful to play out! He is a tranquil force, powerful and wise but comfortable. He is very... Well, very comfortable for me to play! XD

And there we have it! :D I hope this was complete enough. There’s so much in there! XD

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gg-astrology · 5 years

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hey, how are you? could you pls do taurus sun, cap moon for the sun-moon placements thingy? ty 🥰💓

Hey there! 💕 💕 💕 Ahh I’m doing slightly better today tysm for asking! 💕 💕 I hope you’re doing well too! 💕 💕

[Below Cut: Taurus Sun - Capricorn Moon 🍵]

Wants love/nurture/care but at the same time they’re so plagued/bogged down by their own doubt, insecurity and ‘personal issues’

Most of these are self-fulfilling prophecies, but the double earth combo can have a really hard time not calculating consequences to things, actions, decision they think they have to make. That they lose opportunities for happiness altogether.

You’re practical to a fault, to the point where you feel yourself (know that you’re) limiting yourself. You like being decisive, directive. Concrete and straight-forward response ( ‘hey I think this..’) But you drive yourself into paranoia when it comes to trying to decipher other people’s reaction/motive/what they mean when they do that.

You flounder between thinking ‘oh maybe it doesn’t mean much’ and thinking ‘shit does it mean something?’ -- Taurus/Capricorn knows they can be oblivious (not pay attention) to other people’s reaction because they’re self-contained/sufficient. They may think themselves as kind of dense, and it has never been a problem for them until they actually hope/want something from others y know?

‘Ignorance is bliss’ can only work for so long, these people are stubborn and clingy to their own ways/methods to thing.

Learn sometimes that you are repressing your own emotions-- that emotions are supposed to flow, instead of blocking yourself for getting your hopes up, for having faith in others, for not being practical all the time.

Learn how to let emotions be emotions, how to ride the wave. It’ll help you ‘come down’ later (when it evens out) and think practically later.

This is how to develop your Capricorn Moon instead of making it ugh-- bad for you all the time. You can learn how to use it to your best, if you let it pause/hit stop and let emotions do it’s own thing as well (practice) without the interference of your mind buzzing all the time.

You work better when you actually process your emotions, let it heighten spike and then envelop you, before it evens out. Once you’re relaxed/drained-- you can have an easier time planning your next step of action (instead of your overly obsessive hyped up paranoid self doing the thinking)

Anyways it’ll take time. Taurus/Capricorn are also people who stands firm with their friends, they may not show it much but they do care. And often times they’d like to spoil others if they can (Venus/Saturn)

That doesn’t mean that they do it thoughtlessly, these people are prudent/frugal to a fault. Even when you spoil your friend it’s as a ‘reward’ -- you want them to feel like they’ve accomplished something before you shower them with gifts.

You can be stern/strict when you have to, you know when to put your feet down and you’re not afraid to do it. Often times, you’re the friend who always have your head on right and can stop others from being ‘stupid/foolish/going to hurt themselves’--- but you have to learn how to let go

You know this--- part of your insecurity is that you feel like you’re not as fun or bold or joyful as others. You like your comfort, but why is there nothing ‘special’ in your comfort you can show off to others? Learn how to let go, let your impulsivity come by. Learn how to tie your practicality with bold ideas, let your friend influence/help you, enable you to do stuff and put that clever clever mind to use instead.

You’re better at being street-smart than you realize, you just like safety a lot. Learn how to listen to others, have an open-mind to those who’s a little more maverick than you. Learn how to have fun, and find your purpose socially too (who you are socially) -- it’ll help you feel a little less distanced/not so special and a lot more appreciative of your own traits y know?

With those you love, you love dearly. You set down roots with fond trust and happiness with them. But that takes time and shift to grow on you because you can be terrified of change/things that moves too fast. You might have to confront that fear-- especially if you feel like someone is trying to get you to open- up/changes in your relationship-- don’t let your own stubbornly/safety-net keep you from not adjusting to the pace of the world.

Value yourself in your talent, your skills rather than the result/what you get from it. Your worries are often just your own make-up of things that you think are against you (odds more than benefits even if it’s made up in your mind-- opportunities vs practicality, you hesitate to think about opportunities you can afford.).

You have to learn how to let go of your ‘self-identity that’s measured with material wealth around you’ -- whether it’s with friends (unstabilizing friendship) with your achievements or with what/who you think you are. By re-defining yourself with positivity and optimism-- like ‘yeah I’m a good artist/person/deserve to be love’ -- you advance more and doesn’t let your own adversary (your own mind) get the best of you.

Try not to hold onto your fears, or suppress your feeling so much. You have to release that tension by openly admitting to it and talking about it-- I know as an earth/earth you’re already going ‘yikes sure maybe later’-- but try to do so now. Try to implement it now in your everyday life. Grab one of your friends, and maybe have them help you learn how to be better at expressing/accepting your feelings.

(Don’t grab another earth sign friend btw, or fire sign for that matter. Try to grab someone who’s a water, preferably Scorpio or Cancer)

I hope this helps! 💕 Good luck!! 💕 💕

#taurus sun #capricorn moon #taurus #capricorn #taurus-capricorn #honestly...all earth placement should hear this #virgo #anon #asks

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kalesandfails · 5 years

Text

buckle up

Every time I have done something difficult — from dragging screaming toddlers through the greyhound station to unmedicated childbirth to running a half marathon — I’ve had that moment where my expectations for the thing, those reassurances that it wouldn’t be so bad, crashed hard against the reality that this is actually going to be really, really bad.

This happened all the time when I was working night shift, with a preschooler and an infant at home, and I’d initially feel great about my decision to get up after three fitful hours of sleep. It’s fine! look how bright it is outside! How hard can it be to keep up with people I outweigh by a hundred pounds, people whose needs are limited to breast milk and Thomas the Tank Engine?

And then, later, around one-thirty: oh, no. This is going to get worse before it gets better.

It also happened in social situations: every bad date has that time when the dude or lady across the table brings up how Courtney Love ruined Nirvana or how they “support women” but “don’t need to see Lena Dunham naked all the time” and you realize that the heart wants what it wants, and what it wants to to leave, right now, and go home to underpants with better butt coverage, snacks and Greys Anatomy recaps, but it is seventy-thirty -five and the waitress hasn’t even brought your drinks.

Anyway, I thought I knew better than to hope that maybe there’d be this report and then someone would come along and make Trump stop cutting Medicare and the Special Olympics out of our budget so tin order to pay for a wall that 1. is not evidence based and 2. doesn’t even make sense and 3. is designed to solve a problem that appears not to exist and 4. costs billions of dollars.

Well, we don’t seem to be able to get anywhere pointing out to actual people who pay taxes and rely on Medicare that this guy wants to take money out of Medicare and put it into building this wall, and do you want the wall more than your allopurinol? But maybe we can just make this guy shut up and go away because of how is blatantly collaborating with Russia, as evidenced by how he publicly asks Russia to damage his political opponent and also says he believes Russia and not his own intelligence agency even though Russia is led by a guy who seems to just, you know, kill people he disagrees with and enable genocide. Maybe it's that easy, given how the guy seems to actual revel in both obstructing justice and colluding with Russia. What if it were just that easy? Hey, this will be totally fine!

Except somehow it’s not. And I don’t understand, because this was obviously a totally shit thing to do, like, a bored plotline from another iteration of Mission: Impossible, where a cartoon villain is flirting with the Russian President on national TV and also trying to build hotels in Russia, and we’re all looking around like, did anyone just see that?

But also, I do understand it, because of how fundamental gaslighting is to almost all heteronormative relationships in which I have participated.

To me, it makes total sense that someone will do the thing and then call you crazy for observing that they are doing that thing, and to be honest, this is a solid argument for running a female candidate against Trump in 2020, because men are heavily rewarded for applying this very practice is their relationships with women and women are repeatedly told from childhood that there is a biological difference between them and men that means that we can’t simply call them on their shit until we have thought deeply about the possibility that maybe we are “making” them drink/ name-call/ text their ex-girlfriend. By then they may have gotta over it and come back to apologize, or not; what’s important is that they never actually have to address their behavior on anyone’s terms but their own.

This, of course, is exactly what is happening here. Smarter people than me have pointed out that the deep appeal of Trump is the possibility of a return to a world in which a certain breed of person — the rich white kind — can be glaringly mediocre and still lay claim to whatever they want; a world in which white Americans congratulate themselves for being progressive enough to elect a Black Columbia Law professor and wonder what more people want. A world, maybe, a presidential appointee whose job application highlighted his belief that the President cannot obstruct justice states that a report we have not seen exonerates the president from collusion with a foreign government, despite the fact that the presidents’ political party refuses to allow us to read the report and corroborate this claim, and that is considered not just a win for that president but an indictment against the people who called to investigate him in the first place.

The only only purpose for any of this, from the Trump administration’s perspective, is to reinforce the idea that the President is above the law, and what he says, even when it conflicts entirely with the things we actually can see. You gonna believe your baby or your eyes?

It shouldn’t be hard to say that the bar to be President of the United States should be higher than “we can’t prove this person obstructed justice”. But people want Trump to stay in power because entrenched racism, class disparity, and patriarchal benefit some of us; because climate change is scary and it’s easier to pretend it doesn’t exist; because it’s hard, exhausting work coming to terms with the ways in which our comfort hinges on the oppression of others and maybe we don’t really want things to be fair if that means we can’t have everything.

But the first step to solving a problem is to get over how things should be and face how things actually are. Right now it is not possible to get this president out of office with this report. As much as we should still try to see it, we need to let go of the idea that getting it released will help get Trump out of office. We need to see it so that we don’t move further along the path towards complete despotism

But it’s not going to help get rid of him. For that, we need to pour another cup of coffee and do the work.

#mueller report #trump #resist

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