#like did Halo Infinite even have one?

[matara-okina]

Pokémon pre-order bonuses be like:

#pokemon #Pokémon #Spongebob #pokemon scarlett #Pokemon violet #inb4 I regret making this post #also the state of pre-order bonuses in general at this point in time #like did Halo Infinite even have one?

[blueberryarchive]

𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 & 𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒓

♰pairing; preacher!jk x reader x cowboy!jm

♰word count; 4.6k

♰genre; smut, horror, angst

♰tw; dead dove do not eat, drowning, heavy non-con, dacryphilia, oral, penetration, mentions of blood, depiction of religion, gruesome details of death, physical and verbal violence (jk has a serious rage problem), alcohol consumption, smoking, mentions of jk wanting to have sex as a teen.

prev//next

"Love. Sweetheart, stay with me a lil' longer, please. Fuck, Jeon, she's dying on me." Jimin bellowed, a halo of violet light outlining his silhouette as dry cornfields passed by the sides of the truck, your body bouncing with the truck's turmoil from side to side.

You looked down and saw your numb leg, the dark hole of burnt skin that Park soaked with a misty liquor. His awake and worried eyes, the dried blood of your lusts on his lips, the new blood that the wound vomited out, covering his hands, becoming thicker and purer.

Your shoulders slumped, your head resting on the back window of the truck. The two men were fighting, but that was just as the murmur of crickets and moths.

The sky was infinite, domed with stars, all subtly arranged in the perfect position. You saw among the sequins of God, all your dresses and the damn heels in which you had to squeeze your growing body. How Miss Texas' adorable smile became a pathetic white plate without emotion.

And oh, you knew that the fall of a star was inevitable, but not even the flame began to die when you were already sunken between the rocks and the soft grass caressing the last spark, your first tears of acceptance. And in the grass, you dozed, feeling sorry for your own useless body, the plastic crowns, the gold, and the memories of the applause.

"No! Stay." A slap brought you back to the hard floor of a barn. The unknown man grabbed your cheeks and choked you with a long, bitter drink of homemade liquor.

The little light came in from a window in the wooden ceiling, the heat emanating from the hay and wool piled in the corner, leaving a strong smell, you groaned before vomiting to the side.

"Fuck, Jungkook. She's not a fucking animal, you're going to make her faint." Jimin pushed his partner. Jungkook swallowed hard. His pale, neat face was dirty with crimson droplets.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Park?" Jungkook pushed him back, and neither of them could believe it, neither the action nor the power in the voice.

"What are you talkin' about?"

"Letting in a bunch of rapist shit-smoking hippies without a fucking cent to pay for their stay."

And then you thought about the rifle the father was carrying, about Sage and the others. A gasp from deep in your chest, the sob reminding you of your pain.

The rifle was pointed at you with anger pooling in his neck that didn't let him breathe. You screamed as you tried to stand up but it was useless, your wounded leg was your cross. Jimin moved as quickly as possible to cover your mouth, squeezing until it hurt.

"What did you do with the others?" Park's voice trembled, and his partner's eyes showed an open, bloody wound that would not close until a couple of demons ran away.

"I shot the boy in the shoulder, the two girls took the car and drove to California. I made them promise not to come back."

"You're a fucking psychopath." Your scream is muffled by the cowboy's fingers.

The rifle flew away in the hay, and the impatient sheep threw themselves to one side when they knew that it was not food they brought but danger.

"Jeon, stop!"

Jungkook was taller and heavier than his partner, so it wasn't difficult to lunge at you, grab your hair, and compress your chin until he felt every tooth. He was sweating with the smell of incense and wine, his thin lips spit in your face.

"It's because of people like you that I want to leave the church and buy a damn truck, pick up every son of a bitch on Route 66 who raises his dirty thumb on the side of the road, and bathe them in acid until they dissolve alive."

You didn't say anything, because you were pure meat in front of him, a mere animal for slaughter if you moved too close…

Two hot tears fell to Jungkook's fingers, and it was as if a flower had opened in his hand. A strange tickling in his throat left him passive, mute. He removed his hat with the respect the pained lady deserved.

"You're the Bell Ranch kid."

"Please tell me you didn't start shooting people in my house." Jimin interrupted, pacing back and forth impatiently.

"Jimin, she's the Bell Ranch kid-"

"I know, it doesn't matter now. You shot her and she's bleeding herself to death, Christ."

"I told you it was just a shot, they'll probably think it was to scare a coyote."

The cowboy crouched down and tucked his head between his legs, the alcohol rising into his veins.

"You're such an idiot, you know?" The father continued, filling the silence.

"What did you just say?"

"You really believe that these people come to enjoy rural life, to feed your chickens and fuck in the mountains."

"I needed the money," Jimin muttered stressed.

"The fuck you needed that money for?"

"To get the hell out of this place." He roared, standing again in front of Jungkook. "I'm sick and tired of Rivermouth and its moribund, corrupt town. It makes me want to throw up just thinking about having to see the fucking faces of the same people at Bee's diner again."

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows at him, seeing him as if he were a child throwing a tantrum.

"But everyone loves you, you're like a star here."

Jimin laughed, glassy eyes threatening to ooze saline waters.

"Do you know who else was a star in this town? Your dad, little church boy."

"Jimin." He warned you saw how his fists showed through his knuckles.

"And the star decided to have a summer camp for all the children, ended up in a human grill, and everyone thought that your dad fucked children."

It was so fast that you couldn't see Jimin's body fall to the ground, the dust hiding the blows that reverberated from Jimin's skull. The cowboy didn't lift his arms, instead, he let his friend vent until he saw Jimin's silver fang painted red.

Jungkook gasped like a barbarian, his arms trembled before he delivered the next punch and fell next to Jimin, overwhelming moans coming from his chest, stale tears, and babbling that only Jimin understood, but he didn't move.

Jimin closed his eyes, thinking about teenage Jungkook who was trying to get close to the burned body of his father, which Jimin never let him talk about or touch, for the funeral he locked him in his room even after protests and threats. He didn't know if he wanted to protect him, if because he was older than him, he thought about taking the role that that monument of a man had left behind.

He was as attractive as his son, charismatic, and an all-around good man. But his statue began to crack when some young people arrived at the church, a couple who convinced him that he did not need the God for whom he so praised and knelt down. But he was the deity, who with his wings would go far.

He had this idea of encouraging the little ones next to him, elevating them. He closed the doors of the old church, while singing with the children and bathed the edges of the windows in kerosene.

The screams were hellish, no one heard them. No one cried more than the little boy who saw his sister burning on the ground, no one screamed more than the girl whose dress melted into her skin, and no one trusted her father more than the youngest son of Father John I.

Jungkook's younger brother hung from his father's clothes, watching his friends burn with a sense of purpose, that this had to happen for his own good.

And like Icarus, the sun kissed his father's body without Jungkook realizing the changes until very late: the sarcastic laughter in the middle of reading, his constant absence, the misplaced and ambitious gaze.

His mother fell into the abyss. Died sitting in a rocking chair when her body seemed to disintegrate more and more every day. A rosary in hand, a tiresome prayer that licked away her sorrows.

"Come on, we have to think about what we're going to do with her," Jimin murmured, wiping away the trickle that ran down his nose. Jungkook gave him his hand and stood up. Both men hugged each other until the minor stopped sobbing.

The father looked in your direction, determined. You could feel the black socket of his eyes fire just once and not miss.

"We have to chain her before she runs away."

Jimin nodded. There was no time to lose.

A latent pain spread through Jungkook's head until a crown of pure anguish decorated his hair. Two fingers pinched the bridge of his nose as the phone rang incessantly on the other line.

One of the things that bothered him about Billie, was the way time seemed to run smoothly and leisurely through her fingers. It took her forever to analyze things, to choose what she was going to eat, even if it would always be chicken pot pie; and in this case, answer the phone.

The telephone booth where he was was dirty, it smelled of urine, and the windows were clouded with dust. He was still wearing his black shirt and pants, his collar pristine white, his old man's ring on his right hand being moved anxiously.

He couldn't believe what he would do in his free time instead of being with the girl he had decided to marry. But a letter arrived at his office at the church that afternoon, one of the children playing in the park had been sent with it. The letter was a simple piece of paper wrapped and tied with an improvised wildflower as a cord.

I'll be busy tonight. The sheep must be tamed and sheared. J.

When he read the words, he almost dropped the paper on the floor and sent the boy out with a dollar in his hand so that he would promise not to tell anyone.

He spent the entire mass having trouble speaking, gave averted glances, and cleared his throat like a sick man. The drops of sweat clinging to his chest, it was hell.

"Hello?"

"Billie, it's John, sweetheart."

"Why are you not here?" His chest sank as he heard the sweet voice of his girl. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together.

"I must..." his voice trailed off. The last time he lied was so long ago.

It's not that religion made him feel guilty for telling a lie, sometimes a father must lie to people's faces with such solemnity that the devotee can only let themselves fall into the invisible hands of God and lie down on hope for a miracle.

"I have to take care of one Park's ewe. Poor little one it's havin' some trouble, and he doesn't want her to be alone until his show ends." Terrible, one of the worst lies he's ever made.

Silence.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Billie purred, almost in a plea. He sighed, he could see her pink varnished nail tangled in the phone cord eagerly. Trying not to wake her dad's ears with such questions.

Jungkook had her on the edge because he hadn't even kissed her. He knew he was cruel for that. It's not that he has officially offered either, but sometimes a man doesn't lie through words, but by taking her home, by looking into her eyes for a longer time when he gives her the host, by helping her learn to touch herself inside the confessional.

"It's better not to, pet. I'm sure it'll be an allnighter, the thing'll be crying for hours and I know how sensitive you are with animals."

"It's true, you know me so well, Jungkook."

He smiled. "I know, darling." He clears his throat before continuing. "But tomorrow you can come to the parish, and we will feed the pigeons in the morning. How 'bout that?"

One more lie, this time it was not the hands of God but the calloused and bloody hands of the young father. But she just giggled.

"Goodnight, Billie. Say hi to your mother for me."

"'Night, Johnnie. I love you."

A lump in his throat, and he thanked God because after saying that, she closed the call. His tongue turned to lead to say those three words back. He knew he did, he wanted to protect Billie more than anything and make her happy, but there was no need to say it, right?

Jungkook's shirt was unbuttoned, the shaking in his breathing causing an unusual tremor in the sound of the farm. It was a windy night, there wasn't much moonlight, so Jungkook lit several kerosene lamps on the banks.

The wooden tub was arranged in the center, the horses and chickens raising their heads every time Jungkook grunted, bringing more hot water. The sweat falling down his temples and over his broad chest, the steam had him suffocated in that silence, and you showed no signs of waking up at any time.

He approached the hay in the corner where the sheep surrounded your body curled up like a fetus, you slept with bloody clothes and matted hair. Your breathing is as soft as the wool around you, both hands and feet tied with rope.

You looked like a lost princess. A princess who devoured every man in her land, and now she rests peacefully to reduce her satiety. Your dry mouth and the remains of Jimin's blood fell to your neckline, making Jungkook's face boil, because he couldn't believe that his friend had fallen for such banalities. It made him want to take the same lamp in his fingers and drop it on top of your delicate body.

His boot touched your low heels, but nothing. He crouched down until he had his hand close to your shoulder, your skin tender under the shaking flames, curved and soft under the dress you were wearing.

You were disgusting, angelic, so terribly at peace in your state.

Of course, upon his arrival at Jimin's house, the first thing he did was open your suitcase and touch all your belongings. Because, in the end, a woman is her belongings: she is the compact blush that she has worn since she was 19, she is the old leather necklace with the worn-out heart pendant and the empty perfume bottle.

Women feel this need to keep things that don't work or lose their value over time. Something that may have to do with how Jungkook sees them, how it's the opposite for him. How his father and his uncles also saw the women in his life. The brighter, the better.

Women, instead, have their daughters' teeth in their jewelry like yellowish nacre and love the same man from their fifteenth until the memories fade with their bodies.

Jungkook knew you would like something to remind you of home, where you truly belong. Not California, not New York, not even Austin; but Rivermouth, with its disproportionate mountains, the storm clouds filling the sky at all hours, and the same faces transferring from parents to children to grandchildren.

A place where nothing changed and that was the good thing. Even though things might end up bad.

He was sure your body was not leaving that barn, he had come to that decision the same day he saw you.

To recompensate, he decided to find you the most beautiful dress among your belongings, a delicate bow with which he would decorate your neck and a vermilion lipstick.

His hand squeezed your shoulder until you stood up screaming, his hand went straight to your mouth.

"Don't fucking do that, please." The way you looked around made Jungkook understand that you didn't remember anything, it was sad to see the weight lift your pupils towards his and still try to find an explanation. "You need to shower, your stench is making me sick."

He grabbed your bound wrists and dragged you to the edge of the hot water, a round, yellowish sponge and sulfur soap placed on a stool.

"Don't make a noise, you'll wake up Sweet Pea," Jungkook murmured behind you, the heat of his breath on your back.

Sweet Pea was a sheep separated from the others, sleeping between a bed made of hay and old coats. Her bloated stomach writhed with each ragged breath. She suffered with her mouth open and her woolly paws shivering with every squirm of the babies in her belly, she slept painfully.

"Raise your arms." The man behind you whispered, a sharp Swiss army knife cutting through the fabric of your dress like butter. The cold of his hands removing your dress let a gasp leave your lips. "Easy, there."

His tall, sweaty body leaned into your hands, his eyes evading yours, swallowing hard. Your breasts fell light and exquisite, your exposed stomach curved until it reached the plain of your pussy and Jungkook felt like the edge of his knife would slip from his hands as he finished tearing your clothes.

"Let's see the wound." He cleared his throat, sitting on the bench where he had a clean pair of gauze. "Does it hurt?"

"What do you think?" You interrupted, raising your foot to the top of his knee.

"Have some respect. I'm not one of your little friends."

You rolled your eyes as the slender fingers removed the knot from the dirty yellowed gauze. You hissed, leaning your body forward. As a result, you placed your hands on top of Jungkook's jet-black hair, tightening the strands under your fingers in the last turn of the gauze. Jungkook took a deep breath, his fingers trembling gently as he examined the bruised hole.

"At least the blood stopped."

"Do you plan to heal my wound until I starve to death here?"

Jungkook was already getting tired of your words, of that shrill accent, and your lips always a little parted as if waiting for them to fill your mouth with-

"I plan to heal your wounds until I find a grave big enough to put you and all your things in." Your alert eyes made him laugh. He loved seeing the terror in them. Made you look more adorable.

He grabbed the clear liquor from among the hay and wet a piece of cotton. Your left leg was shaking from the effort, and you were weak, surely Jimin was stupid enough to not leave you something to eat before going to enjoy his fame.

"You're crying." Jungkook saw the tears falling to your breasts, you were quick to remove the ones that were flowing with your tied hands. Inhaling and sobbing like a little girl trying to be brave. You were terrified.

God and men knew why the statues of virgins were always portrayed as suffering. He wanted to run his fingers over your face, lick every salty tear, and say more chilling things to you to make you cry even more.

His hand rested on his lap and patted a couple of times.

"I know it hurts, stop being so stubborn."

You left your buttocks on his lap and placed both arms on your chest, covering your breasts. You were a mess, and you hated that you were crying, rivulets falling to the sockets of your collarbones. Jungkook focused on it, feeling thirsty as he cleaned the wound.

A hand rested on your bare waist to keep you from falling, calloused fingers unconsciously caressing the soft skin. Your back rose and fell with each whimper.

"I was kiddin', kid. For God's sake." He frowned, yet you continued. He grabbed the bottle again and grabbed your chin with his thumbs, long gulps of sheer force passing down your throat. "There ya' go. Stop the whining, now."

You coughed as you felt the alcohol melt your stomach with its heat.

"I hate you both. I wish I was dead."

"Me too, pumpkin."

The next step was to get into the bathtub. You closed your eyes as the heat engulfed your body, the steam cleaning your pits after crying your fill. You moaned softly as you snuggled into the soggy sheet.

On the other side was the father, sitting with both legs open while he slowly scrubbed the sponge with the soap. His hungry eyes were behind the whitish walls of hot steam.

"You're a virgin. Right, Father John?" Your light, sharp tongue asked, moving you closer to the edge of the tub.

His gaze went to yours, bold, fed up. He dropped the soap and poured water on your face and hair with an empty can of chickpeas. The slippery hair was easy to clench in his fist, the sponge in his hand rubbing circles on your back.

You pursed your lips as you felt the pressure you caused on him. Well, it looks like it was true.

"Don't you have a little girlfriend? It must be so lonely in this fucking town."

"I'll make you cry harder if you keep talking bullshit."

The foam was sliding down to your breasts, Jungkook tried to be as stoic as possible cleaning the area.

There was something quite submissive about him that brought out your worst thoughts. The worst part was that the alcohol made you dangerously flirtatious and you couldn't keep yourself in check. Not even when your life hung on it.

Between his long, slender fingers, over his broad back, and his soft, deadly voice.

You couldn't take it any longer as you moved closer to his body, the exact curve between his ear and his neck, and inhaled deeply. His hand under the water cleaning between your legs. You could feel his breathing become sharper.

"She gave it to you, right?" You sniffed closer. "You wear it to go see her, but now you have to bathe some shitty hippie you humiliated once in your teens."

"Shut up."

"Unlike your cowboy friend, you are a gentleman. You don't fuck 'em, then leave with your dick wet."

Jungkook chuckled. Silence.

He put the sponge on the bench and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows.

"I think we're done." He smiled.

Your eyebrows furrowed as he kicked off his shoes and stepped into the tub next to you. A heavy hand rested on your face and you could only feel the water entering your lungs, the beat of your screams turning into bubbles among the grayish water.

Out. A gasp, your heart beating a mile an hour searching for air between the hardness of Jungkook's palm.

In. Your body arched, bound hands clawing at Jungkook's arm. The impenetrable darkness consumed you, the sound pressure of the water, the metallic taste in your throat.

Out.

Your purple face, swollen eyes, crimson lips.

"Breathe, breathe." His voice was soft, and his fingers went to your hair to support your weak body. You heard a metallic clinking sound, your eyes burning from the soap in the water. "Open your mouth."

His fingers separated your teeth to make way for his cock, the pulse of his veins massaging your lips. Jungkook hissed loudly, throwing his head back.

"Atta, girl. Open more, I know bitches like you can dislocate their fuckin' jaws."

Your eyelashes fluttered, looking for a way to look into his eyes and ask for mercy. But your eyes burned terribly and the saliva fell in streams from your mouth every time his cock came out and came back in with more force. You could only squeeze his wet pants and clumsily try to shake his thigh to make him realize you were choking.

"Mm."

"Don't trytta "mm" me. This is what you wanted."

For the first time, his cock came completely out of your mouth, drool falling into the water.

His arm supported your body and lifted your top out of the water, revealing how shiny and smooth your ass looked presented to him. The bottle of liquor was right next to you. You heard Jungkook take a gulp and how his forearm chained your neck so you could drink with him. For a few seconds, you resisted until you could do nothing but open your mouth or choke on alcohol.

"Shh, don't cry again." His fingers massaged your wet hair, his face pressed to yours as he slid his cock between your ass cheeks. "Such a crybaby. You're the one popping my cherry tonight, little buckle bunny. Ain't ya' happy?"

"I'm scared, please let me go." Your voice tore through your throat with torture, phlegm building up in your nose.

"No, can't." His cock found your entrance, the sting of the soap lubricating you, and the growl that came from Jungkook's chest made your body tense. "You need me, remember? If it was because of Park, you would have been dead a long time ago."

"I'm scared, please-"

"Shhh."

The lamps were going out little by little, leaving the shadows of Jungkook's body to engulf yours.

When your pussy began to make way and pulse around his cock, he felt sorry for not having done it sooner, for not having taken the first five dollars he stole from his father when he was fifteen and find a whore to fuck, for not having let Mandy, the daughter of his math teacher, suck him last year of school; of not having taken all the divine women in his church and instead of giving them the host, putting his cock in their mouth.

He thought about each and every one of them. He thought about Billie and the confessional, and fuck! How delicious it felt to have all your blood go to one place, leaving you dizzy and stupid like a farm animal in heat.

"Why don't we-" he moaned with tight lips, wetting his face to concentrate. "Why don't we pray, it'll make you feel better, make you less tight."

The lamps went out, leaving only one in the corner outlining Jungkook's profile. From his long oval nose, and swollen lips, from the dying steam.

So what if you said yes? If you intertwined your fingers while that monster attacked you. So what if you closed your eyes and tilted your head to Jungkook's lips to hear his spasmodic voice tell you to repeat after him.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee," he whispered, and you repeated, drowning in tears.

"Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." You continued.

"Keep going."

The water began to splash out of the tub with each crash against your ass, his arm hugged your waist and your chest. Soft, wet kisses from your ear to your back.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners…” You squealed as Jungkook trembled, his moans creating an ethereal song in the barn.

Between his babbling, he mentioned God, you, and all the curses he could think of. It was the birth of a Mephistopheles among the hay and the horses.

"Now and at the hour of our death. Amen." You sighed as you felt your body fall into the water on top of Jungkook's. Your head on his heaving chest, the pulsing pain inside you withering.

Jungkook's heart sounded like the pastures where your memories lie. The warmth of his hand holding you closer to him.

You were angry with yourself because your chest began to hurt and oh, how stupid you were, how stupid your mother had been for having raised you among pretty things and so many compliments.

"I brought you strawberry jam and milk for the night. Tomorrow I'll bring better things." He muttered, hot and his voice raspy.

And oh, how dumb you were for wanting him to wear the same perfume again when he came back.

#—📃: an ewe and the captive bolt #bts imagines #bts #bts smut #bts fanfic #jungkook smut #jungkook imagine #jungkook fanfic #bts jungkook #jungkook x oc #jungkook #jungkook x reader #bts x you #jungkook dark content #jimin bts #jimin fanfic #jimin imagine #jimin smut #jimin x reader

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Hi. Can I get a scenario where Hu Tao realizes that she is in love with s/o? Like they've been dating but she finally falls in love with them

(Genshin Impact) Hu Tao realizing she's in love

I've had this pulled up for five actual hours and kept getting distracted by Halo Infinite and watching Dredd. I have the attention span of a squirrel.

To say that Hu Tao was strange would be an understatement.

Her idea of fun is relentlessly pranking her friends and any unfortunate soul who was in her sight.

Not helping matters is the fact she despises doing nothing, which means she always has to be doing something.

There are many she'd call a friend, but there aren't many who were willing to go along with her shenanigans, at least to the rate of where they can catch up.

But, there was one person who managed that feat, much to her delight!

Ever since meeting her S/O, Hu Tao's life was filled with even more enjoyment than before!

Someone she could actively terrorize with her pranks, or get firsthand accounts of her newest poems was a dream come true.

Well, whether or not her S/O enjoyed the pranks, that was up for debate.

But they liked her, so it probably counts.

On the days that S/O was busy, she noticed that the day seemed to crawl slower than usual.

She couldn't put a reason as to why, until she finally got to be by their side again.

At which time seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time.

===

(Hu Tao) "BOO!"

Hu Tao leapt from the corner of the streets of Liyue Harbor, hands outwards in an attempt to spook her S/O.

And judging by their smile, it didn't really work.

(S/O) "Hey, Hu."

Hu Tao pouted and crossed her arms.

(Hu Tao) "You didn't have the reaction I wanted!"

S/O rolled their eyes playfully.

(S/O) "Well, when you do that every single week, I kind of just start expecting it."

Hu Tao hummed in acknowledgement, walking by S/O's side as they walked down the street. The lanterns lit the night sky, the Harbor glowing a bright orange and illuminating their way home.

Many people were still out and about or heading home, but this was the time Hu Tao felt the most energetic.

(Hu Tao) "Now that you're off work, how about we grab something to eat?"

(S/O) "Sure. I can cook something for us when we get back home."

(Hu Tao) "Aaaww, are we going straight there? This is the first time I got to see you in a while, we can at least loiter about for a liiiittle longer!-"

(S/O) "It's been two days since you saw me-"

(Hu Tao) "That's forever to me!"

S/O couldn't help but chuckle, finally admitting defeat and indulging her.

(S/O) "Okay okay, we'll take the scenic route back home."

Hu Tao smiled in satisfaction, but her expression softened as she gently took S/O's hand into her own, their brisk walk now slowing down so they could enjoy their time together.

Her hand slightly fidgeted, her thumb idly rubbing the back of S/O's hand as they leaned in a little closer so their arms could be touching. An action that reddened Hu Tao's cheeks.

This was not her first time getting so close to them, but whenever it was just the two of them, her heart seemed to race.

Hu Tao turned her glance over to S/O. Their smile was soft but distinct. No doubt they were tired from getting off work and directly bumping into her. Yet here they were, going along with her.

(Hu Tao) "...Just like always."

(S/O) "Huh?"

(Hu Tao) "O-Oh! Just like always, you never fail to disappoint!"

(S/O) "I think I'll disappoint you by rejecting your next offer of 'hanging out' with Qiqi."

(Hu Tao) "Hey! For your information, I'm not that mean to her! And I resent the fact she wants to hang out with you more than me!"

(S/O) "Well you did try to bury her-"

Hu Tao began pouting once again before her feigned annoyance was shattered hearing their laughter.

Their smile seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, accompanied by an affectionate look, one that was only meant for her.

S/O looked at her for a few moments before their expression changed quickly to concern.

(S/O) "...Hu? You alright? You look like you're staring off into space."

(Hu Tao) "...Nah, just staring at something better!"

(S/O) "Something better?"

Hu Tao shook her head, letting go of their hand for a brief moment and turning around to face them as they approached the rest of the bustling streets of Liyue.

She playfully ran ahead, with S/O lightly jogging to catch up.

Hu Tao wouldn't tell them, but it was also so she could regain her composure. Any more of their smile in the moonlight and she'd probably lose it.

After a few moments of speeding up their return home, Hu Tao turned to S/O and asked a question.

(Hu Tao) "Say, have you heard any of my love poems before, S/O?"

(S/O) "Hm...Can't say those ones you've divulged to me."

(Hu Tao) "Perfect, I can start making one now then!"

===

Bonus Full Image of Hu Tao being cute:

Can't believe I slept on her character for so many years. Gremlin pyro wife my beloved

#genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #hu tao x reader #hu tao #hu tao genshin impact #hu tao x you #hu tao x y/n

[inbabylontheywept]

The Price

Mithrain’s hands were thick boned and knotted with scars. Unfit tools for anything delicate. Yet they were all he had, so he traded patience for true dexterity. Where humans had skill and elves had grace, dwarves had time.

His fingers carefully tugged the knotted fabrics apart. Blanket by blanket, twist by twist, the bundle came undone until, at last, an infant lay on the war table.

It was human. Unmistakably so – round ears peeked through a halo of blonde hair. It reached forward with tiny hands and wrapped all ten of its fingers around the dwarves' thumb. Both its index fingers still lingered a full inch from meeting. Mithrain looked down at it with true warmth. Then he looked back up at the elves and gave a command.

“Kill it.”

No one at the table moved. The circle of elves looked from the child, to him, then back. To their credit, the tension was more borne of  confusion than moral wavering. They knew they would not do it. They did not know why they were being asked.

Solathan the Elder spoke first.

“No,” he replied.

Mithrain nodded. The refusal was not merely hoped for, it had been expected.

“This is why you will not win.”

The table sat in contemplative silence. Solathan, bravest amongst the elves, most forward, most dwarf, spoke again.

“Because we will not murder infants?”

“Because this infant is the son of Agamedes. He is the last king of the Hinterlands. Humans grow old quickly – in twenty five years he will be a man, and he will start a war just like the one you are fighting today. A war suspiciously similar to the one you fought twenty-five years ago.”

The words were calm, but he watched the generals hands closely. Even a twitch towards a belt knife would be enough to betray temptation. Yet, each hand remained perfectly still.

There was a short pulse of shame in him. Envy. When he’d had this conversation with his own war council all those centuries ago, there had been several who’d considered it. Who had considered the price of such self-degredation.

“You will not win. You could. But you see the cost now, and you know it is too high. You want to honor your treaties, your duties, your integrity, but you know the word for that which lacks soul but keeps contracts. You’ve fought them with me, in the deepest, darkest depths of the stone.” 

Solathan had gone white. He knew. He’d been so focused on winning this war that he’d failed to look ahead to the next. And the next. And the next. The cycle stood out to him, infinite and spiraling. He froze at the thought of walking down into that abyss.

“I could raise it. Him. I could try and break the cycle. I-“

“He will learn from another human. Another infant that grows to manhood. He will learn, and he will burn your house and throne. Do you think I am so wise, as to see the future without having lived the past? Whatever cleverness you will suggest, I have tried. I fought ten generations of warriors on the same field before I realized I had three options. To burn my soul, to trap myself in endless war, or to lose. So I lost.”

His voice cracked on the last three words. The infant had begun to fuss over the cold, and he went to work swaddling it again. He’d made his point - now it was time to take the princling home. But as his hands made their slow work, he gave his final warning. 

“You did not know when you started this. And you would not have listened if I had told you. But you know now. And if I meet you in those darkest depths, I will know what sent you there. The only pity you will find from me after that is a second death."

He finished his work in silence, leaving as he came. The quiet lasted long after. 

#sometimes i read things and i have to try writing them #and the scene in the illiad where they're debating killing hectors son just haunted me #not as good as homer #but pretty good #i think

[girlybelle]

ANGELS — 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍 𝐀. ⋅ fem reader

❧summary: waking up with armin is your daily slice of paradise. (this is a repost from my old account <3)

❧warnings: tooth-rotting fluff <3.

❧word c.: 886

the sun rose a while ago.

it was costumary for you to wake up earlier some mornings, not only to admire armin's beauty and peacefulness just a bit longer; but also for him not to wake up alone, for him to wake up to you so patiently, happily waiting for him, or sometimes for you to even softly wake him up yourself.

and god did you love to do it — wake armin up was one of your favourite things to do in the world. to be the one to wake up next to him... trail your nails through his scalp, watch him utter tiny smiles in his slumber, probably a result of dreaming; you often wondered what did your pretty boy dreamed about. and as the morning light shone upon the crown of his head, lightening his golden hair like a halo, you smiled at the idea of angels, thinking it was only fit for a pure golden soul like him to dream of his own kind.

“baby...?” you whispered lowly, carefully “wakey wakey, sweetness.” you softly poked his cute plump cheek as you kissed the top of his head, his other cheek pressed against you chest.

you always woke him up slowly; gentle touches and light kisses, wanting to bring him up from dreamland calmly and for him to emerge from slumber comfortably – not startling at the sound of an annoying alarm and rising already stressed with a sense of urgency. it always gave you peace of mind, to drain armin's anxiety and little stresses in small ways like these; ensuring he rose from bed feeling secure and loved, and you believed it was very good for his own mind. phisical affection and words of affirmation were your mutual love languages so none of you ever failed to make the other feel safe and comforted, specially armin – your gentle reassurances and affection did wonders to his mental health.

you raked your nails through his back this time, and smiled fondly when you felt a shiver in his body and a sigh leave his lips. “honey? you with me?” you asked, whispering and not expecting a reply. instead resuming back to rubbing his back with your nails and caressing his hair and cheeks, both actions eliciting a hum and more pleased shivers from armin, who pressed his cheek more against you.

you brought the hand on his back up to cup his cheek, the one on his head still massaging his scalp. and then you proceeded to pepper sweet light kisses to his cheeks, forehead, eyelids, his red little nose and the corner of his mouth. armin uttered the tiniest of smiles. he was slowly starting to wake up, which made you smile wider. “i love you, baby boy...” his tiny smile grew a bit, “i love you so much it hurts.” you said ever so lovingly, knowing now he was hearing.

armin tried opening his eyes before closing them with a squint due to the brightness of the daylight. you absolutely marveled in the fact that armin looked like a newborn when waking up in certain mornings — one of the infinite things you loved about your boyfriend.

he kept the smile on when you kissed the spot between his eyebrows amidst soft giggles. “i love you more...” he managed to say slowly in his adorable morning voice. oh, his morning voice... you could go on about how perfect it was forever. it was raspy, whiny and breathy; melodic like an angel's, like he was.

“hi.” he greeted sweetly, bashfully; still wearing his sweet smile, unaware of your heart clenching in overwhelming love with him.

“hello there, sleepyhead.” you said. slowly he sat up, you followed while unconsciously squeezing armin's slumped form more to yourself – which soothed him greatly. “did you have a good sleep?”

his head found home in the crook of your neck, arms around your waist as you patiently awaited the sleepness to leave his organism, never ceasing your gentle caresses on his hair and body. armin melted in your embrace, your constant love and affection were always a balm to his anxiety and insecurities. the both of you now sat across one another in the middle of the bed surrounded in blankets and love – as two little angels tucked in their own fluffy cloud.

“yeah... very good. waking up's even better, though.” he said with that sweet, perfect signature smile of his.

“yeah?” kissing him slowly and lovingly, you felt him needily melt into your lips before parting. your foreheads now touching.

“yeah... ‘missed you so much yesterday... ‘m sorry i was already passed out when you came—” you cut him off with another kiss, which he returned gladly. god, he constantly wondered what good he did to ever deserve someone as perfect as you.

“don't be sorry. i was so happy to find you all snuggled and shrunken up in the bed, lovie. ‘had the time of my life spooning you after bundling us up in the covers.” you said as you cupped his cheeks and nuzzled his face smiling, kissing away the little tears gathered at the corner of his eyes and placing more small loving kisses in his lips before getting up.

armin was sitting at the edge of the bed still rubbing the remnants of tears and sleep from his eyes when you grabbed his face once more and fixed his adorable bedhead, straightening the ruffled strands back into place softly. you placed a last, long kiss in his forehead as his eyes closed in delight the whole time, the grateful smile never leaving his lips. “you're the best girl in the whole world, y'know that?” he slurred dreamily as you giggled and the two of you locked eyes, forehead to forehead again.

“pancakes?”

“pancakes.” he confirmed.

mornings with armin are an absolute different kind of slice of heaven, it truly was your very own little happy place.

#ch: armin arlert #armin arlert #armin x reader #armin attack on titan #armin arlert x reader #armin arlet x reader #armin headcanons #my armin.🤍 #armin fluff #armin smut #aot armin #snk armin #aot x reader #snk x reader #aot x you #snk x you #aot smut #aot x gn!reader #attack on titan

[bloodgulchblog]

What are some of your favorite examples of Chief telling jokes/being a little shit bc personally I’m eternally fond of the one in Halo CE where he purposefully crashes a banshee to mess with Cortana

I am going to go way overkill on this assignment, one sec...

Fall of Reach: In general, John being a win-focused baby jackass as a kid and having to learn about teamwork under threat of Kelly and Sam kicking his ass.

Also Cortana learning oh, of course, he's insane.

"No thanks to your driving, yes," and that thing where Cortana accidentally teleports him upside down and he gives his own helmet a little thump about it in CE.

Flashback in First Strike

Permission to leave the station to give the Covenant back their bomb in Halo 2. Also honorable mention Cortana: "Unfortunately for us both, I like crazy."

I think there's a lot of characterization of John in not just the bits where he says something that's a joke, but in the things he just lets people say to him without refuting, like when Johnson's fussing over him a bit at the start of 3 and is just like one of these days you're gonna land on something as stubborn as you are and John doesn't argue with him about it or even say anything back. You get this sense that he enjoys people being a little harmlessly exasperated with him. He loves being the big crazy bastard that everyone's kind of amazed with but also wants to strangle.

Telling Cortana "Thought I'd try shooting my way out, mix things up a little" near the end of Halo 3. (I'm getting a little sidetracked but I see so much tenderness with him playing confident about getting Cortana out of there at the end of 3 when she is so so so bad off.)

The bit in Escalation where Hood tells him he could make Admiral if he wanted and Chief tells him "the Admiral" doesn't have the same ring to it and Hood's like "Was that a joke, son? I didn't know you had it in you."

In general I felt like he didn't joke as much in 4 and 5 (and I think that's for obvious reasons given how bad he is doing) but I also do not have 4 and 5 inscribed on my soul the way I have CE-3, so I might be incorrect here. He's also just never funny in Denning Halo novels for me (part of why his characterization grates me in those) but Denning's sense of humor and mine seem to just never intersect ever and it's more of a style thing.

Chief deadpan joking with Esparza and Weapon in Infinite meant a lot to me because it felt like a return to form. The "Requires a hack." "Can you do that?" "No." CRUNCH! bit at the start in particular was like oh my god yes, yes they did it they found him again my boy is home I missed him.

#asks #master chief

[hashtagdrivebywrites]

Y'all bear with me on my bad phone pictures and excessive notes lmao, but, uh, ask and you shall receive.

Here's my concept art for Jason in my fic Imprint, where he's a halfa and Danny's biological dad and the king father/king regent? of the infinite realms.

Here's the first ever sketch I did somewhere around chapter 2 or 3:

Featuring larval Ghost!Jason, Pit madness/Lazarus Water and little bitty Ghost!Danny.

I was already thinking about the possibility of a crown but didn't know what to do with it yet so I just left a halo as a placeholder DBZ-style, which you'll see in the next few concept stages until I finish the latest one.

Ah, the oldest concept I had for the Pit is that it laid dormant in Jason's mind and would physically pull itself out of his head, which is why it's kind of half melded with Jason's helmet in this one. And I'm still kind of considering that idea, but I'm leaning more towards it coming from the bulk of Jason's body instead, as we see it in chapter 8 of Imprint when readers get to see Jason's ghost nonsense from an outside perspective. They (the Pit) is definitely more tiger-like now, and you'll catch a glimpse of a sketch dump where I'm trying to get a handle on tiger shape language (?). They'll still be water based and colored like the pits/a lagoon. It may be hard to picture- just trust me.

Uhhh let's see....the "lantern ribcage" is a part of the design that's really important to me so you'll see me consistently playing with it as I go through these early concepts. That's his core nestled in the lower part of his ribs, visible but protected behind the iron cage of his bones.

I wanted to incorporate Jason's helmet and other parts of his vigilante/hero uniforms in his ghost form since that part of his life is deeply personal to him.

I also knew that I wanted him to have a very monstrous aspect to his design- and I can't resist slapping pointy teeth on any of my concepts that deviate from being strictly human. So those aren't going away. Nostrils to breathe smoke and fire so Jason can better emote with most of his face being metal.

Danny's default ghost form, opposed to Jason's will still kinda be the one he has in his original dimension- black and white suit and the classic DP symbol on the chest, but probably better armored and with a bat emblem thrown in somewhere. So thats what I drew him with here- though little kid sized, with an added black streak in his hair to complete the inverse of the Lazarus Pit streak he has in human form.

In ghost form, when Jason needs precision, his go-to weapon will be the All Blades, which I have kinda illustrated here.

I may kinda set the bones of this design aside to use as a more humanoid ghost form that's closer to his living form, but that's still up in the air.

Here's concept 2, which I did on chapter...5? I think? Which is when I decided I wanted to make Jason's most comfortable ghost form to be kinda big and outrageous:

This one's got some notes doodled around it- but I'll type them out in case you can't read my handwriting.

Jason was definitely leaning more toward dragon (and I'm still trying to find the balance between dragon and phoenix that works nicely for him, but we're getting there.)

I decided not to put heat pits on his face recently so that the parts of his head modeled after the helmet are smooth metal armor. I tried to elongate the head but still keep the lines of his helmet in the design.

This is also the first time I started messing with horns- which have been bent in just about every direction at this point trying to make them mesh well with the rest of his design. The uppermost notes in the image mention basing the shape of his horns off of one of his weapons. I thought that the flaming all blades would just be overkill at that point and decided to play with using the Kris knife he gets from the League. Which is....still overkill but it's less fire to draw, so we'll call it a even. There is also a note on my decision to make his horns into a pair only because of being Bruce's second son and the second Robin. (I have put way too much fucking thought into this if you haven't figured that out already).

Tried a different look for the teeth and ended up scrapping it.

I also started leaning more into making his back look as messed up as possible at this point and started thinking of the....mountain range in plated rows like a croc's back.

And here's concept 3, which also starts playing with colors and the all-tail, no-legs look that I decided to stick with:

This is definitely the biggest jump between concepts so far and was sketched up while writing chapter 7, which I think is the first time we get to experience his ghost forms (there's 2 that we saw in that chapter).

So I continued to smooth and lengthen the head and tried a different thing with the teeth- which I kept. I also felt a lot better about the lines from the helmet with this concept. I tried curling his kris knife horns forward, trying to play with their form. Those have changed since.

This is the first time I added hair, but it's hard to see. He, like Danny, has an inversed streak of black at the front of his 'do to reflect the Lazarus stripe.

Again with the halo placeholder because I was still on the fence about the crown. Started trying to make the mountains of his spine more volcanic looking. Don't know if I'm keeping that or not yet.

So the three major differences between this and it's predecessors is the 1) mantle of smoke that is constantly being expelled from his body that is supposed to imitate a kinds cloak/mantle; 2) the tail, which has since been changed into a fiery tail instead of a ghostly one; and 3) I slapped his Robin 'R' from the movie UTRH on him to make this form more...him, I guess, and also to make Bruce cry like a baby.

So the things that I have changed is the ribcage, the shape of the horns, the crown (which finally has a rough design and a name based on the fight he has to win to earn it- yes, I already have that arc scribbled out and will most likely be adding it into the story) and I added some extra stuff to the face to match the written descriptions in Imprint.

SO. -Claps hands together- I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything, and I am always interested in hearing how y'all have interpreted these characters for yourselves.

If this is something you want me to do again with other character designs, let me know and I will. I am working on Jason, of course, and the Pit, Frankie boy, Danny's big long boi form, Gotham and some other odds and ends.

(Whoops forgot tags again)

#fanart #fanfic art #Hashtagdrivebywrites #Imprint fic #dpxdc #dp x dc #danny phantom #fanfic #ao3 #batman #jason todd #Danny Fenton #Lazarus Pit #all blades #traditional art #sketch #Honestly really nervous to post these #It's been a REALLY long time y'all #But here they are

[lusi-raul]

My thoughts on JuanaFlippa’s return today:

(Warning: very long and delusional post)

Everyone is theorizing that Flippa is a binary code and I understand why. But I still hold on to my original theory that the eggs NEVER died. As long as the federation has no explanation for how the parents can say their final goodbyes to the “dead” eggs. I still stand by the theory that the original eggs are alive and kept by the federation. At the very least the federation has the capability to reanimate or clone the eggs but it’s more likely that they were revived because I think they have an infinite amount lives like the members, just a limited amount of lives where they can be left with their parents before they are taken away. No one really ever saw the eggs dead for the last time. All they saw was their egg being enclosed inside a wall. Only Bobby has a halo on his head but still, was he a ghost then?

Now, is the cracked Juanaflippa the same Juanaflippa we all know and loved? Improbable due multiple instances during their meeting

Didn’t backflip immediately when Slime asks if she’s been doing flips. The first thing Flippa would’ve done in that situation was do a flip.

Code-like writing style

Unusual cracks that are identical to Dapper’s

Oak signs instead of Birch signs

JuanaFlippa still being dead on the eggstatistics

Even with that egg being a code, there’s still a chance the real Flippa is alive and with the sweeping edge bug being known, this is a good potential lore arc to excuse the deaths of Flippa and Tilin and officially have them back. I also believe (since I’m delusional) that there’s a sliver of chance that this egg today can be the real Flippa. In the coming days maybe this egg can prove this by showing us things that only the real Flippa would’ve known. Flippa was a vegan, she loves backflips, she was originally named Frontflipo/JuanFlipo, her favorite color is blue. She is a witness to Slimariana’s misclick incident on Leo’s bed by faking her own drowning. Not many people know that, I think. The farm that the family of three made for Badboyhalo to atone for their sins and for an extra life for her. The first thing her parents ever taught her was to water bucket jump from a very high wall without armor. I’m very much delulu so even if one of these things Flippa remembers, i don’t care. She’s the real Flippa, the one and only.

The crack can be justified in my theory because if the eggs got cracked by the federation, what makes them stop doing whatever the hell they did on the alive eggs to the “dead” eggs that they already have? (According to my theory that eggs aren’t really dead at all). The eggs came back with memory loss. What if their memory from the kidnapping got wiped because they saw their supposed “dead” siblings there?

There’s also a weird theory I have with Flippa’s writing but bear in mind that I’m probably just losing it at this point but you know how maybe the federation has an advance surveillance system in place where Flippa just wants to avoid being detected and has to replace certain letters with symbols and numbers? On dapper’s book, the letter ‘a’ is replaced by the number ‘4’ but on Flippa’s it is replaced with an ‘@‘. The only numbers and symbols she used were 0,1,3, !,@. Idk how significant those specific symbols are but we do it too sometimes to avoid word detection and censorship. If she’s in hiding, and says it isn’t safe for her out there, maybe she did escape and is being so cautious with her words that she talks in a limited and cryptic fashion. If this is true it’s heartbreaking that the only thing she said over and over again was that she loves her dad and misses him. Like she has so many things to say, but she has to be cautious that all she can say are those.

Also it took the codes days of lurking around eggs with a camera in order to impersonate them. Where would the code have gotten information about Flippa when she doesn’t even have a proper bed grave.

I also think whoever led Charlie to Flippa isn’t with the Federation at all. The treasure hunt were white boxes on slime blocks. The chest with the book were on black blocks. It’s about time an anti-federation entity/organization on the same level of the federation reveals themselves.

All in all even if this egg is a code, the real one is very much alive in my heart. They just need to be given back by the federation. They never truly died. If it is revealed that this egg is just impersonating Flippa, then be it. At least we got to witness Slime being a dad again. But really if the qsmp team did this elaborate lore to excuse the death of Flippa and Tilin due to unfair death. Applause to them. I understand why they can’t just give their lives back. That incident happened too long ago but if they can make it happen but just needs to make it make sense lore-wise then I really hope they make it happen.

But really just seeing Flippa back like this, I’m satisfied already. The way the qsmp team had me on the edge of my seat today and had me looking forward to what’s gonna happen next: 👏 👏 👏

#qsmp #qsmp eggs #slimecicle qsmp #qsmp juanaflippa #charlie slimecicle #qsmp theories #qsmp lore #qsmpblr #qsmp theory #juanaflippa #q!juanaflippa #q!slimecicle #q!charlie

[lumi-klovstad-games]

Hey, 343. We call "expanded universes" that for a reason.

It also hurt for those of us who actually LIKED Fireteam Osiris and saw potential in the characters. Halo 5 sets up a neat "Brothers in Arms" relationship between Chief and Locke like Chief had with Arbiter in 3, maybe even a little bit of Master & Apprentice, with Locke standing to learn a lot in the days and battles to come from the much older and more experienced Master Chief. But then the next game comes and... wait where is everyone? 343 wants me to buy more books?! A lot of fans already had to buy half a library's worth just to grock Halo 5, and here's 343 repeating that mistake again!

The Halo games really have just become a means by which 343 plugs the Halo novels. "There's a book that explains that" is the constant refrain I hear these days. No. I WANT THE GAMES TO EXPLAIN IT. The games are the only thing literally EVERY Halo fan buys. EXPLAIN IT IN THE GAMES.

I will give the audio logs in Infinite SOME credit for answering SOME questions I had, but mostly it was used to introduce irrelevant subplots that actually WOULD be better as a novel. Escharum doing his damnedest to keep the ragtag and ill-fitting family that are the Banished together with the disappearance of his protege Atriox, a warrior who was like a son to him, knowing full well he doesn't have Atriox's charisma and he can't maintain the cult of personality Atriox cultivated at the core of the Banished in the same way? Or a fireteam of Spartans, feeling lost and surviving without any real support, realizing that they'll likely die one way or another, deciding to risk it all on a single desperate all-or-nothing Hail Mary attempt at cutting the head off the snake, only to fail, with their only monument being their broken bodies, and their armor that Chief has to scavenge for gear with little if any knowledge of what happened to his comrades? These are plots TAILOR MADE for a spin-off novel. But instead a HUGE CHUNK of the total audio logs gets devoted to this kind of stuff, instead of explaining where Blue and Osiris are, if they survived, and setting up a reunion in a later story — you know, something actually relevant to Master Chief's story that connects with the plot players are already familiar with.

I get that 343 wants the Halo Universe to feel like this big connected thing while keeping the "mysterious" feel of the original trilogy, but for 343 that takes the form of locking players out of the loop: deny the players critical information necessary to understanding characters or the plot (even if the players can operate without that information) and then demand they cough up $8-15 a pop to gain access to that information (or just wait until Halopedia editors inevitably do). What they keep forgetting is that the original trilogy told players everything they needed to know as the game naturally progressed. The Bungie novels were interesting and sundry, but nothing they related was essential — not even The Fall of Reach (often considered the most important book in the expanded universe) was necessary to understand anything in the games proper. And then, when Bungie actually made a GAME about Reach, they made a point to showcase a separate cast of characters on a different part of the planet, playing a different role in the battle, with an entirely different team dynamic, all for the express purpose of keeping it so that the book wasn't essential to understanding what was going on. That's the secret that 343 just doesn't get: keep the books interesting, but keep them at arm's length — the GAME should tell the players everything they need to know.

More than game mechanics or graphics, if 343 can learn to tell stories in the games the way Bungie did, and learn to keep the books away from the games, then that alone will MASSIVELY improve Halo's appeal and bring back much of what was lost.

#video games #halo #halo infinite #343 industries #halo 5 #halo 4 #halo reach #the fall of reach #master chief #spartan locke #Bungie #expanded universe #blue team #fireteam osiris #the arbiter #microsoft game studios

[kitty-mactabbysh]

I've got a Halo AU for Ghoap too and even though I have everything ready I wanna write fanfic of it and this is where my brain goes

But some things:

• Ghost is a Spartan, of course. Wish I remembered the number but I think it was 114.

• And the 141 is part of an ODST platoon who solves human problems. They're not on the war against the Covenant or in the search for the Halos, they deal with local druglords, terrorists, the gritty stuff.

• But they were falling behind a little, so the UNSC slapped this Spartan II booty on them and said "you better goddamn fix this".

• ODST guys were hostile to Ghost on his first day because he is a Spartan (and there is some one-sided rivalry going on here), but Soap stepped up to defend him like the pookie that he is (Ghost really didn't care about the harassment though but if someone tried to clap him he'd give them refunds).

• So now we have this squad of ODSTs who works closely with a Spartan because Soap said "Captain please" and Price already knew Ghost, worked together with him in the past, and Gaz thought it'd be cool to have one on the team.

• That's basically it. I'm not sure if I should talk about Graves.

• But anyway he was a Marine Commander whose squad got yeeted by Shepherd as some sort of damage control and they couldn't let the bitch die because he had too many important things he never shared (he's shady here, too) with even his higher-ups so they decided to resurrect him as an AI in order to harvest said intel and ended up keeping him around. He's the Captain and Smart AI of the Rook Shrouded in Shadow, a Charon-class light frigate which serves as a base for this ODST platoon and some.

• He hates Shepherd and whenever they have to work together comms is a bicker-fest and Ghost not only wanted to, but actually did turn comms off once, went AWOL, found and fought an entire Covenant squad who was doing some illegal trade with a human crime syndicate, and they had no idea where to find him for a hot hour.

• Soap panicked a little but Gaz knew he'd be fine. How could a 7ft tall super soldier not be? Your crush is showing, MacTavish...

Basically the whole thing hope you're having a good day and remember: Halo Infinite is not that bad.

Cheers ♡

#ghostsoap #soapghost #halo #lmaooo cod too #it's cause this is the halo au lol #call of duty: modern warfare ii #cod mwii #ghost is the spartan with the black armor #everyone knows who he is #simon 'you broke protocol' riley #the smart ai is dumb af #but that's okay #if brains won wars the flood would have won theirs #fate would have us meet as foes #sorry i love the quote #soap tho ♡♡ #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #phillip graves #adding their tags bc why not

[yanderes-galore]

I know you've done Halo Infinite Sangheili so idk if you know this guy from the first Halo Wars, Ripa 'Moramee. he's been around years longer than the Halo Infinite guys but gets barely any content anywhere, so I'm curious how you'd imagine him falling for a human darling

Sangheili content my beloved... I'd love to! I have not played Halo Wars but I hope my research helps. Tried to stay in canon but was also creative.

Edit: I got carried away, this is long lol 😅 Guess I'm down bad 🤷‍♀️ I'd love feedback as this was REALLY fun to write. I also suggest having some background knowledge about Halo/Halo Wars to understand this more.

Yandere! Ripa 'Moramee with Human! Darling

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Violence, Murder, Religious themes, Manipulation, Internal conflict, Obsession, Human/Sangheili, Angst I guess, Violence against darling/wounds (You are enemies... it's only fair), Swearing, Denial, Feelings of betrayal, Kidnapping, Isolation, 'Moramee is losing his mind, 'Moramee is implied to have intimate thoughts, End is implied to also be intimate but nothing happens.

There's so much moral conflict in this pairing.

His whole purpose is to elminate the human race.

That's his whole purpose as Arbiter.

He thinks humans are weak, completely and utterly undisciplined in the ways of a warrior.

As Halo Wars is deep in the past of the Human/Covenant war, even before Halo CE, a pairing between Sangheili and human is forbidden.

Even more so if he's meant to kill them all.

'Moramee is known as ruthless with an insatiable bloodlust.

He's quick to anger and has a temper.

The moment he hesitates in killing you upon your first meeting... rage builds within him and tears him apart from the inside.

He's harmed humans, Unggoy, and Sangheili alike in his rage...

Why does he hesitate on a human!?

The Prophets demand your execution!

He's a savage beast even in Sangheili terms.

He knows nothing but anger and rage.

'Moramee has never had his own rage directed towards himself.

He likes victory.

The Sangheili had tried to hunt you down when he met you.

So when he finally cornered you on Harvest he was prepared to strike.

Why did he hesitate!?

He had one of his plasma blades lifted in the air, ready to strike.

Was he distracted?

Did you distract him?

Either way he hesitated enough to be hit by gunfire from your squad of marines/spartans, the Arbiter was forced to abandon his prey.

'Moramee is thrown into an enraging conflict with himself after this.

He doesn't dare tell The Prophets.

His subordinates notice his growing rage and keep their distance.

He's a yandere that would be driven to pursue his human through the desire to end his internal conflict.

He knows humans are weak and should perish in the wake of the Covenant.

However, the fact he couldn't slaughter you haunts him.

It scares him that you, as a human, make him weak.

He's a disgrace to The Great Journey....

He hates the fact you make him weak.

He doesn't even consider the idea of love... even if that may be what he's feeling yet can't understand it.

'Moramee loathes the idea of loving a human.

His moral and religious conflict make him volatile towards his own crew.

They already tremble before him.

Now when they hear him mutter to himself and roar in rage, they start to dread him pulling out his weapons.

If/When 'Moramee eventually tries to hunt you down again then he tries to do your abduction alone.

He can't have his crew find out about his true intentions with you.

Intentions he dreads but has to accept if he wants to regain his focus.

'Moramee intends to slaughter anyone he feels he needs to in order to solve his issue.

Expect him to send a small group of troops to remove your group.

Despite the order to kill your group and any humans they find aiding them, 'Moramee describes your appearance and gives the order to spare you.

Spare... something that baffles both the Sangheili himself and his troops.

He was not one to spare.

However, in a way you can view his true intentions as not sparing

His troops knew better than to question the Arbiter's judgment.

The order was sent... then executed like your team.

'Moramee awaits the fallout of the skirmish.

By the end of it you're standing in the middle of corpses making up your team.

Your skin sizzles around your wound, a plasma burst being the cause of your agony.

His troop had withdrawn and left you there, a wound to your leg and you gasping for breath in fear... and pain.

So much pain.

Once his troops relay back to the extraction point, 'Moramee stalks closer before wrapping his hand around your throat and decloaking.

Shock and fear paralyze you, the recent trauma of watching your friends die still fresh in your mind.

Along with the blood from their demise still staining your skin.

"You..."

The Sangheili growls, tightening his grip.

He could easily snap your neck.

"A human such as you should be killed for The Great Journey! You've ruined me!"

Upon your struggling 'Moramee and you most likely engage in one-sided combat...

It's enough to make the Arbiter vent his rage.

The entire time he curses you.

Every bruise... broken bone... he deals it to you for a purpose you don't understand.

'Moramee fights with you to try and clear you from his head.

You're fighting him to survive at least a little while longer.

By the time it ends there's barely a scratch on his armor.

Your breathing is painful due to your heavily wounded body.

You can only stare at the Sangheili attacker whose orange eyes burn with confused anger.

You swore you saw the rage flicker into regret for a moment before he snarls again and picks you up.

Your body is so fragile in his arms while he drags you back to the extraction point.

Due to shock trauma you pass out in the Arbiter's arms.

To make a point to his troops (and keep up an act) he holds your limp body by the neck before his troops.

A message that humans will fall by his hands for The Prophets.

When you awake you're laying in some sort of cell on Harvest.

All except you.

Cheers congratulate him... even when it doesn't feel like a victory to him.

Your neck and everything hurts.

However you notice you've been treated... albeit clumsily.

Covenant know nothing about human anatomy.

It confuses you why they bothered to treat you.

You squint through your cell, you had been brought into a captured facility from what you could tell, repurposed to be a jail for the Covenant.

Your blood freezes when the Arbiter who fought you before enters the room.

"You are my secret from all the rest."

He stands in front of you, orange eyes glaring at you in hate.

"You are my only failure as an Arbiter. The human I can't kill. You are something that's tormented my focus for far too long. I never gave a damn about honor. However... you are a stain on my reputation I can't get rid of if the truth comes out."

"What truth, you ugly bastard... why do they care if I'm kept here?"

The Arbiter is silent... as if dreading the reasoning for your capture.

"Really now?"

"... my orders are to kill all humans. To slaughter humanity for the sake of The Prophets... and I can't kill you!"

He's seething, each word strained.

"I don't know why so I intend to keep you in secret. My troops don't dare question me. They fear me... which I will use to my advantage."

"Soft for your enemy now all of a sudden? My team would've laughed at a Sangheili's mercy if they weren't dead."

The Arbiter only glares at you and you see his hands clench.

"Watch your tone...."

"Or you'll kill me?"

With a frustrated scream of rage the Arbiter leaves the room.

Not only could he not kill you...

It's deserved but frustrates him all the same.

You taunt him.

He isn't sure what he was expecting.

You to be scared of him?

You to be over the death of your allies so quickly?

Was he expecting you to show something comforting to him?

He shakes his head and gnashes his mandibles.

He had a lot to learn about you.

He was never this invested in humans.

Yet after mission after mission on Harvest for relics to appease The Prophets, he found himself back in front of that holding cell.

The troops on guard cowered at his gaze.

What he wanted with you was none of their business.

The Arbiter struggled to understand why he kept holding onto this human.

His rage at your existence used to be hot enough to glass a planet on its own.

He continuously stood in front of your cell to chat, asking questions and learning how to keep you alive.

Learning about you in general even if your species was to be destroyed.

Each talk brought it down to a smolder.

You always hated him but your hostility also lessened with time.

Those who caught wind of his talks between you were quickly ended.

An Unggoy or Kig-Yar heard something they shouldn't have?

They're left at the Arbiter's mercy.

A Sangheili? 'Moramee threatens them into submission or sinks his plasma sword deep into their gut.

He wonders if you care he kills for you?

You're special enough to not only gain the Arbiter's mercy, but his casual discussion and attention.

Denial still burns deep inside him.

Despite this... acceptance is a quiet thought in his mind.

Each time he looks at you in the cell... he remembers both failure and discovery.

Was he simply exhausted?

He was starting to care for you like a fellow Sangheili... and he wasn't sure if he still hated it or not.

Perhaps he vented all his anger about you for weeks on end... leaving only forced acceptance.

He would laugh at this... his ego shattered and behavior pitiful.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Whenever he looked at you he saw his biggest failure of all...

Him feeling companionship in a weak human heretic.

He could not be feeling adoration for you.

The idea brings a sick taste to his mouth... but a nervous and warm feeling in his chest.

The heresy of humans seemed infectious like the newly discovered Flood that threatened to taint the relics he sought after.

Ever so slightly you consumed his mind.

The Prophets wonder about his sudden distracted mind.

He assures them he is simply annoyed about the UNSC advances.

A lie... somewhat.

All to keep his human secret under lock and key.

It's gotten to a point he only ever talks to you with hesitant respect.

No one has broken his ego and mind like this.

You are certainly an anomaly in his eyes as a human.

Through his holy missions he develops other thoughts involving you.

Ones that he feels are even more of a sign of disloyalty to The Great Journey than simply sparing a human.

He's thought of releasing you.

He's thought of other things that would be considered sin among Covenant and Sangheili alike.

He's thought of how it would feel to take a moment a feel your skin.

His turmoil is at an all time high.

'Moramee coming to the conclusion that he sees you as that kind of a partner makes him sick.

The Arbiter is speechless on the topic.

His peers have claimed to see a broken look in the Sangheili's eyes when he passes by.

When asked he responds with violence.

The entire time he experiences moral turmoil, you have no clue.

You simply answer casual questions and refuse to answer anything that gives valuable information.

You speak to him with no fear or anger anymore.

You've been here too long for that.

As Harvest dies all around you, you're forced to speak casually with a leader of its downfall.

'Moramee hopes you're happy to cause him this pain...

It's only fair due to the pain he caused.

He feels there's only one way to deal with his problems.

'Moramee couldn't focus unless he got it out of his mind and system.

Rage replaced with irritation... 'Moramee makes his way to your cell.

He calls off the guards and taps at the keypad lock.

You're struck with confusion when the Arbiter enters the cell.

"Is my execution finally here?"

His alien eyes glare... but there's a hint of amusement within them.

You struggle when his much larger body shoves you against the wall... the Sangheili craning his neck to growl at you.

"Not in the way you expect, human..."

The Sangheili Arbiter places a hand against the black body suit you wore, stripped of its heavier armor long ago.

"You've infected my mind long enough. I plan to end this and make you my newest victory instead of my oldest failure."

#yandere halo #yandere halo wars #yandere ripa moramee #yandere sangheili #yandere teratophilia

[love-beyond-space-war]

hey if you feel up to it could you do one about Jega? one where there's no mention of his death, he acts increasingly sweeter towards the reader, isn't too violent, and is protective? if not thats completely fine!

I assume this was meant to be a short story but I decided to try and experiment with those kinds of fics that's like a hybrid of HCs and a short story so I can experiment with a plot for this :0 Sorry if this is what you wanted and it took too long, still trying to get back into the swing of my side blog.

I kept the pairing general, I hope it all came out okay!

Jega 'Rdomnai being protective/caring of Reader

(HCs and Story Segments - Halo Infinite AU)

Synopsis/Summary: HCs and mini interactions/story pieces of Jega 'Rdomnai showing softer behavior towards reader and ways if could work.

Content Warning: Gender-Neutral Reader/Male Character pairing, Romantic/Platonic pairing, OOC Jega 'Rdomnai at times (Normally a sadistic character), Canon typical violence/death, Sangheili/Sangheili pairing mentioned, Human/Sangheili pairing mentioned, Dark themes mentioned, Mature language.

Jega is a Sangheili that joined the Banished due to his cybernetics.

He is also much more bloodthirsty than most Sangheili, even befriending Escharum despite the animosity between their species.

He is part of The Hands of Atriox and is a Spartan Killer.

Many fear him and his sadistic tendencies during his hunts.

He's killed many humans and is merciless to enemies.

Which is why the concept of him being softer towards anyone is foreign.

No one really expects Jega to have any sort of soft side.

He's a cold killer... for the most part.

In terms of how reader could meet them, here's some ways I think you could be compatible.

You'd have to be part of the Banished, be you taken in as a prisoner before joining or joining willingly.

Jega's affections towards you would be quicker if you were Sangheili as well, both betrayed and abandoned by your kind.

When you first met Jega it was a relatively cold greeting. Both of you haven't had the best interactions with your own kind. However, The Banished promised to give you a fresh start to make your own life.

Most of the time you two ignored each other. He was often off hunting the UNSC while you had your own duties. Yet you hoped the relatively cold interactions wouldn't last long.

After all, part of you felt intrigue towards the Sangheili, despite his Cybernetics.

Maybe he even felt similar to you and just did not show if as of yet, instead opting to walk by you with a passive glance.

If you're a human, another option I enjoy the thought of, Jega would take longer.

Even though you're part of The Banished for your own reasons, he still sees you as one of the many weak humans in this world.

However, part of him may feel particularly fond of you despite the opinions he expresses.

Humans are indeed part of the Banished. Be it soldiers no longer willing to be loyal to the UNSC or humans who were willing to make business, everyone had their reasons. Reasons they did not have to share if they did not wish to.

All that really mattered was you were Banished now and you worked with the group loyally.

When it came to Jega you tended to stay away most of the time. He's known for killing humans and you'd rather not piss him off. Any sort of proximity to Jega was usually met with you shuffling away and nodding at him to pass by from a distance.

Despite this the Sangheili often passed by you during work. You thought it was because he didn't trust you. Yet it was so often it did make you wonder if he had other intentions.

After all, if he hated you, why would he come by so often?

Either way, Jega would be someone who's slow to show anything other than stoic emotions and sadistic violence.

Unlike Chak 'Lok, Jega isn't as polite as The Tower's torturer.

He thrives off the suffering of others, so when it comes to you he isn't used to being so... close?

His companionship towards you is definitely slow to occur.

It takes some interaction between you two, maybe even some favors, in order to grow close.

He finds it understandable that he'd want to be close with a Sangheili, but a human puzzles him.

Why does he want to be close to the very prey he kills?

For some reason... when you aid him as a member of The Banished regardless on your species, he finds companionship towards you.

It's like how he felt with his fellow brothers before he was tossed out of his entire society.

He finds comfort in you despite the bloodshed he reigns in.

Just maybe... you're someone he should keep an eye on?

Jega wasn't sure why he felt such a... fondness towards you. It wasn't quite like how he felt towards Escharum. With the Jiralhanae he felt something more like a brotherhood relationship.

When it came to you he felt more... calm? He felt something that he hasn't felt towards anyone in what felt like forever. It was only when he met you that he felt such a way.

Jega decides to make a silent promise to himself to check in with you more often. Maybe if he becomes a closer member with you he'll find why you make him this way.

He just hopes Escharum will allow him to explore such a curiosity.

Once Jega catches wind of his own affections to towards you he would definitely be one to scope out why.

He doesn't want it conflicting with his duty so he spends free time hunting you down to look into this interest of his.

As expected, someone of his infamy has trouble connecting with you.

Part of you expresses that you're impressed, however if you're human you certainly express more discomfort.

He tries his best to listen to conversation that you bring up, finding himself listening closer than he thought when you bring up pieces of your backstory.

He appears hesitant to speak about his own but eventually he'll share pieces of how he got here.

Honestly through conversations, favors, and time... you could probably unlock some sort of softness in Jega when you're alone?

Jega isn't going to be the type who is overly affectionate or anything like that, most Sangheili just aren't.

He shows his care for you in subtle ways.

You notice his tone is less gruff and he eases it to be softer around you.

To you it appears he cares, but it's subtle enough others don't really notice.

Or if they do, Jega threatens them to keep quiet.

He's still violent, it isn't going to change, but never towards you.

In fact he's more protective and loyal towards you, similar to Escharum but softer.

His protective tendencies over you are done out of respect.

He knows you can fight if you're a Sangheili, yet will stick beside you just to make sure you do come out fine.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Spartan Killer." You comment when the infamous Sangheili materializes out of his camo beside you.

"I was called here." Jega answers simply, following you as you continue your patrol.

"Really? Last I knew someone of your skill is never called for patrols." You say back, a teasing bite in your tone.

"... seen anything?" Jega answers simply.

"No, if I needed back up I'd call for it." You slowly turn to him. "However... I don't mind the company, since you're so free."

Jega says nothing else and cloaks beside you in silence until he's called to slaughter another demon.

When it comes to if you're a human he appears to stick around more.

Fear is not in Jega's vocabulary, he just feels if your base is attacked you'll need a strong warrior to help.

You're both Banished partners after all, regardless of species.

"I want you to hide." Jega's order is demanding, a warning.

"Aren't I supposed to fight, Jega? For the sake of The Banished?" You ask, hiding the fear in your gut.

"And get yourself killed? Stay out of this. That's an order." Jega growls, shoving you out of sight.

Jega doesn't care if you're an ex-spartan, far as he knows he's going to treat you like a weak human. You've managed to make an impression on him and he isn't going to lose you to something stupid. He doesn't care if others look at him in disgust or amusement...

If you're alive and under his protection, he can rest easy.

He makes a mental note to see Escharum about moving you to somewhere more secure.

The most I can see Jega being when it comes to affectionate is him rewarding you with his protection and companionship.

He could see you as simply another Banished ally he's close with, or something much more.

He's already been cast out from his species by using forbidden cybernetics, he's already befriended Jiralhanae, at this point he does what he likes.

If he wants to dedicate himself to protecting you and caring for you, he will.

Jega cares and maybe even feels love towards you in his own way.

He may not be very affectionate or "loving" in the "traditional" sense.

But there is certainly a sense of care there when it comes to you.

"I used to be intimidated by you." You say softly towards the taller Sangheili.

"You're not now?" Jega scoffs.

"Don't get me wrong, you're infamous and terrifying at times. But between me and you... I feel safe." You go on with a slight laugh. Jega listens softly, eyes flicking to you.

"What are you implying?"

"I'm saying... I care about you, from one Banished to another." You finish, leaning against a wall. Jega soaks in your words before nodding softly, checking to see if you're still in private.

"... I can say the same." Jega admits. "You provide a sense of comfort no one else can. For that, I thank you."

You shine him a small smile.

"That's a first. I hope we can keep such a thing going?" You ask in a hopeful tone.

"Don't let it get to your head..." The Sangheili grunts before softening his tone. "... but I think the same."

#halo x reader #halo infinite x reader #halo sangheili x reader #sangheili x reader #sangheili x sangheili #sangheili x human #jega rdomnai x reader #gender neutral reader #romantic pairing #platonic pairing

[hiccstridshipper19]

Good Omens season 2 second watch observations

------------------ SPOILERS ALERT ------------------

The fly was crawling back into the box before Aziraphale picked it up

Aziraphale was so desperate for approval and praise that even the most nonchalant and out of context "I love you" from Amnesiac Gabriel (his former boss who tried to KILL him) got him tongue-tied and flustered. Which is really sad.

I knew something felt off when Crowley listed out the only three (and somewhat selfish) reasons why Aziraphale would call him and when Crowley was expected to do a whole-hearted apology (as much as I love the funny dance) upon coming back even though he had completely understandable reasons to react the way he did about Gabriel, the person who was so so so awful to both Aziraphale and Crowley. Their relationship is not balanced, and Aziraphale is definitely taking it for granted how Crowley would always do whatever Aziraphale asks. Not villainizing Aziraphale here but he's definitely got some character growth to do, their relationship has got work to do, before they officially get together in the end

And there it is again. "Do you want to hear my plan?" was met with "car keys, please" without even being directly answered

"But it's pretty 🥺"

Aziraphale brings a hand drawn portrait of Gabriel with him to investigate instead of taking a photograph with a camera, not even an antique one

Tiny Crowley

I can watch landanum poisoned Crowley for hours

This minisode is so tender oh- my heart. Someone please make a gif set of Aziraphale holding Crowley by the waist while they walked and Crowley being all woozy

I'm ready for the angsty edits reusing the gun firing scene for angsty purposes 🥰 (think of the possibilities! Like ooh how about Crowley is being mind controlled to shoot Aziraphale or something)

Aziraphale really went from "but that's for professional conjurers" to "working professional magicians such as myself!" after one encouraging pep talk from Crowley. I love these idiots

I'm quite liking the swing-jazzy version of the theme song in the outro. Fun instrumentations

Oh yeah this is unsettling. Definitely feel like Aziraphale is spiraling at this point like that one post said. It's off-putting how everyone in the room is made to do things that are not their intentions

Crowley's little hops when everyone was gasping about Mr. Brown

Electric candles. Aziraphale has switched over to battery operated candles instead of real ones so the bookshop couldn't get burned like last time

Crowley wearing slippers in heaven lmao. It's like his house or something

So where does the halo go? Does he get it back? Does he have an infinite regeneration of halos to throw around?

Ow. Ow ow ow owow. I have no coherent thoughts that can be delivered articulately because my brain is once again not functioning

Season 3 cannot come fast enough

#good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens 2 #go s2 spoilers #good omens season 2 spoilers #go season 2 spoilers #aziraphale #crowley

[helix-studios117]

Halo Reloaded: "Never Forget This Moment"

In the heart of the holographic observatory, where the ceiling did a damn good impression of the infinite expanse of space, Linda and John... were having a moment. Well, Linda was trying to have a moment; John seemed to be more in a tête-à-tête with the stars. The place was designed to awe, with its endless sky full of stars, nebulas, and galaxies, all fake but convincingly so. Linda decided it was time to shoot her shot, metaphorically speaking this time.

She sidled up next to John, her armor clinking softly, a subtle symphony of Spartan presence. "Ever think there’s more to life than just shooting bad guys and dodging explosions?" she ventured, eyeing a particularly bright holographic star that seemed to wink back conspiratorially.

John, momentarily distracted from his cosmic contemplation, turned his helmet slightly towards her. "Between you, me, and the Covenant, there hasn’t been much time for philosophy," he quipped, his voice carrying that monotone gravitas that somehow made even the most mundane comments sound like mission briefings.

"Yeah, but there's gotta be more to it, right? More to us?" Linda pushed on, her tone a mix of curiosity and something a tad softer, something that didn’t come with a gun attached.

John looked like he’d been asked to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded—with his gloves on. "Us?" he echoed, as if the concept was as alien as the foes they faced. "I... we're Spartans. Our 'more' usually involves larger guns."

Linda couldn't help but chuckle, a sound rare and precious in the Spartan ranks. "I'm serious, John. All these stars," she gestured vaguely upwards, "make you think about the bigger picture. And in that picture, there's you and... there's me."

There was a pause, filled with the digital hum of the observatory. John seemed to process this at the speed of a dial-up connection. "Are we talking about feelings now? Because I missed that briefing."

Linda rolled her eyes, her patience wearing thin but her determination undeterred. "Yes, John, feelings. You know, those things that make your heart try to punch its way out of your chest."

John stood still, the epitome of a man confronting his mortal enemy: emotional vulnerability. "...I'm not exactly an expert on this. My idea of a heart-pounding moment is usually when I'm dodging plasma fire."

"And yet here you are, heart still intact. Think you can handle a little more excitement?" Linda teased, stepping closer, her tone daring him to take that leap with her.It took a moment, but then John, ever the soldier, accepted the challenge. "Okay, let's say I'm open to... discussing these feelings. Hypothetically."

"Hypothetically," Linda repeated, a smile in her voice. She reached out, her armored hand finding his. "I've always wanted more, John. More than the missions, more than the battles. With you."

John's response was a long time coming, lost as he was in the novel sensation of his heart attempting gymnastics. Finally, he found the words, clunky and uncertain.

"I've spent so much time fighting, I forgot what it was to want something... for myself."

Their visors met, a Spartan version of eye contact, and pull their helmets off each other. The distance between them closed, a gap bridged by mutual, albeit clumsy, admission of something more profound than their usual exchanges of tactical data.

The kiss that followed was anything but smooth. It was the epitome of "Spartan Romance"—clumsy, earnest, and somehow, against all odds, perfect in its sincerity.

Under the artificial stars, two warriors found a new battlefield, one where emotions were the weapons and the spoils were moments of shared vulnerability. "I never want to forget this moment," Linda murmured, her voice soft but fierce with conviction.

In the fake starlight of the observatory, amidst the silent witnesses of a thousand simulated worlds, Linda and John discovered a new frontier. It was uncharted, fraught with the peril of unknown feelings, but for the first time in their lives, they werenighted.

#halo #halo fanfic #halo fanfiction #master chief #master chief fanfiction #master chief fanfic #john 117 #halo headcanon #halo au #john/linda #john 117 x linda 058 #linda 058

[fruitymarcy]

I want another Sega console so bad, the Dreamcast was so revolutionary and imagining what Sega could do with a new console nowadays is awesome to think about. Reminder, the Dreamcast was super powerful for its time and had the first real online play of any console. It had classics from the Sonic Adventure games to Crazy Taxi to Jet Set Radio. Sega pulled out all the stops for the Dreamcast and it’s a shame they couldn’t recover trust from fans

That’s really the biggest thing I think, Sega fans had watched them fail with the Saturn and decided to switch to the new PlayStation, and instead of getting a Dreamcast many just waited for the PlayStation 2. It’s sad because you can tell Sega really tried and the developers worked hard to deliver experiences that would wow players. And they did! They wowed those who played and the console did well enough early on, but the incoming PlayStation 2 meant so many people just waited for that. And Sega wasn’t gonna win over any new fans with how the Saturn had failed, so they couldn’t really cut into Nintendo’s player base anymore, and that was how they briefly became king with the Genesis. So really no matter how hard Sega tried with the Dreamcast it was doomed in a lot of ways from the get go. Maybe they could’ve done better but I don’t see a world where they won in that landscape where they’d already lost so many fans

With Sonic’s recent astronomic rise in popularity from the movies to Frontiers to the IDW comics—I think Sega could make a console comeback if they wanted to. Especially given how the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, as much as I love the ps5 I gotta admit, these consoles, they don’t have many exclusive games. They’ve got a few but even then many are cross generational. God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man Miles Morales, Halo Infinite—these games are playable on ps4 or Xbox One and so many fans are disappointed in Sony and Microsoft’s output of exclusives because of that

And while Nintendo is flourishing with the Switch it’s important to consider that if Sega made a comeback they probably wouldn’t want to COMPETE with Nintendo, moreso win over their fans without asking them to abandon Nintendo entirely. Back in the day it was “Genesis does what Nintendon’t” but I think now with how many people are willing to buy multiple consoles for games, Sega would rather compete with PlayStation and Xbox than Nintendo. Just ask Nintendo fans to buy a Sega console in ADDITION to the Switch, and go after the others instead. Nintendo is on top right now. PlayStation, while doing fine, is far from their peak and are losing goodwill with fans. Then you see Xbox which is struggling to convince people to buy their consoles and have decided to just sell their games on pc too since Microsoft owns Windows anyway…which while it’s good for someone like me who has a gaming pc and no Xbox, it’s not the best business model to keep people buying Xbox consoles

All of that is to say that I think Sega could make a console comeback if they made a competitively priced console with a bit more power then PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and invested heavily into creating games that will wow people again. Like, Sonic Frontiers is great but if they wanted to make a new console they’d need to give Sonic Team a much larger budget and team to create an experience that will feel truly next gen. And that would go for every title, the games Sega released would need to be impressive. They’d need a console at around the same price and as powerful as their competitors while simultaneously delivering better games in popular franchises and creating new game series as well

I don’t see Sega making a new console anytime soon. But if they did I think they’d have a chance. However, I think their best chance at a console comeback is to wait. Take Sonic Frontiers, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania—take these successes and build upon them. Make better and better games, which yes means investing more money into them, and they’d not only make a better return (which could help fund a return to the console space) but also would make fans happy with Sega again and make new fans as well!

Sonic Frontiers’s sales numbers aren’t out yet for the United States as of writing this. Bur we have Japan’s numbers, and in Japan it did better than any Sonic game since 2001. The best selling Sonic game in TWENTY YEARS. And that’s because Sonic Team put in the effort and Sega let them delay the game by a year to better the experience. The thing is Sonic is doing great and Sega is doing better overall than before at delivering quality content for game series in general. They could make a comeback, whether soon or far into the future. I really think they could do it

Sorry for this long ramble, I’m a big Sonic and Sega fangirl lol. If anyone’s read all the way to the bottom I appreciate that, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the reblogs or replies!

#sega #sega dreamcast #dreamcast #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #idw sonic #sonic adventure #sonic adventure 2 #sonic movie #crazy taxi #jet set radio #jet grind radio #sega saturn #sega genesis #playstation #nintendo #xbox #sony #microsoft #nintendo switch #playstation 5 #xbox series x #sonic team #yakuza #super monkey ball

[a-stupid-cat]

(Heavily inspired by a Ayvieart’s story of Dragon HRT)

This is a long one, expand at your own risk.

Fox Hormone Replacement Therapy

Introduction

Welp, here I am, and here we are. I’ll keep this brief. Got the idea from a friend of mine to start a blog before I go through with anything, something about leaving a footnote of who I was before treatment or to anchor myself to prevent dissociating.

My name is David Conners, I am 21 years old and assigned male. My pronouns are he/they and I am bisexual. My life’s been mostly good save for my early childhood (thank goodness my birthmom stepped in) and high school (don’t ask). Lately I’ve been thinking about transitioning into a female or gender-neutral after pretending to be a girl online and feeling… an odd feeling of satisfaction that’s hard to describe. However before I even called my doctor if I could, I bumped into someone on the way home from the store.

An elf.

An actual elf.

I’m not talking about someone who had surgery to get pointed ears. I’m talking about a true-blue, skin-pale-as-moonlight, 6’10” elf lady with white eyes that felt as if they pierced through my soul. I was floored that something like that not only existed, but accidentally ran into me while I was on the way back from a Wal-Mart. I asked her how she was an elf (took me ages to spit it out, stupid anxiety), and she said she went through hormone therapy.

“Hormone therapy can make you not a human?” I said in total shock.

And do you know how this magnificently beautiful lady said in response?

“Well, yeah.”

After asking how, she explained to me that there was some quack nearby who was handing this stuff out like candy to prove how far genetics have come or something like that (idk I’m not a doctor and neither was she). She gave me a copy of his card and I took it home with me after waving goodbye to friendly faerie.

After dinner, I stared at the card the elf lady gave me, reading it front to back constantly for as long as it took for Halo Infinite to update, of which I played with friends for a little bit (it was fun). All the while as I played super fiesta with the gang, I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of becoming something other than human, rather than simply becoming a different kind of human.

I have been studying witchcraft and spellcasting recently (I know how to make a candlelight on each of my fingertips already), so maybe becoming something different could help improve my newfound craft? I always did like cats, and I heard being around one makes it easier to cast spells (might be a myth, but I’ll use any excuse to own a cat), so perhaps making myself a cat would help? After a little bit of back and forth I remember my mom telling me her side of the family came from Japan, and used to have a fox shrine before they moved to America. Hell, she even told me the reason I could use magic in the first place is because I was “blessed by the foxes”. Now that I’m thinking about it, I always did prefer foxes over most other animals, and when I was young I would constantly try to get into fox enclosures to hug them… yeah I think fox is the way to go.

I’ll make sure to update somewhat monthly so people can keep track of my progress. I won’t be able to give pictures cause my camera broke, but I’ll do my best to describe what’s happening to me.

This has been David Conners, and I’ll be back shortly.

(“Keep it brief” that’s gotta be like 200 words omfg)

#adobe flash #HRT fiction #litrature #furry fiction #furry #otherkin #ayvieart #HRT