#this camera mod has had me in a death grip all day

[maybirdie]

I'm glad you're with me.

#this camera mod has had me in a death grip ALL DAY #amazing the energy a few different angles can breathe into my shipper heart #they look like a damn couple #how could they tease us like this?? #thank god they teased us like this #ereloy #aloy x erend #aloy/erend #horizonforbiddenwest #horizonforbiddenwestPC

[sapphim]

Really thinking hard about how to handle Sebastian in the new climax crisis mod because when I initially made no seb climax crisis (as my *checks* third published mod, five years ago) I was really dissatisfied with what I was able to accomplish with the options I had available for modding back then.

I’ve talked at length before about the problems I have with Seb’s content in the climax but it mostly boils down to 1) quite a bit of it feels more like hamfisted movie villainry than a meaningful emotional response and 2) since Sebastian is dlc (and not even day 1 dlc), the entire scene is structured around the assumption that he won’t be present by default, and thus most of his dialogue, rather than contributing meaningfully to the conversation, insists of him shouting into the void while no one reacts.

I’m trying to come at this with a fresh outlook and not reference any of the choices I made in the past. But, anyway, here’s what I’m toying with rn. Feedback appreciated.

I removed most of his lines from my mockup of the dialogue so that approaching it I will be making decisions about which lines to add in rather than which lines to remove, but I’ve already decided to retain the following exchanges in the conversation following the chantry boom.

Orsino: The Circle didn't even do this! Champion, you can't let her! Help us stop this madness! Meredith: And I call on you to keep order! After what just occurred, you cannot deny what must be done. (or) Meredith: And I demand you stand with us! Even you must see that this outrage cannot be tolerated. Sebastian: Why are we debating the Right of Annulment when the monster who did this is right here? (But this then segues back into other npc reactions which are normally skipped if Sebastian is present)

Also this:

Hawke: Was that... why you needed me to distract the grand cleric? Sebastian: This? This is what you tried to trick me into doing? Sebastian: And you went along with him! Anders: If you knew what I was doing, you would have felt honor-bound to stop me. I couldn't take that chance. (or) Hawke: Was that... why you needed me to distract the grand cleric? Sebastian: You were... part of this? Anders: If you knew what I was doing, you would have felt honor-bound to stop me. I couldn't take that chance.

Also this:

Anders: The Circle is an injustice, in many places beyond Kirkwall. The world needs to see. Sebastian: Elthina is not the Circle! She was a good woman, and you murdered her! Orsino: You fool! You've doomed us all!

It’s the second part of the conversation that’s more problematic, in which Hawke and Anders have a big long back and forth conversation while the camera periodically cuts to Sebastian, featuring absolutely no one reacting to anything he says.

Thinking about moving a few lines around if I can find places for them that flow better, ex.

Hawke: Opinions? Sebastian: He should be killed on the spot. With the templars busy, there is no one who can contain him until a trial. Sebastian: If I'd been in that chantry today, would you be waffling? You know what must be done!

Then there’s the tricky part, which is actually dealing with Hawke letting Anders live despite Seb’s objections. Most of Sebastian’s “im gonna go to starkhaven  and raise an army to return and destroy you all for harboring this criminal” dialogue is absolutely unusable lmfao. Admittedly, I can theoretically cut down existing audio lines now so some of them might be partially salvageable, but I’m not counting on it.

The best existing objection (which I ended up using in the first mod) is

Sebastian: You condone this? The brutal death of an innocent woman of faith? Someone you knew! Who trusted you!

Then I want to add a third option to the dialogue wheel (which I wanted to add five years ago but didn’t know how to make it work perfectly at the time) so, thus:

Choice #1 (text): ? something something bigger picture ? won’t undo what he’s done ? need all the help we can get ? idk Choice #1 (dialogue): 6195829 I'm sorry about the grand cleric. But there's much more at stake. Choice #2 (text): 6087747 Stay out of this. or 6144517 Stand down. Choice #2 (dialogue): 6182459 Do not interfere, Sebastian. Choice #3 (text): 6182489 Fine. Anders dies. Choice #3 (dialogue): 6182488 He's right. The grand cleric deserves justice.

No edits made to the scene if you kill Anders. (And credit where credit is due, I do think that exchange is well-written)

Hawke: He's right. The grand cleric deserves justice. Anders: Yes. I would not deny anyone's right to that.

The paraphrase for the other existing option has been changed, and if you tell him to fuck off he will still leave and you’ll never see him again (though uhhhhhhhh hopefully less looking like he’s being set up to be the sequel villain). This line is probably staying, at least:

Sebastian: I gave up on Starkhaven to serve the Maker, but He has turned his back on Kirkwall for harboring heretics like this.

The first option is the one that will allow him to stay if his end-stage questioning beliefs has been completed, otherwise it will segue back into him leaving. This line I miraculously found hanging out in another conversation is such a godsend for that:

Sebastian: By Chantry law, these mages must be contained. But Elthina, bless her, feared Meredith as much. Sebastian: I will stand with you, Hawke.

Though that’s only useful if Hawke sides with the mages. In the existing mod when Hawke sides with the templars and Seb qualifies to stay I believe it goes

Hawke: Help me restore order. Anders: Fight with the templars. Against the Circle. Anders: Perhaps that is the only way to make this right. Stop this war before it's too late. Anders: If you think that is a better atonement than my death, I am with you for so long as I can maintain my grip on the monster inside me. Sebastian: It will never be enough, but it's a start.

Which might still be the best I can do.

As for setting the end-stage questioning beliefs as the threshold for Seb to stay, I think that’s perfectly consistent with everyone else. Aveline, Merrill, and Fenris are now always stay if you side with their preferred side, always stay if you side against their preferred side and you’ve completed their end-stage, and never stay otherwise. Anders is always stay if you side with the mages (and ask him to stay), always stay if you side with the templars (and ask him to stay) and you’ve completed his end-stage rivalry, and never stay otherwise. Seb would be always stay if you kill Anders, always stay if you refuse to kill Anders but have completed his end-stage, and never stay otherwise.

Admittedly, Aveline, Merrill, and Fenris all give you a chance to recruit them back in a later conversation (and the vanilla threshold is that they’ll agree if they’re not between 50%-100% rivalry), but if you side with the templars you have one chance to keep Anders or else he’s gone for good, and I think that’s fair with Seb as well.

So obviously uhhhhhh most of what’s left to do is cobble together a collection of lines of dialogue for the Seb stays/Seb goes exchange that actually feels like a real conversation. Which is the difficult and subjective part. But being able to commandeer lines like “I'm sorry about the grand cleric. But there's much more at stake.“ and “By Chantry law, these mages must be contained. But Elthina, bless her, feared Meredith as much.” help a lot at least.

Anyway that’s my rambling on my current thought process out of the way lmfao thanks for reading.

#climax crisis mod

[the-peak-of-despair]

Chihiro x Reader - Reader reacts to Chihiro’s death

anon said:  I hear you're good at angst 👀 could I please get a Chihiro x fem reader where the reader is there with Makoto and Byakuya when they discover Chihiro's body and then the events of the trial, in which the reader has to be held back by her classmates when it's revealed what Byakuya did and that he did it for his own entertainment? (like honestly, what the fuck Byakuya??) Sorry if this is too long 😅

Nonnie you hit the right blog because the second I started writing this I did not stop and I think I went legitmately feral on this one. I might be a bit off with the request because I’ll be real I think I got possessed by Edgar Allen Poe during this but I do hope you enjoyed! Get your tissues and say a prayer for the poor souls in the danganronpa-x-reader discord server who got to see snippets of what I was writing before I posted -Mod Akane : )

“Come on, let’s check in the girls locker room first.” Byakuya commands (Y/N) and Makoto, both of them muttering something about why we had to specifically check the girls locker room… (Y/N) notes how the door seems to already be swinging open, but the thought is quickly put away as she follows along into the locker room.

Everything fell in an instant.

Everything fell apart. 

“GAAAAAAH!” Makoto basically screamed at the top of his lungs, falling backwards and nearly knocking into (Y/N) as he fell to the ground. When she avoided him and saw what she saw…

“CHIHIRO!” (Y/N) screamed, nearly damaging everyone in the vicinity’s eardrums. The horror set in as tears welled up in her eyes, pouring over and blurring everything from her vision to her very mindset. Chihiro.. Chihiro, her lover, her best friend.. He… he was dead? Someone.. someone killed Chihiro? 

Ding - dong! 

“A body has been discovered!” Monokuma calls, way too cheerily over the monitor, sparking a rage within (Y/N). Chihiro was dead, and this- this son of a bitch saw it as free entertainment. “Everyone, please gather in the girls locker room!”

The monitor flickered off.

(Y/N) stood in shock, right between Byakuya and Makoto. It was only a second of hesitation before she darted towards him.

Byakuya snagged her by the sleeve. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” He asks, impatient.

“CHIHIRO IS FUCKING DEAD, BYAKUYA!” (Y/N) screams. “H- SHE DOESN’T DESERVE TO DIE LIKE THIS! STRUNG UP LIKE A FUCKING MASTERPIECE! SOMEONE KILLED HER!” 

“It doesn’t matter who or what happened.” Byakuya grimaces. “This is a crime scene. You cannot alter the evidence. Unless you would like to be seen as the blackened, I suggest you restrain yourself from touching the scene.”

Byakuya let go of (Y/N)’s sleeve, his iron grip nearly having torn it. “So? Do you still want to get her down?”

(Y/N) grimaced at him, before choosing to look away. “Asshole..!” Tears filled their eyes once again. 

(Y/N) spent the entire investigation crying into Sakura’s chest and being held back from the crime scene, clearly too much of a fury of emotions to be able to do anything. How couldn’t she be? Her best friend, her lover, ripped away from her by some selfish fucking asshole who didn’t want their secret exposed.

She didn’t seem present for the first half of the trial.

Everyone noticed.

Within minutes, maybe even an hour she looked so much worse for wear. Eyes that were dead and longing and barely having moved or spoken almost the entire trial. When questioned about Chihiro’s gender, (Y/N) just nodded. 

Of course she had known. That’s what most of her classmates thought.

There’s this thing about death. You become so close to someone, you pour your heart into them and they do the same. They’re there for you almost everyday. And then one day, sudden or not.. They’re just taken away.

Of course, it’s inevitable.

But nothing on this Earth could prepare someone for that feeling. That feeling of loss, that feeling of calling someone’s name just out of habit just to end up crying on the floor because it comes crashing down all over again that they’re gone and you’d never see them again. It was a horrible, soul crushing despair that seeped into every neuron and part of your brain and would take forever to let go. It’s a feeling that breaks you down and holds you there.

Of course, (Y/N) was aware of everything happening the entire trial. It was like taking off your glasses or unfocusing a camera. Everything’s still there and if you focus really hard you might be able to see what happens. But the crushing weight of coping with that, the fact that she’d never see Chihiro again, the fact that she’d never kiss him again, never get to hug him, or cry into his shoulder, the fact that one day she had seen him for the very last time and she had never known.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

It didn’t feel like the glasses were put back on, like everything came into focus again, until Byakuya had spoken. 

“I tampered with the crime scene, yes, but I am not the culprit.” He states, plain and simple. Not a sign of emotion in his speech or his eyes.

And something about that broke (Y/N). 

She slammed her hands on her podium, the noise echoing through the trial room it had been so hard, snapping all surviving eyes on her. “What the fuck is wrong with you!?” (Y/N) screams.

“...Elaborate.” Byakuya states simply. It wasn’t a request, or out of confusion, it was a fucking demand. 

(Y/N) took a heavy breath. “You are so fucking intolerable! YOU ARE A SOCIOPATH! CHIHIRO IS FUCKING DEAD, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU’VE DONE!?” She begins to scream, and the two on either side of her- Asahina and Sakura- look at her with concern. “I DON'T CARE IF YOU KILLED HIM OR NOT, WHO ARE YOU TO DO SUCH.. SUCH A HORRID THING?!” (Y/N) screams, her throat scratching and voice cracking all as her eyes began to swell with hot tears, making everything blur just a bit more. 

“Your senseless screaming has no affect on me.” Byakuya states simply. “I don’t care to listen to someone too clouded by her pitiful emotions to think straight.” 

(Y/N) doesn’t even stop for breaths anymore. “YOU MUTILATED MY BOYFRIENDS BODY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH OF A HORRIBLE PERSON YOU ARE?! THAT WAS A PERSON! A REAL PERSON WHO I LOVED! WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO REALIZE THIS IS NOT A FUCKING GAME?!” 

“It is a game.” Byakuya shoots back, irritated now. “Your senseless screaming gets us nowhere. If you can’t keep your emotions together, then you will be the next to go. If you crack under the pressure, that is not my problem. I intend to win.”  “YOU ARE SUCH A FUCKING SCUMBAG!” (Y/N) screams, and it’s clear she’s ready to hop over the podium and choke the very life out of Byakuya’s eyes. To just.. rip away all signs and life of humanity, to do everything he fucking deserved to have done to him. 

What kind of human could be so corrupted to play with a corpse like a fucking barbie doll? What kind of person could be broken, so fucking demented to enjoy watching people, living breathing people who they knew personally who had families and friends and lovers.. What kind of asshole would enjoy watching them die, enjoy the flurry of emotions and pain that comes with it, enjoy the loss, the despair, the grief, the emotional fucking storm that rips your heart in two until it can’t fucking beat anymore? 

“(Y/N), you must calm yourself.” Sakura sets a hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder. 

“HE TOOK AWAY MY ONLY FRIEND!” (Y/N) screams, snapping away at the touch. “I DON’T CARE WHO THE KILLER IS, HE’S THE REAL MONSTER!” She steps back, like she’s about to hop the podium, but Asahina grabs her from behind, hooking her arms under (Y/N)’s to hold her tight.

“(Y/N), you’ve gotta calm down! We’re not gonna ever find the blackened like this!” Asahina shouts, struggling against (Y/N)’s rapid fighting as she begins to break down all over again.

“I DON'T CARE!” She screams, trying anything to fight against Asahina. “I-I’d rather be dead than al-alone..!” She begins sobbing, before finally losing all the fight in her, slumping over in Asahina’s grip. “I-I want Chihiro back…!” She sobs, the tears flooding her vision and pouring out, gasping for air as if Chihiro’s death itself took away her ability to breathe, her executive ability to function. 

(Y/N) finally stops screaming and fighting. Nothing stops her sobbing though, her relentless crying as she falls to the floor like a pile of rags when Asahina finally lets her go as the trial continues. Even through Byakuya’s mockery, nothing can get her back up off the floor. 

Chihiro was gone. 

It’s so hard. To cope with a loss in such a short time. In a place like this- this fucking nightmare- there was no time to mourn. It was loss after loss with no breaks in between. An academy of nothing but death and despair and pain, where when you lost someone it was game fucking over and you’d never get them back.

(Y/N) didn’t even know if she voted. She didn’t even know if she really saw the execution, or if she saw the blackened, or if she heard what snippy bullshit Monokuma had to say. She only really knew that Chihiro was gone, and that was all that mattered.

She didn’t remember how she got back to her dorm. Her legs certainly wouldn’t hold her up well enough to carry her all the way there. All she remembered was crying, crying like she’d never felt pain before, clinging to pillows that still just barely clung to the scent of Chihiro, like vanilla and coffee, pillows still left with the imprint of when Chihiro would sleep in (Y/N)’s bed. 

#chihiro fujisaki #angst #chihiro fujisaki x reader #chihiro fujasaki #danganronpa #danganronpa thh #drthh #danganronpa x reader #danganronpa chapter 2 #x reader #mod akane #this hurt to write and i enjoyed every second #anon

[agent-yolk-writes]

Friends Like You and Us - Venom!Reader - Ch. 5

Successfully (hopefully) queued at the stroke of midnight to bring you the latest chapter of some spider shenanigans. Fresh off the back of AO3!

In this episode: The gang throws spaghetti at the wall until something sticks, Noir enjoys playing with the remote, you have a breakdown for five minutes, and your aunt really needs to get her shit together for important business trips.

I also made a master list! Anyone new who wants to start or the veterans who want to revisit that one part in that one chapter!

AO3 Version | Masterlist

”Welcome to the first, and hopefully only, Spider-Persons conference. First off, I would like to thank (First Name) for hosting us and fixing up drinks with what they had to work with. Our main objective tonight: get everyone back to their proper universes before we don’t feel so good anymore…” Ham eccentrically led the charge of the brainstorm session. He managed to clap the lights off and pulled down a projector screen out of nowhere, the screen flashing crude images of the four of you finding a potential solution with lines and circles everywhere. It almost looked like what football coaches had to look at. Staring down on all of you squeezed on the couch he added, ”...any ideas?” Before clapping the lights back on, shooting the screen back from where it came.

Not risking what damage you might’ve inflicted on your phone, you pursued what you were looking for on your laptop while being squished to the side of the couch. It’s loading speeds left something to be desired, but it’s still functional and you can’t complain. Venom does about the heat, but that’s out of your control.

Over the horizon of your screen, you could see Peni, seated in the middle, pulling a projection of your New York out of nowhere and zoomed in on your current location. You weren’t really paying attention to what she was saying as she played around with the map. You were internally arguing with your backseat navigator on where you say the post last, only to find out the mods did indeed removed it from the search bar. Now you’re left in a predicament.

Try finding news archives.

Oh...Oh yea...No wonder I keep you around.

Where was he when you had to take the SATs?

He was right. Spider-Man’s death was the national news! There were so many news choppers around that it almost risked the two of you being forced apart by sound alone. Because of that, as well as the risk of you getting caught, you didn’t feel it was safe enough to investigate it yourself. Thanks to the media, you didn’t have to do the heavy lifting.

“You thinking it could be Osbird?” You heard Ham ask.

“Osbird? Ain’t it supposed to be Osborn?” Noir questioned.

“(First Name)!” Peni calls to you. “Does the Green Goblin exist in this universe?”

Didn’t he...

Died with Spider-Man.

“...Exist

ed

. I think he got killed in the same explosion.” You mentally high fives your companion for being a database for most things super. Good thing your universes are very similar.

Still, that doesn’t help your allies as your enhanced ears heard Ham cursing under his breath.

To alleviate some of the pain you added, “...If it helps, I think he was working for this guy named Wilson Fisk.”

“Kingpin…” Everyone else said at the same time. “What in the Sam hell is he scheming?” Noir grimly added. Glancing at the Wikipedia page for him, apparently he has more money than god. Of course he would be living in NYC. That’s where all the corrupt billionaires live!

You wouldn't happen to know him, right?

Never met him.

Well, there goes your first potential lead. The first news article that pops up is Fisk sending his condolences to the aunt of Spider-Man, May Parker, as well as his wife Mary Jane. He released a sympathetic statement relating what it’s like to lose someone close. A jump to his Wiki states that he had a wife and son that were killed during a high-speed car crash. There were rumors for a while about the wife being the one in the speeding car, but all whispers were quickly squashed before the sun could rise the next day. Money really is an effective superpower these days.

Another article tells you that he’s been heavily involved in Alchemax, a business he acquired a few years ago. His main advisor and the one who looks after the company while he’s away is Doctor Olivia Octavius, a woman with the frizziest hair ever. You vaguely recall watching a documentary she was the main star in during your science class, but you didn’t really absorb what she was saying.

Your fingers rubbed your eyes to relieve some strain. It felt like listening to Hannah yapping non-stop about any villain Spider-man even looked at during lunch. Ever since this whole series of wacky events dragged you into this mess, you have just the right about of knowledge on at least the most popular, infamous really, supervillains.

“Welcome back to Inside Edition-” The new voice almost triggered your fight or flight responses if you didn’t look up and see that the television was on playing tonight’s Inside Edition. Wait, you didn’t turn it on. Looking to your left, you realized it was the only other person left on the couch with you and, thus, the closest one to the table with the remotes.

Squinting at Noir with tired eyes, you asked, “What are you doing?”

The monochrome detective was fixated on gripping the device in various locations. “Interesting...it doesn’t have wires, and yet it calls the huge black mirror to awake. It doesn’t run on steam or heat, not to mention it’s so tiny.” Surely they had batteries back then, right?

“Yea. That’s what remotes are.” You commented. “They were made so we don’t have to get up every time to change the channel. You can even change the volume to hear better...the long ones with the plus and minus on it.”

“And please do.” Ham waved his hand to get both of your attention. “I think something important is coming up.” You didn’t even have to question him as the television had the collapsed remnants of Spider-Man’s final stand being narrated by a blonde woman you can’t piece the name of.

“While the world still mourns the loss of Spider-Man, many are still trying to pick up the pieces of his final moments to paint a picture. Tonight, Insider Edition has gained exclusive footage from one of the first helicopters on sight of the explosion. What you’re about to see is graphic and may upset some viewers. Take a look-”

The camera switched to a shaky camera arriving on the scene. For a few seconds, you could see the East River and the Williamsburg Bridge that connects Manhattan and Brooklyn before it forces the viewers to focus on a trail of smoke coming from a crater.

“What used to be one of Wilson Fisk’s many investments is now up in smoke. There’s no word yet if there are any other casualties in the explosion. It is rumored that this building was used to hold scientific research and experimentations in the medical field. We tried contacting Fisk for a comment, but he has yet to respond.”

It cuts to another angle, and you could see a blur hiding away something red and blue. The original cameraman holding it let out a gasp and said something expletive. “We censored this for the viewers at home, but it was here that the camera crew noticed the body of Peter Parker, better known as Spider-Man, unmoving-”

The feeling in your stomach only got worse as the newsreel goes on. You felt upset to point of nausea. You wanted to tear your eyes away from all this sad news but at the same time, you don’t. You were there when the news broke out, you were at his funeral hiding behind one of the church’s spirals as his widow encouraged others wearing his mask that they too can be a hero. You could still remember the bile burning your throat that night, muttering ‘what-ifs’ to yourself as if you were the cause of his death.

You’ve only paid attention to him because he was your solstice to your new powers, but he’s now gone, leaving the two of you in the dark. You should be over this, but for some reason, you’re not.

“I-We’re going to bed. Goodnight.” With a slam of your laptop, you didn’t give them time to react before you slammed the door to your room shut and placing your desk chair under the knob as a security measure. You needed to be alone right now.

If it wasn’t for your companion supporting your body, you would’ve slammed your head on the bed frame. You were that much of a wreck that Venom had to assume control to get you safely on the bed.

“Talk to me, (First Name).” He rarely calls you by your name.

“I-I…” You got distracted with the tears streaming down your face. “I’m scared. It...It’s all coming crashing down on m-me now.” You grabbed the nearest pillow and stuffed your face in it. While anyone else couldn’t comprehend the muffled wailing through the pillow, Venom could hear you perfectly. “I don’t wanna do this! I never did!” After sobbing in silence for what could’ve been minutes, you let go of it to hug your knees. “Last month I thought about pursuing a career in journalism. How can I do that now? Now that I have a bugged alien in my system tearing me apart with him! Explain that to me, Venom!” You’re trying so hard not to alarm your compatriots outside your door, but you’re too exhausted emotionally at this point to properly check yourself at this point.

You could feel Venom’s tendrils wiping away your tears. His inky forehead bumps into yours like a cat. “(First Name), look at us. Breathe.” His voice rumbles something comforting in your chest. You couldn’t help but close your eyes and breathe alongside him. “That’s it…”

The room was quiet except for your synced breathing and the occasional sniffling. More minutes have passed and already you feel better than earlier.

“I...I’m sorry, Vee.” You whispered. “Everything just...happened, all at once. You, the other Spiders...I think this is what they call ‘imposter syndrome’ kicking in, I dunno.” Forcing out a laugh to ease the tension, you continued. “I just...felt out of place, having to put wool over our eyes to believe we’re sheep too. I hope we don’t have to suffer any longer. If everything works out, I don’t think anyone would have a clue about you...about us.”

Your symbiote friend curled himself around the pillow you were still latching onto. While it doesn’t feel like a genuine embrace, it’s the best thing you can work with.

“Do...Do you think tomorrow will be a better day?” You whisper.

“...I don’t know.” You’re not surprised at that answer. “We’re in a deep bond, we can’t lie to you even if we tried.”

“Do...Do you think it’ll affect whenever we find a way back to your home? The whole bonding thing?”

“...”

“...Vee?” You remembered him explaining about bonding briefly, when you had nightmares from his previous hosts. Symbiotes don’t really exist in this universe, so there’s no real documentation or even a tabloid piece about it.

“It's hard to say for certain. At this rate, we might die if this ’Kingpin’ lead gives us nothing to work on.”

”Yeah...That’s true.” You agreed, letting out a deep sigh. “But he has influence all over the place. He could hide anything if he waves enough money under someone’s nose.”

“Then we’ll eat them. Simple as that.” Venmo’s enthusiasm made you chuckle a bit.

“Well try not to eat their hands if there’s a fingerprint lock.”

“No promises. Now sleep.”

“Yeah yeah…” You snuggled deeper into your hugging pillow. “Night, Vee. Tomorrow’s gonna be better, I hope.”

“Goodnight, (First Name).” With that, you closed your eyes. If you went to sleep any later, you would’ve caught a conversation of two certain spiders from outside and something about a goober.

~

Outside of your room, the others were fixated on what came on after seeing the remnants of the explosion.

“Social media is blowing up over this mystery figure seen all across Manhattan. Blink and you’ll miss it, but it looks like there’s already someone taking the shape of Spider-Man!” It was a set of shaky pictures and so-called ‘tweets’ of people freaking out.

“On person tweeted quote, “Some nightmare version of Spider-Man just passed my window, i think that’s my sleep paralysis demon #fml.” Another reported saying quote, “I think I saw it ate the local drug dealer whole. gross. to think i had to witness vore at four in the morning. stay classy, nyc.””

“Our sources at PDNY say that this mysterious person, if it even is a person, is not believed to be involved in Spider-Man’s death. However, they are a person of interest in multiple disappearance cases involving convicted felons that have been released from prison ranging from drug dealers to serial killers.”

“PDNY reminds everyone that if they see something, say something.”

The trio looked at each other, an unspoken question is trying to be answered. Ham was the only one who looked at the door where you entered for the night before passing air through his lips.

“Pfft, there’s no way.” He says to Peni and Noir. “I mean, what are the chances? They’re too nice and they’re housing us. If they were harboring a murderous symbiote, they would’ve told by now...right? Right?”

~

A surprise pair of glitching and convulsions woke you up earlier that day. Not wanting to feel sick by getting up immediately, you just lied there and drifted up for two hours or so before a series of knocks jolted your sleep away.

“Rise and shine, kid!” Noir yelled.

“We got a mission!” Peni added enthusiastically. A mission? This early? A glance on your phone, however, says it’s almost 10 in the morning. So much for going to school.

You pushed your upper body off the bed with a groan. Venom pushes himself back under your body and into your ‘pajamas’.

“Mmmf...it’s too early for hero stuff..” You grumble, wiping off any remnants of sleep. “Don’t heroes have...unions, or whatever?” Was among the other incoherent grumbles as you washed up and got ready for the day.

Finishing your wakeup routine in the bathroom, you were immediately greeted with your three inter-dimensional companions bustling around as much as they can in such a small apartment. SP//dr’s hanging out on the fire escape ladder, but his visor is lighting up inside so you can barely make out Peni hard at work with something. Noir’s holding the remote, continuously surfing channels and not really stopping at all even at the channels that play classic black and white film. Ham is...stacking a tower from whatever he can find on the fridge. You pray he didn’t see the unopened package of black forest ham you know that’s in there.

Of course, Ham was the first one to notice you staring at him. “What? I’m a growing pig.” Before you could even answer that, he slides the leaning tower of breakfast into his mouth in a single bite. You couldn’t help but be impressed yet slightly jealous.

The mech’s visor slides open and out pops out Peni. “Good morning! Sorry we didn’t wake you up earlier, but the phone rang.” She explains.

“Did you...answer it?” You asked with an eyebrow popped up.

“Well…” She looks down, pushing her pointer fingers together like she’s hiding something she broke. “We tried, buuut...we couldn’t figure out how to actually answer it.”

You looked over at the home phone. It wasn’t anything special, just a wireless phone that you had to press a button in order to answer an incoming call. “...You don’t have cordless phones in your home universe?”

“Everything’s at my fingertips, so I don’t need one at home.” Was her defense.

“Mine has a sleek new design that looks like a candlestick.” Noir turned his head to add in.

You looked over at Ham. “And what’s your excuse?”

“...In my defense, we have cans with a string between them. Reception’s a hit or miss these days.” You shouldn’t be surprised at his answer, but it still doesn’t stop the double facepalm you gave yourself. Peering back to the phone, you noticed that there’s a blinking light indicating someone left a voice message. As you walked over to play it, part of you prayed it wasn’t the school asking for your unexcused whereabouts.

“You have, one, new message.” Don’t be school, don’t be school... “Hi, sweetie! It’s your aunt!” Oh, thank god. “I hope you’re doing okay on your own, but I need your help with something. I...accidentally forgot to send out a file on my work computer, and I need it for an important meeting tomorrow. Would you be a dear and head over to my office? There should be like multiple post-it notes with the file name as a reminder for me to send it.” Mary laughed as her own forgetfulness. “Your visitor pass should still be working, so use that to get in. I’m sure the guards will enjoy seeing your lovely face again. Try not to stumble onto Alchemax’s floor this time. Call back soon, love you~”

“End of message. To delete the message…”

You look back over at the trio sheepishly. “Oh, yea...forgot my aunt works in a pharmaceutical building that neighbors an Alchemax branch...Hahaaa, that’s soo weird…Now what?”

You could hear Venom sighing inside your head. Funny how things seem to go together right when you need it.

#spiderverse #spidersona #x reader #spiderman into the spiderverse #spiderman into the spiderverse & reader #spiderman into the spiderverse x reader #spiderverse x reader #venom x reader #venom & reader #venom symbiote x reader #venom symbiote & reader #venom/reader #venom symbiote/reader #reader insert #my writing #friends like you and us

[thestuckylibrary]

Mod’s Reads: September 2017

Here’s the list of everything the Mods have read this past month!

Mod Blue

the wound is not deep, but you know it exists (that is enough) by Nori Steal The Rhythm Out From My Heart by Nori  Gravitation by Odsbodkins three's company by theappleppielifestyle Stargazing by claimedbydaryl the camera found chemistry by mostlikelydefinentlymad Rhythm to the Fray by hitlikehammers Not gonna reach my telephone by haku23 progressively bigger keys by layersofsilence kicking down the door by layersofsilence If Steve Rogers Were Your Boyfriend by bopeep Jumbotron Misunderstandings by orphan_account to hide the wolves of sleep by beardsley Then and now by Miss_Von_Cheese Living On My Own by rekishi  Take Me to Church by neversaydie

Mod Julia

Be the ember by rohkeutta 

Bucky shakes an errant lock of hair back from his face, tilting his jaw up. Steve’s eyes track the shift of the kaftan, the tantalizing glimpse of Bucky’s collarbones.

“Where do you find this stuff?” Steve asks, his hand smoothing up Bucky’s metal arm, over the silken sleeve and down Bucky’s back, coming to rest on the small of his back. “You never buy any when we’re in town.”

everything comes back to you by obsessivereader

Steve drags a hand through his hair before plucking at the front of his shirt and flapping it to get air moving against his skin. Bucky watches, transfixed, as he keeps getting flashing glimpses of Steve’s nipples. He flicks a guilty glance at Steve just in time to see Steve’s eyelids sliding down to cover his eyes. Bucky's stomach turns over at the thought that Steve might’ve caught him looking. He’s not sure whether to be relieved at not getting caught, or disappointed.

it's None of your Business by layersofsilence 

or: the one where Steve is commissioned to get some better signage on his Dragon Community Centre, not run into the world's most stupidly improbably attractive man. guess what happens anyway

sometimes dead is better by aniloquent

Based on the Tumblr prompt "you absolutely loathe horror films whereas i love them, can we please please please just watch one? i’ll hold you if you get scared!"

a creative use for adamantium by mwestbelle

Steve wants to try something new.

From Little Things by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)

In which Steve is something like a dryad, Bucky's not the Winter Soldier anymore but he's not quite sure he's Bucky, and together they discover that some choices are worth making.

How to Seduce a Writer by obsessivereader

What's a determined master strategist going to do when the oblivious writer he's trying to woo keeps missing all the clues?

Puppy Love by velvetjinx

Steve is straight. Or at least, that's what he thinks until he meets his new dog-walking client, Bucky. Now he's having all these feelings he's never had before, what is he going to do?

The Good Monster by Taste_is_Sweet

"What's happening to you has nothing to do with you being bad," Steve said. "Nothing. It has everything to do with Hydra using men like lab rats. You think all the men who didn't survive the experiments were evil?"

"No," Bucky said. "I think they were lucky."

Run With It by aMillyOrates

There was a Hot Runner Guy on the trail, and Steve Rogers couldn't handle it.

(Turns out, Bucky has the same exact problem.)

Mod Karin

Anatomy of a Scandal by Rena

When Steve Rogers returns to Brooklyn, the marriage arranged for him having proven to be a sham, he is desperate; desperate to regain his footing in Society, desperate to secure a wealthy spouse capable of paying the costly treatments that keep his mother alive and settling his family's debts. But how is he to do that when people view him as nothing more than damaged goods, someone to be sneered at, ridiculed, looked down upon, or pitied at best?

An opportunity presents itself when Lord Barnes, the renowned carefree Casanova of Brooklyn, forgets himself during one night of drunken stupor, sending Steve a letter that flouts all laws of common decency. An agreement is soon made: in return for Steve's discretion, Lord Barnes will pretend to court him, taking him to the most fancy events of the season where Steve can be introduced to potential suitors. It all works out perfectly, until Steve comes to understand that Lord Barnes is not as pompous and self-absorbed as he believed....

Fourth Floor by dirtybinary, mithborien, picoalloe

Steve has his life in order, okay. He goes to wizard college, even if he can't technically do magic. He has his own apartment, even though it's small and dinky and kind of gross, and forgets to exist sometimes, and might also be alive? Plus, he has a crush on the hot cyborg in unit 404 who cooks fiendishly good breakfast foods, and may or may not have some kind of weird connection to the sentient building they live in. He's not sure.

He's dealing, all right, his life is in tip-top condition, or it was until an eldritch monstrosity called the Hydra started posing as a real estate company to try and buy over his new home.

He's really pissed about that.

(The one where Steve is an angry millennial wizard, Sam is a Disney prince, Natasha is a shapeshifter, and Bucky is a spoiler.)

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? by milollita, OriginalCeenote

Person A of your OTP is a vampire and is next in line to lead the clan. Person B is a lone werewolf who was kicked out of their pack (you decide why). One night, person A goes on a hunting trip by themselves, but end up getting caught in some sort of trap. They are stuck there for however many days until they are nearly starving to death. Person B finds them and, instead of killing them like anyone else from their pack would, they hunt for food for person A and try to help them. Although person A is very unsure/terrified of person B at first, they are so starving that they accept the food with next to no hesitation, despite being raised to never trust werewolves.

Bucky was hoping for a savior, sure. There were better ways for him to spend his time than waiting in a five-by-five cell, waiting to have the life blood drained out of him for corporate profit.

He just wasn’t expecting his savior to be small enough to tuck into his hip pocket, with such a crazy look in his eye. Or naked. He was breathing hard, bony chest heaving, and he was dripping all over Bucky’s floor, gripping something weird in his hand.

A finger.

“So. You want out, right?”

Howitzer by spacebuck

Bucky Barnes, figure skating champion, is forced to switch his skates for hockey ones when he leaves for college. Problem is, he's never played hockey before, and now he has to be good enough to get the scholarship he needs. Enter Steve Rogers, Carter University Men's Hockey player, who's decided that he'd do anything to get this guy on his team.

Cue five am runs, overwhelming classes, new friends, plenty of snow, and a sport that's fast becoming a way of life.

Perilous Underside of the World by eyres

After Steve becomes an unwilling subject in Ross's pet weapons project to make a next gen super soldier, Bucky is awakened from cryo to join a daring rescue operation to save Steve from an impenetrable government base on the Antarctica coastline. When things go belly up, Steve and Bucky must strike out on their own across the hostile landscape, with Ross's men close behind.

AKA 'The one where Steve throws a snowmobile at a helicopter.'

Siege by ftmsteverogers

Steve called him Bucky, and the Winter Soldier was trying to shoulder into that name like a badly-fitting jacket.

Or, the one where the Winter Soldier pulls Steve from the Potomac and sticks around this time.

Summer Don't Own Me No More by alby_mangroves, Nonymos

Bucky Barnes, weary soldier, illegal immigrant, sarcastic sex worker. Steve Rogers, miracle of science, lonely man, disillusioned cop. Both of them on a collision course in this brave new world, like that's not gonna end in sex and explosions.

the occult. by orange_crushed

The whole ship is like that: alive with light, as if light were the blood in its veins. It still bothers him when he's not tired enough to sleep, but he's starting to get used to it. Starting to appreciate that the thing he lives inside is almost as much of an organism as he is. Strange, but also strangely reassuring.

Sometimes when he lies in the dark here, cocooned in his bunk, he wonders what it's like in the tube. If it's quiet. He hopes it's restful. Peaceful. Soft, like the sleep of late morning, with sun coming in from around the drapes. Steve wonders if the translucent panel that covers and shields and contains him also lets in light. If behind his closed eyelids, he can still see something, the way that Steve can when he shuts his own eyes here, now. If he is seeing a kind of permanent sunrise; a long dream of a slow dawn.

#mod picks

[kierarutherford]

10 Questions Ask Meme

Rules:Answer 10 questions and then come up with another 10 questions for the people you tag!

Was tagged by @princessvicky01​ so let’s keep this rolling

Favorite small town? Real or fictional. - I live in a small town, and have lived in many but none have ever been a favorite. SO I suppose I would love to check out the small town of Honnleath (pre-darkaspawn)

Video game or DLC you’re most looking forward to right now? (sans DA4) - I have yet to purchase it and it haunts my dreams. I am aiming to get my hands on the Witcher DLCs. 

Favorite fictional world? (i.e.: Middle Earth, Thedas, etc.) Why? - to be fair I have two. One would have to be Thedas as I it holds my OCs and a special Commander. The second would have to be Witcher’s world (don’t remember what the whole place is called. TOO many city/towns to name.) Great, indepth lore and creatures.

Where/what was the best cup of coffee you’ve ever had? If you don’t drink coffee, what’s the best meal you’ve ever head? - Best cup, uh... I have never had a “best” cup of coffee anywhere out but the morning back home after my daughter was born. The first sip of freshly brewed coffee brought to me, while holding my little girl. That may be the best sip ever.

Where/when do you do your best daydreaming?   When I lay in bed. I daydream myself to sleep. Putting myself in the shoes of my OCs and trying to figure out how they would react. There is a tiny piece of me in each of them. 

Favorite TV show right now? I don’t really watch a lot of tv. Right now I’m addicted to Live PD (probably only in countries with A&E)

Is your canon Inquisitor reluctant about their power, or do they embrace it full-force, or something in-between? Kiera takes the reigns as she was a First to her clan and much was always expected of her. It is simply a tool to aid those in need. Diana- she hated it. Her personal “night light” she called it many times. Trying to deflect the horror and personal irritation. Hyacinth - she was unsure of it but as long as she can heal and help, she makes due.

What’s the best purchase you’ve ever made? I shop on bargains all the time. So I really can’t pin point that one awesome score. I would say my proudest was netting a $45 sweater for my daughter (in-store) for $4.99. I do love hunting through clearance racks.

Favorite or go-to clothing brand/designer/store? I am not loyal to any brand per say. I sale hunt. I prefer to hunt at Old Navy currently but the winds may change.

Are there any popular TV or video game character arcs that really bother you? How would you change them, if you could? - The one that stuck with me over the years was the ending arc of Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. There was SOO much room to do something there and they did a hack ending (in my opinion.) Played it multiple times and it always stuck with me. (Also my first -he should have totally gotten the girl- grumble fest) 

@fereldenpeach questions

If you could trade places with a fictional character for a day, who would you pick and why? - Diana Trevelyan. She’s tough, quick witted and scandalous. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to do whatever she has to to get it. Her relationship with Cullen is deep and runs on lewd at times. I envy her free spirit and openness.

What’s your favorite vacation memory? - Too many. We always made a trek to visit my grandparents as a child and those moments (while colourful) always stuck with me. 

What’s your go-to alcoholic beverage? Don’t drink? What’s your favorite smoothie or milkshake? If I drink (I do enjoy a good drink- perhaps too often) I like coolers or my mix. Ginger ale, grapefruit juice and Canada Club whiskey. Extra ice. I’m an ice chewer

When did you have your first kiss? I was fourteen, he was my first boyfriend and it just happened. I do remember it being a wondrous moment. All teeth, tongues and lips. He was more experienced than I, and it was grand. 

Who was your first fictional crush and why? lol so totally nerdy! I was in love with Link from Legend of Zelda and Carth Onasi from Knights of the Old Republic. I wrote a HUGE fanfic (printed in a book in my closet today). It has never seen the light of day lol 

What’s your favorite Dragon Age mod that you use? Don’t use mods? What’s your favorite outfit from the game’s options? - I have to admit I love the Spoils of the Qunari, wrap thing. lol I made my own in several colours down in the Undercroft.

What (or who) was the gateway to joining the DA fandom on Tumblr? I don’t really know? I was creeping around the internet, dying for more Cullen things when I stumbled upon @khirsahle​ amazing fic and I believe there was a mention somewhere of a tumblr. So I boldly decided I wanted to write, and get on this tumblr and find my like minded Cullenites and bask in the delicious man. 

Name three things you absolutely can’t live without and tell us why. ah hard one. I am a travel light person. 1 - my phone, it is my day planner, alarm, watch, contacts to my parents, camera, etc. 2- Comfy runners. I have terribly sensitive feet and wear shoes all the time. Without them I’d have horridly sore feet. 3 -caffeine. I drink anywhere from half a pot of coffee to a full pot of tea a day. My tea pot is a 12 cup size lol. I’m a mom of 3. I NEED caffeine.  

When did you first start playing Dragon Age? Which game did you start with and have you played all of them?  I have been here since the beginning in Dragon Age addictive hell. I played the first, it’s dlc, then Awakening, then 2, it’s DLC and now Inquisition and it’s DLC. I actually had to create room on my xbox to play Origins because I had over 38 saved characters. Wiped them all out and repeated that 3 more times. lol Of those play throughs I only romanced Zevran once. All others were Alistair.

What’s a project you’re really proud of? Where Flowers Dare to Bloom. It has hurt me and healed me in so many places. It has been a personal healing tool and the next couple chapters are currently cleansing my soul.

Here are @princessvicky01​ 10 :

1) What was your first pet? If you’ve never had one is their one you would like? My first pet. He was a terrier/poodle/rescue thing. Benji. Loved him till he passed of old age when I was 9. Amazingly well tempered and awesome dog.

2) If you could only replay one game forever, what game would it be? lol that is my life. I literally play games to their disk death. If I was cursed to a single game. I’m picking Dragon Age Inquisition. To forever romance and marry Cullen, please. 

3) What was/is your favourite subject at school?Why? History. I loved it. Especially ancient history. Eqyptian history, medieval history. All of it. Myths and legends. I adored it all.  

4) Do you prefer to be too hot or too cold? I can’t handle heat, so I’d have to say I’d rather be too cold. 

5) Do you have any hobbies? If not is there any you want to try? This is kinda a hobby I suppose. I am a terrible starter to things that I never finish. It is a horrid habit that I do way too often. I crotchet, I knit, I sing (lol fairly well too), I used to play in photoshop, games, play baseball.. I’m everywhere and no where.

6) Whats your favourite restaurant/eat out food - Italian, Chinese, Mexican ect I love Italian. Pasta. I am addicted to pasta. Fetticine Alfredo, spaghetti and marinara sauce. Yes please.

7) Mages or Templars? Why? Mages. To be sent away from family at such young ages, forced into a stone prison. It’s heart breaking. All because they are different. Never nullified the Circle in any play throughs. I can’t kill children just because they can hold fire in their palms. Teach them, let them live and let them help!  

8) Favourite film/movie genre? I’m not a film person really. I do watch the occasional movie but again I’m all over the place. Favourite of all time; Robin Hood- Men in Tights. A Mel Brooke’s picture. 

9)  Whats your spirit animal/daemon aka the one that represents your personality? A bear. Quite literally lol. Loyal to family, extremely protective and I’ll rip your arms off and feed you to my kids if you mess with them. 

10)  Cullen Rutherford shows up at your house. What do you say/do? Seriously... depending on the situation, I have no idea. I mean, I think we all know what we dream about but reality wise... I honestly don’t know. 

After a mile of questions. Here are mine now lol:

1- Drink lyrium become a Templar or grip a staff and become a Mage. Once you pick you cannot go back. Choice and why?

2- If you could meet anyone of your followers/readers/people you follow, who and why?

3- Dream Cullen date, go!

4- Do you believe readers should comment on your writings? Or are likes/kudos enough?

5- If you had an hour to sit with your favourite character creator from any game, how would you use that time?

6- If you could cosplay one character, who and why?

7- When you sit to write, what is your must haves to work? Coffee/tea, a song, tv in background, what’s your must have thing?

8-Do you follow any of the prominent writters out there? Steven King? R.R Martin? J.K. Rowling? If so, who and why? If not, who would you love to sit and chat with?

9- What time do you feel is the best for your writing? How long do you write for?

10- If you could make one wish come true, but for only one full day, what would you wish for?

Tagging @daisytje @angyvalentine @dorianofminrathous @omnipotentoverlord @queenmelisende @ma-sulevin

#ask me meme #meme thing #some da some not #about Kiera #Kiera replies

[buildercar]

New Post has been published on http://www.buildercar.com/sera-trimbles-rise-to-the-top-of-the-ranks-of-stunt-driving/

Sera Trimble’s Rise to the Top of the Ranks of Stunt-Driving

Sera Trimble isn’t trying to scare me, but she does.

By stomping a Lamborghini Huracán Spyder’s V-10 and flinging the wheel, she kicks out the tail abruptly in a plume of dust. I’m scoping her technique from the passenger seat before directing her in a video shoot, and despite the raucous, pebble-launching powerslides in a $300,000 car on a dirt road, the petite driver remains eerily calm.

Trimble, it turns out, is one of the last humans on Earth to warrant concern. As one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stunt drivers, her skill set has navigated her through a labyrinth of peculiar automotive scenarios. She’s jumped a ’72 Chevelle, drifted an Infiniti on polished concrete within inches of actors, steered, accelerated, and braked from the footwell of a Subaru while a dog “drove,” dodged explosions in a Camaro, maneuvered a Kia while wearing a hamster suit, and launched a Porsche 928 onto a dock that collapsed into a lake. The drifting-a-Lambo-on-a-dirt-road thing? Essentially a nonevent.

This particular driver embodies every automotive-obsessed personality trait you’d expect, despite the usual stereotypes associated with XX chromosomes. Case in point: She outfitted her Los Angeles home with a Gulf-liveried kitchen and a Martini Racing-themed bedroom and is more likely to chitchat about weight distribution and suspension mods than shopping or fashion. But in the grand scheme of things, the car bug took some time to mature.

Trimble must assume any number of appearances such as a hamster for Kia, a character on TV’s “The Goldbergs,” and as a stunt double for Oscar-nominated actress Ruth Negga.

She was born 80 miles north of Seattle in the tiny town of Sedro-Woolley an unspecified number of years ago. (Like many a Hollywood player, she prefers not to disclose her age.) A deep-seated automotive iconography is embedded in her psyche, including an irrational attraction to ’66 Sting Rays, a warm spot for the Jaguar E-type hearse from “Harold And Maude,” and a self-proclaimed giggle reflex triggered by big-bore muscle cars. But the serious signs didn’t manifest until later. Her first car, a Nissan Pulsar NX with seafoam green paint, was simply an escape vehicle from her parents and a way to make a few bucks in high school by delivering pizzas. After two years at art school and a job at Blockbuster, she valet parked cars at a Seattle hotel. Spoiler alert: True love, no matter how circuitous its path, eventually wins.

“I drove everything,” she recalls, “then I started having feelings about everything.” Darting between parking structure pillars revealed handling quirks, and opinions of cars were quickly polarized. That black-on-black Land Rover Discovery she coveted? Its lazy turning radius burst the bubble. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class? Surprisingly nice lumbar support. Any Dodge Neon? Don’t get her started.

“If you say, ‘I think there’s a better way we could do this,’ no matter who it offends, you live with someone being pissed off and not putting someone in the hospital.”

And then, the fate-shifting moment: Director Doug Taub, in town shooting a Lincoln commercial, happened to spot Trimble as she whipped cars around at the valet. “Have you ever thought about driving for a living?” he asked her. “What do you mean?” she answered, pointing to the valet stand. “Look at all these cars I drive for a living.”

Based on her facile maneuvering (and perhaps aided by her quick wit), Taub offered her a gig as a production assistant so she could dip her toes in the precision-driving business. Sensing an opportunity for change (and admitting to herself that her art education wasn’t doing her any good as a valet anyway), she paid a friend $40 to cover for her on a Saturday. “When I think back,” she recalls, “that $40 was the best possible career investment I’ve had to this day. I’m glad he covered that shift because it was totally life-changing.”

As with any rise, Hollywood or otherwise, success was anything but overnight. She kept in touch with the crew she worked with, and nearly a year later in summer 2007 she moved to Los Angeles and started working as a runner on commercials. Although fixed on her goal of being a driver, she methodically learned how a set worked: who was in charge, who (in her words) kissed whose ass, and how the puzzle pieces of hierarchy fit together. More crucially, she observed what made an exceptional driver, why top drivers demand respect, who hires them, how they save the production money, and why they never seem to complain. Before long she met acclaimed stunt driver Brent Fletcher, who heard she wanted to drive. “I don’t want to sleep with anyone to do it,” she announced, when asked about her aspirations. “I’ve only been in L.A. for a few months, but I’m beginning to understand that that’s an actual way people get work here. I want to get hired one day because I’m really good at what I do. I don’t want to hook up with some producer, and he gives me two jobs as a stunt driver, and everyone thinks I’m an effing joke.”

Leveling with Fletcher laid the foundation for a career-long friendship and mentorship. “When I knew that driving was all I wanted to do,” she remembers, “I never wanted to be on set and have an excuse that I couldn’t do what I was there to do.” That meant investing heavily in driver training, diverting much of her earnings into instruction over the next several years. She attended schools from virtually every major automaker—BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-AMG—as well as every conceivable type of course—Skip Barber, Bridgestone Winter Driving, Team O’Neil, and Dirtfish rally schools.

Trimble enjoys some rare time behind the wheel of one of her own cars, a 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera with extensive suspension modifications.

The pressure of stunt driving can be immense, and the expectations — especially for a woman — are often crushingly anachronistic. For instance, the common request for Ken Block-like maneuvers must be tempered by a realistic portrait of the vehicle and conditions in question. In other words, a director who thinks a Chevy Cruze can pirouette in a cloud of smoke might need to rearrange his or her expectations. “The fact of the matter is if you seriously, seriously hurt someone, you have to live with that forever,” Trimble says. “If you say, ‘I think there’s a better way we could do this,’ no matter who it offends, you live with someone being pissed off at you and not putting someone in the hospital.” Also unsurprising is the tendency for some directors to be naturally biased against female drivers. If told a certain maneuver can’t happen, some directors “don’t want to hear it. They look at me like I’m a hack, like I’m a girl, obviously I don’t know how to drive, I can’t make it work, and I’ve wasted their whole day.”

On Preferred make of stunt car: “Any car with brakes. You really take brakes for granted, they boil over, and you almost go over the mountain or into a helicopter or camera-car crane.”

Ensuring she can deliver on her promise of automotive acrobatics requires vigilant attention to detail and exhaustive spatial awareness, often without the luxury of advanced preparation or in-depth rehearsal. Drifting the Infiniti around those actors on polished concrete was particularly stressful. Grip levels changed constantly because fresh rubber was laid down with each take, which could dramatically alter the car’s handling characteristics. Upping the X factor was the repositioning of actors and lights between takes, requiring on-the-fly recalibrations of turn-in and apex points. Some 17 takes later, the director was eventually satisfied and called, “Wrap!” Trimble recalls the aftermath: “I was so mentally exhausted, when I got home I couldn’t even feed myself. My brain just turned off because I had to focus so hard and couldn’t change anything.”

Maintaining a routine is essential when it comes to prolonged concentration. If Trimble takes a bathroom break and someone has reset her seating position because the car had to be moved, her whole world has changed. One of her favorite examples concerns a stuntman who’s about to leap through a plate-glass window and fall 20 stories. The stunt involves a detonating charge to break the window, but the stuntman senses that something isn’t quite right. There’s a small chance the charge will detonate at his head, so he asks for it to be repositioned by a foot. Stunt coordinator Andy Armstrong, aware of the importance of the stuntman’s opinion, stops everything. The helicopter lands, the crew resets, and they start over. The stunt then goes off without a hitch. “Every human has things they like to focus on, and sometimes they’re super crucial in moments like that,” Trimble explains. “I love the idea, and I will always think of that moment where this big thing is about to happen, and it’s like, ‘How does this feel? Does everything feel good? Are you comfortable with this?’ Because that stuntman’s ability to move something one foot completely changed his energy.”

Once that sense of rightness is established, there are countless degrees of subtlety involved with precision driving. Although she once rated her brake-pedal effort on a scale of 1 to 10, trading notes with fellow stunt driver and racer Tanner Foust inspired her to increase the resolution of her stopping effort, expanding it to a scale from 1 to 100. That exacting level of control can make it difficult to stomach rogue external forces, like ham-fisted Uber drivers. Even though she essentially operates as an aerobatic pilot in two dimensions, her fortitude flies out the window when she’s a passenger. “I’ve gotten ill in taxicabs more than probably anyone who exists,” she confesses. “During one trip to Thailand I puked on every moving form of conveyance.”

When the stakes can be life or death, Trimble’s preferences for stunt cars get improbably binary. When asked what carmaker makes her stunt-driver heart go pitter-patter, her response is simple: “Any car with brakes. You really take brakes for granted until driving on a mountainside, they boil over, and you almost go over the mountain or into a helicopter or camera-car crane.” She adds, “Any day I’m on the set and my car stops when I want it to stop, it’s a good day.”

Trimble’s personal 1968 Dodge Charger took two years to source and was discovered in Indiana by her so-called Mopar mentor, Mike Musto.

As for her personal automotive tastes, her garage reveals some rather varied proclivities. Her fleet includes a Porsche Macan S, an air-cooled 911 Carrera, a Ford Focus ST, and a meticulously restored ’68 Dodge Charger that speaks volumes to her eye for detail. After enlisting fellow ’68 Charger enthusiast and owner Mike Musto (host of “The House of Muscle” on Motor Trend on Demand), the two embarked on a two-year quest to find her ideal black-on-red steed. Although she started searching for a 440 (the inspiration behind her Instagram handle, @Trims440), her so-called Mopar mentor led her through a journey that involved a seemingly Sisyphean process of sharing listings of prospective cars, to which he invariably responded, “Sera, this one’s a big sack of shit.” When your prepurchase inspection involves a list of 36 detailed questions (and your undercarriage viewing process is “like, a 3,500-point inspection”), the wheat separates from the chaff fairly quickly. The search eventually led her to a 572-cubic-inch-powered Charger in Indiana. “I was like, ‘700 lb-ft of torque? Of course I need 700 lb-ft of torque. And 768 horsepower? Of course I need 768 horsepower.’ It’s like an Indy cylinder head with these crazy headers I can fit my calves into. Holy headers, Batman.”

Based on her car collection alone, Hollywood appears to have been very good to Trimble. But she plays down the lavish array with the fact that she lacks overhead such as kids, adding that her specialized focus on driving makes her a rare breed in an industry where most stunt people are well-rounded in the fields of weaponry, martial arts, and all manner of physical badassery. “Since I’m technically more ‘useless overall,’” she says, “I would be less likely to be brought along on movies for that reason. The fact I survive on a living wage at all baffles me, especially considering the amount of amazing talent out there.”

Follow Sera on Instagram @trims440

For someone who drives for a living, Trimble has little affinity for nonprofessional motoring, save the occasional jaunt up Angeles Crest Highway with friends or the Robin’s Rally, an annual on- and off-road shred she does with a small group of air-cooled Porsche driving buds. As for real racing, she is surprisingly nonplussed by the lure of competition. “I have no personal need to take corners away from people,” she explains. “I have more fun at slow speeds being super technical than I do going as fast as I can.”

As for my Lamborghini video shoot, after my initial ride-along I climb out and shoot car to car with a cameraman, calling instructions through a walkie-talkie for Trimble to execute. She tells me when things don’t feel right, and I adjust the shot as required. But when she’s on, she’s on, coaxing the Lambo with precise authority, driving with balletlike grace as the gray machine cuts an elegant arc through the desert.

I know she has reached that “just right” state when she executes a perfect high-speed drift in the dirt, nailing a satisfying yaw angle while staying completely in control. It is at that moment that Trimble once again proves her mettle, allowing me to finally let go and enjoy her performance.

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