#which my second play through i did the opposite and i much prefer all the events with him because hes just fuckin weird

[hecksupremechips]

Ashton Frey is a straight man but he’s literally a useless lesbian. Like okay so when his chapter starts he’s like having a bad time at a party (except for the food and watching rich people get into stupid fights), then he gets yelled at by Rebecca, then the next morning he gets fired over the phone and has to explain this to his father figure, so like things aren’t going too well from the start right. Then Isabella pokes her head out her apartment (he was there because he was talking with Rebecca and they’re neighbors etc) and my man. Fucking Ash has like a whole ass panic attack right there because Isabella is WEARING.....GASP.....PAJAMAS!!! And the pajamas aren’t shown cuz visual novel shit but from the way he’s reacting to seeing his crush in her pajamas makes you think that she’s in like lingerie nighties or something. But deadass I shit you not when you go into the journal after the scene you see the pajamas in question and they’re literally long-sleeved button-up pajamas with little sheep on them. Like no skin was even showing and he acts like he just walked in on her naked and he’s all flustered LIKE SIR I KNOW YOU HAVE IT BAD BUT I DIDNT KNOW IT WAS THIS BAD HOW DO YOU FUNCTION AROUND THIS WOMAN IF THIS GETS YOU ALL NERVOUS-

#the klock keeps ticking #the letter #the letter vn #this is when i realized i literally was in love with this man #because believe it or not i wasnt that fond of him in the beginning because he does come off as unintentionally mean #which like you would instantly know hes not like that if you choose all the scenes with him but uh #i did not do that at all i chose literally everyone else over him #which my second play through i did the opposite and i much prefer all the events with him because hes just fuckin weird #okay no i take that back the rebecca/luke scene is better but! #it still applies to the other ones #and i figured from the beginning that he maybe had a crush on isabella cuz like. hes not very subtle lol #but i had no idea how like lame he was and how bad he had it and once i got to his chapter i was determined to get this guy smooched #because his crush is so pure and adorable you just want these two kids to be happy cuz they love each other 🥺 #i swear im normal about these two they totally dont occupy my every waking thought #but uh yeah the accurate summary of the ash chapter is just him being all edgy and facing the dangers of the games climax #and the other half is him being pathetic because GIRL PRETTY #hes a cool dude pretty fly for an asian guy

[fawnpires]

AMORAL SILHOUETTES. — SIMON "GHOST" RILEY.

༉‧₊˚ ┊ PART 2.

꒰ ୨୧ ꒱ synopsis: infatuations with older men were morally wrong, but never applying to him.

꒰ ୨୧ ꒱ contents: afab!reader, manhandling, breeding kink, pet-names, praise kink, oral sex (female receiving), size difference, creampies, reader is in her 20's, ghost is a single dad, touch-starved, domesticity, squirting.

You've seen him around the neighborhood before — towering in height, bulging biceps, and a skull balaclava sheltering the structure of whatever laid under, the structure of his concealed face. It was a known fact that you bear an attraction to him, but you just couldn't own up to it, feeling a little too shamed to be conscious about a little school-girl crush on a man much older than you. A man who was a hard-working, ex-military, single father who paid no attention to girls in the same line that you found yourself in — but was it hard not to steal a view glances whenever he was seen around the neighborhood whether it was for a few minutes or seconds despite his lack of ability to communicate with others, though it was obvious he chose not to be around others for a good waste of his time excluding his children.

So when he came strolling up the slope of your driveway and a gloved fist beating at your front door, you had thought you were in another one of your trances — molded daydreams of him; minor fantasies of Simon Riley in that same balaclava giving you all of his affection, kissing you, treating you as if you were his pretty wife — a life that you could never make a single complaint about.

Ghost — his more preferred name used on other's tongues — stands eerily underneath the giving-out light of your porch, with nothing but a set of dusky eyes and a whole lot of muscle beneath the puny fabric of a black v-neck. You, stand on the opposite side of the door and impassively stare, nonetheless avoiding the eye contact when he gapes at you for longer than intended.

"I'm assuming you're the daughter." he said, reserved, dull.

"Sure am, did you need something?"

He clears his throat. "Well, this might be a strange thing to ask — and a bit sudden," He brought his hands to tuck in his pockets. "But would you mind looking after my kids for a while? I'll pay you for every hour, just a couple days of the week."

His offer was the last thing on the brink of your mind when he happened to show up, asking you for a favor — being in his house, where he lived, with his presence ghosting around. It sounded creepy. A bit stalker-ish to think of it like that — but you played it off as an innocent favor he asks of his neighbor, just a few hours of your day taken off to go kid-watching for the man who you admired the most.

"A couple days of the week?" You repeat his words back to him.

"I'm certain."

"I mean, sure, I'll take the offer, but when do you want me to start?"

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow evening is fine, around six."

You bit your lip. "Got it. Have a good-night, Mr. Riley."

"Knew I could rely on you, thanks, doll."

A single wave was managed. No verbal good-bye, just a wave from the hand that was freed from the confines of his pocket — and a pet-name taken straight to the pinpoint of your heart. You watch as he turns his back and finds himself across the street to where he coincidentally had lived — watching as he outstretched his arms and embraced a young girl with no emotion that had intentionally been shown to the public. Doll. It was unknown if his label for you was something he did purposely or had just slipped from his masked lips.

Either way, it made you feel like cherished like never before, his doll.

The day in which Ghost's favor was asked of you passed by quickly into the day the favor was actually supposed to be performed, straight at six, right in the center of where the sky was going through modifications of warmth to a bitter cold. Much like him with more anxiousness residing in your chest, you were across the street and bound to his porch, a dress shrouding your figure up to the bottoms of your thighs. Dressing and dolling yourself up made you look like you were going more on a night-out rather than a baby-sitting shift. Unintentional was the word for it. Unintentional to be all formal when in the same proximity. You half-recover from your birthing nervousness and thump on the door gently.

"Mr. Riley, it's me." you blatantly said, the door still closed.

With your words blurted out the door seemed to open on command — aggressively, as if it were going to be discharged from the hinges. Rather than a giant of a man in the doorframe there stood a girl half the size of it, lightly-shaded blonde hair up in pigtails with a cherubic face, staring right up at you as she titled her head. Honestly, you weren't good with children, but kindness was fundamental as of that. You give her a forced smile pressed up into the corners of your mouth as if held at gunpoint, whispering a small greeting and a wave. How maternal of you.

From further into the house came footsteps, blaring footsteps, and the little girl was no longer stood two feet on the surface of the ground but lifted into her father's arms with a brief giggle. You weren't going to stand here and be blamed a liar if that didn't advance an adoration for him in the moment.

"Thank you so much for coming and apologies, it's my fault for letting you in late," he said. "Make yourself at home."

"Don't worry about it." you reassure.

Ghost's house was clean and neutral, but gave off a decent interior of a past lieutenant's home well. There were a few toys littered around, a locked exhibition cabinet of ex-military trinkets, piled-up envelopes, and one other silhouette of a little girl bearing similarities to the one in his arms. Nothing in his house gave off a girlish ambience, besides two daughters, but it was masculine; like an adequate, suburban variety of a old-fashioned farmhouse with rifles and deer heads on display replaced with military collections.

There was a microscopic chance of danger with a bunch of firearms and artillery gear laying around but as someone as wise as himself, of course he kept a lock on it. Chain, even, if he wanted to get that far into territory.

"Bedtime's at eight, food is already ordered, and you have the entire house to yourself past the eight-o-clock mark." Ghost said. He provided you with a spare key, his bared fingers brushing against yours as he placed it in the middle of your hand. "So you have plenty of time to, you know, relax."

"When will you be home?"

"Around ten, but wait up on me — I'll give your pay up before you leave."

"So I stay until ten?"

"Sure do."

"You can trust me, for sure."

"I know I do." he said.

His eyes trail over you for a minute longer before bending his knees and and allowing his daughter to be freed from his grasp, legs straightening up again as he pat your shoulder. "Thanks, kid, I'll see you later."

All of these nicknames were blurted from his mouth like nothing — first it was doll, now kid, and it just left you anticipated for what he would grant you next with. That though stuck to your mind like a nail screwed by a hammer, watching as he took his jacket and folded it in his arms, swearing that he gave you one last glance before he unlatched the door and shut it behind him — leaving you to bathe in the first touch he acted on you, his effortless terms of endearment, and the two resembling daughters he relied to be cared of.

Spiraling. You had to be spiraling.

Your hours spent with the children were calm. They had warmed up to you pretty fast and had dragged you nearly to every spot of their home. Up the stairs where their shared bedroom stood at the hall, a couple of bathrooms downstairs, a storage closet, the showcase of weaponry, and even Ghost's bedroom. They declared his room was some kind of secretive hideout, only being in there a limited amount of times, but urging you to take them in there along you. It was going to be difficult to get out of the pressuring so, having your own fun, you let them explore around his room — like you were a cool older sister, or mother, to them.

The title "Mother" exclaimed from one of the girls, ultimately leading into them repeatedly a series of them calling you variations of mom, mommy, mother, throughout the night instead of the name you had given them to call you. You weren't extremely irritated with it, you actually found it slightly adorable considering that they didn't even have a mother and latched onto you as some sort of female parent never obtained, nonetheless it was practically harmless and brought no harm down on you.

Baking cookies, some sort of role-playing they convinced you to star in, doing their hair in all sorts of girly ribbons and accessories almost made you feel like you were a little girl again — it had drained them out pretty easily but gave them a sense of girlhood, giving no offense to Ghost. A vision crossed your mind, eventually spearing your mind, that you were the real mother to these girls. A female figure to look up to and issue them a full family with a packed set of two parents. It had been drilled to you the other half of the the night, you kept a close eye on them as they had gotten ready for bed and prepared themselves under the covers.

With a deportation of reading a shabby bedtime story and a few ruffles to both of their heads, you finally had his home to yourself. Anything you wanted to do was accessible, easy-to-do, but with no danger of waking up the girls. Exhaustion was present, though, with all of your lone ideas to-do in mind you ended up on the couch. Your head tilted in one palm as you legs crossed under the skirt of your dress, the illuminations of late-night talk shows on television glowing your face in shades of dissimilar hues.

Staying up and waiting for Ghost to walk right through the front door was starting to become a challenge. Blaming his daughters for putting you in a state of pure fatigue was never the right thing to do, although it was easy to admit. Your eyelids were heavy with one more glance at the clock, which read a quarter to nine, meaning that this night could come to its finale and you could see that face of his — physically, up-close, like you did three hours ago.

As you were right at your breaking point into a slumber the doorknob trembling and echoing into the room where you were buzzed you awake. Stretching over the arm of the sofa and sloping your head to where the door was visible, knob had stopped with the commotion, the door silently opening a crack before blew open. To your relief and satisfaction it's the man who've you longed for the entire day, like a depressed stay-at-home housewife. His jacket is thrown on a nearby table as he could only stare at your laid figure over the couch, eyes squinting.

"Welcome home."

"Appreciate it. Are the girls upstairs?" Ghost asked with a finger pointing to the floor above.

"All knocked out."

"Jesus, what did all of you do?"

"Just a little girl-fun, that's all, baking — stuff like that." you said with a no-teeth grin.

"I could only thank you again for that," he sighs and pulls out a couple dollar bills stuffed in the jean of his pocket. "You don't have any idea how hard it is to get those two asleep."

"Really? They're like little angels, they loved me."

"I bet they did," he said while setting your pay on the coffee table. "Here, an entire hundred stack."

"Hundred?"

"You deserve it, do you not?"

"I'm only a part-time babysitter, Mr. Riley, not a full time worker."

"Yes, but you're a good girl, are you not? Going through all the trouble to make time for me and my kids — so I can assure you this is my pay for you, think of it as a prize."

"God, well, thank you." you said, processing his terms of good girl, heat rising to your face. "You really love those girls, don't you?"

"They're my pride and soul." he said while taking a seat next to your half-laid body, dipping the cushion of the couch. "I only want the best for them, that's why I chose you to look after them."

"Me, why?"

"It's difficult to explain, and a bit strange but — you've always reminded me of my past wife, kind and loved her kids, soft spot even for the people she didn't really know."

"I didn't know I could resemble someone so much." you said, mouth going dry.

Ghost laughs. "Yeah, she was quite beautiful too, like you."

"Was that a compliment?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Hell, love, you've got the looks any man you could fall for.

His hand comes to gently rest on your thigh and you look up at him through droopy eyelids, this didn't feel real. This couldn't be real, right? It couldn't be proved as false when his calloused fingers started rubbing tender circles into your skin, eyes of his own half-lidded and crinkling around with the tar-like paint staining skin. You and him were playing a dangerous game, pent-up tension right in here in his living room, a man by all means older and more mature than you've ever been — it was so easy to give into him so fast.

"You like that, huh?" he keeps his voice low and continues the strokes on your thigh. "You ever been touched like this, dollface?"

"No, sir."

"Mm. I liked the way you called me sir, honey. Come here, sit-up."

You balance yourself on twitching elbows and Ghost moves in between your thighs, his body weight heavy compared to your smaller physique as he lifts the cloth-edge of his balaclava for you, revealing a light stubble peppering the anatomy of his face and somewhat coarse lips that pressed up against yours. Your hands hoist to caress his face, kneading into his sinking cheekbones with each move to intensify the kiss. His pink muscle of a tongue forces your lips open and laps at every crevice of your mouth — your arms linking around his head, his fingers once at your thighs now under your skirt and massaging in circular motions at your fabric-clothed cunt. Small whimpers of shame leak into the kiss, evolving into moans, his massaging enhancing with every finished motion.

Ecstasy ran through your veins, pulsing with adrenaline and contentment. Your legs are fragile, trembling, alongside your cunt flourishing a moistness in its fiber confinement. The man of your daydreams no longer is just a fragment of your delusional head, but right where you've longed for him to be, taking and compelling you to be obedient for him. Only him, always him.

The ministrations on your veiled cunt withdraws and drags a moan from the depths of your throat. One of his hands instead crawl underneath your pushed-together legs and the other supports your back. You dive into his lips with a hunger once more and he manhandles you so delicately despite the tough behavior, you're drunk on the taste of Ghost as he works through the house up the stairs, through the hallway, and brings you into his room where you once stood earlier — the click of the lock confirms your status, you're safe as long as you're with him.

His hands pressing into the flesh of your body is loosened up as he lays you gently on the mattress as if you were created of porcelain — which did have some sense in it bearing in mind that you, essentially, were his doll of a girl by his own words. Defines of his eyes stream your body up and down, towering over you in height, yourself much more reduced and small. Fingers assist you with stripping your dress, leaving you in an arrangement of panties and bra complimenting every curve and bow of your figure. He curses mutely under his breath, huge palms cupping and kneading at your breasts, his knees resting on the bed.

Your whimpers are more pristine and clear to his naked ear. Looking through your languid-like eyes, a bulge is positioned right at his jeans, and his shirt had been ripped off of him — possibly during the time where your eyes had been closed to immerse in his touch.

"Such pretty tits, love." He said with a grunt. A deep guttural grunt.

"They're all for you, mister, always have been."

"Not mister, not even Ghost — Simon to you, and it's going to be Simon when I'm pounding into this tight little cunt of yours."

His words add on to the wet arousal staining your panties, swearing a second heartbeat could be felt, a throbbing and senseless feeling.

"You like this pair?" Ghost asks, nudging at your panties.

"Not important." you reply through short, cut breaths.

With your consent, he takes both of his hands, ripping the fabric in half. A gasp delivers from your open mouth — both at the cold air's impact on your exposed entrance and the material ripping apart. He has a look in his eyes that resembles a feral animal, one that is undomesticated and always in a repetitive state of hunger. Ghost backs you up to lay against his pillows to allow more space for him to climb on the mattress with you. He wastes no time with leaning himself down and hooking your bare legs in a hold around both arms, resting right at his broad shoulders. Those same eyes of hunger peer up at you with the bottom half still exposed from the bruising make-out session.

You feel a mushy lick bumping at your clit, causing your back to arch to the ceiling with a high-pitched moan, who knew such a motion could make you so submissive in a short span of time. The palm of your hand is instantly cupped around your mouth like a guard as Ghost continued his ministrations on your lips — no longer kitten licks but long, dragged out ones that had your eyes rolling into the back of your skull and struggling to muffle such sexual noises deprived from your mouth for the sake of his daughters fast-asleep down the hall.

"You taste like heaven," he grunts. "You're such an angel, making those sweet noises all for a guy like me."

"Only you, fuck, you feel so good." you whined, fisting the bedsheets at your sides.

"That's my girl."

The slant of his nose stimulates your clit while he proceeds with his longer, stroking tongue advances reaching deep inside your cunt. Your surroundings are heated with an addition of pure wetness, sweat, and mess clogging your brain up. His tongue provides you with a pleasure even your own fingers couldn't drive out of you, drool pools at a corner of your mouth while his grip on your legs hardens, strokes of his tongue becoming more aggressive — driving you quicker over an edge, your stomach in knots and oversensitivity. Your vision starts to blur out once you realize you can't control the sounds that he forces out of you, his tongue again and again savoring you as if you were his last meal on death row — he was desperate and willing to lap up your juices staining his face and your inner-thighs, Ghost was just as deprived as you were for him.

A thick sensation adjoins his tongue and nose, overwhelming sparks of emotion possessing you. The palm around your mouth is useless at this point, it lays flat and abandoned as a fist clutching at the sheets, moans chased out humiliatingly. You needed to come, come for him, for your own sake — but that was hard to think about when Ghost was mouth-fucking and finger-fucking you at the same exact time, much like some pornographic type video. A cliche one.

You were squeezing around whatever he stuck in you next — his tongue, his fingers, his tongue, or an combination, you were with no doubt tight and squeezed around any of his body parts.

"Fuck, you gonna come, sweetheart?" he asked, muffled with your clit puckered between his lips. "It's okay, come for me, just like that."

"Baby! Oh my go-"

Your back arches to an impossibly high rate when the knot in your stomach unties itself willingly, a wave of arousal gushing in streams on his face. Audible whines fall from your lips as you fall back right in contact with the plush of the bed. Sweat and the scent of sex reeks around you and Ghost, your chest rising with each hefty breath that is fished from your lungs. Your blurred vision is somewhat returned to its original shape, enough to make out Ghost — with his bare chest and your arousal at his face, tongue used to make said arousal transpire licking around at it, and his inked forearm. He was sticky and sweaty, a little tired, but obtained the right amount of stamina to be right inside you, just like he had wanted.

"Simon." you heaved out below, his fingers pressing into your hips. "Fuck me, please. I need you so bad, needed you ever since you've first moved here."

Ghost releases a low grunt and within a few seconds, he's messing with his belt — shakily unbuckling it and shrugging his pants to the floor. His boxers are no place of concealment, the prominent outline of his bulge protruding beyond the fabric, the sight provoking you to press your thighs together and rev-up that weakness present in your knees. He tugs at the waistband and slowly, painfully, lowers the border bordering item down — his cock almost immediately coming to press against his lower abs, at his lower stomach, really giving you the idea of how big he was. His balaclava is fully suited back on his face as the he leans down to give a final stream of soft kisses at your stomach through the mask, a hand pumping from the base of his cock to the tip.

"You want this, angel?" he groans with his pumps before he releases himself from his hand, positioning the tip of his cock right at the entrance of your swollen cunt as he provided a pre-fuck with only his tip. "Want my cock deep inside your pussy, pounding you into the mattress?"

"Oh god, I do, want you to fuck me as if I'm your wife, your pretty little housewife."

With one unforeseen jolt of his hips, he slams into you, your tight walls fondling him as if you were made for him. Your arms link around his torso as he moves his hips slowly, nails etching into the muscles of his back.

"Fucking hell, I can feel you squeezin' around me, love," he pants out, thrusts developing into a more faster pace. "This pussy is so good to me..."

"You're so fucking big, fuck."

Ghost jackhammers his cock into you, pressing his face into the crook of your neck, your legs squeezing around his waist. Your mouth widens with each moan and whimper he could drain you of — he pounds into you, fucking you like an animal rabid, sinking fully inside with each thrust of his hips. There's a composure and steady rhythm he keeps, allowing him to punctuate each of his plunges with his cock kissing at your cervix, his hand moving down to your clit. His thumb rolls over the bud and correlates it with how he fucks you, your nails digging at the skin of his back.

"Want to put a baby in you," he groans as his hips rock faster, nearly knocking the breath out of you, his fingers ghosting over the imprint of his cock in your lower stomach. "We'll have a perfect lil' family together, such a pretty little mother to my kids. You would let me do that, yeah?"

He's pistoning his hips in-and-out of you, your cunt naturally squeezing around him as your whines grew in pitch. His words held so much meaning — an entire family with him? Spending a lifetime with the older man you've adored from across the street? It had sounded more like paradise, anything that you've ever wished for in life. He knew he loved you so much, and you knew you loved him as equally, so much that he could imagine your cunt all full of his seed — stomach swelling with his child.

You nod as an agreement and he grunts, thrilled at the idea of you and him birthing something so intimate with each other. A family, your family, his family. It was a scheme he never thought he would be overly-obsessing, despite his disagreement with it during his time serving the army. But he dropped it, as long as he had you, and a devoted life.

"Want that so bad-" you squeal out, the sensation of a knot in your stomach on its last support heels, each of his drilling thrusts pulling you nearly to a climax. "Wanna have your baby, yours forever." Your phrase comes out slurred as the knot is broken of the last support it was on, sending you back into another session of short paradise.

"You're so beautiful. Going to breed this pussy with all my cum, honey." He sinks into you more erratic as he feels the walls of your cunt grasp abnormally tightly around him, his head going bare and distorted, the only initial thought in-tact was to keep the flow of thrusts he had fabricated — though, said flow was quickly dismembering.

His fingers of projecting veins running up his knuckles that were conveniently gripping your hips with such a pressure molded your skin into his contact easily. Your moans coming from a thrown back head against his cologne-scented pillows merged with Ghost's persistent heavier grunts — it's almost like a choir, using two valid voices, and delivering some sort of out-of-tune melody but with a hint of great profound beauty behind it.

The sensitive nipples of your breasts rub up right against his sweat-sheen chest in company with the dog tags strewn around his neck swaying in your face. He's leaning into you and has you caged in with no escape, his flow of thrusts gone, both of you desperate for a release. His muted breathing is irregular and heavy, your legs trembling and weak encircling his waist. His name is on your tongue and it leaks into the air, chanting it like your life was depending on it at the moment — depending on him. The lewd squelching of the head of his cock kissing your cervix, his noises combined with yours, the slapping of skin-on-skin — all of it was such an erotic sight to the human eye.

His head is back resting in the expanse between your head and shoulder, balaclava raised to expose the area of his lips once again, the warmth of those lips stamping sloppy, wet kisses into your neck; you squeal out as you're driven to your breaking point, a rush of arousal pressuring from your cunt and spraying onto his lower abs while he douses his cum deep into your swollen cunt. His own high-point doesn't stop him from sneaking a few more smaller thrusts for a bit, assuring all of his seed stays remains inside you.

"Fuck," he mutters, voice breaking off, his knuckles are ghosting a shade paler than white while he keeps purchase on both sides of your hips. He's stuttering over breaths as he tries to catch up with them, eyes falling to your immobile self. Your mouth is vaguely unfastened with breaths taken, eyes nearly closed, body slightly shuddering with the collisions of his cock still felt up inside of you — leaving your filled cunt fluttering around nothing.

"Too rough on you, sweetheart?" He asks, raspy.

"I think I'm okay, besides —you made my night even better."

He chuckles, a rare vision coming from a man like himself. "I'm happy to assist with that."

"Also," you imposed a dopey grin on your lips. "You should ask me for favors more often."

#. ˚ ʚ — ꒰ simon riley. ꒱ #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon riley x f!reader #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley smut #ghost smut #call of duty mw2 #mw2 fanfic #oneshot #female reader #.୨୧ fawnpires

[cloudninetonine]

Linktober: Link

“LINK, GET YOUR ARSE IN HERE, NOW!”

In a split second, the atmosphere had turned from warm, mirthful and fun to a stone-cold dread, the group of men freezing on the very spot.

Not once had any of the boys heard you scream like that, not a single time. Sure, they had experienced your frustration, your anger but this wasn’t that. No, nowhere close- this was pure, unfiltered rage, a rage so deadly it seemed to petrify the whole team as all actions paused within the second, petrified as if Medusa herself had walked amongst them turning all to stone.

The gorgon certainly would have been impressed by how still they all seemed.

The look Wind and Spirit shared was a haunted one, not even the most mutilated of ghosts would have caused such a fear between the two, cold and sharp as if death herself had clasped her hand upon the twos shoulder. Both were debating whether or not to book it right then and there, did not matter if they weren’t the cause, the pure emotion behind their shared name was reason enough not to stay.

Four was reaching for the Four Sword, reasoning from the Colours would be the only way of survival- after all you couldn’t chase them all. Hyrule and Twilight faced similar predicaments, you couldn’t chase a wolf nor would you be able to find a hidden fairy, but Goddess did they know you would try.

Wild was already backing out of the room, slowly, as if a bear was staring him down, asking for him to make one wrong move and die by its hand. Though, as of now, he much preferred such a death compared to what waited for him by your hands. 

Courage and Koridai were fighting, clawing at one another, trying to sacrifice each other, pushing selfishly as they both tried to scramble through the door opposite where your voice had come, cursing at the other and pulling at each others’ hair.

Legend was certain that the panic had permanently frozen him in his place, unable to move, unable to speak- it was as if his entire body was encased with ice, eyes wide and waiting for when you came stomping through the door. He considered playing dead, but he knew it was for nought- you would crawl to wherever he ended up and drag him right back to face you.

Mecha was already working through his system, putting every single wire, cog- any and all mechanisms that made up his entire being through hell to shut down the entire system and hide behind the faux appearance of death. His pride told him you would never dare to shout at him, a machine so devoted to you, but reason told him you working to put him back on may calm you down enough from this raging inferno.

The knights had shared the same sense of acceptance, telling themselves they were ready for what you were bringing in those next few moments. An odd calm over all of them, no one shook, no one cried, prayed to the Goddess for aid- no, all were ready, they were made to be ready- they weren’t afraid to die. Warriors, Sky and Calamity had been born for this, carved from the fires of conflict for this very moment.

Finally, Time and First were stoic, faces void of any emotion that currently plagued them. They were trained on the door which you would eventually storm through, still, not an ounce of reaction on their forms as your footsteps began to storm towards them, getting louder by the second.

“LINK WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I’M GONNA WRING YOUR FUCKING NECK-”

All faces turned to look at the eldest, waiting for reactions.

“Old man…?”

“Gramps?”

Time looked at First; First looked at Time.

They shared an understanding nod before once again facing the group.

“Run.”

“Now.”

#Linktober #Linktober 2022 #linked universe #linked universe x reader #lu #linked universe imagine #player au #a player's aid #lu Time #lu Warriors #lu Twilight #lu Sky #lu Legend #lu Wild #lu Hyrule #lu Four #lu Wind #lu Spirit #lu First #lu Calamity #Koridai #Courage #Mecha

[macravishedbymactavish]

Social Butterfly | Antisocial Moth (Keegan Russ x GN! Reader)

TW: A little bit of swearing? Total imposter syndrome for the social butterfly bits as the authors personality aligns closer to Keegan's. Creative liberties taken in backstories as there's next to nothing from the games.

Blog HQ

What do laws of physics and horoscopes have in common? Both say opposites attract.

Which may be the reason why you're sitting at lunch in the mess hall, chatting with the 3rd person that approached your table while your boyfriend sat silently beside you. In the span of 30 minutes.

"No way, of course did." You smiled, laughing at Harper's story about her middle child -- Noah who has been desperately trying to keep up with a girl he likes during gym class. Because if we run together af the same speed, then I get to talk to her more.

"He's gotten better, told me he shaved 5 seconds off his total time last week" the two of you chuckled. Your food barely touched, despite your boyfriend being almost done his. "Oh anyway, I should get going and let you eat. See you, bye Keegan!" He gave a short nod and awkward smile, as you bid your colleague goodbye.

"Oh my gosh, I love her. Her kids are so cute" you smiled over to the quiet man beside you. Like with your past 2 interactions at this lunch alone, Keegan was provided with context and background on all of them. Such as:

Parker - who recently got a new dog named Ranger. 6 month old Husky who argues with him on the daily. The dog is so cute babe, can we get one? Our dog and his dog could be best friends! Then Logan can bring Riley over for a playdate and all the dogs would be so happy. Please!

Then Finn - his girlfriend, Raven (your favourite mechanic on base who he will HAVE to meet) just got home from visiting her friends from back home. He really wants to propose but isn't quite sure if this is a good time for them. I think he should do it because they are literally soulmates.

Did he really care about any of this information? Not overly. Keegan was your opposite. Preferring a smaller, tighter knit social circle than knowing everyone on base. Even if that meant you teasing him about his social circle consisting of his team, even then he didn't know a whole lot of details about them.

"I know plenty about them" He argued one night while getting ready for bed.

"Yeah? Like what?" You challenged, leaning back on the bed, watching your boyfriend roll his eyes. He was the antisocial moth to your social butterfly.

"Uh Merrick started in the seals before he was a Ghost. Knew me since I was 18, so he's pretty much my family. Loves cats, camping and his kids" You raised an eyebrow, internally adding that his wife was the best baker you've met, and that his son played hockey for many years while his daughter played soccer.

"Ajax is the most stubborn, kindest asshole I've had the pleasure of working with. Extremely smart, one of the best mentors and friends I've had" His in-laws also own the local bar downtown and donate meals to the local homeless shelters every week. His partner plans on taking over the buisness one day to continue the good deeds.

"Uh Elias knows his stuff. I couldn't ask for a better commander. Been through hell and back but continues putting the team first, he's also the one who recruited me onto the team". He also lost his wife 8 years after his youngest was born and has been balancing his life between raising 2 sons and commanding a team. He feels bad every so often feeling like he didn't give them a proper childhood, or forcing David to grow up a little too fast to take care of his brother. Even though he loves the bond the two have formed. He is the dad friend of every social circle.

"Logan is good, young and full of potential. Doesn't say much, but knows what he wants out of life and is working his ass off toward getting it. Picks up on things extremely quick, has your back at all times, loves Riley and any other animal he comes across. A bit on the quiet side but that's not a bad thing" You laughed softly, realizing every single description Keegan has given you so far is 95% work related; so continuing in the current format. You bit your lip, in an attempt not to add that Logan was a very sweet kid, of minimal words as your boyfriend pointed out, sure. But he told you once that he hoped to make his family proud with what he was doing. Then got extremely red the day you and his brother told him just how proud everyone is of him.

"What's so funny over there, chuckles?" Keegan smiled at you, walking over to join you in the bed. Opting to lay between your thighs with his head on your stomach. Fingers automatically going to his hair, you felt him relax into your touch.

"I think it's funny that everything was work related. They do lead lives off base, like you and me" you felt him shrug silently. "You forgot about Hesh and Kick". Not bothering to move, he continued.

"Everyone in California knows Hesh's life story, and Kick is just a smartass". He had you there. "And not everyone is as open and talkative as you hun."

--

"Hey, it's been so long I've seen you. How have you been?" Another competitor entered the ring that was your shared table.

"It's been tiring, honestly. Coming back to work from extended leave has killed our motivation" hand finding Keegan's under the table, you were immediately engulfed in conversation with another face he didn't recognize. Lunch forgotten as your interest in the subject grew.

It was when Hesh Walker (the only person on base who held a candle to your social attitude) joined that Keegan decided he was done with lunch. Squeezing your hand 3 times under the table (a silent "I love you") he got up.

"See you guys" he responded to the 3 voices bidding him goodbye, as he went to drop his tray off before leaving.

"Tell me, how is it that the quietest soldier ended up dating the one of the loudest ones?" He heard Kick ask from behind him, walking alongside Elias and Merrick. "Your person could talk to a brick wall and become best friends with it in under 5 minutes". Keegan shrugged, falling in step with the group.

"They bring out the best side of our dear old Keegan though" Merrick clapped him on the shoulder with a mischievous grin. He found it rather comical watching you and Keegan out in a social atmosphere.

You working the room, chatting with anyone and everyone. Remembering random details about most people you've talked to. Him quietly watching you from across the room, or by your side nodding along to conversation. Things none of the senior team would've expected from their sniper 3 years ago, before he met you.

"Yeah. They're pretty great" Keegan smiled, allowing himself to fade into the background and listen to the conversation in front of him turn to whatever sports game the guys watched last night.

Your personalities may be day and night from one another, but he wouldn't give it up for th-

"Keeg! We aren't done talking about the dog we're going to adopt" he heard you yell from somewhere behind him. Causing him to freeze in place as the men in front of him began laughing. Feeling his face burn, knowing all passing eyes were now on either him or his ball of energy jogging up behind him.

But what can he say, opposites clearly attract.

Taglist: @bloodonmyhands-1221 @ai-luni

#call of duty ghosts #logan walker #david hesh walker #keegan p russ #cod logan #keegan russ x reader #cod keegan

[shuamorollss]

teenage memories — park sunghoon x fem!reader

in which a boring night that turned to an interesting one. All thanks to the infamous Park Sunghoon.

fluff, friends?2lovers, extrovert hoon, not proofread, errors ahead, hbd park sunghoon 🎉 3.1k wc ( notes at the end ^_^ )

It was a boring Saturday night for you. You were just in your room studying while playing lo-fi music to keep focus. The whole room was quiet and you were enjoying it. But of course, all happiness will come to its end.

You lift your head upwards, removing an earbud to hear your suspicions correct. There was loud tapping coming from your window. It seems like someone's been throwing pebbles at it .

In the middle of the night?

You didn't want to entertain the person who was responsible for the disturbance and kept studying as if nothing happened, although they kept throwing and never stopped.

You got irritated by this eventually and quietly marched your way to where the main trouble was made. You stood outside the window to see who the person was and your eyes were quickly met by the guy standing outside, Park Sunghoon. Your eyes squinted to see if it really was him.

Sunghoon isn't technically your friend nor your best friend. Though you two always hang out… so, close friends? You didn't want to consider him as your friend, maybe for the reason that you two are opposite.

Sunghoon loves to go to places and meet new people and you prefer staying home alone and doing things by yourself. He loves to go to parties when the opportunity hits him but you really just want to stay home alone, watch a movie and invite a friend or two. He wasn't considered a bad boy to you since he's doing pretty well in classes (surprisingly), though he often rebels a lot against his family rules so maybe..?

You didn't know why you got close with that boy anyway. You two just happened to grow comfortable with each other after being partners for a class project. Either way you have grown quite fond of him and likewise for the other.

After seconds of glaring at Sunghoon, you mouthed a " What are you doing here? " To him to which he pulled out a Sketchpad where he wrote;

Are you bored? Want to hang out?

He came prepared, you thought to yourself. Communicating with you through a big whiteboard because he knew you don't like to be loud. You took a piece of paper and a Marker from your desk so that whatever you'll write in it would be clear to the man's eyes.

Can't, I'm studying.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes frustratingly and wrote a reply at the next page of the sketchpad.

You always study. Can you try to NOT follow your boring daily routine? For once?

You furrowed your brow and shook your head, mouthing "go home." and off you walked out from your bedroom window disappearing from sunghoon's sight.

You went back to your desk to carry on studying once again, as much as you don't want to, maybe it's better to pretend than to be forced to hang out with that guy. expecting the male to be gone after that, however… He did not.

You heard more taps from the window once more, you know this was Sunghoon's doing. Seriously, what does he want from you?

You walked towards your window furiously once again, and this time you opened your window. Tired of writing and wasting paper just to talk to that jerk.

" What do you want?! Seriously, I said no! " You quietly yelled, leaning your head out of the window for the man to hear you clearer.

" You didn't answer my first question. "

You raised a brow, not having any idea what he's trying to point out. " What question? "

" Are you bored? "

You looked at him with confusion, you already said no but honestly, you kinda are. But you didn't want to tell him that, but do you really want to stay in your house studying like what you always do? Doesn't it tire you? You have a strange feeling that he won't be giving up after you refuse once or twice.

" honestly yeah….? i guess. " You muttered, to which Sunghoon responded with a smile, adding, " Well, do you want to come outside and stroll for a few minutes? "

Seeing his smile, you couldn't help yourself but to do the same. Maybe the only thing you like about him is his fangs, that's the spotlight of his whole visage, next in the list is his moles of course. It suits him and it makes him look so adorable, it makes you forget how 'wild' he is at parties.

Speaking of parties, you realized he's supposed to be at a party at this hour.

" Go outside and stroll? Aren't you supposed to be at a party right now? Park Sunghoon? "

" Ah, Heeseung's party? Left there early since I'm not really feeling like being in a crowded place today. "

You chuckled. That's rare to happen. Park Sunghoon, who loves to party, is getting tired of crowded places? you tsked.

" You could've just gone strolling alone. "

" I would but for some reason I thought it would be more fun if I'm with you, since you like things quiet and maybe you would like to walk around in quiet places too. "

You felt your cheeks heat up by that reply. You didn't know if you would take his sweet offer or not. You wanted to, a quiet walk in the middle of the night. That's a great way to ease boredom plus stress. although you're afraid to sneak out at such a late hour.

You were quiet in place trying to think thoroughly on your decision, Sunghoon on the other hand took your silence as no.

Sunghoon clicked his tongue, you saw his lips had gone down to a frown. " It's alright. Study well. " He spoke.

Your eyes widened when he turned around so you yelled and he immediately stopped in his tracks.

You didn't want to come with him but now that you called him before he actually walks away, giving you space, you don't feel like saying no now.

you breathe in before letting out a word, still hesitant on what you're gonna say.

" I'll be down in a minute. "

You saw Sunghoon's face lit up as he nodded to you.

You smiled back as you walked out from the male's sight, and when you were finally out to change, you suddenly felt your heart beat fast. That's where you just processed everything that had happened a few seconds ago.

Sneaking out with Park Sunghoon?

you scratched your head from frustration, you can't believe you are doing this.

You wanted to say no by the last minute but you didn't. The way you saw him perk up his lips by the time you stopped him from walking away.

You didn't want to sneak out, you really didn't.

Knowing that you have so many choices, you decided to go anyway.

You started searching in your closet to wear something, you just settled with the most comfortable outfit plus a jacket to keep you from the cold of the midnight breeze. You quietly made your way outside your room to downstairs, successfully leaving your house without any traces of evidence that you snuck out or have made any noise to wake anyone in that house.

You were met outside with the man who you just saw from your bedroom window. You couldn't stop from staring at his endearing figure in the dark.

After a moment of standing, you swiftly walk towards him, seeing a smirk on his face; his fangs standing out his whole structure.

" What's with that face? " You raised a brow.

" Why were you just standing there? Too busy staring at me? " He replied with so much pride in which you winced.

" Ohh y/n finds me hot~" he sing-songed.

" Alright, I'm going back— "

You were about to jokingly turn around to look like you're going back but you felt Sunghoon's intense grab suddenly on your wrist.

" Y/n, I'm obviously kidding. "

" I was kidding also. " You huffed, resisting the urge to laugh even just a tiny bit.

" Right. " Sunghoon releases his grip on your wrist.

You chuckled at the sight of this embarrassment, Sunghoon didn't know what else to do in one place so he turned around and began to walk away.

You catched up with him, knowing obviously that he wanted you to do so.

" Where are we going? " you asked, attempting to equal his pace of walking.

" Anywhere. " He answered

" Anywhere? " You repeated, your brows narrowed and your tone of response was rather concerned.

" We can't just go anywhere, Sunghoon?! What if we get lost? "

" You're overreacting, Yn. I know a place. "

" Right. " You ended that conversation with that reply.

The both of you proceeded to walk in silence. You have no idea where you two are headed although you slightly trust the other within this place. Honestly you don't know why.

Why did I even agree to come along? you argue with yourself, immediately regretting all your choices that led you to what you're doing right now.

You clenched your hands, adding to it are the urges to rub your face so aggressively that it would burn.

" I know this place very well, you shouldn't worry too much. "

" I'm with you, how can I stay calm?! "

" You're overreacting again. I'm not going to harm you. "

" Are you? "

His gaze transferred to your figure who was walking beside him. Not letting out a single word but a small curve formed on his lips made you establish the answer for your question.

Your brows furrowed, genuinely about to be terrified by the silent answer.

" I'm kidding. " He lets out a timid laugh, in which your heart rate starts to beat normal.

" How would you laugh at that… You genuinely terrified me. "

" I'm sorry, I thought you could take jokes like these. " He apologized, his eyes darting from you.

" I may be a party person but I never have bad motives or intentions. " He added, in an attempt to make you feel better, and honestly, you kinda were. " I'm just a teenager who wants to have fun. "

As you two kept walking and kept talking, you then wondered where you two were. Gazing every surrounding from the front, back, and beside you. The place was full of trees yet you could still see the roads, there were no people, it was dim, and the place was grassy, like a small park to hang out on. You have never been here before.

" Where are we? " You disregard the previous topic, curious about your destination.

" Just a small park I always go to. Have you never been here before? "

You hesitantly shook your head, to which Sunghoon was surprised.

" Really? " He asked once more, and you shook your head again.

" Wow. And you said you've been living in this neighborhood since birth. " He chuckled.

" I do… I just never go outside. " You lowered your head.

" Why don't you go outside? This isn't far from your house, you seem capable enough to go outside on your own. "

" I'm not an outside person. I prefer just staying indoors, just studying and other stuff. "

" But… " Sunghoon's face turned to you as you said that word. He admired where your eyes are looking straight to the trees, as if you felt alive just by being surrounded by nature. He could tell that you feel refreshed.

" I do like it here. " You continued.

And he was right.

Sunghoon stopped his tracks, lowering his head to locate the perfect spot of grass to sit on.

You watched him elegantly find the best position so that he could comfortably sit.

His hand rested on the grass, seemingly showing no discomfort of his position.

He patted at the space next to him, inviting you to sit down with him.

You pondered for a quick minute, you have been complaining since you sneaked out, you didn't want to cause trouble or to bicker again with the other, so you just obliged.

The grass was tickling you through your clothed pants, though you weren't uncomfortable for long. You settled quickly and began to enjoy the feel of the grass against your legs.

" It's not that bad. " He teased, after watching you struggle to finding a more comfortable position

" I don't like the feeling of grass… "

" But you're still sitting on it so… "

" I know… It feels weird. "

" Really..? " Sunghoon's brow raised, perking up a smile.

" It does… But I like it. "

" Of course you do. " Your gaze darted to Sunghoon leaning back, his elbow now laying on the grass. Luckily for him, the cloth of his red checkered jacket was able to keep him from discomfort.

The way he just did that made your heart skip a beat for some reason. He felt astonishing under the moonlight and you're pissed at yourself to be admitting that inside your head.

You saw him smile directly to the moon, his eyes closed trying to feel the late night breeze. You couldn't take your eyes off of him, he's too admiring.

" This is better than tanning. " He commented, in which you only chuckled in response.

You then felt the strong cold air which made you settle your hands inside your jacket sleeves, then crossing your arms.

" Holy— it's so cold. " You shivered.

" Lay down. " Sunghoon suddenly spoke.

You looked at the man with his eyes still closed, facing up to the sky. Your brows furrowed, seeing how relaxed he is, you didn't ask anymore.

Sunghoon can sense how agitated you were, it's cute to witness you complain at first then liking it afterwards, just like your complaints about the grass right at this moment while you properly lay on the grass.

As you finally settle with a more comfortable position. Your eyes went straight to the sky.

Stars, you see stars. Stars that are so wide in the sky, there are too many up there.

Both of you didn't let out a single word, as you stare at the ravishing and sparkling stars while Sunghoon has his eyes closed, feeling the nature's breeze.

Both of you never enjoyed silence like this before. You were always in your house but never experienced this kind of silence, and Sunghoon always talks to people and always blasts music, he never experienced silence.

You couldn't help but curve a smile on your lips, releasing the arm support that was holding you up on the grass, completely laying down on it. It was tickling your head but you didn't let it bother you, you didn't want the grass to ruin your night. Thankfully the ticklish feeling faded quickly.

Your mind was elsewhere, the sky was ravishing, and so was Sunghoon.

" I always dreamt of having my first kiss under the stars. " You softly spoke, breaking the beautifully flowing silence between the area.

Sunghoon only hummed in response, slowly opening his eyes as he processed your words.

And when he could fully comprehend, you saw his eyes widened, glancing at you.

" First kiss? You haven't had your first kiss before? "

" Why do you seem surprised? " You chuckled, not as baffled as the other.

" Of course I'm surprised. You're so pretty. Too pretty. "

Your heart began beating fast by that reply, you breath subtly shaking by his words. You couldn't take it. His compliments were so simple yet so nerve-wracking, it made you shiver more than the cold air that surrounded you.

You only responded with a light giggle, heavily sighing as your eyes went back to gazing at the sky.

" Do you wanna have your first kiss? " He asked, eyes on you.

" Of course. " You replied, you saw his eyes sparkling as it laid its vision to you. You knew what he wanted to do, and him being your first kiss wouldn't be such a bad idea.

" We're under the stars right now. "

" Like what you dreamed of… "

Every word that goes out of his mouth increases your heart rate, you're considering it… Now that you're here.

" If it's okay then— "

" Kiss me. " You boldly let out. Your eyes locked onto one another, Sunghoon's subtle jaw dropped made you let out a short laugh.

" Are you sure? " He asked, wanting confirmation.

" We're under the stars anyway… and first kisses wouldn't harm anyone. "

You stayed laying on the grass, but your eyes were on the perplexed Park Sunghoon. Contemplating still… examining your endearing look.

And without any more further thinking, he leaned in finally connecting his lips onto yours.

You both felt so alive. The butterflies in your stomach began flying out as his soft lips lay on yours.

Sunghoon never felt this much bliss in kissing someone, he never expected to be so damn attached to you nor to kiss you.

But here he was, kissing you. A kiss that he actually wanted, a kiss that satisfied him, a kiss he enjoyed.

Two of you were too deep in the kiss, unaware of your arms wrapping around his neck. You only began to realize it when your lips parted, out of breath.

Your eyes met, a small smile plastered on your face which the other mirrored.

" You're really pretty… " Sunghoon praised, placing his hand behind your head, supporting it from the ticklish sensation from the short grass.

" Make sure you don't get caught. " Sunghoon states as he fixes your hair.

You didn't want to pull away, you wanted more, and he knew that just by your eyes on his lips, and so he goes for it again, connecting his lips again to yours.

....

You chuckled in response. Both of you have arrived at your home, " I'll be alright. They're all heavy sleepers. "

" You seem ecstatic, weren't you just nervous to be coming with me just an hour ago? "

" I am ecstatic. This night has been interesting. "

" It really was. " Sunghoon's eyes sparkled once more as it lays on you. " Thank me for making it interesting. Actually, thank me for everything. "

You slightly nudged his arm as a joke, Sunghoon laughed as a response. You then proceed to turn around, not wanting to waste more time, now walking back inside your house quietly.

" Try not to get caught. " He stated once more.

" I know, thanks Hoon. " You quietly replied that Sunghoon can still hear, never expecting the sudden temperature of his ears. He's blushing… He was blushing because of the nickname.

He never felt this way before for someone. It was making him uncomfy yet it felt so right.

He waited for you to enter your home, wanting your figure to completely leave his sight, and when you did, he walked off.

He never felt this giddy, and he was never calm like earlier. He never expected to act like that in front of you. He never felt nervous in front of a girl before.

His thoughts were crowding him with things he never does to anyone but did to you.

That's when Sunghoon hit to the realization that he might actually want you.

note: this was supposed to be posted yesterday for hoon's bday but I didn't make it 😭 Anyway it's here now!! I will make a riki drabble too please stay tune for that 🙏 HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY FOR MY TWO FAVES 😻

taglist: @jangwonie @jungwonize @luhvlyuna @w3bqrl @ineedaherosavemeenow

© seungiepup 2022. please do not modify, edit, copy or reproduce any of the works published.

#enhypenwriters #enhypen #park sunghoon #enhypen x reader #sunghoon x reader #sunghoon x you #enhypen x you #park sunghoon x reader #park sunghoon imagines #enhypen imagines #sunghoon imagines

[ejzah]

And it Could All Come Crumbling Down, Part 2

***

“We’re here,” Deeks announced softly. They’d actually been parked for a minute or so, but Rosa hadn’t reacted at all, her gaze focused on the opposite window. Deeks nudged her now, and she startled slightly, but didn’t turn away.

“I don’t want to do this,” she said. In the weak reflection of the window, he saw her eyes were wide and scared.

Kensi reached between the console to wrap her arm around Rosa’s shoulders. Rosa looked so young at the moment, worried and uncertain, seeking comfort.

“I know,” Kensi murmured, radiating compassion and protectiveness. “I know this is extremely hard, but Deeks and I will be there the whole time.” The effect her touch had on Rosa was immediate; she instantly relaxed slightly, her spine less rigid as she reached to grip Kensi’s hand.

“And the first sign that there’s anything wrong, we will hightail it out of there,” Deeks added.

“And you’re sure she can’t make me move in with her instead or anything like that,” Rosa checked.

“Absolutely.” Deeks nodded. He’d spent hours consulting with a friend who specialized in difficult adoptions and stayed late conducting his own research to make sure their bases were covered. “As long as we make a good effort to meet your aunt’s request, legally there shouldn’t be a question of kinship. Especially since you’ve made your preference known.”

Rosa turned to Deeks, searching his face, and Deeks was once again reminded just how much she’d been through in her young life. He hoped that this experience didn’t add any further weight to her shoulders.

She nodded, gripping each other their hands. “Ok.”

Together, they got out, stopping for a second in front of the small square house sandwiched with a tiny strip of grass between and each neighboring home. From the outside, it looked aged, but well-kept and neat.

“You ready?” Deeks checked as they hesitated outside the front door.

“Yeah.”

The woman who answered the door was short, perhaps late 50s, and with a thick plait of silver threaded black hair that reached almost to her waist. Based on how quickly she’d opened the door, Deeks suspected she’d been waiting there for them.

She stood frozen for a second, eyes roving over Rosa.

“Hi, I’m Marty, and this is my wife Kensi,” Deeks said, gesturing between them. “And of course, you know Rosa.”

“Oh yes, forgive me.” She pressed a hand to the center of her chest. “I’m Andrea, please come in.”

She ushered them through the door and into a small sitting room which contained a couch and a couple cushioned chairs.

Rosa squeezed herself between Kensi and Deeks on the couch. Andrea pulled one of the chairs forward, gaze barely leaving Rosa. She leaned forward, fingers a tangled knot in her last.

“It’s good to see you again, Rosa. The last time I saw you, you were just a little girl,” she said.

“I remember,” Rosa responded softly. “Not too much, but I know you always brought me candy and you would play with me on the floor.” She hadn’t told them that before and Deeks had never been more proud of her for making the effort. Even though he felt the subtle tremor vibrating through her arm against his.

Andrea’s face lit up with delight, then quickly, then regret. “You were always such a sweetheart. I’m sorry I couldn’t be in your life more. I feel I have missed so much.”

“Why didn’t you then?” Rosa asked. “Why did you leave?”

“Your father and I had a fight.” Andrea shook her head. “It seems silly now, but we argued and refused to speak to each other ever again. After a few years, I had the opportunity to come to the US and I took it.” She rubbed at her wrists anxiously. “Over the years, I just didn’t know how to break the silence. Until now.”

“I’m curious how you found out about us adopting Rosa,” Kensi said. “We were told that there weren’t any other family members besides Rosa’s other aunt.”

“No, I suppose they wouldn’t have found me since I changed my last name after I became a citizen. I only kept contact with Marcela. She told me when you came to live with her Rosa, and then when she had her stroke, she mentioned there was a couple who wanted adopt you.”

“You could have said something then.” Despite her earlier concern, she sounded hurt.

Andrea gave them a pleading look. “I was afraid of how you would react after so long. I’ve spent months going back and forth trying to decide if I should reach out. I’m glad I did.” She held Rosa’s gaze for several seconds, warm and caring.

Deeks cleared his throat, hating to ruin the moment, but needing to be upfront from the beginning. For all of their sakes.

“I have to ask, what exactly are you hoping for from reuniting with Rosa?”

“I want to get to know her again.” She smiled at Rosa, then at Kensi and Deeks. “And to see for myself what Marcela told me about you Mr. and Mrs. Deeks. She said you were kind, and loving, and wanted nothing but the best for Rosa. Just from knowing you a few moments, I can see that’s all true.”

“I appreciate that. We want what’s best for Rosa, and to support what she acts too,” Kensi said. “So, it’s her decision how far this goes.”

Rosa was silent for several moment, then lifted her head, sitting straight and tall again. “I would like to get to get to know you again too,” she decided.

Andrea made a small sound, covering her mouth with her hand. She reached towards Rosa as if to give her a hug, then seemed to think better of it, and covered her hand instead.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She then squeezed Kensi and Deeks’ hands. “And thank you, Marty and Kensi. For giving me this opportunity.

Beside him, Rosa leaned into his shoulder. He saw her wipe a tear from her cheek, even as she smiled.

***

A/N: I hope this came out alright. I’m trying to navigate this scenario very carefully, while still stay faithful to what I think Rosa would feel given her recent past and newfound stability.

I couldn’t recall if the aunt Rosa lived with briefly had a name, so I gave her one.

#ncis la fanfiction #densi #marty deeks #kensi blye #Rosa Reyes #angst #and it could all come crumbling down #part 2 #ejzah fanfiction

[avelera]

I will say, even when romances in BG3 didn’t work out QUITE as intended in my two playthroughs (so far…) they both made… interesting stories??

(Cut for spoilers)

- First playthrough, total goodie two-shoes sage tiefling warlock/paladin. Just trying to figure out the game. Definitely don’t long rest enough (a bit of a must for some of the romances to kick on, because it’s where emotional story tends to progress). Accidentally lock myself out of the romances I did want, like Astarion and Karlach, so I settled for Gale as a distant third option.

- Tav 1 pines for Karlach from afar, but genuinely enjoys just being Astarion’s friend because this Tav is a bit too nice for him and I think it’s refreshing for him to have a true friend who doesn’t want him like that??

- Gale feelings, which were sort of just “might as well” at first as I learned the game, suddenly start blossoming as both my Tav and him are sage background and enjoy nerding out over books and knowledge?? Start to get genuinely excited to see him in camp? Kind of still pine after him when I’m in my other playthrough because he really is charming and funny and sweet as you get to know him?

- Like Gale is so much actual guys I know from the DnD world, personality-wise, he’s a nerd with a cat who got knocked down in life by some bad decisions he now sincerely regrets (but he’s not totally without ambition to make bad decisions again…). Of all the party members he feels like the dude I’d actually date IRL??

- So basically, dated Gale with Tav 1 as a joke, accidentally caught feelings, now actually these two good-guy sage nerds feel sort of perfect for each other?

Then my second play through, Lolth-sworn Drow Matriarch. Bard/Paladin. Noble background. A bit inscrutable. Not a monster or a mercenary. Will do good things most of the time and isn’t cartoonishly evil but it feels like she’s nice and more… like she’s keeping her options open outside the Underdark, where behaving like a typical Drow is a good way to get an an angry mob set on you. She prefers to talk her way out of things and keep potential allies in play. She doesn’t quite fit with the absurd levels of some Drow cruelty but she’s not doing it to be nice the way my Tav 1 playthrough is.

- Flirted a bit with Karlach but really go full Asterion. He’s just so… cute and pathetic to a drow’s eyes I think?

- Like he tries to tell her, a Lolth-sworn female Drow, a matriarch in training if she wasn’t one already, that she’s too nice. As if that itself wasn’t part of the calculus she performs every day to advance her goals. Like it’s all out of conscience and he’s the badass who has it all figured out. He says they should try to be evil together. When she asks how exactly he plans to do this, he draws a blank.

- in my mind, that was the moment she was like, “Oh no, he’s so stupid, I have to fuck make him my consort.” Poor baby wants so badly to be evil but doesn’t have any subtlety at all. He’d get pulverized in Menzoberranzan. I have to protect him from himself.

- Like my Drow Tav doesn’t want to fuck Astarion and make him her consort because he’s a cool sexy vampire. Quite the opposite. He’s like a small enthusiastic yappy lap dog, barking at the wolf who thinks he’s just the cutest and wants to take him home to the rest of the pack to show him off.

- Meanwhile, her flirtation with Karlach felt more like a “matriarch recognize matriarch” moment where she was impressed by this badass warrior woman who she’d happily make her general or bodyguard if they were in the Underdark. But that she basically needed to pull up a bit when she realized she couldn’t be what Karlach needed and likewise, Karlach wouldn’t fit into Drow Tav’s life if she ever got back to Menzoberranzan.

- (Meanwhile, Shadowheart just feels too young to both Tavs. Like I got genuinely choked up reuniting her with her family because she feels like barely more than a teenager who really needs her family still more than she needs a lover. At least Gale, Karlach, and Astarion, feel more like full adults. Sadly, Wyll just feels the most like a standard RPG character with his dialogue (and it was weird to hear him lamenting his horns to a tiefling??) which put me off. Even if the dance scene was sweet. Halsin… just isn’t working for me. Alas.)

#bg3

[digital-corruption]

Unrecognisable Part 45

Scrubbing video footage was actually a lot harder than expected. Sure I found the moment Jake left the building, but there were a lot of gaps in the city’s CCTV of the area. Figuring out which camera he would appear on next, especially as he had been passively trying to avoid them, was quite difficult. Sometimes the camera would just catch his leg in the corner of the frame for a split second. I was losing a lot of time trying to track him and find the moment he was taken. I began to worry that his abduction wouldn’t be on camera at all.

Comparing the cameras to street view I determined Jake must have been heading towards a convenience store on the outskirts of the area, but he never reached his destination. About three-quarters of the way there he just simply vanished from the cameras. I jumped from the last camera he was seen on to the next and nothing. Just to be sure, I checked all of the other cameras in the area, but it was as if he just disappeared. I knew that had to be the moment he was abducted, but why did it have to be during the brief time he was between cameras! Was it a coincidence or was it planned? At any rate, it made determining where he went nearly impossible. Sighing, I went back to the previous camera and rewatched Jake walking down the street over and over. Each time it replayed, I watched his movements more carefully. There was nothing to indicate that Jake saw anything unusual, which led me to believe he didn’t detect his abductor. His movement across the camera’s field of vision was so direct. Either he was that good at subterfuge or he was taken suddenly between the two cameras out of nowhere.

I leaned back in my seat and groaned loudly. How the hell did Jake use this system to track anyone when you can lose people to the blackspots in the surveillance just like that? He made it look so easy to find people! I spent hours teaching myself how to use this damn system and figuring out the locations of all the cameras and for what!? I was no closer to finding where he was! As the camera continued to play back the footage of the empty street, I slammed my fist on the desk in frustration. Then suddenly my prayers were answered.

A white, unmarked van drove in the opposite direction across the camera’s field of vision. I leant forwards in my chair to scrub back and forth over those few seconds. Something about the van screamed suspicious to me. Sure, that wasn’t particularly unusual for the industrial area, but it also just happened to be passing by Jake during the moments he was abducted? Going backwards through Jake’s journey I noticed a hooded individual that was following several hundred paces behind Jake. He was so good he didn’t even show up in my earlier playthroughs so it was no surprise that Jake didn’t detect him either. He must’ve been one of Cyan’s goons, recognised Jake as he was walking and called it in. As I continued to watch this hooded man, I even saw the exact moment he brought his phone up to his ear.

So Jake disappeared between cameras and that van is seen leaving the area a couple of minutes later? The next step was to work out where it went. I followed the van from one camera to the next as it drove across the district to the road running along the length of the docks. Remembering Jake said Cyan preferred a location near the docks, I knew it was heading in the right direction. Suddenly it stopped and turned into the loading zone for one of the warehouses across from the docks. Unfortunately it parked behind a shipping container and was hidden from view from the camera I was on. I swapped cameras to try to get a better view, but it was completely out of sight.

“Figures,” I sighed out loud.

I went back to that last camera that a decent line of sight and zoomed in as much as I could. Rewatching the moment the van disappear behind the shipping container, I let the footage run in hopes I could catch something. After a few minutes, two blurry shapes appeared from behind the container. They were carrying a third shape- no dragging a third shape between them. They disappeared into the building and then nothing. There was no further activity on the outside.

It wasn’t exactly concrete evidence to say that it was Jake those men were dragging, but my gut was convinced it was him. Just to be sure, I scrubbed backwards on the camera, looking for any activity to confirm my suspicions. That morning a car drove up to the front of the building and I saw Cyan exiting before the car drove off. Never before had I been so happy to see his ugly mug!

“I did it! I actually did it! I found Jake!” I cheered out loud to an empty building.

Then reality set in. Ok, I found Jake, but now what? How on earth could I get him out of there? It was just me against Cyan and his cronies. Calling the cops was completely out of the question. Even if they just committed an abduction and extortion, Jake was still public enemy number one. The police would definitely go after him and there was no guarantee that he could get away in his condition. Not to mention, he may have had no idea where he was and if Cyan still had his phone, he wouldn’t know how to navigate back to me. I had to call someone, but who the fuck could I call?

“Bad Apple Tattoo,” a familiar female voice answered.

“Trix, we need to talk,” I said grimly. “You’re the only person in this god-forsaken city I can trust.”

“Don’t call me here,” she mumbled into the phone. “Can I call you back on this number?”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“Give me two minutes, ok?” Trix assured me.

I hung up and put the phone down on the desk. I stared at it intensely, waiting for it to come to life again. Even though I was expecting it, I still jumped when it suddenly started ringing.

“Ok, what the fuck has he done? Are you ok? Do you need me to come get you?” Trix asked hurriedly.

“No, I’m fine. It’s Jake. Cyan’s abducted him and is holding him against his will in a warehouse, threatening him to get him his money back - threatening his life!” I exclaimed. “Jake said to trust him, but I don’t know if I can.”

Trix sighed, “Of course you can’t! God, the last thing you can do is trust him whenever he says that!”

“Fuck, Trix! Cyan’s only giving him tonight to get it done!” I panicked.

“Wait, you do you know where he is?” she questioned.

“Yeah, I do, but it’s not like I can just barge in there!” I defended.

“No, you can’t,” Trix reiterated. “Shit, couldn’t you two have chosen another tattoo shop? I didn’t want to get caught up in Cyanide’s shit again! Saying he’s vindicative is an understatement, did you know that?

“Trix, if you don’t want to be involved, it’s ok. I get it,” I sympathised.

“No, we just have to play it smart,” Trix groaned. “No one can know I am helping you, but I don’t want the time I spent getting Nym out of Cyan’s grasp to go to waste.”

“Do you think Jake has any chance in completing his task tonight?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe? Without understanding the scope of what he’s trying to achieve, it’s impossible to guess. He’s a very skilled hacker, but how much is he needing to obtain?” Trix thought out loud.

“He was dead set focused on his work,” I commented.

“You saw him?” Trix pondered.

“Cyan turned the camera on so I could see him. He’s been beaten, Trix,” I lamented.

“As I said, Cyanide is vindicative. He didn’t get that nickname by chance. I can’t say he would be pleased after the raid the other night. It would’ve cost him a lot of in sales,” she explained.

“Oh, then there was last night,” I winced.

“Last night?” she questioned.

“We swatted him,” I admitted. “Which sounds like an incredibly dumb idea now that I said it out loud.”

“You fucking swatted Cyanide?” Trix laughed out of pure shock. “Though I am surprised, he normally shrugs off cheap tactics like that. You must’ve struck a nerve!”

“No, just a lab,” I joked poorly.

“Oh yeah, then he’s definitely pissed off,” Trix confirmed. “Though you know Cyanide’s not the top, right?”

“What do you mean?” I frowned.

“He’s just middle management. If you’ve lost him a lot of goods, well, then he’s royally screwed as well,” Trix explained.

“Is that why he’s forcing Jake to do this job?” I gasped. “And the urgency!”

“Ahaha, Cyanide’s got his balls in a vice. I bet if he doesn’t deliver the money tomorrow, he’ll end up in the river,” Trix reasoned.

“Wait, he said it wasn’t his life on the line,” I recalled.

“Hmm? Cyanide did?” Trix paused for a moment. “Weird.”

“What do you mean weird?” I pushed.

“Well, maybe, and this is a big maybe, maybe Cyanide was lying. The shock, I know!” Trix mocked.

“None of this is really helping me with getting Jake back!” I snapped.

“Maybe you just need to do what you did the other night. Why fix what isn’t broken?” Trix suggested.

“Cause the police are onto our fake reports,” I shook my head. “It’s going to take a lot to convince them to respond again to an unverified report. And even if I could convince the SWAT team to raid the warehouse, there’s no way of knowing whether Jake is in a position to escape.”

“No, you don’t need a SWAT team, you just need a good distraction. Nym can handle the rest,” Trix pointed out.

“Like ordering them a pizza,” I joked. “Wait, no, prostitutes!”

“What?” Trix asked confused. “You’re going to order them a bunch of hookers?”

“It’s what Jake said! Cyan can’t say no to women!” I said all too gleefully.

“Um, well, if it’s hookers you’re looking for, I know where you can find a few,” Trix offered. “I’ll send you a number. If you have trouble convincing them, tell them that I sent you and remind them they owe me.”

“Thanks, Trix,” I smiled.

“Just get Nym back, ok? And keep him the fuck away from Cyanide,” she sighed. “The more he spends near that piece of shit the more likely he’s going to fall into that life again.”

“I will,” I said confidently.

It wasn’t long after hanging up with Trix that I received the number from her. Convincing the woman who picked up the phone to meet me near the warehouse with her friends was surprisingly easy after I named dropped Trix. Now for the next part of my developing plan - dressing like a hooker to sneak in with them. I pulled out my clothes from the other night. They simply weren’t slutty enough. A few cuts and tears, shortening everything, I had something something workable.

Hastily I applied makeup, nice and heavy. Partially to disguise myself, but also to better sell the look. It brought back memories of a Halloween party years ago that I had forgotten about. It kind of felt ridiculous, but fun at the same time. I tried to come up with a hooker name during the process. I considered going simple with ‘Candy’, but if Cyan went with a drug nickname, why shouldn’t I? ‘Ecstasy’ it was.

My hair was already a mess, so teasing it a bit to look dishevelled wasn’t much of a stretch. By the time I finished, the sun had set. Hurriedly I grabbed a stack of cash to pay the girls. Considering it was Cyan’s money to begin with, I didn’t think twice about using it. Before leaving though, I looked through our things for anything could be of help. Jake had taken his handgun with him so there wasn’t a lot I could use. At a complete loss, I grabbed a steak knife and shoved it into my purse and headed for the door.

The last few times I was traveling the streets and alleys at night I was with Jake so I felt completely safe. Now though that no only was I alone, but I was dressed like a tramp and felt utterly exposed. So any little bump in the night had me jumping in fear. ‘Please not Jack the Ripper,’ I thought to myself repeatedly as I navigated around. I would have a hell of a time trying to convince him I’m not actually a prostitute, I’m just dressed like one. Actually, please not anyone. I don’t think I could bear explaining this to anyone right now. I could only imagine what people would say. Somehow I could hear Dan laughing at me.

‘Your grand plan was to dress like a hooker?’

Shut up, Dan of my mind. You’re not helping.

Around the next corner I saw them waiting for me. Three call girls, standing impatiently.

“Are you MC?” one of them called out.

“Yes, that’s me,” I said meekly.

“This had better be good. I just passed up a cute one for you,” the fake blond one whinged.

“Yes, I’ve got the cash. I’ll give you half now, half when the party is over, ok?” I reached into my purse nervously and pulled out a chunk of the notes. “Trix said you were good for it.”

“Honestly, it’s only because of Trix that we’re staying for the other half,” the brunette glared at me.

“It’s only because of Trix that we’re not cutting you and taking the rest right now,” the red haired one teased.

“What? Is sisterhood dead?” I joked. “Look, you just need to give me cover so I can get in. Put some music on, encourage them to party. That’s the kind of stuff you’re good at, right?”

The brunette shrugged, “If there’s any weird shit, it’s going to cost you more.”

“Understood,” I nodded. “I’ll let you take the lead, ok? Get us in.”

The brunette rolled her eyes, then gestured at me, “What do you even call this?”

“What?” I looked down at my outfit. “I didn’t have a lot to work with.”

“Clearly,” the red haired one responded snarkily.

The blonde one took off her leather jacket and put it over my shoulders, “That almost works.”

“It’ll have to do. Let’s go,” the brunette turned and headed for the warehouse across the street.

“There had better be alcohol,” the red haired one commented.

“I can almost guarantee it,” I muttered under my breath. “And more.”

The brunette went up to the front door and knocked heavily. After waiting for a few moments, she knocked again more heavily. It took another minute before the door opened a crack.

“What the fuck?” a large, thuggish man peeked through the crack.

The brunette greeted him in German, behaving promiscuously. The others joined in by acting rather suggestively. I tried to follow suit in the back. The red haired one gave me a sideways glance, then shifted to stand in front of me. I took her hint and tried to stay out of sight, lest my pitiful performance ruin the entire operation.

The man stepped away and shouted to the others inside the building. I began to worry that my plan wasn’t going to work, but then the door opened widely and the thug gestured for us to enter. I followed the others into the building. We walked past a small, long forgotten lobby, down the corridor to an old cafeteria where the other thugs were hanging out. If it wasn’t for the first thug following me close behind, I would’ve snuck off then. However, he stood by the door, while the other thugs approached us to check us out. I looked around the room. There was indeed a lot of alcohol and drugs already being consumed in the room, but there was no sign of Cyan.

What I didn’t account for was the number of men greatly exceeded our number of women. Even after the swatting operation the night before Cyan still had more available manpower. Clearly the police didn’t arrest nearly as many as I thought. This was going to make my operation complicated, to say the least.

A man came up behind me and felt up my ass. I had to resist the urge of punching him right then and there. The brunette pushed past her gropers, talking loudly in German. All attention was drawn to her as she started playing music loudly on her phone, then grabbed a bottle of rum and cheered happily. I used the opportunity to back away from the group.

“Where are you going?” the thug guarding the door asked me as I approached.

“Just looking for the bathroom. I want to take a leak before I get started, you know,” I lied.

“Don’t be rude to our guest,” a voice suddenly spoke up as an all too familiar face appeared from behind him. “Let fräulein freshen up.”

My skin crawled. So much for going in disguise.

#duskwood #duskwood fanfiction #duskwood fanfic #duskwood jake #duskwood jake x mc #unrecognisable fanfic

[isekai-crow]

Mashle: Magic and Muscle Season 1 Re-Cap + Season 2 - Episode 1

Other Episodes-> ep2 ep3 ep4 ep5

This anime shits all over JKR in the best way possible. Highly Recommended if you can make it through the 2nd half of Season 1.

Overall Rating So Far: 8/10 with hopes it will stay there.

For comparison, season 1 ended up 6/10. TToTT as to why...

I'm writing this while re-watching season one, and maaaaan what a strong start Season 1 had!! 9/10 for the first 4 episodes!!

How is this avoiding copyright? I don't know but I fully support it.

I LOVE MASH AND HIS REALISTIC TAKES.

The pacing got completely thrown off after episode 5. Did we really need those fight to be THAT long and drawn out?? No. I get that animation studios are limited in how far into the manga they can go in a given season, but I would have preferred anime original filler over 2 episodes of metal punch dude, and the whole "chamber of secrets" esque episodes...

Despite being sorely disappointed by the second half of season 1, I did finish it. Starting episode 1 of Season 2, I completely forgot where the last episode had left off and it hasn't even been that long!! I had to laugh at just how much my brain had tuned out by the end, which is sad, because this is such an amazing premise.

HOWEVER

SEASON 2 EPISODE 1 BROUGHT BACK THE DRIVE TO WATCH!!

The first episode of season 2 doubles down on poking ALL sorts of holes in the plot of Harry Potter and sidestepping any massive overlaps to avoid copyright. BUT IT'S SO OBVIOUS, I LOVE IT.

May I introduce you to...

"Harry Potter with just enough serial numbers filed off to avoid a lawsuit." - Capybara

Spoilers for Episode 1 Below the Cut

We started off with a small recap of the end of season 1 and honestly I don't remember most of it happening.

Woo they beat the Tom Riddle/Abel Walker, Woo they won tons of points for their dormitory, Woo Mash's super special "magic spell" the Suplex!!!

But oh no! There is a rumor that Mash can't use magic has gotten out! To be fair, it was only a matter of time. Bicep Smash Magic can only get you so far lolol.

The little celebration party is very cute, and suddenly Abel and Abyss show up, and Mash is just totally chill with them joining in their party. Abel even brought a deck of cards and they're playing bullshit of all games lmfao

Personally I want to know why Dot has his mouth and face all bandaged up, but I assume that's Lemon's doing for some reason or another lol

Let me just say, I love Abel and Abyss. Abel is terrifying and carrying around his creepy doll and freaking Finn out, and literally just wants to have fun with everyone. He's far more incompetent, or maybe just normal? than he seems. And cares about Abyss!! And Abyss is doing his best to take care of his master, and thanks Mash for stopping them both. And can't talk to women!!

We love a traumatized bishonen.

Mash gets called to the Bureau of Magic and basically gets called a Mudblood to his face for not having magic and is being sentenced to death.

AND DRACO MALFOY SHOWS UP TO SAVE HIM.

You cannot dissuade me that this isn't another Draco.

And of course, to counter Draco/Ryoh Grantz, we get Knock Off Harry Potter and gang!

Neville with a dragon? Snow girl is Luna? The one with the book is Hermione? Obviously these are also original characters and there is no one to one with characters, but it's fun to try and place them.

Fake Harry Potter / Orter Madel says the most Not Harry Potter thing ever, and its hilarious that a character known for going against the rules has a caricature doing exactly the opposite.

Fuckin' mood Mash. Where the hell did RON come from??? ah.. his only purpose is to narrate what's happening. Makes sense.

The magi-parasite shows up, mob deals with, and it should be a done deal, but Orter continues to push the issue as Ryoh tries to stop him.

Will Mash be taken away and executed? He's not budging. Will Draco and Harry fight? What will become of Mash now that Dumbledore and Finn's Big Bro have shown up?

Until Next Time..

What the fuck is this show I love it so much.

#anime winter 2024 #mashle #mash burnedead #magic and muscles #マッシュル

[greenhikingboots]

Jonsa Prompt - Kiss

My contibution to the Jonsa prompt “kiss” is under the cut because, like everything else I’ve ever written, it ended up being about 4x times longer than anticipated. (about 2,200 words total, more than intended for a ficlet).

It’s inspired by pre-canon + kissing game theories and that canon line, “He missed the girls too, even Sansa, who never called him anything but “my half brother” since she was old enough to understand what bastard meant.”

[Disclaimer! I’m not sure how old they’re supposed to be here. As I wrote it, I was thinking Sansa and Bran have a larger age gap between them than they do and that this ficlet would take place before he was born. But a quick Google search two minutes ago told me there’s only four years between them, so just go with it, I guess. 🙃]

They approached the tree in which Sansa hid from opposite directions. Theon from the left, Jon from the right. Due to their necks being strained upwards, their eyes searching for her, neither of them noticed the other until they were close by and spoke at the same time.

“Aha! Got you!” Theon shouted. “There you are,” Jon said softly. They looked at each other, frowning, then back at Sansa who kicked her feet lazily below the tree branch. She would need one of them to help her get down just as she had needed Robb’s help to get up. That was the reason she hadn’t wanted to play this new game, Maiden in the Tower. She’d have much preferred Hide and Find, a game with a similar concept but without the requirement of her sitting in a branch high above the ground. The boys had insisted, though. “It’s more fun with a reward,” Robb had said. “Make Arya be your maiden, then,” Sansa had counted. “You know that wouldn’t work. She can’t sit still long enough.” And so Sansa had relented. Far be it from her to spoil the fun of the three boys she loved best, even if they were also the three boys she found most obnoxious. “Now what?” she asked two of them some thirty minutes after the onset of the game, her feet still kicking through the air. “Now the winner gets a kiss from the maiden,” Theon said. He sounded exasperated, like he couldn’t fathom why he had to explain the rules to her a second time. “And the loser takes the next turn against Robb,” he added, sounding quite the same. Sansa glared at him. “I meant how do we decide who’s the winner and who’s the loser when you spotted me at exactly the same time.” Theon grinned. He often did that. Everything was amusing to him, even matters which shouldn’t have been. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “Perhaps you should choose the winner, fair maiden. Which of us would you like to bestow with a kiss?” At that, Jon scoffed and turned to walk away. Just as Theon often grinned, Jon often assumed he would be overlooked. Sansa supposed it was because he was a bastard and they were often overlooked. “I choose Jon,” she announced primly. It delighted her to behave unexpectedly every now and then. It also delighted her to disappoint Theon. All the boys in the castle thought better of themselves than they should, even Jon who couldn’t be bothered to respond graciously when he was truly overlooked. But Theon was the worst offender. He needed a lesson in humility, Sansa decided. And so, a lesson she would give him. Jon spun on his heels and looked at Sansa. He looked at Theon. A moment later, when he shrugged, it seemed as if he wanted to appear less pleased than he was. He reached up to help Sansa out of the tree, and then her feet landed in front of him with a quiet thud. Sansa left her hands placed on Jon’s arms as she rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. Any other day and she would have puckered her lips to keep them firm. She would have made the kiss short and without feeling. Today, however, she did the opposite. Sansa kissed Jon with tender lips and with a hint of appreciation and longing. He pulled back almost immediately, his face flushed with surprise. Good, Sansa thought. That means the difference was noticeable. She turned to Theon with a smug smile on her face, but it slipped away when he burst into laughter. “Seven hells, Sansa,” he said. “I know you tire of my arrogance, but you don’t have to commit a sin to prove a point. I apologize for assuming you’d pick me over Jon.” Theon’s apology pleased Sansa, but part of it confused her too. “But kissing isn’t a sin,” she said. Not even kissing with tender lips. Not even when done outside of marriage. She knew this for certain because she’d asked Mother once, after her friend Jeyne Poole admitted to wanting to kiss Robb. “It’s a sin if the person you’re kissing is your brother and the way you’re kissing him is like that,” Theon insisted. Sansa rolled her eyes. So Theon wanted to make her feel foolish because she’d made him feel foolish? Fine. She could handle that. “Well, good thing Jon is no more my brother than you are,” she said. Both Theon and Jon’s expressions twisted into ones which were difficult to read, though they hinted at a belief that Sansa had turned into a fool. That worried her. Jon wouldn’t look at her that way unless she’d done something to deserve it. “Was that a jape?” Theon asked. “If so, it’s not a very good one.” For one wild second, Sansa considered agreeing. Why, yes, that was a jape, she might have said. But the word sin gnawed at her. She didn’t understand. What had she done wrong? “I love you both as well as I love my brother,” she said, “but you, Theon, are a ward. And you, Jon, are a bastard. Meaning you aren’t truly related to me. So why —” Sansa never finished her sentence for Theon burst into another fit of laughter, this one as loud as any she’d heard in her life. She kept her eyes glued to him, expecting him to rasp out a few words through his fit, to say something that would make his reaction make sense. Instead, it was Jon who spoke through Theon’s laughter. “Stop it, Greyjoy,” he said. “Can’t you see she’s embarrassed enough as it is?” Theon clutched his chest and quieted himself. “Sansa. Oh, Sansa,” he said, still grinning. “What is it, exactly, that you believe a bastard to be?” Though she knew her answer would be wrong, she gave it anyway. What else could she do? “An orphan raised in a castle,” she muttered. She left out the part about a kind-hearted lord or lady having to first take favor on the orphan. To her, that part seemed essential, even if it was implied. Hadn’t it always been worded that way? This is Jon, Lord Stark’s bastard. But to say so now would do her no favors, she realized. Theon laughed again, and Jon moved towards him with a clenched fist. Theon backed away, his arm stretched in front of him like a shield. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he rushed to say, though amusement still shone in his eyes. Jon slowed his steps and loosened his fist, but he didn’t fully yield until they heard Robb calling out to them. “What’s going on here?” he asked. “She kissed him,” Theon hollered in reply.

“Well, that is the point of the game,” Robb quipped. “No, no. She really kissed him.” Robb stopped in his tracks. His eyebrows furrowed. “Why would you do that?” he asked Sansa. “I didn’t know it was wrong,” she whined. “I still don’t understand why it was. They haven’t explained it to me.” “Because he’s your brother,” Robb said, as if that was obvious. “No he isn’t,” Sansa insisted. “He’s a bastard.” “He’s your half-brother and a bastard.” Robb sounded like he thought that should settle it, but Sansa still didn’t understand. She threw up her hands, too frustrated to be embarrassed any longer. “I don’t know what that means. How can someone be half a brother?” A loud bark of laughter shot out of Theon before he clasped his hand over his mouth to muffle the noise. Sansa ignored him and faced Jon, who she hoped she could count on for a kinder explanation than the other two were likely to give her. But Jon, she saw, was facing Robb, so she gave in and did likewise. “Father wasn’t faithful to Mother during the war,” Robb said. “He put a babe in another woman’s belly and now that babe has grown up to be Jon. He’s our half-brother because we share one parent but not the other. And he’s a bastard because he was born outside of a lawful marriage.” Sansa felt like she’d been hit over the head with the pommel of a sword. How was she supposed to have known all that? No one had ever told her before. “Who explained that to you? Was it Father?” she asked. Robb seemed to consider the question rather seriously for a moment. “I don’t remember him telling me, though I suppose he must have when I was quite young,” he said. “Perhaps he told you when you were young too,” Jon suggested, looking at Sansa now. “But you forgot, same as Robb.” “That’s ridiculous. If Father had told me something like that, I’d have remembered it. He must have thought only the boys needed to know.” Sansa was seething. She could hear her little sister’s voice sounding off between her ears. Girls are important too! That was true, and they deserved to understand the ways of Westeros just as much as boys did. She wanted to march off and tell her Father so. She might have done it right then, had she known what part of the castle to find him in.  “I’m done with this game,” Sansa declared. “I’m going to my chambers to rest.” Theon made an odd sound, something like a protest. They all turned to stare at him. “But Robb and I have two wins each,” he said. “Let’s have one final round. Please, Sansa? I bet it’ll help settle your uh… your anger.” Had Theon wanted to say embarrassment? Either way, Sansa doubted very much that he had the right of it. But since neither Robb nor Jon spoke up in her defense, she decided it was better to agree. Perhaps even if another round didn’t help settle her embarrassment or anger, it would help settle Theon’s fits of laughter. “One more,” she said, “but that’s it.” The four of them walked back to the front of the godswood, just as they’d done before each previous round of Maiden in the Tower, though this time they walked in silence. Once there, the tension lingered. Sansa noticed the way Jon scuffed the dirt with his boots. He doesn’t want to initiate the next part, she thought. He doesn’t want to be alone with me. “Jon, you won the last round,” Robb said, “but Theon and I are tied, remember? That means it’s your turn to help Sansa find a tree.” “Right,” Jon grumbled with a nod. He turned over his shoulder and beckoned Sansa to follow him. “Let’s go, my dear half-sister,” he added after a moment. “Are you trying to be funny,” she asked as she caught up to him. “I’m trying to lighten the mood, yes. I don’t want you feeling badly about what you did.” Sansa thought to argue, to say that she didn’t feel badly. The way she kissed him had been an honest mistake. But then the word Theon had used came back to her. Sin. “Do you think it’s truly a sin?” she asked Jon. He shook his head. “Had you known better, it would have been. But you didn’t and so I’m sure the gods won’t hold it against you.” “What about Father? Will the gods hold his sins against him?” They hadn’t yet reached a tree fitted for their game, but Jon came to an abrupt stop and so Sansa did too. She looked at his face and saw that something like regret was etched across it. Was this why he hadn’t wanted to be alone with her? He hadn’t wanted to discuss Father?  “I won’t make excuses for the worst of his mistakes,” JOn said, “but at the same time, I won’t regard him as anything less than an honorable man.” “And that’s the position you think I should take as well?” Sansa asked. “It’s not my place to tell you what position to take.” That made Sansa smile, though she’d felt far from able to a moment earlier. She thought how, despite his tendency towards moodiness, Jon always found his way back to level thinking. She liked that about him. Admired it, even. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement and then began to walk again. Jon followed and soon enough they found a tree worthy of a maiden’s tower. Sansa stood with her back to the branch. “Ready?” she asked Jon. “Ready.” He put his hands on her waist, then lifted her into the tree. “I’ll go to tell the others they can begin their search now,” he said before walking away, leaving Sansa to stare at the back of his head. “Jon?” she called out suddenly. He spun on his heels, just as he’d done when she’d chosen him to receive her kiss. “Fair maiden?” he teased. “I wanted to say thank you. For not laughing at me earlier. And for trying to get Theon to stop.” Jon smirked. “That’s quite alright. I’m sure it is I who should be thanking you.” “What for?” “For bestowing me with your kiss, of course.” “It pleased you?” Jon ran a nervous hand over the back of his neck. “Don’t tell the others,” he said. “They’ll think it means something it doesn’t.” Sansa’s heart fluttered with appreciation at that. As Jon walked away for good, she said a silent prayer to the gods, thanking them for giving her such a wonderful half-brother. I’ll never call him a bastard again, she thought. He’s more to me than that.

#jonsa prompts #jonsa ficlet #the first word is kiss #precanon jonsa ficlet #yes i've included a related idea in another fic #yes i'm obsessed with the idea of sansa not realizing they're related #complicated family trees are complicated okay

[m-r-levine]

Happy Blorbo Blursday!

Today I want to hear about the inspiration behind your OCs. How did they come to be? You can answer for as many or as few as you like!

~ @tabswrites

Thank you for the ask! 🖤 Many apologies for getting to it so late.

I am sure everyone is tired of hearing about mi hijo maldito by now, and he can either learn to share the limelight or give me prose, so I think I shall ramble about my older OCs instead.

This feels long to me and… personal? So I will toss it behind a cut. It seems the polite thing to do, but perhaps i am old-fashioned.

Firstly, the reason I picked up my pen at all on this side of Being An Adult: the glass cannon with many aliases of varying levels of creativity, Brynrinkeris — or Keris for short.

She was created first under a different name as an avatar on a hardcore roleplaying server in an MMORPG many years ago. I joined the server in a last-ditch effort to actually play and enjoy the game I was given - my then-partner and their guild out-leveled me on my poor frankencomputer very quickly and their FFXI play-styles were more intense, aggressive, and numbers-heavy than I prefer in my games. So I wandered among the storytellers to see what their world was like.

My therapist at the time made a wild suggestion on my second week “playing the same game but alone” - since I struggled with journaling for various reasons we won’t get into here, she was curious if that would also translate to imaginary journals. You know, a kind of running memoir for this character I’m playing with in a setting that’s so full of stories and choices. What if she were a real person? What would she think and feel about this broken world she’s moving in? What would she notice about the people around her, living their stories out in the open where anyone could see them, hear them? What would she - not me! - do if someone said Hi? What would she write about it later?

An interesting experiment.

For Science.

So naturally I did what anyone would do in the era of the early high-speed internet and I made a blog for an imaginary person in an imaginary world.

And then I handed off my gear to an alt and re-rolled her, thinking differently about the character choices this time. Not a cute swashbuckler because of pretty swords and tattoos, but a mage with elemental leanings (a preference which would get stronger as we went along together). I wanted to get to know the world of the game and the world the players had created within it, but I was so conscious of my outsider status, my fragile justification to be there, my ignorance of The Rules. I chose the female, dark-skinned elf avatar specifically because I was giving her a warrior backstory, the “good” city made my skin crawl in a way I couldn’t yet explain, elf because long ears pretty, and… well… I was already tired of crackerjacks back then. I built as opposite as the game and my own personality allowed. Then I took her memory away so that I the writer would not need to know anything we couldn’t learn from just playing the game.

I expected it to be a short and lonely experiment, running out the subscription clock and failing at yet another popular video game.

Ha.

Within a year she was the leader of a large neutral merc guild, had a very full friends list both in and out of character, and had forged alliances with several other guilds for regular raiding parties.

Frankencomputer The First died under the weight of the game files and chatlogs and the Shuttlebox was built to take its place. I didn’t realize how much writing with my friends had become part of - or perhaps the heart of - the game for me, until one night a stranger randomly tipped me money for a story we were telling in the tavern. I wrote a macro to scrape game command junk from the chatlogs and ran a few nights’ files through.

For Science.

Once I finished the scrape and manual deletion of stuff i couldn’t macro, I learned apparently Keris had taken us to a place where writing 30k words on an average weekend was normal. Without me ever noticing. Because you see - the journaling was still hard, but not as hard, and it hit in a different way. I thought I was struggling to manage three pages of fictional journal every week, but actually I was writing thousands of words of improv every night. No wonder my hands hurt. (Yes, my then-therapist laughed at me. I am not very smart.)

Anyway, I set aside some time in about… 2006? to answer the question of how much of this accidental mountain of story was beholden to the original game content that helped me find my voice again. Turned out that most of the direct references to the game could be swapped with a dozen other fantasy IPs with very little impact to the actual stories I and my closest collaborators were telling. While the game was very much high fantasy, high-stakes, binary heroes and villains… these stories were not. Even the proud leader of this mercenary company was a million shades of gray and far more concerned with the lives and happiness of her soldiers than the rise and fall of the citystates and factions they worked for.

I asked the (dangerous) what if question of what might become if I built a new world for these stories? A world that addressed issues I had with the source material and others like it? What elements would I need to keep and were they unique to that source or were they just… archetypes and tropes? What would happen if I freed my little cast from the confines of that borrowed world and dependence on other storytellers with time and spoons and a yearning for stories in compatible veins? Could I build something that big and sprawling and take any satisfaction in the result?

Thus, Dark Tapestry was born.

After Keris came all the people around her. Rokoval and Merezin, Fahlanin and Urg’Tak, Chryso and Serevhin and Airold and Cir and Pietor and Jaelle. Anyone and everyone Keris needed to interact with was (perhaps still is) in danger of Becoming Part Of The Cast the moment the narrative forced us to learn their Name and The Place And People They Come From.

Fahlanin il Rex the young and headstrong moonborn commoner is a great example of this: I really just needed someone to pole the gondola. Keris however, being an idiot(affectionate), tried to bribe the civil servant driving said gondola to drop her at a different location and pretend they’d never met. Fahl had opinions about this and within a few chapters she was pushing the plot around.

Davri came about because he had a stoneborn proverb to share in a council meeting where I was showing the Amicae guided by representatives from every culture in the then-known world. Keris made an offhand comment about relying on his advice and personal loyalty, so I pressed on that until she revealed why.

When I pressed her for where her little penchant for picking up oggish came from, given her otherwise fastidious behavior in personal connections, I discovered a delightfully bawdy and probably unprintable story in her distant past and the origin story for Hrrg’tk (moves-stone) The First Oggish Mage.

Not everyone in the stable descends from a tangle of what-if-and-why though.

A call for themed submissions from a small fantasy romance press led to me building Maleta, the protagonist and narrator of 9th Division. I actually worked up a proper character outline for her - mostly inspired by the submission requirements and research into the publisher’s range - a rough plot, and deliberately outlined with narrative roles instead of actual characters for the first pass. I went back into those bare bones with my worldbuilding notes open to flesh out the two Love Interests, the Surface Antagonist, the Red Herrings, the Unlikely Ally, the Mentor, the Expert, the Big Bad, the Victims, and so on. I chose a promising spot in the world timeline, a few Important Political Figures to mention in the city, and by the time I finished the manuscript I’d also brought in a couple of supporting characters from Keris’ stories (including a brief cameo by Keris herself).

And so you see some of OCs really are only inspired but such boring details as The Plot Requires A Farmer, where other OCs — especially in the fic I’ve written — are inspired by the equally boring but far more self-serving grounds of I want to read a story with a character like that.

Or both.

Prime example: Nialet. I needed a farmer very far from the center of power whom our favorite disaster king would trust with a delicate political situation, and based on what he values in the people close him, and a throwaway (ha) name and vague profile from another piece, voila. The longer I kept her around though, the more I liked her and wanted to know about her. I found i was interested in reading the kind if story that would center a narrative like hers, and thus Day Arising was begun. (Outline is done, and more prose than is posted, but life rather interrupted the fleshing-it-out-process. Hopefully I will get back to it soon…)

#ask the studiorat #blorbo blursday #studiorat rambles #writeblr #ficblr #writing asks #blorbo asks #dark tapestry

[deweyduck]

Hello I'm so sorry this took 5 days I'm officially the world's worst secret santa 😭 to make up for it pls end your response with an info dump on a topic of ur choice <3

Anyway I adore your cat!!! So cute ❤❤❤

To be honest I think I would have chosen the opposite to you for all 3 tgw bonus track questions 🙈 but tbf I love them all, honestly tgw is already one of my fav albums of all time (unfortunately this means im also disagreeing with you on the album question ahaha) ysuft is definitely the superior song tho. Tbh idk about the closers I think I prefer history of man as a song but it's hard to choose as a closer, I think I'd still pick history of man though it very much feels like a contemplative epilogue to the story 🤔 there it goes still wouldve been the closer to end all closers tho I said what I said 💁‍♀️ as for the EPs, honestly I can't choose 😅 the first half of iybbiyf are 3 of my fav maisie songs but I find the second half relatively meh (no maisie songs are meh, just compared to her other songs lol) whereas dtnfaj is pretty solidly good the whole way through but there's no stand out favs for me 🤔 so 🤷‍♀️ they can be tied

I feel like I talked way too much there im sorry anyway today's question have you seen maisie live? If yes how many times, did any songs make you emotional, which song(s) was/were the best to hear live? If no which songs do you most want to hear live, would you rather see her on her own tour or at a festival and would you go with someone or on your own?

Bye for now don't forget to infodump about whatever (if you want to ofc) happy Mid December vibesss <3

- MPNSS 🎅🎄❄

no go off!!!

i loved the good witch but ysuft has such a special place in my heart it would be very hard for maisie to beat it for me. there genuinely isn't a single song on it that i don't LOVE.

the first 3 iybbiyf songs are 3 of my faves too!! taste!!!

i saw maisie live when she toured australia in march! i was so scared i'd have to go to an ed sh**ran concert just to see her since she was opening for him but thankfully she did her own shows too i'm sorry maisie i just don't like his music at all it all sounds the same

i got most emotional when she played brooklyn bc i was there with my sister who is my best friend so i was all 🥺 she didn't really know that much about maisie she just went bc i asked her to but still it made me v emo. also when she played john hughes movie bc it's my favourite maisie song and the little bit of glowing review during the medley

i've never been to a festival before but unless it was all acts that i like i think i'd prefer solo shows. and i'm all for doing things on your own but something like a concert is too scary for me to go to by myself 😭 maybe if it was daytime and 5 minutes from my house isuhdcuishfuihf

#ask #mpnsecretsanta23

[dreamwritesimagines]

It’s CMA-

First of all, @booknerdlife (omg it’s not letting me tag you) you are SO sweet and amazing!!!! I’m so glad that there are actually people out there who enjoy my rambling nonsense🙈. Sending you so many virtual hugs (or whatever virtual form of affection you prefer)!!

Second, I wonder how much clover’s personality will change once she’s able to be more open and honest with herself and others and not so guarded. I feel like she’s had to make her personality and become cynical, jaded, and guarded to protect herself. She had to get rid of any vulnerabilities as a survival tactic, which is totally valid! But I wonder how she will change when she lets her guard down completely.

I also think that she might not know who she is without all these protective layers because she’s had to stuff it down and never really got to explore that part of herself, so it will be really interesting to see if she surprises everyone even herself at the changes.

I wonder if she’ll keep like the pessimism and dark sense of humor, or she’ll learn to lighten up. Also how everyone will react to these changes- will she become more likable? Will people start enjoying spending time around her? I’m really curious about that change.

I also wonder if she’ll be more like how she is around teddy. We know that she can be emotionally vulnerable, gentle, and kind with him, so it would be interesting to see if that extends to herself and others as well.

I am worried about her parents coming around because I assume that in the story timeline it will be a matter of months not years, so she probably hasn’t gone through processing what happened and healing. Even if she had though, it is a trauma and it’s really difficult to remember that healing when confronted with the source of it. That’s a serious trigger, no matter how much work you’ve put in.

I don’t remember if this happened, but did the bridgerton fam ask her about why her fam wouldn’t be coming? I wonder if they’ll ask about her parents, or if they think they’re dead or something. I forget what they all know about this topic.

I also feel like she’ll make an offhand comment or joke about her parents that would make them pause/be super concerned behind her back because she doesn’t realize that what she went through wasn’t normal for a fam. Like at the dinner with them she went ‘oh haha my fam never ate together cuz my dad would always get mad whenever we did’ or when the kids are playing, she accidentally shushes them because she’s worried the noise will get them in trouble, or something like that.

Idk lots of thoughts about GoS this morning (like always lololol)

Anyway by love you<3

Omg awww you two are so nice! ❤️🥰

I totally agree with you, I think her personality and her being so cynical is a defense mechanism because she thinks if she were soft and sweet, she wouldn't have been able to handle and survive what it was like back home😱

Even she will be surprised at herself when she starts to like smile more and be more relaxed and how she will be especially when she's with Benedict 🥰

I don't think it will be so so obvious to the outsiders but the people close to her will definitely notice😍

Ohhh definitely! ❤️ The parents showing up will be within the season so in months for Clover 😏 And there will be so much angst because she is so traumatized and tense even when they're far away, so when they come there...😏

We actually have a scene coming with that! ❤️ But basically, the Bridgerton family did ask whether her parents would attend the wedding breakfast and Clover totally tensed up and said (very curtly) that they can't travel 😈 Violet probably asked Benedict later on though! ❤️

Joking about her family omg that would be such an interesting scene! ❤️ Because like, the Bridgertons are the absolute opposite of what her family was like, so they would be shocked if Clover so much as joked about something she thinks is insignificant😱

My loveeee, thank you so much for this! ❤️❤️❤️

[jfbuckley]

It’s a funny world.

First half 2-0 to A Villa. United apparently even worse than recent appalling performances. Looking like heading to a 6-0 drubbing.

Second half - result 3-2 to United, even had goal disallowed at start. Apparently played like a totally different team. Even Rashford put a bit of effort in. Garnacho scored two (plus the disallowed one) and Hojlund scored the winner, his first premier league goal.

I’m at a complete loss to either explain or understand it. First half = worst of a shocking season. Second half = as good as anything from the Ferguson era, the exact opposite of everything else (except Chelsea) that has gone down this season.

I wonder what my football correspondent will say….

———————-

hi - in the days long ago when i was younger than today festive football sometimes irritated me as the front of the match programme bore the smiling faces of the team wishing me a merry xmas - i used to angrily think 'then why are you spoiling it by playing so badly' - fast forward to the present day i offer in evidence united's loss at west ham which was plain boring which is the biggest crime you can level at a united team

to be fair united were a match for villa in the 1st half - they had a few attacks which were repelled - villas high defensive line offered scope for the ball over the top which either wasn't forthcoming  (much to rashfords  visible annoyance) or when it did hojlund, garnacho and rashford were offside

villa had 2 notable set pieces - from out on the right touchline opposite the united area mcginn shaped to take the kick - some of his colleagues were in obvious offside positions with 1 almost standing on onanas toes - if this was designed to confuse united it worked wonderfully as when the ball was played in the offside players ran away to all points of the compass - nobody touched the ball and the inert onana watched it enter goal

shortly after a corner found the totally unmarked lenglet in oceans of space just beyond the far post - he headed across the 6 yard box where dendoncker skilfully turned in number 2

so united trooped in 2 down at half time to a chorus of boos and much debate in the stands of how disappointing this season is turning out to be albeit in much more colourful language

early in the 2nd half united broke through the defensive line - rashford (playing on the left) fed garnacho (playing on the right) who dribbled around keeper martinez and from an acute angle thrillingly shot into goal - sadly however VAR played mr scrooge and for what seemed the umpteenth time this season the goal was ruled out

however what VAR couldn't stop was the shift in momentum of this encounter - the crowd, given a modicum of hope, were now on united's side and the stretford end tried to suck the ball in - on 59 minutes united provided an action replay of the disallowed goal - this time garnacho was on side and it was 2 - 1 - onana ensured it stayed that way with a save from bailey

on 71 minutes garnacho pressed forward and played in fernandes on the right wing - his 1st time cross was half cleared to garnacho who gathered, danced past a tackle, then fired in a shot which was deflected away from martinez and united were level

villa came again and the heroic evans blocked a certain goal for mcginn but the force was with united - on 80 minutes a united corner, heads went up, the ball fell onto mcginn and then to hojlund whose instant left shot went in off the post - the comeback was complete, rasmus had his premier league goal and unconfined joy abounded

9 minutes were added at the end but united held out with relative ease for a famous victory

i cannot really explain the fluctuations in performance by united this season - more often than not they have been poor - occasionally they've done well - they showed both sides in this 1 game - they clearly have some talented individuals - they remind me of racehorses in an odd way - some prefer the going hard, some prefer it soft, that sort of thing - footballers have to perform in all circumstance - ten hag's job is to mould a team that will be effective in all sorts of conditions - not easy but he'll have to find a way otherwise he'll join the lengthening list of failed successors to fergusons throne

next up is forest way - score prediction ? performance prediction ? haven't got a scooby do

bye

[niennandil-me-writes]

Fragments of a Cybernetic Mind: Chapter 6 - We've Been Here Before

Summary Half a year has passed since the events of Christmas of 2064. The world is slowly adjusting to sentient ROMs. But Turing is distracted from their task as ROM-kind’s leader and ambassador by another obligation they carry. They want to deliver Leon Dekker’s last words to his daughter. But first, they’ll have to find her, which doesn’t prove easy. They ask their journalist friend for help, who seems less than thrilled.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 (final) Epilogue

[Content Notes: This chapter features some heavy gore and very graphic descriptions of violence. A plot summary is included in the end notes in ao3 for everyone who wants to skip on it. It starts gradual and becomes more intense, so feel free to take a break or skip down at any moment. Additional more specific content notes are there as well (I'd usually put them directly here, but in this case to prefer to leave you the option to get surprised). Please take care.]

The digital clock shows 3:25 am. I should be sleeping. Instead, I am sitting on the couch, bathed in the cold light of my laptop, a cup of coffee on the table in front of me. I tried out one of the VR experiences Ramona gave me. A walk through a forest. But even though it was calming, I still couldn’t sleep. So I might as well get some work done. Typing, scanning data, taking notes. I don’t get anything done. 3:43. The lines blur in front of my eyes.

My eyes wander to the VR helmet on the table. I hesitate. But maybe that will let me find something I have overlooked so far. Help me get closer. So I take the helmet and connect it to my laptop. Put it over my head. Play a memory.

The view the goggles offer me is almost as dark as my living room. My eyes need a moment to adjust to the artificial memory. It’s so unlike the VR I experienced that evening. Everything seemed so real there, I could feel the rain dripping down on my skin and the sun on my arms, hear the wind rustling through trees, could taste autumn air. Here, everything seems muted, like through a veil. I lift the helmet and check the plug, the system, but everything seems to be working well.

I return to the memory. I hear a buzzing, a humming, a hammering like drums in the distance. What memory is this? I forgot to check.

Then I see the metal, the glowing of electricity. Smoke on the floor, around my – no his – feet.

I know where this is!

I try to take off the helmet, but I can’t move. I’m frozen. But I move. Stepping through Parallax’ server room. Hunting. Hunting myself. I need to get out! I need to – I need to –

I need to find you. But that can wait for a while. In the end, I am glad I didn’t kill you when I had the chance. You proved worth our while. Leading me exactly where I needed to go, finding the clues so I didn’t have to. You might as well have pointed a finger at all the people that I needed to kill. One should think someone this skilled in investigative journalism would have seen it coming. Then again, maybe you did. Maybe to you I was – how did the ROM put it? A calculated risk.

Well, it doesn’t matter now. You miscalculated. I can practically smell your fear in the air, hear your hammering heart even beyond the sizzling and buzzing of the electronics. I take a step in the opposite direction. Now that my cloaking emitter is fried, the ROM is no doubt tracking every step I take for you. I hope they do. Maybe I can actually get you to believe you might survive this. It makes the whole deal oh so much sweeter, like just another spoonful of honey in the tea my mother used to make. It’s the closest approximation I can get to that taste.

I’m enjoying every second of this, my mind racing with all the things I want to do to you, even as I tell you my little story. You are probably piecing everything together yourself right now. But that is bound to lack real pathos, all the best details missing. Like how Zinn’s body felt against my arm as I pushed her out the window of her own office. The surprise mixed with pain in Otsuka’s eyes, mirrored in his computer screen, as I drove the knife through his back. The look on your face as I ran over Nonya. The way his guts looked spread out across the street. You just can’t imagine it. Well,you can with that last one, you were there for that. 

But you aren’t sharing your thoughts, which is just too sad. Just as you aren’t telling me what you think of my plan to rip out your entrails and wear them like a scarf. Maybe that was a bit overdramatic, but beggars can’t be choosers and I am positively starving for some violence. I haven’t even told you yet that I intend for you to be alive during that part, but you will find out soon enough.

A door snaps shut just in front of me. Getting nervous? A chuckle escapes my metal throat. Those metal walls aren’t a problem for me. I could tear through them like paper. But where would the fun be in this if I just revealed that I know exactly where you are and can get there in seconds? I’ll let you keep hoping. 

I walk past the wall and continue the story. Then again… I can’t let you feel too safe. Why not show you what I’m capable of? Stimulate your imagination a bit. I walk straight ahead. My sensors catch something to my left. I turn. Walk faster. The metal screeches as it gives way around me.

And there you are. Cowered in a corner. Your hands clutching the zapper so tightly that your knuckles turn white as chalk. You scream.

(I scream)

And it’s music to my ears. Promises of what is to come. Are you even aware of screaming? Do you know what I am about to do to you? The first shot misses. Hands trembling violently. Have you ever shot at anyone before?

I push those thoughts to the side for later, and leap at you. The next shot hits my face. I laugh as I fall to the ground. Your footsteps running away. I heave myself up. The door in front of me closes. You really still think that will stop me?

I touch my hand to my face, where the zapper peeled off even more of my synthetic skin, revealing the metal grin beneath. It barely hurts, just a sting. But oh, does it feel good. It increases my appetite even more. What a wonderful toy you are. Anyone else would have given up by now. But you have guts. I like that in a victim. Can’t wait to rip them out of your body.

Maybe you, too, find this situation exciting, albeit in a different way? You enjoyed your little detective play, and what better climax to that than a hide and seek game with a homicidal android? Maybe that’s what the glint I spotted in your eye means. Maybe, after a life of mediocrity, you enjoy being the center of attention, people dying because of you, and you being the only one left to solve the case. Maybe deep down, you are as fucked up as me. Or maybe that’s just me projecting.

I chuckle to myself. Continue our little game. After that shot, you deserve your reward, so I keep on telling the tale, rattling off the facts about Fairlight and Big Blue and yadda yadda… to be honest, I don’t really care. Oh, it pays the bills alright, and I prefer to keep it that way, but in the end, I don’t really care about the politics. Turing’s crazy idea about turning all robots sentient is nothing but a welcome excuse to wreck shit. Isn’t it nice when things work out like that?

Another door closes next to me. Slowly I’m getting impatient.

“Like how you feel about doing journalism? It’s all that matters to you”, I say. “That’s how I feel about murder.”

A whimper, just around the corner. You made a mistake and you are just now realizing it. 

Turning, I charge at you at the speed of sound. You lift the gun, pull the trigger. No shot rings out.

(Wait)

You are out. 

(That is not what happened!)

In a pathetic last attempt, you fling the weapon at me. It bounces right off my body, tearing some more skin off. I don’t care. I’ll have to make some replacements after I’m done here anyways. 

I grab you by the throat. The ROM charges at me, but I just kick the little shit into the wall. Metal crashes against metal, the little body explodes in a flash of electricity. It’s beautiful. But not as beautiful as your pale face in front of mine.

(This didn’t happen! This is not what happened! I try to get out. I scream, but all that comes over my lips is – )

“Now let the real game begin,” I grin into your face, which is slowly turning blue as I increase the pressure on your throat. I won’t deny, if I still had the necessary parts, this sight would seriously turn me on right now. But I won’t finish you off just yet, no, that would be boring.

I let go and you fall to the floor, gasping for air, hand clasped to your throat. As soon as your lungs are filled with oxygen again, you crawl away, trying to get to your feet. But I am infinitely faster. My boot meets your leg. A wet crunching sound. A scream. How beautiful. Seeing how well you did so far on your little adventure makes it all the sweeter to see you reduced to a small helpless mess on the floor.

I lift my foot off your broken leg. A piece of bone is piercing the skin. I crouch down, grab it and twist until it comes out. Screams turn into whimpers at your lips, which then turns into silence. You’re fainting, as is to be expected. But I’m not letting you fade away just yet. I slap your face, again and again, shake you, until your eyes flutter open again.

“Wakey, wakey,” I grin. “Time for your nightmare.”

Reflexively, you try to jump up. A hiss of pain as you try to move your useless leg. I pin you to the floor and use your own bloodied bone to tear through your shirt and the skin beneath, stabbing it into your stomach. 

“please...” Your voice is barely another whimper.

I grab your head. “What is it, sweetie? You want to beg for your life? Maybe if you ask nicely, I’m gonna let you live? After all, I could still get you out of here, to the next hospital? But we both know, it ain’t gonna happen. As much as I would like to hear you beg, see you grovel in front of me, it just can’t be done. You know too much.”

You don’t answer. You don’t even scream anymore. But I know you can feel everything. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My fingers grip your hair, holding your head in place while I continue to rummage through your body with my other hand. Your ribcage is lying open now, bones looking out of your flesh. Blood and parts of organs splattered on the floor. It looks like an abstract painting, one of those Yannick has hanging in his villa. For a silly moment, I consider taking a picture for him, but quickly discard the idea. That would be evidence. And anyways, the view is already burned into my memory disks, where I can retrieve it whenever I feel like it, whenever I feel bored and need some nice distraction to put a smile on my face.

It is making me smile right now, and that makes me notice the blood on my lips. I can’t taste it, naturally, but my sensors tell me everything I need to know, adrenaline levels and suchlike. Almost like eating candy. Or the closest I can come to that.

I run my fingers through your hair, almost tenderly. Unwanted memories of my wife resurface, of stroking her hair like that. Instead of pushing them away like I usually do, I dwell on them for a little. Getting excited at the dying stranger’s hair in my hands is as close as I can get to that past sensation. Your hair turns into her hair, your face into hers. Closest approximation and all that.

My touch doesn’t stay gentle for long, though. I yank you up by the hair, pulling you off the ground. Your entrails are spilling on the floor. I let go and you stay standing up for just a second before I place a punch into the gaping hole in your stomach. You sprawl to the floor. Barely alive now. Time to decide how best to end this.

I grab your guts from the floor, and, climbing on top of you, wrap them around myself and then around your neck and start pulling. It’s almost like a hug, or the closest approximation or whatever - enough of this sentimental bullshit. I tighten the grip. Organic fiber tears, your eyes flutter, you don’t even struggle anymore.

(I watch myself die, unable to do anything. It’s not the first time.)

I tear another bone from your ribcage, stab at you with it, rip your hair out, squash your eyes until they explode between my fingers, I yank your arm out of its socket. I tear out your heart and take a bite I can neither taste nor swallow.

That’s how they find me. 

I knew I was forgetting something. Your friend from the police escaped, calling backup. Even so, I could have gotten away, if I hadn’t gotten so lost in our fun.

But seeing the cop lady walk in just as I am led out in handcuffs, seeing her face as she looks at your body (or what remains of it), hearing her uncontrolled sobs, her gibberish as she falls to the floor, it makes it all worth it. Who knows... Maybe now Wilson Dekker will finally be allowed to die. And what a hell of a last day it has been.

#my writing #fanfic #read only memories #2064 read only memories #2064rom #leon dekker #alys #fragments of a cybernetic mind #gore #I wrote the first version of this chapter almost 3 years ago after I first played the game and had some brainworms to work through #I considered toning it down a bit #but that would honestly feel wrong at this point after everything that writing did for me #It wouldn’t be a self-indulgent project of mine if there wasn’t some gore #aka this is how teo was formed

[sknolls]

This is just gonna be me talking a bit about a Celeste mod I made, like, 2 years ago and why I think it's probably the most interesting map that I've made.

One trend I've noticed with Celeste mods is that whenever the difficulty goes up, mappers like to make their screens super long. I'm, like, the exact opposite. When I set out to make really long screens, I tend to also prefer turning the difficulty way down. Meanwhile when I crank the difficulty all the way up, I like making stuff that's barely RTA viable but then the screen is, like, 10 seconds max. In fact, the single hardest screen I've ever made in a Celeste map is literally only 4 seconds of gameplay.

Another thing that's kinda funny is I think when I go all out of difficulty, I tend to just make maps with multiple solutions to most of the screens because I'm like "well every solution requires the player to hit a one-pixel window, so.." Like, you could see two different clears of Floating Oil Rig and notice that both players are approaching each screen a little differently.

For the sake of comparison, here's a few different Full Clears of the map. Also some of them have Madeline get Double Dash on the final screen. The reason for this is because 1.4 broke the map and it took me a really long time to fix the issue (Yoshi was the one to contact me about it and I basically needed someone else to break into my Gamebanana account because I got locked out of it due to disuse and not remembering which email I had attached to it).

Peja's Full Clear run:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WItJnsE0Ncs&t=1s

Notnot's Full Clear run:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CBC6n_vd0ro

DrIvanKO's Full Clear run:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bgmgBCtIhgI&t=105s

Yoshi's Full Clear golden run:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XfXKkU1DGzA&t=86s

It was really interesting seeing how all these players approached certain parts of the map differently. And none of these look quite how I play through the map. Some strats were intended others were not but because of the map's nature, it's not super obvious what is what. And what also makes this interesting to me is that it made me wonder why did each player solve each screen the way that they did? Like, how aware was each player of the alternate solutions to each screen? And how much of their personal affinities with each tech or personal approaches to playing maps translate to their clears?

Like, with Yoshi's clear, you can really see how skilled they are at creating their own set-ups from the map. Since their clear is a golden, they're gonna value consistency above all else. But it's also interesting how they seem to prefer giving themself extra corner jumps over having to hyper or wallbounce whenever possible. They're probably the player listed here that looks the most comfortable with pixel perfect tech and I'd guess has a better understanding of Celeste's and modded mechanics than anyone else. Like, I didn't realize Factory Helper spikes worked slightly different from regular spikes (even tho it's used in the level design for Berry 4) and Yoshi is definutely the most comfortable player in abusing that fact. Probably the point in Yoshi's run I found to be the most interesting was room 2 checkpoint 1 where Yoshi decides not to take the wallbounce into the bird and instead opts for another corner jump. I really want to know if that was because they found the corner jump easier or if they were showing off.

Peja has the most unique clear out of the bunch, performing several strats that I haven't seen anyone else go for. In particular their clear of checkpoint 1 and berry 1. I get the impression from watching this that they're the type of player prone to overcomplicating rooms. They also look very comfortable dashing up and then corner jumping as they use that set-up a lot. Most telling is during Berry 3 where it's actually set-up so that from respawn you can always make the corner wallbounce by just dashing up, and they still went for the dash up corner jump approach. I also think it's funny that they cut out the Berry 2 troll.

DrIvanKO was the first person to fullclear the map (to my knowledge). I also think it's funny that they got hit by every Berry 2 troll. They also just didn't see the super in screen 2 checkpoint 2 (I remember them saying that to me). I think they might've also asked for the solution to the final berry. So I really get the impression that this player tends to play maps with one inflexible solution and they'll try to force it to work until it does. They also seem like the type of player who likes cheesing maps. I also like how to reach the final berry, it looks like they didn't even try to make the jump and just went for the respawn trigger (there wasn't actually a respawn trigger unless I forgot or something).

I like how notnot's the only one who went for the reverse wavedash in screen 1. It's interesting that notnot seems to opt out of a lot of the set-ups, especially ones that slightly slow down the pacing. I wonder if they just didn't see them or just prefer the approach of die fast try fast.

All of this was more or less unintentional. The stuff I was pulling from when making the map had a lot to do with how much I love corner jumps. Corner Jumps and Wavedashes are definitely my two favorite techs in the game because they both make you rethink what you know about the game and open it up in a new light. They both let you get away with doing things that straight up should not be possible. So, with this map, a lot of what went into it was the feeling of doing something that should be factually impossible. Or that feeling of outplaying the map's developer. Some variants in play were caused by players finding strats that didn't occur to me while others were a result of me noticing them and deciding "well, both strats get across the same feeling and are equally bullshit so there's no reason to edit it out." But it wasn't really something intentionally designed into the level. What I was not anticipating was how expressive every clear feels. Like, I get excited to see any new clear of the map. Partially (mostly) because I made the map and seeing ppl play it makes me happy, but partially because I want to see how that person went about clearing the map. And there are definitely some ways through the rooms that none of the ppl here went for (like, the way I prefer to clear room 3 checkpoint 1 looks different from everyone else's clears of it, which sort of reflects how I went about making the map where it was less me designing an experience for the player and more me going "is that a thing you can do? one way to find out lol"). Idk, I just really like watching TAS and making the player feel like they're doing TAS things sounded fun.

But yeah, I've actually been making quite a few GM maps lately that I haven't published or technically finished. It's been interesting. The other day, I started a Theo Smuggle Gravity Map, kinda on a whim. I've always really liked Theo Crystal gameplay where you have to juggle Theo with your dashes. Vinculum reminded me "or right Dream Smuggles are a thing" and I was kinda curious how Gravity Helper assets interact with carryable objects and I've really been enjoying the Gravity Helper maps. There's this interesting distinction to how Theo Crystal reacts to dream hypers depending on whether you buffer your inputs. Also I think it's fun testing the player's ability to perform complex tech while upside down because it forces the player to adjust their muscle memory. Plus having two separate entities fucking about with Gravity looks really cool. Like Gravity is Dead and You Killed It. I get the impression that this map will have a lot of divergent strats because I'm using the same approach to variance as FoR where I'll acknowledge "yeah that's a thing you can do but it's also about as cursed as the intended solution" combined with the intended solution not being completely obvious.

There's this City map where I was messing around with the way Zip Movers and spikes interact strangely as well as asking the player to do more complex things with demo dash. Main thing atm is deco and berries. Tho I'm thinking I might want to just release all the GM maps together in a lobby or something. I could make a cute little hateside that contains ungodly bullshit that no one asked for <3.

There's this Celestial Resort level that's mainly designed around asking the player "can you corner jump while under mild pressure?" I'm not very good with cycles, so the cycles are kinda minimal. I'm sort of at a loss for how to best design this map just because I'm really disinterested in cycle gameplay but I'm still trying to make a GM Resort level. Which I'm sure will result in either a really interesting or really underwhelming solution.

And the final GM map I've been tinkering at is this Old Site level that uses the Viv Helper Dream Spinners. Atm development is paused because that entity isn't compatible with Lönn, so I'm sort of just waiting for the Helper Mod to update. Probably the more interesting part is the last two screens where I made a go at combining cracked GM bullshit with open-ended gameplay. Is it fun? Unlikely. Will that stop me? No.

But yeah, experimenting with cranking the difficulty all the way up has been a lot of fun and really interesting as of late.

#ive also been fucking around with turning the difficulty all the way down and seeing where that takes me #but results have been less interesting since i havent actually published much of anything #celeste #modded celeste #Youtube