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runningfrom2am · 1 year ago

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leveling the playing field II

summary: you didn't meet the requirements for the plinth prize, only to find out that you're not just missing out on that- you're missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. your friend wants to help, because maybe you can help each other.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 2.8k

tags/warnings: capitol brat!reader, maybe slightly ooc coryo, idk i tried my best. do they love each other or hate each other? who knows. also someone dies (but its not too graphic), mentions of blood and violence you guys get the vibes.

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a/n: embarrassed to say this is grabbing me by the cuff of my shirt and yanking me out of writer's block sorry to everyone who followed for drew's characters lmao. anyway idek if any of this is any good but as long as i'm writing something i'm pleased.

next part

Coriolanus clenched his jaw as he watched you eat from the plate of fruit your maid brought up after you called for tea, hoping that somehow you would just miss the sound of his stomach growling. He had said no, but you insisted because you were hungry. You don't even know what hungry feels like- he's already regretting letting you help him.

"So," You start, covering your mouth as you finish chewing so you could get down to strategy. If you were going to help, you had to go at this wisely. "What is your plan? Lay it out for me. I'll give you my thoughts."

"I talked to Tigris, she agreed that I need to get Lucy Gray to trust me." He tells you. "She said she would want someone here to care about her. That will have to be me."

"Okay." You nod, reaching for another slice of apple on the plate, trying to ignore the way his eyes track the fruit all the way from your plate to your lips. "So, I'm doing a more behind-the-scenes thing. I think that's better, for us and her. I don't want her to be overwhelmed."

"Yeah." Coryo agrees, staring at you. At this point, it's driving you crazy.

"Coryo." You state, pushing the dish across the coffee table in his direction. "Eat. Please."

"No, I couldn't." He tries to politely decline and you raise an eyebrow at him.

"I insist. It was made for two, I can't possibly stomach it all. It would be a shame for it to go to waste." You had laid your cards out just minutes earlier, making it clear you both knew more about each other's home lives than you cared to discuss, but that didn't mean you would torture him with it.

He hesitates before grabbing a slice and taking a few bites, looking past you and out the window. He wouldn't want it to go to waste like you said, after all.

"I won't tell anyone, you know." You say, your tone walking a line between joking and being serious. He'll interpret that in whatever way he chooses, and you're okay with that.

"I should be going, actually." He says, dropping the other half of the apple slice back onto the dish and standing up, smoothing the creases in his slacks.

You stand up as well, making your way to the door and ringing the bell that summons your maid. "I'll walk you out, just give me a second." You explain to him, and by the time you're done your sentence, she is there looking at you expectantly. "Take these leftovers and pack them up for my friend." You tell her, pointing to the mostly full plate. "And pack some of those pastries you made for his family as well, if you don't mind. Oh! And that bread, it will go bad soon if someone doesn't eat it." She just nods silently as you speak, walking past you to take the plate before leaving.

"Thank you." Coriolanus mutters through gritted teeth once your maid is out of earshot.

"Like I said," You smile. "I don't want it to go to waste."

The morning the tributes arrived, Coriolanus was late to class. He had never been late to class, not once, and you would know- because you hadn't either. Not that you were worried, but it was almost the only thing you could think about. It was odd, but he must have gone to greet Lucy Gray. That would be the only thing that made sense.

"Your little excursion is in violation of about five Academy rules, Mister Snow." Dean Highbottom says as the blonde boy walks in, uniform disheveled as he finds his seat across the room from you.

You make eye contact only briefly with him as the Dean goes on about how endangering the life of a student is against the rules, and your friend would be accumulating a demerit over the whole thing.

From what you can gather, he did go see Lucy Gray, which went farther than he intended when he ended up escorting her all the way into the monkey cage at the zoo. To you, that was comically appropriate. To Sejanus, it was a crime. Of course it was, his heart never left District Two. As much as you had your differences, Sejanus was a kind boy. You did like him, only after you got it through your mind that if you were to leave the Capitol, you would always be Capitol at heart. You're pulling on a loose string on the hem of your uniform sleeve, more, more, until you've almost undone the whole length of your wrist. When the thread breaks you want to hit something, for little to no reason, and you bite into your bottom lip.

You don't even know why you're so mad. You have a short fuse and you know that, maybe it's about Coryo. Maybe it's about your sleeve that's now slightly longer on one side.

You're drawn from your thoughts as Clemensia stands up from her seat next to Coryo, addressing Dr. Gaul who, as far as you know, had only been in the room for a minute or so. "Coriolanus and I do all our assignments together, I think it would be fitting for us to write up the proposal together too. I have some good ideas for things to be incorporated into the games along with betting." Your eyes roll so hard at this that it makes your head ache.

"I brought her a rose from Grandma'am's garden and she ate it. She needs food." Coryo tells you, walking alongside you down the hall.

"I'll get something together for her. Would you like to come with me to pick it up and then we can go to the zoo?" You ask, adjusting your shoulder bag as he holds the front door open for you.

"Okay. Are you sure you should come?"

"If you would like me to." You shrug, leading him in the direction of your parent's town car.

He thinks on it for a moment. Does he want you to meet Lucy Gray? You were technically also her mentor, even if you were taking a backseat. It struck him again, harder somehow, when he met her in person how similar she was to you. Besides the distinct accent, every word that came out of her mouth sounded as though it could have been written in a script by you. If you were district, that is. It was hard to wrap his mind around.

"I would." He finally answers, more so on impulse than resulting from his thought process.

You smile, linking your arm around his as you approach the vehicle.

"Then we can drop you at Clem's. if you'd like." You offer bitterly and he just gives a curt nod in response.

After getting your maid to pack some food for Lucy Gray with some extra for the two of you, assuming you would be gone for the evening, you got a ride to the zoo. The atmosphere was exciting, with people and children crowding the bars- this time including a few of your classmates. Sejanus, which you had expected, and Arachne- no doubt there to get attention.

"Lucy Gray!" Coryo called out, summoning the girl toward the two of you as you approached the bars marking the edge of the enclosure.

"Well hello, Coriolanus. You brought a friend, care to introduce us?" She smiles, looking between the two of you. Admittedly, you admire her poise, given the situation. Politeness in front of the cameras was a must- she's doing an exemplary job in humanizing herself.

"Lucy Gray, this is my friend Y/N Y/L/N. Y/N, meet Lucy Gray." He nods between the two of you and you reach through the bars to shake her hand.

"Hello. Pleasure to meet you." You smile at her, which she returns.

"You as well." She nods, clearly impressed as she looks between you and Coryo. You had decided back at your home to not introduce yourself as another mentor, just as a friend, after gushing the reaction to the other tributes thinking Lucy Gray was getting special treatment this morning when her mentor was the only one to show up. "Coriolanus, is Miss Y/L/N here your sweetheart?"

His face flushes red as he shakes his head, refusing to look at you. You laugh, not noticing his change in undertone as you answer for him. "No, no. Just a friend." You explain, digging in your bag for her food, wanting to quickly change the subject. "We brought you this." You hold out the napkin for her, containing a sandwich, a couple of desserts, and some plums.

"Oh wow, thank you!" Lucy Gray smiles, accepting it gratefully. "Hey, Jessup! Come eat." She calls out to the other tribute from her district, who you remember was assigned to Lysistrata Vickers.

He comes over, but doesn't acknowledge either of you as Lucy Gray holds out one of the dessert bars to him. "I'm not hungry."

"It won't do you any good to starve now. You need your energy." Lucy Gray insists, practically shoving it into his hand.

"I hope you like blueberry." You cut in. "It's a blueberry biscuit with pistachio filling. Made fresh this morning- I promise it's good."

He doesn't say anything, taking it and retreating to the rock he was previously sitting on to eat.

"Will you be sharing everything with him?" Coryo asks her quietly as he walks away.

"Why? So I can keep my energy up enough to strangle him? I don't think that will matter much in a few days."

"You can't trust anyone once the games start, so why trust them now?" You reply quietly, scanning over the other tributes, eyes landing on Arachne taunting her tribute. Of course she would- her arrogance never fails to impress you.

"Your friend over there seems just lovely." Lucy Gray says sarcastically, eyes following yours as you watch your classmate.

"Not our friend." You and Coryo respond at the same time.

"She's poison with perfect teeth." He continues and you nod.

"One thing I learned in twelve is that hunger is a weapon." Lucy Gray says. You're not sure what she means, but you nod anyway.

"Here, let's sit." You suggest, changing the subject as you crouch down to lay out a cloth on the ground to place the food on.

As you're laying it out carefully between the bars for Lucy Gray, you can feel Coryo's eyes burning into the backs of your hands. Lucy Gray notices this too, handing him a cookie from the pile.

"No, I couldn't." His default response. "You need it more than me."

"You were staring. Here, we'll share." She insists and he takes it gratefully, breaking off a piece and placing it in his mouth.

"Here..." You mumble, digging through your bag again and pulling out the glass container designated for his dinner. You place it in his lap, not giving him the chance to turn it down. "Packed it just for you."

He takes it off his lap, tensely getting up. "I'll be back in a moment." He tells you both, red uniform disappearing behind the small crowd.

"You can see it too?" Lucy Gray asks you, nibbling on half of a sandwich.

You nod slightly, eyes still trying to track him to see where he went, then landing on him talking to Sejanus who's desperately trying to get his tribute, Marcus, to eat some of the food he brought.

"He's quite sensitive about it." You explain. "I appreciate you being kind to him. No one else knows... I think. Regardless, you are very important to him."

She nods a little bit, watching you watch your friend. "Are you just buttering me up?" She jokes and you shake your head, returning your attention to the girl across from you.

"No, I mean it. It's more than the prize for us." You state. "Him." You quickly correct yourself. "I just want to help however I can, if you need anything else just ask, but I'll bring food every day. Or I'll send it with Coryo."

"Coryo, huh?"

"Well, yes. We've been friends for years."

"I see." Lucy Gray nods, both of you watching him make his way back over. You lift up his container of food and hand it to him before he even has the chance to sit down.

"What about you, Lucy Gray? Any friends back home? Family?" You ask, looking away from him as he sits. You want him to eat, but you know he would loathe you for watching, so you direct all your attention to her.

"I'm an orphan, just like Coryo here." She nods to him and his brows furrow at the nickname coming from someone new. "It's just me and the Covey."

"Covey?" You ask.

"Yeah, they're my family and we perform together. It's how we make our change."

"Well, you are a very talented singer. Jaws were on the floor in the Capitol during your performance." You smile.

"I'm not one to go quietly, that's all."

"I'm not either." You agree. "I think we'll be fine friends."

Just at that moment, the three of you hear a scream that has you turning your heads as fast as lightning over to the source, catching the end of Arachne getting her throat slit by her tribute. You and Coriolanus are on your feet in seconds, running over to try and help her just as gunfire rings out, taking down her tribute for the crime of her murder.

You pull off your blazer, both you and Coryo using it to try and stop the bleeding, but you could tell it was no use. By the time you look up, the crowd of spectators was completely gone having rushed for the exits during the attack.

Just as you both realize it's no use, and that she's already dead, you're being pulled away by peacekeepers.

"Hey! Let me go right this second!" You shout, trying to pull away.

"You kids have to get out of here." One of them answers blankly.

"I have to get my stuff!" You complain, trying to wiggle out of their strong grip. "You want me to leave my knife over within reach too? Are you stupid?"

They stop, sighing as they let you go. "Thank you." You huff, readjusting your shirt before walking back over to where you were just sitting with Lucy Gray, quickly gathering your things but leaving food for her.

"Lucy Gray, are you alright?" You ask, seeing her lying on the ground a few feet away from the bars now, just getting up.

She just nods, the fear in her eyes starting to cease.

"You're not shot?" You follow up with, looking over her at the same time she does.

"No, I'm fine. You go." She replies, standing up again and dusting off her dress.

"Thank god. Those idiots are awful shots!" You bite, looking back at the peacekeepers over your shoulder, Coriolanus now nowhere to be seen.

You stand up and pull your bag across your body, walking past them toward the exit as they attempt to guide you in the right direction. "Don't touch me!" You hiss, smacking their hands away.

"Coryo!" You call out, running to catch up with him in the academy hall the next morning. He slows down, glancing over his shoulder and stopping to wait for you.

"Y/N." He states, looking at you expectantly.

"Shall we go see Lucy Gray today?" You ask, reaching up to tighten your ponytail that had come loose in your jog.

"No." He shakes his head, continuing to walk and you follow after him.

"What? Why not? She needs us to bring her food, and we have to-"

"I'll discuss the games with her at the planned meeting this afternoon. You won't be going back to the zoo."

"Excuse me?" You ask, grabbing his arm to stop him in his tracks. "I know I'm like, your assistant, or whatever, but you will not tell me what I can and cannot do."

"It's too dangerous. They are dangerous." Coriolanus argues. "I won't have you ending up like Arachne."

He had been up all night writing his proposal for Dr. Gaul. It was the only thing that could get his mind off the death of his classmate, and off of you. What if it had been you? He should have known it was dangerous, it was his fault. It was his idea that the mentors get closer to the tributes and someone was killed. Arachne's blood was on his hands, and he was just relieved that it wasn't yours staining his uniform instead.

"No. No, she died because she was stupid." You whisper, looking around. "She taunted her tribute and handed her a knife, at that point it's natural selection. I am not her. I am smarter."

He stares down at you, scanning over your features as you beg him to let you continue to help. "You need me, Coriolanus. Admit that much to yourself."

"I don't need you," He spits back. "But I like you much better alive. You are the one person in this school I can stand, I won't lose you over something so reckless." He pulls his arm from your grasp and walks off.

You look around, seeing your classmates staring and you roll your eyes. "Take a picture or something." You say to no one in particular, prompting people to avert their eyes.

taglist: @keziahcore, @kitscutie, @annaelise, @serrendiipty, @babyspice3, @babyspice6, @fratboyharrysgf0201, @totallynotkaibiased, @stelleduarte, @klplynn, @secretsicanthideanymore

if your name has a strike-through, that means i was unable to tag you so please double check your user is correct!

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#coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus snow #coryo snow #tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas x reader #tbosas fic #lucy gray #thg fanfiction #the hunger games #hunger games #thg

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mono-dot-jpeg · 1 year ago

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tank moment - mauga

summary; title slightly irrelevant, i wanted to be funny. iykyk

genre/extra tags; headcanons/bullet fic, i talk about mauga hcs i thought of on the fly, reader is implied to be a support character, reader is also part of talon group, fluff, i only know the bare minimum about him and that's all i need baby, is this platonic or romantic idk

[gender neutral reader] [canon typical violence mentioned]

a/n; im back on my overwatch era. it never really ended but, i want to write about him, mauga, the beloved. typing this on my phone and finishing on my computer if anything seems wonky shhh dont tell me i'll relive that mistake for days

also this is a somewhat lightly reseached- aka not fully accurate/detailed work. i briefly mention samoan culture and if it offends or if it's a mistake, please tell me and i will erase those parts asap.

[support me and buy a kofi]

🗣 ALRIGHT SO ‼️

i've been watching and playing with/against mauga since the trial to play him came out and god i love him

but he's kind of easy to counter (im an ana main, nade is fucking broken but that's just anti heal things) and his ult is annoying

anyways

every tank needs their heal bot to keep em up

you just happen to be mauga's heal bot KDJSJSJ

(baptiste is too probably but not really)

he's a really smug guy

no one really knows that bc he sounds so upbeat and nice

but he loves to tease you, poke at you bc he knows that you will answer to him most of the time and entertain him in conversation

you and him are probably in your world even when you're both in talon tbh

he does his own thing and you just happen to join in

(he totally baits you to join his plans and you both know it)

he's a chaotic and cunning man and you're his enabler

(sounds like me and my bestie tbh)

"a hero would sacrifice you to save the world but a villain would sacrifice the world to save you" type beat

he's lowkey possessive but we dont talk about that

jk we do talk abt it

he's your scary guard dog privileges

like that man is tall tall ‼️‼️

idk why but i dont really imagine him being like an openly sweet person

he keeps it private even with how loud he is

anyways

you know how he's on a yacht for his origin story and there's like a bunch of people who got destroyed by him?

yeah he would totally do that shit for u if you asked.

he would give you the best home but

"thanks for the new place and all but did you have to kill someone for it?"

"i mean come on! this place is nice! let's enjoy it!"

he's very "i'll do the dirty work, just sit back and look pretty." and then you're like, "yeah i could. but i won't."

dps support vibes for you ✨️

but also he's charging in most of the time so, there's not much time to dps support KDHDJDJJD

he's like the kool aid man bursting in through the walls /j

cough

back to the hcs here...

he's so tall and big, he would totally let you hang off his back like nunu and wilump (from league, yeah i play league dont remind me totally gonna write for heartsteel soon tm)

also he's literally the greatest heated blanket (ahead of roadhog)

he's so stronk and wowowowow im so gay i love him

when you're surrounded by some enemies, he's charging in, slamming the ground and carrying you with ease as he keeps you safe while destroying any enemies who even tried to touch you

ugh

despite his lack of pda, he's a very actions over words.

he's so silly

chivalry isn't dead when he breaks into a jewelry store for u 😍😍

if you ever have those crazy thoughts about crime, he's totally gonna enable you and let you reign havoc on god knows what.

love language is actions and gift giving. enough said.

when he gives you a hug, he's so fucking warm omg

i said it before and i'll say it again, he's the best heated blanket, literal furnace

bad for the people who sweat easily though (ahem me lowkey)

one the off-days where it's just a day off and relaxing, he's taking care of you well !!

when you're on talon missions, since he can't run around as easily unless he gets the okay but you do keep him company until then

he likes to protect but he loves destroying people

he knows you're able to care for yourself, so he can go crazy whenever, and he loves that.

he also loves watching you get mad or angrily passionate

"yes go, la'u ma’asoama!" (my rock/stone, get it? bc his name means mountain)

he is a really good hype man. even if you're the one in the wrong.

god I WISH I LOOKED UP MORE ABOUT HIM ARGBHYKFJ

soon (tm)

someday i'll write more.

#overwatch x reader #overwatch 2 x reader #overwatch mauga #mauga x reader #overwatch mauga x reader #overwatch #overwatch 2 #overwatch fluff #overwatch headcanons

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hey-august · 4 days ago

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I'll Be Your Whatever - Story Hiatus

Description: Life is full of all sorts of characters - some who come and go, and others that stay. After propelling yourself into a lie you can't (won't) take back, a certain pirate captain may have a reason to come by more often. (Story tag)

Alrighty, I would very very much like to come back to this fic one day, but I truly do not know when that will happen. I think the outline I put together took away some of the drive to write the actual story, but I still want to SO BADLY.

So this story doesn't remain unfinished for however long, I'm going to share the outline I put together using beat sheets and story arcs.

Tag list: @rorywritesjunk @ane5e @venulus @misadventures0fdes You asked to be included in the tag list for the story, so I'm also tagging you here. I'm sorry for dropping the story and this hiatus, but I hope knowing that the ending exists brings some peace!

For reference: CB = Captain Buggy, MC = Main Character (aka, you, the reader!) WC: ~1.4k

As a recap of the story so far, MC tried to get 2 overly flirtatious guys off her back by saying a stranger passing by was her boyfriend. That stranger was Buggy, of course lol. Trying to stay low and play the part, MC and CB kiss. They joke about CB continuing to be a boyfriend and MC mentions having a treasure chest. A few days later, CB shows up at MCs place with flowers and saying he'll agree to be her boyfriend if she promises him the treasure map.

Chapter 4

They go on a mini date, as a way for them to talk about the agreement - they talk about the timeline and how long to "date." They decide to go get lunch.

Hot dog lunch. Hint at CBs favorite food.

CB blows kisses to MC while she’s in line.

Contract:

Don’t tell the truth - a deal’s a deal

MC pays for food

Compliments for Buggy

Hold hands

Kissing? We’ll figure it out if we need to

Buggy has to stop by whenever he’s in town

Buggy goes to the town festival - MC tries to convince CB to agree to go to a town festival in a few weeks or whatever, long enough for dudebros to lose interest. Offers a treasure map.

"If I’m being totally honest, that sounds like my worst nightmare."

MC stands up to someone who tries to insult Buggy’s nose. Fiery. They have to leave wherever they were. CB is impressed by her spunk.

B Story - CB inviting MC to visit the ship.

At some point CB invites her, a shadow passes over her face, he asks if she really dislikes the idea that much.

MC feels stuck to the small town and guilt about her dad missing those kinds of experiences. She looks at Buggy's eyes and sees the draw of the ocean in them. Whatever enticed Buggy and her dad to love the sea, is reflected in his eyes.

Chapter 5

Fun and Games - coming to the weekend market

Oh yeah, no he said he wasn’t able to make it. But! CB shows up unexpectedly. YN blows him a kiss and he catches it.

CB gets into a scuffle at the weekend market.

Rowdy customer, "how about I pay you in kisses, pretty thing? No? Whatever, this shit isn’t even that good."

“no one gets to treat you like that, you hear me? no one.”

They eat fresh donuts, “oh you have to try these, they’re my favorite,” MC dabs some powdered sugar off the corner of his mouth.

Test of love trope! Conducted by a new jewelry shop. Start easy - eye color, fave food, feed each other, draw each other, blindfold and guess their partners hands, winners get matching bracelets. This is their first kiss.

CB putting the bracelet on MC "This means you’re mine. That’s what you wanted, right?" She gets A LOT of butterflies.

Walking back, the pictures they drew of each other blow away and fall into a tide pool. MC wading through water to get the drawings.

He made the day so special and she doesn’t want this to ruin it.

The drawing / picture she made isn’t that bad, he actually kinda likes it himself. So MC gives it to him. He becomes more enamored with it when she goes to save it from the water.

Nearby sailors / pirates laugh at MC in the water (lighthearted), she calls back that it’s not like they don’t get dirty treasure hunting.

CB gets butterflies from her insistence and calling the papers treasure.

Piggy back ride home? Slightly spicy. It was like their skin was calling out for the other's gentle touch.

Chapter 6

Fun and Games cont - MC said she would see CB off the next day but she doesn’t show up because she’s sick from the previous night.

CB comes by, sees that she’s okay but sick.

He leaves for a moment and comes back with some stuff to help her feel better. He also postponed shipping off until the next day.

She bashfully asks if he’ll stay a little longer. He stays until she falls asleep.

MC calls him pretty boy and he hecking likes it.

She wakes up the next day to a note telling her that he won’t be in the area for a while.

Chapter 7

Mini scene, MC notices that the dudebros seem to have moved on. They asked for a double/triple date, but MC deflects bc who knows when CB will be in town.

MC mentions this to CB in passing.

Midpoint - Next time, MC visits CBs ship. It’s a good visit. Overall a positive experience. There is some real-ness to life aboard the ship.

Cabaji shows unicycling, meet Mohji and Richie, CB shows off knife throwing (maybe a contest between him and Cabaji, CB wins and Cabaji says at least he’s better at unicycling)

Buggy helps rig the new sails

Pirates swap stories. Talking about what it was like adjusting to life on the ship, but how amazing it is. All the sights and experiences. She has stars in her eyes while listening. Her mind sketching images of what’s being described. She’s even comfortable talking about her dad.

How do you tell your fake bf that you're nervous near him because you're starting to fall for him?

MC likes seeing CBs swagger and how his crew adores him. CB puts his hand on her shoulder and kneads.

She stays overnight (one bed), CB doesn’t sleep.

Chapter 8

Bad Guys Close In - As MC leaves, she’s accosted by pirate thugs, who notice she’s been hanging around CB.

Maybe they think she’s a sex worker? Sugar baby? She tries to say that’s not it, then they think she must be something more special. They could probably get a ransom.

Chop chop Buggy comes in to save the day. Or CB throws a knife, trapping them. CB walks her back home, tries to make it seem light hearted, doesn’t want MC to be too afraid.

MC is a bit unphased since pirates are always visiting.

MC kisses CB goodbye on the cheek. “Could you try that again?” “Better?” “Yeah…”

Chapter 9

All is Lost - Break up because CB is afraid MC will become a target. CB breaks up with YN, afraid of putting her in danger.

Even though CB dealt with those other pirates, that doesn’t mean there won’t be others

He doesn’t want to put her in danger any longer. Besides, the guys she was avoiding seem to have moved on.

MC asks if he found someone else, something more fun, feels cruel because they don't really think that's what's happening.

I guess my expectations were too high.

Dark of the Night - MC storms back and hands off the map. "A deal’s a deal and I don’t want to be in debt to a pirate."

Wrapped around the map is her bracelet.

Chapter 10

Dark of the Night - Why does CB change his mind? - He reads a letter on the back of the map and realizes he should give it back to MC.

Break into Three - CB's waiting for her at the party. A deal’s a deal. He also gives back the map and leaves.

MC probably talking with the art shop owner:"He likes you, I can tell by how he looks at you." "How does he look at me?"

"You think he's really waiting for me?"

Finale - MC reads the note on the map and runs to the dock for CB.

Note, from dad: “My dearest seashell, I thought being a pirate was how I could see the world, but then you came along and I saw the world through your eyes. Thank you for giving me the greatest gift anyone could ask for. I hope that one day, you find your key to the world.”

CBs not there? He’s by the wading pools, looking at the moon and drinking alone.

CB moping

How long do you think it’ll take for this to become a memory? Do you think you’ll forget about me?

They wanted to be touched, to be missed, to be loved. Was that too much to ask for?

He’s wearing both bracelets.

"Why did you come back?" "Because that belongs to you, it has your name on it."

"Bullshit, Buggy. You’re a pirate. A treasure hunter. Why did you really come back?"

"Why do you think?"

"You actually wanted to go to the festival?"

"That’s not what I want."

Anguished declaration of love - confessing love during a moment of angst

"I don’t want to stay here anymore. I want to leave. I want to draw the world you see."

MC is steadfast and waits for Buggy to respond. “I want that too.”

Big romantic kiss

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Do you want to?"

"Yes, you have no idea how much I've thought about this."

#buggy x reader #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x you #buggy the clown #buggy fanfiction #x reader #one piece buggy #opla buggy #buggy op #buggy the clown x you #one piece x you #one piece x reader #one piece x y/n #buggy the clown fanfiction #hey-august i'll be your whatever

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kaiowut99 · 1 month ago

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youtube

Duel Links Re-Translation Mod Project (Announcement post I guess?) - Dark Yugi In-Duel Line Re-Translation Test (WIP)

(Alternate project tagline: #LetYubelSayLove)

(Forgive some video stuttering, my Nvidia game recording thing was a bit buggy 😩)

~~~~~~~~

So. For the longest, I've been hella curious to figure out where the text for Duel Links is in the file assets, the in-duel lines in particular--as I'm sure most folks know, the English dubtitle text applied for the English dialogue is, nine times out of ten, inaccurate or decently simplified vs the Japanese audio played on the same line, and it's a bit wild that we still don't have a second English option for a more faithful take this long after Konami gave us the Japanese voices natively on Steam and made modding the game to get them a thing of the past. But for all my occasional searching through the files, I had little luck due to encryption and junk; at some point in September, I got curious and did more digging and was able to find some card text, at least, but nowhere near as much as is in the game now, and still no dialogue lines.

And then, 2-3 weeks ago, I saw that Aura (Octomaidly over on Twitter, part of @entamesubs handling Studio Bridge-era YGO fansubs for SEVENS+) had been working with a couple of folks to decrypt and re-translate the in-duel lines for SEVENS characters and came across her video on Twitter sharing her progress; I immediately reached out to find out how they're doing it and mentioned how I'd like to try and re-translate pre-SEVENS stuff, lol. (You can watch her latest video demoing her re-translation for GO RUSH world here; find her work as it develops on the NexusMods page for it.)

After connecting with Aura and the folks helping her and getting set up to work on things, I set up a quick re-translation for Dark Yugi's lines, had it all imported for a test-run, and recorded this demo test vs Kaiba to see 'em in action; I did fix a few things since recording this, like some line breaks here/there, but also fixed the one mention of "Dark Magician" in the cut-in shot since this was a test of my OCG-name translation (more on that below) and thus "Black Magician" should've been there--but all told, it looks pretty good overall!

All that to say that this is now another lil' project on my list 😅 It's very cool that this is finally doable and I'm looking forward to working with Aura and co to make it happen--though do note that it'll be at a bit of a slower pace since work on my finalized GX subs (currently revision work on 117-119 is underway) and Tag Force Special is a bit higher priority. That said, the nice thing is that working on in-duel lines in TFSP kinda does half my work for me here, lol; maybe half of Dark Yugi's lines, for example, are recycled verbatim from TFSP--the only difference being that Shunsuke Kazama is actually voicing him--with the rest being lines newly added for him in DL, from lines for dueling other characters to cards he didn't have lines for in TFSP, and this should be the case across the board for anyone who showed up in TF[SP].

My intention is also to work on two translations: one with OCG card names and one with the TCG names, as we're doing with TFSP, and I'll be starting this off by working on the first five characters from each series that appeared in TFSP, since that's how I'm working on the story events there (so for DM, working on Dark Yugi, Kaiba, Jounouchi, Ishizu, and Mai first), and then once done through VRAINS, that might probably be the first version of the mod I'd release. Or maybe I'll release a version as I get each set of five done; we'll see lol. I do plan to contribute my translations to Aura's project, as well. (Also we just recently dug up event dialogue text so those will be re-translatable, too; doing this for the older series' events that likely won't get reruns will at least be worth it since you can spend Gems to get those event scenes)

But overall, it's pretty encouraging--stay tuned!

#my work #yugioh #Duel Links #ygo #ygo duel links #yugioh duel links #ygo dm #duel monsters #Dark Yugi #Yami Yugi #Duel Links Re-Translation #[start of a tag for this lol]#fklsfl;jsdkl;fjsdl;fjdaslk;fjdsl;fdjl; *lifts test tube* finally re-translatable Duel Links lines #also it is funny that his line for Magi Magi Magician Gal is just 'I Special-Summon a Monster' in the ENG game #sure it's likely not being imported but you'd expect future-proofing just in case lol #speaking of also amusing he has no Link Summon line despite the game starting as VRAINS was airing #which is the case for most of the DM cast until any recent ones that were added i'm pretty sure #interesting!#[also want to figure out some anime music modding sometime lol--installed a 5D's and ZEXAL OST mod but SwoldierX who did them kinda stopped #anyway yeah stay tuned--i have to go back to all these monkey-fighting snakes on this monday-to-friday helipad #Youtube

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warmshotamilk · 4 months ago

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"I don't support it in real life!"CW: talk of sexualizing minors, slight rant

Then why write about it? If for coping purposes, why post it online for others (especially actual predators) to see and consume? Then why portray those things in a positive light instead of condemning them?And you're seriously going to tell me that just because as an adult (1) you want to see a fictional minor (that mind you, is usually designed to resemble an actual child) depicted in sexual situations doesn't mean you don't share that same view concerning children in real life? You find fictional minors attractive but not real ones? Why does the line between finding someone who is (and usually also looks like) a child sexually attractive get drawn at whether the child is real or not? I'm not calling anyone pedophiles, but if the shoe fits...(1) No I am not talking about 18 y/os finding 17 y/os attractive. Use your brain. Creating content of underaged characters is still questionable regardless of age, however.

"Just mute/block instead of harassing others!"I have nearly 70k people blocked on twitter, and hundreds of words and tags muted, I softblock and mute people who post things I don't want to see. I still see certain things on my timeline, usually because1) It's posted in the main tags of something I'm interested in2) The post isn't even tagged at all3) If someone quote retweets from someone I've blocked, I still see the take on my timeline.

"Antis use the same rhetoric as exclusionists and TERFS!"What exactly does being against pedophilia have to do with trans (women) exclusionary radical feminism?And what does lgbtq discourse in general have to do with not wanting minors to be sexualized?

So much yapping only to send an absolute nothingburger of an ask. Like this was a genuine waste of your and my time to send me this

I'll still answer this but I'm going to put in about as much effort into typing my reply than it took you to type this out (not much)

Then why write about it?

Because why not? Who does it hurt to write about fictional characters doing fictional things? I'll tell you: It's nobody

If for coping purposes, why post it online for others (especially actual predators) to see and consume?

I am loving (hating) the implication of this that consuming/making dark fiction is somehow just as bad as a predator preying on someone. Spoilers: It's not. At all. It's frankly gross to even add that part

Not to mention that I would much prefer a pedophile* look at FICTIONAL shit than look at REAL shit because, and contrary to popular belief, it WON'T eventually become "not enough." It is a valid way of coping with paraphilia disorders

*I am assuming you mean pedophile when you say predator, completely ignoring the fact that not all pedophiles are offending. But, to cover this in case you actually DO mean actual predators... you are focusing on the WRONG THING if you bitch about a predator looking at fiction when they are harming actual fucking people

Then why portray those things in a positive light instead of condemning them?

Because it's fiction, Karen. It's fun to play with fiction. You can make a serial murderer a "good person" in fiction, too. You can make ANYONE a "good person" in fiction. It's fucking FUN to not have real world rules apply in fiction. You're just boring

Also, and I only want to mention this briefly because I don't want to trauma dump on a loser who can't even come off anon, the way I cope with fiction genuinely Would Not Work if it was portrayed in a dark light. If anything, it can sometimes make me feel worse and it's something I have to actively avoid. Which I do. Because I can curate my own online experience without bitching at other people to cater to me. Wild

And you're seriously going to tell me that just because as an adult you want to see a fictional minor (that mind you, is usually designed to resemble an actual child) depicted in sexual situations doesn't mean you don't share that same view concerning children in real life?

LMAO okay let me just really quickly bring more attention to the "is usually designed to resemble an actual child" and just ask you: Do you like lying? Because you're lying here. No, a fictional child is almost "designed to resemble an actual child," you just have a very, very, very, very, VERY skewed view of what a child is

Anyways, in regards to the rest of your question: Yeah. Because fiction isn't reality and what someone likes in fiction doesn't reflect what they like outside of fiction. Lesbians can have crushes on fictional men while still not having any romantic and/or sexual interest in real men at all. People can have crushes on fictional villains while condemning abuse, murder, and anything else of the sort. Those things are obvious, why is THIS the thing you draw a line at? Oh yeah, because it's icky bad in THIS case because you refuse to accept fiction and reality don't conflate in this way

Why does the line between finding someone who is (and usually also looks like) a child sexually attractive get drawn at whether the child is real or not?

Yeesh. Don't like the way you're talkin', bud. Having an uncontrollable paraphilia not inherently bad, it only becomes bad once that person is abusing, plans to abuse, or condones the abusing of real life beings. Attractions are not actions

Not to mention, comparing lolisho to actual CSEM is fucking disgusting. In one scenario, a real child is being ACTUALLY exploited and abused, while in the other... buddy, those are just lines. Pixels. Colors on a screen. Fuck off. No one is being harmed, THAT'S why the line is drawn there. The fact I have to TELL that to you tell me something about you and lemmie tell ya, the thing it's telling me Isn't Great For You

I'm not calling anyone pedophiles, but if the shoe fits…

It doesn't fit. You're like Cinderella's sisters with how y'all will try to be like "the shoe fits, it fits!" when trying to force the word "pedophile" onto people when the definition does not apply to them

Womp to the fucking womp. You are on the internet, you are going to see things you don't like. Hell, seeing shit you don't like comes free with LIVING AT ALL. Suck it the fuck up or off forever if you truly can't handle the few seconds of discomfort upon seeing shit you don't like. No one is going to cater to you. The sooner your come to terms with that the sooner you can start living a happier life. Until then, stop acting like an entitled prick. Poor you, woe is you, fuck off

Ignoring the fact I have literally never in my life compared antis to TERFs, nor do I really see ANYONE saying that, we LOVE (hate) when people lie! Omg it's my favorite thing!!! (sarcasm. if you couldn't tell)

You aren't "against pedophilia," you aren't talking about "not wanting minors to be sexualized," you are talking about how you don't like that fiction you don't like exists and how you want it to not only to be banned but criminalized. You are against freedom of fiction. You are pro-censorship. You are authoritarian. You are a puritan. Stop lying to make yourself look better

#asks #proship #anti anti #anti fancop #anti fanpol

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rainybraindays · 10 months ago

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I don't like making posts like this, I don't like opening my blog up for people to come and harrass me but oh my god, why does the fandom allow posts like this to get away unscathed?

You don’t have to like Marina. I'll never claim that. You can like or dislike whoever you want.

But I do wonder, if Marina was played by a white woman would we get nearly as many posts like this? Would everyone be as okay with it? Would we have been so quiet about the fact that Ruby Barker was harrassed for this role? Or would there be way more people defending her? Would she suddenly be sympathetic when now shes not?

Why are we all so okay with taking this character with a nuanced story, put in a horrible situation with almost no options and turning her into a villian?

Like did we watch the same show? Did you miss the bit where she doesn't want to find a husband at all and only starts when she thinks shes been abandoned, which she only believes because she gets a forged letter saying she was? Did you not see Portia slap her? Did you not also watch a man old enough to be her grandfather being forced on her?

Lying to Colin wasn't okay, I'm not defending that, but literally tell me what her options were?

The man she loves is dead, but she doesn't even know that she thinks he abandoned her, so she can't reasonably assume Phillip will take responsibility when his brother won't. The only people Portias interested in introducing to her are those she wouldn't introduce to her own daughters. She can't reasonably think Colin will be open to her as a wife since shes pregnant becausethats not the norm. But Colin is, he says he would have married her even knowing. And Colin also doesn't view Marina as a villian, in season two hes sad yeah, but he’s also guilty because he doesn't think she deserved what happened.

This is a nuanced messy situation but no one wants to look at that.

Like you all make it very clear you view her as a whore, because she did a very normal thing and had sex. You all view her as a manipulative snake of a person, when if she was even the Whistledown article wouldn't have been a stop for her because she would have tried to get out of it. You conveniently forget that she almost killed herself in an attempt to abort her children because of her mistreatment post Whistledown article because that takes away from the idea you've concocted that shes some villainous bitch.

But then you turn around and want Penelope to have sexual knowledge that she realistically wouldn't and canonically doesn’t. You praise her for her Whistledown work even though it keeps hurting people she loves and shes lying about doing it.

This is weird, posting about how you can't wait for a character to die, and how you hope the death is - lets be honest here- humiliating, is a bizarre thing to do.

Its even more bizarre to do that, tag the character, and then also tag two ships that really the post really isn't about.

Like why is Polin tagged? Because they're both mentioned? This isn't a polin moment. You don’t talk about them at all in the meat of the post. Why is Philoise tagged? Because she's an 'obstacle' for them? They haven't even met, they aren't mentioned at all, they have nothing to do with this.

And on top of tagging these things you say "don't try and defend her to me" which why would we you clearly wouldn't listen. You follow that with saying "If you like her you probably suck" and claim to have tagged this as anti marina when you didn't. You put this in her main tag and then added "death to marina".

Theres no respect to your peers in the fandom, and clear disrespect to people who do like this character and are actually willing to engage with the character beyond fanon portrayal. Because thats what this is its not even taking her at face value anymore.

You wonder why people dislike this fandom, specifically the polin side of it, and do things like this. We as a community need to improve because stuff like this isn't uncommon, this is just one of the most blatant I've seen.

I'm going to be entirely honest if you follow quotegirl19, or don't see the issues with Marinas portrayal and treatment by the fandom this is not the blog for you.

#rainy talks #yeah I bit the bullet but i feel abit better #bridgerton #marina thompson #colin bridgerton #Penelope Featherington #I'm only tagging them because they're metioned rather prominently (which is how you actually use tags)#polin #for the same reason as stated above #I'm not tagging philoise though I don't think its important enough #marinas treatment in this fandom reeks of racism and misogyny

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your-absolute-destiny · 9 days ago

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You can call me Lucky because I am not using my real name online

I'm a 14 year old girl and this is my blog to post about my favourite books, shows, movies, and games, but maybe I'll mention a little about my actual life, I don't know.

I'll mostly be posting about my favorite books and games, all of which listed in my blog description, and I will especially be focusing on my favourite game ever, Absolute Destiny. I hope I can make friends with similar interests than me!

Also, please do not interact if you like dark, ghost, fairy, or psychic types or any other evil pokemon. I'm not supposed to talk to people who will be bad influences on me!

OOC SECTION:

Info:

Hello! We all like talking about anti dark and anti ghost sentiment on pkmn irl, but theres very few blogs that actually dislike those types! The few I've seen are all very much meant to be blogs of characters that are Karens or Evil Teams and while those are fun, there are a lot of types of people in the world and I wanted to explore a different kind of person who holds these views and why they might have them.

Lucky lives in a very tight-knit small town community that hates the more supernatural types. It's one of those small towns where most people don't have computers and those that do mostly have super old ones. Like 20 minutes just to open google- never mind searching anything- old. All her video games are old ds games her cousin gave her, and this is basically her first time allowed on the internet and it has been drilled into her that you can't trust anyone or anything online. Remember this while interacting with her.

When she says not to interact if you have a dark, ghost, fairy, or psychic type, I want you to interact and argue with her. She doesn't know what the block button is <3

Follows come from @cassi-pokeblogging-hub

Boundaries:

Pelipper Mail: On

Pelipper Unmail: Off

Pelipper Malice: Off

Musharna Mail: Off.

Musharna Malice: Off

Mystery Gift: On

Magic Anons: Off

Any type of blog can interact, but be warned that Lucky does not inherently trust everyone. She has a certain way she thinks about everyone based solely on her community and the games she's played.

Tags:

Lucky probably won't have a full tagging system, BUT I will be acting as if she is actually posting for fandoms she likes! The games and books and stuff she posts about will all be tagged with tags for those media so you can check up on the lore on these made up medias or more pokemon-ified irl medias.

So, for example, information and posts about the fictional game Absolute Destiny will be tagged #Absolute Destiny. This is both for my reference and yours.

Any other tags on her posts are ooc, including the community tags like pkmn irl or trigger tags.

#pkmn irl #rotomblr #pokeblogging #rotumblr #pokemon irl #pokeblog rp #irl pkmn

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ayyyez · 2 years ago

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I GOT YOU BESTIE!!

Hcs of Kuroo and other haikyuu boys trying their Very Best to confess to their crush. Who has a whole speech planned out and fumbles it as soon as he's standing in front of his affections? Who is a stuttering mess? Who can't make eye contact and needs the crush to piece out what's going on?? (Other than Kuroo ofc, the sweetie)

Good luck on your writing spree <3

a/n: ain't nobody got meeeee like youuuu got meeeeee <3 HELLOOO sirr yes my hotmess fumbles the bag Kuroo is coming up! Along with a couple other favs for your viewing pleasure <3

Tags: confessing to crush, fluff, blushing mess characters

Characters: Kuroo Tetsurou, Iwaizumi Hajime, Bokuto Koutarou w/honourable mentions at the bottom

Kuroo Tetsurou

Wants to be the cool, calm and collected man who can smooth talk his way into your heart and have you laughing at his well thought out jokes right up until the moment he has the perfect opportunity to ask you out. All so smooth and suave.

Reality though is a harsh mistress to Kuroo. He's a mess. A hot mess. He's all blushes and outbursts when he tries talking to you. Those topics he planned on talking to you about? They come up as garbled words and strung together sentences that reach every octive in his range.

When he can manage to talk to you normally it's only to embarass himself or say something that makes you laugh at him, not with him AT HIM. Definitely the one getting hit in the face with a volleyball the second you walk up to him type embarrassment.

'You okay Kuroo?' 'Mhmm definitely.' 'It's just your face is bright red and your nose is bleeding from where the volleyball hit you.' 'Oh yeah happens all the time.' 'You get hit in the face all the time?'

Definitely not his finest play it cool moments. But it's very endearing. Along with his blurt out words just to start conversations with out because he can't bear the thought of you walking by without talking to you first.

The sweet thing is though he doesn't let the embarassment he feels stop him. He just grins, blushing cheeks and all and keeps running head first through it all because you are worth it.

Oh and when he does get to that confession after all the failed attempts before with that BIG SPEECH he has planned? It's gone now. Head empty no ones home. Only you there in front of him watching as he stands there wide eyed and panicking trying again to string a sentence together.

You have to be the one to work it out. Something along the lines of 'Alright I'll go out with you.' to make it easy on him or if you're uncertain and want to really push him through it. 'Are you asking me out?' to which HE FINALLY manages to get a 'Yes. Please um, me?' which doesn't make sense but you get it. 'Yeah, okay.'

How could you not? He's an adorable mess. A dork in love. This also kind of breaks the spell of not being able to communicate with you and you can finally have more of a normal conversation with him again.

Iwaizumi Hajime

When he's contemplating it he can't look at you. He's staring everywhere but your eyes. A little blushy too. He's a little awkward but can hold a conversation just not eye contact. There was one awkward conversation he dead ass went oh I'm just going to look up yep totally not suspicious.

Once he's decided he's going to do it though, he's going to confess to you, the fierce determination in him returns. He's no longer afraid to look you in the eye. You make a joke about him returning to normal and he's makes some deep line about 'realising what's important' to him. lol.

He won't rush it but rather wait for the right moment. That or his patience will run out and he'll be afraid someone else will swoop in and take you (he's seen one to many confrontations with Oikawa to let that happen) and pulls you aside one day.

The thing about Iwa is he likes to be prepared for anything. So he did have a mini speech prepared. Nothing concrete just more to do with his feelings--how he feels about you and what you mean to him. It's all loose but something he may or may not have practiced in his bedroom mirror a few times. Along with making sure his hair looked okay. Nice and spikey.

You know the smooth guy Kuroo wished he was? That's the guy Iwaizumi actually is and he doesn't even try, it just comes naturally. He doesn't say the speech. Its simple and sweet, he just tells you straight. 'I have feelings for you and I hope I'm right in thinking you do to. If so please go out with me.'

The only thing that gives away his nerves are those pink cheeks. He's wearing the most serious expression. He even does a little bow to show you he's serious. Just don't take to long to reply or he might panic a little (or do if you wanna be that person YOU MONSTER) but yeah. hehe.

Agreeing to date him? He's smug affff. Like he pulled you and pulled off a confession without fumbling. Nothing can bring him down. Mans is walking on air.

Bokuto Koutarou

The way he feels about you makes him feel so warm and full that he just can't wait to tell you. He's practically bursting at the seems holding in his feelings. The whole world knows about his crush without him having to even say it out loud. Aside from maybe some self doubt you probably sense it too.

The thing is that doesn't mean Bokuto is going to tell you the second he realises. He kind of wants to sit on the warmth that comes with having a crush for a hot minute. It's nice? Just hanging out without the pressure. He's a bit affraid of the pressure.

Also he's not enitrely sure you like him back, ya'know?

That doesn't last long though because before he knows it the two of you are hanging out together laughing about something when he just blurts out that he likes you. It's not planned, there's not speech, no fumbling but he's entirely serious.

There's the sofest smile on his face when you ask him to repeat what he said because honestly it's like you dreamed it. Surely he didn't just say he liked you? Not with that sweet smile and certain look in his eyes.

But he did! and he says it again. This time a little quiter but with more emphasis like he NEEDS you to understand. With an added question about dating. He holds your gaze and waits for your response. It's like the bubble around you two will break if it's not quick and if it's not yes.

Of course it is though and Bokuto's smile widens again like that brief moment of vulnerability never existed between the two of you. He's as happy as when he's been pulled from one of his emo mode moments. Maybe happier. He'd landed something better than a killer cross shot.

Honourable mentions:

Fumbles the confession: Atsumu Miya, Hoshiumi Korai, Yachi Hitoka

Blurts out the confession: Osamu Miya, Kunimi Akira, Kageyama Tobio, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tanaka Ryunosuke

Short and Sweet no eye contact: Kenma Kozame, Kindaichi Yutarou, Kiyoko Shimizu

Short and Sweet with eye contact: Ushijima Wakatoshi, Daichi Sawamura, Kita Shinsuke, Yaku Morisuke

Casual smooth confession: Suna Rintarou, Sugawara Koshi

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businesstiramisu · 10 months ago

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@canyourfavesurvivecastledracula -- I'm trying out the "argue at you" approach. tagging you b/c you don't have submissions open and I think this long enough to be an annoying ask. I don't think you know or care about this character, but *I* do, so here's my argument :P

Can Alphonse Elric survive Castle Dracula?

[the answer depends a LOT on which part of which canon we're using, but we're going to go vaguely with "middle part". That is to say, armor]

Al has one HUGE advantage against Dracula, which is that he has no corporeal human body (for now). He's not completely free of blood though -- if Dracula learns about the blood seal tethering his soul to this mortal plane, I fully believe he's learned enough Dark Magicks at Scholomance to fuck it up. So the question is, would he find out? Al is usually pretty good at hiding it… unless he just decides to tell people. So it depends on how their dynamic plays out.

Al would accept the crucifix from the townsfolk, and listen to their other advice. Even if he doesn't believe them, he's a polite boy, and you never know what information might be useful! Maybe their folktales have clues about the Philosopher's Stone, you never know. (Also in one version of canon he can understand German, so let's say language barriers aren't an issue.)

Dracula is bemused when an alchemist in full plate armor turns up asking to see his library instead of the solicitor he requested. Alchemists? He hasn't run into any of those in a while. But hey, the lawyer's not here yet, he's got time to fuck with this guy and have an extra snack.

The shaving incident wouldn't happen obviously, but Dracula might realize something is amiss because Al doesn't sleep. Or will he? Does Dracula pay enough attention to know when normal humans should be sleeping and Al isn't? If so, he will probably investigate, push boundaries, or stage a confrontation until he finds out Al's deal, and then he will be PISSED. No lawyer, and now no snack! This is bullshit! From here on out, it's WAR. If not, then...

If Al realizes this is a kidnapping and not a library loan, he will play along. He might not even mind. He's been kidnapped before, and it always worked out fine. Dracula might be more creepy and threatening than his other kidnappers, but Al's dealt with a wide variety of creepy and threatening in his quest, I just don't think he'd be fazed. And he is, as already mentioned, a polite person who would want to be a respectful guest! Hmm kinda creepy that he just implied I'll never leave this place alive... oh well! Nice table setting, sir, compliments to your staff.

Being a respectful guest might not extend to staying in his room as instructed; he's a curious guy and only a stickler for the rules compared to his brother. The girlies aren't a problem for him, because he's still wearing the crucifix, but they might clue him in that Something Is Wrong and lead to Al himself forcing a confrontation with Dracula.

But even if everything goes smoothly, Al would eventually get bored with Dracula's library (if there was anything useful about the Philosopher's Stone in there, Dracula wouldn't be a vampire). At some point, Al would decide this kidnapping is over, and he would provoke the confrontation in trying to leave.

I haven't written any reason for Al to tell Dracula about his fatal weakness, so I'm gonna say Dracula can't actually do much to Al; but unfortunately I don't think Al can harm Dracula either. I don't actually remember what allowed Jonathan to hit him with a shovel but I think it involved special circumstances that do not apply to Al. However, Dracula also can't prevent Al from leaving -- neither thousand foot cliffs nor wolves are much of an obstacle to him. (Well actually, if you physically overpower him and take the armor apart, he can't walk away -- but people almost never think of that, and Dracula probably won't either.)

Which is all to say that Alphonse can survive Castle Dracula, but he probably won't have as much useful intel as Jonathan did. Mind you, he took notes! He just didn't get personal experience with as many of Dracula's powers.

And of course, his goal after this is to track down his brother -- if anyone can figure out how to kill a vampire it's Ed. Where the fuck did he get to, anyways? He'd better not be stranded in Weimar Germany. Al can absolutely walk to Munich from here, but waiting around 25-30 years for Ed to turn up would be a drag.

#also if i do it this way i can tag ramble #which is to say i am NOT sorry for ending on a Conqueror of Shamballa joke #yes it is terrible and no i will never resist #fma #dracula #fanfic #or something #long post #Al could run into the Polycule while looking for Ed. Maybe in London?#but if the Polycule is Vampire Hunting then that means Jonathan's ordeal went down and Al wouldn't have any new info for them. alas #can your fave survive castle dracula?

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mellowwillowy · 2 years ago

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Detective I (fatui)

Yandere Fatui (?)x ?? Reader (their gender is confusing, see more on notes)

(feel free to insert whoever you want but I'll go with every Fatui in my tags bcs I'm nuts)

(OC version's link is ⬇️⬇️⬇️)

Notes : reader's gender is ambiguous until the end, sometimes perceived as a man, a woman, or just neither. Also it won't be a trivial matter if reader is understood and identified but hey, it's what they are feeling.

Warnings : major character death, yan got killed and defaced (details details, it's bloody), yan and reader are delusional in the end, reader is forced to eat their favorite animal, reader is drugged, fucked up term of love overall, intercourse, angst?? Yan will show up in the end of the story retelling (read summarizing) the whole past,

separate details for each harbingers (bundled)

For those who might complain :

Reader is AMAB, the mention of period is to ticks reader off. Also one word, Umineko.

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"ᵀʰᵉⁿ ᴵ ˢʰᵃˡˡ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵒᵒ, ᵐʸ ᵈᵉᵃᵈ ᵈᵒᵛᵉ"

Hitting the keys of the typewriter at random, your fingernails are completely well-trimmed in a sense now. No, it would make even more sense to say that your nails have been scrapped from typing over and over. The scripts that would always be read by someone despite being filled with nothing but gibberish is now lying all over the floors. The current scripts contained the Truth of your heart. The person who'll always read it for you is in fact, dead and defaced. After all, you've been taught by them about love. This is love. They taught you so. Ahh, from where should we start? Let's start with our first board.

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i. Window

Snow. Everywhere. It covers the ground outside from the window into white. It'll leave footprints if you were to walk out. But it doesn't matter when you can't even leave this room, this cell. What starts with an exchange of conversations turned into the downfall of your whole existence. Had you known about this you would have avoided involving yourself with them. But God didn't let you. God only watched you fall into their grip, broken into pieces with your limbs toyed with and moved by them as though you were nothing but a marionette. God is cruel and yet he is also unforgiving, you thought. It's a shame that the subject of God's madness was you and not someone else.

"Longing for the outside world won't do you any good, dove"

They walk into your room with a tray of the bowl with steam coming out of it. They smile at you as they place the bowl on the table. You don't have to guess what the content inside the bowl is anymore. It's a dead animal for you to eat, this time it's all boiled into a soup. An animal you are familiar with because you are so fond of them, and now, they'll forcefully shove it down your throat as proof of love. You hold your stomach. It still makes you feel sick. The thought of them living inside your guts, it's unbearable.

At least they are not heartless enough to kill your pet.

To call it a pet wouldn't be the right term. It wanders into your room one day with a tag on them. You knew they were going to be killed for you to feast again but after they saw you played with it, they decided to let you keep it. It's only a pet because they acknowledge it to be so.

"I won't take what I've given you, and that pet of yours would be the proof"

Now, they slowly bring a spoonful of the soup into your lip after blowing the steam away. You know better than to stay persistent because hell, they are even much more persistent. Slowly, you open your mouth to swallow down the soup, it tastes like herbs you thought to yourself although another foreign taste is always there to invade your guts, scrunching it into disgust. This goes on and on until you finish everything up, having you clenching your stomach in confusion. Are you disgusted? Are you terrified? Are you mad? Are you... feeling normal about everything?

"Oh, my dove, my chimera... you truly are the only one I'll fancy for eternity..."

Chimera. Chimera they said. How ironic of them to call you a chimera when you are under their grasp already? Or perhaps you are not in their eyes? The all-seeing eyes that could unveil what's going on with your body, can't understand that they've had you under their grasp?

"I actually plan to use this today but let's not do it today hm? It's that time of the month again"

A bottle of aphrodisiac in their hand. For what? It's clear as the day already. But even so, you hate the fact that they have to press the 'that time of the month' to your face when you, as a matter of fact, will never be able to get that. They know that better than anyone. They are the ones who unveil the truth after all. This body is cursed in every way.

"But even so, a company wouldn't hurt. Let's head to bed now, dove"

Pantalone, Pierro, Capitano, Arlecchino

Doesn't mean to remind you of your old life as a woman. Only wishes for you to feel more like one by playing along with the period-time.

Childe, Dottore, Scaramouche

Only one word, a menace. Said that line just to tick you off. To remind you of your hopelessness with your own body and identity so that you break down even more.

Columbina, Sandrone, Rosalyne, Tsaritsa

Understands how you've been living as a woman until now and instead of playing along like the first one, they are actually very natural? about this. Will give you all the kinds of things that will soothe down your imaginary cramps instead of just, "oh you are on your period"

ii. Mystery Novel

In your hand is a novel, a mystery novel that was bought by them for you to kill time with. The riddles in it never fail to fascinate you. Truth after truth, piercing the lies into nothingness with the Culprit executed in the ending, whether figuratively or literally. Whenever you start reading it, your whole world shifts into one that is akin to the novel itself. You are the Detective and you are here to solve the riddles posed by the Writer.

But is the Writer truly just the Writer? One who only writes fictitious tales?

Looking back at yourself, you can also be the Detective in this world, reality. The riddle? Them. The detective? You. The Culprit? Them. Yes, with just a much more distorted view of reality, you'd be able to see them as a character from a novel, solving the riddles of 'what are their motives?'. Yes, by just wrapping an imaginary veil around your eyes, one that'll allow you to see everything as a riddle and plot, you'd be able to play as an actress, the Detective.

"I'm back, my dove"

Yes, the play begins now. This room is no longer a cell but instead, a stage of a theatre with lights following you and them. It's time for the Detective to reason and solve the riddle in front of them.

".... Welcome back, enigma"

iii. Typewriter

Today too, you type endlessly without anything in your mind. Gibberish. Almost none forms a word at all. Your eyes empty as your fingers play eagerly. Nevertheless, they'll always read it, drowning themself in your scripts. A plotless script, an unreadable curse, or a poem blocked by a language barrier?

"Today too, you write magnificently"

They say with an earnest smile plastered on their face. The face that says they understand everything despite the scripts only showing gibberish. How can they understand it when you yourself can't even understand it? How are you supposed to solve the riddle when you can't even understand yourself? Why does it feel so.. reversed now?

"Ah, I love this part the most"

They point at a word, a readable word. You examine the word, yes, examine. It takes you a while before you look back at them. This is not the first time they point at a word. How many times have they pointed it out? You are not sure, you don't want to remember it. But it's not the same for them. For them, it's a string of a curse. If they could combine it then it'll mark the end for them. A riddle for them.

"I'm looking forward to the next answer, dove"

It's ridiculous. Answer? You were only typing mindlessly and yet they consider it as a riddle? Your whole life has been a riddle itself. Perhaps you are just annoyed at how the Culprit in front of you is taking your role as the Detective. Yes, that's the only logical conclusion you can come up with, a reasoning. You too are looking forward to the next answer.

Pantalone, Pierro, Columbina, Capitano

The scripts are hidden by them whenever they finished reading them, placing them inside the bottle of wine. The bottles that are filled with your scripts are hidden somewhere inside the room that will be found by you in the end.

Childe, Sandrone, Rosalyne

The scripts that have a word in them are framed and nailed onto the wall, allowing them to read them freely whenever they wish to. Has a wall full of framed scripts.

Dottore, Capitano, Arlecchino

Will compile all the scripts into some sort of book for them to read when they are bored. It allows them to study the way you are typing even more in a way. Will slip in flower at the page where it shows certain words.

iv. Intercourse

The disgusting dinner has been laced with aphrodisiacs. You can feel your body heating up, twitching at every contact your skin made with. This is, of course, heading to bed and a make-out session will break out again.

"If I don't use this, you won't be able to feel any pleasure at all, dove"

Is it a woman's body, or a man's body instead? Either way, that doesn't shut the possibility of someone being able to feel pleasure by being touched right? They want you to feel how they feel, alas making you gulp down the aphrodisiac. With just a light touch from them, a whimper falls out of your mouth. The night is far from over, you thought to yourself. Unbuttoning what's covering your chest, only reveals a chest that a man would have, and yet what's down there is never one that an assigned male at birth would have. It would make sense if you are only 'flat' in a rare way but the fact that your period never came is enough to shut the possibility of you being a woman.

A body that can't even love someone completely and yet, they wrap their arms around your body in a way that shows their earnest love toward you. Maybe to simplify it, a body that can't even give love for them. A body that can't even be identified. And yet, they stare at it longingly, clouded with adoration and lust at the same time.

"Ah... this is the body, of the person I'll love for eternity..."

Unnecessary NSFW (pls skip minors or if you are not OK with it) but hey; I can team Pantalone, Scaramouche, Childe, Arlecchino, and Columbina going down there with your prostate while Capitano, Pierro, Rosalyne, Sandrone, and Tsaritsa being the sensual one

?. Devices and Plans

(Feel free to skip this part, it's mostly about the details of the plan)

Another script. Another investigation. Another plate of what you love for dinner. Another bottle of aphrodisiac. It's repeating to the point that it's sickening. Clues, you need clues. There's no narrator, no spectator, no observer, no system, no nothing to guide you. The Writer, the Master, the Game Master, is not here to guide you toward the answer to this accursed riddle.

The large line of everything would be first, they kidnapped you, second, they want you to love them, third, they say they haven't gotten what they want which is you.

In terms of you being in a mystery novel, this progress is ridiculously frustrating and boring. It's repetitive. You can't find any clues at all. What are their motives? There's nothing that stands out from you at all to attract them. What do they mean by chimera? It's irritating when they call you that, as though something inside you is howling whenever they call you that. It's suffocating. You need to find a way out, forget about all these riddles, it's time to play with violence. In this room are only a typewriter, an enigma, and furniture. Swinging furniture at them who can just overpower you and expect to win? A pie in the sky bullshit. The window? No luck in breaking them open. The door is always locked. No hidden or secret passage, a perfectly locked and closed room.

But, you know you have a chance against them. Inside the closet is a box of a flintlock. It's not like you are not familiar with it at all, in fact, you are well-versed in it. There is no problem with it at all, you can even guarantee it works perfectly without ever trying it. The only problem lies in how to shoot them. It would be hard to shoot them off guard with how you have to reach out to the flintlock first.

It's impossible for you to hide it in your clothing's pocket for they'll always wrap their whole body around you which allows them to notice it.

It's impossible for you to just place it on the table and let them see it. They'll confiscate it the moment they see it.

The only chance you have is to hide it somewhere reachable and time everything well. They can notice every movement you make which makes things even harder for you. Their head will turn to you for every movement you make. There's no way they'll just let you shoot their brains out. You may be fast but they are just as fast as you too. Their reflexes would be good, in fact, they'd be able to dodge any kind of tricks you show them. But, in the end, it's nothing but a gamble.

Although your pet (doesn't matter its size) can help you as a distraction for them. To buy you just a second is already a generous donation from them. You are fast, just as fast as them but in strength? There's no hope for you at all. Nevertheless, you are not going to sit here being an incompetent actress.

A man has to take risks sometimes. It's time to spin the roulette of your fate. You are incompetent as a detective but that doesn't mean you are incompetent as an actress.

You only switch your role from the Detective to a Murderer, that's all.

v. Miracles

Another show of them reading your script, another show of them shoving the remnants of what you love into your throat, another show of both of your bodies linking to each other. Today too, all of that will happen again with the exception of a bottle of ink on the table.

"I've been buying you lots of those brand new clothing for you, dove. Let me show it to you"

It's now or never. The moment they turn their back to get the bags, you already walk to the table and grab the ink and keep it inside your pocket. They've 'checked' you so their suspicion about you hiding something inside your pocket decreases. Just as you suspected, they immediately turn back to look at you, a shame you are just as fast as they would be when it's time to dirty their hand. You too are about to dirty your hand with their blood.

"What's wrong, dove?"

Your pet comes just right in time, distracting them for a split second until you splash the ink right onto their face. Is it a miracle that they didn't dodge it?

Something is off. You can sense it. Something is

The ink invades their eyesight immediately just like you expected. What you expected for them to fight back is completely crushed down when all they did is just wobble around. Their hand never leave their eyes, giving you lots of openings to attack them. And so you did, you take the flintlock that you hide under the bed and shoot them.

You shoot at their thigh instead of busting their brain immediately.

They stumble down onto the carpeted floor while trying their best to regain their vision back. The next moment they open their eyes, they are greeted by you straddling their limp body with the flintlock in your hand.

"You noticed that there's no fountain pen lying around the table, no?"

Their eyes widen at your statement. True they've noticed how odd it was for a bottle of ink in the middle of the table without its companion, a fountain pen and a paper. Now, seeing the glint coming from your left hand, they know where the pen is now. You punch down at them with the pen in between your fingers, grazing their cheek. They didn't dodge at all and in fact, it was you yourself who dodge for them.

"The flintlock too, there's no way you'd just forget about it and let it stays inside my room. You are someone who'll always check my closet and it's almost impossible for you to not notice that foreign box"

There's only one possible reason for this, they purposely left it wide open for you to see and use.

And yet why do they look so dazed at your statement?

Their eyes travel to the object in your right hand. A flintlock.

"... I don't remember seeing that flintlock anymore though? It's been ages since I've seen it, the last time I saw it was when you were still **?"

Now it's your turn to feel confused. Not because of the statement of them not being the ones who leave it inside your closet, but rather their words that indicate a past relationship you two once had. When you were still **? Despite being able to just shove you away, they stay still on the floor, never nudging you away as though they are immobile.

"Dove, what's wrong-"

They are silenced immediately when you press the flintlock against their forehead. Your face is pale with sweats dropping down, horror washes your whole features, disbelief evident in your widening eyes. Your mind is no longer clear, what's supposed to be your objective? To kill them for kidnapping and breaking you down mentally? To execute the Culprit for you are the Detective? Or...

"... the last script's line was 'Ending the Hell'"

Word?

"It's a string of curses just like I expected. Despite typing everything at random, your deepest thought manages to flow out and form a word from the string"

the infinite monkey theorem? No.. it's not, at least yet

"Sure it's not a tale but rather, a hatred in the middle of your cry of agony, begging for someone to save you"

How long has it been since the last time you cried out for someone to save you? It was terrifying, the first month they broke you down was hell. You are entirely unfamiliar with it, alas making you wail nonstop. And another way for you to express your emotions is by typing like a madman on the typewriter, mindless about what you are trying to tell.

"And would you believe it if I relish in the feelings of reading that all? The you who can't even understand anything but just focus on your feelings?"

You can't understand anything anymore.

"To simplify everything, first, I did not even know that the flintlock still exists until today. Second, it seems like your mind can't keep up with your insanity anymore again, ____"

No one will save you. You have to save yourself. You convince yourself over and over to kill them before they

"Had I not dragged you myself, you would have solved the epitaph and found out about the one Truth"

The first hit with the flintlock lands on their face. With each hit you give them, it still doesn't stop them from talking their way out.

"That day, I visited you and you were playing with your flintlock that was given by the Master of the manor, as usual, shooting at the cup lining up in front of you"

You can't remember anything at all.

"Then, I just so happen to stroll around your manor when I met the master of the house talking with Lea's mother"

Lea? Her name does sound familiar.

"Would you believe it when I overheard them saying how that lady has to take you in as their legitimate child?"

Your hand works even faster now and yet they never dodge your hits. Your eyes dilate in horror and fear.

"Long story short, the lady was horrified by this news. Oh how funny it was for you to be pushed down twice from the cliff"

Your head starts throbbing in pain.

"It truly is a shame, I couldn't do anything to prevent that hag from pushing you down, and yet, some sort of miracle happened. You survived"

Surely the Witch of Miracles might have truly despised you to save you that day. If this were to be some kind of theatre show then you can see 2 narrators commenting on their statement with eagerness. Who won't be when both the actors are currently ascending to the great truth?

"You fell into the river and your body was tended by the people around there"

Everything snaps back to you now. Ah, you remember who they are now.

vi. Execution

They won't stop smiling as their words flow out of their mouth despite all the pain of having their face beaten over and over. They've probably swallowed some of their teeth but who cares? Even they themself don't care, in fact, they are very happy with the fact that 'you've finally loved them'. Each word you hear from them means having the pain inside your head grows even more unbearable for you. Their hands never leave your hips, and one of their eyes stares into yours with adoration, of how beautifully broken you are inside. The truth must have pierced your heart in half.

The Detective showed the Culprit the truth.

With one last blow, you shoot their brain out to silence them for eternity. Eternity.

They stop talking. Their hands fall from your hips. Their eye still staring at you.

You stand up and walk away from their body, your eyes never leave the door. Finally, a way out. Your hand touches the door's handle and... it won't open. It's still locked. You are locked with your pet and a dead body. Desperate for an escape, you search for the key, and yet you couldn't find it. Every corner of the room is checked and all that's left is the dead body. As much as you hate it, your hand slips into their pocket and..

You found it! It's... destroyed...?

You slump down. They probably destroyed it the moment you begin your execution on them. There's no way in and there's no way out. The window? It's impossible to break it open. The same goes for the door, it's impossible. Laughing to yourself, you know this is your end already.

Everything returns to what it used to be. Typing mindlessly and endlessly, you type everything out. What they said to you, what they confessed to you, what you remembered, what you are feeling, and what you are hoping for. A miracle.

Hunger is inevitable. Your pet will be the only last thing you'll eat before you blow your heart with the flintlock.

vii. Truth

"Ahhh, Lucius, Love does not boast, it does not envy!"

"Ahhh, Lucy, Love is merciful! Love is generous!"

What once looks like a room filled with splattering blood and brains, a dead body that has been cut open with half of its guts eaten by someone, now turns into a wide stage with lights shining toward one subject. The said person was defaced and shot to death. The Culprit is also the Detective.

"This is weird, it certainly violates the seventh decalouges of Knox! The Detective is not the Culprit!"

"Oh no no, Lucy! This pitiful soul is the Culprit of our Guest's creation, or should we call them as...."

"Theeeee Readerrrr???"

The person stands up and looks straight toward the empty seats in front of them. Taking a deep breath, the person speaks up,

"I am the 'Culprit' of his abduction but if we are going to talk about the Truth of their heart then I am the 'Detective'"

The sound of someone clapping their hands echoes within the theatre, acknowledging their statements.

"Allow me to retell everyone this pitiful tale again"

It all starts with how close you two have always been.

Details :

Pantalone

Despite his pitiful situation, he's still allowed to roam into the manor by the Butler because he's considered the only friend you have back then (aside from the other children from the manor). Is really fond of you because of how kind you were to him when he was in trouble with almost everything. You often share your things with him whenever you go out from the manor for school.

Childe

Childe is allowed in the manor because he's the friend of Lucas, one of the Master's grandchildren. Occasionally flirted with you because you are the only servant who's a child around their age.

Columbina, Sandrone, Rosalyne

Is the friend of one of the children from the manor. Invites you to play with them because you are the only servant who's also a child.

Arlecchino, Capitano, Pierro

Is friends with you from the same school and is allowed to visit you by the Butler because you don't have any friends aside from them. They really appreciate how similar your personalities with theirs.

Dottore, Tsaritsa, Scaramouche

Is close with you because how you two share the same perspective of the world. Ofen talked with you about how the stars. Is allowed in the manor because they are the only friend you had with the Butler.

"Ahhh? What a lovely relationship you two used to have!"

"And yet, what tore you two? This is pitiful! A shame to the name of Love! Even anyone could realize how there were love blooming inside of you two!"

They resumed their tales.

You and they were once an inseparable lovebird. Even if you two couldn't meet each other that often, the feelings that you both shared were mutual. You are the illegitimate son of the Master of the manor and due to a few circumstances, you were handed to the master's daughter-in-law who has to take care of you with the reason of her being unable to conceive an heir. The Master of the manor couldn't just take you in as the legitimate heir of the family and so he decided to introduce you to her as an orphan that was handpicked by him.

"It truly is a shame, that baby was pushed off from the cliff along with the servant who was carrying them. And yet by some Miracle, the baby survived while the servant didn't. The fall damaged their genitals and this incident was only known by the lady, Butler, Master of the manor, the Doctor, and the old servant. The Master of the manor was only announced by the fact that the baby died in the fall"

How did they learn about this? Simple, they are the Detective and a Detective's job is to solve a case, the riddle. By using their influence, force, and bribery, it was really easy for them to learn about the truth. The diary of that lady explains everything in gruesome details while the Butler had no choice but to reveal the truth to them after using you to threaten him.

"Ahh, Lucius! Look at all these scripts! It's just like what they said! It's the Truth!"

The scripts. The last thing you were only able to do after killing them before you finally devour your pet and yourself. You who typed endlessly about everything. About how you and they used to be close friends. About how you two used to share mutual feelings toward each other. About how everything started to shatter down when the Master of the manor realized that the baby that was announced dead 12 years ago, survived.

"Ahh, Lucy! How tragic it is! It's written here that the tragedy happened again for the second time!"

The Master of the manor wish to repent and acknowledge you as his legitimate heir. How did he recognize you? On your left foot is a scar left from the operation to treat your polydactyly. The Master of the manor saw it when you were careless enough to spill a boiling soup all over your leg, resulting you to take off your sock and allowed him to see the scar. The Butler was not blamed for his action in hiding your survival and the old servant and Doctor were let off from the hook as well. Starting then, the Master of the manor gifted you a flintlock that your Grandmother used to play with.

"Oh! This certainly is a beautiful flintlock!"

"Careful Lucy! That flintlock has been used to kill people!"

"Just like I said back then, that woman didn't want to admit him as the legitimate heir and as her son. Her ego forces her to push him again."

You survived the fall by Miracle. You fell into the cold river and yet you did not freeze or drown to death because there were people who witness your fall and immediately came to rescue you. Truth be told, the Butler had not completely trusted that the Master of the manor truly saw you as his child.

The 2 demons look at each other. The Master of the manor couldn’t see you as his child? The person standing in the middle of the stage nodded at the demons.

Scaramouche, Pantalone, and Childe will sympathize with how similar your conditions are to theirs. A child that is not acknowledged, taken care of, or just portrayed as something/someone that is not you. Scaramouche who was not acknowledged was betrayed by his own mother, Pantalone who was supposed to be a child that is showered with parental love had to suffer in poverty and Tartaglia was no longer portrayed as the sweet and scared boy that he once was.

“In her… no, their body… flows the dirty blood of the Master and their mother…”

“Humuu? Isn’t it only natural for a child to possess the blood of their father and mother?”

“That should have been the case but… in their body, flows the Master’s daughter's blood”

Applause erupts from the gallery’s way. Due to the poor lighting, their face could not be identified. Their hand holding theater binoculars onto their eyes as their leg hangs around by the edge.

“Ahhh! A forbidden love! Unforgivable! We do not accept this!”

“We live for True Love! Be it forbidden or not, we are only here to shatter the illusions of Love! Those who believe in their own illusion of Love instead of a True Love shall be shattered down by us!”

It truly is pitiful. To summarize things, the Master of the manor had an affair with a woman that was hidden away from his family. His lover passed away after she gave birth to their daughter and

“That man couldn’t see his illegitimate daughter as his daughter, with how their mother starts to grow more and more alike to her mother, that man committed an atrocious sin”

And so your mother conceived you and passed away right after giving birth to you. This is the beginning of the Butler’s seed of distrust toward his master.

“The gears start spinning madly to the point I have to stop it from reaching its fateful day and yet the obsession inside my own heart is maddening. I want to save and break them at the same time.”

Had they not kidnapped you first, you would have solved the epitaph that will lead you to the ultimate truth, your own heart’s execution. The epitaph that will lead you to the gold ingot's location. What begins with how you are only visiting the manor because your ‘friend’ wanted to show you something to observing the riddle that was meant to be solved, it truly ignites the Detective heart and passion for mystery and riddles you have.

“In a world in which I’m not there and in a world in which I’m there, the ending will still be the same. If they solved it, the tragedy will happen. If they didn’t, they’ll forever be unaware of their heart”

“A heart is nothing but a hindrance for one person, so much to the point I have to shoot it to stop it from beating”

The stage light shot toward the source of the voice, you, sitting by the stage’s gallery with the theatre binocular in your hand. You look just like how you used to be and yet, something is different from you. One who looks at you will be reminded of the animal you have always been so fond of.

“Should I be thanking you or not for preventing me from dirtying my hands and the others to help me commit the mass murder, Detective?”

“The main star is here! Oh Lucy, look at them!”

“Dear star! It’s time for you to speak as well! Or perhapssssss you want us to speak as a behalf of you?”

“A behalf would not be the right answer. You two are them”

You snap your fingers and thousands of scripts fell from above. Right before your death, you only typed out your entire heart out before you stopped your heart from beating. Unfortunately enough, the hell that they forced you into soon turned into an oblivion in which there’s only a typewriter waiting for you to type. Hitting the keys of the typewriter at random, your fingernails are completely well-trimmed in a sense now. No, it would make even more sense to say that your nails have been scrapped from typing over and over. The scripts that would always be read by someone despite being filled with nothing but gibberish is now floating into the depths of oblivion.

“To be stuck there for thousand years, I have to type endlessly like a monkey”

The Infinite Monkey theorem.

You typed out a miracle and were freed from the oblivion in exchange for your amazing scripts filled with a tale that pleased the Game Master, allowing you to break free from the oblivion. Just right after your freedom, an invitation was sent out to you, guiding you to a huge theater by the forest in which the Twin Moons are lighting the night. Who would have known you'd be greeted by the sight of the person you've despised for millenniums?

"Who sent me this?"

The demon narrators shake their heads but the person in the middle of the stage raises their hand, making you lunge at them immediately. With your bare fists, you punch them over and over.

"Because of you! I couldn't break free from the oblivion because of you! Because! I! Believed! In! You!"

You spend your time typing out deductions and tales of someone else placing the flintlock into the closet, and yet your scripts were not approved by the GM. It took you long enough before you finally realized that you'd been tricked by them. The moment you realized it, you started typing out different deductions and tales until it satisfied the GM to free you. Under you is them panting in excitement and eyes filled with adoration,

"That's exactly what I wish for! You thinking a way out while trying to understand how everything works, you who had no choice but to understand me in order to break free from the depths of oblivion, you who had to think and understand everything about me! This is love! An ideal love that one yearns for!"

-Childe, Columbina, Dottore, Sandrone, Scaramouche

"In the end, you have to understand me in and out to break free no? In the end, your missing heart had to search for mine and understand everything about me"

-Pantalone, Pierro, Tsaritsa, Capitano, Rosalyne

The demon narrators chuckle at their words, levitating around you two. You who are showering them with love and them who are so blinded by their own term of love.

"Yeah right, love..."

You snap your fingers and one of the floating scripts flies toward their face, allowing them to read it. A string of gruesome things will be done to them in order to prove your love for them. Instead of shaking in fear, their eyes lit up into one that shows excitement. Leaning down to kiss their bloody face, you whisper to them,

"I shall love you in our way, you who love me despite my body condition, you who do not want me to dirty my hand, you who avenged me by slaughtering everyone,"

A single strand of tear falls out from your eye. They even killed one of your loved ones...

"That's why I will love you completely as well... my enigma"

No one knows aside from you yourself whether you truly love them with a veil of illusions wrapped around your eyes or not. Perhaps you despised them for letting their obsession runs free, breaking you into pieces, forcing you to do things you never consented to. Perhaps you don't because you've forgotten what's supposed to be normal and what's not. How many millenniums have you been staying in the depths of oblivion?

Long enough for you to lose your grip on reality and sanity.

The demon narrators look at the spectators' seats, eyes focused on you. Chuckling, they hug each other and speak directly to you,

"What do you think, everyone? Have they finally reached True Love? We live for True Love and we shall shatter the fools who believe in the illusions of Love!"

Whether it's illusions or not, you and them, are bound to each other, for eternity.

All in the name of Love.

𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓪 𝓐𝓭𝓸𝓻𝓪

𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 1 year ago

Text

The Cactus (Killshot, Part 2.)

“Choices have consequences.” - Simon Riley, 2022

Description: The occupation as a member of SAS came with many restrictions and rules one had to follow to a dot. It could get even more intense for a soldier carrying a lot of trauma and not enough self-love, if any at all. Thank God, this lonely soldier meets a lonely florist one day, and as they say - animals have the best judge of character.

Part Summary: Simon never liked acting on a whim, but the mysterious flourish doesn't leave his thoughts, so he decides to break his habits. One day, he becomes a witness to Y/N's past catching up with her, which marks the beginning of their friendship.

A/N: I'm actually so insecure about this series, aaaaa. I haven't written anything in a year properly and I'm so afraid people won't like my iteration of Simon. However, there isn't much to base it off because not like we witness their day-to-day life in CoD anyway. Also, I'm going away for the next few days - chapter 3 is like 25 % finished, but I won't be able to work on it, so the next update should be here around Monday, Tuesday next week (Sunday if I'll clutch it). Sorry for the typos x.

Warnings: SIMON AND READER RIZZING EACH OTHER UP WITH ONE-LINERS (they cringe), both of them generally gushing over one another, and mentions of a past abusive relationship.

Word count: 6.1K

Tagging: @poohkie90

Master list: H E R E | Ghost's tapes: P L A Y L I S T

Throughout his life, for as long as he could remember, Simon Riley considered himself to be a person of habit. He preferred a dull, monotonous routine over living his days out carelessly and freely. If he wasn't one of the higher-ranking members of SAS, he'd probably settle for a repetitive job where there would be little to no surprise- he'd likely become an office worker. When talking about routine, of course, Simon didn’t count in his paperwork, deployments, basically all job-related activities or occasional hangouts with his friends, that happened infrequently anyway.

Simon wasn't always like this, no. Back when his old man had all five together, he was what you'd call 'a normal child'. Back then, they were a normal family.

Simon vaguely recalled a train he loved to play with, the warm feeling of safety that his mum's kisses on the forehead brought, the safety when he could play with Tommy, just running around in the park pretending to be a pilot. Naturally, that all went to bloody shit. His old man lost all of his marbles. When Simon finally left home, he promised himself he would take full control of his life. His comfort in routine was the result of his father’s A+ upbringing. It taught him many lessons, some of which kept Simon up at night even as a grown, 6'3 man; moments when he felt like he's unable to protect himself or those surrounding him. Due to his many psychological evaluations, profilings and talks with the military shrink, he knew all the feelings were irrational. He was trying to fight those feelings the best he could. Simon was a fucking ace when it came to his job, he was able of taking people out in sixty various ways, snipe from blocks away, feel someone's presence way before they'd move... And yet, his father, his father's leather belt and his father's exotic pets brought him to his knees years after everything had been said and done. If he were to slip into a comfortable, never-changing routine, he would have under full control, he wouldn’t have to be wary of unexpected pain or punches that bring him to the ground, make him feel small and weak. He wouldn't have to be afraid of his demons that much... Wouldn't have to be afraid of feeling like a little, helpless child.

Now, throughout his adulthood, his day-to-day routine was firmly given - hour after hour, Simon’s brain knew what his body should be doing and it followed the schedule to a dot. For fucks sake, he was the kind of person who went out to buy groceries every two days and even on days he didn’t have to buy anything, Simon walked to the shop for the sake of keeping up with his routine. Due to this part of him, he could be perceived as a bit of a nut job. Almost everyone who'd ever been inside his apartment called him a cleaning freak - while in reality, it was just easy to keep the flat tidy thanks to a firmly given schedule. Simon didn't mind his flat or himself getting messy, otherwise, he would go insane during deployment. He didn't mind getting down and dirty, he didn't mind getting his clothes ripped, he didn't mind getting his body covered in scars if it meant the mission's success. It just meant that every day at 7 p.m., Simon did the dishes and disinfected most of the surfaces inside his house. He couldn't recall a day when he'd have dust in his flat except for when he came home from deployment. The fact that Simon owned little to no decoration inside his flat meant he didn't have to fiddle-faddle with dust catchers. First thing every morning? Putting on his baklava so he wouldn’t punch the mirror while looking at his reflection; followed closely behind with setting a kettle on the stove to get the tea going. Simon also had periodical tasks, as he named them - buying shoes every six months, and wardrobe renewal every three months.

His life was just a big scheme of periodically repeating tasks in which revelled. No surprises, no pain, no belittling - just Simon taking the reigns over his life.

However, something changed after Johnny and Cassie's proposal dinner. He couldn't point his finger at what it was, but his routine was missing something. And it was bugging Simon the fuck off. When Simon let his mind wander about, he caught himself going back to meeting the florist, Y/N as she introduced herself. His mind was considerate enough to let him play the memories again and again; all the alien feelings as they brewed inside his chest, him not being able to vocalize it, him not being able to speak properly when she looked at him. A hint of interest in her eyes as she realized why he accompanied Johnny. The flame of her warmth surrounding each action, word and expression. The tone of her voice, the fact that she was gorgeous... Simon had to see her again. He needed to talk to her again, ask her out if he'd find the courage.

Truth be told, he wasn't a stranger to hookups and attempts at getting into a relationship. Problems came when Simon tried to open up. The problems came after the act had ended. A one-night stand was fun enough until the girl asked if he'd like breakfast or if he'd like to repeat it someday. Simon loved the intimacy something as simple as sex could bring, he enjoyed the passionate emotions and friction of bodies... Until consequences came. Until the 'next morning' hit him right in his gut. Until he woke up next to them, seeing them sleep. Until he quickly put on his clothes and ran off like a scared little boy.

When it came to establishing a relationship, whether emotional or strictly physical, was when problems started to arrive... And never stopped coming. The last time he gave into giving this a try was four years ago. This experience kept him from dating ever since. His longest relationship? Half a fucking year, ended up with him getting deployed. Frankly, Simon started to feel very strongly about the lass he was seeing, he even planned on asking her to move in, he wanted to tell her he loved her. As he came to see her with a flower in his hand, some naked bozo answered the door. Naturally, actions spoke faster than words, so he packed a solid fucking punch. Needless to say, he hadn't seen Erica since. Not that he was sad about it, he was just brokenhearted and upset.

But you... Simon had never felt this strongly about anyone when meeting them for the first time, not even Erica made him as flustered and overtaken with emotion as you did. Trying to meet you, however, brought needed changes to his routine. Consciously pushing against the order set in his life was an enormous, almost unrealistic task. On the other hand, he was doing it for a good reason - if this meant he would be able to see you, he was willing to risk the restlessness that breaking the stereotype brought. On top of this, it was a well-known fact that working on administration outside the office greatly improved one’s overall mood. Or, so Price advised him.

Also, Simon was well aware that using the phrase ‘seeing you’ wasn’t fitting - he’d never gotten as far as making a contact. He started slowly - frequenting the cafe opposing Rosemary’s to scout out the terrain. He even noticed its name, Grind On. That made him chuckle. The man started taking notice of your presence in the shop - the very periodic nature of your shifts didn’t seem to change, which brought some relief and comfort; he’d be able to set a routine around this. Soon, he found himself sitting in the café every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to match your schedule; over time, he’d found himself a dead angle within the café in which none of the other guests could read the paperwork he was going through. The table was placed directly opposite the entrance to Rosemary’s, so Simon could watch as you created hundreds of bouquets over the span of getting used to his new way of living.

Even going out as frequently made him feel a tiny bit better, being around people as often was always alien to Simon, but simply letting life flow around him was making him feel easier. Not everyone was after his throat, not everyone stared at him as if they were about to shit their pants. No. To most people, Simon was just 'that rando they met on the street'. After some time, the baristas remembered his face (in a way) and his order (plain breakfast tea with a muffin, sometimes the soup of the day if he was feeling courageous) and started treating him as a regular, mainly a young bloke named Jason and a middle-aged woman named Anne. No more weird looks at his baklava, no more fear in their eyes. Just pleasantries. They even started asking him about his plans, his day, his mood, his job. Simon rarely gave in to the small talk, but it made him smile. He'd even go as far as to nod at the other regulars before putting his laptop onto the table, and plugging it in. Other times, Simon would bring a book or the newspaper. His eyes were on you the entire time, though. Oftentimes, he felt like an agent on a tailing mission, as if he was observing the suspect from afar, trying to gather intel. He had to reason with himself, telling himself his intention wasn't to pry, let alone stalk you - he just needed time to figure out how to approach you. He hadn’t got anyone to buy flowers for, which complicated the situation a fair share.

On Mondays, he’d take his favourite spot in the café in the early morning, watching you open up the shop. Each time, you were accompanied by Bonnie, who ran after you happily, barking as you teased her with a smile. Simon noticed that Bonnie’s collars switched frequently - sometimes, you’d tie an enormous plushy ribbon around her neck, other times it was a stylish bandana collar, and sometimes you picked the traditional, singular colour collar. Ghost found this habit of yours utterly cute, and soon, he realized he was looking forward to what collar Bonnie would be wearing next time. On Wednesdays, he’d come two hours before your shift was ending, making sure everything would go smoothly. There was never a singular hiccup throughout the month of his observations, he had to admit. On Fridays, he’d usually just drop by around noon to simply… Look at you, afore you from afar. Simon always had a keen eye, it was a requirement when it came to his job, and was a patient observer. He liked the way you always waved at leaving customers or measured the flowers’ length using your eyes only, always cutting off the exact length which needed to be cut.

As Cassie said, you were talking to the flowers a whole lot - each time, when the bouquet was near completion, you’d push your face next to the flower, whispering sweet nothings. As he watched you, oftentimes fiddling with his teaspoon, Simon caught himself daydreaming. What if he was your bouquet? What would you whisper in his ear if you'd get the chance? Would your fingers run across his jawline with matching subtlety, setting his body ablaze? Would it turn you as much as the thought turned him on? Could the two of you perhaps have some fun with the ribbons you use in your bouquets all the time? How would it look like if you’d wove it into your hair and Simon was the one to slowly pull the strands out one by one? How would it look and feel tying your wrists together? As soon as the clothes started disappearing in his imagination, Simon had to snap himself out of the trance. Thanks to this, he bent more than three teaspoons. The baristas usually laughed it off and brought him another one, and thank God they couldn't see how heavily Simon blushed under the mask.

His favourite moments, however, were those in between - the small moments during which he went on a smoke break and managed to listen to some of your music. Yea, it was still fucking tacky, but the tunes were starting to grow on Simon. A few times, he even caught himself pulling his phone out just to let Shazam search for the mysterious tune. There was a regular pattern traceable in your music choices. It was closely tied to the type of order you've got. Each type had its assigned playlist and thanks to that, Simon started to understand the habits and recurring phenomenons in your work. On some days, the oldies blasted through the flower shop as you waltzed through it with Bonnie hot on your heels, laughing while putting the flowers together - those were usually assigned for lovers, for dates and overall happy occasions. On other days, slow ballads and nonsensical love songs played, which usually meant you were working on wedding bouquets or big-event-type bouquets, just like Johnny's proposal bouquet. Simon genuinely hated it when you got a gig for funerals or other ceremonies similar to it - the shop remained silent - Simon noticed you usually didn’t even turn on most of the fairy lights at your disposal. Your mood dropped and the happy antics disappeared as you tied the flowers together, making sure they were honourable enough.

As per usual by that point, this happened on a Friday, and Simon sat at his favourite spot. There was a chai latté in front of him (he started to love the flavour of cinnamon harmonizing with the rest of the blend as well as the drink sending a wave of warmth through his entire body) along with a chocolate muffin. He just got back in and Anne was on his ass… That was sweet of her. As Simon looked up to nod her way, the barista just winked back with a knowing smile. The mood was good and you didn't have a lot of orders per se, but you had enough traffic to still make profits - Simon just back from his smoke break, hearing a hypnotizing love song playing inside the flower shop when a customer opened the door. Before picking the book off the table, he turned his head in your direction, expecting that you'd be walking the gentleman through what the flowers meant, helping to pick out the best combination. Instead, you were giving the customer a deadpan, frozen behind the counter, your expression devoid of any emotion. The man was clearly talking to you, gesturing heatedly and Simon didn’t have to go far to conclude he was most likely yelling his lungs out at you. ... better than her mum, anyway.

The words rang through Simon’s head as you finally took in a breath, yelling right back at the guy with matching intensity, shoving him out of the door. This was all Simon needed to see - he started packing his stuff, giving Anne the total and left a generous tip before he walked outside the shop. While you walked behind back onto the counter, falling onto it while your fists grabbed onto your hair as you gasped for air, the guy stared through the door at you. A moment later, he turned on his heels to leave the place. Simon was faced with a challenge - either he could go and comfort you (which would finally get him the chance to talk to you) or tail the guy, finding out a bit about him. Maybe even to have a chat with him. Against his better judgment, Simon's body moved on its own as soon as the mysterious man started walking towards Soho.

Simon genuinely didn't know for how long he tailed the guy - he watched him get into a double-decker in the centre, leaving while memorizing which route this number took. Simon was thinking about following him and getting on the bus as well, but the image of you being distressed was burdening him. Who even was the guy? Your boyfriend? Were you seeing someone? Honestly, Simon didn't consider this possibility beforehand. God, what if you were seeing someone and he'd come across as a perv and a stalker? Or... Could it be the one troubling you? Could he just be a rude customer? Could he be trying to wreak havoc in your daily life?

Fifteen minutes later, Simon was standing in front of Rosemary’s again. He fought himself for a long time before he entered the shop - as to be expected, you were nowhere to be seen, the tunes were playing silently, tuned down to a mere whisper. Because the door to the employees' facility was cracked open, it didn’t take Bonnie long enough to poke her head out with curiosity - and once more, as soon as her eyes landed on Simon, she was ready on her feet and running right to him. The adoration in her eyes made him chuckle as he mirrored Johnny’s actions; he leaned down to pick her up, scratching the sweet spot behind her ears. This ruckus was enough to lure you out as well.

Simon’s heart nearly broke when he saw your puffy eyes - suddenly, all the energy was gone, there was no warmer to be found and no smiles to be given. “I’m so sorry. I’m on my break and forgot to lock the door. Could you perhaps come in fifteen…” - You started, still drying your eyes with a napkin. When you actually looked at the newcomer, you were visibly caught off guard... Simon hoped it wasn't the bad kind of surprise, but your expression made him sure it wasn't the case. Some of your warmth started to come back as you smiled gently. - “Ghost.” - Was all you whispered. You didn’t need to say much more, because even the endearing tone of your voice made Simon grin sheepishly, his heart doing a backflip in his chest.

“I can come back in fifteen. It’s not a problem.” “Really? I'd appreciate that, you’d be a sweetheart… My day isn’t going too well and I need a bit to pull my shit back together.” - You sighed, rolling your eyes upon going back to the encounter with your ex-boyfriend. He refused to give up, still claiming some fucked up form of ownership over you - the next time he’ll swing by to hit you with his bullshit, you were sure your hand will slip and you’ll slap him… Or worse, kill him or something. You’ve never considered yourself to be a violent person, but Billy was bringing out the worst of you, awakening some dark fucking demons inside you each time he dared to even break... Especially after all he had done. Simon, on the other hand, was enamoured with the nickname - he'd be a fucking sweetheart. Just the nickname alone weakened Simon’s knees, putting a boyish smile on his lips. His brain flashed around three million different scenarios during which you could call him sweetheart too, making his breath hitch a little.

“Mhm.” - Simon hummed as if it was obvious he'd do as you asked, waiting for his voice to regain its footing. Then, he reached out his palm in your direction. - “I’ll take this pretty girl out for a walk if that’s fine with you.” At first, your reaction to the offer wasn't clear - a furrow appeared on your face, looking him up and down with suspicion. All the tension was erased when you snickered, shaking your head. Within the next minute, you were giving Simon Bonnie's leash. Simon didn’t really expect you to comply, but it made him a bit more sure of his footing. You clearly trusted him enough to take care of your dog for fifteen minutes; whatever you thought of him, it had to be positive.

“Look at her. Barely half a year old and she’s already getting all the nice guys to herself. She’ll grow up to be a heartbreaker, mark my words.” - Giving Simon the leash, you walked to the duo to pet Bonnie as well. You’ve pressed a small bag into his palm as well - it was filled to the brim with various dog treats, snacks and small plastic bags for poop.

“Honestly, would you be able to resist these eyes? Just look at the lass.” - The man let slip par his slips, utterly enamoured by your beauty as he kept staring at you. Thankfully, you were too busy kissing the top of Bonnie’s head to notice the way he stared at you. “Hey, Y/N?” “Hm?” “Is there anything I can do for you? Would you wanna… Talk about it, perhaps? It could help you take your mind off things.” - Simon wondered, the question slipping past his lips on its own. You were paying him full attention now, locking your gaze with his. It almost looked like you were internally debating over whether to tell Simon what happened or not, but then you shook your head with one of the sweetest smiles anyone had ever given to him. - “It’s just petty personal bullshit, nothing I can’t deal with on my own. Anyway… You two should go now, you’re disturbing an artist at work.”

There she was - the girl Simon daydreamed about for the last couple of weeks. Even though you didn’t confide in him, his offer clearly made you feel easier. The light was slowly coming back to your eyes, your smile was melting away the ice surrounding his chest, and your warmth was making Simon feel better about himself. You talked to him precisely like you did to Johnny - as if you were the oldest of friends bumping into each other, just chatting about.

“On our merry way, ma’am.” - Simon saluted just to make you laugh. After, he put Bonnie on the ground, making sure the leash is locked onto her collar properly. As he heard you chuckle while he closed the door, he smiled to himself too. - “See you in a bit, you two! Give him hell, Bon Bon!”

As Simon promised, he took Bonnie for a walk around the block of various shops, and Asian restaurants mixed into residential buildings. Because of Bonnie and her curious, friendly nature, Simon was suddenly the target of attention - a 6'3 man with a mask on his face walking around with a 6-month-old puppy of an Austrian shepherd with an enormous lime green ribbon around its neck sure made a lot of head turn around. Even though the duo walked pretty slowly, they still had some time to stop by Grind On, picking up chai latté and baked goods for. When Anne noticed Bonnie resting in Simon's arms, sniffing his baklava happily, she gasped as if he unravelled a secret.

“So that’s how it is! This makes a whole lot of sense.” - Anne murmured with a sheepish smile while working on the order - two chai lattés and a whole selection of baked goods; he knew you'd die for Grind On's croissants, but that couldn't be all you liked, right? Simon's eyebrows raised upon Anne's excitement, waiting for her to explain the mental gymnastics behind whatever she concluded. - “That’s why you’re here so often! That’s just adorable!” “What is?” - Simon deadpanned. “You’re coming here regularly often because you like to watch your girlfriend at work, what a lucky gal. Honestly, Y/N is one of the sweetest people working on the same block as us and she deserves to have a gentleman in her life, she’s got enough letdowns already. Don’t you think you can deceive me, darling, I know this sweet little girl all too well, right, Bonnie?” - Anne explained, gushing over how adorable Bonnie was. Her words caught Simon off guard. He, indeed, loved watching you work. And Anne calling you his girlfriend sounded so heavenly, but…

“She, ugh… Y/N isn’t my… She’s a friend of my friend. I just like this café, s’all.” - Simon uttered against his will, having Anne looking at him with a slight furrow. Her expression slowly grew gentler and gentler, turning into a motherly smile at the end as if she knew something Simon didn’t. It was precisely all the words Simon didn’t say out loud that told Anne everything she needed to know.

"I see. I hope you'll get the courage to tell her soon, then. It's like watching the beginning of a romance movie." - The woman whispered wickedly and winked at the duo. Simon nodded without a word, watching Anne put some extra goods into the paper bag. You deserved a gentleman. You've had enough letdowns in your life. What if Simon was a letdown? What if he wouldn't be what you deserved - what if you wouldn't accept his careful advances in the first place? He's been so into you that he hadn't stopped to think if you could be interested in him... And due to the small number of your interactions, Simon couldn't base his stance on anything. He basically didn't know you, he spent a month gushing about a stranger. He could ask Cassie about you, about what you've been like and what you're looking for... But that would give him away immediately.

As he put Bonnie back onto the ground, he was furrowing, being lost in his thoughts - not for long, though. You've seemingly got your shit together and started working on another order - there was a little boy standing in front of the counter, watching you with his mouth open. "Ghost!" - You exclaimed happily, smiling from ear to ear. Bonnie, as the little she-devil she was, ran to you immediately to totter around your feet. - "Was the walk nice, Bon Bon? I bet it was, yeah? Yeah." - The tone of your voice pitched as you leaned down to greet your dog, letting her lick your chin a few times.

It took just a moment to finish up the flower - the boy paid you 5 pounds for a singular red rose, all the decorations being counted in. "The rose wasn't worth only five quid, was it?" - Simon wondered. "Come on, be a romantic. He was about to ask his crush out, what monster would I be to stand in the way of young love?" "Right. You'll rather go broke." "Exactly, that's the spirit." - You bounced back immediately, pointing at the enormous paper bag in his palm. Without hesitation, Simon gave it to you to let you peek inside. As soon as you noticed all the goods, your expression froze a bit. That had to be worth at least fifty to sixty quid. - "What's that for?" "I asked Anne for three croissants, but as soon as she spotted Bon, she filled it to the brim." "Are you a regular in Grind On?" - You wondered. "Started frequenting it after tasting the chai latté you recommended. Couldn't shake it out of my head, I hadn't tasted anything like that before. Also, Soho is really nice at this time of year."

For a bit, neither of you said a word. Your eyes locked onto one another, your breath hitched and got irregular. Simon noticed that you shivered, pushing a few strands of hair behind your ear. Only if he'd know how flustered you were - your entire face was flushed, you had to battle the corner of your lips just so you wouldn't smile like a freaking idiot. You couldn't get him out of your head. The mysterious Ghost guy accompanying Cassie's fiancé on the day of their proposal, you couldn't forget how much he didn't belong in the flower shop. The first moment he walked in you knew that he wasn't feeling too good about the place, so you didn't want to intrude by prying information out of him. The warm, intense gaze of his eyes made you smile each time you recalled it. Usually, you'd stop anything you've been doing so you could giggle and fluster; at that point, you had to remind yourself that you were a grown, independent woman - not a crushing high-schooler. You hadn't even seen his face, for fuck's sake. On the other hand... The sound of his voice made your heart skip a beat each time he spoke. When they left the shop, you watched them disappear in the distance for as long as you could, wondering if you'd ever see him again.

As to be expected, you asked Cassie about him the next time you got together for a coffee. You were desperately trying to lure any sort of information out of her, but she didn't budge. She explained that Ghost was particularly vigilant about sharing pieces of his life, keeping his private life very private. The two had known each other for almost a year and there was a lot she didn't know about him - according to her, Cassie didn't believe that Johnny would know that much more than her. What Cassie did know, however, she didn't share out of sheer respect for their friendship. You respected her decision, not prying any further. All she gave you were vague assumptions - that Ghost was in his late twenties, that he'd been born and raised in the UK and that he'd joined the military fairly young. She also asked if you'd like to get his number, but you didn't accept - if Ghost would like you to have his number, he was the one to give it to you.

And now, Ghost was there, with you. Standing in front of you. Bringing you brewing hot chai latté and a horde of baked goods, just like he did before. You couldn't be sure, but you prayed this was his love language - because any guy before him was able to make you flustered by simply looking your way. Trying to act casual about how you stared at him, you cleared your throat and put the bag away with a gracious smile.

"I hope you'll have some with me, then, this would last me a week at least." "I had my share earlier in the afternoon, thank you, though." "Ah, I see." - You whispered, the disappointment clear in your face. At least you thought it had to be. - "What can I do for you? Anything on your mind? Can I tie you a special flower for a special girl? A girlfriend, perhaps?" - You wondered, trying to act professionally about it while you prayed his response would be that there is no girlfriend.

"That's strange." - The man uttered under his breath, chuckling with disbelief. This took you by surprise, making you chuckle as well. - "That's the second time today someone assumed I'm shopping for a girlfriend." "And... Are you?" "No." - Simon deadpanned matter-of-factly. - "There's no girlfriend to shop for." - He explained, making you giddy up a bit. Bonnie was now running around the two of you, laying on her back so you'd pet her - but you were unable to take your eyes off the man. These eyes, man, they were beautiful.

"What are you looking for, then? Would it be bold to assume you're shopping for a flower?" "I actually am." "You're in the right place then, I can walk you through everything you'd need to know about them. What kind of flower are you looking for?" "I'd hope so, you're a florist." - Simon muttered under his breath. First, it came across as a rude comment - when he flickered his eyes at you, you realized he was trying to joke around. Naturally, you grinned and shook your head. - "The windowsill in my flat looks a bit bland, decided it's time to liven it up. The problem is that I'm not a flower guy."

"I'd assume so, you're not the one who studied to get this position." - you reiterated, shooting right back at Simon. You could see the baklava shift on his face, so you assumed he was smiling. "You know what one flower said to the other when it was asking for a chance?" - You mumbled as you started to figure out what would be appropriate for Ghost - you knew he and Johnny were military, and Cassie confided that they often got deployed. It had to be a flower that could go without regular watering for months, but it would also have to be something that wouldn't mold easily. Simon watched you move closer and closer to succulents, caught off guard by the question.

"Come on, Ghost. It's a good one, I promise, don't make me feel like a dud." - You mumbled impatiently when he was silent for far too long. - "You know what one flower said to the other when it was asking for a chance?" "No idea." "Don't worry, love, I'll grow on ya." - You finished with a wicked grin on your face, waiting for Simon to process the joke - as soon as he realized what you just did., the man let out a chuckle. It came across as if he did his best to suppress it, because this joke was one of the corniest he'd heard - the only person with even worse jokes was MacTavish himself. "You're one of these, huh?" "It's a good joke, come on." "Never said it isn't." - Simon muttered quietly, feeling a big smile breaking out on his face, no matter how much he fought it. A cute, beautiful florist with flower puns and one-liners? With each passing second, you were getting better and better, almost too good to be true.

"There she is." - You mumbled, pulling out a small round cacti. - "It's a cactus usually recommended to beginners, so no need to be worried here. This small lady is a part of Echinopsis, a cacti group native to South America. This one is from Argentina specifically, so it prefers warmer temperatures and a lot of sunlight, perfect for a windowsill." "Why did you go for this one specifically?" "Because it's very well known for its dramatic buds. And you strike me as someone who secretly revels in drama." "That was cold." - Ghost rebutted immediately, amusement clearly audible in his voice. "... Also because it prefers sandy soil and can go without water for a fair share of time. As long as you leave it in sunlight and don't let it freeze to death, it should easily wait until you get back from deployment." - You finished, flustering and looking away. It had to be obvious you memorized every last bit of detail about Ghost, no? There wasn't much you'd know about him, but you remembered a thing here and there.

"It's perfect for me, then." - Simon agreed, carefully taking the cactus from your palm to give it a look. He quite liked it, it was very small and cute. - "Were you joking about the buds?" "No, this cactus' buds are enormous and colourful. Haven't met a person who wouldn't like the look of it." "I'll take it, then. Have you heard flowers are capable of kissing, by the way?" "They're what?" - You snickered back as you prepared the cactus for his new home - you'd packed everything Simon might need as someone new to owning a plant. "Yeah, they have Tulips." - Simon added matter-of-factly. At first, you deadpanned at him before you shook your head in disbelief. "And you were judging me for liking flower puns?" "Hadn't ever said I didn't like flower puns. What's the total?"

Without putting any numbers into the register, you put a fancy paper bag in front of Simon. It had everything he might need - fresh soil, a bigger flower pot, a small scapula to help him re-plant the cactus once it grows bigger. "It's on the house." "Not in a million years. What's the total?" "The total is: it's on the house, Ghost. I don't a single dime." "Y/N, come on." "Take it as my way of paying you back for making sure Grind On won't have any baked goods to sell during their afternoon shift." "That's how it is?" - Ghost snickered with amusement. You've been clearly assuming you're the dispute going your way, so you nodded proudly. "That's how it is, sir." "I'll take it as a prepay for the next delivery, then." - Simon informed you as if you didn't have a say in this, earning a gentle smile from you. The light inside your eyes intensified as you looked at the man with adoration, pushing your palms into the pockets of your jeans just so you wouldn't start playing with your fingers excitedly.

"Will you come to see me again?" "Affirmative, ma'am." - The man breathed out, feeling his heartbeat picking up as he realized you'd been excited about him dropping by. "I better look up some military jokes so we can make fun of your occupation too." "Got one to get you going." "I'm listening." - You alluded, leaning closer to Ghost. "Why are there no insects around the base?" "Why aren't the insects there?" "It's a no-fly zone." - Simon finished and after you scoffed, he jokingly saluted, turning around to leave the shop. That was when you called out his name, so he'd halt and look over to you. "I'm really looking forward to seeing you again." - Ghost was searching for any sign of irony in your expression, for anything that would lead him to believe that you weren't being serious with him. But there were none. The man didn't answer, he simply nodded and lowered his head before walking out - something led you to believe that his cheeks turned bright pink under the baklava, but you'd only seen it for a second, so it could be just a hallucination.

#simon riley cod #simon riley x fem!reader #simon ghost riley #here we gooo #we thinking about spicy spicy already #call of duty #call of duty: modern warfare #cod mw #killshot series #no johnny this time sadly #but don't u worry #i plan great things for johnny and the reader #just you wait #they will be the chaotic trio along with cass ofc #bonnie shaping out to be a thicc legend #i do love this dog with my life

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otomiyaa · 11 months ago

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Top 23 of 2023

Top 23 of 2023 on Tumblr is out and it made me remember something....!!! For those who also remember, I started this game last year and I just thought it would be nice to do it again. For reference, my post is ofc long gone, but here's Mia's~~

Tagging: @ticklygiggles & Everyone who wants to do it lol

Part 1: Fandom Faves

01. Favorite new fandoms of the year: Red, White & Royal Blue, Honkai Star Rail

02. Favorite new ships since this year: Henry x Alex (RWRB) Sampo x Gepard (HSR), Ballister x Ambrosius (Nimona)

03. Favorite anime/TV shows of the year: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen, Our Flag Means Death Season 2, Niehime to Kemono no Ou

04. Favorite movies of the year: Red White and Royal Blue, Nimona

05. Favorite characters of the year: Furina!!!! (Genshin Impact), also Gepard Landau (Honkai Star Rail), Miguel O'Hara (Across the Spiderverse), and a big honorable mention to the Fontaine gang in Genshin Impact (especially Freminet and Neuvillette)!

06. Favorite soundtrack of the year: Genshin Impact - Fontaine soundtrack and the Our Flag Means Death Season 2 soundtrack

07. Favorite book/manga/comic of the year: The Work Love Balance manhwa, and RWRB which is older but I discovered it thanks to the movie coming out.

08. Favorite games of the year: Genshin Impact, still my fav^^

09. Highlight of this year to remember: Bowuigi trending as a ship.

Part 2: Community Review

10. Favorite Tumblr moments of 2023: Tickletober with the very own list Mia and I created, and even though it was a negative thing at first - getting swarmed with kind words from you guys after I lost my blog. I'm a mere humble person but you guys seriously made me feel a little important for a moment there ^///^

11. Favorite fan art of the year: Hard to say, but I'll say this sampard piece I got from Val baby for my bday, and this Ukatake commission by @dokidoki-muffin, this spiderdads commission by @giulscomix, and this Ittorou commission by @chibimochii have also stolen my heart!

And ofc all other commissions of this year (the bowuigi one fs;ijogij; and miguel one omggg, the pokemon commission so CUTE). And *wiggles fingers* I have more on the way....

12. Favorite fic of the year: Hard to say but I've been enjoying a lot of the Tickletober works specifically by @lovelynim and @ticklygiggles, and also this Nimona fic by @bambinella has become a fav, and all RWRB fics by @kourtniwritesagain!!!!! I still need to reblog them here.

13. Favorite ask game of the year: I can't remember which ones I played, but I remember there was a time I had reblogged "post your anonymous confessions" or something, and it resulted in the most interesting asks and conversations with you guys^^ I liked that.

14. My top achievements as a writer/artist/creator/blogger: If I'll be around in a year, this won't be 'writer' but 'blogger', but for this one as a writer, it'll again be completing all 31 days of tickletober right on schedule despite a minor intervention.. :"D

15. My own best fic/post of the year: I have no idea! But if I ask AO3, it answers that my best fic of this year is my bowuigi fic mahahaha (based on kudos btw).

16. My most underappreciated fic/post of the year: Let's give that award to these 2 poor Tickletober fics (which I enjoyed writing a lot) that were not reblogged by anyone meaning they are no longer on Tumblr since my account loss:

Day 21: Horns/Fangs | Sariphi x Leonhart, King of Beasts (Niehime to Kemono no Ou)

Day 23: Party | Momose x Shirosaki (Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen)

17. A post of mine that got more popularity than expected: My comeback post! The comments, likes and even reblogs, I couldn't have ever imagined.

18. Something I changed on my blog since this year: You tell me 😂 No but besides the whole blog change, another change is that I got over my embarrassment and was brave enough to commission a couple of artists this year. Me and my money are now in a happy place!

Part 3: Next Year

19. Something I didn’t post this year but would like to do next year: A fic recommendations/faves post (from other writers). Wonder if I'll ever get to it, since my reading and fic reblogging is already not what I like it to be, meaning that every fic I reblog would probably belong on that list lol. But alright, I'd like to make a faves of the faves list then.

20. Goals for next year: Read more...!!! Read more books, more manga, more webtoons, more tickle fics. I love them, so I should read more! My truest ambition.

21. 2024 releases I look forward to the most: Every single update for Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, and also: Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Inside Out 2, Deadpool 3, Venom 3, Kimi ni Todoke S3, and Beastars Final Season!

22. Something else I look forward to next year: Traveling to Japan with my boyfriend! Also: receiving more tickles cuz why not. And last but not least, seeing Taylor Swift live at the Eras Tour in Amsterdam!

Part 4: Spreading Love

23. Shoutouts to people who made my 2023 a better year: I know, and you might know, I didn't do so well last time since I tagged a bunch of friends but also forgot to mention some... not because I didn't care about them but because I am a flopper. So to prevent this embarrassment I won't mention any names this time.

I especially would like to thank everyone who is still around, who is reading this, who followed my new blog. To be honest, on my old blog I felt flattered to have so many followers but I was also aware it was the effect of being active for 7 years in a ton of fandoms, and that it didn't say anything about the accurate number of people appreciating what I was posting.

But to be at already almost 500 followers on this blog? Where I only post shit? Now that's a compliment I will gladly accept. Thank you to all of you for the support!

Last but not least, special shoutout to the friends I talk to on Discord sooo much now, you know who you are!

Question list for copy paste below!

Part 1: Fandom Faves

01. Favorite new fandoms of the year

02. Favorite new ships since this year

03. Favorite anime/TV shows of the year

04. Favorite movies of the year

05. Favorite characters of the year

06. Favorite soundtrack of the year

07. Favorite book/manga/comic of the year

08. Favorite games of the year

09. Highlight of this year to remember

Part 2: Community Review

10. Favorite Tumblr moments of 2023

11. Favorite fan art of the year

12. Favorite fic of the year

13. Favorite ask game of the year

14. My top achievements as a writer/artist/creator/blogger

15. My own best fic/post of the year

16. My most underappreciated fic/post of the year

17. A post of mine that got more popularity than expected

18. Something I changed on my blog since this year

Part 3: Next Year

19. Something I didn’t post this year but would like to do next year

20. Goals for next year

21. 2024 releases I look forward to the most

22. Something else I look forward to next year

Part 4: Spreading Love

23. Shoutouts to people who made my 2023 a better year

#top 23 of 2023 #tag game #personal

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chevvy-yates · 10 months ago

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WIP WEDNESDAY WHENEVER

got tagged by @kdval thank you!

tagging: @gloryride, @elvenbeard, @pinkyjulien, @kittenchrissy, @dreamskug, @wraithsoutlaws, @imaginarycyberpunk2023, @alphanight-vp, @morganlefaye79, @peaches-n-screem, @wanderingaldecaldo, @genocidalfetus, @jaymber, @humberg, @therealnightcity, @streetkid-named-desire, @sammysilverdyne, @aggravateddurian, and @breezypunk as always, no pressure – also feel free to ignore.

—

GENERAL:

My gaming laptop is still on vacation sleeping since mid November '23 so I have still nothing new except the last remaining vp I want to post but hesitate for own reasons to click the 'post' button. It's a never ending fight I have to do with myself here …

Each weekend I tell myself I will update, but I do not 'feel' it – it's complicated. Guess something needs to happen that requires me to update first. Nontheless, I did not sit around doing nothing. Used the time for writing, thinking, graphic design and selecting songs.

I managed to post Ryder's two favorite radio stations last weekend:

I'll link the post here again in case you missed it and have interest to listen to it. A like/follow is appreciated, a.k.a. Ryder dankt! 🖤

I know not many like this genre he (and I) listens to but maybe at least the Technoise FM finds a way into someone's music heart. Music is very deeply connected to especially my boy Ryder but all of the boys as well (each their own style) and will show up even in the big story to support the written scenery/moments.

Speaking of the big story:

—

FANFICTION:

The story has a name now and will simply go by:

Cyberpunk 2078 – Pandemonium

I'm close to finish chapter 01: The Golden Demon of Kabuki of our (@nervouswizardcycle's and me) story. It needs a few vp pics to be redone and me to make a few adjustments and prepare the first post. Hopefully I get it done by the end of January.

QUESTION:

I don't know how many people might be interested in reading it but if you are, please leave me a comment in this post or send me a DM or contact me on Discord so I take note of it and will tag you once I start releasing chapters. It won't be weekly, neither monthly. I'm slow in writing and editing plus I do not do it alone as this story is still at first a role play between @nervouswizardcycle and me, I convert into better reading flow afterwards which takes a lot of time. So you won't receive notifications that often. But in this way you hopefully won't miss out on it when I post them.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?/WHERE CAN I READ IT?

I will not make a long text post here, neither put it on ao3 or any other fanfic site. Gonna make a picture post instead that adds maybe a little teaser text and then link it to an uploaded pdf that will be stored on my personal google drive. You can read it online or download and read whenever you like/find time! :3

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

For those who do not know: It is set after the events of Cyberpunk 2077 and starts in January 2078. Arki, the main character, recovered from the game events (so he's V). All that happened in 2077 only set the ball for his story rolling so he's on his way to find out about his missing past. My boys who work together as a merc team (Vijay, Ryder, Hizumi in the beginning; Jay and Thyjs join later), happen to help Arki on his journey, he becomes a part of the team as well and together they find out things they never could have imagined and everything is connected. It might have the one or other flashback with Johnny in it as well as Arki used to be deeply connected with him and my boys two might get some. None of my boys is a V - even though Vijay goes with the name 'V' – and none of them knows the official npcs Arki has met except for: Jackie, Misty and Vic. They've heard (and maybe seen) of some famous names tho (e.g. Rogue, Kerry). It can happen we integrate a few other ocs that belong to friends/mutuals of us – either by just mentioning them, or they even might get their own appearance if managable to integrate – this is stil a tbd, tho and I will reach out and ask first ofc! I can definitely say @gloryride's Vanessa and Enzo will be mentioned/appear. Vanessa is part of V's and Ry's friend circle and their local fixer. She's also Ryder's neighbor in the Glen. Enzo is Jay's bf, so their names will definitely fall for sure. But as said I'll reach out and ask first if allowed and nothing is set in stone yet either as we are still at the start but have rough ideas that could be integrated.

BUT I ALREADY KNOW CHAPTER ONE AND TWO?!

There might be a few of you who remember the first versions of them, as about 1 1/2 years or so ago I posted them here as simple text posts but it was way shorter, less detailed. We've gone over some parts and it's definitely worth a new read now!

—

FURTHER PLANS/IDEAS?

too many to count, my list is neverending. I have not forgotten of my vp ideas but they are put on hold for a bit bc the story needs to be rolled out first or it will never happen.

I definitely want to redo the past looks of Ryder and Vijay (they will stay like they are, just a few details changed on them and their outfits) and add the ones of Jay and Thyjs as well.

And I want to focus on Jay's tattoos as they will change into the Japanese themed one done by Kala but I need to edit them a bit (thankfully it is allowed) with Glory's help so it fits to Jay. And hopefully we can solve the layer problem so his glowing tattoo still glows bc it is essential for the story xD

Alright, I'm done :)

#cyberpunk 2077 #wip wednesday #wip whenever #Cyberpunk 2078 – pandemonium #long post

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alialioxenfreeee · 6 days ago

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After 85 hours I've finally finished DA:TV for the first time! And I need somewhere just to throw out my thoughts. Will tag spoilers appropriately of course + will post it under the cut to be safe. SORRY IN ADVANCE, THIS POST IS LONG. I HAVE A *LOT* OF FEELINGS.

So before I yeet all of my emotions into writing I want to immediately say that overall I did enjoy Veilguard, very much, and I don't regret buying/playing it for a second.

The first few quests I remember feeling how happy I was to be back in Thedas and it felt really good. I made an effort before its release to ignore pretty much any discussion, good or bad about veilguard because I didn't want to go in with any swayed expectations. And I think that helped me enjoy the game so much more.

Won't go through everything I liked because this post would be fucking gigantic (and it's already BIG) , but overall the companions were great, loved the quests, the areas were beautiful (Treviso my beloved) and the supporting cast was great too.

Now to the...other bits.

To start I have to mention the development hell this game went through. I remember in the years prior reading how many hands this thing changed, all the Bioware cuts etc and saying "Oh this is never going to release." And the Dragon Age story overall, with all its characters and side plots and backstories, is BIG. And they were NEVER going to fit everything from the past three games into Veilguard. To cover all of the loose ends likely would have needed another half of the game, to at least do it well.

Of course this doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed with the way some things went. How a lot of prior choices weren't carried over and characters were straight up retconned (goodnight Kieran, sweet prince).

But I think the devs needed to make a choice between actually trying to give DA a decent shot at "ending" (I'll get to that) and going back and tying up every loose end from the past 4 games. And there were a LOT of those left in every game prior. I did genuinely think we'd have Fenris maybe mentioned in the Shadow Dragons for example, that he was out there shoving fists through Venatori bodies etc. But they were never going to cater to every single person's wishes in regards to who they brought back. It sucks, but that's how it is.

I also wish, very VERY much that The Warden was at LEAST mentioned somewhere. Even if it's a small cameo. Last we heard they're out (sometimes with their love interest depending on choices) looking for a cure for the Blight. I did like the cameo of the chalice in the Joining, and how it was one of the few things recovered from Weisshaupt. But just some mention, even if it's a letter or a report or something that they're out there would be nice. Maybe they send The Wardens what information they've found and you uncover a very small but slightly better way at defeating the blight. Obvs Hawke had their moment in DA:I and the Inquisitor had their moment here but it would be nice to have a nod of recognition for the one who started this whole thing off.

One last bit before I get to the ending rant but as a lot of people have already pointed out, I do wish that we got just a little more interaction with our Love Interests. Also, not sure if I was just unlucky (I romanced Lucanis, it was...slower than I expected BUT I don't regret it ultimately) but I got FAR more "hang out" mini quests with Taash and Davrin than I did with Lucanis, my LI. I did enjoy those mini quests, but even the ability to share a small moment with them like in Inquisition (a lil' smooch!) would have been nice.

hhh okay the ending.

IT WAS........okay????

We were, admittedly, warned before the game even came out that there would be "sacrifices" and that "not everyone may survive" but...the way that you had to choose between Davrin or Harding to die defending you was harsh. I think they were trying to stress the seriousness and danger of the situation, given that in DA:I for the most part everyone survives fine.

This was (at the time to everyone's knowledge) the LAST DA game, so they had to really up the danger factor. But because of how little time the team had to stop Elgar'nan's plan, there was little to no time to reflect and absorb the losses. The team points this out too, but even after the game ENDS there isn't a chance to run around the Lighthouse one more time and have some aftermath chats. I get that the deaths / kidnappings were used to push Rook forward in a way, to show that they weren't trapped in their Regrets like Solas was, but for me it didn't have the weight that I think it should have.

The Evanuris / Stopping Solas bit I actually didn't mind. I got the "Secret" ending and putting in the time to learn about Solas, to defeating (or convincing) Mythal to help put a good word in etc wasn't a bad way to wrap it up! Maybe because I am one of the few people who isn't a solasmancer lmao, but I was actually okay with how all of that culminated.

I mentioned it prior but GOD I wish we got the chance to at least run around The Lighthouse one last time after it was all done, or just something other than the quick slideshow recap. I quite literally (not kidding here) yelled "THAT WAS IT?" at my screen when I got taken back to the main menu lmao. I have so many questions left yknow? Like, is Neve (The one that got kidnapped / blighted for me) still blighted, or did they figure that out? Her mention in the slideshow doesn't cover it. And although yeah, your team got to have one last moment with you before the final fight, I really wanted to chat with them again after it was over, especially my Love Interest! It would have been cathartic. Rook never really got that moment to finally deal with all this grief and pressure and stress that they'd been carrying and I think it would have "humanized" them a bit if they had such a moment.

And in regards to the "Secret" ending bit...

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh??????? So there's some even MORE secret bad guys who were pulling the strings on all the other antagonists from the past few games?? It's like that meme in the church where there's constantly another shooter aiming at the last one in front of them.

I don't really know how to feel about this. I'm sat here thinking back through all the previous games' antagonists and how apparently it wasn't completely their own will and decision to do what they did, but that they were ALL being secretly guided and influenced? I can SEE (mainly in Veilguard) the tiny little glimmers of foreshadowing. The "Storm" thing the original Qunari ran from, what Anaris was afraid of etc. But they'd already retconned a lot for Veilguard alone and now it feels like a lot of what made the past games great is going to be changed, slightly.

It's far too early to really tell, of course. Bioware have said they're now 100% focused on ME5 (And I am weeping with joy as it's my favourite game series of all time) and ofc they haven't even so much as mentioned a sequel (probably the execs need to see how well Veilguard does and will make a decision based off of that) but...I guess we'll see!

As I mentioned, way, WAY earlier (if you've actually come this far I am so sorry. I just needed somewhere to dump my thoughts. Tysm for actually reading my rambles) that OVERALL I did enjoy DATV. It wasn't a perfect game by any means but I am very thankful for them continuing DA's story, even if it's not completely the way we expected / wanted.

They have mentioned there are zero plans for a DLC but god I think it would help, like a mini Citadel DLC. Catch up with companions and supporting characters, have better scenes with Romantic Interests, give your Rook the moments they deserve to really process and come to terms with everything that's happened. But I guess, there's always fanfics!

Okay that's pretty much it. Sorry again for the giant walls of text, but I needed this lmao. Aaaaand just as I finish this I see that they released an N7 Day Jacket for the game, ffs. Time to replay, I GUESS.

(Not yet though, the FFXIV update is around the corner and I need to deal with THAT, first.)

#dragon age the veilguard #veilguard spoilers #datv spoilers #dragon age the veilguard spoilers #dragon age spoilers #rambles and thoughts

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