#amazing mirror's ai SUCKS

[cobwebinthecorner]

the button is right there guys

i called you over because it's literally impossible to do this on my own

for fuck's sake, someone press it

[vermilionsun]

Since we’re doing part twos👀 Could you write more nsfw hcs for leander and ais? <3

Yes I can Yes I will Yes I did 💃

Ais

Aka choose one hair colour challenge failed

✩ Topping from the bottom

Self-explanatory. “Gives it almost as well as he takes it,” but he’s in charge babe, you stand no chance. He’ll treat you good though, don’t worry—

✩ Facefucking

YOUR FACE OR HIS, he doesn’t really mind. He knows to appreciate a good blowjob and loves having his mouth stuffed full of you. Man doesn’t ask for much. Plus he thinks it hot watching you manhandle him.

✩ 69

I see this man having an oral fixation—I can’t explain it. Sit on his face and suck him. As tiring as it is rewarding.

✩ M I R R O R S

He’ll be sitting on the edge of the bed, you on his lap, your back facing him. His veiny hands keep your thighs open as he makes you watch yourself bounce on him in the mirror and struggle to keep your balance and pace. Delicious.

✩ Pillow Prince(ss)

Let him treat you, okay?

✩ Comfort Sex

hEAR ME OUT WAIT— This man will never fuck you while he’s angry. That goes against a couple hundred of his moral codes, plus he would never want to hurt you. But, after some time, if things are getting heated, he will be slow, sensual, careful. He’ll apologise if he’s at fault. He’ll hold your hand and leave soft murmurs on the crook of your neck, kiss away any tears that might leave your eyes. Same goes if he knows you had had a rough day, accompanied by enough praises to make you see stars.

✩ S H O W E R

✩ Seasping

ON THAT NOTE— If he’s lying inside the waters of the Seaspring, presumably looking at the wall, and you climb in alongside him, well… He won’t bother to hide the gigantic smirk on his face that rivals the size of his boobs as he pulls you on his lap. It also serves as an amazing opportunity for a not-so-subtle fuck you to to Ocudeus.

✩ Exhibitionism–ish

He’d fuck you happily infront of a crowd to prove a point (with your consent of course). He’d take any chance thrown his way to brag about how amazing his partner is.

✩ Remote Control Vibrators

There has to be an alternative to that in the Touchstarved universe, right? Oh, that bastard’s smirk when he suddenly presses it to the highest setting from across the room while you’re in the middle of a conversation.

✩ Against the Table

✩ Spontaneous Sex

He’s definitely the type to randomly return home/come find you “because he’s horny.”

✩ Caught

He won’t stop his actions, just look at the person who walked in on you with a “what do you want?” look. Could easily pick up a conversation while fucking his partner’s brains out, 100%

✩ Up Skirt/Panties to the side

✩ Car

RIP Ais, you’d love late night car rides and car sex afterwards.

Leander

Aka the Nile is a river in Egypt

🗡  Nipple Play

This man’s tits are MASSIVE. Treat them well. Suck on them, twist and pull on them, make him cry.

🗡  Masochism

Self-explanatory.

🗡  Anal Toys

Previously mentioned he’s an ass guy, so make everyone a favour and ruin his ass (literally). B̶e̶a̶d̶s̶ w̶i̶l̶l̶ d̶o̶ t̶h̶e̶ j̶o̶b̶ j̶u̶s̶t̶ f̶i̶n̶e̶

🗡  RIDE HIM &

🗡  PULL HIS HAIR

Sit on his lap, pull his hair and force him to look at you while you ride his soul out of his dick. He’ll thank you once he’ll be able to speak again—give him a couple w̶e̶e̶k̶s̶ days though.

🗡  Magic

Of course, I will elaborate. If he can make flowers of light out of thin air, he most definitely can use his magic for other things, even to a small degree. A restraint, a shock of pleasure, and he most definitely will comply if asked (̶s̶h̶o̶w̶-̶o̶f̶f̶)̶.

🗡  Sleepy

Wake him up with a blowjob once, and you’ll have to continue that routine for the rest of both your lives. He’ll be completely bewitched, still groggy as me moans lowly and oh damn that deep morning voice…

🗡  Gag

It’s both hilarious and incredibly turning on. Try that with your panties, and the man has already cummed.

🗡  Lingerie

Talking about panties… The moment he lays his eyes on you and your fancy little outfit, he swallows dryly. His eyes go dark, and he has to reposition himself because he’s so hard. You’d expect him to rip them off of you immediately, but instead, he guides you to stand in front of his spread–out legs, his hands slowly trailing up your thighs to your ass and waist, feeling the way your skin transitions to the material, his chin resting against your stomach as you pet his hair.

“May I?”

“May you, what?”

“May I take these off?” He tugs at the fabric to make his point. “Please?”

M̶o̶n̶t̶h̶s̶ u̶n̶t̶i̶l̶ y̶o̶u̶ w̶a̶l̶k̶ n̶o̶r̶m̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶.

🗡  Cumming Untouched

Too easy to achieve with this man.

🗡  Under the desk

The bar, specifically. It’s beyond amusing watching him try to keep his composure in front of the patrons while you’re sucking him off so beautifully.

🗡  G̶l̶o̶r̶y̶ H̶o̶l̶e̶

He̶ w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶, o̶k̶a̶y̶?̶!̶ D̶o̶n̶'t̶ c̶o̶m̶e̶ a̶t̶ m̶e̶

🗡  Candle/Wax Play

He had set them up to make a “romantic atmosphere” but the second your eyes darted to the candle closest to you while you were on top of him… yeah, he might have slightly regretted his decision (s̶p̶o̶i̶l̶e̶r̶s̶:̶ h̶e̶ d̶i̶d̶n̶'t̶ a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ a̶n̶d̶ y̶o̶u̶ d̶i̶d̶ i̶t̶ a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶).

🗡  Public Humiliation

It’s literally canon.

🗡  Caught Masturbating

“Come on darling, won’t you help me a little?”

[wishmaster]

AI 2.0

I had been playing around with these new Ai art programs online, creating amazingly gorgeous guys. But soon I began to wish that they were real, that I was one of them, I wanted so badly just to be able to type words in a program and suddenly I'd become one of them. Suddenly a new APP appeared on my phone.

Interesting Icon, I thought, Wishmaster AI it read.

Do you wish to use program, the amazing Wish Master Avatar asked. I clicked yes and suddenly I found myself covered in head to toe leather, even my face was covered at this point.

Enter your wish Description. A text box opened, I felt a charge flow trough me as I decided what it was I wanted to become. Then I remembered what I was doing in the other program so I typed the same thing:

handsome. 21 year old college male in full total leather, tight pants, biker boots. tight leather gloves bad boys with loving mates. popular. teen idols. bad ass. popular. famous. good looking. ear rings. scally. chav. bad boy.

I nervously hit entered and suddenly the leather began to burn. Within seconds the mask fell off of me and the new me was staring back through a nearby mirror.

Oi, suddenly the fookin beautiful stud was staring back at me, surrounded by his equally sexy mates, all of us now in tight leather for life. If I could have I would have fooked myself right there, my cock now strained my blue jean leather pants. I made one of my mates suck it, after all i was the leader of these scally chavs so they had to do what I said. My new broken English heavy accent bothered me some but a damn ok price to pay for this amazing new look and life.

FUCK YEAH MATE! I shouted as I cam in my mates mouth, he enjoyed every last drop.

If you can download that new app and make your dreams Cum true.

[jasper-rolls]

Media Roundup (January 2024)

i started doing a thing on twitter in 2022 where i make a short review of the stuff i'm checking out. i've stopped doing it on twitter because twitter sucks, and started on bluesky instead, but i also realized i could translate it to tumblr, and why haven't i done that before because this is the OG, man, can't forget my roots.

so without further ado, STUFF I LOOKED AT THIS JANUARY!!

MARIO KART WII

I'm using tilt controls! The pain is neverending!

what an awful time. i really remembered enjoying this as a kid, but i'm baffled at how. no game in the series has been this bad in being a total crapshoot whether you win or not. even in 100cc, the game was absolutely exploding my fucking spot for the crime of being in like...5th place. the item balancing on this game is completely broken in the AI's favour, and combined with the wonkiness of the tilt controls, made for a genuinely miserable experience.

Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror - Harold Budd and Brian Eno

so, a bit more of the same as the first album of the series, but i'm happy to go along with a bit more of the same considering they were basically establishing the genre here. a relaxing soundscape you can chill out to

best tracks: "An Arc of Doves", "Among Fields of Crystal"

The Great Gatsby (2013)

i think i just stan for baz luhrmann. love too meld modern music with art deco aesthetics and depict the rise and fall of an era of glorious decadence. hey is it gay to be uncomfortably obsessed with a guy you knew for all of one summer

Ambient 3: Day of Radiance - Laraaji

i think maybe my favourite of the series thus far, taking ambient from a traditional instruments direction rather than the pillowy electronic notes of the other entries. it results in a unique soundscape that i don't think you get in a lot of other places - it feels like meditating in a temple.

best tracks: "The Dance #1", "Meditation #1"

Chapterhouse Dune - Frank Herbert

is it weird to say that i find this thematically a fine end to the series despite the cliffhanger? it feels like frank herbert managed to make a summation of the dune philosophy in this. also probably the best a book has ever passed the bechdel test. women do be politically manipulating

The Get Down

feels like an actual crime that this never ended up getting a season 2. so fantastically good with the soundtrack to end all soundtracks, and gave me an appreciation for hip-hop that i'd not really had prior to now. this show is amazing at getting you to understand the art, Capital A Art of mixing and scratching. the magic is real

Pokémon Emerald

there are some mild hitches in the user experience (please shed the fucking item limit, and also three water HMs is too fucking many) but overall i think this is where these games start to solidify into something truly great. the way the world design and main path encouraged backtracking to discover new stuff in old places was really nice compared to the previous gens where you just went to a place, did all the stuff and then left forever. additionally, there's some unique locales - water heavy it may be but you ain't getting a city in the trees in johto. along with a fairly involved story all things considered, and a difficulty curve that doesn't blow your dick off, its a great time

Elvis (2022)

i'll kind of never not love baz's OTT style and off the wall music choices, and austin butler is a fantastic elvis, but this fudges the details too much for me to truly jive with it i think

Scott Pilgrim - Bryan Lee O'Malley

really should have read this earlier than i did - almost my entire conception of this series was via the movie, and while i loved it at the time, it just ends up doing such an injustice to the original story. multiple times i found myself yelling "WHY WASN'T THIS IN THE MOVIE", ramona gets such a shaft in the film than how deeply she's developed here. what a fantastic series

Ambient 4: On Land - Brian Eno

a darker take on ambient. it's nice to know that even this early in the genre eno was exploring its boundaries. i think 3 remains the favourite, but this was an interesting experiment

best track: "The Lost Day"

Tales of Destiny

i think partly this is because i played the remake of phantasia which came out after this, but it feels stiff and awkward to play - not unbearable, but they're still working out the kinks. plot was interesting to start but ended up kinnnd of generic in the end. i would say it needed more time in the oven to take true advantage of its story, but it turns out the english PSX version cut out like...half the fucking content from the OG, so i guess i'll have to play the director's cut remake to find out whether this game truly shines

---------

and that's it for now. see you at the end of feb

[faery-snow]

I posted 1,354 times in 2022

That's 1 more post than 2021!

13 posts created (1%)

1,341 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@accio-victuuri

@rainbowsky

@starsxinxthexbluexsky

@wwx-lwj-ai-ni

@theusernameiwantedwastakenlol

I tagged 1,341 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#the untamed - 463 posts

#cql - 249 posts

#wangxian - 241 posts

#yizhan - 203 posts

#mdzs - 195 posts

#xiao zhan - 184 posts

#wang yibo - 166 posts

#lol - 106 posts

#beautiful - 78 posts

#cql cast - 72 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#pretty sure it was yibo since in a post-filming cql promo interview xiao zhan was asked if anything good had happened to him bc of the role

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

It's from the show couple of mirrors and it's a wlw show! It's really cool! You can find it on youtube under 'couple of mirrors'.

I HAVE JUST FINISHED IT AND IT’S AMAZING!!!!

Republican-era China: 1930s style and swag and even some boogying. It starts out looking like it’s going to be a family drama, but quickly gains murderous edges. O_O

It covers emotional abuse and gaslighting. It shows a woman who sticks to her convictions even when the world is against her. It shows a world where children belong to the one who births them. It has epic 1930s spy movie vibes.And yes, the lesbians both get a happy ending.

It’s on Youtube and Amazon Prime. It is a must-see.

Thank you so much for telling me about this, anon. You are a star <3

3 notes - Posted March 8, 2022

#4

Being in the MDZS fandom means 🌄 morning sex and 🪦 mourning sex are both viable tags and you'll never know if the author mistyped until you read the fic

6 notes - Posted October 20, 2022

#3

Best Independent News re: China

Guys, I love the news site What's On Weibo. I use it to keep up with the larger mind of Chinese society and where it's at. How they feel about their government's handling of "Zero Covid" lockdowns. The events in Tangshan where several women were beaten by men in a restaurant, and how netizens reacted. What shows and movies are big hits right now.

Everything from the heavy to the light, current news to social movements to entertainment.

I particularly like that their articles are about the people, not the government. You get the broader view, seeing how the people aren't a homogenous group agreeing with the PRC, but rather a patchwork of many beliefs and views and thoughts and voices.

I highly recommend What's On Weibo to other international fans of Chinese culture, entertainment, etc.. They're one of my favorite independent news orgs that has reliable info about China, and which lacks the typical Western bias against all things Chinese.

Personally, I'm a very satisfied reader. They're currently free of outside influence--no political or commercial groups funding them, no larger news org controlling them. They're looking for independent funding from readers so they can continue in that vein.

Anyone interested in supporting independent coverage of China, look no further :)

7 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

#2

The "cool girl" Liu Yuxin

I emerged from a haze of doctors' appointments (seeing medical specialists every 5.3 days for the last 2 months and yes I looked at my calendar and then used a calculator to figure that out STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT)--to watch the first episode of SDC season 5!

I'm using the method of watching the non-subbed full episode and the subbed talking-only bits simultaneously, switching back and forth between them on my computer. Which sucks, yes, but the Youku app didn't work for me. The talking-only portion isn't actually all of the talking, which sucks further. I'll rewatch when the full subbed episode is available.

I cracked up when Liu Yuxin talked about being apparently "cold" and unreactive.

Just like Yibo has been accused of in the past, lol! A bland smile, or no expression at all, that's her default. She's very calm and level about things. I like that about her a lot.

Of course, being told you're not emotive lands very differently for a woman* than for a man. Luckily, they don't make a big/gendered deal of it, just some light ribbing from the interviewer/editing team--no different than we've seen Yibo get for his same lack of effusion.

*I'm using woman and she/her for her because that's what she goes by in entertainment circles. In her personal life, she may be an androgynous woman or she may identify as nonbinary, I don't know. But that's the thing: I don't know. I don't want to make assumptions of queerness (although maybe we ought, since we make assumptions of straightness and cisness all the time).

Just like Yibo, of course, she has her moments of surprising emotion. When she sees a particularly awesome move, for example. She's very cool and I'm a little in love with her.

See the full post

15 notes - Posted September 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

WWX: I have this idea--

LWJ: That is the stupidest idea I have heard.

LWJ: I will come with you.

-later-

LWJ: I feel like I am doing something dumb by being here.

WWX: Then why are you still here?

LWJ: I did not say I minded.

WWX, having a revelation: I'm dumb, do me.

*stupid idea promptly abandoned*

51 notes - Posted April 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[marvelmaniac715]

@candy-dot-org This was too long to fit into a comment, but basically, a company called House of Illuminati promised an incredible, fantastical experience partially inspired by Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka character, only slightly changed due to copyright. But the website was filled with AI generated images and all of the text was AI generated, just like this script. They charged guests £35 (around $44 I think, I’m not American) for the pleasure, and when they arrived… it was a warehouse with a bouncy castle, a few plastic props, mirrors and pictures stuck to the walls. There was no chocolate, the children only got a single jellybean and half a glass of lemonade each. There were three Wonka actors who had to take turns, and they actually weren’t allowed the lemonade and jellybeans - one of them ate lunch alone in their car - and there was only one attraction that people talk about, the Imagination Lab, manned by an exhausted woman dressed as an Oompa Loompa. Many Breaking Bad memes have been made about that. The Unknown was an original character created for the event, and according to one actor, the Unknown was supposed to get sucked up by a vacuum cleaner, but there wasn’t one available so that part of the script was cut. He was meant to be an evil chocolate maker who lived in the walls, but in reality he just slowly crept out from behind a mirror and made children cry. A lot of people weren’t happy, refunds were demanded and when they weren’t given the police was called. The man behind all of this is no stranger to AI usage, he makes his money by promising amazing events that are just lacklustre attempts to recreate AI images and AI generated text, and he ‘writes’ books, and all of his books, from the plot to the author bio to the words on the pages, are generated by AI. So that’s the lore behind the Glasgow Willy’s Chocolate Experience, I’m just in a state of bewildered awe.

The script for Willy’s Chocolate Experience really blows my mind:

Even the audience has their responses scripted, it’s so odd.

[regrettablemeasure]

Cyberpunk 2077 non-spoiler review

Anyways here’s my writeup about my least favorite parts of 2077 for people who are interested in seeing if it’s for them. Both going to talk about content as well as gameplay. This is for PC version, too, because I know last gen consoles are suffering terribly rn and I wouldn’t recommend the game if you’re not going to be playing on PC. At least not until it’s on sale or the issues have been resolved. It really, really shouldn’t have been released on last gen consoles at all in my opinion - or at least should’ve been released on consoles LATER.

If you like Saints Row, GTA, Mass Effect, Shadowrun, or the Cyberpunk genre in general - I definitely think this is something you might want to take a peek at! I wasn’t anticipating the game until about a month or two before release - so maybe that’s why I’m having a blast - but It’s one of my favorite stories from the past decade as far as sci-fi goes. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and It’s really impressed me. I can’t even go into detail about all the things I LOVE because I really want folks to experience it themselves. Just know there’s a very intricately detailed world, all the characters are memorable and insanely well realized and complex, and the story is great fun. Also made me cry like 5 times. It’s become one of my FAVORITE games very quickly.

I’d also recommend Neon Arcade if you want someone who’s been covering the game for quite a while, including the technical and game industry aspect. He does well to go into some detail and even though he’s a fan, I’ve found him to be largely unbiased. I’m not going to go into industry politics here because I feel that’s up for everyone to decide on their own terms.

No spoilers, things to keep in mind, content warnings, etc. below!

CONTENT WARNINGS and issues with plot/story

this setting is dark. very dark. if you struggle stomaching things like dystopian landscapes, body horror, physical, mental and sexual abuse, corporate and gang violence, abuse of children, harsh language, and concepts that mess with the perception of reality - this game might not be for you. It’s a very mature setting, and I don’t mean that in the Adult Swim kind of way. I mean it in the ‘oh shit, it went there’ way. In my opinion I haven’t run across anything in it that was handled distastefully when it dipped into the depressing, but dark and gritty isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and I wanted to give a disclaimer.

The game’s universe in advertising and working for the lower class also exploits sex/sex work quite a bit. This is part of the lore itself because in this universe everyone’s become desensitized to sex and violence to the point that marketing embraces it and makes it ridiculous. I feel it’s very obvious that it doesn’t condone this message and is instead a commentary on consumerism - but people still might be uncomfortable seeing a lot of suggestive stuff all over the place regardless. 

Women in game are naked more often than men - even though there is nudity for both. This is likely a mix of appealing to the Gamer Boy demographic (even though the story does NOT actually), or the fact that media is way more cool with seeing naked women than seeing full frontal nudity on men. They probably had to tone some of it down to avoid going above an M rating. 

The story is amazing, but sometimes it dumps a lot onto you at once. It’s one of those sci-fi stories that you have to really be following the names, faces, and concepts continually to get it all down. There’s a lot of betrayal, background players, etc. I think by the mid-way point I’d mostly had it, but It’s pretty dense. However it’s still amazing. You might just need two playthroughs before every tiny detail clicks - because there’s a LOT of details. 

Honestly I think it would help to read up on the lore first so you’re not going ‘what’ constantly. But people have seemed to manage fine without that also! Neon Arcade has a really nice series of videos (like 2 or 3) that get you up to speed with the universe. It also helps you decide if the tone is right for you. 

I think the main story should’ve been longer, also. I don’t mind a 20 hr story, especially in a massive RPG, but It feels like they really struggled to cram as much into that time frame as possible. It skirts the edge of being nice and concise, snappy, and tight - and needing just a few more moments to take a breath and wait a second. This is helped if you do a lot of side quests.

The straight male romance option, River, is INCREDIBLY well written but he doesn’t tie into the main plot in any way whatsoever. It’s very strange and feels like they either ran out of time with him, or slapped together a romance with him at the last second. All the other romances at least know what’s going on with V’s story - meanwhile River has no idea, and you can never tell him. He’s an amazing guy though and I highly recommend his questline. He appears in ACT 2.

In general I’d say not to bother with the romances. There are only 4 total, and while the romancible characters on their own are really well written, the romances themselves are just kinda meh. One romance you don’t even meet until act 3. I don’t think they should’ve been included in the game at all, because they definitely don’t feel as fleshed out as everything else. 

CDPR also sometimes forget that women players or gay men exist. Panam and Judy have a lot more content than River and Kerry for example. I don’t think this is intentional, they just have a large fanbase of dudebros. It only shows in the romance content and the nudity thing though.

Johnny, Takemura, and Claire should’ve been romances and I will fight to the death on that. 

There are gay and trans characters in the game and their stories don’t revolve around their sexualities. It’s very Fallout: New Vegas in it’s approach to characters: IE. you’re going to love them. All of them. 

V’s gender isn’t locked to their body type or their genitals- but to to their voice. I don’t think it’s the best solution they could’ve used but given how the game is heavily voice acted I assume that was what they had to work with. 

Some of the romances are locked to both cis voices AND body types (not genitals if I recall but body shapes). That’s disappointing but I assume it was because of scripted scene issues and/or ignorance on the dev’s part considering the LGBT NPCS are so AMAZINGLY done. There’s no homophobic or transphobic language in the game - though there are gendered curse words and insults if that bothers you. 

Some characters MAY suffer from ‘bilingual people don’t talk like that’ syndrome. But it can be hard to say for sure given that translators exist in this universe and the way they operate aren’t fully described. It’s only momentarily distracting, not enough to take away from how charming the NPCs are.

The endings are really good don’t get me wrong but I want fix it fic :(. All of the endings out of like 6 (?) in the game are bittersweet. 

Both gender V’s are very good but female V’s voice acting is out of this world. If you don’t know what voice to go with/are neutral I’d highly recommend female V. Male V is charming and good but he feels much more monotone compared to female V. 

V has their own personality. To some this won’t be a detractor - but a lot of people thought they’d be making absolutely everything from the ground up. V is more of a commander shepard or geralt than a skyrim or d&d pc, if that makes sense. You can customize and influence them to a HUGE degree, some aspects of V will always be the same.

Streetkid is the most boring background - at least for it’s introduction/prologue.

GAMEPLAY/TECHNICAL

If you can run your game on ultra, don’t. It actually looks best with a mix of high and medium settings. Unless you have a beast that has ray-tracing - then by all means use ray tracing and see how absolutely insanely good it looks.

There are color blind modes for the UI, but not for some of the AI/Netrunning segments in cutscenes. Idk how much this will effect folks with colorblindness but those segments are thankfully short. 

There was an issue with braindances being an epilepsy trigger because for some reason they decided to mirror the flashing pattern after real epilepsy tests - probably because it ‘looks cool’. I don’t have epilepsy but it even hurt my eyes and gave me a headache. Massive oversight and really goddamn weird. Thankfully this was fixed.

There is no driving AI. Like at all. If you leave your car in the street the traffic is just going to pile up behind it. It’s one of the very few immersion breaking things I’ve encountered.

Sometimes when an NPC is driving with you in the car, they’ll drive on the curb and/or run into people. It’s kind of funny but can occasionally result in something weird. Feels very GTA  - but nothing excruciating. 

The camera angle feels a little too low in first person mode when driving on cars. You get used to it though. 

The police in this game feel slapped on and I hope they improve it. Right now if you commit a crime, you can never tell what will actually trigger it. And if you just run away a few blocks the police forget about it. 

Bikes are just way more fun to ride than the cars are. 

You CANNOT respec your character after you make them. Ever. it sucks. Go in with an idea ahead of time what you wanna do - it’s better than being a jack of all trades.

as of now you also CANNOT change their appearance after you exit the character creator. This, also, sucks. Make sure you REALLY like your V or you’re gonna be replaying the openings over and over like I did. 

Photomode on PC is the N key. Had to look it up. The mode itself is great though

Shooting and Mele fighting feel pretty standard. I don’t have a lot of shooter experience besides Bethesda games so anything feels better than that to me. So far I’ve enjoyed stealth and mele the best, but that’s just my own taste! The combat and driving aren’t groundbreaking by any means, but they’re still very fun. I look forward to running at people with swords or mantis blades, and zipping around the city on a motorcycle to see the sights. The story, lore, and interesting quests and characters are the real draw here.

I haven’t encountered any game breaking bugs in 80-ish hours of play time. One or two T-poses, a few overlays not loading or floating objects - but nothing terrible. Again, my experience is with Bethesda games. This is all usually fixed by either opening your inventory and closing it again, or exiting out and reloading your save. 

The C button is mapped for crouching AND skipping dialogue by default. That’s terrible. Change it in the settings to be HOLDING C skips dialogue and you’ll be gucci.

There’s apparently a crafting system. I have never been inclined to touch it. But I also play on easy like a pleb so IDK how it all scales otherwise.

The mirror reflections can be a little bit weird, at least on my end. They always end up a teeny bit grainy despite my computer being able to run everything on Ultra Max. You can still get good screens out of it though!

So many people text me to sell me cars and I want them to stop. Please. also the texting menu is abysmal. The rest is ok tho

It’s pretty clear when you’re going to go into a ‘cutscene’. all cutscenes are rendered in-engine BUT you often will be talking to other characters at a specific angle or setting. The game locks you into this usually by having you sit down. It works for me - after all we do a lot of sitting- but it IS very obvious that it’s a way for the game to get you in the frame it wants to display.

That’s all I can think of rn! If you’re interested but wanted to get a slightly better idea of whats going on, I hope this helps. I’m really enjoying it and despite my issues it’s exceeding my expectations. I’m going to be thinking about and replaying this game for quite a while. 

[bamon4bamily]

TVD 9x11 - Jukebox Feels (part 1) Enjoy! =)

Cut to - 2018 prison world, the Salvatore mansion. Katherine walks through the front door, dazed and confused. She must be having a nightmare, she thinks to herself; this can’t be happening, she can’t possibly be where she thinks she is. Although her intuition tells her the contrary, she gives it a shot, on the slim chance it might not be true…

KATHERINE: Hello? Anyone there? (She searches the house; as expected, it’s empty. She tries different techniques to escape the situation. Pinches herself to wake up, nothing. Taps her feet together, and with her eyes closed whispers: There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home… doesn’t work either). Maybe if I go to sleep, I’ll wake up and everything will be back to normal… Yes, I need to sleep (she goes into Stefan’s room, puts on one of his pajamas and lies in his bed. Not even a minute in, and she’s off dreaming of sheep.

Cut to – Akumal, Mexico. After a beautiful moonlight dinner, Damon and Bonnie sit on the beach, admiring the full moon’s glow, and some real good tequila.

 DAMON: (Randomly) Truth or dare…

BONNIE: (Laughs) Are you serious?

DAMON: I’m dead serious, come on, scaredy-cat!

BONNIE: Please! I just don’t want to humiliate you, cry-baby!

DAMON: Oh, it’s on! Brace yourself for defeat!

BONNIE: Bring it!

DAMON: One rule, no magic or psychy stuff!

BONNIE: Fine, no vamp tricks.

DAMON: Deal. Truth or dare?

BONNIE: Dare.

DAMON: I’ll start easy, (smirks) don’t want you loosing so fast. I dare you to take a shot of tequila while doing a handstand.

BONNIE: Piece of cake! (Delivers to perfection) My turn, truth or dare?

DAMON: Truth.

BONNIE: Okay, let’s settle this once and for all; do you steal from the bank when we play monopoly?

DAMON: (Grins) Not every time…

BONNIE: (Whacks him with her elbow) I knew it!

DAMON: What can I say, Bon, too much temptation. Okay, truth or dare?

BONNIE: Dare.

DAMON: I’m sensing a pattern here, but suit yourself. I dare you to go up to one of the people at the bar and tell them, in a very low and creepy voice, I see dead people…

BONNIE: I’m gonna get you back for this one! (Although hesitant, she delivers; freaking the hell out of the poor soul unfortunate to be approached by her. They go back to their spot) Okay, Mr. smarty pants. My turn, truth or dare… and you better choose dare!

DAMON: Dare… I say truth!

BONNIE: I’ll break you, eventually. What is the most embarrassing thing in your room?

DAMON: Oh, you’re going there! You already know the answer…

BONNIE: I do, but I want to hear you say it.

DAMON: Fine, my unicorn onesies.

BONNIE: With a butt crack… can’t forget the butt crack (she laughs)!

DAMON: They’re cozy! Okay, missy, shit just got real! Truth or dare…

BONNIE: I’m going with truth; just cause I know you’ll make me do some crazy shit after that one.  

DAMON: (With a wicked grin, rubbing his hands) Excellent…  What is your guilty pleasure?

BONNIE: Oh, come on! You know that…

DAMON: I do, but I also want to hear you say it, so, go on…

BONNIE: Fine… occasionally I like to dress up like Whitney Houston in the Queen of the Night video from the Bodyguard, and perform in front of the mirror…

DAMON: Occasionally? More like every other Sunday... and it’s HOT AF!  

BONNIE: Can’t believe you caught me doing that!

DAMON: One of my fondest prison world memories! I have to hand it to you, Bon, you really got creative with the costume.

BONNIE: I’ve perfected it since then… Well, there, I said it! Happy now?

DAMON: Never been happier… (leans in to kiss her) and you are, beyond a doubt, the queen of the night…

BONNIE: Don’t think for a second that’s gonna get you out of what’s coming…Truth or dare?

DAMON: I’m a mix it up and go with dare.

BONNIE: (With a wicked grin, rubbing her hands) Been waiting for that since we started.

DAMON: I’m instantly regretting my decision.

BONNIE: (Laughs) Oh, and you should! You’re in trouble now… Mr. Damon Salvatore, your mission, which you have no choice but to accept, is to (she opens a portal to their room, goes and comes back).

DAMON: Hey, we said no tricks!

BONNIE: You said no magic, no psychic stuff, but you never mentioned teleporting, so suck it! Here (hands him one of her outfits and her make-up kit) Put this on, make-up and all. Once you are ready, and looking gorge, you are going to perform Queen of the Night to the guests at the beach bar. Good luck, doll! (Laughs hysterically).

DAMON: Oh, Bon-Bon… when you least expected, I’ll get you back.

BONNIE: (Mocking) I’m sure you will; but for now, come on, dancing queen, your audience awaits. (Damon performs, surprisingly well, or at least good enough to receive and applause from his audience, who, although very confused, found the show quite entertaining. They go back to their spot). You did great, almost nailed the choreography.

DAMON: Well, I learned from the best.

BONNIE: I think it’s safe to say I won this little game.

DAMON: This time around… 

BONNIE: How bout you get out of those clothes, I get out of mine, and we go for a night swim?

DAMON: Don’t have to ask me twice! (As he is taking the high heels off) How do you guys walk in these things??

BONNIE: You get used to it, (teasing) just don’t get too used to it... Ready, my night queen?

DAMON: (Carries her) Let’s go, witchy! (They swim under the moonlight; then make love till sunrise).

Cut to - The secret facility, Edward’s cell. He has been sleeping for quite some time. He slowly begins to wake; as he opens his eyes, he sees someone lying on the floor under a pool of blood, right next to his bed. He jumps up in a scare.

 AUGUSTUS: Oh, don’t be alarmed, son, it’s not me, I’m doing just fine. Meet your uncle Pete; granted it might not be the best introduction, but hey, you wanted to meet your family… well, there you go.

EDWARD: (Disgusted and in shock) What is this!!??  

AUGUSTUS: It’s a dead body, son. And, from what I hear they start to smell pretty bad once they decompose; so, I suggest you move fast and bring your cousin Matty back. Feel free to use our tech if it helps, Eddie here (points to the strange man that has been standing outside his cell everyday) is more than happy to help.

EDWARD: (Crying in despair, looking at the corpse) Oh god, oh, god!!! (To his father) You are fucking insane!!!

AUGUSTUS: Language, boy! I taught you better manners than that… guess I should have never left you in Tamara’s care; what a waste of an ivy-league education. My fault for bringing in the trash. Oh, well… time is ticking, and that body is stinking… Ha, that rhymed, maybe I should pick up poetry? I always did love Literature… Anyway, (belittling) Mayor Powell, let’s see just how smart and powerful you really are. Rest assured, if you get the job done, I promise I will make it worth your while (he leaves; Edward can’t stop crying, imagining Matt’s pain).

Cut to - Munich, Germany. Sam, Elena, Sage, and Alex, are having some drinks, after their first days of the program.

SAGE: I knew this program was going to be out of the ordinary, but it’s totally blowing my mind!  

ELENA: I agree, it’s amazing! The equipment we have access to is unbelievable! Never knew those types of tools and tech even existed.

SAM: (Putting his drink up for a cheer) Here’s to an unorthodox quality education, and to new awakenings!

ALL: Cheers! (They drink, share some laughs and anecdotes; at some point, the boys get into their own conversation in another area of the bar. Elena and Sage have no option but to interact more closely).

ELENA: Listen, I’m sorry for calling you a bitch.

SAGE: I’m sorry for being one. (Holds her hand out for a handshake) Do-over?

ELENA: Do-over (shakes her hand). So, tell me, why are you so obsessed with Pietro? Not judging, just curious.

SAGE: I know a lot of people think he is just an entitled jerk, but he is so far from that. I mean, yes, he is arrogant and pretentious, but when you’ve accomplished what he has, you kind of earn the right to be.

ELENA: Still don’t get it, what has he accomplished? He’s not even a Doctor…

SAGE: He owns the world’s most groundbreaking technology companies. Ai, IoT, nanotech, you name it, he is behind it. He might not be the science side of the operation, but he is the business side that makes it possible. Just between us, I’m pretty sure he is a vampire. Get this, while I was doing research on his background, I stumbled upon some pretty crazy documentation that dates his birth back to 1865. It’s either that, or he stole some real old dead guy’s identity.

ELENA: That is definitely not a coincidence… Do the names Stefan and Damon Salvatore ring a bell?

SAGE: Never heard of them, who are they?

ELENA: Besides my ex-boyfriends, I think they might be Pietro’s half-brothers.

SAGE: (Laughs) That’s impossible…

ELENA: Put two and two together…

SAGE: Oh, they’re also…? OMG! So, you slept with two vampires, and they were brothers??!! I totally miss read you, you’re a badass!! I love it!! (Holds her drink up) Cheers for that!

ELENA: Well, the brothers thing is something I’m really not proud of. I was young and gave in to my darkest desires; but I guess karma got me served, because they both fell in love with my best friends; so…

SAGE: Hey, nothing to be ashamed of; more power to you! I mean, it’s okay when men do it, but as woman we get shamed for it… Fuck that shit!

ELENA: Good point... (holds her glass up for a cheer) Here’s to woman equality!

SAGE: Fuck yeah! So, tell me, how did you end up getting involved with vampires?

ELENA: It’s a long and complicated story… Let’s just say I look exactly like someone they were once very obsessed with, and it grew from there.

SAGE: Who did you go out with first?

ELENA: Stefan… my first true love; but then I fell for the bad boy, who just happened to be his brother. Like I said, not proud, but that’s how it went down.

SAGE: Was it serious?

ELENA: Very. With Stefan I could see my entire future; it was like a fairytale love. With Damon, I lived for the moment and was consumed with passion.  

SAGE: Sounds like you were quite in a predicament.

ELENA: I was, for a while; but I ended up choosing Damon.

SAGE: So, what happened? Why did you two split?

ELENA: There were many reasons, but every time I go back to it, I think it’s because we got off to a wrong start. When I became a vampire, I was sired to him… not the best way to start a relationship.

SAGE: Wait, you are a vampire!!? Are you kidding me?!! This story keeps getting better and better!

ELENA: No, no! I’m not one anymore, but I was.

SAGE: Oh, okay, you freaked me out there for a sec! Anyway, then, what happened? Spill!!

ELENA: Well, a whole bunch of crazy stuff... then I took a cure, became human again, only to be put into a three-year sleeping spell, then I woke up. At first it was bliss, but then, once we moved in together our deeper problems began to surface…

SAGE: Did those problems have to do with him falling for one of your best friends?

ELENA: Not expressively… but in part, yes. I knew he was in love with her, and that there was nothing I could do to change that.

SAGE: Ouch, that’s gotta hurt.

ELENA: I mean, he never cheated or anything like that, they didn’t even get together until recently, but just knowing he would never love me like her, hurt for a while… then I met Sam…

SAGE: Wow, that’s quite a story!

ELENA: Straight out of a supernatural YA book, am I right?

SAGE: I’m a big fan of YA drama, and supernatural lure, so, right up my alley! Okay, let me ask you one last question. If you could go back, would you make the same choice?

ELENA: What do you mean?

SAGE: Stefan or Damon? Who would you choose?

ELENA: (Laughs) Uhm, okay, that’s a weird question…

SAGE: Oh, come on, just for fun, and keeping with the YA context.

ELENA: I’d say as a human, I would choose Stefan; as a vampire, Damon. But I guess it wouldn’t matter who I would choose, since they wouldn’t choose me a second time around, that’s for sure.

SAGE: (Teasing) Well, good news for Sam.

ELENA: Okay, I shared my stories; now it’s your turn.

SAGE: Well my stories are quite boring compared to that!

ELENA: Still, spill! It’s only fair, you have leverage on me, I should have some on you.

SAGE: Fair enough. What do you want to know?

ELENA: You and Alex, what’s the story there?

SAGE: Oh god, no! Nothing like that, he’s like a brother to me.

ELENA: Aw, that’s too bad, you two are cute together. How about you and Sam, anything ever happen between you two?

SAGE: This conversation is getting dangerous...

ELENA: Oh, come on, what’s in the past is in the past; there’s nothing dangerous about that.

SAGE: Fine, you asked for it. Long time ago, one crazy drunken night; that’s all.

ELENA: I know, he told me; just wanted to check if you would be honest with me.

SAGE: (Teasing) Now who’s the bitch!

ELENA: Sorry, trust issues. Now, for real, any past epic loves?

SAGE: Uhm, not really… I mean, I’ve had many relationships but nothing serious. I’m not the deep connection type; I just like to have fun, and I don’t like to put in the time, so short and sweet works out perfectly for me.

ELENA: Crazy hookups?

SAGE: Now that is my area of expertise! Wow, where do I start… I’ve done all the clichés, mile high club being my favorite one. But I have to say, the craziest has been with someone you actually know, (mocking) the renowned city Mayor of Mystic Falls.

ELENA: (Spits out her drink) Are you serious? You had a thing with Edward Powell? How do you even know him?!

SAGE: From NYC, our hometown. We were both part of the upper east side elite; a real Gossip Girl type thing. And let me tell you, he might seem like a Nate on the outside, but inside, he is a full-on Chuck Bass. Anyway, we went to this masquerade ball at an exclusive mansion outside the city. Long story short, we ended up covering for a murder which turned out to be anything but that; it was just a really drunk-ass Wall-Street magnate, that passed out in a tub filled with red wine. Good thing he woke up before we finished filling the whole… and that he didn’t see us having sex next to what we thought was his corpse. In our defense, we were also really drunk, and high as fuck.

ELENA: Holy shit! And you call your stories boring? Wonder what the exciting ones are like!

SAGE: (Laughs; then sees that Alex and Sam are heading back to their table) Well, that’s a conversation for another night… this has been fun, but I think our girl time is over; I’m glad we had a chance to talk like this.

ELENA: Me too, and I’m sorry I was so quick to judge you.

SAGE: Dido. Friends?

ELENA: Friends.

Cut to – Akumal, Mexico. Bonnie, Damon, Stefan and Caroline are having a nice beachfront brunch.

 CAROLINE: I can’t believe this is our last day! Time went by way too fast!

BONNIE: I know, seems like we just got here.

STEFAN: How about we make a deal, right here, the four of us.

DAMON: (Teasing) Bro, we are not even done with brunch; plus, it would be way too weird…

STEFAN: Of course your mind would go there… Anyway, no, Damon, that’s not what I want to propose. How do you guys feel about spending some money and investing on a property down here? That way we can come back whenever we want.

CAROLINE: I love it, yes!!!!

BONNIE: I’m in!

STEFAN: Damon?

DAMON: Just tell me where to sign!

BONNIE: La Bruja is coming over for dinner tonight, maybe she can give us some tips on property here.

STEFAN: That be great. I’m thinking nothing too fancy, but definitely beachfront.

BONNIE: And secluded.

CAROLINE: 2 master bedrooms, 1 kids room, and two or three guestrooms for when Ty, Lexi, Matt and Alaric come visit.

DAMON: So much for “not too fancy” …

CAROLINE: I’m not saying it needs to be fancy, just spacious, there are way too many of us.

BONNIE: We’ll also need a garden, good footprint area so we can grow our own food.

CAROLINE: And a pool of course, for the girls.

STEFAN: And I think we can all agree, we need a big bar.

DAMON: And a wine cellar.

STEFAN: Maybe we’re gonna have to build it from scratch, I’m pretty sure we won’t be able to find a place that checks all of our boxes.

BONNIE: If we have someone design it for us, I’m pretty sure La Bruja and I can pull it off.

DAMON: It’s settled then, we’ll brief La Bruja over dinner and start to plan our perfect Belvafore hide-away!

STEFAN: Belvafore?

DAMON: Yes; Bennett, Salvatore, and Forbes… Belvafore!

BONNIE: (To Stefan, mocking Damon) I’m telling you, not even with his vamp back on…

CAROLINE: I like it! It’s like Steroline and Bamon!

BONNIE: Steroline and Bamon?

CAROLINE: Yes, Bamon, aka, Bonnie and Damon; isn’t it perfect?! Stefan came up with it.

STEFAN: Sorry, Bon, just a fan.

BONNIE: (Laughing) Oh, Stefan, didn’t see that one coming... And Steroline, is Stefan and Caroline...

CAROLINE: You got it! (With pride) I came up with that one!

BONNIE: (With a y’all crazy look) Okay...

DAMON: Oh, come on, Bon-Bon; Bamon, gotta love it!

BONNIE: Fine, I’ll admit it... y’all crazy but I love it!

CAROLINE: (Holds her mimosa glass up for a cheer) To Belvafore and building new traditions!

ALL: Cheers!

Cut to – The Salvatore school, Alaric’s study. Alaric, and Radka, are trying to figure out their next steps.

ALARIC: How could I have been so reckless and stupid…

RADKA: It was an honest mistake, Ric. How were you supposed to know what would happen?

ALARIC: I know how dangerous that little gadget is, it was my responsibility to keep it under lock and key. Now, thanks to me, Katherine is probably being hunted down by a psychopath.

RADKA: Katherine is strong and witty, if anyone, Kai is the one that needs to worry. I’m sure she’ll be fine; we just need to figure out how to bring her back.

ALARIC: The only one that can help with that is Bonnie, and I’m not letting her go near Kai. We need to figure out a way to do this without the need for Bennett blood.

RADKA: How about 2 werewolves, 2 vampires and a hunter… think we could pull it off?

ALARIC: The problem is not getting in, but out… there’s no way out without the right ingredients.

RADKA: Okay, I might be thinking crazy here, but we need to think outside the box. What if we ask Margo to summon a Bennett witch, she can open a temporary spirit realm and do an incarnation spell so she can be materialized; then, we go to this prison world, get Katherine and use the blood of that Bennett witch to come back…

ALARIC: That sounds insane… but it might actually work. Isn’t Margo still on sick leave?

RADKA: She’s better now, called me up this morning to let me know she’d be back tomorrow.

ALARIC: Do you think she would be up for it?

RADKA: Not sure, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Cut to – 2018 prison world, Stefan’s room. Katherine wakes up to find herself tied up with her mouth covered. Kai is sitting on a chair, reading. He looks quite different than expected; very clean cut and intellectual, glasses and all.

KAI: I’m sorry I had to tie you up, but I do not appreciate intruders. God, these new generations have completely lost their manners. Sneaking into other people’s homes, putting on their nightclothes, sleeping in their beds… The audacity!

(Kai gets up, walks towards one of the many jukeboxes he has installed around the house, and plays a song...)

TVD 9x11 (part 2), coming soon! Hope you stop by, read and enjoy! =)

[crue-sixx]

Perfect (Steve Rogers/Captain America Imagine)

Summary: You’re feeling less than perfect, but Steve Rogers thinks otherwise.

There are NO Endgame spoilers in this.

Y/E/C - your eye color

Y/L/N - your last name

You sighed in frustration as you continued to rummage through your closet, not being able to find a single thing appropriate enough to wear for the event you would be attending. The event being Tony Stark’s birthday bash. Anyone that knew Tony knew that he went all out when it came to parties and his own birthday was no exception. You bought a dress for the occasion weeks ago when you went out shopping with Natasha, but deemed it unworthy at the very last minute so there you were trying to find something else to wear...anything!

The problem was that you were being too critical. You didn’t think you looked good in anything. You thought of yourself as too...plain. Nothing stood out about you. Especially when you were surrounded by a group of such extraordinary people, the Avengers. They all had special abilities and not to mention they were all extremely attractive. You didn’t have one special ability and you didn’t consider yourself to be in the attractive category. You didn’t know how they considered you a part of their team and a good friend. Sure, you worked with them and helped them strategize during missions. You also lived with them all in the Avengers tower, but still.

You pulled out yet another dress and looked it over critically. You put it back in its rightful place before you groaned.

“That’s it,” you told yourself. “I’m not going. I’m making up some lame excuse and I’m not going. I’ll just apologize to Tony and give him his gift later. It’s not like I’ll be missed anyways.”

You walked out of your closet and was just about to take your robe off to put on some more comfortable clothes when there was a knock on your door, making you pause in your actions.

“Who is it, F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” You asked.

“It is Mr. Rogers,” the AI responded after a moment.

Your eyes widened slightly and you sighed. You had completely forgotten that you were supposed to be Steve’s date for the night during your meltdown. Why he had even asked you to attend the party with him was beyond you. He could ask literally any other girl and they would attend it with him. He was Steve Rogers aka Captain America for crying out loud! It was a last minute thing. Steve and you had become close friends over the time you had worked together. You imagined that he had felt bad that you would be going alone so he asked you out of pity. You never went out on dates or anything like that so of course he knew that you would be attending Tony’s party alone. He also knew how uncomfortable you felt going to events such as these alone. He was such a nice guy.

A nice guy that you were completely in love with, but you thought he was out of your league so you never told him.

You checked your robe to make sure that it was tied securely before you walked over to the door. You were glad that you had already done your makeup and hair so that you didn’t look a complete mess in front of the handsome man. You took a deep breath before you finally opened the door and found Steve stood there looking as handsome as ever. He was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt and a black tie. His hair was done perfectly and he was clean shaven for the event.

“Hey,” he greeted you with that smile of his that made you weak in the knees. He looked you up and down, noticing you were still wearing your robe. “Am I early?”

You looked down at the ground and self consciously gripped the robe around your neck to close it more before you sighed. “No, you’re right on time. It’s just...well, I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it. I’m sorry, Steve.”

“Not going to be able to make it?” He asked curiously and you could see his brows knitting together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I’m just not feeling well so I think I should stay in for the night,” you told him. It wasn’t a complete lie. You were feeling overly self conscious and that wasn’t feeling well...right?

“Really?” He asked. “Come on. I know when you’re lying, Y/N. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on here.”

You let out another sigh and mentally face palmed. Of course he would know when you were lying. Steve knew you all too well and he was good at reading people...for the most part. You moved over and opened the door wider to let him inside since it seemed he would not be dropping the subject so easily. He walked inside and you shut the door before you leaned back on it and crossed your arms over your chest. He stood there quietly and patiently, waiting for you to explain what was going on.

“I can’t find anything to wear,” you finally mumbled and looked down at the ground, not being able to look at Steve. It seemed easier that way.

“That’s a lie,” Steve easily replied. “There’s a dress right there on your bed and you told me yourself that you bought a dress for this party.”

“Yeah, well, I decided last minute that it doesn’t look good or fit right so now I’m stuck with nothing to wear, which means no party for me.”

Steve stood there for a moment before he sighed and moved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I can’t help but feel like there’s something more to this.”

“Steve, there’s nothing more to it.”

“Y/N, we’re friends, right?” He asked and you nodded. “So please don’t shut me out like this and try to play this off so casually. There’s something going on and I can tell there is. Please just talk to me.”

You stood there silently for a few long moments before you finally decided to lift your gaze up to look at Steve. He was looking right back at you, not in an intimidating way. He was just wearing a curious look upon that handsome face of his. For some reason you felt the need to tell him what was going on inside your head.

“It’s just...I’m not good enough, Steve,” you told him and he looked at you quizzically. “I’m not good enough to be attending a Tony Stark party, I’m not good enough to be staying here with all of you, I’m not good enough to be working with the Avengers...let alone to be friends with them...to be friends with you. I know you just asked me to go with you tonight because you felt sorry for me.”

“What?” He asked. “What are you talking about?”

You let out yet another sigh and felt your eyes begin to water, but you were trying to hold the tears back. You seemed pathetic enough already. No need to make it worse.

“Steve, there is absolutely nothing special about me. I’m not pretty and I’m certainly not harboring any special abilities. I look in the mirror and I don’t like the person who’s staring back at me. I’d like to just change, but I can’t. I’m just...me. I don’t have anything to offer anyone.”

So much for trying to hold those tears back. They started falling from your eyes and down your cheeks. You couldn’t believe that you had told all of that to Steve. You felt ashamed and embarrassed. You wiped at your eyes and began to make your way to the bathroom to hide out, but Steve grabbed your wrist gently before you could make it far. You closed your eyes and stayed facing away from him.

“Please let me go, Steve.”

“No,” he simply said before he turned you to face him and pulled you closer. You didn’t dare look up at him or open your eyes for that matter. “Please look at me.”

You shook your head and bit your lip before you felt him put his finger under your chin. He lifted your head up and you sucked in a breath before you finally opened your eyes. You found his soft blue eyes looking back into your Y/E/C. He wore a sad expression as he used his thumbs to wipe your tears away.

“Y/N, I-I had no idea you felt this way,” he spoke softly. “Listen to me because what I’m about to tell you is the truth whether you believe it or not. You are an amazing girl. You are good enough. You’re more than good enough.”

You shook your head at his words, but he held your face in his hands gently to keep you from doing so. “No, listen to me. You are so beautiful...inside and out. You’re absolutely perfect and I would never, never want you to change. You’re so special, Y/N, and I cant believe you don’t see that. We all love you. I love you. I love you more than a friend should love another friend actually.”

Everything Steve was saying was making you cry even more, but not from sadness. You didn’t know Steve thought so much of you. You would’ve thought he was lying if it wasn’t for how truthful he sounded and for how determined he seemed to make you believe him. Something that really stood out to you was his last statement. Your heart pounded in your chest and you looked at him questioningly.

“This seems like as good a time as any to tell you,” he said and moved his hands down to your own so that he could hold them as he continued looking at you. “I’m in love with you, Y/N Y/L/N. I have been for a while now, but I was too scared to tell you before now. I thought it would be inappropriate and I didn’t know if you felt the same way that I do. I didn’t ask you to this party because I felt sorry for you. I asked you to go with me because I genuinely wanted to bring you as my date.”

Your eyes widened and your heart definitely began to pound even harder in your chest. You wouldn’t have been surprised if Steve could hear it. Did Steve Rogers really just tell you that he was in love with you? You’d only ever imagined this happening in your dreams, but it was actually happening.

“Please say something,” he whispered as he squeezed your hands in his own.

You finally pulled yourself out of your thoughts and looked at him. Your tears finally stopped and all you could do was smile at him. “Steve...I love you too. I’ve loved you since the day I met you.”

Steve seemed relieved and smiled wide before he let go of your hands, wrapping his arms around you instead as you wrapped your arms around his neck. He began to lean down and you knew what was about to happen. You began to lean up as your eyes closed till your lips finally met. As cliche as it might sound, you felt that spark everyone talks about. It was amazing. His lips were soft against your own and he deepened the kiss, which you allowed gratefully. The kiss seemed to last for hours, which was really only minutes. When you finally pulled apart, you rested your foreheads against each other. You opened your eyes and found his blues ones looking right back into your Y/E/C ones.

You smiled and bit your lip. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that to happen.”

Steve chuckled and shook his head. “I wasn’t either, but I’m glad it did.”

“Me too,” you replied.

He gave your lips a another peck before he stood straight again. “Now how about we go down to that party so that I can show off my beautiful date. You might can even talk me into a dance.”

You giggled and nodded. “Okay, just let me fix myself and put on my dress.”

“Doll, you don’t need to fix a thing about yourself. You’re perfect to me.”

[nightcoremoon]

everyone sucks dark souls' dick over how it's triumph over hardships and whatthefuckever

asylum demon is a little bitch.

taurus demon is a little bitch.

moonlight butterfly is a little bitch.

titanite demon is a little bitch.

capra demon is a little bitch.

havel the rock is a little bitch.

stray demon is a little bitch.

bell gargoyles are cheating little fuckers.

these fights aren't hard. they're not difficult. they're painfully easy. those first seven I beat without breaking a sweat, most of them on the first or second try. would've been the first for some but the game just loves artificial difficulty. what's that, you want strategy and tactics and reaction time? too bad, fuck you, have random ass bullshit, skewed numbers (enemies have fuckhuge hp and damage and you have wet paper), extra enemies on the side who fuckin teleport and ignore physics (oh right it's havok physics so fuck it who cares let's all teleport), oh yeah and your framerate is cut to ribbons because the game tries to render THE ENTIRE WORLD AT ONCE and when your framerate is low guess what YOURE LITERALLY NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO PLAY because it kicks you to the main title. oh and the bonewheels? yeah I made jokes about them before but jesus christ who fucking OK'd these? was there any QA at all? oh you rested at that bonfire, fuck you you're here forever now because you move at half speed and they move at double speed and they can pivot midair a full 360 and they instantly break your poise and do a hundred damage each hit oh yeah and they can all hit you at the same fucking time. there's a literal zero frame window whatsoever to roll out of the way. all you can do is pray to the RNG gods that it'll let you play. and that's bullshit.

this game

is fucking

TERRIBLE

every single complaint I've seen about the prequel- WHICH I LOVE- and the sequel- WHICH I USED TO HATE BUT NOW LOVE BECAUSE ITS SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN THE TRASH HEAP OF THE FIRST GAME- can be levied tenfold against this game.

fuck this berserk fanfiction trash that namco bandai threw money at for the art department and level design crew. they got all the budget, leaving nothing for the fuckin nonexistent ai.

the bosses all suck too. yeah ds2 had shitty bosses and reskins too, but IT HAD TWICE AS MANY AS DS1 DID. it's allowed a couple of trash bosses. and it has some absolute gems. the last giant is a perfect first boss that will decimate you if you don't know what you're doing but if you understand it you can plow through it easily, but can't be complacent with.

flexile sentry is a cool design and has two different moveset to content with, AND a level timer. skeleton lords? good boss. executioner chariot? good boss. mytha? eh, decent boss. smelter demon? fucking amazing boss. old iron king? cheating bastard but hey just don't fall in the lava idiot. git gud. fume knight? *chef's kiss* sir allonne? *chef's kiss* rat vanguard? incredible puzzle. the rotten? it's ok I guess but it's still better than half the ds1 bosses. najka? quelaag reskin but still ok. rat authority? sif and capra had a baby. prowling magus? ...ok that one is just embarrassing, I'll give you that. freja? great. pursuer? he'll crush you if you don't know what you're doing but all of his attacks are unique and avoidable and he looks fucking cool. ruin sentinels? tough as hell and worth the struggle in learning them. gargoyles? it's not a reskin, it's the ds1 gargoyle fight but not a completely horrible steaming pile of shit that's just a worse version of maneaterds in the prequel. lost sinner? good boss. mirror knight? good boss. demon of song? good boss. velstadt? good boss. vendrick? holy shit is he the best character in the series or what? and his boss fight... everyone says lord gwyn is the saddest because of sakuraba-sama's amazing talents at musical composition (so uh tales of symphonia is the best video game soundtrack ever made hands down don't @ me I'm sorry metroid prime but you have too much ambient noise) and PLIN PLIN PLON but I guarantee you that PLIN PLIN PLON would work well against vendrick too. oh yeah then you have the fake dragons (ok), throne duo (mediocre version of ornstein & smough), nashandra (meh), and aldia (meh), and also the bosses of shulva (meh) and the dogs of eleum loyce (meh) and the burnt ivory king. who is the best boss in the series hands don't don't @ me I'm sorry soul of cinder but you rely too much on nostalgia.

dark souls 2 is a fucking masterpiece with a few hiccups that are all holdovers from the first game. standing alone, this is probably the best action rpg ever made, and what everything else should build itself off of.

ds1 has a bunch of copypasted enemies with the word "boss" slapped on them, shitty mechanics, and even shittier stages.

quelaag is good. four kings is good. nito is good. seathe is good. sif is good. o&s are good. the dlc bosses are good. every single other boss is fucking stupid or fucking terrible and either can be cheesed or REQUIRE cheese.

what I mentioned before are jokes. ceaseless is just a pathetic version of dragon god who was vastly improved when he became old iron king. centipede demon is fucking garbage. bed of chaos is worse than garbage. priscilla is a meme. gwyndolin is a hallway. demon firesage is a reskin. gaping dragon is a waste of a cool design. iron golem is a joke who can be 1v1'd by tarkus. pinwheel? shut the fuck up about the prowling magus and congregation, pinwheel is not a real boss. lord of cinder? he's the reason why I don't parry, because parrying is cheese and it's fully dependent on having a $1000 graphics card and a brain that's wired to look at 60 frames per second. "but the human eye can only see 26" yeah exactly. man that's a short list of shitty bosses though. you're right? it's because I've listed all the dark souls bosses. and I haven't even listed all of the ds2 bosses.

I'm with hbomberguy here. ds2 gets more hate than it deserves. but I'll take it a step further.

dark souls 1 sucks.

it's not fun. it's not cool. it has a story ripped from a manga. its level design is a gimmick. the animations are shit. the hitboxes are shit. the physics are shit. the lighting and textures are still shit AFTER A REMASTER. the weapons and moveset variety is shit. the enemy design is shit. the locations all look exactly the same. the NPCs are boring and forgettable- I don't even know their fucking NAMES besides andre and gough (and gwyndolin but she's as real as her tits). it's built from salt and cyanide and broken glass rather than love for its roots. the music is the only part I can salvage without any buts. I can't even say that actually because THERE IS NONE EXCEPT DURING BOSSES WHEN YOU CANT LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT THINKS THAT DIFFICULTY IS SPEED AND SHEER NUMBERS.

it's a bad game.

you can like it. you can play it. you can love it.

but holy shit, shut the fuck about about it. I get it. I understand. I know. okay. got it. shut up.

I'll stop talking shit about your baby when you stop bitching and moaning and whining over how much you won't let yourself enjoy 2.

[darkzorua100]

I first off like to say that a part of me is disappointed that we didn’t actually get the clash of the titans between Revolver and Soulburner. That duel would have just been so epic and I’m crossing my fingers so hard that they will end up having a rematch in the future. I’m very thankful though that the writers didn’t go the route I seriously thought they would have by having Lightning’s group show up to interrupt the duel just so Soulburner wouldn’t have actually lose because lets be real here, with the way he was acting, Revolver would have kicked his ass so badly if he wanted to. 

No, I’m genuinely surprised how much I enjoyed this episode. Like holy crap, this was amazing for character development and season 1 nostalgia. This is a obvious statement but jesus everyone in this show needs therapy, even those that went to therapy need more therapy!

First off let’s talk about Takeru/Soulburner. This episode really solidified a big character flaw of his. His emotions. When his anger gets the better of him, he really doesn’t not think straight. His dueling, while it might not seem like it on the surface, was just so rash, summoning his ace monster whose effect makes it so much better to summon it in the late game but he summoned it right out of the gate just to have a big beater on the field. And I just love how Flame was the one to address this. He was willing to risk Flame’s very life, when it wasn’t necessary in the first place, just to get his revenge on Revolver. And guess what, he didn’t care. He put his own partner’s existence at risk, not thinking of the consequences of his actions, because all he was thinking about in that very moment was getting even at Revolver for the Hanoi Project and his parents’ death. If Revolver was actually going to be dueling for keeps, he would have destroyed him because Soulburner wasn’t thinking straight at all. He would have lost Flame because his anger got the best of him in that moment. Interesting implications for what this could mean for the future because now that this fatal flaw of Takeru’s has been addressed, it is definitely going to come back to bite him in the ass and the next time this happens, he is going to lose Flame and who knows how Takeru is going to react to that. After all, Flame is the one that has been helping Takeru through all of his problems, the one that has been addressing his problems and helping him find a solution for them. His depression, his lack of confidence in himself, his anger. I’m genuinely worried about Takeru’s emotion state if he actually does lose Flame. It is definitely not going to be pretty.

Now Ryoken/Revolver. Oh my god, and I thought his guilt complex was bad during season 1. It seriously has gotten so much worse during season 2. Now I know the fandom is very divided when it comes to Ryoken/Revolver as a character. You either love his guts or you want to stab said guts. There really is no middle ground when it comes to him. Still, regardless if you hate the guy or love him, you can’t deny his impact on the show. This guy has had a hand in everything that has happen at this point. And that really has not been a good thing for Ryoken’s mental state. This whole duel, Revolver allowed Soulburner to use him as a punching bag to unleash his frustration on because in his eyes, he probably thinks he deserves it as the son of the man who destroyed Takeru’s life. And it is just sad because when it comes to the Hanoi Project, Ryoken did nothing wrong! Yes he was the reason that Yusaku ended up in the Hanoi Project but do I have to restate the fact that he was just a kid! Heck I even went back to episode 43, the episode where we got Ryoken’s backstory, and he even states it himself that he had no idea what was actually going on! So no, you actually can’t blame him for that. If anything, he saved his life! Those six kids probably would have died if Ryoken didn’t do what he did. But as we all know, Ryoken couldn’t feel good about that because life had to guilt him with ever choice he makes. Geez, Ryoken seriously is just the unofficial 7th Lost Child. This single event destroyed his life as well and has continued to destroy it. He became Revolver when he was 13. That just says a lot right there. He is just so obsessed with completing his father’s work that’s lets say he actually does destroy all six Ignises. Then what? Where does he seriously go from there? I don’t know and it is concerning when you remember that he was planning on suicide bombing Link Vrains just to kill the Ignis.

I do like to mention Yusaku/Playmaker role in this whole thing. As good as this duel was for Ryoken and Takeru’s characters, this whole thing probably could have been avoid if he just told Takeru what the heck was up when it come to Revolver. Yeah we know Yusaku isn’t some social butterfly, and in his mind probably didn’t think it was his right to tell Takeru about Ryoken without his permission, but you seriously didn’t tell Takeru anything?! You could have left the detail out about who Revolver actually was, again that feels like something Ryoken should do personally (and holy crap he actually did in front of everyone. That made my jaw drop when he revealed his real life identity to everyone) but you could have at least told him that Revolver was the one to save you guys from the Hanoi Project and inform him that he wasn’t the one directly responsible for it. I feel like this is a trust issue between them that needs to be addressed but isn’t going to be. Yusaku has shown that he’s a bit protective of Takeru after the whole Blood Shepherd’s incident but that doesn’t mean you just leave the guy in the dark when it comes to the same event that you both were apart of. He has a right to know as well, Yusaku. I mean yeah he needed to get that build up anger out of his system but this situation still could have been handled so much better if you just told him the truth. Though with that in mind, I take it he doesn’t know about Spectre being a Lost Child either? Yeah we just need to sit Takeru down and tell him everything huh?

Now for the other half of the episode. The return of the Tower of Hanoi. Holy crap, that was awesome. I love when shows take a symbol that was once used as destruction and turn it into something the heroes can use later down the line. The Tower of Hanoi has essentially been turned into the symbol of the alliance between Team Playmaker and the Knights of Hanoi since they all came together to turn it into a locator for Lightning. That was just the highlight of my week. I also liked how Takeru and Flame had a moment together about this alliance. Ryoken knows that Takeru sucks at coding but he still had him show up, knowing that he was going to be pissed at him, just so he could get his anger out of his system. I just love how in his own way Ryoken cares for each of the Lost Incident victims and wants to make up to them for what his father did. They are still going to have to fight against each other later down the line but I’m going to enjoy this alliance and Ryoken being a big brother figure to the Lost Childen as long as I can. On another note, I find it interesting how in this episode we find out how Neo Link Vrains wasn’t even a fixed up and improved Link Vrains but simply a new version of it. The old was so destroyed because of the Tower of Hanoi that SOL Technologies couldn’t fix it or they simply didn’t even try to. Knowing SOL, they probably didn’t even try. 

The Frog and Pigeon. I love how Revolver wasn’t having any of their crap and just trapped them in a hamster ball and just decided on the spot that “hey I have a frog and pigeon as pets now.” I truly do love this meme lord. He really make this show so much more fun. I do like how he allowed them to come along with him and the others when they were entering Mirror Link Vrains. I truly do think Revolver is going to use them to show the world that the Knights of Hanoi are fighting for a good reason and that the Ignises are a threat to humanity. Don’t think the start of season 3 is looking to good in Playmaker’s favor if he and his team are going to be seen as the enemies in that case for supporting humanity’s greatest threat. 

So a last few things to add before I wrap this up. Playmaker/Ai, Soulburner/Flame, Blue Maiden/Aqua, Revolver, and Spectre are the ones heading into Mirror Link Vrains. Ghost Girl is staying behind to watch over normal Link Vrains should Lightning unleash an attack while everyone is gone. Kusanagi is watching over the boys as always, the rest of the Knights are watching over Revolver and Spectre as while as the rest of the network, and Blue Maiden...well she is a strong independent woman who doesn’t need anyone watching over her. We got to see Bohman and Haru during this episode. Bohman seems to be getting his final upgrades and he thanks Haru for watching over him as a brother during his beginning states but Haru just tells him he did so because of his orders. Interesting how Bohman still see Haru as his brother and I wonder if that’s going to have any effect in the upcoming episodes for the both of them? Bohman did say an infamous line from ARC-V, implying that him and Haru are also going to be joining together at some point and it makes it wonder if he’s actually going to go through with that? Ai finally fulfilled his promise to Roboppy and made her smarter and I’m 100% sure that’s going to have some terrible repercussions. Akira seems to have made a program to protect Link Vrains so hopefully he will be joining Ghost Girl soon in guard duty. Windy...I don’t even know what the heck he is wearing. The tiny cape and eyepatch are just amazing. He isn’t to happy about his new appearance though. Seriously hoping his Origin has a similar design because parallels. 

But yeah a really good episode. I bash on this show a lot but when it does good things, they are really good things. The preview is also looking promising because with what we saw of Haru this episode and what was stated about him in the preview, it really looks like Blue Maiden might actually get the win and get through to Haru. This will be a nice call back if so to season 1 during her duel against Spectre on how she tried and failed to save him because she truly didn’t understand him. Maybe this time she will with Haru? If not, and she actually does end up losing, the fake out is real.

We also have the summary for episode 87 now and yeah Spectre vs Lightning is going to be two parts. Seems that Spectre has taken back the lead but I’m still 100% he isn’t beating Lightning. I am curious now though, after thinking about it, that if he does end up getting killed during this duel, similar to how he felt Earth’s death, will Go end up feeling Spectre’s death because Earth is inside of him? Again I’m a sucker for parallels so I’m very curious to see if Go will be on the cast list for this episode because of this. Also Revolver’s reaction. Lightning has just been going for Ryoken’s throat, trying to wear him down by taking out his allies. If he takes out Spectre, that will be a hard blow to Revolver. If Lightning does have a clone of Dr. Kogami around here somewhere, oh boy here come the pain train. Next stop, Revolver.

[diinofayce]

Shadows on the Horizon - 4

Pairing: Winter Soldier! Bucky Barnes x OFC! Layne Hardin | Word Count: 2,666 (I’m very amused that I ended on that) | Warnings: Language, ANGST, Layne falls off the wagon | A/N: I believe everyone needs to fall down once to pick themselves back up stronger. This is a sequel to my story Like A Whisper in the Night. | Shadows on the Horizon Masterlist

“Fuck,” Layne murmured.

“Friday! Any read on him?” Tony’s voice came billowing out from the other side of the floor as he landed in full Iron Man suit.

“It seems like he’s heading towards the living quarters, boss.”

“Shit!” Steve swore harshly and turned on his heel to bound up the stairs.

Layne’s hopes rose, she would be first to admit that she thought maybe, just maybe Bucky broke through and he was just going back to their room to take one of his scalding hot showers. The kind that made Layne feel the like the flesh was going to sear from her bones. And go to bed. It’s been a long day for all of them, bed with Bucky sounded so fucking amazing.

Layne rushed off after Steve, she knew she would never beat him up there but she would be hot on his heels.

They found Bucky in his and Layne’s room, Steve blocked the doorway with his broad frame which caused Layne to try and squeeze in under his arm, but he jutted his hip to the side and cut her off.

“Bucky?” Steve asked hesitantly to the man who had his back turned to them as he stared out the window overlooking New York.

He turned slowly and Layne stopped fighting to get under Steve’s arm. It was still the Soldier, his eyes as cold and expressionless as ever, the only read she could get on him was the confusion that tugged at his eyebrows.

“You always call me that,” the Soldier acknowledges and Steve softens slightly. Layne digs her nails into his elbow to keep him on alert, now was not the time to go soft, no matter how bad they wanted too.

“That’s your name,” Steve presses.

“That’s his name.”

Steve and the Soldier stare at each other for a moment, assessing one another, trying to get a read on the other’s next move. But they were too alike, trained by different people to fight in the same manner.

Layne finally managed to push herself in front of Steve. “Then tell us yours.”

The Soldier eyed Layne up and down, his gaze pausing on the handprint bruise that spanned her throat. It was already a deep purple with green around the edges, if he had squeezed any harder that would have been it, he would have crushed her throat. They both knew it, but she was ignoring it, looking past it like it was something completely trivial, like her brainwashed boyfriend didn’t almost squeeze the life out of her with his bare hand.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he responded stoically, turning to look back out the window.

He wasn’t dropping his guard, not by any means. He knew that Susanna and Sam had been portalled into the hallway in case everything went to shit. He knew that Stark hovered below the window line, the soft sound of his boosters giving his position away. He knew that Thor stood on the roof, waiting to give chase if necessary. He was surrounded in enemy territory, but he’s been in worse situations.

“In our room, James?” Layne asked, cocking an eyebrow and moving herself slowly to the side entering the room further.

“That’s not my -” he started, his voice still cold and monotone.

“I know it’s not. But you don’t have one, they only ever called you Soldat or Asset, and that’s not right. It’s not fair.” Layne was trying to put herself between him and the far wall. The wall that with one press of Bucky’s flesh hand would open and reveal the hidden arsenal of weapons. A literal smorgasbord of guns and knives and grenades. She didn’t know if he knew they were there, some deep-rooted muscle memory having brought him here to begin with, but she couldn’t take the chance of him getting into it.

The soldier ground his teeth together, not looking at her, not looking past her to the wall, just a steady beaded gaze out the window over the Manhattan skyline.

“I’ve seen you,” Layne continued softly, motioning for Steve to back off because she was sure his intense stance was only putting the Soldier more and more on the defensive. “I have. On the nights the nightmares are so bad and I wipe away Bucky’s tears, I can see you. I see you in his eyes and I know you saw me last night when they woke you up. Before they hurt you again. I know you saw me.”

“I am not him.” He gritted out once more.

“Yes you are and he’s you.”

“You’re just going to lock me away again.”

“What if we don’t have to?”

“Layne,” Steve hissed, a threatening edge to his tone.

The soldier finally turned to look at her. To actually take stock of the small woman in front of him, with her slim shoulders and narrow hips, limbs long and frail like a bird’s. Her chocolate waves were streaked with auburn highlights that caught like fire in the morning sun and were frizzing out of a poorly kept ponytail that sat high on the back of her head. His icy stare landed again on the bruise he placed on her throat, the blotchy purple standing out grotesquely on her creamy flesh and somewhere deep down inside of himself he felt a searing hatred for himself for doing that to her.

“You are James Buchanan Barnes and I love you. I love you so much that I will do everything I can possibly think of to make your two halves work as one if that’s what it takes. No one is going to lock you away, no one is going to put you in the dark. If I had known that was what was they had chosen as a solution, I promise you, I would have offered to find a different way sooner,” Layne swore vehemently. And she could see it in his eyes, the icy blue cold precision of what he had been trained to be, and the warm intuition and insight of the man Layne loved. Because as much as Bucky needed to hear that he wasn’t the Soldier, the Soldier needed to hear that he was Bucky, or at least someone.

The soldier closed his eyes and took a deep-drawn breath. It was the first break in composure any of them had really seen from him. He swallowed heavily, his Adam's Apple bobbing in his throat.

“You need to leave,” he said with finality, his voice coming out harsh and raspy like crunching gravel. The warmth that had been there for just a quick flash was gone from his eyes and Layne scoffed in disbelief, her jaw falling open and her hands falling to her sides.

“Well. No. You can’t just be here on your own. Like you said, you aren’t him. Only he gets to stay here,” Layne argued.

“I can stay. Being in here is probably better for him than the container,” Steve piped up and Layne shot him a venomous glare.

The soldier turned and eyed Steve up and down before nodding. “That’s fine, but she needs to go.”

Layne ran her tongue along the front of her top teeth, sucking on them harshly as she tried to bite back the hot sting of tears and rejection.

“Fine!” she finally snapped. Slamming into their shared bathroom she grabbed her overnight bag and then her guitar off the wall of their living room. “Fucking fine. Kick me out of my own goddamn motherfucking apartment. FRIDAY! Wipe all of Sergeant Barnes’ passcodes and prints from all of the safes!”

“Done, Agent Hardin,” came the AI’s reply.

With one last glare at Steve and the thing that was invading the body of the man she loved she turned like a hurricane and stormed from the apartment. Steve had to practically jump out of her way; Loki and Susanna still stood in the hallway, all three watching Layne warily like she was about to break or rabbit from the tower completely. Angry at Hydra, angry at the world, and angry at herself and her inability to keep her boyfriend safe she ducked her head against their stares and pressed her thumb into the handle of the door directly across the hall. It clicked, the little light flashing green before she threw it open and slammed it closed in everyone’s faces behind her.

It must have been Susanna that kept them from going after her because if anyone would know when to leave Layne alone it was Sue and if anyone could stop a bunch of overbearing superheroes that cared too much it was Sue. Susanna had been there through most of the rough patches in Layne’s life. First when Danny disappeared, and then with the ex-boyfriend, and again when everything with The Avengers and Bucky had gone to shit for a while. That wasn’t counting all the little times in between, the not-so-major life events that Layne might not have come out as unscathed as she had if Susanna Sweet had not been by her side. But Susanna was also very skilled at knowing when to give Layne space.

It was not a crowning moment of maturity and it certainly wasn’t the best way to handle the situation at hand. But she didn’t want to see their looks of pity any more than she wanted to deal with the cold, hallow, emptiness that sat like a heavy pit in her stomach. She looked around her old room, the one she hadn’t even moved back into since she left to go on tour a year back when she needed a break to sort herself out. As soon as she came crawling home she had moved into Bucky’s larger apartment. He hadn’t even thought for a moment about taking her back, it was instantaneous, all slights already forgiven on both sides.

Tony still had cleaners for all the empty rooms, so they didn’t go stale, so there wasn’t any lingering dust on the furniture. The furniture that he had let her pick out on her arrival, her old bright orange down comforter looked like it had washed recently, the bedding crisp and clean. Hooks for her guitars still hung on the wall, she wishes she knew that before she ordered new ones off of Amazon. Hanging her cherry red Paul Reed Smith from the bracket in the hall she caught a look of herself in the mirror and was startled to see that she was crying.

Dropping her bag at her feet she swiped harshly at her face and sniffled softly because now that she was aware she was crying she was finding it hard to stop. She observed herself in the mirror, the face-framing of her brown hair pulled free from its hair tie and sticking to her damp cheeks which were flushed pink with anger and pain. She had dried pine sap crusted to the shoulders, back, and ass of her uniform from sitting in that goddamn tree and she was sure if she reached up to check it was probably matted in her hair too. She could see why everyone kept staring at her neck, it looked bad, hurt like hell - but not as much as her heart. She didn’t heal as fast as the boys, already the super fiscal cuts and the burns from the chair had already healed on Bucky, she’d have this bruise for at least a week.

What she hadn’t noticed, until now, was the amount of blood that was crusted to her from after she returned to her body to rush into the compound with Thor in her attempt to save Bucky. Too late, she had been too late. Maybe if they could have gotten to him before they stuck him in the chair? No. He was just as dangerous after the words and before the chair. The important thing was that they had killed all the Hydra operatives before anyone had given the Winter Soldier a mission. She had killed Hydra operatives. Tackled the scientist at the switch and pressed a pistol between his eyes and fired. That was probably why Bucky was being so compliant, everyone who was supposed to be giving him orders was dead. But she was still too late. She should have just sent Thor in, lightning flying, stealth be damned. Maybe they wouldn’t have had time to finish the words, could he be half activated?

Screaming once more in anger and frustration she ripped the mirror from the wall and threw it across the room where it shattered, silver glass tinkling sadly to the floor. Grabbing her go bag she stomped into the bathroom. She had done that too much in this room, shatter mirrors while trying to repair her shattered heart. The only difference was you could always buy a new mirror.

Stripping off her combat suit, she started the shower and immediately stepped in. Bucky needed his showers scalding hot, all the time, the heat that flayed the skin from your bones if you weren’t careful. But she understood that lived with that, after decades of being stuck in cryofreeze there was no way she could ever expect him to take one of her showers. Layne needed the water like ice when she got like this. It made it so she could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, could feel the air ripping through her lungs as she raggedly gasped for breath. The water pelted onto her bare back, finding cuts she didn’t know she had, numbing bruises she knew she did while leaning forward - arms outstretched in front of her - holding her body up with the wall.

It was there she let herself fall apart and break. Crumbling disastrously as she clawed fruitlessly at the tiles until her nails, soft from the water, gave way and bled. She screamed at the shower wall, screamed at the gods, screamed at herself. This should have been different, she should have been better, she should have never come back. All she did was poison and hurt everything, she was in charge, her soldiers should have come home safe and in one piece. But now her soldier, the most important one of them all, was broken in two all over again. All because of her.

Layne turned the water off when her fingers stopped bleeding and started turning blue and she couldn’t get her teeth to stop chattering. Stepping out she realized there were no towels and numbly threw on what clean clothes were in go bag over her dripping form, the clothes instantly soaking and sticking to her skin. Layne stared at the toilet, wondering how thorough Tony’s cleaners were as she reached out with shaking hands and lifted the lid from the tank. Licking her lips with a feeling of regret and trepidation she reached in and pulled out a tied off plastic liquor store bag. Untying it she pulled out the 750 of Jack Daniels and set it down on the closed toilet lid. Slowly she sank down to the tile bathroom floor and pulled her knees to her chest, staring at the bottle of amber liquid that had been her fall back for so long.

It was like an affirmation, like it was okay, just this once. Because it was still here and accessible and no one was here to tell her no. There was no sponsor, no Bucky, no anything to tell her to just be strong. Before she could talk herself out of it she reached forward and snatched the bottle to her chest, ripping the plastic off and breaking the seal on the cap. She pressed her lips to the lip of the bottle and froze, blinking once at the tile wall of her bathroom, contemplating for a just a second about what she was doing, before tilting her head back and letting the amber liquid burn a path down her throat.

[theguyfawkesretro]

The First Ones.

All of us remember , to an extent at least , what game or games we first played on a new system as a kid. With me, it was a varied experience. I knew what games were going to propel my imagination and what games were going to be fillers. Judging a game by it’s name and cover back in the early 90’s was a key factor, a common denominator to which you stuck by unless tipped off by the playground or at least a review in a magazine.

To be absolutely fair, the results were quite different. In my head, the way I predicted it, if I played the least best looking game or the game that was an afterthought in comparison to what I knew was going to be better , then that’s them out of the way. There’s no need to put down Super Mario World or Starwing. They would keep me company.

So I played the games I imagined I’d be least appealed with.

First up. Nigel Mansell’s World Championship Racing. In my head this was going to be a ten minute blast. Blaze around Imola for a bit, lap a few generic cars and onto the nest game.

Never judge a game by it’s un-diverse and lack lustre generic F1 box.

Fast, appealing soundtrack and multiple tuning options. Amazing levels settings according to factual landscapes and track dimensions. Amazing speed. Astute handling. Glorified only by being a bit realistic on the corners. Rear mirrors that work allowing you to swerve, slowdown and block opportunistic AI drivers. It had me hooked. Race after race, season after season. Beating my best or coming no where near. I spent two days on this game. The first game I ever played on my SNES. It’s just a shame that’s its one of five three games that I don’t have anymore that I originally owned and to be honest with you I am pretty upset about.

After ploughing nearly two solid days into Nigel Mansell, I had to play something else. I knew now that I’d made a mistake in assuming Nigel’s game was going to be a poor choice, it was quite the opposite.

So I opened up a fresh smelling Lethal Weapon. Coming from a background of Amiga, MD and SMS platform games, I was always weary of anything third party to the dedicated system I was playing. The Amiga ports were mainly shoddy. In my mind, if it wasn’t Capcom or Konami then what was the point?

I wasn’t exactly blown away with OCEANS Lethal Weapon, but it was expected. The intro music was cool and that’s about it. Revisiting the game this year, it’s not as bad as I remember it but stil, everything is rather dull, compressed, unimaginative. I moved on.

I love a football game. Coming off the back of Sensible Soccer v1.1 & v1.2 respectively was not going to be an easy feet. So I decide to slam into the cartridge slot World Cup Striker.

First impressions, it wasn’t Sensi. There was no flow. Aspect ratio had been replaced with a parallax semi-effect mind inducing spiralling system that always tricked the brain to thinking that you were playing on hill. I had two controllers, so I handed my Dad one. That’s when I discovered the indoor option and that was when this game actually became fun. I destroyed my Dad and to be honest with you, until I got ISS Deluxe (imported from Japan), I didn’t really rank the SNES football games. Kick Off 3 was pretty cool. FIFA (the SNES edition) was too polished, slow. I flirted with Fever Pitch a year later, but that fell flat too. I played Sensi on Amiga over the SNES every time until ISS Deluxe at least.

Next up was something completely different and this was last ‘outsider’ game I played just before Super Mario World and Castlevania 4 sucked me in.

Super Mario Kart.

Ok, I know what you are thinking. Outsider? Jog on. But no, seriously, I considered this game to be a flash in the pan, money grabbing exercise before we were introduced to Super Mario World 2 ( A proper SMW2)

I didn’t like the look of it. In my head, it was some crappy looking sprites with a overly bright go kart track spinning around the player, not the other way round, as it should be.

Well, boy I was wrong. If any game has captured my imagination more than this (Probably Donkey Kong Country) then I’ve simply forgotten about it. Fast. Sprawling. Hard. Addictive. It’s exactly what I wanted and to this day, I’ll stand by these comments, it’s the best Mario Kart game and the only karting game that felt like you were in a go-kart, in control and wanting to go faster.

I can’t explain how many hours I have put into this game over the years. I play this game weekly, without fail and I have done this since 1993. There’s no other game that I have invested so much time in and to this day I still have not beaten my 1997 Ghost Valley 1 record of 58 seconds on 150cc (I have probably mentioned that before once or twice).

Let’s face it - the SNES library is varied, very varied.

[zombeamik]

The Elementalists

okay so first of all The Elementalists is a great book!! i’m so glad we are confused lmao. so whoever wrote this book is amazing and i love them. anyways i’m glad we got sucked in through a mirror but yet idk why we ended up in the water instead of the mirror room?? unless that got explained and i missed it. ((btw our alter ego was hot until they decided to nearly kill me!! ugh i hate it when that happens lmao))

everyone is cute?? and i love the plant lady?? ((i feel bad bc i forgot what she was called and what her species is)) i mean sure i love humans but a human plant?? yes pls.

also yes i brought all of those magical orbs they are gonna come in handy, i’m guessing gray is wind, red is fire, blue is water, green is earth which is really cool even though they are one use but whatever

and i am cute but i couldn’t decide on which outfit bc they were both cute with my hair. anyways the brand/birthmark is cool, which is probably going to become important, it was at the end but it’s gonna be like everyone is gonna have darkness in them or around them and we gotta blast them with happiness and joy and sunshine!! which i am down for.

Americas Most Eligible

who would have thunk ivy would be in the top 2 YET IM MAD BC I DIDNT WANT ADAM TO QUIT BC HE MISSED OUT AGAIN UGH AND WHAT CARSON MAN WHAT THE FCK I TRUSTED YOU IVE NEVER FELT SO BETRAYED LIKE I EVEN GAVE HIM THE CHEAT LIST AND HE WAS SO WORRIED AND I WA SLIKE OK I CAN TRUST U THANKS CARSON AND NOW WHAT THE HELL man i am angry, that’s it i am done with this subject.

It Lives In The Woods

ok cool chapter glad I (MC) figured out the symbol was the same and man what the hell im gonna be mad if tom is one of those people in that cult, i mean i know he was playing video games, tbh i’d be doing that too but i don’t trust you just yet tom you are acting suspicious.

AND WHAT NED?? i saw you GET STABBED MULTIPLE TIMES DID I LIKE TRAVLE BAKC IN TIME?? WAS HE NOT DEAD AND JUST FAKED IT?? AND KILLED THE CULT MEMBERS IS THAT WHY THERE WAS BLOOD IN THE BASEMENT?!?? I SWEAR NED MAYBE HE HAS A TWIN?? OR MAYBE ITS THE MONSTER LIKE A SHAPE SHIFTING MONSTER?! THATD BE COOL

also i’m glad everyone gets a thing i’m trying to figure out who’s who on the paper unless everyone gets something different?? OK NO WAIT I GOT IT I STARED AT IT FOR A FEW MINUTES OK SO

Bird Cage; is Imogen bc she trapped bc of her mum ((i think but that’s her ok anyways))

Moth; could be cute mystery girl we don’t know the name of.

Lantern; is our MC ((i’m not sure why but maybe she’s the light for everyone to help them out of this hell))

Compass; could be Parker as it has a gun on the weapon side so i’m guessing police gun??

Eye; My best guess it Tom because of his glasses and yeah that all i got on the eye

If you have anything to say about this or agree/disagree let me know so i can change it or whatever lol we can work together!! Choices Mystery Team lmao

Perfect Match

Ok hayden looks CUTE and gross i did not want to see that chick who tried to steal tyler from abbie hmph. i was fine with seeing kaitlyns friend. and suck it brad i have three lovers i don’t need no more thanks.

anyways that cupcake AI presentation was SO CUTE THAT IT WAS GROSS AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN

LAOS EXCUSE ME CELICE HAYDEN DIDNT HAVE A CHOICES I WOULD HURT SOMEONE IF THEY HURT SOMEONE I LOVE SO SHES BASICALLY HUMAN AND THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT

[pugugly001-misc]

Okay, Strange New World's sucked me into watching Discovery with my mom. It's a really good show, it's definitely not Star Trek but it's great fun to watch between SNW episodes to drop.

I... Honestly have never gotten the complaints about original series SFX. In my opinion even before the remasters they hold up pretty well, especially if you've seen other Sci Fi from the era. The Galaxy Quest toy ship scene is cute, but TOS never looked like that. Blake's 7 and Dr Who and a lot of other stuff did. But the fact that other Sci Fi got better SFX after that has a direct correlation with TOS suddenly raising the bar a lot.

Enterprise. I love all the actors on Enterprise but it just never really worked, although their anniversary 'Mirror Universe' episode was amazing and is a requirement for Discovery. I... I also write femdom erotica that tends to use a lot of pheromones and I'm sorry but I knew the Orion Slave Girls were actually femdom mind controllers watching Trek as a child and I'm sorry if you've seen 'The Cage' Captain Pike sure as fuck did too.

Also, headcanon, the 'Venus Drug' from Mudd's Women is definitely a retroviral treatment that grants humanoid women some of the same effects as Orion Women.

If people can claim 'Amok Time' is the episode that sailed a thousand K/S ships, I am happy to die on this hill, clinging to the leg of my Orion Mind Control Domme.

I want to dislike Lower Decks but... I just can't. I'm only a few episodes in but so far it's hilarious.

Voyager is such a mixed bag. It had a lot of production politics in the background that did not help, it had one specific episode so bad it was just decanonized, it also had really great episodes, the Borg, a species that killed Borg, a great philosophical episode on AI ethics, it just went never achieved stability.

DS9. Awesome, full stop. The first season is weak only in comparison to how good it got.

TNG... Patrick Stewart carried the show for at least 1 1/2 seasons, then it found it's footing for most of the series, with Season 7 being uneven. But if the first season of TOS had been like TNGs first season, we would not be having this discussion.

For anyone interested in getting into Star Trek but doesn't know the right place to start: There isn't one. Every place you could potentially start is the wrong place. That is the Star Trek experience. The only way to get into Star Trek is the wrong way. There is no right way. Wherever you start, you will find yourself lost, confused, disturbed, unsettled, baffled, and perhaps a bit turned on. This is normal. Congratulations, you are one of us now. I'm so sorry.

[seigephoenix]

Aftermath

Despite the title, this has some fluff content.  FShep x Zaeed.  Non-canon backstory Shep.

Marlowe clenched her jaw stubbornly as she felt the pain shooting through her body.  It was six months after the end of the Reaper War, and the galaxy was putting itself back together.  Marlowe Shepard was spending the time trying to get herself back together.  She knew things would be hard, but she had the idle thought that Hell Week was a cakewalk compared to this.  She remembered the sense of completion after shooting the panel and giving the Star Brat the figurative finger.  It had been an exhilaration to see the fury on the AI’s holographic face as she was knocked back by the explosions.  Her last thoughts were her own, the constant buzzing of whispers had been gone.  She’d had a sneaky suspicion that the Reapers had been slowly trying to indoctrinate her.  The nightmares, the voices that whisper to her, had become clear in the moments when The Illusive Man had taken control over her body.  The Reapers had put their hopes into her as well, ever since that first lone fight against Saren. No, since she’d spoken to them on Virmire.

Sweat beaded on her skin as she gripped the rails beside her in a death grip.  The voices weren’t of her friends and loved ones, they were the Reapers.  The Reapers whispering her worst doubts and fears to her, every decision she ever made had been thrown in her face.  When that became clear as The Illusive Man used the Reapers to take control of her implants, her stubborn side came out in full rage.  She turned on him through sheer will and shot him dead.  There could have been a chance to redeem him, but then she remembered the files on Akuze.  The faces of her lost teammates, the ones eaten by the maws, flashed through her mind.  It had been relatively easy to pull the trigger, looking back.  For her team that had been killed due to his organization’s experiments, it seemed fitting she was the one that had taken the shot.

Marlowe willed herself to take that first step.  That first step seemed so huge and daunting.  Her left leg had been lost in the damage from her fall in the Crucible.  Her left arm below the elbow as well, but the prosthetic for that was adapting better than her leg.  It reacted to her nerves much easier than her leg and Marlowe was getting much better at using it.  She still got the pain that she was told was normal.  Normal her ass, it still hurt like a bitch.  She’d take that pain and make it hers, it reminded her the Reapers had not won.  They, humanity and all the other races that banded together, had won.  The galaxy no longer had a looming death clock anymore.

“Damn it Shepard.  You were supposed to wait for a nurse to get back.”  Marlowe laughed as she heard the petulant tone in his voice.  Hearing a friendly voice lifted her spirits, especially since he’d been a constant pain in her ass.

“Still playing my nursemaid Vega?”  She leaned against the railing, propping her chin on her hand as she watched the big Marine enter the room.  The first steps being forgotten temporarily as Vega shuffled around with coffee and breakfast.  Her stomach growled as the tantalizing smells reached her.  He snorted.

“Hardly but I don’t want to get my ass kicked by your merc boyfriend because you got hurt on my watch.”  At the mention of Zaeed, Marlowe felt her heart flutter.  He’d been there when she woke up.  You can’t be the one girlfriend to break the streak of trying to kill me.  Wake up damn it!  Marlowe told him to quit yelling or she really would try to kill him.  She remembered his next words with clarity, it still sent a trill of heat through her.  That’s my sweetheart.  Now let’s get you up.  She’d been making progress every day for the past six months to get to where she was.  Her spine had been fractured and had to heal before she could try putting weight on it.  One doctor had informed her she would never walk again, he’d been thrown out of her room by everyone in it.  Every single crew member and friend she had made all told that doctor where to shove his opinion.  Marlowe herself threatened to kick his ass if he didn’t get out of her room.

Miranda had informed her that she had redone her implants but without any Cerberus tech this time.  Miranda privately whispered that Zaeed had been particularly adamant that she not use Cerberus tech.  Vega was her physical therapy buddy since he had the uncanny ability to tap into that stubborn streak she had.  Zaeed stayed with her when he wasn’t needed for reconstruction.  Marlowe focused her eyes on Vega and they narrowed at the nervous shifting of his eyes.  “What are you up to James Vega?”  He pointed at himself in a Who me?  Marlowe glared at him and arched one eyebrow.

“Spill it Vega.  Or I’ll tell that pretty nurse that you flex in front of the mirror when you think no one is looking.”  He grumbled and shifted his weight around.  It looked as if he was weighing the options and consequences in his head.  His arms crossed as he shook his head.  

“No can do Lola.  Sworn to secrecy.”

“So it is something.”  Marlowe tapped her finger against her lips as her mind whirled with possibilities.  “Tell me Vega.”  She demanded as her body straightened and wobbled a bit as her body tried to regain its balance.

“If you can make it over to me on your own maybe I will.”  Vega teased and Marlowe sucked in a breath to steel herself against the excruciating effort.  She moved slowly and could feel Vega’s eyes on her.  Her eyes stayed on her legs, making sure to put one in front of the other.  Her foot moved and then she concentrated on the prosthetic.  The synthetic foot twitched and finally moved a step.  Her eyes shot up to Vega and he looked amazed.

“Hold up on that just yet Lola.  The nurse is on her way.  Please?”  There was a note in his voice that had her freeze.  She nodded and leaned against the railing.  It had been about a week since Zaeed had been there, and she missed him.  Missed hearing him tell the nurses that if they wanted him out of her hospital bed, they’d have to drag him out.  Missed hearing the stories he told her that lulled her to sleep.  She especially missed him being there when the nightmares struck in the night, his comforting arms sliding around her warm and comforting.  

“Come on Vega.  You know I hate surprises.”  Shepard whined as Vega shook his head.  The door opened and she turned with an exasperated huff.  “About time.”  She froze as she recognized the man standing in the doorway.  Tall, always so tall, broad shouldered, and the salt and pepper hair.  It had once been as deep red as her own.  His eyes that she remembered shining with mischief as he and she got up to shenanigans when she was a child had more lines around them.  “Dad?”  

“Marlowe.  You were supposed to wait for a nurse, but patience has never been your strongest trait.”  Her father, Admiral Kenneth Shepard, strode over to her as she straightened.  “Has it baby girl?”  Marlowe laughed at the nickname.  He had once told her she would be sixty and he’d still call her his baby girl.  

“How?  I thought you and Mom.”  Marlowe paused at the flash of pain in her dad’s face.  “Mom isn’t here is she?”  Her father shook his head and held out his arm for her.  Marlowe reached out and grabbed his forearm with her right hand.  “I’m glad you made it Dad.”  

“And I’m glad you did.  I heard about the disaster that the ground assault was.  We heard there were no survivors and then, then, we all heard your voice.  Hackett almost had a coronary when you asked what you needed to do.”  Vega watched as Marlowe took a step as her Dad spoke.  He kept his lips sealed as the two caught up.  “I almost had a coronary when your name came across the lines.  ‘Shepard!  We have Shepard!’  I can’t tell you how much that meant.”  Kenneth grinned as they made it to the end of the railing.  Marlowe jolted as the railing slipped from her fingers and she looked down to see they’d gone beyond it.

“What?”  Kenneth chuckled and she glanced up at her father.

“You always did overthink things dear girl.  Occupy your mind with something else and you’d manage to overcome anything.”  Vega burst out laughing and the elder Shepard looked at the Marine, who clapped a hand over his mouth.  “Now.  Let’s go.  There is someone else who wants to see you.”

Marlowe glanced out the door and saw Zaeed standing there.  Looking distinctly uncomfortable in his casual clothes.  Jeans and a dark shirt.  She let go of her father’s arm and walked over to him.  Worry flashed in his eyes as she stopped in front of him.  “So you found my Dad?”

“Vega opened his bloody mouth didn’t he?”

“I am being falsely accused!”  Came the reply from the therapy room.  Kenneth chuckled at the protest.

“You were gone a week.  I figured something was up,” Marlowe explained.  “Don’t blame Vega.  I even threatened him and he kept his mouth shut.”

“I figured he’d crumple.  Shocking,” Zaeed grumbled as Marlowe put her hand on his arm to keep her balance.  He instinctively covered her hand with his.  Marlowe grinned at him.

“You’re just a big softie.  Admit it.”  Marlowe laughed at the disgruntled expression on his face.  

Kenneth watched his daughter with the grizzled mercenary.  He wouldn’t have picked Zaeed Massani out for her, but he saw the light in her eyes.  Those eyes so much like her mother’s shined with the same emotion he would see in Hannah’s eyes.  His daughter lit up when that man came into the room.  If Zaeed made her happy, then he’d let her be.  All he wanted was for her to be happy.

“How would you feel if I told you that we got permission for you to leave?”

“Leave?  Leave the hospital?”  Zaeed nodded.  “When!?  I don’t care how you got the cage unlocked.”  Marlowe wrapped her arms around Zaeed, pressing her cheek against his chest.  

“Now.  I even got your apartment finished.”

“Wait.  That big one that Anderson left me?”  Zaeed nodded as she tilted her face up to him.  “How?  I didn’t think Zakera Ward was a priority?”

Vega laughed and spoke up from the doorway.  “It wasn’t.  Until your boyfriend rounded up the crew and between us we had more than enough leverage to get the complex fixed.”  Vega grinned as Zaeed shot him a glare over Marlowe’s head.

“And now he opens his bloody mouth.  Arsehole.”  Vega held up his hands at Zaeed’s grumbling insults.  Marlowe smiled and leaned back.

“Let’s go home.”

“Anything for you sweetheart.”  Vega made a face and Kenneth coughed to cover up a laugh.  “You’re not invited.”  Zaeed pointedly told Vega.

“No problems here.”  Vega backed away and Kenneth told Marlowe he would visit the next day.  Zaeed looked down at Marlowe after the others left.

“Are you going to tell them?”  Marlowe’s eyes danced with mischief as he shook his head.  No one knew but Marlowe suspected they all had a feeling something was up.  The glint of silver on her dogtag chain drew his attention.  The simple band wasn’t anything fancy, she only wanted simple.  Fancy wasn’t their style.  “I suppose we should let Tali know it’s okay to tell since she was our witness and all.”  Marlowe tilted her face up and he leaned down to press his lips against hers.  She sighed and fisted her hands in his shirt as he lifted his head.  

“Then take me home.  So we can see if they fixed the hot tub?”  Her grin had him chuckling.  He didn’t want to spoil everything.  It had been a long six months, and he was sure she’d forgive him for what he had planned.  Hopefully.  It would take some persuading but he was good with his hands.