#but also vaughn bc vaughn needs love too

[whumble-beeee]

I just realized I'm allowed to post my art on my blog too. This is good. This is excellent even >:). And yes this is a threat. Bc guess who's been busy drawing character portraits! 💚💚💚

[inactivegaz]

you can see me as a secret mission

pairing: kyle “gaz” garrick/oc (vaughn "cowboy" ballinger) fandom: call of duty wc: 1,197 note: all of these little scenarios have been swirling around in my brain for the last couple of weeks so if it feels disjointed, that's why. also it's 3 am. once again thank u to taylor swift simply for releasing i can see you from the vault bc that song is SOOOO vaughngaz

when each person on the team found out about cowboy & gaz

READ ON AO3 [✰]

GHOST In Las Almas.

He was scanning the room, paying attention to nothing and everything.

Next thing he knew, before everyone actually geared up, Vaughn caught him in a semi-empty hallway and grabbed his arm, quickly retracting once he gave her his attention.

"I know you don't owe me anything, considering we met… three days ago," she started with a hushed tone and he was instantly confused. "But between us: you didn't see that back there."

He blinked, trying to recall anything that the agent could be referring to. As he towered over her, he heard Captain Price calling everyone to round up. "See what?"

Clearly she misread his question as a playful agreement as she smirked and gave him a playful smack on the arm, "very good. Thanks, Lieutenant."

He shook his head as she walked back to the group, standing next to Sergeant Garrick and whispering something to him, while minimally gesturing towards the superior officer.

Ghost walked in the room, puffing his chest out as he took his place beside Alejandro as he and Price debriefed everyone once again before they took back the base. He made brief eye contact with Gaz as he tried to recall what he may have seen and once Gaz noticed they were making eye contact, he made a face, then it clicked.

Holy shit, Garrick was kissing the agent.

LASWELL A few weeks after it started.

How could she not know? She spent more time with Vaughn than anyone else on the job.

Kate knew her agent and Price's new protégé hit it off back in Paris, but she didn't realize it would wind up leading to anything. Vaughn always said she was too into her work and shrugged off the idea of having a partner.

But that changed three and a half months after Paris. After a four week leave that Ballinger scheduled because she worked so many long jobs for over a year and felt she needed a break.

Laswell didn't mean to snoop, she truly thought she was doing a good deed when Vaughn left for lunch out of office, accidentally leaving her phone on the chair opposite Laswell's desk along with her wallet.

Kate sighed and placed the younger woman's personal effects neatly on her desk, she'd be back for them.

In a moment of silence as she clicked through emails, contemplating calling her wife, there was a loud ding and the phone lit up.

She didn't mean to look, to read the text that popped up from a contact called KG reading: "got home alright, love. call tonight?"

Laswell quickly flipped the phone over and slid it over to the edge of her desk, hoping Vaughn wouldn't notice that her supervisor moved it from its original place.

Within a minute there was a quick knock on the door and then Vaughn peeked her head in, "sorry," she chuckled as Laswell waved her into the room, "I left my phone."

PRICE About a week after Laswell.

Kate informed him on their regular-but-also-incredibly-irregular lunch meet that she believed that their subordinates may have been getting intimate. He shrugged and brushed off the information with a gruff laugh, "they're young and in similar fields, I'm sure it's not anything serious."

"London is a bit far for just a booty call, John."

"They're young and stupid then." He brushed it off. It was really none of his business, especially if it wasn't affecting their professional lives.

The Captain could read his Sergeant pretty well, so when he (Gaz) had an extra kick in his step when Price informed him that they'd be working with Laswell and 'her agent,' it was noticeable. What else was noticeable was the fact that they hugged too hard and for too long when they met up at their homebase just outside of Antwerp.

Brushing it off again, Price knew well enough that Agent Ballinger was a hugger, it never bothered him enough to bring up and it wasn't an issue, it was just kind of odd.

What really cemented the pairing to him was the night, about four days in, when he left his 'office' and ran into the aforementioned agent getting startled exiting a room that he didn't believe was hers.

"Captain." She greeted, adjusting her posture and stepping away from the door.

"Ballinger," he nodded, "getting some rest?"

She had a long day scoping out their target for the next evening, she retreated to bed a couple of hours ago. "Yeah." Vaughn crossed her arms over her midsection, it was then that Price noticed she was wearing one of Gaz's button ups. "I got up to take a walk and remembered I, um, I needed to talk to Sergeant Garrick about something." Jesus Christ she was bad at lying.

They parted ways after the hasty response and instead of going to his room, he turned around and knocked on Laswell's door, knowing she'd still be up.

"Yeah, I saw her scoping the surroundings. I didn't think she'd be out of there 'till morning." Laswell informed, letting him in the room with a drink in hand.

SOAP When they told the team.

Johnny never believed anything Ghost told him casually, especially if it sounded like it could be considered gossip. On missions he trusted his word. Anything official was believable. But when they were playing pool and after the couple in question got whisked away and his superior nudged him and asked what he thought of Ballinger and Garrick? Nah, not like that.

And six months later? When Ghost nudged him in the cafeteria and posed the question again, gesturing to the couple across the room who were basically standing toe-to-toe, Cowboy brushing something off of Gaz's shoulder and letting her hand linger on his bicep just a bit too long? Still not a chance.

"Johnny, come on." Ghost was more aggravated than he should've been about the situation but he really thought that if anyone was gonna believe him when he suggested that Ballinger and Garrick were messing around, it would've been Soap.

Soap, frankly, would believe that those two were together if it were anyone else telling him. But it wasn't, so he shrugged with a shake of his head, "Ghost, have you met Vaughn? She's like that with everybody."

With a grumble, Ghost turned away and walked out of the room.

It took another two months before the idea was even brought up again to him as they were called into a debrief by Laswell and before she could start, Vaughn stood up from the table and called the meeting to attention. "Good morning, everyone. Laswell's letting me do this, by the way. But we, kinda, had some news for y'all." She greeted, messing with her hands as everyone's eyes went to her, "it doesn't really have to do with this op, but I– we– Kyle and I figured it was time to tell you that we're… engaged."

Soap couldn't help his response and he whipped around in his rolly chair and looked at the Lieutenant on the opposite end of the table, "I thought you were fucking with me."

Gaz barked out a laugh, "you didn't know?"

[stinkrascal]

get to know me sims edition tag thingie ! tysm for the tag @rebouks <3

1. What’s your favourite sims death? ummmm getting eaten by a cowplant tbh. gets me every time

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? maxis match hair, preferably the kind with the hair strands, and then alpha everything else

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? when im doing gameplay then no, but if im taking screenshots for my stories then their weights dont really change bc i dont play w them anyways so they dont change much. so i guess the answer is still no

4. Do you use move objects? always!!

5. Favorite mod? probably slice of life? idk i think its so fun!! i also like mccc for the utility but thats a boring answer so sol wins

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? ive basically always torrented ts4 so i got the eps when they first came out and idk which one i played first. but the first one i bought on an origin account was cats and dogs!

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? like alive!!

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? breanna!! caspian!! vaughn!! i like them all can that be my answer

9. Have you made a simself? yeah!

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? lazy, goofball, geek

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? the white/blonde color!!!!

12. Favorite EA hair? that one hair that came with the luxury stuff pack that was vlad's hairstyle for like 3 years before i changed it.

this one!!!

13. Favorite life stage? young adult duh. thats why i have vampires so they can stay young and pretty forever

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? both duh!! it's all fun for me :D

15. Are you a CC creator? no but i can make simple recolors and adjustments to meshes if i need to! id love to learn how to make meshes from scratch. i really wanna make my own trees for story stuff but i dont really know how to start that. but one day!!

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? all my mutuals of course :)

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) honestly probably 4 because even if the gameplay is lackluster, w all my mods its pretty fun and i always gravitate to it. i think ts3 was the first game i ever played from the series and its great too. i played ts2 about a year ago and it is also fun but its too ugly for me so i never wanna play it lol. and i never played ts1!

18. Do you have any sims merch? no

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? yes but all the videos are unlisted, you can only access them through my tumblr. i just upload random silly things and tutorials sometimes, but i havent uploaded in years. im still gonna make an updated editing tutorial vid i promise aha

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? i think my sims are more blushy now, and they have more skin details and textures since i use alpha skins now. but besides that not much

21. What’s your Origin ID? actually its stinkrascal but i dont use it for ts4. i just have my dragon age games on it ha

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? umm idk!

23. How long have you had a simblr? since 2017 :) but i made this blog in 2019

24. How do you edit your pictures? photoshop 2022! i promiseeeee im gonna make an updated editing tutorial one day

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? i want horses, fairies, and a new city world like san myshuno! besides those things im pretty happy w what we have

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? growing together or werewolves! obviously i like vampires too!! oh or island living that ones great too. idk i like a lot of them

im gonna tag @gothoffspring @woohooincoffin @itsmariejanel @pxltown @omgkayplays @lucidicer @barbieaiden @void-imp and anyone else who wants to do this!! <3

[eclvpses]

welcome to marina, abel romanov ( cis man, he/him ) ! they are a thirty-three year old who has lived on the island for his whole life. word on the street is they’re currently living in hyland park and works as a pediatrics doctor. everyone also says they look a lot like brenton thwaites. what do you think?

below are mentions of injury, and depression.

stats.

name: abel camile romanov.

age: thirty-three.

gender identity: cis man.

pronouns: he/him.

sexuality: thinks he's straight but has just never felt the loving touch of another man</3.

birthday: december 3, 1989.

star sign: sagittarius.

myer-briggs: infp.

occupation: pediatrics doctor.

place of birth: marina island.

last played on spotify: the system dreams in total darkness by the national.

general disposition: optimistic and overbearing.

background.

second child 2 senator vaughn and philanthropist adelaide who’s currently running for marina’s mayor, younger brother of cain!! the romanov’s r quite well known fr their All American n Lavish lifestyle

growing up abel worshiped cain he was the cool older sibling who could do it all n still maintain the lifestyle he wanted/their parents expected n abel wanted nothing more than to follow in their footsteps

he tried his best to keep up, did everything cain did, but his grades were always just a bit lower, or his form was always just a bit off, he always felt second fiddle, like it was his role in life as the second child

abel ignored it the best he could for most of his life but he started to notice a different side of cain that he didn’t show their family and a side that :/ abel didn’t like or know at all that was quite vile and this was when some resentment started to form bc their parents thought of cain as their Golden Child n didnt see what was going on behind the scenes whereas abel tried his best to be genuinely good if he could help it

by his senior year of high school things were starting to look up a bit, his already rly good grades were managing to improve, he was on a bunch of social teams, and the coach was saying it was looking good for him to become captain of the soccer team by his second semester, which would look even better for scholarships that'd been in the talks since he was 15

injury; abel was still subconsciously trying to impress his family, his siblings, the people around him, wearing himself out until he was stretched far too thin, and he paid for it with one wrong move during a soccer game that had him colliding with someone from the other team, his knee popping out of place and shattering

it was really really really bad, he was in a cast for a few months bc it needed a total of five surgeries, obviously sports were permanently out of his future, and he still walks with a limp in his right leg and is in need of a cane to this day

depression; this sent abel into a really bad depressive spiral that he didn’t really talk to anyone about cause he’d trained himself at that point to just keep things to himself and never reveal his emotions so that no one could catch him vulnerable or have an upper hand on him

however this was the final nudge he needed to really become his Own Person after realizing it’d gone too far and he’d gotten too bad (on medication now to regulate when he gets out of control/starts to get bad again bc it does happen from time to time)

told his parents fk ur money! n moved out of home, had a rly lovely letter of recommendation from teachers that got him into medical school, started joining different teams tht he thought wld b more fun (radio, chess, etc.), started to distance himself from his siblings a bit too (mostly out of shame)

details.

rly started to loosen up, threw a lot of parties at the romanov summer beach house without telling his parents n would purposely act out/make more friends than he ever had trying to uphold the family image

is still . quite stiff around the edges to this day tho, thinks everything through and has like daily planners he writes down his entire days in to the Second old habits die hard its jst how he functions at this point

had another rly rly bad depressive episode when cain went missing bt like everything he does? he internalized it baybee!

is like overly nice tho he just rly struggles expressing himself/being openly emotional and vulnerable with ppl he thinks they’ll view it as weakness tho he’s a bit desperate to properly let someone in

when cain came back (will b explained in james’ bio) their parents encouraged abel to keep an eye on them n it made abel :/ another reason fr resentment in his eyes (he still loves his brother bt bc hes so bad at expressing himself he thinks hes gna make cain worse if anything)

has been with several ppl bc hes kinda desperate fr approval/fr ppl to need him so hes been quite a good bf in the past bt his incapability to properly open up has put a real Damper on things

likes to think hes in perfect control of his emotions bt explodes a lot bc hes bottled things up fr years

is in no way a Bros Bro but will blush over his shirtless guy friends sometimes then b like . awww so endearing of me i must love my friends sm<3 like jst doesn’t realize he’s Bi LKSHDGKLHSDKLG he wldnt even freak out if he found out he’s just clueless.

thts all . i can think of now ok bye<3

connections.

exes???? he wld have a Few methinks only ever had one Long Term GF (winks at stef and asya) but probs tried to date after when cain came back i cant imagine it went swimmingly bt. LKSDHGKLHSDG

fwb’s/past hookups/ur regular old Spice

obvs he’s never been w a guy before but i am So Desperate fr a funny/cute plot where a friend or even jst a random hits on him/Opens His Eyes and he goes wow this is all starting to make sense.

ppl he has a crush on…………. bt wld never say anything abt it . in his current Frivolously Unemotionally Emotional state

family friends/ppl he grew up with?? or ppl who knew him before he separated himself from his family a bit n knew him as a diff guy n is like ‘omg wtf lol’ now

obvs . some friends Bleathe

enemies?? ppl who he got annoyed with n jst lost it on bc it was a wrong place wrong time Situation.

thts all i can think of rn very basic bt teehee

[lovebugmusings]

I have so many oanty dropping blorbos lmfaooo. Let's see here... *flipping through my mental filing cabinets* there's Rhys and Vaughn from Tales from the Borderlands, Bobby Fulbright from Ace Attorney (here me out his fan art is incredible lol), McCree from Overwatch, Karl Heisenberg and Alcina Dimitrescu from Resident Evil 8, Nahara + Nadia + Muriel + Portia + Julian + Lucio (Lucio is also a hear-me-out bc he's lowkey a piece of shit LMAO) who are all from The Arcana (mobile game), i could go on but i won't just yet lmfao. Anyways lol, why are we sending in our blorbos again?

-🎧 (also can I be headphones anon?)

🦌 anon asked if they could send hot men to thirst over, and i figured why not open it up to the crowd! and absolutely you can!! I always love when people want an anon sign off, so flattering that yall want to stick around 😊

Rhys and Vaugha: oh. oh wow. yup that's a tag team I would like. the borderlands art style is also just objectively very sexy

Bobby fullbright: there is definitely some very daddy fanart. the original art style is not his hair's friend though alchsodhs

mccree:

Karl Heisenberg and Countess Alcina Dimitrescu: ALL I WANNA DO. IS FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU. A GIANT WOMANNNNNN. my ass is bisexual and you expect me to not want to be the personal stepstool and sex toy for vampire-adjacent, 9'6, mommy-kink personified woman? and I fear. I fear literally rolling around in the mud with Karl would... not fix me it would definitely make me worse but it would do something to me. fundamentally.

Nahara: she's... wow. stunning and her armsssssss

Nadia: she could tell me to bark and I wouldn't even need to think about doing so

Muriel: he would ruin my life but also I want to tug on his harness and have him whimpering at my feet. perfection akdhsofjso

portia: mommy but in the warm mother way. and I want to be under her skirt puh-LEASEEEE

julian: oh I've seen him!! he looks like a mean flirt but looks a little too twinky to pull it off...

lucio: aldjaldja he LOOKS like he'd be a piece of shit lmao. opposite of a pleasure dom, and he knows he's pretty so it's even worse.

[reciprocityfic]

passing afternoons

title: passing afternoons fandom: little women pairing: theodore laurence x amy march  rating: m summary: “did you have any dalliances after me?” she asks.

he blinks hard as his brain reels for a moment, as he struggles to comprehend what she’s saying. after her? there is no after her. there never will be.

then, he stops. thinks. she means...oh. oh.

she means after that time in the garden, in paris. when he’d first revealed his feelings for her, and she’d rejected him. left him standing there alone and feeling like an utter, hopeless idiot.

oh.

(laurie and amy spend a late summer afternoon talking about the past.)

author’s note: i've literally shipped laurie and amy since like fourth grade. so when i saw little women (2019) and found out it did my bbs justice, i basically cried. i've been meaning to write fic ever since, but alas, here we are almost a year later. i hope you enjoy it anyways.

i have another fic in the works that's longer and definitely more angsty, which i hope to post relatively soon. i also hope to write more fluff (also maybe smut???) for them in the coming months bc GOD i just love imagining these two together. in the meantime, i hope you enjoyed this!

xoxo, rebekah

passing afternoons

They enjoy being lazy after sex.

They’re not always afforded the opportunity, of course.  At night, they tend to fall asleep rather quickly afterwards, exhausted and sated and tangled together.  And the occasional forbidden interlude - when they’re some party or gathering wholly bland or pretentious and the two of them (sometimes tipsy, sometimes bored, always and perpetually desperate for each other) run off to some dark corner or isolated room where he lifts the skirt of her dress and the too-many layers underneath and uses his body to press hers against the wall as he sinks into her from behind and they pray their moans and the sounds of their bodies together won’t be heard - must be short and altogether swift, no time to dwell in the aura of the sensations and feelings between them.

But then, there are days when Grandfather is occupied with the business and the Marches are busy and they dismiss the servants.  It’s just the two of them in their grand house with time that seems to stretch on and on.  Sometimes they’ll make it a game of sorts, shamelessly flirt and tempt each other to see who will break first, but oftentimes they’ll share a look and a smile and then they’re off in a race to their horizontal surface of choice.

Today is one of those days, when they’ve nowhere to be, nothing to do, and are all alone.  It’s an unusually hot day in late September, and when Amy had complained about the warmth, he’d suggested she take her blouse off.  She’d raised an eyebrow and told him to go first, and then one thing led to another and now they’re naked and sore and satisfied, laying on their bed as the early afternoon sun shines in through their open windows.

He lays on top of the sheets on his back, head at the foot of the bed and hands on his stomach, staring up at the ceiling and trying to find imaginary patterns in swirling paint.  She lays parallel to him, but leans against the headboard, her long blonde hair falling around her face as she sketches him.  He hadn’t seen her take out the pad and pencil she keeps in the dresser near their bed, but he can hear the sound of graphite moving against paper as she draws.  He grins as he imagines her face, lips pursed and brow furrowed, wide green eyes focused and the movement of her hand knowing nothing but purpose even with the most casual of sketches.

They do not touch and do not talk.  Still, the intimacy of the situation - of being together and completely safe and comfortable with the person you love most in the world - is overwhelming.  Its warmth cocoons him, and he feels his eyes getting heavy as he lies there, a breeze blowing in from the open window and caressing his skin.

“You had your many dalliances after Jo, yes?”

His eyes snap open when he hears her question, his stomach lurching slightly and his mood dampening.

He ran away to Europe and drowned himself in alcohol, drugs, and women after Jo broke his heart, and he admits this.  Amy knows it, too.  And it’s not that he’s ashamed of that period of time, exactly - while he wishes he had, indeed, bore it better, he finds himself sympathetic to the plight of people scorned by love, however misguided that love might be.

He just doesn’t often talk about it.  Doesn’t like to.  In his mind and in his heart, it is only Amy.  Has always been, and always will be.

Amy doesn’t really like to talk about it, either.  He finds her inquiry curious, but answers anyway.

“Yes,” he tells her, although the word comes out sounding more like a question than an answer.

He waits for her to explain her line of thought, but she simply hums to herself.  He stares at the ceiling a moment longer, then leans up, resting his weight on his elbows.

She’s staring down at her drawing, her face just as he pictured it, pencil grasped between her lips as she swipes her thumb against the paper.  He watches as she takes the pencil out of her mouth and starts at it again, and he watches her for nearly a minute before opening his mouth to speak.

She beats him to it, though.

“Did you have any dalliances after me?” she asks.

He blinks hard as his brain reels for a moment, as he struggles to comprehend what she’s saying.  After her?  There is no after her.  There never will be.

Then, he stops.  Thinks.  She means...oh.  Oh.

She means after that time in the garden, in Paris.  When he’d first revealed his feelings for her, and she’d rejected him.  Left him standing there alone and feeling like an utter, hopeless idiot.

Oh.

He shifts on the bed, drops his eyes from her face.  He can feel his skin begin to flush from embarrassment.

They’ve never talked about this before.

Not that there’s much to talk about, he supposes.  He still hesitates to tell her - not because he fears she’ll be angry with him, but because he doesn’t like to talk about it.  If it were up to him, he would erase from his mind the memory of every woman he’d ever been with until only his wife remained.

But she’s asked, and he’ll be honest with her.

“One, I suppose,” he murmurs.

“You suppose?” she questions.  She’s still staring down at her artwork, but her pencil doesn’t move.

“Sort of, yes,” he confirms.

She finally looks at him, her eyebrows pulled together and a frown on her face.

“How do you sort of have a dalliance?”

She looks genuinely confused, and he laughs lightly at the crease between her brows, sits up fully and reaches out to her.  He cups her face and uses his thumb to rub at the wrinkle of skin.

“Shall I explain?” he asks her.

She nods.

“I...tried to be angry after you left.  Just think - to be turned down by not just one, but two March girls!” he gasps playfully, and she snickers, pushing against his shoulder playfully before dropping her hand to run over the sparse hair on his chest.

“But?” she prompts.

"But I couldn’t make myself angry.  Not at you.  But I also knew I couldn’t just stay there in France and watch you and Fred Vaughn…”

He makes a noise in the back of his throat, and she rolls her eyes playfully.

“We’re speaking of all your affairs, and you want to tease about Fred?”

“It’s part of my story!” he insists with a wink, and she rolls her eyes again.

“Well, keep telling it.”

He smiles, and continues.

“I couldn’t stay, so I did what you told me to.  I went to London, as you know.  And when I first got there, there was a woman staying at the same hotel as I was.  We got to talking one evening at dinner, and one thing…”

He trails off, feeling himself flush again.

“...led to another,” Amy finishes.  “I understand.  I don’t need the details.”

She’s frowning now, even though her fingers still run over his chest, and he despises it.  He has half a mind to drop the subject, to kiss her lips and make her happy and forget life before, but he can’t.

“Wait, I’m not done.”

“Laurie, I don’t need to hear any more.  You had your dalliance, I’m not upset, and we can stop - “

“I couldn’t do it,” he interrupts.  “It didn’t work.”

She pulls back from him slightly, her eyes wide and curious.  She looks down his body.

“You mean you couldn’t...?”

He follows her gaze, and then snorts.

“Not like that.  It - it didn’t even get to that.  Amy, my dear.”

He lifts her chin, and she gazes at him.  He can tell she’s still confused.

“Every time I closed my eyes,” he explains, “I saw you - the face you made in the garden before you turned away and left.  It broke my heart.  It still breaks my heart.  And when my eyes were open, all I could think about was how her skin wasn’t as soft and her hair wasn’t as fair and her eyes were brown instead of green and she just...wasn’t you.”

“But with Jo...”

“It was different with Jo.  I could make Jo into anyone.  I could always pick out the tiniest thing that reminded me of her, in any woman, and then pretend that woman was her.  I couldn’t...do that with you.  Or maybe I didn’t want to.  In any case, being with that woman didn’t make me forget.  She made me remember all the more.  And I only kissed her for about a minute before I realized it was worthless.”

He stops and grabs one of her hands, brings it to his mouth so he can kiss her fingertips, before holding it over his heart.

“And that’s when I knew that this was different.  You weren’t Jo, and I wasn’t going to be able to just...drink and fuck you away.”

She’d normally gasp and swat him playfully for his use of the coarse word, but now she stays silent and presses her hand more firmly against his chest.

“I was in love with you.  Hopelessly and completely.  And I realized that all I could do was stay in London and toil away and... pray that somehow you would change your mind.”

Then, everything had changed.  Beth died, and then he knew he had to be with her.  It didn’t matter if she despised him, or if Fred was there.  He needed to be with her.  But before that, he had been rather resigned to his fate - to work for his grandfather and forever pine after Amy March.

God had smiled upon him, though.  And now, here he sits with his wife, Amy Laurence.  Married, in love, and happy.

“So does that explain how one can have a single, sort-of dalliance?” he asks her.

But she stares at him, eyes shining, almost with tears.

“You were going to wait your whole life for me?” she whispers.

He smirks slightly, turning away from her and shrugging, somehow embarrassed.  But she grabs his face, turns it back to her, and locks their gazes.

“What else would you have me do, my lady?”

“Oh, my lord,” she breathes, and kisses him deeply, until his toes curl and he can feel himself begin to harden once again.  When she pulls away, they’re both panting.  He wants to grab her, to gather her up in his arms again, but her pad and pencil remains between them.

He motions to the picture.

“Still working on that, Raphaella?”

“Maybe later,” she remarks, taking the paper and all but throwing it on the floor beside the bed.  She pushes him back so he’s laying once again, and climbs on top of him, straddling his waist.  “I have another idea how we can pass time this afternoon.”

She leans down and kisses his smiling mouth.

Yes, God had smiled upon him.  Had given him back his love.  And he’s married, in love, and happy.

Achingly happy.

[laurieteddy]

good company | amy march 

description: where amy shares her true feelings and 

request: “Could you write a Amy March x fem reader ? Maybe something like reader is a model for Amy’s painting classes and Amy falls in love while painting her and so she pursues the reader?” 

warnings: light angst in one part, and mentions of homophobia bc of the time period

word count: ~3,650

a/n: so, so, so sorry this tool me so long!! requests just always seem to... i hope you like it! also, the painting classes part was sort of small, sorry!!

---

This wasn’t what Amy had expected when she thought of what would happen in her art classes. Of course she knew she would be painting live models, that much was obvious, but she hadn’t even imagined that she would fall for any of them. The models were there to do their job, and the artists were there to paint them. It was as simple as that, or was supposed to be. 

When you came in, though, it changed things.

It wasn’t as if it was like “love at first sight” which a younger version of Amy would’ve believed in more. Though, as time passed she seemed to only admire you more and more. You held yourself so delicately yet seemed so carefree when talking to others before a session began. She had observed you closely from the first day she met you, which could be shrugged off in the beginning because you were the subject she was painting, of course she was observing you. 

Amy shook it off as long as she could, it was completely new to her. Sure, she had feelings for Laurie at a younger age, a lot of people tend to have a crush at some point in their lives. But you were a woman, this changed everything. She told herself she was infatuated because you were the model, you were of her interest because you were the subject she had to focus on. But it felt like more than that. It felt, to her, similar to the feelings she had toward Laurie those few years ago.

The two of you had spoken quite a few times, before and after classes and sometimes during breaks if there were any. You had noticed her gaze always seemed to be following you, which you would tease her about on occasion. Amy always seemed to have a smile accompanied with a blush when she talked to you, she couldn’t help it. In times where you might poke fun at her you would earn a deeper shade of red from her cheeks.

She was glad to be able to talk to you. You reminded her of home in ways, being so carefree but at the same time you were careful to pay mind to your surroundings. You would both tell each other stories of your homes and families, your hopes and dreams even if they were silly, you would talk about anything just to have a conversation. Conversations you shared never seemed to be dry, even if you were only talking about the weather, because it was just nice to be talking to each other.

You were glad to have met Amy, finding yourself naturally drawn to her. It became a nearly daily routine to spend at least an hour of your time with one another, finding company outside of classes too now. You were more familiar with the area and so Amy took advantage of this to have you show her around. On top of that, while she fit in with most crowds just fine, she preferred your company over most other’s there, especially Aunt March.

“How’ve you never had a pickled lime?!” Amy laughed as she looked at you with furrowed brows.

“I’m not sure,” you shrugged. “I guess they just aren’t as popular where I’m from.”

“They should be,” she grinned. “You know, I actually got in trouble at school for having them. That was my last day of school there, it was a dreadful place from the start.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, it didn’t sound in character for Amy to get into trouble for something so foolish. Then again, you didn’t know her at that age. Her aunt certainly seemed to think she had drastically changed though. And if you looked close you could see a more “rebellious” side of Amy. For the most part she tried her best to be proper, still allowing herself to relax though but doing so less and less it seemed.

“Why would you even get in trouble for simply having them with you?” You connected your arm with her’s as you walked through a garden. 

“Well, we would trade them and the teacher decided to put an end to it, it did nothing though. I was in debt so my sister gave me money and I was able to buy enough to repay people.” She sheepishly said, “I brought a whole bundle to school but I was too obvious with them.”

“You’re trying to tell me that you, Amy March, actually broke rules and got into trouble at school?”

“I’m not trying, I am telling you,” she laughed. “It wasn’t worth the cost though. I wouldn’t do it again.”

“Ah, there we go. That sounds more like you,” you grinned and leaned against her arm.

She smiled, shaking her head at your response. Then she realized, she had grown quite a bit in what seemed like no time at all. Or, at least, she had matured plenty. It was weird to actually consider how much had changed. It made her wonder, had you changed from childhood or were you always so outspoken?

“What about you?” She glanced over, “Tell me a story from your childhood?”

You paused to think, deciding on what story you should tell her. When you thought about it most of the stories seemed to be about the same. While Amy seemed to be more outgoing in school and through childhood, you seemed more reserved. Now, though, your personalities seemed to, in small ways, flip and become the opposite of what they were.

“I didn’t talk to many kids at school,” you began, “I had one close friend, who I haven’t talked to since then. I didn’t have the same interests as the other students seemed to have, didn’t hurt me any though.”

“Well, you do seem to have found a fairly large and worthy friend group now.” Amy locked arms with you.

“I wouldn’t say large, but I thoroughly enjoy their company. I’ve found more people to relate to in my adulthood than I ever did through school.” You raised your brows, “Now, that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy at least parts of my childhood.”

“Oh?” She questioned, “Would you share more, then?”

You smiled at her, nodding gently before telling her about another bit of your childhood. Amy listened closely, nodding every once and awhile to assure you that you had her attention. You didn’t talk about your past much, and she was always curious to learn more about you.

For hours you walked together, eventually stopping to sit on a bench by a pond. Amy was still asking you questions about yourself and would occasionally share some stories of her own. While you had been doing this for days now, talking hours on end with one another, neither of you were growing tired of it. If anything, you both couldn’t wait for the next time you would get to chat. 

Recently you were finding yourselves at a lack of time spent together. Amy was talking to a man, one that was sure to propose to her soon. He could offer her money, a well enough life, just material things that Amy recalled dreaming of having when she was younger. But, she didn’t find herself too interested in him. While he was easy enough to get along with, it wasn’t exactly all she was looking for in a relationship. Then again, that wasn’t really the point of marrying him, as Aunt March would remind her.

“Won’t we talk tomorrow?” You asked, already knowing her answer.

“You know I’ll do everything I can to make the time.” She smiled sadly, “I have plans with Mr. Vaughn tomorrow.”

You could feel your heart clenching, a pain you were growing used to. Fred Vaughn, of course. Never would you dare to say anything against him, he wasn’t a bad man and you knew Amy was only doing what she must. Still, it would be a lie to say it didn’t sting a bit when she had to leave you for him. Maybe the fact that he was a good man only made it worse too. There was no real reason to have anything against, that’s what all of your friends had said.

“Don’t worry yourself too much over it,” you smiled, “we always find the time eventually. Mr. Vaughn makes good company as well, I think you’ll find yourself losing track of time with him.”

“Hmm, I disagree.” She continued walking slowly, “While Fred is good company, my mind doesn’t seem to stay focused on him even if it’s only the two of us. He is a very nice man, but…”

Amy wasn’t really sure what she was about to say. It was all true, she did find Fred to be a kind man and good company, but there was still something that Amy didn’t quite mind about having to spend time with him. She figured at first it was just the idea of actually becoming a married woman, losing all that was hers really. And, yes, that was still a part of it but there was more that she couldn’t place. Or, well… she didn’t want to think about it.

“What is it?” You reached for her hand, gently pulling her to a stop.

She didn’t turn to face you, she wasn’t sure that she could. There were too many thoughts to gather, too many words to say. Where to begin? And where would it end? 

“Sometimes I just wonder if I actually like Fred or if I just like the convenience of him,” she admitted. “Like I said, he is a very nice man but I don’t know that I can see him in the way Aunt March wants me to.”

“What do you mean?” You already knew, and you knew there would come a time when this would happen, when you might lose her.

“We’re expecting him to propose.” She looked at you, “And Aunt March expects me to say yes.”

You tilted your head, “Will you?”

Amy gently pulled her hand from your grip, looking to the ground. She didn’t know her answer to that. She didn’t want to say yes, not really. It was giving her life away, but at the same time it was a promise of a, at the very least, decent marriage. Fred made good company, but he wasn’t who Amy pictured spending her life with.

“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Your tone was a bit sour, you were hurt by the idea that she may say yes.

“I just don’t know.” She took a deep breath, “I don’t know that marrying him is what I want to do but I need it’s… It is just what I need to do.”

“What you ‘need’ to do?” you scoffed. “Amy, if you don’t want to be with him then it isn’t what you ‘need’ to do.”

“It is though. For my family, for my future. And if I ever wish to have children it would be good support for them.” She took a step away from you, looking over the horizon. “I may not think it wise to marry him today but I can’t think about just today, y/n.”

You weren’t sure why there was this anger growing in you, if it even was anger. You supposed it was because, as you had thought before, you didn’t want to lose her. Marrying Fred Vaughn would mean she would have to go. She would lose everything that made her life her own, now and in her future. To you, it didn’t seem worth the cost. Amy seemed so happy where she was. 

“Life isn’t just about money, Amy. It’s about happiness, what brings you joy. And a life with Fred Vaughn? What else can he offer but money?” You moved in front of her, a pleading look in your eyes.

“Stability. Help for Beth. A promise that I have at least some sort of good future.” 

“You keep saying that, “good future”. What do you mean by that? What is a good future to you?” Part of you knew you were likely overstepping but you were so frustrated, and you truly didn’t want Amy doing something she didn’t want to do.

“I mean,” she paused to think for a moment. “I’m not doing this. I’m not having this conversation with you, why do you even care so much?” 

Another stinging went through you. How could she ask that? Wasn’t it clear how much she meant to you?

“I don’t know,” you snapped.

Amy was taken aback, that wasn’t what she thought you’d say. She was expecting a list of reasons, a speech about how marrying Vaughn was the wrong choice. She thought you’d be ready to fight back. It wasn’t that she wanted to fight, she wasn’t even sure how it built up to where it was. You were both just becoming more and more defensive. 

You both stood in silence for a few moments, taking in all of your new thoughts and uprising feelings. You knew it wasn’t so simple for her to just decide not to marry Vaughn. Amy had a lot to consider on the matter, too much for your or her liking. There was just this piece of you that wanted to be selfish though, to hold Amy close by your side and keep her for yourself. But you… you had nothing of “value” to your name. No money, no land, no name to pass along. No name to pass along. That was, you couldn’t marry. It was an entirely different topic on its own.

Two women marrying? It wasn’t something people would even talk of, let alone something that could happen in the time. Even being together, in any form, was frowned on by most. 

This was likely, whether she realized it or not, Amy was pushing back the idea of having even the slightest feelings for you. Her family wouldn’t care, at least her sisters and parents wouldn’t. She wasn’t sure what Aunt March would think, though she didn’t know what that mattered to her either. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about what all of those around her would think, it was an overwhelming thing for her. Amy saw herself as a people pleaser, though when she was younger it may have not always seemed that way. 

Nothing about it was easy. 

“I don’t have the luxury of being so carefree,” she began. “I know, too, that it isn’t always a luxury for you. I recognize your past was complicated but…” she took a breath in, “that doesn’t make mine any less so either.”

“I know,” you whispered, “I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant to attack you like that.”

She nodded meekly, unsure of where to go from here. Now was the perfect opportunity to talk through everything running wild in her head, she wondered if you could offer some answers. Was it worth the risk of her potentially becoming so vulnerable? She would find out.

“Do you remember the first day you came in to model for my class?” Amy smiled at the memory, and out of relief for a change in subject.

“Of course,” you chuckled awkwardly. “You seemed so nervous, more than many of the others.”

Her cheeks tinted red. As she ducked to hide it she let out a soft titter, “I was. The class was so intimidating in the start on its own, and then you walked in.”

You frowned a bit, worried the story might turn negative given your previous conversation. Amy noticed, being quick to reassure you with a gentle smile and her hand landing on your own. 

“You walked in, laughing, letting your scarf flow behind you. Your overcoat was the complete opposite from your outfit, I remember scolding a few people for being quick to judge you on such a trivial thing. Your hair was wild, like now,” she smiled as she brushed a tuft of your hair behind your ear. 

You were blushing now. “So we’re talking about how messy I appear?” you joked.

Her brows furrowed, “Not at all. I mean all of that to say… I couldn’t believe how effortlessly beautiful you were when you walked in.”

Both of you could feel your hearts pattering against your chests. For you, you thought you might be over analyzing again, if you ever had in the start that was. For Amy, she was shocked she actually worked herself up to say that. While it was simple enough, and no doubt something one could say to a friend, it was coming out in this brand new context. 

“When you came up to me after class, and you complimented my work.” She laughed, “I was at a complete loss for words. I remember being so nervous when you came up to me, I didn’t know what to say but you were so sweet. You asked me some questions, and I did my best to answer while trying to hide how… hypnotized I was. I kept thinking to myself that you would notice, that I would scare you away when you did.”

You weren’t sure what to say, you still couldn’t quite tell where the conversation was going, you were avoiding saying something you may later wish you kept private. There was also still this fear that you could be interpreting it wrong, though as she went on it seemed less and less likely that that was the case.

“I don’t want to marry Fred Vaughn,” Amy frowned and faced away. 

Her fingers were lightly tracing circles over the back of your hand, something she often found herself doing to her own hands when nervous. She didn’t exactly expect any response from you, but the silence was eating away at her as each second passed without you speaking up. Where to begin?

“So don’t.” You held her hand still between both of yours. 

It wasn’t so hostile this time, you were calm. Your tone sounded to be more suggesting rather than demanding. Amy was more willing to hear, both of you were. 

“Fred is a lovely man, perfect company… but if that isn’t who you want to marry, don’t.” You released her hand, “Status fails to matter when you find yourself at a lack of joy.”

“I’ve heard that a few times from my mother.” You often reminded Amy of home. “Meg too, and it seems to have proven itself to be true in her case. They haven’t much, but they do seem so happy with each other.”

What Amy was trying to say was so much more than what she was getting out. She hoped you might expand, understanding you were likely nervous too. A few more moments of silence seemed to last for hours, though it was more like a minute. Talking about it was hard, not as hard as she had initially believed but it was still difficult. 

“What if-- just, what if I don’t want to marry Fred because...because I don’t want to lose you?” Maybe it would be easier to be more straightforward. 

“Lose me? Amy, you could never,” you moved closer to her.

“No, I know. I know that we will always have our friendship, our memories and so on. But, what if I’m afraid of losing all of it? Our long walks, never ending talks. What if you understand me better than anyone… and I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose the feeling of holding you close,” her fingers intertwined with yours. “I don’t want the butterflies in my stomach when you greet me again to leave me. I don’t want to give up our spontaneous picnics or races. I want to hold it all close to me, I want to keep you close to my heart.”

“Amy,” you couldn’t help but smile, “I mean, what about everything you had said earlier?”

“Those words were spoken out of fear, y/n. I… I’ve been afraid to say any of this to you. I thought you might run the other way, and I was terrified of what would be said had anyone found out but… I don’t care. Someone will always have something to say about me, right?”

You were thrilled to hear all of this, but at the same time there was a bit of conflict. Amy didn’t tend to be so spontaneous, you wanted to be sure she meant everything she was saying before letting yourself react too much. It didn’t feel real, how could it? 

She talked about the day you met so lovingly, and she seemed so smitten when describing you that day. It was almost like sitting back, listening as she talked about someone you had never met. It just seemed like true admiration so it was hard for you to imagine she was talking about you, not some stranger. 

“I’ve wanted to say something similar to you for some time,” you finally admitted. “I thought it was a lost hope, seeing how we all thought you’d be marrying Vaughn.”

“Ugh, enough about Vaughn, don’t you think?” She groaned, rolling her eyes dramatically with a grin on her lips.

“Absolutely,” you smiled and joked, “who knew I’d be stealing you away from him.”

“I did, the day I met you.” 

You laughed as you both continued your walk. It was getting late, neither of you had minded. You spent hours more talking, about things you had been burying for too long and about how things would be changing. It was getting easier to talk about, and you’d catch yourselves tossing in random jokes from time to time to keep the atmosphere cool. 

Aunt March wouldn’t be happy to hear the news, Amy didn’t care any longer though. Really, it was the last thing on her mind then. She was happy to just be walking with you.

[melancholiaenthroned]

tales role swap au!!!! heck yeah!!!!!! can i ask - where do felix, august, n vallory fit in? and if fiona doesn't have the echo eye, how would jack enter the story? Your designs are so cool by the way i love rhys' coat w/ the pinstripes wowowow

THANK YOU FOR ASKING swap au my beloved <3 ok i have an embarrassing amount to say so im gonna stick it under a read more

ok for felix, I would replace him with yvette. im an yvette liker so i prefer not to have her betray rhys in aus but well. it fits. maybe she feels like she can do better without the bandit camp holding her back and using up resources, so she plans to strike out on her own with the $10 000. she would probably feel guilty and maybe hire athena just to pass along the message of what happened (couldnt face to do it herself) but it would end up the same with them assuming athena is out to get them and fighting/running from her. in the end shed either convince rhys and vaughn to abandon the camp and strike out with her or send them some of the money and not really stay in contact with them post game.

august and vallory fit pretty much the same role. in the con side of it, yvette would take the role of sasha (conning august and ‘dating’ him, though shed catch less actual feelings than sasha did) and rhys would fill fionas role as the fake archaeologist. all and all they stay pretty much the same as canon. i dont remember too much of august and vallorys role in the late game so if theres something that would need major shifting bc of character lmk. god i need to replay tales.

OK FOR JACK i talked about this a bit in the tags of the og post but i have ideas about this. fiona works in higher and more confidential levels of hyperion, developing tech and weapons and whatever. basically, she knows how slimey the company is and is not letting them put their tech in her body, she Does Not Trust Like That. sasha also works at hyperion, in a much lower position (im thinking tour guide), and shes only really there so fiona can keep an eye on her (she wants to work in the weapon manufacturing but fiona doesnt want her getting in too deep). she doesnt have the info that fiona does, and while she doesnt idolize hyperion to the extent that canon rhys does. she thinks its cool! and so sasha actually takes that part of rhys role, because she would be willing to get the echo eye/port. i havent decided yet whether or not she would be willing to get an arm like rhys. i doubt it BUT i could see her experimenting and adding some weapon upgrades connected to her echo eye/port so she could control them from her mind. maybe some kind of metal glove that can shock people that only she can control (but once jack gets in so can he)? idk im still workshopping that bit. but yeah sasha is actually the one jack gets into and while she isnt a jack fangirl she does work at hyperion and do tours of his office so she at least respects what he did and so there is conflict in her decisions to trust him or rhys.

SORRY i know this is a lot but thank you so much for asking my mind is full <3 im so glad u like the au and the art 

[mz-elysium]

Wow. That was a lot longer than I planned. Do we even do comic sans wip posts anymore? It it cool? Am I cool? 

Photo ID below the cut because this is already way too fucking long of a post. And this ID, bc of it, is so so long.

Photo ID: a 13 slide Comic Sans font powerpoint about an original WIP. All slides but the first are white, black text, all font being Comic Sans to follow the meme.

Slide 1: black background, white text. Titled with red shadow: The City of Fallen Angels: (2) Hitaeth. Definition below: hiraeth: homesickness or nostalgia, an earnest longing for an idealised past, or a sense of regret. Around this title are a bunch of floating descriptors about the WIP: vampires, gothic-punk, regrets vs forgiveness, dark urban fantasy, historical 2003, 4 POVs, secrets, political intrigue, slice of life, compassion vs selfishness, vampires playing Game of Thrones, grimdark and also hopepunk. A Vampire the Masquerade canon divergent original novel.

Slide 2: Worldbuilding, about the Vampire the Masquerade world. Titled: The canon sects but like a little more nuanced. Three columns of bullet points follow. 

The first is the Camarilla. 

neo-feudal lords and princes

rule most of the world

want to rule the rest of it

scheming, old elders who don’t give a shit about anyone else

will kill your family to make a point

BUT ALSO.

stable domains; due process

clan culture, history, tradition

connected to wider vampire society

play their game and you can live as a peaceful peasant (mostly)

The second column is the Anarchs.

rebellious neonates/ancillae

in their Free States, there’s opportunity for power and to live your own life

neonates can actually own land??

ALSO

literal anarchy

no real oversight or leadership

can and will be killed by another gang

“if you can hold it, you can have it”

Third column is the Sabbat

worship Caine as the First Murderer (first vampire)

take “vampire” too literally

inhuman monsters

war cult readying for Armageddon

ALSO

profoundly religious

strict code of honour

accept their inhumanity (no angst)

tight-knit family-like packs

heroes/crusaders for their ppl

Slide 3: Titled: Have a shitty map. A Google map screenshot of Central Los Angeles, with highlighted sections in different colours, clearly done in Paint by a child. Seven sections are highlighted, explained on the next slide.

Slide 4: The lands are divided by the sect who control it.

Anarchs:

Angels Wasteland: remains of the #peaceful Barony of Angels. With Salvador Garcia’s death, it’s a shitshow chaotic warzone. 

Tinseltown: Isaac Abrams, movie baron, just wants to be left alone.

East LA: ruled by loyalists of the Old Guard Anarchs, who are all dead/gone. Sabbat from further east are smelling weakness.

Downtown: technically “no baron” but also nines is baron. Typical Anarchs, shooting each other, living rough, living free. OR ARE THEY???

Camarilla:

The Valley: a praxis backed by legendary elders, who are propelled by faceless masters, using unwilling Prince Barty Vaughn as a pawn

Westside: greedy and ambitious LaCroix goes “hmm. la looks like shit. probably wanna get in on that” and calls up his contact, Therese Voerman and says “yo. u got a barony, huh? wanna be my seneschal?”

“Independent”

Silver Lake: a desperate grab by Monroe and co to build their own “utopia” … sorta like the Anarchs 60yrs ago… and look how THAT went. Monroe ate the last Old Guard Anarch.

Slide 5: Titled: Monroe’s POV, with a subtitle of The Captain. On the left, a photo of half of a man’s face in shadow. He has dark hair, pale skin, blue eyes, and a hard expression. Bullet points describe him as Matthew Monroe, Clan Ventrue, Embraced 1873, Humanity 5, age 28. On the right, a series of bullets describe his POV’s story.

this is a dude drowning in an ocean of Problems and his catchphrase is “I’ll figure it out”

he owes a life debt to the enigmatic powerful archon in the Valley (Jan Pieterzoon), who seems to respect/honour him more than most of LA.

he used to be besties with the Valley Prince (Barty Vaughn), who he can’t trust but seems? the same?

he turned his ghoul and secret love into a vampire (Hawthorne), against her wishes, and now she hates him. monroe: u kno what? that’s fair.

Silver Lake is held together with duct tape. monroe’s right hand (Ashley Swan) is a nightmare and untrustworthy. his people try to kill each other.

he’s got a lot of unresolved trauma/grief/abuse/anger and vampires sort of have “The Beast”, a spirit that haunts them with evil

and oh yeah, LA is about to explode

Slide 6: Titled: Monroe’s supporting characters. Four characters, each of them have a photo, a title, and brief run-on description.

First, a photo of a very pale man with purple eyes and a lock of ice blonde hair. Ashley Swan, the Thorn, Clan Toreador. Monstrously cruel, sarcastic, hedonistic, aggressive, sadistic, can’t be trusted, doesn’t wear shirts. Bisexual transman.

Second, a photo of a dour woman with dark hair. Audrey Hawthorne, the Lovechilde, Clan Ventrue. Blinded by the Embrace, furious, frustrated, grieving, snarky, over accomplished, creative, passionate.

Third, a man in a black suit looking over a ballroom with a crystal chandelier. Jan Pieterzoon, the Kingmaker, Clan Ventrue. 300 year old, archon, elder, sire is Camarilla big-shot, dignified, mysterious, chessmaster, honourable, elite.

Fourth, a man in a dress shirt, sleeve rolled up, hand extended with a cigarette and bloody palm. Barty Vaughn, the Valley Prince, Clan Ventrue. Former Anarch, Prince of San Francisco, now reluctant Prince of LA. Smokes like a chimney, lives to fuck Tremere and have fun.

Slide 7: Titled: Zari’s POV, with a subtitle of The Black Rose. On the left, a photo of a beaming dark-skinned Black woman with bouncy coily black hair. Bullet points describe her as Zari Adeyemi-Swan, Clan Toreador, Embraced 1973, Humanity 6, age 27. On the right, a series of bullets describe her POV’s story.

life sucks, it’s cruel, and there’s no point thinking on the past, even when the past comes to haunt you

she fled her foster sire and once-lover (Ashley Swan) for his cruelty to others, but now he offers maybe?genuine? amends.

thirty years ago, she left her human children. her daughter (Aisha Adeyemi) has been Embraced and brings bad news

her main way of #coping is working and distracting herself. she throws herself to infiltrate the Westside Camarilla court (Sebastian LaCroix), against all good advice.

soon after she arrives, she finds herself having a secret admirer (Mercurio), who reminds her how precious it is to be loved, held, and cared for — but they need to overcome their own instincts to accept what they could have

The Voerman sisters are in the thick of it all, making perfect cautionary allies and, if she can overcome her preconceptions, friends.

and oh yeah, LA is about to explode

Slide 8: Titled: Zari’s supporting characters. Four characters, each of them have a photo, a title, and brief run-on description.

First, a photo of a white man wearing mirrored sunglasses in front of orange-pink neon. It casts his face and smile eerily. Ashley Swan, the Foster Sire, Clan Toreador, monstrously cruel, charismatic, loyal, thorough, too clever, pleasurable. Bi transman.

Second, a photo of a white man in a suit, adjusting his cuffs. Sebastian LaCroix, the Westside Prince, Clan Ventrue, opportunistic benefactor, greedy, ambitious, petulant, ruthless, degrading.

Third, a white man in a paisley shirt, gold necklaces, putting a hand to a tattooed and exposed chest. Mercurio, the Admirer, LaCroix’s Ghoul, resourceful, sweet, empathetic, capable, romantic, salt of the earth, former Mafia hitman.

Fourth, a white woman in a black suit with delicate gold jewelry. The Voermans, the Mirrored Sisters, Clan Malkavian; one is brutal, calculating, patient, reckless, the other is seductive, fun-loving, innovative, insightful.

Slide 9: Titled: Charlie’s POV, with a subtitle of The Moonchilde. In small text, a line says “a.k.a. Me processing grief over my mother #coping. On the left, a photo of a sad-faced white woman with freckles, black eyeliner, and frizzy brown curls. Bullet points describe her as Charlie Bradley, Clan Malkavian, Embraced 2003, Humanity 8, age 20, lesbian. On the right, a series of bullets describe her POV’s story.

life is getting back to normal? well, “new normal”

as a new adult, she has a good ol’ fashioned “start of life” crisis: who am I? where do I fit in? complicated by her mother’s death a year ago. what sort of woman am I? how does this figure into my attraction to women?

maybe. maybe. maybe monroe is cold and distant and ruling a vampire kingdom, but he wants to look after me. maybe i should let him.

also, hey, you (Jesse Harper) get it. and you’re hurting. let me help, let me be your soft place to land. wow, okay, this is kissing.

she didn’t mean to ruin her sire’s (Rhys Wilson) life. but, she did. she killed his mentor. SHHH! secret! she feel bad. maybe friends? uh, okay, weirdo. maybe D&D.

she’s learning to deal with feeding on scumbags and giving what people got coming to them. and the Cobweb, supernatural psychosis

WHY ARE VAMPIRES LIKE THIS? WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? FFS

and oh yeah, LA is about to explode

Slide 10: Titled: Charlie’s supporting characters. Three characters, each of them have a photo, a title, and brief run-on description.

First, a white man in the middle of screaming, his head swaying back and forth so it looks like he has three heads. Rhys Wilson, the Sire, Clan Malkavian, weirdo, prime D&D fanatic and DM, just wants friends, and vengeance, pulls pranks to teach lessons. Gay.

Second, a very strong white woman with her arms crossed, a tattoo on one, and a t-shirt that is obscured but clearly says “The future is female”. Jesse Harper, the Darkness, Clan Lasombra, former vampire hunter, reluctant vampire, brooding, mysterious, sullen, black trench coat, buff as fuck, brave. Lesbian.

Third, a pair of clasped hands, male over female. Monroe, the Stepsire, Clan Ventrue, fucking old, inhuman, kills too easily, sincere, honourable, intense, gives good advice but really should shut his mouth hole.

Slide 11: Titled: Jack’s POV, with a subtitle of The Lone Wolf. On the left, a photo of a sad-faced strong Chinese man with a shaggy and tufted mullet. Bullet points describe him as Jack Shen, Clan Gangrel, Embraced 1955, Humanity 7, age 25, gay. On the right, a series of bullets describe his POV’s story.

why does he always end up alone? people leave, people die, people drift and change, but the good times were worth it

he’s always had a rocky relationship with his lover (Ryuko Saito), but now the dumbass has found a cult promising power.

he hasn’t lost him. he hasn’t. him and ryu just take time apart sometimes. but it’s been a long fucking while. and jack isn’t sure who he is alone anymore. a new human friend (Dustin Cohen), working at his animal hospital gives new life.

his former best friend (Damsel) has dove deep into Downtown and managing as Nines’ lieutenant, bringing him more and more dirty work to clean up

monroe relies on him to reign in the chaos of vampires trying to live without killing each other.

and oh yeah, LA is about to explode

Slide 12: Titled: Jack’s supporting characters. Three characters, each of them have a photo, a title, and brief run-on description.

First, a young white woman with dyed fire-engine red hair and an Iron Maiden t-shirt. Damsel, the Lieutenant, Clan Brujah, naive, brash, physical, loyal, loud-mouthed, smart.

Second, a skinny man in an ill-fitting Hawaiian shirt and jeans. Ryuko Saito, the Orphan, Mage, power-hungry, desperate, proud, ruthless, loving, isolated, crushingly lonely, gremlin, old and chronic pain, hides and “treats” it with magic.

Third, a white hand extending a hummingbird to fly free. Dustin Cohen, the Receptionist, Human, understanding, the best of Good Dudes, empathetic, kinda lame outsider

Slide 13: Titled: also. A moodboard on the right side includes two weeping stone angels, one at sunset, one in darkness between a tarnished and broken silver crown; a gas station in LA as seen through a rainy car window; grim-looking downtown city buildings; and a sidewalk curb with neon lights reflecting off a puddle and a plastic bag of takeout garbage strewn across.

On the left, bullet points follow.

about 100 million other characters. I legit have a spreadsheet

Everyone is capable of evil

Sins of the sire (father)

Never too late to start being a good person

Takes place  about 6 months before Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines

At least one more novel in the works

Subheading, 22/55 chapters written. Gonna start posting September 28.

End ID.

[oodlyenough]

borderlands (or just tales if the borderlands series is too broad!) for the fandom questions :>

Ok I already did Borderlands main series so here’s TFTBL edition!

Favorite character: God this goes back and forth, Fiona-Sasha-Rhys are neck at neck truly... but at the end of the day I go with Sasha because I think she needs my support the most so I have declared myself #1 stan. :P (Rhys definitely needs it the least. Screw that guy.) 

Least Favorite character: lmao honestly everyone in Tales brings me some measure of entertainment ngl. But no love lost with Scooter’s death really. Stop hitting on Fiona she’s gay.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Ngl everything’s like a distant second to Rhys/Sasha for me lmao... but then Fiona/Athena, Fiona/Yvette. I can’t really name any others without tossing in some main series characters, so I also like Rhys/Tim and, while we’re naming characters who’ve never interacted, Sasha/Amara. (Someone who grew up on the streets and Fights for Justice with her guns and, uh, her guns??? Sasha would be her #1 stan. If Rhys and Fiona get to crush on a vault hunter so does Sasha.)

Character I find most attractive: Stupid sexy Fiona 

Character I would marry: Sasha 💖 (I feel like Fiona would want too exciting a lifestyle for me, lol.)

Character I would be best friends with: I feel like Fiona would be hilarious. She would bring out all my meanest qualities, lmao. 

a random thought:

An unpopular opinion: Trust Fiona/Reject Hyperion is the superior route. ESPECIALLY reject Hyperion. Like I can see how [trust Jack] makes a good arc but rule isn’t even narratively satisfying or anything. I love [reject] Rhys but [rule] Rhys can choke. 

My Canon OTP: Rhys/Sasha!

My Non-canon OTP: Fiona/Athena they coulda been great if Janey were not an obstacle. 

Most Badass Character: Clearly Athena. No contest. Hands down. Not even close. 

Most Epic Villain: AI Jack was fun as hell and I loved killing him

Pairing I am not a fan of: Rhys/Jack 

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I mean if you stretch it to Bl3 definitely Vaughn’s weird mental break lmfao. 

Favourite Friendship: Rhys and Fiona! But I liked Rhys and Vaughn too, their friendship was the first thing that remotely endeared me to either of them. 

Character I most identify with: None of them really, every meme wants to know this but this just isn’t how I interact with fiction, I identified with a character one (1) time and I hated it and stopped watching the show lmfao. Maybe Rhys bc he seems like he had a pretty cushy life and I am also pretty privileged compared to everyone on Pandora.

Character I wish I could be: Sasha’s so cool man

[excvlsior]

about: *leo fowler.

basics.

full name: leopold kristoff fowler meaning of name: leopold = ‘people’ & ‘bold’, kristoff = ‘bearing christ’ nickname: leo, tadpole by some family members age: 23 date of birth: november 12, 1996 hometown: tallahassee, florida nationality: american ethnicity: dutch gender: demiboy sexuality: pansexual spoken languages: dutch, english profession: in lovell he’s a part time student and works at fowler’s flowers, but just the latter in st. louis

appearance.

height: 6′2″ eye colour: blue hair colour: auburn??? i feel like that’s the version of if someone had strawberry blond hair bt . strawberry brown instead??? idk it’s reddy-brown voice: pretty deep, surprisingly smooth jst feel like he has the personality of someone with a rougher voice bt . alas...... obnoxiously thick southern accent tattoos: c’est la vie on his ribcage, kristoff on his hip, ‘x’ on the inside of his middle finger done in shitty stick and poke, ‘L’ done in stick and poke on the side of his wrist, heart with a knife through it on his chest, tattoo inside his lip that says ‘pussy master’* :pensive:, ‘ouch’ on the bottom of both soles of his feet*, a hand giving the middle finger on the back of his left calf, dolly parton’s signature on the top of his thigh from when he got it at one of her concerts, a smiley face on his ass* >_>, a melting popsicle on the back of his right bicep*, ghost face mask on his right shin; * = he did them on a dare LKHSDGKLHLSDG piercings: lobes, right cartilage, industrial bar in his left ear, nostril, had an eyebrow and lip piercing when he was younger clothing style: pretty dishevelled and purposely ill prepared outfits, sometimes u can catch him in just plaid and khakis but more often than not he’s in something weird, his prized possession is a leopard print shirt that has a heart in the center, steals clothes from his aunt and uncle when he has nothing clean/can’t bother finding anything, been seen in marj’s skirts and leggings bc of this, and then on the other hand he’ll wear like a lime green tank top with a monster baseball cap worn sideways his style is just carefree and eclectic

health.

physical ailments: n/a neurological conditions: bipolar i disorder allergies: n/a sleeping habits: pretty much only falls asleep between the hours of 3-5 am, doesn’t matter if he works the morning or afternoon shift....... if he doesn’t work at all he’ll just sleep until his body naturally wakes up which is also usually around 3-5 pm KLSDGLKHSDGLKHDG exercise habits: doesn’t exactly have one..... he’s a pretty active and energetic guy so he’s usually up and about doing whatever anyway, also rides his bike everywhere since marj and steve r usually out with the only car they have sociability: loves being around people but he’ll eventually grow cranky, doesn’t necessarily need to be alone but at least with a different group of people if he gets to this point, the only time he actively doesn’t really want to see people is when he’s having a depressive episode but those don’t last too long as is drink / smoke / drugs: yes / yes / yes

personality.

positive traits: adventurous, courageous, determined, funny, gregarious, independent, quick-witted, tough, versatile negative traits: belligerent, cantankerous, foolhardy, harsh, impulsive, parsimonious, sarcastic, tactless, unpredictable, vulgar goals/desires: lowkey he’d never admit it but he just kinda wants his parents’ approval in the end, and also maybe to find something better than supervisor at a flower store (no offence to marj and steve its just not his dream) fears: staying committed and missing out on different opportunities/people that could change his life, the fact that he probably can’t do any better than be a supervisor at a flower store tbh hobbies: drinking, drawing a bit tbh, thrifting, loves collecting random knick knacks and is personally loving buttons rn, harassing his friends<3, making stupid tiktoks that somehow have gotten him a kind of big following habits: swearing obnoxiously without caring, yells in dutch when he’s frustrated which he’s mostly picked up on cuz everyone else in his family does it, stares more than what is socially acceptable tbh, refuses to walk under ladders

favourites.

weather: sunny with some clouds colour: dark green music: likes a lot of 90s and early 2000s rap and rock, old school country like he loves dolly parton LKSDHGKLHSDGLK rly enjoys elvis presley too, some edm or anything that he can jst dance wildly to movies: old school slasher films, screams his fav movie series ever food: spaghetti bt specifically w marj’s Phenom homemade meat sauce<3 drink: grape juice, whiskey sour

relationships.

father: steven fowler is his uncle but currently his legal guardian, he’s a co-owner of fowler’s flowers and is kind of a mess but in like the fun way....... LKSHDGKLHSLDG he just spends a lot of the day in nothing but boxers and socks w their cat on his lap watching the weather report if he’s not working, has the weird energy of someone who would be running like a joke shop instead of being a florist. archibald fowler is leo’s biological dad but he sucks Big Time, giant business typhoon i hvnt . figured out 100% wht sort of business bt hes got Money bt doesnt even rly want anything to do w leo he jst sees him as a massive disappointment bc archie’s nothing but a loser fart of a square. mother: marjorie fowler’s his aunt and other legal guardian also the other co-owner of fowler’s flowers, literally the sweetest woman on the planet like she’s never done anything wrong in her life n u can take tht to the bank. she’s a bit weird n super spiritual, their house constantly smells like random herbs and rly intensely of flowers and plants bc she makes so many home remedies bt she’s an angel a fkin ANGEL!!!!! renata kline’s leo’s mom n she’s like . fine ig she was pretty negligent n her best friend is a bottle of wine....... she rly peaked at a young age when she was a pageant girl n she still coaches n stuff now bt she’s obvs rly sad so leo tries not to lose it on her too much even tho he thinks she’s annoying LKSHDGKLHSLDKGKLSDG siblings: augustus is his oldest brother and he’s pretty cool, probs the brother leo is closest with even tho he considers him boring bt it’s only bc he’s . actually responsible n wht not they had a lot of fun growing up together tho when leo visited new york. mikhael is the devil, he’s actually a bit of a cunt n both him n leo have expressed their hatred fr each other without missing a beat i think they actually dnt hv any love or affection fr the other in the slightest SKLDHGLKSDHG. vaughn n leo r closest in age he’s not tht much younger n he’s probs the shiest of them, pretty soft spoken n well meaning, him n leo dnt rly keep in contact too much anymore bt theres a special place in his heart fr vaughn he’s pretty protective even tho he bullies him a lot bt thts besides the point. willhelm’s the youngest n it kinda shows he’s pretty idgaf attitude n rly blunt bt he’s also funny n probs the biggest partier outside of leo so he gets a pass whenever he rolls his eyes in leo’s face. pets: mitzie’s an 8 year old tortoiseshell cat who lives primarily on ppls laps shes literally more lap dog than cat significant other: n/a family’s financial status: middle class

extra.

zodiac sign: scorpio<3 mbti: estp - the entrepeneur enneagram: the epicure temperament: sanguine hogwarts house: gryffindor moral alignment: chaotic neutral primary vice: pride primary virtue: dilligence element: fire

[inactivegaz]

^^ me when i lie // under the cut there is about 2 THOUSAND words of just rambling about 6? of my ocs.. enjoy! (there may be a photo of my 🐈‍⬛ son at the end)

sometimes i post at 3:30 am and go nuts and do other things but here we go !!! (edit 11/24: this was posted and drafted nearly a YEAR ago. my b.)

Let’s start with Florence, my Red Dead OC. She’s chill, she’s morally alright in terms of what the gang does (in a way).

i believe that she joined either With or around the same time as the Callanders, thus she was really close with them and Jennie. And losing all three of them really took a toll on her in the mountains/the prologue and into chapter one.

I think she's primarily a hunter for the camp, a cook too (she knows her way around a deer and other animals well enough). She's also someone I could see them relying on for an extra gun in some scores where they may need a further numbers advantage.

Her and Javier, prior to the game starting, have been like dancing around each other for well over a year. I think they also, once they do get together, kind of have this moment where they talk about what they would do if the gang did settle down and get their own plot of land and just lay low. It really made her think, she doesnt really know if she could walk away from this life fully but with Javier, she'd be down to try it if he would as well.

Know this about Florence Howard: she understands a losing situation. and I think once she makes plans to get the other girls and Jack out of Beaver Hollow, she's totally checked out of the Gang. Like?? Sean's dead, Hosea's dead, Lenny's dead, Dutch is acting afool, Arthur is clearly unwell, they're wanted in two states, they took the worlds worst cruise and got stuck in Guarma, and now NOW her man is buddying up with the camp racist, she's done, and she has plans and money set aside for herself to gtfo and hopefully she could knock some sense into Javier.

Now Aster "Ripcord" Wendell. my love, my heart, my pick for the Apex games. There's two things in the world she does not play about and it's her sister and it's her money.

I think when she joined the games, her and Bang meshed really well in terms of team synergy and the fans loved them. I think they became acquaintances then kind of friends then they were fucking for lack of a better term.

That was a thing until Loba showed up and when they were finally ready to start dating and really getting to know each other, it got kind of fucked. Not to say its bc of Loba (bc it's NOT) but with Lo being around, Aster's past was really brought to light.

With that, lets be real? If her and anita wanted to get serious, aster shouldve told her that she was a criminal, a good one with big scores under her belt and is also a former? gambling addict.

And with the past being exhumed, Anita kind of (at that point, I feel) tried to take the moral high ground and it kind of backfired but maybe worked?? bc Aster is just not having it and just kind of takes her own jabs at Anita and her, at the time, proud IMC involvement. It's truly fucked, they both need to take a mo, smoke a joint and evaluate their thoughts and feelings and come back to have a conversation when theyre feeling less... hostile.

That being said, I think their relationship is really strained off the back of the broken ghost storyline (and following events) and it shows in their performance as a team in the Games. They will eventually find their way back to each other I feel. (thats my way of saying: i've been thinking Thoughts 🫣) Also having Aster/Anita being a thing (kinda) really makes the Valk/Loba/Bang thing even more convoluted.. but thats for another day.

hmmm.. Vaughn, little miss may-be-named-after-my-RDO-horse. Where do I start.. my COD oc may be one of my favorites right now, she's great. She has a big heart and she understands that in her line of work, that's not a great thing in a lot of situations.

quick fun fact, she's actually named after my Bell from my first play through of BOCW.

She gets offered to join the 141 that night in Chicago by Price directly. Like, while the team is there at the bar trying to chill out for a moment after that mission. She says yes ofc, now she's their espionage/(the only term i can think of right now is entry frag.. which is not it..& i dont feel that CQC is the right term either) person.

Her and Gaz met on a job in Paris and they hit it off right away, but they didnt meet again after that for another 4 months. kyle had time off and vaughn was on an extended leave and was staying in london and they ran into each other and hung out and started dating and that was that, kind of.

She's called Cowboy bc of some ROTC folks she was in college with and it really stuck, especially when a few years down the line she ran into one of them on an assignment she was on and while she was in the CIA, no one really called her that, but it is listed in her file and now in TF141, she is simply Cowboy.

I think once they really are actually working together, her and kyle's relationship moves fast. like at the time of mw ii taking place she's basically moved in at his place, she's met his parents and his sister, he's tentatively going with her to montana for thanksgiving to meet her family. I even stated in you can see me as a secret mission that when they fully tell the team that they're together and all that: they're engaged. And I stand by that and I think they're gonna get hitched quick after that.

I think by the time she meets Gaz for the first time in mid-2020, she's known Price for a couple of years. Pre-MWII, I think she knows Soap and has been on assignment with him only a handful of times but she adores him. On the other hand, I think she only knows Ghost by reputation, she never got the chance to meet him before they were on their way to Las Almas.

I have a concept of a concept of a character that I want to pair with Ghost. I only have a codename for them: Crow/Aandeg. I have no clue why I so badly need them to be called Aandeg but maybe one day it'll be their time.

I think they also wear a mask but like a gaiter/hunting balaclava vibe where it's covering mainly the lower part of their face. That's all i know so far. i've seen them in visions and my dreams and it's probably a byproduct of my thirst for ghost being at an all time high for whatever reason.

KIPPERNIA CALPURNIA ZIMMLAR MY SUN MY MOON AND MY STARS MY BG3 TAV

LOOK AT HER!! she is not a gnome anymore, I thought for a while and with how in love wyll and her are, i felt it was quite tragic to have human wyll with gnome kipper (due to the lifespan diff). also when i made my second tav, i never intended for the outcome to have a full blown oc, i just wanted to play a gnome.

i don't really know too much about cal, what i can say tho is that she's a kind person, often to her detriment. she struggles to make what would be the right, tactical call and it's hard for her to put her feelings aside.

she meets wyll at the grove and is instantly taken by him, she fell first but he falls harder kinda vibes.

Alystin Mysek,, my number one girl.

she is a lover with the vibe of a hater, she can be quite cunt-y but she does mean well. i think she has a mean rbf with a side of asshole voice.

alystin isnt really socialized..? like shes not sheltered but she doesnt have that many friends at home and she does have an air of gullibility about her. she takes what people say to her at face value early in the story and just goes with it. that is something she does end up growing out of.

i think she really does love astarion and caught feelings for him really early on but.. when he tells her 'hey originally i was using you so i had assurance that i'd be protected,' it does hurt her a lot, but at that point she does know enough abt astarion that she feels like that wasnt all that it was and when he even says as much as she does believe him.

although.. it hurts her when he does kind of call her a fool for trusting him so quickly, but if she went back and knew then what she knows now, she'd probably make the same decisions with him time & time again.

but this moment

this moment, she still falls for his shit and says "i just want you to be happy" even though he's using the voice and just wanting needing that confirmation that despite what he just did and how he lied to the other spawn, she'll still be by his side and help him take down cazador.

omg yall want a bonus oc?? let's grab my mcu oc lenny and talk abt her in insomniac's spider-man. a spectralverse situation. if u will.

also shhhh... i know it's the same fc as cowboy. but she was lenny first :)

lennox slater is one of peter's best friends, the way that she is in every universe. they've been going to school together since they were 8 or 9. theyve been through a lot together, but he has never told her that he is spider-man.

lenny starting dating harry in college after they pined over each other throughout most of high school and they even got engaged during their final year in college.

unfortunately, she is the only one in their friend group that knows harry is sick and how sick he is and she literally can not say anything about it.

i think once harry fully grasps the doom and gloom of the situation he's in, he wants to break up with her bc he doesn't want to put her through what his father went through after emily passed. he doesn't actually pull the trigger on that idea, not for a lack of trying (i don't think lenny would let him break up with her just for that).

before they found out he was sick, they had plans for the year after they graduate college and they were going to move to europe and work in the Oscorp EU offices. Lenny ends up being in a whole new continent by herself, and she experiences a whole different kind of isolation.

Not only is she alone in a new country, new job, she also doesn't really contact anyone back home, citing time difference and a really odd schedule. like you can send a text to her but do not expect a reply for the next 12-15 business days (it is less for her mom) and i feel like that's mostly due to the fact that she can't tell pete or mj what's going on with harry. they fully assume he's with her out there.

i think norman likes lennox and really think that's she's great for harry (he was ecstatic when they told him that they got engaged) and while his son is in stasis, he kind of takes care of her in terms of the job.

she does end up getting transferred back out to the new york office in early january 2019 and when she finds a place, she let's peter stay with her. she doesn't know that peter Knows about harry, so she lies to him and tells him that Harry broke up with her last summer.

And lenny, I think is a super smart girl, but holy hell is she oblivious. like she lived with pete for 6 months, maybe more and she has ZERO clue that he's spider-man. even when peter is so careless as to accidentally leave his mask in the common area of her apartment. i fully think she believes he's a cosplayer.

🫨🫨🫨🫨🤠🤠🤠🤠💫💫💫💫

thanks for reading! i know this was really long and rambly but it is mostly thoughts and ideas and introspections i had on multiple late nights that i had while, maybe, i was procrastinating. there's also a couple of ocs missing here, namely max st. clair, teagan king, quinn silva and mabel wendell. one day it'll be their turns. i may have to go through another fc5 or gta v phase for 3/4 of them first :)

fuck it.. yall are gonna know abt my viddy game ocs <333

[supremeuppityone]

Written for Klaroline Valentine's Day Bingo 2020 @kcvalentinesbingo

Prompt: “A dare is a dare.”

Author’s note: This is the much-requested sequel to Chapter 63: Drowning Secrets in the Sea, found in my Klaroline series, A Beautiful Symmetry.

Warning: Casual references to drugs

Please review here.

           “This is your idea of an adventure?”

           Caroline whipped her head around, mouth curving up into a pleased grin as she took in Klaus’ rumpled appearance. “Your university’s still skimping on the travel budget, huh? You know, just because they pay for coach doesn’t mean you have to fly it.”

           “Not all of us can afford first class, sweetheart,” Klaus replied, pulling Caroline to her feet and playfully spinning her around the cramped basement.

           She kissed one of his dimpled cheeks, suddenly giddy and hopeful. He was here. She honestly hadn’t known what to expect when she sent him the artifacts and GPS coordinates. “Seriously? Just because I fly first class, doesn’t mean I actually pay for it.” At his amused chuckle, she allowed herself to press into him, his warmth and familiar scent washing over her. She’d missed him more than she’d cared to admit. It only had been a couple of weeks since he’d let her walk away, angry and hurt by what she’d done.

           “Are you still mad at me,” she asked tentatively, stepping away to give herself a bit of space for this conversation.

           He hesitated, running his fingers through his disheveled curls a few times before he finally spoke. “You pretended to be an archeologist to gain access to priceless artifacts that my father commissioned you to steal. You could’ve ruined my academic career — everything I’ve ever worked for.”

           She bowed her head, her heart sinking in her chest. Did he come all this way just to tell her off?

           “But then you also didn’t go through with it and came back to save my life,” he continued, his tone a bit shaky. “I’ve missed you every moment since you left,” he confessed, standing in front of her once more, his touch tender as he caressed her cheek. “And I’m tired of missing you, love.”

           Their kiss was nothing like their first one — while that night in the bar had been hesitant, now their kiss was frantic; fueled by the past deception and a tentative promise of forgiveness. He tasted like her future. And Caroline had no intention of walking away from it twice. “I missed you too,” she admitted, placing kisses along his jawline.

           It was when he started to untie the silken knot at her waist that she snapped back to reality. With a sigh of regret, she gently pushed away, telling him, “We’ll need to pick this up later — a business associate is meeting me here in a minute.”

           Klaus looked skeptically around the dusty room, asking, “What sort of business meeting could you have down here?”

           “The private kind.” She considered him carefully, bending down to scoop up a few dusty books and folders to shove into his arms. “So, I don’t want you to freak out, but we’re meeting a kind of go-between for a gunrunnermobbossguy — but don’t worry! He’s totally safe and I’ve worked with him before.” She winced as she saw his gray eyes grow wide with alarm despite the fact that she’d hoped her rapid-fire words wouldn’t really register.

           “Did you just say we’re meeting with a ‘gunrunner mob boss’? Bloody hell, Caroline!”

           She rolled her eyes, checking her watch as she corrected him. “He’s a go-between. He’s not actually a gunrunner mob boss. He just works for one.”

           “How is that any better? And how are you going to explain me? What’s my cover?”

           Caroline snorted. Klaus was adorable when he panicked. “Calm down, James Bond. You’re playing the role of a nervous archaeologist completely out of his depth. Something tells me you’ll pull that off beautifully.” At his grumpy expression, she impulsively poked one of his dimples, telling, him, “Where’s your adventurous spirit? You know you want to embrace it — otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”  

           “I’d thought we’d start with dinner,” he mumbled, a hint of a smile starting to appear the longer he looked at her.  

           “Perhaps you can postpone your plans a bit, mate? We’re on a bit of a deadline,” interrupted a cocky voice as heavy footsteps finished descending the stairs into the basement.

           Caroline instantly went into her work persona, adapting her stance and demeanor to best put Galen at ease. “Galen Vaughn, you slimy bastard, the next time you let me borrow a grappling hook, make sure you didn’t break off one of the ends on Kangchenjunga Peak.”

           His blue eyes crinkled with mirth, cuffing her on the shoulder as he said jovially, “You managed a’right, didn’t you, lass? If memory serves, you repaid me in kind when you sold me out to the Germans.”

           “Looks like it worked out alright for you — considering you’re now their go-between.” Sharpening her tone slightly, she decided to move the meeting along. “Tell me the specs and deadline.”

           “Two spear points about 12 centimeters each. Day after next.” He nodded toward Klaus. “Who’s this?”

           Caroline kept her tone light as she explained, “This is Klaus, my expert. He’ll authenticate on-site.”

           As though to make up for her non-committal introduction, Klaus sprang forward, shaking Galen’s hand a bit too enthusiastically. “I’m an archaeologist. I can identify artifacts from 3000 BC to AD 500. While my main expertise in in classical antiquity, I have completed extensive fieldwork in Bronze and Iron Age dig sites. In fact, I lectured extensively on the evolution of the battle ax and advanced smelting techniques. It actually was quite fascinating how groundbreaking their metalsmiths were...” he trailed off, somewhat self-conscious when he noted Caroline’s indulgent smile. “Anyway...I uh, like...old things.”

           Did Klaus purposely make his accent deeper because Galen has a Scottish accent? “Right. As you can see, we’ve got this,” she told Galen dryly.

           “I’m impressed you’d take such an eager partner,” Galen replied skeptically, “he seems quite green, lass.”

           Since it looked like Klaus was squaring off to punch a friend of one of the most dangerous mobs in Eastern Europe, Caroline hastily shook Galen’s hand, sealing their deal. “Day after next,” she told him solemnly. He left with little more than a curt nod, his jovial demeanor instantly replaced by a more disquieting nature. Such was the way of this business.

           “Bollocks. Between the dodgy codes and the wanker with the pretentious facial hair, I’m a bit lost as to our mission, sweetheart.”

           She cheerfully answered, “It’s no big deal — we just need to infiltrate a party tonight and steal some Bronze Age artifacts so we can sell them to this gunrunner mob boss I know.” At his incredulous expression, she winked and added, “And you have stubble too.”

           “Clearly mine’s better.”

           Caroline softened her tone, noting the wariness in Klaus’ gray eyes. “If you want out, I get it. No hard feelings, ok?”

           “It’s not that; I’d just like to know what I’m getting into.” His gaze was penetrating, as though searching for something. “Why put yourself in danger? There’s a larger gain than just riches, isn’t there?”

           She crossed her arms, not comfortable giving so much of herself away. But she needed to learn. “Mikael took my mother off the donor’s list so that I’d work for him. When I killed him, I lost my one chance to get her name restored. My only option is a black-market kidney and this job will get me the cash I need to make that happen.”

           The kiss he gave her was electric; it burned her all the way to her toes and she arched into him, a tiny little moan escaping. “Does this mean you’re in?”

           That devilish smirk of his was all the answer she needed.

                               _________________________________  

           The estate was stubbornly built on the marshes along the coast of the Baltic Sea, proving that even the immensely wealthy could be ignorant dipshits. Caroline critically eyed the tall rooftops of the main house and its surrounding buildings, the crooked lines wordlessly demonstrating that everything was slowly sinking, eventually to be reclaimed by the sea. She could feel Klaus tensing beside her, and she patted his arm affectionately. “Relax — the doorman is barely coherent after his wild night at the Hunter’s Mark. He’s barely going to glance at our invitation, and even if he did, it’s been expertly forged.” She gave him a sly wink, adding, “By me.”

           “How do you know what he was up to last night,” he whispered back, eyes darting around the ornate courtyard of marble statues.

           “Because I paid off his dealer to ensure he never ran out,” she answered matter-of-factly, favoring the pale, sweaty doorman with a sunny smile as she handed over the ivory parchment invitation she’d painstakingly threaded with gold along the borders to match the genuine ones. As she suspected, they were waived inside with barely a glance, and she smugly handed Klaus a champagne flute.

           “Impressive,” he murmured, casting curious glances around the immense ballroom with its 10-piece orchestra quietly playing chamber music.

           “Yeah, they’re pretty impressive. The Martins have been running drugs out of Kiel for decades; their territory is perfectly situated to take advantage of the port. They launder much of their profits with a string of online boutiques set up by the younger siblings, Greta and Luka,” she murmured, snatching a smoked salmon canape from a silver serving tray.

           Klaus seemed to slowly relax as he acclimated to his surroundings, a bemused look on his face as he eyed the cascading fountain of champagne flowing from a beautifully crafted ice sculpture in the center of the room. “I meant you were impressive, sweetheart. You’re brilliant, remarkably talented, and adventurous — enviable qualities the rest of the world only dreams of possessing.” He leaned in, his accented voice low and sexy as he added, “Not to mention your ethereal, utterly enchanting beauty.”

           There went her heart doing that fluttery thing again. He already was wearing the hell out of that Tom Ford tuxedo, but then to have him whisper those things — things that maybe she’d heard before but no one ever really meant — made her want to shove him into that gold leaf and pearl-tiered cake and lick the buttercream off.

           As though pleased she was rendered momentarily speechless, Klaus suddenly gripped her waist, spinning her onto the polished marble floor. His touch was commanding, but not forceful, which she appreciated. Almost as much as his smooth muscles underneath her touch.  The red satin of her dress wound its way between them as Klaus performed surprisingly intricate footwork.

           At her small gasp of surprise, Klaus flashed her a dimpled smirk. “I may have a few moves.”

           “Nice moves,” she said, a bit breathless as he led her through a reverse spin that had her momentarily crowded against his chest. She couldn’t help but rest her palm against his chest. Firm, but it was more than that — he felt like a steady person. Someone she could trust. “Mystic Falls, Virginia.” At his questioning brow, she explained, “It’s where I’m from. Well, we bounced around a lot of big cities when I was a kid, but that’s where we finally stayed.” She hesitated, unsure of how he’d react. It was a big step — and one she’d never taken before. “My mom still lives there...maybe, um, you’d like to meet her?”

           At Klaus’ stunned silence, she hurriedly backtracked, telling him, “No, I get it — it’s probably way too soon for that. I’vejustneverbeenlikethiswithanyone and I’m not sure what the steps are. But I can figure it out. Seriously, I can be good at steps. All the steps. Probably. It’s just that I need to head back there for a bit once we get our business here settled and her kidney secured and I know it’s a lot to ask —”

           “I’d be honored,” he quickly answered, kissing her soundly. “And it’s certainly not a chore to get to know you better, love,” he admonished when he broke the kiss, dipping her until she giggled with relief.

           Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a slight commotion as the aerial silk acrobats had arrived and were starting to set up in the main courtyard. Perfect. “Follow me,” she whispered in his ear, casually leading him down a narrow corridor full of priceless artwork resplendent with inlaid lapis lazuli and hammered silver frames. “While most of the guests are distracted, we need to get what we came for — two Bronze Age spear points.”

           They stopped in front of a tall glass case, admiring the artifacts perched on a carved ebony pedestal. “They were unearthed in the muddy riverbed of the Tollense Valley. It’s a unique find for the region, marking a significant battle around 3200 years ago. Archaeometallurgical studies have pinpointed the geological origin of the metals’ composition, which means you can trace the route these spear points took to get to the valley.”

           “Except determining the geological origin of the metals isn’t infallible when you take into consideration the various ore ingots used along trade routes as currency. So, your premise, while admirable, is flawed.”

           “My premise is flawed?! Are you seriously discounting all of the cutting-edge work Drs. Maxfield and Branson published in the American Journal of Archaeology? Or the Nordic Bronze Age metallurgy expertise of Dr. Hildegard,” Caroline hissed, feeling her temper rise. She’d just started to recite the latest research statistics on copper-based metals across Bronze Age Europe when she noticed the tips of his ears growing red. Suddenly, she burst into giggles at the ridiculousness of the situation.

           Klaus’ confusion gave way to amusement as he too started chuckling. “We’re never going to agree, are we?”

           “Nope. But where’s the fun in that,” she asked, leaning over to kiss him soundly on the lips. She broke off the kiss with a twinkle in her eye, sticking out her leg to take advantage of the deep slit in her dress in order to access her lock pick kit. She deftly worked at the enormous mechanism lock behind the glass case, rolling her eyes at the Martins’ foolish assumption that bigger was better when it came to security.

           The interlocking tumblers easily gave way, and as she carefully opened the glass door, Klaus murmured, “You make burglary sexier than it has any right to be, sweetheart.”

           “Sweet talker,” Caroline replied fondly, delicately sliding the spear points into the leather strap across her thigh. “If you’re lucky, I might let you help me remove these later. Artifacts require such a gentle touch, you know.”

           From that lustful gleam, it seemed he was ready to take her up on her offer sooner rather than later, but unfortunately, they had company. From the heavy black eyeliner and holdover grunge ensembles, she knew exactly who had found them. “Shit. It’s the Travelers.” She quickly pulled Klaus up a narrow staircase, explaining, “So, maybethere’s also this cult of crazy fanatics who are interested in the spear points. They’re convinced some ancient ancestor was a powerful witch who disturbed the natural balance and was cast out of her community.”

           With a troubled sigh that turned into a choked laugh, he pulled loose his bowtie as they hid out on a balcony, staring down at the courtyard very far below. “And what does that nonsense have to do with our artifacts?”

           He said ‘our’. It inexplicably filled her with warmth and she again had to tamp down those lusty thoughts. Action now — then some real action later. “It’s kind of hard to follow and has more embarrassing plot holes than a CW show, but supposedly there was a curse that had something to do with doppelgangers, massive earthquakes and possibly a boat anchor and they think these artifacts will somehow break the curse.”  

           He scoffed, but whatever skeptical diatribe he was about to begin was stopped short when there was a loud banging on the double doors to the room where they’d been hiding. Glancing over the balcony once more, he wryly asked, “Does your skillset include flying?”

           Following his line of sight, she spied some of the aerial silks the acrobats had hung for their performance. As the edges of the jewel-toned fabrics fluttered near the balcony, she asked, “Are you daring me to jump out this window and slide down a curtain?”

           Wincing a bit at the sound of wood starting to splinter from the psycho cult just outside, he told her, “Perhaps I found my adventurous spirit.”

           “Fine. But we’re jumping together.”

           Klaus smirked, grabbing her by the waist as they each clutched the sturdy fabric. “I suppose a dare is a dare.”

[daz4i]

What’s the difference between handsome jack and Timothy and like that other guy 🤭

jack is a dictator and a bitch, tim is an actor and valid, and i assume the other guy in question is rhys :? he’s a bottom

asdfkjdfhgfd ok but fr i assume this is about my post abt wanting to go off about their parallels? but like. backwards, with differences? bc that’s also an interesting take and idk if you expected me to start rambling but i WILL either way so lemme put it under a read more bc it gets long like all my rambles

update after i finished typing this: this turned into a full-on essay i am so sorry. also there’s big spoilers for bl2, bl:tps, tftbl, bl3 and the bl3 dlc. so everything, basically hehe.

their driving forces are different: jack’s is, technically, wanting to make the world a better place (that’s what he genuinely thinks he’s doing, even tho he’s coming at it from the wrong direction). he just thinks killing like, most of pandora’s citizens counts as making it better, and he views order as his top goal basically, and wants to achieve it at any cost (which i will elaborate on soon too!)

rhys’s driving force is kind of selfish? success, honestly. of course it gets deeper and more complex as the story goes along, and he’s got more time-limited goals, but at the end of the day his dream is to run a company, and then when he achieves it his goal is to keep his company safe

tim’s driving force is mostly just. to survive. he takes the body double job to pay off his student loans (bc unfortunately you need money to survive), he kills other body doubles in the casino as self defense, he cuts off his own hand to stay alive and get out of the casino (and well. for moxxi and other people in it. but let’s focus on the staying alive part)

there’s also the whole thing of how they achieve their goals (i said i’ll elaborate on it. and here we are) 

jack, as i mentioned, wants to achieve his goal at any cost. he stops at nothing. he kills countless people - one of them being roland, wipes out entire towns, enslaves his own daughter, kidnaps lilith, all to get to his goal of solving pandora’s problem, aka its residents. he doesn’t value other people’s life, and puts his own life and his own goal before others

rhys and tim both however, lean more into the sacrificing agenda, both giving up actual parts of their bodies to achieve small-time goals (ending jack, saving the casino) that eventually factor into their main ones, and in order to keep other people and themselves safe. BUT! they also kill people on the way. because that’s how borderlands is, really

but other than that, tim sacrificed his entire self to keep living even before the whole casino thing. he technically sold his identity - you could argue he also stops at nothing to achieve his goal, but only when the cost is himself, and he hurts other people only when the moment or the small-time goal calls for it

rhys is a mix of them both, technically, but this is also his development. he starts like jack, stopping at nothing to get his goal - backstabbing, stealing, using people - but in the end falls into that sacrificing role like tim, but also into a different role: working with others. you could argue both tim and jack also worked with others during their stories and development, and while it’s technically true, it wasn’t a significant part of their story (well. for jack i guess it was the betrayal by the people he worked with that helped turn him into something else, but i’m talking more abt people like nisha and wilhelm) like it was for rhys. 

ANOTHER ASPECT!!!!! if i already mentioned working with others!!!! is trust, and betrayal! 

i’m gonna start with the one i have least to say about regarding that aspect, and that’s tim, because it’s not a very prominent part of his story. even when one betrayal gets him VERY screwed in thjp dlc, he’s... technically not the main one getting betrayed? or rather, the way that part if written and played n all, it doesn’t feel like it, even though he’s the one that suffers most from it in the end. the betrayal itself doesn’t sting as much, because i doubt there was much trust there in the first place.

gonna move on the jack bc the betrayals he’s suffered are p straight forward: everyone he trusted. he even says it in tftbl, to make it clearer (”i’ve been betrayed by everybody i gave a rat’s ass about”). those betrayals turned him worse, made him care less, but not trust less, is the thing - and he ended up getting betrayed again and again, because he didn’t learn from them and kept hurting people or doing such terrible things that made others not want to associate with him and take him down. 

rhys’s whole trust thing is really interesting and this is where i become that one image bc i’m bringing up my favorite arc from bl3 to both play and analyze, but starting with tftbl! (this is going to be so much longer i’m sorry) rhys comes from an environment that basically forces him to doubt people. hyperion is full of backstabbing and people trying to one-up each other - hell, the first time we see him is when vasquez screws him over. and then, throughout the rest of tftbl all the way to the last episode, we see rhys getting betrayed or think he’s being betrayed over and over. with vaughn (thinking he’d sell him out to vasquez), with yvette (actually selling him out to vasquez), with sasha and fiona (thinking they ditched him on helios), with jack (just. all of ch4′s ending and ch5′s beggining). H O W E V E R despite all that!!!! he keeps on trusting people. you get a chance to forgive all of these people except for jack, you get a chance to mend your broken connections later on, and. well. now comes my favorite part of bl3: you see rhys blindly trusting someone, no matter how many people tell him not to the writing in bl3 is far from perfect, including in that part, and most of it is for comedy honestly, but i still love it and what it says abt rhys’s character, even though it became a bit flatter. he trusts zer0, and he refuses to listen to anyone trying to make him question them, even though it puts him and his driving force - now being keeping atlas safe - at risk. of course, that trust ends up paying up at the end - and well. that’s also a repeating motif in the betrayals rhys experiences, and part of it might be the reasoning for them

jack experiences those betrayals because he’s a dick and keeps hurting people. rhys experiences those betrayals because he’s got stuff people need and is kind of unlucky (and also half of those betrayals aren’t even real but rather just Look like ones), that’s why they get resolved, and that’s why he keeps trusting people. and well, as i said about tim, he doesn’t really get betrayed in a way that affects or is affected by his character, but the one he does experience is the same as rhys - because he’s got something someone needs and is kind of unlucky. 

ok i!!! think i ran out of things to say. for now. it’s 4:30 am and i worte an essay comparing borderlands characters. but i had fun so it’s okay. thank you for the ask anon and shoutout to anyone who read through the whole thing :P 

[starlingsrps]

tess vaughn

BASIC INFORMATION FULL NAME: theresa leah vaughn NICKNAME(S): tess, tessa, tessie - you get it PREFERRED NAME(S): tess BIRTH DATE: february 9, 1994 AGE: twenty five ZODIAC: aquarius GENDER: female PRONOUNS: she/her SEXUAL/ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: heterosexual/romantic NATIONALITY: canadian ETHNICITY: caucausian CURRENT LOCATION: bowen island LIVING CONDITIONS: not awful - she has an apartment over the diner and it's barebones but it's all she needs

BACKGROUND BIRTH PLACE: vancouver, bc HOMETOWN: bowen island SOCIAL CLASS: middle EDUCATION LEVEL: high school FATHER: brian vaughn, 56, ferry operator MOTHER: rita vaugn, 56, diner owner SIBLING(S): tim, 30; tate, 28; tom, 25 (twin) BIRTH ORDER: youngest (by like ten minutes) CHILDREN: nope PET(S): nah OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES: tim is married to a nice lady named deanna and they have a daughter named brynn who is four and the light of tess' life PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: welp. CURRENT RELATIONSHIP: single?

OCCUPATION & INCOME PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME: diner waitress SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME: cashier at the ferry CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB (OR LACK THERE OF)?: she works for her parents on both end and that's both good and bad PAST JOB(S): ...no. SPENDING HABITS: she doesn't have a lot of expenses (her parents aren't charging her rent or anything) and she's saving but she doesn't really know what for. it'll come to her.

SKILLS & ABILITIES PHYSICAL STRENGTH: not bad SPEED: also not terrible INTELLIGENCE: she's not an idiot but she's not super educated - she didn't want to go to college because she didn't know what for and didn't want to waste time but she likes reading and learning new things ACCURACY: average AGILITY: average STAMINA: average TEAMWORK: good! she's the baby, she's used to going with the flow LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: english DRIVE?: more or less but she's better with a boat than a car JUMP-STAR A CAR?: no CHANGE A FLAT TIRE?: nope RIDE A BICYCLE?: yes SWIM?: yes PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?: nah PLAY CHESS?: nah BRAID HAIR?: yep TIE A TIE?: nah PICK A LOCK?: yes

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS FACE CLAIM: nicole neumann EYE COLOR: brown HAIR COLOR: brown HAIR TYPE/STYLE: she chopped it into a lob during a trip to vancouver with deanna a few weeks ago and she loves it but relies on deanna to help her keep up trims GLASSES/CONTACTS?: reading glasses DOMINANT HAND: left HEIGHT: 5'9 BUILD: tall and narrow EXERCISE HABITS: she swims every day when the water is warm, loafs when it's not. SKIN TONE: fair-olive, tans like a dream. should probably wear a higher spf but she'll get to it eventually. TATTOOS: nah PIERCINGS: ears MARKS/SCARS: freckled in the summer NOTABLE FEATURES: killer bone structure USUAL EXPRESSION: pleasant listening CLOTHING STYLE: shorts and a t-shirt or tank top, big sweater or flannel at the ready JEWELRY: not a ton but she has a few necklaces from her grandmother that she likes to wear sometimes ALLERGIES: nah DIET: reasonable, prone to eating every meal at the diner

PSYCHOLOGY MORAL ALIGNMENT: chaotic good TEMPERAMENT: choleric MBTI: ENTJ MENTAL CONDITIONS/DISORDERS: nah SOCIABILITY: extrovert EMOTIONAL STABILITY: she's pretty impulsive and dramatic tbh PHOBIA(S): drowning ADDICTION(S): nah DRUG USE: ehhhh now and then with pot ALCOHOL USE: sure PRONE TO VIOLENCE?: her brothers don't count

MANNERISMS SPEECH STYLE: quick, bright ACCENT: not really? HOBBIES: swimming, camping, sailing. she fucking hates when it's too cold to be on the water. NERVOUS TICKS: cutting the conversation off right there if she's uncomfortable DRIVES/MOTIVATIONS: ??????????? POSITIVE TRAITS: energetic, charming, spontaneous, easy going, strong willed, confident NEGATIVE TRAITS: stubborn, arrogant, noncommittal, spontaneous SENSE OF HUMOR: good - she laughs a lot DO THEY CURSE OFTEN?: sometimes yes, sometimes no.

FAVORITES ACTIVITY: being on the water ANIMAL: birds BEVERAGE: diet coke BOOK: beach reads - she likes a happy ending COLOR: blue DESIGNER: ...no. FOOD: eggs FLOWER: lilies GEM: she's not really a jewelry girl? like rose gold is pretty, she guesses. HOLIDAY: christmas MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: the ferry MUSICAL ARTIST: maggie rogers SONG: "delicate" by taylor swift SCENERY: she likes home SCENT: breeze off the bay SPORT: not really SPORTS TEAM: nah TELEVISION SHOW: nailed it WEATHER: summer! VACATION DESTINATION: she likes going to vancouver with her mom and deanna now and then for a weekend but she doesn't like to be too far from home

ATTITUDES GREATEST DREAM: eh???!!?! GREATEST FEAR: drowning, honestly MOST AT EASE WHEN: in the water. basically part fish. LEAST AT EASE WHEN: welp. right about now. BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: she feels like she hasn't really done anything yet and she doesn't like that At All. BIGGEST REGRET: her inability to commit until too late. TOP PRIORITIES: her family

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

i have so many theories!!! theyre all screaming at me!!! i must write out them all!!!!! 

so here’s one that’s been knocking around my head since finals week began:

the Writing 3 Playlist on Spotify 

I think this bad boy is a hint at the game’s timeline

maybe not 100% explanatory, but I think we can guess certain parts of the game through this

and i just wanna tell y’all now, almost all of this is speculation, as honestly im 90% sure the playlist was created bc it had borderlands-y songs in it (although the last few have me scratching my head)

lemme explain why im writing this, though I’m very thirsty for lore

tl;dr: game goes like this: lilith powers stolen. go to promethea, go to jungle, find brick mordy and tina, get into a fight, lose fight, go find other VHs, get into another fight, Krieg shows up to save Maya, maya die. (oh no she ded), the twins have their we are GODS moment, the VHs get summoned to the Eridian homeworld, there’s a huge ass final battle, someone attempts to create an end-of-the-world scenario

so the playlist itself was created to help one of the authors of the game get into their borderlands jam 

it starts with a Cage the Elephant song, “Trouble”, the band of which we all know wrote the first song used in BL1. Not really much else to say here, but we do know the opening cutscene of the game involves our current team of Vault Hunters being attacked by the Children of the Vault. this is, of course, not indicative of any songs used in bl3, but we can assume it captures the general feeling of the game.

Second song: “Fire” by Barns Courtney (holy shit I love this guy so fucking much!! if you’ve never listened to his music, PLEASE do so! I really recommend “Rather Die”- I am in the process of making a bl3 animatic to it actually lmao). 

So anyway, I’m just sayin’, the lyrics of this song...

“Oh, a thousand faces staring at me Thousand times I've fallen Thousand voices dead at my feet Now I'm gone... And my mother told me son let it be Sold my soul to the calling Sold my soul to a sweet melody Now I'm gone... Oh gimme that fire ...”

Honestly, I would not be surprised if this song was about Lilith’s loss of her powers. I mean, she used to call herself the Firehawk because she burned the shit outta bandits. c’monnn.

The man, the myth, the legend himself even says that "[The song is] quite defiant as well, like this cannot be how it ends, it cannot be my situation."

Mooooving on

“Majesty” by Apashe and Wasiu

holy fuck i love this song so much. and its so very obviously about the Calypso Twins- at the very least its Tyreen.

“All the stars and galaxies address me as your majesty So better say your majesty, I might react erratically Throw you in a fire, purify you I'm the sire, my empire's on the rise You better find yourself a place to hide Your place to find, but say it twice My name divine, I'm aimin' high Don't look in my face or eyes Take a bow and save your life Glory to the emperor, my temperature is risin' Always hot, it's getting violent”

I mean come on if its not when we meet the twins for the first time after they steal lily’s powers, then its definitely when they do something absolutely badass and really show us why they’re revered as gods. Possibly related to the Holy Broadcasting Center?

“The Way I Do” by Bishopp Briggs 

this one honestly had got me stumped as to its purpose, i lowkey kinda think its getting Sanctuary 3 up and running (and possibly meeting Maya for the first time- still not sure about that). I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a whole thing for Scooter and this song fits pretty well. I imagine we also meet Vaughn and the Children at some point, so maybe here?

“Greeting the Menace” by Zack Hemsey 

yeah i uhhhh dunno. This sounds like a song about a dude getting tortured which scares me a bit lmao. 

I thought maybe this song and the next 2 could be VH-based songs, as the next 2 have no lyrics whatsoever and the third is called “Best Friends”, but who knows... If this is the case I could make the argument this is about Zane or Moze, leaning towards Zane cuz he’s pretty covered up, plus I think “Best Friends” would be more Moze’s style lmao

I could also see this being a song about Troy... could explain all the ‘body mods’ and the missing arm.

“ProtoVision” by Kavinsky

If we’re going with the idea that these next few songs are about the Vault Hunters, then I imagine this would be Fl4k’s. It’s got that synth and some guitar which I think fits perfectly with his robo-hobo aesthetic lol

Other than that, I truly have no idea what part of the story this song could reference since there aren’t any lyrics. Maybe Promethea’s city? I could kinda see it, it sounds pretty high-tech

Similarly, “diatribe.” by Oliver Michael

the beginning gives me a whole meditation vibe which I kinda associate with Amara and her phasecast skill which “sends out an astral projection” of herself. 

Then again, this could be the outskirts of the Promethean city... I could see myself wandering around the huge ass foliage and discovering an abandoned research base to this song idk

“Best Friends” by grandson

aaahh i love grandson. I think this could be a Moze-based song. I just get that vibe from her leather jacket... anyway

I also could totally see this as discovering Brick, Mordecai, and Tina in the research base (if that truly is where they are). Cause we saw them in the trailer hanging out there. 

tbh the lyrics themselves kinda remind me of pre-Tales Rhys and Fiona and all their friends

“All of my best friends Like to go and get fucked up Then they talk about all the lives they never got to live Oh, they're still waiting for some sort of invitation It's never coming along, oh no, you'll get just what you give”

but idk if that’s what its meant for

“Bap U” by Party Favor

hmm another ‘lyricless’ song. not really lyric-less but uhhh the lyrics are pretty nonsensical lol

I could see there being a fight scene with Brick Tina and Mordy as AIs helping out here, maybe exploring the abandoned research base?

“Not Human” by elegant slims 

oh you know what im going to say here hahaha

monster troy p l e a s e

i wouldn’t be surprised if Tyreen started accumulating more powers here, like perhaps the previous fight scene was over the Vault on Promethea and the twins were able to access it before us? and Tyreen gives the Vault Monster the succ

“Crack in the seams You're breaking through The animal inside of you You're not human anymore... Your eyes go black electric blue The animal inside of you Life on a string Watch it swing Hide your teeth”

and one (or both) of the twins start going feral lol

“Way Down We Go” by KALEO

one (1) fear and that’s that someone dies during the scene that corresponds to this song

hopefully its just the boys being depressed over a loss instead of a victory, but oof

anyway, you know what they say: “sometimes you gotta fall before you make it big” ;) thats a typhon deleon quote

“I’m a Wanted Man” by Royal Deluxe

I want to believe these next few songs are us recruiting the rest of the Vault Hunters not seen yet

I kinda associate this one with Axton since his whole History with DAHL, but who knows! It could be Gaige, too. or Maya since she looks like she’s being incredibly gay criminal on the Maliwan Monastery planet. Maybe both Axton and Gaige? I would love that

“The Devil You Know” by X Ambassadors 

Could also be Axton! I lowkey think its Salvador or Timothy Lawrence. The reason I think its Timothy is cuz the whole song gives me huge Handsome Jack vibes, but it could also be Sal cuz I totally imagine him becoming a bounty hunter to fund his gun addiction lmao

“00000 Million” by Ella Vos

this one also gives off Maya vibes imo. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is about her and the introduction of Little Blue. I could also see Athena and Janey here, just living their lives out in a cottage somewhere. awww

“Jungle” by Tash Sultana

Ahh a love song [pukes] Hopefully this one is about Athena and Janey, cuz there is a depressing lack of both of them in all the trailers we’ve seen! It sounds lowkey sad, though. I hope nothing happened to them D:

“Don’t Wait Up” by Dustbowl Revival

this one gives me very big Fiona and Sasha vibes. 

Of course, there’s also the fact that the song is about a dad, and we still don’t know who the heck “the Father” is on all those Calypsos posters. We also dunno who in the heck “Mother” is, either. Sounds like Father left the cult, though, oof, and Mother stuck around. Wonder what that’s all about, maybe he felt like the twins were working fast/efficient enough and left to do things himself? Very lost on this idea tbh. the song seems very out of place, but it has to connect to something, yknow?

“Dies Irae” by Apashe and Black Prez

For those of you who don’t speak fluent Latin (the fuck guys?? lmao jk), the title means "Day of Wrath". Nice, nice, nice. 

the lyrics, you might be asking:

“'Cause I'ma beast. Where you at? I've been unleashed. Whatchu doin'? Sink my teeth. Y'all can't fathom I'ma beast”

me: [vibrating in my seat] monster twins monster twins monster twins monster twins

at the very least this is definitely a fight scene here. Probably with the twins again (hopefully). Maybe they found some way to imbue the cultists with fucked up powers and are sending them against the VHs as giant demon things and as we fight through the temple (apparently with some Guardians) we realize the final one is Troy and/or Tyreen?

I like to imagine this is where Maya gets her powers stolen, if only because the next few songs... I think she’s around because she’s now the only person with Siren powers on the side of the Crimson Raiders, so they might need her help with the Vault in some way

“RAMPAGE” by GRAVEDGR

y’all wonder why I seemingly forgot about Krieg in the above songs? Well, this is why. 

The only lyric for this entire song is “Bitch, I'm on a rampage- mask on my damn face”

I mean come on, Krieg with his psycho mask on, the fact his action skill is literally called “Buzz Axe Rampage”, the fact he loves Maya as shown in his introductory trailer... it’d be so perfect. And I bet badass psycho Krieg would be the only thing able to beat back whatever’s attacking at the moment. I’m just imagining him smashing down a wall and going apeshit

“Black Out Days” by Phantograms

Another song I think is about Krieg and Maya. I don’t think Maya does too hot in this game, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she gets the Roland treatment if you know what I’m saying. I wonder if this causes Krieg to devolve back into insanity cause the whole song seems to focus around that. I hope not D:

“Hide the sun I will leave your face out of my mind You should save your eyes A thousand voices howling in my head Speak in tongues I don't even recognize your face Mirror on the wall Tell me all the ways to stay away”

To be honest I could also see it being that Maya gets her powers stolen and thoughtlock-ed by the twins to fight on their side (as she’s seen fighting with the big demon elemental things), and maybe we have to kill her or hurt her in some way to get her to stop attacking us. God I hope not.

Let’s hope this is someway about the twins and definitely not about our favorite Siren and/or Psycho

“The Finishing” by Stavroz

oof i think somebody dies... If its not Maya, my best guess is Krieg or Lilith. Maybe Mordecai or Brick? Oh I hope not, I love both of them way too much for it to be healthy. But, hey, at least Tina learned some coping mechanisms :(

“Intro” and “Apocalypse Please” by Muse

merged these into 1 because Intro is like 15 seconds long and is literally the introduction to Apocalypse Please. 

Definitely reaching the end of the game here... 

“And it's time we saw a miracle Come on, it's time for something biblical To pull us through And pull us through And this is the end This is the end Of the world Proclaim eternal victory Come on and change the cause of history And pull us through”

I think the twins (or whoever may have become the main villain- perhaps the Eridians?) have claimed victory/gotten the ultimate power in one way or another, and/or this is the Crimson Raiders getting themselves ready for a final stand-off with the big bad evil guy. 

I would really love if there’s a scene right at the end of this where the Twins have their huge “BOW TO ME” moment and then they just get COMPLETELY obliterated by a new villain. Just absolutely decimated.

New villain, like if they opened a Vault and whatever was being imprisoned there just wipes the floor with them (something like the Destroyer, if not the Destroyer itself), or fuck shit maybe even Tannis? or the Eridians looking for help in the war. or the Eridians bringing war. Who knows!

Again, could just be the Twins having gotten their hands on the end-game material, like realizing they can turn troy into big demon fuck (no i am not letting this one go) and we are kinda fucked now.

“Free Animal” by Foreign Air

I... have no idea lol

maybe Krieg getting rescued, maybe (one of?) the twins getting recruited by the Raiders for the final fight? It could fit into the ‘Beast’ imagery. Fuck, maybe even rescuing/finding Typhon or something? Idk, im kinda in the party that Typhon is going to be coming back some way or another lol, I’d love to meet the guy

“Dreams” by ZHU and Nero

This definitely sounds like a new BBEG has just been introduced or the big bads just entered the final phase of their plan, like the Crimson Raiders just learned about something life-changing and this is their “oh shit” moment

i wanna believe that the Eridians or another alien race (like the Seraphs!) are going to come in at the ‘end’ of the game and the Watcher is gonna be like “bitch did you really think I thought these dumbass ECHOnet streamers were the epitome of War??” I imagine we’d be on the side of the Eridians here, since y’know, the Watcher came to us for help.

Of course, the twins could still be the BBEG and have gotten their hands on that universe-destroying power that was described on the website (”to recover a map to ancient Vaults and prevent a universe-destroying power from falling into the wrong hands”) so maybe the Eridians called us in in order to meet and get help against the COV?

“Beyond the Fray” by Cassandra Violet

personally i think this one is about the Eridian homeworld

“I'll mark the day When we can meet beyond the fray Don't lose the will to see your home You find the way so we can meet beyond the fray I'll fight to see that you get home Consider this small clue Look beyond your point of view Make a space for honesty hide“

Wouldn’t even be surprised if someone made a sacrifice so we could get there... I imagine its hidden somewhere in the alternate dimension or wherever the Vaults lead to so it couldn’t be found, so maybe Lilith’s got her powers back at this point and she sacrifices herself to send us there?

idk...

“Outside the Realm” by Big Giant Circles

ah yes, another reason I think the end of the game involves the Eridian homeworld in some way. Have you heard this?? huge “we just stumbled upon a long-lost-alien-planet” vibe. I love it. Maybe even just a shot of Sanctuary III slowly gliding over the giant planet, having just exited phasewalk. God yes

“Battle Royale” by Apashe

another reason i think the final fight is some giant battlefield/wave fight instead of just against 1 or 2 enemies. not to mention the fact that the VH skills we’ve seen so far are crowd control based instead of raid boss focused. 

Its likely the VHs against the Cult of the Vault, but if we defeat the Twins halfway through the game, then the Cult will dissolve on its own. Either way, I really really really really really want a huge fight against an army. I don’t care if its against the Children of the Vault, the Eridians/some Guardians, or if its against the Seraphs or a new set of aliens we’re gonna get (maybe whatever the Destroyer was/is?). idk idc i just want a huge battle. I imagine we’re on the Eridians’ side, as I said above, but who knows, maybe the Watcher went rogue. 

oh and also, the next song:

“Doomsday” by NERO

oh hey, I recognize this song, it’s giving me major BL2 flashbacks lmao

Also the last song in the playlist, which is giving me the big fear (tm)

I imagine that we wouldn’t have been brought to the Eridian homeworld if it wasn’t kind of a huge deal, and what’s more of a huge deal than the end of the universe?!

that’s what i’d call doomsday, anyway.

could be the reason the Eridians are coming out of hiding after all this time. Either to stop our dumb human asses from opening the Vaults, or to get help against these alien fucks because our dumb human asses keep destroying their first line of defense- the Vault Monsters.

If the twins actually DO remain the main villains throughout the whole game, then I imagine this is them prepping to destroy the universe

but maaaan i really want some aliens... maybe the universe destroying power IS the aliens? aw hell yeah