#cali: game recognize game

[humblegoatart]

daily sketch 10/2/24

partners (romantic) but also partners (in crime) [cali observes them, impressed]

[thaumatologist]

working timeline of (us) hot labor summer wins

May 1, 2023: rail companies grant paid sick leave after public and political pressure

May 2, 2023: wga east and west go on strike

May 25, 2023: delta flight attendants begin holding rallies calling for flight attendant union (delta being the only major american airline without one)

June 15, 2023: three labor unions (iam, ibt, and afa-cwa) rally at delta stakeholder meeting in an effort to stop delta union-busting

June 24, 2023: teamsters amazon goes on strike at DAX8 in palmdale, ca

July 13, 2023: sag-aftra goes on strike

July 20, 2023: iatse threatens strike on broadway, and pressure lands them contract wins

August 22, 2023: threat of ups teamsters strike enough to land massive gains in new contract (even for part time employees)

August 25, 2023: nlrb passes down a ruling requiring any company that participates in union-busting to immediately recognize and bargain with the union

September 13, 2023: marvel vfx workers unanimously vote to unionize with iatse

September 16, 2023 (and prior): just a whole lot in cali (fast food minimum wage raise, striking workers eligible for unemployment assistance, five paid sick days, raising healthcare workers' minimum wage to $25, and more)

September 25, 2023: wga reaches tentative deal with amptp after historic 146 day strike

September 26, 2023: uaw strike receives historic backing from sitting president joe biden

September 26, 2023: sag-aftra authorizes strike against video game makers to bring pressure to negotiating table

[paisleypens]

teee heeee i’m backkkkkk

could we get where reader is also a streamer and they start streaming together (reader isn’t in cali) and they start a long distance maybe they meet at the end that’s up to you

spencers first minecraft date! | spencer agnew x reader

so so sorry i was gone for so long lmao the motivation was just not there. sorry this specific request took so long my love but im here to feed my smosh babes. also is the title giving a games title or? idk but i think i cooked lemme know

~~~

You adjusted your webcam and glanced at the chat as you booted up Minecraft. Today was the day you’d been waiting for—the launch of a new Minecraft server for twitch streamers. You'd been buzzing with excitement since the invite landed in your inbox a week ago, and your viewers seemed just as hyped.

“Hey, everyone!” you greeted as your screen transitioned to the familiar blocky landscape. “We’re jumping into this new Minecraft server today with a bunch of other streamers. I’m so pumped to meet everyone and see what chaos we can create!”

As you navigated through the spawn area, you noticed a few players running around—some of them big names you recognized from streams and videos. But one name stood out: Spencer Agnew. You’d known Smosh and even caught a few of his streams before and always appreciated his chill vibe and sharp humor.

“Yo, Y/N!” Spencer’s voice came through your headset, catching you off guard but making you smile.

“Hey, Spencer! Didn’t expect to run into you so soon,” you replied, trying to play it cool.

“Well, here I am. I don’t really want to do the boring stuff alone, you down to team up?”

“Let’s do it,” you said, grinning.

You both went off starting with the basics—mining, gathering resources, and exploring the terrain. Time seemed to fly by as you bantered back and forth, and your chat was loving the dynamic.

“So, I’m thinking we need to build something epic. How about a house-building contest?” you suggested after a while.

“Oh, it’s like that, huh? Alright, Y/N, you’re on. But don’t cry when I win,” Spencer joked.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see,” you shot back, laughing.

The competition was fun and lighthearted, with both of you trying to one-up each other while the chat egged you on. In the end, it was too close to call.

“Alright, I’ll admit it,” Spencer said, surveying both builds. “This is a draw. They’re both sick.”

“I’ll take it,” you said, smiling. “Good game, Spencer.”

As weeks passed, you and Spencer found yourselves teaming up more and more, both on and off stream. Your viewers started to notice too, spamming your chat with ship names and yours feeds with fan art. You two clicked, and it made for some really fun content.

One weekend, after a particularly successful stream, Spencer shot you a message: “Hey, after the stream, you wanna do something chill? Maybe watch a movie together?"

You blinked at the screen, feeling a flutter of excitement. “Like a virtual date? I’m in. What are we watching?"

“How about 'The Princess Bride'? Total classic."

"I’m so down. Let’s do it."

After the stream, you both synced up on a streaming service and hit play. As the movie went on, you kept up with your usual banter and jokes, making each other laugh. It felt natural, almost like you were in the same room.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this before,” Spencer teased as the credits rolled.

“I know, I know, I’m late to the party. But thanks for inviting me to watch it with you,” you replied, feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

“Anytime. This was fun. We should do it again,” he said, and you could hear the smile in his voice.

From then on, these virtual hangouts became a regular thing. Whether it was watching movies, playing other games, or just chatting while you both cooked dinner over video call, it became something you both looked forward to.

One night, after you’d finished a particularly epic stream where you and Spencer had defeated the Ender Dragon, you found yourselves lingering in the game, just chatting while your avatars stood idly by a pixelated sunset.

“Hey, Y/N,” Spencer said, his voice softer, more serious than usual.

“Yeah?” you asked, wondering what was on his mind.

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately. These past few weeks have been awesome. Like, seriously awesome. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you better,” he admitted.

You felt a flutter in your chest. “I’ve been feeling the same way, Spencer. It’s been so much fun hanging out with you.”

He paused for a moment, and you could almost feel him gathering his thoughts. “I think… I’ve caught feelings for you. I know we’re miles apart, but I wanted to be honest about it.”

You were quiet for a moment, letting his words sink in before a smile broke out across your face. “Spencer, I feel the same way. I don’t know how we’re going to make it work with the distance, but I’m in if you are.”

The relief in his voice was palpable. “I’m definitely in. We’ll figure it out, whatever that means.”

[cyarskj1899]

working timeline of (us) hot labor summer wins

May 1, 2023: rail companies grant paid sick leave after public and political pressure

May 2, 2023: wga east and west go on strike

May 25, 2023: delta flight attendants begin holding rallies calling for flight attendant union (delta being the only major american airline without one)

June 15, 2023: three labor unions (iam, ibt, and afa-cwa) rally at delta stakeholder meeting in an effort to stop delta union-busting

June 24, 2023: teamsters amazon goes on strike at DAX8 in palmsdale, ca

July 13, 2023: sag-aftra goes on strike

July 20, 2023: iatse threatens strike on broadway, and pressure lands them contract wins

August 22, 2023: threat of ups teamsters strike enough to land massive gains in new contract (even for part time employees)

August 25, 2023: nlrb passes down a ruling requiring any company that participates in union-busting to immediately recognize and bargain with the union

September 13, 2023: marvel vfx workers unanimously vote to unionize with iatse

September 16, 2023 (and prior): just a whole lot in cali (fast food minimum wage raise, striking workers eligible for unemployment assistance, five paid sick days, raising healthcare workers' minimum wage to $25, and more)

September 25, 2023: wga reaches tentative deal with amptp after historic 146 day strike

September 26, 2023: uaw strike receives historic backing from sitting president joe biden

September 26, 2023: sag-aftra authorizes strike against video game makers to bring pressure to negotiating table

Strikes and unions work okay

[differenteagletragedy]

RIP MC (Sorry Baxter)

So i got a request for Baxter finding out MC had died during the five years he was gone and I wrote this WHOLE ASS THING without realizing what that meant. So if I do two Baxter angst fics in a row with a dead MC, please don't call me out on it, I already know :(

"Did you have fun in Cali, Ass-ter?"

"I did, Richard, and that's very clever, as always."

Baxter let out a light sigh, not very excited to be reunited with his college roommates. He tried to focus on his task on unpacking his things as Richard and Matt, the two spoiled rich boys he shared a suite with in one of the school's more expensive dorms, high fived over the unbearably stupid nickname they'd given him during their freshman year.

He was a spoiled rich boy too, he recognized. But at least he was a little quieter about it.

He began the task of putting his finer clothes in his closet, carefully picking up the hanger his tux was on and putting it away first. He ran a hand fondly over the coat, remembering the last time he'd worn it. With you.

When his roommates decided to turn on the tv, looking for a game, he barely paid attention, instead lost in his thoughts. He'd been miserable, even more miserable than normal, since he'd left you. He kept telling himself that it was for the best, that it made sense, that you wouldn't miss him nearly as much as you'd thought you would -- probably not even at all. He was fun for a little while, he knew that much about himself, but carrying out a relationship, even just a friendship, over texts and phone calls across the country?

He wasn't worth that. He'd hated seeing you so upset with the way he left, but at least it was a sharp sort of pain over the dull ache that would had happened as you inevitably lost interest in him.

"Hey Baxter, isn't this where you were?"

"Hmm?" he asked, barely registering what Matt had asked. Both boys were looking at the television, so that's where he turned his attention.

There was your picture on the screen. You were smiling brightly, dressed in a swimsuit. He recognized both.

He stared at the photo, puzzled, trying to piece together what your photo would be doing on the news. It was like his brain got a little foggy trying to figure it out, but a few words did fight their way through.

"Rip current," was one he heard. Another was "drowned."

His heart started beating faster, so hard that it became all he could hear. The room started getting hot, much hotter than it had been, and breathing became difficult.

He vaguely registered his roommates approaching him, but instead of trying to fight through whatever he was feeling to respond to them, he promptly turned and left the suite.

Baxter wasn't sure where he was going, he just knew that the room had suddenly become much too small. Without thinking much about it, he made his way out of the building and started walking. He wasn't aware of any conscious thought he had, too overwhelmed by the pounding of his own heart, and suddenly he was by a small pond on campus, kneeling by the edge of the water and gasping for air.

It didn't make sense, he thought. That couldn't have been you. It must have been someone who looked like you. Why would you be on the news all the way in Virginia? And there was no possible way you could have drowned. Not in the ocean you knew like the back of your hand.

Still, as much as he tried to convince himself that he'd misunderstood what he'd heard, an aching pain began forming in his chest, and soon he was sobbing.

If anyone else had noticed him down by the pond, they didn't approach him. He sat like that for a while, trying to remember how to breathe and telling himself over and over that you were ok, before he remembered the phone stuck down in his pocket.

With a considerable amount of hesitation, he pulled it out, then opened his browser. After shaking out his hand a few times in an attempt to steady it, he did a search for your name.

He'd heard right the first time.

He read as much as he could stand -- you'd gone out to the beach by your house the night before to swim, but you hadn't come home. That morning, as people from the neighborhood searched, your body ...

That's where he stopped reading.

Baxter hadn't planned on ever seeing you again. He knew that. As he flew over the country after leaving you, he'd tried to minimalize the entire summer and what it had meant to him until he'd almost convinced himself that that's what he actually wanted.

But knowing now that it wasn't a possibility to see you again, that it would never happen ... that even if he magically became a person who could believe in himself and fight for what he really wanted, that he couldn't have you, was a pain he couldn't have ever prepared himself for.

Once his tears slowed, he pulled himself up, absentmindedly brushing off his legs. He looked in the water. It was dark and still, nothing like the ocean he'd seen with you over the summer. Even so, he couldn't stop himself from picturing you in there, struggling.

He slammed his eyes shut and put both hands in his hair, then balled them into fists, pulling. The pain became forefront in his mind, and he managed to take a breath. Then another.

You were going to be there, Baxter realized. In the water. In the sand, in the mountains, in bowling alleys and cupcakes and feather boas and coffee shops. In summer. There was no way of changing that.

He was just going to have to find a way to live with it.

[revnah1406]

Operation Kingslayer: 1/?

Author's note: This fic is a crossover between Call of duty MW2 and Ghost Recon Wildlands. Don't worry, you don't need to have played the video game (I'll leave the trailer here if you want to know more about this game)

Summary: Alejandro alerts Laswell to the presence of a very dangerous cartel in Bolivia. Price and his team are too busy looking for Shepherd and Makarov. Laswell will have to send another type of team

Characters (OCs): Hannah "Sparrow" Clayton (@revnah1406 ), Alyssa M. (@alypink), Charlotte "Jade" le jardin (@sleepyconfusedpotato ), Captain Arjun (@welldonekhushi)

(maybe I'll add more OCs as the story progresses!)

I came up with this idea of ​​making a fic with several OCs of my dear mutuals and people I've been following for a long time. If there's a problem with me using an OC you don't want or something like that, feel free to let me know! I'll fix it immediately!

Next chapter ->

Chapter 1/?

_________

Laswell sighed for the hundredth time as she massaged both temples. She rested her lips on her fists, taking in the number of classified documents that were scattered across her office desk. She needed a break, she had been sitting in that chair for hours. She glanced at the clock on the wall, another thirty minutes and she could go home.

Kate was deep in thought when suddenly her phone started ringing. Picking it up, she frowned as she recognized the name that appeared on the screen. She got up from her chair and picked up the call.

"Yeah?" The woman announced as she headed for the window.

"Kate." The man greeted her from the other end of the phone line.

"It's been a long time since we spoke, Colonel." She said observing the views that Washington DC gave. "And I perceive that this call is not to update us. Right Alejandro?"

Alejandro chuckled. "I wish it was like that…"

"What is it about?" The CIA agent asked in a tired tone. She just wanted to go home to her wife.

"Valeria is free."

"It was to be expected… but from your voice I judge that this is not the problem."

Laswell listened as Alejandro sighed heavily.

"Is it about Las Almas?" The woman asked, supporting her weight on one leg.

"Not exactly… It's a cartel but not here in Mexico." Alejandro made a pause that put Laswell in the worst of situations, "Karen Bowman called me"

Kate sighed and paced around her office, recognizing the name of the CIA agent. She hadn't seen her in a long time, but she knew what Alejandro meant by that name.

"The Santa Blanca cartel…" Laswell mentioned.

"Mhm…" The Vaquero made a sound of affirmation "The last Task Force they sent has been MIA for weeks… They're dead, that's for sure. Bowman needs a new Task Force to overthrow Santa Blanca in Bolivia, Kate…"

Laswell smiled wryly and shook her head as if Alejandro could see her. "Not Possible. Price and the boys are too busy with Makarov and General Shepherd…"

"We have to do something Kate! Santa Blanca is one of the biggest cartels in history. Worse than the Medellin or Cali cartel. You know that very well." Alejandro insisted "They already control almost all of Bolivia. The army has been bought by the Cartel, the government has surrendered. The entire country is ruled by a narco."

Laswell exhaled through her nose and looked out the window again. She spent a few long seconds thinking about what to do, she couldn't divert Price and the others. Makarov was too important a target to leave unattended. Overthrowing a cartel of that magnitude could take months, evenfurther.

"I can get you a small squad of the 141st. Three, maybe four members tops."

"Great, I'll talk to her," Alejandro replied.

"No, I will. We are old friends, I will negotiate the terms myself"

___________

Sparrow leaned forward, resting both forearms on the bike. She was waiting for the traffic light to change color so she could continue. The wait was endless, she began to fear that she would not arrive on time.

She dedicated herself to watching the pedestrians who crossed the street in front of her, some were returning home after work and others seemed to have decided to party. It was Friday night, people were celebrating the start of the weekend. The wet asphalt of the streets reflected the lights of the city of Washington DC. It had been raining heavily all day, but it seemed that when the sun had dipped below the horizon it took the clouds with it. The smell of rain seeped into the helmet, filling Sparrow with a faint feeling of comfort.

"Nice motorbike!" Someone's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

Sparrow turned her head towards the next lane, there was a huge truck, black and with tinted windows. The driver had the window rolled down and nonchalantly rested his arm on the truck door while his other hand stayed on the wheel. The man had a flirtatious smile as he looked Sparrow up and down.

"Where are you going doll?"

Hannah sighed in exhaustion and shook her head slightly. She straightened her back and raised the dark visor of her helmet.

"To mind my own business." The traffic light finally turned green. She noticed and lowered her visor, hiding her eyes again. "You should do the same, friend…"

She started the motorcycle and accelerated leaving the man with the word in his mouth.

Sparrow drove through the streets until she parked in front of a fairly large hotel. She removed her helmet and shook her head, running her fingers through her hair trying to straighten those unruly strands. She craned her neck and began to search the crowd for a familiar face. Many people were walking down the street, leaving or entering the hotel, making it difficult to find. Until she finally saw her. Waiting just outside the door of the building, she too seemed to be searching for someone so Sparrow wasted no time. She took the keys from the ignition lock and got off the bike. Sparrow walked towards her with a hurried step with excitement. God, it had been so long since she'd seen her!

"Aly!" Sparrow called to her when she was already at a closer distance.

The woman turned to where she had heard the name, it took a few seconds but she finally recognized Sparrow among the people. Her face lit up and she went down the stairs of the hotel excited.

"Oh querida!" Aly stretched out her arms and hugged Sparrow in greeting "long time no see!"

Sparrow chuckled and patted Aly on the back "yeah…ever since the whole Hassan and Las Almas thing…it's been a while" Hannah replied as they parted from the embrace.

"Thanks for coming to pick me up, Hannah."

The named one shrugged her shoulders and smiled "It's not a problem for me, it will always be a pleasure to be your driver"

They both began to walk towards the motorcycle, avoiding the people they came across.

"Have you talked to Price?" Sparrow asked, looking at her partner.

Aly shook her head.

"I haven't been able to contact him for weeks... My work with Los Vaqueros hasn't diminished either, the cartel's activity in Las Almas has practically disappeared but they are still active internationally..."

Sparrow nodded understandingly. Arresting Valeria didn’t solve the problem, things had improved remarkably but there were still loose ends.

"Did Laswell give you any more information about why she needs us?"

Aly shook her head again.

"She only gave me the time and place. She gave me instructions to contact you. Nothing more…" Alyssa sighed a little worried "I don't know what it is, if I'm honest… She just said that she would explain everything when everyone was all together."

"Everyone? Is there anyone else besides us?" Sparrow looked at her confused.

Aly shrugged "I don't know…"

"The 141 is too busy right now… It would have been Price who would have called me if the Task Force was involved…"

"Shouldn't you be with them? Hunting down General Sheppard?" Aly asked.

They reached the bike, Hannah mounted first and slung the backpack off one shoulder.

"Yeah…well…I was blown up in Uzbekistan by a grenade, I had a couple of broken ribs. They sent me home for a couple of months'' Sparrow tilted her head and smiled wryly "You know I always have the best luck in the world"

She took a second helmet out of the pack and handed it to Aly. "Safety first, ma'am"

Aly accepted the helmet and placed it on her head. She got on the bike just behind Sparrow. Hannah put on her helmet and started the bike.

"Hold on tight, I don't want to have to pick you up in the middle of the road" Sparrow joked accelerating "If that happened I think Price would deprive me of my right to live"

Aly chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Where do I have to go?" Sparrow commented, returning to the road.

Hannah drove through the streets of Washington DC following Aly's directions, pointing out where she needed to turn. They were circling the city for a good thirty minutes, Sparrow complaining about how much she hated big cities and all the meaningless traffic lights while Aly patted her shoulders assuring her that nothing was wrong and that she should have a little more patience.

"It's here," Alyssa commented.

Sparrow parked in front of a bar that appeared to be closed. She turned off the engine and helped Aly off the bike. Then she took off her helmet and placed it on top of the gas tank. Aly offered her helmet and put it back in her pack. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and got off the bike as well, grabbing her helmet in the process.

"Are you sure it's here?" Sparrow asked, not very convinced looking at the metal shutter that blocked the main entrance.

Aly nodded and started walking.

"If we can't get in through the front entrance, we'll try the back door," Aly said.

Sparrow who was following her raised an eyebrow somewhat confused.

"Couldn't this be considered trespassing?"

Aly smiled and looked at Hannah with sparkling eyes.

"Where's your Adventure Spirit?!" Aly laughed.

"I left it at home along with my other reasons for not ending up in jail" She replied to which Aly rolled her eyes again.

They entered an alley that was attached to the street, narrow and dark.

"If someone mugs us and we end up stabbed, I'll blame it on you" Sparrow said, looking down the alley suspiciously.

"I thought you were capable of knocking out whoever you wanted, Hannah"

"Well yes, but I remind you that I am recovering from two bone fractures, if they hit me in the ribs I am sentenced" 

"You're tougher than that…"

Aly found the back door of the bar.

"It's this way" she mentioned.

She tried to open the metal door and the doorknob gave way.

"It's open" She mentioned.

Sparrow looked at her suspiciously, she didn't like that situation very much.

"I'll go in first. You stay behind me." ordered the sergeant.

Sparrow opened the door slowly and motioned for Aly to keep quiet. They found a hallway that led to the bathrooms and then into the bar. They heard voices and movements. They both looked puzzled. Supposedly only Laswell would have to be waiting for them.

They walked down the hall until they reached the bar. Both were greatly surprised with who they found there.

"Jade?" Aly took a step forward as she recognized her friend.

The named one turned when she heard her name, a smile settled on her face when she recognized her.

"Aly!" They both hugged each other between greetings and laughs "my god… it's been forever since I last saw you!" She said excitedly.

"Too long" They both separated.

Jade became aware of Sparrow's presence.

"Glad to see you in one piece, Hannah. You made me so worried." Jade greeted giving Hannah a quick hug as well.

"Yeah…well it takes more than a grenade to finish me off." She smiled, returning the hug.

"You've already proven it several times" Jade chuckled.

"You're late." A male voice caught everyone's attention.

A smile settled on Sparrow's face when she saw who the voice was.

"Come on Captain… I can't ignore the red lights." Sparrow answered, approaching the man.

Arjun frowned as he watched his sergeant approach.

"You should be resting, soldier"

Sparrow rolled her eyes, setting her helmet on a table and shoving her hands inside the pockets of her cargo pants.

"I'm fine Cap… it doesn't hurt anymore"

The captain crossed his arms over his chest, not very convinced.

"Whatever…it's good to see you around here!" Sparrow poked Arjun's shoulder in a friendly way but he didn't take it with much amusement.

"How are Aditya and Yuvraj, sir? I haven’t seen them in a long time…"

Arjun took one look at Aly and nodded in greeting. Alyssa smiled and nodded back, then returned his gaze to Hannah.

"They are fine, following the training and above all my orders. Which I recommend to you too, sergeant."

Sparrow smiled, remembering Arjun's call from his headquarters in India strictly ordering her to stay out of trouble while she recovered from two broken ribs at the hospital.

"Do you know why Laswell has summoned us here?" Jade asked.

Aly shook her head.

The door was heard opening and then closing again. Kate appeared at the bar, her expression serious.

"Are we all here? Great, we can get started" Laswell sat down in one of the many chairs, they could tell she was stressed. The rest sat around her.

"What is it about this time Laswell?" Arjun asked.

Kate looked everyone in the eye and pulled a photo out of her jacket pocket. She laid it face down on the table and laced their fingers together. It had "El Sueño" written on the back of the photo in black marker.

Jade grabbed the photo first, stared at it for a few seconds. The photograph showed a very corpulent bald man, with a full head of tattoos and a huge Cross tattooed on his face. Frowning Jade passed it to Sparrow, she did the same but shook her head, not recognizing the man so she handed it to Arjun. The captain looked at it for a while but didn't make an expression, and ended up handing it over to Aly.

Alyssa stared at it for a few seconds, looked at her companions, ten back at Laswell. Kate nodded, knowing what was going on inside the woman's head.

"It's suicide," Aly said without any amusement.

Jade and Sparrow shared a look. Arjun crossed his arms.

Kate put both hands on the table.

"I know that what I am asking you is a complicated task… But it is the perfect opportunity. With the Cartel of Las Almas out of the game we can…"

"You know perfectly well that the Las Almas Cartel is child's play compared to the Santa Blanca Cartel, Kate…" Aly interrupted. The tone she used indicated that she wasn't kidding.

"Wait a second…" Jade spoke trying to clarify what was happening "Can you tell us what it’s about? Why did you call us Laswell?"

"The Santa Blanca cartel. It’s one of the largest drug cartels in the world… officially they traffic cocaine but they also deal in military weapons, people, explosives… It’s originally a Mexican cartel but moved to Bolivia when its empire was too big"

"Because of the cocaine?" Arjun asked

Kate nodded.

"The man in the photograph is the owner and leader of the Cartel. His real identity is not known. But he calls himself "El Sueño '' a religious man who wants to establish a vision of freedom for society by breaking the rules and murder. All lies... They control the whole of Bolivia, they have the government by the balls and they have deals with the Bolivian military forces" Laswell explained.

"So…you want to send us after this prick?" Sparrow asked.

"And what about Makarov?" Jade asked "that matter also needs to be resolved, we can't put it aside."

"Price, Ghost and the rest will take care of Makarov. You will take care of Santa Blanca." Kate replied.

"Just the four of us?" Arjun intervened.

"The fewer you are, the better. It will be more difficult for the cartel to detect you. You will have to be like ghosts and attack from within"

Aly got up, she didn't seem to agree.

"Just the four of us won't be able to touch a single hair of Santa Blanca" Aly rested both hands on her hips. "Kate, are you aware of what you are asking us?"

"I am aware that it is a difficult task. But you are the only ones with enough skills and knowledge to carry out this mission."

"Are we authorized to act in Bolivia?" Arjun asked.

Laswell shook slightly.

"Black op..." Jade added. "This is illegal, Laswell…"

"Every mission we go is illegal" Sparrow tossed the photograph on the table.

Jade nodded in agreement.

"In Bolivia." Arjun said "will we have local support?"

"There is a rebel group of guerrillas who have been fighting against the cartel for years. Their boss is called Pac Katari, if you earn their respect and support we will have a great advantage."

"And you?" Jade asked.

"I have to take care of Makarov and General Shepherd. Price and the rest still need me in Uzbekistan. In Bolivia you will be received by an old friend and CIA agent, Karen Bowman. She will keep you informed and assist you in any way she can. "

There were a few seconds of silence. Where everyone looked at each other. Aly sighed and looked at the ceiling.

"When do we go?" Alyssa asked.

"As soon as possible. I'll give you more information on the way." Kate replied as she got up.

"Welcome to Operation Kingslayer"

CONTINUE?

(Thanks for reading! This chapter is somewhat experimental, so let me know if you liked it and want a sequel)

HERE YOU CAN FIND THE ILLUSTRATION FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER!!

[thestupidhelmet]

I have a couple for Eric & Donna (#17): E, G, and Y

sorry if any repeats!

Emotional Wounds: Eric/Donna

Answered here.

Greatest Regret: Eric/Donna

Within the timeframe of T7S, their inability to see past their own insecurities and triggers to be able to recognize how their actions are hurting the other in season 3.

Headcanon: they spend the summer when Donna is in California doing self-reflection so that by the time Eric shows up at the Cali beach, he and Donna truly are ready to reconcile.

Younger Adventure or Experience They Had, Pre-T7S: Eric/Donna

They form a detective duo after their middle school, Old Maine, burns down. They investigate friends and classmates, but neither Eric nor Donna find out anything related to the building's destruction.

What they do learn is a bunch of gossip about students and teachers they otherwise would never have known. Once they exchange some intel with each other --

Eric: Man, this is lame. Who cares that Sharon Wheeler kept a stash of ABC gum under her desk and chewed on a piece whenever she could get away with it?

Donna: Yeah, and I found out that kid Mitch got his hand stuck in the fly of his jeans during math class. Yuck!

Eric: What a dumbass. He told me you stuffed a dirty Valentine's Day card in his locker before winter break.

Donna: That was Hyde!

Eric: You stuffed a dirty Valentine's Day card in Hyde's locker?

Donna: No, Hyde smeared an old card in mud and shoved it in Mitch's locker because Mitch wouldn't let Hyde copy his homework.

Eric: Okay, well ... this was a bust. Whoever burned down the school will probably get away with it.

Donna: I don't know. I kind of liked asking people questions. And maybe the fire started as an electrical fire. My dad said Old Maine wasn't up to code.

Eric: How does he know that?

Donna: He wouldn't tell me.

Eric: Maybe you should find out. What if he's friends with someone in the Arsonist Mafia?

Donna: What's the Arsonist Mafia?

Eric: Everything basically has a Mafia.

Donna: You and Hyde snuck into The Godfather II -- without me!

Eric: Um ...

Donna: And now Hyde believes there's a Mafia for everything, and he convinced you!

Eric: Damn! I confess, okay?

Donna: It totally sucks you saw that movie without me, but getting you to admit it kicks ass! I wonder if There's a career in this ...

Eric: It's called journalism.

Donna: Gee, I had no idea. Thanks for teaching me, Mr. Dillhole.

Eric: What'd I do?

Donna: I was wondering if I could be a journalist, not what journalism is. Do you think I'm that stupid?

Eric: No!

Donna: But you think I'm stupid in some way.

Eric: I didn't say that. You're the smartest person I know!

Donna: How many people do you know?

Eric: I need a nap.

Donna: I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Let's go learn some more idiotic gossip. We can question people together.

Eric: Can I be the hardass while you're the nice one?

Donna: You can be the bony ass, and I'll get the answers.

--

Note: I used Point Place Time to make this ficlet work. 😅

Jukebox Ask Game

[a-gil-rebel]

Okay, I'm running into a block on chapter 4 of this GF work, so I'm crossposting Chapter 1 to Tumblr for feedback! What do yall think is gonna happen next, what do you want to see?

Chapter 1: Tourist

The old man stepped through the swirling yellow portal into somewhere in Oregon. Familiar, yet not a place he'd ever been before. Light streamed upward from the sunrise, not quite sweeping the valley yet, and a spray of water misted them lightly.

"Wooow" the voice in his head drawled out. "Wow wow wow wow wow, so this is the infamous Dimension 46'\, roomy!" The old man chuckled, dusting himself off as the portal closed behind them.

Shifting the backpack on his shoulders, he took a quick scan of the area. A waterfall cascaded down into the valley to their right into a lake. A small shadowy island stood in its center, and he mentally tallied that as one of the first places they'd look into. The small town that stretched out in front of them had a center with a statue he didnt recognize, a few charming diners and a water tower with a muffin painted on one side.

His associate immediately took notice of the strange air the town radiated.

"I like this place, I think its about as weird as they say, maybe more! But I can't sense the rest of the dimension, almost like it exists inside a bubble. What could that be, Sixer?"

Sixer scratched his head as he pulled out his oldest book from a bag a dash too small for it to have been in. "I wonder if this place has a similar magnetic attraction of weirdness to my home, and no one's yet destabilized or disrupted the field enough for it to burst. This dimension must not have had a Me smart enough to figure it out. Not to worry old friend, after we have our fill of this little town, I can look into building a device to do that here, too."

The voice in his head chuckled. "Then let's get this party started!"

With that, they headed down toward the shore, a wave of a six-fingered hand pushing any plantlife out of the way as they went.

---

"Grunkle Ford, you promised to help me make Grunkle Stan's cake!" Mabel's cries fell on deaf ears as Ford and Dipper continued covering the table in more dumb math papers for their game.

"Yes yes, I'll pick one up later-ah!" He yelped as she pulled him down by his old man ear.

"This is the first time you two get to celebrate your own birthdays together in like. A billion years! You're going to Make him a cake and you'll LIKE IT."

"Okay, Okay! I will I promise, but our birthday isnt even until later this week, is a cake this early necessar?" He relented, and she released him, tugging her sequined sweater back in place.

"You two haven't celebrated in thirty years! You guys are gonna celebrate all week, because if you don't, you're going to have to deal with this Mabel-" she swiped her hand up her sweater, the sequins reversing to show her own face looking dissapointingly at him "-and you do Not want to meet that Mabel."

Dipper snickered from across the table. "Mabel, do I even wanna know how long it took you to make that?"

"Lo suficientemente largo como para escuchar todo nuestro libro de texto de español en audiolibro para poder aprobar el examen final." She replied, her right eye twitching. "Cake!" She shouted one more time before there was a knock on the door.

"Candy and Greta!" She gasped, running out of the kitchen and grappling past the TV to answer it. All three of them squealed a chord so ungodly the goat in the yard ran off, and Mabel invited them upstairs to help her unpack the rest of the way. Her and her brother had been there since the beginning of June, but both their families were on vacation that first week, so today was the first time they'd all been able to get together.

Since the divorce was finalized, the twins decided to make the attic a permanent room, somewhere that had at least enough stuff to crash there anytime if things got sour at home. Their mom still lived in Cali, but their dad had moved all the way to New Jersey where he'd grown up. So if Mom was ever overwhelmed by being a single mother, she'd given them the option to homeschool up in Oregon for a month or so, since they "liked it so much". Mabel liked the chance to do things at her own pace and be able to stay in Gravity Falls even after summer, and Dipper liked staying up to date with everything Ford was researching at the time, since the nerd was ahead in most classes anyway.

After about an hour decorating her side of the attic, they decided to go into town to see how things had changed. Greta told her about the new statue in the towncenter. Nathaniel Northwest's was torn down after the previous summer's revelation of who he really was, and priorities shifting after Weirdmageddan. The new statue was apparently designed by Robbie, whose art skills had flourished. It was abstract, with every 2D shape imaginable except for any triangles, and Candy swore if you looked at it at a certain time of day, the shadow spelled out "Up Yours".

After a snack at Greasy's Diner and saying hi to Pacifica, they decided to pop in and out of a few shops on their way back when she spotted Grunkle Ford in the bakery.

---

The voice in his head had gotten bored quickly on the island, since the only creature of note was somwhere in the underwater caves. So Sixer decided to take him to a local shop to pick out anything he wanted. He hadn't expected an entire sheetcake to be his heart's desire, but would he ever truly understand the immortal deity? They were about to bring a large vanilla with raspberry filling to the front when a child ran up to him, demanding something about making the cake himself.

"Grunkle, you better not be getting that cake instead of making one! You promised me!" The girl yanked on his coat threateningly, pointing a finger at him, the two other children behind her also making threatening stances. The presence in his mind flared with anger, even though there was no real threat. She must be mistaking him for another adult, how old was she? He barely remembered his own human physiology.

"Don't worry, little one. I was just getting... Inspiration. I will make the cake myself." She seemed satisfied with his response, and after a few more glares left them alone.

"How peculiar. I wonder who she though I was? And what's a Grunkle?"

"Not a clue, Sixer. Can we eat that cake now?" He laughed and waited for the kids to leave before checking out as well, heading into the woods so they could eat in peace.

---

Mabel got back to the Mystery Shack to see Soos wrapping up his last tour of the day so he and Melody could take the afternoon off. Wendy was in charge of the counter like old times, and Grunkle Stan would still be out of the house for a few more hours, playing in some casino tournament he'd won his way into on the edge of town. She left Candy and Greta in the shop to check on her dork brother, feeling a bit bad he was left home alone since Ford was at the shops.

Except she walked into the kitchen to see both her nerd twin And her Grunkle Ford, batting at egg creatures as they herded them into a box.

"Mabel!" Dipper called out, smiling and covered in egg yolk. "You won't believe what we've been up to! Grunkle Ford was trying to recreate that scene from Fantastica with the mops, but instead the cake baking itself, but then-!"

"Woah woah woah, okay Dip. Usually I'd be totally excited to hear what you dorks have been up to, but Ford! How could you!?"

"What? I'm baking the cake, as requested, its very serious business!"

"No, you used some kind of officer copier to make a copy of yourself and buy a cake at the shops, didn't you! Huh! Huh! I'm wise to you!" Both of the nerds gave her a stupid face.

"Mabel, I've been here the whole time. But this is concerning." The old man's face screwed up in concentration, one foot still holding the box of sentient eggs shut. "It could be any number of anomalies, a doppleganger? Living plant clone? Interdimensional traveller? Mabel, do you remember any details of this Not-Ford? Green skin, desire for human flesh? Second head?"

"I can do you one better, I never miss a scrapbook-tunity. Whoopah!" She slammed down three polaroids on the dining table, one of 'Ford' from behind, which was mostly a picture of his fancy leather trenchcoat, then one of him clutching a cake in fear, then one from farther off with him waving his hand at nothing.

Dipper picked up the one with the cake laughing at his funny stance, but Ford picked up the first, the only one without his dopplegangers face in it.

"We need to find this... False Ford. Before he does something dangerous. I'll get my flesh-ripping ray!" Grunkle Ford announced cheerfully, running off toward his basement lab. Dipper quickly launched himself to cover the box of eggs, and Mabel grabbed her sticker book to seal it shut while they were gone. She went with a muffin and chihuahuas theme.

---

Sixer ate half the cake, his stomach threatening to pull itself out of his body. "No, absolutely not. If you want to eat the othet half, you have to come out and do it yourself." He shook his head at the whine that echoed in his mind. After tucking away the other half in his bag, they went back into town to explore some more. Even got a red balloon from the Museum, which they promptly turned a nice shade of yellow.

The museum had everything from pickaxes and live dynamite from the founding days of Gravity Falls, to taxidermy animals and an entire room of eyeballs. It was interesting, and he'd have to get a better look at some of the items on display later, but all it really did was amp up their appetite for the Mystery Shack. Determined to do a few more tourist attractions before the main event, they headed out of the Museum to visit the Cemetery.

---

The Pines family and company split up to find Fake Ford. Wendy volunteered to check the roof, so Soos held down the fort in giftshop. Greta and Candy would bodyguard the bus station to make sure the Faker didn't skip town. Ford didn't want to split up the twins, and needed at least one person with him at all times to prevent anyone having to "chose the real him". So they headed to the shop to canvas witnesses, or try to pick up a trail.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you were in here earlier." The checkout clerk, a teen with a voice crack that could shatter glass, pointed at Ford.

"Yes yes, but where did I go after? Think, Sven, the world as we know it is in danger!" Ford grabbed him by his uniform suspenders, but all he did was point at the nametag that said Steven.

"Thats not even my name, man! But hey, if you got anymore those bars, it may jog my memory." Steven wiggled his eyebrows and Ford dropped him again, wiping off his six-fingered hands.

"Eugh. What do you mean, bars?"

The teen looked around before ducking behind the counter and, with much effort, dropping a gold bar on the conveyor belt.

"Woah!" The twins awed.

"Grunkle Ford is that real?" Dipper asked as Mabel reached toward it whispering "Shiiinyyy." The teen bapped them away and Ford put his arm between them before pulling out a raygun and pointing it at Steven.

"You have 5 seconds to tell me where he went, or what you call your flesh will go through a dimensional paper-shredder, leaving you nothing but a pile of bones."

Steven went white as a sheet and collapsed.

"So much for that lead." Ford sighed as Mabel chided him about honey and vinegar before he turned his gun toward the bagger, who had been leaning against the counter the entire time, a tired looking teen with purple hair. "You have 5 seconds to-!"

"Dude was talking to himself the whole time, said something about the History Museum." The teen popped the bubblegum in her mouth before continuing. "And for the record, I'm not telling you this because of your flesh gun thingy. I just like ratting people out."

"Ah. I see. To the Museum!" Ford shouted before running out of the store, Mabel and Dipper applogizing as they ran after him.

The trio followed Fake Ford's trail to the History Museum, where Real Ford found some particularly unnerving security footage they definitely legally obtained of the doppleganger changing the color of the balloon with the wave of a hand and flash of blue.

"No incantation, no talisman, Ford, can you do that?" Dipper asked, in awe. "He's magic!" Mabel chimed in.

"No, I cannot, and I don't want to know what he's done to be able to. We need to find this Ford." He forwarded the tape to follow the yellow balloon back to the entrance, the only camera with a mic.

"Hm? How about the cemetery, that sound alright? ....If we're lucky there may be a good spot to raise the dead." Fake Ford laughed after a pause and left. "If we're lucky!" Was the last thing they heard before he was out of sight. The three rushed out and headed toward the cemetery, the sun creeping toward the horizon by now.

The cemetery had no living residents to rat out a trail, no security footage to scour or even dead to talk to, all of whom were apparently too good for a ouiji board.

"What now?" Dipper asked, sitting at the entrance with Ford.

"Maybe he's just a tourist, I mean he hasn't done anything!" Mabel ventured.

"There's too many signs leading otherwise."

"Mabel is right, Ford. Whats one bad thing he's done? Pay in gold? Change the color of a balloon? Heck, he didn't even raise any dead!"

Ford stood suddenly, his face distant. "I can't say for sure, but, I have a bad feeling about how this Ford. The power he weilds is too familiar to be anything good. We need to find him."

Mabel looked down at her phone and replied to a text. "Well, we're running out of time. Greta and Candy are heading home right now, and Wendy went home an hour ago. Maybe we should regroup at the Shack and start in the morning?" Ford sighed and pinched his nose.

"Fine, fine. Stanley will be home soon anyway. Let's go, kids." All three hung their heads a bit as they went home, the entrance door bell ringing overhead.

"Soos? We're back!" Mabel called out, but Soos didn't hear them, apparently laughing it up with a late customer. They headed deeper into the shack only to stop short.

"Oh Mr Pines, that conveniently off screen story you shared was so funny!" The stranger leaning against the counter laughed as Soos shook his hand.

"Oh please, Mr Pines was my father, call me Sixer." Soos looked up just as they approached, waving.

"Oh hey lil dudes, Mr Pines. Look, its you, but another!"

The twins and Ford braced as 'Sixer' stood to full height before turning toward them. An exact copy of their Ford with a calculated look on his face, that suddenly broke into a smile.

---

"So there is another me here, its a pleasure!" Sixer reached out to shake his hand, when all three jumped to a defensive stance, Ford with a flesh-ripping raygun, the girl from the shop with a crossbow, and a boy, after fumbling with a book for a bit, to some sort of martial art stance.

"Are you insane!?" 46'\ Ford shouted, making his company flare with anger. He kept himself smiling and calm as Ford continued. "If you make contact with another version of yourself, this entire dimension will collapse!"

Sixer laughed and waved his hand. "Oh that? I solved that issue ages ago in the Dimension of Literals. You know that ongoing argument of 'nothing ever really touches because of the space between atoms'? I wont go into detail, but I can assure you, we can make contact safely, so maybe you can lower your 2.1.0.34 Version Flesh Ripper?"

Ford blinked and lowered his weapon a bit. "How did you know exactly what version this was?" Sixer smirked a bit and gestured to his bag.

"I'm on version 4.2.0.3. And I've met a few Fords in my day, not for a long while though."

"So wait, there's other universes where more of us exist? Are you an Author too? But, why are you here then?" The young boy spoke up, tripping over himself with questions.

"I'm just a tourist, certainly not the most common type of Ford. Not only do many infinite dimensions exist, but Alternative Universes as well, that either closely follow your lives, or branch off exponentially. I don't believe I've met you before though." Sixer held out a hand to shake his, and before Ford could stop them the child was shaking his hand vigorously.

"Its so cool to meet another Ford! I'm Dipper, thats my twin sister Mabel. Can you really do Magic? How? How many dimensions have you visited? Our Ford was stuck outside our world for 30 years, have you been travelling that long-?" He laughed at the child's excitement.

"You can call me Sixer, I much prefer it. And 30 years!" He looked up at Ford, whose raygun pointing at the floor by now. "Thats not bad at all! What made you want to come back?"

"That is none of your business, and you are not welcome here. Tourist or not, I just don't trust you." Sixer's smile fell finally, remembering why they hadn't visited another earth dimension in a long time.

"I'm not here to cause any trouble, we just wanted to see the dimension, its known for its incredible magnetic attraction for the weird and strange, far beyond any other Gravity Falls!"

"We?" Ford bit back, and Sixer shrunk in on himself a bit, the voice in his head finally chiming in to laugh.

"Oh shush" he muttered before addressing Ford. "I... I meant I wanted to see the dimension, I apologize, I've been travelling for.... a long time." The looks he got weren't exactly confident.

"Cmon Sixer, we could take em! Just throw them in a dimensional cube for a few days while we hang out!"

Sixer hissed at the voice in his head. "We don't do that willy nilly!"

"Who are you talking to?" Mabel asked, and Sixer jumped at suddenly being aware of her presence, since she had climbed onto the counter to inspect him closer.

"...Myself." He ventured.

"You're insane." Ford jabbed, crinkling his nose as if he'd smelt a Gongoozler.

"Sure I am, whats your point?" He replied in stereo with the voice in his head. Mabel reacted a bit to this, pulling Ford, Soos and Dipper into a group huddle.

"They think we can't hear them from that far away?" The presence chuckled, and Sixer laughed with him, covering his mouth as he looked around at the items on display again. Most were obviously fake, but just had so much Gravity Falls Charm it was enchanting. After a moment of deliberation, which he chose not to listen into by humming a song, they approached him again.

"Okay, Sixer." Ford started. "We've decided to allow you to... tour our dimension, as long as you stay within the confines of Gravity Falls, and a few more stipulations to be determined, such as not paying people in gold bars."

"We-ah, I, can't leave Gravity Falls due to its natural law of weirdness magnetism, so you won't have to worry about that. But, while I'm here if you'd like me to collapse the barrier-!" He offered, only to be met with a cacophony of 'No'.

"Okay-Okay! Well heard."

"You can stay in the spare room, Grunkle Sixer! There's always a spare, somehow." Mabel's face screwed up in concentration as Sixer and Ford replied in unison.

"Spacial anomalies from Grasside Omega."

"This is still a little weird." Dipper chimed in as Sixer laughed.

"Don't worry, we won't be in your hair for long." He replied, just someone burst in the door.

"Long story, they can't prove I cheated, Ford save me!" The man shouted as he raced into the shack with a pile of money in his hands, going to hide behind Sixer.

"Oh, uh, wrong Ford, sorry mister." The man looked at him proper as they both did a double-take. "Stanley...?"

Suddenly the entire party was rocked off their feet at a roar outisde, and something pounding the ground so hard it shook. They ran outside, leaving Soos and Stanley in the doorway. On the front lawn was an amalgamation of casino chips, cards and a slot machine for a face, formed into an anthropomorphic creature.

"Now that is quite something." Sixer laughed, and Ford quickly started looking in his journals for any information.

"Possibly a type of Tulpa, or guardian of the Casino? Stanley how do you get yourself into things like this?!"

The Casino Creature started pulling the roof off the Shack to try and get to Stanley. "Grunkle Ford, do something!" Dipper shouted.

"I think I have something in my lab that can-"

"No time!" Sixer shouted, running in front of them and placing his hands on the ground, starting an incantation to trap the beast. "Zuds wkh ehdvw lq d exeeoh!" He shouted as yellow symbols encircled it, creating a bubble around the creature to protect the Shack and themselves. "Dwwdfn- I mean, attack it now! Hurry!"

Mabel, still carrying her crossbow, started firing into the barrier, bolts sinking into the beast, but to no affect. Sixer flinched as the beast slammed into his magic, but held fast as Ford ran to get a device from his lab. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dipper helping his sister reload her crossbow with different bolts, one with flamestones tied to the end. He watched as the new bolts, while not hitting as high, burst into flame as the geode was shattered on impact. He braced himself for the heat radiating off it as the beast lit up with flames, otherwise unnerved.

"Grunkle Ford..!" The kids cried, just as Ford burst out with a weapon the size of a machine gun.

"Take this you oversized Bankroll!" Ford shouted as he shot a series of lasers at the beast in pulses, turning every card into a greeting card, and poker chips into potato chips, which all fell into a pile underneath the sentient slot machine, which howled and tried to hop away as Sixer lowered his shield.

The twins whooped and hollered as Ford smirked, hands on his hips. "Not bad, Sixer. The shield was cute. But its good I was here to finish it off."

Sixer stood and dusted his hands, eye twitching at his comment. Just as the twins were investigating Ford's weapon, the slot machine closed it's 'mouth' and started a high pitch sound. Sixer jumped in front of Ford and the twins and let his associate react for him, a large swirl of blue absorbing the golden blast, grinding his heels in as it pushed him back into Ford. Then he gladly returned the energy with blue flames, dissolving the cards, chips and slot machine to nothing, along with the grass caught in range.

Shaking the flames from his fingertips, he panted and turned to Ford and the twins, all of whom were clinging to his coat. "You guys alright?"

Ford quickly let go, looking around for his dimension to start melting, which, as he'd assured him, it did not. The twins started talking over themselves, asking him how he'd done that. His focus was on Ford, smirking a bit as he indulged in his own pride. "What do you think, Ford? Was that 'cute' too?"

"Ha! Showed up by your own-ah, what exactly is goin on, actually?" Stanley clapped them both on the shoulder, and Sixer couldn't help but stare a bit as Ford explained dimensional travel to him. Stanley picked wax out of his ear as he 'listened'.

Sixer shook himself out of staring as Dipper tugged on his arm, wanting to hear about his adventures.

"Well, I suppose I can start at the beginning. Im sure Ford and I have nearly identical backgrounds, however the reason for our travels are most likely where we diverge. After I learned almost every secret of Gravity Falls, even if only a page worth in my journal, I broke the barrier of the town to allow the weirdness to disperse across the world, to allow those creatures, beings and phenomenons to intermingle, grow and change. Its quite possibly going to be my longest running experiment, a couple centuries so far, if I remember to go back to it someday!

That's why I offered to break the barrier earlier, so I apologize if I stepped out of line."

"That could be incredibly dangerous for our world, especially if someday Bill found his way back alive...." Ford replied

"Could that... really happen?" Dipper asked, though Sixer could hardly hear over his heart racing in his ears as the twins continued with graphic exclamations of what they would do if "Bill came Back".

"Woah woah woah, what did he mean Alive?" The voice in his head practically shouted, starting to push himself forward in his mind. Sixer held fast, instead redirecting the conversation to how late it had gotten.

"Well with so much excitement, I think I'm going to turn in for the night... haha... if you still don't mind?"

Ford put a hand on his shoulder. "Not at all, I have to say I was a little apprehensive at first, but travelling the multiverse for centuries? I can't imagine what knowledge you've been able to unlock." Sixer laughed a bit at the flattery, waving a hand as they headed inside.

"Oh, I heard from Soos I had interrupted some festivities that involved cake? We had the other half earlier, but, as thanks, you're welcome to have it." Sixer carefully pulled out the half sheetcake from his bag. The family cheered, much to his associate's dismay.

[luke-hughes43]

first game | cutter and eden

hehe just a lil fic for cut and eden!

~

eden was not originally set to be at his debut. well according to cutter at least.

eden's plan was to go to her morning lift and 8 am but then immediately fly to Vegas. that's exactly what happened.

eden knew she needed to be in Vegas. with their being tension between cutter and his parents/Kennedy, and Isla not being able to be there, she knew that she had to make sure that she was there.

so she was.

clad in a gauthier ducks jersey that trevor got for her, she was excited as she landed in Vegas and made her way to the arena. cutter's mom got her a ticket to sit with them, so she went to instantly find them and get to her seat.

Isla knew that eden was going and was sitting with her family. Isla does ask eden to FaceTime her for parts of the game so she can see parts of cutter playing.

the game goes great, the ducks win and cutter gets his first point! the family goes down to the locker room area to see him and they walk in right after he finishes with interviews.

no one knows that eden is their to support cut, everyone just thinks it's his family and eh gets asked about them in the interview and lies his ass about them being there and how it means a lot to him that they are there supporting him. there was only 2 people he wanted there to support him, and to his knowledge neither of them were.

after the interviews end, he hugs his family. during that hug, eden sneaks into the locker room. as he's letting go of the hug, eden says, "hey superstar."

cutter freezes as the sound of her voice. a sound he'd recognize anywhere.

eden giggles and gives him a big hug. he's in shock that she's here but holds her close and tight. he buries his head in her neck and says, "I'm so glad your here. thank you for coming."

"of course I came cut. I wouldn't miss this for anything." eden says gripping him tightly. he mumbles, "I love you angel. so much"

"I love you too cut. more than you'll ever know."

both of them have big smiles on their faces for the rest of the night. eden goes back to cali that night because she has class and workouts the next day. edenr waits for cutter to get back from Vegas before really showing him how proud she is.

[galindathrop]

Just thinking about my stranger things season 4 established relationship edancy rewrite that only lives in my brain. I’ve already mentioned some of these in my various Edancy Headcannon posts. 

Like how:

Eddie said he would stop selling drugs for his final senior year for Nancy but he makes an exception for Chrissy. Along with Eddie refusing to cancel the Hellfire Club for Lucas's game, Nancy is about to lose it.

She has to talk about her relationship drama with Steve and Mike of all people. Platonic Stancy for the win.

Eddie used to date Chrissy before Nancy, making Nancy jealous of her going over to his house. They have a massive fight and don't talk until after he's in hiding.

Robin and Nancy go visit Eddie on their way to the library. Nancy is just in protective gf mode the whole time.

Their talk in episode 5 is much mushier and suggestive. Their talk would wake up Dustin and he whisper shouts at them. Dustin is one of their most vocal shippers. 

After Eddie is revealed as a suspect, everyone tries to protect Nancy because the basketball team is after her now too. Nancy can protect herself though. 

They have their first kiss in front of the group after finding Eddie later in the day. Robin teases her about this. 

Robin is the one to jump after Steve when he is dragged under the water. Nancy jumps after her and Eddie follows. I love the ronance implications of that scene but the stancy context... no. 

Back in normal Hawkins, Wayne is living with the Wheelers while his trailer is investigated. Wayne agues with Karen about Nancy and Eddie’s relationship. Karen wants Nancy to stay away from Eddie after he’s suspected. Wayne knows he’s innocent.

Eddie is standoffish of Steve after Steve accidentally flirts with Nancy. Steve apologizes and they start to become friends. 

Eddie loses it when Nancy is taken over by Vecna. You can read that scene here. 

Eddie wants Nancy to stay with him in the trailer in the Upside Down but then Dustin got involved in their plan. Eddie couldn’t let him go. 

After Vecna is “killed”, Robin, Steve, and Nancy find Dustin crying over Eddie’s body. Dustin tells Nancy that “Eddie told me to tell you that he loves you so much.” She then takes his guitar pick necklace. They mourn for a bit. Steve tried CPR at some point. Then Eddie suddenly wakes up for a reason I will not spoil. Steve is able to make the rope longer buy tying a Upside Down sheet to it and they escape. 

Nancy has to beg the paramedics that were treating Max to take Eddie to the hospital too. 

Wayne comes to the hospital to be with Eddie. Nancy always comes to visit him everyday and helps him pass his finals. 

Then the Cali Crew (Pizza party of Will, Jonathan, Mike, El, and Argyle) come back to Hawkins. They meet with Nancy who was already at the hospital with Eddie. 

Eddie gets a chance to meet El, who he recognizes. Nancy is confused. 

Nancy is forced to leave Eddie and goes with everyone else to Hopper’s cabin. 

Her only thoughts are on Eddie when the dust starts to fall on Hawkins from the gates and they see the red smoke rise. Afterall, the monsters are attracted to blood. And hospitals have plenty of it. 

[asirensrage]

Find the Words Tag Game

tagged by @residentdormouse! Thanks for that! Let's see if I have something for all of them.

My words: clear, calm, cautious, caring, and cave

tagging: @reyofluke-ocs @damn-daemon @residentdormouse @chickensarentcheap @bobfloydsbabe and anyone else who wants to join!

Your words: never, tag, loyal, team and burning

Clear

“Oyakata-sama requests your presence.”  Kit is lying in the dirt. It’s clear that the weeks she has spent healing the broken arm and cut have taken a toll on her body. She’s lost more than a bit of her strength.  Aoi moves forward, helping her stand. It takes her a second to catch her balance, the world swaying with vertigo. She’s overdone it. The younger girl holds on to her, keeping her steady.  “Thank you.” Aoi nods but doesn’t let go until Kit has her feet firmly on the ground and no longer feels like falling.  “Cora-san has been requested to join you.”

Calm

Something snaps to his left and he whirls on it, aiming the flashlight in the dark. “Come on out, dipshit!” he calls, sounding way more confident than he feels. He should have stayed in Cali, gone into acting or some shit. He’s good at faking confidence. He’s good at faking a lot of things.  Nothing responds.  “Fuck this,” he mutters. He grabs his pack of cigarettes and pulls one out. Something to calm his fucking nerves since he’s wandering the woods in the middle of the night. He tucks the pack back in his jacket pocket before grabbing his Zippo and lighting it.

Cautious

He works to engage her in conversation. It’s not hard. She’s not the most talkative, eyeing him cautiously, but she responds. He lets her give non-answers to his questions and she doesn’t question when he avoids a topic. At least until she tells him that he intrigues her.  She sees him. She sees beyond the persona he’s been given, knows the anger that sits under his skin. She knows there’s more to him than what he knows and he realizes that in the time he’s taken trying to figure her out, she’s been reading him. She doesn’t find him lacking but when she gives him that sad smile, tells him that “like recognizes like”, and whatever’s been done to her is in the past, he wants to tear her demons apart.

Caring

“I don’t have anything to say,” I admitted. “I mean, maybe he’s just not used to actually having someone who’s not related by blood, or Bobby, caring about him.”  “That’s no excuse,” she said but it didn’t sound like her heart was in it. “He should already know how much I fucking love him.” “And you know he loves you too, but Dean and emotions...they’re not friends, remember? Just...talk to him. Once the whole Sam thing is settled, he’ll probably be able to think straight again and then realize how much he screwed up.”

Cave

“Eric,” the man behind the desk calls out. His tone is dark, suggesting the argument not continue. He looks at the man next to me. “Take the girl to get changed and put her in detainment. We’ll discuss this after.” I try not to make a face. At least it wasn’t instant death. Still, detainment sounded like jail. I was getting imprisoned for being unlucky. Least they were going to give me something to wear. I had a feeling that being in jail in a cave was going to be cold.  “Come on,” the man next to me says before ushering me back outside. I don’t get a chance to argue that I should stay if they’re talking about me.

[parasite-core]

Well for starters who is Calio and where did they come from. And more importantly, whats theur fave thing to do on a day off?

Thank you for the ask!!!

Calio used to just be your regular playboy. Literally just a guy, no special abilities to speak of. Kind of a thoughtless fool, but a very good looking fool with a silver tongue.

However Calio’s parents had moved to Ustalav and opened an inn after an incident in his childhood in Irrisen involving him being kidnapped and barely surviving an encounter with someone they believed to be a Winter Witch. Despite his parents’ warnings, Calio felt drawn to return to Irrisen. See, he’d had a lot of strange things happen around him since that incident. Mostly caused because he’s, again, a bit of an idiot and is quick to grab any mysterious probably-cursed object he sees, or make a blood pact with a friend, or nearly drown in a river. Regardless, he’s had weird things happen around him since childhood, and a strange spot of yellowed scar tissue was growing on his hand from where he was pricked by the aforementioned dark artifact he probably shouldn’t have touched. So he wanted to return to Irrisen to investigate where it all began and try to find out what had been done to him as a child that he couldn’t remember due to the trauma of it all. And find out what might be happening to him.

Instead, on the way to Irrisen, while he was crossing the mountains between Ustalav and the Land of the Lennorm Kings, he got caught in a winter storm. He took shelter in a nearby cave, and found that the cave was rather deep. Calio, again being a bit of an idiot, decided he was going to explore deeper. Even though the cave was dark and he didn’t have a torch. He was guiding himself along the cave wall with his hand when he cut himself on something sharp jutting out of the rocks. When his blood spilled, he heard some sort of voice speaking in a language he didn’t recognize, then he blacked out.

He woke up in a grave surrounded by dead bandits on the opposite end of the continent a year later with no memory of what happened in the year between. His good looks had faded in the last year to a sickly pallor, and unbeknownst to him his eye color had also changed (he’s color blind so he thinks his eyes are still green, they were a reddish brown when he woke up, and since accepting the Black Rider’s proposition they’ve become vivid red with black sclera…he’s only aware of the sclera change and that his eyes are a brighter color but he thinks they’re still green or maybe gold)

With these changes came power too, though. Dark magical power. And as it turns out, he’s found he has a taste for power.

***

Cali’s favorite things to do on his days off are play card or dice games—preferably with money on the line, go bar hopping, go shopping at whatever weird second hand store is around and find cool odd (totally not cursed) trinkets, or if he *absolutely* has to spend time on his own, rebinding books.

[willel]

El also knows that MF was Henry all along, and she knows the Hawkins Massacre. Didn't she connect the dots that... Hawkins Massacre and that massacre that happened in S2 were kinda way too similar, after also explicitly learning that MF was Henry and he used it to steal her powers in S3. Bro..? Something is surely not clicking.

Okay maybe they are just waiting for the moment where all the characters are going to explain things to each other and then it will click for them or something?

I gotta agree on characters' being 'too confident' or sometimes careless part because that is actually kinda how Max died imho. But they are way too careless about Will, when they already know he has been connected and 'marked' since S1 already and we know what happened what they ignored Will's warnings in S2 (Bob dead, an entire army team is dead/massacre). Will almost lost himself completely because of that connection, albeit he is not possessed anymore he still was feeling him in S3 and now in S4. Weird writing choices tbh.

You know, that is very true. El knows Henry was the Mind Flayer all along now. El told the Cali gang nothing from what we know right? That means Will independently figured out that the Mind Flayer was Henry all along too. Interesting. I mean, in a way, Will knew that before anyone. He always referred to a sexless creature as "he". He knew, he just didn't understand without some context.

But anyway, yeah. I can only hope this is gonna lead to some epic plot twists. Even if I see it all coming, I'll be excited for it if it all ties together in a mostly neat bow. I just need these dots to finally connect.

Sometimes when I'm planning out my fic or imagining what they'll do in season 5, I think so much stuff will finally start clicking for the cast and they decide to try and take Will out of town because they realize proximity is a problem for him. The closer he is, the more dangerous it is for him.

But something prevents them from leaving, whether it's a government lock down or something, or maybe even Vecna does something to keep Will trapped in Hawkins.

Then I imagine they try to replicate season 2 and take Will somewhere in town he doesn't recognize so that Vecna can't easily find or get to him. I imagine it being like some weird team game of "hide and seek". Our protagonists are trying to find Vecna and Vecna's team of monsters are trying to find Will and they have to do everything they can to make sure their locations aren't given away to give the other side an advantage.

I doubt that'll be the story or anything, but it's fun to imagine.

I don't know if I'll be frustrated if our protagonists don't notice the danger of Will's connection soon or if I'll be so excited to see everything go to absolute SHIT. Because I do enjoy seeing my favs suffer. Mixed feelings. Lol

[passionfruitmango]

at the end of it all, it might be my fault.

the desire to continue being better

the habit of creating my own discomfort

the only difference now is the part of myself who used to so loudly express how she felt, has stifled herself, for fear of someone else seeing me exactly as who I am.

traumatized.

i once became so comfortable with my own toxicity that I gave it a home, a name, she was a vixen of sorts, and shared next to no morals with mine. She did everything I wanted though.

shes dead now. i think. her blog long since deleted and gone. she got played in her own game. in the same breath she (I) didn't deserve what happened.

but i think about her. I see her peeking through old blog posts I glaze over 8 years later with nothing but hindsight and experience of self sabotaging behaviors.

i'll never forget how hard she sobbed when reality realigned everything. it hurt. but when you fly high towards an unattainable prize, something has to give, and it wasn't going to be his marriage.

Being preyed on by my workplace superior was the unfortunate ending my toxic bit couldn't see the writing on the wall for. He said forever, she (I) listened and believed. [yes, sbeve]

Through my toxicity I allowed that man to meet parts of myself I had yet to heal, there were power plays used to gain my trust that made my angry inner child feel safe.

My naivety knew no bounds.

different parts of me feel different things. I fight between feeling shame over it all and trying to understand that it wasn't all my fault.

i feel like a part of me made those self sabotaging choices intentionally. and I think that's why I can't get past it.

I know in the bigger picture of things, that based on my upbringing, trauma, and experiences, that my actions /make sense/ and explain the behavior but do not excuse it.

but my issue is fighting when those behaviors come back up through substances. my brain response is wanting to "do a substance" and I feel like I generally want to "do said substance" when I'm overwhelmed by feelings, so here I've been, chilling at my laptop, tryna collect my thoughts, which is seemingly going pretty well, fuck definitely going to be fucked up about 2020 for ??? who knows how long

my brain wants to do dxm and I recognize that, it is a past vice. but I do also believe in moderation and think that if I can plan a time for myself to use responsibly, that could be okay, so long as I'm also feeling my feelings. my body however does not want to do dxm because thinking about it has me gagging already.

I think I am not going to do any drugs anytime soon and instead continue to be cali sober.

I'm really happy I was able to get this out of my brain, not sure if I fully removed the block I was talking about earlier, how I felt like I stifled myself, but this is the fastest/most effortless flow I've had of brain to text in a personal sense in a SOLID minute. <3 I feel better getting this shit out of my head and into another place

[califactsijustmadeup]

Cali Fact #805:

Apparently my hometown and its neighbor inspired Paleto Bay in GTA 5. And apparently hardcore GTA fans will occasionally drive out there because of random buildings they recognize from the game.

[spadiddle]

[Roger Troutman:]

California love

California knows how to party

California knows how to party

In the city of L.A

In the city of good ol' Watts

In the city, the city of Compton

We keep it rockin', we keep it rockin'

[Dr. Dre:]

Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west

A state that's untouchable like Eliot Ness

The track hits your eardrum like a slug to your chest

Pack a vest for your Jimmy in the city of sex

We in that sunshine state where the bomb-ass hemp be

The state where you never find a dance floor empty

And pimps be on a mission for them greens

Lean mean money-making-machines serving fiends

I been in the game for 10 years making rap tunes

Ever since honeys was wearing Sassoon

Now it's '95 and they clock me and watch me

Diamonds shining, looking like I robbed Liberace

It's all good, from Diego to the Bay

Your city is the bomb if your city making pay

Throw up a finger if you feel the same way

Dre putting it down for Californ-i-a

[Roger Troutman:]

California knows how to party

California knows how to party (Yes, they do)

In the city of L.A

In the city of good ol' Watts

In the city, the city of Compton

We keep it rockin', we keep it rockin'

[Roger Troutman:]

Shake, shake it, baby

Shake, shake it, mama

Shake it Cali, shake it shake it baby

Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it

[2Pac:]

Out on bail, fresh out of jail, California dreaming

Soon as I step on the scene, I'm hearing hoochies screaming

Fiending for money and alcohol

The life of a Westside player where cowards die and the strong ball

Only in Cali where we riot not rally to live and die

In L.A. we wearing Chucks not Ballys (yeah, that's right)

Dressed in Locs and Khaki suits, and ride is what we do

Flossing, but have caution: we collide with other crews

Famous because we throw grams

Worldwide, let them recognize from Long Beach to Rosecrans

Bumping and grinding like a slow jam, it's Westside

So you know the row won't bow down to no man

Say what you say, but give me that bomb beat from Dre

Let me serenade the streets of L.A

From Oakland to Sac-town, the Bay Area and back down

Cali is where they put their mack down

Give me love!

[Roger Troutman:]

California knows how to party

California knows how to party (Yes, they do)

In the city of L.A

In the city of good ol' Watts

In the city, the city of Compton

We keep it rockin'

[Dr. Dre:] South Central

[2Pac:] Uh, that's right

[Dr. Dre:] Now make it shake

[Roger Troutman:]

Shake, shake it, baby

Shake, shake it, mama

Shake it Cali, shake it shake it baby

Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it

[Dr. Dre:]

Shake it Cali

Uh, uh, West Coast

Uh, yeah, uh, uh, Long Beach in the house

Uh, yeah, Oaktown, Oakland definitely in the house

Frisco, Frisco

[2Pac:]

And you know L.A. up in here

[Dr. Dre:]

Pasadena where you at?

Yeah, Inglewood

Inglewood always up to no good

[2Pac:]

Even Hollywood trying to get a piece, baby

[Dr. Dre:]

Sacramento, Sacramento where you at?

[2Pac:]

Throw it up ya'll, throw it up, throw it up!

I can't see ya

Let's show these fools how we do it over on this West Side

Cause you and I know it's the best side

Yeah, that's right

West Coast, West Coast

oh,m,,,, thankkkyew?