#did I make soup?

[writinggremlin]

How about Call of Duty: Held at sword/gunpoint for the Cafe Pals? (Those three sound super fun BTW, haha!)

-- @whumperofworlds

Those three are definitely super fun!! Especially Mars; he's a little gremlin sometimes. He loves to tease Jacky and Sunni, and you'll figure out the reason why by the end of this story lmao.

I don't usually whump these three -- I usually just use them for cute and funny bits in the background -- but that just makes the moments where I do whump them hit even better. So, here we go.

Call of Duty: Held at sword/gunpoint, for the Cafe Pals (Jacky, Sunni, and Mars)

The prompt is from this ask game here! Enjoy!

Cw (under cut): Gun, Robbery, Brief Manhandling, Blood

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Held at Gunpoint (Near Miss)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It was a normal day for Jacky, who was humming along to a song that was quietly playing over the speakers. A sigh escaped her as she finished wiping down the counter, and she took a step back. Pushing up her glasses by the bridge, she looked up at the seating area.

There were only a few other people here at the time, and Sunni had just gotten back into the kitchen after handing an older gentleman his usual order. It never really got busy here -- this place had never really gotten popular -- but she couldn't help the feeling of pride that warmed her heart. This was her place; her child, even, and she loved it as such.

She also felt a bit of pride towards Sunni and Mars too, though especially so for Sunni. They had known each other for years now; she was the first person Jacky hired on. It couldn't of have been an easy choice for her to make (even though she was the one who made the offer to help), and Jacky never fully understood why this beautiful dork of a blonde stuck around, especially when she clearly had an interest and amazing potential in pursuing other careers like fashion and design, but she was forever grateful for her help and support nonetheless.

Besides, there was something special about her presence that made it really fun and easy to hang out with her. She was an amazing friend. Sweet, kind, supportive, compassionate...

The jingle of bells rung through the air as the door opened, pulling Jacky back out of her thoughts.

"Hello! Welcome t--"

The words were choked short in her throat as she was met with the barrel of a pistol. Slowly and cautiously, she raised her trembling hands.

"Open the register."

Her eyes flicked up to the masked figure. They were wearing all black, and fixed her with a stern stare.

Everything had suddenly gone deathly silent, save for her quickening breath and the song that didn't seem to match the mood anymore.

She nodded her head towards a jar on the counter, "There's the tip jar if you--"

"Now!"

Two pairs of footsteps came running out from the back; both abruptly coming to a halt somewhere out of Jacky's line of sight.

"What the hell is going o--"

"Shit--"

Shit.

Jacky glanced towards their direction, "Mars, Sunni," She spoke carefully and clearly, "Stay back. Keep your hands up. No sudden movements." She's dealt with a theif or two in the past, but this was the first time any of them had been held at gunpoint. She looked back to the person in front of her, daring a glare, "Don't hurt them."

"Do as I say, and nobody gets hurt." They shot a warning glare to the other two.

Swallowing back the bile creeping up her throat, she gave the slightest of a nod, "Ok. Deal. I'm going to open--"

"You're seriously going to just let them take everything without a fight?! I bet that's not even a real g--"

"MARS!!" Jacky and Sunni both sho--

BANG

Jacky flinched when the gun moved to aim towards the others. A couple patrons screamed, the sounds nearly drowned out by the noise.

Holy shit-- Holy shit-- Please be ok-- Please let them be--

"Fucking-- Mars!! Are you ok?!"

"Y-yeah... I-- I'm--... It didn't-- I wasn't, hit."

Jacky let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Though that relief was short lived, as the gun was aimed right back at her once more.

"Take that as your only warning." Their cold glare was more than enough proof for Jacky to understand that they meant it, "Register. NOW!"

"Ok! Alright! Sorry!" Jacky carefully, yet quickly moved to press the buttons needed to unlock the register. The drawer popped open with a ding, and she flinched as the gun moved again. This time it lowered down to the counter, as the criminal hoisted themself over. She stepped back, attempting to stay out of their way.

"Here, just take it all and lea--" Apparently she wasn't out of of the way enough for them, as they grabbed her shoulder and shoved her to the side.

She fell from the force, unable to catch herself before her head smacked face first into the tiled floor below.

Jacky lifted herself slightly, immediately noticing the stark contrast of red against white; glistening blood dripping down onto the glossy surface beneath her. Turning her head, she looked back at at the person, who was quickly shoveling everything into a bag. A low groan escaped from her throat as she screwed her eyes shut and lowered her head back down.

As soon as the criminal made their exit, the place seemed to come back to life once more.

Sunni was kneeling next to Jacky in an instant, "Holy shit-- Holy shit-- Jacky!! Are you ok?! Shit your nose is bleeding-- here!"

Jacky looked up to find a handful of tissues getting shoved into her face. Smiling, she took them with a quiet, "Thank you." She held them up against her nose as she pinched it shut and tilted her head forward. "Are you ok?" She asked, placing a hand on the other's knee.

"Are you ok?" She retorted.

Jacky couldn't help but to chuckle over the insistent concern, "I'm ok. I'm fine." She winced as she pushed herself off the floor to sit up, "Ah! Ow-- My nose hurts though. I think I might've-- ah-- ...I might've broken it."

Glancing up, she noticed that a couple patrons had come over to check on them, "I'm fine, guys. Sorry about all of that. But if it's alright, can you all stick around for a bit? Just until the police get here so that you can--"

"Oh shit-- we should-- I'm gonna call the cops." Jacky looked over at Mars, who had pulled out his phone and was already dialing 911.

"Ok. Good. Alright..."

"Hello? Yeah, we just had a robbery over at..." The conversation quickly became muffled as he stepped into the back.

Jacky's attention snapped back to Sunni as she suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. Jacky stiffened, then quickly returned the embrace, allowing some of the tension in her body to melt away as she hid down into her shoulder.

After taking a few moments to soak in the comfort, Jacky lifted her head, frowning slightly, "Ah shit, I'm getting your sleeve all bloody." She felt a hand on the back of her head, gently guiding it back down to her friend's shoulder.

"Shush. It's literally just a shirt you fucking goof. I'm just glad you're ok."

She glanced up at Sunni, "You and Mars are ok too, right?"

Sunni nodded, "Yes, we're fine." Jacky felt her hands start to clutch at the back of her shirt, "Though I swear to god, Mars--"

"Shhhh, it's fine, we'll deal with him later. I'm just glad you guys are ok." She nuzzled down into the crook of her friend's neck.

She sighed, shoulders dropping, "I'm glad you're ok too." Jacky heard a small sniffle by her ear, "I just--... I don't know what I'd do if you-- if they--..." She didn't-- couldn't-- finish that sentence, instead drawing in a quivering breath, and hiding away into her shoulder.

Jacky started rubbing circles on her back, hugging her tighter, "It's ok, I'm ok. I'm here. We're here. We're ok. I'm not going anywhere." The reassurances continued for a few minutes, before Sunni lifted her head again with a snotty sounding sniff.

"Hey Jacky...? Can I tell you something?"

She lifted her head just enough to be able to look up at her, "Hm? Yeah, what is it?"

There was a long moment of silence...

Hesitation...

Anticipation...

Uncertainty...

"...Nevermind. Sorry."

Jacky's brow furrowed, but she decided not to pry, "Hm. Alright then."

A few more moments passed, before Sunni suddenly jolted a little bit, "Oh! Your glasses fell off when he pushed you, by the way! Here!"

Jacky laughed a little, "Oh, thanks! I didn't even notice that!"

Sunni smiled, soft and warm, "Of course! Here, let me get these back on for you real quick..."

Jacky didn't protest as Sunni carefully slid the glasses back into place. A stray piece of hair escaped Jacky's ponytail and fell into her face, and Sunni carefully tucked it back away behind her ear. Her hand lingered there for a moment, before she just shook her head and pulled her back in again.

As Sunni shoved her face into the crook of her neck, Jacky heard her whisper something under her breath. It was too quiet to know for sure, but she could've sworn that she heard three small words...

"I love you."

[lizarddealer]

Nothing like being haunted by the voice of ianthe tridentarius saying “add a few teaspoons of salt, then it will taste like salt” as I repeatedly salt soup, as I attempt to make said soup actually taste like something.

[bowledburrito]

Day 1 Graduation!

@ppkm-week

[bonefall]

This AU is basically the Dungeon Meshi of Warrior Cats. This is a high compliment.

It's so funny, I get that a lot and I totally see it + appreciate it, but BB actually predates me being a fan of Dungeon Meshi! I've been getting that compliment since even before the anime dropped.

It makes perfect sense though. Dungeon Meshi uses food as a metaphor for communication across individuals, class, and most relevantly culture. It's something that brings people together, even when that's being addressed as a sinister thing when.......

Ah. No spoilers. You should go and read the manga to find out what I'm teasing ;)

I do something with a lot of overlap in BB. Food is an extension of the culture of the five Clans. I use it to characterize individuals too and as a metaphor for things at times (like Darkstripe's growth or cultural friction in Heartstar's Rise), but most of all, I try to emphasize the food as the product of the society that makes it. The biome, the diet, the behaviors of its chefs... so Dungeon Meshi and BB are naturally going to draw some interesting similarities.

Plus, Dungeon Meshi's a good ass series man, it's downright awe-inspiring. I hope I can make a narrative as satisfying as Ryoko Kui can, lmao. I love how much that girlie loves food

[black-and-yellow]

Lost

(minus grain)

[skywalkr-nberrie]

Girlboss Padmé stans saying that her dying out of sadness over losing Anakin is “out of character” (when it’s actually not.) because she would want to live for her twins, as she’s always desired to have her own children one day? They missed the huge part of her character that said she desired to have a “family” specifically, which included her husband. She wanted to settle down with someone she loved and have children with THEM. Nobody could ever impress Padmé enough to stir her away from duty until Anakin came into her life. Padmé finally found that one person whom she could have all she desired with and that was Anakin. She could have her kids, her husband, her very much desired family, they all are mentioning.

She loved Anakin way more than her duty, and this is the part they purposely ignore. Which is why her ending doesn’t add up to any of them. Willfully ignoring her character and behave as a hypocrite when they say they “understand her.” Yes, duty was important to Padmé, but she always wanted to step away from that to enjoy her life, which she was so close to having. And blaming her for dying out of an unendurable heartbreak is cruel.

Constantly bringing up the deleted ROTS concept of Padmé going to Mustafar to end Anakin, and claiming that ending would be “better” for her proves you’re only projecting your own ideals into her character and not truly loving and appreciating her as she is. Funnily enough, the knife concept is widely misinterpreted by these fans as well. They see it as the colder and more detached version of Padmé’s character, but that’s a huge misconception 🤷🏾‍♀️ in the OG concept, Padmé only went there with the intention to end Anakin’s life because she loves him so much, then inevitably isn’t able to actually kill him because of the amount of love she had for him.

And I’ll be the first to say that had anyone else been reported to be seen killing younglings and other Jedi, it would be in character for Padmé to bring this issue in front of the senate and bring the culprit to justice. However, it was never going to be the same when it came to Anakin, and that’s the pill these girlboss stans can’t swallow. They can’t handle that Anakin was more precious to Padmé than duty.

Fact is that Padmé would choose him over and over again if the opportunity presented itself. Of course, she wouldn’t have joined him when he asked to rule the galaxy with him (in the same way Luke doesn’t when Vader asks his son the same question. And somehow people are still able to comprehend that Luke still loves and believes in his father, despite refusing to join him, but don’t apply this same logic for Padmé?) nor would she justify his actions, she’d be severely against them 100%. She’d even in her own way take up actions against the Empire, and go up against anything Anakin was being put up too. (Like working with the Rebellion, and taking Anakin away from the chaos.) But she’d never lose faith in his goodness, nor would she ever abandon him. (like many insist she should’ve, or choose to turn him in to the authorities.)

It’s 100% in her character to put Anakin as her top priority. Her first and main allegiance and devotion is to him (she even says so in ROTS junior novel that she couldn’t betray Anakin, despite being told what he’s done.) her loyalties was from day 1 with Anakin, more than anything. And why is that? It’s because Padmé not only loves Anakin, but she knows him. In fact, It’s because she knows him, that she loves him so deeply. She can understand and sympathize with him, she knows he’s a good person at his core, and would never hurt anyone out of malice or aim for power. If he’s committing atrocities? Padmé would know he’s doing it out of a desperate act of love, which is something Padmé can relate to and understand.

And if you ask me, talking as if Padmé chose to die, is completely unfair, and shows no compassion nor sympathy for her character. Even if she did, holding that against her is also inconsiderate. No, this poor woman couldn’t handle the loss of her husband, whom she loved so much, and mourning the loss of the family they’d have together. It was too much, that she lost heart and succumbed to death. She couldn’t handle it! That in no ways makes Padmé a “bad person” nor does it make her a “bad mother.”

All in all? Padmé loved Luke and Leia so much, and she wanted nothing more than to be with them. Don’t try and downplay that because she lost the will to live. She spent the last bit of strength she had left to bring them into the world, see her babies with her own eyes, and give them a name herself. You can see in her eyes how much she loved them, and how badly she wanted to be with them. But her heart couldn’t take much more. It’s truly tragic. Her whole life was in service of others, and she couldn’t even have one thing to herself. Now she can’t even die in peace thanks to some of these fans 💀

[tidbi-t-art]

Claude Von Reigan, leader of the Alliance

I made this using the “cherry bomb” colour palette and although red isn’t his colour, doesn’t he just look so handsome 🥰

[bamboozled-distress]

replaying bsoup and why is this actually so insanely devastating, please akarsha stand up

[ineed-to-sleep]

*me immediately after going through a terrifying and traumatic experience* haha yeah I guess it was rough but I'm fine now like I'm totally chill. It was kinda funny actually if you think about it

[wanderingcas]

if you told me last week that i'd be frantically outlining and drafting an idea for a coming of age prequel fic with cas being adopted by bobby and dean and cas growing up together and hunting as adults for the demon that killed both their parents i would never have believed you. but here we are

[27-royal-teas]

look ive seen a lot of weird takes about the we didn’t start the fire cover because apparently (?) some people are mad (??) because ‘anyone can put together words that rhyme, they should have put the events in chronological order’ (????) and I’ve decided that look, it doesn’t matter if it’s chronological, because this is it. It’s events that matter to this generation, and it SHOULDNT sound exactly like billy joel’s version. they’re not going to be billy joel. NO ONE is going to be billy joel. the point of a cover is to make it your own and by making the events out of order it seems more frenzied and crazy, which, to be honest, the events it covers ARE. it IS crazy. and to end with ‘world trade, second plane’? that is INSANE. I got chills. that is a moment that the people who were alive during the event will remember FOREVER. it literally changed the entire course of history and started a spiral of events not only politically but musically as well, starting in an idea and ending in we’ll carry on. It makes perfect sense to end a song about the chaos of the modern and recent world on an event so defining in people’s- relatively recent- lives. and I saw this pointed out too (I believe by @thekintsugikid) and I wanted to mention it. fall out boy says, ‘we’re trying to fight it.’ In Billy’s version, he said ‘we tried to fight it.’ and look. we are trying. The world is going to shit. We’re all going to die someday, probably in some gruesome way. but we’re trying. we’re trying to fight it. we have hope, this younger generation. we won’t give up. we will survive. persistence, I think, is the biggest part of glory. and so, it just means something to me. it doesn’t have to be in chronological order. it doesn’t have to be perfect. the boys had fun, and that’s what matters, but I really think that the cover does reflect us overall

[kenobihater]

sorry, he's allergic to SOUP? no wonder he thinks he's destined for infinite sadness, i'd believe that too if my immune system thwarted me from slurpin down a nice hearty bowl of soup 😭

[add1ctedt0you]

What a plot twist you were. [x]

[betweenlands]

in honor of the new kenadian video, have the best and most finished contiguous bits of a fic i was trying to write for the @mcyt-builds-contest prison edition and never completed. personally, i think giving ken access to modded materials could only lead to good things.

previous bracket fic here if you haven't read it! image transcript under the cut! (surprise! this was arcosc all along!)

---------

“Why’re you so worried about this, anyway?” he finally says, because he’s pretty sure worry is the expression he’s reading on Legundo’s face.

“I have…” the King in the North says, grimacing, “a bit of prior experience with prisons, you could say. Both illager and player-made.”

Viking gets the feeling he’s touched a nerve, and nearly slaps his hand over his forehead as he belatedly remembers the first time the King in the North had mentioned some sort of dungeon built by – something about iron crocodiles, he thinks. Come to think of it, that building had come up earlier in this tournament.

“Forge, right? The Prison of the Iron Crocodiles that lost to Pandora in the first rounds?”

“That’s one of them,” the King in the North confirms. “Speaking of which, do you have any idea where Forge went after his dungeons lost the contest to this prison?”

Viking shrugs. “Nada. Maybe he just slunk off?”

“It’s not like him to vanish without any sign of reemergence,” the King in the North mutters, tapping his fingers against the table. “My version of Shadow, maybe. Forge? He should’ve caused trouble somewhere by now. Made some sort of uneasy or paranoid alliance with another person that lost the first round.”

“Come to think of it,” Viking says, “I haven’t seen that Asgaard guy anywhere after we shook hands and called it a good match. I was hoping he’d stick around for color commentary on worldbuilding or something, but maybe he just had a project to do?”

The King in the North shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I think something’s going after other people on the bracket. This other finals entrant – I know you’ve been busy on your own front, but have you seen them yet?”

“Nope,” Viking says. “And I haven’t seen the guy who looks kind of like they’d be my cousin if I was a catboy, either. Which… wait. Wait, that’s really weird! His entire thing is prisons and escape rooms, they should be at this match, he would definitely have something snarky to say about it!”

“About that,” a slightly familiar voice says. “I kinda got put in a tube.”

The catperson crouched on a chair at the far end of the room raises their hand with a wave and a wry grin. “Sorry I’m late. Train ran slow. Also the whole getting put in a tube thing.”

“You got –” Viking gestures. “Wait. First question. How did you get down here?”

Kenadian examines his clawed fingernails with one raised eyebrow. “Hopped around waystones for a bit until your hat layers loaded in on the tab screen. Composter glitched so I could look around underground. Saw a stronghold. Dug straight down. Don’t worry, I covered it back up.”

Viking unconsciously reaches up to his very unhatted head, adjusting his goggles slightly. Next to him, the King in the North seems to be in a very similar state of confusion. 

“Tab… screen?” he finally manages.

“Composter glitch?” Viking adds.

“Oh, we’re from a world that doesn’t have diegetic game mechanics, that’s just great,” Kenadian huffs. “Anyway. Aren’t you a ghost? Can’t you just chug a fire resistance potion and walk through the walls?”

“I already explained that to him,” Viking says, recovering from the brief shock of some random guy he’s only met once breaking into his secret underground headquarters base. “Phantoms can’t pass through obsidian or crying obsidian.”

“God you guys are hopeless,” Kenadian says, slapping one hand over their face. “Just make them not obsidian, then! You can literally just do that!”

“I…” Viking says, “what?”

Kenadian stands up again and tosses something onto the table with a loud clatter, crossing their arms with a smug expression.

Viking blinks down at the diamond-tipped chisel on the table with a confused expression on his face. “Why are you giving me a chisel?”

“Oh my god do I have to spell everything out for you,” Kenadian groans. “Bit blocks only carry so much internal info and most of it’s either transparency or whether or not they give off light. Just take a single voxel – oh, sorry, bit – out of any walls in your way and they stop being obsidian and start being bit blocks. It’s literally just that simple.”

[waitineedaname]

I was in such a bad mood but turns out all I needed was a snack and a nap and now I'm a changed person. There's a rainbow outside and I just stared at it until it disappeared. Fucking awesome.

[lloydfrontera]

In my opinion, the reason the reunion scene was skipped was because the author couldn’t figure out a way to write it non-romantically and gave up after a while

honestly. i kinda agree with you nonnie.

it just. the set up to the scene is sooooo romantic. you have lloyd being absolutely devastated at the thought he's not going to see any of his loved ones ever again and that he's been dropped back into his terrible life, to the place he admitted he'd rather die than go back to,,, and then someone knocks at the door and when he opens it this is the sight that greets him:

his best friend, the person he's closest to, the one he's spent years with, the one he promised a peaceful life at his side, the one he wanted to grow old with, the one he sacrificed everything for, the one he effectively gave his life to save, the one he thought he'd never see again, standing at his door, having crossed literal dimensional barriers to get to him, a soft and teary smile on his face as he tells him "i missed you"

like. c'mon.

i'm all for platonic interpretations, i'm aroace, i love me a good best friendship as much as the next guy, but,,,, isn't this,,, like,,, really fucking romantic??? extremely so??? am i??? reading too much into it?? because it feels really, really romantic to me.

and like you say. where do you go from there. what response could lloyd give that doesn't involve throwing himself at javier and clinging to him with all of his strength. what conversation could these two have that doesn't involve them seeing how truly devoted they are to each other. what resolution does their arc together have that isn't them spending the rest of their lives together, at each other's side, like they so dearly wanted to.

but. alas. that wasn't the story bk moon wanted to tell. and that's very much his right. i just think that if he didn't want me to assume there's no in-character and narratively satisfying version of that conversation that doesn't end with them kissing he should've at least tried to give us something. and not completely skipped it lol

but that's just my opinion too :]