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theresattrpgforthat · 3 months ago

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So, I went to a game store, and I asked if there were any good beginner games for someone who tried the DnD Essentials Kit and found it too complicated, and you'll never guess what one singular game they suggested!

THEME: Simpler Games than DND.

My friend, I’m not a very good guesser, but I hope that I am able to present you with some games that will give you what you’re looking for.

24XX: Chaos Unit, by polyhedralmice

Deep under the busy streets of Sapien City is the headquarters of the Vermin Squad, the espionage wing of a secret organization of urban animals known as the CHAOS Unit. They capitalize on the fact that vermin are virtually invisible human inhabitants of the city and use they use their street smarts to run vital missions for the unit. Raccoons, opossums, pigeons and squirrels each play specific roles and together form teams that take on the most vital of missions. From intercepting life-saving pizza orders to rescuing their colleagues from the dastardly Animal Control, there is no task too daunting for the brave animals of the Vermin Squad. Every night teams are sent out on their missions, and this is the story of one of those teams. Nothing will stop these brave agents from successfully completing their tasks (except maybe a humane trap baited with peanut butter).

CHAOS Unit is a spy themed hack based on Jason Tocci’s 24XX.

24XX games are great for groups that love different-sided dice. In general, you only have a few skills for your character that are outside the normal parameters (upgraded to d8 - d12), and the success threshold is the same for pretty much every roll. The challenges and situations of any given scenario are typically presented as roll tables, allowing the GM to come up with an adventure just by rolling a few dice.

CHAOS Unit has just a few character options, some simple gear options, and a comparatively light-hearted premise. It’s a great introduction to the system, and learning how to play one 24XX game makes every other 24XX game a piece of cake to learn, even if they include new rules.

Loot, by Gila RPGs.

LOOT is a fantasy TTRPG by Gila RPGs that combines looter shooter mechanics with west marches vibes. When a rebellion toppled a lich overlord and torn down his city, the people were left with a lot of loot, and a lot of problems. That's where you come in.

Get some friends together, fight some monsters, deck your characters out in cool loot. Do it all over again.

Even though LUMEN uses grid-based combat, your character’s stats are simplified, reduced to a few things: health, armour, and three action types: force, flow & focus. Your stats themselves come from the items that your carry - your loot.

Your loot is organized through slots on your character sheet: you can only carry so much, so you’ll have to think carefully about what kind of stat bonuses and abilities you want. I find that a visual inventory can make it easier to keep track of everything you have, and can help some players learn how to think strategically. If you like the fantasy and strategy that exists in D&D but don’t want to do nearly as much math, you might be interested in LOOT - although the lack of dice is certainly a big change.

Slugblaster, by Wilkie’s Candy Lab.

In the small town of Hillview, teenage hoverboarders sneak into other dimensions to explore, film tricks, go viral, and get away from the problems at home. It’s dangerous. It’s stupid. It’s got parent groups in a panic. And it’s the coolest thing ever.

This is Slugblaster. A table-top rpg about teenagehood, giant bugs, circuit-bent rayguns, and trying to be cool.

Forged in the Dark games can be tricky to introduce to a new table, but Slugblaster is one of a few that I think can do the job. It’s a streamlined version of the system, that takes away a lot of the crunch that comes from Stats, Position, and Effect, and boils it all down to Kick and Boost. It also streamlines harm into 2 levels of slams, and keeps stress and downtime to a procedure that you can follow step-by-step when you finish a run. Finally character creation is very easy: you only make few choices in terms of abilities, and many of these choices are descriptive, rather than mechanical.

One thing I’ve noticed about games with “simpler” rules systems is that they typically do require a bunch of improv, which can be scary for new GMs. Slugblaster isn’t that different in this regard, but it does have a few things you as a GM can prepare beforehand if you want to make things easier for yourself. For example, you can set up your map of the different dimensions beforehand, including the doorways that the teens can get through. If you know that the teens get back to your home dimension without going through Operablum, then you can prepare a few location - specific threats to confound the teens as they try to get back in time for dinner.

Another strength of these games is that typically, if a player wants to do something, they just have to be able to describe how they’d do it - you can then work backwards using the gear & resources on your sheet to give you some dice to roll, as well as the logic of the game world, to figure out what happens next.

Lady Blackbird, by John Harper

Lady Blackbird is on the run from an arranged marriage to Count Carlowe. She hired a smuggler skyship, The Owl, to take her from her palace on the Imperial world of Ilysium to the far reaches of the Remnants, so she could be with her once secret lover: the pirate king Uriah Flint.

Lady Blackbird is the first game I ever played, and it’s a game I fell for - hard. It involves rolling pools of dice that you pull from descriptive collections of tags assigned to pre-generated characters. It simplifies game-play by taking away the step of character creation, and gives the group a pretty solid story to pick up and follow wherever your heart may lead.

While the rules of the game are fairly simple, I think that as a GM, you’re going to need to be comfortable with a fair bit of improv to make this work. The game has some excellent pieces of advice on how to come up with scenes for the characters, and even includes some example complications to throw at the party. I’m really glad this was my first game because from the beginning, it affirmed that roleplaying games are a communal experience, and even if the characters and the starting scenario are already written for the group, the players have a lot of freedom to decide who their characters are, and what they’re going to value.

Liminal Horror, by Goblin Archives.

There’s a strange comfort to ambiguity. To stand at the threshold between states of what was and what’s next, to inhabit the places of transition. But you’re never truly alone here. There are things that hunger within the dark places. Strange creatures and mysteries lie in wait and tumbling into the wrong place at the wrong time may put you on the path towards doom.

Grab your flashlights and blood splattered jackets as you try to make it through the night. Beware, snapping bone and rending flesh are often the simplest outcome. While there may be great power within these places… not all mysteries can be solved and not everyone can be saved. Above all, there are fates far worse than death.

LIMINAL HORROR is a rules-lite, adaptable Survival-Horror roleplaying game about normal characters and their struggles against the things that go bump in the night. The game focuses on surviving the weird and Investigating horrors while blending simple, old-school inspired rules with modern, narrative first principles. Survival is not guaranteed and those that do make it through the night are often forever changed.

In Liminal Horror, character creation is rather quick, often easily generated using a few dice rolls. For most tasks, your characters will roll a d20 and try to get a number lower than one of their three stats, so when you get started, teaching the game should be pretty simple. Of course, since it’s a horror game, there’s more than just trying to roll under a stat: characters will find themselves subject to the consequences of being exposed to horrors that are far beyond the limits of human experience. As a result, characters will find themselves dealing with two different kinds of harm: stress & fallout. These two harm systems will make the stakes feel real, and they’ll also inflict changes on your characters as you play.

Liminal Horror has a few things going for it. The basic rules are fairly straightforward, but they’re also free. The game is meant to be paired with pre-written adventures, which often include place descriptions, NPCs, and adventure-specific consequences to torture the characters with. A lot of the adventures available come with a price tag, but if you want to try out the system, there’s a couple of free ones out there - I recommend Messenger National Park, by capacityforwonder.

For the Ship And Its Crew, by Adeline Fowl Games.

We've crewed this Ship for years together. We've seen wondrous sights, gotten ourselves into seemingly insurmountable trouble, and have owed our fair share of creds to the wrong people. And yet, still, we fly. But after all these years, our past may be catching up with us. As the missiles tear across starlit space, we'll be forced to ask ourselves: What will we do, for the Ship and its Crew?

This is a hack of For the Queen, which mostly involves answering prompts, using something like a card deck, or in this case, a digital hosting service. Your group is telling a story by taking turns answering questions, which makes the game fairly easy to teach, even to people who don’t have a lot of roleplaying experience.

These kinds of games can also be played very quickly, which might also make it easier to introduce to folks who aren’t used to sitting around a grid and calculating resources for 2+ hours.

Other Recommendation Posts To Check Out…

Easy To Teach Recommendation Post

First Time GMs Recommendation Post

Little Reading or Writing Required Recommendation Post

#simpler games #tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #indie ttrpg #asks

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dittolicous · 11 months ago

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hear me out

stealth black!sanji where sanji does indeed start losing his emotions and word makes it way back to judge, so he has him kidnapped/his death faked and uses science to rush the removal of emotions along with wiping a good chunk of his memories to make him easier to control... the focus however was high-key placed on emotions such as empathy, humility, kindness, joy, etc. since judge wanted to ensure to an absolute degree that sanji's 'flaws' were wiped clean, leaving only the perfected stealth black he was always meant to be

but judge makes a mistake

in his hurry to eradicate the humanity, he didnt consider the consequences of leaving even an inkling of negative emotions within an abused, aching shell - smattering of disjointed memories, blurry faces in sporatic dreams, voices that are just outside his grasp, a longing for something but yet lacking a name...

injured, raw, bloody from unknown wounds he may be, but stupid, sanji is not

he's stealth black, espionage is his specialty, he knows how the human mind works, how words can be twisted, the ways a tide can be turned with the right leverage. all people, with the right tools, are malleable. he also knows the range of his 'father's' skills, knows how far judge would go to secure a victory, how little he fears damaging his own to get the right outcome...

sanji knows

there is a hole where his heart ahould be, deep, dark, and endless. he cannot feel love, but he knows its absence. there is no sympathy for the innocent lives ravaged in the vinsmoke name, yet its mention brings bile to his throat. he sees the sunrise across the sea with blank eyes and watches it set on the corpses of kingdoms with growing repulsion

his brothers laugh, they were taught how despite it having little meaning to them. they echo the teachings of their father.

sanji had that ripped away. he can recognize a hole when he sees it even if he doesnt know what once filled it. there are no empty laughs. no fake smiles. no uncaring boasts. he cannot, there was no reason for him to (were even the echos of joy a risk?)

instead he burns

hot loathing makes a home in his chest. contemp and fury settle in his lungs, growing with every breath he takes, fueled by the embers of despair settling in his stomach

sanji knows despair, knows how deep their roots take in humanity, that to be human is to suffer... but without the other half, the joy of human connection which makes it all worthwhile, the act of living, he cannot conceptualize the value of being alive in the face of such suffering

instead he stands back and watches. unbalanced, unchecked, and under-estimated, stealth black plans. he'll rid the world of their filth, finishing the job blackleg sanji was too weak to do

for in his hurry, judge forgot about sanji's rage, about the depths of his grief and the ferocity of his burning passion. so afraid of one little boys generosity, he brushes off the dangers of unbridled resentment, that malice cannot always be reigned in by an iron fist alone

and where once, there were certain teachings of honor and integrity, of love and belief to temper this flame, judge left nothing. he took away the soft words of a kind mother, the sharp kicks of a caring father (his real father), the unabashed voices of true nakama...

is it really all that surprising that once loving flames would turn into a blazing inferno, one which burns the world indiscriminately?

judge doesnt realize he didnt defang the wolf, no, he removed the muzzle

tl;dr - if a person is made of burning passion and you remove their kindness, wouldnt that just leaving burning? judge focuses only on getting rid of sanji's soft traits not considering that he'd never actually be able to control a sanji that rages indiscriminately, which eventually comes to bite him in the ass as stealth black sets the world on fire out of self-loathing

#one piece #blackleg sanji #vinsmoke sanji #stealth black #sanji #ditto rambles #burning rage au

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justgrey · 11 months ago

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Hello! I’d like to request the mercenaries with a fem mercenary reader who is a shapeshifter and has a pretty chaotic personality? Basically Nimona from the movie Nimona lol

Watched the movie finally, and now I'm gay for ballister. Thanks for that xoxo. be on the lookout for something on him because i want to chew him and hit him like a tennis ball

Also, it's safe to say I got a little stupid with this one 💀

Mercs with a chaotic! reader

Warnings : swearing, light mentions of gore, talk of body parts, medic.

CHAOS CHAOS CHAOS *jevil laughter*

Probably get along really well with Pyro and Scout not gonna lie because Pyro likes to burn shit (Even though I'm pretty sure they think they're spreading joy and colour) and Scout is pretty hyper in general, willing to go along with anything as long as it's fun.

*burns down barn*

"huddah huh huu hud."

"Yeah, loving the colour too, pally. Really makes the wood boom." *evil chuckles*

As soon as Pyro learns about your shapeshifting ability, they're all over you. They want you to play 3 different characters at their tea parties simultaneously and transform into a unicorn so that they can ride you into battle and fulfill their wildest dreams

"Hud hudda hu hubuh huuuuh HUDDAH!!"

"Okay, okay, fine!" *transforms into a unicorn* "Get on."

*excited hu noises*

"HUDDAHHHH!!"

Besties 💗🌈🔥✨️

Some of the older and quieter mercenaries are NOT gonna be having a field day with you and your silly little personality.

Sniper hates it THE MOST. He doesn't like people that much in general and can barely keep up with the hyperactive chaos that is you, so he mainly sticks to watching you burn shit down from afar.

"Did'ya really have ta' do that much?"

"Yeah. Why, you not liking it, pissboy?"

"..."

"That's what I thought. Don't be a hero, buddy."

Although he doesn't appreciate your snarky attitude, he likes how you can shapeshift. He really likes animals and will sometimes scope in on you when you transform, nodding with approval and whispering a little, "cool" that he hopes nobody hears.

Spy thinks you're a nuisance around the base but definitely sees the usefulness in your shapeshifting abilities since he kinda almost does the same damn thing, just with his goofy masks. He respects you for that, if anything, at all.

Do not ever expect to replace him or get remotely close to him in espionage, though. If you are at the same level as Nimona, you're not great at directly impersonating humans, and he will tease you about it.

"What was that, today?

"What was what?"

"The 'Oh Mon deu! Ack! Oohh! I dropped my baguette' if that was meant to be an impersonation of me, know that it was terrible, and my lawyer will be contacting you."

"I dunno, I think it was pretty accurate." *shrug*

Medic loves you. Sorry, not sorry. Loves you. Does get tired of you sometimes, but not all the time. He's generally also very *bzzz bzzz chaos organs* so he's happy to indulge in whatever you want to do which usually involves the absolute destruction of everything.

Medic is also incredibly fascinated by your shapeshifting ability. Do not sleep around this man while shape shifted because he's poking and prodding everywhere while you're out.

"Ohoho... how peculiar" *pokes open nerve*

"YEOUCH WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

*nervous chuckle as he hides a bucket of blood and from your view*

Engineer tries to be that guiding light he thinks you need. He's a friend, a father figure, a colleague, whatever you need. He's a nice Southern gentleman with a slightly insane twist. Encourages you to be careful around the others, but if you aren't, he's not complaining. Makes the job easier if everyone listens.

Heavy is pretty chill with you. He's neither annoyed nor pleased that you're around. He relatively keeps to himself, medic, and his guns.

Actually, do not touch his gun. Do not pretend to be his gun either.

Soldier and Demo like your charisma. You can be a pretty fun drinking partner for demo, and a nice soldier when you're willing to follow orders (which isn't usually) but as long as you get the job done with as much destruction as possible, Soldier is saluting you almost as much as he does the American flag that is hanging next to his bed.

"ANOTHER GREAT DAY, TODAY! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND I MIGHT RAISE YOUR STATUS, CADET!"

"SIR YES SIR! or something I dunno, fuck this is weird..."

*walks with soldier, ignoring the screams of the dammed behind you*

He makes you transform into an eagle and has you sit there on his arm for a while, admiring you fly. It's brought him close to tears on many occasions.

Whenever he gets married to Heavy's sister, Soldier is making sure that you are THERE as an Eagle. He'll pay you to fly across the sky and make majestic bird noises.

Overall, some very mixed experiences. But a fun concept either way.

#nimona #tf2 #team fortress two #tf2 x reader #tf2 scout #platonic tf2 #tf2 medic #team fortress two x reader #tf2 engineer #tf2 spy #tf2 pyro #tf2 demoman #tf2 heavy #tf2 sniper #tf2 soldier

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cozzzynook · 8 months ago

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I like the idea of bee being a diplomat, like think about it. guy’s one of the most known bots for being nice, open minded (sorta), empathetic, and respectful bots. to most. bots who know him personally knows he’s a lil’ bitch, but he’s respectful and shit when needed to keep a neutral stance in a situation. and I’m mostly basing this off my own bee in one of my AUs where at first he started as a courier bot, upgraded to a spy and scout, then a commander for the autobot army, and then a diplomat. and almost everyone knows the guy!!

I just think he would be a great candidate for that job, I also hc that as a scout/spy he would need to learn a handful of languages from cybertron. y’know, for spy and stuff, to ensure he gets all the information he can. and because he knows a few languages, it makes it slightly easier for him to pick up other languages outside of cybertron. and look at bumblebee!!!

he’s short and yellow, with a kinda bubbly personality!! he’s approachable, say if you didn’t know the guy beforehand. at first glance, he looks defenseless and inexperienced, you wouldn’t know this bug would be an espionage agent and scout. I just think he would be a very successful guy for the position of diplomat because of his communication skills and approachability.

oh, and possibly potential prowlbee or soundbee?? no idea, you can choose, I just say those two because they hold positions that would probably have them involved with diplomatic relations. like prowl in IDW, in those comics prowl acted as an advisory or second hand man to bee, helping him make decisions and shit I have no idea I didn’t read the comics yet. and soundwave is commonly depicted as a communications officer, I think megs would have the common sense to get his CO as a diplomat for his faction to be properly represented.

so prowlbee; working in the same environment, different positions, possible angst with them not being able to have a relationship because of their positions?? I think that’s how it works, no clue. anyway, soundbee; again working in the same environment, almost similar positions, potential angst being the same with prowlbee or because of their different factions.

thanks for listening to me yap <3

— ♫

I really like this headcanon.

Bee is definitely a harmless little bug that hasn’t committed atrocities in war like all the other minis & bigger bots. Of course not. He just happens to know how to snap a mechas neck cables with two fingers because he learned it as a silly little hobby, nothing more :). Jk jk lol

Bee as a diplomat is pretty good but i like to imagine he’s a diplomat behind the scenes because he likes his privacy and doesn’t want that pressure. Also him with prowl is so interesting because Prowl is so evil in the comics but him being a deep down good inside bot with known sweetheart sassing bee is so funny.

I imagine bee in a secret relationship with soundwave and they are such an odd couple yet compatible in a way most bots didn’t see coming. They think Bee drags Soundwave to raves when in fact the music master himself is the one who planned and hosted it. Bee is just there for fun times and moral support along with making sure the cassettes don’t offline anyone who says something about Soundwave or Bee.

#soundbee #bumblebee #transformers #idw #prowlbee

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zariahthewitch · 7 months ago

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Okay imagine this - a JJK and Spy X Family crossover.

So where's everybody at? How does this work? I'll break down my idea by charecter(s).

Loid Forger / Nanami Kento

The two are twins, their father is a Jujutsu Sorcerer from Japan and their mother is a Westallis citizen.

The boys parents split when they were around 3 and their mom went back to Westallis. They visited her during the summer and she'd fly to Japan for their birthday/holidays.

As kids they both developed Curse Techniques- we know Nanami's already but Loid's is called Twilight (which is how he got his WISE codename). Loid's Cursed Technique allows him to create illusions and cursed tools with his cursed energy.. He uses it to create disguises when doing spy missions and the cursed tools are often guns or blades that are very effective against curses. Unlike Nanami he's never pulled off a Black Flash but he does have a domain expansion called The Spy's Midnight Gambit - his domain takes the form of any location he wants and will move or change as he pleases. Due to the shifting environment his opponents often become disoriented and are made easier targets for the man they never seem to be able to get a good look at controlling the space.

Both Nanami and Loid went to Jujutsu Tech in Tokyo - while there Loid jumped up to Grade 1 due to his efficiency and skill. Nanami took a few years to get to grade 1 but he and Loid never let the power gap get between them. After graduating Nanami left the world of Jujutsu, tired of the constant death. Loid stayed to try and make a better world where there were no Curses around to male children cry.

When war broke out between Westallis and Ostania a few months after Loid's graduation he left Japan to fight for his mother's country that he considered a second home. He was a strong and smart soldier, occasionally running espionage missions into Ostanian territory to collect new information. During the war he and Nanami communicated regularly through letters and the rare phone call.

After the war Loid I is approached by WISE - who were impressed with his skills and intelligence. WISE is also aware of the Jujutsu World and has Sorcerers in their ranks - meaning Loid won't be considered a Curse User if he uses his technique while working for WISE as one of their top spies.

Yor Briar Forger / Yuri Briar

Yor and Yuri were orphaned as children - Yor as a young teen having to step up to raise her brother. Both were children of Ostanian Jujutsu Sorcerers who died taking on a special grade.

Yor has no Cursed Technique - instead she has a Heavenly Restriction that makes her incredibly strong, fast and durable, much like Maki and Toji. Her Cursed Energy amount is low but not 0 - the golden Stabby things she uses are Cursed Tools that she can use to kill a curse. They can kill a Curse on their own but if she coats them in her Cursed Energy and stabs a Curse the monster will die as a thorny rose bush will sprout out of them, killing them from the inside. Thus Yor's assassin code name - Thorn Princess.

Yuri meanwhile has a Curse Technique called Thread Bare. The Technique allows him to create strings of Cursed Energy from any point on his body and control them. He can make these threads sharp to cut or slice things, harden them and wrap them around himself to make body armor or use them to tie people up in various traps. His Technique also has a second feature that allows him to drain Cursed Energy from anyone his strings are wrapped around - this includes non-Sorceres just bleeding their Cursed Energy out.

Yor took up assassin work for Garden to provide for Yuri - her Heavenly Restriction making her immediately very good at her job.

If I had the Siblings Sorcerer Ranks I'd say their both Grade 1 - Yor for her incredible power and ruthlessness and Yuri for his advanced skill and battle IQ.

Anya Forger / Bond

Anya is a Sorcerer born with a Curse Technique unique to her - Mind Reading.

Her suffering as a child caused her to manifest a very unique Cursed Spirit, a tame dog shaped Spirit named Bond. Ranked as a Grade 1 because of his future sight.

Operation Strix

For Opperation Strix Loid needed a family. The orphan he chose was Anya - he could sense her Sorcerer Status and immediately decided she'd be a good fit. Upon first meeting her Cursed Dog Bond his first instinct was to Exercise him but when he saw how tame and nice the Curse truly was and how much Anya cared for it he decided not too.

Choosing Yor as a wife also proved to be a good choice - he liked her company and she was good with Anya and Bond. Her Sorcerer status was a bit harder to tell for Loid from the start because of her Heavenly Restriction but he figured it out after a couple days and they actually talked about being Sorcerers, how their abilities worked and their level of training. (Yor and Yuri are both self taught)

Anya's friend Becky and her rival/love interest Daimen are both Non-Sorceres.

Getting Anya into Eden went smoothly - the first 2 seasons of Spy X Family go relatively the same. However things between Loid and Yuri are a bit less tense because of their shared Jujutsu Sorcerer Status and Loid has a few phone calls with Nanami, updating his brother on certain things without compromising the safety of Opperation Strix.

However things sprial out of control rather fast after that, identities and secrets are revealed and Ostania and Westallis go to war again far faster then WISE had been anticipating. Strix was a failure but the Forgers still stayed together. Despite the secrets they loved each other and would get through the chaos together.

The second war between countries was proving to be even more brutal then the last and it was worrying. Children from Eden were taken to safe countries away from the fighting by WISE agents - Fiona Frost (Nightfall) ended up with Becky, Damien and his older brother Demitrius in The UK. Meanwhile Loid took his family and Yuri back to Japan.

They met up with Nanami and re-joined the Jujutsu world just after the events of Jujutsu Kisen 0. Loid, Yor and Yuri took up jobs as Jujutsu Sorcerers and teachers at the school, often taking Anya and Bond with them to learn and be in a mostly safe/curse free location. Maki took an immediate liking to Yor - the two training together often and becoming a kind of mother daughter duo. Anya meanwhile looked up to the students, seeing all of them as amazing and older sibling figures. The students took to Anya in turn, doting on her and teaching her things. Megumi is Anya's favorite because of his shadow dogs, he'll summon them to hang out with her and Bond.

In the same building as the Forgers they have a young neighbor - Yuji Ittadori. He and Anya get along great and he's pretty much apart of the family by the start of JJK. Of course everything goes to hell when Yuji eats on of Sukana's fingers.

So what did you think?

Any thoughts on expanding the AU into JJK?

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #nanami kento #maki zenin #megumi fushiguro #yuji itadori #spy x family #loid forger #yor forger #yuri briar #anya forger #bond forger #crossover #crossover au #fandom crossover #fanfiction ideas #fanfic #fanfiction

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somedaylazysomeday · 6 months ago

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A Special Case

Just some writing I did trying to nail down Soap's character. Lots of backstory, some smut, and the beginning of what will probably spiral into another series. (Damn it)

Johnny 'Soap' MacTavish x Private Investigator!reader (gn, no use of 'y/n' or pronouns)

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3,300

Warnings: Private investigations, accusations of infidelity, lies about identity, voyeurism, male masturbation, background Ghoap, hints of future Ghoap x reader, author has only watched other people play CoD.

Next | Masterlist

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Gathering information on Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish was the easiest job you had ever taken.

As a private investigator, you were used to long hours, exhaustive searches, and tactics that bordered on illegal to get the information you had been paid to retrieve. Everyone left a trail, but some trails were harder to trace than others.

And then there was MacTavish.

The only mystery that remained for you was where his nickname had come from. In everything else, the man was a disconcertingly open book.

It had been several weeks ago that a stunningly beautiful woman had walked into your office. Like most private investigators, you had quickly tired of the film noir jokes or references that many customers made. But something about Marie had made you think in terms of grayscale and overly descriptive narrators.

Marie Bernard had struck you immediately as a false name, though you gave her credit for trying to keep her alias as French as her accent. She paid in cash, so you didn’t press the issue.

“I need your help,” she had told you, eyes glistening. “It is my boyfriend, Johnny. I think he is cheating on me. I need you to follow him and take pictures of where he goes.”

“And who he meets, I assume?” You were taking notes on your phone as Marie spoke. “Especially women?”

She had waved her hand dismissively. “Women, men, anyone. Johnny is not particular about such things.”

Your momentary embarrassment about your assumption made you write even faster. When you had finished, you had glanced up at Marie again. “I’ll warn you: my case load is heavy right now. I won’t be able to start working on your case for another week, maybe week and a half. I won’t charge you until I start working on the case, but there will be a wait. I want to be upfront about that.”

Marie had nodded agreeably. “Very well. Will you alert me when you begin?”

That made your internal alarms ring just as her name had. If she was worried enough about being cheated on that she chose to have him followed, Marie should have given you more pushback about the delay.

But a customer was a customer, so you agreed to text her when you started following MacTavish. You quoted her your daily rate, warning that expenses were extra, and watched as she counted out the correct number of bills for your advance.

You also had her sign an agreement to pay the remainder before you would release the full information when you were finished, and she did so without hesitation. You almost changed your mind about the potential false name, but her signature was just a little too neatly written for someone who had been signing it for twenty five years or so.

You had finished the previous case roughly on time. You had been hired to infiltrate a local business, posing as a new hire in training in an attempt to uncover potential corporate espionage. The moment you had passed that evidence on to the business owners, you had turned your attention to the Bernard/MacTavish case.

Soap had been easy to tail and even easier to observe. If he had a single set of drapes or blinds, he didn’t use them. If you parked outside of his modest home, you would have been able to observe him clearly without leaving the front seat.

Of course, you were more professional than that. And smarter, you liked to think. This wouldn’t be the first time a seemingly easy mark turned out to be luring you closer so they could fire off a shot or two. And you dearly hated being shot at, so you parked several blocks away.

Working your way closer to Soap’s house in your dark hoodie was easy with your phone in your hand. If anyone asked what you were doing there, you had Pokemon Go on standby as an excuse for wandering the neighborhood at night. But, with a little luck, no one would ask. They would either see you and move on or assume you were someone who lived in the neighborhood.

Your camera and a few lenses were tucked into the slouchy tote bag on your shoulder. The bag was misshapen with age, which actually worked in your favor, since it was much more difficult to tell what might be inside a non-uniform bag. But you rarely needed the camera. A handful of cell phone pictures or a few seconds of video were usually enough to confirm suspicions in a personal case like this one.

Soap’s life was one of constantly being on the move. He spent a fair amount of time on the military base, just as you had expected for a soldier. But he also met friends, went to a gym, jogged in a park, ate at a new restaurant you had been dying to try. You were exhausted trying to keep up without being spotted.

And after a full week of observation, you had yet to see Soap with anyone other than Marie herself. (That had been an eyeful you hadn’t asked for, but Marie hadn’t warned you that she was going to visit her boyfriend.) You hadn’t seen her since, and she hadn’t answered the text you had sent earlier that day, but there were good odds that she was avoiding what she thought you would tell her. That happened, sometimes.

You were starting to wonder whether it was time to tell Marie that she had nothing to worry about when you caught sight of Soap walking up to his house.

The neighborhood was small without being desolate, homey without looking downtrodden, and inexpensive without being cheap. Soap’s house fit right in. It wasn’t overly large - you had looked it up on a real estate website and found that it had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a small garage. Big enough to bring someone over, but small enough to make sure they knew you didn’t want them to stay.

Apparently, that hadn’t worked on Marie. You wondered if she had assumed that she would eventually share this comfortable house with her boyfriend. She seemed a little upscale for the neighborhood, like she worked somewhere far more sleek and bustling, but you didn’t know her well enough to say for sure.

Soap walked inside, and you could track his progress by the lights that came on in the house. In the light of the hallway’s light fixture, you could see him smile as he walked into the living room. He seemed to be speaking. You couldn’t read his lips, not from that distance, but the exaggerated motions of his mouth made you think he was calling to someone.

Had Soap finally tripped up? Did he bring someone home only to be caught on your last night on the job? He turned to leave the living room, stripping off his shirt before he left. Your mouth went dry at the sight of his exposed torso.

The moment he was out of sight, though, you swore to yourself. You had to follow to see what was going on, but there was no way to be a subtle potential neighbor taking an evening stroll when you were crawling through his shrubbery.

You hopped down from the small half-wall where you had been perched and glanced both ways before crossing the street. Safety-conscious and it let you check whether anyone else was outside. Apparently, the unseasonably cool evening had kept everyone else indoors, because the street was utterly empty.

You still kept your head on a swivel as you rounded the edge of Soap’s yard, sticking to shadows and whatever cover you could find as you worked your way around to the yard at the back. Fortunately, there was no fence and the house backed up to a small section of forest. You simply chose the tree that seemed least likely to be claimed by woodland creatures and settled against it to disrupt your silhouette.

The camera did have to come out, though. You were too far away for cell phone pictures, not if you wanted any detail in the photographs.

You carefully removed your camera from its case - it was the most expensive thing you owned, and you didn’t want to risk dropping it - but your attention was divided. Soap had stepped into his bedroom, turning on a small lamp at his bedside table.

Even as your hands put the correct lens on the camera, your rapt gaze was trained on the square of golden light shining through the window. To see who else was in the room, of course.

Soap’s lips were still moving, but the motions looked softer. He was speaking more quietly than he had been in the living room. You still couldn’t figure out what he was saying. It could be because his accent gave the movements a different look, but the truth was that lip-reading had never been your best thing. You promised yourself that you would work on it the future, then you turned your attention back to the task at hand.

You tried to guess at the design of the room, but it was tricky based on the small amount of it that you could see from your place outside. Was there room for someone to be standing between Soap and the wall? To one side of the large window? You didn’t think so, but maybe there was a space you simply couldn’t see.

Even so, your certainty began to grow, because Soap smiled and took a few steps forward, unlatching and opening the window.

You frowned - it wasn’t the coldest night you’d ever experienced, but it was undeniably chilly outside. Winter was approaching quickly and the house had stood empty all day. There was no reason he would need to open a window… unless he was planning on making some heat.

With the window open, there was nothing to block your view of Soap as he stripped off the boxer-briefs he had wearing. He was facing away as they came off, leaving you staring through a lens at a surprisingly rounded ass for a soldier.

Then he turned and you pushed away the sight of his bobbing erection long enough to snap a few pictures.

You didn’t enjoy this part of your job. Capturing people in a vulnerable moment was a necessity, not a pleasure for you. And showing Marie these pictures would be something you did to complete a job, not for any other reason.

Even so, you had to admit that there was something glorious about the way these pictures were turning out. The bottom frame of the window was low enough to show everything from the knees up, and all of it was lovely.

Soap’s skin was golden in the light of the bedside lamp, throwing shadows over the dips and swells of muscle that made up his body. A thin line of dark hair traced downward from below his belly button, gathering in a thatch around his thick cock before thinning to a light dusting on his muscular thighs.

You shook your head in irritation as you realized you had stopped taking photos. He may have belonged in a damn art gallery, but you were there to do a job. And that job was not lusting after your client’s unfaithful boyfriend, no matter how gorgeous he was.

“Like what you see, bonnie?”

Soap’s voice made you jump. You hadn’t realized you would be able to hear him from that distance. It was faint, but if you strained your ears, you could hear his voice. It was confirmed, then: Soap had someone in his room.

You took another few pictures, zooming in to focus on the way Soap was talking to someone behind the edge of the window. His light eyes were focused raptly on one place, a flirtatious smile curving the corner of his lips.

If it was Marie again, you were going to be furious.

Soap’s hand drifted downward, framing his hard length for a second that felt like it lasted a lifetime. Then he grasped himself, fingers wrapping in a loose fist. Your lips parted as you tried to focus hard enough to take pictures and breathe at the same time.

It was hot as all hell, watching Soap work himself. You snapped pictures mindlessly as you watched him. In reality, you had everything you needed - you wouldn’t get anything else from watching and continuing to take pictures of the same scene over and over. The only thing you needed was a clear picture of Soap with whoever was behind the edge of the window.

You took pictures anyway, too distracted by the frustrated clenching of your body to worry about the hundred extra photos you would have to delete later.

At first, Soap’s efforts had looked good, but also seemed unsatisfactory. The way his curled fingers created a frame between the dark thatch of hair at his base and the reddening skin of his length. But it also couldn’t be giving him much in the way of friction.

But as he kept going, Soap seemed to decide that it was better to sacrifice some aesthetics in exchange for more pleasure. His fingers tightened, head tipping back in response to the increased stimulation. When his thumb teased at the slit at the head of his cock, Soap gave a hoarse groan. And when he spat into his own hand, the next touch made his hips kick so hard that you could see it from where you were standing.

Your mouth was dry and you realized that your lips had parted so you could take in more air. It was no matter - the instant you thought about taking Soap into your mouth, it watered so hard that you had to swallow before you started to drool outright.

“Oh, bonnie,” Soap moaned, and you fought not to moan with him.

It was frustrating that he wasn’t saying a name. That would have been an excellent piece of information to include with whatever photos you ended up taking… but you didn’t mind too much. No, unhealthy as it might be, you were fine with Soap being vague. The pet name let you pretend, for just a moment, that he was talking to you.

“Ah, so good for me,” he said in a rough murmur that managed to carry across the yard. “Gonna make me come…”

Your legs were trembling. You leaned more heavily against the tree you were standing beside, because your lust-addled brain was loudly insisting that you could always catch your balance by taking a few steps closer.

“Oh,” Soap said, the note of surprise in his voice driving you dangerously close to actually stepping forward. “I’m… Bonnie, you-”

And then he came. You were infinitely grateful that you had managed to keep the camera halfway aimed toward the window, because you wanted a way to remember that sight for the rest of your life.

Soap’s back arched slightly, as if he were trying to push his cock more firmly into his own hand. Cum trickled over his fist in rhythmic pulses that seemed to last forever and you just managed hear the soft gasps that fell from his parted lips. Soap was silhouetted against the backlight of the lamp at his bedside table, but you could still make out the bliss of his expression, eyes closed under brows that had furrowed slightly.

When Soap finally released himself and started to clean up, you were left with the unpleasant realization of how strongly that had affected you. Your heart was pounding in your chest, and not because there was a chance of being caught. Your breathing was ragged, and you could feel the damp cling of your panties every time you shifted your weight.

Yeah, you needed to get laid.

Before you could ponder your options too deeply, Soap finished cleaning the last of the cum from his fingers and - still sans a single stitch of clothing - leaned forward on the windowframe. With a pensive expression, he looked out into the night.

“Was that as good for you as it was for me?”

He still wasn’t using a name. For a final moment, you let yourself imagine that he was talking to you instead of whoever was standing patiently beside him at the window.

Your fingers flexed on your camera, adjusting to frame the window more precisely. You needed to get this shot and get out while you still had some dregs of your sanity remaining. Just as soon as Soap’s lover stepped forward enough for you to get a picture…

Then he looked at the treeline, light eyes sharp as they scanned over the darkened forest. You held your breath as he looked directly at you for a moment, but his eyes tracked further before one corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk.

“Not very nice,” he said, a little louder. “A show like that deserves a round of applause.”

You froze.

“And if you’re worried about ‘Marie’, don’t be.” Soap shook his head, ruffling his mohawk with a charming smile. “She was a spy, trying to gather intel about a highly-classified team. She’s in our custody. You won’t be seeing her around your office again.”

Even if you had been stupid enough to willingly reveal yourself, you couldn’t have moved with the shock of that revelation. Marie wasn’t a spy… even if that would explain several things. Like why you couldn’t turn up any relatives or friends. Or why you couldn’t find any of her prior addresses from longer ago than six months. And why you had seen her with Soap the week before.

Shit, she hadn’t been answering your texts or calls, either.

As if he could hear your frantic train of thought, Soap smirked again, standing upright behind the window. It framed his bare form perfectly and you forced your thoughts back into some semblance of focus. “Alright, I won’t force you to talk if you’re feelin’ shy. See you later, bonnie.”

You watched as Soap disappeared into the bathroom, then settled into bed. After his light switched off, you gave it a full half-hour before you ran back to your car in a half-crouch that left your thighs screaming. When you had turned on your car and were safely out of the neighborhood, you allowed yourself one loud swear.

You weren’t getting paid for this, you could feel it.

—

“Morning,” Soap greeted, walking into the room where the 141st did most of their planning. Ghost nodded back, the first to spot any new arrivals. As always.

“You talk to that PI yet?” Price asked, cutting through Gaz’s friendly greeting.

“Of course, Captain,” Soap assured him. “We had a meeting last night.”

“You went to the office?” Gaz asked, sounding more than a little surprised. “I just found the address this morning.”

“Did you?” Soap asked, plucking the paper from Gaz’s hand as Price watched him suspiciously. “I managed to track it down myself.”

“Tell me next time,” Gaz complained, snatching the paper back. “Would have saved me an hour of overtime.”

Gaz crumpled up the paper and chucked it half-heartedly at the bin. It bounced off one side, settling forgotten on the floor. Soap met Ghost’s eye for a long moment, offering a smile, a wink, and a nod. The masked man reached down to silently retrieve the paper and tuck it into a pocket.

Soap grinned approvingly and turned his attention toward whatever new mission Price had found for them.

---

Author's Note - Like I said at the top, this was supposed to be a one-shot for writing practice. But I am being plagued 27/4 by visions of this turning into a Ghoap x reader fic and I'm not sure how long I can hold that off.

Anyway, I'm already working on a second chapter, featuring Ghost. I'll link it to this chapter when it's done!

Now, about Soap's accent: someone made a poll on here about whether people prefer to read stories where accents are written out or not, and 'not' won by a large margin. I'm ambivalent myself, but I thought I would try writing Soap without the accent, though I'll still try to incorporate Scottish speech patterns and slang as they come up. Let me know if you have any strong opinions either way!

Thank you for reading!

#call of duty mw2 #john soap mactavish #johnny soap mactavish #john mactavish #soap cod #soap x reader #reader insert #reader insert fanfiction #reader insert fic #spicy #lemon #not suitable for minors #minors dni

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alwaysshallow · 1 year ago

Text

coffee at midnight, part 10

John "Soap" MacTavish x f!reader

Some peace before mission. (3,1k)

READ ON AO3

previous part

Task Force 141.

Elite, a group of soldiers—the best of the best—to serve the country in cases that need certain types of expertise and espionage to succeed, instead of simple military or the marines. True leaders who saw things that made them who they are right now, things that are imprinted in their memory probably for the rest of their life. Handpicked by John Price, veteran in the military who’s been probably everywhere on his missions, saw probably everything too.

His friends are everywhere over the world, making it a bit easier for him whenever he needs something; either legal or not. The job just needs to be done, he doesn’t exactly care how he’s gonna get it in the end.

A man of his words with multiple achievements on his account, respected. His team too, considering that no one is allowed in here, if they wanted to be recruited. There’s not a casting or anything.

Only professionals that know how to do their job correctly, better than anyone because of the experience.

“You fuckin’ cheating—”

Yeah, professionals—except the times you play games with them. Then, they’re acting worse than ever.

No matter if you play cards, Monopoly or anything else; the competitiveness sinks right through them, making it hard to let go in such childish cases. Right then, all the “professionalism” and the thought of being a highly specialized soldier is completely gone like it was never there in the first place. Bunch of highschoolers behave better than them, when it’s time to relax.

You fight, when you’re supposed to relax because someone didn’t say “Uno” on the last card they had.

It’s hard enough before the mission to do anything for yourself, hard to get your thoughts off the cruel world, so you’re happy at least to see their dumb faces like that. Arguing with each other, accusing of cheating, slamming the door in dramatic manner when someone’s losing at poker or—what’s even funnier—if someone’s gonna take Soap’s favorite place to rent in Monopoly. It’s worse than being in a crossfire, circled by enemy’s soldiers. He’s just insufferable, naming people names just because they took his spot, knowing that it’s his favorite. “A crime worse than murder”, he says.

If someone wants to see kids, they could go to the military instead of kindergarten; your base, to be exact. They’re just a bit overgrown, but besides that, they’re not really different.

From time to time, you look at them. You’d maybe consider joining, if they were a little bit more calm.

And, if you wouldn’t have files from Price about the next mission. He gave you them a while ago, intel that could help you prepare for the mission, centered on espionage more than on anything else. “Perfect mission for you,” he said, at which you just rolled your eyes, taking the documents; he was right in some way, considering that comeback to straight up crossfire wouldn’t be smart for the first activity.

At a first look of your eye, it looks almost too simple. A simple gala, where you act as an auctioneer, you engage in some auctions and then sneak around to find an office of an old man that you need to gather information from. Virus his computer and then come back, like nothing happened and if someone saw you around, you just act dumb. You’ve done it a couple of times in the past with quick success.

Taking things from a way too rich businessman is like a Robin Hood type of shit, always pleasuring, always something that you enjoy. Especially after long field missions, rescuing hostages and et cetera. That’s why it seems simple.

At least, it feels that way, before you read the rest and a sigh comes out of you easily.

This time, it’s a mission with Russians involved, as you read it further; so, it’s not that easy after all. You even happen to recognize some of their names, and those people are known with their tricks on every step of the way, always on high alert, no matter what. Eyes everywhere so it’s always hard to establish how many guards they have, where they are.

A real mission, that’s why it’s for the military—because if something will come down, it’s your skills that can rescue you from the shitty situation considering that the backup can only be outside the building.

You can only count on yourself and, as you read in the document, one, maybe two people of your choice.

“You’re getting into your head too much.” You look up; Kyle lowers your documents, so you can see his face properly, lips curved into a small smile. Encouraging, trying to get you into his side, as always when he wanted something, he knew how to use his pretty privileges. “You know you got it, Birdie. No need to get deeper into this.”

“I have to be ready for everything here, Gaz. Kinda need to do it.” You nudge him with your elbow, file going on a table beside you. He briefly looks at it, then, back at you. “And it’s way more interesting than men whining about a board game.”

Kyle laughs, shaking his head. “I think we’d disagree with you.”

“That’s one of the issues, though. You being all delusional,” you joke, sticking your tongue. Your friend dramatically sighs and you chuckle. “Gonna be there in a second. Alright?”

“Right. Better before Soap will chop Simon’s head off. Join us on UNO later,” he says.

So casually, that you first nod your head. Then, the meaning of words occurs to you, and you shift in the chair, confused. “Before Soap will do what?” you ask.

Kyle nods, like the thing he said is the most basic in the whole world. “Mmm, he lost in poker. Lost some money. And dignity.”

“Dignity?” Your eyes wander to Soap and Simon. Scot is actively gesticulating, almost hitting his friend with how briskly he does it, while he just stands there with a mocking expression on his face. You have no idea what happened there; you even don’t know if you want to know, but it’s evident that something upset your best friend. What’s more to it, something that Riley said, which is odd enough.

Odd because Johnny usually doesn’t give a shit about what he says. He either flips him off and continues blabbering, or just ignores him and then continues. Nothing in between, so you look once again at Garrick, looking for an answer in his eyes.

“��Fraid I can’t tell you,” he chuckled, “I was joking. Partially. About that chopping head, it’s not that bad, but—”

“Gaz—”

“Join us on UNO later, Birdie,” he repeats. Gaz ruffles your hair, making a beeline to the guys after that.

You’re sure that he says something to them, as they look at you seconds after—Soap, grinning like a devil, Ghost even more amused, while Alejandro laughs about something in the background. Confused, you look down, back at your documents, deciding that you have to finish that instead of trying to get what is inside their head.

Private circus has nothing against these guys. If they would want to change professions someday, you’d suggest being a clown and riding around the world to show what they are capable of.

It would be easy money, you’re pretty sure about that. And their natural habitat, so it shouldn't be too hard for them to act in front of a larger audience.

You join them forty minutes later, taking a seat next to Soap.

Not like you have other choice, really—it feels almost like they planned it somehow. Price sits on that damn, uncomfortable chair, way too small for him. Kyle and Alejandro on the couch; Ghost just looms over everyone, as he’s way too caught up in his phone to care about the game.

You brush that thought away, though, as it seems ridiculous in a way. It’s not high school to reserve seats for people that aren't there.

Or is it? They often have weird ideas.

It takes some time, but you finally cave in and join the game. Not the way you’d like to, as the boys are already ten minutes into the next round, but you’re trying your ways as a strategist. Pointing what card Soap should use and when, doing it discreetly like it’s a crime, and your best friend is just encouraging you to do so, nudging you there and there, or casually squeezing your thigh, causing you to jump a little.

Not because you’re surprised with it, but you feel way too hot after the gesture itself, like his touch leaves permanent marks on your skin.

“Use this one,” you mutter; as quietly as possible you can be. There’s no such thing as cheating in UNO if you don’t even play, but you want to help somehow.

“Using your girl to win? That’s weak, MacTavish.”

Your girl.

Your heart skips a beat, electricity going through your body, as you hear that. It’s an instinct to open your mouth to correct Alejandro, but you close it as quickly, puzzled. It would be petty to do it in a small matter like this, where it’s probably mindlessly throwed without any meaning to it.

It would be petty and wrong because you feel good when he named you like this. Like you were his in a slightly different way, not a friend. More intimate, a lover's way.

“At least he has someone to help him,” you say instead, missing how smug Soap looks right now, as you look at his opponent. Maybe it’s for the better though; if you’d see his face, a scarlet red would appear on yours.

And then, everything would be clear to them. Not really a way to announce your feelings; growing ones, where you just started to not deny them, but to… accept, if that’s even an option in the military. Besides the policy that you can’t date your comrade—in most cases—you’re scared of ruining your friendship. Doing something that he won’t like. Which is completely valid, but with every day on the base, you think that he wouldn’t really be opposed to the idea. Of even sleeping together to try some things.

It’s harder and harder to explain his behavior lately with “he’s your best friend” card. Hard to explain him grabbing your waist whenever someone else was around, touching once in a while. Kisses in the temple or right on the top of your head, if he was in a rush, once or twice in the cheek, but you thought it was just a mistake or something.

Right now, you don’t really know what it is. You could find excuses before, but now there was nothing to excuse him with. Not a thing, especially when you kind of liked how he was behaving, even if he didn’t want to explain it when you asked why he acts like this. “Jus’ missed ye, lassie,” he said, and you had no other choice but accept the explanation; because you knew, for a fact, that you’re not gonna get any other one. Just this and a quick hug to distract you, so you’ll drop the subject.

You won’t admit it to him, but you grew familiar with it. His touch, his hands, craving it on you at some point. Sighing silently with a feeling of content, whenever he touches a part of you. It’s good, it feels like he wants to touch you, soothe the problems on your mind, knowing how physical touch works for you.

He throws an arm around you, when he drops the last card on the table. Proud, like he almost won it by himself, but the hug that he gives you proves otherwise, like he wants to silently thank you for this. Ignoring the fluttering feeling in your stomach, you just give him a smile.

You can tell that boys are irritated by him showing off this way, so loud and unbearable, but they’re amused as well. They poke him around about being a cheater and how they’d want the help you gave Johnny not anyone else; you just take a sip of water, while Kyle suggests that you have way more cards in your sleeve than anyone might expect.

“Cards in my sleeve… yeah. Annoy me even more, then I’ll hack your phone to post embarrassing shit,” you say, pointing at them. Jokingly, you don’t actually mean that (or do you?), but you want them to understand that the threat is there.

“Very funny.”

“Not funny, if it’s just the truth.” You shrug. “It’s part of my job, after all. Phones are literally… one of the easiest options, I think.”

“So you say,” Soap leans over you, curious, “that you can literally hack my phone. Right here, right now, no password and shite?”

“Yeah. I can and I will, if you may?” You raise your eyebrow playfully. Your best friend barks a laugh, then, he hands you his phone. “Don’t need it. You can just keep it in your pocket.”

“Gettin’ cheeky, are we?” he taunts. You roll your eyes with a small smile, as you tilt your head. The electric feeling when he touches your hand shoots right through you, it’s hard to keep a straight face. “No need for my phone around, if yer so smart, that right?”

“Kind of,” you say, shoving him a little with your elbow. Making your distance, so you won’t be so close to him. “You need to know your place.”

“I dinnae mind my place. Can be under, can be on top,” he murmurs.

You do not look at him after that, too embarrassed to look him in the eye. Hot is already flowing all over your face—God only knows what would happen if you’d cross his gaze.

It’s like he wants to see your reaction these days. He’s more untamed than he usually is, speaking his mind, tilting his head like a puppy when you don’t want to answer something or you just straight up ignore his taunts. Pouts like a kid, nudges you in hope it changes something.

Because if he wants something, he gets it. You’ve put up with his attitude too many times to not notice that, but the irritation on it doesn’t really change, no matter what time it is. And you’re not quite ready to start continuing the banter, not in the public space like that because with him? With him, it would be like driving on ice with a car without brakes—thrilling, exciting, but the possible consequences are in your head as well.

If he’d do something in your apartment, when the two of you were alone, you’d probably go with it, no doubt.

It takes you a few minutes—too many minutes, but Soap is so close, breathing into your neck, so it’s a bit harder to focus—but you’re in his phone. The wallpaper and apps are visible on the screen of your laptop, so you show it to him and everyone else, a sense of pride in your heart. It’s always like that when you do something besides the typical military stuff, the stuff that they wouldn’t do so easily, if at all.

You want to prove that it’s not all what you can do, so you also shut down his phone for a second, which makes them all gasp with surprise. A few little tricks and there they are, amazed with your skills.

“Yer so smart, bonnie,” he mutters. Lips stretched in a wide smile, eyes not necessarily on a screen, but on you; he seems so proud even if you just logged into his phone, no password needed. If you wanted to, you could even do more, like decoding other things on his phone, but it would be an invasion of privacy.

“Studies do the work.” You shrug, locking your eyes with him. Royal blue, sparkling in the dim light that is currently in the base. Curious, maybe because of your skills. Maybe because he wonders what else you can do. “It’s one of the easiest things. Especially that you only have a password with numbers.”

“Look at it, miss Knows-It-All,” Soap says, an amused look on his face. “What are those numbers, then? Did you look, lassie?”

“Not really,” you lie. He cocks an eyebrow, probably sensing that lie, considering how well he knows you. How well he knows that you’re curious about things like this, he just seems sure that you would look.

And you did. It’s either a coincidence or a planned action, but numbers weirdly match with your birthday. Not in the order though, but they’re all here and you wonder a bit if it has anything to do with you. Would be nice, sure, but knowing your best friend, it could also be a simple coincidence.

You want it to be your birthday. Hidden, a combination, but you want it to be connected to you.

“Ye should try with Ghost’s phone. Maybe we’ll know who he misses that much,” he snides, glancing at Simon. He texts in the corner of the room, not even caring about making eye contact with you two.

Simon is glued to his phone the entire night; you don’t say it out loud, but he seems moderately happy with whoever he writes with. You suspect your vet best friend, considering how close they got along the way. How Riley asks about her from time to time, if she’s good or if you heard anything from her lately. “She’s smarter than you, Johnny. And she doesn’t have a death wish on her back, unlike you,” he finally says.

Scot huffs, almost offended. “Death wish? If ye had a bonnie, talented bird like me, you’d encourage her to improve,” he muses, grinning, when you send him a look. “C’mon, don’t look at me like tha’, ye know it’s true.”

You want to protest, but as he locks you close to yourself, his forearm around your middle, he makes it hard for you to speak. So close that it’s actually suffocating when he nuzzles his nose against your jawline, laughing, when Alejandro shouts at both of you to get a room. You have to bite your tongue a little to not say “with pleasure”.

“He’d be insufferable, if we’d have a room.” You stick your tongue out, amused—then, you press a haste kiss against Soap’s cheek. Distraction that works because he actually loosens his grip, which allows you to get some distance. “Now, I’m gonna hop in the shower and read some files. Night, boys.”

You have to ignore Soap’s voice, when he calls after you.

#john soap mactavish #soap x reader #soap x you #john mactavish x you #soap mactavish #x reader #cod x reader #friends to lovers fanfic #cod mw2 #john soap mactavish x reader #soap x y/n

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space-writes · 20 days ago

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OC Interview Tag

tagged by @oh-no-another-idea thank you! i’m gonna use this as an excuse to try and develop one of the characters in the new wip i definitely don’t actually have that’s just like. percolating in my brain soup right now. so this is Otienne Sunblessed, pretty pretty princess of Fantasy Land I Haven’t Named Yet~

(all of this wildly subject to change, but i'm having fun rn)

[ID - a purple and black decorative divider]

Are you named after anyone?

I’m the first Tienne of my line - my mother was the second of her name, and my aunts wanted me to be the third, but she defied them. I prefer my name as it is, Tienne sounds far nicer with the royal O prefix than Hisenta. It sounds sweet and elegant, which suits me very much.

When was the last time you cried?

I hardly think that’s any business of yours.

Do you have kids?

Oh, not yet. My mother is expected to have a few more daughters before I’ll be of age to inherent the throne. I suppose I’ll have to bear an heir at that point, though with current policy I’ll have to find a suitable man to provide one. It remains a constant source of disappointment to me that no-one has managed to find a phrasing in the Grand Script to allow offspring from two mothers. Such research will be a priority when I am Queen, I assure you.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Not particularly. I find it a rather low and vulgar form of humour.

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Whether or not they can look me in the eyes. If they can, they might be worth considering as equals. If they can’t, they already know their place, and it’s only right to keep them there.

What’s your eye colour?

Golden as the sun, the same as all my family. It’s a mark of our station and right to rule - the Queen of the Sun granted them to one of our ancestors centuries ago, and no-one else has them. They’re the most beautiful eyes in all the world.

Scary movies or happy endings?

That depends on who the ending is happy for. I much prefer the classical tales, which aren’t always frightening, but do always contain an appropriately entertaining amount of blood and suffering.

Any special talents?

I am very, very good at getting what I want.

Where were you born?

[skipping this question because i haven’t figured out a name for her country yet, but she was born in the place the story is set, in her mother’s bed in the palace]

Do you have any pets?

I’ve had a few over the years. They never last long, but then small creatures that can’t fend for themselves never do, do they? Dear Ihrone does get so very upset when she has to bury another one for me, though, even when it’s just a squirrel.

What sort of sports do you play?

Court politics and bedroom games

How tall are you?

Five feet, two inches - exactly two inches taller than my mother.

What was your favourite subject in school?

Politics, espionage, and the history of warfare and interrogation techniques - all most useful topics for a royal daughter to be well-versed in. Just because we aren’t at war now doesn’t mean we won’t be, and when I inherit I refuse to be caught unprepared.

That, and I do so like knowing what people are saying about me behind my back. It makes them much easier to manipulate.

What is your dream job?

Job? I’m Otienne - a princess. I shan’t be needing a job, I shall be running the country once my mother dies, or loses her faculties more than is acceptable in public. And you had best believe that once my father’s foreign influence is removed, there will be some changes around here.

[ID - a purple and black decorative divider]

& bonus picrew!

[ID - a picrew portrait in a sketchy, flat-colour style, of a woman with masses of curly red-brown hair, large golden eyes, and full red lips. She has starry earrings and a starry crown, and is wearing a white dress with a low v-cut and a sheer over-top. Artist credit is ummmmandy.tumblr.com]

no-pressure tagging @foxboyclit @princessbonecrimes @revenantlore and @viscerawrites

blank questions under the cut

Are you named after anyone? When was the last time you cried? Do you have kids? Do you use sarcasm a lot? What’s the first thing you notice about people? Scary movies or happy endings? Any special talents? Where were you born? Do you have any pets? What sort of sports do you play? How tall are you? What was your favourite subject in school? What is your dream job?

#writeblr #tag games #oc interview tag #oc posting #original character #wip: dark of the moon #c: otienne sunblessed #me filling this out: oh she’s a *bitch* bitch <3 #she’s a pulling the legs off of spiders kind of girl

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ygsunflower · 1 year ago

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I was listening to Post Show Recaps podcast reviewing Special Ops: Lioness Ep 1 & 2. and the two hosts brought up something that inspired me to dive a little bit deeper into Cruz’s character: They pointed out that the Marine officer was kind of using Cruz’s trauma/experience to recruit her. They then mentioned in the US how going to the military sometime is a mean for people to be able to afford college education. The fact that they are just high school graduates, barely 18 years old, and they are signing up for something that might be so much bigger than what they could comprehend at such a young age is crazy. Their conversation got me thinking, this also fits Cruz’s narrative with the military. I mean, I always low key view this show as a military/CIA propaganda recruiting program, but these two hosts made me view Cruz’s journey through a new lens (though not sure this is what the show intended for us to see)- Cruz almost serves as the opposite example of why the young teens/adults, especially troubled individuals, should join the military without hesitations for the second chance it might provide them.

Cruz had a tough upbringing, and even into her early adulthood, her life was full of chaos, abuses, instabilities, and she was unloved. Her first military encounter was so positive that she jumped right on it as her means to get out of her toxic relationship/environment. The Marine officer literally saved her from her abusive boyfriend. You can’t get that “hero/savior” image more straightforward than this. So just like those teens/young adults, she joins the military for a simple reason- it allows her to achieve whatever she wants to in the future. This opportunity gives her a future. Of course, she wasn’t really thinking the deeper meaning of being a marine and being in the military. She probably just thought- oh so apparently I performed well on the written test, and I just aced my physical exam. And on paper, military saves life, so why not? Things will only go up and life will get easier and simpler from now on. Little did she know, and even little did she prepared for the harsh implication of joining the military.

She would probably be fine if she just stayed as a Marine or a typical soldier, because neither depends much on her to perform solo. She got to excel, but she also had the protection of an unit. It’s only when she was thrown into a solo espionage mission where she only had herself making all the on the spot decisions which could lead to the life or death of not just the mission, but also her own life, her team’s lives, and possibly the government’s interests, she started to really consider the weight of being in this line of work. She started to question what she singed herself up for all those years back. I imagine her internal turmoil kept growing as she met Aaliyah and started to develop true feelings for her. With each passing day, Cruz’s realization that this life is not what she wanted only grew. She’s not made for this type of work, at least not as fit for the work as her boss, Joe. In the last episode, Cruz completely lost it, and screamed this in Joes’s face- Joe subscribes to the ideology of the CIA work, and she truly believes in it. As much as this job demands of her, she’s making the conscious decision to pursue it because that’s what she considers necessary for the just/noble cause (in her view). Cruz wasn’t like that at all. This new perspective also helped explain in my head why Cruz sometimes seem a little un-spy-like because this is literally the point. The longer she stays in this mission, the more uncomfortable and unfit she becomes for the job. She joined so she could have safety, stability, and a possibility of the freer future. In my head, she didn’t mind/care much about the military’s ideology until it went against her feeling loved for the first time in her life. And from that moment on, the cruel reality of being in the military became insufferable. What she thought could be a mean to her ideal life turns out to be the force that prevents and even destroys her chance of ever living her ideal life with her loved one... So in the end of S1, Cruz was alone, lost, and broken because her dream was once again shattered by reality.

Laysla really nailed Cruz’s internal turmoil in my opinion. The rigid posture, the hesitation, the pained and dulled eyes… You see how Cruz broke down little by little throughout the season. You see just how much all these burdens and conflicting feelings were eating her up alive especially when she’s with Aaliyah.

Hope we get a S2 where we get to see them exploring more of Cruz Manuelos, and the Aaliyah x Cruz relationship after the bloodshed. I’d love to see how this incident affects Cruz and Aaliyah.

#character study?#I clearly have a lot of feelings about the show and the character #😂#cruz manuelos #laysla de oliveira #aaliyah x cruz #special ops: lioness

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oldsargasso · 10 months ago

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WinnerDean spy AU?

thank youuuu I love you 🥺 sorry for taking days to answer lol I have been. so sick.

five VERY LONG facts...honestly this is just a story outline at this point. TW for violence

the first time they meet it's because Dean's been sent on his first solo mission, instead of Babe or Way getting it done. and he's so proud of himself - finally Alan has recognised how hard he's been working! sure it's not like Babe (currently holed up at home with a broken leg) or Way (currently undercover as a high-end ~companion) could have been sent anyway...still. Dean was the one Alan pulled from the team and sent out into the field all on his own. and he's going a great job---bypasses all the security measures, is in the CEO's office with his password being cracked as Dean pokes around the desk drawers---when the door opens and the number 1 ranked agent at X Hunter's rival agency saunters in.

2. Winner had incredible scores throughout his stint at the academy. But X Hunter has some more avant garde recruitment practices and Winner's not bitter about it at all. Working at RDR means he stays number one, big fish in a small pond kind of thing. His talents are being wasted looking after the very lucrative contract Tony's hired them on for; officially it's "locating and correcting weaknesses in the security framework" but it's really corporate espionage. and it's boring as hell. Winner hates it. why become a spy if not to go around guns blazing and driving dangerously and seducing hot targets? turns out there's a lot more paperwork and sending phishing emails and standing around waiting for people to leave their office in actuality. that is, until Winner makes the usual midnight loop around the top-floor offices and finds something very interesting. (Winner's a little miffed that X Hunter didn't even bother sending their top agent for this job.)

3. Tony offers Alan a deal: give Tony Babe, and Dean gets released with nary a scratch.

Alan doesn't take the deal.

Winner doesn't care, about the deal or Babe or the way Tony's aide keeps hovering around like he wants to say something and definitely not about the pretty agent he captured. But he DOES care that Tony has his own guys doing the interrogation. Like why even hire Winner and his agency if not for something exactly like this? So he hacks into the security feed and finds Tony's guys aren't even asking questions. It's like they're just ...playing almost, landing blows all over the agent's body while his arms are held so he can't protect himself, both eyes blackened and blood dripping to the floor from his torn-up mouth. And Winner notices someone else in the system too. They've covered their tracks very well---unfortunately for North there's only a handful of people that can cover their tracks like that. It pisses Winner off: any good agency would have gotten their guy out, or at least gotten him a bullet---instead X Hunter is just watching? Listening to the sounds of Dean gasping for breath after another interminable minute of being held underwater? Winner kicks North out of the system and patches the weak point and decides to cater to his own particular moral code.

4. Dean doesn't break. He doesn't talk. He clings to the hope of getting out (and then he hopes for it to end). He repeats to himself that Alan wouldn't have left him here if he didn't think Dean could handle it. Alan has faith in Dean so Dean will have faith in Alan. And he manages to keep it up for a few days, or maybe a week---the only way of tracking time is the comings and goings of Tony's guys, and Dean's not sure they have a set schedule. He hurts all over. There's no position he can sleep in that doesn't have his ribs screaming at him, and the comments from Tony's men have started to get very pointed in a way that has his skin crawling. Dean knows the protocol, and he should have gotten at least a message by now. It's easier then, to give up a little, and let his anger and bitterness turn to apathy and carry him through.

5. Winner's favourite thing about being a spy? The vast array of beautiful guns he has access to. He was top of his class when it came to shooting, and taking out five guys before any of them manage to fire back is barely enough to spark any satisfaction. Dean doesn't answer when Winner asks if he can walk, so Winner just slings him over one shoulder and makes his leisurely way out. He's planted enough explosives around Tony's estate that every man is going to be completely occupied elsewhere.

He does run into Kenta on his way to the exit---Winner doesn't shoot, because the guy is armed with a knife and that's not a fair fight---and Kenta just nods at him, like. with approval. Weird guy, but probably has to be to have worked for Tony for so long.

And then when Winner makes it to the garage North and Sonic are waiting there? with a guy Winner distinctly remembers seeing tied up in Tony's office a few weeks ago. And they just take Dean from him and drive away??

So Winner goes back inside and shoots a few more people. He finds Tony's body, and Kenta kneeled next to it, and is like "well I have an empty seat in my car now..." and then they drive away.

(bonus fun fact is that Babe and Charlie are having a whole Mr and Mrs Smith AU thing going on in the background)

#pit babe #winnerdean #jeff had a vision how it would all play out btw #the Alan not taking a deal thing has been living in my head in a post-apocalyptic AU for weeks now so I'm using it here

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lemonyinks · 7 months ago

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Can you share any headcanons about the Foccart family (LOSH) please? 🥺👉👈

Oh boy, I sure can! This will be about the Post Zero-Hour Foccart family since I have not gotten around to properly reading the older stuff. I do fully consider Lyle part of their family btw so he's in some of these.

Mrs. Foccart is a well known chemist who used to work for the government but now she mostly focuses on personal projects and lives off of her hefty retirement payout.

She taught Lyle pretty much everything he knows. She was the one to introduce him to chemistry and the first person to support his love for the craft. They used to spend long days experimenting together.

Danielle also had an interest in chemistry from a young age and got a formal education in it.

Danielle is the only one of her siblings who has a college degree.

Mr. Foccart owns a film store that rents and sells old, vintage movies and TV shows. It is not very popular and it doesn't make much money, but he has a few diehard customers who keep his business open.

Jacques and Lyle used to go to work with him and he'd let them pick out a movie every time before heading home. They always chose old spy movies; this was what got them interested in espionage.

Lyle kept his distance from the Foccarts' after Jacques "death" because he blamed himself for it and thinks they should also blame him, but the family tried to keep in contact with him regardless.

Danielle regularly sent messages and life updates to Lyle's old contact info.

They moved houses when Jacques "died" and it was a painful decision, but it was more painful living in a house that had so many reminders of him.

When Jacques is eventually freed from Earthgov, the family is over the moon. They insist that he call them at least once a week and visits whenever he can, and he complies.

They have big family calls every Saturday, or whenever time allows them to. They eventually get Lyle (and by extension Querl sometimes) involved in these calls. It's always full of equal parts chaos and love.

Mr. and Mrs. Foccart met in college (he was majoring in history and film, she was majoring in chemistry) and got married shortly after graduating.

They met the Norgs at an event/gala back when Mrs. Foccart was still working for the government.

Mrs. Foccart wears her wedding ring around her neck on a chain. This is a habit she picked up because she would constantly be pulling it off to work and it was just easier to wear it that way.

When it comes to holidays, they go big or go home. They're the best at throwing parties.

Cooking is a family activity. They cook together and eat together as often as they can. They all know how to cook as a result, whether they can do it well varies from person to person. (Best to worst; Mrs. Foccart -> Jacques -> Lyle -> Mr. Foccart -> Danielle)

They like to go camping, but haven't done it more than once or twice since the kids were young.

They totally all pull pranks on each other. April fools day is an absolute nightmare in that house.

Similar to her dad's job, Danielle collects vintage media, but she's more into old music.

They can all play at least one instrument: Danielle can play the guitar. Jacques can play piano. Mrs. Foccart can play the piano as well as the violin. Mr. Foccart can play the clarinet. Lyle can play violin, but he's not the best at it.

#losh #legion of super heroes #jacques foccart #danielle foccart #okay i'll stop there lol #i like making shit up about background characters #this was a fun ask sorry for answering it like a month late 🙈#i forgor to post it #my mom can play the clarinet #she still has her middleschool clarinet #its really cool #they have an older sister/daughter in other timelines dont they? i would include her but i've never thought about her before unfortunately #brande may or may not be one of mr. foccart's clients

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owlseeyoulaterpal · 9 months ago

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In Sight of Your Blinding Light, Chapter One

Astarion Ancunín x Named! Tav x Lae'zel

Synopsis: Mariele Malwyn has lived enough life to know that she doesn't have time for love, not after the outcomes of the last few times she let her walls down. She's made that mistake too many times. However, traveling with a group of strangers and messing around with the gith and the vampire leaves her vulnerable to doing the one thing she's been avoiding for the last fifteen years - building connections with others.

Read on ao3.

Learn more about Mariele.

Notes: Discussions of sex, but no smut in this first chapter. Word Count: 2.5k

Chapter One

Mariele didn’t get along well with others.

Her previous clients had told her more than once or even twice that she should work on her people skills. She didn’t really understand the necessity in doing so and, in fact, thought her skills ‘with people’ were quite fine. Espionage and assassinations weren’t easily pulled off and required Mariele’s full arsenal of ‘people skills’ – everything from seduction to false kindness, to some well-placed tears, to terrifying intimidation. As long as the job got done, who cared whether or not she was nice or even likeable? She certainly didn’t.

Mariele didn’t understand the necessity of needing to get along with others until she had a mind flayer tadpole in her head, and she had, somehow, acquired a group of people who also had tadpoles in their heads that looked to her for leadership. They were a mismatched group with little in common other than their present condition and, if Mariele wasn’t wise enough to realize she was out of her depth, she wouldn’t have bothered entertaining all their individual problems and squabbles. But she couldn’t go this alone, so she was stuck with this unconventional party.

And she needed to figure out how to get along with all of them.

Getting along with some of them came easier than others. Wyll was a warlock like her, but Mariele struggled to understand how someone could make such a dangerous pact for the purpose of hunting monsters and not for his own survival and longevity. She also thought that her eyes may become stuck at some point if Wyll kept spouting his self-righteous heroic drivel that made her eyes roll.

Gale’s magic was useful, and his clumsy wit was able to pull a smile or two out of her, but she wasn’t exactly happy about having to forego magical items to keep him alive for reasons he still refused to share. He was handsome and would almost be bearable if he figured out how to close his mouth more often.

Mariele respected Lae’zel’s strategic mind, her prowess in battle, and she didn’t feel the need to speak when it was unnecessary. She was also the first person that Mariele encountered after being infected and, with all her knowledge about mind flayers, Mariele trusted the githyanki’s guidance the most out of everyone else.

Shadowheart could’ve been a tolerable addition to the group, but her constant fighting with Lae’zel truly made Mariele wish that she had never convinced the half-elf to join them when she ran into Shadowheart for the third time at the Grove. However, Shadowheart was also a healer, and they couldn’t exactly go without her.

And then there was fucking Astarion.

They met when he put a dagger to her throat, and she had to headbutt him off her. She would’ve also pulled a knife on someone if she was in his position after the nautiloid crash, but Mariele would prefer self-immolation than admit that she and Astarion had more similarities than they did differences. He grated her nerves, and their arguing was exhausting, especially when Mariele could tell that he was doing it just to fuck with her.

“You’re a warlock. You understand how dangerous the wrong deal can be.” Astarion said.

“Raphael’s only a cambion – we can handle him,” Mariele declared.

“Oh, can we? Because you’ve got it all figured out, I’m sure,” Astarion spat. She nearly gutted him on the spot. “You know who tampered with the parasite. And why. And what they have planned for us. And of course, you know why we’re interesting enough that a devil – pardon, a cambion – would proposition us. Because if you don’t know that, you may as well sign over your soul now.”

“Astarion, if you are so spineless and eager to take the first deal offered to you that might offer a solution to the worm in our head, then be my guest! No one’s stopping you. What I won’t tolerate is your judgment for me refusing to do the same,” Mariele hissed. “I already have one all-powerful being to deal with. I refuse to bend my will or sell my soul to be stuck with another.”

Mariele did not suffer fools gladly, and Astarion’s talk was exactly the kind that she did not want to entertain.

“I prefer to lean into the wisdom of keeping my options open rather than being foolish enough to believe that I’m powerful enough to deal with this tadpole on my own. I figured you would be more open-minded since you already sold your soul once,” Astarion sneered.

“You have no idea what kind of deal I have.”

“You don’t exactly strike me as a good negotiator. You seem like the type to rely more on your good looks than your brains.”

“Takes one to know one,” Mariele sassed.

She felt like she fell into a trap when she saw Astarion’s lips curl into a smirk.

“Darling…you think I’m good-looking? I’m flattered,” he teased.

Mariele opened her mouth to retort.

“Can you two please cool your tempers? It’s not safe for you to be making all this racket out here in the wilderness. Let’s focus on finding Halsin,” Shadowheart interjected.

They continued on their walk and Mariele tried her best to push their encounter with Raphael from her mind. In the nearby forest, she stopped in her tracks as she looked at a dead boar. As she kneeled to look at it more closely, she knew it was stone-cold dead, but nothing looked wrong with it except for two holes in its neck. It was probably safe to take the meat. If living on the streets taught her anything, it was not to pass up what could be a perfectly good meal, especially since it would be enough meat to feed the entire camp.

“Are you quite done staring at carrion?” Astarion bristled. Mariele whipped her head around to look at him. He was grimacing, but he seemed nervous. Mariele stood, holding his gaze the entire time. Was he really trying to pick another fight with her and this time over a carcass? He maintained eye contact with her, but as he blinked and looked away for a second, she knew that he was hiding something.

“You know something about this, don’t you?” Mariele prodded.

Astarion glanced down at the boar, back at Mariele, and then he cleared his throat. “It’s been…killed by a vampire. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry you,” he started hesitantly, but then finished his thought far too quickly “They’re ferocious creatures, but don’t worry. I’ll keep watch tonight,” he said.

“And how do you know so much about vampires? Encountered many as a magistrate?” Mariele asked. She thought his vague summary about his life in Baldur’s Gate was bullshit. She had been in front of several magistrates when she was caught for theft, and she had never seen him once, not even just walking around the courthouse.

“Enough to know that we should avoid them at all costs or be prepared to defend ourselves,” Astarion replied.

“Hmm,” Mariele hummed. “You’re not wrong. I’ve only encountered two in my time. I definitely shouldn’t have survived the first time.”

Astarion’s eyes widened, and his eyebrows lifted. “Oh? Well, go on. What happened?” He said as Shadowheart and Wyll continued through the forest.

Mariele hesitated and looked him up and down. She could sacrifice this bit of personal knowledge. It wasn’t the most terrifying tale she had in her past. It wasn’t anything he could use against her. Hell, maybe sharing this one thing will do something to make this allyship more bearable.

“I was probably twelve. I was trying to rest near the docks. Some other kids had already warned me there were vampires around, so I had a stake. This tiefling woman walked up to me and started asking if I needed any food. Told me she knew somewhere I could eat and have a bed,” Mariele began, replaying the terrifying memory in her head, but trying her best to retell it as calmly as possible. Astarion wasn’t even looking where he was stepping, his eyes solely on her as she talked.

“She kept getting closer and eventually I saw her eyes were red, which isn’t unusual for a tiefling, but her eyes were glowing. She tried to snatch me up. I stabbed her with my stake, but it wasn’t exactly enough to kill her. Just enough to scare her off. I picked up my bedroll and ran until I couldn’t anymore. I slept outside the Elfsong that night.” Mariele bent down and pulled a few raspberries from a nearby bush.

There was a moment of silence and Mariele focused on counting the raspberries to dispel the renewed feelings of fear that rose up as she was almost transported back to the docks. All the memories of that time were coming back up to choke her.

Astarion finally spoke. “That sounds dreadful,” his voice quivered. He cleared his throat again. “And the second?” he asked.

“Oh, I was in Neverwinter doing a task for my patron. He came in through my open window at an inn. That was last year. I knew how to use a stake that time,” Mariele said.

Astarion nodded. “Well, no need to worry about anyone coming near your pretty neck. I’ll be keeping watch,” he smiled. Mariele felt her face get hot. This was the second time he’d called her neck pretty, the first time being when they met. It was odd and very specific – definitely not the first thing men usually complimented her on – but it did make butterflies stir in her belly. She chose to swallow that thought down and ignore it.

Suddenly, Wyll shouted. “Hey! There’s a dog up here!”

“Shall we?” Astarion gestured for Mariele to walk forward, his smirk back on his ridiculously attractive face. “I’m happy to watch your back,” he murmured. She obliged and walked ahead of him, very aware of his hot gaze on the back of her neck.

x x x

They continued on their walk that day, recruiting a group of ogres and killing a few goblins in the blighted village.

As they began to make their way back to camp, Mariele and Shadowheart walked slower than the others to gather herbs.

“So, is the childish bickering a weird kind of mating ritual for you two?” Shadowheart asked.

Mariele whipped her head around as she plucked up rogue’s morsel.

“What?” Mariele’s brows furrowed.

“You and Astarion,” Shadowheart shrugged, as if it was simple and obvious. “You two are cut from the same cloth, but it’s like you two would rather be angry at each other over petty disagreements or insults rather than admit you both want each other.”

“I don’t want that prick,” Mariele scoffed, shoving the morsel into her bag before grabbing some belladonna.

Shadowheart leaned over and continued gathering. “The entire camp knows he’s a prick. You’re not exactly that kind either,” the half-elf said. Mariele scoffed at her comment.

“That doesn’t seem to stop both of you, in fact I think it spurs both of you on. Every time he says something ridiculous, he looks at you to see if he’s gotten a rise out of you, and sometimes, I think you goad him on purpose too,” she chuckled.

“If Astarion keeps it up, he won’t have to worry about the tadpole killing him,” Mariele stood and walked over to another patch of morsel. “And I do not goad him.”

“Are you firmly saying that you’re not attracted to him at all?” Shadowheart’s head tilted mischievously, her green eyes positively glowing. Mariele glared at Shadowheart before turning to inspect the ground. She didn’t respond.

“You can’t deny that. Even I have to say that he is good-looking,” Shadowheart kneeled next to her and helped her grab more ingredients.

“Maybe Gale’s more my type,” Mariele huffed. She and Shadowheart looked at each other and they both burst into laughter. It may have been the first time Mariele had seen the half-elf laugh in the few days they’d been traveling together.

“Do you want to corrupt him?” Shadowheart giggled.

“He’s handsome and funny, but I do think there are other ways he could be using that mouth of his,” Mariele snorted, closing her now full alchemy bag.

“Oh, so it’s easier to say that than it is to say that you might actually like Astarion?” Shadowheart teased.

“Don’t ruin the moment, Shadowheart,” Mariele replied as they walked on.

x x x

Lae’zel’s proposition couldn’t have come at a stranger time.

The party had just finished butchering an owlbear and a pair of siblings that had apparently been searching for survivors of the nautiloid crash. Mariele had wandered off from the rest of the party to look around the rest of the giant cave.

“Mariele.”

The warlock looked up from where she was pocketing a healing potion. Lae’zel stood there, her fists clenched at her side, her feet spaced shoulder width apart. Blood and viscera coated her sleek silver armor. Her signature scowl was there. Lae’zel had a way of looking at people as if they were nothing to her, but there was something different in the warrior’s gaze now. Something about the slight lift of her left eyebrow. The ever-so-subtle smirk of amusement and…approval.

“Yes?” Mariele asked, standing so that she was now eye level with the githyanki.

“I was too hasty to judge you. I thought you witless and unimpressively bland,” Lae’zel declared.

Mariele scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Thought? What changed?”

“You’ve earned my respect. You’ve proven your wits and shown your efficiency and dominance, in and out of battle. The other istik that we travel with follow you and your direction with little fuss,” Lae’zel stepped closer, right into the path of a beam of sunlight that was peeking through the roof of the cave. Mariele’s heart began to slowly beat faster as she noticed the way that Lae’zel olive skin and green eyes seemed to glow under the light.

“And you’re hardly bland. Your scent alone is enough to make my neck sweat, and my hairs stand on end,” Lae’zel continued. Mariele felt a shiver run down her spine as Lae’zel looked her up and down, as if she was being appraised.

“That’s high praise coming from you.”

“There is no need to praise you. I am simply making observations,” Lae’zel shrugged. “I want to taste you. Perhaps tonight or perhaps later. But I have had enough of just your scent. Do you want to taste me?”

Mariele considered being playful and flirtatious, maybe stringing Lae’zel along, but she figured that probably wouldn’t go over well with someone as straight forward as the woman standing in front of her.

“Yes,” the elf breathed.

Lae’zel smirked, satisfied.

“Good. One night soon, I will come to your bunk and take what is mine,” she replied. Lae’zel turned sharply on her heel and marched away towards the rest of the group.

Mariele would entertain whatever thoughts Lae’zel had about how their future dalliance would go, but, frankly, she looked forward to seeing if she could get the warrior to submit for once.

#BG3 #BG3 Tav #OC #My OCs #My Tav #Baldurs Gate Tav #Baldur's Gate 3 #astarion x tav #astarion ancunin #astarion bg3 #lae'zel x tav #lae'zel bg3 #Lae'zel #bg3 fanfiction #Astarion x OC #Lae'zel x OC #haven't thought of ship names yet lol

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trashcapableofsentience · 7 months ago

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okay I can't keep making separate posts about my reactions to this show so

The unsynchronised superhero walk down the corridor to O&D made me chuckle

So did Mark and Burt straight up defecting from the church while still holding Kier as God, Martin Luther is turning in his grave

still haven't learned Mrs selvig's 'innie' name but she has a good singing voice that was a shock to hear

I don't think the break room is going to work this time chief

THE SOLIDARITY OF MARK AND MISS WHATEVER IT'S GREAT

ngl I've skipped over the dates with the midwife because second hand embarrassment but now they're cute?? wtf

also dude don't bring up your ex wife 😭 tbf she started it bringing up kids

THEY'RE ACTUALLY SO CUTE TOGETHER WTF JOKING ABOUT SEVERANCE I LOVE IT

the tense music stopping the moment ricken comes in I bet he never lets anything finish

what the fuck how is Mrs selvig getting this job. WHY is she getting this job. how the fuck does this help lumon. also how does she know what the score is doing

'holy shit is this my house??' Dylan my beloved... ALSO HE HAS A KID!! waaaaa I hope his outtie loves the kid with all his heart

Mark stop involving Alexa in your corporate espionage it may be a cute date idea but I think she deserves better than whatever lumon has in store for her

'no filming you fuck' this better be for not wanting police/lumon to know rather than copyright reasons

LET MARK SAY FUCK YOU LUMON 2K24

and he GETS TO FUCK YEAH

Aw they kissed :) I'm glad outtie Mark is forming some connections

Doug x Harmony hate fucking will happen I prommy

huh they slept together. hope he let her finish unlike ricken

I'm glad Mrs selvig didn't get the phone out the bin like I thought she would

WHAT'S WITH ALL THE ISOMETRIC SHOTS first there was the senator and his wife now it's Mark on the phone why are we mimicking the opening sequence... or was the opening sequence mimicking it?? I don't think so I know that guy he has a lot of isometric stuff in his work

'who is this?' 'uh...' mimicking the handbook, standard response = unknown

'can you meet me now' this is why you don't mix relationships with corporate espionage mark. now Alexa is going to wake up and think you abandoned her in your own house mark. do you want that on your conscience mark

why don't they just fire the mdr employees and get new ones? it would be easier than this secret villain lair door atp

moving swiftly on to ep 7

Why does the school look like it's from the set of 1984?

Is this the chick - WAIT I REMEMBER HER HER MAKEUP WAS SO GOOD IN HELLY'S SURGERY anyway is this the chick harmony and doug are after?

'you brought him into this world without his permission' damn if that isn't every emo kid arguing with their parents

DOUG WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU NASTY ROACH

brutal pipe murder more women should get to murder people mark shut the fuck up and help hide the body

the blood covered card 'now get the fuck out of here' woo I love women

Boy Mark's Petey related PTSD will NOT get better will it that boy's gonna be closing his eyes and seeing The Horrors

Alexa's still in his bed right??

'where were you' Mark don't you dare gaslight her she deserves better than you

'are you okay?' aw Alexa <3 'do you want me to go?' she's so understanding and sweet and ughhhh but also I'm slightly worried there may be a 'woman can fix man' thing happening here

huh he cleaned the business card of blood

Don't dispose of your bloody clothes in the bin mark that's how people get caught

Milchick up at 5am dang does this guy get compensated correctly I sure as fuck hope so this guy may be evil but even evil henchmen deserve dental

Wait is Burt G up at 5am too? Also poor guy went to the break room

'can you tell me his name' DYLAN BABY :( also Zach cherry is such a good actor I loved him in Fallout as well

love how we the audience never get to know the way from the lift to mdr

milchick is so fine idc who reads this

The way Mrs Selvig just slammed that doll on the table 😂

Mrs Selvig... are you feeling compassion??

so mark got depressed and couldn't work... sounds familiar

Dylan stop being homophobic let the old man yaoi yearn

why is milchick wearing something different he's so fineee

Oh Dylan... it's not the same now you know life means something outside...

PLEASEEEEE can we get mark and helly dancing together pleasepleasepleaseplease

why am I attracted to milchick so much. his lil boogie intrigues me to such a degree

why are the disco lights the alarm lights

Dylan literally that picture 'they don't know I have a son'

Milchick so fineeeee wtf and I know irv sees it because he quickly looked the other way

okay nvm I'm scared of this man dancing next to Dylan Dylan darling smack him right now you deserve it FUCK YES HE DID IT

he bit him?? Dang dude metal... weird but understandable

oh no not the music dance experience. anything but the music dance experience.

'he was so happy to see me' I KNOW no one has been that happy to see him

time for ANOTHER. BADASS. HERO. WALK.

Irving really chose love over freedom dang

no one's in the panopticon. dang maybe this is a lesson we should apply to our everyday life or something

irving brushing his moustache to go see his beau. that's it. that's the note.

harmony can be so terrifying if she wants to be. no notes.

o&d having a melon party... Burt got fired didn't he

Oh this is how Irv has to learn 😔

Irv falling in love with everything about Burt... including his outtie... 'I just like you very much'

'Are we being punished?' 'You smug motherfucker' I love Irv go crazy go wild fight the man GET YOUR MAN

THE HANDSHAKE... just make out already it'll be worth it prommy

'Let's burn this place to the ground' IRVING YOU STAR YOU LOVESICK FOOL

mark binge drinking oh darling :(

'I think you're a mess right now' yeah he's drunk and just wants sex good on you Alexa for leaving

If I had a nickel for Zach Cherry being in a show that features oldies-style tunes semi prominently I'd have two nickels

It's about grief and recovering and mental health and loving and the love not having anywhere to go

WHAT THE FUCKKKK GEMMA IS MENTAL HEALTH LADY?? WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK

But she she DIED what the FUCK

right it's 1am and I promised I wouldn't stay up too late goodnight but WHAT TBE FHCK

#severance

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tiredbi-peach · 5 months ago

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Aspen, Shadow 7-89, Callsign possum

Name: Aspen

Last name: Carvalho (fake last name)

Aliases: Shadow 7-89, Possum

Age: early to mid 20’s

DoB: September 20th, year ???

Pronouns: They/Them

Gender: Non-binary

Sex: AFAB

Nationality: [Redacted]

Ethnicity: [Redacted]

Sexuality: Pansexual

Height: 5’5

Languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Russian, Ukrainian, French, Danish, German,

Which CoD universe: MWII

Branch of service: CIA

Affliation: Shadow company, Kortac (previously)

Specialties:

- Close-combat

- hacking

- Information gathering

- Erasing information as well

- Espionage

- blackmail

Extra info

- they moved around a lot as a kid, hence why they know so many languages

- worked with kortac for a year and a half

- has heterochromia

- has vitiligo

- is near sighted

- a mediocre cook at best

- that person who knows too much, which is why they can’t leave shadow company now

- they got the number 7-89 because they made a seven ate nine joke

- They erased a lot of the parts of the file that they could get their hands on because they don’t like personal information being out there.

- Any social media presence they ever had was wiped

- they have a split tongue

- has a large scar on their throat from when they got their throat slit during an incident during their time in Kortac that involved insurgents (i will write about it later)

Personality: Has been described as almost an enigma on some days.

- Typically level headed and very quiet in person due to their struggle to speak, but much more vocal over text.

- Incredibly dedicated to their job and always does their best to get it done with the utmost efficiency, even if it means they’re throwing their energy and time out the window to get everything done properly.

- Once you get to know them better, they’re a bit nicer and even secretly a softy. However they are a bit cautious with who they open up to. Typically starts closed off and you can work your way into their heart if they take a liking to you.

- On the easier side to fluster, and their ears will go bright red when it happens.

- While they can be patient, they have moments where they get overwhelmed and overstimulated, which can lead to them snapping. These moments however are rarer since they bottle up their emotions in order to remain nice with polite with other people.

- Not someone to forgive and forget, especially when they feel as though the other person isn’t actually sorry. Sometimes they can be petty in situations like this. However eventually they’ll stop caring.

- Sometimes can come off as apathetic and blunt, but they feel as if it is necessary in some situations when other people are being ridiculous or beating around the bush.

- can be quite sassy

#my ocs #call of duty oc #ocs #cod oc #cod original character #shadow company oc #shadow company #cod mw2 oc #cod ocs #ocs shadow company #shadow 7-89 #cod shadow company #shadow company original character #possum (shadow company oc)#shadow 7 89

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housano · 5 months ago

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Housano's Live a Half-Assed summaries presents: Train-A-Hero Part 2: What's the Story Morning Glory

For Part 1 Click Here

Moving to the warehouse where MC was almost killed (See Barrel Character Quest), Rokuneaki begins an epic tale of - Huckle tells him to get to the point. Tsuneaki then explains after the incident in Kyoto and we departed, and with the desecrations of various sacred sites, the organization he was infiltrating has fallen into a lot of internal conflict and drama which makes his espionage job significantly more difficult. So, to stay in the organzations good graces, he is here under the guise of monitoring the heroes as well a check out Rydarq's new hero suit. When queried about why not just show up as himself, he said that would complicated things as people know his hero form. Rather it would be easier for him to act as the newcomer Rokusei and asks us to play along, which we immediately demand coffee (blowing your cover will be a cakewalk compared to denying me my caffeine). Huckle chuckles and joins in a bit on the teasing but asked Tsuneaki if both organizations are involved in the festival which he denies (based on what he knows). He states the former organization is too busy with internal affairs to care and the second organization has no interest of reason to be there. With everything explained we are back to the festival and Mommy is getting her caffeine fix.

Elsewhere, our two brothers are looking for a hero to talk to. Sterio is amazed with the paved roads at the event. Just HOW undeveleoped is Muirica?! They try to talk to Loren, but unfortunately someone fell and they couldn't talk much to Loren (it's okay his healing sucks anyway). Canes then inquires with a staff member about meeting a hero which they said they would have to schedule a time which unfrotunately are fully booked. Canes asks a bit more about becoming a hero but the organization calls the staff member whose pulled away

Back to our perspective and getting our caffeine fix, our MC is worried about their customer service skills (me too girl). Rokuslay says not to worry as not many people would want to see an unknown hero before suddenly being embraced in a death grip by a very excited Sterio who finally caught their first Pokemo- I mean Hero. We can tease Huckle who gets a tad defensive saying that it's been a long time since he's been a hero.

After releasing Rokusigh, they introduce themselves and Rokusei and Sterio, two brothers from Muirica. Being brothers immediately piques Tsuneakusei's interest while Huckle is interested about them being from a developing galaxy. We learn a bit more about the Space Hunters whose job it is to protect the colonies from beasts while developing. They then begin to inquire about how to become a hero which Tsuneaki says they need to first transform and describes Operators as connecting a bus route to the Hero's dreams and goals (I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted). Sterio begins to wish to be a hero and MC can be mean and tell them to pray harder (which I enabled) but to no avail. Canes is a bit disappointed, but Huckle suggest going around the venue to talk to other heroes to get a better understanding and his own answer. Rokusei says he will help guide them as well. Canes and Sterio are super appreciative. We talk to Rokusei about his interest in the two, and said two different aliens were able to become brothers and it's a vision for the future he wants of different beings living together peacefully.

Suddenly we are interrupted by a surprise hero demo. Tsuneaki can't transform because it would dox him. However, as a member of the defense bureau, he is quite proficient in hand to hand combat.

Unfortunately, his top pops off and his suit is barely hanging on rendering him immobile. When did this event become Kemo Coliseum (don't look it up if you're under 18)?

Huckle then decides that he needs to step in and transforms. Suddenly everyone, including our backwoods brothers, recognize who he is and the other team is excited to take on a veteran hero.

After the battle and many autographs, Huckle returns to usand says that Ryekie's curry is a company expense tomorrow and that we all will reconvene tomorrow. Canes and Sterio thank us and depart. Tsuneaki watches them on the shore, treating each other as equals, with a forlorn look on his face.

Train-A-Hero Part 2: It was a wardrobe malfunction -END

#live a hero spoilers #liveahero #ラブヒロ #live a hero #lahspoilers

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