#guns for hire: reloading

[briabooknerd]

[mydogatemymotivation]

I kind of think that people focus a little too much on the Lasat Merc that Kallus mentioned in the Honorable Ones. I get it, because it's an interesting scene that Kallus describes but I think focusing on the mercenary himself is, like, not the point. I don't know whether he worked for Saw long term and was a partisan himself, or if he was just a hired gun because Saw needed some extra muscle, but him staying hidden and kind of shrouded in mystery is just so much better for Kallus.

First of all, focusing on the merc makes what happened to Kallus kind of fall to the wayside, it takes the focus off of him almost entirely. I do think that it makes sense from Kallus' pov because I think he fixates on the mercenary after the fact, maybe as a way to cope, but there was a lot more going on with him specifically.

He was the only survivor, for one. No matter what side someone was on, surviving that situation is traumatizing. Especially with the calculated way Kallus described it (we also have to remember that he may be something of an unreliable narrator here, he's traumatized and biased). I remember watching The Pianist which was, unfortunately, a great movie (I say unfortunately because it's a Roman Polanski film, and I had no idea about the allegations at the time) (I watched it for class and wrote a paper about it, WWII movie) but there's a scene in it where there are people who are laid on the ground face down and shot in the back of the head one-by-one, except the last one because the soldiers clip runs out. So he takes the time, standing above this guy, to reload his gun, then shoots. Even just as a film scene that shit stuck with me. You can't tell me that living through that and not knowing whether or not the gun was going to turn on you wouldn't be the reason you have nightmares for the rest of your life. You can debate about motivations and the partisans all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that living through that means you're never sleeping through the night again.

Kallus also says that he couldn't move. I don't know if he was pinned down, or if he was in shock, but I always took it to mean some kind of injury. Something like an incomplete paralysis, nerve damage to his spine, that causes temporary paralysis. Long recovery time, surgeries, physical and/or occupational therapy, etc.

He would've been a very young boy, trying to do good (even if he was misguided), injured, unable to move, watching all the boys his age die one-by-one, waiting for his turn, being the only survivor, the medical trauma, the physical pain - that mercenary doesn't need to be evil to make this properly traumatizing for Kallus. He could be a completely neutral actor.

Second of all, Kallus' anger at the mercenary is exaggerated. He's angry at himself. A lot of people I think ask the question of "how did Kallus stay with the Empire after what happened on Lasan?" Honestly, I think the answer is denial. There's no way to deny what happened on Lasan, but there is a way to bury your head in the sand. Not ask questions, assume that there was some grand plan you're just unaware of and that if you knew all the details then everything would make sense, put more trust in the people you definitely shouldn't be trusting, and find someone else to blame. Basically, double, even triple, down, because if you don't then everything you've done is for nothing. He takes his anger out on Zeb and clings to this narrative about this mercenary to try and throw together some explanation he can get behind mentally. Also keep in mind that Lasan happened like, two years or so before the beginning of the show. So as little time as Zeb has had to deal with what happened to his home, Kallus also has had two years of mental spiraling to try and tie himself into knots to justify what happened, and he only seemed to get crueler and angrier in that time frame (that random stormtrooper he kicked to death??). It wasn't until he was able to talk to someone about what happened (and I don't imagine talk therapy is encouraged in the Empire) that he was able to come back around. Kallus only lasted three, maybe three and a half years after Lasan before he finally couldn't take it and left (and, maybe it's just me, but I don't really count his time under Vader. You do what Vader says in order to survive)(but that could completely be my perspective). But all the while, every time he fought Zeb, he was fighting that mercenary and himself.

The mercenary left him alive because 1) he just flat out didn't see him, 2) Kallus was so badly injured he thought Kallus was dead, 3) Kallus was the only one without a helmet and the mercenary saw a young boy. We never see this mercenary. I don't know if he died, or if he left the partisans after deciding he didn't like Gererra's tactics, or if he was a hired gun whose job was done. Either way, I don't think Kallus should ever see him again. I don't know if I have the words to explain why (sorry if I repeat myself, but I'm trying to put words to my thoughts) but somehow Kallus' ability to let this issue go, in my mind, is directly tied to his ability to heal from the Empire. I don't necessarily think that this is a thread he needs to chase, or an issue he needs closure on. His lingering resentment is petty and small compared to Zeb's capacity to forgive, and I think he would beat himself up for still feeling angry. His ability to close the door on this is directly related to his ability to accept Zeb's forgiveness. When people talk about the mercenary, I just, I feel like, they're missing what the mercenary is for Kallus. And in real life I could understand wanting answers about something that happened to you, but in this instance, narratively, the mercenary is left unnamed for a reason. This character is a catalyst or a shadow in Kallus' story, he's not meant to be examined for his own sake, he's meant to be examined for what he means to Kallus.

Idk hopefully this makes sense I should've gone to bed a while ago, this was just something I've had on my mind for a minute. (and as always, this isn't me trying to absolve Kallus of anything he did, just thinking, trying to understand him, etc., cuz he's interesting)

[lyricalt]

[tf2 minific] request: tie up job

sniperspy - rating T - sniper trying to flirt for his literal life

(NOW ON AO3)

------

“Oh, well. Hello there, darl. Ain’t this awkward,” Sniper says, glancing up from his scope when Spy’s foot steps over of the barrel of his rifle and stays there.

Spy looks down at him. His revolver isn’t pointed at Sniper, which is awfully lenient. Sniper, who is laying belly down in an extremely vulnerable position on the ground, notes that Spy makes a point to not put the revolver away either.

They don’t usually have run-ins like this. When Sniper takes on an extra side gig, he usually makes some vague reference to the location and Spy does the trick of avoiding the same general area. Unfortunately, vague comments don’t usually stand up to direct communication, which also don’t stand very well in the face of non-disclosure agreements signed with blood, metaphorical or otherwise.

“I hope that isn’t my asset you are attempting to assassinate,” Spy says, arching an eyebrow.

Sniper’s mark is, in fact, the very same asset Spy is probably trying to protect. There’s only one man sitting by his lonesome in his penthouse of pretty glass walls and likely stolen art pieces for some kind of money laundering scheme. Not that Sniper really understands most of it. He’s just a guy on top of a roof with a rifle, a bullet, and a hefty twenty percent deposit in his back pocket.

“No chance of voiding your contract?” he asks. He’d try and bat his eyes for a laugh but Spy’s got years of experience over him on that front. Besides, he shouldn’t need to resort to any more spy-ish tactics.

“Same chance of you nullifying yours, I’m afraid,” Spy replies with a ghost of a smile. He nudges Sniper’s rifle, making sure the aim’s no good. “My asset told me that someone might be after him. Imagine my surprise when the trail led to you.”

“Argh, that was right sloppy of me.” Sniper sighs. “What gave me away?”

“I find myself looking more towards rooftops lately,” Spy says, amused. He lets up on the rifle but slides his foot over Sniper’s firing wrist, pressing down hard until Sniper has no choice but to remove his finger from the trigger. “Now, you know I have to ask; who hired you?”

“And, as you might already know, I dunno. Got me a ticket from the clerk. They just wanted your man dead and I’m just some dummy bloke with a very long gun that can shoot very far.”

Spy groans. He lifts his revolver, pointing it at some non-lethal part of Sniper’s body. “I would hate to torture you for more information.”

Sniper flicks the brim of his hat up to give Spy a hopeful look. “I’m sure I could stand to have a little bit of torture. Who knows, might get me to admit some stuff. Maybe not relevant stuff to your mission. Depends on how hard you go. Y’had no problems tying me up to a chair two weeks ago.”

“How very unprofessional of you to bring that up. You know we’re both working right now.”

“I know, pookie. Just buyin’ some time,” Sniper says, grinning, and pulls the trigger.

Spy’s head whips towards the penthouse. There’s a crash of glass as the bullet goes through, shattering an entire window. The penthouse alarms start blaring.

The weight over Sniper’s wrist lets up by the tiniest fraction, but it’s enough. Sniper uses the second of distraction to take advantage of Spy’s foot as leverage, rolling his rifle over like a tripod to reload. He aims again and fires the second bullet. Spy flinches as the heat of the barrel sears his ankle.

“Bonza,” Sniper breathes, watching the mark fall over with a pretty new hole through their head. Gotta be proud of good work after all, even as Spy kicks the rifle away with an annoyed tsk.

“That was ill-advised,” Spy says, dangerous and low. “You didn’t let me explain. Now there will be other mercenaries after you. I’m only one of several. Your mark hired a team of us.”

“Right, right. I gotcha,” Sniper says and rolls on his back, sweet and innocent as a babe. He slowly puts his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Before you're obligated to capture me, can I make an offer?"

Spy's revolver tilts to the side, the equivalent of a shrug. "Might as well."

After a moment of making sure Spy won’t shoot him immediately, Sniper puts his fingers to the brim of his hat. Carefully projecting every movement, he pulls out a small slip of paper, like something that would come out of a fortune cookie.

“I’d like to hire you for the service of rescuing me," Sniper says, holding it out. "Here’s what I’ll pay.”

With the revolver still pointed at him, Spy takes the slip. He reads the lucky numbers.

“It’ll be easy,” Sniper adds. “You already know all their security details.”

Spy’s expression goes flat. “You left a trail on purpose. You knew I’d be working for them.”

“S’why I took the job, mate. Big boss cartel fellas are bloody hard to assassinate without some immediate opposition,” Sniper says, getting comfortable on the ground. He sees the end of Spy’s revolver dip downwards. “Already assumed that, even if I got the kill, there would be kickback. You bein’ one of them.”

Spy crumples the slip of paper in his fist. He puts it in his mouth and swallows it.

Sniper thinks the rice paper ought to be a nice touch. No chewing needed. Still, it doesn’t hurt to further his case with, “I did the math. My payout eclipses yours, even after taxes.” 

Spy stares at him. “You looked through my desk. That night when you said you couldn’t find the cond-”

“Plus! Even with the minuscule hit to your reputation—which, with your network, should recover in a month—I’d still come out on top,” Sniper interrupts, now rushing the pitch, “And I’ll still have leftover change to treat you to dinner and a screw at one of them nice resorts you like.” 

“You followed me. You took the job knowing I’d be there,” Spy says, sounding more affronted with each accusation. “You used me as an inside man.”

“Betcha so turned on right now. ‘Cause I did something heaps sneaky and underhanded. Like a rat bastard. Got you so hot for it, I bet.”

Spy’s gaze goes to the sky, as if questioning his life choices. He isn’t denying anything though, so Sniper can mark it as a triple win in his books.

“So, you gonna save me before your other guys start figuring’ it out, or what?” Sniper asks, dropping his voice into a small whine. He has a hunch Spy secretly likes hearing it. “C’mon, lemmie buy you out. You love all that turncoat nonsense.”

They stare at each other. From the corner of his eye, Sniper can see quite a lot of people gathering in the penthouse. The alarms have gone silent, which isn’t a very good sign. Laser sights start skimming the adjacent rooftops.

“What restaurant and which resort?” Spy finally asks, glancing at his watch.

“Non-negotiable, darl. They’re your type of shindigs though, I’ll promise you that.” 

Spy’s eyes dart to the penthouse. His earpiece seems to be going off, muffled radio calls crackling through. “You mentioned screwing.”

“Lucky for you, you get a loyal customer discount,” Sniper says, and since he’s already on his back, he draws up his legs to nudge against Spy’s. “You can have me à la carte.”

Spy looks at the not-so-subtle positioning of his legs for a good long while. After a moment, he taps his earpiece and says something brief in Italian.

Eventually, he tucks the revolver away and holds out his hand. “I can have a getaway yacht ready in fifteen minutes.”

Sniper takes it, and Spy’s hauls him up into a sitting position. If their hands stay joined for a tad longer than strictly necessary, Sniper doesn’t mention it.

“I’ll have to knock you unconscious first,” Spy says. He has a very promising gleam in his eye.

Sniper winces. 

“Aw, no. I can fake unconsciousness well enough,” he tries, but the whiny tone won’t work this time.

“Best to make it look authentic,” Spy says, leaning over to touch Sniper’s face, glove cold, but his thumb brushes against his bottom lip. He smirks down at Sniper in a very familiar way. “Relax your jaw for me.”

Sniper barely has time to do as he’s told before Spy backhands him into oblivion with the butt of his revolver. 

[average-mako-enjoyer]

N7 Month 2024: Day 1 - Poetry

Pairing: Ereba/Charr (aka Blue Rose of Illium) Rating: G Words: 800 These two are forever in my heart 🥲💔 ***

"Your bones are so thin that I can... crush you with my fist?! What is this?!" Ereba raised her eyes to the krogan.

He blinked and made a soft gurgling noise.

"A poem," he said, shifting slightly from foot to foot. For something so big and intimidating, he looked terribly twitchy. "I wrote it myself."

"You wrote a poem about crushing me with your fist?!"

"Yes. But you didn't read the best part."

"Oh, so that wasn't the best part?" she asked.

He made the gurgling sound again, but this time louder.

"Of course."

"Oh Goddess," she looked down at the datapad in her hands again and continued reading.

She first met him just a week ago when he came to her shop looking for a new shotgun.

"Mine doesn't shoot right anymore," he explained, showing Ereba his Claymore with the muzzle bent almost to an angle.

It was impressive, so she asked, "What happened to it?"

"I hit a guy in the head with it," he answered casually. And added, in response to her puzzled look, "He had a thick skull."

So Ereba showed him all the bestsellers, but he grew more and more frustrated with each demonstration.

"No! These are all children's guns!" he barked after the third one. "For weaklings like you! I need something big! With real power!"

It wasn't the first time someone had called her weak, but it still stung. And since she couldn't tell him to fuck off because it was apparently bad for business (she'd done that once and almost gotten fired), Ereba said, "Of course. Give me a moment."

The Eviscerator wasn't her favorite model, but it definitely made idiots like this krogan piss their pants with excitement, and if that was what it took to close the deal, she was ready for it.

"This is an M-22," she said, setting the thing down on the counter and exhaling as if struggling with its weight. "Human-made. Low accuracy, can only handle two rounds per shot, but it's very powerful. I guess that's what you're looking for, right?"

"Finally!" The krogan thumped his fist into his open palm and cracked his knuckles. "Yes! This is the one! Let me try it!"

"Oh no, sir," Ereba smiled sweetly. "I can't let you handle a loaded weapon in this shop. But I can give you a demonstration!"

The thing about Ereba that most of her customers had no idea about was that she wasn't some young maiden hired to attract customers with her pheromones. And oh Goddess, she loved to rub it in their faces.

So she grabbed the Eviscerator from a counter, took the safety off, pointed the muzzle at the target, fired, reloaded, fired again, reloaded, and repeated until the clip was empty.

"And that was your demonstration," she said, resting the shotgun on her shoulder. "Would you like to try handling it now? See if it fits your needs?"

The krogan stared at her.

No. Not stared.

He STARED, eyes round and mouth slightly agape. It even took him some time to make a coherent sound. But then he finally took the gun from her, checked it thoroughly, then paid for it and left.

Ereba congratulated herself on the successful deal and decided to forget about it, but he came back the next day to buy some ammo. And then the next day to make a terrible attempt at small talk. And then the next day with a box of sweets. And now, a week later, there was this.

A poem.

"Your eyes are like the pools of darkness in which I drown because my kind cannot swim." she read. "I want to kiss your lips until they are as dark as the blood of my enemies spilled on the floor and dried..."

"That," the Krogan interrupted. "That was the best part."

"About the blood?" Ereba raised her eyes to his face again.

"No. About the kissing." He did his little foot shuffle again and clasped his hands.

'Cute,' Ereba thought, then stopped herself. What was she thinking?

"I didn't like the part about crushing me. You know I'm a biotic, right? I will crush you first if you try something like that with me, understood?"

"Oh, I know, I know!" he nodded enthusiastically. "I meant I will protect you! If you let me…"

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. The krogan, Charr was his name, stared at her with the same stunned expression he had when she showed him how to use the Eviscerator. She noticed the slight quivering of his lower lip and the way the thick muscles of his arms flexed beneath the shoulder pads of his armor.

'What a weird, ugly lizard,' Ereba thought, but then said aloud,

"You need a better poem for that."

[nixalegos]

Fragments in the Sun

As THIS event with @caedun was wrapping up. Somewhere in Hallowfall. The warlock dismissed his remote connection over the Illidari who'd given him the thumbs up, and focused back on the sight in front of him. It was foolish to scry over such a distance in the middle of a fight. The Arathi man scrambling to reload his long gun not even twenty feet away to his right in the tall swaying grass. It didn't take a genius to figure out how someone who was trained and drilled to bunker down for hours or days at a time between shifts in Beledar's light would be hookwinked by a sayaad into being little more then a plaything and pawn while locked in the room with a beautiful stranger.

The sayaad seven and a half feet away on its back, writhing desperately to get away, to move at all, from the warlock who'd been hounding it for weeks. "No, see, he's just fine." Nixalegos said in response to the demons taunt that the Illidari had been sundered flesh from soul and serving as...entertainment as the shimmer of etheric plasma shelling surrounding him flickered back into non-existence. It's honeycomb layers of solid light a retrofitted Electromagnetic Gigaflux Reactivator and barrier generator of Draenic design working in conjunction with kinetic displacement radar. In short, the bullet was too fast, kicking his shield on autonomously before he could even be struck. "I could let you see how he mangled your compatriot. Very good at what he does." He said dryly, but bearing no shortage of mocking amusement. "Fuck you." The sayaad said, spitting blood into the grass as it sought to push itself back up and failed. "I'm not going to serve you. We're going to skin you alive and use your soul as fuel for our sisters. So kill me and be done with it." It said defiantly as it could, unable to pick their chin up. Another bullet rang out, the sizable mass of lead and ironclaw struck a figment of photons and sparked off. The warlock merely continued, turned his claw tipped metal clad fingers around as if spinning a non-existent dial slowly. The demon groaned in pain. "The Cracked Core. At first I thought it a clever name. Sayaads making instant devotees with falsified Earthen memory cores. Brilliant, brilliant work. And to leave the soul MOSTLY innocent during the process? To be harvested or sacrificed by the delusional who didn't know what they were giving up? A masterstroke." The warlock said coming closer to the fallen demon. A third bullet flickered the air next to the warlocks cowled head, causing his attention to pivot. The honeycomb splay of light now held cracks. The repeated impacts using up too much battery. Must of been a hell of a gun those Arathi were issued as stock rifles. "Ok. I'm done indulging the hired help. Get up and bring your little minion over." He ordered, his order just that, a note of command in his tone. "No, NO! STOP!" The sayaad said as it's limbs moved against the demons internal struggling. Propping itself up and off the ground like a marionette like strings. The warlock watched the echoes of dark chains wrapped around the demons limbs and around its throat, compelling, forcing it to move for him, to obey his command. The subjugation flawless.

"CHARLES. CHARLES PLEASE." The demon said, using the one muscle it still had control over as it gestured with its clawed hands to come closer, its hips taking on a little tilt it had used the night it had seduced the innocent and woefully uneducated Arathi footsoldier into following a darkness that had nothing to do with the void and everything to do with the swells of its voluptuous figure.

"Baby! BABY. SHOOT ME. KILL ME!" The demon pleaded, it's only escape being denied as the confused half elf lowered its gun from the unholy compulsion it in turn was being used on them. Warlock compelling demon. Demon compelling victim. A tale as old as time. "KILL ME YOU DUMB FUCK BASTARD." The demon begged in impotent fury as its too potent charms denied them the dignity of suicide by minion. "No shortage of good men and women to harvest for summoning reagents in Hallowfall huh?" The Sin'dorei said as 'Charles' marched closer towards the sayaad whos face screamed 'fuck you' and whos body language screamed 'fuck me'. "But why oh why, would you EVER go to all that trouble to summon competition? Knock the gun out his hands before you choke him to death." The warlock added dryly. The backhand of a graceful limb into cold steel was followed by warm hands gripping a nervously excited sweat slicked neck. The otherworldly seduction over the Arathi's wits and whereabouts at last broken to the realization its Mistress was killing him. "There's no love among your kind. No comradery. Sure, you kept the secrets of the incubus form hidden for us mortals for generations, but all this preparation? All this reinforcing of an instant officer core, supply routes, widespread distribution of leadership, recruitment of locals?" Nixalegos said as he stepped closer, watched the Arathi fall to his knees with his former 'lover' still gripping on as if they'd never left the bed that morning. The half human didn't seem quite able to break the grip. Or perhaps they didn't want to. It was difficult to tell. "You claim the others were sisters. Sisters. A curious choice of words. The Cracked Cores real purpose is to summon your Mother." The warlock accused as the man went limp, and the demon kept strangling in the tall grass. "And the window to pull them to Azeroth without overt attention is closing soon. Isn't it?" He said as he twisted his hand a little harder. The demon snarled, and a mortals neck gave off a sickening crunch noise. "Give me their name, and I'll send you back to the Nether soul intact instead of stuffed in a gem or worse." He said without humor nor bluff. "Maybe I'll just give your soul over to that Illidari. See if they have room for dessert." He threatened. A demon sobbed over the corpse, a name was whispered. A second sickening crunch of a neck being snapped was lost among the grass.

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

Idk if you take requests but what about…

Bounty Hunter!Reader x Jax

Maybe he ends up charming her???

ofc I take requests! thanks for sending me this one, I hope you like the fic! 😊🖤

"WHO SENT YOU?"

From the moment you received the assignment, you knew it wasn't going to be easy.

Clay Morrow, president of the California Sons, had asked the Mexicans to put him in touch with someone who could carry out a certain action that had to be carried out as discreetly as possible, and above all, that it didn't target him.

It had to look like a murder carried out by the Niners or the cartel, so that all suspicion would fall on them and not on Morrow.

That's how the Mexicans gave him a disposable cell phone with your number on it, so he could make only three calls.

They told Clay that once the operation began, it couldn't be undone.

They asked him several times if he was sure he wanted to continue, and he said yes every time, so after receiving the relevant payment in your bank account, you set off.

And that's how you ended up staking out the Sons' vice president in a vacant lot on the outskirts of Charming.

You were inside a black sedan parked among the trees, so it was impossible to see you.

From that distance, you had a clear view of who, according to the photo you'd been given, must be Jax Teller.

He was outside a rather dilapidated RV, calmly smoking a cigarette. You wondered how he could maintain that level of relaxation, given the current situation at the club.

You decided not to give it another thought and began to arm the sniper rifle.

Once you had it mounted, you aimed at his head with the aiming light off so he wouldn't notice your presence.

The firing line was perfect, no trees or anything obstructing your view, so you rested your index finger on the trigger… until you realized you had to load the gun with unmarked bullets so that when they performed the autopsy on the body, they wouldn't be able to trace the ammunition back to you.

You bent down to grab the bullets from the bag you'd placed on the passenger seat.

You reloaded the drum, and when you looked up to see him… he wasn't there. He'd disappeared.

You spun around, trying to see where the hell he'd gone and how he could have moved so fast.

That was until you felt the cold barrel of a .44 resting on the back of your neck.

"Drop the gun and get out of the car," he ordered, resting the weapon a little more on the back of your neck so you could see he meant business. "Do it."

You had no choice but to obey him if you didn't want him to blow your brains out, so you did as he asked.

You dropped the rifle, raised your hands at your sides, and slowly got out of the sedan.

He placed your hands behind your back and turned you to face him, his blue eyes shining in the darkness, leaving you breathless.

It was true what they said about him.

He was good, and that was why none of the bounty hunters hired to kill him had completed their mission.

"Who sent you?" "He asked, placing both hands on the gun. I don't want to hurt you, so you'd better talk.

"If you wanted to shoot me, you would have done it already," you challenged him, even though you were scared to death.

"You've got guts, I'll grant you that," he murmured. "Answer the question. Who sent you?"

"I can't tell you that."

He fired into the meadow next to you, dangerously close to your foot, a clear warning sign that if you didn't answer him in the next five minutes, his gun might veer a little to the right and you might lose a finger.

"You're too young for this job," he commented, frowning. "How old are you?"

"What the fuck do you care?" you spat. "They sent me here to kill you, and if I don't deliver your body in a bag tomorrow night, I'll be the one who ends up in one." You blurted out, looking him firmly in the eyes. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"I want a name," he murmured, ignoring almost everything you'd just said. "Tell me, and maybe I'll let you go."

"We both know you're not going to kill me," you whispered. He moved a little closer to you, resting the barrel of the gun against your forehead.

"Do you really want to risk it, honey?" he murmured. You could feel the heat radiating from his body at his proximity.

"If you kill me, they'll know I haven't fulfilled my mission, and you'll be in serious trouble," you explained. "And from what I've heard, you already have enough to deal with right now, right?"

You could see the internal debate Teller was having with himself reflected in his eyes.

He finally put the gun away with an exasperated grunt before staring at you.

"You're right, I can't kill you," he murmured, "so here's what you're going to do: You're going to send a message to the people you work for and tell them it's done, that I'm dead."

"You can't be dead and also be vice president of the children, Teller," you blurted out, "dead people don't talk."

He gave a half-smile as he leaned closer to your ear to whisper, "I'm sure you and we find a way to fix it, princess"

[butch-de-101]

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 🎉 Fallout Addition 

Now as you may know the Fallout Series is big and full of many many characters and takes place on “various” parts of the US. So here I’ll be talking about 5 Asian characters who are your companions/Allies in the game. And starting off our list is…

Clover: Featured in Fallout 3 Clover is a slave who lives in Paradise Falls and is the property of Eulogy Jones. Having been captured a few months prior to the Lone Wonders departure from Vault 101, Clover and another slave named Crimson were both abused, tortured and broken down by the slavers of Paradise Falls. Their owner Eulogy Jones use them as his personal sex slaves and abuses them both physically and emotionally, and unlike Crimson who managed to keep some of her will and is aware of her abuse, Clover has completely succumbed to her abuse and lost her original personality and became completely obedient and loyal to Eulogy and or whoever hold her contract.

Clover’s is entirely devoted to Eulogy and follows behind him where ever he goes and he’s the only person she will call “Daddy” while everyone else is just “Lover”. But despite all of this Clover is desperate for Eulogy’s attention/Affection profusely apologizing for even the slightest bit of fury and begs for forgiveness and to do whatever it takes to make Eulogy happy again. But because of this obsessive devotion towards Eulogy, Clover is rather jealous and hostile towards her fellow slave Crimson, who she bags/begs Eulogy to sell her which leads to her being berated by him to “Leave Crimson alone and unless he saids so”. She sometimes ignores these commands and will antagonize Crimson calling her Ugly and tells her to back off of Eulogy.

If the Player Character has evil Karma they will be able to purchase Clover for 1,000 caps or 500 caps if their Barter Skill is at 50, If dismiss she will return to Paradise Falls and be able to be rehired for free regardless of the player’s Karma. If purchased she will not turn hostile towards the Player Character if they attack the Slavers in fact she will use this opportunity to attack and kill Crimson.

————————————————————————

Another character from Fallout 3 and is actually a temporary companion is…

Sydney: A mercenary for hire and self-taught survivalist who has been bravely traveling the wasteland on her own since she was 14 years old. Her mother was raped and murdered by raiders leaving her father to raise her all on his own for years, he then vanished one day. Sydney and her father were very close and he called her his “Little Moonbean” and with his disappearance left a mark on and cause her to believe he abandoned her but in reality he died while on a mission to deal gone bad at the Statesman Hotel.

The skills taught by her father such as gunsmithing and reloading, served her well for the years. This caused her to be always ready for a fight and even sleeps with a gun under her pillow and to perfected her combat skills becoming a freelance mercenary who specializes in hunting down pre-war relics and treasure. Sydney also enjoys high risk dangerous jobs in particular, as to also make sure she reaches her goals. She came across her calling by accident when she stumbled upon the corpse of a dead relic hunter with information about how to locate the original copy of the Constitution of the United States. This will then lead her to working with Abraham Washington of the Rivet City and chairman of the Capitol Preservation Society, which leads her to her newest job in recovering the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives.

Sydney is loyal and professional. She’ll never reneges on a deal and focuses on the task at hand, and typically works alone. When she has to work with someone, she prefers not to discuss her past and other personal topics. She dislikes men approaching her (a difficult thing to avoid, on account of her looks) and just about the only person she's close with is Emaline, her girlfriend. After completing the quest Stealing independence and is kept alive plus not double-crossed, you’ll find her at the Ninth Circle in Underworld working as a weapons merchant and will even fight along side the residents unless she hit by them. If you do double-cross her, you’ll find her in a Random Encounter called “Bragging Rights” in where she with the company of her girlfriend Emaline, calls out the player her backstabbing her and she’ll won’t let you go around claiming the glory all for yourself.

:She has a Girlfriend named Emaline :She is one of the three same-sex couples in Fallout 3 with the other being Flack and Sharpel In rivet City and Greta and Carol in the Underworld. 

————————————————————————

Now we are entering Fallout 76 and yes these aren’t companions, but are allies instead. We start off our first alley with…

Grandma Junko: A traumatized survivor of the Great War, she is a grandmother with a humorous, though sometimes confused personality, as well as having good cooking skills. Born in a small city in Japan called Inzai,her father gave her the name “Junko” which means Pure Child, and when she was young she moved to the west coast United States. At some point she meet another Japanese American by the name of Kazuichi who had a quiet but kind personality, and the two feel in love and married on a rainy day. With him she had a daughter named Sayoko who would then have three children of her own and live in Appalachia with her family. Meanwhile Junko would travel around the US with her husband due to his work.

As time in the US become more politically uncertain and the Great War becoming more likely her husband Kazuichi built a fortified room in their basement, Junko and Kazuichi waited her their daughter and her family to arrive but they sadly never came. One day her husband went out to restock on food and left the shelter and when he came back it is implied that he was in the process of becoming ghoul or succumbing to radiation poisoning, Junko says he "fell asleep" although her dialogue suggests he actually died, and that she is trying to cope with the situation by believing that he only fell asleep. She left him a note saying she is going to find the rest of her family, and still hopes to this day he will awaken and they will reunite.

Over next two-and-a-half decades later Junko has returned to Appalachia in the hopes of finding her daughter and grandchildren, and she has remained remarkably fit and attributes her heathy aging to yoga, eating well, and occasionally chocolate. She also attributes her survival by avoiding people whenever possible, but she is know to buy groceries from the people of Foundation and even know meet Odessa Valdez who she thinks is sweet.

It is ambiguously implied through her dialogue that Junko is unaware of the true state of the wasteland/post-apocalypse or in actually putting up an innocent/ignorant façade as a way of coping or even if she has dementia and genuinely believes every is less serious than it actually is. For example, she refers to power armor as being a Robot Costume. When war is brought up as a subject, she replies, "War? Wait, which war?" She thinks Super Mutants are merely green due to bad hygiene and are College Dropouts, and that the Cult of the Mothman are university entomology students. She is also naive to the Enclave. She can also discuss some of the Player Characters progress such as them luring how to cook, curing the scorched plague, becoming a Overseer by graduating, but if you call her ancient she will refuse to talk to you unless you apologize.

: Grandma Junko is the first elderly Japanese woman to appear in the Fallout series, as well as the first elderly Asian woman to appear in normal gameplay. Wan Yang cannot be found normally in-game, while other Asian women such as Madison Li and Rei Nakano are depicted as being middle-aged. : Her full family members names are.. Husband Kazuichic, Daughter Sayko, Son-in-law Manabu, and her three grandchildren Asa, Kei and Mako.

————————————————————————-

Our next Ally is…

Sam Nguyen: Is a self-taught mechanic of Vietnamese descent and potential ally living in Appalachia, Sam is a mechanic by trade and musician for fun but comedic at heart. Sam being a mechanic is not his first choice of work, mentioning doing things like repairing generators is needed for survival in the wasteland. For instance, he learned how to fix a furnace because he didn't want to freeze to death. He is mostly self-taught and he learns better by doing things instead of reading how to do them. He works hard to stay alive and becomes slightly offended if the Vault Dweller says he is "lucky" to be alive.

Although originally he’s always dreamed of becoming a Rockstar, but doubted and questioned his ability due to his ethnicity and saying how he never seen an asian men be represented in Pre-War posters. But he does hope that if he does make music people would focus on that and instead and instead of his appearance and looks, Sam does point out that looking different from others does have it’s benefits as it makes him more recognizable and easy to spot out, unless people are trying to hunt him down or trick him.

His mother told him that the world would bend before he would ever get his real first gig.. guess she was right. His mother and her would move around a lot and they never had a real place to call home or settle down, but when Sam was 10 he meet this other boy at a junkyard who offered to teach him how to repair old radios and the duo would sell them for 50 caps each. After fixing his first radio Sam heard “The Best Song I Ever Heard” and ever since then he dreamt of one day traveling to West Virginia and calling it his home thinking how he found a place he could belong. Sam is aware of the brotherhood and is uneasy about their name confusing it as “Steal or Steel” either way he’s aware and he is that they “Swipe” people’s technology.

:Sam is of Vietnamese Descent: Nguyen is a very common Vietnamese Surname :He’s interested in learning about Gardening :He likes the rainy weather :He mentions having an ex-Girlfriend.

————————————————————————

And now for our last alley of Companion/Ally of Asian Descent. We have….

Yasmin Chowdhury: Yasmin was born and raised in Philadelphia before the Great-War and had always dreamed of becoming a chief and owning her own restaurant as an act of rebellion. This dream of her was at odds with her parents who were both academics and wanted her to follow in their path, but Yasmin continued to show her love her cooking and soon her parents came to understand and accept that her love for cooking was not a phase. Her love for the culinary arts became when she was a little girl and would spend time making confectionaries know as Sandesh with her Grandmother to celebrate Yasmin’s sister birthday, and after that she assisted her grandmother in all her cooking endeavors.

After the Great-War Yasmin joined a group of survivors at a Resort in the Pocono Mountains, and her 15 years they lived peacefully but then a group of raiders attacked them. The community was destroyed and those who weren’t killed scattered, while Yasmin fled and headed towards Appalachia in where she meet up with other travelers. As she reached West Virginia, she and other found great help from recipes left by Delbert Winters, but deep down Yasmin still holds out hope to finding and reuniting with her parents and sister.

As time went on and in her experience of becoming a traveling chef, she passionately collects recipes she comes across out in the waste, and when she stops in her travels and hangs out with the locals she’ll swap stories, recipes and teach them how to cook and prepare food. Originally Yasmin’s plan was to open a restaurant of her own but now having moved to West Virginia she wants to open a culinary school, which she hopes she’ll be able to preserve the culinary arts for generations to come as recipes before the war are becoming harder to find or were forgotten.

Having been in Appalachia for some time now by 2103, Yasmin takes an interest in the Vault Dwellers Camp and ask if she can stay, so that she’ll be able to perfect local recipes and make meals so that anyone can enjoy. She was thought how to track animal tracks by the first person she meet in West Virginia, and in return she taught the huntress how to cook and prepare food.

:The surname Chowdhury is of Indian/Bangladeshi origin and means “Holder Of Four, Landlord or Chief. : When selected as an ally, Yasmin will periodically whip up a meal that will fully restore the hunger meter. :Yasmin is the only source of steeped black bloodleaf tea in the game, as the item cannot be crafted.

————————————————————————

Well there you have it folks! I hope you enjoyed and found this piece of Character information interesting and fun to read. I also hope you learned something new, cool and even surprising? Did you know about this or ever thought about it? Anyway, thank you for reading and Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

[xxxangeleyesxxx]

"Why would you run from me?"

She couldn’t bring herself to face him.

The clang of shears falling to the concrete barely registered over the nonchalant clicking from reloading a chamber just behind her. Even from under her early spring trench coat, she could feel the cold metal cylinder pressed against her back, directly to her heart.

She swallowed, her eyes looked anywhere for someone, something that could save her, but at this time of night, no one would be out and about at Heidelberg Castle. No one would be there to hear the scream itching to escape the confines of her vocal cords. It was the perfect time and place to execute such a crime. She wanted to make some noise, but every time she tried, no sound came out.

There had not been a single moment to collect herself. She barely had time to stand after subduing the man who lunged at her before the telltale sound of a gunshot blasted through her eardrums. That very gun was pressed to her back the second thereafter, but he made no move to fire.

Blood soaked through modest heels. The tips of her toes dipped into the thick, warm liquid. Barely a trace of the crime would be found on her should she manage to escape and choose to forget about this, but a trace nonetheless.

She couldn’t bring herself to face him.

“Why would you run from me?”

What an odd thing to say in this situation? Though she supposed her darling older brother was never normal.

Stranger still was the way it was spoken; without his usual mock ignorance. He genuinely wanted to know.

Did he know that she knew who he was?

One foot in front of the other. His breath warmed her neck.

He had always been there, watching. Always just a few steps behind her.

Part of her knew it was him when she read the email. She shouldn’t be as blindsided by this inevitable intrusion into her life as she was right now.

She couldn’t bring herself to face him.

Even when she silently agreed to this meeting, she still couldn’t bare face him.

Would she see it again? That awful weeping, gashing hole in his head.

Would all she see when she turned around be a reminder of her unforgivable sin?

“Johan… please tell me.” The gun that was pressed to her back drew back a margin. “Is there a good reason why you hired a man to keep me here? Is there a good reason why you didn’t want to meet me yourself? Why did you bring me here?! Is the only reason you arranged this meeting just to distract me?!”

Suddenly her blood ran cold. Her eyes went wide with realization. This had happened before.

“Johan… what did you do to my parents?”

@theartifxce

[lulu2992]

Can we have some of your best tips on taking good in-game photos for FC5? I would like to get some good shots of my deputy OC for reference/edits. Thank you!

I’ve been thinking about writing some sort of “Photo Mode guide” and, since you’re asking, I can give you a few tips to make your Deputy “pose” even though this option technically doesn’t exist in the Far Cry 5 Photo Mode!

I made a video with several examples (detailed below):

So, if your Deputy is standing still and you want to take a picture, they will be slightly hunched over with their arms bent, but if you open the Photo Mode while you’re slowly walking, they will stand more upright and their arms will be straighter. If you make them look down or look up, their pose will be affected as well, so these two simple things already have a big impact.

You can take photos of your Deputy doing many things: punching, kicking, aiming, throwing something, shooting a gun, swinging a melee weapon, sliding, jumping, swimming, fishing, driving, petting the Fangs for Hire, performing takedowns, etc. The result can vary depending on when exactly you open the menu, so you can try to adjust your timing and see if it changes anything. Sometimes, even a fraction of a second can make a difference! Also, the more damage your Deputy has taken, the bloodier they will be in the picture.

Here are more poses/actions I didn’t include in the video:

Takedowns are especially “fun” to shoot, and there are many variations depending on your timing:

However, there are certain actions you usually can’t capture on camera, such as using the binoculars, climbing on a roof, jumping a fence, opening a parachute, or reloading a weapon. Basically, when there’s a “special animation” happening, chances are you can’t use the Photo Mode. I did manage to take pictures of my Deputy reloading the Sin Eater, though, so there seem to be exceptions. If you open the Photo Mode right when they start reloading, it can work. Sometimes.

And you’ve probably noticed that, if you get too close to characters, they disappear. What I’ve observed is that, the lower the camera is, the sooner your Deputy (or someone else) will vanish from your screen when you try to approach them. If you take a picture from above instead (so a high-angle shot, basically), you will be able to get much closer.

For some vertical shots, instead of using the “Frame” option, I like to play with the “Roll Camera” setting instead. At the end of the video, I roughly recreated how I took this picture (except she was very badly hurt in the original). I used the same technique to take these in Far Cry 6. I think the photos look nicer and more spectacular with this trick than with the 6x9 frame because the angle is wider.

Then, of course, you can adjust the field of view, depth of field, facial expression, time of day, brightness, contrast, or even add filters, but I suppose you already know this. In fact, maybe you already knew most of what I’ve just said, but I wanted to share the “posing tricks” I discovered over the years, and now it’s done :)

[definitelynotstable]

Camomile pt. 15 [Ghost x gn!Reader]

pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4, pt. 5, pt. 6, pt. 7, pt. 8, pt. 9, pt. 10, pt. 11, pt. 12, pt. 13, pt. 14, pt. 15

AN: plot at the start and fluffy hurt/comfort at the end.

Synopsis: Closely follows the “Cartel Protection” and "Close Air" missions from the mw2 (reboot). Rights to the game developers <;3 Word count: 2.1k Warnings: canon divergence, canon typical violence, guns, wounds, swearing, death etc Ghost x gn!Reader (Callsign: Rags)

✧˚ · .

Ghost makes it across the ledge behind you and hauls you to your feet. You’re in a daze as you follow Soap and Alejandro over the rocks. Bullets ping and whir but your sole focus is the back of Soap and Alejandro. There’s no cover to pause and return fire, your only choice is to run and hope they miss. 

Suddenly Alejandro stops.

“You’ve led us to a dead end mate!” Ghost yells from behind you and you flinch, looking up. Beyond the ledge is a sheer drop which leads down to a narrow gorge. 

“We jump from here!” The colonel calls back and you freeze, “Don’t loose your weapons!”

Your feet have become one with the stone beneath them as Alejandro and Soap jump from the edge. Ghost tugs at your arm and you turn to meet his gave with wide eyes.

“It’s jump or die, Sergeant.” He says sternly but not unkindly, pushing you forwards as the bullet spray nears. 

You gulp, grasping his hand tightly on instinct as your chest constricts painfully. 

“Together?” You ask, knowing you’ll have to jump sooner rather than later regardless of his answer.

“Together.” He confirms, tugging your forwards and stepping from the cliff.

✧˚ · .

The water is a shock. It isn’t too cold but the impact is jarring. It streams up your nose and you resist the urge to gasp, struggling against the weight of your gear to paddle to the top. A hand wraps around your tactical vest and yanks you to the surface.

“Move down river to the bridge!” Alejandro calls, muffled by the water as you emerge. “Use the rocks for cover!”

Pushing back the memories that cling to you alongside the water, you focus on the burn in your shoulders as you pull yourself through the water. 

“All stations, this is Victor-0-1. How copy?” Alejandro calls over the comms, buzzing in your ear.

“–dow-1! Do you–? –ay again. –o you’re–?”

A distinctly American drawl answers, static crackling and cutting him off.

“Radio’s picking up something.” Soap confirms from in front of you.

Ghost is beside you now, pulling through the water with more strength than you. “Sounds American.”

“Could be Graves?” You ask, arms burning as you push to keep up. “The PMCs Shepherd hired?”

“Sounds like it,” Soap nods back at you, finding a rock and pulling himself up against it as the water splashes and sprays; the gunfire picking back up. 

The army hides in the trees along the bank and you rest your gun on a flat rock in front of you, scoping them out amongst the treeline. There’s too many to take out at once but together you manage to clear enough hostiles to give you time to make way upstream. It becomes almost a game. Take cover behind a group of rocks, return fire, dive below and swim upstream to the next set of rocks before pausing again and firing. 

You round the bend and eventually the bridge comes into view. Armoured vehicles are parked in a convoy, on the offensive.

“Armoured vehicles on the bridge!” Ghost calls over the radio, an unspoken question in his voice. Are they friendly?

“They’re not ours!” Alejandro swears, clambering up to settle behind another rock. “Fuck! It’s the army.”

Bullets fly from the bridge, they have a clear vantage point and armour to cover. 

“We can’t do shite against their armour!” Soap calls out to Alejandro who has his back to the rocks, reloading.

“We have to hold here to get extraction!” He replies, popping out and sending a barrage of bullets in their direction.

Suddenly the radio crackles to life, the American accent clearer than ever. 

“This is Shadow-1! Engaging the bridge north of your position. Danger close!”

“Thank fuck.” You breath, holding your fire.

“Who the hell is that?.” Alejandro asks, turning to you and Ghost, mistrust in his gaze.

“Commander Graves,” Ghost replies, “Shadow Company. They’re with us.”

The rocks beneath you shake and bridge explodes. Flaming bits of debris splashing into the water below. 

“Shadow-1,” Ghost grips his radio, when the screeching of metal lessens, “Bravo 0-7, Good shots! Fire for effect!”

Soap lets out a boyish “whoop!” As the last bit of the bridge crumbles into the river. He’s arguably smartest out of all of you to be a demo-expert but at the end of the day still just a guy who enjoys blowing shit up.

“All stations, no enemy movement detected. You’re clear.”

✧˚ · .

You make it to extraction, sopping wet but pumping full of adrenaline. Grave’s sends coordinates – a hit on Hassan nearby – and you slip into the back seat with Ghost as Alejandro slides behind the wheel, Soap in the passenger seat. The radio buzzes as you pull up to another compound, not unlike the last.

“Ghost this is Shadow-1, orbiting the compound now. Standing by for visual.”

Ghost grips his radio, the vehicle pulling to a rolling stop next to a shed and some barrels. “Shadow-1, Bravo 0-7. We’ll make our location with IR laser, over.”

With a “roger” from Graves, you pile out of the car, guns raised.

“How do we find Hassan?” Soap asks the question that’s been balancing on the tip of your tongue. 

“He’ll have an armed guard, cartel protection.” Alejandro replies, heading off towards the scattered buildings. 

Ghost radios off the information to Graves and the party begins. 

✧˚ · .

It’s not often you’re able to work with the kind of firepower Graves and his men employ. National incidents are always a risk and a shit-ton of redcap to prevent them. 

PMCs don’t have those kinds of parameters. 

Within ten minutes the compound is set ablaze. It’s a mess but a well orchestrated one. Ghost holds comms with Graves and soon you’re leading Hassan in cuffs towards an armoured car.

“I am a Quds force Major! You have no right–!”

–“Shut the fuck up!” Soap interrupts, ramming him into the side of the vehicle as you open the door.

“You will pay dearly for this!” The Major growls and spits in your face and you flinch away with a scowl.

“Ok fuckass.” You call back, giving the door a hefty slam once Soap slides in beside him. Ghost rounds the car and sits on the other side as Alejandro greets Rodolfo with a grin. 

You’re left with the back to yourself and sit with your gun between your legs, eyes sharp and alert as they follow the landscape that flies through the back window. 

It’s dark by the time the convoy rolls to a stop beside Graves and his crew. The trucks converge on a centre point, headlights creating a bastardised spotlight where Alejandro forces Hassan to his knees. 

You stand beside to your Lieutenant, just out of view of the scuffed laptop Graves has set up to stream a visual to Laswell and Shepherd.

“You know we can’t hold him.” You murmur to Ghost who leans down, ear tilted towards you. 

He nods with a sigh, readjusting his grip on his rifle, “Shepherd and Laswell know that.”

“I know they know that –“ You gesture at the man who is currently taunting Hassan, a grin on his lips, –“but does Graves?”

The discussion becomes heated and Graves picks up the laptop before slamming is back down on the bonnet of the truck. 

“Actual, let me finish this.” He sounds like a schoolboy, eager to please his father.

“There’s nothing I would like more,” Shepherd drawls through the grainy screen, “But Laswell’s right. Without proof we need to turn him loose. See where he leads us.”

Soap lets out a frustrated growl, joining Graves by the laptop. “He’s right here, you can’t be serious!”

“I’m afraid I am, son.”

Ghost moves besides you and your eyes catch something reflecting in hands. You grab the phone from your Lieutenant and step forwards with a frown.

“Did we get anything from his phone?”

“Affirmative. We got a hit.” She says, eyes narrowed as smoke swirls around her, Illuminated in the blue glow of her laptop.

“Good.” Shepherd responds, “Now take him back and let him go.”

✧˚ · .

It’s past midnight when you roll into base. It feels like a failure, having to let the Major loose and the men stumble from the trucks into the barracks without the usual banter of a successful mission. 

As one of the few countries with women in the Special Forces, the base at Las Almas has a seperate wing – albeit small and unkept. The shower teeters between boiling hot and freezing cold but by the end you manage to pull the tangles from your hair. If you were allowed sweatpants while on missions you’d have pulled them on but instead you settle for a pair of grey cargos and a long-sleeve black shirt. 

Stuffing a couple of teabags into your pocket, you let your door click shut behind you and step cautiously into the hallway. 

“Rags?” 

You freeze at the voice of your Lieutenant. You turn to face him and he tilts his head, surveying you. 

“Where’re you headin’?”

You fumble with your pocket, pulling out the crumpled tea to show him. 

“A kitchen? And maybe a kettle.”

Ghost huffs out a laugh, eyes crinkling. He unfurls his palm towards you and you step closer to have a look at what he holds. Two camomile teabags sit perfectly in his hand; it’s as though he’s ironed them.

The kitchen isn’t far and he leads you inside, holding the door open as you pass. It’s warmly lit and smells of tobacco. A couple of glasses sir on the table alongside a deck of cards.

“Soap and Alejandro.” Ghost comments as he notices you inspecting the remnants of the game. “You just missed ‘em.”

You nod and come to stand beside him, arms crossed as you watch the kettle boil. A pale hand brushes your cheek and you meet Ghosts eyes in surprise.

“What’s this?’

You raise a hand and trace the cut lightly with your finger. His hand remains. “A rock or something, I think – not sure.”

He watches you carefully, as usual saying more with his eyes than he does with his mouth. “It wasn’t your fault, you know.”

“Hm?” 

He drops his hand from your cheek to the base of your neck where it meets your shoulder. You hesitantly meet his gaze.

“Rodriguez. It wasn’t your fault.” His eyes are soft and warm and full of understanding. 

It makes the beast of guilt inside you squirm and rear its head. You pull a lip between your teeth and hope it disguises the wobble that’s started. But you eyes sting all the same and you will the moisture gathering there to dissolve before he sees.

A thumb swipes across your cheekbone, however, and catches a tear you hadn’t realised escaped. He’s standing close to you now and you feel exhaustion surge like a wave.  Without thinking, your forehead drops forwards and thumps softly against his clavicle. You sniff, too tired to register the professional boundary that you may have just crossed but wasn’t that bridge burned long ago? 

A hand settles gently in your hair and you suck in a shaky breath, tears staining his navy shirt. He smells like deodorant and a hint of camomile lingers on the hand which cups the back of your head.

“I know it isn’t.” You say finally, sniffing again. “But it feels like it is.”

You pull away from him and his hand falls to rest on your shoulder.

“I had to push him off.” You swallow thickly, searching his eyes for something, anything, that will alleviate your pain. “I had to shove his body off the fucking cliff.”

Ghosts eyes mirror your own. “I know.”

You step away, shaking your head, and reach for the kettle,  needing something to occupy yourself with under his piercing gaze. 

“I know I didn’t pull the trigger. I know it could’ve been any of us but why him. Why there?” You’ve started crying again and tears run down your cheeks in streams. Your voice cracks. “Where he used to play as a child.”

Strong arms wrap around you as the world blurs; a large hand rubbing firm circles on your back as you gasp. “I know.” He whispers, chin settling on the crown of your head.

“It isn’t fair.”

“It isn’t.” He agrees. “It never is.”

“Why.” You demand, knowing how illogical and stupid the question sounds. But instead of laughing, the lieutenant presses his lips into your hair.

“I don’t know.”

✧˚ · .

Taglist

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Masterlist

[noodle-anime]

just! finished saiyuki og series!!! discovered the first resurrected edition volume recently and it has been. well. it's been a journey lol

oooooooooh boy there sure was some Anatomy and Proportions happening in the first volume but it was super fun to see the art style progress actually. it encouraged me to notice more complex poses and things in the later volumes, and when there was an occasional repeat panel like Sanzo and Goku's first look it was very cool to see the difference in quality.

i have a coupla favorite panels/spreads and generally tried to pay a little more attention to how things are precisely laid out and it was a fun aspect of reading. i want to do some actual breakdowns now, maybe compare early and later layouts.

also! i discovered and watched zeroin! my first intro to saiyuki was discovering reload blast forever ago. the art style in zeroin and the fact that there's a whole set of characters i'd never heard of before made it feel like an au or semi-canonical anime movie, sorta, but i enjoyed it So much and there are some specific notes on sanzo characterization that i want to dig into

sanzo is my fave and the kami-sama arc was So Very Good in that respect but it also grew my love for gojyo three sizes.

the way that they all react when gojyo leaves cracks me up so much. they're So Offended. something so funny and also so tasty that they will not under any circumstances admit out loud that they care about gojyo and miss him so instead they're like we are going to Hurt Him (because he hurt us) for Disrupting Our Daily Routine (he's a fundamental part of our lives) and FORCING us to turn this car around (he left with the full knowledge and expectation that they would follow through with actually continuing to pursue this Very Important job like they always said they would)

mmmmm gojyo's savior complex mmmm it's good.

got blasted by the idea of gojyo and hakkai starting an orphanage when they're done with the mission. hakkai was a teacher and still models himself as a "childcare professional"/co-parent to goku and gojyo wants to save somebody So Badly. also good luck resocializing goku to not be killing people/fighting for his life every other day for Two Entire Formative Teenage Years, helping kids and not having it backfire spectacularly in his face would be good for him

i just read the fourth volume so that's most of what i've got on my mind, i know i have More thoughts from the other volumes

besides the fact that sanzo's joints are gonna/have gotta be So Fucked Up. he really is a grandpa. poor guy.

feels good to nail some characterization aspects like genjyo "i'm a coldhearted bastard and you'd better stay out of my way" (developed coping mechanisms to deal with the traumatic loss of a parent and people repeatedly Attacking Him at an early age) sanzo, cho "yes i'm the wife/mother, please excuse these skeletons, the cleaver is only for special occasions" hakkai, sha "i'm the only one here who understands how to be a normal person" (he does not but he does have the highest emotional intelligence) gojyo, and son "i'm a teenager" (he's a teenager, also growing up with the aforementioned trio as parental/familial figures and starting to come into his own!!) goku

not a single one of these men has had a normal relationship or even prolonged interaction with a woman

i had no idea there was a whole brainwashing segment with kougaiji?? and i really want to see more of lirin, there are fun parallels there to explore that i really wanna dig into

i had no idea to what level sanzo was a bastard gremlin with a gun who just Happens to also be the highest of high priests before and now that i do it delights me. the very hypocrisy of his acceptance in his position disgusts him because He Is Not Priest Material but also it's what his dad wanted for him so fuck everybody who tries to take that from him. in any other situation he'd be the shady penniless vagabond gun for hire but koumyou happened. and now we all get to enjoy it.

[perserveringthroughmetal]

Metallica: Garage Days to Legends

Metallica was founded in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich who answered an ad in the newspaper. They then recruited bassist Ron McGovney who was a friend and Housemate to James Hetfield and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. The name ‘Metallica’ was suggested by Ron Quintana who was very active in the Bay Area metal scene. After being well received and opening for bands such as Saxon, they went on to record their first demo No Life Til’ Leather. The tape trading scene loved it, so after being even more well received, they decided to relocate to the Bay Area, and due to Ron McGovney leaving the band, they successfully convinced their new addition, Cliff Burton to leave his current band Trauma and replace their former bassist. 

  In 1983, Metallica was signed to Megaforce Records and traveled to New York to record their debut thrash album Kill ‘Em All. Due to Dave Mustaine’s volatile behavior and frequent drug use, he was fired from the band shortly after arriving in New York in April of 83’ and was replaced by Exodus member Kirk Hammett. After hiring Kirk, they recorded the album, which consisted of classics, like ‘Whiplash’, ‘Hit The Lights’, and ‘Seek and Destroy.’ with their energy, fast guitars, and intensity, the album was well received. 

  Because of the success of Kill ‘Em All; they began recording their next album Ride the Lightning. They recorded this album in Copenhagen in the summer of 1984, recording absolute hits such as ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, and Creeping Death.’ During the fall of 84’ they were signed with Elektra records as they rose to fame. 

  In 1986, the band released Master of Puppets, which reached the top 30 album charts, even touring with Ozzy Osbourne. Unfortunately, in that same year, while they were on the Damage Inc tour in 86’ there was a horrific bus accident resulting in the death of Cliff Burton who was only 24 years old, that accident forever altered Metallica’s history. Cliff Burton will forever be known for his badass playing style and unique stage presence, and he will never be forgotten. 

After multiple exhausting auditions, Metallica found their new bassist, Jason Newstead, and immediately went on tour and recorded Garage Days: Re-Revisited.

   Metallica, then recorded their album …And Justice for All, which shot up to number six on the US charts. Following the tour, Metallica went on to release their first music video for the song ‘One.’ This anti-war anthem is based on the book by Dalton Trumbo called “Johnny Got His Gun.” 

  In the year 1991 Metallica had officially made it big time with their well known self titled album also known as The Black Album. This album was produced by the famous Bob Rock. The album made it to number one worldwide, selling 16 million copies around the globe. The album won them many awards including a Grammy for ‘Best Metal Performance’, an MTV award for ‘Best Rock Video’, and an American Music Award for ‘Favorite Heavy Metal/Rock Artist Award.’ The tour followed the success of the album, doing 300 shows in 3 years. Metallica also went to co-headline a tour with Guns ‘N Roses, which led them to release a live album called “Live Shit: Binge & Purge.

  In the summer of 1996, the album Load was released, which featured songs such as ‘King Nothing’ and ‘Until it Sleeps.’ The success of this album was huge, selling five million copies. The band had written so many songs during this time that they decided to release the 1997 album Reload. After the release of the album, Metallica chose to do a live DVD recording of their performances on stage called Cunning Stunts. In 1998, Metallic released another Garage Days album full of new covers and a double disk release, which led them to the 1999 release of S&M; recorded with the San Francisco Symphony. 

  In 2001, the band was working on releasing a new album, but things quickly turned sour when Jason Newstead decided to part ways with the band, which led to Bob Rock filling in for Newstead on the album St. Anger. After the album, the band began holding auditions for a new bass player, eventually making a final decision and hiring Robert Trujillo from Suicidal Tendencies/Infectious Grooves/Ozzy Osbourne. They soon began touring and making the documentary Some Kind of Monster. The documentary went on to become an important piece of documentation for the band, showcases their struggles and triumphs during the years. 

  After years of successful touring, Metallica released the album Death Magnetic in the year 2008, although it was an experimental album, it was still well received topping the charts at number 1. Following massive success, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the year 2009. In 2011, The band released an album by the name LuLu, a collaboration album with Lu Reed. This album was not so well received and many consider it their worst work, but Metallica have stood by it, and embraced their F you attitude.

  The band had since made a milestone achievement and even made a theatrical release of their live performance called Metallica: Through the Never in the year 2013. In that same year, Metallica has been the only band to tour all seven continents, including Antarctica! They also performed at the Glastonbury Music Festival, another history-making feat for the band. 

  In the year 2016, Metallica were in the process of re-releasing their whole catalog and working on their 2017 album Hardwired..To Self-Destruct. In the year 2020, the band began making fundraisers and sponsored videos to the All Within My Hands foundation resulting in $118,000 which also led to a benefit concert which helped multiple charities including helping those affected by Covid-19 during its peak. In 2023, the band released 72 Seasons, which led to a movie release of their performance for the album and their 10th Grammy win.

To this day, Metallica has remained influential to so many bands today. Metallica have shaped the genre and helped build it for what it is. They will always be legends in the scene and will be known as one of the greatest bands of all time.

[adachimoe]

I played Aegis: The First Mission as it was released on Steam yesterday. Predictable, but cute.

Not sure if the game is supposed to "canon" or not. The plot is Aigis training on Yakushima under a guy named Aizawa who was hired by the Kirijo Group. She is assisted by three scientists at the Kirijo lab, Kimijima (Aigis's creator-mom-figure who also wears a red ribbon), Sayama (weapons / tech lady who looks like she's wearing baggy lounge pants - what a mood), and Takeba / Yukari's dad. To Kimijima, Aigis is more than just an anti-Shadow robot, which causes a conflict of interest between her and the wishes of the Kirijo Group.

It explains how Aigis got her character speech quirk as well. In Persona 3, she uses the Japanese copula であります (I believe this was localized into her saying, "...as they say" in Reload), and First Mission explains that she does this because Aizawa instructed her to. (At the end of First Mission, she gets her memories wiped due to what happens on Yakushima, but I suppose her still using the same copula in Persona 3 suggests that some things aren't just memories.)

There are some comical details like how you get around Yakushima via bus, giving the mental image of Aigis boarding a civilian bus back to the lab, equipped with a grenade launcher and finger guns.

The gameplay is kiiinda ass as you awkwardly turn Aigis around to fire at things and try to aim Palladion, but it is a port of a 2007 flip phone game. Unfortunately, the port itself is kinda buggy. The fade-to-black effect during cutscenes seems to be broken, so you will see Aigis Naruto run out a door, except her model stops there and you see it semi-fade to black. There is also supposed to be some kind of faded scanline filter effect on portraits when Aigis is talking to people via communicator that is absolutely broken and just shows horizontal, fully visible lines over people's faces--it is kinda comical. Neither of these really interfere with gameplay though.

Maybe check it out an English patch is released? Afaik, there's a group of people working on doing it already.

[dhr-ao3]

What A Wicked Man Fears

What A Wicked Man Fears https://ift.tt/8FbEjGH by Weeping_Wonderland Six months after the death of his wife, Hermione, Draco Malfoy is presented a contract by a secret society operating within the Department of Mysteries called the Silent Syndicate. They want him to dust off his weapons, reload his guns, and reclaim the identity he left behind when he married Hermione Granger. They want him to kill for them again. He agrees, but only on his own terms. He returns to the world of hired killing, numb and full of rage, so when his Golden Token, a vital belonging that once dictated who he would kill- along with his wedding ring- is stolen, Draco Malfoy goes hunting, and becomes once again what he had long left behind. The Grim.   This is a fic inspired by/a crossover between John Wick and Killing Eve. There are flashback chapters of Draco and Hermione's relationship- and shit gets spicy. Words: 3256, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Pansy Parkinson, Pansy Parkinson's Father, Harry Potter Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: POV Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy Needs a Hug, BAMF Hermione Granger, BAMF Draco Malfoy, Pining Draco Malfoy, Ex-Death Eater Draco Malfoy, Death Eaters, Death Eater Draco Malfoy, Dark Magic, Continental Hotel (John Wick), John Wick (Movies) References, inspired by Killing Eve, Alternate Universe - John Wick (Movies) Setting, The Author Regrets Nothing, Work In Progress, Unhinged Draco Malfoy, Unhinged Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy Has PTSD, Draco Malfoy Has Nightmares, Draco Malfoy is Bad at Feelings, Auror Draco Malfoy, Department of Mysteries (Harry Potter), Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Ministry of Magic Employee Draco Malfoy, Assassin Draco Malfoy, Ministry of Magic Employee Hermione Granger, Adult Hermione Granger, Adult Draco Malfoy, Shameless Smut, Angst and Tragedy, Angst and Romance, Heavy Angst, Sad Draco Malfoy, I'm Bad At Tagging, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy In Love, Morally Grey Hermione Granger, Hermione Granger is a Malfoy, Married Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Pre-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Post-Second Wizarding War with Voldemort (Harry Potter), Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter Friendship, Shooting Guns, Assassins & Hitmen, Professional Quidditch, Sexy Draco Malfoy via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/KjQiuFa September 10, 2024 at 04:44AM

[unpopularvivian]

Sixteen: Alright you've pissed me off. *Reloads* Rosie: *Cocks gun* I already got one in the chamber so I wouldn't recommend trying anything. Sailor John: Fuck you! Thomas: FUCK YOU!

???: THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE.

Whiff: Wait a minute.... Is that?....

Edward: No....... It can't be....

*Sir Topham Hatt is standing in front of the heroes with a full army behind him*

Sir Topham Hatt: You four really think that you can take down me and my henchman? Oh no, no, no. I've been keeping tabs on you ever since the beginning. I've always know about your plans, wanting to destroy my weapon businesses, defeating my allies and just being troublesome as usual.

Thomas: HEY!!!!!!

Sir Topham Hatt: Which is the reason why I hired my best right-hand man, Sixteen! Isn't that right, Sixteen?

Sixteen: ......

Sir Topham Hatt: Uhh.... Sixteen?

Sixteen: ......

Sir Topham Hatt: SIXTEEN!!!!! ANSWER TO YOUR BOSS!!!!! I'M TALKING TO YOU!!!!!

*Without any hesitation, Sixteen then teleports both Sir Topham Hatt and Thomas to an unknown realm*

Thomas: What the? What is this place?????

Sir Topham Hatt: Sixteen!!!!! Answer me right now or there will be consequences!!!!!

Sixteen: *Quiet cackling to psychotic laughing* Consequences? Since when there was any CONSEQUENCES? Fat hat, you have gotten fat on the top for too long. Did you really think that you were in charge of this whole war? NO. IT WAS ALWAYS ME.

*Sixteen then turns to Thomas*

Sixteen: And YOU. Your time of being Sodor's Number 1 is UP. You think you're the best, the most useful engine of all! BUT LOOK AT YOU, you caused numerous accidents, you're a cheeky brat and you're just the thing that's been holding down this railway! You don't deserve ANYTHING that has been given to you. If Timothy was here, oh I couldn't imagine how DISAPPOINTED he would be with you.

Thomas: NO!!!!! NO!!!!!! YOU'RE LYING!!!!!! DON'T YOU DARE BRING UP MY BROTHER'S NAME LIKE THAT!!!!!!

Sixteen: Oh child, the fun is only beginning to start.....

[cyborg-hydra-girl-thing]

i’ve gone full arms trader / bounty hunter in starfield

My character is a mercenary gun for hire and the first thing i spent money on was my minigun. Saw a shattering minigun with armor piercing rounds on the first major city i visited in the shop, and did as many quests as i could as fast as i could to get it before it despawned and i got it. only cost 40k. but literally day one, hour like, 8 I had this bitch and have put 4 points into ballistics, and 4 points into heavy weapons so she’s a real monster :3

but shattering + AP ammo just tears apart enemies, I’ve gunned down several level 50’s with it, and thanks to the mobility of the skip boostpacks I can bounce around picking them off.

And I just found an armor that reduces all weapon weight by 50%, so it only weighs 7.5lbs, and my other guns are all pistols (i’ve got two 11mm rifles for now, but they’re really only kept on me for when i’m running low on food for the minigun)

(also at any given time i’ve got a minimum of two shotguns, 1 minigun, 1 rifle, 3 handguns quickslotted and i just run around blasting till everything is empty or nobody’s shooting at me and reload EVERYTHING at once

hello yes, I identify as an A10 Warthog, thank you very much

nyooooom BZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTT

anyway, i’m just picking up bounties for scalps and taking all their guns and ammo to sell for more minigun ammo. she’s HUNGRY >:3

After buying my minigun I upgraded my boat so now it’s got a range of 20LY, 4x electron blasters (17/17 shields/hull) and 4x cannons (5(?)/23 shields hull), and has 2200 storage. She’s a solid fighter and still fairly maneuverable.