#he can make fake chain codes

[niobiumao3]

One thing I like about the prequel to Yavin era is the examination of how Tarkin fucked up repeatedly. He was arrogant and entitled and utterly convinced of how right he was in all things, and it got the Empire thoroughly wrecked.

The situation depicted in TBB is kind of indicative of this. The clones, as a whole, are a truly powerful fighting force, yet Tarkin is convinced they have a loyalty problem and would prefer to stock the Empire's military with loyalists who are nowhere near as well trained. Of course, it's horrifying the clones were 'made for war', but you would think someone in Tarkin's position would consider them an asset.

No, he thinks they're basically useless, and as a result he's allowed some truly irreplaceable assets to Just Leave. Rex? Echo? TECH??? No military commander in their right mind would have let them go or, having lost them, been so inept at getting them back.

This bites him in the ass again and again, until it finally gets him killed. Sadly that takes a couple of decades, but I appreciate how TBB has been a vehicle for showing how in the long run, the Empire was built on people like Tarkin, and such systems will always collapse eventually, because they're much to fragile to stand the test of time.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #6 444 205

Fish!

The fish like to have a little drink :) Sadly as they drink the water around them they also drink their own pee, and that is the curse that they will have to live with for the rest of their life

#fish #fishfact #fish facts #fishblr #biology #zoology

( 2 notes )

🪼 clovergonads follow

Tasseled wobbegong women >>>>>>>>>>>

🐸 i-eat-skin follow

bitch those are goosefish

( 27,196 notes )

🐚 seashell-on-the-seashore follow

Say what you want about fishblr updates, but I think this format for reblubs is a wonderful improvement over the previous one. One of the only times staff did good.

🐚 seashell-on-the-seashore

@featherstar53 If reblub chains got too long, new reblubs would start appearing as darker and darker until you couldnt see the text anymore. It mimicked how light disappears as you go deeper in the ocean but the sunken code this webbedsite runs on never set a cap for how dark it gets, so eventually you would have to copy ad paste the text on the reblubs onto somewhere to read them.

🐍 swamplamprey follow

It sounds fake but it's true! You can still find some older fishblr post screenshots with this effect:

This even went for full abyssal mode users! In their case, the text would slowly turn from white to dark blue, effectively making it impossible to read against the black background.

🦞 fastest-claw-in-the-west follow

I think it would be super funny if they brought this back but for individual posts. Like the reblubs stay the same colour but the posts themselves get gradually and gradually darker until you can't see them anymore lol. It would be disastrous but also funny and it might finally stop some of you frys from being so addicted to this webbedsite

#im all for a bit of chaos lol #treasure trove: talking tag

( 730 notes )

🌿 invertlike-behaviour follow

Okay for the record. My eyes are Red because I'm a COMMON ROACH! RUTILUS RUTILUS! It's not because I smoke seaweed!

🌿 invertlike-behaviour

Okay Yes I smoke seaweed all day. But the specific reason my eyes are red is Not That

( 104 notes )

🦈 spiritually-placoderm follow

🫧 surgeonsturgeon follow

OP you forgot brackish water and the option for inhabiting both

🦈 spiritually-placoderm

Shut your inferior ass mouth up

🫧 surgeonsturgeon

#(i couldnt find the actual gif i wanted to use but this weird tiger shark will have to do) #(not sure why his fins look like that)

( 1,020 notes )

☀️ slenderfish follow

"ocean sunfish have over 40 parasite species" factoid actualy just statistical error. average ocean sunfish is infected with only one or two parasites. Parasites Georg, the mola who suffers from every ailment known to fish and has over 1 000 000 000 parasite species infesting his flesh and organs, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

( 193,239 notes)

🪷 trout-about-you follow

Selfieeeee :3 (ignore the two sea lampreys attached to my flesh)

🪲 toebiter follow

how did you take the picture you aren't holding your phone

🪷 trout-about-you

The sea lamprey on the left took it for me

( 58 notes )

🔲 salmonidae-supremacy-deactivated

FISH USED TO MIGRATE THOUSANDS OF MILES TO BREED. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!!!!

IN MY DAY PUSSFISH LIKE THIS WOULD GET EATEN ALIVE BY REAL RIVER MONSTERS FOR BREAKFAST.

🐟 darting-action follow

these are Siamese fighting fish bruh.... They don't have migration as part of their life cycle lmao

🔲 salmonidae-supremacy-deactivated

OF COURSE THE YOUTH CAN'T PUNCTUATE THEIR SENTENCES PROPERLY. I SHOULDN'T EXPECT SO MUCH FROM THE SOFT FRY THEY ARE. ALWAYS GETTING RILED UP!

🔲 skip-hopper-deactivated

Ignore this guy, @darting-action. He's well known for saying offensive nonsense like this, I think he's bait and trying to get someone to bite.

🔲 salmonidae-supremacy-deactivated

YOU MUST BE ONE OF THOSE INBRED DOMESTIC SCUM OR HATCHED YESTERDAY SINCE YOU ENTIRELY LACK THICK SCALES. I SPEAK THE TRUTH AND ONLY THE TRUTH. IF YOU GET TRIGGERED THEN THAT'S NATURAL SELECTION, SON. YOU SHOULD FIGHT ME IN REAL LIFE.

🔲 walrus-tits-in-my-mouth-deactivated

You really dont know a thing about natural selection, do you? Bettas have flashy fins because they have to seem threatening to possible competitors. They don't migrate so they aren't built for that. They're built for living in ponds and marshes, low oxygen environments, and by cod, they are built for fighting territorial battles! You shouldn't underestimate a fish literally called fighting fish. They're very tough and hardy fish and can even send larger fish fleeing!

🔲 salmonidae-supremacy-deactivated

SIAMESE FLAILING PUSSFISH HAVE LADY FINS BECAUSE THEY'RE WEAK AND SOFT AND HAD HUMANS DECIDE WHO THEY BREED WITH FOR THEM. THEIR QUOTE UNQUOTE "FIGHTING PROWESS" SURE DIDN'T SAVE THEM FROM BEING PRISSY LITTLE PRINCESS FISHIES FOR LITTLE KIDS DID IT? THE INDUBIDABLE FACT IS THAT THEY'RE MUSKIE FOOD.

🔲 iknowthecrabbypattysecretformula-deactivated

Wait a minute... I recongize that picture on the right! That's from @betta-than-this 's OnlyFins! How did you get that picutre hmmm? Salmonidae? How on Ocean did you gain access huh?

🐠 betta-than-this follow

"Indubidable" is a pretty specific word to use. This you @salmonidae-supremacy-deactivated?

🔲 iknowthecrabbypattysecretformula-deactivated

LMAOOOOOO GOTTEMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

🔲 aquarium-life-deactivated

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

🐟 darting-action

woag i never saw this entire chain before until it hit me on my dashboard. Why does this have so many notes

Thanks fishblr user walrus tits in my mouth for biology info i didn't know

🫖 burgle-the-turts follow

Woah woah woah we're just gonna ignore this guy using p*ssfish as an insult!!???? THE CATFISH SLUR????????? No one is going to bring this up!!!!!???????

🔲 tilapia11128-deactivated

does anyone in this thread smoke seaweed

🌊 herringageposts follow

date of origin: 28th of august, 2017

( 392,229 notes )

🟧 sponsored

Suffering all alone, handsome?

No need to anymore.

👄 pollywannacracker follow

Reblub with your favorite snack in the tags! I’ll go first: coral polyps! :}

🚬 shark-noir follow

@ninjalantern-999

#as for me #my fave is definitely my lower set of teeth when they shed #crumchy :D

( 295 notes )

🩸 must-lunge follow

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STUPID HUMAN DROPPED ITS ELECTRONIC CAMERA IN THE LAKE!!!!!!!! NEVER GETTING THAT BACK BUB!!!!!! I'M TELLING ALL MY ISOPOD AND MUSSEL FRIENDS AND THEY'RE GONNA LIVE INSIDE IT!!!!!

🧑 official-human-posts follow

ofishal human post

#ofishal human post #this post contains humans

( 891 notes )

🦦 hellofromtheotterslide follow

Wait, how come this site is called fishblr and not something like oceanblr or aquablr? Wouldn't that be more inclusive?

👑 goldielocks follow

I believe the name "fishblr" pays homage to the meaning of the word where just about everything in the water was considered a fish. It's why we have words like "shellfish", "whalefish", "jellyfish", "starfish".

Personally aquablr would work really well, too. There's a sizeable amphibious userbase on here.

🦐 worldwideshrimp follow

You forgot whale shark! Those arent fish either but are called fish

👑 goldielocks

....Whale sharks are fish. They are sharks. It's in the name.

🦎 eye-of-newt follow

But I thought it was a whale named after sharks? WHALE shark! Why else would they put whale up first?

👑 goldielocks

A whale named after a shark would be called a shark whale. You can take one look at a whale shark and see that, with its gills and fish tail, it is a shark.

⚪️ number1-seacucumber-ass-enjoyer-77 follow

Wait, then what about baby whales? Are those whales named after babies?

👑 goldielocks

If you're talking about the actual whale babies, then yeah. If you mean the mormyrids, small aquatic animals that can sense electricity, then no, those are fish. Sometimes names are inaccurate to what the animal really is.

🌌 themanta1234 follow

If you think about it, fishblr is also inclusive to aquatic tetrapods since they are lobe-fins, and therefore fish :D It's a term that can include everyone on here, the perfect catchall!

🦑 abyssal-gigantism follow

Ewwww fuck that definition. If mammals hear about them being fish on some sort of """"technicality"""" then this webbedsite is gonna get flooded with those self-important idiots! "OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOOOOO LoOk At MeEeEeEeEEE i'M a MaMmAL!!11!!! I TAKE CARE of mah BAAABIEEEES!1111 I'm SUCH a good MAMAAA!!! All those OTHER STUPID HEARTLESS ANIMALS could NEVER do as I DO!!! I LOVE sweating into my BAABIEEEES' MOUTH1!1!1!111!!! I'm FLUFFY and AWSUM and ERRYBODDY LUUUVSSSSS MEE!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!! You should all LUV me TOO!!!!"

Is THAT how you want every fishblr post to look!!!!??????

🦛 drippohippo follow

😨

🪄 magicmanatee45 follow

DD:

🎼 humpbacked-musician-offishal follow

:'''((((

🐋 blainvilles-bitch follow

🕶️ egg-laying-mammal-of-action follow

:///////////

🐢 greenXD follow

i think jellyfish shouldn't be classified as fish because they're clearly living spaghetti

🌜 foolish-idol follow

Great fucking post everyone. Hit the air bubblers

( 60,376 notes )

🟩 ultrahyva-heihoi follow

Guys what the fuck kind of sponsors does fishblr have I just saw an ad for having parasites housed in me who are they advertising to 😭💀💀

#i swear the quality of this site keeps going down and down #if you see ads for parasites then report the shit out of em #fuck em my friend got early onset cataracts due to parasites

( 4 notes )

😃 doweopenandcloseourmouthtoday follow

Yes! :) :O :) :O :) :O :) :O

[lucky-clover-gazette]

okay i have THOUGHTS about this line

he didn’t have to say that to make his plan work. i mean yeah, being nice to the player definitely earns their favor and future assistance, but he could have just as easily gone the route of gaslighting them into feeling bad and like they caused the problem, eliciting a more shame-based and desperate and less uplifting and righteous kind of reliance. like if volo really hated the player, and was truly cruel, that’s what he would have done. the player would have still gotten the chain and felt indebted to him for the plate hunt, but they also would be miserable and feel lonely and hurt and confused. but volo doesn’t do that, he grounds the player and validates their feelings, which were hurt by the cruel townspeople more than the event volo caused to prompt that cruelty. like truly, it’s only volo’s fault that the player gets banished through the most like simple calculated logic—yes, if he hadn’t caused the rift, they wouldn’t have been banished, or brought here at all. but kamado CHOSE to banish them based on his own paranoia and disdain for outsiders, and the others enabled it by choice. volo didn’t make that happen, just how he didn’t make or even want arceus to get the player involved in the first place.

i don’t think volo hates the player, personally, at all. or at least, i think that he hates them and cares for them just as much as he hates and cares for himself. i know this isn’t groundbreaking volo theorizing material, but he’s absolutely projecting his disdain for society based on his vague past experiences here. he dislikes the outsider because his plan demands it, but he dislikes everyone else because he personally thinks they’re terrible. it’s kinda neat how he “fake” compliments the player’s loyalty to him as a merchant so often, bc i think loyalty is something he actually takes very seriously. and he probably saw how loyal the player was to the galaxy team, and then the way they kicked them out, and was genuinely pissed and hurt on the player’s behalf.

the things he says at the end of the game are said in extreme distress and defeat, and while they are not NOT reflective of his character and motives, i’m shocked by how many pokemon fans regard volo like he’s a nihilistic and amoral sociopath. passion and compassion are behind nearly everything volo does, for better or for worse. they’re behind moments like this, and moments like his ranting at spear pillar. he is a person who constantly grapples to align his personal moral code and lofty ideals, which live in this weird space between the manmade and divine, with the flawed reality of existence. his entire mentality is full of contradictions, because he is a man who thinks he should be god, but in reality could never be a good god, because he is still very much a man. it’s the emotion, idealism, and intellectual curiosity of humanity that drive him, not the impartiality, absolutism, and complacency of an omnipotent all-knowing deity.

so like, with this line. he specifically mentions that the galaxy team has treated the player poorly. not that the galaxy team’s choice was illogical, not that the player just needs to try harder to get them to accept him. he is emphatically rejecting the premise that the player did anything to deserve blame, even though he has no intention to actually explain why this really happened or volunteer himself to take the blame. because ultimately, volo is not the person to blame for the galaxy team’s cruelty, and he knows it. and he also knows that it’s the cruelty that has hurt the player, more than the sky problem itself, because he has been treated like an outsider too. and he can’t DO anything about that. even if he told the truth, the damage has already been done. the player knows how their supposed allies would react in this situation, regardless of the logic or truth. and volo can’t fix that. he does not believe he can make people kinder or the world a better place, which is exactly why he wants so badly to remake it. for himself, bc clearly he’s been through some shit too, for people like the outsider, and for anyone else whose loyalty and dedication have been met with rejection and apathy. which is so deeply tragic and ironic, because by being the only person to care for the player in this moment, he is making the world a better place for them.

volo is, at his core, a hypocrite. he’s like if you put the ingredients for a hero into a blender, but accidentally used the “tragic hypocrite” setting so he came out a janky villain instead. to volo, concepts like loyalty and self-righteousness are driving forces, much moreso than simple black and white morality or consequentialism. this makes him a hypocrite because he believes a perfect world is possible as long as his moral code is strictly followed, and his evil plan is to prove it. but in his efforts to do so, he proves over and over again that a perfect world isn’t possible, and certainly would not be possible under his control.

like, okay—if someone suggested that the means of pain and suffering in the world justified the ends (the world), volo would disagree and claim that arceus is responsible for the pain and suffering, and therefore does not deserve the power to create/rule worlds. but then, following that very same logic, if volo needed to get a random person banished and betrayed in order to create his better world, then those means wouldn’t justify his ends either. which is WHY we see him subconsciously draw a line here, between the things he’s not responsible for (other people being cruel, arceus transporting the player) and the things he is directly responsible for (the way he treats the player in these circumstances, either with derision or support). and wouldn’t you know, in this instance where it truly is up to him what the means are to his ends, he chooses kindness where he could have been cruel. because while arceus sending the hero and the town banishing them weren’t really Volo’s means to Volo’s ends, this conversation sure as hell could be. And he doesn’t want his better world built on a foundation of suffering and pain.

by saying this one line and treating the player as he does here, i think volo accidentally exposes something deeply true and good about himself. this man could say “i’m a villain and i don’t care about the player” and fully believe it, but at the same time demonstrably possess the morals and compassion of a hero, which he uses to actively care for the player. he is a delusional hypocrite, but he’s definitely not heartless. and i just think that’s neat.

alternatively, volo is completely heartless, knows that people are endeared to people who want to protect them, and methodically uses that knowledge here for his convenience. that very well could have been the intention, and it makes sense too—but i personally enjoy entertaining the notion of depth where i see potential for it. so yeah.

[themoonweaversden]

Messeges that were found so far: PLATINUM PAZ (spoilers)

This is just to collect all the codes that you can type in in thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com and their effects only (please click images for better quality)

Masterpost with all messeges / codes

Transcript:

"Pacifica stormed into her palatial bedroom and slammed the door so hard her chandeliers shook. (There were at least 3 chandeliers in Pacifica’s room, including a teensy chandelier over her nightlight.) She buried her head in a velvet pillow and screamed for an inhumanly long time, then flopped over and stewed at the painted cherubs on her ceiling. It wasn’t FAIR. After everything she did for her parents- get up at 5 for fencing lessons, beauty pageants, fox-hunting, butler-hunting, cleaning up the black feathers after dads weird “grown up masquerade parties”- THIS is how they repay her? HER! PACIFICA ELISA NORTHWEST?!

It had been a rough summer for Pacifica- first she came alarmingly close to losing a Party Crown, then her golf skills were called into question, and now her parents grounded her for literally saving the entire family from a Category 10 ghost and shut off the spigot on her caviar tap for rest of the year. What was she supposed to eat now? Dog Food? She angrily opened her mini-fridge and pulled out an UpperCrustables™ brand snack pack and angrily spread the caviar on the tiny baguette. “Ugh, why does it come with this dumb little stick? The caviar always gets stuck in the CORNERS!”

She looked at a napkin where Dipper had written the shack’s phone number in case killing the ghost might have created a “double ghost.” Ha! As if she would put HIS number in HER phone.

Everything in her life used to make so much more sense before those PINES twins came along and screwed everything up. That stupid Mabel and her baffling, undeserved confidence. That know-it-all sweat stain Dipper who’s giant head was always butting against hers. Something about Dipper’s words had knocked over a domino in her mind that started a chain reaction that was causing her whole identity to come crashing down. He told her she had potential to change into…a better person? How do you become a better person when you’re already the best person? It didn’t make sense!

Thinking about it exhausted her, and soon, her eyelids began to droop.

Soon she was...

she was...

Zzzz...

In Pacifica’s dream, she was freshening up at a party washing her hands when she noticed something... red swirling in the drain.

In horror, she discovered her hands were covered in blood, and no matter how hard she scrubbed them, they wouldn’t come clean. On the mirror, words slowly started two write themselves on their own, as if by an invisible hand…

BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS

“NO, NO, IT’S NOT MY FAULT!”

An overpowering sense of guilt swelled inside as she fled to the ballroom for help, where she spotted her friends gossiping by a tapestry. She tried to flip them around, but when she grabbed their shoulders, they fell over, flat, They were... cardboard? She turned to her parents, and they fell over flat too. The entire party was filled with flat, 2D people, everyone was fake. Blood began to fill the ballroom, pouring from the clock, from the paintings, from the ceiling. Why was this happening?! She raced through her manor in a blind panic, when she discovered she was no longer in the mansion, but outside in Gravity Falls. When she looked down, she realized she was now 100 feet tall, and every step she made was wrecking the town. She knocked over the mudflap factory, polluting the river. She knocked over the orphanage, sending coughing soot-covered children out into the cold.

She kept apologizing, but she was too big, too public, every step hurting more and more people. Everyone could see that the town’s problems were her fault. She was a monster. She always had been. She always would be.

Pacifica started sobbing and suddenly, she was a little girl again, hiding behind the vine-covered tombstones in the graveyard behind the Manor after another one of her parents fights. The graves of her ancestors loomed above her like gargoyles, great Northwests in history. What would they say if they could see her like this?

One of the statues slowly turned to face Pacifica. It was Nathaniel Northwest.

“Get a hold of yourself. You’re a Northwest, people can’t know you leak shame-water.”

“You’re right,” Pacifica apologized, and hastily took out her compact to clean her smeared makeup. She cursed as she saw how dishevelled she was.

The statue watched her like a cat hungrily watching a mouse.

“You have a lot of anger, don’t you.”

“Anyone whose not angry is an idiot. There’s so much to be mad about.”

“Yes. Anger is good. Anger is useful. Who are you angry at, Pacifica?”

“Everything was better before the PINES came to town...”

“You know, I might be able to help with that... there’s something I want. The Mystery Shack is going to be getting some new merchandise very soon. A small snow globe, nothing anyone would miss. If you could shoplift it for me, I could guarantee things would change. You’d never deal with the Pines again...”

Pacifica closed her compact. Would that fix everything?

“It would be so easy... all you have to do to get your old life back is shake...my...hand”

The statue extended its stony hand. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

[IMAGE]

Slowly she reached out to shake- then abruptly stopped. Something was off.

“My old life... wasn’t really mine, was it? All I ever did was follow my mom and dad. Maybe... it would be better to...make a new one.”

The STATUE BELLOWED with RAGE.

“MAKE? HA! YOU INHERIT. YOUR FAMILY LEGACY IS ALL YOU’RE WORTH. YOU MAKE NOTHING. YOU CAN’T EVEN MAKE FRIENDS.”

This had always been true... in the past.

His hand extended toward her. Looming. Trembling. She remembered a time when a hand extended toward her, offering a free snack in the back seat of a car.

“MAKE THE DEAL YOU LITTLE FAKE BLONDE IMPENDING PATERNITY TEST”

Pacifica’s face relaxed. She knew it was cliché, but she knew she had to do it. She slowly extended her hand. Just as the giant lichen-covered hand was about to close around hers like a cage of stone fingers, she swung her arm up and behind her head.

“Sike.”

“WHAT?!”

“Too slow!”

“YOU WORM!!!! YOU WORTHLESS WASTE OF STOLEN INCOME!!!! YOU’LL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING. I SEE A FUTURE WHERE YOU’RE PENNILESS, WORKING AT THE DINER, YOU’LL HAVE NOTHING, YOU-”

The statue shook with rage, sending cracks from its hand all the way up to its shrieking head. It crumbled apart in front of her, screaming in pain.

GONG!

Pacifica awoke with a start, panting. The clock in the hallway had struck 3 AM. She was covered in sweat. What had she been dreaming about? She couldn’t remember. She didn’t want to remember.

She wasn’t quite sure why, but she removed a tapestry that she’d always had on her wall. Something her family had no doubt looted ages ago- of a glowing triangle over the mountains. She rolled it up and put it in the closet and locked the padlock. Maybe she should hold onto Dipper’s number just in case. She entered it into her phone and felt an odd sense of calm suddenly wash over her. It was quiet once again in Northwest Manor.

Pacifica slept better than she had in years.

VWDB DZDB IURP KHU FLSKHU. VKH KDV WKH SURWHFWLRQ RI WKH OXPEHUIRONV VSLULWV."

The last line is in caesar -3

Code deciphered: STAY AWAY FROM HER CIPHER. SHE HAS THE PROTECTION OF THE LUMBERFOLKS SPIRITS.

[bangrychannie]

Stray Kids Fic Recs-Demons

Hello! It is time for another group of fic recs, this time anything related to demons (ex. succubi and former "imaginary friends")! Demon summoning is one of my fav tropes so again if you have any recs that aren't on this list send them my way! Mostly Minsung with some others

My other fic rec lists:

Misc

Time Loop

Angst free

let me wrap the chains by saru (Minsung | 1/1 | 23,164 | explicit)

Pressure at the foot of the bed makes the mattress dip, and Jisung experiences what can only be described as waking up into a dream. His brain, foggy with short-lived and restless sleep, registers a number of things that might not make total sense but are received as facts, regardless: there’s a hand tugging at the waistband of his underwear, a pair of knees bracketing his own, and the distinct smell of fire in the air. In the darkness of his room, ruby red eyes trail up Jisung’s body before locking on his own. — or, Jisung’s late-night visitor turns out to not be quite as imaginary as he originally thought.

I love the world building in this one!

amber of ember by adisadatra (Minsung | 1/1 | 21,941 | Explicit)

Minho is tired. He’s so, so tired, and he’s felt unsafe in his own life since the day he discovered Seojoon and his lover in his bed. At work, in Minho’s flat, at his favourite park with the hideous fountain, he’s always listening for footsteps behind him, braced for impact and seeing danger everywhere with his nerves feeling peeled raw. He’s spiralling downward, he knows he is, and he’s not even sure what’s real anymore. Making a deal with a demon isn’t the worst-case scenario right now.

I loved this one! Basically Minho has a creepy ex and makes a deal with a demon (Jisung) to get revenge

above the trees by tentoheaven (Binsung | 1/1 | 30,245 | Explicit)

Changbin stares at him, still struggling to take in all of his features. It’s incredible how someone can look so different, yet still completely unchanged. “Jisung?” Part of him still holds onto the belief that the man will frown, maybe laugh mockingly, maybe ask ‘who the fuck is Jisung?’ and leave. Changbin isn’t sure whether that would be worse than the alternative. (Or: ten years after his abrupt disappearance, Changbin’s imaginary friend barges back into his life—not human, but very much real.)

I loved Changbin and Jisung's dynamic in this one! Minor 2min as well which is super cute

god knows we're lonely souls by flying_dream (Minchan | 3/3 | 34,864 | Mature)

Chan is a touch-starved producer. Minho is a sleep paralysis demon who has never known affection. They're not in love - they barely even know each other - but somehow they manage to make it work.

This is for sure my favorite on this list, if you only read one read this one!

exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation by yamesungie (Minsung | 1/1 | 4862 | Explicit)

format-default : Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. “What the fuck do you mean, invocation? Am I coding or playing D&D? Do I have to roll a d20? Do a blood offering?” “Invocation is another term for a method call, you can thank me later.” “Hey, I was joking, I already-” knew that. Wait, what the- Jisung lets out a blood curdling scream and almost falls out of his chair as he turns his face away from his screen. The man standing next to him stares at him, arms crossed and an amused grin on his face. “What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?” "I feed off humans' lust, anguish and despair. It’s only natural I choose to target software developers past their bedtime, right?" (or: Jisung is a software developer on the verge of a mental breakdown, Minho is the incubus who visits him at 1am.)

Super silly concept and a short and sweet fic

How I Met My Demon by alcrox (Jeongsung | 1/1 | 17,447 | Explicit)

“Well, to my utter surprise, no demons were summoned,” proclaims Jisung dramatically. Now that the shooting is nearing its end, he feels decidedly more chipper. Less faking it. “Fuck you too, demons.” He swipes a broad hand over the glitter, messing it up even more. It looks like there has been a bloodbath in the room, only the blood is shiny and glittery and sticks everywhere. “Now-” “I swear to hell, what is your problem?” Jisung jumps. Violently.

5 times Jisung summons a demon and 1 time he doesn’t.

Where Jisung is a youtuber and summons a demon as a joke. Love this one!!

And that's all I have for demon fics! Like I said before if you have any (or any other fic I haven't recced yet) that you've liked that aren't on this list please send! My next ideas for fic rec lists are fantasy, fake dating, and college au--if you want me to do one of these first also lmk!

[buggiethedrag0n]

HAIIIII my new reference sheet 4 any1 who wants 2 draw meee :333

i have way more outfits than just these 2 but i dont have the energy 2 draw that much lololol

the raccoon tail patterns that go infront of my chest are fake hair extensions btw :)) i have a lotta different ones

ANYWAYYYYYY the rest of mah info under the cut :33 !!!!!!!

Full name: Bugthing (you don’t get to know my last name 😁)

Aliases: Bug, Creature — Buggie (FRIENDS/FAMILY ONLY)

Species: Concept Dragon (Fire, Type 3) / Angel (Type 4) hybrid

Planet of Origination: The Concept Universe / ‘The Void’

Age: I’m not telling you that. (OOC: usually it depends on which universe i throw him it but i typically characterise him as my age. which makes him a minor.)

Height: 8’9”

Gender: Biologically female; identifies as transmasculine & xenogender

Pronouns: He/Him/His, Xey/Xem/Xeirs/ It/Its/Itself, They/Them/Theirs — Blood/Bleed/Bloodself, Gore/Gory/Goreself (FRIENDS/FAMILY ONLY)

Sexuality: Solian, fictosexual, fictoromantic (i use the term aroace in conversations tho, its easier :3)

S/O: None. Technically. Unless you count my F/Os (that being Galacta Knight, Holly/THK, Moonjumper, and Shamura)

Family: Parents, brother, a number of cousins (and technically that one fankid i made for me n holly named Moggie but. They’re not canon.)

I’m an artist and fanfic author, and Nebbie’s assistant as a newly ascended Creator entity!!!!

Buddies with uhhhh God :))) (or Jesus ig but her name is Yk here. I call her Nebulis/Nebs/Nebbie tho. Bc we’re friends :3) (he uses all prns btw)

Bc of my fun powers and rights as Nebbie’s assistant creator I get to travel to whatever universes I feel like. Both to make sure everything’s going well and nobody’s broken the space time continuum and also to hang with my favs.

I like to call myself a Nice Boy(TM) but thats only really to my friends/family (not including my brother because I fucking hate him). I can get REALLY mean when I’m upset/if i don’t like you. But yeah I’m usually pretty ok!! Not the best person out there but at least I’m not a bigot lol. SPEAKING OF BIGOTS a lot of my very outward “”””cringe”””” behaviour is from me just being comfy in my own skin and pissing ableists off On Purpose bc I find it funny (it is).

I’ve lived in the Concept Universe/Void my whole life, but I tend to wander off to various universes both for My Duty(TM) and also I Like The Characters. I was first given the opportunity to leave the Void when I was abt 8 I think? My good buddy/auntcle figure Xephyr asked me and my brother if we wanted to check out what ppl were doing down there (with Nebs’ and our parents’ permission ofc), and we agreed. I’ve never been normal since (that’s a good thing though).

I don’t USUALLY do fighting stuff (unless I’m in like a COTL variation universe or something) but when I do I usually just use fire. I might be a pyromaniac. Which is concerning because I have fire magic and can easily commit arson. Yeag :)

Hex codes

(Not including the bracelets or hair extensions)

Body/both fits or smth:

#0E0E0E — Horns / Burns / Burnt feathers / Fit 1 base

#0400B4 — Iris

#D80000 — Tail tip

#FFB7A7 — Blood / Blush

#F8D7CF — Scars / Wing webbing

#EBE6E6 — Freckles

#FAFAFA — Skin

#FFFFFF — Teeth / Talons / Septum piercing gems / Glasses lenses

#F7FBFF — Sclera

#F2F2F2 — Hair / Feathers (the ones that AREN’T scorched)

#F9DEBF — Halo star / Light magic things 2

#F3B16D — Halo / Light magic things 1

#000000 — Nose / Septum piercing / Fishnets (alt fit) / Glasses frame

Usual fit:

#0F0F0F — Belt base

#910000 — Fit accents

#C40000 — Belt accents

#BEBEBE— Belt buckle

#3A2222 — Socks (ignore the fact that this isn’t in the ref image plsss)

Alt fit:

#161616 — Shirt base

#2E2E2E — Shorts 1

#464646 — Shorts 2

#CCCCCC — Belt buckles

#DFDFDF — Belt 1 studs / Chains / Choker & cuff spikes

#F3F3F3 — Shirt pattern 1 (anarchy symbol)

#81FF5A — Shirt pattern 2

#FF5AEC — Shirt pattern 3

#FA0000 — Cuff / Choker

Funny Rainbow Checker Belt (gets its own section bc SO MANY COLOURS):

#D70000 (red)

#D76D00 (orange)

#D79200 (orange-yellow)

#D7C000 (yellow)

#65D700 (yellow-green)

#00D73E (green)

#00D7BD (teal)

#009ED7 (light blue)

#0034D7 (dark blue)

#5300D7 (purple)

#7200D7 (purple-magenta)

#B600D7 (magenta)

#D700B7 (pink)

#D70065 (pink-red)

Socks (again, its own section bc too many colours):

#FF6690 (pastel red)

#FF9997 (pastel red-orange)

#FFB881 (pastel orange)

#FDFFA7 (pastel yellow)

#84BCFF (pastel blue

#9C84FF (pastel purple)

#A210FF (magenta)

(istg if you draw any nsfw of me ill devour you)>🐜

~bugmod

[fryday]

favourite taylor swift phancoded songs? I genuinely think her whole discography tbh

oooooohh anon, you're so right there are so many fitting songs. this is gonna be a long response.

daylight (one of my favourite TS songs)

"i've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night / and now i see daylight, i only see daylight" -> dan meeting phil at 18, "and for the first time since i was a tiny child, i actually felt safe."

"and i can still see it all (in my head) / back and forth from new york (sneaking in your bed)" -> replace new york with rawtenstall :')

and just some lines that kill me when i think of it in the context of dnp -> "and i can still see it all (in my mind) / all of you, all of me (intertwined) / i once believed love would be (black and white) / but it's golden"

paper rings

"went home and tried to stalk you on the internet / now i've read all of the books beside your bed" like HELLO? self-explanatory

"i like shiny things but i'd marry you with paper rings" very dan-coded, i love my expensive shit but if it's you none of that even matters

"i'm with you, even if it makes me blue" and "honey, without all the exes, fights and flaws / we wouldn't be standing here so tall" are so 2012-coded. the exes being us, lol.

also "kiss you once 'cause i know you had a long night / kiss you twice 'cause it's gonna be alright / three times 'cause you waited your whole life" like..... dnp supporting each other through every difficulty + see above re: dan becoming an adult and gaining phil 😭

mastermind

dan in 2009 (except for the fact that it was plainly painfully obvious, it was completely intentional)

"and the touch of a hand lit the fuse / of a chain reaction of countermoves / to assess the equation of you / checkmate, i couldn't lose" -> phlirting online, dan knowing phil's interests from following and watching him, etc

"nothing was gonna stop me / i laid the groundwork and then just like clockwork / the dominoes cascaded in a line" -> more of the above

also this makes me kinda sad but uhm "no one wanted to play with me as a little kid / so i've been scheming like a criminal ever since / to make them love me and make it seem effortless" :((((( not that anything about dan's advances were fake or inauthentic, but like, with his childhood experiences and stuff, yeah. him finding someone so perfect for him surely made him put in 10x the effort he would have done with anyone else

sweet nothing (another of my faves)

"they say the end is coming / everyone's up to something / i find myself running home to your sweet nothings" tell me those are not the most dan- and phan-coded lines ever??? we're all doomed, but i have you!!!

[fallen-gabrielle]

Presidential/White House AU Headcanons compilation

Hello KND fandom! With friends from the discord server, we expanded the fake future from Operation: W.H.I.T.E.H.O.U.S.E. and made it an actual alternate universe/future.

I also decided to write a fanfic about it based on the headcanons we came up with 👀: Wrath of The White House, title suggested by @scarlett-v-the-fox. She also came up with a lot of headcanons about Lizzie's alien specie.

Many things come from the fact that President Uno gives major "I cheat on my wife with my secretary" vibes and we all just rolled with the idea. So yes, in this AU and fic, Adults!Nigel/Kuki is a thing and things get cra-zy between them, so I'm warning you, there will be a lot of adult stuff under the cut, such as freaky physical intimacy. If you don't like it for any reason, don't go further.

There's also a few things I left out from the list, because it would be kind of spoilery for the fic, but with this list you already know where you're getting yourself into, so no big surprises.

I will probably reblog this post when we explore the other characters not so mentioned here, but this is a good base to start.

Ok, are you ready for it? Remember, the following might make you uncomfortable so if you don't want to read it, just keep scrolling.

HEY I WARNED YOU, THERE WILL BE REALLY ADULT THEMED TOPICS, THIS IS MY FINAL WARNING, DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THINGS YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SEE CUZ I GAVE TWO BIG WARNINGS ABOUT IT! FINAL CHANCE TO TURN BACK!!!

The main things that can be hard to read are: kinks, torture, domestic and child abuse. All of this will be explored in some degrees in the fic.

We good? Okay, here it is then!

President Nigel Uno/Wrath -Won the elections through shady means: bribes, blackmail and other illegal stuff. -He made it possible for him to be President for life -He's in charge of the English mob, who he sent people to do the dirty work -He also has his personal army of demons as henchmen who helped him with the shady means to become president -He has powers, but he hides them very well in the face of the public. -The whole demon lineage is a family secret that he didn't even tell Lizzie. -He is known in the undergrounds as Wrath and you really don't want to piss him off. -His silhouette form is the classic pitch black suit, he has claws and a dragon tail, as well as straight horns on his forehead. His hair is messy in this form as well. -He's an asshole. He cares more about his hair than his heir (plz laugh at this) -He had many love affairs but only a few were consistant (a lot of one night stand). He only had one kid out of it with Rachel. -He uses a lot of hair gel. When he doesn't, his hair are messy just like his son's (they basically have the same haircut if not combed)

Nigel and Kuki (that's where the freaky bed stuff is, guys) -They fuck in secret but some people know what's going on. -They get crazy in the sack, with a shit tons of kinks. -Seriously, they try stuff in the bedroom, they're really creative. Tickling that Nigel actually enjoyed, Kuki liking having her hair pulled a little bit. They both bite and love it. -Their kinks involve leather, chains and extreme role plays (she has a collar with his name on it) -Technically they're switches, they take turns on who's the dominant one, but Nigel secretely likes being the sub in their relationship bc he gets a break from being in charge, and he gets praised. He can't hear "good boy" without blushing. -They can't go to specialized clubs because they can be regognized so they do it in private places -They have a code in little gestures to warn the other when they want each other. When she fixes his ties for exemple. -Their relationship is purely physical intimacy, there is no romantic emotion between them. -Outside of the bedroom, and off duty, they're just friends. -After the act, Nigel and Kuki share some fluff moment, where they simply like the presence of each other and like to snuggle. -She is serious, strict and stern as the secretary but in private with Nigel she loosens up and is a real tigress in bed. -"I will work late tonight honey" => is actually with Kuki -In the morning, Kuki likes to exchange her glasses with his just for fun, but one time they actually had to rush to get out and still had the wrong glasses on their faces. For those who didn't already know about them, that's how they learned what's going on -Kuki always travels with him on his trips

Nigel and Rachel (plus her family) -He had an affair with her during the early years of his marriage with Lizzie. -They're still in love even to this day -They had a daughter together named Lucy, 14 years old -Nigel loves his daughter very much, she's his little princess -He clearly has a favorite, and it's his daughter -They've been keeping their love affair a secret from everyone, mostly -Rachel is also hiding her daughter from most people's knolwedge -Rachel ended her relationship with Nigel and put an end to his secret visits to his daughter because things got sus and Nigel was also starting to change as he became greedier and lusted for more powers. He wasn't the man she fell in love with anymore. -Nigel sends her money to support their daughter but Rachel never accepted the money as it comes from corrupted/dirty money. -Rachel is the head of national security -She knows all the hacking tricks in the book. She can bypass a n y t h i n g -Harvey knows about the secret child and absolutely despises Nigel (and so does he)

Nigel and Lizzie -Lizzie is the same overbearing and annoying person as ever -Lizzie suspects that Nigel has an affair with Kuki Sanban. -She has no clue about Rachel and the illegitimate daughter. But when she learns that fact, all hell will break loose -She will especially be super mad that Nigel got a daughter with another woman and she didn't. -When she does get a confirmation about Kuki, she has to keep it down because the scandal would be too much to handle. Also, Nigel would be worse to her if she throws fits. -She doesn't know the extent of what Nigel is doing with Kuki, just that he's cheating on her with the secretary -When they do get intimate, it's the most boring stuff ever. -Nigel absolutely doesn't know she's an alien. When he finds out, he sends her to Area 51 -He will torture her to know why she was sent to earth

Nigel and his parents/relatives -Actually the only people he's not a complete douchbag to. -He really loves his parents and they love him too. He just never has the time to visit them as much as he would want to. -But they still never approved of Lizzie. They hate her. -Mrs Uno occasionally mentions divorce to her son so that Nigel would someday click and dump Lizzie -Nigel is also close to his uncle Benedict. He taught his nephew how to use his powers when he got them in his 20s.

Nigel and Shirley -They have a very cold relationship -Nigel doesn't care much for his son's existence except when it comes to his own image -Nigel is more neglectful towards his son than he is verbally or physically abusive towards him -Nigel insists on his son being proper all the time. -He combs his son's hair whenever he thinks it's not perfect -When Shirley gets his alien genes activated and apparent, Nigel absolutely hates it and cuts them off violently. -He always scolds Shirley for being ‘too noisy/agitated’ when they visit his parents because they’re old people so therefore they mustn’t be rushed. But Monty and Margaret really don’t mind their grandson for doing what a kid is supposed to do. -Shirley doesn't know his dad has affairs and just thinks he's always busy on business trip and extended meetings. -Viggo finding dogs’ collars in his dad’s stuff: "wait, he secretly has a dog? And he always refused that I get one myself !!!" Poor boy doesn't know what this really means

Shirley/Viggo -He's part human/demon and uvinea (alien part) -He doesn't know his true lineage on either side (yet) -At some point, he will start having flowers growing on his head -His vines can be torn apart and it hurts, but they will grow back -He doesn't know anything about his father's infidelity drama, including his older half sister -He really despises his dad in general -He admires Numbuh 1, whom he doesn't actually know that's his dad -I let you imagine the shock when he'll find out the truth xD -Leopold Lincoln/Numbuh 5'000 is his best friend -Shirley spends some times at the Lincolns', because Leo's dad is so much nicer than his own and wishes to have a dad like Leo's -Despite how dysfunctional his family is, Shirley still hopes that one day they could be a "normal family". -He loves his grandparents a lot (who doesn't tbh) -Nigel and Lizzie fight a lot for small things as well as the bigger ones (Nigel’s cheating for exemple) and it’s too much for Shirley so he goes to his grandparents’ place to have some calm and wholesomeness or sometimes to the Lincolns' -He hates the cold

Fanny & Patton plus friends -They're married and have a daughter -Her name is Sheila and her codename is Numbuh 860, soopreme leader -Patton is in the army but doesn't have a high position -He has to put up with Wally's bs all the time -He's away from home a lot -Fanny, as head of Nigel's security guards, records the shenanigans between the President and his Secretary and keeps the tapes as off-brand for herself. -She's actually supposed to delete anything scandalous about the President but eh, she sometimes blackmails Nigel with it. -She sometimes watches it with her colleague Chad and her husband when he gets back home -They all treat it like it's a fictional tv drama show -Therefore, they know all the dirty little secrets the President Uno has in the sack -She gossips about everything going on in the White House with her colleagues but makes sure nothing get out really (her boss is Nigel, remember) -Fanny actually does know about the Nigel/Rachel affair, because she is friend with Rachel -Fanny talks Rachel into watching the tapes. Rachel reluctantly agrees, and she's speechless until she mutters over halfway in, "Why couldn't we do any of that stuff? Damn."

Abigail Lincoln -Married to Maurice, he took her last name. -She was arrested under false accusations/She tried to organize a coup against his administration and failed -Nigel tortures her to get info from her (mostly about the knd) -She lost her right eye during one torture session -She was never decomissioned as she was tasked as a teenager and later as an adult to look after Nigel. Obviously she failed. -She is constantly tormenting herself about the fact she wasn't able to save Nigel -She was also part of Nigel's administration and she refused to help him in his corruption

Leopold/Numbuh 5'000 -His dad is Maurice -He's Shirley's best friend and always calls him by his nickname Viggo -He doesn't freak out nor is scared of his friend when he gets his powers -He kinda fanboys about it, actually, which makes Viggo cringe a few times -He writes and collect letters from the family for his mom. -He sneaks into the prison to bring her the letters and pastries his dad baked for his wife -He has to make his visits more sparce to avoid getting caught -“Dad misses you” “Dad brought you this” “Dad is working on your case” -He failed to protect his mom from being jailed and feels really guilty about it -He's a brave kid, but he still cries late at night for his mother. -His aunt Cree also helped raising him while Abby is imprisoned

[i-cant-stop-fandoming-help]

if tsurugi was placed into the kg instead of teruya how do u think things would play out [might make a au based off it who knows]

That would be the highest honor one can bestow.

Hummmmm okay so.

-cases would go a lot rougher. Like, he would be extremely fired up. Possibly accuse sora and syobai and mikado frequently

-he would still have a soft spot for yuki, and he could be confused at seeing *this* yuki isnt like the other one-- i.e. not good emotional support and not extremely positive.

-would talk shit about rei and Teruya to people's faces, but would privately praise them for all theyve done.

-that one scene where teruya promises to protect sora and the others? Never happens. He follows sora out of the building, and watches as she breaks up the whole thing between yuki and yoruko.

-he freezes once yuki holds the knife to his neck, and pulls out a gun. The moment the knife is away from yuki, he shoots sora. Thinking it is her fault he(yuki) is so miserable.

-After this event, he disappears for the most part. Sora invades the room he was staying in and finds his journal/diary.

•going through it, she cringes at seeing him talk about both yukis and utsuro. He was talking about fake yuki like he was a completely different person, and he blames akane for fake yuki getting his memories back.

•theres also points where he talks about killing everyone else there so he and yuki get out. He has no care for anyone else there.

-he never gets chained up by mikado or iroha. Instead, he interrogates mikado, and forces the wizard to say why he(tsurugi) cant leave.

•when finding out about the firewall thing, he comes up with a plan. If rei can make a connection again, he can tell her everything, and keep mikado distracted by shooting him up.

-this eventually leads to rei trying many passcodes out, until, eventually, she uses 0430, mikakos birthday. Why did mikado make the passcode the same in this? Who knows.

-ultimately, tsurugi survives, alongside yuki, yoruko, iroha, and syobai. While he has no care for sora, seeing her and akane as the same people, teruya and rei recognize the differences and recognize that sora is p much her own person.

•behind tsurugis back, the two work together on some sort of robot to put sora's coding in, so she lives, too.

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 36 - The Ding-Dong Belt

It's scary how good at lying he is, to be honest.

Also, the fake kanji/hanzi is very cute.

Yet another proof that Incarnam exists within the animated shows. I only point this out because I had seen people say that it's simply not a part of the ~lore,~ outside of games.

Also, it makes sense why it would be here — relatively speaking, Astrub and Incarnam are closely associated, and thanks to Zaaps, it is usually very easy to travel back and forth between the two.

God won't let me die. I am... not translating this.

The text seems to be filler, the kind we've seen before, although not lorem ipsum. You can see a lot of repeating first paragraphs.

It's too small, and I am a fragile little bird. My head will begin hurting.

The second page's big text says:

LE CHAI_ (that "E" lookng letter doesn't exist in the Amaknean alphabet. Maybe corrupted "A" or "V"?) EN CHAINE

Ok, this one is much easier. Thank god. This is probably modified lorem ipsum, judging from "dolor" and "orem ip s"

Scary thing I learned about Waven's pig imperial palace recently: For some reason, rap is a reoccurring theme for Japanese-coded characters in this universe. And no, I don't know why.

Say Gex, Keke. Say Gex.

Also, this implies the existence of an analogue of english within the World of Twelve, the same way Waven's Japanese Rap suggests that an analogue of Japanese exists.

Scary. It's already scary enough that this universe's Fantasy Common Tongue is French.

I forgot to mention this earlier in the post, but this academy is definitely the reason why Kerubim fights the way he does when he doesn't have a weapon.

The same newspaper asset, LMAO. The text is too small to read, but here's my take on it:

THE cutest bit of the entire episode. dfsgsfdg

Heartbroken little face.

Chances are, he learned absolutely nothing, except that papycha is awesome. Good for him, good for him.

[sparrow-in-boots]

okay so, I'm going to get to Lucy Stillman and the franchise's treatment of her, but i think I need to explain my own feelings about the portrayal of the modern brotherhood first. I do not buy the "brotherhood = conspiracy theory cult" angle. It's flawed and leads to terrible takes overall, by the lore and by the fandom.

It's a holdover from the fact that the game decides to run with conspiracy theories that we have in the real world, and assign them all to the Isu. they even poke fun of it in the earlier games with the whole lizard people and space wizards in tinfoil hats comments. now that's a whole can of worms in itself given how deeply racist and antisemitic the overwhelming majority of conspriacy theories are, but it's not a good way to portray the assassin brotherhood because that's not what they are. they are far leftists. they are anarchist cells, they are commune organizers, they are revolutionaries. that's not me saying it either, that's just canon, plain and simple.

but that would make the story too close to real-life politics and they can't do that cus it's not in their interests.

therefore, the brotherhood is coded as isolationist cultists, or at least as far as The Farm goes. in current year, i think we can all agree there's an inherent fallacy (if not outright disengenuous portrayal) of painting your leftist organization fighting against the capitalist neocolonial hegemony with the same strokes as the whacky people starting communes in the middle of nowhere to escape 5G towers, fluoride water and the [insert villanized minority group here].

i don't buy it, i don't appreciate it, and i think we could have had a stronger story without it, even regarding Desmond's backstory.

THAT SAID, let's take a look at Lucy. her's is the story of a girl who was forced into adulthood too early after being left to her own devices by a very sheltered and isolating community that failed her, and then inducted into a cult which ultimately killed her and then was promptly swept under the narrative. that cult is the templar order by the by.

Lucy was born and raised within the Brotherhood, and pretty much set lose on the world with no connectiosn to speak of. surely they must have given her a paper trail, fake parents and school enrollments, medical records, the works. she was told to infiltrate Abstergo and probably given a general path towards that, namely research that could be useful to them, but otherwise? she was on her own.

first thing that comes to mind is when Amish folks get their time away from their hometown to experience the world and choose to come back or not. i can't comment on their experience and general view on this so i won't attempt to draw a parallel here, but just that initial mental connection speaks for itself imo.

She speaks of having to wait tables to make ends meet, and while that's the socially expected experience of solo living for a young adult leaving home (work minimun wage jobs, go to college, climb the chain, start small, etc), she has no home to return to. In fact there's this looming tension that even opening up to missing her home or going into detail about it could blow her cover. Even in the privacy of being around friends and colleagues, there's this necessity of keeping up a front. She has to buy it so deeply it becomes her, inside and out, and doing that at such a formative age is bound to take it's toll.

You're removed from everything and everyone you've ever known. You don't know when or if you'll ever see them again. In fact they can die at any moment and you might never hear about it. Contact with them is a fraught and dangerous thing, and even the slightest slip could spell your doom and theirs. Connection is a constant swinging sword of Damocles over her, and who can take comfort and solace from community like that? No one, is who. So of course she'd seek that away from where she could endanger everyone.

So in comes Vidic. She knows he's a templar, of course she does, but he's kind and understanding, a bit frustrating and headstrong, but she can usually talk him into chilling out here and there. And of course, one can draw a parallel between him and Bill. Both are strict and charismatic (in their own way) father and mentor figures, but while Bill is cold and hard, Vidic feigns affection (as Haytham so eloquently put) and the worst part is, it works. Any affection and attention is good attention for the starved, and Lucy's been on the end of her ropes since she's been outside of the Brotherhood.

She knows and can see it's all manipulation, she's not that blind of course, but it chips away at her. That's what emotional manipulation does after all. And then, in come the agents to kill her, and Vidic stops them.

All her life she's heard how brutal and merciless the templars are, and surely she's seen it too while working under them, but right when her facade slips and she should be dead, she's not. Because Vidic spares her. Of course that leaves a deep impression on her, and further erodes her resolve. Slowly but surely, she opens up, and Vidic is an expert at what he does. She may hold quite a bit of guilt and shame at turning, but the templars were there when the brotherhood wasn't.

Bill says that of those they send to infiltrate the templars, they are either "too strong" and can't keep up the charade, or are "too weak" and turn. How is being a human being who needs connection and community "too weak"? How is being slowly lovebombed and manipulated into choosing the wire mother and then being foresaken the plush one when in need weakness?

Desmond says that she "seemed so sincere, like she really wanted to make a difference", and I truly believe she did. Her morals and belief were twisted through years of emotional torture and isolation, and she knew she couldn't return to the brotherhood after how far she caved under the pressure. There's no space for the nuances and endless gray areas of such an unbalanced war in the current brotherhood, and she knows it, so throwing in with the templars for her was the lesser evil. She's not fool enough to buy their propaganda wholesale, but it's a necessary concession in her mind so she can excuse her taking advantage of their attention and community. Again, as long as she's useful to them, she has a place among them.

However, the way she's treated by the narrative is... w o w. We never get the chance to hear it from her side, expect by a pathetically short email on the ACR dlc. While having the protagonists agonize over someone's beliefs after their passing and finding no solid answers, they really don't spend nearly enough time for that to carry much weight narratively. In fact, there's hardly much of a critique on the conditions that led her to that kind of fall from grace, and even less is done to fix it.

She, much like Clay, are the epitomes of how the brotherhood is mirroring too much the templar's and Juno's disregard for human life, and how that needs to change in order for them to turn the tides. But nothing comes of it, because our anchor to the modern timeline gets doomed by the narrative and now all those loose plot holes go nowhere. Her funeral, her burial, her memory, it all gets waved about like an annoying gnat on the dinner table, and nobody does anything but try their best to ignore it until it goes away. Her actress couldn't keep with their schedule, so they got rid of her in the most pathetic horrifyingly dismissive way possible.

Personally I'm not a fan of the templar turncoat plotline they gave her, but if that's what they wanted to go with, then it needed much MUCH more careful writing and it needed to fucking GO SOMEWHERE. But it doesn't. And it sucks.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Stars Beyond Number - Chapter 13

As the Wind

Rating: T (rating varies by chapter; mature content will be tagged; regardless of rating, minors DNI)

Pairings: Echo x Riyo Chuchi; Gregor x OFC Cerra Kilian

Wordcount: 3.6k

Warnings and tags: suspense, some action, temporary hearing loss, Star Wars swearing

Suggested Listening:

Summary: The team undertakes an extraction mission, and Cerra sees a familiar face.

A/N: This story shares continuity with Martyrs and Kings and "Do It Again," but all three fics can be read as stand-alones.

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Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves in a field

Behaving as the wind behaves

—T. S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”

Cerra’s contact network finally came through with a ship that satisfied all of their requirements for the Balmorra mission: an old mining vessel with an auxiliary leech. It didn’t have the speed or firepower they needed, but retrofitting it with upgraded thrusters and weapons would be fairly straightforward. 

In a stroke of pure, unadulterated bad luck, the ship’s availability coincided with Cerra’s mission to Raada, which meant that Gregor and Rex were unable to provide backup on the operation. Gregor had been distant since their ill-fated excursion to the market, apparently unreconciled to Cerra’s decision to go ahead with the mission. Fireball and Echo accompanied her instead. 

En route to Imperial military HQ, she changed into the scratchy wool officer’s uniform she’d “requisitioned.” Rex had taken a single look at it and declared that he didn’t want to know how she got it, which was probably for the best. The captain was willing to do whatever it took to get the job done, but he still balked at some of Cerra’s shadier dealings.

“Eyes front, trooper,” Echo barked.

Cerra turned in time to see Fireball snap to attention and stare fixedly out the front viewport with a guilty expression. She finished dressing quickly and went to stand behind Fireball’s seat.

“You need to get out more, buddy,” she said, punching his armored shoulder lightly. 

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” he replied stiffly.

She laughed, and he relaxed as his expression turned sheepish. “Been a while, has it, soldier?”

Fireball mumbled something about entire life under his breath, but Cerra opted not to torment him any further. The plan was for Echo to drop her off far enough from HQ that she wouldn’t be spotted leaving the ship. She would walk the rest of the way to the base and pass through security with a forged chain code that Echo had provided. Once inside, she would make her way to the Raada transport. Echo had also created a set of fake orders in case anyone questioned her presence.

She had spent the past week practicing a supercilious glare. Fireball had coached her on it, reminding her to treat the clones as subhuman if she wanted to escape detection. She hated it as much as she hated the kriffing itchy wool uniform.

“Tell me one more time what his armor looks like?” Cerra asked Fireball.

“You can’t miss it,” he grinned. “I painted it myself.”

He launched into a detailed description of Nemec’s exuberant armor paint job, complete with the story about how he convinced Nemec to let him do it in the first place.

“I’m surprised your armor isn’t flashier,” she said.

Fireball shrugged. “It was better camouflage on Kashyyyk. And then… I didn’t want to paint over it. Not when it reminded me of the commander.”

Cerra squeezed his shoulder in consolation, and they lapsed into silence. As they approached the drop zone, she felt a swirl of nervous anticipation in her stomach.

“Comms will be jammed as soon as you pass through security, so you won’t be able to call for help if anything goes wrong,” Echo said. “We’ll be monitoring chatter, but we can’t hear everything.”

“Let’s hope nothing goes wrong, then,” Cerra said. “I guess I’ll see you boys on Raada in three standard rotations. Wish me luck.”

Echo grunted, and Fireball just stared at her with wide eyes. She snapped to attention and gave them a textbook salute.

“How do I look?” she asked.

“Like you never left,” Echo said.

Cerra pulled a face, then turned and headed for the back hatch of the ship. Before she could reach it, a hand closed around her elbow, and Fireball spun her around into a crushing hug.

“Thanks, Cerra,” he whispered. 

She hugged him back and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to get your brother back, Fireball. I promise you.”

He gave her one last tight squeeze, then lowered the ramp. She walked out of the ship and immediately ducked down an alleyway, following it to the opposite side of the block, and then turned and walked briskly toward HQ. She passed the First Battle Memorial and joined the security queue at the main entrance. 

Her heart began to pound as the queue slowly advanced. She kept her face carefully neutral and focused on controlling her breathing. By the time she reached the front of the queue, her hands were sweating inside her gloves, but they were steady enough as she presented her counterfeit chain code for inspection.

The TK trooper at the gate barely glanced at the code before waving her through. She walked calmly through the entrance, trying not to think that she was about to lose all contact with her squad. She fought the urge to gawk at the changes to the base since she had last been there. At that point, it had still been the Republic Center for Military Operations. Still, not so much had changed that she couldn’t find her way around, and she headed straight for the airfield.

“Lieutenant Kilian?” an unmistakably clone voice asked.

Cerra nearly turned, but she caught herself just in time and kept walking, not acknowledging the question. Her mouth went dry, and her pulse hammered in her ears. Just keep walking, just keep walking.

A hand grabbed her by the elbow, exactly where Fireball had caught her only moments before. She spun around to face her assailant, and her stomach dropped with dread as she recognized his 501st-blue painted armor.

“Cerra Kilian?” the clone repeated.

Nax, she realized. She would recognize that hairstyle anywhere.

“You’re mistaken, trooper,” she said, meeting his eyes and blatantly lying. “I’m Lieutenant Marchon.”

Nax froze, his hand still gripping her elbow. He knows. I’m going to die. She could feel the tide of panic rising in her chest, and she fought it down, remembering at the last moment to assume that haughty expression that Fireball had taught her.

“My mistake,” Nax said, releasing her arm. “Sorry, lieutenant. I thought you were someone else.”

Cerra straightened her uniform and tried to think of a response. What would a scughole Imp say right now? Something condescending and awful. Think!

“You can go about your business, lieutenant,” Nax said. “If you see Lieutenant Kilian, tell her I said hello.”

“Quite,” Cerra stammered. “Thank you, trooper.”

He nodded shortly, then turned on his heel and left. Cerra continued her rapid journey to the airfield, lightheaded with relief. She didn’t know why Nax hadn’t reported her, but she wasn’t going to stick around and find out. She hurried down the row of transports until she located the one she needed, keenly aware that at any moment she could be apprehended, and she would have no way of contacting Echo to let him know. If it happened, she would likely be dead before they ever discovered she’d been caught.

She showed her forged orders to the trooper guarding the transport, and he waved her through. Inside, she found a mixed force of clones and TK troopers. She appeared to be the only officer on board, which only made her stand out more. She kept waiting for the soldiers to turn their weapons on her, but it never happened. The last few troopers boarded, the ramp closed, and the transport launched. 

Nax never called it in.

The troopers were eerily silent as the transport jumped into hyperspace with a shudder. There was no banter, no laughter, no speculation about their assignment. Just soundless, blank helmets, devoid of color or individuality. The clone troopers sat separately from the TK troopers, as though an invisible ray shield prevented them from commingling. It was going to be a long three days.

The Imperial base on Raada bustled with activity. More transports arrived each day, and though the buildings were prefabricated and lowered into place from a Star Destroyer, a huge amount of work still needed to be done to get the base fully supplied. Cerra had been in dozens of bases with this exact layout, so at least she didn’t have to worry about getting lost.

In fact, the commotion around the base could work to her advantage, as Nemec’s absence would be less noticeable amid the throngs of new arrivals. All she had to do now was locate him, convince him that she wasn’t an Imperial spy, and get him out. The first step shouldn’t be too difficult; Nemec’s flamboyant armor paint job would definitely stand out in the crowd of shiny TK troopers.

She headed for the mess hall, figuring it was as good a place to start as any. He wasn’t there, so next she checked the barracks, only to come up empty again. She fabricated an excuse to inspect the walker bay, and didn’t find him—though that had been a long shot. It occurred to her that she could be missing him by mere moments, but she couldn’t very well start asking random troopers if they’d spotted a clone in stunning green armor wandering around the base.

As the putative supply officer, she’d been allocated a small office, so she holed up inside it while she planned her next move. It would make the most sense to stake out either the barracks or the mess; at some point, Nemec would need to go to both of them. Her stomach rumbled, making the decision for her, and she headed to the mess hall.

There were a few officers inside, as well as several troopers. Once again, she noted that the clones sat apart from the TKs. She picked up a tray and moved through the line, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia as she ladled the unidentifiable beige sludge onto her tray. She found a seat with a clear view of the mess hall entrance. She sat alone, knowing that she would draw attention if she were the only natborn to sit with the clones.

As she ate, Cerra observed the strange dynamics of the room. Obviously, the clones had their own territory. The TK troopers had claimed a sizable chunk of the room as well. But what surprised her was that none of the officers sat with the TK troopers. They either clustered in small cliques or sat on their own as she did. It seemed that the Imperial hierarchy was much more rigidly enforced than it had been under the Republic.

She ate as slowly as possible, prolonging her surveillance of the mess, but at last, she could delay no longer. She dropped her tray at the bussing station and headed back to the hangar. If it took her much longer to locate Nemec, she would need to get her office set up to maintain her cover. 

She rounded a corner and nearly collided with a group of troopers. As she stumbled backward, one of them reached out to steady her.

“Sorry, sir. I didn’t see you there,” he said in a familiar voice.

Clones, she realized as she took in their armor. This group all had painted armor instead of the shiny white plastoid she’d mostly seen so far. She scanned the group for one in green, but didn’t see the unmistakable design Fireball had described to her.

“It was my fault,” she said. “I wonder if you could help me find someone, though?”

“Depends on who you’re looking for,” the trooper said. 

“I’m trying to get my office set up, and I was told to ask for help from a clone trooper in green armor with a yellow—”

“That’d be Nemec,” a second trooper offered. “I think I saw him headed out for a patrol, but I can comm him for you.”

“Unless you’d prefer my help,” a third trooper said in a flirtatious tone as he shouldered his way to the front of the group. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

Cerra bit back a laugh. “I’m flattered, but I think it would be best if I just go with the trooper assigned to me. I don’t want to risk scugging off the base commander the day I arrive.”

“Too bad,” the trooper replied. “If you change your mind—oof!”

The first trooper elbowed him in the ribs, hard. “She’s not interested, Crusher. Take a hint.”

“Nemec is on his way, sir,” the second clone said. “Where would you like him to meet you?”

“The hangar, please,” Cerra said, knowing that she was failing miserably at impersonating the cold, arrogant Imperials that Fireball had described.

“Do you need an escort?”

“I can find my way, but thank you for the offer, and for your help,” Cerra said, excusing herself.

She continued toward the hangar, keenly aware of the clones’ eyes following her. She forced herself to maintain a steady pace, though she wanted to break into a run. Finally, she turned another corner and was out of their view. She hurried the rest of the way to the hangar and arrived just as Nemec pulled in on a BARC speeder. Troopers milled about, unloading and stacking crates from the transport. She spotted a small bank of V-wings and hoped they wouldn’t be an issue during the extraction.

“Are you the supply officer?” Nemec asked as he dismounted.

“Yes, and you must be Nemec,” she said.

He nodded shortly. “Show me what you need.”

He did not sound thrilled to meet her, and she couldn’t blame him. He was an elite warrior, reduced to running menial errands for pampered officers. She showed him the crates with “her” gear, then led him to the office she’d been assigned. Once inside, she closed and locked the door.

Nemec whipped around, startled. Cerra raised her hands to show she meant him no harm.

“What kind of game are you playing?” he demanded, looming over her.

“Fireball sent me,” she said quietly.

Nemec went unnaturally still. “Who’s Fireball?” he asked cautiously.

“He said to tell you that the netcasters weren’t the worst thing about Kashyyyk.”

“It was the mud,” Nemec replied. “Who are you?”

“My name is Cerra Kilian,” she said. “I’m here to get you out.”

“Kilian?” Nemec asked, tilting his head to the side. “I don’t suppose you know—”

“He’s my uncle,” Cerra said. “When can you be ready to leave?”

“Now,” Nemec said immediately. “What’s the plan?”

“We need to get away from the base and meet up with Fireball and the rest of my squad at these coordinates,” Cerra said, displaying the rendezvous point on a small holoprojector. “Do you think you can get a BARC speeder without being noticed? It took longer to find you than I’d hoped, and we’re on a tight timeline. We’ll stand a better chance of making the rendezvous if we don’t have to go on foot.”

“I can get the bike, but it’ll be trickier to get away from the base without being spotted. They’ll notice a passenger. Unless you can come up with a convincing explanation, they’ll shoot us down.”

Cerra pondered the conundrum. “What is the Empire even doing on Raada?”

“Growing some kind of engineered plants for rations,” Nemec said. 

“I can work with that,” she said. “I’ll say that as supply officer, I have been ordered to supplement the base’s rations with the local produce, and I’m conducting an inspection.”

“Which you’ve ordered me to assist,” Nemec said. “It could work. I hope you’re good at banthashitting.”

“I don’t have to banthashit; I was a supply officer for thirteen years,” Cerra said. “I can throw so much technical jargon at them that they won’t know if I’m even speaking Basic.”

“If you say so,” Nemec said doubtfully.

“I do,” Cerra said. “And one more thing: as far as the Empire knows, I’m Lieutenant Marchon. Let’s get going.”

They returned quickly to the hangar, and Nemec mounted the speeder as Cerra climbed into the sidecar. As he had predicted, the guards at the main entrance of the base ordered them to halt.

“Where are you taking this officer?” a TK trooper demanded.

“I’ve been ordered to take Lieutenant Marchon to the settlement to inspect the farms,” Nemec said.

“Under whose authority?” the trooper asked.

“Admiral Coburn,” Cerra replied in the most condescending Coruscanti drawl she could summon. “When he assigned me to Raada, he ordered me to supplement the base’s rations with the produce we grow locally. Would you care to ask him yourself?”

“No, ma’am. Proceed.” He waved them through the gate.

“Not bad,” Nemec said once they were safely out of earshot.

“It wouldn’t have worked on a clone,” Cerra said. “Lucky break.”

Nemec steered them toward the settlement until they were out of view of the base, then brought the bike to a halt.

“The speeder has a tracking beacon,” Nemec said. “We’ll need to take it off, or they’ll be able to follow us to the rendezvous.” 

Cerra checked her chronometer. It was going to be close, but they would make it in time, assuming nothing went wrong. She hopped out of the sidecar and searched for the transmitter.

“Kriff, it’s hardwired in with a kill switch,” she said. “If I take it off, the bike won’t start.”

“What are we going to do, then?” he asked.

“Head toward the settlement. We’ll ditch the bike there and go the rest of the way on foot.”

“Won’t that put the farmers at risk once the Empire discovers we’re missing?” Nemec asked.

“Fine,” Cerra sighed. “We’ll get closer to the village, then I’ll sabotage the bike. It’ll look like an accident. Hopefully, the explosion will be big enough to explain the lack of bodies.”

“Oh, I can help with that,” Nemec chuckled, handing her a thermal detonator.

“That’ll do it,” she said.

They remounted the bike and sped toward the settlement. When they were about three klicks away, they stopped again, and Cerra quickly yanked a few wires. She set the detonator on a timer and started the bike.

“Start running,” she said, jamming the accelerator.

The bike zoomed away, shuddering violently. She sprinted after Nemec, and within seconds, the speeder engine sparked violently and exploded. The detonator went off immediately after, and the shock wave knocked her to the ground. Her ears rang as she struggled to get up. Nemec doubled back and yanked her to her feet. He shouted something, but she couldn’t make it out over the high-pitched shriek in her head. Without waiting for a response, he took off running, dragging her behind him as she stumbled.

“—have to move!” 

His voice was muffled, and she shook her head to try to clear it. It didn’t work, but she jogged after him regardless. Nausea rose in her belly, but she tamped it down. Her breath was harsh, and her lungs ached. Run, Cerra. One foot in front of the other. Keep going.

They ran until they reached an outcropping of rocks that provided some cover, and Nemec finally slowed.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She nodded, breathing hard. At least she could hear again.

“Good,” he said. “We still have a long way to go, so we need to keep walking.”

“I am walking,” she said irritably. 

“Walk faster,” Nemec said.

As much as she wanted to snap back at him, he had a point, so she picked up the pace. “We can still make it,” she said. “The bike bought us some time.”

They walked for hours, carefully rationing the small amount of water in Nemec’s canteen. Cerra stripped off the stifling wool uniform jacket and tied it around her waist. Her undershirt was soaked with sweat from the hot sun, and soon she was covered in a fine film of dust that clung to her damp skin. Silently, she cursed her karking uncomfortable boots. They were made for sitting at a desk, not trekking across rocky terrain.

She checked her chronometer. We can still make it.

“Will they scramble the V-wings if a ship enters the atmosphere?” she asked.

Nemec shook his head. “I don’t think their surveillance is that advanced. That’s why they picked this system; nobody comes here.”

“Security was pretty tight at the base,” Cerra observed.

“We’ve had a little trouble with the locals. Some of them objected to the Empire ordering them to torch their own crops and grow ration plants instead. Can’t imagine why,” Nemec said drily.

His voice sounded deeper than Fireball’s, more like Rex, and Cerra wondered how old he was.

“Were you and Fireball batchmates?” she asked curiously.

He turned his head to study her before he answered. He still hadn’t removed his helmet.

“No,” he said. “We met when I was serving under your uncle. Fireball was just a shiny. Didn’t even have a name yet. His whole batch got wiped out by a vulture droid in his first battle. Poor kids never saw it coming. Fireball ran toward the explosion to try to save them, but they were already gone.”

“Is that how he got his name?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “How’d you get mixed up in all this?”

“Just lucky, I guess,” she said.

“You said you’d been a supply officer for thirteen years,” he pressed.

“Corellian military defense force,” she said. “Then GAR.”

“Not Imperial army?”

“Not so far,” she said.

“I knew you were too nice to be one of them,” Nemec said.

“Fireball will be disappointed to hear that. He spent the last week coaching me on how to be a scughole to clones.”

“Your mistake was treating us like humans,” Nemec said. “Wouldn’t want anyone to see you doing that.”

“I guess I’m just not cut out to be an Imperial officer,” Cerra said. “There goes Plan Besh.”

“I’d say don’t quit your day job, but I don’t know what that is,” he said.

“Is treason a day job?” she asked. “It doesn’t pay much, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of it.”

Nemec laughed, the sound harsh and distorted by his helmet. “You’re not so bad, Lieutenant Traitor.”

---

Next chapter

[thoughtlessarse]

Britain’s nuclear submarine engineers use software that was designed in Russia and Belarus, in contravention of Ministry of Defence rules, The Telegraph can reveal. The software should have been created by UK-based staff with security clearance, but its design was partially outsourced to developers in Siberia and Minsk, the capital of Belarus. There are fears that the code built by the Russian and Belarussian developers could be exploited to reveal the location of Britain’s submarines. The Telegraph understands that the MoD considered the security breach a serious threat to UK defence and launched an investigation. The inquiry discovered that the firm that outsourced the work – on a staff intranet for nuclear submarine engineers – to Russia and Belarus initially kept it secret and discussed whether it could disguise where the workers were based by giving them fake names of dead British people. As well as the UK’s submarine fleet, there are fears that further defence capabilities could have been compromised because it has emerged that a previous project was also outsourced to developers in Minsk. National security in jeopardy On Friday, experts warned that the UK’s national security could have been jeopardised if personal details of those with classified knowledge of Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet fell into the wrong hands, leaving them exposed to blackmail or targeted attacks. Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, said the breach “potentially left us vulnerable to the undermining of our national security”. He added: “Time and time again, countries like China and Russia have targeted the supply chains of our defence contractors. This is not a new phenomenon.” James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said it was an “absolute imperative” to ensure “our most sensitive defence programmes have total resilience and security”. Rolls-Royce Submarines, which powers the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet on behalf of the Royal Navy, wanted to upgrade its staff intranet and had subcontracted the work to WM Reply, a digital consultancy firm. WM Reply then used developers based in Belarus – Russia’s closest ally – one of whom was actually working from home in Tomsk, Siberia, according to documents submitted to the MoD’s inquiry.

continue reading

This happened under the Tories, no doubt a product of austerity and the drive to acquire things as cheaply as possible.

You couldn't make this shit up.

[khtrinityftw]

Something done so well in the KH Trinity is the balance between the dramatic stakes and the personal stakes. You feel both perfectly.

In Kingdom Hearts, the personal stakes are that Sora wants to be reunited with Kairi and Riku while Donald and Goofy want to be reunited with their king. It all comes to a head at Hollow Bastion, where everything appears lost for Sora: Kairi appears lifeless and held captive, Riku is full-on evil and stands against him, and even Donald and Goofy abandon him in order to follow their missing king's instructions. But he presses onward, ultimately able to overcome and reverse all this. Of course, even then the personal stakes are unable to be completely fulfilled, as Sora, Donald and Goofy is still apart from their loved ones in the end. That's why this is a trilogy!

The dramatic stakes, meanwhile, are the universe being consumed by darkness as the Heartless spread across worlds and destroy them one by one, all while searching for the Seven Princesses of Heart that can grant the villains controlling them a pathway to ultimate power. It progresses until we reach the final battle, where Ansem's darkness has manifested an enormous Heartless warship ready to break down the door to Kingdom Hearts. And even if Kingdom Hearts is actually light despite what Ansem believes, that light would easily be consumed by the warship's darkness, which is why Sora, Donald and Goofy must take it down....and then afterwards, once the door is open, seal it shut before the Heartless from the Realm of Darkness swarm into the Realm of Light and fulfill Ansem's vision for him. This music alone is enough to sell how massive the stakes are here.

In Chain of Memories, the personal and dramatic stakes are tied together the closest of any game because it's the same possibility: Sora losing himself. Bad for the universe, bad for him and his friends. Riku lacks any real dramatic stakes in his story, but the personal stakes are very clear: achieve redemption or be forever damned?

And in Kingdom Hearts II, we escalate so that not only are Sora, Donald and Goofy seeking to reunite with their closest friends, but all of the other friends they made during their first go-round are being threatened by the forces of evil, exemplified best in the "But Leon and the others are friends too!" scene at the game's midway point.

The dramatic stakes are now not a progressing apocalypse in full view, but an insidious conspiracy in the shadows that uses deception and manipulation to progress until an apocalypse can be unleashed upon the universe all at once when Xemnas absorbs the power of Kingdom Hearts to become a deity. When Ansem the Wise thwarts this plan by blowing Kingdom Hearts wide open, Xemnas still merges with its remains in order to manifest a mighty flying battle fortress that he can sail through space in, attacking all worlds and absorbing all the hearts he needs to complete his ascension to godhood. Like in the first game, Sora, Donald and Goofy bring down this monstrosity and save the universe. But then, Sora and Riku get separated from everyone as a back-up generator made up of power from Kingdom Hearts resurrects Xemnas, who now just wants them dead so that he can go forth to show the universe that if he can't rule over it then he will destroy it, reducing world after world to utter nothingness.

And even after these dramatic stakes are resolved with Xemnas' final defeat, the personal stakes linger as it looks like Sora and Riku are trapped in the Realm of Darkness, unable to return to their loved ones in the Realm of Light and doomed to fade away. And it's this fake-out, how it looks like another cliffhanger ending is coming, that makes the happy ending Kairi's message in a bottle brings all the more joyous and satisfying. It's narrative pay-off done to perfection.

In the series beyond the KH Trinity, we've either gotten sufficient dramatic stakes (Coded, Birth by Sleep), sufficient personal stakes (358/2 Days, 0.2 Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage), or neither as the story fails at both (Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts III). Nothing on this level ever again, which I doubt is going to change.

[liliallowed]

thorn bound souls 1

a dusttale soul-mate fic (anomaly x sans)

warning tags:

-dark

-corrupt/forced soul bond

-manipulation

-self sabotage

-suicidal thoughts (no attempts)

-not a fix you fic

-hurt

-imprisonment

-mutual yandere tendencies

again. this IS a sans x anomaly fic. just reminding :) and it's a choice game! each part has a choice! I'll make a poll and you can chose the interaction!

summary:

after making a deal with the devil sans has to deal with the consequences of developing feelings he never asked for. luckily LV solves half of his problems.

he felt the sickeningly sweet pulse again.

there was no indication of them visiting him but he knew he KNEW each time.

the new sense of surveillance he had over them being close by gave him a sense of control. a sense of power. he was in charge. of course he wouldn't just let them off the hook.

he really didn't take them for such a hopeless romantic. or an idiot... but that could only mean that THEY REALLY HAD feelings. because love made people do dumb stuff like being coerced to give away their immortality for forgiveness he lied he had in himself.

"idiot" he grinned.

he had their lifeline. if he killed himself the world would reset by result of their soul shattering along with his.

using the soul bond as leverage was the last thing he expected but it still was technically more "ETHICAL" than murdering the entire monster population...

and they both deserved to suffer together anyway. two birds with one stone!

it wasn't still a direct influence over the save but... with this much he could still pull some strings to mess with that narcissistic fool with a god complex.

he had control. he had control. he was in control.

they thought that they could just fix everything with a small apology. props to the act, they'd surely win an award with those crocodile tears. they even went through the trouble to antagonize a common enemy and defeat the demon FOR him as a display of absolute loyalty and affection...

...

his none existent ass.

he smiled through it all. pretending... waiting... until they let their gaurd down.

"do you believe even the worst person can change? "

they thought that they could just whisper sweet nothing and have their happy ending with him?

oh that was absolutely hilarious. sometimes he wondered how STUPID they thought him as. as if he was a one dimensional fictional character to them.

"only if they decide to"

well on way or another he WAS slowly creeping up and catching back up to them. not in LV or exp but with wits.

*buddum*

the pulse was stronger.

he hated it. hated how his mind and soul would clash. the way he'd be stuck in a trance unable to think... to act.

it was invasive. it fucked with his mind more than he liked to admit.

emotions manipulating his actions and an involuntary urge to protect this freak. to comfort them. to ask them about their day or... WHATEVER cheesy ass things bonded people did.

he wanted to puke.

he'd be worried he was actually in love if he wasn't confident in his LV fighting back the love.

more. he needed more he needed to drown it out. he wasn't going to be another pawn. he WAS IN CONTROL OF THESE CHAINS. not these fake FEELINGS. not THEM.

he let out a sigh calming himself.

one way or another these forced "feelings" would take over. he just had to make sure to go down kamikaze with them.

he could feel the "love" slowly chipping away at his hatred and pacifying him.

it made him want lash out even further.

it felt suffocating. like a silent scream being drowned out by a peaceful slumber.

it felt BAD that it felt so warm and good. he knew HE KNEW it was because of his souls chemistry. his falsely happy lil piece of shit magic that wasn't numbed by LV, rejoiced.

nothing but heavy coded dumb mushy monster instincts.

he wished he didn't have soul sometimes.

humans didn't HAVE that problem. they were out of tune with their magic and souls by default making it much easier for them to raise their LV.

he wanted to bash his head against the wall.

a clear disadvantage on his part but he STILL had some tricks up his sleeve. if he could only get rid of the bond the MOMENT he killed them... without dying himself...

this could be fixed.

problem was that they weren't oblivious.

they KNEW he would stab them in the back given the chance and had the entire mosnter race fooled by heroism.

oh how valiant. they saved everyone from being murdered by the crazy judge. how fucking heroic.

he cackled.

it always give him the ick. how they treated everything as a stage play. so disconnected so... fake and empty.

the ambassador forcing their way back to a Pacifist ending DESPITE his efforts.

"you lost. I still own your fate."

he could practically hear them snickering playfully like an eight old pulling a cheap prank.

guess all anomalies had such standards for pranks.

so why weren't they laughing when he killed them? he was telling them a joke in THEIR OWN language.

they liked things extreme.

"wouldn't it be funny if I did it instead?"

" why aren't you laughing? it was just a prank. it's not like you can't bring them back right?"

the irony. oh the sweet irony.

it was a bit childish. like a classic "no you" a child would say in retaliation... but seeing the absolute shock on their face...

it gave him a sense of euphoria. it felt... like he was for a second... ahead of them.

that they DIDN'T expect this. that they WEREN'T a god they pretended to be. that they WEREN'T ABOVE THE CONSEQUENCES.

a weakness that he had CONTROL over. HE COULD LAUGH AT THEM. HE COULD WIN.

his eyelights locked onto the door feeling the magnetic pull behind the wall.

"didja miss me?"

he grinned looking at you as you entered the room.

yes               ❤️              yes

he watched you pause with confusion with a small chuckle.

he could see the gears turning in your head. you looked slightly creeped out by it. as if he had BROKEN a certain "rule" or expectation of yours. your SOUL was unique. your EYES were unique too. so for it to aknowledge your will, there were some... complications.

"c'mon it's not like I'm messing with your head more than you are with mine" he shrugged nonchalantly.

No            ❤️             yes

before you could reply however he interrupted you with a swing of his magic, trapping your soul in place. 💙    

[schrijverr]

Eddie's Famous Husband

Eddie loves his husband and all his coworkers know that, because he loves talking about Richie. He just forgot to mention that his husband is famous comedian Richie Tozier. Outsiders POV.

On AO3.

Ships: Richie x Eddie

Warnings: none

~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie is the new worker on the floor. He has transferred over from the New York offices of the company to where they are located in LA. He is a little uptight, especially about hygiene and can be a slight pushover on projects. However, he works hard and well in the team. Louis likes him.

Louis shares office space with Eddie and has been the one that gave him a tour on his first day. On that first day, he felt awkward around the man, who was dressed with everything neatly in place, resting on a sturdy classy cane, scar across his cheek. He looked a bit like a mobster.

However, Louis slowly got along with Eddie, because while he can seem like an asshole from time to time, he is a caring guy.

He has a bit of a phobia of getting sick or injured, but that means he is highly up to date on the safety codes that are in place for them, always sticking up whenever he sees something that should not be allowed. He also has an apothecary in his desk and if Louis has a headache or something, he knows he can ask Eddie for some painkillers.

It’s one of his oddities that makes him likable, despite his strict oddities. Another one of his endearing qualities is how much he loves his husband.

The amount Eddie talks about his husband is something Louis hadn’t seen coming when he first saw the guy in his perfectly pressed suit screaming professional corporate straight man, who makes ball and chain jokes, like so many others on their floor.

Yet a week into them working together a small pride flag appears in the meticulously kept pencil holder. Eddie looks like he is prepared to fight anyone, who talks shit about the flag, defiant and confident.

A part of Louis can’t help but think that must be terrifying and maybe a mask. So, he tries to remember all his girlfriend ever told him about coming out as bi and smiles at Eddie as he says: “I like your flag.”

True to prediction, Eddie seems to loose some tension and smile back as he says: “Thank you, my husband bought it for me. Says I need more office decorations and not look like a little corporate robot.” Eddie chuckles at that.

Louis also smiles and replies: “Sounds like a smart guy. You’ve been together long?”

“Well,” Eddie hesitates for a second, then explains: “We knew each other from childhood, but we lost contact for a long while. We got together two years ago, been married for almost one year now.”

“Congrats,” Louis says, unsure of what else to say. Eddie is older than him by a good decade, so getting only together two years ago with his childhood friend means he must have dated people before, maybe even been married. If he is honest, Eddie looks the type to be repressed for a long while, making the act of the flag all the more brave.

However, Louis doesn’t say or ask after any of that, because he isn’t an asshole. And despite his clumsy words, Eddie seems to appreciate it. He sends Louis a happy content smile that cannot be faked and says: “Thank you.”

So, that is the first time Louis hears about Eddie’s husband, though by far not the last, and when Eddie wins his respect. It is also when he decides he wants to be Eddie’s friend.

After that day, Louis starts more conversations with Eddie as they work, asking after his weekend or if he’s also in dying need of some coffee. The words earn him a lecture on the dangers of caffeine that Eddie looks almost apologetic about it, as if he can’t help it either that he is doing this and he must tell Louis of the dangers.

It also makes that he hears more and more about Eddie’s husband.

And it isn’t like Eddie goes on and on about the guy in an annoying way, he just continues to make little comments when relevant. It’s as if he can’t help but be reminded of his husband, like his brain has a thousand connections to him. It’s really sweet.

The months they work together are filled with little moments. After one weekend Eddie looks particularly happy and Louis asks how his weekend was.

Eddie smiles and replies: “My husband and I found time together. He’s been traveling for work, but we had all weekend together. It was great.”

“That’s nice, is he away often?” Louis asks.

“Sometimes,” Eddie answers. “How was your weekend?”

Louis responds with his own story, not thinking much off the answer. They work in the business part of LA, where people needed to fly all over the country for work. He can imagine that Eddie, who regular dresses in brand suits (mostly Marsh suits) had a husband who earned just as much, if not more.

Then when they have their first big project together, which means a week of over-time and getting in early, Louis groans into his coffee: “How do you look so put together each day, I barely have enough time to look alive each morning.”

To that Eddie responds: “Oh my husband gets up with me, even if he doesn’t have to. He helps me pack and makes breakfast so I have time to press my suits.”

“God, you press your suits, of course,” Louis exclaims, taking another sip.

It’s said in a playfully dramatic enough tone that Eddie doesn’t take it to heart, just chuckles. Then he says: “Yeah, yeah, I know. Trust me, I get teased every morning.”

“You don’t look to mad about that,” Louis observes with a smirk.

“Nah,” Eddie smiles. “He does it with love. Now, I worked a little bit on it yesterday evening, because there was something bothering me about it and I think I’ve found it. Here, look at this page of the assessment.”

Louis looks and nods, a smile breaking out on his face. “Thank god for you, Eddie,” Louis says, absentmindedly filing away the knowledge that the husband doesn’t work the same hours that Eddie does, yet is sweet and thoughtful.

Later he learns that the husband’s name is Richie, that they have a shared friend group from their youth that they regularly hang out with, that Richie goes to the gym with Eddie once a week to soothe Eddie’s worries about his health. Louis also learns that Richie is more a people person than Eddie and that they share a love for arguing about nonsense, because they think it’s fun.

However, Eddie also lets it slip that Richie has been a great help in his divorce, which Louis mentally puts into the ‘called it’-column in his brain. As well as that he is helpful in Eddie’s fears about illnesses.

In short, Richie sounds like a total package and it’s obvious how gone Eddie is for the man. It can almost make someone jealous, if Louis didn’t have such an amazing girlfriend himself.

He is quite sure Becky is getting tired of hearing him talk about Eddie, but Eddie has been the first coworker Louis actually gets along with and doesn’t want to strangle. So, she indulges him, which is one of the things he loves about her. Plus, she mustn’t mind that much, since she said it’s nice to hear about older, thriving queer people.

Still, Louis and Eddie are nothing more than work friends and since Eddie doesn’t do social media, it isn’t like Louis knows more about him or his husband aside from what Eddie tells him.

Of course, there are also the phone calls. They don’t happen often, since Eddie is highly organized and rarely forgets something at home. However, whenever he does, his husband will call and they’ll meet up for lunch somewhere so he can give it to Eddie.

These phone calls bring their own sense of hilarity. They show an entire new side of Eddie that Louis would have never seen coming.

The first time Richie calls opens Louis up to a new side of Eddie that surprises him. It’s not at all the professional exterior many of their coworkers see and base their judgments on. Though it might be better that they believe Eddie is an uptight professional, then who picks up the phone. It rings and at first Eddie answers like he always does: “This is Edward Kaspbrak.”

Something is said on the other side of the line and Louis barely listens, used to others getting business calls while they’re working in the same space. However, then Eddie snorts and says: “You can’t just claim that, dickwad.”

Immediately Louis’ eyebrows shoot up. He has never heard Eddie sound so relaxed, not to mention swear. So, he can’t help but tune his ears as he pretends to work, while actually listening in.

“You don’t even have files,” Eddie exclaims indignant at whatever has been said to him, but he looks to fond to mean his offense. “Just tell me what it says at the top.”

Then he rolls his eyes at the description that is likely being given, before his eyes widen and he swears: “Ah, fuck, I need that today. That meeting is this afternoon.”

Louis half expects some more swears to come out of Eddie’s mouth, but instead he melts at the reply and softly says: “That- that actually sounds very nice.”

However, the person on the other end says something that ruins it, because Eddie sighs – though with a grin, that hasn’t left his face all throughout the conversation – and he rubs his brow. “Of fucking course. You are one asshole, you know that, Rich?”

Rich. Richie. Louis brain catches up to what he had already known on some level. This is how Eddie talks to his famous husband, well, if you want to call a person known by office gossip famous that is. Despite all its stars, Hollywood is just a small part of LA.

He tunes in to hear Eddie agree: “That I do,” in a loving voice that seems more out of character than the swearing has been.

Then Eddie snorts, a harsh contrast to his early tone and surprises Louis further by exclaiming: “You shouldn’t have made fun of me then, hope you cry,” which is something Louis never would have expected out of the man, who seems to adore his husband so much. Then, as if that is normal, he continues on by asking: “Does one o’clock work for you?”

Richie must have agreed and thought it was normal, because the next thing Eddie says is: “Cool, see you then. Bye, love you.”

After another sappy smile, presumably when Richie returns the sentiment, he hangs up and puts down the phone.

It is only then that Louis realized he has stopped pretending to work a while ago and was blatantly listening in. He blushes a bit and smile apologetically, before asking: “Your husband?”

“Yes,” Eddie says, unable to help the smile. “I forgot the Lemmin Inc. file at home. We’re grabbing lunch together and he’ll give it to me.”

“Sounds fun,” Louis comments, unsure how to bring up the way he talked to his husband in a way that doesn’t come across as creepy or judgmental.

Oblivious Eddie says: “It is. I know I see him every night, but I miss him at work. Which is frankly ridiculous, because he is the most annoying guy I know, but I love him.”

“Does he annoy you often?” Louis asks, glad that he can seize the opportunity to pry.

Eddie looks genuinely surprised at the question as if he can’t believe anyone would ever think he gets annoyed with his husband. “Richie is never annoying,” he says. “Well, he is. But he’s not. He and I always go back and forth and that annoys our friends to no end, but I never think Richie is annoying. Even though he still makes jokes about my mother, despite the fact she’s been dead for years now.”

And that is almost more disturbing, but Louis decides to focus on the fact that this is normal behavior for them and they seem happy together. So, he just files it away under the oddities of Eddie and his husband and moves on.

To Louis Eddie’s husband exists in a way that far off cousins exist. He hears about them from time to time by others, usually talking about the good stuff they do, he rarely thinks about them unless they are spoken about and he doesn’t really care for meeting them.

Richie is a person to Louis, someone whose shenanigans amuse him whenever Eddie recalls them with a fondness, but he’s not someone Louis has strong opinions about. Well, other than the fact that he is apparently a strange and sweet guy.

And Louis probably would have never thought about it more than that were it not for the fact that he actually gets to meet Richie.

Eddie and he have been coworkers for nearly a year when it happens. It is one of the rare days where Eddie has forgotten something and he groans: “I’ll have to use my lunch hour to go home and get that stupid file.”

Louis grimaces sympathetically, before suggesting: “Can’t your husband bring it by?”

“Hmm,” Eddie hums and bites his lip. “I mean, he has meetings this entire afternoon, but maybe he can bring it on his way there. I’ll ask him.” Then he pulls out his phone and shoots Richie a texts, grinning victoriously. “He has time.”

“God bless,” Louis grins. His lunch hours are a lot less fun without Eddie when he has to spend them listening to their other coworkers talking about their investment and the state of the economy or whatever nonsense they’re on about now.

Lunch hour is nearly there when Richie gets there. Louis isn’t really paying attention, but he looks up when the office suddenly gets quiet and then louder as if something is interesting enough to get everyone whispering after the shock.

Walking in their direction is a man and it takes Louis a second to realize who he is looking at. The man is Richie Tozier, comedian, who has had a major breakthrough into popularity a few years ago when he came out and started writing his own material, as well as star in a Bill Denbrough adaptation.

Then it takes another second for more pieces to click in his brain.

Richie Tozier. Richie, Eddie’s husband. They are the same person. Eddie talked about his husband traveling for work, yet having a way more flexible work schedule. How he makes immature jokes and is annoying. How they afford Marsh suits easily and they fact that they know each other from childhood. It just all makes sense.

Yeah, yeah, so Louis is a bit of a fan. His girlfriend was first and he just got sucked in. And now he feels like he knows too much about Eddie after all the bits Richie does about his husband, whom he is totally besotted for.

However, he also can’t believe that this is real. That his hardworking, professional coworker is married to a man, who tells primarily dick jokes for a living. How in all that time talking about his husband it never came up that he is famous.

Eddie seems oblivious to the stares and gaping that follows Richie, just beams as he gets up and waves to get his attention, so Richie knows which way to go.

When Richie spots Eddie, his face breaks out into a grin and he loudly exclaims: “My Eddie Spaghetti!”

“Don’t call me that, asshole,” Eddie replies, but he is laughing.

Richie throws an arm over Eddie’s shoulders and plants a small kiss on his forehead, before softly asking: “How’ve you been, baby?”

“I’ve been good,” Eddie answers with a small smile. “How are you? Stressed for your meetings?”

“A little,” Richie says. “But I’ve already done one special with Netflix, I’m sure it’ll be similar this time. Just gotta put on that good old Richie charm.”

“I’m sure they’ll fall for it,” Eddie smiles lovingly. “Just don’t order beans or you’ll scare them off with the smell.” He grins teasingly.

Richie snorts, raising a brow and asks: “Really? Fart jokes? Is that the level we’re at? Besides, you love odeur de Tozier.”

“Firstly, don’t judge my jokes when you’re still telling me how you want to fuck my mom. It wasn’t funny then and it isn’t now,” Eddie starts.

“You love my jokes about your mom,” Richie protests. “And they are always funny.”

“Oh shut up,” Eddie says, effectively derailed. “No one has ever liked them. Not even Mike thought they were funny and he also makes your mama jokes. And you’re gay. You don’t even want to fuck her.”

“Still, funny,” Richie says and Louis can almost see Eddie’s blood begin to boil under the languid smirk Richie gives him. However, Eddie’s posture is relaxed and he looks to be enjoying himself, making Louis remember the phone calls he has overheard.

“Whatever,” Eddie rolls his eyes. He snatches the files Richie brought over out of his hands and checks if they’re the right ones. When he has confirmed, he smiles at Richie. “Thank you,” he says and kisses his cheek, having to get onto his toes to reach.

“You’re welcome,” Richie smiles and the two are disgustingly in love, you can see it in their eyes as they look at each other.

Eddie snaps out of it first, checking his watch, before ushering Richie towards the door. “You have to go or you’ll be late.”

“Do you know my schedule?” Richie asks.

“Of course I know your schedule,” Eddie answers. “You’ll never get anywhere on time if I didn’t. Now good luck, kick ass, and think of your cholesterol when you order.”

“I will, I will,” Richie says, as he goes. “Good luck with your boring meetings!”

“They’re not boring,” Eddie yells after him.

“Whatever you say, Spaghetti,” Richie yells back as the elevator doors start to close.

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie exclaims, but Richie can’t hear him anymore. He sighs fondly and rolls his eyes, watching the closed elevator doors for another second, before going back to his desk where Louis is waiting. He seems oblivious to the stares he is getting. Just like he’ll likely be oblivious to the rumors that will be going around after this.

Once he is seated, Louis hisses: “You never told me your husband was famous!”

Eddie looks genuinely surprised at his comment, before looking embarrassed. He answers: “It never came up. All our friends know, I guess I just forgot that is something I have to mention. Besides, it’s not the most important thing about him to me, you know?”

And Louis hates that the explanation is one of the cutest shit he has ever heard, because he can’t be mad at Eddie about it. So, he sighs: “It’s okay. Just blind sighted me. My girlfriend loves his stand up an unhealthy amount. She’s gonna freak if I tell her I saw him.”

At that Eddie grins with pride and he nods: “It’s good, right. I like his new stuff much better. It feels more like him and he likes writing it. If you- if you want I can ask him to sign something for your girlfriend.”

“Dude, that would be great,” Louis smiles.

“Course,” Eddie returns the smile and just like that it’s just normal Eddie and Louis is over any weird feelings surrounding Eddie’s husband.

It’s fitting in a way that Eddie is so smitten he forgot his husband is famous. It’s sweet and Louis is mostly in shock. It’s not every day that you get a look into the life of a celebrity in such a way and it makes him get a new respect for both Eddie and Richie.

They clearly love each other and the way they interact seems strange, but fits them well. You can see how much they care for one another and their humor seems very similar despite the professionalism Eddie tries to project at work.

~~

A/N:

As much as I love private mystery Eddie, I think him being absolutely besotted and forgetting to mention his husband is famous, because that isn’t a big thing to him is hilarious.

The full phone conversation, for those that are interested:

R: Hi, baby, you left a file at home, so disorganized. You’re lucky I am the one who never forgets anything.

E: You can’t just claim that, dickwad.

R: Yes, I can, because I didn’t forget a file.

E: You don’t even need files. Just tell me what it says at the top.

R: Uuhmm, blah blah, important important, Lemmin Inc.

E: Ah fuck, I need that today. That meeting is this afternoon.

R: We can meet up for lunch and I can give it to you.

E: That- that actually sounds very nice.

R: And I can rub in your face that you forgot it, haha.

E: Of fucking course. You are one asshole, you know that, Rich?

R: I do and you love me anyway.

E: That I do.

R: Don’t make me emotional.

E: You shouldn’t have made fun of me then, hope you cry. Does one o’clock work for you?

R: Yeah, it does.

E: Cool, see you then, bye love you .

R: Love you too.