#hell on sniper technique

[phlyaros]

God that meme about tf2 players getting a very special brainrot where just seeing the mercs makes us laugh is so real huh.

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

31 / 1.7k / soap soulmate au, part 8

...

Peering down into the building from the adjacent rooftop, Soap sees you--his soulmate--through his sniper's scope. You. Here. On the wrong goddamn team again.

He mutters a curse into his radio.

You’re standing guard at your client’s back—a man who coasts under the radar as far as his criminal reputation is concerned, but a smuggler effective and dangerous enough to put him on the CIA’s hitlist. He’s hidden from view. Probably been told to stay away from windows for the night. You're obviously working security, outfitted to the nines as you would be on any job, rifle in hands, scanning the foyer for threats. You're unaware of 141’s snipers setting up on the rooftops outside.

Soap’s eyes darken. He doesn’t deal with internal conflict when he’s working. When things get complicated, he uncomplicates them. Right now, there are three thoughts in his head: 

One--he misses you.

Two--you blew him off to work for this scum.

And three--he needs to get his feet on the ground right now. You'll be lucky if all you get is an earful once he gets his hands on you.

He switches on his radio. "Got eyes on the target. LT, you in position yet?"

"Affirmative. In position," Ghost says, his voice gravelly and cold over the radio from his position on a neighboring rooftop. "Waiting on the signal."

Soap stares you down through his scope. His leather gloves creak and tighten around the handle of his rifle. It pisses him off how easy it would be to take the shot. If he were anyone else, you would be dead in moments. 

On the other hand, he could kill your client--your protectee--here and now. To hell with the mission parameters. It would be easy.

He sighs, flipping on his radio again. "Permission to infiltrate, Captain? Spotted a friendly inside."

Gaz's voice crackles over the radio instead. "Friendly this time, is she?" His tone makes it clear he’s spotted you too.

"Don't be jealous, Garrick."

"Positively green with envy, mate," Gaz replies, dry and sarcastic. "Too bad she’s not friendlier. Be helpful if you could actually get her to talk this time. Not to mention the other stunt you pulled."

Soap smirks and adjusts his scope to keep you in his sights. "Don't know what you're talkin' about."

Gaz scoffs. "Plausible deniability is for paperwork."

"Aye. Maybe I’ll mention in my next report who tipped me off about her bein' our hostage, too."

There's a beat of static. "Got nothing to say about that."

Then Laswell's voice cuts in. "Kyle has a point. The building is locked down tight and it’s gonna be hard to get a clean shot. If she's with our target's security detail, that’s our ticket inside."

"And if she's not willing to help us out?" Price asks.

"Depends on how persuasive Soap is willing to be."

"I might've picked up a technique or two last time,” Soap says.

The radio crackles as Price takes in a deep breath and sighs it out through his nose. Somehow, he makes it sound stern.

"Intel is intel," Ghost says.

“Failing that, bribery’s always a solid bet for a merc,” Gaz adds. “If they don’t shoot you on sight.”

"Right, then," Price says. "Soap, regroup with Ghost. Prepare to infiltrate. Gaz and I will take overwatch. Ghost, keep on comms. We'll find you the main breaker switch. Soap, I need you to keep things quiet, you hear me? Mission objective is priority. Do not, under any circumstances, be seen."

Soap's blood is already pumping hot. He’s never loved overwatch. He’d rather be close to the action--get his feet on the ground. Get his hands on you. "Copy, Captain. Ghost, I'm aimin' for the north corner. Meet me in five."

…

You mill about at your post, feeling twitchy and unsatisfied. This job is, on first glance, the same as any. Your PMC hired you and a few other mercs out to act as bodyguards for a man with more money than morals, if the size and clientele of this gathering is anything to go by. 

You shift your weight, scanning the overdressed crowd for threats. You wouldn’t hate it if this party were cancelled early.

"Stand up straight," your teammate snaps. "You're working. Act like it."

You scowl, but say nothing.

"Don't make that face at me," he says, bite in his tone. Horangi. Like he’s so patient. He's on just as short a leash as you, and it's pissing him off just as much. The difference is he has the seniority to take it out on you. 

"I don't know how you do this without feeling like a caged animal," you mutter.

His eyes follow a woman in a tight red dress as she passes by. Obviously, he knows what he'd rather be doing.

"A cage with a paycheck," he replies. "Some things you learn to tolerate."

You scan the room again. Your protectee is still here. That's good. You're hoping he takes his sweet time before he goes downstairs to start the so-called afterparty. 

You glance at Horangi again. "You know where the cargo is? Downstairs?"

"Last I heard. I got the east wing of this floor," he says. If the idea of that cargo is bothering him, he hides it well. He’s a good merc and he does what he’s told, like it or not.

You were a good merc, too, up until three weeks ago. Worrying about what rich idiots get up to isn't what you should be doing. You're supposed to keep the client happy. It's not your fault he can’t party without doing illegal shit.

You heave a sigh. "I'm going to check on it."

Horangi’s eyes narrow, flicking to you. "No, you’re not. Stay put."

"Fine. I'm going to the bathroom, then."

"Fine," Horangi snaps. "Go to the bathroom, and make sure you come right back. And don’t talk to anybody."

You walk away, rifle in hand, making your way into the back hall. You pass into the dim sconce light and swear you see something through the enormous glass windows as you walk by them. But there’s nothing there.

The lights flicker once. A beat. Just long enough for you to notice before they even out again. 

You pause at a flicker of movement near the side door up ahead. You have a split second to wonder why there’d be nobody securing the side door before the lights go out.

When you turn and head back for the foyer, you stop short. Down the hall, where you just came from, looms a familiar shape. The white skull on his mask pops out of the shadows. 

You don't make it back to the foyer.

Before you have a chance to react, your body armor is yanked hard from the back. You're pulled backward into an adjacent room and shoved hard against the wall. You expect the bite of steel against your neck or your temple, but it never comes. 

“Quiet, now."

You register Soap's familiar accent before your eyes adjust to the dark. "Johnny?"

"That’s right," he says. He's still got that way of speaking that's almost a purr when he's being quiet.

It suddenly feels like a long time since you’ve felt the heat of his body, pinned tight between him and the wall the way you are. He’s coiled tight, all lithe muscle and restrained strength. His eyes glitter with that wild, predatory look. It’s decidedly dangerous and tantalizing.

"I missed you, darlin'. You're gonna make this simple, aye? I know you can," he says.

You swallow the immediate urge to comply. Holy hell, you forgot what that feels like. "You need to stop greeting me like this," you hiss.

"I'd love nothin' more than to greet you in a different way, but you've got to start makin'  smarter decisions first." He leans all the way in and presses his nose into the crook between your neck and shoulder, nuzzling you in his full tactical gear. 

You muffle a sigh. He makes a quiet, content sound. 

"Besides, I kinda like this way of greetin’ ya. You make this little noise."

The radio on his neck echoes to life. You hear a tinny voice come through, saying something about an objective.

His eyes shut tight as he listens, one hand pressed firmly against the wall beside you. He doesn't back away yet. He's been dreaming of this for too long--laying his head on you and letting the sound of your heartbeat drown out everything else. It just can't fucking happen yet.

You feel, rather than hear, his low, annoyed grumble as he replies. "No, I copy. Just keep your bloody heads on."

You concentrate, trying to make out the voices of his teammates. It sounds like Ghost's voice.

Soap groans, his fingers flexing and gloves squeaking against the wallpaper. “I’ll be there in a minute, LT.”

You shift slightly. "Why are you here?"

A muscle twitches in Soap's jaw, and he pulls back so he can look you in the eye. "Should be askin' you the same thing. You’re on guard detail for a bloody criminal."

"It's a complicated situation."

"Then uncomplicate it."

You open your mouth to reply, but Soap's radio crackles back to life. This time, you can make out the words.

"Target located." Ghost's voice.

"Attaboy." Price. "Get him isolated. Third floor, east windows."

“Won’t be that easy,” Ghost replies. “He’s surrounded by civilians. Security’s thick.”

You tense even as Soap begins to relax. You fist your hand in the collar of his tactical vest, trying not to sound frantic. "Do not kill him. Johnny, listen to me."

Soap's expression turns grim, and he looks down at your fingers. Then he reaches up to cover your hand with his. "I know he's your client, but there's a reason we're here. He smuggles weapons. Big weapons, and not to anyone friendly. Just take it easy and let us clean up."

"No, listen," you snap, pulling him a millimeter closer. "He has the cargo here. It's not weapons. It's people."

...

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7 / [part 8] / part 9 / part 10 / part 11 / part 12

more Soap / masterlist tag

[autisticgingerblonde]

If Fallout 4 companions had TikTok accounts

Cait would have an account dedicated to fighting and thirst traps (aimed at women mostly). Teaches women self-defense techniques. She earns a spot in the algorithm of muscle mommies. She also raises awareness for addicts and former addicts, educating on the effects of drugs and the reasons people seek them out in the first place. Honestly, it's a very good account to follow.

Codsworth is just confused about TikTok. He's like "oh so what are the children saying these days? Aura? I'll have to add a new word to my vocabulary banks! Cheerio, mum!"

Curie makes educational videos for all ages and all subjects. She has a series of learning Japanese, a series of vaccines and the science behind them, a series about the effects of different types of parenting, you name it. She also takes suggestions from her audience on what new things to research.

Danse has unintentional thirst traps. He talks about power armor and the Brotherhood of Steel but also posts workouts. These are what get the most attention out of everything he posts. The BookTok girlies find him and all hell breaks loose in the comment sections. He responds to this with, "Thank you, civilians. I am not sure what you mean, but I am glad you are supporting the Brotherhood of Steel by being on my page. Thank you for your enthusiasm for our righteous cause. Ad victorium." People armchair diagnose him as autistic.

Deacon does "GRWM as i tell you about the time i ______" videos where each day he looks completely different and you can never tell if he's telling the truth or not. He also does head shaving videos that double as story times or opinion pieces. You can't tell if those are true or not either.

Dogmeat has a viral account followed by millions. Get's a lot of "I can't imagine liking this guy" comments with the op replying to their own comment with "anymore than I already do. Huge fan!"

Hancock does subtle cheeky thirst traps and dance challenges. This entire post was inspired by the FACT that Hancock would participate in the brat summer trend and would do the Apple dance with Fahrenheit filming it. He also tells stories, mostly of him being high. He gets a lot of requests to cosplay Deadpool.

MacCready has a lot of things he does. Some videos are sniper trick shots, some are Grognak the Barbarian yapping (he does short lore deep dives when he can), and some are about being a young single dad. He doesn't show Duncan's face because he's extremely protective. Casually drops the most insane lore about his childhood which leads to comments like "are we just ignoring that he said he grew up in a cave?"

Nick Valentine would be a very popular fashion and "a day in the life of a detective". He'd do vintage fashion looks, like loose slacks and suspenders with a trench coat to top it off. Sometimes does a deep dive into detective history. Gets a lot of thirsty comments to which he replies "that's one way to get the coolant pumping."

Old Longfellow has the appeal of the New England, stormy weather, sweater-wearing fisherman aesthetic, and he tells stories of his youth while showing people around the area he grew up. Learns mobile phone cinematography to make it look cooler. Every video has either a lesson or a skill for survival.

Piper's account is solely focused on news and truth, posting every source she uses. She uses the trend of an insane video, like someone falling badly on the ground or getting splashed with water, and stitches it to look like a seamless transition of her rolling from the fall or being splashed to start talking about her news stories. It gets traction so she continues.

Porter Gage has a side gig of running TikTok accounts for different people. Gets the money, doesn't get the backlash when they get canceled for racism or worker exploitation.

Preston has an account dedicated to charity work and social activism. He makes sure to highlight organizations he feels are doing the world a service and regularly has fundraisers. He's well-known for always sharing content from people in dire situations and raising money for them. Has a master document of Go Fund Me pages and vets every one of them.

Strong has a lot of those unintentional boomer tiktoks that are 1 second long and he's just looking at the screen in confusion.

X6 cyber bullies the rest of them because he thinks having a TikTok is cringe and stupid (he is currently writing hate comments with his TikTok account)

[tobiasdrake]

what do you think of the most important relationship in all of dragonball? I speak, of course, of the world champion Mr. Satan and his pupil, mr. Buu

The entire Satan and Buu plotline is delightful, and it's not without reason that their bromance has become an ever-enduring part of post-Z materials.

Story-wise, this may be the best decision that the Buu arc made.

Toriyama sets this up in advance with the little boy whose blindness Majin Buu heals.

While flying around and slaughtering people for funsies, Buu finds this kid that's not afraid of him because he can't see Buu. He heals the boy's blindness so he can be properly afraid, but the kid is grateful rather than scared.

Buu finds himself enjoying that.

So Buu decides to offer his new friend a little more help, even while he's killing and blowing up everything else.

This moment demonstrates that Buu has a capacity for kindness; He just hasn't learned better. Like a child, he craves attention and validation from others but doesn't know the difference between negative attention and positive attention.

He's acting out because he wants to be noticed. Which brings us to the Earth's response.

The man who defeated Cell is here to slay Majin Buu and restore order to the world! Hail Satan!

He's fucked. He is so unbelievably fucked. Even he knows how fucked he is.

To his credit, Satan doesn't run for the hills as soon as these two guys leave. He actually did come here with the intent to confront Majin Buu and save the world.

Satan is often taken for a full-on coward because he does typically try to get out of fighting people who could end him in a flick of a finger. He's Pamput tier as a fighter and he knows these people outclass him by an unbelievable margin.

But I think it speaks very highly of him that when the world looked to him to save them from Majin Buu, he didn't try to run from it. He's not going to try and fistfight Buu, hell to the no, but he does make a good faith attempt to slay the dragon, to the best of his meager ability.

Hell, when all else fails, he even does try to fight Majin Buu directly.

It takes a lot of nerve to swing on an invincible god-killing monster who will absolutely turn you into candy and eat you the moment this conversation stops being fun for him.

This isn't cowardice. Satan's an arrogant blowhard who steals glory he doesn't deserve. As he and Buu settle into their friendship, he even makes plans to steal glory for Buu's defeat should it ever come to pass.

But he does want to save the world from Buu. He just has no idea how to do it. This is so far beyond him it's not even funny. Even after he basically moves in with Buu, he's still got victory on his mind.

He's here for the same reason he went to the Cell Games. Satan has the spirit of a hero somewhere under all that bluster, deceit, and glory hogging.

It's the arrival of Bee that changes everything.

This is the blind boy with the milk all over again. But this time Satan is here to see it, and it changes his approach to how he's engaging Majin Buu.

Once Satan sees this nicer side of Majin Buu, he finds himself armed with the greatest secret weapon he could possibly bring to this conflict. More powerful than bombs or poisoned chocolate. The one weapon that can truly defeat Buu: Empathy and understanding another person's point of view.

BOOM. It's done. Mr. Satan just saved the entire fucking planet from Majin Buu. His ultimate technique is asking Buu nicely to stop. No one's ever said this to him before. He didn't know better.

And this comes at the worst possible fucking time, oh my god. Seconds after Majin Buu agrees he won't kill or destroy anymore, snipers shoot his puppy.

This wouldn't be a big deal ordinarily. Buu would just erase these two assholes. But he just promised he wouldn't kill and destroy anymore. He wants to keep his promise. So all he can do is stand there and fume.

Buu has no idea what to do in this situation if he's not allowed to kill these two shitheads. Satan has not thought to convey the correct nuance for how he can behave in this context. So he's trying so hard to keep his promise in a situation where he should rightly be allowed to defend himself and his friends.

Satan's able to defuse the situation by beating the shit out of these clowns himself, and they save Bee's life with Buu's healing. But when Shooty McDickface shoots Satan in the back, Buu fucking erupts.

The contradiction between his promise not to hurt humans anymore and his furious need to waste these bastards is too much for him, allowing the darker aspects of the true Majin Buu an opening to seize control over Daikaioshin's innocence, which had up to this point resulted in this childish demeanor of his and made this friendship possible.

It's noteworthy that the first thing Evil Buu does is resolve the contradiction.

He does not care what he promised Satan. He's going to kill. And then he's going to resume killing. It was a mistake to have ever stopped.

The other really noteworthy thing, after he becomes Super Buu, is his behavior during his Human Extinction Attack.

God, what a horrifying image. This is the darkest fucking moment in Dragon Ball history. This is somehow worse than blowing up the planet. It's so horrific. Buu is really living up to his function as a god-killing horror whose very existence is a slight against the heavens.

Super Buu uses God's Temple in Heaven as a vantage point from which to fire billions of homing shots down into the Earth precisely targeted to kill every last human being remaining in the world. In a matter of minutes, he purges all human life from this world.

All human life except Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu, who were able to evade the shots aimed at them. Look, if you're going to shoot billions of ki blasts at once, there's a limit to how powerful they can be.

And Mr. Satan, who Buu skipped. Even with his innocence restrained and chained inside of him, Buu still can't escape his feelings for the one man in all the world he can call a friend. Even in this moment as he purges life from this world, Buu simply couldn't bring himself to do it. Not this one.

Even at his darkest, Buu's love for his friend will remain so long as any scrap of influence from Daikaioshin, so long as the thing that makes him sapient to begin with, still lives inside of him. A problem that only Pure Buu would ever manage to solve.

"The surge of emotion that shot through me when I saved your life taught me a valuable lesson: Where Caroline lives in my brain. Goodbye, Caroline." ~Majin Buu apparently

Such a weird resolution to their developing friendship, but Majin Buu is a magical creature unbound from any physics whatsoever so it works.

And then, for good measure, Satan legit saved the Earth from Majin Buu for real by convincing the totality of the resurrected Earthlings to contribute as much genki as they could muster to Goku's Genki-Dama, because there are genuine advantages to being a publicity hound.

Mr. Satan's greatest martial art is PR. He may be a glory-stealing publicity shill sitting pretty off the achievements of others, but goddamn is he good at getting his face out there and being a household name.

People underestimate the value of PR. He might just be a figurehead, but he's a damn good figurehead.

And he got to keep his new bestie too.

This is so unexpectedly sweet. Satan's relationship with Buu was the highlight of this arc. It gave a lot of depth and personality to both characters, turning Satan from a funny joke at the Cell Games to a powerhouse MVP of a protagonist.

It's just. Y'know. Shame about his daughter who basically drops off the face of the plot never to be cared about again. Videl's basically a cameo now, existing mainly to be the mechanism by which Gohan has a daughter.

So. Y'know. That sucks. But I've already talked about Videl and how screwed she was by the narrative.

Looking at post-Z materials, however, you can feel how much of an "Endgame, we don't have to go anywhere with this" sort of thing Satan and Buu's friendship is. GT basically wrote Mr. Buu out of the plot by having him fuse with Uub, while DBS goes out of its way to not let him participate in anything. The one arc he's featured in replaces him with Daikaioshin directly.

I don't think anyone really knows what to do with Mr. Buu now that he's one of the gang. Instead of writing plots and thinking about, "What can Buu do to contribute to this?" the vibe is always "Oh fuck me, what are we going to do about Buu?"

But even when the writers are struggling to find something for him to do, his ironclad friendship with Satan never wavers.

[fatfuckingcatstuff]

Babe.

Babe i need platonic reader with the mercs

Them reacting/helping reader get out of sh (Ignor if it makes you uncomfortable)

I just need some motivation to stop burning myself

Pick you fav mercs and maybe gn reader so more folks can enjoy

Luv your work btw <3

Of course you can! And I hope your recovery journey goes well! Sorry it this isn't exactly what you had hoped for but either way I hope you enjoy it.

Medic

- Medic is proud of you for seeking help. He noticed the bandages and, with genuine concern, asked if you wanted to talk. He knows how important it is to have someone listen.

- In his office, he listens without judgment as you open up about your struggles. Medic then suggests regular check-ins, encouraging you to reach out whenever you feel overwhelmed. "You are stronger than you realize, mein freund . There are other ways to cope like harming someone else other than yourself! Remember, my door is always open."

"Oh okay wow thanks medic."

"no worries mein freund :)"

- He offers resources like books on mental health and teaches you stress relief techniques. Medic even shares some basic medical knowledge, so you can better understand your body and how to care for it. He’s always there for you, providing unwavering support.

"Would you like me to help remove those thoughts of yours?"

"you are not going anywhere near my brain."

Spy

- Spy, ever observant, sees the subtle signs of your struggle. He'd brush it off aside during the day but find himself wanting a chat with you alone.

- He'd take you to his smoking room using this private moment to discuss serious matters. "Tell me ma fleur. What's on your mind?"

As you pour your heart out of your struggles and how you've been slowly trying to heal he listens with intent.

"Mon ami, we all have our demons. What matters is how we face them. You have the strength to overcome this, and I will be here to help you every step of the way."

- Spy keeps a watchful eye on you from a distance, ensuring you’re never alone in your vulnerable moments. He wants you to know you can always rely on him for support. Hell he'd start getting noticeably closer to you.

Demoman

- Demoman is proud of you for opening up. He brings it up casually, noticing your reluctance to show your arms. With genuine concern, he gently prods and listens.

"Aye I hear ye lassie/laddie"

- He shares his own struggles, making you feel less isolated and more understood. I feel as though he would occasionally offer a bottle or 2 of scrumpy to *help* in which you would always refuse but thank him.

- He regularly checks in on you, using humor and camaraderie to lighten your mood and make sure you’re doing alright.

"Ye know, we all got our battles. But ye don't have to fight 'em alone. Anytime ye feel down, just come find me. We'll have a laugh, aye?"

Pyro

They notice your distress through your body language and offer comfort without words. Pyro sits beside you, offering his toys and gadgets to play around with to distract your mind from the simple idea of harming yourself.

"Mmphhshs mpyymph mpthhh mthjs mppjdhh"

"Thank you pyro"

- They introduce you to creative activities like painting or building crafts, helping you channel your emotions into art. Pyro’s presence becomes a comforting constant.

- Pyro ensures you always have a safe space to retreat to, filled with comforting and familiar items to help ground you during tough times.

Sniper

- Sniper would be a little taken aback I feel. Sure he had noticed your change in behavior but he wasn't really expecting it.

- He invites you to his perch, sharing the tranquility of the outdoors. Sniper opens up about his own ways of dealing with isolation and stress, teaching you about the calming effects of nature. "It's alright, mate. Sometimes, getting out here and away from it all helps clear the mind. Whenever you need to talk or just want some company, you know where to find me."

- He takes you on walks, introducing you to nature therapy. Mundy would provide steady, reliable support, always there for late-night talks and his presence if you ever need him. He wants you to know you have someone who cares.

[thekristen999]

Ramble ramble.

I doubt the show will address this because, well, this is television, but I’m very curious where the rest of Eddie’s journey will take him. Taking a moment to finally let go of things and experience, silly, frivolous joy was a huge step. It is an even bigger step if he does it more than once. (Which I think Ryan said was on the menu)

It doesn't need to be cathartic, (it can be) Eddie needs to experience more happiness. The brain learns behavior, it learns guilt, pain, depression, terror, and it can get stuck in that programming. So, allowing yourself to be silly is a step in reprogramming it.

The fact that Eddie thinks he deserves punishment and doesn’t deserve forgiveness, or joy, means he needs to return to therapy. PTSD or CPTSD (which I think Eddie has) does not just go away after a few sessions. It takes time, regular appointments, and the use of coping techniques in times of stress. Which based on the jello discussion, Eddie at least, practices for anxiety.

He also needs to reunite with his son. Contrary to what some believe, you can be a parent while seeking mental health treatment.

Three months is extreme, four, six and more months is ridiculous. Eddie hurt his son. (unintentionally) Yes. But he didn't do anytime that warrants this length of separation.

If Christopher is still not talking to his father after all of this time then nothing is getting accomplished. He needs to get his son and they need to attend family therapy together.

Running away to avoid problems seems to be Diaz trait and doesn't solve anything.

They need to talk. And the longer this goes on the worse it will get. Because I think this is more than Chris witnessing Eddie hugging a person that looks like his mother, I think is just one more trauma onto top of a mountain of trauma since moving to LA.

Ever since he and Eddie have moved, Chris has experienced: being reunited with his mother and his mother dying in the same year. Surviving a tsunami. His father shot by a sniper and almost die. Followed by his best friend getting struck by lightening.

The two of them have been to hell and back and they need to return to each other, and hopefully have an active support system which seems to have gone MIA.

I know there might be some cast limitations in play, so I'm very curious how canon will play out.

[thesharktanksdriver]

Oh! When I asked about magical girl! Y/n in Teen Titans (2003 version), I forgot to mention about how she would interact, meet or deal with the Titans’ villains like the HIVE, Slade, Red X, or the Brotherhood of Evil

No prob, I was actually wanting to add a bit about the hive in my first response but didn’t want to make it too long lol. I’m just gonna do the hive and Slade for this since I can’t remember the brotherhood of evil very well and red x would need his own thing lol

Is it any surprise that y/n ends up befriending the light? I mean really? With her track record the light are probably the least Bruce has to worry about. But anyways she would have probably heard about them through the teen titans but kinda didn’t pay them any mind till she ran into them. They at first think she’s a potential “no good goody two shoes” set out to stop their fun until she pulls out a sniper rifle and quite literally blow off the head of a shadowmite on one of their shoulders, effortlessly scaring the crap out of them and also making them quite interested in her.

I’d say she’s find them to be pretty fun, but she’d especially get along with Jinx and surprisingly Mammoth. Y/n is tired and exasperated half the time making her a kinda low energy person who would take to answering their questions as long as they got her bat-burger which leads to some interesting conversations.

“Yeah Robin has been pretty miffed lately cause-“

“Wait so you know Robin?”

“Yeah, both”

“Both???”

“Well you guys are from a seperate dimension right? Well there’s a Robin from my dimension who’s a different Robin from your Robin but still Robin. You can tell them apart cause your Robin is adverse to any real violence while my Robin would try and cut your arm off”

“….your Robin has a sword?!?!?!?”

“Yeah he also used to be an assassin too”

Yeah after that they start to think that they lucked out in the Robin department knowing theirs wasn’t the type to possibly cause real injury. That’s not even to mention when you mention other hero’s in this world or hell even the villains. Cause Jesus, Joker wore his own face after it was cut off?!?!? Or that an end of the world scenario happened just about every year?!?!?

They’re starting to enjoy where they live in comparison to you especially after you explain Shadowmites to them. How you hunt these monstrous creatures by your lonesome (maybe not as much as before since one of the bats typically tags along but still, there are times you go off on your own) and how your the sole thing keeping these things from literally devouring the universe.

But with that comes with you saying something oddly sad that makes them pause

“Hey….if the Shadowmites end up in your world and a magical girl is defending against them? Tell her about me. Tell her that I wish I could have met her myself and that…it’s gonna be hard but to keep going”

Damn…..that’s more depressing than they’d like to admit nor think about.

Her meeting 2003 Slade would be an….odd scenario considering she knows the Slade in her universe. So it’s definitely an awkward meeting when she’s like “yo Slade how’s rose doing” and 2003 Slade is wondering who the fuck she is and how she knows about his daughter.

When y/n learns that this is 2003 Slade though….she definitely tries to avoid him for various reasons. Cause listen, as much as her Slade is an asshole sometimes and has some weird ass morals he doesn’t act like a creep towards literal children. When hearing what he did to Raven she is appalled, she did not think being a hired murderer could get worse before she had heard that.

She does not in the slightest want to be around him

But him on the other hand is interested partially due to the fact he can see she’s skilled and some of the techniques she uses are some of his moves.

Which means that she must have known and trained under her universe’s version of him

When y/n now meets up with her version of Slade she thanks the gods he isn’t the same one from 2003

(Y/n to 2003 Slade be like lol)

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

hii pyro for the ask game? 🔥🦄

favorite thing about them I just think they're really funny like they're a cute and fun sort of guy I think we could hang out. Also I like playing Pyro quite a bit I've gotten pretty good lately, I love the Flare Gun because you get to basically turn Pyro into Sniper

least favorite thing about them The fucking Scorch Shot fucking Hell On Sniper Technique

favorite line The one where Pyro is CLEARLY saying "coconut!"

brOTP I think Demo and Pyro could for sure hang out. Demo leans on them in the fourth comic, they carry him out when he can't walk, and idk blowing stuff up and fire are similar enough. Plus, unicorns are a national symbol of Scotland and in my goth girl Demo mind palace Demo is super into mythology and stuff

OTP Idk I ship Pyro w basically anyone... I guess my favorites are with Engie, Medic, and Sniper

nOTP Pyro and Scout it's boring I'm sorry. I'm SO mean to Scout I'm sorry I take it back

random headcanon They're like, stupidly good at math. They obviously don't speak and they don't really read so people tend to underestimate them but they can bang out, like, ten-page calculus proofs. And they basically do it for fun

unpopular opinion Pyro fucks

song i associate with them Temporary Secretary

favorite picture of them

Probably this one from the Heavy vs Pyro update it's just so cute and fun

[ID: Render of Pyro standing at a podium, making two V for victory hand signs like Nixon, with a political poster that says "Mmph! Mmph mph!" over an illustration of their face surrounded by heart-shaped flames. End ID]

[coyotejone-s]

i'm insane. rubber rats and such. here's my thoughts on who the reds and blues would main in tf2 vs whose place they would take in a potential au. spoiler: they ARE different. and also i'm not making the au, but if you wanna do it feel free to use this as a guideline.

disclaimer: i'm a walking tf2 encyclopedia... for the lore and comics. i HAVE played it of course, but i'm by no means an expert on strategy and such, so contesting my knowledge on that end is more than welcome.

RED TEAM

Grif

Main: jumps around a bit, but always comes back to heavy because he's got high health and decent damage rates. mostly follows simmons around because no one wants to fuck with the battle medic. that being said, he CAN hold his own (he's actually REALLY good at the game) and watches simmons' back like a hawk. and his other teammates' too i guess (silly).

Place: heavy. big dude, cares for his family, wouldn't be doing this in an ideal world. also he deserves a big gun. RIP the grifshot.

Simmons

Main: as mentioned, he'd be a battle medic, and a fucking TERRIFYING one at that. definitely puts a lot of time into it, and it absolutely pays off. has one of the best k/d ratios purely because he's just fucking going for it. it looks like luck but every second is strategized to an embarrassing degree. this makes him feel powerful. god forbid someone kill grif, because he'll hunt them down for the rest of the match.

Place: medic. he deserves to be unhinged. we've all seen how he is on the warthog turret.

Sarge

Main: soldier. he's got rocket jumping down to a perfect science. he is defying gravity. he has discovered some sort of secret technique to perfectly optimize speed and distance while minimizing damage. he will never tell anyone what it is and he will show it off at any chance for the rest of time. thus, he never fucking plays any other class.

Place: soldier. there is nothing to be said that hasn't been said already.

Donut

Main: this one's tough actually. i think he'd flip between pyro, demo, scout, and soldier. he likes the fast-paced gameplay, and is pretty decent at all of them.

Place: scout! he's got a hell of a throwing arm! i'd be willing to bet he was in little league as a kid. i could have better reasoning but i had to switch him when i switched tucker.

Lopez

Main: engineer. it's familiar, trying to keep things fixed and running while a bunch of idiots run around and fuck things up. can often be seen rancho relaxing next to at least 2 fully-upgraded sentries like 30 seconds into the match.

Place: engineer. same reasons, same play style.

BLUE TEAM

Church

Main: good god, he tries to main sniper, but he's so fucking bad at it. gets backstabbed all the fucking time. he's too stubborn to stop. to his credit, though, he's pretty damn good with the melee and smg.

Place: sniper. again, he's not GOOD at sniping, but he's good enough with the subweapons that he qualifies.

Tucker

Main: probably scout. he likes being fast and annoying. it's not really that deep LMAO. i think he plays like me: running directly into the line of fire and just trying to hit as many people as possible before dying. a tried and true strategy. unfortunately, as such, his k/d ratio is impressively terrible.

Place: demoman. initially i wanted to place him as scout, but then i thought about eyelander and the energy sword and it won me over because i love eyelander. i think he'd try to demoknight and be really bad at it GHSJASKHGSA.

Caboose

Main: listen to me. you can put him in any class and he'll kick fucking ass. he has every perfect strategy mapped to muscle memory or something. he's a fucking enigma. no one can beat him. if caboose is on your team, you are almost guaranteed a win.

Place: pyro. it's the whimsy.

Kai

Main: i think she'd main spy purely so she can cloak and watch everyone else run around like idiots. occasionally she gets a kill in, but that's mostly when they stumble close enough to her. she can be very efficient when she wants to be, but mostly she's here for the drama. she has a screenshot folder of grif and simmons doing gay shit. it's... massive.

Place: spy. she gets to serve cunt, be bisexual, and kill people. what more could a girl want???

MISC

Disclaimer: Locus and Felix do not have a place to take due to a lack of main-enough characters. Sorry!

Wash

Main: look at me. i think wash is exceptionally bad at most of the classes. he does his best, but they just escape him. he's pretty good with pyro, but he sees pyro as overly easy with little challenge (no offense to caboose). against all odds, i think he's best at engineer, and surprisingly good at it! usually he follows lopez around (because lopez knows what he's doing), but about half the time he'll be on his own and tentatively killing it.

Place: ms pauling. in season 10, he mostly follows carolina around, dragging the reds and blues with him and following the majority of her orders. remind you of someone?

Carolina

Main: also tends to jump around, but prefers support classes. she'll join whichever team she thinks needs the most support at the time. half the time she'll be on the sidelines, cloaked and watching her idiots fuck around.

Place: the administrator! she's the most properly take-charge of all of them. i'd imagine she inherited the position from the director.

Doc

Main: medic, what did you expect? he's surprisingly good at offense, but prefers to stick to healing. in the event of an o'malley switch, he battle medics. he's not good at it.

Place: merasmus. he deserves wizard powers.

Locus

Main: spy. suits his style PERFECTLY. will occasionally play sniper if needed. absolutely cracked at both even though he says he doesn't play video games (this is a lie).

Felix

Main: he doesn't play tf2 because he thinks the people who play it are annoying nerds. this being said: probably either scout or sniper. scout when he feels like being an asshole, sniper when he feels like actually being efficient. either way he gets to show off.

[uwuowotf2waslife]

Inflict your misery on your blorbos! The mercs having to go to the dentist?

Based

Scout: that guy who swears he aint afraid , up and down hell preach he has never once cried at the dentist. But also the guy who once the appointment is over he is outta there faster than light.

Soldier: not really afraid, just hates how close the dentist is to his face. ( i can tolerate many things, but seeing each individual pore in someone face who is using a medieval torture device (lil scoop mirror) its something i cant).

Pyro: do they even have teeth?? Sorry lil firebug, but oh well, ya know sweets and pop tarts aint best food for your enamel ( basically a Spy but they needed to have crowns)

Demo: unironically most carefull person with his teeth. I mean yeah, life is tough when you are a one eyed black scotsman with a police record roughly the length of the entire city of Glasgow, you gotta have at least something gucci about your face. Homeboy has never had a single cavity.

Heavy: he isnt afraid per say, but gulag life never had dental care in the healthcare provider section. His idea of a dentist is using pliers on a tooth , so id argue based. Mouthwash guy who doesnt rinse because , he wants his breath extra fresh

Engie: sanest man in the whole group (not) but was forced to have the ugliest braces known to man so each time he prays he doesnt get flashbacks

Medic: he may have done some oral/dental healthcare (with or without patient consent) but he knows the basics of dentistry. Also forced to wear hideous braces becauSE hE iS. A nErD geT iT ??? ( nah homeboy just succed on em pacyfiers so hard his teeth were like a crater)

Sniper: crooked tooth police BUT he is amazing at dental healthcare. A dentists best patient. HE ACTUALLY FLOSSES DAILY, he isnt that unhappy about his teeth but he has a few of them chipped and in his opinion he makes him feel goofy

Spy: will use all torture training techniques in the dentist. Never flosses, never brushes but uses an obsene amount of mouth wash. Has semi trauma (his fake teeth were a necessity cuz imo prolly got them all taken out without consent -he is a spy; pulling teeth was a very common form of torture-) so yea he hates anything sharp/pointy/metallic touching his teefs.

[37-children-of-the-dreams]

AZI has confirmed that Crosshair’s hand tremors aren’t physical, but might be mental, which makes sense as Crosshair has been through hell and highly could have PTSD.

Now, Star Wars has never confirmed if they even have medication for mental problems, but even then, the Bad Batch, and clones in general, probably don’t have the money to even get monthly medication if Crosshair’s mental problems are long term, which they might be because every clone we’ve known has long term trauma.

Which is why Omega teaching Crosshair meditation is important. Meditation is a coping mechanism that is well documented to be beneficial in helping people with depression and anxiety, which are symptoms of PTSD. If Crosshair keeps doing meditation for coping, he might lessen the tremors. He might not fully get rid of the tremors as trauma doesn’t go away, but if he keeps up with meditation and learn other coping techniques, there is a chance Crosshair can be the sniper we all know he can be.

(I may have researched a ton about coping mechanisms and depression for psychology research purposes.)

[vajrapoet]

Forgive me a moment of kahilas, but let me tell you why you'd want to play Gubat Banwa for your next Tabletop RPG Fantasy campaign (or kandu, as we call it!) instead of the other prospects out there! Long post ahead~

1: You want a fantasy setting that doesn't have a foundation in modern and western paradigms. This one is the easiest one to pitch. This is not just for those that are tired of European Medieval Fantasy: this is for those that want to look at the fantasy genre through new lens

It's one that doesn't have "adventurers" as an inherent fact of the setting. It doesn't accept "defaults". It doesn't romanticize monarchism. It is built from the ground up for tactical fights and the complicated contexts that surrounds those fights. "Combat as storytelling"

It centers us, in the Southeast Asia. So there are some things that might not be as common as in the West:

- oversea and river travel is much more common (and let's be honest, easier) than pure overland travel.

- Honor and Debt are huge parts of the game's social systems (and if you do some reading on medieval societies, aren't even unique to Southeast Asia at all!)

- There's no single dominating culture or empire: it's very diverse, and we don't use any one culture as the default

- You can adapt any Fantasy style campaign you have really, though it is a paradigmatic shift! You'll have to let go of fantasy defaults and imagine a wilder and more vibrant world

- There are no elves or orcs or whatnot--for us those are chaining things, binding things. Gubat Banwa is the wind. In fact, the closest thing we have to "humans" are strange bamboo people - Anything in normal fantasy has a fresh take: Knights wear moonstone armor and ride upon omen bird steeds, "berserkers" are holy martyrs ready to die for Goddess, sorcerers are mantra and mudra masters and utterers who have an enlightened will sharpened into a blade, archers are zen-daoists who have suffused into their surroundings and achieved minor enlightenment

2: You want a game that's specifically built around war drama and martial arts combat and the kinds of stories that entails. There's a section in the book that covers "What kinds of stories you can tell" with the GB System

These genres are the kinds of stories i love to partake in and consume: stories of wandering martial heroes, or of complicated political warring, or of grand gods and sorceries a la Ramayana, or of small stories of warriors protecting their community

dungeon delving is not even inherently against the feel of this game, though of course sacking a grave is looked down upon by most religions in the isles. they are functionally replaced by "Raids" which is much more widely applicable! You can even Raid Heaven and Hell!

3: You like complex buildcrafting, tactical combat, and martial art fiction. Instead of the classic "Hey we're a bunch of scrappy mercenaries that wield a sword out of necessity", you play as Kadungganan who inflict violence by choice, philosophy and will

"Martial Arts" here is every kind of way of inflicting violence, or of perfecting one's self. Elementalist sorcery? Combat healing? Pugilism? Mantra utterances? All martial arts in Gubat Banwa's purview.

This feeds into the buildcrafting: you start with a "Discipline" (a martial art), and each Discipline has a number of Techniques within it. Whenever your Legend Grows (level up) you gain 2 Techniques from ANY DISCIPLINE, keeping in mind prerequisites

This has led to some genuinely flavorful builds: like a priest from beyond the dead crocodile rider, a sniper that launches stolen demon seeds, a folk healer who practices flower necromancy and swordmancy, and even a Knight-Monk that is constantly dancing between stances

All of this is built upon a tactical combat system that (similarly to PF2e!) has three actions as a base, and you can do anything with those three "Beats", lending to the martial arts fiction being invoked

And you start off with pretty limited options, so most of your build is pretty emergent: creating a Kadungganan is easy, since you can't choose from a huge pool of options, but advancement is exponential

It's all on a tactical grid too that has important considerations such as Elevation, Terrain, and even Weather! All to create slick wuxia-esque scenes!

4: You want an endlessly iterative setting. Gubat Banwa is a trichiliocosm, which means it has three-billion worlds. Each one might have your table's version of the Sword Isles. The Sword Isles is a gigantic archipelago, too many islands too count, too many kingdoms to track.

Everything you can think of will fit into the islands of the Sword Isles, just know that it centers Southeast Asian paradigms. A wandering adventurer from a far off land will be the exception, the norm. But endlessly interesting cultures and campaigns can arise from the Isles

And so much more. If you're already interested, take a gander at our itch page:

Also we have a discord where i run games back to back like a goblin: https://discord.gg/8h7ZrU6353

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

I have to know about "some crosshair healing fic, ig?"

Hello and thank you for the ask! Also thank you @indigofyrebird for asking as well!

I love Crosshair. You all know that. But our favorite sniper has been through hell and back to get where he is now. And here's the thing, he's still not ok. So, I decided to write a post-series long fic where I put Crosshair in therapy to work through his trauma. One thing I gave him in the fic as assigned by his therapist is a journal because I feel that he would really enjoy writing out his feelings.

I borrowed from my own experiences with anxiety when writing and I'm doing some research in order to better understand PTSD and what methods of therapy/healing in general work the best. There is some overlap with anxiety, but I want to do the best I can.

Snippet from his journal in the current chapter I'm writing:

"Iris and I haven’t talked about my self-loathing. And I don’t think I want to. Believe me, I’m aware of how bad it is. Honestly, I don’t even think her mindfulness techniques would help. I could repeat ‘my family loves me’ all I want, but it doesn’t remove the doubt I feel. I’m ashamed of all that I did during my time in the Empire, especially towards my family. I SHOT my brother. I did that. Not Hunter. Not Omega. Not Tech. Me. Sometimes, I can’t even look at myself without thinking of what I’ve done. I was told I needed to ‘discover myself.’ Will that help me move along on this path that I’m on? Will figuring out something as trivial as the shirt I put on in the morning help me move past what I did on Kamino? Probably not. The inhibitor chip was what turned me against my brothers. Except it was still my hand on the blaster and my hand alone that pulled the trigger. I tried to fight, but the horror I felt was like a little voice locked up in a box. It couldn’t get out. After the chip was removed, I still stayed with the Empire. There was no other path for me. How could there be? I was abandoned by my family. But I was still a solider. I am solider.” Crosshair looked down at his stump and sighed. “Not anymore it seems. I stopped being a soldier on Tantiss. The moment I shot Nolan was when I abandoned the Empire. What am I supposed to be now?”

This is the first long fic I'm committing to in over 3 years so I hope it goes well 😅

[finntheartist-sketchbook]

FAKE GAME IDEA (would love ideas!!!)

(04-07) Bowling Brawl:

So I had this brainrot idea for a bowling game.

It would combine the standard bowling experience, mixed with special moves and abilities that are unique to every character in the game. The better they bowl, the more energy they get. And you can then use that energy to do combo moves that earn you a whole new type of score based on style points. Both your style points, and your bowling score combine into your overall score. So some brawlers are really good at bowling, and some awful at it, but have really cool moves to make up for it. And they all battle it out in verses battles, to determine who is the best bowler to have ever lived. It was really just an excuse to make a bunch of over the top bowling characters. Here are some of the ones I came up with:

(PLAYER 1)

She's a pretty solid bowler, but she's too cocky for her own good. She spends to much time talking shit, then putting that energy into bowling the ball. (PLAYER 2)

Dude does not know what he is doing. He's probably doing that thing other athletes do where you change your sport mid-career. He knows a lot of trickshots, but a bowling ball is not a basketball. Honestly whoever told him he should change careers, should change careers. (PLAYER 3)

They look like they don't care at all. But that couldn't be more wrong. Ever since [THE ACCIDENT], they've been training in underground bowling rings to take down the fiercest of bowling opponents. Now they're here to take you down too. Their moves might not be the flashiest, but they didn't get the nickname SNIPER for nothing. With pinpoint precision they will out-bowl you in power and accuracy any day of the week. (PLAYER 4)

Is..that a..cat? Are we really letting a cat into this prestigious bowling tournament...? Apparently he has the strongest throws out of any of the bowlers here, but his technique is so bad that his bowling ball ends up in the walls or ceiling, as much as it does the bowling lanes. An associate asked him if he wanted us to pull up the gutter rails, but he got offended and swiftly clawed his eyes out. When asked for comment about his chances of winning, he said "HELL YEA!!" then threw a bowling ball towards a little girl celebrating a birthday party with her family. 🎳💥🧍‍♀️

I would seriously love to see other peoples designs for their own bowling champions to join the roster. If you do PLEASE TAG/@ ME!!! I would love to see them!! >:3 If you also have any ideas for this game concept, I'd love to hear them too!!!

[surveillance-0011]

Every HOL 2 + Comic prediction I have

Possible spoilers ahead. Some of these I'm very much convinced about, others are more general statements or spitballing/guesstimates.

In general:

We find out where the hell Lizzie and Kenny are

We see what remains of the G3+ more of how they've impacted space

Funny mission control in the form of Clug's kids + Gene. He was literally gonna blow us up to keep the house.

Maybe seeing Krimothy or Gene's nephew

More stuff abt Gene + whatever he's got going on, too

More Torgs maybe?

Bounty Hunter will probably remain a very self insert-y character and therefore be more of a blank slate while the Gatlians get center stage but we might get more on them... maybe something abt their parents

And. Lezduit. Did you fuck my mom Lezduit?

The Comic

Takes place pre-High on Knife

Follows (at least partially) the bounties that have been done pre DLC (the ones on the screen)

Gurgula plays more of a role or shows up as some sorta easter egg in the bg

Actually shows what's up with Creature

"Redemption" We are totally getting stuff about Kenny

and maybe similar themes with Harper? if the Task Force led to her doing some fucked up shit

And ofc who knows maybe. applies to creature lore. If not that then maybe the "lost love" in the blurb is referring to this... hm...

Though it's not following the G3 I'm going to assume we'll be seeing Merkaloids and other G3 grunts doing other odd jobs and the remnants of the Cartel + power struggles before it crumbles for good

Uh. Maybe bonus G3 chapter at the end? Or at least mentioning them + filling more in for sake of worldbuilding. maybe this is copium but i want moar... moar G3. please. waughh

HOL 2

Lez might come back late game once the parents get back from their road trip. Maybe he'd be used for a challenge mode/bonus gauntlet instead of the final boss.

If we don't see what's going on with Lizzie in the comics we'll certainly know by 2.

Maybe Gurgula got a hold of her or Gene or the BH's parents as a way to play on Garmantuous trying to hurt who the BH "loves most" but it's not a celebrity cameo this time

Either Kenny-Harper dual wielding or Kenny gets an upgrade that's not quite Lezduit level but makes him a more advanced gun.

Alternatively maybe the perspectives switch between BH and Lizzie? BH keeps their guns and there's chapters or otherwise ways to switch perspective to continue to the story with Lizzie, Kenny, and her own group of Gatliens. This would eventually lead to the two reuniting and being able to choose who to play as and what combo of Gatliens you like to complete the game. This is pretty ambitious and most likely too clunky but something like this could be on the table.

And if you don't get to play as them I do like the idea of Lizzie turning up ok with Kenny in tow

May or may not be accompanied by a joke w/ Kenny saying he's got a frog in his throat or some other meta commentary. Then again given the circumstances to why the change would be made this might be in poor taste. We will see.

I mean really after what she did to Tweeg if you follow that path then I'm sure she's gonna end up getting in on the bloodshed. Really thinking she'll fight along side you or maybe against you at some point if she gets brainwashed or something (maybe unlikely but as a splatoon fan I'm Used To This Happening by now)

And by now Gene's legs r probably gonna grow back or be just about enough to walk with?

Knifey keeps the chainsaw obviously. maybe another modification or two to switch out?

Flamethrower + Sniper Rifle Gatliens, sticky + smoke bomb trick hole or mechanism

Being able to meet + save more Gatlien survivors even if they aren't playable

Maybe a shooting range/training room to hone techniques

More standalone bounties while the Bounty Hunter tries to track down Gurgula on their own terms

Gurgula is from Australia III or IV or. yeah just another Australia. Maybe the original first Australia planet... hm...

More Australia in general

More Gurgula also :3c this is a given but I am very much excited 2 see him. I think unlike Garmantuous he's probably not going to try to check in on us or anything and it's more cat-and-mouse-y.

The game will probably be a bit more grim, esp when the focus is on Gurgula. Not too gritty, but certainly more in line with the secret ending and HOK's more morbid/scary moments.

that being said I need to see him lose his mind as he gradually gets totally tired of everyone else's bullshit and comes to the conclusion that he's in a game chock full of nerdy stoner comedy.

There will probably be a joke about/reference to CWC it'd be funny if Gurgula was actually super wowed by all of that. Not disgusted like actually just. wow. the depths of the human mind.

I've said it before but I am certainly thinking they may kill off Gene or Lizzie. Knowing how calculated and cutthroat Gurgs is I'm pretty sure he'll be targeting them eventually and even if he doesn't with some of the themes of redemption we've been seeing here I'm thinking we're gonna see some people we like go.

In general i hope the game does not shy away from more emotional moments and allows shit 2 get real grim. After being thrown for a total loop in the secret ending and the pretty well done bits of horror around the reveal of Mux in HOK i do hope we get some real gut wrenching bits where we see the real depths of depravity with Gurgula :3c and just knowing that. shit is fucked.

[callsign-owl]

Here we go again

This is a continuation of Easter Break Part 6

Hereford, United Kingdom - April 2019

It was early, when Owl woke up and the sun was barely creeping through the small window of his room at the base. He stretched, wincing slightly as the lingering tension from yesterday's events in London tugged at his muscles. For a moment, he considered going back to sleep, but the need for coffee pulled him out of bed.

The mess hall was almost empty when Owl arrived. Easter break had most of the base running on a skeleton crew, and the silence was a stark contrast to the usual hustle and noise he’d grown used to. He grabbed a cup of coffee, the smell bitter and burnt as always. The coffee at the base wasn’t anything special—hell, it was barely drinkable—but it was better than nothing. He sat down at one of the long tables, glancing around at the emptiness. No sign of Ghost, Soap, or anyone from the team.

Owl sipped at his coffee, staring at the dark liquid in the cup. His mind wandered back to the events of the last few days—Percy, the disastrous lunch, the drive to Hereford in the Aston Martin. Owl found himself smirking at the memory of stealing the car. But still, Owl felt an underlying weight to everything, a heaviness that clung to him no matter how much he tried to shake it off. After finishing his coffee, Owl stood up, discarded the cup, and made his way out of the mess hall. He knew exactly where he wanted to go next.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The shooting range was quiet when Owl arrived, the only sound coming from the faint rustle of wind sweeping across the field. His sniper rifle rested comfortably in his hands. It brought Owl a strange sense of calm and focus. Shooting was something that required precision and control, things that often felt elusive in the rest of Owl's life. However, here that was something that he managed to seemingly effortlessly achieve, out here, everything made sense.

Owl set up in his favourite spot, the rifle steady in his grip as he aligned his sights with the target. He took a slow breath, letting the cool air fill his lungs before exhaling, his finger smoothly squeezing the trigger. The shot rang out, the sound echoing across the range as the bullet hit its mark. Owl adjusted slightly and fired again. And Again. And again. Minutes passed as Owl continued shooting, the action calming him in a way few things could. Owl almost didn’t notice when Ghost arrived. Almost.

Ghost appeared silently, standing a few meters back, his arms crossed as he watched Owl. He didn’t say anything, didn’t make a sound, just observed as Owl fired round after round. Owl pretended not to notice, keeping his eyes on the target. He adjusted his rifle, took another shot, the bullet hitting dead center. Owl could feel Ghost’s gaze on him, but he still didn’t acknowledge it.

After a while, Owl finally set the rifle down and leaned back, stretching his shoulders. Without turning to look, he addressed Ghost. “Are you here to critique my technique or just to enjoy the show?”

There was a brief pause before Ghost responded, his voice low and casual. “I’d say your technique is not where your issues are.”

Owl smirked, still not turning around. “Glad to know I’ve got your approval.”

Ghost chuckled under his breath, taking a step closer, his boots crunching lightly against the gravel. “Didn’t say that either.”

Owl finally glanced over his shoulder, meeting Ghost’s gaze for a moment before looking back at the target. “What are you really doing here?”

“You’re usually less trouble when someone’s keeping an eye on you.” Ghost replied.

Owl rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Did you actually come here to babysit me?”

“Nah,” Ghost said with a faint hint of amusement. “But I figured if I didn’t, you might steal a plane or something next.”

Owl couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I mean, the thought crossed my mind. But then I remembered I don't know how to fly a plane.”

Ghost's eyes narrowed slightly, the faintest twitch of a smile beneath his balaclava. “Well, maybe you should work on that. Could be useful.”

“Yeah, I’ll put it on my list,” Owl replied. The he saw how Ghost's demeanor shifted, the lightness of the conversation giving way to something more serious. Owl could feel it before Ghost even spoke—there was something else on his mind.

Ghost paused, as if considering how to phrase whatever was coming next. “Actually,” he started, his tone a little more deliberate now, “speaking of planes, I’ve been thinking.”

Owl’s stomach dropped instantly, his pulse quickening. He didn’t like where this was going.

“You and I both know you need to get back on that horse,” Ghost continued, his gaze fixed on Owl, steady and unwavering. “That parachute jump. It got in your head. But I reckon if we try it again, without the rest of the team breathing down your neck, it might make things easier.”

Internally, Owl’s entire body tensed. Another jump? The memory of his last one flashed in his mind—the panic, the overwhelming sense of failure, the way his body had seized up mid-air. His heart raced at the mere thought of repeating that experience. No way. Not again. But Owl knew better than to let that show. He forced himself to keep his expression neutral, not wanting to give Ghost the satisfaction of knowing how deeply this suggestion rattled him. It wasn’t just about the jump itself. It was about the fear, the shame, the overwhelming sense of vulnerability he’d felt afterward. The idea of going through all of that again, even without the team watching, made his skin crawl. But he also knew he couldn’t avoid it forever. Sooner or later, he’d have to face it. And, as much as he hated to admit it, Ghost was right—doing it without the team might make it easier. Might.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silence, Owl sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before turning back to Ghost. “Fine,” he said, his voice tight but resolute. “Let’s do it. But if I die, I’m haunting you.”

Ghost’s eyes glinted with amusement, but his tone remained serious. “Deal. But you’re not dying. Not on my watch.”

Owl forced a grin, though inside he still felt that knot of dread tightening in his stomach. He glanced at the target in the distance, trying to steady himself. He was already gearing himself up for the jump—mentally preparing for the inevitable —but before he could dwell on it too much, Ghost spoke again.

“Not that you really had a choice anyway,” Ghost said, his voice calm but firm.

Owl’s head snapped back toGhost, eyes narrowing in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Ghost shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a glint in his eyes, a hint of mischief beneath his usual cool demeanor. “I’ve already arranged everything. Plane, pilot… it’s all ready to go.”

Owl’s stomach dropped further. “What? Today?”

Ghost gave a single, slow nod. “Yeah. Figured if I told you ahead of time, you’d find a way to wriggle out of it.”

Owl stared at him, his pulse quickening. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” Ghost’s tone was infuriatingly casual, like he was suggesting they grab a coffee instead of throwing Owl out of a plane. “You’ve got an hour. Meet me on the airfield.”

For a moment, Owl could only gape at him, his mind scrambling for an excuse, anything to get out of it. But nothing came. Owl’s mouth opened to protest, but before he could find the words, Ghost was already turning to leave.

“One hour, Owl,” Ghost called over his shoulder, not even glancing back. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

And just like that, he was gone, leaving Owl alone on the range, the weight of what was about to happen crashing down on him like a tidal wave. He let out a sharp breath as the reality of the situation settled in. “Fuck,” Owl muttered under his breath, raking a hand through his hair.

With a sigh, Owl packed up his gear and headed back toward the barracks, each step heavier than the last. He had an hour. An hour to get his head straight, to mentally prepare himself for what was about to happen.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Back in his room, Owl sat on the edge of his bed, the knot of anxiety tightening with every passing second. He didn’t have much time before he had to meet Ghost at the airfield, and every fiber of his being was screaming at him to run, to find a way out of this. But he knew he was trapped. Ghost had given him no time to prepare, no time to overthink—and maybe that was the point. Maybe this was Ghost’s way of forcing him to confront his fear without giving him the chance to back down. Smart bastard. Owl knew he had to do something, anything, to calm down before it all spiraled out of control. The memory of the last jump still haunted him. But he had one ace up his sleeve.

Owl reached for his backpack and unzipped the side pocket. Inside, tucked safely was his stash of pills. His usual escape. Normally, he used them for their more recreational effects, a way to numb everything when life became too much. But now, for once, he was going to use them for their actual intended purpose. They were Anti-anxiety meds after all, among other things. Designed to take the edge off. To keep the panic at bay.

He stared at the small plastic bag in his hand for a moment, his heartbeat loud in his ears. It was tempting to take more than he needed, to drown himself in the numbness entirely. But he couldn’t afford that today. He had to stay sharp—just calm enough to get through the jump without losing it again.

Finally Owl popped two of the pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry. He sat there for a few moments, knowing it would take some time for the meds to kick in, and by then, he’d already be at the airfield. But for now, just knowing that the effect was coming brought a small measure of relief.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Owl walked across the base, his footsteps heavy as he made his way to the airfield. The knot in his stomach hadn’t eased yet, despite the meds that were starting to take effect. His heartbeat wasn’t pounding quite as hard, and the edges of his anxiety were beginning to blur, but the dread still sat there, stubborn and unyielding. No matter how much he tried to push it down, it refused to leave.

By the time he reached the airfield, the meds had dulled the worst of the tension, but not nearly enough to make him feel remotely comfortable with what was about to happen. He spotted Ghost immediately—standing near the plane, arms crossed, his face unreadable behind the skull-patterned balaclava.

“Right on time,” Ghost said as Owl approached, his voice casual. Ghots's sharp eyes flicked over Owl’s face, taking in the tension that was still evident. “You ready for this?” Ghost asked.

Owl didn’t respond right away. He stared at the gear, his mind already racing back to his last jump—the panic, the helplessness. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Owl muttered, his attempt at a smirk falling flat.

Ghost gave a single nod, though his eyes remained on Owl, watching him carefully. “Alright,” Ghost said, his tone matter-of-fact. “We’re doing this tandem again, same as last time. You’ll have control, but I’m here if you need me.”

Owl nodded stiffly, though the idea of “control” felt laughable. He didn’t feel in control at all—not of this situation, not of his fear, not of anything.

Ghost moved efficiently, tossing Owl the gear and helping him strap in. Owl tried to focus on each individual step, on making sure everything was secure, but his hands trembled slightly as he tightened the straps. Ghost noticed, of course. He always noticed.

“It’s just you and me this time. No crowd. No pressure. We get up there, and you’ll jump. Simple as that.”  Ghost said calmly.

Owl nodded. “Yeah. Simple.”

Ghost gave him a hard look, eyes narrowing slightly. “You can do this,” he said, his voice low but firm.

Owl appreciated the confidence, but it still didn’t stop the lingering unease twisting in his gut. He adjusted the straps of his harness one last time, trying to focus on anything other than the fact that he’d soon be throwing himself out of a plane—again.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

As the engines roared to life and the plane began to taxi down the runway, Owl stared out of the small window. Finally the meds started to fully kick in. The further they climbed, the calmer Owl felt, like a layer of insulation had wrapped around his mind. By the time they reached jumping altitude, Owl found himself remarkably calm. The tension was still there, a faint whisper in the back of his mind, but it wasn’t the overwhelming force it had been last time. Instead, it felt more like background noise—something he could handle.

Ghost turned to Owl, giving him a once-over before raising a hand, signaling that it was almost time. His eyes searched Owl’s face, clearly looking for any sign of hesitation. But Owl met his gaze with a steady look of his own, giving a brief nod. Then the door opened, and the cold rush of wind filled the plane. The roar of the engines mixed with the rush of air.

Ghost motioned toward the door, indicating it was time. Owl hesitated, just for a split second, the memory of his last jump flickering in his mind like a distant echo. But then he pushed it aside, planting his feet firmly at the edge of the abyss. The sky stretched out endlessly before him, the ground far below a blur of greens and browns. Owl took a deep breath and then they jumped.

Owl felt the wind tearing at his clothes, his body weightless in the sky. But this time, the fear didn’t take over. The rush of air was deafening, but everything felt distant, like it was happening to someone else. There was no spiraling, no overwhelming panic. His hands gripped the handles of the harness, his body positioning itself naturally in the air. Ghost was right behind him, ready to take over if required. But he didn't have to. Not this time.

After what felt like an eternity of free fall, at Ghost's signal, Owl reached for the parachute cord and he pulled it. The parachute deployed and they were jerked upwards. The rest of the descent was smooth, controlled, and as they neared the ground, Owl prepared for the landing. They hit the ground with a jolt, Owl bending his knees to absorb the impact just like he’d been taught. His feet skidded slightly against the earth, but he managed to stick the landing. For a moment, Owl just stood there and let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

Ghost unclipped himself from the harness and stepped back, giving Owl space as he did the same. “Not bad,” Ghost said, his tone calm but with an edge of approval. “You kept it together this time.”

Owl nodded, muttering a quiet, “Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair, trying to process the fact that he had made it through the jump without completely falling apart. But instead of relief or a feeling of accomplishment he should have felt, there was only… emptiness. A hollow ache that gnawed at him from the inside. The jump had gone well, and yet all he could feel was a cold, sinking sensation in his chest. Owl felt like a fraud.

I didn’t really do it, his mind whispered. The meds did.

Ghost studied Owl for a moment, as if sensing that something was off, but he didn’t push. “We’ll debrief later,” Ghost said, stepping back. “Get yourself sorted.”

Owl gave a small nod and watched as Ghost walked away, while he unclipped the last of the harness He felt the familiar sense of isolation settled over him. He had felt it so many times before before and even here in Hereford, surrounded by a team, it never left him. That gnawing feeling that no matter where he was, or what he did, he was always alone, trapped in his own head.