#i am good at making dice i promise

[wileys-russo]

Could I possibly request a blurb for Fresa? Young fresa walking up to ale and just standing in front of her (monster inc. boo style if you catch my drift) and just saying 'hug'. Alexia just picks her up and she buries into Alexia's neck and falls asleep, and Alexia just keeps doing whatever she was doing

Totally okay if no but might be cute x

part of the void universe hugs II a.putellas

now a moody teenager you might not always want the suffocatingly tight bear hugs your sisters ambushed you with, but much younger you were the polar opposite, demanding affection from them whenever you wanted.

alexia in particular was a favorite of yours for obvious reasons, the main being she hardly ever said no.

"hug!" you chirped, holding your arms out expectantly as the sixteen year old looked down at you in amusement. your sister squatting down to your height you exhaled happily as she hugged you tightly, only as she tried to let go and stand up, she couldn't shake you off.

"fres, nena i am trying to help mami make dinner." your sister laughed, attempting to peel you off as you grunted unhappily and clung on even tighter.

"hug." you repeated firmly, the footballer giving in with a sigh and hauling you up, sitting you on her hip and holding you tightly with one arm as she stirred with the other.

"you are a very good hugger pequeña." the older girl smiled, kissing your cheek as your head rested tiredly on your shoulder, eli returning from taking a phone call a few minutes later to find you dead asleep on your sisters hip.

"ale. hug!" the girl glanced up hearing your little footsteps thunder into her room, sat at her desk trying to study she hardly had time to open her mouth before you were stood expectantly beside her with your arms held up.

"hermana i need to study. can you go give mami or alba a hug?" the girl tried to shoo you away gently, but a firm shake of your head and you were wiggling your way beneath her desk.

alexia scooted her chair back a little as you tried to climb up and onto it with her, tiny three year old limbs not quite long enough to let you achieve it. "fresa." alexia couldn't help but chuckle at your persistence.

"hug." you held your arms up and cracking at the adorable pout on your face your sister scooted her chair back more and hauled you up, sitting you on her knee as you clung onto her happily and she shook her head.

"like a little leech." the girl chuckled under her breath, pen poking at your forehead as you looked up at her happily before squeezing her tightly, arms remaining as wound around her taller body as you could as you wiggled to get comfortable.

and when eli came to check in if alexia needed anything a half an hour later, there you were curled up asleep on her knee.

"alexia!" the girl looked up, smile fading as alba burst through the kitchen doors followed by a four year old hot on her heels, scowl on alba's face as her older sister raised an eyebrow. "que?" the girl asked, her friends sat around the table playing a card game.

"fresa is driving me crazy! she will not listen to me." alba groaned dragging her hands down her face. "watch." alba demanded wagging a finger. "fresa, bed time." alba ordered as you shook your head.

"no!" you grinned happily, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet, your pyjamas on backwards and red clutched tightly in your hand.

"she was supposed to be asleep an hour ago alba. you promised!" alexia warned with a glare, having made a deal with the younger girl to do her laundry for a week if she watched over you while alexia had friends over and eli was at work for the night.

"i tried! it is like she does the opposite of what i say. fresa, sit!" alba demanded pointing down at you as you just smiled innocently up at her. "fresa, do not sit down." alba ordered next, alexia's friends snickering as you sat down on the floor.

"she is not a dog estúpida!" alexia threw a dice at her younger sister with a glare who ducked. "you put her to bed then!" alba scowled, stomping angrily out of the kitchen, door swinging shut behind her.

"alba we had a deal!" "alexia i don't care!"

"oye, and what are you doing fresita?" alexia noticed you trying to drag a stool toward the fridge, her friends all cooing over how cute you were as alexia stood and towered over you.

"hungry." you shrugged, whining as your sister plucked the stool out of reach. "bed time." she warned, pushing your head playfully and holding out her hand for you to take, waving for her friends to skip her turn.

"hug!" you demanded, holding your arms up as alexia happily hauled you up into her own arms, hanging you off her hip as you hugged her tightly and she made her way toward your room.

"bed time diablillo." your sister chuckled, pulling your covers back and trying to drop you into bed, unable to break the iron clad you grip you had going around her neck, hanging off of her like a little monkey.

"fres, no. hermana you are going to sleep!" alexia warned a little stricter, grunting as she tried to pry you away but you whined unhappily and still clung onto her.

"aye dios mio. fresita i have friends over, you are too little to be up this late. mami will be upset!" she tried to remind as you shook your head, fists still balled into her top as she groaned.

"hug." you grunted, wrapping your legs around her for extra grip as your sister sighed, knowing what she should do but that the realities of you not just getting up and following after her once she yanked you off and put you to bed were slim anyway.

"bien. you win little monito!" your sister tugged playfully on your ears and turned around, heading back out of your room and toward the kitchen again.

she dismissed her friends questioning looks with a flick of her wrist, taking her seat again as you got comfortable on her lap, all of the other girls cooing and awwing as to be expected within a few minutes you were dead asleep in your sisters arms.

and when eli got home later that night thats exactly how she found you, clinging on tightly to your eldest sister whose long legs and arms hung awkwardly off the edges of your tiny kid sized mattress, with you curled up happily on top of her like a cat.

you and your hugs.

[anim-ttrpgs]

I recently ran an oneshot for my friends in Eureka.

It was a lot of fun and went mostly smoothly! The charakter creation was very easy. It still took more time than I expected, but that was simply because the players needed it to decide on which traits etc. to pick.

The central resolution mechanic with 2d6 is of course tried and true (I assume. Never played one of the many other 2d6 games.) but especially the Eureka system felt really good.

I think I read in a recent post of your's, that you are overhauling the chapter on combat. That seems very important to me. Even though I read the whole book once before running the game, I had immense problems finding out how small details of the combat worked during play. The musings on game design (eg, "yes, the combat is deadly, thats on purpose heres why" and such) where really enlightening to read, but got in the way when searching for concrete stats.

I will run the same oneshot again for different friends. The game seems really promising to me.

My mystery took place on a single in game evening, and none of the players were monsters. Having therefore only scratched at the surface of Eureka, I am looking forward to running it more.

Woo! We LOVE hearing about this kinda stuff!

And yeah everything about how the combat-related rules are structured is getting overhauled. All of that was written like 2 years ago when I was a slightly worse game designer and MUCH worse at writing coherent paragraphs and hasn’t been touched since until now. Instead of being split across like four paragraphs (what was I thinking), there will be just two chapters on it: “Instruments of Violence”, which is mostly just a giant list of references for the stats and special rules of weapons and armor, and “Dangerous Situations”, which covers every rule related to how your investigators can get killed. Some of these clean-ups are already available in the latest patreon release, and the rest are coming soon to both patreon and the itchio beta.

Combat is a very rare thing in Eureka, but when it does come up, we want it to be tight and granular, but without wasting the players’ time, which I think we’ve done pretty well at.

Like the book says, combat is deadly and there’s a reason why: so it doesn’t waste the players’ time.

This is a twofold problem to solve. The first layer of it, we solved by making sure the numbers are low. Most weapons can take a character down in 2 to 3 hits, so a single instance of two guys smacking each other will never take too many rounds.

Secondly, well, combat is dangerous and deadly, and if the PCs approach it without a plan, they’re gonna die, or at least get their asses kicked fast. Otherwise, well, I consider that a waste of the players’ time. If it was predetermined that the PCs would win otherwise the story can’t continue, well, what did we roll all those die, look up all those stats, and track all that HP for? Why didn’t we just describe the PCs winning and move on? Combat matters because it can change the outcome of the adventure, and if it can’t change the outcome, why are you rolling dice? Of course with death being so possible, to keep it fun, we gotta include lots of “tools” like cover, positioning, different weapons, special melee attacks, etc. that the PCs can use cleverly to give themselves an edge, and *earn* their survival.

Oh and also yeah can’t wait to hear what you think about the monsters. Funny thing about that, everyone who has read the rulebook knows that monsters and other supernatural creatures are supposed to be really rare, like one supernatural person for every 3,000,000 normal people kinda rare, but, monsters are super cool and fun to play, and are one of the big draws of the system, so we were kinda worried that that rarity wouldn’t come through in play, everyone would just be monsters. We considered setting a limit on how many monsters can be in a party? But quickly decided against it, because then players would have to compete for the limited monster slots, and people might even feel like if they’re not filling in that slot every single adventure, they’re missing an opportunity, and so every party would max out their monster limit every time and there’d, again, be way too many monsters.

In practice, though, most parties in Eureka seem to be comprised of all normal people, or all normal people and 1 monster at most, even without the limit. And I suspect this is both because monsters are kinda difficult to play despite their immense power, and, just to brag, because we made the normal PCs fun has hell to play too. :)

[tetedurfarm]

i promised y'all recipes but i forgor

it's ok im fixing it now tho

anyway. hi. hello. i eat a lot of rabbit. i am also blessed by god to be one of the few, the chosen, the descended from the acadians who were blessed with the ability to cook food that doesn't suck. you can trust me. màmaw cécil's ici.

just a fair warning though these recipes kinda assume you have basic cooking skills, and things are measured with the heart as my ancestors intended.

onward to the recipes

the tried. the true. the rabbit gumbo

one whole rabbit

half an onion

one package of andouille sausage (or other spicy pork sausage)

a bell pepper if you like

some okra if you like

some garlic

a jar of dark roux (savoie's is my go-to)

tony chacherie's

tabasco

filé

a good long-grain rice

debone the rabbit and cut into chunks, or pressure cook until it falls off the bones. you can also cook the rabbit IN the gumbo but this method takes a long time and is a PITA, but you do get all the good rabbit grease in the gumbo.

fill a large stock pot about 3/4 the way up with water and set to boil. add salt until it's salty to the taste. add about five to seven heaping spoonfuls of roux and let it dissolve while the pot comes to a boil.

while you wait, chop the onion and bell pepper into a rough dice and add it to the pot. i'm sure someone's màmaw will tell you what to do with okra, but i don't like it so idk. i just know some people put it in their gumbo. not me tho. tbh i don't even like bell peppers but it's traditional. anyway you can put some garlic in too. and tony's. lots of tony's.

cut the sausage into about quarter inch rounds and throw 'em in too. if you did not precook your rabbit, add it now. if you did precook, you can add it once the vegetables and sausage are cooked. around this time is also when i put the rice on.

once all the meat is done cooking, taste for seasoning and adjust as desired. it should be salty and a little spicy (or a lot, if you aren't a coward.) now all you have to do is wait for the rice to finish.

when everything is done, scoop some rice into a deep bowl (a soup crock is ideal) and pour gumbo over, making sure you get a bit of everything. top with tabasco to taste, and a healthy dash of filé.

some variety of sausage

1 - 2lbs of ground rabbit

soy sauce

garlic rice wine vinegar (if you can't find it, normal RWV works just add more garlic)

rubbed sage

garlic powder

minced garlic (if not using garlic RWV) (or if you just want it)

brown sugar

drizzle a little oil (i like using sesame oil) in a saucepan and put in ground rabbit. as it cooks, cut it up into small chunks with your utensil. once it's cooked, throw in all the rest of the everything and season with salt and pepper and a little msg if you got it. measure with your heart and taste as you go. you are shooting for a sort of savoury-sweet thing going on. it should be closer to a breakfast sausage in taste.

this goes really good in a dumpling, fried into a patty, or turn it into a white gravy with some milk and flour and put it over rice with creamed corn for a nontraditional but still delicious rice and gravy.

german rabbit stew

this one is just a link because someone else made it up but it's real good: https://honest-food.net/german-rabbit-stew/

alfredo mushroom rabbit pasta

roughly one cup per person's worth of cooked, shredded rabbit

as many portobello mushrooms as your heart desires

minced garlic

a jar of alfredo (or make your own i ain't your mom)

your pasta of choice

pretty straightforward. put your pasta on to boil (we like penne.) chop up your mushrooms and sweat them out in a saucepan. when they're cooked enough, toss in the alfredo, the minced garlic, and your rabbit. season with salt/pepper/whatever else you like to taste. when the pasta is done, combine pasta and rabbit mixture and enjoy

just the filling part of pei wei's lettice wraps but on rice instead

1lb ground rabbit

half an onion

garlic

hoisin sauce

teriyaki sauce

hot chili oil

green onion (grunion)

sesame seeds

short-grain rice

set your rice to cook. when it's almost done, roughly dice onion and set it to cook in a little oil (i like seasme for this.) when it turns translucent, add ground rabbit and garlic. once the rabbit is cooked, throw all the other sauces in to taste. it should be hoisin-forward, a little sweet and savoury. add some cayenne and more chili oil, maybe some gochujang, whatever, if you want more spice. eat it with rice and top with sesame seeds and grunions, i like some shichimi togarashi too sometimes. maybe a lil fried egg if you're feeling sassy.

i made this up from a dupe recipe for a lettuce wrap i liked at a restaurant so you could put it in lettuce too if you wanted. i just don't ever buy a whole head of lettuce.

weird midwestern chili

1-2lbs of ground rabbit

half an onion

garlic

one large can or two small cans of petite diced tomatoes

1-2 habañero peppers (or none if you're yankee)

some sort of stock or broth, or water and a bouillon cube

chili powder

sometimes corn is nice in this if you have it

pasta of your choice

i use my instant pot for this, but you can do it without one in a normal stockpot, it'll just take longer.

brown the rabbit in a little bit of oil with the pot on sauté. while you wait, chop up the onion, garlic, and papper. when the rabbit is browned, throw everything else in the pot besides the pasta. pressure cook for about 15-20 minutes.

in the meantime, set a pot of pasta to boil. we like farfalle.

when the chili is done cooking, season further to taste with more chili powder, cayenne, tony's, whatever you like. serve on the pasta. i know, i know, it ain't chili to me either, but that's what my friend's minnesotan family calls it and whatever it is, it's damn good so i forgive them.

rice that is dirty AND ugly

1-2lbs ground rabbit

half an onion

garlic i guess

about four or five rabbit or chicken livers

long-grain rice

tony's

set the rice to cook. brown the livers in some oil until they are just barely not-raw. then blitz 'em up in a food processer until they are mush. while you do this, brown some ground rabbit and onion and garlic if you want it in a saucepan. when it's browned, add the livers and just. stir it all together. does it look horrible? you're doing it right. season to taste once it's cooked through. add in rice and mix. i promise to god it tastes better than it looks.

for bonus points, mush dirty rice into balls and dredge in egg and seasoned cornmeal and deep fry or air fry until golden brown. ta da, your very own boudin balls.

i guess you can also run the mixture into a sausage casing for 'normal' boudin too.

('but what about the gizzards cecil' i have tried for years and i can't make gizzards palatable. they just end up weird and tough and i don't like the texture in the dirty rice. you know how to make 'em work, you go for it.)

mexican meatloaf that is neither mexican nor meatloaf

1lb ground rabbit

half an onion

garlic

one can of petite diced tomatoes

one can of whole corn

one can of pork n beans

(optional can of kidney beans or other bean you like)

taco seasoning

shredded yellow cheese

sour creme

tabasco

fritos

chop onion into a rough dice and put in a saucepan with a little oil. when onion is translucent, throw in rabbit to brown. when meat is cooked, thrown in everything that comes in a can, and the taco seasoning. i use about half a packet, but you can do to taste. once it's cooked, spoon over fritos and top with shredded cheese and sour creme. i like a dash of tabasco too.

absoutely a 'hear me out recipe' but if you like frito pie you will probably like this. most importantly, though, it makes a TON of food and for very cheap. excellent end of the month meal. also idk why it's called mexican meatloaf that's just what my mom named it and i'm pretty sure she made it up herself lol

rabbit jambalaya that makes my ancestors cry

approximately one half a rabbit's worth of shredded rabbit

one can of petite diced tomatoes

andouille or other spicy pork sausage

half an onion

bell pepper if ya like it

celery if ya like it

rabbit or chicken stock/broth

tony's

long-grain rice

if you are starting with a whole rabbit, either debone, chop into chunks, and cook, or pressure cook the rabbit until it falls off of the bone. set your rice to cook.

chop veggies and toss em in a saucepan with a little bit of oil or butter. sauté until soft, then add your tomatoes, broth, andouille, and rabbit. when it's all warmed through, add the rice in and mix. season with tony's, crab boil, cayenne, whatever, to taste. put some tabasco on that bitch before you eat, and enjoy.

(my ancestors cry because i'm cajun and traditionally we don't put tomatoes in our jambalaya. mais c'est bon, escuse-moi les anciens.)

creme cheese rabbit joes or whatever

one whole rabbit

one block of creme cheese

one packet of ranch seasoning

jar of pickled jalapeños

shredded cheddar cheese

your favourite burger bun

we use an instant pot, i guess you could probably do it on a stove if you had to but keep an eye on the liquid levels. pressure cook rabbit with half of the ranch seasoning packet and as much jalapeño juice as you want (it should have a kick.) when meat is tender, remove bones and drain liquid into another container (it makes a great stock if you want something with a little pizzaz.)

turn the instant pot on saute, and then put meat, creme cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapeños to taste, the rest of the ranch powder if you want, and as much jalapeño juice or the stock you just made until it's the consistency you want. it should be pretty creamy and a little gloopy. toast your buns, slop the goop on, and enjoy.

well these are the ones i can remember off top my head/that i actually eat regularly. we also make burgers and stir fry and curry rice and shit too, but those are like...y'know. don't really need a recipe for burgers and stir fry.

go forth and eat your fuckin animals

[ataliagold]

But My Heart Is Just A Little Boy

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: Teen (swearing)

W/C: 2012

Tags: Established Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, hurt/comfort, Steve Harrington has dyscalculia, Steve Harrington has self esteem issues, Steve Harrington needs a hug, fluff, light angst, DnD, Mike and Dustin are a little mean here

Notes: Just slowly posting some of my AO3 stuff here as well :) Title from Rattlesnake by Jack Van Cleaf.

___

Steve joining in on Eddie’s campaign was supposed to be a nice surprise for his boyfriend.

And it was; Eddie’s face had lit up with joy when Steve had walked in and sat down with the kids around the table. Steve had taken the dice Dustin had loaned him and lined them up in front of him, from the D4 (the funny triangle one) up to the D20 (the one with heaps of sides, Steve reminded himself.)

If he kept them in that order it would help him pick the right dice quickly, he’d decided.

Because he wanted this to go to perfectly.

Eddie had been asking him to join in on a game for months, but Steve had so far refused, only coming along sometimes to watch quietly. There were parts of it that piqued his interest – namely the combat and the creatures Eddie planted into the game, because some of them were so damn cool even if Steve wouldn’t readily admit it out loud. A small part of him, a much younger part that had loved fairy tales and stories about knights and dragons and sword fights before his father had confiscated those books, deeming them too childish, watched with a quiet giddiness as the kids battled all manner of beasts.

But much of the game was so complicated - there were so many numbers, and Steve had no idea how Eddie and the kids managed to keep track of everything, how they added dice values together so damn quickly and kept track of a seemingly endless list of stats and bonuses and modifiers, whatever the hell they were.

Eddie knew about his difficulty with numbers. He’d seen the way Steve had to count with his fingers, how it took him far too fucking long to do a simple equation, how he stood in Melvald’s staring at the price of something just trying to make the numbers make sense so they wouldn’t blow their grocery budget.

And Eddie was patient, always. But D&D was Eddie’s realm, his place to shine, and Steve was so worried about holding him back and ruining the game every time he had to pause to add two fucking dice together.

Finally, he’d caved. Secretly, with Dustin’s help, he’d put a character sheet together. He’d made a paladin because Dustin had told him it suited him. Steve made him strong and lawful good, just like the knights he used to read about as a little boy. Dustin had rolled his eyes a little at that but Steve had been quite proud of what he’d put together.

Plus, Dustin had promised to help him with the math.

But here Steve was, well over an hour into the campaign, and he was struggling.

Cheeks burning, he turned to Dustin yet again.

“Wait, which one am I rolling?” he whispered.

Dustin rolled his eyes. The kid had been patient at first, but it was beginning to wear thin.

Steve was beginning to wear thin.

“The D10, Steve,” Dustin hissed.

“Right,” Steve nodded, grabbing for one of the dice.

“That’s the D8, Steve,” Mike said wearily.

Steve’s cheeks flushed even hotter, and he grabbed the other dice, rolling it quickly.

“Ahhh...seven,” Steve announced.

“You slash at the goblin, your blade cutting deep into its chest, the creature gurgling and reeling backwards…” Eddie leant over the table, giving a dramatic recount of events.

Steve smiled, unable to help it. His boyfriend was having such a good time, and even if Steve wasn’t enjoying himself so much, well, that was ok. He could do this, for Eddie.

“…but it scrabbles back to its feet, weak but alive,” Eddie finishes.

Mike groaned and slapped the table.

“It has to be almost dead,” Lucas announced.

“Yeah, but there’s still four others,” Mike pointed out.

“This one must be on two hit points or less,” Will surmised.

How did he know that? Steve frowned, let the kids talk amongst themselves. His gaze wandered over to Eddie, watching him lean back in his chair, eyes shining. He shot a wink at Steve when he caught him looking, then frowned a little, obviously noticing Steve wasn’t looking all that comfortable.

You ok? He mouthed at him.

Steve nodded quickly.

But he felt small.

Grow the fuck up, you’re fine.

“…Steve!” Mike groaned.

Steve’s attention snapped back to the kids. “What?”

“Stop staring at Eddie and tell us how many hit points you’ve got left.”

“Um…” Steve glanced down at the piece of paper in front of him. He’d scribbled some numbers down like Dustin had told him to every time his character had taken damage, but there were a lot of numbers there and he wasn’t sure they all actually related to his hit points…

“Give it here,” Dustin snatched the paper from him impatiently, peering down at it.

Steve waited while Dustin assessed his work, the feeling vaguely reminiscent of being back in school, his teachers reading over his work with a disappointed shake of their heads.

“This can’t be right, Steve,” Dustin sighed. “It says you’re on twelve hit points…is that a twelve? Your writing’s messy.”

Steve nodded. “Yours isn’t much better, pea-brain,” he mumbled, just to shoot something back at the kid.

Dustin narrowed his eyes at him. “You must have less than that because of the damage you took in the last round. You’re probably down to…eight at the most, by now.”

“Just make it eight, then,” Steve grumbled.

“Eight it is, big boy,” Eddie agreed.

“It doesn’t work like that, though,” Mike huffed. “You actually have to keep track of this stuff Steve, there’s no point playing if you just make the numbers up.”

“It doesn’t matter, really,” Will tried to intervene quietly. “It can just be eight.”

Dustin picked up his pencil, drawing some columns on Steve’s paper. “Ok, so just use this one column to keep track of damage, don’t write all over the page. There’s your total hit points at the top, and every time you take damage, write it down under there, ok? And then just take it off the total. Simple.”

Like it was that fucking easy. Maybe for them, it was. They didn’t get every number mixed up in their brain, they didn’t stare at a single digit trying to put some numeric value behind it and coming up with zilch.

Dustin was trying to help, Steve knew. But his tone of voice was so fucking condescending that it had Steve squirming in his seat, wishing he was anywhere else.

He felt Eddie’s eyes on him.

“Come sit by me, Stevie, I’ll help you keep track.” Eddie said gently.

“You’ll just go easy on him, and that’s not fair!” Mike whined.

“Can it, Wheeler,” Eddie snapped at him.

“Just because he can’t do basic math.”

“Right, you get to roll with disadvantage now, just for that,” Eddie told him smugly.

Mike was retorting with something, but Steve didn’t hear it.

His pulse was thumping in his ears, his cheeks on fire. The years were stripped from him, the sensitive child he’d tucked away inside a long time ago forced to the surface.

“Look, just carry on without me,” Steve muttered, and stood up quick enough that his chair scraped on the floor.

“Steve -” Dustin started, but Steve was finished, striding towards the stairs and blinking back tears.

He wasn’t going to cry in front of the kids, not over a fucking game, not over something his boyfriend loved so much.

But they were coming faster than he could blink them back as he headed out of Mike’s stuffy basement and out to the driveway, the cold night air caressing his flushed face.

This was supposed to have been a treat for Eddie. It was supposed to be fun, and Steve had ruined the night by being fucking stupid.

A tear tracked down his cheek , Steve losing the battle against them. He’d just drive home, he decided. Steve had come straight from work that day, so Eddie had come separately in his van, he wouldn’t be inconvenienced.

And then they could finish their game in peace, without having to treat Steve like a five-year-old.

He was getting in the driver’s seat when Eddie ran to him, both hands reaching for him.

“Stevie…” Eddie murmured softly.

“I’m sorry,” Steve mumbled, dragging his sleeve across his face, smudging the tears there.

“Why? The kids were being assholes, I’ve already yelled at them.”

Steve shook his head. “I was just slowing everyone down, they were getting frustrated, I get it.”

“No, sweetheart, they were being rude,” Eddie corrected him. “Especially Wheeler.” Eddie brushed his thumbs across Steve’s cheeks, crouching down beside the open driver’s door. “I’ve told them to pull their heads in. Do you…do you want to come back inside?”

“Eds…” Steve leant into his hands a little. “I’m no good at it. I really wanted to try, for you, and I’m so sorry I ruined it, but there’s too many numbers and I can’t keep track of everything and it takes me so fucking long and it’s embarrassing because I can’t even keep up with a bunch of kids, and I just feel like I’m back at school again.”

Eddie cupped his cheeks again, tilting Steve’s head to look at him. “Hey. You haven’t ruined anything, they did. I’m so happy you came along tonight, because I know you did it for me. But look, D&D doesn’t have to be your thing -”

“But -”

“It doesn’t,” Eddie cut in. “Just like…your balls in laundry basket games aren’t mine. But I like hanging around while you and Wayne watch them, and I love how excited you get about it, and how you sit there with that fucking pretty smile…”

Steve huffed out a small laugh, and Eddie grabbed his wrist to press a kiss to the inside of it.

“But I don’t know what’s going on most of the time,” Eddie continued. “It makes you happy, and that’s enough for me. So, I don’t want you to feel like you have to play D&D just for me if it’s not something you enjoy. It’s more than enough that you listen to my ideas, that you help me write -”

“I don’t really,” Steve said quietly.

“You do! Or have you forgotten who came up with that fucking amazing twist with the elven prince?”

“I got it from a movie,” Steve argued.

“So? I didn’t think of it, and it had the little shrimps completely stumped.”

Steve managed a small smile. “I do like some of the stories,” he admitted quietly. “But I think…I just wanna go home, ok? You can carry on.”

Eddie shook his head. “I’m gonna get them to pack up in there. I’ll drop them home, then follow you back, ok?”

“Steve?” came Dustin’s voice from behind Eddie, small and hesitant.

Steve quickly straightened up in his seat, wiping a hand across his face.

“Yeah, buddy?” he replied, his voice a little hoarse.

“I’m…I’m sorry. That we weren’t more patient. It’s ok if you struggle with numbers, and we should’ve helped more.”

“It’s ok, Dusty,” Steve told him.

Eddie frowned, reached down to squeeze Steve’s hand, then turned to Dustin. “It isn’t ok,” he argued. “But it was nice of you to apologize.”

Dustin nodded. “If you want to try again sometime, I promise I’ll help more. I…I really liked having you play.”

“Thanks,” Steve managed.

“Tell Wheeler to start crafting his apology too,” Eddie said firmly, still cradling Steve’s hand in his own. “Otherwise he’s rolling with disadvantage for the whole next session.”

Dustin’s eyes widened a little before he nodded.

After packing up, the kids waited sheepishly by Eddie’s van. Eddie stayed crouched next to Steve a moment longer.

“Go home, get comfy on the couch, and pick out any movie you want to watch, ok?” Eddie murmured to him. “When I get home I’m gonna order us some pizza, and I’m gonna cuddle the shit out of you, understand?”

Steve laughed softly. “Sounds perfect.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”

___

[thebeast-dennis-etcetera]

Girls Night

“You owe me 200!”

“Fine! Just take all my money!”

You laughed, throwing the paper money at her and taking a sip of your wine. It was safe to say that you sucked at playing Monopoly. Ellie had ownership of all the railroads and utilities, Abby had at least 2 hotels on each of her properties, and Alex spent most of her time in jail.

It still wasn’t a match for you, who had 25 dollars to your name, 2 properties that only generated around 30.00 total in rent, and would miss the free parking space every chance you got. When your time came and you rolled the cursed dice, the Monopoly Gods decided to end your pathetic gaming reign by putting you in jail.

“Alright, well I’m out,” you stated defeatedly, taking a long sip of wine as your confirmation.

“Aw, it’s alright Y/N. Maybe you’ll do better the next game!” Abby tried but you shook your head with a quickness.

“Absolutely not. Not only is this game rigged to make me realize how terrible of a homeowner I am, but it lasts forever! Alex knows, she’s been in jail for the last three turns.”

“Hey, I don’t mind it. I just collect all my rent money while I’m in here,” Alex retorted.

You laughed as you heard the front door open and saw Jethro walk in with a grocery bag and a bottle of whiskey. You got up from your spot immediately, happy to see him home finally and walked over as he set the stuff down on the kitchen counter. He had let the team go home earlier in the night but told you he needed to stay behind to do some paperwork on their latest case. Abby was the first one to suggest the girls game night and it didn’t take much convincing of Ellie or Alex when the promise of wine, snacks, and a warm fire were included.

“Hey hun. You just missed my embarrassing defeat in Monopoly. Remind me to never play this game with your team again, they’re entirely too good. And I think Abby’s been hiding all the good chance cards up her sleeve.”

He chuckled as you gave him a welcome home kiss and started noisily poking around in the goods he had brought home.

“Ooh. Chips, dip and whiskey? You trying to butter me up sir?”

He smiled and pried the bottle from your hands. “Whiskeys mine. And it sounds to me like you’re already buttered up,” he teased softly, not wanting his special agents to hear your two’s playful PDA. With another small kiss, he walked out to the group of girls and surveyed the real estate war.

“Doing well Abbs. Bishop, I like your strategy. And Quinn, stop hiding in jail.”

“I’m not hiding! I’m just taking my time,” she defended as everyone laughed.

“I’ll be downstairs if you girls need me. Good night.”

They called out their farewells as he made his way into his little woodworking dungeon and you took your spot back, bringing the new snacks with you.

“Alright Banker Abby. I need a loan,” you pleaded.

————

The clock read 11 pm once the girls left and you cleaned up your game space. In the end, it was Ellie who won, most likely due to her incredible NSA analysis skills and you had ended up with at least more than the small loan Banker Abby gave you. Once you put all the furniture back and glassware in the dishwasher, you made your way downstairs to see Jethro.

There was light country music and a muted tv playing as you watched him slowly move the sandpaper over his newest project. He had finished the boat a while back and offered to build you some beautiful planter boxes for the garden you wanted to start once spring came around.

It was always a treat for you when you watched him work. His movements were smooth and calculated, knowing just how much pressure to apply or what angle to use and seeing him wearing his tool belt and covered in sawdust just did it for you.

“You gonna stand there all night?” he called out with a smirk.

Walking over, you hopped up on one of the counters and took a small sip of his mason jar whiskey, slightly cringing at the taste.

“You know who would be really great for Ellie? Nick. I think their different personalities would really even each other out.”

“Rule number 12, sweetheart.”

You rolled your eyes at his comment. Since when do any of his subordinates follow it, including himself. You knew all about his past with the director and Sloan, he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Rule number 83. Don’t be a hypocrite,” you quipped, making up your own rule.

He gave you the look that you see from him to his team all the time but it didn’t work on you so you just smiled cheekily back at him. He stopped sanding and came over, taking the glass from your hands and finishing the awful brown liquor, your arms snaking around his neck. He smelt like a lumbermill mixed with a distillery and you loved it. You loved it even more when you pulled him in for a kiss and tasted the leftover vapors of his whiskey on his tongue. The effect of drinking your 3 glasses of wine had you feeling warm and fuzzy and made Jethro’s touch electric.

When you two pulled away, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear before speaking. “Let’s go to bed.”

Not needing any convincing, you nodded and he helped you down, taking off his toolbelt and carelessly dropping it on one of the tables before following you back upstairs.

[awkward-fink]

Waiting for them to come Home (Part 2)

(Because I forgot to add some of the men we all love, didnt I?) Just imagine you are back on the couch, waiting for days now, your body laid out on the cushions, a soft blanket draped over you to protect you from the chill of the night. And you wait for the door to open, for your lover, your husband, your better half to finally come home again.

Alejandro doesnt try to be silent, even though it is the middle of the night, his gear thumping to the floor and his footsteps surely carrying him towards the kitchen first, opening the still warm pot to swipe a finger through the food, tasting it greedily. But soon he walks towards the living room, finding you and a brilliant smile lights up his face. He is quick to scoop you up and over his shoulder, hands splayed on your ass as he carries your spluttering and quickly awakened form up the stairs, promising to make up for lost time. His hand never leaves your ass all the way up, feeling and groping as he goes, body already burning. 'Mi armor, wake up, i brought some presents for you and the biggest of them is me!'

Rodolfo, that sweet big man, is quiet as he comes into your shared home. He knows you are surely waiting for him, you had always done it when he was late from his assignments. And lo and behold, there you are, curled around his pillow on the couch. A soft smile on his lips, he kneels beside you, caressing your cheeks and whispering softly to you. His big hands easily lift you into his arms, his cheek against yours, further whispering sweet nothings into your ear, soft kisses trailing along your nose until you scrunch it just the way he loves, waking you softly before he takes you to bed with you. 'Told you so often you dont need to wait up, Love. Warms my heart though, so good to me. Don't worry, im not gonna let you outta bed until I had my fill of your kisses.'

Horangi is a strange mixture of reactions. On one side, he always told you to not wait up, to sleep in the bed and be comfortable, he wouldnt mind. On the other hand, seeing you sleeping on the couch, clearly waiting for him to come back, has his heart just slightly racing, as if he had the dice in his hand and was only one throw away from the biggest Jackpot of his life. He hesitates for a second, just taking in your pose, his smile turning into an amused smirk as he sees you drooling in your sleep. Will take a picture to blackmail you with in the morning before unceremoniously putting you over his shoulder and climbing up the stairs, laughing at your sleepy mumbles and your hands steadying yourself on his hips and ass. 'Don't worry Byeolbit (my starlight, if Goggle is correct...), you can touch that some more in just a few minutes. After we both took a shower, one of us reeks and I am not sure its me.' Will pull you with himself under the shower, doesn't care about your PJ's or your sleepdrunk state.

König doesnt know what to do. He is big and burly and strong and he is scared to touch you, you look like a small doll so cosily curled up on the cushions and he really doesnt want to wake you but if you sleep like *this* its gonna be hell on your back and neck and he doesnt want it. That big man is fluttering helplessly around you, hands reaching out before pulling back without touching you, nearly whining underneath his breaths in indecision before he finally, after minutes, settles on poking your cheek gently. 'Liebling (Love, Honey), you awake? You are gonna hurt in the morning... Let me... Let me just...' His words taper off as you blink drowsily at him, so comfy but also so very happy he is home that you cling to him like a koala. His big arms wrap around you, his face flushing so bright he wonders if you can see it shining red in the darkness of your shared home. He is so very careful with every step he climbs up the stairs, one arm around your back, the other underneath your ass as he carries you without problem.

[proboblynotstriaght]

Probobly silly of me to do another screenshot post as I watch episode 45, but I'm in a good mood, and things seem pretty light so far so

Minor spoilers under the cut

Kremy getting jump scared but something only he sees legitimately startles everyone else lol!

I love his face when he does the funny expressions

"Second worst way to die is... getting mauled by a bear, and the first one is drowning!" "Ohhhh, Agdon did both of thoooose"

"I don't know if you know this about me but I'm an empath..."

"... So I am uniquely qualified to tell you he died in terrible, terrible agony" "ohhhh, only you Gricko"

I think Richie just like startling people

"It's like the knife fight the the Yuu Yuu Haku show in the dark tournament" "I have no idea what that means'

AND MACE ROLLS A NATURAL 20!!!!

"I'm going to dread both of them, I'm just kidding that would ruin your life forever"

The train whistle makes a fun noise

"Hold on I didn't think about damage" *empties bag full of dice and.... bananyas?*

I just realized that my brother has the same exact shirt that Mikey is wearing but in a child size lmao !!! I think the shirt is from like, Old Navy

"Oh you still take damage, 8 points of cold damage"

Gricko summoning the Bananyas "I'm going to take all of these I'm not sharing"

He's actually stuffing the foam banana in his mouth! lol!

"It is wild how often we fight monsters with erections"

Andy, whispering : Ask a question Kremy, ask it

Maces face was too funny to not put in

"Here blow on my dice... Thanks Gid"

Richie, singing : ~I wanna know what the plaque saays~

"That gave me swoose-bumps" "that was good, that was good"

"Did that mean anything, or was it just some weird shit to say before you give someone the mummies curse"

"It's not a threat it's a promise because threats are empty"

*Nikkie, retelling the poem* *Derek miming frost telling Kremy the clifnotes*

"I'm gonna guess that it's time" "time for what?" "It isn't a riddle Gricko" "It's time to eat more Bananyas"

"There's only one thing I've ever done against my own free will swoose, and this ain't it"

"So it's not really Frosts thing" "Yeah, sorry Frosty" "I know"

"... and then there was man, from a certain point of view, who had giant pumpkins" great retelling of the King of Hearts (als my wife, trust me) Gricko, 10/10

"We hit rock bottom and we picked up shovels" there's so many banger quotes in this episode that you would never guess the funnier context

[vermont-writes-fanfic]

How they make Breakfast

In response to @gothicchippy , how the people of the Hellsing Organisation and Father Anderson make breakfast! Let me know if there should be a part two!

Requested: I am going to tsay that's a yes

Warnings: Mentions of blood, blood drinking, killing people, and the mention of scars

Characters: Father Anderson, Alucard, Sir integra, Seras, Walter, Pip Bernadotte

Father Anderson:

Seeing as he seems to take care of the children back at the orpahange in Italy, it seems like he would be well versed in some good breakfast making. He would let you help make breakfast and his specialt is an italian breakfast which is simple and consists of yogurt which he would take teh time to make himself, jam and bread and fluffy fresh baked criossants. He lets you help out and will try a breakfast that you might have in mind. He keeps it light and healthy for the kids making sure they are taken care of and raised healthy. He has quite the skill in the kitchen and often times he lets you relax with him ot trace the scrs on his hands as he waits for somthing to cook or bake.

Alucard:

A morning with him isn’t rare though don’t expect it to be bathed in sunlight and giggles. The last time Alucard had human food was…a long time to best put it. He never had to cook anything because his food of choice is blood and Walter took care of all the cooking for the Hellsings. Instead you take it upon yourself to cook instead, though he is never far from you offering to help we’re he can. He’ll crack eggs or toast bread, but after the first few times of trying this little endeavor you learned not to let him man the spices.

Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing

She spends her days holed up in her office most time taking care of her work and looking at the papers she is being sent. Reports from all over the UK of many new young kings appear and in quick succession. Typically she could manage at least toast and Walter always made her tea, but lately even that is left wasted at the table as she works into the late hours. Without much luck and knowing you’re u favorable of her less than healthy eating habits, Walter asks you to coax her into eating breakfast. And you happily oblige, opting for a less American options, you took to fried mushroom, bacon, sausage, and nook and cranny. It was funny, she had no idea how to cook but the moment she was convinced to have breakfast with you and you asked her to cook she smiled and confident as ever she said,

“If I can’t learn how to cook for you, then I can’t call myself your lover now can I?”

With the assistance of Walter you end up at the desired breakfast and enjoy it on the terrace.

Seras

As part of trying to keep her humanity, Seras makes it a point to cook you breakfast almost every morning. Oftentimes you wake up to a bit of juice with some eggs and bacon or the very common beans and toast. When Seras isn’t out working and manages to stay up enough for you two to make breakfast. With a bit of convincing and a promise to clean anything used, she was able to get the kitchen every once in a while, with this she takes you into the kitchen and of course, you help prepare. Washing your hands consists of soap ending up in someone's hair or on their clothes and plenty of goofing around, after, she’ll bring out the sausage, eggs, potatoes, and cabbage and let you take care of the cooking while she peels the potatoes and dices them up. When everything is complete the two of you will sit down in her room and eat chatting about what you had ready for the day while she whines about Alucard or talks about the mission from the previous night. It’s pleasant and pretty sweet as she compliments you on how you can cook. As you eat, she sometimes wishes that she could to, that it didn’t have to be blood.

Walter

Being the top butler in the Hellsing manor, Walter has no trouble making a wonderful breakfast and is capable of making food from around the world. His memory may be a little behind him but he is still capable of making breakfast. He prefers to make the breakfast himself and will often serve you whatever he had made for Sir Integra that morning but if you request something different he is more than happy to oblige. He makes you bubble and squeak most mornings because it is simple enough to make and retains heat more so even if you wake up late it’s warm enough for you to enjoy it. On the chances where Sir Integra is out for the morning or someone else, Alucard, has taken care of serving her breakfast, he will take the time to teach you how to make a light pastry for breakfast.

Pip isn’t one for extravagant meals or something expensive, he’s still a mercenary. However, he does have a taste for the more expensive tasting things so in true french fashion he opts for a light pastry instead. If he is strapped for time then a bit of baguette and some fruit jelly works just fine for the both of you. Other times, if you and him are feeling especially patient you manage to properly make a pastry , while waiting, Pip will pull you into a dance leading you around the kitchen or tell you jokes or stories from his time some years ago overseas. It always comes out a little under or over done, not that the two of you mind.

@gothicchippy

[utilitycaster]

Level 10!

You may or may not know the drill:

Corrections about actually wrong items or major omissions are welcome. "Um, actually"-ing because I did not list every single spell or feat available or speculate the exact same things you did is not.

Because the cast usually does a brief video shortly before the episode for level-ups now (as they did today!), rather than announcing it at the end of an episode, this includes speculation and a bit of editorializing on my thoughts for the next few levels. This isn't necessarily meant to be accurate to what the cast will do, so don't quote me on it - it's just my thoughts on what I think might make sense or will be interesting. Those thoughts may very well change significantly as the story continues.

Anyway, level 10: it's a subclass-centric level for most of the players.

Chetney: His rogue level means he's blood hunter 9, which means Grim Psychometry, the coolest ability, which grants advantage on knowledge checks surrounding tragic or dark histories, with the potential for the DM to grant visions. Looking forward: assuming Chet keeps moving forward with blood hunter, L10 is a big one for him, as his speed increases by 5 feet, he gets another blood curse, and he gains a +3 (INT modifier) to all physical saves.

Laudna: She took a level in sorcerer, so she gets another sorcery point and another spell, this time up to 4th level; I drafted this post a while back and forgot to check the spell list for sorcerer so you're invited go nuts on your spell thoughts in the notes! Looking forward: Look. I've covered my mechanical concerns about this multiclass. Personally, had I been playing a character with this build from level 3 in a party with another sorcerer, I'd have stopped at 3 sorcerer levels and leveled exclusively in warlock. However, she's now 7 levels into sorcerer and so stopping that to go warlock will probably hamstring her mechanically, especially since the 6th level Undead feature is not terribly impressive. I think one last warlock level might be good for the ASI and the known spell, since warlocks have a more interesting spell list, and it makes narrative sense at this point now that Delilah is reawakened, but then I'd probably continue to take the rest in sorcerer. I AM very interested in how Laudna will deal with Delilah since I don't see her getting another undead patron to replace her, but that's so speculative that I'll hold off until something changes.

FCG: FCG gets a new cantrip, a new 5th level spell slot, and the ability to roll for divine intervention, which promises to be a fucking trip (complimentary). Looking forward: 6th level cleric spells, which he'll get at level 11, have a lot of bangers, but I am personally most invested in FCG's Heroes' Feast.

Fearne: with a 9th level in druid she gets access to 5th level spells, and her circle spells are Mass Cure Wounds and Flame Strike, both of which are excellent. As always for druid levels, Little Mister's HP goes up by 5. Looking forward: I'm assuming Fearne's continuing with druid levels, and if so, the level 10 feature of Cauterizing Flames allows her to use the death of a creature (enemy, ally, or bystander) to create a spectral flame that can either heal or harm others who enter that space. This is amazing and I'm excited.

Imogen: At level 10, she gains another cantrip and another metamagic option. I personally think subtle spell is the best one (and given the Vanguard's tendency to collar mages they dislike, could be huge if they come into conflict), but quickened, which Laudna has, can also be clutch. Looking forward: Chain Lightning does seem like an apt spell for her to take, but personally I'd love True Seeing as more interesting and higher utility while still thematic.

Orym: At level 10, he learns two more maneuvers, and his superiority dice become d10s. There are a ton of maneuvers and I will freely admit I don't know them all, but I do like the idea of Commander's Strike (let Ashton and Chet do more damage), Distracting Strike, or Maneuvering attack. Looking forward: Level 11 grants Orym three attacks per turn, which is really the most fun fighter feature.

Ashton: Level 10 is a path feature level, and we don't know the details of their subclass, so it's up in the air! I'm excited to see what it is. Looking forward: level 11 grants relentless rage; if he drops to 0 HP while raging (for the record Ashton has only gone out 3 times; two were during the Otohan fight and one in the Ratanish fight) he can make a con save to remain conscious.

[trixierosewrites]

writeblr intro :3

Hi, everyone, I'm Trixie! I'm a young (but adult) writer and classicist, currently in the middle of publishing my novella, Memento Vivere. I also write short stories and am working on a couple novels! I go by shey/heir neopronouns but if that's too complicated she/they is tolerable too.

My favourite genre is the mystery-murder mystery-crime-thriller-horror area, but I dabble in a lot, including historical and fantasy! I love to write dialogue and I am a compulsive world builder for fantasy, including seven partially made conlangs.

Writing commissions are currently closed, but editing commissions are open.

I'd love to connect with more writers :3

my novella: memento vivere

horror/thriller

will be available as paperback, ebook, and deluxe edition

every single character is a horrible person

high stakes, little time, and a lot of character death >:3

Aidan Whitney, four times ex-prime minister, wakes up chained to a bed in a room with ten other people. The only way to escape? Making accusations that kill the accused, and, if incorrect, kill the accuser.

my short stories and novels below the cut!

my short stories

One Hundred Times, or a retelling of orpheus and eurydice in which orpheus looks back a hundred times for a hundred different reasons with a hundred different reactions

The Wasp, or three polyamorous women trying to make it work in between crime and betrayal

untitled fairy wip, or a first person POV of a somewhat stuck up researcher into the fair folk

"you can't protect her forever" AKA woman offers herself up to be tortured to protect her girlfriend

a crime solving gang of polyamorous women head undercover into a den of crime, magic, sex, drugs, and lies, and come out of it a little less unattached

a failing demon falls in love with a beautiful angel, only to find that things are not as they appear

Blood Dice, or where in a realm not quite real, millie learns to play for her life

For Want of a Ticket (complete), or a western girl runs elaborate scams on strangers, complete with an undertone of sadness (and loneliness)

my novels

my beautiful time travel catastrophe, featuring an obscenely large cast of characters all from different time periods that come together against their will to save the timeline

Trinity, AKA what attempts to be a neutral retelling of hades and persephone, told from three perspectives: hades, persephone, and demeter. the goal of this one is to write what is clearly the same narrative with different perspectives, and ultimately tries to not hold anyone at fault

"the lillian ainsworth murder" AKA a late victorian setting for a murder mystery, featuring repressed gays, mysterious marriages, financial debt, family feuds, and an unsettling promise for revenge

a very rough plan for what is essentially out of timeline parasites that overtake someone's body with the aim of assassinating targets

untitled bacchae-inspired wip, or where an unsuspecting oxford student gets a sinister boyfriend that likes drinks and all-female orgies, and then the murders begin

backwards murder mystery, where a seasoned detective is vindicated when the unsettling up-and-comer officer reveals himself as a serial killer - but why? what does he hope to gain?

untitled heist wip, where magic is rare and highly sought after, used for volatile healing and the most dangerous of weapons, except in england, where it makes the trains run on time. low fantasy featuring found family, crime, family secrets, and mutations that won't stay hidden - this one is in collaboration with my good friend @elizabeth-writes!

[yuukienstarsera]

Knights with a Idol S/O (part 1)

Knights (separately) Leo x gn reader, Izumi x gn reader Fluff, Little angst,  idol stuff. Warnings: Anxiety thoughts (Izumi), nicknames, kisses, 

This is the first part, the second is part here!☆

You belong to a new group under ES Square, you were already in a relationship with him when you debuted…

Leo Tsukinaga 

At the beginning

He was so hyped up when you debut, he attended your concert, and he was the first in the line, screaming the song.

I really believe that he copy and paste the link of your debut song to all the contacts that he had in hold hands.

He will give you advice about how is alright to take the brakes once in a while.

He will make sure to be friends (or leave a good impression) with all your bandmates. 

How he shows his love (in public, in private, etc.)

He won't stop talking about you.(he talks a lot about the things he loves)

Messages and calls in your free time, even between your activities, I believe that he would make time to do that.

When neither of you has idol activities, you would have dates in his room watching videos and documentaries about aliens, spending time together. (Natsume is so done with you two)

Kisses on the forehead and cheeks (Quick little kisses on the cheek in public) and a lot of hugs! 

Communication is the key, Leo will make sure to have it! 

I believe that one of his love languages is dedicating his songs to you. 

“I promise you this, my dear” and with that “Silent Oath” by Knights finishes.

When you and he are in the same concert he would go to the dressing room you are in and would give you encouragement 

“You will shine like you always do!” ”You have nothing to worry about, they gonna love you, but not as much I do!” “Show them your beautiful and powerful voice”

Another love language that he had is writing songs for you! if your group chooses one of the songs that he writes, he will say it to his fans.

How rumors start

Has I said before, he would say to his fans “By the way I write a song for (insert group name), they are very talented! I was really happy when they told me that they choose my song”

When he said that, all of his fans were a little suspicious about it, why does he have such interest in that group? That is how the rumors begin.

Another thing that caught the fan's attention was your actions.

On variety shows you would answer things like “Actually, my favorite song is (insert a knights song) because their voices are so beautiful” “I usually spend my free days with Leo-kun, we had a lot of fun!” “On my debut days, I always remember having a lovely supporter, thanks to them i keep going until today”

How the fans know about your relationship

Knights won an award, so they diced that Tsukasa and Leo would give the thanks speech to their fans.

Everything was going normal until Leo finished with “I wanna thank our princess for all the support that they gave us,  I wanna give a special thank to  (your name) for always supporting knights, but above all, for being my inspiration “ and with that, all the world knows that you and Leo were in a relationship 

“I´m sorry, I shouldn´t have done that,” he said with tears in his eyes.

“Don´t worry love, I am thankful to be in your life ” you whipped his tears with your hands, grabbing him by his cheeks.

“You are not angry with me?” he asked looking at your eyes, see those beautiful green eyes happy again was the only thing that really matters to you.

“If I was you in that situation, I would do the same, or even worse, I would scream that I love you, aliens would know at that moment that we are in love” Both of you laugh when you said the last thing

“I love you dear” he saw your lips, he always does it when he wants a kiss.

“I love you more, Can I kiss you?” you said while you approached even more.

“Of course” he murmurs, his lips were soft.

You had your world in your hands.

Izumi Sena

At the beginning

Unfortanetaly, He was in Florence by the time you debuted, but after your concert finished, he would call you to say that he was watching you online and all the moments that had him fall in love more with you.

I believe that he has a lot of merch about you in his room, Shu probably has complained about it.

He will give you advice like is alright to do work perfectly, but will be occasions when you can't do that, is important that even if you get frustrated about it, don't give up, you are gonna be alright, you are human after all, take a break, and keep it going.

If one of your bandmates gets too close, he would tell you that he is jealous about it (please he needs a lot of words of affirmation).

How he shows his love (in public, in private, etc.)

One of his love languages is gift-making knit things for you! You already had a whole closet with the things that he made.

He would check on you via messages,  he makes sure that you eat all your meals, and you are restringing well, etc.

When both of you had free time, you spent time together on dates outside ( like going to the beach, aquarium, looking at the stars) and inside (watching movies together, taking coffee while you catch up).

He is more to give hugs than kisses, in private we would love to kiss you on your cheeks (he gives you kisses on your hands when you are in public, he is very professional when both of you had worked together )

Izumi spent a lot of time working as a model, but when you need it he always is there for you.

“Izumi, don't you have work today?” “I reschedule it, have you eaten? get up, we are going to the cafeteria”

When both of you are on the stage, he will give little glances, only to make sure that you are alright.

Has I said before, he always does little things that prove that he loves you, for example, opening the door for you, carrying your things, ordering food for you, and retouching your make-up, etc.

How rumors start

It was his actions that betrayed him, he always makes sure that you are safe, little actions like holding your hand when both of you are getting down the stage, how he gives you attention when you speak on the microphone, etc.

Fancams of you and Izumi smiling at each other went viral, and soon both of you began to have worked as models for different campaigns (both of you were happy about it).

The connection that both have could be seen through the camera lenses, they invite you to a variety show.

How the fans know about your relationship.

In the variety show that you were invited to, you said it unconsciously, you found out when you saw the episode on the TV, fortunately, Izumi was with you at the time. 

In the episode, both of you were doing an activity that was a little dangerous and you said “Be careful love”, Izumi responded  “Don't worry, we are gonna win this”, and both of you know that this is only going to confirm the dating rumors.

“Are you scared?” he asked, you were in total shock, how could you say it so naturally? What is gonna happened next? Anxious thoughts were running wild in your mind.

“Love, look, everything will be alright, don't worry” you don't even notice when he approached until he was hugging you.

“I´m sorry” tears start to fall while hugging Izumi.

“What are you apologizing for? I couldn't be more proud that I have you as my partner, that we love each other” he murmurs in your ear “Besides, we are pretty obvious, and the media love us, so relax, believe in me that everything is gonna be alright” he whipped your tears.

“Gosh I love you so much, you know that?”

“Yeah, Who doesn't love me?”

“You are ruining the mood, love”

“I´m ruining it?” he said caressing your cheek with his hand while he approached to kiss you.

“Sometimes I hate you” you murmur into his lips.

[petrifiedforests]

*rushes in so fast that nearly falls over* 🎲 + Fox/Wolffe? Please? :3c

Hi! Maybe you still remember prompting me in *checks calendar* May? Thank you for the prompt!

The dice have spoken and chosen 'A firm kiss' from this list.

"What," Fox glared at his vod who had the audacity to roll his eyes at him.

"I'm just saying, fancy food and drinks,  music, dancing, there's worse jobs out there." Wolffe pushed off the wall of the Corries' mess and gave him a slow, long look, his eyes wandering across his exposed body.

Fox suppressed a shudder. "Don't," he said shortly. There was nothing good about the natborn war effort galas and being shown around like the best piece of life stock at the auction. Their greys did fuck all to stop the subtle and not so subtle touches, no bucket to stop the air kisses and no filters for the cloying perfumes. Duty was duty and these things gave them bacta, rations and the occasional treat for the front liners. That didn't mean they were enjoyable.

To his credit, Wolffe shortly looked contrite. Fox let out a long breath and pinched his forehead, grimacing slightly. He really didn't want to spend Wolffe's shore leave fighting about this shit again, the precious few hours he managed to wrangle between his shifts too valuable to waste them on petty fighting.

He didn't ask to get this post, none of them had a say in it and yeah, it sucked to be grounded but there was nothing anyone could do about it and to think differently was delusion. The natborns wanted the clone with the best scores here instead on the front where he'd be the most useful, the natborns got him right here.

"I didn't come here at ass o'clock in the morning to argue, Fox," Wolffe echoed his thoughts a moment later.

"What did you come here for then?" Fox couldn't help but challenge, tipping his chin up.

He knew damn well what Wolffe was after, why he had cornered him on his caf run instead of waiting for him in his quarters. But he just had to take a dig at his Corries, didn't he. So Fox had absolutely no qualms in making him spell out that he was hoping for some time together in the bunk. Or the closet. Or his office. 

Wolffe's eye twitched in a way that said that he knew exactly what Fox was playing at and he gained a lovely twist around his mouth when Fox smirked at him.

"I am here," Wolffe enunciated carefully, taking measured steps towards Fox, "because Thorn called me."

"That little bastard is on cleaning duty until the war ends," Fox replied caustically, eyeing Wolffe's approach. That prowl promised very good things but now he really couldn't give in easily since Thorn sicced Wolffe on him specifically. 

Wolffe stopped in front of him, broad shoulders looming over Fox. Fox reminded himself that they were the same height and pulled himself up. Snorting, Wolffe rolled his eyes and reached out, grabbing Fox by the hair and reeling him in. He crushed their lips together hard enough to leave bruises, the pull of his hands forcing a whimper out of Fox as he fell into the sensation. His arms came up to scrabble futilely at Wolffe's shoulders as he slumped into his hold.

Force be damned, this was so much better than the air kisses. 

Fuck Thorn for selling him out though.

[something-tofightfor]

Just Too Good To Be Gone Masterlist

(Joel Miller x female reader insert)

UPDATED 12/7/2023

(Header made by the incredibly talented @stealyourblorbos​)

Just Too Good To Be Gone Playlist:

Listen on Spotify

Detailed info/warnings on individual update pages

Tag list sign up link in bio

While I’m imagining Pedro Pascal as the Joel in these stories, I’m sticking with a few game-canon things.

The outbreak takes place in 2013.

Joel was 29 in 2013, and so in the “present” (when he’s with Reader), he’s 49-50

This series was started BEFORE the Remake came out. Joel’s canonical birthday according to that is 9/26/1981 - HOWEVER I am keeping that he was born in 1984 (like we all thought for almost a decade) just because I’ve gone too far to change it now.

While she isn’t explicitly given a birthday or any physical characteristics, the reader insert was 22-23 at the time of the outbreak - so it’s a 6-7 year age difference between her and Joel.

There will be spoilers from both games in this series.

Story is listed in chronological order on this masterlist, BUT I am still filling things in as I go - so it is not complete.

NSFW/Smut will be marked with an *

- Spring/Summer 2034: 

A Detour in Your New Life - Coming Soon

Still Chasing For That Feeling  (2.1k)

Waiting For This Sky To Fall (11.1k)

Everything’s Changing Now

Part 1: Let It In  (‘Cause I Want You So) (10.3k)

Part 2: We Could Live Like Kings (If We Take A Risk)* (12.5k)

Harder To Find What’s Right (5.2k)

Promise Not To Stop When I Say When (11.3k)

- Autumn 2034

Help Me Get Away From Myself

The Cabins / The Whiskey - (small batch)

Part 1: You Let Me Complicate You (7.9k)

Part 2: The Only Thing That Works For Me* (14.7k)

Everybody’s Waiting For The Next Surprise

Part 1: Take A Chance And Roll The Dice (11.9k) Part 2: This is Halloween* (15.6k)

- Winter 2034/2035

Your Eyes Outshine The Town (9.6k)

- Spring 2035 

You’re Tellin’ Me Something Real (6.3k)

Can’t Swallow What I’m Thinkin’ (5.3k)

Found My Place in The Sun (936 words)

- Summer 2035

Some Things Are Meant To Be (7.8k)

Lessons You Learn From A Past You Can’t Change

Part 1: Constants Like Gravity, Heartbreak and Shame (10.1k)

Part 2: Nothing To Lose Is A Path You Can Choose* (10.6k)

 - Autumn 2035

We’ll Feel It All Tonight * (16.3k)

No One Sings Like You Anymore - Coming Soon

- Winter 2035

More Than You Could Ever Know (5.3k)

- Spring 2036

Make This Old Heart Give In* (14.7k)

Joel at the wedding (art by @/stealyourblorbos)

Summer 2036

Burdened Black Heart - Coming Soon

 - Summer 2037

The Colors I See* (3.8k)

Spring 2038

All I Ever Needed* (12.3k)

Astoria Hot Springs

Men Who Are Fighting To Be Warm (Joel Miller NSFW Alphabet)* (11.8k)

Extras:

Trick or Treat Joel Commission from @valkblue​

Bound to the Smuggler - a birthday surprise by @stealyourblorbos​

Joel and Reader’s love languages (answered ask!)

Joel and JJ (And Ellie and Dina) (answer based on picture ask)

Joel and flower crowns (answered ask!)

Just Too Good To Be Gone Banners (all made by @stealyourblorbos and they are too pretty to not show off!)

Original / Alternate A / Alternate B /

[swallowtailed]

palisade 62 / finalisade side b track 6

on palisade!

one thing about fatt, they can stick a landing. more specifically austin and jack by their powers combined can stick a fucking landing. tbh let me talk about the outro first, actually:

stunning final track. loved hearing it morph from the palisade theme into other tunes.

a joy to hear from parti one last time!! probably my favorite npc of this season.

and to lift back out into the frame of perfect imperfect as hosted by layer luxurious (broadcasting from the planet of palisade, which is a lovely touch)—it’s my audio drama past coming out, but i do so love a diegetic radio show. we were promised that we would hear the end of the perfect millennium! and we did! satisfying.

i wasn’t sold on the plot of this sortie, but janine brought it home—has been bringing it home all arc. her work in this finale has been really, really cool. super solid science fiction. going from questlandia back into armor astir felt like an odd zigzag—much like dipping into and back out of the mirage—but the thread of blossoming sentiences was very strong.

(would like to take time to dig into the thematic structure of this season, now that it's over, but for now i am just pointing at it)

god, just knowing that brnine survived, and continued the fight… that's a win. closing on them bantering with thisbe was, i agree, the perfect final image.

brnine’s gravity clock changing to “thisbe is an important part of my life”... thisbe saying they’re a good captain and asking to watch a movie, and brnine immediately teasing her… they’re friends ;-;

also—season about grief—it was jokes, but thisbe saying “i was stating a fact, i wasn’t mourning” and brnine replying “sounded like mourning to me”, and ending palisade on that exchange… a good note of closure on that theme, i felt.

there’s been a lot of excellent character work this season—brnine, thisbe, cori, figure, jesset, and august all stand out to me. i’m trying not to make this post too long but man. genuinely incredible stuff.

perennial blooming again with thisbe’s gift of the pollen was really lovely. as was all the imagery in that scene

thisbe throwing sixes to speak with perennial was so Dice Game. one last little bit of serendipity for the road.

also thisbe being integrated with various different ways of being is very “it’s not a field it’s a garden” to me

i am looking forward to seeing how they treat this new phase of the divine cycle, because a transformation like that of the divine arbor would be devastating to a lot of lifeways & ecologies. it is far from the only time this has happened in the divine cycle! but it’s a great chance to concretize that. kudzu and other invasive species were raised in a previous ep; i’m also reminded of area x from jeff vandermeer’s annihilation. what i would like to see: a focus on new social forms, cf scavengers reign. fatt typically does not dig into ecologies, land relationships, etc, but perhaps they will look more in that direction in the divine arbor’s new world? who knows. either way i’m gonna be sitting here talking about ecological readings because unfortunately i do think it’s important and relevant lmao. (while i’m talking on the season scale, this is something i really want to see in sangfielle as well. which is a setting that even more deserves some time spent on the land.)

cori’s scene with elle was great. her storyline this season has been so fun—losing none of the bravado, but coming more into herself. i thought she was gonna give elle some of her blood but a ritual knife is probably a better gift.

can’t wait to see where they’re at next divine cycle season!!

“if only you could get five more minutes” made me laugh

glad that levi made it out! starcrossed is a wild name for a team led by a guy who kicked off his career by defeating the fear of death—kinda thumbing his nose at fate—but it seems like he’s pulling it off so far.

can local plant-based organizing be a viable alternative to galactic capitalism? i sure fuckin hope so!!

leap vanishing with present would have been extremely space opera

perennial blue ribbon…

i did overall really enjoy this season. i think it’s their best yet, for character work and executing on big ideas. a sharper take on twilight mirage. it’s dense but it has momentum. they really do get better every season imo... like my season ranking does kinda just go directly up in chronological order

god. palisade.

stay tuned~

(also, while we’re here, thanks for reading! this is something like the sixtieth of these weekly palisade ep posts, which is wild. it’s been a weird year and a half, personally—a lot of time in motion—but tuning into palisade every week and then thinking and discussing together has been really fun. so shoutouts!)

[gildedkrone]

The Sun and The Moon

Relationships: Ghost x GN Reader Synopsis: You break all of your promises by dying and Simon loses it. A/N: Angsty hurt no comfort for those who want to see Ghost suffer. Master List

“Simon, what are you doing?”

The man has his arms wrapped around your torso. His head is buried into your nape and his breaths are warm tingles on the neck. You set the knife down to turn around and look at your lover. He responds by loosening his hug but never truly letting go.

“Hugging you,” he replies as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

You laugh, a crystal sound on his ears and weary heart. He tightens his embrace to pull you in close to him and you smell the scent of his aftershave. In the privacy of your home, he opted for a simple balaclava instead of the usual skull mask.

“Did something bring this on?” You mumble against his cheek and he shakes his head.

“Just needed to feel you.”

He melts into your returned embrace and you whisper sweet nothings into his ears.

---

Gunshots are coming from left and right. You are hunkered down beside a desk for cover and counting your munitions.

Most of your rounds are depleted and there are only eight remaining.

---

“Ghost, you need to let me finish cooking dinner.” You gently tug his hands to request for him to do so.

He grumbles something non coherent and shakes his head. In response to your attempt to break his embrace, he tightens his arms and you are fully pressed against him. You are close enough to feel the heat of his body emanating through his clothes—a large grey hoodie you gifted him for Christmas with the print best boyfriend ever. He blushed something fierce when he first received it, but it soon very quickly became his favourite sweater.

It went with him everywhere and Simon nearly throttled Soap when he spilt something onto it. Fortunately, the stain was easily removed and the sergeant made off without a scratch. Profuse apologies from him are a funny memory to look back on.

You caress his cheek gently and he leans into your touch. Soft Ghost is rare to come by and who were you to deny your heart? He is, by all means, a big friendly teddy bear when you got to know him. Soft touches on your body and the playful glances are things he reserved for you solely. A privilege, the altar of your hips in hands gentle as wind.

“Simon, did something happen?” His eyelids flutter open at the mention of his name.

“The mission next week. The one with Shadow company.” Oh. Was he worried about the mission you were assigned to with Graves and his men?

“What about them?” His eyes are darting around and he struggles with how to express himself. How to make you listen and agree with him.

“Don’t go.”

“What? Simon, is this a joke?” You attempt to diffuse the tension in between you and him. He doesn’t seem to be joking and his eyes are set in a firm, unyielding look.

---

“Bravo zero six to command, how copy?” You yell into the radio among the chaos unfolding around you.

“Anyone? How copy?”

Silence hung from the line.

---

“Sweetheart, I—I don’t have a good feeling on Graves. I don’t want you all alone with him.” Was Simon jealous of Graves? He finally relents and lets you escape his hug.

“Simon, I didn’t know you were jealous, my sweet lad.” You joke and return to dicing the potatoes into cubes. He stays by your side and observes you making dinner.

“Graves knows that I am practically your fiancé. He won’t try anything funny and if he does,” he squeaks (he didn’t) when you sneak a kiss, “I’ll break his fingers.”

“Love, I—”

“Simon. Trust me, okay?” You grab his hand. His hand is calloused and you give it a firm reassuring squeeze, hoping the meaning reaches him. “It will be alright. The marines will be there as well and the op isn’t anything I haven’t handled before.”

He raises your hand from your waist to his chest. Palm covering yours presses it against his skin and you feel it. The chaotic beating of his heart, the way it beats for you. All for you, unspoken words hanging between you both.

“I don’t like it.”

“Me neither. But it’s the General’s orders so its not like we have a say in this either.”

---

Silence reestablishes its hold in the warehouse and you watch a marine drop onto the floor. Blood trickles from a spot in his flank and the marine falls, unmoving. His rifle falls beside him and a Shadow soldier shoots again.

You grip your rifle tighter and breathe deeply.

---

“Look at me.” He follows your order and focuses his gaze on you. The mighty Ghost, fully compliant with the orders of a sergeant makes you smile.

“I know that you don’t like this and I don’t too.” He balaclava shifts and but you cut him off. “But this is the last mission. Once I am done with this, I will be able to stay with you in the UK.”

Deep down, he knows about this as well. The carrot the SAS dangled over your head to take advantage of your skills and capabilities. Being a former hostile combatant defected to SAS soldier, your freedom was written in contracts signed eons ago.

Twenty high-risk operations in exchange for an immigrant visa that guaranteed long term stay in the UK.

Simon had found about them when you started becoming something more than just friends. Until now, you have completed nineteen missions satisfying the criteria.

“Just one more. Then I will get my visa and I’ll be able to stay here with you for as long as we want.” I’ll be free to go anywhere with you.

Your name rolls off his tongue in velvet honey and wine, “Don’t like this. I hate every aspect of this.”

“Don’t hate it so much, love. If it weren’t for Laswell, I wouldn’t even be here and alive. It’s the price I pay to be living and here with you.”

And I will never regret, ever, paying this price. For you, it’s all worth it.

---

The Shadow’s rifle impacts your helmet and if it weren’t for the two of them holding your arms up, you would have crumpled to the floor.

Their commander walks forward.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

---

“Once I am done with this mission, we can retire.”

“We can get that motorcycle you really wanted and we can decorate your flat.”

“Maybe get a cat as well.

“Dog, love. Riley’s looking for a home.”

“Then we need a room for the dog too. And a new house.”

You go over the schematics for the place Simon identified to be suitable for housing you, him, and Riley. It’s bigger than his current flat in London in a lovely neighbourhood north of London.

You show him the mock up of the space you had created and he leans in for a closer look.

“Looks good, love.”

“You say that for everything I do, brat.”

“I only tell the truth.”

Simon returns to his crossword puzzle and the room is comfortably silent.

“I can’t wait.”

You look at him, softness in your eyes rivalling clouds. “I can’t wait for us to start a new life together. Away from all the violence and bloodshed.”

He nods and you continue, “Can’t wait to finally get married to my fiancé.”

“I—That sounds amazing, love.”

“And I will get to do all of that with you.”

---

Graves tilts your head up and tsks.

“Look, you can either tell me where the missile is, or, I can make you tell me.”

His hand brushes against the metal sun with your dog tags.

“You won’t like it when I force you, sweetheart.”

---

Simon sneaks up from behind and you nearly jump at the sight of him in your mirror.

“Simon!” He chuckles and you give his shoulder a gentle punch. “Give me some warning, next time!”

“What’s the fun in that?” You pout and he sighs in affection. His pulls your close and presses kisses to your face. It’s ticklish and you shriek in mock protest and he is laughing in good natured fun.

“Got you something, love.”

Oh?

You watch his hand disappear into his pocket and retrieves a box. He nudges you to open it and you do. Inside the box, two metal ornaments. One resembles a sun and the other, a moon. He smiles at your gasp at the sight.

“These are beautiful, Simon.”

The sun is painted in an iridescent orange spilling into gold and red with filigrees of silver etches into the edges. The moon is an impossibly deep black embossed with gold filigrees. His hand picks up the sun.

“This is for you, love.” He gently affixes the sun to your dog tags and the moon to his own. He brings the two ornaments close together and they meld together in a magnetic clink. The lines and edges blur together and the sun and moon, unified in one.

You and Simon. Two halves of a whole. You are his sun and he, your moon. Symbolic is the meaning of the trinkets and you rest your head against his. His large hand cradles the trinkets and without him, you wouldn’t be whole.

“These—” His heart is thumping wildly and the words are hard to come by.

“These are my mother’s. S-she wanted me to share them with someone I deemed important.”

“Oh, Simon, I—”

“You are important to me.” He struggles for words. “The most important thing in my life.”

“I want to share them with you. To show you how much you mean to me.”

Tears of your heart are glistening from your eyes and he isn’t faring much better. He raises his balaclava to his nose and you smash your lips against his. He tastes of the freedom in the summer air of late July and his hands came to rest on your hips.

“Simon, you didn’t have to do this. I, I will always lo—”

“I know. This is just my turn to love you, love,” his words are harsh by the sheer emotion running between you and him.

---

The moon isn’t here and Graves tuts in disappointment.

“Look, sergeant, we don’t have all fucking day and I run a tight ship. Where. Is. The. Missile?”

Cuts and bruises litter your upper body, courtesy of the Shadows.

“Won’t talk? Round two, boys.”

One of the Shadows behind Graves walks forward with his knife. Your eyes are steel in the blade.

---

D-day is eventually here. The alarm wakes you and you roll lazily over to shut it off. Simon grumbles something and his hands seek out your body. He fingers brush across your flank and he is instantly holding on like a child to a teddy bear. The bed is warm and you are tempted to go back to sleep with him.

“Simon, I need to get to work.” You try to get him to relax his grip.

“Five … five more minutes.”

“I can’t. I need to be at the hangar in an hour and I still need to get ready.”

“Fuckin’ Price and the wankers for—”

The kiss muffles his words and brown eyes blearily open to the world. It distracts him enough to create enough of a chance for you to slip out of his grasp. He mutters something about the uncomfortable bedding and retreats to the toilet. You change into the combat uniform and use the toilet once Simon is done. When you are out, he is in a tactical jacket and camo pants.

He drags out a chair before the table with a mirror.

“Sit here.” You oblige and see him rummaging through his drawer.

He returns with a brush and eye black. He unscrews the cap and instructs you to lean your head black and close your eyes. Fingers gently press onto your face and you remain perfectly still, soldier discipline and all. His ministrations are gently and thorough and fingers are replaced with a brush moving across your skin.

You sneak open an eye to see Simon in full concentration mode, eyes focused solely on your face. He stopped sleeping with the balaclava a few months ago after confiding in you just how uncomfortable it was. So you wake every morning to Simon and all of his features. Adonis look held by a face sculpted by the Gods to reflect the beauty of man. He is, for the lack of words, insanely and undoubtedly handsome and you cherish just how lucky you are to see him.

“Thought I said eyes closed, sergeant.”

“Hmm, couldn’t resist looking at you. You are just too handsome for the world, Simon.”

Pink dusts his cheeks in smatterings and drapes him in youth. Without his mask, his expressions are on full display and the upturn of the edges of his mouth and the blush on his face. Simon is everything you could ask for and he finishes up your war makeup with the last strokes.

“Give ‘em hell, love.”

“You bet your arse I will. They don’t call us the 141 for nothing.”

He gives your forehead a quick kiss.

“When you return, we will celebrate.” You agree with him.

---

“Sergeant, why the fuck won’t you cooperate!”

You jerk when Graves’ hand leaves a deep red imprint in your face. Pain blossoms from the impact area and it’s a dull sensation compared to the torture his men had inflicted on you over the past hour? Hours?

Time is a blur and you have no way of knowing. You can only hope that the 141 figures out that something is wrong somehow.

---

He thunders down the hallways of the base; boots slamming against the floor. The other soldiers stay out of the reaper’s way and the door to the control room slams open. He steps out to get dinner rations and the dreaded message arrives.

Price and the American commanders look at him.

“Lieutenant, you have no—”

“Shut the hell up. Where is my sergeant?”

Deep sucks of breath and Price intervenes before the American Major is on the receiving end of a punch.

“Ghost, we are re-establishing contact. Hold on—”

“Good evening, gentlemen.”

“Shadow Commander Graves! Explain yourself right now.” The Major beats Price to the mic.

“Major Williams, there has been a change of plans. We have new orders to take the missile by force and the other soldiers on the mission have been dismissed.”

“Graves! What are—”

“General Shepherd sends his regards. If you have any problems, you can take it up with him.”

Sounds of struggling and yelling. Then, another voice.

“Ghost! Graves—fuck!—The others are all dead! The Shadows are taking the missile!” Followed by sounds of fighting and conflict.

He recognises the voice to be yours. Your name slips pass his iron jaw as he yells into his radio. Decorum is the last thing on his mind and your callsign is discarded.

“You need to strike this location! Graves is—” A sharp grunt and Ghost panics.

“Fucking grade A shit. Stay fucking down!” The sounds of yelling comes through choppy and broken by static.

“Your fucking sergeant gave me a black eye! That’s fucking it. I’ve fucking had it.”

All the stares from the people in the room but he doesn’t give a toss. Not when your life is on the line.

“Don’t you dare fucking touch them!”

---

“Don’t you dare fucking touch them!”

That’s Ghost’s voice. You have to get up from the floor and do something. The wound in your flank is aching fierce and nausea washes over you in waves. Moving into a kneel takes all of your mental faculties. You reach for the handgun in your thigh holster and a hand backhands you into a sprawl onto your back.

Arms drag you into a kneel and you stare down the barrel of the gun. Graves is behind the gun and looking worse for wear. A bruised lip and a black eye where you punched him. The sun ornament is burning up into lines of time ending in now.

“Any last words, sergeant?”

“Leave them alone! You touch them and I—”

You use the last reserves of your strength to bid your last goodbye to him. “Simon, I—I lo—”

Graves’ doesn’t wait for you to finish.

---

The line clicked dead and dread was all he could feel. His desperate calls for any response fell on silence. The world had shut him out and the radio ceased to transmit. Graves was no longer reachable and rogue. Price had his face in his hands and the Major opted to leave the room.

The gunshot was deafening, more so than usual. Graves wouldn’t even allow him the dignity of hearing your final words. He shouldn’t have ever agreed to let you leave. And now, all he reaped was guilt and regret. Heaps of it.

---

The sun ornament was still on the body.

He dreaded this, going to the mortuary when the bodies were recovered. Mission twenty. Just when you were about to free of the contract imposed years ago, fate had to strike you down and take you away from him.

All that was left was the moon. Alone in its splendour never as bright as when it was with the sun. The rest of the 141 steered clear of him and his hand found yours.

“Wake up, please. Love. Please, don’t leave me here …”

Tears of too late dripped onto the body below. Before he left, the dog tags were added to his own and the sun ornament with it.

“You wanted a yard right? A place where you could plant tulips and roses? Love, come back to me. You promised and we … we haven’t even gotten married yet.”

Price joined Ghost.

“They aren’t coming back, Simon.”

That was what truly broke him, knowing the rest of his time walking on this earth, he would be alone.

His companion, a distant memory, and a visage of brighter times.

---

The reaper dances.

They say that if one chances upon the cemetery outside a military base in the outskirts of London, they can catch the sight of a man dancing with another person. Dressed out in their splendorous wedding attire and in the arms of a man with a skull mask dancing through the fields of lilies and lavender. A wedding that never occurred and never to occur.

A dead person and the skull man on the fields of forgotten time stained with the red of countless Shadow soldiers laying around the couple.

Ever as beautiful as the day they died, in the arms of their lover for eons to come. The reaper weeps for nobody but the person in their arms. Eventually, to ashes and dust they become and the sun and moon are all but a story people tell their children.

If lucky, one of them may even find the ornaments in the story.

---

Let’s be lucky people, you and me.

You make me lucky, love. As lucky as a man like me can ever be.

[fiovske]

Do you have any recs for other non-DnD game systems? I've only ever played 5e, and I'm a little intimidated to get into other systems, but I also want to branch out and get away from WOTC's bullshit.

Sure thing! I am also including a link to the itch.io pages since that's where i get most of these games!

Blades In The Dark: i'm mentioning this first bc the rules are very easy to grasp and if you're looking for a setting that has a touch of ghosts and steampunk, this game is the perfect gateway to that! it's the best for a heist i have found and the game mechanics and names are so soo sick here's just a slice from their itch.io page:

personally i find the setting and the stress mechanic very cool, because it takes into account the mental toil that an action can have and i find games with inbuilt consequence mechanics very compelling! it introduced the concept of clocks to me and i am obsessed.

a) adjacent to Blades, are all Forged In The Dark Games which are third-party blades games, and the most notable of them is Scum and Villiany which is space-western setting and also my favorite and if you're looking to play a game in the breadth of star-wars like interplanetary politics and everything, i highly recommend this game! b) if you're looking for a Blades game with mechanics to suit something more royalty-adjacent, with court-politics and agendas and masquerade parties and all, like say d20's court of fey and flowers vibe then i recommend Court Of Blades! I havent gotten around to playing this yet but it looks really promising and i soo badly want to play a game in this setting!

2. The Ground Itself : this is a world-building game. focused on one single place over time and how it changes and how it's people change, the events of this game can be spaced out from a week to several millennia depending on the rolls of ur dice or your choices! i have found that this game serves very well as say, a session zero game also, for setting up a place before you play in it, and not only a very fun session of making a place together for your party to play in, but also not leaving all the work to the gm! so it's a win win situation!

tbh, all games by everest pipkin are very good! i wanna get my hands on world ending game as well bc it is a game about giving your campaign, your world-building and your characters the perfect send-off.

3. Wanderhome : if you're looking for something ghibli-esque (this is the closest i can come to defining this game thru popular media) then i highly recommend wanderhome! it's got a very cozy pastoral vibe to it and the art is really beautiful and you get to pick from a range of animal-folk to play as it's very cool!

also honorable mentions,

a) Sleepaway is a game by the same creator in which ur a camp counsellor to a bunch of misfits and horror stories around campfires ensue! b) Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast which is an upcoming game which you can still back and it looks really interesting so i'd recommend checking it out as well!

4. Lancer: this game has mechs it has space-battles and you get to be a pilot in a future set years in the future and a thousand directions to take ur campaign in! he relationship between pilot and mech is smth that can be so personal.....

i wanna play lancer sometime it has very cool mech designs and it has very much piqued my interest, if i find ppl who wanna play lancer w me im 🏃🏃!

5. Heart The City Beneath : honestly, one of my fave settings of all time, it has strong horror components so mind the cws! but the classes and the game mechanics are very intuitive and overall it helps you not only build a character that feels natural and organic, but since this is a horror setting, things do not have happy endings... however it will ensure that your characters have a well-built journey whose ends will be terrifying and magnificent.

I got introduced to the fallout mechanic through this game and oooo how i love it, it's the perfect blend of your actions have consequences + every consequence is interesting and will affect your character deeply and emotionally, which is <33

this list got too long so i will just mention some more here:

the quiet year (very good map-making game, for before the frost shepherds arrive in winter.)

beam saber (forged in the dark game that deserves its on mention! austin ramsey's games i highly recommend!)

thirsty sword lesbians (ecactly what it says on the tin, i wanna check this game out also)

lotr's one ring rpg (this one is the closest substitute to classic d&d bc lets be real. tolkien is where d&d got it's shit from. and i have heard good things abt this game even tho i've never had the chance to play it)

mothership rpg (space horror whose build mechanics are very easy and user-friendly and i've had a LOT of fun with this!)

orbital (one very beautifully written rpg about life in space and it's only 32 pages but well-worth the time, highly recommend)

that's all i can give off the top of my head, i might've missed a few but these are strong standouts, so i hope u find at least one to your liking!