#i learned how to rig HELL YEAH

[rochambau]

uhh ermmm gnorp

Roswell The Ufo belongs to @garden-view-askblog!!!

[airborneice]

sooo I think this ended up being my tribute art to hilda the series? almost a whole year after the show ended but oh well 🤷‍♀️

if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to ramble about how much the show means to me for a bit -

Soooo I really really love this show. It is so delightful in every way, from the heartwarming and funny writing to the insanely beautiful visuals. You can tell that every aspect of this show was made with so much love and care and it truly has a type of charm to it that I’ve never seen in anything else. I’m really glad it exists and got the run that it did.

While I was drawing this I kept thinking back to a recent quote from Luke Pearson about how iconic to the series that little red cabin in the wilderness is, even though it was only there for a couple of episodes/comics - pretty much everything that happened in the show is because the story moved on from there and Hilda found new settings and characters and her world got so much bigger, but at the end of the day, that place is where it all started.

When I was re-watching season 1 clips to get art references it took me right back to 2018 when the show first aired. I remember often putting on the season 1 soundtrack while I was scanning animations under the rostrum when I was at uni late and re-watching the episodes when I was feeling down and needed a bit of cosyness. I was Going Through It in late 2018 for a number of reasons and this quickly became my comfort show, and that’s probably a part of why I still love it years later - things are way better but it’s just lodged there in my heart now.

And uh…not to get all cliché but…this show really did help point me towards where I am now. While I was at uni I’d study clips of it from time to time to see how the animators achieved what they did and I learned some useful stuff here and there. like..someone’s animation breakdown video on Hilda is what introduced me to the concept of arcs (I was on an animation course so I should’ve known abt arcs already but oh well. better late than never 🫠) and a ton of animation stuff made more sense to me after that. I can look at some of my very old animations and pin-point a principle or a little cheat that I learned from studying Hilda. On top of that, at my uni we focused on hand-drawn animation (on paper first and then. photoshop of all things 😑) so that was the whole scope of my animation knowledge, and I was really fascinated by how 2D rig shows like Hilda even worked.

In the end I got so curious that I took a toonboom course after I graduated and started figuring it out for myself. I didn’t really know what to do with myself in the immediate post-graduation job search hell, but I wanted to learn more skills and Hilda looked like the type of show I wanted to be on more than anything, so I made a point of learning the stuff that might get me there. And learning rig anim was extra fun bc it helped me understand how this show was made and appreciate it even more :) It truly lit up an enthusiasm in me for all the technical behind-the-scenes stuff in cartoons that still keeps me motivated to this day. anddd long story short I’m a 2D rig animator now so I guess it worked out! ngl I think it’s very funny that I stanned Hilda so hard it got me a job on a disney show. how does that even happen. (and I’ve even had the honour of working with some of the people who made Hilda so in a way it feels like it’s all come full-circle now :) )

And obviously, it’s been really fun being in the fandom with everyone and being insane together. It’s wild that it’s been 6 years of that. I’m glad for the cool people I met and all those fun times. I’m really glad I got to be a part of that.

Soo yeah!! lovely show. thank you

[jazeswhbhaven]

Hello~!

That might be a weird idea, but how would the kings react to a gn!MC who's insanely lucky with crane games and the like?

Like, they manage to win at least once every few tries and even those giant plushies

(totally didn't get inspired cause I and my little sis won a few plushies at the funfair today, including a giant bowser lol)

Thank you for waiting anon, this idea isn't weird at all. In fact I'm terrible at crane games so if I had any luck I'd spend a lot of time getting cool prizes lol

And a giant Bowser plush???? Ah man I'd be so stoked to have one of those in my house because he's just great

Satan: Crane games are a rare find in Gehenna because the angels keep destroying their arcades. However, MC does come across one and Satan watches intently as MC easily wins a prize, then the next, then the next. He wants to try but he loses immediately. It mildly annoys him and he tries again only to lose again. Fair to say that the crane machine gets smashed and Satan takes the prize he wants anyway. MC doesn't suggest crane games ever again.

Mammon: Tartaros has plenty of crane games around for tourist. Mammon even has a few in the palace just for fun and he often gives out tokens specifically for the ones in the palace for the subjects to use. His prizes are a bit odd, but MC has no problem winning most of them which impresses Mammon. He does think it's a bit useless as he could simply just buy whatever it is for MC, but whatever joy they get from playing crane games is enough for him. He's happy to see them happy. but he's not allowed to play because he usually ends up breaking the crane machine with his massive hands.

Beelzebub: Crane games? Hell yeah. Beel is a natural when it comes to playing them, but he'd rather watch MC because it fascinates him just how easy it is for them to win. He takes them around all of Avisos trying out even the most rigged crane game known in Hell to clean everyone out of their savings. MC loses the first round but their second try yields them a cash prize and then some. MC just can't be beat. And it's very clear...that Beel plans on using this to his advantage. A reason to go to more places to see if MC can win them all type of advantage.

Leviathan: There's...pretty much only one crane game in Hades, but the prizes are mostly fanmade Leviathan items. MC brings Levi along to watch them try their hand at the game, but he seems disinterested. After they win, he pushes them aside and also plays saying their technique was sloppy. Turns out he wasn't "wrong" as he also wins the next round. He gives MC the prize and tells them not to share it with anyone or even mention they did this together.

Lucifer: He's new to crane games, and Paradise Lost doesn't have any, so MC has to take him to Gehenna in order to play. He watches in silence as MC wins him a prize which is a stuffed toy ram. He holds it and then tries his hand at winning. He's not very good and he gets mildly irritated but he does try again. Finally he wins something small for MC and gives it to them in exchange. He says crane games are not enjoyable for him, but he does want to know more on how MC learned how to win so much.

Belphegor: This otaku is the master of crane games. His entire room is filled with prizes for a reason. Yes, he could simply "buy" them if he wanted but he says there's no fun in that. However, it's only worth it if the item is rare enough. He has MC try and is impressed by them winning each time and they even got a rare prize Belphie was looking for. Needless to say he drags them around pretty much all the time to where the rarest items are so MC can get it for him. Less work the better.

[httpswritings]

I see only the good, selective memory — Alexia Putellas x Jenni Hermoso

Warnings: nsfw. a few spanks. don't read if you don't like open chapter endings.

Word count: more than 1007

Summary: Alexia can't stand it anymore. Top!Alexia, Sub!Jenni.

A/N: Second part of Can't Remember To Forget You

As the days went by, Alexia and Jenni started to be more relaxed in each other's presence. Letting their guard down gave them some intimate moments as they had deep conversations about their careers, their families, and themselves individually, although shower time had been hell for them. Seeing the other one getting out of the bathroom with their wet, messy hair falling down their shoulders made them go mad. Quick looks, appreciating each other's bodies and their shampoo and body lotion's scent filling up the room. 

Eventually, the first one that had showered would quickly get dressed and get out of the room to go anywhere but to stay in the same place as her ex-girlfriend. 

Alexia blamed herself for not being in control of her own feelings and thoughts, while Jenni felt defeated, as she had already accepted how weak Alexia made her feel. A type of weakness that Alexia used to take care of, protecting and loving Jenni so well to make her feel secure in their relationship. 

The two of them had their own time in the shower, remembering their sexual encounters with each other. Both of them tried not to fall into the trap, but eventually failed tremendously. 

-

One night, Alexia woke up to soft whimpers and sighs coming from Jenni's bed.

She suddenly realized that her roommate was having a very good time dreaming. 

She felt a warmth sensation below her core, and as she was about to get out of the room to distract herself, she heard Jenni whispering her name.

“Yeah?” 

When Alexia got no response and realized Jenni had moaned her name in her sleep, she headed to Jenni's bed.

The pink-haired woman brushed Jenni's hair, noticing how sweaty it was from the sexually explicit dream.

“Ale...Rig— Right there”

After hearing Jenni bumble those words, Alexia lost the little self-control she had left and proceeded to wake her ex-girlfriend, who jolted up, breathing heavily.

“Sh, sh, sh. It was just a dream.”

At first, Jenni was disappointed, but then, as she regained consciousness, she realized she might just have fucked up.

“I'm sorry, I—”

Alexia covered Jenni's mouth and whispered in her ear, “Don't you dare to apologize. You don't know how much I'd missed hearing you moan my name”

The older woman could barely speak, being paralyzed by the embarrassment she was feeling.

“Don't be shy, Jenni. Well, actually, be. It's turning me on. But if you want me to continue, you have to tell me.”

“Switch on the lights.”

“No.”

“Alexia.”

“No.”

Jenni sighed. She wasn't used to this version of Alexia, but she couldn't deny she felt some curiosity about it.

“Has it been that long that you now like to be in control in bed?”

“I've been like this with you before.”

“Rarely.”

Alexia had taken control in bed before with her, but still, Jenni was eager to see what she could expect from her ex-girlfriend, 

“Let me show you what I've learned.” Jenni couldn't denied Alexia's request, so she simply relaxed on the bed until Alexia began kissing her around both sides of her hips, making her squirm under her. “Be patient, Jenni.” Alexia rolled Jenni over to get her face onto the mattress. She moved Jenni's hair to the side and began kissing her neck to whisper in her ear, “You've been driving me crazy since we got here. Probably even before that.” Jenni may have been letting Alexia be on charge but still refused to be that docile to her, so she answered back, “That's what I wanted. It took you less than I expected to do something about it.” 

“Oh, did you? Well, if this is what you wanted, then you're going to get it.” Jenni gripped the sheets under the pillow while Alexia was entertained by kissing the tattoos on her back, leaving small bites. The darkness of the room didn't let her see them, but she still remembered the exact place where they were marked on Jenni's skin.

“You've always loved to bite, don't you?” 

Alexia agreed. Her hands scratched all over Jenni's back. “If you remember me that well, you should also remember how much I used to scratch my nails on your back as I tried to hold onto you, right?” With that being said, she spanked Jenni's ass, gaining a moan from her. 

That sound always made Alexia lose it all. “You don't know all the things I'd love do to you on this bed right now, but you have to be quiet unless you want to be called out by the staff. It's probably like three in the morning.” Jenni nodded with her left cheek resting on the mattress. 

“Can I take your clothes off?” 

Jenni nodded again, afraid to say anything just in case a moan would interrupt it. 

Alexia got rid of Jenni's pants, exposing her ass, only covered by a black thong. “I don't even need to see your body; I remember perfectly every single part of it.” Another spank. “Ale—Alexia, they are going to hear us...” Jenni felt Alexia's body on top of her ass, leaning until her chest touched her back. “So you want me to stop spanking you?”

“No—Joder, no. But I don't want the staff to hear it.” 

“Yeah, you're right. I'm the only one who's going to hear you tonight. I'm not sharing that privilege. Have you been with other women since we broke up? I want to know if someone has heard what belongs to me.”

“Why would you want to know that?”

“Answer me, Jennifer.”

Another spank.

“Joder— Sí, I've been with other women.”

Alexia couldn't deny that hearing that made her feel uncomfortable, but she still wanted to hear more. It made no sense, but even if it made her feel uneasy, she felt pleasure in knowing Jenni was now under her at her command and not with any other women. She was hers, at least for tonight.

“Be more detailed.”

“I've been with four women since we broke up. Only one of them got to be my girlfriend, but we fell apart. The other three were random hook-ups.”

“In what aspects did they remind you of me?”

[cryptictongues]

To Kiss is to Hunger

pairing: Joshua Rosfield x Fem!Reader rating: Mature word count: 5.0K summary: You are terrified to kiss Joshua. Joshua has an idea to remedy that.

warnings: practice kissing, grinding, touching, intimacy, mutual pining, insecurities and self-doubt, just straight up romance

Author’s Notes: Ngl I know I said it would be a little frisky, but just so happens I made it just a little bit friskier because Joshua is just a touch starved man. Just a heads up, please read my pinned post before following me! Minors and ageless blogs will be blocked as this blog’s content is NSFW.

[AO3 link]

You couldn’t fathom why you are in the Shelves this late into the night. ‘It’s silly.” You think, walking around, trying to find anything to help you with your little dilemma. You tried to put your brain to rest, to calm its ravenous thoughts of anxiety, but the efforts were futile. And it is all because a teasing strawberry blond tried to kiss you.

You and the young Lord got quite close after his arrival to the Hideaway. You help out as a barmaid for Molly in the Ale House, and the first night of Joshua being out of the infirmary after the fall of Drake’s Tail had been all the talk. You would overhear conversations about how charming he was, how he was very knowledgeable about the lands of Valisthea, and how he is the brother of the leader of the Hideaway. He piqued your curiosity, as most newcomers do, but you didn’t think anything to come of it.

There was one night, however, where service wasn’t off its rig, and you had decided to take that time to practice your reading. Reading and writing are forbidden practices for Branded, and you were only able to learn reading due to old, scribbled writings thrown into the trash bins. You would rummage through for every written scrap in the dead of night and return it before your enslavers came to. To you, it was a piece to the puzzle of your freedom. But only a piece. 

You were reading an old children’s fairytale: a prince in search of the long-lost princess who searched day and night to find her. You were immersed, so much so you hadn’t noticed the presence in front of you, seemingly still but present all the same. 

“Ah, I read that story many times as a child. A true classic.”

Your head had snapped so far back you thought you would’ve fallen backwards. Your eyes jumped until they landed on the man before you, and you remember how wonderstruck you felt. He was the most beautiful man you had ever seen, and the way he was looking at you had your stomach producing butterflies. You felt a sense of embarrassment, however, as the book you were reading was adapted for children. You knew those born with a silver spoon were highly educated, so to have someone as handsome and surely intelligent as he watching you read made you nervous to be a laughing stock. 

“Yeah, but it’s more of a watered down version of it. I’m sure I’ll get to read the original someday.” You had awkwardly explained, waiting for him to make a joke of your lack of ability to read at a level that matched your maturity. That joke, however, never came. He stayed and asked you questions, such as who your favorite character was, what your favorite part of the story was, and so on. That conversation led beyond the book, and it is a fond memory of the golden boy.

It wasn’t long after that he offered to tutor you and made an extraordinary effort to give you books about topics you liked. Hell, he would even bring books back from long expeditions that him, Clive, and Jill would go on. “I found this story about sea fairies that I thought you would like.” “I saw a merchant selling a copy of this book I think you’ll enjoy.” “This book made me think of you.”

After many nights and days passing, it had become apparent that your heart had let him in, and you were relieved to know that his heart blazed for you also. However, unlike you, he is very evident about how he shows his feelings for you. He initiated the first hand holding, the first embrace, every tender moment you both have shared has been started by him. It makes you nervous, he makes you nervous, but in a conflicting way because you want everything he has to offer, yet your life of being treated less than for so long has put in the fear of not being enough. You fear you will misstep, embarrass yourself, he will realize he can have someone better, and let you down gently. He is a gentleman, after all.

All of the insecurities and doubts you hold have led you to the shelves due to this past evening's events.

-

A gathering of many members of the Hideaway was taking place, enjoying each other’s company, exchanging stories from the road, and eating and drinking so good that spirits were at an all time high. About halfway through the evening, Joshua and Clive had returned from their mission that had kept them away for well over a week, and joined everyone in the festivities. You could feel Joshua’s eyes on you constantly as you worked, soft gazes in your direction as you brought over more ale. You hadn’t seen each other since he had left, and you could see from the look in his eyes that he wanted you close, longing for your time. 

And you weren’t the only one to sense it.

“Go on.” You heard Molly speak as you polished the cups.

“Hmmm?” You turned to see her smirking at you, nudging her head in the direction of the young Rosfield. 

“You are free of your duties. You spend some time with everyone, especially you know who.” 

You shook your head, your cheeks flushed. “I appreciate it, but Molly there is a lot to clean up. I can’t ask you to do this all by yourself.”

“Nonsense.” She scoffed, walking to you, taking the scrub and cup out of your hands, only to set them aside to grab your own. “We all deserve a little down time. Please, I insist.”

You hesitated, and her eyes softened. “In these troubling times, every moment counts; for anything can happen at any time. We must be selfish with our time.” 

That alone had set you into motion. You had walked over to sit beside him, hip to hip, his arm draped around your side with his head leaning slightly against your own as Clive shared his and his brother’s adventures. 

You could tell Joshua was more touchy than normal, not that you minded. You would feel him squeeze you from time to time. If you shifted slightly, he would adjust so you were still close to him. You would feel him turn his head to bury his face into your hair, gentle caresses of his lips against your scalp. No words were spoken between the two of you, just enjoying the night together with everyone. But even nights like these had to end. 

You called it a night, telling everyone that you were going to head to the bed chambers, but not before Joshua insisted on walking you there. The two of you had bid goodnight to the others, and with your hand in Joshua’s grasp, the two of you walked to the bed chambers, small talk between the two of you as you both headed there slowly.  

“I can’t believe you let Clive do that.” You giggled, Joshua’s story about his older brother shoving a carrot into his mouth to make him sick. 

“He had reason, for we were in an unfortunate situation. We needed a reason to slip away.” Joshua grimaced, vaguely remembering the taste of the raw carrot. “Besides, I have always had a soft spot for my brother. I’d do anything for him.”

“I know having him back in your life has been a gift.” You smiled, waving his arm back and forth as you both approached the bed chambers. He pulled your arm back gently, causing you to turn into his arms. The way he was looking at you left you speechless; a thousand words being spoken through one look. 

“Why yes, it has truly been a gift by the Founder to be reunited with my brother.” He brings your hand up to his chest, right above his heart; the thumping gingerly warming up your palm. “It has also been a gift to have the honor of being allowed your time, my lady.”

You shook your head, but before you could’ve said anything, Joshua had spoken once more. “On the topic of gifts, I have something for you.” 

He slipped his free hand into the large pouch of his belt and pulled out what you can see is a book. He placed the book in both of your hands, grazing them before allowing you to inspect it. You recognized the artistry of the book: hardbound leather, intricate gold lining, and a sturdy weight in your hand. You looked at the title and you found yourself releasing a shaky breath. 

“I thought you said there were no more copies.” You whispered, in disbelief as to what you were seeing. Enchanting thy Fair Maiden. It was a copy of a book Joshua has praised over. He would recite lines to you from what he memorized as a child, and you would ask him to retell them to you over and over again, never tiring from hearing his smooth voice telling you a tale.

“It took some bartering, but it was worth it if it means I could grant you a copy.” 

Snapping from your mind, you looked to him, shaking your head in disbelief. “Joshua, I can’t accept this. This is one of your favorite stories. You should keep it.” 

You tried pushing the book back into Joshua’s, but not before him grasping both of your hands and gently pushing it back into your vicinity. “My lady.” He begged. “I can reassure you that nothing would please me more than you accepting this gift.”

You stayed silent for a moment, a brief pause in the timeline aside from you and him, before smiling shyly, looking away from him in a flush. “I will cherish this for all days, Joshua. Maybe you can read it to me properly sometime.”

“Anything for you, dearest.” 

Your gaze stayed down, not knowing how to bid farewell for the night, before you felt Joshua’s hand lightly touch your cheek, lifting your face for him to look upon. You sensed a certain hesitancy, his eyes seeking for something on your face before landing back on your own. 

“May I try something?” 

Everything started to go slow and fast at the same time, your mind racing and hyper focusing on every detail. You focused on how much closer Joshua had gotten to you, how his body heat had your body melting tenfold, how his face leaned down to yours, his hand stroking your cheek. You realized what he was asking to do: he was asking to kiss you.

Sudden flashes of self-doubt came crashing down onto you, Joshua’s hand on your branded cheek making you feel self-conscious. What is he doing? How can he want to kiss me? Oh, Greagor be with me, I have never kissed anyone. I am going to make a fool of myself!

Out of reflex and fear, you stepped back and away from Joshua’s reach. He looked startled, not expecting your reaction, and all you could do was stare at him as you calmed your heart down. You felt embarrassment shudder down your spine, but you knew that it would have been worse if you had attempted to kiss him. 

You tried to shrug it off, chuckling awkwardly as if that would erase the last few seconds of shame you felt. “It is late. I’m afraid I must turn in. Goodnight, Joshua.” 

You flung the chamber door open and closed it just as fast without a glance in Joshua’s direction, your back hitting the wood as you worked your anxieties down.

Now you’ve really done it stupid stupid STUPID!

-

So here you are, looking for a kissing manual that doesn’t exist.

“I can’t believe it has come to this.” You moan, shaking your head at how pathetic you currently feel. You want to kiss him; of course you want to kiss him! But the thought of kissing him and making a complete fool out of yourself has strung itself high in your head. You will do anything to ease your anxieties, and if finding literature that will help you is the way, then so be it. 

You keep searching the shelves, and finally you see something that catches your attention. You see a book with a deep red spine, and immediately you become curious. Red means romance which maybe means kissing, right? you think and go to reach for it, your tippy toes giving you an extra inch that helps you grab the old spine of the book. Once the book is grasped, you give it a once over and what you see is nothing at all. The book has no title, no author, no nothing. Just hardbound leather that looks as if it had been dyed with blood. 

You move to sit at a table, the kissing debacle hiding in the back of your skull as a new curiosity peeks. You stare at the book intently, like it was going to open up for you to tell you all of its secrets. A book with no visible identity, no mark.

The curiosity killed the cat as you finally flipped it open, the crackle of the pages singing, showing its age. The first few pages are barren with no offering until you reach the first official page. You read, smiling because you can read everything on the page in comprehension, but also because it’s a love poem. You never have had the chance to read poetry thus far, so this was a treat for you. Just the thing I need to ease my mind.

You continue reading the poems, most being about love, companionship, and things in the realm of romance. As you read them, you picture Joshua and yourself, like the two of you were living in the reality of this book full of lovely prose. In a way, it makes you recognize that maybe what Joshua sees in you is what you are imagining right now: a lover, a partner for life. You feel a sense of confidence swell in you, so you read on, addicted to the words written out.

Until you get to the next page.

What you read next halts your breathing, slowing it down to stop fire from growing in your chest. This poem is about the same things previously stated, love, romance, companionship, but in a much more intimate form. The words strung together formed the most erotic sentences, words of longing for the senses. They make you blush hotly; they make you antsy in your chair while locked in, but most especially they make your mind run wild with fantasies of you and him. 

Oh, you and him.

You mind wanders as you read, zoning out into a reality where you exude the confidence to give into Joshua’s desires and more. The words dig into your skin, warming you up that your thin nightgown felt like plenty of layers on this cool night. You are so immersed that you don’t hear the large doors open, and the calling of your name feels like a figment of your imagination. It’s not until you feel the warmth on your shoulders that you are brought back, feeling like a bucket of cold water has been dropped over your head from the cold sweat.

You slam the book shut, turning so quickly that the room starts to spin before the warmth on your shoulders grows firm, steadying you in your seat. You look to see Joshua staring at you, worry showing on his face seemingly from your reaction. “I deeply apologize, my lady. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

You breathe a chuckle, seeing him here at a time like this would be your luck. You cross your arms, becoming extremely aware of your lack of clothing under his gaze. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you.” He retorts and pulls out a chair to sit facing you. “Truthfully, I couldn’t sleep much. I came here to see if doing more research would tire me, but it seems fate has chosen a more direct route to my restlessness.”

You see why he can’t sleep, and sigh because this is from your doing. “Joshua, you have nothing to fret over. You did nothing wrong.”

“But I’m afraid you are wrong, my lady. I shouldn’t have been so forward, and to know I put you in an uncomfortable position upsets me greatly. I would never dream of making you uneasy, and for my mishaps I must apologize to you. I cannot bear the thought of you keeping your distance because of my foolishness.” 

You watch him as he apologizes for his directness, which internally makes you laugh because that isn’t the issue. You love his directness, just as he is being direct with you right now. It’s you. It’s your cowardice for wanting something more and not having the courage to pursue because of the what ifs, the buts, the howevers. It’s your fear of rejection because of your lived experiences. It’s you, not him. 

“Joshua.” You state, moving to grab his hands within your own. “You did nothing wrong.”

“My lady, please I-” 

“Shhh,” you hush. “Let me speak.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, and I apologize for making you feel you need to.” You exhale, preparing to open yourself up for display. “It’s all me. I’m inexperienced, and I’ve been viewed as nothing for so long that I’m fearful that one misstep will set you away; that you can have someone who knows what they are doing and have the confidence to show for it.”

“Is that really what this is about?” Joshua asks.

You nod, looking down at the two of your intertwined hands. You see Joshua’s hands pull away from yours and your breath shakes. This is it. He is going to leave. That’s until you feel the heat that only the Phoenix could exude on your cheeks, your head being brought up to see him smiling. “My dearest,” Joshua whispers, as if talking any louder would damn him. “You are my everything, for you have captured me: mind, body, and soul. Also, your inexperience mirrors mine, I can assure you.”

Your eyes widen. “There is no way that can be true. You are a Lord.”

He’s laughing now, shaking his head as his hands go back to you, grasping them with care. “I was only a child then. Besides, the Undying were very protective of me under their care. There was no time nor place for such things. Even then, the only person that was always allowed in my vicinity was Jote, and we have never viewed each other romantically.”

“So, there really has been no one?” You whisper, your mind stuck between disbelief and credence.

“No. Not until now.” He squeezes your hands. “My heart belongs to you, and you alone. There is no one else I’d rather give myself to.”

You shiver, the idea of experiencing forms of intimacy together for the first time spreads a raging fire in your stomach. “You sure have a way with words, Joshua Rosfield.”

“You can thank all of the romance novels I read in my youth.” He chuckles. “Speaking of books, what were you reading?”

“What?” You ask, forgetting about the erotica sitting inches away from you. 

“The book you were reading. I don’t believe I have read that one yet. May I take a look?” 

You are panicking, knowing the contents of the book and who is asking to take a peek. You go to grab it, reacting as fast as you could, but alas you reacted too late. Joshua now has the book, opening the page you had left off on, and starts to read. You see his eyes go wide, his pupils dilating, his fingers fidgeting against the page he is holding. You freak out, going to reach for the book before he reads further. “Okay Joshua, that’s enough.” A smile creeps up slowly on his face, humming as he moves to stand up before your fingertips touch the book, backing away slowly as he continues. You stand up, walking up to him to get that god forsaken book away from him. 

“Oh Joshua, please give me back the book!” You panic. 

“By the Founder, what possessed you to read this smut?” Joshua smirks, seamlessly avoiding your grabby hands as he reads the pages. “Especially in the middle of the night?”

He wasn’t meant to see this! He wasn’t meant to see you reading the abhorrent words you were consuming. He wasn’t meant to see you like this in your flimsy gown. Damn me! Why did I not cover up more?!

“To taste the lips is to be fulfilled, for the instinct of man is to claim, conquer, and revel in the midst of her flesh. To kiss is to hunger, to feast among the softest of petals that call to him, beckoning for his return to get both of their fills.”

You are internally screaming now. You can’t believe he is tormenting you like this. You are still reaching for the book, desperate for this nightmare to end, before you hear an “oomph” as Joshua’s back collides into one of the shelves. You snatch the book from him, running back to put it back where it came from. “Okay, enough please!”

“Forgive me.” Joshua says, although it is said with a devilish grin. “I just didn’t know you had such… exquisite taste.”

“I didn’t even know what was in the book when I pulled it.” You say defensively, hands waving manically in front of you like they would make you more convincing. “I was just trying to find something that would help give me the courage.”

As if that isn’t as embarrassing, or even more so.

“What if we do something that helps us both gain courage? A practice session if you will.” Joshua says from the other side of the room, keeping his distance to see what tone you will take.

“What do you have in mind?” You draw out nervously, twiddling your thumbs in anticipation.

Joshua walks back over to where you both had sat, moving the chair so it was facing you before sitting down. He rubs his thighs a little as if he needed to warm them up, before patting his lap. “Come take a seat.”

Instinct has you taking a step forward before a hitch finds itself in your feet, stopping them all together. 

“Do you trust me?” He asks sincerely.

“Of course, I do.” You quickly blurt out, as if answering a second later would draw doubt. 

He smiles, his hand reaching out to invite you over. “Then please, my dearest, come to me.”

You take a deep breath and walk over till you stand before him. You grasp his hand, tingles running up your arm as he pulls you to him and guides you onto his lap. Your hands move to steady yourself on his shoulders, while he places his hands on your lower back to support you. Your legs dangle on either side of the chair, your gown riding up your thighs which you are all too aware of. However, you note that Joshua is only looking at you, gauging to see where your head is. “Is this okay, my lady?”

“Mhmm.” You hum, trying to calm your rapid heart. This is so intimate, too intimate, but you want it. You want him. You want to create every kind of intimacy with him, and this is a start. You knew that it is time to take that leap, especially since he will take that leap with you. 

“Joshua,” you murmur, eyes still on his. “Will you kiss me?”

“As you wish, my love.” 

You close your eyes, leaning in slightly to show that you aren’t backing out. You feel one of Joshua’s hands move to your left cheek, your branded cheek, tracing it with his thumb gently. Soon you feel him move forward, his forehead sitting against yours, his breath hitting your lips in puffs. The anticipation was killing you, your hands squeezing his shoulders to urge him on, and before you know it his lips are against your own. The kiss is light, a sweet peck before pulling away slightly, only to go back to give one more. You both are testing the waters, giving into each other slowly until the two of you start to grow peckish.

The kiss is gradual, pecks graduating to long lip locks and more movement. Your hands have found homage in Joshua’s hair, gripping not too hard but enough to show him how much you are enjoying him. His hands found their way to the crease of your hips, gripping the flesh to keep you in place. You can feel yourself growing restless, needing more of him within your senses. 

It’s like he can read your mind as his hands bring your body closer. A gasp leaves your lips as his groin settles against your heat, leaving your head spinning. His kisses become feverish, his hands roaming up and down your thighs, your nightgown receding higher in the process. You sense satiability is nowhere in sight, the movements of his body proving to you that the absence of intimate touch has turned him into a depraved man. Because even though Joshua Rosfield is a gentleman with a heart of selflessness, he is still a man with selfish desires and needs.

Your hands go back to grip at his shoulders, trying to calm yourself from his ministrations. A wetness hits your lips, and your mouth opens willingly, needing to taste him further. Your tongues melt together, creating a unique taste between the two of you that’s so addicting you don’t know how either of you will stop. You lean more into him, your hands going back to his hair to control his movements, causing him to groan in the most sinful way. You pull away, giggling knowing you got him to make such pretty sounds. The confidence from it goes straight to your head, going right back in for his lips to have him make more delicious sounds. 

A deep feral groan is released from Joshua’s throat, causing him to pull away in heavy breaths. He looks at you with hazy eyes, smiling deliriously. “You will be the death of me, my love.”

Your hands are now trailing from his hair to his chest, your hands running up and down the fabric of his tunic, feeling the toned body beneath it all. Your head leans back against his forehead, both of your breaths heavy on each other’s lips. “Then shall death keep us together, never parted.”

Joshua leans up back to your lips, kissing you hungrily, your declaration causing him to hunger for more. You still had the high ground, you being on top giving you more opportunity to take the lead. You knew this could be too soon, a little risky, but your sureness that Joshua feels the same hunger as you do is enough to convince you. You start to grind down slowly on top of him, your undergarments and his matching tunic pants the only barriers. 

“Fuck,” Joshua draws out breathless, his arms coming up to wrap around you to ground himself. 

“Does that feel good, my Lord?” You smile, feeling over the moon that you are making him act this way. 

“You have no idea.” Joshua gasps. “You have turned me into a new man.”

You giggle as you continue your movements. “Is that so?”

“By the Founder, yes!” He groans loudly at a particular movement of your hips. “How about I show you.”

Suddenly you are being lifted up, your butt settled onto a hard surface, legs spread apart by Joshua’s hips, and warm lips ravishing your own. Your nightgown is definitely way past your legs now, bunched up at your hips with Joshua’s hands right under the fabric. This new side of Joshua has you addicted, the push and pull the both of you are playing at exciting you more. You release his lips and lean up to his neck, nipping at the skin at the juncture of his neck and jaw. His breath hitches, leaning into you as you nip and kiss his neck. It’s as if he is hypnotized by your love bites, casting a spell on him. Your legs wrap around his waist, pulling him closer to you, but in an instant everything stops.

You open your eyes to see Joshua breathing hard, his hands gripping the table. Your hands go to his face, worry etching into your brain. “Darling, did I do something wrong?”

Joshua laughs, his eyes opening to look right back at you. “Absolutely not.” His hands go to yours on his face, holding onto each one as he brings them down. “I just don’t want to accomplish everything in one night, especially here in the Shelves.”

He pulls you up to your feet, your hands still in his as he looks at you with the brightest smile on his face. “I want to have time to savor you when the time is right.”

Even after all of that, he is still ever the gentleman. 

“I agree. I’m sorry if I went too far.” You chuckle, a tinge of embarrassment in your tone. 

Joshua embraces you, his head tucked into your neck. “You have nothing to apologize for. I hope you don’t think I had ulterior motives.”

“Never,” you say quickly, squeezing him to you.

“We should head back to our respective beds before people notice we’ve disappeared.” Joshua hums.

You hum in agreement and pull back, so you are now under Joshua’s arm. Both of you head out the doors of the Shelves into the cool night air. You shiver, and Joshua brings you in closer to shield you from the cold. He walks you back to the bed chambers, and before he departs, he places a light kiss on your lips, causing your eyes to flutter close at the bliss you feel in the moment. 

“Goodnight, my dearest. I shall see you in the morning.” Joshua says after he pulls away.

“Goodnight, Joshua. But before you go, may I request something?” 

“Anything for you, my dearest.” 

“Can we practice some more later? You are my tutor after all.” And my lover, my partner for life.

Joshua beams at you. “I would love nothing more.”

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

possibly scenes between masquerade canon aka who left the two hotel grumps together who did that. don't do that. what if they start bonding and shit

Vaggie: “Okay… Angel’s off to work, and Charlie’s off to work on that… looks like it’s just us assholes here.”

Husk: “Do not lump me in with you motherfuckers.”

Vaggie: "You're literally worse than them."

Husk: "Bullshit." (swig) "And there's no them without including YOUR sorry ass too."

Vaggie: (glares) "Har. Har."

Sir Pentious: “Can WE, er, ah- sssswitch off the porn now..?”

Niffty: “No~” (kicking heels) “Let’s rewind to part where the bad boy actually EATS Angel’s ass.”

Vaggie: “Niffty- ugh, can you just, take it back to your own room?”

Niffty: “The hotel air vents don’t have a TV!”

Vaggie: “You live in the- okay. Pentious. I won’t kill you for watching me and Charlie sleep IF you rig Niffty up with her own TV somewhere that’s not the lobby.”

Sir Pentious: “Do I HAVE to ssspend time with the pessst-”

Vaggie: (punches fist into palm) "Now."

Sir Pentious: “-AH yes!!  PORN ISSS A RIGHT NONE SHOULD BE DENIED!” (scoops up nifty) “Come sssmall pessst, let uss inssstall a sssscrene for your PRIVATE viewing pleasssure!”

Niffty: (giggling) “Do you even know what privacy means-?”

Sir Pentious: “AAAHAHA OF COURSE I DO!!!” (hurriedly slithers away)   

Husk: “… and these are the fuckers you and your little miss princess are trying to rehabilitate.”

Vaggie: “That’s the plan yeah.”

Husk: “Ha! Good fucking luck.”   

Vaggie: (sigh) “Husk?”

Husk: “What?”

Vaggie: “You’re fired.”

Husk: (spits drink) “FffUCK-” (cough) “-you I’m WHAT!?”

Vaggie: “Can’t keep to the code of not talking about shit you know you weren’t supposed to hear? Fine. No more bartender therapy for you."

Husk: "You can't fucking do that."

Vaggie: "Hotel fucking manager, asshole. Watch me. From now on you serve drinks ONLY to go, NO more people sitting at your bar for you make yourself feel better listening to. Not until you treat them like people instead of a damn telenovela."

Husk: “You think I LIKE listening to you all bitching?”

Vaggie: “No. I’m saying I’m not the only self-hating bastard here who gets off on judging others.”

Husk: “Fuck you.”

Vaggie: "Wow what a comeback. Look Husk, if you’re gonna break our trust just to score points in a dumb argument then you can go get your gossip somewhere else.”

Husk: “It’s the only way I’m getting paid in this crappy place!”

Vaggie: “And who’s fault is that? Did I sell your soul to a creepy smug disc jockey?”

Husk: “You’re sure using it either way.”

Vaggie: “Can’t be judgmental without being a fucking hypocrite too, right? Might as well own it, since now everyone knows that’s my thing.”

Husk: “I was trying to help you motherfucking losers!”

Vaggie: “Like hell. Telling others how much they suck feels good doesn't it? Feels like you've got it all figured out. No reason to get your own shit together when you can point at people who're an even bigger mess than you. No, you've already learned your lesson, you fucked up but won't be making any more mistakes. At least you're not in denial over it. At least you're coping with it the right way, aren't you."

Husk: "Well you'd sure fucking know since you're doing it right now."

Vaggie: "Takes one to know one."

Husk: "Tell yourself that if it helps."

Vaggie: "Oh you wanna talk about helping? Charlie’s trying to help every one of you assholes here. She's the one opening up and risking fucking up and getting hurt trying to reach you! Not that it matters to any of you.”    

Husk: “…”

Sir Pentious: (muffled) “It matterssss to me!!!”

Vaggie: (groans) “WHAT DOES PRIVACY MEAN, PENTIOUS!?”

Sir Pentious: “….not, ah, lisssstening in from the hotel air ventilashhhtion ssssystem…?”

Niffty: “Carrrrreful. Don’t crawl through my disembowel rat corpse collection~”

Sir Pentious: (shrieking)

-later that night-

Vaggie: “Hey."

Husk: "Hey your fucking self."

Vaggie: "Angel Dust said you had a drink with him.”

Husk: “Yeah? What if he did?” (ears flattening) “He didn’t even get fucking tipsy and I’m not telling anyone what that loser would’ve said to me while drunk off his ass anyway. I don’t hate you motherfuckers that much.”

Vaggie: (smiles) “Yeah. I know.”

Husk: “…. your miss princess asleep?”

Vaggie: “Technically she’s in bed. Angel Dust came over for a sleepover girls night and I kicked Pentious out of a shadowy corner to join them. You seen Niffty?”

Husk: “No. Sounds like she’s still enjoying that shitty film though.”

Vaggie: “Sounds like? What-”

Husk: “Shh. Listen.”

Vaggie: “…… are the air vents..”

Husk: “Moaning.”

Vaggie: “That’s Angel Dust’s moaning. That’s his work moan- Fuck, I never wanted to know what that sounded like- but does that means the hotel ventilation system is-?”

Husk: “Piping hot garbage throughout the hotel like hell’s shittiest surround sound.”  

Vaggie: “Great.”

Husk: “Hope your princess is ready for the audiobook.”

Vaggie: “Ugggghhhh.”

Husk: “Drink?”

Vaggie: “Just break the bottle over my head....”

Husk: “Fuck no.” (grins) “I’m not wasting a whole bottle on you.”

Vaggie: “Pour it out for yourself then. Tonight you’ve earned it.”

Husk: “Earned what, a fucking hangover?”

Vaggie: (rolls eye) “Just drink up, old man. I’ll drag you back to your room and toss you in when you’re done getting drunk off your own ass.”

Husk: “Huh!”

Vaggie: “I also won’t tell your princess he left you smiling like a dumbass for the rest of the night either.”

Husk: (opens bottle) “You better fucking not...” (swigs) (still smiling)

[callmearcturus]

✈️

so this is a remix/companion piece to a fic @arquiving is working on. we're using a lot of the same assets, telling different stories. you should all know the epigraph at the start is:

"Hey, Austin?" "Yeah?" "Do you wanna know what the weak point of a mech is?" "Yeah, what's the weak point of a mech?" "The fucking pilot."

— Jack de Quidt, Austin Walker, The Road To PARTIZAN

The story is, basically

I actually have no idea how to explain it, so here's some excerpts I wrote for either my version of the story or @arquiving

\\\ PATCH NOTES FOR F-14 MECHANIZED COMBAT APPARATUS MCA-012, DESIGNATION MAVERICK.

Retrofitting to F18 specs completed July 02, 2022. Comms upgrade completed, along with hardware alterations to accommodate them. Engine upgraded from V9.0 to V10.8 dual-compatible.

Retrofit marked SUCCESSFUL with following caveats:

> Cockpit depth within apparatus reduced but not currently within acceptable range for F18 safety compliance. Upgrade partially complete.

> Standardized rigging of anchor lines found repeatedly incompatible with apparatus chassis. Adjusted anchor line mounts engineered. Fourth iteration of improvised mounts found to be stable. Report from MCA Technician Corp suggests "do not adjust again, no better options found, current setup slightly precarious." Upgrade partially complete.

> After seven attempts to introduce new SC-84-18990 formulation, discovered Apparatus anatomy will not tolerate new compliant Seele conductant and will forcibly expel through vents, requiring full decontamination and cleaning. See appendix 17 for  further detail. Upgrade declined.

> Attempts to remove secondary cockpit failed. Upgrade declined.

> Attempts to install automated secondary cockpit violently rejected by apparatus anatomy. Upgrade declined.

MCA-012, designation MAVERICK, classified as single-pilot apparatus. Please note WSO "second seat" is present but is not to be used under any circumstances. See Warrant Office Coleman with any inquiries.

=

Bradley remembered when the Naming happened.

It was kind of funny, the way the Navy had gotten first crack at the Exclusion Zones. When Bradley was back in Basic, it was a frequent point of discussion and low-brow humor. When Phoenix— just Nat back then— had mentioned she was getting sent to the Tanager Outpost, Bradley had asked her if she was packing a swimsuit.

"It's 300 miles from any body of water," Nat had groused. "Remember when we were the boat people, Bradshaw?"

Truly, Bradley didn't, and he knew Nat didn't either. Both of them were too young to remember before the Zones appeared. The Navy of old existed on celluloid and in history books. Hell, back when Bradley was in high school, the textbooks hadn't even been updated with all that shit. He wondered if kids in AP World History had to learn the names of the Zones or the order they had opened in.

But that may have been 300 years ago for all that it mattered now.

Bradley had always hoped he'd get assigned to the mech corps when he was in Annapolis. Between his last name and the fact he had Admiral Kazansky's phone number in his contacts, he thought he might get in. But Bradley also knew how few MCAs existed, and the Navy didn't let you opt-into the pilot program. You either passed the aptitude test or you didn't.

The test had been a fucking blood test. Someone took four vials of his blood and walked away with them, and nobody told him shit.

Everyone's results were classified.

Bridewell was not the first base Bradley had been stationed at, but the third, after Yokosuka. He'd put in his time watching monitors as Seresin ran underwater drills in his MCA, keeping an eye on the sync rate.

He'd been on duty when Seresin had broken the 90 percent threshold and had started laughing over his monitor. "Yokosuka, tell the techs to break out the stencils and spray paint. MCA-zero-four-niner's designation is HANGMAN."

Of course it had been HANGMAN. "How the hell do you deal with that cockpit," Rooster had asked Hangman over ice cold asahi at the local pilot bar.

"Ain't as bad as it looks," Hangman had said with an almost fond smile. "I know my boy's going to protect me."

"Boy?" Bradley grew up hearing men call their favorite car milady and ships were still consider old broads. The specificity had caught his ear.

"Hm? Yeah. Or, closer to that than anything." Hangman had tilted his bottle against the tabletop, letting it roll along the curve of the glass. "They don't tell you that part. Maybe because most of the people writing the manual can't break a fifty on their synch ratio, so they don't even know. But the mech has ideas of what it is. You just gotta listen."

After Yokosuka, Bradley was back in the states, Bridewell Forward Operating Base, right outside of the Gateway Exclusion Zone. No one called it St. Louis anymore, just Bridewell if you were military or Gateway if you were a civilian.

Bradley was piloting MCA-059 when it all went to shit. 059 was an odd bird, slow ambulation with its awkward hip joints, but the legs were… different. As his sync rate climbed, he could feel the massive shock absorbers around his ankles, how his femurs were hydraulics. 059 was fitted for urban landscapes, it was built to actually maneuver around the buildings and the streets.

Shutting his eyes, Bradley inhaled, mouth and lungs full of Seele conductant. Holding it inside, he listened to the low thudding ping of his sync ratio rising. He counted until his synch settled at 57 percent.

"Lieutenant," his comms officer hailed over the radio. "We have a report from the tower, there's a fluctuation over by the riverside, south of the I-65."

"What kind of fluctuation? Something big wander out?" The majority of his work around Gateway was just making sure nothing from the Zone crossed the Mississippi. Plenty of people still insisted on living in Gateway for reasons Bradley had never understood. 

"Information is currently incomplete, but marked as urgent. Setting guidance."

Coordinates updated in the cockpit, and Bradley felt the faint tug of that way, already pulling his mech around. Turning his grip on the controls, 069 sank down, sinking below the skyline. At 30 percent power, Bradley let the line snap like releasing a rubber band, and he launched up into the air.

Wind rushed by him as he soared in a narrow arc, landing on a rooftop. From here, he could see down the river.

"What the hell is that?" he murmured as the opalline green-blue sheen of the Zone wall curled and twisted into nonsensical kaleidoscopes.

He had eyes on it when the wall just ruptured, split like a worn seam. Underneath was more shimmering Zone wall, spilling out from the break like silk in water, spurting across the river. As it landed on the Missouri-side, it filled out, the wrinkles smoothing out as it stretched.

"Zone wall anomaly, the Zone has breached the river boundary," Bradley called out, twisting his throttle sharply. 059's thighs folded down into its calves, pressure building.

This time Bradley didn't aim up, he pushed forward, rocketing over to anomaly with such force, his body slammed back fully into his pilot's seat.

It was the Gateway Zone Expansion, the first of its kind. Usually Zones didn't get wider, just deeper.

Much later, Bradley would be questioned extensively about what he saw, the shape of the growth, how quickly it had spread and whether the spread had felt directed, bullshit like that. But in the moment, Bradley hurled himself and his mech into action.

There was no way to stop the expansion, so Bradley followed it, spire jumping along the boundary. As FRM began to wander out into the city streets, he fell on them, grasping every weird-ass creature with his metal hands and redirecting them back into the veil.

His brain was alight with waypoints and blooms of information, and he continued the crash his thousand-ton body into the streets, the hydraulic tension in his legs becoming easier to take each time.

There was no moment of epiphany, no trip through the Star Gate, just— ROOSTER. He felt the connection like a breeze through his hair. MCA-059 was ROOSTER, or they were ROOSTER, it was complicated.

"Lieutenant Bradshaw, your synchronicity is unstable. Please return to baseline," a MCA technician said over the comms.

"I'm fine," Rooster said. "I— I just, it was the thing, I—" He glanced over at the monitor.

72%. Personal best. He breathed in and felt his chest expand, his shoulders rolling back, the accentuators powering, shifting the mech's limbs with him.

He exhaled slowly. "Uh, status update. MCA-059 should probably be designated ROOSTER. Yeah, Re-engaging FRM." Twisting the throttle, he soared.

=

\\US NAVAL MECHANIZED COMBAT APPARATUS CORPS TOPSHEET \\CANDIDATE PROFILE \\LT BRADLEY BRADSHAW

STATIONED AT BRIDEWELL NAVAL FORWARD BASE, OUTSIDE THE GATEWAY EXCLUSION ZONE

MCA Pilot Proficiency Test conducted during tenure at Annapolis. Results in second percentile. Stationed with MCA Corp to monitor for future placement.

Assigned to Gateway Perimeter Guard and on duty during an unexplained Zone expansion. Earned multiple commendations for efforts aiding civilian evacuation and redirecting FRMs away from evacuation routes.

Permanently assigned to MCA-059, "ROOSTER."

Recommended for Special Detachment by Admiral Thomas Kazansky. Reassignment to Tanager Outpost pending.

[snurtsnurtcreations]

COD MW2 Rewrite, i guess

Anywho, I choose to be delusional and not accept how half assed the Graves betrayal was in Cod MW2. This is all based on some gripes I talked about in this post

Here’s what ACTUALLY happens in Cod MW2 (source: me)

Shadows assist 141 and Los Vaqueros and capture Hassan Zyani. Graves pushes hard to interrogate the guy, screw the laws, why else hire a PMC if not to forego those, right? No one needs to know besides the wilderness, yeah? Laswell insists that it would be a declaration of war, and the others reluctantly agree with her, following orders. Graves keeps pushing on it -even getting physical with Hassan- until Shepherd gives the final say-so to let him go. Graves is visibly irked and disappointed.

Laswell snagged info from Hassan’s phone on a possible location for where the missiles might have been, or currently may be at. Bam, ghillie suit mission. While there, 141 finds intel on where the second missile could be headed, a certain oil rig - however Laswell gets caught. Price and Gaz team up with ULF to save Laswell, meanwhile Shadows, Ghost, Soap, & Los Vaqueros are sent to the oil rig to capture or destroy the missile. Things go spectacularly, everyone's getting along, missile is destroyed, Laswell is saved, we get a lil hint at Russian involvement with the tracking thing or whatever… ok. There’s still one more missile, now we need to find either Hassan (again) or El Sin Nombre.

They find the house of one of El Sin Nombre’s lieutenants. It’s a fat chance, really, but it’s the only lead they’ve got at the moment. Soap volunteers to go, and Alejandro goes with him, Ghost sets up in sniper position, Shadow copters are on standby. But… something goes wrong. As soon as the guards find dead bodies (courtesy of Soap after the interrogation), Valeria makes a run for it. Soap and Alejandro follow, because that sicario is their main lead atm. They follow the lone car she gets into, but the copter sees a multiple other vehicles leaving the opposite way - and they assume that’s gotta be where El Sin Nombre went.

So the copter follows the car caravan, while Soap, Alejandro, and a disheveled Ghost dropping his sniper point to catch up to them follow the lone car into the wilderness… where radio signal gets choppy. The three lose contact with the Shadows, but they’re hot on the trail of Valeria. Through the wilderness and then into a small town, and unassuming warehouse… must be a safehouse or something. They sneak in, learn that Valeria is El Sin Nombre.

Meanwhile, Shadows followed the car caravan, and found it had nothing of value that would give them the intel they wanted. Now Graves is getting desperate, not to mention they’ve lost all contact with the 141 and Alejandro. A call with Shepherd, and the general is planting a seed of doubt that perhaps Alejandro was working with the drug lord… after all, look at all the corrupt Mexican military doing just that? What sets Alejandro apart from the rest? Hell, he might have killed the 141 and is living out his best life right now… wouldn’t they have gotten into contact with him by now if they were alive and well? Anyway, that’s besides the point, right now they need to find that missile. You were given a mission, Commander Graves, and I’d suggest you complete it at any cost. Take over the base if that’s what it takes.

Graves has a chat with Rodolfo and learns that Rodolfo and Alejandrio used to know and work with this Valeria character. And damn if that doesn’t settle it for Graves. He’s not about to let his Shadows be stabbed in the back (again).

So Graves has his Shadows capture Alejandro’s base (Rodolfo gets away). He starts going through every corrupt military personnel he can find, any corrupt police… they need to find Hasan and they’re going to do it, no matter the cost. He’s got no qualms about committing a few war crimes to get what he wants - he’s a PMC after all. He also puts out a little side note to all his operatives: if they catch sight of Alejandro, catch him dead or alive. They know his preference… (alive. He wants to have a good long chat with him, find out what happened to Ghost and Soap. Those were good men, damnit, they deserve a proper funeral at least)

The three out in the field don’t know this. They bide their time, check out what’s going on around the warehouse, what the security measures are… and then ghey strike. They catch Valeria and commandeer a vehicle to shove her into. Alejandro gets a vehicle of his own and drives ahead as lookout, they kill some cartel folks on the way there, it’s smooth going. Base is in sight. They get stopped at the gate. Alejandro’s incredibly confused about the Shadows manning his gate instead of his soldiers. What Ghost and Soap see from their seats is Alejandro coming out of the car a little irritated and confused, and then he’s suddenly being detained with guns pointed at him.

Assuming they’ve been betrayed, Ghost immediately backs up and screeches outta there (“Trouble in paradise?” Valeria snarks). A couple shots from the Shadows follow them out, and whaddaya know, one of the bullets hits a tire. The vehicle careens outta control, and the 141 boys decide to book it on foot, splitting up. Ghost takes Valeria, SOap tries to lead the Shadows away. He loses them in the streets. Cue the alone mission except as they leave Ghost has a knocked out Valeria thrown over his shoulder. They make it out of the city, peel out, and meet Rodolfo at the safe house.

Rodolfo tells them Graves has gone insane, siccing the Shadows on Alejandro’s troops, convinced they’re working with the cartel - supposedly with Shepherd’s approval. Rudy admits they’d thought the two had died. He’s… very surprised to see Valeria too. They decide they can’t trust anyone, they need to get Alejandro out, it’s their best hope at surviving this mess, not to mention cracking Valeria and getting that intel on the missiles.

Meanwhile, Graves has contacted Price and out of respect, as one commander to another, informs him about the loss of his two soldiers, and that they’ve got the traitor Alejandro in custody (“sick bastard won’t even admit what they did to ‘em”). This greatly perturbs Price, but with no confirmation of bodies he keeps his walls and hopes up, says he’ll be down there as soon as he can. Graves starts interrogating Alejandro, who is adamant about being wronged, that the two are still alive, and they got Valeria, and Valeria’ got info on the missiles, and they gotta stop wasting time on him when they’re all out there, and who the fuck do you think you are, Graves!

And then Graves gets a call from Shepherd. With Price on his way to Las Almas, he’s getting too close for Shepherd’s comfort to finding out why the missiles are out in the first place. The General orders Graves finish off the 141 when they get there.

And now there’s two routes we can take from here, the delulu Graves is still a good guy route, or the closer-to-canon Graves is bad guy route,

Either 1) Graves agrees and gets off the call, but he’s bluffing. He’s got no intention on following those orders. He realizes he never should have trusted Shepherd. He doesn’t care about covering up the lost missiles, it’s not on his neck if anyone finds that out. In fact, if he had gotten some reinforcements when he’d asked the General, they wouldn’t be in this situation and his men might still be alive, so excuse him if he’s a little salty about Shepherd’s whole plan.

He cares about the missing missiles because he knows how bad it’s gonna be in the wrong hands and he knows the target would likely be his home U S of A, and he’s determined not to let that happen.

He realizes Alejandro was probably telling the damn truth and Graves was too stubborn to listen. Graves lets Alejandro out, but not his men, still not quite fully trusting them. He entreats Alejandro to let him know where Soap and Ghost might be, but without his men’s freedom, Alejandro is standoffish and not willing to cooperate.

Soap Ghost and Rudy break into the place just like in the game, kill a bunch of shadows, break out the Mexican special forces, and Captain Price saves their asses near the end.

Later, Price receives a call from Graves “What the fuck, man? So many of my men are dead or injured!? Listen, this is all one hell of a misunderstanding. Not once have I knowingly fired on your men until they fired on us. Shepherd fucking put out a hit on your men just now and I chose to forego those orders. I’m trying to understand what the hell’s going on out here just as much as you are, Captain.”

Alejandro begrudgingly backs up Graves’ words - the man did seem to genuinely believe Alejandro had killed Soap and Ghost and he had come clean to him about the hit Shepherd put on their heads. Alejandro demands his base back and Graves  is cooperative, so long as he gets to stay on the mission and talk to Valeria. 

The shadows pull out of the base, only a small force remains, and Mexican special forces take back their posts in the base. There’s obvious tension between the two forces, some bad blood, but overall they’re still on the same team.

Price is positively brimming with anger. Gets on that call with Shepherd. Gets mad about the hit put on them, but doesn’t allude anything to them being in cahoots against Shepherd now.

The others go to interrogate Valeria. The 141 are trying to ask her but she’s not cooperating until Graves does the “before I show you the difference between military and me” line

They find out about the missile in Chicago and go save the day.

Or 2) Graves reluctantly decides to follow orders, since it is Shepherd who’s paying for everything. Graves doesn’t let Alejandro out. Focuses on trying to find Valeria or Hassan. Alejandro and his men get rescued, and while that’s happening, Graves and his shadows have found Valeria in the safehouse and have taken her in for interrogation. Graves now has twice the reason to kill the 141 - both due to Shepherd’s orders and because they’ve killed so many of his men. They attack his base just like in the game, and he tries to escape with the remote tank, just like in the game, and yadda yadda yadda.

Anyways yeah I just think that would fix so many plot holes about motivations and whatnot that I had a hard time wrapping my head around in the game. Like the original Graves betrayal scene made zero sense to me. Like they could have made it at least understandable what the motivations are but noooo. We could have gotten really interesting looks into how an ally can become an enemy through assumptions, miscommunications, clashing values and goals- looked into how different ways to reach the same goal causes conflict…. It could have been really cool if they’d focused on that a bit more instead of just very, very suddenly forcing the Shadows to be bad guys for… no particular reason, really? 

This way, we leave off on tense but kinda sorta allied terms with Shadow Company, Shepherd is still a traitorous ass, the 141 are the heroes that save the day, hip hip hooray, and then we introduce Makarov back in.

[milestonekestrel]

I want to hear more about your interpretation/ version of Addair because he is very interesting to me and for some reason I have grown attached to him........ I hate him so much and I want him to suffer because I like him a lot... ya know

OOH OK!!

Addair. I love this guy. I have a lot of thoughts about him lets see...

(cw for abuse)

Well, I´ve already talked about my family headcanons for the guy. But basically, his father and mother never really loved each other. They were kind of a ¨make each other worse¨ kind of couple. His father was an abusive prick and his mother a bystander. She was barely there, for Addair.. for life. They divorced after things got.. really bad (his mother was hospitalized), and his father got custody. His mother remained a bystander.

Addair grew up mostly underneath his father. He learned to follow orders or get hurt. He learned this from his father. He learned everything from his father. He didn’t get out of the situation until 17, and his father never really left him.

On the rig, you really don´t get a good introduction to the guy. There was an Addair post I remember, about how many people don´t spend long enough looking into him. They see the National Front poster (which is.. I mean yeah tbf it´s not great) and decide ¨well fuck this guy.¨ I don´t, by any means, think he´s a great guy. But, I do think he´s a human. You see, he has an interesting way of looking at his childhood trauma. in that he.. doesn´t. He just thinks that everything´s going to be fine now. Willful ignorance turns into blindness, and this is why he sits alone. There are parts of his father that never leave him. Seventeen years of conforming and following orders, seventeen years of conditioning don´t exactly just disappear. But Addair thinks it will. He thinks that making a vow to not be like his father is enough. and. boom. trauma solved.

and on some level he knows, he knows he has built a dam out of paper. This is why he acts the way he does. he can´t handle criticism of himself because its true. Because he wants to be right because going back to those seventeen years is painful. going back to those seventeen years is too painful. He has kids now. he has a family. he wants to be good for them. he wants to be a better man for them. and on some level, he is. He is a loving father. But it is almost like a disguise. it is the dam, and the dam is made of paper, and things are always getting through. So he lashes out, he can´t take jokes, and he is, frankly, a terribly mean person. On the rig, he has no family to be better for. He loses connection with that, a little bit. and he misses them and that makes it worse.

He´s been on the rig so long, isolated and angry. and it´s only getting worse, and he’s miserable and looking for someone to blame.

Enter Caz. Caz is an inexperienced man who manages to win the crew over quickly. Roy likes him, and most of the crew like Roy, so they like Caz too. Caz has never worked on a rig before, and Addair knows this. And yet, and yet he is so popular. With the crew. Even Rennick admits he respects him. So Addair takes it all out on him! He hates that man, so much, and not even for a good reason. He hates Caz so much that when he is in danger of drowning, actual, mortal danger, Addair can’t let it go. He can’t let that pettiness go. And he’s damn lucky Brodie and Douglas were there, because maybe he could tell himself he would be okay if Caz had died. Hell, maybe he can tell himself Caz should’ve died. But Caz didn’t. Addair doesn’t truly know what it would’ve been like if Caz had. If he came up dead, or worse, not at all. It's easy to say things, but the situation is not real to him, and thus he can´t accurately judge his reactions. It's easy to do things, like walk away, when you've no frame of reference for consequences or aftermath. Maybe he's a prick, and maybe he hates Caz, and maybe he wouldn't lose sleep over it or anything. But he's not going to feel right about it. 

But Caz lives. And Addair gets to keep being angry. And the anger is what makes him so violent. He's not just angry. As a human, he's confused, miserable, and he misses his family. (he misses them very much, and yet he works through the holidays. And yet he barely calls them. And in this way he is like his mother) But he's angry, too. And he´s fucking furious when he´s infected. And that's why he's so violent. 

And that’s why he throws himself in front of the flare at the stack. Because he’s so angry. Because he wants to hurt Caz. 

And that’s why he falls off the stack into the ocean. And that’s why no one saves him. 

[rems-writing]

Thar he goes

Pairing: siren!Wooyoung x sailor!reader

Summary: Back on my OUAT bullshit lol

Warning(s): slight mentions of almost drowning, Wooyoung being clingy

Genre: Cracked out fluff

Nets: @blossomnet @mirohs-aurora-society

"BRING BACK THE MERMAID!"

"AND WHAT?! YOU'LL WIN HER OVER WITH YOUR RAINBOW KISSES AND UNICORN STICKERS?!"

"MAYBE THAT'S WHAT WE KIND OF FUCKING NEED RIGHT NOW!"

"SHUT UP, YOU USELESS SAILOR!"

Ooh. You had enough of Regina's bullshit. You let go of the rigging and tackled the Evil Queen. Surprised by this, she tried to blast you away with her magic yet you were quicker and smarter. You placed a black leather cuff on her wrist and when she tried to flick her hand, no magic came out.

"HA! MAYBE NOW YOU'LL LEARN THAT ALL MAGIC IS USELESS SO FIGHT ME LIKE A WOMAN, BITCH!"

"WHY YOU - "

Regina tackled you but you sidestepped just in time for the Queen to actually tackle Mary Margaret (Snow White) instead. You cackled at the two women throwing hands at each other until you felt something sharp being pointed at your back. You turned around to see David (Charming) angrily pointing a sword at you.

"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE! ARE YOU ON REGINA'S SIDE OR OURS?!"

"I'M ON THE SIDE OF LIVING, YOU BASTARD! DON'T POINT THAT THING AT ME!"

"BREAK UP THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM NOW!"

"LET THE SLAGS HASH IT OUT, YOU WHINY PRINCE! GOD YOU WERE SO MUCH BETTER WHEN YOU WERE ABOUT TO FILLET THAT BITCH!"

"DON'T CALL MY WIFE A SLAG!"

David charged at you and you sidestepped quickly once more, regretting it slightly when he ran into your captain by accident.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL, Y/N?!"

"SORRY, HOOK! WELL... NOT REALLY! YOU DESERVE IT!"

"FOR WHAT?!"

"FOR MAKING ME GO THROUGH THIS CRAP!"

Hook was now charging at you with his sword in his hand. Realizing the 'oh shit i fucked up' moment, you grabbed a rope and swung over to where Emma was trying to keep the Jolly Roger steady.

"EMMA, YOU'RE THE ONLY TOLERABLE ONE AT THE MOMENT SO I'MMA WARN YOU RIGHT NOW! WE'RE HEADING INTO DANGEROUS TERRITORY!"

"WHAT COULD BE MORE DANGEROUS THAN THIS STORM?!"

As if on cue, singing voices could be heard from the depths of the sea. The rest of the group stopped fighting and stood still as the singing voices grew louder and louder. Only you and Emma could resist the singing, which would explain the apprehension on her face as eight men appeared on the boat after a brief flash of lightening passed by.

"SHIT!"

You quickly ran down to the group and your eyes widened when you saw one of them reach out to caress Mary's face with webbed hands.

"HANDS OFF, SCALY MOTHERFUCKERS!"

You shoved him to the side and felt his catlike eyes pierce your soul.

"I'M SORRY! YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!"

You slapped her, then Regina, then David, and finally, your captain. Emma grew shocked as they tried to snap out of it.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"IT WAS EITHER THAT OR THEY ALL DIE FROM EITHER DROWING OR A SINGLE BITE!"

"THEY'RE STILL HERE! WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!"

"PROTECT THEM AS THEY SNAP BACK TO REALITY! I'M GOING WITH THEM!"

"I'M NOT LETTING YOU GO WITH A BUNCH OF SIRENS!"

"JUST TRUST ME!"

With that, you dove off the ship and the sirens followed you in after, almost drowning you in the process when they dove in. The last thing you could recall was a mop of dark hair hovering over your sinking body.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Unicorn stickers? Seriously?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what Regina said to Snow."

A high-pitched laugh, followed by other laughs, filled the hollow siren grove while you retold the story of how that mermaid basically caused chaos aboard the ship.

You didn't necessarily drown. You only pretended to drown so you could escape the chaos of those enchanted forest crackheads and your equally stupid captain. You felt scaly arms wrap around you and a chin land on your shoulder and you looked down to see your favorite siren with the witch cackle he emitted earlier.

"Yes, Wooyoung?"

"I want attention."

"But you already have it."

"Well I want more~"

His whines and pout made the other seven sirens groan in annoyance and you hushed them. The siren with the cat eyes then asked something.

"So what will happen once they stop Peter Pan? Will you help them escape Neverland?"

"Perhaps. But they seriously need to work together if the Savior wants to save that son of hers."

"Speaking of which, how did she not know that Neal's real name was Baelfire?"

"San, be for real. Imagine you're on a date in that Land without Magic and a man introduces themself with the name Baelfire. Besides, after going through that portal, he's gotta blend in somehow."

"Ok ok. Lemme follow up with this. How did August, or Pinocchio I should say, know that Neal is Baelfire?"

You thought about that for a moment before shrugging.

"Meh. Don't know, don't care. Anyways, lemme know if that ghastly crew of adult misfits find their way off Neverland so I can help my captain man the Jolly Roger once more. Maybe I'll find a way to get your siren asses to Storybrooke. That Ariel chick did. Might as well give you guys a place to live, right?"

The seven of them cheered while Wooyoung hugged you tightly.

"Thanks, doll." He said affectionately and kissed your cheek.

"No problem, Woo. All within a day's work I suppose."

[opiatesandspeed]

To my fellow addicts,

I know the cold/hot sweats are one of the worst things but my least favorite was the restless legs which today it’s your lucky day because I remember the cure. I knew this before my overdose (the in in 2016 that I was the actual closest to death), but when I needed to learn everything from scratch I completely forgot that Nikki always used to stock up on as much gabapentin/neutontin as possible before attempting to come off of H. I have recently come off of suboxone only about a month ago and have been having some opioid withdrawal symptoms that have been delayed. I already know and understand a lot of the science of this because I did so much research on it. Also now that I have finished school and I’m serious this time I would love to get the nodsquad page back up and running. It will be a lot of work but the amount of lives we saved I say fuck you directly to tumblr’s ToS. We never directly facilitate a deal but if someone is using and is asking for help because their supplier got locked up/they don’t trust this person anymore we at least did a little bit of screening beforehand to ensure the legitimacy of the individual pointing the person in at least the general direction. We had a network of people all over the world which we would need to reestablish but now that I have finally graduated from college I have a few weeks of free time before I get stuck with a job and won’t have as much is anyone is down to help out PLEASE DM ME. Also the motto that Nikki and I had was that we never tried to talk individuals out of using because we were addicts ourselves and that would’ve been highly hypocritical. Second, we always tried to get them resource help before just telling them yeah we know someone in (any city, USA/the world) this included ensuring they had narcan and for specific situations we sent out a lot of narcan to people(it was not just in the pharmacy back then). But still I would be interested in getting people clean needles/rigs/sharps… another thing is please because you use different wording do not attack others or make fun of the way things are said in their particular area. This created a lot of unnecessary chaos. If you’re serious about helping others and if you know your shit PLEASE DM ME DIRECTLY ASAP. I will be creating the new email for the new page at some point today. Lastly, all I ask is that if you are interested you at least have 1 hour a week minimum to answer messages or look on the page and that you do your research before answering questions from our fellow addicts. I will be adding on to this message because I have so much more else to say but I hate typing on my phone and I’m too lazy to get to my Mac which is a few feet away from me 🤣. However I want to end this with that no matter how bad things are things can get better. I’m not going to go into my entire story but I completely lost the ability to gain any short term memory and was able to graduate from a top 30 school in the US. You can do it and it is possible no matter how hard it seems to get clean but it is the hardest thing you will ever do but it is worth it. It is not sunshine and rainbows and you will have to fight harder than every other sober person 5 times as hard but after graduating I think my first field before going into cyber security will be addiction counseling. Which is where my true passion is. Just know that you are worth it even if you have no one. that’s what this community is for to support people who are bring constantly criticized by others or not getting the help they need. This may go nowhere but I think it’s worth giving one last shot for @sweet-despondency my fiance who passed away next to me back in 2016. Where if there was a way to see her for just a minute and be able to hug her I would go through hell. I know that is how most of you people feel for the people you lost as well. But the best thing we can do is keep their memory alive by helping others. Thank you so much if you got this far. I love you all and hope to talk to you all very soon.

UPDATE: 13:18 ET: So good news... We at least still have a page up that I am going to try to get the login info for but I'm not sure how hard this will be. Just wanted to let you all know A PAGE still exists... not the original page.

[roombathesequel]

asmo and vil play dti (featuring yuu/mc)

(an: SHOUTOUT TO MY LOVELY BETA READER @mmmmmmoldycheese THEYRE COOL)

it was a normal day for our lovely yuu (im just gonna refer to mc/yuu as yuu for this fic so it isnt confusing), just relaxing at ramshackle dorm while playing some DTI. atleast thats what i wouldve said if vil fucking schoeneheit didnt join randomly and just starts slaying so hard that he always ended up on the podium.(wow he slays so much omg)then like an hour after vil joined asmo decided “fuck it! imma join my lovely little partner on roblox and start fighting in the chat (AND VC THIS PETTY BITCH) with the person who keeps on winning when i dont win!!!” AND MADE SO MUCH DRAMA!!

“bro its not that deep!! he won cuz he slayed that theme, not cuz it was rigged!” yuu yelled at vil, trying to find out how the two most fashionable (and petty) people they know are somehow still fighting after like 30 minutes. “”SHUT UP YUU!!”” asmo and vil screamed at the same time, effectively almost breaking yuu’s poor eardrums, “OH MY FUCKING GOD SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!”. cue the whole vc starting to laugh at yuu’s sudden outburst as asmo and vil were left stunned. yuu took a deep breath and went on with the game as if nothing had happened.

[time skip to like an hour later cuz i make the rules here]

“yuu~ can you vote me 5 stars please?~ i promise i wont ask again~” asmo pleaded with yuu. vil snorted at that but covered it up with a cough, “as if your outfits would be worthy of 5 stars! hey potato, give me 5 stars instead.” “hah? you think theyre gonna give you 5 stars just cause you asked?” “well you seem to think that will work seeing as you asked first.” “oh shut up! i was doing that ironically!!(he says, like a liar)” *insert more petty arguing here im too lazy to write it :P.*  “OH YEAH?! WELL I HAVE A HIGHER CHANCE OF WINNING SO YUU WOULD PROBABLY WANNA DUO WITH ME MORE THAN YOU!!!” (you can choose who said that line <3)

cuz of comedic timing lilia then joined the server and yuu immediately saw an opportunity to be a little chaos gremlin “oh hey lilia!! you wanna duo?” lillia also sensing an opportunity to also be a little chaos gremlin automatically agreed, “oh of course i would love to duo with you!!” *insert lilia smug face while asmo and vil look offended as fuck teehee* 

[the next theme is freestyle]

“HELL YEAH WE’RE GONNA NAIL THIS LILIA!!!!!! LETS GO GAMERS!”

[timeskip to runway cuz i choose what happens this is my fic <3]

*vil slaying the runway cuz hes vil*

*asmo slaying the runway cuz hes asmo*

then we have…….

OMG IS THAT LILIA AND YUU ABSOLUTELY DEVOURING SLAYING SO HARD I FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR THE RUNWAY?!?!?!?!?!!!!???!?!!! YES IT IS!!!!!!!! *pose 28 spam cuz yay*

[lilia and yuu got first place! yayy!!!!]

*awkward silence…* “....what the actual FUCK yuu?! since when were you so good at this game?!?!??!?” asmo stared at his screen flabbergasted, how the hell did yuu get so good at this game and how could he learn?? “fufufufu~ its quite simple actually,” started lilia, “its called layering!! Kinda hard to learn how to do properly but one you got it you can make amazing outfits!” finished yuu.

cue lilia and yuu teaching asmo and vil how to layer for the next hour

THE END

[captain-mj]

Funnel Cake Frappucino

This is part 5!

Ghost slept on Jason’s couch. He didn’t drink, not wanting to be hungover. At 5 am, he left Jason’s apartment, snagging one of his spare keys so he could lock the door without having to wake him up. 

First, he went to his own apartment first and took a shower, scrubbing himself clean. After some consideration, he sprayed some cologne on, rubbing his wrists together. He used about half of what was recommended, not wanting to reek of it. One time, Farah had enforced a six feet rule with him and he had quickly learned. It was one Price recommended so he knew it was nice. 

Ghost put more thought into how he got dressed than he had in probably weeks. He put on silver jewelry so he wouldn’t get distracted by the gold. Rodolfo had told him six weeks ago that the black pants he wore that were tight on his thighs were his best ones (Alejandro hadn’t talked to Ghost for two days). Ghost still didn’t get why. Wasn’t his fault they were at the mall. Alejandro was the one that fucking dragged him there and then they tried on clothes like teens in a fucking movie. 

He hesitated. Moment of truth. Mask. Did he think he could handle a neck gaiter? He could wear earrings if he did. There was a pair that matched his rings. Silver and they connected to the cartilage of his ear with a very thin chain. 

Ghost hesitated before doing it. The reflection that stared at him was… Certainly a person. Blond hair that spike up no matter what he did. It was bleached and he didn’t take the best care of it, but it remained pretty soft. Maybe a bit frizzy but it looked intentional enough for it to pass. Skull design on the neck gaiter. 

His jacket covered all of his arms and his gloves covered his hands. Only his eyes and up able to be seen. He put his sunglasses on his jacket, just in case he felt like he needed them. 

It was almost 8 am. He was late. Well. Not technically. They didn’t need to meet until Soap got off at 7, but he usually came in for coffee by now. He left his apartment. 

Should he get a gift?

No. Gifts on first dates were seen as weird. 

…or was this their second date? He had never actually confirmed that one day was a date or not. Regardless. A gift seemed like too much. Casual. You’re going for casual. You don’t want to rush it. 

Ghost didn’t want to mess this up. He really didn’t. He had joked that he wanted to score, but he didn’t mind waiting if it meant they could be a bit more serious. A one time hook up wasn’t what he was looking for. 

Soap perked up when he saw him. “There you are Simon!” His accent thickened on his name slightly. “Worried you wouldn’t come in until the end of my shift.” 

Ghost smiled at him, noticing his eyes zeroing in on the hair he could see. “Didn’t want to disappoint you.” 

“Y-yeah…” Soap stared at him. “You cleaned up.”

“Wanted to look nice for tonight.” Ghost explained, watching the red spread over Soap’s face. 

“Right…” He looked so flustered and Ghost was proud he managed to do it for once. “What um…”

“Got anything carnival themed?”

“That where we’re going tonight?” Soap grinned at him. 

“Yep.” Ghost didn’t really get the need for secrecy. No need to leave him in suspense for several hours. 

“Oh hell yeah.” Soap got to making something. He didn’t charge him for it and they continued to talk. “Plan out a lot?”

Ghost shrugged. “Not too much. Do you want to eat before we go or just get fair food?” He lied. He had thought of everything. What restaurant to suggest, how much money he planned to blow on the rigged as hell games, how he would eat without drawing any attention to himself. Everything planned to the second. He was used to military operations and thinking of this that way was helping his anxiety.

“We can eat there. I hope they have cotton candy.” 

“Sweet tooth?”

“Aye. A little. It’s why I like you.” 

Simon wheezed. “Ah. Okay.”

Soap laughed and handed it to him. 

Ghost took a sip and immediately tasted sugar, ice and vanilla. He must’ve grimaced because Soap laughed. 

“Johnny…”

“Not a big fan?”

“I don’t think I like the ice chips.” Ghost answered honestly.

“Not a fan of frappucinos. Got it.” Soap took it from him and started drinking it. He remade the latte from before, making foam art of a ferris wheel instead. “See you tonight.” 

Ghost smiled. “Tonight.” He left and then promptly had no clue where to go. Alejandro and Jason’s apartments would be open again, but then he’d have to justified getting dressed like this at 8 am to impress someone he already had a date with. 

Ghost found a way up to a rooftop and called Price. 

“Simon.” He answered immediately. 

“Sitrep?” Simon asked. It was too formal. Not how a civilian would act. Not how a soldier on leave would act either.

Price Understood him though. “Ah, holding down the base. Alejandro told me about the barista.”

“He’s a snitch.”

“Yeah. I told him to stop being a tattle tale.”

Ghost laughed at that one, enjoying the sun. “I’ve been talking way too much about myself lately. How have you been? What’s going on on base?”

“Simon. I’m hurt you’d use me to distract yourself.”

“Not distracting myself! People just… Keep asking how i am and talking about me and i just…”

“Not used to people caring. I know.”

Ghost went quiet for a minute. “When will you all stop treating me with kid gloves?”

“Simon… don’t. Your incident.”

“Watch it.”

“That incident. It scared everyone. That’s all. I understand its hard.”

“Do you?” Ghost wanted to be mean again. His breathing immediately started following the stupid pattern again. In and out. Numbers floating in his brain. 

Price was quiet. “No. I guess i don’t. We just want what’s best for you. I’m glad you’re focusing on yourself more. Where are you by the way?”

“Top of a building.”

Silence on the other end of the line. Ghost laughed. “Its two stories, Price. Jesus. I’m not going to throw myself off a building. Shit way to go.”

Price grunted. “Stop being a dick. But fine. I have a date tonight.”

“Oh? Me too. I am not interested in a double date so don’t ask.”

Price laughed and Ghost was happy they were being normal again. He wanted them to stay normal. “No thanks. Might be awkward. We’re both in our thirties and you and your date are still green. Practically kids.”

“I’m 28.”

“God practically a child.”

“You’re 9 years older than me??”

“Oh how youth goes by so fast.”

Ghost rolled his eyes he saw his Fucking brain. “You’re ridiculous, old man.”

“Have fun on your date, son.” 

“You too.” He hung up. 

Ghost found ways to occupy his time before showing up right as Soap was locking up the cafe. He lit up when he saw Ghost, immediately grabbing his arms so they could walk together. Each of his fingers had a ring on them. All of them were just simple bands, but they were nice. 

Jason had sent him the location and it was within walking distance. Ghost noticed Soap struggling a bit to keep up and slowed down for him. 

“How long have you been in the military?”

“10 years now. Joined as soon as I turned 18.” His arm ended up around Soap instead, One of his fingers looped through his belt loops to keep him close to his side. 

“Sounds like so much fun! I wanted to join the military for a while, but then I…” He trialed off and restarted. “Stuff just got in the way ya know?”

“Yeah. There were a lot of things the military kept me from doing. Can’t say I regret any of it though.” 

Soap looked up at him, something like fondness in his eyes. They got there and Ghost quickly paid before Soap could. He didn’t seem that happy about it, but he clearly let it slide. 

Soap immediately dragged him to one of the fake looking attractions. It claimed to have a snake lady, a mermaid and an actual fairy skeleton. Predictably, they were all fake. Ghost saw exactly how they were faking them. The fairy skeleton was mostly because of Roach. He had explained to Ghost how to identify wings one time and those were clearly cicada wings on a, admittedly well painted, resin skeleton. He didn’t quite understand why they bothered, but he supposed the humans that undoubtedly would get in liked them. 

Soap apparently did. He looked at the fake mermaid in a tank, the hand slowly reaching out. 

It was a nixie. Probably trying to make extra cash. Ghost supposed that mermaid probably drew in more people than nixie. 

Soap put his hand over hers, but he didn’t look very happy at all. He looked so sad. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I know its fake, ya know? But the idea of her just being stuck in there…” Soap looked a bit embarrassed. 

Ghost wanted to make him feel better, but he wasn’t too sure how. “It’s sweet that you care.” He settled on that. 

Soap smiled a tiny bit and changed the subject. “Didn’t see any roller coasters which is disappointing.”

“Adrenaline junkie?”

“Yeah,” Soap laughed, “you could say that…” 

“Next time I’ll take you sky diving.” Ghost promised. 

He managed to drag Soap away from the attractions that made him sad and found that cotton candy he wanted. Soap descended on it like a heathen, biting into it instead of tearing a piece off, getting part of it wet. 

Ghost ripped a small piece off and slipped it into his mouth, quickly fixing his mouth. He caught Soap staring but decided not to think about it right now. 

Soap held his hand, occasionally squeezing. His eyes scanned everything, trying to see what he wanted to do next when he gasped. Ghost quickly followed his gaze to see a seal stuffed animal over the dart game. It looked like a harp seal pup, the soft white ones with the giant black eyes. 

Darts… that wasn’t too different from throwing knives. He could do this. 

Ghost paid for the game and Soap was almost bouncing in his boots. He flipped the dart in his hand. It was weighted badly and had a dented tip. Ghost was going to hit these goddamn balloons. He tossed it and it popped one of the stupid balloons. It embedded itself into the cork. 

The game owner winced a little before glaring at him, flashing his eyes. Ghost flashed his back and threw the second and third one. Luckily they both hit the balloons head on. 

“I want the seal.”

“Yes, sir.” He grabbed it and handed it to Ghost who immediately handed it to Soap. 

Soap vibrated, hugging it tight to his chest like it might be taken from him. “She’s perfect.”

“She?”

“I just feel like she’s a she.” Soap smiled at him. “Did you know harp seals only stay with their moms for 12 days? Then their moms leave them and they eventually learn to hunt on their own.” He looked so happy. 

Ghost smiled a little. “What else do you know about them?”

“Well… they’re sometimes called saddle backs because they look like they’re wearing saddles. And their moms can pick them out from hundreds of other pups by smell alone.” Soap continued to talk about seals as they walked. 

Ghost only interrupted him to ask if he wanted to go on the ferris wheel. Soap nodded and squeezed his hand tight. Ghost listened to him talk more. He had moved on from seals, now just talking about different customers he had dealt with recently. 

Simon liked his voice he decided. He pulled his mask down and Soap trailed off, taking his face in. 

“Fucking bonnie. You know that?” 

Ghost kissed him. He still tasted like the cotton candy. Soap kissed back and immediately pressed his tongue against him. Ghost opened his mouth for him, both of them trying to get as much as a taste as they could. 

When Soap pulled away to breath, he smiled at him. “Don’t get why you hide under a mask when you look like this.”

Ghost felt his heart pound. “Thank you. You’re the most gorgeous person I’ve ever seen.” 

Soap blushed and Ghost could hear his heart pounding. 

“I don’t… I always go too fast.” Ghost tried to explain. 

“That’s okay.” Soap smiled. “I won’t think you’re easy if you’re worried about that.” He laughed and kissed him again. All of the thoughts melted out of Ghost’s brain. 

Ghost nodded slowly. “What do you want me to do?” The ride was coming to an end. They were about to touch the ground. 

“Take me home?” Soap smiled. “Show me a good time, Simon.”

Ghost was a weak, weak man. He nodded and pulled him along. Ghost never took people back to his apartment but it was close by. The stuffed animal was left on the couch, neither of them wanting it to be in the room. He grabbed him and picked Soap up, kissing him more. 

They fell into bed and Soap immediately started to undressing himself. Ghost pulled back to watch him. Tan skin, small scars all over and gorgeous muscles. Ghost leaned down and kissed him all over, tasting him. His. All his. 

Soap buried his hands in Ghost’s hair as he bit down Soap’s chest. He sucked hickeys into his skin, marking him for himself. His gloved hands ran down Soap’s thighs, feeling the warmness of his skin. 

“Take the gloves off.” Soap ordered so Ghost did. His hands were rather cold but Soap pressed into them. Ghost grabbed lube and a condom and settled more properly between his legs. 

He sank his teeth into Soap’s inner thigh before running his tongue over the mark, listening to Soap pant softly. 

Slowly, Ghost worked him open with his fingers, still dotting his body with kisses. Once Soap was prepped, he finally undressed and moved closer. Soap’s gaze stayed on Ghost’s eyes as he gently pushed in. 

They tangled together, both gently moving. Ghost put his face in Soap’s neck. Soap was so warm. He never wanted to pull away. 

Ghost thrust in harder and Soap moaned, kissing him again. His nails raked down Ghost’s back, catching on some of his scars but mercifully, Soap did say anything. They kept kissing each other and Soap started to tense up underneath him. Ghost was quiet, listening to Soap’s soft moans. 

This wasn’t bad. This was good. He wanted Soap all to himself. Ghost started to pant softly as Soap’s nails dug in so hard they drew blood. 

Soap came and looked up at him, flustered and soft. 

“Come in, sweetheart. Don’t keep me waiting.” He whispered in Ghost’s ear and he whimpered, immediately following the order. 

Ghost pulled away briefly to get rid of the condom and grab something to clean up Soap before tangling back around him. He held Soap, nosing at hair to press closer. 

Soap waited for a few minutes, catching his breath before kissing Ghost’s nose. “I would stay longer, but I have to wake up early in the morning.” 

Ghost nodded, disappointment immediately flooding him. 

“See you tomorrow, right sweetheart?”

Ghost nodded immediately. 

Taglist: @the-snarky-dragon @elevenclouds @lukewarm-chickensoup @nervouspsychologynerd @korym @cthulhusstepmom @princess-heathen @revenge-of-the-bucket-demon @roachboy

[ackermental]

At this point, why would anyone want to watch Eurovision?

First they've rigged 2023 voting. And instead of showing any remorse, they've doubled down on it in an interval song that was supposed to be funny, but came out as extremly offensive. Sweden is turning into UK 2.0 with how pretentious they sound.

The stage looks cheap af. Guess they were shitting their pants with just the mere thought of organising this event in a bigger city. Because bigger city = bigger riots.

Then they've allowed Israel to participate and honestly what the actually fuck???? Everything that could be said about it has been said already, so all I have to add is that EBU didn't stop there! They've actually muted people booing the shit out of Israel's representative and replaced it with a clapping track.

That's some deep, dystopian propaganda shit from the Eastern Europe's 50'/60' reality.

And speaking of Eastern Europe, Ukraine singer has been spotted in a fucking BANDERACIAGA shirt???? What the hell? United by Music? I would say that it's more like United by Ethnic Cleansing out there. Nothing like honoring a man responsible for butchering 60 thousand people and a company accused of promoting pedophilia.

Fuck her.

All of the performances I've seen so far were medicore. The only ones that absolutely ate were Portugal, Croatia and my favorite: Armenia. (Estonia, Finland and Netherlands are great as well but in a 'lets go bananas' category). And honestly, if you wish to vote for anyone, even though I really believe we shouldn't vote at all, let it be Armenia. Great folk song, funny, pure happiness, amazing vocals with Witcher III vibes. And if anyone in this god forsaken competition deserves any support: it would be Armenia.

Did I mention that fucking Azerbaijan was also allowed to pariticipate. Again???

Yeah...

Have I forgotten anything?

Oh yeah, all of the artists are isolated from the audience by a big ass screen, so we can't witness any funny moments from them during the show. You know, in case anybody would like to flash out some Palestinian flag. Or if anybody from the audience wished to practice throwing their drinks at Israel delegation.

The atmosphere between participants feels heavy as fuck. No romance story between Norwegian Furrys and Spanish Belle this year for us. Or Italians trying to learn Ukrainian. Or people dancing together to the Train song.

Oh, and the guy who was basically singing this year's version of Love Love Peace Peace got cancelled. Possibly. We do not know.

Anyway. Do not watch the final. Do not vote. If you feel like you have to vote to stop Israel from winning, vote for Armenia or Croatia. Fuck EBU.

I hope this contest will burn tomorrow.

[nokingsonlyfooles]

I did not survive The Belko Experiment

You can stream this movie for free, and the spousecritter and I did. I heard James Gunn was involved and it was "like a cross between Office Space and Battle Royale" and we thought, "Hell yeah." We expected absurdist comedy. We got a halfway plot switch to a brutal anti-authoritarian screed that failed to stick the landing and just ended with a sick joke.

I'm glad it exists and I think it said things that need saying, but I didn't enjoy it and I won't watch it again. You're free to make up your own mind on that.

But I would like to share my personal experience with a similar "game."

We got to the point in the movie where the authoritarian shitstain was separating the older folks for a culling - the rules were, if the workers didn't kill an arbitrary amount of people in an arbitrary amount of time, the higher ups would kill twice as many people.

My spousecritter objected with disbelief, "Why would they do what he says? They know he is going to kill them!"

And I knew why. I hadn't thought about it in a long time, but I knew. I said, "They just have to kill the first one who pushes back..." and while I was saying this, they did, "and it has to be fast and brutal. Then the rest of them won't. They don't have enough time to think."

And I had to further explain that I knew this because a high school Environmental Science student shot me in the head.

Not with a real gun. This was a "game," Columbine had barely happened, and we weren't being collectively sensitive about school shootings yet.

It wasn't really a game or an experiment. It was rigged from the start. We were supposed to learn a lesson about the uneven distribution of resources - it is bad, and causes people to do bad things. Simple. Oversimplified, in fact, and pretty pointless for that reason. But this is a class wherein I got a good grade for "saving" an island environment in SimIsle by raising money with off-shore oil drilling, so... I appreciate that the teacher was trying.

We were divided into groups, proportionate to how the population of the world exists, with proportionate resources. This "First World" has all the food and money, the "Third World" has all the people and the "Second World" has a fairish amount of each. Here's the food, each one of you has some money, get enough calories to survive by the end of Round One or you will die.

Oh, and to make sure you take it seriously, if you die, you will fail this exercise.

Now, I had some real bad circumstances. I had a total breakdown freshman year, all my grades were shit that year, and if I wanted a GPA that looked college-ready (like my abusive parents wanted me to have) I needed straight As with no margin of error. I was doing well in Environmental Science, but if I failed that exercise, there would've been... let's be gentle and inclusive and call it "disproportionate real-world negative consequences."

I can't have been the only kid in that situation. It wouldn't have been all of us, maybe not even most of us, but enough of us were motivated and the chaos of trying to survive without enough food for everyone commenced.

I was in the Third World, with most of the class. The others did not think of sharing their food with us in the time allotted, if such a thing would've even been allowed. We had a few kids selected to be government officials, and they had a military. The military had the ability to "kill" us.

Demonstrably, there was not enough food for everyone to survive the round and the clock was ticking. The government tried to get us to line up and purchase our food in an orderly manner, and the ones at the back of the line would clearly die at the end of the round.

In this milling mass of desperate high-schoolers, I (an anarchist in egg form) refused to stay where I was put and cut the line. And before I could open my mouth to protest, a "soldier" pulled out a finger gun and shot me. "Boom. You're dead. Go sit down."

"I... Buh..." I do not have an easy time talking when my emotions get the better of me in situations I don't understand. Not that it would've made any difference.

"Boom," said the teenaged boy whose grades were not nearly as good as mine and who managed to get made into a soldier, with a smile. Maybe it was revenge, maybe just relief. "You're dead. Go sit down."

I staggered over to the designated "dead" area and sat on the floor. I was the first. I sat there by myself until the end of the round.

There was slightly more food for everyone, given that I'd died, but still nowhere near enough. I think I couple more kids got killed for fighting with each other, (I'm not sure. The infighting might not've started until Round Two) but the biggest influx starved to death because they were at the end of the line and there wasn't enough food for them, as intended.

One of my fellow dead human beings muttered, "This isn't fair," and I agreed. There were a few more rounds, but the point was the headcount at the end. How many dead people were from the Third World group? Most of 'em. A few from the Second, and none from the First.

There, children. This is why there's famine in Africa (it's really not). Oh, and I was just kidding about failing you. This wasn't for credit.

I felt relieved and horrible, which I suppose was the point, and then the bell rang and we all went to our next class.

The Belko Experiment gave its victims all day. We had about forty minutes. Either way, that is not enough time for a lot of scared human beings to come up with rational solutions. Within these narrow boundaries, there can be no revolution, no humanitarian aid, no simple kindness. People are gonna die so let's start making decisions NOW! Only the dead ones have a minute to think and go, "This isn't fair," and they're not playing the game anymore.

This is not how a person does science. It is a particularly brutal method of storytelling, and, as an adult with more agency and experience, I think it's garbage. If you need to see people behave like snarling animals to make your point, there are much easier ways to force them to do that. But, the people running these "experiments" don't trust human beings to turn on each other, so they stack the deck from a position of authority with a threat of violence - whether they understand they're threatening violence or not.

If you leave people alone and let them exist out of crisis mode, sometimes they help each other. I think, with better social circumstances, that would happen more often, and faster. But even as it is, sometimes they help each other. And that's not what we want to see. If people help each other when we leave them alone in a game environment... What the hell are we doing that prevents them from doing that in the real world?

Uh, I think we're, um, stacking the deck from a position of authority with a threat of violence, fam. Just to start. There's a lot of other stuff, it's real complicated, but we're definitely doing that.

We don't have to. We don't have bombs in our heads or a teacher who can ruin our lives with a red pen. We have police and politicians, I guess, but they're usually not in the room and they can't control you if you don't do what they say. School's out. And you can just feed people. Ever wonder what else you can do?

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Team RWBY as also "bad protagonists" because they apparently don't affect the main plot or at least aren't constantly driving the main storyline forth at a nonstop pace. Yeah that also baffles me because "team RWBY don't affect the main plot" How? They are the main plot!

I think it's partly motivated by a mentality that they "don't do enough" or "don't do it correctly".

The kinds of things that Team RWBY tends to do are more about the value of small and partial victories, the resilience and healing needed to keep going in the face of relentless evil or failures by forming strong bonds with each other, and the willingness to lean on others and trust others to continue the fight when you've fallen down.

A running theme of most views like the original point was making seems to operate on the notion that the only valuable thing a protagonist should do is big, grandiose absolute victories that fix everything perfectly and put them as the big saviors whom all should respect and defer to.

In other words, a lot like how a lot of people seemed to think Adam and Ironwood would be.

But the series actively skewered and dissects this mentality, with those two being highlighted more and more overtime as being intensely self-righteous at best and downright monstrous because all they really care about is their own grandiose fantasies at the expense of others.

Hell, Ozpin, even if his own goals were better-intended, suffered from this issue for millennia, since his belief that he was the only one who could oppose Salem and fixation on the bigger picture meant that he constantly overlooked how his "perfect world order" was cracking and falling apart at the seams because of the numerous small failings and societal issues he considered to be less important than defeating Salem (whom was smart enough to recognize his bad habits and exploited it ruthlessly), and arguably to the point of overlooking the possibility that his entire quest set to him by his God was likely never intended to succeed in the first place, because his goal was fundamentally impossible.

RWBY is a story about the small victories, how they can inspire others to try their best, even if only a little bit, and how the little things can build and improve to truly enacting change, in ways that grandiose gestures and fixation on bigger glories can overlook, or outright actively harm. How much the small things we do to help others can snowball into bigger and more profound impacts because we as people remember to actually care about others, instead of seeing them as a stepping stone for "the main characters".

And more than anything, that justice and a better world is a living and breathing organism that needs to be cultivated and nurtured with care and compassion, acknowledging and addressing the warts and all of society and that the fight never ends no matter how much people might want a guaranteed "happily ever after". Not forced at gunpoint or by "purging the problems until they go away" by those who think everything should be solved by the egomaniacs with the biggest god complexes.

That's exactly it. This isn't a story where we find a giant superweapon or where we have a series of battles where some win and some lose. Salem is immortal, infinitely patient, and the game is rigged against them. The only way to win is to change the fundamental narrative of Remnant itself. It's a story about broadening your understanding, learning to get back up, accepting yourself. Which often leads to cool battles, yes, because the demons of human nature here occasionally have the form of literal demons you can shoot in the face.