#if he wasn’t with the Ocelots then he was with her

[froggychair05]

Sorry if this was asked before or already mentioned in the fic, but how did petra and lukas or lukas and aiden meet each other?

No worries!! I think I might have mentioned Aiden (I forget where, so I’ll say it again) but I know I didn’t mention Petra.

Lukas met all of the Ocelots in middle school. They were assigned to a project together and just stayed hanging out. They’d seen each other around before then, of course, but they only became friends then. (Lukas has always felt a little out of place, but he’s also just happy to have friends.)

As for Petra, she and Lukas met in high school. I think Jack and Nurm would have moved around a lot for their job, so Petra was never in one place for long. She was the new girl at school and quickly gained a reputation for being outspoken and hotheaded, so teachers sat her next to Lukas because he was one of the quiet kids. One day Lukas was just really upset for some reason and Petra noticed, so she tried to cheer him up and they became friends. It didn’t take long for them to become as close as they are now.

[theblue6ook]

A Quiet Day

Summary: Bruce does not like celebrating his birthday. All of the pomp and circumstance was very “Bruce Wayne Bachelor,” but it wasn’t him. He wants quiet, he wants easy, he wants focus. So Y/N gives him that.

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x fem!reader

a/n: I tried to add everyone who wanted to be on the tag list, but let me know if I missed you! [B (24) & Y/N (22)]

“Happy Birthday, Master Bruce,” he heard Alfred over the speaker system. 

Bruce couldn’t help but gaze at the digital clock built into his car console. Well, maybe a tank console? Lucious Fox said it was called the Tumbler, but the name just didn’t feel right to him. It was a birthday present he had told Bruce, and Bruce would call it what he liked... when he thought of a name. He was patrolling, as he does, except this time, he would take his new Waynetech Tank out for a spin. Nope, that name feels wrong too.

“Thank you, Alfred.” 

“Anything special planned this year, sir.”

“You know there’s not,” he chuckled.

“I wasn’t sure if you were getting bold with birthdays,” he could feel Alfred's grin, “considering what an extravagant time Ms. Y/N had.” 

“Just doing something nice for a friend, Alfred.”

Friend. That was nice to say. It’s easy to make friends when you’re a twenty-three - well, now a twenty-four-year-old billionaire. Bruce had never been low on friendships, but he had been low on real friendships. Of course, he had good friends. Rachel, Alfred, Lucius, and Jack Drake, to name a few, but that was all before The Bat. After he had left Gotham, he’d been through a lot. He’d been alone a lot. None of them would ever understand what he went through, who he was now. When he had trained, you’d be "assigned" friends. People you had to work with, save. He had met people who would and had died for him. How can you come back to trivial friendships after that?

And when you don’t water something, it dies. So, friendships slowly crumbled. Shriveled away. It wasn’t in a huge, dramatic way, but in a lost touch way. People didn’t want to deal with the Bruce Wayne he really was, a workaholic, stressed, easily annoyed, quick, and yet she didn’t care.

Y/N had come along, and he was used to the petty fights, people making up their minds, even leaving. They'd slowly given up on him. But she didn’t. They could fight all day long, and by the end, he’d be frustrated, grabbing his coat and announcing it was the end of the day for him. She’d look up at him and say, "See you tomorrow."

Once, he had questioned her about it, half joking and half not, “You’re not going to walk out and never come back?” 

She had looked at him strangely and scoffed, “Bruce, it’s fine if we argue and argue and move on. That’s friendship. That’s life.”

“That’s life?” he had asked sarcastically.

“Yeah. Now get over it and get out,” she had smirked at him.

So, they fight, and they move on, and they fight, and they move on, and Bruce doesn’t mind at all. At the end of the day, he knows he’ll see her the next, and then he does. It’s consistent, and god knows he could use some consistency. 

“A good friend gives back,” Alfred stated. “Maybe she’ll plan you a party.”

God, he hopes not.

-

Y/N had been conspiring. Bruce had made her birthday like nothing she had ever imagined, and even if her ex-finance had soiled the evening, she was grateful. So she wanted to do something special for him, except… he didn’t really seem like he wanted to do anything. Everyone in the office was talking about The Bruce Wayne’s birthday except for Bruce Wayne himself. 

Y/N knew she never typically saw his party side, aside from him hopping into the fountain at The Ocelot. The Bruce she knew was more reserved, quiet, and calculated. Plus, when it came to the topic of his birthday, it’s like he shut the complete conversation down. So, how do you plan something for the one person who wants nothing?

You don’t.

At least you don’t plan a party; you make the day itself special. Bruce hated meetings, so she moved them. He loved the bagel place she showed him down by Dorthie’s Flowers, so she scheduled a nice lunch. The last time she was in Dorthie’s, John had told her that violets were Bruce’s birth flower, so she put some in the office. Finally, for the last hour of their workday, she had a cake, nothing special, she had made it with Carrie last night, and a few birthday cards. 

She was nervous as hell. Giving something to the man who can afford everything is more nerve-wracking than she thought it would be. 

Bruce had arrived at his typical noon timeline. He stepped into the office with caution, just praying what had happened in the past years wouldn’t happen today. When he did occasionally come into the office years ago, past assistants and coworkers would plan some Bruce Wayne Birthday Happy Hour where everyone would get plastered, and he would sneak off annoyed. He knew Y/N knew him better than that. Or at least he hoped she did.

When he stepped into the office, there were no decorations, no music, and no surprises so far. He let out a breath. There was Y/N battling it out on the phone like she usually is. She waved at him and mouthed to him I can’t do phone calls anymore, rolling her eyes. He chuckled, stepping into his office.

Violets.

It wasn’t abnormal for Y/N to grab flowers for the office. She was dear friends with his florist, but violets made him think of his mother. Every birthday, his mother would go through the grueling tale of his birth just to tease him. 

“Thomas, you don’t get to laugh. You were no help!” she squealed. “Anyways, my dear Brucie. I was in the worst pain of my life bringing you into this world. All I wanted was my ice chips when our doctor started going on about birth flowers to distract me.”

“It annoyed her to no end-”

“Stop interrupting me, Thomas,” she had giggled, and Bruce had done the same. “Anyways, I was trying to bring you into this world, and he tells me, ‘ma’am it sounds like your son’s birth flower will be a violet. I never cared for violets.’ And I thought, what a terrible thing to say to a mother. So I kicked him out, and the nurse and I worked hard for you.” 

“She’s not joking, son.”

“But now, every birthday I just have to douse the house in violets for my sweet Brucie.”

 Bruce stepped closer, touching the edge of the petals with his fingertips. It had been a while since he’d been given any flowers... but violets, he was sure he had only gotten them from Mama.

There was a light cough behind him, and he turned to see a bashful Y/N. “So, no meetings today, but we have some paperwork to go through.”

“No meetings?” he questioned. That would be a first.

“Yeah, this donator work really should take priority,” she tried to act casually. “Oh, and I was going to run to Upper East Bagel later if you want to come.”

“We’re not getting delivery?”

“Well, it’s nice outside,” she started innocently. Bad lie, she thought. It’s February. It’s never nice. “I figured I’d walk, but if you want me to go by myself I can grab something for you.”

Bruce scoffed, “You’re not walking by yourself in Gotham.”

She grinned. Bait taken. 

For the few hours before lunch, they worked on paperwork. The donator paperwork did take up a chunk of time. There were so many details like which benefits he needed to attend, which non-profits were approved for the Wayne Charity donation program, etc. He was whipped, and even worse, he was hungry. Stepping toward the door, he leaned on the frame. Y/N was digging through one of her bags, and he cleared his throat.

“Bageles?”

She grinned, “I’m literally starving.”

Y/N was excited, not just for the bagel, but because as soon as they walked down to get their lunch, Alfred was going to come and help her set up Bruce’s office. Again, nothing crazy, a cake, cards, and maybe a balloon. It was nothing that should take long. She even had everything in a tote bag under her desk. 

The bagel line wasn’t long, and they didn’t have any issues other than a few people recognizing Bruce and wishing him a happy birthday. When they did, he’d look at her curiously. While Y/N had no reaction, Bruce was suspicious. So, she knows it’s my birthday, and she hasn’t said anything. Not that Bruce cared about things like that, but Y/N wasn’t the type to forget or be silent on the subject. She had only glanced at him innocently, batting her lashes, “Should we eat lunch in the park?

Bruce humored her, so they sat in Gotham Park and ate their lunch. While the bagel was great, it was fucking freezing outside. Y/N looked over at Bruce, pleasantly eating his bagel. It didn't look like the cold had bothered him at all. Despite not being cold, the whole ordeal had Bruce's mind moving. God, please no office parties when we get back. 

He was on edge stepping back into the office, waiting for some insane ordeal… but nothing. They took the elevator straight up to his office, and walked in by Y/N’s desk and… nothing. He breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she forgot and didn’t want to say anything. Y/N walked casually over to her desk and set her purse down while Bruce put the code into his office door and stepped inside. There was a balloon attached to his desk chair, a cake that was clearly not from a bakery, and cards. 

He chuckled, looking through them. One from Rachel and Harvey Dent, one from Alfred, one from Lucious, one from Jack Drake (who he hadn’t spoken to in so long), and one from Y/N. Except it wasn’t just from Y/N; her brothers had signed it with little notes and doodles, and Carrie had signed a nice message as well. 

It was so simple, so homely, and wonderful.

“Happy Birthday,” Y/N appeared behind him with a couple of paper dessert plates.

He looked at her but said nothing. In the best way, he didn’t know what to say, and suddenly she became nervous.

“I know it’s not much, and you probably have friends planning something crazy, but,” she paused, unsure of herself, “it’s just… you didn’t really seem like you wanted a party.” 

Bruce chuckled quietly. “I don’t,” he said honestly. “I’ve had friends plan a few insane things over the years, and I’m grateful, but I never really felt like celebrating my birthday without-” He stopped, a little embarrassed. “I sound like a child.”

“You don’t,” she stepped over to him, bumping his shoulder with her own.

“Yeah, I do,” he mumbled.

“After my mother left, I tried to make birthdays special for my brothers, but my dad didn’t really celebrate, and neither did I,” she wasn’t sure why she was whispering. Maybe it was the close proximity between them, or maybe it was because she had never admitted what she was about to say aloud. “John, Carrie, even Russ, they all tried to make things special for me, but… I didn’t want to celebrate. I’d always leave early or fake a headache.”

“I didn’t know your mom left,” he replied back.

“I don’t really talk about it. It’s not like it’s a secret, but I don’t know. It feels so awkward to mention.”

“It’s awkward to mention your dead parents too,” he looked over at her, grinning. 

“At least you know they loved you,” she cringed like she regretted what she said. “Sorry, that was a lot.”

“I get it,” he said honestly.

“So, cake,” she quickly diverted the topic.

Bruce smiled. A real true smile, “Cake.”

@pank0w @moejoeflow @padsfirewhisky @maxinehufflepuffprincess @pastelsweaters-and-bubble-t @mariadvorak @100520s @st0rmyt

[about-faces]

Batman: Caped Crusader, Episodes 1-2 thoughts (SPOILERS)

First things first, Harvey is as bad as I’d expected. I honestly can’t tell whether this is worse than the version we got in the last Timm-produced animated Batman show, “Beware the Batman.” That Harvey was a humorless prick straight out of the William Atherton school of jerkasses, while this one is a smug sleazebag who would be someone you’d love to hate if he weren’t also a complete inversion of a great tragic hero turned villain.

I’m just so sick of people portraying Harvey as a politician first and foremost, performing for the cameras and thinking about his career ambitions. I’m sick of him being a corrupt asshole and even an authoritarian. I’m sick him being two-faced, when the irony of his character is that he himself never WAS. Now that that’s out of my system, I’ll move on, because I know he has an arc in store that may prove more interesting than the usual Asshole Harvey takes.

They tried several things with the Penguin, and I’m not sure they gelled into anything that worked for me this time out. Making her a woman, that’s no problem, and I appreciate her classic style and appearance in a time when everyone just wants to turn Cobblepot into a boring Tony Soprano knockoff.

Ultimately, though, it all just served to make her a standard “Ma Barker” archetype. You know, the alleged matriarchal crime boss who was killed by Hoover’s FBI, who may have dragged her name through the mud to excuse their killing of an old woman? There used to be several takes on her in pop culture, although nowadays the only famous one is probably Ma Beagle from “DuckTales.”

With that in mind, they should have just cast Margo Martindale. Excuse me, didn’t use her full name: Beloved Character Actress Margo Martindale. Minnie Driver is a fantastic actress (I’m still mad that “The Riches” was not only cancelled but totally forgotten), but it was a waste not to let her use her real accent. As it was, she was fine, but she didn’t bring anything special to match the physical design. As an actress, she deserved more to play with.

Also, “Oswalda” is a terrible fake name. Like come on guys, you can do better. That’s on par with Revolver Ocelot’s real Russian name being “Adamska.”

The biggest problem with this take on Penguin is that she’s set up as some kind of brilliant mastermind, only to act incredibly stupid, reckless, and gullible. She kills not one but two innocent goons, including her own son, without so much as an investigation or even keeping tabs on the suspected rats to use them as pawns against Thorne! To paraphrase Dijkstra from the “Witcher” books, you don’t kill spies, you USE them. You feed them misinformation! You blackmail them into being double agents! This Penguin is bad at her job, so no wonder she loses everything within hours. It’s amazing she was able to build a crime empire in the first place!

I also dislike Bullock being a corrupt cop in the mob’s pocket. That fits Flass perfectly, but Bullock? Fuck no. Bullock IS dirty, but he’s dirty in a very acceptable way to cops. He’s brutal, he cuts corners, he’s crass, and he’s probably not above planting or concealing evidence, but selling out to the mob? Hell no. That’s just wrong. Hate that choice. Unless it’s a misdirection. This show sure does love its misdirections from what I’ve seen so far.

Batman himself is… fine. He’s Batman. He’s not a bad Batman. He’s serviceable but unremarkable. But at least he wasn’t an irritating asshole, which is more than I can say for most Batman depictions these days. I liked Bruce trying his “falling off a boat” joke a second time, delivered verbatim after it flopped with Barbara.

Barbara being a defense attorney is a rather contrived choice, one that gets to put her at odds with Harvey while also giving her a professional in with both Batman and Gordon. Essentially, she’s in the role Harvey Dent is supposed to play. Except here she’s a defense attorney, which SHOULD put her at odds with her dad, since lawyers and cops don’t seem to like one another, for SOME reason!

And Harvey, even as District Attorney, can’t be in the role of legal ally to either Gordon, because the story is far more focused on making him a mayoral candidate who throws people under the bus for his own advancement! Feh.

Anyway, that was episode one. It was fine, I guess.

The screenplay is by novelist and DC veteran Greg Rucka, so of course Renee Montoya is the central focus. Seeing her interact with Sleazebag Harvey gave me war flashbacks to what Rucka did with Renee and Harvey in the comics: setting them up with a poignant dynamic of tenuous respect and kindness before dashing it all with “Gotham Central: Half a Life,” which solidified the perception of Harvey as a creepy, obsessive stalker for a generation of fans. That version of them was very much of display here. Sigh.

Also, Lucius Fox is Bruce’s lawyer now? Why? And also, what the hell? God, poor Lucius. He starts off in comics as the guy actually running Wayne Enterprises, then “Batman: The Animated Series” makes him Bruce’s right-hand-man, then Nolan and Goyer get the inspired idea to make him the Q to Bruce’s 007, while the comics don’t know what to do with him and even make him an authoritarian to cause friction with his vigilante son, and now this? It’s such a random choice. There’s no reason why this character should be Lucius. Hell, Lucius could have shown up there WITH the lawyer and that would have been fine. As it is, it’s just weird.

That said! I overall liked this episode an awful lot! For DECADES now, I’ve wanted to see someone remember that Basil Karlo was an older actor in the classic horror movie vein (his name is literally a combination of Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff), but ever since “Batman: The Animated Series,” everyone has just tried to make him BTAS’ Matt Hagen. Like, I really liked the “One Bad Day” issue for Clayface, where he gradually killed his way to the top of Hollywood stardom, but even that was still BTAS Hagen, the Serious Actor, not Karlo, the old horror ham actor.

But with this episode, someone finally drew on the old Hollywood horror roots of the character, and they found a way to combine his shape shifting abilities into the mix! I’m so happy!

Of course, this is me, so I still have criticisms. Like, I think it was unnecessary to frame it as a mystery, because that added unnecessary complications. I know the original Clayface story was a whodunnit and you can’t do that now that everyone knows that Karlo is Clayface. I was annoyed by the misdirection of Karlo’s “death,” in part because I feared this would be another Clever Subversion, just like how the animated adaptations of “Gotham By Gaslight,” “Hush,” and “The Long Halloween” purposely went against expectations from the source material in stupid ways. Hell, they’re doing the same thing now with Penguin (“But wait, there’s a twist: she’s a woman!”) and Harvey (“But wait, there’s a twist: he’s an asshole!”), so I was afraid this Clayface would end up being someone else entirely. I was okay with it in the end, but I’m annoyed at the cheap fakeout as a plot point.

Furthermore, I don’t get why Basil disguised himself as the doctor (whose name I don’t remember) for the benefit of the actress (whose name I don’t remember) he had chained up in his hideout. What benefit was there in making her think he was the doctor? She was already aware she was a prisoner and was scared, so why the facade? It served no purpose in context, only just to misdirect the viewers.

This is what happens when you try to make something a mystery when it would work better as a thriller. Stop trying to wow audiences with twists and surprises when you could just be focusing on telling a good story. So what if everyone figures out Karlo is Clayface? Who cares! Just go with it! Let them be in on it while Batman and Montoya figure it out themselves, that’s where the tension lies! Stop trying to be clever.

Regardless, I really liked this episode. I want this to now be the canon comics origin for Basil Karlo’s Clayface. Just explain that the treatments for his face gradually affected his whole body, and boom, you’ve successfully explained how classic Slasher Clayface became Mud Monster Clayface. This is how Karlo should always be written from now on. If you really want a sensitive, angsty lug Clayface, bring back Hagen. Let Karlo be the gloriously hammy monster with aspirations of stardom.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for trying to take over the Tri-State Area?

I (M47) am an evil scientist. WAIT! DON’T VOTE YTA YET! I know, I know, “evil” has a bad connotation, but put your biases aside for a minute and hear me out! You see, it all started when I was born, and—

Actually, now that I think about it, if I type up my entire life story I’ll be here for, like, at least an hour, and I wanted to go to the movies later. They’re showing some film adaptation of this soap opera series I’ve been watching with my friend enemy pet acquaintance. It’s gonna be wicked! Not a dry eye in the house, I’m positive, and if any eye in the house dares to stay dry, I’m smuggling in some homemade onion spray! It pays to be prepared.

Anywayyyy, back to the point. I’ll try to be brief. The point is, what I was saying in the first place about how when I was born yadda yadda yadda? Yeah, that was all leading up to a really long story about my terrible childhood—no birthday cake, raised by ocelots, my best friend floated away, I got tricked into coming to America, which let me tell you was NOT as fun as you’d think, and I went on a single date with a future popstar… You know, your typical traumatic upbringing. Yeah, and adult hod? Wasn’t that great either.

Evil science wasn’t my first method of self-expression, but regular science didn’t work (baking soda volcano, enough said), and art didn’t work (I don’t want to talk about it), and even poetry didn’t work (also a baking soda volcano! sheesh!). With evil science, I can pursue my passions while also getting revenge and power on the side!! It’s a win-win! Well, for me, anyway. If you don’t count the part where I don’t win. Look, taking over the Tri-State area wasn’t even my idea! It was the popstar girl I went on one date with. If you’re going to call someone TA, it should be her! Not me.

My POINT is, I’ve had a hard life! I think if anyone deserves to let off some steam and take over a few states, it’s me. Unfortunately, my worst enemy best friend nemesis this guy from work disagrees. He’s super judgmental and I don’t care what he thinks, but he’s all about being a good person, so maybe if he sees all you good people on the Internet agree with me like you obviously will, he’ll be a pal and let me win once in a while! Nothing like the power of peer pressure, let me tell you. This one time when I was a young boy in Gi

[Mod Notice: The rest of this post has been removed due to exceeding backstory guidelines by eight hundred sixty-four words. Don’t worry—everything you need to make a decision is already here. -CK]

[frieschan]

QUERENCIA, chapter 3

(n.) where one feels home ; the place where you are your most authentic self

pairing - hybrid! ot7 x bunny hybrid! male! reader

genre - 18+, college au, hybrid au, fluff, eventual angst, eventual smut, humour

summary - you, a rabbit hybrid away from home to study, run into a group of surprisingly friendly and calm (also very attractive) predators who are a pack and live together suddenly run into your life like a bulldozer. the dull days of your life may turn into days of joy and laughter, or will the days turn into gloom and a sad everafter?

warnings (this chapter) - use of curseword, someone blacking out

word count - 2.9k

prev // masterlist // next

You and Jihoon were staying at your apartment. Having a fun little sleepover since her major was kicking her ass at the moment. It was around mid-morning, 9 am. To your absolute shock, The ocelot hybrid has woken up at a normal-ish time. Only bad part was that she suddenly wanted to bake something at your house, together. You didn't have any baking supplies or appliances, mostly finding yourself to be the type to cook instead of bake.

"C'mon! let's go to the mall and shop!"-

"And you're going to pay..?"

"Hell yeah! I got my allowance from my girlfriend!"

"God I feel bad for her...."

"I'm being a good girlfriend ya know!!"

That was how you found yourself at a mall, with an ecstatic Jihoon, excited to spend every dime and dollar she had on creating baked goods. You were sure you’d be the one doing half, if not all the work though. You and Jihoon arrive at the department store of the mall, her already dragging you to the appliances section to buy the needed equipment. You looked at all the mixers, pots, pans, all the baking galore. They all looked as you expect, pretty much perfect and shiny. One of the mixing stands had caught your eye, it looked like any other mixer but it had an adorable rose-gold color. You just felt the need to have it so you approached it, not minding the wild Jihoon behind you that was close to breaking just about everything in the store. You held your breath as you were about to flip the price tag to show you how much it was, quickly releasing it when you realized it was a good price. As you were about to turn around and tell Youngji about it, your words stuck in your throat as you saw a familiar wolf hybrid

“Hey Y/N! Meet my friends, Namjoon and Hoseok!” Jihoon waved you down from the tool section of the store. You gulped down your nerves and walked to them.

“Hey there bun, we met on the metro right?” Namjoon greeted you with a dimpled smile and hand stretched out. “I’m Namjoon, The wolf you met.”

You took his hand with a shy smile and red cheeks. This certainly wasn’t how you were expecting to see the two of them again. “Y/N, if it isn’t obvious enough I’m a bunny” You laughed nervously.

You then looked at his friend next to him, He was near Namjoon’s height. A fox hybrid. He had sharp features, a perfect nose, high cheekbones, and a heart grin on his lips. He was just as handsome as the rest of the guys you’ve met these days. Seeing as you were looking at him, he introduced himself

“I’m Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi!” He greeted with an excited grin plastered on his face. The moment he had your hand, he shook it aggressively with his tail wagging behind him. Honestly, if he wasn’t a fox, he’d be a dog hybrid with how energetic he is. You loved his energy though! He was like the best friend you never knew you needed. He was honestly adorable, another potential for a mate.

“Anyway, what brings you two here!” Jihoon exclaimed, puffing up her chest and pushing out more of her alcohol-smelling scent. You almost forgot Jihoon was an alpha, and that you forgot to stuff your nose and scent glands with scent blockers.

“Well Jihoon, we were out doing errands for a pack member.” Namjoon answered while Hobi was side-eyeing Jihoon, looking her up and down with distaste on his face and his tail swishing behind his back. It was honestly hilarious

“No wonder! I was about to ask why the great Namjoon was in the baking section when he’d burn a damn house down!”

“Oh fuck off Jihoon, you’d set a neighborhood on fire with your skills.” Namjoon retorted with a roll of his eyes, right before bursting out laughing with Hobi. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the antics of the three.

“Since Hobi and Y/N have the most skill out of us, you two can lead the group while me and Namjoon will just be behind the two of you” Jihoon suggested with a grin, quick to push the two of you to the front with a glint in her eye that you couldn’t understand. I mean, this was Jihoon, she was probably just gonna be weird with Namjoon.

You started walking with Hobi, keeping your eyes straight ahead and trying not to embarrass yourself in front of him. You did take a few quick glances at him and he looked so calm, with a lazy smile on his face to reflect his attitude at the moment. You didn’t notice that with your actions at the moment, you were unconsciously pushing out your scent without knowing.

“I like your scent, Y/N” Hobi softly smiled at you, looking back at him with red cheeks. “It makes me feel calm honestly”

“I’m guessing you like the smell of baked goods?” You giggled softly, taking a deep breath before offering him your wrist. He in return, was quite surprised at your action but welcomed it. Hobi didn’t grab your wrist, but instead just softly smelled your scent gland and smiled. He really is a gentleman. You were grateful that he was an alpha that was one of a kind, an alpha that was kind and treated omegas with respect. He pulled away and offered you a thankful heart grin.

“You can take my wrist if you’d like..”

“Oh no it’s alright, just your scent from here is enough. You were kind of pushing it out a bit..” He teased you and laughed, not a mocking laugh but an amused laugh. His laugh was contagious, it was like something that triggered a domino effect to anyone who heard it, you just happened to be one of those people.

“I mean, I’m not the one that likes my scent.” You laughed with him and smacked his arm lightly with a grin that mirrored his. You saw how his tail was wagging around excitedly and shaked with each one of his laughs.

As the two of you laughed, you didn’t notice how Jihoon and Namjoon were somewhat conversing seriously. Their tails still, their gazes were neutral and close to cold. Jihoon’s arms were behind her back while Namjoon’s were crossed.

“You’re interested in courting Y/N to be packmate?” Jihoon said cooly and glared at Namjoon, close to baring her teeth at him. Namjoon simply nodded at her, keeping his stance and showing he isn’t scared of her.

“I’ll have you know, Y/N is my packmember in the pack of my girlfriend and I. You’ll need to get our approval first before you’ll be able to court him. You and your pack better be ready to work for it.”

“We are. My pack and I have already talked about it and we are ready to prove that we are more than capable of taking care of whatever Y/N needs.” 

“Then, we’ll be talking more about this later. When your pack is present and when my girlfriend is present. I’ll talk to Y/N if he’s interested.. And if he’s not..”

Jihoon was quick to move, grabbing Namjoon by his collar even if she was a few inches shorter, the two of them so close together. She made sure to push out more of her scent and to bare her teeth at him. Jihoon was going to show him who had the authority over you between the two of them. Jihoon was also smart enough to make sure the two of you were far enough away so they couldn’t smell the bitterness of her scent currently.

“You better fucking stay away, Namjoon.” Jihoon growled, before dropping his collar and walking away, back to their spot previously behind the two of you. “Good luck, dear pack alpha.” Jihoon mouthed at Namjoon before turning back to you guys and smiling at your interaction with Hobi. Jihoon could see the way you looked at Hobi, the same sparkle in your eye like when you had a boyfriend. Jihoon swore on her life that she will protect you no matter what and no matter what it takes.

“Well, I didn’t know it was already 7 in the afternoon.” You said while glaring at Jihoon, her chuckling nervously in return. “How the hell did we even stay here for 9 hours?!”

Hobi laughed while Namjoon just sighed. “Hobi and I can take you guys home with all the stuff you brought” He offered.

“Are you sure? I live kind of far from the mall.” You said dejectedly, truly you were grateful for the offer, but you were scared to burden the two alphas when you were sure you and Jihoon could find another way home. The alphas were quick to comfort you and pat you on the head, saying that it was more than alright for them to take the both of you home. Little did you know, they had started to smell the rain on your scent which in turn made them worried so they were quick to comfort you.

You watched as the two alphas haul all the stuff into the truck on Hobi’s car, which was a black Porsche Panamera GTS that has Jihoon absolutely awestruck while you were just making silly faces on your reflection that was on the car. The two alphas have succeeded in hauling all the stuff into the trunk, Namjoon’s strength helping well. 

“I’m calling shotgun!” Jihoon said with a grin, before looking at Namjoon with an unreadable expression. It was as if Jihoon was testing him, but you didn’t read too much into the situation. Opting to just get into the car and wait for the rest to also go in.

The car ride was fairly quiet, Jihoon and Hobi occasionally making jokes and talking about how each of them have been, and Jihoon telling Hobi what your address is. You occasionally heard a mention of a ‘Jungkook’ or a ‘Yoongi’ but you were sure it was probably just a coincidence. A lot of people possibly had that name anyway. You decided to just admire the outside, seeing either dozens of trees or dozens of buildings. 

The 4 of you had finally arrived at your apartment. The werewolf and fox quick to get out and bring all the stuff into the lobby and get ready to get on the elevator, you and Jihoon trying to help but the other two were adamant about letting the ladies do minimal work. Now you were in your apartment, organizing all the stuff while Jihoon kept Hobi and Namjoon entertained. You couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but with Jihoon’s chatty nature, you were sure she kept the two of them busy. Just as you finished putting the last piece of equipment into one of your cabinets, you rushed into the living room.

“I apologize if my apartment is a bit small and messy, I didn’t have time to clean it” You smiled apologetically at Hobi and Namjoon. “Jihoon also made a big mess.” Which was followed by a chorus of complaints from the ocelot and laughs from the fox and wolf. 

“Don’t worry about it bun, Hobi and I are about to leave anyway.” Namjoon said dejectedly, wanting to stay a bit more in your apartment. Hobi looked just the same as his pack member. “Namjoon needs to continue doing his nerdy things and I need to rehearse for a dance competition.” 

Your ears had perked up when you heard the word dance from Hobi’s mouth. He did look lean but flexible like a dancer. “Since the both of you are leaving, I’ll give you two my number so we can talk more and maybe hangout next time?” You smiled, hoping they’d accept and that the three of you would grow closer. Namjoon looked at Jihoon with a questioning glance, Jihoon responding with a nod. The two of them jumped up from the couch to copy your number and save it, after that they bid goodbye and left your apartment.

“They were really nice..” You whispered with a big grin, quick to drop onto the couch and giggle like a highschool girl with a crush.

“You like them?” Jihoon asked, looking up at her with a thinking face. You nodded. 

“I don’t know if they like me though, or even if their pack would want me in.” 

“Oh trust me ‘mega, they do like you.” She smiled while patting your head, careful not to brush your ears on accident. “They’re a 7 member pack, with only alphas.” 

You looked at Jihoon, shocked, and confused on why it sounded somewhat familiar.

“Their pack is interested in courting you ‘mega… I trust Namjoon and Hobi enough to let them court you, but Yuna and I need to talk to their pack first. Is that alright?” Jihoon said softly, you looked up at her with the happiest grin and eyes that held a big sparkle.

You jumped up from your position and tackled Jihoon from her spot on the couch, hugging her and squealing about how thankful you were. Then you started getting emotional, tears prickling and about to burst while your lips were shaking.

“Do you think.. Do you think they’ll be better than him? Do you think I’ll finally try love again?” You whispered while hugging Jihoon tight. You could feel her rubbing your back and comforting you to the best of her abilities.

“I know they’ll be better than him ‘mega, he never deserved you.. He was nothing but garbage and you were just too deep in it.” Jihoon comforted you, one hand rubbing your back and the other scratching behind your ear.

“Would you like me to get Yuna to come here and we’ll have a big cuddling sesh while watching netflix?”

“Yes please..”

Right now, you were walking home in the rain from your classes. There were only three classes that lasted around an hour and 10 minutes. You had your headset on, playing some piano instrumentals. Your left hand was holding the umbrella while the right was hugging your shoulder tote close. The rain wasn’t too hard but it was safer to not drive in the weather. The path you were taking was a path that not a lot of people took, not that it was those sketchy alleys, but it was more because it was a residential area that was mostly full of old people. 

As you walked, you noticed a man crouched and hunched over a box, he had an umbrella covering him and the box and he was seemingly trying to grab what was inside. That was until you heard it, you heard the whimpers of a bunny. The moment you heard it, you immediately sped-walk to the same box the man was huddled over, in fear and worry of what was wrong with the bunny.

The man saw you and was worried about what you were about to do, but when he got a glimpse of your rabbit ears, he knew it was better to let you do what you wanted. 

“Oh god, is the bunny alright?”

“I’m not sure, I just saw it out here while walking to the convenience store.”

You started to feel the worry bubble up inside you and you didn’t notice you started lightly thumping your foot. The man looked at you and you looked back. He had plushy lips and slightly chubby cheeks. You could see his leopard ears and his tail curled up underneath him, seemingly trying to avoid the rain. His dark brown and curly hair were a pretty contrast to his brightly colored ears. You then got hit by his scent, it was a smell of toasty wood, indicating he is an alpha.

“I feel like it’d be better if you were the one to take the poor thing home, I don’t think it would like being surrounded by me and my pack. Plus, you are also a rabbit.”

You nodded in response, putting your umbrella in between your armpit and grabbing the box and hugging it to your chest. It had a singular bunny, it was a black bunny that reminded you of your nieces and nephews. The leopard introduced himself as Jin and asked for your number, so he could ask for updates on the bunny and help take care of it. 

“It was nice meeting you Jin and I hope you make it home safely.”

You dictated your number before giving him a thankful smile and walking away, making sure to be cautious with the rabbit. 

After 10 minutes of walking home with the bunny, you arrived home and rushed to get inside your house. Texting Jihoon about the situation and deciding it’d be better if the bunny stayed at theirs instead of your home. Your home was too much of a mess from the wild baking you and Jihoon had been doing from last night while Yuna was watching. Jihoon was quick to arrive at your house, pick up the bunny and give you a nod of good luck. You knew she had a soft spot for bunnies and rabbits alike because her mate and her best friend were both one.

As you sighed and leaned back into the couch, you could feel yourself growing more weak and weak, and it felt like you couldn’t function properly. You tried to get up to get a glass of water, until your vision started to develop black spots and you just dropped.

prev // masterlist // next

TAGLIST - @blehhhidk, @instantnarwhal, @singukieee, @weepyalex, @kaceypdf (just comment or dm to be added in masterlist !!, crossed out are people I couldn't tag)

notes - sorry this took too long! but what do you think will happen to y/n now that he blacked out in his home? with no one to help?!

copyright © 2023 | frieschan

[mothstache]

MINECRAFT STORY MODE HEADCANONS: Part 1

Jesse: 

Jesse idolized the Old Order especially when he was younger. The reveal of the truth by Soren arguably hit the hardest for him.

He found Reuben as a piglet passing by an abandoned farm on his way to town.

He’s always been the most levelheaded member of the group, however if pushed to his limit he can get outwardly aggressive. He feels very guilty about it afterwards.

After the events of Season 2, he stays a few more weeks in Beacontown before leaving to adventure with Petra.

Jesse and Olivia have been friends since childhood.

Jesse was the one to find Axel when they were teens after catching him fleeing a raid.

He’s genderfluid (he/she) and bisexual (slight preference for men).

He’ll grow his hair out pretty long before cutting it really short again.

After Season 2, he gains a phobia of being misunderstood whether through tone or action, due to the Admin mimicking his identity.

He has PTSD from the events of the Wither Storm, though he rarely talks about that period.

While he is super close with everyone in the new Order, he and Olivia can read each other like a book having known each other so long.

After Reuben’s death, Jesse fell into a silent depression for a while and would still leave out food and water for Reuben despite knowing he was no longer with him.

Ellegaard’s death hit horribly hard for him, being what truly shook him to the core for the first time since the creation of the Wither Storm.

Has feelings for everyone in the new Order (especially Lukas).

Was mentored in potion brewing by Ivor for a while.

Olivia:

Olivia’s love of engineering partly came from a few old redstone books passed down to her from her aunt. The title of the author has long since faded, but the books were written long ago by Harper.

She met Jesse when they were kids, having grown up in the same childhood town.

She has anxiety and ADHD.

After Season 1 she developed an even closer bond with Axel, as the two would see the most of each other despite the group going their separate ways.

Ellegaard was her idol since she was a young teen. Her death is something she’ll never get out of her mind.

She has fascination with Endermen (as well as the End dimension in general)

Post-Season 2, she’s one of the top redstone experts in the land.

She has an intense phobia of phantoms.

Olivia had a pet dog as a kid named Yarrow, she and Jesse would play fetch with him for hours on end.

Nell is her best friend outside the new Order.

She is a lesbian and holds romantic feelings for Petra.

She also holds queerplatonic feelings for Jesse, Lukas and Axel.

She’s an amazing cook despite not doing it often anymore.

Olivia and Lukas will sometimes spend hours on end reading history books and documents together.

Lukas: 

Lukas was raised by his grandfather who was a historian, which later would become an interest of his.

Lukas has catfolk blood. The team name Ocelots isn’t just a random thing he chose - it’s unclear if Aiden, Maya and Gill ever knew about its origins.

He’s the best navigator in jungles, and an expert navigator in general with Axel.

He and Petra have been close friends for a long time, since Petra even met Jesse, Olivia and Axel.

Lukas is a bit of a people pleaser, which is how he ended up with friends like Aiden, Maya and Gill. It’s also why he wasn’t good about chastising his friends for their jerkish behavior.

He has Autism and finds himself masking a lot.

He once made a jacket for Olivia with an endermen face embedded into the back, similar to his old ocelot jacket.

He’s a trans man (he/him) and gay.

Holds feelings for Jesse and Axel, and is queerplatonic with Olivia and Petra.

Seeing Petra’s deterioration with their wither sickness was really hard for him. They were always one of the strongest people he knew so seeing them become weaker and weaker terrified him.

He’s good friends with Stacy and Stampy, and the both of them were the first he recruited for the new Ocelots.

He tamed his ocelot Dewey shortly after Season 1.

Axel:

Axel is 15% hisskin. Some of the ways it shows itself physically are the green scales on his neck and shoulders, and him constantly smelling a bit like gunpowder. In addition, if he grows intensely angry or excited, sparks may literally fly out of his mouth when he talks.

Axel considers Jesse his first “real” friend. Prior to their meeting, Axel was part of a gang of thieves who would often leave him to fend for himself, whether because they were meanspirited or neglectful to the youngest of the group or both. When he first befriended Jesse, he was even more temperamental and stubborn, and very quick to do things his own way by habit. Being with Jesse and Olivia helped him to become more trusting and levelheaded, though he retained a lot of his rogue ways.

He has slight thalassophobia that he’s working on.

He has ADHD and BPD.

Axel was initially afraid Lukas would replace him in the friend group. He hated him for how rapidly close he was becoming with Jesse and Olivia, and deep down saw him as a smarter, more logical replacement to him.

VERY good with maps, plus he has a natural sense of direction, especially in caves.

He’s nonbinary (he/they) and pansexual.

Has buried romantic feelings for Jesse and Olivia, along with Petra and Lukas.

Magnus treats him a lot like a little brother, the two love to spar a lot.

After Reuben’s death, he often would try to comfort Jesse to no avail, this caused him an unusual amount of anxiety and grief for both Jesse and his lost pet.

Post-Season 2, he has a more spiked hairstyle and wears a creeper bandana.

Post-Season 2 he tries whenever he can to make time for the old gang to meet up.

He has a pet bat named Batsy. (Yes, this is from the scrapped canon idea)

Petra:

Petra has always adventuring in their blood, having been on the move from place to place since they were a kid.

Petra holds a ton of knowledge about surviving alone in the nether, from experience! As a younger adult their portal once got broken, and they had to spend a few days on her own in the nether till they came across another adventurer who helped them escape.

Despite having never stayed in one place long, they’re naturally extremely loyal to all of their friends. They don’t take losing friendships well.

Enduring the wither sickness took all their might and they can only pray they never have to experience that ever again.

Jack was their first ever idol when they were young. When they heard he was moving to Beacontown they were excitedly rambling to Jesse for DAYS.

They’re transmasc (they/them) and a lesbian.

They have romantic feelings for Olivia, and have queerplatonic crushes on Jesse, Lukas and Axel.

Petra and Axel have occasionally gone out on solo missions, usually for reckless reasons. They come back with tattered clothes and burn marks, but a ton of treasure each.

Petra has Autism and psychosis.

They have asthma, which made the wither sickness even harder on them.

They are stubborn and hate giving up in any situation, viewing it as a personal failure.

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

Big Boss: What Happened?

Big Boss: Info Dump Request

@qoppybirdie requested:

This is my attempt at fulfilling that, with my own take on it. And probably a whole lot longer than OP wanted. But here we are. 

Google Doc version. NOW ACCEESIBLE (Opened Access)

As a quick aside, I personally consider Portable Ops canon to the timeline and lore. Not everyone does, but in this I will be using examples from Portable Ops, as to me, it’s canon. I’m aware this is debated, so I’m putting it out there first and foremost.

Here we go!

“Politics are a living thing. They change along with the times. Today’s good may be tomorrow's evil.”-The Boss, to Big Boss (then Naked Snake) during the Virtuous Mission, 1964.

Big Boss, known as John/Jack, was born in the USA in 1935. Almost nothing of his life is known until the age of 15/16, when he met The Boss in 1950, becoming her apprentice. The Boss served as his mentor, and remains one of the most defining figures in his life, up until his death in 2014. Soon after meeting The Boss, John fought in the Korean War, and was part of nuclear testing in Bikini Atoll, in 1954.

This puts the FOX unit in jeopardy, and at risk of execution unless they can prove America wasn’t involved, with Big Boss given the task of rescuing Dr. Sokolov for a second time, assassinating the Boss, and as they put it “if possible, Colonel Volgin”. Volgin happens to have a metal gear, but that’s secondary to this story believe it or not.

This is the Operation where he also meets Ocelot, and Eva. Both of whom we’ll get back to later.

Cue Operation Snake Eater, and what is arguably the start of a nearly 60 year downfall for Big Boss. Big Boss defeats the Shagohod Metal Gear and Volgin, (does not manage to save Sokolov) and kills The Boss. When he returns to the United States, he’s given a medal for his service, and is left with a feeling of emptiness, grief and a whole lot of unanswered questions.

Whenever I think about the spiral of Big Boss, I tend to come back to the moment here, (and the one later, when he’s at the Boss’ grave). It can be argued that he never, ever recovers from this. While it takes him a lifetime to understand it, by the time of his death in 2014,he has fallen so far from the man he once was that it’s only at death he can acknowledge what he’s become, to his clone son  Solid Snake,(Dave).

“Boss, you only need one Snake now..no, the world would be better without Snake’s.” Big Boss (at the Boss’ grave to Solid Snake, in 2014)

I could almost end this here, on the notion that he was used by the military to kill someone he loved and cared about, and lost all sense of what he believed in, and himself, in doing so. That the next 60ish years are just him going through the motions, attempting to come to a conclusion that doesn’t exist.

Why was he used? Why was he the one that needed to pull the trigger? Big Boss wasn’t exactly what I’d call an ‘idealist’ before that, but he did hold certain preconceived beliefs about his place in the world, and what he was meant to do with it. And that he had all of them wiped aside in an instant, all to save face for a country that would discard him at a moment's notice.

Before she was assassinated, the Boss was legendary as a soldier, and an American. She was idolised by her country and the people she served and worked with. When we find out later that her defection was part of a mission, and that it was jeopardised by Volgin behaving in a way nobody saw coming, it took nothing for them to discard her. When Big Boss is being awarded a service medal and the president attempts to shake his hand, I can imagine those are the thoughts playing on loop in his head.

They honour him now, in the moment. Yet a week before he was almost going to be executed by that same government and country, and his mentor, someone so beloved by the USA, was given that exact fate

He realizes here that his role, his personhood means nothing in the greater scope of war, and he’s supposed to just stand there, accept a handshake and pretend this total farce is a good thing?

Just like she told him, “Today's enemy, tomorrow’s friend.” That was a lesson the Boss understood before he did, and it’s one that he grasps all too well afterwards..to a degree. Big Boss we come to see is betrayed again and again by the people around him, because up to a certain point, he allows people into his life. In the same need for human connection and meaning all people have. Something that is abused countless times by the people close to him.

It takes years, but at some point, he does eventually give up. As we’ll see. 

Following Operation Snake Eater, Big Boss leaves the military for a bit. He works at various jobs like hunting guides, only to go back to fighting and meet and rescue Frank Jaeger  during the Mozambican War of Independence in 1966, but ultimately ends up doing mercenary work. In 1970, he’s captured via drugging by another rogue FOX unit, headed by a rogue agent known as GENE in what became the San Hieronymo Incident. 

Gene had an idea, a nation of soldier’s. Made by soldier’s for soldiers.

This will sound extremely familiar, as it is almost verbatim to what Big Boss ends up creating himself later on. Outer Heaven. Even though the San Hieronymo Incident ends in Gene’s defeat, and with Big Boss returning to the USA and forming The Patriots with his former commander, Major Zero and members of the unit in Operation Snake Eater. Such as SIGINT (Donald Anderson), Para-Medic, Ocelot and Eva. Using some of the Philosopher’s Legacy, (money), The Patriots started out as an attempt to unify the world, but expanded and corrupted far beyond that original goal.

Big Boss himself leaves the Patriots in 1972, after facing the second major betrayal via the creation of Les Enfants Terribles (aka, ‘The Terrible Children), under Para-Medic’s care. Without telling Big Boss, or asking his consent, LET was undergone using Big Boss’ DNA, with an unnamed egg donor and Eva as the surrogate to make his clone sons, Solid Snake and Liquid Snake (Eli). As well as the ‘perfect clone’ Solidus Snake, (George). (He was not surrogated by Eva, however).

“They’re no sons of mine.” “Just a bunch of cells grown in a lab?”

“What they are is much sicker than that.”- John and Ocelot discussing the clone sons, in 1984.

LET existed because Zero and Para-Medic wanted to ensure the continuation of Big Boss’ genes and soldier capabilities. He saw them as an abomination and betrayal. After learning of LET, Big Boss leaves the Patriots, and the United States. Working again as a mercenary for higher. 

No matter what he does, he cannot get himself out of warzones. 

“The Boss and I may have gone down different paths, but we were trapped in the same cage.”- Big Boss to Solid Snake, in 2014

Really quick, the definition of a mercenary according to Merriam Webster is; ‘one that serves merely for wages’. They mostly find themselves in warzones, but they are not fighting on behalf of a country. They are not conscripted or drafted. The gain is purely financial. But most specifically, a mercenary is hired ‘for foreign conflicts’ in particular. This is largely because a country may want to get involved in a certain conflict, or mission, but are unable to legally, or without raising suspicions. Thus, they hire a non-related mercenary, for pay, to do what they cannot.

This is the sort of environment Big Boss finds himself operating in more often than not. He’s fresh off a second betrayal, mistrustful and hurt, and finds himself on the lam and a gun for hire in Columbia, eventually ending up hired by the Colombian government to work with their army.  I can imagine his attitude in Columbia being one that is grieving, disillusioned and bitter. It’s here that he comes upon a guerilla squad commanded by Kazuhira Miller, and wipes them out. Except for Miller. Who he ‘recruits’ under the idea of it being non-negotiable. Kaz is the only survivor, and if he doesn’t stay with Big Boss, he’ll be executed. (Instead, Big Boss blackmails a commander who could be responsible for it, in order to keep Kaz off the chopping block). Which is a nice little fact to hang over Kaz’s head, should he choose to escape.

Heiwa to Kazuhira no Blues (the Peace Walker audio drama) expands on this a great deal. His ‘recruitment’ is no simple thing, and Big Boss also puts Kaz through a number of rigged trials he knows Kaz can’t win, in order to further cement his place under him. Combining that in conjunction with the fact that Kaz will be executed should he not ally with Big Boss (and I’ll point out here that yes, Kaz does try to blow himself and Big Boss up with a grenade but does he really want to die?) it’s something of a hopeless situation and somewhat one-sided.

The entire relationship and scenario with Kaz is complicated enough on its own. Kaz isn’t a fully innocent victim either, but it is at this point and time that one can see a significant shift happening in Big Boss’ mindset. There’s a sinister element to the trials he puts Kaz through, and yet, there’s still a part of him that clings to the idea of companionship. He’s edging closer to the dark end of grey in his climbing scale, but he has not yet crossed that point.

Kaz spearfishing during one of the trials (art by Yoji Shinkawa)

Defeated, Kaz joins Big Boss, and as his subcommander they form one of the first ever PMC’s (or, Private Military Company)-Militaires Sans Frontières (Army without Borders, or MSF). The concept of the PMC later takes over in the world (and the disastrous environment Solid Snake finds himself dealing with come 2014). While in MSF, Big Boss finds himself in Costa Rica to deal with the Peace Walker incident, and becomes allied there with some revolutionaries from the Sandinista National Liberation Front, who are under the command of Amanda Valenciano Libre, after the death of her father (the original commander). And via Amanda, Big Boss meets her brother, Ricardo Valenciano Libre, or. Chico.

Chico is where this gets complicated. Chico is around 12 years old at the time, and one of the key elements to where we see Big Boss’ mindset shifting fully. While he’s still somewhat optimistic, even a little goofy at times (the way we see him in Snake Eater), Chico’s situation is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s easy to argue that Chico being part of the MSF is one of the only alternatives he could have at the time. He’s in the middle of a warzone with his sister. If he’s not under Big Boss, where else can he go? What else can he reasonably do?

-What makes discussing Big Boss so tricky, I think-and why I believe it’s almost impossible to say he had some sort of ‘turning point’, is that it is completely possible to look at everything he does, everything that happens, and find a way to excuse or come up with a justification, or even logic for it. This is not me saying that he is right, or a good person. Metal Gear cannot just be boxed into ‘good’ or ‘evil’ it is grey. It is supposed to be grey. It centres around people and themes that do not have such simplistic barriers to work with. That is the point.-

-The downfall of Big Boss does not happen overnight. It is a slow burning wreck that expands and grows. It is the make-up and conclusion of many factors, incidents and events. It happens slowly, and sometimes it happens below the surface.-

For all intents and purposes, Chico is a child soldier. But is that Big Boss’ fault? Children are as wrapped up in war as any other. War does not care if you’re a child, or an adult. Did Chico truly have anywhere else to go?

I don’t really have an answer to that. And I’m going to admit it out right. What I will say is that early on in Chico’s recruitment, Big Boss rescues Chico, but he doesn’t want to go back with him because he’s ashamed of giving up information (link should be time stamped for access) about the others to the enemy.

There are MANY ways to interpret this moment. I’ve seen various interpretations of it myself, but here’s how I’m going to explain it. As per how I see it. Again, this is a complicated story and scenario-and people’s view on it is going to differ a lot. One of the points I really want to stress in this far-too-long essay here is that none of what we see comes with the easiest answers. It’s all layered. How you view a moment may differ from how someone else views it. 

Anyway, to me, I’m going to put it like this. Big Boss knows that Chico doesn’t mean that. What I can’t say for sure is if he’d have really shot him or not (I don’t think he would’ve, not only because he promised Amanda he’d bring Chico back, and if nothing else Big Boss will usually complete his missions. But that as far as we know, he never outright executes a child in the series). But Chico does not know this. Big Boss is, essentially, showing Chico that no, he doesn't want to die, come on now. And that breaking under the situation isn’t something he needs to feel guilty about. Nor, is it worth dying for.

WE can assume that Big Boss isn’t going to hurt him. WE can realise that but there is no way for Chico to hold the same understanding here. 

But Chico isn’t a man. Chico is a child. When Chico dies in 1975, Skullface says something very similar. Negating the fact that at the end of the day, this is no adult. 

“No more wargames, you’re a real man now, soldier”.-Skullface (to Chico when he’s a tortured prisoner in Camp Omega, 1975)

Here, Big Boss is visibly (I can assume anyway) attempting to encourage Chico. Prove to him that he doesn’t want to die, and that he doesn’t need to die for the infraction he believes himself to have made. (None of Chico’s compatriots blame him for giving up information, and why would they? He is a kid).

But did he? Big Boss can think that the ‘child’ died,  and he became a man. But is any of that really true? Is Chico not as much a child now as he is when he dies a year later?

I find it very significant that the artist, Ashley Wood, has Big Boss completely in shadow here. It says a lot about what Chico must be feeling, and how we (the audience) might be meant to interpret him. There is none of the silly dork we know Big Boss to have been a decade prior. There is none of the innocence and even almost child-like awkwardness he was so beholden to. So much of his optimism, his original outlook and hope, is eradicated by this point.

Chico, I’ll note really quick is never seen off-radio. He is kept ‘safe’ (if you can call it that) on the MSF base itself. And working as radio support. I’ll note too that Chico always wants to be seen as an ‘adult’ by the people around him. But, come on. I’m sure we all remember being 13. I’m sure everyone had that ‘I am desperate to be mature and taken seriously’ awkward teen phase. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a child, who is stealing Amanda’s cigarettes one moment, and laughing about his favourite monsters and cryptids the next.

It’s no more justified (in my opinion) than Huey Emmerich is when he uses the absolutely pathetic reasoning behind letting a 4-year-old Hal pilot Sahelanthropus.

“He (Hal) wanted to get in!”-Huey Emmerich to Revolver Ocelot under torture. 1984. 

What Hal may have wanted is irrelevant to the fact that you don’t let a kid touch a hot stove because they want to. It is on the adults around them to make sure they don’t do things they can’t control. Granted, Chico is old enough in Peace Walker to have very valid feelings about what he might want, and more than old enough for personal agency, but still young enough to where adults around him should be protecting him.

And I know that in war, the rules are not the same. I understand that. Later on we see a 12 year old Liquid Snake and child soldiers in situations no child should be in, but does that mean they still didn’t need protection? In any case, I’m too close to getting off topic here, so let’s keep going.

We will see him goofing off a bit more in Peace Walker. But it is important to note that by its end, Big Boss’ ideology, and his view on the world has shifted a lot. 

He also comes to find out that Kaz was employed by Zero (now going by ‘Cipher’) and working as a spy. Marking the third time Big Boss is betrayed by someone close to him. In this, I’m sort of torn. My personal interpretation of the ‘spy Kaz’ bit is extensive and doesn’t quite belong here, but I’ll note that it’s another way in which Big Boss comes to find that he can’t trust anyone that it doesn’t matter how close someone is to him, they are going to find a way to stab him in the back.

He’s already become more and more cynical around this point, and it is not aided by finding out the truth about Kaz either. The cloud around Big Boss darkens all the more. 

By the end of Peace Walker, Big Boss has come to learn what he thinks is the truth about the Boss. When she put down her gun (stopped fighting) she (in his mind) betrayed the ideology and beliefs that he feels she taught him, and when Big Boss ‘let’s go’ of her (in disgust, as he takes this to be an example of her betraying the will of the soldier, and him). I don’t fully grasp how he comes to this conclusion, but in letting the Boss ‘go’ (by removing her bandana) he shifts again, willingly keeping a nuke on Mother Base in the MSF (at Kaz’s suggestion, I’ll note) To Big Boss, I guess he might see this as the fourth betrayal.

With another metal gear defeated, Big Boss declares the following to the MSF:

"We have no nation, no philosophy, no ideology. We go where we're needed, fighting not for country, not for government, but for ourselves. We need no reason to fight. We fight because we are needed. We will be the deterrent for those with no other recourse. We are soldiers without borders, our purpose defined by the era we live in."-Big Boss to the MSF, after the Metal Gear ZEKE battle.

But this is not where that speech ends. Big Boss is under few illusions about the sort of man he’s become, and he tells his men much the same.

Fairly self explanatory, in my opinion.

Thus, the MSF becomes a nuclear power. And this is the mindset that Big Boss has when he goes into the Ground Zeroes mission at Camp Omega. Chico has escaped to go rescue Paz and Skullface has planned an attack on Mother Base while they’re gone. The inspection approved by Huey Emmerich (who didn’t ask Big Boss or Kaz first, and was apparently under the belief it was legitimate..and I don’t know if it’s true or not, I can never fully come to a conclusion there). 

The base explodes, and while Kaz is seething and raging, Big Boss is left so shell shocked all he can do is sit motionless while Kaz shakes him repeatedly. Attempting to get any sort of answer from him. Answers Big Boss doesn’t give, nor does he have. After all, it’s not his fault the base went up in flames. The end result is the death of Paz and Chico, and the start of a 9-year- coma for Big Boss.

And, for the medic on that chopper, whom Ocelot and Zero turn into Venom Snake. Big Boss’ phantom and living body-double. Fully hypnotized, brainwashed and made into another man, all without his consent.

The creation of Venom alone is gregarious enough, but Big Boss didn’t sign off on Venom. He was already made by the time he wakes up in 1984. But aside from a moment of protesting it, Big Boss embraces it. Allowing Venom to wake up in a hospital that’s largely blown to shreds and turned into a massacre under XOF (Skullface’s unit), all so he and Venom can escape under cover. Countless people die in that hospital, and Big Boss has become arrogant and callous enough to where it doesn’t matter to him.

Ocelot is also the only one aware of the truth. (Someone Big Boss doesn’t seem to mind having that right, since up to this point, and the rest of his life, Ocelot is one of the few people who doesn’t betray him). Kaz, by contrast, has been completely abandoned and cast aside by him. And not told about Venom being a different man (until later). Which has a real element of cruelty in it, in my opinion. Especially since it’s Venom who saves Kaz after he’s been a POW for a while. But that’s another post in it’s own way.

Big Boss wakes up a new man, with a new (stolen) identity, and with his body double firmly in place and Ocelot pleasantly self-hypnotized to carry it out, he leaves to go begin the formation of Outer Heaven. Free to let others do his dirty work, while he continues to operate by himself. 

Putting aside the fact that he looks damn good here-that isn’t the face of a guy with a whole lot of humanity left in him.

Remember Zero? Let’s go back to him for a quick moment. Because it’s at this point in the timeline that Big Boss begins to embrace a concept that was originally propagated by Zero when they were still all working together as the Patriots. By the early 1970’s, Big Boss had a pretty good reputation behind him as legendary soldier. And Zero believed it would be a good call to emphasise that narrative. It was beneficial to have Big Boss’ legend spread throughout, and continued. It’s also important to note that Big Boss himself rejected being called ‘Big Boss’ as he believed the title should only belong to the Boss.

In San Hieronymo, he’s called ‘Snake’ (much like his original codename, Naked Snake) and in Peace Walker the sandinistas often call him ‘Vic Boss’ as they compare him to Che Guevara (as does Kaz). The comparisons to Guevara do not end there, as historically, Guevara was most known for having several jobs under his belt, and being a key figure in the Cuban Revolution. Until his execution by the CIA in 1965. Personal opinions of Guevara are extensive and far beyond the scope of what I’m going to cover here, and will undoubtedly vary by person. Thus, I’ve left it as a link. He was a radical revolutionary in his lifetime, and is mentioned periodically in conjunction with Naked Snake, which paints a suggested idea of how some characters in-series viewed Big Boss as a person.

This being a good or bad thing, is again up to personal interpretation. 

Either way, it’s notable (for me and I guess for the purpose of this essay) that up until the end of Peace Walker, Big Boss largely rejects the idea of being a figurehead, a martyr or particularly legendary. That is no longer the case in the 80’s. Where he is fully ‘Big Boss’ as we know him, and absolutely fine with leaving people in the line of fire (consent or otherwise) after a long coma, one too many betrayals, and the full disillusionment of his original beliefs at the hands of a lot of hurt, and years of pain and complicated warfare.

I don’t know that I’d consider Big Boss was ever a ‘humble’ sort of man. In the very beginning of his first mission we see him doing (the Halo Jump into the Virtuous Mission) he’s arrogantly smoking and ignoring the man telling him to put on his mask. But by the end of the 80’s he’s gone completely into the beast he and others created, arrogant and without care.

While Venom is working on the Diamond Dogs (who are also later transferred to Outer Heaven, while Big Boss himself operates Foxhound), he’s (at some point) reuniting with Frank Jaeger (now Gray Fox, at some point rescues and recruits Sniper Wolf, and building up Zanzibarland). By the 1990’s, Big Boss is kidnapping scientists, building metal gears, has children he saved on his base, and is nothing like the man we saw in the mid 60’s.

Hey, speaking of kidnapping, let’s go over how soldiers get ‘recruited’ to the MSF, Diamond Dogs (again yes I know that’s Venom), Outer Heaven, etc. Starting with the MSF, (but there was a taste of it in the San Hieronymo Incident), soldiers are knocked out and dragged back to the base. They’re left in the brig for a little bit, and come out completely and utterly loyal to Big Boss.

How loyal?

“We live and die by your order, Boss!”-Diamond Dogs infected with the Vocal Cord Parasite mutation, just before being mercy executed by Venom Snake.

That loyal.(Again, it’s best to operate when talking about Venom Snake in this specific case as if he and Big Boss are one in the same, because it’s not exactly about the man, but the situation, the cult for lack of a better word, of Big Boss). To these soldiers, who they are as people doesn’t matter as much as what the Boss demands. It’s that same energy, that mindset, that had Venom Snake (then the Medic) throw himself in front of a flaming chopper to save Big Boss’ life.

And where Big Boss might’ve questioned that sort of thing beforehand, by the time of Diamond Dogs, Outer Heaven etc, it is fully embraced. It’s fine that he’s got another man doing plenty of his dirty work (without his consent). It’s fine that he left Kaz because Kaz hurt him and betrayed him and he doesn’t deserve to hear otherwise. It’s fine that thousands die in a burning hospital to save his own life.

And then it’s later ‘fine’ when a young Solid Snake (who doesn’t know he’s Big Boss’ son) is sent into Outer Heaven during Operation Intrude N313, to kill who he thinks is Big Boss, but is actually Venom Snake.

Venom Snake, who has now spent 11 years as Big Boss himself, who has one last mission to die. As Big Boss for Big Boss. Again. The tape to Venom is Big Boss at what I believe is one of his most arrogant moments yet. In it, he thanks Venom *sort of* for his work, and how he’s helped him build up their shared legend. A legend that later Big Boss takes all the credit for. Because Outer Heaven explodes, and the man is all but erased from memory. Absorbed back into Big Boss yet again. 

For a man that wanted to create a nation where soldiers mean something, and are revered, Venom’s discarded pretty quick (and he never agreed to be there to begin with). I cannot say if the Medic would’ve agreed to become Big Boss if he’d even been able to, but I can say that it is hard to deny that he’s used as much as any other soldier. Because at this moment, Big Boss now believes that dying on a battlefield is the only way to go, and Venom should be honoured to be him. Or ‘them’ as Big Boss puts it.

“I am you, and you are me.This story, this legend, it’s ours. I cheated death thanks to you.”-Big Boss to Venom Snake. 

And then Venom dies, all but forgotten. His purpose has been served. His job is done. He’s no longer needed. Him, nor any of the soldiers who die in Outer Heaven. With Solid mostly oblivious to the secondary layers happening below. (Big Boss has absolutely no issue using Solid, either. He’s past the point of caring). I can imagine someone telling Solid, “This guy used to laugh about eating glowing mushrooms that recharge his batteries” and being unable to believe it.

When Solid Snake faces down Big Boss for the second time in 1999, he is past the point of caring about anything that isn’t war. His speech to Solid in Zanzibarland before Solid defeats him is infamous, and sums up his general view of the world in a nice, succinct fashion for Solid (and the audience). 

This is the culmination of decades of hurt, betrayals and the knowledge that he is a man built and bred for the war machine. Big Boss has come to a point where he’s suffered enough, experienced enough, that war is all he can understand. War is all that he can possibly care about. He has stopped being able to feel, to connect with people. He is hollowed out, hardened and fully embracing the man he’s turned himself into.

These are not excuses. Big Boss can be a victim of his fate and the war machine, and still not be in the right here. The two can and in this case I’d argue, do very much co-exist. As I said above, his ‘downfall’ was not a matter of tripping down some steps. It was a slow, consistent decline that eventually accumulated. Despite this, Solid does defeat him, and Big Boss is put in stasis for the next few years. Left quite literally on ice. Conscious, but trapped in his body. 

Don’t YOU make your clone son kill your body double and use him almost as badly as others used you? No? (Solid Snake and Big Boss, Metal Gear Solid 2, Yoji Shinkawa)

“I never saw you as a son. But as a man, a soldier.”-Big Boss to Solid Snake, 2014

We know how this story ends. Big Boss spends a bunch of time on ice, gets re-fitted with body parts taken from Solidus’ and dies of the new Foxdie virus (which also kills Eva and Ocelot, just like it did Liquid before) in the same cemetery where most of it started. Leaning up against the Boss’ grave. Aware that he spent decades misunderstanding her will, and that he never quite got it right in life.

How then, would I wrap this up? Well, I guess you could say that I’ve cheated a little. Because I never truly answer the question, “how does Big Boss become evil”, did I? I suppose some of it’s because, as I summed up earlier, I just don’t see it as such a simple case. I do believe that we’re all meant to have our own interpretation, at the end of the day, and the easiest way to summarise it might be that a man becomes so enmeshed in the war machine, that he turns into the very machine himself.

Big Boss had child soldiers (but did the kids fight?). Big Boss used, and abused many people (and was used and abused himself). Big Boss created PMC’s (with help). Big Boss had nukes (at the suggestion of others).

Etc, etc.

At the end of the day, I’ll conclude this long, rambling spiral of thoughts to say that the moment Big Boss ‘turns’ is up to interpretation. Which may seem like a cowards way out, but is it not true? Whenever I pose the question, I see many different answers and responses out in the wild.

This, therefore, is my own take on it. My attempt. And I know I’ve probably forgotten something (or many something’s) but I personally, will end here.

If you made it this far, congratulations! I cannot believe how long this got, and thanks for coming along with me.

By,

Nate

[kpop-addict25]

Real Life MCSM AU character background information:

gender-neutral!Jesse

Their full name is Jesse Kaylin Prescott

They are born in Los Angeles, California on 15th August 1999

They grew up in a loving family

Their mom worked in a convenience store while their father worked as a car mechanic

Growing up they had a serious dyslexic disorder which got better within the years

They had a hard time finding friends and were constantly bullied in elementary school

They are very artistic and found comfort in drawing

Their parents divorced when they started high school

They graduated with honors at St. Bernard High School in the Arts department

Few years before graduating they moved to a smaller city within California with their mother where they met their best friends

As soon as they moved they signed up for the EnderCon building competition where they met the Ocelots for the first time

They held a big grudge against the Ocelots (mostly Aiden)

A year before the Witherstorm accident they met Reuben and took him under their wing

Growing up they wanted to work as a famous artist but their dream was ruined by the accident and were forced to become a hero

Olivia

Her full name is Olivia Aatkani

She is born in Marrakesh, Morocco on 13th May 1998

She grew up in a poor family until she moved to California at the age of 12

Her parents worked as farmers for small money which was barely enough for food

She has 2 sisters and 3 brothers and she is the youngest one

As soon as the family moved in California their lives started to get slightly better

Her father opened a restaurant for Moroccan culinary which became very successful

She studied at Newark Memorial High School and graduated with the highest grade in her whole class

A little before she graduated she found her best friends

She wanted to seek a higher education but her plans changed as soon as the Witherstorm accident occurred

She can fluently speak Arabic and she learned a little bit of French

Her biggest fear growing up was that she would never be successful enough

She constantly says that the happiness moment in her life was when she got accepted in High School

Since she was little, she always found interest in botanical life and dreamed of having a botanical garden of her own

Axel

His full name is Axel Marshal Lee

He is born in Honolulu, Hawaii on 5th October 1996

His parents owned a little family business which made enough money so he can have a rather normal life

His mother is American while his father has Russian roots

He has a big brother who lives and studies in Canada

As a baby he was a very picky eater but growing up he started loving everything

He spent the first years of his education homeschooled

He went to Kalani High School where he was the school troublemaker

He got expelled from there because of his attitude towards his classmates

His parents were furious and kicked him out of the house and he was forced to live with his uncle for a while in California

As soon as he went to California he became friends with Jesse and Olivia

Him and his parents are still mad at each other but he is still in contact with his brother

He admits that he wasn’t proud of his past and promised himself that he will do better with his future

He considered continuing his education but he wasn’t able to because of the Witherstorm

Petra

Her full name is Petra Hazel Cory

She is born in Dallas, Texas on 26th June 1997

Her mother worked as a school nurse while her father worked as a manager in a prestigious company

When she was little most of the other kids were scared of her because of her tough personality

In her teenage years, she looked like a cold person but deep inside she was longing for people’s attention and approval

She moved to live in California after a big argument with her parents

She attended the San Leandro High School and she graduated with an average grade

She used to be in a band where she was a drummer

She started working multiple jobs so she can afford an apartment to live in

Despite being in cahoots with her parents they supported her for a while until she was able to earn money by herself

She met Jesse and their friends at the store where she worked

A little after she graduated, she got a sword tattoo on her shoulder which symbolised her tough personality and her admiration towards Gabriel the Warrior

Even though he is nothing but a fraud, Petra thinks that Gabriel is a good role model and mentor

She still has a little purple spot on her arm after her Wither-sickness was cured

Lukas

His full name is Lukas Kang

His korean name is Kang Jae-seong

He is born in Daegu, South Korea on 22nd March 1995

His mother is German and his father is Korean

His father works as a surgeon while his mother is a stay-at-home mom

He has an older brother who is married and has a little child

He studied at Gyeongsin High School and graduated with the second highest grade in his whole class

He used to be the captain of the basketball team and he still plays in his free time

One summer when he was on a trip with his parents to California, he became friends with the Ocelots and started to participate with them in the building competition

Since his school was all the way in Korea, he went every summer to California so he can complete with his friends

As soon as he graduated, he moved to California to live with the rest of the Ocelots

He went to university for a little but he had to drop out because of the Witherstorm, saying that he is way “too stressed” to continue

He can fluently speak Korean, Japanese and a little bit of Chinese

In Korea he was quite popular for his natural blue eyes

He used to have black hair until he started bleaching it

He has piercings on his ears during the Witherstorm arc and he gets another one on his eyebrow after that

He has a star tattoo on the side of his neck, under his ear

If he could, he could have became a k-pop idol

He loves music and wanted to become a songwriter but of course he couldn’t because of the Witherstorm and his problems with the Ocelots

He has great vocal skills and according to Jesse he has “angel’s voice”. Also he can play guitar and piano earning the title of “musical prodigy” by the Order

[melestasflight]

Hi Melesta! Your holiday list is a lovely and generous idea✨️

In case you're up to it, I am very curious about you might do with the prompt 'love would lead me' + Lalwen & Argon! 😉💕

Holiday Silm Prompt fill for @searchingforserendipity25. Thanks for the prompt friend!

Lalwen doesn’t have the heart to quell Arakáno’s love for wild creatures. Things turn hectic when an eagle egg goes missing. (1,6k words of pure fluff 😄)

Posting the collection of stories on AO3 here.

love would lead me

Lalwen did not expect the matter with the eagle egg to become such a serious affair, certainly not something that prompted the involvement of the Valar. Although in truth, she should have known all along. 

Arakáno already had a long reputation for providing shelter and friendship to any creature that seemed (to him) even slightly in need of comfort. At first, it had been the innocent thing of an elfling barely out of his cradle, when he would pick up fallen nestlings beneath the trees in Indis’ gardens and run carrying them in his small hands. Lalwen would receive the birdling gently from between his clumsy fingers, they would identify its species together before she would climb deep into the tree crowns to return it to its nest.

She could never resist the endless stream of questions that no one else had the patience to answer, never tired of Arakáno’s insatiable curiosity for the world surrounding him. Lalwendë, do fish have eyelids? Are bees just little tigers? Lalwen, do oliphaunts eat with their nose? Is wombat poo really square? Can eagles speak Quenya? Why does Manwë have wings sometimes? 

Each question — a small window into the colorful landscape of a child’s wonder. More than anything, it was the twinkle in the sky blue of Arakáno’s eyes, a hue mirroring perfectly her own, that called to Lalwen’s heart. For though Arakáno was Nolofinwë and Anairë’s son, in everything else he was Lalwen’s own, a piece of herself that she readily gave away. With each answered question, each smile, and each shared secret, he grew to become Lalwen's best friend housed in the small body of her nephew.

So Lalwen had long accepted her own incapacity to deny Arakáno anything, and over the years, she allowed her home to turn into a small sanctuary for all sorts of beasts, big and small, lost by chance or on purpose. An impressive variety of bird species chirped above the edges of the windows, geckos as colorful as rainbows crawled up the walls, ocelots slept stretched in patches of tree light, raccoons raised their young in the cellars, and a colony of bats hung in the attic. 

Sometimes, Lalwen almost felt like an intruder in her own house, a creature all too civilized for the micro-ecosystem that was developing inside. She let it all happen for Arakáno’s joy, for the bliss in his voice as he named every one of his friends: Linquendil the hummingbird, Kemmótar the mole, Vindusquë the wolf. 

But when Nolofinwë finally stood at her doorstep, his usual calm smile jagged by something between shame and worry, she knew it had all gone too far. ‘You allow him too much, sister.’

‘Oh for the love of Eru, Nolo, Arakáno is still a child. Let him have fun while he can.’ Lalwen wasn’t ready to surrender.

‘He sequestered an eagle egg, Lalwen! Manwë himself has sent word to father requesting that the egg be returned.’ 

‘Don’t you think they are being a little too dramatic over this?’ Lalwen said with a chuckle as she imagined the King of the Noldor and the King of Arda corresponding over bird eggs. Nolofinwë followed suit, their chuckles turning into giggles as their minds met. ‘Ai very well, I will speak with him.’

When Lalwen knocked on the door of Arakáno’s attic room, a frustrated little warning came from within. ‘I haven’t changed my mind, Dad!’

‘Your father is downstairs, Arakáno. It’s me, let me in,’ she demanded as softly as she could.

Arakáno opened the door almost immediately, just barely to let Lalwen squeeze inside. ‘Come in quickly before Dad can hear him.’

‘Hear whom?’ Lalwen got her answer as soon as she asked. The shells of an egg were lying on the floor and a small, fragile pile of pink skin and soft down was resting folded in Arakáno’s shirt. He handed the nestling into Lalwen’s open palms. It was softer than anything she had ever touched. ‘When did it hatch?’

‘Not three days ago.’

‘Arno! You could have told me—’

‘I know, I know,’ Arakáno’s remorseful tone was a heart-wrenching thing. Then his words came out of his mouth in a rush. ‘I didn’t mean for it to hatch here. I was just curious and intended to return the egg after I sketched it in my notebook. But then it began cracking in my lap, everything was so fast I didn’t know what to do, and when I heard his cry I couldn’t let him go. He can barely see, I wasn't going to leave him alone.’

The eaglet was snuggling against Lalwen’s palm, eager for the warmth she provided. ‘I can see why you want to keep him. He is a darling,’ she said and heard Arakáno’s exhale of relief. ‘But you must return him to his nest at once.’

‘Can’t he stay just a little longer?’ 

‘If I say yes, love for you would lead me. There is nothing that I wish more than your joy, my dear. Yet I will have to say no for love of our small friend. Don’t make such a face, Arakáno, you know you cannot teach him all that a little eagle must know. How many eggs were in the nest?’

'Four,’ Arakáno confessed.

‘They will all hatch if they haven't already. Don’t you think he will begin feeling lonely without his siblings soon enough? Just like you miss your brothers and sister when they are away?’ 

‘But if he leaves I will feel lonely too!’ Her nephew was now on the verge of tears. ‘I know I am too young to be in Finno’s company all the time, even if he had the time to take me with him. Turno spends every waking moment with Findo, and they are honestly quite boring, reading their books and debating things I barely understand all day long, and Írissë is always away with her friends from Oromë’s hunt.’ 

There was the truth, at last. 

Arakáno was the youngest among the wild bunch of Finwë’s grandchildren, and unlike his elder siblings, he did not have the luxury of growing up surrounded by his many cousins. As Fëanáro and Nolofinwë’s arguments acquired a sharper edge, Lalwen watched how a chasm was opening between their children too, ever-expanding, pushing them apart like a glacier between mountains. Her chest turned too small to contain her heart.

‘I know what it’s like to be much younger than your siblings, Arakáno, but trust me, soon enough the age difference will be all but invisible. Before you know it, you will grow tall and strong and spread your wings wide to go on many adventures, and I will be with you every step of the way.’ Lalwen offered the nestling back to Arakáno, and added gently, ‘We should let our friend do the same, wouldn’t you agree?’

‘You are right, Aunt, I will let him go back to his kind.’ A smile, even if a little wistful, was finally returning to her nephew’s face again.

Just as they readied to leave the house, nestling the eaglet into a pile of blankets, two redheaded elflings burst through the front door, quick as lightning. 

‘The egg has hatched!’ Exclaimed Pityo, catching sight of the bird at once.

‘It has?’ Came from Nolofinwë, alarmed.

‘How can it be so ugly and adorable at the same time?’ Asked Telvo, ignoring his uncle’s question. ‘How old is it? Is it truly one of Manwë’s eagles?’

The inquiries came in a storm as the twins huddled around Arakáno to take a better look at the small bird in his arms.

‘What are you doing here, Ambarussa?’ Lalwen asked, realizing that Fëanáro’s youngest sons had never before come to her home.

‘We wanted to see the egg before it was returned, and begged Papa to bring us,’ Pityo answered.

‘Your father brought you here? Where is he?’

‘Right here,’ came from Fëanáro who appeared in the doorway. He crossed the room and his face turned somber as soon as he spotted Nolofinwë. ‘Good day sister, half-brother. I have brought the twins but I must warn you—’

‘Fëanáro, you—’ started Nolofinwë before Fëanáro was done speaking.

‘If you mention anything about your feud,’ Lalwen interrupted them both, raising a warning finger, ‘I swear to Eru, you will both be dealing with me. The children barely know each other because of your ridiculous quarrels!’ Her voice came in a whisper, sharp as a blade, making sure only her brothers could hear her.

Fëanáro looked taken aback, not expecting that kind of tone from his much younger sister. But he recovered quickly. ‘In fact, I was going to ask if they can stay here for the day. Nerdanel and I have our hands full and could use the break. I see they have already found good company.’

Even Fëanáro could feel overwhelmed. Lalwen had not thought it possible, but she was relieved to know it was so. ‘Of course they can stay, they are as dear to me as any of your children. But what were you going to warn me about?’

‘Oh, only that my youngest sons are wilder than Oromë’s creatures in the forests. We believed we had passed the test with Tyelko, how wrong we were!’

As Fëanáro spoke, Lalwen glanced past his shoulder to catch the blissful smile that stretched Arakáno’s lips as he was answering the twins’ questions.

‘I’m confident I will manage,’ she responded to Fëanáro and beckoned her brothers to join the children where the eaglet was being passed from one set of hands to another.

‘Have you named him already?’ Telvo asked. 

‘Yes! His name is Sorontar,’ Arakáno announced proudly.

‘It is a good name! Pleased to meet you, little king.’ Pityo reached out a finger to scratch the soft head of the nestling and everyone broke into laughter as Sorontar squawked in response.

Lalwen felt something warm unravel in her chest.

If you enjoyed this story, feel free to drop me a note/kudo on AO3. It makes my day!

[mirrorhouse]

i bought the jp mgs1-3 scenario books a while ago and i’ve been skimming through a little and jumping around and translating very slowly, so here are some (maybe not that interesting to anyone else) notes from the torture segment of mgs3

when volgin grabs disguised snake’s crotch, he realises the “size” is wrong compared to raikov

volgin is apparently obsessed with japan

standing outside the room where snake is being attacked, the look on ocelot’s face is “resentful”

when the boss leaves, in the original script she and ocelot make eye contact and he looks away. in the game, she can’t look him in the eye and walks off to avoid him

in the script, the bag is not taken off snake’s head, and the boss only tears a section to expose the eye she’s meant to cut out

the boss slapping ocelot wasn’t in the script at all

instead of shooting snake in the leg with the fake death pill, she was originally going to shoot him in the side

i never realised this (maybe i’m just not observant enough and this is obvious): when the boss gets close to snake and her mouth is moving, she’s mouthing the cell door frequency number to snake so he can escape

[f1-stuff]

Daemon Au pretty please 🥺🥺

Ask and you shall receive! 🫶

Before he’d met Charles, he’d never seen an ocelot daemon.

Elara, she was called. She came up to about knee-height, her coat spotted like a leopard, her movements lithe, graceful. Powerful, yet contained. One of the first things he’d noticed were the color of her eyes - the same as Charles’, a sort of hazel that could change from green to gold in the blink of an eye.

Daemons didn’t always look like their human counterparts, but something about Elara was just so...familiar to Carlos. The way she walked, sat, blinked, yawned. It all reminded him of Charles.

The way she could look up at him with this open, trusting gaze one day, and then the next, like he was a rival predator, encroaching on her prey, threatening her territory.

Some days, Carlos wasn’t sure where he stood with Elara. He and Charles were good friends - or, at least, they got along great. Even through the bad days on track, they always climbed out of their cars and patted each other on the back. It was hard for teammates to be friends in this sport - your teammate was also your biggest rival. But he thought he and Charles did a pretty good job of it.

But, like most cats, Elara was aloof with outsiders, until you got to know her. It seemed so unlike Charles’ personality, but then again, Nyx was different from Carlos in many ways. Daemons sometimes displayed traits that complemented their human, or else, revealed another side to them.

But what really took him aback was the first time he’d observed Elara in the garage while Charles was out on track. Usually, he and Charles were in the car at the same time, so it was unusual for Carlos to see Elara without Charles, or to even wonder what she was doing while they were driving. But it’s in Austin, when he sits out of the FP2 session to let their reserve driver test out the car, that he sees it for the first time.

She’s on Charles’ side of the garage, a spot on one of the work benches seemingly cleared specifically for her. And she looks...completely at ease, her head resting on her paws and her tail gently flicking back and forth every so often. Her eyes blink, and sometimes, they stay closed for longer periods of time, almost like she might fall asleep.

Carlos has never seen a daemon be so calm when far away from its human. And sure, Charles isn’t obscenely far - the track is just outside and he even returns to the garage every so often to change tyres or go over sector times. But even a few yards can be hard for some people and their daemons to manage, let alone the mile away that Charles must be at certain points on the circuit. Yet Elara looks the same as though Charles were right beside her.

He can’t help but ask Charles about it later that night, as they’re leaving the track.

“It’s almost like...I turn off part of my brain, when I’m in the car,” Charles explains, wetting his lips when Carlos only looks at him in confusion. “When I’m on track, it’s like my head goes empty - pure instinct.”

It’s...intriguing to Carlos, who feels like his mind is going a thousand miles a minute in the car - thinking of the next corner, the cars in front and behind, the pit window, the wear on the tyres. He’s always felt that being further from Nyx almost made him think clearer in a way, as though eliminating emotion and allowing him to be more objective, logical. 

It sounds like it’s almost the opposite for Charles - that, somehow, being far from Elara allows him to connect even more with his instincts and intuition. Somehow, Elara is more connected to Charles when he’s in the car, despite the distance. Carlos has never heard of such a thing, but it makes sense for Charles, in a way - everything about him is unexpected, unique.

(previous snippet)

WIP Wednesday

[theblue6ook]

Other Lovers PT 2

Summary: Y/N and Rachel get to know each other while Bruce makes up for his birthday party fowl.

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x fem!reader

a/n: This is a SLOW BURN, we are burning slowly. Stay tuned because, in the next part, Y/N’s fiance might not be her fiance anymore, and is Bruce starting to have feelings??? This is also a part of the Out of My League series. [B (23) Y/N (22)] [Eventual slow burn with Bruce] [Y/N/N is your nickname]

Y/N and Carrie sat in Swan, the gaudiest, most expensive fashion boutique there was. It was way uptown compared to what they were used to, but Bruce had booked this as a part of her birthday celebration. Y/N, you can’t go to The Ocelot without a dress, he said as he handed her his platinum card. She called him a snob as she snatched it out of his hand, white in the face. I don’t even want to know the limit to this card if there even is one. Normally, she’d never let him pay for her, but… it was her birthday, so she allowed it, and he had pulled out all of the stops. 

So, over cheese and wine and dresses, Y/N sat and finally came clean to Carrie about what happened with Russ. And Carrie… Carrie was pissed. 

“Y/N/N,” she started, “Now you know I would love and I mean love to spend your birthday dinner with you. Obviously. But what the fuck?”

“Listen, Carrie, I just… I don’t even know what to do anymore.” She sat down her Riesling and shoved a piece of merlot cheese into her mouth, hoping it would numb the sting of her absent fiance. It didn’t.

“He’s your fiance!” she cried out, almost spilling her mocktail out of her hand. 

“It’s just been like this with him. He’s hot, he’s cold. Anything that has to do with my job or Bruce, he just loses his mind!”

Y/N had shifted the dress she was trying on to tuck her legs underneath her. They had been dress shopping for a little less than an hour, but she could tell Carrie was getting tired; she had her treatments a few days ago, so they decided to sit and eat. But now that Y/N had blabbed on Russ, it was like all Carrie’s energy came flooding back to her.

“Can I speak freely?” Carrie had that fiery look in her eye as she sat up straighter. She knew this was something Carrie had been holding onto for a long time, but she wasn’t ever in the mood to hear it. She wasn’t even sure she was in the mood to hear it now, but… she nodded anyway. “It hasn’t been right with Russ for a while.”

“Carrie-”

“Hear me out,” she stopped her, holding up her finger and a piece of cheese. “You know I love Russ; we’ve all known each other since high school, but just because you’re with someone for a long time doesn’t mean you should stay with them.”

Y/N shook her head, “We’re just in a rough patch.”

“Your rough patch started way before Bruce Wayne,” she said, sighing, looking at Y/N, “I’m not saying make any rash decisions. I’m just saying think about it. Think about what’s good for you.”

It felt like pins and needles were in her eyes as hot tears dwelled at the tip of her lashes. She knew it had been rough with Russ, but she hadn’t cried about it, and she didn’t want to. Pulling herself together, she inhaled. “What do you think about the red, backless one over there.”

Carrie grinned.

-

Everyone looked towards the large group of ballerinas that filtered into The Ocelot, entertained, and who was leading them? Bruce Wayne himself. His staff set his table to the left of the staircase, and ironically, so was Rachels. What a coincidence! Harvey Dent had waved to him immediately, oblivious to the past relations Bruce had with his date, while Rachel gave him a knowing look like she already knew what he was up to. 

Harvey stood to greet him with a pleasant, “I didn’t think we’d be seeing you tonight, Mr.Wayne.” 

“Well, it is my restaurant, Harvey,” Bruce shook his hand politely. He glanced down at Rachel, and it was clear she didn’t take the bait and sat patiently in her chair. “I see you know my good friend, Rachel.”

She nodded over at the ballerinas disapprovingly, “I see you brought some friends of your own, Bruce.” 

“She’s always scolding me,” he mumbled to Harvey.

Harvey looked almost disappointed, staring at the group of women, “We were going to see the ballerinas tonight.”

“Were you,” Bruce feigned a shocked look. “I’m so sorry. I offered to take them to dinner for all their hard work.”

“On a recital night?” Rachel said knowingly.

“Well, we can always push out tables together if you’d like to speak with them?” 

Rachel rolled her eyes, aware of where this was going, while Harvey quickly protested as civilly as he could. Placing her hand on Harvey’s arm, Rachel asked Harvey to sit back down and assured him she was sure Bruce had other places to be, but Bruce’s attention moved elsewhere. A tiff was starting not too far from them. The workers were trying to kick two women out; it seemed their reservation had been taken over by his large table. He couldn’t see the women covered by the large group of hosts gathering, but he could hear their conversation. 

“Are you kidding me? Bruce Wayne made this reservation for her himself!”

“You know what? Don’t worry about it.” He recognized that voice. Shit.

Mumbling, excuse me to a babbling Harvey, he walked over to the group of people in strides. Clearing his throat, it was like Moses at the Red Sea. The hosts quickly split down the middle, and all went silent, wide-eyed. The manager, whom he recognized before, became red in the face, but that wasn’t the red he focused on. Turned at the waist, there she was bare-backed, draped in red, and annoyed, as per usual.

Before he could get a word in, the manager rushed to him and blurted out, “We assure you, Mr. Wayne, it’s being handled.” 

She turned fully this time holding the arm of the other woman she was with, whom he could only assume was Carrie. “Really Bruce? The entire Gotham Ballet.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t even know how your reservation got moved,” he looked toward one of the hosts. “I want them in the green room. Not too far from my table, but far enough the noise won’t be a problem. Anything they want, they get. Charge it to my card.” 

It was like someone had released the doves. White jacketed, hosts and waitresses flew around wildly and without question. Grabbing place settings, table cloths, moving around CEO’s, politicians, and models. Carrie was in awe mouth open. Y/N couldn’t help but feel the same way. Everyday she worked for Bruce Wayne, she was shocked by the power he had. She saw his odd moments. She saw his darkcircles when he came in office. She saw him fall asleep during meetings. She watched him sit behind her and watch New Girl with her while she was on break. He claimed he didn’t normally have time for Television. 

Y/N focused her attention on him, “You don’t know how our reservation was moved, but you invited the entire ballet?”

“Listen, it was a whim,” he grinned.

“Does whim mean Rachel-”

“-and happy birthday by the way,” he cut her off and pulled her in for a hug. Her dress was silky under his fingertips as he slid his hands around her. His hands were cold against her hot bare back. She shivered in his arms, but accepted the hug and slipped her hands over his shoulders, leaning onto her tiptoes. Still hugging Y/N, he extended a hand to the woman Y/N was with, “You must be Carrie I’ve heard so much about you.”

Carrie took his hand, grinning at the two, “It’s so nice to meet the man Y/N has been bullying every day.”

He laughed leaning his head back, “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Y/N peeked over his shoulder and spotted Rachel staring at the pair, ��Oh is that who I think it is over there?”

Before he could say anything else, Y/N’s staring had caught Rachel's attention. It seemed to finally be the bait she needed to stand and approach Bruce… or should I say Y/N. Harvey, struggling to keep up with her, seemed surprised by the sudden change in demeanor.

“Bruce!” she smacked his arm mischievously. “How rude of you! Introduce Harvey and me to your new lady friends.”

She smiled over at Carrie, but the way she looked at Bruce and Y/N could only be described as suggestive. Y/N stuck out her hand to shake Rachel's. She took her hand in return, eyeing her small, dainty engagement ring placed on Y/N's left ring finger. Anyone else looking at the ring would have immediately noticed it was not big or bold enough to be from Bruce Wayne, cracked with time, and clearly a fake stone, yet she still raised her eyebrow at the pair. Bruce and Y/N noticed the shift and suddenly started interrupting each other, creating some sort of rushed mashed sentence.

“Oh, he’s my boss, I’m engaged-” “She’s my assistant, Rachel-” “We work together-” “I wouldn’t say we’re that good of friends-” “I wouldn’t say we’re anything above coworkers-” “More like work friends-”

The smile on Rachel’s face grew in amusement. Oh, to tease Bruce Wayne. “So you work for him? I hope you’re keeping him on his toes.”

“On his toes and in office,” Y/N gossiped proudly. “Though now, with this ballerina fiasco, I have another thing to add to my plate. I almost lost my reservation because of this shit!”

“Do I have to ask how this is going to affect you?” Bruce asked, and Y/N’s attention completely shifted to him.

“Do you have no common sense? The entire restaurant is going to have to shift their reservations. Who do you think the governor is going to be calling when he can’t get a reservation for his anniversary? You. Because it’s your restaurant.” Y/N turned quickly back to Rachel. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering your date too much.”

She shrugged, “I’ve known Bruce since we were kids. Trust me, I can handle it. It’s so nice to see someone else who doesn’t just fawn over him.”

As they bantered, Bruce looked at Carrie and just shook his head. She snickered. He should have known if Y/N and Rachel ended up in the same space together, shenanigans would ensue.

“I hate to interrupt,” he spoke. No, he doesn’t, Rachel mumbled to Y/N, who grinned at her. “Okay, I don’t, but you should probably sit down and eat before my restaurant closes.”

Bruce had taken Y/N by the shoulder, to which she rolled her eyes, and offered Carrie his elbow, leading them over to the green room. The walls were draped in a deep green floral wallpaper. It was eclectic, like nothing she would expect from Bruce’s restaurant, especially after seeing his family home. There was a large fountain, big enough to swim in, placed in the center of the room and decorated with tigers. A curious thing to have at a restaurant called The Ocelot, she thought. But that’s still not what immediately caught her attention when she entered the room. Their table was to the right of the large gaudy fountain, decorated with a tiered birthday cake, almost as tall as the table. She held her breath, and Carrie gasped. 

He was still behind her, but his hand slipped to her waist. The back of his palm was against the hot skin of her back, and his fingers traced the edge of her silk dress by her hip bone. With a wave of his hand, the servers lit the candles and dimmed the lights, illuminating what could only be described as a frosted tower of light glistening against the water of the fountain. Leaning, lips against her ear, he whispered, “I hope this makes up for earlier. Happy Birthday.” 

To be continued… @pank0w @moejoeflow @padsfirewhisky @maxinehufflepuffprincess

[cyber-streak-extra]

So, I decided to make another quick little fic involving the ITP: Happy Ending AU by @maraariana01 and this time, it’s got Funtime Freddy from Count The Ways, aswell :)

Title: A Bear, A Child, & Said Bear’s Way Of Breaking, Entering, & Capturing

The animatronic bear stared out at the house, a smirk plastered right on his face. He’d been around the area for quite some time—after simply stumbling across it after wandering around after leaving the old man’s garage.

He already knew who he wanted to get this time—the young boy, Oswald. He’d already been planning everything... he’d just been waiting for the perfect moment.

Funtime Freddy sighed. When it did come down to taking the kid, he would’ve preferred to be able to use his storage tank—but, thanks to Silly Millie, when she entered, she caused it to get stuck.

It was something that the bear only discovered after he’d counted, gotten rid of his boredom, and fulfilled Chilly Milly’s wish. It was all still a win-win in his eyes. But he wished she hadn’t gotten it stuck. No matter what he tried, it stayed that way.

Oh well, Funtime Freddy thought. I can still manage.

...

Oswald sat at his bed, drawing some sketches. His phone was in his lap, texting Ben—although his friend hadn’t texted back yet. He could hear Jinx purring from where she lay on the ground.

He was waiting for Spring Bonnie to finish up with some chores—as the rabbit was going to drive him to go pick up Ben. Through his closed door, he could hear the vacuum.

Oswald was glad that everything was normal again—...well, as normal as life could be after he went through the ball pit, and obtained a third parent in Spring Bonnie.

Everything else was still pretty normal. School had started back up, he’d been visiting and chatting with Ben more—who had returned from his little vacation not too long ago. Spring Bonnie, Jackie, and Thomas all seemed to be comfortable with each other.

He knew it was something that took time getting adjusted to. Oswald was happy that it went smoother than he had thought it would when he talked to the two of them, explaining little parts of what had happened that day.

...Even now, he had never outright explained the ball pit. Sure, he told them both that he found Spring Bonnie at Jeff’s Pizza, but Oswald never explained the time traveling part. He didn’t even know how.

Click.

Oswald paused. What was that? He frowned. It sounded like it was coming from behind him. His window? Before he could turn, he started to hear the sound of hissing.

“Jinxie?” He glanced down at the cat, who was backing up slowly—she looked on edge, and her hissing didn’t stop. “What’s the m-“

Oswald’s eyes widened when he was suddenly grabbed by a cold, metallic, and somewhat broken arm. A gasp had escaped him when he was lifted up, but he could tell it was muffled.

His eyes darted around, trying to get a full look, and what had grabbed him was obviously an animatronic—but not the one that he was used to seeing, or liked seeing. Just like the arm, this animatronic was damaged, and he seemed to be a bear.

The animatronic bear chuckled, although it was obvious that he was trying to keep himself quiet. He was just barely succeeding. “Hello, Little Ocelot!~” He whispered—or tried to, voice glitching.

Barely managing to see anything else behind the large bear, Oswald noticed his window. It was fully opened, but it looks like some parts of it had been broken in the process.

Oswald wanted to get away. He wanted away from this bear. He could feel himself moving around... but it wasn’t working. The bear’s grip was strong. What did he want?

Oswald didn’t want to find out.

Could he yell for Spring Bonnie? He knew he sounded muffled... but what if the bunny still heard him? How good was the bunny’s hearing? He didn’t know.

For a moment, Oswald thought about trying to call someone—but that was quickly thrown out the window when he realized that he couldn’t. His phone, originally in his lap before he was grabbed, was now abandoned on the floor.

He could only think that, if he could grab it, that he would either end up messaging Ben—who seemed to have texted back now—or his parents—who were out on a date. What would they do?

“Squirmy one, aren’t ya, Little Ocelot?” The bear chuckled again, still seemingly trying to make sure that he remained quiet enough. Oswald glanced around, eyes spotting the bear’s stomach. What was leaking out of it...?

...

Spring Bonnie had been vacuuming the whole house. He’d decided to do some chores a couple of hours, and then he planned on driving with his son and Ben. He’d promised to do so after he was finished.

He was in the living room—which was the last area he needed to get done. Earlier, Oswald’s room had been where he had started, and he went from there.

Spring Bonnie’s ears twitched, and he paused. He thought he heard something. Was it just the vacuum? It was loud. He’d almost forgotten that he had the TV on, too—a rom-com, which he was glancing up at and watching bits of as he did chores.

He continued vacuuming for a second or two... but then the bunny’s ears twitched again. The bunny was hearing something. It wasn’t coming from the vacuum or the TV, though. It was... what was it?

The bunny pressed a button, turning the vacuum off, and setting it carefully on the ground. The TV’s volume was quite low, so he didn’t need to turn it further down—he’d mainly been relying on the subtitles earlier.

Hissing. The bunny heard hissing. And... talking? Talking. It was a little distant and somewhat muffled from where he was, but he knew that’s what it had to be.

The hissing had to be Jinx—he’d grown accustomed to that noise. But the talking? It wasn’t Oswald. It wasn’t Jackie, or Thomas. It wasn’t Ben. He could tell that. He knew all of their voices well... but this wasn’t any of them.

Son? Spring Bonnie frowned in concern. He could feel his ears start to lower. He should go check on him. He hoped that it was nothing—he hoped that nothing was wrong—nothing was going on with his son.

Moving the vacuum out of his path, the bunny started walking down the hallway to reach his son’s room.

...

When he opened the door, Spring Bonnie nearly stepped on Jinx’s tail—but spotted the hissing cat before that, and stepped out of the way. Once out of her way, the cat ran out.

He watched her leave, confused, before turning back around and looked ahead. That confusion quickly turned to horror from the sight in front of him.

Funtime Freddy, beside the bed, with his son squirming around in the bear’s grasp. Both’s attention were turned to Spring Bonnie when he had entered the room.

Spring Bonnie! Oswald felt relieved.

“Oh, why hello!” Funtime Freddy knew of him. Knew of how the bunny came from the pit—pretended to be Thomas—before truly joining the family. He knew how he was essentially a third parent.

Oswald thought he heard a... growl?

Spring Bonnie took a step forward, and Funtime Freddy started moving, too—towards the direction of Oswald’s door. “I wouldn’t get too close, bun-bun!” He snickered.

The bunny stared. “I have plans,” He started, still slowly making his way to Oswald’s door—the smirk remaining on his face. “You wouldn’t want your Little Ocelot to go...” He used his arm without the hand, seemingly doing a ‘slicing’ motion around his own neck.

“But, maybe it would be fun to make you count the ways with me, bun-bun...” He laughed, smirk growing. He wondered what Spring Bonnie would choose. He also wondered what the kid would want. But, he had different plans.

He was here to get the kid and leave, before resuming everything. Silly Milly shouldn’t have gotten his storage tank stuck. If not for her, this would be a little easier. But, he had fun with her.

Oswald noticed how Spring Bonnie was beginning to leak. There was always little bits dripping, but massive leaking usually seemed to happen, he noticed, when the bunny was angry or sad.

Teeth. Oswald and Funtime Freddy saw all of the teeth stored in the bunny after he unhinged his jaw. Angry. Oswald hadn’t seen him like that since the night he went back to Jeff’s Pizza to get his dad.

“Oh, you don’t like that, bun-bun?” Funtime Freddy giggled.

Spring Bonnie’s hands bawled into fists. Just as the bunny started to get closer, the bear ran out of Oswald’s bedroom door. Spring Bonnie followed.

He entered the living room, looking around—he didn’t see Funtime Freddy or his son yet. He could feel himself leaking further.

Just as the bunny took another step, he heard a glitchy little laughter, followed by footsteps, and the feeling of something hitting him from behind—it felt... electrifying. Shocking.

...

Spring Bonnie blinked. He was leaning against one of the walls in the living room. He wiped at some of the liquid agony and remnant, before hurriedly looking around. Son...! What had the bear done?

Standing up fully, the bunny hurriedly began looking all over the house. He went back to his son’s room, checking under the bed, and in the closet, before moving to the rest of the house.

Oswald... Spring Bonnie could feel himself shaking as he kept checking the house. His ears were lowered. He could feel so much liquid leaking from his body—eyes especially.

As he reached the last room that he had to check, Thomas and Jackie’s room, Spring Bonnie leaned against the wall as his body started shaking further. How could he let this happen? How could he let his son get taken?

What was going to happen...?

Son... I’m so sorry...

He couldn’t find anything in the house—no hints or traces of where Funtime Freddy could possibly be with his son. Wherever the bear went with Oswald, neither of them were in the house anymore.

Spring Bonnie made a decision. He left through the front door, hurriedly looking around outside—he spent an hour or two doing so. That’s what it felt like.

The bunny was leaking everywhere. He checked the front yard, and the back yard—every area near the house, and even somewhat far away—in hopes that he’d find any sort of clue to where his son and the bear could be.

He found nothing.

Spring Bonnie made his way back home. When he got back, he’d been planning to recheck everywhere. But, as he passed the front door, the bunny fell to his knees.

Jinx meowed sadly from where she lay somewhere in the living room.

He should’ve been able to stop Funtime Freddy. He should’ve been able to stop him from taking his son. The bunny should’ve been able to save his son. Had he failed his son...? What did Funtime Freddy want with him?

Horrible possibilities started throwing themselves into the bunny’s mind—which he attempted to ignore, but... Funtime Freddy could do anything. What if he had already done something? How was he going to find his son?

Spring Bonnie heard the front door open.

...

“Oswald, we’re-“ Thomas started, closing the door behind him and his wife—although he stopped when he spotted Spring Bonnie in the middle of the living room.

He was collapsed on his knees, shaking. Even if the bunny wasn’t facing them, Jackie could tell that he was leaking... something. (What was it called? She’d never asked. Did Spring Bonnie know?)

Most of the leaking, she noticed, was coming from his eyes—it was pouring out like a waterfall. Although she noticed it coming from other parts of him, too. Jackie frowned.

“Spring Bonnie?” She gently called out, approaching the bunny carefully. Thomas stayed where he was, but looked around.

“Spring Bonnie,” The nurse knelt beside the animatronic. “What happened...? What’s wrong?”

The leaking bunny turned slightly to look at Jackie. Messily searching through his pockets of his coat, Spring Bonnie eventually pulled out his note pad and pen.

Jackie and Thomas, who moved a little closer, both watched as the bunny started writing. Although, whatever was leaking ended up hitting the notepad paper. So, the only words that the two could fully read were: “Oswald” “Freddy” and “Captured”.

Spring Bonnie messily flipped to another page on the notepad a second later, and sloppily wrote something else—this time, only two words. But it got the point across. “Son taken.”

“W-What...?” Jackie whispered, horrified, her eyes widening.

He could vaguely hear Thomas say something, too, followed by quick footsteps—from the corner of his eyes, Thomas seemed to be making his way to his son’s room.

Jackie watched her husband for a single moment, before refocusing on the shaking bunny in front of her. “Spring Bonnie, w-“

She was cut off when the bunny moved forward, hugging her—the hug was tight, but he wasn’t hurting Jackie, either. Blinking as her eyes felt watery, Jackie hugged the bunny back.

Jackie had never seen him like this. She rubbed the bunny’s back, closing her eyes. Oswald... please, be okay. What had happened? Why would anyone want to take her son...?

He should’ve stopped the bear before he escaped, Spring Bonnie had thought. He should’ve done... anything. Why did this have to happen? Oswald didn’t deserve anything that the bear may do.

He only hoped that he could get to his son somehow before Funtime Freddy went through with anything...

[vixxelle]

OUYGHSH the amount of GASLIGHTING and ANGST Romeo can afflict on Petra is giving me the shivers me timbers

Like Romeo has seen every aspect of Petra’s life up till the Sunshine Institute, he knows all of her trauma and insecurities, what makes her tick.

He uses her growing guilt of Reuben, The Witherstorm, and her mother to drill the idea that she HAS to be his champion (AKA become his vessel) in order to ‘repent’ for ‘all the crap she put others through’.

Oh I can see it know:

Y’know what Petra, fine, go ahead and wander off to Jeb knows what to frolic about… I’m not really surprised, more like disappointed… I thought that opening my arms to you and giving you and your friends shelter and guidance would make you more thankful for what people do for you, hell, I even made you my CHAMPION and gave you all the love and praise - at least more than you deserve - and yet you repay me by being an ungrateful brat.

Oh I knew I should’ve chosen Jessica… Sure, you were the won that won my little games, but unlike you Jessica never put anyone in danger or fucked anyone’s life up. Jessica never acted entitled to anyone’s time, wander off like a stray ocelot. Why, she’s an angel compared to you! You used to be so eager and sweet, such great Champion material… But once I give you a task that was a little bit harder and messy than the usual, you just crumble up like paper and hobble about like a goddamn zombie. Oh heaven forbid you do some actual champion work rather than strutting around like some goddamn aristocrat.

All your life, you’ve been meandering around leeching off of anyone who gave a small speck of a shit about you. You go on all of these wacky hijinks instead of doing your goddamn job and then throw a tantrum when your friends have other responsibilities.

And when someone like me, THE ROMEO comes to you and offers you power and a way to repent by helping me create a better world, you take it for granted and act like a thorn in my side!

Stella’s more obedient than you, and she’s a bumbling buffoon!

In fact, Stella’s actually quite smarter than you!

At least she doesn’t put her friends in danger, at least she wasn’t as much of a brat that her own mother abandoned her, at least she didn’t abandon her friend over some petty bullshit, or gave some weird shaggy old man a fucking key to his plot of mass destruction for some measly diamonds, or was a burden to her entire friends during their quest to undo the damage she inadvertently caused, and got one of her closest friend’s pet killed.

Unlike you, Petra, Stella actually has a purpose in this world. Stella actually cares about doing her fucking job. And Stella wouldn’t jump into a pit of Cave Spiders to prove that she’s so tough.

Just admit it, Petra, you know goddamn well you are responsible for everything that happened to you and others. I know how badly you want to undo the damage you caused, and here you are! You have the opportunity to repent at your disposal!

…

…My dear, the only reason I’m hard on you is because I want to mold you into a better person! This position is giving you the position you wanted all your life! The hero who gets showered with praise, the hero who everyone looks up to, the hero who helps everyone! I’m willing to give you this if you just follow my orders and care for the Sunshine Institute…

You want Jessica and Radar to be safe, right? You want to make your dads proud, right? You wanna go back home, to Beacon Town? Don’t you? You wanna see all of your friends again, right?

You do, right?

…

Right?

…Yes, Romeo

Good. Now get out of my sight and guard the patients. And stop wasting my breath and time…

[lucky-draws]

mirror image (transcription under the cut:)

It’s a pretty lonely thing - for both parties - when all someone sees in another person is the reflection of someone else. You remember Master mentioning, once, offhand, something about Big Boss and Ocelot, and how the latter was the son of - the spitting image of - your father’s “beloved mentor”. Well, you don’t give a damn about your father’s personal history, but it’s not hard to imagine how things might have played out between those two, because Master was the same way with you. It was there at the start - faintly, well-concealed at first, and not something you understood yet. A tiny flinch at the sound of your voice around a particular phrase; a flicker of a grimace when the glow of your cigarette - a celebratory smoke, in his office, your latest blood money well earned - cast your face in the wrong light. And later, away from it all, when you became David, just David, it was still there, although now it wasn’t always a grimace. Sometimes it was a whispered, feverish command to “keep talking - want to hear you”; other times it was a near-slip of the tongue, lips forming a ‘b’ for Boss, hastily changed to “boy” at the last second.

Sometimes it was eyes closed, a mouth against your week-old stubble, a hand curling too tightly into your hair - dark, curly, no longer military short - and you’d know that his mind was elsewhere, and that “you” were just a wanted reminder of a man thousands of miles and three decades away, in the jungle. So - now, it’s sort of a relief such as you never knew you were craving to be with Hal. Hal who can only see you for who you are - Hal who saw what you are and stayed anyway, God help him. He has his own ghosts, of course; his father and our father lurk side by side, two constant, flickering shadows - but when you look at each other, there aren’t any reflections of anyone else. He calls you David and means it; you call him Hal, not because that’s what his father named him, but because that’s who he is. Maybe you really are like the Hal and Dave from A Space Odyssey - the whole cosmic beings thing, the two of you rising up above everything else, transcendental. It certainly feels like that sometimes. He’d probably laugh if you said this out loud, of course, make the usual remark about you being far too romantic for a soldier. Maybe you are. All you know is, it makes you feel alive in a way you’re unfamiliar with to finally be seen, to be known - to know yourself - and to feel like neither of you will ever be lonely again. And sometimes, secretly, against the will of the soldier in you, who lives from one minute to the next and doesn’t dare think of his tomorrows, you’ve even caught yourself thinking: long may this last.

- 2nd image speech bubbles: BB: You still look like her, you know. Even now. (It’s that damn ponytail...) Ocelot: Mm. And is that a good thing? BB: ... 4th image text on the photo: Otacon’s writing: Even though Dave was the one taking the photo, he still blinked at the wrong moment... Snake’s writing: Yeah well at least I don’t look like a huge weeb. <3

[the-shy-lonely-weirdo]

You know what the most disappointing Clone High S2 episode is to me personally? The musical one.

I’m not comparing it to the first seasons Rock Opera one because there is no point because it is perfect Clone High Ep. I mean it was Jack Black for Peet’s sake.

However, I want to keep in mind, since the end of S1, we have had HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL! One of the easiest things to parody! It should be a parody of that very specific time in Disney TV where it’s all about stupid Disney teen dramas of that era. You have an audience that probably either watched that growing up OR at the very least knows about it through cultural osmosis. And it doesn’t even need to be just high school musical. It can also be one of the MILLION other teen Disney musical movies from the 2000’s. Cheetah girls, (Joan and the girls can be the “Ocelot Ladies” and dress like Ocelots) Camp Rock, (They can just be camping in the middle of the School Campus and also make it a slasher camp horror parody, with singing!) or at least have one of those awkward teen trauma dump scenes in all those movies where the clones could be laying in the grass in a circle and just try to out trauma each other. (It’s starts with Confu talking about how his parents don’t pay attention to him and ends with Cleo talking about seeing her Foster Father have his guts eaten out by a hippo at the zoo. No one really knows how to react to that one)

But even if they don’t go with that route… THERE ARE A MILLION DIFFERENT HIGHSCHOOL BASED MUSICALS THEY CAN PARODY! Heathers! Harriet and the girls accidentally kill Cleo, hijinks ensue! Dear Evan Hansen! They already love dumping on Abe so much, have him break his arm and whine about how his life is so unfair while having someone with real issues like Van Gohn not get noticed! Grease! OMG IMAGINE HOW FUNNY IT WOULD BE IF THE BOYS ALL DRESSED LIKE GREASERS AND SANG A KNOCK OFF OF GREASE LIGHTNING!

And the “Big Race” is just them racing down the halls on a tricked out version of one of these things:

Hell, they could even do the lazy parody of The Phantom of the Opera. Like Topher is mad that he doesn’t get to be the leader in the awareness month campaign and puts on a disguise so that he can sabotage it. And it’s so obviously is him doing it but no one ever figures it out and when he’s unmasked everyone screams because HE’S HIDEOUS!

Instead, what do we get? A very weak ep with 3 songs that aren’t even memorable. Nothing really making good jabs at the musical High School drama and what I found most disappointing is Harriet. If I’m reading her right, she’s suppose to be a bit of a Theater Kid? Have these people MET Theater Kids??? She should be a lot more pushy with her musical love! She should be a drama lover and want to know all the juicy details in everyone’s drama! She should be a huge romantic and try to ship her school mates and manufacturing romantic tropes between them! But as is, she is flat. Not Theater Kid enough.

They don’t even have a musical guest star! I get if they can’t get Lin-Manuel Miranda, but like SOMEONE THAT CAN SING AT LEAST! You know, go with the theme of the ep! But no, they couldn’t even do that!

That’s what I feel like is the worst part of the ep. There is SO MUCH they could have done with this genre and they did almost nothing! Everything they did do just didn’t push enough and felt flat. I WANT Clone High to have a good High School Musical ep. I LOVE Musical drama and it’s campiness! I want a ridiculous parody of it! I think the Clones would be great in one! But it just wasn’t enough and that is super disappointing.