folkloreforrest

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

*puts down some SAGAU fluff* come here i have a tasty meal for you :)

Childe often goes to the city to pick up supplies, as you can't wander into a crowd without getting accused of impersonation- he's seen the scars etched over your skin, the lines of starry blood from blades and burns. so even with the cloth mask you always wear, he doesn't push you to venture into any big cities or villages. you are the Creator, after all, and Childe- Ajax- wants you to be as happy as possible. besides, it's always the perfect opportunity to catch wind of any news floating around, both from his subordinates and chatter on the street. the Eleventh Harbinger is oddly quiet nowadays, completing his work in silence and deep thought, yet the agents of the Fatui swear they can see a faint sparkle in his deep blue eyes.

it's during one of his outings that Ajax notices that he has a shadow- a small, fuzzy shadow, a kitten trotting after him as he goes around doing his weekly errands. the tiny thing is determined keep following him, even though one of his steps is practically an entire journey to it, and after the kitten trails after him to every shop he visits, Ajax simply scoops it up in one hand and carries it with him. it clambers onto his shoulder and makes itself comfortable, periodically mewing and nudging his cheek. Foul Legacy is going mad trying to stay silent in the back of Ajax's head, trilling and chirping in delight at the new adorable friend.

you're equally as delighted when Ajax brings the kitten home, gasping and reaching out as he gently sets it in your hands- and just in time, as Foul Legacy takes over their shared body, nuzzling up to you and chittering very quietly so he doesn't scare the cat. he watches your every move and reaction, the warm smile on your face after all that you've suffered making his heart melt. your newfound friend meows, high pitched and squeaky, kneading biscuits against your scarred palms as Legacy gently pulls you into his lap and purrs deeply along with the tiny kitten's buzzing.

the Creator, an Abyssal monster, and their fluffy companion- now all you need to do is think of a name.

[xiaq]

I want an AU where Steve is a werewolf and Eddie is a vampire except neither of them know about the other.

Eddie is the frontman of an up and coming band, but he's left his coven and surrounded himself with humans. They perform after sunset anyway so it's easy enough for him to hide his nature.

Steve has similarly left his toxic family pack and built his own pseudo-pack through the kids. He works as a park ranger. Or an ornithologist. Or something else nature-y/nerdy. But no one knows about his furry little secret.

Maybe Steve ends up attending a concert with one of the kids who has VIP passes and Eddie zeros in on Steve immediately at the meet and greet because he's pretty and preppy and delightfully out of place and also he smells good. And Steve is having similar thoughts, but he tries to play it off because there's no way an honest to god rock star would be interested in him and his polo and his boat shoes (also his hearing is temporarily fucked from the concert, so he doesn't register Eddie's lack of heartbeat).

After some light flirting, Eddie invites Steve back to his hotel and Steve is like, you know what? Yes. I am going to have a one night stand with the gorgeous front man of a metal band and I'll probably fall a little in love with him by the end of the night and it will break my heart when he kicks me out in the morning, but it will be an experience. Let me go drop off my kids and I'll be right back.

Except what he doesn't know is Eddie is planning to have a little snack while they're in the throes of passion––not enough to hurt Steve or anything, just enough that he'll have a pleasurable blackout and wake up tired but sated.

The only problem is that neck-biting (that breaks the skin) for wolves is the equivalent of marriage.

So when Eddie bites Steve, instead of a venom-drunk human, peacefully slipping into sleep in his arms, he gets a very horny, very confused, werewolf who is now insisting that they're married.

I can't decide if it would be funnier if Wolves/Vampires didn't know about each other, Ie:

"You're a Werewolf?" Eddie says, "What do you mean you're a werewolf? Werewolves exist? No. Shut up. Prove it."

And:

"Holy shit. A vampire. Vampires are real," Steve reaches for Eddie's face and Eddie is so baffled by the everything of this situation that he lets Steve pinch Eddie's top lip and peel it up off his fangs for a mortifyingly long moment. Eddie draws the line when he starts poking at Eddie's incisors, though.

"Why do I feel funny?" Steve mutters. "Will your venom kill me?"

"How should I know," Eddie hisses, only a little hysterical, "I didn't know wolves existed until two minutes ago, I've never bitten a wolf before."

"And you won't be biting any others, mister. Infidelity is not ok."

The other option is that wolves and vamps DO know about each other but stay so isolated in their covens and packs (and loners are super unusual) that they never interact. So Steve and Eddie are both like, dang, I'd been raised to think all of your kind were smelly/ugly/gross, but you uh, don't fit into that box at all. Weird.

Regardless, Steve (still naked, probably) crosses his arms all huffy, like, "well, we're married now, you're not going to bite me and then cast me aside like some harlot," and Eddie is like "...I'm weirdly ok with this, actually. No arguments here." And eventually they live happily ever after.

[fryingpan1234567]

so what if the Bats were Spiders instead?

in a different universe, Bruce Wayne grew up with arachnophobia instead of chiroptophobia. he found secret experiments in a lab beneath their family estate, and it didn’t take him long to pick up the family business.

neurotoxin experiments. spiders.

in a different universe, Bruce Wayne became Spider-Man.

in a different universe, Dick Grayson didn’t need to be bitten by a spider to pick up the Spider-Man mantle. he grew up knowing how to do all the acrobatics and combat anyways— all B had to do was give him web shooters and a suit. but there couldn’t be two Spider-Man’s. so he became Nightwing. but with a blue spider on his chest instead of a bird!

Nightwing’s webs come from his escrima sticks. they’re packing some serious voltage, so sometimes in a pinch he’ll use them instead of his police-issued taser. his favorite part about the whole spider thing is that he can fully just… throw himself off of buildings. and not die. he’s an adrenaline junkie, what can he say?

in a different universe, Jason Todd did everything the same. tried to steal the wheels off the vehicle of the most famous vigilante in Gotham. B picked him up and let him choose the spider and gave him the power to do good.

Robin “giving him magic” didn’t stop the Green Goblin from caving in his skull. although spiders you thought you’d killed do have a way of disappearing.

and returning. in a different universe, the Red Hood took the black widow as his mascot and nobody could do anything in Gotham City without him knowing about it. he single-handedly put down all the arms dealers in the city.

in a different universe, Tim Drake made his own spider. he’d been a fan of Thomas and Bruce Wayne’s work for his whole life, or at least since he learned how to read— and he figured he could get Spider-Man’s attention if he was able to replicate the project as young as he did.

oh, he got Spidey’s attention all right. befriending and adopting an alien symbiote will do that. player 4 has joined the game.

in a different universe, Venom is co-piloted by Tim, who really does like aliens. B thinks it’s a tiny bit weird, but while Tim is tiny his alien companion is very much not. it’s extra armor.

Tim works at the Daily Bugle. nobody knows how exactly he gets the quality kind of photos he does of Gotham’s Spider-family situation, but who’s complaining? he’s just really good at his job.

in a different universe, Cassandra Cain was bitten by a spider before she even met Bruce Wayne. her mother had trained her for combat for her whole life. she couldn’t prepare her for superpowers.

B was happy to help. in a different universe, rather than Cass becoming Blackbat, she took on the alias Black Widow. watch your back for her, though. she’s got the same deadly instinct in every universe.

in a different universe, Stephanie Brown became the first Spider-Woman. of course, she wasn’t the only one, but there’s something about being the original, isn’t there?

she knows she’s funny. she thinks it’s part of the job; it feels right. she’s the closest to the average canon Spider-Man. she could’ve been recruited to the Society at any point in time. and there’s something about that too.

in a different universe, Damian Wayne was born with superpowers. he’d inherited Bruce’s from birth. Talia was quick to hand him off once she realized her baby could crawl on walls and ceilings. the Spider Cave was getting a bit crowded, but what’s one more dangerous, unpredictable, biologically enhanced child? bring it on.

aside from Hood, Tarantula is the only Spider willing to kill a man on the field. yeah, as in. bird-eating tarantula. Robin. get it?

of course, in a different universe, he still had his katana. wouldn’t be Damian Wayne without it. his favorite thing is to swing down from a skyscraper with his webs and run through bad guys like kebabs. B says it’s immoral, but who can be mad about stabbing Doc Ock’s goons?

in another universe, Duke Thomas is the most famous member of the family. he’s the other closest to canon Spider-Man. he takes the day jobs, he talks to the press, he’s the least-hated at the Daily Bugle.

his webs glow. that makes night ops harder. so he sticks to the sunlight. people started calling him the Spider-Signal. which doesn’t make a lot of sense? but Duke is the kinda guy to just kinda shrug it off, because he’s not gonna take on the entire city’s press on his own.

Miguel O’Hara stayed the bleeding hell away from this universe. this group of bats spiders were too unpredictable to have in the Spider Society at all. there were no missions there, but constant surveillance. (until. you know. Miles Morales rocked up with a proposition to take down a tyrannical system with horrible judgement and a corrupted leader. and then Miguel couldn’t ignore the Wayne family anymore.)

how I love the multiverse. endless possibilities, amirite?

(please ask me to write more for this au. drabbles. more characters. PLEASE)

[bradshawsvinyl]

Begin Again Part Three

As a first grade teacher, you couldn’t help but fall for your sweet student and her very attractive Navy fighter pilot father.

part one. part two.

Bradley woke up the next morning feeling hopeful. It had been a long time since he had felt so attracted to someone. He knew you were Tara’s teacher and that both put you in a weird spot but he couldn’t help himself.

After getting Tara ready for school and dropping her off, he made the drive to base. He wanted to talk to Phoenix about what he should do next. Pursuing you could put both him and Tara in an awkward position and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He was Tara’s father before anything else and if starting something with you would be harmful to Tara in any way, he would just have to push his feelings aside.

“Nat,” Bradley called out as he saw her across the hallway.

“Rooster. Hey,” Phoenix replied when she spotted him. “How are things going with the hot teacher?”

“I gave her my number yesterday. She’s helping me out with Tara after school until I get off work.” Bradley said, blushing.

“No way Bradshaw,” Phoenix said excitedly. Phoenix was Bradley’s best friend and at the end of the day, she wanted what was best for him. It had been so long since she had seen Bradley try to pursue a woman for more than one night. She knew his feelings were genuine.

“Yeah,” Bradley said smiling. “I’ve never felt this way before. I barely know her but I just feel a connection. I think she feels it too.”

“You should ask her out.” Phoenix thought out loud.

“No way,” Bradley said while running his fingers through his hair. “I can’t do that. What if she says no? I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t ask.” Phoenix said, staring at a distressed Bradley. “Just try. What’s the worst that could happen?”

After his conversation with Phoenix, Bradley started thinking to himself. What was the worst that could happen? If you said no to his advances, he could live with that. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.

As he went to pick up Tara from school, he decided to make a quick trip to the local grocery store to pick up some flowers. He figured it would be a nice gesture regardless of whether you chose to go out with him or not. He truly did appreciate all your help with Tara.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Tara asked as you both sat together and colored.

“No.” You said while coloring a picture of a butterfly.

“My daddy could be your boyfriend.” Tara replied not even looking up from the page she was covering. “He doesn’t have a girlfriend but he tells Aunt Phoenix that he wants one all the time.”

Just as Tara finished her sentence, Bradley knocked on your open door. “Hey ladies.” He said jokingly at the sight of you and Tara.

Tara did her usual routine of running up to Bradley and hugging him while excitedly telling him about her day. You sat back and began cleaning up your classroom and packing up your bag for the day.

Bradley told Tara to start grabbing her belongings while he walked over to you. “I wanted to give these to you.” He said, holding out the flowers he purchased for you earlier. “As a thank you for all your help with Tara. It means a lot.”

You grabbed the flowers and mumbled a quick thank you to Bradley while smiling and blushing.

“I wanted to ask you something too,” Bradley started. “I have a sitter for Tara on Saturday night. There’s a small bar by my house that we could hang out at if you’re interested.” Bradley let out a short breath. The ball was now in your court.

“I’d love to.” You replied a little too quickly.

“Great.” Bradley said. “I’ll text you the details. See you on Saturday,” he said while giving you a small wink. He held Tara’s hand and led her outside of your classroom.

Once he had left, you silently celebrated. Bradley and you were going on a date. You had never felt so excited.

[sociopathicartist]

Hey! I was wondering if you could do both fluff and some suggestive or more mature relationship headcanons with Sans?

tysm for requesting! all the suggestive/mature ones will be below the cut

Classic!Sans x reader (Fluff and Suggestive) headcanons.

Not that Sans would be extremely clingy per se, but he is very attached to you. I feel like he’d for sure like to just show up to your work quite often with a lunch or snack for you that he made, always packed with a silly joke written on your napkin inside. He kinda works various jobs and works around town since he’s not a big fan of the boring, same daily routine with his life, so whenever he’s off from work and he doesn’t have really anything to do since almost all his time goes to you, he’ll just show up to surprise you anyways. He likes to just spawn in behind you, sometimes he’ll tap your shoulder and give you a little kiss on your neck as he stands on his tiptoes to let you know he’s there, other times he’ll send you a photo of yourself to be silly. He likes the most though to just stand behind you and wait for you to turn around and notice he’s there, followed by a short scream from the Sans jumpscare. Is that weird? Probably. He doesn’t care.

“Sans! Where the fuck did you come from?”

‘whaaat? babe, it’s just me.’

-

He’s gotten into the habit recently of bringing you things every time he sees you. The gifts rotate out, and they range in extreme variation, but most of them are just silly things he saw when he was out and he bought it because he thought of you. Sans has found that he doesn’t like showing up empty-handed when he sees you anymore, he always has something to slip into your pocket or tuck in your hair. It’s one of his favorite ways of showing you how much he appreciates you. The gifts range anywhere from your favorite flowers, to a smooth rock he found that he drew a face on for you, and to a little ring he saw at the store that he saved up for and waited until he was able to bring it to you at a fancy dinner together. He just really likes bringing you little things to show that he loves you, and it makes him happy to see you wearing a bracelet he got for you or seeing the flowers he gifted you resting nicely in a vase on your coffee table. Even whenever you’ve been dating for years and you both have moved in together, you’ll wake up some mornings to him tucking a piece of hair behind your ear and slowly bringing up something he cooked for you to rest on your lap.

‘hey there, gorgeous. you want these waffles? made them just for you.’

-

Sans didn’t have much interest in dating before you and him became best friends, he was always a bit too lazy, a bit too tired, and a bit too occupied with other things. Those and the fact that nobody really suited him well enough for him to be interested romantically. It makes sense for him to be a virgin, sex is never really something he thought he’d be interested in ever trying with anyone at any point. Sure, the jokes are funny to make, and he hears from his coworkers about who got a piece of what last night, but the subject rang pretty deaf on him and he never had many thoughts of ever having sex with someone. It’s a good piece of effort for him too since he’s a skeleton and he’d have to use magic to conjure anything if that’s what his partner wanted. The topic never really was brought up whenever the two of you started dating, so he just pushed the idea aside.

Then when you were both cuddling on the couch like any other night, and your hand that was under his shirt mindlessly tracing along the vertebrae on his spine trailed a little bit too low, your skin felt just a little bit too soft, too nice. You saw his startled reaction, apologized, and pulled your hand away, but the feeling was still implanted in his mind.

He’s awkward to bring it up to you since he hasn’t talked about this with anyone before other than melee jokes and snickers, so whenever he awkwardly suggested that you both should get a bit more intimate, he wasn’t sure how to think on what was happening whenever you tugged him along to the bedroom. Needless to say, he doesn’t become as awkward on the subject or initiating anything around you, but you might have to be the one to tag him in for more a lot of the time since he still gets a bit too awkward to say or ask for anything.

-

He gets very vocal, which he wasn’t aware that some people don’t like that. It doesn’t make sense to him why you would want someone to be quiet with their noises, doesn’t that tell them what a good job they’re doing? He’s always mumbling something, always telling you how good he feels, how good you’re doing, how much he loves you. It’s a bit weird to see him so focused and into something, since he’s usually pretty nonchalant about 90% of things around him, but it’s definitely a nice sight to see.

‘fuck, sweetheart, i can't-‘

‘wait- do that again, like that, i like that.’

‘holy shit, i love you so much.’

The only time he ever really shuts up is whenever he’s passed out afterward, looking folded over himself in a weird position since he just tumbled onto the pillows in exhaustion before dragging you down to sink into the bed with him.

-

He always wants to have his hands on you, all the time. This ties in with just him being physically affectionate, but to just be with you like this, getting to admire you and listen to you as you’re over him, he can’t help but keep his hands on you the whole time. They are either wrapped snugly around your waist, running through your hair, or tracing up and down your sides. Sans just can’t help it, his full and loving attention is just on you.

-

I also just don’t feel like he’d be much into PDA or any exhibitionism. I know there are a lot of fanfics out there where he gets freaky in public with the reader, and this is no diss to them, but I just don’t feel like Sans would be one for that. That doesn’t mean he shuns you in public or anything because his arm is always wrapped around yours, and he’s always bumping into you and giving you little kisses on your knuckles whenever you’re around other people. He’s just not interested in making out or getting frisky in a public setting. He likes to be alone with you, somewhere nice and private where he feels safe just being able to relax, not masked in an alleyway or bathroom somewhere. Sans also just isn’t very open about his personal life or interests with people (other than you after a bit), so it doesn’t make logical sense for him to be so willing to have one of the most vulnerable sides of him able for show of being caught or seen.

[hotmessmaxpress]

Mate pleaseeee dont stop writing ever about marc and marco like they areee sososo ughh idk!!!! like it just works so good yk

so thats why i say pretty please with a cherry onntop to give me another snippet of them interacting in anyway🤞🙏

Here is my Bezz x Marc friendship thesis! Which is maybe not what you're looking for but I don't have the brainpower to write an entire scene. I did have the brainpower to dump all of my thoughts about them though!

Okay so in this au there are two main things that I think change Bezz’s view of Marc from enemy to bestie. One is that Bezz has a meltdown about the whole thing and Vale puts him in his place. (I wrote more of this that I might post when I like it!)

The more compelling part to me that I sort of glossed over in the first part of this au is that Bezz has a moment of realization that he and Marc are both omegas. As Marc has noticed, Bezz really doesn’t think too hard about his role as the pack omega. He just is. When Luca first tells Bezz about Marc’s bite and just how badly Vale fucked it up, it sends Bezz into a bit of a crisis that takes him a long time to really confront head on. He sort of just shoves it aside until he has had time to adjust to Marc being in the pack.

Bezz then realizes that no matter what happens, he will always understand Marc better than any other member of the pack because they share the unique experience of being an omega and everything that comes with that. While Bezz’s pack don’t treat him really any differently (at least not in a bad way– if anything they spoil him) than they would if he was an alpha, that doesn’t change the fact that they could. They could take advantage of him, especially during his heats. They could treat him like he’s lesser-than. And none of that ever really occurred to him until he found out about what happened to Marc. And at first, that scared him. The idea that his pack would ever do that to him was terrifying. Pretty quickly, though, he realized that they wouldn’t actually ever do that. Still, that knowledge remained. He and Marc are the only two people in their pack that have to cope with everything that comes with being an omega.

So when it comes to welcoming Marc to the pack (even though it takes Bezz the longest of any of the other pack members) once Bezz decides to love him he loves him. Marc is already a pro at codependent relationships (lol love you Alex) and he and Bezz pretty much latch onto each other.

Marc is who Bezz goes to when he doesn’t feel well. He goes to Marc when he’s tired. He goes to Marc when he needs attention. And on the flip side, Marc goes to Bezz as well. When he needs someone to help him be calm and clear his thoughts, he goes to Bezz.

Marc loves Vale’s room, and he loves that it becomes their room together (he even loves that Vale has a bike in there, a fact which has changed my brain chemistry). He loves the way that Vale has his little pack who all love him and listen to him and look to him for advice. But sometimes he still isn’t sure where he fits into that– he’s closer in age to most of the pack members than he is to Vale, and he really doesn’t feel comfortable giving them unsolicited advice in the way Vale does. He goes to Bezz for reassurance, and he finds himself in Bezz’s room often. There’s something comforting about having a room to go to that doesn’t smell like alpha. Bezz is always happy to have him, too. He lets Marc join him in whatever he’s doing, even if it means Marc silently pressing up against him in bed while Bezz plays video games. Bezz doesn’t even question it. Marc is always allowed in his nests or in his arms.

Maybe they’ve just had a long day of training at the ranch, and Marc’s nerves are frayed because training at the ranch always brings up weird emotions about his first breakup with Vale. And Marc could go to Vale but he doesn’t really want to talk about it and he knows that if he goes to Vale, his mate is going to get all sad-eyed and feel guilty and Marc doesn’t want that! So instead he showers and goes to Bezz’s room, where it smells comfortingly of omega and safety and calm. And Bezz has just showered and his hair is sort of fluffy the way it gets when he allows it to air dry.

Maybe Bezz is even expecting it because he knows Marc gets weird about training at the ranch sometimes (maybe this is even their routine!). So he’s ready and is happy to let Marc curl up next to him in bed. Marc is wearing a sweatshirt that belongs to Vale and he just watches, silently, as Bezz plays video games. He doesn’t join in because he’s tired and emotionally wiped out, but he keeps his chin planted firmly on Bezz’s shoulder. He feels Bezz tense every time he struggles with a battle and feels him relax when he wins. There’s no pressure to talk or explain himself or entertain the other man. They sit in comfortable silence, cuddled together.

Vale comes to check on him usually, and bring them snacks, sometimes, but Marc always stays with the other omega until he feels okay again.

[summer-nights19]

Good for business part 2 - Moonlit Walks

Balor x fem reader

Part 1

Part 3

The morning after you got up to the sound of a rooster. Still half asleep, you slipped on some clothes and headed outside to start ploughing the fields and planting. It didn't take you long to run out of seeds, and, as soon as you did, you decided you'd explore the village and meet its inhabitants. After all, your experiences so far had been nothing but positive. As you walked down the footpath that led from your farm to town, you caught a flash of blue with a corner of you eye.

"Hey Y/N ! Come over here," how Balor had so much energy even this early in the morning was completely beyond you. You smiled to yourself and walked up to his wagon.

"Have you already met everyone ?"

"No, only you and my neighbours," you'd adored meeting them both, particularly Celine, who had been so kind to you.

"Then you absolutely should. Before you go though, check out my wagon. I've got everything you vould ever want in here. Anything catch your eye ?" Balor winked at you and you grinned at his exaggerate salesman persona as you began to look at the goods on display. There really was everything - furniture, food, crafting material, seeds, and weird artifacts. Sighing, you looked down at your boots, which were incredibley worn down after yesterday's travels. The fact that the soles had not broken yet was a miracle.

"Well, some new boots might be nice, but I don't really have much money for now," As you said that, you noticed that all the prices listed were already weirdly low.

"Not to worry. I'll give them to you half price. You know, since you're new and all," Balor looked at you with a knowing smile and you felt butterflies stir up in your stomach

"You won't do anything of the sort. I'll earn the money myself and then buy them at the current price," you'd never been one to accept handouts, preferring to rely on your own strengths. Balor sighed in mock exasperation.

"OK Miss Independent. Will you at least let me keep them aside for you until then ?"

"That would be great. Thank you, Balor. " You met his smile with one of your own. You weren't sure why he was so keen to help out, but you just put it down to the entire city being almost overly friendly. This morning, for example, Celine and Hayden had offered you free seeds to get you started on farming. It was ... nice, living in a place where everyone seemed to care about each other so much.

"I should head off now. I have the entire town to get acquainted with after all,"

Balor grinned. "I'll see you around, Y/N. Come by the inn sometime, yeah ? I enjoy our chats,"

***

It had been a long day. You'd walked around the whole city and its neighbouring fields, learning where everything was and how the town worked. As expected, everyone else had been lovely. You'd felt particularly close to Celine and Reina, who you'd vowed to invite to your house for a picnic or something once it was looking a little less... unkempt. Only March had seemed not to like you, but you didn't let that bother you too much - his brother Olric had told you that was just the way he was. And then there was Balor, who seemed to be living rent free in your head ever since you'd first met at the bridge.

As you brushed your hair and freshened up before going off to the inn, you thought back to all the other men you'd been close to. None of them had provoked feelings that were even similar to these. Did that mean .... no, impossible ! You were business partners, and hopefully with time you'd become friends. Slamming your hairbrush down decisively, you walked out of your front door, attempting to live any and all inappropriate thoughts on the doorstep.

The inn was packed. It felt like the whole town was there, which honestly wasn't too improbable. Celine had told you Fridays were the official day for everyone to gather and socialise at the inn, but it seemed like several people did it everyday. Not that you minded. Quite the opposite in fact.

"Y/N, over here !" Reina waved at you cheerfully. It appeared she'd saved you a seat and a plate if daily soup. You went up to her and Celine, sitting down with a smile.

"Have you met everyone ?" Reina asked as you dug in.

"Yup. I even got you'd about the project to fix the bridge," you replied in between spoonfuls.

"That's so great," Reina's expression was one of total excitement.

"Y/N," A deep voice from behind you called your name, and you turned around to see Ryis, the charming carpenter you'd met earlier that day.

"Hi Ryis, how can I help ?" You asked, feeling both Celine and Reina shift their gazes onto you.

"I just wanted to tell you that if you ever need anything crafted for you farm, you can rely onl me. I'd be more than happy to teach you how it's done or to do it for you," Ryis grinned at you. "And I'm sure that despite what he says, March would also be happy to help."

At hearing his name mentioned, March turned towards you, his face slightly flushed.

"You wanna hear a secret, Y/N. You aren't actually so bad ! Oh wait - what am I saying ?"

You tried not to smile to yourself. It appeared that the closed off, sassy blacksmith was a completely different guy when drunk.

"Well, thank you both," you smiled at them. Surprisingly, even March grinned back.

"Of course. I've got to head off now, but I'll see you around," Ryis gave you a nod before leaving, and you swore you saw a red tint blooming across his cheeks.

"I think he likes you," Celine whispered as soon as he'd left the inn. You looked at her, you eyes wide.

"No, he's just being helpful because I'm new to town. Like everyone else,"

"Be serious, Y/N. Did you see the look on his face ? He barely even breathed a word to Celine and I," Reina said looking at you with both eyebrows raised. Celine nodded.

"I think you're both reading too much into it. Let's just have dinner and talk about something else,"

***

Balor's POV

Balor had watched the entire scene play out from one of the tables at the back of the inn, feeling irrational pangs of jealousy as he did so.

He'd meant to intercept you first, but Celine and Reina had beaten him to it. Oh well. It was good that you were making friends. However, his feelings quickly soured as he saw Ryis blushing and smiling while talking to you as you smiled back. Damn it, he wanted to be the guy to make you smile like that ! And now March was looking at you too ? He wasn't sure why it was affecting him so deeply when it had nothing to do with him. It was probably just the alcohol, and the fact he hadn't been with a woman in quite a while. All his last dates had felt empty and boring, so he'd simply stopped going.

The sound of your voice broke his yrain of thought.

"Well, it's been lovely, guys but I must head back," you were smiling at Reina and Celine, a gesture that made your face look like it was radiating sunlight from within. Before he'd Tully processed what he was doing, Balor walked up to you.

"I'll walk you home," he grinned confidently.

"Oh... thank you so much, but there's no need. I live so close," you cheeks were turning light pink as you spoke, a detail that pleased him more than he cared to admit.

"I insist," as soon as he'd said that, you hadn't hesitated in following him out of the hotel.

You'd walked most of the way in companionable silence before he spoke up.

"You sure scrub up nicely,". You met his gaze, eyes shining in the darkness.

"You do too,". The wind blew a stray strand of hair on your face, and he felt compelled to tuck it behind your ear with his hand. He controlled himself, settling for just walking you to your door.

"Sweet dreams, Y/N. I look forward to working with you,"

You smiled at him, your face lighting up in that way that took his breath away.

"Good night Balor, and me too,"

Masterlist

[writing-whump]

Migraine

Fallout with Arnie and Hector. Arnie gets sick at night.

Hector was dead tired when he got back home.

It was already dark and Isaiah had a work appointment in the city, otherwise Hector suspected he would have come too, basically seeing him off to the tram stop. Like he was worried Hector wouldn't make it without help.

After the performance he made at the mole, Hector couldn't really blame him.

His head was still spinning from all the revelations, his stomach was tied in knots over the emotional roller coaster. If he stopped to think about it too much, he would find new things to angst over.

For now he just felt raw and hollowed out and strangely...relieved.

Things weren't all solved and Isaiah skillfully sidestepped any comments about the chest pain that happened the other day. There were years of secrets and hurts and whatever weird things Isaiah got into his head.

But Hector was going to figure it out. Secret by secret if he had to. Isaiah was not getting rid of him that easy anymore.

Arnie was in an anxious spiral, even though he told Hector himself to go out of the apartment. Turned out he didn't really believe he would manage.

Hector gave him a run down of all the new details he figured out. Arnie was on his best way to draw a timeline to figure out when exactly dad's shadow went mad, when Isaiah's training started, then his missions and what other weird things happened on the way.

It was weird investigating someone who was alive and could answer questions.

Hector found the idea of the pack not noticing their leader was mad and how the hell that could happen the most alarming. A pack was there to hold up their members, cover for what one couldn't do alone. This was out of proportions worst case scenario he never even heard of before.

Arnie was more hung upon the idea of nobody being powerful enough to challange, not to mention defeat dad, aside from Isaiah. Even uncle Grayson, just a few years younger than dad, couldn't defeat him in a one-on-one fight.

Waiting for Isaiah to do that for him? Arnie was complaining about that non stop, even willing to return for a few days to see Grayson on his own. Which was a miracle, cause since coming to see Isaiah, Hector couldn't tear Arnie away from the city.

Of course, Arnie didn't have such a strong pack instinct as a human, but the way he could ignore everyone else when focused on his own goals was incomprehensible to Hector.

Then again, Arnie wasn't all that well treated by the wolves either, so maybe he should stop with the shock.

They talked almost until midnight.

Hector's eyes were falling shut insistently while sitting up. He was exhausted after feeling and purging himself of so many things the day.

When it happened the third time, Arnie made the executive decision to go to sleep.

Hector was out before his head hit the pillow, relieved his stomach was finally steady, even if it sore like he gave it a thorough workout.

...

Hector woke up to a weird keening noise.

A quiet but insistent little sound, reminding him of a hurt animal.

He slid his legs from the bed, rubbing at his eyes. Sleep was sticking to him because of the exhaustion and he didn't feel any danger, nothing alarming him to a foreign or hostile presence.

Stumbling out, he followed the source of the noise to the bathroom. The door was slightly open, but there was no light.

He pushed the door open, switching the light on. The sight hit like a bucket of cold water.

Arnie was curled up around the toilet, elbows on the seat, pressing his hands against his temples in a vice grip. He was white as a sheet, covered in sweat and there was vomit on his chin.

Even worse, when he lifted his eyes to Hector, squinting, they were bloodshot and red, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Arnie groaned as the light hit him, bowing down to wrap his hands around his head.

Hector cursed, switching the light off again, skidding to his knees beside him.

"Pipsqueak, hey, hey. When did this hit?" The sensitivity to light, the pain written all over his face...

Hector was well acquainted with Arnie's migraines. They weren't that frequent anymore, but there was a time when he was around 15 that Arnie would get them every two weeks, like on clock. Hector never felt so helpless as when Arnie cried himself to sleep in a little ball, moaning even when he wasn't aware, against a pain Hector couldn't see, couldn't heal and do nothing against.

Their best bet was usually looking out for the triggers to prevent one coming in the first place. Depending on what it was the meds worked differently. There could be too little sleep, too much sitting, stressed out, food that didn't sit well, some flues even ended with migraines on top.

Hector didn't understand where the hell they came from with a healthy teenage kid. Except now that he had seen Isaiah at the event and thought back about their crappy childhoods...yeah, probably not so weird they both carried something out of it.

It was still frustrating as hell.

"S-sorry, didn't mean to wake you..." Arnie's voice was quiet, careful of his own volume, but Hector could hear the pain and tears written in it loud and clear.

"Dumbass. You should have," Hector chastised in the softest voice he could manage, shifting to sit behind Arnie.

His eyes were adjusting to the dark quickly, but he wasn't suprised to find a puddle of vomit where Arnie's probably didn't.

Hector put his hands gently on Arnie's shoulders. "Did you try your meds? Paralen or muscle relaxants-"

"W-on't stay down," Arnie whimpered.

Yeah, then they were fucked until he could stop vomiting.

"God, Hex. It hurts so much," Arnie whined, slumping forward, all but breaking Hector's heart.

"I know, buddy. Shhhh, try to take deep breaths. We should lie you dow-"

Arnie interrupted the suggestion with a heave, but only a loud wet burp came up. The sudden quick movement made him moan though, shoulders locking up under Hector's hands.

Arnie's stomach gurgled and then swirling sound shot up his throat. The heave brought up a wave of chunky vomiting, Arnie yelping as it jostled his spine.

Hector held his shoulders, helping him aim over the center of the toilet bowl. The vomit splattered loudly into the water.

Arnie hitched, new wave of tears running down his cheeks as he curled up from the pain. "Hhhhurts..."

"Shhhhhh," Hector shushed him, wrapping up toilet paper around his hand to gently mop Arnie's face and chin from behind. "I know this sucks, bud, but you gotta stop crying. It's making you sicker."

When he puked, the pain would spike, making him puke more. It was a viscous cycle hard to break.

Arnie sobbed instead, hands gripping the rim with all their strength. "...God, God, God...we messed it up so badly....

"What?" Hector squashed himself between the wall and Arnie to get a look at him, cupping his chin. "What are you talking about, kiddo?"

"Zaya- did-" he hiccuped, "I'm ssosssorry." More tears sprang up and Arnie choked up another sob, the keening noise joining the scene. "Sosorrry."

Hector cringed, abruptly knowing perfectly well what Arnie meant.

He mentally kicked himself for not realizing sooner.

What, did Hector think only he would be affected? That only he would blame himself for not noticing, for breaking contact with Isaiah, for forcing him to handle everything on his own?

He should have called Isaiah the moment they found out. Just like Arnie said. Hell, he should have dragged Isaiah to Arnie, let them talk it out.

Arnie jerked out of Hector's hold to heave again, crying loudly as he puked up another gush, then almost choking as it came out of his nose too.

He was panting for breath, chest hitching with sobs and little moans and goddammit this was awful.

Hector shifted out of the way, changing tactics.

He sat down against the wall right behind his kid brother, then scooped him up gently to sit him in his lap. He fixed Arnie gently to lean against Hector's chest, neck straight and head against him so he didn't have to hold his weight.

"Hexxxx, oww, Ifeelsick-"

"Shhhh, lean back and try to breathe. Just breathe."

Arnie was shaking against him, heaving, but Hector stayed put, braced for it. Important was fixing Arnie's back so he wouldn't be rolling his whole spine and neck as he gagged.

A splash of warm liquid dribbled past Arnie's lips and onto Hector's hands circled around his chest.

"Shhhhhh. It's okay, everything's fine. Focus on breathing and not crying. I got you."

Arnie whined, but then sagged against Hector in exhaustion.

Hector set himself to ignore the sensation of awful smelling liquid drying on his fingers, holding Arnie's shoulder from the back with one large hand, thumb rubbing up and down.

"Breathing, remember. Just breathe. Close your eyes and don't think about anything else."

Arnie whimpered, but obeyed, taking deeper breaths. His throat was bobbing nervously against the nausea, but the immobile position and leaning against something helped steady him.

"There you go. You are doing great."

Hector waited for a bit longer, until Arnie's breathing came semi-regularly before he dared to reach for the roll of toilet paper.

Without jostling Arnie and moving with incredibly deliberate slowness, he teared a bit of the paper to clean Arnie's face and neck, then taking more to wipe his sticky fingers.

He threw it all the toilet, but he was too worried the sound of flushing would upset the fragile balance, so opted against it.

They waited silently in the bathroom, Arnie leaning his head even more back against Hector's shoulder, breathing through his mouth.

Hector dared to put his hand on Arnie's forehead, cold and clammy. Arnie sighed contendly, finally not crying.

"I'm so sorry, pipsqueak," Hector whispered. "I should have realized this would affect you too."

Arnie swallowed heavily, not saying anything. Then he made a soft throaty sound, that got Hector scrambling up in alarm.

It was a laugh. Strained and small, but real.

"What a historical moment. You apologising to me."

Hector grunted. "You are a cheeky little bastard. Worrying the hell out of me. Jesus fucking Christ."

Arnie laughed once more, dissolving into a cough at the end. His head lolled under Hector's chin. "Uhmmm. I'm cold."

"You feeling better? Not gonna be sick again?"

Arnie's hand went to Hector's hand on his shoulder, patting it lightly. "Not feeling pukey right now."

"Alright. Let's get you lying down." Hector moved slowly, carefully, but his heart was leaping at Arnie responding and being calmer. He unceremoniously picked his brother up, scrawny as he was, carrying him to the sofa.

"Here. Lie down straight." Hector pushed the pillows away so Arnie could do just that, flat on his back, neck on the same level as his back.

Arnie squirmed a little, but when Hector touched his shoulder again, he stretched his legs and rolled his shoulders tentatively.

Hector could feel the stress knots between his shoulder and neck.

Thank shadow it was deep in the night, the light being no problem.

He brought a glass of cold water, but Arnie made a disgusted grimace at it, so Hector left it on the table. He sat down on on the ground next to him with a good view on Arnie's face.

His forehead was wrinkled and eyes squinting, but he was breathing more calmly now.

Hector gently stroked his thumb over the crease between Arnie's eyebrows. "Wanna try the meds? Would a massage help? Or do you think you could manage some sleep?"

"Uhmmm. This feels a bit better," he said softly. "Think I could fall asleep. Just...stay?"

"Right here and not moving," Hector reassured, voice rough, resting his forehead on the sofa next to Arnie's ear.

Neither of them mentioned the crying again, for which he was grateful. He hated seeing Arnie cry and any reason that would cause him to do so.

"I'm gonna fix this," Hector promised quietly as Arnie's breathing evened out. "Just you wait."

[sara78]

Family Don't End In Blood - Part 10

Summary: Following the events of the previous nights, everyone is keeping themselves on their toes. The Ackles family, plus Y/N and Jared, discuss their further moves. Disagreements arise, but a kind soul breaks out the fight easily and allows things to settle down before talking real game.

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x foster!daughter reader

Word count:3,299 (wow, really?)

Transcription - Y/M/N: Your mother's name ; Y/H/C: Your home country

Warnings: Mentions of abuse (nothing graphic but SKIP IF THIS TRIGGERS YOU), kids are the kindest souls in the universe and you can't prove me otherwise, angst

A/N: Here's a little reward for powering through the week :D

Your nights have been pretty restless through the last few years of your life. The way you would flinch from the slightest sound your ears picked up, the way you curled underneath the blanket and squeezed a pillow to your chest, often burying your face in it as well, trying to quiet down the cries and allow the soft fabric to pick up all of your tears without any judgment, the way you would jump awake from a nightmare, just to get hit and yelled at for waking up others and the way you overall didn't feel safe, did a thing or two to you through the course of years.

Something happened with all of that when you started working on Supernatural. Something changed in the way your body worked. You slept pretty well. Yes, nightmares were still there, but there was no yelling and punching after you woke up from one. Your body felt safe, surrounded by kind people and kids. You slowly but surely started to feel like the old self - able to asleep in any spot at any time. You're pretty sure Jensen, Jared and Misha have a whole album on their phones just with your weird sleeping spots just to tease you, which you didn't mind, as you had just as much material to tease them back.

But this night was restless. For both you and Jensen. Maybe it was the fear of what tomorrow would bring. Maybe it was fear of how are things going to go down. Or it was fear of losing people close to you. No matter the reason, fear was evidently present. You could feel it in the air.

You just laid down next to Jensen and stared at the ceiling with him after you finished getting ready for bed.

He'd strike up a question. You'd do the same. But all the conversations died rather quickly and you'd both return to silence, staring at the ceiling and trying to calm down your racing minds.

Soon enough the night turned into early morning, and everything that was going through your head was pushed aside as you heard a knock on the door,

"Hey," Jared's raspy morning voice spoke up, "Danneel and the kids should be here soon. Wanna come with us to pick 'em up?" you nod, sitting up and yawning, Jensen still laying down, "Did you two sleep any?"

"No," Jensen said as he sat up while you stood up, rubbing sleep out of your eyes, "I'll be ready in a few."

"No hurries," Jared said, "Y/N, wanna come with me to grab breakfast after we pick everyone up from the airport? We're not on set today."

"What?" you asked, visibly confused, "It was supposed to be Mish, you and me on set today. What happened to that?"

"Rich sent me a text and told me we're off the schedule for today and tomorrow. We had the weekend off anyways, so it's just extended now," Misha spoke up from behind, making you sigh,

"I don't want others working overtime because of me. I can work."

"Rich is behind the steering wheel and that's what he decided. Making this show isn't just acting as well," Jared pointed out,

"Besides, you can go ahead and call him, wake him up and make him all grumpy. I'd enjoy that, he loves his beauty sleep," Misha added, making everyone smile.

Crowded places weren't your jam. Maybe because you always had a feeling you weren't safe. You didn't know how many different personalities walked past you and that scared you a bit. Especially because coming from a third-world country, you'd never seen so many people packed somewhere and it was a weird experience, but you'd learned fast enough.

But this time, as you walked through the airport, you kept scanning every single face that had even the slightest of resemblance to her.

You were afraid she was following you. You weren't sure how much does she know and what weapons is she willing to use to get to you and people you love. She's got her way around here and it scares you to hell and back.

And to think that she could pop out from anywhere and hurt anyone who's walking with you and hurt the four people who are about to land sent chills down your spine and kept you on edge with every step you took.

You were at the gate just in time, as Danneel walked up with the kids. While the girls ran to Jensen, Zeppelin had no problem running to you, even though he was on a long flight and you could see how tired he was just by the way he looked at you. But the way he lit up and smiled when his eyes caught glimpse of you made you smile just as wide, seeing how much joy and love can a child's heart hold. He was in your arms within seconds and you felt so relieved to be able to hug him tightly and protect him from whatever might happen.

He's just a little kid.

How can she threaten a child?

You kissed his temple as he curled into your hold and clung to you, not letting go,

"I missed ya, Y/N," he murmured, making you smile and rock him gently,

"I missed you too, big guy," you responded, allowing Jensen to give his buddy a kiss as you waved at the girls. Arrow came up and gave your leg a small hug, while JJ walked past you and went straight to Jared. You sighed, Danneel showing up and giving you a big hug,

"I'm sorry," you whispered and she shook her head, still hugging you,

"There's nothing to be sorry for. We're safe and that's all that matters."

"Let's get going," Misha said, "You must be tired and hungry."

"Y/N and I will go order and bring breakfast home," Jared said, letting JJ down into the backseat and making you sigh as you put Zeppelin in his car seat to which he protested,

"Hey, what's my little guy want for breakfast?" you tried and he pouted, "Buddy, I know you wanna stay with me, but uncle Jared has no kid seats in his car because he's a dummy," Zeppelin giggled, making you smile too, "How about I get y'all a shake?" Arrow squealed in joy in response, Zeppelin nod and JJ kept quiet,

"Birdie, say thank you to Y/N," Jensen said, looking at her as he sat in the drivers seat. She pouted and looked away in the other direction, "Come on birdie."

"Thanks," she murmured, not looking at you. You sighed, looking down for a second and catching a deep breath to stop the tears from spilling.

JJ didn't like you. At all. And that was okay. You didn't expect her to like you. Especially because she's way older than the twins and understands more than they can right now. But you were trying to do as much as you could without overstepping her boundaries and now, when you are this vulnerable, the slightest thing that usually doesn't bother you now seems like the end of the world. And it hurt, plain and simple.

"What's the plan?" you asked, working on strapping the twins safely into their seats as you sniffled,

"We're gonna discuss that on our way back," Jensen sighed, sipping on his coffee, "You don't separate from Jared."

"I won't," you sighed, kissing Zeppelin and Arrow's foreheads before closing the door to the backseat, "Please, talk about every possible option. Even the ones that have me going away," you said and Danneel shook her head as you looked at her,

"You going away is never going to be an option," she said with a smile and you sighed, walking away to Jared's car.

Three hours later

"You guys good?" Jensen asked as you and Jared walked into the apartment an hour and a half later,

"Yeah," you smiled, "Kids asleep?"

"Out like a light," Danneel smiled, "Zeppelin was the last one to fall asleep. He was waiting for you."

"That kid will be the death of me," you smiled, "Breakfast good?"

"Yeah. Yours got cold though," Jensen pointed out, "Everything okay for sure?"

"Yeah," you smiled, "We just needed to clear our heads and get some fresh air."

"I had a moment and she made me stop and do as she said," Jared popped in, "Sorry for not checking in."

"She sent me a text. Knows us all too well," Jensen smiled, ruffling your hair, "Now you two get your asses at the table and eat."

Heavy silence filled the room while you and Jared ate. Jensen was sipping on his fourth coffee of the day and Danneel was sitting right next to him, cuddled up to his side and playing with the fingers of his hand.

Jared was obviously the first one to finish the meal, as he was the human food vacuum. You took a few more minutes before placing your plate and utensils into the dishwasher and turning it on. You returned to the living room, where Jensen and Danneel were on the couch and Jared was on the other couch, facing the two. You took a seat next to Jared and sighed,

"This can't go on anymore," you said, bringing Jensen back from his over thinking and Danneel from her half-asleep daze, "We can't make this work out. We tried, and I love you all for trying, but it's not working. We gotta do something because I don't want either of you being in danger anymore."

"We don't want you being in danger too," Jensen added, making you sigh, "We're gonna make it work."

"How?" you asked, "By keeping Dee and the kids here, imprisoned?"

"No," Jensen shook his head, "It was a bone-headed move to make them come here. I acted out of fear. They're way safer in Texas."

"What makes you think that?" you asked,

"She's wanted for not showing up for trial with Chaos Machine when she attacked you," Danneel explained, "She can't cross the border nor use any of her documents. Unless she makes a new identity, she can't cross the border. She's also here on a travel visa, which expired long time ago."

"She makes connections so deep in the rotten pores of the law it makes me sick. I wouldn't be surprised if she found someone to work with who could get her over the border," you explained,

"Even if she does, it'll take a long time. Kids and I will be safe in Austin. Now, Jensen, honey, you making us come here wasn't a bone-headed move. We need to be together, at least for a few days. Kids and I will stay for a bit and then go back. They still have around a month of school left and you have a lot of filming to do."

"I mean, it's only five weeks. But that might be extended, given all the circumstances," you pointed out and Jensen shook his head,

"We're skyrocketing on the streaming charts. We're doing another season in the fall and two extra episodes this summer. Meaning we don't get off work till mid June."

"When were you gonna tell us that?" Jared spoke up from where he was leaned against the couch, "We doing that good?"

"We still got it, old man," Jensen teased, making everyone giggle,

"He's not old. He just has gray hair that Sarah has to dye over and over again," you pointed out, Jared sitting up and tickling your sides as Jensen and Danneel giggled, "I'm glad we brought the show back."

"We all are," Danneel smiled,

"Nonetheless, my point stil stands. The filming is going to take a while. She has all the time in the world to figure shit out. She's going to find a way to fuck us over, one way or another. I know you don't like this idea at all, but I think that me moving out is the most rational option at the moment."

"No," Jensen shook his head, eyes staring at some point on the carpet, "Not happening."

"Jense, it's for the best. I'm the target and she's using you to get to me. She knows me all too well. If I remove myself from your place, she won't chase after you anymore. We're gonna see each other on set. We have phones too. We can keep in touch, and of course we will. I don't want to cut any contact off. I just want to remove myself physically from you and your families until it's safe for you."

"It's supposed to be about your safety too, not just ours," Jensen said,

"Well my safety had been compromised for a very long time. I can live a bit longer in the danger zone. You, however, don't deserve to suffer because of what's going on between me and her."

"But kid, there's a plot hole," Jared spoke up, "Say you move out. We stay in contact, all cool. But what if she comes to us and asks for your whereabouts?"

"Simple, I won't give you my address. You won't know."

"And you think that us telling her we don't know will be the answer she wants to hear? You think she'd believe us?"

"I… Fuck," you breathed, running a hand over your face,

"I'd tell her to piss off, whether I knew the address or not," Jensen growled,

"None of us would give it up," Jared added, "I see where you're coming from, munchkin. But unfortunately, plot holes exist and she might want to hurt us even if we're don't know anything about your whereabouts. I'm siding with Jensen on this one. It's better to be around familiar people. It helps with your head, right? That's what you told me like an hour ago. There's no reason to sit and suffer in silence."

"I wish I was normal," you whispered, looking down to the floor, "I wish we weren't having this conversation right now. I wish I wasn't the problem."

"You are normal and you aren't the problem," Danneel said, "Sweetie, you're so far from the problem. We all know who the real problem is and we know that in this moment we can't remove it. But what we can do is stay together and keep fighting."

"What if I just met up with her?" you said, Jensen's eyes widening as he looked you in the eye, "I mean, just end it, once and for all?"

"What makes you think she'll listen?" Jensen said, making you roll your eyes,

"You can't just contradict everything I say, Jensen. Especially not when some of the solutions are actually pretty solid."

"I'm not contradicting you because I like to. I'm doing it because I don't want you to be in her vicinity. Ever again. After everything she's done to you, she doesn't get to keep having her way with you."

"Due all respect, you don't even know half of what happened-"

"And that's what scares me!" Jensen exclaimed, "It scares me to hell and back because I don't want you to live like that anymore. I don't want you to jump at every sound your ears pick up, I don't want you waking up from nightmares, drenched in sweat and crying, I don't want you to be afraid of loving and being loved. I want you to be a kid too! And by putting yourself out there, you're doing her a favor. You can't compromise your safety like that. "

"If you wish for a normal kid, why did you want to adopt me in the first place?" you asked,

"I never said I wanted a normal kid. Just a kid that isn't in fight or flight mode all the fucking time."

"Well that's what you get," you said, "You knew what you got yourself into. I've warned you multiple times that I can't be a regular kid. I'm fucked up, very fucked up on many, many levels and I'm sorry I don't meet your expectations."

Jensen abruptly stood up and walked away into his bedroom, Danneel sighing and going after him, which left you with Jared. You buried your face in your palms, trying so hard not to cry.

You got attached.

And you shouldn't have.

"There's no expectations to meet," Jared's voice spoke up as you felt the couch dip down on your right, "We just want to give you a space where you can feel safe and sound. Where you don't have to be afraid. Where you can relax and be yourself without any hesitation. We love you for who you are. We loved you on day one, when we didn't know nothing about you besides how big your appetite is and how much of a joker you are. And we didn't stop loving you when your background unraveled and came into the picture. And we won't stop loving you, no matter what tomorrow brings. You're our kid and nothing can change that. Fuck me, we all have loads of crap on our shoulders and you love us the same way we love you."

"That's different."

"How can that be different?" Jared asked, "There's no difference. There's no measuring whose pile of crap is heavier. There's none of that. We all have our own struggles and we all have an equal right to feel how we feel about them. There's nothing wrong in being scared and nobody here wants you to be someone you're not. You're scared and you're terrified. You can be scared and terrified. Nobody would point any fingers at you because we know what's the reason for it and whilst maybe we don't know the whole story, we know enough to piece it together and understand."

"You are NOT moving out," Jensen growled as he stormed out of his bedroom, Danneel on his tail. His tone took you by surprise and his stance gave you some not so nice flashbacks, resulting in your body flinching in a try to shy away from him,

"Jensen, relax. Nobody's moving out," Jared said, "Let's all take a deep breath and-"

"You don't get to walk out on your family," Jensen kept talking to you, "Not on us. Not on that little kid who loves you more than anything in this world," he began, pointing to Zeppelin's room, "Not on this woman who took you in like you're her own child. Not on Jared who cares for you so deeply. And not on me. You don't get to walk out on me because I want to protect you and keep you safe."

"I'm not asking for protection," you said, standing up, "And I'm not walking out on anyone. I just want to do this right."

"And you think that handing yourself to her is the way to go?!" Jensen asked, making you gulp,

"I don't know!" you exclaimed, "I don't know what's the right thing to do. I want to do something, anything, just to feel like I at least tried."

"Well, we can do something else. Together. But you're not moving out. You're not leaving your family."

"Jensen-"

"No!" he exclaimed, "You are family. To me, to Danneel, to the kids. To the Padalecki, to Misha. So, I'm sorry, but you're not gonna be by yourself as you wallow in self-hate, painful memories and fear. You've had enough crap for the next 10 lifetimes and it scares the shit out of me that you were on your own all this time and it freaks me out that I don't know half of the stuff she fed you with and I don't know if I can help you, but I'm going to be here and you're going to be here and you're staying. You don't get to say you involved us too much already. Because the moment she step foot onto the set, that's when your problem became our problem. She won't hurt you ever again! I'm not gonna let her hurt you again! And I'm not gonna let you destroy yourself and put yourself in danger because-"

"Daddy, stop yelling at Y/N!" Zeppelin's small voice echoed, making everyone go dead silent as they all looked at him in his dinosaur pajamas, holding his blankie in his tiny hands. He walked up to Jensen who had his eyes glued to him, "You tell us we shouldn't yell. Apologize to Y/N."

Everyone was in awe of Zeppelin's words. Such a young child yet so emotionally mature. He turned around and walked up to you and you smiled as you picked him up and sat him on your hip,

"I'm sorry Y/N," Jensen whispered, sitting down,

"It's okay," you said, "If I recall, you have some dinosaurs to be fed?" Zeppelin nod with a smile, "Then we can't keep them waiting any longer or they'll eat us," you smiled, walking away from the living room.

3rd person POV

"That kid is something else," Jared breathed, Danneel grabbing Jensen's hand and bringing him back to sit down at the couch,

"He's right," Jensen whispered, "We teach them not to do that, yet I did the exact same thing I tell them not to do. I didn't want to yell at her."

"People can push our buttons and she's been pushing yours for a long time," Danneel said, "She knows you didn't mean for it to come out that harsh."

"She probably thinks I hate her," he responded,

"Then you talk to her and make sure she understands that you are allowed to have bad days," Jared joined in, "You're human, brother. You can make mistakes. As long as you owe up to them and try better next time, you'll be forgiven. And Y/N is one of the kindest souls I've ever met. She'll have no problem forgiving you. If someone knows what it's like to keep all those feelings bottled up, it's gonna be her. I bet she ain't even mad."

"Jared's right, honey," Danneel cooed, kissing his temple, "He's very right. Just talk to her about it later. Let some time pass. And everything you said is true and we stand by what your point is. She has a good intention, just bad execution."

"I just want everything to be over so that we can adopt her and be a family and just live life without being in fear all the fucking time," Jensen breathed, running his hands through his hair,

"She's got a long road ahead of her, but we're gonna be there to support her no matter what," Danneel smiled softly, squeezing Jensen to her side, "You're so noble, to love her the way you love all three of the other kids. Your heart is so big and so loving. Don't ever forget that."

"I hope I can do enough to make her stay."

"She's not going to leave us," Jared pointed out, "She just has to learn that sometimes she can't do anything about something. And no matter what happens, she's still gonna be the one getting pranked alongside Misha. She's still gonna be our kid, no matter what. You gotta trust her on that."

"I do trust her, of course I do," Jensen breathed, "I just… I'm just scared of the endless possibilities. What if she kidnaps her and brings her back to Y/H/C? She said it herself, Y/M/N is playing this game very dirty. Who knows what she can do to her."

"Some things can't be stopped," Danneel said, "Of course we want to protect her and keep her safe. But some things can't be stopped and we cannot foresee what's gonna happen. She won't be stopped from doing whatever she wants to do to Y/N. I wish we knew and I wish we could act on it but maybe we won't be able to and that's okay too. She's not gonna blame you or anyone else for what her mother does. And we'll be here for her when it's over, to help her heal and give her a place to call home."

"Yeah," Jensen whispered, wrapping his arms around Danneel and hugging her back, "You should get some sleep, honey."

"You should too," she countered,

"I just downed another coffee. It might take a while before I start getting sleepy again."

"It doesn't matter," Danneel pointed out, "Just come lay with me when you calm down your jitters."

"I'll go out, get some food, make some lunch and dinner. Invite Misha over," Jared said, "When I come back everyone in this house better be sleeping," he said, standing up from his seat, walking over to Zeppelin's room, knocking on it softly before getting in and closing the door behind him,

"Sorry to interrupt," he spoke up with a smile, seeing how happy Zeppelin was as he played with Y/N, "I was wondering if you guys have any ideas for lunch and dinner tonight?"

"I'm fine with whatever," Y/N said, shrugging her shoulders,

"I wants pizza!" Zeppelin exclaimed, Y/N and Jared giggling,

"Yeah? How about everyone makes their own pizza tonight? Everyone gets to choose what to put on 'em?"

"Yeah!" Zeppelin exclaimed happily, "Thanks uncle Jare!"

"You're welcome," he smiled, ruffling his hair, "Are you happy because you get to play with Y/N?"

"Yea!" he said with a wide smile, "I love Y/N!"

"I love you too, big guy," Y/N smiled, Jared smiling as well,

"I'll leave you guys to it. You better get some sleep before lunch too. That's an order."

"That's a boring order," Zeppelin said, making you and Jared giggle,

"What do you say, is uncle Jare scary?" Y/N asked and Zeppelin shook his head,

"No. He funny and clumsy and old."

"Well thank you very much," Jared grumbled, "This old man will be going to the grocery store now and leave y'all to feeding the Jurassic Park over there."

"You okay?" Jared asked as he left Zeppelin's room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Jensen was leaning against one of many windows in his apartment, just looking out to the streets,

"Yeah," Jensen breathed, "Sorry for freaking you out earlier."

"Don't apologize," he shook his head, "I was kinda surprised by your abrupt leave though."

"I just..." Jensen shook his head, "I was so pissed at Y/M/N. Still fucking am. I would love to punch something. Preferably her face."

"We would be taking turns for that," Jared sighed, patting Jensen's back, "It's okay. Y/N is playing with Zeppelin, seems to calm her down a little. Give her a little bit of time."

"Yeah, will do," he whispered, "Thanks for being here man."

"It's what brothers do," he smiled, "I'll be heading out. Pineapple pizza for dinner?"

"You want to get your face punched instead?" Jensen asked, making Jared giggle and jokingly run away, "Shoo, old man."

"Your face is old!" Jared exclaimed from the doorway, closing the door behind him.

Jensen took one final glance from the window, scanning the blurry faces on the street. He sighed, walking away and into the room JJ and Arrow shared. He made sure they were nicely tucked in and leaned to give them both a kiss to their cheek before going to the bathroom.

He walked into the bathroom and washed his face. Seeing himself in the mirror scared him a little. The bags under his eyes definitely have their five minutes of glory. He grabbed his toothbrush and brushed his teeth before changing into a pair of shorts and a shirt and walking up to Zeppelin's room.

The door was slightly open and he saw Y/N and Zeppelin sitting on the floor, both of them playing with dinosaurs toys,

"Y/N," Zeppelin spoke up as he kept playing, "Why's daddy scared?"

"Uh, you remember that monster you dreamt of a while back?" Y/N asked and he nod, "Yeah, remember how I said I have dreams with monsters too?" Zeppelin nod again, "Dad is scared of some monsters of his own."

"He had a bad dream?" Zeppelin asked, looking at Y/N and stopping with playing, "But you told me daddy will protect us."

"He will, of course he will," Y/N smiled, "But daddy can be scared too. And he will still protect us, no matter what."

"He yelled at you," Zeppelin looked down, poking at one of his dinosaurs toys, "Is he mad at you?"

"Probably," Y/N sighed,

"Why?" he asked,

"I make mistakes. I've been making a lot of those recently."

"Like JJ?" he asked and she smiled,

"Sorta."

"But JJ doesn't talk to mommy and daddy when they're mad at her, or when she's mad at 'em. You talk to daddy. Why's he still mad at you then?"

"Just because we talk doesn't mean he's not mad at me. He's scared too. You remember how you reacted when you saw the monster in your dream?" Zeppelin nod, looking down in shame, "Hey, bubba, lookie at me," she tried, crawling over to him and picking him up and sitting him in her lap, "I'm not saying this to tease you. I'm trying to tell you that everyone reacts some way when they're scared."

"So, daddy yelled because he's scared?" Zeppelin asked and Y/N nod,

"Partly, yes. That's right bubba."

"Can we help him not to be scared anymore?" he asked and she smiled,

"I think this is just one of his bad days."

"So what do we do?"

"We remind him of how much we love him and give him an extra tight hug," Y/N said, Zeppelin nodding,

"Okay. Can I do it now?"

"I think dad's asleep. But you can totally do it when he wakes up. Now, I've got a little something for you..." Y/N said, reaching under the bed and grabbing a new Lego set of a monster truck and showing it to Zepp, which resulted in a squirm and a jump right on her,

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed, clinging to her. She smiled, hugging him and kissing his temple,

"You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome!" she responded, allowing Zeppelin to settle into her lap with a yawn, "You tired, big guy?" he nod, looking up to her, "I think it's time for a little nap. I'll wake you up for lunch and then we can start building this together. Maybe dad or uncle Jared would join us too."

"But I wanna play with you now," he said with a sad face,

"I know you want to but if we start making this truck now, I'm afraid we might get some sort of an animal instead of a truck since we haven't rested well. And also, mom said you can stay for a few days so we have plenty of time to play. And we don't want to be cranky like old man uncle Jared," she teased, making Zeppelin giggle, "Come on now, you can go ahead and pick a book you want me to read you as a nap-time story."

"I haven't heard of nap-time stories," he said,

"That's probably cuz I just made it up," you giggled, kissing the top of his head, "Go on sweetheart, pick a book. Then we can transfer the Jurassic park over on the shelf and read. Sounds good?"

"Yea!" Zeppelin exclaimed, standing up and going for the book shelf.

As Y/N stood up she saw Jensen on the doorway. He just smiled at her and nod, and she did the same. He leaned against the doorframe and watched as Zeppelin helped her bring the toys on the shelf and then watched him lie down and drift off quickly, as Y/N read him the book he picked.

As she finished, she tucked Zeppelin in and stood up quietly, picking up her bedding and walking up to the doorway where Jensen stood,

"Everything okay?" she asked,

"Yeah," Jensen nod with a smile, "Thanks for taking care of him."

"No problem," she smiled,

"You should sleep some, kiddo," he then said, making her roll her eyes, "Come on. You haven't slept any. You gotta rest some."

"I have to catch up with math that I missed last night. I don't have time for sleep right now."

"Do I need to read you a nap-time story to make you go to bed?" Jensen inclined, making Y/N smile,

"How much did you eavesdrop, old man?" she teased, making Jensen smile

"Enough to know of nap-time stories. And that Jared's the old man and not me," he smirked, "Come on sweetheart. Lunch won't be for another two hours minimum. You have a bunch of time after kids go to sleep to catch up with your math. Please?"

"Are you gonna get some sleep too?" she asked and he sighed, nodding,

"Promised Dee."

"I don't feel tired at all but okay, I'll try to," she sighed, "I'll sleep on the couch. That okay?"

"Yeah," Jensen nod, "One last question," he said as Y/N opened the door to Zeppelin's room, "You okay?" she smiled, nodding,

"Yeah. Go get some rest Jens. You need it," she said, closing the door to Zeppelin's room, going for the couch. Jensen waited for her to get comfy before approaching to tuck her in, making her giggle, "Dude, I'm not five."

"You're my kiddo, whether you're five, seventeen or seventy seven. Sleep tight," he smiled, kissing the top of her head before walking away to his room. He quietly walked over to his bed, laying down and facing Danneel's asleep form,

"Glad you came," she whispered, not opening her eyes but instead opening her arms for him, "Y/N and Zepp asleep?"

"Yup. Figured I'd come nap with my super hot wife," Jensen teased, seeing Danneel's eyes roll under the eyelids,

"You ain't getting anywhere with that. C'mere," she said, opening her arms for him, ". "You are long overdue for a cuddle. I missed you."

"I missed you too," he whispered as he cuddled up to her chest, "I love you."

"Love you too."

Your POV

"That is physics," Jensen spoke up and you giggled, shaking your head,

"Math."

"Whats arrows over letters doing in math?!" he exclaimed,

"Vectors," you smiled, "Everyone asleep?"

"Yep. I'd be surprised if they weren't," Jensen said as he sat down on the bar stool next to you, "Done with school for the day?"

"Yeah. You headed to bed too?"

"I wanted to talk about today with you before I go hear Danneel snoring in my ear."

"You're the one snoring, idiot," Danneel called out as she walked out of the bathroom, "How was school today?" she asked as she came up to you,

"Good. I have a physics test next week."

"Oh, that doesn't sound very pleasing," she said, making everyone giggle, "Okay. Both of you, don't stay up too late. Night Y/N," she smiled as she hugged you softly and you returned it,

"Night mom."

Jensen kept quiet at the way you called Danneel, but you swore something shined in his eyes, but something shattered as well. Maybe you shouldn't have said it.

"So, what did you wanna talk about?"

"I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier today. Zeppelin is right. I teach them not to yell yet I do exactly that."

"Jense, I know you didn't mean for it to come out that loud. I'm not mad at you. I was pissing you off for as long as we know each other. It was bound to happen and I know that."

"But you flinched," he said and you sighed, looking down, "I saw it."

"I just sometimes get scared. That's all."

"I should have watched my tone. I'm sorry."

"And I shouldn't have pushed your buttons. I'm the one who's supposed to apologize. I've been treating you like shit and you don't deserve it at all."

"It's okay. Have you thought a bit into the whole situation? Or do you need some time?" he asked and you sighed, nodding,

Uncle Jared's right. I just… don't know what to do anymore. I'm scared of her, I'm scared for your safety, for everyone's safety, yet I don't want anyone to suffer because of me. It's so complicated."

"Yet very simple," Jensen said, "You stay with us. We finish filming, go to Texas, stay the summer there. I was thinking we could go for a little vacation somewhere. We come back to Vancouver and keep filming in November. You'll be in your third year of high-school and you'll do great."

"And what if something comes up? What if she does something?"

"Then we deal with it when it comes. We can't live in fear, kiddo. We can't live like this, afraid of taking a step. We're gonna be extra cautious, of course, but we can't lock ourselves in and do nothing. We gotta keep living as normal as we can, given the circumstances."

"You think she's not gonna do anything?" you asked, biting on your lip,

"I don't know what she thinks and what she plans to do. What I know is that we're all gonna try to protect each other. And that's all that matters. Besides, she can't keep this up for that long. She's gonna fuck up and set herself to be caught. It's just a matter of time."

"I have such a bad feeling about this all," you said, "I don't want her to be here anymore. How come she isn't arrested?"

"She's definitely hiding well. And with her connections with CPS, she's gotta have some in the federal department too. You said it yourself."

"She's gonna do something big. It's only a matter of time," you said, "She always does something big when shit doesn't go her way. She always makes some big problems."

"And we can't stop her from that. But we can make sure to act properly when it happens and stay close. It's the one thing we gotta do. We gotta stay together. She can't get through any of us when we're together. It's what she doesn't understand and doesn't know. She's powerless when we're together."

"She's never had anyone to have her back," you said, "She thinks her mom has her back but she's just using her. She always told me that I don't need any friends, that I'm better off on my own. That nobody needs friends. She thinks she's doing just fine without any friends and she tried to make me have no friends either."

"I see how well the no friends situation is coming down for her," Jensen sassed, making you giggle, "It doesn't matter. It's her life, she can screw it however she wants to. Only thing we won't let her do is screw you again."

"Yeah. But just because she doesn't understand how strong we are doesn't mean she won't try to do anything and everything to break me apart. And now you too. You understand what you're getting yourself into, right? I don't want you to get hurt, Jensen. Not you, not anyone. This is on me. If something happens to you-"

"What I've gotten myself into is a relationship with this wonderful kiddo who's got heart bigger than the sun. This kiddo who loves without limits, who cares and feels deeply, the kid who can smile, sing and joke around. You're a wonderful person and just because you have shitty baggage doesn't mean you're a bad person. Especially because you can't do anything to ship off the shitty baggage."

"Sorry for all of this," you whispered, looking down, "Sorry for being an ass to you. You didn't deserve any of it."

"It's true. I didn't deserve any of it," Jensen agreed, "But I understand that you're having a hard time with coming to grounds about things such as having a supportive family. You're still in that flight or fight mode you've been in for years and I also know you're stubborn as hell. I'm not mad at you and you're not making any mistakes or doing anything that would make me mad. You're just living the way you lived back in Y/H/C. And yes, you don't have to live like that anymore, but it's gonna take time for you to let go of old habits."

"I... I always got beaten up after an argument," you said with a sad smile as you looked at Jensen, "When something like this today came down, she'd beat me while I was sleeping. Wake me up in the process. Leave me crying quietly, sometimes beat me up again because I was crying, even though I was quiet. That's why I flinched today."

"I might lose my temper and raise my voice but I'm never, ever going to hit you. We're gonna talk it out. Whatever it is, no matter how difficult it is or how stressful it is, we're gonna talk it out. Just like we're doing now."

"Thanks for treating me like a human," you then said, smiling, "Even though you don't agree with my opinions, you still listened."

"You're always gonna be my kiddo but that doesn't mean that you're gonna be treated as a five year old when something important is being discussed. You are entitled to your own opinion and that's completely normal."

"Thanks. And sorry for being an ass. I'll try to do better in the future."

"And that's all I'm asking," he smiled at you, standing up from his stool and walking up to you to hug you, "To try."

"You're a sap," you teased, hugging him back,

"I know, Dean doesn't approve. Now, where are you sleeping?"

"I thought to sleep here, on the couch. I've stayed up for my classes anyway so-"

"Daddy," a small voice called, making Jensen turn around as you both looked in the direction where the sound came from, "I-I had a nightmare," Arrow hiccuped, approaching you two. Jensen frowned, meeting her halfway and picking her up,

"Yeah baby girl? You wanna stay with me and Y/N for a while?" she nod, leaning her head against Jensen's shoulder as he began swaying her,

"What was it about Ro?" you asked, "If you're comfortable with talking about it," she shook her head and you frowned, "That's okay. What can we do to help you feel better?"

"Sing," she whispered, ever so gently, "Y/N, sing."

"Me?" you said, surprised at the request. She just nod, Jensen nodding you to sit on the sofa with them. You followed his cue, sitting on the sofa with Jensen, Arrow still in his arms.

You began softly singing, getting Arrows full attention as she looked at you, her head leaned against Jensen's shoulder. You kept singing songs that came to your mind, basically anything on your first language that had a soft tune to it.

It didn't take her long to fall asleep, soundly held in her dad's embrace. You smiled, leaning to kiss the top of her head, Jensen' halfway asleep as well,

"I would never figure out why you hid that angelic voice from us," he said, ruffling your hair. You rolled your eyes, grabbing the blanket and throwing it over him and Arrow,

"Sleep here with her," you said, "I'll go finish something for school and then-"

"No," Jensen shook his head, grabbing your hand gently, "You lay down with us too. Cuddle puddle."

"Jense-"

"No arguments," he breathed, "We're too tired. Let's just sleep. Come on," you sighed, knowing you're not gonna win this argument. You laid down, Jensen throwing another blanket over you and giving you your pillows, "Expect the other two to be all over us in the morning. I am not responsible if any of your kidneys decide to go on a walk when they jump on us," he said, making you giggle,

"Don't worry. My little cousin back in Y/H/C did that all the time to me. I'm trained well."

"Yeah, I can tell," he smiled, "Night, Y/N."

"Night Jens."

A/N 2: Thanks for reading! And, @crasmuna, you are so fucking far away so I can't hug you, so this will have to do <3

[sporktato]

Ghost HCs because I’m in hell

(ft. Riley family, Price, and Soap)

- has piercings - no face ones though both because of the mask and because they make it easier to get hurt in a fight

- also paints his nails (no one’s gonna know, how are they gonna know?)

- long hair + undercut combo. Like hell will Ghost let anyone behind him with a blade, and really only Price knew he had long hair pre-MW2. When he does do his undercut he has to borrow a mirror from Price as his room doesn’t have any.

- doesn’t have dog tags. they were buried with Washington’s body, which Ghost had mangled to pass as his own body to ensure Simon Riley stayed dead (This raised a lot of questions from Soap once he realized he didn’t have tags)

- huge reader, really his only normal hobby at this point

- on the topic of reading, on Simon’s birthday Price will take him to a used book store and pay for whatever Simon picks out

- also wanted to be a librarian when he was a kid. The public library was a huge escape for him, and it was quiet and safe and full of knowledge and everyone there was kind and quiet and it was perfect

- has really weird music tastes. like not even necessarily bad, just like will shuffle through every genre you can think of in 5 songs, and none are by a band you’ve ever even heard of. Majority of these he’s picked up from others (Roach, Tommy, Price, Frost, etc.)

- can fight with a bo staff. Learned from Price, and when Price decides Ghost needs to get some energy/frustrations out or work through something, they’ll spar with the staffs (mainly to make it harder for Ghost to really hurt Price if he gets too in his head at any point)

- Price taught him to drive

- almost constantly wearing noise-cancelling headphones/earplugs to keep from being overwhelmed. also why he wears the over the ear headset instead of the in-ear that Soap does, they go over the earplugs

- VERY good with kids and tries really hard to be good with women too, but he knows he can be really intimidating sometimes. Has ordered many an Uber for random drunk girls

- regarding being good with kids, aside from the obvious of being an amazing uncle, kids are also just so much easier for him. Like when they’re sad they cry, when they’re mad they scream, when they’re hungry they tell you. He might not always know why they’re doing or feeling what they are, but at least he doesn’t have to guess

- first and last suit he bought was for his brother’s wedding. Price took him suit shopping, and when Simon’s mom learned that, she invited Price to the wedding too (Price went and danced with Mrs. Riley, there’s a video somewhere of it that cuts to a very embarrassed Simon)

- TOTAL momma’s boy!!! Once he got into the army, every dollar went to his family but he made sure his mom always had the best he could afford. Called her ‘Momma’ until she died. (Probably has a tattoo for her - maybe something in her handwriting?)

- speaking of parents, did more than just throw his dad out of the house when he came back from basic training - actually beat him to death. Only Price knows about this, as he’s the one Simon called sobbing, not knowing what to do with his dead dad’s body

- His sister-in-law, Beth, was Scottish. Ghost very much knows what Soap is saying. He also knows Scottish lullabies and other folk songs.

- Simon actually met Beth first, and once he deemed her worthy, then introduced her to Tommy.

- Tommy was super big into photography and videography. There’s hundreds of photos of Simon, Beth, Joey, and his mom floating in the cloud somewhere. He also had a photography account, so there are photos of Simon Riley still out on the internet (Bonus HC, Soap - like every artist - uses reference photos when he needs/wants, and found Tommy’s account, and has actually drawn Simon dozens of times over based off of Tommy’s photos without realizing)

- chronic pain, constantly. Has numerous ice packs, heating pads, and braces, but usually just ignores it and suffers through it

- knows how to braid hair. Learned when Beth was pregnant, because like hell would Simon let his niece or nephew walk around looking like a bird’s nest if they ever decided to have long hair. Beth came home one day to find Mrs. Riley patiently teaching Simon on her own hair and almost started crying right there. Nowadays he braids his own to keep it tidy under the mask

- once he decides he trusts Johnny, and wants Johnny to know Simon and how Simon became Ghost, will just dump the most traumatic stuff on Soap before carrying on. He’s self-aware enough to ask Soap for permission first, but once he’s given it, he’ll just talk. Johnny has sat through many minutes of Ghost telling him about the torture, the brainwashing, about snakes and prostitutes and drugs, about being buried alive and the rapes and holding his dead nephew’s still warm body, and then Ghost will sigh a certain way, and change the radio station, or start the kettle, and continue with life, seemingly unaware of the fact Soap is breaking apart for him, tears in his eyes and tense and wishing Simon Riley had been given an ounce of luck, and that Soap could kill those bastards twice.

That was a lot, but I did say I was in hell. Feel free to incorporate into any fics or art! (please tag, I’d love to see >:) )

[cutiecorner]

Hehehe static shock brainrot go brrrr. I have waaay more thpughts about this than i thought, so this'll be part one! Most of it it setup, I'll star ☆ where the fluffy headcanons start! Also, trigger warning for the discussion of death.

Virgil regresses first because. You know. trauma.

I think he's been inclined to regress his whole life but it started to happen involuntarily after his mom passed away, especially late at night after he had dreams about her.

He didn't really know what it was until his dad brought it up in relation to one of the teens he was working with. He mentioned o Virgil they needed to be handled with care because they regress involuntarily due to trauma, and Virgil was like Whoops I Do That

He still didn't tell his dad, at first he felt really embarrassed about it. He tried as hard as he could to repress and avoid it, but it would come back stronger

After spending more time around the kid, he got used to it and decided maybe it wasn't so bad.

So he at least didn't try to fight it any more, now that he knew what it was. He wasn't super active about it though. It only happened at night, so the most he'd do about it was sleep with his favorite beanie baby dog, Pluto, or maybe ask to sleep in his dad's room if he felt really bad.

The first time it happened during the day was at the beginning of high school, when Francis started to bully him. Francis was a really intense bully, and Virgil had never been beat up before. He had a went back home and just couldn't stop crying, he felt so scared.

That's when Richie came in

It wasn't out of the ordinary for Richie to just go up to Virgil's room whenever he felt like it, they were just like that. It was especially expected when Virgil didn't meet up with him after school as usually.

When he got in Virgil was curled up around his dog plush, crying a lot. He had been beat up pretty bad and everything hurt.

Richie rushed to help him, getting him first aid and ice packs and trying to calm him down. It did work a little, though he was still crying, he felt a little better with Richie there

Until he realized... Richie was there

This was not something he intended to share with anyone, not even Richie. What would he think? That he's a total weirdo? Who would wanna hang around a teenager who still acts like a toddler? Counterintuitively, the thought only made him cry more.

Richie didn't notice anything weird, not the crying, not even Pluto, I mean, who wouldn't want to curl up and cry after getting roughed up?

After Virgil calmed down enough, Richie went to go tell Mr. Hawkins. Virgil wasn't opposed, his dad always made him feel safe.

After Mr. Hawkins helped Virgil, he pulled Richie aside to explain why Virgil was so scared.

Virgil tried to interject, that this wasn't Richie's problem, but Richie wanted to know. All he wanted to do was help his best friend, he didn't care what the circumstance was. Plus, Mr. Hawkins insisted it was a trauma response, nothing to be ashamed of.

Richie took the news really well. He reassured Virgil he didn't think any less of him and they were best friends no matter what.

Richie was actually the one who brought up they may be able to turn it into a fun thing. If you feel like a kid, why not act like a kid? There's tons of fun stuff they got 'too old for' to dig up.

☆ Rich really stepped up to help Virgil feel better about regression. He took him to the arcade, the museum, the aquarium - anything to make Virgil smile.

Virgil goes from 3-8 age wise

He looooves video games. He's usually pretty good at them, but he gets a little clumsy when regressed. Richie let's him win on purpose and helps him with all the tough levels

Virgil also loves tinkering! Any kind of building toys, he's all over it - especially legos. He can build so much cool stuff with legos, he's one of those guys who has shelves dedicated to his Lego creations.

Just generally, the Hawkins have a treasure trove of 90s/early 2000s nostalgia. Nerf guns, bayblades, whatever pogs are, they even have an easy bake oven.

Virgil’s dad is very supportive, and very happy Richie is so keen to take care of him. He always makes time for Virgil when he needs him.

Virgil loves to watch cartoons, Richie loves them too. They go crazy for Spongebob

Sharon doesn't fully understand what's going on with Virgil, but she doesn't mind going big sister mode sometimes. He's always her baby brother, after all.

They call him little vee or vee-vee :]

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Space Vampires

(A continuation from Humans are weird: Space Werewolf) ( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)    

The drop ship slowly crested its way down through the cloud banks and shook as it hit yet another pocket of turbulence.

“Would you like me to pilot?” Markus joked as he tightened his crash harness again. “I might not be as experienced as you, but I think I can avoid at least one batch of bad weather during our trip.”

Flint chuckled beside himself before quickly stifling it as Hooper grunted from the cockpit.

The craft was an older class V model of shuttle. Enough room for the cockpit and a small storage area in the back where Markus and Flint sat in modified seats. Much of the craft had been modified beyond what the original designers had envisioned, but in their line of work it was a hunter’s job to adapt to any situation with whatever they had on hand.

“You? Pilot?” Hooper laughed as he flipped a series of switches in rapid succession. “You’d be more likely to crash us into a bloody mountain and call it a detour.”

The shuttle shook again suddenly and it felt like it dropped ten feet before stabilizing out. Markus was opening his mouth to make another remark of Hooper’s piloting skills when the now unamused Hooper held up a finger for silence.

Several more shudders pierced swarmed the craft before finally the shuttle cleared the cloud banks and saw the world below. A desolate world of stone and sand with a sky constantly drowned in the depths of clouds so dense that barely any light at all ever reached the surface of the blighted world.

A perfect world indeed for their contact to meet them on.

“Are we sure we should be doing this?”

Hooper took pause from scanning the horizon for their landing to tilt his head back and see Flint looking between the pair. The signs of doubt already beginning to creep over his features as his right foot slowly tapped a rhythm to some new age song. It was a trick Hooper had taught the young hunter to calm his mind when the darkness began to creep ever closer.

“We’ve not got a choice I’m afraid.” Markus spoke before Hooper could. “We’re in uncharted waters and they’ve more a grasp than any of us.”

“But what if they double cross us?” Flint pressed. “When have we ever known them to honor a parlay of truce, let alone not lie to our faces?”

“I understand your reluctance,” Hooper began as he flicked on autopilot and turned the pilot’s chair around to face Flint, “and if times were different I’d be the first one in line to kill these bastard.”

“But Markus is right,” Hooper admitted with a heavy heart, “right now we need to put aside our old grudges and work together.”

“If it makes you feel better, at the first sign of a double cross we can kill them all!” Markus announced boldly and slapped his knee. Flint said nothing at this but smiled; though he could not help still tapping his feet a little softer. Hooper watched this quietly and kept his own council confined within the depths of his thoughts.

He had been hesitant to bring Flint along for this task. Normally a novice hunter would not be exposed to these sorts of dealings until they had become folly ordained within the order; but Markus had lobbied hard for the lad and their previous dealings with the werewolf pack on Sectus II had shown he could hold his own. Markus was also right that there was little time to follow traditional procedures and they needed every hunter in the field they had.

“Is that it?” Flint asked sheepishly as Hooper was dragged from the council of his mind and turned back to look out the cockpit window.

Just nestled in the valley between two long and tall mountain ranges was a red light glowing so bright it was even registering on the shuttles scanners.

“Strap in you two,” Hooper said as he flipped off autopilot and began the descent, “we’re about to find out.”

With that said the shuttle began a rapid descent towards the surface of the planet until coming to a stop just beside the strange red glow. The area around the light was completely deserted save for a lone figure. Their features were hidden beneath their cloak but they seemed untroubled by the storm of dust and flying stones as the shuttle came down next to the flame.

“Gear up.” Hooper said as soon as the shuttle finally came to a rest and the engines started spinning down. He watched the figure for a moment to see if they would move to greet them at the boarding ramp, but they just stood stoic by the light.

“I thought you said we should trust them?” Flint spoke as he untangled himself from the webbing. Hooper shook his head as he unbuckled himself from the flight chair and picked up his plasma caster that was nestled beside him. He popped in a fresh power pack and the weapon began to hum to life as the lethal energies coursed through its elegant frame.

“I said we need them, not that we should trust them.”

The trip of hunters loaded themselves with the weapons and tools of their trade before Markus hammered the boarding ramp switch and the back of the shuttle popped open with a grinding screech. It took a minute to fully open before the hunters set foot on the desolate world and walked around the shuttle to meet with the figure.

None of them spoke as they approached the stranger as they finally moved; walking towards the flame and casually extinguishing it with a casual kick of dirt. Hooper switched between keeping his eyes on the figure and scanning the horizon, but for the most part the figure was the only one out in the open for miles around.

“I thought we had agreed to meet alone.” The figure spoke as the trio of hunters stopped several paces between the two parties.

Hooper smirked. “That we did,” he said as he swept his plasma caster around the surrounding area, “so would you care to tell your friends to leave and I’ll do the same.”

The figure cocked his head in confusion, but Hooper just pointed his weapon at the ground he now stood over.

“You think we didn’t see your friend buried in the stones?” Hooper asked mockingly. “Tell them to get out here now or this one below me is about to find out what a face full of holy plasma feels like; and trust me when I say it makes holy water feel like a pin prick.”

Standing silent, the figure made no move to acknowledge Hooper’s claim. It wasn’t until the whine of the plasma caster finally reached its highest pitch indicating that it was ready to fire that they finally gave up and made a gesture with their right hand.

All around them more figures suddenly began bursting from the ground in showers of rock and stone, causing Flint to reach for his weapon before a calming hand from Markus forestalled him. These new figures wore elaborate sets of armor, now decorated with a thin layer of dust from their hiding places. Each held a sharpened blade in their hands while burning red eyes tracked the hunters every movements. The one beneath Hooper’s feet making an awkward assention as he crawled up from the stone beneath his legs.

“It is good to see your order has not lost its touch.” The figure said as they removed their hood to show a youthful looking face. “Existence can become so dull without a good sparring partner.”

“Morgan.” Hooper said with a tilt of his head. He powered down his plasma caster as the other figures shuffled over and stood behind their master.

Morgan, voice of the conclave of vampires, nodded in return and looked passed Hooper to Markus and Flint.

“And you’re friends are?” Morgan asked, but Hooper shook his head.

“Cut the formalities and let’s get this done.” He said.

The right eyebrow of Morgan twitched for the briefest of moments in anger but otherwise he retained his composure. The vampiric assassins jittered around him as if sensing their master’s anger but knew well enough to remain silent.

Holding out his hand towards one of the assassins, the vampire stepped forward to Hooper and presented him with a datapad before returning to his position behind his master. Hooper powered on the pad and began reading the information as it scrolled by.

“The names and last known whereabouts of the vampires responsible for the most recent…..” the voice paused for a moment to consider his words, “breaches; as you requested.”

“Breaches!?”

Morgan looked towards the speaker to find that it was young Flint who now spoke brazenly; his outrage at the dismissiveness of the vampire beyond constraint.

“Your kind slaughtered three colony worlds and left a damn near hundred young bloods to ravage the rest of the planet it a blood fueled ram-

“FLINT!!!”

Flint stopped himself as Hooper shouted at him and fixed him with the hardest stare he had.

“Shut. Up. Now.” he spoke through gritted teeth.

Not expecting this from his mentor, Flint looked confused and upset before relenting and resuming his silence. Hooper turned back to Morgan who had remained silent during the outburst.

“My…..apologies, for my protégés outburst;” Hooper said much to the surprise of Markus and Flint, “he still needs to learn how these matters are conducted.”

Morgan grinned, an expression that made Flint’s hand twitch towards his own gun, and waved away Hooper’s apology.

“Think nothing of it.” He replied to Hooper, before tilting and looking directly at Flint. “And I would go so far as to state that I agree with their assessment entirely.”

Whatever the trio had been expecting the vampire to say during these dealings, a formal apology was not amongst them. It was rare for a vampire to admit they were wrong, let alone agree with a mere mortal.

“Since the discovery of space travel the vampire conclave has found it increasingly difficult to keep its members in line.” Morgan began as he paced around the meeting area. He would stop every now and then to look at the ground before bending down to pick up a stone of unremarkable appearance before casually tossing it aside.

“On Earth such acts of carnage were contained and swiftly dealt with to maintain the balance, but now; as the universe opens up around us some of our kind see worlds as their own private feasting grounds.”

“Can’t keep your house in order?” Hooper mocked.

In a blink of an eye Morgan vanished from his position opposite Hooper and appeared with his hand inches from the hunter’s throat. The hunter could smell the sulfur radiating off the vampire and knew he had struck a nerve. He could see the crimson color of Morgan’s eyes and felt the vampire was using every ounce of his strength to resist feeding on Hooper.

Markus, Flint, and the vampire assassins all readied themselves as if battle would ensue but Hooper held up a hand to stall his companions.

“You would be wise to remember your place.” Morgan spoke through gritted teeth. His sharpened fangs protruding from his mouth with each syllable ready to dig deep into Hooper’s neck and drink of his blood. A notion Hooper was well aware of and had his right hand firmly priming a garlic grenade in his pocket to dissuade the vampire should he press further.

“The vampire conclave is handling the dealings of our kind on a hundred worlds across a dozen star systems. Your continued existence is merely a byproduct of our generosity for allowing you to live long enough to spread humans to more worlds to feast on.”

“There’s plenty of alien’s out there too,” Hooper said calmly, “why the special interest in us “lowly” humans?”

“They are..” Morgan spoke as he slowly pulled away from Hooper and the hunter eased off the garlic grenade, “incompatible.”

“That didn’t seem to bother the werewolves.” Hooper pointed out. “Nor zombies for that matter; those buggers will eat just about anything.”

Morgan sighed deeply and run his hands over his face as if he was about to speak slowly to a small child.

“I do not have the time nor patience to explain why human blood is the desired choice for my kind; just know that it is the will of the conclave to see your species continued existence to serve us in the coming millennia.”

He tapped the datapad Hooper still held in his other hand with a long finger ending with a sharpened fingernail that looked like it could cut steel as if it was cardboard.

“A decree that some of my kind are now putting at risk by their rampant blood feasts. If we do not pool our resources now they will exterminate the entirety of the human population leaving us without a crucial food source.”

“And here I thought you just enjoyed our company.” Hooper said begrudgingly. “So your only wish to keep using humans is for vampire food?”

Morgan paused to collect his thoughts, debating internally if he should share the new information with his hunter adversaries.

“There is another reason,” Morgan spoke slowly having made up his mind, “and it is with regards to alien blood.”

This peeked Hooper’s interest and he motioned for the vampire to continue.

“During your encounter with the werewolves from your previous…adventures, did you not see aliens infected by their mark?”

“We did.” Hooper replied, unsure were Morgan was going with this.

“We have discovered similarly, that when the blood curse is applied to nonhuman species the results can be……detrimental.”

“Meaning?” Hooper asked impatiently.

“The curse changes aliens in ways we have not seen before, and at times these new abominations have abilities far beyond even our elder’s capabilities to contain.”

This was grave news that Hooper could hardly believe. A vampire elder, or leader of the conclave, was easily thousands of years old and possessed enough strength and skill that centuries ago it had taken the entire order of hunters to destroy just one of their number. To hear that these beings of unimaginable destruction were being hard pressed by newly turned alien vampires was something that filled Hooper with a sense of dread he had not known in decades.

“You see our problem now.” Morgan spoke, seeing that the hunter finally realized what is at stake. “If we do not correct these divergences now, we may see a galactic scale level of devastation.”

“And to show you we are not joking,” Morgan continued as one by one the vampire assassins began vanishing into smoke leaving the area until only Morgan remained, “we brought you one to see firsthand.”

A loud roar thundered through the valley and the trio of hunters all reached for their weapons. In the distance they could see an ever growing mound of flesh thrashing towards them. Rows of teeth catching the light as it stampeded towards the gathering and Hooper caught sight of a pair of bright crimson eyes that he had seen just now in Morgan’s visage.

“Au revoir, Mr. Hooper.”

Hooper turned back to see Morgan vanishing into smoke, laughing as the tyrant alien vampire continued thundering towards the hunters.

[annakie]

Never Fade Away

THIS IS A VERY LONG POST with big spoilers in both words and pictures for Cyberpunk 2077!

But it's also all my feels about a playthrough that's taken me many months and almost 300 hours to complete.

----

I played Cyberpunk 2077 on release. As I said in this "Games I played in 2021" post, which is a thing I wish I'd remembered to do every year, I loved it. That said, it probably wouldn't have cracked my top 10 or maybe even 20 favorite games ever, but I thought it was amazing, right out of the box. I ran into a couple of bugs, like couldn't complete the Delamain questline, and definitely agreed with some popular opinions about the game that parts of it didn't seem quite done, I had a couple of crashes and times I had to reload from something weird happening, but playing on PC I didn't have a lot of the problems console players did apparently.

It very much felt to me like another Andromeda situation -- another game that needed another couple of months to finish ironing a couple of bugs out but was mostly a victim of its own over-anticipaiton and overhyped-edness by the fanboys (and girls.)

That said, when I finished it I set it aside to wait for major updates before I'd pick it up again.

So last fall when it's one and only DLC, Phantom Liberty finally released, it was right around when the BG3 hype was happening so BG3 came first. But I kept having to wait for mods to update after patches dropped, so during one of these breaks I went and started playthrough #2 of Cyberpunk 2077.

My first time through I was a Nomad, so to mix it up this time I went Corpo. I really enjoyed Corpo a lot more and thought it had some much cooler interactions than Nomad ever gave me. Although, I thought the introduction and subsequent friendship with Jackie felt more natural with Nomad.

There were several goals I had going in to this playthrough.

Different origin - check.

Send Jackie's body to Mama Welles -- with no spoilers from my first run, I thought sending the body to Vik to work on first would be the most logical choice and either he could help Jackie or at least get him interred properly so Jackie's mom WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE TRAUMATIZED by her son's body just showing up. Guess that was the wrong choice and it was way too late to change once I found that out. So yeah, start things off right with Mama.

Complete the Delamain quest now that the showstopper bug a LOT of people ran into was fixed. (Didn't mention it later, but check!)

Find all the Hidden Gems

Pick a different ending.

Install cool mods to enhance things without breaking the game.

Generally, just do everything. Except maybe the Sinnerman questline. (I aborted halfway through and didn't regret it.)

Understand the main storyline in ways that had confused the hell out of me the first time around.

High quality Screenshots screenshots screenshots screenshots screenshots.

So with 1 checked off, I decided before advancing the main storyline much, I'd try to raise my fame level a bit and also just let Jackie live for awhile.

I did some research and landed on installing the Welcome to Night City mod collection. It's well researched, well maintained, the creator is really responsive, and has a Discord with a well supported community. Importantly for me, it also didn't have any "sexy" mods, just great gameplay tweaks, fixes, customizable on how much harder/easier it made the game, and added a lot of flavor and experience but felt like everything just worked in the background. Also since I have a Premium Nexus Mods experience, the install and upgrades were very, very easy. I didn't do the upgraded CyberpunkTHING experience, since it makes the game harder. I was here for a good time.

(And yes, I endorsed every mod in the collection!)

Honestly it added so many things that I'm sure there was a ton of stuff I just experienced thinking that that's just how the game was now, but it was a part of a seamlessly integrated mod collection.

I'll definitely use this mod pack again the next time I play. But also I didn't install ANY other mods really for a very long time, and I now really wish that I had. But we'll get to that.

I also installed several other graphics mods on my own, like a high-res skin for River (and the... shall we say... anti-Kendoll mod for him lol) and like, this mod (and several others from that author) that tones down the hypersexuality of the ads in the game. I realized early on that they don't bother me in-game -- it totally fits the aesthetic and tone of the game! But also I didn't want all that in screenshots that I will have rotating on my desktop for years (shoutout to DisplayFusion) and would have the possibility of like, my AC guy or my neighbors kids having to see as my Office is my living room (and my living room is the smallest bedroom of my house).

I did a lot of the gigs in Watson before advancing the main storyline so I'd have an OK character for storming stuff this time. I recently found a list of places Johnny talks in early Watson jobs to avoid doing early next time:

Side Job: Losing My Religion (where you have to free the monk from Maelstrom)

Fixer Gig: Backs Against the Wall (recover stolen medicine from veteran)

Fixer Gig: Scrolls before Swine (get the CCTV footage for the cop, only if you watch before downloading)

So you can do all NCPD hustles, the first 10 Fixer gigs and and all side jobs except Losing My Religion without losing out on any of the Johnny experience.

Leaving that there for next time. Anyway, it feels like it makes more sense to get this chance at the big gig when you have some experience, and can pretend you and Jackie were living life together a little while longer. Next playthrough -- use AMM to take some hanging out with Jackie screenshots early on.

---

Eventually I advanced the main storyline enough and finished the Heist, and was able to check #2 off my list. Loved not getting yelled at by Mama Welles this time. And felt with the added time that I had a right to be doing this -- still extremely stupid in retrospect -- gig. But it was more fun have tools to deal with the hotel guards this time.

Knowing who Takemora was and meeting Johnny again were really enhanced by knowing what the fuck was going on the second time around. Keanu really knocks it out of the park when you finally really understand the character.

Though I hate the early adversarial feeling between him and V, I get it a lot more now. Watching the relationship grow is really worth it.

---

I wasn't invited to Jackie's memorial the first time. So getting to go the second time and help repair Misty and Mama Wells' relationship was great, and I really loved getting to know Jackie better by picking out something for the funeral at his garage, and the added time with Misty.

---

I told myself I'd do a different spec than stealth-hacker. I was wrong. I still did that. I love using Contagion and Overheat to take enemies out non-lethally while crouched behind something nearby. The ones that really deserve it get a shot from Skippy later.

Yeah, as soon as lockdown was over I hightailed it down to Valentino's territory and then headed back to Watson / Japantown. I gave Skippy up as late as possible, when he was outliving his usefulness. I got him back as fast as I could, but I miss his voice. I miss his quips.

After that when I needed a weapon I mostly used the Arasaka experimental smart SMG. IDK, I just liked the feeling of stealing shit from Arasaka and using it to fuck up their own people whenever possible. But again, I didn't shoot weapons much anyway.

---

I spent so, so much time just driving around taking pictures of my cars and the amazing ways the light looked while driving through the city. I absolutely fell in love with the aesthetics of the city, every part of it, over and over again. I posted a few photosets. There are more in the queue. There are so many screenshots I didn't use.

Like, honestly out of everything I love about this game just... looking at it is maybe my favorite thing. There's so much to see, all of the time, everywhere. Your eyes can never take it all in. I'll be in a place I've been a dozen times and still find new awesome things to look at. I just can't describe how much I enjoy just... looking at this game.

I never fast travel anywhere -- except out of the Megabuilding 10 apartment. I took the metro a few times just to sit back and relax watching the scenery go by but normally I just drive everywhere.

Jackie's Arch and the Porche 911 (and its variant in the bottom screenshot) are my favorite vehicles. Bikes for maneuverability, but also likewise the Porche has better handling than a bike while still being really easy to weave through traffic in.

Night City is one of the few locations in any video game I've ever played that TRULY feels like it could be a real place. Every neighborhood is distinct. Though there are some familiar things, one Captain Caliente doesn't look like every other one. You'll see a few of the same signs around, there are some generic small building structures but where it makes sense. Yeah there's a few monolithic Arasaka buildings but of course they would be. How efficient. The megabuildings are similar, but different enough. It feels like every detail of the world was crafted so carefully. There's so much beauty even in the ugly bits.

I never want to stop looking at it, or screenshotting it. I just love the city so much.

I'm going to run out of screenshot space on this post.

---

I romanced River again. Look, I'm a basic primarily het romancer in video games. I love Judy, she's amazing, but River ticks my boxes -- the Paladin archetype who gives it all up to do the right thing even when it costs him.

I hate that he's the most undercooked of all the companions plot and time-wise. But there were some huge improvements this time. All the companions had gotten extra text message interactions. A fun little quest that added a bit more content in PL. They Really Want To Stay at Your House! And along with that, amazing mods are now available to make those things even better. (River Romanced Enhanced, the Really Want To Stay At Your House and Romance Interactions Enhanced mods)

Around the mid-point in game after seeing some amazing photosets on my desktop, I got brave and installed Appearance Mod Menu and a bunch of other pose and photomode mods that go along with it. Also some outfit mods for River. And then things really got cooking screenshot wise.

Even though it took a lot of effort to set this stuff up and to get poses to work right sometimes, I got to feel like River and my V went out and had real dates on the town.

Also sometimes... we just uh... stayed in.

There's so many photos that won't ever make it to tumblr. And so many more sets I want to take.

Well, that's what reloading old saves is for.

You'll see some of these screenshots again, or have before. I have a lot of things queued that will pop up... sometime. I like to surprise myself with my own photosets. :D

---

I finally installed the Virtual Atleir and started modding in outfits a little while after doing AMM, was trying to install things in waves as to not break too much. I got a few crashes here and there, but not as many as I was worried about, after installing stuff on top of Welcome to Night City.

I kind of regret waiting so long to do Virtual Atlier and clothing mods but also not. I think I manually collected like 95% or more of all the ingame clothing. I still stop by clothing stores but they usually have nothing new for me, or just things like... masks that I never use. There's such a huge variety of clothes already in the game that I didn't get to build a lot of outfits around pieces that I love. I made a whole post of ingame-outfits I made and love!

And there's one in the queue somewhere of modded-in outfits, too. Not even all of them.

Cyberpunk 2077 is the ultimate Dress-up my dolls and make them kiss game, and I may never stop playing that aspect of it.

---

Hey speaking of Kerry Eurodyne, I love him. And Panam. And Judy. And Vik. and Claire. And Misty. And Rogue. And the rest of Samurai (Well, I chose Denny and always will.) The only thing I don't love is how it feels like you still don't get enough time with any of them, except MAYBE Panam.

I would love to be able to space out all of their missions even more. I try to put as much space in between the companion missions as possible, but this time it backfired on me a little because i crammed Judy's stuff in way later in the game than I should have, around when I was doing Kerry's stuff. When all of the main quest and most of the side quest stuff was done. And we all know that we don't get Kerry until way too late anyway. But doing Panam's stuff happened so long ago that sometimes I'd just drive out to see the Aldecados and hang out for a day because I missed them. (And, as you can see in the River screenshot above, I "brought him along" to introduce him tot he family once or twice.)

I have a great photoset in the queue of all the main characters hanging out at the Corpo apartment together I can't wait to come up someday. Not posting a preview screenshot here.

Except I forgot Claire. It took me like an hour to set that scene up and now I'm thinking about doing it all again to include Claire.

Anyway, mostly I just want to say that aside from just loving River, I love them all and don't want to leave them behind either.

Or the Fixers. Or Reed. But we'll get to Phantom Liberty.

---

Just one more quick stop here to talk about the music.

I installed the Improved Radio Continued mod and wow it really enhanced the music experience for me.

I am a 98.7 Body Heat gal, with a flip to Pacific Dreams when Ponpon Shit or History would play, but loved about half the new music on Growl FM. It took some finagling, but Improved Radio let me make my own custom radio station with JUST the songs I wanted. So it's a mash of those three stations, without the songs I disliked. (There's one on Pacific Dreams, the REALLY long one that has the interlude of someone saying the same word over and over really slowly? That one... ughghgh) and that was amazing. There's a handful of songs from other stations I liked too, that got added in. And, I'm sorry, no Us Cracks allowed. I love them as characters, still hate their music.

What I didn't expect was to really fall in love with the music of Samurai this time around. Like, I knew I should have the first time but I didn't put effort into listening to them since metal isn't my usual vibe. But it IS my brother's, at least when we were in High School and College, so I listened to it a lot back then and there are still metal songs I do like.

So this time I put all the Samaurai songs in my playlist and holy shit I fell in love with them.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving to visit my parents IRL and the entire way up there I just listened to the Samurai songs on repeat. I'm a big fan now, thanks second playthrough.

----

So, Phantom Liberty was the big reason for the new playthrough. Let's talk about it.

I absolutely LOVE Dogtown. oh, Pacifica, but worse? Amazing. So much new stuff to see, and do. I loved exploring every nook and cranny.

It added SO MUCH to the game, I can't imagine playing the game without it. I didn't even go to there until I was like 2/3rds of the way through the rest of the content and I wish I'd spread it out EVEN MORE.

I will say that I thought some of the main quests were a bit long. I felt myself itching to get out and go do something else throughout some of the long sessions like basically having to do most of the stuff with the President in one big long chain, though it made sense. I loved those quests, though! And I think I'll like them even more on a subsequent playthrough some day.

The only part I really did not like at all in Phantom Liberty was -- ok look I made the choice to side with Reed the entire way. It's Idris fucking Elba okay, I have loved him since The Wire. And I absolutely understand why Songbird did what she did, and what she would have done if I'd have sided with her. And maybe I will next time. But this time, I was all in on Reed -- though I didn't become an Agent for the NUSA, fuck that. And I gave Songbird her final wish. Because again, fuck the NUSA.

But oh man, that last quest? With that FUCKING ROBOT following you around the base at the end, that is an instakill if it finds you? FUUUUUUCK that. It was so frustrating that I stopped playing for over a month because every time I thought about going back into the game to finish that my head wanted to explode.

Eventually I watched a couple of Youtube videos and read a couple of articles about exactly where to go and how to hide from it.

Look, I love exploring, I love taking my time, I love making sure I explore everything and miss nothing. That fucking robot harshed my gaming style so much. No regrets about cheating my way through that part. Zero. I made it through with only dying to it one more time and got the fuck out of there. I was also glad to see in the comments of the video I watched and articles I read that I was very much not alone in that opinion. I might side with Songbird at least most of the way to the end in future playthroughs JUST to never have to do that base again.

Otherwise, though, Phantom Liberty was a triumph. I want a mod that makes the Dogtown apartment not shit but also not luxury, and then I want to just stay there a long time.

----

So, I'm almost done with the game.

I installed two Hidden Gems mods that turn the easy-to-miss stuff into Fixer (and Ronald in Dogtown) quests and LOVED THEM. I wanted to see and do it all. And I did. I'm done with that. It took me many more hours of gameplay to get through all of that. Worth it.

In my playthrogh, River is waiting for me at my Megabuilding apartment to spend one more night together.

And then I'm calling Panam and having the Aldecados come help me storm Arasaka.

Last time I had Rogue help, and to be honest, I feel like that's still the right choice. Rogue helped start this. She should help end it.

But one of my goals was to do more things different. And to be honest, I hate the endings, so much.

It's not that I necessarily think there should be a happy ending for V. But I think that the game should let us help make sure other people have happier endings.

So here's the thing. V is richer than like 95% of Night City by the end of the game. She's got like six apartments, at least a dozen cars even if you don't buy many at the car store, My V still has like 8 million eddies.

I don't care what the game says.

In my game, V went to a financial lawyer.

V set up trusts with each of the Fixers, or maybe one for all of them, where they can access funds to hire mercs to help people who couldn't afford a Fixer but needs one. I'd trust most of them to use this wisely, or maybe Regina, or Rogue, or Dakota or Padre would help oversee it. At least a million eddies out there, to help those who get fucked by the system most.

V sets up a trust for Judy, so she's always got enough to get by. She sends her the best tech she's gotten her hands on to ply her trade with. Maybe a new van. Set aside some to help the Dolls.

V sends her heavy duty vehicles and Scorpion's bike to the Aldecados, along with a huge stash of weaponry and half a million or so eddies to help them stay solvent.

Misty's and Vik's rents paid up for at least a year. A vehicle each. Another 250k or so for each of them. They have room to breathe. Whatever Cyberware is laying around goes to Vik -- but if River wants a couple of pieces installed, he gets them (within reason. No cyberpsychosis for my man.)

Same for Claire. Set her up with her shop's rent paid up, and a trust, give her The Beast back, and another car of her choosing.

Kerry doesn't need much, but she gives him Johnny's outfit to remember him by. Or maybe to Rogue. What do these two giants want? Whatever it is, they can have. Split the memorabilia.

And then River.

First of all, a trust for Joss and the kids. 250k each, the kids get theirs in small chunks as they age. If there's a note on either of the trailers, it's paid off. If Joss wants to move into the city, done. Set the kids up with scholarships to the best schools they want to go to. A decent, reliable car for each of the four of them. Maybe Randy wants the Megabuilding apartment for when he's ready to live on his own again.

River gets most of what's left after all that. The Glen apartment specifically, that's where they made their best memories. There's still going to be like 4 million and a bunch of cars and property left. If V dies, it's his.

This is the closest thing to happily ever after that they can get, and in my mind it absolutely happens, at some point.

Honestly, if it were me, if I didn't know the "two years later" of it, then V would have taken the President's offer and gotten Johnny out of her head surgically and lived. The will probably would have triggered. Or knowing that the surgery could be risky she'd at least have put in a provision that a percent of it triggered so Joss, the kids, River, Judy, Claire and Panam would be taken care of.

She'd never have left River destitute and desperate to take care of the family. I can't accept it.

V would wake up maybe with less money, but her assets protected enough that even without being a Merc she'd be OK. The people she loved would be OK. River would have taken care of things, and would love her without her implants.

It'll never be happily ever after in Night City, but the people that matter most will be OK.

---

But I'm going to finish today, maybe tomorrow. I planned on it today but then I spent 4 hours writing this post and have a PF2E game tonight to DM that I need to prep for.

I installed the River's Epilogue Enhanced - Nomad Star Ending mod and.... so I'm bringing the Aldecados to Arasaka, and am going to have the happiest ending possible modded into the game. With my headcanon that a trust is waiting for him and the family. They'll be fine.

I love this game. I loved it before, I love it so much more now.

I can't wait to play it again someday.

[pudding-parade]

Rusalem by AnnetStore

Welcome to the inaugural World Overview Wednesday, wherein I have a look at some of the nice, mostly old, and perhaps obscure worlds I have tucked away in a massive archive of them. My purpose is to give these worlds a little love, to give as much info about them as I can, and to give you a link to them, both to the original upload if it still works and to a re-upload in case the original vanishes into the ether. That way, you can download them if you want to. I have almost 900 worlds in said archive, so we could be here for the next 17 years. Literally. I did the math.

Anyway! My first victim is Rusalem by AnnetStore. I really like this world, though I've never played in it. Think "Jerusalem" without the "Je," and it really does look a lot like that part of the world. I mean, look at that thing! It's beautiful in its stark desert-ness. It's a big world, beautifully terrain-painted, decorated with a nod toward authenticity with date palms, olive, and cypress trees, fully built/furnished, has a distant terrain, and it's populated. It is what I think Al Simhara should have been, except that it'd need pyramids for that, I guess.

This world was uploaded to the Exchange in December of 2011, and you can download it here, in case you missed that the title of this post is also a link. :) And if you do not wish to deal with the Exchange and/or sims3packs and you don't feel like converting it yourself, I have also uploaded the .world file I made here. You just plop that in your install files in the folder at GameData > Shared > NonPackaged > Worlds. No need to screw around with the launcher.

But before you do all that...more pics and info behind the cut.

Aside from the fact that it's 2048x2048 and comes with 45 residents (which I'm assuming is correct; I certainly didn't count them), there is zero info about this world. That said, I am pretty certain that it needs all of the EPs that had been released when this world was made, which means up to Pets. I noticed objects from all of the EPs up to Generations, and the world does generate minor pets, which I think means that it needs Pets, too, but I'm not sure about that. I take pics of these worlds in a save that has no store content installed, and I have only the High End Loft stuff pack, and I didn't notice anything missing on any of the lots, so I think it only needs the EP stuff. It neither comes with nor requires CC.

This world has basement rabbitholes on all of the rabbithole lots. Of course you can edit them and use rugs instead if you don't like the basement rabbitholes thing.

The world has all spawners (other than the Island Paradise and Into the Future ones, of course), and they are placed in a well-distributed way throughout the world.

Older worlds sometimes have weird issues because, for instance, EA breaks shit with patches. While taking pics of this world, it ran for five simdays. During that time, I sent my sim all over the place and the pre-made population was running around, too. I noticed no weird issues (like sims walking on water), had no notifications about stuck sims (except for a wild horse once, but they always get stuck), and generally saw no issues or lag. So, I think this one's OK in an up-to-date game.

Now let's take a look at the lots and stuff.

This is the main area of the world. It's up on a rise, and it's where the majority of the rabbitholes are as well as a good number of residential lots, many of which are unoccupied so you can move in plenty of your own sims even if you keep the pre-made population. Here's the Edit Town view, so you can see what's what with that:

Now let's take a look at some of these individual lots. Can't look at all of them because we'd be here until next Wednesday, but some of them.

This is the science lot. The building is mostly empty, but it does have an inventing station, and though you can't see them in the pic there are also scrap piles to collect scrap from on the lot. If you've got an inventor sim, this is where they'll need to go to get scrap if you don't want them to buy it because there isn't a dedicated junkyard in the world. There are also harvestables on the lot so that science-career sims can work on their Gardening skill before or after work, if they don't have a home garden. I would add the science objects from University Life, too, because of course that EP didn't exist when this world was created.

This is the city hall, which is quite fancy outside but almost entirely empty inside. So, there's three stories of space to add stuff, if you want to.

This is the fire station, which is nice but, oddly, doesn't come with a fire truck, so you'll need to add one. Or two, since there's two parking spaces of appropriate size.

This is the ziggurat-like library, and this...

...is part of the town's big park (and there are numerous smaller ones scattered throughout the world). It is not a seasonal festival lot because Seasons didn't yet exist when this world was made, but it would be easy to make it so, if you wanted to. You can also see the lot at one end of this park, which is set up as a wedding venue, with the arch and guest seating on the rooftop and a buffet table, bars, and tables/chairs inside the building.

This is the house where I placed the sim that I move into these worlds when I'm taking pics of them:

I have to say, the residential lots in this world are quite cute and match the theme very well. They are also all different, ranging in size from small starters, to moderate family homes, to expensive villas, to one honest-to-pie palace. They are all fully, albeit usually basically, furnished. Here's the furnishing in one of the starter-priced homes, which is suitable for a family of four:

And here is one of the expensive villas:

And here's the freakin' palace, which has a curtain wall with four towers and comes with two sports cars:

It's occupied by one of the pre-made families, but if you want to have your sims live in it, just annihilate/evict them. :)

Here's Edit Town views of the other smaller neighborhoods in the world:

Here's one of them in regular gameplay:

Most of them have their own little park/playground for the kids, and the one that's fairly far from "downtown" has its own grocery store and diner.

Here's one of the moderate family homes in one of the smaller neighborhoods:

Many of the homes in the world have outdoor living spaces, both covered patios as well as rooftop space. This particular house has both.

Now, about the pre-made population...Ehhhhh, I don't think they fit very well for the theme. Here are two of them:

Me, I'd nuke them and make my own families that would fit the theme better. But, I guess that's up to the player

The only other thing that might be a problem with this world is that the creator of it is Russian, so unless your game is also in Russian, you'll have a lot of dialogues and lot names/addresses/descriptions and such that look like this:

It's easy to change sims' names with Master Controller, but I don't think it's possible to change lot addresses. So, there's that. But, it's pretty easy to figure out what's what.

And we'll finish off with some more scenery, including sunset pics plus a nighttime one of the "downtown" area.

[maskedteaser]

hii i just saw the rdr2 matchups you did and i love them AND HOLY SHIT APEX FAN‼️‼️ i love how detailed you are!! love your writing!! so if ur not too overwhelmed with requests id like to make one :3 and honestly if ur doing matchups for apex id love that too there's so little apex ffs, especially x reader </3 no pressure tho!!

anyways as for me. uhh. i don't use labels (aside from being asexual) but am pretty masculine in gender, and my love is for any gender. my pronouns are he/him :3

more about me,, im vegetarian, my favorite animal is the octopus, im chronically ill & disabled, which means i have chronic pain and have pretty bad sleep (literally writing this at 10 am after not being able to sleep all night) but despite that i have a weird paradox where i am kinda strong? like i can pick ppl up. but can't have much activity for a long time lest i cast spell 200 bpm on myself. but for the sake of the ff i could totally bench press arthur morgans 180lb of pure muscle. its true <3

in apex i main wattson and bloodhound! but i also like crypto, octane ofc (who doesn't), loba, and... im sorry.. wraith 😭 i got wattsons heirloom after. a very long time of opening packs AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH no regrets!! french girl with giant nessie plush!!!!! tho i haven't played in forever (and honestly may keep it that way with how much they're nerfing bloodhound.. like.. c'mon man.. not my main.. they've already been nerfed so much 😭)

i recently started playing rdr2 cause im visiting family that has it (theres actually been a lot of funny stories being on an unfamiliar console, like playing 22+ hours and reaching chap 2 without knowing how to save.. and i didnt know how to tell arthurs weight so i kept him underweight for so long my poor starving man </3) after playing rdr1 quite a bit. i also vibed with john hard in 1 but i lowkey thought he was an angsty young adult in rdr2 and not a FATHER. my favs are arthur and javier tho i can barely see the latter cause where tf is he on the map?? same with charles where IS HE??? but anyways i also vibe so hard with kieran.

tho i could talk forever about my interests, other than that for personality: id describe myself as actually kinda confident around strangers, i love to compliment ppl i come across. for friends, much of the same, i like using improv as humor if that makes sense, ive been told im easy to talk to, i consider myself intuitive (also contributed to me being a tarot reader i believe), but i am the type to have a veeerryy hard time expressing negative feelings im having, and never crying in front of people, so no shortage of bottling emotions. im also rather rigid on cleanliness and WILL start tweaking if me/my space goes too long w/o cleaning. i really, really care about people (i would want to be a paramedic!! if my body could allow it..) and i so want to make peoples lives better!! but also can rather easily stop people from walking over me, should they try. i care about kids a lot, and get very peeved when other ppl dont know how kids brains work and mistreat them because of such, and cause they just have no respect for children. honestly with thinking like.. about formulating matchmaking requests i never really seem to think about what id want out of a person. honestly, just when someone cares (wow, such high standards) but should the time come, mmmost times im not afraid to make a selfish ask. most. maybe. sometimes. and im very, very empathetic and it SUCKS i take psychic damage every time someone even remotely, even HYPOTHETICALLY feels bad. this is not a virtue.

for hobbies, i like to play video games as you may have guessed, i also like to read (non fiction, classic lit and danmeis especially), make art of all kinds but mainly physical sketches, and im always looking to add more shows/movies to my watched list.

i love to visit restaurants and cafes and interesting places surrounding food!!! my idea of a good time is eating with people, even if its in a crappy chuck e cheese. i love to try new foods (but it's a bit hard since becoming vegetarian), and i love matcha! i also love visiting just interesting places in general. why go to disney when you can see a beautiful spot in nature, or an art exhibit, or a park, or just the lively downtown? but other than that, i love my dedicated space 💗

i dont like rude people. mean people. people mean to kids and animals. bigots. assholes. any synonym for that. but honestly, not much else. there are other things that sure tick me off but can be pretty easily taken care of or compromised for.

i hope i didnt write a damn essay. half of it was geeking out over interests but. im guessing the brainrot is shared. but thank you so much for even reading my request this far!! (*˘︶˘*)

hii! sure thing! i love doing matchups especially when you guys give me lots of details :) let's get to it :) THIS IS NOT PROOFREAD!!! I'M REALLY SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKES!!!

okay, first things first - let me tell you why I didn't choose other characters :)

❝ im chronically ill & disabled, which means i have chronic pain and have pretty bad sleep ❞

Well, I need to be honest with you, I believe that despite your strenght, REVENANT would just make fun of your disability, he would NOT care at all, he'd probably pick on you and be REALLY rude. I hope it's not offensive (i'm sorry if i'm insensitive, it's not my intention), but I know he'd want to offend you. You could actually have a good hate-ship (if you know what i mean), where the only thing you guys do is fight with each other but I don't think that's what you want.

❝ im also rather rigid on cleanliness and WILL start tweaking if me/my space goes too long w/o cleaning. ❞

I'm sorry, have you seen OCTANE'S room? Let me remind you of that...

Can you see what is happening on his floor? This guy would probably drive you insane with how messy he is and I know he wouldn't care if you tried to ask him to clean it up... It would probably lead to many arguments and fights between you :(

❝and im very, very empathetic and it SUCKS i take psychic damage every time someone even remotely, even HYPOTHETICALLY feels bad. this is not a virtue. ❞

I have this feeling that Loba would see you as an easy target to manipulate, she'd think that she could use you after seeing that you feel really bad when someone feels bad, so she'd probably talk about her past a lot around you - trying to make you feel like you need to help her with everything. I doubt that it could work out :( I hope you see my vision and I'm not weirdly delusional with my ideas.

BUT NOW FOR A RESULT... (NGL I HAD A BIG PROBLEM WITH THIS ONE SINCE YOU SEEM TO BE A GOOD MATCH FOR AT LEAST 2 LEGENDS, BUT I DECIDED TO PICK...)

VANTAGE

I feel like you and Vantage could have a really good relationship! You both seem to aim high with your ideals and I just think that you both are really empathetic, a little bit emotional even... You share the love for animals. She has her Echo and she'd probably die for him. Vantage would never let any animal be mistreated when she's watching.

" why go to disney when you can see a beautiful spot in nature, or an art exhibit, or a park, or just the lively downtown? " - I think she thinks exactly the same! She seems to be a big fan of nature and she is an explorer. Born on a cold planet where everything wanted to kill her, she knows that nature can both be beautiful and deadly. She is also really nice, and I think that when she gets closer to someone, she actually CARES, like...A LOT. You'd probably be treated really well. I think that Vantage would be really patient when it comes to you and expressing your feelings, she'd never let you just walk away if she saw that you were upset, I think that communication and trust is a priority in every relationship.

She'd listen to you when you tell her that you have chronic pain and she'd do exactly the things you ask her to do, always trying her best to help you and she'd make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard.

Thank you for reading 👽👽👽

[imagine-silk]

Moon Knight w/ Autistic s/o

Sometimes you need to do things for yourself. (Steven Grant + Marc Spector)

Hyper-Fixation

Steven is all for it. If it is about Egypt he can tell you everything you could ever want to know and it is delicious. Ask any question and he can answer and pull out all the books he has that are well loved and covered in notes. If it's about literally anything else he'll ask about it and let you talk it out knowing you'll figure out more if he questions things. You can always be completely sure he's listening, he'll be cooking with his back turned and he'll perk up and ask what that last thing meant. Marc doesn't understand everything but he tries to. You are more than willing to explain. It's very nice to you because he's not being demeaning or annoyed, he's genuinely confused because he missed something. He at one point said you should probably talk to Steven about it and accidentally upsets you because you think he doesn't want you to talk rather than saying he's not very good at following. You just make it very clear you like talking to him.

Overstimulated in Public

Steven brings you down right then and there. He'll take you aside and cover your ears so you can catch your bearings. If you need pressure he'll hug you. If your eyes hurt he'll get you in better shade and give you sunglasses. He'll squish you in his shirt if it makes you feel better. Every single person who passes by get a look from him; a polite smile to say silently that you were okay or a contemptuous one saying 'fuck you' as overt as it is silent. Marc will find an exit. He knows it will take a good minute to get home because you don't have a car but it's the best place he can handle it. He knows it's a bit harsh, your discomfort varies from woozy to 'I'm about to cry' the whole time. In the flat you are immediately under the covers with an ice-pack before he gets to work. He puts things under the blanket, fidgets, food, headphones, things of that nature. It's a little system. He gives and you throw out the things you don't want. And if you leave your hand out he'll hold it.

Weird and Random Compliments

Steven shines bright and takes it without question. Telling him you like the way his eyes turn a hint of red in fading sunlight is just as hitting as telling him the contrast between his forehead and cheeks are proportioned right. Marc some times feels like he didn't hear you right. He's never thought about how rough his hand are or how that might be desirable. He has more trouble believing it than taking it. He knows you believe it, you just have to reinforce it.

Not Understanding Jokes

Steven and Marc will explain it away from others. In the moment they laugh low so if you don't laugh it's not that weird or they'll tap you if you are making a face. If it's them making the joke and you don't laugh they'll just let it slide knowing it's not personal or a testament to their humor, you didn't get it. They don't explain unless you ask.

I can't get close enough to get the fuck away from me

Steven is a bit touchy. Not overwhelming but he will passively peck you on the cheek regularly. If you're in touchy mode he is more than willing to hug you til you turn blue. If you don't want him to touch you he'll try to go to the other room because he can forget and he doesn't want to just get in your face when you told him no. Marc doesn't go out to his way to touch you but if you're next to him he'll give you a peck. If you're in touchy mode he'll either lay down and be a pillow or carries you on his back while he does his thing. If you don't want him to touch you he just won't. He does hover to make sure you're okay.