#over some murder hobo at that

[maegalkarven]

We know what it wasn't a big secret to the cult of Bhaal what their Chosen (Durge) is a lil (a lot) obsessed with the Chosen of Bane.

Orin def told everyone who would listen about it, as Balthazar's note on "Prayer for Forgiveness" might imply.

But have we thought about the other side of this?

How many of Bane's servants present at Gortash's coronation saw Durge and went "Ugh, not them again. ANYONE but them. Dark Lord Bane, we serve you well and do not deserve this".

How many of banites had to watch their Chosen act like a lovesick fool at his own coronation and tried very hard not to cringe?

Like bhaalists were not pleased with their Chosen's affections, but I bet Gortash was INSUFFERABLE with Durge by his side.

[bunnis-monsters]

NSFW

cw: dubcon, size difference, belly bulge

Getting trapped in a dark cave had been scary enough WITHOUT the gigantic titanoboa naga staring at you from the entrance.

“Mmm…”

He slithered closer, laying flat on his belly so he could get a good look at you. His tongue flicked out, lapping at your cheek.

You were too terrified to scream or run away, so you stared up at him in terror. Though he was huge, he made no moves to crush or swallow you whole.

“How cute…”

A strange purring sound filled the cave as he flicked his forked tongue out again. His lower half rubbed against the cave ground, and two cocks sprung out of his slit.

He tilted his head, blinking before reaching out pick you up by the back of your shirt. Now, you struggled like your life depended on it.

“N-no, please don’t! Let me go!”

This was it, you were going to be devoured whole! You squeezed your eyes shut, ready for the worst…

But instead of being swallowed, you felt something warm and stuck slide between your thighs, rubbing against your soft skin. The naga grunted, his body vibrating with purrs as he moved your back and forth.

When you opened your eyes, your face became hot with embarrassment as you realized the situation you were in.

He was rubbing you against one of his cocks while he pumped the other in his hand. His face was flushed, his cocks leaking precum.

“W-what are you doing!?”

You whined, one of the cocks kept pressing against your panties, his precum soaking through the thin fabric. It was almost shameful how good his cum smelled…

“Getting you ready to breed…”

Your panties were easily ripped off, the very tip of one of his cock rubbing against your hole, tiny compared to the thing he wanted to shove in you.

“Y-you can’t, it won’t fit!”

He nuzzled his head against your face. If he had been any less gentle, he may have broken your neck.

“Doesn’t have to fit…”

With that, he began pushing the very tip in, slowly thrusting it into you. You yelped at the sudden stretch, barely able to fit the tip at all in your small, fat cunt.

“C-can’t!��� You blubbered, whining as he continued rubbing and thrusting against you. “Too much!”

But… as the pain began to ease, you started to feel… strange. The smell of his cum, thick and heavy in the air had your pussy drooling. You wanted it, wanted to be bred by both of his cocks.

When he flicked his tongue out to catch your scent again, he made a happy sound, his cocks twitching in excitement. His little mate was enjoying this, you were aroused!

“That’s it, little one… just take it. I’ll fill you up, don’t worry your pretty little head…”

Your belly bulged with his cum as it spurted into your womb, filling you up and making you cream all over the tip of his cock.

He seemed absolutely enamored with how round and soft you were after taking his load, curling up around you and using his soft chest you keep you comfortable.

“Oh, so precious… you’ll give me the cutest little hatchlings, won’t you?”

Earlier that day you had been exploring the jungle with some friends, and now you were mated to the mythical Titanoboa Naga…

Life sure is strange.

———————

NSFW TAGLIST: @sunset-214 @strawberrypoundtown @avalordream @icommitwarcrimes @bazpire @im-eating-rn @anglingforlevels @kinshenewa @pasteldaze @unforgettablewhvre @yoongiigolden @peachesdabunny @murder-hobo @leiselotte @misswonderfrojustice @dij-ology @i8kaeya @lollboogurl @h3110-dar1in9 @keikokashi @aliceattheart @mssmil3y @spicyspicyliving @namjoons-t1ddies @izarosf1833 @healanette @lem-hhn @spufflepuff @honey-crypt @karljra @zyettemoon1800 @exodiam @vexillum-moeru @imperfectlyperfectprincess1 @binnieonabike @enchantedsylveon @mysticranger575 @readeryn68 @danielle143 @kittenlover614 @filthybunny420 @annavittoria-mm @makimamybelovedwife @blubearxy @omglovelylaila @toocollectionchaos-universe-blog @fruk-you-usuk-fans @wil10wthetree @hammerhead96-blog @slightlyusedfloormat

[gunthermunch]

[Transcript under the cut]

Maira: LUCAS MUNCH! Lucas: GAH! Maira: You look terrible! Lucas: I looked fine this morning. It’s like everything finished sinking in a few hours ago Maira: you met Imran, no? Lucas: yeah… ugh. it sucked. Maira: he thinks you’re courting me Lucas: ah- thinks I’m wha--

Maira: I’m home!!! Bought some goodies!!!! [silence] Maira: …got some oatmeal flour!! [complete silence] Maira: …weird. Maira: Imran?? Come say hi silly! Who raised you? Maira: maybe he’s out…? No, that’s impossib-

Imran: Why are you sneaking hobos into our house. Answer right now our im sticking my finger inside your good ear Maira: fake choking sounds Nooo- NOT MY GOOD EEEARR!!! Imran: Maira… Maira: n-nani? Is that you? Imran: you’re not dying and that’s not grandma you’re seeing just answer my question Imran: Maira, don’t do it Imran: NO!!! Imran: YOU’RE DONE!!! YOU’RE DONE!!!! Maira: what do we say? Imran: I’m SORRY for calling your blonde man a hobo OKAY??? Just- OW!!! You know how I feel about strangers in here-! AH Maira: his name is Lucas he was super sick! And he’s not a stranger, we’re friends Imran: you barely know him, he could easily be a murderer Maira: be for real Imran: he’s probably trying to win you over, get married, steal our lands and then dump you and your two miserable, ugly children. Imran: …I’m joking please let me go Maira: I told him i'm not into guys. And then i used his sandals as projectiles. Lucas: wait you think I’m your friend…? Maira: yeah dude! You vomited all that german brew on my nice jacket, we are friends. Lucas: that’s nice. Maira: anyways! I need to get back home. see you at the farm tomorrow? Lucas: tomorrow? I can work today Maira: you have no idea how hungover you are until you need to get to work. Just get some rest. Lucas: oh. Okay… see you tomorrow then.

[y-rhywbeth2]

"Myrkul [compared to some gods, is autonomous] obeys no one but is influenced by Bhaal and Bane..."

I love this weird connection the Dead Three have with each other and how it never seems to go away completely. I don't think co-dependency is quite the word for it, but they're just utterly toxic for each other, keep fucking each other over, and somehow they keep coming back to this alliance. For some reason the opinion of the others holds sway!

Like Bane is... Bane. He thinks he doesn't need anybody and everyone is subservient to him! He's allergic to his own capacity to enjoy things or feel emotional attachments to people. He just fundamentally can't compute when he cares about someone. Why is he upset they're dead? Bane doesn't know! He also only got as far into the Time of Troubles as he did because he has Myrkul backing him up. He still kind of depends on the other two and at least once upon a time had respect for Bhaal.

Bhaal needs the other two to keep his murder hoboing in check, and they seem to be the only beings in the universe who can (or are permitted by Bhaal) to do so. Myrkul left him unsupervised for a week once and Bhaal ended up getting distracted trying to kill winged ponies and then got killed, ruining his and Myrkul's plan.

Myrkul, by all accounts, is shooting himself in the foot every time he agrees to work with these idiots and he keeps doing it. Some descriptions have assigned gods mortal-like feelings, wants and needs, so like, is he lonely or what? Myrkul's charisma is abysmal by mortal standards; by divine standards a landfill of rancid trash has more appeal (he spent the last stretch of the Time of Troubles in a sewer, talking to zombies and himself). Bhaal is basically his only friend in existence (Bane is... there. Myrkul doesn't exactly like him, and yet he still works with him.)

The last time these idiots cooperated Bane destroyed Bhaal's worshipper base and got himself killed and thus left Myrkul in a mess, then Bhaal got killed due to murderhoboing and left Myrkul even further in this mess, and somehow the 15th century rolled around and these three agreed to work together again. Working together worked so well last time! What is wrong with you.

[banes-favourite]

I've seen the idea of Durge basically being Gortash's sugar baby in a way with Gortash using his money to spoil them. But I haven't seen anything about the idea of it being flipped which I think could work too(also I just find it amusing because it would completely subvert any outward expectations).

Durge literally kills people for a living which is very lucrative, as shown by how rich you can get by just being a murder hobo who loots the bodies of those you kill in game. There's also the possibility of Durge taking bounties or being hired for assassinations. If I remember correctly Bhaal also encourages his followers to seek out the wealth that they can gain from murder.

So Durge could definitely be secretly loaded up on cash. Also it would make their possible "murder hobo who lives in the sewer" appearance even funnier since they'd definitely be rich enough to choose to not look like that but just don't for some reason. Maybe they just don't feel any need to use any of their wealth, since they don't need to use much if any of it to survive and they may not have any interest in buying stuff for themself to enjoy for various reasons. So they could easily just have a ton of gold piling up

It's also shown in game through letters and stuff that Gortash basically manipulate mansplain manwhored his way to power and did things like sleep with people to get money(so essentially already a canonical sugar baby). So there's full possibility that he could have power more through influence and manipulation rather than through actually being extremely rich. And even if he's rich at this point he could still be a sugar baby to durge

And it's just overall really funny to imagine this politician/archduke in all of his fancy filigree and clothing be like "oh actually I'm the sugar baby in this relationship. They're the sugar daddy" and he points over at this feral, blood covered murder hobo who's eating someone's severed arm in the corner of the room

(Also Gortash getting a chance to be pampered and spoiled and cherished for once in his life without really even having to do anything other than exist as himself is such a great concept. I imagine durge would give him stuff casually and seemingly arbitrarily. Maybe Durge would feel very pleased seeing Gortash doing speeches and stuff in public while fully dressed in clothing that they got for him)

i am completely normal about this idea i am completely normal about this idea i am completely normal about this idea

in all seriousness, i am NOt normal about this idea because holy shit the potential in this?? the hilarity of durge choosing to look like a gory street rat when they can definitely afford clothes?? gort being showered with gifts just for existing bc he's that hot and cute and endearing?? gortash probably thinking he achieved this by smooth talking durge over, but in reality durge just likes seeing him smile when he gets a new gift?? also just, Lord Gortash proudly parading around wearing the trendiest clothes and Durge watching from the sidelines like 'I'm so proud of you sweetie' IM CRYING ANON THIS IDEA IS PERFECTION

[dfwbwfbbwfbwf]

I think I figured out part of why I don't like the Doriath characters.

I think part of it is because of how much Jirt emphasizes how great they are and why we should like them, but rarely actually SHOWS it. I decided to do a thing on the main few Doriath characters who are the center of much controversy. I listed out various things. If I thought the thing is a positive, I gave it a positive mark. If I thought the thing is a negative, I gave it a negative mark. I also kind of put my opinion of the character at the top, so it's a bit of a spoiler.

Thingollo - very dislike

Only Incarnate to marry an angel. Good for him, I guess, but the Ainur aren't always quality judges of character. +0

Focused on his kingdom's security. +1

Tried to help Denethor out. +1

He welcomed the Laiquendi, but not the Noldor. I get keeping Doriath safe is a priority, but there's no indication that he invited any of the Noldor princes to Doriath until he learned the Arafinwions were his kin. Wasn't Finwë his supposed to be a very good friend? This was before he learned about Alqualondë, mind you. -1

Graciously granted the Noldor lands he didn't actually have any say over anymore, as he had stopped trying to protect them due to an inability TO protect them. +0

Acted like he had authority over the Noldor (Quenya ban) when there was no lord-vassal relationship between them. At least, he wasn't keeping his end of the bargain. -1

Demanding a Silmaril, a SILMARIL, which his "friend" Finwë had DIED for, was incredibly insensitive. He could have asked for something else to get Beren to run away or die, but, no. -1

Tried to use other people to kill a man. -1

Refused to give the Silmaril back to the Fëanárions, whose grandfather, his "friend", died for it. -1

Didn't listen to his wife. -.5

Refused to take part of an alliance that, ultimately, resulted in this destruction of Doriath. He had understandable reasons, though. -.25

Adopted a cursed child. He's also part of the reason that child is cursed, but he's not directly responsible either. +1

Let refugees in, even Noldor. Granted, all the Noldor came from Nargothrond, his nephew's kingdom. Still, better than nothing. +1

Didn't listen to his wife again. -.5

Ultimately destroyed his kingdom through his actions, but not directly. -.25

Total: -2.5

---

Melian - Like

Not as much of a Mary Sue as Lúthien. Melian is more like Cassandra. +1

Has a brain cell. +1

The worst thing she did, abandon Doriath, could be because she actually died. -.5

Total: 1.5

---

Lúthien - Dislike

Exhibits many Mary Sue traits - impossibly beautiful, smart, clever, the best at dancing and singing, and all of her plans work, and she even manages to get the dog who stood by Celegorm through worse things to defect to her. While these aren't necessarily bad when done right, she doesn't really have a personality other than "FREEDOM!" (yes, you must imagine William Wallace) and "I really love this scruffy hobo dude". More than anything, she's BORING. -1

Disappeared to the farthest place away from Morgoth to chill with her family. Screw the rest of Beleriand. Sure I riled up Morgoth, but I don't have to deal with the consequences. -1

Total: -2

---

Dior Eluchíl -

Killed some guys when it wasn't self-defense. The Dwarves were fleeing, and Beren and Dior chased them. That is, technically, murder, even if the Dwarves started it. -1

Sacrificed his kingdom for a rock. -2

Total: -2

---

Eluréd and Elurín - like and pity

Died. +0

Are cute babies. +1

Total: 1

---

Elwing - dislike, but also pity

Traumatized. +1

Sacrificed her kingdom for a rock. -1

Left her children at the mercy of people she believed killed her brothers, knowing that if the Fëanárions didn't get them, Morgoth would. -1

Gave the rock to her husband. +.25

Is a bird. +0

Total: -.75

[tartsinarat]

The world’s gonna know your name. What’s your name, man? Alexander Hamilton Philip Wittebane /j

But yeah anyways I finally did an au redesign of Philip

tbh all I did was intensify the hobo wet cat energy and added some lil colour tweaks

I did add some lil details just to make him and Pip echo each over design wise tho it’s mostly tiny stuff like Philip’s beard spiky-ness is meant to be similar to how Pip’s hair spikes out at the bottom

Another fun lil echo detail is Philip partially destroyed gloves, it’s meant to mimic Pip’s fingerless gloves

But yeah a detail that’s hardly noticeable but I found neat to mention is his slightly dead eyed and intense af gaze, my explanation is that he’s already killed Caleb (is still not grappling well with that situation), got cursed by Evelyn (he’s grappling with this situation even worse than the other) and is barely hanging on mentally

Dumb idea I thought of rn that’ll I’ll draw at some point, is a scene of the au version Elsewhere and elsewhen and it’s just Pip dragging away Lilith and Luz for important “crab kingdom” business so he can get Philip off their back for a sec and attempt to smack some reality into Luz and Lilith about how Philip is shady as fuck and has a murder-y vibe but failing miserably because of Philip’s wet cat energy and manipulation skills lmao

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Would i be the ass hole if i added the racist songs from the 40s to my fallout character playlists?

Fallout fans don't rip me too hard with how much I'm watering it down. I promise its just for the people who don't play the games or know the lore

So character playlists are a hit right now (i see you thirsty Leon fans) i started making my own for something that kind of missed out on the craze: Fallout 4.

Theres a lot of 'fantasy racism' in the game against people who mutated with the radiation, super mutants ect ect. And a character who its more apparent with is a Military esk fraction leader called Maxson who has a good reason to hate them but the playlist i had in mind for him is very military themed but some of the songs do kinda rub me a little wrong but in the cannon the racism isn't directed at those minorities anymore: ie, you're a sap mr jap doesn't hold the same amount of water since Asians aren't hunted down like they were before the end of the world, you interact with them as you would anyone else unless they're hostile to you (or you're being a murder hobo). I grew up around a lot of casual racism and I've unlearnt a lot of it so i don't know if this is me over thinking it or its actually a no no. So would i be an asshole?

What are these acronyms?

[iandoubt]

what if… dnd au but instead of them being heroes and adventures within the dnd universe, they are just a bunch of nerds playing tabletops rpgs together?

like, Tango is the dm who has spent forever crafting the perfect home brew campaign and is determined to make it the most amazing campaign any of them have ever been part of. He’s got the custom maps and characters figures and costumes and voices and one session he even brings in a fog machine for ambience. He’s like the perfect dm to a bunch of perfectly terrible players who will only encourage each others worst dnd habits.

Etho is the one whose been playing dnd since, like, edition 1, and who shows up to the first session of the campaign and starts describing his character and someone’s like “are you playing kakashi from naruto?” And Etho’s like “oh is that who this is? I just found it premade online and thought it sounded cool” and he’s got the emo backstory and looks real cool but is in reality not actually that good of a character and whoever made it horribly messed up the stat distribution but for some reason he always avoids death and it stuck with the underpowered not-kakashi for forever.

Joel is the murder hobo (it’s a dnd term guys trust) who tries to kill everything who also renames all his spells and weapons on dnd beyond to really silly things and then forgets what they were originally and needs someone to translate for him. He will always make sure things get out of hand, accidentally starting cults, making sure the party is always at least mildly morally gray, killing people left and right, aggressively shipping his character with other peoples jus because. He is the embodiment of chaotic neutral. (He says he is chaotic evil in the life series but I think he is more chaotic neutral because chaotic evil will cause chaos for the sake of evil and chaotic neutral will cause evil for the sake of chaos)

Bdubs is the one constantly trying to befriend everything, who also unnecessarily narrates everything he is doing (ex. “I Am RAISING my EYEBROWS at you!!!!”) and he has a million pets and always makes Tango explain what each one is doing at that moment every five seconds and is constantly yelling at Joel for killing everything while Joel is always yelling at him for befriending everything. He will argue that the dice are rigged if he rolls badly and 100% has one of those dice time out chairs and will be extremely superstitious about which dice he uses.

Jimmy is the one who keeps having really great ideas but really terrible luck with the dice rolls, and always manages to stumble into traps. He’s also the only one trying to actually follow the rules and remain completely in character, like everyone’s like “oh it’s probably over here!” And Jimmy’d be like “yeah WE know that but guys our characters wouldn’t!!!!!!!!” And he’s like the perfect player in terms of how nice and easy he makes it for Tango to dm but is terrible at the actual gameplay. He will loudly boast to the enemy that they are about to “get WRECKED, FOOLS!” And pulls out a spell that should kill them instantly if he rolls anything but a nat 1, and guess what he rolls lol.

Scar is the one whose character dies first session and he just picks up a pen, writes “jr” next to the character name, and shouts “I’ve come to avenge my father!” he’d also name his character something like “Hotstuff McSexyman” (if Joel doesn’t take that name first) but actually be surprisingly wholesome and moral, if kinda bad at combat. Extremely oblivious as a player, Tango has to spell out the answer for each puzzle and he will kill an ally genuinely thinking that it’s an enemy.

Grian is the one playing a firmly non-human character who has just the most normal guy core backstory, like “yeah I’m Clarence, I’m 45 with a wife and kids and I’m going on this adventure to celebrate my retirement.” But he’s like a lizard guy or something

Gem is the one who makes a really nice and sweet and normal dnd character and then combat starts and she takes out a magical great sword powerful enough to one shot the BBEG (it stands for big bad evil guy and it’s real dnd term. Gotta love nerd culture) and rolls a nat 20. She is also the only reliably sane one here (Grian goes about managing his sanity like he does shifts at the permit office, and Etho is sane but his character turns out actually to be pretty ineffective at, like, everything so there’s not much he can do except have the privilege of being driven insane rather than already being so. Everyone else is a maniac, some just their characters but not in real life, some are just as crazy “irl” [as in within the au] as their characters)

there is a lot more that could be done with this and a bunch of other people to include these are just the initial thoughts I had.

[astarionposting]

tell us more about ren she’s so pretty i need lore

Hello anon!! I am so flattered u want to know more about her! Ren is an alternate universe version of my usual Tav. I’m much better at storytelling visually, so I’ll explain some of my visual choices I’ve made for her character, which contains a bit of the lore I have created thus far. (also thank u for the excuse to just create a character dump post for her lol - i spent way too much time on this)

content warnings: mentions of dissection, scarring one's own face, unhealthy obsessions, stalking, religious trauma... just general fucked up Bhaalist things. + spoilers for BG3

EYES

A keypoint in her design are her eyes; Ren has the same eyes as The Dark Urge's Fiend butler, Sceleritas Fel, reflecting her origin as a creation of Bhaal Himself. Similar to other creations like her and Sceleritas, she was made with the purpose of serving and assisting Bhaal's Chosen.

SCARS

The right side of her face is deliberate scarring of her own doing during her priestess "training". Her body scars, however, are the result of the experimentation performed on her in her early training days. These experiments are often done with the purpose of making unnatural "improvements".

HANDS

I really love how Scarlet Witch's fingertips will stain black as a result of her use of the Darkhold's chaos magic spells, so I took that inspiration and headcannon that Ren's hands/arms do something similar from her "training" as a priestess of Bhaal and her use of necromancy/shadow magic and rituals.

For her general aesthetic, I was mainly inspired by the concept art for Bhaal for BG3 and this art of a priestess of Bhaal. She often wears a large dusty cloak over her usual gown. Placed on the top of her cloak, she will also sometimes wear a crown of thorns, mimicking the "spiky" style of common Bhaalist attire. During their time in the temple, before the events of BG3, she often adorned her face with a broken piece of a human skull. Since her coat is quite heavy, she walks a little hunched over… kind of like a creepy gremlin. Additionally, she will wear a small Bhaalist charm at the collar of her cloak.

Underneath, she wears her typical black gown; the top half resembles Orin’s carapace and blends into her skirt, with leg slits for better mobility, of course! When she isn’t wearing her cloak, her hair is loosely tied back and styled into a collection of braids, accessorized with Bhaalist jewelry.

*Keep in mind I am not a lore expert in terms of D&D deities or Bhaalist lore in general. I took some stuff from the forgotten realms wiki but also just made some stuff up lol, so this NOT D&D or BG3 lore accurate.

Also, again, warnings for unhealthy relationships/obsessions, as well as brief mentions of torture but not in detail.

THEY ARE BHAALISTS THEY HAVE ISSUES!!!!

Similarly to Sceleritas Fel, Ren has a lot of "care" for The Dark Urge. She favours him over Orin, and often clashed heads with her... but of course I have to have some doomed yuri content too!!!!!! so maybe they kissed once or twice >:) (but waaay before the events of BG3) Her "training" as a priestess of Bhaal consisted of torture, religious indoctrination, and extreme mental corruption/manipulation, especially by Orin. As implied before, she faced experiments in order to "improve" her usefulness to Bhaal and His Chosen. As a result, she is not the most stable person you'll meet. She is mainly chaotic evil aligned, however, her final loyalties will always lie with The Dark Urge, and she is accepting of his resistance/redemption path, as well as his acceptance/murder hobo path. She is essentially a certified Real One (also doesn't rlly vibe with Bhaal after he kills her evil Dragon boyfriend yk). The tadpole in someway also helped "release" her mind of Bhaal's influence, and while she is still an obsessive and violent girlie, she can be persuaded to not be a total murder hobo and sometimes even decides on her own to go against Bhaal's wishes (she still cool with murder though). As I previously mentioned, Ren was created by Bhaal to assist His Chosen in his duties and leading the temple, as most priestesses/priests of Bhaal do. She is more of a companion and advisor to The Dark Urge, rather than a servant like Sceleritas Fel. She is deeply (obsessed) "in-love" with The Dark Urge, and supports him over Orin. A while before the whole tadpoles, absolute, blah blah blah stuff, her and Orin had a brief history, but it was moreso Orin's jealousy of what Durge had. Her in-game class is a Bhaalist class mod! It is very fun so far, and she just levelled up to level 3 and can now has the ability Verminous Metamorphosis, so she can turn into a… RAAAAT!! 🐀 sorry, Astarion :( However, I see her as a combo of this and a death cleric of Bhaal. In terms of how her story is going in the BG3 campaign, i still haven't fully fleshed anything out yet! I would assume she would have a large impact on Durge's memory loss. Maybe she will have her own gaps in memory, but knows they have a reason to go to Baldur's Gate. As for other durge events, I believe she would be proud of The Dark Urge for such a "beautiful display of gore!" after Alfira night lol. I'm still undecided if I want to do redemption or murder hobo durge... I don't want to kill Isobel so I'm probably going to headcannon that Bhaal tasks The Dark Urge with killing her, as a way to test if he is "losing his way", or if he cares more about the life of a "mere servant of Bhaal" than his own "birthright" as Bhaal's Chosen.

For now I am just going with the flow of the game and doing some fun photo and gif series of Ren and Durge's adventure in my Durgetav playthrough!

Face preset | hair | scar | eyes | makeup + bloody lips | body tattoo & autopsy scar Orin top, arms + legs | dress + accessories | cloak | hood + crown/mask | lingerie

♡ PLAYLIST

dividers made by me with canva; graphics by @/brand314195326 and @/dhtgip. screenshots by me ♡

[idkmanwtfishumanityanymore]

GOOOOOOOOOOOD EVENING DWELLERS OF TUMBLR AND TSBS FANS ALIKE! I JUST FINISHED COOKIN’ UP A NEW ESSAY. HOPE Y’ALL CAN TOLERATE HEAT, CAUSE THIS ONES GONNA BE SPICY

FIRST FUCKING OFF, USING THEM AS CLICKBAIT? AGAIN? REALLY? WOOOOOOOW GREAT TO SEE YOU’VE LEARNED NOTHING. GREAT TO SEE Y’ALL DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE FANBASE.

SECOND OFF, OHOHOHOHO BOY. HOLD MY MENTOS GUM AND SPRITE, BECAUSE THIS IS GONNA GET FUCKING UGLY.

OKAY SO LIKE 2 MINTUES IN YOU’RE DRILLING IT INTO EVERYONE THAT THE TWINS ARE “IRREDEEMABLE”, WHEN AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, THEY FUCKING AREN’T. WE *SAW* THAT THEY COULD HAVE HAD ATLEAST A CHANCE WHEN THEY LIVED WITH FOXY AND FC.

AND YOU’RE SAYING THAT BLOODMOON HAVING A CODE WITHIN THEM THAT *MADE* THEM *NEED* TO KILL AND CONSUME BLOOD, WHICH IS ALREADY CANONICALLY ESTABLISHED SEVERAL *FUCKING* TIMES, IS A HEADCANON WE MADE UP???? WHAT???

OH AND DON’T EVEN GET ME *STARTED* ON ECLIPSES WHOLE “I made them to cause chaos” BULLSHIT. YOU MADE THEM, *FOR KILLING*. I IMPLORE ANYONE READING TO PULL UP THE RECEIPTS FOR THESE, BECAUSE THEY *FUCKING EXIST,* AND STITCHWRAITH HAD THE *GALL* TO SAY “THEY’LL ACCUSE US OF RETCONNING”, OF COURSE WE’LL SAY YOU’RE RETCONNING WHEN *LITERALLY* FUCKING *ARE.*

I’D HAVE REALLY THOUGHT YOU’D STOP BEING *DICKS* TO YOUR COMMUNITY AFTER WE COLLECTIVELY CAME TOGETHER TO PROTEST LAES BEING TERMINATED, BUT NOOOOOOOOOOO.

THIS WHOLE EPISODE WAS JUST THEM SHITTING ON US, EITHER BY SHITTING ON OUR THEORIES, OR JUST SHITTING ON US IN GENERAL, THEY WERE JUST BEING DICKS TO THEIR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, NOT *JUST* BLOODMOON DEFENDERS THIS TIME.

BACK TO THE BLOODMOON TOPIC THOUGH, ECLIPSE SWID THAT THIS PODCAST WAS OF “IRREDEEMABLE VILLAINS”, SO WHY THE *FUCK* IS HE THERE WHEN HE’S *HAD* A CANON REDEMPTION ARC? WHY IS STITCHWRAITH THERE WHEN THEY GOT A HINTED AT REDEMPTION OF SORTS BY SAVING FOXY AND FC?? WHY ARE 2 VILLAINS WHO’VE CANONICALLY HAD SOME FORM OF REDEEMING QUALITY, ON A PODCAST OF “IRREDEEMABLE VILLAINS”, BUT STILL SAY THAT BLOODMOON IS COMPLETELY IRREDEEMABLE?

PAIRING THEM WITH THE OTHER ACTUALLY REDEEMED OR SEMI-REDEEMABLE CHARACTERS JUST *PROVES OUR POINT.*

THE TWINS, COULD HAVE BEEN, REDEEMED. MUST I REMIND EVERYONE THAT BLOODY COMPLETELY *BROKE* INSIDE WHEN HIS BROTHER DIED? DOES ANYONE WHO CAN BE SO UTTERLY BROKEN AND NUMB FROM A LOSS, REALLY COUNT AS IRREDEEMABLE?

FROM WHAT I’VE RESEARCHED, (AND YES. I DO FUCKING RESEARCH ON THIS SHIT), IRREDEEMABLE MEANS THEY HAVE *ZERO* REDEEMING QUALITIES, NONE, NADA, ZILCH.

BEING UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY BROKEN OVER THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE, IS NOT WHAT WOULD BE IN AN “IRREDEEMABLE VILLIAN”, BECAUSE HAVING ANY REDEEMING QUALITIES, *MAKES THEM REDEEMABLE.*

TELL ME, READERS, WHEN YOU THINK OF A COMPLETELY IRREDEEMABLE, DISGUSTING, HORRIBLE VILLAIN, DO YOU THINK OF;

A: Someone with no remorse, no sympathy or empathy, no attachment to anyone, and just a pure drive to torment and slaughter

OR

B: Someone who is completely and utterly SHATTERED by the loss of a loved one, to the point they begin to lose themself, lose the will to live, and actively TRY to die. Someone who can and DOES feel sympathy and empathy, but only for people they care about?

Me personally, from my research, A IS IRREDEEMABLE, AND B IS REDEEMABLE.

GUESS WHICH ONE IS FUCKING B???

BLOODMOON.

I WILL NOT BE SILENCED. I WILL NOT TOLERATE BEING TREATED (even if not PERSONALLY) LIKE I’M *CRAZY* FOR DEFENDING A CLEARLY REDEEMABLE CHARACTER.

I WILL NOT TOLERATE THEM BACKTRACKING AND RETCONNING PRE-ESTABLISHED LORE JUST TO FIT THEIR *OWN PREFERENCES*

while sure, some may argue; “These are *their* characters, *their* story, and *they’re* the ones in control of it, not us!”

THAT DOESN’T GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TO FLAT OUT CLAIM WE’RE MENTALLY UNSTABLE FOR DEFENDING A FICTIONAL CHARACTER WHO JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE A MURDER HOBO.

I, AND MANY OTHERS, ARE FUCKING *SICK* OF BEING CALLED CRAZY, UNSTABLE, MENTALLY DERANGED, INSANE, ETC, FOR DEFENDING A FICTIONAL CHARACTER, WHOSE WORST CRIME IS A BODY COUNT IN THE THOUSANDS.

PEOPLE DEFEND CHARACTERS WITH WORSE CRIMES ALL THE TIME, AND SURE THE FANBASE ITSELF CALLS THEM (rightfully, especially if they’re defending a character whose S/A’d people before) CRAZY, BUT DO THE CREATORS CALL THEM CRAZY? NO? BUT THE WRITERS HERE CAN CALL US DERANGED FOR DEFENDING A COMPLETELY FICTIONAL MURDERER?

THE MATH, ISN’T, MATHING.

THEY JUST DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THEY DESTROYED A CHARACTER WITH POTENTIAL TO BE A BETTER PERSON, BECAUSE THEY COULD. BECAUSE THEY DON’T CARE HOW IT’LL AFFECT THEIR FANBASE. BECAUSE THEY DON’T CARE THAT PEOPLE WILL RIGHTFULLY BOYCOTT THEIR CHANNEL AND SCREW THEIR “BUSINESS”.

IT’S FURTHER PROVEN THAT THEY’RE JUST MAKING UP FOR THEIR MISTAKES AS SHITTY WRITERS, BY THROWING THE TWINS AT US IN THE MOST CLICKBAITY WAY POSSIBLE AND ESSENTIALLY SAYING; “HERE TAKE YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER AND SHUT UP ALREADY”.

This concludes my… *calculating how long it took me to write this bc of how many breaks I had to take from being livid* overnight essay about the recent clickbait usage of BloodMoon and the writers “justification” of their actions via retconning. Eat up, feel free to add on, I’m gonna go fucking die now.

(For legal reasons, by die, I mean sleep because of how mentally draining this whole ordeal is and consistently will be until they fix their fuck ups or atleast admit to it.)

[bunnis-monsters]

NSFW

When you’re first brought to the hive, the bee hybrids attempt to comfort you. They bring out the cuter, more petite and feminine males to coo and buzz, nuzzling and purring against you as they prepared you for breeding.

They were so soft and fluffy, their hands moving over your body and learning every curve it had. This was the first time they’d ever seen a human pussy, so their wings buzzed with curiosity and excitement as they experimented with your pretty, fat cunt.

When you’d moan, they chirp and coo, their antennae tickling your face in happiness as they continued those motions, some taking notes.

You were their queen and they wanted nothing more than to pleasure you perfectly!

They were all so pretty, so soft and sweet smelling… it was driving you crazy.

The first cock that sunk into your pussy took you by surprise. All of the bee hybrids surrounding you were either your height or shorter, cute fluffy, sweet things… but here they were, stretching you out as they whined in pleasure and praised you for taking them so well.

The feeling of your belly beginning to swell with eggs was… strange, almost uncomfortable. You’d never felt so full before, and once you were too full to take anymore, you were settled into bed.

There were several fuzzy hands on your round belly, soothing it. Honey was rubbed into the stretched skin and they made sure to comfort you as you got used to being their sweet little incubator.

“My queen… you look gorgeous…”

You had a few clutches of eggs before the drone bee hybrids couldn’t take it anymore. They wanted access to the queen, they loved you so much it hurt to not get to be inside that fat, pretty cunt of yours!

So you sat in bed, one of your usual mates nibbling softly on your neck as the drones swarmed the bed, worshipping your body and stretching you out more than you thought possible.

Some came so quick, they had been pumping their cocks to the image of you being fucked by the others as they waited, and edges themselves until they were able to fill your pussy with their eggs.

Others lasted so long the others would get impatient, their wings buzzing with irritation as they humped pillows or your free hands.

You were carried away to be bathed and soothed once you were done. They all loved you so much, getting to mate with the queen was an honor… they knew you would eventually pick a queen to be your primary partner… but they were hoping to have most of your attention for a while longer…

———————

NSFW TAGLIST: @sunset-214 @strawberrypoundtown @avalordream @icommitwarcrimes @bazpire @im-eating-rn @anglingforlevels @kinshenewa @pasteldaze @unforgettablewhvre @yoongiigolden @peachesdabunny @murder-hobo @leiselotte @misswonderfrojustice @dij-ology @i8kaeya @lollboogurl @h3110-dar1in9 @keikokashi @aliceattheart @mssmil3y @spicyspicyliving @namjoons-t1ddies @izarosf1833 @healanette @lem-hhn @spufflepuff @honey-crypt @karljra @zyettemoon1800 @exodiam @vexillum-moeru @imperfectlyperfectprincess1 @binnieonabike @enchantedsylveon @mysticranger575 @readeryn68 @danielle143 @kittenlover614 @filthybunny420 @annavittoria-mm @makimamybelovedwife @blubearxy @omglovelylaila @midromiell @toocollectionchaos-universe-blog @fruk-you-usuk-fans @wil10wthetree @hammerhead96-blog

[everlastingremorse-blog]

The Rat Grinders are Minmaxers

I’ve been thinking through a lot of the discourse surrounding the bad kids and their immediate dislike of the Rat Grinders, and how it’s not fair and all that stuff.

And that is important to consider, but it took me awhile to realize how un-fun it would be to play in a group of rat grinders.

Like Brennan said in an earlier adventuring party (and I am paraphrasing), “this year we get to see what it’s like when being an adventurer means going on adventures.”

Like, in earlier seasons, Aguefort would go on some long tangent about how adventuring is enacting violence in order to change the world.

Not that I completely agree with that assertion, but it’s also true that there is a narrative in DND, thus there are narrative arcs. Going on an adventure in DND means having personal arcs exploring how your character’s motivations are changing and interacting with the world. One of my favorite parts of Dungeons and Drag Queens was seeing these new players get really invested in their characters.

And then there are minmaxers. Now if you don’t know, Minmaxers are players that really optimize their character to game the system. Think Evan Kelmp. He’s set up in a way to prioritize fighting over anything else.

Now Kelmp is a bit of an exception, as most Minmaxers tend to (at least from what I’ve seen) avoid roleplay, while Brennan made Kelmp explicitly for roleplay. In other words, Minmaxers don’t make good stories.

And I think that’s for two reasons:

1. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Having a character built to fight (and that’s how most Minmaxed DND characters are built, according to me) means you’re going to use fighting as a solution. Why try to convince someone when your dumb stat is charisma and you could probably kill them easily if you tried. Murder hobos are bad for stories.

2. It’s impressive, the first time. Don’t get me wrong, Minmaxers show a strong mastery of the system they’re working in. Just like the rat grinders. They’ve gotten to a real high level by (in my opinion) a flaw in the system, and it’s a fun loophole… the first time I saw it. If there is no story (no quest that you’re going on) then it’s going to just be boring grinding. It’s like looking at a painting in a museum. You can look at it. Examine it. Think about it like a painter, and then like an art critic. Read some analysis of the work, but eventually I want to move on. I might come back later, but I’ll hit a limit on what I can do. I can be impressed by the mastery of the system, now what? Now they go back to grinding rats.

And that’s why I dislike the rat grinders. They are adventures, but they don’t go on adventures. They just gamed the system. They followed the rules without following their spirit. And I’d hate to play a game with players like that.

But hey, things are looking up. Obviously, the rat grinders have a lot going on that we just don’t know yet. There is a story there, and I can’t wait to see it.

Also they have a really hot drago———

*sounds of muffled horny screams as I’m dragged off into the distance.*

[dmbakura]

I've been doing the evil run in bg3 and I can say it's very much not worth it from a story perspective 💀 but I feel like it does a very good job of making your actions have consequences. The new combat encounters it provides can be pretty interesting, though I also fucked myself over for one of the boss fights lmao. So my run so far has been:

-I did NOT side with the goblins, so I was able to recruit Karlach, Wyll and Halsin. I honestly regret this because it makes 0 sense for them to stick around for the other evil shit I've done and every dialogue with them is especially scathing. They are MISERABLE in my camp

-followed Kar'niss to moonrise and didn't kill him for the moon lantern. This turned out to massively bite me in the ass because it turns out if you don't kill him earlier, he WILL appear in Ketheric's boss fight at the top of the tower and I wasn't equipped to deal with that so I temporarily lowered the difficulty from tactician to balanced to get through that fight 💀

-killed Isobel and lost the last light inn (after doing associated quests in it, karlach's engine and thaniel) which was bad enough on its own, I then LIED TO JAHEIRA that I didn't do it, which again felt more awful than if I had just killed her outright. Now I can recruit her for act 3 and she'll be non the wiser that I got all her harpers killed for new jim jams (the only upside to this is the slayer form is pretty awesome, pictured below)

-in addition to the above point, literally everyone else in the party thinks you're a dumbfuck for killing Isobel. Even Minthara. Everyone Disliked That

-had Shadowheart kill Aylin and become a Dark Justiciar. Literally why would you do this. I mean it did give her some pretty sick buffs but I fucking felt the loss of Aylin in the later boss fights, and the cutscene you get in the shadowfell is vastly inferior to the freeing Aylin cinematic. Overall do not recommend this

I just reached act 3 but rest assured my bad decisions will not stop here. You already know who I'm ascending 🤪 anyways my advice for an evil run is to just go full murder hobo and sacrifice some of those companions/their extra story content. The psychic damage is not worth keeping them around.

[preciouslittle-bhaalbabe]

I'm glad I could provide some! I spend entirely too much time thinking about this horrid little man. And while I admit I have a strong “A!A is the bad ending” bias. I do try to back that up with, I dont know, text evidence? Thoughts that go beyond, being evil bad.

And people really over simplify Ascended Astarion sometimes and treat him like he's not the same guy.

I do put a lot of weight on the spawn, and I think, at least initially he does too. You never really get the chance to just sit and ask him how he's coping with that.

But all the dialogue before hits me as someone who didn't know the cost would be this high and is now desperately grasping to justify it because he thinks ascension is the only option he has to get what he wants out of life. (Power, safety, freedom, something that feels like a victory because just killing cazador doesn't actually get him anything back.)

He genuinely makes me so sad.

I agree the likely outcome for how taking over baldur's gate/being a vampire lord plays out really does depend a lot on what Tav is doing.

Left to his own devices, I think he's probably gonna botch it. Part of me thinks he makes a real stab at playing politics for a year or two realizes he hates it, sets the castle on fire and skips town.

I can just see him doing something drastic and impulsive like that. And Astarion truly doesn't strike me as someone who wants to have a lot of responsibility or be settled. In either route. He just wants to fuck around being a murder hobo.

But yeah, circling back, I think everyone's views on the characters, and plot archs and likely futures for all the companions, not just A!A are really fucking variable, just by the nature of it being an RPG where the player has so much agency In everyone's lives.

And so much of the relationship existing off screen.

Cause you really don't get many specific details about your romance in the game.

I can't tell if I like this as a writing thing, or if I sort of hate it because it makes interpreting the text fucking impossible.

And this is especially true with Astarion because he's a lying Mc liar face. I can't take anything he says at face value. He's the only one in this game proficient in deception!

He's such an unreliable source of information that it's SO hard to tell wtf is going on. But I agree with you! I think people tend to oversimplify him to just "oh he's evil now gross". He's always been a little shit guys. It's just now he's a RICH little shit lol

So much of his romance and relationship with the player has to just live in our heads. And I think that's why people fight about it so much because even in the past hour or so people have said wildly different takes on the same thing, and none of them are official or canon. We're just guessing.

[valiantverses]

The Azrael Series: Chapter Two

(Simon 'Ghost' Riley X Reader Slowburn/Sort of Enemies to Friends to Lovers)

°°°°°

Summary: Task Force 141 is assigned a new member to deal with Makarov for good. Highly-skilled, brutally efficient and devastatingly competent, Ghost has met his match - and finds himself at odds with the SAS Fraternization Regulations as getting to know you makes him re-evaluate a life he never thought to allow himself.

CW: Canon-typical violence.

°°°°°

@beansproutmafia @chinuneko @agustdpeach @murder-hobo

Introduction 1 2

"We've not gotten much out of the drive m' afraid. We've got cyber forensics and analysts going over the files - far as Makarov's movements, we've got nothin' of note."

The briefing room's atmosphere was a degree short of despair. Papers strewn about, stale cups of coffee and tea haphazardly pushed to the side as Laswell's Toughbook blinked to life, showing the results of the hard won drive the 141 had retrieved a couple of days prior.

Ghost had opted to stand during the meeting, taking up his usual spot with a full view of the room. Most of the team had elected to sit around the metal tables, the briefing now on its third hour - not quite as brief as one would hope, he thought.

He watched Gaz lean back into a stretch, arms opening wide and settling at the back of your chair. You glanced up at the sergeant briefly before turning back to the neatly stacked piles of documents in front of you, poring over the mind-numbing reports and occasionally making notes.

Your integration into the group - Johnny and Gaz, anyway - had not been seamless from his observations, but the sergeants had been as open as could reasonably be expected from their personalities, and you seemed to be reciprocating - or trying to, anyway.

"Ach - not even in the emails? Employee profiles?"

Johnny piped up, unable to hide the annoyance that darkened his features. Ghost had noticed the Scot had been mellower in recent months. Maybe even years - ever since Zakhaev, at least - the burden of their profession was a continuous wear and tear on the mind and soul for those who hadn't locked away parts of themselves like he had. Like his boots, gloves, tactical vests, the work pushed and pulled at soldiers, clawing and scratching till it had to be replaced, patched up, or discarded.

Conveniently, Ghost mused, replaced, patched up, or discarded were the same three fates most soldiers stumbled into.

Johnny knew what this job meant, had experienced it firsthand, and still continued to shoulder the responsibilities. Ghost was intimately familiar with the drive to push through and respected that need - even if it meant watching a part of his comrade wither away.

Laswell sighed, rubbing her temples as she looked up from her computer to meet Johnny's eyes.

"All legitimate, tracing back to businesses or third party contractors."

"All fer nothin' then, was it?"

Price, who had opted to stand as well with his arms crossed, chose this moment to speak up.

"It's hard to imagine the ultranationalists just went and gave up after Zakhaev's death."

At this, Soap leaned back a bit, shifting his whole attention on to price. Ghost remembered reading the reports, how shattered Soap had been over Zakhaev when he got back from S.A.S. recon in Mexico.

"We know Makarov is well trained in counterinsurgency from his time in Airborne and the Spetznaz, but there must be a link somewhere - you don't move weapons and people on the scale he does without having some kind of paper trail."

You chose this moment to speak up, hand still carefully taking down notes as you pored over the files in front of you.

"You mentioned contractors. May we have a list?"

Laswell glanced up at surprise at you before switching to a different tab. It was true that you hadn't been particularly vocal in your time at the base, keeping your distance from most of the upper brass.

"Gutter cleaners, vehicle upkeep, insurance inspections, air conditioning installation, occupational health and safety reviews, catering-"

He watched you smile, that was that same wry smirk, the same twist of the lips that pulled at your face and made your eyes quirk in such a way that-

He jerked his head to the side, keeping his eyes trained on Laswell's computer.

"Couldn't imagine air conditioning would be on my list of priorities, in a winter desert."

Wordlessly, Laswell pulled her laptop closer to her, instantly beginning to pore over the emails sent by the air conditioning company. Price and Johnny shared a look when Laswell made a hum of approval.

"Seems this company uses a really simple order form template, copy and pasted- not really something you'd expect of a company taking orders at this volume."

Gaz reached over, leaning over the table to point at the screen.

"Subject: Notice of equipment upgrade. In our ongoing efforts to enhance the performance of our air-conditioning units, Our technicians will be overseeing the delivery and installation of a package containing the latest components aimed at optimizing energy efficiency. Your cooperation during this upgrade process is greatly appreciated."

He whistled, leaning back in his chair. "They've 'upgraded' their air-conditioning 11 times in the past 4 months.'

You didn't even acknowledge the discovery, still buried in the files. It strangely grated at him, this nonchalance of yours- but surely it was better than the callous sort of arrogance many soldiers at your level possessed? He respected good soldiers, especially those fighting alongside him. But you... there was something different about you.

He was aware of the glaring hypocrisy, to question someone's integrity because of the walls they put up when he himself wore a mask to distance himself from who he was outside of the battlefield.

But you wore a different kind of mask.

He had noticed, during brief moments where your professionalism didn't so much crack as it distended- like a rubber band warping after being pulled apart too strong. There was a smouldering fire beneath the glacial shell of duty you wore. It flickered sometimes, a molten glint in your eyes or a wry quirk of your lips, hinting at a real live breathing person within.

That ferocity had sparked your first clash in the mountains, tangled limbs and shared breaths in thin air, his gaze tracing the map of your face as he tried to determine your motives, whether or not he could trust you. Then there was the hangar, your quiet confidence grating against his need for control. An unlikely pair, yet you'd executed the mission flawlessly. Rolled with the punches and gotten through it all.

Though his face betrayed nothing, his mind buzzed with thoughts as he went over your latest interactions - outrage at your audacity, annoyance at your nonchalance, and a strange reluctance to let go of the distruption you caused, one he wouldn't- couldn't, try to understand the root of.

Beyond it all, he had to admit, was a begrudging sort of respect.

"8 payments have been made this quarter alone to the HVAC company - all worth tens of thousands."

"Drip feedin' Makarov's extra curriculars I take it- any ID on the company behind it Laswell?"

"Northwest of the Caucausus mountains. I'll clear it through Shepherd."

He saw your lips quirk down into a frown at Laswell's words, clearly unhappy about something. He tore his eyes away, accidentally locking gazes with Price, who tossed a raised his eyebrow his way. He maintained eye contact, unwilling to look away first and crossing his arms when Price shook his head and muttered something under his breath.

"We should-" it was the first time he'd ever heard you sound even the tiniest bit hesitant. "We should look into Makarov's known contacts. See who's benefitting from his actions that may be flying under the radar. All of them, even known hostile connections."

There was an implication to your words that Ghost didn't like, and he voiced it.

"Looks like we're already drownin' in information and more questions than answers. Want to send us on a wild goose chase when we don't even know if there's a goose to chase, do ya?"

He could see your jaw tense the tiniest bit as you turned to him, eyes hard.

"All I'm saying is that - paramilitary operations do not function in a vacuum, sir. Terrorist attacks require weapons, and those weapons require logistics to distribute, processing, manufacturing - everything does. The fact that we've run into nothing might suggest we're being walled off from information by design."

There was it- that spark, like flint and steel crashing together. He approached the table, placing both hands on it as he lowered himself to look at you directly in the eyes. When he spoke, his voice was rough, taking on a gravelly quality.

"We've been working on this for years and you've been here a month- if you could focus on your job instead of speculating on facts that aren't there maybe you could actually get the job you were assigned to do done, sergeant."

"Yes, sir." You gritted out, lips thinning. He could see in the tenseness of your shoulders that had he not been your superior this discussion would have been more drawn out.

But your words were beyond inflammatory - they were dangerous and put into question the very foundation of the chain of command that the operation was centered on. You would have to learn that these were thoughts best kept to yourself - it was clear to him that you lacked experience and maybe even the humility that came from working with teammates.

Relaxing his shoulders, he turned to regard the group, realizing that several pairs of eyes were now glancing between you and him with varying levels of confusion and surprise. Laswell, closing her laptop with a neat click, spoke first.

"I think we got it. This corporation has two locations- we'll do some recon and get a plan going, try and positively ID any key people. Great catch, Azrael. I sense this is something big."

You shifted the tiniest bit, simply nodding in response. He hadn't seen you handle direct compliments very well - the military did acknowledgements at most.

You remained quiet for the rest if the briefing and the dismissal after, studiously going over old files, not meeting his eyes again.

"LT! I think we need ourselves a little celebration to welcome our little Sherlock here, aye?"

You mumbled a bit, shuffling as the Scotsman draped an arm over you and patted your arm.

"Just identified an anomaly in the information- is all-"

"None of that now, gawn yerself! We got an ol' teammate comin' with us, Roach, I reckon you'll like 'im."

"I think it would really help your case if you could speak English, McTavish." Ghost remarked, dryly. He had been ready to leave and stretch his legs after leaning up against cold concrete for closing in on 4 hours.

"Alright- not sure about drinking, with the mission coming up soon, but I'll go."

"Ach pure brilliant, so it is. Gaz! You're drivin'! No fun juice for you m'fraid."

There was a groan from inside the communal area, then a smattering of mutters of which if Ghost were a betting man, he'd say could give any sailor a run for their money.

"What d'ya say LT?" He turned back to two sets of eyes, yours a strained sort of amusement, before he leaned back and rested his hands on the straps of his vest.

"Fuckin' hell. You're buyin', Johnny."

There was outraged sputtering, so Scottish it was indecipherable, before he turned to leave. His eyes locked with yours for a split second, assessing. Then he broke connection and made his way back to his barracks, his mind lingering.

He wondered what you were like away from it all.

Away from Azrael.

You seemed like more of a person than he allowed himself to be - but that remained to be seen.

Tonight, the echoes of questions would be drowned at the bottom of a bottle.

°°°°°

Translation for the Soapese:

Gawn yerself: Go on yourself (You're doing really good)