#sorry if the format is fucky

[choices-binglebonkus]

The Crown & The Flame: An Exceptionally Rare Critical

I have made no secret of how much I love The Crown & The Flame. One of the three original series that accompanied the launch of Choices back in 2016, it holds a very dear place in my heart as one of my all-time favorites. However, I value objectivity, and am fully aware (and even appreciative) that all of my favorites, no matter how much I love them and no matter how good they are, have flaws.

The Crown & The Flame is no exception to this, and though I think the books have held up remarkably well, they’re definitely very flawed. Particularly book three. Most of my gripes with the series come from book three, actually, and that is the very subject of this post: the issues that came with the final book in the series.

As always, these are just my personal opinions. So if you love TC&TF, that’s great! I love it too. I just thought that, since the series gets so little criticism, I would take an objective stance and take up that role.

Pacing and filler

The first issue I’d like to discuss about book three is its pacing. Compared to the first two books where everything was go, go, go, this book doesn’t really do that. And I’m not a huge fan of that since the stakes are arguably larger in this book since Empress Azura has literally threatened to kill everyone in the Five Kingdoms should they not submit to her.

A lot of the chapters are positively BLOATED with fluff and filler. The first three chapters take place in Ducitora and the only major plot points that occur are that Kenna meets Azura, Leon is killed, and Azura wages war on the Five Kingdoms as Kenna and co. make their escape. I think that the first three chapters could have been condensed into one and a half chapters bridging onto the next major plot point. At the very least, we should have gotten to see more of Ducitora and Marossi. We got to see very, very, VERY little of it, and with little substance to show for it all.

Dom’s chapters didn’t have a lot of substance to them, either. It’s mostly just Dom fighting Hex’s mind control, making some semblance of progress, immediately failing and succumbing further to her control, and getting frustrated or feeling guilty. And, while I’m thinking about it, what purpose did Dom being captured by Hex serve? In what way does it further the main plot? It honestly just felt like the writers had Hex capture him just so he and Kenna wouldn’t be together 24/7 to keep them separate for their dual-lead chapters. In other words, his capture seemed to serve primarily as filler as well.

My biggest complaint regarding filler comes from chapters 13 and 14, which are E N T I R E L Y filler, no two ways about it. Chapter 13 focuses on Kenna speaking with all the allies she’s amassed, and the chapter time is seriously cut down if you haven’t recruited any diamond allies. Chapter 14 is the exact same thing, but this time, Dom is the one who talks to all the allies. Why they needed two chapters of pure filler, I’ll never know. But I’ll tell you what: back when TC&TF was still releasing on a weekly basis, I was so annoyed that we had two whole weeks of filler. There was no need.

The worst part about all the filler was the impact it had on the buildup to the final battle. Compared to book one and two where we fought tooth and nail for the entire book to get Stormholt back or to prepare for Luther’s return, the buildup to the battle with Azura felt very underwhelming: the book was mostly just a little bit of plot here, filler there and there, here we are switching POVs to one of the side characters for a couple of chapters, here’s some more filler. In books one and two, there was practically NO filler, and the buildup to the final battles was much better for it.

A lot of books are pretty notorious for filler and fluff, but TC&TF book 3, dare I say it, may have been the worst about it given the high stakes and the generally fillerless precedent set by the previous two books.

POV flipflopping

In books one and two, you got to play as characters other than Kenna and Dom in diamond scenes, plus that one time where Val infiltrated the Nevrakis stronghold masquerading as a handmaiden. Other than that, the writers stuck religiously to the Kenna/Dom POVs, and the story was much less choppy, confusing, and generally less all over the place because of it.

This is not the case in book three. You play as Kenna and Dom, yes, but the POV flip-flops around between other characters as well. Leon, Val, Raydan, even Whitlock. I’m shocked as hell that they didn’t somehow manage to cram in a chapter where we played as Annelyse or Sei.

Of these different POVs, Raydan’s was the most important and by far the least filler-y. It still didn’t really sit well with me, though. The Crown & The Flame is Kenna’s (and Dom’s, but mostly Kenna’s) story. Book 3 is 17 chapters. Kenna—the main freaking character—is either unplayable or mostly unplayable for nine of them. Nine! But she gets off much better than Dom—the deuteragonist, mind you—who only gets three chapters where he’s the main focus. And, of course, you’ll recall my previous complaints about how Dom’s chapters were filler. So.

Having all these different POV switches was not graceful in the slightest. It was unnecessary for the most part, and at times, it really came across as a Wattpad POV fic where the pre-teen author interjects every few paragraphs with <{[CHARACTER A’S POV]}> and ~{[CHARACTER B’S POV]}~ because, like I said, it wasn’t graceful, and it wasn’t necessary. Especially since TC&TF is a dual-lead story.

The allies

I actually made a ranking list from worst to best of every recruitable ally in TC&TF across all three books. It’s currently unpublished on my blog, but it’s been sitting on my computer for a while. At any rate, most of the book three allies were ranked very, very, VERY low. There are 32 recruitable allies in all, and numbers 32-27 on my ranking list are all book three allies.

Aurynn Amanth, though I liked her as a character, doesn’t do shit after you recruit her and is only in a grand total of two extra chapters if you recruit her, and for 25 diamonds, that’s so goddamn steep. Clover Hapley also serves no real purpose for 23 diamonds, but somehow appears more than Aurynn and for two fewer diamonds. Florian Tartassis and Zenobia Nevrakis were recruited just to fill the allies roster, plain and simple. Anton Luno was just kinda…there. And Luther—the Blood King who mercilessly slaughtered the royals and nobles of the Five Kingdoms, who conquered the realm and waged war against any who dared to rise against him—does fuck all unless you give him control of the Nevrakis army, then tries to murder Kenna at the end regardless.

There were only a few book three allies I ranked higher than #27. The Mechawolf Pup, who didn’t do much, and who I also found annoying as hell, but he was kiiiinda cute I guess. Lia really stuck her neck out for Raydan by translating the anti-magic book for him, but she doesn’t do much when you recruit her. And I love Madeline to pieces, but she’s 30 diamonds and only appears in five chapters.

Hex was the second highest ranked book three ally on my ranking list at #6 overall because she was such a complex character, and though she was incredibly morally grey, recruiting her nudged her towards active atonement and the chance to actually do some good in the world. Diavolos was ranked #3, and I think he really could have been an awesome character in the series if we had gotten to know him sooner because the dynamic between him and Kenna is impeccable, and he’s such a vulnerable character when you think he wouldn’t be.

Unfortunately, most of the book three allies are just there to fill the ally roster or do damn near nothing once you recruit them. The only allies we got who were heavy hitters were Hex and Anton (recruited jointly to fill the ally spots) and Diavolos. Since book three is the highest-stakes book of them all since we fight an entire fucking EMPIRE, we should’ve gotten some seriously powerful allies. Instead, most of who we got were characters who couldn’t fight: Aurynn, Clover, Madeline, Lia, the Mechawolf Pup, Zenobia, and Florian.

What kind of sense does that make?

Finishing things off…

The Crown & The Flame, to reiterate, is one of my favorite series in Choices. I’ve replayed it time and time again and never get tired of it because it’s just that kind of story. And I do like book three. I’m not saying it’s a bad book at all: it’s actually quite a good book. I just think it’s much less of a good book than 1 & 2, which were absolute titans to compete with.

Even my faves are imperfect. But that doesn’t mean I love them any less. And TC&TF book 3 is a shining example of that: flawed, but still perfectly lovable.

With all that said, I think I’ll give the series another replay soon.

[cursedwoman1859]

Careful What You Wish For (Silco/F!Reader/Finn)

Rating: Explicit (18+, MDNI)

Words: 4.7k

Content: Threesome (MFM); oral sex (M recieving); PiV, light D/s; rough sex; humiliation; genital piercings. No beta we die like finns dignity

Summary: Finn steps out of line at a meeting and Silco enlists your help in reminding him of his place.

AO3 Link

-

Chem baron assemblies weren’t the worst part of your job as Silco’s assistant, but they were up there.

It should have been fascinating, getting to sit in on Zaun’s equivalent of the council meetings. Every person in the room with you controlled their own little slice of the Undercity with an iron fist – whether that meant the chem trade, body mods, brothels, or webs of spies and informants who could find out anything about anybody for the right price. But more often than not, meetings devolved into petty squabbling over territory and who owed what to whom – and you had to sit there and take minutes through all of it.

Your only consolation was that Silco made it clear he hated these meetings as much as you did.

Today’s assembly had dragged on longer than usual, and you were relieved to be packing up at last. You just had to finish the notes you were making, and then you’d be free. A few of the chem barons had already left, though Silco was still hashing out the details of a Shimmer production deal with Renni. Sevika was leaning against the door by the elevator, looking bored out of her mind, and you were about to go over to her when a shadow fell across your notebook.

“I haven’t noticed you here before,” a familiar voice said, and you looked up with your brows already raised. Finn was one of the newer chem barons, and you had to wonder whether his affected swagger and bold fashion choices were compensation for the fact that he had inherited his position and everybody knew it.

“I’m always here. I’m Silco’s assistant.”

“I know,” said Finn, leaning on the edge of your desk, caging you in, “but I never noticed you.”

The desk you used was in a corner of the room, and Finn was blocking the only exit. You sighed, finishing what you’d been writing and capping your pen. You were not in the mood for this, but you plastered a polite smile on your face regardless. “Then I’m doing my job well, aren’t I?”

Not to be deterred, Finn only leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a low purr. “I wouldn’t shove you in a corner and make you take notes all day, is all I’m saying. Nah, if you worked for me, I’d have you sat right next to me where everyone can see, and I’d—”

“I like my corner, thank you,” you said curtly before Finn could finish that thought, snapping your leather-bound notebook closed. It had been a gift from Silco, and the black cover bore a bright pink doodle of his insignia, courtesy of Jinx. “I like my job, too.” You glanced over at your boss. He was still talking with Renni, leaned back in his seat with a cigar smoking steadily in his hand and smoke drifting out from his lips as he spoke, but as if he could sense you looking at him his gaze flicked over to you, just for the briefest second. That relieved some of the tightness in your throat. Finn could be as pushy as he liked, and you could handle him, but Silco or Sevika would step in if you needed someone with a little more sway to scare Finn off.

It wasn’t yourself you were afraid for.

“Okay,” Finn said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. His eyes raked over you, and you realised that from this angle he probably had a pretty good view down the front of your blouse. “But you’re done working now, right? How about you come with me and I’ll show you how I’d appreciate having someone like you with the Slickjaws. I’ll buy you a drink.”

You stood abruptly, but Finn still didn’t back off. If anything, he only leaned closer while you packed your things away, and his too-heavy cologne made your nose twitch. “Thanks, Finn, but I’m not interested.”

Finn only drew himself taller, tilting his head as he gazed down at you, a smirk pulling at his lips. The top one, anyway. “Fine, you wanna be like that, I get it. You’re a classy lady, I can see that. Guess that’s why you like working for Silco so much. I’ll take you to dinner first.”

You glanced back at Silco, and your throat tightened when your eyes met his. Renni was reading over some contract with her own assistant, but he was no longer paying attention. You wondered how long he’d been watching, letting Finn dig his own grave. The other chem baron was a dumbass, but he probably didn’t deserve whatever was coming if he didn’t leave you alone.

“Finn, I told you I’m not interested. Now please let me go home.” You tilted your chin up and put as much steel into your voice as you could.

But Finn wasn’t going to be deterred by your words. “Alone?” he said, leaning down into your space, his arm on the desk still caging you in.

“Yeah, alone,” you said, your patience wearing out. Fuck it. It wasn’t like Silco was going to punish you for giving as good as you got. Especially not to Finn. “Now let me pass or I’ll screw your jaw shut.”

To your dismay, Finn only laughed, his sleek curtain of hair swaying as he tipped his head back. “Oh, she bites! I knew you had some fire in there somewhere. I like them feisty.”

Of course he does. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, feeling the weight of your brass knuckles in your pocket. Another gift from Silco – he’d wanted you to be able to protect yourself, even if you weren’t much of a fighter, and he’d reasoned that it would be hard for an assailant to take them and use them against you, so you’d have time to run. You’d never actually used them, and trying them out on Finn would definitely be taking it too far, but they were a comforting presence in your pocket nonetheless.

But a sharp call of your name cut across the lame response you’d been about to give, and relief made your shoulders sag. Silco was shrugging on his coat, his business with Renni concluded (and not to the other chem baron’s favour, judging by the sour expression on her face). “Come. We’re leaving.”

At last Finn stepped aside, his eyes roving over you one last time as you passed. “You know where to find me when the old man gives you a day off, baby.”

Ugh. “Keep dreaming, Finn,” you muttered as you hurried over to where Silco and Sevika were waiting by the elevator, and you didn’t miss the glare your boss shot Finn before he turned on his heel and stalked through the ornate doors of the assembly room.

“Please tell me you weren’t flirting with Finn,” Sevika said once the elevator was rumbling down to street level.

You glanced at Silco before you responded. He was quiet, his mismatched gaze fixed on something in the distance, and you could almost see the plans formulating behind his eyes like clouds gathering before a storm. “No way,” you said to Sevika. “He was just trying his luck. I bet kissing him is like licking a brass doorknob.”

That made Sevika chuckle, and you thought even Silco’s lips twitched up for a second, but it could have just been the lights from outside shifting as the elevator descended. He said nothing on the way down, but you could tell he wasn’t happy. You couldn’t begin to guess what he was planning, but the thought that Finn would soon be feeling the wrath of the Eye of Zaun was more exciting than it should have been.

-

A few days later, you had your answer.

Silco called you to his office towards the end of the day, when the bar downstairs was starting to empty and the sliver of sky you could see from the street was lightening, dawn turning the neon haze that bathed the city sickly green like a healing bruise. Zaun’s nocturnal schedule was one thing you’d always loved about it compared with Piltover. It gave everything that happened in the undercity an air of vice, and when you entered Silco’s office to find him already watching you with sharp eyes that felt like they could peel back every layer of your clothing, you knew your evening was about to get a lot more interesting.

“How do you feel about staying a little late tonight?” Silco said as you approached his desk. He turned his chair to the side, and that was all the signal you needed to round the desk and sink down into his lap.

“Need me to reorganise your filing cabinets again?” you said with an arch of your brows.

Silco took a cigar from the ashtray, and he didn’t need to ask you to light it for him. “Not quite. I’ve invited Finn here to discuss the territory dispute he was having with the Vyx. Tell me, do you truly find him so repulsive?”

“I…” You trailed off, wondering where this was going, but Silco’s ever-schooled expression gave you no hints. “Not repulsive, no. Just irritating.”

“And if I were to ask you to help him remember his place after the Assembly, what would you say?”

Ah. So this was where the other shoe dropped. For Finn, at least. The slow, almost absentminded circles Silco was drawing on your inner thigh (to the extent that Silco did anything absentmindedly) gave you a pretty good idea of what kind of plans Silco had made for the chem baron. “I suppose I could tolerate it for the sake of teaching him a lesson,” you said, keeping your voice light.

A slow, predatory smile spread across Silco’s features, and you shuddered. You’d been on the receiving end of that expression more than once. “Good girl. Now, go sit at your desk and look busy. You’ll know when I’m ready for you.”

-

When Finn arrived, you played the part of the quiet, unassuming assistant with practiced ease. You met him at the bar and led him upstairs, laughing off the flirtatious comments he made and putting a little extra sway into your hips for good measure. You fetched coffee and sat at your desk in the corner of the office, making yourself invisible as you let the scratching of your pen fill the gaps in the two chem barons’ conversation.

If Finn sensed anything was different, he gave no sign of it, sitting casually on Silco’s couch with one foot propped on his other knee, fidgeting with his lighter as he spoke. It was a wonder he ever got to light anything with it after wasting all the fuel.

You watched him from under your lashes as you worked. He wasn’t bad looking, really, just a little…over the top. If he noticed you watching, he wisely didn’t acknowledge it in front of Silco.

It was a little late for him to suddenly get some common sense, but you appreciated the effort anyway.

“There’s one more matter we need to discuss.” The chill that had crept into Silco’s voice made the hair on the back of your neck prickle. “Your transgression at the last chem baron assembly.” You heard his chair creak as he leaned back, but you didn’t dare look over at him.

“My—this is about her?” Finn said, his eyes finding you for the first time.

You could almost hear the unimpressed arch of Silco’s eyebrow in his voice. “My assistant made it quite clear she wasn’t interested in you, professionally or otherwise, yet you continued to pursue her, never once considering if perhaps there was a reason for her disinterest. One might even think you were trying to poach my staff from right under my nose. This was a grave insult towards both of us, Finn.”

For a second Finn’s mouth hung open as his eyes flitted between the two of you. You put your pen down, resting your chin on your hand as you watched the younger chem baron flounder. “I wasn’t—Silco, I would never try to take your staff from you. I just asked her out for a drink, that’s all, I swear.”

“I know,” Silco said, his voice deceptively light, and Finn’s whole body went rigid as he stood up and rounded his desk, but Silco only leaned on the other side, his arms folded as he looked down at Finn. “Just a moment of weakness, the temptation becoming too much for you, right? I’ll admit she can be something of a distraction.” He sighed, letting his words hang in the air, and you caught the exact moment Finn understood the implication, the suggestion that you weren’t just an assistant. By this point his eyes were so wide you would have laughed at the expression if you weren’t distracted by the heat already pooling low in your belly at what you knew was coming. Silco kept his eyes fixed on Finn as he held his hand out, long fingers crooked invitingly. “Come here, darling.”

You rose from your seat slowly, hardly daring to look at Silco as you came to stand between him and Finn. You already knew all the details of Silco’s plan, but you also knew that if you had a chance to dwell on what you were about to do, you’d lose your nerve. And you really didn’t want to back out now.

Finn’s metallic jaw hung loose as Silco’s hands trailed up your arms to the collar of your blouse, deft fingers undoing the buttons one by one. “You know, perhaps this situation is my fault,” he said as he pulled your blouse off your shoulders and tossed it aside. Next came your skirt, and you stepped out of your shoes and socks so you were stood there in only your undergarments. “Perhaps I haven’t been valuing your fantastic work ethic enough, Finn.” He punctuated that sentence by roughly unlacing your bra and tossing that aside too, so your tits bounced free. Your panties soon followed, another victim of the small knife Silco always kept up his sleeve.

Finn’s knuckles were now white, his hands clenched on his knees.

“Maybe it’s time I showed you how much I appreciate your contributions to the cause.”

Your nipples hardened to stiff, pebbled peaks, and you couldn’t tell if it was because of the cool air in the office or Silco’s voice sliding against your ear like satin.

“Fortunately for you, she’s had something of a change of heart. Haven’t you, sweetheart? Would you like to help me remind Finn exactly where he stands in our enterprise?”

You nodded, then hissed as he pinched your nipples in warning. “Yes, sir,” you said quickly.

Finn’s eyes flicked between you and Silco, and you could see his mind reeling, searching for the catch. You could hardly blame him – though he made no move to leave, and his tight pants were doing absolutely nothing to hide his interest.

“Sure,” he said, shrugging in a way that was probably supposed to look nonchalant but would fool absolutely no-one. He glanced towards the door. “We could just—”

“Oh, no,” Silco said, nudging you towards the couch. “I think my office is perfectly sufficient.”

You knelt on the couch next to Finn, your hands braced on his thighs as he slowly shifted to face you. You wondered if he was even conscious of the movement. You glanced up at him, noted the slight flush on his cheeks. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and you could see the exact moment he thought, fuck it. He gave a short, jerky nod and you took that as your cue to free his cock from his jeans. You took him in your hand, already half-hard, but then you stopped, your eyebrows raising as you saw the three piercings near the bottom of his shaft, on the underside. They were gold barbells capped with large, heavy diamonds, and you wondered if they’d come before or after the jaw.

“What’s wrong? Can’t handle a bit of ice, baby?” Finn purred.

“It won’t be a problem,” Silco answered for you. You glanced over your shoulder to find him leaning on the edge of his desk, watching with feigned boredom, though the heat in the depths of his corrupted eye gave him away. “She’s quite capable. Continue.”

You spat into your palm and worked your hand over the head of Finn’s cock. It didn’t take long to coax him to full hardness. When you glanced up at him, you could see he was doing his best to keep his expression schooled (which shouldn’t have been hard for him, given that half his face was metal). His fingers twitched as if he wanted to touch you but thought better of it. Maybe he wasn’t as dense as he seemed.

The couch dipped under you as Silco knelt behind you, and Finn looked up in alarm. “I never said you’d have her all to yourself,” your boss said over your shoulder.For a moment you were sure Finn would object, but he only chuckled, though his laughter was strained. “So that’s the deal with you two.”

“Yes, Finn, that is the deal,” Silco said, and your stomach twisted in anticipation as his hand fisted in your hair. “You got there eventually.”

“Come on, old man,” Finn said, some of his earlier bravado finding its way back into his voice. “You’re the last chem-baron I’d think would be fucking his assistant.”

“I suppose I’m full of surprises,” Silco said dryly, tapping a spot on your back, and you obediently put both hands behind your back so that Silco could pin them in place, your balance now completely dependent on him.

He leaned down, his lips grazing your ear and his voice soft enough for only you to hear. “Still okay with this, sweetheart?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And what is our signal? Do you remember?”

“Tap your leg with my foot twice for a breather, three times to stop,” you recited.

“Good girl,” he murmured, and then he was pushing your head down.

For a few moments he only held your head at the tip of Finn’s cock, letting you take your time teasing the tip with your tongue. When you glanced up, your eyes met Finn’s, and you thought you heard him curse under his breath. Then you had to break eye contact as Silco forced your head lower, guiding Finn into your throat as you ran your tongue over the underside of his shaft, earning yourself a shaky, measured exhale that suggested it was taking all of Finn’s willpower not to start fucking your throat at his own pace.

Then Silco was pulling you back up, the sting in your scalp making your eyes water, though it was just the right kind of pain that sent flashes of heat along your spine. The heat between your thighs had solidified into a persistent, heavy ache, and you hoped Silco wasn’t planning for this to end with you simply sucking Finn's cock– and it wouldn’t, if the growing hardness you could feel pressing into your ass was any indication.

You took a breath while you could, before Silco pushed your head back down, this time far enough for you to give the first piercing an experimental flick with your tongue as it passed your lips, which made Finn’s breath stutter and his cock twitch in your throat.

There wasn’t time for such indulgences after that. Once you’d adjusted to Finn’s size and figured out how to avoid catching the stupid diamonds on your incisors, Silco set a more brutal pace that made Finn curse through gritted teeth as your head bobbed on his cock, though it was never more than you could handle. Silco knew exactly how much you could take, and he knew how to toe the line without pushing you over it, seemingly having some sixth sense for the moment your vision started to darken from lack of air. Your jaw ached and tears pricked at your eyes from the pain in your scalp, surely ruining your eyeliner, but not once did you consider tapping out. 

Silco let go of your hands, but you kept them clasped behind your back anyway. The vicelike grip he’d had on them had made his point clear enough; your every movement was to be at his command, your obedience complete. The sound of buttons popping was barely audible over the wet sounds of your mouth on Finn’s length, but it still sent shivers of anticipation along your every nerve. You bit back a desperate whine when you felt Silco slowly draw his cock through your heat, coating himself in the wetness that had gathered there.

“Look at me, Finn,” Silco said, his voice like velvet, and your eyes fluttered closed in pleasure as he sank into you, though the pressure of being filled at last did nothing to soothe the ache in your core. You risked a cheeky thrust of your hips backwards, urging him deeper, which earned you a warning tug on your scalp. You couldn’t see whether Finn obeyed, but he must have, because Silco continued, “This could have been you right now. Had you kept your head down, done your damn job and kept the money coming in, perhaps I would have seen fit to reward you properly.” He drew himself almost fully out of you before thrusting back in to the base, your groan of pleasure muffled by Finn’s cock. Silco had forced you to take him so deep your nose was pressed to his groin, and your mind felt fuzzy, but you still had enough wit to think to yourself, liar. Silco might be willing to allow Finn to indulge in your mouth, but he had an ulterior motive. Anything else was about as likely as a Shimmerhead sharing his fix. “But no,” he continued, his voice sliding into a low, dangerous hiss that made your skin prickle with goosebumps. “You had to poke your head up above your station. You had to get cocky. You had to try to claim what isn’t yours. I want you to remember this next time you think of stepping out of line.” His voice was as measured as ever, his tone bordering on disinterest, but you knew better. You heard the gravelly bedrock beneath the silken surface. He’s close. “Remember who built this nation. Who gave you your own little fiefdoms where you can live like kings, instead of street dogs tearing each other apart over scraps. And remember how easily I can tear you down, just as swiftly as I raised you up.”

As if to illustrate his point, he pulled your head up so you released Finn’s cock and your spluttering gasps filled the quiet, occasionally dissolving into desperate whimpers as Silco fucked you, just a little slower than he knew you liked, the bastard.

When you risked another glance up at Finn, you could see the cogs turning behind his lust-clouded eyes, even as he subconsciously angled his hips up towards your waiting mouth.

“All right, I overstepped,” he gritted out. “I already said I was sorry.” You thought you caught a please whispered under his breath, or maybe it was just the blood rushing in your ears.

Silco gave a low hm of consideration but pushed your head back down regardless, and you obediently opened your mouth to take Finn into your throat once more. This time the pace Silco set was more intense, and you had to fight off your gag reflex as Finn shuddered beneath you.

“Everything you have, everything you are, exists because I allow it. Both of you,” he said, driving into you faster, your tits bouncing obscenely with the force of it. “But look at her, you’re grateful, aren’t you darling?”

You gave a choked moan around Finn’s cock, and Silco chuckled, the sound rich and smoky and tipping you dangerously close to a peak you weren’t sure you had permission to reach. “That’s it,” he said, fingers finding their way to your clit as if to reward your obedience. “Always so well behaved. You could stand to learn a few things, Finn.”

The tight, quick circles Silco was drawing on your clit were enough to send you careening into your orgasm, permission be damned. Your eyes rolled back in your head as you clenched around Silco’s cock, waves of pleasure radiating from your core to the tips of your toes, and the force of it soon pulled Silco down with you, though the only thing that gave him away was the stutter in the rhythm of his hips and the tightening of his hand in your hair.

He pulled out of you and quickly tucked himself away, pulling you off Finn once again. You panted as the aftershocks of your orgasm skittered along your nerves, a string of drool connecting you to the tip of Finn’s dick. “If you want to finish,” Silco said, “you can start by apologising to my assistant.”

“Fuck,” Finn snapped when you gave a taunting little lick to his head when he took his time answering. “I’m sorry, alright? I didn’t mean – I shoulda left you alone when you said. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, it was just flirting.”

“Acceptable?” Silco leaned down to speak softly into your ear again, and you shivered in pleasure at the attention.

You looked up at Finn through your lashes. His sleek hair was a mess, his cheeks flushed, and his gold eyes had a wildness to them you’d never seen before, like he was balancing on the edge of a building and you were the one holding him up, and he didn’t know if you were about to save him or let him fall.

It occurred to you that you could say no. One word from you, and Silco would send Finn scuttling out of here with balls as blue as Hex-crystals.

That was probably what Silco would have done, if it were up to him. Fortunately for Finn, you weren’t so cruel. Your throat was raw and the words wouldn’t come, so you just nodded. It was enough.

“Very well.” Silco released your hair and sat back against the couch. “You may finish, Finn.”

“In her mouth?” he said as you swirled your tongue around his head once more, this time able to use your hands as well, sparing your abused throat.

There was a click and fizz of a lighter, and you could picture very well the withering glare that Silco had to be aiming over your head. “Well, if you ruin my couch I’ll have you gutted alive. So yes, come in her mouth.”

You hollowed out your cheeks and sucked, and that was all it took. Finn came with a growl he barely stifled, boldly grabbing your hair and holding you in place as he fucked your throat, spilling over your tongue again and again as you swallowed it down. You were relieved when you could finally release him, giving one last flick of your tongue to his tip, making him hiss. It was only fair, you thought, considering the ache in your jaw.

“Get out,” Silco said quietly from behind you. “And never pull something like this again. Next time I will not be so lenient.”

Finn said nothing, only tucked himself into his pants and ducked out the door, his usual swagger gone. You weren’t fooled, though. You knew the look of a man who’d just had the best orgasm of his life.

Sighing, you flopped back on the couch, your head landing in Silco’s lap as your eyes fluttered shut in contentment.

“Was that too much?” Silco asked softly. He stroked a stray strand of hair away from your face, his touch featherlight compared to the iron grip he’d just had on your scalp.

You shook your head, breathing in the cloud of smoke he let drift down over you. “But you’re buying me a wig if I wake up bald tomorrow.”

He chuckled, the rich, dark sound curling out from his lips and settling over you much like the smoke had, sending heat curling in your belly once more. “Deal.” 

[cygniavenue]

STHENELUS!!!! 😭 Favorite thing about them! Random Headcanon! Do you have a song you associate with them?

CRACKS MY KNUCKLES i could talk ab this guy for hours… my favorite thing ab him is he’s such a hypebeast for Diomedes. supports this guy all the way through. drives his chariot. tells Dio he loves him with all his heart right in battle. i think a very important character beat for him is his loyalty and devotion (mostly to Diomedes. idk. they are a set. do not separate) but he’s also an outstanding warrior on his own. his mother Evadne is a daughter of Ares (in some versions of his mythos) so he’s got a little bit of that demigod strength to him.

random headcanon that i really enjoy is i think he was such a mama’s boy as a little kid, before both his parents died. Capaneus left for the first Theban war when Sthenelus was 2-3 years old and as a result he became very attached to Evadne. she was a good mother to him even though he could be a very difficult child sometimes, but she was always patient with him and he loved and adored her so much (and still misses her a lot as an adult, though he tries his best not to think about her death)

song that reminds me of him (and Diomedes by extension) their relationship in the Iliad strikes me as a bit strained at times—it’s an unequal balance of give and take. Sthenelus is unconditionally devoted to him and not afraid to show it. Diomedes is very afraid of the thought of this, the devotion, the commitment. He glares at him when he speaks his affections and tells him to be quiet. He’s just not quite ready for someone to love him the way Sthenelus does. but Sthenelus will wait for him steadfast, however long it takes.

“So we part our lips for the taking / but if these lips could open they’d scream / I want to love you like I’m raining / like I don’t need saving”

[sollucets]

Your new sanray fic is just wow!!! It's so so so good!!!! I am in love! But as a desperate person I have to ask. Can you imagine writing like a tiny happy end for them? The hurt no comfort is killing me.

honestly nonny,,, i’m not sure i can right now! i think i’d rather leave it up to canon & then write fixits if i don’t get what i want. as it stands pre-release i'm not even sure what i'd do about the mewray dynamic yet (i do have thoughts, though.) but,,,, for u, lovely, i can perhaps write a moment of peace from the past

(700ish words, t rating for implied sex, absolutely no editing ✨)

💜

“Hey, what do you think of this?” calls San from his place on the balcony.

Ray makes an offended noise on principle; he’d been having a very nice mostly-naked mostly-nap despite both his original intentions and the best efforts of San’s awful couch, and he doesn’t appreciate being roused. Still, he obligingly lifts his head enough to see San giving him his shitty puppy eyes through the sliding door.

He’d dragged an old wooden stool out there before Ray had started drifting, putting on headphones and starting to mess around with his phone and his writing notebook. He usually gets like this once they’re done and his clingy period is over, all energetic and eager to do things. Ray is never going to understand.

He’s comfortable enough here and so pleasantly sleepy that it’d be easy to ignore him, but San didn’t bother to put his shirt on when he’d gone outside and Ray still aches in the best possible way, so he supposes he might owe him one.

With a groan, he levers himself upright and pads over to the balcony in his boxers, slipping on a loose pair of San’s sandals on his way out. “What?” he asks, yawning.

“Do you think this looks good?” San asks, frowning down at the notebook he’s wiggling in Ray’s direction. “I just finished this draft.”

Instead of taking it, Ray circles behind him on the stool, noting with pride the red lines down the lean muscles in his back. “You look good, all scratched up,” he says, and watches with a smirk as San tries to pretend he’s not pleased.

Coming closer, Ray hooks his chin over San’s shoulder to stare down at the notebook. It’s full of guitar tab, with San’s spidery handwriting marking notes and lyrics in the unorganized way he tends to do it all across the page.

“You know I can’t read that shit,” Ray tells him, bringing his arms up and looping them under San’s to connect in front. He still feels a little clingy, probably since it hasn’t been that long, and San is warm and has a nice chest.

“Yeah, yeah,” San says, his voice vibrating against Ray’s skin. “I’m asking about the lyrics, not the notes.”

Ray, who had been forced to learn violin as a child and in retribution did his best to forget everything he’d learned as an adult, has very little music knowledge. He does always like San’s songs, appreciates how his voice fills the room and the movements of his pretty fingers on the guitar.

This one looks just about the same as usual, lyrically, all edgy and longing. “It’s good,” he says lamely, and nuzzles into San’s neck in apology before adding, “Shouldn’t that rhyme?”

“It doesn’t have to,” he says, in that slightly condescending but mostly earnest way he gets when he’s talking about the stuff he really genuinely likes. “There’s dissonance in that part, and the theme is about struggling with something, so it’s supposed to match.”

Ray leans even more of his weight on San’s back, trusting him to catch them before they overbalance. “What do you even need me for, hm?” he asks, a little sleep-slow. “You think it’s good already. Did you just want to hear me say it?”

“You said you were coming next week,” San retorts, but Ray’s got his number.

“You just like it when I tell you you’re a good boy,” he singsongs. “Don’t fish for compliments, it doesn’t suit you.”

“Asshole,” San snaps, and a moment later Ray feels a pinch on his side.

He yelps, flinching away from it without actually disconnecting from San, and shifts his hands up to twist one of San’s nipples in revenge. “Dick,” he says, laughing as San tries to get away from him without toppling off the stool. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“You’re lucky I’m cute,” San tells him, and he can’t actually argue with that without disparaging his own taste.

“Get up,” Ray orders instead. “Play the chords for me.”

“Now you’re interested?”

“Just do it,” Ray says, and he does, laughing.

[youcouldbeit]

Also I'm not kidding send help what was that.

[flutterbruttershy]

Well, North America's a beautiful place You got a thousand close friends all scattered through time and space Well, North America's a beautiful place and you know I'd like to do it all again

[smellpelt]

oc interview 😼 tagged by @bisexualocs thank you!

Tagging @tillman @starocide @wrappedinblack @triedpklove @goofballproximitysurveyor if you wanna do this

Julia time

name: Julia Lamb

nickname(s): she probably has some but idk

gender: cis woman (she/her)

star sign: June 25th so Cancer

height: 5 foot nothing/ 152cm

sexual orientation: bisexual

nationality/ethnicity: born and raised in Australia but her mum is Norwegian

fave fruit: she loves peaches, nectarines and plums

fave season: gotta say autumn she'd want to say winter but it's too rainy and windy to go out as much so autumn it is

fave flower: she loves a good purple iris

fave scent: smell of cooking meat

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: I can definitely see her being a coffee drinker but she loves a warm and fluffy hot chocolate too

avg. hours of sleep: probably has one big sleep and then lots of naps as the cat she is

dog or cat person: well she is a cat person herself heh but as for the actual animals uh probably cat? I don't think she's much of an animal person really

dream trip: either going to a nice tropical resort or an art gallery trip

fave fictional character: gotta be honest I don't know what media Julia is into LOL

number of blankets they sleep with: probably like one she is already very fluffy she is also a massive cuddler

random fact: she can see spirits

[wrestlezon]

i learned a lot about subtitles today. mainly that i dont understand the standards or guidelines and that i did them in the worst way possible if i wanted to attach them separately to a twitter video. what a nightmare. not enough documentation. listen, dont be cute and overlap subtitle timings. spare yourself.

if you find yourself in a funny situation with exporting subtitle regions from davinci resolve and need to end up with an srt with no overlapping timecodes, download ttconv. my final message (passes away)

[bemuseing]

@longerhuman​​ — from an old starter from the old blog

“  after  being  hurt  by  the  world  so  much,  they  began  to  see  the  demons  within  humans.  So  without  hiding  it  through  trickery,  they  worked  to  express  it. ”  —  dazai  osamu,  no  longer  human.

(     STARTER FOR  @bemuseing  !!!  )

“  ryūnosuke,  ”      his  intent  is  made  clear  before  a  proper  sentence  could  be  formed. previously,  the  executive  stood  side  by  side  with  his  subordinate,  but  the  cold  muttering  of  the  younger’s  name  seemed  to  flick  a  switch  between  the  brunette’s  oozing  eyes  of  nothing  -  ness. allowing  not  a  single  second  for  a  response  ,  his  darkly  -  clad  body  spun  to  the  left,  heels  of  his  boots  digging  into  the  cold  ,  expensive  tile  that  covered  the  hallway’s  floor.

each mannerism  is  skilled,  practiced. he  halts  his  stride  down  the  headquarters,  partially  bandaged  face  craning  downwards  with  the  tilt  of  his  chin  to  peer  at  his  protege. those  ominous,  oozing  orbs  of  abyss  that  hid  the  world’s  void  being  them  scan  the  younger  up  and  down  as  if  sizing  him  up  ,  pushing  him  into  the  place  of  a  prey  to  his  predator  without  permission.

a  bandaged  wrist  cracks  out  from  underneath  the  coat  that  hung  idly  from  his  shoulders,  shooting  towards  the  ravenette’s  scalp  quicker  than  a  flash  of  lightning. long,  nimble  fingers  tangle  through  the  somber  stringy  mop  on  akutagawa’s  head  until  he  caught  a  fistful  of  hair. dazai  is  not  cut  out  to  be  a  mentor,  not  a  good  one  ;  he  does  not  know  how  to  mold  someone  into  being  of  worth,  since  his  world  is  drained  of  color,  void  of  worth. the  young  executive  resorts  to  basing  his  methods  on  the  ones  he  was  given  by  the  port  mafia  boss  himself,  utilizing  mori’s  methodology  to  do  the  work  that  he  wasn’t  cut  out  to  perform.

(  “  it’s  for  your  own  good. ”  )  

his  bruised knuckle (  it’s  not  sterile,  nor  is  it  gloved. his  hands  are  coated  with  dried  blood  from  an  earlier  endeavor  of  the  day. despite  the  mafia  boss’s  mimicry  ,  there  are  drastic  differences. dazai’s  hands  will  never  be  as  bone  -  chillingly cold  ,  his  voice  won’t  hold  charismatic  charm  to  the  same  extent. )  yanks  upwards,  forcing  the  other’s  head  back.

(  “  stride  with  a  purpose,  even  if  you  don’t  have  one. ”  )  

(  “  it’s  for  your  own  good,  osamu  -  kun.”    )  

it’s  for  your  own  good,  akutagawa.

“      straighten  your  posture, ”      there  isn’t  an  ounce  of  emotion  in  the  noises  that  escape  his  dry  lips  ,  as  if  it  were  an  auto  generated  response  spoken  without  a  single  moment  of  consideration. “    you  can’t  expect  to  omit  a  fear  factor  if  you’re  hunched  over  like  some  social  recluse.  tell  me,  how  do  you  intend  to  ever  move  up ?   ”

The moment that he heard his name leave his superior’s mouth, he instinctually sensed what was coming. If this action were to have been performed by a strange adult back in the slums of the city, such a person would most likely already be missing their hand by now.

But he was no longer in the slums, thanks to this very person.

For a very brief moment, two pairs of jet-black eyes stared at each other.

Then merciless fingers took hold of his hair; every muscle in the boy’s body tensed up and his teeth ground together, holding back the overwhelming urge to respond violently. Even if he were to lash out, as the ingrained response screamed for him to do, it would do no good against this person.

Dazai snaps the boy’s head back, with not a jot of care; forcing Akutagawa to straighten his back and shoulders. Posture had never mattered before now; rather, keeping one’s head down was advantageous to help avoid unnecessary conflict, which in his previous world could make the difference between life and death. The crouch, the shoulders curled forward were a long-held habit. Natural, even. But neither were acceptable anymore.

With a great effort, after a tightly-strung second of silence, he answers.

❝ ...I understand, Dazai-san. I’ll do better. ❞

The executive’s question gave him pause. To move up in the ranks of the Port Mafia? At the moment, such a thing seemed a distant goal on the horizon. This very interaction proved he lacked far too much.

He gave the only answer that he knew how to give.

❝ I’ll prove myself. Cut down the mafia’s enemies. ❞

[mythboundmuses-archive]

“checklist” lmaooo the corinthians for dream. perhaps you could use x for one corinth and o for the second, like the world's most unhinged game of tic tac toe.

x for 1 | o for 2.

I find you to be:

[o ] interesting

[ ] cute

[x o] attractive

[o ] sexy

[ ] reassuring

[ ] intimidating

[x ] annoying

[x ] tedious

[x ] terrifying

I think we should:

[o ] talk more

[ ] hang out more

[ ] date

[ ] adopt each other as found family

[ ] fight (friendly)

[ ] fight (hostile)

[X ] avoid each other if at all possible

If we spent an evening together we would:

[ ] just hang out

[ ] talk about deep stuff

[ ] cuddle

[ ] go to bed together (to sleep)

[o ] go to bed together (to… not sleep)

[ ] go out and party till sunrise

[ ] both get arrested

[x ] probably wind up killing each other

If we kissed it would be:

[ ] a chaste press of lips

[ ] a playful smooch

[o ] swift and stolen

[o ] deep, sweet, and sincerely meant

[x o ] all teeth and tongue and hot as heck

[x ] not happening

If we had sex it would be:

[ ] romantic and luxurious

[x o ] fast, rough and hard

[x o ] against the nearest wall

[o ] fantastic

[ ] awkward

[x ] a really bad idea

[x ] an all-around disaster

[x ] not happening

If I woke up and found you unexpectedly in my bed I would:

[o ] cuddle you

[ ] offer you breakfast

[o ] attempt to seduce you

[x ] kick you out

[x ] demand to know how you got there

[ ] scream

[hunted-moth]

Just Like Him Chapter One: I Met Two Old Guys In The Woods

Word-count // 6k

Summary // When Y/n encounters two men in the woods who offer her a place to stay she’s skeptical but goes anyway. And there she meets new people who help her in all kinds of ways

Warning // Language, talks of death and hunting, 

Special Thanks to @eugeneroehoe and my friend for editing/proofreading this for me, it would be a disaster if they didn't lol

OTHER STUFF// Sorry for the weird formatting, i write in google docs and transfer over to Tumblr, and it's so fucky lol. I know there are other campers but for my sake, im just gonna focus on the main group. 

Also, fun fact my GF's name was Sophia but we don't call her that so it was weird typing ‘Sophia’ lol

A/N // the first official chapter woo hoo. Unpopular opinion? I really like Lori and I feel bad for her sometimes. Yes she's wrong sometimes yeah but that doesn't matter to me, we support women's rights and wrongs here. 

***: Major time Skip/scene change

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              “Well well well, what do we have here baby brother,” The old guy said with the meanest grin on his face. Your grip tightened on the bow as he spoke, but you didn't take your eyes off the other man with the crossbow and the squirrels on his rope. They had dirt and grime all over their faces and slightly tattered clothes.

“Just a kid.” The younger guy lowered his crossbow and straightened his posture. The older man noticed your bag on the ground and yanked it off the forest floor. 

“What do we have here?” The old man began to riffle through your stuff. 

“HEY! That's mine!” you barked at him lowering your bow. He just ignored you and continued looking through your bag. 

"Hmp, all that's in here are picture books, clothes, 'n a can of bug spray." He dumped the bag out on the ground and picked up the bug spray. "'Least this is useful." He went to turn and walk away, but you rushed him and pulled on his shirt.

“Hey, it’s mine! Give it back, asshole!” You grunted as the old guy pushed you away and you fell on your ass. 

You rushed forward to continue to fight back, but the younger man held you back by the collar of your shirt. 

“What's your guys' problem?!” You thrashed and fought against his grip, instead, he only tightened his grip

“Will ya jus’ quit it, kid!” The old guy turned around and crouched down to your height, in a way that was patronizing. 

“Well, aren't ya a feisty one, kid?” He attempted to poke your forehead but you slapped his hand away. 

“don't touch me!” You yelled as the younger one yanked on your collar to shut you up. 

“Quit yelling! Yer gonna attract the Geeks!” The younger one yelled.

You stopped a moment to think about what he said and gave him a weird look.

“You call ‘em geeks? That's kinda dumb.” The young guy rolled his eyes while the older one started to ask a question but was cut off by the sound of a snarl nearby. 

The younger guy let go of you to quickly shoot a bolt through the rotter's head with precision.

“That's why yer quiet,” he spat at the ground, lowering the crossbow.

“I was, but it's kinda hard when two old men in the woods take my crap.” You side-eye the old guy. He raised an eyebrow and looked at his brother, silently telling him to give your stuff back. 

“Naw, the kid tried to attack us when she first laid eyes on us,” The Old guy dismissed. “Sides’, she should thank us fer that Geek.” You wanted to kick him in the shin.

The younger guy huffed and rolled his eyes. “She's just a kid, give ‘er the can of bug spray, and let’s go.” The old guy stared at the other, then dropped the can at your feet with a smug look.

You snatched it up and stuffed it in your bag, giving him the stink eye like your life depended on it. It was silent momentarily before you moved to pick up your bow. You were about to head on your way before the young guy grabbed your shoulder.

“Hey, where are yer parents? Why’re ya alone out here?” Your shoulder went stiff, you knew where they were and why you were alone.

“They’re dead, and my brother is lost and probably long gone, so it jus’ me, I guess.” You looked at the ground. The two men were looking at you. The younger one had a semi-sympathetic look on his face, while the older one just looked irritated.

The younger guy turns you around so you face him. “You know how to hunt? Or are you just swingin’ that bow around?” you nod your head "Follow us." You give him a strange look.

"Where?" You asked.

He rolled his eyes at the question."We got a camp down by a quarry, you can come or not, don' matter ta me," the younger guy said. You guessed he was trying to be nice, but his face didn't show it. It looked like you pestered the answer out of him.

They began to walk away not waiting for an answer from you. You weighed the thought of following them to their camp. You thought of Jason, thinking about what he’d say if he were you.

“They just tried to take your shit and now they want you to follow ‘em? Hell no, they probably want to kill you and take it” imaginary Jason shouted in your ear, his argument was reasonable in your mind. But your ‘mother’ had her own argument.

“He did stick up for you, maybe he’s being kind. You are alone out out here bear, anyone with a heart would invite you to their shelter. They could have food and even more people to look after you and keep you safe” Her words were hopeful whereas Jason was cynical. 

Your mom's words tried to help you use your heart but Jason fought that you should use your head.

You looked at the two men as they walked away, their bodies getting smaller and smaller by the second.

‘Could just go and check the place out, if it's legit I could stay but if it gets dodgy I’ll leave’ You thought it was a perfect middle ground for both arguments. 

You picked up all of your stuff and began to jog towards them. You huffed and puffed when you caught up to them making the older one scoff when he noticed you and walked faster to get away from you. 

                                    ~~~The Quarry Day One~~~

          Your trek to the supposed quarry was tense. You almost feel the irritation radiate from the Old guy. You and the young guy just kept quiet, the only words he'd say to you was ‘keep up’ if you fell behind a bit. 

But the old guy just had to open his mouth.

“Why are we even bringing another mouth ta feed anyway!” you rolled your eyes, but the comment made it seem like there were other people. Which was a good sign.

“Can it even do anything useful” You were pretty sure you were the ‘it’ in this scenario.

“I can hunt, and other stuff,” you said in a small but annoyed tone which pissed him off as he turned around and yelled at you.

“WAS I TALKIN’ TO YOU KID” he yelled, you stepped back a bit when he got in your face. 

“Man shut up and keep walking, ‘fore Shane blows up on us” He pushed the old guy forward. But he never shut his mouth, he just went on and on about how much of a burden you'd be if you stayed. He kinda reminded you of your brother when he was pissed at you.

As you walked you noticed that you started distancing yourself from the old guy. You were at first in the middle of them but towards the end of your trek back, you found yourself on the other side of the younger guy.

After about an hour of walking, you heard voices other than the old guy. You could hear soft murmurs of people talking as you all got closer. The two men got in front of you and moved the brush aside. The three of you walk through the camp towards a man.

“Yo Shane” the young guy called out, and the man with puffy hair turned his head, his eyebrows crinkled in confusion when his eyes landed on you. 

“What’s with tha kid?” He asked the old guy with a look of confusion.

“Some brat we picked up” The Old guy just spat at the ground, and the puffy-haired guy just rolled his eyes. He directed his attention to you, kneeling a bit lower.

“Hi, Im Deputy Shane Walsh, what's your name?” he had a smile on his face, one that looked fake but still comforting.

“Umm, Y/n, Y/n Myers” you looked down out of embarrassment.

“Ok Y/n,” he started “now mind tellin’ me why you're alone in the woods?” he tilted his head towards the woods.

“I- I got separated from my brother and momma” you lied, you knew where your mom was, dead somewhere probably eating some poor dude's face. But you guess the part about your brother was true.

“Well, that's not good, when did you lose them?” he tilted his head to the side now, by now the other guys were long gone so it was just you and the puffy-haired guy.

“A couple of weeks ago, I just kept movin’ to avoid the eaters” You fidgeted with your bow like a child who was caught stealing something.

He had a sad look on his face “Well that's not good, how about you stay here till we find your family huh? Where do you think they might've gone?” he got up and put his hands on his hips as he looked around for someone. 

“Im not sure, maybe Atlanta? Momma talked about goin’ there” You fiddled with your bow some more, rubbing your hands over the handles, you weren't looking at his face too shy to even think about it. 

You heard a ‘hmm’ coming from his mouth, you looked up to see he was looking around the camp till his eyes finally found what he was searching for.

“AYE LORI!” He shouted “Come ‘ere for a minute” A woman in her mid to late 30s came strolling over, she had long brown hair and a confused look on her face. When you look behind her you see a little boy, around your age, trudging along with the woman.

“Yeah, Shane?” Shane–you guess– put a hand on your shoulder “This is Y/n, her family’s missing, ya think you can keep an eye on ‘er?” The woman looked at you and smiled.

“Hi Y/n, Im Lori” she introduced herself with a kind smile. The boy behind her gave a small wave. 

“And this here is my son Carl” She pushed the boy from out behind her and continued her conversation with Shane 

“Sure Shane, you gonna help look for her family?” you looked him in the eyes before he directed his attention to Lori, he put an arm around her and led her away from you and the boy.

“I don't think her family’s alive” he whispered, but you heard him, “said she got separated from her mom and brother a few weeks back” he scratched his head, “said her momma wanted to go to Atlanta”.

Lori got a sad look on her face from that information, she turned to look back at you and you looked away.

Lori nodded her head and turned towards you again “Are you hungry Hun?” she asked in her sweetest voice, you just nodded your head, and she put her arm around you and the boys' back and started to walk away. 

You walked over to a campfire that someone was trying to start. He was young had no hair and wore a cap backwards. 

“Any luck there T-dog?” Lori asked him, he just shook his head with a dejected sigh.

“I should probably know this by now huh?” he retorted. You walked up to the fire pit, “you could probably do this” you suggested. 

You grabbed a skinny piece of wood and a fatter one. Then you grabbed some dry grass and placed it on the wood. Then taking the stick you began to rub the stick on the grass rapidly till you saw smoke. You blew on the fire to keep it alive then placed it on the fire pit. 

“That should do it, it’ll take a few minutes though” You shrugged as you got up. The T-Dog guy just looks at you in shock.

“Danm kid, been tryin’ to get a fire goin’ for a minute and here you come doin’ it like it nothin’” He smiled at you.

“How’d you know to do that?” A small voice spoke up, it was the boy from earlier, you shrugged, 

“My brother thought me” You shrugged as Lori smiled.

“Well, he's a good teacher then” She walked to a trailer and walked out with two cans of food. 

“Okay, we have canned carrots and canned corn, who wants what?” The boy shot his hand up.

“Can I have the corn?” He asked, and she nodded her head so you got the carrots. She waited till the fire got big before she started to heat them up. 

“So Y/n,” she got up and took yours off the grill, “I was thinking, after you finish eating, how would you like to get washed up? Get all that dirt off ya” You nodded your head as you took the can and fork from her cans and began to eat.

You kinda missed the taste of mushy carrots, it reminded you of when Jaosn cooked dinner and he would use the canned stuff.

While you ate, you people-watched. By the old RV, you saw two men messing with the RV engines, one was older with a bucket hat and the other was a little younger with a baseball cap and overalls.

A little farther you saw two other women, they both had short hair but one had black hair and looked like a pixie cut, and the other had shaved with salt and pepper hair. They were doing what looked like laundry, and a little girl wasn't far away from them, she was blonde with a bob.

You took another bite of the carrots when you noticed a younger guy– could have been no older than 23– he was running around camp talking to people with a piece of paper.

You finished your can of carrots and handed it to Lori, “you done hun?” you nodded your head, and she smiled “You want to take a bath?” you nodded again and followed her to a tent.

She unzipped it and went inside and got a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, and some body wash. 

“Oh you actually have soap” She looked back as she grabbed a bowl and a towel.

“Oh yeah, there isn’t much left, unfortunately, but it’s something Glenn will find more hopefully” She led you down a rocky path towards the quarry lake. 

* 

             When you got done with your bath you and Lori walked back towards the camp, you dried your hair while Lori held your stuff for you. It was already dark by the time you were done. Lori led you to a tent unzipped it and ushered you inside, you saw Carl in his bed reading a comic book.

“Hmm” Lori looked around, “I think I have an extra sleeping bag around here” Eventually she pulled a tattered old sleeping bag out from somewhere “Here hun, im sorry it's not nicer,” She said apologetically.

You just smiled and took it “It’s ok, I've been sleeping in trees for weeks” You rolled it out “This will be like a king-sized bed” you joked.

She smiled down at you, “Okay guys, time for bed” She turned off the lamp in the tent and retreated to her bed.

*

             Sleep took a while, you were so used to keeping an ear out just in case. But now you were surrounded by people who could keep an eye out for them.

You turned onto your side to see a small fire outside the tent. You looked around to see both Carl and Lori fast asleep. So very carefully you got up and unzipped the tent. Looking at the fire, you saw the young guy from earlier. He was sitting by himself, sharpening his knife.

You walked over and sat down, he side-eyed you but continued what he was doing. 

It was quiet and stiff as you listened to the sound of the crackling fire and the shaving of metal. You gripped at your shorts and looked at him.

“Thank you,” You said in a quiet voice, “for bringing me here” 

“Yea, don’ mention it,” He said gruffly, you curled up into yourself from the cold.

 “Don't think I got your name” You glanced at him “My name’s Y/n” You introduced yourself to him, but he didn't look at you.

“Daryl” Was all he said, you looked over and saw him inspecting a hunting knife.

“Why are ya up so late?” You looked at the fire. You heard him stop sharpening his knife, glaring at you.

“Why are you asking so many damn questions?” He barked at you, you shrunk a bit at him raising his voice. He went back to messing with his knife.

“Sorry,” your voice was quiet and small. And out of embarrassment, you retreated back to Lori's tent. Once inside you laid down in your sleeping bag and just stared up at the tent ceiling, wishing you could see some kind of stars again.

                                     ~~~The Quarry Day Two~~~

             You were shaken awake by Lori in the early morning. You looked around and saw that Carl was already up and tying his shoes. 

“Hey, it's time to get up” You nodded your head, sat up and grabbed your shoes, and stood up, following Carl and Lori. 

You walked out of the tent to see some people in a small circle. You saw two blonde women hugging, a family hugging a man. A few of them you recognized, such as the fire pit guy and the woman you saw at the clothesline, you also saw Merle standing around with his hunting rifle on his shoulder. 

You saw Shane talking to another guy too, a super younge guy actually. He wore a cap and kinda looked like a kid you'd see in an old baseball movie. You remember seeing him running around yesterday. 

“Hey Lori, why are they all in a circle?” You asked but she was busy getting you some food.

“They’re going on a supply run, into the city” You looked at them with a weird look. “With Merle?” You said with a grimace, you didn't know him very well but you could tell he didn't like people and people didn't like him.

Lori laughed a bit “Yeah I know, I don't know why he chose to go with them” She handed you some squirrel soup and you ate it with no protest meanwhile Carl looked a little grossed out while eating it.

“Hurry up and eat, we got school in twenty minutes” Scrunching your face in confusion you looked at Lori “Oh I guess I forgot to mention, me and Carol give school lessons, and you’re doing them too” You dropped your shoulders, the only good thing about the world ending was the no school part.

                                                            *

You all sat at a picnic table, the supply people had been gone for about an hour now. You were doing stuff you had learned about. The only good thing was that you got to know Carol and Sophia a little better, carol was the woman with the greying and shaved hair, and Sophia was her daughter. 

They were nice, if not a bit quiet. You guess Lori could see your boredom “Have you learned this Y/n?” 

“Umm, yeah, last year” You were a year older than Carl and Sophiea so already knew what they were learning.

“Hmm, well I guess you can go for now” You nodded and got up from the table and wandered around camp, till you stopped in front of the old RV. you debated on going inside it or not, but your thoughts were interrupted by a voice call down to you.

“Are you the Y/n I've been hearin’ so much about?” you looked up to see the old man with the bucket hat, he also had a rifle. And for some reason, he was on the roof of the RV.

You nodded your head “Why are ya up there?” he cracked an amused smile, he had an infectious smile. 

“The View” He shouted back “Why don't you come and see for yourself” He looked friendly enough, so you decided to climb onto the RV and stand by the man. 

“See, isn't it beautiful” He gestured out towards the quarry lake “My favorite view here” He looked down at you to see your reaction.

“It's pretty, the lake is really blue” You didn't really know what to say, you just figured he was being an old man, appreciating random things –kinda like your own grandpa.

“You know, I don’t think I ever introduced myself.” He turned towards you, sticking his hand out to you “I’m Dale, pleased to meet you.” You shook his hand, his eyes were kind.

“Nice to meet you too Dale” You sat down on the RV looking out to the quarry “Why are you up here Dale?” you asked, he had his hunting rifle and there was a deck chair up here, along with an umbrella.

“Oh im on lookout duty, we all take shifts to watch out for those, things.” He took a seat in the deck chair “Don't see much luckily, they all stay near the city” Hearing that just made you thankful you chose to come here. 

“Does it ever get boring?” You asked, you figured you would be if you were up here all day. He only chuckled and picked up a ratty old book giving it to you,

“Sometimes, that's why I read this” The book was called ‘The Case of the Missing Man’. “It's a good book, you should read it sometime.” You flipped through the yellow-worn pages.

“What no pictures?” You joked “But it looks interesting I guess.” He just beamed down at you, laughing a bit at your dumb joke.

“Well why don't you take it, read it, and tell me what you think of it” You put it in your lap. 

“So where you from anyway?” You were curious as to why an old man had an RV and not just a car.

“Ahh, well, im from eastern Georgia. And before all of this, I was going on a cross-country road trip” He explained with a sad look on his face. 

“How did you end up here?”

“Well, I was in Atlanta when it got overrun by the dead and I tried to get out as fast as possible,” You couldn't imagine being in a big city where the dead had risen, “On my way out of the city I encounter two others, Amy and Andrea, actually Andrea is one of the people that is out on that run to Atlanta right now.”

“That was nice of you to help them out” You don't think your family would help others out, well your mom would try, but Jason was kinda the leader and he isn't the type to risk his chance of survival outside family.

“It was the right thing to do” Is all he said “What about you, why are you here?” You looked away at the question.

“I got lost from my Momma and brother,” You picked at your skin a bit “Don't have huge hope in finding them” Dale gave you a sad face. 

“How do know they aren't trying their hardest to find you” You just shrugged your shoulders. 

“Im getting kinda hungry, I think im gonna go eat something” You got up, taking the book Dale gave you “It was nice talking with you Dale, maybe I'll come back later” You began to climb down the ladder “and ill return your book later too” He just cracked a kind smile.

                                                             *

             You were camped out in a tree reading the book Dale gave you, it was an okay book in your opinion, but you'd rather read your comic books. You got bored with a certain part of the book and closed it. You looked out to the camp, once again observing the people. 

They were all doing something important, Lori, Carol, and who suspect was Amy preparing dinner, while men like Shane and Dale were on “guard” of Rotters. Some other men you didn't know were chopping wood up for the fire.

Watching them actually do stuff made you feel useless like you should be doing something. If you were out in the woods right now, you'd be hunting. And if you were at home you probably be cleaning up your mom's mess. But whenever you asked to help out you'd be turned away, told to go play or something and be a kid. You hated it.

After a while you climbed down and asked Lori when she thought dinner would be ready, you were thinking of going to bed early since it was already late.

“It should be done soon, we just need to finish cookin’ the meat, it’ll be done quick” She smiled and continued with what she was doing. With that news you went to sit on a log next to Carl, he always seemed to not be far away from his mom. 

“How did lessons go?” You asked, he and Sophia must have been in seventh grade by now, you'd be in eighth grade.

“It was okay, all we did was math” He replied boredly “What did you do after you left?” He looked at you.

“Nothing much, just kinda wandered around camp, met Dale, he was nice. Gave me this book, it’s kinda borin’ though” You joked 

“I like Dale, he’s nice” he agreed with you, he was pretty nice to talk to.

“He reminds me of my Grandpa Theo, he always had a smile on his face” You missed Grandpa Theo, he died when you were nine, it was one of the few days your momma was sober.

“Alright guys, dinners done, here ya go” Lori gave you guys your bowls and a spoon, squirrel soup again, Carl's favorite.

                                                            *

After you ate you retreated to Lori’s tent to sleep, but you never actually slept instead you just read the book again. The book itself was okay, it was about a detective retelling a case he was on. The case was about a man who suddenly went missing but whenever he investigated any leads people would say he never existed, and that the detective was going crazy. You got bored again and stopped reading halfway through.

You lay down and stared at the tent ceiling again, you just stared at it hoping it would make you sleepy. You heard the tent zip open and in came Lori and Carl, both of them going to their beds, they said their ‘I love yous’ to each other. It made you miss your family more and more.

You fell asleep about thirty minutes later, but you woke up when you heard something rustling in the tent. You cautiously turned your head to the noise and thankfully didn't see any eaters. Instead, you saw in the darkness what looked like another person in Loris's bed. Seeing that you promptly turn over and away from the noise.

                                     ~~~The Quarry Day Three~~~

You wanted to ask Lori about the noise last night but she was already out of bed, and so was Carl. Exiting the tent you find Lori sitting by the campfire. 

You walked up and sat down by her “morin’ Lori”

“Moring hun, how did you sleep?” She was folding some clothes 

“I slept okay I guess” You were tempted to ask about the noise but decided against it. “Is there anything I could do today?” you were getting bored as the days went on, hell it felt like a week since you’d been here, but it's only been three days.

“Now why would want to do anything kid?” Shane asked he was picking up an axe like he was about to do something “You're a kid enjoy it. Hell this is probably like a summer vacation”

You just shrugged your shoulders “I don’t know, just board is all” Lori rubbed your shoulders 

“Why don't you play with Carl and Sophia? They say they want to be friends with you” She gave a soft smile at you “They’re just too shy to say anything”

“I guess I could” You looked around and saw Daryl with his crossbow heading out, you had the idea of going hunting instead, “actually I have another idea” You got up and jogged to Daryl 

“Hey Daryl, are you going hunting?” You caught up to him “If so can I come with you? I really-” You were cut off by Daryl 

“No, go away” With that he walked off leaving you behind. You hung your head and walked off somewhere. You found yourself at the tree you were in yesterday, you climbed it and sat there watching everyone be useful again.

Looking around you saw Lori and Coral talking to each other, coral nodded her head and called over Sophia with Lori doing the same with Carl. They seemed to also be nodding and started to look around for something.

They wandered around camp, stopping people and when the person shook their head they would walk away. It was like that for several minutes till Sophia shook Carl's shoulder and pointed in your direction, confused you looked around to see no one, you looked back to see Them running towards you. 

Oh, I guess it was me you thought, you started to climb down the tree. When you were at the bottom Sophia and Carl were already there.

“Hi,” You said shyly.

“Hi,” They said back just as shy.

“Were you guys looking for me?” You asked, they nodded their heads, and Carl spoke up “Yeah, we were wondering where you were” You nodded your head in understanding 

“Why were you in a tree?’ Sophia asked quietly, you just shrugged your shoulders

“I don't know, just bored I guess, there isn't much to do around here” You shoved your hands in your pocket “Wanted to go huntin’ with Daryl but he said no” When you said that Carl had the bright idea.

“Why don't you show us how to track and stuff, ya know how to survive in the woods and stuff” Sophia nodded her head “We just gotta ask our moms about it”

“Yeah, why not” So you all walked over to Lori and Carol, Lori was there but not Carol, so Sophia went to go find her.

You and Carl walked up to Lori when the radio in the camp went off

“HELLO, HELLO. CAN ANYBODY HEAR MY VOICE?”

The voice on the radio was distorted and hard to understand. A girl with long blond hair rushed to the radio and tried to radio back the unknown 

“Hey, Hello?” – “CAN YOU HEAR MY VOICE” – “YES, your coming through, over” her voice sounded hopeful as Dale came over to try and help –“IF ANYBODY HEARS PLEASE RESPOND”– “Your crap radio must not be going through”

“BROADCASTING ON EMERGENCY CHANNEL WILL BE APPROACHING ATLANTA ON HIGHWAY 85 IF ANYBODY READS, PLEASE RESPOND”

The girl was desperately trying to get back to him “We're just outside the city” The radio started to crackle “damn it” She cursed the rain.

“He couldn't hear me, I couldn't warm him” The girl was frustrated but Dale tried to calm her down “Try to raise him again, maybe he’s still around” She tried again but Shane came walking over.

“Come on son you know best how to work this thing” Shane put his axe down and took the talkie from the girl.

“Hello, Hello, is the person who called still on the air?” The radio just crackled “This is Officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting to a person unknown, please respond” The radio continued to crack and the air was tense with everybody trying to listen for the unknown guy.

“He’s gone” Shane gave up on trying. Lori tried to lighten the mood “They’re other, not just us” Shane just retorted with an attitude.

“We knew there would be, right? Why we leave the C.B. on” Lori responded with her own.

“Lot of good it’s been doing” Lori continued “And I've been sayin’ for a week ought to put signs up on 85, warming people about the city” She seemed to glance at you for a second. 

“Folks got no idea what they're getting into,” The blonde girl said, Shane just grunted and got up “Well we haven't had time” was Shane's excuse.

Lori wasn’t taking it though “Well I think we need to make time” Shane just rubbed the sweat off his face.

“Well that's a luxury we can't afford” You could tell he was getting impatient “We are surviving here, we are day to day” Dale looked conflicted “And who hell would you propose we send” That just seemed to piss Lori off a bit.

“I'll go, give me a car” she gritted her teeth, but Shane shot that down quickly “No, nobody goes anywhere alone, you know that” Lori walked away pissed, you and Carl attempt to follow her but Shane stopped you guys. 

“Hey Hey Hey, Go on guys, take a seat. You’re alright, go on, you’re alright” He walked away following Lori. You and Carl just stood around, you noticed Sophia walking up with a bummed look on her face

“What did your mom say?” You asked “She said no, but she said it was ok if I “explored” the camp,” She said in air quotes “What about you guys?”

“Some guy came over on the radio so we didn't get a chance,” you said kicking a rock “Yeah, and she and Shane got into an argument so she’s kinda mad right now” Carl kicked the rock back to you “why don't we go ask her now?” you said, Carl nodded his head and both walked towards the tent

While walking up to the tent you noticed the door was open and what looked like Shane and Lori were inside. Their legs were closer than you thought normal

“Mom” Carl yelled and the two bodies broke apart, Shane came out of the tent.

“What's up, guys? She’s in there, go on” he rubbed Carl’s head and walked away, Lori walked out of the tent meeting you guys, she got down on one knee and met you guys.

“Hey, I don't you guys to worry,” she grabbed your guy's shoulder “im not going anywhere, Okay?” you guys nodded your head “Yeah, yeah” she smiled “Okay, was there anything you guys wanted?”

“Yeah, we were wondering if we could go out and explore the woods. I could show Carl how to survive in the woods and stuff” She thought about it for a second, “Right, but don't go too far, stay within shouting distance, Okay?” you nodded your heads. You rushed past Lori and got your bow and quiver.

                                                             *

             You guys had been in the woods for about an hour, Sophia was with you for a little bit till her dad called her over. Right now you were teaching Carl how to track small animals.

“You see this one right here?” you pointed out a print to Carl “It's a rabbit’s footprint, can you see how the front is bigger and the hind are smaller?” he nodded “And how you can see both front and hind legs? Thats because a rabbit walks, kinda like a worm?” you didn't know to explain it

“So like, it moves its front legs first then it’ll move its back legs” Carl nodded his head “Now we probably won't see any rabbits during this time of day, they’re more active at dawn, and dusk” 

You and Carl started to follow the trail of this random rabbit, it looked somewhat fresh, made maybe around morning. “They like to hide in shrubbery and bushes and stuff.” Carl nodded his head and kept his eyes on the bushes.

While you were tracking Carl shook your shoulder “Look” he whispered, and you looked to where he was pointing, your eyes made contact with a rabbit, and you and the rabbit held eye contact not blinking.

Well, you blinked when a bolt impaled it. Carl gasped in surprise and fell on his ass. And out came Daryl with his crossbow and other small game on his shoulders.

“The hell you two doin’ out here?” he asked you guy gruffly as he took the bolt from the rabbit and secured it on his animal rope.

“None of your business” you shot back “Come on Carl, let's get back to camp” You pulled Carl up from the ground and headed back to camp.

“Sorry you had to see that Carl” You put a hand on his shoulder “but I guess you also had to see it? I don't know, that's what huntin’ and surviving is” Carl shrugged his shoulders 

“It's okay, I get it, too bad we couldn't take the rabbit though” he looked at you “Would’ve been nice to try rabbit” You chuckled a little bit.

                                                          ***

             When you guys got back you had dinner and told Shane about your adventures in the woods. Both Lori and Shane called Daryl an asshole for shooting the rabbit in front of you guys. When you guys were done you all went to bed. You and Carl stayed awake and talked to each other. 

That’s how you learned that his dad was also gone, and how Shane rescued him and Lori. He said they were on their way to Atlanta but the roads stopped and not long after that he saw them bombing Atlanta. You guessed thats why Lori and Shane acted weird around you whenever Atlanta was brought up.

Not long after both you and Carl fell asleep, and you dreamed of the stars and your momma

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next // Swimmin' With The Frogs

Previous // The Before Times

Taglist // @your-shifting-gurl, @underrated-jellygirl

// Masterlist //

[vitaegratis]

havvkinsqueen​:

     They had agreed to take it slow, with him hoping it would make things easier. To sort of... figure out, adjust to. Thus far, it was working, right? Well. Waking her up in the wee hours of the morning was not ideal, but. Damn. He was willing to what he could to make it work, but asking her to sacrifice hours of sleep. That wasn’t exactly fair. Even if she was willing. It was also a bit... needy, wasn’t it? Making a mental note of that (and an actual one in which he plotted a way to make it up to her) he let out a fond sigh before shooting off his reply. 

[SMS] You are - I won’t dispute that. I won’t keep you up long.

[SMS] I just wanted to say ‘good morning!’ when it was still morning for you.

     Eddie’s band was in Europe at the moment, and thus Eddie was eight or so hours ahead of her. While it was only 5 for her, he had only just finished lunch and wasn’t likely to have a moment alone until later that evening. Well, evening for him. Afternoon for her. He really was lucky, wasn’t he? That she was inclined to date him at all - but especially considering the lifestyle, the fact he woke her up just to say ‘hi’. He was sure she appreciated the sentiment, just not the loss of sleep. Perhaps it had sweet, but also misguided.  

[SMS]  So. Good morning! Sleep well, til I interrupted?

[charles-draws]

sorry i would usually try to make it smaller but the tumblr post formatting is being fucky

reblogs over likes

[fishareglorious]

tried messing around with the code on a separate file to see if I can make some progress on the sidebar problem, ended up creating an abomination with the formatting, deleted the file and have now decided I think I am going with the Please just mess around with the zoom level the site does a fucky wucky when it's too narrow sorry🥺 disclaimer on the front page

anyways,

chap 3! can't believe we're at this point now. it's been two weeks since that time i cursed site123 for not letting me put jumplinks and now i'm here.

currently we'll be focusing on the main, then the event story first, but I do plan on adding in the bits and bobs of info scattered in between the chapters. the one thing looming over my head how to format the branching dialogue that is the conversations with the ??? guy. i'll cross that bridge when i get to it.

also

reminder that i should fix this typo lmao. im going to take a nap

[notbooper]

Hehe here's some ramblings ab my weird Groundhog Day Price au thing :) this is kinda me laying out a timeline of everything and whatever else comes to mind

Heads up: I don't think I'll ever turn this into one long cohesive fic, it'll probably just be little ficlets and then long ramble-y bits like this

Read my first post regarding this au or else you'll be lost bc I explain a lot of things from my intro that I don't exactly plan to put into in depth writing.

Intro

Cw: I love Price so much so I put him through hell <3, temporary character death, depictioms of death n violence and bodily harm, non canon timeline bc oops and fuck canon (just a bit), this is not written like a fic like the first part, so it's just me rambling, also formatting is terrible ik I'm so sorry I just needed to get this out of my system, Ghoap content

Not edited bc lazy

So uh timeline is funky bc I forgor ab canon and consistency and also despite the fact I've played both 2019 and mw2 multiple times I'm still dumb. N e way:

I assume that the boys aren't familiar with each other at the beginning of mw2 but price knows all of them bc he hand picked them. I assume that they haven't worked w each other b4 those events but we're throwing that out the window here bc I forgot :)

So they had one very brief mission together before the events of mw2, the one described in my little intro blurb, nothing too serious or long, not enough time for team bonding, simply something I made up for expository ab the whole Groundhog Day thing.

Also ok explaining background Ghoap w my fucky timeline bc I totally forgor I wrote some implied Ghoap:

I dug my own grave by saying I wanted to set my blurb b4 mw2 and make that mission quick and they don't even get any time to like bond properly, but we can make this work ok? Ok. I don’t see Ghost as a self sacrificing person despite the fact that he's military and it kinda comes w the job and his status as definitely dead and shit and just his kinda general disposition. I can see it if he's v close w someone but otherwise it usually isn't "practical" bc of how useful he knows he is. In this scenario though ima say that Ghost had been heavily injured in the heli wreck and knew that he wasn’t gonna get too far. Once the heli crashed, he had been the closest to Gaz and had tried to pull him out, for the sole purpose of during the time before he could tell how fond Prive was of him, and because Ghost cares deeply for Price he made an effort to rescue Gaz, that doesn't work obviously and he ends up terribly injured. Later on, once they start taking heavy fire and closer to his death Ghost realizes that he's not going to make it too far and decides that when there needs to be a sacrifice, bc he knows there will, he'll go down.

Cut to Ghost sees that Soap's ab to get fucked up and takes the shot 4 him. Soap's reaction, unlike Ghost's reasoning, is based in vague Ghoap. Soap comes to the conclusion, b4 they even get out of the heli, that the Lieutenant does not like him. Fine, he's clashed w/ COs b4, nothing new. He was hoping that since they were gonna be on this same tiny team that maybe the could be friendly but he supposed not. So imagine his shock when the man who seemed to despise him sacrifices himself for Soap. He's touched, truly, especially bc that Soap will never know that Ghost's real reasoning. That Soap believes in that moment that maybe that Ghost didn't hate him and maybe kinda really liked him but didn't show it. He beliebes that if THE Ghost sacraficed himself for Soap, that he must feel that Soap was a valuable member of the team, maybe moreso than him. That Soap is also in the middle of watching his entire team get wiped out and realizing that it's now him and Price against what feels like an entire army so his extreme emotional reaction to Ghost's death is also in part from that.

There, intro Ghoap explained :)

Explanation of how this Groundhog Day shit works btw:

The first time it happens is in my little intro blurb thing. Price will go through an event where any one or more of the 141 dies, and then he will be sort of sent back in time to varying amounts of time before the events happen so that he can prevent their deaths. Price can't control it obviously. How Price discerns that these aren't weird premonitions and actually events that he lived through is that he always gets sent back with some scars from whatever shit show happened. Like for example in my blurb he would come back with his palms all scarred up from the broken glass he grabbed from the window soap got tackled out of at the end. It's a weird mechanic ik but shhhhh it's for angst purposes. It's there as a sort of reminder for Price for all the times he's "failed" his boys bc I FUCKING LOVE ANGST n e way,

Then the events of mw2 happen ofc. There are different points throughout in which I will kill the boys so here's that death list:

Gaz- something to do with the helicopter bit, obviously, like he gets no breaks, idc if you get tired of how many heli deaths I give this man, I like it. I think everyone gets one death during mw2 events

Side note: one thing I feel like I'm having a hard time balancing is making this compelling by "killing" off the boys and traumatizing Price, and also not making the boys look more incompetent if that makes sense? Like I had three deaths drafted up for Gaz but felt it was too much?

Kate: 110% dies at one point during the whole hostage thing. Gives an extra oof to John's whole apology bit to her afterwards (ome of my fav interactions in the game tbh)

Ghost: this fucker is proving the hardest to brainstorm for tbh. Like if anyone, for any of these parts at all, wants to put in any ideas feel free to, but I just feel like the others have NDEs that I can use as deaths, but honestly I feel like Ghost is I don't want to say better than the others but there's not really a point in mw2 in which I feel like I could take inspo for a death? So ig tldr: TBD but maybe none at all and when the timeline expands to after current canon I give him smtg big to give my boy some attention?

Soap: alone, obviously. This one is more complex then the others. They're all gonna be situations in which John can do something, whether directly or indirectly to change the outcome. I think for alone John cycles through that loop for a bit, not being able to make contact with anyone in Las almas and he gets lucky that after a few cycles we get canon alone events. This will def be it's own little chapter fic drabble thing bc I have so much to say ab this and how it affects Price

Bonus soap thought: I also wanted to do Graves tank fight purely bc that's the part I had the most trouble with in my first playthrough of the game. I had to repeat that section an ungodly amt of time and shaped me into the avid Graves hater I am today. I'm digressing but n e way I decided against the tank bit bc alone was just so much more yummier in my head.

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N e way that's my sort of ramblings for now, small bits and pieces will be on the way, probably

[bingsucks]

GUESS WHAT BITCHES IT'S MORE JEFF/RICH BULLSHIT and also MORE TMA & COMMUNTY BULLSHIT, it is a part 2, but it should also be pretty quick to catch up on part 1 because it's in a transcript-y format.

summary: Jeff gives a statement about his latent vegitarianism. cannibalism and toxic relationships ensue

also also, sorry but all my fics from now on will be only visible for people with ao3 accounts because argg AI is fucky and I don't want my shit used without my permishy (short for permission) no matter how bad it is x